Participants:
Scene Title | Eleven Year Old Girls |
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Synopsis | Among the many things discussed, Cooper picks Elisabeth's brain in an attempt to understand his 11 year old daughter. |
Date | November 02, 2009 |
The New York Police Department Head Quarters is an old stone building, rennovated many times over the years. The plaster walls are not as cracked and in need of repair as the various Precinct buildings around the city. The fluorescent lights give the room a rather sterile glow. Old posters, civic reminders, duty rosters and newspaper clippings are tacked up on the walls, rustling every time one of the doors opens. A high, wooden desk sits on the north wall, manned by two clerks, who records all visitors and arrests.
The way out to the street lies to the south, while doors to the offices of the Head Quarters lie to the northwest.
When she left for lunch, Liz Harrison seemed in a pretty decent mood — most of the morning in the precinct was spent making follow-up calls on cases that have had no new leads break in a while anyway. And paperwork. There's always a mountain of it. When she gets back from lunch, though, she is quieter. There's no smile as she carries a large cup from the big name caffeine chain around the corner from headquarters, and when she sets the small bag she carries down as well, there's a ridiculously chocolate brownie that makes an appearance too, though she leaves it on her desk to stare at it with an expression of not-quite-distaste. After a few minutes, she seems to give up on it, shoving it back into the bag and the bag into her desk drawer with a sigh. Leaning her chair back so she can rest her head on the wall behind her, Liz's shuttered blue eyes study the squad room's busy area.
"Honey… look… Daddy does not need to know that. There is such a think as TMI. Remember that word. It's important. It could save the live of your future boyfriends." Cooper shows up at his desk shortly after Harrison, a grande coffee from the local Starbucks gripped in his hand. The man gives a heavy sigh as he stops at his desk, a glance at Liz and a small smirk. "Yeah, sweetie.. Well.. Hey.. hey… you can tell me what Molly said to you another time about Frank liking you. No… Daddy has to work.. Yeah.. Okay. Bye Ellen." And as quick as he can, Cooper hits the off button, with a relieved whoosh of air. Cellphone is shoved in his pocket and coffee set on his desk before he goes about taking his coat off. Only then he settles himself into his chair.
The chair squeaks a bit as he turns it where he can look at the blonde detective. "Hey, Harrison. How was your weekend? Me.. I did laundry." He announces it like it is this big deal that he spend hours in a tiny room with washer, but he gives her a bit of a grin as he says it too.
Glancing up as the man comes past her desk, Elisabeth forces her lips to curl into a small grin at the fact that he's telling his daughter 'TMI'. Reminds her of a conversation or three she's had with her father — who pointedly refuses to discuss men his daughter might be 'seeing' even now. Doesn't. Want. To. Know. "Hey, Coop," she says quietly. "What's a weekend?" She spent hers trying to decide if she wants to lay eyes on Emil Danko or just wants someone to kill him dead while she's not looking.
"Good point." Is the quipped answer to her counter question, Coopers lips pressing together in a tight line. "I spent Sunday trying to work that damn sketch artist program on my own.. when I was washing clothes Halloween night, had this strange girl there. Avoided all my questions, wasn't even doing her laundry.. Some guys who isn't her father… and she's too young to be be living with a boyfriend. Sat with me wrong." Maybe cuse he has his own girl. He looks thoughtful and then shrugs. "Got one of the guys helping me with it today so I can asks around to some of the people that work my building." He turns his chair enough to take his coffee. "Of course, that's around my normal cases." He eyes the growing pile of papers on his desk. How the hell it get so big already?
An eyebrow goes up. "Strange girl? You know…. that could get taken all kinds of ways, Cooper. Maybe she just didn't want to talk to a stranger herself?" Elisabeth suggests.
"I introduced myself." Cooper states, his voice going up an octive as if a touch insulted. "She didn't seem all there though. Like…. I dunno, she ain't firing on all cylinders. Not to mention…" He turns his attention back to her, giving her a matter of fact look, "She's the one that started talking to me.. going through my laundry, and messing with separating my lights from my darks." He takes a few sips of his coffee before adding, "One does not sort a man's underwear and not expect him to ask questions." His brows lift a bit, challenging the woman to prove him wrong.
There are a couple of people of Elisabeth's own personal acquaintance that would fit the 'not quite firing on all cylinders' kind of description, honestly… hell, one of them's an ex-Company agent. But though the thought crosses her mind, it would to her be too huge a coincidence that in all of Manhattan one of *those* two should be be Cooper's 'strange girl.' "Yeah, and just because you introduce yourself doesn't make you less of a threat," Liz replies mildly. "But hey… if it tweaks you as being off somehow, chase it down. Lemme know if you want some help — it could just be that she didn't want to talk to you, she just wanted the company or something. Never know, man."
"Yeah, I know.. But it bothers me, yeah… Maybe if I know a name and know she actually lives there." Cooper trails off and sighs, glancing at the other empty desk. "Yeah, I'll let you know if I need help… Hey, got a question." Pale eyes, turn back to the female detective and he seems a bit apprehensive about asking the question. "When you were around eleven, did you think guys has cute butts? Is it normal for a girl to think that?" His eyes unfocus a bit, his expression disturbed. "My daughter just got done telling me she thought Zac Effron had a cute ass." Hence the TMI obviously. "Just seems so wrong. At that age I was still playing Star Wars with my best friend."
Now she breaks into the first smile he's probably seen on her all day. "Yes, Coop…. it's entirely normal," Elisabeth chuckles softly. "Boys generally are still playing with their action figures at eleven. Girls are starting to notice boys and swoon over them. Usually actors or singers. It's all about the earlier maturity thing."
Cooper groans at the confirmation to his worse nightmare. "Oh god… Shoot me now!" That last said to the ceiling as his leans back in his chair, arms spread out… as if pleading with the man upstair to do it. His small out burst gets a couple of looks, but it doesn't seem to bother him. "I should have never moved to New York.. I knew it. I should of stayed there." His head drop forward some and he sighs. "Damn… Okay.. well.. I've had my traumatic moment of the day, only thing that could make it worse is a snide comment from Nash…." He trails off a bit and glances around, "Where is he anyhow?"
Elisabeth shrugs slightly. "Still at lunch, I guess," she comments quietly, her expression remaining vaguely amused but slightly more shuttered once more. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since I left to grab food." She doesn't eat with her partner all the time. "So why did you move away from your daughter anyway?" She's gathering from what he's not said here that he and his wife or the girl's mother, at least, are not together.
The question catches Cooper off guard and he twists his chair around again to look at Liz again. He leans his chair back enough that only the tips of his tennis shoes touch the floor. "Cause it seemed like an opportunity?" He is obviously lying, the man doesn't seem to lie well. He sighs, "To get away from ex-wife number two." He lifts his hand, the back of turned to her, the ring finger still shows the faint tell all ring of pale skin. He looks slightly embarrassed about it all. "Never marry a stripper…" And that's all he says on it all for the moment.
There's a soft whistle. "Wow, Coop. When you do it up, you sure do it up right," Elisabeth comments with a sympathetic tone. "Since I don't plan on getting married, much to the chagrin of my father and probably my mother if she were still alive, I don't guess I'll have to worry about the stripper part."
"Oh trust me… I learned my lesson on that one." Cooper mutters bitterly. "Don't ever believe it when they tell you they are doing it to get through college." He rolls his eyes and smirks. "Not my finest moment and I am paying for it on a monthly basis." And he's not talking that female thing either. He makes a cutting motion with his hand and states rather clearly. "I've no intentions on getting married again. I'll just live it up." He doesn't sound very convincing.
"Mmmm. Once more with feeling, Cooper," Elisabeth quips mildly, grinning in his direction.
The look Cooper gives Harrison is a flat one, but his lip tugs up at one corner, "Thanks for that vote of confidence. Seriously though…. You woman are sometimes way more trouble then your worth… but damn… Daisy… There were things she knew how to… do…." He trails off and clears his throat. "Sorry. Anyhow… " He slaps his hands on the desk and leaves them there long enough so that he can push back from it, practically hopping to his feet. His coffee is snatched up from his desk quickly, ".. I should…. ah… go check and see of the sketch artist guy is back from… ah… lunch now."
Elisabeth laughs outright at him, waggling her brows. "Then clearly we're not more trouble than we're worth, are we?" She lets him go, though, without being too mean about it.