Sunday Dinner (TBC)

Who: Danny, Janey, Jackson
Where: The McKinnon place
When: dinner time

Danny hated working on Sundays because really, it's supposed to be a weekend day. Although, having to work did get him out of having to be at church all day with Janey. Pushing open the door to the apartment the first thing he noticed was the smell. Dinner and with a massive effort. "Janey?" he called as pulled off his hat and shucked out of his coat. Headed towards the kitchen he found her there, and opened the fridge, pulling out a beer. "That's a lot of food for two," he told her.

"Three," Janey said, smiling sweetly. "I've invited Jackson over for dinner, since we haven't seen him lately. Well, I haven't," she explained, drizzling lemon juice over the broccoli in the pan in front of her. She hadn't gotten to catch up with at the ball--not that it was the right place or time anyways. She was also still hoping he could shed some light on the foul mood Danny seemed to have been in.

Jackson wasn't really in the mood for dinner with the McKinnon's, but he'd gotten a phonecall from Janey and she's sounded so fucking sad on the phone that he couldn't not go over. What he really wanted to be doing was raking back over Babylon and trying to find Eris' claw marks on the place. Or something. Anything. Anything to get her away from Brett - have him realise how deep and dirty he was.

But no. Instead he was being a good friend and wearing a decent shirt. He'd forgone the tie. Jackson hated wearing a tie. He shuffled up to the familiar front door and prepped himself for awkwardness, a bottle of red tucked under his left arm, and pressed the bell.

Danny shot an annoyed look at the back of Janey's head, but didn't have time to talk about it before the bell to their apartment rang. Damnit. "I'll get the door." Taking another pull on the beer Danny made his way towards the door, frustrated, but willing to try. Jerking open the door hard he glared at Jackson, who was not dressed in his standard wrinkled shirt look. "Apparently you're coming to dinner."

As the doorbell rang, Janey scooped the beans into a bowl and brought them to the table, setting them down between the beans and scalloped potatoes. She felt a little guilty for not warning Danny but--when had she had the chance? Besides, he shouldn't need a warning for a visit from his buddy. She smoothed her hair back self-consciously and took a deep breath to try and still the ever-present throbbing in her temples. The smell of the meal wasn't helping any. She straightened the dishes on the table one last time before heading to greet Jackson.

"Look, Janey invited me, and she sounded like she needed company so what was I meant to say? 'Sorry, your husband's being a dick to me as well as you, can't make it'? Jesus," said Jackson in a whisper, his fuse obviously somewhat short, as he pushed past Danny into the hall, his eyes scanning through the apartment to catch a glimpse of Janey. He hoped she was okay.

Danny let Jack push past, but didn't say anything. Instead he just closed the door and made his way towards the bedroom to change, finishing off the beer as he walked.

Janey came into the living room just as Danny disappeared down the hall towards the bedroom. Jackson was looking around, his back halfway turned to her. Even so, she could see he looked tense and wondered what had happened. Maybe it's something on the job, she thought. Could whatever is eating Danny be bugging Jackson too? "Hello," she said softly, as though testing her voice. Lately it seemed to take a lot out of her to use it. Then again, lately everything seemed more difficult than it used to.

Jackson shook off his grouch when he saw Jane, and gave her one of his bigger and better schoolboy grins. She looked like she needed more than a little cheering up. God damnit Danny he thought to himself as he opened his arms out to hug the woman. "Hey there yourself, Princess. Thanks for invitin' me. Been a while huh? I brought you a bottle."

"It's been way too long," she said, flinging herself into his embrace with more force than she intended. Finally having a chance to talk to him sent a thrill of anxiety through her. Do I really want to get on his case about what's bothering Danny? Maybe I should just leave it alone, she thought.

He caught her and squeezed his arms around her tightly, "Glad someone missed me, huh?" he said in a jovial tone, "So how are you? You sounded kinda blue on the phone sweetheart," he said, releasing her gently and giving her a warm look. She didn't look good. Well, no, she looked good, but tired. Like she hadn't smiled in about a year.

Janey found herself a little annoyed at his concern. Was she really that easy to read? She gave him a smile, trying to relax. "Oh, I'm all right," she said. She didn't want to talk about herself. "I've just been a little concerned about Danny lately...he's acting...strange," she finished. Immediately she regretted the words. Did she have go straight to talking about this? She hadn't even bothered to ask Jackson how he was doing.

Jackson gave a sharp intake of breath at her question. Fucking Danny I'm gonna kill you, I told you talk to her... he thought, but he tried to keep his expression neutral and light, for her sake. "Work's been hard, you know?" he settled with - although he felt like it was a pretty weak answer. What was he gonna say? 'He was cheating on you with some piece of ass who got herself killed?'. That was right out. God damnit.

Danny emerged from the bedroom, not caring that he'd only bothered to put on his standard end of work day attire. It was just Jackson, he wasn't about to get dressed up for him. He stopped by the kitchen to retrieve another beer before making his way into the living room. There wasn't much to say, so he mostly just leaned in the doorway waiting to be called to dinner.

"Yeah," Janey said faintly. She knew work had been incredibly rough with everything that had been going on. But still...somehow she'd had this deluded idea that things should be starting to get better. The ball was supposed to fix everything--close the book on the murders and allow them the city to move on and feel safe again. But more importantly, with the murders solved, she'd hoped to see a change in Danny. She knew it would take time--but it worried her that even last night the only change she'd seen seemed to be a negative one; he'd seemed even more distant and withdrawn. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she needed him, and how he'd been acting was the exact opposite of what she needed.

Jackson frowned a little at Janey's downcast expression, and felt a sudden urge to reach out, pull her close. Make her smile. But it was split second as he heard Danny at the doorway. Jerk, "You being a grouchy asshole with your wife, Danny my man?" he said in a horribley falsely cheery tone, giving Janey a conspiratorial wink. What he meant was 'hey asshole, why haven't you spoken to her yet and made things good?'. But of course - that couldn't be said with her in the room.

Danny pushed off from the wall, and headed towards Jackson and Janey. Once he was close enough he clapped his hand down hard on Jackson's shoulder. It looked friendly but it was anything but. "No, I usually save that side of me for you only," Danny told him, also a little too cheery. He knew full well what Jackson meant and his response was to essentially tell Jackson to shove it up his ass. Letting go of his friend, he slipped an arm around his wife, pressing a small kiss against her temple.

Something seemed off about the playful roughness with which Danny and Jackson spoke to one another--but Janey shrugged it off. Maybe she was just reading too much into everything lately. "Well, dinner's hot, so shall we eat?" she asked, giving them both a bright smile. She took Danny's hand, reveling in his sudden display of affection, however small, and moved towards the dining room.

"Yeah, heck you spoil me with your cookin' you know that?" said Jackson with a dazzling grin, but his eyes were still fixed on Danny as he followed her to the dining room. As she turned her back to them Jackson mouthed "What the hell?" at Danny, his expression incredulous.

The look Danny gave Jackson was clear. "Say something and I'll kill you." He assumed that the other guy would understand enough to make it through dinner.

Janey had taken the bottle of wine offered by Jackson, and when they were seated she handed it to Danny to pour. "Care to do the honors?" As she scooped a spoonful of beans for herself, she turned to Jackson. "So, what's been keeping you busy, aside from work?"

Jackson looked back to Janey with a start as they were all settled - she broke the glowering silence that was building between he and Danny at least - and searched for his voice for a little while - what could he say? Meeting heiresses at the dock with threatening dolls of his baby sister? Finding his old best friend trussed up in bed with a whore - the same whore who had given him information to close down Babylon? Struggling with the idea that he had killed a man? Getting drunk and hitting on waitresses? None of that would exactly fly. He gave a shrug and a wink, and said in a chipper tone "Nothin' you'd find interestin'. You know how it goes. Work, sleep, eat, check up on the family. I'm a mighty boring person."

Danny had left the table in search of the corkscrew and glasses for the wine, but he did have to raise an eyebrow at Jackson's comment. Luckily his back was turned as he processed the information and opened the bottle at the same time. Turning around finally with the bottle and glasses in hand he set one in front of each setting, pouring some of the wine into all three glasses. "I'm sure Janey wouldn't mind hearing how you're family's doing Jack," he told the younger man as he poured a hefty amount into Jackson's glass.

Danny cut in before Janey could answer, but she agreed. "Of course! How is everyone doing?" she asked, spreading her napkin across her lap.

"Jenny's... well Jenny. Writing a lot for the paper. You know. Usual." he glared at Danny. Was he being an insensitive ass on purpose? He'd been there when everything had happened with Paul. He was gonna straight up kick his ass later. "She'd probably like to see you, actually, Janey honey. I oughtta bring her over sometime."

"I'd love to see her," Janey agreed. Janey had a soft spot for Jenny Haas, Jackson's younger sister. She knew it was because of the girl's childish ways and the way she just seemed so fragile, much like the girl Janey had met at the cathedral on Friday, come to think of it, but on a far higher level. With Jenny, it wasn't just that she seemed to be fragile and in need of a protector--Janey knew her history, and knew she was. Janey felt a little better about Jenny knowing she had an older brother like Jackson in her life--who better to protect her? But on an emotional level, Janey so wished she could help the younger woman to figure out how to begin to heal, instead of remaining so stuck in what she'd experienced. But she knew she couldn't--she couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to be through what Jenny had. How can I do anything to help her? Janey often wondered. She could be a friend, but that was hardly enough.

Danny continued to chew at his food, eating quickly in order to ensure dinner would end faster. He hadn't wanted to deal with Jackson today, or be sociable. No, he'd wanted to drink in the comfort of his own home and probably pass out on the couch. "There ya go Jack," Danny said between swallows. "Next time I have to work, the three of you can have dinner." Just so long as Danny didn't have to be there.

Jackson narrowed his eyes at Danny and chewed silently. Anything he could've said would've come off as snarky at best, but probably just out and out aggressive. He swallowed and turned to Janey with his best smile attatched firmly, "Well, if cap'n charming ain't around, it'll be all the more of your phenomenal cooking for me n' my girl, huh?" he winked again, and resisted the urge to give Danny a sharp kick under the table. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Janey cast a look at Danny, who seemed extremely focused on his meal. She could tell there was something between Jackson and Danny that they were both trying to hide--but she decided it was best to ignore it, for now at least. "That's right," she said, looking back at Jackson. She couldn't help but think that maybe dinner without Danny around was a good idea--maybe things wouldn't fee so tense.

Danny tried to smile when Janey glanced at him, but it probably looked forced. "Food's great," he mumbled to fill the silence that had filled the space after she'd agreed with Jackson. He didn't want to be the one talking, but he'd hoped that Jack would keep Janey talking and then Danny could just flit in and out of the conversation as needed. Apparently that wasn't going to be the case, probably because Jackson was only thinking about the things he thought Danny should be talking to Janey about.