Newton Reporting for Duty

[Hailey Watts]

Hailey stood outside the Newton EHPD building, taking in the steady stream of uniforms and plainclothes officers moving in and out. It was shift change, a flurry of activity that mirrored the whirlwind of emotions inside her.

She prided herself on her attention to detail, always noticing the little things others missed. But now, standing here for her first day, her keen eyes were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of activity around her.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed the steps and pulled open the heavy door. After passing through a metal detector, she approached the front desk, where a uniformed officer was absorbed in his computer screen.

It took a minute, but eventually, he acknowledged her. "Can I help you?" he asked, not bothering to look up.

"Officer Watts, reporting for duty," she said, her voice steady despite the nervous energy coursing through her.

He glanced up briefly, his expression unamused, before returning to his work. She lowered her voice slightly, "It's my first day."

"Good for you," he muttered, continuing to type away.

Hailey stood there, unsure of what to do next. The minutes dragged on as he continued to ignore her presence. Finally, he looked up again, a hint of irritation in his eyes. "Did you need something, Rookie?"

"Yes, sir. Academy told me to report here to receive a uniform... a sidearm... a neighborhood assignment?" she replied, her voice firm despite her growing frustration.

The officer sighed and picked up the phone next to him. He dialed three numbers and waited. "Rookie's here, yeah, okay, thanks." He hung up the phone. "Have a seat," he said, pointing to a row of plastic chairs along the wall.

Hailey sat down, the cheap plastic sending electric shocks up her legs. She pulled her hair to the side to lean back. When she let go, static sent it in a million directions. She let out a sigh of frustration, only because no one was paying attention to her. Today marked the beginning of her career, and she was determined to make it count, no matter how rocky the start.

[Emily Reyes]

Outfit

At this time of day, Emily would be firmly ensconced at her desk, reviewing progress on previous days cases and making notes on any new cases that landed in her inbox. She'd be two coffees in, in a fine flow state, reading witness accounts, organizing task teams, and examining forensic reports. Unfortunately, that was not the way things were today. Today, she had a court date, attending the trial for one of her cases. They'd finally compiled enough evidence that the DA was willing to take it to court.

So, she was at loose ends, the break in her usual schedule leaving her with little time to get involved in anything. Instead, she wandered the precinct, checked in with the other detectives, and got more coffee. As the Keurig poured her a fresh steaming cup, she considered that it might be nerves. The introvert did not like to be on the stand, but it needed doing.

Coffee in hand, Emily wandered from the offices in the back toward the main lobby, taking a wander to get some energy out. It was a good place to people watch, with officers going in and out on business, although she did run the risk of getting accosted by a civilian. As she stepped out of the door to one side of the the front desk, several patrol officers came in through the doors, pushing a loudly arguing detainee toward processing. The ruckus filled the lobby, deafening in both sound and a flurry of movement as the man started bucking against the officers, before the door to the holding cells finally swung shut and cut the noise off.

After that, Emily found the waiting area contained only a single woman who looked ill-at-ease. She didn't look like a civilian, but she was not familiar, which had Emily wondering if she was from another department.

If she looked up, Emily would offer a polite smile over her cup of coffee. “Waiting on someone?” she wondered, feeling outgoing in her idleness.

[Hailey Watts]

The minutes passed, and Hailey wasn't convinced the officer at the front desk had actually called anyone. She sat, staring at him the way you would stare down a waiter when you're ready for your check but can't seem to get their attention.

The lobby grew busier as the morning pressed on, reaching a bustling volume. When several patrol officers entered with a detainee who wasn't going willingly, the lobby erupted into a flurry of yells as the man cussed and kicked. Finally, the officers wrestled him into a holding cell.

Hailey knew this was what her day-to-day life might become in the EHPD. She hoped to move past patrol quickly and take her detective's exam. This was the work she truly wanted to do.

Despite the minor distraction, Hailey still stared at the officer at the front desk. Her line of sight was blocked when a woman in a gray pantsuit stood before her, holding a cup of coffee, and asked if she was waiting for someone.

Hailey rose to greet the woman, her dog tags slipping out from her button-down shirt. She swiftly and smoothly tucked them back in and met the woman at eye level. "Yes, I hope so. I'm here to get my gear. Officer Hailey Watts." She held out her hand. When the woman took it, an electric shock zapped their palms. "Sorry... the chairs..." she pointed to the plastic chair behind her, an apologetic smile on her face.

Hailey, less than subtly, breathed in the aroma of the coffee the woman was holding. "What are the chances I could grab a cup of coffee?"

[Emily Reyes]

Emily's eye caught on the flash of dog tags as they slipped from the woman's shirt, and she automatically tucked that away in her mental file. She knew what they were at a glance, simply because Max still had a habit of wearing his even if he was years out of the service. The woman introduced herself as a new officer, and Emily offered a polite, professional smile, only flinching a little at the static shock between their hands.

The little jolt had the effect of softening the staid detective up a touch, and her smile warmed slightly. “Detective Emily Reyes,” she offered, before lifting her eyebrow in surprise at the question. Then she snorted a little, Emily wasn't particularly expressive, but she was mildly amused at Watt's forwardness.

“Pretty good,” she replied mildly, understanding the early morning need for a bit of caffeine. “I'm not busy.” Maybe it would help settle the new officer's nerves. Glancing at the man behind the desk--Officer Mills, Emily knew, even if she didn't know much about the man beyond his name--she informed him that she was taking the newbie back for some coffee. As she opened the door to the apocryphal 'bull pen' with her free hand, she tilted, gesturing Officer Watts through.

Beyond, the offices were momentarily quiet, the day only just starting up. Night shift folks were finishing up their reports while the day shift was getting settled in. A few looked up, giving the newcomer a curious look, but nobody looked ready to intercept them on the way to the breakroom.

[Hailey Watts]

A detective, Hailey thought and straightened up instinctively. Everyone outranked her at this point, something she'd have to get used to again. It had been a while since she was a private.

When the detective gestured for her to follow, she happily left the lobby behind and stepped onto the floor. The harsh blue LED lights drew her attention up, and she noticed the security cameras positioned around the room. The sound of a marker squeaking on a glass board drew her eyes to the far wall, where a male officer talked boisterously to a female detective. He wanted to sleep with her and was trying way too hard. She rounded the corner of a standing desk, scanning the person behind it. "Your shoe's untied," she whispered as she passed, knowing they wouldn't hear her.

As they entered the break room, she tried to shake off the overstimulation and focus. She did not want Emily's first impression of her to be "frantic." Her hyper-awareness allowed Hailey to see details others missed, but it often came across as nervousness.

She approached the Keurig, grabbed a paper cup, and placed it underneath. In went a pod, and she pressed the 8oz button. Her coffee began to brew. She turned back to Emily with a small smile. "Thanks."

Hailey hated both silence and small talk. In the event of silence, she had the bad habit of oversharing. She was trying really hard not to do that right now. She forced herself to believe the silence was okay and gave Emily a smile.

[Emily Reyes]

They passed through the office space in relative silence. It was a familiar space to Emily, the gentle murmur of conversation filling the space along with freshly brewed coffee. In the morning quiet, as they rounded Officer Romero's desk, she heard Watts whispering something, and glanced behind her to see what it might be, but missed what she said. Although it was an odd moment, Emily assumed the woman wasn't addressing her, forged on into the break room.

Settling in, Emily gestured to the Keurig, inviting Watts to partake, but didn't go into detail. They were ubiquitous enough for her to think the woman had seen one before and knew more or less how to operate it. Instead, she leaned back on the counter, contentedly sipping from her cup.

Of course, she couldn't help but pick up on the woman's energy. Nervous, she thought, but that was to be expected when this was her first day on the job.

“No worries,” she replied with a polite smile. For her part, Emily had very little aversion to small talk. After all, where did one start with a stranger? The detective dove right in, asking with a business-like tone, “So, where're you coming from, Watts?”

[Hailey Watts]

Hailey wasn’t a coffee snob. In the Army, coffee looked like muddy water and tasted like turpentine. The cadence from those days played out in her head as she savored the original donut shop brew, which was hitting the spot in a way she hadn’t anticipated. She was forever grateful to the woman who had delivered her to this little cup of salvation.

When Emily asked her a question, Hailey snapped out of her coffee trance and looked up. “Not far, just from Rhode Island. Smallest state with the biggest name,” she said with a half-smile. She paused, her volume dropping. “Just... in case you wanted a useless fact.” She rolled her eyes at herself, feeling a little silly for the random trivia.

Deflect, she told herself. “How about you? From here?” she asked, eager to shift the focus away from herself and back to Emily.

She observed Emily leaning against the counter. The woman exuded confidence. She seemed completely at ease, in control—this was clearly her turf. She also had an air about her that suggested you’d much rather have her as a friend than an enemy.

[Emily Reyes]

The little tidbit about Rhode Island teased a small smile out of Emily, a quirk on one side of her mouth. The woman's disclaimer afterward made her nod agreeably. She didn't mind useless facts, although Watt's nerves were front and center at the moment.

In a bid to help her relax, Emily took the pitch, letting the topic turn back to her. She shook her head in the negative, licking coffee from her upper lip. “No, I'm originally from Florida. I've been here for... Hm, more than a decade now, though.” The realization hit her in that moment, and she laughed softly into her coffee cup as she took another sip.

[Hailey Watts]

Hailey grinned as Emily mentioned Florida, her interest clearly piqued. “"Florida to Easthaven? That’s quite the change,"” she said, her tone playful.

She moved over to one of the breakroom tables, pulling out a chair that scraped lightly against the floor. Settling into it, she made herself comfortable, her posture relaxed as she leaned back slightly.

Hailey wasn’t sure how much of Emily’s time she could take up, but figured if Emily had to go, she’d let her know. In the meantime, Hailey was going to get comfortable.

She really wanted to ask Emily about the Police Department. Emily had experience, she knew Easthaven, and she was a Detective—a role Hailey longed for. Regular police work didn’t excite her as much; she wanted to solve problems.

As much as she wanted to inundate Emily with detective questions, Hailey decided it would be better to ease into those conversations. She went another route.

“"So, what’s your favorite thing to do around here?"” Hailey asked, her curiosity evident as she looked up at Emily, eager to hear what local gems she might have discovered.

[Emily Reyes]

Emily dipped her head in agreement--it was a common sentiment. Going from the deep South to New England was huge change in both climate and culture, but by now, she knew what she preferred. As they talked, Watts moved to the breakroom table, getting comfortable in one of the chairs. That was a positive change, and Emily thought she might be coming out of her shell a bit.

For her part, Emily remained standing, only because it was the more comfortable position at the moment. She took another drink of her coffee as Hailey went on, and had to think about it for a moment. What did she like to do around Easthaven?

Her first instinct was to admit that she was a homebody. She enjoyed shopping, for herself and her apartment, and then going home to enjoy said apartment. She'd turned it into her own little haven. But then she realized that ever since Max had rolled into town, she'd been out and about practically every week, exploring the city, attending, festivals, heading out to the orchards, or the beaches, or Northrop.

Then, there was the supernatural aspect of her life. The truest answer might be that she enjoyed the Circle's workshop where she could work with other ritualists on sundry magic. However, these were not the sorts of things one just said aloud, not to strangers.

“Hm,” she hummed in thought, pausing to think it over. She had to settle on something fairly watered down. “Depends on the season--Summertime, I'm all about the beaches or camping, but I can't stand the cold. Mid-fall, I like staying in the city--shopping, going to the library. Forcing my boyfriend to visit gastronomy pop-ups with me.” She shrugged her shoulders, a little self-deprecating smile tugging at her mouth. When one said their favorite things aloud, they often didn't sound all that interest, but there it was.

[Hailey Watts]

Hailey chuckled as Emily mentioned hating the cold, her laughter softly filling the breakroom. “I totally get it—Florida to New England is like jumping from a hot tub into a snowbank.”

Her grin softened into a more sincere smile as Emily talked about her favorite things. “All that sounds lovely. Your boyfriend is a lucky guy,” she said, her voice carrying a note of genuine warmth.

She hesitated just a moment before speaking again. “Take me to one of those pop-ups... on a ride-along?” She glanced up at Emily, a mix of hope and insecurity in her eyes. Flashing a wide grin, she crossed her fingers under the table.

Hailey couldn't shake the idea of spending more time with Emily. Emily had been on the force for years; she wanted to understand the nuances of detective work and see the city through experienced eyes. But beyond that, she found herself wanting to forge a friendship, maybe build a connection that extended beyond the walls of the station. This moment felt significant for Hailey—a small step toward the life she hoped to build, work towards detective and make a friend along the way. Crushing it ... well, she hoped.

The morning was unfolding around them; the station was in a buzz, but the breakroom walls muffled the sounds. Until, two people entered chatting—their voices a gentle reminder that their time in the breakroom was fleeting.

[Emily Reyes]

To say the question, with the implicit ask for a more involved acquaintance, took Emily by surprise would be an understatement. Her eyebrows jumped up toward her hairline, and she had to hide the o of surprise her mouth in another sip of her coffee. Her cheeks colored slightly.

Their conversation had seemed fairly surface level thus far, and the detective was famously stingy about her time and personal life with her coworkers--most thought Em was severe and aloof, but in reality, she was quite shy, and the thought of spending time with someone she didn't quite know made her stomach lurch a little.

Not that Watts knew any of that, so Emily didn't hold it against her in the least. In fact, she recognized the insecurity in her expression, and felt herself moved with sympathy. Instinct told her that Watts was not only new to this force, but was very fresh from Rhode Island. Emily knew she'd subconsciously latch on to the first friendly face she'd met were she in the same situation. And while women were fairly well-respected on the force in Easthaven, there was still the urge to glom together.

So, Emily smiled as she swallowed her latest sip of warm coffee, a little warmer than before. “Well, we gotta get you onboarded first,” she said with a soft little laugh. She hoped that whoever was there to do that wasn't looking for her in the lobby, but if they were, then the breakroom wasn't far. She went on, shrugging a little, “After you're settled in, maybe I can show you around the city a bit?”