Giving Thanks Early

Participants:

elisabeth_icon.gif rebecca_icon.gif

Scene Title Giving Thanks Early
Synopsis Elisabeth comes calling on Rebecca to see how she's doing and they go to coffee.
Date November 5, 2009

It's been about a week and Rebecca Nakano has been busy doing research and finding out what it'd take to become a private investigator. She's even put a few feelers out for some additional help, though nothing has really panned out as of yet. For the first time in a long time, she's feeling very motivated. Instead of taking orders, she's driving her life in the direction she wants it to go, even if she's not always too sure with turn to take.

Today, however, she's in the mood to clean so she's got her hair tied back and has some old sweats on that have already been used for cleaning, with a few bleached spots here and there. She actually on her hands and knees in the kitched with a mask over her face and scrubbing the floor. The air definitely smells of bleach as she takes her scrub brush and ducks it into the bucket then pulls it out and goes back to work on the floor.

The knock on Rebecca's door isn't exactly expected. Elisabeth didn't call ahead, she merely detoured on her way back to the office from another call. The scent of bleach can be made out even in the hallway outside the apartment and Liz wrinkles her nose, reaching up to pound again. "Nakano, open up!"

Surely, she can't be under arrest now. She glances over at the door as if she could see through it, but she can't, so she drops the brush into the pail and pushes herself up off the floor. Ensuring she doesn't step onto the bleached floor and onto the carpet, she walks towards the door and opens it. A strong breeze of cool and bleach waifs through as she probably looks a sight.

A white bandana holding her hair back, a white apron and a white mask on her face as her slightly slanted eyes peer at Elisabeth with a bit of shock. "What's going on?" the muffled voice of the former investigator comes through, before she finally reaches up to pull down the mask.

The waft of bleach makes her eyes water. "Christ, woman," Elisabeth coughs. "Open the windows. That's got to be hazardous to your health, breathing all that shit in." She holds her nose and stays in the hall. "Just came by to check up on you, that's all," she says with her nose plugged.

There's a laugh that comes from Rebecca now. "I do have all my windows open!" It's been a while since she actually laughed like that. "I would have stopped cleaning if I'd known you were coming over. At least aired out the place a little first." She leans against the doorway. "I can probably get some of the smell out, and you can come in, if you like. I could probably use the break. Or, I could grab my coat and we can go out for coffee?" There's a place just down the street.

"Sure, coffee sounds great." Liz studies the woman she last saw at the hospital. "C'mon, I'll buy."

So the apron comes off, swapping it with the jacket that hangs behind the door and Rebecca is ready to go as she walks side by side with Liz as they head for the elevator. "How have things been for.." she pauses, then reaches she has that mask hanging around her neck, so she gently tugs it over her head and tucks it into her pocket. "Have have things been going for you?" she finally finishes as she steps into the elevator as the doors open.

"Oh…. about as well as can be expectd," Elisabeth comments. "O'Shea and Shelby are taking off. Got a new partner. He's a hound." Her tone is amused. "And another new guy came in, doens't have a partner yet. Things have been… kind of crazed." She shrugs. "Guess I'm mostly okay. What about you?"

And down the elevator goes to the ground floor and opens up as they step from it and head towards the exit. As the 'shop talk' is shared, there's just a slight twinge of regret nipping at Becca's heart. She does kind of miss the place, but.. she doesn't belong there anymore. Maybe she never did. "I'm doing better. Really. Well, as well as can be given the unemployment status, but I've decided to try and go into business for myself. I am working on the paperwork now, but there's alot. I need to round up some references." She turns and smiles to the cop, "I'm actually excited about it."

Elisabeth looks interested. "What kind of business? And what kind of references?" She grins a little. "I'll help out if I can."

"I'm going to be a private investigator." Well, she wants to be, but she's giving it a positive spin. "I think with my skills and my ability, I could do very well for myself. I need to finish some training first though." One of the things she regrets is never taking the next step and learning a few of the 'cop' things while working on the force. Of course, she was needed in the lab, but those skills would come in handy for her in this line of work. "But, I'm almost done at least getting a license. Just need three references. I think yours would be very helpful, if you wouldn't mind." The coffee shop isn't far and before long they're stepping inside and in line for the counter.

As they walk and talk, Elisabeth listens intently. "Absolutely," she immediately replies. "You're a good investigator, Becca. Brush back up on the academy skills, and you'll do great. Seriously. The best thing I can recommend is look up someone who's been doing it a while and maybe see if you can hitch your wagon to their business for a while. Get a feel for the ropes? But that's just a thought."

Rebecca flashes a smile and nods. "I was thinking about that. I'm not sure I know anyone, but if you hear of anything, or know anyone, please let me know." Ever since they found what was causing her headaches, she's been working hard on her ability, even to the point of putting a few mirrors around the apartment. She orders her coffee and waits for Liz to order hers. "Honestly, I feel really good about this. I don't remember alot of what happened before, but I wanted to see. I used my ability and saw how you took care of me and got me to the hospital. I already knew, but seeing it. Seeing how I was. It's different than just knowing." Her eyes well up just a little bit. "I know I've said thanks before, but now that I know, thank you for taking care of me, Liz."

Elisabeth places her order and pays for both, then reaches out to touch Rebecca's shoulder briefly. "You're welcome," she says quietly. "Seeing you like that… was one of the harder things I've done. I'm glad it's working out that you're getting better." She grimaces a little. "I wish that you'd… talked to me," she admits.

There's a booth, and Rebecca slides into one side. "I wanted to be useful. Everyone seemed to need me for what I could do and I didn't want to let anyone down. It just seemed like in the end I let everyone down. I honestly have no idea what all has happened that perhaps something I could have seen would have been helpful. I wanted to help, but I should have been asking for it instead." Rebecca bites her lip. "I think someone from the precinct put that Refrain in my purse."

The blonde cop goes still, and she looks at Rebecca with a frown. "Why would someone in the precinct want you hooked?" She doesn't sound like she disbelieves. More that she's being a bit cautious here, curious why Becca would think that.

There's a long hesitation as Rebecca turns her head and looks out of the window for a moment. She knows an answer is expected and she doesn't really have any proof of anything, but even if what she says can prevent it from happening to someone else. She turns back and looks at Liz, "I was talking to Officer Castalides in the locker room when I was having one of my really bad headaches. She suggested that I try it. I told her I didn't think it was a good idea, and it seemed like she dropped it. But when I got home, the refrain was in my purse. I can't say she put it there, but it's a logical jump in conclusion. I just thought maybe someone should keep an eye out."

That frown grows more distinct. "Castalides. Uniform, right?" Elisabeth means a patrol officer as opposed to a detective, of course. "Suggested that you should try the stuff? I realize that it wasn't illegal or anything, but…. wow. That's kinda… wrong."

"I know that now. Thought you might want to keep an eye out. Maybe she's stopped, since it's not legal anymore, but," Rebecca feels like the tattle-tale from back in grade school, even though this is a serious incident. "I thought I should say something to someone."

"Yeah," Elisabeth replies, sipping her coffee thoughtfully. "It's definitely something I'm going to look into. That shit's being distributed by the Triad. Why the hell would she have her hands on it…. much less offer it to you? Are you guys friends? I mean… not that I think a friend should offer you street dope to help you out, mind you…"

Rebecca shakes her head. "I sometimes got the impression she didn't care for me, then she took me to see a girl once. Said the girl confused her." She doesn't mention the name of the girl, though she's seen Tamara on a few occasions since that first meeting with Aude. "So, I couldn't really say we were friends, no. She just happened to be around when I was having a hard time of it."

Elisabeth mms mildly. "Yeah… I get the impression she doesn't like much of anyone, honestly." Her own experiences with Castalides have been …. all right. Pleasant enough in the way of people who don't know and don't care to know much about one another, they just happen to share gender in a man's profession. "Maybe that's just me, though." She shrugs slightly and says mildly, "I'll do a little digging. Make sure she's not up to something in the drug trade. Taking a little something on the side, you know?"

"That would be bad. You hear about it, but hope you never run into a something like that. But, yeah." Rebecca could offer to use her ability to know for certain, but she's not entirely sure how she'd feel about going back into the precinct, especially on just a hunch. "When I get going, if you ever need my help for anything let me know." Rebecca offers a smile now. "I'll even give you a discount on my services," she teases as she drinks the last of her coffee.

Laughing, Liz replies, "Well, that's good. Since I've got IA breathing down my neck, I could be out of a job at some point. Maybe I'll just come work for you." She shrugs a bit and smiles. "I'll keep it in mind, though. You're one of the best forensics people I've worked with; Becca, believe me… if I can use your help, I'll definitely call." Not to mention, if the woman gets control of her talent, it could come in real handy for an outside consultant to the PD.


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