emotional stunted.

"It is now. You won't find it in the fine print though." He couldn't expect anyone to be at every game, even if the perk of playing local meant that there would never be an away game where one needed to travel. He'd miss that though. "Better download the app or something. Do they even show rec games on TV?" Locally, maybe, but he wasn't sure that those teams were important enough to broadcast out. "Just because some bar owners would rather have the money doesn't make me a saint. I've done plenty of bad things, but I won't let someone ruin their life because they think hitting the bottle is the answer." He'd been there, had failed to recognize that, and had paid the price for it too. "Maybe, but you sign a waiver and that seems to be enough."

"Really?" She wonders why that is but maybe it's an attempt to keep the seats looking full. "How expensive are the tickets?" If they were more than she would pay, maybe she would go for the fun of it. Hockey players were good to look at though she didn't know one from the other while they were on the ice. "I don't know, I'm just talking to talk." Sports were not her thing so despite sounding sure of herself, she was far from it. She paused at the mention of bad things, intrigued and in need of some validation. Maybe she wasn't the only shitty person in the room. "What have you done? And I'll tell you one of mine."

The Dog House was packed, and Thadd could only cut limes so fast. He'd already cut himself twice, and the bandaids wrapped around his knuckles were doing very little to hide from the sting of the lime juice from seeping through, and fuck, he'd just wiped that spot down, those fucking animals--

It was obvious upon sitting and taking a two second look around that it was pure chaos. Bartenders were pouring two drinks at once and failing, the guy in front of her looked like a deer in headlight. The need to have things in order almost had her jumping up on the bar and being the referee.

melody held on to the hug longer than she anticipated to, letting a small tear linger as she wiped it off before the other could pull back. she let out a deep breath as she played with her friend's hand. "you know what we do need? something that wine and cheesecake can't really fix."

"you've read my mind." gabi said as she pulled back from the girl, enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Wine and one of those cheesecake platers where it's all different kinds of cheese cake. We can even order it on an app." The ones that came to their door with food and wine for a ridiculous fee.

Rocky slipped into the room carefully, closing the door behind him and shutting the blinds too. Gabriella might be able to get away with kicking it in a patients room if they were caught, she wasn't fresh meat like Rocky, but he was expendable as his Chief Resident had so kindly put it during orientation.

Gabi had went from folded legs to rising one after one up on the patient's bed. He didn't seem to mind and that was because he hadn't been able to say anything for the last year and a half. So really, he probably didn't mind.

He should have went with a protein bar and called it a morning.

Gabriella watches him for a beat too long and then shrugs. "Over-used, no. Cliches, perhaps." Her material wasn't even original which was the saddest part, often times bits and pieces of conversations she got with patients that she stole. This particular one was from the doctor she hated because he looked down at her cleavage more often than at her eyes.

The ferry ride to and from the island was the only amount of peace he ever found. It was the combination of crashing waves into the side of the metal and the warmth of the sun's rays beaming down on him that made the combative cool breeze worth it. "You just come to sit? You know, there's plenty of shoreside without the ferry ride over." Maybe one day he'd actually get off the ferry to explore the beauty everyone buzzed about. "I think I could sit here all day. Just go back and forth until they kicked me off."

She nods her head. "There's a lot of that but it's always the same view and there's too many people." People were going places when they took the ferry and normally weren't the ones to take it to sit by the water so she found herself alone most of the time and that was cherished. Especially since she lived in a complex with paper thin walls where she could hear her neighbours cough, and then in a chaotic hospital otherwise. "The ride is a bonus. I find that too many people want to have conversations." Then she smiled. "This is fine, but sometimes you're just not in the mood, you know."

"Catch is that you can't miss a single game," he countered with a cocked brow and boyish grin. He wasn't going to hold her to it, but all jokes aside, he did't see himself braving the front of any recreational league. Not until the ache of retirement wore off and truth was, he wasn't sure how long that was going to take. "Protective asshole is acceptable. I'd like to think that's where I am most of the time." His friends didn't like it when he cut them off at the bar, but between losing some money and preventing them from making a mistake, he'd go with the latter every single time. "I don't know how possible that is. I mean, you just throw it?" Though, anything was possible if one tried hard enough to make it happen. Not that anyone would ever want to lose a toe at their clumsy hand. "I don't think so, but I'm sure if you asked, someone would help you out."

"Is that a requirement?" She wonders because she knows people do buy season tickets but she didn't know about sports to know if a game was missed, the tickets were revoked. "If that's the case, then I might have to catch it on the TV because I can't make that promise." Not with the unpredictability of her work. "Better than walking around with a guilty conscience because someone got hurt, I suppose." She didn't like it even though she understood it, mainly because she was often the one he cut off. "No one shows you how to throw it? Sounds like a mess." The good news was that if something were to happen, she could be of help given that she was a nurse.

Where: Pike Market Place

Gabriella's brow furrows for a moment because she remembers an older lady but she isn't sure if she's seen her recently. "This does ring a bell but I'm bad with names." She had a trick at the hospital when it came to her patients and remembering descriptions of them in association with their names but she hadn't known the elder lady enough to do that. "I believe I saw her around the corner last time. I'm heading in that direction if you want to follow me." There was a vendor who sold hot sauce that was strong enough to make her feel something so she continuously came back to buy from them whenever she would run out of the stock that she had in her apartment. "Do you buy a lot of her trinkets? I can't say that I have before."

"I'll tell you what. If I change my mind, you'll get season tickets to whatever recreational league will let me in their doors." He could play for fun, but there was something about the goal of winning that drove him to his competitive best. It wouldn't anything even remotely close to performing in a packed arena of people where every goal was sounded off with a loud horn and bursts of cheers, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad either. Henry managed to channel a small grin as he offered a shrug towards her. "I don't know if you've got it in you to be an asshole. Honestly, I'd like to see it." She was too kind for her good, at least from what he knew. Then again, it wasn't as if he'd ever really seen her outside of the bar except for the few times he'd helped her home after a long night out. "Wasn't even on my top five," he countered in a hum of reassurance. For a man who spent most of his time at the bar or volunteering elsewhere, he wasn't even sure what normal people did for fun. "Have you ever been axe throwing? I've heard it's fun, plus it's a good way to blow off some steam."

"Season tickets? Deal." Gabi said with a smile since that sounded like it made her important and maybe there would be a section for VIP's like in a basket ball game that she could sit down in with some of her best fake knock offs. Sounded like a fun time to her. She looks up at him and then laughs because it isn't the first time someone as made that assumption before, not that it's even wrong to begin with. "I'm never an asshole for the sake of it but I'm more of a protective asshole." Whenever someone was mean to her or a patient then another part of her ignited. "I haven't because I haven't had a reason to and part of me wonders if I'll take one of my toes off." It just felt dangerous but she was intrigued by it. "Is there someone there teaching you how to do it?"

Delilah laughed. "Be careful what you wish for, Gabi. I might add you to the guest list." There was something charming about the idea, she supposed; an attempt to put a positive spin on something that many would deem as not exactly something to celebrate.

"Can you? I really would need a night to celebrate someone entering the world of dating because it isn't easy and it's about time that we normalize not being with someone. It would be uplifting for me." Especially after how many times she had to sit and watch two people devote themselves to each other. Always a bridesmaid but never a bride.

"I'm so sorry." her hands wrapped around gabi bringing her in for a hug. "sometimes those are really hard, you start thinking about them and their family. I can't imagine." She had to admire what gabi did for a living, to do it every day and keep coming back.

"I know. Sometimes I can't think of anything else." She tried for hours to distract herself but she'd end up crying or having to sleep in the hope of feeling better when she woke up. "Thank you, you're so sweet." She smiled at her while her arms wrapped around her figure.

"Muted? Ha. You're so right that I wish I thought of it sooner, because I just totally wore this orange sweater to a play audition and did not get the part for Sophie in the next stage run of Mamma Mia in the city. They probably thought I would do poorly with a bottle of St. Tropez." The mention of a candle almost has her sputtering in her drink. "I have wanted to buy it for years. For science. Obviously. And -- damn, you chose a better one. Living the life of Beyonce? Way better than Gooptopia."

"I don't know how to do the whole winter, summer, pallet thing but somehow I'm never wrong." She points to her and then shakes her head as if the mere idea of her in orange is enough to bring a migraine forward. "That was a wrong choice. Blue or even green would have been better." The idea of a damn candle was so dumb it was almost amazing. "I feel like I'd be crucified if I chose something else. I think she's just insane. Not beyonce but Miss Gwen."

— gabi ramos ; bainbridge island ferry.

Gabi looks over at him and then smiles slightly. "I did enjoy it. There's a bit of sight seeing but you just sit by the water. At least that's what I like the most about it." She brought some snacks and a book. There wasn't any service so that was nice as well. "I do enjoy the boat ride there as much as I do getting of and walking the island but you might want to give it a try." She looks out at the water and smiles when the wind brushes past her. "It's a beautiful day to be on the water so you didn't go wrong either way."

Sure, he liked the thought of making money, but it wasn't worth the risk of losing it all because some jerk couldn't hold his liquor. If they wanted more, they'd have to go to another bar and in Seattle, that wouldn't be too hard to find. Hazel hues rolled in her direction, though a small smile coated his mouth. "While I appreciate the boost of confidence, and I mean really, I appreciate it, I don't know." He gave a lazy shrug, the topic making feel as if he wanted to crawl out of his own skin. "I'll touch the ice again. It just might not be competitive." And if it wasn't, he'd have to be okay with that. Of course, nothing would compare tot he road to the Stanley Cup, but in the end, he'd find his happiness somewhere. Right? "Most people come to the bar because they want to stop caring for a little bit. Takes away the fun when you're worried about me having fun too," he countered with a nod. A lot of ice, a little gin, splash of tonic; simple as that. He carefully pushed the glass towards the other and lowered to rest his elbows atop the bar. "Trust me, I'm good."

Gabriella wasn't going to spend the rest of the night reminding him that because his career ended that he didn't have to play anymore. People wouldn't be helped if they didn't accept it so she just nodded her head. "Well if you change your mind, I better have a reserved spot right at the middle." She never went to a game before but it could be fun to cheer for someone that she knew. But about worrying about him having fun, he may have had a point with that. She needed to let her hair down and stop worrying about everyone else. Kind of a hard shift to do after working twelve hours in an hospital where her job required her to help others. "I gotta shake it off. It almost sounds like you want me to be an asshole or do anything I want for my own fun, even if it's at your expense." Not that she would do that because she wasn't cruel and didn't have a reason to make his life more hellish than it probably was while dealing with drunken personalities. "Any ideas of how I should have fun? Anything but the karaoke."