<div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><em>Jacqueline Meredith Blakesley</em> (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=126812.msg5594070#msg5594070)</span> <br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Homicide Inspector Out Of Her Element - <strong> P3, Tagging Brie, and Wyatt (little to no interaction).</strong></em></span><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 8pt;"><em>'To seek a witch, rumoured to be blessed not once but twice.'</em></span></span></div><hr/><div class="floatleft">(http://tinyurl.com/867s24h)</div><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 9pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">A minor distraction presented itself in Jinni kissing Wyatt as though she wanted to breathe his very being into her lungs.  Jack's cheeks burned pink in response, and she turned her chair so that she could not see any more.  Seeing a couple adoring each other did little but bring to mind her faults and tendency to distrust men, and it wasn't something she really had the desire to dwell upon, even as she silently hoped it would work out for the pair.  She slid her hand through her hair while listening to Brie - truly enjoying their conversation.  She slicked her fingers again through her hair to little avail, and the silken strands fell down around her face.  <br/><br/>Initially, she was afraid that Brie would clam up with her admission - but to her relief, the woman seemed only shocked and surprised by what she'd said.  That in and of itself was, perhaps, a good sign.  One more step, she thought.  All she had to do was keep talking and very slowly.  It would be a small truth at a time, though she didn't think they'd react well to discovering her father.  Jack bit her lower lip.  <em>But I'm a good person, regardless of my ... unique heritage</em>, she thought, her expression briefly firming with resolve.  As it was, if everyone followed a destined path, the world would be not as well off as it could be.<br/><br/>At least, unless you were the child of a Charmed One.  She smiled at what Brie then said.  "A twin.  That's absolutely amazing.  As an only child, I've always wanted ... a lot of family.  You're lucky, I think, to have him, and your cousins."  Jack had thought that perhaps Brie would have picked up on the hint that she was trying to give - that her uncle was telepathic, but not every clue was obvious, and she remained on the fence with how much information to give away.  "I'll certainly keep in mind to call you, tomorrow.  I've no need to go into work for the next few days unless I'm called in - so I'll have a bit of time to spare."  Of course, Jack didn't say that she wouldn't be called in unless there was a murder, however, she wasn't looking to drown the mood at the bar into the ground.  The temptation to look back at Wyatt again was incredibly strong, but she decided it would be best if she minded her own business.  Something puzzled her, now that she thought about it regarding the woman, Jinni, and made her want to rub the back of her neck until the odd feeling she got went away.<br/><br/>Twice blessed man.  She thought that he'd be more ... awesome?  Secure of himself?  A tiny, amused smile curled her lips as she smothered the need to giggle.  The children of the Charmed Ones were delightfully ordinary.  Taking up the napkin Brie gave her, she looked at it, memorised the number, and tucked it in her purse just in case.  She pressed the button on her reader and tucked it into her purse, which was a pretty affair in white hemp that matched her boots.  "You're right, of course ... now is hardly the ... time."  Suddenly her shoulders tightened, heart jumping into her throat as Jack thought she saw a familiar face she really ... did not want, nor expect to see, and she rubbed the centre of her forehead with her thumb, index, and middle fingers.<br/><br/>Placing her hands flat on the bar, she waited for the sudden urge to set something on fire to pass, then finished the refilled measure of her drink, quaffing it back quickly.  Her laughter was nervous and somewhat unsettled, but she decided to mask it with a smile.  <em>God, I am terrible at being a social person.  Why not just ice me over now and have done with it?</em>  Yet, Brie seemed to be enjoying her company, which was a pleasant surprise.  <em>Next stop, actually not failing at talking to a man.  Maybe next year.</em>  "I would say that I've not casually talked crime in some time, but that wouldn't be entirely true," she replied with a slight smirk.  <br/><br/>"Though, on another topic, Sam Huang - the one you are likely thinking - does run the apothecary shop ... but he worked at Magic School for years before that.  I didn't come around until after ... after my mother was murdered, which wasn't until I was a teenager, and even in those years, I spent a lot of my time getting in trouble not ... of my own making."  Bounty hunter after hunter tried to drag her to the Underworld for her suitability, it was said, in fulfilling some nutty prophecy, or being a guard for the most evil of demons.  She'd only been down there a once against her will, and it was not an experience she desired to repeat.  Some people might have said she was an awful Phoenix Witch - but the way she saw it was that only certain souls deserved wrath visited upon them, not all, and not even most.<br/><br/>The talk turning to their mothers seemed to make Jack ... go quiet briefly.  "I miss my mother - and I would rather be compared to her than my father.  He is ..." Jack paused, and her fingers curled around the edge of the bar.  "Lets just say he was never there, and when he was, he did nothing but cause more trouble for me.  It is his fault my mother is gone now, but I've long ago accepted there are things we cannot change, and things that are fated to happen.  The world needs balance."  There was no way she intended to say that her father was a powerful half-demon.  Not yet, anyway.  If asked, she wouldn't lie, but it seemed to be rather bad timing.  Besides.  It wasn't as if the man really would pop up here.  While he'd been something of a neutral party for the Charmed Ones and often gave them tips - it didn't change the fact that he'd literally made her life ... a living hell, in some aspects. <br/><br/>She smiled at Brie.  "For all that my life has been a relatively bumpy ride, I've enjoyed what I've had of it, really.  Besides."  Jack cleared her throat and eyed Brie with a deadpan expression, and very calm demeanour.  "Death ... is not the end of things.  It is only a transition," she replied, quoting her Uncle word for word, and with a slightly thickened accent for amusement sake.  "I probably should have warned you that I have my silly moments, even being past thirty."  She took a deep breath, and tapped her heels on the chair.  <br/><br/>The temptation, now, was impossible to resist.  Snatching up one of the napkins, she tugged out a pen, and wrote a single, quick sentence, turned it face side down, and passed it to Brie.  The bit of paper read: <em>Firestarter, and Phoenix Witch - though I am horrible at the vengeance game.</em><br/><br/>Anxiously, she watched Brie's face.  She wanted nothing more than someone to talk to that was at least somewhat near her own age about ... things.  Pretending to be entirely normal was damned hard, some days.</span></span>