Disclaimer: Still don't own it

Tanglewood

Matt watched Danny pull out into the street and drive away. He checked his watch to find he had to be at work soon. Matthew finished clearing the ice from his windshield and inspected the Buick. Its paint had once been a blinding white, but was covered in tiny rust spots and salt from the road. The car seemed okay. He unlocked the driver's side door. It took a few tries to get the door open, as usual. He had gotten the car for two hundred bucks at auction. The handle didn't work when he bought, so Matt had replaced it. The door still stuck and probably always would. He climbed in and started the car. He pulled out into the slick roads and carefully drove away.

Matt may not have been from New York, but he learned to drive in Harvard Square. He had spent most of his life in the Boston area and was no stranger to snow and ice. He arrived at the Dunkin Donuts where he worked far too early to suit his taste. Matt hated his job, but not enough to start looking for a new one. He swapped his old Red Sox cap for the Dunkin's one and grabbed his work shirt out of the back, bracing himself for a busy day of irate customers, meaningless tasks and asshole mangers. Matt ducked into the back room.

The shop was all ready busy, and his over caffeinated coworkers were working at an impossible pace. The morning crew ran around in the limited space behind the counter. The line all ready out the door it as the daily organized mayhem went on. He changed his shirt and grabbed his time card. He stamped it and headed out front.

"Oh, good, you're only two minutes late." Dave, the manager, stopped him. Considering the road conditions, Dave was lucky he made it in at all. The guy had to be the biggest asshole Matt had ever met. "You're on drive thru today."

He sighed and grabbed a headset. "Welcome to Dunkin Donuts. How may I help you?"

"I need a black coffee with two and half sugars in it."

Great. The first customer of the day was one of those. As he got the coffee, he wondered how they knew it was only a half. The car pulled forward and he heard a beep and the headset, signaling somebody else had reached the speaker. The line was all ready forming.

"Welcome to Dunkin Donuts. Ill' be with you in just a moment." He was the only in drive thru as two people had called in sick and a third was over an hour late.

"I'll have a large Strawberry Coolatta with whipped cream." Apparently only half the message got through to the woman.

"Mam'm we're a bit busy at the moment. Could you please wait a moment?" Who ordered a coolatta in the middle of winter, anyway? He handed the first guy his coffee and counted out the change. "What was your order?"

"Large Strawberry Coolatta with whipped cream." She sounded impatient and a little angry.

"Drive up to the window, please." It was still early, but Matt could tell it was going to be one of those days. He got the syrup and whipped cream out of the mini fridge.

The rest of the morning passed like that until the third guy finally arrived and business began to settle down. Dave sent him out to clean the dining room.

He started with the funny purple tables, finding three newspapers, six half eaten jelly donuts, and no less then twenty two empty coffee cups, as well thousands of crumbs and sprinkles. He sighed and checked his watch again. Matt could swear he saw it move backwards. He didn't think he'd ever get out of there.

The door opened and a tall, dark haired man walked in. Matt saw the man was cop. His badge was clipped to his belt. Jerry, the kid at the register took his order.

"Hi, what can I get for you today?"

"Black coffee." The cop responded.

"Here you go. Have a nice afternoon, officer." Jerry never charged cops. The man smiled at him and threw a couple of bucks in the tip jar.

A few minutes later, somebody else walked up to the counter. The person was wearing a hat and sunglasses. Nobody could get a good look at the person. Whoever it was had their hands stuck in their pockets. They approached the counter causally. The cop had sat at an empty table when the person grabbed Jerry and pulled out a knife. It was defiantly one of those days.

"Money, now" That's all the would-be thief said, but it got the point across. The officer walked up behind him, unnoticed. He pulled out his gun and spoke in a calm, clear voice.

"You'd better let him go, pal." Thacker was pissed at the for ruining his coffee break.

"Hell, no."

Thacker rolled eyes. Why were most criminals so stupid? "You know, I really don't wanna have to shoot you. Too much paperwork."

The thief briefly considered his options. Who would expect a cop to actually be in a donut shop? He decided to cut his loses. He released Jerry and bolted for the door. Matt was never really sure if it was courage or stupidity that made him tackle the thief. The guy's sunglasses were knocked off as the two hit the floor. Matt blinked as he recognized the person. It was a manager that had fired for stealing a few weeks ago.

Stan took advantage of his momentary shock and punch as hard as he could. He escaped the store, but not before Matt and the surveillance cameras got a good look at his face.

Thacker helped Matt to his feet. "You okay, kid?"

Matt nodded. His eye hurt where Stan had hit him, but he wasn't hurt that badly. He slowly processed what just happened as Detective Thacker spoke to his radio.

"You're gonna half to stay here for a while. You need to give a statement."

Great. He was going to be stuck in that coffee shop for the rest of life at this rate. A few more cops arrived, along with CSIs Stella Bonasera and Sheldon Hawkes. Someone gave him an icepack for his eye. They processed the scene. Hawkes questioned him as Stella spoke with Jerry.

"What happened?"

"Guy came in, pulled a knife on Jerry. That other cop drew his gun. He ran. I tried to stop him, and knocked his sunglasses off. I was surprised because the guy used to work here. He hit me, and ran." He paused. "His name is Stanley Jones. They fired him a couple of weeks ago."

"Thanks." The case was pretty much solved. Three eyewitnesses, including a cop, and surveillance footage made it airtight.

"Can I leave now?" Matt decided he really needed a drink. He knew a sports bar not far away.

"Yeah, but don't go far. You'll have to testify in court eventually."

Matt left the coffee shop. It had been one hell of a shift. He wondered what possessed him to the guy. He looked at reflection in the rearview mirror. His eye was all ready turning an interesting shade of purple. Matt sighed and headed for Billy Bats. He put on his Sox cap and went in for a drink.

The bar was dark when he got there. The TV showed the Red Sox and the Yankees were tied yet again. A few people were playing shuffleboard. Matt walked through the sawdust and ordered a Sam Adams. The bartender looked at him in suspicion and asked for ID.

Matt sighed. Those hazel eyes and freckles were going to make him look like a twelve-year-old forever. He showed the bartender his driver's license and watched the game as the man poured him a beer.

One of the guys playing shuffleboard waked over to him. "Like the Red Sox, kid?"

"Yankees suck." He knew the guy would probably beat the hell out him for it, but Matt didn't really care anymore.

"You got spirit. I like that." The stage man smiled at him. "My name is Tony Sassone. What's yours?"

"Matthew James Thomas. But most people just call me Matt."

A/N: Well, that was exciting. And long. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I will try to update ASAP. A lot has to happen in the next chapter. It may take a bit to work it all out, but it should be up this time tomorrow. The attempted robbery is loosely based on something that happened to my older brother. Thanks for all the reviews. Please keep them coming.