Equal & Opposite

by

Tricki

OMG! It's not a 100 word drabble! I wrote this ages ago, and now am having a bit of a posting fit.

Pairings: Amanda & Simon, and Jamie & Layla

Set: Post season 2. Season 3 is dead to me.

Summary: Layla seeks relationship advice from someone in a healthy one: Amanda McKay. Amanda explains her theory on men.

"Amanda?" Layla Young approached her friend a little timidly. "Can I ask you a question?"

Amanda smirked coyly, "Course, Layls. And, just because it's you, I might even be honest." Layla laughed, already at ease, and sat on her friend's desk. Layla lowered her voice a little before asking:

"Do you think Simon's... "The One"?"

"Ah." Amanda understood the nature of the conversation now, and glanced down with a light blush. She took a moment. "Yes. I do." Layla was reasonably sure of this part, and so prepared herself for the more difficult part of the question.

"How do you know?"

Amanda exhaled and smiled lightly. She had actually considered this, and had found what she thought was the answer. She looked at Layla with a frank yet jovial twinkle in her eye.

"In bed – "

"Do I want to hear this?" Layla interjected, her brow furrowed in pre-emptive distaste.

"I promise. I am an over-share free zone." She saw Layla relax and continued. "He holds me back."

Again Layla's brow furrowed as she struggled with a mental picture. Or maybe the "in bed" part was unrelated – maybe Amanda had changed tack on sight of the look Layla gave her – and she was saying that Simon held her back in general?

"That... doesn't sound like a good thing..."

"No, I mean... after we've," Amanda raised her eyebrows in an understood 'you know', "if I fall asleep with my arms around him he holds me back. He doesn't just lie there."

"Is that so unusual?" Layla queried. Amanda smiled at her friend.

"Ah, Layla. Sometimes I forget how young you are. My theory on men is that there are three types." Layla nodded, obviously prepared to make a detailed mental note of every word Amanda said.

"Clingers. Dead fish; and" She paused for dramatic effect, but part of Layla was sure she was fighting not to says "Simons". "the ones who hold you back. With me so far?" Layla laughed a little, but nodded.

"Except, did you mean "cold fish", or do you really mean dead fish?"

"Dead. But bear with me. Clingers hold on to you all the time and it's needy and annoying. Clingers are the ones the girl from Coyote Ugly was talking about. Dead fish are the ones you get no response from. You roll over and hug them, and you're as warm as anyone could possibly want you to be, but they just lie flat on their backs and try to forget you're there. The ones who hold you back are... well, they're the good ones. The ones who provide equal but opposite emotional warmth." She knew if Simon had heard he would've teased her for bastardising a fundamental principle of physics; but Layla, again, nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, so if you know all this, then... your husband..." Amanda sensed the unspoken question, knew Layla was too polite to ask it.

"Now, Grasshopper, you're thinking like a Mantis. Men, being the sneaky creatures they are, can change where they fit in this classification. My husband started out a dead fish and became a clinger until we both just... drifted."

"So, he never held you back?"

"Well, sometimes, but... I guess the thing with Simon and I is that we're... really in synch with things like that. And Dimitri and I weren't."

"And by in synch you mean...?"

"Some days Simon needs to be left alone. Some days I need to be left alone. Some days one of us needs comfort. Most days, we're just glad to be around each other. But we always know which one it is. Do you know what I mean?"

Layla smiled. "Yeah, I do." She saw it between them every day; an innate understanding. Tender affection as well as heated passion. They constantly reaffirmed her faith in humanity, and more specifically, love.

"Now in the interest of fairness, is there a reason you're asking about spotting "The One"?" Layla instantly blushed.

"No, no reason I just..." the unwitting glance Layla shot in Jamie's direction told Amanda all she needed to know, "Wondered. You guys seem really happy and I'm... it makes me happy to see the two of you doing so well. You deserve it. Both of you."

"Riiight." Amanda drew out the word and raised her eyebrows, signifying her disbelief. She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "So you and Jamie?"

"No! No. We're not. And we probably won't it's just... well he's always there when I need someone and I guess I've just been thinking." Amanda leant back and raised her hands in concession.

"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I am both the queen of inappropriate feelings and inappropriate feelings that actually work out, so don't feel you have to justify yourself to me of all people."

"Amanda, could I - ?" Doctor Simon Lloyd asked as he approached his partner's cubicle, but stopped when he caught sight of Layla. "Sorry, Layla, I didn't see you there. Should I... come back?"

"No. I'm done. Thanks for the talk." Layla smiled and stood up, squeezing Amanda's shoulder as she went.

"Layls?" Amanda called after her, twisting on her metallic aquamarine exercise ball to face her retreating friend. "Not that it matters, but you have my blessing." Layla rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Thank you, Amanda."

"What was that about?" Simon's brow furrowed. Amanda smiled coyly.

"Oh nothing especially interesting. Office romances both budding and well and truly budded." Simon walked around the cubicle and took the place on her desk which Layla had previously been occupying.

"Sorry, was that "budded" or "bedded"?" Simon teased. Amanda's lips pulled up from one corner appealingly.

"Both." He reached for her hand which rested on her knee and toyed with her fingers idly. She smiled at him, not breaking his eye contact until she remembered that he seemed like he wanted her advice – she was certainly firing on the advice front today. If that actually was what he wanted...

"You wanted to talk to me about something." He returned her hand to its previous resting place, the mood broken.

"There's a wrongful birth case that just came in and I could use your help. Happy's busy with the botched calf implants."

"Ah." She took the file from his hand. "And here I was hoping for a lunch invitation." She glanced up from under her lashes with a beatific smile before returning her attention to the case file in her hands. Simon looked away from her with feigned innocence.

"Well, to my knowledge – and correct me if I'm wrong – there isn't a law that precludes eating lunch at a nice restaurant with the woman you love and discussing work for some small portion of it." Amanda's face now broke into what was widely acknowledged as her "Simon Smile".

"So, my legal reasoning is correct, I take it?"

"Seems flawless to me, Doctor Lloyd."

Without another word they stood, donned coats and scarves and began to walk out. Subtly Simon took Amanda's hand, and as they passed Layla at the reception desk, Amanda said a breathy "Back in an hour, Layls." All without breaking eye contact with the man at her side.

Layla smiled at how contented her departing friends looked together, and made a decision.

"Jamie?" She called over her shoulder, turning to face him. He looked up with his perpetually entertained face. "Do you feel like lunch?"

Please R&R!