7320/Off Duty

Off Duty
Date of Scene:	25 April 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	A pleasant chat between therapist and Soldier.
Cast of Characters:	Winter Soldier, Rowan Saunders

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Winter Soldier has posed:
So, Buck and Lili have taken over a racquetball court. No humans need it, so it's Buck in there, in sweats and a t-shirt, bouncing a ball off the walls so the Shepherd can go racketing around chasing it. Her vest is off and she's off-duty, and clearly having the time of her life. She scoots around in an absurd, tail-tucked posture, clearly just being silly.

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan steps in, in shorts and a singlet, with a racquet tucked under one arm and a racquetball in the other. He pauses, grinning when he sees the dog just being her silly off-duty self. "Hey guys," he says. He's got a friendly but kind of blank presence just now. By law, he's not even allowed to act like he knows Bucky without Bucky aknowledging him first.

Winter Soldier has posed:
She comes prancing over, head up, pinky ball in her mouth, waggling it from side to side. I have a ball and you don't! Then she drops it with a heaping helping of slobber on the floor, and looks up at Rowan hopefully. "Hi there," Bucky says, amiably. He hasn't been working too hard, but then, when does he ever, short of a fifty mile march?

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan grins and ruffles the dog's ears. Then he reaches for the ball. "I see, is this for me?" he says. He gives it a toss toward Bucky so Lili can take off toward him. "Taking it easy?" he asks as he closes the distance. "I just started consulting here, so I figured I'd check the place out."

Winter Soldier has posed:
She comes bounding over, tail up, looks back at Rowan, looks at Bucky. OMG THROW THE BALL THROW IT. Buck flicks it against a wall, and it goes rebounding around as she scrambles to catch it. "Yeah," he says. "We go to dog parks sometimes - and how crazy is that, having parks just for dogs - but some days when I'm too lazy to take her out far, we just run around the grounds. I live here." There are quarters in the complex....and of course, an oddity like the Soldier might well be housed here. "It's really nice. The pool is great, too."

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"I could stand to take my folks' dog to a park now and again," Rowan says. "I take him for walks, but that dog needs more than walks to work off all the leftovers they give him." He looks around the place, and it's clear he hadn't considered that they actually quarter people here. "I got a little place in Brooklyn," he says. From his accent, he's spent quite a bit of time there.

Winter Soldier has posed:
"I used'a," he says, with that sidelong grin. "What kinna dog you got? Or they got, I mean?" Lili bounces up, snags the pinky ball, comes waggling back to nudge at Bucky's hand. He flicks it at another wall, and the cycle repeats itself.

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"Yellow lab," Rowan says. "He's a sweet ol' guy, but he's a tub. I keep trying to get them to stop giving him people food, but that's a losing battle, so I take him out when I can, get him some exercise. It's funny, I met Steve Rogers a few months ago because Sonny almost ate his elephant ear."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Lili, satisfied, flops down to chomp on the ball, and Buck leaves her to it for the moment. "Oh, yeah?" he asks, grinning at that. "Out at Coney, or..."

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan nods and says, "Yeah, I like walking him out there. Captain Rogers left his elephant ear unguarded for just a moment, and Sonny almost had it. He moves fast if there's a pastry involved. Fortunately the elephant ear was fine, and we both agreed the dog didn't need any extra snacks."

Winter Soldier has posed:
She rolls on to her side, continues chomping the ball....lets it fall and roll, then scrambles after it. Dogs entertaining themselves. "We've been going out there a long time," he says. "I stopped trying to make him ride the Cyclone. He threw up every time."

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan grins and says, "Kind of hard to picture him doing that now, huh. I don't think I've ever ridden the Cyclone. I always liked the games on the midway. Mind you, I was never very good at them, but I liked to try. I used to win my mom teddy bears. I bet she still has them."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"I was really good at those games," Buck says, with no self-consciousness at all. By the warmth in his face, those are good memories. "But yeah. Now he's all big and tough, but he was a runty little bastard in the twenties, when we were kids. Cyclone's worth riding."

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"I don't want to ride it alone," Rowan says. "Maybe someday. These days I don't do any of the rides because I've got the dog with me. I mostly just walk him and go people-watching. People like to come up and pet him, and he loves the attention, so that's kind of nice, too. Gets him off the couch."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"YEah. I haven't ridden that in a while," he allows, pausing. Brow furrowing. ".....hell, maybe since I was a kid," he adds.

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"You should try it again," Rowan says. "Might bring back some good memories, if nothing else. Anyway, I'm out there just about every weekend with Sonny. I don't know if he's actually losing any weight, but he seems to enjoy it, and I like hanging out with him."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"You should bring him to work. He and Lili could have a play date, and aren't those.....well, he could be a therapy dog." Lili, at the sound of her name, rolls up to her feet and comes over to offer Rowan the ball. Hey, human, help a girl out.

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan nods slowly. "Yeah, another dog might get him up and moving. And he's pretty good-natured. I don't know if he's smart enough to be of any therapeutic use outside of being someone to cuddle and pet." He takes the offered ball, then gives a swing of his racquet and sends the ball bouncing off the wall and skirling off.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Oh, my god. Lili's expression is momentarily bewildered. But then she's into the spirit of it, and races after it, snatching it out of the air deftly. She comes right back to Rown, plops it on his shoe. "That's more than enough."

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan laughs at Lili's expression. He picks up the ball and this time just gives it a normal throw. "I'll see what mom and dad think about me taking him to work. They probably won't mind. Lili will no doubt be a good influence. When they're not playing, he can sleep on the couch in my office."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"I mean, dogs, they're good for people. I'm far from the only vet with a special dog," he says, nodding. Lili snags it again, like she's aiming to be one of those frisbee dogs, and then brings it to Bucky this time.

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"Dogs are great," Rowan says, "and to a lesser degree, cats. My parents also have a cat, Chester. He's a big orange tabby. I don't think I've ever been to their place when that cat wasn't asleep. Apparently he's really friendly, but I wouldn't know it. To me, he's comatose."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier flashes that brilliant grin. "I useda have an alley cat, when I was a little kid. Big mean orange tabby. He lived outside, but I made him a little house out of an old apple crate, and fed him what I could." Lili g ives him an accusing look. Cats, really?

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"I thought about getting a cat. My place is a little too small for a dog," Rowan says, "but I don't know what I'd do with a cat. Feed it, I guess, and maybe let it sit on my lap while I watched TV. I'd want to keep it inside, so there's the litter box to consider. That's kind of my deal breaker."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Lili indicates that she is Done by rolling over to expose her golden fuzzy belly, and Buck obliging crouches to rub it for her. "Yeah. That'd be hard. I'm done for now - you want the court, doc?"

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan considers, then admits, "I don't really know how to play racquetball. It just looked like something I could pick up, and I know I'm not good at basketball. But sure, I suppose I could give it a shot."

Winter Soldier has posed:
There's only that smile from Buck. "I dunno how to, honestly, either. You know, the only sports I know how to do....I boxed in high school. Played sandlot baseball as a kid. That's it. Never anything else. Too poor, too busy. I betcha you could find someone here to teach you."

Rowan Saunders has posed:
"I used to play baseball and run track," Rowan says. "I might look for someone to teach me racquetball. It seems respectable." He glances at Lili. "Or I might just smack balls at the wall for your dog. Either way, whatever works."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Sounds good to me. I think I might just go get something to eat," At that, Lili perks up. Foods? Human foods that Buck isn't supposed to feed her, but does anyhow?

Rowan Saunders has posed:
Rowan glances at Lili, then looks at Bucky with quiet judgment. Human snacks is where it starts. Before you know it, you're shoving a tree trunk with legs off the couch to get a little exercise. "I'll see you around," he says.