"Mmph!" he protested around a full bite of omelette; Akiva was already crossing the room and moving to the nursery to change and dress Gabriel.  How had he only managed to only get one bite in in this entire time?  Quickly shoveling in the remainder, he made quick work of the rumpled bed, tucking away the dirty dishes for when he actually went downstairs.

10 minutes, 1 brief shower, a shave, and 1 set of hiking boots later, Dree was dressed and ready to go.  He knew Akiva would not have been able to finish in time--and he agreeably (with only a little gloating) took Gabriel from her so she could get ready herself.  By the time she had wrapped up, Dreogan had packed a light backpack with a blanket, binoculars (you never knew), water bottles, trail mix, and hand warmers.  The backpack was not on--Akiva could take it.  Dreogan had opted instead to carry Gabriel against his chest in the baby carrier.  He was just rolling the plaid blanket up, when he called over to her.  "I'm packing this blanket and it's making me think. Remember when we went to the Observatory for your birthday?"  He gave a tug at the zipper, shaking the backpack a little to settle the items.  "Ready when you are!"

Alright, it was ambitious to say they’d be ready first.  The universe had obviously heard her make the ridiculous statement and decided to remind her that she was indeed only human.  Whatever made Akiva say it immediately went out the window when Gabriel decided that the smooshed banana incident needed to rear its ugly head again.  This time he decided to double down, however. She’d have thought by now it’d be a crisis she could avoid, but alas, not quite. 

Thankfully, Akiva was (mostly) gracious in defeat and handed off the lightly banana scented child to her husband in order to dash up the stairs and quickly right the wrongs of the world.  Thankfully, charms and a speedy outfit change were all that was required to fix things (along with the hair tie and ponytail).  She’d really thought she’d have a chance to pack a bag though… instead she was wrestling with her boots – she hadn’t worn them in… a long time. 

Huffing, she continued to tug them on as she sort of hopped out of the bedroom, and then once secured, she jogged down the stairs in time to catch what Dree had said.  “I loved that birthday!” she beamed in response, “It’ll be hard to top that one,” she admitted, “but I’ll try,” she added before taking the backpack and slung it over her shoulders, settling it between her shoulder blades.  “Let’s go, shall we?” she smiled wide and wrapped her hands around the straps of the backpack and rocked from her toes to her heels. 

“It’ll be hard to top that one,” she admitted, “but I’ll try."

Dreogan hunched forward to give her a kiss while simultaneously avoiding squashing their son between them.  He smiled with his lips against hers.  "I love it when you accept challenges."  He pulled away, a mischievous smirk lingering on his lips.  "I might even let you win this one."  Squeezed her side affectionately, he looked down at the top of Gabe, who was squirming uncomfortably.  To resituate him, Dree shifted the baby carrier straps.  His spine crack several times.  "Uh, you married an old man," he moaned, hands on the small of his back. He swung the door open. "Let's go before my back gives out."

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There was only a slight stall in their plans as they'd stopped to consider whether Muggle or magical transport was more appropriate.  Having opted for the more baby-friendly Muggle route, they took a quick train out to the South Downs.  It was not quite as wild as Richmond Park, nearer to London, but the promise of the coastal cliffs was enough.  He nodded approvingly as he took in the view.  "Looks flat enough," he said.  That was seldom a real problem in England compared to the western United States.  He had had to redefine "hiking" entirely, there.

"So," he said, starting along a sandy trail that seemed to lead through the golden, grassy fields,  "I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me any ideas about how to celebrate your birthday..." The mischief was back in his smile, "since we're clearly trying to outdo each other, and that's probably cheating."

“Let me win?” Akiva raised her eyebrows and leaned back, her hand still lingering on his arm.  A smile crept over her lips and she shook her head, “Now I’m going to make it a point to win,” she wrinkled her nose and gave him another quick peck before leaning down to kiss their fussy son on the head.  She shifted to her husband’s side and rolled her eyes as he informed her he was an old man.  “I disagree,” she replied with a quirked grin, “but I agree with getting out of here.” 

She wrinkled her nose at him and moved ahead to open the door – allowing for him and Gabriel to pass.

-----------------------------------------

The train ride had been rather pleasant, Akiva had to admit, outside of the downtime, but all things considered it was probably a remarkably better idea than using magical means of transportation with a baby.  It was worth it when they got there though – the view was everything.  Gripping the straps of her backpack, she signed happily and nodded.  ‘As long as it won’t be too much for my old man,” she smiled cheekily at him before trotting back to keeping pace with him.

She hardly even noticed the little nip in the air, enjoying the crispness of the air and the sound of sand shifting below her shoes.  She hummed lightly as he asked about her birthday and looked up in thought, “I could give you an idea…” she sighed and rolled her head to look at him, “but that would ruin the surprise for me.”

“And you’ve been so dreadfully good at them in the past, I’d hate to deprive you – or me of the opportunity again.”  Gabriel babbled along and she looked over at her boys with a bright smile, “Though, I will give you one small idea: let mum sleep in.”  She reached over to take their son's chubby hand and let him squeeze her fingers, "Gabriel thinks it's a great idea, of course."

"And yet Gabriel doesn't happen to think it's a good idea the other 364 days of the year..." he pointed out.  Dree had only just started taking some mild sleeping potions--to get through the night better.  It meant he was often capable of taking turns in waking to care for Gabriel... but at least his own sleeplessness was less likely to wake Akiva on his account any more than she already did on Gabe's.

A quick peck. "But I am happy to take at least one day."  He fretted, frowning.  "You know, I can... I don't need to take the potions every night."  He looked at her, quickly adding, "I know you're going to say I don't need to stop on your account," Akiva had been nothing if not accommodating through the ups and downs in sleep patterns.  He shrugged.  "But just think about it."

They walked along the path that cut its way through wild grasses and brush, the smell of the air was salty. They were approaching the cliffs soon.  "We should have brought a kite," he observed, eyes in the sky where several gulls circled.  "Wind's perfect for it."  Wordlessly, his hand slipped into hers.  He took in the smell, the feel of the breeze on his cheeks, the sound of shoes crunching through gravelly dirt...

He broke the silence, though his eyes were still dreamily taking in the surroundings and rolling terrain.  "Love you."  He cast a shy smile back to her.  There was no need to be bashful--they'd certainly been through enough together for Dreogan to feel confident in their bond.  Still, the fluttering feelings in his stomach did come back from time to time, in contemplative moments of silence like this one.  It felt as though they were a new couple again.

He supposed, in ways, they were.  Dree'd come back from the dead 3 months ago; they'd had to reinvent, reintegrate themselves into each others' lives.  He gave her hand a little squeeze. 

They were almost there, and Dree's pace picked up instinctively.  "Almost to the Seven Sisters," he said, smile boyish.  "You've seen them, right? I've always liked them better than Dover."

 “He only thinks so on the most special of occasions,” Akiva corrected with a lopsided smile.  Their son was not prone to lie ins, though it was remarkably better now than it had been.  There had been weeks at a time near the beginning where Akiva looked like an inferi.  Between their newborn son and Dreogan’s sudden disappearance… she shook her head.
 
It was not pleasant to think about!

The day was about being happy and celebrating, not lamenting things in the past – or things that could not change.  Nor was it about making Dreogan feel bad.  She rested her hand on upper his arm and gave him a reassuring squeeze, “You need to do what will help you,” she insisted, “until it’s not helping anymore, I won’t hear about it.”  She knew it wasn’t really the end of the conversation, but she could pretend.  It concerned her only a little bit that she hadn’t really developed that stern voice yet.  It wouldn’t be a bit until she needed to really use it, she supposed.  There was still time. 

Humming in agreement at his kite observation, Akiva nodded, “Next time.”  Maybe in the spring, since it would definitely start being too cold very soon.  Thankfully though, they’d caught a perfect day and by the shore, it was just… She closed her eyes for a moment as they walked along, holding his hand and breathing in the salty air. 

There was no question in Akiva’s mind that they’d be back here with their son, not just in the spring… but stretching years in the future.  Obviously, she’d learned not to be too certain, as life had proven repeatedly once you were comfortable something would inevitably change, she just felt like she knew they were just meant to be together.  “I love you too,” she glanced over at him and grinned.  She had always known she wanted a family, but she had never realized it would be this good. 

“Better than Dover?” Akiva raised her eyebrows as she repeated, “Aren’t we the hiking hipster[1]?” she teased lovingly and bumped her shoulder with his.   It was a term her father often used for his students who were interested in the more obscure topics offered at Kings.  It was apt in this situation, though.

She added a skip to her step to match his pace, “But I’m excited – it’s been a while,” she admitted, finally actually responding to the question, “Did we pack the camera?” she asked suddenly, a little bit of a fret in her voice: it would be a perfect moment to capture! 

1.	Apparently the term saw a resurgence in 2010!