The beach, around 3:00 a.m.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

After getting back from the Teal Deer, Isabel had left Jack waiting outside the dorms while she ran up to her room and gathered up a bunch of blankets. Heading back down, Isabel led the way to the beach.

Comments

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Nice, Isabel. Very nice," he murmured, pulling the blanket more snugly around them as he watched the sky closely. "There!" He pointed, finger tracing a path across the sky.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I told you you'd like it," Isabel smiled, watching the meteor flash across the stars. "So you're going out there soon."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack kept staring up into the sky, but he was no longer seeing the stars above them. "Yeah," he finally answered, voice quiet. "Three weeks left."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You're not coming back are you?" she asked, still staring at the sky.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I don't think so, Isabel." His voice was softer still, and he closed his eyes, remembering Christmas, remembering the tests, remembering what they wanted from him.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel didn't trust herself to talk so she reached for his hand and squeezed tightly.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

He opened his eyes, trying to smile as he looked over at her, then back into the sky. "There, another one," he said, squeezing her hand back. "You'll look after Cedric for me?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Of course. We'll look out for each other," she said, closing her eyes and listening to the sound of the waves.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Thank you." There wasn't really anything else to say, and he kept watching for meteors, smiling as another and then another flashed into existence then disappeared. "This is nice, Izzy."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I've always loved looking at the stars," Isabel explained. "Part of it was wondering where we come from. But part of it is because they're beautiful." Eyes open once more, she stared up in the sky. "I almost forgot about this but I saw something online today. I'm glad you could be here."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"They are beautiful. Thank you for asking me," he said quietly. "I don't get much Izzy time lately, and we're running out of chances."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"The thingies need you more," she said. "They're going to miss you a lot."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack wasn't quite ready to think about that. "Yeah," he said, then changed the subject. "So, our daughter was pretty cute."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"She was," Isabel said quietly. "Cute and funny, and smart. She was everything I'd ever want."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"She also snored, had very sharp knees, and inherited my tendency to sprawl," he added, laughing softly.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

She laughed as well, turning to press a kiss to his shoulder. "The snoring came from you as well."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Hey!" Jack turned to mock-glare at her. "I don't snore!"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You do," Isabel said. "We're all just too nice to tell you."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then narrowed his eyes. "You're just messing with me, right?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Not telling," she laughed, wrapping her arms around him.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"You are so mean," he said, hugging her tight. "Oh wow. Look at that!" He moved so she could see the sky, and the intensely bright meteor that swooped through the night, leaving a smoking trail behind it.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It's beautiful," Isabel said, smiling at the sky. "And I'm not mean."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"You are, picking on me." His fingers might just have skittered across her ribs. "So very very mean to poor innocent me."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It's only because you're so pickable," she said, fliching away from tickling fingers. "I can't help myself."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack wrinkled his nose at her. "Pickable. That sounds vaguely disgusting. You couldn't have gone with handsome? Sexy? Wonderful?" Little more tickling and he smiled innocently. "Cedric called me adorable last night, you could go with that."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Oh you're all that, don't worry," Isabel said, doing a little tickling of her own. "Of course if we all keep telling you that, your ego is really going to swell."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Ack! Hey! No tickling!" He snagged her hands and drew her back against him. "My ego is in direct proportion with how awesome I am," he deadpanned. "Now, lay here quietly and watch the meteors with me."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Which means it's enormous and I'm going to be crushed by it at any minute." But that didn't stop her from curling back into his side.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Now you're just being silly." Jack kissed her forehead and turned his attention back to the sky and the pinpoints of light flashing across it.

The meteors eventually faded from sight as the sun rose, and Jack yawned, stretching a little, then nudged Isabel until she moved enough for him to get up.

Making their sleepy way back to the dorms, blankets slung over Jack's shoulder, they crashed in his room and didn't move for many long hours.