► LOG

[neonatal]

Who: addison montgomery + you
When: the rest of may
Where: a bar, the library
Summary: tdm prompts, getting her feet, losing her feet (alcohol)
Warnings: drunken disaster addie

► THE LIBRARY

Is this on yours too?

( she'd made them do a printout of the list, grabbing a pen from one of the desks and scribbling notes on it. it was weird, having a list that had her name attached to it but without any memory of having read any of the books. not that she'd had time to read a book lately, her last vacation had gotten sidetracked and well-- apparently she was now in gloucester.

so she was ignoring it, analysing lists and trying to do something that felt fine and normal when nothing really felt fine and normal. as if her life was normal anymore anyway )

I can't say I recognise the name... Which is weird, right? Reading a book you don't know you've read and probably haven't actually read? Right?

[ copied from her tdm ]

► A BAR

( she'd found a bar, she'd found wine. more than one glass if addison was counting (she wasn't). there had been some very nice men that had tried to explain this place to her, had been gentle about it but it was hard to accept. they'd seemed nice, believable and something had wanted to believe them. but she couldn't.

it didn't help that even before coming here her head had been reeling, that her emotions had been blown up and focusing on anything else when there were answers that she needed was hard. answers that she couldn't get. her brother was sick, her could die and... she could do nothing.

so wine had been the good answer. wine had been the only answer. lots of wine was the answer because addison really didn't want to be able to think of anything )

Comments

a bar

[setthetone]

[He's not supposed to go to bars.

That's probably twice as important in a place that was so incomprehensible, horrible and frightening as this one but here he is. Not to linger or to dwell, actually to meet someone, to check in on one of his patients, a local that he treated during the Katie Dunn debacle and who, understandably, refused to come back to ADI for another check-up. But on Carter's insistence he agreed on meeting him here.

It's really more of a social call, a conversation, seeing if there are lingering symptoms, how they are recovering. He's about to leave when he spots a familiar face who, from the looks of it, already had a few.

For a moment he's torn. Should he leave? He should probably leave.

But it's late and she's new and he remembers what being new in this place means.]

Hello again. Still on your tour of the city?

[neonatal]

Hey!

( she sounds more cheerful than she feels, though that's the bonus of being pretty drunk and being addison montgomery: you get good at faking your feelings after a while.

but there is one part of it that is genuine, he was one of the good guys who's tried being gentle with her, who'd given her good information and she appreciated him for it. even if the information was hard )

I managed to find somewhere very useful. Come on, join me.

( she at least doesn't pat the seat next to her, she's got slightly more grace left than that. for now )

[setthetone]

So I see.

[He hesitates again but then sits down on the stool, giving the barkeeper a thin smile when he approaches him.]

Orange soda please.

[neonatal]

( addie takes note of that. or would if there's a chance that she'd remember it.

instead, she rests her chin on one of her hands, turned slightly on her stool to look at him, other hand keeping a hold on her wine glass )

So since you're not here drinking what were you here for?

( she'd like to hope she'd have noticed him if he were at the bar when she got here )

[setthetone]

Ahh, work, as usual. Was meeting a patient of mine who isn't comfortable at ADIs. So I agreed to see him here.

[He waves a hand around. Being on call during the apocalypse, what can you do.]

What are you here for?

a bar

[cuttypie]

[Luka is sitting there, at the bar, a few empty beer bottles around him, and clearly he's already been here for some time.

He notices Addie after a moment, squinting as if he's trying to place how he knows her. Not that he doesn't, but maybe he's just had a little one too many?

After a moment, he realizes who it is and waves a bottle over at her.]

Hey! You wanna join me?

[neonatal]

Hey! Doctor Kovač.

( her voice brightens at seeing him, picking up her glass and walking over to sit with him )

I would love to have a drink with you.

[cuttypie]

[He's nothing but smiles as he scoots over just a bit, making room.]

Great! Maybe we should toast, eh?

[He holds a bottle up, having absolutely no idea what to toast to.]

But not to ADI. [He makes a face.] Don't tell them I said that, though.

[neonatal]

Mmm no, no toasts. Toasts are for celebrating and I am just getting drunk. Very drunk.

( so secret's safe, luka, she won't tell that you won't toast adi )

With a friend. That makes it better.

[cuttypie]

[Thanks, Addie.]

Okay, sounds good to me. I think I am halfway there already.

[Or maybe all the way there already. There's a grin.]

I'll drink to that.

The library

[trestle]

[ Access to a library should have been the best day since finding himself yanked from his life and dropped into who knows what the hell this is. It should be, but then there were rivers and now this madness.

He glances up, realizing he's being addressed and he looks over to make sure its the same title he's still investigating.

Nodding to the question, his expression sours. ]

Yep. It's really weird.

[ He sounds as perplexed as he looks, his voice softly accented with the rounded sounds of Kentucky Appalachian. ]

Want to hear weirder? You can't get a copy of it neither. They say they don't got it, can't get it, and maybe might have it in a few months. And? Run into two others saying the same thing. You already have a card here too?

[neonatal]

That's what I've heard but how does a book appear on everyone's lists and they somehow don't have a copy of it?

( because she'd never heard of the book before to read about it and it couldn't suspiciously just happen to already be on loan.

it was really weird.

she shakes her head, unsure whether baffled or annoyed fit best for this )

This is the first time I've been to this library. The card, the books... none of it's right.

[trestle]

Makes me wonder if it even exists for real or just something they made up.

[ Which isn't even more comfortable to think about. Why make it up? What is it meant to get them?

It's all leaving him with an uncomfortable itchy sensation right between my shoulder blades. ]

You ever even been to this town? Because I know I've been no where near this place before so no way I have a card here. Or anywhere, honestly.

[neonatal]

I've never even been to Massachusetts before.

( and she'd had to really do some asking to get the geography of the place. or she'd found a postcard. something )

I don't even have a library card at home. The books I read I tend to keep.

[trestle]

Yeah, me neither.

[ Which is why all this is bothering him. Though it makes him think maybe she's there like him and not one of the locals who give him a look like his accent is weird. Have they heard themselves? ]

About this state or a library card. I wonder... You new here and work for the company that brought you to the area? Because I'm wondering if maybe they had something to do with it. Trying to make us feel at home or something.

[bindlestifflost]

[After a day shopping, which is it's own weirdness all by itself that will take some time getting settled in his own head about, he's out in new clothes. The jeans are familiar enough, a tighter cut than his old work pants, a lighter weight denim. Walking around in public in what he sees as an undershirt is something else, though, a plain dark blue t-shirt tucked into his waistband, belted. He'd kept his work boots. They're worn in from trekking over a hundred miles easy.

When he enters the bar, he reaches for the hat that isn't there. Sighing to himself, he sets his eyes on the one available stool between a woman and some fella probably about to get cut off and bee lines, settling himself in quickly and immediately ordering a double of gin.]

Packed tonight. A fella could barely hear himself think.

[His voice is deep, accent pretty rural but not rural South. He doesn't particularly care which person next to him answers. He only knows he needs to talk, or he'll stay way too far up in his own head. That never was a good place. It has only gotten worse since coming here.]

[neonatal]

I think that when you're looking to drink that not being able to think is what you want.

( at least that was what addison wanted, to get drunk, to distract from and drown her problems and to not think of them. whether that involved any conversation or not )

[bindlestifflost]

Reckon you got a point there.

[He fishes out his wallet and hands over his card to start his tab, then accepts his drink. Holding it up toward her in an informal toast, he knocks it back in a long, smooth swallow and gestures at the bartender who hasn't gotten too far.]

Jes' keep 'em comin'.

[He shoots a glance at her glass.]

Wine, huh? Don't give you a headache?

[neonatal]

Mmm... maybe once.

( a very long time ago but addison has gotten used to wine.

or maybe she's ignoring the headaches it does give her when she gets that drunk as she doesn't go that far that often. and by then it's never usually just wine )

But I made a choice and wine is good. Wine is a good choice.

[bindlestifflost]

Whatever works and don't choke you goin' down's a good choice.

[It's busy enough there's a wait for his second drink, a wait that has one hand jittering a tap lost in the crowd noise and a knee bouncing to a different drum. He's glancing around, head on a swivel. He'd say crowds do it to him, except he's just...like this, until he has enough gin in his gut to settle.]

You local?

► a bar.

[halfdecay]

[ A night like tonight? Owen doesn’t have a lot of expectations. It would be easy to slip into old habits back in Cardiff: indulging in top-shelf vodka while striking up a conversation with a stranger who’s easy on the eyes. And so he does, arriving at the bar well-groomed and wearing proper clothes. That’s the first step.

He finds an empty stool next to Addison and orders a vodka gimlet. As much as he desperately wants to watch his thumbs twiddle away, his eyes betray him by diverting over in Addison’s direction. He doesn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he can fancy a guess that this isn’t her first swig of wine this evening. ]

…How’s the cabernet here?

[neonatal]

How much do you like cabernet?

( she'd actually gone with a red wine that evening, though she'd tried a selection of them after finding that the first wine she'd ordered wasn't actually that nice.

cabernet happened to be the one in her glass currently )

It's not the worst thing I've drunk tonight.

[halfdecay]

Enough to remember one of their names.

[ The bartender sets his cocktail on top of the coaster as Owen nods quietly in thanks. ]

Had a mate back home who was mad about his cabs. It’s all we ever drank. Even in some shitty hole in the wall.

[neonatal]

Usually it's what serves the mood... or meal.

( usually the mood, she usually drank without food to relax or with friends, a nice glass of wine and conversation )

Tonight I'm taste testing. Maybe they don't have anything better.

( or she hadn't cared enough to ask for them. that was also true )

[halfdecay]

Maybe not…

[ He smirks as he takes a sip from his glass. ]

I guess we’ll never know if this place serves a vintage 1940s or something straight out of the box. [ A beat. ] I won’t judge. We all have our weaknesses.