A/N: This jumps between various character's perspectives so I apologise if you find it confusing, to me it makes sense but for you I'm not sure if it will. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it all the same. Please feel free to let me know what you think :)
Disclaimer: I still don't own New Tricks. Boo.
Truth be told, he really should have learnt his lesson about online dating from that awful Christy Berlin woman. However, he had found himself bored. Bored with his increasingly paperwork-filled job, bored of his empty flat and bored with life in general. This was the reason why he had finally bitten the proverbial bullet and joined a new dating website, in the hope of finding a woman who would provide him with some company at least, and maybe even a relationship. The woman who he had been chatting to for the last couple of weeks was called Clare. Judging by her profile picture, which he had enough common sense to know was not always the most accurate of representations, she had blue eyes, fair skin and short blonde hair. In fact, she could almost be the twin sister of a certain officer under his command. Sandra. He had actively tried to prevent his thoughts from wandering to her recently, as they seemed to have a habit of doing, often at the most inappropriate moments.
Like now, for instance: waiting to meet his seemingly lovely date for the first time in person, and he was thinking about another woman. He took a sip of the water and relaxed back into the comfortable wooden chair. This restaurant had been well thought out: he had realised that taking his dates to the most fashionable and most highly-priced restaurants in the city, although impressive, might scare them off a bit, so instead he had chosen a warm little Chinese place not far from his house, where the atmosphere was inviting and friendly.
Coincidentally, Steve McAndrew had chosen the very same restaurant to celebrate his birthday on the very same night. He had spent a quiet weekend with Charlie and was now very definitely in the mood to party with his new found colleague and drinking buddy. However, the only way he could persuade Brian and Sandra to join him and Gerry on what would inevitably turn into one of those nights where they drunk too much whisky and ended up with a two day hangover was to go for a 'civilised' meal beforehand. Sandra was a good boss who could be a laugh and he was slowly but surely building a friendship with Brian, so he had wanted them to be a part of his birthday celebrations. He knew they wouldn't stay for long, and sure enough, Brian was collected by Esther at around eight, leaving him and Gerry to get progressively drunk and Sandra to stare into space, occasionally rolling her eyes at the antics of her two colleagues.
The remainder of the team were sat at a table cut off from the main restaurant, which was packed to the rafters with couples, but Sandra was sat in a position where she could people-watch. It fascinated her to gain a small snapshot into the lives of others for some reason. Maybe she had inherited her mother's 'inquisitiveness', as she called it, or perhaps she was never truly off-duty. Either way, it was something she had done since she was a child.
Walking across the restaurant on her way to the ladies, to escape Gerry's terrible joke about a giraffe in a bar, a familiar face caught her eye. He was sat alone at a two-seater table, and as he looked up from the bottom of his glass towards the entrance, he met her gaze. She froze for a second, uncertain of what to do upon seeing her boss outside of work. Still staring at him, she realised that he looked different. He wasn't wearing his usual suit and tie, they had been replaced by a blue shirt and jeans, but that wasn't it. No, he looked disappointed and lonely. Like a teenager who'd been stood up by the girl he fancied. Oh. Making a snap decision,largely due to boredom and the three glasses of wine she had quickly consumed, she walked towards his table and sat in the chair opposite him.
'Could this evening get any worse?' was the question that was constantly circling around his mind as Sandra Pullman walked towards him. Not only had Clare stood him up, leaving him staring at his phone for an hour in the hope that she was stuck in traffic and would let him know, but just as he was about to leave the restaurant, the woman who he thought was his date had actually, on second glance, turned out to be the woman who he really shouldn't have thinking about that night. She sat facing him.
"Are you alright?" she asked hesitantly. No man had ever dared to stand her up so she wasn't really sure how to deal with this situation.
"Yes, I was waiting for a friend of mine but they're…stuck in traffic," he trailed off, knowing full well that she would see through his lie, so he decided to change the subject instead. "Are you here for Steve's birthday?"
"Oh…yes," she replied, glancing over to the team's table only to see that Steve and Gerry had buggered off without her, probably to the nearest pub. Strickland followed her gaze, eyeing the empty table. Oh fantastic, now she looked like a loner as well. She left herself a mental note to give them absolute hell in the morning.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Looks like we've both been abandoned. Would you like a drink?" She paused for a moment, while he braced himself for yet another rejection. It never got any easier to deal with, so eventually he had stopped asking and just settled for having the pleasure of just knowing her, but tonight he was willing to face the consequences.
"Okay," she said simply, after what felt like hours to him, but in reality was merely seconds.
"Are you sure?" was his immediate reaction, swiftly followed by regret. For heaven's sake man, at least look like you know what you're doing. "I mean, are you sure you'd like a drink with a man who has just been stood up and therefore looks like an absolute idiot in front of the whole restaurant?"
Her frown turned into a small smile. "Well as far as everyone else knows, I could be your date, I was just…stuck in traffic." Her smile widened and he practically melted into his seat.
"In that case, I will get you that drink," he grinned, confused as to why she was even bothering talking to him but thanking his lucky stars nonetheless. Tonight may turn out to be a new start after all.