Baseball... God how she hated baseball.

It had to be one of the most boring, meaningless and slowest games of all time. But damn it all, it was the only thing on this time of year.

Sitting amongst all the other guys in the bar, tossing back her second beer now, Livy was getting more and more irritated as the game went on. Being a Tuesday, UFC wasn't on tonight, otherwise the pay-per-views would be on and she'd be totally into it.

But there was nothing more interesting on in the Sports Bar than the Yankees versus the Blue Jays. How sad and depressing was that?

Only a few more weeks though. Just four more weeks till the Season officially started. She could hand on until then, right? Right.

"Ah come on! The news is on! That's more exciting than this damn game!" She hollered at the tender who simply shook his head with a grin. A couple of the guys around her jeered, but Livy barely heard them.

Baseball was such a waste of time...

"OH!" Perry groaned, his entire body swinging with the theoretical pain he felt at that pathetic out on the Jays' behalf.

"Oh, Mack. I don't think i can watch anymore." he said, burying his head in his arms. "I'm gonna need another beer. Hell, make it three." The bartender laughed and popped him another Guinness. "Thanks." Perry took a good long swig.

"News. Ha! Damn broad. She don't like baseball, she should drink her Mai Tais somewhere else," one of the patrons muttered near by. Well, that certainly caught Perry's attention. The game was starting to literally pain him to watch, so he decided a little conversation could be acceptable.

Perry flopped down on on the stool next to the woman in question, she wasn't exactly hard to find.

"What's wrong? Sox fan?" he joked as he held out a hand. "Perry."

"Not a baseball fan. To damn slow." She grumbled as. She heard the comment about the Mai Tais. "Fuck that man. Guinness or straight shots, I'll drink you under the table!" She shot back with a snarl. No one insulted her drinking habits and got away with it.

Shaking her head she turned back to the man who actually decided to talk to her. he was probably in his early thirties, but he seemed nice enough. "Livy. I need some action not just some guys who don't know how to handle sticks or balls." She smirked. "Gimme football, boxing or MMA and I'll be happy as a clam. Something hard hitting and actually exciting. Even hockey will do." She shrugged before turning back to her beer.

"Don't tell me you actually enjoy this crap Perry. Or I'll have to cross you off my cool list already."

Perry laughed. "This? Hell no!" He rolled his eyes as half the bar looked at him. "Well, how the hell could you enjoy this?" he said, defending his statement to the rest of the guys. "The Yankees kicking more innocent ass to completely overpower the entire playing field once again and get another World Series under their belts. Woohoo! Give me a Series like the one with the Red Sox. Now that was baseball! Finally someone showing the Yankees that they don't own the league." The rest of the bar seemed pacified by this, nodded their consent, and went back to their drinks.

"This, this is a load of shit. The jays are giving in far too easy. They've lost, but instead of being men and fighting to the end, their practically giving the Yankees the game. It's pathetic." He took a drink of his own Guinness and turned back to her. "As for the aforementioned games, Hockey is next to godliness, but football... I don't know. Too much about beating the snot out of each other, not enough about actual strategy, in my opinion."

"Pleasure to meet you, Livy. Sorry if I just killed myself on your cool list. I'll try my best not to be too much of a dork, though." he said with a sarcastic smile. Of course, this was a big deal, because it was the first actual smile Perry had given in weeks. Lately the only smiles he'd had were the plastered on kind for dealing with idiots and people above him, or the half-assed kind he gave to Billy and that Jessie chick. He hadn't even smiled for Betty, his favorite nurse.

"What the hell you talking about! No strategy in football!?" Livy was completely surprised, so much so that she had to set her beer down before she dropped it. "Baseball has no strategy! For God's sake, a guy gets up, someone throws a ball the other guy tries to hit it and run as fast as he can! Where the hell is the strategy there? It's not like you even have to think of where to throw the ball either!"

This little rant earned her a few more looks. But she didn't notice them.

"Basketball has more strategy than this man! And at least hockey has formations and passing and all."

She sighed and after shaking her head turned back to her beer.

"Damn... My one night off this week, why do I always have to spend them around more muscle heads who this time are drunk." She smirked as she looked back to Perry. "But I will say you're an exception. Trashing baseball usually keeps guys away. Perfect strategy for keeping them outa-my pants huh?" She gave him a little wink before taking another swallow of her beer.

Perry smirked as she bitched out baseball. She did have a bit of a point. However, he also knew that he could argue all night and she'd still stick by her view of the sport. She wasn't the type of person to be easily swayed.

But he had to laugh at the muscle head comment. Perry was anything but.

"Sorry to disappoint you, firecracker, but I'm not going after your pants." He looked down at her legs. "Not that they're not very nice pants. But I don't sleep with random women I meet in bars."

"You should show a little more respect, girlie." Mack said, walking over to clean a pile of glasses nearby. "That's Doc Winkler. He saved my kid's life two years ago. You stick with him he can get you your drinks for free," he said with a nod and a wink at Perry.

Perry shook his head with another laugh. "You know I won't let you do that, Mack. I pay for my drinks just like any other customer. Which, actually, brings me to my next request." he raised his bottle and made a sad face while wagging it back and forth. Mack nodded and went to grab him another.

"Ignore him. His kid wasn't dying. He'd just gotten his foot torn up by his bicycle wheel. Told Mack he needed to teach his kids to ride with shoes on." he looked at Livy. "Well, now that I've been discovered. What'd you do for a living, Livy?"

Good he wasn't arguing. That would make the night a hell of a lot easier. "Oh, I could tell don't worry. And even if you were, you wouldn't have much luck as I'm not the kind to sleep with random men I find in bars. I wasn't talking to, or about you Perry, mostly them." She jerked her thumb behind her shoulder towards the drunkards hooping and hollering over another Yankee run.

"Mack! C'mon, you know I don't disrespect anyone who doesn't disrespect me first." She pointed out. "Or as long as they don't insult Farve." She added as an after thought.

"Doctor huh?" Livy nodded with approval. "Nice to see someone else who's devoted themselves to the protection and aid of stupid people." Olivia giggled. "Officer Olivia McFarland, of the Demaitre Police." She gave him a little salute.

No, she wasn't drunk. She was just having fun. It was what she did.

"So Mack, does that mean I'll get free drinks if I stop the place from getting robbed or whatever?" She grinned widely as she downed the last of her second beer. And waved the bottle as Perry had done.

Mack shook his head. "Hell, no. I know I can't afford your tab." He took their bottles and handed them new ones. "Doc here drinks a few and goes home, usually. His nights off, like tonight, he really downs em. But you? Fuck no! You'd drink me out of house and home. Might as well just give the robber the place. It'd be about the same as giving you free beer."

Perry laughed and downed his fresh drink.

"God, it feels good to have a night off." He saluted back at her. "Pleasure to meet you, Officer."

"So, your night off as well, or do you usually just hang out in Sports bars playing the wrong games with a bunch of drunken idiots." He would have turned around and said sorry, but this was his usual bar, so all the other regulars pretty much knew he was an inherent jackass by now. In fact, if he hadn't made a crack at the rest of them, and had actually been nice, they would have teased him all week claiming he'd liked the girl or something. So he had to cut that off at its knees.

"Awww Maaack." She gave a little pouty face. "I'm hurt! What do you take me for? An alcoholic? Besides! It's not like I'm a bad drunk, you always think I'm fun to be around." She pointed out fervently. "Remember when the Packers one their first game of the season last year?" She giggled at the memory.

How could anyone forget it really. Here was Officer McFarlane at her best, her face painted in green and gold, making her red hair stand out even more. But that wasn't even the best part of it. She had been so exited as the Packers pulled ahead in the last quarter that she had pulled her shirt off to sport the rest of her Packers Cheerleader costume that was even shorter around the midriff and lower cut than the others. It had been all some of her buddies in the fantasy League could do to keep that top on as well.

"Hey! You wanna have some fun with football at least?" She asked as she tilted her head.

"A couple of guys from my division and some of their buddies have a Fantasy football league. First place is almost two grand this year probably. Their upping the fees this season for that. But you being a doctor shouldn't have a problem with that. There are a couple of other women there too that I could introduce ya too, since you don't seem too interested in me anyway." She offered with a grin.

Perry was confused. How could he have been coming to this bar for years and never have noticed her before tonight? Ah, well... it did help that, for once, he wasn't sitting by himself brooding over what a shitty day he'd had.

He thought her offer over and had to admit it sounded appealing. He'd lived in this city for more than a decade, and he, quite literally, had no friends to account for it. How had he gotten this way? So guarded and lonely?

"Sounds good." he said, simply. A couple of heads turned, and eyes widened. The man whom all of them "knew," but didn't actually know, had actually just accepted an invitation to do something that resembled having a life. Perry ignored their shocked expressions and continued drinking his beer.

"Awesome! There should still be a spot left though! I was gonna ask another friend of mine, but he doesn't like football even slightly, and I hadn't told them yet."

Glancing at the bar, the bottle was still empty... And it... hadn't... Been...

"Maaaaack! Where's my beer!" She hollered down the bar as he was at the other end. He should know better than to keep her waiting. And he'd kept the bottles away from the bar after she had reached over a few times to grab it herself.

"All right girl. Keep your shirt on for God's sake." He grinned.

"I dunno Mack." One of the guys laughed. "I'd like to see her take it off!" The drunkard whistled wolfishly, only to get a glare in response. "You would buddy. But I've told ya time and time again I'm not into bestiality!" She snapped.

But unlike her other retorts, this one didn't go over too well.

The man's glare was angry, his eyes narrowed almost dangerously. But Livy simply turned back to Perry.

"Like I was going to say until I distracted myself, I usually only hang out here during football season and for the big UFC fights. Otherwise I'm either working, sleeping, out at a club or somewhere else of course." She said as she started on her third beer. "What do you do on your off time? I mean I don't think I've ever seen you here before and I consider myself a regular here."

Perry raised an eyebrow at her response to the man's whistle. So, he wasn't the only overworked, civil service asshole to regularly visit the tavern. Poor Mack, he had his work cut out for him. Not that Perry cared.

"Sounds good." he said when she said there would be an open position. He didn't like football anywhere as near as he like hockey and baseball, but for $1,000. It would do.

"I'm either here or home. I don't do clubs." Perry said.

"'cause you ain't got no life." Mack said, as he left another round of beers for the two, in advance this time, lest she rip into him again.

"'cause I don't have a life." he agreed, raising his glass to Mack. "However, thanks to me, other people have theirs." Mack had to nod in agreement as he walked away.

"I usually pull double shifts at the E. R. over at Mercy. I have a tendency to take a day off, then work 24 hours straight, then sleep for 10, then work another 24. It's a ridiculous cycle, but it keeps the apartment there, the beer coming, and the mind too busy to worry about anything else." He shrugged. "I'm a workaholic."

"Whaaat?" Livy said holding out her hands helplessly. "He's always howling at me. I've wanted to put a bullet in his ass for so long, you have no idea..." She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Oooo! Thanks Mack! Man I love ya." She gave him a little wink as he brought another beer. That would probably be her last too, to make sure she was okay for driving home. "You're the bestest bartender ever!" She called out waving to him.

But no, she wasn't drunk. Like she had said before, she respects those who give her respect, even if she has to start it.

"Yeah, they won't let us pull doubles down at the department. It's too much for one person they say. Or something like that. A lot of cops got stressed when they did that. One actually committed suicide. That was one of the first years I was with the department, almost three years ago now. His wife came home from their daughters ballet recital and found his body, bullet to the head. He was one of the ones who was in my division actually. A really great guy. But he... He just couldn't handle it."

Livy fell silent for a moment, taking a sip of her beer.

She hated it when she got in to these moods, because it took her a while to get out of it, and even longer to shake it off.

"Anyway, what I guess I'm trying to say, is that you... You need to be able to have some down time to. Need to have a little fun in your life and enjoy it so you don't forget why you are still living." She said, must more sullen than her manner before. "We all only have so long here, depressing to think about I know, but no one lives forever. So why work and sleep your life away?"

Perry grew silent at her story and wasn't quiet sure how to respond. He'd heard about that cop. He'd been at the hospital that night. They had all been talking about how cops shouldn't be forced to work so long, how it wasn't right. Hell, he'd even gotten a few looks himself that night. kinda like the one she was giving him right then.

He looked away and took a good long chug out of his bottle, finishing it off.

"I do things other than work and sleep." He said, getting angry with himself that he'd actually let the girl get more info than he usually gave. "But saving lives is my life. Giving other people more time is how I spend my time. And one day, when I'm retired and need it, I hope that some smart alec, jackass, workaholic doctor like me will be around to give me more time too." He shrugged. "Besides, the more I work now, the sooner I hit the links for good. And the more money I have saved up for then." Never mind that the lonelier he'd be because he'd never have secured someone to spend that time with. He was getting up in his years. The chances that he'd settle down, have a kid or two, they were growing slimmer and slimmer by the day.

Great. She'd gotten him depressed on his day off. Thank a lot, hunny!