It's 5 o'clock Somewhere

[Liz O'Malley]

Liz sat in a booth at the back of the bar. She had texted Frank this morning to see if he could meet her there. Not that she wanted to encourage any bad habits but she figured they could both use a drink. She gave him explicit instructions to keep his trap shut and not say anything to Murr. She slumped a bit in the booth with her hoodie up covering her head. Someone may not be able to see her eyes but she could see the entrance. Anyone would look at her and think she might already be a few drinks in but in reality she was just tired. It'd been a long day at work. 

Frank's muttered comment about Liz taking up boxing started renting space in her head. Liz was scrappy and could win in any fight thanks to her five older brothers. Formal training, however, was not something she had done. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea? She could take boxing lessons.

Reasoning it out had been easy. She still hated that Murr wouldn't talk to her about work - not even the basics of how he was feeling - but she couldn't keep going rounds with him on it. Maybe boxing would be a good way to let some of her own emotions out? So she started training. It did help. She didn't fight with Murr over the work at work thing anymore, or at least not as much. She still didn't love it but at least she had an outlet for her frustrations.

But now she needed Frank's help with a situation. She wasn't entirely sure it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass but it was the only place she could think to start. If nothing else, he'd make a good sounding board. Less critical than Murr; she was sure about that.

The bell on the entrance rang. Liz snapped back to reality and looked towards the entrance. She waved to Frank and then looked at her watch. “It’s rude to not let people know when you’re running late,” she smirked at him. It didn’t really bother her but where was the fun in letting it slide? Shifting a bit she sat up and pulled the hoodie down. There were two drinks on the table and she nodded to the glass across from her. "Seriously though, thanks for meeting me."

[jsmith506]

Frank would just grin as he walked inside, nodded to the coat check people and just walked right in like he owned the place.  He strolled over to Liz and stopped outside the booth. "Always bustin' my balls Liz, heh, you know its illegal to text and drive.  I was just picking up my car from the paint shop when you called, took a little longer to get here from there than I figured."  He leaned in to give her a hug before slipping into the booth with her. "Its no problem really, I haven't got much on the go lately,  well aside from that crane accident I was involved in two days ago.  Yeah, I'm okay by the way.  Thanks for asking... pfffsht.   Seriously though, what's up?  You and Murr doin' ok?  How's his bum leg?  They got him back at the station pushing papers yet?" He chuckled and leaned back in the booth a bit getting comfortable.

[Liz O'Malley]

"Yep, that's me a regular ol' ball buster." She smiled, giving him a hug back. "What the fuck, dude? You were in a crane accident? What the hell happened? I'm glad your okay." She took a sip of her scotch and shrugged a bit when he started asking about Murr. "Yeah, we're fine. He's still going to physical therapy a couple times a week. He's pushing papers and hates every minute of it. He is chomping at the bit to get back out there with you." She paused and shifted in her seat a bit as she looked into her glass before taking another sip. 

"You know Murr has this work at work rule so he doesn't talk to me about anything going on at work." She eyed Frank before continuing. Frank had warned Murray many times about the consequences of bringing work home. Whether it had been intentional or not, it was still part of why Murr wanted to leave work at work. "Not for a lack of trying on my part. We have gone rounds on the topic. Anyway, that is neither here nor there." She was starting to ramble and she knew it. She sighed and swirled the liquid in her glass. "We had this young girl, a teenager, come into the ER the other night and she was just beat up all to hell. Long story short, I need to find a space I can use to teach her some basic skills. I can't do it at our place." She looked at Frank. "I thought you might have some ideas on places around the city."   

[jsmith506]

Frank reached down and swirled the scotch in his glass and gave it a sniff before taking a drink. "Crane toppled over and a bus crashed at the Wildrose Diner the other night. It was late so there weren't many people around and nobody was killed luckily. Unlucky for me though, I was there at the time reading the paper and having a coffee. Wound up pulling an all nighter, met some nice kids that helped with the few casualties we had and stayed on scene to shoot the shit with the firefighters and the engineers cleaning the place up." He swirled his glass again and took another drink. He raised his hand up in the air and did a little motion with his index and middle finger and a moment later two more glasses of scotch were slid in front of them. The server girl shot Frank a sultry wink... seemed like he'd been here before.

"Funny thing came of it though. There's this new coroner down at the station. Dr Mora Kaiyroan. She's a pretty little thing, friendly. We've had coffee now and bumped into each other a couple times. Had to do laundry after the incident because I got my suit dirty. Wouldn't you believe the young doctor actually lives in my building? Small world. We're just friends, she's way too young for me, looks to be about your age actually Liz... But bless her heart does she ever look great in a pair of yoga pants... Whew." He took a drink from his new glass and continued. "So you're thinking you'd like to be teaching some of these young women some self defense, kinda under the radar like eh? Well, if anyone was gonna do it I'd say you're a shoe in for it. Tell you what, I have a spare key and fob for my building, stop by sometime and I'll give them to you. We can push the furniture aside in the livingroom and that should be all kinds of space for you ladies. I'll just take a walk to the diner when you're having your meetings and have a coffee, y'all don't need a pervy old drunk with a thing for yoga pants hanging around for that."

[Liz O'Malley]

"Shit. Well, I'm glad there were no fatalities and you're okay." Liz shook her head. She took a sip of her scotch, finishing what was left of the first glass. A grin crept across her face as he talked about Mora. "Oh come on, age is only a number. Does the age difference really bother you or are you just finding reasons to stay a bachelor? It's hard when you've become accustomed to a certain.....ah, lifestyle." She had silently noted the wink from the waitress. But maybe a change would do you some good." Liz moved her empty glass towards the end of the table and moved the new one closer. Liz was already trying to plan how she could meet this Mora since it sounds like someone she will need to make friends with. Liz swirled the new glass of scotch watching the liquid move around before settling. 

"Seriously? I can use your place?" She was a little surprised that it had been that easy. No trying to talk her out of it or telling her it was a bad idea. "You know this has to be our dirty little secret, right?" Murr probably wouldn't be happy but it was one maybe two people. It's not like there was going to be a whole big group. She took another slow sip of scotch before setting the glass back down. "Why aren't you trying to talk me out of this?" The question came out a little more suspicious than she had intended.  

[jsmith506]

"Been down that road once before Liz, it didn't end well and I really don't feel like going there again.  I'm good sittin' right where I am.  I had my day in the sun, I got my little girl going to school at Cal-Tech studying to be a Veterinarian.  Couldn't be happier or prouder, and I think I wanna go out on that high note.  Not anytime soon mind you."   He took a sip from his scotch and shook his index finger.  "I ain't done bein' a pain in your ass yet missy." He grinned with a wink and continued on to the answers to her burning questions of why help?

"I've seen more nasty shit in this city than I care to think or speak of... You see it too Liz, yet, you find yourself in a unique opportunity to do something positive for these people when they cross your path.  Something to empower them, make them stand up and not be a victim.  Its rare that I ever truly get the chance to make that kind of a difference, whenever I step onto the scene its always too late Liz.... its always too late..." He looked into his scotch glass.  He swirled the scotch around again, staying quiet for a moment.  "About a year back, Murr and I were working this case... this piece of shit crack head beat his girlfriend to death in front of her two children because she wouldn't cough up the money she had set aside for groceries.  We caught up to him at a flop house about a week later, I nearly beat him to death with a toaster.  If Murr wasn't there to pull me off him we wouldn't be sittin' here right now Liz.  Maybe if that lady had met you and kicked that piece of garbage in the balls and beat him to an inch of his life and sent him packing she'd still be alive and there would be two less orphans in the world...  So yeah, use my place.  Please... "

[Liz O'Malley]

She chuckled when he mentioned he wasn't done being a pain in her ass yet. "Murr and i love you and we want you around for as long as possible. We also want you to be happy." She paused for a minute twirling her glass in her hands. "Just promise me you won't shut yourself off completely to something good if it comes along." She worried more than she should about both her boys. They were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and she knew that.

Liz looked at him as he responded to her question on why. She watched his face as he shared about the case. Tears welled in her eyes as she listened. it was her turn to pause. The silence seemed to engulf the room. Any background noise she had been aware of prior seemed to disappear. She suddenly felt guilty for all the rounds she went with Murr on his work at work rule. That case was barely a taste of what Frank and Murr dealt with. She could only imagine some of the other horrors they have seen. She sniffled a bit before shaking her head. The only immediate reply she offered was a soft "Thanks, Frank."

It was her turn to flag down the waitress for two more drinks as she sucked down what was remaining in her glass. She gave a half-hearted smile as the waitress set them down and removed the empty glasses. Her finger traced the rim of the fresh glass. She shifted some and slid down into the booth a bit more. "Well, getting drunk wasn't my plan but it may be now," she was only half kidding. "You know... I think that's the most I've heard about any case you two have worked. I know what you guys carry is heavy. Murr won't talk about it but he doesn't need to for me to know how it weighs on him." She paused again briefly before flipping the conversation back to why they were there. "I tried to talk to him about this and he shut it down pretty quick. Do you know how pissed he's going to be at both of us if he finds out?" One corner of her lip curled up offering a half smile to Frank. She shrugged. "But I figure, fuck it, what's going to happen if he does? I'll be on your couch for a week or so?" The number of times Liz and Murr took turns crashing on Frank's couch couldn't be counted on one hand anymore. "By the way, did you install that revolving door, yet?" she joked as she took another sip.

[jsmith506]

"Ehh, what Murr don't know won't hurt him.  Always gotta be swinging his dick around that guy... I keep telling him to relax, go with the flow.  You can't always be in control of every situation, and you would think after this long he sure as shit should know he can't control you Liz.  I think something to consider for you, would be to take an actual formal class on the side.  One where you could have a legitimate self defense instructor ticket. If you waved that in his face he wouldn't be able to say much would he? But, from my experience, we never ask 'Where did this tough broad learn to fight back like that?'  It's always, good job, way to break the cycle and stop being a victim.  I don't see anything wrong there."

He finished his second glass and moved on to the third.  This always happened when Liz says to come for a drink, they lament about the bullshit in life, take jabs at each other... Then before you know it they would be three sheets to the wind at the Diner down the road from Frank's apartment and ordering breakfast at midnight and then she would be passed out on his couch.

[Liz O'Malley]

"Truth." She nodded and raised her glass before taking a sip. "That fucker knew what he was getting into when he married me and he still did it. That's on him." A genuine laugh escaped. Despite the shit her and Murr gave each other they truly did love one another. "My older brothers were a bunch of shitheads when we were growing up. BUT it's because of them I can defend myself and land a good punch....or slap." She gave Frank a quick wink. "I had to be scrappy - not everyone has that. Everyone should know how to defend themselves and fight back." He was right though. They weren't going to ask where someone learned to fight. She adjusted in her seat, sitting up a little straighter. "Any recommendations on where to go to get an instructor license?" The third glass was going down quicker than the first two. Her tummy grumbled a bit. "I think one more for me and then the diner?" Like magic, two more glasses appeared and Liz slipped the waitress her card to pay for their drinks. "I'll drink both if you don't want another one." She grinned knowing full well he wasn't going to say no to another drink.    

[jsmith506]

"Sounds like a plan to me. Now let me see here..." He pulled out his reading glasses from his jacket pocket and started fumbling around with his phone for a minute making hmmm, mmmhmm noises. His glasses slid down his nose and he set his phone down on the table. He slid it across to her. "It would appear that the American Sport and Fitness Association has an online Self Defense Instructor course, its 175$ and you only pay when you pass to get your ticket. I think you'd ace that, might even learn something... and then Murr can suck it."

He grabbed the fresh glass of scotch, he had a very pleased look on his face as he took a big pull from the glass.

[Liz O'Malley]

She smirked and shook her head as she looked down at his phone. “Noted…...smart ass.” She picked up his phone and scrolled through getting a quick glance. Liz copied the link and texted it to herself so she wouldn’t forget. “I’ll dig into that some more later.” She handed him the phone back.

The waitress returned with the card and slips offering Frank a wink and a “don’t be a stranger,” before walking away. Liz tucked the signed slip back into the presenter and set it at the edge of the table. She sucked down the rest of her drink. “Let’s do this,” she said as she slid out of the booth. She stood up a little too quick and let her hand find the table to steady herself. “I guess that’s what I get for not eating dinner, huh?”

She stood there for a moment while Frank finished his drink. She looped an arm through his for support before starting to head to the door. They passed their waitress on the way out. “Did she just give me a dirty look?” Liz asked Frank as the door closed behind them. She started to turn back but felt Frank redirect her. Liz started muttering under her breath in Italian. Yep, some food was definitely in order.

“So, I’m thinking I could do this on Saturdays. Maybe 11 am? That should be enough time for you to sleep off the night before, right?” 

[jsmith506]

Frank patted Liz's arm a couple times as they slipped out the door into the street. "Don't worry about her, she's probably just jealous. Heh heh... I suppose 11 AM is reasonable, I've actually been working at toning things down lately, it's why I was at the diner when the accident happened. Couldn't sleep, the sweats and shakes got the better of me. Had am Irish coffee at the diner while I read the paper and it sorted me out."

[Liz O'Malley]

"Pfffftttt. Nothing to be jealous of here." She concentrated on the ground to ensure she didn't trip on something or her own two feet. "We can push it back if 11 is still too early. You're the one letting me use your space so I'll work around your schedule." She paused as they started to slow down upon reaching the diner. "I'll plan on coming over about 30-45 minutes early to help move furniture out of the way. Probably spend the same amount of time working with her and then I can help put everything back once we're done. And an Irish coffee sounds great right now. Are you trying to quit completely or just tone it down? Either way, good for you." It wasn't a sarcastic statement.

[jsmith506]

Frank held the door for Liz as they entered the diner. The corner of the building was all boarded up, temporary support beams were erected to hold the roof up and the windows were boarded up as well. They were determined to stay open for their faithful patrons during repairs though. He kept hold of her arm though and helped her over to the diner bar stools. He made sure not to let her go until she was fully balanced on the stool.

"11 Am is fine Liz, and I'm just trying to slow down is all. I'd like to stick around long enough to see Mel bring me some grand kids... Heck maybe you might even poop out a little crotch goblin. Hey?" Frank gave Liz a little nudge on the shoulder playfully with his elbow.

[Liz O'Malley]

Liz eyed up the boards. "Shit, you weren't kidding." It was a good thing Frank made sure she was steady because her first attempt at balancing herself did not go well. After she was situated she held a hand up. "I'm good. And perfect, 11 am. I will pay you in breakfasts and homemade pasta." She smirked a little and just like that her face scrunched up at the mention of crotch goblins. "Ugh, I know Murr wants them, preferably lots." She paused, her voice lowering a bit. "It comes up any time we get into it about something but not in a direct way. Know what I mean? I'm not saying I don't want them but it also scares the crap out of me. Is it smart to bring kids into this world with the way it is? AND, and, what if he gets killed? Or something happens to me?" This was clearly not the first time she had these thoughts and her face flushed a little as she turned her head to look at Frank. She looked a little surprised at the word vomit that she just spewed. She paused for what was almost an awkward amount of time. "Murr and I haven't actually talked about it seriously too recently. But it's been on my mind again since he got shot. I know you can't get stuck on the what ifs. I mean, whatever is meant to happen is going to happen, right?"

Blessedly, the waitress came over and sat waters down in front of them. "What else can I get you to drink?"

"Coffee and orange juice for me, please." Liz offered her a smile as she replied.