Angeline is given the choice of a restaurant, and goes for a favourite of her's (and of course of Elsie's) - a little Thai restaurant that's both chic and comfortable. The food is good, the prices reasonable. There's not much more you can ask for in a restaurant, by Angie's standards.

Once she and Tom are seated in a booth at the back of the restaurant, she smiles widely across the table at him.

"So, what did you think of the play?"

Thank god for conversation fodder.

"The cast did a good job." Tom answers cheerily. "Did you like it?"

"Mmm yes," Angeline agrees. "The lead was especially good."

The waiter comes and she absently orders a strawberry daquiri. She's not yet taken a look at the menu.

Tom orders tonic water and something that's served on skewers.

She's not sure what to make of the tonic water, but she orders some spring rolls too for good measure, and a vegetarian pad thai for mains.

"I guess I like Thai food," she points out, smiling, remembering they had Thai at her house.

"It's always good to know what you like." He tells her. Tom drinks and eats strange things even in human form.

"Thai." Angie smiles at him. She can't help it. Looking at him makes her come over smiley. "And daquiris. Try it."

Drinks have arrived and she holds her's, disturbingly pink, out for him to taste.

He sips it anyway, takes more than pink and fuzzy to bother him.

"You like?"

Angeline likes people to like what she likes.

"Nice." It's got alcohol, Tom isn't discriminating when it comes to that. He smiles back at her easily.

Angie isn't discriminating when it comes to strawberries. Appetizers show up and she attacks a spring roll with deftly wielded chopsticks.

"So what do you like? Single mothers and old furniture aside."

"Anything expensive." He jokes.

"Well then, you'll be all set with me," Angie jokes. It is a joke. She's not exactly high maintenance and anyway, her own income's not all that bad.

Tom by no means considers her high maintenance. He does laugh though, it is funny as things go, he'd meant his own answer to be funny. That she jokes along bodes well.

Food appears, and Angie blithely attacks the spring rolls with the zeal of someone who isn't overly concerned about her diet.

Tom admires a woman with healthy appetites. At the moment he wishes he was a spring roll.

Angeline would honestly prefer that her date not be digested. Just a preference.

The meal was excellent and they both bantered lightly as they ate. Tom liked that she was very easy to be with.

The pleasant ambience of the evening is only once interrupted by the insistent buzzing of Angie's mobile. She looks moderately embarassed.

"I'm so sorry, I should really take this..."

This is what he gets for trying to date a single mother.

"Hello Mrs Higgins," she says. Her tone is jaunty with an immediatly apparent underlay of worry. "How are you? What?" There's a pause. Angie frowns. "Mrs Higgins, don't be silly..." She's trying to sound reassuring now. "That's just not possibly. Uhm, perhaps you miss saw? Trick of the light. Yes, yes, I'm sure it was. Don't worry about it. I'll be home soon. Yeah. Thanks."

She snaps the phone closed and drops it back in her bag.

"Mrs Higgins..." She explains to Tom, with a tired smile. "The woman's a little frazzled." She twists her mouth. "I hope she's not on painkillers again..."

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Husbands are just so much trouble," Angie agrees, smirking ever so slightly. She's still disturbed but masking it with a smile.

"So don't get married." he says with a wink. "Do we need to go since you said you'd be home soon?"

Elsie would be heartbroken - she's dead set on being a flower girl.

Angie laughs, shrugging her shoulders. "I doubt it's really any hurry. Mrs Higgins..." She pauses, laughs again, a little too loud, "is convinced my child spontaneously combusted. But apparently she then made a miraculous recovery so it's nothing to worry about."

Tom lifts an eyebrow, in what would seem to be skeptiscism. "Really. We'll just get dessert to go anyway. Perhaps your daughter would like some baked Alaska." This is Tom making a joke at the situations expense.

Tom's seen some pretty hairy things, but then he is a mage. He isn't willing to entirely discount spontaneous combustion.

Elsie will remain disappointed, Tom has no intention of marrying anyone until he solves his whole shape shifting involuntarily condition.

Angie is just going to pretend like spontaneous combustion is ridiculous. "Mother's little helper, you know how it goes... Poor woman." Yes she just quoted the Stones at him. She gestures over at the waiter and asks for dessert menus. Tom is being sweet and helpful.

He finds her mildly humorous. They pick some desserts and something to bring back for Elsie of coarse.

The waiter brings the desserts and the bill, and Angie digs around for her credit card.

"Thanks," she says, smiling over at him. She sets down the credit card and rests a hand on his. "This was a lovely evening."

He nods. Ordinarily he'd insist on paying, but he isn't entirely sure how she'll take it.

Angie is proud of her income, and also suspects it's considerably larger than Tom's. She'll let him carry the bag of desserts though, if he really wants to.

Tom's income is completely disposable. He carries the desserts anyway.

It's raining outside, and Angie didn't think to bring an umbrella. You think she'd learn that kind of thing after years of mothering. But no.

It's all right though, the dress can stand a little water even if it's not exactly her thing.

At the rain Tom gives an involuntary sneeze, much like a cat in water.

Angie laughs. It's a cute sneeze. "Bless you."

She'd kiss him too, just because it's raining, but you can only be so forward.

"Thank you." he says at her blessing and then holds her hand.

Tom's hand is warm and reassuring - and granted Angie needs a little reassurance just then. They walk, silently for the most part, up towards where Angie lives.

It's dark, and it's raining, and her hand does feel a little cold. So as they walk handholding somehow gradually turns into Tom putting an arm around her and tucking her against his side safely in the process.

It's a strange feeling, being all tucked up safely against Tom. Angie is used to providing the comforting cuddles, not receiving them. She leans into him, and it doesn't seem like such a long way home after all.

They're quieter on the walk, they don't seem to need words.

They arrive, dripping wet, at Angie's house. Mrs Higgins is waiting in the foyer, hovering anxiously. A pale, blonde child is clinging to her leg.

"Hello Mrs Higgins," Angie says, brightly. "Thanks so much for watching Elsie... I hope she wasn't too much trouble." She touches Tom's arm gently. "This is my friend Tom, Tom Lucien."

Mrs Higgins doesn't really seem to have much to say. She's opening and closely her mouth vaguely.

"No trouble at all, any time," she stammers, giving Tom a strange look. "We really should be going... Come on Lucy..."

Angie smiles wider. "Thanks again."

Tom smiles amicably and thinks maybe later he'll cast something on the departing folks to numb their memories of whatever they saw.