a star so bright you blind me, Eloise <3

His horoscope had begun with "Today will be auspicious for Pisces." Evidently the planets were in the right alignment, and apparently that meant that he was less likely to be hit by a car or be given bad news or be unable to locate his left shoe within a 24-hour period as opposed to the other 364 days of year if you believed in that sort of thing. Desmond didn't, and had mainly read it accidentally in search of the weather forecast. Still - instead of hitting up the nearest highway to test the theory, Desmond took auspicious as an excuse to ask Eloise to go out with him somewhere. It'd be a shame to let the good weather that was creeping slowly-but-surely into Evergreen go to waste.

Besides, wasn't his fiancée entitled to some time to unwind in a place where she wasn't going to be harassed? It wasn't good to stay cooped up in that huge house of hers. Becoming widowed at eighteen must have been hell of a thing to go through and it didn't help when the sheeple didn't realize that while they'd lost an icon, Eloise had lost a husband - she didn't deserve the bombardment, and Desmond was of the opinion that she had been very brave through the whole situation. If anything, the young woman deserved a break from… well, all the things, and the weather had provided the perfect excuse to offer her one. Not to mention that any reason to spend time with Eloise was a good one as far as Mr. Rowley was concerned.

To his relief, she'd accepted his offer to drive up to William’s Point and Des had proceeded to pack up a lunch – a couple sandwiches and some drinks, as well as something to tide over the puppy he still had yet to get entirely used to (Desmond rather liked dogs, but puppies made him a little nervous. As a tall guy it was easy to miss things that were considerably closer to the ground). The drive had been quiet enough, save for another SUV full of campers that cut then off (they were also treated to a sampling of an Eloise-friendly version of Des' vast English vocabulary of horrible insults), and upon reaching the parking lot, Desmond killed the engine and opened the passenger's door for his fiancee, giving a dirty look towards the very same vehicle that had nearly drove them into a ditch five minutes before.

And we're going to say that it was those jerkface campers and not Des being somewhat unused to driving on the wrong side of the road because he'll be in a much better mood that way, mmkay?

"Would there be a particular trail you'd want to go on?" he asked, redirecting his gaze to the brunette with a much gentler look, the fingers of one hand draped over the contour of the car door and the other tucked into the pocket of his hoodie. They probably didn't want to go too far - weather had a habit of turning and nature was pretty awesome until you were stuck in it against your will. "It looks like they've got a few going through the forest and a couple by the river."

The chance to get away for a few hours wasn't one Eloise was going to pass up. Especially since it meant spending time with Desmond. It still surprised her a little that he hadn't already been snatched up by some lucky person before he showed up in Evergreen. What surprised her just as much were the feelings she had developed for him. Especially so soon after being widowed. But she was young, and everyone said that young people were resilient. Whatever the root cause of it was, the results all came out to the ring that had recently taken up residence on her finger.

Teyla had been left at the house so they could focus on each other and not have to keep track of what the dog was doing. Besides, they had taken her to the park the day before and she had a snack, toys, and plenty of water so it wasn't like they were neglecting her.

Her wandering mind was brought back to the present by the way he was talking to the people in a vehicle that nearly ran them over. She smiled a little at the obvious effort to watch what he was saying even while berating them. Eloise had heard rough language most of her life so it didn't really bother her. But it was sweet that he went to the trouble to not use coarse language. She liked how he was so protective of her. It made her feel safe and protected. He was like her very own knight in shining armor. Minus the shiny armor. And the official title of 'knight'. But those little details were beside the point. He had the chivalry part down, or at least he did around her. That was more important than titles or armor. His handsomeness was a really nice bonus.

Eloise thought about the question for a moment as she got out of the car and slid her arms around Desmond's waist both for the close contact and to distract him from the people in the other vehicle. People could be quite rude here, and she didn't want him sinking to their level and coming to blows over it. He was better than they were, and telling them they were beneath notice by ignoring them was the best way to show them that.

"Let's go with the forest" she said. The people from the other vehicle had headed towards the river. "There are likely to be fewer people there than by the river." It would be more private and less exposed... less open to strangers just walking up to them and interrupting their day out. She knew her fiance would deal with anyone trying to pester her, but it was better to just avoid the situation as much as possible.

When the car was closed and locked, Eloise wrapped an arm around Desmond's and headed for one of the forest trails, choosing one at random. "How's work going?" she asked once they made their way a short distance down the trail.

If it hadn't been for Eloise's interception, it would have been likely that Desmond would've at least exchanged a couple unsavory words with the campers - after all, when someone did something stupid they deserved to be called out on it, because otherwise they'd just keep on doing that stupid thing while thinking that it wasn't since no one had the balls to speak up (and nothing annoyed Des more than stupid people, or stupid people in big cars). The momentary contact , however, was enough to distract him from doing so. Instead of continuing with being outwardly grumpy, he gave a fond, fleeting caress of her dark hair and brushed a kiss to the top of her head, a hint of a smile crossing his features. "Sounds good to me."

Popping the trunk and disappearing behind the car for a few moments, he hoisted out the basket he'd set up and rejoined Eloise, his hand seeking hers almost reflexively. He almost didn't know what he'd done to be so lucky; not only did he have a job he was decently interested in (although often exasperated by), the girl that he'd developed an irrepressible need for seemed to like him back. Desmond wasn't sure if she loved him or not, as everything had happened quickly, but that was fine with him - what mattered was that she was willing to give them a try. Hell, he wasn't sure that the feelings that he had for her were exactly love in the usual scope of the recently engaged either, but since when was anything about the subject conventional? All he knew was that Eloise seemed to placate a part of him that very few people ever had and that there was something about her that Des found both endearing, addictive, and irresistible. When he tried to remember what life had been like before her, he couldn't. The sun just seemed to shine a little brighter when she was around. Hell, it made him want to be a better person. That was easier said than done, but at the least the sentiment was real.

Regardless of his opinion on the matter of Their Friends The Campers, he cast only one last lingering look towards the enemy SUV that might have inferred that he wished their driver would fall into an active volcano before letting it go. Eloise was a far kinder (and infinitely more attractive) subject to Des and picking fights with other dudes when there were better things to do with the woman he adored was clearly a waste of his energy. Past a certain point in the path he relaxed visibly, content to let the Macho-Man bristling subside. How's work going?

"It's fine." Des' rule, as far as work went, was that he didn't discuss it at length; he wasn't going to lie to Eloise and say it was fine when it was awful or that it was good when it was just fine, but it was simply his habit to divulge the bare minimum. "In the middle of an audit on a company outside of town, some battery project. The manager's a bit of an idiot." What else was new? "We're invited to some barbeque thing, by the way. I said I'd let them know." He wasn't sure how much Eloise would enjoy standing outside in mid-spring weather with a bunch of strangers - Des himself wasn't so sure he liked the idea himself either. It seemed kind of personal. He gave her a slightly rogueish smile at this, adding in a slightly more enthusiastic tone, "Although if listening to a bunch of socially-awkward engineers doesn't seem like a blast for some strange reason, I'm sure we could find something better to do."

Eloise smiled softly at the caress and the kiss. She liked small gestures of affection like that every bit as much as she liked more... personal... forms of contact. She was a fairly tactile person, though she wasn't clingy about it. At least she tried not to be clingy, because that sort of thing tended to annoy people more than anything.

When Desmond's hand reached for hers, Eloise grasped it and laced her fingers with his. Exactly what her feelings for him were she didn't know. There was a definite attraction there, both physical and otherwise. She wanted and needed him around both because his presence made the big house feel somewhat less empty, and because she simply enjoyed his company. There was also the way he kept nosy reporters - and anyone else - from pestering her too much. Eloise liked that he was so protective of her, and she liked how he made her feel safe and relaxed and wanted when she was with him.

Was it love, though? She didn't know. Once before she had thought for sure she was in love, and a second time things had been heading in that direction. Now she was confused about everything. And a little scared, too. She only had two previous experiences to go off of, and neither had worked out long term. Both of those times, just when she had started to get close to her significant other and was sure it would work out something had happened to bring an abrupt end to it. She didn't want that to happen a third time.

Eloise was used to general answers when it came to her questions about his work. She didn't really expect anything detailed about it for reasons of company and client privacy and all, but she wanted him to know she cared. So she asked in general terms... that way he wouldn't have to be uncomfortable in talking about it or have to worry that she would get mad if he told her he couldn't talk about something because of a confidentiality issue.

"Aren't they usually?" she joked in response to his comment about the manager being an idiot. They tended to be in her experience, anyway. Most either forgot what it was like to actually do the work, and the rest never knew what it was like to begin with. That was everywhere, though... not just in one particular field.

For a moment when he flashed that smile of his, Eloise forgot what they had been talking about. Her heart skipped a beat and her pulse jumped. Her breath caught briefly, things low in her body tightened, and the heat that settled in the pit of her stomach made an appearance in her cheeks as well. She could very well guess what that 'something better' was, and could safely say she was very willing. But... what had he been talking about before he smiled at her in that way? Oh, right. A barbecue with coworkers.

"Well... it would be polite to at least put in an appearance" she replied, her mind only half on what she was saying. The other half was still lingering over the things implied in Desmond's comment about better things. "And we should be getting out a little more." It was something the grief counselor she had seen for a little while suggested... getting out and socializing. Which was part of why she had gone back to the library and why she was still going to auditions when they came up. She paused for just a moment before continuing.

"There's nothing that says we can't find and excuse to leave early, though" she added, a hint of mischief in her eyes and tone suggesting she had a pretty good idea of where his mind was at in his last comment... and that she was quite willing to go along with that.

Aren't they usually? "Good point, love," he grinned, allowing himself to let the hackles simmer down now that they had made it far enough down the pathway that he couldn't hear the other group. He wasn't going to let anything ruin today. No, today was for Eloise, not those assholes, and heaven knew that they both needed to get away somewhere together. William's Point was a far cry from epic romance, but she was always able to coax out the gentler parts of Desmond's personality and that was more than enough sap for him. She was like one of those wi-fi hotspots. Wherever he was, if she was around, he found himself drawn out of the gloom and sarcastic negativity that usually pervaded his personality - she just brightened things. Made him want to be a better person. "Those who can't do, manage." Oh, Ward would love to hear that, wouldn’t he?

Far from oblivious when it came to the women in his life in the first place - Des' sisters swore that he could sniff out a the cologne of a new guy if they got within twenty feet of him - he would've been blind to not notice the obvious glint in his fiance’s baby blues. Christ, how could a woman be so adorable and so sexy at the same damn time? No wonder he found her irresistible – you’d have to be made of stone not to. “I suppose you’re right.” He didn’t really want to go, but it was probably the proper thing to do. Besides, if he was going to be living in the area (he didn’t so much count the last few months as residing in Evergreen, as until their engagement he’d merely been a guest in Eloise’s house that had stayed for an extended amount of time to help her sort things out) it couldn’t hurt to at least be polite to their fellow townspeople. In any case, she was absolutely right – they should have been getting out more. It could be hard to make time, sometimes, when his work piled up as it was wont to to, not to mention that Eloise had her own dreams to follow. That wasn’t to say that Desmond didn’t enjoy the time they’d spent together, and in reality he much preferred when he had her all to himself… it was just that there were things that they needed to start doing as a couple, and presenting themselves as one was one of them. How else could she decide if she really DID want to marry him if they didn’t handle that early on, and vice versa? Getting through the unpleasantries of life without biting the other’s head off was a skill set that many people surprisingly lacked.

Of course, nipping off early (especially for ‘something better’) was a quick and almost foolproof-successful way to get around this, and Desmond realized with a sudden wrench in his stomach that this was one of the multitude of reasons that he adored her.

“I’m sure we could come up with something convincing,” he mused playfully, slipping an arm around her shoulders, his fingertips brushing gently against the skin of her arm – Desmond would have much rather held her by the waist, but she was such a petite girl (and Des was definitely neither of those things) that he couldn’t comfortably reach without it turning into some strange circus act and nothing like the idyllic picnic he'd planned. “I'd stay away from the dramatic, but with your acting chops I’m sure we could pull it off without offending anybody.” Nevermind that Desmond was an utter failure at lying convincingly, nor did he really see the point when he was surrounded by people he didn’t actually want to be around. “… since I don’t think ‘I’d rather be at home doing unmentionable things with my fiancee’ is a very viable excuse.”

No, probably not.

As they neared an empty clearing, he titled his head towards the grassy knoll in question, arching an eyebrow at Eloise in inquiry as to whether it passed inspection or if she’d prefer to pass this one over.

It didn't matter to Eloise that they hadn't gone to some exotic beach in a foreign country or rented out an entire island for themselves or whatever. What mattered to her was that Desmond had taken time to put a little thought into something to do together, and that they were spending time with each other. Eloise was fairly easy to please. She didn't need grand sweeping gestures of love, for all that she enjoyed them on occasion. She would much rather have something simple and thoughtful than something flashy and meaningless. "That or they pout and sulk at those that can" Eloise replied with a giggle. Which was pretty much the same thing most of the time when you got right down to it, she realized.

"We could just say we have other plans and can't stay long" she suggested. A small thrill went through her at both his words and the brush of his fingers against her skin as he wrapped his arm around her. Whether he meant to be or not, he was an intoxicating man. And whether or not he meant to do it, there was something about him that brought out her naughtier side. At least when it was just the two of them. "We don't have to tell them exactly what those plans entail" she added with a grin and faint blush at his 'unmentionable things' remark. Being vague like that meant they weren't quite lying, but nor were they telling others things that they neither needed nor likely wanted to hear. It really wasn't their business what she and Desmond did on their own time anyway.

Eloise looked toward the clearing and eyed it for a moment or two, deciding she liked the look of it well enough. At least from this distance. "Let's go check it out" she said, looking back up at her fiance. If they turned out not to like it that well or there were ant hills or something already there, they could always keep moving and look for something else. It wasn't like there were a shortage of such places in these woods. True there weren't as many as there might be in wooded areas back in England, but there were still quite a few.

Had they been there, they might even have found a fairy ring in the clearing. Which might be interesting. Eloise had only ever seen pictures of one, and wanted to see one in person. Part of her knew that all the myths and stories about what would happen if you stepped into one were probably just made up stories to keep children from playing with mushrooms that were poisonous to humans. But another part of her still somewhat believed they might be true, and she wanted to try it out for herself. She knew it was probably quite silly of her, but she was okay with that. Being a little silly from time to time was far better than having no sense of imagination or adventure at all.

Any excuse, really, to show up and then leave was a good one in Desmond’s books. She was right that they didn’t really need to go into detail – it simply wasn’t anyone else’s goddamned business what they did. After all, he had little patience for anyone that tried prying into such things and felt fiercely protective whenever he perceived such an action being directed towards Eloise. Pride was always secondary to her safety.

“That sounds like a plan.” His lips brushed affectionately across her forehead as he lead her off the path, and Desmond absconded from musing much on it further – continuing in this line of conversation was liable to end in a manner of frustration probably best left untouched in a public arena. Given the low-key nature of their engagement but the very public tragedy that had been its predecessor, the last thing he needed to do was to add to her stress; if there was one kind thing to be said about Des (and there were, in reality, not that many in the first place) it was that he had little inclination to overstep his boundaries with Eloise. She was mature for a girl her age, but there were still times where he felt almost like he was taking advantage of her kindness, roping her into a relationship when she may have just needed a friend instead of a lover. It was the sort of concern that kept him up at night. He cared for Eloise deeply and very much wanted her to be his wife, as evidenced by the small cluster of diamonds she wore on her left hand – however, even Desmond had his concerns that he simply had been in the right place at the right time, and that asking her to marry him so soon had not only been a massive faux pas, but immensely manipulative. Des wanted to spend his life with her and she didn’t seem to hate the idea, so what was the bloody problem with that? He shouldn’t have been feeling so damn guilty when he wanted so badly to protect her from the gits who DID want to move in on a beautiful, vulnerable young woman. Maybe it just made him nervous that perhaps he was one of those people and didn’t even realize it.

Nodding at her acquiescence to inspect the clearing, Des set the basket down at the base of a tree and settled his hands in the depths of his hoodie pockets, allowing his fiancée to make the call on whether it was up to par or not. Or he was, anyway, until he found an excuse to close the distance and scoop her up, an arm underneath her knees and the other supporting the rest of her petite frame. The reason? "Watch out for the squirrel." Turning away from the direction in which Eloise had been facing, Desmond marched a few steps before informing her that it was, "Too dangerous. Chipmunk." There wasn't much in his tone to give credence to the possibility that he was actually serious; the fact that he looked a little smug about the whole thing probably was an obvious tip off. "Clearly we'll just have to carry you around all day."

Eloise smiled up at Desmond, thinking once again that she was as happy as any woman could be. She had a job at the local library that was really more of a hobby these days, her desire for an acting career was slowly but surely taking off. Granted she was rather limited by the fact that she wouldn't go nude, but that sort of thing was too intimate a thing to do in a public manner. She would much rather reserve the sight of her bare body for Desmond's eyes only.

It never occurred to her that he might be taking advantage of her in any way. Things like that weren't generally the first thing on her mind, even without an indirect recommendation from one of her sisters. She didn't think even Anne would deliberately send someone to her that meant her harm in any way. Sarah certainly wouldn't do that. If anything, Sarah would beat the living hell out of anyone that had that sort of intention.

What needs Eloise had in her life were met by Desmond - in more than just a physical way. She needed someone she could feel safe with, someone that would protect her. She needed someone who would love and accept her for who she was instead of trying to change her. She needed someone who would hold her at night if she woke from a nightmare, or care for her if she got sick. She needed someone to keep her at least mostly grounded in reality. She needed someone she could count on to be there through good and bad... someone she could trust. Someone who could get her to smile and laugh again. With Desmond, she had all of that. It wasn't just a friend or lover she needed, but both. She had that with him.

She gasped softly in surprise when he scooped her up in his arms and reflexively wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The squirrel comment brought a grin to her lips. The chipmunk one brought out a soft giggle. "Well I certainly wouldn't mind that" she replied, kissing him lightly on the lips. "But won't your arms get tired?" she teased, rubbing his shoulders for a moment. Eloise decided she would give him a proper massage later, once they got home... whether or not his arms got tired. Was she just looking for an excuse to touch him more, to have her hands on his muscular shoulders, arms, back, and chest? If she were completely honest with herself... that was a distinct possibility.