She knew they were relived she wasn't going, pfffft. Lynley wasn't stupid. They could be gross all they wanted, now. Sheesh.

"No, don't bring me anything back. I pack my own lunch every day unless I'm feeling isolated. Then I'll eat in the food court." She shrugged and sipped more of her coffee. Did they enjoy being gross? It seemed like they did. Well, as long as Gabby was happy...Lynley could deal with the...gross.

"I'm sure a lot of A&C will have to be on hand in case any muggle things happen or whatnot," she replied. "And plants...that's...fun." And by fun, Lynley meant not interesting to her at all. Whatever.

PFFFT.

"You MAY be younger than me, but it shows in wisdom, dear. Shoo with you both--go eat your damn lunch and leave me alone," she snapped, shooing them with her hands towards the door. Her tone was joking, and Gabby would know that, certainly.

The wink didn't go unnoticed. Archer gave her a small grin, and raised an eyebrow at her. He was looking forward to planting a kiss on those lips. But not in front of Lynley.

It sounded like Gabby was pretty busy with setting up for the Quidditch match. He didn't know that Gabby wasn't really into Quidditch. It suited him. But he wasn't entirely surprised.

He had never really thought of bringing lunch to work. "Maybe we should try that?" he suggested to Gabby. Did she know how to prepare food that was transportable? He knew how to cook but... he always ate the food then and there. He nodded. He wasn't really sure what specifics were involved for the match, for the A&C department, but it was obvious about the Transport department.

He was trying not to smile when Gabby told her boss that he was good with plants. He was. Obviously. Otherwise he wouldn't be working with them. He just didn't like appearing arrogant. "It helps that they're so interesting," he said. "Yeah, they are fun." He picked up on her tone. "You can always come down and I can show you through the labs if you want." He was keeping a completely serious expression on his face, even though he knew the chances of her wanting to visit were slim.

Archer remained silent for the age conversation. He knew better than to discuss the age of a woman.

And the next minute... they were being shooed towards the door? He entwined his fingers into Gabby's, giving her hand a sqeeze.

Soooooo Lynley didn't have anything for her to do on top of her current workload. That was good to know. Gabby was itching to get to lunch with Archer. Speaking of lunch...she hadn't thought of bringing her own before. "I don't really cook much. My husband did most of that," she admitted. Though...it wouldn't exactly be hard to take a salad. So long as she still got her lunch dates with Archer she was happy.

The invitation to see the greenhouse was very sweet but somehow Gabby doubted her boss would take him up on his offer. SHE at least found it interesting but then she had done work with potions and that required knowledge in Herbology. Not Archer's level, of course, but she was pretty learned when it came to plants.

Gabby snorted as they were shooed away from the break room. [b]"I'll see you soon, boss."[/quote] Holding Archer's hand she walked out with him.

Evan was still getting used to the long long days and even longer nights with newborn twins. He had been ready of course but nothing prepares you for bringing home a new baby let alone two. So it was a given fact that the man was a bit tired as of lately even if he didn't mention it to anyone. Chances were no one even knew about the babies least they were family or Addy down in her department had run her mouth about her new niece and nephew.

And sleepiness was what brought the man to the Break Room this early afternoon. He was in need of a fresh cup of hot coffee. Entering the room showed that no one was even around which was a little odd in itself but not something to cause worry. Walking over to the coffee machine he grabbed himself a cup and let it do it's thing adding in some creamer and sugar one it was ready. He then grabbed a nice banana nut muffin and napkin while he was at it and sat himself down at a table.

Sipping the hot drink he pulled out some paperwork he had wanted to look over along with a quill. There was a few things he needed to get figured out.

Ugh.

Gabby was TIRED and seriously needed some caffeine.

She had given up coffee after she had found out that she was pregnant. Even if SOME caffeine was okay she did like hers strong and she was worried that if she had too much it would harm the baby. There was no such thing as being paranoid when it came to their child.

Entering the break room, she spotted Evan enjoying a cup of coffee as if he was rubbing it in her face. Of course she KNEW that wasn't what was really happening, but Gabby needed something to perk herself up and he was not helping matters. "Hey, Evan," she said as she opened the refrigerater and pulled out a can of cola. She didn't care in the least that it probably belonged to someone else; it was HERS now. Even if she didn't like pop it was safe to drink and she probably wouldn't even finish it. The rest would go down the sink.

Grabbing a pastry, she took a seat at the table. He looked like a bloody mess. "Babies keeping you up?" She eyed her bump. Yeah, it was a good thing that she wasn't having two babies because that wasn't her thing.

With his quill hovering over the parchment before him Evan took another long sip of his coffee. Someone had entered the break room he could hear their footsteps and the sounds of the fridge being opened and closed. That wasn't enough to pull him away from what he was doing though, no not in the least. He had work he needed to get finished.

What did pull him back from his work was the chair being pulled out at HIS table and the women that sat down. Slowly he lifted his eyes from his messy scribblings to eye the pregnant women across from him now. "Hello Gabby." Small greeting. Evan didn't know her entirely well but he knew enough to address her by name and such. "Does it show?," he commented with a slight laugh running a hand through his hair as he set his cup down. "How're you doing, not to much longer?" He questioned speaking of her pregnancy. Would she be working as long as she could or did she plan on leaving for a few weeks?

Bleh. Gabby made a face as she took a sip of the cola she had liberated from someone else. Yeah, she had no idea how people could drink this crap but caffeine was caffeine and she needed some. Alana had been right about her getting tired faster the farther along she was in the pregnancy but she was still doing fine and wasn't about to tell her sister-in-law that she was right about something. Only four months to go and the baby would be here. Smiling at that thought, she dug into the pastry. Hopefully it was Lynley's because she'd get satisfaction out of taking her food after their last 'meeting' in her office. She was still majorly ticked off and Archer had been furious when she told him about it.

Anyway she was talking to her coworker.

She laughed at what Evan told her. "Just a bit." Gabby didn't know him too well, but she had talked to him on occasion and he seemed like a decent guy. At least he wasn't a selfish jerk who held a relationship and baby against her. UGH. She was NOT going to get worked up over Lynley again. "I'm doing well, she'll be here in mid-March." She patted her belly gently. She loved doing that. "Just getting tired more often." Sighing, she took another sip of the disgusting pop. "You good besides the babies keeping you up?" She and Archer would be experiencing that in about four months. This is why they needed a nanny.

Whatever he had said earned a small laugh from his co-worker which in turn made him smile a little bit. It had to have been about his appearance which was normally very tidy expect this morning where he had been in a rush and very much lacking sleep. "They just wouldn't settle. Every time one fell asleep the other woke." It had been a long night indeed. Not one he would ever trade away though no matter how many sleepness nights he had. Evan wasn't the type to just allow his wife to do all the work either he had no trouble getting right in there and being of help.

Mid-March huh? He had thought it was sooner but lately everything seemed to be a bit off to him. "Ah, does she have a name yet?" Maybe they were keeping it a surprise? Some people liked doing that. "That's bond to happen. Will you be staying here as long as you can?" A lot of women tried not to leave work to earlier but Katalin had left a few weeks before the twins were born as it had become to much on her. "Oh yeah, fine fine. Just catching up on the paperwork." Always paperwork. It was never ending and the traveling but he enjoyed what he was doing now.

Yeeeeah, this was a big reason why Gabby wasn't huge on twins. All she could say was thank Merlin she wasn't carrying them because she didn't think she could cope if that was the case. "Have you considered getting a nanny to help with the babies?" That way he and his wife could get a little bit of a break when they needed it. Especially with him going to work. There was nothing wrong with a nanny; Archer had been adopted by his when he was two and he had seen her as his mother for his whole life.

Talking about her baby always made Gabby so happy. She really loved her little family that she had started with Archer. "We're going to name her Valeria." It felt more REAL now that the little princess had a name. It would feel even MORE real once the nursery was all set up for her. "I need to stop pushing myself so hard, but it's hard not to." She was the type of person who always needed to do something or she felt restless. "I want to work until I'm due but I was told not to so I think I'll stay until I'm eight months. I just hate having nothing to do." Maybe she could help her husband with his plants or something, since he had some at home.

Aaah, paperwork. That was always fun. Not. "If only it did itself, huh?" Would make all their lives easier and more interesting.

A nanny? For twins. No. No they hadn't. Actually they never even mentioned it. "No it's solely my wife and I with the help of the three oldest when they have time to stop by." Evan was sure Hady and JJ would most likely be a good deal of help as well but both of them were away at school until the holiday break.

"That's a lovely name, I'm sure it will suit her nicely," Evan commented with a small nod. It was always funny how sometimes you knew a babies name from the moment you found out you were having one and other times a baby could go days being born already without a name until the right name stands out. He laughed quietly knowing what Gabby was speaking about with liking to keep busy. "Is there no way you could do some work from home?" It could be a thought to look into.

"That would be rather helpful but sadly the task remains mine." Horrible task it was sometimes but it could always be worse.

Oh. Right. Gabby had forgotten that there were other children in the picture because quite frankly she didn't really care about that. No children mattered as much as Valeria in her eyes though she was fine with Archer's nieces and nephews. Alana was married to one of said nephews and they were friends. "We're going to have a nanny." Would make life easier for them especially since they were new to the whole parenting thing. "We've never done this before." So yeah.

Obviously it was a lovely name; anything that they came up with for their child would be lovely. "It's Italian. I wanted to go Italian." Was an explanation for why really needed? She WAS Italian to the core. Archer had chosen the middle name, and he wanted to go with Aoife for his adoptive mother. "I suppose I could see about doing some paperwork from home since it's hard for me to give up work. Or I can just help my husband with his plants. He's the Head Botanist," she explained. She could help Archer with that cactus stuff he was doing though she honestly didn't understand all the sciency stuff behind it.

Evan was right about that. "It would be really thrilling to be an Auror or something. Get paid to take people down." Now THAT sounded exciting though it would mean that she wouldn't be able to wear fashionable clothes and shoes to work. That was a deal breaker for Gabby.

Evan knew that not many knew about all his children or even if they did would remember. It was a fact of life. And not one that helped his case having gained four from his marriage and then the birth of two more now. "A nanny is certainly helpful in the beginning at least until you work out a routine." They weren't for everyone though but if Gabby and her husband wanted one that was up to them.

"That's nice. A little reasoning behind the name." Whether is was for being Italian or a family name. A meaning is a meaning to him. "My wife named our daughter and my daughter helped with our sons name." By his daughter he meant the daughter he raised. Not that it mattered. Evan nodded his head as he listened to Gabby. "Whichever works best for you." Maybe she would find helping her husband was more fulfilling. Who really knew what people would end up liking.

He gave a quiet laugh. "Now that would be much more entertaining but it's not something I would be into." No not anymore anyhow. Maybe a good ten or fifteen years ago it would've been a much different story.

It was nice talking to Evan about this stuff because he was someone from work who she could have a conversation with while not feeling as if she had done something wrong because she had gotten pregnant. Thinking about Lynley irritated Gabby so much that she subconsciously squeezed her can of cola, causing some to spill. Whatever, she didn't care. The stuff was disgusting but that didn't stop her from taking another sip of it. "I want to keep the nanny even when she's older. She can live with us in the tent." There was no way that they were going to settle into the house permanently and give up going from place to place; it would drive them mad to do that.

There he went stating the obvious yet again but Gabby wasn't going to comment on that. Nope. She wanted to talk about her daughter instead. Nod. He was right anyway. "Do you mean your daughter at Hogwarts?" What was her name again? Something with an H? It had been a while so she couldn't really remember. "I'm good at everything that I do, so I am sure that I will more than manage." Smirk. She had been born flawless, obviously.

Interesting. Gabby wondered if becoming a father had a lot to do with his not desiring that kind of work. She wouldn't want to put herself into danger now that she had Archer and a baby. Besides, there was the wardrobe issue and the fact that her nails might chip. Police work was not glamorous and she could have much better adventures. In fact she DID.

Whether she kept the nanny she hired was entirely up to her and her husband. Lots of families had nannies the entire time their children grew up. He wasn't one of the those however. "That sounds nice." Evan used to travel around a bit but now not so much and mostly just for work. Not that he really minded being home with the family.

"Yes, Hady," Evan answered with a nod of her his. The man had to admit he hadn't expected his daughter to be as happy about the entire situation but she was taking to it all surprisingly well. She was good at everything. Sure she was. No one was good at everything they did but whatever Gabby wasn't a child and he wasn't about to speak to her as if she were one. "Then you shouldn't have any trouble keeping busy." If she was so good at everything there would be plenty for her to do.

It being nice was an understatement in Gabby's opinion. She LOVED travelling in their tent and couldn't wait to get back to it. Of course she was being patient because the health of her baby was a lot more important and she didn't want anything to happen to her baby. That would kill her. "We live in Archer's magical tent and travel from place to place in it," she explained. "We don't like houses. We like to go places." If he thought it was weird she didn't care in the least. It was their thing and they loved doing it. Her husband had ruined her for houses because before him she had been perfectly happy living at the house in Italy. That had been when she was married to Marco, though. It hadn't taken long for her to move in with Archer.

Ah, right. Hady was the name. Gabby hadn't bothered committing it to memory because small talk bored her and the only time that it didn't was when it related to her, her baby, or her husband. "Did your wife have a hard time finding things to do?" Because she was still a little uncertain about this. "Well, my sister-in-law will come by and keep me company. Well, she isn't REALLY my sister-in-law since she's married to my husband's nephew." But whatever. Sister-in-law sounded a lot better than niece-in-law.

Traveling was wonderful and over the years Evan had done his fair share of it. There was just something about being able to come home to his own house in the same spot afterwards that he enjoyed. He wasn't Gabby however nor was he her husband so his opinion was just that, his opinion. If traveling about was what made her happy then she should do that. "I used to camp and travel but not so much anymore unless it's work related." Of course he vacationed though still! "Have you been to many places then?"

"Not entirely no. Between myself, the wedding planning and the entire summer with the kids she was kept busy. Her last two months or so were the hardest as it was mainly her." It was tough being gone for work and having the kids away at their jobs or school but his family was much larger now. In order to provide for them all it had to be done. "Sister, niece, family is family and it's nice you won't be alone." Explaining who everyone was tended to get confusing at times.

It was nice to know someone else who loved to travel like she and her husband did. Gabby felt restless when she stayed in the same place for more than a little while though she was happy to stick London out for their daughter even if she hated the city. "Me and Archer live in a magical tent even though we DO have a house." Of course they had only lasted in it for a week before pitching the tent up in the backyard. "We have, yes! We love to travel and will get back to it as soon as it's safe to." Since they would have a baby, obviously. "What about you? Where have you been?" They could make a list of all the places and maybe they had gone to some of the same ones.

Ah, of course. Gabby hoped that she could find stuff like that to keep her busy while Archer was at work. She would miss him when he was gone though she would have Alana to keep her company as well as other family members. Her parents would surely visit as well... and hopefully her brother and sister too. "Is she the restless type too?" Just wondering... If someone who WASN'T restless had a hard time with it then Gabby was even less sure of how she'd take it. "That's very true and I'm so glad that everyone is accepting of me even though I've only been with Archer for a year and three months." So much had happened in that time and they were building a family now.

"Nothing at all wrong with having options for a just in case moment." You just never knew when something would happen and you would need a backup plan or in this case a backup home. Having a house even if they didn't live in it full time was the safe way to go in his opinion. Most of his travels now were work related but there wasn't anything wrong with that, it allowed him a chance to still see different places while returning home to his family afterwards. "A lot of my travels dealt with places in America but lately I've found myself heading to many places. Ireland, Hawaii, Germany." Just to name a few.

Was his wife restless? He didn't really think so. Then again it wasn't something he sat around and thought about often. "Not really. She somehow always finds something to do." Even if it's just sending owls to the kids. Evan nodded his head with some understanding. "If you two are happy then that's all that should matter really."

Informal mixer, pain in Lynley's butt, whatever you wanted to call it.

Spent her own damn money on the refreshments, too. Mostly because she didn't feel like going through the budget process to use the department's for food. Whatever. She could afford it, and she might as well use her money while she felt like spending gold on such idle things.

She had coffee, tea, a couple of juices, and water for beverages, and as for food...well there was a fruit and cheese tray, which was needed at every Ministry event EVER, it seemed, finger sandwiches, a salad bowl, slices of pizza that Lynley had cut into smaller pieces and places a pretty platter, bagels (various things to put ON bagels), and a cheese fondue foundation. With crackers.

Ugh.

Lynley wiped the sweat off her forehead. Was it 11AM yet? That's when people were supposed to pop in. Lynley poured herself a cup of coffee and also grabbed a few mini!slices of pizza. Her stomach was positively rumbling.

SPOILER!!: Boss Lady

Informal mixer, pain in Lynley's butt, whatever you wanted to call it.

Spent her own damn money on the refreshments, too. Mostly because she didn't feel like going through the budget process to use the department's for food. Whatever. She could afford it, and she might as well use her money while she felt like spending gold on such idle things.

She had coffee, tea, a couple of juices, and water for beverages, and as for food...well there was a fruit and cheese tray, which was needed at every Ministry event EVER, it seemed, finger sandwiches, a salad bowl, slices of pizza that Lynley had cut into smaller pieces and places a pretty platter, bagels (various things to put ON bagels), and a cheese fondue foundation. With crackers.

Ugh.

Lynley wiped the sweat off her forehead. Was it 11AM yet? That's when people were supposed to pop in. Lynley poured herself a cup of coffee and also grabbed a few mini!slices of pizza. Her stomach was positively rumbling.

So far working here had been rather uneventful. Not that Archer had expected something to happen on the first day. So far he'd only set up his desk and met another American, the latter being the highlight of the morning.

But now he actually did have something to do. Boss Lady had apparently planned an informal party-thing in the Breakroom, not that he was expecting anything that was actually informal, since Purcell didn't seem like someone who would ever host anything laid-back. So after he had his break outside and popped a few mints in his mouth (knowing that Lynley would mind the smell), Archer made his way towards the Break Room.

It seemed that he was (unfortunately) the first to arrive. . . after his new boss. Who already seemed annoyed. Great. . . .

"Morning, Miss Purcell." He greeted with a plastered on smile, waiting to hear some remark about the fact that he was wearing jeans, again. He silently glanced around the room, holding back a snort when he spotted the cheese-platter. "Seriously?" Was cheese her idea of fun and informal?

If it was, she probably had a really sad social-life. . .

Sooooo there wasnt going to be a formal meeting today. Gabby was okay with it because she was above talking about going into old and disgusting tunnels. Thank Merlin she was going to be going on maternity leave soon because this was something for the peasants to deal with.

Ugh, her back ached.

Wincing slightly, she waddled strutted into the break room to see her boss and a boy. Okay, so apparently one of the new employees was straight out of Hogwarts. That was always a treat. Not. And... "Where is the ice cream, Lynley? And the pickles? Do you expect me to walk to Floreans in my condition?" Tutting slightly, she picked up a small piece of pizza. "Well, I could eat all of these I suppose..." Rather have that ice cream though.

"Hi," she added to the new peasant. See? She was being friendly.

Milo followed behind Pregnant!Gabby as she legit waddled into the break room. It was about time for her to go on maternity leave, no? He glanced around to see who was already seated, noticing that the kid Archer was already there as well as Lynley, who looked to be sweating some. If she had just told him that she needed help setting up, Milo would of been in here to help her!

.... and now Gabby was complaining? Geez. "The cafeteria may have some pickles if you want any," he casually pointed out. He was certain that the caferia had some, but he was also certain that Gabby would be snapping at him in 2.5 seconds, so he went ahead and took a seat next to the kid Archer.

"Good morning, Lynley," he greeted his Department Head then he looked at Archer. "You're not complaining too, are you?" He just had THAT LOOK on his face. He had children; he knew that look very well.

He turned his attention to the food in front of him and helped himself to a bagel and some cream cheese.

Darwin Lehnsherr reporting for business!

Upon Darwin's arrival he had noticed a few of what were now his colleagues already in the break room, along with the boss of this meeting. This was looking like a pretty good turnout, though he was expecting to see a lot more people here. Obviously they still hadn't arrived yet, which also meant he was on time. It's better to be early than late, right?

Making his way through the entrance he greeted Lynley, "Good morning, I'm Darwin. It's a pleasure to be here." He kindly smiled, though he wasn't sure if a handshake is what they did here for greetings but he went ahead and gave his hand out for her shake.

"Good morning everyone, I'm Darwin." He smiled, acknowledging those who were already present before him and gave everyone a wave and handshake (for those who greeted in that type of manner that is).

After the greetings he went to help himself to the limited amount of food and drinks, he took a small plate of fruit and water. That will suffice, now what's next?!

He couldn't do this. Theodore needed a pep talk but he knew that, that wasn't going to happen right now. He could do this. He could act like a mature adult. He could so do this but mature and adult were pushing his limits. The twenty-six year old walked into the Ministry of Magic about five minutes before this little meeting in his department was supposed to be starting. That probably wasn't the best thing to do at the moment.

Theodore ran his way up to where his department was. He was not off to a very good start. He walked into the meeting room and smiled at everyone. His blue eyes looked around for the department head. "Hello, Miss Purcell." He said in his most charming way possible. His plan was to be on his boss' good side for the time being. Teddy looked around at the other and gave them a charming smile. "Hello everyone." He wasn't going to introduce himself at the moment unless there were actually people that wanted to know him. He needed to be shown some interest first.

"Please, Lynley," she corrected the boy as soon as she heard his address to her. Of course Archer was the first to show up. "Ms. Purcell makes me sound older than I am. People call my mother Ms. Purcell," she rolled her eyes slightly. "Seriously what? Seriously...that I was kind enough to provide food for the lot of you?" she asked, her voice slightly on edge as the words tumble out. "You can pay for the next event we have, if you want, child."

Pfft.

Ungrateful.

More complaints?! And from GABBY, too, who knew Lynley was not happy about the whole 'pregnant' thing. "If you really want it, you can walk, yes, because guess what? I didn't BUY that--" she grumbled and nodded at the door. Clearly, she was irked, now.

Oh, thank MERLIN! One of her NICE employees was here and was being NON COMPLAIN-Y. "Hi, Milo. I'm glad to see you're SATISFIED with the food provided. You're SO very welcome." she smiled pleasantly in his direction.

Ah, Darwin Lehnsherr. Lehnsherr, right? Lynley had trouble with this one's surname because of the...rrrrr's or something. But she smiled at him and shook his hand. "Hello, dear, it's wonderful to meet you! Please, eat as much as you want! Ignore the ungrateful ones over there--" she cocked her head to nod at Gabby and Archer and chuckled slightly. And another new one! "Oh, please, hon, it's Lynley." Again, Miss Purcell...sounded like her mother or something. "It's nice to meet you...Theodore, right?" She had his file somewhere in her office. He was a recent hire, his face was fresh in her mind.