Five a.m. is Not the Same (open)

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan awoke suddenly feeling cold, and a little wet. He moaned softly at the throbbing in his head and stiffness in his bones and he raised himself up and promptly hit his head...

...on the bottom of a bathroom stall door.

Rubbing his unimproved headache, he laid back down on the floor trying to sort out just what he was doing lying next to a toilet. And more importantly, just where he was.


The night before was a haze. He remembered calling Mike (...or was it Thomas...or maybe even Josh) the night before. Talking about some problem. Something to do with a girl.

Suddenly it came back to him. He had a daughter. A daughter he had never known about until just a few short weeks ago. He was a father. The mix of guilt, joy, and confusion was crushing and he found himself almost unconsciously reaching for the flask he kept in his jacket pocket. Only to find it wasn't there. Not the flask. Both his jacket and the shirt he'd had on the evening before were gone. Just his white undershirt.

Rising back into a sitting position, more carefully so he wouldn't bang his head again, he realized that wasn't the only article of clothing missing. Although his shoes were both still on, his pants had disappeared.

Using the toilet for support, he rose to his feet and made his way to the sink. As he splashed some cold water on his face, he saw his pants sticking half out of the trashcan.

At least that solved one problem. Reaching into the pockets, he found his phone, pulled it out and hit re-dial. Hopefully whoever he had called for help the night before would be willing to help him now.

[Cecil Wathen]

The evening had been a particularly busy one, which had both its good and bad points. The rush of customers and the entire team having to work at a constant quick pace was incredibly tiring, but everyone had managed to get a good amount of tips and the takings behind the bar had been great. Spirits had been high, the atmosphere had been jovial and there had only been one very minor scuffle to break up. All in all, Cecil was prepared to call it a very successful evening.

Last orders had been called twenty minutes ago and people had been leaving steadily since then while the staff tidied up and began to get ready to close for the night. Once all the patrons had disappeared into the night Cecil gathered all of his staff together for the wind-down chat, addressing any problems they’d had over the evening and sharing out the communal tips that had been handed to the bar rather than to anyone in particular. Once that was done, everyone bid their goodnights and went their separate ways, leaving Cecil in the bar on his own.

This was always his favourite part of the evening, the calm after the storm, and he took his time turning out the main lights so there was just the subtle glow of the backdrop lighting. Unlocking the door at the side of the bar, Cecil held it open as he whistled up the stairs beyond it. The soft pounding of paws came from the gloom as Mephit charged down the stairs, the black and tan Australian Kelpie bounding into the bar with an excited bark.

After clipping a lead to Mephit’s collar, Cecil was leading her out to take her out for a quick run when her bristling as they walked past the door to the men’s room surprised him. A low growl was emitted from the canine, and Cecil hesitated for a moment at the doorway. Karl had cleaned the toilets at the end of the shift so Cecil knew there shouldn’t be anyone inside, and he was apprehensive as he slowly opened the door into the bathroom.

Latching eyes onto the uninvited stranger, Mephit tugged at her lead and barked furiously in defence of her owner. Cecil held onto her lead easily, but it took him a moment to break out of his stunned staring and redirect the Kelpie’s attention off wanting to chase away the half-naked man in the bathroom. “Leave, leave.” Mephit stopped barking and pulling, but large brown eyes stayed locked onto the intruder. “Sorry about that. But…” Cecil realised he was looking again and made himself stare at the wall well above the man instead. “What’re you doing in here? We’re all shut up.”

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan was still working on getting on his pants with one hand, while the other was holding his cellphone to his hear. So when he heard the door to the bathroom open, quickly followed by a dog barking, he dropped both his pants and the phone and raise his hands above his head.

However, when he turned, he saw that is was not the police but just a man with his dog. It took a moment for Stefan to wonder why a man would bring his dog to the bar. (Although his pet drank, Stefan kept his cat at home.) But he realized he knew the man from previous encounters as the one who owned this bar. Well at least that solved the question as to what bar he was in.

He gave a sheepish grin, reaching down to pull up his pants and his phone. Although the man (Stefan was trying hard to recall his name) looked upset and confused, he didn't look like the type to get violent because someone was trespassing. The dog however was another story. But it seemed to be well trained.

"I'm afraid, I'm not quite sure," Stefan said, fastening his pants. "I remember...enjoying myself earlier, but other than that..." Stefan shrugged, trying not to laugh. It wasn't the first time he'd passed out in some random place. And his head was starting to ache so he didn't really want to figure it all out right now.

[Cecil Wathen]

As the surprise at seeing the half-naked man in the bathrooms began to ease, Cecil thought he recognised him from earlier in the evening. If he recalled correctly, the man had been knocking back drinks like there was no tomorrow and then he hadn't seen him again. Well, at least this explained where he had gone, though it did very little to explain exactly why he was still here.

Words would have to be had with Karl when he next came into work. Clearly he had been bullshitting when he'd said he'd cleaned the men's bathroom.

As the man leaned down to pull up his trousers the Kelpie at Cecil's heels growled low in her throat, a very obvious warning to the stranger, but she stayed back by her owners side. Though she had never been protection trained she still had a strong instinct to protect her territory and the people in her pack, something that Cecil was very grateful for. She'd be a rubbish full-time guard dog but she had the drive to step up to the task when needed, and thankfully for the invader in the bathroom she'd also been given the training to listen to her owner. After struggling to find words for a moment Cecil turned around and faced the opposite wall, giving the stranger a little privacy while he sorted himself out.

Cecil had been working in bars on and off since his late teens and was used to finding people in various states of undress in the bathroom, but this situation was a new one even for him. It was just a good job the bloke had been discovered now and not stumbled out into the bar later on, when the alarms would have been on. That would have been a whole different story. “Certainly seems like you had a lot of fun, it does.” The Welshman could take a little pity on him though; when he'd first come to Pilot Ridge following his departure from New York Cecil had been involved in his own fair share of rather embarrassing alcohol-related moments. “Do you want some water or something while you wait for your ride?”