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Jim reached over and placed a finger under her chin, making sure she was looking at him. “I’m holding you to that Lottie. You may be a pain in the ass, but for some reason I like you anyway.” He held it for a moment longer before shifting back in his seat again so he could take another long drink from his own, the alcohol starting to numb the pain in his back which had been drawing most of his attention.

Lottie couldn’t help but meet his gaze as he forced her chin up.  The action gave her a jolt but also left her in no doubt that she would have to do as she was told.  “Yes Sir,” she replied quickly, her stomach flipping at that brief moment of dominance.  Lottie made no attempt to move her head until he let go of her chin and she slid back in her own seat and took another drink.  “Now we’re done with me you can tell me what you’ve been up to?” she said after a few moments silence, the cheeky grin back on her face.

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“Good.” But he couldn’t help feeling a little bit worried. She’d attracted their attention already, and that was enough to keep her in their sights until bigger fish came along. But then she accidentally gave him the perfect opening. “On one condition. Any time you get yanked in, you call either me or Spence. Even if we can’t get you out, we can give you back up. Got it?”

Lottie sighed deeply at Jim’s condition although there was never a doubt that she would accept it.  “Yeah all right.  Next time I get locked up Spencer is top of my list to call and you are second.”  The words were said brazenly although there was a small tremor to her voice and she had been locked up too many times recently to actually joke about it.  Lottie took a long drink, “They’ll move on soon though, I’m not interesting enough to keep anyone’s attention.”

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Jim just looked at her over the edge of the glass as if she’d said the most obvious thing ever. Which in a way, she had. “Yeah, no shit. That’s what the Watch do. Doesn’t mean you give them an easy option to yank you around. Even shit that doesn’t stick still stinks.” Jim was probably a little biased, but he’d never had any good interactions with a Watch member and plenty of experience with being hounded for no reason at all. 

Lottie gave a loud sigh, “Yeah alright, I’ve already had all this from Spencer.  I’ll be a good girl and stay out of their way.”  She took a long drink, shuddering slightly as the burn travelled down her throat.  “You won’t tell Oz will you?” she asked suddenly, a younger and more unsure edge to her voice.  “Spencer said he wouldn’t and you and him are about the only ones who know so….”

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Jim just snorted. “Run into them a lot recently? Or just when you deliberately go back to places you know would be crawling with Watch members?” He’d heard about her heading back to the Apothecary and getting arrested for her trouble, which he wasn’t that impressed with. He’d figured she’d know better. “I’ll be fine.”

The shock showed on her face at his comment but then she realised she shouldn’t really be that surprised he knew.  He was in and out of Montague buildings all the time so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he heard about it.  “There were no charges, the whole thing was a fit up.  The commander knew damn well that he couldn’t make anything stick, he was just trying to scare me,” she protested.  As far as she knew no one else had learned anything about just what the commander was holding over her and as long as it stayed that way she wasn’t worried….too much.

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Jim rolled his eyes and took a sip of the whiskey. “Yeah, right. They’re fitting me up to be an honorary Watch member already. Model hero here.” It was easier to brush it aside, partially cause he didn’t know how to handle any of the comments about acting heroically. It had been the only choice for him. “You get out of it all ok? Nothing lasting?”

“You’d be a lot more reliable than the rest of the Watch, that’s for sure,” she muttered in response and having spent far more time around a certain Watch officer than she ever wanted.  With a soft laugh at the question she shook her head, “I’m fine, not so much as a graze thanks to you.  What’s the verdict on you?”

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“Whiskey on ice. Large as they’ll pour me.” Jim didn’t feel comfortable with any kind of grand gestures or thanks, but he wasn’t going to say no to the drink. “I’ll grab a table for both of us. It’s been awhile since we hung out.” Following the words, he picked a table in the corner and sat down gingerly to try and avoid pressing his back against the fabric. 

Lottie nodded at the request, a soft laugh at the realisation they hadn’t hung out for a while.  It only took a few minutes and she was heading over with the two drinks and put his in front of him before she took a sip of hers, her eyes closing with a slight shudder at the burn of the alcohol.  “So how’s the pain?  Hero work can be so tricky,” she added with a smile.

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Jim knew that the smart thing to do would be to take another couple days to relax and let his back start to heal. But he’d already started to go a little stir crazy, so instead he’d started to make a slow journey through some of the Montague properties, checking for anything that might present a risk to his family in any way. Which of course meant that near the end of the day, his back had started to hurt worse and worse. When he walked into the bar to get a drink to numb the pain, he expected to be alone, but the familiar voice had him turning sharply before wincing. “Feel like shit and I need a drink. You?”

“Similar although not in pain.  It’s been a shit day though,” she remarked with a shrug.  “What do you want?  It’s on me.  I never did get a chance to thank you for getting me out of the fire.”  Letting him order she asked for another herself, knocking back what was left in her glass with a grimace at the burn.  “Do you want to grab a seat and I’ll bring these over or would you rather I leave you in peace?”

Lottie needed a drink or five after the day she had endured.  Her classes had been bad enough but the visit from the commander to the university had shaken her to the core and she was thoroughly miserable.  She slid into a seat at the bar far earlier that she should of and trying not to mourn the loss of The Apothecary, which she hoped would only be temporary.  She ordered herself a double vodka and had only just started it when she saw a familiar figure.  “Jim, hey.  How are you?” she called, catching his attention.

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