Liberty stretched and yawned as sun filtered through the curtains and fell over her sleepy eyes. She rolled over, hoping to go back to sleep, but was shocked into a more awake state. Dom curled into a ball, groaned, and squinted at her. “Whasthamatter?”

“How drunk was I last night?” Liberty asked, sitting up and checking under the covers to see if she was wearing any clothes. She was relieved to see that she was wearing her clothes from last night.

“Eh,” Dom replied sleepily, uncurling himself and laying on his back, “I’ve seen drunker. I’ve been drunker. So it’s hard to tell.”

“If I weren’t so hung over, I would hit you.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he commented lightly, then sat up and looked at her seriously, with a slight grin playing on his lips, “Want the Dominic Monaghan Handy Dandy Hangover Cure?”

“I thought you were going to say ‘notebook’ and I was preparing to laugh hysterically,” Liberty chuckled, “But yes, if you have a cure, I will take it.” She paused, “Unless it involves me moving in any way.”

Dom sat up a bit, “Damn. I’ll have to do the OTHER cure and not the one that involves a bed and the discarding of clothes.”

Liberty laughed louder than she would have liked, for she put her hand to her head, “You know, I’ve never drank before.”

“Could have fooled me,” he stated, sliding over her and falling onto the floor. His fall made a bit of a thumping noise and they heard Billy next door yelling something that resembled, “Get a room! Some people are trying to sleep and don’t want to hear their friends shagging!” but it sounded more like a bunch of “garble garble garble’s.”

“Did I throw up much?” Liberty wondered, sliding further under her covers and watching as Dom tried to find his trousers. Apparently, he had taken them off in the middle of the night. “Didn’t you have pants on last night?”

“You didn’t throw up that I saw.” Liberty’s face fell, she had hoped to have a good story to tell Alexia, who was a big party girl and often called her friend to tell her stories about who she had thrown up on. “I did have pants on last night. I threw them off in the middle of the night ‘cause I was boiling.”

Liberty raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. After a few moments, and a lot of cursing from Dom, she said, “You do realize you only have boxers on.”

Dom looked down at himself, “Yes, thanks. I knew I had SOMETHING on down there, I couldn’t remember what the blasted things were called.” He rolled his eyes and laughed, “Have you seen my trousers?”

“As I passed out, and was unconscious when you threw them off, I have no idea where they went to. Perhaps Billy stole them as a cruel joke. Or a nice joke, if you’re me. Because I can tell you that the view I’m getting isn’t at all bad.”

Dom looked up at her then, surprise written across his face. He had been bent down, looking under the desk. “You like what you see, eh?” Dom asked, straightening up and placing his hands on his hips. He wiggled around suggestively for a few moments while Liberty tried not to laugh, since it hurt her to.

“When did your shirt get discarded?” She wondered, really very curious. “Not that I mind that you’ve misplaced it.”

He smiled for a split second before turning to the door, “BILLEH!” Dom bellowed, “You stole my clothes!” Dom looked back at her, “He took my shirt off while I was sleeping so it would look like we were in a compromising position.”

Liberty shrugged, “Maybe you took it off yourself, since Billy didn’t have the air conditioning at Artic temperatures last night. Then, after you’d fallen back asleep, Billy crept in and stole your pants AND your shirt. Oh, and where are your sneakers?”

“My trainers!” Dom yelled, looking wildly around the room. Liberty shrunk back on the bed, her head thumping with pain; she was laughing hysterically. “It’s not funny,” Dom stated indignantly.

“No, no it’s not. It’s a very serious crime.” Liberty began giggling like crazy; she was giggling so much that she snorted at one point, which sent Dom into hysterics. He flopped onto the bed, landing on her legs, and the two sat there laughing like hyenas.

After quite a while, and a few more snorts, Dom crawled up her legs and began kissing her feverishly. Between kisses he said, “Seriously. Where are my clothes?”

She kissed him, “I honestly don’t know.”

He pulled away to look at her, “Are you sure you didn’t pay Billy to take them so that you could conveniently have your way with me?”

“I wouldn’t need to relocate your clothes in order to get you into bed. You were already in my bed.”

“Good point,” Dom remarked, scratching his chin.

“What the HELL is going on down here?” Elijah demanded, coming into the room. His hair was all over the place, matted down on one side and sticking straight out on the other. His eyes were watery and bloodshot and he wore boxers with a faded gray t-shirt barely covering them…and him. He stopped short when he saw that Dom was on top of Liberty, in bed. “Oh. Er. I didn’t mean to. Um. Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Dom said, rolling off Liberty, to the other side of the bed, “I just can’t find my trousers.”

Elijah’s eyes bugged out, and Liberty did all she could not to start laughing again, “They’re out on the couch. Well, maybe they’re not yours, but I saw some on the couch. Some jeans.” Elijah started backing out of the room, “I’ll go and get them, shall I? Yes.”

“We scared him,” Dom remarked, sounding pleased, “Imagine what he thinks.”

“Yes, imagine that,” Liberty laughed, “He probably thinks I stole your pants, too.”

Elijah had one hand over his eyes and one holding a pair of jeans when he returned. He tossed the jeans in the general direction of the bed, but didn’t uncover his eyes. “Are you missing your shirt, too?”

“D’you know where it is?” Dom asked, his voice muffled as he stood up and literally jumped into his jeans.

“It’s in the hallway.” Elijah left the room and returned, eyes uncovered; he had the shirt, which he tossed directly to Dom. “So, good night last night?” He was trying for normalcy, but seemed to be failing as he was a tad twitchy and nearly fell down when he was leaning ‘casually’ against the wall.

Liberty pondered this question, “Yeah, it was good.”

“Are you wearing clothes?” Elijah asked her, “Because I was wondering if you guys wanted to go out to breakfast? My treat. I actually came down to make sure no one had killed anyone else…I didn’t realize Dom had stayed the night.”

“He stayed the night,” Liberty said, “But he didn’t STAY. If you know what I mean. So, yes I’m wearing clothes.”

Dom looked at her in confusion, “I stayed. But I didn’t STAY? What does that mean? Is that American logic?” He looked to Elijah, who shrugged. “Girl logic?”

“Logic logic,” Elijah said, “It makes perfect sense. You stayed. But you didn’t stay.”

“That doesn’t make perfect sense,” Dom muttered, dropping onto the bed. Liberty uncovered and stood up. Elijah was pleasantly surprised to see that she did, indeed, have clothes on; last night’s to be exact.

“We didn’t sleep together,” Liberty explained.

“Yes, we did, love,” Dom argued, “I was in this bed with you. That’s sleeping together.”

“But not SLEEPING together,” Liberty replied, nodding stoutly. “Therefore it wasn’t sleeping sleeping.”

“What the bloody hell?” Dom laughed, “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve never not made any sense to me before. Can you spell it out for me? And Elijah? We have man brains. We can’t compute this sleeping sleeping business.”

“Man brains,” Liberty chuckled, and became serious, “We didn’t have sex.”

“We didn’t?” Dom asked, “God, I dreamt it?”

Elijah covered his ears, “Not listening! I’m not listening!”

“Okay, Gollum,” Dom replied, standing up and crossing the room. He slapped Elijah on the back and said, “We didn’t have sex,” and left the room. Liberty heard him whistling as he entered the bathroom and turned the shower on.

She turned to Elijah, “So, breakfast? Are there good places around here?”

“You look awful,” he said, “I mean not awful…but…less than good?”

“Thanks,” she said blandly, “I feel like shit. That might have something to do with how I look. I have a hangover. Though, apparently, it’s subsiding since I can actually stand now.”

“Oh, have Dom do the Dom Monaghan Handy Dandy Hangover Cure for you.”

“He offered, but I couldn’t move at the time, so I passed.”

“You don’t have to move,” Elijah replied, with a critical expression on his face, “Did he say you did?”

“No,” she said slowly, “Wait.”

“Yeah,” Elijah laughed, “The cure is actually just a drink.” He shrugged, “I can make it, I know the ingredients.”

“It’s not a physical act?” Liberty asked in confusion. Elijah shook his head and motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen.

“We’re filled with innuendos this morning, aren’t we,” Elijah stated, giggling a bit as he pulled ingredients from the fridge and set them on the counter. Liberty sunk into a chair and rested her head on the tabletop. She muttered something incoherent.

Dom entered the kitchen as Elijah was piling things into the blender, “Did you add the special ingredient?”

“No,” Elijah replied sternly. Dom shrugged and went over to Liberty, who was laying with her head on the table still, and her eyes closed; he kissed her temple and sat beside her with his arm around her.

“I’m never drinking again,” Liberty’s voice was extremely muffled, but if Dom leaned down towards the table, he could make out what she was saying. “I want to die.”

“You’ll drink again,” Dom replied, laughing.

“Yeah,” she said, picking her head up, “You’re right. I will.”

He smiled at her as Elijah pushed the start button the blender. Liberty covered her ears and leaned over onto Dom’s shoulder, “Make it stop. He’s killllllllling me.”

“It’ll be over soon,” Dom assured her, trying not to laugh. She reminded him of himself the morning after his first big drinking extravaganza. He had felt that his very head was going to explode and splatter all over the walls of his apartment. Luckily for him, Billy had been skilled at his own hangover cure. The Billy Boyd ‘Hangover S’more’ Hangover Cure was simple: a small amount of the alcoholic beverage you’d overused the night before, and two Tylenol. Then a healthy breakfast which usually consisted of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns. Dom’s stomach growled just thinking about it, though usually thinking about that made his stomach turn in protest.

“Do showers help?” Liberty asked once the blender had been turned off.

“Depends,” Dom replied, watching as Elijah skillfully poured the multi-colored gunk into a clear glass.

“On what?”

“Probably on who you take the shower with,” Elijah said, setting the glass in front of her.

“Drink up!” Dom called cheerfully. Liberty moaned and took a dainty sip. “You should down it in one gulp. That way the taste isn’t as horrid.”

Liberty looked mournfully at him and groaned, “Oh God,” before chugging down the entire contents of the glass.

“You didn’t even drink that much last night, did you?” Elijah wondered, watching her set the glass down and then lean back in her chair tiredly.

“I drank enough,” she murmured.

“Obviously we know who can’t hold their liquor,” Dom shot her an innocent look, “Not that I mind.”

“Uh huh,” she replied blankly, “I’m sure you’d like me to be completely sloshed so that you can have your way with me.”

“Oh, but I’ll be doing that anyway. Whether or not you’re sloshed at the same time, is your choice.”

Liberty snorted tiredly and stood up from the table, “I’m going to go drown a bit in the shower. What’re you guys doing today?”

“Breakfast,” Elijah stated, looking up at her, “Remember?”

Nodding slowly, she shuffled from the room, a hand on her pounding head.

*

“I reallllly don’t think I can eat,” Liberty moaned, her eyes skirting over the entire menu. She, Elijah and Dom were seated in a comfy circular booth in the far back corner of the small café.

“You should eat,” Elijah said, not looking at her. His eyes remained on the menu in front of him.

Dom’s hand slid around the back of Liberty’s seat, “He’s right, love, you should get something in you.”

“I’ll just throw it up,” Liberty replied, making a face and setting the menu face down on the marble colored tabletop. She leaned back and set her head against Dom’s arm. “I don’t want to throw up. I don’t like throwing up.”

“No one does,” Dom sang, jiggling his head around to a beat of his own, “I don’t want you to throw up either, though, so maybe you can just sit there and look pretty.”

Liberty opened one eye and peered at him, “Dom, I do not look pretty. I look dead.”

“She has a point,” Elijah commented from her other side. “I’m getting the works. I’m famished.”

“Thank you, Elijah, for pointing out that I look like shit.”

“Anytime,” he flashed her a cheeky grin and then took a long gulp of his black coffee. “I’m surprised it’s not busier here.” He hummed a tune as he looked around the charming café. It had whitewashed walls, but they were hardly seen amongst the celebrity photos of who had come in and had coffee or donuts or even fifty piles of waffles. “Who is that dude with all the waffles?” Elijah questioned, pulling his glasses off his eyes and squinting across the room.

Both Dom and Liberty turned around to peer at the picture; Dom let out a hearty laugh that made Liberty jump and cover her heart with her hand. While Dom continued laughing, she fell down on the seat into a recumbent position, her head on Elijah’s left leg. Elijah patted her hair in what he thought was a soothing motion, but really just messed up her hair-do.

Liberty sat up cautiously once the laughter had died down, “Is it someone you know? Or are you just making fun of a person who likes lots of waffles?”

“It’s Pete,” Dom yelled, choking on laughter. He swigged some coffee down and pointed to the photo, “See? You can barely see him over the top of ‘em.”

Elijah and Liberty looked, but Liberty had never met this Pete person so she didn’t even know what he looked like. Elijah, after about a minute, began laughing.

“Why didn’t he TELL us he was the man to eat the most waffles?” Elijah slapped the table in laughter. “AH HA HA!”

Liberty raised an eyebrow at the boys and went back to the menu; as she scanned, she said, “Is this Peter Jackson, infamous director and/or hobbit?”

“Yes,” both Elijah and Dom answered.

Dom finished off his coffee, “I’m impressed.”

Elijah nodded, a weird gleam in his eyes, “And I’m going to mention it to him when we go to work in an hour.”

“The good times are over,” Liberty commented, sounding reminiscent.

“We can still DO things,” Dom stated, leaning towards her, “Like go out tonight and have a nice dinner just the two of us.”

“That’d be fun,” Liberty replied, “I’m in.”

“No drinking,” Elijah joked, then turned to Dom, “Dominic Monaghan, do NOT let this girl drink.”

Dom saluted Elijah and then jumped out of his seat, pulling a cell phone from his pants pocket.

“It must have been on vibrate,” Liberty laughed.

“Hellllllooooooo?” Dom asked into the phone, taking his seat once more.

“DOM! Bill, here. What’s up for tonight?”

“I’m taking Liberty out.”

“OOOOOOOOooooooooh, like a date?”

“Yes.”

“She must be sitting right there. Where are you?”

“At breakfast.”

“I’m in the car, I’m headed to work. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Billy, you’ve got an hour.”

“I know. Bye.”

Billy hung up and swung into Orlando’s driveway. He jumped from the car immediately after turning it off and ran into the house. Lucky for him, the door was unlocked.

He saw Raya sitting in the breakfast nook and went straight towards her. “So,” he took the seat beside her, “Dom and Liberty are going on a real date tonight.”

Raya looked up from the newspaper, an eyebrow raised, “Orlando! Get in here!”

“Where’s Anaka?” Billy questioned, craning his neck all the way it would go, to see the rest of the first floor of the house.

“She’s asleep. What’s going on?” Orlando set a plate of breakfast type foods in front of Raya and then took the remaining seat at the small table. “Did I hear date, Dom and Liberty in the same sentence?”

“You did,” Billy answered, smiling, “He’s taking her out to dinner.”

“Spying?” Raya asked him, setting the paper down and sticking her fork into a piece of melon.

“Definitely,” Billy replied, “All black attire?”

“Causal.”

Orlando gawked at them, “What?”

“You and Raya will go in. Raya, have you got any wigs? Then you see how the Dom/Lib date goes.”

“What about you?” Orlando asked him.

“I’ll get Lij and make like a new age couple,” Billy said, grinning as he snatched a piece of melon from Raya’s plate.

Orlando looked doubtful, “I don’t think Lij will take that too well.”

Billy sighed heavily, as if he was tired of thinking up the entire plan himself, “Fine, then we’ll go in as mates heading for the bar.” He paused, “And we’ll meet in the toilets every thirty minutes.”

“You were really planning this, weren’t you?” Raya asked him, sounding a bit impressed.

“I’m a natural,” Billy said, waving his hand around in a modest type gesture.

“Well,” Orlando said, laughing slightly, “This will be a good time. I can finally wear my Legolas wig in every day life!”