A/N: Sometimes you've just gotta switch things up a little bit to add to the fun and see things from an outsider's perspective! So here, have a chapter with a little one-on-one bonding time between Jeanette and Eva!

Chapter 18: Girl Talk

[Eva's POV:]

Sometimes humans still surprise me.

Not in a bad way, mind you. I'm used to being surprised by human stupidity. But when they show how resourceful, brilliant, or brave they are, it's a pleasant surprise. And that reedy little woman in the glasses having the lady-balls to put a gun to Dorian's head really surprised me. I'd been expecting my man Croc to be the one to jump into action, but the way things had gone meant my bad day was turning around at last.

Lance on the other hand, seemed to have jumped out of a frying pan to land in a fire.

Since Dorian had released us, the librarian remained cold and distant with him. She refused to even look at him, let alone acknowledge that he kept trying to talk to her. And Gerard Montaine and Rook maintained a good distance, as though wary that they would get caught in the crossfire if she exploded. Her frosty demeanor could have iced over entire corridors of the lab as we passed through them.

Tygrus led the way out, probably out of some need to apologize for what we'd been put through, and I remained a step behind Croc, with Vic, Sam, and Freddie at my back. If the truth be told, I was secretly glad Waylon had brought them along. Vic was a greedy bastard, and Freddie was annoying as long as he was breathing air and being stupid, but Sam was polite and sweet enough, and I felt better knowing my man had someone watching his scaly back when I wasn't around.

Once we made it outside, Tygrus started pointing out which paths led where on the island. Waylon started to lead in one direction, presumably back toward wherever he and they guys had left the boat, when Lance and Jeanette began raising their voices behind us. I paused, sensing something was going to go south pretty damn fast. I clicked my tongue and the boys paused, following my gaze.

"What in the name of God makes you think I am going anywhere with you, Mr. Pendragon?!" Jeanette fumed, nearly spitting fire. "You keep a secret from me like that, and then you expect me to trust you once I've found out?"

Oh. Ouch. I winced in sympathy for Lance. Poor guy.

"Miss Harker, please. Let me explain-"

"Oh, now you want to be honest with me?!" She shrieked, and I watched as her face began changing color in her anger. "It's a little too late for that, Lancelot Pendragon! Small wonder you didn't want me reading books about werewolves. What, were you so completely terrified that I would deduce something about you after that during our continued courtship?"

Lance's face fell and he stepped back like she'd been hitting him. I glanced at Rook and Gerard and I wasn't too surprised to see the latter was looking off in a totally different direction, while the vampire watched, his face twisting in empathy for Lance. After a minute, he tried to step in.

"Come on, Jeannie, be reasonable-"

Her arm swung up the second he called her by that nickname, and she hit him up the side of his head with a book I think she just somehow pulled out of hammerspace.

"I am being perfectly reasonable given the circumstances, you unwashed oaf!" She snapped, before glaring again at Lance. She stayed quiet for a moment, then spun on the heel of her boot and began marching toward us, raising her voice. "And as such, you three will not be escorting me anywhere!"

"You would rather travel back to the mainland with five criminals than fly safely with us?" Gerard said in kind of a flat voice, and I tossed him an irritated look. The guy better watch it with that "criminals" talk. True or not, it was rude. And if anything, that only seemed to make Jeanette all the more determined. She did pause a second, but then held her head even higher and continued.

"Yes," she answered curtly, "I would."

She strode past me, Croc and the boys, power-walking in the same direction we were headed. I wasn't sure if I was more annoyed or impressed that she was practically inviting herself onto our boat, but I didn't say anything. I looked over my shoulder one last time, catching sight of them. Lance looked...broken. I felt bad for him, but at the moment, there was little I could do. And I wanted to get home. I turned away, hoping the lycan-newbie understood he had my sympathy, and trotted after Jeanette, Waylon at my side. Vic, Sam, and Freddie followed, smelling strongly of nervous anxiety. Idiots.

At least Jeanette seemed to know how to get back to the boat. I gave her props for that, she led us right to it. The second it came into view, the boys rushed to it, eager to please as always. It was only then the librarian hesitated.

"I-I can go home now with you, can't I?" She asked, suddenly unsure as she looked up at my man. "You will return me to my home?"

"Course, chere," he said, "Owe ya that much. Ahm good for mah word."

And with that, he grabbed her like a doll and made a powerful leap onto the boat, making it shudder and bounce. I scowled in annoyance. It wasn't Jeanette's fault he had grabbed her like that, but I didn't have to like it. I leapt up after them, breeze rippling through my hair and whipping it into my face as my momentum carried me through the air, and landed as lightly and sure-footed as any cat.

Being lycanthian rocks.

As I stood back up, I caught sight of Jeanette staring at me, jaw hanging open, from where she was sprawled on the deck. Realizing Waylon must have dumped her on the floor like that relieved me a little, so I relaxed and tossed her a grin. I know, I can be overwhelmingly impressive when it comes to humans. It's part of the werewolf gig.

"Alright, we're getting ready to move back into the water," Sam yelled up as he and the other two moved to shove us off, "You may wanna hold onto something, Miss Harker!"

I rolled my eyes and strode to where Waylon was steering eager to talk to him. It'd only been a day or less away from him, but it felt like years. He looked up as I approached, his golden eyes softening.

"Eva." He murmured softly, and I shivered a little at the way he said my name, like I was something beautiful and precious. No other man ever treated me like that, and secretly, I love it. I reached out and touched one of his webbed hands, the scales smooth and warm beneath my skin, and I gave his hand a squeeze.

"Took you long enough," I said, smiling.

"Ah had to get a few things."

"Men!" I snorted, rolling my eyes. Still, I wasn't able to keep up the pretense. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against his arm. "I missed you, Waylon."

The ferryboat gave a jerking shudder beneath our feet, and I heard Jeanette yelp again out on the main deck as she lost her footing.

"Ah missed you too, mon amour." He murmured, his voice soft enough its normal growling quality seemed to vanish. "Didja think ah wouldn't come for ya?"

My heart sped up a little, and I gave his hand another small squeeze. "Sometimes, with you, I can't always tell."

There were a couple of thuds and another yelp as the boys clambered up over the side of the guardrail and onto the deck. Waylon grunted in irritation.

"Looks like our reunion's gotta be postponed."

I opened my eyes in a frown and huffed, annoyed. Trust the three klutzy dingbats to ruin a moment. Still, I was willing to bet someone else's money Freddie would lose his head if it weren't attached to his shoulders, and Vic's ego was so big it obstructed his vision, so perhaps they did need to hang around us like lost baby chicks. Otherwise, they'd get themselves killed.

"Then we'll just say you owe me and make up for lost time when we get back home. Just us, no pet stooges." I murmured.

"Ah'd like that," he whispered, before raising his voice a little and adding, "Ya think ya might go talk t' Miss Harker?"

I looked up, trying to study the face I had learned so well over the past year or so, and shrugged.

"I suppose I could." I replied.

"Don't wantcha over-exertin' yaself after us rescuin' you." He explained. "Ya'd best relax. Go have yaself a girl talk."

"Croc, look at me," I snorted, gesturing at my frame, "When was the last time you think I had a girl talk with another woman?"

He gave me a wry look, pursuing his thin, reptile lips, and remarked, "Case in point, amour. All tha more reason ya should talk t' her."

I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows at him. It felt like he was trying to dismiss me, the way he used to back when we first started working together, and that chafed. It was almost like wearing a collar of sorts, which didn't just chafe, but was insulting. Still...

I glanced out toward Jeanette, watching as she clung to the guardrail and sat weakly on a storage compartment, shaking a little. Her angry expression had returned, and I figured she was probably still furious with Lance, but there was a slightly green tint to her face, like she was going to be sick. I could sympathize; took me a while to get used to traveling by water. At once, a part of me decided there was no getting out of it, that I had to talk to her. If she had her way, Jeanette would probably be mad at Lance until the end of time, and that would kill the poor guy. And part of me couldn't let that happen.

I walked out to the main deck, passing up the boys, all three of whom gave me wary looks, and sat down on the long storage unit next to Jeanette. She looked up, giving me a skeptical expression.

"You know, you could wear a life jacket if it'd make you feel better." I remarked.

"There are actually life jackets on this accursed vessel?"

"Yeah. We're sitting on top of 'em."

"Oh."

"You look like you're having a rough night."

She didn't respond. Judging by her face, she was weighing her words very carefully, and I was surprised to realize that I appreciated that. Finally she answered.

"I cannot be having a worse evening than yourself. Being locked up by that madman wanting to use you for his unholy, unseemly experiments!" She declared.

"Eh," I shrugged, "Nothing major actually happened. I mean yeah, we got thrown in a cage, but most of what we went through was being stuck behind Plexiglas and having to listen to the old guy just drone on and on. You though, you were practically kidnapped and dragged along. Did Croc even tell you why he wanted you along?"

Her expression had steadily softened, like she was surprised I thought her night was turning out worse than mine, and abruptly she pulled out the book she'd hit Rook with earlier. Silently, she thrust it to me, and I glanced at the cover. Legends of the Lycanthrope: A Study on the History of Werewolves.

"Croc is sweet," I said with a wince, "But sometimes he thinks a little old school when it comes to me."

"Pardon my forwardness," she said abruptly, "But what is there between you two? Croc said you were very important to him."

Thank God I managed not to blush. "I could ask you the same thing," I returned coolly, "What's up with you and Lance?"

She pulled a face and made a noise like she had swallowed something prickly. "There is nothing whatsoever between Mr. Pendragon and I!"

"Honey, I can smell the change in your body chemistry when you lie," I huffed, "Just be honest with me and I'll be honest with you."

She made that strangled noise in her throat again and I raised my eyebrows in challenge. She went really quiet and her face darkened in a blush. HA! Knew it!

"If you must know," she began in a rather dignified way, "I find myself quite attracted to Mr. Pendragon, and well...I-I think he would be an ideal b-boyfriend."

"But? I'm sensing a 'but' in there."

"But on our first d-date, he admonished me for reading literature on werewolves. And yet he failed ot mention that he happens to be one!"

"Don't you think you're overreacting? After all, being Lycanthian isn't exactly something you just wanna spill on the first date. I mean, how would you have responded if he had just come out and told you on the first date that he's a werewolf?"

Jeanette blinked, stunned, and fell quiet again. Yeah, she probably hadn't thought of it from that angle before. I could concede the point that it would have been better if she had found out another way, preferably if Lance had gotten the chance to tell her himself, but still. She ducked her head, probably thinking about what I'd said. Couldn't blame her; she looked like the type who was used to correcting people, not being corrected.

"You asked what there was between Croc and me?" I prompted and she jerked her head up in shock, knocking her glasses half-off. She unconsciously adjusted them as she nodded at me, and I sighed. "Well, I'll stick to what I said and tell you."

"Are you romantically involved?" She demanded.

" 'Romantically involved'?" I echoed her. "Who the heck says that any more? Ugh...well, sort of. I mean...it's complicated."

"Oh, how mind-boggling. I couldn't possibly have guessed." Her voice took on a sarcastic, blunt edge.

I tossed her a look before continuing. "We met the first time I was thrown in Arkham. We both escaped, just more out of luck at the same time as each other than anything. I followed him to the sewers. After a while, he agreed to take me on as a partner-in-crime. Neither of us really trusted each other for a long time, at first. We didn't really know one another and we both figured that each other was just looking out for our own interests. But I guess after a while, we just sort of became friends. We got to know each other and trust one another. And well...recently it's become more than that." I finished lamely.

Silence fell, and I began to feel seriously awkward under Jeanette's stare. Her face shifted expressions quite a bit as she thought, and I nearly broke out into a cold sweat. Call it weird, but I was actually getting nervous at the idea she might not approve. Finally, she crossed her arms and nodded slowly.

"Well?" I asked.

"Your feelings for him sound far more genuine than what many women feel for men they are merely attracted to. Besides," she added with a small smile, "All good relationships are like a rare, good wine. They only get better with time."

"And you've been in how many relationships to claim that as your basis of opinion?" I snorted, and her cheeks flushed a dark pink.

"None," she admitted in a pouting tone, "But I have read plenty to know what does and doesn't consititute a good, healthy relationship. And I know that's what I want."

"Then you should really give Pendragon a second chance. He's a good guy, and he cares about you."

"...perhaps."

"I mean it, Jeanette. At least talk to the guy."

Her haughty, stubborn expression wavered.

"Hey, if you don't do it for him or the chance you two could at least still end up together, at least do it for me." I spread my hands, chuckling awkwardly. "Come on, I risked my entire rep just to come over here and have a girl talk with you."

Jeanette cocked an eyebrow, trying not to smirk. "Very well," she said in a carefully controlled voice, "For you, then."

I couldn't keep myself from grinning. "You know, you're not so bad, Jeanette."

"Of course I'm not. After all, I'm a librarian."

We didn't have much to say after that, and a few more minutes passed, but this time the silence was relaxed, full of a mutual understanding between the two of us. And it was kind of odd, but I think we almost became friends during that conversation.

However, the solitude was soon broken by none other than Freddie. Little idiot came prancing around the corner, headphones in and singing along despite his tin ear. If I were in full werewolf fomr, my fur would be bristling and my ears lying flat. Ever hear a bunch of mangy stray cats breeding? Yeah, that's what it sounded like.

"Touch me, fict-ion-al giiirrrrl; tell me you're heeere to staaaaayyyy~ Never, ever, run a-a-awaaaaayyyy~ OOOHH! Thirteen chapters in a sleepless niiiiight~ Written so ba—ad but it feels so ri-hiiiiight!"

"Ahh..." Jeanette remarked, crossing her arms and looking highly unimpressed. "That explains it a bit more. He must have terrible luck trying to get a date, let alone a girlfriend."

"Huh. So Freddie can read. In that case, he'd better savor that sleepless night, 'cause thirteen chapters is probably all that boy is ever gonna get." I remarked.

Without warning, Jeanette snorted and began snickering, clutching at her sides.

"Did you intend to say it that way?" She managed to ask before losing her voice to her laughing. It took me a second to catch onto her train of thought, then I started laughing too.

"No! Hahahaaa, your mind is dirtier than I thought, girl!"

"Comes from being around a couple of my younger cousins too often," she chuckled, hefting the werewolf book into the air, "And if you find that amusing, then watch this!"

She turned where she sat, balancing the book on its spine in her hand, and chewed her tongue as she took aim at Freddie.

Alright. Maybe we were friends after all.