Sharon had not at all been feigning her excitement about the zoo. She was like a little kid on crack, and her joy was infectious as she ran back and forth between exhibits, not at all unhappy to revisit one whenever she realized everyone else had fallen behind again. Even Jake’s feigned grumpy demeanor couldn’t quite hold up against her excitement, and more than once Ellie saw him smiling as he watched Sharon pressing her face up against the glass of the otters or leaning over the fence above the tiger enclosure. He also shifted closer like he was ready to grab her if she fell over, even though there was a safety ledge on the other side of the fence and not even the slightest risk of danger.

For herself, Ellie just enjoyed the strange feeling of being part of a normal couple.

It hadn’t been her plan for the day, but it was happening and part of her just wanted to pretend. Besides, it wasn’t entirely a pretense. They did have a contractually spelled out relationship in the club. They were friends outside of it. Just because Michael held her hand, was constantly standing close enough their shoulders were touching, and kept giving her little glances and smiles which made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, didn’t mean she had to panic about where things were going.

Helped by distractions from animals and Sharon’s craziness, as well as making sure they didn’t get too far ahead of everyone else, she was actually able to just stay in the moment and enjoy herself.

“What’s Angel doing?”

The question had Michael turning around. His brain was trying to tell him something important... something about Angel and the zoo. Scanning the crowd looking for Angel, his eyes zeroed in on her almost immediately. Oh yeah. He remembered now.

Angel was sprawled over the edge of the prairie dog enclosure making little clucking noises down at them. He wasn’t close enough to hear the noises, but he knew exactly what was going on. He’d visited the zoo with her before, although it was years ago. Looked like some things never changed.

“Come on,” he said, starting forward and keeping his grip on Ellie’s hand so she came along with him. “We might as well go back and see what Adam wants to do.”

“Do?” Kate asked, looking confused.

“She’s going to be there a while and I’m not waiting for her,” Michael said, gesturing ahead to where Angel was propped. Beside her, Leigh looked highly amused as she watched Adam trying to get his fiancé’s attention, with little success. “Besides, I’m getting hungry. We might as well regroup and see if anyone wants food.”