Katarina waited at a small table in the window at the small cafe near the theatre. Though her eyes might reflect her night of little sleep, her entire demeanor hummed with excitement. She was still running on the rush of last night, and the support of all those that had come to see her. It was all still a blur in her mind. Nursing a cup of coffee, her eyes watched those that walked across her view as she waited for her cousin.

Johnny made his way up the street from the studio, whistling cheerfully off-key to himself, but that broke off when he spotted Katie waiting through the window. Lengthening his stride, he was able to join her in the cafe in short order. "Katie-kat! So how ya feelin' th' day after, snowflake?" He bent to give her a quick hug before he took his own seat.

Her face brightened instantly, and she returned the hug with vigor, "I's like I'm runnin' on excitemen'. Dun 'member sleepin' much." A wide grin, "Didcha hav' fun? And Si an' th' res'?"

"Ya know I did, an' Si an' th' rest, too. Even if'n ya were too spun up ta remember seein' us all there." Johnny chuckled as he snagged the menu, then studied it with a frown. "They go' anythin' ta eat at this place tha' ain' salad? I ain' lookin' fer rabbit food t'day. An' if'n yer runnin' shor' sleep, ya need ta eat enough ta balance tha'.

"Yeah, they go' some soups 'n sandwiches too." She leaned over, and pointed towards the bottom. An' I 'member seein' ya'll there. It would nah hav' mean' much ta me if ya weren't." She didn't glance at the menu, already knowing what she wanted.

"Gotcha." And when the waiter appeared to take there order, Johnny's was enough to make the poor boys eyes widen. "Two'a those steak sandwiches, one'a th' roast beef, an' one'a th' chicken... an' coupla-three bowls'a tha' minestrone too, righ'?" He grinned cheerfully as the lad stuttered back his order and then turned to Katarina with a stunned look.

She did not appear surprised by the amount of food he ordered. "I'll hav' th' clam chowda, thanks." He seemed surprise that Johnny's order was all for him, and all but hid his stagger towards the kitchen. "Ma's gonna try an' come visit soon."

"Good. Fer all her talkin' abou' wantin' th' city aroun', she don' hardly come here nor ou' an' abou'. An' she'll be righ' proud'a ya, too, much as I am." And then emerald eyes looked at Katarina squarely, without the mask of cheerful good humor. "Ya know I'm righ' proud'a ya, Katie. Yer livin' up ta wha' ya can be."

Inside the box was a small silver locket, and in the locket on one side was a thin braided coil of hair, blonde and reddish-brown mixing. On the other side was a small picture of Johnny, Caleb and Katie, Caleb in the center with his arms draped around the Smiths while the trio laughed at the camera. Johnny watched with all expression stilled on his face while Katie opened the box to inspect the contents.

Spotting the necklace, she pulled it free of anything holding it in place, before inspecting the locket. "I's beautiful, Johnny." Her focus entirely on the locket, her careful fingers opened it to reveal the inner contents. Her face went absolutely still, her eyes glued on a particular face. "Where.. how'd ya....?" She could not even finished her sentence as tears unexpectedly filled her eyes.

"Ya 'member when we took tha' pic? Swore tha' we'd be frien's ferever, an' cheer each other on when we made our dreams come true. Well, I'm cheerin' fer ya, snowflake, an' so's Caleb." Johnny's voice was quiet, and the expression on his face was rigidly controlled. "Don' mean ta hurt ya, Katie, bu' ya were mean' ta have tha' a long time ago. His idea ta have them made, coupla years after I lef' Hope. Still got his in m' things, never got th' chance ta give it ta him."

"Nah, i's fine Johnnay. Ya aren't hurtin' me." It was an outright lie, and she wiped away the tears before they had a chance to fall. "He was a good friend." She all but forced the last words from her lips, and her finger brushed over the picture. "Thank you Johnnay, this means much more ta me than words kin say."

"Yeah, he was. Good friend an' one'a th' best people I ever knew." Johnny sighed and reached across the table to brush away a stray tear that crept down her cheek. "Katie - " And then he just cut off the words with another shake of his head. He wouldn't press her to talk to him, not here in this public place, and so he turned his words to something more commonplace. "Ya don' need ta thank me. Jus' keep on doin' wha' ya love, an' tha's enough."

She tried to loosen her grip on locket, and smiled as he brushed away a stray tear. "I kin promise ta do tha'." It was certainly not something she had been expecting, and it was rare for her to not be prepared for such displays of emotions. "Do ya have one, too?" Asked as she slipped it on around her neck, food momentarily forgotten.

He nodded once, and brushed his fingers across the leather cord that held his, along with the similar locket with a Smith family portrait. "Yeah. Din' wear it fer a long time. Jus' started ta feel righ' abou' it a few months ago. Ain' been any progress on m'dreams until then, ya know?" Johnny shrugged, and picked up his sandwich again. Emotion might still the appetite, but he had to fuel the modifications that looked so simple and drew so much energy.

Her left hand was still playing with the locket around her neck, not wanting to let go just yet. But as he went back to his food, she remembered his earlier comment and tried to get back to her soup. "Wha' will ya do wit.. his?" Her spoon made more rounds spinning in the bread bowl than moving up to her mouth.

A shake of his head was her first answer, while he finished the bite he was working on. "I don' know. Give it ta ya, if'n ya wan' it. If'n ya don'.... migh' keep it, migh' send it back ta his ma. Th' Millers never listened ta wha' James said, kept on bein' kind ta me." It was a small shrug that brushed over a very difficult time, and he looked back at her to see if she wanted the third locket.

She tried to act like she was not thinking so hard on the option as she was. It had been a long time since she needed to pretend again. She had a part of him on her locket, and it was something that he had never had. "I thin' his ma would like it. I go' 'im righ' here." She lifted the locket and tried a smile, finding it ironic how when she released the locket it landed near her heart.

After a moment, Johnny nodded his agreement and turned back to his meal. But there was darkness in his emerald eyes, and his usually animated face was carefully blank. They would talk about it more another time. For now, there was a meal, and later another performance. He hadn't told Katie he'd bought tickets for the whole run, either.