Hello all! Sorry for the long wait, I apologize profusely. I have gone to the dark side and given into the plot bunny for a Zootopia fic that wouldn't leave me alone, which means I am banging my head against the wall as I have way too many fics going on at once. ack! (I am looking at you Blindsided!) anyway, hopefully I will be able to get back on track soon.
As always, thank you to my lovely readers for sticking with this story, and thank you to everyone who took the time to review!
Also, a giant thank you to Marie Allen for beta reading this chapter with me as well as for following me down the Zootopia rabbit hole. LOL
Anyway... hope everyone enjoys!
Chapter 12
Gwendolyn took a deep breath, smoothed out her dress -a short, A-line number in black with spaghetti straps and a three flounce hemline that rose just above her knees that was informal enough that it didn't give the impression that she was trying too hard- and rang the doorbell.
The week had flown by as she buried herself in her work, feeling oddly inspired, but she had managed to find time to buy a new dress, get ready and be out the door in time to arrive at the Brownstone an hour than had been planned as per Sabrina's text.
And even though she was a little nervous, she felt ready to face Donatello, his family, his ex and his friends.
She clutched her coat closer around her body and hoped it didn't take too long for someone to answer the door because the whole fashion over warmth decision was one she was hoping she wouldn't regret.
The door suddenly opened and Gwendolyn felt herself blink in surprise at Cath- no, Elizabeth, who stood on the threshold wearing a footed black cat onsie with the hood pulled up over her head, black cat ears sticking straight up in the air, somehow managing to make herself look both adorable and sexy at the same time.
"Hi," Gwendolyn said as Elizabeth gave her a welcoming smile.
"Come in!" Elizabeth said as she stood back and motioned her inside.
Gwendolyn stepped into the foyer of the Brownstone and a sense of awe struck her as she felt like she had just stepped well over one-hundred years back in time.
This impression was suddenly shattered by the incongruity of Elizabeth dressed in a onsie in the center of the opulence; which was a little jarring.
"You can hang your coat up in the closet," Elizabeth told her as she pointed towards the closet.
Opening the closet and divesting herself of her outerwear, she listened to the silence of the house, only hearing a soft clattering noise coming from the kitchen, but no other voices.
About to ask if she had arrived before everyone else, Elizabeth said, "That is a really nice dress."
Feeling pleased, she smiled back. "Thanks."
"Do you have your PJ's in a bag somewhere? Or did you leave them in the car?"
"My PJ's?" she asked in confusion.
"Hey, Sabrina, did you not tell Gwen that we were having a slumber party?" Elizabeth called out towards the kitchen.
"Nae," Sabrina answered as she walked into the hall wearing a onsie much like Elizabeth's, but hers was a deer rather than a cat. "Ye told me tae invite her over early so tha' we could ask her aboot her dates with Donny before everyone else got here," she explained.
Gwendolyn found herself blushing at Sabrina's words and the reason she was there early.
"Exactly, girls' night slumber party," Elizabeth said. "Hence the awesomely cute onsies!" she said as she pulled a tail from behind her and gave it a twirl. "But that's totally okay, we have more onsies," Elizabeth explained as she ushered Gwendolyn upstairs, Sabrina following behind.
"Lizzy," Sabrina hissed, "Ye didnae even ask Gwen if she wanted tae stay, or if she wanted tae be dressed up in a onsie," Sabrina pointed out as they reached the second level. "She's dressed tae impress an' ye want tae shove her into a frumpy animal costume."
Elizabeth paused in the hallway and quickly looked Gwendolyn over from head to toe. "Sorry," she apologized. "I guess I got a little carried away."
"Well," a voice nearly identical to Elizabeth's mused, "It's good to see I'm not the only one who can talk some sense into my errant and overly pushy sister."
Gwendolyn turned towards the voice to see Catherine dressed in a bright orange fox onsie.
"It's okay," Gwendolyn said as she looked down at her dress. "I confess… I do feel a little overdressed at the moment," she admitted.
"Ye dinnae have tae," Sabrina assured her. "April will be wearing normal clothes," she pointed out.
"Is April coming over with Casey?" Catherine asked Elizabeth.
"Yeah, she had to work late," Elizabeth grumbled.
Gwendolyn bit her lip with indecision. She hadn't planned on staying, and she was pretty sure she hadn't had a slumber party since high school. "I didn't bring-" she began.
"Oh, that's no biggie," Elizabeth said, waving off Gwendolyn's concerns. "We have toothpaste and new toothbrushes, and there are tons of places to sleep."
"Ye realize tha' the boys are goin' tae be here in an hour, which means that yer girls' night with be filled with men, right?" Sabrina asked.
"That's why it's perfect. Girl talk, bring over guys, flirt, send them packing, more girl talk," Elizabeth replied as she motioned for everyone to pile into what appeared to be a bedroom -probably Elizabeth's.
Sabrina shook her head in resignation and threw herself onto the gorgeous dark wood queen-sized bed.
"Bunny or teddy bear?" Elizabeth questioned as she held up a grey bunny onsie in one hand and a brown bear onsie in the other.
"Uh…" Gwendolyn hesitated.
"What I would like to know, El," Catherine interposed as Gwendolyn looked from one onsie to the other, "is why you have a pile of animal onesies?" she queried.
"Sabrina got them for me," Elizabeth answered.
"Okay, but why?" Catherine asked.
"Because they are adorable!" Elizabeth replied with a bright grin.
"I was doin' a photo shoot for a company tha' distributes them for Halloween. I thought they were cute so I asked Lizzy if she wanted any," Sabrina explained. "I don't just do weddings and graphic novels ye know," she said with a smile.
"And it was a great deal, buy one get one free," Elizabeth added, which explained why she had six of them.
"What I dinnae ken," Sabrina began as Elizabeth held up the bunny and bear onsies in turn in front of Gwendolyn, "is why you are dressed as the cat an' Cat is dressed as the fox."
"Because Cat alwaysgets to be the cat. Always. So I want to be the cat for once. And Cat picked the fox because… What was the word?" she asked Catherine.
"Apropos," Catherine answered with a sly smile.
"Right. It was apropos," Elizabeth said with a nod. "Cat's a fox, Sabrina's a deer and Gwen's…a bunny," she said with a nod as she tossed the teddy bear onsie at Sabrina. "A hot bunny who needs to wear that dress when you and Donny are alone," she added with a wink.
Gwendolyn blushed to the roots of her hairline at Elizabeth's words. "I-" she began but was cut off when Elizabeth tossed the bunny onsie at her.
"Bathroom's in there," Elizabeth said pointing at the open door to the right. "And hurry up, we have some serious girl talk to get to," she shouted at Gwendolyn's back as she entered the posh bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Clutching the onsie to her chest like some kind of shield, she looked around the bathroom and breathed out a soft sigh at the luxury of it. She drooled over the claw-footed tub and the marble countertops before pulling her gaze away and staring at herself in the mirror.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled the onsie away from her chest and looked at it. She had to admit, it was cute, and giving herself a once-over, decided that Elizabeth was right. The dress she was wearing was great and she felt pretty damn good in it, but she liked the idea of her and Donatello being alone when he saw her in it.
Stripping the dress from her body, she slipped into the onsie.
She wasn't sure if she was going to spend the night. A sleepover sounded a little much, especially because she hadn't planned on staying over, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she would be 'convinced.' Read: cajoled, into staying.
When she had met Elizabeth, she had known that the younger woman was possessed of a devil-may-care attitude and a bright, vivacious character. Gwendolyn had just never realized how overpowering the woman's sheer will and personality were.
It appeared that everyone caved to it and Gwendolyn knew that she would be very hard pressed to stand up to her.
Studying herself in the mirror, she pulled up the hood, thankful that it didn't appear that make-overs were going to be part of the night's events and mentally prepared herself to be the object of the other womens' rampant curiosity.
Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepped herself.
She felt a little like she had been invited to the popular kids' table and she was half expecting to walk out and have all three women attired much like she had been and laughing at her for falling for their little trick and it turning into an episode of Mean Girls.
Opening the bathroom door, she joined the other three women in the bedroom.
Sabrina was still sprawled out upon the bed attired as a deer and Elizabeth, still dressed as a black cat, had joined her. Catherine sat curled up in a dark cherry leather wingback chair silently observing the other two women as they discussed Sabrina's last photography job.
As soon as she stepped from the bathroom, three sets of eyes turned towards her and after she felt relieved that she wasn't being hazed, was hard pressed not to blush.
There were times when she was okay with being the center of attention, like when she was pretending to be someone else at cosplay competitions, but at general social gatherings, she felt uncomfortable and flustered.
"You look adorable," Elizabeth gushed with a wide smile.
Sabrina leapt off the bed.
"Och, aren't ye a bonnie sight," she said as she grasped Gwendolyn's hand and practically pulled her into a hug.
"Awh, look, it's Bambi and Thumper," Elizabeth said as she sat up and took out her phone, taking a picture. "This one is going to the boys."
"T-the boys?" Gwendolyn stammered, her blush growing as Sabrina kept her arm thrown around her shoulders.
"Mikey and Donny of course," Elizabeth said with a sly wink. "But later, because this is going to be a surprise," she said, motioning to the onsie. "And so is this," she said as she threw back her hood revealing her shoulder length tresses dyed dark blue at the roots and fading to a beautiful aquamarine at the tips.
"It's gorgeous!" breathed Sabrina before sudden insight seemed to strike. "So tha's why ye didnea want the fox onsie, it woulda gone horrible with yer hair."
Elizabeth had the grace to look embarrassed. "So?" she defended. "But it's true, Cat is always the cat," Elizabeth pointed out.
Gwendolyn admired the colour, but could admit that she wasn't brave enough to attempt such a striking hairstyle herself.
"Leonardo has not seen your hair yet?" Catherine questioned from the corner.
"Not yet," Elizabeth answered. "Do you think he'll like it?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"It's blue," Sabrina answered. "How could he no'?" she asked.
Elizabeth chuckled. "It's true," she said as she transferred her attention to Gwendolyn. "There was this gorgeous purple I wanted, but it's Donny's colour and the guys kinda have this thing about 'their colours'," she said using air quotes. "It's stupid. But I hope you like purple."
"I do, actually," Gwendolyn answered. "Yellow's my favourite colour though."
"Easter colours," Catherine observed.
"Whatever," Elizabeth waved this observation away, "Raph is a walking advertisement for Christmas."
Catherine gave an appreciative smirk and Sabrina laughed and shook her head at the sally.
"Seriously tho'," Sabrina began, "aboot their colours. Clothing doesnae seem to matter too much unless you are dressing up and trying to be sexy, but hair colour, that is a little trickier. Mibay because it's more permanent, I dinna ken," she observed as she stepped away from Gwendolyn's side.
"It's true," Elizabeth added as she slid off the bed. "I'm pretty sure the moment Cat had those red streaks in her hair Raph decided that she was his," she finished darkly.
"For one, you two are the ones who dyed my hair, and for two, that is not what happened," Catherine pointed out as she stood her tone cooling slightly.
Elizabeth's expression turned oddly serious. "He kissed you the day we dyed your hair. And don't tell me you still believe his bullshit story that he thought you were me. He knew it was you. And he-"
"Lizzy," Catherine warned her tone annoyed.
"I'm happy for you, Cat," Elizabeth explained, "you know I am, but Raph is still not my favourite person and I'll never forgive him for what he did to you."
Catherine remained silent but there was a sudden iciness to her features that caused Gwendolyn to take a step back even as curiosity bloomed within her breast.
What had Raphael done? she wondered to herself.
It was obviously something bad enough to have earned Elizabeth's fervent animosity but at the same time, her grudging acceptance.
"How long have you and Raph been married," Gwendolyn asked, trying to break some of the tension and gain some insight into how long ago it was that Catherine and Donatello had been together.
The two sisters stared at each other for a few moments as if they were having some sort of silent conversation.
"Nearly three months," Sabrina supplied into the tense silence. "It was beautiful, even though it was completely impromptu," she added.
"Fine," Elizabeth suddenly said with a huff. "I need a drink," she stated as she walked from the room.
Sabrina glanced at Gwendolyn who gave a one-shouldered shrug.
"They do tha' sometimes," Sabrina explained. "It's a little creepy, but ye get used tae it," she said before following Elizabeth from the room.
Catherine stood, apparently not bothered by Sarina's little aside and Gwendolyn trailed behind Sabrina; Catherine slowly bringing up the rear.
"I though' ye gave up drinkin' because of yer poor life choices when ye do?" Sabrina asked as they followed Elizabeth up to the next floor and down a hallway that opened up into a large theatre room that was every bit as impressive as Gwendolyn imagined it would be.
The huge white screen was hung at one end of the room while twelve recliners, four in each tiered row, sat at the other.
By the door there was a popcorn machine along with a small fridge and a table with a few bottles of wine and wineglasses set up.
Upon the floor in front of the first row of chairs, was a pile of blankets and pillows of all shapes and sizes.
Elizabeth made a bee-line for the wine.
Picking up a bottle she unwrapped the thin foil seal, and took up the corkscrew and popped the cork.
"Sleeping with Leonardo was not a poor life choice," Elizabeth said as she poured half a glass of white wine into four glasses.
"Tha's no' what ye told me," Sabrina said as she picked up a glass of wine and took a sip.
"Fine," Elizabeth conceded. "A poor life choice that turned into a good one," Elizabeth said as she glanced over at Catherine who picked up a glass of wine and twisted it in her fingers, studying the liquid intently and apparently ignoring her sister's glance.
Sabrina shoved the remaining glass into Gwendolyn's hand.
"I can drink to tha'," Sabrina said as she raised her glass for a toast.
Catherine smirked and Elizabeth grinned appreciatively.
All three women raised their glasses and Gwendolyn followed suit.
"To poor life choices that turned out well," Sabrina said.
Gwendolyn brought the wine up to her lips. She wasn't much of a wine drinker…or a drinker in general, but she found that the wine was sweet and surprisingly pleasant.
Pulling the wine away, she glanced at the assembled women. Elizabeth had just finished her glass, a smile spreading across her features.
"Well, that's a start," Elizabeth said as Sabrina chuckled and held out her own wineglass to be topped up as Elizabeth refilled both glasses.
"Gwen?" Elizabeth asked, holding up the bottle.
"Uh…" she looked at her wineglass in indecision.
Elizabeth smiled and filled her glass to the brim, finishing off the bottle.
"Are you trying to get her drunk?" Catherine asked in a curious tone.
Gwendolyn sipped the wine so she wouldn't end up spilling the nearly full glass upon the carpet.
"No," Elizabeth said with a wide grin, "only to the point where she is totally okay with confessing her deepest, darkest secrets."
Gwendolyn choked on her wine as Sabrina laughed.
"Dinnae worry. Lizzy will blab all o' her secrets way before ye," Sabrina said with a motion of her hand, her wine sloshing in her glass.
"I would take offence to that," Elizabeth said as she drank half of her wine in one gulp, before she continued, "except that she's right," she finished with a wink.
Gwendolyn gave an unsure smile as she hid behind her glass and she took another drink, wondering what she had gotten herself into.
Of their own volition, her eyes searched for Catherine who was sitting upon a reclining chair in the front row, pillows and blankets strewn around her feet, her attention on her wine glass.
"El?" Catherine asked in an inquiring tone, "Did you know that the bases of these wineglasses fit perfectly into these cup holders?"
Snatching up another bottle of wine while Sabrina snagged the corkscrew, Elizabeth walked over to where Catherine sat, plopping down upon a pillow in front of her sister. "Of course," she said as she placed her wineglass into an empty cup holder so that the stem was hidden within the cup holder while the curved cup of the glass rested on the top. "Why do you think I bought them?" she wondered.
Catherine nodded thoughtfully and that was when Gwendolyn realized that Catherine had not been studying the wine earlier, but rather the glass itself, which was a little…odd.
The sister's earlier…disagreement, if you could call it that, was apparently at an end as Elizabeth sat back against the base of the recliner right beside Catherine's legs.
"So, Gwen," Sabrina began as three sets of eyes studied her as she sat opposite the twins and beside Sabrina on the floor, "How do ye find Oor Donny?"
Gwendolyn found herself doing a slow blink of incomprehension. Used to dealing with the near unintelligible linguistic phenomenon of Newfoundland English, she found herself stumped by what the sound 'ooer' meant.
"'Oor' means 'our,'" Catherine supplied helpfully. "Usually denoting a family connection of sorts to set them apart from all of the other Donatellos that you may know."
"Oh," Gwendolyn said with a blush, not sure what she was supposed to say. She knew that Donatello had wanted to keep their dates quiet from his family, with the exception of Catherine who already knew, but Elizabeth and Sabrina had indicated earlier in the evening that they already knew.
Realizing she hadn't answered the question she began to stammer. "Uh… I-"
"April blabbed," Elizabeth interrupted. "We know you had two dates with Donny, so spill," she prompted.
She felt her face turn beet red as her already present blush intensified. "I-I…" she ducked her head down. "I like him," she said in a soft, embarrassed voice
"Awwhhhh," Elizabeth breathed out, her eyes shining. "That's so sweet."
Gwendolyn took another gulp of her wine.
"Donny deserves to be happy," Elizabeth continued. "Especially after the crap Raph and Cat put him through," she added.
Catherine frowned and raised an eyebrow at the accusation.
Gwendolyn found herself listening intently, both uncomfortable and curious about the events pertaining to Donatello and Catherine's relationship and more specifically, the end of it.
"Come on, Cat, don't give me that look, you know it's true. He's been fucking stressed and depressed since you and Raph ran away together."
"We-" Catherine let out a huff of air and changed what she had been about to say. "I didn't think you would have noticed Donatello's feelings, after all, you were-"
Elizabeth interrupted, her voice harsh, "-Too busy worrying about the fact that my sister ran away with the psycho instead of staying with the good brother? No, I noticed. And unlike you, I was here, watching Donny burn himself out trying to find you."
Gwendolyn found herself flinching at the biting words and suddenly worried she was about to be caught in the middle of a family squabble.
"Ye cannae lay everythin' upon Cat's door, Lizzy. Havin' you an' Leo an' me an' Mikey constantly shoved in his face dinnae help him any," Sabrina soothed but neither sister was paying any attention to what the Scottish woman was saying.
Catherine's eyes narrowed, "Raphael is not a psycho."
"Sorry, you're right," Elizabeth amended, "the fucking unstable brother, how is that?"
Catherine's eyes remained narrowed, but not in anger, instead her gaze was speculative. "You are unusually quarrelsome, Lizzy, and considering the fact that you wanted a girls' night, I find this behaviour to be somewhat anomalous," Catherine observed. "So perhaps you should stop trying to pick a fight with me and instead tell us what is really bothering you."
Elizabeth looked much struck before her mask of angry annoyance crumbed to be replaced by worry. "I'm sorry, Kitty," Elizabeth breathed out. "I'm taking my shit out on you," she admitted as Catherine lifted an imperious eyebrow. "I…" she bit her lip before taking another gulp of wine, "it's me and Leo."
Gwendolyn found herself clutching her glass of wine a little more tightly.
"Lizzy?" Sabrina prompted as she placed a hand upon her friend's shoulder. "I thought things were good between ye?"
Elizabeth studied her glass and shrugged. "Things are really good."
"But?" Sabrina prompted.
"But…I want more," she whispered miserably.
"More?" Sabrina wondered.
Elizabeth answered Sabrina. "I feel shitty being all bitchy about this 'cause you've had to deal with this shit for far longer than I have, and I love having you as a roommate, but… I'm tired of feeling like Leo's just crashing here, or I'm crashing at the lair, and our lives are still just…separate and it doesn't feel like it's ever going to change and if it doesn't…" her voice trailed off.
"Lizzy," Sabrina began her eyes wide with shock, "Ye cannae be thinkin' o' breakin' up with Leo?" she asked with breathless intensity.
"I know we've only been together for nine months which is like a drop in the bucket compared to you and Mikey and your almost two years, but this is the longest I've ever been in a relationship and I know Leo's like, the one, but I can't live the rest of my life without... I want us to have a home together," she explained. "And I…I can't even talk to him about it," she finished miserably as she polished off her glass of wine and poured another glass.
Elizabeth turned her attention to Catherine. "Cat, I'm just jealous that…that you and Raph live together. Sabrina and I are both on the same shitty ride and I'm pretty sure I want to get off," Elizabeth explained miserably.
Catherine made no reply and Elizabeth didn't appear to be waiting for one.
"Lizzy," Sabrina protested. "As someone who's been on this ride longer than ye have, I ken what ye are feelin' but I think that ye should jist talk tae Leo."
"There's no talking to him, you know that," Elizabeth seethed. "Leo doesn't feel comfortable actually living here and with this place," she motioned with her hand encompassing the room, "he doesn't like the thought of us living-" she paused her eyes flicking to Gwendolyn before continuing, "where they live," she amended. "He can't handle the thought of us living there and no matter how many times I explain to him that we are totally okay with it, he won't listen. He thinks our worlds aren't supposed to mix. If I bring it up, it will only reinforce his idea that we were just fooling ourselves into believing it could work."
Sabrina bit her lip and looked into her wineglass
Gwendolyn looked back and forth between the two women, not quite able to fully appreciate the situation. If Catherine and Raphael lived together, she didn't understand why Sabrina and Mikey and Leo and Elizabeth couldn't as well.
"Mikey is gonnae move in here," Sabrina admitted hesitantly.
"What!" Elizabeth gasped.
"I shouldae asked ye, I'm sorry. It's yer house-"
"Leo said yes?" Elizabeth asked in shock, completely ignoring Sabrina's contrition.
"Well…" Sabrina's words trailed off. "Mikey is gonnae talk tae him."
"So that's a no," Elizabeth huffed out despondently.
"After Raph and Cat leave, he was going tae tell him that he's moving oot."
"Leo'll never let him," Elizabeth said morosely.
"He cannae-" Sabrina began, her eyes flashing with frustrated anger.
"He can and will," Elizabeth shot back. "Leo's the oldest and his word is law and I'm sorry, but Mikey can't stand up to him and-"
"Lizzy," Catherine interrupted, her voice -though soft- managing to silence her sister with the cadence, "If you had the choice, where would you live?' she questioned. "Here or the lair?"
Elizabeth turned her attention back to her sister. "Honestly?" she asked. Catherine gave a nod. "I like it here," she admitted. "I like the rooms and the kitchen and the backyard. I like my art room in the basement and this theatre room."
"But?" Catherine prompted.
"Leo is more attached to the lair than I am to this place. He's comfortable there. The dojo is there and his meditation room and the memories of his father, so I would be okay with living in the lair with him."
"And you, Sabrina?" she asked. "Where would you choose to live?"
"I dinnae care. The lair or here, it's all the same tae me. But I think if Lizzy and Leo were there, I would rather be here with Mikey, only because the lair would feel a bit crowded," she admitted. "But I dinnae know if I could afford the rent on this place if Lizzy left."
"I was not aware that you were paying rent," Catherine observed.
Sabrina blushed. "I'm no', but I dinnae think that if Lizzy left, that you would let me an' Mikey live here for free."
"Well," Elizabeth cut in before Catherine could answer Sabrina's monetary concern, "it doesn't matter because neither of us will ever be able to move in with our boyfriends anyway," she finished petulantly.
"It sounds as if it is time for you to deal with your relationship issues, Lizzy," Catherine observed.
"Cat, you know-"
"I know," Catherine interjected, "Leonardo is stubborn, obstinate and when you go against his will and wound his pride, then all of his walls go up and he can be quite fearsome and it will cause him to dig in his heels and become all noble and self-sacrificing, but you need to repress your first instinct to take the easy way out and run away and instead have an adult conversation with your boyfriend about where exactly your relationship is going."
"And when Leo shuts me down and tells me that he's going to end things with me for my own good and that he can't give me the life I deserve, then what?" she asked, her voice confrontational and angry.
"Then you will have to decide if you are going to give up, or if your relationship, your future with Leonardo, is worth fighting for," Catherine replied calmly.
"And if it is, then what?" she asked in frustration. "How am I supposed to convince him that all I care about is being with him and that all I want is for him to feel the same way?"
"Well, you never know, Lizzy," Catherine mused, "Leo could surprise you."
Elizabeth glowered darkly at her sister's words.
"He's changed a lot since you two have been together," Catherine defended, "and for the better, I might add. You might not even have to persuade him. It is possible that he feels the same way and that he wants to move your relationship forward as well."
"And if he does want the same thing but I can't change his mind?" Elizabeth asked bitingly.
"Then we send in the big guns!" Sabrina exclaimed.
"The big guns?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.
"It's no' jist yer happiness that's at stake here, Lizzy," Sabrina explained. "If Leo decides to be an arse, then we send in Cat."
Catherine lifted an inquiring eyebrow.
Elizabeth looked annoyed but didn't seem willing to discount the option that had been suggested. "Fine," she finally agreed. "If Leo decides to be all stubborn and noble, we'll get Cat to have a nice 'friendly chat' with him."
"You say chat like it has quotation marks around it," Catherine objected.
"I've never seen Leo walk away from any confrontation you've had with him unscathed," Elizabeth observed wryly.
Catherine did not reply to this charge and instead said, "I don't think I agreed to go toe to toe with Leonardo on your behalves."
"We wouldnea ask ye if we were no' desperate," Sabrina said with a shake of her head. "And yer the only one who can tell Leo what to do."
"I-" Catherine responded before she was interrupted.
"Please, Cat," Elizabeth begged as she clasped her hands together and Sabrina copied the entreaty.
Catherine let out a huff of air. "Alright," she grudgingly agreed.
Both women cheered at Catherine's words.
"If he wasnae standin' in the way o' me an' Mikey, I'd almost feel sorry for 'im." Sabrina said with a chuckle.
"I'm only going to talk with him, not-" Catherine began to protest before Elizabeth interrupted.
"Come on, Cat, it's Leo," Elizabeth added knowingly, "he's going to say something to piss you off and then you'll go all Ice Queen on his ass."
Catherine sighed and shook her head. "Lizzy, you know I don't like-"
"-abusing your power," Elizabeth supplied, "I know. But it's for his own good and the good of Sabrina and Mikey as well."
"Fine," Catherine conceded. "But only, and this is a big stipulation, if you try your very best to convince Leonardo on your own first. My interference will only be at the point where Leonardo has decided to put you at an impasse."
"Deal!"
"And no sabotaging it. If you do, I'll know," Catherine warned.
"Promise," Elizabeth said as she crossed her finger over her heart.
Sabrina lifted her glass, "Tae Oor Ice Queen," Sabrina toasted as Elizabeth raised her glass. "An' a moment of respective silence for Leo, may he not be an arse and if he is, may he come back withoot frostbite," she sniggered as Elizabeth laughed.
"I'm not toasting that," Catherine said depressingly, but she wore a smile indicating that she was amused.
Gwendolyn raised her glass in toast and took a deep gulp of her wine, the warmth spreading throughout her body indicating that she had perhaps drank a little more than was strictly prudent, but she had been rather caught up in the dramatics that were unfolding before her.
Reflecting upon what she had gleaned from the conversation she learned that Catherine really had broken Donatello's heart by leaving him for Raphael, and though she wished she could hate the other woman for it, she found that she really couldn't.
Hate was a strong word and an even darker emotion and since Donatello did not hate her, she found that she couldn't hate her either.
If Catherine loved Raphael enough to leave Donatello for him, then she could only be glad that she had let Donatello go and not led him on. Both appeared to have parted on good terms and though Donatello still seemed to have feelings for Catherine, he appeared to be determined to move on.
Catherine seemed genuinely concerned for Donatello's happiness and welfare. This didn't mean Gwendolyn was in complete and total charity with her, but she was willing to like her.
As for Elizabeth and Sabrina being unable to move in with their respective boyfriends, she had been lost in that particular conversation.
She didn't understand why Leonardo would be so dead-set against moving in with Elizabeth or having Elizabeth move in with him and why he would prevent Mikey from doing the same with Sabrina.
However, it was the last part of the conversation that had confused her the most.
Elizabeth had stated that Leonardo's word was law, which she didn't quite understand and she was truthfully having problems wrapping her inebriated brain around the idea that Catherine had the ability to overrule him.
Was Catherine actually their Queen?
Sabrina and Elizabeth had both called Catherine the Ice Queen, but…that sounded too preposterous, even in the context of mutant turtles.
And it wasn't as if she could come out and just ask. It was too embarrassing. But she couldn't deny that there had been way too many references to Catherine being called Queen to dismiss it.
Her best course of action would be to assume she was until someone told her otherwise.
Focusing back on the conversation at hand, Elizabeth was planning a strategy for how to approach Leonardo, and after a few moments, Gwendolyn realized that Catherine's attention was not focused upon her sister, but was instead firmly fixed upon her.
Trying not to be disturbed by this, it wasn't long before Elizabeth's voice trailed off and she followed her sister's gaze.
"Why are we talking about me?" Elizabeth suddenly asked.
"I believe it is a favourite topic of yours," Catherine smoothly observed and Elizabeth easily ignored the dig.
"We are supposed to be pumping Gwen for info about her and Donny!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Aye," Sabrina agreed. "'Tis yer fault, Lizzy," Sabrina accused, but her voice was light and teasing. "Ye got distracted an' sidetracked all of us from juicy gossip."
Gwendolyn felt her cheeks warm and her antagonism towards Catherine flare as three sets of eyes settled upon her.
Feeling very much like the rabbit she was dressed up as, with the surrounding women the predators, hungry for gossip, Gwendolyn braced herself for the incoming onslaught.
"Have you two had sex yet?" Elizabeth asked bluntly and Gwendolyn choked on her wine.
"Och, Lizzy. They havnae even had a date where someone else was no' there," Sabrina said, giving Gwendolyn a pat on the back, as if this would somehow clear her airway.
"Then Gwen seriously needs to get Donny alone. And wear the dress you were wearing today, you'll get him in the sack quick enough," Elizabeth asserted.
Gwendolyn recovered from her coughing fit, but felt unequal to the task of responding to Elizabeth's blunt suggestion.
"Not everyone is interested in jumping into bed after the first date, El," Catherine pointed out.
Elizabeth only shrugged. "Her loss," she said before giving an ear to ear grin. "But just a warning, once you go mutant turtle, you can't ever go back," she leered as she raised her wine glass in a mock salute.
"I cannae argue with tha'," Sabrina giggled as she struck Elizabeth's wine glass lightly with her own.
Feeling her face burning with embarrassment, a buzzing sound caught the attention of the assembled women.
"Someone's here," Elizabeth said as she hopped up.
"Wonder if it's Casey and April or the guys?" Sabrina asked as she too stood up.
Catherine's eyes caught Gwendolyn's as she scrambled up off the floor. "Saved by the bell," Catherine mused with a wink. "Enjoy the reprieve while you can," she said with a chuckle.
Gwendolyn followed Sabrina and Elizabeth from the theatre room, Catherine seeming content to stay where she was.
Giving one last glance at the younger woman over her shoulder, Gwendolyn made her way down to the main floor as nervousness, apprehension, embarrassment and excitement all warring within her at the sound of Donatello's voice drifting down the hallway.
I know, evil author. And I know, no Gwen/Donny action, but a little girl time never hurt anyone;) But don't worry, next chapter, lots of Gwen and Donny time.
