Keys. Ashton went to fumble in his breast pocket for them, and realized something. He was still wearing the borrowed vest. "Hrm." He stopped patting himself down, and looked to Archer. "Hold on a second."

He escaped her grasp long enough to undo the vest and pull it off. Then, he handed it to her, found his keys, and slipped into the car. He looked out at her, from the passenger's seat. "Take that back to the officer I borrowed it from for me?" He asked nicely, going so far as to politely omit a please.

Ashton idly wondered if she'd use her power to toss it at him. That would be interesting.

Quin waited patiently as Detective Drake tried to find his keys, realized he was wearing a vest that was in the way, then pulled the thing over his head. The redhead noticed, as he did this, that he really wasn’t having any trouble standing now, an wondered if he’d just liked the help.

Having solved the problem of the vest, and found his keys, the Detective handed her that very same vest and climbed into the passenger side of the car.

Then she became the barista again. This time with a Kevlar vest.

Several inappropriate comments to make to one’s superior were on the tip of Quin’s tongue…but she held them back and settled for clenching the material so hard she left finger marks in the Kevlar beneath.

She smiled. It was the least she could do. She had taken apart his other vest.

“ Be right back.” she said, and retraced their footsteps to the officer who had loaned them the vest.

”Thanks…” she said, unburdened herself, and made her way back to the car.

Once there, she climbed into the driver’s seat and held out her hand for the keys.

“Don’t get too used to that.”

No tossing, unfortunately. She actually helped him out. Hm... Ashton made a note of that, for future reference.

He stretched out his arms behind his head and yawned while she was gone. The migraine was still there, but... maybe a strong cup of coffee could punch it out. Or maybe he could kill it with tea. Tea killed things, right? Because you had to have dead taste buds to like the bland stuff? He was certain of it, now. Yeah. He'd have to kill it with tea. Death by... he shuddered... tea. His plan was foolproof. Made by a fool.

A glance towards the mirror told him she was on the way back. He turned, and watched her move around the car to take the front seat. He had to smile at her comment. It took guts.

"That's good." He noted jovially. "Don't let people boss you around. You're a cop after all, right?" Right. He pressed the keys into her hand, satisfied with his retort.

”Mmhm.” Quin said, taking the keys that were pressed into her hand and starting the car.

The trip back to the precinct wasn’t nearly as eventful as the trip to the scene of the crime. There was no reason for sirens, so that meant that the redhead behind the wheel had to follow traffic laws. Why did she feel like she was 16 again, taking her driver’s test with Ashton in the passenger seat? She’d already done plenty to impress…and unimpress…him.

They didn’t talk much. Quin didn’t want to push any buttons, and he’d said he had a migraine. So…she decided silence was the best policy and simply drove.

Back at the station, Quin exited the car and winced as she remembered she was still wearing (part of) Ashton’s vest.

”I..uh…I’m going to fix this real quick.” she said, returning to the car to pull out the casing. Almost like a snake, the Kevlar removed itself from Quin’s body, coiling down her arm and flowing back into the hole she’d made in the seam.

”And I can re-sew the seam if you want.” she said, holding the thing out for him to inspect if he wanted. ”I can also make it fit better next time you wear it.”

Hopefully…this was helping, not hurting.

She was 16 again. No, this hadn't been meant as a test of her driving capabilities, and no, it wasn't, but that didn't stop Ashton from having eyes. She ran no red lights. She stopped at all stop signs. For all intents and purposes, she obeyed the law. As an officer of the law, that was good. Very good. Admirable. He couldn't help but take note of how boring the drive was. It might have been better if there had been banter while they drove their 'by the book' route back. Might have been better if she'd known some shortcuts, too. She would learn.

Why she was so damn careful, he didn't know. Maybe she was scared of him? Tough. She'd practically been bouncing on his heels to do the job. Would have been nice if she'd had some of that enthusiasm again. It was adorable.

They finally got back to the station. His migraine abated. Ashton managed his way out of his seat. As Archer addressed him, he looked at her, and to his vest, like it might jump out and bite him. His version of that look was a bit different than how another person's look might be. It wasn't a scared look. Not mortified. Serious. Like telling a yipping dog 'no'. The look softened, just as easily as it had appeared.

She did her thing.

For a moment, Ashton considered her. Took the vest, and considered it in his hands. Then, his eyes rose to focus on her face.

"You don't have to be afraid of me," Ashton said sternly, but softly. "You know. The hardass thing is mainly an act."

"But." All gentleness vanished from tone and face. Ashton composed himself, donning his serious-face once more. "That doesn't mean you get a free pass to make rookie mistakes. Don't let it happen again." He folded the vest. "Good work." He tossed it into the car, and slammed the door. When he turned back to her, he was smiling. "Now, about that tea..."

Quin ignored the fact that Detective Drake’s words seemed in direct opposition to most of his actions for most of the night. The hardass routiene was all mostly an act? Quin shook her head and smiled a slightly lopsided smile. She should have been pissed that Ashton had felt the need to put her through so many paces. She wasn’t though…mostly just glad that she didn’t have to walk around on pins and needles just because she’d goofed. She nodded her head to show she understood.

No more rookie mistakes though. Quin nodded again. She wasn’t even a rookie, so it shouldn’t have been an issue. For some reason, she’d just felt the need to show off, since she was working with MRC.

”Won’t happen again.”

Now, about the tea.

“I left my infuser on the desk.” she said, “I’ll get some steeping as soon as we get back. Green tea does wonders for headaches, and it’s loaded with caffeine…”

On she went, about the other medicinal properties as they made their way through the parking garage. Not a bad first day, she decided, not too bad at all.