Timing Is Everything {Elias}

[Samantha Roberts]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r71/maggiesrpstuff/BACKGROUNDS/fk5qwnjpg.png); width: 457px; padding-top: 30; padding-bottom: 30; -moz-border-radius: 35 35 35 35; -webkit-border-radius: 35 35 35 35;] hi » Timing is Everything. The sound of children's laughter always drew her. Like a moth to the flame, Sammie would find herself gravitating towards the echo with a smile peeking at the edge of her lips. There was just something so innocent about the sound that it was relaxing after a hard day at court or dealing with a messy case load. The way they played with merry abandon and threw caution to the wind as they raced around the playground always lightened the sense of disillusionment she got from working. In short, it was like they gave her hope that there was something still good and right in the world. Something that made her work worth doing and worth fighting for. And this afternoon was no different. Having locked up her small office for the day, Samantha Roberts lifted her heavy briefcase into her silver Audi before getting behind the wheel and joining the madhouse of after work traffic. Along the way, she passed a small park where she sat at a stop light for a few minutes and heard the sounds of kids playing. Glancing sideways, she felt a smile spread over her face and even laughed as a game of tag broke out among some of the older kids. A honk rang out behind her and she was forced to jerk her attention forward but before she even realized what she was doing... Her course of travel changed. Without thought, Sammie found herself turning the corner and pulling into the tiny parking lot. Getting out of the car, she slipped out of her dress suit jacket and placed it in the back. Opening her case for a moment, she pulled out a notebook and a file before wandering over to sit upon a shaded bench. A cool breeze caressed her face and with a big sigh, she released the tension that had knotted her neck muscles. As the children and various parents played around her, she smiled and enjoyed the sounds. With no one to rush home too, the dark haired beauty decided to enjoy the beautiful weather of the evening and turned her attention to her notebook and file. At least the surroundings were better than an old radio and lonely apartment, she thought to herself as she began to jot notes and take down information. Before long, she was lost in her paperwork and didn't even notice as the minutes trickled into an hour and then more. In fact, it wasn't until a ball suddenly flew into her lap that she became aware of the world around her. With a little gasp, she blinked at the nerf ball and then laughed. Glancing upwards, she looked around for the owner and then smiled when she spied a little girl watching her cautiously. Seeing that she was obviously worried that she was going to be in trouble, Sammie put her pen down and eyed the ball before winking at the little girl. "Is this your ball, sweetie? I used to have one just like it. It always seemed to have a mind of its own too... Constantly choosing places to land that got me into trouble..." she teased, voice full of mischief before tossing the ball lightly back. "There you go..... No harm done." It was then and only then that Sammie noticed the gentleman behind the young girl and she gave him a friendly smile. "Oh.. Hello.... I'm sorry, I hope my talking to your daughter is all right. Her ball and I were getting better acquainted and so I wanted to make sure it got back to her all right." 601 words, Tag: Elias

[/td][/tr][/table]

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY WILMETTA OF CAUTION.

[/center]

[eliaswolfstrom]

"Would you please turn that down?"

Sly blue eyes slid to the right, giving the eight year old in the passenger seat a meaningful look before returning to the road. Keeping them there, the driver leaned forward slightly and fingered the knob til AC/DC was little more than a garbled noise in the background. "What's got your panties in a bunch?" Eli asked of his niece, not unkindly. She seemed to be a in a bit of a mood today, which wasn't completely unusual. Leia was quite mature for her age - when she was feeling unhappy, she didn't whine and cry and throw a tantrum because she didn't get what she wanted. Rather, the thin blond girl would sit quietly, contemplating to herself. Much like her uncle, Leia didn't like to talk to others about what she was feeling. She would much rather keep it to herself. And it saddened Eli a bit to know that whatever was going on in that little skull of hers, Leia wasn't about to share it with him... no matter how close they were.

"Nothing!" came the reply, an exasperated sigh following immediately after. Something was obviously bothering her, Eli could tell, but knew better than to try and force her to tell him what it was. The remedy always seemed to be to take her mind off of whatever was bothering her. Leia didn't have to tell him what was wrong, all he had to do was make her forget she cared about it in the first place. He let a comfortable silence build back up between them for a few lights before turning his attention to her again. Glancing at the child, he saw her simply watching out the window as buildings, trees, and other vehicles passed. "You wanna go to the park?" he asked casually. Currently, they were on their way home from picking Leia up from school, and he could only imagine that whatever was bugging her stemmed from something stressful there. Eli hated to think that she was being bullied, or something else of that sort.

His next glance saw her drop her eyes to her lap and halfheartedly shrug. "Sure, I guess," Leia replied. The same lack of enthusiasm was spread in his own little smile as he switched lanes to make a right toward the local park - not from a dislike of taking his niece to the park, but the thought that he might not be able to get her out of this funk today. About eight minutes later, they pulled into park on the north side of the open playground. Getting out of the driver's seat, checking to see Leia getting out of the back, Eli made his way to the back of his 2025 Chevy Blazer and opened the hatchback. There was an assortment of items he always kept back there, predominantly tools that he brought with him to active work sites, but he also kept a variety of things for Leia. Stuffed in the back left side corner behind the spare wheel, Eli tugged the bag free of it's snug spot and pulled it out while Leia stood on the passenger side looking a little dejected.

"Come on, LeeLee," Eli encouraged while locking up the back, using a nickname only he was allowed to use, "Turn that frown upside down. It's a beautiful day out, and instead of making you go home and do your homework, I'm taking you to the park. Gimme a smile." Falling into step beside Eli as he headed toward the grassy area near the swing sets, Leia didn't look at him but did allow a little grin to peek out, and it was just enough to make Eli glad he suggested the park. "Thank you, Uncle Eli," she said, and that was that. Reaching the base of the hill, Eli set down the bag and tugged up his jeans, straightening his Chicago Bear's t-shirt out of habit, and turned his baseball cap backwards to keep the bill out of his eyesight. Leia took the standard position and backed away a yard or so while he ruffled through the bag to find the Nerf football they threw around every once in a while.

"Okay, you ready?" Eli called to her, and his niece nodded, looking a little more eager to be here than she had upon his initial suggestion. He knew that she liked the time they spent together, which had become less after they had moved to Texas. Before, they had spent a great deal of their days getting used to each other, and now that they had, he wasn't able to see her quite as much because of work and her going back to normal school instead of him teaching her at home. Rearing back, Eli put a mild spin on the soft pointed ball as it left his fingers. It made a direct arc toward the little blond and she ran for it, catching it nimbly in her hands. Within seconds, it was on it's way back, and the game was on.

As the minutes wore on, a little bit of a competitive streak seemed to come out of Leia, and he found himself running further for the ball and having to throw it further for her to catch it. And then the inevitable happened, and his throw was off, sending the ball flying toward the swing sets. As Eli watched, Leia ran off after it, only to find it land in the lap of some poor unsuspecting woman. A silent 'oops!' on his lips, Eli grabbed the bag from the ground and sprinted toward his niece and his unintentional victim of flyby Nerfing. Drawing closer, he saw the woman speaking to Leia, who simply stood there listening. She wasn't much on talking to strangers, so this lady must of thrown her off a bit. Slowing down, Eli came up behind Leia and placed a hand gently on her shoulder and turned his attention to the lady as she spoke to him.

"Oh.. Hello.... I'm sorry, I hope my talking to your daughter is all right. Her ball and I were getting better acquainted and so I wanted to make sure it got back to her all right."

A light laugh rumbled from Eli's throat, and waved it off with the hand he'd had on Leia's shoulder. "No need to be sorry. Actually, I should be sorry since I'm the one that landed it in your lap." He looked down at Leia and she was staring up at him, a small smile on her lips. She looked mischievous, and he didn't like that one bit. He also didn't bother correcting the woman before them about mistaking Leia for his daughter. He got that constantly, and for all intents and purposes, Leia was his daughter. He loved her, he cared for her, and they were family. "Either way, if I damaged any of your work..." he motioned toward the papers in her lap, "... I do sincerely apologize. Normally I'm not that off with the ball, but this little animal always seems to wanna be the best at throwing the farthest." Leia giggled under the ruffling he gave her hair.

[Samantha Roberts]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r71/maggiesrpstuff/BACKGROUNDS/fk5qwnjpg.png); width: 457px; padding-top: 30; padding-bottom: 30; -moz-border-radius: 35 35 35 35; -webkit-border-radius: 35 35 35 35;] hi » Timing is Everything. Wow, wasn't that sweet of him to offer. Most guys wouldn't have cared whether or not anything had been harmed but then.. This wasn't just any man, obviously. The way he hovered over the young girl spoke of a protective nature and it made a smile play over her lips. He obviously loved his daughter and it was nice to see these days. "OH... theres no need. Truly, nothing was harmed and had I been paying a bit more attention to my surroundings... I'm sure I would have noticed the ball in time to catch it. Unfortunately...." she said, giving the pair a wry look. "I tend to become swallowed by what i'm doing. It will be a lesson to me." Giving the young girl a smile, Sammie tilted her head sideways and observed her for a moment. "I take it you have a bit of a competitive streak??" she asked, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I'll tell you a secret... So do I. Its always a good thing because it will keep Dad on his toes. My dad always told me that I kept him young because he had to stay sharp to keep up with me." Glancing upwards at the gentleman, the pretty young lawyer's eyes sparkled with mischief and she couldn't help teasing him a bit. "You never know... If shes got that good of an arm, you could be coaching the next state championship softball pitcher or something. Stranger things have happened!" Then, giving the young girl a wink, she gathered her papers and stuffed them in her breifcase before standing up. Tucking a long chocolate lock behind one ear, Sammie held out her hand. "I'm sorry... I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Samantha Roberts. I actually have a law office a few blocks south and it was such a beautiful evening that I couldn't resist stopping and enjoying the fresh air." she said ruefully before looking around. "My apartment is pretty empty so when I passed the park... I couldn't resist stopping. I enjoy the sounds of kids playing and its nice to see that some families still make it work in this day in age." no idea words, Tag: Elias

[/td][/tr][/table]

THIS TEMPLATE WAS MADE BY WILMETTA OF CAUTION.

[/center]