Loglet: Garrison and Jean - Eggnog (backdated)

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

A Jean drunk on eggnog and Garrison have a conversation at the Christmas Eve party at Harry's.


Jean squinted at the dart board that Harry had made up to look like a Christmas tree, holding up a dart to throw. She resisted the urge to cheat, but instead, tossed it like a normal person, causing it to land, very barely, on the edge of the tree. Shrugging, she took a sip of eggnog.

"Three points. Not the best showing, Doc. I'd rely on the alcohol after that as well." Kane carefully sighted and landed a deft throw deep in the middle of the triple 20, which happened to be part of the angel on the top.

Putting the glass down, Jean stretched her arms over her head. "Show off," she said with a smirk, then grabbed her glass and held it up with a stage whisper.

"Besides, I have already relied on the alcohol. Tis the season to be jolly."

She eyed what was in her glass. "And sloshed."

"I tend to think days ending in Y are the season, but to each their own." He spun the dart idly between two fingers. "To be honest, I think alcohol is the only way to currently make this season jolly these days."

Jean let out a faint laugh. "No kidding," she agreed, picking up another dart to examine.

"The news has everyone at work riled up."

"Not just the news, but yeah. Your shot, Doc."

"If I say the whole damn thing that's just too depressing," Jean mused. Taking a long drink of her eggnog, she sat up straight, put her drink down, picked up her dart again, and tossed it at the board.

This time it nearly went into the wall next to it.

Jean paused. "Let's just say I'm much better when there are not two dartboards. Just saying."

"You know, maybe we should switch to a game that doesn't include the possibility of a manslaughter charge." He said, stacking the darts back beside the board and nudging her towards an empty chair. "You're shotgunning that nog pretty hard, Red."

Laughing, Jean plopped down with relative ease, making sure she had her eggnog with her. "Okay, so this might not have been my first drink. Or second."

"As it shouldn't be. This is Christmas after all." Kane settled in across from her.

Jean grinned. "Precisely," she said, offering her drink up for a toast. She spotted Adrienne across the bar, talking to someone, then glanced back to Garrison.

"So, what'd you get her?"

"See, I am actually dating the girl who has everything. Or at least can buy it. So our gifts are usually unique things like art work or well, more physical commitments. Sometimes they overlap."

Resting her chin in her hand, Jean was thoughtful. "That doesn't found very special if you have sex all the time," she said, then tilted her head, making a face.

"Maybe the artwork, but still....It sounds very messy to clean up afterward."

"Doc, you have been having entirely the wrong kind of sex if you can't do it all the time and still make it special. Granted, it sometimes involves food, costumes, or a moving transit vehicle, but as long as you're willing to be creative." He said, with the flash grin and eyebrow pop that Kane was notorious for.

Jean rolled her eyes, snorting. "That's not what I meant. Christmas is once a year...it just...seems like it should be...different. Like more meaningful, deeper," she said, then shrugged, peering into her glass as if it had the answers.

"You know what I mean."

"I think that too many people try to make Christmas deeper and more meaningful. With Adrienne, Christmas is a good reminder to keep doing all the things we do to make our relationship deep and meaningful all the other days. We've been down a long and hard road together, Doc." Kane tipped back the last of his drink and waved for another. "And because of it, we've had enough days apart to understand that every day together is special."

Silent a moment or two, a smile appeared across Jean's lips that was a mixture of emotion: happy, touched, and sentimental. She rested her chin in her hand again, the smile widening.

"That was lovely."

"Plus, Adri can cross her ankles behind her head. Hard not to consider a day special when she's doing that."

Jean's face fell, before settling into a reserved sigh of acceptance. She then tossed a napkin at him.

"You did that on purpose," she said.

"Only because I know a little bit of you dies inside every time I do it." He accepted a new drink and nudged her chair with his foot. "It's Christmas, Doc. Don't be so glum."

Jean smirked. "I'm not glum, you're changing the subject. I am perfectly happy with my nog and my darts...well, my former darts."

"You know that Harry's eggnog is basically all rum with a teaspoon of nog floated over the top, right?"

"Yep," Jean replied, popping the 'p' with a grin. "Best kind."

"I am not on call....so I say, everything is perfect."

"Nothing like being able to ignite your breath on fire from the fumes. So what about you? You've got family somewhere nearish, right?"

Jean nodded. "My parents recently moved back from England a few months ago to be closer to us. By some...extremely weird twist of fate, the house we grew up in prior to moving to the UK was for sale, so my parents bought it again. Dad retired early, and works as an adjunct at Bard College for extra cash and Mom was able to work from home. I'm headed there tomorrow to celebrate."

"Wow, the idyllic suburbia of Doctor Jean Grey. There's a fireplace and a dog, isn't there?"

There was a sparkle in Jean's green eyes as she smiled. "Two now, actually. My sister and I are surprising them with a new dog for Christmas," she said. She laughed.

"So maybe a little idyllic." She leaned back.

"What about you? Are you going to see your sister?"

"She's in Europe right now. Interning at one of the top neurosurgery units in Germany. We'll facetime tomorrow, but she's too busy to come back or to make going over worth it."

Tilting her head, Jean frowned. "I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.

"That's got to be rough for both of you. Any other relatives you can spend it with?"

"Nope. Dad is on an 'extended cruise' right now, which is his way of saying that he and his wife are likely doing something illegal that I'll hear about six months from now from the people over in Snow Valley." Kevin shrugged. "It's Adri and I. And the cat. There's worse ways to spend Christmas."

Jean blinked. "Suddenly I am grateful for my boring, family, where I'm the one who does things some might consider illegal," she said. She smiled.

"And yeah..that does sound like a nice Christmas."