Title: Farewell Is A Lonely Sound
Author: B'Elanna Paris
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Ashes to Ashes belongs to BBC/Kudos.
Feedback would be much appreciated.
There she is standing in his office, everyone left for the day a couple of hours ago and so did she, her pretty little
mouth running off with itself, the words "going home", "last night" and "won't see you again" tumbling out. He has
learnt to stop listening to her ramblings of going home because she has said it so many times and it never happens but
somewhere deep down he has the nagging feeling that this time it is different.
She is now staring at him, arms folded across her chest with a her lips pursed together awaiting for answer, to what
he is not sure.
"Are you coming then?", she asks with a slight annoyance of having to obviously ask the question again.
"Where?"
"Luigi's" she sighs, "for a farewell drink".
"Bols, I thought we discussed this, you're not going anywhere," if he keeps denying it she won't leave right?
"No, this time I am definitely going home, morning comes and I won't be here." She says it with such certainty.
He got up his chair and walked over to his cabinet to pour himself a large whiskey, ignoring her when she was like
this was always the best option.
"Well, are you coming?" Here voice was slightly more raised than it was before lined with a sense of frustration.
While he was all for his nightly drinking sessions with her and the rest of the team in Luigi's he had finally reached
the point where if she was going to do this merry dance about going home every few months he was going to show her
what he really thought about it with his complete indifference, in his mind its easier that way.
"No, Bols got some stuff to finish off." He replied without meeting her eyes as he downed the whiskey in one.
"What? Did you not hear..." she trails off, pursing her lips together, standing up a little straighter, he suddenly
realises that is what rejection looks like. "Fine, you know where I'll be." She turns on her heel and leaves as
quickly as she marched into his office earlier.
He let out the breath he did not know he had been holding, she would be back in the morning and this little
conversation what not be spoke of again until the next time.
She walked quickly out of the station and across the road to Luigis, trying to blink back the tears that were
beginning to form. As she approached the entrance she stood for the moment pulling herself, putting on a fake smile
and making sure those tears where not going to fall. Alex Drake was not going to be upset, will not be upset by
that man not again, in the end his just a construct nothing to be concerned about.
As she sat with Shaz, Chris and Ray drinking away her life here, she kept glancing at the door hoping he would relent
and say goodbye but as Luigi was closing up and the others decided to call it a night it came abundantly clear he had no
intention to. She made her way up to her flat to sober up slightly before she left very early to go where she needed
to.
She wondered if he would ever know what he meant to her and how he kept her on the straight and narrow when she was
given so many chances and opportunities to get home sooner?