Frost and the Bar
Hey, guys. So sorry for the huge delay between updates. I just wanted to wait to put Ch 2 up until I finished writing Ch 3. I'll have you know that I still haven't finished writing it, but I got my Jane-swagger back today, and I'm pretty confident I'll finish it soon. And besides, I felt that you guys suffered the wait long enough. And I'd also like to say thanks to my beta and best friend, allthecompanions. Yeah, I know, the name. So anyway, without further ado, ladies and gents, Pinball, Chapter Two: Frost and the Bar. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
The rest of the day and night had passed uneventfully, and soon the next day had appeared. Everyone showed in the morning like usual; Maura was early as usual, and Jane and Frost walked in together after meeting for a coffee earlier. Korsak walked into the bullpen about five minutes late with a cup of coffee and donut of his own, as per usual. As per not so usual, each of them walked in to their respective work areas with a smile, eager to get through the day so Frankie could bring up the pinball board and Frost could get his turn. The four of them wanted to see what Frost could do.
The day went smoothly through lunch, after which the detectives had gotten a lead, with the help of Maura's tox panel. Jane and Frost questioned their new suspect and then sent him down to the holding cell. By the time everyone was booked and every lead and new note was accounted for, it was almost five o'clock. Maura made her way upstairs from her morgue to meet Jane, Frost, and Korsak. Jane looked especially disheveled as she had been the one with enough misfortune to have to chase down and tackle their new suspect. Her demeanor, however, was jovial and 'clowny' as it always was when it neared time to head home. Before she started making conversation, Maura called Frankie on her phone and told him to bring up the game. It was then that Jane noticed her best friend's voice and turned to her.
"Hey, Maur. Frankie bringing the game up?" Maura nodded with a smile. "Good. Let's get it on! I'd love to see Frost try and get higher than ten seconds without the ball falling."
"You're on, Jane." Frost snatched the game from newcomer Frankie the Messenger and sat it in front of him on the desk. "Hey, Doc, you got the stopwatch ready? I'm ready for go." Maura nodded and pulled a stopwatch out of her lab coat. She gave Frost the countdown and started him. Both Jane and Korsak now stood and alternately glanced between Maura's stopwatch and Frost's game as long as it went on. It wasn't long.
"First round: 17 seconds," came Maura's voice. At this, the taunting from Jane and Korsak had started. Frost's rebuttal was one that Maura approved of: a logical one.
"Hey, I still got two more tries. So lay off." Both of the senior detectives stifled their banter, but the quiet chuckling inevitably continued. Maura had written down Frost's time and told him to begin again. How that he was a little more used to the game, he got up to the 30 second mark. The chuckling resumed. "Hey, I just can't wait till you guys have to face this thing. It's harder than it looks." Maura knew that the game was harder than its appearance warranted, but it humored her to see the junior detective's score. On his third and final try, Frost improved his score to 54 seconds.
Maura tallied Frost's total. "One minute and 41 seconds." She kept her small giggle to herself. She knew it was unfair to judge; she had spent a lot of time with the particular type of game in her youth. She kept her potential skill in the dark, and would continue to do so until it would be her turn with the game. Good thing her turn was last. Korsak patted Frost on the back and made some remark about the '80s that Maura didn't quite understand. Jane laughed, though, so it probably was somewhat funny in certain circles.
After everyone was done poking fun at the junior detective, Maura called Frankie back up to take the pinball game. Jane wondered why Frankie obeyed without question, and Maura just told her that she had spoken to Frankie about what was going on, more or less, beforehand. When Frost once again suggested drinks at the Dirty Robber, on him, everyone agreed and went in two cars: the girls, Jane and Maura, in Maura's Prius, and Frost and Korsak in Frost's Cruiser.
Jane spoke up on the way to the bar. "Hey, Maur, you want to know something?" Maura nodded, curious. "I would SUCK at pinball. Well…actually, I wouldn't know. I've never played. But with my history with hand-eye coordination, it doesn't look like a game I'd be good at." It wasn't anything life change, but Maura still turned her head from the road for a second and smiled at Jane. It somewhat surprised her to find that Jane had never played pinball-any kind of it- during her childhood. She seemed like the kind of person that would have the high score for pinball at the local bar.
"There's nothing wrong with your hand-eye coordination, Jane." After a skeptic glance from her best friend, Maura continued. "I know what you're thinking; after Hoyt, your nerves may be damaged in your hands. You know they've already healed, though. Truth be told, they would be damaged if those hands belonged to a normal person. But you're not a normal person. You're extraordinary." She smiled at Jane again and looked once more at the detective. She had hit the right note. Maura knew that something like Hoyt had been on Jane's mind, as he always was, and she had taken the right path in calming her worries. "And besides, now we're going to the Dirty Robber with the guys, and you can have fun and relax. It might help you after that linebacker tackle I heard you pulled on Matt Sakill today. Even extraordinary people like yourself need to relax a little after a stunt like that."
This particular comment sprung back Jane's humorous side. "Linebacker tackle, Maura? Seriously? I don't know where you heard that, but I reminded myself of one of those chics from the Cell Block Tango from when you made me watch "Chicago" with you last weekend. I guess if you were watching from the side, I was close enough to him that I jumped like that 'Pop' girl and it looked somewhat practiced and 'graceful'." Both she and Maura laughed at the image of Jane tackling someone 'gracefully'. Maura refrained herself from telling Jane the so-called 'Pop' girl's real name; it wasn't really important. And she knew Jane well enough to know that she would be on the receiving end of some joke or taunt from Jane if she did say something.
The two cars pulled up to the Robber's parking spaces and, for once, all four of the crime solvers entered the bar at the same time. If someone were to be watching them arrive, and many people were, they would have said that it looked like one of those slow motion walks in the movies. They would have said that the foursome had such an authoritative demeanor among them that if one of them asked someone in the bar to move, they would have. Thankfully, no one did ask; they just wanted to sit in their usual side booth by the pool tables and dartboard, have a couple of beers and glasses of wine, and relax. So the women and the men split into their respective sides of the booth, and Frost signaled at the waiter and ordered their usual. Jane slid her left hand under the table and set it on Maura's right thigh, silently asking for a grasp, as if requesting permission from Maura to relax. Maura slid her hand into Jane's smiled, and squeezed it gently. Jane then leaned back and slouched into the booth and ran her hands through her slightly unruly hair and took a swig of the beer that had recently appeared in front of her. She was in 'relaxation mode' now; everyone could see that. But Maura, always the perfect lady, looked at Jane with slight silent disapproval at her posture.
Then, after finishing her beer, Jane grabbed Maura's free hand with one of her own, and the wine glass Maura was holding in the other. She set it down and dragged Maura out of the booth and toward the open pool table. Jane was adamant she teach Maura proper bar billiards, and they stayed by the table for hours, Jane leaning over Maura just a little closer than usually allowed between friends who were just friends. The two women never left the pool table, enjoying themselves fully, until closing time. And then Maura offered that Jane stay the night with her.
Sorry if the chapter's a little short for you, but I've got the next one rolling and I feel like it'll be a little longer than this one. Particularly because there will be some fun and tomfoolery going on there. ; ). Hope you guys don't have to wait too long.