isaflynns:
Finding cover for a three month sudden vacation hadn’t been as difficult as Isabella had first anticipated. She was lucky enough to have a dedicated team, who didn’t even press her about her vague story of needing to visit a distant relative. She supposed, after months of working with her, they had given up questioning where she disappeared to for weeks at a time. When she’d held Edward in the farmhouse, and subsequently been institutionalised for over a month, her team had never asked for more than superficial information about her “sabbatical”. She’d been able to keep her actual whereabouts a secret from them then, but this time she was a little more truthful.
She’d been visiting her son, 514A, who lived a nomadic lifestyle that Isabella would have found untenable. Even though she knew it was pointless, she’d mostly gone to see if she could convince them to come back to the city with her. She hated the idea of them out there alone, fending for themselves. She knew they were made of tough stuff – they were both clones, after all – but she hated the thought of the child she considered her own, out there by themselves.
Still, there was something so welcoming about being back at work, in the library. It felt like coming home. She had actually missed the monotonous simplicity of shelving books. A surprising amount of regular customers had told her they were glad she was back, and it had felt so nice, being missed like that. A few hours into her shift, she had slipped right back into the routine of her job. As she held an abridged copy of Frankenstein, trying to decide whether or not it went in the classics section or the teen fiction, when she heard someone clear their throat behind her, clearly wanting something.
“I’ll be right with you,” she said, pleasantly, and then, for efficiency’s sake, just slid the book into the classics section, where she was, under S. Then, she turned to face them, with her customer service smile firmly on her face. “What can I help you with?”
Opening a clinic in Hell’s Kitchen had been an endeavor, and it being a free clinic had caused just as many problems for Leslie as it had created benefits for the community. Vincent was becoming increasingly irritable, Jim had transferred to the New York police department, Edward had slipped back into the Ridder, and Leslie was living hand to mouth. Each passing day seemed to add a new complication to Lee’s life -- but fortunately, the library was one of the stable things in her life. It was quiet and peaceful, and it was a free way to pass the time. Better than sitting at home staring at her ceiling and contemplating just what the hell she was supposed to be doing with her life.
Standing at the podium where the librarian usually was, Lee held a copy of Misery in her hand and waited. A sudden cough snuck up on her, and the woman nearby replied quickly, “Sorry,” Lee said with a shake of her head, “I didn’t mean to rush you.” Her eyes fell back to the book she had placed on the counter, it was in hardback but, she was hoping that the librarian would know where to find the paperback, it wasn’t on the shelf, so perhaps it was checked out already, but Lee figured there was no harm in asking.
Lee glanced up from the counter and made brief eye contact with the woman, her eyes quickly moving back to the book, “Yes, I was wondering if you -- ” her voice cut off as the image finally processed. Her dark eyes moved back towards the woman’s face and for a long, quiet moment, she just stared. Her hair was different but everything else? Her lips parted but all the words that Lee had wanted to say, every thought that had been in her mind was gone. There was only one word left: “Kristen?”
