Fic: The Scientist
Title: The Scientist
Fandom: Doctor Who/Eureka/Warehouse 13
Rating: T
Words: 719
Summary: As Vanessa speaks with Liz in her Global Dynamics lab, she realizes how many different things are happening at once and how it's all affecting her colleague and friend.
Notes: Written for self_preserving, prompt was love sick.
--
She sits slumped at her workbench, her chin on her palm while her other hand swirls a glass stirrer around a beaker of pink aqueous solution she's sure doesn't hold any answers.
Vanessa enters her line of sight with a look of sympathetic concern. "How long have you been sitting here?"
"Longer than I probably should've." Liz sits up, placing both hands in her lap as the solution is ignored. "What time is it?"
"Two-thirty, give or take a few minutes." Vanessa looks towards the clock on the wall, squinting to try and read the smaller numbers before looking back to Liz. "When's the last time you left the lab or ate something?"
"I had some tea and a muffin from the Café Diem earlier."
"Vincent's good, but that's still not a lot," Vanessa says. "Claudia called. Her and Fargo's flight should be in around five. She said something about finding, and I quote: 'a wickedly cool new artifact thingy' in Germany that could change science as we know it. She thought you'd be impressed."
Both women usually smile at Vanessa's overdramatic impressions of Claudia, but right now Liz is anything but smiling.
"She didn't specify what it is?"
"That was the elusive part." Vanessa crosses her arms. "Her and Fargo were unusually tight-lipped with the details."
"Well, if it's anything really remarkable, it's either too dangerous to be out of the Warehouse or not of this world. With our luck, probably both." Liz rubs her forehead. "Fargo's a positively brilliant mind, but an absolutely rubbish assistant. To think I just got the lab back in order."
"Allison and Henry are going to want to run tests as a safety precaution, but I'm not sure they know which kind of tests to run." Vanessa pauses, seeing Liz's attention drift further away. "Liz, are you okay?"
Liz looks up, her eyes coming into focus.
"I'm fine."
"I don't believe you."
"I'm not asking you what to believe."
"When the last time you saw Alistair or Kate?"
"The last time I saw my husband he was heading for South America when I specifically asked him not to. And I spoke to Kate a few days ago. She's in New York."
"Co-supervising the redesign of the UNIT laboratories with Dr. Jones," Vanessa replies. "Her email said you were specifically requested for the project, but you turned them down."
"I gave those bureaucrats my recommendations. What they do with them is up to them. I'm too old and too tired to deal with their shenanigans anymore." Liz stands and walks towards the opposite lab table.
"You're one of their leading scientists."
"I'm needed here at GD, or did you not see my assistant try to blow up my lab last week trying to impress Artie's young agent?" Liz turns.
"Artie said Claudia is less likely to play Stairway to Heaven at all hours of the night on her Stratocaster when Fargo's around. A fact I know everyone living at Leena's appreciates," Vanessa smirks. "But Fargo's stayed out of your path for a week, isn't it time to cut him a little slack?"
"Not at long as my work remains in jeopardy," Liz glares. "I haven’t spent forty years trying to expand my research goals just so one careless individual can throw it all away."
There is a silence as both women think on what's happening. There's never been so much tension in this lab before, and Vanessa treads lightly as her voice lowers.
"We're not talking about Fargo anymore, are we?" Vanessa asks. Liz's eyes glaze over, the tears too practical to fall as suddenly the tension melts away.
"No, I don't suppose we are."
"Is there anything I can do?" She watches Liz shake her head. "Okay, well, I'm going to go call Artie and make sure Claudia's told him her itinerary."
Vanessa approaches Liz, touching her shoulder as she passes her to exit.
"Vanessa?"
"Yes?" Vanessa turns.
"I can forgive, but I don't forget," Liz smiles. "I'll be sure in the future to keep all the exceptionally dangerous things away from Fargo."
"Probably a good idea." Vanessa smiles back before exiting. Liz turns back towards the beaker of pink aqueous solution. She places one hand on her stomach, feeling its rumble before turning and exiting the lab.
The science could wait.
--
Fandom: Doctor Who/Eureka/Warehouse 13
Rating: T
Words: 719
Summary: As Vanessa speaks with Liz in her Global Dynamics lab, she realizes how many different things are happening at once and how it's all affecting her colleague and friend.
Notes: Written for self_preserving, prompt was love sick.
--
She sits slumped at her workbench, her chin on her palm while her other hand swirls a glass stirrer around a beaker of pink aqueous solution she's sure doesn't hold any answers.
Vanessa enters her line of sight with a look of sympathetic concern. "How long have you been sitting here?"
"Longer than I probably should've." Liz sits up, placing both hands in her lap as the solution is ignored. "What time is it?"
"Two-thirty, give or take a few minutes." Vanessa looks towards the clock on the wall, squinting to try and read the smaller numbers before looking back to Liz. "When's the last time you left the lab or ate something?"
"I had some tea and a muffin from the Café Diem earlier."
"Vincent's good, but that's still not a lot," Vanessa says. "Claudia called. Her and Fargo's flight should be in around five. She said something about finding, and I quote: 'a wickedly cool new artifact thingy' in Germany that could change science as we know it. She thought you'd be impressed."
Both women usually smile at Vanessa's overdramatic impressions of Claudia, but right now Liz is anything but smiling.
"She didn't specify what it is?"
"That was the elusive part." Vanessa crosses her arms. "Her and Fargo were unusually tight-lipped with the details."
"Well, if it's anything really remarkable, it's either too dangerous to be out of the Warehouse or not of this world. With our luck, probably both." Liz rubs her forehead. "Fargo's a positively brilliant mind, but an absolutely rubbish assistant. To think I just got the lab back in order."
"Allison and Henry are going to want to run tests as a safety precaution, but I'm not sure they know which kind of tests to run." Vanessa pauses, seeing Liz's attention drift further away. "Liz, are you okay?"
Liz looks up, her eyes coming into focus.
"I'm fine."
"I don't believe you."
"I'm not asking you what to believe."
"When the last time you saw Alistair or Kate?"
"The last time I saw my husband he was heading for South America when I specifically asked him not to. And I spoke to Kate a few days ago. She's in New York."
"Co-supervising the redesign of the UNIT laboratories with Dr. Jones," Vanessa replies. "Her email said you were specifically requested for the project, but you turned them down."
"I gave those bureaucrats my recommendations. What they do with them is up to them. I'm too old and too tired to deal with their shenanigans anymore." Liz stands and walks towards the opposite lab table.
"You're one of their leading scientists."
"I'm needed here at GD, or did you not see my assistant try to blow up my lab last week trying to impress Artie's young agent?" Liz turns.
"Artie said Claudia is less likely to play Stairway to Heaven at all hours of the night on her Stratocaster when Fargo's around. A fact I know everyone living at Leena's appreciates," Vanessa smirks. "But Fargo's stayed out of your path for a week, isn't it time to cut him a little slack?"
"Not at long as my work remains in jeopardy," Liz glares. "I haven’t spent forty years trying to expand my research goals just so one careless individual can throw it all away."
There is a silence as both women think on what's happening. There's never been so much tension in this lab before, and Vanessa treads lightly as her voice lowers.
"We're not talking about Fargo anymore, are we?" Vanessa asks. Liz's eyes glaze over, the tears too practical to fall as suddenly the tension melts away.
"No, I don't suppose we are."
"Is there anything I can do?" She watches Liz shake her head. "Okay, well, I'm going to go call Artie and make sure Claudia's told him her itinerary."
Vanessa approaches Liz, touching her shoulder as she passes her to exit.
"Vanessa?"
"Yes?" Vanessa turns.
"I can forgive, but I don't forget," Liz smiles. "I'll be sure in the future to keep all the exceptionally dangerous things away from Fargo."
"Probably a good idea." Vanessa smiles back before exiting. Liz turns back towards the beaker of pink aqueous solution. She places one hand on her stomach, feeling its rumble before turning and exiting the lab.
The science could wait.
--