Dropping In

Who: Evelyn and Jesse
Where: Their parents' home, Jesse's apartment
When: Mid-afternoon

Angela James grabbed a wrapped package out of the icebox as her youngest daughter donned her coat by the doorway. “I was going to deliver this to your brother today,” she said closing the icebox and meeting her daughter at the entrance, “but I think you should do it.”

Mid-way through wrapping her scarf, Evelyn paused to look down at the package. “Oh… okay,” she carefully accepted the package from her mother’s hands, glancing at her quizzically.

“It gives me time to run some errands,” was the matter-of-fact response. Her mother grabbed the ends of her scarf, and wrapped it once more around her daughter’s neck. “And besides,” she added, tucking the scarf beneath Evelyn’s coat, “he’d be happy to see you. We… missed you over the holidays, dear.”

Evelyn held back a sigh. “Mother—Mom, I told you Mr. Kowalski really needed somebody—”

“I know, dear, I know; I don’t blame you at all… I just… I just wish your hours would let you stop by more, that’s all. It’s too bad your father and sisters weren’t here to see you.”

A pang of guilt tugged at her heartstrings as her mother preoccupied herself with smoothing out the coat’s nonexistent wrinkles. Taking a deep breath, and plastering a reassuring smile onto her face, Evelyn placed her hands upon her mother’s.

“I know, I do miss you guys. A lot. But – the good news about taking on all those hours is that I got a Christmas bonus. And, since Mr. Kowalski is out of the office today, I also wanted to stop by to give you this…” Evelyn reached into her coat and pulled out a white envelope. “Merry belated Christmas, Mom.”

“Evie, you don’t have to—”

“You can use it to spoil your grandchildren.”

Her mom smiled, and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Take care of yourself, Evie.” It was a typical "mom" thing to say, but something in the tone caused Evelyn to pause.

“I’m fine mom." Evelyn smiled. It wasn’t a huge one, but at least it was genuine. "You don’t need to worry.”

“You’re my youngest. Of course I worry.” She drew her daughter into a quick hug before sending her out the door. “Now go give that to your brother.”

----

Jesse was home, not feeling especially social now that he'd been out, run into Lily, and had generally been having a very shitty week. Really now, things could stop sucking any minute. They could! He'd not complain. He was kind of cleaning up the place, little odds and ends his daughter hadn't got to, even though she was generally the housekeeper. Not that he told her to be. She just did it. Which was why he was trying to beat her to the punch, and get everything done before she got back home. Of course, he also planned on heading over to see Evie soon, really needing to be cheered up a bit at this point.

He hadn't seen his sister in a while and she'd been kind of distant. And then more distant, and it seemed to be a theme, which he wasn't at all cool with. He liked having his family close, and it was odd for him to know his sister was drifting. So, he had plans to go see her.

She just beat him to the punch as he heard the knock at his door and opened it to find her. He smiled, a bright, pleased one, and he immediately grinned and gave her a big hug. "Evie!" he said brightly, picking her up and setting her down again inside the place. "Just the girl I wanted to see!"

A sudden whir of emotions whipped through her. For a brief moment, she was transported back to happier childhood memories, and a small laugh and wide smile escaped her. But as her feet hit the ground in the apartment, her feelings did as well when his words – and his appearance – sunk in.

“What the hell happened to you, Jess?!”

He looked like shit. Sadly, it wasn’t the first and probably wouldn’t be the last time he looked so, but it jarred her nonetheless. She didn’t like to see him hurt. She didn’t want him to get shot again; she didn’t want him to get killed. She loved her big brother, she really did. She just… didn’t want him very involved in her life. Especially if he was still getting into trouble – which he clearly was. To be honest, Evelyn was sadly convinced that he’d only stop when it literally killed him.

And he had wanted to see her… looking like that? A surprise drop-in from her brother wouldn’t go over well any day, especially if he was in as such a memorable state as he was in now. The holidays had been hectic at the hotel, and the time between visits had been longer than normal. She did remember to call her parents at least once a week though, but she’d have to be more careful about being absent for so long.

“Sorry it’s been… kinda crazy at work.” At least that wasn’t a lie. She gave him a soft peck on the cheek. “There’s been more than enough people getting in trouble over the holidays to keep a lawyer busy.” Eyeing him significantly with that statement, she set the package down as she removed her scarf and coat. She hadn’t been planning on staying long, but if it prevented any surprise overprotective big-brother drop-ins… she supposed she could spare some quality time together.

Jesse winced a bit at her question, not really figuring he'd get away without having to answer for things. He had to answer for it pretty much all the time--which was kinda sorta maybe why he was avoiding their parents' place at the moment. Just a little. He shut the door and stood by to take her coat and such, happy she looked like she was staying. "It's okay, I understand. I just miss you is all." he told her. "And about the...er...well. Yeah." he said. "Would you believe me if I said I happened upon two damsels in distress, and couldn't walk away?" he asked. It was true, which was the likely pathetic part. But he couldn't help it. It was just hardwired into his personality. There wasn't any avoiding that.

"Do you want anything? How is work? You bein treated okay where you're at? Do you need anything?" he asked, firing off the questions as they occurred, never wanting to back off from being involved in his family's lives, or offering to help provide for said lives. Even if he couldn't actually even afford his own.

Of course he had to save the damsels in distress. Evelyn had no trouble believing it. Hell, he probably didn’t even know the girls who needed his supposed ‘saving’. Much less know whether they actually wanted him jump in to the rescue. This was exactly why she didn’t tell her family about Mr. Kowalski’s real reason for hiring pretty girls in his law firm, or her resulting search for a job at the Drake hotel, or the not-so-reputable tenants at the boarding house, or the fact that her roommate sold her drugs to help her sleep because her nightmares were only getting worse. She didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want anyone trying to swoop in and save her.

“Work is going really well, actually. Rebecca got a promotion recently.” Evelyn was very careful not to let her voice betray her there – her brother would pick up on something like that in an instant. “Unfortunately it also means I don’t get to see her too often… which is disappointing… but she seems to be doing well for herself.”

She took a breath and flashed a wide grin. “And I don't need anything. In fact, I'm kinda doing rather well... I held my own in the holiday madness – some of the other employees were overwhelmed, but I actually… kinda shined like a star, I guess.” Her grin got brighter. “And,” she walked over to the couch and plopped down on the nearest end, “I don’t want to brag -- but I think the boss took notice.”

It wasn’t a lie: she had performed extremely well throughout the chaotic holiday season. Where a good number of the employees seemed ready to cave in from the stress, Evelyn had thrived on it. However, the ‘boss’ she mentioned wasn’t Mr. Kowalski but rather some of the hotel supervisors. And if Ian Sullivan, the hotel manager, had also noticed her work ethic… well, maybe she wasn’t being too hopeful in entertaining her thoughts of promotion.

He arched a brow, and went to drop down onto the couch as well. "Yeah? Well, that's real good, Evie." he said genuinely. "I'm proud of you. I'm glad to hear that you're doing well, and I hope that the bosses noticed." he said, glad she didn't ask for more details about the girls he'd stepped in for. Explaining that he'd possibly rescued a prostitute from an abusive boyfriend and then gotten unanesthesized stitches from the other woman he'd helped out...yeah he just wasn't gonna be happy to go there. So! He was more than happy to focus on her. "You moving up in the world then? Pretty soon you're going to be able to get out of that place you're staying? Maybe get your own place?" he suggested hoping she did. While he liked the idea of her being with a group of people and possibly safer that way...he also knew that shady elements ran like wildfire through joints like that, no matter how reputable they might be on the surface. It was just the way the city worked, and he knew it.

Evelyn couldn’t help but smile wider at the thought of her moving up in the world. But she held back a breath at her brother’s less-than-subtle suggestion about her current living arrangements. She put on a small smile – although this one wasn’t quite as effortlessly genuine as the previous.

“I think…” She briefly tried to think how to best explain that she wasn’t planning on moving out anytime soon without him thinking she needed money or something. “…I’ll be staying there for a bit longer. I mean – I like my roommates. They help out. Our place is clean. I don’t really… need anything more right now. No point fixing something if it isn’t broken, right?” A brief pause, and then a slightly more genuine grin. “Besides, I can save the money for the huge mansion I plan on getting in the future.”

She shifted around to face her brother, drawing her legs up beneath her. "But what about you? How have you been? ...Other than not staying out of trouble?"

Jesse didn't look overwhelmingly pleased with her answer, and he frowned slightly. "Evie..." he started, looking concerned, and his tone said that loud and clear as well. "It's not that I'm saying you shouldn't like your room mates or that they aren't great people or whatever. Or that the place isn't good or anything, I just...know how things work. And places like that...it's open for things to go really wrong, really fast." he said gently. His sister was pretty strong willed, and she was young. She still thought she knew everything--at least that was his view. "If you need anything, just...let me know. Okay? Any time, any thing. I'll always be there for you, no matter what." he promised, which he knew he'd promised her before, and periodically just reiterated it for her so she wouldn't forget.

When she flipped the subject back to him again, he propped his cheek on his fist, elbow against the back of the couch. "I have been staying out of trouble. Or I've been trying. You know I promised Baby J. I wasn't looking for it at all. Just...I met this girl Anya the other day when she was on her way out of the hospital from her piece of shit boyfriend knocking her around, so I couldn't just let her stay there. I just went with her to get her shit so she could leave, and he decided to take a swing or two. And then--" he broke off there, gaze ticking away for a heartbeat before he looked back at her. "It's complicated."

Evelyn smiled when he reminded her, as he had done many times before, that he was there for her. “I know. And of course if I need you, I’ll call you over.” Although not without trying to save herself first.

She exhaled slowly after listening to his story. Only a truly cold person could remain unsympathetic to Anya’s plight, or be disappointed with her brother for helping her out. Evelyn wasn’t a cold person. She felt for Anya. But it didn’t stop her from wishing her brother wouldn’t be so quick to run to rescue, regardless of the danger. What if the boyfriend had a gun? Or other friends just as quick for a physical confrontation? Hell, what if the boyfriend were to hunt her brother down? Her brother could more than hold his own in a fair fight, but there were plenty of ways to make a fight unfair.

She stared at him without saying anything for a couple of moments. She could warn him, again, about jumping in to the rescue, about being careful, about not getting himself killed because he had to play the hero… But it was a dance they had done plenty of times before, and she didn’t want to start an argument. Her mother hadn’t sent her over here just so they could get each other upset.

Speaking of…

“Oh – I almost forgot: mom gave me something for you. She took it out of the icebox, so it probably shouldn’t stay lying out here.” She hopped up from the couch and picked up the package she had left near the entrance, then made her way back towards the couch. “So… what do you think it is?” She asked, handing it to him.

Jesse was glad she hadn't asked him to try to explain the complications, because he had no idea what he would say to her. It wasn't like she even knew about the bank job in the first place. No one did. And he wasn't explaining it now. He shook the package and heard it rattle a little, arching a brow at his sister. "...I have no idea." he said honestly. "In the freezer? You sure she wasn't just hiding it there in case I came by, or Baby J wanted to peek?" he asked. "...and it's for me? Not for Jessie?" He had to be sure, after all. He'd rather people just spoiled his daughter, though the parents were generous people when they could afford to be, and sometimes when they couldn't.

Evelyn shrugged, and watched him open it up. Upon seeing some wrapped meat and a homemade loaf of bread, she wasn’t surprised – Jesse wasn’t a cook and it was just like her mother to send her 33-year-old wayward son a good a homemade meal. But something soon caught her eye.

“What’s that?”

An envelope poked out near edges and fell to the ground. Evelyn picked it up and peeked inside.

“…Tickets?” Puzzled and curious, she pulled out a pair of tickets for the Hill Street Theatre. They were to a matinee showing of a play Evelyn wasn’t familiar with. But that didn’t concern her. While her parents were always giving, and generous when they could be, she couldn’t see them having enough money to spare for a pair of play tickets.

But a letter in her mother’s handwriting explained all that. “Huh, so mom has a friend who works in the theatre, apparently who had a pair of tickets to give away. They were for him and his wife, but the wife passed away recently.” She handed the envelope, tickets, and letter over to her brother to read through.

Suddenly, a disturbing thought dawned on her: the theatre wasn’t too far from the hotel where she worked. Now, she couldn’t see a reason why her brother would wander towards a ritzy establishment such as the Drake Hotel, but that didn’t stop her from being more than a little disturbed.

He wasn't surprised at the food, and appreciated it, even. He wasn't, in fact, that fabulous a cook or anything. He could barely survive on basics without burning the joint down, but that wasn't the point. He read over the note, and glanced at the tickets, thinking this might put a little bit of a kink in the plans with Lily, since she'd been planning on taking Jessie to a play. Maybe it'd be a different one. Hm. He'd have to figure it out. "Well, go mom." he said, getting up to put the food away, and he put the tickets into his wallet, so Jessie didn't accidentally find them. Then he was looking back at his sister. "...you okay?" he asked, thinking she looked a little...he had no idea but it wasn't really 'fine and dandy' or anything.

Evelyn blinked a couple of times and brought her focus back onto her brother. “Yeah, I’m fine… I just… spaced out is all. Bit tired, long day.” She gave a long stretch to emphasize her point. Although, now that she thought about it, she was a bit tired. But that was because it was a long night – she had worked a late shift and had woken up early to get errands taken care of. Of course, in between there had been only a restless sleep for the usual reasons. Bringing her stretched arms down, Evelyn casually ran a hand through her hair. “So I bet Jessie’ll love going to the play.” There was the briefest of pauses before she asked, casually as possible, “When is it?”

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. I didn't look." he said, getting the tickets back out. "This weekend...noon?" he suggested, reading it over, and then he showed them to her. "Did you want to go with her?" he asked, thinking maybe she was asking because she'd like to go. And really, Jesse wouldn't mind if Evie did go with his daughter, it'd be a good chance for them to spend time together, and maybe get them both out of the house, doing something nice. It wasn't exactly his crowd, and considering the way he currently looked? He could be refused at the door, and he didn't want to embarrass Jessie. Which after it went through his head, he thought maybe he should share. "You two could use time together, she misses you." he told her. Then he quirked a little half smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And y'know...I'm sure they've got rules against rifraff in their theater." he added in a slightly quieter tone.

Evelyn was about say how, well, actually she couldn’t go, but Jesse’s final comments stopped her before the words could get out of her mouth. He had a point, although something about the tone broke her heart.

She wandered over to him and gave him a brief hug. “I’ll take her,” stepping away she added, “and you’re not riffraff. I’d like to see whoever turns you away to come to the aid of a girl in need – even if it means getting beat to hell by her dick of boyfriend.” She smiled up at him. “And I know they couldn’t be half the brother or father you are.”

Which was true. No, he didn’t always succeed in his ventures in spite of meaning well. And she more-than-sometimes wished she could get her brother without the whole “white knight” thing he had to have going on. But for all his faults, Jesse was her brother – and he was a wonderful one. Which made her feel all the more guilty because, honestly, it wasn’t just his over-protectiveness that prevented her from getting him involved in her life. If she broadcasted her wrong-side-of-the-track roots with her wayward delinquent brother showing up at work… well, it certainly wouldn’t help her further her career. But she was damned if she was going to show that, especially right now.

Jesse winced a moment at the hug, not because he didn't want one, but because she bumped his shoulder where Helena had put the stitches in. It was still sore. But then he hadn't gone to the hospital either. Really he might need to disinfect it again or something, even if the thought of that kinda sucked. It was just tender, and he wondered if it wasn't a little more tender than it should be. He did hug her back though, even if the contact was brief. "Somehow I don't think they'd stop to ask what happened before deciding I'm not worthy." he said. "But...thanks. I don't want her missing out just because..." he made a vague gesture towards himself, and then shoved his hands into his pockets again. "And thanks for saying I'm not an entire fuck up with my daughter." he added. He tried. he tried his level best, really, he just wasn't always positive he did a good job. Sometimes, he wondered if Ronnie shouldn't have taken her, but then Ronnie wasn't in such a great situation herself. He knew he kept his baby girl safe. He thought she was happy. Still, he worried. "Or you, for that matter." Since she'd said he wasn't such a bad brother, either. That made him feel slightly better.

“No problem.” She kept the smile on a little longer before the strain became apparent. She felt incredibly guilty right now. How could she say such things… and mean such things… yet behave in a manner that seemed to thoroughly discredit them? Not that Jesse was aware of the duplicity and lies she told him that seemed to multiply with every visit. At least, she prayed to God he wasn’t aware. Sometimes it frightened her just how… easily?... lying to her family was becoming. Like how she couldn’t tell him that she now had to go to the hotel to talk to her supervisors and co-workers about covering her shift this Saturday.

“Well, I should get going. Some friends and I are going out for dinner, but I’m going to go home and get some rest first.”

She made her way towards the door, and grabbed her scarf and coat. She gave her brother another glance, and smirked. “You look like you could use some rest too, Jess.”

"Oh...yeah, I don't want to keep you if you've got plans." he said, not really wanting her to leave so soon, but if she had things to do, she had things to do. And maybe she wouldn't ask questions. But then again...it seemed like she didn't really want to know. Not really. He knew the excuses he'd given, while true, didn't cover things entirely. But maybe she just didn't want to know. That made it easier, but at the same time made him feel a little bad. Like maybe his sister was distancing herself because of shit like that, and so of course she didn't want to know, because didn't always he have some explanation? Some excuse he could hand over but didn't really clear up the issue? Yeah, pretty much. He handed the tickets to her, so she could keep them. "...so Jessie doesn't find them. I'll just tell her you guys are going out this weekend and such...maybe see about getting her a dress or something. I'll figure it out." he promised. Maybe Helena would sew Jessie something. Hm. He'd much rather her needles were going through cloth than his skin, anyways. He gave Evie a smile, and a smooch on the forehead. "Be good." he told her, not wanting to promise he'd get rest when he didn't feel much like resting. Not with his mind sort of all over the place now.

“Heh, when I have I not been good? Miss Top-of-Her-Class here, remember?” Yeah, Miss Top-of-Her-Class-and-Now-Hoping-for-a-Promotion-at-Her-Server-Job… but moping over the past wasn’t going to get her anywhere. “Tell Jessie I said hi, and I’m looking forward to Saturday.”

She put on her coat and scarf for the umpteenth time that day, and opened the door. But before leaving, she paused and glanced back at her brother. “Just… take care of yourself. I think another bruise would be overkill, don’t you think?” She tried to keep the tone light and joking, but wasn’t entirely successful on that point.

He looked at his sister for a long moment, then towards the floor. He flashed a grin, but it didn't quite hit the mark, just like her joke hadn't. "Yeah, I'll try." he said. He just knew he wasn't in a position to really call the shots on that one. Especially with Helena off doing vast amounts of stupid things. Things that were likely to get her killed, and he just couldn't accept that. He almost stopped Evie, and asked her to make sure if anything happened to him that she still spent time with Jessie, and maybe occasionally mentioned that he wasn't always such a fuck up, but he didn't. It was melodramatic of him, right? Right.

It just didn't feel so melodramatic after the bomb Helena had dropped on him. That apparently, the O'Malley's had been the ones who had Eddie hooked. That it was the fucking mob that was going to kill him faster than he could blink if they ever found out what he had of theirs. "Have a good night, sis. It was good seein you."

"Likewise." Evelyn gave one more small smile and a "Love you, Jess" before closing the door. Out of the apartment, she wrapped her arms around herself and mulled over the time spent with her brother. Seeing him beaten so badly for the sake of some girl he just met, trying to diffuse any significantly over-protective urges he might have, the initial scare of him somehow finding out about her job while he and Jessie went to the theatre, the newly-formed weekend plans of taking Jessie to the theatre, now having to find somebody to cover her Saturday shift... it was good seeing her brother, but it had also left her feeling emotionally exhausted afterward.

Well, at least she had the flimsy of comfort that Jesse didn't get himself in anything too serious. For all the idiotic messes he had gotten himself into, the worst he had done had warranted only a few nights in jail. Evelyn smiled grimly at the thought, and pulled her scarf up to cover her nose just before exiting the building. She hailed a taxi, unintentionally slamming the door as she got inside.

"The Drake Hotel, please."