"It's only when something is gone, that you realise that you miss it."

Nilsa was a little worried when she didn't see "Alice" for a few days. She had been even more worried when Jack didn't come in for work either.

Little did she know, that at that moment both of them were in New York.

But, anyway, Nilsa was currently working on her studies as Carlos shot arrow after arrow at targets.

Nilsa had added the archery range to the back of her clinic when he first came to her as a patient, which was in the middle of the massive (a little dusty from the Jasper desert) track(for runners) that Nilsa had made sure was in place before she even started up her clinic. 

(She even had a small twenty-five meter in length swimming pool for the occasional swimmer who came to her for physical therapy. The pool was rarely filled up during the school year. Nilsa would let the teenagers who were on summer vacation, come and take a break from the heat in the pool(it was good for extra money to keep the pool filled during summer).)

Carlos pulled his arm back, “You’re going to miss,” Nilsa commented, not even looking up from her workbook.

Carlos rolled his eyes at her, “I think I know how to shoot by now, Nilsa,” he said, before releasing the arrow.

Nilsa was right, he did miss the target completely. 

Carlos’s shoulders slumped in defeat as he turned to his friend who held a smug smile as she glanced up from her workbook, “Who was right?”

“You were,” Carlos sighed, rolling his shoulders to relax his muscles, his bow in his left hand.

Nilsa grinned, “I always am,” she said. It wasn’t arrogance in her voice, it was just pure confidence in her abilities and skills that she had spent years honing to become what they are today. 

Carlos moved over the lawn chair that was next to the one that Nilsa was sitting in, “Yep,” he agreed.

Nilsa smiled softly before it was gone in a second. Carlos sighed, knowing how any weakness she had, she would pretend she didn’t have. “Stamp out the weeds before they can grow” she had once said, explaining why she was so distant to him at the start, “I have enemies out there, Carlos. I don’t want them to take advantage of the fact that I have weaknesses”. 

Carlos let out a sigh that made Nilsa look up, “What’s up?”

“Just thinking,” was his simple response. 

“About?” Nilsa pressed for a better response. Wanting to know why he was quiet.

“Not much,” Carlos shrugged, “Life in general. How we’re going to hook you up with Alice.”

Nilsa’s cheeks reddened slightly as she turned her head away, a feat that did not go unnoticed by Carlos who grinned trupiantly, “So the badass bitch does actually have a crush on someone for a change!”

Nilsa’s face scowled at him, her other emotions being “flushed down the drain”, “Well, I’m sorry that 'Mr. I just want food and my bow' doesn’t have attraction for anyone other than your bow!”

Carlos laughed at her, it was funny how some "childish" emotions could be sprung from the woman at times.

Nilsa rolled her eyes, "Uh-huh, keep laughing all you like, dumbass."

🏍

It wasn't until a week later did "Alice" and Nilsa manage to cross paths again.

Much like the second time Nilsa had noticed the woman, the red haired woman had been out jogging through the back roads of Jasper.

The dust from the tarmac under her feet had turned her black sneakers a dark brown. Her hair had been tied back in a ponytail to avoid going into her face. Her black jumper tied around her waist in case she ended out later than she had planned, over the top of her black skin tight bike shorts that went to her knees, and below her dark blood red crop top.

Nilsa had been relaxing, and enjoying the quiet of the desert as she pumped her legs onwards before the sound of a motorcycle entered her ears.

At first, Nilsa just ignored it. Assuming that it was some teenager taking advantage of the lack of policemen out here to catch them for speeding.

To her surprise, the motorcycle slowed down as it neared her. Nilsa tilted her head slightly so she could see beside her and almost tripped over.

"Alice" sat on her bike watching her with a curious smile.

Nilsa recovered quickly, masking her surprise immediately(a feat that had Arcee more curious than before, not that she showed it), "Hello, again," Nilsa smiled as she continued her jog.

Alice was good at hiding her emotions, but not good enough for Nilsa who picked up the micro-features on her face that displayed her surprise.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Alice asked, confusion leaking through her mask as well as a hint of worry. Nilsa could see how the corners of her eyes narrowed slightly, giving away suspicion.

"Decided to go for a jog," Nilsa shrugged, well as much as one could shrug while jogging, taking care not to set off the minefield that "Alice" had laid out for her.

Nilsa raised an eyebrow at Alice, "What about you?"

Alice blinked, showing her surprise at the question, licked her lips slightly, showing her hesitation, her eyes blinked faster than normal for a few seconds, showing that she was about to come up with a lie, "I wanted to go for a ride," Alice said vaguely, "It's not illegal is it?"

Nilsa's lips quirked up, "Only if you're going the speed that you were going," she smirked.

Alice chuckled lightly before her face evened out, showing that she was trying to work up the guts to say something. A few silent seconds passed and Nilsa turned her head slightly further to look at the dark haired woman who bit her lip, "Did you want a ride back to Jasper?" She finally said.

The question surprised Nilsa for a second, the emotion flickering across her face for a second then disappeared.

Arcee couldn't help but feel smug that she'd managed to catch the normally so confident woman by surprise.

"No thanks," Nilsa grinned, giving the other woman a wink, "I have to keep fit someway."

Alice nodded, fighting the red blush that threatened to appear across her cheeks, "Alright," she nodded in acceptance, hiding the flicker of disappointment that appeared in her chest.

Nilsa turned her head at the dark haired woman and smiled, "Although, thanks for the offer."

Alice nodded, "It's fine," she grinned as a sudden wave of confidence washed over her, "Not everyone can look as good as me."

Nilsa blinked for a second before laughing, having to stop as she placed her hands on her knees and doubled over.

Alice chuckled as her alt-mode stopped completely so she could keep talking with the exciting red haired woman.

"Oh, my gods," Nilsa chuckled, calming down somewhat, "I never expected you to say something like that, bloody brilliant."

Alice grinned, a rather proud smile on her face, "What can I say? I'm unpredictable."

Nilsa's eyes twinkled as they shared eye contact, "Don't I know it," she muttered.

Here's Chapter Three.

I am so sorry that Arcee's out of character. I find it harder to write her than the other 'bots.
But, we did get some insight to how Carlos thinks about Nilsa and her other life.

(Does this chapter seem forced?)

And I have "mocks" in two and a half hours and I'm scared shitless.

Hope you enjoyed!
Feedback?