Originally written as a double drabble stocking stuffer for Seattlekos in the 2006 Yuletide Rare Fandom fiction Challenge.

I do not own GAH, nor any of it's characters.


The Calling Card

Something at Bill's desk just didn't seem right. A few papers misplaced? Some case files moved?

"I think we may have a security breach, boys!" he called out jokingly, as he walked to his desk and inspected his station.

"Uh, who was on night watch, guys? Was somebody using my desk?"

He noticed the bottom drawer, left open just a bit. Cautious and suspicious, he opened it, finding a small plastic sandwich bag, filled with...

"That ain't ...?" he thought, nervously. No. It wasn't. Last time he checked, cannabis wasn't purple.

Once again, he could breathe.

He sniffed the bag. What the hell was that familiar smell? And who left it here, overnight?

He crushed the tiny purple buds in his hand, through the plastic.

Finally, he realized what it was. It was a message - a calling card, of sorts - letting him know she was still alive, and maybe still interested.

He thought of the possibilities. Then he thought of the missed court date, the abandoned apartment, and his lost bail money.

After all these months, the scent of lilacs still made his stomach turn.

Tossing the plastic bag into the trash, he realized that he could finally accept it.