i'm running away from me

[little_leaf]

Bob was a cheating bastard. Big deal. Jane ought to have known better...that was the part that was killing her.

Jane knew she ought not to be beating herself up so hard over it, after all: she wasn't John. Then again, that was the problem, wasn't it?

It was still cold out, but Jane was out for her morning run in shorts and a tank top, relishing the bite of cold air on bare skin in the early hours of first light, when everything was still pale and dim and quiet. It was just her, the asphalt against her feet, and the sound of her own breathing.

Jane liked to run because Jock and John didn't.

Her brothers had more trouble overidentifying, being twins, but more often than not Jane simply felt as though she was being quietly swallowed up by the unit that they were...the odd one out, the little dangling leaf of the Shamrock. They'd earned the nickname early on, the three of them, and Jane liked it. Hell, she loved it. She loved being one third of the great, massive, wildly loving thing that was being a triplet, and she loved her brothers, probably John most of all because he was so broken and so gifted and sought her approval so often.

Under the slap slap slap of her shoes on pavement, Jane tried not to feel her broken heart beating just a little out of rhythm.

Bob had been a nice guy. He'd also been way younger than anyone else Jane had ever dated, she always gravitated towards older men. Jock called her a golddigger, loving and playful, John accused her of having daddy issues...not playful, not loving, he said it because Jock mentioned it once, thinking he was being funny.

In truth, nobody looked at Jane very often. Not her brothers, not men her age...she was married to her family in some ways, and a lot of younger guys didn't like it. They wanted to be everything, didn't want to share...didn't want to work at becoming part of the family. Older men...they were a little more open. They understood the dynamic a little better, but even they left in the end, unable to compete with her brothers.

With John the genius and Jock the Big Brother In Residence.

Bob was too okay with all of it...that should have tipped Jane off right away. It should have.

In the end, Jane liked her early morning runs because it was what she was good at.

At the start of the day, at the end...no matter how close she kept her brothers, she always ended up alone.

Comments

[brave_soldier]

The case had been particularly gruesome, one that Paul was none too eager to revisit. Any case involving kids always tugged at his heart. The ones involving mothers led him to countless sleepless nights. Generally speaking, bad cases just led to bad times for Paul Baker. It was something he'd gotten used to, so he tried to balance out the bad days with some good ones. For all the days spent drinking the swill that they called coffee at the station, he would try to spend other days eating healthier or going out for a jog.

For Paul, the jog served two purposes: one, it kept him in acceptable shape (he would *not* become one of those overweight cops that seemed far too prevalent here in the States), and two, it helped clear his mind. Today, it was definitely the latter that drove him out into the not-so-great Boston weather.

Sometimes, a third reason would appear, but that third reason was becoming fewer and further between. As he came to the corner opposite the park, he found another jogger, jogging in place at the lightpost, waiting for the crossing light to let her pass into the park. She was cute. Really cute. Like, holy-crap-how-does-a-woman-that-pretty-exist-cute. In other words, she was utterly out of his range. But if Paul was anything, he was a sucker for rejection. So he jogged up next to her and waited for the light to switch as well.

"Good morning to you," he greeted her with a faint smile. It couldn't hurt to be polite, right? As far as he could tell, she wasn't sporting a ring on her finger. She'd brush him off, like most, if she did.

[little_leaf]

Jane looked up from checking her iPod, glancing over at the stocky, yet strangely good looking man beside her...with an adorable accent, to top it all off. Now that was more her speed: a face with character, not a bad body...and she did like blondes. He had some tasteful gray patches going for him, too, which were interesting.

And, because she was John Riley's sister, her gaze moved over him...both to admire and assess. She wasn't as good as John, but right off the bat she knew three things: he was either single or removed from a relationship, he was a military man, and he had been living in the US for at least three years, if not more.

"Morning." she offered in return with a friendly, open smile as she pocketed her iPod again...and in a gesture that showed she wasn't blowing him off, removed one of her earbuds so she could hear him speak.

[brave_soldier]

Oh God, she was looking at him. Giving him a smile. Most importantly, she was decidedly not brushing him off. In fact, he caught her looking him over, which had to be single-handedly the most flattering thing anyone had done in ages with him.

He cleared his throat a bit, removing one of his own ear-pieces in response to her doing so. "New around here? I don't think I've seen you here before." And he'd certainly remember her. Oh boy, would he remember her.

The light changed then, and he kept pace with her as they crossed the street into the park.

[little_leaf]

"New route, I live three streets over." she replied, smiling a little as she had to pick up her pace a little to keep up with him. Definitely military, and the added thought she had about his stamina made her want to giggle.

"Surprised I haven't seen you before, even if you aren't a regular runner." she went on. "They don't teach you boy's in Her Majesty's army any discipline with that 'queen and country' crapola?"

[brave_soldier]

Realizing she had to take a slightly longer stride than she was probably used to, he slowed down to match her pace, apparently meeting her somewhere in the middle as she adjusted to him. If this was a new route, he'd have to think of a way to encourage her to keep it.

"Nice place, here. Not a lot of traffic, pedestrian or motor-car. Handy, I should think."

He found himself laughing at that. "Am I that out of shape?" He thought of that American doctor he'd met back in Iraq. She'd analyzed him like that quite a few times. He wouldn't bother asking how she knew he was ex-military. His hair, his posture, hell, possibly even his style of running spoke to that. "Sadly, it's my job that keeps my jogging habits irregular. I'd be out here every day, if I could."

[little_leaf]

"Naw...shape's pretty nice from where I sit." She replied with a playful smirk as she let her gaze flick over him again, brief but appreciative. "Fit, for a cop."

The facts shuffled around in her head in spite of herself...add two to three years in the country, busy, military bearing softened by civilian life, but not enough to really be a civilian. Too little time to jog, not on his ass enough to do him any harm...detective, probably. Plus she'd dealt with cops when she worked for the ADA's office, it was familiar to her.

He wasn't horribly easy to read, but easy enough. Mostly his attempt to chat her up, but she wasn't going to discourage him.

"You got nothing to worry about, though." she went on with a grin as she faced forward again, kind of pleased by the easy way they kept pace with each other. "The view, the lack of traffic...I think I'll be jogging here more often."

[brave_soldier]

He laughed at that, far too pleased with himself as she looked him over once more, even if he doubted her particular taste. There was nothing special about him. He was not in great shape, he wasn't particularly handsome, he knew he didn't look particularly sharp, and he certainly was past his prime. Maybe ten years ago, when he was in the Navy: he'd had more confidence in himself then. "You're far too kind."

Paul was, however, pleased to hear that she'd be jogging in this area more often. "Well then, let me show you around some, show you the good spots. My name is Paul, by the way." He extended a hand toward her, chuckling at the slight awkwardness since they were still at a matched jogging pace.

[little_leaf]

"No, I'm pretty much a proper brat, just ask anyone." she chuckled. Guy had a lot going for him: he was handsome, especially when he smiled. She could see what the lines and creases were for then, how his face was built for it. She imagined he was solid, strong arms...age might have softened the lines, but she had a feeling he'd be a wall of a man to touch...and the way he kept looking at her like she was Megan Fox or something...

When he offered his name and his hand, she accepted it, awkwardness and all, with a broad smile.

"Jane." she returned. "I'm very pleased to meet you...and to warrant the full tour." Her smile turned playful then. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Detective."

[brave_soldier]

"Well, when a girl is special, I would say such a thing is warranted, would you not?" Oh God, what a horrible line. He gave her a bit of a quirky grin as if to excuse himself.

He cleared his throat a bit, turning towards one of the more well-traveled routes, not wanting to give her the idea that he wanted to get her alone or anything. She clearly worked out that he was a cop (Somehow. He knew he wasn't wearing any BPD shirts today), but that was no reason to make her uncomfortable.

"So Jane," he began, thinking it must be a fake name she was giving him. She was so much more than the average Jane. "What do you do? Since you've worked out what I do."

[little_leaf]

Line or not, it shut Jane up, briefly, as she felt her cheeks flush pink and turned her head away just a little, hoping to hide at least the worst of it.

Turning towards him again when he asked about her profession, she smiled and shrugged.

"Owner of a semi-useless law degree." she quipped before getting slightly more serious. "Private investigator, I...sorta retired from law a while back to work with my brothers. Jock left the department and I left the public defender's office around the time you joined up, unless I miss my guess."

[brave_soldier]

Good God, she was pretty when she blushed. Then again, she was pretty to begin with, so perhaps prettier was the better description.

When she answered that she had a semi-useless law degree, he figured it was because of the economy. He'd heard the story too many times, as of late. But when she went on to explain that she had left her occupation to work with her brothers, he was surprised. "Oh, I see. I, uh, I left England about... six years ago now." If she'd left the law career that long ago, she was either much older than she looked, or much brighter than anticipated. Either was very interesting. He was about to follow up with another question when his phone rang.

His face lost his humor and he stopped jogging, reaching for his phone. "Grant, what is it, I'm---" Whoever was on the other side of the line interrupted him then and Paul winced. "Right. Give me a few minutes to come in, you caught me in my mid-morning jog. Yes, yes, I'll be right in." Hanging up, he looked over at Jane, who much to his surprise had reverted back to jogging in place while he was on the phone. "I'm sorry, but that was my partner. Rather... grisly case." He found himself smiling softly, wishing he had the courage to ask her for her number. He cleared his throat a bit, deciding it was worth it. If she rejected him, she'd be like all the other women who had. If she didn't... Well. The risk was worthwhile. "Do you think, well, we can meet up again sometime? Maybe for another morning jog?"

[little_leaf]

Grisly...she ventured a guess at homicide detective, but she'd seen enough burglaries turn ugly, too. She had to give him credit, though...she could all but hear him arguing with himself, and couldn't really see it: either the age difference was a problem for him, or he really didn't think he had a shot.

Grinning as she jogged in place, she pulled her iPod back out...iPhone, in fact, and opened up a new contact listing for him.

"Give me your number, I'll send you a text right now so you have mine." she assured him, then lifted her gaze with a slower smile.

"And just so we're clear: you're not as rubbish a flirt as you think you are, and I love salty blondes." she added.

[brave_soldier]

He found a laugh escaping him. "617-555-2212," he responded, trying not to get utterly caught up in the near perfect smile that spread on her face in response.

When the words left her lips, it took him a moment to let her intended meeting sink in. Salty blonds? As in the beach? Then recalled his own self, and the tufts of white hair he pained to see growing on his head. Somehow, only this woman would make him feel good about it. "It's the accent. Lets me get away with a good deal more than I should," he deadpanned, smiling softly, his smile turning honest as he continued. "It's been a pleasure, Jane. Hopefully I'll see you soon." He waved then, turning around to jog off in the opposite direction, his head in the clouds. Well, this certainly was a lovely way to start the day. He knew that would all change the moment he got to work, but for now... for now, he could enjoy the look of pretty green eyes and a pretty freckled face.

Yes, this was a good morning, indeed.

[little_leaf]

Jane let him turn and jog off, grinning broadly and biting her lower lip as she tilted her head to the side, giving him a closer look...yeah, the rear view was pretty good, too. Doubly so for a guy his age...

Giggling, she started texting him, and a couple moments later, his phone alerted him with an unfamiliar number...

Next time, no jogging. Dinner & a pint. <3 -J