A few weeks later, on an early Saturday morning…

Having finished her homework on Friday night as she usually did, Inara now had the whole weekend before her full of endless possibilities. One of her favorite weekend activities to do was wake up early, before anyone else, and make her own breakfast on her little stove.

She liked to experiment with different recipes and had almost perfected making chocolate chips muffins. Maybe next weekend she would try making apple cinnamon muffins. Her mom had promised to bring home some apple soon. Apparently, she got them from a special place.

After breakfast, she headed outside to play on her new jungle gym. She was surprised to see that Ethyn was all ready awake and tending his garden since, every weekend for the last few weeks, Ethyn had been sleeping the mornings away. Her dad had told her not to disturb Ethyn as he was sad because he wasn't friends with Tobin's dad any more.

When Ethyn was finished gardening, Inara asked about his plans for the day. She hoped that, since he didn't seem as sad as usual, he might take her fishing. However, he said he was feeling inspired to write, which was again a surprise to her since she hadn't seem him write so much as a sentence for about a month.

Inara: "Um…I did forget to tell you something last night. Your computer kinda broke when I was playing on it last night."

Ethyn: "Uh…"

Inara: "Oh, but don't worry. Daddy called the repair service and they're supposed to come sometime today. He said you can use the computer in their room if you need to."

A couple hours later…

Gwendolyn gave the blanket a final tug, smoothing it over the mattress, then headed toward the bathroom to continue her duties. As she'd been doing the entire time she was making the bed, she once again glanced at Ethyn as he typed away on the computer. She'd hoped that he would sense her attention and at least turn to look at her, but he seemed completely absorbed in whatever he was working on.

Ever since their mutual flirtation a couple of months ago, Gwen hadn't been able to get Ethyn out of her mind. For a while, she had even indulged in the fantasy that she might like being in a relationship with him. However, as she found out from her friend and co-worker Kate Pistachio, he started having an affair with rookie quarterback Marty Keaton. To say she was disappointed was putting it mildly.

When she discovered that Kate was going to the tabloids with the story of Ethyn and Marty's affair, Gwen offered her an alternate deal. In the end, it cost her two months of free days, which she traded Kate in exchange for the friend's silence, but it was totally worth it to Gwen. Even if she could never be with Ethyn, she couldn't stand the thought that his reputation would be dragged through the mud if the story ever got out.

About a month ago, she heard that Marty had broken it off with Ethyn and gone back to his wife, but Gwen was still hesitant about initiating anything with Ethyn. She knew the break up had really hurt Ethyn and she wasn't sure he was even over it yet. Still, she couldn't control her fantasies and found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. His lips looked like they would be so soft and warm. Not that she'd ever have the chance to find out.

She was surprised then when he came downstairs and stopped her just as she was leaving for the day. They chatted about inconsequential things for a little while, then he started to fidget, a shy smile crossing his lips, as he said:

Ethyn: "I…uh…couldn't help but notice you kept glancing at me while you were making the bed awhile ago."

Gwendolyn: *blushing* "Oh! I didn't think you noticed that. You seemed so engrossed in your work."

Ethyn: "I was. Apparently, my muse has returned. In fact, I'm feeling more myself than I have in a long time. I couldn't help but notice you looking at me though. I was wondering if it means what I think it does?"