Of Hospital Beds
He was the last person she had expected to see. There had always been a professional boundary between them, a line that had so very rarely been crossed. This was still professional in a sense. Having a hole in your arm and being one of his detectives, in a manner of speaking, was a basis for a professional visit to the hospital.
But there was something quite different with this visit. The drugs that had slipped through the plastic tubes and into her veins caused a lightheartedness to come over her like none she had ever felt before. She could be playful when alcohol was introduced, but that was almost always followed up with a night of drunken sex or saying the wrong thing to ruin the evening with her companion, but this was so different. It was almost as if every moment of pain and darkness that had etched into her life to ensnare her had faded into the background as the morphine danced through her system.
Glassy eyes set on the visiting ADA, his eyes tired but there was still that hint of arrogance that followed him as if it had been painted on him from birth. A small, dopey smile pulled across her worn features, face void of make up and touched with sweat that glistened as fluorescent lights beamed down on both of them to tinge their skin with a dank coloring.
"Hey," her words came out with exhaustion clearly lacing her words, her accent, pure Georgian, touched her words, "wasn't expecting to see you of all people here."
And that was the truth of it. She'd always had the passing thought late at night. The what ifs. They'd only been in passing and she'd never discussed them with anyone. They were only thoughts and they had only ever found each other alone on few occasions and all were laced with professionalism. Even though snarky remarks were exchanged.
It was professional. But there was a part of her that still wondered what it would be like to have what if turn into reality as every person wishes from time to time.
Barba's smile was genuine as she kept her glassy eyed gaze upon him. She heard him speak of how he felt it was a responsibility to check on one of the detectives that had helped him with so many cases.
"I think they may have given me a little too much of these drugs," Rollins whispered as her head remained upon her hospital pillow as she attempted to keep her focus on those green eyes and handsome, arrogant smile, "I could swear that was a genuine remark of caring, Counselor."
Counselor.
It was always professional.