(Untitled)

[trigger_man]

Ever since Jack got back from visiting Beckett's New York--to find that more time had passed in the bar than in her world, not that that really made much difference to him--he hasn't been spending much time in the bar itself.  New York had been sensory overload everywhere he looked, and while he'd been able to bottle up his reaction to it most of

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[justdidntseeit]

Kate's on the porch, watching the moon rise in the sky.

She looks over when the back door opens and offers a smile.

"If you're taking a walk, watch out for bunnies."

[trigger_man]

Jack turns quickly and spots Kate nearby. Stomping the snow off his shoes, he gives her a slight smile. "Yeah, I've heard about those. Haven't seen any yet and I don't think I want to. How're you?"

[justdidntseeit]

"You definitely don't want to," she says with a light chuckle.

"I'm good -- how about you?"

She glances toward the door.

"Back from New York?"

[trigger_man]

"Yeah. I take it Beckett told you about her invitation?" he says, sidestepping any mention of how he's doing. Not that it wouldn't have been easy to just toss off a "fine" like he usually does.

[ikissdhimbck]

She's out later than she'd like to be. Not that she's squeamish about walking around unescorted in the dark -- she does have her Colt strapped to her hip, after all -- but ever since the vampire attacks and the disturbing reports she's been gathering about her friends, she's been playing it close to the bar.

Tonight, however, there were some complications in the stables. Beaut's been favoring one leg over the other, and it took a little time and a little coaxing, but she eventually discovered the reason why.

So Kate is heading up the path, hunkered down against the cold, cowboy hat pulled over her ears and hands buried in the pockets of her coat. The moonlight might be glinting off her spurs as she walks in Jack's direction.

[trigger_man]

Jack's on his way back to the bar to warm up when he hears the jingling noise.

--Keys jingling in the guards' hands as they come down the hallway, the rattle of chains as he's hauled up onto his toes and stripped--

He turns toward the sound, quickly, tensing before he has a chance to think about what might actually be causing the sound.

[ikissdhimbck]

The sudden rush of moment, and the quiet hush of sound that accompanies it, is enough to draw Kate's attention away from the path ahead. Her head snaps up and she moves with a start, assuming a defensive posture in preparation for god knows what anymore, be it vampires or murderers or crazy drug lords.

She starts to apologize when she spots --

"Doc?"

[trigger_man]

He spots the woman the same time she sees him. His eyes immediately go to the gun on her hip, then take in her height and build, sizing up how he could take her down before he has a chance to let rational thought stop himself.

He relaxes slightly, however, when she calls him Doc; or at least, as much as he can relax.

"Sorry, no. Just his double," he says, forcing a polite smile.

[fanofthegenre]

It's still cold outside the bar - and why wouldn't it be? The weather's still imitating Scotland, after all.

Beckett blinks through plumes of her own breath fogging the air in front of her as she notices a figure coming out from the woods.

"Didn't know you were into night runs."

[trigger_man]

Jack spots her as he comes out of the woods, and if he wanted to he couldn't really pretend he didn't see her.

Surprisingly--and somewhat worryingly--he doesn't want to. Which probably means he should back away, but he doesn't want to do that either.

"Quieter out here now and I wanted to get outside for a bit," he says, trying to catch his breath. Damn, he's out of shape.

His eyes narrow a little, picking up on something not quite right about the way she looks. She looks a little tired and worn out. Could just be a hot case. Could be something else.

"How're you?" he asks.

[fanofthegenre]

"I don't blame you," Beckett admits. "Sometimes it's nice to have that quiet."

The only problem, she's now realizing, is that too much quiet means she's left alone with her thoughts. And right now, that's not something she should probably be doing.

She manages a tired smile.

"Doing alright. Work's the usual amount of stress, you know how it is."

[trigger_man]

"Yeah, I do," he says, though he can tell she's lying. Not that that he hasn't made a habit of downplaying his state of mind; more like turned it into an art form.

Something tells him that this isn't the usual kind of stress, though. That maybe this time, he should push it, even if it means getting involved.

"I also know sometimes it can be more stressful than usual though, the kind that makes it hard to sleep at night."