In Thirty Days – By Princess Alexandria

Day 8

Trini got into the elevator to go get the mail before she had dinner.  Seeing Margot Yale rushing to catch the elevator, she just managed to resist the urge to hit the close button and avoid her. 

“Hey Trini.” Margot smiled her trademark fake smile.

“Hello.” Trini studied the walls of the elevator.  She didn’t want to talk with Margot, not after finding out what a colossal bigot she was regarding the Gargoyles.  After she had heard that the Yales’ had met gargoyles, she did a little more research.  She double checked her articles on Gargoyles and found quite a few nasty quotes by Margot.

“Your research on those beasts going okay?” Margot said in a disinterested way.  Trini’s lips grew thin, her vision going red for just a second. 

“I’m doing okay.” She lied.  She only had that one glimpse of a gargoyle Saturday night.  So, yeah, she knew that they were really there, but she hadn’t doubted that.  She had come so very close to getting arrested to.  Yeah, she was really doing ok.  Thankfully Margot wasn’t as stupid as Trini suspected she was.  She didn’t push for more conversation.

When the doors opened into the lobby, Trini was the first out, and rushing over to the mailbox.  So intent on getting the mail quickly and catching the elevator back up she didn’t see the woman talking to the doorman. 

Trini pulled a collection of magazines and junk mail out of the PO box and then locked it up again.  She almost collided with someone as she turned to leave.

“Trini?  Oh man how is that for luck.  I came to see you.” Trini’s eyes widened.  Not many people talked with her in this building.  She turned and was surprised to see Elisa.

“Detective?” Trini held the mail closer to her body, waiting to see if it was the police officer or the friendly woman version of Elisa that she was seeing.  Was she still in trouble?

“I’m off duty until later tonight, you can call me Elisa.” The pretty detective smiled at Trini then looked around the lobby.  “I really need to talk with you.” Trini got the hint that Elisa meant in private.

“Oh…Okay…you want to come up with me?”  Trini tilted her head to indicate the elevator. 

“Nice apartment.” Elisa commented as she walked in the door.

“Yeah, I thought so too, but it isn’t mine.” Trini grinned “I’m just staying here for the month house-sitting.”  She put the mail in the shoebox.  It was starting to get a little full.

“Oh…” Elisa closed the door behind her.  “Where are you from?”

Trini was about to answer when her stomach growled.  She didn’t think Elisa could hear it, but it reminded her it was dinnertime.  “Seattle…Hey, I was just about to make some spaghetti.  Have you had dinner yet.”  It was 7 pm, she might have.  Trini hadn’t really spoken to many people lately.  She was starting to miss that.

“Oh, I don’t want to put you to any trouble…” Elisa answered politely

“It’s spaghetti…I just need to cook more noodles.  That is hardly any trouble.”  Trini looked at Elisa’s face, silently willing her to stay, “So does that mean your hungry?”

Elisa appeared to debate with herself for a few seconds, and looked out the window at the still sunny day.  “Sure, why not.”

A smile light up Trini’s face, “Great!  Let me just start the water boiling.  Want anything to drink?  I have water, Gatorade, and a few wine coolers.”

“Water is fine.  Thanks.”

“I really need to get going.” Elisa looked out the window at the fading daylight.  “I had a great time.  Maybe I’ll have you over to my place next time.” She smiled genuinely.  This was a dinner invitation that Trini was all to eager to accept.  Elisa was funny, smart, and not a bigoted jerk about gargoyles.  She seemed uncomfortable talking about them, but Trini didn’t sense any hostility.

“That would be great.  Here, let my write down my cell phone number.  Call me.” Trini rushed into the kitchen to find a pen and paper.  She wrote down her full name, cell number and after thinking for a second added her email address.

She handed the paper to Elisa and the Detective placed it in her coat pocket.  “Good luck with your novel.  It sounds pretty good.”

“Thanks.  I just need to clean it up a bit and I’ll be done…” Trini never made this offer, but Elisa seemed really interested, “If you want I can get you a copy to read.” Her voice sounded shy.

“Sure.  That would be great…Oh, and Trini…maybe you should cut out the late night walks in the park.  It is dangerous out there.” Elisa sounded very serious, Trini just nodded in agreement that it was dangerous.  She didn’t want to say she wouldn’t go again, because she had no intention of stopping.

After Elisa left Trini changed into her dark outfit to go out.  At least now she knew that someone saw that the dog-like gargoyle was fine the next night.  She did some good that night.  She planned to stay in the trees and off the paths tonight, just in case any of those Quarrymen were still about.  She was only here a few more weeks.  She could keep her head down that long.  She left the apartment just as the sun started to set.

Trini sat back against the tree trunk and watched the people pass by on the path below her.  This time she was careful not to choose a tree with a bench under it.  Luckily it wasn’t raining,  which would make this stake out more comfortable, but it also meant that there were even more people around.  She sat there for probably 45 minutes before she realized that she hadn’t made a very good choice of spots.  With all these people wandering through, what were the chances that a gargoyle would drop by.  She felt really stupid once she realized that.

Trini quietly climbed down the tree and wandered into the bushes in search of a less well lit and crowded path.  She found one that had a few burnt out lamps.  It looked like a muggers Disneyland, so she decided to stay.  She climbed up into another tree and settled in for a wait.

Trini sat comfortably against the tree, with her eyes closed enjoying the cool night breeze.  Even though it looked like she had fallen asleep she was still very alert, and had no trouble hearing the beginnings of trouble.

“Hey, pretty lady.  What you doing out so late all alone.” A male voice traveled up to Trini.  She opened her eyes and stared out at the path.  Two young men, wearing baggy pants, plaid shirts, and bandana’s were walking along side a woman, who was trying the look down and pretend you don’t see them approach.  They were all heading closer to the tree that Trini was hiding in. 

“Hey, sweetcheeks, I believe that we are talking to you.” The other male was getting irritated with the silent treatment.  Trini could tell that this was going in an ugly direction.  She scanned the skies for any indication that help was on the way.  She found nothing.

“P..Please just leave me alone.” The woman stuttered out, obviously afraid.  Trini moved into a crouching position, pulling her hat down more firmly onto her head.  They were just a few feet away from her now, she had chosen the darkest part of the path to hide in, and now she had a sinking feeling.  She once again scanned the sky.  Dammit!  Where the hell were those Gargoyles!

Trini’s instincts proved to be right on, because as soon as the men reached the tree they grabbed the young woman and started to drag her into the bushes.  “We’re gonna teach you to be more respectful bitch!” One of them hissed.  The woman started to scream and kick as they pulled her further off of the path.  Trini gracefully leapt down from the tree and rolled as she hit the ground.  Her hands brushed over a large rock which she grabbed quickly and tossed at one of the men.  She was surprised when he went down quickly.  Must have hit him in the head.  She was still partially hidden by the bushes between her and the others.  Seeing the size of the still standing man, she decided to try and scare him off, rather than get beaten.  Using her most beastly and dangerous voice  she growled out, “I believe that the lady is not interested.”  She glared at him, and was pleased when he suddenly looked frightened as he looked over in her direction.  He turned tail and ran, leaving his unconscious friend in the dirt.  She grinned to herself when she realized that he thought she was a gargoyle.

“Oh…thank you.” The woman she had just rescued addressed the bush.  Trini saw that when she tried to stand up, she winced and hopped onto one foot.  Was it sprained or broken?  Trini decided that she needed to help this woman get out of the park.

“No problem…but perhaps we could get out of here before Romeo here wakes up.” Trini used her normal voice, and it seemed to startle the woman.  She walked out of the bushes and went to support the other woman so that they could walk faster.

“I’m Andrea…” the woman was pretty, and had shoulder length blond hair, which caught the little light that was available.  Her business suit was dirty and some buttons were missing from the shirt.

“Trini.  You know that this place is really dangerous at night don’t you.” Trini cringed as the Detectives words seemed to find their way out of her mouth.  Of course Andrea would know that…Now.

As they made their way out to the path she glanced at the unconscious man.  She was really getting good at slinging rocks.

Trini didn’t know why she was staying as the Doctor at the Hospital checked Andrea’s foot.  She obviously wasn’t needed anymore.  She just didn’t feel comfortable leaving until Andrea’s friend showed up.  She wanted to make sure that Andrea would have a way home.  She seemed like a nice person.  The waiting room was pretty busy.  Since Trini was so anxious to get out of there she stared at the entrance, waiting for the woman that Andrea had called.

She was surprised when her phone rang, and she got a lot of angry glares from the nurses.  Trini stood up and started to walk outside while answering it.

“Trini, were you in the park tonight!” She instantly recognized Elisa’s voice.

“Wha..What?  Elisa?” Trini was a little confused.  How could she know.

“You were, weren’t you.” Elisa was quickly becoming Detective Maza again.  “We found some thug knocked out with a rock and that sounded really familiar!”

“Ah…yeah.” Trini felt her face getting a little pale.

“Where are you now?” Detective Maza grilled her.

“St. Mary’s Hospital.  Brought a woman here.” Trini was upset to hear the broken sentences that she tended to speak as a child when she knew she was really in trouble.

“Don’t leave.  We are on our way.” Detective Maza hung up the phone, and Trini pulled her cell away from her head and stared at it for a second.

Day 9

Trini walked back into the waiting room, making sure to turn off her cell phone.  Now she saw the sign that said no cell phones in the building.  She wished she had seen that earlier.

“Ms. Stephens?” a middle aged thin nurse approached her.

“Yes.” Trini pocketed her cell phone and looked at the nurse expectantly.

“Well, your friend, Ms. Calhoun is out of the X-ray room.  She’d like you to go see her.  She’s in room 213.” The nurse studied Trini.  She knew that she looked bad.  She could still feel some leaves in her ponytail, and her pants were muddy.

“Oh…Okay…thanks.” Trini started down a hall, but the nurse’s voice stopped her.

“Ma’am…it’s down that hall.” The nurse pointed in the opposite direction.  Trini started to back track.

“Oh…I have some…friends…coming by.  They should be here really soon.” Trini envisioned Elisa driving at breakneck speeds with her siren blaring.  She rubbed her forehead, and sighed.  “Will they know where I am?” Trini wasn’t going to risk Detective Maza’s wrath if she thought that she had run.

“I’ll put a note on the computer in check in so the reception desk will know what to tell them.” The thin nurse walked away, heading for the large check in desk.  

When Trini found room 213 she slowly stuck her head in, just to make sure Andrea was there.  She was sitting on the bed watching some old sitcom.  “Hey, Andrea…how’d you rank a single room so quickly?” She grinned at Andrea, and had to force herself to keep it on her face when she saw how slowly the young artist turned to face her.  She was definitely on some pain medication. 

Andrea smiled at her, looking as focused as a baby.  “Trini…You’re still here!”

“Yeah…I didn’t want to leave you alone.” She walked over to the side of the bed and sat down on the chair.  “So…how far away does your friend live?” Trini wanted some idea of how long a wait they had.

A voice from the doorway answered, “Not that far away.” Trini turned to see a attractive redheaded woman, wearing a red dress suit.  She exuded power and confidence.

“Domi!” Andrea’s eyes light up with joy.  “I am so sorry to call you so late.”

The redhead looked a little startled by the exuberant greeting Andrea gave her, So Trinity mouthed the word painkillers.  Trini imagined for a split second that the woman’s eyes actually turned red, as a hard line of anger showed momentarily.  This woman could give Detective Maza a run for her money with that glare of death.  Trini watched the woman look at Andrea, who was…quite honestly not up to answering any questions, before the woman turned to her.

“I’m Dominique Destine.  And you are.” Dominique crossed her arms in front of herself, giving Trini a feeling that she was being grilled for information. 

“Um…I’m Trinity Stephens…” Trini decided not to move around the bed and try and shake hands; it was obviously not welcomed.  Dominique walked closer to the bed to study Andrea, who looked like she was barely holding on to consciousness.  When she made a move to sit on the bed, Trini stopped her, “Ah… her foot is hurt.  Try not to move it.” With this Dominique chose to just stand.

“Trinity!” the door opened again, this time it was Detective Maza.  “What the hell happened tonight?!”

Before Trini could answer Dominique turned to look at Elisa, “Hello Detective…I was just getting ready to ask that myself.” Her voice was very cold, and suddenly Trini wanted to be in that room even less than before.

“De…Ms. Destine!” Detective Maza looked shocked for a second before glaring back at the redhead.  “What are you doing here?!”

“That is none of your business!” Trini could swear she heard a little bit of a growl to Dominique’s words.  She could see from the narrowing of Maza’s eyes that this was going to get more out of control.

“Um…maybe we could find somewhere else to talk.” Trini spoke quickly, trying to stop the upcoming yelling match.  Both women turned to glare at her, and she took a step back quickly.  But in seeing that Andrea was just staring at them all, looking completely lost, she decided not to back down.  “Andrea, honey…I need to go talk with Detective Maza, okay.”

Andrea looked at the bristling women and then at Trini, she looked upset and Trini knew from experience that the pain medicine would make it hard for her to really understand what was going on.  “Sure…but don’t leave before seeing me again…” Andrea reached out a hand and pulled Trini closer to her, Trini could feel everyone in the room looking at her.  “Thank you for saving me…” with that Andrea kissed Trini’s cheek, and Trini’s face flooded with a bright red blush.

“uh…sure.” Trini stood up and gave Andrea an embarrassed grin.  She turned to leave the room, knowing that the other women would be following her.

“Oh…and Trini?” Andrea grinned a little mischievously.

“Yeah?” Trini turned back to the bed.

“You do a great Gargoyle impersonation.” Trini felt her stomach clench as she heard that, and her face grew a bit pale.

Detective Bluestone met up with them as they left the room, and Trini could see plainly that he was also very surprised to see Dominique.  He tried to cover it quickly though.  The Detectives managed to get them a room nearby where they could talk privately.

“Sorry Ms. Destine.  But this is police business.” Elisa stood blocking the entrance to the room.  The words Police Business making Trinity’s heart beat faster.  They were going to arrest her.  Maybe she shouldn’t talk until she saw a lawyer.

“Elisa…” the strangled words came out of Trini’s mouth before the blaze of fire that Dominique was getting ready to let loose.

“What!” Elisa growled at her, but when she turned to see Trini her eyes softened a little.

“Do I need to get a lawyer?…I mean…” Trini was sitting on the bed and she looked down at her feet, she found them easier to talk to.  Still it was only a loud whisper that came out next, “Am I going to jail?”

Elisa walked away from the doorway over to Trini.  This gave Dominique the chance to slide inside and shut the door behind her.  “Do you think you deserve to go to jail Trinity?” Elisa’s voice was soft and gentle.  She was completely ignoring the other two people in the room.

“I…I don’t know.” Trinity felt tears start sliding down her face.  “But I’d rather die than be caged…rather die.”  Her throat felt constricted.  She took a few shaky breaths, and muttered angrily to herself, “…like that would happen.”

Matt and Elisa shared a confused gaze, before Elisa reached out and gently forced Trini to look up at her.

“What happened tonight Trini?” Elisa was still trying to keep her voice soothing.  Trini had a stray thought that Elisa must be a really good cop.

“I went to the park again…” Trini looked up pleadingly, “I know that after dinner you said that I shouldn’t.  I’m sorry.”  Trini absently noticed that Elisa seemed uncomfortable with Dominique knowing they had dinner, and Dominique seemed very interested in that fact.  Were they ex-lovers or something?  Trini got caught up in looking between the two women.

“And then what happened?” Elisa started to coax her.

“Oh…well.” Here is where Trini decided that they didn’t need the entire truth, only the relevant information.  “I saw these two guys harassing Andrea.  They grabbed her and started to pull her into the bushes.  I jumped down and threw a rock at one of them.  He went down quickly.  I scared the other one off.”

Dominique’s voice had a sneering quality to it, “And how, did you manage to scare off this attacker.”

“De..Ms. Destine.  Please be quiet.” Elisa snarled through bared teeth, and then turned to Trini. “How did you scare him off?”

“Um…He couldn’t really see me.” Trini started to blush.  Her plan had been pretty stupid.  She was lucky it worked.

“So…then…” Elisa coaxed some more.

“I made my voice all growly and told him that the lady wasn’t interested.”

“That worked!” Dominique interrupted, her voice filled with disbelief. 

Trini gave her a shy grin, her tears were drying up.  “I think he thought I was a gargoyle.”

“That’s exactly what you wanted him to think, wasn’t it?” Matt chuckled.

Elisa glared at the other two in the room and then turned to address Trini again.  “You said you jumped down.  Where were you?”  Damn, she had hoped that Elisa wouldn’t notice that slip.

“Um…I was in a tree.”

“What…” Elisa looked really confused, “You go to Central Park at night to climb trees?!”

“…” Trini couldn’t really think of a response to that, so her mouth hung open, making her look like more of an idiot.

“Trini,” Matt started to talk, bringing Trini’s attention away from the slightly reddening Maza. “Why were you climbing trees?”

“I…wanted to stay out of sight.  The Quarrymen might recognize me.”

“What?  Why would they recognize you?” Dominique sounded like she was quickly getting lost in the conversation, and it was making her very grumpy.

“Nevermind that!” Elisa glared at the redhead, and then glared at Trini “If you wanted to stay out of sight you could have stayed home like I told you too.  What are you after in the park?!”

“I…I…” Trini was getting flustered.  She just looked back and forth between the other three people in the room.

“What are you after?!”Elisa yelled at her.

“Gargoyles!” Trini yelled back, then her eyes widened, and she clamped her hands over her mouth, but the damage had already been done.  She became very still and quiet, not to mention very pale.

Everyone in the room remained quiet for a moment, until Dominique spoke.  Her voice filled with venom. “So, you fancy yourself a hunter?!  Did you plan to kill one, or perhaps you wanted to catch one and keep him in a cage.  This is so typical.” Dominique was started to go into full rant.

“N..No.  I just…” Trini was suddenly frightened of this woman, “I have questions.”

“Well…”Elisa sounded thoughtful.  “Whatever your reasons for being there, that man could decide to charge you with assault.”

Trini was quiet for an almost uncomfortable amount of time before she spoke, “Well, whether or not he does I think Andrea should.  I think they were going to rape her.  I don’t think she realizes that.”  She sounded tired, defeated.

“Unless your taking me in Elisa, I want to go say goodbye to Andrea and go home…” Trini looked up into Elisa’s eyes. 

Trini flinched when she saw that Elisa was going to put her hand on her left knee.  She was a little upset with herself when she saw the hurt look in the Detective’s eyes as she withdrew her hand.  “I don’t see a problem with that.  I’ll call you when I know something more about what is going on, okay.” Elisa, her new friend had replaced the Detective again.  Trini figured it must be hard for Elisa to live with two faces like that.  She nodded to Dominique, who showed no signs of leaving the room just yet, and left, she didn’t even notice Matt. 

Day 10

Trini had fallen asleep on the couch, after she had taken off her muddy clothes.    Last night after getting home she had been staring into the night sky and trying not to imagine what would happen to her if she were arrested.  It was now a very distinct possibility.

The late morning sun beating down on her through the window didn’t seem to disturb her deep sleep.  Her cell phone, however, jolted her awake quite well.  She almost fell off the couch.

It was on the fourth ring when Trini finally managed to dig it out of the bottom of the fanny pack she wore last night.

“Hello…” her voice still sounded groggy.

“Trini, I’m sorry, you were sleeping weren’t you?” Elisa sounded surprised that she wouldn’t be up yet, so Trini looked over at the clock on the microwave.  It was 11:45. 

“Yeah, well I should have gotten up earlier.” Trini was worried that this was another of Elisa’s business calls.  That served to help her wake up more quickly.

“I was thinking I could bring over some lunch, and we could talk.” Elisa made the suggestion sound more like an order.

“Um…sure.” Trini was a little hesitant, still not knowing exactly what Elisa wanted to talk about.

“I’ll be there at 12:30.” Elisa stated, and then Trini could hear her hang up.  Looking around at the pile of muddy clothes in the corner of the bathroom, the pile of dishes in the sink, and realizing that she still needed to shower, she went into action.

She rushed through the dishes in just a few minutes and had put the clothes in the hamper.  She was rushing back into the bathroom to start the shower when she noticed it.  Her reflection.  It stopped her cold.

Her hair had been light brown, and over night it had turned pitch black.  It was much finer and straighter than her hair had been, so her ears poked out a little on each side.  Placing her hand over her mouth, she slowly moved closer to the mirror to inspect herself.  Her eyes had always been blue, but now light gray eyes stared back at her.  She ran her hand through the new hair and found that it was as soft as rabbit fur. 

“Fuck.” She whispered to herself.  She tried to rearrange the hair to cover her ears, but it just wasn’t working.  She hurriedly removed her pajamas to see if there were any other unexpected changes.

She found that all her hair was now pitch black.  Nothing else seemed to have changed.  She ran to the bedroom to grab a handheld mirror to check her backside.  She almost tripped over her pajamas in her haste.

When she returned to the bathroom she turned her back to the full-length mirror and held up the smaller mirror.  The oval shaped scars on her back seemed a little more pronounced, but that could have been her imagination.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see any new protuberances.  She started when she heard the chimes of a nearby church start to ring.  Elisa would be here in 30 minutes.  

Not knowing what else to do Trini jumped into the shower and cleaned up very quickly.  She felt a little odd about washing her hair; it felt strange.  She was out of the shower and dressed in less than ten minutes.  Which left her 20 minutes to figure out what she was going to do and say about her hair. 

After arguing with the new hair for about 10 minutes, Trini realized it was a lost cause.  She went and grabbed the only hat she had, the one she wore last night.  She was going to need to buy more hats.  Her hair was so black that it made her new black hat look slightly faded.  Normal women didn’t have hair like that.  She made sure that the hat covered the tops of her ears by carefully tucking them under it.  She then grabbed the pajamas off the bathroom floor and went to put them in the hamper.

Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, her heart sank.  Elisa had seen her just 12 hours ago.  This was going to look suspicious.  She could claim that she had dyed her hair, but her eyes…they were much lighter.  Were there contacts that could take deep blue eyes and turn them light gray?  Trini doubted it. 

Trini glanced around the apartment one more time.  Elisa should be here any minute.  That is when inspiration struck.  The balcony had a table and two chairs.  It was a lovely day, so bright that she would need to wear sunglasses.  She darted into the bedroom and pulled the luggage out of the closet.  She rummaged for a second and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.  She carefully put them on, so as not to mess up her hair or the hat.  Her eyes adjusted quickly to the change.  Someone knocked on the door.

Trini opened the balcony door as she pasted by it, so that it would seem that she had come from there.  She then took a deep breath and opened the door.

Elisa gave Trini an odd look when she saw the hat and glasses, and Trini got the sinking feeling that she had come up with a stupid idea.  “New Look?”

“I decided to color my hair.  I thought it would be easier to hide from the Quarrymen that might recognize me.” Trini made sure her answer wasn’t too rushed, even though she had been rehearsing it in her mind for 20 minutes.

“And the shades?” Elisa pushed.

“Oh, I was outside.  I thought we could eat out there, it’s a beautiful day.” Trini was going to stick with her plan, regardless of how stupid it was.  She smiled tentatively at the Detective, hoping that this wasn’t a last free meal before being escorted to jail.

“Oh, sure…” Elisa stepped inside so that Trini could close the door. 

“You need something to drink?” Trini started to head for the kitchen.

“I think I’ll have water.” Elisa said, her voice sounded a little weary.

“Okay.” Trini went and got both of them a bottle of water.  When she came back out to the living room she saw that Elisa had already gone out onto the balcony and was setting out their meals.  She had also taken off that red jacket, and was wearing a tight black t-shirt that showed what good shape the woman was in.  They both sat down a little awkwardly. 

Elisa spoke first. “Trini, I’m not here to arrest you, so you can relax already!” she sounded a little exasperated.  Trini let go off a breath that she didn’t know that she was holding.  Thank God.  She slumped a little in the chair in relief.

“Thanks…” Trini looked down at the sandwich, “Thanks for lunch too.  I am getting really sick of Top Ramen.” She smiled self depreciatively. 

“About last night though…” Elisa took a deep breath, “I still have a lot of questions.  I’m not asking as a cop.  The creep isn’t pressing any charges.  He probably knows he would have it a lot worse in court than you would.  You won’t be going to jail over that.  You were just protecting someone else.”  Elisa paused. “Why are you really after the gargoyles?”

Trini just stared at Elisa for a second.  Her brain having trouble coming up with an answer. 

“Trini…talk to me.” Elisa said a little quieter.

“I…I told you I have questions I think they can answer.” Trini looked down at the napkin that she was currently shredding with her nervous hands.

“What kind of questions?” Trini looked up to see Elisa studying her, she looked back down at the sandwich.

“Um….” She didn’t really want to lie, “just stuff about what it’s like being a gargoyle.” She wanted far more information than that.

Elisa studied her quietly for a moment, a contemplative look in her eye, almost like she wanted to answer that question.  “Okay…and this is why you risk your life in Central park at night?” Trini could tell that Elisa was trying very hard to keep the lecture out of her voice.

Trini thought about saying that she wasn’t risking her life, but decided that would only start an argument.  She measured her words carefully.  “I only have until the end of the month, then I won’t have a place to stay.  I’ll have to go home.  I don’t have enough time to be patient.”

“Why do you need to talk to them so badly?” Elisa sounded really puzzled.

“I just…” Trini didn’t have an answer she could give her friend, “I just do.”

Elisa remained quiet for a minute, nibbling at her fries.  Trini took a drink of her water and unwrapped her sandwich.

Elisa tried to sound more upbeat, changing the topic.  “So…How do you know Ms. Destine?”

Trini grinned, it sounded so much like her question about Fox.  She didn’t really know either woman.  “I don’t.  She was there for her friend, Andrea.”

Elisa’s eyes went wide and she started to choke on her French fries.  Trini looked at her, alarmed.  “Are you OK?”

Elisa continued to cough a little, obviously doing better.  “Yeah…you just surprised me.”  She took a few drinks of her water.

“How?” Trini was really puzzled.

“Ms. Destine is a real bitch.  I didn’t think she had any friends.” Elisa replied

“She can’t be that bad.” Trini grinned at Elisa, expecting some gossip about the pretty redheaded.

“I know her, and yes…she is that bad.” Elisa was not elaborating. “If she comes around, let me know.  She is bad news.”

“She’s not going to hurt me.  I haven’t done anything to her.” Trini brushed off the warning.

“Look, Trini…I’m serious…People just tend to get hurt around her.” Elisa looked a little pleading, so Trini decided to humor her.

“Sure.  Not that I expect to ever see her again.” She smiled.

They both relaxed and started to eat.

Elisa was standing by the door getting ready to leave.  “Trini, I just want you to know…The sunglasses.  You didn’t need those.  I’m your friend.”

Trini looked at Elisa, confused and nervous, “What do you mean?”

“You were up late last night crying weren’t you?  It’s okay.  I’m sorry that I had anything to do with that.” Elisa sounded so caring it almost made Trini’s eyes tear up right then.  She wanted to tell her everything, but she knew better.  She just smiled guiltily at the woman she considered a real friend.  She hadn’t really had one of those in a very long time.

“I’ll call you about dinner at my place next week.  Okay.” Elisa smiled at her.

“That would be great!” Trini closed the door behind Elisa.  Once alone she took a deep breath.  She made it.  Elisa believed her story about the hair, and she had time to come up with one about the eyes.  Maybe she could say that they had always been gray and she stopped wearing her contacts.  Damn…that would work.  She wished she had thought of that sooner, rather than spending the last hour and a half with the stupid sunglasses on.

Day 11

Trini hadn’t really done too much yesterday after Detective Maza left.  She finished her revisions to her novel and emailed it to her faculty advisor at school.  She also printed out a copy to give to Elisa next time she saw her.  Using the laptops printer, that easily took a couple of hours.  She played on computer games on her laptop.  She also puttered around the house cleaning.  These things were supposed to help her forget that the changes were starting again.  It didn’t work.

Today, when she woke up, she decided that she was going to do something productive.  She still had to find the gargoyles, and in order to do that; she needed to be able to go out in public without drawing attention to some of her less than human attributes.  She stared at the mirror again.  She had to do something with these damned ears!

She walked into the mall, a little uncomfortable with the size of the crowd around on a Thursday afternoon.  She was never really comfortable in crowds.  She self-consciously checked her hat, for the third time since entering the mall.  Yes, it was still there.  She had come to the mall to buy a large collection of hats.  Baseball hats weren’t too conspicuous; people wore them all the time.  Not, that many women, but it would have to do. 

When she walked out of the baseball cap store she had managed to buy a several different caps to go with the different outfits she wore.  She couldn’t find one to go with her business suit, which she had brought, just in case she needed to go to a business or got lucky enough to get an appointment with a literary agent.  She decided that she had enough money to grab a bite to eat at the food court. 

Trini was walking towards the food court when she saw it happen.  A teenage boy ran past a couple a few feet in front of her.  He grabbed the woman’s purse and started to run closer to Trini.  Without even thinking about it she reached out and snatched the purse right out of his hands as he pasted by.  He looked shocked, and obviously debated about doing something about that.  Trini glared at him and he decided to just leave. 

Trini turned back and saw the couple walking up to her.  “Thank you so much.”  The man addressed her.  Her eyes widened when she recognized a beautiful redhead with a tattoo over her face.  “Fox?”  She handed the purse to the woman.

“Do I know you?” Fox reached out and accepted her purse.  When she looked again her eyes widened. “Trinity?”

Trini smiled shyly at the woman.  “Yeah.  Well, nice seeing you again.” Trini was getting ready to walk away.  She thought the woman was unbelievably beautiful, but the scene at the Library gave her the impression that she didn’t really like her for some unknown reason. 

The man had been looking between the two women, and decided to say something.  “Well, Trinity, was it.  I’m David, Fox’s husband.” He held out his hand to shake, so she did.  “I was thinking that since you were so kind as to retrieve my wife’s purse, you might like to come home with us for dinner.” His voice held a lot of charm.  People probably rarely told him no.

Trini blink stupidly at him, just waiting for him to get some sort of sign from his wife letting him know it wasn’t a good idea.  These people were just too pretty to hang out with her.

“Well, Trinity…what do you think?” Fox addressed her, smiling encouragement.

Trini really wanted to tell them thank you but no.  But when she looked into Fox’s eyes to politely decline she heard herself say something else entirely.  “You sure it won’t be any trouble?” 

David beamed at the two women. “No, No trouble at all.” 

Trini was surprised when they walked out of the mall and up to a limousine.   When the uptight man with blond hair walked over and opened the door she was plan shocked.  David just laughed.  “Owen, this is Trinity.  She will be joining us for dinner tonight.”

“Nice to meet you Ms…” Owen addressed her, sounding more Vulcan than human.

“Stephens…Trinity Stephens.  Nice to meet you.” Trini smiled at him.  It made her a little uncomfortable when he didn’t smile back.

When they drove past a large building, Trini was really in shock.  The building was easily the tallest she had ever seen.  When she looked up she thought she saw a castle.  “Is that a…castle?” she looked at Fox, expecting that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“Yes, it is.” Fox grinned at her.  Trini’s heart beat a little faster.

“Someone sure has more money than they know what to do with.” Trini joked, surprised when the other two in the car burst out laughing.  It wasn’t that funny.

“Yes, you could say that.” David smiled at her, and Trini knew that she was not getting something.

When the car pulled up in front of the building and Owen got out and opened their door, Trini had an idea of what she missed.  After the three of them stepped out she finally asked, “That’s your castle?”

Fox walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in to whisper, “Yes.  It is.”  Trini felt her knees get weak.  Fox only meant to be teasing, but god she was sexy.  Trini noticed David’s eyebrow raised at the two of them.  Oh no, he didn’t notice her reaction…did he?  Trini’s face became beet red.

“Well, shall we ladies.” He swept his arm to indicate they should go inside.

The trip up in the elevator was very unnerving.  Owen just stared at the doors, waiting for them to open.  He didn’t even seem to move.  The couple had such an air about them; she was starting to wonder if this was some sort of weird three-way date.  Gorgeous people were just too used to using their looks to gain acceptance.  That was what Trini kept telling herself.  Fox whispered something in David’s ear, and he looked at her strangely for a second and then nodded his head.  Trini just turned back to stare at the door, like Owen was doing.  The trip was entirely too long.

“We need to just check on Alexander.  Owen can show you to the dining room.” David smiled winningly at her.  He and Fox then got out of the Elevator.  Owen made no move to, so Trinity stayed where she was.  “We’ll be right up once we’ve grabbed the little tyke.” Fox waved as the elevator doors closed.

“We will be in the castle momentarily.” Owen told her, again sounding like a robot of some sort.  Doesn’t this man have any emotions?

“We’re going to the Castle?” Trini was surprised.  She thought it was probably just for show.

“Yes.” The door opened, “Will you follow me?” Owen nodded his head in a butler like fashion and led her out into the castle.

The old stonewalls and great arched doorways were impressive, and Trini forced herself not to gawk around like a tourist.  Owen seemed to have little enough patience as it was.  They walked into a room with a huge dining table.  I would probably accommodate over twenty people.  Place settings were all laid out on one corner of the table.  Apparently there were going to be five for dinner.

“If you will excuse me, I will tell the chef that we are almost ready.” Owen turned and went back the way that they had both come, leaving Trini alone in the large room.  She wandered over to the window and gazed out over the city.  She could probably see all of the sky over Manhattan from here.  She did manage to see the apartment building she was staying at.  It didn’t look so tall anymore.

“Alexander, do you remember Trinity.  The nice lady from the Library?” Trini heard Fox’s voice as she entered the Dining room.  She turned to see the family entering, followed by Owen.  Alexander let go of Fox’s hand and ran up to her.  Trinity was a little uncomfortable.  Children were always so unpredictable.

“Trinity…hi.” Alexander smiled like she was a brand new toy, “Thank you for the ride.  Can we do it again?”

David looked confused and turned to ask Fox about it.  She answered him before a word was spoken.  “Trinity was the woman I told you we met in the Library.  She saved Alexander from getting run over by a bicycle, when he ran away from me to see Elisa.”  She looked sternly at the little boy, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Trini and didn’t realize that his mother was still angry with him.

Trini knelt down a little and smiled at Alexander, “I’m not really up to it today.  Sorry.” She paused when she saw the disappointed look in his eyes.  Damn.  “So…did you read all those books yet?”

“Not yet.  Lex only reads me one a night.” Alexander grabbed her hand and started to lead her to the dining table.  She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Fox flinched a little at the mention of Lex.  So she didn’t push to ask who that was.  Even though that reaction made her want to know even more.  They all sat at the table: David at the head of the table, with Fox and Owen on one side and Trini and Alexander on the other.  Trini wasn’t too happy with the seating arrangement that Alexander had insisted on.  He wanted to sit next to her, and that was fine, but now she was right across from his mother, and that made her self-conscious.  The woman was married and had a kid; this was ridiculous to be so painfully attracted to her.

Owen glared at her hat.  Trini just ignored it and continued talking with Alexander and Fox about his stuffed animal collection.  Finally David entered the conversation, “So Trini…what do you do for a living?”  Alexander obediently went quiet and started to eat his dinner.  He didn’t seem the least bit upset to not have her undivided attention.  She was grateful, because talking with kids wore her down.

“Well…” she grinned at him.  “Right now, nothing.  I was working at my college as a receptionist while going to school.  They didn’t need me over the summer…it’s okay though, because it gave me time to come here.”

Fox spoke up, “So you don’t live here?”

“Uh…no I’m from Seattle.  I’m in Manhattan house-sitting, or actually, apartment sitting for a friend of my brothers.”  Trini was really beginning to regret that.  She was making friends here; she didn’t have any back home.

The rest of the meal went smoothly, with David and Fox telling her a little more about themselves.  She wasn’t too surprised to find out that Fox had been on television at one point.  She told them about her schooling, and the novel she was now ready to start trying to get published.  They asked a lot of questions about her family.  It made her a little uncomfortable, it felt like they were digging for something, but they soon dropped it after she told them that her mother had raised her alone, and her brother was actually a step brother.  The look they shared irritated her.

The meal was easily the best she had eaten since long before she got out of school.  After a light desert Owen took Alexander back to his room for tutoring.  The kid was about four, what sort of tutoring could he possibly need.  Maybe the Xanatos’ wanted him to already be able to read when he started school.  While she was glad to see Owen leave…he had been staring at her strangely all through dinner, she would miss Alexander.

“So, would you like some wine?” David asked. 

Trini debated about that.  She could use all the inhibitions she had right now.  Her tolerance for alcohol was a joke.  One drink was all it took to make her…loose.  That was why she had stopped drinking after things started…changing.  “No, thank you.  But if you have any juice?”  She didn’t really want to leave just yet.  She enjoyed spending time with these two.  David raised his eyebrow at that a little, but made a motion that sent the chef off to the kitchen.

They got up from the table so the staff could clean up the dishes and wandered over towards the large window again.  It was still daylight outside, and would be for another two hours.  She had time to visit, before she went out again tonight.

The staff came out with three glasses at the same time that Elisa Maza walked into the room.  She looked a little irritated.  “Xanatos…we need to talk.”  Trini took her glass absently and wondered what Elisa was doing there, before she remembered that Alexander had known her at the library.

“I’d be glad to Detective… Have you met our guest?” David stood aside to make introductions.  Elisa beat him to it.

“Trini!” she sounded really surprised, and not too pleased, “What are you doing here?!”

“Hey, Elisa.” Trini sounded a little sheepish to her own ears.

Fox decided to answer Elisa, “We ran into Trini at the mall.  She stopped a purse-thief for me.”

“Wait, let me guess.  Did you knock him unconscious with a rock.” The sarcasm in Elisa’s voice wasn’t pleasant.  Trini didn’t understand what was wrong.

“No…He just didn’t have a very good grip on the purse.” Trini defended herself.

David and Fox just stood back and watched the conversation, clearly trying to understand.  Trini was glad when the suspicious gleam in Elisa’s eye died.  “Sorry… you know Trini, with all the work you’ve been doing lately I should really just draft you into the police force.” She grinned at her own joke.

David decided that he really wanted to know the story now.  “Detective, what do you mean?”

“Trini here has been really busy since she got here.  She prevented Alex from getting hit by a bike, took on a group of Quarrymen attacking…a gargoyle…and saved a woman from a mugging.” Elisa held up a finger for each event she mentioned, then she grinned mischievously, “And she goes around telling people when they’re in danger.” She referred to the way that they had met.  All the time that Elisa was talking Trini could feel the blush creep over her face; Fox’s appraising gaze only served to intensify Trini's blush. “How long have you been here Trini?” Elisa teased, knowing the answer.

“A week and a half.” Trini felt on display.   

David smiled at her, “And you told us you weren’t working.”

“Yes…that sounds like work to me.” Fox teased, moving closer to Trini to lay her hand on her shoulder.  “You’re going to put Elisa out of a job if you keep that up.”

Seeing how uncomfortable Trini was getting David decided to take mercy on her, “So…Detective…shall we go to my office?”

Fox turned to address Trini, “So would you like a tour…”

“No!…I mean…” Elisa seemed flustered. “Fox, if you could arrange a ride home for Trini that would be great.  I am sure that she has work to do…inside…tonight, on her book.”  Elisa looked pointedly at Trini, emphasizing that she didn’t want her going out to the park tonight.  Fox looked at Elisa sharply…and stared at her for a while before agreeing. 

“I think that I’ll drive you home.  Is that okay with you?” Fox’s smile would have made Trini agree to almost anything.

“Sure.” Trini followed Fox out of the room.

When they passed by Elisa, Fox spoke, “We need to talk later.” Her voice was chilly.  Trini guessed that she didn’t appreciate being ordered around.  She did recognize that Elisa was a little bossy.

When they drove up to the apartment building, Trini was surprised that Fox parked the car, rather than just drop her off at the door.  “I brought that wine.  Can I come up?” Fox’s smile was absolutely wicked. 

“Uh…Sure.” Trini was confused.  If this were another woman, one without a family, she would swear Fox was seriously flirting with her. 

Trini unlocked the door to the apartment well aware that Margot Yale was watching their every move.  She looked like she disapproved, and Trini had an impulse to do something outrageous just to shock her.  She reined that impulse in and just let Fox in.

“Have a seat, I’ll get some glasses.” Trini indicated Fox should sit on the couch.

“Do you have a corkscrew?  I didn’t bring one.” Fox held out the bottle, grinning.  Trini’s knees felt weak again.  She was torn at being glad that she had this woman here, and afraid that she was going to do something stupid in front of her.  She had better be very careful not to drink very much.  Looking outside, at the fading light, she wondered how long Fox was planning to visit.  She sure as hell wouldn’t be kicking her out.

“Oh…sure.  Give it to me, I’ll get it opened.” Trini took the bottle into the kitchen with her and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of wine.

Fox was sitting on the couch, with her legs curled beside her.  With the one look she gave Trini, it was obvious that Fox knew what power she had over her.  She was being seductive on purpose.  Trini had to force her legs, which had stopped in shock to move closer to Fox.  “Here.” Once Fox took the drink, Trini sat on the chair across from the couch.  She almost forgot herself and took a deep drink of the wine.

“Trini…” Fox took a sip of wine, “I was wondering why you never take that hat off?”

“I’ve been wearing it all day, my hair is probably horrid.” Trini covered, her heart beating more quickly.  She didn’t like the turn the conversation was taking. 

Fox waved her arm, dismissing that statement.  “Did you screw up your color job?”

Trini hadn’t considered that.  It took her so long to process it that any answer she gave would seem false.  She was saved from answering with another awkward question.

“David thinks that you’re attracted to me.” Fox smiled conspiratorially, “Men and their fantasies…”

Trini really had no idea how to respond.  Her face started to blush, and she looked down into her glass.

“Maybe not just fantasies.” Fox muttered and raised an eyebrow at Trini’s response.  She sat up a little straighter, and changed the subject.  “I was wondering if you…do you know anything about your father’s side of the family?”

The blush that had started to cover Trini’s face faded quickly.  “I…know a little.  I don’t…I tried to meet some of the relatives.  They weren’t very welcoming.” She couldn’t understand why Fox was so interested in this. She couldn't possibly know.  “Why do you care about that so much?”

Fox studied her carefully, and Trini squirmed under the inspection.  “My mother…is a bit of a wanderer as well.” Trini could tell that Fox was waiting for some form of understanding from her, but she just didn’t get it.  That seemed to confirm something, because Fox just dropped the topic.

“David and I were going to go see Cats again on Sunday.  Would you like to come?” The smile this time was nothing but friendly.  The seduction had disappeared, and Trini was grateful.  There was really nothing she could have done about it anymore, even if she decided that she wanted to.

“I…well, how much are the tickets?” Trini had told Robbie she would see at least one show.

“Silly!  I will pay.” When Fox saw the reluctance on Trini’s face she added, “There was a lot more money in my purse than that.”  That made Trini relax.  It was a reward, and that was normal.  Nothing odd, or date like about that.

“Ok.” Trini agreed, and when Fox’s eye’s light up she was glad that she did.  She went to take another drink of her wine, and found that it was gone.

“I should really be getting back.  Keep the rest of the wine.” Fox stood up gracefully, “The show starts at 10pm.  I was thinking we could get something to eat beforehand.  We’ll come get you around 6.  I can lend you something to wear.  I can’t imagine you packed evening wear.” Trini’s eyes went wide in panic.  She hadn’t thought about that. 

“What…I…I can’t.” Trini stuttered out.

Fox stood next to the open front door, “Of course you can.  I won’t let you back out on me.” She then shut the door, leaving a flabbergasted Trini inside.  She wore her baggy clothes and that stupid hat for a reason.  How the hell was she going to manage eveningwear?  There was no choice; she was going to have to cancel.  After seeing how determined Fox was she decided that best way was to wait until Saturday and then make something up.  Otherwise Fox might actually try to move heaven and earth so she could go.

She had really wanted to go.  Depressed, Trini went to check her emails before changing to go out tonight. 

Day 12

Trini didn’t get out of the apartment until just after midnight.  Elisa had called to see if she was home.  Her brother called wanting to chat.  She also had to do laundry because she had forgotten to wash her stalking around in the dark clothes.  In spite of it already being late, she was going out.  She needed to think about something other than the fact that she was alone.  Fox’s seductive nature only served to highlight the fact that she was different, undesirable, and freakish. 

She started wandering through the bushes looking for a good place to wait.  She chose a tree and was getting ready to climb it when she heard something.  Whimpering.  She backed down from the tree and tried to determine where that noise was coming from.  It sounded like an injured animal.  She moved quietly through the bushes towards the noise, not wanting to frighten it.

When she got to the clearing and saw what she had been tracking her eyes went wide, and her stomach clenched.  The beat up form of a woman lay in the grass, whimpering to herself.  Her pants hung down around her ankles, her legs curling in on her in a fetal position.  She was rocking quietly and whimpering.  Her t-shirt was ripped open, revealing her bruised breasts.  Her panties lay shredded a few feet away.  Trini slowly crept closer, and could see that her face had become swollen and bruised.

Softly, so as not to startle the woman Trini spoke, “Hey…” She didn’t know what else to say.  The horror of the situation overwhelmed her.

The woman looked up at her, fear in her eyes.  Trini quickly tried to calm her.  “No…No…I won’t hurt you.” She tried to use the soothing voice that Elisa had used when she was upset.  It seemed to help, because the woman relaxed a little bit, even though her eyes remained very wide and fixed on her.  Trini crouched down, in an unconscious attempt to seem less threatening, and moved closer.  What was she supposed to do, seeing this woman like this made her want to cry, but she had to do something.  She forcefully pushed her emotions under control.  She made no attempt to touch the woman, because that might set her off on a crying or screaming fit.  Since she was so close to the ground, she was able to notice the softly glowing cigarette bud.  The monsters that did this were here not too long ago.  They might still be nearby.  Trini clenched her fists and turned her head away from the woman’s searching gaze as she attempted to control the rage that told her that she could probably catch up to these rapists.  The way she was feeling right now she would probably kill them.

The woman spoke weakly, “I want to go home.” and Trini wanted to throw up.  She couldn’t tell by the bruised face, but the voice gave it away.  This person had a woman’s body, but she was still a child.  A tear fell down Trini’s face.

Trini knew that the girl needed to go to a hospital, and should contact the police, but looking into her pleading eyes she decided that they could make those calls from her home.  They needed to get away from here anyway.  “Okay.  I’ll help you.”  With that simple statement the girl started to move.  She stiffly pulled her pants back up, and with shaking fingers fastened them.  Trini saw how hard it was for the girl to stand, so she moved closer.  She stopped when the girl flinched away from her.  “Do you need a hand up?”

The girl debated, but Trini could see how painful movement was for her.  She finally reached out an arm and latched onto Trini.  “Thank you.”  Trini easily pulled her up, being careful not to hurt her.

When the girl started to fumble with her shirt in a useless attempt to get it to cover her, she started to cry again.

“Here.”  Trini started to unbutton the shirt she was wearing.  She handed the black shirt to the girl, leaving her top half clad in only her light gray sports bra.  She would never, under normal circumstances wear so little around someone else, but she didn’t want this girl to start crying again.  She just didn’t know how to handle that.  The girl fumbled to put it on, but her hands were shaking too badly to button it up.  “Can I help you with that?”  Trini asked quietly.  She was not going to touch this girl without her permission.  The girl just nodded, so Trini slowly and carefully fastened her shirt onto the trembling frame.

Trini walked with the girl through the park, passing only one person on the way.  When the jogger stared at them Trini gave him a hard glare and he went on his way without saying anything.  The girl’s movements were slow and obviously painful, Trini debated about helping to support her, but she just didn’t know if that would upset the broken girl.  By the time they walked up to an open sewer grate the girl was showing no signs of emotion.  Trini recognized that she was probably going into shock.

“Where are we going?” Trini realized that this girl must be homeless and living in the sewers.  “Do you have any family or friends there?”

They were interrupted by a boy’s voice coming from the sewers, “Kelly?  Your late!”  Trini watched the boy step closer and saw the dawning horror on his face once he saw the girl, Kelly.  “What happened?” he whispered in shock.  Kelly didn’t answer him, she just started to faint.  Trini rushed over to her and managed to catch her before she fell.

“Do you know where she lives?” Trini spoke with definite authority, startling the boy, who hadn’t seen her before she moved to catch Kelly.

“Yes.” He sounded suspicious, “What happened to her?”

“Look, I don’t have time to get into it.” Trini didn’t want to have to tell this boy about something so horrible. “Can you lead me to her home?”

The boy seemed to read the urgency and had the brains to listen to Trini.  “Yes.” He turned and started to rush into the tunnels. 

“Wait!  The sewers?  No, this girl needs medical attention!” Trini readjusted her grip on Kelly and easily picked her up. 

The boy ran back towards her.  “This is just the fastest way.  We have medical facilities at home.” 

“How fast.” Trini figured that if she took Kelly to the hospital she had taken Andrea it would take another half an hour.

“We can be there in 15 minutes if we hurry.”  She looked down at the girl.  Faster was important.  She followed the boy into the tunnels with no trouble, in spite of the girl that she was carrying.

They had been rushing through the tunnels for what seemed like forever, just because of the urgency of the situation.  Sweat was starting to drip down Trini’s forehead when the boy slowed down, obviously waiting for something.  Kelly was still unconscious.

A voice from the dark called out “Travis. What is going on?” 

Trini was shocked, “Elisa?”

This seemed to startle the speaker, “No…I’m Delilah.”  Delilah saw the body that Trini was carrying, and spoke again, “Travis, go get Derek.  Tell him we have a situation here.  Also let him know we have a guest.”  The way she talked really reminded Trini of Elisa.  Maybe she should call the detective; she would be better prepared to deal with this than she was.  Travis ran off to do what Delilah asked.

“What happened?” The woman in the dark asked after Travis was out of sight.  Trini didn’t understand why she was staying hidden, but she had other things to think about.

“I found her in the park.” Trini noticed that the tears she had fought earlier were starting to fall.  “She…” Trini looked down at the unconscious Kelly, “She was raped.”

The hiss that filled the tunnel at that was inhuman.  “Oh, God!”  They all stood in silence for a moment.

Trini decided to continue.  “She was conscious until we found Travis.  I think she’s in shock or something.  She really needs a hospital.” Trini’s voice caught, as she started to sob.  She was upset with herself, because the shaking was probably hurting the unconscious girl she had in her arms.

When she felt someone reaching out to touch the girl, her eyes flew open and she gave a deep and threatening growl to the man.  His eyes widened and he took a few steps back.  She hadn’t even noticed him enter. 

“Please, she must be heavy.  Let Chris take her to her room.” Delilah called down to her.  Trini eyed the man suspiciously, “He won’t hurt her.  He’s a doctor.” Delilah added.

Trini carefully handed over the girl.  As Chris walked away with her, Trini used her own arms to give herself the hug that she desperately needed.  She needed to be strong just a little longer.

Delilah seemed to sense that she was barely holding on.  Trini heard her take a step in her direction, but she stopped.  “Wh…What is your name?” Delilah asked.

“Trini…” her voice cracked, “Is she going to be okay?”

“She will get all the care that we can provide.” Delilah didn’t sound very convinced that it would be enough.

“Is there anything else I can do?” Trini couldn’t imagine anything else, but she didn’t want to miss something, anything, she could do.

“You have already done so much.  There are a lot of people here that can help now.”

Trini stared at the dirty walls, trying to calm her breathing. 

Another voice came from the shadows, a male one. “Thank you for your help.  We can take care of it from here.  I’ll have someone escort you out.” After a brief pause he added, apparently aware of how callous he had sounded, “Thank you.” This time he sounded sincere.  Trini just nodded and followed another young man out of the tunnels.  She didn’t speak once during the trip.

Trini woke to someone pounding on her front door.  She tried to ignore it, but it was insistent.  She climbed out of bed and stumbled to the door.  “Go Away!” she yelled at whoever was on the other side.

“Trini, it’s me.” She heard Elisa yell through the door.  Trini took an inventory of her appearance: Her pajamas covered her well enough, her mascara ran down her face, she looked as pale as death, and her damned ears were sticking out like a fucking elf’s.

“Go Away!” she repeated.  She just wasn’t up to dealing with anyone right now.  She started to walk back to her bedroom.

“Trini, Open this God Damn door!” Elisa yelled and resumed pounding even harder than before.

Trini glared at the door, and then grabbed a red baseball cap off of the couch.  She put it on backwards and walked back to the door.  She opened it a crack, intending to tell Elisa that she was still tired.  Why was she there anyway?  Everything died on her lips as she saw that Elisa was holding the shirt she had given Kelly last night. 

Trini reached out a shaky hand to take the shirt.  Elisa handed it to her, “Trini…”  Elisa’s soft voice was all it took to break Trini.  She started to sob.  She turned away from the front door, not wanting Elisa to see her so weak. 

She heard the door shut as Elisa let herself in, and was startled when arms circled her in a hug.  She turned and burrowed herself into Elisa’s embrace, hugging the Detective to her tightly.  She barely took notice as Elisa guided them to the couch.  Elisa put her back to the armrest and pulled Trini’s body over hers so that she could hold her.  Stroking Trini’s back gently as she sobbed.  When Elisa went to pull off the hat so that she could stroke Trini’s hair, Trini stiffened, so Elisa withdrew her hand and resumed her lazy petting of her friends back.  After several minutes Trini’s sobs died down, but she burrowed in closer to Elisa, enjoying the closeness.  She didn’t want to let go.

“Trini…” Elisa started to speak for the first time since coming inside, her voice soothing and calming.  Trini loved her voice.

“I should have been there sooner.” Trini whispered out, her throat sore and scratchy.

“Oh, no…” Elisa hugged Trini, “No…Trini, it wasn’t your fault.  Don’t you dare blame yourself!” Elisa kissed Trini’s forehead, tears started to run down the Detectives face, but her voice remained soothing.

“I want to kill them…” Trini’s throat started feeling like it was closing up again, “…poor girl…want to kill them.” She muttered, while hot tears started to fall down her face and drip onto Elisa’s shirt again. 

“We’ll get them.” Elisa whispered into Trini’s baseball cap, “Don’t worry, we’ll get them.”  They sat like that for a while.  Trini then leaned back and looked into Elisa’s tearstained face, with an unreadable expression on her face.  She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Elisa’s lips, she then tilted her head and leaned in again, giving a more searching, needy kiss.  Her breath grew shallow with her desire.  She wanted this closeness.   Elisa gently pushed her away.  “Trini…we can’t.  I can’t.”

Tears started to cloud Trini’s vision.  Elisa was going to leave her, wasn’t going to want anything to do with her.  “I’m sorry…” she sobbed out.

“It’s okay Trini…It’s okay.” Elisa hugged her again.  Making no move to leave.

Day 13

Trini’s walk to the grocery store took her past an Art Gallery.  She would have never noticed that, if she hadn’t seen a familiar face coming out of it.  “Andrea?”

The artist turned and looked at her, confused for a second, before she was recognized.  “Trini!  Oh God, is that you?” She immediately came over to hug her.  Trini noticed a little bit of a limp, but otherwise Andrea seemed to be okay. “I wanted to see you again.  You never gave me your number, and I couldn’t find you in the phone book.”

“I’m not in the phone book.” Trini smiled at Andrea.

Andrea grinned, “Well that explains why I didn’t find you…I was going to meet a friend for lunch.  You have to join us!”

Trini hesitated, suspicious of whom the friend might be.  Elisa said to avoid Dominique.  Even though she didn’t understand that, Elisa was too good a friend to just ignore.  She even took that slip up with the kiss well, inviting her to dinner on her night off.  “Um…well I was just on my way to do my grocery shopping.”

“You saved me.  I have to buy you lunch, that is the least I could do.” Andrea’s eyes took on a very determined look.

They both walked into the restaurant a few blocks from where they had met.  Andrea immediately saw her friend, and grabbed Trini’s hand to guide her to the table.  Trini looked around to see if anyone noticed that she was very underdressed for the place.  She felt very uncomfortable.  She saw Margot and Brendan notice her.  Margot smiled, and Trini gave her a little wave, just to be polite.

“Domi!  Look who I found.” Andrea greeted the woman at the table, who…Domi?…She sure didn’t look like that severely dressed executive Trini met at the hospital.  Her flame red hair was loose, and she was dressed in black pants and a red shirt that wasn’t buttoned up high enough to avoid showing cleavage.  She looked dangerous, and incredibly attractive.  New York had far more than it’s fair share of attractive women.  Trini blushed shyly and smiled.

“Andrea! I was wondering why you were late.” Dominique smiled at her, and then reached out a hand to shake Trini’s.  “I didn’t get to thank you for saving Andrea that other night.  I am sorry.” Trini blinked in surprise, this didn’t really seem to be the same person.  Maybe the stress of the evening caused the bitchiness. 

“Trini, have a seat, I just need to run to the restroom for a second.” Andrea smiled and then walked away, leaving Trini alone…with her.  Trini studied the menu quietly, wanting to choose something less expensive, without being too obvious about it.  When she glanced up she noticed that Dominique had been studying her.  “I am sorry about this.  I tried to tell her no, but that…didn’t work too well.”

“I’ve noticed that she can be a little persistent.” Dominique agreed.  After a pause, she spoke again.  “You still spending nights in Central Park?”

“Um…yeah, occasionally.” Trini’s expression darkened, remembering the last time.  Dominique raised her eyebrow, seeing that this was a sensitive subject.  A restaurant wasn’t the place to go into that.

“You changed your hair.” Dominique noticed.

“Oh…” Trini looked around to see that there were no people seated nearby enough to hear. Still she leaned in closer to Dominique “I ran into a little trouble with some Quarrymen.  I thought it was time for a new look.”  Changing the topic a little Trini raised an eyebrow at the redhead. “You…look really different on the weekends.” Trini observed, obviously meaning Dominique looked much better, her heart started beating more quickly when that gained a mysterious smile from her lunch companion.

“I’ve learned to be quite…versatile, with my appearance.” The smile grew.

“Sorry to leave you two alone.” Andrea smiled and sat down.

“No problem.” Trini replied, surprised that she meant it.  Dominique seemed nice when you got her away from Elisa.

When lunch was over Trini was disappointed.  Andrea was fun to be with.  She just noticed the weirdest little things.  Dominique had been pleasant to her and Andrea, but the waiter was probably eager to see her leave.  She felt really embarrassed for him.  She had one hell of a temper if anything was wrong.  Trini purposely didn’t mention that she had asked for no tomatoes with her pasta, and choked them down just to avoid a scene.  Andrea had grinned at her.  She knew what she was doing.

Dominique offered to give both of them a ride home.  So now she was sitting in the back of yet another limousine, thinking about how disappointed Elisa was going to be in her.  Maybe this was something that she could avoid mentioning.  She hadn’t actually intended to spend so much time with Dominique. 

“Trini, do you have any plans right now?” Andrea asked, obviously hoping that she was available.

“Not unless you count buying groceries as plans.” Trini grinned back.

“What about you Domi, have time to come see what I’ve been working on?” Andrea looked imploringly at Dominique.  Trini got the impression that the answer to that question was often no.

“Sure, I could make some time.” Dominique leaned up to tell the driver the destination.

Andrea’s studio wasn’t really that far away from the apartment Trini was staying at.  When they got out to go up, Trini looked back at the driver, “What does he do when you’re out doing things?” She whispered to Dominique.

Dominique grinned mischievously at her, “Eagerly wait for my return, like the dog all men are.”  Trini laughed. 

Trini was shocked to see that Andrea’s art…all of the art she had out…were night scenes.  Andrea walked them over to see the mostly finished piece on her easel.  Both Dominique and Trini gasped.  It was a beautiful Manhattan skyline with a shapely blue female gargoyle moving across the moon, her red hair whipping across her face.

“Oh…it’s beautiful.” Trini was in awe. “Is she real?” She wanted to know if Andrea had actually seen this female around.  The only one that she knew about was a lavender color.  She had seen a few bad pictures of that one, hard to see any real details.

“Gargoyles are real.” Andrea replied, as if expecting an argument.

“I know that, I’ve seen one.  I just…is she real?” Trini was still distracted, studying the picture, trying to see the wing structure.

Andrea smiled fondly, “Yes.  I saw her once, a few years ago.”

“In person?” Trini turned to hear the story.

“No.  I was catching a cab home.” Andrea obviously wished that she had a closer look.  “Domi…what do you think.  You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“It’s very…nice, Andrea.” Dominique seemed a little off.  She was thinking about something else.

“So, Trini…you’ve seen a gargoyle?” Dominique glanced at Trini, and it made her nervous.  It seemed a little tense.

“Remember I told you that I had trouble with the Quarrymen?” Trini waited for the nod before continuing.  “Well they were attacking a dog like gargoyle.  I…threw some rocks at them to distract them so he could get away.”

“That’s what Maza meant by rock throwing.” Dominique gave her an appraising stare. 

“Yeah, Domi…she’s pretty good at it.” Andrea smiled at her warmly and gave her a one armed hug.

As Dominique and Trini left Andrea poured out her purse, hunting for something.  “Here is my card.  Call me, we could do something while you’re in town.” Andrea smiled at Trini and waited until she had put the card away before saying good-bye.

“So, where do you live?” Dominique asked as they both got back into the limo.  Remembering the warnings that Elisa had given her, she decided to get out at the grocery store.

“Oh, I was on my way to the grocery store.  Could you drop me off there?” Trini couldn’t stop herself from staring at Dominique as she leaned forward to give Gregory the next destination.  She was a beautiful mystery.

“Thank you for the ride, and lunch.” Trini waved to Dominique and entered the grocery store.  That wasn’t so bad.  Elisa had her expecting to be beaten and left in a ditch somewhere.

Trini didn’t notice that Dominique followed her from the grocery store to her apartment building.  She also didn’t notice the nasty look that Dominique sent her way as she entered the building. 

Trini walked out of her apartment building shortly after dark.  She wasn’t going to make the same mistake she made with Kelly.  She was in the park looking for Gargoyles, but if they didn’t bother looking out for the park, she sure as hell would. 

Trini kept moving this night, rather than staking out a single spot.  She had been here a few nights, and knew the areas that would be good for crime.  She made sure to go past them on a regular basis.  She crawled through bushes, climbed trees for better views, and forgot to look up into the sky as much as she did before.  She filled up her fanny pack with rocks, so that she wouldn’t need to confront anyone personally. 

Trini climbed up into a tree for a good view of a remote garden spot, so that she wouldn’t have to walk all the way over there. 

“So…Human.  What are you doing?” Trini spun around to look at where the woman’s voice came from.  Two glowing red eyes stared back at her.

“I…” Trini tried to stare into the dark; she barely made out the shadow of wings.  “I’m looking for you.”

At that moment a woman’s scream sounded from somewhere north of their location.  Trini looked over that way and then expectantly at the gargoyle.  She didn’t make any move to go to her aid. 

“Why are you looking for me?!” the voice became threatening, dangerous.  The screaming from the woman in the park became more panicked.  Trini looked at the gargoyle and then back towards the screaming again.

“Aren’t you going to do something?!” she pleaded.

“I’d rather you stupid humans kill each other.” The gargoyle barely got that out, when Trini jumped down from the tree and started running for the screaming, tears in her eyes.  She noticed the gargoyle take to the air as she ran as fast as she could.  When she rounded the turn in the path she saw that police officers had a man down on the ground.  She wasn’t needed.  She searched the skies.  The gargoyle was gone.

Day 14

Trini woke up suddenly and inexplicably at 9 am.  She couldn’t get the gargoyle she met ever so briefly last night out of her head.  She had read several articles showing that the Manhattan clan protected the city, so what was up with the bitter female she met?  Was she ever going to see her again?  She was already almost half way through with her visit, and that was the first contact.  If she had to wait another two weeks, she might never find them again.  She kept checking the papers, but the gargoyles were busy lying low right now.  It was crappy timing for them to decide to do that.  Trini felt tense and flipped around on the bed.  She tried to fall back to sleep, but she was horribly wide-awake.  Grumbling to herself she leapt out of bed.  Apparently she only needed 5 hours of sleep today.

Trini checked her voice mail and was surprised that she had one. 

“Trini?” it sounded like Fox, “I’ll be by at 6 to get you.  You’d better be ready, we don’t have a lot of spare time to get ready…” Trini could hear the smile in Fox’s voice as it became more sultry, “And don’t think your getting out of it…I will drag you out of the apartment if I have to.”  Shit!  She forgot about the play. 

Trini walked naked into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in defeat.  The two most…disturbing…parts of her anatomy would be next to impossible to hide in a slinky dress. 

She turned to the side and studied the pitch-black tail that reached to her knees.  It went with the new hair color that she hadn’t chosen.  It was still growing.  It had started out as a discolored bump on the base of her spine a year ago.  She remembered puzzling over where that bruise came from for a while, before it started to grow.  She had considered telling her mother about it, but…Trini looked sadly at the pale oval shaped scar on her right shoulder blade.  Yes, it was a tail, but it was a part of her body.  She kept it to herself, and endured her family’s criticism about the baggy clothes that she wore to hide it.  Her mother told her that she had a terrific figure and she should use it to her advantage.  She just wanted Trini to find someone, and by someone…Trini knew she meant a man.  Trini gave a soundless and humorless chuckle…that was something else her mother hadn’t known about.  Trini had been waiting to find someone before going through that argument with her mother.  When the tail started to grow, she realized that she couldn’t be with anyone because they would talk.  It was dangerous to be as different as Trinity was.  When her mother died in the car accident, it spared her from ever having to bring it up.

The tail was growing down, but a black line was starting to grow up her spine.  She could still cover it with her pants, but she suspected it was going to go all the way up.  She sighed, and practiced wrapping the tail around her leg, to see if that would work under a dress.  It was too thick, the coils of it would show, unless…she found something with a fuller skirt, ballroom dress like.  It might be a little different than what the others wore, but that was what she had to do.  It would still look good, and it would be long enough that she could just let her tail dangle for a change.  It would feel good to not always have to keep it tense and in place.  It was like walking around all the time with your stomach sucked in.  Hardly comfortable.  She’d tell Fox she was going to shop for a dress; Fox’s clothes would hardly fit her anyhow.  She didn’t have such full breasts.  A dress couldn’t cost more that the tickets would have.  Problem one solved.

Trini leaned in closer to the mirror and stared at her ears.  She hated these much more than the tail.  It was hard to hide.  They stuck out a little on the sides of her head and came to a point at the top.  When she had her original hair it was pretty full and voluminous, so she just had to keep reminding herself not to tuck the hair behind her ears like she used to.  The new hair didn’t do that.  The ears were much newer than the growing tail.  They were what made her realize that she needed help soon, because the changes kept happening.  If she just woke up some day and found that she was…green…she wouldn’t be able to hide it anymore.  So she started mentioning that she wanted to see New York.  She was so desperate that she was going to sell her car for a couple thousand dollars so she could take the trip.  She was so happy when her stepbrother found a way to go for next to nothing.  She took the tip of one ear and held it flat to her head.  She then pulled the hair around it.  That just might work.

Trini walked out of the bathroom and grabbed the tape off of the desk in the bedroom.  She tried taping the ear down, but the hair above it kept pulling out.  A few minutes later, and she had shaved the few hairs away.  The tape only held for a short amount of time, before her ear sprung back out.

“Hm…stronger tape?” Trini made plans to go shopping for tape that afternoon.  This just might work.

Trini came back from the store at eleven with a bag full of adhesive products.  After trying a few, and finding that her ears really preferred to stick out, she pulled out the big guns.  The foamy adhesive tabs that people used to secure phones to the wall.  She would probably end up soaking her head for at least an hour to get it off, but it held.  Trini did a victory dance, and started to laugh.

Trini was waiting on hold for Fox. 

“Trini?  You aren’t trying to back out on me are you?” Fox spoke as soon as she picked up the line.

“No…I wouldn’t do that to you.” Trini smiled and gazed at the Eyrie building from her balcony.  “I just wanted to tell you that I was going shopping for a dress.  Do you want to come?”

There was a pause; Trini could hear Fox flipping through a book.  “Sure, I’d love to come.  I know some wonderful shops!” Trini started to doubt herself, Fox was a millionaire, would she even understand price limits?  “Let me finish up here, and I come get you in a half hour, Okay?”

Trini took a deep breath and vowed that money was no object.  She didn’t believe it, but she said it.  Who knew how much longer she would be able to go out and have fun like this.

Fox and Trini walked into the second store that afternoon.  In looking around, it appeared that all they sold was women’s eveningwear. 

“Trini, you would look absolutely gorgeous in this.” Fox held up a tight black dress that did go really well with her hair.  Trini eyed it wishfully.

“Sorry, I’m looking for something that won’t show off my big butt.” She smiled as Fox looked at her like she was crazy.

“Honey, you are beautiful, and your butt looks like just the right size.” Fox admonished her.

Trini stepped closer, to politely look at the dress Fox liked.  She looked around and whispered so that the salespeople wouldn’t hear her, “Fox?  This is $300.  I…don’t think I can afford to shop here.  Let’s go.”

Fox smiled at her, “Trini, how many evening dresses have you bought?”

“None.  I never really went out like that.”

“They all cost a few hundred dollars at least.” When Fox saw Trini balk she added, “I was planning on buying it for you.”

“But…” Trini wasn’t comfortable with taking Fox’s money.  It was taking advantage of her.  It was bad enough she let Fox buy the tickets for tonight.  “Fox…I can’t ask…”

“You aren’t asking, I’m offering.  It’s like you said, we have more money than we know what to do with.” Fox teased.  “I am buying you a dress today, and if I see you looking at price tags, rather than dresses...” Fox put a playfully stern look on her face.

It was in the third store that Trini found something that worked.  It was jet black, didn’t have a plunging back, and came down to the floor.  It did leave her shoulders bare, which gave it a sexy touch.  The skirt part was not too full, just enough to hide a few things.  It was also, way more than she wanted Fox to spend, but after seeing the price tags on some of the dresses Fox wanted her to try, she knew Fox wouldn’t think it was too much.  Trini stepped out of the dressing room to show Fox, and really enjoyed the way Fox’s eyes widened in appreciation.  “Oh, that is the one.” Fox stated, and then turned to the saleswoman.  “Candi, please, get some hose and accessories that will go with this.  We are taking it.”  The saleswoman rushed off to do just that, probably imagining the commission this sale would make.

Fox led Trinity to her and David’s bedroom, so they could get ready.  They laid out their purchases on the huge bed.

“I still need to shower.  You can go ahead and use the table to put on your makeup.” Fox indicated the…make-up workstation in the corner.  Trini looked at it in wonder, she never really got into wearing a lot of make-up, just a little something for her eyes, and on really special occasions she would break out the lipstick.  That was why she completely forgot about needing to bring some.

“I…forgot to bring any make-up.” Trini looked at Fox, who was sitting on the bed removing her shoes.

Fox looked her over for a second.  “Our coloring is similar….” Fox smiled, delighted, “Let me do you.”

“Huh?” Trini blushed

“No, silly…” Fox’s smile was wicked for a second, “Let me do your make-up.  I’ll be out of the shower quickly, and then I can get us both ready.  It’ll be fun!”

“Uh…okay.” Trini tried to imagine how Fox could help her do her make-up.  It really seemed like a one woman job.

“Great!  Just give me a few…” Fox disappeared into the master bathroom, leaving Trini alone in the bedroom.

Trini looked around the room awkwardly.  She sat down on the bed.  She fluffed her hair, which she had finally figured out how to get a little volume.  It was looking pretty decent.  It had a wild windblown look to it, kind of like Dominique’s did at lunch, only she didn’t have nearly as much hair.  It only came to her shoulders. 

She was studying her reflection, making sure that the ears were still covered, when Fox came out of the bathroom…wearing nothing but a towel.  A short towel at that, it only came to just below…Trini turned away quickly.  Fox was beautiful, but Trini was not going to take advantage of her by staring, or even peeking.  It just didn’t seem right.

Because she didn’t look at Fox she missed the mischievously wicked grin on her face.  “Have a seat at the table.  I’ll be there in a minute.”  Trini did what she was told, but kept her eyes down, so she wouldn’t see Fox in the reflection on the mirror.  She jumped a little when a hand was placed on her shoulder.  “Hey…relax.” Fox’s voice was low and husky.  Trini tensed up even more, as her heart rate increased.  Fox squeezed her shoulder, and when she found out how tense Trini was she reached out with her other hand and started a slow massage.  “So, we need to decide on a look for tonight.” Fox leaned down closer to Trini and murmured in her ear as she continued rubbing Trini’s shoulders.  Trini’s breathing was coming more quickly, and she almost let out a needy whimper.  She felt a light blush cover her face, and she desperately wanted to lean back into Fox’s towel clad form.  “I have an idea…Do you trust me?”  Fox’s voice was husky again.

Trini decided to nod, because she was sure that if she tried to talk, her voice would crack.  Fox stepped back away from her and started assembling the make-up she planned to use.  The sheer volume of stuff was amazing.  Fox then looked at her for a second.  “You know.  That chair isn’t going to work.  If I’m going to do this, I’ll need you up higher.  Go clean the make-up off your face, I’ll be right back.” When Fox left the room Trini started taking deep, calming breaths, trying to control the impulse to…do things she really shouldn’t do…especially with someone’s wife.

When Trini came out of the bathroom Fox was already back.  She had brought a taller stool for Trini to sit on.  She still wasn’t dressed.  “Well, come on.” Fox motioned for her to hurry up.  She sat down on the stool and found that she was about one head shorter than the standing redhead beside her.  “Wow, you were hardly wearing any make-up were you?” Fox studied Trini’s freshly washed face, “A natural beauty…” Fox said in that mesmerizing voice.  All the calming that Trini had managed to do fled, when Fox straddled her left leg to get closer.  “Is this okay?  I need to be able to reach you.” Her voice was husky.

Trini knew that she didn’t need to sit on her like that to reach her, “Yes.” She croaked out, her breath becoming a light pant.

Fox smiled, “Well let’s start with some moisturizer.” She squirted a little liquid out of one of the numerous bottles on the table into her hand.  “Lean your head back a little.” She whispered to Trini, who immediately obeyed.  Fox traced her fingers over Trini’s forehead lightly, the sensations caused Trini to close her eyes and surrender to it.  Fox then slid her fingers down each side of Trini’s face, until both hands met at the chin.  She gently drew a slippery finger down Trini’s nose.  She then used a feather light touch to rub in the crème. 

“I think that we’re close enough in coloring you can use my base.” Her voice was deeper, with a hint of breathlessness.  Trini heard another click as Fox opened her base and then the fingers returned, caressing her face.  “Okay…now for the creative part.” Trini could feel Fox studying her face; she slowly opened her eyes and saw that Fox’s face was merely inches over her own.  “No…I want this to be a surprise, keep your eyes closed.” Fox whispered, with a hungry look in her eyes, sending a bolt of fire through Trini’s body.  She complied and closed her eyes again.  She felt a feather light touch on her left cheek, “Oh, yes…that looks nice.” A deep, almost unrecognizable voice uttered.  Trini felt the feather touch on her other cheek.  “Keep your eyes closed, I’m doing the eye shadow.” Fox sounded a little calmer.  Trini felt a small brush touch her eyelid. 

Fox put more weight on Trini’s thigh, as she semi-sat down.  Trini was so absorbed in the feel of the body straddling her leg that she didn’t even notice when Fox finished with the eye shadow.  Was Fox even wearing anything under that towel?  Trini whimpered as Fox pressed down a little harder on her thigh.  “Pout your lips.” Fox whispered into Trini’s ear and then hissed as Trini pressed her leg harder against Fox.  She pouted her lips and in a moment she felt Fox run her fingers over Trini’s lips slowly, carefully running over her bottom lip.  Trini whimpered again, and heard a slight chuckle from Fox.  Fox then passed a lipstick over Trini’s lips.  “Relax your lips, I have lip liner.”  Trini did as she was told, and soon felt the liner tip outlining her lips.  She still kept her eyes closed after that was done.  She could feel Fox’s breath on her lips.  She must be mere inches away, Trini moaned and tried to close the gap.  Fox backed up, “keep your eyes closed.” She whispered, breathlessly  “I want to see your face when you see yourself.”  Fox backed off of Trini’s leg and Trini felt a pang of loss.

Trini felt Fox turn the chair she was on to face the mirror.  “Open your eyes.” Fox sounded less breathless, her voice not a deep.  Trini opened her eyes…and was shocked.  The woman in the mirror was beautiful, classy, and desirable.  Those were things that she never thought she could be.

“Oh…Fox.” Trini leaned forward a little to see better.  She had done the impossible.  Trini turned to look at Fox, “Thank you…I’ve never looked like this.” She studied Fox, now that she was allowed to look.  Fox was a little flush, and her breathing was still as labored as Trini’s.  “Fox…” A knock at the door interrupted her.

“Ladies, we have about 30 minutes until we need to leave.” David’s voice came through the double doors.

“We’ll be ready.” Fox answered, while smiling shyly at Trini.  It melted Trini’s heart.  “You better get dressed, I still need to do my make-up.”

“Oh…Okay.” Trini grabbed her dress and other items and headed for the bathroom.  Once the door was closed she leaned onto the counter with both arms and took a deep breath.  That was…amazing!  Trini felt a burning need, that she, unfortunately, had no time to deal with.  She had never been so aroused, and she never even kissed Fox.  Now she needed to go in public with this goddess and her husband.  She took a shuddering breath and started to get dressed, careful not to smudge the makeup that Fox had applied.

Trini sat down at the elegant restaurant across from David. She was trying to hide the fact that she was having a hard time looking him in the eye. What the hell was she doing? Fox was his wife, the mother of his child, but Trini couldn't help but feel an intense need whenever the woman brushed up against her. And Fox was finding every opportunity to do that without being so obvious that anyone would notice.

What was Fox after, and Trini thought bitterly, did it really matter? Even if she were willing to play at being Fox's little mistress, behind David's back, she couldn't. She wasn't human enough. What did it say about her, that she had even been considering this, and that she had allowed things to become so sexually charged?

Trini looked back up to see David looking at her with concern. "Trini, are you okay?" He had noticed her become paler as she was lost in her internal dialogue.

"Trini?" Fox reached out a hand to touch her own. Trini flinched a little, and then felt horrid, seeing the hurt look in Fox's eyes. She smiled weakly at the woman plaguing her thoughts, in an attempt to take that hurt look out of her eyes. It didn't quite work.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to visit the restroom." Trini got up, and David stood up, doing that little polite thing that men did in movies. It made Trini feel worse about what Fox was apparently all too willing to do with her behind this nice man's back. She noticed the concern on Fox's face grew.

Trini stood in front of the mirror, taking deep breaths and trying to compose herself so that she could go through the rest of this evening without making David suspicious. Oh, God...she was already acting like the other woman! She didn't want to lose Fox's friendship, she really did like her, but she couldn't seem to be around her without...the damned wanting. A line had been crossed, and she didn't know how to go back. Trini growled out her frustration at her reflection.

The bathroom door opened, and Trini didn't even need to look to know that Fox had come after her. "Fox." She greeted her, without looking over her shoulder at the woman coming closer.

"Trini..." Fox sounded upset, which made Trini look up. "I..." she fell silent.

"Fox." Trini could hear the need in her voice, and damned herself for it. She felt consumed. She wanted to throw Fox up against the wall and kiss her endlessly. She wanted so much more. She looked at the beautiful woman with naked hunger and pain in her eyes. When she saw the answering hunger in the other woman's gaze, she forced herself to look away. She took a deep breath while studying the sink. Once she had better control she turned back to face Fox. "Fox...I can't..."

"I know." Fox's words were quiet, flat. "I'm sorry." Trini saw that Fox's eyes were glassy, and it felt like a punch in the heart. Fox took a deep breath, "Well we should get out there, the waiter should be bringing the food soon. Are you okay?"

Trini gave her a weak smile and let out a breath of air, "Yeah." She followed the redhead out of the bathroom.

Trini smiled at David as they left the restaurant. She had managed to not only follow, but contribute to the conversation. She appeared much more cheerful on the outside than she really felt. They waited for David's driver to bring the limo around.

"Ms. Stephens?" a man's voice sounded uncertain. Trini and the couple that was with her turned to look at the approaching man.

"Gregory?" Oh, great...another little secret she had been keeping was on its way out. Fox probably talked to Elisa all the time...daily...and with Trini's luck lately, tonight.

"Ms. Stephens, I must say you look absolutely stunning tonight." Dominique's driver smiled.

"Thank you." Trini replied, hoping that he would leave, without saying much more.

Too bad David decided to enter the conversation. "Trini, I don't believe you introduced us to your friend."

No, of course not. I didn't want to, Trini thought to herself, but instead she smiled and started the introductions. "David, Fox, this is Gregory." Please let that be enough she pleaded to herself.

Gregory reached out and shook David's hand. "I'm Ms. Destine's driver." He smiled, not noticing the concerned look on Fox's face. Trini noticed it though.
David continued to smile, "So how do you know our Trinity?" Trini noticed the possessive term quickly. She also saw this train wreck coming. Fox obviously felt the same way about Dominique that Elisa did.

"Oh, she was the only guest of Ms. Destine's that brings me things to read." Gregory sounded fond of her. The nice driver had no idea what he was getting her into. She remembered seeing the magazine in the recycle bin in Andrea's studio and asking to have it. She had given it quietly to Gregory, in case he got bored. To bad that made her memorable.

It was at that moment that David's limo drove up. Too little too late, by the look in Fox's eyes. "Well it was nice meeting you." David turned to get into the opened limo door.

"I'll be seeing you later Ms. Stephens." Gregory waved, still bouncing with happiness. She saw him watching her enter the limo, and realized that Gregory was attracted to her. Perfect...just perfect.

As soon as they were all seated and on their way Fox spoke. "You've been hanging around Dominique Destine!" It wasn't a statement, it was an accusation.
"No...I mean..." Trini was stumbling over her words. She felt like she had been caught stealing, the way that Fox glared at her. David looked pretty concerned as well. "I'm not...hanging around her..." Trini knew that her excuse needed to also be good enough for Elisa, because she had no doubt that she would be hearing about this as well. "I went out to lunch with a friend...and Dominique was there."

"So she decided to give you and your friend a ride in her limo?!" Fox was not letting this go.

"No...we had lunch with her. Then she drove me to the grocery store." Please give me points for not having her take me home, Trini pleaded with her eyes.

David finally spoke, "Trini, we're concerned. Ms. Destine...is a dangerous woman." He looked like he was carefully picking his words. Trini felt like she was getting chewed out by the parents. "I...we...would be more comfortable if you didn't...go to any more lunches with her."

Trini just nodded. She didn't understand everyone's concern. It wasn't like that woman was some sort of serial killer, she was just a business woman. There were a few moments of silence before David changed the subject and normal conversation resumed.

Trini Loved Cats! She absolutely loved it! After the end of the play she realized that she had been sitting on the edge of her seat the entire time. She beamed over at Fox, and saw the amused smile back at her. It wasn't tense anymore...maybe they would be okay. Trini really hoped so. "That was..." Trini grinned.

David smiled back teasingly, "Yes, it was, wasn't it."

Once they got back to the car, they found out that someone had been trying to reach David. "Fox...Trini...I'm afraid that we need to call it a night."

"Alexander?" Fox worriedly asked.

"No, he's fine. Just a business matter." David reassured his wife. "Trini...is it okay if we drop you off on the way?"

"Sure." Trini didn't mind at all. She noticed Fox glancing at David, trying to find out what it was that he needed to get home to do, and when David glanced Trini's way for a second, Fox stopped trying to get the information.

Trini got out at her apartment building. She was surprised when Fox got out after her.

"Fox..." David obviously wanted to get moving.

"Just one minute." Fox glanced back at him. Whatever her eyes told David, he just sat back in the seat and waited.

"Trini..." Fox sounded unsure. "I'd like to still be friends." her voice soft and quiet.

Trini gave Fox a soft smile, "We are friends..." she paused, unsure of how to say this, "I...just..."

"I understand." Fox went to touch Trini's hand, but pulled her own back before making contact. "Would you be willing to come to a PIT gathering with me and David on Tuesday?" Fox sounded shy and vulnerable. Trini knew that the PIT group was pro-gargoyle, and was relieved to hear the these two had joined it.

"Sure." Trini was going to try and be Fox's friend, even if the woman's mere presence made her burn with desire.

"Look...I'll call you with the details. I really don't remember them all." Fox smiled, Trini felt that she had done the right thing. She stared out at the incredibly full and beautiful moon and took a deep breath of the night air. They were going to be okay.