Participants:
| Scene Title | Fuck the Ferris Wheel |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elle would much rather go on the roller coasters. |
| Date | March 01, 2011 |
A Hospital, A Car, and An Apartment
Waiting rooms have always made Richard Cardinal nervous. There's a sense of desperation that pervades them, of helplessness. All you can do is wait they seem to say, dressing it up in comfortable chairs and magazines. As someone who's always believed there's something that he can be doing, the philosophy behind them seems innately conflicting with his own.
Of course, he's here today in the hospital waiting room to pick up one of his agents, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.
He paces; back and forth through the visitor's area, checking his watch occasionally and generally making everyone around him anxious.
Being in a hospital room is even worse, really. Which is why Elle is so happy to be getting out of here, luxuries offered by Warren aside. It'll be nice to go sleep in her own bed. They weaned her off of the morphine, and now she's sporting a pill bottle filled with a much milder pain killer. Her leg is healing rather nicely, as are the cracked ribs. It's still uncomfortable as hell to move the wrong way, but it's much better than it was when they first brought her in, fresh from the dome. Her wrists are healing nicely, thanks to the skin grafts, though she'll have 'bracelets' of scar tissue for the rest of her life as a result. And the bruises that cover her form have healed nicely, starting to fade.
She's got all of her things packed into the bag brought from her apartment, hanging off of the back of her wheelchair. A simple pair of sweat pants and a loose-fitting sweater adorns her form. Simple, comfortable. Not the most stylish thing Elle could have worn, but it's comfortable for the trip home from the hospital. As the nurse wheels her into the waiting room, Elle's face brightens a little at the sight of Cardinal.
For her, the waiting room means that she's done waiting, and that she can go home.
"Hey there, Bishop," Cardinal looks up with an easy smile curving to his lips as she walks out, brows raising a bit and head tilting back towards the doors, "You about ready to get out've this place?" He sweeps a hand in invitation towards the doors, turning to lead her along towards them and adding, "Maybe hit a fast food joint on the way? Something horribly unhealthy?"
A cane is offered to Elle, who slowly raises to her feet and limps up to Cardinal, grinning widely. As they walk, she takes hold of his arm, using him to support her rather miniscule weight a bit. "Oh god, I've never been more ready in my life. It'll be wonderful to get the hell out of this place." A smile is cast back to the nurse in a 'no offense' gesture, before she grins up to Cardinal. "I could really go for a big, greasy cheeseburger and some fries. And a chocolate milk shake."
The arm's surrendered to assist with the walking, and Cardinal allows with a grin sidelong to her, "I figured you would. I've seen the sort've food that they serve in these places. I think it's specifically designed to get you the fuck out just to get some real food into your belly…" Out the automatic doors, and he leads her out into the parking lot towards his parked car.
The outside air itself is wonderful, as it is. Elle pauses once they step outside, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Sure, New York isn't exactly the epitome of fresh, clean air, but it's nice to breathe in and not smell that horrible smell of sickness and injury masked by sterile scents. "The highlight of my day while I was here was the pudding or the jello. Even that tasted awful, though." She follows along toward his car, hugging his arm. She doesn't deny that she rather enjoys being close to him. "I mean, it wasn't the worst food, but god…I can't wait for something with actual flavor."
"Your body'll hate you for it, but it'll be totally worth it," Cardinal says with a shake of his head as he steps over to the car, freeing his arm from hers to unlock the passenger side door - pulling it open for her, he grins, "So, let's get to it."
A grin on her face, Elle eases down into the car, swinging her legs in and promptly buckling the seat belt. "Thank you kindly, sir." She grins up at Cardinal, setting her cane in the back seat where it can rest safely while they take their car ride to the delicious goal of fast food. "I won't mind the indigestion I'll likely get when I'm done. The pros totally outweigh the cons. I haven't had real, good-tasting food in a month now."
The seat belt’s dragged across Cardinal's chest, and then he's pulling out of the hospital parking lot to hit the road. "So… Warren stop by again?" A sidelong look, one brow lifting a little. Curious, perhaps, what's going on there.
"He visited a few times. I…don't know what the hell is going on there." Elle shrugs, leaning back in the seat. Her gaze goes back and forth, between Cardinal and the world that passes them by outside. "He says he wants me back, and…well, he's improved, like I asked him to." She shrugs again, turning to peer up at Cardinal. "But I don't know. I…really don't know." She fidgets at the bandages that cover her wrists, mostly running her fingers over the fabric.
"Just… take it slow," Cardinal suggests with a slight shake of his head as he drives, slanting a look over and offering a reassuring smile, "You're changing too, after all. There's no need to… rush anything, not between you two or anything else."
"Not planning on rushing into it. Hell…I don't even know what's going on with Dax now. He and I are still kind of dating, though we haven't been able to see each other as much as I'd like. And…I really don't like how he kinda went machismo on me when Warren made the proclamation. Then again…uck. I don't know, really. How the fuck did I get involved in a love triangle…arrow…thing?" She frowns.
"I don't even know if I want a relationship right now." She tilts her head toward Cardinal, peering up at him with big blue eyes and a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I told you that one," Cardinal points out a little dryly, "Didn't I tell you that you should just— figure out who you are before trying to figure out what you want in a relationship?" The drive-through of a Burger King is rolled into, and he pulls up to the menu.
"Yeah, you did. I just…wasn't ready to listen to you back then." She shrugs quietly. "I think I'm ready to listen now, though." She grins quietly, before her blue eyes dart to the menu. "Double Whopper with cheese, fully dressed, large fries, and the biggest chocolate milkshake they can make." This is said as a matter of fact, like she was planning on getting this all along. Will she even be able to devour that much food?
"Jesus." An amused look over, Cardinal's brows lifting, "You must be hungry." The order's made, along with a chicken sandwich for himself, and the car pulls up into the queue.
Elle smirks. "You try living off of canned food for three weeks, followed by nasty, bland hospital food for another week, and see if you don't want to stuff your belly full of food to he point of discomfort, too." She leans back in the seat. "So how have you been?"
"I've been alright," Cardinal admits with a shake of his head, "Just… kind of busy, you know how it goes. Things are starting to fall into place, but there's still a few stumbling blocks left."
"Good to hear that things are starting to fall into place, at least." Elle tips her head toward Cardinal, idly reaching out to touch his arm on the arm rest between them. She's still got that 'invading personal space' thing, but at least there's reason for her to do so here. "I'll be glad to get back into things…start helping you guys again."
"It'll be good to have you," Cardinal admits, slanting a look her way, "We need to have a meeting soon, figure out how to proceed…" And then they're at the window, and he's leaning out the window to pay the teller for lunch.
The woman smiles warmly to Cardinal. "It'll be good to be back. I missed you, and Liz, and everyone, for that matter." She runs a hand through her red hair, with the blonde roots showing. "Let me know when." As he's leaning out the window, she's watching him thoughtfully, brows raised.
The milkshake's passed over, as well as the rest of the fast food bag with a rustling crunch of paper. "There you go," Cardinal observes with a chuckle, "Heart attack in a bag, all yours, babe."
A happy little squeal sounds from Elle as she takes her heart attack in a bag, pulling out the straw and quickly unwrapping it so she can begin slurping down the milkshake. "I could totally kiss you right now, Cardinal. I hope you know that." A fry is pulled out, chomped down with an appreciative sound.
"Don't thank me," Cardinal replies playfully as he pulls out of the lot, heading down the street en route to the Redbird building, "Thank the Burger King. Six foot, plastic head? I'm sure you know the guy."
"That creepy motherfucker can go fuck himself. If I ever wake up and he's laying in my bed, I am totally blasting a hole in his head. Probably after I scream like a little girl." She laughs softly, grinning over to Cardinal as she pulls out that burger. Mmm, greasy unhealthy goodness. "Now, you, on the other hand…" This is added playfully, the woman giggling.
Give her a break, she's still doped up on pain killers.
A laugh from Cardinal, his head shaking a little at that. "Uh huh." A sidelong smirk, then back to the road, "He is pretty creepy, isn't he?"
"He's really creepy. Especially with all of the sneaking around that he does. Seriously, if the stuff on the commercials ever happened to me, I'd probably kill their mascot. With that creepy pedo bear smile he always has…" Elle smirks over to Cardinal.
"Pedo what?" Cardinal glances over, his brow furrowing in a bemused series of lines, "Do I even— no, no I probably don't." He shakes his head ruefully, looking back to the street ahead. "Eat your dinner, woman."
Elle laughs softly. "You probably don't want to know, no." She grins over to Cardinal, before falling quiet as she does just as he says, enjoying her greasy cheeseburger. "Thanks, by the way." This is said roughly halfway through that enormous burger that is being devoured like Elle hasn't had a meal in a month.
Cardinal shakes his head slowly at that, his hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. "Don't worry about it," he says quietly, warmly, "You're one of mine. I take care of my people as best as I can… or I try to, anyway."
"Doesn't mean I can't thank you for being…great." Elle smiles over to Cardinal, before she promptly…finishes her burger. That was quick, actually. Then, she's setting to work on the fries, offering one over to Cardinal as he drives. "If it weren't for you, I would probably still be at the Institute…they probably would've just erased my memories and pushed me back into working for them again, if it weren't for you. I'd probably be a battery by now."
"Yeah, well," Cardinal's voice is quieter still as his gaze lingers on the traffic ahead of him, "You can't really thank me for that… since you wouldn't've been in that danger of it wasn't for me anyway. I don't know what the fuck happened to make me into that, but…"
Peering over at Cardinal, Elle reaches out to take the man's hand; if he'll allow, she'll gently pull it to her lips, planting a kiss on his knuckles. "You aren't him. That's not you. You are the Richard Cardinal I know and love. You've seen what you could become…I think that alone is enough to keep you from taking that path, right?" She squeezes his hand, frowning up at him.
As she takes his hand from the wheel, Cardinal slants a look over; a smile tugging up at the corner of his lips before he looks back to the road ahead. "I hope so," he says quietly, "I hope so. Because if the time-line loops a third time… I'm really not certain if anyone could stop me."
Elle smiles faintly, pressing her forehead against the back of Cardinal's hand for a moment. "So…don't let it loop. I won't let it loop. He wanted me to leave. But…I'm not going to. I'm going to stick by you. And if you start turning into him…I'll be one of the first ones to kick your ass and let you know." Despite her words, there's a soft, almost comforting tone to them.
"I know, I know…" A faint chuckle, Cardinal's head shaking a little as he points out, "There's a long line, though, Elle. And I'm smart enough to hide it… if I ever did go that far. I hope I won't. I hope I can blaze my own path."
"There's some things you can't hide, Richard. Like being an evil bastard." Elle tilts her head. "Besides, I've been an evil bitch in the past, so I know an unsavory character when I see one." Would she really be able to claim that honestly if she ever met the guy and sat down with him? She doesn't voice that concern, though. "I think you'll do just fine, making your own way." She squeezes his hand.
"We'll see." Cardinal crooks a faint smile, admitting, "I wish I could get more of the… ex-Company agents to side with me. I could use some more professionals, but most of them seem to've gone into hiding with the Ferry."
"Speaking of Ferry, you need to circulate that I am indeed no longer with the Institute. In the dome, I had Eric Doyle torment me because he didn't know I'm fighting the good fight now." The redhead with blonde roots reaches over, gently poking Richard in the side once she's sure she's not about to cause an accident by doing as much.
Then, she turns to peer out of the window, still holding Richard's hand as long as he'll allow her to. "I wish the world wasn't the way it is right now." She gets quiet when she states this, frowning at the passing buildings. "The dome…kinda brought out the true nature of everybody. A lot of it…wasn't good."
"Wait, who?" A sharp glance sidelong as Cardinal nearly crashes into the car in front of him— hitting the breaks just a little hard with a jarring of the seats, his fingers squeezing hers briefly, brow furrowing, "Eric Doyle? Which one?"
It catches her off guard, and Elle lets out a little squeak of ouch as the seat belt catches her on ribs that are still sensitive, rubbing at her chest once the car has settled with eyes that are just a little watery. "The puppeteer." She says this after a moment, taking a few breaths. Ow, that hurt. "What do you mean, which one?"
"Sorry." A grimace of apology from Cardinal, his hand drawn back to rest on the wheel, "It… when Edward came back from the future, he brought several people with him. Well, their future incarnations. Nathan Petrelli, April, some others you wouldn't know— Doyle was one of them. He's one of the ones I don't have on my list, so I don't know where his future self ended up…"
"He had glasses and a beard, and he recognized me from when he was still with the Company." She tilts her head to one side. "He didn't look too old to be from this time, but…I dunno, I could be wrong." She shrugs quietly, rubbing at her ribs. Then, she glances over to Richard, brows raised thoughtfully. "Two Doyles running around? Fuck me."
"I don't know. That one's probably… the current one, I don't know what Edward even had the future one for to be honest," Cardinal says with a slow shake of his head, "Anyway. I can't really control what the Ferry thinks— I'm not sure I really trust them these days."
Elle tilts her head toward Cardinal, watching him for a moment. Then, in lieu of holding his hand, she lets her hand rest on his knee. She likes being in contact with him, even if it's just a small point of contact. She's just happy to be around him. "Why not?" Brows raise as she peers over at Cardinal with wide blue eyes.
"Because Gabriel was supposed to be under control," says Cardinal quietly, grimly, "And obviously, he's not. As well as— other things. I'm not so sure I like the idea of the Remnant making the calls for the Ferry, and they seem to be."
Elle can agree with the first point, that Gabriel is definitely not under control. She has a scar thanks to that jackass. "Yeah…that's very true, about Gabriel." She turns to peer down at her hand on his knee, then back up to him. "The Remnant?"
"The survivors of the Vanguard…" Cardinal shakes his head tightly, "Anyway. We're almost home…" A sidelong look, a faint smile crooking up at the corner of his lips, "You must be glad to be back in your own bed, eh?"
A look of disgust crosses Elle's face. Oh. Them. "I see your point with remarkable clarity." She mumbles this, shaking her head. Then, she turns to grin at Cardinal. "It will be nice to sleep in my own bed. But you're not off the hook yet, mister. I need help getting up there. You really should have gotten elevators, Redbird isn't exactly handicapped friendly."
The car pulls into the high-security parking garage on the same block as Redbird and the Homeland Security building. "Yeah, yeah," Cardinal rolls his eyes, "Technopaths can hijack elevators, you know. I've seen enough horror movies…"
"What about one of those chair elevator things? You know, the ones they have in churches and stuff that old people use. That'd be sweet. Just sit in the chair and enjoy the ride up or down the stairs!" Elle laughs. "The worse that can happen with that is a technopath making it go the wrong way, right?"
"You have clearly never seen Gremlins," Cardinal observes with a grin. Parking, he steps out the driver's side and locks it, heading around to open Elle's door and offer her a hand out if she needs it.
The offer for assistance is gladly taken, Elle stepping out of the car. "Can't say I have. I haven't done a lot of things." She looks thoughtful. "Richard, let's go to a theme park one of these days. I still haven't gone on a roller coaster yet, and I'm 27 years old." She leans against Richard, batting her eyelashes up at him.
"A theme park?" Cardinal's laughing as he helps her along down through the parking garage, shaking his head in amusement as he does so, "With our luck, it'd get attacked by Humanis First while we were on the Ferris Wheel…"
Just a few minutes later…
"And—door," Cardinal declares as they reach the door to her apartment, brows raising a bit, "Home at last, Bishop."
"Fuck the ferris wheel, I want to go on the roller coasters that go upside down. And hey, you don't have anything to worry about. You can just go shadow man, and I can fry them." Whichever method the frying involves, electricity or particle beams. "Seriously. One of these days, I want to go to a theme park. I want to ride a roller coaster before I die." Which sometimes looks like it'll happen sooner than later.
At the door of her apartment, Elle pulls out her keys and opens the door, pushing it open. "Wanna come in? I could make some tea or something." She doesn't actually want to be alone right now. She spent way too much time alone the past month.
After a moment's pause, Cardinal shrugs one shoulder. "Sure," he allows, moving to step in, "What the hell. Might as well help dust off everything, too, it's not like we've got a maid in this building or anything…"
Elle smiles up at Cardinal. "Thanks. Happily, I didn't have any leftovers in the fridge…everything is frozen, so no nasty fridge to clean out." She closes the door behind him, locking it out of habit, as well as the fact that she enjoys being able to lock the door, after three weeks of not having that kind of security. She also hobbles over to the windows shortly after, making sure those are locked, too. And some of them aren't.
One of the sad side effects of her capture by Humanis First. She's not taking any chances.
Then, she turns, smiling at Cardinal. "I'll make some tea. And if you're interested, I have a little bit of that cannabis left over in my bedroom. I know I could use a bit of relaxation after the month I've had." She heads into the kitchen, dumping the stale water out of the water kettle, and filling it up with fresh water. This is set on the stove top to heat.
Of course, Cardinal knows what it is she's doing as she goes around to check all of the security in the house; he's familiar with the behavior, having seen much worse cases of it, and lets it go without mention. At the offer of pot, he waves it off with a quiet chuckle, "I'll take the tea, I'll pass on the weed. I've been trying to keep my wits about me."
Leaning against the counter, Elle offers a slow nod. "Don't blame you. Me…I need to get my wits away from me for a little bit." She turns to the cupboard, pulling down the tea and two tea cups, which she prepares while she waits for the water. She's quiet for a long moment, before she turns, frowning at Cardinal. "I don't want to be alone right now. They— they came and took me at night, when I was alone. And…I know Redbird is safe, but…"
"I know. You're safe here, and you're amongst friends, Elle…" Cardinal leans against the doorway of the kitchenette, offering her a faint, reassuring smile and sweeping a hand vaguely through the air towards her, "I'll crash here if you want tonight. If it'll help."
Elle offers a faint smile in return, pulling the kettle off of the stove before it starts whistling too loud, pouring the water into the mugs. "It really would help…I know it's kind of irrational, but…you know." She blows the hair away from her face, turning to smile at Richard. "Thanks…I appreciate it. I really do." She pulls out a pair of spoons, stirring at the tea a little.
"Hey." Cardinal shakes his head, "We've all been there, Elle. It's nothing to feel guilty about, or sorry for… it's hard to get rid've the fear." He grimaces, "For any of us."
Elle pulls the tea bags out once the tea has finished, offering one cup to Cardinal as she hobbles into the living room, settling down onto the couch and patting the seat next to her as she reaches for the remote. "I just don't want you to think I have no confidence in the fact that we're a security company. It just…the dome, it was like Lord of the Flies or something…people killing people over food, fresh water…over the way they were born." She frowns. "I even did it…people were trying to attack us, steal our food, so I went for low blows."
"Do we have any idea what made the Dome go up?" Cardinal steps over to sit beside her, cradling the teacup in his hands, brow furrowing a little in a frown in her direction, "I haven't heard if we know yet… things are still a mess over there. They're moving everyone to Staten."
"I think they found him…ask Melissa Pierce or Pericles Jones. They went on to take care of it. Guy named Michal Valentin was the guy in charge of the Humanis First thing. Don't know what happened to him, or anything about what happened to get the dome down." She promptly flips it to Deadliest Warriors. Good background noise. Then, she's tentatively attempting to snuggle up to Cardinal. "I'm just…glad to be out. Glad to be here.""
"Messiah?" A hint of surprise, and then Cardinal nods once, "Got it. Michal Valentin…? I'll add him to the list of Humanis agents that we need to be on the lookout for." As she snuggles in against his side, he drapes an arm over her shoulders, suggesting quietly, "Might want to take a shower after tea… get some of your own clean clothes on."
"Yeah, Messiah, I suppose. And Michal Valentin…he used to be Company. Killed his Evolved partner and disappeared." Elle seems to deflate a little as Cardinal drapes his arms around her shoulders, relaxing against him and letting out a soft sigh. "That's a really good idea. A shower'd be really nice." She closes her eyes, nuzzling her face against his chest for a moment. Then, she smiles up to him, sipping at her tea.
"Christ." Cardinal's fingers brush over her shoulders reassuringly, and he takes a sip of his tea, murmuring, "I'll ask the ex-Company people I know what they know about him… maybe they can dig something up."
Elle is quite content to snuggle up to Cardinal for a little while, sipping at her tea occasionally and lapsing into silence for a bit, content to just relax against him and watch the show, which is exploring whether Mafia men or cowboys were more dangerous. This is nice. This is good. This is comfortable.