Raul comes back from a night on the town...

Raul, still wearing his faded blue jeans, white t-shirt, and v-necked sweater, has just returned from his night out with Tempered Joker.

As Raul walks down the hallway to his locker, it sinks in a bit that while things may not have been going the way he planned - he's starting to feel like he belongs, at least a little. Buford, Jamal, Tempered Joker, Aaron - all people he can begin to consider friends. The thought causes a smile to come to Raul's face.

Suddenly, Raul thinks of Mrs. Winslow, and he changes course and heads to her office. The door to her office is propped open, and a light is coming from inside. Raul quietly pushes the door open. The secretary has gone home for the night - but Mrs. Winslow is still sitting at her desk, finalizing plans for the pay-per-view, and is sitting back, looking at the card, and absent-mindedly tapping the end of her pen against the desk.

Raul politely clears his throat, and seeing Mrs. Winslow jump a little as she suddenly realizes she's not alone in the room, says:

Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you - I just noticed that your light was on, and since I wanted to talk to you anyway, and the door was open, I just kind of let myself in.

Raul realizes he's rambling, and seeing an amused expression on Mrs. Winslow's face, quickly goes on:

It's just that - I was thinking - I know that I came in with an assignment to mediate, one that didn't go very well, but one that also kind of set me at odds with some of the other guys - and there was an element of them not trusting me because of other stuff going on, and...

Raul continues talking, oblivious to Mrs. Winslow's trying to get a word in edgewise. It's apparent Raul has had a few beer already tonight.

anyway, I've started to get to know a couple of the guys - and TJ and I just came back from having a couple of beer together, and I thought - you know what? Mrs. Winslow is probably the loneliest person in this building right now. Everyone is out to get something from her, and so anyway, I thought - That woman really needs someone to just take her out for a beer, and then I thought - well why shouldn't it be me, so I came by, thinking you would be gone so what's the use, but you're not, so I came in, and so I'm here, and I just was wondering if you'd like to go grab a beer and just hang out for a change, let your hair down a little, and not be a GM for a bit and just be Eunice.

Raul gets to the end of a long sentence without taking a breath and is surprised to find himself slightly out of breath. It suddenly dawns on him that he's talked a lot without saying much, and he shakes his head.

Wow, sorry - I may have had more to drink than I thought I had - but I'm serious about offering to take you out for a beer. With the big pay per view this weekend, I thought you could use getting away from the office for a bit.

the old woman is clearly surprised by her late-night visitor's offer.

"that's....real nice of you, mr stevens."

she leans back slightly in her seat, and not for the first time feels the weight of ufw creaking on her shoulders.

"that would sound nice....but i have to catch up on paperwork to get this whole pay per view ready. i don't have a whole lot of time left before the show, and so much still needs to be taken care of."

there is a faint sigh in the old woman's words as she begins to gently rub the stiffness out of her neck

Raul looks a little concerned at the obvious weariness Mrs. Winslow is displaying.

Some other time then, I guess. It's a big show this week, and there are a lot of implications - but...

Raul hesitates briefly before continuing

No matter what happens, you've done your best. It's not always what I would have done, or others would have done - but no one can say you were lazy or didn't work hard.

Raul notices that Mrs. Winslow is still rubbing her neck.

You know - if you're stiff, I've got an ointment in my locker room that works great on stiff muscles. It smells terrible - but if you want, I can send some over to you.