She nodded. "I can schedule it in."
"You have made me a very, very happy old man."
She laughed in his face. "Old? You make yourself sound like a tottering geezer. You're handsome man in your prime Maggie," she pointed out.
He puffed up his chest at that. It never hurt to hear that he was handsome, especially by a lovely person like Vivi. "Will an hour for lunch work for your schedule?"
"It should."
"What time does Hal usually prepare your dinner?"
"I've been taking a small tea break with Etain around three-pm, so Hal has dinner set for us at seven."
"I have to have tea mid-afternoon as well, otherwise Kari pokes me in the side to make sure I am still awake," he groused.
Vivi laughed. "Is she still breaking you in?"
"Yes, though we will have to resume my training once she returns. She is still in Éire Danu."
"Are you pouting?"
"No," he denied.
"You are, but I can sympathize. I wanted to create a a single form that would layout the technical jargon explaining the test results, only to realize she wasn't here. I emailed her instead, but it wasn't the same."
"Is your tea about an hour as well?"
"Yes," she blushed. "Sometimes longer."
Magnus coughed into his hand. He'd honestly be surprised if tea with a mate didn't take longer now and then. "Understandable." He reached for a cookie himself. They were a favorite of his as well. "How are your dinners in the evening? Has Hal settled into his kitchen?"
She smiled wide. "We enjoy a longer, more leisurely dinner. Hal, Etain and I sit down and go over our day. It's perfect actually. And, yes, he's more than settled. Every time I turn around he's upgraded something else. We now have an espresso machine built into the wall for when Meryn visits."
"I do miss having her here one Level One."
Vivi looked down into her tea cup. "She's so small, but she affects everyone around her, so that when she's gone, it feels so empty." She looked up. "How is she really? Beth was two seconds away from marching through the portal when we heard about Meryn's parents, but we were in the middle of establishing the wolf estate and she was desperately needed during closing process and utility set up."
"She seems to be doing well. I do not believe that it has quite hit her yet what finding her parents truly means, or how it will affect her place in our world, but for the moment she is exactly as she has always been."
"Thank goodness."
Magnus did a quick calculation. If her dinner ran closer to two hours, then she was already spending close to ten hours in the lab already.
"Vivi, if I have added up the hours correctly, then with your new schedule, you are putting in ten hours a day in the lab. Your day starts at seven-am and should wrap after dinner around nine-pm. That only leaves you ten extra hours in the day, eight of which should be to sleep. Those two spare hours occur very late in your day between ten-pm and midnight, it probably would not be wise to do any important lab work so late in your day, mistakes could happen," he pointed out.
"I can only work ten hours in the lab?" she asked.
"Vivi, darling, when in your day do you take the time go on outings with your mate? Or help Hal prepare dinner? Or shop for your little one?" he softened his voice. "We all got a second chance at life after the virus, what are you doing to enjoy yours?"
Her eyes filled. "I haven't been doing that, have I?"
He stood and walked over so he could sit beside her. He wrapped an arm about her shoulders and cuddled her close. "I think you worked so hard during the crisis that maybe it became a new normal for you. Identifying the dead is important, but not a single fae would have you putting your own unborn child at risk. They can wait a bit longer to ensure your health."
She wiped her eyes with the small dainty napkin Sebastian placed on the tray. "What do I do? The lab is all I really know."
"Surprise your mate," he suggested. "Tell him from now on your work day ends at three-pm," her mouth opened as if to protest. He held up his hand. "That is still a seven hour work day young lady. Take on an assistant and be 'on call' from four-pm to seven-pm. Spend those hours taking care of yourself and your family."
She popped a cookie in her mouth as she thought things over. "I am going to be a momma soon."
"Yes, my sweet darling, you are. I have already picked out a stuffed animal for them."
She smiled up at him. "What is it?"
He tutted. "You will see once they are born."
She grabbed another couple cookies then stood, excitement on her face. "I've been meaning to start on the nursery." She looked down at him. "We're using my mother's quarters."
He stood. "Excellent idea."
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for listening."
"Any time at all. I prefer these type of problems to some others I could name."
"Hang in there, Maggie."
He walked her to the door and waved when she turned to head toward her quarters.
He went back to now empty antechamber and sat back down picking up his tea.
"Truly incredible work there, Magnus. I am proud of you," Sebastian said, walking in from the kitchen with a small plate in his hand. He set it down on the table. It held his absolute favorite dessert, a slice of pecan pie. Instantly his tea was forgotten as he reached for his fork.
"I bet you Meryn would love this," he said, before taking a bite.
Sebastian smiled. "I will have to arrange for one to be sent to her."
Magnus looked around, though the antechamber was empty, it now held a wealth of memories. "Christmas shopping will be amazing this year. We gained so much recently, despite the tragedies."
"We gained the most important thing Magnus," Sebastian added. "Family."
"And more babies!"
"We will have Meryn's little one to shop for, they will have arrived by Christmas."
"I cannot wait!"
"Do you remember the first Christmas we had with Bethy? The one where it felt like we were truly a real family?” Sebastian asked.
"I would never forget that Christmas, no matter how old I get. She was what started the changes in the way people thought here in the city. She paved the way for someone like Meryn to come in and blow everything to smithereens." He lowered his fork. "We need something extra special for Bethy this year, she is giving us another gift we can never repay, a new life to celebrate." He took a huge bite of pie.
Sebastien arched a brow. "You have not been shopping this whole time?"
Magnus stopped mid-chew, then finished his bite quickly. "What have you bought?"
Sebastian tapped his lips with his finger. "I think the better question would be, what have I not bought?”
Magnus groaned. He would have to scour the earth to find something just right for his niece now.
"Serves you right for forgetting," Sebastian fussed, as he picked up Vivi's cup to take to the kitchen.
"Christmas is still almost nine months away!" he protested to Sebastian's back.
His squire turned and smirked. "Exactly. You should have been shopping months ago." He walked through the doors that led to the kitchen.