A Warm Embrace (Christine)

[Dorian Humbert]

They apparated in the alley next to the hotel. With muggles frequenting the place, they couldn't very well just pop into existence in the middle of the lobby. Dorian kept his arm around her waist as they headed toward the street and turned toward the hotel entrance.

Sept 7, 2016 3:31:28 GMT -5 Christine Montgomery said:

"Thank you." she said in a voice barely above a whisper. She stopped moving forcing him to stop as well so she could face him. For a brief moment again something broke through the shock: gratitude. "You came. I knew you would." she revealed. Then as if embarrassed she lowered her eyes and continued walking toward the expensive hotel.

Dorian smiled at her as she spoke. "Always," he confessed. She was starting to regain some of the color in her cheeks and Dorian could feel his heart pound as he looked at her. She continued walking, and he followed suit. The doorman opened the door for them as they approached, and Dorian guided her inside the hotel.

Dorian had never stayed at the Avalon before, and took a moment to admire his surroundings. White pillars of marble rose from the ground and reached up to the high ceiling. Beautiful gold chandeliers hung high above their heads with enough electric candles to brighten the entire room, making the white walls glow. To their right was the welcome desk, where a beautiful young woman behind the counter smiled as explained to a patron how to find the nearest restaurant. A golden-railed staircase leading to the rooms was to their left, flanked by tall white statues of unicorns. Dorian overheard a muggle child talk excitedly about the unicorns, and her father scold her believing in mythical creatures.

[Christine Montgomery]

It was only when they were standing in the lobby that Christine realized she didn't actually have a room at the hotel, and getting one now would seem peculiar not to mention that she didn't actually have any money on her. The Montgomerys had executive accounts almost everywhere in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, but to use her real name at the front desk would also invite too many questions later when Dorian wasn't preoccupied with her state of mind - he was an auror after all.

"I...I forgot my room key." she stuttered buying herself a minute in line to reach the front desk. Before she knew it she was faced with the same beautiful young woman behind the counter.

[Dorian Humbert]

"Did you leave it in the park?" Dorian masked his anxiousness with a gentle expression. If Christine had left her room key near the woman's body, it could lead the killer straight to her hotel room. He would need to contact one of the Aurors in the field and have them search for it. The Police Box was the most likely place for it to have fallen out of a pocket.

[Christine Montgomery]

There was no room key.

"Hi there, can I help you?" the woman asked. She was friendly. The hotel paid all its employees to be so, but right now her calm smile caused a small panic to rise in Christine's throat.

"Mikaelson!" she said in a rushed breath. "I need a key for the Mikaelson suite. I'm...I'm Christine Mikaelson." she answered.

Mikaelson was the name her uncle used to stay at the hotel when he was in port and didn't want to stay at the estate, but her uncle was half way across the world and with any luck the suite would be available to her.

"Of course one moment please." she said looking through the registrars.

[Dorian Humbert]

Dorian didn't think anything of Christine's frantic pace. He assumed this was still a response to the ordeal she'd just witnessed. He looked over his shoulder to the doorman who was opening the door for an elderly woman carrying more shopping bags than she could handle. One of the bags slipped from her hands and fell to the floor, causing her to trip. As she fell to the ground, he bags followed her, spilling their contents across the lobby. The doorman and another hotel attendant helped the poor woman to her feet.

"I'll be right back," he said softly to Christine, before leaving the welcome desk to help gather the woman's belongings. A trail of Hermes scarves lead to the woman's handbag which had made it all the way to a sitting area in the center of the lobby. Dorian picked up the scarves, placing them into one of the shopping bags that rested nearby. After picking up her handbag, Dorian walked back toward the front door to where the woman was now standing, though looking considerably dazed by the incident. "Here you are, ma'am."

[Christine Montgomery]

Christine nodded when he left to help the other woman, and as he stepped away she became more in control of herself. The incident was receding to the back of her mind, and she was in an altogether different predicament now. Strangely it brought her back to when she last saw him, that was the last time she had been carefree, as much as being kidnapped and held as bait qualified as carefree.

She used to have so much control, so much daring and courage. What happened?

She was still that girl wasn't she?

After squaring away the room with the hostess she sent a small prayer upward that her lie had paid off and that she was still on an approved guestlist.

"We weren't aware of your arrival, we will have the room available as soon as possible, it shouldn't take long if you would like to wait at the bar with complementary drinks of course."

Christine nodded, took the key, and turned to find Dorian.

[Dorian Humbert]

He gave the old woman her things, and turned to see Christine heading his way, key in hand. He would need to get a statement from her about what she had seen. Something more formal and coherent than her ramblings in the park. And he needed to send word to the MLE about her lost hotel key. But there was nothing he could do in the middle of the hotel lobby. Not surrounded by muggles. He would need to wait until they were in her room. 

"All set?"

[Christine Montgomery]

She walked toward him, then past him, "I need a drink." she admitted heading for the bar.

Surrounded by the normalcy of the elegant hotel she continued to push down what she had seen and how she had felt. She refused to fall apart any further in front of him.

Pausing in her step she looked over her shoulder, "Join me?"

[Dorian Humbert]

"Of course," he agreed as he took a few steps to catch up with her. He was still on duty, he shouldn't be drinking. And it was still early. But he understood what she was feeling and would oblige her without judgement. He only hoped she wouldn't feel the need to drink herself into a stupor. He needed to get her statement, and he couldn't do it in the bar surrounded by muggles and civilians.

[Christine Montgomery]

Drinking herself into a stupor didn't sound half bad. There were far too many things going on in Christine's mind, and the beautiful numbness alcohol could provide was appealing, but Christine wouldn't. For one she hated hangovers, and for another if she was going to be spending any amount of time with Dorian she needed a clear head.

One or two drinks would calm her down, and keep her straight enough to answer any questions he might have had.

Once inside the classy lounge she turned back to him, "I'm going to sit down...do you mind getting the drinks?"

She realized her behavior was odd, swinging from helpless and terrified to dominant and abrupt, but her defense mechanism had kicked in. The danger from the park this morning had left once they did, now she was faced with another danger: Dorian himself.

[Dorian Humbert]

This was more like the Christine he remembered from that week in Egypt. She was confident and bossy, in a sexy way. Dorian pushed the thought out of his head. It would be unprofessional to have those feelings now, and Dorian strived to always appear polished. But still, he couldn't help but wonder how it was that after little more than a year since their last encounter, they had arrived at early afternoon drinks together. Why it was him and not any other MLE officer that she had called. This thought stuck with him as he nodded to her request and headed for the bar.

He ordered a scotch for himself, which he had little intention of drinking, and an Old Fashioned for her. He remembered she enjoyed them at the nightclub where he was hunting the dark wizard. Why he remembered that detail was of no concern to Dorian. If he had realized the strangeness of recalling a drink order from more than a year ago, he would have had to analyze his thoughts. But he didn't have time for such things at the moment. There was a murderer on the loose. A hotel key to recover. Christine to keep safe. And a drink to nurse.

Sliding the glass onto the table in front of Christine, he took the seat across from her. "So," he started, as he pondered his question over his own glass, "why'd you ring me?"

[Christine Montgomery]

If Christine thought it was strange he remembered what she liked to drink she didn't show it. He was an Auror, trained to take in every detail. She wouldn't inflate her own sense of importance in his life by thinking it meant more than that.

She looked at him hard for a moment after his question. There had been a murder, he was an Auror, it made perfect sense to her.

Then she mulled over the question, and it surprised her, why did she call him? There were others she could have called, although she had tried calling Geoffrey, but still anyone in the department would have done, but she called him.

Finally she shrugged one shoulder, "Believe it or not, the last time I was fighting for my life you were there...I guess instinct just kicked in." she answered.

Thank Merlin for old fashioneds she sipped on hers mindfully.

They were relatively secluded, not many people were up and drinking at this early hour, and the table Christine had picked unconsciously was in the corner, darker, more intimate. She realized if he wanted to grill her about what she had seen that morning, or even why she had left him, now was the perfect time. Yes thank Merlin for Old Fashioneds.

[Dorian Humbert]

He smiled at the thought of her instinctively calling for him. Dorian's own instinct was telling him to protect her with everything he had. More so than just as a witness to a gruesome murder. This was personal.

But he still had a job to do. He grabbed the napkin that the bartender had handed him with his drink, and discretely conjured a pen under the table. "Can you take me through what you witnessed? I understand it may be tough to think on, but you are safe here. And," he smiled playfully at her, "if you need another drink to help calm your nerves I'm sure we can take care of that." He hoped some playful teasing would lighten the mood a bit, as he was quite certain the discussion would be very grim in just a few moments. Levity was a necessity at times.

[Christine Montgomery]

It seemed it had always been personal with him. Even now as they were discussing what had been quite possibly one of the worst mornings of her life, he seemed to dominate her attention. She was safe here, her terror almost seemed like a thing of the past, so far away it didn't come close to touching her at all.

She told him the story. She struggled at first but once she started talking she couldn't stop.

"I was just out for a run. I like to run in the mornings before the sun's up. Usually I end the run at the park, you can see the sun crest over the mountains...but today." she looked downward, "When I turned the corner she was there. I didn't see anyone else. Just her but..." she bit her lip.

Suddenly her eyes came up to his, "I can't explain it, but I know someone else was there." she said intently, "Someone was watching me." she didn't know how she knew that, or if it was even true, but she had felt someone there that morning. Someone had murdered that poor woman, posed her that way, and stuck around to watch someone else discover what had been done - like a graffiti artist might stick around to see someone else admire their work. Just the idea that someone had been there watching her was enough to give Christine chills.

[Dorian Humbert]

He took notes diligently, but managed to still give her his attention. "What time was this? How long had you been there before you rang me?" He knew this would be a tough question to answer. It was always one of the more inaccurately answered questions they were trained to ask. People don't generally monitor the time unless they are on a deadline. And adrenaline and fear have a way of distorting reality. What feels like an hour may only be a few minutes, and vice versa. But any estimate of time could help the investigation.

[Christine Montgomery]

She shook her head to clear it and focused on his question instead of the sensation she had felt at being watched in the park.

"It wasn't yet sunrise...just before dawn, it was grey light when I saw the body...and sunrise when I called you." she answered. She didn't know the time specifically she hadn't even thought to look at her watch - who would have? But she could recall the eerie grey dawn that cast an ethereal look to the victim, and the light pouring into the Police Box as she tried to call for help.

[Dorian Humbert]

Based on her description, she actually acted fairly quickly considering the circumstances. That was very...her. When they had been captured in Egypt by the dark wizard he was pursuing, Christine was unusually calm for the situation especially considering she was a civilian with no formal training in defense, aside from her schooling as a girl. But how many people really remembered what they learned in school after 3 or 4 years? He had been incredibly impressed by her ability and levelheadedness during that ordeal, and he was equally as impressed by her now. 

"Did you see anyone else during your run before you came upon the crime scene? Or any signs that someone else was at the park?"

[Christine Montgomery]

She was shaking her head no as she answered, "No. It's quiet in the mornings. Other than what I felt at the park...I didn't see anyone."

But she had felt someone watching her and the thoughts still made her want to take a hot shower. Instead she took a large sip of her drink and felt a little warmer as the alcohol burned down her throat.

[Dorian Humbert]

"Can you explain why you thought someone was watching you? Did you hear something?" He felt odd, grilling her like this. It was his job and just as with any other witness, Dorian needed to get her statement and report back to the department head. But it was strange being in this situation with Christine. He wanted to hold her, but that would be inappropriate.

[Christine Montgomery]

She felt it too, a sudden disconnect. It was one thing to answer Dorian's questions, but suddenly she didn't feel like she was speaking to "her" Dorian anymore. He was the Auror. The dark wizard hunter. And being grilled by that man was abrasive to her already raw spirit.

"No I can't explain it. It doesn't make any sense. I just felt like someone was watching me. Look, I told you everything I know. I don't know anything I just found her like that."