Participants:
| Scene Title | Degrees of Separation |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Trask meeting Liz turns into Trask being chased down by a pregnant woman, almost getting tackled, and probably landing right where he needs to be. Liz and Harmony have 'the talk' that has been coming, and yet again, it ALL points back to Richard Cardinal. |
| Date | March 27 |
Central Park has been, and remains, a key attraction in New York City, both for tourists and local residents. Though slightly smaller, approximately 100 acres at its southern end scarred by and still recovering from the explosion, the vast northern regions of the park remain intact.
An array of paths and tracks wind their way through stands of trees and swathes of grass, frequented by joggers, bikers, dog-walkers, and horsemen alike. Flowerbeds, tended gardens, and sheltered conservatories provide a wide array of colorful plants; the sheer size of the park, along with a designated wildlife sanctuary add a wide variety of fauna to the park's visitor list. Several ponds and lakes, as well as the massive Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, break up the expanses of green and growing things. There are roads, for those who prefer to drive through; numerous playgrounds for children dot the landscape.
Many are the people who come to the Park - painters, birdwatchers, musicians, and rock climbers. Others come for the shows; the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theater, the annual outdoor concert of the New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn, the summer performances of the Metropolitan Opera, and many other smaller performing groups besides. They come to ice-skate on the rink, to ride on the Central Park Carousel, to view the many, many statues scattered about the park.
Some of the southern end of the park remains buried beneath rubble. Some of it still looks worn and torn, struggling to come back from the edge of destruction despite everything the crews of landscapers can do. The Wollman Rink has not been rebuilt; the Central Park Wildlife Center remains very much a work in progress, but is not wholly a loss. Someday, this portion of Central Park just might be restored fully to its prior state.
It is a beautiful day in Central Park. The sun is shining and the sky is blue, the snow still lying lightly on the ground reflects the sunlight and the air is crisp and invigorating. Children are laughing, and the world seems right for once, like a moment of perfect calm and peace in the middle of all the crap going on around it. A man in a leather jacket with a large bag over his shoulder is taking a moment under a tree and just absorbing the quiet of the day. He looks a bit crumpled and possibly even homeless, with a beard that might make Grizzly Adams envious and long dirty blonde hair that hangs around his head and covers his shoulders.
Trying to keep a low key profile and not rouse too many questions about her current condition, Harmony would normally be holed up in her apartment. But her hormones are ever changing, and she occasionally does something outside of the normal routine. She wanted to be out in the open, and ignoring the fact that her telepathy is a bit on the fritz for hormonal reasons as well, she picked the park to be in for her journey for fresh air. The blonde girl is doing her best to look very presentable these days, on account of not being able to wear the tight clothes and such she used to. Doesn't look too good on a pregnant girl.
She finds herself to rest on a bench, already looking quite big for being about 4 months, but she is wearing it pretty well. Muttering a complaint about Richard Cardinal as she takes a bit of effort to sit down, sighing with relief once she does and resting her head back. Her telepathy slipping, thoughts drifting from her head. Better.. much better. Maybe I should have stopped to get lunch first because now I kinda don't wanna get up. She lifts her head and looks around the park, taking in things that are atypical of the area. Like the grizzled guy. Homeless are seen around here, but they sorta stand out in the picture.
Trask crosses from her tree, he doesn't seem to notice her looking at him, he walks on down the path though, figuring it is time to get going, no point in staying in one place to long. He crosses right in front of her bench and as he approaches, suddenly it's like she has gone deaf. Silence, total silence everywhere. Not static, not background fuzz, not anything but total silence. She heard the laughter of children nearby and realizes the silence isn't in the park but in her head. As he continues on his route passing her bench and whistling to himself, when he gets outside of the immediate area the noise is all back, loud and suddenly.
She has been negated with this ability before, having taken negation drugs in order to be in public when she had problems with it in general. She can't exactly take those now, so she just sorta deals with it. She has also been waiting for her original ability to return any day now. So when she hears the silence of a quiet mental state, Harmony looks confused and the a little excited for a moment, "It's gone! There's— there's nothing! Oh my god, I must be getting my ability back! This must be a side effect of it returning, I lose the mind thing and then I should be getting warmer at any moment!" Harmony looks at her hand trying to focus like she did when she had her radiation, not really getting anything.
The blond girl frowns and shakes her head, "Maybe.. it takes a little bit." she sighs, looking up and realizing she is talking to herself. And then the telepathy is suddenly back, leaving her more confused, and them disappointed, "Aww.. that's kinda mean." she frowns, "But what happened? How did—" she peers around at people, growing a bit suspicious, "Okay, who is playing games?"
No one seems to have changed there stance any, no one acting suspicious. Kids are playing, a mom is pushing a stroller. The homeless guy only a half dozen yards away does look over his shoulder though when she makes comment, before suddenly looking away and quickening his step just a little.
She is trying to pay attention, as no one really looks at her weird until the homeless person. Harmony's eyes slit a little and she pieces it together, seeing him start to speed up. She has never been the girl to keep her mouth shut, or back away, so she isn't going to start now. "Hey! Hey you!" she waves an arm and then starts to move after him. Not as fast moving as he is of course, because she is carrying so many pounds of baby right now, so it looks a little comical with her almost waddling after him, flagging her arm about, "Dude, don't make me chase you down! You do not wanna find out what happens when I catch you after running a block or two! You might as well slow down now, I can go for a while!" She is going to continue to draw attention, obviously. Harmony is quite good at making a scene.
Trask does look back again at her yelling, then he does something that makes him /so/ glad he doesn't look like himself right now, and that would be /so/ bad for his own reputation if anyone found out. His toe, right when he looks back, catches on a broken crack in the sidewalk, and then he trips, going face first into the cement.
"Ha!" Harmony cries with a degree of victory, speeding up a little to catch up to him, ending up a little winded when she finally reaches him. "Man.. I gotta stop sitting around that was only what, 30 or so feet, and I'm tired?" she takes a second to catch her breath, changing her posture to adjust so she isn't putting too much stress on more difficult areas of her body. "Okay.." she turns to Trask, "Now, what's the deal with the thing you did back there? Are you some kinda practical joker or something? Because I gotta say, playing with people's abilities? Not cool. I've got some mojo thrown on me already that swapped my power with some other people, so I'm a little touchy about— Hey, are you okay, anyway? You didn't kill yourself when you fell, did you? Because I can't help you up. You have like.. a foot and a half on me. No way I'm lifting you up."
Trask rolls over as she gets to him. When she steps within 10 feet it is quiet again. Her ability just cuts out live an invisiable line in the sand was crossed. He immediately stands back up, with one of those rather odd martial arts moves that have him kicking the ground and coming to his feet in the blink of an eye. He pauses a moment though, not making a break for it quite yet as he realizes the condition of the woman who has been chasing him.
And she is frowning at him when he gets up and might take off running. She would, at this point start peeking into his head to get at least a hint of what he is thinking, though she is finding that her telepathy isn't working again. "Oh, you're doing it again, aren't you? Not gonna talk at all, huh? I see what your game is. Go around, messing and turning off people's abilities because you're homeless and angry?" Harmony puts her hands on her hips, because it's comfortable for one thing, and it adds to her telling off. "You know, maybe some people are actually nice, and treat people about equally."
Trask sighs softly and looks down, he then speaks, with a thick latino accent. "I don't exactly have control of it. It's more of a constant thing…as long as your near me."
Her moods can change at the drop of a hat. She is just a little irritated at the moment, but that changes when he explains, "Oh, aww, I sorta have that problem too.. Or I did, with the telepathy. When I first got it, it was much worse but.. you have no idea the random shit that people think. I pick all of that up, and it is annoying." she reaches up and scratches the bridge of her nose, "Where were you when I first got this thing, huh? Could totally have given you a job suppressing the noise. Hey, Richard was actually sorta looking for a negator for when my radiation ability returns. Something about a hormonal radiation throwing girl being a problem or some such." she waves her hand about the air. "I'm Harmony, by the way. Sorry about the whole knocking you on your ass thing."
Trask 's eyes scan the area, she said Richard, and while there are lots of Richards in town, one looking for a negator could always be Cardinal. Since he was speciafically told last week to keep his head down and off Cardinal's radar he can't use any of his old aliases. Sergei Traskovich, Gerard Harrison, Cameron Harrison, all of them would be suspect. He needs a new name now. He never has been good at being original. He tries to get inspiration. His eyes fall on a tree….that tree. The day Claire and Helena found out his double identity. Without thinking any more and making her even more suspcious he says, with his latino accent and blonde hair, "Dean, Bennet Dean…ummm…nice to meet you, senorita?"
He is probably lucky that she cannot read his mind. Harmony is very mentally nosey, so she would likely be peeking to see what he knows. "Well, under better circumstances, I'm sure." Harmony smirks, "Not exactly a good first impresses to be chased down by some mad pregnant woman, yelling at you. I'm normally not like this.. Crazy that is. It was just sorta weird initially, not having the telepathy. I thought my power was returning. Liz and Richard would be thrilled about that. We'll be dealing with the 'How is the radiation gonna affect the babies' thing when it happens. I'm immune to radiation, it deflects off of me. I keep telling them I'll be fine. If it can't get to the babies, it can't hurt them, right?" she is a bit of a chatter box because she doesn't really talk to too many people as of late.
He is probably lucky that she cannot read his mind. Harmony is very mentally nosey, so she would likely be peeking to see what he knows. "Well, under better circumstances, I'm sure." Harmony smirks, "Not exactly a good first impresses to be chased down by some mad pregnant woman, yelling at you. I'm normally not like this.. Crazy that is. It was just sorta weird initially, not having the telepathy. I thought my power was returning. Liz and Richard would be thrilled about that. We'll be dealing with the 'How is the radiation gonna affect the babies' thing when it happens. I'm immune to radiation, it deflects off of me. I keep telling them I'll be fine. If it can't get to the babies, it can't hurt them, right?" she is a bit of a chatter box because she doesn't really talk to too many people as of late.
Trask blinks, "Radiation….what is up with all the Russian roulette of powers around here lately?" While almost the entire sentence is said with the latino accent the words russian roulette have a much more siberian twang to them. "Um…sorry…I just….ran into an old associate of mine, from another time, long ago recently who gained radiation powers…."
"Russian roulette of powers?" Harmony arches a brow, "You mean the power swapping thing? Oh.." she purses her lips, "It is a complex situation, actually. Really complex and far fetched. It involves alternate realities and alternate guys and stuff. It'll make your head explode." Even she has trouble wrapping her head around it, "Wait.. from another time? So you have a bit of an idea what I'm talking about."
Trask says, "Another time…you know the past…." Yeah thats it, the past, not the future, nope nope not the future. "Alternate realities and alternate guys? Do Cylons talk to you too? And if they do can I get thier number, because I hear most of them are kind of hot." Trask falls back into his defensive mode, which means jokes to try to shake off suspicion. He stands on the side walk facing off with Harmony. He is still long hair hippie trask with the mountain man beard of course. His eyes do scan around hoping that he "lunch date" doesn't show up right about now, since this person mentioned her name already, and well that might be bad for the whole low profile thing."
Harmony's expression drops a little, peering at Trask with narrowed eyes, "Hey, if you believe in time travel, and you've seen some of the things people can do, then how can you not believe in the possibility of alternate realities? That is a little double standard, don'tca think?" a blond brow raises up. Yeah, Trask is really lucky Harmony can't meddle around in his head. She'd be all up in there, messing with his thoughts. The rather pregnant girl has her hands on her back at the moment, kinda wishing she hadn't chased him down. Ugh.. and she kinda has to pee now too.
Trask says, "Who said I beleive in time travel? Even if I did…not like I could ever do it, remember…no powers" He waves around. "Mostly I avoid people with powers, they are always trouble. Terrorists and Feds and Pains in my ass. Especially the blonde ones…especially especially the cute blonde ones." He blinks and looks you over again, "Um….wow…your kinda a real cute blonde evolved aren't you? I think it's time I leave…before you know…I do something I regret for a pretty girl." He turns to make a break, only to see a particular blonde evolved terrorist cop walking right toward them. He takes to steps and then stops. "Frak me with a chainsaw.""
If there was one thing Elisabeth was expecting to see when she got to the park to meet Norton…. it was not finding him in the company of Harmony. Fuck… the last thing she needs is Harmony telling Richard that the negator is back in town. And with their proximity, Harmony's negated. Without question. Liz is intimately acquainted with Norton's range.
And she's close enough to hear most of what he says, too. Which brings a smirk to her face. "That sounds distinctly uncomfortable."
A plethora of emotional changes happens in a matter of seconds. Harmony's jaw drops when Trask starts talking about blond evolved girls being problems. She is blond and she is evolved, so is he talking about her? Yes! He is! He just said it! He called her blond and.. wait, cute? Really? In her condition? Aww, okay well.. wait— He is leaving? She would normally be confused on how to feel about that, but with the way her moods change, she is able to keep up with the emotional overdraft. She goes through at least 3 major emotions in sequence. She was shocked initially, then she was angry, and then came flattery and a twinge of embarrassment, and then finally— "Wait, you're just gonna leave? Just like that? Were you just calling me pretty so you could go? It was.. just a decoy to make me feel better so you could slip away? That's how they all are.. you're— you're terrible!" Abandonment.
She looks up at Liz arrives, almost brought to tears by Trask and her own issues, "Liz! When did you get here? This guy here, he negated my powers, and he needs a bath!"
Trask does stop, between Liz's comment and Harmony's crying, he sighs. Why do they always cry? He turns back to her and an arm goes around her. "No I wasn't saying something to make you feel better or distract you….trust me I never say anything to make people feel better. I am really bad about that. Normally I just make them feel worse. I was serious about you being cute…that's why I wanted to run." He looks up, "Isn't that right Rapunzel?"
"Lord… you're leaking again," Elisabeth sighs. "I will be so glad when you get solidly into the second trimester, woman." She fishes in her jacket pocket looking for Kleenex. Because she's a woman, she carries odd things like tissues and napkins in her pocket on a regular basis. She proffers a handful of napkins from the coffee shop out toward Harmony. "Here. Chill. The man is just… a man. What else do you want from someone with a Y chromosome?" she asks drily. "He's just stupid."
She is normally not this unstable, really she isn't. She can't control these emotional roller coasters, and she was told that she really shouldn't try. It's okay, they'll happen. "Wait.. that doesn't make sense. You run from cute people?" the confusion is enough to at least get her to stop the waterworks, reaches for the Klennex to wipe her cheek of the moisture. "That's— that is very counter productive." she tells him. Obviously Liz knows this person, "So, you know who he is? Hey, he can negate. He is homeless too, so he probably needs a job and a place to stay. He could maybe help me with the radiation returns."
Trask looks at Liz apologetically, as he still has his arm around Harmony rubbing the small of her back. "Yeah well like I said most cute girls mean trouble in my experience." He waits to see how Liz wants to handle this. "Bennet Dean, please to meet you" He does supply to the recently arrived woman in red.
Interesting choice of names there, Norton. Liz is going to have to have words about choosing names that are allied with Phoenix. "Yes, I know who he is, Harmony…. I was meeting him." She glances at Norton. "I'll work something out with a job if he wants one. I'd already planned on talking to someone about his arrival here." She turns those blue eyes back to Harmony. "But you need to really stop talking to strangers. How're the lima beans doing?"
Harmony has never been all that weird about being touched and touching. Physical contact is just apart of her nature, so she doesn't mind the touching, as long as he doesn't try to steal her money or anything. "Well, I tend to be trouble, yeah. But nobody complained about my kind of trouble before." Harmony grins. "I've always been sorta the bad girl, and people were sorta drawn to that, I dunno." she shrugs. She kinda misses being that girl a little bit. But things change.
"Ohh.. well that's a little convenient." the blonde chuckles, "I ran into him here, and you were already meeting him. That's funny! Well.. actually, I ran him down. He negated me and started running, and I chased him down till he fell. I wouldn't normally talk to strange, grizzled men, but I wanted to know what was going on." It was a messed up situation. "Oh.. they're still in there." Harmony pats her stomach. "Demanding lunch I think.."
Trask shakes his head, "I'm good so far…ran into an ex early this week. She use to be a bit of a shocker, but now she is more of a …hot number. Apparently a lot of things have been changing around her. I understand she's a good friend of yours now. She promised to keep things on the downlow, and apparently I need a better disguise." He looks at Harmony, "I'm sure your still a bad girl. when you want to be."
Elisbaeth nods slightly to the information that they're demanding lunch. "You probably shouldn't keep them waiting," she comments. But she lets that slide. Because now he's run into Elle too. Christ. Everyone's going to know before Richard himself. She finally says aloud, "Wonderful." There's a grimace with it and she looks at Harmony. "Here's the thing. I'd appreciate if you didn't say anything to Richard until I can speak to him about … Bennet's… arrival, please? As a favor?"
Harmony looks between Trask and Liz a few times, trying to piece together why she doesn't want her to speak to Richard about it, "O-kay.. I guess I can not say anything." From the look on her face, she isn't too comfortable with doing so. "But if this comes back and Richard gets mad for keeping secrets, I was totally against it. You know how paranoid he is about trust." Harm shakes her head and sighs a little, not liking it one bit. She looks to Trask and peers, "I'm pretty sure this is going to bite me in the ass somehow, but.. I'll keep quiet."
Trask nods slowly, "Look you keep Cardassian in the dark for a little bit till Liz can let him know on her terms, and I promise I will do what I can to help keep your babys safe when 3 mile island turns back on. Deal?" He steps back around her and offers his hand. If she looks at it she may realize the hand is actually clean, no dirt under the finger nails or worked into the knuckles at all. Odd for a homeless guy. He looks at Liz, "You wanna get her something to eat and get home and we can try this again later? I'll do my best not to have pretty blondes jump out of no where and tackle me this time…" He looks over at the tree and winces, "Which basically means staying away from this part of the park I think." At least it isn't Helena running through Soho in a bunny outfit this time. "Your not a member of Delta-Nu are you?" He asks Harmony.
"It won't bite you in the ass…. " Elisabeth moves to walk with Harmony. Her blue eyes search Trask's face for a long moment and she smiles just a little. "Yeah. Gimme a couple of hours and …. go to the apartment? I'll meet you there." Then to Harmony again, she says, "C'mon… I'll explain why I want to tell him myself."
"Hey, I didn't talk you. You fell on your own face. I was just chasing. Don't try to play macho and make it seem like you weren't clumsy and took a big 'L' to the head. You got chased down by a pregnant girl, and you tripped on your own feet. Suck it up and own it.. it happens." See, that mouth of hers is standard. Pregnant or no, she has always been blunt. But she agrees to the terms, taking his hand without much question, "A sorority? Mmm.. no. I was a little bit too much of a rockstar to be in one of those. Touring the globe with my parents." She could pull off the sorority thing, sure. "But okay, take care for now I guess. Don't get chased down by any more pregnant girls." she tells Trask as she moves to walk with Liz.
"You know, only I could get into situations like these. Everything is just so //weird."
Trask bites back his comments and looks a little embarassed as Liz hears the whole story, he then nods, "It happens…more often then I like to admit." He then leans over and gives Liz a kiss on the cheek, before waving good by and heading back into the park. As he gets a few feet away the voices come back to Harmony full force.
The ex-cop reaches up and cradles his face as he kisses her cheek, stroking the rough beard with a faint smile. "See you in a bit," she murmurs. As he walks away, she watches for a long moment, then turns her entire attention on Harmony.
"You know…. usually when a bunch of wierd things happen to people, it's not the people around them who are wierd. You have to start looking at the thing around which it all revolves," Liz teases the other blonde lightly. "So, uhm…. yeah, Bennet."
"You mean Richard." Harmony peers at Liz, "Because it always seems to go back to Richard. Somehow, some way, he is the center of it all. I can't even like, eat a sandwich without it somehow being related to Richard. I was eating one yesterday that Nate had brought me? It was from that deli, which is where I first met Richard. It's nuts, I'm afraid that if anything were to happen to him, the world would just crumble apart instantly. Like a building." the blonde shakes her head, realizing that these things are going to keep happening.
Looking at Liz, she gets a suspicious look on her face, "Bennet.. isn't his real name, is it? I have a sneaking suspicion that there is so much more to it."
"Wow…. you know, the world does not revolve around Richard, though occasionally he does seem to lose sight of that," Elisabeth laughs. "Don't feed his ego." She pauses. "No… Bennet's not his real name. And yes, there's a bigger story." She's working on how to phrase this. "Do you …. " Her jaw clenches as they walk and Liz shoves her hands in her pockets. "I don't know what you think of me. Or if you … know what effect your news had." She doesn't look at Harmony as they walk. "I hit him."
She's not saying it like she's proud of it. More … like she expects Harmony to understand the significance.
She had been wondering about that, Richard hadn't told her what Liz's reaction was to it. "Actually, I didn't know that." she looks a little apologetic. "You know, it was— really confusing at the time. What happened with Richard. I was supposed to be helping him, he was distraught, wanting to give everything all up, he pouted, I tried to be there and supportive, and I even tried not to give into that boy look he gives. At first… Totally failed after the first 5 minutes. Dunno what it is about him, but next thing I know…" She lets the sentence go unfinished and sighs. "I mean, you remember when I first met you. There really wasn't much there, and then he got upset and pouty and— I'm sure you know what I mean."
Elisabeth laughs. "Yeah. It's a cute pout. He does it well." She continues to walk with Harmony, seeming… more at ease when they're moving. "I didn't hit him when he first told me. It was the triplets thing that tipped the scales," she admits. "I was…. " She glances at Harmony and says, "I'm okay with whatever the two of you are together. It was just a shock. And I'm not… I don't want it to be wierd with us. But I think you'll understand when I tell you that the reason I want to tell Richard about … Bennet… personally is that… he's the only person Richard's ever …. maybe felt threatened by?" She clears her throat. "Kind of in the same way I felt threatened by you."
"Oh.." Harmony pinches her brows together. It takes a second for it to click actually, "Ohhhhh!" her eyes widen as she kinda gets it, "Really? With the whole scruffy beard and everything? I'd have made him shave, totally. At least down to stubble. Grizzly Adams thing? Only take that for about 5 seconds." It is a little funny how these people keep connecting in the most interesting ways. And just a little bit unsettling. "But don't worry though.. I mean, you don't need to feel threatened, I actually— Oh.. yeah.. I— Kinda have something that I don't want Richard to know about yet myself." Oh, here it comes, she has dish.
"An.. old ex of mine sorta jumped back into the picture. He kinda wants to be around to help with the babies, which is really awesome, considering.. unmarried girl, pregnant with someone elses kids?" she sighs, "Anyway.. Richard.. doesn't like him much, so I am sure he'd have some issues with it. He used to be apart of some organization, and had the memories of another man. Richard said he was psychotic, and Curtis says it was true."
Elisabeth laughs at that. "No… he didn't have the scruff thing back then. And … Richard's never met him face to face, I don't think. It was… the idea that in a future that will never come to pass now Bennet was my son's father instead of Richard." She shrugs a little and keeps walking. Pursing her lips, the blonde FRONTLINE officer keeps walking and now she's choosing her words very carefully. "Curtis mentioned you to me, and I… kept my mouth shut. I have… concerns." She glances at Harmony. "Have you told him who the father is?"
"Mmmm." Harmony winces, "A guy he's never met? Well.. I mean.. he can't exactly put too much investment in that future? I mean.. he's not alternate Richard here, and stuff that wasn't suppose to happen did, and vice versa, so.. He shouldn't be threatened. But then again, this is Richard we're talking about… Gosh, why is he such a child and all we do is sit there and go 'Awww' about it? I don't understand it. I can see just how it'll go once he finds out about Curtis. It isn't going to be pretty." She has played the scene in her head several times, and counted the ways Richard will turn red in the face. When Liz asks her about telling Curtis who the father is, Harmony winces, "I didn't mean to. I really didn't. It just came out. He upset me by saying he was gonna stay, I was crying, all emotional, like a floodgate and it just came out when he asked me. I knew it was wrong as soon as I said it, and I even shocked myself that I did say it."
Oh shit. Elisabeth just shakes her head. "Harmony…. Curtis was working for the Institute. I'm…. starting to get a feel for him. I think maybe he could be trusted if push comes to shove, but…. the fact that he was sent by the Institute to guard Cardinal's life, and that he's now in possession of the one piece of information we want kept the hell away from the Institute….." She bites her lip. "Christ. Do not tell Richard that right now. Don't do it." She glances at Harmony. Her next words are back to the other subject, if only because it perhaps will tie this together for her. "I asked him to have a baby. A couple of months before he took off with you. Because in a future that no longer happens, I had a kid by accident — and I didn't want to do that in this timeline. If I was going to have a child, I wanted to make the choice to do it, and I wanted to have it by a man that I love with my whole soul. Richard is… far, far from perfect. But there it is… and he was just as worried about your pregnancy running me off… as I am that Bennet's return might run him off."
Here come the emotions. She is very vulnerable with those now, whereas she was a bit defensive before. As Liz talks about Curtis being on the other side, she wants to forgive that, more than anything. "I know, he told me." she sighs, "He told me he had been ordered to watch him, by the— Wait.. Actually, I read it from his mind when Richard had me spy, but then he told me. And then he just does this thing, I can't explain it but it just makes me not care about the complicated stuff." She is a little ashamed of herself for being so weak about it.
"I can't tell Richard, but I have to tell Richard. I can't exactly just run Curtis off, because that would be stupid on my part. What if it actually works out this time.. I mean we didn't really break-up the first time, he got sent off and stationed. And I was not the army wife type at the time." She rests her hands on the protrusion that is her stomach, "I won't tell him.. Not right now. Give Curtis a chance to prove himself."
"Wait. You think this will run Richard off because Bennet is back? Are you kidding me? You have a pass, girl. He's having twins with someone else. Oh, yeah.. I had been meaning to mention that. Ultrasound was a missread. There are two, not three, which is still okay! And it'll be easier. But yeah.. Just because your ex is back, doesn't mean he can be mad at you for it and run off. He's not going anywhere, it isn't like him."
Which of those things to address first. Elisabeth has to smile. Of all the people she thought she'd talk about her relationship with Richard with, Harmony…. did not top the list. Really. And she's some amount of incredulous that the other woman is quite as able to have this conversation so easily. "He won't be mad. He might be… worried. We'll work it out, I just… would like to be the one to tell him that Bennet's back myself. Before he hears it through the grapevine of whoever else the man has suddenly run into." She grimaces. "I've been trying to sort out what to say to him. To both of them, really," she admits, her hands still shoved deep into her jacket pockets. "And it is like him, Harmony… when shit hits the fan, when he doesn't know what to feel…. Richard runs." She looks at Harm, her expression … a bit sad. "He ran to you because things with me were too… complicated." She sighs heavily and looks around the park. "Look…. don't tell anyone else who the father is. Not anyone. It puts you and the babies in a lot of danger. Give me a little time to ferret out Curtis's motives, and .. we'll beard Richard together over the matter if we need to. All right?"
"Well, I mean, that's fine. I completely understand that. I was just worried it was some big major secret about Bennet that Richard would be all 'You knew and you didn't tell me?' over." she does her best to puff up and do a Richard Cardinal impression, looking angry and deep voice and everything. "If you wanna be the one to drop the news on him for that one, by all means, go ahead. He might not even care if you bring up the subject of having Bennet be the negator he is looking for. I personally think they'll be fine when my powers return, but it'd put Richard's mind at ease at least." She has been studying radiation, and taking a few online classes for the purpose of her ability, so.. she has her theories.
"And I know I shouldn't tell people. I really only told Nate and then slipped with Curtis. Nate, I had to tell, because I trust him completely, and he'd have found out otherwise. My telepathy was still slipping around them so I'd have let it slip. Nate won't let anything happen to me, and he kinda has the power to back up the claim, so.. I'll just be careful not to let it slip again. And.. I'll watch out for Curtis till we know too."
Elisabeth smiles a little and she stops in the path. "I didn't know what to expect from you," she admits. "Most people just plain don't get the way Richard and I live. Thank you… for making what could have been a really awkward, awful situation so easy. And for what it's worth to you…." She pauses, her blue eyes very serious. "I will protect your children with my life."
Oh no! You can't do that! She'll start crying again! Drop of a hat, not even kidding. Though she can fight it back as her stomach gives a growl to remind her about lunch. Distractions help to keep the changes away. "Eh, you're guy's relationship is unconventional, but it isn't a big deal. Marriage and such is just a state. People can't even get straight if they wanna make it under god or the government, so it's whatever, really." Harmony shrugs, "I kinda told Richard the same thing about you, really. When I broke the new to him, and he stressed his concerns about you. It'd be nice for them to have another brother or sister, and I'm sure that'd make Richard even more happy. His whole thing about kids. It's cute really."
She laughs. "Well, …. I'm thinking first we gotta get past the part where we're always running for our lives or something," Elisabeth admits quietly. Although a part of her wonders if they shouldn't go ahead and do it before they're required to have fucking papers allowing it. Dear God. "Anyway… let's get you some lunch. And then I'll get back to dealing with Curtis and Bennet," she says, shaking her head.