Alexa stared blankly at the woman for a moment, uncertain of what to really make of her reaction. The young woman had been all set to apologize--as she'd only been known to do when she was clearly at fault--but then...Look where you're going! A reasonable request grant you but she was hardly feeling apologetic now. In fact, Lex leaned against the rail of the dessert bar, sizing up her latest run in.

"Reckon if you turn back around I could get you clean and dry. Get a cooling spell going for your back too." She suggested offhandedly. It was only a spill. The world would still spin on its axis and the grass outside was still green.

The same could not be said for her coffee. Most of it was now on the floor and the Auror couldn't help the faint sigh of disappointment. That had had a chocolate frog mixed into it. Perfect waste that was.

"Can take you to the Healer too if you think you bruise easy."

Oh shoot she had been rude. Juniper took a deep breath, then another one. Right. Obviously, this woman hadn't purposefully spilled coffee or tea all over her back. People didn't like to waste beverages like that. Maybe Juniper had overreacted. Yes, probably she had overreacted.

"Would you mind?" she said calmly, gesturing at her back. "I may have overreacted, just... the shock of it, right?" A clean, not hot back would be appreciated. But she definitely didn't need to go to a healer. Nope. Juniper took another deep breath as she tried to stay all calm and collected. She just didn't handle shocks very well.

SPOILER!!: Most Gracious One

It wasn't yet lunch time, but Gabby was HUNGRY and craving more junk food. Thank Merlin she had that potion Zhenya had made because otherwise she wasn't sure how she would cope at work without throwing up. Brewing her own was out of the question because her stomach wouldn't have been able to handle it.

Making a beeline towards the dessert bar, she began piling her plate with various items, not really caring too much about what she had chosen. As long as it was sweet and ended up inside her stomach she was all good with anything pretty much.

If there was one thing that Seb loved about his job, it was the fact that he wasn't tied down to a desk. He could literally patrol wherever he wanted to and it counted as work.

And today it was his stomach that had taken over, leading him towards the Food Court where delicious aromas always emanated from. Ah, dessert. It wasn't the healthiest choice, but eh, he was taking a page from Anya's book. . . he was eating for two, cause he was carrying the baby mentally. . . yeah.

Merlin, it all looked so delicious. How was it that he had never been here before? This was like heaven and the line wasn't even that long. It seemed that the only person next to him was an extremely hungry woman. He eyed her pilled plate with amusement. It didn't seem like her physique was the kind that usually ate that much junk, since she was relatively skinny-looking. Maybe she just had a fast-metabolism?

"You sure that you're gonna eat all of that?" He asked with a small smile. He wasn't being rude, he just wanted to know.

See? Wasn't that better when everyone just calmed down and realized they hadn't suddenly dropped dead? Much more appreciative of the woman's new tone, Lex pulled her wand from it's holster and made quick work first of evaporating the liquid then a spot of scourgify to get what might otherwise have been a nasty stain out. "There. That should do it." And though she had never agreed, Alexa still went ahead to cast a cooling charm on the woman's back...you know...to take the sting off and such. At current she didn't have an ice pack but she heard that cold tended to help with things like that.

A heavier sigh was drawn as she looked to her beverage on the floor. "It's never easy losing a cup. We barely had time to get to know each other. I'd hardly savoured the flavour." Because why not say a few words for the fallen comrade? It had served her well while it was still in her cup.

Hazel eyes rose once again to the woman she'd basically assaulted. "You alright?"

OOOOH, CHOCOLATE CAKE.

Gabby got herself a big slice of the stuff and dumped it on the plate. Scanning the line to see if there was anything she had been missing, she caught a man looking at her. Well, she knew that she was gorgeous so it was no surprise that men looked at her, but she was off limits. He wasn't Archer so he wouldn't be getting anything from her besides a slap in the face if he tried something.

Take a hike, bub.

...

WHY was he asking her about what she was eating? He didn't know Gabby and he didn't know her life. "I'm pregnant," she said simply before grabbing a cookie and eating it. So yeah, she could handle this; she was a big girl.

Juniper shivered as the woman cleaned up her shirt and then applied a cooling charm. Brrrr. At least she'd be comfortable the rest of the day, though. Juniper heaved a sigh of relief, glad that the coffee stain was gone. She turned back around to face the woman. "Thank you," she said graciously. "I'm sorry you didn't get to finish your cup of coffee." It had been coffee, right? She supposed it could be tea or hot cocoa.

"I'm quite alright, I was just a bit taken by surprise," Juniper admitted. Not to mention she still hadn't gotten her mid-afternoon sugar. But she could still make the best out of a strange encounter. Perhaps she could get a dessert recommendation. "Do you get dessert here often? I'm having trouble deciding if I want pie or cheesecake."

SPOILER!!: Pfftt

OOOOH, CHOCOLATE CAKE.

Gabby got herself a big slice of the stuff and dumped it on the plate. Scanning the line to see if there was anything she had been missing, she caught a man looking at her. Well, she knew that she was gorgeous so it was no surprise that men looked at her, but she was off limits. He wasn't Archer so he wouldn't be getting anything from her besides a slap in the face if he tried something.

Take a hike, bub.

...

WHY was he asking her about what she was eating? He didn't know Gabby and he didn't know her life. "I'm pregnant," she said simply before grabbing a cookie and eating it. So yeah, she could handle this; she was a big girl.

Oh? She was pregnant as well? She didn't look pregnant. . .

Seb gave her a small smile of understanding, "I am too. . . well, mentally." he was joking, obviously. "My wife is pregnant too, so I can understand that you'd need to eat a little bit more." Or a lot, if you wanted to. . . mmmm.

"I didn't offend you or anything, did I?" He didn't need a repeat of when he met Lynley. . . O__O nope. "I was just wondering since you're so. . . umm, petite." Yes, females liked being told that they looked skinny. Hopefully she wasn't weird or overreacted about things like being told that she looked skinny.

He grabbed one of the cookies that she was eating and took a bite, "Wow, these are good. I can see why you'd want 12 of them in your plate." He wasn't sure if that was offensive too. . . oh well.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lex shrugged at the apology, willing herself not to glance down at the mess, at least not until she'd properly come to terms with it. "I'll just grab another. If nothing else, it's given me another excuse to stop by Level 3." One never had enough reasons for paying Accidents and Catastrophes a call--more so its Department Head. Come to think of it, this might not have been such a waste afterall.

Taking aim once more, Alexa saw to the removal of the liquid from the floor before the especially unintelligent among them got the chance to slip and break some part of them that no one even thought possible. Never underestimate an idiot. They found WAYS of doing the unimaginably moronic.

"Constant vigilance helps the whole surprise thing. It's one of the first things we're taught as Aurors." Lex had been too distracted to see the approaching woman but had the roles been reversed, there was a higher chance reflexes would have kicked in, the sort of reflexes only YATI training could get you. "And I'd say neither but I'm biased." As an indication of this bias, Lex reached across the display and nicked two chocolate frogs from the tray. "These are always the best bet. I'd go with the pie though. It's more consistent in texture and flavour than the cheesecake on average." So yes, she DID eat here often. Grabbed a treat at least twice a day.

Oh, so this woman was an Auror. Juniper nodded absent-mindedly at the "constant vigilance" thing. While she was generally pretty aware of her surroundings because plants and children could do unexpected things, she had to admit that she had to make a conscious effort to be aware of what was happening. But there were no plants or children in the dining hall, so instead she had been very focused on the desserts.

Juniper chuckled when the woman said neither pie nor cheesecake. Asking advice for desserts was usually a no win situation for her since she didn't like chocolate. "Cherry pie it is, then," she said, scooping a slice onto her plate. "I'm Juniper Melo, by the way," she said, shifting the pie plate into her left hand so she could offer the woman a handshake. She wanted to at least try to be polite.

Cherry Pie wasn't her favourite, mostly because chocolate pie was but also because one of her cousins had broken her into the habit of apple pie. Freya was an odd nut when it came to this particular dessert. "I'm Lex." The former Gryffindor gave the woman a firm shake of her hand. "Is that all you'll be getting?"

Alexa always found it curious when people limited the amount of desserts they allowed themselves in any one sitting. People preached moderation to her all the time. Didn't mean she was ever inclined to listen.

Lex turned to see what else she could nick from the dessert bar. Try as she might and as determined as she was to only get the one chocolate frog and leave...she could never say no to sugar. "So what Level do you work on?"

Lex. That was an easy name to remember, Juniper thought. She smiled at the woman, glad that it had been a decent handshake. Some of the younger ministry employees she had met gave disappointing handshakes, but not Lex. "It's a pleasure."

Hmm. Lex had a good question. Was she just going to get the pie, or should she grab a second snack? She snagged some Bertie Bott's beans from the table and stuck them next to the pie on her plate. "Bertie Bott's for later," she said with a decisive nod. Yeah, between the pie and the jelly beans, she'd make it through the rest of the day. "I'm on Level 4. Environmental Protection. I take it you're on ..." She paused, trying to remember which level had the law enforcement. "Level Two, right? If you're an Auror?" Was that right? Or were Aurors on level 1?

...

What?

Gabby stared at the man, dumbfounded. Did he just say that he was pregnant? "You DO know how pregnancy works, right? You can't be pregnant physically or mentally." It was a joint experience, yes, but the man didn't do anything that involved growing the baby; that was all on the WOMAN. Honestly.

At least he was complimenting her. That was a good thing. Gabby loved compliments though the best ones came from Archer.

"I don't think any woman takes being called petite as an insult." Well, she was petite for the moment at least; soon enough she would be as big as a bloody house and would have a problem fitting through doorways. When that day came she would blast through them with her wand because nothing held Gabby back. She was her own woman and did whatever she pleased, especially when it came to dealing with peasants... like this man who STOLE HER COOKIE.

"Get your own damn cookie!" Gabby growled at him as she slapped it out of his hand. Now he couldn't enjoy it anymore either.

Lex returned the smile but not the sentiment. Typically, she didn't tell people it was a pleasure meeting them until she was absolutely sure of it. Otherwise, it'd be a perfectly good waste of a compliment. The young woman did not make a habit of saying things she didn't mean. That tended to send the wrong message.

"Level 2, yeah." She confirmed with a firm nod. "I don't know many people from your Department--'m not sure I really know what goes on over there to be honest but I heard weather charms went wonky around this place a few years ago and they had to call in the experts on your level." Which was sort of interesting if you thought about it. Sure, it wasn't wrangling bad guys and wondering if every mission will be your last but there was something there.

"What do you do there?"

Juniper nodded to herself. Good. She had remembered the level correctly. "I've only worked here for a few months," she explained. Let it be known- she had nothing to do with weather charms malfunctioning. Honestly, even if she had been around, she wouldn't have been the person to fix it. Her charmwork was fine, but she didn't really focus on it. She was more interested in the nurturing of plants. "I work in the greenhouses, I'm the caretaker. There's also herbology researchers and people who take care of regulating plants."

She didn't really need to ask what aurors did, but she supposed it was polite to be interested. "Do you like being an Auror?" she asked. Oh. Maybe that was a stupid question. Why would someone continue being an Auror (risking their life) if they didn't actually like it?

SPOILER!!: :P

...

What?

Gabby stared at the man, dumbfounded. Did he just say that he was pregnant? "You DO know how pregnancy works, right? You can't be pregnant physically or mentally." It was a joint experience, yes, but the man didn't do anything that involved growing the baby; that was all on the WOMAN. Honestly.

At least he was complimenting her. That was a good thing. Gabby loved compliments though the best ones came from Archer.

"I don't think any woman takes being called petite as an insult." Well, she was petite for the moment at least; soon enough she would be as big as a bloody house and would have a problem fitting through doorways. When that day came she would blast through them with her wand because nothing held Gabby back. She was her own woman and did whatever she pleased, especially when it came to dealing with peasants... like this man who STOLE HER COOKIE.

"Get your own damn cookie!" Gabby growled at him as she slapped it out of his hand. Now he couldn't enjoy it anymore either.

Seb tilted his head slightly to the side. "You do know that I'm kidding, right?" He wasn't that stupid. "Of course I can't actually be pregnant, does it look like I'm a woman to you?" Pfft, doubt it. He was like one of the manliest men ever.

"Some do, like short girls." Little Hobbit-people didn't like being called petite, "They think that you're making fun of their inferior stature." Duh.

O__O

Did she just growl at- and there goes my cookie, "That was my cookie. . . why did you just slap my cookie onto the floor?" What the hell, lady?! That perfectly beautiful cookie was now on the ground, being contaminated by disgusting floor-germs. "Why did you do that, lady?"

Pfftt, did she seriously think that Seb was scared of a little growling pregnant-person? Nope. He was just gonna take another one of her cookies, he was a big boy, he could deal with her tantrums. And zoink- "Wow, this one is even better than the last." You could really taste the chocolate in this one. He held it out to her, "Want a bite?"

Errrr. "You think pregnancy is a joke?" If that was the case, Gabby felt sorry for the man's wife, whoever she was. On second thought she must be an idiot for choosing a man who thought that something like having a baby was a joke. He should try carrying a baby for a day and see if he was laughing then. "I don't know. ARE you a woman?" Smirk. Nothing wrong with returning the favour.

Short girls? Gabby shrugged. She didn't really bother with the height stuff because she wasn't exactly tiny. Of course she didn't tower over men though sometimes she came pretty close with her high heels. "I guess that's the same for fat people." She would see for herself in a few months when she was really starting to show. If anyone made fun of her then she would hit them with her purse and laugh. Now THAT would be funny. Would serve them right too.

Okay.

That was it.

Annoyed, Gabby took her big slice of chocolate cake and shoved it right in his FACE. "How's that, you peasant??"

SPOILER!!: :)

Errrr. "You think pregnancy is a joke?" If that was the case, Gabby felt sorry for the man's wife, whoever she was. On second thought she must be an idiot for choosing a man who thought that something like having a baby was a joke. He should try carrying a baby for a day and see if he was laughing then. "I don't know. ARE you a woman?" Smirk. Nothing wrong with returning the favour.

Short girls? Gabby shrugged. She didn't really bother with the height stuff because she wasn't exactly tiny. Of course she didn't tower over men though sometimes she came pretty close with her high heels. "I guess that's the same for fat people." She would see for herself in a few months when she was really starting to show. If anyone made fun of her then she would hit them with her purse and laugh. Now THAT would be funny. Would serve them right too.

Okay.

That was it.

Annoyed, Gabby took her big slice of chocolate cake and shoved it right in his FACE. "How's that, you peasant??"

"What? Of course I don't think that it's a joke." Honestly, that was like the last thing he'd ever think about growing a child. "I have the utmost respect for pregnant women, you guys are basically growing a person. . . and that's the most beautiful thing ever." Merlin, you really are a sap.

Fat people didn't like being called petite? What? "Wouldn't that be like an amazing compliment for a fat person? To be called skinny and small? Even if it's just a lie?" Maybe some people liked being lied to. . . a lot of people were in denial about things, so maybe it was best to just keep something from them. . .

Like the fact that this woman had too many cookies for one person, er, two people. Even for a pregnant woman. . . it was still a lot. See? He was helping her! Now she didn't have to eat all of these insanely good coo-

SPLAT!

Seb staggered back at the impact of the cake against his cheek. A big glop of it fell from his face and onto the floor. What. The. Actual. Hell.

Seb wiped at his cheek, scooping some of the chocolate cake from it's target. He looked at the woman for a second, an evil smirk crossing over his features. And then, fast as could be, he shoved the remainder of the cake against her face, smearing it in as much as he could, "You can have that back, since you don't like sharing." Mwaha. If she just would have shared those damn cookies. . . "Who's the peasant now?"

Ah, another person relatively new to the Ministry. She'd run into quite a few of those since the start of the new work year. "Interesting. What'd you think of the place so far--almost working here and a year and all." She didn't expect anything too extravagant in the woman's perception given that this year so far had been a tame one Ministry wide but it would still be worth finding out what people outside of Law Enforcement thought, especially given that their jobs weren't to anticipate danger and dysfunction at every corner like her and her co-workers were trained to do. In deed a tame Ministry year both meant they were doing their jobs right and that it was a boring couple months in house.

Thank Merlin for field work and missions. Without them she would be brain dead by now. Lex didn't even wanna think about the poor saps on Level 1. For the most part, all their work was in-house. Paperwork. Meetings. Bureaucracy. Ugh.

"I adore my job. Ironically, it's probably the only thing keeping me alive and sane." A little odd, yes but true. Alexa loved the dangerous missions, the tracking of bad guys, the stakeouts, the shakedowns the arrests--Merlin did she love the arrests, especially when the poor sods resisted and GAVE her a reason to use excessive force. Nothing better. "I can never get enough of Auror work. Ever."

This man was weird.

How could someone take pregnancy seriously but also joke about it? Gabby didn't look at the world seriously herself, she just did not understand the man's reasoning. Maybe she was just irritated because of hormones, but the more likely explanation was his attitude problem. Yep, it was definitely all HIM.

What?? "No, I mean it goes the same way with fat women as it does with petite ones." What even was he on about with fat women being petite? That didn't even make any sense. Though... she supposed that what he said was true in a way, but it was still a lie and Gabby didn't like lies. "My fiance told me he'd love how I look even when I'm bigger." But THAT wasn't a lie. She would always look amazing even when she was as big as a house and had trouble moving around.

UGHHH!!!

He did NOT just cover her face in cake! "You took my food without asking me if you could have any!" And no, she wouldn't have shared even if he had asked but that wasn't the POINT. Gabby was beyond irritated and if it wasn't for the fact that she was pregnant she would have beat the crap out of him. As it was, she subtly fingered her wand. She would see what his next move was before hexing him into the next millennium.

Juniper shrugged. "It's about what I expected," she said cautiously. "It's very different than other jobs I've had, though." So much paperwork. And sitting. Definitely way more weather charms than she'd ever experienced in her life. The things she did so her daughter could go to Hogwarts. Really, her job wasn't too terribly boring because she liked working with plants and the greenhouses. It was just sitting 80% of the time that made her eager to go home at the end of the day.

She nodded when Lex said she liked being an Auror. Really, it made sense. "I've never met an Auror who didn't like their job," Juniper said. "I imagine the excitement makes it worth the risks, yes?" Risks for the sake of a fun job she could understand, just maybe not to the extent of being an Auror.

SPOILER!!: <3

This man was weird.

How could someone take pregnancy seriously but also joke about it? Gabby didn't look at the world seriously herself, she just did not understand the man's reasoning. Maybe she was just irritated because of hormones, but the more likely explanation was his attitude problem. Yep, it was definitely all HIM.

What?? "No, I mean it goes the same way with fat women as it does with petite ones." What even was he on about with fat women being petite? That didn't even make any sense. Though... she supposed that what he said was true in a way, but it was still a lie and Gabby didn't like lies. "My fiance told me he'd love how I look even when I'm bigger." But THAT wasn't a lie. She would always look amazing even when she was as big as a house and had trouble moving around.

UGHHH!!!

He did NOT just cover her face in cake! "You took my food without asking me if you could have any!" And no, she wouldn't have shared even if he had asked but that wasn't the POINT. Gabby was beyond irritated and if it wasn't for the fact that she was pregnant she would have beat the crap out of him. As it was, she subtly fingered her wand. She would see what his next move was before hexing him into the next millennium.

Seb nodded when the still unkown-name-woman said that her fiancé would still love her if she was fat. "Of course he will. He loved you enough that he wanted a baby with you, so obviously he'll still love you when you're carrying his child." That was just the way it was. Anya could gain a hundred pounds and he'd still think that she was beautiful.

"After all, even if you did get fat, you're not to blame. You can't help that you have cravings and if someone says anything insulting about your weight they're stupid. Cause they're not growing a human, are they?" Respect to pregnant woman, cause they are amazing.

. . .

Apparentely she wasn't just having cravings, but massive mood-swings as well. She started it after all. "You can't just smash cake onto someone's face and not expect them to the same." Unless they were like civil or something.

Seb grabbed a napkin from the table and started wiping at the mess on his face. He had to take like five just to get it all off, but he was sure that there was still some icing in his nostril. He got a few more and offered them to the woman with a slight smile, "Look, I'm sorry that I took you food without asking, it was wrong and I thoroughly apologize." Doubt that she'll accept it, "Truce?" Please, no more cake to the face. . .

How could a man who seemed to have a good grasp on pregnancy be so foolish and idiotic?

Gabby was ignoring everything he was saying to her including the apology because it was not nearly enough. By far. "I will not call a truce with someone who says sorry while still blaming me." Because that was what he was doing by saying that she had asked for cake being shoved back into her face. It was something that HE had deserved, not her. Fuming, she rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smack him in the face. How someone could be so clueless was beyond her. "Learn some respect and get back to me when you have a proper apology and then we can have a 'truce'." Or whatever. Honestly she didn't care right now.

Angrily she stormed off. Archer needed to calm her down because she was tempted to hex this man into oblivion.

Every now and again Addison Anders would make her way to the dessert bar for something about more sugary then her normal diet. True when she did it was generally something very small for herself and she would always grab something to take home for her son as well. Today though as the blonde stood there taking in the rather large selection before her she had no idea what she wanted. All that she knew was she had been craving sweets nonstop for the last several days. It's all she wanted. This new behavior and sweet tooth wasn't something she was used to, not since she was a young child and teen.

Letting out a slow breath, tucking a strand of long hair behind her ear Addy scanned over all the snacks once more. This shouldn't be so difficult. Why was she still even standing here? Just grab what you want and go Ad's, this is insane. Where was her husband or son when she needed them to make a quick choice.

The pregnancy cravings were rather bad so Gabby decided that she would head down to the food court and get herself an early lunch before eating with her husband properly later. He wouldn't mind at all. Besides, she was carrying his child and the baby needed food just as much as she did.

Bypassing the healthier options, she made a beeline towards the dessert bar. THIS was what she was craving. Move over salads and fruit, Gabby was all about cakes, cookies, brownies, and other sweet goodness. Too bad there was no pizza because she could really go for that as well. A bunch of this and a bunch of that was added to her plate before she got herself a big helping of ice cream. OOOOOH BOY. Now that was what she was talking about. Her number one craving right there.

Noticing another woman standing nearby, Gabby went about continuing to grab food. Not like there wasn't enough to share!

Standing there by herself taking in each and every option Addy was getting nowhere fast. What she was supposed to be doing was grabbing whatever caught her eye first and getting out. The problem was that today, everything had caught the women's eye.

When another women entered and made a beeline straight for the desserts Addy couldn't help but pause and watch her a moment. Apparently the young women also had some serious cravings or she just knew what she liked. Either way a small small tugged at the blondes lips as she watched the other pile all different types of sweets onto her plate. Before she could register what she was even doing she walked over to her picking up a plate for herself. "What would you recommend for someone that doesn't eat sweets all to often but has been having a craving for everything lately?" she asked casting Gabby a sideways glance. Any suggests from one lady to another?