trying to help out

Who: Dodge and Pepper
Where: the park
When: Midday

Dodge had started off his morning dealing with business, fencing a few items to cover food for the week and then he'd half skipped off to Maddy's tower room, her duck tucked under his hat still, ready for a big show of giving it to her.

When she didn't answer his knock he thought she might be drunk again and pushed the door open without an invitation. Only instead of finding her passed out cold on the bed he found an empty room. Worried, he shut the door quick and bounded down the stairs. Of course the actors downstairs were useless, one hadn't seen the girl since the day before. Anger now was starting to seep into him as he thought of Roy and how Roy had insisted they move Maddy before she was found by the lady from the church.

Now with direction he set off, headed for the garage he knew Roy worked at first, although he'd taken the long way through the park. Dodge understood that he was feeling way to hot headed about the whole thing and if he didn't calm down before talking to the other boy, Dodge might be tempted to lash out, which would give him nothing.

Pepper was sporting a black eye, sitting under a tree in the park, looking miserable. She hadn't started it, it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't go back to the bridge today. There'd been an argument, a fight - and she'd lost. Lost her patch, even, and she was nursing the realisation that nobody else had stood up for her. Of course, some of the regulars, the people she thought she could count on, were gone. Elsewhere for the day, or something. Probably that was why the guy had made his move when he did. When she was alone. Anyway, right now, she couldn't go back there, so she was huddled in the park, feeling very much sorry for herself.

He'd forced himself to slow his pace and count to a hundred before making it through the park. At about forty-seven he spotted the figure under the tree and by fifty-two he was able to tell it was Pepper. Seeing her as another opportunity to calm his nerves he headed her way. "Hey pretty girl," he called out as he got closer. She hated it, but he never stopped. Despite her best efforts to look like a boy, Dodge still thought she was lovely.

Pepper's head jerked up in a glare at being called 'pretty girl'. Any day she hated it, today, after being run out of her patch, it garnered a slightly different response. Whereas normally she'd be up, fists at the ready, today she pulled her coat further around her body and just glared at him. Her only attack was vocal. "Whadda ya want, Dodge?" she gave him - not her best come back.

Her head jerking up showed off the black eye well and clear and Dodge's anger fell away, replaced with concern. Within a few steps he was close enough to touch her and although he held back from contact he did kneel so he could see her better. "What happened Pepper?"

"Walked into a door," she said, very much sarcastically, then rolled her eyes. Like she had enough of a home to have a doorway. "This guy, new - anyway... Don't know who he was, but he was a big guy, and with the snow, I guess - he wanted my patch. Really wanted it. So, he has it, I'm here - you were going somewhere - don't let me stop you," he told him, her walls very definitely up, being that she felt defeated right now.

Instead of taking her suggestion, Dodge just settled himself on the grass across from her. "Big guy huh? What did he look like? And how big? Bigger than Roach?" Pepper wasn't one of Dodge's, but she'd become one of his girls and that meant, just like with Maddy, he'd to anything to protect her. But it was best to know who he what he might be getting his boys into before he ran into something.

"Bigger than Roach," Pepper confirmed. "And hits harder." pepper had been in fights with most of the people she knew, at one time or another. She knew how hard Roach hit - though she didn't know if she'd ever felt his full strength. Still, this guy under the bridge had hit harder. He just hadn't come after her when she'd run.

Dodge didn't like the sound of that. It was a little unsettling, someone being too big for his boys to take down. Not that it hadn't happened before, but still. He rubbed at his chin and considered the situation, which just looked all sorts of not good. "You have somewhere else to go? If he's that big I need to rally some back up, but I don't think I can do that today."

"I can deal, Dodge - I'm not one of your crew," Pepper pointed out, though she felt slightly better, knowing that if she needed it, someone might just have her back. She'd resisted efforts by Dodge to try and incorporate her in the past - Pepper was resolutely her own woman person and she was going to stay that way. She hated to lose though.

"I know you aren't, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to help you out. Part of the crew or not, we're friends Pepper, that makes you one of mine." Dodge meant it, that much was evident on his face. He'd been known to take care of those who weren't his. Not to the extent that he would take care of his own, but he didn't get to be the legend he was without making sure his mark was left everywhere. "Where are you gonna go tonight?"

Pepper struggled to her feet, her coat still clutched around her body. "I am not one of yours!" she exclaimed, her back against the tree. "I don't care what you think, but I don't 'belong' to anyone - so you can stop with that bull right now!!" she continued, looking almost frantic. She'd had a bad enough day as it was without some man trying to lay claim to her. Never - never ever was she going to allow that to happen. Yes, they were friends, but Pepper had always reacted badly to anyone trying to take away her independence, even if that was just how she saw it and not how it was meant.

"Pepper," Dodge said, voice soft. "You're right, you're not. I just want to help." She'd yelled at him before, hell she'd hit him before, but he could tell that she was more upset than usual. He got to his feet, hands open and pleading. "I'd like to help."

"You can help by leaving me alone," pepper said, upset now. She knew that wouldn't really help, but her pride after what he'd said wouldn't allow her to ask for help right now. "You were going somewhere, weren't you? You should just go there," she told him.

"I was looking for Roy," he told her, not leaving yet, but shifting the conversation. "You seen him around lately? I can't find DG, she's not at her place and I wonder if he knows where she's hanging out." Or where Roy stashed her in general. Anger bristled again along the back of his neck at the thought of Roy ignoring Dodge's plan and taking matter into his own hands.

"Roy's sick," Pepper told him. "Saw him yesterday, and day before, but he's sick - so I'd stay away if I were you or you'll get it and you'll spread it," she warned. She didn't like sick, she really didn't. She stayed well away from it when she could - yesterday had been about giving medicine and stuff. And Arden had been there. It was different for Arden, she had a home and someone to look after her if she was ill.

Dodge's face turned up in a scowl. He was developing some serious issues with Roy because in Dodge's mind, the kid had a skull thicker than concrete. Who'd been right in that bitch out session he'd given Dodge when Dodge warned him to get out of the rain? It took a moment before he let that anger fade and shifted back to his normal cool demeanor. "Have you seen Doll Girl?" The matter at hand was more important anyway. Dodge would deal with Roy at a later date.

"No, I haven't seen Doll Girl. I haven't seen anyone. Not since yesterday," Pepper told him. That had been part of the problem - that was why she'd ended up with the shiner and out on her ear. Because she hadn't seen anyone who would back her up. There hadn't been anyone to back her up and now she was going to have to find a new place to live.

So Maddy was still missing. Which meant sick or not, he owed Roy a visit, at least to make sure all the bases had been covered. "Hey Pepper, you remember where my place is, from back when I lived with Patrick?" He couldn't fix Maddy's problem at the moment, but he could try again to help Pepper with hers.

"Yeah, I remember," she told him, cautiously. He just seemed to be all full of unconnected questions at the moment. Has she seen him, and her, does she know where this place is - she wanted to know where he was going with this. She wasn't in her most trusting mood right now. Probably because her eye hurt.

"Good," he said, nodding and smiling a little. "Then you know where to find me if you need anything." Dodge had already upset her once, and he didn't want to do it again. Giving her an option was the best he could do, that and hope she'd consider it. "If you want, we can work on getting your space back tomorrow. I'll see who we can put together."

Pepper eyed him, then took from what he'd said that he wasn't trying to force her to go with him, and nodded. "Yeah, maybe," she agreed, possibly to both points. Right now she was just feeling hurt and vulnerable, and she hated both of those.

"Well just let me know what you decide." Dodge hesitated before going into the next topic, but decided another set of eyes on the look out could probably help more than hurt. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Pepper much preferred to give favours than to owe them - seh didn't like being in anyone's debt. "Sure, you can ask," she confirmed - that wasn't a promise that she'd do something before she knew what that was, after all.

"It's about DG, she'd had a run in with someone, some lady she met over at the church. DG was worried about possibly being sent back to the orphanage. I told her to lay low, which she was going to do, but now she's not at her place." The worry was starting to show on Dodge's face. Busting someone out of the orphanage was not an easy task. "You think you could let me or one of my boys know if you see her, or if you hear anything?"

Pepper arched an eyebrow. "Well, if she's not at her place, maybe she's just doing what you suggested: laying low. Y'know, if that lady knew her patch, or could find out asking questions - then maybe she just needed to be elsewhere. but sure - if I see her, or hear anything, I'll get word," she promised.

"I don't think the woman knew her patch, but maybe that's it. I thought maybe she'd be with Roy too." Even though Dodge had told him to let Maddy stay at her place. Plus, would Maddy really ask Dodge to keep an eye on things and then disappear. "Thanks, though."

"Don't mention it," Pepper said, pulling her coat further round her body, though she was already pretty wrapped up in it. "And, look - thanks. For the... Not saying anything, but, yeah." She wasn't very eloquent when it came to thanking someone for giving a damn, that was for sure.

"Don't sweat it," Dodge said, smiling a little even though the worry stayed in his eyes. "I'm here if you need anything. You know I'm a sucker for a pretty face." He paired the last part with a wink.

"You ever say that to me again and I'll punch you - you know I will," Pepper retorted, even if she already had a black eye from one lost fight today. She'd still deck him. She was not a pretty face. Maybe she should keep the injury, poke at it, just to prolong that.

"I know," he said gravely but the smile was still on his face. She'd hit him before for the same reason, but he didn't really ever learn to let up. "I was just saying."

"Fine, well, don't," she told him, seriously. He knew how she felt about things. Hell, most people knew how she felt about things. It was bad enough being a girl without being thought of a any kind of pretty. She didn't want that - so far she'd shaved off all her hair in a bid to be less than pretty. Maybe that just wasn't enough.

"Right," Dodge said nodding, knowing that he would probably give it another shot at some other point. She could do what she wanted her hair and more, but Dodge still honestly thought she was pretty. Whatever her reasoning, Dodge certainly didn't understand it.

Pepper stood there, wondering if he was staying or going. She certainly had nowhere else to go, and with those comments, she wasn't going to be encouraging him to stay, either. She'd thought they'd got back onto more of an even keel, after he'd dropped that whole 'you're one of mine' crap that made her uncomfortable, but then he'd started up with calling her pretty, which put them back down there again. So, she just waited, to see what he was going to do next.

He hadn't wanted to leave right away, because despite his smiling demeanor he was worried about her. After a moment though, she didn't seem to have anything else to say to him, and she wasn't readily taking him up on his offer. "I gotta find Roy, Pepper," Dodge said with hesitation in his voice. "You gonna be okay?"

"Go, find Roy - I can take care of myself," she told him, stubbornly. She always had and she always would. She wasn't gonna let no man take care of her - she'd seen where that road led and she wanted none of it.

"Never said you couldn't." Dodge smiled at her. "I'll see you around." He hesitated one more time before turning to leave.