Participants:
| Scene Title | Darkest Before the Dawn |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A visit to a best friend for emotional comfort. |
| Date | december 28, 2008 |
It's early, even by hospital standards. Elisabeth didn't really think about how early it is … visiting hours don't start for another couple of hours. But it's amazing what leeway being a regular *and* having a badge will buy from the night nurses, who haven't even gone off shift yet. It's just before six AM, and even as she stops at the closed door of Norton's room, she realizes she shouldn't be here… she should let him sleep. He needs it. She almost turns away. And then she decides to hell with it. He'll be asleep, and that's fine too. Shrugging out of her jacket before she goes in, making sure her gun holster is off her belt and tucked in the folds, she slips into the hospital room as silently as she can and sets her gear in the chair in the corner of the room before approaching Norton's bed. The soft glow of the breaking dawn is just barely enough to illuminate the room so that she can tell if he's sleeping.
Trask is not exactly sleeping, he is kinda sitting in the dark, thinking, when she comes in, he hmmms softly, to see what the nurse is wanting.
In the darkness, it's not the nurse's voice that comes to him. "You're supposed to be sleeping, you know," Elisabeth murmurs quietly. "What're you doing awake?" Her tone is gentle, and she makes no move to turn the lights on as she slips her hand into his.
Trask says, "Blood test at 5am, they took some blood, I can never get to sleep after that."
Elisabeth hesitates next to the bed, and asks quietly, "Are you in a lot of pain? Or you think you could scoot over a little?"
Trask smiles, and gingerly moves over, making room for you.
She had been going to just sit with him, but …. in the dark of the early morning with his silent acceptance, Elisabeth reaches down to unzip and step out of her boots, then very very carefully climbs onto the bed to curl up next to him very gingerly, afraid of hurting him more. She doesn't say anything, merely sliding her arm gently up under his undamaged one to lay across his chest, her head sharing his pillow.
Trask puts his right arm around her, he smiles softly, "This is nice, though I think my nurse might have a conniption if she finds out I'm cheating on her." He winks at her.
Elisabeth tries to smile, but it's sort of lost in the dark. Curled up against him as she is, she can't hide the fine tremors from him now. She buries her face against his undamaged shoulder for a long moment, and he can feel when the dam breaks and the silent tears start. Clearly whatever brought her in here in the darkest part of the morning with sunrise barely breaking into the sky was bad enough to force her past the defenses she always keeps up — she has only rarely let even Norton close enough to see the last barriers fall. Normally, although she tends to turn to him when she needs to talk, she just cooks an insane amount of food when she's upset. She's only ever let him see it get this bad twice: the night she decided to quit the force, and the night of the Washington Irving explosion. If those two are anything to go by, it'll take a little while for it to slow down enough for her to tell him what happened.
Trask just holds her, he says nothing, he is just there for her, crushing her against him, he lets her get it all out.
When she's finally cried it all out, the room is far brighter. The nurse has come and gone without giving Norton any crap at all, given the state of his companion. Liz is exhausted when the storm passes, and she doesn't move for another long while. Finally, she rouses herself to whisper roughly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dumped all over you like that."
Trask says, "I….I…I was so afraid you couldn't…" He smiles at her, "What happened? What can I do?"
Trask 's voice is a whisper as well.
Elisabeth shakes her head a little, finally, and moves back just enough to be able to look at him while they share the pillow. "One of my kids got run in this morning. He held a cop and his father hostage for about half the night… stupid fucking rookie." Her voice is still husky with the tears she's shed. "The father found out that the kid was Evolved and was basically beating the shit out of him, so a neighbor called the cops. The kid panicked when the cops busted in, and well…." She sighs, closing her eyes tiredly. "Thank God for small favors, no one was shot. The kid's got Gayle Addison from the public defender's office." Which is good, she's the best damn litigator out there, and very pro-Evolved and pro-kid. "Just…. on top of every damn this else this week…. it's too much. He's 14, Norton. He's… just a baby. He shouldn't have to fight off his own parent because he can change the color of clothes and walls."
Trask swallows and nods, and tightens his grip on you further. "Your right….and I wish there was more we could do…to make this a better world."
Elisabeth sighs heavily. "I just… Christ, Norton. This week seems to be the drop-a-ton-of-bricks week. The botched raid, the Rickham thing, you getting shot, us breaking up and the attendant emotional baggage and reactions that go with it, my boss running Abby in and forcing her hand before she was actually ready to register, somehow Harvard knows I'm in this up to my eyeballs, and Parkman thinks I'm absolutely clueless, Will thinks I'm an imbecile, …" She trails off. "And I damn well shouldn't be complaining. I'm alive, I'm healed, I haven't lost anyone I loved … yet." She closes her eyes.
Trask sighs softly, and closes his eyes, "I'm sorry Liz…I shouldn't have…made things worse." He hugs you a little tighter, "And parkman thinking your a moronic blonde bimbo is the best news I have heard all day, at least he won't be ruffling through your mind for things.
Elisabeth eyes him and says tartly, "Well, that's just going a bit too far, I think." But at least it makes her smile at him, finally. "You didn't make things worse. *I* made things worse because I didn't just back down when you said 'I dunno, do you want to?'" She shrugs a little. "I made things worse when I didn't just go to bed with you that first week…. but I didn't want that to be the death knell of our friendship." She smirks. "Maybe it would have just been the thing that kept us from dancing on eggshells."
Trask smiles and leans in and kisses her, no permission asked, just kisses her, hard, and strong, fire and passion behind the kiss, as his good hand cups her head, and holds it to him. If she resists he lets her go, otherwise, he lets the kiss linger as long as possible.
Elisabeth closes her eyes, letting herself return the kiss, though perhaps not as heatedly as he's giving it. She's content to linger, there, though, for a time. After all, he's hurt! And then she opens her eyes and smiles at him, her hand coming up to cradle his cheek. Some things, straight no-holds-barred sex can fix; other things, it's moments like these when you can just cuddle up with someone, no questions asked, that are required. "Thank you," she says softly.
Trask shhhhs silently, and just nuzzles, holding you to him.
Elisabeth rests her head against him, allowing the affection to finally ease the ache in her heart. Last night was the last in a string of awful things that seem to have come down in the past week or two, and it finally just overrode her coping abilities. Her arms hold him tightly — or as tightly as one can the other is hurt! — and remains curled up right where she is. "I missed this," she confesses. And then chuckles. "Well… the climbing into a bed with you and kissing part's all new and fun, but… just this."
Trask grins, "You know your welcome to it, anytime you want. That is what I am here for."
Elisabeth chuckles softly. "And here I thought you'd think I was using you."
Trask says, "Use me…abuse me…I don't mind."
Elisabeth looks at him and now appears skeptical. "Norton…." And then she sighs. "You know…. you know me. You know my tendencies." She's had several "relationships" in the two years he's known her, although it was only the first almost-married-him one that was serious. The rest have been casual sex kinds of things. "You shouldn't offer to be used and abused, even by your best friend." She smiles at him.
Trask says, "Why…are you going to take advantage of me officer?"
Elisabeth chuckles softly. "Not until you're cleared by a doctor, officer. Sorry — you can't get that lucky for a few weeks." Her expression is amused, if weary beyond belief. "Did I tell you IA cleared the shooting, by the way? I can't remember."
Trask nods, "You did….and for good reason, it wasn't your fault.
Elisabeth nods slightly. "I know," she tells him softly. "You and I both know I'd never point a weapon at you. We're actually lucky it wasn't far worse. That guy could have picked up all the bullets in the place and sent them all at us again. I'm just grateful you weren't hurt worse, truth be told. The only thing I feel even remotely guilty about is that Abby could help me and not you… and guilty's not the right word. Regretful."
Trask says, "If it was who I think it was…He and Parkman were the reasons the Company Mission went so far south. And that means he knows Sergei and a Police officer are the same person now."
Elisabeth nods slowly. "Yeah… it's probable." She lays there quietly for a time, and then says, "I should go ahead and get out of here. I'm sure Nurse Ratched is going to come in here any minute." She smiles a bit and says, "I haven't slept yet, so I'm gonna go crash and get some sleep. Will you be okay today? Do you need anything?"
Trask says, "Just you to come back soon." He smiles and kisses your forehead."
Elisabeth rests her forehead against his lips, nodding slightly. "You know it," she replies softly. "Wish I didn't have to leave yet, honestly. But if I stay much longer, I'll crash here, and that'll go over like a lead balloon." She moves to gently disengage from the comfortable cuddle, looking at him as she sits upright. "Thank you," she whispers.
Trask says, "There is nothing to thank me for" He smiles softly, "I'm always here for you."
"Yeah… I know." Elisabeth's smile holds some regret. "Even when I don't deserve you."
Trask says, ""You deserve me…you deserve a lot better then me."
 December 27th: Float On |
 December 28th: Hatching Dawn |