Timing

The Memory and the Punishment

The fog horn exploded into Cece's ear. She shot up, glancing around the darkened room in a startled state before she realized what was happening. She groaned and flopped back onto the bed, unceremoniously. The fog horn continued to blare until she shuffled over and smacked her hand onto her phone. 3:45AM blinked up at her as she slid her finger over the lock screen pattern, muttering about early mornings as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She typed out a quick text You better be up as she made her way into her bathroom, blinking at the brightness of the light that she flicked on overhead. As she cranked the shower into motion, she found her early morning wake-up playlist and scrolled until she found the song she was searching for.

As the beginning of Justin Timberlake's Can't Stop the Feeling blared around her, she tossed her oversized t-shirt back into her rom and slid into the steaming shower. The hot water hissed against her skin as she sighed, leaning against the coolness of the tiles to counteract the steam that was already licking against her skin. She let her mind wander as she scrubbed the coconut scented shampoo into her shoulder-length dark locks. Today was the last day of filming before the comedians took a three-week break. The main reason was that they had been filming every day for seven weeks straight, but the secondary reason was that Brian was going off to recertify and retrain for his Firehouse. His retraining meant that meant that he would be out of contact for three weeks; three whole weeks without Brian.

Cece sighed as she let the streaming water send the product spiraling down the drain, thinking about the scruffy looking Joker. She had known him for almost five years and she was always continuously surprised by him. If she had become friends with Jeremy for his ability to fill silence, she had been drawn to Brian by his ability to just sit in silence. That and his love of comics. And his love of everything nerdy. And for his love of animals. And for his service with the FDNY. And the list could go on and on forever. He had been the last one she had met after her hiring, their conversation short and clipped as he studied her with the quizzical tilt of his head that he always did when he was trying to figure something out. She smiled at the memory that flooded her brain as she grabbed for the body wash.

"Brian!" Peter smiled widely at the man in the doorway. "Glad you could join us. You need to meet Dr. Cecelia Mercury," Peter gestured to where she was sitting against the wall, her back pressed into the corner so she could get a good vantage point of the room. "She's going to be our on-site physician." Cece nodded her head in acknowledgement as the clean-shaven, baby-faced man entered the room, tipping his hat to her. "Dr. Mercury, this is Brian Quinn. The last member that you needed to meet." Brian busied himself with pulling off his long, black, winter coat revealing a plain red tee under a black zip-up hoodie as voices echoed into the room from the hallway.

Cece turned back to her notebook as Sal, Joe, and James tumbled into the room, laughing as the coffee they were carrying sloshed around in the cups in their hands. She picked up bits of the conversations that they were having: podcasts, both theirs and Brian's, the ratings, filming locations, and getting picked up for another season. She sensed James walking towards her before she acknowledged him, her nerves still on edge and her body still not fully adjusted to civilian life. She looked up at him and he beamed down at her, holding out a cup of coffee for her to take. She nodded at him as Sal hollered out to him, cackling loudly.

Brian slid into the seat next to her as the three other Jokers began to dominate the conversation. He was much quieter than his friends, but when he did speak the deep timber of his voice resonated deep within Cece's chest. He kept his hat slung over his mop of wavy hair, sipping his coffee quietly as she hastily took notes. When the conversation at the table began to draw towards what bits they should do for the second season, Brian turned his head over to her.