Puzzled {Mel, Aimee, Joshua, Drew}

[Wesley Bishop]

Wesley laughed again as she spoke. "I don't think it will ever happen. I was under his command when we were overseas. Both of us nearly died, but thanks to him, I lived - by both the whole lion thing and because he was able to pull me out of a hot zone. I really owe him a lot, and I guess that's what makes it work. As long as I don't hear any attitude from his brother, I'll be fine. I don't know how I ever missed another lion in the precinct; it must just be because we work opposite shifts, days, whatever." He couldn't do anything except shrug at that; it was beyond him how he'd never known about Jaime, nevermind seen him.

"I'm glad it's from our kind of shifter, the sample. I don't think Drew would appreciate finding out he can change forms but clothing becomes a luxury. I can only imagine him demanding to know why he always comes back naked and we all look like we stepped out of a magazine," he chuckled. "It's going to be tough, but I think if Mel and Josh can talk him into it, we'll be fine."

He offered her another smile. "Lions aren't that much trouble, anyways. We just need more females around. I honestly don't understand how so many males popped up, but if we don't start seeing the lioness population curve soon, I might have to join some sort of online dating service," he laughed.

Really, Wesley couldn't picture himself with anyone who wasn't a lion. He liked women just fine, but something about humans didn't pique his interest. His brother's wife, Rina - beautiful, strong, intelligent, but definitely not his type. He didn't like wolves. He liked Rina fine, but she made his nose tingle.

[Aimee Forsyth]

Well, if anything, that sounded as though it would really do the trick in keeping those two from being at each others' throats all the time, and that was all that really mattered.  It was why lions really were a load of trouble, since they had this NEED to form something of a chain of command.  She didn't know where Wes sat in comparison to that brother of Nick's, but at least they all seemed to agree that Nick was at the top.  Otherwise, it could get messy, and nobody wanted or needed that.

She nodded her way through his story about his relationship with Nick, making noises of approval and understanding where they belonged, and that lack of true conversation was mostly because there wasn't much she could say.  Asking for details just seemed like a bad idea whenever a guy mentioned a rough situation like that, mostly due to trauma.  She didn't want to be the reason he dwelled on the memories, especially when everything was already stressful.  If he ever WANTED to share, she'd listen, but he moved on, and she let him.

"I don't think he'd appreciate it, either, in all honesty.  It'll be easier for him if he's as similar to the rest of you as possible, but we still need to figure out how to break it to him, unless you really just want to let Josh and Melisande plan it out," she offered, though she wasn't so sure about that one.  Not that she didn't think that they were capable, but she liked the abilities of a group to think of more than the individual. 

Heh, an online dating site for lions.  "Oh, I can see it now; PrideRock.com."

[Wesley Bishop]

"And I bet if I started that and charged for membership, I'd expand into all sorts of interesting shapeshifter love connections," he countered, tone jovial. "Honestly, humans are too damn frail. I mean, I'm the size of a truck. There've been times when before, fooling around with Josh and Drew, I'd have to consciously stop myself from using any force at all, because I knew I'd just end up breaking their bones when we scuffled," he said, shaking his head. "I honestly think they're going to be better off, and much more pleased, certainly, when they realize how strong they'll be."

He paused. "Even if Josh will be smaller than both of us," he added, with a snort. "It's fine, though. He's a sniper, so he's a climber. He doesn't need something like size holding him back or making him terribly obvious, not that a golden and black spotted cat running around the city wouldn't be obvious, but you get the idea," he said with a wave of his hand.

"I'll let Melisande and Josh handle it, you can be sure. Now that I'm completely calmed down and LeCroix straightened my head out for me, I think I've already indulged in too much drama. I'm confident they'll be able to talk Drew into it. You should see the way he looks at Mel; she could talk him into walking off a building. I'm just glad that she looks at him the same way," he said with a knowing smirk.

It was a little apparent that they were smitten. Just a little.

[Aimee Forsyth]

She stopped, considering what he said about the shifter 'love connections', and shook it out of her mind.  "I don't even want to think about that," she told him, aware of just how scary people could be with their sexual issues, and she didn't want to even consider some of the images that could bring up.  Damn. 

Of course, him jumping right into talking about 'fooling around with Josh and Drew' didn't help, but she refrained from any giggling or anything she might have considered.  She wasn't really into gay men together, but knowing that these guys weren't and suddenly guttering that was pretty funny.  "Josh will be just fine as a leopard.  It's definitely one of the better breeds," she informed him, intentionally putting her nose in the air in her best imitation of Drake, though she ruined it by cracking a smile at the end.  Drake didn't think pride in his breed was a funny matter, even if everyone else did.

"Well, if they're going to handle talking him into it, the least we can do is go get the sample.  Do you want to come with me?  You can meet Nero," she offered, figuring it'd give them something to do.  It wasn't like Drew or Melisande were going anywhere, or Josh, for that matter.  Aimee and Wes were on their own, so something productive would be good.

[Wesley Bishop]

"No, no, I'd rather see him another cat than anything else," he said, acknowledging her affirmation that leopard was a good breed; he personally couldn't consider it the best, because obviously a lion would never agree that there was any alternative but lion - well, except when there were too many males, but thankfully, Nick had put his foot down on that matter, effectively squashing the bug of an idea where it stood. Wesley didn't really relish the idea of being in any more of a constant competition with his friends than he already was.

He shrugged, the motion comical for how massive his shoulders were. "I think I can manage," he said, tilting his head a little to view the clock on the wall in the kitchen. He looked back at Aimee, and then nodded down the hall. "Do you think they'll be okay here on their own?" he asked, his brow knitting a little - not necessarily in worry or concern, more like... He was trying to plan around them. Wesley was the biggest person right now, which meant that he was on guard - or that was how his brain perceived it. In delicate situations such as these, Wesley was always willing to step up to the plate to absorb the brunt of whatever it was, mostly because he knew he could, and somewhere deep down inside of him because a voice told him he couldn't. What actions he took seemed to be in good faith, but deep down on a subconscious level were actually quite selfish.

He smiled through teeth to Aimee, aware that if she could read minds she may have tried for his throat. It was a conflict Wesley did not care to voice, ever, to anyone, under any circumstance, and he would dig his feet into whatever ground he gained and stand to stop it from happening, even if it meant occasionally looking like the bad guy to do it. Wesley was okay with being the bad guy, as long as he wasn't weak when he was taking the blame for it.

[Aimee Forsyth]

Well, with that decided, she hopped off of her seat and wandered over to get her shoes.  She'd call Nero on the way to warn him that she was bringing Wes along, and to give him a rundown of the situation as it stood.  She didn't doubt this would interest him some.

"I think they'll be fine.  Drew was so tired he could hardly keep himself awake, not to mention he ate more than I'd have thought he could, so he'll sleep, and Melisande is dealing with that infection.  They'll both probably be in the same exact place we left them, still fast asleep, by the time we get back," she assured him.  She highly doubted that anyone would break in while they were gone, and they'd lock up.  She was planning on leaving a note and snagging Melisande's keys so that they could get back in, anyway.

Once she had her shoes on, had written the note and grabbed the keys, she glanced at Wes.  "Ready?"

[Wesley Bishop]

Wesley nodded, following Aimee out of the apartment and down to her car. He was, at the very least, relaxed enough to let her go in front without having to worry about someone jumping out and attacking her. She impressed him with her capabilities; he could definitely see some differences between being born a natural shapeshifter and contracting the disease somehow. It made her a little more comfortable in her own skin, so to speak, whereas Wesley was obviously still finding areas where he would fumble through ungracefully. Thank fuck he was a cat; it was the only assurance he'd land on two feet.

Once in the car, he glanced over at her as they started on their trek. "So, what'd your boyfriend say?" he asked. He'd deliberately payed his attention to his own phone when she had called Nero, because he wouldn't have been able to help overhearing the conversation. He called Joshua and left a voicemail, checked his own messages, and then sent a few texts to his commanding officer to let her know that they'd found Drew and that the situation was going to be 'hairy'. Cassandra would catch his drift, at least.

[Aimee Forsyth]

Aimee wasn't aware that Wes had warned his supervisor about the situation, but she'd have actually wondered how the woman would take it if she had.  Some people were entirely alright with those sorts of things, and others just weren't.  It was hard to tell, in some cases.  She hoped it all went smoothly, though.  There had been too many troubles already, so something else on their plate really wouldn't have been appreciated.

She sighed as she started up the car, focusing on getting out of the parking space to give herself a moment to organize her thoughts.  The call with Nero hadn't been long, and she couldn't say she disagreed with him, but it wasn't exactly what they'd wanted to hear.  "Well, he can certainly pull together a tiger sample for us to infect Drew with, and he'll even do the job if we bring Drew in.  The problem is that he's using the tiger sample that's our kind of shifter for his research, and he doesn't want to use it.  Drew would end up losing his clothes each shift," she explained, leaving out a specifically 'unless' situation.  They'd have to get a sample of their own if they wanted to change that fact.

THAT would be a mess, and the only way around that would be finding a willing donor for a little blood sample.  She was somewhat doubting that.

[Wesley Bishop]

When his phone beeped back, he flipped it open, raising an amused brow at Cassandra's response. My department has turned into a zoo. At least she was optimistic. He smiled faintly at Aimee, anyways, right up until the point where she delivered the bad news.

"Shit," he said. "I don't want to stick him with that. He's already going to be mad; if all of us keep our clothing but him? He'll never talk to us again," he said. He didn't seriously think Drew would never talk to them again, but it would be a while. "I imagine it would get really old having to buy new clothing," he muttered to himself, glancing out the window.

"Well, we're going to have to figure something else out. Since we're already here, mind if we swing by Josh's? I want to see how he's doing. He's a bit more stout than Melisande is, so I doubt that he's going to be feeling sick just yet, but I'd still like to check on him." He paused. "I think being a leopard might just suit him after all. He's not the biggest guy in our little pack, but he's certainly fast. Anyways, maybe he'll have some ideas when we get there."

[Aimee Forsyth]

She could absolutely understand the sentiment, and that was exactly why she'd given him the bad news immediately.  Better to have him thinking about ways around it from the start of the car ride than to get all the way to Nero and THEN tell him.  Actually, if they weren't going to use Nero's samples, then they probably didn't even have to go to him.  That would be up to Wes, though he had a point about the clothing.  They were talking tiger, and that wasn't even a breed that was small enough that he could just shift out of his clothing and reclaim it later the way the Alys boy did.  A tiger would utterly destroy clothing, and that WOULD get old.

"That sounds good, actually.  I'd like to see how he's doing myself, and it doesn't really make much sense to go to Nero now.  If we're not using his sample, then there's no reason to waste our time or his," she offered with a shrug.  She'd fill him in on the whole story when she got home, but that wasn't going to change his mind, she knew that much.  Nero could be counted on to put his research first nine times out of ten, and this wasn't a personal issue for him, since he didn't even know Drew. 

She finally smiled, glancing over at the huge guy in her car, and she instantly felt tiny.  He and Nick had both managed to do that to her, just because they really were massive, but it didn't bother her.  Wes had been absolutely correct when he'd said that she was confident and comfortable in her own skin, and it really did show.  It didn't bother her that Wes outweighed her and could knock her through a wall because she knew her capabilities and how to handle herself.  She wasn't a hunter or a soldier, but she was certainly a predator.  She was a little tougher than she looked on first glance, and from what she could tell of Josh so far, he was the same way.  He spent time with Drew (who was taller and lean, but still muscular) and Wes (just massive), so he definitely didn't look like the biggest guy around.  She'd believe that he was fast, and now?  He'd only be faster.

"I think it'll suit him just fine.  I wasn't so sure about Drew as a leopard, but I think that Josh fits," she answered honestly.  She would have infected Drew as well, just because it was necessary to keep Wes from making a lion and a whole new string of problems, but Josh made sense to her as a leopard. 

[Wesley Bishop]

  "You're just happy about him being a leopard because you have a crush on him," Wesley said glibly, sinking back into the seat as much as he could. He stared at Aimee with a deadpan sort of expression, and then broke out into a large grin. "I'm kidding!" he protested as the inevitable swatting began. "Stop! You're going to drive off the road!"

  After they'd calmed down, he went to staring out the window. "This was definitely not how I thought this situation was going to end. I had expected the worst, Aimee. I can't say I'm pleased now that all of my friends are animals, but I'm so, so thankful that Drew was alive." He paused. "I'm glad that you came. You're tough - tougher than you look." It was a complement of the highest caliber from him, even though it seemed sort of manly. Most women liked to hear about their looks or their brains, not about their physical prowess, but he had a feeling Aimee would like to be valued for not being a wuss just as much as Mel would.

  When they got to Josh's apartment, Wes led the way. The elevator was obscenely small, so he stood scrunched in next to Aimee and two children who were out way beyond their bedtime. They got off a floor before Josh's apartment, and Wesley only made a strange snickering sound as he heard their mother screaming bloody murder at them for taking off to play in the elevator and didn't they know it was dangerous to go out alone.

  Was it ever.

  When they got inside, Josh was wrapped in a blanket in front of the TV, looking somewhat bleary eyed. The door had been unlocked, which might have been a testament to how shitty he felt. "Hey there, buddy," he said, planting himself down in a chair. "Need anything? We're the cheer-up crew. We came to see how you were doing."

  Josh merely glared at him in return, and said, "I feel like hammered shit."

   It was the response that Wes had expected, and he looked pointedly at Aimee, as though she were supposed to have an idea of how to make him feel better.

[Aimee Forsyth]

Oh, yes, the swatting was inevitable over THAT comment, but she still laughed over it and rolled her eyes.  Her?  Have a crush on Josh?  How ridiculous!  She essentially said as much as she swatted him, though she couldn't argue that if she didn't pay attention to the road, they might end up driving off of it.  She was a pretty good driver (despite all the jokes about women behind the wheel), but that would have been a problem for anyone in that situation.

Jerk.

He fortunately seemed to be telling the truth when he said he was kidding, since he went on with much more serious thoughts than her having a crush on Josh, and she couldn't blame him.  Much.  "Well, your friends all being animals is your fault, but I know what you mean.  Drew being dumped in that alley like he was is extremely lucky," she agreed, still pretty surprised by that every time she thought about it.  That seemed so unlikely, but it had worked out wonderfully for them, at least where the redhead was concerned. 

Drew's appearance obviously wasn't going to be the only surprise, since Wes followed up that thought with a compliment about her being tough.  Not that she was pretty, graceful or smart, which were the ones she was used to and didn't really think much about, but that she was tough.  'Tougher than you look' could have been taken as an annoying remark, but she didn't think about it that way.  She knew how she looked, and she accepted it.  She knew that people found her attractive, and that was part of why she danced.  She had the looks for it, and that in turn only made her look that much more beautiful, that fact that she put out the effort for work.  She was also intelligent, which was seen fairly regularly by an entirely different crowd when she was at school or the lab.  She never heard anything about being tough, or even got to display anything of the sort.  In fact, most of the people who knew her were likely to brush her off as being nothing to concern themselves with, as though she'd cry over a little cut.  She wouldn't, but she wasn't going to brag about it or argue it.  That Wes had not only noticed, but thought to mention it, was actually both surprising and nice to hear.

"Thank you," she told him sincerely, and what else was there to say?  She felt pretty modest about it, like he really wouldn't think that if he'd seen her trying to deal with a real threat, but she still appreciated that he thought that.  Maybe her parents were right, and she DID need to start expanding her circles of friends past her job and school.  That would be worth some serious consideration later, after they were done dealing with the problems at hand.

She didn't mind letting Wes lead the way once they were out of the car, partly because it made him feel better, and partly because it made her feel better.  There were times when she would take the lead because she knew that she was the best person to have there, and that would have included a situation with Mel or with any of the women from the club, but there were certainly times when she knew she wasn't the best person for the job.  With Wes, a massive lion who had military and police training, she was satisfied letting him take point.  It made sense to her.

Of course, she didn't think the elevator was obscenely small so much as that Wes was obscenely large, and that took some of the man's intimidation factor away.  For her, at least, seeing him crammed into the little elevator was almost worthy of a laugh, but she refrained for the sake of his ego.  She'd already attacked him with a spatula, so she wasn't likely to find him extremely scary any time soon.  He was entirely capable of it, but it wasn't likely that he'd want to even try.  Josh wasn't all that scary, either, though his glare looked as though the man had made the attempt.  Aimee was sure not to look quite as pleasant and cheerful as Wes did, but she leaned down to feel his head and look sympathetic.

"So much for Josh being 'a bit more stout' helping his case any," she remarked, returning that pointed look of Wes' as though there was nothing he could do to bother her.  Wes seemed to think she could do something to make Josh feel better, and though a few things came to mind, none of them were actually serious or plausible without making Nero extremely upset.  It wasn't like Josh would have been aware enough to enjoy a striptease or a lapdance, anyway, and she wasn't offering for Wes.  He didn't need any cheering up.

"Well, are you hungry, or sleepy?  I could try to help with both," she offered.  Seemed like she was going to end up being 'Nurse Aimee' for everyone for a few days.