Floating (Eva)

[Sam O'Connor]

Northern Ireland. Home of thick accented, Guinness drinking men and women, who loved good food and laughter. Or, skinny arsed, half alien, telekinetics with enough hair to cover the heads of two men, let alone one. Sam inhaled a deep breath of the moist air, looking up at the light grey clouds rolling overhead, tickling the tops of the surrounding mountains. It was truly beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful. He brought his attention back to the blonde standing beside him on the wooden, rickety pier. Ever since the day Eva had agreed to come here with him, Sam had been in the best mood of his life. Now they were actually here, he was practically bursting at the seams with excitement. Because Eva had wanted to see the mountains, he'd brought her here first, to the Mourne Mountains, South of Portaferry. The lake standing before them was to be a source of amusement, what with the rowing boat he'd rented floating at the end of it, but also they had a better view of the scenery from the centre of the lake.

His plan after this was to take her North to Portaferry, his home town, and pay a surprise visit to the restaurant where he used to work with his Uncle - it would be a surprise for his Uncle, but he was keeping it a surprise for Eva too. He'd learnt a lot from his Uncle about cooking, and it'd be great to have some delicious food which he hadn't cooked for once.

Taking Eva's hand in his, he grinned at her. "Come on, we're going sailing," he said, "well, floating, hopefully with some sort of direction, if I can get these biceps working on the oars," he chuckled, leading her over to the boat. "Ladies first," he gestured for her to climb in, crouching down and reaching over to hold the boat in place with his hand. He didn't want her floating off early.

[Evangeline Irvine]

Mountains. Real, honest-to-God mountains. They were absolutely breathtaking (and with the air being actually breathable here, that was saying something), the vast blue canvas behind them only adding to their beauty. They were larger than Eva had imagined, stretching farther than she could see, and it took her a moment to soak it all in.

Once she managed to pull her head down from the clouds, she looked over at Sam and beamed. "It's gorgeous here!" she exclaimed happily, her voice only just below a girlish squeal of excitement. She couldn't help it. "Growing up here must have been like a dream." He took her hand then, and she curled her fingers around his securely. It felt natural.

"Sailing?" she laughed, allowing him to pull her toward the end of the dock. Despite having spent the majority of her own childhood on a water planet, she'd never been on a boat before. "My first time seeing mountains, and my first time sailing, both on the same day. Who would've thought." Reaching the end of the pier, Sam bent down to hold the boat steady and invited her to climb in first.

"Aren't you the gentleman," she snickered, using his shoulder for balance as she stepped off the dock. The boat wobbled a little, but that didn't really bother her much and she managed to sit down before anything worse could happen. "Ah, the joys of long legs," she chuckled, tucking her own under her seat. "Waiting on you, good sir."

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam beamed at Eva's excitement, squeezing her hand; her happiness was feeding his, even when they weren't linked by touch. "Well, not here exactly, I don't look much like a caveman or feral child to you, now, do I?" he raised an eyebrow, "wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know." He poked his tongue out at her, realising the ripping he could be in for with that comment.

"Who would've thunk it," he repeated with a grin, allowing her the support of his shoulder as she clambered on in gracefully, without making the boat capsize. That was a good start. "Well, I try," he said with faux modesty, batting his eye lashes, before rising back onto his feet. He snorted, "you are talking to Mr Long Legs O'Connor here," he said, stretching a leg out just to prove his point.

"Ah yes, me, sort of vital to this trip," he nodded, using one of the wooden supports to balance himself as he hopped on into the boat. Sliding off his jacket, and rolling up his sleeves, (as he knew he'd get warm) he untied the rope holding it to the dock, and pushed them off before taking a hold of the oars, beginning the motion of rowing them round and out into the lake.

He took it fairly easily, giving Eva time to take everything in. He'd seen all this before, but it was still marvelous to behold, even at this time of year. It was a good thing it wasn't cold, otherwise his teeth would be chattering away inside his head. "Was the twenty-two year wait worth it then?" he asked between steady breaths, pulling the ends of the oars into his chest, the paddles pushing them effortlessly through the water.

[Evangeline Irvine]

"I wasn't referring to here here, Sammy," Eva giggled, though she bit her tongue when it came to poking fun at him for his previous comment. "I meant Earth in general. I've only been here once before, and I'm even more blown away by this visit than the last. You have water, sure, but you have mountains and deserts and so many other wonderful places. It's all just so mind-boggling."

She watched as he stretched out a leg and smirked in amusement at his remark. "You've got a point there--you legs are longer than mine." Reaching over to pat his knee, she then added with a mock pout, "You poor thing." He clambered into the boat then, and Eva watched as he removed his jacket with a slightly arched brow. It was chilly out here. But then again, she wouldn't be the one rowing.

Once they'd pushed out from the dock, she turned her attention back to their surroundings. Was there anything here that wasn't beautiful? The landscape, the towns (or what she'd seen of them, anyway), the people--all of it was meant to be adored, of that she was sure. She snorted a little when she realized that Sam was a prime example of an Irishman, proving her point to a T. After all, hardly a day went by that she didn't acknowledge how wonderful he was.

His voice shook her out of her stupor then, and Eva gave him a radiant grin. "I couldn't have imagined a more perfect scenario," she agreed, nodding eagerly. "This has to be the most gorgeous place I've been in years, and trust me, I've been a lot of places. And I must say, you're far more fun to be around that over half the people in R4." After a pause she continued. "Really, Sam. Thank you."

[Sam O'Connor]

Eva was the only one who could get away with calling him Sammy without some sort of retribution. It was probably partly because of that fact that she let him get away with calling her Evy; he quite enjoyed the sound of it as it rolled off his tongue. He nodded fervently, "I am quite partial to Earth myself," he said with a grin, "especially the grassy parts. It's less easy to get into trouble in those parts." Sand got everywhere and snow was made to be played with and in.

Sam snickered as she patted his knee, but didn't retort, figuring there wasn't really much to retort with, especially seeing as she'd already pouted. It would have been a battle of the bulging bottom lips. Instead, he concentrated on breathing (as opposed to turning blue from oxygen deprivation) and getting them smoothly to their destination. He was definitely glad he'd at least paid some visits to the gym in his time on board - the rowing machine was his favourite as it worked every part of his body, especially his arms and abdomen.

He watched Eva as she looked around in wonder. With the wind gently playing with her long blonde hair, and her general beauty, he could have sworn his heart started beating more heavily in his chest - or maybe it was just the rowing. He smiled an easy smile when she thanked him. "You're welcome," he said, genuinely, "glad to be of use, even if it's just for entertainment value." The smile spread into a grin, and he let out a short breathless laugh before bowing his head, and continuing rowing.

Eventually, they reached around the centre of the lake, and Sam let the boat drift to a halt in the water. As if on cue, the sun broke through the clouds, letting it's rays fall down to make the water beside them shimmer. "Oh Northern Ireland, you are too perfect," he chuckled with a shake of the head. If he had the choice, he would always come back here - no matter how far or wide he travelled with the Venia, this would always be his home. He shook his arms, his muscles tensing as he set his arms down against his knees, "it's spectacular," he said, looking out across the lake before looking back to Eva purposely, "the view."

[Evangeline Irvine]

"'Just for entertainment value'?" Eva repeated, her tone almost genuinely shocked. "Sam, dearest, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here--I'd still be with R4. So please, trust me when I say that having you here is nothing short of a blessing." She fell silent then, letting Sam row in peace--and watching as he did so. She'd never really bothered taking note of how fit he was before; after all, he was just Sam, a friend good for a laugh or a meal, or even just someone to vent to.

So then why was she noticing it now? Sure. He was in good shape. And? So was she. So were most people in UGAP or R4. It was just the way it was. She shook the disconcerting thoughts away and looked out across the water again, admiring the way it reflected the clouds above. She loved the way bodies of water did that, especially on calm days, when you could barely differentiate between the water and the sky even though one was at your feet and the other was above your head.

They reached approximately the middle of the lake then, coming to as close to a stop as one could in a boat with no anchor. When the clouds parted, bathing them in glorious sunlight, Eva suddenly understood why Sam had taken off his jacket earlier--yes, he'd been rowing, but he'd also been preparing for this. The sun pouring down on them felt nice, but when it glanced off the water back at them, it was almost too warm.

Pulling her sunglasses from her pocket, she put them on and then hastily shrugged out of her own jacket. The air was nippy against her arms at first, but she got used to it quickly and was able to enjoy the warmth washing down on her. At Sam's comment, she hummed in agreement. "Definitely too perfect." She was about to reply to his following words when she sensed his eyes on her.

It took her a second to cotton on, but when she did she had to lower her head so as to hide her blush by a wave of golden hair. Breathe, Eva, breathe, she commanded herself. There she went again, reacting oddly to something so simple about Sam. He'd called her beautiful before, for goodness sakes. She had no reason to respond this way. "Flatterer," she mumbled, her tone of voice coming across as derisive despite the fact that she was actually smiling.

Pulling her jacket from her lap, she set it down on the bottom of the boat and slid off her seat. Once she was settled comfortably in a cross-legged position--and she was fairly sure her cheeks had returned to their normal colour--she looked up at Sam brightly. "So, Sammy. You've got me out here, in the middle of a lake, surrounded by North Ireland mountains. What now?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam had always been one of those people who did things, good or nice things, without really thinking about it - he just did whatever felt natural. He didn't seem to realise what an effect he had on people lives sometimes, so he was almost surprised when Eva said that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be here right now, she'd still be with R4. All he really cared about was that she was here at all, not how she got here and the part he'd played. But he accepted what she said, all the same.

Sunglasses. They would have been a good idea. Oh well, his eyes should have been used to him forgetting them by now. Besides, he was a man, he could take it. He ran a hand through the mess that was his hair, and smiled when she agreed it was too perfect. This had been a great idea, bringing Eva here. He had to stifle a chuckle when she disappeared behind her hair, but it slipped out as she called him a flatterer. "Another thing to add to my long list of middle names," he joked. It was true though, he only spoke the truth.

"Well, Evy," he took a deep breath, and looked around in an inspired way before turning back to her, "I have no idea." Smiling, he glanced out across the water properly, trying to think of what they could actually do. They could just sit in the boat and relax. They would end up chatting about something, they always did. Or maybe he should think of something else. Looking at the water, he couldn't help but think back to when he first met Eva, and the beach on Beta Cygni. He knew how having water there had ended...

Not allowing a smirk to creep across his face, he shrugged his shoulders. "Hmmmm, what to do, what to do." He stretched innocently, groaning as he did so, then quickly his arms shot out to catch Eva unawares, tickling her ribs briefly before hoisting her up and over his shoulder, the boat rocking as he rose to his feet. "How chilly do you think it will be in there?" he snickered, not realising how unstable they both actually were until the last minute. The boat decided it had had enough, and tilted far over to the left, throwing both of them into the water before capsizing.

Sam's head emerged above the surface, spewing a stream of lake water from his mouth which he'd managed swallow as he'd gone over. "Well, that didn't exactly go to plan," he muttered as he shivered. He was probably going to feel Eva's wrath now.

((Man, that was such a stupid idea xDDDD))

[Evangeline Irvine]

Sam admitted unabashedly that he had no plan of action now that they were out at the middle of the lake, and Eva snorted quietly, amused. Oh well. They'd probably end up heading back after the clouds stole the sun again, anyway. She watched as Sam turned his eyes out to the horizon, and was almost tempted to listen in on what he was thinking--after all, she hadn't had the opportunity to use her ability much in the last little while. But Sam was her friend, and she respected his privacy.

Apparently, that was a mistake.

Next she knew, Sam had lunged forward and started tickling her, and she literally couldn't help but break into gales of laughter, squirming and trying feebly to fight him off. With her in this weakened state, it was easy for him to hoist up onto his shoulder. "Sit down, Sasquatch, you'll tip the b--" She'd jinxed it. And damn, the water was cold when you hit it head-on like that.

After spitting out a near fountain of lake water, Eva glanced over at Sam, prepared to take the mickey out of him--and found herself falling into a fit of hysterics instead. She actually had to grab onto the boat to avoid sinking, she was laughing so hard. "Y-y-you look like a dr-drowned cat!" she exclaimed between bursts of giggles. Because of the water, his hair-gel had become relatively useless, and his hair had been flattened to his head. After spending so long teasing him about the gel, this was almost funnier to witness.

Finally calming herself, she looked at the capsized boat she was gripping, and with a shrug and another chuckle she pushed herself up so that she was sitting on top of it. What a silly sight she must be. After all, she was soaking wet--in a white shirt, of all glorious things--wearing sunglasses and no shoes. Well, she might as well make the best of it. Swinging her leg through the water, she sent a small wave straight for Sam's face.

[Sam O'Connor]

A blonde head, which belonged to Eva, came into view, and instead of taunts or jeers (however joking) being thrown his way, she dissolved into a fit of giggles - this, of course, set Sam off, chuckling at first, but it eventually built into full blown laughter. They looked ridiculous, paddling in the middle of the lake, pretty much crying with laughter. "My bad," Sam managed to choke out, wiping his eyes with his wet hands, which did bugger all.

"I look like a drowned cat?!?" he exclaimed before dissolving into hysterics again. There really wasn't anything he could say, even if he wanted to. It had been his own stupid fault for thinking that he could get Eva over the side without going in himself. Obviously the boat wasn't keen on his antics either, voting to evict them rather than endure Sam's stupidity. Well, good for it. Now they were soaked.

Eva, somehow, quelled her giggles, and so did Sam, somewhat, gently moving his arms back and forth to stop him from sinking under the water. When she clambered out onto the boat, Sam's eyes went wide. So did his mouth, apparently, as he accidentally managed to get a mouthful of water. He spit it out, spluttering, but to no real avail, as Eva delivered a wave of water to his already wet face. He sunk the lower half of his face below the surface and drew his dark eyebrows into a frown.

Circling the boat, he began humming the theme tune to Jaws, steadily getting louder and louder until he vanished under the surface. There were a few moments of still silence, then Sam tipped the boat the right way up from underneath, rolling inside of it so that he was in the relatively dry boat, and Eva was now back in the water. "Mwahaha!" he cackled, amazed that the trick had actually worked. Managing to calm down, he offered Eva a hand over the edge of the boat, "care to come back on board, my lady?"

[Evangeline Irvine]

The wide-eyed expression on Sam's face was utterly hilarious, and after splashing him Eva bit her lip to avoid more laughter. Her stomach was already aching from before. "Am I going to need a bigger boat?" she quipped when she heard the Jaws theme growing louder as Sam swam closer. And then he disappeared under the surface. Eva glanced around warily, but all the caution on the world wouldn't have stopped her from being pitched back into the water.

She came up spluttering, but after a quick cough she was grinning again. "You fight dirty, Sammy." At least his manners were still in tact. After a brief victory celebration, he held a hand out for her, inviting her back into the boat. Tossing her sunglasses in before her, she took the offered hand and clambered onboard. "Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody," she quoted with a chortle after giving herself and Sam a quick once-over, then leaning over to wring her hair out.

Locating her jacket, Eva checked how bad-off it was. Aside from the back, it was relatively dry--more so than herself, anyway--and she tugged it on. She then looked at Sam, her expression bemused. "So that was plan A, and now that we've seen it through, might I suggest we move on to plan B? I vote that it involves heading back to shore." For a change of clothes, if nothing else.

Besides, the nippy breeze would make them both sick, and what a joy that would be--especially when Eva had only just gotten over her last cold.

[Sam O'Connor]

"That I do, darlin'," he snickered, taking the strain of her weight as she hoisted herself back into the boat. Why he hadn't just lifted her into the boat using his powers, he didn't really know. "Ah, wise words," he agreed, "stolen from someone else by the wonderful Eva Irvine." He cast a glance at his jacket, but figured he wouldn't need it right away, not if he was going to be rowing them back. "Seeing as it's my fault you're wet," he said, reaching across with his jacket to wrap it around her shoulders, giving her arms a quick rub, he smiled and sat back, grabbing the oars to row them back to shore.

Luckily, they'd managed to turn the boat road in capsizing then righting it, so Sam just rowed a straight line back to shore. "You'll be happy to know that my play B involves food." They hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and Sam knew he was going to be starving after all that rowing. "Just not my food," he said, smirking a little to himself. He didn't know how long he wanted to keep where they were going next a secret, he'd probably be able to manage until they were through the door to the restaurant.

Back at the shore, Sam merely looked at the rope and it looped itself back around the dock, making sure the boat was secure. It was a bit wobbly climbing out, but he managed it, once again offering Eva a hand. "Well, time to say good bye to the mountains," he sighed, looking around. He'd definitely have to come back here soon, and they definitely had some fun memories from today if nothing else.

The shuttle had a sizeable bathroom, so they were both able to manage a change of clothes from their bags. Ladies first, of course, then when Sam emerged, he looked somewhat decent, having quaffed his hair to the side without gel. The shuttle announced they were about to arrive in Portaferry, and Sam grinned. Home, at last. Taking Eva by the hand, he said, "don't worry, we're not going anywhere near my Grandparent's place." They would have mobbed her and teased him into the next century. "Somewhere better."

His Uncle's restaurant was quiet for a Sunday evening, but there was still a goodly amount of people in there to provide an ambience of voices. "It can't be, Masterchef Sammy O'Connor?" A somewhat young man embraced Sam in a bone-crusher of a hug, practically lifting him off the ground. "What are you doing here?!"

[/i] he asked, before doing a double take upon the sight of Eva, his jaw going slack. Sam patted his cousin's face, closing his mouth for him, "being squashed, apparently. Jimmy, this is Eva. Eva, this is Jimmy, my cousin. He works here as the manager."[/blockquote]

[Evangeline Irvine]

"Not your food, huh?" Eva echoed dubiously. Sam didn't seem the kind of person who would settle for a sub-par person, so wherever he intended to take her had to be good--and good usually meant expensive. But Sam knew better than to pay a lot for good food, when he was a very capable chef himself. It was a conundrum, to say the least. Where in the world could they be going? With a sigh, she supposed she'd just have to wait and see.

She started a little when he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders, but then smiled and murmured a thank-you before pulling the collar up. It smelled like him, naturally--well, more specifically, his hair gel. She grinned to herself at that. He was a quick rower, and it didn't take them long to get back to the dock. With mild awe clear in her expression, she watched as he tied the boat to the pier with his telekinesis.

Idly she wondered how he'd gotten to be so skilled with his ability. After all, he'd acquired it from his mother, and she hadn't been around while he'd been growing up. Eva herself had had Louise to mentor her, but he hadn't had anyone to teach him. On that note, she considered the idea of teaching him how to sense a telepath, and how to lock them out of his head if occasion called. But she could always worry about that some other time.

Together they headed back to the shuttle, both for the purpose of heading to Portaferry, and simply so that they could change into dry clothing. When the shuttle stopped, Sam took her hand and led the way to whatever their destination was. Eva heaved a silent sigh of relief when he told her they won't going to his grandparents. They sounded like good people, but she was afraid she wouldn't know how to act around them.

They'd only just stepped inside the restaurant when a man suddenly appeared and locked Sam in a vice-like hug. Eva hid a giggle behind her palm, disguising it as a cough. Clearly, "Masterchef Sammy O'Connor" had been here before. The man then turned to look at her, and his stupefied expression just made her want to laugh again; especially when Sam pushed his jaw shut for him.

"Nice to meet you, Jimmy," Eva said brightly, shaking Sam's cousin's hand. When Sam explained that Jimmy was the manager here, she grinned. Well, that certainly explained a lot. "Working with and/or around food seems to be a trend in your family, doesn't it?" she noted with a laugh. "So are you going to show me around and introduce me to everyone, or will we do that after supper?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Jimmy had always been a great cousin; he was about five years older than Sam physically, five years younger mentally, and five inches shorter, but hilarious fun to be around, and good at his job. "Yeah, uh, nice to meet you too."

[/i] Jimmy looked sufficiently bashful, while also shooting Sam a look that said 'how did you score her? Upon seeing this look, Sam hastily turned his attention back to Eva. "Yeah, just a bit," he chuckled, "you'll see your point proven again in a sec."

"Save us a table," he said to Jimmy, before steering her gently towards the back of the restaurant. "I swear if his mouth had been open any wider, it would have been a viable landing pad for shuttles," he said with a chuckle. He couldn't blame Jimmy though, it was hard for any man not to walk around like that all the time with Eva around. Reaching out with a hand to push open the door to the kitchen, he said, "and here is where I used to work."

The kitchen was obviously more hectic than the actual restaurant, several people all swanning around doing their various jobs - no robots to be seen. His Uncle wasn't a big believer is having automated help, he believed that having living breathing humans do the work was more authentic. And there was the man himself; standing at about five foot ten, stockily built, he now had more grey hair then black, it had been the other way round the last time Sam had seen him.

Scooting the plate he was working on out from under his nose and onto the serving shelf, there was a build up to an ear bashing, but when his Uncle saw who it was, it was time for another bone crushing hug. "It's good to see you too," Sam managed - boy had he missed these glompings. "You're damn right it's good to see you, Samuel," his Uncle's voice was deep and booming, but now somewhat cracked with age. "And who is the lovely lady?"[/i][/blockquote]

[Evangeline Irvine]

Eva snickered at Sam's quiet remark about Jimmy, shaking her head. She hadn't missed the way his cousin had tossed him a disbelieving look, and she wasn't entirely sure whether she ought to feel insulted or flattered. Instead of trying to puzzle it out, she simply settled on amusement. She'd never had any cousins of her own to tease and joke around with--maybe that was why she got on with Sam so well--so she had no place in judging.

They entered the bustling kitchen then, and at Sam's announcement she understood where they were. This had to be his uncle's restaurant, then. Looking around, Eva took in the whole experience excitedly. The sound of knives on chopping blocks and sizzling meat and vegetables filling the air, as well as the delicious aroma of all the dishes they were preparing.

She was about to turn to Sam when she realized that, just as before, he'd been swept up in another hug. This time the embrace was bestowed upon him by an older, burlier man. After setting Sam back down he turned to her, and Eva offered him a smile. "My name's Eva, sir. And you must be Sam's uncle. He's mentioned you before--don't worry, it was all good things. It's a pleasure to actually meet you."

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam's Uncle pushed him towards the counter and merely pointed towards a dish as he turned his attention back to Eva. "He'd better had, otherwise it's more than an ear clipping for him." Sam chuckled, as he seized a tube of warm chocolate sauce and applied the finishing flourish to the side of the dish with the panacotta in it (as ordered), "if you can reach." Ahh, now he'd asked for it. His ear was duly seized and tugged hard, causing him to squirt chocolate sauce all over the floor.

"AhhHHhhhHHhhh-ah!" Sam moaned, bending over and managing to extract his ear from his Uncle's grasp, "this is why I now work alone." The hand came dangerously near his head again, "you're still within reach you know,"

[/i] his Uncle chuckled, clapping him on the back. Sam put the sauce down and grinned at Eva, "I think it's probably a wise idea to escape now, if you still want me all in one piece that is."[/blockquote]