the more you put me through;; Jekyll/Hyde

[phephe]

Ophelia Frances Carlyle had known exactly what she was doing that evening when she had returned to her apartment and chosen a pair of relatively short, black shorts to accompany the rest of her attire for the evening, the rest of it generally compiled of a crimson coloured, low V'd, halter neck top and her favourite pair of red with black lace heels. She had also pinned a few pieces of her hair back, making a sort of frame for her face out of other pieces and letting the rest fall where it may around her shoulders. She had then managed to make it from her apartment to one of her favourite bars without getting into any bother what so ever, yet proving as a very good distraction at some points in her journey and she was now making her way across the room to the bar itself to order her first drink of the night, knowing many more would follow. On her way across the room, she made a point to let her excellent mood be known, not hiding the broad smile on her face or the springiness in her step.

She couldn't deny that she certainly enjoyed the happy feeling that didn't accompany someone else's mishaps. Despite her usual bitchy ways, that, at present, she was doing really well lately to keep in the courtroom, this sort of mood always felt a great deal healthier and she certainly didn't feel half as bad when the mood passed. She made her way to her usual seat at the end of the bar, placing her handbag on the counter before her as she sat down and ordered her drink. “Double Jack and coke, please,” she requested, the words falling from her mouth so flawlessly, a drink she'd ordered hundreds, no, thousands of times, flashing a winning smile at the bartender, who scurried off to fill her order. She adjusted herself where she sat, rifling through her bag in order to find the money to pay for her drink. One of the only times she ever carried cash money was when she was going to bars etc.. It generally didn't stay in her handbag for long, girls coming with various built in pockets that only the very lucky or very perverse would manage to find.

She found the money, gathering it up in one hand, just before she leant forwards on the bar, offering the money over to the returning bartender. “Keep the change,” she added as she swapped the money for her drink. It was too often she used that exchange in this bar, but they always treated her right, so she had to balance it out...even though she probably started it...whatever. Considering the effort she had put in just a couple of hours ago, you'd think she was meeting someone, but that wasn't her intention. She was just out for the night, letting it take her wherever it would. She began to chew slightly on her bottom lip, scanning the other patrons of the bar. She didn't really see anyone she recognised, a few scattered faces maybe, but no names. She brushed her fingers through the ends of her soft curls as she turned her attention back to her drink, lifting it carefully with one hand and taking a long sip before placing the still half full glass back on the bar before her.

[HENRY JEKYLL/EDWARD HYDE]

He smoothed the front of the grey sweater he’d pulled over his neatly ironed work shirt. Henry glanced at himself in the mirror and was quite pleased with what he saw. A new pair jeans made him look long and thin while the shirt and sweater combo gave him a sophisticated but, casual aura. It wasn’t often that Henry made a conscious choice to go out for a drink; usually he had to be pestered or encouraged by others to go. But, tonight he decided that he needed, no wanted, a drink. And he didn’t want to just pour himself a glass of wine at home; he wanted to go out for a drink.

Henry left his apartment a few minutes later, his hair doing that thing it always did; slightly spiky in the front and smooth in the back. There was a nice bar just a couple blocks away which seemed like a good place to be sociable. A few of the nurses at work said that getting out a bit more might help him break out of his slump. He’d been feeling different in the last month or so but, he couldn’t quite figure out what was different. As he passed through a vacant alley he felt something twinge in his head. It was a dull, aching pain at first that suddenly burst into sharp shooting pains across his forehead and neck.

Leaning against the alley wall Henry let out a low groan. “Ahh. What… the…” He sunk to his knees as the tears came to his eyes. A moment later the pain subsided and he stood up cracking his neck back and forth. “You fucking prick.” Edward ran his fingers through his hair and glanced down at his outfit. “Don’t fight me Henry.” he mumbled, “You should never fight me.”

Edward wouldn’t say he was pleased with the sweater and shirt combo but, he had to admit he looked suave. He wouldn’t have picked this out of Henry’s closet but, the more he looked at himself as he walked passed all the shop fronts, the more at ease he felt. Waltzing up the bar Henry had been thinking about Edward unbuttoned the top button of the shirt so that the collar loosened around his neck. He stepped inside and walked up the bar. There was an empty stool next to a red-headed woman and briskly asked in his thick Scottish accent, “Do you mind?” he sat down without waiting for a response.

Flagging down the bartender he ordered a Sam Adams and slowly glanced back to the woman. She looked strangely familiar, like he’d seen her before, or perhaps Henry had. He wasn’t sure which of them had met her and didn’t want to make an assumption and be wrong so he merely smiled and mumbled some type of hello.

[phephe]

Phe lowered her hand from her hair to pick up her glass again, finishing it off and ordering a new drink. She had the taste for Sailor Jerry's, but she'd continue with the Jack Daniel's until she got bored of it. There was no point like practically tripling the price of her drink so early in the evening. She picked her phone out of her back that was settled on the bar in front of her. There were a few e-mails, all work related. She'd also missed a call from one of the underlings in the office. She shook her head, returning her phone to her bag as the bar tender returned with her drink again, trading it for yet more money. She wasn't going to be dealing with work until a day she was supposed to be at work. She didn't really take time off, only the days she was given, so when she did have the day or a few days off, they were her days and were not to be interfered with.

She lifted up her glass to take a drink when she caught sight of someone coming up beside her out of the corner of her eyes, asking if she minded as they sat beside her. She swallowed her mouthful and started lowering the glass. “No, not at...” she began as she turned to the guy now sitting next to her, a scowl forming on her face as she took in who it was. “Doctor Jekyll...?” she started in questioned before closing her eyes and shaking her head briefly. She opened her eyes again, scowl fading and a small smile shaping her lips before she spoke again. She half gestured to herself. “Miss Carlyle...well, Phe, though it's taken me like three visits to your office to get you to call me that,” she explained with a light, slightly nervous laugh. Henry was one of the first new people she'd met whom she'd introduced herself to as Phe. Small steps in the right direction and all that. “Long day?” she questioned, referring to his temperament.

[HENRY JEKYLL/EDWARD HYDE]

It turned out he did know the woman. Or, rather, Henry did. She was a patient, although for what Edward couldn’t quite discern. It hurt to tap in the Henry’s memories. It should have but, tonight it did. Phe Carlyle, that was her name. Short for Ophelia. It was starting to come back but, he didn’t want to press too much into the doctor’s memory banks for fear of losing control or looking like a man suffering from palsy. He squinted as the pain faded and retorted in his best impression of Henry’s posh Scottish accent, “I do tend to get a little stuck on formalities.”

He chuckled warmly, a tall glass of Sam Adams appeared beside him. “Things can get a little hectic at the office.” he took a long sip of the beer. “Hence the…” he indicated the glass. “Phe. I will definitely remember that.” he refrained from adding “and I’ll definitely remember that halter shirt”. She was quite attractive and having little access to previous encounters he had to roll on body language and her last comment. So, she was young, well, younger than him. Probably mid to late twenties, although, it was probably mid. Twenty-six, twenty-seven, that was his guess. By the sounds of it Henry hadn’t been terribly attentive to her, which Edward thought was an absolute sin.

Those eyes, that hair, how could you not do a double take? Then again, who knows how she showed up at the office. She was definitely in going out clothes tonight. Edward thought about it a moment longer as he took another sip of his beer. Henry never thought of woman like Hyde did. Hyde was always on the prowl whereas Henry was always… always… Edward wasn’t quite sure what Henry was. He was practically asexual he spent so much time at work. Although, he had gone out with Lorraine a few weeks back and that had been an adventure. Sadly, Edward didn’t get to enjoy that endeavor but, Henry seemed pleased.

“So remind me, since I am obviously way out of touch with common pleasantries, what do you do, Phe?” he leaned back on the stool his dark eyes peering back at her. Perhaps this night wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

[phephe]

Phe smiled at the doctor, shrugging slightly as she considered her answer. “Don't we all in situations like that?” she questioned, largely rhetorically as she moved to take another sip of her drink. By 'situations like that', she obviously meant the general formality of work, but it would seem that her social skills were definitely lacking a little at the moment. She had definitely not quite brought her social A game. She laughed lightly at the doctor's words about things getting hectic at the office. “Oh, I can imagine,” she commented, taking another sip of her own drink, a longer one time, matching the sip the doctor was taking from his drink, only allowing her to finish hers, placing the glass back down on the bar in front of her as he spoke again, gesturing to his drink. She laughed lightly again, shrugging slightly. “Makes sense.” She gestured to the bar tender to fetch her another drink before using the same hand to brush her hair back over her shoulder, shivering slightly as it fell against the bare skin of her back.

She grinned brightly at the doctor as he said he'd definitely remember her name now. “Not a forgettable kinda name,” she commented, winking at him playfully, the New York part of her accent flowing over the top of her acquired London one for a moment. “And what should I call you 'cause calling you Doctor Jekyll all night could get awkward...” she said with a bright smile, realising how assuming the words 'all night' were, but not correcting herself. She tilted her head as she observed the doctor for a moment. He seemed somewhat different to what she remembered from her visits to his office. They hadn't exactly been unpleasant visits, which was good considering Phe had not been a huge fan of doctors or the hospital for the better part of her life, and she'd definitely lucked out when they assigned him as her doctor. She was just thankful she'd hadn't had to go and see him for something embarrassing or disgusting. Severe insomnia and chest pains were definitely low on the embarrassment scale.

Although, she'd definitely struggled to hold back her nervous giggles when he'd dealt with the chest pains, remembering how she'd adamantly focused on his hands as he moved the stethoscope about against her skin, listening for abnormalities. She shook off the thought, realising she had started to stare at him more than simple observe him, turning back to the bar just in time to have the bar tender returning with her drink. She muttered her thanks just as she brought the glass to her mouth again, taking a long drink. She glanced to the doctor again, settling her glass down on the bar again as he inquired about her occupation. She laughed slightly at the comment that preceded his question before answering. “Oh, I'm a lawyer,” she began, shifting slightly in her seat when she remembered her recent loss to Katherine Minola, draping her arm over the back over her stool as she turned to face him a little better. “Although, a little out of my league with it at the moment,” she added, her tone faltering a little.