Doctor Who?

[ANNIE RHODES]

Finally! It had finally happened! Annie finally had a pediatric doctor request her presence in pediatrics as a regular intern! Of course, she’d never actually met the man, but that was beside the point. She was finally going to get a chance to specialize! As soon as she found out, she practically bounced out of the chief’s office and immediately called her mother. Her cockney accent was even thicker than normal as she gushed her congratulations and asked for all the details. Nobody could understand Annie’s constant level of excitement quite like Jackie Rhodes could. When she got home that night, there was a cake and balloons ready for her. Good thing she’d already bought the champagne! She and her mother celebrated as long as they could before they both quite literally crashed into their beds. Nevermind that it was only about half past nine when they lost consciousness—it was hard work being a doctor and a stylist.

Her first day interning under Felix Crowley and damned if Annie was going to be late. She pushed her unruly blonde hair up in a ponytail, donning her pink scrubs and tossing her white lab coat in the passenger seat of her Honda Civic fifteen minutes earlier than usual. Annie had made certain she got up early to really put herself together and get ready to make an impression. She flew through the streets and she began to wonder about this Dr. Crowley. Was he old or young? Did he have a sense of humor? Was he strict? And more importantly, how did he find out about her? She’d never worked with him, though she couldn’t say whether she’d seen him in the halls or not. Maybe he’d just asked the chief if there were any interns interested in pediatrics and the chief recommended Annie. Thinking about having the chief’s recommendation boosted her ego a little and she was in a good mood when she arrived at work thirty minutes early. Had she really been driving that fast? It didn’t matter—she hadn’t been pulled over on her way and she was excited for her first official day in pediatrics!

She had an extra spring in her step this morning and she made her way to Dr. Felix Crowley’s office. Yeah, she was early, but she was intent on making a good first impression. What would her first assignment be? Would she be allowed to see patients today? She didn’t see why not, considering she’d had plenty of exposure so far. Then she had a devastating thought. What if he didn’t like her? What if this was a one day thing and tomorrow she would be back without a specialty? Could he do that? Or would they assign her to another doctor? She bit her lip and her walking slowed a little. Hopefully he would be understanding and patient with her. If he worked in pediatrics, that was a good possibility…right?

Finally she reached Dr. Crowley’s door and she swallowed hard before reaching up and knocking on it. A cheerful voice sounded from within and Annie let herself through the door, peeking her head in with a bright smile. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I’m Annie R—” Her eyes landed on the man behind the desk and she was suddenly transported to a time in her life that she would rather forget. So much for good first impressions. His first impression of her was being locked inside a cold, white room while she clipped his wings. He’d had such beautiful, colorful wings…She had never been able to forget him. The look he’d given her before he walked out of the room…She was frozen in the doorway with her hand over her mouth, her big hazel brown eyes wide and sad. When she dropped her hand away from her mouth, she swallowed hard again and stepped into his office. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…I didn’t know it was you.” Her cheeks were flushed and she looked down at her feet nervously before looking back up at him, biting her lip as she always did when she was nervous. “So…you’re Dr. Felix Crowley?” Her stomach was tied in knots as she looked at the bird-like man in the office with her. She was frightened and ashamed and curious all at the same time and at a complete loss for words.

[FELIX CROWLEY]

Felix Crowley had been a very... eccentric doctor to say the least. Most of his colleagues called him a mixture of House and Patch Adams, which was a title that he was proud to have and he lived up to it every single day. Which was why he’d decided to work in pediatrics. Nobody got his innocent, free spirit the way that a child did. They understood one another in a way that parents didn’t often understand their children. He knew how their little minds worked!

Felix decided that maybe it was time he offered to take one of the interns under his wing (not literally of course!) It must have been ages since he’d last offered to take an intern. Maybe because the last one went so well that once their internship had been completed, the young new doctor took off after an offer they couldn’t refuse out of state. Felix had gotten plenty of offers himself but his heart was in Scriptor Bay and that’s where he planned on staying.. for not anyway.

When the Chief of medicine updated the list of new interns he skimmed the list to see if there was anyone who stuck out. First he wasn’t sure when he went down the list of names, but then he glanced over a couple of their files, checking their pictures and then stopping when he found the perfect one. It was a woman with a full face and blonde hair. A face he’d seen before in the camps. This is the one, he’d told the chief, signing off and taking her as his new intern. That was if she accepted. Which she did.

When the day he was going to get his intern he was ready. He expected to receive her right before a scheduled check-up with a little boy who came in every other month it seemed because his mother was paranoid about every little scrape and scratch. Thirty minutes before he was expecting Annie Rhodes, his new intern, he was in his office signing off on charts that he hadn’t gotten to the night before so that he could drop them off at the nurse’s station to close them up. When he heard the knocking he thought that it would be a nurse coming to badger him about those files, but when he called for them to enter he was surprised to see it was his new intern instead. He looked at her over his glasses, his lab coat hanging up on the coat rack behind him. He had on a brown pleated suit and although she couldn’t see them, his feet were in black converse sneakers. They were much more comfortable than those rubbery blubby shiny shoes that most doctors wore! His brown hair was into a perfect tousled mess that gave him more of a birdlike appearance than he already had.

The look on Annie Rhode’s face was priceless. She looked so shocked that he almost felt bad. He took his glasses off and set them on the desk, slowly rising from his seat while he watched her carefully. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t...I didn’t know it was you.” The woman bit her lip and averted her eyes from him which he thought was such a curious way to act. He moved around the desk until he was standing in front of it and leaned up against it. ”So...you’re Dr. Felix Crowley?” He crossed his arms and watched her squirm. “Oh so you remember me then?” He asked with his brows arched up with fake surprise before he gave her a gigantic smile. “Well now, I’m glad I’ve made such an impression!”

[ANNIE RHODES]

The doctor crossed his arms and looked down his rather long nose at her and Annie swallowed hard. Was this a trick of some kind? Was he just using her internship as an excuse to torment her for what she’d done to him in the camps? If that was the case, she couldn’t blame him. She had clipped those beautiful wings and kept him from flying. If she had been in that situation, she would want revenge. His pronounced eyebrows perched high on his forehead. “Oh so you remember me then?” He had an accent that was a strange but pleasant mix between English and Scottish. She might have appreciated it more if her stomach wasn’t squirming under his dark-eyed gaze. Then all of a sudden, a gigantic grin spread across his mouth showing nearly every one of his white teeth. Her look went from ashamed to confused at the surprising smile, her head tilting to the side somewhat. What was he so happy about? “Well now, I’m glad to have made such an impression!” Her eyes widened as she simply stared at him in surprise. Really? That…that was all he had to say? “O-of course. You had the most colorful wings I came across. It’s hard to forget something like that.” She gave an uncertain smile, small and hesitant but genuine. Still, she wasn’t sure if he had something up his sleeve. Maybe she could just pretend the whole thing didn’t happen…

“Uh…so, what do you have for me today?” Glancing at his desk, she could see the pile of charts and she gave a nervous half smile. “I hope it’s not updating charts.” She gave a bigger smile with her joke, hoping he would be amused. What could she say to him? It wasn’t like she could have a heartfelt conversation with him. He was grinning at her like he was ten and she’d just brought him a whole bag of candy. The man moved back around his desk and she briefly noted his footwear. She couldn’t help but smile at the Chuck Taylors he wore. It was an odd combination with his rather eclectic suit, but they probably brought a comforting feel to the white lab coat hanging on the wall behind his desk. Just glancing around his office she could tell he was a man of rather unusual interests, but it suited his artfully disheveled appearance. Already she was interested in knowing more about him. Of course, she couldn’t really trust that feeling until the air was clear. She definitely wasn’t one to pretend like nothing happened and look away. Ten minutes of trying was already driving her nuts.

Annie took a step toward Felix’s desk, closing some of the distance between them and stepping more into his office. “I just…I just need to know…are you upset with me? About what happened in the camps? Because I would totally understand if you were. I’d feel that way if I was in that situation.” She was suddenly aware of the open office door and she glanced back to make sure no one was standing there before she lowered her voice just a bit. She hadn’t been talking loud, but she didn’t want to risk Felix getting mad at her for spreading his business. “Oops…do they know about your wings? I don’t want to blow your cover or anything.” Well this was a great first impression. Already she was making things awkward. Would he call her out on it? She bit her lip again, feeling as anxious as a kid on the first day at a new school.

[FELIX CROWLEY]

“O-of course. You had the most colorful wings I came across. It’s hard to forget something like that.” Her smile was friendly even if she did look like she was in an uncomfortable situation. It was a contagious sort of smile because it got a big ol’ grin spread across his lips.

”Uh...so, what do you have for me today?” He followed her eyes to his desk and peered at the stack of charts that were just leering at him, waiting for him to write in them. They were calling his name in their silent, colorful chart-y way. ”I hope it’s not updating charts.” He could sense her attempt at humor and it only amused him more. He pushed off of his desk and walked back around behind it to take his seat once more. His eyes found a painted rock that was on the desk that a patient had given him one time that he used for a paperweight and placed it on top of all the charts. “Nope. No charts for you,” he told her and fell silent again, just watching her with the same big smile. She looked so uncomfortable standing there that he should have probably told her to relax, perhaps take a load off and prop up her feet.

He was about to open his mouth and mention to her that they had some time to kill before their first appointment together but she stepped closer to the desk and beat him as the first to speak. ”I just...I just need to know...are you upset with me? About what happened in the camps? Because I would totally understand if you were. I’d feel that way if I was in that situation.” So she thought that he was cross with her about the camps. Yes, she had been the one to clip his wings but he didn’t hold a grudge against her. She wasn’t the one giving the orders she was only carrying them out. As far as he was concerned she was just as innocent as an infant in New Zealand. But of course she didn’t know that! He hadn’t told her yet! He watched her notice that the office door was still ajar. ”Oops...do they know about your wings? I don’t want to blow your cover or anything.” He could tell that she meant every word she said and wasn’t just spewing out whatever she thought he needed to hear.

“Oh, Annie Rhodes, you are going to be magnificent!” The doctor was up on his feet once more but this time instead of going around the desk he took his lab coat off the rack and wiggled it up his arms and over his shoulders with a shrug. He turned to look at her with that big grin back on his face and soon after he was laughing. “Ohh yes.. this is going to be magnificent indeed,” he came around the desk and brushed past the intern so that he could shut the door. When it quietly latched he took a step back to give her some personal space. “In order,” He looked up to the ceiling with a thoughtful look on his face, clearly taking a moment to mull something over, “No, no, yes AND no!” Felix beamed at her, answering all of her questions in order. “I don’t see why I would be mad with you, Annie Rhodes. The camps weren’t your fault.” He pulled his glasses off of his nose and pressed one side to his bottom lip, tapping it gently with a brow cocked. “Yes and no.. yes, some of my coworkers are aware that have a bit of a feather problem,” he was only teasing of course. His wings weren’t a problem at all. They were the best part of him! Well, that and his hair of course! “But there are others that are more oblivious to the fact I happened to miss a few months of work back when we were held captive. You would’a thought the blokes would have a bit of common sense, yeah? What, having degrees and all?” Again, it was a joke. He smiled at her and tucked his glasses into the breast pocket of his brown jacket. He didn’t take his jacket off when he put on his lab coat because it helped make him look a tad bulkier, it was all the better to conceal his wings in their harness. Not to mention gave him a little more cushion for when he had those wild little rascals who threw things when he wasn’t looking.

“Well then!” He clasped his hands together in front of him and then rubbed them eagerly. “Are we ready to go cure little Timothy of his mother’s contagious case of hypochondria?” Felix opened the door back up and stepped to the side so that Annie could leave the office first. He had to lock it up behind him after all so that nobody could come in and steal anything confidential. “This ought to be a fun one. His mother is always in here going on about how he’s caught whatever they put on the bloody tube! I must say that explaining to that woman you cannot ‘catch’ color blindness like a common cold. Bah!”

[ANNIE RHODES]

“Oh, Annie Rhodes, you are going to be magnificent!” The sudden outburst widened Annie’s eyes, wondering what she’d said to make Felix think she was magnificent. She couldn’t help the small smile that played at the corners of her mouth, though. With a flourish, the doctor moved behind his desk, snatching up his lab coat and slipping it over his narrow shoulders. She stepped forward, waiting patiently for an explanation that wasn’t forthcoming. Was he going to tell her what made her magnificent? Just as she was going to ask, Felix was grinning at her again and adjusting his coat. “Ohh yes…this is going to be magnificent indeed.” He was quick to swoop in and close the door behind her, coming in close to her as he did so. The man seemed to get familiar with people quite quickly. With the door closed, he turned his dark eyes to the ceiling ponderously. “In order…No, no, yes AND no!” He was beaming and she had to smile back at him, though her creased brow indicated her need for a little further explanation. “I don’t see why I would be mad with you, Annie Rhodes. The camps weren’t your fault.” Now her smile was a wide grin, a soft sigh of relief breathing out of her nose. Thank goodness this wouldn’t be revenge for the camps. Like the stereotypical professor, Felix took his glasses off and all but chewed on the ends as he considered her. “Yes and no…yes, some of my coworkers are aware that I have a bit of a feather problem.” She let out a soft giggle. At least she wasn’t alone, but she would have no way of knowing just who knew. “But there are others that are more oblivious to the fact that I happened to miss a few months of work back when we were held captive. You would’a thought the blokes would have a bit of common sense, yeah? What, having degrees and all?” Again she laughed quietly. He actually seemed like pleasant company. She was so glad she wouldn’t have some pretentious douche for a mentor!

“Well then! Are we ready to go cure little Timothy of his mother’s contagious case of hypochondria?” Annie giggled at the way he rubbed his hands together and how he described their patient’s mother. She had run into those mothers before, the ones who thought their baby was dying about five times a week on average. Usually they annoyed her, but with Felix around, maybe it would be more amusing. She hurried out of the office as Felix allowed her to leave first and she waited for him to lock the door behind him. Her hands slipped into her pockets, as they were wont to do, and she followed the doctor down the hall. “This ought to be a fun one. His mother is always in here going on about how he’s caught whatever they put on the bloody tube! I must say that explaining to that woman you cannot ‘catch’ color blindness like a common cold. Bah!” She laughed, beginning to feel very at ease with the doctor. “I once had to convince a grandmother that her granddaughter’s hives were not burns she got from sitting in front of the computer too long. She insisted the computer had something to do with it because her own neck would always burn when she had been in front of the computer for more than an hour. I told her that her neck would burn because she had to take more frequent breaks when on the computer and she was just sitting too long in the same position, but I swear it took more than twenty minutes to convince her. You should have seen the look on the granddaughter’s face.” Her bright, amused smile turned up to Felix and she found that his grin was infectious. She was about to find out, but she was pretty certain he had a way of making patients and parents feel completely at ease.

With a sudden turn, they arrived at Timothy’s room and Annie smiled warmly for the boy and his mother. Both returned it, but Timothy’s smile was much more genuine than his mother’s. His mother looked like she’d just been sucking on a lemon. Felix made introductions and Annie waved to both people in the room. “It’s nice to meet you both. You can just call me Annie.” Her smile focused on Timothy with a warm interest. “How are you feeling today, Timothy?” she asked with a casual, interested tone. She knew it would be best to hear what he was experiencing directly from Timothy and not his mother. Of course, a mother like that couldn’t help herself.

[FELIX CROWLEY]

”I once had to convince a grandmother that her granddaughter’s hives were not burns she got from sitting in front of the computer too long. She insisted the computer had something to do with it because her own neck would always burn when she had been in front of the computer for more than an hour. I told her that her neck would burn because she had to take more frequent breaks when on the computer and she was just sitting too long in the same position, but I swear it took more than twenty minutes to convince her. You should have seen the look on the granddaughter’s face.” Felix listened as Annie told him her own run in with an overprotective person who thought they knew the solution to a nonexistent problem. He grinned widely but didn’t look in her direction, just keeping his eyes ahead of him as they walked down the hall together.

“Ah, this is our stop!” He plucked out the chart that was hanging on the back of the door and opened it up to see what the nurse scribbled in there this time. When he looked up everyone was smiling at each other like something out of an advertisement picture. It was a little odd. ”It’s nice to meet you both. You can just call me Annie.” Timothy was looking like his usual self, just happy to be a kid! His mother on the other hand looked like she was in pain the way she smiled. ”How are you feeling today, Timothy?” Timothy looked like he was going to answer what Annie asked but his mother piped in first. ”He has the bird flu. His lungs are filled with water and he has whooping cough.” And it begins.

“Alrighty Mrs. Dawson how about we let Timmy give us his side of the story?” Felix gave a big smile and held his hand out for Timothy, who took it and gave it a shake. Felix let out a groan and bent down like Timothy’s grip was too strong and bringing him to his knees. “Argh! Getting stronger every time I see you!” Timothy let out a laugh and put his hands together in his lap. He was such a young boy. “Let me get a listen to that big heart of yours,” and out came the stethoscope!

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

It only took them five minutes to get a proper diagnosis on Timothy Dawson. It was just a common cold which he prescribed children’s cough syrup that would help him sleep at night and stop coughing. There was no whooping cough or water in his lungs. He just had the misfortune of a paranoid mother.

Back out in the hall Felix passed the chart off to one of the nurses who gave him a once over and then smiled, shaking her head. She was one of those nurses who always thought he was crazy for wearing converse sneakers to work. “So, Annie Rhodes, how long have you been doing what you do? How much experience? Tell me everything, I want to know who is Annie Rhodes. Oh, do you like bananas? Let’s head to the cafeteria and grab a bite.”

[ANNIE RHODES]

Annie was ready to hear what the boy had to say, but his mother interrupted with an answer for him. “He has the bird flu. His lungs are filled with water and he has whooping cough.” Well…that was quiet the diagnosis. Annie’s eyebrows rose of course, but they probably shouldn’t have. “Alrighty Mrs. Dawson, how about we let Timmy give us his side of the story?” She watched as Felix’s smile grew and he walked up to the boy with an offered hand. Timmy took it and Felix crippled to the ground, groaning like the child had an unbelievable grip. Annie had to laugh, watching the kid beam. Felix must have had quite the way with kids. “Argh! Getting stronger every time I see you!” Timmy laughed, as did Annie again, and the doctor got back to his feet to get down to business. “Let me get a listen to that big heart of yours.” And just like that, the two doctors were down to work figuring out a proper diagnosis for little Timmy Dawson.

---------------------------------------------------

It was rather uneventful, to be perfectly honest. Felix and Annie proved that Mrs. Dawson was nuts and Timmy only had a small cold. Felix prescribed him some cough syrup and sent them on their way. Annie could have sworn Mrs. Dawson looked disappointed that it wasn’t something more serious, but she brushed it off. As long as Mrs. Dawson wasn’t the one making Timmy sick, then it really wasn’t her business. Felix passed off the chart to a nurse and Annie continued to follow him away from the room.

“So, Annie Rhodes, how long have you been doing what you do? How much experience? Tell me everything; I want to know who is Annie Rhodes. Oh, do you like bananas? Let’s head to the cafeteria and grab a bite.” To have such a complicated question followed by a much more mundane and quite random one threw Annie a little, but she smiled wide. “Actually, yes, I do like bananas. Let’s go get some.” As they walked to the cafeteria, Annie decided to fill Felix in. “I’m a local girl, but my mom is from London. She has that thick Cockney accent from growing up in White Chapel. That’s why I decided to go to Oxford for my schooling. I suppose when I first got back to the States I sounded a bit like you.” She grinned up at him. “An’ me mum still talks like she lives in London. Never changed.” Her impersonation of her mother’s accent was flawless and she liked the way it made Felix grin. He was very free with his smiles, and she had to admit she liked that. “I’ve been in my internship for about two years now. I’m ready to specialize and I love pediatrics. I just didn’t have anyone to mentor me until now.” She smiled again and slipped into an elevator with him. They were alone and when the doors closed, she looked at him again. “And I know about all of the guardians now. I had my suspicions growing up here, but I’ve done a lot of research since last summer. I always thought the legends were true when I was a kid, but of course I got logical when I got older. I just always had this nagging feeling that it was all true, you know? I’m glad I was right.” She shook her head and then grinned wide again. “Sorry I…I tend to ramble sometimes. Tell me more about you. Obviously you’re from here, but you sound English and Scottish. How did that happen? Why did you come back to Scriptor Bay?”

[FELIX CROWLEY]

”Actually, yes, I do like bananas. Let’s go get some.” Felix couldn’t think of a better answer to that question himself. He LOVED bananas! They were nutritious, delicious and gooey! If his teeth ever fell out he’d still be able to eat bananas! Annie Rhodes looked like she had more to say so Felix stopped thinking about bananas and instead gave her his undivided attention while they walked down the hall. ”I’m a local girl, but my mom is from London. She has that thick Cockney accent from growing up in White Chapel. That’s why I decided to go to Oxford for my schooling. I suppose when i first got back to the States I sounded a bit like you.” He had to smile at her words. He knew that he had a funny little accent that came from a mixture of both his mum and dad along with all the travelling. He told people that he just brought a little of everywhere with him in his accent so that he wouldn’t forget the places he’d been. ”An’ me mum still talks like she lives in London. Never changed.” He let out a loud laugh at the impersonation that she did, sounding spot on to half of London. ”I’ve been in my internship for about two years now. I’m ready to specialize and I love pediatrics. I just didn’t have anyone to mentor me until now.”

When they arrived at the elevator he let her enter first before slipping in next to her before the doors could close, mashing his thumb against the button to take them down a couple of levels. It was unfortunate that nobody else would take this lovely girl to intern under them for pediatrics. From the little that he knew of her she seemed genuinely kind and the world needed more caring doctors.

”And I know about all of the guardians now. I had my suspicions growing up here, but I’ve done a lot of research since last summer. I always thought the legends were true when I was a kid, but of course I got logical when I got older. I just always had this nagging feeling that it was all true, you know? I’m glad I was right.” When she brought up the guardians he could see the way that she lit up. That must have been the way she looked when she realized that her assumptions about the tales were true the first time she found out. He gave her a closed lip grin, admiring how she seemed so enthusiastic to just talk and talk and tell him all about herself. ”Sorry I...I tend to ramble sometimes. Tell me more about you. Obviously you’re from here, but you sound English and Scottish. How did that happen? Why did you come back to Scriptor Bay?” And now it was his turn to tell her all about himself.

“Ah, well that is a long tale, innit?” He said softly and looked at his blurry reflection in the elevator doors as they slowly descended. “I’ve been all over. You see I’m a lot older than you. We age differently and although we might have originally come from here I was born in Glasgow. Me mum is British and dad is a Scottsman. As you can tell I sound a little bit like both of them.” He looked over at her with his big smile. “I have two sisters, I’m the middle in my family. My older sister Sophie was living in Liverpool last I heard and Alice is still traveling trying to find herself I suppose,” he wasn’t certain how much Annie knew about the Avisaille species but he knew that all he had to do was ask and he’d get an answer. “Just how much do you know about us?” He asked quietly and looked at her with a serious expression. He was sure she knew what he meant by ‘us’.

Just then the elevator started to shudder and with a few clicking noises it shook before coming to a violent stop. The main lights inside the elevator shut off and were replaced by the emergency lights dimming the inside of the metal cart. “That’s unfortunate..” He said quietly and looked at Annie to see how she was reacting before checking out the elevator. Maybe the emergency phone would work and he could get someone on the line. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic. These elevators always give us trouble. We may be here for a while. I don’t see us getting bananas today..”

[ANNIE RHODES]

“Ah, well that is a long tale, innit?” Annie smiled wide, looking up at Felix’s very birdlike profile. She was willing to listen to the whole tale no matter how long it took if only to listen to the way he told it. His accent really was very soothing. “I’ve been all over. You see I’m a lot older than you. We age differently and although we might have originally come from here I was born in Glasgow.” Well that explained his accent. She’d already assumed he was much older than her, since she knew Avisailles aged much more slowly than humans. “Me mum is British and dad is a Scotsman. As you can tell I sound a little bit like both of them.” Annie returned his wide smile when he looked down at her. Something about that big, friendly smile made her very at ease. “I have two sisters, I’m the middle in my family. My older sister Sophie was living in Liverpool last I heard and Alice is still traveling trying to find herself I suppose.” She had been all over Europe, but she still wasn’t satisfied, and she silently envied his sisters for being able to travel so much. But as she was considering this, Felix gave her a serious look and she felt her smile fade a little bit. “Just how much do you know about us?” It was a quiet question even though they were alone in the elevator, but she didn’t get a chance to answer it.

Without warning the elevator began shuddering, a horrible clicking sound making Annie’s heart race as she instinctively reached out and clutched at Felix’s arm. The elevator came to a violent stop and she held tight to the doctor’s arm so she would avoid falling. Of course, they did stumble back into the back of the elevator and she rested there panting and still clutching Felix as she waited for the elevator to just start plummeting to the ground. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Instead the emergency lights clicked on and Annie was glad they weren’t going to be plunged into complete darkness. “That’s unfortunate…” Annie turned her big dark eyes up to his, shocked at how calm the statement was. How was he not freaking out?! “It’s more than unfortunate,” Annie insisted, finally releasing her unconscious grip on Felix with a little blush. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic. These elevators always give us trouble. We may be here for a while. I don’t see us getting bananas today…” The final comment finally made a smile break out on Annie’s face again and she gave out a small laugh. “No, probably not.” She swept a hand through her blonde hair with a heavy sigh before moving forward to inspect the buttons for the emergency one. “And I’m not claustrophobic, but I don’t particularly enjoy dangling thirty feet in the air inside an elevator either. Hopefully this won’t take too long to fix…” She found the emergency button and mashed it with her finger. A loud buzzing sound filled the elevator shaft and within moments a voice was crackling through the speaker below the rows of buttons. “Hang in there, folks. We’re looking to see what the problem is now. We’ll let you know when we know something. Oh, and uh, we can’t hear you if you talk. Just in case you were trying to talk back…We’ll update you in a few minutes.” Annie’s mouth formed into a gentle pout, not liking this at all. It wasn’t the company that bothered her, just this situation. She turned to look back at Felix and sighed. “Nope, no bananas. Might as well make ourselves comfortable, then.”

Annie moved to the back of the elevator and eased herself down to the ground, stretching her legs out in front of her. Felix slid down beside her and she looked over at him with a smile. “Before the elevator so rudely interrupted us…” Her grin widened playfully. “…I was going to say that I know a good amount. I know you age slower than humans and spend a lot of your lives traveling. It’s sort of a rite of passage to go on a long journey, right?” When Felix confirmed she nodded and continued. “I know you like to go flying at Megsy Isle on cloudy days and that’s where the first flights happen—when parents take their children to teach them how to fly. Though I guess you and your sisters actually learned somewhere else, huh?” She gave another curious smile before continuing on. “And I know there are others. Therianthropes, those who change into animals, Gargoyles who turn into stone during the day, Blurrs who can become invisible, and witches. I can’t remember the different names of the witches right now, but I know there’s one that uses chants and one that uses plants to cast spells. Oh, Elementalists and Geo…Geomancers?” Again Felix confirmed and she nodded. “Right. And I know it all surrounds the Tree of Enlightenment. It was the tree that caused the darkness last year. And the Avisaille leader was…nailed to the tree…” She gave him a nervous and sort of sad look with a small frown. “I was sorry to hear that, by the way. It must have been hard for your kind.” Again she gave a little pause before continuing. “And I know like Avisailles, Gargoyles and Blurrs age slower than humans, but Therianthropes and witches age like us. And that’s about all I know about the guardians. I’m sure there’s tons more, though.” She thought of a question to ask him and she turned to look at him curiously. “Do all of the guardians have a leader? Are they chosen by a vote or something? Do you know your leader personally?” Now that she had a guardian trapped with her, she finally had someone to answer all of her questions. She was able to get her current information from a kindly older patient she’d helped in the camps, a Therianthrope named Rose Faye. When she had a moment to sit and talk to the old woman, she gladly told her about the guardians, but only if her granddaughter Gina wasn’t around. Unfortunately, Annie hadn’t had a lot of time to sit and talk. Now perhaps Felix could tell her more.

[FELIX CROWLEY]

When it was confirmed that they’d be stuck there in the stationed cart until the problem could be fixed, cut off by all means of communication with the outside world Felix decided to slide down to the floor beside Annie in the back corner to wait it out. ”Before the elevator so rudely interrupted us...” His grin matched Annie’s. ”...I was going to say that I know a good amount. I know you age slower than humans and spend a lot of your lives traveling.” Annie went on to describe everything that she knew about the avisaille population, looking at him to confirm a few things - which he did willingly - and then explaining how she knew there were others out there. The Therian population was a giveaway considering they had been in the camps with the Avisailles. Felix tried his best to put the camps out of his mind as best as he possibly could. Certainly all events in one’s life helped to build character but that was one that he would rather not have define who he was as a person. Even the mention of their late leader resulted in a meek nod from him. He hadn’t been one of the unfortunate ones to see Mordecai strung up on display and he was grateful for that because he had known Mordecai. He preferred to remember the man for all of his great accomplishments and not his untimely death.

”Do all of the guardians have a leader? Are they chosen by a vote or something? Do you know your leader personally?” Annie was firing off questions faster than Felix could answer them which was a feat! He couldn’t help but smile at her need for knowledge, something that he always found to be an amazing quality in the human race. Their need to know everything was remarkable! “Each has their own representative. Just think of your own government and politics diluted down to only the most essential roles. And do you know your mayor?” He asked her and leaned into her to give her a gentle nudge, as if they were long friends. “I knew our late leader but I’m afraid I don’t know our recent one. From what I hear he didn’t stray from Mordecai’s beliefs.” It was true, from what he knew of their current leader he had been Mordecai’s right hand man and he was doing an outstanding job, because there hadn’t been anymore incidents since the concentration camps as far as Felix knew. “Some leaders act more like guides while others rule with an iron fist from what I’ve learned over the years. We all had the same rules set in stone although they’ve been changing a lot this past year. Can’t stay in secret anymore now, can we?” Felix had always toed the line when it came to whether or not they should come out to the humans about what they were. On one hand he thought it was brilliant! Let them know all about the Avisailles and allow them to live together in perfect harmony. But then he knew that it would be too good to be true and there were those out there that would only want to put them under the microscope. Which is what had happened.

Annie was so eager to learn all about the Guardians that Felix knew that he made the right choice to offer to take her for her residency. It was going to be an adventure for sure! “I have only had a few run-ins with witches through my lifetime. Some were sweet and kind while others were awful creatures. Blurs are so complex. Their biology shouldn’t even exist it just baffles me how they’re able to turn their skin translucent.” He glanced down at Annie and then offered her a light shrug. “Of course you could be saying the very same thing about me, yeah? ‘ ‘ow can a man ‘ave wings sprouting out of his back?’ “ He tried his best to mimic the silly cockney accent she’d done earlier but he was sure he’d butchered it all to hell and back.

Felix had all but forgotten that they were sitting there stuck inside of an elevator in between floors. “I wonder how long they’re going to be? Think we’ll have to stay overnight?” He raised a playful, innocent brow at the girl beside him. It was entirely innocent and almost childlike the way that he spoke joking about staying overnight. “We see one patient and already we’re having slumber parties. It’s a shame we won’t have any pillows though.”

[ANNIE RHODES]

Annie smiled more at the way Felix smiled at her questions. She knew she was a little overzealous in her need for information, but the doctor seemed more than happy with her. “Each has their own representative. Just think of your own government and politics diluted down to only the most essential roles. And do you know your mayor?” Annie giggled at the way he leaned in and nudged her like they had been friends forever. She really liked Felix, even if at first she had been afraid he would hate her. “I knew our late leader but I’m afraid I don’t know our recent one. From what I hear he didn’t stray from Mordecai’s beliefs.” At that Annie’s smile faded a little, looking at the doctor with her big brown eyes. She felt sorry that he had known the man who died, but Felix didn’t dwell on the loss of his leader for long. “Some leaders act more like guides while others rule with an iron fist from what I’ve learned over the years. We all had the same rules set in stone although they’re been changing a lot this past year. Can’t stay in secret anymore now, can we?” She smiled more again and shook her head gently, though she supposed it might be a sad topic for some guardians that their secret was getting out. Or was it a happy occasion? Probably a little of both, now that she thought of it…

“I have only had a few run-ins with witches through my lifetime. Some were sweet and kind while others were awful creatures. Blurrs are so complex. Their biology shouldn’t even exist, it just baffles me how they’re able to turn their skin translucent.” It was baffling and fascinating at the same time. All of the guardians shouldn’t even exist in this world, but they did. It was magical. Felix glanced at her and she raised her eyebrows, her mouth quirking up a bit more. “Of course you could be saying the very same thing about me, yeah? ‘’Ow can a man ‘ave wings sprouting out of his back?’” She laughed loudly again at his imitation of a Cockney accent, finding it accurate and butchered at the same time. Her mother might not have found it so funny, but to Annie it was hysterical. She just knew her and the doctor were going to be fast friends!

“I wonder how long they’re going to be? Think we’ll have to stay overnight?” Annie had almost forgotten they were stuck on an elevator, but now she looked up and around their metal prison. Would they have to stay the night? “We see one patient and already we’re having slumber parties. It’s a shame we won’t have any pillows though.” Annie grinned and then tugged on her white lab coat a little. “We can always use one of our coats as a pillow. The other one we can use as a blanket. We’ll have to get cozy, but it could be wor—” Just as she was finishing her joke, the lights suddenly went off in the elevator, leaving them in total darkness. “Well that suc—” Again she was cut off by the elevator suddenly dropping, forcing her tiny body off the ground about an inch. Automatically her hand slapped over top of Felix’s and grabbed tightly even in the darkness. She didn’t know why she grabbed his hand, but she knew she might feel more stable clutching onto him. They didn’t drop more than fifteen feet, but it felt like an eternity to Annie. She was panting and dizzy when she slammed down on the floor again as the elevator came to a quick, screeching halt. By the time the lights flickered back on, Annie had almost caught her breath but her body was shaking slightly. The hand clasped tightly in Felix’s was a little damp and trembling slightly. She ran her other hand through her hair as she sighed a breath of relief.

“Sorry about that folks. We switched off the wrong circuit breaker. Don’t worry, that won’t happen again.” Annie snarled momentarily at the voice coming out of the speaker. “Better not…” she grumbled, now annoyed at having been so scared. Then she felt a second hand resting on top of the one curled in Felix’s. Her dark eyes widened slightly as she looked down at her hand being held by both of her new boss’s. Before she could stop it, her cheeks were flushing a little and she smiled widely and nervously at Felix. Her fingers slipped from his gently. “Sorry about that. When I get scared I find the closest thing to hold onto. You should see my friends’ hands after they drag me onto roller coasters. I’ll be okay as long as that doesn’t happen again.” Still a little breathless, she folded her hands in her lap and leaned against the wall behind her. She looked at him inquisitively as she thought of a question. “Are there doctors who specialize in caring for guardians? I can’t imagine someone like you would want to see someone you didn’t trust with your secret.”