Her face was in her hand as she laughed. Croissant-wrapped pickles had been quite delicious, if not a terribly messy endeavor, but reenacting the actual making of them was nearly too hysterical to discuss.

"Okay---okay, enough about the pickle drenched croissants," she let out, slightly short of breath as they moved down the lunch line. Bianca was glad for Heathcliff; he was a friend around the ministry that she'd been completely lacking. The boys in the hitwizard department were all lost in their own depressing little worlds, and while she had once had her own bubble of angst, she'd managed to burst out if it these past few months. It didn't mean she was suddenly Miss. Popular around the offices of the Ministry, but she was glad to have someone to have lunch with and not have to go home and rummage around her usually empty fridge.

Well...she'd had a boyfriend to go on lunch dates with up until recently, so it was nice to once again have something to do.

And he was nice! And smart, Heathcliff was really smart. Rather respected around the offices, too, so it wasn't as if she was just clinging to the first bloke/person who showed her some attention. Some part of her was slightly uneasy about spending time with a man who was not Bertram, therefore not the father of her unborn child, but a much bigger part told her that they were both adults and could have an adult relationship without any consequence. They absolutely could!

Bianca stared up at the ever changing menu, "All right, your pick." She hoped he managed to spot something that was both sugary and salty.

Who: Mira Jasper & Seth Wadcock with an appearance by Bianca Vaisey
What: Oh noes! The truth comes out.
Where: Apartment! Hallway!
When: Now!

( So, Seth! What do you do for a living? You’re a strapping young fellow )

WHO: Bertram Aubrey and Bianca Vaisey
WHAT: A fight about their future?
WHERE: Her & Mira's flat!
WHEN: Tonight!

( Ah, hell. She was crying - he couldn’t see her like this for long. )

This was going to be fine. They were going to be fine. If Bertram didn't want to go along with everything, then okay! She was an independent woman, she'd be able to raise this baby by herself. And, honestly! He was a single dad! He would definitely understand that things like this just happen, and she didn't go and get herself pregnant like some crazy love-struck wench to keep him tied to her----

---oh, God, would he think that? She hadn't pressured him into saying 'I love you,' or anything like that! Hell, she'd recoiled at Mira's not-so-happy joke about Bertram basically living at their flat. They weren't serious enough to have a baby together, but what was she supposed to do? It was--she wanted this baby, she did, that wasn't the question, it was just the fact that wanting this baby might ruin the best relationship she'd had in years--or, ever, really--

She'd been sitting on the edge of the Ministry's fountain inside the Atrium and jumped when Bertram's face appeared in her line of vision. Bianca smiled up at him weakly and remained seated, her hands wrung together tightly. She'd picked the latest break to go on lunch because the Atrium was usually empty (ministry workers tended to take their breaks early, not very many morning people around here, like Bianca), and she had made up her mind that she could not go another day without telling Bertram. She'd already known for two weeks!

"Right on time!"

WHO: Bianca Vaisey and Bertram Aubrey
WHAT: ;D
WHERE: Bianca's flat!
WHEN: Right after her journal post!

( That’s...not terrible? )

WHO: Bianca Vaisey and Bertram Aubrey
WHAT: Bianca's late to a date and Bertram's...up to his old ways?
WHERE: Random restaurant!
WHEN: Tonight

( You'd better have rescued some adorable kitten from a tree, missy, or I am going to have to call bullshit on you breaking our date plans )

"Ex--cuse, me---move, move, move!"

Didn't people know how to act in a time of crisis? You didn't stand around screaming bloody murder, staring at the rays of hexes and jinxes while you waited to get hit by one of them. You moved, you hid, you did whatever you could to stop the bloody death eaters that were interrupting the peace. You didn't become a distraction or something that could cause even more harm. Emmeline jumped and twisted and forced herself through the crowd of people surging in every which direction. This was going to be such a disaster.

Emmeline wished she hadn't offered to take the package to Flourish and Blotts. The package was too delicate to let an owl deliver it, Patrick had to head home early because of his daughter, and seeing as it was only a five minute walk, hey! Get some sun, earn some brownie points from the cousin who was constantly harassing her to do stuff other than ogle at her nerdy boyfriend! Haa. She wished she'd just refused and taken on the extra paperwork, but that meant that Edward would have probably taken the walk to Flourish and Blotts and Emmeline knew for a fact that he would have either frozen in terror or with his bad luck been shot in the head once the first death eaters showed up.

Okay, stop the morbid thoughts.

The door of Calliope's jingled pleasantly, completely ignorant of the chaos that was going on just down the block. Emmeline knew it wouldn't be long before they reached the publisher. "Edward! We've got to go!" she shouted, trying to keep her voice from sounding too stressed. "Come on!"

WHO: Bianca Vaisey and Bertram Aubrey
WHAT: Nice walk through the park!
WHERE: ....the park!
WHEN: Tonight!

( 'You look like you're about to ram me into a tree.' And not in the sexy way like he was hoping, he was fairly sure. )