Karishma is scrolling her phone through news and comments while having a bottle of beer setting on the bar in front of her. A baseball game is played on TV but no one is really watching. In fact, there are barely people in the bar as the sun is yet to set properly outside. Every time the door is swung open, the sunlight sneaks through to remind everyone inside that maybe it is still too early for that third bottle.
"Hey." Officer Maria places her hand on Karishma's shoulder as she sits herself down on the bar stool next to her. "How did it go?"
"Those in Narc were kind enough to mention Brian on the press release of Will Hughes's drug arrest." Karishma reads from the news she has on her phone. Right before Officer Maria can sit properly on the stool, she can tell by Karishma's voice that she is a little bit way off her drinking limit. She cannot blame her. At one point, everything will be too much for her and her guess is that this is the point. "I have to see a counselor. Then, I can start with the patrol."
"With Brian?" Officer Maria reaches over the bar to grab a pint and get some beer from the tab on her own. The bartender who is engaging in a conversation at one end of the bar looks and shakes his head. His bar is the first responders' hot spot and this constantly happens.
"They will assign us to someone else." Karishma puts her phone facing down on the bar and sips her beer with her eyes on the TV. "For 3 months."
"Do you want me to get you?" Officer Maria sits back down on the stool with the pint in her hand.
Karishma glances at Officer Maria with such heavy heart. She is swallowing her own words about pulling strings. At this point, she has been pulling every string whether she realizes it or not. "Can you?"
"Definitely. Zach is fine with someone else for a bit." Officer Maria leaves her beer untouched and refers to her current partner who has just passed his sixth month as a rookie. "Haseena is not home?"
"She is filming a movie; reshooting thing." Karishma sips her last drop of beer in her bottle and clears her throat. "I'm thinking about taking Jabbs to Haseena's from time to time."
"Huh." Officer Maria smirks sneakily as she starts her tasty draught beer. "So this is serious."
"Haseena is uncomfortable in her own house. I don't know. I figure it might help. Jabbs can be her company when she has to be home and I have to be out." Karishma explains something that is not entirely related to Officer Maria' statement. "I want him to get used to her house and not poop everywhere."
"Hey." The bartender takes his place behind the bar in front of them. He rests both hands on the bar; showing off his tattoos that take up every inch of his skin. He knows them well as the regulars so none of them are intimidated by one another. "Heard your girlfriend is in hospital?"
Karishma looks at Officer Maria and back at the bartender. She points at herself and at Officer Maria with the unspoken question in her eyes. "I don't have..."
"Haseena Malik is not your girlfriend? It's kind of going around on the Internet. The batender pulls back a bit and glares at his source who probably gave him the wrong info. He is ready to beat the shit out of him for making him feel a bit embarrassed. "People are talking about it."
"Is Haseena Malik my girlfriend? Haseena Malik is too beautiful. Have you seen her?" Karishma says with the high-pitched voice that suggests nothing but suspicion. She is afraid to admit and she is afraid to decline. "Whose girlfriend is in hospital again?"
Officer Maria has already got her phone out to call her girlfriend whom she is more than certain that she is beyond fine but she still wants to make sure. "Honey, you're alright?"
"What happened to Haseena?" Karishma asks. Her question should be directing at the bartender who carries the news in his hands but her eyes are on the phone; seeing if someone calls or texts her.
"That guy over there said he heard from the insider that she was taken from the movie set in Calgary to a hospital. Said something about missing a cue in a shooting scene." The bartender lays out the story he was told with his lowest voice. It should be a secret. He promised that it would be a secret but the problem with the bar like this is there is no such thing as secrets.
"Yeah. Right." Karishma scoffs and throws her heart into the disbelief. Even the police insider sometimes gives away fault information so she chooses the path that will make her sleep a bit better tonight by not believing the guy with weird-looking mustache. "Do you know what the only thing Haseena... Haseena can ever miss?"
"What?" The bartender crosses his arms and looks at Karishma with his serious look.
"Me." Karishma chuckles with such amusement that is not shared with the bartender.
"That's a good one." Officer Maria starts doing the same as her old partner.
"She is fine." Karishma tells the bartender with the tone that sounds so ease and at peace.
"Shouldn't you call her and check?" The bartender encourages and Officer Maria seems to agree when she nods.
"She's fine." Karishma mumbles and taps the empty bottle of beer to gesture for another one; the third one to be exact. She unwillingly types in the PIN to unlock her phone and dials Haseena's number that is among the ones on recent calls. She doesn't bother to put the phone to her ear. She just lets it sit next to the new bottle of beer that is almost frozen cold. Then, one of the parts she could swear that she hates the most revisits her. Haseena is not answering her phone. No one is answering her phone for her. She has just been sent into voicemail after a while. Now, she is worried. She is worried with a little bit of irritation hiding in the corner. James quickly becomes Karishma's new target as she dials him. "James."
"Detective, hey. Can I call you back?" James says in the midst of hustling and bustling around him. "In 20 or something?"
"I can't reach Haseena." Karishma doesn't let him go that easily when her worry soars through the atmosphere towards the sun. "Is she done for the day? She mentioned that she would be done about half an hour ago or so."
"Hmm." James seems to be too distracted by something to say anything in response fast enough.
"James, what is going on?" Karishma asks again but this time, the frustration is pushed through her skin by the amount of alcohol she has consumed. It might not be much but it is enough to cause havoc.
"Haseena is in hospital, detective, but she is fine now." James answers Karishma and then, it seems that he turns to hold another conversation with someone else. "It's Detective Singh. She is her girlfriend. I can't just say nothing."
Karishma hangs up the phone and has her mind half way to Canada. She hasn't realized how drunk she is until her feet touch the floor and the world suddenly orbits too fast. Her legs become something like a semi-boiled pasta noodles and can hardly handle the weight of her own body so she unintentionally moves backwards instead of forwards. Her balance is nowhere to be found.
"Where are you going?" Officer Maria grabs Karishma's arm; to help her stand properly and to demand answer that she might already know.
"My girlfriend is in hospital. What do you expect me to do? Go home and sleep?" Karishma tries to pull the hand that stops her away.
"They won't let you on the plane this drunk." Officer Maria refuses to let go although Karishma seems to be so determined in shaking her hand off of her arm. "Or should I go with you? So that they don't have to waste their time waiting for the cop to arrest you."
"I'm not drunk. I've had 2 beers." Karishma argues and gestures towards the bartender; hoping that he can confirm her claim.
"She had 2 beers." The bartender repeats what Karishma said. "And a few tequila shots."
"Are you going to betray me too?" Karishma narrows her eyes and shoots him the dead-threat warning through her eyes.
"Karishma, go home. Get some sleep. I'm sure Haseena or someone on her team will definitely call you if they have any updates." Officer Maria tries to convince Karishma out of her reckless decision that will do more harm than good. The way she sees it, Karishma will end up in jail instead of Canada.
"They didn't even call me now." Karishma sits back down on the stool when her head starts to spin way too much. "That Bob's Burgers guy knew before me."
"Trust me." Officer Maria places her hand on Karishma's shoulder. "Go home."
Karishma sighs and moves her hair back with frustration. She is calm and chill as a person but she is not calm and chill as a drunk person. "Fine."
Karishma unlocks her apartment door with Jabba on the leash next to her. He is breathing so loudly as usual and watches Karishma unlock the door with so much energy and so much enthusiasm. Karishma glances down and smiles.
"You're cute." Karishma pets his head and takes off the leash before opening the door to let him in. She puts the leash along with her keys on the coffee table and moves to the kitchen to fill Jabba's bowl. She tries to be collected but the amount of alcohol in her blood is playing trick on her. Getting his food into his bowl has never been this hard and complicated. With the bowl that is full of perfectly-weighed dry food, she walks out of the kitchen to see how Jabba is settling comfortably on the couch. "Dude."
Karishma puts his bowl on the coffee table and joins him on the couch. His butt makes such a good pillow and he doesn't seem to mind that at all. Then, right before she is about to close her eyes, her phone vibrates in her back pocket. She accepts the Facetime call without really having a good look at the caller's name.
"Hey." The Facetime finally shows the face of the caller and that gets Karishma to smile unconsciously. It is Haseena. It is Haseena who seems to be on some sort of a gurney in some sort of a hospital gown.
"Hey." Karishma waves to the screen and smiles. Her mind is still struggling to come back to the right place but her worry is already here and it is here to stay. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." Haseena smiles faintly. She is not sure if she should tell Karishma now or if she should wait until she gets back. She doesn't want to add more things for Karishma to be worried about. "It's just... Nothing to be worried about."
"What did the doctor say?" Karishma places the hand she waved with on her forehead before moving it further to pat Jabba's butt.
"Is that Jabba?" Haseena moves closer to the screen to see Karishma's special pillow.
"He thinks the couch is his. Thanks to you." Karishma pushes herself up and puts her phone down a little while; showing Haseena the ceiling, before getting back onto the screen again. This time, she has Jabba on her lap and holds up one of his paw to wave to the camera. "I miss you, Haseena."
"Is that you saying or Jabbs?" Haseena asks between her laughter.
"Both of us, I guess." Karishma kisses Jabba who is now leaning towards annoying at his mama's excessive love. He immediately jumps off the couch to search his peace when he gets a chance. "Jabba! Nooo."
Haseena chuckles lightly. "I'm sorry I missed your call."
"Do you know what else you missed?" Karishma leans back on the couch and place her legs up on the coffee table. She looks so comfortable; too comfortable.
"What?"
"Me." Karishma starts with a tiny chuckle before turning it into a brief moment of snorting. She is out of it and still struggling to return from her little wonderland.
"Are you drunk?" Haseena finally asks something she has suspected from the start.
"I had 2 beers." Karishma drifts past the question and provides her with something very close to it.
"And what else?"
"And what else?" Karishma repeats. It is not because she is confused by the question but it is solely because she can't believe that Haseena is onto her again.
"Yeah. 2 beers. And what else? 2 shots of something?"
"No." Karishma puts on her pouting face like a 5-year-old who gets caught of something.
"Karishma." Haseena smiles at what she sees on the screen. "Get some sleep then. I... will... be seeing you the day after tomorrow if things go well."
Karishma throws her head back on the backrest and moves the phone with her. It is a weird angle but her sudden-serious face still goes through. "Am I going to hear whatever it is from you or am I going to hear it from the news?"
"It won't be on the news." Haseena whispers and she wipes her face to buy herself some time in order to weigh in the decision. Somehow, she becomes so scared to talk about what she has learned to Karishma. Somehow, she becomes so scared of being judged by her. Haseena takes a deep breath and lets it out through her mouth; with this breath that she lets out, some tears decide to poke out on the edge. "Physically, there is nothing wrong with me..."
"Okay." Karishma notices it almost right away that Haseena suddenly becomes so uncomfortable talking about it. However, she doesn't interrupt. She doesn't finish her sentences. She stays in the exact same position and posture; with her eyebrows furrowing a little bit.
"The doctor here... has recommended that I see a therapist back in LA." Haseena moves her hand around as the lump in her throat gets too big for her voice to come out. She wipes her tears that are about to make their escape and sniffles before whispering so low. "Am I going crazy, Karishma?"
"No." Karishma sits up right away and becomes as sober as she can ever be in her intoxicated mind. "No, baby, no. No, you're not."
"James and Aanya have started to look at me differently. And I don't want you to look at me differently. I."
"I'll never look at you differently." Karishma reassures the troubling Haseena with the solid tone that cannot be shifted.
"I'm scared."
"I know." Karishma tries to send her comforting smile through the screen across the country. "But I'm here. And. Whatever it is. Whatever is happening. I will chase those fears away or... die trying. Alright?"
Haseena nods.
"Hey." Karishma whispers softly to get Haseena's attention. "You know the drill. You have to say it."
Haseena scoffs. "Alright."
"Do you want me there?" Karishma asks and doesn't take her question lightly. She is sober enough now and if she is not, she will put on her award-winning performance to act so.
"I want you there when I get home."
"I'll be here when you get home."
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Take care
Bye'll 👋 👋