Florian and the attacker both look up as Adele runs for the bus, and the Frenchman pulls himself up, grabbing tight around the assailant's legs to stop him chasing Adele - little knowing that it was never his intention to do so. Fighting the blinding pain in his ribs, Florian grits his teeth, trying his hardest to deliver on his promise to Adele, even it meant injury to himself. When he sees her coming back, he looks panicked. "NO! Adele no!" he shouts as she hits the man with her bag before he catches her arm mid swing, sending the bag sprawling across the floor. "Bitch!" the attacker shouts through his mask in a strange accent. Not aware that Adele is in no danger Florian looks on, desperate to stop her from being injured, trying to pull himself to his feet.

When the attacker sees that he has hurt Adele, something he never intended, and watches her scurrying towards the bus, he panics and looks right and left. Florian, still grabbing one of his legs, yells out of pure desperation. "Adele! Call the police!" At that, the assailant turns back to Florian, swinging his free foot and catching the wiry French musician in the chin. As his head recoils, Florian wilts and falls back onto the tarmac, where he lets out a groan, his glasses landing with a crack next to his head. His blurry eyes focus just enough to see the man who has assaulted him run around the bus, and seconds later speed away in a dark car.

Florian lies on the floor, able to ear the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears, for what feels like an eternity, when he finally hears Adele run to him. He props himself up on his elbow and looks at her. "Adele? Ne vous inquiétez pas pour moi, chérie. Vous n'êtes pas blessé, vous êtes?" Managing to pull himself into a sitting position, with some difficulty, he puts his glasses back on and looks over at his crying girlfriend, immediately feeling sorry for her. "Come here," he says, holding his arms out sympathetically. "I will be ok. Don't cry please, babe."

Florian holds Adele close to him, rocking her back and forward ever so slightly to calm her. He grimmaces at the pain in his ribs, but tries not to show that it's hurting too much, for her sake - he didn't want to put any more stress on her. "Je suis content que vous êtes ok, je croyais qu'il vous avait fait mal quand tu es tombé." He kisses the top of her head and smiles softly. "Don't apologise, please. None of this is your fault, chérie." He helps her to her feet as they wait for the police and holds her hand.

Florian keeps his arm around Adele and squeezes her shoulder gently. As the police come towards them, he leans close to her, making sure to speak in French. "J'espère qu'ils ne recherchent pas le bus. Avec tous les médicaments de là, nous serions à la fois faire face à une fouille. S'ils trouvent des médicaments, j'espère qu'ils trouvent un peu de lubrifiant trop," he laughs softly. "You ok? You are shaking, Adele."

Edited by user 19 July 2013 01:23:07(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Florian chuckles at her nerves and pretends to imitate a police officer. "Excusez-moi madame, nous avons eu des rapports d'un intrus nu sur le toit de votre bus la nuit dernière, nous avons besoin de le chercher," he says with a little gentle nudge to her. When she comes back, he sees the note and shivers a little at the thought the attacker was in Adele's bus.

Florian shakes his head at the police officer. "No thank you. I will not leave my girlfriend. Not in case this man comes back again." He nods.

Florian smiles at Adele and sighs as he realises that his joking is not helping her. He leans closer and whispers into her ear. "It will be fine, cherie. They just want to know what the guy did to us." He kisses her earlobe and stands back up straight.

As Adele explains the crime to Officer Chatman, Florian doesn't realise at first that she is speaking all in French, given the language is so natural to him. When she stops though, it clicks in his mind and he laughs gently. "Cherie, you are telling the officer about it all en Francáis." He smiles to reassure her, realising that she is still unable to think straight after what went on a few minutes before thanks to her nerves.

He nods to the police officer and then holds his hand out as if to express everything with his movements. "Well....we were asleep on the bus, in the sleeping quarters through in the back of it. When we woke up, we went to get ready and then come outside for a smoke, maybe half an hour later? This note was there...Adele, give the officer the note." He pauses for a second as he tries to run it all through in his mind. "When I stepped off the bus, a man came from nowhere. He hit me with something....a truncheon...a bat. Something like this." He reaches up and scratches his head as he remembers everything that had happened moments before painfully.

Florian smiles at Adele's blushing. It reminds him of their first date and how nervous she had been, and he remembered how it had endeared her to him back then. He watches as the officer reads the note, trying hard not to look down on him when he sees the look of confusion in his eyes.

"It means....jealousy. That the writer believes he deserves something and has the right to something that someone else has. He feels it is.....his," he says, coming off as far more patronising than he intended.

Florian tries to recall the attack. The last few seconds were blurriest since he had taken a shoe to the face. "Oui. He kicked me and then got away in a car." He sighs. "I did not see the number, my glasses were knocked from my face in the scuffle." He shrugs and adjusts his glasses, looking a little embarrassed.

Florian pipes up, now almost intent on showing the cop just how stupid he is. He looks at him with a scowl. "He was wearing the famed Casanova mask. It is symbolising the fact that he thinks himself the greatest and most secretive lover in the history of the world. He is commenting on himself....or self perception," he says very certainly. "And I am not even being paid to investigate."

The cop looks at Florian and then to Adele as if to question why she is with a smartass like Florian. He shrugs and walks away after telling them about the police escort. Florian shakes his head and turns away in frustration. "Putain de flics. Le four doit juste avoir cinglé au magasin de beignet!" He laughs and then sits on the bench outside the bus, patting the space next to him for Adele and looking up at her, trying to judge if she was alright.

"chérie....you are sure...you are ok?"

Florian smiles at her, as she sits down. He could see she was still worried, but she was doing her best to hide it, so he knew he just had to be there for when she needed him - he knew it would come. When she questions him, he thinks about telling her he is fine, but she asks him to promise her. He sighs. "My ribs.....they are sore." He lifts his shirt to show a big bruise. "I will be fine though. Please do not worry for me, Adele." He holds her hand tightly and thinks for a moment. "Maybe I should return to Paris....never see you again and be safe..." he laughs and shakes his head. "This guy will not get in our way, cherie. I.....you mean a lot to me, and no one will come between us. If he comes back, we will just need to be ready." He goes silent for a few seconds. "Always on the lookout. Yup."