Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas from The Killing. It's all just way too much fun.

Spoilers: Season 1, episode 8

Author's note: I've been meaning to say thank you so much to bandeapix and lizlovinnn for coming over to this story with me from my first story, Running, and leaving me reviews here as well! It's silly how much I enjoy and appreciate your comments, but I really, really do!

DAY 8

Linden had arrived at the police station that morning just in time to see Holder passing an envelope of something to someone through the window of a car that had pulled up to the curb in front of the precinct. That, combined with finding the FBI in her office, confiscating just about all of her Rosie Larsen files when she walked in the door had put her in a fouler mood than she'd been in for a long time… and that was really saying something!

So a little later, when Holder came in and greeted her with a "What's up Linden? How's Seattle's chilliest detective? You married yet?" she was already not amused. No, she wasn't even in the same universe as amused. Poor Holder, he didn't know what he was walking into, or that he didn't have a shot of reasoning with her that morning.

Not caring how the remark was meant, and choosing to take it as a jab, she retorted with a jab of her own. "How's your Blackjack game? Any more payouts yet?" The icy sarcasm dripped so heavily from her words, it was a wonder it didn't form a puddle on the floor. Also unfortunately for Holder, only the primary in the case was allowed into the 7:30 a.m. FBI terrorism briefing that he had shown up for, which meant that of the pair of them, only Linden was getting in.

A while Later, Holder saw Linden leave the briefing room and caught up with her in the hall, which wasn't easy because she was off like a shot. She'd been trying to get out of there without him seeing her.

"Yo, Linden! Hey, where you headed?"

"Nowhere," she said tonelessly.

"What'd they say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You were in there for like an hour…" He suddenly realized that something wasn't right, that she was shutting him out, again. His frustration, and the aggressiveness of his tone, both suddenly went up about three notches. "What the hell's your problem?" He was yelling now, but he didn't care.

"Why don't you make yourself useful, and stay here and do nothing?"

Holder

I have no idea what Linden's problem is this time… Seriously, none. Something's pissed her off, obviously, which is crazy because I thought we were good after yesterday. Yesterday!

She's gotta be the most infuriating person I've ever met! I don't know if she's pissed at me (and for WHAT? What'd I do now?), or just pissed off, but I'm thinking I'm gonna have to wait for her to calm down at least a little before I can get to the bottom of whatever it is that has her so worked up. She's hard to talk to normally, much less when she's like this.

Linden

I can't believe I started to trust him. I can't believe I could be so stupid. Of course he's up to something. Of course he is! Does it even matter what it is? I can't believe that he'd be so stupid as to do whatever it was he was doing in front of the station! Not exactly discreet… but then, why should that surprise me, either? This is Holder we're talking about!

This day just gets better and better! And the FBI! Asking questions about my case, as if Rosie Larsen was a terrorist! Come on! Why is everyone so incompetent? Why doesn't anyone else want this case solved? I wish they'd all just leave me alone so I could do my goddamn job!

…

Sarah had gone to Lt. Oakes' office later that day to see if it would be possible to at least recover the shirt that she believed belonged to Rosie Larsen, which was now in FBI custody, so that it could be processed. Oakes had told her that she needed to let it go. It was now evidence in a federal case, one which took priority over hers.

But that wasn't all he needed to say to her. Holder wasn't the only one who'd noticed the way Linden had been treating her temporary partner.

"You were supposed to train Holder, but you treat him like a lapdog," said Oakes. "What's going on?"

Linden knew that he wasn't wrong. "I have some concerns about his ability to be an effective investigator." Which she did, but she also knew that her concerns hadn't warranted the extent of her behavior. However, this was no time to make such an admission.

Oakes sighed and looked at his hands. He didn't want to have to say what he was about to say. He hated that it had come to this, because Sarah Linden had always been such a keen and insightful detective. Intuitive even. "Maybe it's time to think about wrapping up here, Sarah. Heading to California."

And that was it. Oakes was no longer asking her, begging her – no, requiring her – to stay. He obviously didn't feel like she was helping the case anymore, and he was asking her – ordering her? – to leave. The only thing that made her angrier than the fact that he had made her stay in the first place was that he was now telling her to go. Now he wants me to go? Now that I'm in so far I can't possibly pull myself out? she screamed in her head. She sat in the chair in his office, staring at him, speechless. After a minute of stunned, awkward silence she stood without a word and slowly walked out of his office.

As if on autopilot, she walked down the hall to the office that she and Holder shared. She went in, flicked on the lights, closed the door and then stood in the center of the room. She found everything just as she had left it the last time she'd been there – that is, still missing nearly all of the files from the Rosie Larsen case. Her eyes darted everywhere. Her mind was running a million miles a second, but she stood as calm and still as a statue.

She was the eye of the storm that was raging around her, a storm that was raging even harder inside of her, so hard that she found herself immobilized. She wanted to scream, she wanted to hurl everything that still remained in that office to the ground, but for what? What good would it do? None. Why did it feel like nothing she did would do any good at all? What had she done any of it for, if it was going to come to this in the end?

Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge to get out of that room. Out of the police station. It was as if the air inside was suddenly suffocating her, and if she stayed there another second she would choke. She wheeled around, flung open the door and nearly ran over a tech who happened to be passing by as she headed for the exit. She didn't even look back as the startled newbie mumbled an apology for bumping into her. She had to get out of that building as quickly as she could. Right now.

She burst out of the front door of the station with such force that the few people who were milling around outside looked up, startled. One of the officers who was standing outside, smoking, actually reached towards his gun before realizing that it was one of his fellow police officers causing the commotion. They continued to watch her as she stomped across the parking lot towards her car. Sarah Linden was known in the department for her intensity, but even those who knew her watched her in surprise at that moment.

She just had to make it to her car, so that she could shut out the rest of the world.