Alcohol - aka Caroline's Coping Techniques

[c_for_caroline]

Who: Caroline Todd and whomever shows up (open post)
Where: The bar
What: Time to get a serious drunk on
When: Not too long after some world-shattering revelationsWhen she at long last arrives at the bar, Caroline is doing her best not to think. About Mac. About Guy. About Mac and Guy. About Guy and Mac. She's doing a fairly shit job of not

Comments

[dont_give_a_tam]

Simon eased onto the barstool next to, Dr. Todd, wasn't it? He really needed to put in a few more hours at the clinic.

"I'd like a cognac, please." He turned to his companion.

"That's an impressive amount of booze you have lined up there," he said, dryly.

[c_for_caroline]

Caroline gives the good-looking man who takes a seat beside her an affable smile, then salutes him with the glass in her hand. He looks a bit familiar.

"That's because I have impressive reasons for drinking," she replies, pleased that she's not slurring yet. Her brow furrows slightly as she places him, almost. "I've seen you around the clinic, haven't I? Dr. ... I'm sorry." She sighs again and rubs one temple. "I'm not in the best of shape for name recall, I'm afraid."

[dont_give_a_tam]

Simon smiles warmly. "I'll be impressed if you remember my name after you finish all that. I'm Simon Tam, cheers." He raises his glass.

[c_for_caroline]

"Cheers," Caroline clinks their glasses delicately and takes another sip. "I can't really blame the alcohol for my current confusion. More the other way around." She tilts her head as she regards him curiously. He really is almost absurdly pretty. Probably taken. Or gay. Possibly both. "So, Dr. Tam, how have you been coping since you got here? Better than me, I hope."

[taggingwomprats]

Luke wandered into the bar. He'd gotten out of the flightsuit and was wearing his tan jumpsuit, lightsaber at the usual place by his side. Slowly, he picked his way to the bar and sat, not quite sure what to order. He'd never been a heavy drinker... so, he surveyed the menu for a short while and finally ordered a fruit-flavored mixed drink.

He glanced at the other two and nodded a greeting, "Evening."

[c_for_caroline]

My, but there are some lovely men on this base. This one looks rather on the young side, but still, very decorative. She returns his greeting with a cheerful, "And good evening to you."

The bartender who just took the young man's order pauses to collect Caroline's empties, and she catches his attention long enough to pat the bar once more. "Same again, please." When he gives her a reproving look her eyes narrow. "Look, I'm a doctor, and it's not as if I'm driving anywhere. Same again."

The bartender moves off with a sigh of capitulation, and she thanks him sweetly. The smile remains as she turns back to the young man and extends her hand. "I'm Caroline."

[taggingwomprats]

Luke smiles weakly and takes the hand, giving a firm shake. "Luke Skywalker. Nice to meet you."

He turns back as the bartender sets his drink down and he picks it up, sipping at it. "I just arrived here... It's very strange."

[c_for_caroline]

She nods sagely, as though Luke had just imparted some profound wisdom. "It is that. Haven't been here two weeks yet myself, and I've already seen or heard of zombie and vampire attacks, people tossing plasma bolts around, other people swapping bodies ..." Caroline leans forward a bit, her eyes widening. "Why, two days ago I was sixteen years old. Truth!"

She sits up again and sips her drink. "And that only scratches the surface. All kinds of unexpected things happen here." A hint of sadness creeps into her dark eyes. "All kinds."

[starsignal]

Tory sat down at the bar and didn't say anything to anyone. She wanted to talk, but she needed a couple of drinks first. This place was nothing like the Galactica, and she was eager for a fresh start. There were a few people talking intensly next to her, but she couldn't quite follow their conversation. Once she heard a woman say something about body swapping, an uneasy feeling washed over her. She ordered a martini and played with her napkin.

[c_for_caroline]

As she sips that fifth drink, Caroline notices a newcomer to the bar. A woman as attractive as this one would normally trigger a small twinge of wistful envy in the doctor, but hey, she's just discovered that her own gender is the least of her worries when it comes to screwing up her romantic hopes.

Besides, the lady in question looks rather uncertain and very much on her own. Possibly she's new here, like Caroline herself. Raising her glass in greeting, Caroline offers a smile and a "Hello."

[starsignal]

"Hi," Tory says, trying to hide how out of place she feels. "I guess this is the part where I ask if you come here often." Something about the way that the woman greeted her made her feel a bit more at ease, so Tory didn't mind talking to her. "You're a doctor? I always wanted to be one when I was a kid."

[c_for_caroline]

"Only my second time here." Caroline gestures at the replacement drinks the bartender is lining up. "But as you can see, I'm trying to fit a few visits into one." She produces another exceedingly cheerful smile.

"Yes, I am a doctor, a surgeon actually." She shifts her glass to her left hand and mimes a scalpel incision with her right, then knocks back the remainder of her drink. "Oh, right ... introductions and all that. I'm Caroline Todd." Extending a hand to shake, she asks, "Are you new here? Not that I've been here that long myself."

[ella_va]

"Vodka. Now." Shego is rude, sitting near Caroline and sighing. She looks tired.

Fucking kids.

[c_for_caroline]

Caroline can certainly sympathize with both the fatigue and the desire for immediate alcohol. "Rough day?" she asks. Maybe they can swap stories.

[ella_va]

Shego looks up at Caroline, forcing a smile.

"Just having to deal with myself as a six year old. No big, right?" She laughed, downing her drink in one gulp.

"You?"

[c_for_caroline]

"Dealing with two men with the tact and emotional sensitivity of six year olds," Caroline replies automatically.

Then her brow furrows as she tries to parse the younger woman's meaning, not the easiest of tasks given the amount of gin in her. "Do you mean you were in your six-year-old body? Damn, I thought that age-regression stupidity was over already."

[boozeandsurgery]

Hawkeye walked into the bar, and grabbed a stool next to Caroline. Ordering up a martini he finally turned to say hello. "I'd say fancy meeting you here, but everyone shows up at some point or another."

[c_for_caroline]

Caroline blinks owlishly in the middle of a sip, surprised by the appearance of a familiar face and voice that do not, thank God, belong to Mac or Guy. "Hawkeye!" Her grin is genuine and not entirely gin-inspired.

"I'm sooooo glad you're here," she says, giving his arm a friendly squeeze. "You can help me decide what to drink to next."

[boozeandsurgery]

He laughed, and ordered her up a few different drinks. Picking one at random he handed it to her. "Try this one first, it's my personal prescription, for ailments of all kinds."

[c_for_caroline]

"Why thank you, kind sir." Oh, lovely. Not only more alcohol, but an assortment. Caroline is not yet so drunk that she doesn't realize what mixing her drinks is likely to do for her head in the morning, but she is drunk enough that a bad hangover sounds like a reasonable distraction from her troubles.

Which, come to think of it, is how many of her worst hangovers came about.

As she accepts the drink Hawkeye offers, she again grabs his arm excitedly, nearly causing spillage. "Oh, we have to decide on a toast! I've been drinking to Mac's health so far ... I figured, as ill as he is, drinking to his health would take an awful lot of drinking, you know? But I don't think he'd mind if we spared a toast for something else. What should it be?"