040

[madamemoiselle]

{Diva is lounging quite comfortably on a couch she's brought to the Plane, wearing very little. Propped against her knees is the The Poetical Works of Lord Byron that Sam has given her. She's also brought a few magazines, one of which seems to have a picture of her on the cover, but it's mostly obscured by a knife that she's been meaning to return.

But in the meantime, she reads aloud, occasionally stammering over a word or two.}

I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went--and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; and all hearts
Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light...

{But after that bit, she stops, smiling brightly}

Ne, that sounds like the Plane, doesn't it? Well, maybe not so much the last part, but I bet some people here would think that anyways. I can't, though. It's too nice here. Still, how lovely! Did Lord Byron get to come to this place, I wonder?

{She shakes her head though, laughing} Ne, it wouldn't really surprise me. There isn't too much about this place that surprises me anymore. But it'd be nice to actually meet him! I really do love his poems.

{But the thought is soon dismissed, and she reads the rest of the poem quietly.}

Comments

[didorothy]

[because Sam isn't sure that he wants to talk with her and deal with it, Sam just takes his coffee mug and his paperwork and sits on the floor by her couch. Which, in my opinion, probably looks like a very serious little boy drawing with crayons on the floor. That's not the point. The point is, he's not sure he wants to face his issues, but he doesn't want to ignore her, so he's going to do paperwork in her proximity.

'tis a very clever plan]

[madamemoiselle]

{This is a really adorable scene in my head, for the record.

Diva just speaks softly, not reaching out to touch him like she usually would, or wants to}

Ne, you're always busy, aren't you Sam?

[didorothy]

[just a slight laugh]

There's no rest for the wicked, Diva, and even less for the coppers who have to clean up after 'em.

[madamemoiselle]

{She turns to look at him better}

Ne, is Manchester that bad?

[didorothy]

It isn't the gun crime capital of Europe yet - it will be - but no city's easy. A Division is North Manchester and the City Centre, so it isn't the easiest beat, either.

[madamemoiselle]

{This is actually the first time that Diva has asked about Sam's job, I think.}

...Is it very dangerous?

[didorothy]

The team watches my back and I watch theirs.

[which means, 'maybe, but I'm not dead yet--never mind.']

[madamemoiselle]

I can tell that much! You sure jumped in to help Chris and Ray, after all.

{She smiles} I'm glad that you were all safe, though.

[didorothy]

Me too.

[he stops, for a moment, thinking on what could have been. Then he ducks his head back down and returns to working through the papers]

[madamemoiselle]

Ne, but...Do you get in dangerous situations often, Sam? Honestly, do you?

[didorothy]

Not... that often. Probably more than I used to.

[madamemoiselle]

{D:! Concerned!! Diva comes closer to Sam on the couch, frowning}

Really? But that's...! {She wants to say "awful", but...well, that's Sam's job, so she settles for a question instead}

What made Sam want to become a police officer anyways? It seems really dangerous.

[didorothy]

[daddy issues, Diva. It was daddy issues]

It isn't so bad. It was just--I met a copper, when I was a boy. One of the old fashioned bobbies, hat and all.

[madamemoiselle]

{Smiles}

So that's it? You remembered that from when you were little?

[didorothy]

Turned out I had an aptitude for it.

[madamemoiselle]

I couldn't imagine, that, though! That you wanted to become something in particular ever since you were a child.

[didorothy]

Most kids want to be policemen or firefighters when they're young. I just never grew out of it.

[Sam signs his name on a paper, then flips it over to check what's on the other side, and then sighs]

How I miss databases.

[madamemoiselle]

...Databases? What is that, Sam?

[didorothy]

It's a system for organizing data - records, all that.

[madamemoiselle]

And you miss that? Can't you just do that yourself, though?

[didorothy]

It requires better computers than are available.

[madamemoiselle]

...Do you want one?

[didorothy]

Yes.

[a pause]

Don't even think about getting me one. I don't fancy trying to introduce all of CID to it. Annie would get more upset at me than she did when I gave her a mobile. Chris and Ray would spill coffee on it, and Gene would kick it when he's angry.

[madamemoiselle]

But it would make things easier for you, wouldn't it?

[didorothy]

Somehow, I doubt it.

[CID, you clowns]