[color=Gray]New York City,
Upper West Side -[color=LawnGreen] 7:43PM[/color]

        The cold had never really been [i]her thing[/i], it had always always been something that she loathed. But the snow, oh that snow. Now there was something that she did find some joy in. [i]Just look at it,[/i] so peaceful. Serene. Hardly seemed worth it though. Harsh winds always pounding whatever small portion of exposed skin it could find, sharp like tiny needles. It had a knack for infiltrating even further into the warm crevices between flesh and clothing, igniting damp, sweaty skin like blankets of blazing napalm.  The stinging hands, the numbness, burning feet.  [i]Wet socks[/i]... those were the worst, and the city breeds potholes like it does rats. Like a minefield of tiny muddy disasters, all primed and ready to destroy your best jeans and shoes. She was rather careless when it came to things like that, clothing and such, extremely hard on shoes though. 

       She had been there for about ten minutes before anyone had showed up, and she was already on her third cigarette. A habit she had always done, but prior to her being put on leave it was more of a social habit done over drinks, but that had been almost four months ago. Now she smoked all the time. Come to think of it, she drank all the time too. It was definitely not any kind of secret, that was for certain. Another habit that worsened after the incident. Four months ago... [i]had it been that long already?[/i] She hated therapy, always had. That's one of the reasons they had put her in the group with Stanton. Not only did he come highly regarded as did his program, but the good Doctor thought that perhaps she would do better in a group environment, and of course, [i]he was right[/i]. She had stopped along the way at Levain's Bakery on West 74th Street to grab a cup of coffee before coming to group. A ritual that she apparently adopted since her attendance at the group had started. The coffee was cheap and not too bad. Plus, it wasn't too far from the meeting so it was fairly convenient for her to do so and she would need the caffeine to help her suffer through the session.
        It wasn't anything personal. Serena just hated therapy. It made her feel inadequate and quite broken...  at least that was her perception of it. She took a sip from the foam cup to beat back the cold as she watched the others as they begin to gather. It was all so very awkward. Prior to the incident Serena was a healthy, mentally stable young woman in her prime. She was never ailed by anything like some of the  members who attended Stanton's group. [i]Things change I suppose.[/i] She was still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened, and trying to cope, or find adequate ways to attempt to do so. Group was supposed to be temporary. She had never imagined that she'd still be here after all this time. She hadn't really thought much on any of it really. She was too busy self medicating to dull the world around her. Emotionally empty,  save for brief moments of bitterness and contempt, that is.
     
        She always tried to keep a bit of distance from the group, like a circling vulture she would often come drifting in after the others had flocked together. She had to kind of slow drip into it. To say that she was close to any of them would be a severe overstatement, but she did rather enjoy Russell. He was a P.I. so they had a good bit of things in common. Well, maybe not in common, but they had a lot of things that they could relate to given their fields of employment. She had never met him in the field but she had dealt with many P.I.'s while on the job, most of which were all characters to some degree or other. But not Russell, at least she didn't see him that way. Sure he had a nostalgic style to himself in his own right, but he wasn't one of the douche-baggy kind of guys that she always seemed to run into at work. She also admired him for how genuinely kind he was when dealing with Bernard. He was very kind. She caught herself trying to form a smile and quickly thwarted it as she began to make her way over towards them, like a lone pigeon waddling ever closer on the paving stones.
      She noticed that the Doctor's assistant was meeting with the group outside a bit early. A peculiarity that immediately sparked an inquisitive thought process. She had been with an off feeling in her gut for a few days now. She was always a bit melancholy and overly anxious, but this was different. Something was off and she hadn't any idea as to what it could be but she knew that something wasn't right. [i]A cop's intuition[/i]... Maybe. She nodded to those that made eye contact but didn't say anything as she approached the group, eager to see what was going on.
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