Girl-bonding time! For imtherookie

[bettercop]

Teresa Lisbon wasn't the type to easily admit to deeper emotional feelings, like genuine care, concern, affection, and love. But for the intuitive people in the world (Jane was, infuriatingly at times, amongst this lot), it was easy to see through Lisbon's carefully constructed veneer of detachment; beneath her facade, there was a softer, more

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[imtherookie]

Van Pelt's brush with near-death (if it could be called that) had left her in a strange state of affairs, emotionally. She was angry- with herself for standing square in the doorway instead of off to the side like she'd been trained (for just such canvassing situations), she was angry with Rigsby for not listening to her (again), and in some distant way, she was angry with Jane for not being physically present. The last one was utterly ridiculous, but he always seemed to have a keen sense of danger (though he'd ignore it many times and go wandering anyway), and Van Pelt couldn't help wondering if maybe she'd have acted with a clearer head if he'd been there to point out miniscule details that would have clued her in to an armed tenant. She wasn't holding a grudge; the thought and the anger had passed in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. She didn't dwell on it long enough to get embarrassed by it

[imtherookie]

"Spice Girls, really? I used to have their cd's! I wonder if there's a station that still plays them." Grace reaches for the dial a little too quickly, wincing at the rude shot of pain her sides treat her to.

After considering for a moment, she says, "Maybe we could arrange for the team to do it or something. Or- if that's too weird, I could arrange for a private session with my instructor. He's really patient and helpful," she leans in conspiratorially. "And he's kind of cute."

[bettercop]

Despite herself, Lisbon can't help but smile. Another commonality. Interesting. She could feel the awkwardness starting to ebb away just a bit. Though her attention was mostly focused on the road, she managed to catch the wince out of the corner of her eye, and reacted on instinct, reaching a hand out towards Van Pelt's abdomen.

"Hey, no sudden movements. Slow and steady for a while, boss's orders. You all right?"

Lisbon almost laughed at the idea of the whole team doing yoga. It was, at least, an amusing thought. "I'd pay a year's salary to see Cho doing yoga in front of us."

The 'cute' remark caught her off guard. "Is that a hint or something? I don't have time for that kind of thing." That 'thing' being love. "But I'll think about the lessons."

[imtherookie]

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just- not used to compensating." She leaned back in her chair and drummed out a rhythm on her leg. It was a little weird having someone pay so much attention to her well-being; sure, Rigsby had his over-protective moments, but when Grace had gone to college, she'd separated from friends and family. She just wanted to prove that she could make it on her own, that she didn't have to depend on anyone.

"I don't know- I think he'd be pretty good at it, I mean he has a lot of upper body strength. But Rigsby, he'd probably fall over first." She starts to laugh at the thought of the six and a half foot tall Rigsby toppling over like a Redwood tree. It makes her giggle, which makes her side start to hurt. "Ha ha ha-OWWWW."

Grace's cheeks suddenly heat up. "Oh, oh no I didn't mean that you...just that he might make the class-- nevermind."

[bettercop]

Lisbon knew the feeling, really. In her time being a cop, she'd certainly suffered her fair share of over-protectiveness from various male colleagues. It was probably yet another reason why she'd over-compensated to appear more tough than she necessarily needed to be. But she didn't want to follow the same path and appear too over-protective herself.

"Yeah, you're fine. Just need to stay that way," she added, with an affected air of nonchalance.

She winced when Grace left and let out an audible note of pain, but nodded and chuckled slightly under her breath in agreement.

"Cho's got a lot of strength. Rigsby...has strength, but very little grace. Coordination, I mean," she corrected herself abruptly.

Lisbon waved the remark off. "Forget it. Just had my fair share of people trying to tell me I need to get a life and date and other nonsense like that. They couldn't be more wrong, I have a life, it doesn't need to involve a romantic partner

[imtherookie]

Okay, she'd made it awkward again. Grace slapped herself mentally for making insinuations about romance with her boss. She and Rigsby were still trying to keep their affair secret, but it was always in the back of her mind. She'd have to watch the little slips in conversation.

"I think we just entered the city limits. Almost there, right?"

[bettercop]

"It's the next off-ramp," Lisbon responded, merging into the far right lane to exit in just another half-mile.

"I'll stop at the Valero on the left. Need some caffeine." She'd done this kind of thing thousands of times, but it still never got easier to talk to a victim's family immediately following their death. She acted like she was used to it, but inside, strong emotions were always swirling around, waiting to break out.

[imtherookie]

"I could use some tea, actually." Her blood sugar was a little low, and if she wanted to stay sharp, she'd need a caffeine jolt as well.

Grace hated herself a little for hoping that the family wasn't grieving too hard. It was trying for her to be around that kind of suffering, especially since-

Her cell phone vibrated, and she drew it out. How's it going? Rigsby's text read. She didn't feel like replying to it in front of Lisbon, so she'd wait until they stopped to answer.

[bettercop]

"I can't do tea during the day. Too soothing." But then, she generally only liked red teas, and they had little, if any caffeine. Which made them perfect as an evening drink.

Lisbon slowed on the off-ramp, turning left into the gas station. It was nice to stretch, and sitting in the car for any length of time was another reminder that she could probably benefit from yoga if she overcame her inhibitions.

"Just a quick stop. I want to get this over with," Lisbon remarked, pulling open the door to the store and walking inside. She honed in on the pots of coffee in the back, making a detour to grab a bag of pistachios as well.

[imtherookie]

"Actually, I find it rather invigorating, depending on the flavor. I was planning on a simple black tea, bottled. It'll have enough caffeine in it to keep me focused." Grace knew Lisbon was more of a coffee type, and wondered if maybe she should get Lisbon some sample flavors, just to see what she'd like. Or maybe she could nick a few out of Jane's cabinet at CBI- no, he'd notice. He got cranky when he didn't have his tea; she'd just hit the store when they got back into town.

"Yes ma'am," She said, taking care when she slid out of the front seat. It felt really nice to stretch her legs, and she reached her hands up to the sky, then leaned back, just to get that full body stretch. When she was done, she slipped inside to get some tea from the cold storage and pulled out her phone to text Rigsby back.

[bettercop]

"I'm not drinking the right tea, then," Lisbon remarked over her shoulder. Once she'd gotten hooked on red teas, she'd never bothered experimenting much with blacks. She'd tried Earl Grey, of course, and simple breakfast teas, and never cared much for the flavors.

She filled a large cup with coffee, adding three sugars and a splash of cream. That done, she went and paid for the coffee and the pistachios, then wandered back outside. She'd caught sight of Van Pelt texting on the phone, out of the corner of her eye, but decided not to pursue it. She didn't like people prying around in her personal life, either.

Stepping outside, she pulled her sunglasses on, munching idly on the pistachios while she waited for Van Pelt. It was unusually sunny for this time of year, but she wasn't complaining.

[imtherookie]

"I'll recommend you some," she called back, making her way through the store. After sending a quick I'm fine to Rigsby, she put her phone away and picked out a bottle of iced tea. She preferred hot tea--much like Jane, ironically--but the cold temperature would be bracing.

After paying for the tea, she followed Lisbon outside to the car, watching her sip from her coffee like it was nectar from the gods. Grace shielded her eyes against the sun, and slid her sunglasses down onto her face.

"Good to go," she said with an easy smile.

[bettercop]

Lisbon nodded, pulling her keys out of her pocket and heading back to the car. Once they were both buckled in, Lisbon backed out of the gas station, heading back out onto the main road.

"Five minutes," she stated.

The remaining time in the car was spent mostly in silence, save for the sound of some easy listening she wasn't familiar with. When they finally made it to the house, Lisbon pulled her sunglasses off and took another few sips of her coffee.

"You take lead on the questioning," Lisbon told her. She was in a particularly good mood, and she wanted to see how Van Pelt would do with Lisbon taking a more observational role.

[imtherookie]

Grace sipped her tea as they continued along the road. The flavor was fresh and the caffeine was already starting to bring her energy level up.

"I get lead?" She couldn't help but perk up a little. She'd do her best. "Thanks, boss."

When they parked, she made sure to put on her business face. Grace wanted to make sure that she got in the zone, and detached enough to where she could do her job effectively.

[bettercop]

It was a big step not only for Van Pelt, but Lisbon, too. She was letting the 'baby bird fly from the nest,' to borrow an oft-used reference, and while she wasn't sure how things would turn out exactly, she did have confidence in Van Pelt's abilities. Otherwise she wouldn't have directed her to take lead at all.

"I trust you, Van Pelt," she offered, her way of giving a pep talk.

From the look on the mother's face when the woman opened the door, Lisbon knew that if Van Pelt could be at ease questioning the obviously distraught woman, she'd do well with the others.

[imtherookie]

Grace nodded, thanking Lisbon for her vote of confidence. Most of that melted away when the front door opened, though. It was the mother, looking drawn and upset. This was going to be tougher than she thought.

ooc: can we skip the interview? I can't brain up a good bunch of banter right now. Feel free to have Lisbon remark on how Grace did lol