CH 1
There is something calming about routine. For some people it's their morning shower and coffee. For others, it's their nightly glass of wine and favorite television shows.
For Elisa, it was work and the chaos there…most of the time.
Amidst the noise of the 23rd precinct, it would have been hard for anyone to point out a single sound and its origin. Phones rang, desk drawers slammed and voices rose to an alarming volume.
For those who worked at the 23rd precinct, this was their routine.
It was mid-summer, the hottest time of the year and, as always, when the temperatures rose, so did the crime rate. It was as if the heat burned away everyone's common sense.
But, again, it was a kind of routine.
It happened every year.
It was expected.
It was amidst this chaos that a cell phone rang. A few people within earshot absently patted their pockets only to stop when they realized it wasn't theirs.
Elisa was one of those who looked at their phones, only it actually was hers. She briefly struggled to get the phone out of her jeans pocket, then scowled at the small screen as she recognized the number on the small display.
"Hey, Beth," Elisa answered cautiously. In her experience, good news rarely came in the form of a phone call after midnight. Especially from the strictly human side of her family. "What's going on?"
Elisa strained to hear, pushing her free hand against her open ear in an attempt to block the noise from the bullpen.
"Beth, I'm sorry, it's loud here," Elisa said, raising her own voice slightly as she looked in vain for a non-crowded area of the room. "Can you repeat that? I'm not sure I heard you…"
Elisa paused, listening to the rapid chatter of her youngest sibling on the other end. "Yeah," Elisa said in an answer to the question that she was still processing. "Yeah. I'll be there."
Elisa ended the call and frowned at the phone as she attempted to get her thoughts together.
"Elisa?" Matt Bluestone called out as he walked towards her. "You okay?"
"Elisa gave her head a shake, as if trying to clear it. "Yeah, just interesting news."
"Hmm," Matthew hummed, "Family, friend or foe?"
"Family," Elisa said, glaring at him, then started to laugh softly. "Matt, you're not going to believe this."
"Try me," Matt said.
"Beth. My Beth and Travis," Elisa said, "They're going to get married."
"Hey, that's great!" Matt exclaimed, giving his long-time partner a slap on the shoulder. He hesitated at Elisa's look and gave an uncomfortable laugh. "It… is… good news, right?"
"Yeah," Elisa said, "It's good news. The timing is a little inconvenient, though."
"Whats wrong with the timing?" Matt asked, clearly confused.
"Today," Elisa said, then looked at her watch. It was four in the morning. "In five hours, to be exact."
"So they're eloping?"
"Looks like," Elisa sighed. "I know that Beth wasn't going to want the whole white dress, flowers and doves kind of cliche'd kind of things, but… City hall? Our parents are going to flip."
"What makes you think they don't already know?" Matt asked.
"I'm sorry," Elisa said with a disbelieving laugh. "Have you met my mother?"
"Ooookay," Matt said, "Good point."
"I get off of work in two hours," Elisa said, making a mental to-do list. "That means I'll have two hours to drive home in morning traffic, find a dress, shower the night of sweat and grime off, make myself presentable and try to make it to the courthouse on time. Or.. maybe there's a dress shop somewhere close by, and I can just shower and change here so I'd be closer to the courthouse."
Matt frowned. "Why the hurry?"
Elisai blinked at him. "For the marriage, or the dress?"
"Let's start with the marriage," Matt said.
"They've pretty much been attached at the hip since Beth was held hostage and Travis was shot when the whole Humans First stuff went down." Elisa ran a frustrated hand through her hair, "It's not like I didn't see it coming, I was just hoping for a little more of a heads up, that's all."
"Need me to rally the troops?" Matt asked with a smirk. "Pamela's downstairs in the lab tonight, and I'm sure Margaret would be here before you clocked out if you're in need of support."
Elisa glared at him, slipping her arms out of her jacket and tossing it over the back of her swivel desk chair. "You do know that most females, including myself, are capable of doing their own hair and makeup on occasion, right?"
Matt held his hands out in surrender. "Just offering to help out, partner."
"No," Elisa practically growled. Granted, most of her friends, female and male, were practically as nocturnal as she was, but… "Beth said that they're only inviting two people to the actual ceremony to act as witnesses. They'll break the news to everyone after the fact, and hold a big reception later, and I know that'll happen, because mom will make it so. We can rally the "girl squad" for that."
"Gotcha," Matt said. "You said two people… who's the other one?"
Suddenly, the theme song from The X Files filled the space between them, and Matt grimaced.
"Yeah," Elisa smirked, leaning on arms crossed over the back of her chair as Matt dug his phone out. "Want me to rally the Guy Squad for you?"
