The Things Dads Do

[Det. Noah Miller]

The things fathers do for their children.

Noah gave a short sigh and shook his head.  He'd recognized the young lady who was sitting at outside cafe on the corner from his daughter's iPod and the handful of videos he'd seen in passing.  Elizabeth Edison 's music wasn't the type Noah preferred, despite how often he'd had to listened to it.  His daughter, Kaylee, tended to take over the radio whenever they were in the car, at home, or anywhere else they may be cohabiting and sooner or later one of the familiar folk/pop tunes would come through the speakers.  Furthermore, unlike his daughter, Noah put precious little stock in the concept of celebrity.  He usually had far more important things to worry about.  Even now he was actually on lunch and had a stack of paperwork waiting for him back at the precinct.  He didn't have time to worry about famous people.

Which is exactly why he was approaching the young lady sitting by herself, drinking coffee.

"Excuse me."  Noah said politely.  This was certainly not his forte.  If Liz had been a potential witness or suspect to a crime he'd have no problem interacting with her.  More often than not his calculating, stoic demeanor was seen as off-putting when he wasn't on duty.  Hopefully he wouldn't scare this one off.  "I hate to bother you..."  He almost couldn't believe he was doing this.  The police detective paused for a moment and then lifted his notepad and a pen.  "... my daughter is a huge fan of yours."  No, he didn't have to ask if he had the right person.  He knew who she was right away.  "She would go crazy if I could get your autograph."

[Elizabeth Edison]

Elizabeth was staring far too intensely at a couple who had a puppy yipping at their ankle. She wanted one and she was very much in the right position to get one. Probably not the purse dog currently yipping at the couple's ankle like some deranged insect.

While contemplating on what kind of dog she would most likely get, someone came up to her and broke her concentration. She blinked away from the couple with the dog only to be accosted by this hunk of a man who was handing her a notepad and a pen.

A wide smile began to spread across her lips before she accepted the notepad and pen. "Of course, always happy to make a fan go crazy." She chuckled. "What's her name?" Elizabeth asked, clicking on the pen.

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah offered a polite smile when Liz accepted and relieved him of the pen and notepad. The way her features lit up at his request had brought about a certain sense of relief that he would, at least, be able to let his daughter listen to Liz's music without having to remember an awkward or tense moment.

"Thank you, Miss Edison." Noah said with a nod. His posture was just a little too rigid, his voice a little too polite. It was obvious he was on duty and often found it difficult to differentiate between work and home. "Kaylee." He replied. "K-A-Y." He paused a moment as he watched Liz scribble on the notepad. He briefly thought how he wished he'd had another option for her to sign. Using a piece of paper from the notepad he carried with him for work just felt so cheap and unremarkable. "Again, I apologize for interrupting you." He said, shifting his eyes up to Liz's face and offering a another faint smile.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Being called Miss Edison always bothered her, even when it was from teachers. She laughed and shook her head. "Please, call me Liz. And that's L-E-Y or L-E-E? Or L-I-E?" She asked before looking up again at the man.

She probably shouldn't be staring. He had a daughter. He was married, obviously. But no one said it was wrong to look. Right?

"You're not interrupting." She shook her head, the smile still on her face. "I was just thinking about what dog to get. I figured I should get one since I've got nothing else going on in my life." She joked.

[Det. Noah Miller]

"Okay. Liz." Noah replied with a nod. He studied the young woman, as he did everyone, calmly taking in the subtle nuances of her body language. She was relaxed and calm, utterly at ease. He supposed that was to be expected from someone who was accustomed to being in the spotlight as much as she must be. "Oh, uh, two 'E's'."

A bit of a chuckle escaped. "A puppy?" Noah asked with a faint smirk touching his lips. It was a seemingly random comment to be made that caught him off guard and was utterly disarming. "That's quite a commitment." He said only half joking. He thought of the little ball of floppy energy that was surely terrorizing his empty house and his head shook. "I didn't expect that." He said honestly. "Although I guess thinking about your next song or tour date is probably closer to thinking about work than anything else, isn't it?"

[Elizabeth Edison]

The rigidness from the man didn't seem to go away but at least he didn't reject her informality. She nodded when he confirmed the spelling of his daughter's name. She wrote a short vague message before handing the pen and paper over to the man.

"Don't get me started on tour dates." She rolled her eyes. "Although I guess my new label is pretty lax on that, come to think of it. But I just got off from my latest album so I've still got some time before I have to think of my next hit." She shrugged.

"I grew up with a dog and I'm only now starting to realise that I need the company again." She chuckled lightly. "You don't happen to know anything about dogs, do you?"

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah nodded, understanding more than perhaps he let on about the trials and tribulations of a job that never seemed to end, even if his line of work was drastically different. It struck him how little thought he'd ever given to what the sort of life artists and celebrities led. Surely most of them must have busy schedules and commit to their craft on a level few could understand. He exhaled slowly. It hadn't been two minutes in Liz's and he'd already given more thought to such arbitrary ideas than in his previous 36 years combined.

"I do, uh... I have two." Noah waited until he had something to actually contribute before speaking. He couldn't relate to talk of tours, albums and record labels but he did know dogs. "One is my kids' and I just got a puppy." Why he was suddenly divulging even this much information, Noah couldn't say. Perhaps she'd simply caught him off guard with the ease in which she spoke about such things. It was as if she didn't have a care in the world even when she was talking of things that obviously concerned her.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Perking up a little when he mentioned two dogs, Elizabeth didn't even think twice before patting the seat next to her in an attempt to have the man sit down. In hindsight, she should probably have been a little wary about him, given that he was a complete stranger. The blond, for all the wariness she had, never really had a problem inviting strangers into her lives.

It was a concern.

"Do you have anywhere else to go? I'd love to pick your brain about what I should get."

[Det. Noah Miller]

Noah's brow furrowed as he went to quickly respond, though something made him reconsider right before the words politely declining her offer could be uttered. He glanced over his shoulder, considered his options, thought better of whatever he happened to have on his mind and then shrugged. Technically he did have the time to stop for a few minutes. He was just going to eat a bran muffin over paperwork anyway.

"Uh, yeah." He nodded a bit before glancing down to the message Liz had scrawled beneath her autograph on his notepad. Noah gave a soft smile before tucking the pad and pen away into his pocket. "I do have some time." He said, almost as if he was telling himself more than answering Liz's question. "I take it you've never had a dog before?" He asked, moving to take up the offered seat.