Everett McTavish

josephine looked down. “and you couldn’t accept that i wasn’t like her.” she said quietly. “you just wouldn’t give me the chance to prove i wasn’t.” she shook her head and looked down. “anyway it’s the past right? we shouldn’t dwell on it.” she kept her eyes on the ground. 

As much as she was right he didn’t exactly enjoy it being thrown at his face, especially when he’d had a busy day and he was just exhausted. “And you have this nasty habit of throwing shit back in my face” he retorted sharply “but hey, it’s just in the past right?”.

“yeah, well everyone does i think but still.” emmett’s eyes shifted from his brother to the bartender as he set their order down. “hm, maybe try being a pilot then? maybe that’ll fill the whole you have.” he suggested, shrugging.

Everett shook his head “naw, that’s behind me, i’ve got everyone at the station now who needs me” he honestly did miss flying, but the whole idea of it made him feel gross, like it reminded him of a time he didn’t feel like he was making the best life choices. “So uhm, this kind of weird” he started off picking at some of the nachos “but, what’s dad like?” he never really saw his dad basically his whole life and he always wondered if his brother had gotten the better parent.

emmett didn’t think he’d open up but when he did, he was surprised. he was shocked to hear that all happened but he’d done things he wasn’t proud of. “wow.” he cleared his throat. “that’s, i mean, i think both of you should’ve been punished if one of you was punished. but then again, you’re both consenting adults and so, i don’t think that was right what they did.”

“Well, they really frown upon the whole cheating thing” he nodded at the bartender as he set down their beers and the nachos. He grabbed a chip and popped it into his mouth “it’s whatever I guess” he shrugged lightly “I miss flying though, there’s no better feeling”.

“air force? what happened with that? why’d you leave the air force if that’s what you wanted?” maybe emmett shouldn’t have pried but he was curious. “can’t always blame yourself though.” he added, leaning his cheek against the palm of his hand as he, too, ordered another drink.

“Uhm” Everett played with his empty glass, he hated talking about this, but maybe being open for once with his brother would be good for them. “I was dishonorably discharged” he shrugged “my superior officer was having an affair with me, someone found out, and instead of him getting in shit I got told to keep my mouth shut and got kicked out”.

emmett shook his head, a light smile playing on his lips. he had no idea how alike they were and it was weird considering that they didn’t even grow up together. he wished they did but unfortunately, that’s not how life went. his smile slowly faded away as everett spoke and shook his head, “maybe so but you can’t blame yourself. it says it all in your vows. she should’ve been there for you.”

Everett shrugged “yeah, but leaving the air force kind of left this hole inside of me that I shouldn’t have tried to fill by getting married, it was unfair” he finished off his beer and waved down the bartender for another and ordered some nachos for them as well. Thinking back he wasn’t even sure if he ever told Emmett he was in the air force.

emmett stared at his brother as he laughed and he had no idea what was funny. “it’s not.” he confirmed, raising an eyebrow. he then, laughed himself. “we may as well have.” he shook his head. “i didn’t know that happened to you too. i’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry” he hid his laugh by taking another large sip of his beer, although there was a smirk playing at his lips. He just found it hilarious that he always assumed he had nothing in common with him, only to end up in the same job field and both divorced for the same reason. His gaze went a bit more serious again “it’s whatever, I wasn’t really good all the time, I let a lot of things get me down and I pushed her away, obviously”.

Josephine nodded and looked down. “That makes sense I suppose.” She said softly. “Plus I know you weren’t ready to completely open up to me, so I don’t blame you for not telling me.” She said with a small smile. 

“It’s hard to open up when you’ve been cheated on before, Jo” he sighed, he hated talking about his ex, but he couldn’t just hide that part of him his whole life. “You give everything to someone who vows to do the same and they rip your heart out, trusting after that isn’t easy”.

emmett assumed his brother would ask and he’d normally change the subject because he really didn’t like talking about it but he figured being honest with his brother wasn’t a bad idea. “she slept with a bunch of my coworkers.” he shrugged. “i wasn’t enough.”

Everett couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled from his lips as he heard the reason he and his wife didn’t work out. “I’m so sorry, it’s not funny” he spoke, but was still chuckling a bit. “It’s just, did we marry the same woman because my wife cheated on me with my partner”.

“That’s definitely got to be frustrating, my brothers always get upset when they hit a brick wall in a case.” Olivia raised her brow. “Brother?” She asked quietly. “You never told me you had a brother.”

Everett hardly even realized he’d never told Jo about his brother, maybe that was one of the reasons things didn’t work out between them, he had a really hard time opening up to people. “Him and I aren’t close at all” he shrugged “he’s twelve years older than me and we didn’t grow up together, so it’s whatever”.

emmett didn’t open up easily but he knew he was going to try harder when it came to his brother. he needed to try with his family. “it feels that way sometimes when you’re constantly busy.” he took the beer in his hand and shrugged. “it’s quiet. a little lonely. i don’t really have anyone to come home to and talk about my day but it could be worse, i guess. how about you?”

“I guess it’s the same” Everett sighed, he hadn’t thought about the fact that he didn’t have anyone to come home to like he did everyday when he was married, be he couldn’t really blame anyone else but himself for his failed marriage, well, himself and his ex best friend. “What even happened with you guys, if you don’t mind me asking”.

Josephine smiled small. “It’s the same, I’m always at the hospital. It’s the time of year when all the kids get sick so it’s a mad house.” She said quietly. “You look good too.” She looked down. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She said quietly. “Anything exciting happen since I’ve seen you?”

“Oh god, yeah, that sounds awful” he chuckled lightly sipping his coffee. “Not really, i’ve been working on this new case but it’s got me stumped”. He hated admitting he didn’t know how to fix something “somehow I got my brother to help me out though, so we’ll see”.

“yeah, sure. i’ll meet you there.” emmett climbed back in his car and put the file with the rest of the stuff in his car before following the male to the pub. he was definitely ready to get to know his brother. he’d always wanted a sibling and it sucked that they weren’t ever close. he joined him at the bar and ordered himself a beer before looking over at his brother. “so, anything new happening in your life? i feel like the only thing we ever really talk about is work.”

Everett let out a long sigh, finally feeling like he was able to take a break, today had just been work work work, it was nice to have a chance to just chill out. “I feel like all i’ve been doing lately is working” he ran a hand through his hair before the bartender gave them both their beer’s and he took a large sip. “How’s divorce life treating you?” he knew that his brother was divorced like him, he just never knew why, they never had a reason to talk about it,

emmett wasn’t ever picky when it came to food so he lifted his shoulders up in a shrug and flashed his younger brother a smile after tucking the file under his arm. “the pub is fine with me. pub food is always good.” he replied, hoping that they’d take this dinner to get to know each other.

“Cool, i’ll meet you over there” he nodded towards him before hopping into his truck to begin the short drive to the pub. It was kind of strange doing something with Emmett, they hadn’t even done holidays together since they were both kids, and for a moment he wondered if maybe this would be good for them. Before he knew it he was walking into the pub with his brother, finding a spot at the bar and ordering a beer.

had you asked inez if she thought she’d have a more normal relationship with her work partner than her husband, she wouldn’t have believed you.. and maybe part of her didn’t either.. but she enjoyed everett’s company a lot, and they got a long really well… and well– he was very attractive too, but that was more like an added bonus… basically she just really enjoyed that he wanted to do things with her outside of work. didn’t ask too many question about things that made her feel weird.. but still– the man simply cared, and t was nice.. even how he suggested them going for drinks at the pub, and the woman could feel the corners of her lips tug upwards, “i’d love that..”

“Perfect” he smiled at the girl before hopping into his truck “get in” he nodded towards the passenger side. It was nice to be able to have some down time before getting home, maybe it would actually help him get some sleep instead of being up for hours before being able to force his brain to shut off.

Jo gave him a small smile and bit her lip. “Yeah it has been.” She said quietly. “You look as exhausted as I am.” She smiled up at him. “How are you?” She asked. The last time they had seen each other, they had broken up. She had liked him, very much but it didn’t seem to work out for the both of them. 

“Oh lovely” he chuckled before taking a sip of his black coffee “it’s been a day, honestly” he hadn’t really even had a chance to think about anything except for work and it was hard getting his brain to shut it off. “Busy, but that’s not unusual, what about yourself? you look good”.

emmett would’ve understood if he said no but he was glad he didn’t especially since he was just trying to help him in any way he could. “yeah, it is. it shouldn’t have been going on as long as it has.” he closed the file and turned his attention to his brother. “no, i’m free tonight.” he replied, smiling a little. he was more than willing to go out and talk to his brother since they weren’t really close and all they ever talked about was work.

“Awesome” he stood up from his desk and walked out of his office “where should we go? I usually just stick to the pub up the street but I don’t know what you like”. He tried to make it a joke but he was aware that he didn’t know him well at all, and sometimes it really bothered him.

[ @everettmctavish ]

josephine walked into the coffee shop. she was on her lunch and glad to be out of the hospital even if it was only for a little while. she was in desperate need of coffee, she had a long night ahead of her. she needed energy and caffeine. when she got on the line to order she noticed a familiar face. her eyes widened slightly and she bit her lip. “everett?” she called out quietly. it had been a while since she saw him. 

The day at the precinct had been a crazy one, tons of people coming in and out and having to delegate while understaffed had left him exhausted. He had just wanted to get a cup of coffee, maybe a bagel and have a moment to breathe. Everett suddenly looked up as he heard his name, he definitely hadn’t expected to see Josephine “hey Jo” he waved politely at her before walking over “it’s been awhile”.