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[captainjack]

There had been a time when Jack's Friday night would have included experiencing seven or more simultaneous pleasures in the Lotus galaxy, or maybe drinking hypervodka martinis while chatting up the local girls on Borak 4. Or maybe he'd have been busy at a real bacchanal. Those were always fun. And you couldn't have more fun than getting arrested in

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[dale_cooper_fbi]

"Interesting choice for a midnight snack," said Dale, eyeing the coffeepot but denying himself a cup at this late hour. He had considerable tolerance, but there were limits if he wanted to get any sleep. "Most would have gone for the leftovers or the cookie jar."

[captainjack]

"Cookies don't make interesting conversation," Jack chuckled. His cereal snapped and popped in the bowl. "How are you, Dale? Keeping busy?"

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"Always do," said Dale, though once the words were out of his mouth he knew them for the lies they were. "Though it seems to be a task that gets more difficult as the years go by. There isn't much call for my particular skillset around here. And yourself?"

[captainjack]

"Busy enough. I'm rarely bored enough to raise hell," he replied. "Between work and Logan my days are full. That's why I wind up doing laundry at night."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"Oh, is that what you're doing here?" said Dale, helping himself to one of the aforementioned cookies out of the very nice jar. If he was feeling generous later, he'd have to steal a couple more for Joe. "It's not just to have a conversation with some breakfast cereal?"

[captainjack]

"No, not just to talk to my food," Jack laughed. "I'm going to drag Logan off to the beach on Sunday when I normally do laundry, so I figured I'd better get it done tonight. You know, when the island is being kind? I am not the daring hero I used to be," he added, laughing harder.

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"I don't know if I believe that," said Dale with a bit of a wry grin. "To me, you'll always be the daring hero. I'm not sure I can imagine you any other way."

[captainjack]

Jack looked to the ceiling, affecting an expression of sweetness and innocence at the compliment. Then he laughed and shrugged.

"I think Logan might be happier if I didn't run toward danger all the time, but it's like a bad habit. The world needs heroes."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"I hope he's willing to settle for you running toward danger only some of the time," said Dale, "and having suspicious conversations with your breakfast the rest."

[captainjack]

"Hey! There's nothing suspicious about it," he chuckled. "Nothing untoward...and I'm not planning world domination. Sometimes a guy just needs some chatty rice pops in his life."

It was absurd but it made Jack smile. Talking to Dale had an effect on him. He always felt better, even if he hadn't been feeling down before. It just made him happy...and Jack was a supporter of feeling good as much as possible.

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"Well, I suppose there are worse conversationalists," said Dale. "I'd rather have a conversation with rice krispies than a number of people I've met over the years. It would certainly be more engaging."

[captainjack]

"Yeah, I've talked to people who were...not so chatty. Did you get that a lot with the FBI? People who couldn't hold a conversation?" Jack asked curiously.

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"Most often in interrogations," said Dale, straight-faced, "but there were no few agents whose interests outside of work left their conversation somewhat lacking."

[captainjack]

"I knew a guy who could really only talk about guns. And he wasn't really violent or anything, it was just like he didn't know anything about anything else," he said, looking a little dreamy as he recalled the agent he'd worked with. There'd been a reason he had a desk job.

"Interrogation is a whole other beast," he continued. "You almost expect them to not be that talkative."