8746/Another Piece of the Puzzle Back In Place

Another Piece of the Puzzle Back In Place
Date of Scene:	19 November 2021
Location:	Gymnasium - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Cait and Hank catch up and Hank's return to the Titans is all but formalized.
Cast of Characters:	Hank Hall, Caitlin Fairchild

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Hank Hall has posed:
    Hank Hall had waited a couple of days after his initial return to Titan's Tower to go back. Since that time, his presence at the Tower has been a daily occurance. He comes in the afternoon, and immediately goes to the gym. He stays there for hours and then seems to depart with as much fanfare as he arrives. Which is to say, little.

    Today, it seems he's working on squats. He's wearing navy training shorts stretched across his quads, atletic shoes, and a grey tank top. He's been at it for a while if the sweat gleaming on his chest, shoulders, and face is any indicator.

    The bar resting on his shoulders seems to be carrying around 230 kilos on it and doesn't seem to be over taxing for him as he lowers himself and then rises back up. "Twenty four..." he huffs out, counting his reps.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Gotta get your rear lower, Hank," comes a familiar voice. Caitlin smiles at him from the entrance to the gym, halfway in the door and leaning the inside of one shoulder against the frame for balance. She's dressed casually, for comfort; a well-worn pink hoodie with 'Columbia' in faded white across the chest, grey winter-weight leggings, and waterproof running shoes in eye-searing salmon pink. Her hair's back in a loose braid, some of the frizzy hair trying to escape and frame her face. Hands are jammed loosely into her hoodie pocket pouch.

"I can come back, um, later. If you're busy," she says, and the corner of her mouth flickers in a momentary moue of uncertainty. "Unless you need a spotter," she volunteers a beat later. Shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, betraying uncertainty about the protocol for handling Hank's return properly.

Hank Hall has posed:
    Hank's eyes shift to the door and he laughs. "I'd ask why you're focusing so much on my rear, but I know from it's all about form and function." He drops lower than before and rises. "Twenty-five" he says, lifting the bar off his shoulders with a grunt and lowering it to the ground.

    He shakes his head. "No. I'm not busy. Just working on getting back into Titan shape, since Donna seems to think I've put on more fat than muscle. Which... isn't true. But appearances, right?" He smiles to the (internally) young woman.

    "What brings you by? Looking to throw a few hands as well? Vic and Donna got their licks in... the former more than the latter... but I was expecting something from you soon enough."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin just gives Hank a level look at the implication she would come here to confront him. It's a combination of 'don't be daft' and 'it hurts me you'd insinuate such a thing'.

Caitlin's never much been one for dissembling, but she does have that expression down pat. "I thought I'd come say 'hi'," she explains. Taking his words as an invite she walks into the gym furthur and sits on an unoccupied bench near the squat rack. One ankle catches behind the other and she folds her hands in her lap. Only the scraping of a varnished fingernail against her palm betrays some anxiety. "See how you've been. What you've been up to. Tried finding you on social media but you kinda just... vanished." Shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. "Won't lie, I was worried about you. I'm just glad you're doing OK."

Hank Hall has posed:
    Hank moves to a backpack nearby and grabs a plain white towel from it. "I've been..." He mops at his face. "Not okay. I wasn't okay for a long time." He lets the towel fall back onto the backpack and sits opposite of the woman. "I tend to steer clear of social media. It's a good way for a cop to get fired and with my temper..." he shakes his head.

    "I moved back to DC after Don..." He closes his mouth, swallows his pain, and continues. "Became a cop there. Been doing that ever since. I got transfered to Metropolis during an 'exchange of duty' exercise between DC, NYC, Metropolis, and Gotham." There is sarcasm as he explains the process. "I think the Lords of Chaos were just trying to get me in proximity to you guys so I wouldn't be squandering what they put inside me."

    "Which... I guess it worked" he says. "I told Donna I'd like to be back on active duty. Patrols. I'm... not quite ready to move back into my old room. But... time... you know?" he says giving her a soft grin.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's expression turns mournful and she looks to the floor when Don was mentioned. Lest Hank think he's being ignored, she acknowledges his words with a nod. At the subtle sarcasm, she looks up again and another amused smile dimples a cheek.

Her expression falters then, and she looks away at the windows and their great view of the city. Her focus cuts back to Hank and she swallows once.

"I, uh... I'm sorry I wasn't there. When you woke up," she apologizes. "I wish I had been. Doctors said they didn't know how long you'd be in the coma. With Don, and--" she takes a steadying breath, "and Kole, and Ka-- Superman, and everyone else who D--Doomsday, um, /killed/," she says. It takes some effort to force the words out. "I was a mess myself. I went to Themyscira, with Diana, for ... I guess you could call it therapy. And someone had to tell Donna what happened." She looks back up at him. "She still blames herself for not being here when the fight went down. I don't know if she's ever going to forgive herself for that."

Hank Hall has posed:
    Hank frowns for a moment and shakes his head. "I don't blame you. Or her. Or anyone... 'sides myself, really. And that bastard Doomsday..." he says softly. "I was supposed to protect him... that's what I do... and I couldn't. That's on me." He frowns again. "As for Donna. I hope that our little hug fest the other day helped heal her some. Buried the hatchet she was carrying for herself, y'know?"

    He looks at the redhead and nods. "Went to the Amazon homeworld, huh? Nice. You look good. Really. I mean, you always did but you look... better" he searches for the right word, having trouble finding it. "More comfortable with yourself. I don't know... it's... a subtle thing. But I can tell. I can feel it as much as see it."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Cait's ears pink minutely, and she ducks her head with a self-conscious laugh. But the smile that follows is grateful for Hank's observation-- and the topical shift is more comfortable ground, too.

"Uh, home island. It's not like Asgard. It's just really well-hidden. But, uh... yeah, it was good for me," she admits. "First few weeks were tough. I was really depressed. Donna and Diana did a lot to help me get over-- well, no, not /over/," she amends, "but you know. Work through stuff. Heal up. That took /forever/," she exhales, looking at the ceiling. "It was almost a month before I was walking around again properly."

"I was in bed for a week before my femur set enough I could walk. Took a month for all the broken bones to heal."

She tugs up the sleeves of her sweater to reveal a pair of seamless golden bracelets fit snugly to her wrist, with no visible means of removing them. "Then earlier this year, Donna and Diana took me back to the island and, uh, did the whole induction thing. Adoption? I don't know the right word. But, uh, yeah."

She rests her hands in her lap again and beams up at Hank. "But tell me more about DC. The civilian life. Richard worked at Bludhaven for a while, doing the cop thing. What did you do down there?"

Hank Hall has posed:
    Hank nods appreciatively at the golden bracers. "Oh... honorary Amazon now, huh?" he says with a bright smile. "Nice. Good for you!" He rolls a shoulder. "I guess not all of us can get patched up as quickly as Hawk and Dove huh?" he asks. He had fractures all over from the chart as well when he was in a coma. But Hawk made sure most of those cleared out before he awoke.

    "Civvie life was... boring" he replies. "To be honest. Part of why I joined the PD. I still do the cop thing, just here. I had a beat with a car for a while, but... when you try to use a police cruiser as a battering ram they tend to move you to something less... vehicular manslaughter." He winces. "I patrolled on a bike. Mostly parking violations and scouting for druggies and vagrants now." He shrugs. "It's still good work and" he slaps his thighs, "keeps me in shape. My route's not far from the Tower to be honest."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin laughs at Hank's words, though she immediately covers her mouth at the tittering. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just the mental image of you, in a bike cop's uniform, it just--" she coughs twice, desperately trying to wipe the amusement off her face. "Sorry," she says, again, and composes herself.

"Oh, circling back-- not 'honorary'," Caitlin clarifies apologetically. "Am Amazon. Like, 'dual citizenship, free pass to visit, apartment in the city'. Not a big distinction I guess, but, uh..." she shrugs haplessly. It -is- an important distinction in her mind, even if she can't articulate it.

"Anyway. I guess you and, uh, Dawn, you two... have to talked things out?" Her tone is hesitant, wary of treading on any emotional landmines. "I think she's nice. I mean, she seems nice. Very easy-going. What do you think of her so far?"

Hank Hall has posed:
    Hank gives the woman his own amused smile. "Yeah. Yeah. Laugh it up." He holds up an apologetic hand at his mistep on her place among Donna and Diana's people. "Sorry... my bad. Got you. You *are* an Amazon now" he says with a nod.

    At the mention of Dawn he nods. "Yeah. We did. We talked. That night after I came back. She's... she's nice. She's... it's strange. Talking to her feels almost like talking to Don--my brother. There's a lot that similar but so much that's different. Different interests, different takes on what we are and how we're meant to move forward." He looks thoughtful. "But I think we're going to be okay in the end. We haven't worked together yet. But... in time. We can't very well be Hawk and Dove if we don't know how to move together, can we?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Can't be any worse than it was for all of us in the beginning," Caitlin observes with a wry humor. "She's got a leg up on you and Don-- someone to help train her. We all just kinda... blundered through it, those first few years. None of us really knew what we were doing, even the ones who actually *had* training."

"It's kinda weird to think about us being the old guard," she reflects. "I mean-- golly, I know it's been ten years for us, but it doesn't *feel* like that long ago. With Wally back, and a Hawk and Dove in the Tower again, the only person we're shy of is ...Garth at this point."

Her nose wrinkles. "I hope he comes around again someday. I don't even know what he's doing these days. Probably living it up in Atlantis."

Hank Hall has posed:
    "Well, we're all getting up there in years aren't we?" Hank says with a grin. "I mean.. I'm almost 28, I'll be needing a walker and a special stool for when I take a shower soon here, won't I?" he jokes.

    "You're right about one thing though... we got thrust into it. One way or another and for the most of us it was the deep end or nothing at all." He nods. "But yeah... we'll train her up into it. And get her ready as she can. No more mistakes, not like..." he grimaces. "Not again."

    At the mention of Garth he smirks. "It has to be so hard for him... being a prince. Having people wait on him left and right... can't imagine the pressue." The sarcasm dripping from his words is almost a tangible thing.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin rolls her eyes but can't suppress a smile at Hank's grumblings. Her feet touch the ground and she stands smoothly, hands back in her pockets. "Don't be like that. He's still the same guy he's always been," she chivvies Hank. "You two just had a special thing for annoying each other. You'd have gone crazy if Gar and Victor were the only people you could tease day-to-day."

A grin spreads. "Besides, I notice you get a lot less vocal about monarchies when it's Kori floating around," she observes with a mirthful amusement.

Caitlin walks over to Hank, pauses. "I'm glad you came home," she says, with a quiet sincerity. "Feels like I've got all my brothers back in one place again."

Caitlin outstretches her arms. "Hug," she says, making it more statement than request. "Don't worry, I haven't cracked anyone's ribs in years."

Hank Hall has posed:
    "That's true..." Hank says with a grin. "And as for Kori..." Hank says, a bit of red coming to his cheeks. "She's not as... outspoken at her being a Princess as Garth is about being a prince." Sure, that was all the difference between the pair of them... nothing to do with Kori's appearance at all.

He rises and nods. "I'm glad I'm came back as well." He opens his own arms and embraces the Amazonian redhead. He squeezes her tightly, but not so tight as to hurt (as if he could without being Hawk.) "I've missed you guys more than I knew I would and I think I've needed to come back home for longer than I was willing to admit."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Hank's ribs might creak /a little/-- but Caitlin is indeed, careful. "Welcome home," she whispers, and hugs Hank for one more beat before she disengages from him.

"Dinner is on Sunday, so text me tomorrow so I can go grocery shopping," she reminds him. "You get to pick this week. A couple of home-cooked meals, some Wrestlemania-- it'll be like you never left."

She grins again, happiness shining through her features, and wiggles fingers farewell at Hank while she turns to head out of the gym.

"And don't hurt yourself in there!" she yells over her shoulder once she's out the door.