Summary – A series prequel. When Crabtree and Higgins first started off at Station 4, they were not exactly friends. This is a story in which their friendship emerges from an unlikely event. No copyright infringement intended— I don't own anything, nor do I gain anything from this story.
Chapter One -
When Henry Higgins joined the Toronto constabulary, he had envisioned a fast-paced career, full of excitement and heroics. He had not envisioned sitting for hours at a desk, doing paper work. In fact, that was what he had hoped to avoid by joining the constabulary! But alas, there he was.
It was a quiet Sunday, which was good. That meant that, on that sunny afternoon, the citizens of Toronto were generally behaving themselves. Even the station house seemed quieter than normal. A few officers milled around, doing menial tasks. But most of them, like Higgins, were planted behind a desk, filling in forms, or doing filing work.
Maybe it was quieter than normal because George Crabtree wasn't there to talk incessantly and distract everyone with his absurd stories and theories.
Higgins and Crabtree, along with two other young officers, McDonald and Keller, were the newest members of the force. They had all been sworn in around roughly the same time, about 6 months earlier, and Higgins, McDonald and Keller had all become quite good friends. The same could not be said of Crabtree, however.
To them, Crabtree was…odd. He was easily impressed and easily distracted, eager to please and always very polite, even to criminals. And the boys thought that perhaps he was too delicate for police work. They didn't really hold any of this against him. He was a good person, and a hard worker, but the aforementioned traits were ample reason to crack jokes behind his back.
The one thing that both annoyed the other new officers to no end, and bewildered them, was the fact that the more senior members of the force seemed to favour Crabtree over them! Even Inspector Brackenreid. And especially Detective Murdoch. They would frequently enlist his help in cases and even in personal matters from time to time. They seemed blinded by the naivety, which sometimes bordered on incompetence, that was so evident to Higgins, McDonald and Keller.
"Hey, Higgins. Where's your buddy?"
Henry looked up from his dull work as his friends came up on either side of his desk.
"He's off running another errand for Detective Murdoch." Higgins said in a voice low enough that no one nearby would be able to hear his contempt.
"I still can't believe you got partnered with Crabtree." McDonald said, shaking his head at the injustice.
"Maybe the Inspector thought that he could learn from you." Keller suggested.
"Maybe." Higgins responded unenthusiastically. Higgins, in contrast to Crabtree, was quite popular with the younger members of the constabulary. He was charismatic and confident (if at times somewhat brash), and he had so far shown to be a fine policeman.
"Anyway, there are worse things." Higgins said coolly after a moment, as he leaned back so the front legs of the chair lifted off the ground.
"I can't think of any." McDonald scoffed. Then he proceeded to mutter a few off-colour comments about their comrade, which made Higgins frown to himself. Of the three of them, McDonald seemed especially bothered by Crabtree, and his animosity seemed more personal, and more nasty. But McDonald was big guy, who had a few years, and more than a few pounds on Higgins. Higgins wasn't about to confront him about the comments.
"Anyone fancy getting some drinks after work?" Keller asked, changing the subject and breaking a somewhat tense silence.
"Sure." Henry and McDonald answered at the same time.
Just then Detective Murdoch come out of his office, and walked over to the desk.
"Gentlemen. Good afternoon." He greeted them.
Higgins quickly sat forward again, not wanting it to look like he'd been slacking. But the Detective wasn't there to tell them to get back to work.
"Good afternoon, sir." They responded.
"Have any of you seen Constable Crabtree lately?" The Detective asked.
They all shook their heads.
"I thought you sent him out, sir." Higgins answered.
"Yes, but that was over one hour ago. The suspect lives not 15 minutes from the station. He should have been back by now."
"I shouldn't be too concerned, sir. Knowing Crabtree, he probably just got lost on his way back, or got scared off by his own shadow or something." McDonald interjected with a smirk.
Higgins and Keller started to laugh, but stopped themselves when they saw the unimpressed look that Murdoch shot their way.
"I don't find that amusing, Constable." Murdoch chided.
McDonald apologised, but his friends could tell he didn't really mean it.
The Detective turned back to Higgins. "Tell him to report to me immediately when he gets back." And with that, the detective turned sharply and returned to his office.
"Nice." Keller said to McDonald sarcastically.
"Whatever." McDonald shot back, obviously embarrassed, but also defensive. "You were both thinking it. I was the only one brave enough to say it."
"It didn't have to be said." Keller told him. "Least of all to a Detective!"
As they argued behind him, Higgins watched Murdoch through the window to his office. The older man seemed genuinely concerned, and kept glancing at his watch. Perhaps they shouldn't have joked about the situation. Sure they made fun of Crabtree, but none of them would ever wish him any harm! What if something had happened to him?
"You guys should get back to work." Higgins said, interrupting his friends' bantering. "If the Detective comes back out, and you're still hanging around here, he'll think we're slacking off."
So Keller and McDonald went back to their own work, and Higgins continued to focus on his paper work.
Twenty more minutes went by, and Murdoch came back out to Higgins' desk.
"Come with me. We're going to visit the house of the man that Crabtree was sent to arrest."
"Think he's giving Crabtree a hard time, sir?"
"It wouldn't be the first time a suspect has resisted being brought to the station for questioning." Murdoch told him. "Still, I hope that's all it is."
"What do you mean?" Higgins asked, putting on his helmet.
"Let's visit the armoury before we leave. Just in case." Murdoch said. "This man is a murder suspect, after all."
Higgins nodded.
So Detective Murdoch and Constable Higgins left the station on bicycles, a shot gun slung across Higgins' back.
And, while he hoped that Crabtree wasn't in any danger, Henry was certainly grateful that the boring day now at least that the potential to be exciting!
A/N: What did you think? Please review! :) Thanks.