not where she left it

The annoying deet-deedle-deet of the alarm on her cell phone woke Juliet O'Hara from a restless doze. One-handed, she flailed blindly for the phone while she scrubbed at her eyes with the other hand. "Too early," she grumbled balefully at the glowing numbers. Kicking the blanket off from where it had tangled around her feet, she stretched and tried to figure out how she had gotten that kink in her shoulders. Why would she have been sleeping all curled up like--

Her groggy train of thought stopped abruptly as her hands whacked into the arm of the couch. Oh. Stiffly, Juliet pushed herself into a cross-legged couch and surveyed the remains of her unscheduled sleeping arrangement. The coffee table was cluttered with the debris of a long night spent more awake than not; a notebook half-filled with case notes, the remote, an empty pint of Ben and Jerry's that her grey cat Archimedes was currently investigating, nose-deep. The TV flickered mutely across the room, and the perky, overcaffienated smile of the anchorwoman seemed to mock Juliet, grungy and still dragging from last night. She didn't quite glare, but it was close.

Her phone deedle-deet'd at her again, reminding her that the aftermath of last night was still waiting at the office. With a sigh, she unfolded from the couch, picking up cat and container on the way. The ice cream in the trash and Archimedes unceremoniously dumped on the bed, Juliet began the ritual of getting ready for work. Shower, dress, makeup....her body was on autopilot as she took mental stock of the last 24 hours.

The Yin-Yang Killer. Chasing riddles and dead ends around Santa Barbara. A picture of a poor, terrified waitress. Abigail. The drive-in. Shawn's mother. Shawn on a date. Shawn.

Juliet grimaced, putting down her eyeliner with more force than probably necessary. "It was just stress," she said firmly to her reflection."Stress and the crazy day and relief that no one died." She slipped into her shoes and grabbed her badge and weapon from her dresser. "It didn't mean anything." And she would keep saying that until she believed it.

After double-checking the safety, she slipped the gun into her purse and headed for the door. If she was lucky, she'd have a couple minutes to take it apart once she got to the station. Just in case.

OOC -- find her standing outside the front door of the Compound, a little perplexed as to where her front door went. LT/ST are both fine; I'll be up and switching between windows all night. :)