InsaneJournal

Who: Helen Magnus, Sam Winchester, John Jones, Applejack
When: Friday night, BEFORE Christmas! (backdated)
Where: Bar
What: Running into each other
Rating: TBD
Status: Prewrite


Helen and Sam had just won a big case. Jury came back today, client was found not-guilty, and happiness ensued. After wrapping things up, finishing with the last of the paperwork and dropping things off back at the office, Sam convinced Helen to come out with him for a celebratory drink. Just one.

The two headed out to a bar near the courthouse, and took a seat at one of the tables to sit back, relax and enjoy a stiff drink in celebration for the end of their hard work.

John had been dead set on going out this evening with his girlfriend. He was having a hard time with the memories, now having experienced three different memory dreams, and still feeling utterly alien. And feeling... weirded out a lot. AJ was his solace, his lifeline. Work enabled him to escape it, for hours on end, really. But AJ, she was the one who was helping him cope with it, and slowly but surely deal.

He smiled as he and she sat, drinking and eating snacks, and mostly talking quietly. It was nice to be out with her again.

AJ could tell that John was feeling weird about his dreams. They seemed a lot more... alien than hers were. Which was saying a lot, considering in her dreams she was a cartoon pony. She was being as supportive as she could, giving him lots of extra hugs and cuddles, and hoping that she was doing the good girlfriend thing.

AJ was laughing, relaying a story about a woman in front of her at the coffee shop who told her an adorable story about her grandchild. AJ liked to meet people and make friends wherever she went. She reached forward, picked up her glass, and took a sip.

Helen had been reluctant to go to the bar. While she’d grown less isolated in the time she had been with Varric, social settings were still somewhat out of her comfort zone. But Sam had seemed intent on celebrating, and she couldn’t bring herself to turn him down. She had promised him one drink. One drink. Then she could go home to her family.

Settling back in her seat, she surveyed the other patrons.

Sam had actually come into the bar and sat down with Helen without noticing that John and a pretty, blonde girl that he assumed was John’s new Betty, AJ. He set his glass down and turned to Helen with a smile on his features. “Hey, my friends are over there. John, and his girlfriend. You wouldn’t mind if I asked them to join us, would you?” He asked. Helen was probably only going to stick around for one drink... Sam could probably wait until after she left to go impose on John and AJ... but he wanted his good friend to meet his boss.

John was grateful that AJ was being patient with him. She seemed to enjoy her dreams, and he felt bad, a little for being the dark cloud on them. He hoped she continued to have good dreams and he would listen to her talk about them all he could.

He glanced around between talking to her, sipping his drink, and spotted Sam. he raised a hand to wave. Then he smiled to AJ, reaching out to squeeze her hands and kiss them.. “My friend, Sam is here. Want to wander over and say hi, in a little bit?”

After setting down her glass, AJ let her hand slip into his and laced their fingers together. She gave a nod, looking into his eyes. They were so warm, so kind. She nodded. “O’ Course!” She said, breaking into a bright grin. “I’m dyin’ ta meet him.” She added. The more she dreamed, the more her accent came through.

She smiled, gesturing in their direction. “By all means.” She couldn’t see the harm in allowing the couple to join them. After all, she didn’t intend to stay, and she thought it might do him good to have the company.

Sam gave a little nod, then stood from his chair and crossed the bar to where John and AJ were sitting. He smiled, wiping his hands on his trousers, and stepped up. “John? I thought that was you.”

John rose as he approached, and nodded. He stuck out his hand. “Hello, Sam. Sam, this is AJ, my girlfriend. AJ, this is Sam, a friend I met one day a few weeks ago at the courthouse.” He smiled at both of them. “How are you doing tonight, Sam?” He glanced toward the woman Sam had been with.

AJ stood as well, watching as Sam and John shook hands. She smiled, having heard a lot about Sam from John. It was nice for them to have guy buddies that they could do things with from time to time. AJ had Tonks, and some other girlfriends, but it was nice for John and Sam to have the same.

“Hi,” she said, then reached forward and shook Sam’s hand.

Sam nodded, “It’s nice to finally meet you, AJ,” he grinned, shook her hand, then brought his hands back to his pockets. “I’m celebrating the end of a case, having a drink with my boss. Would you two care to come and join us?”

AJ looked over at John. She was willing, so long as he was, too.

Helen nodded as he left, allowing her mind to wander as she waited.

John nodded, grinning. “We’d love to, Sam. Making new friendships and renewing old ones is one of the best parts of this place.” He slid an arm around AJ, to walk toward this boss he had heard a little about. He looked forward to talking to her and Sam, too.

Sam led the way back over to Helen, smiling warmly and motioning to introduce everyone all the way around. “John, AJ, this is my boss, Helen Magnus. These are my friends, John and AJ.” He moved to pull a couple more chairs around the table he’d been sharing with Helen.

Helen smiled as they approached, pulling herself out of her thoughts. Once they were settled, she offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

AJ reached a hand forward and shook Helen’s. “And you. You’re a lawyer? That must be... well, rewarding and frustrating, from what I understand of the legal system.” AJ said, giving a smile. “I don’t know a whole lot about it, besides what our company lawyers tell me.” She added, slipping into the chair beside Helen’s, pulled up by Sam.

John shook her hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Ma’am. Sam’s told me a bunch about you.” His grin was warm. he settled next to AJ, with Sam on the other side of him. he grinned at the man. “So which case ended? I’ve been away and wasn’t keeping track of the court dockets.” The cops did, on some days, depending on how personal and long a case had been.

“All good things, I promise.” Sam said with a little chuckle as he took his seat again. He nodded to Helen so she could explain the case if she wanted to. It was really more her case than anything else. He was just assisting.

Helen nodded. “It certainly can be,” she answered, then turned her attention to discussing the case. “A young man was accused of an assault. He assured me he was innocent; I simply made certain I wasn’t the only one who believed him.”

With a nod, AJ replied. “Something similar happened to one of the guys that lived in my dorm when I was in college. He was accused of punching some guy in a bar fight, but I was with him the whole time and he didn’t do it. Thank goodness he had witnesses.”

John nodded. “It happens a lot. I take reports every day that are not... entirely right. You can almost see it, but you still have to investigate, and pursue it, until you can find some proof, one way or the other.” His lips twisted. “Sometimes we do, and sometimes... we don’t.” He nodded to Helen and Sam. “Then it’s up to people like you two to find a way to help them.”

“That’s our job. Even when the accusations are real, those people still deserve their fair day in court.” Sam said. He would much prefer to represent the innocent ones, but that wasn’t always the case.

She flashed Sam a small smile. They had only been working together a short time, but she was already finding herself immensely proud of him. He had fit into her practice better than she could have hoped.

“I spent a fair amount of time working as a city attorney. I find my current work far more rewarding.”

AJ gave a little nod, glancing between Sam and Helen. She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “What’s the difference between being a city attorney and what you’re doing now?” She asked, then realized that that probably made her sound kinda stupid. “I mean, I don’t know much about this stuff,” she added, sheepishly.

John smiled at them. “I can imagine you like it a lot more. The chance to defend people, and to see the best in people no matter what, is nice.”

“It’s not always the best,” Sam said with a chuckle. “But it’s what’s fair, and what’s afforded to all people by the law.”

Smiling, Helen shook her head. “It’s all right. In Seattle, I worked for the city, prosecuting cases. When I moved to California, I began working as a defense attorney, on the opposite side of the law, as it were.”

She took a sip of her drink, glancing back toward John. “I appreciate being able to understand, get to know my clients. Even the guilty ones have a story. Often it’s worth listening.”

“Yeah, I guess when you’re prosecuting, you don’t have a whole lot of chance to meet and get to know the accused,” AJ said, thoughtfully. “That would make a big difference. I don’t know which side I’d rather be on. I suppose as much as I want justice, I’d also be terrified of sending innocent people to jail.”

John sat back, listening, glad to have a chance to hear all of this. “For me, I never get that chance, not really. I study a suspect, and interview them, but it’s all to discover their innocence or guilt by the law. No real personal aspect to it at all.”

“That’s a definite possibility,” Sam said, though it was obvious by his tone and his expression that he didn’t like it. “And the possibility of the guilty going free. But we try our best to prevent that.” He nodded to John, wondering if the other was getting frustrated with his job.

“There’s risk in either option. In working for the justice system, one must recognize its faults. Innocents will be punished and guilty parties will go free. Unavoidable, I’m afraid. Even knowing that, a certain amount of faith in the system is required. When that faith is shaken, it’s difficult not to turn against it. On occasion, a new perspective is necessary.”

AJ frowned. “How often do innocent people end up behind bars?” She asked, looking a little thunderstruck, a little horrified.

John gently hugged her. “Unfortunately, evidence is sometimes circumstantial and some trials rely on Juries. People in juries are human and depending on how a case is presented by a lawyer and how we cops do opr don’t do our jobs, someone can end up innocent, but convicted.” He sighed.

“It not pleasant know it, but we all do. We try our best to prevent it, but I know I’ve seen at least two people go to prison when they were innocent. And there was nothing I could do.”

“That’s awful,” AJ said.

“It happens a lot. We’ve got new ways of proving innocence, as opposed to the way things were fifty years ago, but still. That’s the way the system works, unfortunately. It’s not perfect.” Sam said, then lifted his glass to finish off the last of his drink.