Four months later, everybody was still in the dark about what had happened to Heidi. She had gotten better, her injuries healed and her bruises faded, and she also became more like her old self. Dean was there every day for her to talk to and was a great help in keeping everything a secret. The team all knew that Dean knew what was wrong with Heidi but nobody said anything. They understood that until Heidi was ready, neither she nor Dean would reveal even the tiniest detail about it.
Nobody knew about the little bit of information that Dean had given Chase either. He never said anything, and nobody asked him because they didn't suspect he knew anything. However the team still wondered what could have happened to Heidi, what serious event could have made them both so secretive, but nobody shared their guesses out loud. In fact nobody talked about it anymore. To anybody looking in from the outside, the whole topic had been dealt with, and people had forgotten and moved on. However, they may have moved on, but it was far from forgotten.
Dean had spoken to Lara, despite him telling Chase that it was Heidi's choice as to when she would speak to her. He could tell that Heidi was still struggling to understand why Lara left her at the bar, even though she had told him she was fine. So he decided to try and give Heidi some peace of mind, to this part of her troubles at least.
He had approached her one morning when everybody else bar them, Vince and Michelle were out on a rescue. They were paired together that day and since they hadn't worked together for a while Michelle thought it would be a good idea for them to stay at HQ and talk to each other, 'clear the air' is what she said. Dean knew then that she had noticed that Dean had been, not particularly nasty to Lara but a little off with her as he liked to refer to it as. So Dean thought that if they were here to talk to each other, then talk they would.
He asked if they could go somewhere private, and when she agreed he walked off and headed outside to sit on the wall by the car park of HQ. Lara followed, glad that she and Dean were finally going to talk but nervous as to what they would be talking about. When she sat beside him Dean started off the conversation so that Lara would know that he was in charge of this and that this talk was serious.
Dean: 'I want you to know that I haven't been off with you because of something you did to me. Rather it was something you did to Heidi.'
Lara: 'Okay. I'm confused Dean. What could I have done to Heidi to make you so angry with me?'
Dean: 'I'm not angry. I was at first. But now I'm just confused and disappointed with you. I try not to be, I try and be civil to you here at work, but just watching you be so happy all the time and so completely ignorant to the pain you caused Heidi without even remembering what you did makes me feel sick.'
Lara: 'Dean, what are you talking about?'
At this point Dean could tell that Lara was scared at what he was saying, and secretly he was pleased. She deserved to be after what had happened to Heidi. But at the same time he was truly sorry to be making her feel this way. However this was the only way he could explain to her what she had done to Heidi without actually telling her anything.
Dean: 'Five months ago. At a bar. You left Heidi.'
He summed it up with less than ten words. He watched as she listened to what he said and the pieces slowly started fitting together in her head.
Lara: 'That's what this was about? A joke?'
Dean: 'What on earth are you talking about, a joke! You think that what you did was a joke! You left Heidi alone at a bar when you said you would take her home. You left her scared, vulnerable and upset, and you're talking about jokes!'
Lara: 'It was meant to be a joke! Yes I said I would take her home. Jordan went to Lachie's with his wallet so it was just the two of us and I thought it would be funny. I was planning on driving round the corner and waiting for Heidi to call me. When she did I would drive back round and pick her up. Only she never called, so I thought maybe she had gotten annoyed with me and called a taxi instead. The next day I guessed she was still upset about it and thought by the end of the day she would have cooled down. Heidi never takes jokes so seriously. I never thought that she would be so upset by it. I'm sorry.'
Lara really was sorry. Dean could see it. She was pleading with him to believe her and forgive her, but Dean was still confused as to why she never said anything.
Lara: 'I didn't tell her because by then she had already begun acting strange. I forgot all about it, thinking there was something more serious going on and I thought that telling her about a joke probably wasn't the best idea. I had completely forgotten about it till now. Dean I am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset her, or you.'
Dean: 'It's not me you need to apologize to, but. . . .I do accept your apology. However you do need to speak to Heidi and tell her what you told me. She was really upset, she thought that she had done something to make you mad at her and you left her as a way of punishing her. She did think it was a joke, but when you never came back for her and never called her to see if she was alright, that's when she started thinking she had upset you in some way.'
Lara: 'It was never meant to end up this way! I swear, it was just an innocent joke. I messed up big time. Heidi was probably already upset because of whatever was going on with her, and I made it worse. I really am sorry.'
At this Lara became really upset, and seeing how genuinely sorry she was about the whole incident, only meaning for it to be a joke, Dean comforted her. When she regained her composure Dean told her that he would speak to Heidi when she got back from the rescue so she would know that Lara was going to talk to her. It was important, he said that Lara tell Heidi herself, as it would help to mend fences between them. It is a sign of true remorse when you can admit to your wrongdoings yourself instead of having someone else do it for you. In this case that someone else being Dean. Lara knew what he meant, and agreed to it.
By the end of the day that whole situation was put behind them, never to be brought up again. Things had kept on improving from there as well. Eventually the team had started to realize that Heidi was okay and was going to keep on being okay, and had stopped watching her like a group of hawks watching their prey. Michelle had told them that they were going to make things worse if they kept treating her like porcelain and told them they needed to stop walking on egg shells around her. She was going to be fine, and they were only going to upset her if she knew that they were treating her differently than they used to before.
Heidi had also started going out on rescues full time again, which Dean was especially proud of her for. He had asked to be partnered with her for a while so he could keep an eye on her, and so that had made it easier for her to go out on rescues. The day that Dean had spoken to Lara had been the first day where Heidi had gone out without him and she had done fine, which Dean was very relieved at. He was confident that from that point on Heidi was only going to keep on improving.
