Jax looked over as she raised her eyebrows to his dancing comment. He figured he was the farthest thing from looking like a guy who liked dancing, but it was there. It was just buried deep down at the moment. When the lightest tint of red showed on her cheeks, he found himself looking away immediately. That was...unexpected. He didn't know what that meant and he didn't want to know what that meant. He had pegged her as someone who wasn't even remotely interested in anything romantic with him, but he was worried now that maybe he was wrong about that. He didn't address it though, just cleared his throat and looked away.



She asked about dancing again, if he'd expect her to dance along or not and he found himself slipping into that same easy conversation they had been having before. He chalked the blush up to a fluke. "Hell yes you have to dance with me. I'm not going to dance alone here. If you've got a boyfriend or something bring him along, I'll make him dance with me too." Jax grinned. He, unfortunately, wasn't kidding. He tended to be the guy at the bar who got everyone in a good mood. He tended to buy drinks, laugh deeply and encourage the hell out of people making bad decisions. He was the guy who brought up the idea to get tattoos, not the one who actually did them thankfully.



When she confidently told him that she'd put the boys in SWAT to shame he laughed. Not in a mean manner, but in a full belly-laugh at the confidence and the ready-to-take-all way she spoke. "Put your money where your mouth is Espinosa, sign on the dotted line. I'll be your personal mentor of course." He grinned at watched her expression. He couldn't imagine her actually on the force. Mainly because she seemed to be totally opposite of almost everyone else he worked with. It might be fun to have someone else like him on the team.



He listened as she talked about moving, nodding along when she brought up Trinity. He hadn't had to work with her thankfully. Not that there was anything wrong with her per se, he just hated dealing with anything involving him to sit still and answer questions. Crime scene techs tended to have a million questions. When she brought up the girlfriend and being the third person he made a face, "Man that sucks." He could understand why she wanted to leave. She seemed like a good person, someone who wouldn't want to cause any sort of drama or issues with other people. Being the perpetual third wheel that had to move wasn't a good feeling, but he imagined it was a whole lot better than it constantly being in your face.

When she said she was having issues finding a place he spoke quick, "Hey, move in with me. I've got a two-bedroom place, lots of empty room now." He knew it sounded crazy, but the light had gone off in his head, the answer to being stuck in a place alone filled with memories of the one he lost right in front of him. "I know you don't know me, but you know where I work so it's not like I'm a total rando here." He glanced away, sucking in a breath before turning back to her, "You don't have to of course, but...I could use someone company...if you wanted to." He shrugged, putting his mind off of the words he just said, sticking everything back into the locked box in his head.



When she made the joke about his rear he smirked, pouring his attention back into their conversation. "Had it removed last week, thanks for noticing." He grinned before they moved up in the line, smiling from her laughter. It was nice. The few people he had been around lately treated him like a glass object that was going to break if they spoke too loudly. It was good to be treated normally again. He found himself laughing when she mocked him, the edges of his mouth sore from smiling so much. It was a good sore. The kind that you got after accomplishing something hard as hell



He held the cups for her easily enough, glancing around a second as she sipped her coffee. He wondered if they were going to be late, not that he really cared either way. When she asked about icing he laughed, "Bold of you to assume I know what that means." He glanced over at her, a relaxed smile on his features. He hated cooking, hated baking. He didn't know if what she was posing was a good thing or a bad thing so he remained quiet on the matter.



Her phone rang and it had appeared that maybe they were going to be late. He nodded when she asked if he was walking in. "Yeah, no problem." A part of him was relieved that she had asked him to come along. He didn't want to walk into the precinct alone today. The idea of having another person there to deflect the pity stares was the best he could have hoped for. "So Arlo where are you from? Any bad habits I need to know about before we go any further into this whole friendship thing?" He grinned looking over at her a second before sipping his coffee.

Jax chuckled lightly at her joke. He liked her. She was easy to like. He honestly hadn't been around too many women in his life. Sure he dated around when he was a teenager, but he met Emma young and she had been all he had seen since then. He had to put up with her, at times, annoying friends occasionally but not much one on one. He was around females occasionally at work as well, but they all tended to be very professional and think he was a pain the ass. Hanging out with a girl wasn't something he was very familiar with but he could see it happening with Arlo. She was relaxed, funny and a little different like him. She wasn't going on about girly things he found utterly boring and she liked coffee and booze. What more could he ask for in a friend?

"Yeah right. You don't strike me as a sad drunk. I bet you do crazy stuff, get tattoos and dance on tables." He grinned lightly, playfully. It felt like a weird thing for his face to do at the moment, but he tried letting that part of his brain go.

He shrugged when she mused how people who were awful at dispatch still had jobs. "Lack of recruits. Not a whole lot of people can do what we do." At least that was his theory. It didn't seem like emergency dispatch services would have a popular booth at a career fair. He couldn't see colorful posters that said like hearing people scream at you during their worst moments? Dispatch may be for you!

He nodded when she gave him thanks, moving forward in line with her. The line seemed to be going at a better pace than it had earlier. He didn't know if maybe it was because it was creeping closer to eight-thirty when people would need to be at work or if maybe he was just enjoying the company. Whatever it was, he was grateful either way.

He had changed the nature of their conversation and he hated it. He didn't like the somber turn it was taking. After his little speech about people he had figured she might have just gone quiet. Spent the rest of the time in line with him in silence and he really couldn't have blamed her. He was a mess these days and to him, it didn't seem like much could throw him off his stride. It'd get better, he knew it would, but that didn't mean that in the meantime it didn't royally suck. He had looked away, but then she had made a joke and a laugh came from him again.

Yeah, he liked this one. "Nah, they won't let me near new recruits since I got them to do all of my laundry and apartment cleaning for a week." He grinned at the memory. He had convinced not just one, not just two, but three recruits that to pass SWAT basic they'd have to do a pledge week of sorts. His apartment had never been so clean, that had been a good week. Then his boss caught on and that's where that had ended. Jax had made the point that if they were too stupid to see through something like that then they didn't need to be there, but his wisdom hadn't been met with an open mind.

As the conversation turned to even darker things, he had spoken about Emma and waited for the condolences. Thankfully, they hadn't came. He glanced over at her as she bit her lip, her face conflicted. When she offered to hear him vent he nodded, not wanting to talk further. As she told him the omen was only bad if he allowed it he smirked, "Ah, a fellow optimist huh?" Jax was normally a good-natured person. The first to make jokes, the first to play pranks on his fellow teammates. It was good to hear someone else remind him of that side.

He held her eyes a second, not sure what there was to say. He was thankful she hadn't delved in deeper, thankful she had let it all go. When they were called forward he smirked as she rattled off her coffee order to the guy. She had been right and one of the cups was outrageous. When she asked him what he wanted, he ordered his red-eye again, turning slightly to block her from giving the man her card while slipping his card to the barista to pay for everything. He knew she'd be annoyed, a grin coming to his face, "Too much trust Arlo. You made that way too easy."

Jax looked over at her when she began talking about the sweeter things in life. She had all but lost him on the concept, but then she had sad said whatever that means and he gave a small laugh. He supposed maybe he did have a negative outlook on it. The more he let that sit in his mind the more he found himself agreeing that maybe she was right, almost. The good things in life should be enjoyed and savored. But it was only because none of it lasted and in the end, it was all taken away.

He had been told over and over that he should think about the good times. He should remember the good memories but he guessed he wasn't that evolved. He didn't want to think about the good memories because it was pointless to. It wouldn't bring her back and it wasn't right. In the end, she was gone and nothing he could think of or hold onto would help that. He glanced at the ground, his eyes boring holes in the cement, "I guess coffee preference is a stupid thing to have an opinion on. Doesn't really make any difference in the end does it?"

He scuffed his shoe and sighed, shaking his head a bit. He looked over, his face apologetic, "Sorry. I don't mean to be a buzz kill. It's...a weird time." He didn't want to get into any more than that. The last thing this poor girl needed was someone going all therapist on her while she was stuck waiting in a coffee line with him. He tried remembering the words the police department's therapist had said, center on the present. He tried to think of his breathing, but found it was a stupid idea. He was breathing, he had always breathed. There was nothing therapeutic about it. As she answered his question he focused his attention back to her and the words she was speaking.

He nodded when she mentioned her work wasn't for the faint of heart. "Well, that we have in common I guess." He was curious as to what she did. It wasn't every day that he met someone who professed at having a rough job like he did.

When she guessed his name his eyebrows rose in surprise. "Yeah...how did you...?" His mind began trying to place her. Nothing clicked though until she said emergency services and Arlo. He recognized the connection immediately, his hand reaching out to shake hers. "Yeah, right, Arlo...Espinosa isn't it?" She had gotten his ass through quite a few sticky situations. "Nice to meet you face to face. You're a hell of a dispatch officer." He had meant it. There were a few over the years who he dreaded answering his call. Dispatch officers could be shaky, quiet or take too long to get answers. There were so many ways where they could make or break an operation. She was one of the better ones. "So do you enjoy it?" He glanced over, curious to hear her response. There weren't many who could do the job and unfortunately there were less and less who enjoyed it.

Jax was only slightly aware of another person cursing behind him. His coffee was all over the ground, running off the pavement and towards the gutters. He might as well had set a $5 bill on fire. He knew it was trivial to care about coffee. There were people dying left and right, the last thing that he knew he should care about was a beverage. Yet he couldn't help the sinking annoyance that buried deep inside of himself. The little voice that whispered to him very dark things. It was just another thing that he couldn't control. It was just one more thing in a line of endless actions that was bound and determined to not go his way.
He hadn't even seen the person who had run into him. Whoever it was must have kept walking. Not that it mattered. He didn't care enough to yell at someone to buy him a replacement. It wasn't worth that. 

He picked up the disposable cup and lid, throwing both of them in the trash can that was nearby. When he turned back to see if the line had gotten any smaller he noticed a girl on the ground. He mentally cursed. It was bad enough he ruined his coffee, he hated to see his fumble costed someone else theirs as well.

He knelt down to her immediately, his hand offering to hold the cups of coffee that she was now balancing among the spilt cups on the ground. He shook his head at her apology, "Nah, it wasn't your fault, I'm the guy that started the jam. Let me buy your replacements." His face stayed neutral as he gave her the offer. His eyes looked over her a second to see if she had any injuries. Sure it was just a fall, but the human body wasn't invincible and he had seen people get hurt for doing a lot less.


When he was first placed in his SWAT unit a guy had ended up fracturing an elbow during diving training. Logistically it hadn't made sense, but the world was full of things that didn't make sense. Why he got to stay and Emma didn't among the top of the list of injustices. His blue eyes scanned over the number of coffee cups she had. "Your turn to bring in the coffee huh?" He asked before picking up the ones he had caused her to damage and throwing them away. The line to the shop was long of course. He wondered if she would take him up on his offer or if she'd simply demand the money for reimbursement.

He hoped she picked the previous option. He wasn't even sure he had any cash on him. He couldn't remember the last time he had bought anything with cash. It seemed like too much of a risk with the way the city was lately. There was too much chaos and uncertainty running around in the streets. He had seen first-hand how bad people could get when they felt like their back was against the wall. That wasn't even mentioning he was a cop. He wasn't about to give anyone any extra reasons to put a target on his back.