They had gotten to the thirteenth page. "This is really good." Elena said.

"Rrr…really? Really? You like, it? Really?" Tseng asked her a bit too seriously.

"Yeah." Elena took a deep nervous breath as she read the next paragraph. They read mostly in an awkward silence, initialing each page for accuracy.

"Do you want some more wine?" Tseng asked her as he turned the page.

"Sure. That's a good blush by the way." Elena commented.

"I like it. It has a nice finish to it." Tseng said reaching over the documents for the bottle. He sighed and had a peculiar look on his face. He turned and looked at Elena. "Do you think I should get contacts?" It was a bizarre question. They should have been discussing the details of these documents. But this was a much easier question to ask.

"Why would you get contacts? You only wear your glasses when you read." Elena reminded him. "It's like….uh….it's like me asking you if…if…" Elena realized she had absolutely nothing to compare that statement to so she just guzzled her blush like Kool-Aid.

"It's just that…well…since…." Tseng stopped and nervously shook his fist in the air again. "…and…you know…they…I…I need them more and more." He finally finished his more than awkward sentence.

"Well, there's…there's nothing wrong with them or anything." Elena said sitting her wine glass down and picking up her plate again. There was another long silence as they began reading the page. "Do…you ever have any dreams?" she asked a bit reluctantly. She looked over at him as he pushed around the food on his plate. It was strange that he looked so comfortable in his white t-shirt and soft cotton pants but his mind looked so tormented.

"Yeah…" he finally said looking over at Elena. "…yeah…I…I've…I've had dreams…" it was all Tseng said. He didn't offer any additional details. Elena put her initials at the bottom of the page. Tseng did the same and turned the page again. They were almost done. "Thanks for that magazine you brought over. Where did you get it?"

"Dr. Cardimum's office." Elena answered. Tseng shook his head.

"Do you uh…do you like her?" Tseng realized it was a stupid question after he asked it. Elena had been going to Dr. Cardimum for nearly four months.

"Yeah, I like her she…" Elena stopped talking as she read the next paragraph. Elena stared at the page. Tseng put his plate aside for a moment.

"You okay?" Tseng asked her. Elena turned away from him doing her best to swallow the lump in her throat. The next paragraph had really gotten to her.

"Yeah…" she said softly. "…do…do you care…if I have some more of your pasta? She had to say something for an excuse to stand up and get away from this page.

"Sure, sure. I don't mind." Tseng assured her. Elena stood up quickly and made a point to avoid eye contact with Tseng. He glanced at her, briefly noticing her wipe her eyes. He looked back at the page and initialed it, forging Elena's initials as well before turning it. Elena soon returned with a half-full plate.

"Oh my god…I'm such a…I didn't even ask you if you wanted any more." Elena said putting her free hand over her face. It was part embarrassment, part nervousness and part anxiety.

"It's okay. Here, we're almost done. After we finish this last page, let's…forget about work for a while." Tseng's tone was comforting. Elena smiled a little.

"Okay. I'm sorry…it's just…" Tseng put a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off.

"You don't have to explain anything." His voice was again tender. She shook her head and picked up her fork again as she diverted her eyes back to the document. There was a long silence between them.

"You're an excellent cook." Elena finally said as she scribbled the last EBG.

"I've know you for seven years…and in seven years I've never once asked you what the B stands for." Tseng said printing his last initials beside hers.

"Brichionne." Elena answered him putting her plate aside on the table in front of them. Tseng closed the document and threw it beside him on the couch. He seemed to be pondering the name in his mind.

"That's really pretty." Tseng said refilling his wine glass.

"Thanks. It's uh…after my grandmother." Elena shared as she picked up her glass and swirled the blush around.

"Want some more?" Tseng asked her.

"No, thanks. I need to drive home tonight." Elena reminded him.

"If you think you can't you can stay here." Tseng thought about what he just said. "I…I don't mean that…like…like the…way that…sounded. I…don't…I don't mean you can stay with me. What I…" Tseng sighed and shook his fist in the air again.

"No, no, no….it's…it's okay. It's okay, I understand. I…I…get what you were…you know….yeah. That's…that's nice of you. You know, to offer to….let me stay like that. On…only if I…I…couldn't drive or something." Elena said just as awkwardly. It seemed apparently true that they could talk about next to nothing except work. There was silence between them again as Elena picked up the blush bottle to examine it. Tseng watched her carefully as if he were about to ask her something.

"Have uh….have you needed any medicine…you know, to sleep?" Tseng asked with narrow brows. Elena swirled the pale liquid around in her glass. She shook her head.

"I'm trying to…wean myself from them. I've heard all this stuff about…how it's easy to get addicted to sleeping pills." Elena said.

"It is. I was on them for a month and realized that with every day that I took them, I was becoming more and more dependent on them. So, I…I realized I needed to get off them before I was a total pill addict." Tseng said. That exchange was the most detailed of anything they had discussed since returning from the Forgotten City.

"Do you want me to help you clean up or anything?" Elena asked seeing as there was plenty to clean up in the kitchen. Tseng had left everything out from where he had been cooking earlier in the evening.

"No, it's okay." He assured her. "So…do you want to ride up to the lodge with me next week? Reno and Rude are going up a day early because they have a possible mako lead they're going to check on nearby first. Apparently, Rufus forgot to mention it in our meeting."

"Yeah, okay. I'll ride up with you." Elena said confidently.

"Can you be ready by….say…7:30? I'll pick you up around then? That'll put us at Healen by 11:30 or 12:00." he asked of her.

"I'll be ready." Elena assured him. Tseng nodded at her.

"Oh, uh…bring your GPS. It never fails that I take the wrong exit just outside of Kalm and after that it takes me at least an hour to get back on the right route."

"Okay, I'll be sure the maps are updated. I haven't checked the map status in a while. And you know…maybe…just….I…I could bring…a Merlot?" she tugged on her fingers nervously.

"Yeah…yeah…yeah it's…been a while since I've had a good Merlot. I'll…I'll bring a Zifandel?" Tseng questioned. Elena shook her head in agreement.

"Thanks for reviewing this repot with me. I…appreciate it, a lot." Elena confessed to him.

"Likewise." Tseng said.

"I should probably go soon. I need to pick up a few things." Elena said standing up and taking her and Tseng's plate into his kitchen. Tseng picked up his empty wine glass and followed her.

"You sure you're okay to drive?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Elena answered running warm water over her plate. Tseng took his glasses off and hung them on the collar of his shirt. Elena caught sight of a book on the slim table behind his couch as she went toward the closet near his stairs to get her coat: TIPPING THE SCALES. "What are you reading about?"

"Mythology of Leviathan. It's interesting. I had no idea how deeply the roots of Leviathan were seeded within the country of Wutai." Tseng told her.

"You're almost finished with it." Elena said looking a the bookmark that indicated only about a hundred pages left.

"Yeah, I…I read a lot. I read a whole lot. Actually, I have so many books it's ridiculous. I should get an eReader or something because I'm running out of room to put books." Tseng confessed.

"Yeah?" Elena questioned. He motioned for her and walked her into the back dining room to show her three extremely full bookcases.

"Tseng…you need to read on my tablet. I've never seen this many books in one place." Elena said. She actually managed to break a smiled. "Tell you what, follow me out to me car and you can keep my tablet tonight. Browse the bookstore and buy anything you want. My credit card's linked. The password to my account is EBG1979."

"Aren't you supposed to create passwords that no one can guess?" Tseng asked of her.

"If I did that…I would forget all my passwords." Elena admitted.

"Here…you're going to let me have your tablet…you can have this." He searched over a shelf before finding the book he was looking for. This was a shockingly less than awkward conversation. "Here."

Elena took the hardcover book and examined it: THE VERANDA. "And what is this about?" she questioned.

"Just read it. It's outstanding, a real page turner." Tseng insisted. He found himself surprisingly comfortable right now.

"I'll start it tonight." Elena said. "I'll uh…I'll take it to Healen as well. Come on, let me give you my tablet." She made her way back toward his front door, grabbing her coat. She laid the hardcover book on the arm of Tseng's couch and zipped her fleece coat. She grabbed her purse and dug out her keys. Tseng opened his front door; the streets were quiet tonight and leaves rustled in the faint air. Tseng looked to the sky as he followed Elena to her car. A crescent moon hung high in the sky. There was a chill in the air tonight, which reminded Tseng of how much cooler it would be once they traveled farther north to Healen.

"It's…probably gonna' be colder in the mountains…you know…where the lodge is." It was all Tseng said as Elena unlocked her car doors.

"Yeah?" she questioned further knowing that Tseng didn't really go anywhere with that statement.

"Right…right…uh…you should… take some warm clothes. Not that I'm telling you what to take or anything…it's not that. Just…" Elena stopped this before it could get any worse.

"Here you go." She handed over her tablet and it's charger.

"Thank you. I'll bring this back to you tomorrow." He said.

"It's okay, just keep it for a few days. I'll see you tomorrow." Elena said. "Call me if you have any questions about it."

"Drive safe." He cautioned her through her open passenger window. He tapped the edge of her window before stepping back and watching her pull away. He watched her until her care had completely disappeared from view and turned around to head up his luminary lit sidewalk that lead to the door. He placed a hand on the brass doorknob but instead of going back inside; he looked up into a starless sky. He just stood there and listened to the sounds of the evening around him. Tseng took a deep breath and let a long sigh escape him as he leaned up against his door, despite the fact that the rustic wreath on his door was poking in to him. He finally turned around and went back into the house once more.


Elena laid in her bed under down covers. She examined the hardcover book, reading about the author. She scanned over the contents and the forward before turning to the first page. She brought the pages closer to her face. The entire book smelled like Tseng's house, a combination of what appeared to be dried apples with a touch of clove. She liked the scent. Elena lowered the book a little and read the opening line. She had hoped this would be the perfect way to calm her racing mind.