October 17, 1892 - London Pub

September had gone by in the blink of an eye, which marked the beginning of the holiday season; the holidays tended to bring out the worst in people and her department at St. Mungo’s had seen their fair share of people attempting to throw in an assortment of items into potions in hopes that it worked. It didn't help people were still on edge about the murders and she'd been busy since those had started, too. At least it kept Delilah’s life interesting even if she sometimes wished she was stuck behind a desk for a job with some downtime.

Luckily Jesse had given her an excuse to go out in her free time instead of sitting around while Jemima asked if she’d met anyone interesting, because suddenly her little sister wanted to play matchmaker. It must be payback for Lila pointing out every single man she deemed appropriate for her to be introduced to. Of course she hadn’t mentioned meeting with Jess for drinks since there was nothing outside of a friendship between them, and it had taken her some time to slip out the door to meet him.

It would be a nice beginning to an evening before her shift at St. Mungo’s – just alcohol, the two of them, and some likely decent conversation. Nothing crazy.

She arrived second, stopping at the bar to grab two fire whiskeys before walking over to meet Jesse at the booth she was arguably too familiar with at this point in her life. Sliding into the seat opposite of him, Lila offered him a gentle smile. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.” She pushed one of the mugs toward him. “Jemima is very excited over some Halloween masque and fretting over her costume.” And had asked her to chaperone her for the evening.

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Jesse Hatchitt

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Jess had told Fallon what he would be doing after work tonight He would not hide this completely platonic friendship with Lila;  there was nothing there more than a person who understood him. Not entirely unlike Fallon's sparring with Sterling, this was a friendship he could vent his frustrations into without judgement. It was also a good opportunity for her to work late if she needed to, without having to worry that he was home by himself. It was a weird sort of status quo they had fallen into and it was better, but Jess still felt like it was really fragile and could shatter at any minute.

Which was why he needed a woman's perspective here and who better than his best friend? It wasn't like he could ask his sisters about this. Neither one of them had an occupation to consider like Lila did and frankly, though he loved Connie and Victoria obviously, they didn't know him as well as Lila did. Sitting in a corner booth at an out of the way bar in London was as good a place as any to toss back a pint and cry into his empty cup. Hopefully Lila could set him straight.

He was nursing an ale when she showed up, pushing something stronger in his direction and he couldn't help but to smile. "Not long at all, just trying to decompress from the day." It took longer than he would like sometimes, and he knew his job was not as hard as some of the other departments, but running an entire squad that was constantly in need was draining. "It's an important choice, I'm sure." He chuckled over Lila's explanation. "How about you? How've you been?" Because as much as he needed to talk about his own problems, he also was terrified to do so.

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It was easy to fall into a pattern with Jess; every time she saw him, especially when he smiled at her, it was like no time had passed at all. It was hard to believe they’d fallen out of contact for as long as they had Lila was determined to not let it happen again. She leaned against her hand as she smiled back at him, her other hand reaching out to wrap around the cool glass of the fire whiskey.

“I can’t imagine running an entire squad like you do. Chasing after two kids is exhausting enough.” Her fingers twitched, wanting to lean forward to grab his hand and squeeze it, but the line had to be drawn somewhere so instead she tapped them against the glass. “But, I know you’re fantastic at your job and you work hard. I’m proud of you, Jess.” Delilah’s smile softened; she was proud of him and how far he’d come since he scuffles at Hogwarts, although she’d always thought he’d get his life together, eventually.

She tilted her head before chuckling. “I’m being a butterfly.” Lila supplied lamely as she shrugged a shoulder, knowing that Jesse had probably seen before many years ago; she'd worn it before she'd ever married and had found it in the back of her closet a few weeks ago. She wasn’t too keen on dressing up. In fact she was only going to be Jemima’s chaperone. “I’m good. Work is… busy. People are on edge with all the murders and I’ve been on every floor at least once this week. Creature-Induced Injuries is still my least favorite floor.” Stretching, Lila gently kicked his leg with her shoe before she pulled it back. “And how are you?”

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Jesse Hatchitt

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Jess smiled into his whiskey, before turning it back to Lila. Running the squad was tiresome, but worth it, in his opinion. Still, her optimistic confidence in him spread through him as quickly as the liquor. It warmed him up from the inside; it felt good to hear someone say that to him. Jess didn't often need external validation, but her unwavering support had always meant a lot. It was what he wanted sometimes, even if he didn't need it. For someone to see how hard he worked at his job and to comment on it was uplifting for once.

"A social butterfly," He teased lightly. She had always been better at that than he had been. He was glad to hear her work was going well though. "Yeah, the ministry is tense." Even if it wasn't his department at all, he could feel it throughout the departments. It permeated throughout each office and every floor. A sweep of unsolved murders, unexplainable murders, was causing a stir. "I'm glad to hear the hospital is going well." He had always known whatever she'd chosen to do, whether it was just be a mom or take on a career, she would excel.

The echo of his own question left him wondering how best to respond. How was he really? On the surface things were good, better than they had been, but Jess would be lying if he thought everything was going well. There was still tension in the house, despite their agreement and he felt it, always. "It's... alright." Was what he settled on. "Could be worse, could be better." It was a wishy washy answer, but to say more would be crossing a line he wasn't sure he wanted to. He did however, nudge her gently back beneath the table, knowing smile returning to his features.

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She smiled at the thought of being a social butterfly; it wasn’t far from the truth, Delilah liked being around people, although the thought of going to be a masquerade sounded exhausting. It had been years since she’d done anything that involved balls and people, but alas, with Jemima being a debutante she was ready to jump back in feet first. Her sister deserved the best, and it helped that Lila may be a little more lenient than their mother on what she turned a blind eye to. She nodded then. It made sense the ministry would be tense, even for those not outwardly involved in solving them.

Her eyebrow arched at his next statement. “Could be worse, could be better? That’s pretty cryptic, Hatchitt.” Delilah had been happily married, although that wasn’t to say she hadn’t had her ups and downs with Zachary – being married to a muggleborn had been a struggle at times. She didn’t want to assume things, but shouldn’t Jess and Fallon still be in martial, newlywed bliss? She chewed the inside of her cheek as she struggled for the words, not wanting to insult him or his marriage. “Everything okay though?" Delilah finally settled on. " I don't mean to dig... I just want you to be happy. You deserve it, Jesse." And she meant it.

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   Fallon Gillespie

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Jess winced, squirming in his seat like a teenager being interrogated. He knew Lila meant nothing by it, she genuinely did care, but he didn't exactly know how to describe it, nor did he want to sound ungrateful, but...

"It's... complicated." He settled on. Lila knew him better than most people, better than Fallon probably did these days, which was a damn shame and probably all his fault, but he still hadn't any idea how to make it work any better. "It's not exactly what I had envisioned. You know like we used to talk about?" They had, as foolish teenagers were wont to do, projected into the future what it would look like if they had gotten married. A little house on the outskirts of town, with a big yard full of dogs and kids. That was what he wanted, still did, but it seemed so far off. Worse yet, what he wanted in life was something that would inevitably make Fallon miserable. "But she's so focused on her career. Which I knew, I knew it going in and we came to an agreement, but we're still sort of miserable." In reality it wasn't working and it was crushing them both somehow.

"I love her, I do. We went through so much shit to get here, but we cannot get on a the same page. Half the time I think we're in different books altogether." He had probably said too much, but Gabe was the only other one he had spoken to about it and his brother was less than sympathetic. Molly could do it, be somewhat happily married to an auror, why couldn't Jess?

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Lila folded her hands against the table as she leaned to Jess, a frown etching against her lips. She nodded, as she did remember imagining what life would be like – she’d almost got there, too. The house, the husband, the kids, she’d had everything she could have wanted just to have the rug pulled out from underneath her because a natural disaster happened. It had been entirely preventable, but it was a would have, should have, could have situation. It didn’t do Delilah any good to think about the what ifs for an event she couldn’t go back to change.

“Oh Jess, I’m sorry. That sounds difficult. She’s an auror, so she must travel a lot. I can’t imagine how much you miss her and want her to be home.” Her frown deepened as her fingers twitched to reach out to take his, but she refrained; it wasn’t her place to touch him like that anymore. “I know you, and I know you’re a fighter. You’ll figure something out.” She wished she knew more about Fallon; what she was like and how she and Jess had gotten to the place that seemed like he was desperate to claw his way out of. It was hard not to pass judgment on someone she didn’t know, and probably wouldn’t ever meet, but Lila wanted more than anything to help her friend find a slimmer of happiness again. She understood wanting a career from a woman’s perspective, but it wasn’t – and wouldn’t ever be – her entire life.

Jess had meant a lot to her once upon a time and it hadn’t taken him long to reclaim his spot when they’d reconnected. “JP,” Delilah lifted her gaze as she smiled softly at him; maybe she could take his mind off his marriage, even for just a second. “I think it’s time we turn that frown upside down for a moment. Do you trust me?” This time she did reach out to take his hand. She gave it a little squeeze.

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He'd hardly explained it to her and Lila just got it. That was not lost on Jess. They had a history sure, but had been out of touch for such a long time and she still managed to understand. It made him even a little bit more petulant, because the only person he couldn't seem to get on the same page with was his own wife.

"I'm tired of fighting, Lila," He sighed, feeling defeated. "It's all we do." It was hard to fight for it, when all they did was fight about it. This was not the life he'd envisioned and he didn't know what he thought was going to happen, when they had both made their goals in life clear, but it was much, much harder than he anticipated. So hard in fact, he honestly did not know what to do about it.

He gave her a pained look at the use of his old nickname. It carried a lot of weight for more reasons that she knew, but it had been hers first, so he couldn't say anything about it. "I don't know Lil," He shook his head a little bit, but didn't pull his hand away either.

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Delilah couldn’t help it as her frown deepened; she hated seeing Jesse this upset, especially over a relationship that should, in retrospect, make him happy. The idea of him having to fight accidental magical objects (or people, depending on the situation), and then fighting at home made her heart ache. Everyone deserved a place where they could relax, and she hoped that she could provide him that, even just for a bit. “I’m sorry Jess. I wish I could wave my wand and make it all better… but I’m always here for you.” She didn’t want to lose him as a friend again.

Then Lila arched an eyebrow at him, although she kept a gentle smile against her lips. “Jesse Hatchitt, I wasn’t exactly asking. Come on. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.” When he didn’t pull his hand away, she slid out of her seat and gave him a little tug. “What if I said it involved something you love very much?” The cogs were turning in her head and she had some kind of idea of where she was taking him – she knew he loved quidditch and didn’t get to play as much, or hell, at all anymore. Lila had never been a player but she could still ride a broom.

He’d probably wipe the floor with her at quidditch, but she had every chance at beating him at something when it came to brooms, even if it meant cheating just a bit.

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Jess grimaced a little bit, even a wave from a wand wasn't going to fix his marriage, he wasn't even sure it was fixable at this point. He'd truly thought that love would magically fix their very different wants out of life, but they hadn't gotten anywhere but resentment in the last year. They tried to compromise and were still sort of miserable.. He loved her, he truly did, but he was starting to think that just wasn't enough.

It was hard to argue with her when she got bossy like that and he probably would enjoy whatever it was she had up her sleeve, but Jess didn't think it was a good idea. He'd told Fallon he wouldn't be too late and it was just a drink to catch up with an old friend. Getting into mischief like they did when they were younger was probably asking for trouble. "I don't have a ton of time, I told Fallon I wouldn't be too late."

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She didn’t exactly pout, given how she was too old for that, but she did frown at him as she slid back into the booth across from him. Delilah’s hands still held his and she gave them a small squeeze before she pulled hers back; they probably didn’t have enough time for what they’d planned. “I was going to take you broom riding, even just for a few minutes. Not quidditch, but you were always so happy playing it, and well… that’s the best that I can do for you on short notice.” Lila shrugged as she raised her eyes to meet his.

“Next time though, if you don’t want to go now?” She tried posing it as a question because he should have some say in what he did with his time. “We meet up somewhere and we can have a little fun. Invite Fallon if you want. I’d like to meet her.” Delilah was interested in meeting her, plus it wasn’t like she was trying to spend all her time alone with a married man. It was still odd to think that Jesse was married. She wasn’t sure he’d ever settle down.

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Jess passed her a sorry sort of smile as she sat back down. "I appreciate it and I would if I could. It's just... well getting home late is one of the things we fight about. But it's not me, so it's hypocritical to do it." He didn't have any idea why he was explaining any of this to her, but they had never kept secrets. Jess didn't talk about this to anyone. The last time he'd tried, Gabe had thrown it all back in his face, so he'd stopped trying. Which was part of the reason he bottled it all up. It was weird and both unsettling and freeing to talk to Lila about it now.

"Another time, I'll ask if she wants to join us." Jess suspected no, Fallon didn't exactly have fond memories of flying, but he would extend the invite and let them figure it out. "Speaking of, I should probably get home. Thanks for listening, Lila." He'd needed that more than he had imagined.

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   Delilah Warbeck

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