Orchestrated Set Up

Seeley pushed the door open, ushering his work partner into the club. “Come on Aubrey, you wanted me to introduce you to this life, welcome to the place I met my wife.”

James Aubrey followed Seeley into the club, chopsticks in one hand, a box of noodles in the other. “And you're sure about this? After that… Case… You're sure this is what I need?” He stuffed a mouthful of noodles into his mouth and chewed.

Jocelyn Neill pushed open the door and stepped in. She'd been recommended the club by a friend for the best heart clogging food a girl could hope to have. She took off her coat and hung it on a hook, her long red hair flouncing lightly as she moved towards the bar. She'd changed out of her work suit and was wearing a simple t-shirt paired with…a skirt. A flowy, lovely floor length skirt that peeked hints of open toed sandals. She eyed the bartender and propped her elbow on the bar her chin in her palm. “Heard you got the most smothered poutine around. I'd like some. And an appletini please.”

Seeley let the door close behind, soft close hinges preventing it from slamming. “I'm sure. You'll find someone…” He looked around. Empty. “Eventually.” So much for that idea. “Come on.” He walked over to the bar, slipping in behind it and pulling out a couple of glasses for drinks. A Glennfiddich Scotch for himself, with a dash of water, an Old Foglesong for Aubrey, with some ice.

Joss almost did a double take at seeing Seeley and Aubrey but played it off. Until Seeley slid behind the bar. “Didn't know you moonlit here.” She quipped as the npc tender wandered off to give her order to the kitchen.

Seeley looked up at the redhead as she entered, “I've been here long enough they don't argue when I serve myself.” He grabbed another glass and poured an Appletini for her, sliding it across the bar.

Joss wrapped her fingers around the glass and grinned. “Thanks. How's the Missus doing?”

Aubrey looked around, turning a full 360 before he made his way to the bar, sitting on one of the barstools as Seeley served his whiskey. “You remembered!” Then he noticed Jocelyn sitting as he finished his turn. “Oh, hello.” He stabbed his chopsticks into his noodles and planted the box on the counter.

Seeley lifted his glass to his nose, swirling the Scotch and taking in the aroma, lifting one finger in a motion of 'hold'. Don't mess with the ritual! He took a sip and placed it back on the bar top. “She's good. Although I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around her at the moment. At least she's not being sick as much anymore.”

Joss tilted her head. Damn job mode. “And what makes you feel that way?” Her brows knit together and then she waved her hand slightly. “Nevermind that. It's normal. My sister went through it. Just give her lots of love and remind her she's beautiful. There's this…body dysmorphia that can happen during pregnancy. Allison was absolutely stunning even in her third trimester, but she cried horribly every time she looked in the mirror.” She turned to Aubrey and smiled, recognizing him slightly. “Oh. Hi there.” She flashed him a radiant grin.

Seeley raised an eyebrow, about to give some answer about the futility of psychobabble and some such before she dismissed it. “I'm trying, I still feel like it's not enough. Not that I'm going to stop trying.” He noticed the recognition in her eyes. “You should have met, I guess you're both just busy enough not to recognise each other. Aubrey, Neill. Neill, Aubrey. Jocelyn is Sweets' replacement.”

Aubrey turned to look at Jocelyn properly for the first time. “Yeah, I think I've seen you around, but never bumped into you. I didn't realise you were a foodie or I might have said something.” He held out his hand.

Joss peeked at Aubrey's noodles as she laid her hand in his. “I've seen you around, yes.” She replied, holding his gaze for a moment beforelooking back to his noodles. “Where'd you get that at? I know this great place uptown….” She let out a nervous chuckle. Eh, he was just being nice. She'd grown used to people doubting her…always telling her she had big shoes to fill. She didn't want to fill Sweets's shoes. She wanted to wear her own.

Aubrey looked at the chopsticks sticking out of the noodle box. “Chinese Dragon. We picked it up on the way. It's cheap, but sometimes that just hits the spot.” It wasn't just being nice. Sweets was his friend too, and they were big shoes to fill. It would be better to make her own name than ride on his coattails. “So, poutine hun?”

Seeley took another sip from his Scotch. “I didn't let him eat it in the car, didn't want him making a mess on the seats. I know how messy you are when you eat, Jimmy.” Every mention of Sweets was a poke in a nerve. There was no replacement.

Joss “Wok 88 uptown is great and they have a bar too. You should check it out sometime.” She advised. “Yes. I'm..a Quebec native. Daniela said this place had passable poutine.” She smiled though it faltered slightly at Seeley's tone. “Ah. I can…leave you two gentlemen be if you'd prefer.” She said quietly. The work relationship between Neill and Booth, well, the male Booth, was fine, but she'd always picked up on a slight…resentment? No. Hesitance? Maybe. Either way she knew she was a thorn in the man's side, even if it was wholly unintentional.

Seeley shook his head, dangling his whiskey from his fingers. “No, it's fine. I need to get over my loss. Besides, you two apparently have more to talk about, and I did say I'd bring Jimmy here to find out more. I'm sure you can give him at least as many pointers as I can. All while gushing over the poutine here.” He shuddered and bleched. Not his kinda food. “I'll be over here if you need me.” He gestured towards the couch, moving over to it and planting himself in the cushions.

Aubrey picked up his glass and took a sip of his favourite whisky. “I've been to Wok 88. They're good, I just haven't been past them when I've been hungry.” He looked over to Seeley as he made his exit. “Uhh, thanks. I think.” He watched his partner move across the room before returning to Jocelyn. “The only reason he has issues with you is because Lance was like a little brother to him. You're… Not.” He almost mentioned that being a good thing.

“They have the best mai fun I've ever had. I make sure to stop by when I'm in town.” She smiled, then looked over to Seeley. “I can't help that. I was supposed to be working with the man and I came to work to find I was…on my own.” She took a sip of her appletini. “It doesn't help that I'm friends with his wife. I've thought about putting space between her and I, but…” She shrugged helplessly. “So I work in a department almost on my own, people want nothing to do with me because I'm not the man who was supposed to be my mentor…on top of that, I feel so much empathy. I used to have two sisters. I only have one now. My best friend…is the reason I got into psych to begin with…she's gone. And knowing that half the people I work with balk at my presence because I'm Dr. Neill and not Dr….I don't even feel like I have the right to say his name, to be honest…It gets…disheartening. I've been thinking about putting in for a transfer to a satellite. Or just…resigning and opening a private practice.”

She looked at him then. “Sorry, Agent Aubrey. Probably more than you cared to know.” The tender brought her poutine and she smiled in gratitude, stabbing at it with her fork. “Want a bite?”

Aubrey grabbed his noodles and stuffed a mouthful into his face. Not because he wasn't listening, more because he needed something to do with his eternally hungry mouth. Nomnomnom. He was listening to every word she was saying, being dropped in the deep end and being told to swim, helping Daniela (everybody knew Seeley's wife), lacking friends, losing a sister, losing a friend, running away. Wait. He had to wait to swallow his mouthful and she was still going on.

“I think it's nice you decided to open up in front of a veritable stranger. I can see there's a lot going on there, and the reason you got into… What you got into.” More? “I'm not going to balk just because you're not my friend, everyone is unique. It's worth getting to know people for who they are, not whose shoes they're supposed to fill.” He looked down at the poutine as it arrived. “I wouldn't mind giving it a try. There's a first time for everything, right?”

“Heh.” She let out a half-hearted chuckle. “I don't know why all that came out, really. I just…” She sighed. “It's been a trying day. Anyways, eating my feelings never hurt, and this place was recommended…” She stabbed some fries covered in gravy, making sure to nab a cheese curd too. She held the fork out to him, her hand beneath to catch any drip. “If you like it, I'll ask for another fork if you want.”

Aubrey looked her directly in the eyes. “Sometimes it just needs to come out. I've got a friendly face, it happens.” He looked at the fries on the fork, leaning down to wrap his mouth around them and pull them off the fork, without using his hands. He started to chew, savouring the mix of flavours, trying to work out what they were. Swallow, then… “Interesting. Gravy… Cheese… No, cheese curds? The fries are obvious.” He licked his lips. “Who needs another fork?”

Joss blinked a couple times as their eyes met. Oh my. She broke contact first, looking to the fork. She watched as he chewed, with all the eager anticipation that came with someone sharing something they loved with someone who'd never experienced it before. “Curds, yes. American poutine usually uses cheddar, that one you just ate looks like white cheddar? But in Quebec we use fresh curds, not aged.” She slowly regained her composure. “Do you like it?” She asked, taking a bite. “Oh, this is passable indeed.” She said once she'd swallowed, offering him the fork as she turned her head to look for a napkin to catch the drop of gravy at the corner of her mouth.

Aubrey bobbed his head from side to side. “I don't dislike it. Might take a while to go from something I'll eat if it's put in front of me to something I'll choose to eat.” He took the fork from her, his fingers wrapping around hers for a moment before pulling it away and stabbing more of the food in front of him. “Good to know it's good enough for a Quebecois.” Then it went in his mouth for more chewing and tasting. Savouring.

“It's…I can see how it might be an acquired taste. You should have seen me the first time I tried those loaded fries every place seems to have. The bacon, cheese…ranch…more cheese…” She chuckled. Her eyes met his as he took the fork and their fingers touched, a light blush appearing behind the freckles smattered across her nose and cheekbones. “Ah. Yes. It'll do when I'm craving a taste of home.” She added quietly.

Aubrey grinned while he chewed. No talking with food in your mouth. Swallow. That's why it took him so long to respond. “I love those loaded fries. They're not these. I mean, they're different, but where would the fun be if they were the same?” The blush brought out her cheekbones, he could admire those, and the freckles standing out. Always the redheads with the freckles and the pale skin. And the strange personality. “Do you miss home a lot?”

“Oh I love them now too, but at first I was thinking “Oh my gosh, all these good things make such a strange flavor” but now? They're one of my guilty pleasures.” She laughed gently, warmly. “I sometimes miss it. I miss speaking French and having people know what I'm saying. Lots of Americans speak a second language but it's usually Spanish. Which is similar enough that I guess one could possibly under—” She stopped, a sheepish smile on her face. “Sorry.” She murmured as she tugged at the ends of her hair.

“Well, they do say… Français ç'est la langue d'amour. I'm a little rusty though.” He reached out to pull her hand down from where she was tugging her hair. “Never apologise for speaking your mind, even when that's a stream of consciousness you're not expecting.” Again, he gazed into her eyes. All it would take would be for her to gaze back.

Joss shook her head when he said he was rusty, fingers lightly curling against his as he pulled her hand down. Slowly her blue-green eyes lifted, gazed into his. “Ah, non. Cela semble si beau de vos lèvres…” She replied softly, giving him a gentle smile.

Aubrey looked down, not quite hiding his face but trying to as his cheeks flushed from her compliment. So much for gazing into her eyes. “Thank you.” He took a few moments before looking back up, managing to return his gaze where he'd originally planned. “When I say rusty, I can understand, I can't always construct a sentence more than a few words. Mais, je vais essayer pour vous.”

Joss smiled brighter as he brought his eyes back up, her fingers giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Oh god, she was still holding his hand. What if he wanted her to let go? “Pour moi? Vous êtes très gentil, monsieur.” She breathed lightly, then turned even more pink along those freckles. “I have to be careful lest it's the only language I speak with you.” She laughed lowly.

Aubrey didn't try to stop her, make her let go, or even move his hand where she was holding it. “Merci. But I would find it a struggle if it were the only language you spoke with me. English I can manage with ease. French is… Something I haven't spoken for a while.” A smile crossed his lips as she laughed. “At least, a struggle for the moment. I'm sure you would help me with that struggle.”

_{“Are you…asking me to help you? Telling me I will?”} She queried in a low whisper, leaning in slightly to be heard, her eyes locked on his. “Daniela recommended the food here but I do look up the places I go to….” She added. _{“You already had food though….what brought you here?”}

Aubrey closed one eye as he considered the response to that. Asking? Telling? Pick one. _{“Telling, yes.”} He opened his eye again. “A case opened my eyes. We worked it together.” He gestured towards Seeley. “But he'd seen more previously, which is why it took me so long to realise this was a part of me. Since you look up the places you go to, other than the poutine… What about you?”

Telling her? She liked that. “Well, since you told me so nicely and I happen to be very good at doing what I'm told…I'll help you.” She teased lightly, then pondered his next question a few moments before answering. “I'm a psychologist, I've read ins and outs of…this. But…” Her voice trailed off a moment. _{“Probably for the same reasons as you…but on the other side of…things.”} She admitted. It was more than a craving for good poutine and bar food that had drawn her in. Curiosity. A feeling about herself.

Aubrey raised a single eyebrow. Not what he expected from one of the FBI's best psychologists. “Other…” Click _{“Oh. Yes. Can't be a me without a you. Yes.”} His eyebrow returned to where it should be. “I think Daniela might have realised that when she recommended it to you. And Seeley. You do know what their relationship entails, don't you?” Rumours and conjecture from his point of view, but he'd figured out something about the way they interacted with each other.

Can't be a me without you. Her eyes closed briefly, why did she -feel- those words so deeply? “Maybe she did. God, do you think they…set us up?” She asked, then shook her head. No that wasn't possible. Was it? “I've…heard rumors. Daniela doesn't really go into detail. What's your take on the Agents Booth?” She smiled, her fingers flexing lightly against his…oh…they were…still holding hands. She was okay with this.

Seeley grinned quietly at the dawning realisation going on at the bar. He finished his Scotch and pulled himself up from the couch, making his way quietly towards the door outside, then slipped out and off home.

“Yeah, he did say something about making it worth my while. I figured he meant food.” He glared at Seeley's back as he left. “I thought he was just being a wingman, I hadn't realised he had a plan.” He put the fork down, making one hand free while the other still held Neill's, and brought it up to rub his eyes. “They're… Let's just put it this way. It's not just a rank thing.”

Joss watched that glare and her fingers tightened a moment. Briefly. “Not just a rank thing? Oh you mean…OHHH….” She looked at him, wide-eyed. “I can't imagine her taking orders from anyone, she's an absolute force in the field.” She stopped then. “Ah. Yes. I…now that I think about it, it actually makes sense that she'd…a lot like…how I…um _anyways…” She paused a moment. “I can let you go if you're tired…” She offered when he rubbed his eyes.

Aubrey laughed as he saw her go through several stages. Denial. Realisation. Bargaining. Reflection. Reconstruction. Acceptance. “Yes. To all of those. She's a strong woman. Think about who she's married to.” He reached for his whiskey, finishing it off. “Which brings us to you.” He trailed off, leaving it there, then thinking about her comment of letting him go. “I'm not particularly tired… But my ride just left, so I might need someone to take home. I mean, take me home.”

“I counseled her after she….” Public, Neill. “Terminated a hostile for the first time. I think it would take a strong man to handle that.” She waited when he began a thought..then left it hang. “I'm parked right out front I could give you a ride if you wanted?” She offered.

Aubrey nodded. “I'm aware of what happened. I'm also aware of Booth's history. Given the sliver of what he's told me, and what I see him go through every single time… He's been through a lot.” He considered how to answer that. “Yes, you will give me a ride. You just need to decide if it's your place or mine.” He grinned at Jocelyn.

Joss's jaw almost dropped. “Ah…I'm…my hotel…is about 20 minutes from here…I guess…whichever is closer?” She stammered, utterly thrown off by his confident demeanor. It thrilled her inside.

Aubrey saw her flabbergasted reaction, even if she tried to hide it. “Then your hotel is probably closer, I have an apartment closer to the edge of town, so 20 minutes will be quicker.” He was still holding her her. He hadn't let go throughout the whole conversation. He was still hungry though, so he stabbed some more poutine and stuffed it in his mouth.

Joss flagged down the bartender and asked for a box. After James took another bite, she packaged them up, taking care to grab his noodles too. “Erm. Shall we, then?” She asked softly.

Joss had needed to let go of his hand to package the poutine up, but once she had everything, her fingers lightly brushed his hand. Totally on accident. Unless he wanted to hold her hand again. Then it wasn't an accident at all.

Aubrey gestured to the door with his free hand, taking her hand once more. “Please.” If she chose to walk side by side with him, he leaned back to appreciate the rear view for a few moments before standing tall once more. Tall still being sub six foot.

Joss was bright pink as she walked beside him, pausing to shift the food and grab her coat on the way out. She felt those eyes. Felt them.

Next: Redheads and Poutine