Alex Stern

She goes quiet for a time, and Darlington does too, savoring the meal in front of him and topping off Alex's glass and then his own when they get low. There's something close and cozy about it; he thinks suddenly of that damp afternoon they'd spent at Black Elm, drying out in front of the fire and listening to music on the stereo. This isn't quite that, but it's close enough to make him smile.

"Sounds like a plan," he says when Alex speaks again, nodding towards the gift bag he'd set on the table. "I'd like that a lot."