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Just after practice Sammy gets a text message from Elrod.  Meet me in the parking lot.

OK. If you plan to use a trans-dimensional gate, Sarah will never forgive you if she's not invited along.

Sammy shows up in the parking lot about 10 minutes later.

"I'll add trans-dimensional gate to the list of future getaway plans."  Elrod says, wrapping her in his arms and giving her a kiss.  "Ok, your dad gave me the all clear to take you anywhere you wanted to go.  I thought somewhere warm, but close enough we could get home in a hurry if we needed to.  So Vegas, or maybe Corpus Christi Texas?"

Sammy takes half a step back and gapes at him in disbelief.  Never mind that she's been traipsing off all over the country on her flying expeditions; she never exactly asked permission to do that.  She never tried to stay out over night either.

"My dad is letting me go someplace overnight with you?  Someplace sort of far away?  Right now?"  She fumbles for her phone.  "I love you dearly, El, but I'm going to have to double check this.  And if its true... wow."

She calls her dad.  "Dad?  It's me, Sammy.  El's not tricking me?  You're really going to let me go away on a trip?"

Sammy's dad laughs.  "Well it's not like I'm expecting you to go to Mexico or anything.  He promised me separate hotel rooms and that you'd call before you went to bed, and I trust him.  More importantly, I trust you.  Your sisters at your age, maybe not so much, but you've shown a lot of maturity.  Just make sure to call me a lot.  Your mom is already in the kitchen making bread she's so nervous.  Just be....have a good time."

Sammy moves the phone away from her mouth so as not to deafen her dad, and squeals with glee.  "Thank you dad, thank you, thank you so much, I'll be careful, I promise, I love you, bye!"

She hurls her arms around El's neck.  "Corpus Christi has a beach, right?  But Vegas has concerts and shows.  Ohmigosh, omigosh, omigosh.  Las Vegas.  Let's go to Las Vegas."  She very enthusiastically kisses him.

"Then we should go to my place so you can change.  And I need to show you a map."  He gets the door for her, and then they drive to his place.  The Janush house always seems to be a sort of cold and impersonal magazine advertisement for expensive counter tops and cut crystal.  Once inside Elrod leads her to one of the guest rooms.  At the door he stops and maneuvers her in front of him.  The closed door between them and the room, he presses himself to her back and whispers.  "If this gift seems somehow inappropriate, I'll understand."  He turns the knob and pushes the door open.  Inside, laying across the bed is a costume.  It's essentially the one from the pictures Colin took, but complete with boots, gloves, and a cowl.  The flowing fabric is a soft sheer white, and the bodysuit itself looks sturdy and warm.

For a few moments, Sammy is struck speechless.  Eyes fixed on the costume, she slowly crosses the room, sits on the edge of the bed, and reverently touches each part of the creation.  Even her thoughts are unable to form words; her mind swirls with many emotions.

Finally she turns her gaze back toward him.  The only thing she can manage to say before the tears start flowing is "El-"

"I was afraid it might be a little too over the top.  But the idea of you flying around Chicago in winter without something really suited to flying and Chicago cold just didn't sit well with me."  He comes and sits on the other side of the costume on the bed.  "It was just an idea.  You don't actually have to wear it."

"No, I love it," a still crying Sammy hastily reassures him, "It's beautiful.  I--" She quickly closes the distance between them on the bed.  "I don't know if I've earned this, that's all.  If I'm good enough."  She snuffles.  "But you said change, so you meant into this, didn't you?  Do you want me fly you to all the way to Las Vegas?"

Elrod smiles, his fingers brushing the hair behind her ear.  "If you don't mind lugging me all the way to Vegas."  he says, "You can wear cloths over if.  It doesn't actually leave much to the imagination from the looks of it."  he smiles and leans his forehead into hers.  "It's supposed to be good for all weather down to negative thirty degrees and up to like a hundred or something."

"I guess I won't need to pack a heater anymore, huh?  Maybe only a bodyguard."  She caresses his cheeks with her fingers.  "I'll be happy to lug you anywhere you want to go.  Did you get an outfit for yourself?  I don't want you to freeze because you are humoring me."

"I have some stuff I wear snowboarding.  I'll go change, and meet you in the backyard in ten minutes."  He kisses her and heads to his room.

Sammy puts on the new costume but refrains from checking herself out in a mirror.  She knows how it feels; El's face will tell her anything she needs to know about how it looks.

She dumps all of her school things out of her backpack into the bottom of the room's closet.  She puts all the essential stuff back into the bag, then stuffs her other clothes in there too since she's going to need street clothes.  Then again, in Las Vegas, its entirely likely that nobody would even blink an eye at her in costume.

Feeling a little self conscious, she finds her way out of the house and into the backyard.

"Well?" she asks, half afraid of the answer.

After Elrod closes his mouth, he swallows and nods.  "Wow."  He manages to say, stepping closer to her.  "Wow." 

Elrod shows her a map.  As he points out the route he keeps stealing glances at her.  "We're going to be staying here."  he points to a building on a city map of Vegas.  "Just land on the roof and then we can paint the town any color you want."

Sammy turns a bit pink at the attention.  "Maybe you should have got me snowboarding clothes instead. Should I, uh, cover up a little, to make things easier?"  She indicates her backpack.  "My sweater, maybe?"



After she looks at the map, she asks,  "Do you want to grab a portable gps, or just wing it?  We can paint the town buffet colored when we get there; I'm probably going to be pretty hungry."

After they've got everything together, she gives him a kiss and moves his goggles down over his eyes.  "Hold on tight, kid.  Here we go!  Tell me if it gets to be too much, and we can take a break or figure out a plan B."  With that she wraps her arms around his waist and squeezes him once. Then they go.

"I like the distraction."  Elrod says smiling. 

Once they're in the air and moving Sammy realizes how warm her outfit is.  Even before she puts up her air wall she feels fine except for the spots the suit doesn't cover.  The streamers can be wrapped around her limbs and torso and secured down if she wants, or let flutter in the breeze for the full effect.  The cowl has lenses that adjust with the light and cut out glare.  the boots are a flat heel, with gripping pads to provide traction.  It's got boning and padding, like modern motorcycle jackets for protection.

Having practiced her flying more Sammy is able to really pour on the speed, and they make the trip to Vegas in about three hours with a couple of stops to rest and hot chocolate.

The city lights make finding the right hotel pretty easy, and they're touching down on the roof about 6PM local time.  Elrod give Sammy a long warm kiss before taking his phone from his coat, "This is Elrod Janush, can you have someone come to the roof with my room keys please?......Thank you."  He slips his phone away and kisses her again. 

Elrod is kissed pretty thoroughly in return.  "Thank you," she says, letting him come up for air.  She's got a happy post-big-flight buzz going.  "Thank you for taking a chance on the cold and trusting me and letting me fly you here.  Thank you for wanting to come here.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you."  The last few thank you's are punctuated by kisses.  Then she laughs just because she's happy and it feels good to laugh.

A bellman arrives on the roof, handing Elrod some keys and looking at him and Sammy like they don't quiet fit his world view.  Elrod tips him and the man disappears.  "I was half tempted to tell him we flew here, but then I thought it would be funnier to let him try to figure it out."  Elrod takes Sammy's hand and leads her from the roof to the penthouse level, which requires a key to get into.  Along the hall are two doors, across from each other, and the other end is where the elevator is located.  "Left or right?"  he says holding up the keys.  "I figure it's only going to matter for sleeping, the rest of the time we can share."

"That one."  Sammy points at a door and lets Elrod open it up since he has the keys.  "Oooh," she purrs as she sees the room beyond.  "This is nice."

Elrod leans up against her.  "You said something about food.  Let's get changed and we can pick up the car downstairs and then eat whatever you've got a taste for."  He kisses her neck, "I need to call the folks and let them know we made it ok.  You should ring your dad and then come get me when you're ready?"

Sammy grins.  "I am kind of hungry," she admits.  "I'm pretty sure that's the fastest and farthest I've gone totally under my own power."

She lets him escape then calls her parents so they don't freak out too much.  Its about then she realizes that she doesn't have much in the way of clothes to change, just what's in her pack.  Should've stopped at home.  Oh well.

"Hi mom!  Hi dad!  Yep, I'm fine -- we're here!"

"Good."  Dad says.

"Take some pictures for us ok?"  Sammy can hear mom in the background.

"Take some pictures for us.  And make sure to have some fun.  See you when you get back."

Once Sammy is changed she finds the door to Elrod's room unlocked.  He's pouring them some water when she comes in.

"We'll eat, and then hit a couple of shops for some cloths.  We can hit some shows, or see if anyone is playing in town that you want to hear."  He offers her the water and drinks his own.  "Once of the reasons I didn't let you pack was so I could buy you cloths.  You never really give me a chance to."  He leans forward and kisses her. 

She kisses him back, then pushes away a little.  "You don't have to do buy me clothes," she protests, somewhat weakly.  "I'm here, you're here, that's good..."  she sighs heavily and leans into him.  "Token "you don't have to buy me, I'm already here" protest registered.  Dinner sounds like a good idea.  I'm hungry."

"I know I don't have to.  That's why it's a gift."  He says, taking her hand and heading downstairs.

Out front they wait for the valet to bring the car around, then head out onto the strip.  "Steak, or pasta?  We could hit one of the buffet places or one of the regular restaurants.  Maybe I'll bring you here when you turn twenty-one so you can have a weekend as a high roller and gamble some.  Since you've already claimed your eighteenth birthday I think is going to be in that old place we had the Halloween party."  Elrod takes her hand and kisses the back as he drives.

"Pasta," Sammy says without hesitation.  "Anywhere you want to get it is fine by me.  And I thought I said I wanted my 21st birthday at the halloween house, but 18 is good too.  Better maybe.  I'll still be in Oak Park."

"Pasta it is."  he says steering them along another street.  "I may have gotten them mixed up.  Maybe it was wishful thinking for your eighteenth to be there then.  give me a tighter deadline to get the house done.  And an excuse to use on my father for him to write the checks."  He smiles as they pull up in front of the restaurant and the valet get's Sammy's door.  Elrod tosses him the keys and they head inside.  "Of course, by then who knows what you'll be up too.  Music conservatory maybe, school for the arts somewhere?"

"Maybe.  That'd be nice, but I don't know yet.  Mom keeps reminding all of us about the importance of backup skills "just in case", so I might wind up at a more general education school for a degree I only sort of want with a minor in music.  Besides, arts schools cost a lot of money.  I'd have to get a scholarship to go."  She shoots him a sidelong look.  "And no, I won't be applying to the Janush Foundation or whatever you'd call it to pay for my education; if I got money, it would feel like I was cheating.  You'll just have to be satisfied with very anonymously putting pressure on other scholarship sources."  She gazes with admiration at the opulent furnishings of the restaurant.  "But that doesn't matter; when I turn 18, I'll still be in high school, so I'll still be at home if you want to have a party at your fixed up place.  When I'm 21--" she shrugs.  "I was thinking of taking some time off to wander the world.  When we talked about you wanting it, I kind of talked myself into it too."  She smiles and laughs.  "Maybe I'll bump into you. Or maybe I'll just make sure to be wandering through Las Vegas right about then."

"I would never offer to pay for your school.  Or pressure scholarship people for you.  That kind of stuff backfires.  I'd be happier for you if you got a scholarship on your own merits, and I think you would be too."  Elrod and Sammy are led to a table and he gets her chair for her.  "I will ask you to let me do one thing though."  he says, taking his seat.  "I will ask that you let me give you a phone when you leave home.  Just so we can always get a hold of each other.  If the mood were to strike one of us to see the other, I'd like it to be as easy as possible."

"That's years from now.  How about we talk about it then, if it's still important?"  She settles into her seat and touches all of the silverware like she's counting each piece in front of her.  She continues more quietly.  "You might not even want me around by then, depending on how life unfolds."

"That's another reason I wanted to get you alone."  he says, watching her fidget with things and smiling, "I'm not spending enough time with you, and there is something we should talk about.  It's the elephant in the room.  I want us to have fun on this trip, but we should also have a serious chat about us, and what that means and will mean in the future."

"Yeah," Sammy stares down at the tablecloth and agrees.  "I know.  So now, or later?  You go first, whenever you're ready."

"I was thinking about us, in twenty years.  And, as weird as it sounds I sort of picture us like this.  Not maybe boyfriend and girlfriend, but as sort of.  Together.  Not maybe exclusively, but together.  I thought about doing something really crazy."  he chuckles, "I mean really crazy.  And the more I thought about it the more I thought that you're someone so incredibly unique that nothing normal makes sense."  He puts his hand on hers, "Don't take that the wrong way, it's not easy to put into words really.  I hope you know what I mean though.  Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm willing to be whatever part of your life feels right, and when I say that I love you I don't want you to think that it's a way to lay claim to you in any way.  It's just how I feel about you."  He kisses her hand, "Did that make any sense?"

Sammy looks up at him cautiously.  "Oh.  That elephant.  The purple one."  Her hand clenches his.  "Yes.  No.  You really need to talk to my father.  About him, and my mother.  It's relevant.  But I don't know exactly what you mean when you use the word 'crazy'.  And I'm not sure I am always going to be so 'unique'; it seems there's room for, um, 'normal' if... yeah.  After you talk to my father, maybe you should talk to my mother too.  Hear it all."  She takes a drink of water.  "If its any consolation, it's because I'm part djinn.  It's... it's like some dogs have herding instincts, and others are guardians, and others have to swim and chase ducks.  But I can train myself into other behavior, and with plenty of reinforcement, it's doable.  I've been trying, really..."

"Ok.  I'll talk to your folks then.  The thing is, I don't want you to not be the you that you feel like you want to be."  He kisses her hand again, "Ok, let's eat." 

He waves the waiter over for drinks, then when they're ready he summons him back over to order.  "It's going to be dark, but if you want we can go out to Hover Dam.  It's still pretty neat looking at night."  He pulls his phone out and starts fiddling with it.  "Let me see what shows are in town.  You have a hand full of cirque de soleil shows at the MGM Grand.  Some lounge acts.  Elton John.  Pretty much more than we could see in one night."  he says handing her his phone to look at the list.

"I've never been here before, so anything will be something new," she replies.  "Music would be good, but if nothing jumps out at you and says SEE ME, then how about the dam?  It could be fun to just walk around and look at the night city too; I've always liked light displays."

They have dinner, and make their way out into the evening air.  "You want to fly to the dam?"

"Any way you want to go.  I got my big workout for the week, so I'm good, especially if I'm flying home tomorrow."  She adds, "I was going to have to skip my Saturday flight to go to those movies.  I'm a lot happier person when I get a good dose of air."  She laughs.  "Maybe I ought to fly us there.  More buzz for me, and less chance of accidental eavesdropping if you have more talking you want to do.  But if you don't want to talk, if you want to just be, that's ok too.  Whatever you need."  She loops her arm through his and pulls herself in tight against his side.  "You have to be happy too.  That's part of the deal."

"End that's what I want, for the two of us to be happy."  Elrod drives them back to the hotel, and they go to the roof.

"You're happier when you're not on the ground.  So, let's take your way to the dam."  He steps closer to her and puts his arms around her waist.

Sammy figures out how to get to Hoover Dam.  On the way she says, "You never answered my question earlier.  You said you thought about doing something "really crazy", but you didn't say what that was.  Is it something you don't want to say out loud in front of anybody ever?"  She indulges in an acrobatic maneuver.  "Before you answer, just remember I can dump your sorry butt out here in the desert.  Of course, you have your cell and could be on the line to the hotel to shut me out, to a limo to pick you up, and to my folks to rat me out before I even got anywhere, but that's not important right now.  Seriously though," she says as she takes them through a lazy barrel roll, "what was it?" 

Elrod turns around and kisses her.  "I was going to ask you to marry me.  I told you it was crazy.  You're not the type of person that should be held down like that.  I feel that way about you, but I also know that my life wont be the life you'll always be happy in.  So maybe we can just be happy together, when we can be?"

Sammy stares at him, more than a little stunned.  "Wow.  I..."  She hugs him tight and murmurs, "Put that idea away somewhere safe for a couple of years, ok?"  Then she kisses him deep and long under the desert sky.

Hover Dam is an impressive structure.  Even at night.  "I'm glad we can do this.  Just get away.  I realize that my life is going to get busy eventually, and I'll miss this sort of thing.  Just up and taking off."

"Don't worry.  I'll rescue you when I can.  I'll swoop down onto your penthouse office balcony, march past your office assistant, and steal you away.  You won't stand a chance."  She pulls out her phone.  "Stand here, I want to take your picture.  Now you take mine."

Elrod takes her picture.  "That would be enough."  he says, snapping the picture of her, "Knowing you'd do that for me.  To keep me from becoming like my parents.  I see how easy it is for them to get sucked into their world.  And I want to be there, because there is a lot of good I can do there."  He kisses her, "You've shown me that."  He turns to look over the rail at the drop.  "I don't want you to marry me.  I just wanted you to know that you mean that much to me.  But, I'll talk to your folks.  I think I know what they're going to say, or at least what you want me to hear from them, but it will be nice to get that perspective.  You are a singularly unique person, and I'm glad to have gotten the chance to get to know you."  He puts an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

"What do you think they're going to say?" she asks.  "I'll tell you some of what I know, but only they can tell you how it felt for each one.  That's what I want you to know.  I... none of what I've done is about hurting you.  You might want me to be happy, but I'm not allowed to be totally selfish about it.  I can't really be happy that way.  So, if I hurt you, you have to promise to tell me, ok?  And before you ask, I'm not really ready to run off with anybody else right now.  I chose you for some very good reasons, so you're stuck with me for a little while at least."

Elrod smiles and turns, pulling her to him at the waist.  "I have the feeling that they're going to tell me that you're special.  And I don't mean in the needs medication kind of way.  There is something about you that makes me think of freedom.  And I want to be happy, I do.  Remember how I told you that I had been cheated on, and it really hurt.  The reason it really hurt was that she told me afterward it hadn't meant anything to her.  And I couldn't get that out of my head.  If it hadn't meant anything, then how could I be sure what her and I had meant anything either.  I've seen how you are with Nick and John.  And, I feel as though you're the same with me."  He looks into the sky for a second.  "How do you tell someone that you love them, no matter who else they love or how they love them?  I know that if something happened between you and someone else it wouldn't change how you feel towards me.  I know that we can change how we feel towards each other."  he laughs, "They don't cover this in sex ed.  They just cover man plus woman.  They don't cover human multiplied by Djinn plus humans.  How can I tell you I'm ok with you being you without you thinking I don't care about you, or worse it sounding like I want you to be ok with other guys so long as I get to be with other girls.  That's not what I want really, but short of taking the top of my head off and letting you look inside I can't figure out how to let you know."

"I know.  I have the same problem.  I don't know how to explain any of what's inside of me.  It all sounds so weird and selfish every time I try.  Maybe I'm trying to use human language to express something that isn't quite entirely human."  She squirms a little bit, struggling with the wordless concepts.  "And if you want to date somebody else, or even a lot of somebody's else, that's okay.  Just... just make it somebody who I can like.  I think what was bothering me before wasn't so much you going away and probably dating others, but that one or both of those might mean not seeing you again, and its the not seeing you part I couldn't stand.  You've been... woven, that's a good word, steadily woven deeper and deeper into my, my pattern?  Into me?  When I got so angry at you and at Nick... I tried to cut you out, but God it hurt so much.  I was so relieved that you wouldn't let me let you go."  She leans against him.  "That's another elephant in the room.  I know, I said I didn't want to talk about her ever again, but... she stole something from me.  A moment, a promise -- she pretended to be me and took something that wasn't supposed to be shared past two people, and then poured s#!+ all over it by making it like it was nothing by doing it again to another moment, another promise.  I don't know how to take it back.  I don't even know if that's even possible."

"My father's sole bit of advice about sex was this.  The first time you're with someone wont be any more magical than the first time you're with the next someone."  He shrugs, "Apparently dad got around in college.  But what he meant well, what I took from it, was that it's that moment, and those two people that makes it good or bad.  And I know that she who is not spoken of messed some things up, but."  He looks into the night, "I am not defending her, but that is where I got the glimpse of understanding I have about you now.  And the reason I couldn't just walk away.  The idea that she not so much wanted that connection to us, but needed it.  The fall out from that was me realizing that you would never be ideally happy with just one person.  You could settle for that, and if your mother is any indication be very happy.  But you're not her.  You're more magic."  He brushes his thumb against her tattoo.  He takes a deep shuddering breath.  "If there is ever a magical moment between us, it will be ours.  Just like a magical moment between you and someone else, or them and some other woman.  I honestly think I could be happy with us like we are now.  Affectionate, close, physical.  But still not physically intimate.  I don't feel, well I don't feel all teenage and randy when I'm with you.  I think about that but not when I'm with you."  He chuckles, "Ok, that's sounding less romantic and more pathetic as I say it.  Just know that I love you, and I know that no matter what might happen that you would never do anything to hurt me intentionally.  When you don't love me, you'll tell me.  But I'll still be your friend.  Always."

"Always."  Its a promise.

A couple of minutes pass in silence.

"So I shouldn't save 'first' for you?  Because I totally intended to do exactly that, even if it meant I had to wait a while.  I don't want you going to jail because of me.  I make noises about not having it but I don't mean most of them, I just feel like I ought to be saying them.  Don't ask me why, because I don't know."  She fiddles with his fingers.  "There's another thing that bugged me.  She got you to do it, but you had been holding back, keeping control with me.  But you thought she was me, and did it.  That's confusing."

"You have these moments, like now, when you're not some freshman band girl but this confident young woman with her mind set on something.  Like climbing out of the back of an ambulance to take on some guy souped up on Superman when you couldn't catch a breath.  And that's what she was like.  She told me everything I could have wanted to hear about how much she had been thinking about it, and how if I was going to be leaving she wanted all the time we had to matter.  I fell for it, if I had just been more worried about it I might have said no."  He rests his head on her shoulder a moment.  "I'm flattered that you would have thought about letting me be your first.  That's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"I'm still thinking about it.  It was my intention until about 5 minutes ago, when you made me think that maybe you weren't interested..."  Its dark, but she can feel herself blushing even if he can't see it.  "What she said was true.  I have been thinking about it, a lot."  She gets distracted by something in her own head and says more quietly.  "Sometimes its all I can think about."  She snaps back.  "It's also true that I want the time to matter.  But... how do I say this... the urgency about the time is gone now?  Now I know I can fly to Princeton from home any time I want or you want, and I'm fairly certain you'll be happy to see me, so all of a sudden, there seems to be a lot more time?  So, if you don't want to, if you're okay with how things are, I... can wait.  Will wait."  She laughs.  "That was my big plan for my 18th birthday.  I was going to meet you in the earliest time zone I could get to, so I'd be 18 there.  And then... well, you know.  I'd stop waiting."

"I'll make sure to be out West then."  he says, giving her a kiss.  "Let's get back to the hotel.  The last thing we want is to get wrapped up in something and forget to call your dad."

OOC: Should we continue, or are we good you think?

Its ok.