"I'm a doctor, Miss Granger," he assured her with that disarming smile of his, unsure still whether she was a Miss or a Mrs., but she had not mentioned a significant other and there was no ring on her left hand. "I think I can afford a cup of tea. Please, sit down and relax. You look like you've had quite a morning."

A bang from the high chair beside her caught her attention just in time to see Jake's teething ring go flying across the table she'd set them up beside. Gabi sighed wearily, giving in. "Thank you, Dr. Bradford, very much," she told him, bending to retrieve the ring. Twin toddlers were exhausting, even on a good day. She even managed a small smile for the handsome doctor, practiced hands pulling her bag from the stroller and snapping it folded to stow it out of the way as impatient little voices rose to demand their lunch.

He noticed that she hadn't so much as blinked an eye at the presumed honorific, though she did appear to have her hands full with the boys, who he assumed were identical twins, as they looked too similar to be otherwise. "No trouble at all," he told her, glancing at the two boys. "You be good for your Mum and eat your lunch while I fetch her tea. She could do with a break," he told them, though they probably didn't understand a word he was saying. "I'll be back in a jiffy," he promised, mussing the boys' hair before he started back toward the cafeteria line. From the way he spoke, it was obvious he wasn't from Rhy'Din proper, or perhaps even from the present time period.

Deeply grateful for even a little help - though there were rarely a lack of helping hands from strangers when she seemed to have her hands full - Gabi nodded, her smile relaxing a little more as the boys giggled at their mussing of their hair. She sank down into a seat with a low sigh, eying her sons in amusement. "Sometimes," she told them, reaching to drag various bits and pieces out of her bag for them, "I think you two are determined to turn me grey before you're five."

The good doctor made his way slowly through the cafeteria line. Thankfully, he had a little time to kill before his next surgery, but he couldn't tarry too long as he had to keep to a fairly strict schedule while on duty at the hospital. He didn't usually make it a habit to come to the rescue of a complete stranger, but the little boy, Jacob, had literally bumped right into him, and it wouldn't have done to ignore the little lost lad. While he was in line, he chatted amicably with those he knew both in line and behind the food counter. Apparently, he was a friendly sort, if a bit mysterious and aloof at times. It wasn't more than ten minutes before he'd returned to her table with a tray which held two sandwiches and two cups of hot tea.

By the time he returned, both Theodore and Jacob were wrapped up securely in their bibs, pudgy fingers making the most of apple slices and pumpkin dip. Two sippy cups stood safely on the table, out of reach of a pair of boys who liked nothing better than to cover unsuspecting strangers with the contents of those cups if they weren't watched carefully. Gabi smiled her tired smile as the doctor returned to the table. "Thank you again," she nodded to him. "W-would you like to join us?" It might a be a slightly stickier lunch than he was expecting, but at least he would be able to sit down in the busy cafeteria.

He set the tray down on the table so that he could hand over one of the cups of hot tea - black - and one of the sandwiches. "I hope you like chicken salad. I neglected to ask if you have a preference," he told her as he set one of the sandwiches on the table in front of her, along with the tea, and several napkins. He cast a glance around the crowded cafeteria, frowning a little to find there were very few seats that were not already taken. "Are you certain you don't mind?" he asked, like the polite gentleman that he was.

"I wouldn't offer if I minded," she pointed out. Shy she might be, but Gabi had adapted somewhat over the last couple of years. She blinked in surprise as the doctor set a plate as well as a cup down in front of her. "Oh, goodness ....you didn't have to do that," she heard herself say, genuinely touched by the thought. "Thank you. But now you really have to join me, if only to make sure I eat this."

"If you don't like chicken salad, I can exchange it for something else," he said tentatively, still standing, as if awaiting her judgement on the sandwich. He hoped she wasn't a vegetarian. He didn't know many vegetarians where he was from, but this was a different time and a very different place.

"I do," she assured him, gesturing to one of the free seats at the table. "Please, sit down. I promise, you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. I do understand that lunch time can be sacred." She jumped as a splat of pumpkin dip hit the side of her face, turning stern eyes onto the culprit - Theo, who grinned at her around a mouthful of apple. "If you throw it around, I will take it away," she informed her son, sticking to simple instructions still even as she wiped her cheek clean. Jake, thankfully, was too busy rubbing the dip between his fingers to want to join in his brother's game just yet.

George was just about to accept her invitation and take a seat at the table when Theo splatted his mother with a bit of pumpkin dip, and he couldn't help chuckling, though he tried to hide it from her by clearing his throat. "I say, those two are a handful. How do you do it?" he asked, in an attempt to make polite conversation as he took a seat at the table and picking up a napkin, reached over to help her blot up the pumpkin dip mess from her cheek.

Oddly, when it came to the boys, Gabi's habitual shyness definitely took a back seat. She barely flinched as the doctor helped her wipe her cheek clean. She did, however, laugh, giving him an excuse to do the same if he felt the need. "Ridiculous amounts of patience," was her answer. "Apparently I have a good year of this to look forward to before they calm down again. But it's worth it, for the occasional moment of brilliance." She glanced at the boys briefly, making sure Theo was actually eating this time.

"It seems one child would be hard enough to look after, never mind two," he remarked as he dropped the dirtied napkin on the tray and started to unwrap his sandwich. "If you don't mind my asking, what brings you to the hospital today?"

"It is hard work," she conceded, fully prepared to admit to that. "But not quite so much as a lot of people seem to think. At least we all sleep through the night these days." Wiping her fingers clean, she unwrapped her own sandwich, and promptly had to put it down again to remove Jake's fingers from Theo's mouth before the elder got a good bite out of his twin. "No biting. Chew on this." She slid a fresh piece of apple into the little boy's hand, and retrieved an equally fresh piece for Jake before accusations of unfairness could be made. And, of course, had to wipe her hands clean again before even contemplating the sandwich. "We had a visit to the allergist," she told George a little belatedly. "Nothing is showing up yet, which is a blessing. And ....well, I would assume you work here, unless you're in the habit of disguising yourself in scrubs to rescue overworked mothers in the cafeteria?"

"Do allergies run in the family?" he asked, more out of habit than anything else. He really wasn't trying to be nosy. He chuckled a little at her question. That would be an interesting way to meet women, if only he had the time. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but yes, I work here, and I do believe you're the first overworked mother I've ever rescued here." He bit into his sandwich, once he was sure he would not be called on to speak again until he was done chewing.

This time, she almost got the sandwich to her mouth before the boys demanded her attention, but it only needed a look to resolve the threat of an argument over who had the best bit of apple. Finally taking a bite, Gabi moaned gratefully for the opportunity to eat before the twins were asleep for once, swallowing before she answered the question sent her way. "I don't actually know," she admitted a little worriedly. "I was adopted, and their father came from one of the Earths, so I thought it might be best to make sure, one way or the other. As I said, I've never had a successful escape attempt before. I may have to forcibly recruit an extra pair of hands next time."

He flushed crimson at her laughter, thinking he'd likely spoken out of turn. What the hell was he doing sitting here having lunch with a young woman who he had only just met and would likely never see again? "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking more than a little sheepish. "I shouldn't have presumed or stuck my nose in where it doesn't belong." He either hadn't heard her challenge or assumed she wasn't serious about it.

"Oh, don't apologize, please." Without thinking, without realizing what she was doing, Gabi reached across the table to touch his hand, her laughter gone almost as soon as he flushed in embarrassment. "Please. I didn't mean to laugh, really. The last thing I would want to do is offend you. You've been so kind to us."

"I'm not offended," he assured her with a slightly shy smile of his own, made even more shy by the fact that she was touching his hand. He glanced at the rather old-fashioned looking watch on his wrist and frowned further. "I haven't much time left, I'm afraid. I'm due in surgery in an hour." And his sandwich was only half-finished.

Blushing herself now as she drew her hand back, Gabi glanced at her boys, and at her own sandwich, only half-finished itself. A startlingly reckless thought made itself known, and again, she heard herself speak before she had a chance to talk herself out of it. "M-may I buy you lunch?" she asked unexpectedly. "Not today, obviously, but ....another time" To thank you, for today."

He arched a brow again, more than a little surprised with her invitation, though he did not assume it was meant any other way then how it was offered. "I, um ..." He paused a moment in thought, mentally going over his very busy schedule or perhaps debating whether or not to accept her invitation. "I'm afraid the hospital keeps me rather busy, but I have the weekend off. I have to do my rounds Saturday morning, but I should be free after that, unless there's an emergency." He was obviously extremely devoted to his job, though it was unclear whether it was due to his work ethic or the fact that he didn't have much of a personal life.

"Um, well ....if-if I give you my telephone number, you could call me," she suggested nervously. "Perhaps w-we could set something up." A part of her was aghast at what was going on here - shy, mousey Gabrielle Granger was actually asking a handsome gentleman out on a date" Admittedly, she hadn't actually called it a date, but still ...."Unless ....I mean, obviously, if ..." She took in a deep breath, and tried again. "You could bring your wife, or-or girlfriend, if that would make the thought less ....awkward." She bit her lip worriedly.

There went that left blond eyebrow of his again quirking upwards in curiosity or puzzlement. "I'm not married nor am I seeing anyone," he told her matter-of-factly. There was no ring on his finger, though if he was about to go into surgery, that would have been removed anyway. "What about you?" he asked, taking a chance, but not quite coming right out and asking about the father of her boys or how he figured into their lives.

Fidgeting, Gabi blushed once again, though she couldn't help feeling pleased by his matter-of-fact declaration. "I ....I'm very single," she nodded, swallowing against a suddenly dry throat. She glanced at the boys a little guiltily. "Their father ....we broke up before I found out I was pregnant, and ....we stayed friends. We've ....well, we've drifted apart over the last couple of years, but if he wants to see the boys, I wouldn't deny him that."

Back home in his own world, in his own time, he knew she would have been looked down on for being an unwed mother. It was likely she would have had to endure harsh criticism and worse. She was exactly the kind of woman his mother would have not wanted for him, and yet, things were different here. She came from a good home, a good family. Even despite that, he had a feeling she was not the kind of wanton woman his mother might have warned him about. She seemed sad somehow, though whether it was because of the breakup, he couldn't say. He knew he should decline her offer. It was the right thing to do. If there was any chance she might reconcile with the father of her children, he would only get in the way, but she wasn't asking for forever - only for lunch. "Very well," he agreed at last, if only out of loneliness and hope for friendship. "Do you have a slip of paper?"

In his own world, she would have been trapped in an unhappy marriage, and she knew it. Maybe she'd tell him the whole truth of those circumstances some time. Nodding, relieved that he hadn't simply said no or demanded any further information, she rummaged in her bag, coming up with a notebook and pen, along with a packet of wet wipes which were soon put to use on her pair of mucky little boys. "Thank you, Dr. Bradford."

In his own world, he would have been trapped in an unhappy marriage, as well. At least here he was free to live his life as he pleased without having to worry about pleasing his parents or living up to the expectations society seemed to have placed on him. "George, please. My name is George." Just George. Not Lord George Arthur Frederick Bradford; not even Captain or Doctor Bradford - just George. He turned the notebook toward him and took up the pen. "Would you prefer I call you?" he asked, pausing before he could scribble his number down on the paper where he could be reached.

"Um ....oh, you're right, I was supposed to be giving you my number." She blushed once again, sitting down with the various bits and pieces retrieved from her boys' trays and their bibs removed, clean hands batting at each other impatiently. "Sorry, I'm ....I can be a little scatterbrained," she apologized, reaching for the pen to scribble down her phone number - the number for Beecham House, since she was so rarely out and about at all. "George."

He waited for her to tear off the slip of paper and hand it to him, a slightly amused smile at her remark. "On the contrary, I think you are doing swimmingly well for someone juggling a pair of two-year-olds." He reached for the notebook and scribbled down a number where he could be reached. "I'm afraid my schedule is rather chaotic. If I don't answer, leave a message, and I'll call you back," he instructed before returning the notebook and pen. "Is Saturday too soon' We could meet for lunch somewhere. Say at noon?"

"Thank you." Stuffing the notebook and pen back into her bag, along with everything else, Gabi felt her smile relax now she had navigated the terrifying part of arranging to meet someone. "I don't think Saturday is too soon," she offered. "Where would you like to meet?" Already promising herself to find or blackmail someone into babysitting for a couple of hours, she turned her attention to opening up the stroller and securing her little terrors into their seats once again, silencing the protests with the promise of blueberries when they got home.

Ah, but he had promised them both cookies, and look what he just happened to have hidden beneath a few napkins on his tray. He produced the cookies and tucked them into her diaper bag. "For later," he told her with a small smile as he went about helping her get the two little terrors settled in their stroller. Just then, the loudspeaker went off: "Doctor Bradford to OR," a woman's voice commanded. He sighed. The hour had passed far too quickly, but the weekend was only a few days away. "Sorry, that's me. Call me and let me know where you want to meet," he told her as he started away from the table. It was better that way anyway, since he wasn't sure where she'd like to go.

Startled, Gabi just about managed to hide her smile as the cookies were tucked out of sight before the boys could see them, deeply grateful that George seemed more than happy to help her confine the terrible twosome. As the intercom made itself known, she nodded. "I will," she promised, straightening up. "Thank you." The smile she offered was soft and shy, but warm with genuine pleasure for having met him.

He smiled back at her, nearly bumping into someone as he turned back around and hurried away. He'd only eaten half his sandwich, but had somehow managed to down all his tea. His tall frame disappeared from view as he turned the corner and blended with the crowd, though with his height, it was hard to blend. By the time he reached his destination to prep for surgery, he was still smiling with equal pleasure at having met her and eagerly anticipating their date. It was, in fact, the first date he'd been on since his arrival in Rhy'Din roughly one year ago and was likely long overdue.

For her part, Gabi was still smiling when she got home; still smiling when she called her Aunt Miranda to secure a babysitter; and still smiling when the boys went down for their nap. Who knew what her father thought of that development, but what did it matter" She was smiling, and for the first time in two years, it had nothing to do with the two little terrors who ruled her every waking moment. It was a start, at least.

((It's been a while since we dropped in on Gabi's life. She's definitely improved since her world got turned upside down by her mini-terrors!))