How's Things And Stuff? (Archer)

Donuts. Donuts were good. So was getting out of the apartment. The brace on her wrist was cumbersome, and going to be gone in two days, but Quin was still tempted to simply ditch the thing. It was hard to shower, it was hard to dry her hair, it was hard to do pretty much anything that involved the mobility of one's wrist....which was pretty much everything.

Sure the wrist was still sore, but that was completely beside the point. How was the thing ever going to get better if she didn't start using it? Ponytails were fine, she supposed, and easy enough to manage with the brace...but she was sick of ponytails. She was sick of sitting around. She was sick of being off work.

Yeah. Donuts were going to be good. Donuts with her partner. Quin was curious what he'd been up to anyway, it felt like ages since they'd talked. She hadn't wanted to call, killing someone in the line of duty could do things to people. She'd wanted to give Ashton his space. And now he'd called.

The donut shop was a cute little place, with a wide selection and coffee that only beat cops would love. Quin had frequented the place in her days before MRC and it was nice to see that it was only her who loved it. In she went, ordering a cup and grabbing a cake donut with chocolate icing, then scanning the tables until she found her partner.

Over she went, sliding into the booth across from him with a smile.

"Good choice of place." she said.

"Hows the R&R going?" R for rest. R for recovery. It was the best way she knew how to ask. Directly.

Something about the way Ashton said that he didn't know what to do with himself suggested to Quin that he knew exactly what he was doing with himself.

"Well you should have called sooner." she said, feigning hurt feelings. "When Nate's not around I've been bored out of my mind."

Sure the bruises had taken quite a while to heal, and it had been really hard for Quin to go back to the apartment even after it had been cleaned...but still. She'd been bored.

"Brace comes off in two weeks. A little physical therapy and I should be good as new." at least physically.

She took a sip of the industrial strength coffee the swirled the cup, hoping the sugar would dissolve more...or turn it into....better coffee.

"Shrink hasn't released me yet though. What about you?"

"Lucky." Quin muttered into her cup, unwilling to make eye contact with her partner.

"I guess you're just more balanced than I am." It was probably true. Ashton was a seasoned veteran, not some green rookie who'd done something stupid and brought a world of hurt down on herself.

And as far as his offer for help was concerned. "You'll be on the top of my speed dial."

Something didn't add up though. Maybe it was the strained-looking smile on his face....Quin frowned a bit.

"So...if you're not doing therapy...and you're still not working. What have you been up to?"

"Bennings." Quin answered before she could manage to scold Ashton for changing the subject. Fine, she decided, taking a bite of the doughnut and chewing while she tried to figure out how to answer his question without sharing too much, or being too vague.

"Mostly just spending time with Nate." she said, then frowned slightly. Honesty was the best policy, and partners couldn't have huge secrets from one another.

"I had a really tough time at first...being alone and stuff. I didn't have anyone else to call...and he was great. Is really great." she said with a shrug. Ashton had been busy with his own stuff. Quin hadn't wanted to bug him...not with insecurities she'd caused herself.

"I got lucky I guess. Now stop changing the subject, or I'm just going to keep gushing." Quin said with a grin. "Or I'll just start coming up with ideas in my head...like that you've been spending all your time learning how to knit."

Man. Ashton was transparent. He was also lying. Quin gave him a look, making it clear that she saw straight through all the bull shit he was trying to weave. The real question though, was why? Quin was asking a simple question...she wanted a simple answer. Apparently it was nice to want something, because she wasn't going to get an answer.

He'd made a blanket. A cinnamon red one.

Ashton earned another look-of-death for his dodging ways and then Quin shrugged. There was no point in arguing. "Fine. I'll let you off the hook...but if you're not careful I'm going to drag you to therapy with me."

Yeah. Quin was totally on to Ashton's game, and no matter how much he tried to deflect with humor she wasn't going to forget. Maybe she'd let the topic drop for now, but eventually, she'd figure out what was going on. It was something she could do to keep her mind off everything else.

"Yeah yeah..." she said, waving a dismissive hand.

What else was there to talk about?

"So yeah...Nate's been really awesome..." she said, resorting to girl talk, since Ashton was being useless in the conversation department.

"I mean...he's always been really sweet, but he stuck around though all this...."

"That's a good thing, right?"

Yeah. Man. Ashton made a great point.

" Yeah. Quin said, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the floor of the doughnut shop.

She frowned a little bit into the cup of coffee and nibbled at the donut before she spoke again.

"Thanks." she said finally, looking up. "I know I said it that night...but thanks."

Quin was quiet again for a moment, but there was a little more to say.

"Dr. Bennings says I need to get all of that out of my system before I'm ready to go back. Otherwise I'm likely to do something stupid."