Ficlet: Good Samaritan
Title: Good Samaritan
Fandoms: Warehouse 13/White Collar
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Claudia, El; gen
Warning: minor spoilers for "MacPherson"
Summary: El stops to pick up a hitchhiker.
Author's Note: written for xoverland for the Crime Show challenge.
Peter had told Elizabeth several times about the dangers of picking up hitchhikers, but El knew a thing or two about how to look after herself, and anyway, it was raining.
"Need a lift?" she asked the shivering woman standing on the side of the country highway.
"Yes," she answered.
El unlocked the doors, and the woman didn't waste a second in getting inside.
"Holy shit, it is cold out there," the woman said. "You're a saint, lady."
"Well, that's my philosophy," El said. "You have to put some good out there into the world if you expect any to come back to you."
Even with her eyes on the road, El could tell her passenger was rolling her eyes. "I admit, it's hokey," she continued good-naturedly.
"No, it's sweet." The hitchhiker sounded sincere. "It's just hard to be an optimist when you're soaking wet." She winced. "Sorry about your car seat, by the way."
"Don't give it a second thought. I'm El Burke, by the way."
"Claudia."
El glanced over and revised her estimation of Claudia's age down a few years. "So where can I take you today, Claudia?"
"I'm headed for the city, if you're going that far. Anywhere between here and there is fine, if you're not."
"No problem," El told her. "What brings you to New York?"
"Looking for a job."
"There weren't any with a shorter commute?"
Claudia shrugged. "The benefits all sucked."
El carefully kept the same light tone as she asked, "What do your parents think about it?"
"Doesn't matter."
"They don't worry about you?"
Claudia sighed and turned to El. "Look, it's not what you think, okay? This isn't the story where the stupid kid runs away from home because she's drowning in teen spirit, and if you try to call the cops, I will jump out of this car."
"You might want to wait until we get off the freeway," El pointed out.
"Are you even listening?"
"Yes, I am," El said. "Are you hungry?"
Claudia made a number of interesting facial expressions before giving up. "Yeah."
"Why don't we stop somewhere?" El suggested. "My treat."
"Just my luck. I get picked up by someone who wants to nurture me to death."
"Well, my plan will hardly work not that you've figured it out." El counted it as a victory when Claudia laughed weakly.
The rest of the drive passed more smoothly after that. Claudia even gave El an awkward half-hug when she dropped her off.
"Take care of yourself. And take this." El handed Claudia her business card. "If you get into some kind of trouble, if you need a friend, just call me."
"You are way too nice for your own good, lady," Claudia said as she walked away. She paused and turned around briefly. "I think - I think you're going to have a lot of good things coming your way."
Fandoms: Warehouse 13/White Collar
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Claudia, El; gen
Warning: minor spoilers for "MacPherson"
Summary: El stops to pick up a hitchhiker.
Author's Note: written for xoverland for the Crime Show challenge.
Peter had told Elizabeth several times about the dangers of picking up hitchhikers, but El knew a thing or two about how to look after herself, and anyway, it was raining.
"Need a lift?" she asked the shivering woman standing on the side of the country highway.
"Yes," she answered.
El unlocked the doors, and the woman didn't waste a second in getting inside.
"Holy shit, it is cold out there," the woman said. "You're a saint, lady."
"Well, that's my philosophy," El said. "You have to put some good out there into the world if you expect any to come back to you."
Even with her eyes on the road, El could tell her passenger was rolling her eyes. "I admit, it's hokey," she continued good-naturedly.
"No, it's sweet." The hitchhiker sounded sincere. "It's just hard to be an optimist when you're soaking wet." She winced. "Sorry about your car seat, by the way."
"Don't give it a second thought. I'm El Burke, by the way."
"Claudia."
El glanced over and revised her estimation of Claudia's age down a few years. "So where can I take you today, Claudia?"
"I'm headed for the city, if you're going that far. Anywhere between here and there is fine, if you're not."
"No problem," El told her. "What brings you to New York?"
"Looking for a job."
"There weren't any with a shorter commute?"
Claudia shrugged. "The benefits all sucked."
El carefully kept the same light tone as she asked, "What do your parents think about it?"
"Doesn't matter."
"They don't worry about you?"
Claudia sighed and turned to El. "Look, it's not what you think, okay? This isn't the story where the stupid kid runs away from home because she's drowning in teen spirit, and if you try to call the cops, I will jump out of this car."
"You might want to wait until we get off the freeway," El pointed out.
"Are you even listening?"
"Yes, I am," El said. "Are you hungry?"
Claudia made a number of interesting facial expressions before giving up. "Yeah."
"Why don't we stop somewhere?" El suggested. "My treat."
"Just my luck. I get picked up by someone who wants to nurture me to death."
"Well, my plan will hardly work not that you've figured it out." El counted it as a victory when Claudia laughed weakly.
The rest of the drive passed more smoothly after that. Claudia even gave El an awkward half-hug when she dropped her off.
"Take care of yourself. And take this." El handed Claudia her business card. "If you get into some kind of trouble, if you need a friend, just call me."
"You are way too nice for your own good, lady," Claudia said as she walked away. She paused and turned around briefly. "I think - I think you're going to have a lot of good things coming your way."