Tangled and entwined. (Jorge/Andrew)

The park was a fairly nice place to spend time. He'd gone early to the park to have a walk through it before he was to meet up with Verdy and Jack. Today their furry companion was to get some exercise in the park. The change of scenery from the mansion would probably be interesting to the dog. Verdy had thrown a ball for the pooch and had sat down on a bench, leaving him to play with Jack. Andrew tossed the ball for him a few times and stood by as Jack made a couple of doggie friends of a great dane and a poodle. When Jack returned with the ball Andrew smiled at him.

"Made a couple of new friends?"

Jack answered him with a couple of enthusiastic wags of his tail and short bark.

"I'll take that as a yes. Why don't we go back to Verdy now? Wouldn't due to leave a pretty girl like her alone in the park would it?"

He scooped up the ball and headed back toward the bench where Verdy resided. Verdy appeared to be annoyed with something and kept reach up to the back of her neck. Unable to think of any reasons why off the top of his head as soon as Andrew drew near her he had to ask.

"Something wrong Verdy?"

Jack sat at her feet and stared at her with a curious expression. Either they had adopted a seriously smart dog or that was a mutant who could turn into a dog and couldn't turn back.

The black Chevy impala pulled up to the parking lot for the park, one that he had yet to explore yet. He had passed by a couple of times prior, but that was as he was either driving Gemma home or was visiting her at the mansion. The detective had noted how active it was so he was only to happy to explore it one of these days. And that day ended up being today. He still had an issue or two with showing up at Central Park, after that whole event with Halloween. There was still instants repressed snippets of memories flooding back and still there were many parts of the park that had not been opened to the public yet. Apparently quite the mess had been made there.

But the only good thing about any major city…it never lacked a good park. As he pulled his car to a stop and killed the engine, he glanced over and saw his whole reason for coming.

“Ready girl?”

Lizzie, his white English bulldog, looked up at him with excited eyes as her nub of a tail wagged back and forth. She barked in reply as she circled once or twice on the passenger seat before she turned and leaned up against the door and stared out the window. He chuckled as he reached over, attached her black leash to her blue collar and picked her up. The dog squirmed excitedly in his arms as he climbed out of his car and finally set her down on the ground.

Lizzie sniffed all around the lot, snorting and huffing as she took in all the smells. Jorge held her leash tight because he knew that when she got overexcited, she tended to bolt. Which was both good and odd about his little white dog. Bulldogs were not always most known for their activity, but Lizzie seemed to love it. Well, when the mood struck her. If she did not feel like running about, that usually meant it would be a day a sleeping that Jorge could do nothing about. He was glad she seemed eager for a walk too. And not surprised. She had spent the greater part of the day sleeping.

He chuckled as he watched Lizzie wander in a circle and sniffed at the ground more. He leaned down and patted and scratched her head. “Come on Lizzie. Let’s burn some of that energy off of you.”

Dressed simply in his sweats, running shoes, a loose navy blue jacket and a gray shirt that had the letters NYPD written across the chest, Jorge headed into the park. The greenery certainly was beautiful. It was a very visually pleasing park with several tall trees and what seemed like acres of grass. All around him, he watched as other people enjoyed the park. Some walked their own rambunctious dogs, others simply jogged, or chatted amongst themselves, still others seemed to be contently simply lazing away the day by sitting on the grass and either people or cloud watching. He would have to show up here with Gemma one day. A good outdoor lunch or stroll would do them good after Halloween. But he also knew she needed her rest. DocProf would not let her go easily.

He sighed a bit contentedly as he strolled about, Lizzie trotted happily and barked a few dogs, as if in conversation. He chuckled as he shook his head. “Already trying to make friends, are you?”

The detective watched as Lizzie looked up innocently before she continued on. He smirked but said nothing as he enjoyed the stroll. His eyes rested on a person or two. Not for any particular reason, actually, only because he enjoyed to people watch. Seriously though, what were the odds that he would run into someone he knew at this park?

Why hadn’t she taken it off, one might ask, and the answer (had that question been actually asked, rather than mused upon) was simple really. Fear. She was almost certain if she took the trinket off from around her neck and let it sit on the dresser, or the bathroom sink, or anywhere else for that matter, she was bound to lose it. It was special enough to her that its loss would be rather devastating, her first gift from her first friend. It was better to keep it close.

“Thanks.”

His fingers were gentle across her neck and she suppressed a shiver. This was her friend, friend, and he was helping her with her little issue, nothing more, nothing less. Certainly nothing to get all shivery about. His fingers found the problem and worked it through, still very gently. Perhaps it might have been better if he had have been rough, the unexpected tingles might have receded if he was tweaking and making it sting. Then again, maybe not.

“Mm-hmm.”

Biffing him for yanking on her tangled hair sounded a little mean, but if it came to it, she probably would in an instant moment of pain. That’s if she didn’t yelp first. Tweaky hairs were one of the most irritating things about having longish hair, whether they got caught in necklaces, zippers or hair-ties, they never ceased to annoy. The look that Jack was giving her made her blush, and she could feel the heat travel from her neck to her ears. How could an ordinary dog look so darn knowing.

The clearing of a throat startled Andrew and in his start he hadn't though to let go of the necklace. It came free with some of Verdy's hair still attached. Verdy yelped and since his ear was fairly close to her mouth it sounded much louder to him than it would have to other people. Andrew dropped the necklace chain back onto Verdy's neck to cover his ears. That was when she took advantage of the offer he'd made her by smacking him, none to gently, across the side of his thigh.

It actually kind of hurt, more so than he'd been expecting anyway. He wasn't left to think about that long as the throat clearing was followed up by an accusation that had his face flushed red quicker than he'd ever thought possible. He'd recognized the voice that had made the statement though. Andrew had no idea what the old man was doing here.

"Old man! I wasn't, I mean, ugh! We weren't doing that! I was helping her with her necklace and almost had it loose before you startled me!"

He was managing a fine glare at Jorge. Seriously, if he'd had to do that he couldn't have waited two seconds longer until after he'd gotten Verdy untangled from her necklace?

"What the heck are you doing here anyway Jorge?"

Of course angry statements and angry questions wouldn't do anything against the embarrassed blush that ran across his cheeks. The old man was sure to pick up on that and he would be teased mercilessly as soon as Jorge had a moment. Suddenly a nice trip through the park with his friend and their dog seemed less nice and more like some sort of grade school nightmare.

>> “Yeowch!”

His plan to startle the youths worked! Though apparently too well. Whatever the kid was doing to the girl, it had obviously gone a step further than she wanted because she yelped out in pain. What was it? Did he had fake vampire fangs in his mouth and accidently bit deeper into her skin than she wanted? He shook his head at the thought, then, as they both turned towards him…he tilted his head. He knew one very well…the other had the face of someone familiar.

>> “No! It wasn’t… We weren’t!… Nothing happened!”

>> "Old man! I wasn't, I mean, ugh! We weren't doing that! I was helping her with her necklace and almost had it loose before you startled me! What the heck are you doing here anyway Jorge?"

Amidst the cries of protest, the sounds of a dog barking, and the flushed look of indignation and embarrassment on the kids’ faces, Jorge could not help but smirk. He felt Lizzie immediately run up front and bark madly at the dog that dared to bark at her master. The scene was a pure sensory chaos. But as looked at Andrew’s face, be could help but laugh inwardly…and a little outward. He kid looked so embarrassed, like a five year old with his hand caught in a cookie jar.

Ew, he thought to himself and shuddered. He did not want to think where Andrew’s hand could have found itself had he not interrupted them when he did. Then again, kudos to the kid for getting out there and meeting someone! But serious? A vampire fan?

He hid his smirk as he continued to stare down at Andrew, his arms across his chest while Lizzie bared her teeth and snorted at the other dog at the scene. Lizzie was a scrapper and she was not afraid to be fierce in front of anyone, no matter the size of her opponent. Jorge gently tugged the collar to calm her and she sat staring at both Andrew, his female partner, and their dog.

“I’m just out walking my dog, kid.” he smiled innocently as he nodded to the pair of them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you there, you know, this is a public park and I have a service to uphold…”

He paused in his giving Andrew a hard time and glanced over at the girl once more. Where did he know that face from? Then…she spoke.

>> “Detective… Cervantes?”

The detective was still as he stood there and searched the girl’s face for any hint or clue as to who she was and how she knew his name. But then, his old brain finally caught up and rushed the information back to him. His first day in New York, how lost he looked standing in front of the precinct, a bribe of Twinkies for help in understanding the complicated subway system. Now he had the moment and the face remembered with a name soon to follow.

It was something he never really heard before…beginning with a “V”…

“Verdigris?” he finally remembered and smirked. It certainly was a small world. “Oh wow, it nice to run into you again. My first New York friend.” he chuckled heartily now as he glanced away from her and turned his attention to Andrew, but still addressed Verdigris. “I didn’t know you were going out with this bum. When did he get into the whole vampire, immortal kiss thing?” he smirked, intentionally giving Andrew a hard time. He had not seen him in a while so it was needed.

“Shh, Jack, shhh, it’s alright.”

The furry pirate captain hushed and sat obediently, tail returning to its semi-permanent wagging as he sniffed towards the little white dog, possibly his third friend for the day. After a moment matching her own the detective recognised her, and she nodded. It was nice to see him again, especially since it didn’t involve her calling him to the scene of some crime or another.

She flushed again at his implications. They were friends dang nabbit, all stolen kisses, adopted doggies and mixed signals aside. Andrew confirmed that with his spluttered denial. They were friends, the option was there for more if they decided to walk that road, but for now they were nothing more than that. Getting to know each other and sharing the caring for a certain fluffy friend. She raised her eyebrows at the vampire comment, but before she could reiterate that it was the necklace’s fault, and there was no neck-nomming Andrew flared up at the ‘old man’.

Surely he wasn’t that old.

Verdy stared at Andrew, temper-temper. Something about that had touched a nerve apparently. She wasn’t sure if she should pat him comfortingly on the back, or duck under the bench whimpering. She compromised with a terrified pat on the leg. Possibly right on top of her slap-bruise. Possibly not.

“If you mean the ones that sparkle, not a big fan… no. If perchance you mean the mutant Hunter, who runs a spiritual balance place, the originator of all vampire myths, then of course.”

She smiled, take that as you will, ‘old man’.

She looked at Andrew curiously, before turning her eyes to the detective’s dog. Jack had snuck under the bench and was now sniffing her face curiously, ready to jump back if bared teeth snapped at him. Andrew didn’t like small dogs, so his compliment of the loud-mouthed bulldog(?) struck her as a desperate attempt at a change of topic.

“What’s her name?”

A dignified pause.

“How do you two know each other?”

Her claim to the detective’s recognition had been explained, first friend in NYC, yet Andrew’s had not. After his outburst the cell-thing seemed a little more plausible, still not quite right, but plausible.

Way to embarrass yourself further. You just screamed at one of your best friends. Whatever will you do next? Still, Verdy and Jorge took it in stride and didn't really say anything about it. The outburst had let him know that he was obviously having a harder time holding the anger in than he used to. Andrew would have to do something about that. Maybe an extra hour of baking each night would do it. Yup, more baking less yelling. Made sense to him.

Moving on to other things, had Verdy said something about a mutant that was the source of vampire legends? What the huh? Andrew felt a little ignorant with all the things Verdy was saying that were completely new to him. No point in getting worked up over it. She barely knew him. No one with sense would share everything with someone they barely knew. Verdy asked how Jorge and he had met. Jorge gave an all to brief version. He probably didn't want to tell Verdy anything that he might or might not have said.

"Jorge saved my life. Thanks to him a mutant criminal that had taken hostages, of which I was one, was not able to drop me out a second story window to splat on the pavement below."

There was a pause.

"Of course that was after the man had threatened to turn my head into mush." Andrew paused again, "The guy had really big hands."

Amdrew gave Jorge a grin.

"After that was settled I brought this guy some coffee and pastries as thanks. He is a cop after all."

Then to emphasize Jorge's jab about the muscles he'd developed Andrew flexed one arm with a goofy grin.

"And yeah, he's teaching me to box. When he's not getting beat by me that is."