Winifred "Fred" Burkle (i_figure) wrote in we_coexist, @ 2013-01-11 21:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | jack heart, winifred burkle, zz:status complete |
Funny meeting you here (Jack/Fred log, complete)
Fred sighed as she stood in the City Courthouse hallway. She stared at the subpoena, not the way she planned on spending the day. The brainy female glanced up at the lady justice then back at the piece of paper. She was being sued. She’d been summoned; she’d shown up at the right time without complaint. She should have thought about it before showing up, thought it through just a little bit - say like bringing along a lawyer. Now she had been through the meeting, and was looking at paying a hefty fine. She wasn’t sure how things worked, but this felt a little not right.
She didn’t know what to do now. Fred didn’t want to upset anyone by sharing her current issue. She didn’t want people to know she needed money, maybe. She really did not want to find a lawyer to help her out. The only lawyer she knew wasn’t one she could just trust. Could she?
“How?” the brainy female sighed again. She really should have thought everything out better.
----
Jack was on his way out of the office for once. There were days when he sometimes left before dark. It might not happen very often but he had a rare afternoon without appointments and he was as caught up as he ever was on paperwork. He wasn’t sure what he planned to do, but he couldn’t stay holed up in his office forever. No matter how much he wanted to.
He almost walked by the brunette until he heard that familiar voice. He stopped and looked up, blinking in surprise.
“Fred?”
He stopped himself from asking ‘what are you doing here?’ because it seemed like a rude question. Particularly since the last time she’d been here had been to visit him and extend the hand of friendship. He felt a little surge of guilt that he hadn’t returned the gesture yet.
----
Fred jumped a little, just a hint when she heard his voice.
“Oh, hi.” She laughed softly, blushing just a little as she looked up at him. She quickly folded up the paper and stuffed it in a pocket.
“How are you? Been busy? I’ve been busy. Life has been very crazy.” She laughed again. Yes, she was trying to put the whole paper issue out of her mind. Or more just out of the current conversation before it even became a problem. Her hands were in her pocket as she looked up at him.
“Being Mayor must keep you busy, very busy.” She smiled. “Are you at least eating properly?” She hoped he was; she didn’t think he’d been doing so before. Not without someone to look after him, right?
----
Jack laughed softly. Not at Fred, but simply at how she seemed so concerned about his eating habits. He appreciated it, and she was probably right to be concerned. He did tend to forget meals sometimes. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat, but when his day was a neverending to do list without many reminders to stop and eat, it was hard to remember sometimes.
None of that was something that you discussed with someone that you used to date though. It wasn’t her job to take care of him. Not that it should be anyone’s job, but all the same.
“I’m eating all right,” he said. He studied her, his eyes narrowing with concern at her description of her life lately. “Is everything alright?”
Crazy could mean good crazy or bad crazy or simply busy. But for someone in her line of work, crazy was usually a very negative thing. He had to remind himself that it was no more his job to take care of her as it was hers to take care of him, but it was hard to suppress that worry about her.
----
“Things are happening. Demons, ghosts, subpoenas for lawsuits.” Okay, so that one got in there before she could really stop it. Or maybe she wanted to share. What good was knowing the Mayor if you couldn’t use it? Fred honestly wouldn’t do that, but it was a small thought all the same.
“The big gas problem isn’t helping; I can’t do anything about it right now, but I’m trying.” She didn’t even think of how it sounded. She smiled up at him because he knew what she was talking about; she was pretty certain he would anyway. Dinah had said something by now, surely.
“Just trying to get it all together.” Fred nodded and reached out to lightly touch his arm. “Oh, uhm, are you hungry?” She couldn’t say ‘Oh, I’d like to tell you everything about what’s going on, everything that’s going on, and I’d like to do it right now because I kept meaning to do it.’ That was just too odd, wasn’t it?
----
Jack grinned at the use of words to describe that situation. Ms. Lance had, in fact, stopped in to brief him on the situation but the choice of descriptions was amusing nontheless. He might be from Wonderland, but he was still a guy after all.
She did have good timing right now. He hadn’t eaten lunch yet in anticipation of taking the afternoon off.
“I was just heading out to lunch if you’d like to join me. There’s a new place that I wanted to try. Marie’s. I hear that they have a pretty good breakfast menu.”
It was a higher end restaurant, but not so fancy that they had to change clothes. He thought that she might like it, since some of the breakfast combinations were unique twists on the familiar waffles and pancakes.
----
“Oh, breakfast? Really?” Fred’s eyes brightened, the smile more real. She did like her breakfast foods. “I think that would be wonderful. I didn’t eat much earlier.” She shrugged; even she got a little nervous and that could mean eating less.
“I tried this place, it was Italian.” Her brows furrowed as she thought. “Maxie’s! It was very good. Though a little fancier than I’m used to eating regularly. Not that I wouldn’t eat there again. You should go there.” She smiled up at him.
“How bout that! You’re introducing me to something new to eat.” It was a little funny how that worked. She did like it.
----
Jack smiled as he held out his arm to offer to her. It seemed like a simple gesture. The polite thing to do as he led the way to the restaurant. He did sometimes try restaurants on his own after all, so he had learned a thing or two since his arrival in the City when she’d been the one to show him around and introduce him to all sorts of foods and restaurants.
“So this lawsuit of yours-what is it for?” he asked.
The last time her name had appeared on the docket for a lawsuit had been the sexual harassment of one Jake Jensen. Jack was going to try not to think too much on that. What he was really prying for was some clue on if this was something that he might be able to help her with. After all, he was the mayor and there were times when he wouldn’t mind using that power to help his friends. Assuming that it was safe to assume that he had friends, plural, since he had Fred and now Tinkerbell.
----
“I broke someone’s laptop while trying to save him.” Fred’s nose wrinkled at how much she felt that she was being punished for doing good rather than bad. Best intentions and roads to Hell. “They’re suing me for saving them, and for breaking the laptop, and for mental anguish.’’
She took his arm hesitantly, but she soon gave him a soft squeeze without it meaning anything more than a miniature hug if it could be called such. She didn’t lean on him; that was how couples walked, not two friends. She smiled up at him.
“I didn’t even think about getting a lawyer. I should have.” There was a slight pout. “I’ll figure it out. I may be able to work it out in small payments.” She laughed softly. “Very small ones.”
----
Jack frowned deeply.
“That doesn’t seem right. Or fair.”
He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do about it, but he resolved to look into it and see what he could do to help her. At the very least he would be happy to make sure that she had a lawyer to help her fight back.
He didn’t voice any of this. He wasn’t sure if she would tell him not to bother or if he just didn’t want to get her hopes up, but he thought it would be better to just tell her if he’d been able to do something to help.
Instead, he escorted her to the restaurant which was thankfully not too far away at all. They lingered over the meal, though Jack couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was nagging at her. He wasn’t sure what and he wasn’t sure how to ask about it.
He did know that by the time he’d paid the check, he was regretting that the meal was over. Once they were outside the restaurant, Jack considered his options. He could ask her to spend more time with him or he could simply see her home. If he asked, the worst she could say was no, right?
“I have the afternoon off. If you have the time, would you like to take a walk with me? See what we run into perhaps?”
He was a little nervous about her answer. He didn’t know why exactly, except that their newly formed friendship was still so tentative. Then again, they’d never really been friends before. She’d kissed him the first time he’d met her and things had gone from there.
----
“Are you sure you want to walk with me? I’m a criminal, and I tend to get attacked by demons and things.” Fred was teasing as much as honestly asking. She’d thanked him for getting lunch; it was more than good. She’d liked it anyway, and she was rather happy that he didn’t want to just go their separate ways.
“And, you’re taking the afternoon off?!?” She didn’t squeal, but she did give a happy little bounce. “Oh, that’s wonderful.” She mentally thanked whomever had talked him into do that. She didn't mention Zatanna, but that woman did seem like the type who’d want to have fun. Fred rather liked fun, but she understood getting caught up in work and forgetting to eat much better than taking the afternoon off.
“We can have a nice walk.” She nodded. “If you want. Well, you asked, so why would you ask if you didn’t want to?” She laughed softly.
“I do like this.” She didn’t reach for his arm. Instead she just looked in the direction of where she thought the park would be, as if motioning.
----
“I’ll take my chances,” Jack teased lightly with a little bit of a smirk.
He started to follow in the direction in which Fred had indicated. He was enjoying her excitement over his afternoon off, though it was a bit of a surprise. Then again, it had been a surprise that she’d shown up at his office to talk after Zatanna had disappeared. It wasn’t that he’d written her off entirely but after the break-up they’d just gone their separate ways and he’d supposed that that was that.
“So you’ve had trouble with demons and ghosts? And of course madmen with toxic fear gas?” Jack asked with a frown. He didn’t like the idea of all of those things being out there and threatening his City-and yes, he was very protective of the City and those who lived there. He also didn’t like the idea of Fred being caught up in it. If he was being honest, he felt a little protective of her too. He knew that she could handle herself because this was what she did, but that didn’t mean that it was safe or risk-free.
Then again, nothing worth fighting for was ever risk-free.
----
“Thank you.” Fred paused long enough for him to catch up before settling into step beside him. She didn’t grab for his arm; they weren’t like that. It wasn’t like walking with Jesse or Henry; while those two could be cuddly and she’d even kissed Jesse, she hadn’t had a certain feeling toward the Cowboy God or the blue wunderkind. She was just now beginning to wonder if she had really felt that way for Jack. Oh, she cared for him greatly, but if she had truly loved him, she would have handled things so much better than she had. She’d been an awful girlfriend.
“Yeah, I’ve had trouble with all sorts. Or helping with the trouble they caused. Can’t ever claim life gets boring here.” Her smile was a little sad. Her brows furrowed as she thought.
“And, I’ve been thinking. More than I should. Or maybe as often as I usually do, but usually it’s on things that aren’t so emotional. Not that science is completely without emotion. Sure, it’s facts and figures, but you have to have passion to devote yourself to it. It’s not a hobby sort of thing. Well, it can be, but it isn’t for those who make strides in it, not usually.” She was babbling, and it wasn’t exactly what she’d meant to talk about. She’d just not known how else to say what she needed to say.
----
Jack frowned, completely unsure as to what Fred was trying to get to. She was babbling and he assumed that she was going somewhere with it but he simply wasn’t sure where.
“So you’ve been thinking about something other than science?” he asked, trying to prompt her to elaborate on what she had been thinking about instead of what she hadn’t been thinking about. It wasn’t that it was a shock that her thoughts were on something other than science.
Jack himself hadn’t had much time to think about anything besides work. That was mostly by design because delving into the emotional side of things, dealing with his loss, that was never something he’d excelled at.
----
“Yes.” Fred nodded, and the babbling ended rather abruptly. She turned her attention to the ground before them, watching as each step ate up a little more of it. Her brows furrowed a little, and she opted for walking on in silence for a bit. Finally they were in the Park - she hadn’t noticed the shift in scenery, but it hadn’t taken too long thankfully. She motioned to a bench, not sure if being still was a great idea.
She settled down on the bench, tucking her legs under it for now. She waited for him to sit, her hands resting on her lap. Fred was still at a loss for how to begin, but...
“I was an awful girlfriend. I was.” She had said something like it before. “I was selfish, and I didn’t think about anything other than myself. It wasn’t fair. I can’t say I wasn’t in my right mind, but I wasn’t in my best. Or I was. I don’t know. I...I kissed you not long after meeting you, which is a little different for me. I do kiss quickly, but not like that. I tried to sleep with you almost from the start, and again, sort of like me but not. See, I wasn’t...I was, but I wasn’t myself. Actually that whole time I wasn’t like I am. You may or may not have noticed that I look a little different - not as pretty, shiny, alluring? I haven’t been that way for a while. I’m not usually alluring, was I alluring?”
Yes, she was working up to something.
----
Jack was completely lost by this point. He wasn’t sure if this was a trick question or what, and he definitely wasn’t sure what she was working her way to.
“You’ve always been pretty, beautiful, alluring. You were then and you are now. Perhaps you were a little more forward when we first started dating, but to be honest it was a little bit of a relief when you dropped the sex kitten act and started acting more like yourself.”
He looked over at her with the confusion still etched into his expression.
“I’m not sure what’s brought this on, but you do realize that it’s water under the bridge? Sometimes two people just don’t work out and it’s not anyone’s fault.”
He had let go of his hurt over the way she’d broken things off awhile ago. As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t worth holding a grudge over what might or might not have happened. Even if she had left him for Jake or taken up with Jake before she’d broken things off, it was done. There were no rules when it came to romance besides following your heart. And as long as she’d done that, he couldn’t begrudge her for it.
----
“Sex kitten.” Fred thought about this one. She’d been a sex kitten? She gave him a little smile, blushing a bit. It really wasn’t a phrase she heard often, but she wouldn’t let it distract her. She shook her head, bringing herself back to what she was talking about it.
“No, that’s...that’s not exactly what I wanted to say. I wanted to say I’m sorry. And, to explain.” She took a deep breath and let it go slowly. “I wasn’t always myself. Like you said. I wasn’t acting like myself, or started acting more like myself. I wanted you to know the truth. I wasn’t myself because I was more myself. I was someone without inhibitions. I dont’ have many, but a girl should have a few. I was taking something that really wasn’t something I should have done. Sure, I could stay up late at night and keep working. My brain seemed to function at a higher level, and I hadn’t felt that way since we were all in the asylum, but it wasn’t right because it wasn’t me. I was taking a substance, and I should have realized it can’t be all natural if it comes from a supernatural source. So, we met when I wasn’t exactly me now without anything, so I don’t know how things would have been if we had met when I wasn’t hopped up on vampire blood. I don’t know if I would have broken things off the way I did, and I don’t know if I’d have gotten involved with someone who...with the guy I did.” She couldn’t talk badly about Jake, but there were times she did wonder about their relationship, especially when he found out about Eric. She had loved him, or thought she had.
“Maybe I would have done all of it, but in a different way. Maybe I wouldn’t have. I’m just saying I’m sorry, and I wanted you to know. You don’t have to understand; I just thought you should know.” She waited now to see just how disappointed he was.
----
Jack’s brow furrowed as Fred explained. He was still trying to follow what she was telling him exactly. She had been taking some sort of substance that lowered inhibitions, among other side effects? He looked Fred over, wondering if this was all part of some sort of 12 step program, or if she had just been carrying around a guilty conscience and needed to purge that guilt.
He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t sure how he felt, but anger wasn’t the first emotion to come to mind. He wasn’t the type to get lost in what-ifs and if-onlys.
“So you’ve stopped using this substance, whatever it was?” he asked her. “Did it have any negative long term effects?”
Yes, there was a bit of concern in there. How could he not be concerned after that confession?
----
Fred wasn’t sure what she was expecting when he finally spoke. She couldn’t process for a moment. He didn’t yell; he just asked if she stopped and if there were side effects. He hadn’t seemed ready to rip her one; he hadn’t even seemed as if she were disgusting.
“Vampire blood.” She said softly, her eyes dropping to her hands on her lap. “It’s vampire blood. Or was. And, I have stopped. And, it made me kind of slutty. It also made me dream about the vampire in ways you shouldn’t dream about people when you’re in a relationship. It didn’t happen often, but it happened more than it should have. And, I’m sorry. It wasn’t that I was in love with him, but it just..would..happen.” She hadn’t looked up yet. Quite possibly there were tears forming in her eyes. She didn’t know if she was crying because she’d been caught, though she’d told him on her own, or if she was crying because she had finally told him something she wanted to tell him but couldn’t. She wanted him to know that she felt bad and that there might be some reason she’d acted rashly overall.
She didn’t know what else to say, so she didn’t. She just sat there staring at her hands, letting her mind slip over different things. All of it was horrible what ifs and shoulda/coulda/wouldas. It wasn’t good for her, but she let it happen anyway. She really did have to start taking better care of herself, physically and mentally.
----
Jack said nothing for a little while. He let her talk, and he didn’t rush to talk immediately afterward. She was clearly upset and clearly in need of time to process things. He did reach out and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He wasn’t going to take advantage of the moment, but he did want her to know that he was here.
“No one can be expected to have control over their dreams, whether they’re in a relationship or not,” he said.
He returned his hand to the bench, just resting between the two of them. He still wasn’t sure why she was continuing to beat herself up over all of this. It was clear that she had made some bad decisions and then had started making the healthier decisions.
“Back in Wonderland, my mother kept pushing these teas on people,” he said. He wasn’t trying to change the subject, but he did see an awful lot of similarities. “They seemed great at first glance. All of the emotion you could want and it blocked out that which you didn’t want. After awhile, that was the only emotion people could feel. Without the teas, they felt empty. Sometimes it’s easier to bury yourself in something that feels good at the time than it is to feel the whole range of emotions. Sometimes it’s easier to try to improve yourself, even if there’s nothing that needs improving.”
He gave her a sad little smile.
“I’m not angry, though I am a little sad that I didn’t get the chance to know the real you-without the vampire blood-back then.”
----
Fred listened. It was rare, her silence. She could listen, but rarely did she not feel like speaking. She didn’t care for this feeling, and she was more than a little appreciative for the small touch and his words. She didn’t look up at first. Instead, she set her hand on his as it rested on the bench, for only a brief moment. She didn’t want to seem too forward; that wasn’t what this was about.
The brainy female looked up in time to catch the small smile. Hers was soft and perhaps a little sad as well. She nodded slightly.
“The vampire said that how someone acts on the blood is still real, just a little more real.” She looked down at her hands before wiping at her cheeks.
“I’d like to be your friend. I know we’re friendly, and we’re friends, but I’d like to get to know you and be a real true friend. And, I won’t run away if I end up in a picture with you somehow. I’m not gonna go hopping into pictures with you, but I will be your friend, if you want.” Her smile was a little brighter and hopeful.
----
Jack happened to think that an overemphasized version of one’s personality, or uninhibited wasn’t ‘more real.’ But he believed that a person was defined as much by the impulses that they didn’t act on as by what they did. All the same, he wasn’t going to argue the point with Fred. He certainly wasn’t the expert on the effects of the vampire blood.
He did smile at her offer.
“I’d like that quite a bit.”
----
Fred smiled a little more and leaned over to dare a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you better.” She nodded, smiling. Oh, she wasn’t completely over the guilt; she’d given into something, questioning its goodness for her. She’d given in and had made some poor choices. But, she was getting a second chance.
Or a first chance, depending on how one looked at it.
“Thank you. Now, I guess I should get home to figure out how in the world I’m going to pay for things and do it while saving the world.” She hadn’t brought it up to remind him or even ask for help. It was simply something she had to do.
----
Jack’s cheek tingled where her lips had brushed against it. He couldn’t help but wonder how things might have been different if they’d met when she was like this, instead of on the vampire blood. Would Jake still have been a factor?
It wasn’t worth it to spend too long going down that road because the past was the past, but he couldn’t help wondering a little bit.
“Save the world first. The City might just take care of that lawsuit for you,” Jack said. After all, it was something that the City did sometimes. And if the City didn’t do it, he would make sure it was taken care of for her if it was in his power to do so.
He just hoped that Dinah’s Justice League could handle the potential crisis. He felt a little useless because so far, he hadn’t been able to find a secure way to stop things. Short of setting things in motion for mass production of gas masks to protect the residents of the City from the fear toxin. That was part of the reason that he’d taken the afternoon off-because he hoped that the rest would bring some sort of inspiration or at least better prepare him to face this potential crisis.
----
"Thank you. For everything." Fred covered her mouth as it threatened to open much too widely again in a yawn. She blushed a little. "Guess I should get home. I didn't know I'd feel so...thank you." She felt lighter, better, and all it had taken was someone accepting her. Jesse had; Dinah had, and now Jack had. It was definitely a good thing.
"This hasn't been a bad day after all." She smiled brightly. It was certainly looking up.