Seasons Greetings! Hope your holidays were filled with joy and peace. Since I celebrated with my family last weekend, I had a nice quiet day to myself. It was lovely.

In the last chapter, Chandler and Kent are getting closer each day, but fate will test their tenuous relationship once again. As always, thank you for reading! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Whitechapel!

Whitechapel\Fanfiction: CHERISH

Chapter 7: Crisis

"Did you hear the latest gossip about the boss?" Riley asked as most of the team was taking a break from their most recent case.

"Surely you all have better things to do than listen to idle gossip," Buchan interjected. "What did you hear?"

Kent was sitting at his desk pretending to focus on his paperwork when his ears picked up on the conversation. He was grateful to Buchan for trying to steer the subject away from Chandler, even if Buchan wasn't aware of it.

"Rumor has it, that he's seeing someone right here in Whitechapel."

Buchan hid a small smile. So, Kent decided to take his advice after all and give Joe a chance.

"The D.I. is actually going out with another human being?" Mansell asked incredulously. "Well, I'll be damned. You'd think it would be someone we know."

"A friend of mine heard that the Commander wasn't happy about it."

"What's he got against the boss seeing someone?"

"He probably doesn't want the department to be involved in another scandal. You know how sensitive those people up above can be when comes to keeping up appearances."

"You don't think the Commander would actually transfer him out of Whitechapel, do you?" Buchan asked uncertainly.

"I wouldn't put it past him. Commander Anderson may appear harmless, but he's as shrewd as they come," Mansell answered, remembering their undercover operation to take down the Kray twins.

"Excuse me, but could one of you point me in the direction of Detective Inspector Chandler's office?" a feminine voice asked from behind the trio. A very striking woman was dressed in a professional, yet flattering business suit with her auburn colored hair pulled into a neat chignon on top of her head.

Mansell immediately straightened his tie as he stood up. "Who wants to know?"

The auburn haired woman surveyed Mansell disdainfully, in a way that made him shift uncomfortably, as if he was being dressed down. "I am Detective Inspector Hurst from the Sutton district. I have some business with D.I. Chandler."

"His office is just over there," Riley answered. "He's in a meeting at the moment, but he should be back shortly."

"Thank you, Miss…?"

"DETECTIVE Constable Riley."

"Thank you D.C. Riley. I'm sure he won't mind me waiting for him," the other woman answered as a matter of fact, before making herself comfortable in Chandler's office. "After all, we're old chums."

Mansell, Riley, and Buchan stared after her in shell-shock before turning to each other and gave silent looks, as if to say "What the hell was that?"

Kent on the other hand, found himself anxious as he gripped his pencil tightly in his fingers. He didn't like this. Not one bit.


"Sir, there's someone waiting for you in your office," Riley notified Chandler the moment he came into the incident room.

"You know I don't like it when other people come into my office without my permission. You should have stopped them."

"She was most insistent. I don't think she would have listened to any of us."

"She?" Chandler parroted.

"D.I. Hurst from Sutton. Apparently you know each other."

Chandler frowned slightly as he headed towards his office.

"D.I. Hurst? I believe you wanted to see me."

"Indeed I do. It's good to see you again, Joe."

"I'm sorry, but you have me at a disadvantage. Have we met before?"

"I should say so. Do you remember a very long time ago, a little girl with pigtails who ran away crying to her Daddy every time you came into the room?"

"Pamela?" Chandler replied incredulously as he looked more closely. "Pamela, is it really you after all these years?"

"So you do remember me. Dad always said you were quick."

"I can't believe it's really you after all these years. Commander Anderson never told me that you went into the police force."

"I made him swear not to tell anyone. It had a dual purpose. He got to keep his reputation and I didn't get any special treatment. I think I've done pretty decently for myself, don't you think?"

"Is that why you went by your mother's maiden name?"

"Intuitive as ever, Joe. This way, no one could ever accuse me that I used my family's name and reputation. I've heard all about your previous exploits. Still getting into trouble, aren't you?"

"As I recall, you were the one with a rap sheet a mile long. The Commander was this close to giving up on you."

Pamela chuckled softly. "I admit, I was a wild child back in those days. I gave him enough headaches to last a lifetime."

"So, what are you doing here in Whitechapel?"

"What? Can't an old friend make a personal visit?"

"You want something," Chandler replied bluntly.

"Oh, very well. Lately, Dad has been pushing me to settle down despite my protests. He set me up with the son of one his old police cronies."

"Can't you say no?"

"Don't you think I tried? The only way this guy will get the message is if I convince him that I'm unavailable."

"If you're thinking of what I think you're thinking, the answer is no."

"I haven't even asked you anything yet."

"You want me to pretend that we're a couple, don't you? Don't try to deny it."

"Well, since you've already figured it out, why not help me?"

"Because it's wrong and it won't work. And, because I'm interested in someone else."

"So, you're in a relationship, are you? It's about time. I thought you were a confirmed bachelor. Is it someone I know?"

"You mean, your father hasn't told you anything about it?"

"Get real. Commander Anderson may be my father, but it's not like he tells every little thing that goes on between you two. Is it serious?"

"It is on my part, but we're not officially going together," Chandler replied carefully.

"Then why not help me in my time of need? I'm sure your significant other won't mind, especially since you're not tied to each other at the hip."

"Don't you have some other friends or acquaintances that could help you out?" he replied in irritation.

"I could, but this fellow won't take no for an answer unless it's someone who can be taken seriously. And when it comes to being serious, you have everyone else beat hands down. If you scared me as a child, think of what this other guy will feel like when he meets you."

"How flattering. Tell me the truth. Do you really need my help?"

"I wouldn't ask you for a favor of this magnitude if I wasn't, Joe," Pamela replied solemnly. "I've worked this hard to get where I am today and I'm not about give it up out of obligation to my father."

"I'm sure he wouldn't ask you to do such a thing. He was so proud of you when you graduated at the top of your class."

"He's also made no secret of the fact that he wants me to settle down. Joe, this is the only solution that will allow me to keep doing what I love with the least possible collateral damage."

"Don't you think your father will realize your plan, especially since he knows that I'm interested in someone else?"

"You know that and he knows that. But the fellow Dad wants me to meet doesn't know that."

"I'm glad you're on the right side of the law, Pamela," Chandler replied drily.

Chandler felt uncomfortable with the situation that was suddenly thrust upon him. Pamela was wrong. Someone would get hurt. Kent was so sensitive, but he was the one that insisted that they only go so far as trial dating. Pamela's situation struck a raw nerve in Chandler as he was reminded of the trials and tribulations of living up to someone else's expectations and standards. He also knew too well what the Commander was like.

"All right, Pamela. I'll do it."

"Really? You're not pulling my leg?"

"On one condition. I need you to do something for me in return for my services."


"Working late again?" Kent asked as he paused at the doorway to Chandler's office.

"Emerson, you're still here? I thought you had left."

"I…I wanted to know if you're free on Saturday night. My sister is having an open house at the gallery for her new show and I was wondering if you would like to come along with me."

"Oh Emerson, I would love to. But I have a previous engagement."

Kent couldn't help the disappointment that was clear as day on his face. "Oh. I didn't realize you had other plans."

"It can't be helped. But you know that I would much rather be with you, don't you?"

"Tell me the truth, Joe."

"What makes you think I'm not telling you the truth?"

"Your eyebrow twitches whenever you're anxious about something."

Chandler silently cursed to himself. Damn his compulsive habits. He got up and walked over to Kent.

"All right. I'm doing a favor for an old acquaintance of mine."

"Is it for D.I. Hurst?" Kent asked quietly

"Wait a minute. You're not jealous, are you?"

"Why should I be jealous? Just because you prefer to spend your nights with an attractive fellow detective inspector instead of me, which you proclaim to be interested in?"

"I never said I was spending my nights with her. But you obviously think that I do," Chandler replied grimly.

"Why wouldn't you? If I'm not fulfilling your needs, it's logical for you to find comfort with someone else."

"I thought you knew me better than that, Emerson. Haven't I proven to you yet how much I want to be with you?"

"It's hard for me to trust you when you hide things from me."

Chandler was beginning to feel his anger rising quickly to the surface. "I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. I haven't done anything wrong, but you would rather believe the worst in me. You've never really forgiven me for what I said about you to D.S. Miles, even though you said that you did."

"Don't change the subject. If you were comfortable with what you were doing, why didn't you just come out and tell me the truth?" Kent retorted angrily.

"Because I have nothing to be ashamed of. And to be brutally honest, it really is no concern of yours," Chandler replied rather coldly.

"How can you stand there and say that to my face, Joe?"

"This is what you wanted, wasn't it? A no-commitment arrangement where we act like a couple, but in reality what we've been doing lately is nothing short of going on play dates. We're together, but still worlds apart. The truth is that you're afraid of committing to me. It's convenient for you. You always have a way out when you feel threatened. Do you have any idea of what that does to me? It frustrates me that you never tell me why you run away from me every time we get closer. I've been patient up to this point, because I've been doing it for your sake. But I can't take it anymore."

"Meaning what exactly?" Kent asked with a sense of forbidding dread.

"You have to make a choice. Either you trust me and commit to this relationship for real or we put an end to this charade."

"I don't respond to threats. You're not going to bully me into this, Joseph Chandler."

"Is that how you see me, Emerson?" Chandler asked quietly, his voice reflecting pain. "As a bully?"

Kent suddenly realized that he stepped over the line. "Of course not. I care about you very much Joe. I just need more time."

"A week? A month? A year? How long are you going to string me along and toy with my emotions? Isn't that being unfair to me?"

"If you really cared for me like you say you do, you wouldn't be pushing me into make a decision like this."

"And if you really cared for me, you wouldn't be forcing me into this position."

Kent lowered his gaze to the floor. How did things all fall apart so quickly?

"It seems, we have a problem then. Maybe, we're not meant to be together after all."

Chandler's heart tightened against his chest. He felt like kicking himself for putting his foot in his mouth yet again, and for letting his anger get the better of him.

"Emerson, wait. I didn't mean…"

Kent raised his head and looked into Chandler's eyes.

"It's no use. You want me to trust you implicitly and commit to you, Joe. But I can't do that feeling the way that I do about you being with D.I. Hurst."

Chandler lowered his gaze to the floor. "So that's it. You don't trust me so you're going to end it all. Is this what you really want?"

"No, it isn't what I want," Kent admitted softly. "But it's what's best…for both of us. Now you can go on with your life without me holding you back."

Kent turned to leave Chandler's office, his heart feeling painful with every beat. When he reached the courtyard, he leaned his head back against the brick wall and finally released his pain as tears trickled down his cheeks slowly.


"Cheer up, Joe. My plan worked didn't it? I'm free now thanks to you," Pamela remarked as they were celebrating the fact that they were able to pull her improbably plan of discouraging her unwanted suitor several days later.

"I have nothing to be happy about," he retorted miserably.

"Uh oh. What happened? Did Emerson find out about you pretending to be my boyfriend? Let me guess. He's mad at you and you had a tiff."

"Worse than that. He thought that I was two-timing him with you so he broke it off with me because of it."

"Oh, dear lord. What a mess. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. The fact that Emerson believes the worst in me is what upsets me even more."

"Well, I'll be damned. Joseph Chandler, you're in love with him, aren't you?"

Chandler gave her a dumbfounded look. "Is that why it hurts so much?"

"Don't worry. I'll set things right with him."

"I appreciate the thought, but it wouldn't do any good. He's already made his mind up. You want to know the ironic thing? I really thought I had done something right. That it was going to be different this time. I tried so hard not to mess things up. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be."

"Don't give up hope."

"I gave up on that a long time ago, Pamela." He gave her a half-hearted smile. "At least something good came out of this. I'm glad your situation is resolved. I guess you don't have to go through with my request after all. Don't be a stranger all right? And give the Commander my best."

"Yeah, sure thing," she replied softly as she watched Chandler leave the coffee shop.

"I'm sorry Joe. You may have given up, but I'm not going to."


Kent tapped his fingers nervously on the empty chair next to him as he was waiting in the lobby of the main headquarters of the Sutton metropolitan police station. It earned him a disapproving glare from the officer clerk at the front desk to which he promptly stopped.

"Detective Sergeant Wellesly will see you now."

"Thank you," he replied nervously as he entered the inter office suite before heading to the main office.

After the drama of the past few days with Chandler, Kent was grateful for the physical space between them. He was trying to move on, but it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. He spent many lonely nights silently crying himself to sleep as the pain was too much to bear. As much as he wanted to be with Chandler, Kent was convinced that it was too late for them. There were too many obstacles, mainly created by their own doing. Too many hurtful words spoken in anger and frustration. There was too much distrust and not enough faith, on both their parts. And working together almost every day wasn't making it any easier on them.

Then out of the blue, Kent received a special request from D.S. Wellesly to help him with a case he was working on that was linked to organized crime. At first, he was suspicious because the detective sergeant hadn't gone directly to Chandler himself, but he was convinced that his intentions were genuine when the D.S. had further explained that he wanted to get a first-hand account of the intimidation tactics used by the likes of mobsters like Jimmy and Johnny Kray. Since Kent had unfortunately experienced their tactics first-hand, he was personally requested.

D.S. Wellesley's back was turned to him when Kent entered, as the chair he was sitting in was facing the window.

"Excuse me, D.S. Wellesly? I'm D.C. Kent from Whitechapel. I'm here as you requested."

The chair turned around and Kent almost fell backward in shock.

"Thank you for being so prompt D.C. Kent. But D.S. Wellesly is on assignment. It was I who wished to speak with you."

"Detective Inspector Hurst? What's going on here?"

Pamela linked her fingers together as she pushed her glasses against the bridge of her nose.

"Why don't you sit down first before you fall down?"

Kent obeyed as his legs suddenly became wobbly.

"I must apologize for the elaborate charade of bringing you here under false pretenses. I was afraid you wouldn't come if I asked you myself."

"And you would have been absolutely correct," Kent replied uncomfortably.

"Relax, D.C. Kent. I just want to talk to you, off the record."

"If it's about you and D.I. Chandler, I already know about your relationship."

"And I already know about your relationship with Joe. He told me that up to a few days ago, you and he were seeing each other."

"What goes on between D.I. Chandler and myself is none of your business," Kent replied hotly.

"You seem to be under the impression that he and I are an item. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was helping me with a personal problem."

"Yeah. I'll just bet he was."

"For your information, he was pretending to be my boyfriend so I wouldn't have to deal with the unwanted attentions of a potential blind date."

"You honestly expect me to believe that?"

"Joe is an old family friend. He's more like a brother to me. That's why I asked him to help me out. I have no amorous feelings toward him whatsoever."

"Why would Joe even agree to a crazy stunt like that?"

"Because he wanted to be with you more than anything. In exchange for his help, I promised him that I would speak with Commander Anderson and get him to lay off on you two so that you wouldn't feel guilty for jeopardizing his career path and you could be free to see each other again without having to look over your shoulders."

"I'm confused. What is your connection with the Commander?"

"You're a bright detective, D.C. Kent. What do you think it is?"

Kent's eyes widened in shock and surprise after he realized what she was implying.

"He's…he's your father?"

Pamela nodded her head affirmatively. "No one knows except Joe, and now you. I hope I can trust you to keep this information to yourself."

All that Kent could do was to nod his head up and down as he was completely bowled over by this new revelation.

"Joe did all of this…for me?" he asked quietly when he found his power of speech again. He felt ashamed and overwhelmed at the same time.

"It's apparent to me that he would do anything and everything for you. If you ask me, I think he still wants to be with you."

"Why are you going out of your way to clear the air between us? Did Joe put you up to this?"

Pamela leaned back in her chair and gave him a bemused look.

"You really are suspicious, aren't you? You have a problem trusting in Joe. Is it because you feel inadequate and you're afraid of how you feel about him?"

"How is it that you're able read my mind? You don't even know me."

"Easy. I majored in psychology with an emphasis on criminal profiling. Sometimes people hide their fears by lashing out. You are exhibiting the typical example of someone in denial."

"Jeez. Why don't you read my rights, while you're at it?"

Pamela smiled. "I can see why Joe likes you so much."

"I don't know why he would. I said so many horrible things to him when he didn't deserve it. And now it's too late. He'll never forgive me."

"Can I give you a bit of friendly advice?"

"Why stop now?" Kent retorted sarcastically.

"Stop thinking the worst and fretting over what you think might happen and just talk to Joe. I think you'll find that a lot of your issues will be resolved if you just speak straight from the heart."

"You make it sound so easy."

"From what I can tell, you and Joe seem to want the same thing, but you're both so busy hiding behind your fears and hurt feelings that you've forgotten what brought you together in the first place."

Kent looked down at the desk to hide his expression.

"You don't think it's too late?"

"Only if you're going to give up without trying."

"You sound just like my mother."

"Ok, I take offense to that comment. I might be a Detective Inspector, but I'm not old enough to be your mother's age," Pamela replied indignantly.

"Thank you, D.I. Hurst," Kent replied smiling.

"Hey, I owe Joe big time for his help. I hope things work out for you two."

Kent turned to leave when Pamela stopped him. "D.C. Kent, one more thing. Joe really does care for you a great deal. Just hold on to that thought."

Kent let out a huge sigh as he leaned on the door after leaving the office. She certainly gave him a lot to think about. The ball was now in his court. Kent just hoped that he had the courage to follow through with his heart's desires.

To be continued

Written by: Sweet Babboo (25Dec2013)

A/N: I threw a wrinkle in the story at the last minute for more angst. After all, things never seem to go smoothly for these two. Did it seem reasonable for both of Chandler's and Kent's respective reactions? Was it too much? Makes for good drama though, I think.

Next chapter preview: Kent makes a decision that will affect his future as well as Chandler's.