Participants:
| Scene Title | Things Never Meant To Be |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Knowing the future is almost never a good thing. |
| Date | October 5, 2010 |
Redbird Security Solutions, Basement
She went home last night. She did! Or at least…. she went upstairs and crashed there, perhaps. Whichever it is, Elisabeth's wearing different clothes today. Her work clothes. She's apparently heading over the base shortly. With a long-sleeved black crew-necked shirt tucked into her cargo pants, which are in turn tucked into her combat boots, her blonde hair braided back and pinned, Lizzie looks a bit severe today. She's got two pistols disassembled on the table in front of her and she's just finishing cleaning all the parts. It was something she didn't do last night. She glances up as the door at the base of the stairs opens across the room, just in case she needs to shut down some of the myriad lights that are on down here. Certain people need it darker than others.
Going home and hitting a bed are two different things. As long as sleep is the final result, it generally works out well, but sleeping in your own bed often provides much more restful sleep than crashing at any old place. Still, after Elisabeth left the impromptu meeting last night for the firing range, Jaiden thought that it might be best. And even after peering in at her from the stairs (a difficult thing, that, sneaking up on a audiokinetic) he left her alone with her thoughts, trusting she wouldn't do anything rash or uncouth.
The next morning, bright and early, Jaiden heads to Redbird to do a little target practice. It's been good to get a few hours of range time in, and he can feel himself getting back into fighting shape, able to shoot quarter-inch groups at fifty feet, for example, rather than half-inch groups. Guns are precision instruments, not something to be fired randomly and hope that you hit somewhere vital. That happens too much, and the vitals often hit are people in the background. Not good for public relations.
Certain people do like it darker than others, but Elisabeth, from what Jaiden knows, needs a little light to be comfortable. Anything less is uncivilized and frightening, and when he catches sight of her he stops and knocks politely on the glass partition leading to the firing range before entering. "Mind if I join you?"
"Nope," she says with a smile. "C'mon in. I'm just about done." She sets the rag she was using down and starts to reassemble the weapons on the table. "I didn't do it last night and I didn't want to leave them." One night is acceptable to her, longer is not. It's abusing the weapon. All in all, Elisabeth looks all right. She could maybe do with a little more sleep, but she doesn't look wiped out. "How's your day looking?"
He watches her work, hands moving with measured efficiency, slide going on, springs being tightened, muzzle being screwed in, etc. There's always something nice about a woman who knows how to use her hands and watching her at work, and he remains silent until she has the first pistol put together. "Oh, it's going okay for me. Looks like you let off a little stress last night." He kicks a stray shell, sending the casing bouncing down the range to be collected later. "You okay"
Not like the topic was unexpected. Elisabeth sets the first assembled piece down and then moves to stand up, restless in her movements but not to the point of agitation. "I'm okay," she tells him quietly. "I'm …. probably about as shocked as the two of you were that that was the question I used to verify her identity." Her admission comes with a faint smile. "I just wanted an instant way to decide if it was her, and that was the first thing I thought of."
"Hell of a bombshell to drop." Jaiden moves over to the weapons cabinet, spinning the combination lock to get at the guns, looking over the even rows of weapons in their spots. Choosing a small submachine gun, he turns and makes his way back to the range, next to Elisabeth. "It seemed like you were surprised that it even came out." The MP5 is loaded and readied at his shoulder, muzzle downrange. "It could still happen, you know….a boy named Cameron." He sends three shots downrange, rocking back as he does. "Seeing the future….that's kind of harsh. Seeing the past I can deal with a little better, but potential futures?" Three more shots go downrange, to punctuate the words. "Makes. *bang* You. *bang* Crazy. *bang*"
Elisabeth's silence field keeps the report of the rifle to a minimum sound. Just enough to hear it without causing hearing trouble, allowing them to talk as he shoots and she sets about reassembling the second pistol. "It can, yes." And she smiles just a little. "No. No, I doubt it can. At least not that way. The boy's father is gone. Coming back from the future twisted the way things would have ended up because we had to change it all, and he left town." She shrugs a little. "I might still have kids someday. God willing and I'm not dead." There's a bit of a grin. "But it won't be that child. And it does somewhat boggle the mind, but … in some way, I kind of feel guilty because by changing the future, I guess in some ways we've denied certain people their lives. And I try not to think about it that way, but… sometimes it just sort of pops up."
Elisabeth's silence field is why Jaiden only bothered with minor ear protection - she's the best protection that can be found. He could be standing next to a jet engine and not have a problem with Elisabeth around except with standing up in the jet wash. Three more shots and the rifle is lowered, the safety clicked on with a flick of his thumb as he turns to regard her. "Don't you regret something that won't happen, Elisabeth. It's a bittersweet pill to swallow, but you've been given a glimpse at what could have happened, but didn't. It might be better if you hadn't experienced it at all - ignorance being bliss, sometimes - but your sacrifice in that timeline was for the best. You know it was."
Jaiden walks over and rests a hand on Elisabeth's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, "God willing you will. Maybe even with Cardinal." He smirks. "Elisabeth Harrison Cardinal. Interesting combination of words."
"Pffft," Elisabeth dismisses with a laugh. "I'm not likely getting married. Can you see Richard with a house, two kids, and a minivan? Can you see me doing it?" She shakes her head. "If we survive all the bullshit coming our way this year…. I'm thinking about getting pregnant next year," she admits. "But not if we're facing concentration camps and shit." She twinkles a smile up at him. "And if Richard's not amenable, maybe I'll ask nicely and bat my lashes and ask you to volunteer."
Jaiden laughs and pulls Elisabeth into a quick one-armed hug, the gun aimed away as he does so, downrange, where it's supposed to be. "If we survive November, and Cardinal doesn't want to be a daddy, sure…I'll take part. It'll make up for the pair of dates in 1999 that we didn't do anything, huh?" He releases her after a moment, leaning against the tables that act as a barrier between the firing lanes and the shooting area. "And no..I can't see Cardinal doing anything so suburban. And you? I picture any kid you may have having a mother like Sarah Connor in those Terminator movies. 'See, Johnny, this is how you field strip an M-16.'"
Elisabeth wraps her arm around Jaiden's waist and then dies laughing as he releases her. "Christ…. considering the way the world's going? That might not be far wrong," she snickers with laughter. The image truly amuses the hell out of her, apt though it may be. "Well, let's just see if we all survive to next year, huh?" she adds lightly. "Then we'll talk about it." She winks. "Besides, you might not be my friend by then!"
If Elisabeth could see the image Jaiden's thinking of now, it's of a little girl, blonde, about six or so, with a floppy-eared bunny in one arm, a bandolier of ammunition (with a couple of flowers tucked in) across her chest, and a handgun in her right hand, ready to go to playtime.
Jaiden chuckles and puts his gun aside, nodding. "true, true. The whims of fate are fickle. We could end up mortal enemies or something much more than friends, or most likely, exactly as we are now, raging against an unfair world and using our powers for good rather than ill." He lets out a breath, crossing his arms. "I'm just hoping whoever Hiro tapped to save me, wherever it is, knows what they're doing."
Elisabeth tilts her head. "I thought you said he'd be sending me." She quirks a grin. "You know I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah, I hope you know what you're doing and don't try to seduce a young, impressionable Jaiden in the middle of a battlefield." Jaiden sets the gun aside and looks into the dimness of the firing range. "My life in your hands, I think, Lizzie, just like yours was in mine. I know you'll do right by me."
She's far more serious now, looking up at him. "You can count on that, Jaiden," Elisabeth says quietly. Intently. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." It's … important. Not just because he's her friend, or even because he saved her life. But when someone knows that they're being targeted and they turn to you for that help… she will die to protect him if she has to.
Jaiden nods after a moment, unloading the gun with slow, even movements, setting it aside on the bench to be put away when the conversation is over. "I'm so used to doing everything on my own, you know? being a part of the Ferry, or of ENDGAME….it's nice to have people to lean against."
Elisabeth smiles softly. "You know… the day I brought you here, I wasn't sure how it would go. I think…. it might have been one of the best gut-level choices I've made in ages," she tells him quietly. "We're glad to have you."