John Reese (
primary_asset) wrote2018-09-05 02:15 pm
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This, he thinks, has to be a decent bachelorette party.
Maybe not for the average bride, maybe other people out there want strippers and sashes that read BRIDE-TO-BE and phallic decorations, but Peggy had made it very clear to John that she wanted none of that.
So he'd rented out a bar. An entire bar. The guest list isn't particularly extensive, they don't need the entire bar, but he'd seen no reason not to do it anyway. It means they have the entire place to themselves, they can control the music, and the bartender has only them to serve. And John has paid a flat fee for the bartender and the serving staff, plus given them a significant tip, so they're attending the party perfectly.
The bar is nice, with comfortable chairs and several pool tables, as well as a well stocked jukebox that he thinks has just about anything someone might think to play. Maybe not Dutch, she probably knows songs none of them have ever heard before, but there's probably plenty on the jukebox she'll still enjoy.
There are appetizers, lots of them, covering just about any option a person could want. The same goes for alcohol.
All in all, for someone not all that inclined toward attending parties, he thinks he's done a fairly good job capturing something Peggy will enjoy. And that's the point of tonight, giving her a party to celebrate her future and everything that's to come with people she enjoys spending time with.
Maybe not for the average bride, maybe other people out there want strippers and sashes that read BRIDE-TO-BE and phallic decorations, but Peggy had made it very clear to John that she wanted none of that.
So he'd rented out a bar. An entire bar. The guest list isn't particularly extensive, they don't need the entire bar, but he'd seen no reason not to do it anyway. It means they have the entire place to themselves, they can control the music, and the bartender has only them to serve. And John has paid a flat fee for the bartender and the serving staff, plus given them a significant tip, so they're attending the party perfectly.
The bar is nice, with comfortable chairs and several pool tables, as well as a well stocked jukebox that he thinks has just about anything someone might think to play. Maybe not Dutch, she probably knows songs none of them have ever heard before, but there's probably plenty on the jukebox she'll still enjoy.
There are appetizers, lots of them, covering just about any option a person could want. The same goes for alcohol.
All in all, for someone not all that inclined toward attending parties, he thinks he's done a fairly good job capturing something Peggy will enjoy. And that's the point of tonight, giving her a party to celebrate her future and everything that's to come with people she enjoys spending time with.
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He thinks he's made her happy. Before Darrow, it had been a long while since he'd had cause to do such a thing.
"But I passed the test then," he says, leaning against the bar to order a drink for himself. "Would you have fired me if I'd failed to throw the proper party?"
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She turns with her back to the bar so that she can properly watch the lay of the land, not caring if not a soul appears. This is everything she needs. "I wouldn't have fired you, but I think perhaps some mild British disappointment would have been in store."
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"I'm glad you're pleased," he says easily. "But now I want to know if you're going to beat me at a game of pool."
Pool is one of those things John is good at because of his father, but he's willing to bet there's a good chance Peggy is better. She's exceptionally good at a number of things he wouldn't necessarily have expected and he'd like to play a game with her, see how well they may be matched.
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She had been a sharpshooter to help with the work of the regiments, so she thinks her aim is better than her ability with a cue. "We'll have to play at some point tonight and loser will drink the rest of their glass, I imagine?"
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He's not sure if he'll be any good at darts. His aim is very good, but he's never really devoted much time to darts and he knows there's more to it than just having good aim.
It's a bar game, at least where he's from, and he thinks that alone ought to be a reason for him to know it well. As a young man, he'd spent too much time in bars. Far too much.
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"I suppose that's how you know you're with the right person. There's no dread," she admits, wandering over to fetch some darts. "There's only excitement about what's to come for us. Did you feel like that? Before?"
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He'd wanted to marry Jessica, he'd had every intention of asking her, but then the Towers had come down and his entire life had shifted. Leaving the CIA had been impossible for him after seeing that, after knowing how the world was going to change.
And he's considered it here in Darrow, wondered if it's something Karen might want, but for now he's content to simply live with her. That alone had been a big step for him, a significant change to how he's always lived, sharing his personal space with someone.
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"With Fred, it was all doubts and dread. With Steve, I never even got the chance," she admits, gripping the darts tighter. "I grieved for him for so long, I have to admit I didn't even notice Daniel at the start," she tells John.
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"I don't know if I would call it excitement," he says. But he and Karen aren't looking forward to a marriage, a wedding, at least not yet. He doesn't know if he's ever had the same experience Peggy is talking about.
"Contentment," he decides. "Which is more than I've ever had before."
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"Speaking of excitement, though," she says, throwing her first dart. "I don't intend to stop working with you just because I get married."
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"And I hope you didn't think I had assumed you would," he answers with a faint smile. "What kind of feminist would I be if I worked like that?"
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"You're one of the very best, you know. I could never have expected anything like that at home," she shares. "I'd probably have been fired the moment I got pregnant, honestly."
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"But I'm also not your boss," he points out. They work together as a team and they haven't had a true leader since Finch disappeared. John won't step into the role left empty by his friend, he'll never be able to be that person. "We're a team, not an employer and employee."
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"And I know you're not, but as much as I never liked it, I got used to working with someone giving the direction and the orders. Even when I was helping Howard, it was still for his cause." She hates saying it out loud because it makes it seem like she doesn't know how to lead for herself, but perhaps she doesn't?
Maybe she still needs to learn.
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He can work by himself, he can formulate plans and enact them with ease, as long as he's the only one in danger. If something were to happen in Darrow and he threw himself headlong into the problem, he'd come out on the other side relatively unscathed, but he would have to do it alone. Directing others just isn't something he knows how to do.
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She tweaks one of the darts in her hands, fiddling with it as she studies the board in front of them. "What do you say? Shall we tell her about her promotion?"
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Dutch wouldn't want to be their leader either. She's smart and strong and he loves working with her, but as with everyone else, they're a team instead of a leader and someone who follows her directions. He thinks she would be better at it than she might realize, but he doubts she's going to take over any time soon.
"What about Karen?" he asks, only partly joking. "She always seems to know what to do."
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"If you're fine to take orders from Karen, I am," Peggy can't help but tease, because she admires the woman quite a bit, though she is a touch surprised that John is so willing to go along. Then again, that is part of why she respects him so.
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"I would be more than fine with it," he says. "But I'm not sure it's a role she would really want either."
And he would never force her into it. Without Finch, they're just a different sort of team.
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"We could always take it in turns," she remarks, half a jest. "See what we can do about having weeks that belong to us?"