"William" she greeted.
That was her first mistake she thought, she really must stop thinking of him as William, her William and start thinking of him as Detective Murdoch. It was just so hard to know where one ended and the other began. He smiled at her awkwardly; she knew it would be like this, having missed the wedding and then suddenly disappeared she could guess at his feelings but it was too late for all this now.
He was apologising for missing the wedding but she'd decided the night she'd seen his hesitant figure reflected in the glass that they just couldn't go through this pretence. He was holding her hand now, trying to shake it in a professional manner but maybe subliminally it was just to have some contact. The electricity that ran through her skin at his touch was so familiar, so distracting even in this circumstance. Even with the space she could feel the heat between them, this really was no good.
She was married now, they'd made their choices, this chemistry would be the ruin of her. She led him through to meet Dr Grace, looking at the young woman she knew this would be for the best even though it would be impossibly hard.
As he glimpsed her stood at his door way in that familiar way he felt himself brighten inside. She asked about the case but he knew it wasn't why she'd come. We make a good team he said but felt the atmosphere grow tense even as they smiled at each other. It was so true of course, they made the best team. He'd missed her when he'd been away but that was the main reason he'd left, to try and put her in the past; stood here now though he realised absence only makes the heart grow fonder.
He wished he could just pull her into his arms and brush all that had happened away as if it were a bad dream. She was speaking now, the real reason she'd come, and the bad dream was becoming a nightmare. She was leaving. He moved without thinking, taking her hand to shake again, anything to be closer to her one last time. She said they both knew the reasons. So he thought, she still cares for me too and his heart leapt slightly even in its defeat. Stood this close he could smell her, if he had a coin for every wish he was making right now he'd be a very rich man. How many times in this life would he have to see her leave he wondered, heartache a physical pain in his chest.
She had pulled away and was leaving now, would this be the last time he'd see her he wondered in despair? How had they come to this? As she disappeared from sight he was crumbling inside.