good with numbers

Josh: I've actually been stationed at home for a few days now, to spend some time with Sarah, laying low.

Josh: You're welcome over here anytime, unless you want some guests over there. Would LOVE to give Carson's office a little redecoration.

Bari: Oh good, I'm glad to hear you're doing that.

The very drunk male scoffed before shaking his head very loosely, “I am not, I’m relaxed, many have told me that’s what I need to do. I need to be more relaxed, come out of my gremlin hole as Jennifer puts it.” He commented referring to his earlier conversation with the president’s daughter. Once the yellow car showed up, the male whined like a kid when his older sister laid down the law regarding their next location. He sighed before getting into the car and sitting beside her, before she got a chance to give the cabbie his address he leaned forward to say, “To the next bar please,” he knew she’d quickly reject that request though he wasn’t going to stop trying. When they finally arrived to his place he unlocked the door and stumbled in on a ledge he was usually sober enough to step over. “Jesus,” He cursed looking back at the doorway before making his way towards his alcohol cupboard. 

Rolling her eyes to Ben’s statement about going to the next bar, Bari kept herself calm and while she was very annoyed with him, he was hurting and she wanted to be there him. Always has, always will be. When they arrived to his place, she followed him inside and quickly walked past him to stop him from his feet taking him to the alcohol cupboard. “Don’t you even dare,” she snapped, looking up into his drunk, sad, angry eyes and sighed. “I love you, Ben and I’m sorry that you and Em are going through this right now, but that doesn’t mean you need to drink until you blackout. Go take a shower and I’ll help ya get to bed afterwards.” All she was doing right now was trying to help.

Donovan was the kind of person who gave his all, no matter the situation. And unfortunately, this was something he held onto. Through work, through being a parent, and even through his social life. Some may say he’s desperate, but he just knows what he wants.

“Bari, long time no see,” the man says up in a grin as he approaches the woman. “How are you, Today?”

@barixwoods​

Bari turned her head to see Donovan approaching and she couldn’t help but smile, always enjoying his positive attitude. “Donovan, hi! It has been a while and while I’m always happy to see you, I am today, especially,” she responded, her grin widening and she stepped in to give him a friendly hug. “I’m good, thanks. Trying to stay as busy as I can with Carson gone and working a lot. How about you? How are you doing?”

Bari: Hey, sweet girl! Just checking in.

Liam shrugged. “I don’t know that mom He might. I just, I didn’t want this for him, ever. And now that choice was taken away.” He stepped away from her touch. “I don’t think its best for him. His life doesn’t need this complication. He is a public figure, that makes him a bigger target.” He sighed. “Mom, I  can’t put him in that type of danger every day. I won’t let him be.” 

When Liam stepped away from her, Bari sighed and let her hands rest back at her sides. She simply shrugged and glanced over at Owen for a moment. “As your mother, I can only give you so much advice and as much as I know what’s best for you, you clearly know what’s best for him.” All she wanted to do was protect them both. “Although, you forget how much power I have here, hun. I can protect you both. Let me protect you both.”

Jessica looked at the other and nodded her head when she mentioned that she hadn’t seen anything. “The smallest of details would be greatly appreciated. You might think it’s much but if anyone made you pause or looked suspicious.” She started off as she folded a leg over the other. “As for the injured, would you have any idea who would do such a thing?” she questioned. It seemed that a lot of events were happening in town without a clear indication or even meaning behind them. It was fucking messy, was what it was.

Bari nodded and thought for a moment, really thinking back to when she heard the gunshots. All she could think about that night was the pain coming from her leg and her hands shaking. “You really want to know what I was thinking and feeling when I heard the gunfire? I felt the pain in my thigh from when I was shot months ago and I felt scared that the shooter was still out there and maybe who shot me was a person who wounded others that night,” she said honestly as she looked at her. For her next question, she sighed. Fucking Devils, is what she wanted to say, though she kept her mouth shut on that part but shook her head. “If I had an idea of who would do such a thing, they would already be caught and put in fucking jail.”

With having checking in on Gabe not too long ago, Bari found herself thinking about how Malcolm was doing. Having a good feeling she would find him at Ignition, she made her way there. Stepping into Carson’s office, she ran her fingers over his empty chair and checked to see if he had any important papers that she needed to bring home. Once she was done with that, she stepped out and found her blue hues landing right on Malcolm. “Malcolm, hi honey,” she greeted with a soft smile. “I was hoping to find you here since I wanted to check in on you. How are you doing?”

Josh: Please do not hesitate to call if you need anything, please.

Josh: You know I can't say no to a drink.

Bari: Same goes for you and your family.

Benjamin Eddington wasn’t at all in the mood to hear that he was wrong, he was drunk, he was sad, and he just wanted to his girlfriend back. It was immature, though he was hurt. Though despite that her last sentence was something that stuck with him, he was about to reply though she kept going. Ben sighed before waiting for the bartender to pour him and Bari a new shot, when she quickly announced that they were leaving he furrowed his eyebrows, “What?” He asked probably too drunk for another shot anyway. “N-no, Bari come on,” she paid his tab and dragged him out of the bar, “Bari, when was the last time we had a real bender together, come on,” He tried to egg her on and convince her to drink with him, which really would just allow him to drink more in the end anyway. “Come on, let’s go back.” He pulled on her arm gently, as if nudging her back towards the bar. 

Bari loved her brother more than anyone in this world (besides Carson and her kids) and seeing him hurt like this made her heart break. Of course she wanted to drink with him more, but she knew him well enough that he definitely was done drinking for the night. “Ben, you’re already shitfaced so I’m taking you home, no questions asked,” she said without missing a beat. Once the taxi arrived, she tugged on her brothers hand and pulled him to the backseat. “Come on now, let’s go.” Once she got inside, she told the driver his address and waited for him to get in. Again, she was doing this for his own good or else he was going to get kicked out of that bar if he kept doing what he was doing. If she was in his shoes, he would be doing the same thing for her.

⁂

Jenna felt stupid for not recognizing Bari the second she’d turned around, but the smile on her face never faded. “I’ve already offered this time, you can just get the next one.” She insisted as she pulled her friend into a quick hug, while she knew they were right in the middle of the coffee shop, she didn’t care. “It’s been far too long, don’t tell me you’ve been avoiding me.” The woman teased slightly as she moved to the side once their orders were placed. “How have you been though? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’ll happily get the next one. That sounds like an excellent plan,” Bari said with a chuckle as she hugged her dear friend back, smiling as she gave her a quick squeeze before pulling back. Reaching up to run her fingers through her hair, the blonde businesswoman sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been doing fine,” she answered, not needing to lie to her though she left it at only fine. “Just been trying to keep busy with Carson away and helping out as much as I can with everything goin’ on,” she explained, flashing a bigger smile a moment after. “How about yourself, hun? You look gorgeous by the way.”

Josh: Hey

Josh: I haven't heard from you guys in a while, how are you doing?

Bari: Joshua, hey!

Bari: Yeah, I'm sorry for not reaching out sooner - been trying to go one day at a time, handling things on my own without Carson. Getting through it though.

Gabriel smiled softly when he felt her fingers in his hair.  After everything that had happened with his own mom, he had always been so thankful for his relationships with Bari and Sarah.  “There are plenty of places I would rather be.” He admitted with a small chuckle.  He nodded when she asked if he needed anything. “Unless you know a secret way for me to get out of here without worrying Chris than I’m okay.”   He gave another smile at her words. “At least I shot one before I got shot. Makes me feel a bit better about the whole thing.”  He looked at her. “How are you doing with all this with Carson out of town?”

Bari sighed, continuing to run her fingers through her hair. “I wish I could take you outside for some fresh air,” she said, always finding that fresh air quickly calmed her down. She furrowed her brows to his next words and nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s a good way to look at it... And you don’t know who you shot before you got shot?” She couldn’t help but ask before shaking her head. “I wish he could be here, but you don’t have to worry about me, hun. I’m doing just fine.” Which was a white lie as she was trying to be brave for those who were wounded. She didn’t want to show that she could break from this event... Why did it have to be a shooting?

Tired from not being able to sleep well without Carson home, Bari still got up a decent hour and got herself ready for the day. It was like a piece of her was gone as her husband made her whole, but she knew that she would be seeing him soon enough. A few hours later, she was walking out of the Yoga studio and headed towards one of her favorite cafes. Looking around as she walked, she took a deep breath and smiled. As much as she loved the warm weather and summer in general, she was so excited for fall to come, watching the leaves change color. As she approached the cafe, she spotted a woman who she hasn’t seen in a long time. “Eleanor? Is that you?” She called out with a smile.

Jessica looked over at the other and shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve found it less effective. Which was the truth.” She had often spent too much time trying to befriend the criminals in the hope that they’d spill something so now, she got straight to the point and spoke a language that they understood — treats and deals. Nodding her head when the other gave her order, Jessica walked up to the counter and spoke to the barista. When the order was in place, she stepped to the side and waited for them. It took a few moments before she met the other at the table and took a seat herself. “Where were you the night of the shooting and what did you see?” Jessica asked immediately, not waiting for any kind of exchange. Her deadline was tight and she simply didn’t have time.

When the detective sat down in front of her, Bari gave her a nod of thanks as she took her drink, raising it to her lips to take a sip. “I’m going to apologize in advance since I didn’t see much even though I wish I could have,” she said, looking away and shaking her head. “Those fucking bastards,” she muttered before looking back to the other and sighing. “I was at the event taking care of Owen Madisson who was suffering from a concussion that he had previous of the event.”

Despite his sisters encouragements that his relationship was fine, he still worried about it. He jut felt so guilty. Their argument started based on his selfish wants to keep her safe. The more he had time to think about it, the more he started to believe Otter. That he wasn’t thinking about her wants, he was trying to do what was best, and he just felt terrible for their fight. “Yeah but nothing like this.” He added, perhaps he was a little too drunk to be thinking straight. At the suggestion of going back to hers, he looked at the bar, “I still have a beer, and I bought a shot,” He turned towards his seat, as if he’d forgotten, “I ordered a shot, I didn’t get it?’ He announced to the bartender, who calmly said in return. “I did give you a shot. You drank it.” Ben looked down at the empty shot glass in front of him, “Well I want another one. In fact two, one for my sister too.” 

“You gotta believe me, Ben...especially because I’ve already been married for over twenty-five years with the love of my life. We’ve been through some terrible shit, but we got through it. Even though he’s not here right now, I know that he’s doing everything he can because he loves me and our family,” Bari explained, hoping that this was getting through to him but probably not. “Emmaline loves you, Ben. If she didn’t, you two wouldn’t be together at all.” When he started talking to the bartender in a more aggressive manner, she immediately took charge. “You know what, we’re leaving and taking you home.” Quickly getting enough money out to cover his tab, she set it on the countertop before taking her brothers hand and leading him out of the bar. “I promise you, Benny boy, this is for your own good.” Once they were outside, she waved down a cab, still holding onto her brothers hand as she figured he would try to get away.

Liam shook his head. “No I don’t want him here, but its too late now. I think I have him settled enough that he will wait to ask questions. But, I don’t know what to tell him mom.” He admitted to her. “This is a lot to take in. I know this and I grew up with it. Imagine him? Someone who has only seen this on TV or the movies.” He looked around the room sighing.

Sighing to his words, Bari rested her hands on her son’s arms (since she couldn’t reach his shoulders), giving them a gentle squeeze. “It might be a lot for him to understand at first, but he’s not going to freak out or leave because he loves you with all his heart,” she told him softly. “I would go distract him and take him away, but I think it’s best for him to see this part of your life - especially if you want a future with him.”