December 18 (still)
Old Gotham Docks......
Reese and Elisa huddled together near the fire, trying in vain to keep the chill at bay. "I don't know what's scarier," Elisa commented wryly as she stared into the flames. "The fact that I don't notice the stench any more, or that I can actually drink this sludge they call coffee."
Reese chuckled quietly, making sure not to disturb any of the other residents. "How about not being concerned with the fact that we can't feel half our body?" he added.
"Or that we've only had about three hours of sleep the past two days and we haven't gone postal yet."
"I think that sludge is the only thing keeping us sane right now," Reese grinned. "So what was you're last undercover op?"
"You mean besides trying to track these damn guns down? Homicide had a nut job that had something against bouncers in strip clubs."
Reese looked funny at her. "So how did you come into play?"
Elisa grinned at the memory. "Homicide figured out where their boy was most likely to hit next, so we replaced the real bouncers with a couple of our own big boys. Matt- my partner- was the bartender, homicide had a couple of their own guys in there as 'patrons', and a couple of girls from Vice volunteered to be waitresses. I was Lady Elizabeth, Mistress of the Club," Elisa giggled.
"Tell me you didn't..." Reese broke off trying to restrain his laughing.
"Oh yeah," Elisa answered with a wicked grin. "And they even let me keep the outfit after the bust."
"I can't believe what some of you ladies put up with- especially those in Vice," he told her with sincere respectfulness.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I've seen some of our best women put on a skimpy outfit, strut in front of her co-workers while undercover, and put up with being manhandled by some drunk until they can make a bust. I mean it's not like you see the guys facing public embarrassment like that on a regular basis."
Elisa thought about that and shrugged. "I guess it was embarrassing my first couple of times, but I think it was mostly nerves. I mean here you have to go out there, and you hardly have anywhere to put your gun" she chuckled quietly.
Reese arched an eyebrow and grinned. "So where DO you put your gun?"
Elisa answered him with an elbow to the ribs. "Getting back to your comment though- I don't think we really find it embarrassing though. Sure, we usually have to endure a week or two of teasing after an op like that. And of course the rest of the women hate us because of our good looks," she said with a lopsided smirk. "But we still kick ass like the rest of you guys do...and we can do it half naked," she stated proudly.
"And you get to keep the costume," Reese added.
Elisa's grin was slowly replaced by a wistful look as she stared into the fire for a few quiet seconds. "Too bad I never get to use them for a special occasion," she sighed as she crumpled her Styrofoam cup and tossed it into the fire.
Reese was silent for a few minutes, and then finally shifted. "So, um, you and Goliath....?" he asked gingerly.
Elisa's breath stilled for a second, and then she cleared her throat. "He's become one of my best friends over the past several years," she finally answered. "I mean, we spent all that time together with Angela and Bronx, saving each others asses. If I wasn't already a member of the Clan, I sure as hell was after that trip."
Reese wasn't buying the neutral answer however. "Just Clan huh?" he asked, a skeptical look on his face.
Elisa shifted, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah. Like I said, friends."
Reese just continued to look at her, and she fidgeted a bit more. "Huh."
"Huh what?" she asked defensively.
"Well I was pretty sure you were ready to kick Helena's ass for flirting with Goliath after that spar the first night," he said flippantly. "But if you two are just friends, then I guess Helena's constantly flirting nature wouldn't really bother you. Especially given the fact that she's fascinated by him, and we've been out here for two days."
She tried not to fall for the bait. But exhaustion and jealousy finally won out and she slid a concerned look sideways. "You two are together though, right?" she asked trying to sound casual.
Reese just shrugged his shoulders non-committaly. "We used to be. I'd like to think that now that she's actually talking to me, we can pick up where we left off. But Helena has some huge issues to deal with in her life. Commitment being one of them."
"You...um...don't think she would really.....?" Elisa asked, berating herself for how uncertain and fearful she suddenly sounded.
Reese finally chuckled. "Nah, she thought you two made a great couple too," he told her teasingly.
Anger and embarrassment raced though Elisa, and she glared at him even as the tension left her body. "That was low," she pouted.
"You've been talking about the Clan and Goliath for the past two days. I got tired of dancing around the subject."
"Yeah , but not everyone is cool with the fact that I've fallen in love with a seven foot tall creature that isn't exactly human."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Helena isn't your average human either," he reminded her. "You got a glimpse of what she's like when she slips into her Huntress mode. That's the person I met and got to know first." Elisa watched his lips turn up in an affectionate smile as he thought back to those first few meetings.
"She was this mysterious, untamed woman who oozed confidence and sensuality like it was second nature. It was several months before I even saw the Helena side of her. She frustrated the hell out of me- still does- but I think I fell for her the first night we met. I love her for who she is.....both sides of her life."
Elisa allowed a soft smile of her own to turn up her lips. "I fell for Goliath the first night we met too- only mine was a little more literal. It took us nearly three years to finally acknowledge our feelings for each other. I just wish life would slow down enough so we could explore our relationship a little better," she told Reese sadly.
Reese blinked surprised. "You mean you two aren't...involved?"
Elisa snorted. "Not that we haven't wanted to. But that would be a huge step for us, and we haven't had enough quiet time over the past few years to really get to that stage of the relationship yet," she told him wryly.
"Huh."
"See there you go with the 'huh' again. What does this one mean?"
"Just that from an outsider's observance, you two look and act like you're married. Elisa I don't think there's much more you two can say or do to get to know each other better. Maybe you should think about what's been really holding you back," he told her seriously. Then he glanced around, noticed everyone was asleep or passed out and stood.
"Looks like we can go sneak around now," he said as he held his hand out to help her up.
She took it, not really hearing what he was saying, as her mind chewed on what he told her a minute ago. She tried to tell herself to let it go for now, she was too tired to really contemplate his advice and she needed to focus on the task at hand. But as they scouted around the desolate train yards and shipping docks, Elisa couldn't help but wonder if she was the one who had been holding up her relationship this whole time.
Old Gotham Docks......
Reese and Elisa huddled together near the fire, trying in vain to keep the chill at bay. "I don't know what's scarier," Elisa commented wryly as she stared into the flames. "The fact that I don't notice the stench any more, or that I can actually drink this sludge they call coffee."
Reese chuckled quietly, making sure not to disturb any of the other residents. "How about not being concerned with the fact that we can't feel half our body?" he added.
"Or that we've only had about three hours of sleep the past two days and we haven't gone postal yet."
"I think that sludge is the only thing keeping us sane right now," Reese grinned. "So what was you're last undercover op?"
"You mean besides trying to track these damn guns down? Homicide had a nut job that had something against bouncers in strip clubs."
Reese looked funny at her. "So how did you come into play?"
Elisa grinned at the memory. "Homicide figured out where their boy was most likely to hit next, so we replaced the real bouncers with a couple of our own big boys. Matt- my partner- was the bartender, homicide had a couple of their own guys in there as 'patrons', and a couple of girls from Vice volunteered to be waitresses. I was Lady Elizabeth, Mistress of the Club," Elisa giggled.
"Tell me you didn't..." Reese broke off trying to restrain his laughing.
"Oh yeah," Elisa answered with a wicked grin. "And they even let me keep the outfit after the bust."
"I can't believe what some of you ladies put up with- especially those in Vice," he told her with sincere respectfulness.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I've seen some of our best women put on a skimpy outfit, strut in front of her co-workers while undercover, and put up with being manhandled by some drunk until they can make a bust. I mean it's not like you see the guys facing public embarrassment like that on a regular basis."
Elisa thought about that and shrugged. "I guess it was embarrassing my first couple of times, but I think it was mostly nerves. I mean here you have to go out there, and you hardly have anywhere to put your gun" she chuckled quietly.
Reese arched an eyebrow and grinned. "So where DO you put your gun?"
Elisa answered him with an elbow to the ribs. "Getting back to your comment though- I don't think we really find it embarrassing though. Sure, we usually have to endure a week or two of teasing after an op like that. And of course the rest of the women hate us because of our good looks," she said with a lopsided smirk. "But we still kick ass like the rest of you guys do...and we can do it half naked," she stated proudly.
"And you get to keep the costume," Reese added.
Elisa's grin was slowly replaced by a wistful look as she stared into the fire for a few quiet seconds. "Too bad I never get to use them for a special occasion," she sighed as she crumpled her Styrofoam cup and tossed it into the fire.
Reese was silent for a few minutes, and then finally shifted. "So, um, you and Goliath....?" he asked gingerly.
Elisa's breath stilled for a second, and then she cleared her throat. "He's become one of my best friends over the past several years," she finally answered. "I mean, we spent all that time together with Angela and Bronx, saving each others asses. If I wasn't already a member of the Clan, I sure as hell was after that trip."
Reese wasn't buying the neutral answer however. "Just Clan huh?" he asked, a skeptical look on his face.
Elisa shifted, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah. Like I said, friends."
Reese just continued to look at her, and she fidgeted a bit more. "Huh."
"Huh what?" she asked defensively.
"Well I was pretty sure you were ready to kick Helena's ass for flirting with Goliath after that spar the first night," he said flippantly. "But if you two are just friends, then I guess Helena's constantly flirting nature wouldn't really bother you. Especially given the fact that she's fascinated by him, and we've been out here for two days."
She tried not to fall for the bait. But exhaustion and jealousy finally won out and she slid a concerned look sideways. "You two are together though, right?" she asked trying to sound casual.
Reese just shrugged his shoulders non-committaly. "We used to be. I'd like to think that now that she's actually talking to me, we can pick up where we left off. But Helena has some huge issues to deal with in her life. Commitment being one of them."
"You...um...don't think she would really.....?" Elisa asked, berating herself for how uncertain and fearful she suddenly sounded.
Reese finally chuckled. "Nah, she thought you two made a great couple too," he told her teasingly.
Anger and embarrassment raced though Elisa, and she glared at him even as the tension left her body. "That was low," she pouted.
"You've been talking about the Clan and Goliath for the past two days. I got tired of dancing around the subject."
"Yeah , but not everyone is cool with the fact that I've fallen in love with a seven foot tall creature that isn't exactly human."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Helena isn't your average human either," he reminded her. "You got a glimpse of what she's like when she slips into her Huntress mode. That's the person I met and got to know first." Elisa watched his lips turn up in an affectionate smile as he thought back to those first few meetings.
"She was this mysterious, untamed woman who oozed confidence and sensuality like it was second nature. It was several months before I even saw the Helena side of her. She frustrated the hell out of me- still does- but I think I fell for her the first night we met. I love her for who she is.....both sides of her life."
Elisa allowed a soft smile of her own to turn up her lips. "I fell for Goliath the first night we met too- only mine was a little more literal. It took us nearly three years to finally acknowledge our feelings for each other. I just wish life would slow down enough so we could explore our relationship a little better," she told Reese sadly.
Reese blinked surprised. "You mean you two aren't...involved?"
Elisa snorted. "Not that we haven't wanted to. But that would be a huge step for us, and we haven't had enough quiet time over the past few years to really get to that stage of the relationship yet," she told him wryly.
"Huh."
"See there you go with the 'huh' again. What does this one mean?"
"Just that from an outsider's observance, you two look and act like you're married. Elisa I don't think there's much more you two can say or do to get to know each other better. Maybe you should think about what's been really holding you back," he told her seriously. Then he glanced around, noticed everyone was asleep or passed out and stood.
"Looks like we can go sneak around now," he said as he held his hand out to help her up.
She took it, not really hearing what he was saying, as her mind chewed on what he told her a minute ago. She tried to tell herself to let it go for now, she was too tired to really contemplate his advice and she needed to focus on the task at hand. But as they scouted around the desolate train yards and shipping docks, Elisa couldn't help but wonder if she was the one who had been holding up her relationship this whole time.