Unsuspecting (Elle)

[Alecsander]

(13Oct)

"Dinner's ready!" Alex called, ladling marinara sauce over the noodles. He lifted the two plates and brought them to the sturdy table by the one window in the kitchen. He smiled at Elle as she entered, slightly dishelved from her shower. After the events earlier in the evening he'd sought to ground himself in the simple act of cooking. He hadn't whipped up any masterpiece, instead of sticking to the classic spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread.

"So. Feeling better?" he asked his girlfriend, bringing the wine and glasses to the table and pouring for them both. He'd already taken Sophia to the Ministry, dinner was late because of the time he spent there. Alex had no particular preference for mealtimes, his schedule was too erratic to allow it, but he hoped it wasnt too late for Elle.

[Elle Callahan]

The boiling hot shower had felt wonderful and helped make Elle feel better after discovering the corpse in the cellar. What other dark things were hidden in this monstrous house? Elle wouldn't be surprised if there was a room somewhere filled with the heads of former house elves preserved forever. She would never understand why old wizarding families had thought it an good idea to chop off the head of dead creatures and mount it on a plaque. Apparently nothing said honoring your help like mounting their heads on a wall for eternity. Maybe it was a British thing.

Elle quickly made her way to the kitchen. She didn't really want to get lost in the huge house that day. She was still a little unsettled by the events of the morning. It didn't take long before she entered the heaven that was the kitchen. It was one of Elle's favorite places in the estate. It always smelled like heaven. Elle paused in the doorway, watching Alex as he moved confidently around the kitchen.

"So. Feeling better?"

"Yes," Elle said smiling at him as he poured the wine. Her right shoulder was a little sore. It had been bothering her off and on since the fall down the stairs at work, twinging a little here or there. It wasn't a big pain just a bit of annoyance and for the most part it didn't hurt.

"How are you feeling?" Elle asked looking him over wondering how much finding his father's murder victim had affected him. "Thanks for making dinner, it looks great," Elle said taking a seat and biting into the bread.

[Alecsander]

"Yes, How are you feeling?"

He didnt quite know how to answer that. Cooking usually helped and it had a little, but he still felt unsettled. He gave his friend a neutral smile and placed the foil-wrapped garlic bread on the table. He probably enjoyed it too much, but eating a whole loaf of french bread soaked in butter and garlic wasnt so bad if you shared, right? And it was a small loaf. He took a couple slices for his plate and sat down.

"Thanks for making dinner, it looks great," Elle said taking a seat and biting into the bread.

"Sorry its so late." Alex didnt know when her next shift was but he was glad she was here with him. He felt the tenseness in his shoulders relax as she smiled at him. He wanted to say more but found the words stuck in his throat. Sorry for today. Cedric is a ghost I can't get rid of. I'm glad you're here.

Alex wolfed down his pasta, the taste of tomatoes and garlic bringing his appetite to life with a loud growl. He'd forgotten once again to eat today. Food was,of little consequence when there was so much to do, he would completely forget until hours and hours later.

"Work ok?"

[Elle Callahan]

"Thanks for making dinner, it looks great," Elle said taking a seat and biting into the bread.

"Sorry its so late."

Elle was use to staying up late and working odd hours. A late meal was normal for her. She ate when she could and it was often at different times. She had managed to take a nap for a bit after the whole cellar adventure. She would have slept longer while Alex was at the ministry but she was still a little creeped out by the house. She'd only manged to nod off with all of the dogs in the bedroom with her.

"it's not that late. When I'm on night shift breakfast is like 6pm and lunch is after midnight," She explained finishing off her first slice of bread and reaching for another. After Elle's little mishap in the stairwell she'd found herself being rotated off of the graveyard shift. Hence her getting off work at around 5 earlier in the day. "I've been rotated to the day crew with all the creepy stuff happening. Tomorrow I start at 9am. Work's been good. I still can't believe I panicked in the stair well that first day back and fell down the stairs. I'm such a ninny." She said with a roll of her eyes as she ate some pasta. She let out a moan of approval.

"I really like your food," She mumbled hiding her half full mouth behind a hand. She noticed how hungry she was and wondered if he skipped a meal. Elle had noticed that he tended to get really distracted and didn't eat. Elle didn't know how he survived with skipping meals. She was always hungry at work and would usually be found with a cookie or some fruit during her breaks.

"Were you able to settle Sophia okay?" She asked tentatively. It was a hard subject but the topic was the elephant in the room.

[Alecsander]

"it's not that late. When I'm on night shift breakfast is like 6pm and lunch is after midnight. I've been rotated to the day crew with all the creepy stuff happening. Tomorrow I start at 9am. Work's been good. I still can't believe I panicked in the stair well that first day back and fell down the stairs. I'm such a ninny." She said with a roll of her eyes as she ate some pasta. She let out a moan of approval.

He should have known, her schedule could be as crazy as his own. He frowned at the mention of her fall in the stairwell. She had been doing well since her return and the incident with the sword, but it seemed she was still suffering from spell shock. "..Elle," he said slowly, "have you seen anyone? I'm worried."

"I really like your food,"

Alex murmured thanks, serving himself more pasta, liberally doused in cheese. He lifted an eyebrow at her, silently indicating he wasn't going to let the question go. They ate in silence, Alex eating more slowly this time.

"Were you able to settle Sophia okay?"

He froze, fork halfway to his mouth, then slowly lowered it. Sophia. Her discovery had turned a carefree family exploration into a tragedy, and brought up family memories Alex had longed to forget. Had tried to bury. I'm not like him. I won't be like him. The corners of Alex's mouth twitched in what tried to be a reassuring smile, but had no heart to it.

"Y-yes. I reported her to the right authorities and she's in the coroner's office now." he knew what they would find, death by starvation, or dehydration. Did it really matter which? He took a large bite of garlic bread, breathing deeply. Treat it like any other case. Ignore the emotion attached.

[Elle Callahan]

He should have known, her schedule could be as crazy as his own. He frowned at the mention of her fall in the stairwell. She had been doing well since her return and the incident with the sword, but it seemed she was still suffering from spell shock. "..Elle," he said slowly, "have you seen anyone? I'm worried."

"I really like your food,"

Alex murmured thanks, serving himself more pasta, liberally doused in cheese. He lifted an eyebrow at her, silently indicating he wasn't going to let the question go. They ate in silence, Alex eating more slowly this time.


The lift he got on his eyebrows was quite impressive. Elle wondered if the expression just came naturally or if he had practiced as a child. He had so many different ways to use his impressive brows to indicate his feelings. Elle turned her focus away from the eyebrows and onto her meal. She felt the weight of his stare and knew he wasn't going to give up the topic just because she complemented his cooking. Since the incident with the sword Elle had been required to speak with the staff shrink once a week at the start of one of her shifts. The conversations had helped with the adjustment into a new world but she didn't like to talk about it. A healer with a mental healer of her own didn't really invite confidence. She hadn't had another spell shock incident until the stairwell. She probably just returned to work too soon and the nerves caught up with her. Especially in a dimly lit stair well in the middle of the night. She let her imagination make her careless and her foot slipped. The whole thing was embarrassing. She was quickly earning the reputation of klutzy Callahan. More than a few people had joked about her bad luck. Earlier that day she had nearly been crushed under a metal shelf in the store room. A few weak screws snapped and the whole thing collapsed in on itself before tipping over. An orderly walking by had seen the disaster unfolding and had pulled her back just before she got pinned.

"Were you able to settle Sophia okay?"

Elle watched Alex pause. She immediately regretted asking the question but she truly wondered how he was handling this. It had to be hard for him to have to face the truth of his father. It was one thing to think that his father had killed his half brother's mother and then another entirely to see the evidence of it.

Y-yes. I reported her to the right authorities and she's in the coroner's office now." he knew what they would find, death by starvation, or dehydration. Did it really matter which? He took a large bite of garlic bread, breathing deeply. Treat it like any other case. Ignore the emotion attached.


"How are you really holding up? It must be hard finding her after all this time. You know you can always talk to me but if you need professional help I know a could mental healer," She said gently.

"You know you're nothing like him right," She said reaching across the table for his hand and giving it a squeeze.

[Alecsander]

"How are you really holding up? It must be hard finding her after all this time. You know you can always talk to me but if you need professional help I know a could mental healer," She said gently.

He snorted, eying her somewhat skeptically, but smiled nonetheless. He'd never followed up after that first episode, but maybe he should have. "Finding her was a matter of time. But we never told Max... About Cedric. I've tried to forget. I'm sure Curse did as well."

"You know you're nothing like him right," She said reaching across the table for his hand and giving it a squeeze.

He looked at her, a sudden anguish flashing into his eyes. "Aren't I? He wasn't so bad either, once upon a time. I could be."

[Elle Callahan]

The anguish in his eyes tore at Elle. Wounds ran deep. She wanted to just wrap her arms around him and sooth all his troubles away. She didn't though. She just sat there, holding his hand and staring at him.

"There's a darkness in all of us, it's what we do with it that matters. You could have killed Morag and taken Jamie, raised him your way. You could have made her suffer. Made him suffer but you didn't. You could have embraced darkness but you didn't. Instead you became a dark wizard hunter," Elle pointed out.

"I'm not really all that good at pep talks. I get a little trite when I try," Elle said with a shrug, pulling her hand away and getting up from the table to clear the plates. Her foot caught the chair leg and Elle lost her balance, tumbling onto the ground, messy plate shattering on the floor.

A bitter laugh broke out of Elle as she sat there among the shards of plate and sauce. "I'm really a disaster,"

[Alecsander]

Alex sighed but smiled tiredly at Elle in thanks. Sometimes when memories returned he found himself struggling, but he knew her words were true. He scraped up a last bit of sauce with the last of his bread, feeling comfortably full.

"I'm not really all that good at pep talks. I get a little trite when I try," Elle said with a shrug.

"You do alright," he said, letting her take his plate. She stumbled, tumbling to the floor before he could react. In the next moment he was kneeling next to her, looking her over.

"I'm really a disaster,"

"Its just a pplate," Alex said gently, helping her up. "You're ok?" he hadnt seen anything wrong with her, but felt concern nonetheless.

[Elle Callahan]

"I'm really a disaster,"

"Its just a pplate," Alex said gently,

Elle looked up at her boyfriend as he held a hand out to her. She knew it was just a plate but this sort of thing kept happening. She was becoming quite the klutz. She allowed him to help her up out of the mess that was now on the kitchen floor.

She winced, her sore shoulder hurting her. The area was tender to the touch as Elle rubbed her shoulder.

"I'm fine, my shoulder has been bugging me. I think it might be bruised," She said turning to show up him shoulder.

[Alecsander]

"I'm fine, my shoulder has been bugging me. I think it might be bruised,"

"From the stairs?" Alex gently ran his hands across her back, feeling the curve of her hips and spine. He pressed his thumbs in firmly, following the line of her spine. "How's this..." he lifted her shirt, exposing the shoulder. He stopped dead, hands hovering, lightly touching her shoulders. A cold feeling. Beyond anger.

Mine

It was scrawled across her shoulder, cut deep and at least four inches long. It looked half-healed, the scars crustingnover with scabs, slightly obscuring the message.

He stumbled back a step, eyes wide, hands dropping and fisting. How dare he! And why can't I protect her? It took a few minutes before Elle's voice broke through the ringing in his ears. Anquish and fury battled inside him, he reached out, wanting to hold her. To keep her safe.

[Elle Callahan]

"I'm fine, my shoulder has been bugging me. I think it might be bruised,"

"From the stairs?"

"Uh huh," Elle murmured relaxing as Alex ran his hands down her back. The massage felt good. She leaned in as his fingers dun in along her spine. She let out a sigh of pleasure as Alex lifted her shirt, exposing her shoulder. The cooler air felt good on her heated skin. She was thinking that maybe the back rub could lead to more when Alex just backed away. One second he was caressing her shoulder and the next he was backing away from her like she was flame.

"What's wrong?" Elle said trying to look over her shoulder at him. Elle turned around, pulling her shirt down. Alex looked pissed standing there stiff as a statute, hands balled into a fist. What had caused him to be so angry? He looked ready for battle.

"Alex what is it?" Elle said worried. He didn't seem to hear her. He just stood there frozen in rage. What had he seen that set him off like that? He'd been lifting up her shirt. Was there something on her shoulder? What? Was it a nasty bruise? Why would a bruise set him off like that.

"Alex?" Elle said her eyes dark with worry. Finally he seemed to hear her and he reached out for her. Elle stepped into his embrace. He seemed to need the comfort. Needed to just hold her.

"What scared you?" Elle asked as she wrapped her own arms around him tightly.

[Alecsander]

She came to him and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. He didn't want to let go. He didn't want her to see his fury. Fear.

"What scared you?" Elle asked as she wrapped her own arms around him tightly.

The words didn't come, how could he explain it? What could he say? Hesitant fingers traced her shoulder, her shirt had fallen back down. "You haave a. Scar. Hhe cut you."

[Elle Callahan]

"You haave a. Scar. Hhe cut you."

Scar what scar? Elle didn't have any scars. Not on her shoulder. She had a few on her hands from potion making but those were hazards of her job. She didn't have any scars that would cause Alex Kameren to go into over protective rage mode. Who cut her? What cut? Elle didn't have any cuts.

"Elle pulled back just a little so she could look up into Alex's face. She saw mostly chin, until he looked at her, but she tried to gauge his expression.

"I'm still lost here. There's a cut on my shoulder?" Elle asked as she experimentally rotated her shoulder left to right and then up and down. The skin tightened and smarted a bit as she moved. Maybe it wasn't a bruise after all. The stinging and tight feeling she felt could be from a cut. But wouldn't it have healed by now? How had this cut been missed? She'd fallen down the stairs a few days ago. Besides a simple cut wouldn't have freaked Alex out that much would it?

"I want to see it," Elle asked, pulling away from Alex and going into the nearest bathroom. She turned on the lights and pulled off her shirt, wincing as the movement caused her shoulder to twinge. Elle positioned herself in front of the mirror and turned her head to the left, looking over her shoulder at her reflection.

"BLOODY FUCKING HELL," burst out as Elle saw the letters scrawled into her back. She tried to make them out in the reflection. Enim...It took her a few seconds to figure out that the word was mine. Mine. Who in the bloody hell scrawled that into her back? When? The fall down the stairs had been a freak accident. Yet she could have sworn she had heard someone else in the stairwell. Maybe she hadn't tripped after all? She'd been unconscious for a long time. Or did the stalker carve into her when he cut off her hair? No. Alex would have notice it before right? They'd have seen the blood. The night of the stairwell incident, that was a different story. Elle had a cut on her head that bled all over. That would have obscured any blood on her shoulder.

This was a message. A message for Alex. Elle wouldn't have seen it unless someone else pointed out to her. This creep was telling Alex to back off. To leave his belongings alone. Except that Elle didn't belong to anyone. She was not chattel that a man could claim. Anger darkened Elle's eyes. She wanted this guy caught.

"This getting out of hand. What can we do to get this guy? Set up a sting? Use me as bait, lure the creep out and capture him?" Elle said turning to face Alex.

[Alecsander]

"I'm still lost here. There's a cut on my shoulder?"

She twisted in his grip and he loosened his hold, looking down at her only briefly. He didn’t want her to see. Alex took a deep breath through his nose, closing his eyes. Control.

"I want to see it,"

He followed her to the bathroom, leaning on the wall opposite the door for support. Mine. It was a message. A brand. But not for Elle, for him. The bastard thought he owned her! Thought he could scare Alex off, thought Elle was his. A possession. His eyes were nearly black as he looked at her, twisting around to see her reflection. Mine. He clenched his fists, tearing his gaze away. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t protect her from a simple stalker. He couldn’t find Max’s attacker, or the blood mages who were terrorizing everyone.

"BLOODY FUCKING HELL,"

He opened his eyes to meet Elle’s furious ones. He almost lost himself then, drowning in her, falling into their shared fury. He opened and clenched his fists. He’d become a failure. He was afraid. Afraid to lose Elle. Max. Ari and the girls. Jamie. He was furious, chest tight. He had to do something!

"This getting out of hand. What can we do to get this guy? Set up a sting? Use me as bait, lure the creep out and capture him?" Elle said turning to face Alex.

“NO!” the volume of his words startled Alex, and he stared. Made a movement as to step back, but was stalled by the wall he’d been leaning against. He tried again, but words failed. A long moment passed, two. Three. He reached out, hands cramping from tension.

“we.. I. No!” He tried again. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to be far away. Wished she’d never returned. Wished she’d never disappeared. She wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t. She would be safe, far from Alex. It was Alex’s presence that caused the man to mark her. A warning.

He couldn’t bring the words.