Re: O'Brien, Leah
She could tell solely by the look on his face that he didn't like her assessment of his spirit animal. Brows rose expectantly. "You," she confirmed, not bothering to hide her amusement. "Didn't you just tell me you used to be difficult to deal with when you had your head wrapped up in a case? Then there's your little puppy-dog crush on me. So, yes. Single-minded." There was some incredulity in her voice now. "So basically it's okay for me to be compared to a fish, but not you? That's insulting and a bit sexist."
Well, if he wanted to eat the freeze-dried ice cream, who the hell was she to stop him? Leah made a shrugging motion with her eyebrows and shook her head, reaching for a handful of potato chips. "Curiosity kills cats, remember? Guess you don't care about being the cause of feline murder." Alright, so that was a lame joke. They couldn't all be gems. "I don't plan on trying any of... that... so I don't care what the hell it tastes like." She popped a chip into her mouth.
When O'Brien's gaze swept the crowd, Leah's did too, although she wasn't consciously searching for her youngest sister. She suspected that was who O'Brien was looking for, though. He'd been spending quite a bit of time with Kori lately. It made Leah a bit suspicious. No doubt Kori had told him something about Leah. Whatever it was, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Well. There was her confirmation. No kids to lose. An ex-wife, but, given his colorful opinion of her, it didn't seem likely he really cared where she was or if she was alive. Leah couldn't say she blamed him there. There were plenty of people she hated and was glad to discover they weren't around anymore. "Smart choice. Not having a family to miss. Beyond the nieces and nephews and whoever else, that is," she commented. "If they're still out there, they probably miss their uncle and his ridiculous ways."
As she finished off her chips and took another sip of water, Leah felt another smile come unbidden to her lips when O'Brien detailed the adventures he'd had as a babysitter. "I should've expected there'd be guns of some sort," she remarked lightly. The smile wilted almost as soon as it had appeared. Leah stared into the clear depths of her bottle, watching the water slosh and ripple with her movements. Whatever had possessed her to steer the conversation in this direction had evaporated, leaving her feeling nostalgic and uncomfortable once more. O'Brien turned his head to look at her once more, and she lifted her head to meet his gaze, one eyebrow arching in question. "Hm, what?" Maybe she shouldn't have asked that. She didn't want to continue this conversation either.
"I could think of worse things to do with my night." And for this, she was staying sober. No midnight kisses would be sneaking up on her this time. If O'Brien could behave himself, so could she. And maybe she'd even have fun. But not much.