A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They're much appreciated. :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. The title for this chapter comes from "What Do You Want From Me" by Adam Lambert. There's a little bit more background into Allie in this chapter, and more about their past. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :)
Chapter 4: Once Upon a Time, I Didn't Give a Damn
"You have a really nice place," Allie said softly as she stepped in.
"Thanks," Jamie replied, closing the door behind her.
"I'm sorry I'm late. Last minute trauma case: head injury. Neuro and I had a long consult about prognosis."
"Neuro?"
"Dr. Whittmore was the resident of the day. Nice guy. His wife works in pediatrics."
Jamie smiled softly.
"Anyway, sorry," Allie said.
Jamie shrugged slightly. "No need to apologize. I understand. Always seems to be something right before end of tour, huh?"
"Yeah, something like that."
He looked at her critically. "You okay? You seem distracted."
She shook her head. "Not a good day in the E.R."
"You wanna talk about it?"
She sighed heavily as he handed her a glass of wine. "A woman came in today, clear case of intimate partner violence. Guy had burned her with a curling iron, but she didn't want to report it."
"Burned her with a curling iron?" Jamie asked skeptically.
"On her abdomen," Allie said. "She said she dropped it, and managed to catch up with it against her stomach. But the burn was too consistent and too… much of a degree, I guess you could say, to have been an accident."
He sat down on the couch with his wine, and she followed suit. "What do you mean by degree?" he asked, shifting so his left hand was behind her right shoulder.
"Consistent second to third degree," she replied, watching the wine glass in her hand. "You don't usually get one like that just from dropping it. That's typically a sustained burn… that iron had to be there for more than the split second reaction of dropping a hot implement. You know what I mean?"
He nodded.
"And she had several other bruises on her ribs and abdomen… I'm sure she had more injuries, but she wouldn't let me examine her much further. She was anxious, wanting like hell to get out of there as fast as she could. I figured she only came because someone made her, like her coworker or something. But, she was acting like she had to run somewhere. I just wish I could have spent more time with her, talking to her."
"Yeah," he breathed softly. "That's tough. But, she has to want to talk and come forward."
Allie rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware of that," she said curtly.
Jamie nodded, choosing to rub her shoulder rather than say anything.
She sighed softly. "I'm sorry," she said calmly after a few moments.
He shook his head. "You never have to apologize," he told her.
She rested her head against the back of the couch as he continued to rub her shoulder gently. "I forgot that."
He smiled lightly.
"You know it's still a two-way street though, right?"
He nodded again.
"So, if something was bother in you, you'd tell me, right?"
"As much as I could," he replied.
"So, then, what's bothering you? And don't tell me it's nothing."
"I'm just worried about you, that's all."
"I'm okay," she told him.
He looked at her. "That patient struck a nerve in you."
"All abuse victims do. You mean to tell me they don't for you?"
"They do," he affirmed. "But, it's different for you."
She looked back down at her wine glass instead of saying anything.
He stroked her shoulder lightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not really good company tonight," Allie said somberly.
"Hey, it's okay," Jamie replied. "You and I both know that I haven't always been a ray of sunshine either."
"True." She smiled. "In fact, I'm pretty sure most of the time, you were complaining about Danny or Erin. Or both."
"Yeah."
She shifted closer to him. "I remember when Joe died."
Jamie nodded, looking down slightly. "I remember when Michelle…" he let his voice trail off.
Allie sighed, shifting again.
"Sorry," he told her.
"Hey, I started it," she replied. "I mentioned Joe."
"Joe was murdered. Michelle…"
"Committed suicide," she finished for him.
"Your little sister."
"Your older brother."
"Killed by fellow officers."
"Wait, what?" she said, turning to face Jamie.
Jamie shifted, retracting his arm slightly. "Uh, yeah," he said quietly. "He was killed by The Blue Templar."
"The Blue Templar?"
"It's a long story."
She nodded, but didn't say anything more.
"And it isn't going to make you feel any better about today," he added.
"I'm not sure talking about today is going to make today any better," she said.
He nodded, smiling. "Well, the way I see it, we have two choices. We can order in from somewhere, or we could chance cooking."
She chuckled softly. "The last time we tried cooking together, we nearly burned down the building."
"That's because someone forgot to set a timer," he reminded her.
"Hey, the timer was your department," she said. "After all, I'm the one that did all the damn work in the first place."
"Because you're a better cook than me."
"You have dinner with your family every Sunday."
"That doesn't mean anything. I'm mainly used for cutting vegetables, washing dishes, and drinking beer."
"Hopefully not all at once."
He shrugged, smirking. "I can multitask."
She rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Chinese it is, then," he said. "Best delivery in the area."
"I'll take your word for it."
"I'm gonna order," he told her, getting up from the couch.
"Oh, don't forget…"
"Extra duck sauce," he finished for her. "I know."
She shook her head as he placed the order. When he sat back down, she said, "you know, it's kind of weird that you remember every detail after all these years."
Jamie shrugged. "I still remember Sydney and Aaron's orders, too," he replied.
Allie shrugged. "Fair enough."
Jamie put his arm behind Allie again, and she rested her head against him. "So, how Alex?"
She smiled softly. "Surviving. Like the rest of us."
"You heard from Kevin?"
She scoffed. "No one hears from Kevin anymore. Or Katie, for that matter. Actually, I take that back. I tend to hear from them, but mostly in the context of, 'hey, sis, I need money.'"
"Especially now that you're making the big bucks as a trauma doctor."
She shook her head. "And all those loans and malpractice insurances to pay for."
He shrugged. "Just don't kill anyone."
She laughed lightly. "I'm God now?"
"If you are, what would that make me?"
She paused for a minute before grinning. "Lucifer, the angel that likes to go off the reservation."
He chuckled.
"You know that it's not gonna end well if you keep acting like Danny, right?" she said.
"Allegedly," he replied.
"Allegedly acting like Danny?"
"Yeah. Danny's not as nice as me."
She laughed softly. "That's debatable, depending on the day."
"You don't know Danny."
"No, but I do work with Linda, which is just as good as actually knowing Danny."
He laughed.
