Well, 'Chelle's in the kitchen as well, and rescues her Dad's phone, winking at Zev. "Yeah, Uncle Steve, you know what Dad's like, we're gonna have far more food than any of us could possibly eat."

Zev laughs, winking back.

Inexplicably, she pulls a packet of breadsticks out of one of the cupboards and adds it to one of the bags.

"Yeah, we'll be ready to leave in about half an hour? Yeah, probably better for you to come here, I think all of us squeezing into Dad's car's gonna be a bit of a push..."

Nova leans a little more into Zev.

Zev wraps his arm a little tighter around Nova, and kisses the top of his head.

"Alright, cool, see you in twenty."

She hangs up the phone. "Uncle Steve's gonna come over here so we can split into two cars."

"Makes sense," Aaren agrees. "Okay, I think I've got everything. Is Lan awake yet?"

“I did hear ‘Chelle make an attempt,” Zev laughs. 

"M'wake," Lan mumbles as he stumbles into the kitchen. "S'that coffee? Coffee!"

"What would you do if we didn't make you coffee?"

Lan takes the mug 'Chelle hands him, and takes a big gulp before replying. "Stare pitifully at the kettle and eventually have to figure out how to use it before all my faculties are online?"

“I think watching you try to make coffee would be hours of entertainment.”

"Probably also pitiful enough that we'd take pity on him."

"Only if he turned those big, sad eyes on us."

"It's a weapon I'm delighted to have in my arsenal," Lan says with a grin.

Nova giggles into Zev's shoulder.

“Yes, truly my one weakness is big sad eyes,” Zev says, grinning back at Lan before he noses into Nova’s head. 

"'One weakness', ai," Lan teases with a knowing look from Zev to Nova.

Aaren takes a break from making sandwiches to push a breakfast roll into Lan's hand. "Man cannot live on coffee alone."

“Mmm, just the one,” Zev says somewhat dopily, wrapping his arms around Nova.

To Aaren: “Don’t challenge him to that.”

"Everyone knows Lan can't resist Dad's cooking. He'd be eating again before the first day was out."

"Alas, she speaks the truth. I would fall at the first hurdle."

“What a delicious hurdle it is.”

"More commonly known by most as: breakfast."

"Now Ira would take that challenge to the point of collapse," 'Chelle says thoughtfully. "Dad. I think we have enough food for an Arctic expedition, never mind the zoo."