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While gathering information was certainly his prime objective at the moment, Gilbert still had to take some time now and again to just separate himself from people and think. He'd been able to recharge himself easily enough at home, as he only shared his apartment with his cousin and sometimes they barely saw each other all week, but stranded in space with a bunch of people who were similarly uprooted..? Well, it got difficult to find a quiet corner to tuck yourself into for a thought.

He was getting a little bit restless, not knowing what was going on back home. Sure, he was concerned about where he was, but... he'd only just transferred to Destiny City within the year. He was still a rookie, working his way up from the bottom of the food chain, in the homicide department. He'd finally been tossed one of the interesting cases, and not just as a runner, either; he was really getting to sink his teeth in and be part of every step of the investigation. His partner had finally accepted that he had the chops to be in the department at all, and he was carving a niche for himself among the other detectives slowly but surely. He'd already been gone for so long that he had to wonder... what was he going to walk back home to?

(He was not allowing himself to believe that he wouldn't make it home. Somehow, some way, Gilbert Hennessy was getting home and he was taking his job back. He would not accept any other alternative to this crazy space adventure.)

If he lost his job, he would get it back. If he had to start at the bottom again, well, he would do that. If he had to take months of extensive counseling to see him fit for duty, then he would do it. Gilbert was not going to simply set aside the life he had worked for since he was a scrappy teenager, and he certainly wasn't going to let anyone take it from him.

When he was addressed, he wasn't really expecting it, so it pulled him out of his thoughts rather abruptly. He blinked, brow creasing in mild annoyance, but quickly smoothed his expression back out with an inward sigh. Whoever it was, they either needed him specifically for something, or they were lonely or scared, so... he could either be a complete d**k and ruin his cred with the other civilians, or he could suck it up and be his general affable, friendly self.

He chose the latter. Turning, he recognized the girl from before, and his slightly puzzled look became a friendly smile. "Hey there. Me? I'm just... looking for a place to think, really."

He brought a hand up, rubbing it over the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "Seems like there's someone around every corner, you know? So I was taking a walk to clear my head. Everything all right, miss?"

Ah, right, this was the girl who'd supported him while he'd been walking around with broken ribs. That endeared her to him a little more than just her pretty face, especially considering her pretty face was several shades too young for his tastes. His stance relaxed even more, shoulders falling back and his hands easing out of his pockets so that he could offer her one to shake, briefly.

Their palms met, his roughened and firm, hers soft and petite against it. Not all that surprising, given he was a man and about all the care he ever gave his skin was soap after he used the toilet, but it always surprised him when he took hold of a lady's hand and felt just how soft their skin was. Made his mind wander a little, reminded him of just how soft they generally were, well... everywhere.

God bless women's beauty products, he supposed. He was a skin man.

Eyes crinkling at the corners, he said, "Thanks for looking out for me before. Sorry I was such a grump... broken ribs," he sighed, easing his hand away from hers and patting his chest. "Bring out the worst in a man."

He tapped his left foot against the ground, a bit comforted by the familiar click of his dress shoes, and added, "Gilbert Hennessy. Don't suppose it matters much right now, but I'm a detective. Anything I can do to help, ma'am," he added, smile widening just a bit.

(Goddamn it, Gilbert. Too young to even think about starting to flirt.)

It seemed like he wouldn't be getting that time to think after all. That was marginally annoying, but Gilbert was good at sucking up his irritation and ignoring it until it was useful, so he simply shifted his weight a bit and lowered himself to the step in front of Felicia. The different in their height would have made it a little awkward to talk on the same step, but dropped a couple of inches and in a sitting position, it wasn't so bad. It seemed like the girl needed a friendly ear, anyway, and he wasn't exactly doing anything else. Best not to burn any bridges in space until he had a good reason to, right?

"Nice to meet you too, Felicia. Under the circumstances, anyway." He braced his hands on his knees, thumbs working in half-circles against his slacks, as he considered their situation. Not exactly ideal, and if he'd had his way, he would be back home idly pursuing leads on where all the rest of these folks had gone.

Not exactly his lucky weekend, it seemed.

"Don't you worry about me," he said, lifting a hand and waving it in dismissal. "I'm holding up great. I'm hardy stock," he added, thumping a hand against his chest.

It might not have been entirely true--he was having his difficulties adjusting just like everyone else, albeit in smaller was, as Gilbert was pretty difficult to rattle--but it sounded good.

"How about you? Making any friends," he asked, turning and grinning at her.

Ahh, yeah. For most people, the shock of seeing someone in a truly injured state -- or worse, actually dead -- was something that they had to fight to overcome. A girl like Felicia probably hadn't ever watched her share of gory movies, either, not that those were even close to being realistic, but they still did a fair bit to desensitize a person when it came to violence and destruction. Gilbert had been aiming for Homicide all his life, and he'd been a police officer ever since he got out of college, so he was pretty well acclimated to the rush and bustle that came along with crises.

Not that anyone could really ever be prepared for a crisis like being kidnapped into space and attacked by a giant whale, but he had a level head on his shoulders and, well, he could either freak out about what was going on or he could deal with it and move on. Gilbert had always been much more the type of man to just deal with things than otherwise.

"You'll forget all about it soon," he said easily, tilting his head back. "Seeing me half-dead, I mean. I don't really make it a habit."

It was so strange, being... in this place. Knowing that they were free-floating in space. Having the illusion of solid ground beneath their feet, just like back on Earth.

Then again.. Earth was just free-floating in space, wasn't it? So this was just like every other day, just on a smaller scale.

Bizarre, anyway.

"The best thing we can do right now is just get along and try to work together until we can get out of this place." He sighed, shoulders rising and falling. "And no, I haven't really met your friend Felix. I think I know which one he is, though."

Names to faces. An important skill for a detective.