And still, that mockingbird won't sing ;; Todd

[Juniper Faye Green]

Work was killer for Juniper that morning.

Work as a doctor. Killer. Juniper grimaced at her own thoughts; normally she would chuckle quietly to herself at the pun, but with the way things were going, there was not even a reason to smile. Daniel Edwards, a sweet man of 34 and by far one of her favorite patients, fell into a coma after having been admitted for a rare case of pneumonia. And Juniper still couldn't figure out why. The two never went together, and she was positive the man had pneumonia — there was no reason for his comatose state. Seeing her distress, the hospital director had told her to take the rest of the day off and transferred the man into the care of another doctor. And although he didn't say it, Juniper was sure that he meant that she was less than qualified to handle Daniel anymore.

Still in her scrubs, Juniper made a quick stop at the library than retreated to the park, book in hand. Currently she was reading romance novels — a masochistic tendency of hers, considering her current situation, but also a sign of improvement. It had been two years now since Brandon's affair (which she recently learned had been going on for five months — five months — before she caught them in the act, and the fact that she could get lost in the romantic scenarios of the too-perfect characters and not feel like jabbing her eyes out was a sure step in the right direction.

She settled onto a bench in the arboretum, novel "With Arms Wide Open" in hand, and, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, turned to the first page. She would not think of Daniel. She would not think of Brandon. She would just read and wait for the world around her to disappear.

[Todd Stephen Owens]

Todd had a well deserved day off today, considering things had gone so well with his robbery case the other day. Though, after sleeping in until 9am, which was sleeping in a work day for him, he got dressed and decided to go for a jog. For one, spring had finally started and the air was warm and the wind cool, flowers were blooming and since he had no allergies, he had no complaints. He laced up his running shoes and headed for the park, which was a great place to run this time of year.

He put his earbuds in his ears and started off. No reason not to jog to the park. Todd was in good shape as an officer of the law, you had to be, the station made sure you were up to speed--literally. Todd liked running, it was relaxing to feel your feet hit the pavement in time with the music, the muscles working together and all.

After a while, he slowed to a stop, bouncing from one foot to the other to keep his heart rate up and he lifted his shirt up to wipe the sweat off his face with it. That gave him a moment to see his surroundings. He recognized an old friend from high school. they met up often enough, he knew life had been difficult recently, she hadn't been around much since her bad breakup.

Todd walked over and pulled a headphone out of his ear. "Hey June." He said, calling her his trademark nickname.

[Juniper Faye Green]

Oliver, a man who under no circumstance would be single in the real world, was talking to a woman, Margaret, about his life as a bachelor, and how lonely it is to be alone in the world. It was obvious the girl was falling for him, and obvious they would end up together, and after minor difficulties would get married and spend the rest of their lives in bliss. It was cliche and obvious and utterly unrealistic, and a mere few months ago, Juniper would have sneered and tossed the book to the side, insisting to the fictional Margaret that everything would be fine until he cheated or beat her or did something to break her heart, that it was inevitable and she was a fool to believe otherwise.

As it was, she pushed through, accepting the unrealistic moments as fiction and not letting it distract from the story. That is, until the use of her nickname pulled her from the created world. She looked up, strands of hair falling in her face, and her gaze landed on Todd Owens.

It had been more time than usual that they'd last seen each other, between his tough cases and her tough... well, what wasn't tough at the moment? So she waved her hand and offered him a guarded smile that didn't quite reach her eyes — not that she wasn't happy to see him, of course.

"Hi Todd," she said, moving over on the bench, just incase he wanted to join her. However, he was clearly in the middle of a run, so she didn't gesture to the open spot, not wanting to pressure him to sit. "How are you?"

Not very stimulating conversation, but it was all she could offer at the moment.

[Todd Stephen Owens]

Todd nodded lightly. "I'm okay." He was over worked, single and kept running into the girl he dated before he got out of the closet, but otherwise he was doing well. His sister was recovering, his family life was good-- hell, he was glad to have been adopted by a good family-- But really, he wasn't gonna complain too much, life was life. He learned that early on. There were bumps and you would do what you could at any given time.

"How are you doing?" he asked. Her man had hurt her bad, he could see that. Everyone knew it. But he could tell she wasn't herself, her eyes never laughed anymore. It seemed strange to him that she hadn't tried to date at all, even a little hate sex or something. She seemed to have just shut down since the break up.

He turned off the ipod but didn't sit down. He didn't wanna hold her up, but he did want to be respectful and listen to her. They were friends after all and it had been a while.

[Juniper Faye Green]

"I'm okay." Was he really? She had been living under a rock lately, but even she had heard about his sister's illness, and though she was recovering, it must have been a struggle. The possibility of losing someone you care about is always tough. But she didn't question him, because if he wasn't okay, Todd would usually say so. So either he really was fine or just didn't want to talk about it, and either way it would be wise not to press the subject.

She spent too much time overthinking the two words, and suddenly snapped back to reality and realized he'd asked the same question back to her. She blinked and considered everything.

She was tired. That was the main thing — the past couple of years had been trying, and it was exhausting to deal with everything. She was on the fast track to recovery, and she was honestly over Brandon, but the rest of her life was coming crashing down. So she was recovering and being beaten down at the same time. One of her closest friends at the moment was currently in a coma, and the guilt and sorrow had her feeling that it was somehow her fault. But she had a home, she had friends and she had a loving family, so who was she to complain? The last few years had been hard, but they could have been harder, she supposed.

"I'm okay too," she said simply, not voicing all her thoughts and offering him a smile. It was easier to stick to the basics and draw the attention away from herself as often as possible. "How is your sister? I heard she's doing well now."

[Todd Stephen Owens]

He chuckled lightly. "Sounds like we're both okay but not really." he said. As a cop, it heightening his natural ability to read people. But life was like that wasn't it? Difficult and a pain in the pass but really, no matter how bad it was, you were okay. But he didn't press it, she didn't need to relive her past. Todd didn't want to go into all his craziness either. Or lack of a relationship, which would be flirty if it weren't for the fact that Todd was gay.

"Oh, she's doing well," He said with a nod. Scarlett was back to thinking she could do lots, which she could, but Todd still overly worried about her. "Still weak but slow and steady, you know." Of course she knew, she was a doctor. All illnesses kind of healed that way, bit by bit and little by little. The only difference was how long in the end.

"How are your parents doing?" As far as he knew she was still living with them, but he too was close with his parents so he didn't mean the question as a jab.

[Juniper Faye Green]

"Sounds like we're both okay but not really."

Todd was always the keen one. Juniper's smile grew just slightly wider at the comment, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and nodded. "Thatsounds about right," she agreed, though offered nothing more on the subject. Everyone had their trials, some more emotional than others, and they weren't things most people cared to discuss, especially in a public place on such a nice day.

Upon hearing that his sister was doing well, Juniper smiled once more, glad that someone seemed to be recovering around there. "I'm glad," she said honestly, fighting to pull her hair into a ponytail. "That's really great. You must be so relieved."

And then the question of her parents. "They're as healthy and robust as ever," she shared, fondness creeping into her features as she thought upon the two. "Crazy, of course, but that's how it's always been, hasn't it? I visit them when I can," she shared, then paused. They hadn't spoken in a while — had he heard of her relocation? "I moved out a couple weeks ago. They helped pay for a small house. It's closer to the hospital, and they decided I need to get back out there on my own again."

She wasn't sure she agreed with their decision, not minding living in her childhood room and avoiding reality, but the house was quaint and really quite lovely, so she couldn't complain.

[Todd Stephen Owens]

Todd smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be even more relieved when she's back to herself and I don't have to worry about how far she can walk and stuff." he said. He wasn't one of those people who had to rewarm to people after having not seen them, if he trusted you and liked you, he would forever. Once you lost his trust though it was very difficult to get it back. So it didn't matter than Juniper had been out of his life, he would admit to anything because she was his friend.

He smiled when he thought of her parents. Todd saw them whenever he went to Green's usually and found them to be very friendly people. "Oh thats cool," He said commenting on the house. He himself had an apartment, which wasn't glamorous or as great an investment as a house but he visited his family home a lot, and his apartment was in a good location for him. He was alone after all, it wasn't like he needed much more space. And on a policeman's salary...

"You should have a party, like a house warming party or whatever they're called. We can all oooh and ahh and bring you toasters and stuff." Todd said playfully, trying to lighten the mood a little, as well as maybe suggest something that would get her back into the world.

[Juniper Faye Green]

"Yeah, I'll be even more relieved when she's back to herself and I don't have to worry about how far she can walk and stuff." Juniper offered him half a smile and nodded. Recovery was a long process, especially when the illness was as severe as his sister's. It took a lot of patience to wait it out and accept the slowness as part of the cure, and many people had trouble with it. She wondered vaguely if his sister was the type to try to speed up the process by pushing herself too hard, then decided that was probably out of the question. With Todd likely keeping a close eye on her, even if she tried to do too much, she probably wouldn't be able to.

And then there was talk about a party. Juniper? Hosting a party? At one point in her life, that may have been nice, but now? She didn't really talk to much of anyone anymore, apart from a couple of people at the hospital, and now Todd. Who would come? Would she even be up for hosting? She thought of her house, decorated with only the very basics. Even the fridge held only enough to last her two days, tops. She was living like a bachelor. It would take a lot of work to get her house even close to party-ready.

"Oh... I don't know..." she replied, shrugging slightly. "Maybe..." Maybe not. Probably not. While she was getting better at socializing, throwing a party herself might be a bit out of her current comfort zone. But she couldn't shake the thought. It would be nice to have friends again....

"I mean, I've been pretty M.I.A. lately," Juniper pointed out, as though he didn't already know. "I don't even know who I'd invite."

[Todd Stephen Owens]

Todd smiled. "Well then I should throw a party and invite you." he said. not like his apartment was big enough to have a good party in, and with his life, who would he invite? But maybe he'd figure it out... maybe. "Then again, I'm always working." No time for a personal life, Juniper probably felt the same about working in the hospital. It was a thought, anyway. He hated seeing an old friend look so down.

"Maybe something low key? Maybe Scarlett would allow you to crash our Monopoly tournament." he suggested, of course, Letty might absolutely want it to be a brother sister thing, but Juniper was nice... Not like she seemed she wanted much company, but Todd felt she looked lonely.

He knew abandonment. As a baby he had missed the moment, but he felt the aftermath. No one wanted him until he was ten. No one at all. And then his girl friend left him--granted, he was gay, but he didn't know it for most of their relationship. And he'd only had a few real relationships since then, and none lasted very long. Which was upsetting to Todd since he wanted someone to grow old and adopt kids with.