A/N: So I actually have a few more Erin/Dimitri fics that are finished, but I've chosen this one because it's one of the more plausible ones, in preparation for the next one I plan to upload which I think is less realistic. So, here you go – please take a few seconds to review… :)
Dimitri glances at his slightly weary eyed colleague. A light shadow darkens her eyes from what he can only assume must be sleepless nights, and despite her insistence otherwise; he can tell that she isn't okay. But then, in her situation, who would be? It's less than two weeks since Rosie was kidnapped, and though Dimitri is doing his best to offer all the help he can without imposing on her life, there isn't all that much he can do. The stress is taking its toll and so in that moment, he decides that maybe the scolding he'll risk receiving, in offering more help, will be worth it if it makes her feel better.
The moment he is waiting for comes only a few minutes later as Erin takes the coat off the back of her chair and turns to leave. Dimitri's eyes snap to her, and he follows suit, jogging a few steps in order to catch up with her.
"Erin," his words are soft as he gently raises a hand to her arm, careful not to frighten her.
She doesn't stop, but her pace slows and she musters half a smile, which is about all she can manage at this point. He keeps pace, walking alongside her, and asking his question. "Who's looking after Rosie tonight?"
She raises an eyebrow at him, and she can't help the way her mind instantly presents the worse case scenario. Her mind lingers on the picture of Rosie's frightened face until she finally manages to pull herself together. "My mum."
Dimitri nods, he knows she didn't bring the car today, he saw her get off the bus. As they walk out into the cold winter air, he gently takes hold of her hand and veers towards his car. "Call her, tell her you'll be a bit late." Erin shoots him a look of confusion, though a small smile plays at her lips due to the fact that nobody has done anything like this to her since…high school. Adults don't just spring surprises on people, pulling them to dimly lit corners of abandoned car parks. And yet, when it's Dimitri, she finds herself wishing that it did happen more often.
They lower themselves into the warmth of the car, and though she has absolutely no idea where her colleague is taking her, Erin does as he says, hanging up only after she's said goodnight to her daughter. She listens to him make a mysterious phone call of his own; she can just about deduce that it's something to do with where they're going. He flashes her a sideways smirk, the one that only ever seems to appear when he talks to her, and she frowns at him. "Dee, where are we going?"
The smile grows and his eyes sparkle in the dim light, "You'll see."
Erin watches him as he drives, silently casting her mind back over the last couple of weeks. Of all the people Erin had expected support from, she hadn't even thought of Dimitri. She can't put her finger on why – maybe it's age, though he is only a couple of years younger than her; maybe it's the fact that she's his boss; or maybe simply that she doesn't often get to see that side to him, though she's noticed it more and more recently. In fact, Erin can't help but feel a little guilty having dismissed him so quickly; maybe she'd been wrong. She shrugs to herself and smiles, whatever she had thought before, her opinion had changed.
Dimitri had been the first to call, the first to visit, he'd come in to check on Rosie, and to check on Erin. Maybe it does threaten her independence slightly, but she doesn't see a problem with that, at least not when it's him.