"Is there any particular reason why you're banging your head on your desk?" John asks, leaning against the door frame to Gwen's office. "Or do you like self induced headaches?"
"I was just in a car with a man that was flirting with me and I just sat there like a big, dumb lump," Gwen groans, either from the memory or the pain in her forehead, she's not sure which at this point. "He kissed the back of my hand. Twice!"
"Was he good looking?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Drool worthy," she moans finally looking up at her coworker, a big red mark in the middle of her forehead. "He said I was pretty and beautiful and smart and I didn't even thank him."
She lets her head fall back down onto the desk with a 'thunk' which is followed by a muffled 'ow.' John chuckles as he steps fully into the office, picks up Gwen's satchel and digs around in it until he finds the bottle of pain pills. He shakes a couple out into his hand, returns the bottle to the bag and then puts the pills in her hand. She sits up and takes them without a word and then goes to drop her head back down only to have it caught in John's hand. He leans over and she stiffens when she can feel his warm breath on the side of her neck.
"He's right," John whispers in her ear. "You are pretty and beautiful and smart."
With that, he walks out of her office and she sits there more stationary than a sleeping gargoyle.
"Ok, Casanova, care to explain yourself?" Elisa nearly demands, watching her partner out of the corner of her eye.
"She's cute," Matt smirks as he leans back into his seat. "Especially when she blushes."
Elisa just sighs as she shakes her head and heads the car back towards uptown.
Several hours later, this morning's embarrassment with Matt and gut knotting experience with John have been forgotten as Gwen immerses herself in her work once more. She's in the middle of examining the wing of a golden eagle when one of the other doctor's comes in. He watches her for a while and she figures that the senior physician is just watching her work. After carefully extracting the tick that has attached itself to the bird, she sends the handler off with the bird firmly in hand.
"Hey, Tony," Gwen greets as she goes to dispose of the parasite. "How's it going?"
"It's good," Tony replies as he continues to watch the younger woman. "So, who's your new boyfriend?"
"What new boyfriend?" Gwen asks, completely confused.
"The one that gave you a big old wet one when he dropped you off at work this morning," Tony answers, trying not to laugh at the look on Gwen's face.
"The rumor mill has been working overtime today," Gwen grumbles as she tosses out her used gloves. "He's not my boyfriend, I only met him this morning and he only kissed the back of my hand."
"Oh, really?" Tony questions, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Been to your office lately?"
"No, I haven't had a chance to eat my lunch yet," she replies as she heads for the door.
"Then I suggest you go eat it," Tony snickers as he follows her out into the afternoon sunlight.
She gives him a questioning look, but knows he's not about to tell her anything. So with an exasperated sigh, she heads towards her office. She glances over at the older gentleman a couple times, but he says nothing as they make their way across the park.
The instant she steps into the building, she's met with cheers, cat calls and whistles from her coworkers. Feeling her cheeks starting to warm, she quickly heads for her office and then stops dead in her tracks at the door.
Sitting on her desk in a huge vase is the biggest bouquet of flowers she's ever seen in her life. She cautiously approaches it, carefully reaches out a hand and snags the card that's partially hidden by the blooms acting like the greenery is going to attack her. With great trepidation, she opens the card and reads it, letting out a sigh of relief when she's done.
"It's a thank you from…a friend," she explains as she slides the card from Xanatos into her pocket.
"Must be some friend," he smirks.
"I helped him out when he really needed it," she shrugs, turning to leave.
"Then what about those?" he asks, pointing off to the side of her office. "Those from friends too?"
Gwen spins around and looks to where he's pointing and nearly has a heart attack. Off to the side, on top of her tall filing cabinets are two more bouquets of roses. One is a dozen red roses and the other is a dozen white.
After she finally convinces her body not to faint, she slowly approaches the flowers as if she's afraid they'll jump off the cabinets and bite her. When she's sure they're not going to move, she quickly searches both bouquets and finds that neither one has a card attached to it. She then stands there scowling at the flowers, trying to figure out who would send her two dozen roses.
"There are no cards," she states, confused and a little miffed. "How am I supposed to thank the person for the flowers if there's no card?"
"Yes there are," Tony tells her as he goes over to the flowers and plucks a card out of the middle of the bunch, chuckling as he goes. "You're just too short to see them."
"I'm glad that my vertically challenged status gives you such amusement," she growls as she snags the card out of his hand.
He fetches the second card as she reads the first and turns a lovely shade of pink. He hands over the second card and watches as she turns bright red. She looks like she's about to fall down so he guides her over to her desk chair where she promptly collapses into it.
"I've been invited out to dinner," she says in a stunned voice after about a minute of silence. "Twice."
Tony takes the cards from Gwen's nerveless fingers and reads them. Another one of the doctor's sticks her head in the door at that moment. All she can really see is Tony since Gwen is hidden behind the giant bouquet on her desk
"So, who are they from?" Lily asks excitedly.
"Doesn't say," Tony answers with a chuckle. "But she's been invited to two of the fanciest restraints in Manhattan. Good thing they're on different nights, I'd hate for you to have to pick between the two. You're going to have a very busy weekend, my dear."
"You go, girl!" Lily cheers.
"I haven't been on a date since college," Gwen states in near panic. "What am I going to do? I don't know what to wear or what to say or do or anything."
"So, just do what you did back in college," Lily suggests.
"What happened back in college is the reason I don't date now," Gwen suddenly growls as she stands up, snatches back the cards from Tony and then storms out of her office.
"Well, that went over like a lead balloon," Lily muses as the outside door to the offices slams shut.
"I don't know what happened back in college," Tony states watching Gwen stomp off towards the clinic through the window. "But whatever it was, she was hurt pretty bad."
The rest of the day Gwen spends avoiding her office which isn't too hard to do since she doesn't normally spend a lot of time in there. But instead of doing paperwork in her office while eating her lunch like she normally does, she eats it out in the park like a normal human being. It's a nice change of pace, but she knows that it just means she'll be bringing paperwork home tonight like usual.
But as evening approaches, she knows she can't avoid the room any longer. With a groan, she returns to her office, quickly gathers up her things and the paperwork she's been avoiding and exits as fast as possible. With a sigh of relief, she closes her office door behind her and heads for home.
As she starts her nearly two mile walk home, her mind wanders about the flowers and cards that she received. The ones from Xanatos she can understand and has no problem with, though having it in the middle of her desk isn't the best place for it. In fact, if anything she's touched that he would do such a thing, but it's the others that has her worried.
Lily had found her during lunch and told her what the colors of the roses meant. The white roses are confusing because they are for eternal love; innocence; heavenly; secrecy and silence. The red roses are simple and straight forward: I love you. Those are the ones that really have her worried.
She thinks back to her second year in medical school when someone else had said those words to her. She remembers how he had wined her and dined her and put her on a pedestal like she was the only woman in the world. But in the long run, he was just looking for a body to warm his bed, not a lasting relationship. She nearly flunked out of school that year and from that point on, she has pulled away from any man that had ever shown an interest in her.
Now she has two men interested in her and it has her totally confused. On the one hand, it would be nice to have a relationship with someone that's a bit more than just friends. On the other hand she's afraid to fall in love. Falling in love means marriage and marriage means never going home again.
Home. Someplace she hasn't seen since she was sixteen years old. She thinks about her family and friends that she left behind and instantly falls into a blue funk. It'll be years before she can see them again and any distraction from a man or men will only delay her.
"You know, walking through these neighborhoods and not paying attention to what you're doing isn't a very smart or safe thing to do," a deep voice says from directly behind her.
She lets out an ear piercing shriek and jumps at least a foot in the air. By the time she spins around and faces her stalker, Matt is leaning against the side of the building and laughing so hard that he's holding his sides. She gives him the dirtiest look she can muster and he just laughs harder.
"I'm glad I could amuse you," she snarls before she spins around and stomps off.
"Not to interrupt a good huff," he snickers. "But isn't this your building?"
She looks back at him, still pretty peeved and sees that he's right. She's walked right past the front door of her apartment building. Narrowing her eyes at him, she marches up to the door, finds her keys and then lets herself in. Before she has a chance to slam the door in his face, he's through it and standing in the foyer with her.
"I don't recall inviting you inside," she snaps.
"You didn't," he smiles so brightly that she's sure it can glow in the dark. "Would you mind if I went up and said 'hi' the guys? Great! Thanks."
With that he grabs her keys and starts up the stairs. All she can do is stand there in shock at his audacity. It's not until she can hear him starting up the second set of stairs that she's snapped out of it.
She tears up the steps after him, wanting to do something physical to him. But being fairly sure assaulting a police officer wouldn't be too smart, all she can do is fume. Thankful that for the past three years she's been going up these stairs on a daily basis, she gets to the top of the first flight without any problem. Just as she's reaching the end of the first hallway, Lars opens his door and sees her flying by.
"Where's the fire, sugar?" he asks.
"He's got my keys," she snarls causing Lars to come chasing after her.
"Should I call the police?" he yells.
"He is the police," she shouts back as they get to the top of the stairs.
Matt is already on the last set of steps when they start down the hall on the second floor. By the time they catch up with him, he's standing in front of Gwen's apartment door trying to figure out which key to use. Gwen goes to snatch them from his hands, but he just holds them up out of her reach.
"Hold on," Matt tells her, a smile playing on his lips. "I've almost got it."
"Give me my keys back," she demands just as he finds the right key and sticks it in the door.
Suddenly the door swings open without him turning the key in the lock, much less the knob. Her heart nearly stops in her chest as Matt waves her and Lars away from the door while he pulls out his gun, his smile long gone. Gwen and Lars quickly move away and flatten themselves against the wall as Matt cautiously opens the door just as the last rays of the sun disappear from the sky.
The sound of cracking stone is quickly followed by the sound of roaring as the gargoyles awake. A second later a woman's scream fills the air and Matt is knocked back by someone escaping the apartment. Lars sticks his foot out and Mrs. Welker lands flat on her face.
"FREEZE! POLICE!" Matt shouts as he aims his revolver at the body on the floor while the sound of people bolting their doors shut can be heard throughout the corridor.
"I'd ask what you were doing in my apartment, Mrs. Welker, but I already know," Gwen snarls at the prone woman. "One last time, there's no money, no jewelry and no drugs in my apartment. So stay OUT!"
With that, Gwen brushes past the two gargoyles standing in the doorway of her apartment and disappears into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Welker looks over her shoulder at Lex and Brooklyn, ignoring the gun pointed at her.
"NO PETS!" Welker shouts at Gwen's retreating back.
"We aren't pets," Brooklyn growls, his eyes glowing white just like Lex's.
Welker shrieks and scrambles to her feet as she runs down the hall. Matt raises his gun and takes a breath to yell again only to be stopped by Lars putting his hand on top of the detective's as he shakes his head.
"She's our landlady," Lars tells him. "It's in our lease agreement that she's allowed to search our apartments."
"Why in the world would you agree to that?" Matt asks.
"Cheaper rent," Lars shrugs. "At first I thought she was just checking to make sure there weren't any drug dealers in the building. Now I know that she's looking for drugs for herself. And if she can take something of value and sell it off, all the better as far as she's concerned."
"Why don't you turn her in?" Matt asks as he puts his gun away.
"To what end?" Lars questions back as he heads into Gwen's apartment. "We'd probably get someone worse than her. Or worse yet, we'd all be evicted. No one wants that."
Lars walks past the gargoyles without a second glance and goes to the bedroom door, knocking on it quietly.
"Gwen, honey, are you ok?" Lars calls softly through the door.
A muffled 'no' can be heard and Lars sighs.
"I'm coming in, so you better have all your girly bits covered," Lars warns about two seconds before he puts actions to words.
He comes in and finds Gwen sitting on the edge of her small bed. Her satchel is next to her on the bed and he knows her black bag has already been locked away. Her face is in her hands and she's trembling.
Lars sits next to her and puts an arm around her shoulders. She sighs and leans her head on his shoulder as she lets the comfort of a friend and tears ease her tension. A minute later Lars is handing her a tissue from the box sitting on the nightstand.
"I told you I wouldn't be late for dinner," she sniffs as she wipes her nose.
"Dinner!" Lars shrieks. "Oh my god! I totally forgot!"
With that, Lars is out the door like a shot. She chuckles quietly as she watches her friend fly out her front door. Shakily she stands and goes to check on her patient only to find Matt leaning against the kitchen counter talking to the gargoyles. She feels a slight twinge of jealousy when she sees the ease with which they know one another.
"You ok?" Matt asks in concern, handing her her keys.
"I'll survive," she replies with a shrug as she takes them. "It's been a long day."
"Your friend said that she does this a lot," Matt confirms.
"It depends on your definition of a lot," she states with a sigh. "She doesn't go through my apartment that often, only when she's desperate. She knows she's not going to find money or anything valuable in here, so she's probably looking for drugs."
"Like the stuff you were giving me last night?" Brooklyn asks from his spot on the floor.
"If she had known I had morphine with me last night, she would have gone nuts trying to get it," she confirms.
"Do you have any more?" Matt questions worriedly.
"No, I only got two syringes worth from Dr. Taylor last night figuring that was all Brooklyn needed," she answers. "I know better than to keep anything other than basic first aid supplies in my bag now."
"When I woke up, she had her arms around me," Lex says, looking uncomfortable.
"What I wouldn't have given to see her face when you woke up," she chuckles before turning serious again. "I hate to say this, but she was probably going to try and sell you. She's got a fence that takes care of anything she can lift."
"What has having a fence got to do with selling me?" Lex asks naively. "Aren't fences supposed to keep things in or out?"
"That's the thing; a fence is also someone who deals in stolen goods," Matt clarifies for him.
"Oh," Lex whispers.
Before anything else can be discussed about fences or drug addicted landladies, someone bangs on the door. It sounds like someone is kicking it with the tip of their foot and it makes Gwen jump. After she finally gets her heart out of her throat she answers.
"Who is it?" she calls.
"It's Mary Poppins," Lars yells back through the closed portal. "Who the hell do you think it is? Now open the door. This thing is hot."
Gwen opens the door and stands back as Lars dashes past her with a large pan and the smell of garlic, tomatoes and cheese fills the apartment. She sniffs appreciatively while Lars puts the lasagna on the counter and then goes past her at near sound barrier breaking speed. She shuts the door behind Lars, but doesn't close it all the way since she knows he'll be back in a minute.
"If he doesn't slow down, I'm going to have to give him a speeding ticket," Matt jokes and Gwen just smiles at him.
She goes into the kitchen and begins to pull out the needed dinnerware for their meal. After emptying out her cabinets and drawers, Lars returns with more food. He takes one look at her plates and flatware and looks absolutely horrified.
"You are most certainly not serving my wonderful dinner on that," Lars states, waving his hand at her less than perfect plates and glasses.
"But it's all I've got," she points out.
"Well, it just won't do," Lars insists, getting a bit huffy. "Besides, you only have four and we need five place settings. Or are you planning on eating straight out of the pan? I'll be back in just a tic, love, don't do anything foolish."
With that, Lars is gone in a heartbeat back out the door and Gwen sighs.
"He's going to make some man a lovely wife someday," she mutters to herself before talking a bit louder. "I better go check to make sure he doesn't bring up the entire kitchen."
She follows her neighbor out the door leaving the other three alone.
"Pretty trusting," Brooklyn observes, trying to get comfortable with the rig on his wing getting in the way.
"What are we going to do?" Matt asks as he waves his hand around the room. "Steal her medical books? Run off with a TV that's probably as old as she is? She's right that she really doesn't have anything of enough value for anyone to take."
"I thought doctor's were supposed to be rich," Lex states as he looks around the apartment. "But it looks like she's barely able to pay her rent. That Welker woman keeps saying her rent is due."
"Welker's probably saying that because she needs the money to buy her drugs," Matt replies as he goes into the kitchen and starts putting away the dishes that won't be needed. "She's probably doing that to all of her tenants in hopes of getting them to pay early."
They hear the door being opened and all turn to see Gwen coming in loaded down with half a dozen dinner plates with matching salad plates, cloth napkins and what looks to be silverware piled on top of that. As soon as she carefully puts the plates down, she starts pulling wide silver rings out of her pockets. Matt moves closer to observe her actions and she can feel her heartbeat go into double time.
"Is that china?" Matt asks, looking down at the plates.
"Lenox, to be exact," Gwen tells him as she starts to roll the napkins up and thread them through the rings. "The silver is from Oneida. At least I talked him out of the Waterford."
"What does he do for a living?" Matt demands.
"Well, during the day he designs websites and at night he's a cat," she answers.
"Ok, I understand the website thing, but a cat?" Matt questions.
"To be specific, he's a leopard," she replies, refusing to look up at him.
"And the cutest darn leopard you have ever seen, I will have you know," Lars adds as he comes in carrying a tray of wine glasses and water goblets.
"He's in the Lion King," she explains before any more questions can be asked.
"Then shouldn't you be at the theater right now?" Matt inquires.
"I would be but I got hurt the other night," Lars grumbles as he sets the tray down. "I was given a week off. Stupid elephant, not watching where he's going."
"Got to watch them elephants," Matt agrees, trying not to chuckle as he sorts the cutlery out.
"Darn straight you do," Lars heartily agrees and Gwen has to bite her lips to keep from laughing.
"By the way, Lars, this is Matt Bluestone," Gwen finally introduces. "Matt, this is Lars Davidson."
"So, how did you two meet?" Lars asks as if Gwen bringing a man home happens every day.
"He's Elisa partner," she explains.
"Ah, that explains the big gun," Lars smirks and she can feel her face start to heat up again.
Before either one of the males can embarrass her any further, someone bangs heavily on the door with such force that the walls shake, causing them all to jump.