Enjoy!
Kowalski internally winced at the time as he checked his phone just outside the door of HQ. There would be no sneaking in at this point, Skipper and Rico would already be up and he knew the second he opened that door the teasing would begin. Normally he wouldn't mind some playful comradery after being out the whole night, but given that coffee with Doris turned out to be literally coffee, or in actuality tea, in the morning he wasn't in the mood for any walk of shame comments.
Just as predicted, the second the door opened he could hear the whoops and hollers from the other three.
"So, is there going to be a second date or did you finally get Doris out of your system?" Skipper asked with a knowing smirk.
"There's going to be a second date." Kowalski was happy to respond, only mildly surprised that Skipper hadn't cracked a joke at his expense. Although the fact that Skipper had slid two tens across the table toward Rico and Private did not go unnoticed.
Private spoke up next. "That's really great, Kowalski. I'm guessing everything went well then?"
"It must have if the Walk of Shame is anything to go by," Skipper chimed in before turning his attention back to Kowalski with a predatory grin. "I hope you saved something for the third date."
"Haha, Skipper. I'll have you know that I was the perfect gentleman and nothing happened that would have belonged on a third-" Kowalski froze mid-sentence as he caught Private sliding the ten he got from Skipper towards Rico. "Did you seriously make a bet on whether or not I'd have intercourse with Doris on the first date?"
Private at least had the decency to look ashamed while Rico answered with a "Yup" as Skipper handed over another ten.
"Why?" Kowalski was floored by the notion. "I mean, Skipper doesn't surprise me, Private can't resist a bet, but you? Eu tu, Rico? I haven't even had any coffee to deal with this."
The man in question merely shrugged and then pocketed the money as he stood and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Unbelievable," Kowalski grumbled, suddenly wishing that they had teased him instead.
"It's all in good fun, Kowalski. Although I do find it a bit unbelievable that you're going to see Doris again."
"Believe it, Skipper. Last night went swimmingly, I mean I have never felt a connection with someone like that before." Kowalski practically swooned as Rico returned with a cup of coffee and slid it across the table to him. Doris was many things, but a regular coffee drinker she was not and earl grey was a poor substitute. "It's like we were two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom coming together to form a perfect covalent bond."
Skipper huffed into his coffee, "that seems a bit suspicious for a first date."
"Soulmates or love, at first sight, isn't real. You and Lola certainly proved that" it didn't escape Kowalski that bringing up Skipper's ex-wife would draw some metaphorical blood, "but chemistry is real and there is something to be said for feeling a deep connection to someone."
"Watch it, Kowalski," Skipper warned, even if it had been years, Lola remained a painful subject. "One date doesn't make you an expert in love and relationships."
"I never claimed I was one," Kowalski held his hands up in mock surrender as he approached the table and took the seat next to Private. "It's just that I've always felt a connection to Doris and last night I learned that she felt that same connection. In fact, she actually was interested in pursuing a relationship with me before, but wanted to focus on her education."
"I guess I could buy that. Did she finish whatever degree she was working on?"
"Not quite, she is still working on her doctorate, but-" Kowalski hesitated just knowing that the wrong bit of information would trigger Skipper's paranoia. It was clear the man was already digging for something. "Once she saw her friends getting married and having children, she didn't want to put part of her life on hold anymore."
"It sounds like she's looking for something serious." Private suddenly chimed in sensing the growing animosity between Skipper and Kowalski.
"She is," Kowalski agreed, "but I am too."
Skipper nearly choked on his coffee and threw a glance at Rico and Private to see if they were as thrown by the statement as he was. If the open-mouthed stares coming from the two were any indication, they certainly were.
"Really?" Private voiced the question first.
Kowalski hummed thoughtfully and took a drink of coffee before answering. He supposed it was better to tell them his thoughts on the matter in terms of looking to the future. "Yes. I thought that settling down could ever be an option for me, but Doris makes me think I could have a shot at it."
Private cast a worried look at Skipper before pressing further, "Isn't it a little early to be thinking about that? I mean you've been on one date."
"I've actually been thinking about this since Blowhole. I'm lucky to be alive and even luckier to not have ended up paralyzed, but what if I'm not so lucky the next time something happens? I'm not getting any younger and what do I have to show for it? I want to settle down eventually and what if Doris is my only shot?" Kowalski lamented. All his life he just wanted just the smallest sliver of normal and settling down with a girl seemed to be his last and only chance. "Isn't that what you're supposed to do anyway? Find a nice woman to spend the rest of your life with? Who understands you and accepts you for who you are? I know it's the running joke that I can't get a date, but I've really never had a serious relationship before."
Skipper sighed feeling torn between wanting to protect a member of his team and wanting them to be happy. Especially when he looked over at Rico and saw the clear devastation flicker across his face. The job they had was tough and he couldn't fault anyone of his men for wanting to find a companion and eventually get out of the life they had. Although more often than not you ended up finding someone who could understand the job because there really wasn't any getting out. Not even death had managed to get Johnson and Manfredi out. After another tense moment Skipper made his decision, "If you really feel that strongly about this then I'll back down on Doris's sudden interest in you."
"Really?"
"I still don't like it, but every man deserves a shot at finding happiness. However, if you're going to continue seeing her, then it can't interfere with our operations. "
Before Kowalski could respond the sound of a chair being violently shoved back caused him to jump. "Rico?" he asked but the question fell on deaf ears and he watched in confusion as the man stood and practically fled up the stairs with his phone in hand.
"Don't worry about it Marlene has been wanting him to do some art thing and since he's finally agreed it's been stressing him out," Skipper waved the incident off with a half-truth and fought to ignore the sharp pull of his gut.
Kowalski hummed in thought, recalling how Rico had taken to his studio more often in the last few months. "I didn't think Rico was one to get stressed about something like that."
"I don't get it. Marlene said it's just a natural reaction to knowing that dozens of strangers are going to be looking at the very depths of your soul or some garbage like that." Skipper shrugged but shared a look with Private that sent the younger man off on a mission to check on Rico. Even if there was a strong possibility that Marlene had merely reached out over the project, Rico's reaction didn't sit right with him.