The next morning, MJ realized as they were going downstairs that Heath looked different to her because of what they'd done together, because of the night they'd passed together.

She'd spent the night in different states of sleep, of waking to find herself firmly wrapped in his arms from behind, his knees tucked behind hers as his breaths purred in her ear, or of waking to see his dear, naked back, the knobs of his spine clearly delineated in the moonlight, and scooting over to lay her face against his shoulder blades, knowing he wouldn't mind. He would feel her cheek against him and give a small sigh of happiness in his sleep and snuggle into her, grasping her hand in his and pulling her close. A couple of times they'd been facing each other and he'd smiled at her and scooted in, putting a sleepy arm around her and tugging at her so he could kiss her before drifting back into sleep.

In a way, the sleeping together was more intimate than their sexual activities had been, she mused. She smiled to herself.

"What?" Heath asked, having seen her smile.

"Nothing," MJ answered, embarrassed.

Heath continued to look at her.

Valentino walked downstairs with them, wandering around their legs but miraculously not tripping them.

"You know, Ms. Jasse-molasses, I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but you look more beautiful to me this morning than you did yesterday," Heath whispered, stopping on the landing to pull her into his arms and kiss her.

MJ laughed into his mouth.

"Please, could you hold your giggles until I'm finished kissing you? It hurts my feelings terribly," he begged, releasing her and taking her hand.

"Then stop making me laugh right before you do it," MJ admonished. "Man, the coffee smells wonderful," she added.

"That'll be for Archie and my dad," Heath said. "Mum, Poppy and I like tea, but Archie and Dad are coffee drinkers from way back."

They joined everyone else in the sunny kitchen at the back of the house. It was a very casual affair, with everyone kind of making whatever they wanted.

MJ put some bread in the toaster, while Heath scrambled some eggs for them.

"Don't you feel bad to cook those eggs right in front of the hens who laid them?" Archie questioned from the table.

MJ looked, and, sure enough, there were a few chickens wandering around outside, looking through the glass. She kept looking, and realized that some rabbits were hopping around on the manicured lawn, as well as a couple of ducks and geese.

How wonderful.

She smiled at Heath, who was making a face at his brother.

"Not at all," he replied. "I happen to know that we don't even have a rooster on the property right now, so there's zero chance that these eggs were fertilized, so shut it, you."

"Are you vegetarian?" MJ asked Archie.

He nodded as he sipped his coffee.

"Ovo-lactarian or pescatarian?" MJ asked. "Or vegan?"

Archie looked at her over his coffee cup, eyebrows raised, then at his brother. "Your girl is impressing me to no end, brother," he declared, setting his cup down. Today his hair was down about his shoulders, and he was wearing a wonderful feminist T-shirt that MJ had seen around the UCLA campus.

"I'm actually a vegan, though people around here usually don't know the difference, so thank you very much for asking," he said with a smile.

MJ smiled back. "Please, I'm from LA, I know every kind of eating fad there is. Not that being vegan is a fad," she hastened to reassure him. "I'm just saying that we've had vegan items on the menu at my dad's diner for the last fifteen years, that's all."

"Our Archibald Francis is going to singlehandedly save the whole world from itself, isn't he?" Margaret said. "Aren't you?" she asked her youngest son.

"Please, mum, it's too early for your sarcasm," Archie begged.

MJ and Heath sat down with their breakfast.

"So, Archie, are we sure we're drinking fair trade coffee?" MJ asked with a grin.

Archie looked at her. "What?"

"You know, fair trade coffee, where the growers have been paid a fair and ethical price to grow their coffee, and a third, unbiased party has ensured that they're not being taken advantage of, especially in poor and developing countries, which is where most coffee is grown?"

By now Archie had set his cup down and was staring at MJ.

Poppy was smiling as she watched the conversation, obviously enjoying herself very much.

Archie drew his brows together and pulled out his phone.

"Oh no, Arch, have you been drinking the horrible and horrifying 'blood-coffee' all this time?" Heath teased. "The coffee that's grown by kidnapped children who are chained to the coffee plants, forced to pick beans until their fingers bleed, beans which are then roasted by slaves and orphans who give their lives getting it to England so you can enjoy a cup of Kenyan dark roast?"

Archie put his phone down, picked up a piece of toast and threw it at his brother. It hit Heath in the face, where it left a dollop of marmalade, then fell to the floor, where it was quickly gobbled up by Budgy, their large, happy Shepherd mix.

Heath let out a gasp, which turned into a shocked laugh. Poppy and MJ, too, burst into laughter.

"Archie Francis!" Heath said, pretending to be very offended. "Your lack of manners is appalling! I swear, you must be adopted."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Archie fired back, laughing himself. "Mum and dad were probably so disappointed by their first two attempts at procreation--" and he stopped to gesture at his brother and sister "--that they had to try other means."

"Oh, you children do try my last nerve," Margaret said, attempting to hide her smile.

"Yes, and all three of you are definitely the fruit of my loins, you're just going to have to take my word for it," Hugh said, looking around at his children before picking up his newspaper.

"Oh god, dad, please, no!" Poppy begged, putting her toast down. "You cannot say fruit of your fucking loins at the breakfast table, you just can't, okay?" She poked at his newspaper. "It's enough to put a person off her food, honestly."

MJ had to put her fork down and bring her napkin to her mouth to hide her laughing. She was in very real danger of spitting her food out.

She managed to finish her meal without catastrophe, then spent a happy half hour wandering around the property, getting the chickens put back in their very roomy coop.

"They have plenty of room in here, but dad feels bad that the ducks and geese have the run of the place and these guys don't, so he lets them out early in the morning for a little bit," Heath explained. "He thinks the chickens see them and get jealous or something, if you can believe it. The ducks and geese spend most of their time on the pond that's way over there, but in the morning when it's cool they like to come up here and check the lawn for bugs or whatever, so it all works out, I suppose, and it keeps the lawn clear of pests."

Then they went to the barn and turned the horses out to the front pasture for the day. There were three or four big trees for shade, and water as well, so they were good for the day.

"They're really just pets, you know?" Heath said, rubbing one of the horse's noses. "I mean, we ride them sometimes, but we don't need them. We just love them, and enjoy having them. This one is Cinnamon, that huge one is Silver, the spotted one is Pongo, and the little golden one is Rapunzel."

MJ had never been so close to horses before. She rubbed Pongo's nose, while he snuffed her palm, looking for food.

"We can come back later with carrots and apples, okay?" Heath suggested, putting an arm around MJ. She smiled in anticipation and nodded.

When they got back to the house, Archie was sitting in the lounge, but he rose immediately when he saw them.

"Hey, you know, I was thinking it would be right fun if we played a bit of music, what do you think?" His eagerness showed on his handsome young face, and MJ, who was very private about her music, simply couldn't say no.

"Sounds wonderful," she replied, and she saw the gratitude in Heath's face.

"Great! I'll go get my guitar and uke!" Archie said.

"Hold on, I'll go with you and get ours," Heath said, following.

"What's going on?" Poppy said, entering the lounge and peeling off gardening gloves.

"Tell her, MJ," Archie called.

"Outstanding," Poppy said with a smile after MJ told her their plans. "I'll just wash my hands.

"Mum! Dad?" she called as she went to the kitchen. "We're going to von Trapp in the lounge, if you want to listen?"

"What? Wonderful!" MJ heard Margaret respond.

So this was going to be everyone, and with an audience.

MJ took a deep breath, and wished she had time to run up and apply extra deodorant.

Archie came thudding back down the stairs clutching a very nice Martin acoustic, and a ukulele as well. He'd taken time to tie his hair out of his face, and his dark blue eyes were happy and excited.

Heath was right behind him with the Seagull, which he handed to MJ, and the Gibson for himself, as usual.

MJ looked at Poppy, whose hands were empty.

"No worries," she said with a smile as she sat down at the piano. "Never learned the guitar," she explained. She played a few scales to warm up, and MJ could tell she was quite good, way better than MJ herself, who only knew enough to accompany herself as she sang.

Heath's parents came in and sat down, smiling expectantly.

"Goodness, this is going to be a real treat," Margaret said.

"Shall we begin with 'Brooklyn'?" Heath asked. "It's Archie's favorite," he explained to MJ.

"Does MJ know that one?" Archie asked.

"MJ does fine with just about anything," Heath assured his brother.

So they played "Brooklyn," which was one of The Jacks' earliest hits.

From there, they moved through many more of Heath's old band's songs, singing four-part harmony when they were able, and MJ was pleasantly surprised to find that Heath's siblings were very talented for people with no formal singing training.

And they, in turn, gave MJ appreciative looks as she played and sang, recognizing talent when they saw it.

MJ tried hard to get over being in front of people; after all, the parents of the other people she was performing with pretty much defined "friendly audience," didn't it?

"And now, I'd like to play a few things MJ and I have been working on together," Heath said.

"Oh, sounds great," Poppy and Archie said. Poppy closed the piano, Archie set his ukulele side, and both moved to sit next to their parents so they could listen and watch.

MJ looked at Heath.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"How about 'Climb the Sky'?"

MJ smiled. It was very pretty, upbeat and fun.

So they played through it, and it was a hit. MJ felt confident after that, and they did a couple more, with Heath explaining that these might go on his next album.

"MJ?" Heath turned to her. "Would you consider doing 'Calliope's Lament'?" He asked hopefully. "I know it's not one we worked on together, but I'd back you up on harmonies and stuff--"

MJ considered. It wasn't even that she was afraid anymore. And the song was as finished as she could hope for.

She bit her lips together and nodded.

"Wonderful," Heath said with a smile. He turned to his family. "This song is going to knock you over, honest, it's that beautiful. She wrote it about her mum, about what her mum might be feeling."

He picked up his guitar and turned to MJ. "You start, and I'll join whenever I can, okay?"

MJ nodded. She positioned her guitar, closed her eyes for a moment, then began.

It was a very quiet song, almost moody, in a minor key.

Calliope's Lament

Sweetheart, my precious, my only little one
Please don't be lonely, don't feel alone
In this great big marvelous wonderful world

Though you might feel afraid
Or that the night is so long
And you're just so small
To be in it

I never would've left you
The great love of my life
If I'd had any choice
I would've stayed by your side
Forever

I sing into the void
The howling wilderness of nothing
I hope that you can hear me
And know that I am with you

Heath played his guitar in the lower registers, offering support to the lighter ones that MJ played, and he sang harmonies, harmonies that they'd perfected during the afternoons they'd sung the song together.

It had become something beautiful in their hands, a haunting, powerful song, broken open in some way to let out more than just words and music.

The room was silent for a few beats after the chords died out.

Then Poppy spoke, as she wiped her eyes.

"Your mum would be so proud, MJ, truly."

Archie raised Poppy's hand, which was clasped in his own, to his mouth and kissed it, nodding his agreement. "That was gorgeous, you guys."

MJ looked at Heath, who leaned over as far as he could and kissed his girl's cheek.

"Yeah, I thought so, too." He caught MJ's eye, and nodded. "Me too."