chosehumanity | Outside a Hospital, Bristol, Sunday Morning-ish

Mitchell	So now that they had gotten to the bottom of the issue of poor dead Dan, plans had to be made. The people who were supposed to take care of the body weren't doing their thing, and Mitchell had no idea why, but it made him... antsy. He was still antsy by the time he - and his 'stalker' - arrived at the hospital to go see Lucy. He caught her outside, sitting on a bench (the one which, ironically, read In Memoriam of Lauren Drake, which made him wince. A little.) with a cup of coffee. "Hey."
Jack	Jack, it must be said, made for an excellent stalker. He looked over at Lucy just enough to register the small, curly-haired presence, then took out a schoolbook and sat on the next bench over. He could pretend to read and listen in, though there was a certain tension in his muscles that belied his readiness to jump if he were needed. Not that he expected to be needed.
Lucy	"Hey," Lucy returned. She smiled at Mitchell as he sat down, and turned a little to get more comfortable, her legs tilting more in his general direction. "So," she continued, "We'd been talking about gay vampire man..."
Mitchell	Mitchell's eyebrows went up with some amusement. "You're actually calling him that?"
Lucy	"Well, it's shorthand!" she defended. "We use it all the time, like 'creepy self-harm girl' or... 'accidentally sat on a wine bottle man'..." Not that Lucy could say either of those without laughing at least a little. "So... 'gay vampire man'. Forensics do their thing, and the body gets taken to the pathologist."
Mitchell	Yeah. Except there wasn't supposed to be a body to begin with. Something just wasn't adding up here; Mitchell tried not to let it show in his expression, and it worked, to a point. "I bet you anything the cause of death will be completely dull," he drawled.
Jack	The whole situation wasn't really funny, but something about that tone made Jack want to laugh. He turned it into a cough. Also, was Mitchell flirting? Kate was getting a call as soon as he had a spare minute.
Lucy	Oh, brilliant. Gossip. Lucy laughed, though. "Exactly," she said. "I mean, it looks exciting, but... it'll turn out that... the guy had a heart attack, and the... wounds on his neck... were because... Oh, I don't know. The cat started to eat him, and there was loads of blood, but the police man missed it, because, well, clearly, he's an idiot."
Mitchell	That explanation certainly garnered another laugh from Mitchell. "You'd actually find that disappointing, wouldn't you?"
Lucy	"I'm in a new city, and I have absolutely no social life!" Lucy threw back at him, "Apart from my ~~meta for~~ West Wing box set. You have no idea how much a gay vampire would liven up my week."
Mitchell	Mitchell grinned back at her. He picked at the little plaque with Lauren's name on it, searching for a good way to phrase this without seeming too obvious. ... and without making an awful impression on her. Shut up. "So," he said, casually, in the end, "What did the pathologist say?"
Lucy	"Heart attack," she sighed.
Mitchell	"Mmm," Mitchell hummed, in sympathy. Still grinning, he said, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Lucy	"I haven't finished," she cautioned him. "The police weren't satisfied with the original report, so they've asked the coroner to commission a second post-mortem with a different pathologist, and the coroner's approved it."
Mitchell	... Fuck. That wasn't supposed to happen. Mitchell glanced down at his fingers - he hadn't gotten his reputation by turning into a fumbling mess and losing his charm when things went wrong. "So, who's... the coroner?" he asked.
Jack	Jack had pricked his ears up a bit with worry at the mention of official involvement. He didn't take out a pen -- too obvious -- but he did make sure to catch the name. He wasn't surprised Mitchell sounded smooth, exactly. He was relieved.
Lucy	"He did say the name," Lucy mused. Her brow wrinkled as she tried to think of it. "...Quincy? No, no, that's the one on TV--"
Mitchell	"Quinn," Mitchell supplied. Unsettled, he shifted his stance.
Lucy	"That's him," Lucy said, triumphantly. She beamed at him, apparently not fully aware of the mood Mitchell was sinking into. "Isn't it great? The plot thickens..."
Jack	It wasn't a plot, curly-haired moron. It was lives and households and a dead lover. Jack was used to a certain coldness when he worked on a case. he had to remind himself that, for Lucy, this was all that was. Another day at work, maybe a little less dull than many of the others but easily brushed aside. He turned a page in his book as if he were mad at it.
Mitchell	Mitchell chatted with her about it for another minute or two, but the weight of the knowledge was pulling at him. Eventually, he said goodbye with a more painstakingly crafted flirty comment - which meant it was far less awkward than his previous attempts with her over the past few weeks - got up, stuck his hands in his pockets, and strode away from her.
Jack	Jack waited until enough time had passed that it would seem coincidental, then took a great deal of time fussing with his bag. But by the time they were on the sidewalk, he had managed to catch up. "You like her." ... not the most immediately relevant thing, but Jack was surprised.
Mitchell	"So what if I do?" Mitchell asked. If he was a hint defensive-- well, it had been a rather loaded conversation, even if Lucy didn't know it. "She's a nice girl."
Jack	"So were Lauren, Becka and Josie," Jack said, well aware this was not why Mitchell had wanted him along but unable to pass up the comment anyhow, as the general topic was so much on his mind. "But -- I was just observing."
Mitchell	"I know, Jack." Let it not be said it hadn't been on Mitchell's mind, too. "But this is-- different. I don't know. More like Josie, less like the others. Maybe."
Jack	"Maybe." That was a very dubious maybe. "Maybe she won't like you back." That would solve a whole host of problems. Dagger used, Jack shook his head, trying to remember why he was there. "It's odd that this is just a weird day at work for her."