Chapter 7

Beth and Travis

Travis was already waiting at The Lexington Social Club when Beth walked in. He found himself smiling at her "business gear", as she called it. Tonight, she was in a White button up dress shirt with a navy blue pencil skirt and matching heels. She had probably stared off the day with a blazer or a sweater of some kind, but as the day progressed, she probably had shed it somewhere.

She preferred shorts or jeans and tees, and it sometimes showed in how uncomfortable she was having to dress up for her job with the museum. Something that she shared with her sister, Elisa. Both females could dress to the nines, and act like they belonged in a totally different tax bracket, but when the day was over, they wanted to be in comfortable clothing.

He could understand that. He'd worn his military uniform or his BDUs for so long, he wasn't sure he'd make it long in a suit and tie… Let alone having to wear a suit every day.

Beth was standing at the front, scanning the crowd for her sister.

Smiling, he rose and made his way toward her. It helped that he had the sling on. People tended to get out of the way in sympathy.

He was almost to her side when a group of loud men entered the restaurant and ran in to Beth. As in, the WHOLE group.

It wasn't so much the men's stumbles and laughing apologies that got him.

It was the stark terror on her face as she hurried away from them that got his attention.

Moving as quickly as he could, he starting barking out orders for people to move in his best Drill Sergeant voice. As the way cleared, he saw Beth struggle to regain her composure and her face going blank.

That worried him more than anything. After working with Elisa for years, and now dating Beth and having met their mother, he knew that the Maza women felt everything big. They didn't hide their feelings. Ever.

He shoved past the last startled couple that stood between him and Beth, and hurried to stand in front of her.

"Beth," He said softly, but firmly. He stood close, not only blocking other people's view of her, but her view of as many people as he could. He wanted to give her the time to sort herself out, get herself under control.

Beth looked up at him. He could see the surprise in her eyes, but at the same time she seemed to relax a bit. "Stephen?"

He smiled. In the grand tradition of most military and law enforcement, after twelve years he had gotten used to being called by his last name only. Beth, this little spitfire of a female, was the only one in his life who called him by his first name.

"Yeah," He said, sighing in relief. He'd seen that look before, on men and women both overseas and here at home. It was the face of someone who was sealing with the aftereffects of an attack. The suits could pretty it up, give it a neutral term and acronym, but PTSD was a real thing.

"I got us a table," Stephen said.

"Oh, I…" She looked around the restaurant, or what little she could see around his solid frame.

"She's not here," he said with a chuckle when he realized what she was doing. "Your sister was helping me out. I wanted to surprise you," he admitted. "But there's not a lot outside of dinner that I can do right now with this thing," He gestured to his sling.

"Wait," Beth said, her eyes narrowing at him, "I thought you weren't getting out until this weekend."

"Early release for time served," He said casually, bringing his good arm up behind her back and guiding her through the crowd to their table.

"How did you choose this place?" Beth asked with a laugh.

"Elisa," He admitted. "I told her that I wanted to take you out to dinner, and she recommended that I come here. Then," He emphasized, "She made her little phone call right in front of me, where she said she'd meet you here."

"She's sneaky like that," Beth said, sitting in the wooden chair that Travis pulled out for her.

He sat in the chair opposite her, and watched her face closely. "Beth," he said, reaching for her hand and noticing the slight tremor, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said quickly.

Too quickly for him.

He had seen how she'd jumped when she'd been bumped from behind, and he had a feeling he knew what had caused it.

"Let's get out of here," he said, getting back to his feet. "It's crowded in here, and I'd like to be able to talk to you without shouting."

The relief that crossed Beth's face caused a pain in his chest. He held a hand out to her and brought her close to his side to block any further accidental contact with strangers as they made their way to the exit.

Once outside, in the cool night air and away from the crowds, Beth seemed to visibly relax again.

"Thanks," she said on a sigh.

"No problem," he replied, and he meant it. Not that long ago, she'd been jumped, clubbed over the head, kidnapped and almost caught in the crossfire of a multi-agency raid that had almost gone horribly wrong.

Well, considering a couple of the good guys had been shot, him included, it hadn't been stellar, but all things considered, it could have gone so much worse.

It only stood to reason that Beth would have some trauma involved. If being in a crowded place made her uncomfortable, they would go somewhere else.

"Hey," he said, remembering a flyer he had seen earlier, "There's a concert in the park tonight. Want to grab some really unhealthy takeout and head that way?"

"That sounds amazing." Beth said with a smile.

3

They stopped at a hot dog vendor who had wisely parked his cart just on the edge of the concert crowd, and he sprung for a pair of dogs a piece and a couple of canned Cokes.

The concert had already started by the time they got there, and since they didn't have a blanket to sit on, they made their way to one of the large, low decorative boulders nearby.

They sat, enjoyed the music and ate their food quietly, as strains of Mozart filled the air around them.

The music had just faded when the faint sound of a female voice came from somewhere across the pond behind them.

"Yes! Yesyesyesyes!" It said. "Yes, I will marry you!"

There were several chuckles from people nearby, and one couple began to clap.

Beth looked around. "I swear, I know that voice…" then she shook her head. "Maybe not."

Travis chuckled. "Someone just had a good night.". He pushed off the boulder, dusted his hands together and gathered up their trash. "How about we go for a walk and make our own good night?"

Beth grinned and hopped off the rock.

Travis laid his arm gently across her shoulders, marvelling once more at how small she was. Her personality was so big, it was easy to forget she was only about five feet tall.

They walked around Turtle Pond, sticking to the lit paths that would lead the up to the base of Belvedere Castle.

"When did you get released?" Beth asked. "I was going to come to the hospital after work to see you."

"They were going to release me in the morning," Travis admitted,"But I insisted they let me out tonight." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I had a girl I needed to see."

"Really?" Beth asked.

"Yeah," he gave her a mischievous grin. "Maria Chavez."

"What?" Beth gasped, coming to an abrupt halt.

Travis laughed. "I wanted to talk to her about transferring and officially joining the NPYD, because," he gave her a one armed hug, "I have a very good reason to stay."

Beth gave an involuntary sigh. "Oh."

Somehow, he had expected more than that. "If you want me to stay, that is," he finished uncertainly. "I just got word that they will be giving me an honorable discharge soon, complete with a medal for being injured in the line of duty," he rolled his eyes. "The military love their awards."

"I guess I was half expecting you to go back to Chicago," Beth admitted.

"No," he said firmly. "Chicago isn't home for me. Honestly, I spent more time in boarding schools than at my parents mansion, so I don't really consider anywhere to be 'home'. Until I came here to Manhattan."

Beth gave him a sad look, and he hurried to wipe it from her face. "Poor little rich kid syndrome, I guess."

"Hey," Beth said, raising a hand to gently cup his cheek, "Neglect knows no tax bracket. Your parents shouldn't have done that. Everyone deserves a home and a family."

"Families aren't just blood," he said. "Sometimes the best families are the ones you make yourself. I have good men and women that I consider brothers and sisters that I met in the army. I have Matt and Elisa, and have made friends with the Gargoyles."

He tilted her chin up and leaned down to whisper, "I have you."

He gave her a soft kiss. Not their first since they had begun dating, but definitely the most meaningful, there in the colorful lights at the base of an old stone castle in the city he hoped to call home.