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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Jan 9, 2013 23:46:22 GMT -5
Dolores was twelve, and she really didn't need a babysitter, but Greg would rather she not be at the flat alone, at ten in the evening, with the risk of Sherlock breaking in and making a fool of him again. And so, he brought her to Peter. Dolores didn't have much to say about it, except she did ask about them being together, and Greg said, "Not anymore, we work better as friends," and that was that. Dolores ate the toast she'd made for herself right before Greg had rushed them out that evening.
He despised being on call. He wasn't poor, but there were bills to pay, child support checks to send, that sort of thing, and just his luck, he was called in early this morning for some emergency murder than the other men simply could not do without him. At least he was good for something, he grumbled at them, because they didn't like him, except he was very good at paperwork. But that was alright, he just didn't like getting up early.
"Um, I'll be downstairs, and in and out, I have my cell on," Greg said, rushed and guilty, and he gave Dolores a quick kiss on the forehead before adding to Peter, "She's really good, she's cool to just sit and watch you work or whatever, I'm sorry. I'll be back as quick as a can."[/b] And hurried out.
He was disappointed he had to do this while she was here - he wanted every moment to himself - but he trusted Peter and Dolores would probably like him, and anyways he couldn't very well bring her to a murder scene.
Dolores said a quick good bye to her father before looking at the guy - Peter Aramis, Dad said - who she knew used to be her dad's... boyfriend. Apparently it hadn't worked out, but what could you do? She wished her dad would just find someone and get married properly again though, preferably to a woman because than annoying Mom would be more okay with it.
"Um... hey,"[/b] she said, giving him a tentative smile. She didn't really know this guy, but obviously Dad trusted him more than enough, but she didn't have a problem with it. Still, it did seem a bit awkward. He was young, and really good looking too. Dolores did the math in her head - he was probably twenties, mid twenties, so maybe... a bit more than ten years older? That wasn't that much. Well, sort of, but not a ton.
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Jan 12, 2013 4:34:14 GMT -5
After the break up, Peter was sure that things would never be easy between him and Greg. It wasn’t because things ended badly. It was just one of those things where you couldn’t go back to working with someone after you’d taken them to bed more times than you’d bothered to count. It was good that there was a floor between them and a very rare working relationship between the two or else it would have been awkward. Instead, it was like it was before. He still trusted Greg to help him and be his friend. In return, he figured Greg felt somewhat similar. He wasn’t completely sure how Greg felt about things, but he was pretty sure that the other man trusted him. You didn’t just leave your twelve year old daughter with someone you didn’t trust, after all, even if it was in a police station.
"Um, I'll be downstairs, and in and out, I have my cell on.”
Greg was rushing, fretting as he seemed to be torn between going and staying, finally kissing his daughter and turning so he could tell Peter that she was a good kid before rushing off. It was another reason why Peter reminded himself that he didn’t work Homicide for a reason. When there was a murder, it was all hands on deck for the gore show, regardless if you had your kid in town for the first time in forever.
Which brought him back to the problem at hand. Greg had practically dumped his daughter on Peter. Now, he liked kids, but he really hadn’t spent a lot of time with a female kid. He supposed all kids were pretty much the same, but he wasn’t about to throw Delores over his shoulder and go toss her into a snow bank like he would with Sid or Cory. In fact, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with her.
"Um... hey."
“Hi,” Peter replied, returning the little smile. “I’m not sure if your dad mentioned it in his mad dash, but I’m Detective Aramis. Feel free to call me Peter.”
He gestured to the free chair by his desk, sitting back down in the worn padding of his own swivel chair. He turned so that he could face Delores, elbows on his knees while he tried to figure out exactly what he was going to do with a twelve year old girl for however long Greg would be tied up with the crime scene. From experience, he knew that it could be hours.
“So the station isn’t exactly entertaining,” Peter pointed out. “And despite what your dad said, I doubt you want to sit here and watch me work. I’ve got about an hour and ten-ish minutes of paperwork, so if you’ll bear with me that long, we can get out of here and do something fun.”
Of course fun would be walking the dog, ordering take out, and then getting a movie on the TV, but for him that was fun, so hopefully she’d enjoy that. And maybe when Greg caught up with them, he’d join in and it wouldn’t be awkward.
"Sound good?"
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Jan 12, 2013 15:08:39 GMT -5
Peter looked a bit awkward about this all, though not really upset, and replied to her with a small smile. “Hi. I’m not sure if your dad mentioned it in his mad dash, but I’m Detective Aramis. Feel free to call me Peter.”
"Okay,"[/b] she nodded. Dad had told her his name, and a bit more (which Peter most likely didn't (need) to know), but she was happy to have clarification on what to call him. She knew Dad called his coworkers any range of things, and she hadn't wanted to decide herself which to call Peter, and get it wrong. She climbed onto the chair next to Peter's when he gestured, and smiled tentatively when he looked at her.
“So the station isn’t exactly entertaining, and despite what your dad said, I doubt you want to sit here and watch me work," said Peter, and Dolores smiled and shook her head, because no, she might be a "good kid," but she didn't exactly care to stare at a stranger for a few hours and do nothing at all, even if said stranger was attractive. "I’ve got about an hour and ten-ish minutes of paperwork, so if you’ll bear with me that long, we can get out of here and do something fun. Sound good?"
"Yeah, totally,"[/b] she replied. She wasn't sure what fun thing Peter actually had in mind, but she didn't care. It was ten, but she wasn't tired at all. She twirled her blonde hair on her finger, a bad habit she knew was damaging but did anyways. She had her ipod with her in her little purse, and her gameboy, but she asked Peter anyways, "Um, am I allowed to talk to you? While you're working, I mean."[/b] She had talked Dad's ear off yesterday, while he was filling out some form or another, but he hadn't really seemed to care. But she knew not everyone had the ability to write and listen - she certainly didn't - so it was worth asking.
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Jan 14, 2013 4:44:14 GMT -5
"Yeah, totally. Um, am I allowed to talk to you? While you're working, I mean."
Peter turned towards his desk with a nod. Yeah, he’d had a father like that. When there was something he was concentrating on, James Aramis did not like being distracted by idle chit chat. Peter had asked him time and time again if it was alright to talk. He kind of hated that it sometimes wasn’t.
“Of course you are!” he replied with a bit of a chuckle. “Despite what some people around here think, I can do more than one thing at once.”
He winked a bit to assure her that he was just joking. He was usually doing four or five things at once, so having her talk to him while he went through files and wrote up the end of his reports was fine. He could use the distraction. He only put in late nights like these once a month. The rest of his nights either belonged to the bar or the kids and he didn’t like taking away from either when he was at the station all day already.
“So, what would you like to talk about?” he asked, scribbling his pen on a scrap piece of paper to get the ink going.
He was terrible with technology and preferred to file his records by hand. It had gained him some respect with the older detectives who thought this was more thorough and attentive to detail, while getting him some dirty looks from everyone on the top floor who liked to open up computer files. Well, at least his penmanship was excellent, despite being left handed.
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Jan 14, 2013 20:40:35 GMT -5
Peter nodded, “Of course you are!” He seemed a bit happy about that, and Dolores smiled back at him. "Despite what some people around here think, I can do more than one thing at once," he added with a wink. Lori thought that was a bit funny, considering it was pretty hard to pull that off. It worked pretty okay on Peter, though, even if it was still laughable that someone in real life actually still did that - she thought it was great.
"Cool," she replied. She already liked Peter, and she'd only been stuck in his office for a few minutes - he seemed friendly and he wasn't treating her like she was younger than she was; people tended to do that to her, she wasn't short but she was small in frame, and it made her look younger than she was.
“So, what would you like to talk about?" Peter asked.
"Oh," Dolores said aloud, thinking. She hadn't been imagining any particular conversation she wanted to have with this guy, she had just been wondering. She tried to think of something interesting to say. He's slightly southern (or something, she wasn't too sure on accents) drawl made her think, but she supposed it might be rude to ask about that, so she ended up admitting, "Actually, I don't know, I was just wondering." She giggled a little nervously, having minimally embarrassed herself.
Of course, the question on the tip of her tongue she really wanted but wasn't going to ask was about his and Dad's... thing, or whatever they had, but that'd be ruder than the accent thing. "Um... what department is this?" She ended up asking, "It's not my Dad's part too, right?" She didn't know much about her father's work, besides he was a police officer and worked with murders: she didn't know if this whole building was part of his section or not.
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Jan 18, 2013 3:17:23 GMT -5
"Actually, I don't know, I was just wondering."
Peter hummed, inclining his head, even as his eyes were focused on the file before him. He spent most of his last few days going over a drug bust. He and Gerry had executed it on a gang in the area who were dealing to grade school kids in the neighborhood. Of course, they were mostly a bunch of high school kids in with a bad group of graduated know-nothings who were on a bad path, but that didn’t change how what they were doing was wrong. Still, Peter knew most of them and his testimony would hold a lot of weight in court, so he had to make sure all his paperwork was perfect, that there were no holes in his investigation.
"Um... what department is this? It's not my Dad's part too, right?"
“Nah, your dad’s up a floor in Homicide. This is the Youth Crimes Division,” Peter explained, filling in part of his report. “We’re kind of the mutt department here. We handle youth crimes, youth gangs, and missing children, depending which part of the bullpen you’re on. My partner, Gerry, and I handle the youth crimes and we sometimes end up in youth gangs, depending on if we know the kids. But we have nothing to do with the missing children.”
It was a sad thing when children went missing. It was either because someone took them or they chose to run away because something at home was too awful to face. That’s why he put in so much time with the kids in his life. They all knew they could come and crash at his place. If it got them away from the problems at home without getting them on the side of a milk carton, he was more than happy to do it.
“I did my first few months up in Homicide and it just wasn’t my thing. I do better with snarky teenagers,” he offered, signing his name onto the report. “How about you – are you going to be a Detective like your old man?”
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Jan 19, 2013 13:23:37 GMT -5
b]“Nah,"[/b] said Peter, managing to focus on his work and talk to her at the same time, "Your dad’s up a floor in Homicide." Dolores made a face - murders were fascinating, but the thought of her dad poking about dead bodies made her a bit uncomfortable. He was nice, and gentle; she could hardly imagine him gunning down murderers, or anything. "This is the Youth Crimes Division, we’re kind of the mutt department here," continued Peter, "We handle youth crimes, youth gangs, and missing children, depending which part of the bullpen you’re on. My partner, Gerry, and I handle the youth crimes and we sometimes end up in youth gangs, depending on if we know the kids. But we have nothing to do with the missing children. I did my first few months up in Homicide and it just wasn’t my thing. I do better with snarky teenagers."
Dolores didn't think Peter was referring to her, not really, but she could help but feel a bit defensive. Still, she could hardly blame the man for not wanting to deal with death all the time. Missing children sounded awful too. “How about you – are you going to be a Detective like your old man?”
"Oh no," Dolores said, "I, like, I like watching shows and stuff, you know the show Bones? I like that show. But it's definitely not something I think I could do,"[/b] she admitted. Her mother hated her watching those shows, thought they were far too violent for her, but at least she didn't want to go into that line of work herself. "I think I want to do something like be a doctor, or a broadcaster..."[/b] she said thoughtfully, "Though being a police man does sound really cool."[/b]
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Jan 21, 2013 22:49:58 GMT -5
"Oh no. I, like, I like watching shows and stuff, you know the show Bones? I like that show. But it's definitely not something I think I could do."
Peter glanced over at her, trying to figure out what TV show she was talking about. He had basic cable, so he didn’t watch a lot of TV. Either way, it didn’t sound like she was interested in being a detective. That was alright – it wasn’t for everyone, and actually the department preferred that those who weren’t of the mindset pass up the post. It just made things both difficult and disappointing.
"I think I want to do something like be a doctor, or a broadcaster...Though being a police man does sound really cool."
“I know it’s not for everyone,” Peter confirmed, flipping open a new file. “It takes someone who loves what he or she does.”
Because the pay wasn’t the greatest and the hours were killer. But when you loved what you did, and when you were good at it, money and time were the last things on your mind.
“But a doctor or a broadcaster? That’s pretty cool!”
Both sounded like a lot of work, and a lot of money, but there was something cool about being involved in saving lives or creating TV. It could be cool for someone with imagination and drive.
“I’m sure your dad would be proud of you, no matter what you do.”
It was true – Gregory would probably be proud if Delores started finger painting and was destitute. He knew he’d have been the same way if Conroy had grown up to be...well, just be.
“But both of those need really good marks in school. Do you like school?”
That was the thing most people didn’t consider. If they didn’t like school, then life was going to be hard for them if they actually wanted to be doctors, lawyers and what not. There was a reason only a small percentage went to university, after all.
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Jan 21, 2013 23:06:25 GMT -5
“I know it’s not for everyone, it takes someone who loves what he or she does," Peter said, and Dolores wasn't really sure how to take that, because it seemed a little mean, in a way, but it was also true, and usually truth had the right-of-way in terms of meanness. Well, good thing she wasn't actually considering becoming a policewoman. Though, forensics did interest her a little, but that was more science than anything, she thought.
“But a doctor or a broadcaster? That’s pretty cool!” Peter exclaimed, and Dolores shrugged. They seemed cool, maybe fun. But that was what she wanted - fun - and jobs and everything just seemed very dull. A part of her wanted to stay in school forever, just so she didn't have to decide what to waste the rest of her life doing that she didn't want to do. “I’m sure your dad would be proud of you, no matter what you do.”
Well, she didn't think he'd be so pleased if she become a stripper or a prostitute or something like that. Or a mob boss. That'd be funny, being arrested by her dad. Well, not funny, not like ha ha, but funny as in strange. But she decided not to voice that. It was a bit vulgar. “But both of those need really good marks in school," Peter stopped her from thinking much more on that topic and wondering if you needed a degree or to pass a test to become a stripper, "Do you like school?”
"I like it for the people, but not much else,"[/b] she admitted. She liked her teachers, but work and everything was boring and hard. "I've got good marks, but..."[/b] she paused, trying how to phrase this without sounding like a brat, "Well, I find school to be kind of boring. I don't want to do anything else really though. I guess I need a hobby or something,"[/b] she admitted. Peter seemed a bit confessional, now that she was thinking about it. Like, the kind of person who just naturally got people to talk about stuff they didn't really want to. Which was odd, but he was also kind of comforting looking, besides handsome.
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Jan 28, 2013 21:07:54 GMT -5
Peter couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t really connecting with Delores. She seemed like a great kid, but she...he couldn’t put his finger on it, but he just couldn’t read her. It made him a bit uneasy because he wasn’t used to not knowing how to handle people. He knew he’d just over compensate because of it. At least she answered his question, so maybe he'd just have to keep her talking until he could read her a bit better.
"I like it for the people, but not much else. I've got good marks, but...well, I find school to be kind of boring. I don't want to do anything else really though. I guess I need a hobby or something."
“Believe me, school is kind of boring where you’re at right now. It’s not until you hit University that it gets interesting,” he replied, reading over his notes, comforted that he knew what he was doing with the papers. “You get to choose your classes and your schedules and you find things you like. So keep up the good marks and go for the people so you can get up there.”
It was true. He’d been there. School was one giant bore to him. He actually remembered hating it at her age because he had to be inside instead of out with the horses. Then there’d been the move to New York and he’d hated it because he was the new kid. Finally, he’d hit university – somewhere he’d never expected to be – and found things he did like. Everyone was new, everything was interesting, it was just...a good fit. Now...he’d never used his degree, but he loved his work.
“And you have time to figure out what you want to do. If nothing else, you can stay in school for years figuring it out. I didn’t know I wanted to be a police officer until I graduated University.” He shrugged, pausing to write something down. “But hobbies are good to have. What kinds of things do you like to do in your free time?”
His own hobbies were boring and probably not her cup of tea, so he wouldn’t suggest them, but he was interested to know what she did for fun. Maybe then he could suggest something to her.
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Jan 29, 2013 21:22:07 GMT -5
“Believe me, school is kind of boring where you’re at right now. It’s not until you hit University that it gets interesting,” Peter assured her, and she smiled. That was good. She liked hearing that things got more interesting. Not that she was particularly looking forward to the legendary course load of university, but the also-spoken freedom was something she looked forward to so much more. Twelve years old, and she was already sick of living with her mother. Mom was a good person, sure, but Dolores got sick of having just her - more than once she'd fancied taking a train cross-country to NYC just to find Greg, give her mom a scare. It was completely cruel, and selfish, but fantastical seeming, and how temped she was! perhaps when she could drive herself and Mom couldn't stop her.
She listened to Peter's elderly words of wisdom carefully, with a slight air of forgetfulness - as much as she was genuinely interested, one of the best parts of being here for a month was missing so much school, and having an excuse for it. She didn't believe she'd be able to do this still when she got into high school, missing so much school, but she was a seventh grader, and the coursework wasn't horribly piled on. She wasn't very keen on talking about school when she was away from it.
"What kinds of things do you like to do in your free time?”
She thought quietly for a moment, wondering what the hell she did like to do? "Well," she started, hoping Peter wouldn't think her strange, "I like sports. I do soccer, and basketball. And I like reading a lot."[/b] How terribly dull she seemed - how was she supposed to connect to an older guy like this? Oh! Perhaps - "Oh, and I like video games..."[/b] she trailed off sheepishly. Surely Peter didn't want a list of facts. That was dull. She stopped, made herself ask, "What about you?"[/b]
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Jan 31, 2013 13:08:47 GMT -5
"Well, I like sports. I do soccer, and basketball. And I like reading a lot. Oh, and I like video games..."
He hummed along, thinking that those were all wonderful hobbies. At least she was active. He could remember being her age and doing the same things, when he could get away to do them, that is. He jotted something down, using a post-it-note to keep the page while he flipped through another sheaf of papers. He really needed to be more organized.
"What about you?"
He paused, thinking on that. Sure, he had hobbies that included an active sex life, a strange need to find people more damaged than he was, and then there were his workaholic tendencies...
“Like you, I read when I can. I also play basketball every Sunday, and your dad talked me into soccer one day. That was a mess,” he offered, smiling a bit at the memory of hanging out in the park with a soccer ball, a couple of his kids, and Baze underfoot. “I do boring things, like walking my dog, watch the odd game of basketball or football on TV.”
Oh he did sound old now. He couldn’t be more than ten years older than Delores, but there was a clear gap.
“I can’t say I’ve ever played a video game, though,” he offered a bit thoughtfully.
He never had the inclination to when he was growing up, and then he’d never seen the point when he was in university. His kids spent too much time playing them, so he never agreed to the invitations to play with him. Playing them on his own as a grown adult just sounded silly, so he’d just gone without.
“I imagine that would take up a fair amount of your time.”
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Feb 10, 2013 16:41:22 GMT -5
“Like you, I read when I can. I also play basketball every Sunday, and your dad talked me into soccer one day. That was a mess,” Peter admitted, making Dolores giggle a little. She could certainly remember he dad always wanting to play soccer; he liked it a lot. She could only imagine the man in front of her clumsily being forced into a match. “I do boring things, like walking my dog, watch the odd game of basketball or football on TV.”
Dolores said nothing, because yeah, those things were a bit boring. But not depressingly boring, like fly fishing. “I can’t say I’ve ever played a video game, though. I imagine that would take up a fair amount of your time.”
She shrugged, through very surprised, "I guess it's kind of a waste, but it's fun."[/b] And when you were a middle schooler bored out of your mind, all the better. "But - you've really never played one?"[/b] She was practically astounded. She hadn't through Peter was that old. No, he definitely wasn't! "Not even as like a kid or something?"[/b]
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Post by DETECTIVE PETER ARAMIS on Feb 13, 2013 3:34:43 GMT -5
"I guess it's kind of a waste, but it's fun."
He nodded along, imagining it was if so many kids wanted to play them. They didn’t go nuts over things they thought were boring, after all. As for a waste of time...if she had the time to spend on it, was the time truly wasted?
“But - you've really never played one? Not even as like a kid or something?"
Peter chuckled a bit at how astounded she sounded. He set his pen down and leaned back in his chair, the old thing creaking under him as he shifted.
“Nope, not even when I was a kid. There was too much to do,” he replied, thinking it was all too true. “My family runs a working ranch. When I was your age, I was always on the back of a horse or hauling hay or playing ball with my dogs. And when I was inside, there were puzzles or homework or sleep.”
Well, it was mostly true. When he was her age, he’d nearly lost his arm in a car accident, so he’d spent a lot of his time inside with the puzzles and books that kept him entertained when he wasn’t sleeping. He supposed that would have been the perfect time to play video games, but it just hadn’t occurred to him at the time.
“I guess it was simpler where I grew up.” He shrugged a bit, feeling nostalgic for the life he'd left behind in Montana. “Maybe when I have time, I’ll have to give video games a shot.”
Glancing at his paperwork he didn’t think he’d have time anytime soon, especially when he was also still working at the bar. There was no reason to share that, either. He didn’t need more kids knowing that he was both a cop and a bartender. One ruined the image of the other, and vice versa, after all. Then there was all the time he spent getting his kids away from video games, so he'd turn out looking like a hypocrite...perhaps the boat had sailed on video games a long time ago.
“So, did I make myself sound enough like an old man or should I throw in a few ‘back in my day’ comments?” he asked, chuckling at his own comment.
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Post by GREGORY LESTRADE on Feb 17, 2013 10:29:16 GMT -5
“Nope, not even when I was a kid. There was too much to do,” Peter replied, then explained: “My family runs a working ranch. When I was your age, I was always on the back of a horse or hauling hay or playing ball with my dogs. And when I was inside, there were puzzles or homework or sleep.”
Dolores had always thought it might be interesting to live in the country. She'd certainly never had that experience in San Francisco. Horses were awfully beautiful things, too.
“I guess it was simpler where I grew up," Peter continued, and Dolores looked down at her feet with wide and somewhat travelling eyes. She hadn't really wanted Peter's life story, here. “Maybe when I have time, I’ll have to give video games a shot - So, did I make myself sound enough like an old man or should I throw in a few ‘back in my day’ comments?” He laughed.
She smiled, kind of glad he'd realized that, but hadn't wanted to seem rude. "No no, it's fine," she said quickly. Then, simply out of awkwardness, she blurted in comparison, "I guess it's better than my dad, he like, never talks about being a kid." She stopped, and realized that's sounded a little... accusatory. It hadn't meant to be. But she was interested in what he'd been like back then, and he would never tell her anything about himself, only about other people.
She wasn't sure what to say to redeem herself, so she ended up just shrugging with a subtly embarrassed look on her face.
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