Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash 2013!

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan took the woman's hand, squeezing it gently. He considered giving it a kiss, but lucky for Barbara he wasn't quite that drunk yet. Although he was sure he had at least bumped into her at the last party, the evening had been a bit of a blur. If it hadn't been for him overhearing Sean say her name, he would have had no clue what it was. "What's a fine looking lady like you doing hanging out at the bar by herself?" He asked. Even though she wasn't exactly alone. Still there wasn't a man, or woman, sitting beside her at the moment. So that was alone enough for Stefan.

Helping himself to a stool, Stefan nodded at Cecil and gave the younger man a wink. It was no time to bring up the...incident of Stefan being pants-less in the bar, but Stefan hoped the bartender knew he appreciated the younger man for his help then. "Good evening sir, I'll take a few dozen scotch.

"Oh Josh," Stefan said, turning towards the man as he lifted his first drink. "You know I never kiss and tell." He gave Josh a wink and smiled at Sean as well. "And if you ask my humble opinion, you two look like a dream." Stefan managed to stop himself from saying it was a dream he'd like to be in.

Stefan let out a laugh as Mike walked up the bar and singled him out. "Mike, love of my life, what took you so long to get here?" Okay maybe the alcohol was starting to hit about now. "And I don't think I'll be needing your services tonight. Didn't you see my new, sweet ride on your way in? Unless of course you plan to drive me to your place...?" He gave his friend a smile, only half serious with his question.

The sound of the alarm was a little unusual, but Stefan was a pro when it came to parties and bars, so a little alarm now and then was nothing to be alarmed over. No pun intended.

He was just reaching for his second drink when Sean made his very generous offer. "Free drinks? Where have you been all my life?" he asked. He laughed and added another scotch to the space on the bar in front of him.

[Melody Rivers]

Melody smiled at Cecil's compliment. "It's a deal," she said, providing a wink as she turned away from the bar, scanning the crowd to see who she knew had arrived. She spotted Faye over on the other side of the room, standing with a man she didn't recognize. That was interesting to her. He was certainly handsome, and he was dressed well, too - two things Melody put heavy emphasis on. Cynthia was also there - she'd seen her earlier in the evening upon her arrival - but she would catch up with her a little later. Now was the time for some introductions. She drifted through the large group, approaching Faye from behind and placing a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder as a greeting. "Who's your friend?" She asked, offering a polite smile before she took a sip of her drink.

[Barbara Robinson]

Barbara couldn't even imagine this man kissing her hand; she'd likely be at a complete loss for words, which would certainly be new for the proprietor of the local ice cream shop. A firm handshake was plenty for her.

"Hey, these are the best seats in the house," she replied as she gestured with both hands towards the seats around her. And they were, in her opinion - she had a seat right at the bar, where she could talk to people as they came up for a drink and get the bartender's attention quite easily. What could be better?

The woman smiled at Sean's offer of a round of free drinks. She seemed to recall that being the case at last year's party, as well. She'd done her fair share of, well, sharing, as well, purchasing a few bottles of champagne for the group to enjoy together. It had been a good night, and she was looking forward to this being an enjoyable evening, as well. She was content, as the attention drifted away from her for the time being, to watch the conversations as they unraveled, occasionally introducing herself to someone she didn't know or offering up a witty observation or quick anecdote when warranted. She didn't usually like being the center of attention, but she did feel included, which was exactly what she'd wanted and what she had enjoyed so much about last year's party.

[Abe Milton]

Abe was smug. Definitely smug. And he might’ve been showing it just a little, but he felt that no one could blame him. He had a stunningly beautiful woman on his arm despite the fact that he hadn’t actually had a date in ages—not that he was sharing that with anyone, no—he was dressed up in a suit and had taken the night off. Things were generally good.

Now if only his knee would stop aching.

It was the cold that tended to do it. And in the interests of not seeming dead to the world and making sure alcohol didn’t hit him harder than it should’ve, he hadn’t taken his pain pills. Still, he’d managed to greet Lahja with warmth, a smile, and a kiss to the hand—she looked so lovely that part of him simply hadn’t been able to stop himself, despite the New Yorker Jew inside him rolling his eyes heavily. Then he’d taken her to his car and had driven off.

The only snag thus far had been getting out of the car, when his knee had seized up. Abe stayed perfectly silent on that score. He was used to it. He just used the cane to level himself up and out, and if he looked slightly paler, well, he was just grateful for the dark. He offered her another smile and his arm, and escorted her to the door, where he fetched a pre-written check from inside his black suit and slipped it into the donations bin. He was not, he knew, the most fashionable of men. He’d left off the FBI attire and instead had gone for a simple black jacket and slacks that flattered his form. His tie was blue and silver—fitting for the theme without being Christmas-y. But he liked to fancy that he looked rather good. And as it was for charity, he’d prepared a check, as he always did.

“Bar first?” he inquired, glancing at his date. “I don’t mind dancing, just—“ Not when his knee was acting like an ass “--after some liquid courage.”

[Cecil Wathen]

As the woman took her change and turned away Cecil cleaned down the bit of the bar in front of him, eyes scanning over the room to make sure everything was running smoothly. Whilst the energy and the buzz in the room was high, it had an overall slightly better behaved vibe than the Halloween bash and the Welshman was a little thankful for that. The Halloween party had been great, but keeping track of so many people who seemed dead-set on getting drunk and having a mad time had been somewhat difficult. Cecil discarded the slightly sodden cloth into the little hamper underneath the bar, and looked up just in time to wave a greeting at Idalia and to see Ferris approaching.

In the few times he had met the chef Cecil had liked to think that they got on pretty well. They had similar tastes on many subjects, plus it helped that Devon was usually around for them to both tease. It would be safe to say that Cecil had Noticed the other man, but any thoughts beyond he'd be a great friend were firmly shoved under the rug. However, it took Cecil a long moment to realise that he was staring and to look away as the chef approached in that rather fine suit. That rather fine navy suit. Paired up with red converse. That put him a lot in mind of a certain Doctor...

Cecil had managed to calm his moment of inner turmoil by the time Ferris got to the bar, and the slightly transfixed gaze had been replaced by a bright smile which only brightened as the bag of treats was presented. Peeking into the bag like a kid at Christmas, Cecil laughed and beamed at the man before offering out a hand. “You will have just made a lot of people very happy. That's amazing, thank you so much. All the best to you too.” The cookies were safely tucked behind the bar to be distributed amongst the team later. “Drink's on me. What're you having?”

When Sean made his announcement Cecil laughed again, rolling his eyes. “Or second one's on me, I guess. Gonna be a busy night.”

[Mai Adaire]

Ah the poor bartender; he was going to be overrun with those that took up the round of drinks announcement! Maiella sighed, she would have to go without liquid courage for the moment. The drinks will come soon! Her mind was set on option two in the meantime: she was gonna go bother her bestie and the woman she was escorting!

As she made her stride in their direction, a small alarm went off in her head: the person with Velli...there was a vague notion in mind, something she had to remember, but good lord if she had no idea why she was blanking out so quickly!

Oh well, she would just have to play by ear and come to conclusions herself. She mustered up all the sunshine energy in her body just to call out to her friend.

"Velliiiii~<3 You're all gorgeous tonight! I'm so proud of you, growing up so fast!" A quick, bright eyed flick to the woman she was escorting, making an offhand salute of greeting.

"Madame~"

[Lahja Morgan]

To say that Lahja had mixed feelings about the upcoming holiday was something of an understatement. Whilst she always loved Christmas and all the warmth and joy that came along with it, this would be her first Christmas spent without her son. Jeffrey had decided to spend the holiday with his father in LA and whilst Lahja could understand why he might want to do that, it did little to take the sting out of it. Dropping off the parcel containing his presents at the post office had been hard, and she hadn't quite reeled back from that yet. Added on to the fact that her insurance for the cars had sky-rocketed since the tree had fallen onto her Mustang, it was safe to say that the past few weeks had not been peaceful and full of holiday cheer.

But on the other hand, had the tree not fallen onto her car she wouldn't have been in quite such a desperately sad mood that evening, and she likely never would have found herself near-begging the poor waitress in Honest Abe's to please, please ask the chef if she could please have some macaroni cheese, please.

It had taken much hesitation (most of it bluffing) for Lahja to agree to the date with Abe, but she was glad she had. With two of the staff members staying behind to tend to the farm she knew she could leave her worries about that behind for one night, and she had slipped on an elegant purple dress and been ready on time when Agent Milton had arrived to pick her up.

Abe was not the only one who was smug as they headed into the Churchkey, Lahja dropping off a fairly sizeable cheque of her own as they walked through the doorway. Abe looked very handsome in his suit and she whispered in his ear to tell him so, the feisty brunette parading on his arm with pride and flair.

Lahja's smile was warm and she nodded in response to his question, her smile brightening at the mention of dancing. “A dancer as well as a chef. Where have you been all my life?” She laughed softly. “Bar first, then. I promise I will try not to fall over my own feet and embarrass you.”

[Molly Kingsley]

There has been a moment of horror for Molly as Batman had entered the bathroom, and she'd had that very odd inner argument about exactly what level of creepy it was to spy on a guy in a bathroom, before she'd finally turned around, face burning, ears ringing with the internal mortified echoing of the alarm. Ew. She was such a creeper. She obviously had some serious problems. This was not the way to deal with them.

Once the room was empty again, still jiggling her beer bottle in her hand nervously, Molly risked taking the first couple of steps out of the stall. Placing her ear against the door to the bar, she tried to hear if anyone sounded like they we're coming over. She was barely able to hear anything over the sound of her own thoughts freaking out about touching her face to a bathroom door - but as she pushed the door open ever so slightly, she caught the magic words: first round is on me.

Well...

Damn. She was conflicted. On the one hand - Batman. Also, being recognized as the person who set off the alarm. Or, possibly, as the girl who just exited the men's toilets. But on the other hand - free booze.

In the end, it was an obvious choice.

She slipped out of the men's bathroom and immediately slipped into the women's, hoping to pretend she'd been in there all along. Except not really for the amount of time she'd been in there, since it was kinda gross to be in a public restroom for a good ten minutes. Which she really didn't want to remind herself.

Washing her hands and tossing the empty bottle, she managed to regain some semblance of composure. I am not embarrassed. I had a private phone call. And I took it in the bathroom. Cause people do that. ....And now I will pretend like nothing has happened at all. And I will get a free drink.

And with that, and a deep breath (taken upon exiting the bathroom, it should be noted), she returned to the party as though nothing had happened. Except for the blush that had made a permanent home in her cheeks. But that wasn't exactly unusual for Molly.

"I'll take the strongest thing you've got, on him-" she informed the bartender, gesturing to Dr. Neville. She would really prefer to stop with the nervousness and get to that happy on-top-of-the-world confidence that drinking could bestow. And the quicker that happened the better. With all the new arrivals, she was really starting to feel underdressed.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh returned the hug before settling beside the younger woman with a smile. "She's how old now?"

Although he could be very good at remembering tidbits that people relayed to him, he found that remembering how old his friend's children were was difficult. They seemed to change at a much more rapid pace than once a year indicated, and whenever he thought he had it down no, that was three years ago.

"Sean is well. He's enjoying having a foster daughter around the house. He always was a family man at heart. and the practice is doing well. Perhaps a little too well..."

Although Vermont was liberal in some areas, in others it wasn't at all. And..."Sometimes it seems as if anti-meta sentiment is on the rise. Have you heard of some group called PUSE?"

[Elizabeth Greene]

"Seven next month," Liz replied, running a newly polished finger around the rim of her wine glass idly. "And Tom and I are longing for a return to the Terrible Two's," she added facetiously - Tom being the name of her husband, who was currently at home playing the role of babysitter. It wasn't so bad, but young Meredith was not exactly an easygoing gal.

She nodded as Josh answered her question. "And how is Bailey doing?" She asked; she knew relatively little about the foster care system but wagered that with Josh and Sean as parents, she was surely in a loving and stable home. Any kid should be so lucky.

Liz smiled with understanding as Josh brought up PUSE. "Yes, I had an... interesting run-in with one at the annual Field Day," she replied somewhat enigmatically, lifting her wine glass to her lips and taking a sip. "To be honest," she said, stepping closer to the other man, as this was a conversation just for them, "I wouldn't worry about them too much. I think they're a very vocal minority."

Her encounter last summer with the PUSE member whose name she could no longer recall was, in fact, quite friendly, and it wasn't until later when she got home and did some of her own research that she found out more about the organization. Still, they had been pretty quiet over the past few months, and she'd essentially waltzed to reelection. So if they wanted to pass out their little flyers, they could do as they liked just like any political group. In truth, Liz lived within the bubble of Pilot Ridge, which was quite liberal and very pro-meta, given the presence of so many Hammel students and alumni. She didn't believe any kind of anti-meta group could really gain a foothold in their city.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean chuckled at Stefan’s remark, because it was far from true. The journalist was a huge flirt, and while he wasn’t a braggart, he wasn’t particularly skilled at keeping his indiscretions to himself. Both because his personality was ostentatious and because rumors swept quickly through a town the size of Pilot Ridge. That was without the benefit of Sean’s telepathy. Still, he didn’t cut in on that; he’d let Stefan think what he wanted at this party.

It was a celebration, after all.

As various people came up to the bar to order their drinks, Sean smiled or waved in greeting. He recognized most people from Hammel (either as current staff or as former students over the decades) or from other interactions around time. This was bound to happen, when someone the telepath’s age lived somewhere for half his life.

Then at Stefan’s other remark, he replied, “Mostly here. I have a tendency to blend into the woodwork. What would you like?” Although, that was more of a question for Cecil to ask than for Sean, as he was only the wallet, not the bartender.

To Barbara, he said, “That’s true, they are. Speaking of holidays, do you have new flavors for me to sample at the shop?” If the answer was yes, then the telepath would find his way to the mall to do just that.

To Cecil, he said, “A busy worthwhile night. These are the holidays after all.” Then he smiled at his friend and took a sip from his drink.

Upon hearing Molly speak up, he turned and asked, “I recommend a Three Wise Men, but it’s your choice, of course.” Which was a way of engaging her without asking what was on her mind.

[Barbara Robinson]

"As a matter of fact, I do," Barbara replied to Sean with a nod. "One I really like is a chocolate hazelnut I made. I saw on the, uh, Food Network that chocolate hazelnut is a common flavor combination around Christmas, so I'm serving that now," she explained as she accepted a second beer from the bartender into her hand. "I also have a few others just for the rest of the month that are plays on Christmas cookies. So I have a snickerdoodle flavor with a lot of cinnamon in it, a chocolate peppermint one... stuff like that." That was more than she usually spoke all at once, but she got excited when she talked about her passion, which was food and her business. Equally exciting was the prospect of Sean, a friend of hers she didn't see terribly often, stopping by Shake. She did hope that would happen, as many of her customers were not people she knew very well.

And if anyone else at the party happened to hear about a flavor they liked and wanted to swing on by, then she certainly wouldn't mind their business.

[Everett Lilien]

"Did I hear free drinks?" Everett whooped. He'd been scoping out the party while leaning up against the wall of the bar. He knew almost everyone here on an acquaintance level, but nothing more than that.

Now he'd stepped up to the bar where Dr. Neville and others were gathered around. He sure could use one after everything that had been happening lately. He'd waved to everyone and nodded his head, his form of a greeting and spotted red hair out of the corner of his eye. "Well, if it isn't Morrigan," he said with a smirk. He remembered that con. Well the beginning of it anyway. That was the last time he'd been so smashed he didn't remember anything afterwards. Drunk Batman was quite a hit though.

[Molly Kingsley]

Pointing a finger toward Dr. Neville, Molly announced, determinedly, "Wise man says Wise Men!" ...That was basically ordering a drink, right? Well, it was enough to get her the drink, anyway, which she quickly sipped. And then sipped some more. And then a bit more, because the blonde Batman was definitely here, and it made her anxious, and those twinges of anxiety faded the more she drank.

But alas, the not-so-Dark Knight was approaching the bar, seemingly very comfortable, which Molls envied, and then-

"Well, if it isn't Morrigan."

Thank god she'd managed to down half her drink by then. Rate of consumption was certainly her friend when it came to getting tipsy enough to be sociable. She just hoped they were out of the way enough that no one she worked with could possibly overhear about her dressing as one of the more scantily-clad characters in modern video games. The thought was rather stressful. But the Three Wise Men were certainly calming her, which was good. One day Molly might learn to handle social anxiety without drinking, but it was definitely not going to be today.

She blushed, certainly, but hoped she could blame that on the alcohol. "Hey..." Yeah, still couldn't remember his name, "...Batman." She managed a crooked smile, the touch of nervousness dulled a bit, but still present. She took another large gulp of her drink, and the hopeful thought that maybe he was equally bad at remembering names relieved her. "I didn't realize you lived in Pilot Ridge." Her tone was surprisingly jovial, considering how stressful this would be without the aid of alcohol.

She'd been lucky so far to never run into one of her con hookups here, but there was a first time for everything. The pleasant humming of the alcohol in her system took the edge off, for sure, resigning her to the fate of probability.

...Not that she'd hooked up with so many people at cons that the probability was in favor-

...Well, not that many. He was more of an outlier - the one point that rejected the probability. 

Math and data. It just made more sense that way. And the buzz she had going let her look at it from an objective point of view.

[Ferris Macklin]

For someone who had never flirted in his life, Ferris could not detect Notice if it stabbed him in the face. He thought maybe Cecil had his eye on him for the bag; it was a little suspicious, and as the proprietor he'd probably be concerned about it. But Ferris kept smiling, trying to show it was harmless (unless you were diabetic).

Shaking the hand as he handed over the bag with the other, he beamed. Waving away the thanks, he said, "I've done plenty of these myself, I know how it goes. No nuts, in case anyone's allergic. I think Hammel's rubbing off on me." Exhaling, he looked around. The bar looked great, the patrons looked like something out of a movie. Wow. So this was what grown up parties were like. He guessed there wouldn't be a bowl of Doritos or DDR set up anywhere. Oh well. There were other ways to have fun, right?

Right?

Gah.

"Oh you know. Something wild and crazy," he said to the offer of a drink. "Club soda with lime, please." Pulling a pair of ones out of his pocket, he slid them over. Tip. Most of the people already there he either didn't know or were talking to others, though he gave a wave to Josh Bernstein when the man looked his way. Whether or not he saw... well, he'd catch him later. He supposed it would be expecting too much to see Cee Cohen, if the man even knew there was a gathering tonight. It was very likely the man was at school.

Since he was at the bar, he was able to hear... Barbara, wasn't that her name? A fellow pie contest contestant. She owned an ice cream place, if he remembered right, which explained her talking about flavors. Hoping he wasn't interjecting, he smiled at her, raised his glass and said, "Nutella ice cream? I'm in."