Participants:
| Scene Title | I Almost Lost You |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elle returns to Warren after being missing for nearly four days. |
| Date | September 2, 2010 |
There's been a few days of working, doing cult things, and even letting Mortimer lead his 'normal' life. But right now it's all Warren again, holding what looks like a snowglobe, but instead of snow, or anything else, it's pure blue electricity bouncing around inside. On the little sand that holds the globe, it has the black words Elle engraved in black. She's never seen it before, but he misses her now. It's late, almost four days, where is she?
Elle has indeed been gone for nearly four days. No calls, not even a text message. Nothing. The little blonde has been such a permanant fixture in Warren's life since she came into it, that the sudden cutoff of contact was certainly unexpected, if a bit unsettling. Even stranger is the fact that, last time he saw her, Elle was confessing the possibility of loving him.
Finally, however, after her long, hectic four days, Elle's key can be heard clicking in the look. When she steps in, still clad in her pajama pants and a tank top, she looks tired, both mentally and physically. Nothing is said as she quietly walks in. The only sound is of the girl falling back onto the couch, closing her eyes.
Warren doesn't say anything either, he just scoots over, smiling, then slips an arm around her shoulders and sits the globe into her lap. He stays that way for a while, just quiet and happy, not asking any questions. The first thing he says is, "That's your electricity, trapped in a globe, fueling an internal battery."
For a long while, Elle remains silent, simply leaning against Warren with closed eyes. For a moment, it almost seems as if she's fallen asleep, without even saying a word to the man. Finally, however, she opens her eyes, turning them down to the globe as she snuggles up to Warren. She stares at it for a long while, leaning her head against Warren's shoulder.
"I died," she murmurs, suddenly, frowning.
Warren's face is suddenly almost horrified with shock, releasing her shoulders as he looks down at her. He has no idea what to say, he just stares as he tries to figure this out. "I… you're… dead? You're a ghost? Who killed you? I'll… I'll butcher them! And after I butcher them, I'll burn everyone who's ever had a connection to their bloodline until not even a shred is left on the planet!"
Elle's hand is placed on Warren's shoulder, warm and solid as ever, even as she stares down at the electric snowglobe with her name on it. "Not a ghost. I'm alive again." She shakes her head slowly, closing her eyes for a long moment. "You've seen the news, right?" Blue eyes turn toward Warren. "I was there for Project Hammerdown. I wasn't supposed to be, but I was. With my dad and my old Partner when I was still in the Company, Bryan Buckley."
"Project Hammerdown… looks like the government's finally tightening its fist around the country. It's all ironic." Warren wraps his arma round her again, both protectively and possessively. "I don't know what the Company was up to, but it's clear that what the Institute wants is control. They'll only end up doing what the Company is being accused of." A pause, and he asks, "How did you come back?"
Elle quietly snuggles up to Warren as he wraps his arms around her, closing her eyes. "They will. Who knows where I'll be by then?" She shakes her head slowly, wrapping her arms around the man's waist and shaking her head a few times.
"Buckley…he had venom. And fangs. I…I betrayed Daddy. I stopped them from escaping. I told Daddy that I hated him." She shakes her head slowly, her breath suddenly getting a bit quicker, like she's really trying not to cry again. "I…I had a gun, and I was pointing it at Daddy…I was wet, so I couldn't use my ability…and then Bryan bit me." She looks up to Warren.
"I died. Right in front of my dad, I died. I felt it. Nothing but black…dreamless sleep." She shakes her head, wiping at her eyes as the tears she was fighting spring forth anyhow. "I…I saw my mom…I remembered her…" Suddenly, the blonde is crying quietly into Warren's shoulder.
"Maybe that was the other world, the afterlife, and you got a peek." Warren suggests as he carefully strokes her hair with his metallic hand while she cries. "It's good that you saw her, that you got a glimpse into your past. Did it make you happy? And… how did you come back, again?"
The little blonde continues to cry, though it's softer than it was a few days ago. Elle clings to Warren tightly, as if letting him go means the end of the world. "It did. I think…I think it was just a memory. I was just a little bitty kid…three, maybe four. We were at the beach…building a sandcastle. And she talked to me…her voice was so gentle, so kind. I felt love, like I don't remember ever feeling before…" She sniffs, wiping her eyes on his shoulder.
"The Institute brought me back. They have a healer…he manipulates time. Literally heals people by rewinding things for them." Elle peers up at Warren. "I was dead for 12 hours before they brought me back…"
"I lost you for 12 hours?" Warren asks, his grip around her tightening as his eyes close. "12 hours… where is he? Did this guy die? What does he look like, what's his full name? I'll torture him, then I'll kill him with a fishing hook on a harpoon through his testicles and out of his spleen."
"He's dead…I know that much. He bit me…poisoned me…and I electrocuted him." Elle shakes her head slowly, nuzzling her face against the man's chest. "His eyes melted." She shrugs quietly, still squeezing tight to Warren.
"Good." Warren takes the globe from her lap and sits it on to the table, then hooks a thumb under the rubber of her pajamas. He's turning her over on to her back. "You're staying here tonight. I need to know you're fine."
He's met with little in the way of resistance, the girl still too tired from her ordeal to put up a fight. "I'm okay, Warren. I'm alive…that's all I can ask for, right?" One hand reaches up, caressing over Warren's cheek in an affectionate gesture. "I have to lay low for a while, anyhow. The Institute wants to make sure the Government doesn't accidentally arrest me."
"You can stay here for as long as you want." Warren offers, slipping the pajamas even lower as he starts to peck at her lips. "Just relax and forget it all, you are safe now, I'll make sure of that."
Elle's hands stop Warren from slipping her pajamas even further, her eyes closing as a rather suddenly tired look forms on her face. "Not tonight, please…I just want to sleep." Once that is said, the woman's hands roam up to his face, cupping his cheeks. "I want to just be here, and be alive, next to you…okay?" She peers up at him with those wide blue eyes of hers.
Warren nods, carefully positioning the two so his back is against the couch, laying spread out, and he's holding her right next to him. "That sounds fine. You can try your slusho upgrade tomorrow."
Elle seems much more comfortable with this arrangement for now, curling against him and closing her eyes. "Thank you…" She squeezes him tightly, her fingers tracing paths over his chest. How does he keep managing to grow on her so much?