Forging New Paths

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Evelyn said 'thank you' again, very softly, almost shyly. It wasn't easy for her, accepting help, or accepting that she might actually need it. She smiled a little when he thanked her for letting him stay, and was on the verge of telling him she didnt mind as much as he thought she did when his phone buzzed.

"It's all right." she said, before he could say anything else about it. "You should go. We can hang on to Watson a while, or we can send him home with you." She had promised she wouldn't interfere with his life, after all, and Luca would pout about it but he would be fine. At least one of them should be working consistently.
 
Garrett smiled gently and texted something back to Anthony. "I'd appreciate if Watson could hang out here for a bit. He loves his time with you and Luca more than I do, and that's saying something." He slipped his phone into his pocket and stood up to stretch. "Well, I'll keep my phone on in case either of you need me. And thank you again for our talk. I'll go say goodbye to Luca for now if he didn't fall asleep."

He paused in the doorframe, glancing over at Evelyn. "I'm not sure what time I'll be back at. Should I come back here tonight or go to my apartment? It'll be late."
 
Perhaps it wasn't even on purpose, but the way Garrett talked so nonchalantly about how much he enjoyed being near them - and not just Luca, he always included her as well - had a warm bundle of nerves coiling in her chest. It was a good feeling, but her own reservations about getting close to other people again always mixed the anxiety in. Like it was impossible for anyone to want her around without a catch, without some sort of cost. She was working on it. Garrett never asked much of her, she reminded herself, and often didn't so much as mention her gifts.

"It's all right to stop by here and pick Watson up late," she assured, idly straightening out her clothes as she stood. "Either I'll be up still, or you can call my phone and wake me." She knew Luca loved Watson and would want him to spend the night, but part of her suspected Garrett would feel more lonely if he went home and didn't have the cat around like he had since the little one had fallen out of his chimney.
 
"Ah. So I should pick him up and take him back to the apartment?" Garrett asked, slightly confused. ". . . I feel like that'd be a bit more trouble than it's worth. If you're all right with it, I'm more than happy to let Watson stay here overnight and I can get him tomorrow. I'll just go straight to my apartment. I'd hate to wake either of you."

He smiled warmly. "Good news is, the case is a very safe one. I'm actually looking forward to it for once instead of worrying about whether I'm about to be involved in something dangerous. Rest assured I'll be back tomorrow all in one piece!" He paused thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "Hm. You know, if I ask the client's permission, I can give you both more details tomorrow. Maybe over lunch. How does that sound?"
 
He didn't take the offer, and she didn't want to push. Part of her thought to just tell him he could sleep on her couch again, but it had been too many days in a row of being together. If she didn't break it up a little, she was afraid Luca would get too used to Garrett always being around and would have difficulty being apart later on.

"All right," she said instead of offering again that he take Watson. "It's all right for him to stay until tomorrow, if that's easier for you. I wouldn't mind being woken up, but I have food for him still, and I'm sure Luca will be happy to share his bed." Her own experience sleeping curled up with Watson purring against her chest was more relaxing than she felt like admitting out loud, after she'd protested the thought of having pets so many times. At this point, she was almost starting to feel like Watson lived at her house and only vacationed at Garrett's.

The offer to share his case was a bit surprising, but if his client said yes she didn't see a problem with it. "That depends - what's my cut?" She teased lightly as she moved past to hold the door open for him so they could go and tell Luca he was leaving. "Lunch works just fine. Let me know if you want to do it here, or have another picnic somewhere." She could order groceries in the morning and prepare something for them to take with them, if that was what he wanted.
 
Garrett relaxed a bit and nodded. As much as he loved staying over, he felt bad about couch surfing, and he figured Evelyn could at last have a somewhat quieter night. "I appreciate it. Thank you."

Then he chuckled. "Hm. Let's say an extra five hours of sleep that you'd be missing if I came to wake you up," he teased. "And I think let's do lunch outside. It's supposed to be beautiful tomorrow, and I'm sure Luca was disappointed we didn't have an outdoor nap last time. I was too, a bit. But we can tomorrow."

He figured he'd let Anthony stay home tomorrow. While he didn't want to leave him out, he'd realized he and Anthony could take a day together later for the fair. It had been too long since the pair had had quality time together.
 
Evelyn only smiled at his promise of more sleep. "A month ago I wouldn't have taken that deal, but now I don't think I could come up with a better one. A picnic, then. He'll be happy."

Luca was lying on his side in the couch, Watson spread out next to him on the couch, pressed up against him from his stomach up to his chin. He was watching tv quietly, but Evelyn had a feeling that most of the time when he turned it on his mind simply drifted away after a while.

"Luca," she said gently to get his attention as she walked over, leaning lightly against the arm of the couch to run her fingers through his hair. "Garrett has to go and meet a client, so we're going to keep Watson with us for a sleepover, all right?"

He blinked slowly, turning a bit into the feeling of her hand, and his eyes wandered between them almost sleepily. "You're going?" He asked, a hand running thoughtfully over Watson's side. At least he got to stay. ". . . Okay." Evelyn had told him before, Garrett would come and go but they would always see him again. They couldn't always be together, even if Luca wanted to. He was trying to be good and not feel sad about it.
 
"Yeah, I am," Garrett admitted softly. "But don't you worry. I was thinking the three of us could all go out for a picnic lunch tomorrow, and even take an outdoor nap afterwards." He smiled. "And I know Watson will appreciate a sleepover with you. Is there anything you want before I leave for the night? Help setting up your new nightlight, maybe? Or Evelyn can help with that, too."

Watson gave a soft mrrr sound and snuggled closer to Luca, rolling onto his back to expose his fluffy tummy.

Garrett chuckled. "I didn't even know Watson could stretch out that long. He's getting so big!" He reached for his coat on a nearby hook and pulled it on. "By the way, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to a very, very safe case. There's no danger in this one. I'm looking forward to it, actually," he added.
 
Until lunch tomorrow. Luca took a long moment to think over that stretch of time, not knowing he should get up to say goodbye and just idly rubbing Watson's belly when it was exposed. "Okay. . . I can do it. . ." Garrett needed to leave, so he could figure out how to work the nightlight on his own, or Evelyn would help him if he couldn't, for some reason. He was sure it couldn't be very complicated.

"We'll figure it out." She said softly, and gently petted over his hair once more before pulling her hand back to walk Garrett out. "We're glad you'll be safe," she assured, knowing Luca would think it but not think of saying it out loud. "Let me know if you need anything while you're out."
 
The detective smiled and nodded. "I'll let you know. I hope you both have a wonderful night. Oh! Almost forgot." He sent Evelyn a text real quick. "Here's Anthony's number in case you need it. He said it was all right to share it."

He walked over briefly and petted Watson's head. "I'm not the best at goodbyes. Anyone want a hug, or a high five or something?" Part of it had been he'd barely had to say goodbye at all, at least for anything longer than a few hours. He was out of practice.

But since his powers turned other peoples' off, he had to remember to ask permission before touching anyone besides Watson.
 
Evelyn only glanced at her phone, nodding her thanks and then giving a soft laugh at his questions. "I'm quite all right, thank you. I'm sure Luca would like a hug if Watson wasn't in the way, but perhaps when you see each other again." Right now it didn't look like he was getting up, not wanting to disturb the cat's sleep.

Luca only waved goodbye as Evelyn ushered Garrett gently towards the door, putting a hand lightly on his arm as she opened it for him if only to prove that she didn't mind touching him if there was nothing potentially dangerous going on. "Drive safely, Garrett. I'll text you in the morning to let you know when we can meet you."
 
"Sure thing," Garrett said, smiling at the group. "You all have a wonderful night! I'll see you in the morning." With that, he waved a hand, headed out the door, and quietly closed the door behind him.

The case went absolutely swimmingly. It had been a long time since Detective Shiver had come across such an easy, relaxing case, and he was glad for it.

It was strange sleeping in his apartment alone again.

But sleep he did, and by the next morning, he felt very refreshed. He stopped by the office to make breakfast and eat it with Anthony, and there he waited to get a text from Evelyn. Anthony had slept much better and was also more like his normal self - confident, chatty, and relaxed.
 
Luca was bothered by Garrett being away, but she only had to remind him that Garrett would need to do things on his own but they wouldn't usually go for very long without seeing him. They passed their night peacefully together, watching a movie and figuring out how Watson liked to play.

The next morning, Evelyn had Luca help her slice up some fruit and other snacks to bring with them - strawberries, peaches, oranges and carrots, all packed neatly into their own containers - as well as fresh, simple sandwiches to eat. For Garrett she added some cookies, and for Luca a simple chicken salad to eat with crackers, for extra protein. They went to the park early with everything packed up in an insulated bag and sent off a message to Garrett to let him know they would be waiting whenever he was ready.

When he found them, it was on a large outdoor blanket in the grass, Evelyn's matching pure white parasol and blouse a beacon against the greenery. Luca was asleep, body curled around where she sat with arms and legs framing her hips on either side, shoes settled in the grass nearby and jacket draped over his torso like a blanket. She was leaning back against his weight, an elbow resting lightly on his hip, and holding the parasol so that it carefully shaded both her head and his. He didn't mind bearing her weight, even for the time he'd been awake in the same position, and she had promised to wake him up when Garrett arrived.
 
Garrett never got tired of seeing how peaceful the pair looked. It was such a drastic change from the first time he'd seen each of them. Even though she was exhausted these days, Evelyn looked more at peace than before. And Luca was gaining more and more confidence every day.

And Garrett felt like he was getting softer. But he'd decided it was a good thing, letting people back into his life and opening up to them. He not only felt softer - he felt happier.

He smiled and made his way over to the pair before sitting down. "See, this is why I think Luca would like camping," he said, laughing lightly and gesturing towards the sleeping boy. "He loves being outdoors. Has no problem sleeping on the ground. Watches stars, and I'm sure he'd eat s'mores. He's got camping written all over him."

The detective stretched his arms behind his head and yawned. "And how've you been, Evelyn?"
 
"I'm sure he would," Evelyn replied, tilting her parasol just a bit to look at him as he took a seat, a small smile on her face. "But I don't enjoy the outdoors in anything short of a cabin." And if someone mentioned the word 'tick' she might vomit, but that was neither here nor there.

"Luca," she urged gently, giving his shoulder a little shake. "Wake up. Garrett's here now."

He made a soft, groggy sound, but after a moment blinked his eyes slowly open, gaze drifting first to her and then over to Garrett finally. ". . . Lunch time?"

She only gave his shoulder a gentle pat. "When you're ready. Take your time waking up."
 
"Well, maybe later on down the road, we'll take a boy's trip and go camping. I'm sure Anthony would like it, too," Garrett said.

He smiled fondly and waved once Luca woke up. "Hey, Luca. Good to see you," he greeted. "I'm in no hurry. Anthony and I had a late breakfast, so I can wait quite a while before I eat lunch."

The detective made himself comfortable on the blanket. "So, Luca, how did your new nightlight work out? Do you like it?" He was excited to tell the pair about his exploits last night, as well, but he had enough patience to wait until Luca was more awake.
 
Luca was slow to wake, but after a moment he did finally stretch his arms and legs out straight, then gradually pull himself away from Evelyn to get himself sitting up next to her on the blanket, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. "Mm. It's pretty." He murmured, rubbing his hands over his face and then back through his hair with a little shake of his head. Afterwards, he felt able to blink his eyes open a little more and feel more awake, even though the sun still shined warm and cozy against his back. "I like it."

"It's actually much nicer than I thought it would be," Evelyn added with a thoughtful expression, taking his jacket from where it had fallen off his shoulders and using her one free hand to fold it neatly over her lap where it wouldnt get forgotten. "The lights aren't too bright, and they don't spin too fast. Very soothing."

"I slept a little. . ." He'd spent more of his time laying awake and watching it until his eyes unfocused than actually sleeping, but there had been sleep in there somewhere. Everyone seemed to think that was very important.
 
Garrett beamed and nodded. "I'm glad you had a chance to sleep again. Say, do you two want to hear about the case last night? I got permission from my client to share details. And pictures. Trust me, you'll want to see pictures."

He scooted closer to the pair and held his phone out. "All right. So this young woman, Molly Davenport, has this dog named Dixie. She's a Dalmatian. Super cute," he added, showing a photo of the pair together. "Well, the other day, her dog went missing from the backyard. She was worried she'd been stolen, since she's a purebred. But this photo she showed me convinced me at once that wasn't what happened. Who wants to guess what I noticed here?" he added, testing their detective skills.

The next photo showed a hole dug beneath a fence, with pieces of fur stuck to it. Dixie had clearly dug herself out of the yard, and had a hard time squeezing through the fence.
 
Evelyn raised an eyebrow at the photos, but at first stayed silent to let Luca take a guess, wondering how easily he would jump to the conclusions that most people would. He was sleepy still, but leaned his shoulder into Garrett's as he watched the photos flick by, perfectly content despite the contact quickly shushing his Shadow.

". . . She made a hole?" He asked, curious. Dogs liked to dig holes, didnt they? He'd seen it in videos online, or on tv.

Evelyn shook her head, almost disappointed in the client she'd never met. "And she thought the big hole leading under the fence was dug by kidnappers?" Large dogs were good at digging. Perhaps the Dalmatian had just never had a problem with digging before.
 
"That's right," Garrett agreed. "Dixie dug a hole. And Ms. Davenport hadn't noticed it right away because Dixie had never been one to dig holes before." He smiled warmly. "She said Dixie had been acting funny lately, too. Eating more, wanting more cuddles, resting more often. And also that she would whine whenever another particular dog was on a walk."

He flipped through his photos and held up one of a golden retriever. "Guess she had a liking for this particular fella. Well, turns out the pair of them had fallen in love, as it were." He scrolled past a bit more. "I followed Dixie's trail fairly easily. She'd snuck out, gone to the front of the house, and gone underneath the porch. To have puppies. Look at these things," he added, almost squealing.

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((This is an aged up picture but basically they're Dalmatian/golden mixes :3 ))
 
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