Disclaimer: I do not own City Homicide or its characters.
1.
Laughter filled the corner of the lounge bar where they sat. They had taken over that corner, claimed it as their own, usually frequented it a couple of times a week.
The drinks flowed freely, the conversation was lively and the atmosphere relaxed and carefree. It was a bar frequented by Police Officers – Headquarters was around the corner, and this was a favourite haunt; the staff were friendly and welcoming, the patronage predominantly professionals working in the inner city.
The team from Homicide had seen some changes in the last few months. Having beaten the threat of the squad being shut down, attitudes had become more relaxed within the hierarchy.
Everyone knew that Nick and Jen were in a relationship, but so long as they didn't flaunt it during working hours, the Bosses didn't seem to mind.
Waverly, whilst still being as tough as nails, didn't rule with the iron fist that she had previously. Her staff respected her greatly for going head to head with Lombardi and fighting for Homicide's survival.
Stanley Wolfe was the same as always and Terry Jarvis...well, he would never change. Secretly, Jarvis was a softie beneath the tough exterior, and he was trying desperately to keep that under wraps, although he was immensely proud of the Homicide team - their resilience and their work ethic. He felt pride in the way that a father would feel proud of his children, although there was no way that Jarvis wanted his crew to know that he actually cared.
Matt had also lightened up – it may have been due to the fact that he had found a new lady to occupy his time, or maybe it was because he had settled into his role as Sergeant and was finally feeling comfortable in his own skin.
Tonight, they were celebrating the end of the week, and a weekend off.
Duncan sat with his arm around Caroline, a 30-something brunette beauty that he had been seeing casually for the last couple of months. He hadn't admitted it to his colleagues yet, but he felt that things were starting to get more serious with Caroline, and he liked her a lot.
He had met her in the bank, where she worked as a teller. She was friendly and good fun, and the others all seemed to like her. Especially Jen, which pleased Duncan. Out of his work colleagues, Duncan had known Jen the longest, and they had become close mates over the years. He respected and valued not only her friendship, but her opinion.
When Duncan had been attacked by a couple of psychotics who he had once arrested, and was in the hospital in a coma, Jen had visited him daily, playing him music, talking to him, being there. So had Matt and Simon, of course, but Simon had left the force long ago and Matt was now Sergeant, and his relationship with Duncan had changed to what it had been. They were still mates, but it wasn't the same. Matt was his Senior officer and that superiority at work had definitely impacted upon their friendship.
That left Jen, and Duncan was always glad to see her smiling face at work everyday, a constant reminder to him of the old days, the old team, the 4 musketeers. He felt some comfort in knowing that he and Jen still remained on the team together, old friends, old loyalties.
Nick sat with a beer in his hand, laughing at Duncan's lame jokes. He had recovered well from his ordeal with Dane Majors. There were times when it came flooding back into his consciousness, but mostly it remained buried, surfacing only occasionally in his dreams.
It helped immeasurably that he had Jen by his side. They had been seeing each other since the debacle with Homicide almost being closed down, and life was great.
Their relationship was out in the open, and despite a few uncomfortable moments in the early days, when the rest of the team didn't know how to react to their changed relationship, things were now going well, and the others had accepted that Nick and Jen were together, and were no longer uncomfortable with it.
Jen sat with her hand resting on Nick's thigh beneath the table. She was the happiest she had ever been. She had her job, she had her man, she finally had a life outside of work and it was the kind of life that she'd always wanted.
She and Nick were happy and split their time between each other's houses, although Jen suspected that this might soon change, as Nick had been dropping hints about moving in together.
She still wasn't sure that she was ready to give up her career (albeit temporarily) to have a baby just yet, but she did want that to happen eventually. She and Nick had been able to sit down and talk about a future – they had discussed getting married and having a family, and they both wanted that, but they also didn't want to rush it. They wanted to enjoy each other first, without the pressure of weddings and babies.
Allie sat at the table trying hard to catch Rhys' eye. She was happy with her life, and felt like Waverly was finally cutting her some slack, and she felt confident in her abilities as a Detective. She had also started sleeping with Rhys again – nothing serious. They both acknowledged that they wouldn't jeopardise their careers or risk Waverly's wrath by getting caught, but they were just having a bit of fun. Allie really liked Rhys, but she knew that he didn't feel that way about her. This time, she had entered into it with her eyes wide open and didn't have any illusions about what might happen. It was just sex, it was fun, and she would enjoy it while it lasted.
Rhys swigged on his beer and gave Allie a wink. He was enjoying his fling with her. He had always found her attractive and he had missed her since he had dumped her last time. It was nice to have some female company that wasn't his Aunty Bernice. He didn't want to hurt Allie again, but he had made it clear from the outset that he was just out for some fun.
Rhys loved his job and was trying hard to improve himself as a Detective. He had had some embarrassing moments in Homicide, and he was determined to prove himself as a reliable and valued member of the squad.
Matt sat back and observed his team with pride. He was finally settling into his role as Sergeant, and he felt that he was slowly gaining the respect of the squad. It was a difficult thing, having to manage your mates, but he thought that he was slowly getting a grip on things.
He had recently started seeing a nice lady, Karen. She was a single mother with a 7 year old son, and they had met on an online dating service. Ordinarily, Matt wouldn't have considered going on such a site, but he was tired of being alone since Emma left and he had found himself feeling resentful of Jen and Nick's relationship, for no reason other than the fact that he wished that he could have someone to go home with at night, too.
He was lonely and he had needed to feel connected to someone again. He had been sceptical at first, but he couldn't deny that Karen was a lovely lady and things had been going well so far. The others hadn't met Karen yet; Matt was still a little embarrassed to tell them how he had met her, but they all knew that he was seeing someone and they were curious.
Matt took a last long swig of his beer and stood up. "Sorry guys, gotta go. I have a dinner date".
Duncan made a whooping sound and the others laughed, seeing Matt become embarrassed and reddening.
"Come on Serge!" chirped Allie. "When are you going to let her out of the closet?"
"Yeah" Duncan exclaimed. "How do we know she's actually real? You could be having dinner at home with your blow up doll for all we know!"
Matt gave and embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, well I need to make sure that she can handle it before she meets you lot. Maybe I'll bring her to the Christmas party. We'll see. Catch you all on Monday. Have a good weekend."
Allie grabbed her wallet and phone and stood also. "Come on Levitt – I'm ready to go and you're my ride home."
Rhys looked at Allie and rolled his eyes. "What did your last slave die of?"
"You promised me a lift home and I'm ready to go!"
"Well, maybe I'm not ready."
"Fine. I'll catch a cab then" Allie huffed, turning to walk away. "Catch you later guys."
Rhys grabbed his keys and started after her. "I'm just winding you up, Kingston. Lighten up. See you Monday guys, have a good one."
The four that were left watched Rhys tag along after Allie, still bickering with each other.
Jen laughed. "Those two are just like squabbling children. I wonder if they could go for a whole day without biting at each other?"
Duncan picked up his beer. "Nah. I reckon they love it. Some people thrive on tension, Jen. Maybe it's unresolved sexual tension. Maybe Allie and Rhys have got the hots for each other!"
They laughed loudly, none of them knowing how right Duncan actually was.
"So – what are you two up to tonight?" Duncan asked Nick and Jen.
Jen and Nick looked at each other. They hadn't actually spent much time together during the week, as Nick and Duncan had been leads on a case involving the murder of a 53 year old storeman. It had meant late nights and early starts, so Nick had spent most of the week at his house, alone.
His plans for this evening had involved Jennifer, a hot shower and a bottle of red. "Just a quiet one tonight I think, mate." Nick squeezed Jen's hand tightly. "What about you?"
Duncan looked over at Caroline and smiled. "Yeah, I reckon we might have a night in, too. Maybe catch a movie tomorrow night though. You interested?"
Jen smiled and glanced quickly over at Nick. "Yeah, maybe. We'll see." Jen wasn't overly keen on going out on double dates with Duncan and Caroline. Not just yet. She felt like she was somewhat inhibited in front of them, like she couldn't totally relax with Nick. When she and Nick had told the others about their relationship, there had been an awkwardness, and it was clear that the others had been uncomfortable with their relationship.
That had changed now, of course, but Jen still felt a little hesitant about it. She would rather have Nick to herself.
"Hey Dunny" she said, changing the subject . "Has Matt said anything to you about the new person starting next week?"
"Nah. I don't think he knows much himself, Jen. Waverly just told him that he's getting an extra body. Don't even know if it's a bloke or a sheila."
"We can't have too much oestrogen in the office" Nick interjected. "Sometimes there's already too much.."
Jen slapped his arm playfully. "It would be nice to have another woman around! Even things up a bit."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!"
"Just so long" Duncan began "as the new person makes an effort to fit in. I hope it's not some self-absorbed tosser with friends in high places...we've already got Rhys."
They chuckled quietly, all wondering what Monday would bring.