lawful_lizzie (lawful_lizzie) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-04-01 22:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, barbara gordon (batgirl), elizabeth weir |
Who: Elizabeth Weir and Barbara Gordon
What: Elizabeth visits the library to try out an idea
Where: Barbara's library in the OC
When: Monday lunchtime
Rating: Low, mentions of a shooting
Status: Complete
Elizabeth pulled into the Library car park and looked up at the building as she secured her vehicle. Time to begin phase one of her plan to get ‘out there’ more. Ever since her stint in hospital, Elizabeth had decided she needed to get to know more people, and since she loved books, why not start a local book club?
She reached over and grabbed the handles of her handbag and the poster she had made while at work that day and exited to the car, dropping her keys in the handbag once she had locked it. Pushing the doors of the library open, Elizabeth inhaled deeply, she loved the smell of libraries and didn’t get the opportunity to visit them as often as she liked. She moved to the end of one of the aisles and reached out to touch the spine of an old material bound version of Robin Hood. A smile tipped her lips as she felt the books texture, reminded of the edition of Dracula that Dr McCoy had sent to her with a similar cover.
Barbara had spent the day in the library, needing to feel relaxed in the way that only the library could make her. Well the library or wine but drinking alone always seemed a little desperate. Not that it stopped her sometimes.
She gathered up some books under her arm and began returning them to the correct places on the shelves. As she did she spotted a woman she hadn’t seen before, and Barbara had a photographic memory so she was positive the woman hadn’t been in the library. At least not when Barbara had.
Moving towards her she smiled, “Can I help you?” hoping that having the look of a librarian would be enough as she didn’t actually have a badge since she technically didn’t work there.
“Oh, hi,” Elizabeth turned quickly to the woman, then gestured back at the book she had been looking at. “Sorry, I was just admiring your collection of limited editions,” she smiled. “They’re beautiful,” she complimented. The woman had the demeanour of a librarian and not many other people would approach you in a library unless they worked for the institution so Elizabeth felt it was a safe bet to assume she was a librarian here.
“Thank you” Barbara replied, looking at the books with a certain fondness, “I have to admit they hold a special place in my heart, it’s taken a number of years to acquire them” If the woman liked these she would love Barbara’s collection at home, she had some even rarer volumes in her personal collection.
“A friend of mine just bought me an early edition of Dracula,” she smiled. “Looks like we have similar taste in books,” Elizabeth pointed out. “You work here, am I right?”
“Oh I love Dracula” Barbara told her, “A proper vampire story none of this rubbish by Stephanie Meyer or Charlaine Harris. I mean vampires who ‘sparkle’” she rolled her eyes, “You have a nice friend” she added with a smile. “Well in a way” she answered the woman’s question, “I own the building and run the library board” she explained holding out her hand, “Barbara Gordon”
“Elizabeth Weir,” she greeted with a smile, taking Barbara’s hand and shaking it. “Lovely to meet you, sounds like a dream job you have here,” she replied enviously.
“You know I’m sure I’ve heard your name somewhere” Barbara said, almost to herself before shaking her head and offering an apologetic smile, “It’s nice to meet you and I do enjoy my time here. It certainly makes up for all the boring board meetings I have to attend for the other businesses I am involved with. And yourself Ms Weir? What do you do?”
“Oh, really?” Elizabeth was surprised, it wasn’t every day someone recognised her name - she was quite touched. “I can completely understand that, I’m a professor of languages and conflict resolution at UCI and you would not believe the amount of faculty meetings we have to attend!” she laughed.
“Oh boy, languages and conflict resolution” Barbara said impressed, “You are a braver woman than I. My idea of conflict resolution probably wouldn’t pass muster” she joked.
“Well, I have to admit that sometimes resorting to bashing heads together is still sometimes the best option,” Elizabeth joked. “But don’t tell my students that,” she winked. “I can only imagine seeing that tested under exam conditions!”
Barbara laughed, “Oh well maybe my methods are okay then” she replied, amusement lacing her tone, “Your secret is safe with me I promise”
“Thank you, or nearly my whole syllabus would have to be re-written,” she laughed. “I actually came to see whether you might be able to help me with this,” Elizabeth held out the A4 poster for the bookclub she wanted to start up for Barbara to have a look at.
Barbara took the poster and read it a smile blooming across her face, “How wonderful” she said to Elizabeth, “It’s a marvelous idea, of course I’ll gladly help” she replied handing it back, “In fact if you need a place to hold it there’s a room here which has a separate entrance, you’re welcome to use it”
“Really? That would be great! Thank you,” Elizabeth all but gushed. “And there was me thinking I’d get eaten out of house and home,” she joked.
Barbara chuckled, "Well we can't have that now can we" she grinned, "Besides it makes perfect sense to hold it here. We can make a few copies of your poster and put it all around, there's also the net of course" she added thinking aloud.
Elizabeth laughed a little, “This is so great, you wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to get a bookclub going in Georgetown. At least not one which constituted of more than politician’s wives and home-makers; not always the best conversationalists.”
“I’m sure this will be popular with all sorts of people” Barbara assured her, “I know I’m definitely looking forward to it. Do you have a book list in mind or are you going to let people vote and do it that way?” she asked.
"Well, if I do it over the Net, I could take a poll, I guess," Elizabeth pondered. "I hadn't really thought about using the Net, but it would probably be useful tool to get something like this off the ground."
Barbara nodded, “It would. Practically everybody seems to use it and nobody is afraid to give their opinion” she added with a grin.
"Hmm..." Elizabeth gave a wry smile. "Thats not always a good thing," she remarked. "The art of knowing that sometimes silence is golden is occasionally a long lost skill."
“True” Barbara agreed, “But a silent bookclub would be less than ideal” she teased jokingly.
"Indeed," Elizabeth conceded. "Well...I guess I could put a poll up of some classics, see if there's interest. Got any favourites?" she asked.
“Oh I have a complete weakness for Pride and Prejudice” she admitted, “Jane Eyre too. I’m a secret romantic at heart. Though I like the occasional mystery”
"Ooo, Pride and Prejudice, good call," Elizabeth smiled. "That is going top of the list, with one of my favourites War and Peace," she told Barbara.
“Oh I haven’t read that in years” Barbara told Elizabeth, “It’s a great book though, I’ve always wished I could read russian, I hear it loses something in the translation” she admitted.
“It does add a certain something to the reading,” Elizabeth admitted with a smile and a little shrug. “Could I take your number down so we can co-ordinate?”
“You can read Russian?” Barbara asked, impressed.
“Of course” she smiled, pulling out a card from her pocket and handing it over, it was a habit of hers to carry a couple no matter where she was.
“Russian, French and German, Spanish and Italian to a lesser degree,” smiling as she took the card from her. “Just one of those things I had a knack for,” she shrugged, pulling out her purse and slipping the card inside.
“Well I have to admit I am very impressed” Barbara replied, “Languages have never stuck with me. I think numbers are more my forte”
“Thanks,” Elizabeth acknowledged. “I get on ok with numbers, but nothing like languages. Words just seem to...stick in my head. Isn’t the brain fascinating, the same structure in both our craniums and they function so uniquely,” Elizabeth pondered idly.
“It really is” she agreed, “It’s incredible really. A fascinating branch of medicine too, the study of the brain. I was identified as having an eidetic memory when I was younger and the doctors seemed so incredibly knowledgeable, hard to believe we actually know so little about the brain in reality”
“Eidetic memory?” Elizabeth was shocked, she hadn’t met anyone with that particular talent before, at least not that she knew of. There’s some kind of irony in that, she mused to herself. “That’s incredible! How did they identify it? If you don’t mind my asking that is?”
"Of course not. I was seven and my Uncle was trying to recall something my mother had said to him a few weeks before and I recited their conversation word for word. Tests aren't conclusive for it yet but that was their best guess" Barbara explained, "Its lessened somewhat but it certainly comes in handy at functions and meetings. I really don't ever forget a face" Its how she knew she had never met Elizabeth before, despite her name being familiar.
“That would be incredibly handy at the UN,” she joked. It didn’t happen often, but Elizabeth had, once or twice, forgotten a diplomat’s name or their spouse’s and while she had managed to improve her ability it was nowhere near eidetic. “I have to admit to being a little bit jealous,” she replied good-naturedly.
“Oh” Barbara said, a connection being made in her head, “You work for the UN?” she asked, “It does come in handy but it can also be a bit of a pain” she said with a wry smile.
“It’s mostly long distance consultation work these days, but I’m sometimes called in for face to face meetings,” she smiled. “I was shot while working in the Balkans a few years ago, figured it was a sign or something,” she joked with a little shrug . “Came back here to teach and met up with my best friend Sam again,” she explained. “And the rest as they say is history.”
"Then that may be where I know your name" she revealed, "My uncle, Jim Gordon, does consultancy work for the UN. Mostly security." It was coming back to her now, Uncle Jim had been very unhappy that Elizabeth Weir had been shot, he'd ranted for hours about how his recommendation for increased security had been ignored. And that the UN would now find themselves short 'a brilliant young asset'.
“Really? Jim’s your uncle?” Elizabeth asked, surprised by the connection. “What a small world this is,” she commented. “I remember him, nice man, always had a kind word from what I recall...and a cup of coffee,” she joked.
“It really is” Barbara agreed, how coincidental, “He’ll be glad to know you’re doing well. He still has a coffee addiction, you always know if he isn’t well when he doesn’t have a coffee cup glued to his hand” she joked fondly, “It’s something I’m starting to inherit I think”
Elizabeth laughed, “I know the feeling, I’ve heard a rumour from the students that they don’t approach me if there’s not a coffee in my hand or on my desk. One of my old students used to say that if they were still allowed to haze, that would be one of the tasks,” she grinned.
“Good job it’s not allowed otherwise I think your diplomacy skills may really be put to the test” Barbara joked good naturedly.
“You’re right,” Elizabeth chuckled, her eyes catching on the clock. “Damn, I didn’t realise the time,” she looked at her watch on the underside of her wrist out of habit, realising her lunch break would be almost over by the time she got back to campus. “I’m afraid I’ve got to get back to work, but what days and times is the room free?” she gestured vaguely to the room Barbara had mentioned earlier.
“I’ll need to double check the diary” Barbara told her, “But I’m pretty sure it’s currently only booked out on a Monday and Wednesday by a college study group. I’ll confirm by email” she promised.
“That would be great, thank you so much for your help,” Elizabeth reached out her hand to shake Barbara’s. “I’m really sorry I have to rush off, but I need to swing by the cafe and grab some sushi for lunch before this afternoon’s session,” she apologised.
“It’s not a problem” she assured the other woman, shaking her hand, “Please go, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your lunch or class” she smiled, “I’ll be in touch” she added before waving as Elizabeth hurried off.