Breakable Ch 7

Captain Dan Ross did not need the therapy offered by the certificate from Breakable, thank you very much. He had plenty of control and plenty of ways to deal with his anger rather than to beat the stuffing out of furniture. When the certificate appeared on his desk, he suspected his officers were trying to tell him something. But everyone got one so that wasn't it. Not wanting to jump to conclusions he had sent several officers to check the place out.

Every report he got back from them was positive. All the officers were happier and some were even anxious to go again. Gradually the furor died down, but productivity was up and so was morale. He decided he'd call for himself and see what was going on. He closed his office door and dialed the number.

"Breakable, Jennifer here."

"I have a certificate for your services. I'd like to schedule an appointment."

"Alright. How soon do you want it?"

"Some time in the next couple of days."

"I'm between mailings so tomorrow is pretty much open if you want. It's a Wednesday so say around 10:00?"

"That would be fine."

"What kind of room do you want?"

"Room?" he asked.

"Yes, living room, kitchen, bedroom."

"Do you have something like a garage?" he asked feeling silly.

"A garage?"

"Yes, shelves of oil cans, boxes of things, miscellaneous storage."

"Oh, sure I think I can arrange that." she sounded rather uncertain.

"I'll pay you an extra fee if you have a box of Christmas decorations in there."

"You don't have to do that."

"It's important to me."

"Then I'll do my best. Let me fax you a list of things you'll need to bring with you."

"I'll see you tomorrow at 10:00."

He hung up not sure he was going to keep the appointment. A mind is a terrible thing to waste and an active mind tends to go it's own way. He dreamed that night of boxes of Christmas decorations. The dreams were disturbing and he didn't sleep well.

Logan was at his desk the next day looking very pleased with himself. Ross considered asking if his wife had returned but that was a fairly obvious conclusion and he tried not to be too obvious. It was bad for his image.

Ross tried to get some work done, extra work, but it just wasn't happening. He gave it up and left the office at 9:30. He pulled up at Breakable at twenty minutes to the hour. He went in. The woman at the desk stood up and nodded to him. "I'm Captain Dan Ross. I called for an appointment at 10:00."

"How do you do, Captain. I'm Jennifer." She was about his own age he noticed as he shook her hand. She had a very firm grip.

"Pleased to meet you."

"I have the room you requested ready. Let me explain the procedure." She was writing as she talked. She turned the forms around for his signature. "Any questions?"

"You pretty much covered it. I suppose you want to know why the decorations?"

"Not unless you want to share. Come this way."

She allowed him to choose his weapon and carried it for him to the front. He placed the usual equipment in the drawer and watched her pocket the keys. She led him to the room and stepped inside. The room looked a lot like a garage. They had the shelves, boxes, broken brooms, boxes of clothes and oil cans. As a garage it was rather sparse but he supposed it would have been better if they'd had more time to do it.

"All I ask is that you not start swinging until I leave the room."

He returned her smile. "I can handle that."

She nodded and went outside. He lined up on the two boxes prominently marked Xmas decorations and let fly. The bat landed with a satisfied thunk on the first box. He swung on the second box. Once he had beaten the boxes to a pulp he went on to destroy most of the rest of the room. He was sweating and tired, and surprisingly happy. "Five minutes left." Jennifer told him.

He took a few more swings at the boxes of decorations and had already put the bat down when Jennifer called his five minute cool down. She opened the door cautiously and he understood her caution. He grinned at her. She looked around and nodded. "A thorough job. Feel okay?"

"I feel good. Must be the adrenaline."

"And lighter. I always feel lighter after a good pounding. Come on, let's get you out of here." She picked up the bat and carried it out with her.

The first thing she did was open the desk drawer for him to retrieve his things. He clipped the stuff on his belt and looked at her. "I can see why my officers like it here."

"You have a good crew. I've had a few from other precincts that are really hard to deal with. Yours has been a pleasure to have here."

"They are the best. I'll make sure you get a good recommendation if anyone asks."

"Thank you."

"I guess I need to let you get back to work. Thank you. Good bye."

"Bye."

He left the office and walked out to his car. He started to open the door and it struck him that he wanted to tell her why he'd targeted the Christmas Decorations. He went back inside. She wasn't at the front desk. He could hear her in the back room. He walked back there and she was cleaning up the mess. By herself.

"Jennifer." He said.

She jumped and whirled around to face him, fright on her face. "Oh, it's you. Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Do you do this all on your own?"

"Most of it." She admitted with a shrug.

"But your husband helps, doesn't he?" he asked confused.

"He did, before he was killed. He's my protection against unwanted attention. I tell everyone he's out scrounging for things. I can't believe I'm telling you this. I've only told one other person. Did you forget something?"

"No, I….I just wanted to explain about the decorations."

"I told you, you don't owe me any explanations."

"I'll swap you secret for secret." He grinned at her.

"That's a deal. I hope you don't mind if I…." She gestured toward the work she was doing.

"I understand. I'm Jewish. Not orthodox but I don't really celebrate Christmas. My two boys decided they wanted to and their mother and I had a big fight over it. She decided then to tell me that she wanted a divorce. We always fought in the garage so the kids wouldn't hear us. That's why the decorations were such a sore point."

"So they'll be a reminder of the break up. I'm sorry. To me, Christmas is a joyous occasion. It's hard for me to think of it as anything but a happy occasion."

"Would you like some help?" he asked feeling guilty for the mess.

"I can't ask you to."

"You're not asking. I'm offering."

"That would be appreciated, yes."

He took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. She pulled out some rakes, shovels and brooms and opened a door in the back wall. There was a huge dumpster in the back. It had an assortment of items in it, trashed and broken. Jennifer was scooping piles of things onto a shovel and marching to the dumpster, throwing it in like a pro. Dan grabbed a rake and put things into a pile while she scooped and dumped. It was good to get physical and more than a little humbling to see how much damage he could do.

They had it down to the last bit when she grabbed the brooms. "Want one?" she asked.

"I haven't used a broom in years but sure." He admitted with a grin.

"I'll make you a deal. If you help me with this, I'll feed you lunch. If you don't mind French Dip Sandwiches, chips and pickles. And cold, cold pop."

"Sounds good."

The swept the room so it was spotless. It was satisfying. "Thank you for all your help." She looked around the room one last time and nodded once. "Now lunch."

"Don't you need to fill it for the next person?"

"Not until tomorrow. I take Wednesday afternoons off. I have help coming in this evening to move things in out back so I have backups, but they're in school yet."

She bustled out turning off the light as she went. She closed up the office, turned off the lights and headed for another door. She stopped and turned to him. "I'm sorry. I never thought to tell you, I live upstairs. I'm not being forward, that's just where I live."

"It never occurred to me." Dan admitted. Although now that it was pointed out he sort of liked the idea. He also liked her, as a friend.

The apartment was small, but homey. There were pillows and blankets on the couch, flowers in a vase on the table and pictures on the wall of her kids. They ranged from small toddler to graduating seniors pictures. He glanced at them as he passed. "That's my wall of fame, I call it. Go ahead and look, I don't mind. I'm proud of my kids."

"Two children?"

"A boy and a girl. Just enough to cause me all the trouble, I always said. My son is the oldest, he's working for a Graphic Design company in California. He's a junior designer, but well on his way to making his own work marketable. My daughter if finishing her business degree in Michigan, then she's going to go into business for herself opening a horse business. Or at least that's her plan."

"Ambitious."

"They have to be. I'm just a take it as it comes type personality, my son takes after me, but my daughter is a competitive person. She takes after her father. Do you have kids?"

"Two boys. Brent is 14 and David is 10. They live with their mother and her new husband."

"Tough break. You must love them very much to make that concession for them. I'm guessing you did it for their safety?"

"Yes, and she had already established a home for them, when I'm just settling into an apartment." He flushed. He hadn't meant to reveal so much.

She nodded. "That makes you a good dad, not a selfish bastard." She was busily moving pans and packages around the small kitchen.

He moved over to her. "Can I help?"

"If you'd like to get down a couple of bowls and plates, that would be a help. Are you pretty good with a bread knife?"

"I'm pretty good at sandwiches."

"Good. The bread is there in the frig, if you would cut it long ways, I'd really appreciate it."

"You must have had lots of people around you to boss around." He teased.

"Sorry. I'm used to having kids around that stand and wait for their food while I do all the work. If you plan on eating, you better plan on helping. I guess I haven't broken that habit."

"I don't mind." He assured her. It was rather fun, having a teamwork feel to it.

He had the bread all cut and laid out when she brought over the pan with the beef and juice. "Would you like to divide it up and I'll get the rest of it?"

"Okay."

She gave him the tongs and went back to the kitchen. She brought over a bowl of potato chips and the bowl of pickles. "For the beverage of the day we have root beer regular and diet, Diet Pepsi, diet Dr. Pepper and water. There might be some pink lemonade in the frig, if that sounds good."

"Root beer sounds good."

"Regular or Diet?"

"Regular."

She brought over two glasses of ice and two individual bottles of soda, placing them on the table. She whisked the pan back to the stove and came back to sit down. He had opened both bottles of soda and poured hers first. Then he poured his. "Thank you." She said surprised.

"You're quite welcome." He said. He picked up his glass and held it toward her. "Here's looking at you, kid."

She grinned at him and touched her glass to his. "Salud."

They took a drink and began to eat. "Mmm. This is good. I haven't had one of these in quite a while." He said.

"Beef broth and sautéed onions. I grew the onions. A pound of deli meat, a loaf of French bread and here we are."

"Have you ever had some of the authentic cuisine here in the city?" he asked between bites.

"No, I don't know any of the good places. I tried a few, but I'm not sure of what to order."

"Would you let me return the favor? I'll take you out and show you how to eat New York style." He asked tentatively.

"There's a New York Style? I've never heard of that."

"Oh, there's definitely a New York style of doing things."

"Okay, sure. I don't have to wear a funny hat or anything, do I?" she teased.

"Only if you go to a Mets game."

"The only way I'd do that is if they're playing the Cubs. Then I'm rooting for the Cubs."

"Chicago? Are you serious?" he demanded.

"Absolutely. It's my great pleasure to watch the Mets get their bats handed to them when the Cubs play."

"You don't see that too often, do you?" he jibed.

"Don't you be disrespectful to my Cubs, buster." Jennifer laughed.

Dan grinned at her. "A loyal fan right here in the home territory."

"That's right. Would you give up the Mets if you had to live in Chicago?"

"I'd never live in Chicago." He sniffed, in disdain.

He caught her with a mouthful and she could only make protesting noises. She tried to object and nearly choked. He swatted her between the shoulder blades and she grabbed the glass to take a drink. "Elitest." She accused in a strangled voice with watery eyes.

"Are you alright?' he asked.

"I'm fine. You'd never live in Chicago, PULLEASE!" she sputtered indignantly.

Dan swallowed the last of his sandwich, trying to control his grin and look innocent. "I've been there, of course, but…."

"Yes?" she arched one eyebrow, daring him to continue.

"It was okay." He reached for a chip.

Quick as a wink she snatched the chip from his hand and ate it. "You were saying?"

"Not me." He gave in. "I never said a word."

Jennifer nodded, satisfied. She took a chip from her bowl and put it on his plate. "You can have your chip back."

He grabbed it and made a show of putting it in his mouth, grinning triumphantly at her. She "humphed" indignantly at him. "Did you get enough to eat?"

"Plenty. Thank you, that was good."

"I enjoyed it, too."

He glanced behind her and saw the clock. "I guess, I better get back to work. They might think I've been abducted by aliens."

"Nope, just your stomach. I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to."

"I do, so I can lock up."

They went back downstairs. Dan went first as courtesy dictated. She got to the front of the office and turned the lock. Dan hesitated for just a minute. "Are you doing anything Saturday night? I don't have my boys this weekend. We could go out and I'll show you the town a bit. If you're free."

"I'd like that. I'm not usually open on weekends so I don't have any commitments."

"How about I pick you up about 6:00 we can get an early dinner and maybe a movie?"

"How's your dancing? I haven't been dancing in a while. Unless you'll be on your feet all day."

"Dinner and dancing it is. I'll see you about 6:00 then?"

"I'll see you then. Good bye."

He walked out the door and waited until she had locked it again before he moved off. As soon as he got into his car he picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Don, it's Dan Ross. Have I got a place for you to recommend to your people."

TBC maybe on SVU. I'm having trouble with the transition? Anyone interested in helping me?