Does it Get More Awkward Than This?

The Department of Mysteries was up to something, they said. It was posted at the entrance to the Law Enforcement offices, and guaranteed a potentially long day. But she didn't plan to stay the full time, anyway. Connor was with Theodore's sister, as was Esme, so both parents could attend to their work responsibilities. Mai was due to collect them around lunch time, though, so she was determined to complete the paperwork she needed to by then. It was as she pushed her paperwork into a stack and left her office for the day that the lights went out.

"Aw, brilliant, yeah," the brunette at the front desk complained to herself, likely not realizing that Mairen was there.

Mai smiled to herself, considering spooking her by speaking suddenly. Instead, she quietly made her way past and out the main door. Whether or not the woman jumped when it shut to again, Mai didn't know. But she secretly hoped so, a bit.

At any rate, she needed to head down a few floors to drop off her paperwork and get herself out of the building. So she stepped into the lift, hoping desperately that it wouldn't be pitch black once the doors closed. It wasn't, and that brought a smile to her face. A floor down, the lift stopped and opened to reveal someone that Mairen had been avoiding for quite some time.

"Hello," she offered rather meekly. "Lights out on your floor yet?"

The department of mysteries couldn't have chosen a worse day to allow an experiment to go haywire. Whatever it was they were doing had caused the magic in the auror office to have a life of its own. The 'windows' that reflected the actual weather suggested that there were thunderstorms and heatwaves only minutes apart and if the contrasting transformations in light from them wasn't enough the lights were occasionally dancing in and out of power. It had gotten to the point that Hallie had found a store cupboard and had sat on a wooden stool doing paperwork under lumos. Not great for the eyes but at least the lightning and sudden sunlight weren't giving her a headache.

Deciding that she needed to stretch her legs - and her back for that matter as it had started to ache after leaning over for so long without a proper supported chair - the auror left the office and made her way towards the elevators.

It was almost lunch time and, owing to the mayhem the ministry was having with magic today, Hallie figured she'd wander the streets and treat herself to some natural sunlight and a hot chocolate from a nearby muggle cafe.

'Come on, come on.' Hallie muttered to herself, tapping her foot impatiently before letting out a sigh of relief as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

The sigh of relief, however, was quickly retracted and replaced with a deafening gulp. Mai Tierney, or Mai Rookwood was standing before her. Hallie wasn't too sure where her and Theodore stood. She knew they were together, she knew they'd had a child and the sudden flashback of their awkward encounter in the canteen was quickly regaining some colour.

'They flicker out every now and then.' Hallie replied, taming her voice into a conversational tone as she stepped onto the elevator. 'Although the windows can't seem to decide whether whether there's a thunderstorm outside or whether it's the hottest April on record.'

'I'm guessing you're having trouble too?' Hallie eventually asked once the familiar lurch of the stomach told them that the elevator was moving again.

Just be polite. You don't have to talk too much. We'll be at the Atrium in a minute or so. Hallie told herself whilst her eyes looked at every possible spot in the elevator but Mai.

It wasn't that Hallie was still in love with Theodore, heck their last encounter had straightened out her feelings towards her ex-husband, but still, the thought of Mai sleeping besides him, raising Esme, raising a child of their own. It made Hallie feel belittled, as though the trauma she went through as a Rookwood had never existed. As much as Hallie would have loved for that to be the case, it wasn't, and to pretend otherwise would be a dishonor to the pain they felt and in order to feel the high one needs to feel the pain.

It made Mai feel a little bit better to think that Hallie was intimidated by the interaction that was now being forced upon them. The nerves were a bit much for her, but there was no getting out of it now, because Hallie had answered her fairly inane question.

"I didn't know the windows changed on your floor," Mairen replied, lifting her eyebrows. "Yes, we had been alright until I needed to leave. Then the lights," she gestured vaguely, knowing that she was getting a bit repetitive.

The lift was moving again, mercifully. Mai knew they had only moments left stuck together, and that was enough to calm her and force her shoulders to relax. It wasn't a second after the thought darted through her mind that the lights flickered and Mai lifted her eyes to the ceiling. Then something even worse happened. The entirely lift jolted, caught and actually tilted to one side.

Mairen let out a pathetic squeak, hands reaching for the back and side walls with her hands. "What-?" She gasped, thanking Merlin or whoever was out there watching the two women in a ruined lift, because she had already given birth to Connor. That was one less thing to worry about when her legs gave out a bit.

And who was going to pick him up? Adriana would have to forgive her if this thing didn't get going again. She wasn't confident that she could apparate out safely after such a scare. It had also been months since she had tried to apparate anywhere at all, so this wasn't the ideal time to try again for the first time.

"Are we stuck?" She asked, turning to Hallie and extending a hand in case the blonde had lost her balance, too.

Hallie had simply nodded as Mai mentioned the lights again. For a moment she stood there, simply in silence her hands behind her back and her eyes staring up at the ceiling of the elevator. Then came another lurch of her stomach, although this time not quite as familiar. The lights flickered, Hallie lost her balance and the next thing she knew she had on hand holding on Mai's and the other the side of the elevator to stop herself from falling completely.

'I'm not sure.' Hallie replied, quickly withdrawing her hand and reaching for the other side and positing herself in the corner to balance herself as the lift still stood on a slightly tilt.

'Surely someone will know if the lift is broken though wont they?' Hallie asked as she glanced through the holes in the gated-doors. There was nothing. It was simply black.

'Then again. I suspect maintenance are rushed off their feet today.' Hallie added, extending a hand to the emergency bell on the wall besides her.

'Ouch!' She cried, pulling back her finger as the emergency bell had exploded from the wall as the auror had pushed it. Clearly Hallie had been dealt a bad hand today. Not only did she have to get on the same lift as Mai but the lift had broken down and appeared to not want its occupants to seek any help.

Glancing at her finger as she shook the pain away Hallie noticed a slight scorch mark from the small blast. Well, this was hardly going to make her paperwork more enjoyable.

Mai did her best to steady her breathing and calm herself, but as she watched Hallie take control of the situation, she had to tell her mind to shut up about the fact that, while she merely panicked, the auror was able to handle herself. It did hit home a bit, considering the foolish things she had done in the past year and the way that she had fallen back on Theodore for far too many things.

Maybe they actually could apparate out.

Hallie let out a sound of distress, pulling Mairen's attention back to the present. Leaning forward, she saw that the blonde had gotten hurt. "Here," she said, pulling out her wand and opening her palm so Hallie could rest her fingers atop it. Hardly waiting to see if the other woman would trust her, Mai attempted a simple healing charm. But nothing happened.

"I... I'm sorry, I don't understand." Mai shook her head. "It's not working."

Frustrated, she stepped back and leaned against the wall. Okay, so she couldn't get out. Her magic wasn't working, her son was waiting for her and she couldn't let anyone know that she was going to be late. Why couldn't she just work from home?

"Well," Mai said, sighing loudly. "You're the one who's trained to rescue people and stuff. What should we do?"