Hello again!

Sorry to keep you waiting. Had a bit of writer's block. Glad I don't work on a deadline :)

Thank you for your faithful readership! From your comments on the last chapter, I think some of you are mind readers. :)

Recap: Chandler has to deal with the aftermath of Kent's departure.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Whitechapel.

More Than Words


Chapter 7: Brave New World

"Working through lunch again, Kent? Are you trying to make me look bad?"

Kent looked up from his stack of papers and smiled at his new boss who was joking with him. "Don't worry. I'll eat when I'm done. It's just that once I start on something, I like to finish it."

Private investigator Addison Reed shook his head in disbelief at the dedication of his new assistant who started only two weeks ago.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don't want you to get burned out," the older man replied smiling at him. "You don't have to prove to me that you can handle the job. Your CV speaks for itself."

"Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me."

"I should be the one thanking you for starting on such short notice. You've already finished everything I've given to you and I didn't even have to check on you once."

"Well, I'm kind of used to being in a strict and rigid environment, so the transition into the private sector wasn't such an ordeal. It's nice to be appreciated, though."

"Is that why you left your previous position in Whitechapel?" DI Reed asked astutely. "Because you didn't feel appreciated?"

"It was one of the reasons," Kent replied softly.

"Well, their loss is our gain. By the way, I'll be visiting one of our clients in Manchester on Monday and I was wondering…"

"I'll have the dossier ready for you by the end of the day."

"I was going to ask if you would like to come along."

"Me, sir?"

"Why not? After all, you were the one that came up with the idea that our last client was the real identity thief who was stealing personal information and selling it."

"It was nothing. I just happened to have a lucky hunch, that's all."

"Don't sell yourself short, Kent. You did a good job and I want to reward you for that."

"Thank you, sir. In that case, I'll go then."

Usually, his earnest efforts were met with snickering or the usual teasing by his peers back in Whitechapel. It was nice to be appreciated for his efforts. Thankfully, his new boss was not the prying type as he did not press Kent for more details on his reasons for leaving his previous job. Kent certainly couldn't tell him that the real reason he had left was because he had fallen in love with his previous supervisor and couldn't work with him anymore because he had been rejected. Although Kent missed his family and friends, he needed a fresh start in a place where no one knew him or his past. Some place where he didn't have to be constantly reminded of what could never be. The night he left London, Kent had no idea where he was going or what he would do. All he knew was that he had to get away so that he could regain some semblance of normalcy again. The only reason he settled in Leeds was because he needed to start replenishing his immediate funds.

For a while, Kent felt lost, not knowing what to do next and how he was going to cope without Chandler. After all, for the past few years, Kent's life revolved around him and Whitechapel. But there finally came a point where he decided that enough was enough. He was not going to wallow in self-pity and he was not going to mourn for what he had lost. After all you couldn't lose what you never had in the first place. Detective Inspector Joseph Chandler was now just a distant memory, albeit a bittersweet one. Kent was going to prove to himself that he could live his own life without Chandler's influence over him. He just had to.


"Andy? Maggie? I'm home," Kent called out as he entered the foyer to his new abode. He was renting a room from a middle-aged couple who ran a small coffee shop on the floor below. Suddenly he was tackled around the leg by a precocious little girl in brown pigtails and freckles as she wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Gotcha!"

"Molly! You scared me!" Kent replied, pretending to be frightened as he bent down to pick her up in his arms. "Do you want to give me a heart attack or something?"

Normally, Kent had an aversion to children, especially babies since he didn't know what to do when they started to cry. But his heart went out to this five year old the moment they met. They had developed an immediate bond with each other as she seemed to take an immediate liking to Kent, in spite of her initial shyness.

Molly wrapped her tiny arms around his neck giving him a warm hug. "I missed you. How come you have to go away every day?"

"Well, if I don't, then I can't afford to stay here. But to make it up to you, I'll take you out to the park on Saturday."

"Pinky swear?"

Kent hooked his pinky finger with hers.

"Pinky swear. Where's Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Molly? Is that Emerson?" an older woman's voice called out.

"Yes, Grandma."

"I thought I heard your voice," a white haired woman replied smiling as she came from the kitchen. "Andy's closing up the shop, but he should be up any minute. How was work?"

"No drama, so that's always a good thing," Kent replied, putting Molly down so that she could finish her drawings on the coffee table. "Actually, it's been working out better than I expected."

"And you were worried for nothing. I knew you could do the job."

"I'm glad you had enough confidence for the both of us."

"Stop being so modest. You were a shoe-in from the start. Dinner will be ready shortly. Why don't you relax for a bit?"

"Anything I can help with?"

"That's sweet of you, but I think I've got everything under control," she replied returning to the kitchen.

"Emerson! Look what I did," Molly said holding up a crude but colorful drawing of several stick figures lined up one after another on a grassy hill.

"Oh, I see. There's Grandma and Grandpa. There's you with Max. Wait a minute. Is this supposed to be me?" he asked as he pointed to a stick figure with a blob of black circles on top of its head.

"Mmm. Hmm. Do you like it?"

His gaze softened as he looked at the childish drawings. It eased the pain and loneliness in his heart. "I love it."

"Em! You're home early."

Kent smiled at the big burly man who had just entered the flat. "Hi Andy. How was business today?"

"Exhausting. You know what it's like on discount Fridays. Everyone and their mother showed up."

"At least you can relax now. Say, I have an idea. Why don't you and Maggie go out on the town and have some fun? I'll stay here and watch Molly."

"Maggie told you to say that, didn't she?" Andy Harris asked as he suspected that his wife of forty years was listening in on their conversation behind the kitchen door.

"I did not!" she protested loudly from the kitchen. Both men chuckled at the older woman's expense.

"I appreciate the offer Emerson, but you should be going out and having fun with people your own age. Not spending every night in the house with the telly to keep you company."

"I like staying at home and having a quiet night to myself. And besides, I'm not alone. I've got Molly and Max here to keep me company," Kent replied as cheerfully as possible, while scratching the German shepherd behind the ears as the family dog looked up at him and wagged his tail happily, barking in agreement. "See? Max agrees with me."

"It's because you're still nursing that broken heart of yours, isn't it?" Andy asked softly.

"That's all in the past now, Andy," Kent replied quickly. "I've moved on with my life."

"Why don't you give that bloke of yours another chance? You obviously haven't gotten over him. I can tell."

"Because I would have a greater chance of sprouting wings and flying than of him ever returning my feelings. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life hoping that he 'might' feel the same way about me. I deserve better than that. I appreciate your concern, but there's nothing that will change his mind."

"Anyone worth loving is worth fighting for. Running away never solved anything."

"It'll have to do for now until I can think of something better. And besides, he's not looking for me."

"What if he is?"

"He isn't. Once he makes up his mind, he never changes it. I just…I just need to be on my own for now."

"Your life is like a soap opera, Emerson," Maggie stated coming into the sitting room. "I wish we could have some excitement here once in a while."

"Believe me. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I would prefer less drama in my life. You and Andy are lucky you don't have to deal with that sort of thing anymore."

"Well, it hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't trade my sweetie for anyone in the world."

The big silver haired man's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "Stop it, Mags. Not in front of Em."

"Isn't it cute when he blushes?" she teased.

Kent's heart twisted in pain as he watched the happy couple interact so lovingly, reminding him of his lonely state. "You two better get going if you want to make a night of it."

"Will you be all right on your own?"

He smiled patiently. "I'll be fine. Everything is in good hands."

"All right, but be careful," Maggie warned in a motherly tone. "Dinner's all ready. Just put away any leftovers in the fridge."

"Don't worry about a thing."


"Emerson, will you tell me a story?" Molly asked sleepily after being tucked into bed later that night.

"Of course I will. What do you want to hear?"

"Tell me that story about the Prince and the Servant."

"I must have told you that story three times already. Are you sure you want to hear it again?"

The little girl nodded affirmatively.

"All right. Once upon a time, there was a lowly servant that worked in a castle in a faraway land. He was hard working and never made any trouble. One day the prince of the castle saw him and praised him for being a good and a faithful servant. The servant was happy that the prince noticed him because he wanted to be just like him. The prince was handsome, smart, and a very good ruler. But he had a problem. A wicked witch put a spell on him to make him think that he was a monster inside so he stayed away from his subjects so that he wouldn't hurt them. He was very lonely so the servant went all over the kingdom for many days looking for a cure to help the prince so that he wouldn't have to be alone. When he finally returned back to the castle, he bowed before the prince and told him that he had wanted to find a cure for him, but could not find it anywhere. When the prince saw how much his servant cared for him, he realized that the monster had only been in his own mind and the spell was broken. He was so grateful for being set free that he asked his servant to become his personal attendant. From then on, the prince was never lonely again."

"And they lived happily ever after," Molly murmured drowsily before drifting off to sleep. Kent's heart tightened painfully as he couldn't respond. Unfortunately, there would be no happy ending for him.

Later that night as Kent stared up at the night sky from his bedroom window seat, his eyes wandered over towards the horizon. After three weeks of his self-imposed exile, he found himself missing Whitechapel. He missed working side by side with the other team members. He missed his desk with his personal mug. He even missed Mansell, and that was saying a lot. Kent shook his head as if to knock some sense into himself. He had to forget about going back to London. This was his life now, at least for the time being. As for his former boss, well, Chandler wouldn't be looking for him. He had made it perfectly clear how he felt. Chandler was a fast tracker with higher ambitions who couldn't be bothered with looking for a former colleague who represented an unwelcome distraction to his neat and orderly life.

But the truth was, Kent couldn't help thinking about Chandler, in spite of doing in everything in his power to push him out of his thoughts. It wasn't easy to forget someone he had been in love with for so many years. And then there was Dylan. Kent missed his friendship and the way the other man would always cheer him up when he was down by making him laugh, usually at his own expense. He had done everything in his power to make Kent feel loved, but Kent rejected him by leaving abruptly. Dylan probably never wanted to see him again after the way Kent had left. Perhaps one day, Dylan would find it in his heart to forgive him. Maybe then, Kent could forgive himself.

The sudden ringing of his mobile phone brought him out of his self-introspection. Out of habit he checked the number first before answering. Even though he had changed his number, he was worried that someone from the station had managed to find him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized his sister's number.

"Hi Em! How are you doing up there in Leeds?"

"As well as can be expected. I've got the place to myself tonight so I'm just taking it easy."

"You miss London, don't you?" she asked, knowing her twin brother like the back of her hand.

"Yes," he answered miserably.

"No one's stopping you from coming back home, you know. Mom misses seeing you and so do I."

"I miss you both too. I'll come back and visit. I promise."

"It's not the same, and you know it. It's been almost a month already. Come back home. I know that you want to."

"You also know why I can't Erica," he replied painfully. "He'll be there."

"Em, the world is out there. You can't keep avoiding DI Chandler forever. You're wasting your talents when you could be fighting crime and solving all those cases again. Isn't that why you became a policeman in the first place? So you could make a difference?"

"I'm not wasting my talents. I'm working for a private investigator now. And with all due respect, you're not the one that has to deal with this situation. You're already with someone who cares for you."

"I understand how you must feel, but why do you have to give up on your profession? You could still be a detective constable anywhere."

"If I can't be detective in Whitechapel, then I don't want to be a detective constable anywhere else."

"So you're going to spend the rest of your life running away. You're acting like a spoiled child. Why are you letting DI Chandler control you?"

"You just don't understand."

"I understand perfectly. You're still in love with him in spite of everything. If you still want him, then fight for him."

"There's no use fighting. And I'm tired of trying."

"This isn't over by a longshot. But unfortunately, I've got to get going. Finlay's going to be here any minute to pick me up."

"You didn't tell him I was here, did you?"

"I said that I wouldn't tell him and I didn't. Don't you trust me?"

"Sorry. It's just that I can't take any chances."

"I think you're coming down with cabin fever. You're getting more paranoid every day. Should I give the secret password when I call from now on? You never know. My phone might have been bugged."

"Very funny."

"You take care of yourself, do you hear?" Erica replied softly. "After all, you're the only brother I have."

Kent smiled as he heard the unspoken concern in his twin's voice.

"You too, sis. Bye."


"Aren't you going home, sir? It's past clocking off time."

Chandler looked up from his desk at Miles. "Not yet. I have some unfinished business to take care of."

The older detective came into the office, closing the door behind him.

"It's not doing any good working yourself to death and taking out your frustration on the team. We miss Kent too, you know."

The DI looked down at his desk, unable to meet the older man's probing eyes. He had tried to move on without Kent, but he failed miserably. "But you weren't the ones that drove him away," Chandler replied softly. "Miles, all of this is my fault."

"You did what you had to do. Like you said, Kent ultimately made the decision to leave on his own. You can't blame yourself for his actions."

"But he wouldn't have left if I had just kept my mouth shut. At least he would still be here."

"You wouldn't have been able to live with a lie like that and you know it. The truth would have come out sooner or later."

"You weren't there when I told him to his face that I knew how he felt about me. I'll never forget the look in his eyes when I broke the news to him. I don't blame him for leaving, considering the circumstances, but I didn't think that he would leave his whole life behind him because of me. The laughable thing about this whole mess is that I think I made a huge mistake."

"I'm confused. I thought you said that you weren't interested in Kent. That's why you wanted to let him down easy."

"That's what I thought at the time as well. But now…now it's a different situation. I would do anything he wanted if he would just come back."

"Do you really think that Kent would want your pity? If you want him back, you had better be damned sure of your feelings."

Chandler reached for the small tub of tiger balm and rubbed the ointment to his temples furiously.

"I don't care Miles. I want him back where he belongs. I want him here in Whitechapel."

"You know there's no guarantee that he'll come back, even if you do find him."

"I know," Chandler replied softly. "But that's a risk I'm willing to take. I have to find him. I just have to."

"Then you're going to need some help."

Miles turned around to open the door and motioned Riley, Mansell, and Buchan into Chandler's office.

"We're at your service, Joe. We'll do anything we can to help," Buchan replied eagerly.

"I…I don't know what to say. I appreciate your willingness to help, but this is a personal quest. There wouldn't be any overtime or compensation."

"We know that, sir."

"Then why?"

"You're not the only that misses Kent, you know. And with him back, maybe you'll stop being such a pill and we'll all get a break," Mansell quipped.

"After all, he was the only one who could stand you," Miles added facetiously. Everyone chuckled, including Chandler.

"He's part of the team. Team mates should stick together no matter what," Riley added.

"I've never been more honored to work with you all than I am right at this moment. Thank you, everyone."

"Enough of this sappy sentiment. We have a DC to find," Miles said emphatically. "Mansell, any chance Kent's sister would volunteer any information?"

"I'm way ahead of you Skip. Unfortunately, she's not cooperating. She promised her brother that she would keep his whereabouts hush-hush."

"Then we'll just have to find him the old fashioned way."

"Not to put a damper on things, but what will you say to young Kent, if we do find him, Joe?" Buchan asked.

"I'll think of something, Ed. I don't have a choice."

To Be Continued...

Posted: 26Apr2014

A/N: Thank your for all your comments and views. It makes me very happy to know that you are enjoying it!

Preview: Chandler gets a little help.