DISCLAIMER: Women's Murder Club and its characters are the property of James Patterson, 20th Century Fox Television and ABC. Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and Fox. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Eclipse Of The Sun
By Demeter
Another L.A. hotel room. The exception is that this time, she'll find the truth, one way or another, just like Cindy wanted to, all those months ago. Lindsay stands in front of the full length mirror, appropriately for the occasion all dressed in black.
She ties her hair back in a high ponytail, taking that last one look inside herself.
Lindsay isn't scared of a possible confrontation with ruthless criminals; it's what she does for a living. She knows what she is going to do and what she's about to risk. She's always known it would come to this in the end. About this, she is calm and focused.
Part of her is so terrified she'd be paralyzed if she let it come to the forefront instead of locking it deeply in her mind. Lindsay will address that part once she and Cindy are back home in San Francisco, decorating the new house, finding a place in the world where they can exchange vows and not be belittled or ridiculed or ignored by the law.
Echo walks up behind her, placing a hand in the middle of her back. The gesture isn't tender-possessive in the way she has touched Lindsay before, the way Cindy would; now, it's merely supportive. "Ready?"
Lindsay just nods. She's been ready for this day for months. It's been too long a time. Another thing she can't afford to think about now is what Cindy has gone through at the hands of the people who run the Dollhouse. She's got a glimpse of it when Claire's friend led Echo through the remaining fragments of the various imprints that were still hidden in the woman's brain structure.
As advanced as the Dollhouse science is, it still underestimates the strength of the human mind.
She turns away from the mirror to the woman who has been programmed to be her curse and will now turn out to be a blessing. Hopefully. "Why are you doing this?" The question is somewhat rhetorical. Lindsay isn't completely sure that she can trust her, all of her, that is, but if this is a trap, then she has no choice but to walk into it.
Echo seems to search for the answer through the different layers to the one who has formed the intention. "Libra is my friend," she states and she sounds very serious and intent about it. "Friends help each other out."
"Sure." Lindsay holds back the somewhat condescending retort that comes to mind. The rules in the Dollhouse are different than in the outside world and so are the relationships formed. They don't really have time for friendships to grow. For now, Echo's willingness to help is all she needs, all she wants to know. She'll find a way to thank her once they all made it back out alive.
Turning her gaze back to the mirror, she smiles at her unlikely partner in an even more unlikely crime.
On the other hand – Echo has been a hostage negotiator, a bodyguard, a safe cracker and an ATF contact infiltrating a fanatical religious cult - seems like for tonight, they are the perfect match.
"Let's go," Lindsay says.
The End