"Should I be worried?" He asked her as she came through the door and shut it quietly behind her.
"Worried, about what?" Taking her black leather jacket off and hanging it up before she turned the corner and spied him stuck over in the corner behind a few boxes.
"James. Heard he was mentioned this morning while I was up here." Taking a couple of pictures out the box he was looking in and walking towards her.
"Oh, that. Just Sonja fishing for information on my love life." Watching him place the two pictures on the shelves beside her.
"So when do you think you'll need him then? Since it's on an as-needed basis and he's in Kenya." Watching her too see if she would ask him how he knew.
"Chris has got a big mouth, and what was I supposed to say. On no, I don't need him now, I'm dating Pride now so it will be awhile." Seeing him smile when she said his name. "How come you're only mentioning this now anyway?" Turning to walk towards the bed and piano.
"Well, we did have a murder to solve remember. On saying that how could you forget, you even got asked out at a funeral." Shaking his head as he mentioned the last bit. "Who asks someone out a funeral? I just can't even begin to work out what," but was cut off when she came over and kissed him.
"Jealous, much." Easing an eyebrow in question.
"Jealous, me, of course not." Seeing her still stood with the eyebrow somewhere in her hairline. "Okay, maybe a just a bit." Reaching out to her as he placed his hands on her hips.
"Well, as I said before, not like I can say thanks but no thanks I'm dating my incredible hot boss, is it?" Stepping closer to him as his arms moved around her waist.
"We can go public, make sure everyone knows you're mine now." Seeing her smile as he laid claims on her.
"Think I'll skip that option, thanks all the same." She responded as she leaned in and kissed him firmly on the mouth.
He returned the kiss, taking his time to taste her as his tongue swept around the inside of her mouth. When the kiss came to an end he went to step away but she kept ahold of him.
"What excuse did you give last night to the bro code gang about going out? I forgot to ask as we got carried away." Remembering how they hadn't even made it to the bed for the first round of sex the night before.
"I said I was sorting this mess out and had the bar to deal with as well." Turning to look at all the boxes he still had stacked up.
"Like they are going to buy that crap next time they come up here." Looking over the mess.
"Speaking of last night, has Sonja given up bugging Christopher yet about her invite?" Remembering the conversation Chris had had with him about James and Sonja.
"Nope, she won't let it rest. I don't blame her though. Chris doesn't seem to grasp she won't give up either, he keeps baiting her. She going to hound him until he admits that we girls should get an invite as well. As we pointed out just before I came up here, when us girls do a girls night we accept you guys coming, we're not sexist." Sticking her tongue out at him as he smirked at her.
"Wait, why were you talking about girls night? Am I being sidelined at some point?" Stopping her from walking away this time.
"Sonja asked me to go out tomorrow, that's the conversation that started the whole bro code thing again. I told her I had a date." Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop himself asking.
"Well I take it you don't say me, so who did you say?" His curiosity peaked.
"The only person I could think of, Lieutenant Franco of course. She was there when he asked me out, and she also heard me telling him to ring me. So he makes for a good cover, especially when you texted me. We stopping here tonight or heading to mine? Will be nice to sit and eat then stretch out afterwards on the couch. We really need to get this place sorted out." Finally managing to move away from him as she headed further into the flat.
"Sure Loretta won't mind me being at yours again?" Knowing full well Loretta didn't care how often he was there since she was the only one who knew about them.
"Loretta will probably bring us dinner like last time." Shaking her head as she recalled how they were interrupted in the bath with Loretta bringing them dinner.
"Come on then, I could just do with a bath. Fancy joining me?" Giving her his best smile.
"How can I say no to that face." Reaching up and kissing him.
"I love you, Meredith Brody. Don't ever leave." Putting as much emotion into the kiss he gave her to try and convey how he felt.
"Not going anywhere. I said that eight months ago, remember. The thing that normally made me leave actually made me stay for once. You're stuck with me now." Returning the kiss with as much passion.
When they broke apart he kept a hold of her, kissing her neck as he nuzzled her neck with his nose.
"Let's go before we never leave, I'll even watch one of those chick flick film things with you. I'm not afraid to do the girly nights in, or out, whichever happens first." Grabbing her hand and leading her to the door.
"Deal." Reaching for her jacket when they got to the door.
They spent the evening eating Loretta's Crawfish Etouffee, watching Pretty in Pink curled up together on the couch and drinking red wine. When they made it to bed they made love. Surprisingly it was slow and teasing, not the normal hard and fast that they had become used to after dealing with the world. He worshipped every inch of her body, showering her with affection. When she fell asleep wrapped around his body he thanked the stars for bringing her into his life and fell asleep listening to the sound of her steady breathing.
When she woke the next morning his side of the bed was empty and cold. She stretched out and reached for the pillow on his side, pulling it over and burying her face in it. It carried his scent, his cologne, and she inhaled deeply. When they were separated she found comfort in having something near her that reminded her of him, especially when the nightmares came. She had now acquired a small collection of his t-shirts that she took to wearing when he wasn't around, even a couple of pairs of his boxers had made there way to her underwear drawer. It wasn't the same lying in bed with only a pillow for company so she got out the bed, picked her phone up and headed for the bathroom. When she was done in the bathroom she went to the kitchen and found a note stuck to the coffee machine.
"Saturday morning so I'm at the bar looking at the electrics, come over when you get up, D xx."
She smiled as she tucked the note into the draw with the other handful of notes she had woke up to and made coffee. She wasn't in a rush as she knew once the electrics got the better of him he would take a break and then find something else to fix or work on. Breakfast was bagels and coffee since he had been shopping for her the day before. She only shopped when she had to, the same with cooking. As she finished her breakfast she saw her phone light up on the counter, followed by the beeping of a message. Reaching for it she groaned as she saw the message contained an address, so much for a lazy Saturday morning. Putting the dishes in the sink she went and got ready for work, heading out the door twenty minutes after the text had come through.
Arriving beside the others cars she got out and joined the team as they got a brief account of the body they had. A wedding was not how she had expected her day to start, in this job they could start in some really weird place. As they headed to see Loretta she started a conversation over bridesmaid dresses, with Chris joining in. She had expected Sonja to join in, which she did, agreeing how bad dresses, weddings and the whole affair were not her thing, but Lasalle, there was definitely a story behind that. Working the crime scene she was surprised to hear the lengths some brides went to for a wedding. Her first and only attempt at a wedding hadn't even got to the I do bit before it was over. She was sure the dress was somewhere in a box that had yet to be unpacked. After leaving the crime scene she didn't see much of Dwayne that day, or the next. Between the case and the bar, he was always somewhere except with her. She did know he was splitting them up when they were out chasing leads, he wanted to spend time with Chris, see how he was doing, attempt to find out why he never spent any time at home anymore. Which of course left her and Sonja to spend some time together. Every time she tried getting close to the new agent she seemed to erect her walls and push her away. She knew it wasn't personal, she saw her doing it with everyone. She had spent so long looking out for just herself she had forget that people could genuinely care about her and be concerned if she wasn't happy. As they worked the case she tried to get Sonja to open up, especially since weddings and everything to do them seemed to freak her out. She even shared a description of her brief encounter with the world of weddings. She was surprised how defensive she got, even attempting to give her a plot from a film instead of sharing a bit of her personal life. She didn't give up, and it eventually paid off when she found her sitting at the kitchen table near the end of the second day on the case. As Sonja shared her experience into the world of marriages, weddings and dresses, she listened intently, even ribbing her over the name of the guy she was jilted by. It was nice to share, finally see her opening up, even getting her back with a little ribbing of her own about seeing a shrink.
As the piece fell into place and they finally managed to work out why their drone pilot was killed, she considered the case and her time spent with Sonja a success. Even on the odd occasion, they did girls night she had never got any real personal information out of her. Maybe she would be able to get her to open up more in the future.
As she left interrogation she headed straight upstairs, Dwayne stopping to tell her he would see Chris out before he joined her. She was just as concerned about her teammate but knew he was the best person to get through to him. They shared a past, a history that was forged over the years spent being just the two of them. It was a special bond, a bond she would never interfere with. She changed out of her work clothes and took a quick shower before settling on the bed with a book. She was so engrossed in what she was reading she didn't hear the door open as Dwayne enter until he was leaning over to kiss her cheek. She jumped a light, the book slipping from her hand to the floor.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Reaching down to pick the book up.
"Hey, I'm okay. You finished downstairs?" Looking at the clock on the wall and seeing she had been sat over an hour on her own.
"Just finished up that last report, tidied up, made a start on dinner." Seeing her smile at the mention of food. "I'll take a shower and get changed, then I'm all yours." Kissing her as she took hold of the front of his blue shirt.
"If you don't let go I won't get a shower or make dinner." Nipping her bottom lip with his teeth as he pulled back and tried to stand up.
"Fine," She sulked as he just laughed at her.
She picked her book back up and continued to read as she heard the shower coming on. She tuned out again reading her book until she caught movement out the corner of her eye. Taking the bookmark from the bedside cabinet she marked her placed, closed the book and put it on the bed. Standing up she went over and stood watching as Dwayne dug around in one of the boxes, finally pulling out a pair of battered-looking running shoes. He kissed her cheek as he passed her to sit on the bed and put them on. When he stood up he held out his hand to her and smiled.
"Can I escort you to dinner?" Bowing a little as he tried to keep a straight face.
When she took his hand she started to laugh, which in turn made him laugh.
"Who said romance was dead. Being escorted to dinner when we're are both wearing t-shirts and pyjama pants. We sure know how to have a good time, Dwayne." Shaking her head as she reached for the door handle and pulled the door open.
"Why get dressed up to eat out when you have the finest cook in town at your service?" He pointed out the way down the black spiral stairs.
"You do have a point there. Come on then, show me what we're having for dinner." Bumping his shoulder with hers as they walked across the courtyard.
As they sat side by side eating they talked about anything that didn't involve work or tried to.
"Christopher tried setting me up the other day." Hearing her splutter a little on her wine.
"Seriously? How has neither of them worked it out yet? For fully trained agents they seriously are oblivious to what's right in front of them" Putting her glass back down and wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"You can say that again. They are just as oblivious to each other as they are to us." He added, Pushing his empty plate away and looking at her.
"I missed working with you as much these last couple of days. It was strange going out with Sonja instead of you." Moving her chair so she could face him.
"I know, but Chris just doesn't seem to be coping at all. I was hoping I could get through to him." Sighing as he rubbed his face.
"Let's get these dishes done and we can talk more upstairs." Picking up her plate and glass before standing up.
When's the kitchen was spotless again they headed back upstairs and she took her customary seat on the bed, watching as he joined her and felt his arm go around his shoulder.
"Has he said anything to you about what's going on with him?"She asked as she snuggled against his side.
"He misses her, especially at night. That's why he won't go home." Answering her question without divulging the personal information Christopher had shared with him.
"We all deal with loss differently, he just seems to be avoiding it all together." She added then shook her head.
"What?" He asked looking down at her.
"I can't really say anything can I. I'm not doing much better, and it's been eight years." Seeing him reach across and take her hand in his.
"With them pictures arriving I'm not surprised it's all been brought up again. We'll get there, with Emily and you, with Christopher, and with Sonja. Things are changing for all of us, it's going to take time to adapt. Speaking of time, it's getting late. You stopping here tonight?" Not being able to keep the hope out of his voice as he asked.
"Sure, I've got clean work clothes here so I can get ready and not end up looking like Chris. Thanks for washing them by the way." Yawning as she tried to snuggle deeper into him.
"No problem. How about you try getting under the covers instead of sleeping on top of them, much more comfortable." Withdrawing his arm from her shoulder and tugging her hand to get her to move.
When she was tucked up in bed he lay with her cocooned in his arms watching her sleep. He knew she didn't get enough, Emily's death triggering major insomnia which came and went over the years. He knew on the nights they didn't share a bed she hardly spelt at all. That's why he preferred it when they didn't, and not just for the sex. When she was with him she seemed to sleep more, longer. When she woke from a nightmare he was there to soothe her, reassure her she was safe. He just hoped that if they ever did get to the bottom of what really happens to Emily it wouldn't cause a downward spiral like she first had after her sister died. No matter what the outcome was he would be there for her, just as he always was.