"Fortune and love favor the brave." - Ovid
The turnout at the League press conference less than a day after Earth's latest brush with Armageddon is almost unbelievable, but today would be a turning point in costumes history or so Question might put it if he were here to see it. His collapse in the Monitor Hub had given her the newest scare of her life because she had not gone through the depths of Cadmus just to lose him only moments after the Founders beat Brainthor. Huntress had to admit inwardly like so many others that they had come back from the brink more so then ever before and because of the heroics of Flash.
Notable reporters in media and in print are on hand though she did her best to avoid contact with Jimmy Olsen who is often found in the company of Lois Lane. She felt awkward still for having used him to bait Superman for help even though that suggestion had come from Batman and Batman had a tendency to know things like that almost as well as Question. The costumes start mixing in with the civilians. Many civilians in attendance are Watchtower staffers, emergency personnel, and the already noted media personalities.
The Seven take the stage and all eyes are on them as though expecting some further life altering moment to overtake them.
It is a visually beautiful day and the grass is unusually greener this day as well. Huntress for a long time did not believe that such expressions like the grass is greener on the other side had any merit, but then she was not totally thinking of that right now. She just thought it looks so engaging yet her attention is also drawn to Superman who is speaking on behalf of the League.
"This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do…"
One would wonder how anything else in the last few weeks or months had not been harder than this. She could count on Question to ramble something about that justice belongs to the people who entrust the world to watchers except who watches the watchers?
"I am guilty. We are guilty of the sin of hubris. We had the best of intentions, to be Earth's guardians, to keep you safe, but we failed you. We look down on the world from our tower in the sky and let our power and responsibilities separate us from the very people we were suppose to protect…."
The League's future beyond this conference is perhaps something Superman and the other six are deciding is in their hands anymore because Question had struck a nerve when rattling Superman about the Founders behavior since the roster expansion earlier this year. The conflict between Cadmus and the League almost destroyed the planet.
"No one should ever be afraid… for that reason we are decommissioning the Watchtower. The energy weapon up there is already gone and we are taking down the station as well."
Fear never goes away yet it meets its opposite in the vibrant though fragile hopes.
Plenty in the crowd look up with sadness and surprise as if these are not the words they were expecting to hear after such an honest confession from Superman of all people.
"There is more, we want to thank the members of the Justice League for your courageous service, but in the future, you'll all have to act as independent agents. We are not going to be an army anymore. As of right now we are disbanding the Justice League…"
Superman steps back as if ending the conference yet then many hear someone objecting from the crowd. Huntress tilts her head recognizing the voice all too well considering how she and Question fought him and Black Canary during her attempt to kill Mandragora. She had not been totally aware of Arrow's objections to being a part of the League despite having been there the day he was brought up by Green Lantern.
It was also on that day that she had her first brief encounter with Question.
This conference also marks the second time this many of the League are together in one place and somberly she notes tragedy always a crowd yet if Arrow's objections mean anything then maybe it is not such a tragedy after all.
The seven heroes halt their departure from the stage as all ears and eyes turn to Green Arrow.
"Says who? You remember what we did yesterday? We saved the world – again. You don't think that has any value, well think again, pal. The Justice League goes on, with or without you. Look, nobody can question your service or commitment to making things better. If you're quitting because you think you've already done your fair share, fine, we'll throw you a parade. But if you're quitting because it's easier than continuing the fight, then you're not the heroes we all thought you were. The world needs the Justice League, and the Justice League needs you, Superman."
Way to put them on call Arrow, but I'd expect no less, same goes for Question if he were here.
Cheers and clapping follow Arrow's stirring response to Superman's declarations. Arrow shrugs and looks like he did not expect such a positive feedback from the crowd, but the audience here agrees with Arrow. As for the six standing behind Superman on stage, only five clap, she did not expect Batman to clap, he makes one of his famous smiling nods and Lois in the midst of clapping gives Superman a reassuring stare too.
Superman raises his arms as if to calm the crowd as he prepares to retract some of his earlier statements. There is talk of opening a planet based embassy and the logistics thereto.
Batman prepares to make one of his typical disappearing exits and Wonder Woman gives him one of those 'I know why you are stepping out' looks though her words cover her actual meaning.
Black Canary climbs on to her motorcycle and then pulls on her helmet yet Arrow is busy for a moment with Batman.
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?" comments Batman.
"Who guards the guardians?" We've got it covered," responds Arrow.
Huntress silently listens though suspects Batman knows she is eavesdropping though he appears not to mind. As for Arrow, he is off somewhere with Canary yet now Huntress' thoughts shift back to Question… to Vic.
The med techs had given her full assurance that they would keep under sedation since if he were awake nobody could be quite sure what he would do or what he might remember of the past several days.
She slowly walks back to where she parked her motorcycle and found that Batman appears to have parked not far from her bike. There is some noise coming from beneath the Batmobile's retractable dashboard window though Diana is still over in the field with the Leaguers so who is in the Batmobile with Batman?
Huntress saunters over and just then the window slides forward revealing Batman glaring at Question.
"Now get out of the vehicle Question," implores Batman.
"You still didn't take my advice about getting better locks on everything Batman," jokes Question.
The noise draws Wonder Woman's attention to the scene and she flies over to find Huntress watching the two bicker some more.
"What is going on Huntress?" queries Wonder Woman.
"Q snuck into the Batmobile and…" replies Huntress.
"And Batman is quite unhappy about that," laughs Wonder Woman.
"You betcha Diana," continues Huntress.
"Bruce told me about you Helena and Kal did mention how you did bait him for help to recover Question from Cadmus. I'd have to say it was a curious turn to see you going beyond yourself to save another, but then there was also chatter about you and Question pairing off to recapture Mandragora."
"No doubt Ollie and Dinah had plenty to say about us showing up at the same time that Mandragora's lackeys sprung him from Faraday's safe house. Mandragora and I have history…"
"History?" probes Diana.
"Violent history," answers Helena.
Helena is not eager to revisit the memories.
Diana walks over to the Batmobile and as if suspecting one or the other would tell him to get out of the car, Question excuses himself without a word. Diana hops over into the Batmobile after Question gets out and the retractable dashboard window slides back into place then the Batmobile backs up before turning around to drive back to Gotham.
"I take it that Superman tried to disband the League," says Question.
"Yeah he did that, but Arrow made his objections known immediately," responds Huntress.
Question looks worse for wear even with the mask, she had seen his face and gotten closer than she expected to the man behind both the mask and the face.
"I did not expect him to take that stand, but events of late had made us all reassess everything that these costumes represent as well as the purpose that drives us when we wear them."
She pulls him towards her to make sure this is still him, that he is still with her and she is not imagining all of this.
"Can we leave the costumes out of it for awhile if you don't mind? I'm tired, so tired, and I have already been scared to death enough this week or even in the last twenty four hours too," sighs Huntress.
Tears well in her eyes as she almost pleads with him, she rarely pleads with anyone, and he merely nods then gestures to her bike. She smiles slightly then climbs aboard and he is riding behind her.
"I'm staying here tonight," murmurs Vic.
"You better believe it baby," whispers Helena.
The beauty of sunset is all the more lovely to not view it alone as she had viewed plenty that way until she met him. Likewise all nights she spent without his company, his wit, his faceless mask, and all the other qualities she had seen in him, it made her long for him. She is not a needy woman yet a woman in love as she had found out will do things she never thought she do to hold onto that love especially in her case since she had not loved anyone in the way she loves Vic for most of her life. The only other people she loved to this degree yet not in this way were her parents.
She kisses him on the lips to remind herself that she got him back though his mind likely still swims through the effects of Moon's interrogations and tortures. She almost did kill Moon as well as Captain Atom though Question's safety deflects her from harming either of the two. Helena saw the impracticality of killing him as well as feeling some sympathies for his estrangement from Betty.
She runs her fingertips through Vic's red hair and kisses him some more. He is likewise being overly affectionate, which prompts further affection on her part towards him.
"Care for another movie night?" suggests Vic.
"What movie did you have in mind?" asks Helena.
"I was thinking we should watch Sabrina," answers Vic.
"The original or the remake?" pips Helena.
"The original… I know you are a Bogart fan even though plenty often wonder why he got cast into such roles… but enough speculative talk… it is movie time."
Vic thumbs through the Bogart section of her DVD library and finds it almost exactly where he remembers seeing it the last time he briefly saw the movie library. He puts the disc into the DVD player and she catches the remote after he tosses it to her. It had been a long time since she thought about watching this movie again, but Vic had awoken things in her that she never she feel again.
"Once upon a time, on the north shore of Long Island, some 30 miles from New York, there lived a small girl on a large estate. The estate was very large indeed and had many servants."
The Larrabees' Long Island manor and surrounding grounds remind Helena of her parents' mansions, but unlike Sabrina she was not a servant's daughter, she was a crime boss' daughter. These days she had no illusions about being a daughter of a wealthy couple who held such prestige in name alone.
"There were gardeners to take care of the gardens, and a tree surgeon on a retainer. There was a boatman to take care of the boats: to put them in the water in the spring, and scrape their bottoms in the winter. There were specialists to take care of the grounds: the outdoor tennis court and the indoor tennis court, the outdoor swimming pool and the indoor swimming pool. And there was a man of no particular title who took care of a small pool in the garden for a goldfish named George."
She remembers her household's staff whether it was her nursemaid in her earliest memories or the chauffeur who in retrospect to her now seems a great deal like the Larrabees' chauffeur. The man was a very kind soul; he occasionally let her ride in the cars on his lap, and once or twice put his hat on her head. It made for cute and giggle worthy memories. She did giggle in a low tone as Sabrina's narration drifts towards her own history.
"Also on the estate, there was a chauffeur by the name of Fairchild, who had been imported from England, years ago, together with a new Rolls Royce. Fairchild was a fine chauffeur of considerable polish, like the eight cars in his care, and he had a daughter by the name of Sabrina. It was the eve of the annual six meter yacht races, and as had been tradition on Long Island for the past 30 years, the Larrabees were giving a party. It never rained on the night of the Larrabee party, the Larrabees wouldn't have stood for it."
She recalls that chauffeur hardly spoke of his own family, but then many who did work for her father kept their personal histories to themselves though she had seen some photos yet never ask him about it despite her own curiosity. He eventually spoke of his late wife and his sons who all were grown up and working in the city. He sounded proud of them and believed their mama would be proud of them too.
"There were four Larrabees in all: father, mother and two sons. Maude and Oliver Larrabee were married in nineteen hundred and six and among their many wedding presents was a townhouse in New York and this estate for weekends. The town house has since been converted into Saks Fifth Avenue."
Her parents kept other residences, but the one that reminded her most of the Larrabees' Long Island place was her favorite yet with a heart wrenching twist it was also the place where they were killed when she was eight. She pushes the memory down to regain her focus on the movie and the feel of Vic's arms around her waist, he felt so warm even with the cool from the breeze passing through the window.
"Linus Larrabee, the elder son, graduated from Yale, where his classmates voted him the man Most Likely to Leave his Alma Mater Fifty Million Dollars. His brother, David, went through several of the best eastern colleges for short periods of time, and through several marriages for even shorter periods of time. He is now a successful six-goal polo player, and is listed on Linus's tax return as a six hundred dollar deduction. Life was pleasant among the Larrabees, for this was as close to heaven as one could get on Long Island."
Helena knows little of Vic's past or his family, but he'll tell her when he feels ready, she is not in the mood to be pushy about it, just being with him and watching movies is plenty for tonight, her own little slice of paradise is right here on this wrap around sofa.
"You know, it's not every girl that's lucky enough to go to Paris."
"I know."
"And it's the best cooking school in the world, Sabrina."
Sabrina hides perhaps blush in the words of pride coming from her father.
"If your mother were alive she'd be very happy to know you were going there."
She looks further away wistfully knowing he would be even more boastful about Mama's cooking skills, saying she was the best in Long Island… she had no cause to disagree with him about her mama.
"I'm not telling you that you have to be a cook as she was or that I want you to marry a chauffeur like me, but you know how I feel about it. Your mother and I had a good life together. We were respected by everyone. That's as much as anyone can want in this world. Don't reach for the moon, child."
At first it looks like Sabrina would be going to Paris yet changes her mind then tries to kill herself by flooding the garage with carbon monoxide by turning all the cars on. In a dark humor moment, one of the older cars starts rumbling too much, it goes quiet after she shushes at it, and soon the gas starts to wear her down until she almost passes out. At that exact moment, then Linus bursts into the garage calling out for her father, but she knows he is upstairs sleeping; it wouldn't do to be caught doing this by Linus of all people.
Helena thinks back to how Vic had known things about her and kept her from killing her parents' murderer knowing it would cost her more than the hollow satisfaction of killing him. Somehow he had known in some way that perhaps she did not want to kill the fat man, just like Linus perhaps without truly knowing it had seen that Sabrina was not out to kill herself.
Sabrina concocts a plausible excuse for being in here with the engines on and Linus does look a fright about her. He gets her out though quickly enough she passes out and he has to carry her back upstairs. They chat, he chides her, she refrains from revealing where she knows Gretchen is when Linus mentions he has to drive to Gretchen's mother home, and he departs with a parting warning about cars.
Time flies in Paris, it is clear that Sabrina has not lost her affections for David, and cooking remains a struggle for her. Winter eventually comes to Paris and the students at the cooking school are in the midst of cooking soufflé
"A woman happily in love, she burns the soufflé. A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven," comments Baron St. Fontanel.
Baron is clearly a perceptive sort, but cooks of his caliber always notice these things. He also takes it upon himself to introduce to her fashion among other things, excuses to wear dresses and cause eye ogling, a sweet old man indeed. Sabrina eventually graduates though when she returns to Long Island, she looks like a completely different woman, and laughingly David is the one to pick her up, totally clueless to her identity. Sabrina named her furry little companion of dog David too. As the drive continues, David probes for her identity almost certain that he does recognize her.
Helena always got a kick out of her leading him on despite all his guesses, she give hints, but very vague ones.
The household staffers turn out in joys to welcome her back and the realization hits clueless David like a sack of bricks. Her father arrives seconds later and a loving reunion for the Fairchild pair too. She returns overconfident that things would work out between her and David. Mr. Fairchild and Linus both the contrary is waiting to give her a reality check.
David at the party is hardly paying much attention to his fiancée's chatter about the wedding and the honeymoon. Mr. Larrabee hides a cigar behind his back on the way to the library where Linus is keeping the rest of the men here company with the latest Larrabee product, a flexible plastic tabletop.
Vic probably had something to say about it, but says nothing, and he is often so quiet with movies as Helena had seen when they watched The Maltese Falcon almost a month ago.
David stops moving once catching sight of Sabrina's evening dress, sure he acts like he is getting married, but he has Sabrina on the brain. He is also not the only man's head she's got turning and the women they are with are clearly hiding fumes about this. David looks for a way to separate himself from Elizabeth, but she is sticking to him. No chance of getting away until making an intentional collision with another couple who are drinking champagne presumably, clever though easily seen distraction.
David is quick to bypass the other men flocking to Sabrina and knowing she has made her pick, the pack breaks up. Mrs. Larrabee and Mrs. Tyson notice that he is no longer dancing with Elizabeth so Tyson breaks off to look for her daughter.
The servants are all chattering about it and naturally Tom Fairchild is up in arms that this is not a good turn despite how positive everyone else sounds about it. Back outside Mrs. Larrabee is sizing Sabrina up, trying to find out if this dance and anything else is going to affect the impending wedding. After the chat she goes straight to her husband and he goes over to Linus to send him to cover Elizabeth when she returns to the patio. Linus once dancing with Elizabeth already sees that David is up to his old tricks except with Sabrina this time.
Linus intercepts him on the way out and takes him to their father. The older and the younger bicker until Linus offer to compromise yet it stops short when David sits down crushing the glasses in his back pockets. Linus heads off with another bottle and two glasses to the indoor tennis court where Sabrina still waits for David. The two talk amicably and Sabrina looks rather happy that he is consenting to her romance with David. There is notice that this could be a family ploy to persuade her away from David yet still Linus is trying to be something of a gentleman to her, so it leads to them dancing after a drink.
The doctor is prying glass fragments from David's hips and the song playing is from the night Sabrina left to go to Paris.
Linus and Sabrina continue to dance then Linus kisses Sabrina after saying the kiss is from David. Her reaction to kiss is a surprise and again he jests all in the family.
The following morning, the Larrabee brothers chat about Sabrina as well as the wedding in relation to the families. David is so praising of Linus and Linus, the usually collected one of the two starts to look uneasy because of his own feelings despite his readiness to help David. Elizabeth shows up moments later ready to play Scrabble so that is Linus' cue to make for the exit. The father gauges the situation through Linus and Linus reveals his plan to distract Sabrina away from David. The plan is taking her sailing and Linus is bringing along his college phonograph.
It is a beautiful afternoon on the water and the breeze is enough to pull the yacht along without much maneuvering, which is how Linus might prefer it in this situation. Linus unlike David had noticed her before and now even he could probably admit she is an attractive woman. She still talks of David, Linus gives her the brief, and then she switches the records after the song ends. She comments the dust though reassures him that it is not him and that she is having a good time with him.
"Sabrina," says Linus quietly.
"Yes?" answers Sabrina gently.
"Do you mind if we turn this off?"
"Why?" questions Sabrina.
"Because," insists Linus.
"Don't you like it?"
"I used to like it."
Sabrina shuts off the phonograph and slides the record back into its sleeve.
"Certain songs bring back certain memories to me too. Did you love her?" probes Sabrina.
"I'd rather not talk about it," retorts Linus.
"I'm sorry," apologizes Sabrina.
"That's all right," responds Linus.
"It's so strange to think of you being touched by a woman. I always thought you walked alone."
"No man walks alone from choice."
Helena starts seeing more of Linus in Vic and Vic in Linus. She kisses his cheek and Vic strokes her hair.
"As a child I used to watch you, from the window over the garage. Coming and going, always wearing your black homburg and carrying a briefcase and an umbrella. I thought you could never belong to anyone. Never care for anyone," comments Sabrina.
"Oh yes, the cold businessman behind his marble desk, way up in his executive suite. No emotions, just ice water in his veins and ticker tape coming from his heart. And yet... one day that same cold businessman, high up in a skyscraper, opens a window, steps out on a ledge... stands there for three hours wondering... if he should jump," remarks Linus.
"Because of her?" queries Sabrina.
"No. No, that was another woman. Sabrina, do you find it hard to believe that someone might want to blot out everything for sentimental reasons?" asks Linus.
"Oh I believe it! Do you know what I almost did for sentimental reasons? I..."
A pause interrupts the flow of words from Sabrina yet she confesses why she truly went to Paris. She did enjoy the travel, the cooking, but the lasting comfort is the temporary emotional amnesia.
"I went to Paris to blot it out," sighs Sabrina.
The conversation turns more personal with each exchange of words.
"Maybe you should go to Paris, Linus. It helped me. Have you ever been there?" asks Sabrina.
"Oh yes. Once. For thirty-five minutes," answers Linus.
"Thirty-five minutes?" pips Sabrina.
"Changing planes. I was on my way to Iraq on an oil deal," responds Linus.
"Oh, but Paris isn't for changing planes, it's for changing your outlook! For throwing open the windows and letting in... letting in la vie en rose," continues Sabrina.
"Paris is for lovers. Maybe that's why I stayed only thirty-five minutes," murmurs Linus.
Sabrina believes she is in love with David, Linus' younger brother, the yacht ride is a turning point. After their return to shore, they part company and Sabrina chats with her father, almost speaking affectionately of Linus.
[+++]
The next morning during Fairchild's routine drive to the Linus Industries, he sizes up Linus' intentions towards Sabrina, and merely concedes that he hopes Linus handles as well as knows what he is doing in regards to Sabrina.
Helena always thought Tom Fairchild only wants her to be happy and safe though the two are not mutually exclusive in her life.
Sabrina gets the real floor show and hears more about why he did not jump from the ledge he spoke of on the yacht.
She wanders through his space, his niche, his office like Helena did with Vic before their first unofficial date.
He talks candidly of his intention to go to Paris at her suggestion, she professes gladness at his endeavor yet she appears almost unhappy at the idea he is going off, leaving her. Soon they are off to the Colony for dinner and there they talk about what he should do in Paris. Their attraction is already going up another notch whether they admit it or not. Another time skip and they are dancing together before their eyes meet again.
"How do you say in French my sister has a yellow pencil? "
"Ma soeur a un crayon jaune," answers Sabrina.
"How do you say my brother has a lovely girl? "
"Mon frere a une gentille petite amie," responds Sabrina.
"And how do you say I wish I were my brother?"
Later on the way home she is singing that famous song by Edith Piaf, the one called La Vie En Rose. As she sings the lyrics, their eyes lock once more though ever so briefly.
"Why are you looking at me that way?" probes Linus.
"All night long I've had the most terrible impulse to do something," responds Sabrina.
"Oh never resist an impulse, Sabrina. Especially if it's terrible," recommends Linus.
"I'm going to do it!" pips Sabrina
Sabrina yanks down Linus' homburg hat.
"There!"
"What was that for?"
"We can't have you walking up the Champs Elysses looking like a tourist undertaker! And another thing, never a briefcase in Paris and never an umbrella. There's a law."
Helena feels herself laughing at the scene because of it reminds her of when she had given Vic that punch in the arm when believing he had given up the clue to Dinah when in reality he taken advantage of their attention being on her to pocket the freighter schedule.
"How am I ever gonna get along in Paris without someone like you?" sighs Linus.
His eyes wander between the road and her as he continues to babble about learning French, not embarrassing himself, and then she looks at him curiously again. She offers up suggestions though he implies that his age makes it unlikely, that she weren't in love with David, that he asks her to go with him, but then appears to shrug it off. He's gotten through to her, she murmurs a response, then he asks her to sing the song again, and she does, so there it goes the love is written all over them maybe. They arrive back at the garage with David waiting for them and it is an awkward moment where suddenly it seems two men are now competing over her.
The talk is brief though of course, Linus and Sabrina cover their growing affections well even while Linus speaks a bit of French then heads inside twirling his umbrella.
At the office, Linus and his father go over Linus' intentions regarding Sabrina. All of Linus' touch gestures are getting picked apart by the father.
"How would you do it? You can't even get an olive out of a jar," snaps Linus.
He smashes said jar then stuffs the olive in his father's mouth.
Later that evening Sabrina on the ground floor of Larrabee Industries uses the floor's telephone booth to ring Linus' office and the two get to talking except Linus is sneaking down to intercept before she gets out of the building.
Helena giggles again thinking of their cell phone conversation when she got flustered at him hanging up on her except a split second later there he comes speeding along in the now familiar Pontiac GTO.
Back upstairs Linus puts her on the spot trying to work out why she is reluctant now to be seen with him. She is trying to get away from the idea of falling in love with him while clinging to the idea she must be in love with David only. One wonders if he had been preparing for her to attempt bail out of going to dinner and theater again especially with a sparsely stacked cabinet of food stuffs right next to the liquor. There is a comical nod that one could almost see through it with all the necessary tools in the lower cabinet below the counter.
The rest plays out rather like Helena's memories of Vic confronting her about why she is after Mandragora as well as causing her to recognize her attraction to him. Linus is doing the very same to Sabrina whether he knows it or not plus he still had to admit aloud his attraction to Sabrina too.
She goes back to preparing yet also takes the time to remind him of their conversation at The Colony. Linus above all else is a listener and she wryly smiles that he recalls so well, enough for her to compliment his dabble at speaking to French to her. She shows off how well she cracks an egg next, maybe Baron was right she must wonder as she catches herself smiling at Linus. As she searches for the eggbeater, she flicks on the light and finds two boat tickets for Paris.
She smiles again, only wider and with more flush. Her ecstasy is a bright contrast to the in the moment ploy that Linus had devised to spirit her out of the country to make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch except his own heart probably shudders inside. He loves Sabrina and this will hurt her unless he does go with her. He unwilling to lie confesses his original intentions, she thinks that he is going to join her later, but he presses further revealing the full extent of the trick. She plays it cold and he apologizes for the deception even though his feelings are still true.
Vic did similar when admitting why he lent his help to her even though he had known more of the situation then she did as well as knowing she had nothing on Cadmus to offer him.
He lists his reasons, and she makes a mock apology for allowing her puppy love feelings for David to interfere with business. She deduces almost exactly what he had done to cover his planned absence on the boat just as he concedes to enjoying his time with her. He tells the rest, she takes one of the tickets, and then leaves after suggesting he might enjoy Paris. Another morning rolls around and the Larrabee brothers have a 'talk'. It is clear that David is not as idiotic as he acts from time to time.
The plan gets another bender a few hours after their 'talk' when David appears at the meeting giving Linus the opportunity to repay David for the punch earlier. Linus after hitting him realizes that David had it right. David had it all in hand to assure that Linus would make it to the tugboat and after that to the Liberte… to his lady love Sabrina. Sabrina looks listlessly out to the Atlantic, a steward comes along holding a homburg hat. She adjusts like she did to Linus' in the car and then follows the steward's path after he leaves the boat deck then she turns around spotting Linus with umbrella in hand before he slips onto the belt of another man's trench coat.
The two embrace lovingly and then comes the fade to black before the words The End.
Helena and Vic are too busy undressing each other to notice those words. There are distinct sounds of feminine moans and sighs as well a clear soft groan from Vic's lips. A sensual turn to a decidedly romantic evening and as for dinner it could wait because their appetite would be heartier later to say the least. She wraps her legs around his waist and he roughly kisses her across the upper part of her body. Their clothes get strewn about the carpeting, she licks her lips between a few of his kisses and she more than returns with plenty of her own plus a bit of gentle back scratching too.
"A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea." – Honore de Balzac.
A/N 1: Back to Helena, starts off in the second to last scene of Divided We Fall. I had at least one of these scenes in mind after I wrote the previous chapter, as for the rest, it is a slight nod to an early chapter featuring The Maltese Falcon. This time Vic picks the movie... it is the 1954 Sabrina.
A/N 2: Now some might ask why that movie? Firstly its Bogart, secondly, its meant in some ways to mirror just how close Helena and Vic have become in such a short time. Some scenes referenced have parallels to episodes like Double Date.
A/N 3: Also its meant to follow along with the lighter mood at the end of Divided We Fall... the world got saved again... time to celebrate? I think so. After about two or three pulse pounding chapters, I thought this was in order.... for him and especially for her.
