A Romantic Dinner

Participants:

cassidy_icon.gif mortimer_icon.gif

Scene Title A Romantic Dinner
Synopsis Cassidy wakes up to find that Mortimer has broken into her apartment again, but this time is to present her with a romantic dinner for two. At least this time he isn't naked.
Date May 25, 2009

Cassidy's Apartment


The apartment for the most part is dark, the muffled night life and the hum of the fridge is the only sounds that can be heard. There is a soft, dim glow at the end of the hall where Cassidy's room is found. The glow seems to come from her bathroom, the door partially closed leaving just a sliver of light. The light falls across a queen side bed and this is where Cassidy can be found. The woman is sound asleep after a long day at the precinct, wearing her Eeyore PJ and curled around a pillow.

It's hard to say how or when Mortimer entered, though he waited until she was sound asleep. Unlike what one would expect, he doesn't do anything creepy, in fact, he's set up an entire romantic evening in her living room. There's rose peddles on the floor, the couch and coffee table are pushed out of the way, and a new circular table with a white cloth is set in front of the television. There's one simply white candle in the middle, scentless, because one wouldn't wanna take away from the fresh lobster on their fine china plates, set with fine silver.

The smell goes all through the house by now, and Mortimer has a normal looking prosthetic arm screwed on to his brown metallic arm attachment. Clearly he's done some work on himself. He's even dressed for the part, clean shaven, a white silk shirt, some black dress pants and shoes, and he's standing there, pouring expensive wine into the glasses next to their plates.

It takes a few moments for Cassidy to realize she's actually smelling that food, not dreaming about it. She lifts her head off the pillow and peers at the clock. "What the…." She glances at the door and her heart skips a beat. Oh shit… someone is in her place." She sits up quickly, reaching between the headboard and the bed where she has a holster and a small revolver. She pulls it out and on bare feet silently moves to her bedroom door. She peeks out and blinks as she sees down the hall. She grabs the door and opens it wide, stepping out in her lavender Eeyore print pants and the spaghetti strap tank she asks. "Mortimer?" It make an interesting picture considering she's still holding the revolver. She starts stalking down the hall not looking super happy. "What are you doing in my apar…t… ment? What's this?" She says looking at what he's done to her place.

"A romantic dinner. I know I shouldn't have broken in, but you'd be breaking the law if you just agreed to it, right? If I do it this way, it's only my fault." Mortimer explains, very logically. He has the general air of the person from the hospital, but there's more of a playful care free edge to him. "I changed again, I feel like I went back to normal, but I still feel the me that was talking to you, it's like, I'm both at the same time. Oh, and I brought you something to." He nods over at the picture he stole, it's back again.

Cassidy flicks the safety on her gun after she stands there for a few moments of thought. "You shouldn't be /here/ Mortimer." She runs fingers through her sleep tossed hair. "There could be a car downstairs. I mean.. Everyone is rather up in arms, especially after that little gift. They appreciated it.. but it doesn't change what you've done before. " She glances over at the indicated picture and moves to pick it up. She doesn't look at him as she looks over it. "Thank you." She says, obviously the photo means something to her. She takes a moment to put it back on the wall in it's proper place.

"Don't worry about it, just sit down, relax." Mortimer says in a reassuring tone, pulling her chair back so she can take a seat. "I'm gonna hunt criminals in Staten, the ones you can't get, that way I have an outlet for having fun, and I can still keep my promise to you. I'll just tie 'em up and dump them in front of police stations. No killing, just for you, because… I still like you a lot."

"Of course I'm going to worry." Cassidy says her tone flat. She sets the revolver on a bookshelf, a stupid move she knows but something says she has nothing to worry about. "And your little gang doesn't mind the change in the rule?" She can't help but ask as she approaches him. She's playing with fire allowing herself to get close to him, but her eyes narrow a bit as she stops in front of him. Her eyes flick down, noticing his arm for the first time. There is a touch of a smile before she can stop it. "I see you didn't waste time on replacing it."

"I have lots of attachments, but this one's mostly for you." Mortimer's smiling, a warm smile, much happier than when he was in the hospital. His words are still just as sincere as ever, still holding the chair for her. "They don't have much of a choice, if they don't like it, they can leave. I don't stop them from leaving if they want to, as long as they didn't break a rule. The point of my gang is fun, as long as it's fun, they don't care. But let's not talk about that stuff, alright? I just wanted this to be about us."

"Us?" Cassidy sounds a bit confused by the use of the word. "You didn't have to do anything." She motions to the table and the food. "You looked like you needed a friend, I didn't expect anything from it." She seems rather hesitant to sit. She's almost afraid to look him in the eyes. "There has to be better women out there for you Mortimer. I'm a cop. I'm suppose to arrest you not let you woo me with…" She leans a bit to look at the food. "Is that Lobster?" Okay, he's not suppose to be there.. he broke in her place.. yet, she feels a bit touched by the effort.

"Lobster, some expensive wine I found in one of the abandoned places we use for hideouts. I had one of my guys check it, some of them are the rich high class type, y'know?" Mortimer releases the chair, moving his good hand to gently rest on her shoulder. "I can get in and out of here like nothing, it's up to you if you wanna tell anyone. No one needs to know about this, we can see eachother, and I'm not breaking any laws that you know about. As long as I don't tell you anything you'd need to report, and as long as you don't tell anyone that I'm here, it's alright. We can…" He pauses, voice softened even more as he looks into her eyes. "Be something."

The emotions war on Cassidy's eyes as he talks, her body stiffening as her rests a hand on her shoulder. It's really the first time he's touched her, her heart thuds against her chest. No… it's not suppose to do that. She's not suppose to feel that little twist that says you feel something. Of course, it's not the only man she's felt that. Oh lord.. Coren.. he's gonna be pissed if he finds out. She takes a step back suddenly very aware of who is there and who he was, not to mention who she is. "Be… something?" She sounds uncertain. "I barely know you." She glances down at the floor and then catches sight of her clothing and her cheeks turn red with embarrassment. "I… " She finally decides she needs off her feet and sits in the offered chair.

"We can get to know each other." Mortimer casually offers, gently pushing her chair in, then going to the chair across from her. "Well, you know a lot about me, so it's more me who doesn't know you too well, I just know I like who you are. Oh, there's butter and stuff to dip the lobster in." he says, nodding to the little glass cups. "After we eat, wanna watch a movie or something? You know, on the couch, like a date?" His eyes are hopeful, expression soft and cautious. His whole demeanor suggests that a growing nervousness, as if he's afraid she'll reject him at any moment.

There is no protest when he pushes her chair in, arms moving to rest on the edge of the table. Her eyes travel over the table, she looks rather confused and almost like she's reeling from it all. "Your right I do." She says softly, her eyes lifting to study him. She finally picks up a fork and starts to pick at the lobster. "A date?" A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. "I haven't dated in… Well.. since after I lost a partner years ago. Easier to do the job then to feel anything for anyone." She takes a bit of Lobster and dips it in the butter. Taking the bite she chews thoughtfully. "I don't think I ever had lobster. Well, like this anyhow."

"I haven't dated since high school, before all this happened. I've, well, been with women, but I haven't dated." Mortimer says with a hint of shame, a part of him believing she might think badly of him. "Couldn't hurt with me, right? I'm thinking a lot clearer than before my fight with Dutch, but I've still got my edge, just, I have more self control. It's all thanks to you, it's like, with you, I have something to try and be a better person for."

"Well, I haven't even…." Cassidy slaps a hand over her mouth and she ducks her head down, her cheeks bright red. Why the hell did she just say that. She clears her throat. "It could hurt, if it's found out, Mortimer. Not you.. but me. I could possibly loose my job." She takes another couple of bites of lobster. His words pull her attention again and she frowns a bit. "But… all I did was feed you food and make sure they treated you like you should."

"I could fix that." Mortimer playfully says with a light chuckle, dipping his lobster into the buttery sauce, then takes a bite. "But seriously, stop worrying. You can trust me, no one's gonna find out, unless you say something. And I'd go through the most painful torture before I sell you out. Just, give me a chance, alright? I won't make you lose your job, and if all else fails, just say I forced you. I'll slap a bomb cuff on your ankle or something, unarmed of course, but they couldn't tell." He shrugs, apparently having given this quite a bit of thought, lightly nudging her leg under the table with a grin. "And you did more than feed me, you talked to me, you treated me like a person. Not just like some leader or a person who's afraid of me, you treated me like a person. And, you're just great, understanding, forgiving, trusting. There's so much great about you, so many reasons to try and turn my life around."

"I.. dunno." Cassidy says softly, pushing her fork around her plate some. "Can you blame me for being nervous?" She completely ignore his first comment deciding it's best to not say anything then make it worse. She hopes up a hand to forestall anything from him yet. "Not cause I think I'm in danger. I've been living fully in my job.. I'm a police officer.. you have two counts of attempted murder.. assault… breaking and entering." She goes quiet as she speaks, looking embarrassed as he makes her out to be this wonderful person. "And I liked talking to you. You looked like you needed it. It was hard to see you so torn up." She says softly.

"Look at it like this, if you called the cops or not, I wouldn't get arrested, so why not just sit back and enjoy the ride?" Mortimer says very simply, taking a sip of his wine. "I can't drink too much, it messes with my eyes, but I didn't want you to think I messed with it or something." He raises his arm up, pulling the sleeve so she can see the job he did. The metallic cap held up with straps. At least he didn't physically graft it to himself, or something crazy like that. "I'll be fine, but I'm kinda sad that I can't play the guitar, or ride my bike. I lost two of the most fun things in my life with this arm, but I've still got you here."

Putting down the fork, Cassidy motions for him to lean forward, so that she can get a better look at the fake arm. "Have you thought about seeking out a healer? So if they can give you the arm back?" She gives him a smile across the table. "Knowing you, you'll find a way to ride your bike. I can't imagine that there isn't a way." She sits up again trying to make herself relax. "Well… fine. I will… give you tonight at least. I still think there is a better woman out there for you."

"The last woman before you that I tried to pick up, is the one that helped break me out. I think the break in my typical taste in women might be a good thing, if you ask me." Mortimer leans in, giving her a better look. He even moves the fingers a bit, but they're only made for gripping, just glorified claws made to look normal. "Can't go near Abigail, she's, too scary. I don't wanna explain, I don't like it when you think I'm crazy. But I thought she was the only one?"

"She's the only one I know of, but I doubt she's the only one." Morbid curiosity makes Cassidy reach out to touch the fingers when they move. "Your ability with this kinda of stuff is amazing." She realizes she's touching and pulls her hand away. "So.. you decided to go for the complete opposite of a woman? A shut in, work-a-holic?" She obviously doesn't think a lot of herself. She picks up her fork again and goes back to eating. "This is good though."

"To be perfectly honest, you fit the criteria of most of my gang members. I know you can't keep this a secret, so I won't force you." Mortimer says in a very 'no pressure' way, trying to assure her that he doesn't expect her to not do her job completely. "But most of my men? Work-a-holics, didn't have much going on in their life, just going day by day, worker bees. Or guys who just do nothing, ones who only live for other people and go home miserable. I offer them something better, an alternative, a way to take charge of their life. I've met females who fit the criteria, but I don't know, I guess I've just never fully grasped the ability to recruit women." He shakes his head, sighing as he breaks a lobster claw. "I'm rambling, my point is, some of my best friends are like you, and that doesn't mean them or you any less of a person, it just means you need to live life more, and I'm gonna help you live, even if we can only do it in these four walls."

Cassidy gives a small smile listening to him. "I have to admit your gang sounds a lot different then I imagined. If anything… Changing things will help these men maybe keep from being tossed in jail in the long run, huh?" She can respect that. "So…." She hesitates for a moment and then asks. "What do you want to know about it?" She picks up the glass and gives it a swirl before taking a sip. "Oh.. and if I find out you told anyone about my choice of sleepwear.. I will have to hurt you." She sounds rather dead serious about that.

"I like a woman who wears PJs, leaves some mystery, hopefully a solvable one." Mortimer says quite flirtatiously, taking another small sip of his drink, but it's quite obvious he doesn't intend to finish his glass. "Where'd you come from? How'd you grow up?"

Pointing a fork at him, she says in a warning tone, even if there is a bit of a smile. "A little early to even thinking about that buster." She moves to dealing with a claw, biting her lip as she works at the claw. "I grew up in California… LA to be exact. Dad was a cop.. just like his dad… and his dad's dad… I'm the 4th one in the family to be a police officer." She pauses to try and crack the claw giving it a small glare. "But.. when I was nine.. he was killed on a traffic stop. I was raised by my mom.. Course all my dad's buddies decided to pitch in and help out. So I guess you could say as I got older I had six surrogate dads."

Mortimer holds a hand up, reaching under the table and pulling out a wicker basket. It's a picnic basket! "This is what I brought everything in, should be a shell cracker in there somewhere." he offers, then goes back to listening, nodding intently. "You're a good cop, it's something I don't wanna mess up, it's something I'm not gonna mess up. I have plan on top of plan on top of plan, if somehow we were ever found out, I'd make sure all of this goes on me. And I'm sorry about your dad, not sure what happened to mine." He goes a bit quiet, because crazy guys can be awkward too, then he just starts to stare, smiling a few times. "So, you're not a first date girl? Guess I expected that."

"First date girl?" Everything else doesn't seem to matter for the moment. "Oooh." It dawns on her what he means. "No." She says simply, giving him a look that says don't even try. "For one.. I'm still not sure what to think about all this.. and….well.. that's about it. I don't know what to think, yet." She takes the basket and pull out the shell cracker. "Thanks." She concentrates on the cracking the shell for a moment. Once it cracks she continues. "Anyhow.. It's alright. It was years ago that he died. And my mom did well enough."

"Can't blame a guy for being anxious, but don't worry, I can take no for an answer." Mortimer assures, sucking hard on his lobster claw, too hard in fact, and he ends up snorting. "Damn, I did not just do that…" Shaking his head, he continues, "My mom's doing pretty well, building rocket ships or whatever she does at NASA. On that Linderman video, I only watched a little of it, where the therapist guy interviews people from my past and stuff, to see if I'd make a good employee, there's this call to my mother. I can't remember the video too well, but I think she said she had an ability like mine."

"Thank you for understanding." Cassidy says looking more then relieved at that little reassurance. She has to stifle a chuckle at his incident with the crab claw, pressing the back of her fingers to her mouth. Something about that little human screw up, makes her relax more. "Neither of my parents have abilities, that I know about. Though they always called my dad 'Lucky' Larry cause he seemed to be dodging the grim reaper." She gives a bit a shrug. "I know I tested positive for the evolved gene.. but it's either very minor or not developed."

"Too bad you're not a machine." Mortimer's eyes go silvery, completely silver this time, not having the issue he did at the hospital. "You know what I see when I look at you? I just see you, that's never happened before when my eyes are like this. I see people a certain kind of way, I'm always trying to get them back to a human form, if they even have one. But you're the first, there's nothing different about you, I just see… you." He has no idea what that means, he's not a psychologist, he just turns his eyes back to their normal blue again. "I don't usually tell people what I see, unless there's a good reason or it just scares the shit out of me. But I thought, since we're sharing, y'know?"

Cassidy arches a brow. "Too bad? Why?" She gives him and odd look when she looks up. It's the first time she sees his eyes fully like that. "So… most people look different when you look at them like that? Is it kinda like seeing inside them?" She can't help but be curious. "But not me? Maybe you don't want to see me that way?" She's quiet for a moment and then says out of the blue. "I'm an only child… My mother never remarried. She just loved my father that much. She tried to date, but she always felt guilty. How about you? Any brothers or sister?"

"I believe I'm seeing what people really are sometimes, and what people have turned into other times, it's kind of like a religion for me now, and all my men believe it." Mortimer explains, though he tries to say it very casually, the fear of her reaction weighing on him. "Abigail has angel wings, I genuinely believe she's an angel, and it scares me. Dutch is a robot, but I just think it's a personality thing. But um, as for my family, I have a sister, we like, well, liked the same stuff, it's been a few years since I've seen her. I don't know if my mother if with anyone else now, but my parents had it rocky, with my father being jealous of my mother's success."

Cassidy considers his words for a long moment. "I…. could believe that of Abigail." She says with a slow nod, a hand running across her stomach. "She's a good person." She smiles a bit glancing back at the man across the table from her. "So we seem to be from different family lives."

"That's not so bad, right?" Mortimer asks, actually sounding worried that she may be judging their potential on it. "I mean, they say opposites attract. And we seem to get along pretty well…" He clears his throat, looking around. "It's really bad for me to drink alcohol, could I get a glass of water? Then, maybe we could watch a movie or something."

Cassidy holds up a hand and chuckles. "No.. I'm not judging on that, Mortimer. It was just an observation. Nothing more." She climbs to her feet. "Yeah, I'll get you some water." She takes a drink of her own drink finishing it. "Since I know where things are." She pads her way into the kitchen, going up up on tip toes to retrieve a glass. But there are none there. She frowns a bit and looks at the other cabinets. She moves to the right one finally pulling down a glass to fill it for him.

"I've never done this kind of thing before." Mortimer admits, though doesn't elaborate until he twists his body around to watch her. "I mean, in high school, I was like one of 'the' guys, didn't really have to try hard to get 'the' girl. Now it's all effort and awkward pauses and the realization that I'm definitely not getting laid tonight, guess this is being an adult."

Chuckling, Cassidy opens the freezer to fill it with ice, before moving to fill it at the tap. "Never tried to woo a girl?" She returns with the glass. "Welcome to the real world." She sits the glass down in front of him, the ice clinking softly against the sides of the glass. "It sucks most of the time, but you get use to it."

Mortimer takes the glass, drinking down a few large gulps before sighing in relief and sitting the glass down again. "I know it's probably dumb to ask, but uh, is my wooing working at all? Being here with you is like, I don't know, some kind of dream. I wish it didn't have to end, really."

Cassidy stands there looking over the leftover of the dinner. "It's early to know Mortimer. But this was a really sweet gesture." She motions at the table and then at him. "I can see the effort your putting into it." She reaches out to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder. "However, it feels too early for me to know if it worked. And unfortunately it'll have to end at some point. I have to sleep at some point."

"Cassidy…" Mortimer raises a hand to gently touch her cheek, standing up to look down into her eyes. "We don't know if it worked or not, but my heart's set on this. I'll try hard, I'll make an effort, I'll help the police, I'll do anything, just, can I kiss you?"

When he looks into Cassidy's eyes he sees a mix of confusion and uncertainty, "Well…" She bites her lip briefly, damn it, there goes her heart again. Say no… Just say no.. "Since you made the effort…." Say NO, you idiot.. Just say No. "A small one for your effort tonight."

"This means a lot to me, Cassidy…" Mortimer really does enjoy being near Cassidy, there's something so sane about being near her. He leans down, likely ignoring the 'small' one part, instead going for a deep passionate kiss.

"See if you say that further down the li…" Cassidy doesn't get to finish that thought as she finds herself lip locked in something more then a small chaste kiss she had planned. No.. this is not chaste. When she comes to her senses, she has melted against him. A thrill of fear runs through her and she breaks the kiss, hands coming up to push him back a bit so that she can think. "I said small." She chides trying to sound upset, her cheeks blushing.

"Sorry." Mortimer apologizes, though doesn't really sound too sorry as he gently releases her. "Come on, let's watch a movie or something before I have to leave." he suggests, trying to switch the subject in a less awkward direction now.

Cassidy shakes her head slowly and gives him an apologetic look. "Can.. I take a rain check on the movie?" She glances over at the clock on the wall. "I have to work in the morning." Plus, she needs room to think after that kiss. She has an overwhelming need to run to comfortable surroundings to clear her head. Her eyes flick back at him and she gives him and encouraging smile. "It was a really nice dinner, Mortimer."

"I'll clean up, but it was nice getting to know each other more, and I hope we can do it again." Mortimer turns to the table, starting to clean up, not seeming too down about it, his spirits apparently being pretty high right now. "I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"Let me help." Cassidy moves to help pick up, She wouldn't be able to relax til he's out the door anyhow. She's quiet while they get the place picked up, giving him a bit of a smile now and then. Once it's all done she follows him to the door and even gives him a kiss on the cheek. "I did enjoy myself, Mortimer. Take care." Once the doors shut, she turns and leans against it. She stares at her apartment for a moment and then hangs her head. "What am I getting myself into." She sighs and pushes away from the door and heads for the bedroom and sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


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