That's What Friends Are For

Unforgettable

Jo/Eliot

…

Eliot leaned back in his desk chair as he glanced at the clock and realized that it was coming up for 10pm, where had the time gone he thought to himself as he got up from his desk and picked up his briefcase. The thought of going home to an empty apartment wasn't something he was looking forward too. As he walked out into the briefing room he saw Carrie and Al sitting at their desks, worry etched on their faces.

"What are you two still doing here; it's past your bed time."

"We were just..."

"What Carrie's trying to say is that we stayed behind because Jo's still down in autopsy."

"I thought you'd wrapped up our current case?"

"We did Eliot; about an hour ago Jo was called to an overdose victim at Lowes Regency Hotel."

"Why don't I know about this?"

He watched the looks Carrie and Al gave one another at his question.

"Alright you two, what's going on?"

"The victim, turns out she's a close friend of Jo's."

"A friend and Joanne made the decision to perform the autopsy herself?"

"We tried to talk her out of it but you know what Jo's like."

"Unfortunately I do…go home you two."

"Eliot I think we should…."

"Carrie I said go home…now, I'll talk to Joanne."

"Eliot…."

"Carrie come on, he's right…let's go, I'll buy you a beer."

Against her better judgement Carrie decided to do as she was asked and followed Al out of the building.

"Al…we should be staying…what if she needs us."

"Eliot will be there."

"Eliot, come on."

"Hey, they may have their issues but you and I both know something happened between those two…whether it was recent or in the past."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Because he clearly still cares about her Carrie, he stayed behind didn't he. He could have come with us but he stayed and if anyone can get through to her it's Eliot."

"I guess you're right."

…

Eliot made his way down the long stair case and along the darkened corridor that would take his to autopsy; he could see the small beam of light coming from the entrance as he got closer. Coming to stand in the doorway, his eyes landed on Jo as she was finishing up the autopsy on her friend. She looked up when she felt the presence of someone else in the room to see Eliot looking at her with nothing but sympathy in his eyes, something she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"You should have gone home hours ago Eliot."

"I could say the same about you."

"I had to finish up my autopsy on this lady before I left."

Eliot watched as Jo covered the body up, seeing her hands shake ever so slightly. She moved over to the freezers and placed the body in the bottom right drawer and gently closed it. She remained quiet, her back to him and her head held low. Seeing her so quiet was new to him, even all those years ago when they were closer, never had he seen her like this. He walked over to her, standing behind her and placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your friend Joanne."

She let out the smallest of laughs before turning to face him.

"We really have changed you and I, haven't we." She said, softly.

"I don't understand."

"Ever since I came, you've referred to me as either Joanne or Dr Webster, never Jo like you use too."

"I didn't feel I had the right to be so familiar with you anymore."

"We were both responsible for our break-up Elli."

"No, I chose money and rank over us and I shouldn't have."

"Did you ever truly love Samantha?"

"Once but I don't think she ever made me as happy as you did."

"The older woman made you happier than the young blonde heiress?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"Surprisingly…although it shouldn't. You've always been a very truthful person, it's one of the reasons I fell in l…anyway, I should probably make a move."

Eliot watched as Joanne became awkward around him, he watched as she grabbed her jacket and bag and as she moved to go past him he caught hold of her wrist, stopping her.

"My apartments just a few blocks, why don't you come for a drink? I think after tonight you could use it."

"I really shouldn't, I…."

"Jo, please."

She saw the pleading in his eyes and the way he rubbed his thumb over the inside of her wrist, in a loving way and all she could do was nod her head in agreement. He waited for her to turn off the lights before following her out.

…

Carrie was seated in a booth by the window, as Al brought over the beers and sat one down in front of her.

"Hey, come on Carrie…she'll be okay."

"I've never seen Jo like that before; I don't think I've ever seen her cry before."

"She'd just found her friend dead Carrie, of course she'd be upset."

"Yeah I know but…oh it doesn't matter. I still don't think we were right to leave her with Eliot though."

"Why?"

"He's not exactly the kind of guy you go to with personal problems is he?"

"Well he wouldn't be my immediate go to guy no but where Jo's concerned…it's different."

"I wonder what actually happened with those two all those years ago."

"I don't think it's our place to know, not unless Jo wants us to know."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I always am, now…Jo is safe in the hand of Eliot and we have beer here that isn't being drank so come on, get it down ya' and we'll play some darts."

"Oh yeah, think you still have a chance of beating me."

"There's always a first time."

"No chance." Carrie laughed.

…

Jo was seated on Eliot's couch, the music playing softly in the back ground. She looked around the room, remembering to herself how impeccably tidy Eliot was. She looked up when he came through carrying 2 glasses in his hand and a bottle under his arm. He placed the glasses down in front of them and immediately poured them 2 glasses of red wine. Jo took a sip from her glass and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Eliot, you remembered."

"The 1995 Harlan Estate, how could I forget?"

"That's nearly $500 a bottle."

"Some people are worth it, I save it for special occasions."

Jo looked up at him, smiling back at him. Suddenly she looked down, sadness appearing on her face.

"What was her name, your friend?"

"Annette Holden, we've been friends since college…we met there when I was studying forensics."

"Was she studying the same field?"

"So she was a lawyer?"

"Once a very long time ago…but she got married, he was an abusive man. He liked to control her; she gave up her studies not long after they married. It was a shame; she could have gone on to great things."

"When did she turn to drugs?"

"Honestly, I have no idea…I managed to get convince her to finally leave her marriage, she stayed with me for a while. One evening when I came home I found her out cold on the bathroom floor, a needle lying beside her. I managed to get her conscious, I begged her to tell me how long she's been using but she refused to tell me. After that evening I kept a very close eye on her, I perhaps became a little to over protective of her. I arrived home one day to find her stuff gone and a note saying she was sorry but she couldn't cope on her own. I found out not long after that she's gone back to her husband; I haven't spoken to her in at least 6 months. I should have tried harder." She said quietly.

Eliot sat his wine down and moved a little closer to Jo and placed a warm hand over hers.

"Jo…none of this is your fault, you did everything you could to help your friend. At the end of the day, the only person who could help Annette was Annette, she made her own choices and decided back at that hotel how her life was going to end. When people make up their minds about something, there's no changing them. Please don't blame yourself for what happened, you're the last person who should feel guilty."

"Thank you Eliot."

They lapsed back in to silence, both enjoying the wine and the company.

"Thank you for looking after me tonight Eliot…despite our issues."

"Hey, no matter what's gone on between us in the past or even now…we'll always be friends, what ever happens okay?"

"Okay."

She gave him a warm smile before leaning her head on his shoulder, that familiar feeling returning when she felt him place a small kiss to the top of her head.

…

-Fin