xp_logs | Nathan and Moira, poolside, early Wednesday evening

Nathan brings Moira dinner to celebrate them going away. They rapidly lose their appetite... for food. Fluff, fluff, fluffity-fluff.

Moira sighed happily and slid lower in the chair by the pool. Something was occupying the students' attention elsewhere because the pool was completely deserted. Which, she decided, was not a bad thing. There was no one to splash her or her book as she attempted to get *some* sun and nobody would try and entice her into the pool. As much as she loved the water, she'd prefer to wait until she got a bathing suit that fit.

She couldn't help but smile at the thought of why she needed a new bathing suit. The vacation was something that she and Nathan desperately needed. Some time away together in a gorgeous, romantic spot after the past month's rollercoaster ride. She'd need to go into town to buy some things, Moira mused, starting to drift off slightly. Just a quick trip, so there wasn't much to buy - a few shorts, a dress or two and a bathing suit.

Coming out the door, Nathan grinned at the sight of her relaxing in a lounge chair, wearing one of her biggest and most appallingly floppy hats. He had half-expected her to be down in the lab, still, so this was a pleasant surprise. "I feel like I should have a camera," he called out to her, hobbling over in her direction and levitating the dishes behind him.

Blinking slowly as she roused herself, Moira stared at him. "Wha' on eart' are ye doin'?" she asked, pushing her hat back a little on her head so she could see him a little better. She watched with some amusement as a table suddenly joined in the dance across towards her, and she pushed down the sudden image of that Disney movie about King Arthur...

"Celebratory dinner," Nathan said brightly, settling the various elements of dinner on the table. The dishes with the food in them, the plates and cutlery, the jug of lemonade and the glasses. The lemonade wasn't particularly Greek, of course, but he thought he'd done pretty well with the rest. "Greek salad. Decent bread and saganaki - which I made, and please don't listen to anyone who claims I set the kitchen on fire, because they're lying." He grinned. "My very best attempt at spanakopita, and yes, I'm stunned there was phyllo pastry in the freezer, too. Oh, and olives on the side."

There was a second of stunned silence as Moira took it all in. "Ye made this? By yerself?" she teased, curling her legs under her as she sat up in the chair. "An' I'm nay surprised there was phyllo pastry...Lorna stocks for emergencies, remember this." Nathan was looking incredibly pleased with himself as everything settled down exactly as he wanted it. "Yer really cute when yer pleased wit' yerself," Moira pointed out, patting the space next to her in an effort to get him to sit. Thankfully, the chairs by the pool were long enough for two people to sit side by side.

Nathan sat down happily beside her, carefully arranging his leg so that it didn't knock anything over. "Well, I did some research, and none of it was very hard. You know, there are all kinds of sites on the web that tell you how to cook things in exhaustive detail? Very handy."

"Ye know if'n ye learn 'ow ta cook, I'll never 'ave ta," Moira pointed out, incredibly cheerful about that fact.

"Stop looking so chipper about that," Nathan told her with a grin. "Eat an olive." He filled the two glasses, then handed her one. "Did I mention how glad I am we're going away?"

She made appreciative noises at the olive before eating it and then leaned against his side. "Mmm, aye, I think ye did," Moira murmured, pretending to think. "Oh, tha's right, right before ye tackled me back ont' th' bed because I was teasin' ye." She smiled up at him. "I am, t'."

"I was terribly impressed with myself, actually," Nathan confided, his eyes gleaming. "Didn't think I could manage a tackle with this damned thing on." He tapped the cast with his free hand. "Did I mention how glad I was to be getting it off, too?"

"Incredibly gleeful even, aye. 'bout time as well, 'opefully once ye 'ave th' aircast we can start ye on workin' ta get tha' leg o' yers better. Once we get back from vacation. No physical therapy until then."

"I just wish it hadn't had such a cost," Nathan mused, a bit troubled as he spooned out the salad onto their plates. His jubilation over the fact that he was healing up so quickly had been tempered by knowing how Amanda had risked herself, helping that along.

"Ye really think us tellin' 'er nay would 'ave stopped her?" Moira pointed out after the stray thought bounced down the link towards her. "She's agreed ta go ta one o' th' doctors when she needs ta do 'ealin', I pointed a few thin's out ta 'er. But wit' ye? She would 'ave just gone right ahead an' done it anyway."

"She shouldn't have pushed so hard," Nathan muttered, carefully lifting one of the spanakopitas onto Moira's plate.

"Nay, she shouldnae." She fixed him with a look. "But she now knows better an' I think she's goin' ta stop pushin' 'erself tha' far in th' future." Leaning a little closer, Moira put her hand on his arm. #Ye can stop feelin' guilty 'bout this, love, nothin' ye could 'ave done ta stop Amanda.#

Nathan smiled a bit uncertainly, spreading some of the saganaki onto a piece of bread. "The hotel looks nice," he offered somewhat lamely.

Moira rolled her eyes at him. "Aye, it does," she said, sighing as she balanced her plate on her lap so she could reach for a drink. "It'd look even better if'n ye would stop feelin' guilty 'bout certain thin's." She grimaced down at her plate, at her own feelings of guilt. Yeah, she was one to talk.

"I'll get over it," he said quietly. "She's back on the right track, which is important. Guess the key is not to do anything that knocks her off it."

"Ye stayin' in one piece would be nice," Moira agreed, words trembling a bit before she cleared her throat. "Nice, peaceful summer, tha's wha' everyone 'round 'ere needs."

"Well, let's start with a nice, peaceful week, shall we?" Nathan asked, taking a deep breath and smiling at her a little more naturally. "Try the spanakopita? I'm not sure if I messed it up."

"Tha' I think I can 'andle." Carefully, Moira turned her plate around on her lap and got a forkful of the spanakopita he wanted her to try so badly. Tilting her head just a bit as she tasted it, she swallowed and couldn't help but grin at his hopeful expression. "'Tis pretty good, ye did a good job."

"Good. Because my ego needs a little help, after the wallpaper."

Snickering madly, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Ye got it off well enough, dinnae ye?" she teased. "Did tha' so verra well."

Nathan grinned down at her, the remnants of tension easing at the sparkle in her eyes. "I love you, you know," he murmured, reaching up and playing with the flower on her hat. "Even when you wear silly hats."

"Love ye, t'." She paused. "I like me silly 'ats," Moira protested, snuggling up closer to him. "Makes me stand out."

"You don't need the hat, believe me," he murmured, unable to help the hungry, yearning thoughts from slipping down the link at the sudden, warm pressure of her body against his. He took the hat off - it was entirely too big to be able to kiss her propely, and took her lemonade glass from her, setting it aside before he took her face between his hands and kissed her soundly.

The kiss hadn't been a surprise, not with the link suddenly sending and receiving like it started to. The intensity of it, though, caught Moira completely by surprise and she made a noise, surprised and yet incredibly pleased, as she leaned into it, very grateful that the pool had been empty.

"Mmm," Nathan said as they drew apart a little. "Wouldn't that be a heck of a way to kick off our vacation? Having someone walk out here and see us groping on the lounge chair..." But the rational, adult voice was getting very, very quiet all of a sudden. "Imagine the gossip," he murmured wickedly, bending to kiss the side of her neck.

"'orrible gossip," Moira agreed, shivering as he suddenly tickled her ear. "Never live it down." Somehow her hands had wandered up to Nathan's neck and were rubbing lightly up and down, creating small goosebumps.

"And Charles, giving us a lecture about proper public behavior..." He straightened, staring down into her eyes for a moment. "I could float the dinner back inside," he offered brightly. "Up to our rooms?"

"'e'd be laughin' 'is 'ead off. At me, anyway." Not really wanting to let go at just that moment, Moira pulled away reluctantly. "Aye, back ta our rooms," she agreed, whole-heartedly.