Participants:
| Scene Title | Green Beer and Corned Beef |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Two friends enjoy a holiday. |
| Date | March 17, 2016 |
Elisabeth's Apartment
March 17, 2016. FBI agent Liz Harrison took the day off to take her four-year-old son to the St. Patrick's Day parade — the boy was a handful and a half, thoroughly excited and wild, and by the time she got back to the apartment, she was grateful that he was tired enough for naptime. With the rest of the day stretching before her and nothing pressing at the moment to deal with, she makes a pot of tea to sit and relax with. The doorbell comes as something of a surprise, but not a bad one — after all, a number of people she knows now live in the building, though Liz changed apartments years ago when Cameron was born, buying a three-bedroom one higher up in the building and selling her two-bedroom one to the people who wanted to downsize out of the apartment she now occupies. When she opens the door, she grins at the blonde on the other side. "Hey!"
And there's a knock-knock-knocking at Liz's door. If she's REALLY perceptive, she'll pick up the scent of cookies before she opens the door. On the far side is Niki Sanders, complete with a wicker basket and a little tea towel over the top. "Hey there, lady!" she says with a bright smile. "I come bearing cookies." She offers out the basket.
Laughing at Niki, Liz opens the door wide and lets her in. "Just what he needs…. more sugar! C'mon in, the monster's sleeping. Want some tea?" After closing the door behind Niki, Liz leads the way back toward the kitchen. "I was just going to sit down and enjoy the lack of thudding feet for a few."
The taller blonde grins. "Hey, that is one of the benefits of being a godmother. I get to get them all wired up on sugar and then hand them off to you." A smile. "I would love some tea. How's your morning been?"
"Went to the parade, had a grand time. Had to keep Cam from getting trampled by the horse cops," Elisabeth laughs. "And then the bagpipes came through and he was fascinated. Wants to learn to play them. Thank God for the ability to mute whatever he's playing, or I think I might be insane." Cam's been labeled 'prodigy,' but to his mother? He's just a four-year-old, no matter how well he plays sheet music. "Felix gave me the day off without even blinking, so I've got an afternoon planned over at the zoo, assuming the temperature cooperates. If not, maybe we'll hit one of the museums or something. What's on your agenda for the day?" She pours a second cup of tea as she asks.
Niki can't help but laugh as she looks to Elisabeth. "Honestly? I don't have anything on my agenda. Took the day off to go out, get some green beer, and have some fun." She took to being a good deal more relaxed and well, knowing how to have fun, once they integrated. "That's what vacation days are FOR. I'd ask you with me, but you're probably going to be all responsible." she teases.
Elisabeth looks amused. "Actually, Mary Grace said she'd be available today if I wanted to go out," she says, referring to the nanny who takes care of Cam while she works. The nicest part of working under Felix Ivanov, who happens to also be the closest thing her son has to a father, is that if she doesn't have stuff pending, he's flexible about her hours. Though Liz puts in her fair share and then some when she needs to, she also seems to have struck that balance between work and child, self and mommyness. "It was pretty wicked chilly out this morning and we grabbed green ice cream besides, so I don't feel guilty about slipping out on him for a few hours this afternoon."
Niki grins back at Elisabeth. "Well, good. I'm glad to hear it. It'll be nice to have a day off, and not have to worry about dealing with complaining all day." Niki Sanders, nurse. Once they integrated, she went back to nursing school. Never too old, and all that. "How's things been for you at work of late?"
Elisabeth considers the question as she sets out the tea and sits with her friend. "Uhm… not too bad, I guess. Never thought that we'd get here, but given my specialty, I've been not as busy as some. I still get the regular cases. I'm working on a couple of anti-Evo cases, which is sort of like old times only… not." She laughs. "They're sneakier now, since public opinion has turned pro-Evo. And I still deal with bank heists, thankfully few of them with hostages. Mostly I'm training these days." It's how she gets days off.
Niki smiles back. "True. It's nice to be in a job where I don't have to use it. The most I have to do is use my strength to haul around heavy equipment from time to time. Saves tons on orderlies." A grin. "So what did he think of the parade?"
"Oh, I still use it plenty — When Cam's playing the piano, I drop the volume around him constantly," Liz replies with a grin. "And when Felix is giving me the blah-blah, blah-blah-blah blah, I just mute him. He finally figured out the really attentive look was all fake, and he started throwing in shit to see if I was actually listening," she says on a laugh. "Absolutely hysterical when he realized what I was doing. But he quit blah-ing at me, too."
Niki pulls out the cookies, sitting comfortably in the chair. "Have some. So do you make his sound stop, or just make yourself deaf, when he's ranting?"
Elisabeth grins at Niki wickedly. "I just made his sound stop. Enclosed him in a bubble. I had lots of practice — Cam's in a bubble constantly when he's practicing, so I just used the same principle on Felix. When he caught on last week, he gave me the patented Look of Doom." She giggles, she can't help it. It's not like he'll do anything to her. "Then he was all like 'You can't do that, how do you know I'm not giving you important information?' and I was like 'if you were, you wouldn't sound like the teacher on a Peanuts cartoon. Wha-wha, whawhawhawhaaaw.'" She gigggles again. "He just rolled his eyes at me."
Niki smiles. "You know, I would never have thought Ms. Bad-Ass Cop would have ever settled down into domestic bliss. We've come a long way, lady." She sips the tea. "Who'd have thunk it, huh?"
Blowing out a breath, Elisabeth grins. "Domestic bliss? Eh… not entirely. That'd be boring." She does look thoughtful, though. "The pardons and the whole political climate changed things, though… and Cam. He pretty much changed how much risk I was willing to take, too — it's why I went into mostly straight training. The cases I take are far less shoot-the-negotiator types of things, but… that doesn't bother me so much, you know?" She shrugs. "Between me, you, and the fence post? I miss it sometimes. The adrenaline rush… the constant state of hyperalertness. Just… ell, you know, in hindsight because it all worked out well, it looks like a grand adventure and all, right? Back when we were living it, it wasn't so rosy!" She grins.
The nurse nods. "I don't mind a little boring. Honestly, I had enough excitement for three people. Which is good, since I had three people to get excitement for." A chuckle. "Tell me about it!! I'm never wearing orange again. Done it more than enough."
Elisabeth snickers. "I will admit, you're a lot more pleasant to be around since Niki, Jessica, and Gina all became aspects of one person. Even when you want to kick my ass for something, I don't get hit," she laughs. She toys with her teacup and says softly, "You ever… wonder what if? What if Phoenix had actually succeeded in breaking everyone out of Moab?"
Niki laughs. "Hey, I don't think I hit you even back then. Did a lot of OTHER things. But not hit you." A serious look. "Well, I probably would still be three separate psychos instead of one person. It was only with the psychological work there and the telepaths that they put Humpty Dumpty together again."
"Mmmm," Elisabeth says thoughtfully. "Never thought of that," she admits. And Niki's definitely better off for it, that's for certain. "Ah well. Every once in a while a perp still has the power to get to me, you know? Some of the conspiracy theorists sound so much like we did back then. It's like the arguments almost haven't changed, you know? Except people on the opposite side of the fence are spouting them now. There was this one guy last week whose college-aged daughter was raped and murdered by a guy that the father was holding at gunpoint. The kid's Evo status didn't have anything to do with the crime itself — the boy wasn't a telepath or anything like that. But… you know, I wonder sometimes how bright and shiny our Brave New World looks too."
"Too good to be true usually is, maybe? Or maybe I'm just a paranoid ex-freedom fighter," Liz adds with a smile.
Jessica laughs a little. "There's always extremists. You know that better than most. People abuse power, whether it's our power, or the power of a gun. But these days, the former's a little harder to just go rampaging with." She finishes the tea. "And these thoughts are WAY too deep for a day that's supposed to be green beer and corned beef."
Laughing, Liz agrees. "You're right! Let's go find green beer and corned beef sandwiches. Let me get Mary Grace on the phone, she'll be here in about 20 minutes. I'll check on Cam and throw on some make-up and we'll go have a girls' afternoon. Flirt with a guy or something — you know, something I hardly ever do anymore!"
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