wildcat.

Alex shrugged faintly her eyes focused on the fight as it neared what she imagined was it’s last leg. “For some its easier. A few minutes in the ring can pay them more than 8 hours at a normal job. Some believe its the only skill set they have.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “I don’t know, I’d bet a few people think you are Wonder Woman. I mean all the work you do at the hospital. Not to mention you’ve won the love of two quite handsome guys. How did the boys fair New Year’s eve?” She smiles softly shifting her pony tail. “That’s not really on you, I mean that was a crazy night and people nearly trampled over everyone trying to make a break for it. And no thanks necessary. I don’t really give Robert many chances to play hero, I mostly just annoy him and occasionally test his skills because well I’m just the worst. So he enjoyed it. Plus you called him handsome.” 

Elise hadn’t really considered that. She supposed that if she had such a lucrative skill set, she’d also engage in these kind of fights. Why work a traditional job when this was a much better way to pay the bills? As long as there were doctors readily available and rules in place, Elise didn’t think it was that bad. It was amazing what a few minutes of hearing someone else’s position could do to one’s preconceived notions. “Hardly,” Elise said, shrugging off the assertion. “The guys found me, more or less.” Lis had always rushed into love headlong uncaring about the consequences so it hadn’t really taken her by surprise when she’d fallen in love, not once but twice. “They’re both doing well enough. Thankfully. Bash was a bit banged up but Ez and I are both in the medical profession and both more than willing to take care of our ridiculously adorable academic.” Elise turned back to the fight just in time to see someone take an elbow. She hadn’t been giving this match her full attention and she didn’t know much about fighting, but she could tell that it was painful. Definitely not her cup of tea. “Hey, do you want to grab something to eat after this. Watching people fight makes me hungry. Is that weird?”

Ezra smiled leaning down to kiss her hair. “Well good thing it wasn’t, I have no doubt Bash and I would love to see you in that dress again.” He winks to her smirking over to Sebastian. His eyebrow raised to her in amusement as she spoke of Robert. “Should we be worried? Not going to run off with your Fabio?” He smiled leading her and her husband inside. “Not going anywhere, Love, how about you get changed into something more comfortable and I’ll get some cocoa going and some ice for your ankle. What movie should we put on?” 

“Fabio? How old are you,” Elise teased with a smirk. “Maybe I should run off with him. Robbie seems like the kind of guy who can keep up with me.” Elise was only teasing, of course. She’d never run off with someone else even if he was strong and brave and carried her around like a princess. She loved her boys even when they caused her to panic and worry over their safety. Still holding on to Bash’s hand (she hadn’t let him go since Ezra had found and returned him to her) Elise made her way to her room. It was slow going since she wasn’t quite able to put her weight fully down on her ankle without wincing, but she leaned heavily on Bash’s side, grateful once again that her boys were both so much taller than she was. “The Princess Bride,” she answered after she’d slipped out the dress with Sebastian’s help and pulled on a hoodie and shorts. “And I’ll hear no complaints from you true crime loving boys.” 

There was a pit in her stomach that could only be defined as nerves. Elise wasn’t really the nervous type. She met new people on a daily basis, walked into a host of medical traumas each day, and comforted parents whose children were experiencing extended hospital stays. This should have been a cake walk, but as Elise scanned the small diner for the perfect place to sit, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten. 

She’d bought one of those DNA kits on a whim. Having gotten through her tumultuous teen years and her twenties relatively unscathed, Lis hadn’t expected that her thirties would come with any kind of excitement. After all, she’d known for as long as she could remember that her parents weren’t her biological parents, but they’d loved her and walked through hell with her, so she’d never really felt the urge to look for those unknown biological parents. She knew enough about her mother to understand why she’d made the decision to give her up and had even been grateful to her for selecting the Rhodes because, as she and her brothers could account, they were the best thing that could happen to a child. 

So, when she’d bought the kit, followed the carefully detailed steps and sent it back in, it had been more to learn more about herself. She hadn’t expected to find much, least of all a first cousin. Elise rubbed sweaty palms against the thighs of her jeans. This was perfectly normal. People did this every day, she reminded herself, as she stood and waved at the man who’d just walked through the diner doors. “Hi, I’m Elise Covington,” she said, extending a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Abel tried to focus on her advice, he did his best to slow down his breathing when she told him to, listening to her soothing words and once he felt her hand on his, he was brought back to reality. His vision came back from the blurriness he was experiencing and he was able to catch his breath enough to finally string a sentence together. “Thank you” he mumbled, a little embarrassed that he was sitting on the street now that he’d came to. “I’m so sorry - it’s cold - you didn’t have to stop”

“I had nothing else to do,” Elise said with a shrug. She didn’t want him to feel embarrassed or guilty for having had a panic attack. It hadn’t disrupted her day in anyway to stop for a few minutes. “Plus, I believe in karma.” She said the words matter-of-factly as if they were an obvious explanation. Elise tried to help where ever she could because she always hoped that if she were in the same situation, someone would stop to help her. Put good into the universe, expect good. At least, that was her mentality. “Are you okay now?” 

She can’t help but smile softly. The ring wasn’t for everyone, being in it or watching it but Elise seemed to get it. “That’s the general drive for most of the people here, myself included. For others its just money. You can make a good bank off a fight. Especially the woman. Granted there are some men who like to say that we should fight in bikini’s in mud, but the last one to do so got throat punched.” She smiled looking up to Lacy. She’d known the woman for years, though hardly seen her without her boys, Trent and Jason. It was good to hear more about her life. “Indeed she does, I wont deny I’ve been jealous of her too, but you definitely have nothing to worry about. Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Elise had to roll her eyes at that. “Of course there are.” She wasn’t even a bit surprised that, even here, there were men who didn’t appreciate the strength and skills of the female competitors. “I can’t imagine doing something like this for money. There just seems to be easier ways, but I guess if you’ve got a skill set...” Elise allowed the words to drift off as she brought her attention back to the women who were fighting. Bash had known Lacey for some time now. They’d been childhood neighbors who kept in touch even though the woman had moved various times. She’d heard a lot about their adventures as children, but it was difficult to reconcile this Lacey with the image of Sebastian and his brother as children. “I’m no Wonder Woman,” Elise countered. “I couldn’t even manage to get out of the New Years party without nearly breaking my ankle. Which you obviously already know.” Her smile dropped a bit. “I haven’t thanked you or Robert for rescuing me that night yet.” 

“That’s very kind of you to say.” She couldn’t disagree that Elise’s statement - she was lucky to even be alive, given the circumstances. There was much that she had to be thankful for, but there were so many feelings overwhelming that one in particular. She had never felt anything like this - maybe she shouldn’t be so hard on herself for dealing with such a foreign concept to her. “I don’t think the weather helped anything. They seem to think that whomever it was, it was someone who knew very well what they were doing. Someone who would have had time to canvas it all out beforehand. I guess the Rainbow Room isn’t the most secure of places.” She didn’t think that she would ever have such a public party again - not somewhere that she couldn’t protect. “Rhett’s had someone outside the doors the whole time. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and if he’s anything, he’s stubborn. So I let him do it, I know it helps him, and I guess in some way it helps me too.”

The words that Hadley was saying pulled Elise up short. It seemed like something out of a movie. “Wow,” she breathed on a sigh. “Professional attackers just doesn’t seem like something normal people deal with. What could anyone had done to catch their attention?” Elise drifted further into the room and plopped herself into the chair that was positioned beside Hadley’s bed. “I’m glad you have him,” she said, glancing at the door. “He seems like a good guy and I’m sure it’s reassuring for your family as well.” If anything like this had happened to anyone in Elise’s family, she knew that she’d feel much more comfortable having guards outside of the room as a first layer of defense. Hadley seemed so small and defenseless in her hospital bed. She was kind, and definitely not the kind of person Elise imagined whose parties would be the location of a professional attack, but the world was upside down sometimes and there was no logic to the things that happened. “So, how long until you’re out? I know you must be ready to be back in your own place.” 

Morgan couldn’t help but laugh when the woman mentioned that. “Well, I did not murdered him but if I have, then I suspect you wouldn’t be able to take your hands off me, am I right?” She took a napkin and thanked a waiter when this one brought her some ice for her knuckles that were starting to get swollen. “Do you want to drink anything? It’s on the house, for telling me I’m irresistible,” she laughed. 

“Guilty,” Elise agreed, smiling in the woman’s direction. “I’m incorrigible.” Elise had watched the entire incident unfold with bated breath. Maybe she hadn’t felt any fear because the woman had seemed to have it all under control. In another circumstance, a fight breaking out would have caused her to panic, but here she was joking around instead. “Something fruity, preferably. Piña coladas are always a safe bet.” 

Ezra couldn’t help but chuckle as he wrapped an arm around her back for support reaching back to help Bash up as well. “I think we can make that happen, huh Bash. Get you two home, out of these cute little outfits and comfortable in the snug.” He winks to her as he leads them both out the door to where Sebastian had parked. Ezra often preferred the subway but the streets were mostly dead tonight so it didn’t take him long to get them home. “We’re giving you a heart attack?, how do you think I felt seeing you being carried down the stairwell and this one,” He said motioning to Bash. “had gone missing somewhere”

Elise had almost forgotten that she was wearing a fancy dress. Almost. She didn’t get dressed up nearly enough to truly ignore the fact that the night had very nearly ruined an outfit that she enjoyed. “I would’ve sued if this dress had gotten ruined in any way,” she stated with a pout as she leaned against Ezra, her hand firmly clasped in Bash’s as they all made their way to the car. She just wanted to be home. There had been too much excitement for the night. “Okay, I see and validate your feelings, but Robert -- that’s the man who so valiantly carried me down the stairs -- was very handsome and very strong.” She sighed. “It was peak romance novel, but now I’m just happy to be home with my two handsome boys and I’m not letting either of you out of my sight. I think we’ve hit our danger quota for the year.”

Verity couldn’t even begin to imagine, but she could always live vicariously through Elise, who moved through this world with a grace that Verity was often in awe of. “I should probably lay off the sweets, or at least that’s what my mother says,” Verity said, making a big show of dramatically rolling her eyes. “Oooh, do tell more. I want all the little details. You know how I love your stories about them.”

“I firmly believe in enjoying everything life has to offer, including sweets.” Elise had never been the kind of person who limited herself. Not for anyone. If her childhood health struggles had taught her anything, it was that life was too fragile not to be enjoyed. “Well...” she began, drawing the word out and lowering her voice as if she was a co-conspirator. She loved talking about the boys. “Bash ended up with a few cuts and bruises, poor baby. So, Ez has really been working hard, but I don’t think my feet have touched the floor once in the last few days or so.”

Elise chuckled as he settle Bash next to her to inspect the man over. They were an odd group, or rather he knew people thought them odd. To be honest he had been drawn to Elise when he met her in the hospital, couldn’t quite stay away. She’d explained her marriage was an open one and if he was honest he wasn’t put off by it. Moreover he liked Bash. The two could talk for hours about his work or about true crime. In truth he felt right at home in the company of them and his affair with Elise became less an affair but an addition to their lives. “No need to worry about that, its not gonna happen any time soon. we should get you two home so you can rest though. Things have gotten crazy here” 

Elise couldn’t argue there. The night had definitely taken an unexpected turn and now, she wanted nothing more than to be home in her own bed knowing that the two people she loved most in the world were safe. “This isn’t how I planned to enjoy the New Year,” she admitted, unlinking her arm from Bash’s. She pushed up in an attempt to stand without putting too much pressure on her hurt ankle. “Honestly, I just need hot chocolate, my boys, and my blanket. We can watch a movie and forget that you two tried to give me a heart attack tonight.”

“Is that your way of telling me I look terrible?” She asked with a grin, her voice clearly indicating that she was teasing the brunette. She knew that she looked a mess, though she was doing all she could to avoid looking at herself. She was unsure - distracted, trying to figure out the situation and how she felt. The police hadn’t been able to tell her much, and she hadn’t been able to speak to Ryder since it had all happened. 

“I’m doing okay.” She reassured, sitting up slightly straighter in order to better carry on the conversation with Elise. “I can’t believe it either. I want a lot of answers, but I can’t seem to find any. No one can tell me who is responsible or why.”

“You could never look terrible.” Elise brushed off Hadley’s concern. She looked a little worse for wear but considering she’d been attack, things could be worse. “Alive’s a good look for you.” She smiled and settled herself into the chair that sat near Hadley’s bed. “I can’t believe that people could disappear without a trace. You’d think they’d leave some sort of clue behind. DNA. Clothing fibers. What’s the use of modern forensics if they can’t find a bad guy?” Elise knew that she was rambling, but she’d been shaken by the events of the party. It had happened out of nowhere and it had seemed as if the perpetrators had disappeared out of nowhere. If she hadn’t been sitting in Hadley’s hospital room, she would’ve been hard pressed to believe it even happened. She was known for having an active imagination and sometimes she lost track of things that had happened in her imagination and things that had happened in reality, but this had definitely happened in reality and it was terrifying. “What are they doing to keep you safe here?”

Abel would have smiled if he could’ve, he like the thought of being a dragging, not necessarily burning down a town, but being a dragon sounded cool. He hoped he’d remember to tell her how much he liked that analogy, but he was usually a bit groggy after a panic attack - his memory a bit blurred. He looked up at her, the tears freely flowing down his cheeks and nodded. “T-” he tried, tried to utter the three lettered word, but his breath hitched and his eyes widened, he was choking on nothing and he was terrified. 

Elise watched the attempt and then the panic rise again. She hated that he was experiencing this. She knew how terrifying panic attacks could be. “You have to breathe,” she reminded Abel. Elise rested her hand on his hoping that it would ground him. “You’ll be okay. You’re safe here. You just have to breathe.”

Alexandria couldn’t help the soft chuckle at her comparison. She wasn’t wrong. The people who’d gathered here to cheer and watch weren’t much different than the audiences of the Coliseum. Granted these fights weren’t too the death and they never used weapons but they got riled up the more intense it got. Even during her fight, she could still hear them cheering, none of them knew that anything was wrong, that this wasn’t her norm. They were just excited to see her keep getting beat. “Pretty much, minus the cruel ruler dictating life and death.” Her eyes flickered back towards the fight and she offered the woman a smile. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Both fighters choose to step in, to test their skill.” Her eyebrow raised to her question, “Lacey? Or Amanda. I’m actually here for Lacey, she’s a friend, and she works at my brother’s company. Plus she’s generally watching when I fight, atleast when she’s in town” 

“It’s a little terrifying.” In any other setting, the words would’ve been whispered, but considering that they were surrounded by noise, Elise had to scream to be heard. “But also sort of intriguing,” she continued. “I mean, if I had that skill, I’d probably want to test it against people who also had that level of skill.” It made sense when she thought about it, and if this was someone’s choice, who was she to tell them that they couldn’t do it. She was sure that there were measures in place to protect the fighters. At least, she hoped there was. All she knew about fighting, she’d picked up from movies and they were hardly a reliable source. “Lacy.” She pointed in the woman’s direction. “They were neighbors for a bit. She and Bash have maintained a friendship throughout the years.” She watched the woman in question throw a punch and cringed slightly for the other woman. Amanda, Alex had said. “I thought I was jealous before, but now I’m even more jealous. She’s gorgeous and can clearly throw a punch. Girl’s got it going on.”

“The only way you can make cotton candy better is pairing it with liquor,” she mused. Verity was overly fond of sweet things as well as tart. She liked extremes in most facets of her life it seemed. “Besides we have to properly celebrate the successful near healing of that ankle. I take that the husband has been treating you well due to that.” Part of Verity was a bit jealous over the fact Elise had someone to fawn over her. It wasn’t malicious, more like an ache. It was its own kind of sadness where the envy is simply because you want something similar in your own life.

Elise had to agree. She’d never really outgrown her childhood sweet tooth; she’d simply become old enough to pair it with alcohol. "You can’t really go wrong with boozy sweets,” she said. If she’d been more talented in the kitchen, Elise would’ve opened up some sort of bakery shop that featured boozy sweets. “Oh, he’s been a dream,” Elise answered. She was sure she was starry eyed, but it was difficult not to be whenever she spoke about her men. “They’ve both been wonderful. I’m tempted to fake another injury if it means they’ll treat me like a princess for another week or so. A girl could get spoiled like this.”