“Rooftop Dinner Part One”

 

Lija’s POV:

*I had come up to the garden early to make sure everything was ready.
Doc had been working overtime on Luna's sleep problem and I figured
she needed to get away for a bit. So with Noah's permission, I had set
up a little surprise. A table covered with a red checked cloth. Two
six inch red tapered candles was the only light.(Unless of course you
took in to account an almost full moon overhead.) The setting was for
two. Two plates of fine china, under silver domes. Chianti chilling
next to the table. Fresh bread sticks. And baby roses. A dozen pink
ones. And this was just a preview of another night I had planned.
Downstairs in the lab, Zane should be giving Maggie my message. An
invitation. A request. And hopefully she didn't say no.*

Maggie’s POV:

I was sitting in my lab office trying to make some sense of the manuals on proper sleep study protocols. It wasn't my usual area of expertise but necessity is the mother of invention. I had been listening to Garth's greatest hits on my cd player, but it got too distracting to concentrate so I turned it off. The hum of the chemicals refrigerator outside my office door provided my only company. Which could explain why I jumped when Zane's voice cut through the silence from the doorway.

"Hey Doc. I've got a message for you." He had a peculiar grin.

Not sure what to make of that, I braced myself for the worst, "Yeah, did Noah call and say I can't sit alone in my office now or something? He's already walking a thin line today as it is."

I had gotten up this morning to find he had decided to wash all my comfortable lab clothes at once, even the ones hanging in the closest. Said since Micah had made him take some time off he was doing some spring cleaning. He had laid out a turquoise peasant blouse of mine along with my favorite green turquoise patchwork broomstick skirt. I loved the way it twirled when I spun. Actually the whole outfit made me feel a little prettier, less of a science geek, but I rarely wore it to work. It wasn't practical. At least I had my lab coat to protect it. I was brought out of my musings by Zane's laughter.

"Naw. Last I heard he was spending the evening at some meeting on the latest advances in security monitoring equipment." At my rolled eyes, he added, "But I don't think that Jean Claude would approve him adding more surveillance to the lab. Although more surveillance in SOME rooms could be both entertaining and profitable." Grinning at my surprise, he finally got to the point, "Actually the Tore asked me to find you."

Curious, I responded "Lija? Why didn't me come find me himself? Is something wrong?"

"Not as far as I know. He told me to make sure there was nothing here that couldn't wait and send you up to the roof garden."
Okay, things were getting stranger. "No, I don't have anything that can't wait here.I guess I better find out what he wants."

Rising I started to head out the door. Zane stopped me to help me off with my lab coat. "It's warm up there. You wont need that. Or this" reaching up he pulled out the pins holding my hair up. Released from their confines, curls framed my face. "It looks prettier down. You look really cute. Have fun." Grinning he pushed me out the door.

Odd, definitely odd. I headed up the stairs to the roof. When I got there, It was rather dark. Zane was right though, it was warm. Jean Claude must have put in some sort of space heaters to protect the vegetation. Stepping out into the garden, the scents of the flowers that were starting to bloom surrounded me. It was so peaceful, I hated to break the silence to call out for Lija. Someone had turned off the lanterns, but there was enough moonlight to make out the path. I noticed candles in the distance. Heading toward them, I found a nice table laid out with fancy place settings complete with dome covered plates. The most beautiful pink baby roses I had ever seen sat on the table along with the candles that had led me there. Lifting the bottle from the ice bucket beside the table, I found it was a nice bottle of chianti.

Moving over to remove the domes, I saw one setting had chicken over angel hair pasta. It looked like it had a pesto sauce on it. Removing the other, I found veal picatta with angel hair pasta. It looked like the pasta was tossed in something light, maybe olive oil or lemon juice. It was my favorite Italian meal. I was definitely jealous of who ever was going to get to enjoy it up here under the moon and stars, surrounded by so much life. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be looking for Elijah up here.

Scanning the roof, I quickly found him. That past life connection we seemed to share led me to him. He was leaning against the back of a park bench near a tree that served as a focal point of the garden. He looked comfortable relaxing there, in simple dress pants and a handsome shirt that I knew would match the blue of his eyes. Bathed in moonlight, I was struck again by how handsome my friend really was. He wore it as easily as he wore the power that was his as a Druid and Tore. Consequently, none of that affected our friendship. Well it was either his ease with his nature or the fact we felt we were kindred souls whose friendship had survived more than one lifetime.

Walking over toward him, I looked from him, to the table and back again. Confusion added a somewhat timid, shy note to my voice. "Lija, am I interrupting something? Zane said you wanted to see me?"

Lija’s POV:

*I had sensed Maggie as soon as she had stepped
through the door. Still when she spoke I startled, my
mind far away. I turned to answer her question and
was immediately taken by her appearance. The turquoisecolor in her blouse and skirt suited her. And the way
the curls framed her face...I agreed with Noah whole
heartedly that she was beautiful. I supposed I was
staring because she smiled. It was a good thing the
lighting was low, because I knew I was blushing.
Something I didn't do often. I cleared my throat.*

" No, you aren't interrupting anything. In fact you are
the guest of honor." *She tilted her head
slightly, still smiling* " You've been working too
hard. I thought you needed a break." "And I wanted to
show you just how much I care about...that you're my
friend"

*I escorted her to the table pulling out her chair.
She sat and I poured wine for two.*

"I hope you enjoy your meal" "Oh I almost forgot the
music" *She probably expected a cd player to appear.
Instead it was a single violinist.* "He doesn't know
any Rick Springfield, but he plays good Verdi."

Maggie’s POV:

A bit amused at the Lija's reaction to my appearance, I had waited patiently for him to respond. Had he forgotten he asked to see me? I was about to ask him if he was still with me when he answered.

I was surprised and touched that he had gone to so much trouble for  me. I was grateful I had worn something nice today. I would have felt out of place in my usual lab clothes, jeans and some biotech product t-shirt with a cheesy saying like "send in the clones." Feeling tears well up at the thoughtful gesture, I fought to maintain my composure as he explained why he had set this up. I did notice he stopped mid-sentence before telling me he was glad we were friends. He had been doing that a lot lately. Either he had a lot on his mind to make him forget what he was saying, or there was something he wasn't quite comfortable telling me.

He walked over to me and put my hand in the crook of his arm as he led me back to the table to seat me, the perfect gentleman. Chuckling at his joke about the violist not knowing any Rick Springfield songs, I faked a pout, "But I wanted to hear Don't Talk to Strangers." Smiling I added, "Actually I love Verdi. I'm sure it will be wonderful." I nodded up at the violist who began to play.

Taking a sip of the wine, I looked out over the roof at the garden and the city landscape beyond. It was so peaceful up here. I felt safe, more comfortable than I feel around most people, humans even.

Looking back at Lija, I saw he was smiling as he sensed my relaxing mood. He removed the covers and we began to eat. The food was delicious. We sat there talking about everything and nothing, paying no mind to the time passing.
I suddenly found myself staring into Elija's beautiful blue eyes. They say the eyes are a window to the soul and that night I believed it. There was depth in his eyes, not the fake kind you fall into with a vampire's gaze but real depth of substance. There was something there that spoke to a part of my soul few people ever even tried to see. Realizing, that Lija knew how lost I was in his eyes and not knowing what he would think of it, I quickly looked down at my plate. I had finished my dinner without even realizing it.

Standing, I grabbed my glass of wine and moved away from the table to lean against wide railing that protected roof visitors from falling. There was a light breeze blowing through my hair, not enough to make me cold, just enough to make me feel more alive. Looking out at the city skyline, I sighed, took a sip of wine and asked, "Do you ever wonder if your life is the way it is meant to be? If there is something more you are supposed to have but are just too scared to take the chance? That maybe there was some great fork in the road where you were supposed to take a left but took a right and now you're wandering lost not knowing if you can ever find your way back again?"

Turning to look at Lija, I saw he had been watching me, an intense look on his face. Embarrassed, I blushed and looked down at the glass in my hand. "Sorry, it must be the wine talking." Looking around at the garden, the beauty of the setting struck me all over again. As a favorite Verdi piece began to play, I sat down my glass on the rail, closed my eyes and swayed in time with the music. "It is a beautiful night, isn't it?"

Lija’s POV:

*I watched as Maggie swayed to the music. I felt my
heart speed up a bit. It must have been the closeness
of the full moon. Something deep inside was pulling at
me. Something I hadn't let myself feel for a long long
time. I wanted to take her in my arms, to dance with
her all night to the strains of the violin. But she
belonged to someone else, and no matter how strongly
we were connected, I knew we could only be friends. But
one dance wouldn't hurt. I walked up behind her and
gently turned her around. Sliding my arms around her
waist I pulled her close. Her arms went around my neck
and we danced. As she rested her head on my shoulder, I
took in her scent. I wanted to remember her always.
Time must have slipped away from us. The next thing we
heard was the light snoring of the violin player. We
hadn't even noticed he'd stopped playing. And the sun
was rising.+