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Post by melissa on May 1, 2009 20:40:49 GMT -5
5th April, 2009
Melissa had been working very had at the White House being Nathan's Chief of Staff, especially during the time he had taken off to spend with Claire after he got her back safe and sound from the kidnapping. Of course the poor girl had her baby phased out of her, which must have been a terrible thing for her to have gone through. So, naturally Nathan had taken a lot of time to spend and care for his daughter. Melissa was sad to see her the way she was, the glow and happiness from the girl had completely disappeared.
Today however, Melissa had some time off as well, Nathan had praised her for all her hard work in the time he had been spending with Claire and she deserved to go out and treat herself to some fun, so that's exactly what she was going to do. She had done her usual when things were tough, she had gone for some retail therapy and went on a shopping trip and almost maxed out her cards.
Now she was in need of a rest, and found herself heading toward a café bistro, once she was inside she ordered herself a pina colada and made her way to a table and sat down, placing her bags all around her. The soon as she was settled she took a long sip of her drink, and sat back in the chair and took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Ah, now this is what I call luxury" she said, to nobody in particular, after all at this time of day, it really wasn't that busy, so she hadn't expected anybody to hear her or speak back to her.
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Post by alexei on May 3, 2009 14:25:16 GMT -5
Alexei sat hunched over the table in the lab, his glasses sliding down his nose, painstakingly adjusting the nozzle of the prototype rocket engine he was working on. He finally sat up straight and rolled the kink out of his neck, glancing at his watch. It was a little late for lunch, but he had been working for nearly four hours straight and he decided to go down the street to the cafe and get a sandwich.
Alexei swung his backpack over the back of his wheelchair, then headed for the elevator. There were a couple official-looking business-type people in the elevator - Alexei could tell they didn't normally work at the lab because the most dressed up any of the engineers got was maybe jeans and a polo shirt - and the uncomfortable silence in the elevator was stifling. Alexei could tell without looking at either of them that they were subconsciously - or not - sizing him up, from his head at their waist level, to his motionless feet and bright red-framed wheelchair.
When he finally got out onto the street, he took a deep breath of fresh air, appreciating the sunlight and relatively warm temperature, for once. The cafe was just down the street and Alexei reached the cafe fairly quickly. After getting his sandwich at the counter, he started making his way to a table, but was obstructed by a bag in the aisle by a woman's chair. "Um, excuse me?" he said politely. "Could you possibly move your bag a slight bit?" He smiled patiently.
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Post by melissa on May 4, 2009 21:10:23 GMT -5
Melissa was enjoying her drink and relaxing so much she almost didn't hear the polite voice excusing themselves and asking her to move her bag. She looked up with a smile, getting ready to say she could move her bag, but as she looked up, she didn't meet anybody. Then she realised they were beneath her view, so her eyes moved down and she saw a handsome man in a wheelchair.
"Hello there" Melissa said warmly, and then tucked her bags in under the table more. "Of course I can move them, although other than me the table is rather empty, you'd be welcome to join me" Melissa said giving him a bright smile.
Sure Melissa had been out for some retail therapy and a relaxing afternoon, but she had already done the retail therapy part, now it was time for the relaxation, and who said she couldn't relax by talking to somebody. She hoped he would join her, it was often enjoyable to have good conversation, and since Nathan had been somewhat busy of late it would be good to have some male company also. Not that anything had happened between her and Nathan of course, but it wasn't for the want of trying.
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Post by alexei on May 9, 2009 2:31:08 GMT -5
"Thanks," Alexei said, grinning at the woman as she moved her bags aside to let him through. He shrugged then nodded at her offer to join her at the table. "Sure, don't mind if I do." There was really no point in sitting by himself after a straightforward offer. Not that he was available or anything; there was still Eevee, of course, but there was nothing wrong with having a pleasant conversation with someone occasionally.
He slid the chair across the table from the woman out of the way so he could sit there himself, setting his sandwich down on the table and pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I'm Alexei," he introduced himself, reaching his hand across the table to shake hands with the woman. "What brings you out and about on this fine spring day?"
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Post by melissa on May 10, 2009 20:41:13 GMT -5
"Not a problem" Melissa said when he thanked her for moving her bags. Who was she to stop somebody from getting past she'd have done the same thing for somebody who wasn't in a wheelchair as well. She smiled at him when he said he wouldn't mind sitting beside her. "Fantastic, always good to have pleasant conversation."
Soon she would win Nathan over, she didn't care what it took, she didn't care if she was his Chief of Staff, she'd win him over somehow. And if he still gave her the brush off, well she'd just have to work on somebody else, she hated being alone, she liked to have company, not that she was exactly a man eater.
When he reached his hand across to introduce himself, Melissa smiled at him brightly, "Well pleased to meet you Alexei, I'm Melissa" she said brightly, as she shook his hand and let it go, to take a sip of her pina colada. He then asked what brought her out on the fine spring day they were having.
"I'm President Petrelli's Chief of Staff, and I was just giving myself a very much needed case of retail therapy" Melissa explained with a grin. She didn't mean to boast about her position at the White House and she certainly hoped that didn't come across at all. "How about yourself Alexei?" she turned his own question back on him.
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Post by alexei on May 25, 2009 18:52:20 GMT -5
The woman introduced herself as Melissa and Alexei couldn't stop himself from whistling softly, impressed, as she continued on to say that she was the President's Chief of Staff, of all things. "Wow," he said, laughing slightly. "That's pretty damn impressive." Then Melissa turned his question around and asked it right back to him. "I'm just an aerospace engineer," he responded. "Just taking a lunch break," he explained.
Alexei had never thought in a hundred years that he would go out to get a sandwich on an ordinary day and run into the President's Chief of Staff, a White House official, here in this very normal, everyday cafe, in New Jersey of all places, and sit and have a conversation with her!
Alexei reached down to set the brakes on his wheelchair so it wouldn't roll backwards and started in on his sandwich. "So," he said, making sure he swallowed his bite of sandwich before talking. "How long have you worked in the White House?"
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Post by melissa on May 27, 2009 15:31:09 GMT -5
Melissa laughed slightly when she heard the low whistle come from Alexei over telling him she worked at the White House. "Yeah, I guess it's pretty impressive, but to me it's really just a job" Melissa replied really not wanting to make a big thing of it, because really she didn't make a big thing of it. She only got given the position when Nathan and Tracy separated.
That news had actually rocked the White House because it had been well known among the staff how close Nathan and Tracy had been.
When Melissa asked Alexei what he did, it was her turn to be pretty impressed. "What do you mean 'only' an aerospace engineer?" she asked with a huge grin and using her fingers as quotation marks for the word only. "Sounds pretty impressive to me anyway, are you at liberty to say what you're actually working on just now? Or is it top secret stuff?" Melissa asked, almost teasing slightly as she continued to give him a bright smile.
She smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgment when he said he was just taking a lunch break. She took another sip of her drink and sat back in her chair relaxing more. She certainly hadn't thought she would bump into somebody on her retail therapy trip and actually have a decent conversation. Melissa actually began to think that maybe this person could become a friend she visited in New Jersey when she had the time. Lord knows she could certainly do with more friends than just the average White House staff.
"Been at the White House for a couple of years now, I started off as general staff working in the Housing Section but when Nathan lost Tracy, or should I say when they separated and she stepped down from being his Chief of Staff, they approached me to take over, I was overwhelmed to be honest, but I accepted" Melissa explained giving Alexei another warm smile.
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Post by alexei on Jun 12, 2009 18:14:34 GMT -5
Alexei laughed when Melissa asked him if what he was doing was top secret stuff. "Oh, no, it's definitely not top secret," he explained. "We're not part of the military or the government or anything." He paused. "Well, we actually have a collaboration with NASA, but you know. Nothing top secret." He went on to explain briefly what he was working on. "I don't want to bore you with details, but I'm currently experimenting with a new kind of rocket engine," he explained.
Alexei nodded, listening with interest as Melissa explained how she had gotten her position as Chief of Staff. He remembered hearing about that on the news, the separation of President Petrelli and Tracy. To be honest, he hadn't paid that much attention; politics were not high on Alexei's list of interesting subjects, but it had hardly been kept quiet.
"I must say, that's a bit more exciting than how I got my job," Alexei said. "I started out as an intern right out of graduate school and ended up just staying at the same lab when I couldn't go be an astronaut." He looked down at his sandwich.
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Post by melissa on Jun 14, 2009 17:43:29 GMT -5
Melissa smiled when Alexei said what he did wasn't top secret, at least she didn't feel too uncomfortable about asking what he did now. It would have been embarrassing to be nosy about his job only for him to say he couldn't say anything because it was classified or something like that.
"I'm glad it's nothing top secret Alexei, but collaboration with NASA really? That's actually rather interesting, well to me, anyway it is." Melissa said with a warm smile. It didn't matter to Melissa if she had nothing to do with what he done, she was just the type of person to be genuinely interested in other peoples lives.
He then went on to explain he was experimenting with a new rocket engine. Melissa opened her eyes wide. "Now, that really is interesting. Go you." She said with a grin, and he said his job wasn't that exciting.
Melissa blushed a little, "I wouldn't have said that it was that exciting how I got my job, but thank you for saying so." She said with her accent very strong at that point. The only times her Scottish accent was strong, was when she was embarrassed slightly, or if she had to shout for any reason.
"That's a shame you couldn't become an astronaut." Melissa said softly, not having to ask him why, because it was pretty obvious why really. At least she assumed it was the wheelchair stopping him, she hoped she wasn't being too ignorant in thinking that. However, she kept her thoughts to herself. She was sure if he wanted to explain about the not being an astronaut, he would, she certainly didn't want to make him feel awkward by actually asking the question.
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Post by alexei on Jun 18, 2009 20:45:51 GMT -5
Alexei shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose it is pretty exciting. I've never actually been to any of the NASA facilities for work yet, but I hope I get to at some point." He had actually gone to Cape Canaveral when he was in high school, but he had just seen the tourist part of the facility, and the space shuttle launch - now that was exciting - but he hadn't seen what he was really interested in, all the behind the scenes stuff.
Alexei laughed when Melissa was actually genuinely interested in his current project. "I would elaborate," he said. "But I'm afraid it might go over your head - correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm presuming you haven't had extensive education in engineering and rocket science?"
He was quiet for a minute. "I got the job at the lab in the hopes that it would help me get down to NASA; I always wanted to be an astronaut from the time I was a kid, but nothing turned out the way it was supposed to." He glanced down at his useless legs. "But, you know. It's still a great job."
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Post by melissa on Jun 19, 2009 17:22:43 GMT -5
"Alright, if I'm being honest, maybe it's not my kind of thing, but that doesn't mean I can't be excited for someone like yourself who appreciates it. I certainly hope you get to see some of the NASA facilities soon." Melissa said honestly and giving him a warm smile. She figured his job at the NASA was as exciting for him as her job was at the White House. She certainly hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings or said something wrong by saying what she had.
Melissa blushed slightly, "No, I've not had extensive education in engineering and rocket science, I was just expressing that it sounded interesting even if it's not something I'd do myself." Again Melissa decided to be as honest as she could. Melissa avoided confrontation as much as possible, it was one of the reasons why she classed herself as neutral in this whole hero or villain thing.
Melissa gave a sad smile as Alexei spoke more about his job at the lab and why, "I'm really sorry to hear that, but like you said, at least it's still a great job." Melissa felt her heart ache a little for Alexei. Not that she particularly felt sorry for him, she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate that, but Melissa was the type of person who would do anything she could to help someone if it were at all possible and right now, she sure wished she could help Alexei.
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Post by alexei on Jul 9, 2009 18:33:28 GMT -5
Alexei nodded and smiled at Melissa's response to his semi-rant about not getting to be an astronaut. "Thanks," he said. He hadn't really meant to go and spill all that out to her, but the conversation had just kind of reached that point and he had let it go the way it was going. He did hope he hadn't made her feel awkward or uncomfortable because of that, though.
There was a brief silence as Alexei finished his sandwich, but he didn't feel the need to fill the silence with chatter - which was nice. There were always people who always had to be talking, always had to fill the silence with something, and not enough people who enjoyed a brief silence occasionally. "Well," he said, breaking the quiet. "That's enough moaning about what could have happened." He paused. "To take the conversation in an entirely different direction, what do you like doing in your free time?"
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Post by melissa on Jul 10, 2009 19:16:54 GMT -5
Melissa smiled at Alexei when he said thanks, "You're welcome." She replied and then there was a small silence between them, however it wasn't one of those awkward silences. Sometimes you got those awkward silences and you didn't know what to do, where to look or what to say, but Melissa felt comfortable with it. However, it wasn't silent for too long before Alexei broke it again.
Melissa nodded her head slowly, "Sometimes it doesn't do to dwell on the past." However she smiled brightly at him, and then he went on to ask her what she did in her free time. Melissa smiled brightly again. "Well apart from walking and taking care of my beloved German Shepherd dog Kaiser, I also like to listen to music, dance and I enjoy being outdoors, usually with Kaiser and I enjoy painting the scenery." Melissa replied, explaining away what she likes to to in her free time.
Melissa decided to then turn his own question back to him, and with a smile she said, "How about yourself Alexei? Anything you like to do in your spare time?"
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Post by alexei on Jul 12, 2009 15:27:16 GMT -5
Alexei grinned upon hearing that she had a German Shepherd. His family had had a big old German Shepherd named Max when he was growing up, and he knew how crazy and energetic and fun they could be. In the past couple months, he had considered getting a dog - a smaller one, probably - but he hadn't really had a lot of time to think about it. Besides, he wasn't sure if he'd be home enough to take care of a dog. He smiled when she finished. "I like dogs, too" he agreed with her. "I had a German Shepherd when I was growing up. Max," he said. "He was a great dog."
Then she turned his question around and asked it back to him. "Well, I like to listen to music too, I like reading, I like lying out in the park at night and star gazing..." He paused. "I like swimming," he added.
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Post by melissa on Jul 13, 2009 17:59:12 GMT -5
Melissa couldn't help but smile when Alexei said that he liked dogs too and then went on to tell her he had a German Shepherd dog himself when he was growing up. "Max, that's a wonderful name for a dog." Melissa said grinning, and talking of Alexei's dog made her think of her own beloved Kaiser. "I can only imagine how great he was, I know how great Kaiser is, you should so meet him one day." Melissa said brightly. She was so proud of her dog, even if he could get into all sorts of scrapes from time to time with tripping her up and things.
Of course Melissa had then asked what Alexei liked to do in his spare time, Melissa grinned when he said he liked music as well. So music and dogs, and then he mentioned out in the park, so outdoors, they had a few things in common. "We have a few things in common Alexei, I reckon you and I could become great friends." Melissa said softly, as she thought about the same things they both liked to do.
"Swimming is good too, I love swimming, so does Kaiser, I have to take him to the coast sometimes so he can go for a dip in the sea." Melissa said and then laughed. Kaiser was a very clean dog, and he never did anything in the water, nor did he mess the beach, if he needed the toilet he always ran to Melissa and made her plenty aware of it, so she'd then take him for a walk to relieve himself.
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