Two weeks later.
The team are sitting around getting ready to give their morning debrief on how the current case is going, when Jarvis walks in with someone Jen's knows following him.
"Right team, I finally have a new member for us while Buchanan is away on leave, his name is Brendon Lee. Now he will be staying on even once Buchanan returns so please make him feel welcome. Lee, this is Matt Ryan he's your sergeant, he leads the team, then we have Jennifer Mapplethorpe, Allie Kingston, Rhys Levitt, he is the Commanders Nephew, as well as Duncan Freeman." Comes from Jarvis. Jen sits there not too happy to see this person. Allie notches Jen shaking her head over something but what she is unsure.
Over the next thirty minutes the team go over what they have found out and what they plan to do, before they all head off to do what they need to do.
Brendon Lee heads towards the desk and goes to sit down at Nick's desk.
"Sorry Brendon that desk is taken you need to go over to the one opposite Rhys, not sure if you will get a computer or a laptop depends on what the IT guy has set up for you. He'll be up at some stage today I would presume." Jen says to him as she sits down at her desk and pulls out some notes.
"It's nice seeing you again Jen." He says to her and watches as she says nothing to him, not sure what to say.
"Well for me it's not. But if you will excuse me I have a meeting with Waverley to get too."
She heads off to see Waverley as she had been requested to go see her as soon as morning briefing had been finished, she knows she is late but making sure the new guy got the right desk was more important, no one sits in Nicks desk as far as she is concerned, for her seeing it empty each day is hard, she hasn't seen or spoken to Nick since he had taken leave, she has spent nearly every night at his place, hoping that maybe he will turn up, and maybe they could talk some more. But so far no luck in doing that, she does know he has been home as she notices somethings have been moved, some returned and other items taken, she is pretty sure she knows where he is, but she wants to respect him but not going there, they both need some space, and time to think.
Once she leaves homicide for the evening she heads to Nicks place like she has done every night since he took leave, as she pulls up she's surprised to Nicks Ute parked out front. She's unsure if she should enter or drive off until his figure shows up on the front step, she knows he has seen her so driving off won't work now. She gets out of the car and goes up to him.
"Come in Jen, we need to talk." He says in a soft calm voice to her. No hint of anger showing when he spoke, and this helps relax her some more.
Once inside Jen proceeds and sits down on the couch, while Nick heads back to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner, he then dishes up tea for both of them.
"Thanks." Jen says as he passes her the meal.
"You've been staying." He says to her, he doesn't ask but says as he knows she be the only one to come inside his house, having a key and then sleeping in his bed.
"Yes." She says to him, so softly he nearly doesn't hear her say it. Nothing else is said between them as they finish eating their meals.
"Nick, I've been thinking, been talking to Waverley. I know we still have a lot to work out, I have a lot to work out. Today I had my first session with Claudia to try and work out what it is I won't."
"Are you doing this for me or yourself?"
"For myself Nick, the last two weeks with you not being here, me staying here made me realise that I can't figure this out on my own, yes Dane was one of the biggest factors to me wanting this again, happy to hide it from them all, but your right last time I hated hiding it, and I didn't have any answers I still don't, I don't know when I will. But I do know I love you Nick and I have missed you while you've been away. At least I know what my feelings are for you it's just working out the rest of it all."
"The rest of it as in Marriage, Children, like I spoke to you about a few months ago?"
"Yes that and my fear of this failing, and my job as well, Homicide is the elite of the jobs."
"Well you know I'm prepared to support you, you don't have to give it up Jen."
"There be times where I will have to step away from it if we did go down the road of having children, I've always been so career driven, that doing something else scares me I realised that today when talking to Claudia."
"This scares me too Jen. But I'm willing to try but only if your 100% into this. As I said to you two weeks ago I will happily give up my spot at Homicide just to be with you. Having you in my bed to love freely without worrying about breaking rules means more to me than my job."
"Yea but You've been part of Homicide for most of your career as a cop, it's in your blood like it is in mine."
"Yea but love makes you rethink things Jen, you've always known that what I feel for you is always been more than just a random fling, I've always wanted more with you for a long time now."
The two just sit there, not saying anything to each other it's not a bad silence at all, but a silence they both were enjoying, Nick moves and sits beside Jen on the couch and wraps his arm around her shoulder as he sees her trying to hold herself together.
"Sorry for crying, just been a long tough day on top of a very intense session with Claudia today hasn't helped."
"No need to be. Some of my sessions with her have left me feeling not just emotionally drained but physically draining as well. Without even realising she has done it to me until I get back and settle down for the evening and I have finally relaxed."
"Yea she's good at getting you to open up about things without even knowing it, asks the right questions at the right time before you know it your spilling your guts to her."
"Yep so true."
"Anyway its late I should let you get some sleep, and I should head home."
"Don't head home, stay please." He says to her, he hasn't had any decent sleep since taking leave. He's pretty sure it has to do with her, and not being around her and the unknown of where this is going between them, they both know they love each other but it's not that that is causing the issue, it's everything else in-between.
"I'm not sure if that is wise Nick."
"Jen I'm buggered so are you, let me hold you tonight and get some sleep we both could do with it." He says as he gets up and holds his hand out to her, she takes it and leads her to his room turning off the lights as they go along.
They both get changed and crawl into bed, as they cuddle up they share a kiss say I love you to each other, then very quickly and easily they drift off to sleep. Both having a peaceful enjoyable sleep, something neither of them has had since Nick took leave.
