Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Joe's
Dec 17, 2007 23:29:22 GMT
Post by Marcus on Dec 17, 2007 23:29:22 GMT
Slouching in his seat as much as his still-aching side would allow, Marcus glanced to the others around the table. Making himself shorter in the laziest way possible wasn’t going to get him out of buying a round, but maybe he could delay the inevitable for just a little longer. A bowl of peanuts sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by bottles and glasses. The younger Rivera was personally glad, relieved, that he and his sister were off the meds that had more or less made their lives miserable during the course of their prescriptions, but now that they were free of the drugs, they could unwind.
Joe’s Bar was a comfortable, free and easy establishment with a welcoming, friendly atmosphere, and that was part of why it was loved. Joe himself, the owner and sole worker behind the bar, was one hell of a character, and he and Marcus had conversed on many occasions about all manner of topics, and the man was pretty much always cheerful and accommodating, even when one corner of his bar was completely claimed by cops of varying levels and divisions.
Reaching for the neck of his bottle, he took it from the table, glancing towards the door when it swung open, permitting a familiar figure, and someone at their table shot their arm into the arm to call her over.
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Tasha
Human
Medical Examiner
Drive until you lose the road, or break with the ones you've followed.
Posts: 38
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Joe's
Dec 17, 2007 23:32:29 GMT
Post by Tasha on Dec 17, 2007 23:32:29 GMT
As she saw the arm shoot into the air, she managed to get everything into her grasp properly, her phone pushed into the front right pocket of her hip-riding jeans, and apartment keys — why she still had them out when she’d been sitting in a cab for ten minutes, she didn’t even know for herself — jangling and rattling their way down to the depths of her bag as she gave the group in the corner a smile and wove her way towards them, lifting a hand in a wave of greeting to Joe, who returned it with one of those characteristic, practically trademark, harmless grins of his.
Reaching the table, setting her coat and bag into the safety of the corner where the two walls met and the table and chairs and stools hid the personal possessions from view, she smiled to the group as a whole, using both hands to push and rake loosely curled dark hair back from her face as she claimed an empty seat. She had showered after work earlier, obviously, given her profession, and it was still just subtly damp, but that didn’t matter right now.
“I hope I’m not being left in the dust,” she said almost by way of greeting, nodding to the collection of glasses and bottles that had already formed on their large table.
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Esperanza
Human
Departed
I'll tip my had to the new constitution; take a bow for the new revolution
Posts: 10
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Joe's
Dec 18, 2007 2:26:12 GMT
Post by Esperanza on Dec 18, 2007 2:26:12 GMT
"You kidding, Tash'?" came an accented reply. Esperanza grinned over the neck of her bottle. "We're just gettin' started -- the night is young."
Her partner nudged the seat beside him with his foot, pushing it back in an open invitation for the ME to have a seat. Esperanza flashed Drew a grin, then returned her attention to the rest of the 'party'; it was actually turning into quite the shindig. But, of course, almost everyone had been stressed out while the Riveras had been on the road to recovery, and now everyone wanted the chance to relax and enjoy the company of their fellow cops, techs, and what have you.
With a contented sigh, 'Spera slouched back into her seat and took a swig of her beer. After a hearty swallow, she gave Marcus a nudge with her elbow. "Drink up, you," she teased, then raised her voice a little so it would project to his sister. "You, too, Katherine. Don't you dare make my hard-earned cash go to waste."
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Joe's
Dec 18, 2007 2:45:19 GMT
Post by Katherine on Dec 18, 2007 2:45:19 GMT
It may have gone against all the 'older sibling' stereotypes, but Kath' liked Tasha, she had before, during and after the medical examiner had been dating her brother and had made it clear that she bore her no ill feelings or anything as stupid an childish as that. When the brunette came over, the older Rivera looked up and raised her beer in a salute of greeting.
At her fellow detective's voice, her attention turned towards her, grinning. "After two weeks of abstinence you don't have to tell me twice," Kath' laughed, taking a swig of her beer and thoroughly enjoying the fizz of the liquor against the back of her throat. Once she had been released, along with her brother, from the Hospital, Kath' had been on crutches which she had found hugely embarrassing but had proved a useful weapon against her brother if he got a fit of 'the giggles' at the sight of his sister hobbling around like an old woman.
Now that she was off her meds, off her crutches and back at work, in some form at least, she was more than pleased at the chance to kick back and chill out with her colleagues and friends.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Joe's
Dec 18, 2007 5:58:16 GMT
Post by Marcus on Dec 18, 2007 5:58:16 GMT
Watching only momentarily as Tasha gratefully accepted the seat Drew offered her, returning Kath’s greeting with a raise of her hand given she didn’t have a drink to salute with, Marcus soon turned his attention back to Esperanza, their resident enthusiast and planner and coordinator, at least for these sorts of excursions. She had talked them into coming to Joe’s for a couple of rounds, and after the last few weeks, it hadn’t seemed like the worst idea in the world.
Marcus, personally, was only too glad his sister’s crutches were gone. After she’d smacked him, more than once, in the shin — apparently ‘accidentally’ here and there — he had come to loath the metal sticks, and had come damn close to hurling them from her apartment windows, even if it would have meant being chased down the building’s hallways by a hobbling older sister.
Smirking at Esperanza, Marcus lifted his bottle and shook it lightly; the level was noticeably low, getting towards the bottom of the brand’s label, and he said to her, “I’m a Rivera man. You should never doubt Rivera men.”
Tasha grinned, and he looked towards her, as if to say ‘don’t you dare’. She managed to reign the grin back in, transforming it into a semi-subdued smile, clearing her throat as Marcus then waited for barbs or jeers. It was inevitable.
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Esperanza
Human
Departed
I'll tip my had to the new constitution; take a bow for the new revolution
Posts: 10
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Joe's
Dec 24, 2007 19:48:37 GMT
Post by Esperanza on Dec 24, 2007 19:48:37 GMT
"Ay, Papí," 'Spera all but crooned at Marcus, shooting him a faux-sultry expression. She managed to keep the sex kitten look going for a few moments until her partner snorted into his beer, prompting her to laugh as well. "Querido, just so you're forewarned: you ever use that line outside of this moment and I might just have to put you out of your misery."
Not to say that she doubted his ability to pick up women; Marcus was cute, in his own right, and women always seemed to go for the police types. But Esperanza, being Esperanza, would never turn down the opportunity to harrass a fellow officer. It was in the job description, really.
So it was that she all but sniggered into her drink and prompted leaned her dark head on Marcus' shoulder. "He think he so seeeex-ay," she teased.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Joe's
Dec 27, 2007 1:35:09 GMT
Post by Katherine on Dec 27, 2007 1:35:09 GMT
Biting back a laugh so that she could swallow her mouthful of beer, Katherine looked at Esperanza "Jesus, I've been outta the hospital five minutes and I already need to go back for therapy." Katherine rolled her eyes, but was evidentially amused by the whole line of conversation. Kath' was well aware of how lucky she was to be able to 'hang out' with her buddies at the station and her bother too, being that they were also his buddies. It wasn't like tensions didn't arise from time to time for the very same fact, but they were pretty tight, as anyone might imagine cops to be. They had blue blood tying them together as a family. Not that she would say such a thing. It was too cheesy to say aloud.
"Don't make me bring up the tree house Marc'," briefly she looked form her brother with a wicked glint in her eyes and then to the gathered cops, an eyebrow rising beneath the wisps on dark hair that swept her brow, "That's one hell of a story about the 'Rivera Men', I tell you..." she trailed off threateningly, but only lightly so.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Joe's
Dec 28, 2007 22:08:12 GMT
Post by Marcus on Dec 28, 2007 22:08:12 GMT
Anything Esperanza had said was eliminated from his focus as he sister spoke up, and immediately — perhaps too quickly — he pointed with his free hand. “Be quiet.” It could have been worse, at least he hadn’t said ‘shut up’, but it was perhaps obvious now that there was an embarrassing story behind ‘the tree house’, and now all those gathered knew about it, or at least knew there was something promising to the story. Marcus caught sight of Tasha’s grin, making him wonder if the Medical Examiner already knew the story, and he looked, suspiciously, to his sister once again.
“My round?” he said at last, much to Tasha’s amusement, who gave a feminine snort, and he rolled his eyes, hoping for a smooth change in topic here. True, he had asked for the rebuke his sister had shot his way, but he hadn’t quite expected one so quickly, or in such a unified front, given Esperanza had taken the first stand. From now on, he decided, he had to think before he spoke.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Joe's
Jan 24, 2008 22:45:14 GMT
Post by Katherine on Jan 24, 2008 22:45:14 GMT
Katherine wore an expression somewhere in the region between a smirk and a full out grin at her brother's discomfort. In truth she'd probably never divulge 'the tree house story', but it was fun to threaten, fun because she had to get her kicks from somewhere and being the annoying older sister was as good a place as any. When Marcus looked at Tasha, the detective followed his gaze, still sort-of-grinning and then shrugged mischievously when he looked back to her suspiciously.
Then he changed the subject and she released the laugh that had been waiting for a break in the 'threat', shaking her head in amusement and taking another swallow of her beer with an amused sigh. Tormenting Marcus was so much fun.
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Esperanza
Human
Departed
I'll tip my had to the new constitution; take a bow for the new revolution
Posts: 10
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Joe's
Jan 25, 2008 3:53:56 GMT
Post by Esperanza on Jan 25, 2008 3:53:56 GMT
Esperanza giggled and gave Marcus' shoulder a shove as she extracted herself from him. "Chill, chico -- you know I just love messin' with you." She stretched as she stood and continued, "And I've got the next round, don't you worry. I wanna get you drunk enough so you don't try and nix Kath' from tellin' that tree house story. Sounds like fun."
She exited in a peal of laughter from her peers, moving to the bar with her wallet in hand. Beers in various brands were a necessary, of course, but when she returned to their little nook, she also carried a tray that held a number of shot glasses filled with a noxious liquor. Settled in the center of the glasses was a small pile of sliced limes and some salt packets. A few groans of 'oh, hell' rose up from varioius officers.
"'Ey, 'ey!" Esperanza shushed the whiners with a grin. "Don't tell me you're all afraid of a little tequila?"
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Tony
Human
Departed
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same
Posts: 75
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Joe's
Jan 31, 2008 21:22:34 GMT
Post by Tony on Jan 31, 2008 21:22:34 GMT
Continued from: Central Community Police Station: Station Parking Lot with Roxanne
The drive across town had been pleasant enough, Tony even going so far as to relax a little bit despite sitting only a few feet away from Roxie, after mentally giving himself a stern talking to and telling himself it was time to get a grip if wanted to enjoy the evening and Tony was determined to do his best to enjoy the evening. He felt – or hoped at least, he couldn’t work up the courage to actually ask Roxie – that the drive hadn’t been painful or filled with awkward silences and although he wasn’t the life and soul of any group, at least he hadn’t completely dried up on her.
Tony wondered if Mike was planning to join the rest of the group, ignoring the little voice in his head that pointed out his partner clearly knew how to talk to women and make them like him. Asking Mike was advice about this… well, Tony didn’t think that was a good idea, not unless both sides were being utterly serious.
He pushed open the door to Joe’s and stepped back, one hand still pressing against it in order to allow Roxie to enter first, the sound of Esperanza’s jubilant voice floating out as he did.
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Roxanne
Human
Departed
There is always a clue.
Posts: 52
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Joe's
Feb 2, 2008 19:54:29 GMT
Post by Roxanne on Feb 2, 2008 19:54:29 GMT
After smiling at Tony in gratitude, Roxanne stepped inside and laughed at the sight which presented itself. Everyone's favorite Spaniard seemed to be heckling a few of her fellow officers with tequila shots; Lancaster could hold her liquor pretty well, but Roxie wasn't sure about the rest of the group. Certainly, this could become very interesting very quickly.
"Lord almighty," the blonde CSI chuckled quietly to Tony. "I guess that's what they get for letting her organize this ordeal."
"Roxie!"
The sound of her partner pulled her attention for a moment; Peter loped over on his gangly limbs to scoop her up. "Hiya, kiddo," he greeted jovially. Tony received a firm slap on the back. "C'mon, yous two, first round's on me."
Roxanne flashed her partner a grin and offered Tony a wink as she spoke, "I like the sound of that," she teased.
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Tony
Human
Departed
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same
Posts: 75
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Joe's
Feb 10, 2008 1:08:16 GMT
Post by Tony on Feb 10, 2008 1:08:16 GMT
The sight that greeted them was a familiar one, everyone taking the precious time they had to relax and enjoy themselves, celebrating every little thing they could, to remind themselves that it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The sight of Tasha made Tony’s smile grow, even as he wondered where Mike was. A second later, Peter was in front of them, someone else Tony would like to consider a friend, offering a drink.
“A coke for me,” Tony offered, giving Peter a warm smile. His aversion to drinking alcohol wasn’t something he paraded in front of the others, either as an example of his virtue or how they shouldn’t be drinking either and he doubted that unless people took the time to actually think about it, they wouldn’t even realise they had never seen him touch a drop of the stuff. It wasn’t as though he expected people to sit down and analyse his drinking habits. Something that suited Tony down to the ground. It wasn’t as though he really hated the taste of alcohol either or thought people shouldn’t drink it, the CSI believing instead that like everything it was fine in proper amounts.
He was just afraid. Afraid that if he started to drink, he would never stop. There had been studies in the hereditary link of alcoholism, but Tony had never been able to bring himself to actually read them, afraid again, this time that it might be stated in black and white that because the same blood ran in his veins as that of his mother, so would the same weakness.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Joe's
Feb 11, 2008 19:15:27 GMT
Post by Marcus on Feb 11, 2008 19:15:27 GMT
His sister had been teasing him for years, and really he was used to it, but like with any siblings, no matter the number, age difference or gender, there were certain things that ‘needed’ to be kept in the family, and literally so. The tree house story was one of them, and it was something he didn’t particularly want to think about, and so the change of topic had been a desperate attempt to distract those present.
The male detective turned his head at the sound of new arrivals, and raised a hand into the air to greet them before he was looking back at Esperanza as she continued to badger about the tequila. Glancing to Katherine, not for ‘confirmation’ or anything else so ridiculous, he wondered if this was really a good idea, but he watched the encouraging woman seated beside him, waiting for her to turn on himself and his sister to prod them into taking part.
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Tasha
Human
Medical Examiner
Drive until you lose the road, or break with the ones you've followed.
Posts: 38
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Joe's
Feb 23, 2008 4:23:37 GMT
Post by Tasha on Feb 23, 2008 4:23:37 GMT
Did Tasha know the tree house story? Of course she did. She had dated Marcus long enough to get in his sister’s good books, thankfully, and with that had come a certain trust and invitation to hear all the funny stories from the youth of her, at the time, boyfriend. And Katherine had had more than a few of those, not that Tasha would be sharing them, not without a fair amount of alcohol in her system, not to mention provocation of some kind or another, most likely from the younger Rivera himself; if he pushed her buttons or teased her, she could use them. They were her ammunition, and she would use them wisely.
When Tony and Roxanne arrived, Tasha offered them both a wave and a smile, the latter noticeably wider and happier for the male CSI, the man she considered her closest friend. Conveniently, two of the chairs closer to her were empty, and she gestured for the pair to come and sit in her corner of the gathering, so she would at least have some company of her own calibre while the cops laughed or shared war-stories.
They hadn’t started doing that yet, but Tasha was sure they were only a few rounds away from that stage.
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