She had downed one gin and tonic and was working on a second when the man appeared at her side.  He was good-looking, perhaps not quite her type, but handsome all the same.  And so totally not what she needed right now.  For a moment, she considered slipping the typical "Aww, thanks, but I have a boyfriend." line to him, but even though of mentioning a boyfriend tugged at her heart a little too hard.  Instead, she opted for the truth.  Nora was late, but Nora was almost always late and she typically had several good reasons for it.  Either she was chasing down some troll-- The literal kind, not the internet kid-- or stopping some asshole blood sucker.  Lane had often joked that Nora had some kind of supernatural deathwish when they were kids, but as they got older, it became more clear it wasn't a joke.  Nora had lost her parents to the kind of darkness she fought every day, and there were times Lane was nearly positive Nora hoped that darkness would claim her as well.<br/><br/>"Lane.  Lane Barnes."  She took his hand and shook it, not wanting to be impolite.  "I'm actually waiting for a friend, but thank you for the drink."  The bartender made eye contact with her and she nodded to him.  "Let's go for a Tom Collins this time, shake it up a little."  She said.  Maybe she should have said no to the beverage, but it had been kind of a shitty week and her ability to brush him off completely was decidedly lower than it would have been normally.  Bars also weren't typically her kind of place, but Nora had suggested it and Steve was out for the evening with a new girl.  She was about to jokingly curse her dear friend when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  A moment later, Nora appeared next to her.  The tall brunette was all smiles and grace, Lane noticed that she had ever cleaned up.<br/><br/>"Speaking of my friend," Lane said, gesturing toward Nora.  Nora's eyes were already on the man who had bought Lane's drink and unless Lane was seeing things, there was something odd in her friend's expression.  Nora quickly played it off though, her smile widening as she glanced between them.<br/><br/>"Didn't know you were going to bring someone, Lane, this isn't the guy--" Nora pointed at Remy.  Lane recognized her tone almost immediately as something inauthentic. Nora was being more than just polite, she was trying to work something out.<br/><br/>"No, this is not the guy." Lane quickly answered.  When she was not sure who to vent to, she had found herself calling Nora two day ago.  She had offered to come out and visit for a bit, but Lane got the sense there was more to this visit than just letting her vent.  Nora could let her vent over the phone.  Her presence there meant that she was actually worried, an emotion she was not great at showing.  Nora had always been more of the sort to show her affection by vigorously protecting her friends.<br/><br/>"I guess that's good.  Isn't it, Remy?" Nora said as she put her arm protectively around Lane.<br/><br/>Now the confusion was completely clear on Lane's face.  "You two know each other?"  She asked.<br/><br/>"Sure do.  Though I'm not sure why he's buying you a drink, but I guess we can just ask him."  Nora said, leaning in toward Lane as if they were acting as conspirators.  When she straightened again her smile was more of a challenge than an expression.  Though what the challenge was, Lane was not sure of.  Nora had a bravado and confidence that was not rare for her, but not something Lane often saw.  "So how 'bout it, Remy?  What brings you to the windy city?"