2008-01-14: Ave Maria

Starring:

Charlotte_icon.gif Church_icon.gif

Summary: Charlotte comes for Mohinder, and meets his Data Entry Guy instead. Somewhere in the back of Church's already crowded mind, her name, doe-eyes, and sweetness strikes more than one chord, and tugs more than one heartstring.

Date It Happened: January 14th, 2008

Ave Maria


Downtown, NYC - Isaac's Loft

This large space, once devoted to an artist and his work, has been turned into a top notch science lab. The only remnant it seems of the former resident, is the mural of the nuclear explosion taking out the city, painted there in the middle of the floor. Little about the interior structure has been changed. In the area surrounding the mural, there are a few easels left standing. To the left of the entrance, a work station is set up for running tests, along with a computer nearby. All of the lab equipment is quality, high tech and state of the art. (Which appears out of place with the loft's overall design.)


It's a cold day in January. The wind-tunnel effect in New York really does nothing to aid that, particularly considering that it is a city on the water. Still, it's also a Wednesday evening, and people are bustling past every now and again to get home and eat dinner and get ready to rejoin the rat race in the morning…

Except for one. It's a she, that much is certain. This woman hurries up to the door of the loft and stands on her toes, peering inside. Good luck seeing her, though: besides the feminine form beneath the grey slacks and black shoes, the woman has on a long black pea coat, a pink scarf wrapped around the lower portion of her neck and face, and a floppy grey-pink-and-white argyled hat hanging down, covering her hair and everything but her brown eyes. Those eyes peer into the loft, hot breath steaming through the scarf to leave little clouds on the glass. Her mittened hands knock firmly on the glass. "Excuse me!" Comes the muffled call. In one arm she carries what looks like a carry-out bag….

There is no Mohinder here today, for whatever reason; in his stead, there is one Church. Inside the window of the door, the blinds are mostly drawn, and the only light shining through them is from the back of the lab, where there is indeed a light on. As the knock comes, firm from the girl outside, a shadow pulls over the other half of the lab before an interested Lawrence shuffles out of the back room.

He heads straight for the door to open it, and the warmth inside of the loft seems to be better than what the old heating system can actually perform. Maybe it had a lucky day!

The rush of warmth through the doorway is enough to make this woman's narrow shoulders relax a bit. She can feel it - and it feels so good! She wants more! But as her light brown eyes reguard this very un-Indian man before her, there's a hint of curiosity and confusion in what little bit of her face he can see. "I'm sorry, I think I have the right address." She murmers through the scarf as she stands there, shivering. Mother always said never enter before asked. Then again, so do vampires. "I'm looking for Dr. Suresh. I'm a…." Friend? Colleague? Enemy? "I was told this was where he worked."

Meanwhile, Lawrence has an obvious look of similar circumstance on his own face. His darker brown eyes settle on Charlotte's, head even tilting an inch or so. "Oh? Oh, yes, this is the right place." Church gives the young woman a white smile, which is either being deceptively kind or genuinely polite. Perhaps both. He tugs the front of his pale yellow workshirt straight. "He's out right now, but I'm just watching the place for him until he gets back- would you like to come in?"

Charlotte almost melts when he offers for her to come on. "Oh, yes! Thank you." She two-steps her way just inside the door, enough room for Church to close it, and gives a good shiver. "Oooohhhhhhh my goodness!" The drawn-out 'oh' is done so in a chattering of sounds: poor little thing is frozen! "I never knew how cold New York could be, I suppose I imagined it to be cold, but never like this!" The woman takes off her hat, revealing above-shoulder-length brown hair. The scarf begins to unwind, each motion revealing slightly more skin. Too bad it's only her face and not some girl in a bikini on a stripper pole pulling things off piece by piece…one can always dream. "Do you know when Doctor Suresh will be back?"

He is not sure if he needs to be so suspicious, but inside he cannot help it. At least if he has to watch someone that isn't hard on the eyes, it isn't so bad. Church shuts the door carefully behind her, stepping away from it and tucking his hands into his pockets. "I don't, no. He's never gone for too long- I think he exchanged vows with his equipment a long time ago." Lawrence responds Very Seriously. "I don't think it's too bad of weather, but I'm naturally warm all the time." The man chuckles and steps down the few stairs onto the room's floor again. "Is there something that I can help you with instead? I know where most everything is."

Charlotte lets the scarf hang open around her neck now, stripping off her mittens and tucking them into her pocket, one hand moving easily to unbutton her coat and let it hang open. She's wearing a blue button-down with grey pinstrips, and what looks like some sort of ankh around her throat. THe same dangles from her ears. "Oh, well I don't think so. I was here about some buisness, he told me I could stop by. I suppose I should have called first, but…" She's still suspicious somewhat in her own right. The comment about being married to his equipment makes the girl break into a dimpled, rosy-cheeked smile. "Well his equipment must be very happy." Mohinder isn't exactally ugly or rude, that she's seen. "Would it be a terrible inconvenience if I waited a few minutes for him?" She holds up the take-out bag proudly, giving him a look with a tilt of her head. "I've got crepes." The look sort of says 'Who's a good puppy? Who's a good puppy? Who wants a treat?' But it's more teasing and playful than condesending.

Church examines the woman for a moment, from her hair to her jewelry, and her stature. "You're free to wait a little, to see if he returns. Just don't break anything. I bumped a table and he almost peed his pants." Lawrence lifts his hand in a wagging motion, probably signaling 'crazy Mohinder' or something similar.

As Charlotte holds out the bag in the air, he eyes it just like a dog might. Treat? Really? Do I need to roll over? "I really shouldn't, but if you're really offering-"

Charlotte bustles in, seeing that as permission. "Of course. Now, I brought chocolate, strawberry, banana and blueberry….hmmm." SHe stands in the middle of the room, right over the painting Isaac did once upon a time of New York going nuclear. She does a turn, this way and that. No, she's not modeling for your own personal happiness, Church. She's seraching for something, and her nose wrinkles as she can't find it. "Where can I set this down? I really don't want to make him wet his pants, I haven't known him that long." And if a stranger makes you pee your pants, well, it just seems like it would be worse than a friend doing it.

Church draws his eyes over that picture for a moment, and somewhere in the fourth wall, there is irony! A Charlotte standing in a bomb.

"Hold on." And Church disappears for but a second behind the wall of the next room, grabbing a little fold-out table from along the wall. One hand shakes it out, and though it is rickety, it does its job. "So how long have you known him? Can I ask your name? I'm Lawrence, by the way. I help him with his data entry sometimes." He even holds out a hand to her, but only after she might set that bag down.

Charlotte does set the bag down, and she takes the time to remove her scarf and toss it very easily onto the table as well. Rickety though it may be, it holds the crepes and the scarf. She's able to shake his hand now, and her skin isn't that cold, considering she just came from outside. "Oh, of course. I didn't meant to be so rude. I'm Charlotte." And the alarm bells will probably start going off now. "I met him….mmm…last week I believe? Sounds about accurate."

If there are alarm bells going off, they are silent alarms. When the girl says her name there is a second of familiarity with it, but the expression in his eyes doesn't last long at all. "Charlotte. That's a pretty name. It's nice to meet you." He mentally chews over the name again, and for a few reasons.

"I think he mentioned meeting a girl to me. But I honestly thought he was about as interested as a brick in that sort of thing." Hey, she is cute, even though Church knows why she does know Mohinder.

Charlotte cocks her head to the side curiously, not really getting the reference as SHE knows why she knows Mohinder too. "Really? What exactally did he tell you?" Because he seemed interested in Pinehearst, kidnapping, and all that jazz when last she saw him. The young woman strips off her coat, letting it slide easily off her shoulders. She moves to place it over her scarf, shaking herself out a bit. The warm air on her skin gives her goosebumps, at least for a few moments. "Now, Lawrence, did you have a crepe preference?" She begins to unpack them on the table for him, so he can make an educated decision(s). Despite the cold, these crepes are still piping hot. Like magic! "I brought a few extras, I know Dr. Suresh said his ward had enjoyed them as well."

Ward? "Just that he met a girl a few days ago, and she seemed nice. Not much." Church smirks and lets his hands float back to his pockets again while his eyes watch the young woman and her crepes. "His ward?" Not me, that says. He just helps with 'data entry'. "I'm a chocolate kinda guy." Even though goodness knows he does not need sugar of most any kind.

Charlotte gives the man a playful smirk, offering him a take-out box, her thumb holding a fork atop it. "Dig in." She says, perfectly pleased that he seems pleased by her offer. Peace through pastries! "Nice? Well that was certainly kind of him to say." Especially considering he thought she'd kidnapped his friends, and god only knows what else he'd thought. "Yes, his ward. I didn't dwell on the topic much, other than I figured he was in the process of adopting or something." The idea of a 'ward' isn't used much anyhow, so that was her assumption.

Church makes a soft 'ohhhh' noise as he accepts the box and fork from her. "Oh, well, I dunno much about that. Maybe he is? He's a good guy like that, so I wouldn't be surprised." Lawrence gives a soft shrug at the end of his sentence, and a smile. "Can I ask where you met him at?"
You must stop gagging that channel to speak on it.

This guy smiles a lot for a New Yorker. Charlotte may not have been here long, but most people here don't smile so much. She begins to repack the crepes, leaving out the banana one. Sorry Momo. You snooze, you lose two crepes. The young brunette leans back against the wall as she opens the box, and the warm smell of crepe fills the area, steam piping up from the styrofoam. "Oh…at Mt. Sinai hospital." She explains, looking down at her crepe, then popping a small bite between her lips. She closes her eyes a moment and 'mmmmmm's. Then her attention is on Church once more. "I was there for work, and we happened to meet." Because he was her work, even if she wasn't there officially…but meh! Crepe.

"Ah. Are you in medicine? I know a few people in that sort of business. One is as cranky as a pencil sharpener, and there's a murse in there somewhere." Lawrence seems to swim back in his memory, glancing up at the ceiling for little other than concentration. He does wait only until after Charlotte has taken a bite to taste his own- a relatively controlled bite like hers(if he wasn't being careful, it would be gone by now).

A soft chime of a giggle escapes the girl, dimples flashing brightly. She shakes her head, cutting into her crepe agian with her fork. Warmth is so yummy. "Good gracious, no. I don't actually work for the hospital, I'm in Public Relations for a biotechnical firm. But when I met Dr. Suresh, it was perfectly social." Also not a lie: she wasn't technically on orders to visit him. She just did, she's nice like that. "Is your crepe alright? I recommend them to everyone, I found a perfect little hole-in-the-wall sort of place, and everyone's loved them so far." She seems genuinely interested in his reaction. "And you, Lawrence?" She tries his name out. It feels weird. She's used to Dr. So and So or Senator So and So or Mister So and So. "You just work here, for Dr. Suresh? I'm sure that must be interesting, a genetecist must do some awfully complex work."

It's the dimples that get him. Aww, even if she might be his rival, she's adorable. Church laughs a little back, deeming it okay to take another bite from the box. "'S good. Got a name for that hole-in-the-wall?" And ol'Lawrence does have a Mister, but while he is a stranger, using a nondescript first name is always best. "Yeah, but I'm not familiar with most of the stuff he does- crazy stuff. I just type it in for him sometimes, order his files a bit, make sure his equipment and computers don't catch on fire from the inside out, yadda yadda."

Charlotte teasingly waves her fork at him, like a teacher with a pointy stick or bit of chalk. "My little secret. I have to make friends somehow." And food usually does the trick - particularly with men. Except Mohinder. She'll think of something, just you wait! Perhaps alcohol…. "I see." She nods, setting her crepe down long enough to pull an elastic from around her wrist and pull her hair up in a messy, short poofy little ponytail. A few whisps of hair fall down to frame her face. "Well you must do very well." She notes, looking around the place again at all the stuff that she has no idea about. "To keep a place like this running must be quite the task. I admit, I wouldn't know the first thing about how to do it." While she's talking, one foot slips out of her black heeled loafer, twisting a few times before sliding back in. It seems the woman is not particularly apt at the wearing of tall shoes.

"I do alright. Tech and office people around here make more than people think." Church shrugs again, laughing warily. No dice for the wall place. Oh well. He has better things to ask. "Are you from around here? You're like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, and that's why I have to ask. Curiosity."

Charlotte wrinkles her nose again in a little giggle. The flush from her cheeks had almost left from the cold, but now it comes back from the man's kind praise. "Well that's very kind of you to say, Lawrence." She tries to hide her blush by cutting off another bite of crepe, slipping it between her lips and chewing before answering. "No, I'm not from around here, although I am now I suppose. I moved into town within the past couple of months." She turns her brown eyes from her food up to him, the light things resting just above the last peekish blush she held. See, she's not so bad! It's true, she's really a nice girl!

Church smiles again, though it's never one of those creepy, leering, Coyote smiles for Charlotte while she is here. He's a nice guy too! Plus, the fact he is easily impressionable when it comes to young women. "I'm not from around here either." Which might explain the smiling! "Just moved here this last summer, when I got this deal." Lawrence motions to the lab. This is possibly one of the few times he has had to mostly lie to a pretty little thing like Charlotte. He tries often to never do it, but these are simple white ones, hm?

Charlotte wants this man for her father! Or brother…possibly father. Either or would do, really. Sigh. Daddy-issues. "Where did you move from? And how do you find New York? Personally I'm still getting used to the people: the television shows weren't lying when they said New Yorkers are one-of-a-kind." She gets to about the halfway point in her crepe and sets it down, crossing her arms. A few goosebumps rise up on her skin again: the warmth is starting to fade, and she's gotten chilly again. One hand comes up to brush back a few of those whispy bits of hair, and remains up in that area, fiddling with her ankh earring for a few moments while she cocks her head, doe-brown eyes looking kindly up at what she perceives to be a sweet old coot.

He is not old! Lies. But, he is sweet, for someone so deceiving. "Out west. Nevada, Texas, California- I moved around a lot." Church confides some truth, however. Here and there, such as that. "The people are different, but America wouldn't be a melting pot otherwise." The older man smirks just enough to seem amused. Lawrence settles his eyes on Charlotte again, taking an idle note of the chill over her skin. After another few moments, it will seem as if the heater had only had a hiccup. In truth- it is not the heater in the building- it's Church. But the heat is not coming directly from him; it's something ambient that seems blamable upon the building regardless.

It seems as though her goosebumps receede soon after. She lifts her head and becomes less-curled up, less physically closed off. Another dimpled smile is given to the gentleman. "I bet you miss it out there, this time of year." She notes, looking around as she feels the wave of heat wash over her. "Oh, I guess the heater just kicked on." She sounds relieved. Then something clicks in her brain, and a look of worry flashes over her young features. "Oh, do you have a place to put the rest of these crepes? I know I won't eat them, I suppose Dr. Suresh and his ward would still enjoy them." Like a fridge or something. Preferably one that's not filled with blood and vials and icky things.

"This old building is knocking around all the time. Like an old Lincoln." Church nods once, gesturing vaguely to the back. "He has a little fridge back here that I can put them in. There's hardly ever anything in it. He works through meals and everything, sometimes." A similar bit of idle worry is now visible on him, but not for the crepes. It's true. Mohinder will go on and on if someone doesn't stop and say 'hello, eat'.

And now Church has done it. Charlotte /worries/. About everyone. People she's never met generate a feeling of sympathy and obligation in the girl. Nevermind people that she knows. And by knows? All she needs is to know their names. That's knowing for this one. The worry on Church's face melts into Charlotte's. "Oh, is that so? Next time I come by, I'll certainly bring some more for him to stock here. It's not healthy to skip meals, in fact it's one of the most unhealthy things to do." She looks up at Church in thought, and then a playful, nay, mischevious grin comes across her features. Dimples! "Do you know what sort of food he likes best? If he has a bunch of food that he can't resist, he's sure to stop to eat."

Church raises an eyebrow down at that mischievous face that Charlotte makes, cocking his head enough to silently ask if something is going to go wrong with this. The whole 'oh no, I will feed him'. But dimples are so awfully calming, aren't they. "I have no idea what kinds of foods he likes." Church lets out a soft laugh. "He's well-mannered enough that he'd probably eat the most horrible thing in the world, if someone made it just for him."

Charlotte hmms, cocking her smile to the side so that one dimple fades and the other is suddenly in HD. "Well I'll find something when I come by to find him next. I have a bad habbit of that." She looks up at Church, almost apologetically. "I give food to pretty much everyone that I meet. It's an old habbit." Comes from 9 years of waiting tables. It's just natural to her. "I think some people find it off-putting."

"I know some folks like you. Start small, then you can work your way up to getting someone into a turkey dinner." Church is amused, but still altogether curious about the girl herself. "I think he'll like the gesture, Charlotte."

Charlotte shakes her head. "Oh, I'm not…I just…I worry, a lot about people. Especially if they don't take care of themselves or for whatever reason aren't doing as well as they should." She explains, playing with her earring again. "The crepes are always a staple, though." She says with a wink. "Everyone loves them. I need to cut back on the whole candy striper attitude, but…." The girl offers a soft shrug. "I really can't help it."

Church gives her a small nod of understanding. "I feel you." When his own is gone(he paused several times to pace himself, lest he become ravenous), Lawrence moves to pick up the extra ones in the bag. "I'll just- put these away for him then, alright?"

Charlotte nods softly, clasping her hands in front of her. "That would be wonderful. I'm sorry to have kept you from your work for so long, Lawrence, it really was very rude of me. I'd really hoped I might be able to talk to him." Niki's condition is wearing on her mind, and she was here for a reason before the attack. If anyone knows what's happening to her, it'll be Mohinder Suresh. "Do you know when might be a better time to try for him?"

"I can give you his personal phone number, if you'd like?" The one they probably have tapped, unfortunately. "Then you can call him and meet him? That might be easier than just showing up, I think." Church picks up the bag and disappears into the back for just a moment, and comes back with a post-it pad and pen just in case she says yes.

Charlotte shakes her head. "Oh no, it's alright. I have the number to the lab…" At least she thinks it's the number to this loft. She didn't call for a reason, so he couldn't set something up before she showed up. She gives him another flash of her dimples. "But thank you, I do appreciate that. And I appreciate you being so friendly, Lawrence. It's really quite nice." Especially in this city. She walks down the street and people pinch her butt. It's a pain in the ass, literally!

Church might look when she turns just right, but that's about all. For now, at least. "You sure? He's always got something on him that'll ring or leave a message." So much for that idea. They really can't watch her now, but at least now Church also knows she is being expected here.

Charlotte nods softly. "I'm sure, it seems a bit presumptuous to get the number from another source." But then again so probably is offering food to a complete stranger. The woman wraps her scarf around her neck, and lifts her coat to slip it on. "I do hope I run into you again though." He's so pleasant! But then again she didn't see him checking out her tush, so maybe that's why she thinks that.

"Alright. It was nice to meet you, Charlotte. If you keep stopping in, we might cross paths." It sounds genuine, and it is- but for more than one particular reason. Church just smiles back and watches her put her winter clothes back on. "I hope you can catch him sometime soon."

Charlotte nods with a last dimpled smile for the man. "As do I. I hope the heat stays on for the rest of your evening, too. Make sure you don't catch cold." With that, the woman takes her half-eaten crepe, pulls on her mittens and hat, gives one last wave. The door opens and closes, and she moves down the street in the opposite direction from whence she came.

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