Always You - - -

[Chase Logan McMahon]

He looked at the invitation on the counter and sighed to himself. Galas and fundraisers had been element in his upbringing, but that was all back in Washington now. These days he only attended when he was in the city and his father wanted him to. This invite was not one of his father’s though; it was from his boss at the hospital. Chase’s history was hardly a secret and he had been raised publically so had no qualm in telling tales of his life, but his boss had found the idea of a high powered political figure’s son too much of a temptation to ignore. This fundraiser was to buy new equipment and give the hospital a nice bit of money to hopefully fix and adjust some of the older wings of the building, so most of the doctors were invited but Chase’s boss had insisted on the young intern being there. It was right up his alley, to be fair, and Chase did enjoy meeting people at these events, but he had come to New York on his own terms to make a name for himself and not live off the image his adoptive father had created.

However, this was a great opportunity to mingle with powerful players in the game and get his own name out there for his career. As much as he wanted to help his patients, he knew that there was always an element of politics in everything and having friends in high places was something that should never go overlooked. Chase’s most noticeable flaw though was his inability to charm a date or even pick a date up when he arrived at these things. He didn’t want a night of people asking why he was alone or trying to play cupid with some socialite’s daughter who was probably more interested in sneaking away from the event than hanging out with a soon-to-be doctor. There was one possibility that crossed his mind though and it was with a small smile that Chase’s dark eyes fell back onto the invitation, clicking his fingers as he formulated the idea.

He was meeting Penny for lunch. She was quickly becoming a good friend to the young man and after spending some time together when they were both around the hospital, they had opted to hang out more away from the patients, the machines and Chase’s pager often ruining good conversations. He wasn’t on call today, so they were taking advantage of a free afternoon and grabbing a bite to eat at the park; one of his favourite spots on a nice spring day like today!
He put the invitation in his bag and threw the thing over his shoulder, grabbing his cell, wallet and keys before leaving his apartment, throwing a few treats down for Alfie before he closed the door.

The park was quiet for the early afternoon and he strolled casually towards the Boathouse Café. He was a little early, as usual, but all it meant was that he got to admire the day a little more before Penny would meet him there. He smiled as the waitress as she greeted him and took him to a small table near the water’s edge, leaving two menus on the surface for when his guest would arrive. It really was a nice day and Chase was too busy staring at the golden reflection of the sunlight on the water to even notice when she did arrive.

[/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 579!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

Penny rolled over in her bed, barely awake from one of those great dreams that just started the day on a good step. Until she saw her alarm clock and sat bolt upright, dark eyes wide and heart pounding. She was so late for work! She practically fell out of her bed, in a rush to get ready so she wouldn’t be so late for work. Penny was setting the water temperature when her brain caught up with her body and she realized it was her day off. She hadn’t had one in nearly a week since the restaurant picked up for a few weeks at the beginning of spring. It would die down again but not for another couple weeks. She was only getting this time off because she’d worked eight days straight; there was a price to pay for the perks she had being General Manager.

After laughing at herself for mixing her days up, she dropped herself down on the edge of the tub. There wasn’t a point in going back to bed, in a few hours she was meeting up with Chase for lunch in the park. She enjoyed hanging out with the doctor-to-be. He didn’t mind her odd, quirky tendencies and he was such a sweetheart. Though Penny did wish they had met under better circumstances than the ones they did. Her first impression had been so unlike her. Of course, she did have a reason to not be herself; nearly getting run over by an unfocused orderly driven laundry cart. Hell, even the restaurant would have been a better place, with her working bar that night. But Penny had a feeling Chase wasn’t a huge drinker, and when she usually took over for bar was when the big drinkers and the tourists came running.

Sighing, Penny jumped in the shower and went through her usual morning routine. When she was done, she dressed in lazy clothes. She would rather be comfortable while she was doing work at home. There would be plenty of time to change before she headed out to Central Park and Chase. He was quickly becoming a close friend, one of few the young multilingual woman had in New York. They had spent plenty of time together around the hospital when he was on break and she wasn’t actually with another doctor translating or a patient. And when she was with him, she didn’t have to translate anything which was a nice reprieve while at the hospital. Some of the doctors thought of Penny as their free personal translator and stole her away from whatever duties she was in the middle of to translate. Sighing, Penny turned on her iPod, still in its docking station and turned the volume up as loud as she could before sitting down and booting up her computer. She had a lot of work to do for the restaurant that she hadn’t gotten completely done the night before.

Nearly two hours later, Penny sat back and stretched. Everything she hadn’t finished was now done and she’d even downloaded a few new drink recipes for the bar when she worked it. But now wasn’t the time to try them out; she had a lunch date with a friend that the young brunette wasn’t nearly ready for. She shut down her computer and raced down the hall to her room. She dressed quickly, checking the temperature to see what she could wear in her closet then went about picking this up and that and tossing it on as quickly as she could. She grabbed random accessories, slipped her feet into shoes and checked her bag for everything she would need. Before leaving her apartment, Penny checked on Frankie, adding some food to his dish before locking the door in her wake.

She left with plenty of time to get there, choosing to walk on such a wonderful day. She pushed her glasses up her nose, settling them comfortably on the bridge and readjusted the straw fedora she just couldn’t help herself from buying. It wasn’t slouchy like her favourites, but it also wasn’t the weather for those types of hats, and the next best thing, in Penny’s mind were fedoras. Penny strolled through the park, checking her phone once for the time so she knew she wouldn’t be late. She couldn’t stand having people waiting on her, and tried her very best to be on time, if not early. Today, she was just barely going to make it, having slowed down once she hit the park. When Penny made it to the boathouse, she didn’t see Chase right away, but that didn’t mean anything when the restaurant had little tables hidden everywhere.

She smiled politely at the waitress who approached her. “Hi! I’m meeting someone here. Tall, dark hair, far too serious looking for his age, has he arrived?” she asked, chuckling at her own description of Chase. But apparently it was good enough because the waitress chuckled herself and led Penny past tables to the water’s edge and the man she was meeting. A bright smile lit up Penny’s face as she thanked the waitress. “Hey, Chase! I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long,” she said, her hand lightly touching his shoulder as she passed him to take the seat across from the doctor-to-be.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 888
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

Chase had spent a large portion of his life in the public eye and whilst he was able to walk down the street without anyone looking at him, he was almost trained to act appropriately at all times, just in case someone did put a name to his face. Luckily, that was more likely to happen in DC than in New York, but the premise still remained with him. That was why he came across as serious and guarded when he met new people. One of the things he had learnt from his father’s politics was that it was wise never to give anyone knowledge that they could use against you. Chase didn’t have too much in his past that anyone could blackmail or ruin him with; he didn’t hide the fact that he was adopted, his family was well known, he’d had a good life…the only thing he didn’t share with anyone at all was the story of the fire that had consumed the family holiday home in the Hamptons, though the tale had been on the news. No blaze like that went unreported and obviously his family was mentioned, but Chase never shared the details of that night and exactly what had happened with anyone. He still had the occasional nightmare about it and the fire in his own home remained dormant and unused, the flames always sparking an uncommon reaction of fear from the young doctor.

The rest of the time, he was pretty well held together. It was good, considering he was a doctor and needed to sometimes detach himself from certain patients whose files were handed to him. Sometimes, the seconds his eyes looked at the symptoms, he knew the news wouldn’t be good and they were the worst kind; having the gut feeling but needing to keep quiet and drag it all out until all the tests were complete. It could weigh heavy on his shoulders, but he had perfected the talent to keep all of his work at arm’s length. However, it was a talent that seeped through to his social life too these days, which was why he always gave off this air of solemnness that really was not fitting for a twenty six year old in his position. Maybe it was because his job was pretty much his life and his dream for several years that he found it difficult to let go of it when he wasn’t in the hospital. For some reason though, Penny seemed to stick by him, even though it must’ve been easy to see that there wasn’t a different man trapped inside the white lab coat that Chase set free once he unclipped that pager.

He startled slightly at the hand on his shoulder, but smiled when he heard Penny’s voice. “Not at all, I got here early.”

[/color] He didn’t know how long he had actually been waiting; it was one of the rare times he had allowed himself to get lost in thought so easily. “I was just admiring how beautiful the park looked today. Don’t quite get anything like this back in DC.”[/color] There probably was and people probably did see DC in this way, but after it was his home for eighteen years, it was easy to be disillusioned by the same old sights and sounds. Everything had started to look distinctly average to him then and the escape to New York had also provided him with something new and wonderful to be in awe of.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 619!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

Penny’s life had been far from fabulous for the first decade at least. She had been one of those kids that hid from everyone because she was teased so badly as a child. And even when she moved and met new people, she wasn’t as adventurous until a few years into living there. There were only a couple people in Lafayette that knew the truth of her childhood that weren’t related to her. Those few friends were the ones that had helped Penny become the usually outspoken, fun-loving, blunt girl she was now. And they were the only ones that knew the truth with her ‘fake’ grades. Her grades had been an aspect of the torture growing up, so she kept them hidden after that, even when she had friends that she knew wouldn’t care; she hadn’t wanted to ever go through that again. It took her a long time to get over the bullying she’d endured but now she could talk about it without getting upset, and even joke about some of it!

The young brunette let out a sigh of relief. She had taken her sweet time getting to the Boathouse once she was past the parks limits and thought since he was already there, she was late. “I thought I was late when the waitress said you were here,” she said laughing at herself. Penny smiled, thinking the same thing about Indiana. “The park has to be one of my favourite things about this city. But I’m sure that’s not true. DC has that Cherry Blossom Festival don’t they?” she asked, hearing about it somewhere recently and thinking it would be so beautiful to see up close and in person instead of just in passing on the late news.

There really wasn’t anything like that in Lafayette or Indianapolis for that matter. Lafayette had a half decent music festival for local bands but that was it as far as Penny was concerned. After she’d moved and gained a social life, the friends she also gained showed her everything there was in the fairly small city. There wasn’t exactly a lot to do, but the music festival was a good weekend. “If you want dull, try Lafayette. Unless you’re a music producer, looking for the next big thing, there’s not much there,” she said, pulling her sunglasses off, followed by her hat. She had been taught manners, and eating with a hat on, unless it was a picnic was not acceptable, her father would have her head! Penny lifted the glossy menu, glancing casually at the list. It had been a while since she’d eaten anywhere other than her own kitchen and Planet Hollywood. “What’s good here?” she asked, setting the menu back down again and turning her attention back on Chase.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 464
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

The one thing that sometimes bugged Chase, especially late at night when he was struggling to sleep, was his ‘birth’ certificate. His adoption certificate had replaced the original copy and it had been a closed adoption so trying to access the truth through simple means was not possible. Chase didn’t even know if he wanted to meet his biological parents or not, it was just something that came to mind when he was stressed or having a bad day. In his job he searched for answers and sometimes it crossed over into his normal life and it was a bit annoying. A lot of people told him how fortunate he was to have found a loving family where he would want for nothing, but there was more to life than just that. Could they not see it? He loved his family and his siblings, but why was he with them? What had happened that his parents couldn’t bear to keep him themselves? It was an argument he’d been having with himself since he was eighteen and it didn’t seem to want to go away. His adoption may not have been a secret, but his thoughts and opinions on it were.

He smiled softly at her, as he leaned forward resting his arms on the table as he played with an old subway ticket that he had found in his pocket. “You don’t need to worry about stuff like that. I’m usually early anyway; you should know that by now.”

[/color] He said in a moment of uncharacteristic teasing. Usually joking and flirting were rare things for the young soon-to-be doctor to try, since he was usually terrible at both of them. He thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. “We do and it is beautiful each year, but it can get tedious with so many tourists about for it. I did run the Cherry Blossom ten mile last year though, which was fun.”[/color] He admitted with a small smile, though the ice bath and next three days in bed and limping was less than enjoyable. Chase would definitely do it again, but his running had slacked off in recent months thanks to work, but he was quickly trying to fix that now. He had been fitting some time in before and after work to take to Central Park in his workout gear and run until his legs burnt.

Chase leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs at the ankle as he folded his arms casually across his chest. It was a warmer day than he had thought, but luckily it wasn’t so hot that he’d be uncomfortable in what he was wearing. He shook his head gently and met Penny’s eyes with a knowing look in his own. “Sometimes the smaller towns are better than the big bustling cities and you just don’t realise it.”[/color] They had visited a few on their vacations each year before jetting off to somewhere fancy. It was one of his father’s political moves, but it was an eye opener for them all and Chase found that he much preferred the quieter places to the general whirlwind of DC. He had ended up in New York however, simply because the idea of a smaller town didn’t hold much promise for his future dreams and he also didn’t quite know what he would do with himself if he was surrounded by such a busy world. He picked up the menu and lazily gazed over it. “It’s been a while since I came here, but the burgers and the fish are usually pretty good.”[/color] He informed her, deciding to go with salmon before placing his menu down again, focusing on Penny as he jumped straight to ‘business’. “So, what are your plans for the last Saturday of the month?”[/color] He asked, casually.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 677!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

It was pure luck if Penny was early for anything. Normally, she was right on time or running about five minutes late, having not accounted for traffic in the City. She should have known though, that even on time, she was still second to arrive when it was her and Chase. “I know, you’re always twenty minutes ahead of everyone else,” she said in a light teasing tone. “I just feel bad for keeping you waiting,” she added with a shrug, those manners of hers wouldn’t let her keep people waiting. Oh, they’d let her snap on some insignificant jackass that was too drunk to tell the difference between a window and a door, but they wouldn’t allow people waiting on her arrival.

Penny’s grin brightened. She wasn’t big on running, though she did it when she couldn’t find thirty minutes to dance to get her cardio in. “That must have been incredible!" she exclaimed, “I can’t stand running,” she said, giving him a little more insight into her life. He already knew about her affection for Language and learning. And that was the most important thing in her books that she usually kept to herself. So, anything else was really a step down since she’d basically started at the top rung of the ladder, secrets and personal tales wise. “But I guess with all those extra people running around the city, things could get a little crazy,” she admitted. There weren’t many tourists in Lafayette, so she didn’t really know how it felt to be overrun with them while you were trying to enjoy a late lunch with friends at your favourite café. She nodded, having to agree with him. Despite her words of boredom, she would choose Lafayette over Indianapolis any day. “Oh, I realize it, Lafayette was my fresh start. I wouldn’t trade that town for anything, even New York,” she said with a faraway smile. Her father still lived there and she took a few weeks out of the year to go back and visit daddy dearest.

Penny sat back in her chair, looking across the table at Chase. “I couldn’t tell you, I don’t know,” she said, confusion tinting her voice. Penny rarely made plans in advance; it was too easy for everything to fall apart. It had happened before. She’d thought a day was good, just to turn around and never get around to what she planned because everything else demanded to be done that exact day. A week, she never planned further than a week for little things; normally at least. But this intrigued Penny and she wanted to know more about why he was asking her schedule. “I don’t have volunteering on Saturdays and my work schedule is as a bit spastic.” Since she worked shifts it was hardly ever the same on any given day week to week, though it was her own fault, she was the keeper of the schedule after all.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 492
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

Chase’s tendency to be early for everything had been something he had developed in his early teens. He didn’t know why or where it stemmed from, but he’d rather be early for something than late and at least if he was there before everyone else he had a chance to prepare or set things up if necessary. “As a doctor, those twenty minutes can make all the difference.”

[/color] He said with a small smile, sipping from the water glass on the table. He may only have been an intern still, but he knew already that the earlier he got to work the quicker he could get through his rounds, examine test results and begin new courses of treatments and with some patients the time really was of the essence. “Don’t, please. It’s fine, really, I don’t mind waiting most of the time.”[/color] It gave him extra moments with his thoughts and Chase enjoyed it.

He gave a small shrug, a modest smile crossing his lips. “It was pretty amazing, but I couldn’t walk for a few days afterwards.”[/color] He said, pulling a face at the memory. The ache in his muscles from a run in Central Park was one thing, but dragging himself about was not something he enjoyed. That wasn’t to say that he wouldn’t do it again someday though; he would just have to train more specifically for it, rather than taking his hobby as enough. “I do it to unwind at the end of the day. I find it helps let all the stress and frustration vanish.”[/color] He said, giving her an explanation for a hobby he never had to define before. On a small chuckle, he nodded again, reaching up to run his fingers over his clean shaven jawline. “I woke up one morning when I was a teenager and found a family of tourists in our garden. The gardener had left the gate open and they thought it was a memorial park or something. They were taking photos of our fountain.”[/color] He laughed, remembering how he had explained it to them and they had panicked, quickly rushing from the property, terrified of police being called in or something. He gave her another small smile and nodded his head in understanding. He loved it when people appreciated parts of their life or the place they called home. It bugged him when he heard out of town families around a hospital bed or in the waiting room cursing New York or wherever they were from for changing or making the patient who they were. It wasn’t like genetic disorders or mutated diseases magically sprouted because of the city or town they were in.

Chase rolled his tawny eyes and then shook his head. He lived by plans and had most of his months planned out to the final detail. He knew when people were coming or going, what events were on that had caught his eye and where he would be most of the time in case someone from the hospital needed to get in touch with him. “I don’t know; you people and your spontaneity.”[/color] He teased lightly before reaching down to his bag, fishing the invitation out carefully with his fingers. He glanced down at it, smirked at Penny and then slid it across the table to her. “Do you fancy it?”[/color] He asked, curling his fingers under his chin and waiting for her reply.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 611!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

Every time Penny stepped through the doors of the hospital on her days off, she shuddered. She had never been a fan of blood, more often cringing away from even a cut on someone’s finger than help out by cleaning it up for them. She’d hand over the first aid kit, but that was as far as she went to helping out. “Twenty minutes for me means I get to do the extra paperwork my managers and supervisors claimed amnesia about. Not to mention go over the inventory they were also supposed to do but hadn’t gotten around to yet,” she said, shaking her head. Her staff wasn’t irresponsible; she knew where they were coming from. The paperwork they had wasn’t much but it was annoying. And inventory could get messy, even she didn’t like it. But finding out if there was a need for more hard liquor or napkins was something that couldn’t be ignored. “Needed some extra time to sort through your thoughts again?” Penny asked, smiling. From the moment she’d met Chase, he seemed the type to enjoy time alone, thinking about everything. Penny enjoyed some quiet time also, but it was hardly for her own thoughts. She took that same time to learn more about the languages she did know, or a new one completely.

Penny was hardly a runner, she preferred dance classes and still took them; a plus to being the one working the schedules. She’d been chunky and made fun of; she didn’t want to be there again. “I bet! I couldn’t imagine it. Of course, I couldn’t imagine running unless someone was chasing me or it was part of the paintball game Reilly and his buddies puts together every summer during vacation,” she said, smirking at the last vacation she took over the summer. All the kids growing up in the neighbourhood all made it back home for a week in the summer and the few who hadn’t left Lafayette planned this big paintball reunion game in the park. They’d started it in high school, for fun during the boring summers and it just sort of stuck, so really there wasn’t just the music festival now but also the game. Penny was wide eyed at the thought of waking up one morning to strangers starring at her peonies. She laughed, thinking about it though. It had to have been funny, seeing them standing there with their cameras flashing, oohing and ahhing over a fountain. “That would be odd and hilarious to witness!” she said, shaking her head.

Penny couldn’t live knowing what she was going to be doing at every minute of every day. Where the fun in knowing what was going to happen on any given day? She laughed, “Me? What about you?!” she asked, laughing. The two were a little difficult to see being friends since they were polar opposites. Penny was spunk and spontaneity, Chase was rules and calendars. “I don’t know about you and your schedules,” She teased, playfully. Confusion narrowed her eyes and had her tilting her head a little to the side, but she picked up the paper Chase pushed her way. Penny glanced over it quickly, looking up a Chase just once, before returning her gaze to the invitation; a masquerade ball benefitting the hospital. It could be fun. She’d never been to anything like it. She grinned, unable to help herself. “I might be. Is this your backwards way of asking me out, Chase?” she asked, setting the invitation back down on the table and resting her chin on her hands.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 597
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

Chase liked his solitude. He wasn’t anti-social, but when it was just him and his thoughts there was less of a chance of him putting his foot in it; which he could do often when he wasn’t careful. He never meant to deliberately upset anyone, but he could be a little too blunt at times. Alone with his thoughts was probably the safest place for the adopted doctor. “I just get to run tests quicker, to be honest. It’s still those pesky intern days for me.”

[/color] He got to work with patients, but he did spend more time in the lab with the machines than he cared for. Once his residency was complete, things might be different and he’d get called to different departments of the hospital for his knowledge and expertise. “There’s always time for me to sort through my thoughts, you should know that by now.”[/color] He joked, a smirk twitching at his lips.

Sports had never been a big part of Chase’s life but running had been his freedom when he was younger. Still, the idea of Penny playing paintball brought a chuckle to his throat. Of all the things she had told him, the last thing he would’ve ever pictured was that. “Yeah, my sisters would probably say the same, only I don’t think they’d be caught dead with a paintball gun near them.”[/color] He said, running his fingers over his recently shaven face. His sisters were far too feminine for something like that and he doubted their parents would enjoy hearing about it either. There were appearances to uphold and he wasn’t all that sure that paintballing was included in that for the girls. “It was. I’ve still not quite come to terms with it. All I kept thinking was how many other times had this happened?”[/color] Shaking his head, Chase sipped at the water before him and sighed contently. He enjoyed his days off and this was shaping up to be a pretty good one indeed.

Laughing, Chase was quick to defend himself. “I happen to like knowing where I’m supposed to be and when. It makes life a lot easier to plan for!”[/color] He said, his laughter turning to a quiet chuckle as he composed himself again. He wasn’t one for making a scene and he wasn’t about to start now just because the free-spirited Penny was in his company. Chase did not operate like that and his systems and schedules had never let him down so far. Looking across at her with dark eyes, Chase paused. He was inviting her to the ball, yes, but was asking her out construing something entirely different? His past failings when it came to romance had left him no better off how and so he leaned back in his seat and decided to bite the bullet. They were friends; she’d understand if he messed this up, right? A small lopsided smile danced across his lips and he glanced down at the table before looking across at her again. “And what if I said it was?”[/color] He asked, waiting for her reply with that same smile in place.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 560!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

Penny couldn’t be alone for long in the silence. She almost always had her TV on in the background, even if she wasn’t watching it and she had music playing around her apartment. It wasn’t that she didn’t like being alone, it was just that growing up with her big brother always around, there was always some sort of noise. And without her family around to yell at the video games or each other joking around, she had to get the noise somehow. She and Chase were polar opposites when it came to that. She knew the man across from her could sit in the silence with only his thoughts for a seriously long time. Penny was lucky if she got five minutes of that before she was dancing around her apartment turning on her iPod and finding a random channel on the TV. Penny grinned as she picked up the iced water set on the table for her. “For you, it means twenty minute clocked minutes towards the end of res., something to look forward to,” she said, still trying to figure out how the whole doctorate thing worked. She would definitely be the first to admit cluelessness on the subject.

Penny shrugged, laughing. “I know you don’t need any extra time. You manage to find time for thoughts while everyone else is striving to find time to shop for new shoes,” she said teasing him, though bringing that up reminded her that she needed to seriously go shoe shopping. She wasn't the shortest girl at Planet Hollywood, but she wasn’t the tallest either and needed the extra height whenever she worked bar. And sadly, it wasn’t uncommon to find her back there on a busy night, mixing drinks and pouring shots for tourists wanting a good time in a Times Square favourite. “Your childhood was clearly lacking if there was no paintball scrimmages or huge water fights,” Penny said, sounding a mixture of shocked and disappointed in his childhood. The summers were pretty boring in Lafayette, especially in their neighbourhood. It seemed like nearly every weekend, there was a huge fight with balloons and guns just full of water and everyone was free game. The rules changed now and then, depending on who was in and who wasn’t. Sometimes it had been the kids against the adults, sometimes girls against boys, and even families in teams. The brunette laughed, shaking her head. That was a question, alright. “It’s happened more times then you’ll ever care to know, I bet,” she said, sipping at the cold water. It was so nice on such a warm day.

The young linguist shook her head on a sigh. “You don’t plan life, Chase, you experience it!” she said, waving her hand around at their surroundings. They were in Central Park, one of the most beautiful places in the city and they were sitting in a wonderful restaurant. Admittedly, Chase had asked her, so it had been planned, but normally you couldn’t plan to do something crazy and adventurous, you just went out and did it. “And with that in mind, we’re going to walk around the park after our lunch and see where that takes us!” she said nodding her head. She often just walked around the park when she couldn’t be at home and she wasn’t scheduled so early for work. There were always street performers to see, vendors to grab a quick snack at, and kites to watch flying on the breeze. There was always something to do. Penny leaned forward, moving the invitation before setting her elbows on the table so she wouldn’t ruin the delicately embossed paper. A bright smile lit up her face and a soft blush was starting to settle on her cheeks. She hadn’t thought much about the “what if” of Chase ever asking her out. He’d always seemed so “work first, life second” that the thought just never occurred to her that he’d actually have a life outside the hospital; though clearly he did or they wouldn’t be sitting around together, waiting for their meals to be served. “Well, I guess that would mean I’d have to put a little more effort in to try and impress you,” she said honestly. Her usual choices in style weren’t exactly girly or feminine. She was a tomboy, despite trying to be that girly girl. She lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip. “For the record, I would have said yes either way. Sounds like it could be fun, and it’s benefitting a good cause,” she said, laughter in her dark, playful eyes.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 769
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

Even growing up, Chase’s home had been organised and tidy. His sisters had their own hobbies that were different from his and it was a rare day that there was a chaotic moment in their house. Maybe it was their personalities or maybe it was the way they were raised, but Chase knew nothing of the bustling family lifestyle that he had heard from other people in his life. They often spoke about going home to crazy households and loud siblings, but for Chase it was entirely different. For him, going home was subdued, regimed and usually consisted of more catch ups and formal family events than others would expect. He didn’t dislike it or hate it; it was what he knew as home. Still, his father ran with him and things were a lot more fun that it sounded when he tried to explain it to others. That was why he had kind of given up trying to tell his story to the people he met; he was tired of the pitying looks that were entirely unnecessary. He smirked at her idea and nodded his head slightly. “And then I have no excuses for messing up or being late.”

[/color] He joked, though he was excited for the last day of residency more than he would admit.

He chuckled softly at Penny and shook his head. “If I remember correctly, those shoes you spend so long buying were partly to blame for you almost ending up sprawled in the hospital corridor a few short weeks ago.”[/color] He said, raising his eyebrows and shooting her a typical knowing look. That day was still amusing to him and until the day it was no more, he would keep mentioning it to the pretty brunette. Chase shrugged softly and shook his head. “It wasn’t so bad. We had water fights in the summer months and played ball and went on vacation.”[/color] He was defending a life not many would experience or understand. His idea of fun was much more serious than most people’s, but it wasn’t as though he was a monk from the medieval times. “I guess that was the problem with having a garden that looked more like it should be on display than lived in.”[/color] He laughed, stirring his drink before raising it to his lips and gulping some down.

He had a feeling that he would never agree with Penny when it came to his planned out lifestyle and her spontaneity. “I find it’s sometimes best to plan those experiences.”[/color] He countered with a smirk. So far, Chase had been through his life with little disappointment or shock and that was exactly how he liked it. His smirk widened and he clicked his fingers as he pointed across the table at her. “And with that, you just planned a walk.”[/color] He teased, knowing that she would take the bait. Central Park was probably the second most familiar place in the city to him, after the hospital, of course. He ran through it most days for exercise and never took the same route. He had different ones for different times of the year, weather, timing allowances…you name it and Chase had probably prepared a workout for it. It was just the kind of guy he was.

Smiling another lopsided smile, Chase felt his awkwardness bubbling to the surface; flirting had never been his strong point and he had managed to ruin potential relationships before they had begun thanks to his uncharismatic personality. “You don’t need to impress me; just show up in a nice dress and a mask and I’m sure I’ll be a happy man.”[/color] He said, his dark eyes hiding a chuckle before he ran his fingers through his short, but tousled hair. He laughed and leaned back, folding his arms across his chest and feigning offence. “Well thanks! I’m glad to know that I’m clearly not as persuasive as Prince Charming.”[/color] He teased in a rare moment of continued humour for the young and normally serious haematologist.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 712!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

Penny had grown up in an organized sort of chaos. Her father had always been the artistic type, and there were things lying about the house that did have proper places, in her mother’s eyes, but if it wasn’t where he’d set it down, the entire house went into an uproar to search it out. It was one of the many reasons Penny had chosen to live with her father. It wasn’t a secret, nor was it something she spoke about often. The divorce just sort of happened, and it should have drove the children to the edge and back, but Penny and her brother at least, happened been as shaken by it as most kids would have been. Their sister was too young to know what was really going on. She did admit to it being difficult to live with her mother, and she’d moved with her father at twelve! Now, she had things set in a proper place and if they weren’t where she’d put them, she threw a fit until she found it. Reilly used to joke that she was exactly like their father, and Penny had to admit he was right. Penny rolled her eyes. “Because you make so many mistakes, right?” she asked, teasing. The man was sharp as a whip and he’d done nothing to prove otherwise since she’d met him.

Humour brightened her dark eyes. "Ah, but just think, if I hadn't been walking in those shoes, we would never have met and this lunch would never be happening. You'd be sitting in front of a microscope, staring at those little glass things covered in blood!" Penny sighed, shaking her head. "Then you wouldn't have any colour to you and they'd still be calling you Casper's cousin!" She added in a light, teasing tone. Penny knew the teasing comments wouldn’t subside anytime soon, and she was okay with that. After she’d managed to remain a normal heart rate and her lungs decided they hadn’t just finished a twenty-five km marathon, she had a good laugh about it. Being able to look back at it now, she saw how funny it really had been. She’d been shaken at the time, but now, she could only see the amusement in the situation. “They’re no paintball fights, but that’s pretty awesome,” she said, nodding. A summer staple in the Kendall family summers were huge water fights. She was almost afraid to know how much the siblings and their father spent on water balloons and other weaponry over the years. Their mother had been against most of the fun games the kids played during the summer months, and sent them outside the first chance she got; just to get them out of her perfectly coifed and expensive hair. “Was it ever decorated for Halloween?” she asked, imagining a yard so big they could decorate it to be a haunted house, or a huge creepy graveyard with the grim reaper as the gate’s guard.

She huffed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I planned a walk but did I plan a destination? I think not!" she said, shaking her head, giving him the answer to her question. Whenever she went to the park, she never knew where she was going to end up. She always started with a destination in mind, but that was never where she really ended up. She got where she’d planned, but then she continued on and found herself somewhere else entirely. Even when she went for jogs through the park, she never took the same route twice, turning this way and that until her watch beeped the halfway and she turned herself about to run home. Penny sat back thinking through the collection of shoes she had in her closet. As far as she was concerned shoes made an outfit! “Whoa, slugger, I don’t know if I can handle all those expectations you’ve just laid out,” she teased, smiling behind her water glass. “I would have either way, but I like this way much better. And I wouldn’t say Prince Charming; he was a bit… meh. I like Spiderman better,” she said, grinning, showing him another small glimpse into her childhood, where stories, superheroes and her brother reigned. She could thank Reilly for introducing her to the wonders of comic books. She’d always crawl up onto the couch with him and listen to him act out what was written out on the thin, colourful pages.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 740
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

Chase liked to work hard and he liked to get things right. In his own mind there was no room for mistakes or sloppy errors and laziness was just not a word he ever wanted to hear applied to himself or those closest to him. He didn’t know why he felt the need to push himself so much; his parents didn’t force him into it. Maybe it was from knowing that he was adopted. Maybe that triggered something that coerced Chase into trying to prove himself to everyone. The system had been good to him and he had been one of the lucky babies who were unwanted. Still, he didn’t let that fact dictate or run his life. If people asked, he would tell, but it wasn’t as though he walked around screaming out that he didn’t share blood with anyone who he called family. It didn’t matter to him, so why should it matter to anyone else?
Grinning, he shook his head and looked at Penny with a twinkle in his usually serious eyes. “Contrary to your beliefs, I have made more mistakes than I would like to count. None of them were life threatening, but they were mistakes all the same.”

[/color] No doctor got through their career without messing up once; they were human, after all.

Rolling his eyes in mock tedium, Chase held his hand up as though to stop her speech. “They’re called ‘slides’. And they’re not covered in blood; they have one small circle on.”[/color] Analysing slides could get boring, but there was a lot to be found in something so small and it could save a life or find something even more dangerous than the other doctors previously thought. Blood could be overlooked sometimes, but the next joke he heard about Dexter had better be the last; patients, other doctors and friends had quickly made the link between a man who collected slides of blood and Chase who studied it. “No one has ever called me Casper’s cousin. And I still don’t have any colour to me.”[/color] He raised an eyebrow and looked at her as though she was crazy. “And, it’s my day off regardless of if I knew you or not. I’d just be jogging instead of eating.”[/color] He said, shrugging as though their friendship was more of a consequence of that meeting rather than a pleasure. Chase usually wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to joke about with people; he preferred deep conversations and serious debates. However, with Penny he could actually relax and laugh without being the only one who got the joke. “If any of us kids had paintball bruises on our bodies all it would’ve taken would be one photographer, one lie and my father’s whole reputation would come crumbling down.”[/color] In politics, it all came down to reputations and how the public perceived a person. A man with three adopted, well mannered, friendly children didn’t have a problem, but there were people just waiting to catch one of those three drinking underage or with injuries that could be suspicious and the dominoes would start falling. “Yeah, we decorated it for most of the festive holidays; Halloween, Christmas…we had Easter egg hunts in there too.”[/color] He said, remembering his youth when it was all a big thing and most of the neighbourhood would come up with some great thing to do. The Garrett family would turn their summer house into a haunted house and Chase’s family would turn the garden into a creepy cemetery, usually complete with someone dressed as the Reaper and zombies to give everyone a good scare. “One year, my sisters and I turned the ornamental fountain into an extreme apple bobbing game. October is not a good time to get soaked to the bone.”[/color] He said, shaking his head at the memory that brought a nostalgic smile to his lips.

Smirking again, Chase dropped his head lazily to his hand. “Usually, ‘to go on a walk’ does not have a destination in mind. If there was a destination then you would be ‘walking to’ the place. I’m sure there’s a difference.”[/color] Pedantic, was what he was being right now, but he couldn’t resist it. It was the way his sense of humour was and not many people appreciated it and found him to be a bit of a pain in the ass. Chuckling, Chase pulled a strained face and breathed in through his teeth. “Well, considering my expectations are just what the invitation says…”[/color] He said, trailing off to let out an awkward sigh. Thinking for a moment, Chase tapped his fingers on his jaw and clicked his tongue. “I do think I probably have more characteristics of Peter Parker than I do of Prince Charming.”[/color] He concluded with a content nod and a growing smirk.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 847!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3

[Penny Michaela Kendall]

Penny loved the freedom her job granted her. She had to get in a certain amount of hours but other than that, she had near free reign over what time she worked, how long a day she worked, if she worked this one or that. But she had never really wanted to be the Manager of a restaurant. She wanted to do something with languages. She knew so many of them that her knowledge was being put to waste where she was at the moment. Though she loved her job, she still found herself wishing for something else. And while she was wishing for that, she was making little mistakes here and there with her actual job. She was quick to see them and correct them, but even her careful eye missed a few every once in a while. She rolled her eyes. “I still stand by my beliefs and your ticket to sainthood,” she said, with a teasing twinkle in her eye.

Penny visibly shuddered at even the mention of blood. It was a miracle she’d even gotten the tattoo she had knowing there would be even a tiny amount of blood. “It doesn’t really matter how much is on there, just that there is some.” An unladylike laugh escaped from Penny before she had the chance to cut herself off. “Maybe not to your face,” she said shaking her head. Though she did agree that he still didn’t have a lick of colour to him and maintained it was all the time spent with his eyes stuck to those microscopes. Penny smiled, laughing. “Oh, don’t pretend you aren’t enjoying this reprieve from the tediousness of deep thought and paperwork. My company is fabulous!” She flicked hair out of her eyes for emphasis.

Penny nodded, understanding where he was coming from. With them, they didn’t need to really worry about reputations or repercussions. Her father was an upstanding part of their community but he wasn’t anyone overly important either. They could get away with things like that. Lafayette wasn’t a big place but a small, small town where nothing really went on, so it was easy to plan and execute city wide paintball wars in the park, or shut down all of Main Street for a street hockey tournament. It was a wonder she’d had as many girl friends as she had growing up with all the sports stuff she did. But then, she also had a brother that apparently made any girl from seven to ninety seven drool. At least, that’s what she’d been told time and time again. She sighed, giving in. “I guess it wouldn’t have been wise in your case,” she said before sipping her water. Penny loved Halloween. It was one of her favourite party holidays. They used to decorate the entire front and backyard, turning them into the things she imagined would be perfect for Chase’s childhood home. Her father used to play the dead man, lying in a coffin like box, jumping up to hand out candy after the kids went through the haunted house the neighbours helped put together in the backyard. The Kendall kids, at least two of them, had it good growing up. When they were too old to actually go out trick or treating, they stayed home and helped give the little kids a good scare. Penny laughed at the image that created. A little Chase, soaked through to the bone in late October because he and his sisters went bobbing for apples. “Too cute,” she said, trying to calm down the giggle fit. “We never had an apple bobbing station. After everything else, it just seemed too much. Besides, there wasn't any space left for one after we were through with it all,” she said, shaking her head as the giggles finally subsided.

“You are no fun at all,” Penny said, pouting as she leaned back and crossed her arms. She was playing but if she were to guess, Chase wouldn’t know that. And that made it just a little bit funnier. She was mean, she thought, tossing that thought out the window. She was excited and pleased that he’d asked her to be his date for this function. If the invitation was anything to go by, it was going to be a big event, and hopefully fun with all the fancy garbs and delicate masks everyone was required to wear. Penny was over her pouting fit in seconds though, delighted with the conversations turn. “I don’t know,” she said trailing off. “You’re far less sarcastic compared to the latest venture in to the comic.” Penny had seen commercials for the next movie when she got the chance to catch some TV time. “I think that may be a Princely trait,” she added, teasing him.

Tag|| Chase!
Words|| 783
Clothes|| Taste of Summer
Music|| The Quiet by We the Kings
Notes|| <3 <3 <3[/size]

[Chase Logan McMahon]

Being a doctor had been Chase's dream since he was a teenager and had been admitted to hospital with appendicitis. The small scar on his abdomen still reminded him of his stint on the ward and how he had been so curious about the work that was going on around him. Ever since then he had been chasing the dream of helping others in the way he had been helped back then, and now he was close to reaching everything he had dreamt of for so long. In a way it was scary; what would he do after it was all official? What could he dream of then? Chuckling to himself, he swilled the water around the glass in his hand and smirked across at her, flicking his brown eyes to meet hers. "What will I be the saint of? Saint Chase of Blood Work? Blood diseases? Haemotology?"

[/color] He pondered, ever so slightly getting carried away at the end with the thought.

If it wasn't obvious already, Chase was not at all squeamish when it came to blood. He had attended a lecture on haemotology during his college years and knew straight away that it was going to be his specific field of study for his career. It may not sound exciting to many people, but there was a lot of behind the scenes work done at hospitals and Chase was proud that he got to do most of it as well as work closely with his own set of patients who had specifically blood conditions. Other than that, he got to work in other areas of the hospital too whenever his expertise was needed to help in diagnostics. It was pretty amazing. "At least deep thinking and paperwork doesn't try to sass me on a regular basis."[/color] He taunted, sipping his water and relaxing a bit more. It seemed the longer he spent around Penny, the more of himself that he allowed to slip out. Usually he was always the same guy whether he was in the hospital or out of it; professional, serious and composed.

Growing up, Chase did everything he could to make his sisters happy. If they wanted piggy back rides around the garden he was there, or if they wanted to spend an afternoon baking cakes and putting silly butterfly clips in his tousled hair then he was there without complaint. So, when they had asked their teenage brother to turn the ornamental fountain into an apple bobbing game the only thing he thought twice about was what would be the best way to make it happen. He stared in bemusement at Penny's 'cute' comment and shook his head. "Yeah, because every sixteen year old boy wants to be called cute when he's dressed as a zombie and rolling around in a fountain."[/color] He said with a soft shake of his head. With a small shrug he continued. "We had a lot of space and it made sense in our neighbourhood. Everyone got along and the kids all knew each other. It was like something out of a movie come any holiday."[/color] It was one of his favourite memories of growing up back near Dupont Circle and whilst he'd never told anyone else, it was something he hoped to one day recreate with his own family.

This was a strange conversation to be having whilst they waited on their lunch to be served up. That was the one thought replaying over and over in his mind as they spoke about it. He didn't understand what she meant by him being no fun, but he wasn't about to argue it; it wasn't the first time he'd been told as such. "Or maybe I'm so sarcastic that no one is able to pick up on it."[/color] He offered as an alternative suggestion as the waitress came by for their order. As a doctor, Chase had found few who were right out sarcastic a lot of the time; it was often too awkward to try and explain to each other and around patients it probably wasn't in best taste to be joking so much if they were waiting anxiously for results. After that it might be fine, but Chase wasn't usually the guy who stuck around to chat beyond the pleasantries, knowing there was much more work to be done around the wards. He smiled up at the woman who had seated him and politely ordered a burger and fries, opting for a more casual meal than he usually went for when he ate out.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Penny
WORDS! 866!
OUTFIT! Funk Rocker
LYRICS! Always - - - Panic At The Disco
NOTES! <3