Starring:
Summary:
Lee repologizes to Bekah.
Date It Happened:
October 16, 2007
Groundhogs Apologize
Bekah's Apartment
Lee knocks on Bekah's apartment door in the late afternoon when she has just come home off shift - he remembers her shifts, of course, navigating them was one of the big problems with their relationship. He's dressed both more flashy and more dignified than he normally did even a couple of months ago. He looks nervous, even a little puppy-eyed.
Bekah is still dressed in scrubs from work, so she obviously hasn't been home long. The doctor is sitting on the floor of her cozy little apartment waving a string around in front of two frisky kittens, stolen back from Namir. She looks up at at the knock, and scoops up a pure white kitten leaving a black one to truely attack the string, moving to answer the door with a blink of surprise. "Lee."
Lee says, quickly: "You don't have to call security. I just came over because I, ah, wanted to apologize. To you. In person." he begins stammeringly. A big gulp of breath follows right on cue. "Cute kitten." he adds, then continues reeling off what, to him, is heartfelt and nerve-wracking, but to her, well, it's Groundhog Day-esque.: "This isn't a please-take-me-back speech, so I'll go when I'm done. I just…I just want two minutes, that's all."
The black kitten leaves off the string, it must be dead. Instead the kitten runs over at full kitten speed to start attacking Lee's pant leg. "Thanks. Sam says I can't name them Black and White." Bekah states before she pauses for a second. "Come in. Don't mind the claws."
Lee says, "Really? How about, ah…Malone and McArdle?" Lee suggests. "Or if you want to be more highbrow, Madame Pernelle and Flipotte, from…ow! Not declawed, I see." The Joneses are dog people. He detatches Not-Black from his leg and gives it a place on his large palm, scritching it lightly. "So…I didn't have any right to say to you what I said. I was upset over" He stops himself, then reformulates, having made the same misstep as he did the first time: "family stuff, but details aside, that's nothing but an excuse."
Bekah gives the white one held in the crook of her elbow scratches as she laughs. "No, not declawed. I'm still considering names." And she doesn't sound like she's too interested in those. "I was quite pissed for awhile. But now I have kittens." And kittens are better than men might be the insinuation there.
Lee nods, and goes on, heartfelt and, of course, repetitive: "You came down to help me and I threw it back in your face. Even before that, I didn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Even if we aren't going to be close anymore, I don't want you to think I didn't value what we had. I did. I do. I acted like an idiot in a soap opera. I'm sorry." He adds: "I would have told you before, but you were gone to your conference."
Bekah looks over to Lee and smiles. "Thank you for saying that. It's nice to hear." Bekah says looking down to the kitten she's petting. See, they're useful for distracting yourself. She's not going to say a word about the 'conference' though. Nope.
Lee says, "Thanks for listening." And thus runs out the script, unless the kittens are going to drug him. "Everything going all right for you? Must have been a big conference for them to pay to put you up for so long."
No chance to have Lee shot with tranquilizers this time, so Bekah actually has to make small talk. "Yeah, it was a big national conference on Emergency Medicine. Got to keep learning." Bekah states before she nods. "Things are going well. Sam and Namir are getting married. I'm working to plan a fitting bachelorette party."
Lee says, with a wide smile, genuine (and maybe a bit amused at the permanency of the pairing) "That's great…give them my best." Sensitive enough to the uncomfortableness of the small talk, he says: "I'll let you get back to it." The kittens? Well, something, anyway. He offers Not-Black back to her.
Bekah reaches out to take the second kitten back. "Alright. Have a good night. And thank you for coming over tonight, Lee." Even if it means she had to do the awkward apology thing. Again.
Lee says, "All right. I'll see you around. You've still got my number if…well, if anything happens." He seems almost protective of her feelings, and knowing how independent she is, it's got to feel a little bit like abandoning her to put it on her to call him.
Bekah nods her head as she looks over. "I do. And I'll call if, well, if anything happens." Which isn't a ringing endorsement in Lee getting a call soon from Bekah. Maybe her pride is still a bit injured.
Lee can't ask for more - and, to his credit, perhaps, he does not. He withdraws with quiet dignity he rarely showed her before.