He was waiting outside, a large brown bag in his one good hand, the
prosthetic stuck in his pants pocket. He still hadn't gained full control
over the mechanical arm and tried to use it as little as possible. She
opened the door to let him in and he smiled his grateful thanks. She took
the bag from him, and stepped aside to let him walk by, and led the way
into her kitchen. "Hope you like Chinese." He said, following her inside.
"Love it, thank you." She said, smiling kindly at her, as she removed three plates from her cabinet. He didn't mean to stay, he was just going to drop off the food, but if she was setting a place for him, he wasn't going to object. She pulled out the needed silverware, and set it on the table. "Can you just set that up while I go get Ella?' she asked him, and he nodded his agreement. He arranged the forks along the side of each plate, and stuck a spoon in all of the containers before stepping back and making sure things looked all right.
He found everything to be looking perfect, but double-checked things one last time, knowing that he wanted things to be perfect. He wanted to make sure that this was great, she needed the comfort, she needed someone to just pamper her, she needed someone to smooth things out while she was trying to cope with what was recently dumped upon her, she was trying to cope with the awful reality that she now had to face.
He heard her coming back down the stairs, and put a smile on his face, ready to face her with a grin and a witty word. She needed humor, she needed something to keep her lighthearted about things, she needed to keep her spirits high while they pondered ways to keep her in the country. She came in with Ella bounding at her heels, and the four year old ran headlong at him her arms outstretched as she firmly attached himself to his leg. "Wobet!" the little girl exclaimed, and he just smiled and picked her up, setting her on the chair with the booster seat on it.
Elizabeth smiled at him and sat down, and he took the chair directly opposite of her, as they began to eat. "You really didn't have to do this." She told him, helping herself to the food. He smiled at her from behind his fork as he lifted some food to his lips.
"No, it's fine, it was on my way." It wasn't totally a lie. He could count stopping by her house as on the way home, just only if he went the long way, which wound up being the non-scenic route, going through the city rather than up by the lake. But it did take longer for him to stop by, and they both knew it. But she was touched by the gesture, and he had nothing else to do that night.
"Thank you." She said, honestly with a smile. He smiled back, a rare true smile, one that only she could bring out in him. They found themselves eating in blissful, calm silence, just knowing that they were there for each other. They were both glad to be around each other, knowing that they were comforting each other, he was weak, and now so was she, they were sharing in saving each other. She had been the one to comfort him when he lost his arm, and now he was returning the favor.
Their silence was broken by Ella who decided that she'd had enough to eat, and pushed her plate away a little too forcefully. Elizabeth barely stopped the skidding plate from falling off the table and Robert laughed at the amusingly chaotic scene. Elizabeth glared at him before she lightened up and laughed as well. She scooped up her daughter and got up from her chair. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to put the munchkin here to bed." He nodded as he watched her retreat up the stairs.
She was so beautiful when she did that. He wanted to come right out and tell her how he felt, but he knew how to keep himself in check. She had enough to deal with now; she didn't need him expressing his feelings to her on top of it. She came back down the stairs to find him scraping off Ella's plate and his, and laying them in the sink. "I uh, didn't know if you were finished-," he sounded like a stupid schoolboy. Memories of bad dates in high school flooded back to him.
"No, it's fine, I wasn't really hungry to begin with." He picked up her plate as well, saving her the trouble of cleaning up.
"At least you ate something." He said, dumping her plate in the sink. She chuckled weakly.
"The doctor in you showing through." He laughed with her and stopped only when the phone rang. She walked over and hit the speaker button out of convenience and a harsh voice filled the room.
"Ah, Miss Corday, how nice to hear from you again. It's Norman Keyes." Elizabeth glared at the phone.
"Mr. Keyes, I hope you have good news." She replied, and Romano could hear the evil tone in her voice.
"Ah, I'm sorry to say that I don't. I was just making sure that you were still in the US. You're down to 94 hours Miss Corday, make the most of them." they both heard the phone disconnect. Elizabeth punched the button that hung the phone up on her end. She paled as she retreated back to the couch, and he followed, ready to comfort her if she needed it.
"Love it, thank you." She said, smiling kindly at her, as she removed three plates from her cabinet. He didn't mean to stay, he was just going to drop off the food, but if she was setting a place for him, he wasn't going to object. She pulled out the needed silverware, and set it on the table. "Can you just set that up while I go get Ella?' she asked him, and he nodded his agreement. He arranged the forks along the side of each plate, and stuck a spoon in all of the containers before stepping back and making sure things looked all right.
He found everything to be looking perfect, but double-checked things one last time, knowing that he wanted things to be perfect. He wanted to make sure that this was great, she needed the comfort, she needed someone to just pamper her, she needed someone to smooth things out while she was trying to cope with what was recently dumped upon her, she was trying to cope with the awful reality that she now had to face.
He heard her coming back down the stairs, and put a smile on his face, ready to face her with a grin and a witty word. She needed humor, she needed something to keep her lighthearted about things, she needed to keep her spirits high while they pondered ways to keep her in the country. She came in with Ella bounding at her heels, and the four year old ran headlong at him her arms outstretched as she firmly attached himself to his leg. "Wobet!" the little girl exclaimed, and he just smiled and picked her up, setting her on the chair with the booster seat on it.
Elizabeth smiled at him and sat down, and he took the chair directly opposite of her, as they began to eat. "You really didn't have to do this." She told him, helping herself to the food. He smiled at her from behind his fork as he lifted some food to his lips.
"No, it's fine, it was on my way." It wasn't totally a lie. He could count stopping by her house as on the way home, just only if he went the long way, which wound up being the non-scenic route, going through the city rather than up by the lake. But it did take longer for him to stop by, and they both knew it. But she was touched by the gesture, and he had nothing else to do that night.
"Thank you." She said, honestly with a smile. He smiled back, a rare true smile, one that only she could bring out in him. They found themselves eating in blissful, calm silence, just knowing that they were there for each other. They were both glad to be around each other, knowing that they were comforting each other, he was weak, and now so was she, they were sharing in saving each other. She had been the one to comfort him when he lost his arm, and now he was returning the favor.
Their silence was broken by Ella who decided that she'd had enough to eat, and pushed her plate away a little too forcefully. Elizabeth barely stopped the skidding plate from falling off the table and Robert laughed at the amusingly chaotic scene. Elizabeth glared at him before she lightened up and laughed as well. She scooped up her daughter and got up from her chair. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to put the munchkin here to bed." He nodded as he watched her retreat up the stairs.
She was so beautiful when she did that. He wanted to come right out and tell her how he felt, but he knew how to keep himself in check. She had enough to deal with now; she didn't need him expressing his feelings to her on top of it. She came back down the stairs to find him scraping off Ella's plate and his, and laying them in the sink. "I uh, didn't know if you were finished-," he sounded like a stupid schoolboy. Memories of bad dates in high school flooded back to him.
"No, it's fine, I wasn't really hungry to begin with." He picked up her plate as well, saving her the trouble of cleaning up.
"At least you ate something." He said, dumping her plate in the sink. She chuckled weakly.
"The doctor in you showing through." He laughed with her and stopped only when the phone rang. She walked over and hit the speaker button out of convenience and a harsh voice filled the room.
"Ah, Miss Corday, how nice to hear from you again. It's Norman Keyes." Elizabeth glared at the phone.
"Mr. Keyes, I hope you have good news." She replied, and Romano could hear the evil tone in her voice.
"Ah, I'm sorry to say that I don't. I was just making sure that you were still in the US. You're down to 94 hours Miss Corday, make the most of them." they both heard the phone disconnect. Elizabeth punched the button that hung the phone up on her end. She paled as she retreated back to the couch, and he followed, ready to comfort her if she needed it.