Anything But Ordinary

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna looked at him, at first wondering if what he said could be possible. But the next minute she remembered that they were talking about Chase, who enjoyed playing the field and wouldn't enter into anything involving emotion. She shook her head at Kane. "No, I don't think so, Chase likes to think he's above emotion. It'd never work, we even debated the worthiness of emotions."

[Kane Garrett]

Kane hadn't necessarily meant a relationship in the sense that Anna took it, a fact that revealed more than she likely knew. He didn't correct her, though. "But he works as a friend," he said instead. "A casual friend? Or maybe part of your support system?" Honest questions, and ones Anna likely hadn't though of the answers for, but thinking them over might do her quite a bit of good.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna chewed on her lip silently, where was she expecting things to lead? Did she consider Chase a friend? She didn’t go around kissing all her friends, but she couldn’t admit to herself that she would want more of Chase. She was the one to suggest a non-relationship but was she as okay with it as she originally thought? Kane was making her think about so much more then she could have imagined, and it took a while before she was able to form any type of answer. “I don’t know. Perhaps both, is that possible? I don’t want to think that there is more to us then there is – surely that would only lead to trouble. But I do enjoy his companionship and I’d miss it if it went away.”

[Kane Garrett]

Kane nodded, agreeing with Anna's take. "You don't want to over think it," he said, "but don't refuse to think about it, either. There's a middle ground, if you can find it." Kane was silent for one brief moment as he chose his words, then repeated his earlier advice, rewording it. "Whatever Chase may or may not be, you may want to get together with your other friends, too. Maybe even try talking to Dru. Not necessarily to tell her everything you've told me, but just talking to her a little could clear the air."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna felt nervous at just his suggestion. It wasn’t that she was afraid of what Dru might say, it was more a feeling of Deja-voo, knowing she’d already had one conversation like that when Michael was the topic. She wondered who else she could talk to about everything, and suddenly remembered her conversation with Silver. He seemed like a great guy that would lend an ear. “I know I overanalyze things, but I just can’t help it. I’ll think about talking to Dru, I guess the longer I put it off, the worse it’ll be. I’d hate for her to hear anything through the rumor mill.”

[Kane Garrett]

"Go ahead and take it slow," Kane advised again, seeing Anna's discomfort. "But doing something, even something little, can help a lot. If that helps," Kane said, trying to lighten things again. He'd let that settle and see if she had anything else to say, but for the moment, it felt like things were beginning to tie up.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna grabbed another tissue out of the box, this time using it to blow her nose that seemed to be constantly running today. She was sure the crying hadn't helped it, and just hoped she wasn't coming down with something. "Sorry." She offered when she was done. "I'll talk to her, even if we never bring up Chase, I would at least like to have someone to talk to about Michael. I'm sure if anyone knows how I feel, she would."

[Kane Garrett]

Kane inclined his head in agreement. "Is there anything else on your mind?" he asked. They'd drawn to the end of that topic, and likely their meeting. He was already beginning to feel a light sense of satisfaction at the conversation. She'd opened up a lot, and seemed more sure of the recent past at least, if not the present.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Not really, nothing that I can think of, but..." Despite feeling weird at first about spilling her guts to him, she thought coming here had helped. She didn't understand exactly why, he hadn't really said too much, but she felt that things seemed better at least in her head. She desperately hoped that the little bit of clarity stayed with her outside his door. "but if I need to, I mean, if I think of anything, can I come back?" She already knew the answer he would give, but hearing him say it would make her feel better about seeking him out next time she needed someone to listen.

[Kane Garrett]

"Yes," Kane answered, giving her a gently encouraging smile. "My door's always open; metaphorically, anyway. I'd like to hear from you again, find out how things are going, so feel free to stop by." Everything he said was entirely genuine, and it showed in his eyes. He hoped Anna took him up on the offer. Kane reached across his desk, offering Anna another friendly handshake, another light connection to encourage her.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna took his hand, blushing slightly for reasons unknown to her. "Thank you sir...Kane. I'll see you next time then." She grabbed another tissue and headed out the door.

[Kane Garrett]

Kane's lips curved as the door closed behind her. She'd only just remémbered to call him by his name, but it was an excellent start. Kane mentally went over everything they'd talked about, committing it firmly to memory as he balled up a piece of paper and tossed it in a long arc across the room. It landed with a satisfying rustle in the bottom of the wastebasket.