the start

Who: Cheyenne and Danny
Where: The Drake Hotel bar
When: evening

This place was not Danny's scene at all, but nonetheless he was here, sitting at the bar in the Drake hotel in the what bordered on some of his nicest clothes so he could be served. He'd left the house, giving Janey the excuse that he had paperwork to do at work and then was going to meet up with some of the guys to celebrate them catching the serial killer. She'd been so proud of him when the news came out and it made him feel a little of the guilt that Jackson had insisted he should be feeling for the affair. She'd been so proud of Jackson too that he hadn't the heart to tell her that he wasn't speaking to Danny. Actually he used Jackson as his excuse to get out of dinner that night, that it was him he was spending time with.

Instead he was at the Drake Hotel on what was probably his third whisey on the rocks waiting for her. It was stupid because he wasn't even sure where to find her, but he figured this was a good start. It didn't seem right, him here, and he was sure Cheyenne'd figure him out, but he was supposed to do this and here he was. Briefly he wondered if Ms. Walker had a tab that he could put his drinks on since she'd gotten him into this mess.

Cheyenne was out for the night. She'd been mildly down lately and couldn't quite figure out why. It might have something to do with the isolation she was feeling. She seemed to meet people, but there wasn't a lot going on there of late. That and Adriana seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet, which might not have bothered her nearly as much as it should have, which just made her feel bad. The girl had just changed in her time away, so...maybe it was best that she head back to wherever she'd been.

Either way, she was making an attempt to be out and social. She chose the Drake because she really really couldn't at all contemplate having to give a bunch of losers the brush off at a dive, so she'd gone more upscale. She'd even dressed the part, which was something she generally only did sparingly. But she was trying to feel good about herself and all, so she'd put effort into her appearance. She headed up to the bar and ordered a drink, not really paying attention to who else happened to be around just yet. She was still mid-psyching herself up for the evening.

He'd spotted her the moment she walked in the room, but then again how could he not? Every head turned when she walked in although in his defense he'd been waiting for her. It was impossible to take his eyes off her as she crossed to the bar, just a few stools down from his, but he shook it off as what he was supposed to do. Of course that left him with trying to find a way to approach her that didn't seem like a total freak or creep. Sadly most of Danny's conversing with the opposite sex were only developed to an age sixteen level because that's when he met his wife.

He was off his stool, waving off a look from the bartender that said he didn't have a chance and moving towards her when the image of the doll Maya had came flooding back to him. Looking at Cheyenne's profile he realized that the doll had been her perfect minature and concern seeped into his veins. Danny wouldn't let another woman fall under his watch, not like he let with Stella. "Cheyenne?"

Hearing her name, she looked over, and after a second, recognition clicked, and she smiled brightly at him. "Hey!" she said. "Lookin sharp tonight, officer!" she said, giving him a little wink. "You clean up nice don't you? How're you?" she asked, instantly engaging in conversation that was easy for her to do. But Cheyenne was a social little bunny, so it worked for her.

"Thanks," Danny mumbled in response. He'd thought he looked like an idiot when he left, but perhaps he'd been off on that accord. "You look lovely of course," he responded, returning the compliment. "I'm doing alright. And you? Are you here on your own?" Jesus that sounded like a come on.

"Aww, thank you!" she said, spinning around for him, the skirt of her blue dress fanning out a little. "I wasn't sure about this dress." she said. "Thought it might be too bright." What with it being bright cyan. But it looked pretty good on the girl. "Yes, I decided I needed a night out. What about you?" she asked. "Oh! I was looking at the paper, and I saw your name!" she said, excited and she went to stand closer, sipping at her drink when she got it. "You really caught the killer?"

Danny took the rare opportunity to look at her while she twirled and it dawned on him why she was so successful with her modeling. "No it's prefect" he told her truthfully, because it was. "I needed a change of scene." When she came closer he forced himself to stay calm. Worst of all he wasn't sure exactly why he was nervous. Laughing lightly to cover his shakey voice, he ducked his eyes and then looked back up again. "Uh, yea. We got him. Chased him through a building and everything. He shot one of the detectives, but not bad, the guy's alright. And Jackson, my buddy from the academy, and I got him in the end." It sounded far more glamorous than it had actually been.

"Oh no! But the guy's okay?" Cheyenne asked, looking concerned. "And you chased him through a building? Was it scary?" she asked. "What was his apartment like? Were there weird things inside? Were there journals?" Then she paused. "You got him? Wow." she said. "Good job, sincerely, thank you on behalf of the whole city, because..." she shook her head. "Wow." She smiled at him. "So you're a hero then."

"Yea everyone's fine," Danny lied smoothly. Jackson was a fucking disaster and probably not speaking to Danny again, but otherwise everyone was alright and in one piece. Well except for the bad guy but that was alright in the end. "I didn't get too good a look at his place, but the walls were definitely covered in newspaper clippings from all the other deaths. It was pretty weird." Danny looked away at her last comment an back down at his drink. "I'd hardly call myself a hero." He'd wanted the son of a bitch dead and he'd seen to it that it happened. Hell, he didn't feel an ounce of remorse. That had been bothering him, the way Jackson had seemed so distraught and how he himself had just shaken the whole ordeal off.

"I certainly would." Cheyenne said. "The killer was just getting more and more women, right? And it was all over the place. Scary, scary stuff." she said. "So, yes! Heroic and everything." Then she glanced around. "Where's your wife?" she asked. "She isn't bathing you in glory over the whole thing?" She imagined that he'd be getting tons of attention for it all, from all sides. For once, people seemed like they were going to be cool with the cops for ten minutes.

Danny quirked a smile at the hero talk but it turned down at the edges a bit when she asked about Janey. "She's not here, we celebrated earlier, but she had to get up early in the morning. I was supposed to be meeting up with the guys earlier but some of them had plans fell through. I think Jackson said something about a pretty girl." Danny raised his drink to his lips taking another sip. "I can't really fault him there. I'd blow me off too."

"And here I thought secretly, all guys really just wanted to hang out with the guys." she said. "Or, that's what it seems like. Like, a lot of the guys I've dated, they're all about things for a bit, but then it seems like they just want to escape, to run off with the boys. So, I let them, and tell them really, if that's what they're after? They can just keep doing that, and I'll just change the locks." she added, sipping her drink again. She leaned back against the bar in an oddly delicate, elegant manner. "So, sorry they ditched you!"

"Well when it comes to Jack, the girls are never a long-time commitment. He'll blow me off for a week or two and then she'll get tired of him only seeing her on the night he blows me off and then next thing I know we're back in business. He's sort of a chronic bachelor." Danny rested an elbow on the bar and his head on his hand, watching her settle against the bar like she belonged there. "It's not a big deal really, I sure as hell wouldn't be here if I was out with them, and wouldn't get to see you." She really was going to think he was hitting on her at his rate, but he had to get a foot in the door somehow. It would be a hell of a lot easier if he could just tell her that he was going to be her muscle from here on out.

"Sounds lonely. Or like a guy with a lot of issues." Cheyenne assessed. Then she smirked faintly at him and winked. "Because I'm such a big perk?" she asked, clearly thinking that wasn't the case. "I'm sure you've got better things to do. Like all that attention and celebration and everything for your awesome job on the killer case. I should get a picture of the officers involved. Maybe they'd put them up in city hall for a while." she suggested. "By the way that's me flagrantly putting out there that I'd like a photoshoot, but with me not in front of the camera."

"Issues is more accurate," Danny commented with a little ire in his voice. He was still rather annoyed at his friend. Why Jackson had opted to be such a pussy about the whole thing was beyond Danny. Didn't he realize that there were bigger problems in the world besides saving the city a chunk of change by executing the bastard for them? "Yes I am busy beating off all the attention with a stick as you can see." The four stools on either side of Danny were empty and really even the bartender was prone to ignoring him more than any other bartender he'd met. "And as talented with a camera as you may be, I will not force you to put my ugly mug in front of it. That's asking to break the damn thing."

Cheyenne rolled her eyes and smirked at him. "Oh come on, you're not ugly." she said. "Far from. I'd say you're 'pretty damn' on the good looking scale, even." she told him, tone genuine. "I'm positive you've been told that before, too, so don't you go fishing for compliments, Officer." she told him, teasing.

"Alright, alright," he conceded trying hard not to smile too much at the compliment. Okay, so maybe he wasn't hideous but he wasn't really in a line of work that he got to hear that sort of thing often. "And you know you can call me Danny right? I'm not exactly on duty at the moment." He took another sip of his drink, drinking slower now, for once not as interested in getting drunk. Not that he wouldn't by the end of the night, it was the best way to keep from dreaming, but it wasn't his plan anymore.

"Okay, Danny." she said. "So, Danny, you've made the streets of Eidolon City safer for young ladies after dark. You're a hero to the people, and have a clearly bright future ahead of you! What's next?" she asked, like she was a reporter doing a feature on him.

Danny's laugh was light and genuine. He was horrible at his sort of back and forth, but now he was going to have to try. "Well I was planning on finishing my drink and waiting to see what you'd suggest for next." The look he gave Cheyenne was bashful at best.

She laughed. "What I was going to suggest? Are you hanging with me tonight then?" she asked. "If you're looking for excitement that way, you might be barking up the wrong tree. I'm afraid I don't have anything fabulously exciting in mind at all. Nothing that comes to mind, anyways. Honestly I was just kind of bored at home and was thinking to myself that I should really try being a little more social. Lately it feels like every time I try, I've sort of hit a wall. So...witness me attempting socialization!"

Danny smiled, relieved again that she wasn't considering him being too forward. Perhaps this could fall into place, this whole watching her and yet not watching her plan. "I can't have you wandering around without an escort can I? I only got one bad guy off the streets this week, there are plenty more where that came from." Danny's grin over his glass before taking another sip gave the warning a joking feel, but he believed it. Someone had less than pleasant intentions for the girl, the doll Maya had was evidence enough of that, and even though he disagreed with the terms of his new job, he wouldn't let another woman in his life fall to the same fate as Stella. "We'll attempt socialization tonight. Maybe you can even teach me how to manage."

"It's not that hard. I think I've just not been meeting people who are..." she paused, thinking about how to word it. "...interested?" she suggested. Actually, Danny had fallen into that category before, though tonight he seemed more engaged in their conversation. "Most people I've run into lately seem like they kind of want to talk about themselves, but have no interest in asking me about myself. It's enough to make a girl wonder if she's got the personality of a rock or something." she admitted, smiling like she was blowing it off, but there was a hint behind her eyes that suggested she might really feel that way.

"I hardly doubt you have the personality of a rock Cheyenne," he told her truthfully, eager to continue the conversation on it's current route. "And I personally, would love to hear more about you. Especially if it will keep you from calling me heroic and other such nonsense." Danny smiled again, aware that he was smiling far more than usual tonight.

"Well, your life at the moment is far more interesting than mine." she said. "I don't know though. Yeah I just...feel like I'm investing in people, or trying to when I meet them, but they're just uninterested. Like entirely. And a friend of mine dropped off the face of the planet again. I have no idea what happened there, just that she's gone. But she sort of...well she left the country for a while, and when she came back, it kind of seemed like she was all high and mighty. Like she assumed that she knew more than everyone else around her and treated me not only like I was a puppy meant to follow her around, but an idiot as well." she sighed, and killed the rest of her drink. "And I'm shutting up now, so you should take over, sweetie."

Danny's cop mind flipped on when Cheyenne mentioned her friend, but he reassured himself that Cheyenne probably meant in a social sense and not so much in a "missing persons" sense. Danny finished his drink as well and motioned to the bartender for another round. Now that Cheyenne had joined him, the man seemed more keen on keeping up with their needs. Really though he was stalling. Danny's issues weren't ones he wanted to bring up with Cheyenne. There was no need to talk about the guilt he was feeling over his affair, or the hole that Stella's death had left in the middle of his core. Nor did he want to talk about how his best friend was a righteous bastard. "I doubt I have much more to share. I'm repainting the guest room at my place." He gave her a weak smile as to say he had nothing more to offer.

Cheyenne smiled. "What color?" she asked. "Want some random photography to hang on the walls? I won't charge you anything." she promised. "I did get some fabulous shots the other day when I was tresspassing on the library's property, in the burned out section. But please don't arrest me for it. It was far too good an opportunity to pass up was all. I swear I didn't take anything but imagery away!"

"Kind of a beige meets yellow color? It was blue and now it's 'sunny' or so my wife says. It was something I promised I'd do years ago but never got around to it. As for photography, I'm sure it would be appreciated, but I have no eye for that sort of thing. I'd have to let Janey look at it." He gave her a disappointed look when she mentioned the library, but then let it fade into a more quizzical look. "What's so interesting about the burned portion of the library?"

She noticed the disappointed look, and gave him a quizzical one back. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked. "And..." she smiled, looking down, a little shy. "This might sound stupid. so bear with me." she told him. "But fire...it's this living thing. And it ripped through there, and you can see where it just consumed everything in it's path...and then other places where it left everything untouched entirely, and for no discernable reason at all. Looking at the wreckage, you can see it, see the evidence of what was once there, once happening, and it's not ever going to get erased. It's like a scar on the city, and walking through....there's a strange beauty to it."

"Just the trespassing bit," he told her with a smirk. "Plus that whole portion of the building is far from safe." The concern in his voice was genuine, but not scolding. He listened to her description, not entirely understanding, but he certain didn't have a head for that sort of thing. When he looked at the wreckage of the library he saw shadows of the people who almost died there and a seriously lack of funding to get the place fixed. She wasn't kidding about a scar that would never go away, but not because of what the fire did, but more because no one seemed to care to clean it up. "Seems to be sort of a metaphor for the city in general," he offered thinking of the issue again as a giant stain on the city's history.

"What, a place that's full of stories and knowledge, but there's sections of it that are purely unsafe, ravaged, and full of damaged stories?" she suggested. "Where the twisted, broken pieces and piles of ashes aren't ever far from the bright lights and polished floors?" That was what came to mind when he said that, anyhow, her mind immediately latching onto the idea and extrapolating it out.

"I was thinking in more of a literal sense," he explained taking his drink from the bartender and handing Cheyenne hers. "Just another example of something that should have been taken care of years ago, but no one seems to care enough to fix it. The library itself is a huge landmark in town, but a good chunk of it is inhabitable and yet there are no moves made to restore it. But I guess we're sort of saying the same thing two different ways huh?"

"Thank you." she said, taking her drink and sipping at it thoughtfully. "I think we are." she assessed. "And I think the city...it sort of has this huge circle it keeps following, this pattern it won't break free of. I guess that's just life though. There'll always be people around trying to change things, and always people around who're trying to keep things the same. There'll always be cops and robbers and all that'll change is the names."

"At least it keeps me in a job right?" Danny offered, although not entirely enthusiastic about it. Her comment about people trying to change things reminded him of Jackson again and it was hard to hold back the sullen mood thinking about his friend put him in.

"I suppose so." Cheyenne said, and then she spent a moment just watching Danny. "What's the matter?" she asked. He'd sounded a little off there, and he seemed to be a touch preoccupied. "Want to talk about it? I'm known for my abilities to not just be waiting for my turn to talk."

Danny didn't want to talk about his issues with Jackson, but he still needed to open up to Cheyenne some if he was going to secure a place at her side. "My friend, the one that blew me off today? I lied about that." He looked away, dropping his gaze from hers. "He's not speaking to me actually. We had a difference of opinions about the serial killer case and since he's sort of always on the high road he thinks he's right. And of course I think he's naive."

Cheyenne winced. "I'm sorry." she said. "What were you disagreeing about?" she asked, tone softening, and she shifted more to face him, getting slightly closer in an unconscious reaction to the idea that he was upset about something. "Think that you two'll be okay? Or is it a 'and I'm never going to speak to you again' type of thing?"

Jesus, where was he supposed to start? He and Jackson had been butting heads since Danny had been called to Stella's crime scene. The whole thing had just gotten worse when Danny sided with Jakob over the kill shot. And fuck, Danny wouldn't have killed the guy if Jackson had just let him take the shot he meant to take. "He didn't think I should have been on the case," Danny settled on for an explanation. "I knew one of the girls killed. She worked at a bar I go to pretty often and Jack, he thought I was out for vengeance."

Reaching out, Cheyenne put a hand over his for a moment, giving it a squeeze before she took it back. "I'm really sorry to hear that." she said. "I didn't know. That's really awful, were you close?" she asked. "And even if you were out for vengeance, isn't it kind of even considering he's not going to be terrorizing the city anymore?" she suggested lightly.

"Close enough," Danny responded not bothering to really elaborate. "And I agree, getting him off the streets was a good thing, no matter how it got done. I'm sure Jackson will eventually see that but for now he's holding it against me. He's got this ridiculous moral code that he tries to live up to, no matter what. I'm worried it's going to get him killed one day."

Cheyenne listened to that, then nodded, exhaling. "In this town...it could. I mean, I believe in the greater good, I really do, but...well. Sometimes, I don't know. I"m sure you'll work it out though, maybe try talking to him tomorrow? Don't let it sit, that always makes things worse." she advised.

That was different, a mob family's daughter who believed in the greater good. Danny was wondering what else Maya was keeping from Cheyenne besides her new bodyguard. "I'll do my best, he's known for having a thick skull though." Danny couldn't help but smile a little, remembering that most of the time, the only way to get through to Jackson was to shove him around a little.

"Well, dont give up on him. Just keep at it, maybe it'll sink in eventually." she said, giving him an encouraging smile and tone. "Besides, if he's a real friend, he'll definitely let it go eventually. Just be around and let him know that you're not going to fade into the woodwork just because he's mad." she said.

"I'll keep that in mind," he told her genuinely. Eventually things would get sorted out with Jackson. They had to because Janey was talking like she wanted to have him over again and if he didn't get things straight, Danny would be in an even bigger mess.

"You do that." Cheyenne said, winking. "Listen to the Cheyenne. For she is wise, and knows what she's talking about." she told him, a sage, teasing tone in her voice. "I don't want to take up your whole night though, I'm sure you've got other things to do. Maybe head home, and do a little more celebrating with the wife?" she suggested, winking.

"Yes ma'am," he teased back. "And I don't mind really. She sort of kicked me out earlier in the first place because she's having some women's Bible study at the house tonight. It's strictly a 'no boys allowed' type thing. So for now, I've got nowhere else to go." It was a lie, but he played it smoothly enough.

Cheyenne looked at him, and it was clear something tripped her up with the statement he gave her. Giving a hesitant sort of half smile, she paused a moment, then instead of saying something, she took another drink. Thought you said your wife had to get up early. she thought, but opted not to say, even if she didn't cover well at all that something there gave her pause. "I see." she said instead.

He caught the pause and wondered if she knew he was lying. She seemed like she might. It wasn't right, lying to her like this. If he hadn't been asked to protect her, he would back out of his now. "Have you had any other problems with the stalker?" God, he hoped she'd let him change the subject.

Cheyenne shrugged, glancing around and not quite at him. "I don't know. Sometimes I think it's more my imagination than anything else. Maybe not. I haven't noticed anything overt." she said, letting him change the topic, but it was still bothering her that she'd been rather obviously lied to. She almost felt like turning to the guy and telling him that if he was going to be handing out stories, the least he could do was keep them straight. But, she didn't. She'd been raised better than that. That just didn't erase that it made her uncomfortable. "Think you could excuse me?" she asked, looking back at him, though she didn't quite meet his eyes. "There's a few people I see that have been waving." Which was true enough, even if she hadn't had any previous intention of going over and speaking with them.

Noticed that she couldn't look him in the eye, but he didn't point it out. It was probably his own fault wasn't it? "You shouldn't be out alone if you think there's still someone following you Cheyenne," he told her and his voice had honest concern in it despite his lies to stay in her company. Only now she was determined to leave him and has much as he didn't want to it only made sense to let her go. If he forced himself on her, she'd turn harder. "Yea, talk to your friends. I'll be here."

She gave a rueful little half smile. "No one's taken it seriously since it started, and nothing's actually happened. Like I said. Maybe it's all just in my head. Nice talking to you, officer. Have a good rest of the night...and thank you again for all your hard work with making the city safer." she said, nodding to him, and then she drifted off to go speak to people she didn't even really want to talk to. But she'd find that easier than sitting there letting the little lie bother her. And it would, so...she thought it best to excuse herself than do something more overt.

"I take it seriously," he offered weakly before she walked away. Turning back to the bar he ordered another drink, polishing the last of the current drink. He'd stay where he was until she left. It wasn't exactly what he'd promised Ms Walker he'd do but it was a start.