To say Fletcher's letter after she'd gotten home from the hospital hadn't thrown her off would have been a lie. Sometimes she had the hardest time reading him in person, in letters it was even worse. She'd sat down to write back several times over the next couple of days, but nothing had come. Eva hadn't know what to say, nor exactly what had gotten into him. She'd let it sit, unfortunately without much by the way of distraction, as she was stuck home on bed rest.

The restlessness was unlike anything she'd ever had to deal with. Having Lucy to keep her company was nice, and of course her family flitted in and out, making sure she was alright, that she had everything she needed, but it didn't do much to keep her mind occupied. By the time his next letter had arrived, Eva was stir crazy and at the zoo, despite the restrictions on her movement. Everything was all healed up, but she was still sore and a little weak from being stuck in a hospital bed for a month. She tired easily and had forgone any sense of proper fashion in lieu of comfort.

Even today, though she knew Fletcher was coming, she'd donned trousers and a shirt that she'd pilfered from Tierney and tailored with her wand to get them to fit better. She had zero interest in a corset digging into the scar on her abdomen or heavy skirts pulling her down. No, that could all go to hell today for all she cared. Her hair was in a simple plait and she wore her old favorite boots, perfectly comfortable.

By the time Fletcher was due to arrive, she was already exhausted, but fighting going home simply because she didn't want to arrive home and be bored for the rest of the afternoon. There was plenty she could do here on "light duty" (which she hadn't been supposed to start until the beginning of the following week) with help from Amelia if necessary. She was sitting on the floor of the aviary in sight of the door, taking rest and playing with a new hatching of wee baby diricawls when she heard the door open.

Eva hadn't known what to expect when he'd arrived. Honestly she'd been trying not to worry about it too much. She thought there had just been a misunderstanding of sorts, but she just couldn't put her finger on what exactly and it seemed that letting him be for a couple days had at least given them both time to cool off.

She smiled on reflex, at least relieved to see he wasn't angry. "No, not busy. Happy to be anywhere but stuck in bed." If still tired, which she probably looked by this point in the day, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Tired was better than idle.

"Let me just put the babies back in their nest," With one in her hand, Eva attempted to stand. She twisted the wrong way just enough for it to hurt, turning away to hide the wince. She breathed through it before bending gently to scoop up another little chick and herd the rest toward the box serving as their nest.

Considering these very little babies had just been hatched the other day when she'd come home, they had all grown  attached quite quickly, so Eva wasn't having too much trouble corralling them toward the nest. There was always one, however. The troublemaker.

"See if you can't get Horatio to come along?" She motioned to the obstinate little bird hovering near the picnic basket. She cast a smile over her shoulder, though as she turned back toward her task, she chuckled quietly to herself.

Eva was too preoccupied trying to herd the rest of the chicks into their makeshift nest, setting down the ones in her hands gently with their siblings, or tried rather. The tiny female she had cradled in her one hand refused to go, clawing at Eva's shirt every time she tried to put the little one down. Too soft to put up much of a fight, Eva tucked the tiny chick into the pocket of her over-sized shirt and she settled immediately, which elicited a chuckle from the redhead.

She'd anticipated Horatio giving Fletcher a hard time, however and was surprised to find the little miscreant coming along rather easily. "In you go you wee devil." She watched him prance away with his flower, a fond smile on her features. "He's already learned to disappear and reappear, I'm surprised that was so easy." Stubborn little creature.

With that settled and nothing else to do with her hands, Eva passed Fletcher another smile, though this time it was a little apprehensive. "Hello," She offered, though she hadn't any idea what was to come next.

Following slowly, Eva breezed by him to flip the sign on the outside of the aviary door to "closed" as well as the lock. Something told her this was going to wind up in a serious discussion and she would hate they be interrupted. Plus it wasn't unusual for the aviary to be closed during her lunch hour.

Turning back to Fletcher, she found herself presented with the flowers, which she accepted with an easy smile. "Thank you, they're beautiful." Taking a quick selfish moment, she brought them to her nose to inhale the sweet scent, in an unprecedentedly girlish move. "I've a new couch in my office, why don't we sit there?" She suggested, motioning for him to follow her in. With the blooms in hand, Eva pushed the door open and moved to toward the little faucet in the back so she could fill a bucket for the flowers. It wasn't perfect, but it would help them keep until she left for home.

The aforementioned couch was really the bed she'd been sleeping on during the fog, though she had transfigured it around to serve more as a little daybed, which had come in handy these last couple days. She was still getting tired easily and had already needed to lie down late in the morning for a few minutes.It was the only place she could find peace and quiet at the moment. Everybody in her house was constantly checking in on her, making sure she was alright, asking if she needed anything. It was as endearing as it was maddening.

Once the flowers were set atop the crate serving as a table of sorts, she sank into the couch herself, reveling in the feeling of sitting down. She pulled the snoozing diricawl from her pocket and set the little tyke up in a little pile of towels nearby to sleep. What Eva wouldn't give to do the same right now, but there were more important matters to attend to. "How's the ankle?" She asked for lack of anything better.

Relieved to hear his injury was better, Eva tucked herself onto the sofa more comfortably, legs curled up beneath her as she looked at him. She hated to admit that pants were far more comfortable than her skirts, but it was so much easier, she couldn't be bothered to care.

When he spoke next, Eva inhaled slightly and held her breath. It wasn't as easy as she would like to admit, but she listened to him explain without interrupting as best she could, trying to keep her expression neutral. The confusion she'd felt after his letter was warranted, but in her decision to wait was inevitably for the better. Waiting for him to come and explain instead of pushing him and worked out better, she realized.

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Eva blew out a soft sigh, scooting toward him on the sofa. "I'm sorry if I upset you. Dismissing you was not really my intention. I was trying to give you an escape from Da," Plus she really hadn't wanted to get into everything right then and there. She did feel guilty that was how it had come across. "He's been... a lot less forgiving since my mum died, especially where I am concerned." Eva looked down at her lap for a moment before back at him. She rarely talked about this, but felt the need to explain. "It was really hard on him, still is. They were so head over heels in love that losing her really changed him." He'd always been a little grumpy and closed off, but had never been short on affection. "But that's no excuse for his behavior, or mine, and I'm sorry."

Everybody was entitled to their emotions and their reactions, as long as they didn't let everything spiral out of control. "I talked to him after you left. I told him you were important to me and that he needed to behave better now that he wasn't in the Amazon anymore. Merlin knows how much sank in, but we'll see." She hoped her father would come around in the long run, though it wouldn't necessarily stop her, it would make things easier.

Eva tangled her fingers in his easily, relieved to see this going much more smoothly than she anticipated. No real arguing, just explanations and apologies. They did so much better when they had time to cool off and discuss calmly, rather than in the heat of the moment. It was a tricky situation, navigating it would be difficult, but they'd do alright if they could stay on the same page. They just had to communicate better sometimes. Of course that meant she had to tell him what the healers had told her, but she didn't want to ruin this moment either. Soon though, she'd have to let him know.

"Yeah, a little bit." She smiled slowly after he kissed her. Truthfully she was more tired than anything else, which was frustrating, but she felt like she had to push through it. "What did you bring?" She asked as she peered at the basket. Eva could certainly get used to their little picnic theme. She was much better when things were casual in general, but it was growing harder and harder to remain so, not when she was pretty sure she'd fallen for him entirely. It was hard not to when he did things like this, the picnic, the flowers, watching him with Horatio. How they worked, Eva would never know, but they did, somehow and it was hard to ignore just how she felt about it when it was so clear now.

Curling onto the sofa a little more, Eva tried to get comfortable, but she was still in a little bit of pain and so couldn't quite find a good position. She tucked one leg up on the sofa, gently pressed up against his, and one arm on the back, leaning on it like a pillow as she watched him dig through the basket. Her free hand went to her scar, subconsciously trying to ease the feeling of discomfort. It passed after a moment but she found herself nodding along, eyes fluttering closed as he listed off what he'd brought.

A sleepy chuckle left her lips as he admitted that he forgot glasses, but Eva pulled her wand from the long pocket on her trousers and summon a couple from near the sink, hoping they were clean. They landed neatly next to the flowers. "I think they're alright to use, might want to check." She smiled sheepishly. "It all sounds lovely, thank you." Eva for one, was glad this had gone through smoothly as she hadn't had any idea what to expect after his letter. This was lovely way to spend lunch, even if she was well and truly exhausted.