A longer chapter for you all this time!
Chapter 10:
"Mara." Sarah was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, where the redhead was sitting, with a cup of coffee half drank beside her.
"Sarah." The woman gave her a nod, sliding the chair next to her out with a foot. "Come sit down. What did Luke have to say?"
"Just what you'd expect from an overly worrisome farmboy. How're the kids coping, how're you coping?" Sarah shrugged. "The usual."
"They're worried about you." Mara pointed out.
"I'm fine." Sarah objected, frustrated. "Why won't anyone believe me?"
Mara pretended to think about the question for a moment before answering. "Because you're lying?"
"I am not." Sarah muttered, before sighing. "Can I ask you something?" Mara nodded once, and Sarah plowed onward. "This morning, when you were trying to wake me, did you try using the Force to enter my mind?"
Mara frowned. "I don't know the first thing about doing that kind of thing… besides, it's the kind of ability that's very risky to use."
Sarah winced. "I was afraid you'd say that."
"Sarah, really, you should talk-"
"I'm fine." Sarah repeated, frustrated.
"You are not." Mara replied in a singsong voice.
Kathy chose the wrong moment to enter the room, receiving a full glare from Sarah. "Oh, please that look's nothing. You should have seen Maureen when Elliot told her she wasn't dating until she was at least thirty." The woman didn't pay much heed to the look, before continuing. "And I thought you'd like to know Elliot gave me some warning this time when he invited Casey, Olivia, Don, Fin, Munch and George around for dinner tonight. We're having a barbeque. Apparently they caught the latest crim, and he confessed to the murders after waiving his right to a lawyer, now all that's left is the sentencing. I think Elliot wants to celebrate the perp making their lives easier for once."
Sarah let her head hit the table as she slumped. Perfect. Just perfect. More people to psychoanalyse me.
"That means we've got to go shopping." Kathy added.
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It had started out so well. They were walking along the aisle of the local supermarket, just Sarah, Kathy and Elliot Jnr. The trolley was half full, and so far, Sarah had avoided any uncomfortable situations with Kathy, or the general public. One of those was about to change.
"Oh my God, Paul! It's her!" A high pitched voice came from behind Sarah, and the young woman stiffened, sharing a glance with Kathy.
"Just keep walking, pretend not to hear." Kathy advised out of the corner of her mouth, and they walked to the end of the aisle, hoping that when they turned into the next, the voice wouldn't follow.
"Paul! Look, look! Sarah! Sarah, wait!" The voice was getting closer now, and Sarah winced, biting back a groan. As they turned into the next aisle, a figure popped up in front of them.
It was a shortish woman, chubby with a bright smile pasted on her face. She had a merry countenance, which showed when she spoke. "Sarah Gibson! I'm Tanya, and the man behind you is my husband Paul. We are so grateful for your help during the invasion, who knows where we'd be if your friends hadn't pitched in!"
The woman chortled. God, what drug is she on?! Sarah wondered as she debated trying to get a word in edgewise. Before she could realise that she had nothing to say to this madwoman, whose husband was looking mortified at her behaviour, Tanya was talking again.
"So, are you here for a bit of shopping?" She didn't give Sarah the chance to respond with a sarcastic, 'duh!', instead she continued. "I normally don't come here, there's a little organic grocer that I normally go to, but I frankly couldn't be bothered driving there today, and boy am I glad I did!" Another chortle. The woman didn't seem to see the expression on Sarah's face, or she might have realised what Sarah thought of busybodies that talked too much.
The scene she was causing had attracted a number of other people, who were standing a short distance away from Sarah, Kathy and Elliot Jnr, staring. Now they started edging closer, and the young boy was growing agitated. It wasn't soon before he was crying. "Aw, poor baby!" Tanya began, stepping closer, a hand outstretched to placate the boy, or perhaps tickle him in an attempt to change his mood from belligerent to cheery. Sarah stepped between the child and the woman, a warning look in her eyes.
Kathy glanced repeatedly between Sarah and Tanya, before clearing her throat. "I'm just gonna… go. And… pay for this. I'll meet you by the car, Sarah."
Sarah didn't acknowledge her as she walked away, instead she kept staring at Tanya with the unfriendly look in her eye. "Thankyou, Tanya." She spoke evenly, not betraying any emotion whatsoever. "Your gratitude isn't necessary, but I appreciate it."
The woman lost some of her cheer. "Sarah, did I do something-"
"Not at all, Tanya." Sarah's voice was anything but reassuring. "I hope you have a nice day."
She tried pushing past, but another woman grabbed her arm. "Miss Gibson-"
"Sarah!"
"God, you people, leave her alone!" A man scowled, pushing his way past. Sarah let her relief show on her face. He stood by her side, glaring everyone away. "She's entitled to her privacy. Go on, get out of here!"
The crowd dissipated, grumbling, and the man turned to Sarah, a grin on his face. "Charles."
"Sarah." She took the hand he offered, giving it a firm shake.
"Well, Sarah, what would you say if I told you you could get a cool twenty thousand for a sit down interview? I work for-"
"Gods!" Sarah shouted, yanking her hand away from his. Without another word, she focused on the spot right outside the passenger door on the car they'd driven to the shopping complex. When she reappeared, she ducked down, out of sight behind another car, and waited for Kathy.
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That's where Kathy found her. Crouching next to the passenger side door, a scowl on her face. "Stop cowering and help me unload the trolley."
"I'm not cowering!" Sarah snapped as she straightened, glancing surreptitiously around. "I'm affecting a tactical retreat while I await backup. You left me in that- that hoard, all by myself!"
Kathy seemed amused, but when Sarah stood she noticed people looking her way. Quickly, she stole Kathy's sunglasses, and put them on. Next, she bowed her head and pulled up the collar of her shirt, to hide her face. "Let's just get the hell out of dodge, okay?"
Quickly, they worked to put all of the groceries in the trunk of the car, and Sarah returned to trolley to the corral while Kathy strapped Elliot Jnr in. Some of the people that were staring had started slowly towards them, so Sarah ran back to the car and jumped in the front seat. "Floor it!"
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"Jacen, buddy, don't get too close to that cat." Elliot called from the barbeque as he flipped the steaks over onto their uncooked sides. "It's vicious. I had to take Elizabeth to the doctors to get a tetanus shot last time it came near any of us."
Jacen just waved back at the man as he continued after the neighbour's cat. Sarah shrugged. "He's got a way with animals. He'll be fine."
Cragen raised an eyebrow. "And if he's not?"
"Then he'll have learnt a valuable lesson about not chasing after strange animals." Sarah shrugged.
The man laughed and shook his head. "I hear you had a bit of fun this afternoon, shopping with Kathy."
Sarah scowled. "Fun. Yeah. Right. Fun."
"It's your fault for standing up in front of a camera and telling the whole story-" Elliot began, but Sarah interrupted.
"I thought everyone here hated me and the Justice League. I thought they thought we were here to try and take over the world or something. So why the hell are there posters of us, and why would anyone want to be friendly in the supermarket with me. I thought they'd make a hole when they saw us coming!" Sarah fumed. "But noooo-"
"That's the price of fame." Cragen interrupted, a slight grin on his face. "As to everyone thinking you're here to take over the world… they were… dissuaded of that point of view about during the week."
Sarah frowned, speaking carefully. "How…?"
Munch had heard the query as approached the three by the barbeque, and he fielded the question. "They waited outside the temporary one six for us a few times. We'd all decided not to speak to the press about you and your friends, but after the third day of stupid questions like 'what are their plans for world domination', the Captain here decided to explain the situation to them, properly."
Sarah blinked at the man. "And that worked?"
"Well, I had some help from everyone." Cragen shrugged, with a small grin.
"What I would have paid to see that…" She murmured, unable to help the smile that grew on her face.
"Kathy taped it when they replayed it on the evening news." Elliot replied. "It's probably still in the VCR." Turning to the conspiracy theorist, he handed him the tongs. "Here, Munch, take over while I show her the tape."
"Do you want burnt food?" The detective asked pointedly. "Because, I can do burnt."
"Suck it up, John." Elliot shook his head, and grabbed Sarah's arm to drag her inside.
"Really, El, it's fine." Sarah pulled herself away, grinning. "I thank you all for your support against the evilness that is the media, but I'd prefer my food cooked, not burnt. Just focus on the barbeque."
Sarah walked away from the trio by the barbeque, heading for Casey and Olivia, who were talking with Kathy. When they noticed her, they stopped talking suddenly. "Gee, I wonder who you three could have been talking about?" Sarah asked sarcastically. "Let me guess, George."
"In a roundabout way, yes." Casey answered, and Sarah pulled a face at her.
"So first day back on the job after your holidays are so rudely interrupted and you manage to get a rapist to waive his rights to an attorney and confess to all his crimes. You should go on rescue missions more often – it becomes you." The knight tried.
The attorney didn't get a chance to respond as Jacen approached the group, a very relaxed feline in his hands. "I don't know what Mr Stabler was talking about." He pronounced, even as the cat reached up to rub it's cheek against his own, purring loudly. "She's very nice."
Sarah shook her head. "You know, one day, you'll meet an animal you can't tame. Just make sure it's not a Krayt Dragon when you do."
He just grinned cheekily and made his way over to where his siblings and the Stabler twins were hanging out. Anything Kathy, Olivia or Casey were going to say was interrupted by the loud arrival of two more guests. "Sorry we're late, but someone forgot to change the oil in the car and we broke down!" The younger woman was glaring at the other, who just flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"How was I supposed to know the oil needed changing?" She asked. "It's your car."
"But you were driving. You're supposed to check these things!" The younger again.
"Girls, girls, you got here, that's all that matters." Kathy was shaking her head as she approached the two.
Elliot, however, had his eyes narrowed. "How'd you get the car started again?"
"Oh, we flagged down this guy-" And just like that, silence reigned as all the detectives for the SVU stared at the girl. "Uh, I mean… we totally changed the oil ourselves."
"You flagged down a complete stranger while you were stranded on the side of the road and asked for help?" Elliot's voice was too kind, and Sarah winced.
"Look, dad, it wasn't that big a deal-" The older one began, but the younger one interrupted her.
"Not everyone's a rapist, dad." Her tone of voice showed just how foolish she thought her father was.
"No, but there are enough out there to make what you did incredibly-" Elliot was getting very angry, very quickly.
"Hey, is that who I think it is?" The younger one interrupted him, argument forgotten as she walked past her father, staring at Sarah, who let out a small sigh.
"Yes, it is." Kathy confirmed for the woman, who broke out in a large grin.
"Have you seen the poster in Dickie's room yet? He's got the biggest crush-"
"Kathleen!" The boy exploded. "I do not!"
Sarah turned red, resisting the urge to cover her face with her hands. To Olivia, she muttered, "Shoot me. Shoot me now."
"I think it's cute." Olivia replied wickedly.
Sarah pulled a face at Olivia before stepping forward, towards the two new arrivals. "Hi, I'm Sarah. You must be Kathleen," She nodded to the girl who had asked about the poster, "And Maureen."
"How did you know our names?" Maureen asked as she stepped forward to shake Sarah's hand after Kathleen was finished.
"Your father's mentioned you a couple of times, and he's got a picture of the lot of you on his desk." Sarah explained, nodding to the still unhappy detective. Cragen had taken over tending to the meat while he fumed.
"He talks about you all the time too." Kathleen replied, still grinning wickedly. "Dickie just won't stop asking questions-"
The boy let out a long suffering moan, and Sarah glanced back at the kids to see Jacen consoling him. The knight let a small smile cross her face, trying for genial. "Dickie was actually kind enough to give up his room so we'd all have a place to sleep."
"There are five of you in the one room?" Maureen screwed up her nose, before turning on her father. "Why didn't you just move Elliot Junior back into your room-"
"Really, none of us need much room. I'd be happy in the backyard." Sarah assured, grinning at Elliot. "I'd actually prefer the backyard, but judging how your father performed camping in Tortall, you don't have any camping equipment."
"What, wait. He wasn't lying when he said he'd been there?" Kathleen turned on her father too. "Why didn't you tell us?!"
"I did." The man replied defensively. "None of you believed me."
"I believed you." Kathy stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.
"Only after Captain Cragen, Liv, Fin, Munch, Casey and George confirmed it." He countered.
"Well, what did you expect, Dad? I mean, you told us you'd been to another dimension." Maureen shrugged helplessly. "It was a little unbelievable."
"Just a little?" Sarah asked, a wide grin on her face. "You should have seen my reaction when it happened the first time. I thought I was still dreaming. I landed in the middle of the ballroom, in the middle of a Midwinter ball, in my nightie. And I was certain that if I walked out of the ballroom I'd end up in a party full of clowns. It was all very surreal."
"What made you believe it?" Kathleen asked. "I mean, if someone told me that I'd just been moved between dimensions to do some kind of 'mission'-"
"You'd tell them where to shove it, right?" At the girl's nod Sarah continued. "Oh, I did that too. I told Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess to go to hell. But then, when I woke up the next morning still in Tortall, I realised it was pretty much all true."
"So how'd Dad react?" Kathleen asked with an impish smile.
"Well, the first time he went there was when I had to grab a friend of mine to help with a situation we were dealing with. Your father was silent for the entire time. He didn't say a single word, not even when I dragged him and Casey into the ballroom, that's right, there was another ball going at that time, and I dragged both him and Casey into the ballroom and straight to the throne, all of us wearing sweat shirts and jeans." Sarah grinned at the detective.
"Hey, to be fair, we'd never seen a castle before." He objected.
"Excuses, excuses." Sarah shrugged, before turning back to his children, a wicked grin on her face. "You should have seen your father try to ride a horse. Never have I seen a group of people do worse at their first time."
"I'll have you know I've ridden a horse before." Munch interrupted, indignant. "That's how I knew the saddle wasn't done up properly."
"Oh, we're gonna play it that way, are we Sarah?" Elliot added, a wicked gleam to his eye. "Well, kids, Olivia had Sarah thrown into Bellevue because she thought someone with the story about other dimensions had to be insane."
"Yeah, whatever Dad." Dickie waved a hand at him as he and his sister approached, eager looks on their faces. "Tell us about the time he was almost eaten."
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"So this guy, Sir Ansil of Groten, called Casey a who-"
"A naughty word." Munch interrupted dryly.
Sarah looked around and seemed to realise there were several young children there, and shrugged unapologetically. "Yeah, right, a 'naughty word', and your father," She shook her head, a large grin on her face as she continued. "Your father steps right up to him and calls him… another naughty word, and Groten slaps him in the face with a riding glove."
"A riding glove?" Kathleen had a look of disbelief on her face. "Ooh, scary man."
"I know!" Sarah was getting into the story, her plate of food left on her lap half eaten and forgotten. "Anyway, apparently, because I wasn't there at the time, I was too busy meeting with my friend Daine and her parents, apparently your father just gives him a look like 'what the hell?' and goes to hit him back, but Groten was trained by the crown, like the rest of us knightly types, so, and it pains me to admit this, it pains me oh so much, he's not too shabby a fighter – no where near my league, though. Seriously, if his league were to blow up, I wouldn't hear the sound from the explosion for days. Anyway Groten blocks your father's punch and tells him nuh uh, we're doing it on the duelling fields. So you're father's like… you're on."
Casey smiled at Elliot. "I appreciate the defence of my honour, El. I really do-"
"But he would have torn you to shreds." Sarah interrupted helpfully. "Anyway, I'm blissfully unaware of what has transpired between your father and the worst fencer at court-"
"If he's the worst fencer at court, why did you say that Dad would have been torn to shreds?" Dickie frowned.
"Because Sarah measures the skill of the fencers in Tortall against her own. Compared to her, almost all of the fencers there are 'the worst fencers at court'." Olivia told the boy. "She really is something else with a sword."
"Oh, please. That's just because I know that if I don't practice, Wildcat will quite literally kill me." Sarah waved a hand at the detective, before continuing. "So I'm in the middle of meeting my friend's parents for the first time, and Daine gets a knock on the door, and there's Casey. And she's like… um… hi everyone… Sarah, Elliot's been challenged to a duel. And I'm like, so? He didn't accept did he? And Casey kind of had this look on her face and we were all like, Gods, Elliot, why did you do that?"
The kids were engrossed in the story. Sarah shared a grin with Kathy, who was holding Elliot's hand in her lap as she listened to the story. Elliot had a look of patient suffering on his face. "So Dad had to fight this guy-"
"Oh, hell no!" Sarah interrupted Elizabeth, her grin growing. The rest of the SVU were listening with varying levels of amusement as Sarah recounted the events of their first stay in Tortall colourfully. Her voice lowered dramatically, as though sharing a secret with the kids. "No, there's this little rule that I like to use. It's called Bylaw Fifty Two A, and it basically states that only nobles are allowed to duel, and that if a commoner is challenged by a noble it's the commoner's liege lord that has the responsibility of fighting in their place. Now, your father and the rest of these guys had absolutely no status in Tortall. None at all, so I could make up whatever status I wanted, but I hadn't thought of that, luckily. I mean, I could have introduced them all as 'Lord Stabler of New York' or 'Lady Olivia of the Sixteenth Precinct', but if I had, I wouldn't have been able to use Bylaw Fifty Two A. You should have seen Groten's face when he realised it was me he was facing, not some guy who didn't know how to fight."
"Hey!" Elliot objected, and Sarah glanced up at him before amending her statement distractedly.
"Oh, sorry, some guy who didn't know how to fight well."
Olivia had a large grin on her face as she nudged her partner. "Better, El?"
"No." He muttered.
"Sorry." Sarah's voice was unapologetic.
"And did you beat him?" Dickie asked, eager.
Sarah just pulled a face. "Oh, please. I could beat him in my sleep."
"She almost had to, too." Casey gave Sarah a nod. "She was still exhausted from over exerting herself the day before."
"Oh, please. I'd have to have a foot in the grave for Groten to stand a chance against me." Sarah flapped a hand at the attorney.
"You've fought him enough to know that?" Kathy seemed impressed.
"She fought him when we were there, too." Jaina supplied.
"He's my favourite punching bag- that is to say, conservative. He's got deep pockets, too." Sarah grinned. "It paid for these guys to get court clothes."
"You should see her fight with a sword. It's incredible." Jacen added with a grin. "Her and Aunt Mara fought to a draw when she was still trying to prove to everyone she was telling the truth about being from another dimension and being able to fight."
"Ooh! Can we!" Dickie asked excitedly.
"Sorry, kiddo, but we're short a couple of swords." Elliot shook his head, sharing a grin with Sarah.
"But we've got a broom stick!" The boy got up and raced into the house, only to return with the handles from both the broom and the mop. Sarah had to suppress a laugh, even as Mara stood.
"You up to it?" The redhead asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kathy cleared her throat. "I don't think it's really appropriate…"
Sarah looked around the assembled group, noticing eagerness on the faces of the Stabler and Solo children, a smug look on Fin's face, while Munch's was, as usual, devoid of most emotions. Cragen had a small smile on his face, he just shrugged when he noticed Sarah's gaze. The interesting reactions came from Elliot, Olivia, Casey and George. At least I know who Kathy's told about this morning's match. They each had guarded expressions on their faces.
That decided Sarah. That, and Dickie breaking the broomstick and the mopstick over his knee, to make them the right length to substitute for a sword. "Is this long enough?"
Sarah rolled her eyes, glancing at Mara who had accepted her shard of a broom with a wicked grin. "We'll make do."
"Sarah-"
"What? I've gotten better with a sword since Mara and I first duelled." Sarah interrupted Kathy's objections. "Besides which, we both know more than enough about duelling that we'll stop before we get carried away."
They both walked to the centre of the backyard and put down their 'swords'. Sarah began an abbreviated set of stretches as Mara did the same. "You up for this?" Mara asked, voice quiet enough that Sarah was the only one to hear it.
"Yes." Sarah felt an irrational pang of annoyance flare up. How dare anyone insinuate that she wasn't ready for a good match?
"Good." Mara replied, before lunging for the broom handle she'd dropped and swinging it at Sarah's midsection. The young knight threw herself into a backward somersault to avoid the blow, picking up her own mopstick on the way, and leapt to her feet in time to catch the next attack on her 'sword'.
Sarah didn't waste anytime as she went straight on the offensive, swinging the blade at Mara's legs, aiming for the back of her knees. The redhead blocked the shot without trouble and began circling Sarah. "Now that's more like it." Mara observed. "What happened this morning?"
"I was still a little shaken up." Sarah admitted. "I didn't have my head in the fight. Don't worry though – I do now!" With that she lunged forward, the tip of her sword aiming for Mara's chest. The redhead blocked it with the tip of her own, snaking her sword around Sarah's, but the knight saw the move coming and sidestepped, taking the pressure off of her grip on the hilt. Sarah yanked her sword away, whacking at Mara's back. The Jedi barely caught the blade in time.
"You're right – you have gotten better." Mara admitted, before striking back at Sarah.
The Tortallan caught the strike on her own sword, and they grappled for a moment, each trying to force the other to their knees, before Sarah felt a twinge in her shoulder followed by a searing pain. Sarah fell to her knees, dropping the broomstick as she clutched her shoulder, face going red as she tried not to cry out. "Damn…" She hissed.
"I thought you said you were 'up to it'." Mara knelt beside her. "Let me see."
"I thought it was good enough to go back to normal use." Sarah muttered, voice tight with pain.
"I guess that was too normal." Mara commented as she pried Sarah's fingers away from her shoulder. "What did you do to it, anyway?"
The others had approached now. Kathy nodded to Mara and knelt beside Sarah. "I'm fine." Sarah insisted.
"Ahuh." Kathy's tone of voice made it clear she didn't believe her. "Now what was the original injury to your shoulder?"
"One of the Martians thought it would be funny to turn its tail into a spear and hang her from a wall." Cragen answered for Sarah. Kathy glanced up sharply at this. He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet as Kathy steadied her.
"Yeah, that was a fun day." Sarah added with a wince. "I really did think it was healed enough to do this kind of stuff again."
"I guess you were wrong." Kathy replied.
"You didn't have any problems rescuing the kids." Casey frowned, and Sarah shrugged, before immediately regretting the action.
"I was mostly shooting a blaster then, and I used my other hand for that." Sarah winced and fought the urge to shrug again. "The only time I did anything strenuous with this shoulder was when I… kind of beat the snot out of a pirate trying to escape with Jaina. And even then, it was hardly the most exertion I've ever undertaken, if you know what I mean."
Mara snorted. "Understatement of the year."
"Way to ruin the party, Sarah." Munch said sarcastically as they made their way past the rest of the group and back into the house. Sarah gave the detective a pained grin, but didn't say anything.
When they got to the kitchen Sarah sank down into a chair, while Kathy went upstairs for the first aid kit. Everyone crowded in after them, until Sarah shot them a glare. "Nuh uh. All of you go and enjoy the barbeque. I'm fine!"
They all complied, except for Mara, Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, Cragen, Elliot and George. Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Am I misinterpreting the definition of 'all of you'?"
"Are you alright, Sarah?" Jaina asked, her voice small.
"Yeah, sweetie. I'm fine." Sarah tried for a reassuring smile, but the look Jaina shot her made her laugh. "It's that obvious, is it?"
"Yeah, yeah it is." The girl answered, and Sarah laughed.
Sarah crooked a finger, and the girl approached, allowing the knight to put a hand on both shoulders. "Casey's right. This injury didn't give me any trouble running through the pirate base looking for you kids. It's not that bad. Now, you've got the advantage over Dickie and Elizabeth – you might be younger but they'll still be fascinated by everything about you, so why don't you three run off and make friends, alright?"
"But, Sarah-"
"Now, kiddo." Sarah jerked her head towards the door. "You know I don't like to repeat myself."
Jaina darted in for a quick hug before leading her brothers outside, and Sarah leant back in her chair, shooting a look at Mara. "You know, I could give you the same pep talk."
"I don't need friends here." Mara's arms were folded over her chest, and Sarah rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry to have offended you, you big, bad ex-smuggler lone ranger." Sarah shook her head.
Cragen and Elliot froze and gave Mara a weird look. "Ex-smuggler?" Cragen asked lightly, and Sarah winced.
Mara shrugged. "More like second in command to the biggest information broker in the galaxy, who just happened to do some smuggling on the side."
"Oh, well, that makes all the difference." Elliot kept his voice pleasant, but gave Sarah a look that said they'd be talking later.
"Mara's nice now. Marriage really straightened her out." Sarah gave the detective an earnest look. "She hardly ever kills anyone now."
Mara's grin turned wicked. "Unless they annoy me."
An unexpected smile grew on Elliot's face. "You're having us on, aren't you? Haha, very funny you two."
"Yeah, except for the part where we're not." Sarah grinned at the man, who gave Mara another funny look, before shrugging.
"So long as it's 'ex-smuggler' and you're not going to be peddling counterfeit ipods from my garage, we're fine."
"Aw, how sweet is that, Mara!" Sarah teased, punching the redhead in the shoulder. "You might not need any friends here, but you've already made one! Just imagine the amount you'd have if you'd actually try to be nice to people."
"Well I've got to leave some for you, don't I?" Mara returned. "Now be a good little girl and stay still for Mrs Stabler while I go check on the kids."
Sarah shot the woman a dirty look as she walked back outside, before rolling her eyes. "If I'm gonna tease, I guess I should expect to get as good as I give."
"Captain Cragen, could you give us a minute?" George asked the older man, who looked between Sarah, Elliot and the psychiatrist.
"Am I missing something here, Doc?" The man asked, and Sarah jumped at the opportunity to answer for the other man.
"Nope. You're more than welcome to stay." Sarah's voice was a little too eager, and Cragen's suspicion grew.
Kathy chose that moment to return with the first aid kit. She looked around the room, before saying, "Could you give us a minute, Don?"
Sarah groaned. "What do you three want?"
"Just to talk." Elliot replied amicably.
"Yeah, well, talk amongst yourselves." Sarah muttered churlishly.
Cragen just glanced around the room at the rest of its occupants and nodded outside. "I'm gonna go make sure the others stay out of trouble."
Sarah tried standing to follow him, but Kathy gently pushed her back into her chair. "Either way, you still need your shoulder looked at."
"Well it only takes one of you to do that." Sarah grumbled.
They shared a look between themselves, and Elliot left. "You too, Shrinky McShrink." Sarah nodded in the direction of the door, staring George down. Unfortunately, he wasn't to be intimidated.
"Sarah, you need to talk about-"
"If you say anything about rape trauma syndrome, or 'what happened to me' or any of that crap-" Sarah began, voice threatening.
"Can you lift your shirt?" Kathy asked, interrupting her threat, and Sarah took off the offending garment with a wince and a hiss, revealing a singlet that gave the woman unrestricted access to her wound.
"You use aggression as a defence mechanism-"
"I'm not talking about it, George." Sarah shook her head. "Find someone else to psychoanalyse. A word of advice, stay away from Mara – she'll actually carry out any threats she makes."
"Sarah." His voice was firm. "If you don't resolve the issues you have about what happened to you, you'll keep having night terrors. Do you want to wake up like you did this morning every morning for the rest of your life?"
"George." Her tone matched his. "I'll say this once more. I'm. Fine."
The man sighed, as though expecting the answer, and walked out of the room. He returned a moment later with a manila folder. "I had a feeling you'd be too stubborn to let anyone help, so I printed off some information for you to read." He tried to pass her the folder, but she just stared at him, an angry look on her face. Instead, he put it on the table and followed the rest of the guests outside.
Sarah waited a few moments in silence as Kathy inspected her wound. Suddenly, the nurse frowned. "You say you got this during the invasion?"
"Yeah." Sarah winced when the nurse prodded a delicate area. "Why?"
"It's much further along then I'd thought it would be after a week. And the Martian's… tail, it went all the way through?" Kathy continued her questioning.
"Yeah. Although, to be fair, Mithros stopped time in this dimension while we were off rescuing the kids, so it's been more like two weeks. And while I was in their dimension they used their medicines to pack to wound – they're a lot more advanced than any Earth culture I've come across so far."
"Interesting." Kathy murmured. "Well, there's no fresh trauma to the wound, I think it was just a warning pain, telling you that if you went much further-"
"There'd be hell to pay." Sarah finished with a grimace. "Thanks, Kathy. I'll try to ease up on the shoulder."
The woman just nodded and started redressing the wound. When it was done, she stood. "Wait here. I'll go and get a button up shirt – I don't think you'll be able to manage a pull over tonight."
Sarah just nodded, and when she was alone in the room, she glanced at the manila folder on the table, before flicking a finger at it. A small ball of fire raced to the folder and expanded, engulfing it in flames. Sarah kept careful control of her Gift, so as to not scorch the table.
When Kathy came in with a blue button up shirt, there was nothing but a pile of ashes left on the table. The nurse raised an eyebrow, and Sarah accepted the shirt without a word and pulled it on carefully, before rejoining the group outside.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Tony glanced over his shoulder surreptitiously, before sighing in relief, and aiming carefully. The ball of scrunched up paper missed the trash can by a good three feet. "Damn!" He hissed, before sliding a glance at the pile of paper on his desk. Quick as lightning, he snatched another piece and scrunched it up, before taking aim again. The shrill ringing of his cell phone made him jump a foot in the air, and he quickly dropped the ball of paper, flipping open the phone and answering gruffly, "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo!"
"DiNozzo, stop playing baseball and bring up Georgia Simpson's address." Gibbs barked from the other end.
"Uh… I think you mean basketball, boss-" He corrected.
"DiNozzo!"
"Sorry boss." Tony could almost feel the man's hand crashing on the back of his head as a warning slap. He quickly turned to his computer and typed in the name, frowning as he did. "Who's Georgia Simpson?"
"Our missing waitress. Also our newest victim. Found her in an alley near Wash U." Gibbs replied. "What's her address?"
"Sending it to your GPS now boss." DiNozzo pressed a few buttons, frowning. "Was she killed by Lavigne as well, boss?"
"It looks that way, DiNozzo. Ziva and McGee are on their way out as well. You wait there, in case of any new developments." Gibbs hung up without saying goodbye, and Tony leant back in his chair, throwing the ball of paper up and down in the air. That explains where Ziva and the Probie are.
After a few more minutes of fooling around, DiNozzo stood, picking up his wallet and heading for the vending machine. He was almost there when his phone rang again. Sighing, he flipped it open. "DiNozzo."
"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo? It's Marci." The voice was female, high pitched and wavering.
"Marci who?" DiNozzo frowned. He hadn't brought anyone home named Marci, had he?
"Sorry, Marci Dickens. The bartender at Subzero? You told me to call if Lavigne showed up…" The woman explained hurriedly. "He's here, Anthony. The murderer. I'm scared-"
"Has he done anything yet?" DiNozzo asked, hurriedly searching for his car keys.
"No, not yet… can you come?"
Tony bit his lip, glancing at the empty desks of Ziva, McGee and Gibbs. "I'm on my way." He hung up and shrugged on his coat on the way to the elevator.
TBC…
Gasp! DiNozzo, off to face our villain… WITHOUT backup? What will he do???
Probably get himself killed, but not in this story!
Hope you enjoyed, next one won't be too far away, read and review!