The trial had started out tense but had quickly become a one-sided affair. Andrew's lawyer had been good and the evidence had been hard to refute. It had only taken a few well worded arguments to put the final nail in the coffin. His lawyer was confident when the jury exited. He was even more confident when the jury returned relatively quickly. A unanimous decision of not guilty was issued. Andrew breathed a sigh of relief right before the mother of the man he'd killed erupted in fury. She couldn't believe that they'd delivered such an obviously wrong verdict. She insulted the judge, the jury, the lawyers, even the other people in the court room were not spared her highly audible criticism.

The judge seemed to humor her for a moment but as she went on and showed no signs of abating he signaled to the bailiff to throw her out as he retired from the bench and exited the chamber. Andrew could still hear her screaming as she was escorted out of the chamber and followed closely by her family. They seemed trail after the woman like ducklings Andrew noted. Only one other woman seemed to hold an equal rank to her and she was elderly with a hawk-eyed glare darkening her brow at all times.

Eventually Andrew made his way to the lobby. He assumed that Jorge and Verdy would meet him here. What Verdy planned to do he didn't know but Jorge was supposed to go have coffee with him. After that Andrew could use a nice strong cup of black coffee. Maybe Verdy would come. He did need to give her back her marble after all.

The seconds between the return of the jury and the reading of the verdict were torturous and Verdy fought the urge to squirm uncomfortably, she was sure her neat hairstyle had begun to frizz in the heat from her pounding head and she felt rather giddy. Once the judgement of not guilty was read it was as if a sudden downpour had cleansed her, and she could breathe again. Not even the mother’s angry yelling, calling her a pompous snoot, could squish her mood. Everything was ok.

Before heading to the lobby Verdy took a few moments to visit the bathroom and splash cold water on her face, ensuring she carried no remnants of the nervous sweat she had accumulated during the trial. Patting her face dry she was startled to see one of the family’s younger members emerge from one of the stalls wiping her eyes and nose. Their eyes met and for a second there was extreme awkwardness, before Verdy tilted her head in an apologetic nod and ducked back out the door. There was nothing she could say that would ease the pain of a lost relative, nor was it guaranteed that the girl wouldn’t take it the wrong way and start yelling at her. Best to leave well enough alone.

It took a moment once she reached the lobby to locate Andrew, but once she did she moved towards him, a relieved smile on her face. The trial could have been much uglier than it had been, and all in all it had finished rather quickly instead of dragging on for days or even months as some trials did. Once she was close enough she squeezed him into a quick hug and the smile on her face widened.

“See, told you you’d be fine.”

While she wasn’t sure which combination of prayers, good luck charms or plain honest law contributed to the outcome it didn’t really matter. Jack would still have his Dad, and Verdy would still have her boy-gap-friend to romp through shopping centres and get into all sorts of legal mischief with.

“How you feeling?”

Not Guilty! Never had two simple words had such an effect on Jorge. Though he was not the man on trial, there was still so much anxiety and issue these past few months that it almost felt like he was. The defense had been good, extremely good with the scene that they painted for the jury. It was not something that a decision could easily be brought about, but the defense attorney managed to bring up the image of the hero that Andrew had been in saving Jorge from the strangling grip of death that had seized him by the throat. The jury had seemed so moved by this that no matter what the prosecution attempted to throw at them, they were not swallowing it. To them it was a clean cut case, Andrew had saved a police officer’s life, and despite how boisterous the victim’s family was, it was obvious that they did not know their boy.

Jorge happily watched Andrew take that breath of freedom that only comes when one’s name is clear and remained seated as he walked by. Once Andrew had passed, Jorge turned his eyes on the screaming mother and grandmother who were still trying to get the judge to listen. But despite their hard to miss objections, they were, for the most part, being ignored.

For a moment, Jorge did feel a little guilt that the young man’s life had been taken and now he would only be a grave for this family. That is something that can never be justified, no matter how harsh the terms. But there is a difference in mourning the lost child and completely ignoring the type of person he really was. Jorge saw the look in that kid’s eyes as he was strangling him, he was not going to stop. There was no way that kid had any intention of letting him live. He had every intention of choking the life out of him.

But there would be no way to convince his family of that.

So he sat, waited for the courtroom to empty out just a bit more and found himself staring directly into the eyes of the angry mother who glared at him with such disdain. There was nothing Jorge could say to ease her suffering. The only he could do was give her a respectful nod before he climbed out from his seat and began to make his way out of the room.

“Pig!” she suddenly shouted.

Jorge paused and turned back to her. His expression stern and serious. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me you corrupt bastard!” she screamed. This was not born from grief, he thought as he looked into her eyes, her anger was purely born from her not getting her way and how unfair it was. He sighed as he shook his head and turned back to her.

“I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am,” was all he said as he continued on his way out of the courtroom. Just before leaving though, she got in one last word…

“You’ll pay! Both of you will pay!” she screamed just as the bailiff finally arrived to get her under control.

Jorge ignored the statement and instead continued outside where he saw both Andrew and Verdigris hugging tight. He could only smile at the sight and said nothing as he stepped over to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. He was happy Andrew was free. After so much torture he deserved a chance to finally catch his breath.

Verdy was the first of the two to show. She gave Andrew a hug as soon as she got close enough to do so. He smiled right back at her grin.

"I guess so." he paused as she asked how he was, " Relieved to be entirely honest. I mean I did kill the guy and that's always going to bother me but I'm just relieved I'm not going to be going to jail I guess."

Shortly thereafter Jorge showed up smiling, like an idiot in Andrew's opinion, and standing to one side as though he might interrupt something. Andrew couldn't have that.

"Get over here old man. You promised me coffee or are you backing out?"

Andrew quirked a brow at Jorge. It was nice to be able to crack jokes again not have them feel forced.

In her visit to the bathroom she missed the insults and threat thrown at Jorge, so when he approached and stood at a respectable distance (quickly encouraged to join them by Andrew’s words and her own enthused nods) nothing seemed amiss. Well, of course there would forever be that stain on Andrew’s mind, but that would have been there no matter which of the two had passed on. Perhaps if reincarnation existed the man who attempted to take Jorge’s life would come back changed, for another attempt at that thing called life.

“I’m glad you’re not going to jail too, Jack and I would have missed you.”

Especially her.

Her first Andy, the green-skinned girl she shared a room with had been around less and less frequently she noted, although she was sure they must just continually be missing each other, especially with how distracted Verdy had been as the case drew closer. Walks with Jack were soothing, and he had been getting more than the minimum recommended half-hour of walkies each day. In short, Andrew was one of the few she had been interacting with recently, and with him lost she would have been truly lonely once more.

Andrew’s teasing came easily and she smiled gratefully. It was a step down the long road to being back to the fun loving Andrew she had first met, without the darkness and discomfort from lack of sleep and stress over the upcoming trial. Perhaps he would never be the same, although lessened the stress of taking another’s life may need more time to fade into the dimness of suppressed memories.

Slipping her phone out of her bag and turning it on to check the time she pondered what was waiting for her back at the mansion. She had an unfinished essay which she had been avoiding for quite some time now, as the due date was still weeks away and the topic dull. She had also been playing a game online to increase her typing speed to that of the other women she worked with (even the woman with only nine fingers was far speedier than herself) and she was sitting stubbornly on the fourteenth level, needing to shave off another two seconds to pass to the fifteenth. Neither prospect seemed demanding, and knowing that she had left Jack asleep with a full bowl each of food and water reinforced the thought that she wasn’t needed back for at least a few more hours. The longer she spent away from the reproachfully glaring essay, the better.

“If Jorge is bailing I’ll join you. I’ll join you anyway, provided I won’t step on your manly-talk toes.”

She rolled her eyes. On the whole her two friends weren’t too ‘grunt grunt I’m a male and so can’t use real sentences’ but sometimes their relentless teasing was a little disconcerting. Due to its prolonged absence, however, she was surprised how much she welcomed back the gentle words not meant to hurt, only embarrass. Something in her was yearning for a highly sugary hot drink, and perhaps something homely to nibble on. If Jorge and Andrew displayed any hesitation she would simply get them to go and finish them at the Mansion. She was determined to move onto that next level before her next shift.

>> "Get over here old man. You promised me coffee or are you backing out?"

Jorge let the incident that had occurred back the courtroom drop. He couldn’t dwell on anything that family had said. They were angry, they had lost a son, a grandson, and they just witnessed his killer being set free. It must have been hard for them and though he could understand their ill-feelings towards Andrew and Jorge, they needed to have time to get past it. That boy had done some terrible things, he threatened, fired at them, even tried to strangle the detective. Though by no means is death justified, Andrew should not have had to suffer for that boy’s mistakes. It simply was not right. At least today justice had served the greater good, for once.

Still though…he would keep an eye on that family. Something in the mother’s voice told him that this would not be the real end of it. They seemed like the type of people who would look at ALL avenues for justice…including the ones that were not so legal.

Until that was proven to be false or true, though, Jorge decided to keep his mouth shut and just drop the idea in front of Andrew. The kid had been through enough already and the last thing he needed to worry about was fearing some extra vengeance by the family of the boy he had killed. There was only so much a person’s mind could take.

With a chuckle Jorge walked over and offered his hand for Andrew to shake. “Congratulations, kid. I told you you’d be okay.”

Though the detective had that sureness in his voice for being right, he also seemed greatly relieved that he had been correct in his assumption that Andrew would be okay. The haggard, tired look in the man’s face slowly disappeared with only the slightest hint of anticipation for some other occurrence still on his expression. But that look quickly evaporated as he nodded to Andrew again, happy that this was over for him.

>> “If Jorge is bailing I’ll join you. I’ll join you anyway, provided I won’t step on your manly-talk toes.”

He smirked at Verdigris comment and nodded his head. He did like the girl and he hoped that she and Andrew were good to each other. They may have indeed just been friends for the time being but who knows, that could develop into something more. That tended to happen with most close friends didn’t it? Either way, whether they decided to take that step or not, they were needed in each other’s life, the detective could see that clearly. So with another smirk he nodded to Verdy.

“How about I treat you both to some coffee? Then I can head back to the precinct. I still have some matters to take care of today, but I have some extra time right now to at least share a cup of joe, or a Macha-Frappo-presso…whatever they’re called now.” he said with a chuckle.

More congratulations for the court victory. Andrew wouldn't address those. He didn't really feel like it was a victory. Just an unfortunate situation that resolved in as favorable a way as he could hope for. Verdy said she'd come along for coffee, provide she didn't trample their 'manly-talk'. Andrew smirked.

"Ahh well, you know, Jorge and I are so manly that just regular talk with us is manly talk. You won't be stepping on any toes."

At Jorge's comment Andrew grinned first and then rolled his eyes.

"Please, I just want some straight black coffee."

To say nothing of the fact that Andrew actually preferred his coffee with at least some cream or creamer. The more nervous he was the closer to black he tended to take it. Now that the trial was over there was little cause to be nervous but he needed to wind down some anyway. Or the opposite maybe considering the caffeine contained in the beverage. Meh, details. Who needed them anyway? In either case Andrew would be quite happy to sit and have a drink with his friends.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find a coffee shop. This is New York after all. We can probably walk about half a block and find one."

In the second following Jorge’s congratulations Verdy flicked her eyes over Andrew’s face. He didn’t look pleased, more so like he had explained, relieved. That was good, she decided, gloating would have been inappropriate, as would excessive celebration. Coffee, on the other hand, was an appropriate outing following a trial, and it gave them an excuse to leave the courthouse, now that they really had no further purpose there she felt rather uncomfortable with lingering in a place oozing legality and political correctness.

And she was invited to join them for coffee too. She grinned at Andrew’s explanation of their constant manly talk, and then chuckled as Jorge commented on the extended names of certain coffees. While she wasn’t totally convinced that cafes needed to go by the Italian names the cafés seemed fond of them, and since she had learned the name of hers it wasn’t too complicated. She winked at Jorge and reeled off the name of her own special concoction.

“Ohhh, you mean a chai latte on half skim, two sugars, no cinnamon, dash of cold milk on top of the hot?”

So she had a peculiar taste when it came to hot drinks, so what? While she was content with the hot and caffeinated, there was something about the sweet herby drink that appealed. She nodded to Andrew’s statement about the geographical excessiveness of coffee shops as it was true. Good coffee shops, or ones with reasonable prices were a little trickier to find, but since Jorge was shouting…

“There’s probably one within sight of the courthouse doors I bet.”

>> “Ohhh, you mean a chai latte on half skim, two sugars, no cinnamon, dash of cold milk on top of the hot?”

Jorge cringed, as if the most horrible phrase had been just uttered to him. He shot Verdigris a mock glare. “Just for that, you’re buying your own.” But it was said with joking intent.

>> "Please, I just want some straight black coffee."

“Amen to that.”

It was set; the three of them were going to go for coffee. Jorge could not have felt better at the prospect. To be honest it was not so much the hot drink he wanted because it tasted good, the hot liquid would be good to burn away the problems and stress that had settled in the pit of his stomach all because of this case. For months he watched as Andrew both deteriorated and rebounded from the stress of the incident, vowing to take the full brunt of the horrible situation one minute, then finally deciding to confide in friends the next. It really must have been horrible for him, but the detective could only imagine the real turmoil inside. During this time he had felt something similar, a gnawing angry part of him that despised himself for putting the kid in that kind of danger to begin with. They had no reason to go walking to some Chinese food place after dark? Especially in this neighborhood, even if it was just across the street. To him, his decision was what put Andrew in this predicament.

That’s the funny thing about life, though. You never know where one decision will eventually lead you.

In the end though, as he looked at both Andrew and Verdigris’ relieved faces, he had to admit that he had to stop blaming himself. It was not like he knew what was going to happen that night, he didn’t put the gun in Andrew’s hand, and he didn’t make those thugs jump out and attack them. Part of him still felt weird, like maybe one day Andrew would wake up and suddenly start blaming him for the whole thing, but in the meantime, his friend was safe. The kid would have to live with what he had done, but with time and a little patience and self-forgiveness, he knew the kid would be okay.

He smirked though, in the end, and led the way towards one of the many exits of the courthouse. The time for blame and guilt was over for the moment. Now was the time for the three to simply sit and enjoy a peaceful, black roasted beverage. There had to be a coffee shop somewhere on the outside. It would be a premium location, after all, a lot of lawyers were around here and he was sure they all drank coffee.

The light that filtered in through the far away glass doors acted like a beacon for the man as he led the troupe out, hands stuffed into his pocket and walking ahead of the kids. The “friends” needed a moment and far be it for him to interfere. He was only the guy treating them to coffee to finally put the last nail in the coffin of this whole incident. He only hoped that indeed this was the end of it so they could all move on with their lives.

So they were off with Jorge leading them at several paces ahead toward the nearest coffee shop. Andrew smirked. It was just too easy.

"That cop nose of yours is good for something then! Either that or we'll end up at a doughnut shop."

Sure it was playing off an old stereotype but that didn't make it any less funny. Following that he arched a brow at Verdy's choice in drinks. That was far too complicated to remember unless you drank it regularly. Either that or she'd made it up right on the spot. And here he never ordered anything more fancy than a mocha. He'd just stick with the black coffee for today.

"I really hope you just made that up Verdy."

He had to wonder why Jorge kept distancing himself from the two of them whenever Verdy was around. Did he just not want to be around two people so much younger than him? Maybe he was just tired of their company? Andrew doubted that but you never know. He'd have to ask the man about it at some point. For pity's sake he wanted to be with his friends not 'Verdy and some guy six plus feet away that might be Jorge'.

She smirked once at Andrew’s evaluation of Jorge’s nose, and again at his disbelief of her beverage of choice. She decided perhaps today was not a chai latte day, and if the place they wound up at had hot chocolate she would choose that instead. Leave the teasing of her drink choice for another outing. But back to the disbelief of her friend, her smirk transformed into a grin before she poked her tongue out cheekily.

“I guess you’ll never know.”

It was, in fact a real drink, and one she quite enjoyed, but for the meantime it was fine by her to let him wonder. Her eyes flicked to the back of the police officer guiding them ever closer to the outside doors, and from there to the satisfaction of their hot drinks supplier, and she gave a slight frown. Jorge had been… avoiding her lately, she was sure of it. What she wasn’t sure of was the reason. Had she said something to upset or offend him? She was certain she didn’t smell that bad, since she was rather fond of her showers…

Other than that the only other reason she could think of was that they were making him feel old. True, they were different enough in age to be his children, but it hadn’t really seemed to matter before. Maybe someone had said something to him about his ‘kids’, and he was feeling his age… Or Andrew’s semi-constant ‘old man’ comments had worked him into an uncomfortable place.

Whatever the reason, he seemed to be stand-offish, and it was starting to get weird. She glanced at Andrew, trying to catch his eye and tilted her head towards the detective’s back. Stepping quickly she drew into line on the one side, and raised an eyebrow at the grizzled face.

“Where you going speedy? Whatever paperwork is left for you at work won’t go anywhere.”

Unless it was a mutant trapped in a papery form, dropped off at the MRC for aggressively paper-cutting innocent scribblers… Hum. That could be an urgent type of inbox issues.

“The same way I don’t tread on manly talk toes, you don’t tread on friendly talk toes. So get your big ol’ detective feet right back into the conversation.”

Yeah.

>> "That cop nose of yours is good for something then! Either that or we'll end up at a doughnut shop."

Jorge smirked at the kid’s comment from behind him and did the only thing that came as a natural response to such witty commentary…he flipped him back a lewd gesture. It was all in good fun though, he really was not angry at Andrew’s comment. It was funny and well placed and…well…we really could do to have a doughnut right now.

He shook the thought away as he continued on, finally reaching the exit and stepped out, holding the door open for the pair of them. The fine New York daylight washed over him and filled him with a steady sense of warmth. After so long of only having Andrew’s best interest in his mind, he was happy to take a relaxing breath again. He really was tired of having the weight on his shoulders of feeling guilty for putting Andrew through this. Hopefully now was a chance for forgiveness and healing so both he and Andrew could move on with their lives.

Jorge felt strange though as he looked over the pair as they walked out with him. It many ways he did feel out of place. After all he was practically twice both their ages and yet they still seemed to consider him as a friend. It was not that they made him feel out, it was more on the fact that he was beginning to feel old himself. Before he would have never thought twice about taking on some street thug that had attempted to mug him, but the fact that he was overpowered and nearly strangled made him feel his age.

Then there was the fact that these two did not seem to mind his company. I liked them both, but it was not that they excluded him, he simply felt more like a father figure around them than some twenty something college kid. That alone made him long a little for the past that he buried under work and secrecy. But that would be his own personal demons to deal with and did not require him to appear aloof to these two.

And, as if sensing his reluctance to appear too close to them, Verdigris appeared with her beaming face and insightfulness…

>> “Where you going speedy? Whatever paperwork is left for you at work won’t go anywhere…The same way I don’t tread on manly talk toes, you don’t tread on friendly talk toes. So get your big ol’ detective feet right back into the conversation.”

He had to chuckle. There would be no hiding insecurities and such around her. He nodded as he waited for the pair of them to catch up before he decided to jump in and explain why he had to leave after their coffee meeting.

“Sorry, just have an…interesting case on my mind. This kid who can turn himself into paper got himself folded into origami and he can’t get himself undone. We’re trying to get him unstuck back at the precinct.” he smirked as he finally continued to lead them on. Up ahead he spotted a Coffeebucks and nodded towards it. Always one within arms reach.

At Verdy's instigation Andrew caught up to Jorge at almost precisely the same time. After Verdy had said her bit Andrew just grinned and elbowed Jorge.

"Yeah Jorge. Unless you're just too hip to hang out with the youngsters."

After this Jorge proceeded to explain that they had a kid that could turn into paper stuck in an origami fold that they were trying to help. Andrew blinked and tried not to laugh, though he did smirk a little. Now there was a coffee shop just up ahead and Jorge appeared to be steering them toward it. Good, Andrew felt like he could use the caffeine by now.

"Origami? Really?"

The idea of a small paper crane flapping around on someone's desk frantically trying to get someone to unfold it was too good not to chuckle at. Now they were at the door to the shop and Andrew stepped forward to hold the door.

"After you."

“Sorry, just have an…interesting case on my mind. This kid who can turn himself into paper got himself folded into origami and he can’t get himself undone. We’re trying to get him unstuck back at the precinct.”

She missed a step in time with the others, but managed to snap her mouth shut before her tongue hit the pavement. Seriously? You couldn’t make something like that up, it would be… freakish. Andrew seemed to agree with her and she fell back into line with a barely contained giggle. While it must have been awful for the poor mutant, the mental image was one that was rather amusing. Besides, with New York’s finest on the case it wouldn’t be long before he was released from his contortionist act.

“Just don’t let any of your greasy co-workers get crumbs on him, eh?”

Because of course Jorge would know better than to approach the paper-mutant with sticky, cinnamonny hands, right? She nodded at the location of the coffee place, prime location no doubt, they were bound to get lots of business from lawyers, jittery defendants, plaintiffs and the like each day. Ducking her head in thanks to Andrew she entered and looked around.

It was set up to cater for those who most likely frequented it. Gentle colours suggested peacefulness and tranquillity, to soothe the nerves of those sleepless individuals while stylish vases and lighting allowed a sense of sophistication to cater to the tastes of the up-market lawyers. There was also free wireless internet, one poster noted, in case details needed to be checked at the last minute.

The shop seemed to be sectioned off, not into booths per se, but more like little clusters of two or three tables, separated by a bit of space and the occasional standing terrainium or fishtank. She eyed the place warily, it was much different to the places she frequented, but they were bound to have an assortment of the more ‘fancy’ drinks, should she wish to startle Jorge and Andrew further.

Guesturing to one of the tables next to a fish tank she glanced at the men to juge their reactions.

“Have you ever seen a coffee place like this before?”

She wasn’t quite sure yet if it was classy, or tacky but snobbish.

The talk was still on the Origami boy, and as unfortunate as the situation was, it really was extremely funny. He remembered last night, a woman come running in completely distraught and upset about something. Her rambling, her red eyes, and her tear stained cheeks all pointed that something tragic had happened. They had all done their best to calm her down and get the story about what happened from her. Did someone she know die? Was somebody missing? Did some mutant rampage through her house? There was so many possibilities and they all did what they could to console her until finally she calmed down enough to open her purse.

Then she lifted out a CD-sized piece of paper. It was beautifully folded origami of a crane that just sat there in her hand. Most of the people there thought she had lost her mind or something, but then…the crane flapped its wings! Jorge and the others were shocked by this and it was then that the woman retold her story…

“Yeah,” Jorge continued as they made their way to the coffee shop. It was apparent that they were both tickled pink by the idea of the origami person, so he might as well relate the story. It was not as if either of them knew the person. “Apparently this kid discovered he had the ability to turn himself into a sheet of paper but kept it a secret from his mother. Then, as he was practicing with his powers, he folded himself into too complex an origami shape and got a cramp.” Jorge chuckled and shrugged. “Mother says he was ‘missing’ for a day before she found him on his writing desk, feebly flapping his wings. We’re doing our best but the kid won’t relax enough for us to help him.”

Even he started to chuckle as they came up to the Coffeebucks door, which Andrew was kindly enough to jump in front of and open for them.

>> "After you."

Jorge grinned. “You are the last of the true gentlemen,” he said as he walked behind Verdigris and entered.

And then he was met with a sight and simply burned his eyes. The place seemed such a hodgepodge of different ideas that he really had no idea what to focus on. The place looked artsy but cookie cutter, poetic yet so very sterile…and there was a fish tank. Really? Who puts a fish tank in the middle of a coffee shop? The last thing he wanted to smell mixed with his freshly ground coffee with the smell of Ph-balanced water and fish. He did not want to imagine that he was sipping on guppies.

The idea made his stomach turn a little as he looked around in a small bit of surprise.

>> “Have you ever seen a coffee place like this before?”

“Never,” he muttered as he tried to shake the feeling off. Finally the man just clapped his hands and looked at the pair of them. “Alright, I’m buying so what would you like?” he asked, but then pointed at Verdigris. “You, Ms. Fancy-Drinks, get to come with me to register so you can say your own order. I am not repeating what you said before.”