((OOC: Continued from Your Name, Please. In-depth apartment description here.))

"... And this can be your room," Lenna finished. She gestured towards the first room in the entrance hall. She'd already shown Michael where her room was, the living room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. Now, they'd doubled back to the room with the glass sliding door and the floral print bedsheets near the entrance to the apartment. That, Lenna had decided shortly after signing the rent agreements, would be the guest room, should she ever have company that couldn't do well enough to find their own hotel room. It was smaller than her room, and less cozy. He could have it. She was sure he'd be perfectly comfortable with the pretty flower comforter. It was even clean. That was a step up from the bookshelves in the living room, and the sink in the kitchen. Lenna had yet to do her dishes from that morning. It was embarrassing, but hey. At least it was manageable.

Lenna turned towards the Ranger she'd invited into her home. He'd already been given the quick tour. She crossed her arms, and asked him. "Any questions?"

Lenna had shown the Ranger her place, her room was up the stairs, the living room where the duffel bags were dropped off, the kitchen, and bathroom. Following that Lenna led the Ranger back to the first room off the entrance hall. The apartment was much nicer than many the Ranger had seen in the city, but that might have been because he found himself in more rundown areas.

"... And this can be your room,"

Lenna gestured to the room and the Ranger looked inside. The room was neat, unlike bookshelf in the living room. Lenna was obviously a reader, and possibly isn't frequented by overnight guests. Well, the kind who stay in another room at least. Lenna then faced the Ranger and crossed her arms and asked, "Any questions?"

The Ranger figured the apartment was simple enough, but there was one issue on another subject. The Ranger awoke in this body in bed with a man, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that uglies were bumped. The same thing that had happened between Lori in his body and him in hers. There was a desire for showering, and that would be difficult without the aid of this adapted field thing Lenna possessed.

"Yeah, it is a bit unrelated, but could I take a shower? And, uh, could you help? This body's power makes water an issue."

Lenna quirked an eyebrow. My my my. If she'd been slow on the uptake, or more evil of a person, she could have faked taking that the wrong way. But she wasn't, and she knew he wasn't, and she wasn't a lesbian, so...

"If you need my help," she commented understandingly. "Sure."

Gee, being understanding was no fun.

"Do ya.... wanna shower now, or later?" Dear god, she hoped 'later'. She had things to do.

"If you need my help,""Sure."

Lenna had raised an eyebrow at his request, but she seemed to understand what s/he was asking and didn't attempt a witty or gutter remark. The Ranger was glad she was being understanding.

"Do ya.... wanna shower now, or later?"

The Ranger lowered his/her gaze slightly. He knew that there was no real need to shower now and that later would suffice, but s/he just felt dirty in a not so literal meaning as well as literally and hopefully a shower could help with both. Returning his/her eyes to meet Lenna's s/he replied,

"I guess whenever would work. I... I just feel like I need to shower, and God only knows the last time this body has had one."

Lenna bowed her head with a sigh, and just stood there for a moment, glowering. Suddenly, she felt like a baby sitter. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the idea of helping someone else bathe, maybe it was the fact that the woman in front of her needed a watchful eye to keep her from sticking her hand in a light socket (or tossing the toaster into her bath tub).

Side Thought: God, she hoped her aura was strong enough to cut the zapping down by a notable degree. She didn't want to have to replace any bathroom fixtures. She'd just gotten then how she liked them.

Lenna took another calming breath and gathered her composure. Glancing up, she bent her fingers in the gesture to 'come on'.

"Follow me. We'll get it over and done with first." With that, she turned and led the way to the bathroom.

She stopped when she got there, and turned. "So, how do you want to do this...?" Lenna asked him. The door was glass, and the room was small. She could either lean against the pane, or sit on the throne. Maybe she could camp by the towels? Either way... there wasn't much privacy, and she was gonna need to stay close.

After a head bowing, a few sighs, and a moment of thought there in between them Lenna motioned for the Ranger to come. Before turning to lead the way she said, "Follow me. We'll get it over and done with first."

The Ranger followed her to the bathroom, stopping when having reached the bathroom she turned and said, "So, how do you want to do this...?"

The Ranger looked into the bathroom, "I take a shower and you stay close enough ta keep me from unleashin' a lightnin' storm in there." It seemed simple enough, although with the glass door there was the issue of nudity. The Ranger had in the past been in public showers but not with a lady present, although this time he would be a lady too. After a quick look around s/he continued, "Stand, lean against the door, sit on the head. Whichever is most comfortable... Any particular towel you'd like me ta use?"

"It doesn't matter to me," She glanced to the towel rack, where two towels hung. One was red. One was yellow. Lenna shrugged her shoulders, and pointed one out. "I think the yellow towel is the cleanest. Might as well use that one. And... I guess leaning is fine... all yours." She gestured to the shower. It was all up to him now.

After the woman had disrobed and entered the shower, Lenna slumped her back down against the glass, and sat. She looked out the door, and sighed.

There were a few moments of silence where neither party said a word. Lenna let the sound of the falling water take up the disquieting quiet... then.

" . . . So." She commented. Wasn't leading anywhere, just 'so'...

The yellow towel, yellow seemed to be the color for him/her at the moment. Yellow dress before the shower, yellow towel after. Then, following the gesture to the shower, the Ranger approached the door, opened it and then leaned in and started the water. Out of habit s/he started the water not just before stepping in, but before even disrobing.

The water running the Ranger slipped out of the yellow dress, the heels had been discarded shortly after entering the apartment they may have been more or less mastered but still annoying. Next came the bra which took a little more effort, stupid hooks wouldn't unhook. Finally, the panties were dropped and, after kicking the pile of clothes away from the door, the Ranger stepped into the shower and closed the door as it began to fog up.

The water hit the bare skin and as expected electricity came out. Thankfully, due to Lenna's adapted field, it was only a minor draining sensation and the sparks did nothing but create short bursts of light.

The Ranger ran a female hand over the the products in the shower and took hold of the soap and the heard, " . . . So."

The Ranger looked through the foggy door at the woman leaning against, "So... " The Ranger repeated, and then the silence broken started again. "So, I don't believe I thanked you fer helpin' me. Most people would've taken off at the firs' chance, if they even believed the story, you not only hung around an' helped with a police escape but offered to let me stay here. So, thank you."

With her back turned to the shower, Lenna hadn't seen, but rather heard, the light shows. Every now and then, a spark would light up behind her and cause a sound. Some of the bathroom tile ahead of her lit up slightly. It didn't seem like anything major, though.

Thank goodness for her gift.

>>"So, I don't believe I thanked you fer helpin' me. Most people would've taken off at the firs' chance, if they even believed the story, you not only hung around an' helped with a police escape but offered to let me stay here. So, thank you."

She paused at the words. "You're welcome," She replied silently. Though on any given day, wouldn't she have ditched a bad situation? Hrm... he'd been the one to rope her into it. But now, it seemed like they could help each other. He'd brought her into contact with members of the sanctuary. Now, she was guarding the body of one of their own. Slate would probably approve when she told him.

Another drop into the pot full of Lenna initiative.

"I hope we can find your body, and reverse this as soon as possible. I'd hate for you to have to deal with it any longer than you have to..." Any longer than she had to, either.

"You're welcome,""I hope we can find your body, and reverse this as soon as possible. I'd hate for you to have to deal with it any longer than you have to..."

The water continued to slowly drain energy transdermally, but it was slow enough that the Ranger could afford to not worry about it, but the small sparks were annoying, especially when they were near the eyes. This was one thing he would be glad to be done with when he returned to his own body.

"I hope so too, but I guess for now it depends on how hard Lori is to find... And hopefully she doesn't do something while in my body that will destroy my life when it is mine again..."

The Ranger took hold of shampoo, squirted some into his female hands and set to work lathering it into the much longer than s/he was used to washing hair. S/He then said, barely audible over over the shower, "...if it's mine again."

>>"I hope so too, but I guess for now it depends on how hard Lori is to find... And hopefully she doesn't do something while in my body that will destroy my life when it is mine again..."

Like sleep with cheap hookers, or get an unhealthy addiction started, or... It was too easy listing the possible bad things. Lenna shook her head.

She could definitely sympathize for him... heck... she could almost... empathize...

"We'll get it." Her voice was hard as she spoke, reaffirming the statement with certainty. "I won't let another person dictate your future... nobody deserves to have that much control over another..." She clenched her knees as she sat. Her head was bowed.

Relate to that situation? Don't be ridiculous. The fact she'd been in one just like it such a short time ago did nothing to contribute to the sudden flare in her determination. No. She was just thinking positive for the both of them. Because Michael needed someone to say it with certainly, and alleviate all doubt.

Anything else was unacceptable.

Lenna had sounded certain, she spoke axiomatically and calmed the worries the Ranger had at the time. Which unsettled him that his state of mind was so easily swayed at the present. Possibly the alien hormones, possibly the slowly siphoning of his/her energy inhibiting fully rational thought, or perhaps a combination of the two.

"Thank's Lenna." The Ranger said as s/he rinsed out what was then his blond hair. And when the shampoo had been rinsed out s/he pulled the wet hair out of his/her face and continued with, "When I was a shooter in the Rangers I had control of people's fates, though I had one fate I dealt. Death. It's ironic, now that my fate can be dramatically changed by someone else on a similar level."

The water stopped and the Ranger stood there for a moment his female hand on the spigot. "Towel please." The Ranger called out as s/he moved the hand off the spigot to the door that Lenna had been leaning against.

"Death is one thing," Lenna replied broodingly. Her hands with steepled in front of her as she leaned forward where she sat. "Snuffing out life... usually, when someone puts a hit on another person, or sends in snipers, it's because that target did something bad enough to get his name on someone's list... they exhausted their chances in life... they earned whatever they got... and in the end, the world was probably better when they were gone... for the 'greater good'... end justifies the means... all that crap... but this..." This was completely different. "This is just childish. Ironic? Maybe. But having someone so thoroughly under their thumb, without any justification behind every horrible thing you could possibly do to them, just able to do whatever you damned well please..." Lenna stopped.

She held up the towel for Michael with a disappointed sigh. "Sorry. Here I was, trying to make you feel better, and I go and mess it up again... but it just isn't right. ... Don't ask me how I know the feeling. I don't feel like sharing, but..." Lenna's mouth turned sideways in a contemplative frown. Lenna rolled to her feet, and folded her hands behind her back. ". . . It just isn't right."

The Ranger took hold of the yellow towel and set to work drying off, the sparks were still firing and the slow drain of energy remained.

"It's okay... And yeah, it idn't right. It idn't right at all."

Drying off was easy enough, except for the hair. It seemed no matter how much the Ranger rubbed the towel against it the water just hung in there. Before long s/he settled to just deal with the small jolts and draining it caused, hopefully it would not be bad when out of Lenna's field. The Ranger began to wrap the towel around his female waist but then stopped and wrapped it high enough to cover his breasts as well. S/He then stepped out of the shower and looked to the pile of clothes.

"I guess I need ta wear the same clothes... Hmm, I've been wearin' the same underwear since I firs' woke up in this body... I'll have ta get a new pair sometime than."

>>"I guess I need ta wear the same clothes... Hmm, I've been wearin' the same underwear since I firs' woke up in this body... I'll have ta get a new pair sometime than."

Lenna paused. Now, she'd just been sympathetic to the guy, right? Empathetic, even, but hell... "You are NOT getting my panties..." She turned to glower at the blond in the towel. "Clothes, I can handle. Shared living areas, I can handle. But undergarments are where I draw the line."

"We'll have to go out shopping for you later, or something..." She muttered, looking off with a hand on her hip.