Protector
Author - Preciouslilme
Rating - G
Keywords - Tony/Carol
Category - Angst
Disclaimer - They belong to Val McDermid, not me, I just take them out to play.
Summary - Tony reflects on his relationship with Carol.
Author's Notes - A quick drabble that came to me and nagged to be written. Tony's 'problem' that is mentioned is his impotence and not being able to form normal relationships.
Tony finally understood. For the first time since he had met her he finally understood his and Carol's relationship. They protected each other, physically and mentally. Even in their very first case together, she had rescued him from a certain death and helped him recover emotionally, at least partly.
And me? He thought, how do I protect her? From the horrors of the world? No, she saw them everyday of her life. From the minds of serial killers? Most likely. He gave her the profiles. He had to get inside their heads, she didn't, so he could deal with them emotionally and she could deal with them physically.
But was he really dealing with it? No. He pretended to, but you can only hide the truth from yourself for so long. Any chance of having a normal relationship with anyone was beyond his reach because of it. He wished he could protect himself from some of it, so he could fell at least part of himself he could offer to other people.
He wished Carol could protect him from the things that lay inside his head, or that he was able to talk about them to her. Maybe she could cure his problem once and for all.