Drink tokens
Title: Drink tokens
Author: Missstewart
Rating: PG
Word count: 666
Pairing: Rachel/Erica (in an Anderson/Keith universe)
Summary: Erica goes to a bar.

My beta reader, sarken, made several useful suggestions

Disclaimer: Any similarity between the fictional version of the person portrayed here and the actual persons is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. This is not an attempt to defame the character of said person on the basis of libel, as the work is FICTIONAL (and NOT an intently false statement created with the express purpose of misleading others about the actual character of said person).

Any mention of 'Anderson Cooper 360', 'CNN', 'MSNBC', 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann', 'Air America Radio', 'The Rachel Maddow Show', any associated entities, or any copyrighted material pertaining therein is reasonably protected by the Fair Use Rule of the United States Copyright Act of 1976 and is not intended to infringe upon any copyrighted material.



Erica wandered through the streets of New York City, looking for a bar. Anderson had rushed off for a date with Keith Olbermann immediately after broadcast and she was still new to the city so she didn't know anyone else well yet. She didn't feel like going home to the cold bed in her empty apartment yet.

She found a bar that was open and went in. She ordered a glass of wine and carried it to the other end of the bar, where a woman she thought she recognized was sitting alone.

“Rachel Maddow, right? From MSNBC?”
“Call me Rachel. And you're Erica of CNN.”
“Mind if I sit here?”
“No, go ahead,” said Rachel, pushing a stool over. “It's nice to meet another Token Woman, there seems to only be one of us per network.”
“Well, there's a couple women on the panel. But I'm the only one that has to flirt with Anderson to make the mid-western housewives think he's straight.”
Rachel snickered into her glass. “Ah, see, that wouldn't work for me. I'm also the Token Gay Person.”

Erica coughed and took a long drink of her wine to cover her surprise that Olbermann hadn’t told his colleagues about his relationship with Anderson. She stopped drinking, not wanting Rachel to think she was an alcoholic, and tried to think of something to add to the conversation.

“We have... well, we sort of have Anderson for the that. He’s sort of out, anybody who cares pretty much knows.”
“I'm surprised either of us has jobs, really,” said Rachel. “You'd think, the way things are going, that they'd just hire a blind black lesbian immigrant to fill all the token jobs.”
“That would work for your panel but not for ours. Ours rotates all the time depending on who's available that night. So we need a … uh, a bunch of different people.”
“You should give it a shot some time.”
“What, being on a panel? I don't know anything about politics.”
“I could teach you.”

The two women sat for a few minutes and drank their drinks. Erica wondered what it would be like to get to know Rachel better, talking politics, as Rachel had suggested. The idea appealed to her, but she didn’t know whether the suggestion was serious. It was the kind of comment that might be a come-on, and, she realized suddenly, she certainly wouldn’t mind … well, getting to know Rachel better.

While Erica was mopping up a drop of spilled wine with her coaster and wondering how to broach the topic, Rachel broke the silence.

“So, what brings you to a bar at twenty past two in the morning?”
Erica looked at her watch, surprised that it was so late. “Show ended. Didn't wanna go home.”
“Mmm, yeah, me too. And I don’t have a radio show tomorrow.”
“Not that there's anything wrong with, you know, my house,” clarified Erica. “I have a great husband and son. They're in Atlanta for the week, my husband's on a business trip, so my apartment is just a bit empty.”
“Yeah, my girlfriend is at our country house until tomorrow night. Today, I guess, it's past midnight.”
“So, do you two have an... uh, an open relationship, while you're in the city and she's in the country?”
“What? No, of course not.”
Erica wondered whether to press on, offering… well, whatever she was offering.
“My girlfriend is the best,” clarified Rachel.
Erica that decided she had nothing to lose. “Well, if that changes, I'll give you my number.”

Rachel coughed and drank most of her beer in one gulp. “Is that an offer?”
“It… well, I mean, obviously you’re not interested.”
“Don’t tell anyone, but my relationship is … maybe a little more open than I let on, so if you wanted to …uh…”
Erica wiped her palms, suddenly sweaty, on her pants. “So, how does this work? Do I buy you a drink first?”
“I can teach you that, too.”