"I'll have to make sure to have coffee that night so I'm awake for it," Rose replied. "You'll have to make sure to show me around properly this time," she added teasingly.

"Damien calls me an attention whore, but I try not to be like that way at work," Taylor said.

Damien grinned. "Of course I will. I wouldn't dream of letting you get lost in the park after hours."

Sera smiled teasingly. "Well you're not at work now," she said, her voice playful.

Rose laughed a bit.

"Good," she said.

"This is true," Taylor replied. He grinned. "Which is why I'm spending the evening with a beautiful woman."

"But honestly, I think you'll enjoy it. Most of the wolves are up most at night, the big cats, the bats, things that you normally don't get to see during the day." Damien grinned.

Sera couldn't help but blush slightly at that. "Well then it looks like you've got your priorities straightened out."

"Sounds like fun," Rose replied. She grinned. "Maybe this time I'll actually get to see the other enclosures."

Taylor grinned.

"I try," he said.

"I'll make sure you do." Damien smiled. "Besides, you can always come back whenever you want."

Sera smiled and ordered strawberry lemonade when a waiter came over, and glanced at Taylor. "Think we should get those onion rings to share, or are you not that hungry?"

"True," Rose replied. She grinned. "Because, you know, I do kind of work there."

"I wouldn't mind splitting the onion rings," Taylor said.

Damien laughed quietly. "Well, I meant it as more of an offer to give you a tour any time you wanted, all the behind the scenes stuff. Except the labs. Taylor would have to get you in there."

Sera nodded and added that, smiling at the waiter before he left. Then she turned back to Taylor.

"So, I have to ask, out of profession curiosity. How much equipment do you have and how big is your lab?"

"I'm not really interested in the labs," Rose replied. "I'm trained to help other people with research, not actually do science stuff myself."

Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"You know, coming from an attractive woman, a man could take that the wrong way," he teased.

Damien nodded. "Yeah, I prefer the hands-on stuff to adding this and that and watching what it does." He paused for a moment. "Unless, of coures, it blows up."

Sera blinked, blushed faintly, and laughed.

"I hadn't even realized. That was sneaky."

Rose grinned.

"I set a gummy bear on fire in high school," she said brightly. "It thrashed and jumped and flailed as it burned, it was amusing. It was the only science class I really enjoyed, aside from astronomy."

Taylor grinned.

"I'm told it's part of my charm."

Damien grinned. "I think that is one of the most amusing ways to tell about a science experiment. I approve. I like the mental image that goes along, too."

Sera laughed quietly. "Yes, I suppose you could say that," she said, obviously amused.

"That was also the same class where we burned through a sock with hydrochloric acid," Rose added. "And the teacher had a little bit of pure sodium that she dropped in water. It was a really good day."

"Now I could be completely crass and take that line of thought further, but even I'm not that bad," Taylor said.

Damien laughed quietly. "Oh I would have loved to have seen that," he said with a big grin.

"Thank you. There's only so much even I can handle." Sera shot him a smile.

"It was the best day ever, in the little backwater town I was from," Rose said.

Taylor smiled as well, but was saved from replying when the onion rings arrived.

"Ladies first," he said.

"Ah, one of those. I've been to little backwater towns before. Never lived in one, though." Damien shook his head. "When I was younger I used to wonder how people stayed sane, living out there."

Sera smiled and took the top one, dipping it in ranch before taking a bite. She made an approving noise, too polite to talk with her mouth full, and nodded for him to try one.

"They don't," Rose replied dryly. "Everybody knows everybody a little too well, and nobody can keep their mouths shut about what isn't their business to begin with."

Taylor took a piece and dipped it into the ranch as well. The onion rings really were good.

"That sounds about right," Damien said after a moment. "And also why I never lived in a small town, and never intend to."

Sera smiled and finished her onion ring. "These are better than normal," she said, taking another one. "And I've had onion rings from several places."

"I didn't have a choice," Rose replied. "Though I escaped as soon as I could. It took until I was through college, but I managed it."

"That's why this place is packed," Taylor replied. "Everyone wants the onion rings."

"That's normal," Damien said with a shrug. "Lots of kids don't get away from their parents or their hometowns until college."

"I can see why." Sera sat back to eat for a few minutes, glancing at him. "Have you always lived here?"

"I was glad to get away," Rose replied. "I wasn't the most popular girl in school." She blinked. "Sorry, I shouldn't be complaining to you... I should be over it all by now."

"I've been here for the last several years," Taylor replied. "Before that, I was kind of all over the place."

"Our pasts are what shape us," Damien said quietly. "Even if it is in the past, it is still important. Don't apologize for that."

Sera smiled a little and nodded. "I moved once when I was a kid, and I remember I hated the new house for a while just because it wasn't my house. Then I went off to college and, well, here we are."

"Still," Rose said. "People tell me I'm too sensitive about some things."

"Well, like I said, I've been here for several years," Taylor said. "Lucky for me, I haven't had to move."

"Well, even if you are, you haven't been with me." Damien smiled at her. "Now cheer up or I'll have to start pulling out the bad jokes, and I don't really want you to want to stab me with that knife while we're here."

Sera nodded. "Yeah. Oh well. I like here. Here is actually pretty good." She leaned back a little as their food arrived. "And, off topic, you have no idea how nice it is to be around a fellow meat-eater."

Rose couldn't help but grin at the joke.

"Nah, I don't stab people if I can help it," she said. "Homicide is still illegal and all that good stuff."

Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"Work with a lot of vegetarians or something?" he asked. Obviously, working with Damien, he didn't have that problem.