Disclaimer: I do not own City Homicide or it's characters.
6.
Jen sat bolt upright in bed, panting, sweat dripping off her. She looked around wildly in the dark and it took a few seconds before she was orientated as to where she was.
She felt Nick's hand on her back, as he sat up next to her.
"Nick!" She flung herself at him, sobbing quietly. He held her tight against him, stroking her hair. "Shhh ...it's okay Jen...it's okay". They lay back down, Jen still clinging to him, her sobbing slowly subsiding.
She had always been plagued by bad dreams, but now, in the last couple of months, her dreams revolved around Dane Majors. It was always the same. Dane telling her that she was too late, and Jen pulling back the sheet in the back of Dane's car, to reveal Allan Sullivan. The realisation that Nick was buried in the grave nearby. She runs to the grave, and starts digging frantically with her bare hands, screaming out Nick's name, all the while Dane Majors' voice taunting her – You're too late!
Nick had not escaped from his ordeal with Majors unscathed, either, but his dreams were becoming few and far between. He knew this was in part due to the fact that he had been seeing Claudia, the Departmental Psychologist, ever since he had cheated death. He knew that talking to a professional about things had helped, and he had mentioned it to Jen, in the hope that she would also take up the counselling. He thought that it would do her some good.
Jen looked up at him, whispering in a pleading voice "Please don't leave me".
"Jen, I'm not going anwhere".
She leant her head against his chest, and closed her eyes. She hated feeling so vulnerable and so exposed, but the situation with Nick and Dane Majors had left her scarred. And then there was Juliet. She knew that she and Nick had not been together, but the thought of him being intimate with someone else ate away at her. She wondered whether he had held Julie the way that he held her, whether he had lay with her talking about everything and about nothing. She wondered what might have happened if Juliet had not been killed. Would Nick have stayed with her, continued to see her? What would they have had in common?
She knew that she couldn't blame Nick for what had happened. She had ended their relationship; but while they had been apart, she had never slept with anyone else! She wouldn't have even contemplated sleeping with another man during that time. She sighed heavily. She supposed that this was the difference between men and women – men just couldn't live without sex. Deep down, part of her had hoped that Nick wasn't like that, but she guessed that he really was, after all.
Jen snuggled closer against Nick, feeling completely safe in his arms. She guessed that she should be thankful. Dane Majors and Juliet – she could have easily lost Nick to both of them, but in the end, they had been what had finally brought her and Nick together again.
Nick and Allie walked into Cafe Aroma, Abigail Richards' workplace. Nick walked up to the girl behind the counter and held up his ID.
The young woman gave him a wide smile and said suggestively "Detective! So nice to see you again. What brings you back?"
"When we were here a few days ago, we managed to speak to most of the staff, bar one young lady who was away on leave, and your manager."
"Oh, well they're both here today. I'll go get Sam for you"
The girl disappeared into the kitchen. Nick looked around. It was nearly 11.30 but the cafe was virtually empty. A middle aged couple sat at a table by the window and a young man with glasses sat by himself at a corner table, typing away on a Notebook. He didn't look up at all, although the middle aged couple regarded Allie and Nick with curiosity.
The young woman returned from the kitchen, followed by a man who looked to be in his late thirties, with dark hair.
Attractive thought Allie. He could give me a bit of 'bounce' I reckon.
"Sam Perry, I'm the owner of this cafe. What can I do for you both?"
"Detectives Buchanan and Kingston, Homicide. We just wanted to ask you some questions about Abigail Richards".
Sam Perry looked down at his feet, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, sure, terrible business that. Poor Abigail. Have you caught who did it, yet?"
Allie leaned back against the counter. "No not yet. We're trying to get as much information about Abigail as we can. What did you know about her personal life, outside of work?"
"Well, nothing much actually. I know that she lived with her sister, that's about it really. She was a good worker, a nice kid".
"Have a boyfriend that you know of?" asked Allie.
"Detective, I'm not in the habit of asking my employees about their love lives. Maybe the other girls knew something? But they're all good workers, they don't really have time to stand around and gossip."
Nick regarded the near empty cafe, and thought it looked as though the girls had all the time in the world to stand around gossiping. There weren't exactly patrons lining up to get in. "Thanks Mr Perry. We might need to talk to you again at a later date. Now – the young woman that was away on holidays a few days ago? Miss Davis? We'd like to speak to her if we can".
"Sure – that's Lennie. She's out the back on a break. I'll take you through".
They found Lennie Davis out the back of the cafe, leaning up against the back wall, cigarette in hand.
"Nah, it was all about picking up in clubs, with Abigail" she responded to their questioning about boyfriends. "Could have had her pick of any guy, though. They were all after her. You just had to see the way the guys who come in this place look at her. Even Sam thought she was a bit of alright."
"Your boss?"
"Yeah, I saw him giving her the once over a few times. You could tell that he thought she was pretty hot. Not that he'd ever act on it though. Married with 3 kids – his wife just had a new baby".
"Is that so?" Nick and Allie looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
They sat in the restaurant, holding hands over the table. Jen thought it was nice to be able to get out in public, and be together, without worrying about people seeing them.
It was a cold night – both had come straight from work, without getting changed. Jen wore a long black coat over her suit, multi-coloured scarf wrapped around her neck.
She felt tired, the emotion of the last two weeks catching up with her finally. She smiled at Nick, and he reached out to run his fingers down her cheek. "What's up?"
She placed her hand over his fingers. "Nothing. I'm just tired. All these late nights, full-on days at work. Trying hard to concentrate on not looking too 'bouncy'." She smiled. "I really need a good night's sleep".
Nick felt a surge of disappointment run through him. "So you want some space tonight, then?"
She pulled his hand towards her. "No! I don't think I have too much stamina to be great company, I really want to just climb into bed and sleep. But I'd love to have you there. I've got used to sleeping next to you again. It wouldn't feel right without you there."
Nick leaned across the table to kiss her softly on the lips. "Let's get the bill".