AN: 3.5
Sunset
[Caroline]
There has always been a wedge in their relationship, but she never knew what was behind it.
The Assistant D.A. in her endeavored to find out and fix it. She knew (somewhat) where Holder came from, what he became and how hard he worked to get where he is. She by no means intended to condescend him, instead proved with every fibre of her being that she's not the type of person he'd assume she'd be.
But that wasn't it. No matter how much she conceded, how willing she was to overlook things with Stephen, there was still incongruence between them that she alone could not rectify.
Their jobs were what they were and this was known to both of them when they entered into this relationship. Their jobs occasionally went hand-in-hand and complemented each other, but most of the time, they didn't. She and Stephen had different hours, different procedures, different loyalties and different objectives. They don't like to bring up these differences, but they're there.
Stephen came over to her place and she went to his. They leave things at each others' places and she douses his very obvious fears of inadequacies with that charming wit of hers. He knows she cares and she knows he's thankful for the little things she does for him.
Even if he doesn't know it or doesn't reciprocate, she tries very hard to make this relationship work.
So what is it?
It's Valentine's Day and she asks herself what she's expecting. The answer, she tells herself, is anything. They have a night in and spend a cozy evening with a home-cooked meal and documentaries. In truth, she loves it because she knows it's genuine and it's him. Stephen doesn't seize the chance to play it up like every other boyfriend she'd had and, for that, she's satisfied.
So she tells herself that they can work with their unexpected guest as well. Linden is everything Stephen's told her (which had been a lot). She wants to be a good host even if the situation is a little awkward.
But it's also Valentine's Day and Stephen is her boyfriend. She can absolutely balance things, but she finds that she can't hold back the disappointment when he, in a weak roundabout way, tells her he'd forgotten.
And Linden is a witness to it.
And the awkwardness just gets worse.
It's then that Stephen's phone rings. They both know it's work-related but he stalls to answer it anyways.
As she anticipates, he and Linden have to go. The clock never stops he'd said, several times before.
They close the door behind them and she sits in silence.
And it's in this solitude that she realizes that, in the short time Linden had been there, she hadn't done much. In fact, she hadn't done anything. But it'd been very easy for Stephen to get up and leave with her and…
Maybe she's thinking to deeply into it. It's just work and that's all there is to it.
-End-
AN: I'm not clear on the fandom's stance on Caroline but I kind of like her. I think the general feeling is that she and Holder aren't a compatible match but it's clear that she tries hard for him and that in itself is something I find commendable.