The Elementalist

Gracie Weiss- Los Angeles, California

12:35 am PST

Jim cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, breaking the silence that had fallen on the group. "Do you want to eat first before you leave, Gracie?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, gesturing to the kitchen behind her.

The two men that were supposed to be collecting her looked at each other before they looked at Jim. Neither of them said a word, and a look of annoyance flashed across their faces while they looked at him.

Jim scowled and narrowed his eyes while he folded his arms across his chest, tucking his head closer to his chest. "She hasn't eaten for a while, you two," he said coldly before he bared his teeth in warning, and they flinched and bowed, submitting ever so slightly. "She needs to eat and has food ready for her."

Gracie hesitated before she licked her lips. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, and her cheeks turned red. "But, I need to heat it up," she said, her voice barely above a whisper while she looked between the three of them before she solely looked at Jim. "Is that ok?"

"Yes," Jim said and nodded in confirmation. He bit back a small smile, and his whole gaze grew calm and collected. "That is ok. Go ahead and heat it up before you eat it, Grace. They will wait for you." He looked at the two men and scowled, narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips in annoyance.

Both of the men hesitated before they slowly bowed lower, and Jim rolled his eyes and scowled, pressing his lips into a thin line. They didn't say a word, and they looked at each other before they looked at her, silently telling her that she would be able to eat.

"Hmph." Jim pursed his lips further in annoyance before he looked at the young female. "Go ahead, and heat up your food so that you can start eating it, Gracie. You do have to leave soon because there are others that they need to collect."

One of the men that were going to take her to a new place looked at Jim with narrowed eyes and a small scowl on his face. He didn't say a word to him, but Jim seemed to know what he was trying to say and earned a chuckle from the older male.

"Well," he said before he cleared his throat to hide a chuckle, growing serious while a small smirk appeared on his face. He turned to look at Gracie with the smirk growing larger on his face. "I have been told that you are the only one that they are worried about, so they can wait for you as long as they need to until you are ready." He looked at them again, giving them a pointed look, and the men nodded.

Gracie hesitated before she slowly nodded, furrowing her brows. "Do you think that I will be able to take a bag of stuff, or... no?" She looked between the three of them before she solely looked at Jim, raising an eyebrow in question.

"We can talk about that later," he said and gestured to the kitchen where her food was waiting for her. "Now, go ahead and get your food so that you can eat. You will have to leave shortly."

Gracie bit back a tired sigh and slowly nodded, rubbing the bridge of her nose and pursing her lips in annoyance. "Does anyone else need something to eat?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she looked at them.

The other two hesitated before they looked at Jim. They didn't say a word that Gracie could hear, but she had a feeling that they were talking to each other, especially since Jim had an annoyed look on his face while he stared at the two of them with something in his eyes that she didn't know and like.

Finally, Jim shook his head, biting back a tired sigh, and looked at Gracie with the scowl turning into a small smile. "Don't worry about them, Gracie," he said with a small hum in his voice. "They will get something to eat later on. Now, go ahead and eat, please."

Gracie bit back another tired sigh and shook her head. She didn't say a word and walked over to her food, knowing full well that meant that they were hungry but weren't going to say something about it, especially since Jim said for them not to.

"Gracie?" Jim asked and raised an eyebrow in question. Amusement filled his voice while he stared at the kitchen area where he knew that she was getting her food ready for herself and something else. "What are you planning?"

She didn't say a word to him and started to work on getting some food for the men that were in the room and not just for herself.

"Gracie," Jim warned and narrowed his eyes while he scowled, pressing his lips into a thin line, even though a small smile wanted to appear on his lips. His whole body was tense, and he slowly started to become worried about what the young female that he had taken a liking to in a father-daughter type of way.

Again, she didn't say a word and quickly cooked up a quick meal for the three of the men that were in the living room. Her whole body was tense while she cooked something for them, and she prayed that they would like it, especially since it wasn't that much and didn't take that long.

"Don't tell me that you are cooking for us," Jim warned and narrowed his eyes further, and the scowl grew larger, trying but failing to hide the smile on his face. "Is that what you are doing?"

Gracie didn't say a word while she finished cooking the food, and she bit back a small smirk. She stuffed her food into the microwave and started to heat it up because she only made enough for the three of them, hoping that they would like it.

Jim bit back a tired sigh and shook his head while he started to make his way into the kitchen. "What do you want me to do?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied the young female in front of him at her stove and microwave.

She gestured to the bowl of pasta and the cupboard that held the plates, silently indicating that he could go ahead and put the food out for the three of them while she waited for her food to continue to cook.

Jim chuckled, amused and walked over to where she kept the plates. "Are you not going to say a word to me?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and amusement flashed through his eyes.

Gracie shrugged and grimaced, pressing her lips into a thin line. She didn't say a word and turned off her oven before she slid the bowl of pasta over to him when he was near her and after he had grabbed the plates for the food in the pot.

Jim chuckled again and slowly nodded. "Note taken," he said and cleared his throat, licking his lips and bowing his head just a tad. "Then allow me to thank you for cooking this food for us because we do appreciate it, even though you didn't have to do it."

Gracie shrugged and grimaced, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I know," she said before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "However, I wasn't going to let anyone starve while they are under my care, and you should know that by now, Jim." She gave him a pointed look and raised both eyebrows in unison, and Jim chuckled and slowly nodded in confirmation while he divided the food out for the two other men and himself.

"I know," he said and cleared his throat to hide a small chuckle, "but you didn't have to cook for us. We would have survived even without it and would have eaten later when we were done with you." He slowly bowed and bit back a small smile. "And you have my word on that, Little One."

I promise...