Part Five: Lab Partners

Days went by in a new kind of silence, a new kind of disturbing atmosphere that made both Alice and Edward very unusual in their thoughts. For the doctor, there was a slight resentment to know that he owed Alice for her kindness and that when he thought of her now, he lusted for her. He had to maintain his dominance and control throughout his working hours however, delving into the deep dungeons and talking to his creations about his concerns as they moaned in agony. Of course their cries pulled his attention more then the thought of the pretty little innocent beyond… but whenever he finished working it was Alice that clogged his mind.

Every time he caught sight of her, the back of her generally where be could be safe to think and not allow her to spot any of his fascination, his mind raced with strange thoughts. He felt of stroking her hair, sniffing it, pulling her body up against him and hooking his arms around her. He wanted to growl against Alice’s throat to incite her interest or to just drag her away where he could feel and taste her warm flesh.

It was an unnaturally animalistic mind set that threatened to awaken the primitive beast within him. Homicidal and dangerous in his general mannerism, Richtofen was both repulsed and deeply troubled by these cruel thoughts. His wants were not just for the control… he wanted her for the sounds she would make, the way her breath would shudder and the way she cowered just to feel his shadow crossing over to her form. It was becoming a little more personal then that too, just to know that Alice was working in his household and always eager to greet him when she spotted him soothed Edward’s ego. He would smile at her words, respond in his cruelly-kind, twisted manner that he would not normally give anyone. The cynicism he was more used to expressing was disappearing – Alice was becoming a permanent fixture to his household… part of what made him comfortable and it was scaring him.

Alice was becoming more courageous within this place. As much as she often found something disgusting that would make her want to vomit or hear a scream so agonizing she would cringe knowing Edward caused it, Alice felt safe. She knew that as long as that nasty gate was kept locked nothing could hurt her and no one ever dared to visit this place. Occasionally there would be a phone call and she would find herself taking unusual notes for her boss, but those on the phone were calm and eager to talk to her rather then Richtofen. With no one constantly watching her, waiting to see her show where she was different, Alice found herself feeling normal and happy for it.

But each night she was quick to bolt up her door and keep it blocked off; especially if she had gone to bed before the doctor had left his experiments. She told herself mentally that it was in case something unfortunate happened like those hellhounds got out again… but it was to stop Edward getting in. For some reason he’d felt himself inclined to give her a gun in case of such a situation and mentioned that he would teach Alice how to use it soon, but it scared Alice. She had made her barricade because he had kissed her… because he had wanted more from her and because he did not seem to understand personal boundaries.

But worst of all, each night she curled up to sleep, Alice thought over that kiss and how sweet it had been. She thought about her handsome Edward had actually appeared with the uniform half shed and looking ‘human’. Alice thought of what he might look at in another life, in another occupation… perhaps as the doctor he should have been. In her mind Alice saw him wearing the white jacket, the neat scrubs and the look of confidence as he toured around a hospital ward. She could see his hair washed and less greasy so it should look lighter and perhaps more neatly styled and kept. How he would probably have eaten enough to fill out the sunken expression in his face to show a well-form jaw and overall his eyes to shine as he gave that cynical smile in a more humoured way… gosh he would have looked so much more handsome like that! Often this fantasy pulled her into sleep and she considered him seeking out her, his nurse, to lean into and whisper kind things in her ear before pecking her cheek and skirting off.

It was always embarrassing to acknowledge it when she awoke, especially when the voices would start up then. Actually, Alice found herself less afraid of the voices now that she had come to realise that some of those noises were not really in her head but from the experiments below as their cries and jumbled mumblings echoed around the metal pipes below. It gave Alice an unusual relief to think that she was not as insane as she feared and that knowledge suddenly aided her in pushing the other voices to the side, to ignore their suggestions although she could never stop them from talking. The only thing that really kept them quiet was whenever Edward was around and that made Alice even more unsure about her thoughts on that strange man.

* * * * *

One afternoon, Alice had found a record player amongst the random boxes in one of the back cupboards that she was sorting through. After taking down a complete list of items and noticing that a good deal of Edward’s objects were out of date of broken, Alice found there was a box of records waiting to be played and she couldn’t help herself but put one on. It was a typical piece of 1930s music, a mix of the modern music with something close to a Waltz and Alice found herself chuckling in delight.

She picked up the boxes and with her gloves preventing any chance of the chemicals touching her skin and as she sorted out the shelves, she began to dance. Alice gently lifted herself onto her tiptoes, swung her legs in slow motions and hummed along to the music, dancing around in that odd way people did when dancing and working. Alice had not imagined ever dancing in this place and actually enjoying herself as she sorted the boxes out. In fact, Alice felt herself being happier and happier, even grabbing the mop and swinging about to dance with it before she began the cleaning process. Closing her eyes and even singing a few words to the music, Alice began to continue dancing as she started to pack up that last few parts of the stock; she didn’t notice someone walking in.

Edward had heard the music on his way up from the stairs. He’d finished his work early today and it had gone well with some good results and less pain to his subjects then he had expected. It meant he could increase the doses he was using and had perfected the chemical solution somewhat, but hearing the music as he’d locked the gate made him smile. He’d taken his dirty clothes off and headed straight to the washing unit with them, doing the cleaning himself and noticing for the first time just how beautiful the place was looking with Alice’s care. He’d smartened himself up into a striped shirt and neat black trousers, tucking it in and looking good with his hair brushed back and eager to do something to improve Alice’s opinion of him. When he came and found her dancing however, he found himself leaning against the door frame with his cruel smirk showing more amusement then normal. It was pleasant to see Alice looking so happy compared to what he’d seen before and when the music stopped and Alice breathed a sigh, Edward chuckled.

“You’re quite a dancer… I completely forgot I still kept some records.” Edward chuckled gently, although it was honest humour it remained sardonic in nature and Alice seemed to freeze in terror. She turned about herself slowly, looking terrified and pale with her freckles standing out and her gingery hair straining to escape her hair band. Alice looked at Edward, expecting to be terrorized but she noticed how clean and unusually good he looked, Alice’s jaw dropped. “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost – do I appear so unusual to you?”

“Uh… no… it’s just… well, Doctor you’re generally still preoccupied with your work at the moment. I didn’t think you’d want to step away from it… you mentioned yesterday that you felt close to a break through.” Alice stated, recalling the voices whispering in her mind to say everything was too quiet and too calm. Alice stared at Edward in surprise however, he was very good looking and for once she wondered if he had stepped out of her dreams. But Edward stepped over with a gentle smile and patted Alice’s shoulder in a friendly way – it was as if he was actually showing her the appreciation she was long overdue in this work.

“Well, Miss Tenebaum… I’ve had my breakthrough and I thought we should go out and celebrate. You’ve been working far too hard lately and well, you deserve a break. I’m quite sure that your contract states you’re supposed to have some holiday and so I thought you could take the next few days off and enjoy yourself. Perhaps you’d like to go somewhere, see some interesting sights? I hear Berlin is looking gorgeous this time of year.” Edward chuckled gently as he strode back toward the door and then cleared his throat gently. He realised that this might be the best time to get to know Alice outside of work and perhaps get what he wanted in a way where she might not be able to realise that was all he wanted.

If that was all he wanted.… Edward could not really completely agree to that being what he wanted alone.

“Berlin?” Alice questioned in surprise, putting the mop away and going to the record to lift the pin. She couldn’t deny that having a break from this place would be wonderful… but back to the lion’s den? She couldn’t be completely safe in that place; if someone recognised her she could be sold off to the programs that made Richtofen’s look like a day care centre! Alice gulped visibly and Edward noted it; he couldn’t believe that there was an opportunity for him to go with her, without question.

“Of course… I’ll take you to the capital myself, I’ll make sure you’ve got a good hotel room and that you’re perfectly comfortable there. These days it doesn’t do for a single and handsome young lady such as yourself to be left around a big city on their own. Plus… it will be an interesting change compared to our shared hell.” Edward chuckled gently and Alice found herself smiling in a very unusual manner.

Was Richtofen actually changing in front of her eyes?