Author's Note: Alright, so was anyone else frustrated with the last scene in "Skeletons"? There was that moment with James and Alesha, and I was literally talking to my screen, saying "Come on, come on!", and then Alesha's phone rang and the scene pretty much ended from there. But there was a short moment where that scene could have taken a completely different turn, so here's my take on it. Thanks for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Law and Order: UK or any of its characters.
Four Seconds
"Alesha."
Four seconds.
Just four.
For four seconds, he stared into her eyes. As he looked down into her face, the moment was suspended, frozen, and yet still filled with an anxiety as though they were holding their breaths and just waiting to let it out. He knew her expressions so well...he had memorized the features of her face after all these years, and yet her dark brown eyes were always a surprise to him, to see the deep and endless thoughts and memories that she kept hidden in those irises. He couldn't really explain it...he just felt so alive when he was with her. It was one of those times you desperately wish could last forever, because you've never felt more like yourself before, and yet you know the next day you must go back to your life and once again put on a fake smile. He felt more free around her than he had around anyone else, and nothing at this moment was more natural to him than to stand there knowing she was with him.
For four seconds, she looked back. It was the aura of this moment; the expectation of something she had long waited for. She felt as though she could already see the future and what was promised to her. She saw the softness in his face, the gentle wrinkling around his eyes as he smiled at her. And that very tender look he gave her...It seemed so very unreal. But still the moment lingered, and she felt it rest on the persistence of his gaze. It was in this instant where she realized they would finally make a choice. Where they could finally tell the truth to each other, to prove what they really meant to each other. Or...they could falter, they could be cowards and break the trance that ever so slightly leaned their faces closer together...and they could walk away, unable to muster the courage to speak the truth. This moment determined everything.
For four seconds, he had her. She stood there before him, her face tilted up towards his, her eyes searching his for the strength to make the first move. Her soft curls draped smoothly over her jacket collar, slender lips pursed in apprehension, and brow creased in worry. He didn't think he had ever seen her look more beautiful than this woman he saw before him tonight. The air was quiet, the bustle of movement had disappeared, and in this very moment, she was his. He had her, he had a chance, a choice, the freedom to open up to her. She was so close he could feel the warmth of her breath just barely graze his jaw. Their gazes locked, their hearts beating heavily. All he had to do was lean down and ki-
Then a sudden obnoxious ringing filled their ears and and the the second hand ticked forward one more notch to mark five seconds. All the wristwatches and wall clocks and digital alarms moved their second hand forward at the same time, while all the people in London went on with their business, unaware of the moment's end. She hesitantly lowered her gaze as she answered the phone and he understandingly waved her off. Stepping backwards away from him, her eyes now shone apologetically, and he gave her another reassuring smile to coax her on.
As she disappeared down the path, the realization hit him that he would never have those four seconds again. She had been there,right in front of him. He had had her. Now she was gone. He felt a wet trickle near the corner of his eyes, and it wasn't until she disappeared from view that he realized he was crying.