Simone pushes open the front door and peeks around it. Crank is nowhere in sight. Simone manages a smile and sneaks inside, biting her lower lip to contain her excitement. She closes the door and shifts her basket in her grip. However, she has barely taken two steps before Crank rematerializes at the table. There is a sly smile on his face and both hands are steepled on the tabletop.

"And where have you been?" Crank teases.

Crank's eyes have a mischievous shimmer to them, and he appears to be thoroughly enjoying her moment of surprise. Simone drops the basket to the floor, and positions her hands on her hips. Her mouth forms a sullen pout.

"That's not funny, Crank! You've ruined my surprise!" Simone says. "I thought you were out...Fixing something."

Simone's tone of voice conveys the idea that she is not truly angry. Mostly irritated. Crank's smile wanes a little, but does not go away.

"I won't do it again," Crank says.

Simone shoots him a sarcastic glare.

"That's what you said the last time. You just like seeing me jump every time you do that... Invisibility thing!" Simone says.

She picks up her basket and pretends to ignore Crank. Making her way to the kitchen, Simone smirks as Crank follows her without a word. She sets her basket down on the counter and removes the folded sheet covering the top of it. Crank rests his head atop her mass of black curls and wraps both arms around her middle.

"What's all this?" Crank teases. "Are you ravenous?"

Crank subtlety shifts his left hand so that it rests on Simone's belly. He gently presses down on the flesh above her navel. His brow creases slightly before returning to a relaxed state. He appears satisfied.

"It's not all for me, silly!" Simone laughs excitedly. "We are going to have a picnic! All of us!"

Crank's brow creases deeper this time, and he releases Simone. He backs away about a foot in order to study her.

"What do you mean...All of us?!" Crank says incredulously. He dreads what she is going to say next.

"I mean, all of us!" Simone insists. "You, me, Sherlock, and Paul! I guess, the animals too. But, they don't really count."

Simone begins taking things out of her basket, placing them side by side on the counter. She talks animatedly as she works. However, Crank is more concerned with her former statement.

"I know you don't like me exploring the furthest parts of town alone, but it couldn't be helped," Simone drones on. "Did you know the general store has a cellar? I found it while exploring today. It's chock full of salted meats, and canned fruits. Mostly apples and peaches. I'm telling you, Crank...This place is weird. Things just appear or change. I honestly don't see how Sherlock missed any of this. It doesn't make sense."

Simone stops talking and stares out of the window. She scans the sky for signs of a storm.

At Simone's mention of the general store, Crank inhales uneasily. Grateful that he had thought to install a solid lock on the ooman meat room. Unless Simone has obtained the strength of seven males, she would not have been able to pry the door open. She makes no mention of it. He can only assume she has not been in there.

The ooman power generator Crank happened upon is of little use. While opening the hulking machine for inspection, he'd discovered it to be completely hollow inside. No wires, and no components for the regulation and conversion of energy. Empty. Not unlike his hopes of getting them out of there. With each new revelation, Crank loses a little more hope. Locking down that room was a safeguard. It was only a matter of time before someone wandered into that store. Ooman nature comes with an unhealthy dose of curiosity. Simone has been spared the price of her curiosity.

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"Well, anyway," Simone continues. "We've all been working so hard lately. On the hydro-engine...And now the framework for your energy transporter. I felt we could all use a break. Just a little one. We're so isolated...Doing our own things. Paul and his outhouse. Sherlock and his new violin. When we're working is the only time we really see each other. That can't be healthy for any of us. So, I thought it might be nice if we had a picnic. I've already told Mr. Holmes. He said, he'd bring the biscuits. He knows how to bake them over a fire without burning them. I'm still learning. Paul is bringing his signature stew. And I thought, I might make some sort of dessert."

Simone finished emptying out her basket and turns to Crank. His unhappy expression causes Simone to pause in her animated rambling.

"Are you alright?" Simone says with concern.

"I do not want to have a picnic," Crank says in a droll voice. "Not with the others."

"Why not?" Simone asks.

She is dumbfounded by Crank's utter refusal to spend time with the others. Crank takes a step closer and clasps Simone's hands.

"We have so little time together, Simone," Crank says. "I...Don't want to waste it."

"I don't think time is the real issue here, Crank," Simone insists. "What's really the matter?"

Crank grows sullen, his faux human mouth drooping downward.

"You can't make me go to the picnic!" Crank pouts.

The stubborn yautja crosses his arms over his wide chest in imitation of Simone's usual antics. It takes all of his resolve not to burst into insane laughter as he watches the mix of emotions washing over Simone's face.

"What?!" Simone says with a chuckle. "Are you serious, Crank?!"

"As I said...You can't make me go to the picnic. I am much larger than you are. And you cannot overpower me!" Crank replies, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"You are serious?!" Simone says with genuine shock.

"Only a little," Crank says with a smile.

He uses two clawed fingers to imitate Simone's signature gesture denoting something is of small degree. He also imitates her voice perfectly. Simone's eyes widen and she gazes at him in wonderment.

"Wait! You never told me you can do that!" Simone cries. "How did you do that?! Do it again!"

"I won't! Not so long as you insist I have to go to a picnic...With the others," Crank protests playfully.

"Do it! Or...I might just find somewhere else to sleep!" Simone says.

She sticks out her tongue and turns away from Crank. Going back to her sorting of food stuffs, she pretends that Crank is no longer there. Or, at least, she pretends to. She can almost feel his eyes studying her.

Crank is indeed studying Simone. Would she really sleep somewhere else? The thought worries him greatly. Especially, considering that the ooman idea of sleeping involves much more than simply resting one's eyes and one's body. A lot more. The idea of Simone sleeping anywhere else, but by his side, is unimaginable. He steps behind Simone and once again places his arms around her middle, resting his hands over her abdomen.

"Okay. I will go to your picnic," Crank says reluctantly.

"No, Crank," Simone says. "If you don't want to have a picnic with the others...We won't have a picnic. I know the others are hard to get along with. But, we're kind of stuck with each other for a while. I was only trying to find a way to get all of us together...That didn't involve working. It was silly of me. I should have asked first."

"It wasn't silly. It was very...Kind," Crank admits.

"Yeah, but...You can always say 'no'," Simone says. "I'm not going to force you. I can't force you. I'll tell the others we changed our minds. Too much to do."

Crank gently turns Simone to face him. He tilts her head up and makes eye contact.

"But I can also say 'yes'," he replies.

Simone grins and Crank's eyes fall to her mouth. Her flat ooman teeth with their blunt surfaces and seemingly purposeless uniformity.

"Yes, you can..." Simone says simply.

Crank bends to kiss her, and Simone is more than happy to cooperate. She is grateful that their minor disagreement has been resolved.

"Where did you intend to sleep, Simone? If not with me?" Crank says, his mouth barely an inch from Simone's. They are so close that neither can see the other's face very well.

"Whatever do you mean?" Simone says. She only slightly draws away, in order to see Crank better.

"You said, you would sleep somewhere else," Crank reiterates. "Where?"

Simone wraps both arms around Crank's neck and tilts her head suggestively. She lowers her lids and offers him a sly smile.

"Where did you think I was going to sleep, Crank?!" Simone asks.

Only one answer comes to mind, and so Crank chooses to be evasive.

"Whatever do you mean?!" Crank says in Simone's own voice.

Simone issues a loud laugh and brings Crank's face back to within mere inches of her own.

"That is so creepy!" Simone says, her eyes shifting to his mouth. "Creepy, but cool!"

Crank pulls Simone into a fierce hug, kissing her with unbridled passion. Simone runs a hand through his beaded hair and wonders how out of all the women in the universe, she managed to get so lucky.