Delbert can't remember another time in his working life that he has had to be awake this long. Hours had stretched into days hunched over engineering plans , and he could feel his patience beginning to go.

Looking across the table for a brief moment, he catches a brief smile on her lips as she sketches and scrawls out plans for a planter.

"If we use a smaller power source, we can make it self automated with a feedback loop in the code." She's talking more to herself than to him as she wets the nub of her pen in an ink well.

"Would solar panels work?"

Abagail shakes her head, her blonde curls following sluggishly in the low light. "I've already thought of that. The panels would weigh too much."

Delbert sighs, removing his glasses from their perch on his nose. "I think we've been at this too long."

Chewing on her lip briefly, she nods. "A walk, then?"

Arm in arm, the pair walks in the glowing light of the moon on dusty roads and rocky hills. Montressor had been a mining planet, but after mining the coal out, the life seemed to leave the landscape.

"It's a shame, I remember when we were kids how this place was lit up at night." Abagail's eyes sweep over a once rich landscape, her face down turned.

Delbert smiles, remembering the bio-luminescent plant life that used to be common to Montressor. Beautiful enough in the day, the plants seemed to gain new life at night in the low light of the industrialized moon. The gardens had been a wash of purple, spinning flowers and teal colored grass swaying in a light breeze. It had been glorious in his youth, and with the industrialization of the planet, many of the wonderful things from his childhood slowly began to disappear.

But that doesn't have to be the end. The gears in Delbert's mind begin to turn at the possibilities.

"A greenhouse," he mutters, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "We could cultivate everything, then when the planet is ready, just let everything go."

Delbert stops, looking at Abagail's confused expression.

"We'll build a greenhouse attached to the house, it could grow everything right there. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier."

Abagail's eyes light up, understanding flecking her blue orbs. "It would totally eliminate the need for a planter!"

It's the first significant breakthrough they have made in weeks, and after the threat of the project getting shut down, the pair had been doubting an answer was out there. Delbert smiles as Abagail's arms wind around him in excitement, and he goes back to the moment they had met in the tall grass of his childhood home.

It's only then, as he is clinging to her, that he realizes that this is what he has been living for. Abagail's happiness had always been important to him, but he could kick himself now for how obtuse he had been concerning the whole thing.

Her happiness had always been his first concern, from the jello that they had shared at lunch time, to the prom that he went to because her date stood her up. His whole world had revolved around her since they were children, and the sudden moment of clarity shakes his world.

"Del?" Her hand shakes his arm, bringing him out of his thoughts, and he blinks a few times to clear his head.

The moment is gone, and he smiles, his hand encircling her waist. "Nothing, Abby."

He hasn't been to this spot in almost a year, and it shows. Tall weeds have nearly grown over the marble headstone, and he isn't even sure that he has the right spot until he uncovers the gilded writing. Abagail's name is written in golden, flowing letters and the inset picture calls back countless memories from their brief happiness.

"I know I haven't been by in a while, Abby." A nearby red maple looks ready to shed it's leaves again and it shudders in a brief wind.

Hugging his coat closer, he hunkers down in front of her headstone. "You'll never believe what Jim got me into."

"I went into space! Oh, it was amazing, Abby. We went on a treasure hunt, I even wore a ridiculous space suit and everything!" Delbert might be imagining it, but he can swear he hears her laughter riding on the quiet tones of the wind.

"And there was this woman..." He trails off, saddened by the sudden turn of the one way conversation. The ground is cold against his clenched fingers, and he grits his teeth against the chill.

Abagail wouldn't want him to mourn her forever, he needs to move on. "I'm in love, Abby." It feels like betrayal, and he feels his heart sink into his stomach.

"God, I miss you every day, and that's not getting any easier." The wind is biting into his face and he can't feel his legs from the position he is in, but he needs to get this out. "It seems like every day I find more things that remind me of you." The inset picture on the gravestone shows intelligent blue eyes set in a sun kissed countenance and framed in light, and the longer he looks, the worse he feels about the whole thing.

"I will always love you," Delbert shuts his eyes against the burn of the tears and the suddenly sharp light, willing himself to continue. "that will never change. I'm just making room in my heart for her."

Delbert doesn't stay long after he's said his piece, and after his hand grazes the glassy top of her tombstone, he leaves at a brisk pace, determined that this will be the last of it.

Amelia looks down at the planter on the table in front of her. Promising seeds were thrust deep into nutrient rich soil with the promise of plenty of water and sunshine through the clear glass panes of a new greenhouse. It's a completely different, and entirely wonderful new situation she has found herself in.

For Amelia, it is the start of a whole new life, with someone she dearly hopes will be the very last awkward morning after.

Standing clad in a pair of khakis and an olive colored button up, Amelia contemplates her next actions. The vines had been trimmed back, and the flowers had all been replanted. All that was left to do was water, and she was sure she could pawn that off on someone else.

Looking around, she can't help but congratulate herself a little. The troughs of recently touched dirt and tiny piles of mulched wood didn't look like much, but in a few weeks the whole place would be a mess of multi colored blooms and greenery every which way.

Stretching her sore back sends a momentary twinge down her side and her nose wrinkles at the sensation, perhaps a hot bath was in order. Now that she thinks about it, she must be filthy. She had been out here most of the afternoon, sweeping and potting and digging. Her fingernails had been protected by the gardening gloves she thought to wear, but her forearms hadn't escaped the nearly black dirt that had been flung around from her efforts.

"Ah, I thought you might be out here." Delbert, laden down with a clay pot of his own, leans against the door jamb.

Amelia hums, stripping the garden gloves from her hands before she has a chance to think better of it. "I thought I would get everything sorted out here. It seemed time enough." Angry red scars run the length of her knuckles and down the backs of her hands, and Delbert can't pretend that he didn't see it.

"I used to fight in school." A sheepish grin colors her usually stoic features and Delbert's eyebrow quirks.

"Often?"

Amelia nods, wiping her arms down with a towel. "Children can be cruel." She doesn't elaborate, and for the experience that Delbert has with particularly cruel children, she doesn't need to.

"Well, ah I have something for you." He sets the clay pot down on the table and in an instant, green vines explode from the container, sprawling over the otherwise barren tables.

"My word, Doctor." Amelia watches in fascination as various shades of orange explode from the vines and slowly curl into languorous, lazy spirals. Amelia instantly recognizes the vibrant coral colored flowers from the planet, and she stares open mouthed at the Doctor.

"I had a geneticist build the DNA profile from some stray pollen on my jacket." Delbert answers her wordless wonder with a wave of his hand with a small smile.

"That must have costed a fortune, Doctor." Amelia finally finds her voice, her hand flush against her chest in shock.

Delbert drinks in the moment silently as Amelia's green eyes go wide with curiosity. Silhouetted against a setting sun, her soft red locks are nearly aflame in the bright light. It's a sight he's rarely gotten to see; her wide eyed wonder.

This moment is beautiful.

Delbert chuckles, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Not really. You'd be surprised at how far a decent bottle of scotch can go."

Amelia's head turns to face him, a serene smile playing on her ruby red lips. "How did I get so lucky?"

Delbert's arms wrap around her middle, his heart swelling with love. "I think I'm the lucky one." His cheek presses against hers as his lips press a gentle kiss against her ear.

"Now, I'm going to go have a shower. I trust when I get back, these will be watered?" Amelia kisses his lips briefly before sauntering out of the room, dropping her gloves in a pail on the way inside.

Delbert locates the hose quickly and turns the knob on the spigot. Watering takes zero concentration, and Delbert soon finds his eyes wandering over the expanse of potted plants soon to spring up. Some of the more aggressive plants had already shot through the mulch and dirt, their light green stalks proud against a setting sun.

As he is halfway through the main table, a strange golden glow catches his eye. There, emblazoned on a gold plaque read the words 'In memory of Abagail Doppler' and Delbert can't breathe. It's unobtrusive enough, and he probably wouldn't have noticed it after the plants had started spilling over the tables, but it's a surprise nevertheless.

Oh, this woman.

The rest of the watering is done in somewhat of a stupor and he quickly shuts off the hose and heads inside to his study.

Evening crests on the large mansion and it finds two of it's occupants in the large observatory attached to the western wing. Delbert had given up on work a few hours ago and he had put on some music and sat in the low light alone for much of the night. Today had been a game changer, and as he swirls the brandy around in his crystal tumbler, he is no longer sure of the future.

"Something on your mind, Doctor?" Amelia's low voice calls out from the doorway and Delbert looks up, his ears perking in the light of the fire.

"One might say that." The door shuts with a resounding crack against expanding wood and Amelia ventures into the cavernous workspace. Tables and chairs were littered with papers and books and all manner of detritus piled in incoherent jumbles in all the empty spaces. It was an entropic calm, and Amelia wondered how much of a quake it would take for all the carefully tended piles to spindle into chaos.

"What are we doing?" The look of vulnerability on her face is one that he hasn't seen in a while, and it takes him by surprise as he walks toward her, leaving his brandy on the desk.

"Amelia, I meant what I said. I love you." His hand takes hers, and his eyes find her own emerald orbs swimming in a sea of doubt.

"Oh, Doctor. What have you done to me?" Amelia makes a move to pull away, to swipe at the small tears that are now spilling over her cheeks, and the Doctor stops her with a tug. Slowly, the pad of his thumb erases her doubt and she feels her heart soaring in her chest. "I don't want to be alone anymore, Delbert." Amelia's hand finds his lapel, and as her hand trails up to his shoulder, she finds herself drawn into warm, brown eyes and a kind smile.

"I don't think I could let you try again." It's a quick quip against her lips and he quickly captures them, their tongues meeting in a hot wet slide. As Amelia's arms fling around his neck, Delbert draws the lithe female into his arms further, his being aching to be closer to her.

Seconds melt into insignificance as the moment stretches on into eternity, and it's only after the need for air becomes acknowledged that they break apart.

"My my, Doctor you are just full of surprises, aren't you?" Delbert can feel the heat from her flushed face against his neck and he can barely contain himself in what used to be a place of work.

If the kiss wasn't enough, the sarcastic smirk that he had certainly learned from her would do the trick. "Stick around, who knows. This streak of mine just might hold out."

AN: Well, this is it for this one! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I for one will be happy to finally mark this one as complete. As always, the rest of this series can be reached from my authors page and reviews are always encouraged.

I am also happy to announce that I have made the decision to start writing my own book. That being said, I will be trying to cull down my workload considerably, so as to make time for this new venture of mine. I'm not abandoning you guys, I do have another few stories planned, and one action packed one is coming up! That doesn't mean that the fluff will be any less though. For now though, I think I'm going to sit back and enjoy not feeling like a failure for a few nights before I begin hacking away at my huge workload again.

A huge thank you to you all who have encouraged me, and have been there for me since I started writing this. Welsh Gem in particular, thank you SO SO very much for your regular reviews and boosts to my ego. I really don't have words for how much I appreciate you, dear.

As for the rest of you, (just kidding guys) I'll see you next time. Expect the first chapter of my new story (which is still untitled, much to my annoyance) to be up relatively soon, and I will be updating my profile very soon so as to keep track of everything.