Sophie & Silas
Who: Sophie & Silas
What: Talking, bonding really
When: Silas discharged from hospital (before thread with Domino at church, before thead with River)
Warnings: Sophie and SIlas are friends now! Is that a warning? I dunno.
Where: Hospital/cab/Silas' apatment
Sophie was in a rather good mood - she had taken a taxi to the hospital and was walking quietly to Silas's room. She'd met a lovely Priest who she had actually helped, despite what she was - and she had promised to visit Silas again. She slipped to the door of his room, wondering if perhaps the man would be asleep. It was barely dark out, but .. what else was there to do in a hospital?
He was in fact sitting up, dressed in his robe, and lacking the IV. His right arm was missing, held in a sling under his robe. "I'm just waiting on discharge papers." He chirped, uncommonly happy.
She blinked at him, wondering what this sudden glee was due to. But she was in a good mood as well, so she smiled faintly. "Well, that is good."
"It is. I'm ready. I do not favor this place at all," Silas sighed. "I think I hear the doctor now."
And on cue, the doctor came in with some papers for Silas to sign, awkwardly since his right hand was incapacitated. Assuming Sophie was there to pick Silas up, the doctor nodded. "Take good care of your brother, and call me if there's any problem at all." He patted her shoulder and wandered off.
Silas smiled. "I'm ready to get out of here."
Sophie nodded to the man, no sign of surprise on her face as the man addressed her. She remembered who she had come in as, thankfully. "Thank you, doctor."
Then she glanced to Silas, moving a tad closer to you. "Is there anything that I should perhaps help you with, Silas?" She was in a more favorable mood now that she was more at-ease with him.
"No. I have nothing to carry." He slid off the bed, wincing only a little. "I'm really very hungry."
Sophie pressed a bit of hair behind her ear. She'd already had dinner with the Priest, but .. "Well, perhaps I can take you somewhere." She did feel a bit guilty ... having shot him, and all.
He didn't like to eat in public. Too many people stared at him. "I'd be happy just to pick something up and take it back."
She nodded. "Well, the cafe has very good sandwiches. I had one only tonight -- I met someone I think you might like."
"Someone I might like?" Silas walked slowly, accounting for his arm and his legs. He couldn't imagine who Sophie would have met that he would like.
Sophie nodded. "Oui, a French Priest. I wandered into the church and .. we had dinner. It was quite nice. He wants to meet with you."
"Does he?" Silas nodded. "A french priest. Where...What church?"
"It is close to my hotel. Ah, I did .. not ask. But he is a Jesuit." It made things .. well, a bit more fragile.
Silas nodded again. They'd reached the exit and stepped out into the day. "I...I do work, at St Patrick's." He inclined his head in the vague direction the church lay.
She snapped her fingers. "Yes, that is the one. I remember seeing the name on the front, now." A small nod. "He is an Abbe there." Sophie helped him into a nearby cab.
"This...has happened since I have been here." A general wave back toward the church. "There were no Frenchmen there, before."
Sophie nodded gently, setting down into the cab with the man. "He has come very recently, I think."
"Do you recall his name?" Silas asked, insatiably curious now.
A pause. "I .. do not believe he told me. He was quite young, with lovely dark hair." She glanced out the window of the cab, instructing the man to stop at a cafe for a moment. "I should run in and get something. What would you like, Silas?"
"Just...soup. Maybe...a vegetable sandwich. I...don't eat meat."
Sophie nodded, walking into the cafe to get just that. She also bought him a coffee and an espresso for herself. Shortly later, she slipped back into the cab and directed the man to the hotel. It was a short distance, but she didn't wish for Silas to strain anything. "How .. is your friend, Dorian?"
"In truth, I haven't seen him for a day or two. he was...well, when I saw him last." Silas frowned. he was really more concerned about River, but Sophie didn't know River.
She nodded gently. "Ah, well. That is good. Do you .. have a place to stay, Silas? I don't recall where you were staying."
"I...I have an apartment." Silas nodded. It wasn't much, and it wasn't worth the rent.
A small smile. "You .. would like to go there, then?" She didn't know if she wanted .. him to know where she stayed, exactly. The hotel was risky enough. She was beginning to trust him, but ... old habits died hard.
"I...should. Yes." He nodded. he wasn't sure either. Well, at least he had a bed, he could sleep comfortably.
Sophie glanced to the man. "Would you tell the cab driver where to go, then?"
He cleared his throat and told the driver where he needed to go. As best he could. He was still unfamiliar with the city.
The cabbie seemed to know where they were going. She shifted awkwardly, rubbing her neck. "How .. did the rest of your visit go?"
"My visit? Where?" Silas mirrored her neck rub. His shoulder felt stiff.
"Well, at the hospital." She smiled half-sheepishly and then looked to his hand. "Is something the matter?"
He shook his head. "I'm just tired. I've slept for how many days and I'm just so tired."
Sophie glanced out the window. "Sometimes, I think, sleep does not help with certain types of tiredness."
"I think you are right about that." Silas nodded. The cab pulled up in front of his building. "I...do you...I mean...If you want..."
[
She blinked a little, but nodded. "Of course. I Would see you escorted to your room at least, really."
Silas climbed slowly from the cab, carefully balancing the bag of food from the cafe.
Sophie watched him get out, sliding with him so that he would not have any chance of falling.
He walked in silence up to his apartment. It was on the ground floor, but there were a few steps to climb. He winced with each one.
"It's not much..." He murmured as he opened the door.
She stayed near to him anyway, nodding. "I am sure it is lovely, Silas."
There was no furniture in the main room. No table even. Only the bed in the bedroom, which was primarily for River. "I...have no need for material things." The Discipline, however, was curled up neatly on the floor in the corner.
Sophie saw it out of the corner of her eye and tried pointedly not to look at it, glancing around the main room. She pursed her lips, but said nothing except, "It will be bad for your shoulder to sit on the floor, Silas."
He nodded. "I...know."
"We ought to buy you a chair." Or ... no, she wouldn't suggest that.
"I'll...consider it." Silas smiled a little, and opened the bag, inhaling the scent of the food.
She nodded, sitting down neatly .. on the floor. She set her bag down in front of her and then thought better of it.
"Do you have .. any furniture at all?"
"A..bed. For...River. She stays here sometimes. I found her, on the streets. I...don't know where she is now."
Oh, people from the street. Lovely, that made her feel comfortable. She stood, however. "It would be best to sit on that, if you had to sit."
"I..." Silas nodded. he wasn't going to argue with her. He carried his bag into the bedroom. The bed was the only thing in the room at all.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, motioning for him to join her. "If .. well, if a young woman is staying here, perhaps you might .. invest in some more furniture."
He shook his head slightly. "I haven't the need, or the money." He'd used nearly his whole paycheck to get the bed. And now, with hospital bills to consider...
Sophie bit her lip. She knew .. well, hospital bills would be expensive. "Silas.." Her voice was cautious. "Since it was rather my fault .. about your injury, I should like to pay for your hospital bills. I certainly have the income for now."
His eyes went wide at the suggestion. "After..." He shook his head. He wasn't going to bring up her grandfather again. "I can't...Sophie. I can't let you do that.
"At least a little. If you are supporting a young woman here and ... well, yourself .. Silas, what are you doing that will earn you income?"
"I...work at the church." He unwrapped his sandwich and took a tentative bite.
"And what income will that pull in, Silas?" She shifted a little, watching him eat and sipping her coffee.
"I get by." He felt the corners of his mouth twitch. "I do not require much."
"Yes, but .. the girl, what does she require?"
"I don't know. She...only stays here sometimes."
She paused, fiddling with the rim of her coffee cup. "I do worry, you know."
"You...shouldn't." He reached for her hand. "I am all right."
Sophie blinked a little, but nodded a small bit. "With .. everything I told you, Silas? I could not .. I have told one person here and he did not believe me at first, I think."
"I believe you. I'm...sorry it had to be this way. All the things that happened before."
Sophie shook her head. "It .. well, it can't be helped. I think ... that my grandfather died doing what he thought was right. That is .. noble, if nothing else." But the pain was evident in her eyes. Even if he wasn't he grandfather, he was .. well, her guardian for so long. And now she had her grandmother back, but they had to remain apart..
Silas felt her sadness, and he reached up slowly, and touched her cheek. "It will be all right. In the end. It hurts now, I know."
She leant against his hand just a little bit, nodding. "I ... yes, that is what I keep telling myself. But there will always be people looking for me, Silas. If I ... when I am killed, it will be the end."
"It doesn't have to be." Silas said softly. "If you...had a child."
Sophie glanced to the side. "With who, Silas? I could not ..." She bit her lip. "It would have to be anonymous, wouldn't it? From a donor bank, so that I would not put another person in danger over this."
"Do you...want to have a child?" He met her gaze. His food was long forgotten.
"I .. have thought about such things, Silas. But .. I do not know if I could bring a child into a life that would be dangerous. I .. it is difficult, isn't it?" She had been thinking about this the past few days.
"Who else knows the truth,Sophie? The Priory will protect you, the child." Maybe the father? It was a radical thought. No. She would never want to have a child with him. He was a monster.
She looked to him again, gently. "The Priory and a doctor friend of mine. That is all. And .. Robert, but..."
"And me." He added softly.
Sophie nodded, glancing to her lap. "Yes, and ... and you."
Silas moved the food to the floor, and shifted, so that he was laying down, with Sophie sitting next to him. It was crazy to even think about it. He'd never considered having children before. had always thought that would never happen.
She watched him shift, sliding a hand to rest gently over his hair. "I .. wish that I could tell the Father, Silas. But it would .. well, it would destroy his faith most of all."
"You...Sophie. You mustn't tell him." Silas half sat up, his weight bearing down on his bad arm. "Tell me you will not."
Sophie shook her head. "I will not, Silas. But the desire to tell him is there. I would not .. I do not seek to break a man's faith in God." Especially when it has only just been renewed.
He eased back down, and was quiet for a long moment. And then, "Sophie? Will you...stay here with me tonight?"
She blinked a little, nodding her head. "Of ... of course, Silas...if .. if that is what you would like."
"I am...so tired of being alone." He murmured. He was ready to fall asleep.
After a moment of hesitation, she began to stroke his hair once again. "I will stay, Silas."
"Lay with me?" He begged, looking at her with hope and trust in his red eyes.
She hadn't been sure if he would desire that. She slid down smoothly, nestling close to him and sliding a hand out to caress his cheek. "You need your rest."
"Mmm." He curled in carefully, close to her, and sighed deeply as sleep began to over take him.
Sophie stayed awake a while longer, marveling at how lovely he looked when he was asleep. Eventually, though, she settled down against him and let herself drift asleep.
What: Talking, bonding really
When: Silas discharged from hospital (before thread with Domino at church, before thead with River)
Warnings: Sophie and SIlas are friends now! Is that a warning? I dunno.
Where: Hospital/cab/Silas' apatment
Sophie was in a rather good mood - she had taken a taxi to the hospital and was walking quietly to Silas's room. She'd met a lovely Priest who she had actually helped, despite what she was - and she had promised to visit Silas again. She slipped to the door of his room, wondering if perhaps the man would be asleep. It was barely dark out, but .. what else was there to do in a hospital?
He was in fact sitting up, dressed in his robe, and lacking the IV. His right arm was missing, held in a sling under his robe. "I'm just waiting on discharge papers." He chirped, uncommonly happy.
She blinked at him, wondering what this sudden glee was due to. But she was in a good mood as well, so she smiled faintly. "Well, that is good."
"It is. I'm ready. I do not favor this place at all," Silas sighed. "I think I hear the doctor now."
And on cue, the doctor came in with some papers for Silas to sign, awkwardly since his right hand was incapacitated. Assuming Sophie was there to pick Silas up, the doctor nodded. "Take good care of your brother, and call me if there's any problem at all." He patted her shoulder and wandered off.
Silas smiled. "I'm ready to get out of here."
Sophie nodded to the man, no sign of surprise on her face as the man addressed her. She remembered who she had come in as, thankfully. "Thank you, doctor."
Then she glanced to Silas, moving a tad closer to you. "Is there anything that I should perhaps help you with, Silas?" She was in a more favorable mood now that she was more at-ease with him.
"No. I have nothing to carry." He slid off the bed, wincing only a little. "I'm really very hungry."
Sophie pressed a bit of hair behind her ear. She'd already had dinner with the Priest, but .. "Well, perhaps I can take you somewhere." She did feel a bit guilty ... having shot him, and all.
He didn't like to eat in public. Too many people stared at him. "I'd be happy just to pick something up and take it back."
She nodded. "Well, the cafe has very good sandwiches. I had one only tonight -- I met someone I think you might like."
"Someone I might like?" Silas walked slowly, accounting for his arm and his legs. He couldn't imagine who Sophie would have met that he would like.
Sophie nodded. "Oui, a French Priest. I wandered into the church and .. we had dinner. It was quite nice. He wants to meet with you."
"Does he?" Silas nodded. "A french priest. Where...What church?"
"It is close to my hotel. Ah, I did .. not ask. But he is a Jesuit." It made things .. well, a bit more fragile.
Silas nodded again. They'd reached the exit and stepped out into the day. "I...I do work, at St Patrick's." He inclined his head in the vague direction the church lay.
She snapped her fingers. "Yes, that is the one. I remember seeing the name on the front, now." A small nod. "He is an Abbe there." Sophie helped him into a nearby cab.
"This...has happened since I have been here." A general wave back toward the church. "There were no Frenchmen there, before."
Sophie nodded gently, setting down into the cab with the man. "He has come very recently, I think."
"Do you recall his name?" Silas asked, insatiably curious now.
A pause. "I .. do not believe he told me. He was quite young, with lovely dark hair." She glanced out the window of the cab, instructing the man to stop at a cafe for a moment. "I should run in and get something. What would you like, Silas?"
"Just...soup. Maybe...a vegetable sandwich. I...don't eat meat."
Sophie nodded, walking into the cafe to get just that. She also bought him a coffee and an espresso for herself. Shortly later, she slipped back into the cab and directed the man to the hotel. It was a short distance, but she didn't wish for Silas to strain anything. "How .. is your friend, Dorian?"
"In truth, I haven't seen him for a day or two. he was...well, when I saw him last." Silas frowned. he was really more concerned about River, but Sophie didn't know River.
She nodded gently. "Ah, well. That is good. Do you .. have a place to stay, Silas? I don't recall where you were staying."
"I...I have an apartment." Silas nodded. It wasn't much, and it wasn't worth the rent.
A small smile. "You .. would like to go there, then?" She didn't know if she wanted .. him to know where she stayed, exactly. The hotel was risky enough. She was beginning to trust him, but ... old habits died hard.
"I...should. Yes." He nodded. he wasn't sure either. Well, at least he had a bed, he could sleep comfortably.
Sophie glanced to the man. "Would you tell the cab driver where to go, then?"
He cleared his throat and told the driver where he needed to go. As best he could. He was still unfamiliar with the city.
The cabbie seemed to know where they were going. She shifted awkwardly, rubbing her neck. "How .. did the rest of your visit go?"
"My visit? Where?" Silas mirrored her neck rub. His shoulder felt stiff.
"Well, at the hospital." She smiled half-sheepishly and then looked to his hand. "Is something the matter?"
He shook his head. "I'm just tired. I've slept for how many days and I'm just so tired."
Sophie glanced out the window. "Sometimes, I think, sleep does not help with certain types of tiredness."
"I think you are right about that." Silas nodded. The cab pulled up in front of his building. "I...do you...I mean...If you want..."
[
She blinked a little, but nodded. "Of course. I Would see you escorted to your room at least, really."
Silas climbed slowly from the cab, carefully balancing the bag of food from the cafe.
Sophie watched him get out, sliding with him so that he would not have any chance of falling.
He walked in silence up to his apartment. It was on the ground floor, but there were a few steps to climb. He winced with each one.
"It's not much..." He murmured as he opened the door.
She stayed near to him anyway, nodding. "I am sure it is lovely, Silas."
There was no furniture in the main room. No table even. Only the bed in the bedroom, which was primarily for River. "I...have no need for material things." The Discipline, however, was curled up neatly on the floor in the corner.
Sophie saw it out of the corner of her eye and tried pointedly not to look at it, glancing around the main room. She pursed her lips, but said nothing except, "It will be bad for your shoulder to sit on the floor, Silas."
He nodded. "I...know."
"We ought to buy you a chair." Or ... no, she wouldn't suggest that.
"I'll...consider it." Silas smiled a little, and opened the bag, inhaling the scent of the food.
She nodded, sitting down neatly .. on the floor. She set her bag down in front of her and then thought better of it.
"Do you have .. any furniture at all?"
"A..bed. For...River. She stays here sometimes. I found her, on the streets. I...don't know where she is now."
Oh, people from the street. Lovely, that made her feel comfortable. She stood, however. "It would be best to sit on that, if you had to sit."
"I..." Silas nodded. he wasn't going to argue with her. He carried his bag into the bedroom. The bed was the only thing in the room at all.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, motioning for him to join her. "If .. well, if a young woman is staying here, perhaps you might .. invest in some more furniture."
He shook his head slightly. "I haven't the need, or the money." He'd used nearly his whole paycheck to get the bed. And now, with hospital bills to consider...
Sophie bit her lip. She knew .. well, hospital bills would be expensive. "Silas.." Her voice was cautious. "Since it was rather my fault .. about your injury, I should like to pay for your hospital bills. I certainly have the income for now."
His eyes went wide at the suggestion. "After..." He shook his head. He wasn't going to bring up her grandfather again. "I can't...Sophie. I can't let you do that.
"At least a little. If you are supporting a young woman here and ... well, yourself .. Silas, what are you doing that will earn you income?"
"I...work at the church." He unwrapped his sandwich and took a tentative bite.
"And what income will that pull in, Silas?" She shifted a little, watching him eat and sipping her coffee.
"I get by." He felt the corners of his mouth twitch. "I do not require much."
"Yes, but .. the girl, what does she require?"
"I don't know. She...only stays here sometimes."
She paused, fiddling with the rim of her coffee cup. "I do worry, you know."
"You...shouldn't." He reached for her hand. "I am all right."
Sophie blinked a little, but nodded a small bit. "With .. everything I told you, Silas? I could not .. I have told one person here and he did not believe me at first, I think."
"I believe you. I'm...sorry it had to be this way. All the things that happened before."
Sophie shook her head. "It .. well, it can't be helped. I think ... that my grandfather died doing what he thought was right. That is .. noble, if nothing else." But the pain was evident in her eyes. Even if he wasn't he grandfather, he was .. well, her guardian for so long. And now she had her grandmother back, but they had to remain apart..
Silas felt her sadness, and he reached up slowly, and touched her cheek. "It will be all right. In the end. It hurts now, I know."
She leant against his hand just a little bit, nodding. "I ... yes, that is what I keep telling myself. But there will always be people looking for me, Silas. If I ... when I am killed, it will be the end."
"It doesn't have to be." Silas said softly. "If you...had a child."
Sophie glanced to the side. "With who, Silas? I could not ..." She bit her lip. "It would have to be anonymous, wouldn't it? From a donor bank, so that I would not put another person in danger over this."
"Do you...want to have a child?" He met her gaze. His food was long forgotten.
"I .. have thought about such things, Silas. But .. I do not know if I could bring a child into a life that would be dangerous. I .. it is difficult, isn't it?" She had been thinking about this the past few days.
"Who else knows the truth,Sophie? The Priory will protect you, the child." Maybe the father? It was a radical thought. No. She would never want to have a child with him. He was a monster.
She looked to him again, gently. "The Priory and a doctor friend of mine. That is all. And .. Robert, but..."
"And me." He added softly.
Sophie nodded, glancing to her lap. "Yes, and ... and you."
Silas moved the food to the floor, and shifted, so that he was laying down, with Sophie sitting next to him. It was crazy to even think about it. He'd never considered having children before. had always thought that would never happen.
She watched him shift, sliding a hand to rest gently over his hair. "I .. wish that I could tell the Father, Silas. But it would .. well, it would destroy his faith most of all."
"You...Sophie. You mustn't tell him." Silas half sat up, his weight bearing down on his bad arm. "Tell me you will not."
Sophie shook her head. "I will not, Silas. But the desire to tell him is there. I would not .. I do not seek to break a man's faith in God." Especially when it has only just been renewed.
He eased back down, and was quiet for a long moment. And then, "Sophie? Will you...stay here with me tonight?"
She blinked a little, nodding her head. "Of ... of course, Silas...if .. if that is what you would like."
"I am...so tired of being alone." He murmured. He was ready to fall asleep.
After a moment of hesitation, she began to stroke his hair once again. "I will stay, Silas."
"Lay with me?" He begged, looking at her with hope and trust in his red eyes.
She hadn't been sure if he would desire that. She slid down smoothly, nestling close to him and sliding a hand out to caress his cheek. "You need your rest."
"Mmm." He curled in carefully, close to her, and sighed deeply as sleep began to over take him.
Sophie stayed awake a while longer, marveling at how lovely he looked when he was asleep. Eventually, though, she settled down against him and let herself drift asleep.