Coming Home (Eva)

[Evangeline Irvine]

“Apparently I coped by maiming my gym when I got home,” Eva replied with a small smirk. In all honesty, it probably wouldn’t have been so bad, but Eva’s history with a certain terrorist group had come up. It would seem as though some people in UGAP felt it was her fault she’d been involved with R4, taken as a baby or not. They didn’t seem to understand that it had been her home, claiming that she should have been able to see the corruption within and been able to leave before this--not to her face, but their thoughts had been pretty damn loud. It didn’t really matter now, though.

“You are about the last person I could have expected to hear that from,” Eva laughed when Sam mentioned pulling his head out of the gutter. Boys would be boys, though, she supposed--and considering that she’d pressed his hand to her chest not five minutes ago, she couldn’t exactly blame him. At the mention of R4 his hand found her cheek, and she turned into it, kissing his wrist. “I’m comfortable telling you whatever you’re comfortable hearing. If anything comes to mind, no matter how intrusive you think it may be, don’t hesitate to ask.”

His first question, however, pertained to something far simpler, and she rolled her eyes at him. “It’s Cheri,” she admitted at last. “My middle name is Cheri. And no, not like sherry wine--it’s spelt C-H-E-R-I. Not sure where the Irvines came up with that one. Maybe it was for a distant aunt or something.” After pushing herself up to sit on her knees, Eva arched a brow at Sam. “And you? What’s hiding between Samuel and O’Connor?”

Something else occurred to her then, and she lifted a hand to silence him for a moment. “Oh, right. You should probably know. While we’re on the topic of names, I ought to tell you about my alias. With R4, it was sometimes necessary for me to work under a cover name. So, if ever someone calls looking for a Leah Wilde, don’t hang up on them. They’ve got the right number, just a fake name.” She sighed quietly. “Anyway. Back to my question. What’s your middle name?”

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam chuckled, "evidently you have high expectations of me. Hopefully they weren't lessened too much by that comment." It wasn't just boys who had their minds in the gutter, after all, Eva had been the one who felt the need to clarify that she hadn't meant it in that way. If she hadn't brought it up, he wouldn't have noticed, or at least kept stum about it. He smiled and nodded when she told him that she would answer any questions he had about the time she had with R4, anything he thought he could deal with. He didn't have any questions in mind at the moment, but one might come up later.

He couldn't help but smirk at her reaction to his question. It was a relatively lame question, but easing in gently seemed like a good idea, especially after all that time apart. "Maybe they just thought it sounded nice?" he offered, thinking that it certainly sounded a lot better than some he'd heard. "C-H-E-R-I," he repeated, "got it. I won't be hiccoughing over your name any time soon." He groaned and hid behind his hands when she threw the question back at him, only to continue speaking anyway. "Leah Wilde?" he let out a small laugh, "all right, I'll try and keep that in mind. If I forget, I'll no doubt call them straight back, and babble out an apology until I'm forgiven." Not that they were the type to accept an incoming call from a bumbling chef who couldn't remember his girlfriend's alias. Girlfriend. Huh.

Gah. He thought he'd got away with not answering the question for a moment then, but if Eva had the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a fox, it made sense that she'd remember trivial questions like an autistic savant remembers equations. "Well," he said, "usually, my Dad's name, Keith, hides between Samuel and O'Connor. My Grandparents wanted some lasting memory of him. But they didn't stop there. Turned out they wanted a lasting memory of my Grandpa too, Ignatius." He cringed, "it's the only name I could think of that pre-dates Christ, or something. Thank God they stopped there, and didn't include my Mum or my Nan either; otherwise I'd be Samuel Keith Ignatius Ferranti Rachel O'Connor." He almost got tongue tied saying it, tripping over the words to the point where he had to round it off with some garbled nonsense. "I'd take Cheri if I were you," he shook his head, smiling slightly.

Now Sam needed another question. "What happened after that day we met? I mean did you just go back and carry on as normal? What did Louise actually do with you all day long?" Technically that was three questions, but they all led on from one another, and he was interested in knowing the answer to all of them. They'd never really touched on their childhood's much; it seemed like a good place to go next.

[Evangeline Irvine]

Sam’s reaction to having the question shot back at him was rather comical. Apparently, whatever his middle name was, he wasn’t exactly all that fond of it, if the way he groaned and hid his face was any indicator. That she’d pressed on to mention her alias relaxed him for a moment, but when she brought the question up again, she found herself both amused and bemused by the dismayed expression he wore. Curiosity was gnawing at her insides now. How bad could his middle name be, honestly? She couldn’t think of anything that would be as terrible as he was making it out to be.

“I don’t see what you were whining about, Keith isn’t so--” but he went on to tell her about his second middle name. She had to press her lips together in a hard line to stop from grinning, and an unbidden giggle erupted from her when he listed off what his name might have been, had his grandparents overstepped things. “So Keith and Ignatius, huh? Samuel Keith Ignatius O’Connor.” It was a bit of a mouthful, admittedly, but at the same time, it fit. A playful smirk crept onto her face then and she added, “Rather sexy, that.”

The question that Sam asked was met with relative silence, Eva’s brow creasing in thought. At the mention of Louise, her hand had instinctively fallen to her neck, feeling for the locket that was no longer there; had not been there for months now. She’d taken it off one day, and hadn’t found incentive to put it back on since. It was nothing more than a trinket now. “Well, I think I spent the next couple of days by the window, keeping an eye out for you, actually,” she said with a laugh, shrugging. He’d been her first actual friend, after all.

“But then I started falling behind in my, er, studies”--a clichéd tap to her temple--“and Louise ended up getting quite agitated with me. When she demanded to know what was distracting me, and found out it was a boy, of all things, she confined me to my room for the better part of a month.” Eva chuckled, shaking her blonde head. “Yes, ground a girl who hardly gets to go outside in any event. That’ll teach her.” Eva shifted off her knees, stretching her legs out in front of her and smoothing her sweater-dress over her thighs, before moving on to his next question.

“As for what Louise and I did most days, well… she was my teacher as well as my foster mother. And let me tell you, she was a fierce teacher. Gods. I remember one time she was testing my mind-block, and she broke it down so forcefully that I actually collapsed. I had the world’s worst migraine for about three days after that. Needless to say, once I’d recovered, I delved into studies on strengthening it. But, when we’d finished classes for the day, we’d usually just spend time together.” She shrugged a little. “Louise was the closest thing I’d had to family.”

Eva blinked a couple of times at hearing the sadness in her own voice, surprised. And then a little embarrassed. If she’d been able to hear it, then Sam doubtlessly had as well. She smiled at him apologetically. “But that was probably a far more extensive answer than you were looking for, and I owe you another question, anyway.” Pinching her tongue between her teeth in thought, she contemplated her options carefully. “All right, then. How did you find out you were a telekinetic? I mean, I’m assuming you were born with the ability, but when did you first start intentionally using it?”

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam had to wait for her to hear his second middle name before he could see her true reaction. Her lips practically disappeared, she was trying so hard not to laugh, but she couldn't quell her amusement completely, letting out a ferocious giggle. "See!" he declared, pointing at her reaction, "I don't know what they were thinking." Eva repeated it out loud, and somehow, managed to make it sound half decent. He snorted when she said that it sounded 'rather sexy'. "Oh yes, Miss Sexy Sniffles with your slippers, you would know," he poked her gently, "yes, I remembered."

It took a little while for Eva to get into the swing of her answer. He almost let some sort of 'aww' or apology slip when she said that she'd waited at the window for him. His Grandparents, far from being interested in his new friend, had actually turned round and taken him out and about into the nearby city the following days, leaving him no time to sneak back and see her. And then it had been time to go home. It had been a shame, but they were here now, and he had no intention of them ever being apart for that long ever again.

Sam sort of already knew the basics of how Eva was brought up, but hearing her say it with such emotion in her voice... He reached across and entwined her fingers with his, more for comfort than anything else. He'd been so traumatised that day with Theo and Louise that sometimes he forgot that Louise was the only mother Eva had; she'd been raised by her, and despite her methods, there had been a respect, and maybe love there.

"Well, when you ask a question, you usually look for an answer, however extensive," he said, a slight teasing tone to his voice. Truth be told, he loved listening to Eva speak. He'd let her waffle on for hours if she wanted to, instead of just listening to the sound of his own voice make silly comments and witty quips.

It didn't surprise him that a question about his telekinesis came up. "Well, according to my Grandparents, the first time I used my ability was when I was two years old. I was having a particularly difficult day, and I threw an almighty fit, red in the face and everything, and without even lifting a finger, my favourite teddy bear -- yes, you can laugh -- was pitched through the air and went for a swim with the fishes in the tank on the other side of the room. He's smelt of salt water ever since."

Smiling slightly, he continued, "I suppose I became aware not long after that, I used to move the furniture in the living room around at night, which always confused my Grandpa when he came downstairs in the morning. Once, he forgot his glasses, and ended up sitting on my Nan's favourite potted plant instead of his armchair." He snickered, "we both got an earful after that one." He'd always thought it was a little strange. From what Eva had said, she had to practice intensely in order to strengthen her powers, whereas his had come to him naturally. Maybe it was because he was technically half alien.

"I kept using them around the house, in more helpful ways. Never really outside. I liked to test myself every now and again. The owner of a ship in the port was particularly disturbed one day when it felt like his ship suddenly fell from the sky back into the water. And when he came on deck, all he could see was an eight year old boy innocently dangling his feet off the edge of the pier. He was never able to explain it," he chuckled, "it went in the local news and everything."

Now he had given her a long winded answer. "I think that response probably made up for your previous one." He had to think for a while on his next question, trying to think of what he wanted to know. "Okay, so, Louise raised you, then what? Theo took you under his wing?" Theo. He held back a shudder. The man had almost been the end of him; he could still remember what it felt like having the barrel of that gun pressed against his skull. But he wanted to know, he could deal with the answer, whatever it was.

[Evangeline Irvine]

Miss Sexy Sniffles. Eva couldn’t help but laugh when Sam brought that up. “You know, I’ve still got those slippers,” she said, smirking at him and inclining her head in the direction of the floor next to his side of the bed, “The last year hasn’t been so good for them, unfortunately--being whipped across the room and such.” Before he could do so much as give her a questioning look she clarified, “I’m not much of a morning person. My alarm clock’s on the far wall. My slippers are right there, and I’ve got fairly good aim, even sleep-disoriented. You do the math.”

She’d been right. Sam had heard the melancholy undertones in her voice when she’d been talking about Louise. And if he hadn’t, then he was just abnormally good at reading her body language or something. Whatever the reason, his hand in hers was warm and soothing, and she was glad for its presence. “Even so, your asking a question doesn’t give me the right to prattle on forever,” she shot back, smiling gently. He went on to answer her question, and she listened in silent rapture.

“Into feng shui, were you?” Eva giggled when he told her that he’d taken to moving the furniture about, “Well, I don’t doubt that your grandmother must have found your knack for moving furniture quite useful while vacuuming and such.” That much was true. She wouldn’t have to worry about missing spots, that was for sure. His next words recaptured Eva’s attention. “You levitated some poor man’s boat?” she snickered. “So you do have a dark-side, after all. Interesting.”

While Sam thought up another question, she turned her eyes to the window. It was still pouring rain outside, and she’d looked up just in time to see a fork of white lightning split the sky in the distance. She smiled. It was sort of funny to think that earlier that very evening the rain had been a reminder of how alone she’d felt. His voice shook her out of her reverie, and eyes snapped back to his face. Her smile faltered a bit at his question, but she managed to keep her expression in check.

“That’s… one way to put it,” she allowed warily, looking down at their interlocked fingers. It was going to be quite a while before either of them would be able to forget Theo’s attempt on Sam’s life. “I’d just turned fifteen, so, about a year after I met you. Out of the blue, with absolutely no warning--on my part, anyway--Theo turned up on our doorstep to take me away. Remember that portfolio on the Irvines I showed you once? That, along with her locket, were the last things Louise ever gave to. And then I was off, forced to undergo extreme physical training in an R4 facility somewhere.”

Eva broke off and ran a hand through her hair. “Well, okay, so forced is a little strong. I happened to rather enjoy the knife-throwing and hand-to-hand training. They send the blood pumping and the adrenaline raging. Guns are useful at times, but…” she shrugged listlessly to demonstrate her disinterest, “They lack the same excitement.” Then she frowned at herself for being so insensitive. After all, Sam’s only experience with guns had been staring up the barrel of one.

“Basically,” she summarized, “they trained me to be a weapon--quick, silent and efficient. They never quite managed to beat the whole obedient lesson into me, though. Loyal as I was at the time, I never liked following direct orders. Then again, maybe I’m just a stubborn person.” And now it was her turn to ask another question. “Okay, so this isn’t really all that related to what we’ve been talking about up until now, but could you tell me about your grandparents?”

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam laughed at her explanation as to why her slippers had been thrown like nun chucks each morning. His job forced him to be a morning person, but when it came to sleep, he took what he got and went on about his business. It was refreshing to sleep in every now and again. "Not much of a morning person, huh?" He was turning into a parrot, repeating half the stuff she said, "the smell of my bacon butties in the morning might be enough to tempt you out of bed, we'll have to see." He winked and grinned, sliding down into the pillow a little. He had to say, he was very comfortable right now.

”Inspiring to be Japanese at a young age, I was,” he snickered, ”and, apparently now that’s changed to Yoda. Guess I have better taste now. Why I didn’t just try honing my ninja skills when I was younger, I don’t know.” He had a wonderful habit of segueing away from the point. ”And yes, I was lured to the dark side by cookies and other sugary goodies. They knew my weakness.” He pretended to look dark and tortured, his eye line shifting into his lap, his head bowing.

Sam nodded, staying quiet and listening while she spoke. It was a strange life they had forced her to live, bringing her up like the UGAP were the enemy, training her to be a weapon. He’d thought this before, but it was becoming all the more apparent the more she told him. It was good that she’d held onto her humanity through it all, it showed a great strength in character. If she was merely a knife wielding, gun slinging, fighting machine, then she wouldn’t be the woman he loved today.

He couldn’t help but smirk when she suggested that she might be a stubborn person. She probably noticed, but he didn’t say anything about it. It was on to the next question. ”They’re brilliant,” he said, a grin creeping onto his face, ”if you haven’t been able to tell from what I’ve already said, my Nan was a fierce woman. She’s a housewife, pretty much always has been, but she knows what she wants and how to get it. She apparently used to be quite the flirt back in the day. That’s how she attracted my Grandpa. Not exactly got the same charms now, but she has her man, she’s quite content with that.”

”My Grandpa can come across as quite unassuming. He used to be the strong silent type, quite suave, judging by the pictures. But he has a wicked sense of humour when you get him talking. He wanted to be actor at one point, used to do stage work in London, he was pretty good. When he got past his peak, he moved to Belfast and took a desk job with the UGAP. He and my Nan had my Uncle, then my Dad a few years later. Apparently, my Dad was the adventurous one. That’s how he ended up on Ilosia, adventuring; fell head of heels for my Mum and her whimsical charms. And, well, you know the story from there.” He hadn’t meant to get onto his Dad too, but it had just sort of flowed.

”You have to meet them to really know them,” he said with a smile, ”if you’re ever ready for that.” He snorted. ”If I’m ever ready for that.” Bringing Eva back home to meet his Nan was actually a scarier thought than facing a gun again. But now it was his turn to ask a question again. Smirking slightly, he said, "when am I going to get to see you dance?"

[Evangeline Irvine]

First Sam’s mention of Yoda, and then his remark about being lured to the dark side, and Eva simply couldn’t help herself. “What, are you the Anakin to my Padme now?” she jested, her expression coloured with entertainment when he bowed his head for dramatic effect. “Well, the Jedis have milk for you to wash all that nasty dark side sugar down with, so don’t you worry your pretty little head.” No, she hadn’t missed his smirk when she brought up her stubborn nature. Choking back a snort, she childishly stuck her tongue out at him before slipping back into the conversation.

The grin that appeared on Sam’s features at the question about his grandparents pleased Eva, and when he proceeded to launch readily into an overall description of the two people who had raised him she rested her chin on her folded hands, listening avidly. From the way he described his grandmother, Eva felt she’d rather like the woman, and his grandfather sounded great as well. He had a point, however--she wasn’t sure she was ready to meet them. Never having had actual parental figures of her own during the dating years of her life, Eva wasn’t sure how guardians and their child’s romantic interest usually got along, but from what she’d heard, the initial meeting was a nerve-wracking experience all around.

His inquiry caught her unawares, and as a result she fell prey to an explosive fit of giggles. Keeling over onto her back, she settled her head on Sam’s lap and smirked up at him as she gave her answer. “When are you going to get to see me dance, huh? I believe you can answer that question for yourself, darling. You’ve got to do no more than say the word, and I’ll ‘don my dancing shoes’--so to speak.” She gave a playful twist of the hips to make her point, and then went on to kick one leg up to bop the top of his head lightly, beaming.

Humming a tune at random, Eva brainstormed up another question. It was surprisingly difficult to do. She knew a good fair portion about him already, but there was so much more to learn that she hardly knew where to begin. “Okay… so, don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic that you’re here,” she said finally, reaching up to caress his cheek with the back of her hand, “but what was it that made you decide to look for me? I mean, the last time I saw you…” she broke off and forced her thoughts not to stray back to that day, “well, you were there. We didn’t part on the best of terms, if you’ll remember. Can you understand why I’m a little… bewildered, here?”

[Sam O'Connor]

At Eva's witty retort, he broke down into a fit of giggles. "I always knew you were a Queen," he grinned. "Yes, yes, I'm sure the milk will cure all ills. Turn my insides white and good again." It was funny how they, or maybe more he, elevated himself to positions beyond his wildest imaginations. Although, his telekinesis could be considered to be like the force. Only, he'd never tried a Darth Vader, pulling his hand into a fist to strangle someone. The thought made him grimace.

Sam chuckled along with her as she laughed and let her head fall into his lap. Looking down at her, he couldn't help but grin. "Well then." he beamed, her leg contorting all the way up and round to touch him on the head -- how did she do that?! -- "I may certainly be requesting such a performance later. Or maybe tomorrow." When he wasn’t so tired from the journey and could enjoy it fully.

He felt, sometimes, like it was a shame he couldn't read her mind. She was doing a lot of quiet thinking, and she had no idea what she could be thinking about. The next question seemed to take her a while, and when it came out, he felt his breathing slow down almost to a halt. That was a very good question. He was really the only one who knew what had been going on his head this last year, to her it must have been confusing.

Sam wasn't quite sure how to answer at first, gently running a finger up and down her forearm. "The last time you saw me, I suppose I had perfectly valid reasons for wanting to leave the ship, get away. I went about it completely wrong, though. I was selfish, and stupid, and immature. I wasn't thinking about anyone else but me. I just wanted to stop all the tears and the pain, I forgot about the other things that were important to me, the one person who was the most important to me."

He sighed, "why it took me so long to figure out that not being on the ship was wrong as well, I don't know. That was probably me being stubborn. I didn't want to think that I'd made a mistake by leaving. But as the months slipped by, I could feel this gigantic hole in here," he touched his chest, "getting larger and larger. And every day, the nightmares faded, and I started dreaming about you, about what you could be doing. Eventually I decided I needed to apologise, and just see your face, even if it was one last time. I honestly expected you to slam that front door in my face after what I did. I wouldn't have blamed you, at least I would have seen you were okay. The fact that I'm lying here now is a credit to what an amazing person you are, and I promise I will never make you regret letting me walk through that door."

With a soft touch, he smoothed her hair away from her face, small drops of moisture welling up in his eyes, making them shine. "Memories of you make up most of my happiest moments," his voice was low now, almost a hum, "climbing through that fence on Beta Cygni was the beginning of the greatest adventure of my life, and it's not over yet." Hopefully, it wouldn't be for a very long time.

[Evangeline Irvine]

The remark about Eva being a Queen earned Sam a playful jab to the ribs and a small jocund eye-roll. “Actually, I was referring to the whole unconditional love bit, but I think I like your take on it better,” she snickered, grinning. "And if the milk doesn't cure you of your ailments, well, certainly a little rest, relaxation and pampering ought to do you good." Actually, it would probably do him good anyway. She hadn't really noticed before--maybe because she'd been too busy kissing him--but he looked beat.

At Sam's reply, Eva smiled up at him and gave him an upside-down thumbs-up. "Dance recital tomorrow. Got it. You'll have to excuse me if I'm a little rusty--haven't practiced in almost a year now." It wasn't like she hadn't tried, it would have been a good way to take her mind off of things, but she'd honestly not been able to find the time. The best she's managed was moving around the house, twirling and skipping down the hall where no-one would see her.

Sam's breathing slowed, rather noticeably, at her question, and for a moment she contemplated taking it back. But then, measured and careful, he phrased his answer. The emotion in his voice was striking, every word candid and leaving little room for interpretation. She blinked when he admitted to having dreams about her, despite everything, and went on to confess how much he cared about her, how much he needed her. How sorry he was.

"Oh, Sammy," Eva whispered, sitting up again in order to wrap her arms around him consolingly, "It's not your fault. It never was. You were scared and in pain, and I shut you out when I shouldn't have." Running her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck and ghosting her lips over his neck, she added, "And I'll never regret letting you into my life, Sam. I'll only regret the time you were absent from it."

Pulling back slightly, she smiled again and kissed his cheek affectionately. "But enough about that, yeah? It only matters that you're here now. And just so you know, if I have anything to say about it, you're not getting away again--certainly not without a fight." After a moment of stroking his cheek, she decided to curl up against his side as she'd done earlier. Finding his hand and knitting their fingers together, she asked, "Did you have any more questions?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam could still remember her words that day like it had happened only moments ago. He knew why she had done it though. They'd both been hurt, they'd both said things which they shouldn't have. They'd screwed up. But now wasn't a time for living in regret, they were together again, and they would make up for all the time they missed, he was sure of it. "Glad to hear it," he said with a smile, the tears fading from his eyes. He seemed to cry at the drop of a hat, but luckily, Eva seemed to find it endearing. "I know you'd win any fight, hands down."

Wrapping his arm around Eva's shoulders, his other hand interlinked with hers -- their rightful positions -- he gently laid a kiss against the side of her head as she asked him if he had any further questions. "Just one," he said, "are you as sleepy as I am?" It wasn't a real question, granted, but it was the truth. He was exhausted, and if he was honest, he could close his eyes and go to sleep right here, right now, Eva cuddled up against his side. Breathing quietly, he let his eyelids give in to the weights that had grown upon them, his eyes closing slowly. "Good night, love," he whispered, a smile lingering on his face as he drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

~~~~

Sam stirred quietly the next morning, not remembering where he was for a moment. Bright sunlight was streaming in between the slats in the blinds, and his eyes blinked open, adjusting to the brightness quickly. Somehow, over the course of the night, both he and Eva had shuffled down the bed, Sam with his arms wrapped around Eva's waist, her blonde hair tickling his neck and chest. Glancing at the clock, his eyebrows went up. Ten in the morning? He hadn't slept in that late in... forever. Eva's slipper had been displaced across the bedroom, presumably to silence the alarm. Whether she'd done it in her sleep, he couldn't tell, he'd been completely out for the count. He'd have to sleep in the same bed as her more often.

As gently as humanly possible, he eased away from her, making sure that he didn't wake her as he snuck out of the room. He made a pit stop by the bathroom to sort out the crazy bed head he was now sporting into something more manageable, then veered back out into the hallway (via his bag) and into the kitchen -- his domain, the place where he felt most comfortable. Turned out, Eva had a decent amount of stuff stored away in her cupboards and fridge, enough to make a good breakfast anyway. Soon enough, the smells of bacon, eggs and French toast were permeating through the entire house.

Leaving the bacon to simmer in the still warm pan, he ventured over to the tinted windows, admiring the view out over the ocean, twinkling in the sunlight. He would have to get out there later, venture down the beach, feel the sand between his toes for the first time in many months. It would also be the first time that he had been on a beach with Eva since the first day they'd met.

Sticking the food onto the plates, and under the grill to keep them warm, he crept back into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Eva. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he smiled, pulling her hand into his in order to kiss each of her knuckles, "breakfast awaits."

[Evangeline Irvine]

Yawning, Eva rolled over--a little difficult, with her legs twisted in the rumpled blankets as they were--and began groping blindly at the mattress space next to her in search of Sam. He wasn't there. For a brief moment she felt her heart drop, and her eyes snapped open to glance around for him, albeit blearily. Her fears were allayed almost instantly at the delicious smell wafting through the house, and when she actually paused to listen, she could hear the distant sizzle of cooking meat in the kitchen. Burrowing back into her pillows, a smile on her face, Eva allowed herself to drift off for a little while longer.

It felt like no more than a second later when she was woken up again, this time to find Sam sitting next to her, his lips pressed to her hand. Completely ignorant of the monstrosity that was her hair, she beamed as she propped herself up on her elbow. "You know, I think I could get used to waking up to this," she teased, her fingers slipping away from his kissing to touch his cheek, "I'd take you over an Australian sunrise any day." Glancing at the clock, her brow quirked up and she added in amusement, "Though I guess it's a little late for sunrise now, isn't it? Funny. Even I don't usually sleep this late."

The promise of food stirred her from bed, however, and she allowed Sam to steer her back out to the kitchen. She was honestly able to say that breakfast had never smelt so glorious. Twirling away from him, she busied herself by fixing up a pot of tea. After doctoring up a mug for herself--double-double, just the way she liked it--she stepped back so she'd be out of the way. She ended up watching Sam surreptitiously over the lip of her mug. The unreality of the situation crashed down on her once again, and Eva couldn't help but grin. That he'd come back for her, of all people, meant more to her than he'd ever know.

Setting her tea down on the counter, she traipsed over and wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder. "I love you," she said matter-of-factly. And with that, she turned back to grab her mug and carried it with her over to the kitchen table to take a seat. "So, master chef, do tell," she began, completely at ease, "how was it you managed to track me down?" She hadn't been hiding, this was true, but they hadn't been anywhere near one another, so it wasn't like he could have just picked up a phone-book and looked her up. They'd been on different continents, for crying out loud. So who had helped him? Helped them?

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam chuckled at her words, not noticing that her bed head could have rivaled his before he'd rectified it in the bathroom mirror. "What an honour," he grinned, "I'm sure the Australian sunrise is jealous of my awesomeness." Usually, he was awake at seven, sometimes earlier if he had to make a trip to the market down by the waterfront to pick up samples of fresh food. They were usually the best places to get lobster and other delicacies. He much preferred seeing the number 10:00am through Eva's tangled blonde hair, though.

Back in the kitchen, he slipped the plates out from under the grill and added the finishing touches to their breakfast, a couple of grilled tomatoes, just to make sure it wasn't completely unhealthy. Eva was lurking nearby with her tea, he could feel her eyes on him as he moved around, and smiled quietly to himself. Breakfast back in London had consisted of putting bread in the toaster and devouring a couple of cups of coffee to get him going, watching the news holo alone. Here, he could feel the warmth of the sun on his back, Eva's mere presence making him feel happy, right to his core.

"I love you too."

Sliding the plate onto the table onto the table in front of her, he had a simple answer to her question. "Hollie." He smiled, "as soon as I got in contact with the Venia, she practically lunged at the chance of finding you. She was tenacious and unrelenting, and found you faster than I could ever have hoped for. I owe her a million and one favours now," he chuckled, "or maybe a million and one cookies, either way, she's the one we have to thank." He didn't know if he would have found her otherwise, it certainly would have taken him a lot longer than it had taken the blonde computer specialist.

Setting his plate down as well, and the cutlery, he pursed his lips together. "Oh, I forgot something," he said, seemingly going back over to the counter to retrieve it. It wasn't immediately obvious what he could have missed, after all, he'd stuffed about as much food as possible onto each of their plates. He came back and crouched down next to her chair, his hands empty, then he reached up towards her ear. In a quick movement, he pulled his hand back down, a ring between his thumb and forefinger. It was beautiful in gold, and decorative, shaped like a butterfly. "Before you go getting any ideas," he said with a smile, "it's a promise ring. It's so that even if you're away with work, and we're not together, you'll know that I promise never to do anything like what I did again. That I'm here for you, no matter what. And I promise to love you, always."

He prepared himself to be tackled.

[Evangeline Irvine]

"Hollie," Eva repeated, her lips quirking. She really ought to have guessed. That girl was an absolute genius with computers, so tracking down someone's files and, in turn, their location, probably took the other blonde little to no time at all--assuming she already had at least a vague idea of where she was looking, anyway. Eva shook her head at Sam when he went on to mention how dearly he owed her.

"You think you owe her?" she murmured, looking down at the plate of food in front of her. " You actually came looking for me, Sammy. You would have found me eventually. But if it weren't for Hollie, who knows how long it might have taken? How long I might have had to keep on trying to delude myself into believing that I'd done the right thing by letting you go?"

The thought had crossed Eva's mind before, to try and find Sam, but she'd always reminded herself that she'd been the one to close the door. She'd made the decision to let him go, to force him to go, and she couldn't be selfish by asking him to come back to her. And yet, he'd come all this way, just to see her, let alone everything else. It was kind of funny how things worked out sometimes.

With everything set up now, she'd expected Sam to join her and dig in, but quite suddenly he retreated to the counter again. Bemused as to what he could have forgotten, Eva scanned the table for a moment before glancing up as he came to a stop in front of her. "What--?" was all she managed to get out before his hand came up behind her ear. When he brought it back down, he was holding what was undeniably the most beautiful, intricate ring Eva had ever seen.

When Sam went on to explain what the ring symbolized, she just about melted. She hadn't been in many relationships, but even if she had, she was pretty sure that this would have topped the list for the most romantic thing a boyfriend had ever done for her. It was then that she realized he'd tensed, apparently expecting her to attack him again. She smirked internally. Oh, no. She only tackled him when he wasn't expecting it.

Gently taking the ring from him, Eva slid it easily onto the ring-finger of her left hand, and then took a few minutes to simply examine it in its new home. It was truly beautiful, both the gold and the diamonds catching the light and sparkling benignly. After a moment she turned her attention back to Sam, and with a smile slid off her chair so as to kneel in front of him and spin her arms around his neck. The kiss she gave him was soft, gentle and loving--a lure.

"Thank you, Sam."

And then she tackled him.