[ordinarily she'd respond with some sarcasm, going too literal and telling him that she's reading news articles, but the words we need to talk inspire a stroke of reflexive obedience in her. there's a few things she can think of that would inspire Bigby to ask this, and the biggest one, well...]
i'm here, bigby. call me if that works better for you.
[it might be easier to get furious over a call as well.]
[ Bigby's going to try and control himself to the absolute best of his ability, if only because Grell deserves some level of patience and because he spent a good portion of his frustration on Elizabeth already. he's Tired by now, just a few hours after they fought. regardless, though, he wasn't going to be able to move on from this without talking to her.
a few moments pass before he dials in her number, and when she answers, he's immediately piping up. ]
I'm going to ask for you to remove any philosophy out of this conversation. I know you and I'm not in the mood to go deep into your mind or even my own. What I am in the mood for is getting answers as to why you think I shouldn't have known about Elizabeth the moment you found out.
[there's silence from the other end for a few seconds after he speaks, which for Grell is the time she needs to strip out anything unnecessary. carefully choosing out her words without being elaborate about it or constructing an excuse. when she speaks, there's no affectations on the words, only a quiet sincerity.]
Because she didn't want to tell you at that point in time, and I'm not about to go behind her back. I trusted that soon enough, she'd tell you about this.
[Elizabeth is an adult. if it had been Jade who'd called her with this, she would have told. but as it stands, she could understand why Elizabeth wanted it to be examined first - to not send him into too much worrying. but that's something he's probably already heard today.]
And if it had been you in Elizabeth's place, I would have made the same choice.
[ there's some silence in turn from him. Bigby hates it, but Grell's reasoning is understandable. fair, even. she did what she thought was best without interfering in family concerns and probably saved the two of them a bigger fight had he learned from someone else. if that's supposed to mean the detective will understand and automatically forgive and forget, however? he did not get that memo. the man is too stubborn and frustrated for his own good. ]
Seriously? She has a fucking hole in her back, Grell. That appeared out of thin goddamn air and scarring like it's been there for who knows how long. I can tell you I've seen my wife enough from behind to tell you that has never been there. [ ahem. all lewd undertones aside... ] You couldn't even pinpoint what happened to her. What might be going on with her right now. God forbid it's even more serious than you'd hope and she got sick and unresponsive.
[ just the thought warrants a drawn out sigh and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he fights to control his emotions. Grell deserves some respect for always being level-headed, and just outright shouting her head off seemed silly even to him. ]
You need to make me aware if something like that happens again. I don't care if you think it's going behind someone's back. She would have understood. If it happened to me and you told her, I would have understood.
[if it were anyone else, Grell could have spat out something about how she knows puncture wounds, how she's been worrying herself that Liz doesn't get sick from this, that she's been using her free time to try to find answers because she doesn't want to raise alarms without having some sort of logic behind it. she's already covering for Dave with his school and she doubts it'll be the last of someone needing care and attention to matters they can't take to the regular hospital.
but it's Bigby. it's her friend and she hates not having the answer and it's hard to hold to confidence when there's something like this. and so she backs down, can feel something tightening in her chest that she whispers shhhh to.]
Okay. I promise I will. I made her promise me to tell me if things feel even a hair stranger or if she feels worse, but from now on you stay fully in the loop.
[words. empty words, but it takes a lot to not make them sound like she's pleading with him.]
For what it's worth, I'm sorry about all this. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but...yeah.
[god. she should have insisted, pressed the point harder. done something. it's not like thinking this will change anything, though.]
And I'm trying to research to see what caused it - if there's an obscure procedure somewhere that might offer a hint of insight. So far, nothing.
[ and if it were anyone else that Liz had been talking to (say, Jack, for example...), Bigby wouldn't be anyway near as reserved as he currently is with Grell. he's letting her know how he feels, but the both of them know he has a colorful vocabulary that he loves to put to use when able to do so. the two of them have kept up a reasonably professional relationship at work that has since developed into a respectful rapport in their personal lives. she's been involved in his family for who knows how long and he knows that she's gotten close to Liz as a result.
does he regret that? no. it gave Liz someone to talk to when she didn't think she could talk to her own husband. does that upset and anger him? abso-fucking-lutely. ]
... Okay. [ he didn't expect Grell to understand to this degree. Bigby's getting the same vibe he had gotten from Elizabeth when he chewed her out. she apologized and accepted her mistakes immediately. NO ONE IS LETTING HIM GET ANGRY!! this makes things so much more difficult for him. ] I'd... appreciate that. Thank you.
[ huff. Bigby was fully prepared for a solid defense and justification of what she did, and he's sure that Grell wanted to still do so. regardless of her reason why, she complies and he's equal parts satisfied and left wanting. why must everyone in his circle suck. ]
Shut up. I didn't contact you to beg for me to understand. I just needed you to understand that your blind obedience to her affected me in the long run, too. I like to act like the "Big Bad Wolf" everyone makes me out to be, but ― you won't make me finish the rest of that sentence, I hope.
And for what it's worth to you, I'm not mad she told you. Just the timeline in how it happened. I would have been the first one calling you if she brought it to my attention.
[there's a heavy sigh there, no theatrics, and it's enough to stand in for the words I'm going to let you be mad. it'd almost be easier if he was actually yelling at her. she'd be there with a minute's notice for this family, and that almost makes it more important.
he asked for no philosophy. he asked for her to strip it down to the basics - so she is. it's that simple, and that difficult. any defense needs to be set aside, and there is no justification other than her obeying what she thought was best, what she knew Liz wanted.
honestly, it was really in the end choosing which one she wanted to be mad at her.]
...We both know you're not as bad as everyone says you are, Bigby. Else you would have taken my head off the moment I picked up.
proof that working backwards in tags is weird sometimes
Yeah, well. It wasn't. No one needs to worry about me.
[ what a manly, macho thing. Bigby believes that right now, however. he's dealt with the most human thing out there as of late, having been involved in an accident, and that feels like a walk in the park to what must have been going through Elizabeth's head when she saw and felt the scar on her back. he'll survive the pain and the drugs and even the fact that he can't smoke cigarettes. the mark left behind between her shoulder blades may never go away from the way it looks.
Grell's understood the severity of this and he never doubted that. his anger comes from no one considering to think Bigby deserved to know, proper time or otherwise. even that begins to dissipate when she deals with his emotions calmly, regardless of how much it may hurt her. just as much as she wants him to yell at her, he wishes she would be a little more provocative. even he dislikes kicking someone while they're down or when they kill him with kindness. it's unfair. ]
―What did you just say? [ the words not as bad as everyone says you are ring in his head and a major case of déjà vu strikes him almost immediately. it causes Bigby to flinch, although she wouldn't know that. all he does is sigh and close his eyes to try and push away the discomfort that just overwhelmed him. ] Seriously. What the fuck was that?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
i'm here, bigby. call me if that works better for you.
[it might be easier to get furious over a call as well.]
no subject
[ Bigby's going to try and control himself to the absolute best of his ability, if only because Grell deserves some level of patience and because he spent a good portion of his frustration on Elizabeth already. he's Tired by now, just a few hours after they fought. regardless, though, he wasn't going to be able to move on from this without talking to her.
a few moments pass before he dials in her number, and when she answers, he's immediately piping up. ]
I'm going to ask for you to remove any philosophy out of this conversation. I know you and I'm not in the mood to go deep into your mind or even my own. What I am in the mood for is getting answers as to why you think I shouldn't have known about Elizabeth the moment you found out.
no subject
Because she didn't want to tell you at that point in time, and I'm not about to go behind her back. I trusted that soon enough, she'd tell you about this.
[Elizabeth is an adult. if it had been Jade who'd called her with this, she would have told. but as it stands, she could understand why Elizabeth wanted it to be examined first - to not send him into too much worrying. but that's something he's probably already heard today.]
And if it had been you in Elizabeth's place, I would have made the same choice.
no subject
Seriously? She has a fucking hole in her back, Grell. That appeared out of thin goddamn air and scarring like it's been there for who knows how long. I can tell you I've seen my wife enough from behind to tell you that has never been there. [ ahem. all lewd undertones aside... ] You couldn't even pinpoint what happened to her. What might be going on with her right now. God forbid it's even more serious than you'd hope and she got sick and unresponsive.
[ just the thought warrants a drawn out sigh and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he fights to control his emotions. Grell deserves some respect for always being level-headed, and just outright shouting her head off seemed silly even to him. ]
You need to make me aware if something like that happens again. I don't care if you think it's going behind someone's back. She would have understood. If it happened to me and you told her, I would have understood.
no subject
but it's Bigby. it's her friend and she hates not having the answer and it's hard to hold to confidence when there's something like this. and so she backs down, can feel something tightening in her chest that she whispers shhhh to.]
Okay. I promise I will. I made her promise me to tell me if things feel even a hair stranger or if she feels worse, but from now on you stay fully in the loop.
[words. empty words, but it takes a lot to not make them sound like she's pleading with him.]
For what it's worth, I'm sorry about all this. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but...yeah.
[god. she should have insisted, pressed the point harder. done something. it's not like thinking this will change anything, though.]
And I'm trying to research to see what caused it - if there's an obscure procedure somewhere that might offer a hint of insight. So far, nothing.
no subject
does he regret that? no. it gave Liz someone to talk to when she didn't think she could talk to her own husband. does that upset and anger him? abso-fucking-lutely. ]
... Okay. [ he didn't expect Grell to understand to this degree. Bigby's getting the same vibe he had gotten from Elizabeth when he chewed her out. she apologized and accepted her mistakes immediately. NO ONE IS LETTING HIM GET ANGRY!! this makes things so much more difficult for him. ] I'd... appreciate that. Thank you.
[ huff. Bigby was fully prepared for a solid defense and justification of what she did, and he's sure that Grell wanted to still do so. regardless of her reason why, she complies and he's equal parts satisfied and left wanting. why must everyone in his circle suck. ]
Shut up. I didn't contact you to beg for me to understand. I just needed you to understand that your blind obedience to her affected me in the long run, too. I like to act like the "Big Bad Wolf" everyone makes me out to be, but ― you won't make me finish the rest of that sentence, I hope.
And for what it's worth to you, I'm not mad she told you. Just the timeline in how it happened. I would have been the first one calling you if she brought it to my attention.
no subject
[there's a heavy sigh there, no theatrics, and it's enough to stand in for the words I'm going to let you be mad. it'd almost be easier if he was actually yelling at her. she'd be there with a minute's notice for this family, and that almost makes it more important.
he asked for no philosophy. he asked for her to strip it down to the basics - so she is. it's that simple, and that difficult. any defense needs to be set aside, and there is no justification other than her obeying what she thought was best, what she knew Liz wanted.
honestly, it was really in the end choosing which one she wanted to be mad at her.]
...We both know you're not as bad as everyone says you are, Bigby. Else you would have taken my head off the moment I picked up.
proof that working backwards in tags is weird sometimes
[ what a manly, macho thing. Bigby believes that right now, however. he's dealt with the most human thing out there as of late, having been involved in an accident, and that feels like a walk in the park to what must have been going through Elizabeth's head when she saw and felt the scar on her back. he'll survive the pain and the drugs and even the fact that he can't smoke cigarettes. the mark left behind between her shoulder blades may never go away from the way it looks.
Grell's understood the severity of this and he never doubted that. his anger comes from no one considering to think Bigby deserved to know, proper time or otherwise. even that begins to dissipate when she deals with his emotions calmly, regardless of how much it may hurt her. just as much as she wants him to yell at her, he wishes she would be a little more provocative. even he dislikes kicking someone while they're down or when they kill him with kindness. it's unfair. ]
―What did you just say? [ the words not as bad as everyone says you are ring in his head and a major case of déjà vu strikes him almost immediately. it causes Bigby to flinch, although she wouldn't know that. all he does is sigh and close his eyes to try and push away the discomfort that just overwhelmed him. ] Seriously. What the fuck was that?
SORRY RAY
[she sounds as confused as she feels - she didn't say anything out of the ordinary for her, so what was wrong with it?]
Something about biting off my head?