new york wolves } { of tiny tables and puppy dates

[beanchaointe]

Lydia: [and she will get her coffee and make her way over, smirking a bit in amusement] You look like you need a bigger table.

Sam: [looks up, and there's a small smile] Want to believe this is more space than my cubical at work?

Lydia: Considering I've been to your office, I'm not that surprised.

Sam: You saw the nice fancy part that we use to impress clients and scare the opposing parties. You didn't see the associate farm down in the basement. [he smiles a bit easier, leaning back and taking a moment to sip his coffee.] I can put the files away in my case if you'd like to sit?

Lydia: I don't want to distract you. Just ... had to comment. [if he's working, she won't get in his way]

Sam: You're not a distraction. Well, not a very welcome distraction. I'm going into my... [leans to look at his computer] … thirteenth hour of work today so I could use a break.

Lydia: [cringes before nodding] So I suppose this is a plea for me to save you from yourself?

Sam: Yes, please. [and he will grab the files and go to shove them into his case, closing the laptop and putting the plate on top of it.] How have you been doing anyway?

Lydia: [she takes a breath and nods as she sits] Alright. Haven't found any dead bodies lately, so I'd say that's a plus.

Sam: That's a very good plus. I can't even imagine what that has to be like for you.

Lydia: It's better ... knowing that there's a reason for it instead of thinking that there's something wrong with me. Makes me wish I would have known about that kind of stuff before I let my mother lock me up in Eichen House thinking I was schizophrenic.

Sam: I take it from that tone Eichen House isn't a nice vacation resort.

Lydia: No. That would be the local insane asylum.

Sam: I think they are called mental health facilities now.

Lydia: Oh no. That one? Definitely falls under "insane asylum."

Sam: [winces] Then I'm even more sorry to hear that.

Lydia: [she shrugs] My mom didn't know what else to do with me, and I wasn't really in a state to be making decisions for myself. It didn't come from her side of the family.

Sam: Yeah, and banshees is a trait that goes with the female gene but a dominant trait. [blinks] Sorry, I... do that sometimes.

Lydia: [she shakes her head] It's okay. I do the same thing. [which is why she might find it kind of endearing] I got it from my dad's mother, but he didn't know about what she was either. He was the one who locked her up in Eichen House.

Sam: I take it she's not around then. I mean, otherwise she'd be able to help you.

Lydia: [she shakes her head] She died in Eichen House when I was a kid.

Sam: I'm sorry.

Lydia: [she shrugs, trying to brush it off, but her grandmother was her favorite out of all her parental figures. She was the one who always seemed to indulge her, even when it was something as annoying as wanting to be called Ariel] It is what it is.

Sam: You can't help what life hands you, you just have to make the best of it for yourself.

Lydia: Exactly. [she takes another sip of her coffee before inching closer] So you seem to know all about me, but I know nothing about you.

Sam: [he smiled a bit] You weren't handed a file with all my basic information? That’s a shame, guess you'll have to figure it out the old fashioned way.

Lydia: [she smirks] I know you have a brother who's a federal marshal. And I know that you're a lawyer.

Sam: Dean's my older brother. It's just us, pretty much.

Lydia: No parents?

Sam: [shakes his head, reaching for the remains of his sandwich] No. My mom died when I was a baby. My dad.... a few years ago. Hunting accident.

Lydia: [her face softens] I'm sorry.

Sam: [he shrugged] I never knew my mom. My dad... he and I never really meshed well. Dean was pretty much all I had.

Lydia: I take it that means you get along well, then?

Sam: As much as any brothers do, I guess. But he pretty much raised me. I mean, Dad would go on hunting trips and leave us in motels by ourselves for days... weeks... sometimes months. We just had to get by and all we had half the time was ourselves.

Lydia: [nods once before ...] So when you say "hunting trip" ... ?

Sam: It's not for deer.

Lydia: That must be ... hard. [because as far as Lydia's concerned, the only supernaturals she's met have been Stiles and Elena and the Hales. She doesn't have alpha werewolves being the bogeymen - all her bogeymen are human]

Sam: I grew up knowing about the supernatural before I even went to school. Hence the whole regurgitating of facts like bar trivia answers.

Lydia: That ... wasn't the part I was talking about.

Sam: What part then?

Lydia: The ... hunting.

Sam: [shrugs] It was all I knew.

Lydia: [she nods] I don't know. I guess I'm still new to all of this.

Sam: [he leaned closer] It's not something that is ever easy to learn about. Sometimes it's easier to just take in what you need to survive, and then just... play along the edges and hope you can stay far enough out of it to stay safe, but just enough in that you aren't a target.

Lydia: [she pauses before shaking her head] It's not that easy for me. My best friends are a hunter and a werewolf and I magically find dead bodies. I have a feeling it's always going to keep pulling me in.

Sam: That or you'll have a hit reality show on the SyFy network.

Lydia: [that makes her laugh] Very true.

Sam: [smiles a bit] So did my research help you at all?

Lydia: A little, yeah. None of it was entirely accurate, but I recognized bits and pieces of it.

Sam: If you want, I can send a request further up the chain for more info. We have a family friend who's pretty much the walking Wikipedia of the supernatural.

Lydia: [she pauses for a moment before shaking her head] I think I'm good with what I have for right now. I kind of ... need to work in the practical rather than the theoretical.

Sam: Well, beyond killing people to give you bodies to find, I don't really know of a way to help you.

Lydia: I certainly don't want you to do that. And that's ... okay. I think this is something that needs time. Which is frustrating, but I need to start focusing back on human Lydia things instead of banshee Lydia things.

Sam: Now that's a plan I'm sure your friends can get behind. You shouldn't let it define you at all. You're just Lydia. Human... banshee... you're you no matter what.

Lydia: [she nods] Yeah. Took me a while to figure that out.

Sam: Well, seeing that you already know, I don't think there's much more wisdom I can give you.

Lydia: Who said I was only here for your wisdom?

Sam: [he smiles a bit at that] That so?

Lydia: I was curious to see if the table would continue to defy the laws of physics.

Sam: Of course. I did take that advanced physics course at Stanford for a reason.

Lydia: [she laughs] There you go. Now I have everything I needed to know.

Sam: [he smirks a bit] Do you?

Lydia: I do. Sam Winchester. Ex-hunter and legal whipping boy who enjoys mocking the laws of physics.

Sam: I also like Star Wars, for the official record.

Lydia: [there's another half laugh] Of course you do.

Sam: [confused] Why does that sound like an accusation?

Lydia: [she shakes her head] A good friend of mine is ... practically obsessed with it.

Sam: Well, it's a good movie to be obsessed with. Now if he goes around trying to use the Force all the time...

Lydia: No, he is not that far gone. He just gets ... adorably frustrated with the rest of us who don't love it as much as he does.

Sam: Well, he sounds like someone I could get along with at least. Star Wars does bind people together.

Lydia: [she nods] I wouldn't know. My favorite movie is The Notebook.

Sam: Never seen it.

Lydia: Really? None of your ex-girlfriends have ever made you watch The Notebook?

Sam: There's only been one ex-girlfriend, and she was more into rom coms than drama.

Lydia: No current girlfriend?

Sam: I work a ninety hour plus week. It wouldn't be fair to her. That's actually why we broke up - between her rotations at the hospital and my first few months at the firm... we just realized we didn't have time to devote to each other, and it was better to just be friends. [thinks] and then she hooked up with a doctor and well, she's doing very well now.

Lydia: Good for her. [dry]

Sam: She also didn't know about all the other stuff. So it was probably better for her in the long run

Lydia: You didn't think you should tell her?

Sam: I was trying to have a normal life. Far, far away from the monsters under my bed. But when you carry my name... the monsters don't disappear for long.

Lydia: In my experience, monsters aren't as far away as you think they are.

Sam: Yeah, trust me. I'm a Winchester - I know. I learned my lesson the hard way.

Lydia: So what does being a Winchester mean exactly? Is it like being an Argent or a Hale?

Sam: Yeah. The hunting line came from my mother's family, but when she died... my dad stumbled into it and got obsessed. He made a pretty big name for himself and my brother... pretty much continues that on but in a more legal capacity. Most of the time. I think my grandfather was friends with Gerard Argent...

Lydia: [cringes] That's ... not really a claim to fame.

Sam: Yeah, no I know. Again, I'm trying to get out of the family business and have a normal life. As normal as a Winchester gets that is.

Lydia: [she nods once] I guess you're lucky that way. You don't have to learn a new normal.

Sam: Well, that depends on your definition of normal. There's a lot of things I don't get that most people do. I didn't have a normal upbringing so stuff like holidays or vacations... I don't really get that a lot.

Lydia: Maybe. But you don't have to worry about fugue states or finding dead bodies and developing coping mechanisms for when you hear voices in your head or wind up halfway across town from where you're supposed to be.

Sam: No, you just have friends who look at you weird when you say you hate Halloween and have no care for Christmas and never believed in Santa and your first Thanksgiving was when you were fifteen at a friend's house and never do it again because you don't want to deal with people not understanding why your family doesn't celebrate it.

Lydia: [her head tips to the side a bit] You realize that almost no one has perfect family holidays, right? Most parents these days are either divorced or on the road to divorced, and the dinner table is stacked with irreverent relatives who wants to know why you're not studying something more feminine like English. [there's a beat] Oh, or even better, assume you go to school because you're looking for a husband instead of actually getting a degree. [she shakes her head] Trust me, you aren't really missing much.

Sam: [nods] Your family sounds interesting.

Lydia: They're really not. [she takes another sip of her coffee] They're just people. Normal, average, everyday people who are completely ignorant of how the world actually works. How ... I actually work.

Sam: Well, good for you not everyone else is.

Lydia: [she nods] Still have to go home for holidays though. I don't think I'm welcome to the pack ones quite yet.

Sam: Benefit to the guy with the 90 hour work week and no real care for the holidays. I make a killing on holiday pay.

Lydia: You don't just want to take a break?

Sam: Sometimes. It's easier just keeping busy.

Lydia: If you don't take a break, you're going to work yourself into a heart attack.

Sam: Ah, but that's assuming I still have one. [smirks]

Lydia: [she laughs] Fair enough.

Sam: [smiles] Thank you for coming over and keeping me company.

Lydia: [she nods as she finishes on her coffee and gets to her feet] My pleasure. I needed the break too.

Sam: [he licks his lips a moment] Well, if you ever need another break I tend to be here around this time most days.

Lydia: [tosses her coffee cup, before glancing back to him with a small nod] I’ll keep that in mind.

Sam: Good. Get home safe.

Lydia: I will. Go home. [because she has a feeling he won't, but he should. And with that, she's off to head back to her dorm]

Sam: [he will. when Rocco's close and the owner once again ushers him out again with a biscotti for the road]

Lydia: [oh, Sam. You need a life]

Sam: [he does need a life. but his trips to the coffee shop are pretty much his attempts at getting out. That and the one half day on Saturday that he volunteers at a shelter taking care of dogs. A shelter across from an elementary school]

Cora: [you mean Cora's shelter where all the dogs love her?]

Sam: [that exact one. And they love Sam too, since they are the only ones he gets to share his love with]

Cora: [and she doesn't always do weekends because weekends are usually devoted to either papers or Stiles time, but this particular morning it was the only time she could make work and she's not giving it up. But when she walks in and sees Sam, she blinks] You are not the very tall man I was expecting. [she was expecting Nik.]

Sam: [looks down from the shelf he was reaching up at for supplies] how many very tall men do you know?

Cora: [she smirks] A lot. I'm 5'4".

Sam: [laughs] Fair enough. [since he's 6'5"]

Cora: [the smirk softens to a smile before she holds out a hand] I'm Cora.

Sam: Sam. Nice to meet you.

Cora: Do you come in here a lot?

Sam: Not as much as I'd like to. I tend to work too much, and what free time I normally have is usually when I eat, sleep, and shower.

Cora: [she nods] Fair enough. I guess that's why I've never seen you before - I'm usually hear during the week.

Sam: Yeah, weekdays aren't possible.

Cora: [she nods] I'm a student. My schedule's a little more flexible.

Sam: Lawyer. I don't own my schedule.

Cora: Altruistic good guy lawyer or you sold your soul to a big giant firm?

Sam: I think it depends on the day and which partner I'm working with.

Cora: Fair enough.

Sam: So, Cora... you want me to grab you anything up here while I'm reaching?

Cora: Is Sampson's leash up there? [Sampson being the giant saint bernard who may just be bigger than Cora]

Sam: You're going to try and walk Sampson? [hands down the leash] You must be stronger than you look.

Cora: Nah, he knows who's boss. [she grins as she takes it] I've been handling him since he was a baby.

Sam: I'm surprised you haven't taken him home yet.

Cora: I already have an English Mastiff. I think if I tried to bring home another giant dog my sister would murder me.

Sam: The apartment isn't big enough for the two of them?

Cora: [she shakes her head] There's six of us minimum, including the dog, eleven at max ... too many people in one space. [also too many canines but that's not something she's going to say out loud]

Sam: That's a lot of people.

Cora: Yep. We're a big family.

Sam: Well, that's good. Anyway, there's a bunch of dogs waiting for me to feed them so I should... [points at the kennels]

Cora: [she nods] Yes. Go. Feed the masses.

Sam: I'll catch you later I'm sure. Nice meeting you, Cora.

Cora: Nice meeting you too. [And off she goes to walk Sampson, handling him like a pro]

Sam: [and he will carry big bag of food into the kennels and probably get overrun by happy puppies wanting to play with the big human who brings them food]

Cora: [and eventually the bigger puppy will join the party when Sampson and Cora get back]

Sam: Whoa, Sampson... down boy you're going to crush me. [smiles as the dog licks his face]

Cora: Hey! Down. [and it's that "do as your told" tone, and somehow the big dog listens to the tiny werewolf and drops down so that he can just sniff at Sam's hand]

Sam: [looks up at Cora and chuckles] Someone knows who the alpha is.

Cora: [she grins] Yeah, it helps that he's just a big mush.

Sam: [pats Sampson, and slowly stands up] Well, I don't really have a lot of time before I need to go back and finish a brief today...

Cora: I can take over. Don't worry about it.

Sam: Thanks. They're all fed, they just need to be played with until they pass out.

Cora: Got it. Good luck with the brief.

Sam: Thanks. [and he will head back to his apartment, but will probably stop at Whole Foods and Starbucks on his way home]

Cora: [and she will just stay here and play with the dogs]