Trooper Station: Wednesday

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

The coffee machine waited impatiently for the man in the suit to start the brewing process. At first the machine had appreciated the man's desire to brew a perfect pot of coffee every single time, but now the constant cleaning, checking of water temperature and consistency of the coffee grouds was just getting down right annoying.

To make matters worse the man in the suit was taking even longer as he was explanining to the trooper named "Ralph" that the sheriff had to go out of town to take care of some matter back home.

Finally, the main in the suit hit the start button and the coffee machine began to do its thing: brew the perfect cup of coffee.

[Open!]

Comments

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

All that ceremony was leaving Daisy with a feeling that she'd certainly made a good choice by just sticking to tea around here, but it also made ask, "Everything okay with the coffee machine, Agent Cooper?"

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Everything appears to be running perfectly normal," Dale said with a grin. "Tip-top even. And please feel free to call me Dale."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

Daisy stared at Dale for a moment over the top of her mug of tea; forget the obsessive coffee making. The really bizarre thing about this situation was the idea of calling her coworkers by their first names.

"Let's just stick to a happy medium, and stick with just Cooper, then," she offered, because it was just too, too weird.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Fair enough," Dale replied as he began to pour himself a cup of coffee. "More than one person has addressed me as such. In fact my old comrade in arms back at Twin Peaks just called me 'Coop'. Which you can call me as well if you feel comfortable enough Detective Constable."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Daisy said, blowing on her tea a little as she huddled around the mug. "Coop."

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Dale chuckled. "Too bad you can't meet some of my friends from back then," he said with a shake of a head. "You probably would have liked Harry. Albert? Not so much."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"What makes you think that?" Daisy asked, sipping her tea with a curiosity for what sort of impression she'd been giving off so far. She knew what she was going for, of course, but how that was translating was a different story.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Nobody gets along with Albert," Dale said shaking his head in amusement. "Damn good at his job but lacking any kind of social niceties."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"Well," Daisy mused, with a great simplicity, "as long as he's good at what he does, and what he does is doing good, then it doesn't really matter, does it?"

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Dale nodded in agreement. "Quite true. His expertise in forensic sciences more than offset his abrasive nature. Of course he inevitably ends up getting punched before his assignment is finished."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

Daisy blinked. "By the criminals, right?"

Somehow, she was feeling not so sure.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Actually it was usually one of the members of the local law enforcement," Dale replied. "Though he's been punched by various waitresses, dry cleaners and in one particular odd occasion a lumberjack."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"Oh, dear," Daisy blinked again. "But if he does get the job done..."

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"That he does," Dale said. "And he's not afraid to go where other fear to tread in order to find the truth. Or tell it. Something I've always appreciated about him."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"He doesn't sound that bad to get along with then," Daisy said with a small smile. After all, anyone who fought so valiantly, even at the sake of his reputation and a bit of a row, was good in her book. "So long as you stay out of punching range."

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"He takes some getting used to," Dale chuckled. "Though you wouldn't need to worry about being punched back. He's a pacifist."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"The more you share about this fellow," Daisy admitted, "the more I think I want to meet him. Isn't that the adverse effect you were going for, Coop?"

See? She was already using the new name!

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"That's what people think when I describe him," Dale replied grinning at being called "Coop" again. "However after about ten minutes that curiosity quickly disappears."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"And now I just feel like it's a challenge," Daisy admitted.

[pieandcoffee.livejournal.com]

"Well unfortunately my world is cut off from this island," Dale said with a touch of wistfulness. "So I'm not sure if you'd ever be able to meet him."

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

"Pity, that," Daisy said, taking another sip.