Wennie woke up that morning with a bitch of a headache, yet she was still optimistic for the day despite this inconvenience. In one night she had gained a good amount of her memories, as well as a little bit more insight into what made Thranduil tick. She pushed the covers back and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, silently debating on skipping her first morning class in lieu of catching up on her work.

'If I skip, I can knock out a couple of the drafts for those papers,' she thought. 'It's not like we aren't reviewing content for the final anyway, and I do better cramming by myself...'

She looked over at the bedside table, seeing her phone had a blinking notification. Reaching for it, Wennie tapped the screen with her thumb. It was a text message from Legolas. Just seeing the name made her smile like a giddy teenager, even though she tried to repress it. She was far too old to giggle like a schoolgirl over a message, even if it was from her mate.

"Going in to work for the day. Have a good day at school, melamin. I love you and cannot wait until we speak again- Legolas," she read aloud, finding that she was smiling even bigger. "Okay, not a bad way to start the day."

But what did 'melamin' mean? It was something that was going to bug her all morning if she didn't figure it out.

"You want to know what what means?" Bernard looked at Wennie quizzically from across the table.

"Melamin," Wennie said slowly. "I think I pronounced it right. Here, see-" she held the phone out to Bernard to show him the text message. "-that word. What does that mean?"

Bernard took the phone and studied it for a few minutes before passing it back across the table. "Knowing Legolas, it could be a term of endearment. It's not within our language. In fact, the closest word in our language to that is 'melleth-nin', which translates to 'my love'."

Wennie blushed, "Oh." She'd have to ask Legolas one of these days where he came up with 'melamin' if he didn't feel that 'melleth-nin' got the point across good enough.

"So tell me this, Ithilwen," Bernard reclined in his seat, giving her a pointed look, "Why aren't you in class right now?"

"I skipped it."

"You skipped it. Why?"

A new voice approached their table. "Because it's lame?"

"No," Wennie turned to see Jack and Esther pull up chairs. "I skipped class this morning so I could work on my papers."

"And hanging out in the cafeteria is the way to do that," Jack commented, reaching across and sneaking a french fry from Wennie's tray.

Esther swatted at his hand. "I'll get you food, Jack! Don't go taking Wennie's!"

"Hang about," Jack stood up briefly to pull a few bills from his pocket to give to his girlfriend. "Just get whatever looks good for all of us."

Esther went over to get in line, and Bernard followed to assist her. Wennie looked over at Jack and said, "I have food."

"Not enough. I heard about what you've been doing to yourself, Wen."

"And how did you know about that?"

"Because you forget - my fiance likes to talk." Jack grinned. "A lot. And you were her fitness-buddy these past few weeks, too."

Wennie sighed through her nose as she balled up a scrap piece of paper. It seemed like everybody and their brother was on her case about this excessive weight loss. Legolas would probably be next if he heard about it, which was a good possibility. Thranduil was almost as much of a gossip as Esther, she had learned.

"So are you ready for finals, Jack?" she asked, changing the subject.

He shrugged. "About as ready as I'm gonna be. You?" When she gave him a dirty look and motioned to the pile of papers in front of her, he looked sheepish. "Right."

"If I had more time off in the evenings I could get this done," she griped. "I just got back into the night shift as it is; if I ask for time off I'll likely get cut altogether."

Jack had been flipping through one of Wennie's books she had left on the table as she talked. He knew it would be suicide to suggest quitting her waitressing job; Esther had also told him she hadn't responded well to it already. Still, he had to say something. "Look, I'm not going to give you the 'just quit and be happier' speech, cause I've been informed you don't take kindly to the advice of your fellow classmates. It's your decision, Wennie. Whatever you want to do, you do. We're your friends, and we'll be here to support you no matter what."

Wennie had been surprised by Jack's admission. It wasn't like him to talk so seriously about the future, unless it had anything to do with Esther. "Thanks Jack," she told him, noticing that her cousin and his fiance were coming back with food. "I won't tell anyone you have a logical side."

"That would be illogical," he said in a neutral voice.

"So we're now on Mister Spock?" Bernard looked to Esther, who shrugged.

"After Halloween, the Frozen jokes weren't nearly as funny. His old neighbor back in Virginia threatened to kick his ass over the phone when Jack called on the first. Asked him if he wanted a build a snowman right after they got a surprise freeze."

That afternoon when Wennie went into Cogs and Coins, she was feeling accomplished, and a little proud of herself. Having skipped only the classes where she knew the material well enough to warrant not appearing for the review, she was able to write a complete draft of each paper required. She would have to double-back and check for inconsistencies and formatting it properly, but that would be a cakewalk compared to writing it. For her group research requirements, she was able to gather enough material to deem feasible. After work she would look over the notes and pick what she felt was most appropriate before forwarding it to her groups' leaders.

Things were good. Things were under control.

Wennie had texted Legolas back during her lunch break, telling him that things were great. She still couldn't tell him that she 'loved' him at the end of the message, but that was to be expected. She did add on as an afterthought that she had dreamt about him again, and looked forward to talking about it with him. She had turned her phone off as she arrived at the restaurant, tucking it in her bag that she stashed in the office. Bernard had dropped her off, telling her that even though they were in California, he still didn't want her walking so far at the end of November.

She donned her apron, checked to make sure her notepad and pens were tucked inside, and entered the chaos she called work. One of the newer girls, Ella, had asked Wennie the day before if she could come in a little earlier. Wennie had agreed, understanding that Ella had an appointment that she couldn't miss, and she wouldn't be in until almost an hour after her shift began. It would mean double the tables she'd have to watch, but that wasn't anything new.

The routine was the same. Clear the empty tables, check on customers, deliver the bills, take orders, etc. The difference was that many of the regulars weren't coming in as frequently as they used to, which was a suspected consequence of Rick's behavior. In their place were waves of more obnoxious individuals and groups, the kind that every person who has ever worked in the food industry catered to. They believed that they were always right, and would not hesitate in subjecting the poor soul that was waiting on them to torment. Wennie had begun ushering the newer girls to the regular customers as soon as she got on the night shift again, not wanting to make their first work experiences awful. And anyway, she had been the target of Rick's anger for longer. She could handle the customers compared to him.

The sun was going down for the day, and so far, things were still productive at Cogs and Coins. Most of the staff that evening was its 'all star staff', having been there since Terry hired them. They knew the process, and despite the ill-manners of some customers and the lack of training with the newest waitresses, things were running smoothly. It was almost like Terry had never left.

The sound of the back door of the restaurant banging open made everyone around Wennie jump, and she was immensely thankful for having just set the glass of wine down on the table. It echoed through the main part of the restaurant, so she could only cringe at what kind of sound it made in the back. 'Or what kind of damage was done.'

Wennie excused herself to check on another table and to take their order. She passed the order over to Gene by hand as she went back to the office. The door was left wide open as she entered, making a b-line for the supply cabinet in the far corner. Her ink pen had finally run out of ink, and her notepad was nearing its last few sheets, so she quickly grabbed one of each and tucked them into the pocket of her apron. She thought it was strange for Rick to leave the office door open, but then with the sound of his entrance, it was likely that he was darting in and out. 'Best get the hell out of dodge.'

Avoiding the boss would have been simple if he hadn't somehow appeared on the floor without her knowing, which was amazing as he was currently screaming at Ella, who had entered the restaurant from the front doors. The poor girl was near tears as she grasped her apron and purse in her arms, visibly shrinking back from his verbal abuse. He had been yelling about her being late, about why she shouldn't be coming in from the front door, and how stupid could she possibly be to think she could slip past his radar.

Regardless of the reasons, it was enough for Wennie to see red.

"Rick!" she blurted out, dashing around Gene - who had tried to intercept her - and moving with a look in her eyes that was lethal. He had come out to help serve the food, and saw her on the way back to the kitchens, but he wasn't quick enough to stop her from doing something foolish. "Leave her alone!"

Her calling had the desired effect. Rick had turned on the spot to see her approach. "This is none of your concern, Sioda. Get back to your job."

"You're damned right it's not my concern, but I'm making it," she told him bluntly, putting an arm around Ella's shoulders. "Ella's late because she had a doctor's appointment that couldn't be missed. She called me yesterday to ask if I could cover her until she came in, and since my shift started a half hour after hers, I told her I would."

"I don't care what her excuse it!" he snapped. "I've had it with you girls thinking you can come and go as you please! This isn't Terry you're dealing with!"

Ella had begun to cry now. "I was late because I was being told I miscarried!"

Wennie froze, as did everyone else in the vicinity. This news was not supposed to be a public announcement, and the topic coupled with how it was drug out of her only made the situation that much worse. She tightened her arm around Ella's shoulders as a means of support, for the poor young woman had begun to visibly shake with her sobs. She had no idea the woman was even pregnant, and now this?

The only person that didn't falter in their response was Rick. "It doesn't matter," he said coldly. "You've come in late for the last time. You're fired."

The only sounds in the building were the appliances at work in the kitchens and the sobbing of Ella. Wennie felt herself begin to shake at Rick's words to the already upset woman. "How dare you," she hissed. "How dare you! Do you have any sense of compassion for your employees?!"

"Watch your mouth, Sioda-"

"No! I won't!" Wennie raised her voice, stepping away from Ella and putting herself between the woman and Rick. "You have belittled everyone that has worked here since the first day you set foot in that back door! Being a boss does not make you superior in people's lives, Rick! I don't know what rotten alley you crawled out of, but that's not how the real world works!"

"Of course it does!" he shot back hotly. "You sniveling women are all alike! You expect us men to drop everything and offer comfort because you've broken a nail! The lot of you bitches may have been Terry's harem when he was in charge, but things have changed - playtime is over! You will obey your superior, Sioda!"

"Maybe if I saw him I would," she sneered. "All I see before me is an over privileged man that thinks because he has a dick it means he can walk all over the rest of us. You forget that women are the child bearers of the world; it wouldn't be hard for us to end the human race if we took a notion!"

"You are out of line, Sioda!" Rick was snarling like a wild animal now. "You women are the entire reason that this world is as fucked up as it is! Asking for equal rights, better pay and all that - perhaps if you kept your mouths shut and stayed on your backs like you were meant to, the world would be a better place!"

A shout from the bar came then. It was Gene. "Fuck you, Rick! Not all men think like you do! Women aren't the breeding stock you seem to think they are!"

"I've got this, Gene!" Wennie fired back at her friend.

Rick turned and rounded on him next. "You're one to talk. You're no more a man than Sioda here, fucking men left and right like some streetside whore. Now get back in the damned kitchen and get to work - and wear gloves! I don't want my customers complaining about getting AIDs in their food!"

There were collective gasps around the restaurant, and more to follow as Gene yelled "You sonofabitch!" as he cleared the bar counter like a hurdle and ran at Rick. Ella continued to sob behind Wennie, and the sudden commotion only made her cry worse. People began to dive out of the way as Gene neared the manager, hands balled into fists and looking to fight.

"GENE! NO!" Wennie shouted, diving in front of Rick to place her hands on her friend's chest. "If you hit him you'll go to jail!"

"It'd be worth it!" Gene spat, pushing against her hands. "Now stop protecting him and let me go!"

"I'm not protecting him," Wennie said with authority. "I'm saving you. And I'm telling you to stand down. Now!"

Gene continued to flare his nostrils in agitation as Wennie glared at him, but moments passed and he finally quit pushing against her. His expression never faltered however, and she had a feeling that whatever he planned to do would likely be a felony if he acted on it. When she was sure she could turn around, she spun on her heel to see Rick looking smug once more, feeling that he had won the battle.

"One bitch standing in for another bitch," he sneered, staring down his nose at her. "Like I said, you women are all alike."

Wennie's jaw clenched, and she wished she had let Gene at him. It would be pointless though, because Gene would take the brunt of the consequences while Rick would continue on about his merry way. "So because I stand up for my coworkers makes me a bitch?" she asked lightly. "If that's the case, then yes, I am a bitch. And I'm proud of it," she added, "because these people are my colleagues. We run a simple system called respect, and it works, not this dictatorship that you've brought to Cogs and Coins."

"It works in other countries," Rick stated. "There's no reason why it should not work here in America-"

"No, you don't get it Rick. Before you came here, we had an established routine. Business was good, and the customers respected us. They enjoyed our services, and continued to come back often. Since you arrived, we've steadily lost those regular customers for the worst that lack the simple manners that you can't comprehend! You've let go some of our oldest workers because they don't fit in your age range, simply for that reason! You've brought in new girls who don't have the courage to admit that they need training! For fuck's sake, you've ordered us girls to work ourselves to anorexic states just to keep our jobs! This isn't a place or work anymore, Rick! This is a visible sweatshop that makes food!"

Wennie stopped in her rant to look around her. From over Rick's shoulder, she could see Ella trying to calm herself, but the tears continued to flow down her cheeks. The tables of customers that had witnessed the whole ordeal could only look back with mixed expressions. Some were in agreement with her statements, others looked disdainfully at her. She turned her head to see that Gene's expression hadn't faltered in the least. Was being independent worth this? Was it worth the stress of being screamed at by a disrespectful manager? To subject her body to a misshapen form of what it naturally was not? To feel like a fourth-rate human being that wasn't good enough to perform basic functions?

"You know what? I don't need this." The words came out of her mouth so calmly that it was downright frightening to some of the customers. Wennie removed the apron from around her waist and tossed it on the empty table nearby. "You want to run a dictatorship of a restaurant for a bunch of customers like yourself? Fine. I'm through."

Rick could only stand there and sputter over his words. "You can't quit!"

"I just did." Wennie raised her eyebrows as if to say, 'What a concept!'.

"I-I'm leaving too," Ella stuttered, wiping her face and moved to stand beside Gene. "I've h-had enough s-stress in my life that I c-can't control..."

"You ain't the only one, hun," Gene consoled her gently. Then he looked at Rick. "I'm out as well. And contrary to popular belief, AIDs isn't an airborne disease. Ignorance, it seems, is."

Wennie didn't wait around for Rick to form another protest to her decision. Her feet carried her back to the office, where she collected her belongings and returned to stand beside Gene. Reaching into her purse she pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab lightly at Ella's cheeks as more and more of the "old" staff joined them. She looked up in alarm to see so many of them, and from the collected purses and phones in hands, they were all in agreement.

"And who is going to cook the food?!" Some customer shouted rather rudely at Wennie.

"I don't care," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "If you can continue to sit there and put money in this man's pocket for the things that have been said this evening, then you are just as vile."

There was murmured conversation at many of the booths as the former staff walked past Rick and out the front doors of Cogs and Coins. Rick could only watch, stunned as some of the best-paying customers got up from their seats and left, whether there was food on the table or not. Some of them had placed orders before the storm had taken place, but they weren't about to wait around. The atmosphere and the treatment of the staff wasn't worth feigning ignorance over what they witnessed.

Wennie walked slowly up the stairs to her apartment, mind still reeling over the thoughts of what transpired earlier. Not only had she stood up to Rick - finally - but she had done what everyone around her wanted her to do in the first place. She quit her job.

The whole concept was mind boggling, as she had never walked away from any challenge before since Angela had passed away. In her mind she was a big girl and could face anything with enough determination, and her foster mother had always said she was stubborn to a fault. From what she had been seeing in her recovered memories this was a trait that went back to her former life as well.

'Six years,' she thought. 'I was a waitress for six years, and in maybe twenty minutes it was gone. How do I deal with this?' Wennie unlocked and entered her apartment silently, hoping that neither Thranduil nor Galion would have heard her come home. They would want her to come eat, and she needed time. 'To do what, exactly? To think?' Tossing her keys on the coffee table, she looked around the living room. In her haste that morning she had left a lot of school materials scattered across the couch, which she set about tidying.

After the majority of the staff had walked out of the restaurant, it was deemed appropriate that they have one last hurrah and dine out as a group. For some of them, like Wennie, this would likely be the last time in a long while that they would get to eat out. Wennie had gotten a ride with Gene over to the chosen establishment, and had called Bernard to tell him where she would be. He had asked her why she wasn't at Cogs and Coins, but she wouldn't say more than that Gene would be dropping her off. She figured he probably knew from the tone of her voice.

It had been a nice outing, even if the circumstances were less than desirable. None of them had wanted to leave, having grown into the place, they had found it a source of comfort. The stress, however, was not something any of them felt was worth staying. Wagers had even been taken as to when Victor would find out about the sudden drop in staff, with the winner getting the benefit of homemade dinner for a week. Wennie declined to play in the game, feeling that if she had won that Galion would be offended. The older ellon had taken it upon himself to feed her overly-filling meals since he had learned she was severely underweight.

After the living room was back in its proper place, Wennie dropped down onto the couch with a sigh. "What do I do now?" she asked the empty room. A sudden beeping from her phone caught her attention, and she tapped the screen to read the new message.

It read, "Are you home?". It was from Legolas.

"Yes," she said in reply.

"Will you come online?" was his next text. "I want to see you".

"Be right there". With that note, Wennie scrambled across the room to get to her laptop and start it up. This hasn't been the first time that Legolas has asked her through text to get online, and he had seen it as a personal challenge when she had mistakenly answered "Just a sec" in the past. The system logo would be going away to reveal the desktop and he would call her to ask why she wasn't in the chatroom. It was his way of teasing her, she quickly discovered.

"There you are, melamin," Legolas said with a smile. "I was about to call you-"

"I figured," Wennie grinned. "What's up?"

"I wanted to see you," he replied. "How was school today?"

Wennie had forgotten that Legolas could see the weird faces she made on the webcam again as she responded. "Well...I might have skipped my first classes of the day to catch up on some of my final papers. But it's okay! I know the material in that class, so I should do fine on the exam!"

Legolas couldn't help but laugh. "You do what you need to, Ithilwen. Just make sure you're ready for your tests. That's what matters. How was work tonight?" He thought it would be good to switch topics, but the slightly pained expression on her face told otherwise. "Ithilwen? Did something happen at work? Did the manager dock your hours again?"

"You...you could say that..."

"Ithilwen, what happened?"

She sighed. "It's a bit of a story-"

"I have all the time you need, love."

There was no getting out of it now. "Okay," she sighed again. "Do you remember when I told you that Rick had cut my hours a few weeks ago? Well...I didn't say why, exactly..." Wennie launched into the story of Rick's new regulations for the employees and the lengths that she had gone to to meet the requirements, and through the webcam window she could see a barely contained rage in Legolas' eyes.

"That...that...boy...has no right to deem what is an acceptable model for any employee!" he snarled. "Ithilwen, I know you hate hearing this, but I think you should le-"

"You don't have to tell me anymore, Legolas!" Wennie said loud enough to talk over him. "It's over and done with!"

"What?"

"I quit," she told him. "Earlier this evening. I stepped in to help out one of the new girls, filling in for her shift while she was at an appointment, and when she came in Rick laid into her." Wennie was rambling quickly as she brushed the loose hair out of her eyes. "It turns out she had had a miscarriage, and then Rick chose to fire her on the spot. I stepped in and gave him my opinion of his entire stint at the restaurant, and then it just snowballed from there. Gene got after him, and then Rick made some ignorant insinuations and Gene would have probably killed him if I didn't stop him. And keep in mind this is in the middle of the dinner hour, and the place was pretty full! Basically, I just told him that it wasn't worth the stress it became, and I quit." She let out a small laugh, adding, "Or perhaps I should say we all quit. The majority of the staff walked out right there!"

"You're joking."

"Nope," Wennie shook her head with a manic grin. "I don't know what to do now, Legolas! I worked there for six years and now I'm jobless!"

On her screen Legolas rested his chin in his hands as he studied her. "I have a suggestion," he mumbled, "but I don't think that you'd want to hear it."

"I'm still in college, Legolas," Wennie said, already knowing what his suggestion was. At the moment though, the idea was sorely tempting. "But, you know..." she said slowly, twisting her hair in nervousness, "I did have something I wanted to ask you."

Legolas looked at her curiously. "What is it, love?"

Wennie bit her lip, a light blush coming up in her cheeks. "If...uh...if that offer to come visit you is still open... I'd like to take you up on it."

Eyes widened slightly, Legolas slowly began to grin from ear to ear. "Really? You mean that?"

"Yes," she smiled, "I want to come see you, Legolas."

-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: And now you know the answer, though I bet some of you guessed it already! ;) So Wennie's going to spend Christmas with Legolas! And she quit her job! Now for a poll - if you've read both this and Call Me Maybe - which was the bigger weenie, Rick or Payne? Both had different plots obviously, but as far as complete asshattery, which one do you think was worse?

I'll keep this short as we've gotten a bunch of snow/sleet/freezing rain mixture overnight, and I don't know if there's a chance our internet will mess up, much less the power. Good news so far is that there aren't any reported outages! Now as long as we don't lose the electricity or have the pipes freeze again we'll be good and I can write more. If you got hit with the winter storms lately, I feel your pain and I hope you're getting by alright. If you're in warm places, could you FedEx us some of that weather, please?