Breakfast [not] At Tiffanys [Darryl]

[Florence Bryant]

Gwynie had decided to give her mum and her "suitor" breakfast alone, and had gone out with a friend to socialize Dug. Dug had no idea that his little Mistress was planning for her mother to have some sort of romantical breakfast, but Flo was grateful her daughter was clearly the smartest little girl in the world. They'd agreed to meet at 10 for breakfast, which was great, since Flo didn't get up till 8, and flailed around trying to make herself look presentable for Darryl. She'd also had to send an awkward text to Mason explaining to him that Darryl was back in town - and the poor man knew that this meant competition. Oh boy.

Flo had spent a lot of time having a massive dilemma over what to wear. If she went too fancy, then it'd look weird over a breakfast. If she went too lazy, Darryl might lose interest and that would be disappointing. Settling on an outfit she believed to be the right levels of attractive (Darryl had said on their last date that he liked legs) and casual, she'd made herself look decent, then hopped on downstairs to start getting breakfast ready.

She'd promised pancakes, but there was no harm in giving Darryl a proper breakfast after his flight. Even if that did mean a big pot of coffee, orange juice, bacon and eggs and THEN pancakes. He was a growing man after all, and he had some serious shocks to hit his system. She was genuinely worried how the man would take Morgan's injuries. Taking a deep sigh, Flo began preparing various bits and bobs, humming along to the radio. She also pinged a text to her daughter, asking her to pick up some more bacon on the way home.

She just hoped Darryl would be appreciative for all this effort. Else it'd be another paintball to the ass. And she TOTALLY wanted to know what this surprise was.

[Darryl Bond]

Darryl had arrived in the airport at precisely 12:03 a.m. He'd nearly slept the entire flight, except when he touched down in Missouri and transferred to a different plane. Then it was back to sleep until he arrived at the airport. He gathered his carry on bag, wiped the drool from his beard (which he hadn't been able to keep perfect since his character had called for quite the beard--he had a full blown thing going on. He would cut that as soon....as he woke up in the morning. He was so beat. He drug his feet to go pick up his other suitcase and then drug himself through the impossible maze that is long term airport parking. Finally getting into his Audi, that still had that new car smell, even though it sat here the entire summer...and drove his ass home.

He collapsed on the couch, not able to take his shoes off and slept until eight in the morning. Breakfast was at 10. He screamed like a girl when he realized he only had a short amount of time to get himself together, pick something to wear, and get himself over to Flo's house. (Did he even know where that was..?) He scrubbed the trip off of him in the shower and spent and entire thirty minutes bent over the bathroom sink getting his beard down to where he liked it.

Now that his sink look like something crawled on it to die, he went to his closet and picked out some decent, in-between nice and casual clothes for him to wear. He appraised his quick manner of getting himself ready and gave himself a very, very thorough search in the mirror, to see if he missed any hairs. It was so embarrassing to have someone point out that he didn't shave love enough on his neck, or left a few hairs beneath his chin that he couldn't see. It was horrible! After spritzing himself with some of his cologne he went to his carry on bag with the invitations to the premier (he had some for Flo and Gwyn, Elaine and Morgan (and Cobalt) and Midori and Tory. The premier wasn't for another few months. The only thing that was done was the filming. Now it was all going to be edited and all that other stuff Darryl has nothing to do with.

He put the envelop containing Flo's and Gwyn's in his back pocket and the rest would ride with him in his car. He slid in and headed in the general direction of Flo's house. So he thought.

Ten minutes past Ten, and still no house. He sighed out his nose and turned around in someone's drive way and went back the way he had came. Lo and behold, he should randomly pass Gwynie on the side of the road (he had only met her briefly when she came to work with Flo once, but she left quite the impression on Darryl). He got directions from her and sped there as fast as he could while being in sight of a child.

He knocked on the door hastily, already an apology on his lips. He was always late. Never failed.

[Florence Bryant]

Flo was bouncing on her heels a little as the time ticked by. There was pancake mix still to make and it was only 5 to ten. Crapcrapcrap. Flailing around, she grabbed the flour and began to make up the mix, whisking her hand as hard as she could to get the little air bubbles in the batter. C'mooon. She thought desperately, as the clock seemed to speed up. Thankfully, the mix was done at two minutes past, and Flo paused, leaning breathlessly against the counter.

Wait. Two minutes past?

Darryl was late!

Humphing to herself, Flo rolled her eyes. Why did she attract tardy men? Mason and Darryl were both hopeless time keepers and she was half tempted not to answer the door when he knocked, just to teach him a lesson.

But then she thought maybe Darryl was still a bit jetlagged, and didn't want to seem like a class bitch, so when the knocks came a few minutes later, she pounced on the door and swung it open, pretending to look annoyed.

"And what time do you call this, Mr. Bond?" She said, tutting and tapping her foot. "I thought you weren't coming." Nothing like doing a bit of dramatics in front of the actor, after all. She put her hand to her head, then pretended to sob. ... This farce was quickly broken by a large grin, and she tugged Darryl inside, before giving him a quick squeeze.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" She asked fondly, nudging the door closed with her hip and gesturing him through into the kitchen diner. "I kind of went a bit wild with making breakfast food. I thought you might be hungry after all the flying." A small shrug, then another trademark Flo-Grin. "So what? Are you here to propose to me and profess your undying love?" She laughed brightly. Nothing like teasing a man first thing in the morning.

[Darryl Bond]

Darryl probably should have confessed before being late that he hadn't remembered the directions to her house that she had given him last night. It would have been smart, but his male pride, you see. Not to mention the fact his brain hadn't yet realized his acting job was over for now and he was returning to life as a teacher and all of that. He drew in a deep breath while he waited for her to open the door, still not 100% woken up and couldn't help but smile when Flo opened the door.

Still beautif---legsohmygodlegs. He couldn't stare. That'd be very rude of him. He smiled up at her. "Flo," she was teasing him. She had to be. "I'm sorry I'm late. I...I had to fight a dragon and...and..." He cleared his throat as it cracked. Using your power to help you act for several months on end had some side effects. Darryl rubbed his sore throat slightly. "I apologize for my tardiness," he did mean it sincerely and he wished he had a bouquet of flowers to give her--yet he had not woken up with enough time to get one for her. Next time. Oh yes.

"As lovely a dear as you are, I am not here to confess anything." Sorry Flo. Darryl hasn't had his coffee so he isn't well equiped to tease her back. He did however reach into his back pocket and wave the white envelope at her a little before stowing it back into his pocket. "After breakfast. I was quite hoping to reveal the present to both you and Gwynie at the same time, but enough about that." So maybe he was teasing a little bit.

He followed Flo into the kitchen, being pulled not only by her but by his stomach. He hadn't eaten since yesterday before his flight. He could have kissed her for all the things she prepared--however he didn't want to be forward. They had some catching up to do. He'd been away for a long time, he was sure there were things he missed. "How have you been? Find anyone who doesn't bruise easily?" He was just joking, of course. Darryl was perfectly okay with letting her shoot paint balls at him if she kept dressing like she had been.

[Florence Bryant]

The look on Darryl's face amused Flo no end as she opened the door. Man he reaaaally was a leg man. "Dragons? You mean Willow and Yulia were marching the streets with Honor?" She teased, laughing softly. "Apology accepted. This time." She waggled her finger, then moved to pour out the coffee, humming to herself as the cups filled. Once the coffee was done, she moved to set the plates down on the table and set the bacon and eggs on with a nice piece of toast.

"Aww. Pity." She laughed, pulling out her seat and nudging Darryl to sit opposite her. "Gwyn's gone out with Dug for the morning. Her and her friend are off to a puppy socialising class." She nodded, resting her chin on her palm. She did try and grab the envelope with a devious grin, but sighed when Darryl was far too fast and whisked it away.

When Darryl asked whether she'd found anyone else, she shrugged her shoulders and poured cream into her coffee. "Things have been okay. They've settled down now but boy..." She trailed off, frowning a little. "MSAD kidnapped Niko and James. Chase killed their ring leader and he's just constantly punishing himself. A... few of the rescue party got badly injured." Flo wasn't sure how to broach the subject of Morgan, so she scratched her chin. "Anya got shot in the leg and... Willow got some bad injuries too."

She took a deep breath, then decided to let Darryl find out for himself about Morgan. There was no need to sour breakfast over it. "But me and Gwynie are fine, I've been a little more protective but that's all." She did grin a bit at the bruise easily comment, and waggled her eyebrows. "Actually, sort of. Mason decided to see if we'd do well as a couple rather than just friends. He took us out to a theme park over the summer break. It's... a little weird." She shook, her head and laughed, running her fingers through her hair. "I can't get over the whole... it being Mason thing." Another grin, then Flo took a bite of bacon.

"What about you? Meet any gorgeous actresses and have your way with them?"

[Darryl Bond]

Flo will just have to stop exploiting his weaknesses. It wasn't so bad that she knew his weakness, or had those drool-worthy legs. It was that she actually used it against him, like right now. For the past several months, he had been completely professional with all of his coworkers, even the hot females--because whenever he really saw them, they were working in full costume. Sure there was sexual tension, but Darryl had learned his lesson about skirt chasing.

With the apology accepted, Darryl smiled and followed her, not looking at her legs. Seated opposite her, Darryl made sure the envelope was tucked safely beneath him, so she couldn't get it even if she went to grab it. He smirked at her when she mentioned where Gwynie was. His pride didn't let him admit that he had seen her and asked directions, however. "Well maybe once she returns..." He smiled.

Darryl was shocked about what he was hearing. He remembered the attack on James, but at the time it was from an unknown source. He was guessing that it was that MSAD that was behind it. He frowned slightly as she mentioned that cute kid getting kidnapped (as well as James) and all the other injuries. "That's horrible! But it's all done with right? Since the ring leader is...gone?" Darryl asked as he fixed up his own coffee. The first drink was heaven. He let out a little happy sigh over it.

Darryl was glad to hear that she had been fine through the entire thing, as well as Gwynie. She was an adorable kid, spunky too. He could understand why Flo would be more protective around her thanks to those events. Which, for some reason, reminded him about Morgan and Elaine. He'd still yet to contact them. He was such a horrible brother/son. Now that he had food in front of him though. Darryl started to eat and try to still be alluring--i.e. not just woof down all the food by way of inhaling.

"M-mason? Rapunzel?" Darryl arched an eyebrow and chuckled a little. Honestly, he wasn't worried about the competition. He didn't think Mason could handle Flo--not that Darryl himself thought he could, but he figured he at least had a better chance at it--so why be worried? He didn't want to make himself look like an ass by saying anything like that (because he didn't want the hot pot of coffee poured on him) so he just grinned knowingly, "well then I'll just have to beat the theme park." He was quite sure he already had THAT covered.

"I will have you know my skirt chasing days are over. I've certainly learned my lesson about random...hooking up." Breakfast vocabulary, he reminded himself, he needed to use breakfast vocabulary. 'Sex' wasn't appropriate. "I've spent the entire time away perfecting my character and acting." He smiled and rubbed his throat a little, "though I probably overdid it with my mimicry."

[Florence Bryant]

If anything, Darryl's current predicament would have amused Flo even more, so it was a good thing he hadn't pined too loudly about his woeful lack of sex. As it was, she didn't have any knowledge, so flaunting her legs was nothing more than a hilarious way of getting Darryl to behave himself.

"Well I guess you'll have to stay for longer than breakfast then." Flo teased, flashing a smile at the man, before stirring her coffee and taking a big gulp. Darryl and Flo apparently both needed coffee to function. "They'll be back about 12, so we've got plenty of time to eat, then you can tell me all the stuff that happened while you were away." She grinned, forking her bacon and taking a slow munch.

At Darryl's shock, Flo leant over the table and gave her date a gentle squeeze on the hand. "Hey, it's okay." She said soothingly, smile fading a little. "It's all sorted now, these jerks can't hurt anyone ever again." She paused to lick her fork seductively, trying to lighten the mood once more. Tossing her hair back, she offered a shrug. "We're all okay, mostly. We're alive at least. There's a new headteacher too, Claude resigned."

Office news must have been pretty boring in comparison with all the exciting happenings on the movie set, but it was good to get Darryl caught up. "Lots of students have graduated, I had a recruiters party a month ago..." She listed it off, before taking another bite of bacon and toast. "I'm just waiting to see if Gwynie gains a power or if she's non-meta. It'd be nice to have another meta in the family but I'm happy either way." A small shrug, and she grinned.

"Yes, Mason." Darryl was going to throw names around already, was he? "He called you David a few weeks ago." Flo rolled her eyes and laughed, cupping her mug of coffee and taking a big deep sip. "Oh? Beating a theme park, big words, Mr. Bond." She waggled her eyebrows and gave the man a playful kick under the table. "Actually, I was thinking maybe you could take me out for dinner." Subtle, Florence. "There's a new restaurant opened, does gourmet french stuff..." She trailed off, then finished her fork of eggs.

She rolled her eyes at the fact Darryl was trying to be polite and convince her skirt chasing was over. "Oh, so what do you call this? Leg Pursuit?" She did frown at the throat problem, though. "I have some soothers upstairs if you want one after breakfast? Sounds like you need some TLC~" She finished with a laugh.

[Darryl Bond]

Wearing the clothes she was, it would probably take a little more work to get him to leave. Even if it was all accidental in her dressing to tease him, it was still....those legs. Flo needs a permit to have those--especially if she was going to put them on display like that. Darryl drank his coffee in long drafts to keep his mind PG. He didn't need six months of repressed sexual tension to come out over breakfast. Seriously, it'd be a mood killer. And Flo probably would never let him live it down.

"There really isn't that much to tell. I mean apart from the heat watch it was a pretty easy shoot. I got distracted here and there," by distracted he meant he accidentally stared off into space too much, "and a good deal of my scenes were improvised because the directors saw how attached I became to the character." That was an understatement. Darryl lived that roll. The irresponsible manchild who did whatever he want, no matter what anyone else thought, who drank too much. Verbatim.

Throw in an illegitimate child and you'd have an autobiography.

"While he was glad he had dodged this seemingly dangerous bullet, his concern was then turned towards those he cared very much about, Tory (and by extension Mii and Eli), Morgan (and his boyfriend) and Elaine. He had a mind to ask about them to Flo, but her continued talking stopped him. He was surprised to hear that Claude retired--the old bat, it was about time. He supposed the next one to retire was Sean, but he wasn't really looking forward to that. Despite feeling some repressed aggression from the man, Darryl liked him. "Hopefully this year won't be so action packed and filled with drama." One could only hope, right?

Darryl nibbled away at his breakfast, like a proper gentlemen and not inhaling it all like he wanted to. It tasted so good. He let out a small sigh and looked up, "David?" He snorted derisively. If this Mason was as cocky as he was beginning to believe, well, then Darryl maybe had some stiff competition. But a theme park? Psh. That had nothing on a few days in Hollywood. Darryl was very confident in this, which was the only reason why he didn't make an ass out of himself at the moment by saying something smart back about whoever 'Mason' is.

He frowned at the kick under the table and rubbed the spot on his leg, but immediately brightened at the words that followed. He smiled like he had a plan and then reached out for her hand and wrapped one of his around it. "Flo I hear there is a new restaurant in town, I would like it very much if you would join me." He spoke like he used to, all deep and romantic. It had been a long while since he had asked someone out on a date like that before. He smiled, pleased with himself.

"This is....an innocent breakfast." His hesitation spoke more than he did, "I just over worked my throat. I should be fine after a few days of rest and time around a humidifier." Though some soothers administered to him by one Flo Bryant sounded splendid.

[Florence Bryant]

"Wow, so you're going to be all up in Hollywood sometime?" Flo said interestedly, admiring the fact that Darryl had done something so ... big. When she was younger she'd wished to be an actress, but then law had caught her eye and the rest was history. Nursing her coffee, she leant over her plate, genuinely fascinated. "What were the stars like? Anything like they are in interviews or a bit less friendly?" She asked.

Flo couldn't imagine a Hammel without Sean. He'd been there when she was younger and the idea of losing him as well as Claude was just as bad as saying farewell to James. Ah yes, James. "I hope so. I want to try and appeal to get James and Chase on holiday, they've had a lot of stress this year and I'm sure Mii, myself or the other recruiters could hold the fort if he went away." She let out a thoughtful hmm, then polished off the rest of her breakfast and settled back.

"I'll start on the pancakes, Mr Bond." She said playfully, pushing her chair out and purposely posing so Darryl could get a face full of legs again. She really did find his fascination with them hilarious. Settling back at the stove, she began pouring the mix out into the pan and tossing her head to keep her hair out of the way.

"Yes, David. He's not great with names." Flo laughed softly, swirling the mix around in the pan, then flipping it. "When we first met he kept calling me Lawrence." She chuckled, shaking her head. Sure, her pancakes weren't as good as her mother's fantastic blueberry and apple ones, but only a true Bryant deserved a pancake as godly as that. And... Darryl wasn't a Bryant yet.

She did blink in surprise when her hand was taken and blushed ever so slightly. "I would love to join you, Darryl. I'll even dress up." She grinned, giving the man a hug and then turning back to the pancakes. "Or maybe I'll buy something new." She mused, setting the pancakes on a plate as each one was finished. Gwyn and her hadn't gone off shopping for something glamourous for ages. Not since Dug had arrived, anyway.

"Nothing is innocent when you're involved." Flo retorted, pausing in her pancake making to walk over and fold her arms. "You've got a brain like a sewer." A grin tweaked her lips. "Want me to kiss it better?" She gestured at Darryl's throat, grin widening. "Always used to work on Gwyn~" She added with a lilt, setting the first stack of pancakes in the center of the table.

[Darryl Bond]

Yeah, it was a big thing, but to Darryl it was just....what he did. He was by no means A-list (yet) but he was fairly certain that this pirate movie would get his face more...well known, and possibly open up more options, movie wise. He truly loved doing it. Which of course would result in a tug-of-war with his life at Hammel, and his role as Tory's father. He couldn't exactly keep disappearing for months at a time during his son's life, and he didn't think for a second that Midori would allow Darryl to take Tory on one of the shoots of the hypothetical movie. He smiled, however, at Flo. "It may or may not happen," he chose the neutral reply simply because his inflated ego might get him into trouble. "My co-workers were all very fun. There really wasn't any set drama to put up with. One Diva did pitch a fit to the director every now and then, but that's normal."

With his breakfast now consumed, the manchild pushed his plate away from him a little. He brightened at the idea of pancakes and was about to offer to help with them, but his words died in his throat. "Yu...yeah. James went through a lot, they deserve some time off." He reverted, so he didn't voice the things his mind was shouting at him about her legs, that she showed to him on purpose. He drained the rest of his coffee.

"Lawrence?...." Darryl shook his head with a disbelieving smile. "What a winner, he is." Darryl chuckled a little. He stood from the table and moved to invite her on the date to the new restaurant. He smiled when he took her hand and was elated when she agreed to join him. Even if she had basically told him to take her to this place, he still hadn't been sure she would have agreed to go with him. That just seemed like something Flo would do. He kissed the top of her hand sweetly and returned the hug she gave him. "Splendid! How about next Friday night?" He tilted his head in thought as he planned it out. He did have a lot to do in the next few weeks.

"Now that's offensive!" He protested to saying nothing innocent involved him--even though he knew it was true. He grinned and rolled his eyes a little. "I do not live in the sewer. My house is quite nice. I would be more than happy to prove it to you." He waggled his eyebrows at her for extra effect. Now when she offered to kiss his throat better, his first instinct was to nod his head enthusiastically and then come up with several other areas that needed the healing touch.

But of course he didn't do THAT. "Eh..er..." he looked at the pancakes, the steam rising from them. Delicious. He smiled back at her, his hand absently rubbing his throat. "I could do with some healing."

Darryl where is that swagger of yours?!

[Florence Bryant]

"I can't believe you're making it out to be an ordinary every day office job." Flo scoffed as she flipped another pancake. "I'm kind of shocked that a movie set sounds less drama filled than Hammel has been recently." She added thoughtfully, finishing up the pancakes and putting syrup, lemon juice, sugar and fruit in the center for Darryl to help himself to. She then drew her seat and sat back down, helping herself to two of the pancakes and a little fruit and sugar.

Perhaps it was cruel of her to keep taunting Darryl, but his reaction was so funny, especially the spluttering. She took a bite of the pancakes and lent back. "Somewhere nice, like Hawaii." She said, mainly to herself. "I haven't had a holiday for years." She laughed, offering a small shrug. All the travelling her job entailed meant she enjoyed being at home more. "Maybe I should hide in Chase's suitcase."

"Friday night? I think I can make that. No far out recruitment - I'm in New York for the day picking up a little girl with the ability to create different smells out of nothing." She dabbed her lips with the napkin and looked thoughtful. "I'll be back around 4, then I'll go to Yoga, go home and get ready." It was amazing she could fit all of that in a day. "Dress code, Darryl? Have I got to wear see through lace and pasties?" She teased, pouring out glasses of orange juice.

"Oh I am so sorry Darryl." Flo said, putting a hand to her chest in false apology. "But perhaps I will visit your house. One day. Wearing a chastity belt and carrying a can of mace." Her face broke into a massive grin, and she gently swatted the man on the shoulder. She fluffed her hair then, and helped herself to a large bite of pancake.

At Darryl's admittance that okay, he really did need a bit of healing, Flo snapped her fingers and got up again, running upstairs. Don't get too excited, Darryl. After a few minutes, she returned with a throat soother and offered it over to him. "There you go, take that after breakfast and I'll bet anything you'll be back to normal by the end of the day."

While her guest was distracted with the lozenge, she did plant a very soft, chaste kiss on his throat, then sat back down. "There. It now has a mother's magic touch on it." She smirked.

[Darryl Bond]

Okay so Darryl probably did play down how great it was, but he in some aspects of the past few months, they weren't glamorous; not returning every evening to see his family, literally not having enough time to contact them, working on the weekends, working from early in the morning to late in the evening in the heat while wearing a thick wig and a very hot costume. It wasn't all great, but the pay off...you couldn't find something Darryl would enjoy doing more for a living. It was just impossible. Unless they invented some sort of Model Leg Inspector. "Actors and Actresses, if they don't get along, can sometimes turn the set into a very dramatic place but that just depends on the individuals. I really hadn't ever had problems, with anyone or been on sets that were like that." Of course there had been people that Darryl annoyed to high heaven, but Darryl had long since deleted them from his memory.

Darryl prepared his pancakes with syrup and some fruit before he dove into eating them.....Yum! "Sspanckes iss declissious." Smooth Darryl; talk with your mouth full, that will impress her. He smiled secretly too himself, however, when she mentioned she hadn't been on a vacation in forever. That told him two things; that his surprise trip to L.A. would be received positively, and that she didn't count the thing that Mason took her on as a vacation. Yes. Darryl was very, very pleased.

It sounded like she would be very, very busy on Friday. Darryl almost told her that she didn't have to, but she was the one that had wanted him to ask her on the date. Ah, female logic.... Darryl didn't understand it at all sometimes. When she asked about her clothing choice, all Darryl could think about was her in lace...and pasties. He almost dropped his fork. That repressed tension was nearly unleashed. She was doing this to him on purpose! Darryl would keep his cool though. He had to! For all of mankind! (it just wasn't fair the way a woman could taunt a man with her body!)

"My darling you may wear anything you like, you will be beautiful in my eyes no matter what." He smiled kindly at her. Of course he was being honest, but he also trying to show her that she so was not winning. Oh no. Darryl would be the victor in this strange and torturous game they were playing.

"A can of mace? It's like you don't trust me." He tutted with a small shake of his head. "Florence what have I ever done to you?" His eyebrow waggled, "so that I may fix it." He grinned when she swatted him on the shoulder and he sipped at his orange juice. Darryl was a little surprised at her sudden exit. He listened to her thunder up the stairs and that got his heart spluttering. What was she doing? The seconds ticked by, and he was straining his ears to their limits to get an idea of what she was doing.

Eventually, she returned and Darryl was both relieved and a little disappointed that she returned with a lozenge. He took it from her gratefully and with a wink he popped it into his mouth. He was pleasantly surprised by the kiss placed on his throat and before he could even plant a thankful one on her cheek, she was seated at the other side of the table.

"Thanks."

She was gonna kill him.

[Florence Bryant]

If Darryl had spoken about the negatives, Flo probably would have understood. But as it was, she had no idea how hot it was out there, or how thick the actor's wig had been. Instead she nodded around a forkful of pancake and let out a little hum. "I guess that's like any job though, there aren't any recruiters I dislike, we're kind of a big family." She smiled then, and set her fork down. As long as he'd enjoyed the time there, Flo almost wished she'd gone somewhere hot and sunny for summer. As it was, she hadn't even popped over to NY to visit her parents.

"Charming, Darryl." She snorted, licking the prongs of her fork. "But I'm glad you like the pancakes. My mum makes fantastic blueberry oatmeal ones." She laughed then, and buried her free hand in her hair. Of course her date with Mason wasn't a vacation! It had lasted a day, it was an outing, rather than a lovely 2 week cruise around the Caribbean, all expenses paid.

She noted the slight glaze on his eyes when she mentioned lace and pasties, and leant forward to snap her fingers in front of his eyes. "Earth to Darryl, are you reading me, over?" The single mother laughed, then managed a blush. "Did they give you manners lessons at your job?" She asked, twisting her fork in a ribbon of pancake. "Because it's working, I approve." She flashed her smile, then took a deep draught of orange juice.

Her eyes fell on her nearly empty plate while Darryl came to terms with the fact she'd just nursed him back to health. "I have a spare packet of those upstairs if you want, I'm happy to give it over." She laced her hands around the glass of her juice and then glanced over to the pancake pile, flopping a few more over and then adding the fruit and sugar once more.

"After breakfast, we can watch a film till Gwynie gets back?" She offered, leaning over and smiling. "It's been a while since I've had some snuggle time." She paused then and her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Or will I have to break that mace out?"