Participants:
| Scene Title | Business before Breakfast |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Kaydence wakes to find Matt searching for his father through the telepathic waves of the city. What follows is a discussion about business, but at the sacrifice of one of the house rules. Such is life in a law enforcement household. |
| Date | June 1, 2009 |
Dorchester Towers - Matt Parkman's Apartment
The clock beside the bed won't erupt into its coarse and dissident beeping for a few minutes yet, but Matt Parkman is already wide awake. He sits up in bed, wearing the same t-shirt and boxers he fell asleep in, a mug of coffee held in his hands. Another mug sits on the nightstand nearest Kaydence, steam curling up as it rises from the strong black beverage.
It is interesting steam to watch, but Matt's attention is elsewhere - so elsewhere that it is outside Dorchester Towers entirely. His whole body is tense as he squints forward into presumed nothingness.
But despite knowing where he works, trying to find Maury Parkman this way is like using a metal detector to locate a single diamond ring in the Sahara.
The smell of dark, black coffee rouses Kay from her sleep before the alarm goes off. With a soft groan of appreciation, she sits up and takes her cup in her hands, taking a long drink before she says anything. "Sleep well?"
Dark brows furrow when Kaydence realises that Matt seems to be a thousand miles away. She sets down her mug again and straightens out the plain grey tanktop and jersey knit shorts that comprise her pyjamas and sets a hand gently on her fiance's shoulder. "Matt?"
It is rare that Kaydence has ever seen Matt in his current state. Due to the strange nature of it, it's an activity he's reserved for his 'meditations' on the roof. But the sight of Midtown in flames is too difficult to look at so early in the morning, even if the deputy secretary's eyes aren't actually looking at it.
As it is, Matt doesn't move when Kaydence touches his shoulder or when she calls his name. To him, it is far away, and shrouded in the same strange fog that muffles voices when one is submerged in water. Riding the waves is one thing, but Matt might as well be searching for pearls.
Kay frowns when she gets no response and climbs out of bed, taking her coffee with her so she can go pace the living room for a while. There's no sense trying to wake him when he's in a trance like that. At least, she assumes that it's a trance, and that he's safe.
If waking up to Matt entranced is in any way surreal, coming out of a trance to find one's bedmate gone is even more so. But the coffee is gone too, so she can't be far. It takes Matt another few minutes to come around, and when he does, his first mission is to locate Kay.
"Hey," he says in a half-whisper from the door to the living room, leaning against the frame. "Sorry about that." It can only be one thing, really, but the catch-all response is just that - a catch-all.
"S'okay." It maybe isn't, but she says it is anyway. "Are you okay?" Kay brings her coffee to her lips once more and peers at Matt expectantly.
On route to Parkman's desk is a neatly typed piece of deliciously official paper giving him permission to enter Pinehearst to arrest Maury Parkman, presuming and hoping he's there. But Matt is for the time being unaware the judge has set his signature to the page to put such events in motion.
"I will be," Matt says with the smallest sigh and a nod, eyes closing for a moment. In that moment, he remembers the favor he'd promised Tracy Strauss. Despite his own intel gathered in his undercover operation, he knows she'll want something a bit more official. "I know we said no business before breakfast, but you couldn't fax me over a list of your Most Wanted in Staten Island, could you? That whole hell-hole has been wearing on me." Cardinal, Logan, and what Matt could have, might have prevented had he not been stuck there on a fool's errand.
"I don't know how up-to-date it'll be. The department has mostly just thrown their hands in the air on the whole subject." Kay's brows knit together for a moment. "What d'ya need it for? Or is that not for me to know?" Not that they have many secrets as a couple, but part of their ability to stay a couple is keeping their cases classified when they're meant to be that way.
Though it isn't exactly classified, telling Kay he needs to pass the information along to Tracy Strauss is bound to have a negative reaction. "Just get me what you can," he says with a shrug, taking a moment to sip his coffee. "Oval Office," he decides to say in answer to her second question. "But don't worry. Nobody's going to steal your cases out from under you." No matter how dusty they may be.
"I was thinking maybe just eating our chinese in for a change, rather than taking it home and eating it off our knees in front of the television while we go through case files. Nothing fancy." Kay returns the kiss in kind, leaving hers on his jawline below his ear. "I don't feel like spending time on getting dressed for something nice. I mean, unless you'd prefer that. If it's what you want, then it's worth it."
Pulling his head away in order to look at Kaydence, Matt's free hand rubs at the small of her back. "Eating in is fine," he says with a small smile. "I could do without getting duck sauce on paperwork tonight." After all, there's something to be said about finding a decent Chinese restaurant, and it's a something that shouldn't be wasted. Matt's smile grows as he continues to look at Kay, and after a moment, he leans to kiss her softly.
Kay closes her eyes and leans in with a soft, but contented sigh. After she pulls away, she tilts her head to one side. "Are we going to be okay?"
Matt can't help but turn his head to look out the window at that. The rising sun's pinks and oranges make a sickening backdrop to the flames and smoke of Midtown. But Kay means more than the city in flames. "I don't know," Matt answers honestly. "I hope so."