They didn't have to put their skills into practice very often in a real life situation and Sam was still in training.
“No worries, I will try my hardest to give you some more practice in the future!" Eliza laughed.
“You'd better not, crazy girl." I chipped in shaking my head but smiling.
Everyone was in a buoyant mood and jokes went across the table for a while yet. Until Nurse Kate arrived with one of her patients. It caught Eliza's attention straight away.
“What on earth happened to him?" she enquired shocked but curious about the rather battered looking man Kate was pushing in a wheelchair into the cafe. It brought us all back to the, on occasion, dangerous realities our jobs presented us with. Ned took it upon himself to explain it to Eliza.
“Yeah." he said slowly and sighing with it.
“That's what can happen when you get caught out on a job. It's Rob Saunders. He was working on a case where he tried to infiltrate a paedophile ring of rather influential people. They managed to work out his cover story was false and those guys take no prisoners. They basically hired a mob to 'teach Rob a lesson'. He was in hospital for a couple of weeks, but luckily recovered well now and, I heard, determined to get those men prosecuted.”
“Things like this occur occasionally, but it reminds us to always be alert. The risk is always there and it's good to be confronted with it. Keeps us on our toes." I explained.
It had brought our exuberant mood down somewhat, but we carried on having our lunch and soon everyone was chatting and laughing again.
I took the opportunity to observe Eliza for a while and drink in all her little quirks, her cute pink cheeks, glowing with excitement and her beautiful grey eyes shining with pleasure. I loved the sound of her voice, usually warm and a little husky but with occasional little squeaks when excitement spilled over. I was going to miss all of them over the next month or so, having to test her with one of our more severe punishments. I knew I had arranged this lunch as much for my benefit as hers, eking out a bit more time to enjoy her, when she was in a happy mood.
I had forced myself not to push Eliza on her VH status. She clearly wasn't ready to tackle that yet, but I really had to work hard to reign in my enthusiasm over it. It was huge, and if she was able to properly control it, it would be an amazing skill to have. I hoped she would be open to being trained in it. I had already contacted Rob Saunders over it, as he's a VH too. Like me, he was eager to help her develop her potential skill and promised to talk to her after the month was up. If she decided to stay, that was.
I had to warn Zaphire what was going to happen with Eliza over the coming month. It was only fair. I signalled for Zaph to come over for a minute, removing myself from the group somewhat. She reluctantly left Eliza's side and came over, her face dark as thunder.
“What do you want, brother." she grumbled angrily.
What I had to tell her wasn't going to improve her mood at all, but I hoped she would appreciate the heads up at least.
“You're not going to like this, Zaph, but my hands are tied. The leaders are expecting me to test Eliza's loyalty to the full, before they'll accept her on the next mission. We need her, but they unanimously decided that if she isn't completely loyal to us, they won't trust her. They worry that Rick will be able to get under her skin and lure her to his side. And I don't blame them, you know as well as I do, the familial bond is extremely strong.”
Zaphire's demeanour changed from not only hostile but despondent too. She knew what it meant but still asked.
“I won't be able to see her, will I." It wasn't a question. I shook my head.
“I'm so sorry Zaph. I know what she means to you. It's not forever. You're strong.”
I tried to sound as empathetic as I could, knowing she wouldn't quite see it that way.
“That's easy to say for you. She'll still see you. I bet part of you is actually pleased she's out of my reach so you can work your magic?" she bit back.
“Yeah, she's really going to fucking love me, isn't she." I answered sarcastically.
“At least you're the innocent bystander who she can pour her heart out to afterwards. She'll fucking hate me, Zaph!”
I sighed, feeling frustrated.
“Just go and spend some time with her now, before I have to take her.”
I rather roughly pushed her back to the group, where of course everyone had noticed our argument, though desperately trying to hide their curiosity.
Zaphire sidled back next to Eliza, and I noticed an instant spike in Eli's heartbeat. Clearly not unaffected by Zaphire's attentions, to Zaph's delight. She glanced at me, smirking somewhat. I really didn't like that we were competing over this girl. I needed to get a grip and lock my feelings away. It was going to be tough, but necessary. I had to let my sister and Eliza sort their feelings for each other out first, that was only fair, especially for Eliza as she was confused enough as it was.
I didn't want to be fighting with Zaph, she was my soul mate and my only family. Being twins, the bond was so much stronger than any other family bond and this friction wasn't doing either of us any good.
I gave them another half hour, and Zaph didn't leave Eliza's side during that time. They were deep in conversation, having eyes for no one else. I noticed Sam and Ned were checking my state of mind regularly, but I was in full control now and gave nothing away.
