Chapter 28

*Just a quick note that this chapter spoils the movie Imagine Me and You more than chapter 15 did. I am sorry that I didn't warn you then, but here it is now.*

That night as she watched Upy swim around in his tank, Scribbs let her mind go through everything that happened since and before Ash's fall. She knew that she couldn't go back, that each and every 'what if' scenario was of no use to her now and that it was too late now. She felt a slight darkness fall around her as she gave in to her loneliness. The chain around her neck, which she still couldn't bring herself to remove, felt as if it was getting heavier. Scribbs couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was still something left unsaid, and as long as she thought of it, she just couldn't figure out what, which frustrated her. The thought of Ash with Danielle that day filled her mind, along with a dubbed soundtrack where Ash accepted a dinner invitation.

Before her thoughts reeled too far out of control, a knock on the door startled her out of them. Scribbs was almost grateful for the interruption before she realized that she'd rather just be left alone. She figured that it was Sullivan at the door, and as much as she appreciated all that her boss had done, she wasn't ready to have another heart to heart conversation with him. Slowly Scribbs stood up anyway, stretched, and made her way towards the door.

The detective was surprised when she saw that it wasn't Sullivan but Lucy standing before her with a small bunch of orchids. "Lucy," Scribbs said without attempting to hide her surprise. The couple, as far as Scribbs knew, had never been told about the split, and she'd hoped that Ash would have been the one to tell them since she had a better bond with H than she did. This replaced the look of surprise on the detective's face with guilt.

"I know it is pretty late in the evening," Lucy started off apologetically, "but I wanted to check in. You know, see how things are." There was a hesitation halfway through her words at the look on Scribbs' face.

"Come in, please," the blonde said. She stepped aside so that the redhead could pass. "Can I get you anything to drink?" Scribbs asked as Lucy stepped past her.

"Just water for these," Lucy replied. As Scribbs continued to move about in the kitchen, Lucy took a look around the flat. It not only looked so much different with the unopened boxes in the hallway and the new couch carelessly slanted in the middle of the living room, but Lucy could feel that it wasn't really a home like it had been a couple of weeks prior. "To be honest, we were worried. All of us. H rang here to invite you and Ash over again, but there was no reply, and you don't visit the shop, so..."

"H called?" Scribbs asked. She walked over to the phone and picked it up. A small piece of plastic fell off of it and the blonde looked back at Lucy. "I broke it," she explained, "and I guess I don't get incoming calls anymore." She thought for a second and then said, "I thought I'd given Rachel my mobile number."

"She said she misplaced it," Lucy said with a small shrug. She kept her hands busy by putting the orchids in water and then arranging them. Both she and Scribbs wondered if that flower arrangement was the only thing that made the flat a home, other than poor Upy practically in a corner. After a small silence, Lucy asked, "What happened?"

Scribbs shrugged and said simply, "She remembered." Though Lucy saw that her friend was trying to be neutral in the way she said it, Scribbs' face scrunched up in pain.

"Oh," Lucy said, her voice barely even there. She sat down at the dining room table and waited. After another moment, Scribbs joined her. "So?" the redhead prompted.

Scribbs hunched forward, her eyes on the table as she began to speak, starting from the day Ash fell to that afternoon when she tried to transfer out of Middleford. She kept out the details, of course, but she tried to stay as clear and as neutral as possible. She didn't break down like she had at Chelsea's, but she did shed some tears after a while. "Now we're barely speaking, and we're nowhere near the partnership we had before this. I don't know what to do anymore. I told her how I feel, and I told her that I'd fallen in love with her... and still she rejects me," Scribbs concluded. Lucy wasn't sure what she could say to all of this, so she remained silent. "She's been so bloody stubborn that I'll have to buy her lilies."

This got Lucy's attention. "Excuse me?" A fine eyebrow arched. She wasn't sure she heard her correctly.

"Sorry." Scribbs said, shaking her head. She'd forgotten that she'd never mentioned the dream to Lucy. "You'll think I'm weird, but the night Ash woke up in the hospital, I had a dream that I was in your shop. You leaned towards me - like this -" the blonde said, resting her arms on the table, her hands overlapping as she dipped her head down, "and said to me: 'Give her the lilies and dare her to love you. I did.'" Scribbs' eyes went back to the table as she said, "Everything else seemed pretty normal, but I felt weird when I woke up, like it was real or something." Scribbs looked up at Lucy to see what her friend's reaction was.

"Well," was all Lucy said.

"See, I told you you'd think I was weird," Scribbs said with a small smile.

"Not that, its just strange. That is what lilies really mean."

"I didn't know that," Scribbs said. Lucy had thought as much. "Well, I realize that it might be what I'll have to do. The only way Ash will come back to me now is if I made it some sort of challenge. I've never known for her to back down from one."

"Then..." Lucy leaned forward and, looking exactly as she had in Scribbs' dream, said, "Give her the lilies and dare her to love you." Scribbs let out a weak laugh at this. It was the first time she laughed since Ash left. Lucy's smile turned into a sympatric one. "I think your boss was right."

"Yeah?" Scribbs asked.

"I really do." the redhead patted Scribbs' shoulder and continued, "I see parallels between you, Ash, me an' Rach. Where Ash and I knew right away how we felt and why, it took you and Rachel a little bit of time, and by the time you did, it may have been too late." Lucy started to tell Scribbs about how she met Rachel, how there was 'something' there when Rachel looked her way that first time.

"While she was walking down the isle of her own wedding?" Scribbs asked incredulously.

"Love's grand, isn't it? Illogical."

"Among other things," Scribbs agreed, unable to keep out the bitterness in her tone. Lucy chuckled and then continued to tell Scribbs about the attraction that grew between them and how Lucy refused to be the other woman as she tried to leave, only to have Rachel give chase. When Lucy got to the part about kissing in the middle of traffic in front of Rachel's parents, Scribbs' smile became serene. "Now that sounds like the plot to a lesbian romance comedy if I ever heard one."

Lucy laughed a little louder at this. "That is what Edie, my best friend back in London said. But even after that amazing kiss with the swirling camera angles, we still had a lot of rough moments. I still had my doubts, and Rachel had to fight me every step of the way to keep telling me. I'm not saying we still don't have those types of problems, but knowing that even with my insecurity and doubt she still stuck by me because she really does love me. I think Ash needs that, too."

"It hurts every time she walks away from me after I've told her that I love her."

"I know," Lucy said, "but if in time, she finally understands that you're not going anywhere and accepts your love, it'll be worth it. You know I'm right on that."

"Yes," Scribbs admitted.

"You've made some great gestures with the marriage license and telling her how you feel, but keep on. Stop by the shop tomorrow morning, and I'll have your lilies. I'll see if I can help you find the best way to word the romantic challenge and we'll see from there." Lucy stood up then, and Scribbs did as well.

"Thank you," Scribbs said as the two women went to the door. "For, you know, checking in."

"What are friends for?" Lucy hugged Scribbs, patting her back as they both took in a deep breath. "Don't give up, and don't let her convince you that this isn't real."

When they parted, Scribbs smiled, and then she jumped into action again. "Here," she said, writing down her mobile number on a piece of scrap paper. "Tell H to give me a ring tomorrow. I promise I'll answer."

"She'll like knowing that. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Lucy nodded, waved and started towards the stairs. When Scribbs didn't see her anymore, she closed the door and went back to the table feeling lighter than she could remember being since the marriage ended.

In her own flat, Ash sat on her couch with a glass of untouched wine resting on her knee. Her mind replayed the day. It wasn't hard to spot the change in Scribbs after she'd left Sullivan's office. She didn't mention Danielle's presence, nor did she sneak in 'I love you' in her conversations with Ash, in fact, her side of the conversation was often monosyllabic. When they'd gone to a crime scene, Scribbs had gone right to work collecting evidence and talking to a witness while Ash had spoken to the constable. It was almost as if Scribbs was trying to keep herself out of Ash's sight.

Ash was annoyed when she found herself missing Scribbs and hurt. She had noticed that the wedding band had been taken off between her arrival and whatever talk she'd had with Sullivan. Yes, she wanted to move on from everything, but she wanted her best friend back. Ash knew that Scribbs had realized that as well. They both must have known that Ash couldn't have both. Ash's head moved when her mobile phone went off. She put the wine glass down and went to where it sat recharging. After seeing the number she brought it to her hear. "Hello?"

"Katie, this is your mother," June Ashurst announced, as if the brunette didn't already know.

"Hi Mum," Ash said.

"I tried the number David gave me a couple of days ago, but I got no answer. I left a message, but no one rang me back. How are things with you and Emma?"

Ash's mouth twisted for a second before she got out, "We're divorced."

"Kate?"

"I remember, Mum. Everything."

"You've gone back to being friends then?"

"No," Ash replied. She didn't see how they could. "We aren't really speaking, unless it's about work."

"Pity. You were so great together." At this, Ash looked at the wall.

"Mum?" she asked, her tone asking instead, 'What?!' There was a sigh in her ear.

"Look, I don't know id I'll ever truly understand some of the choices you've made. Your father and I provided you with the best education and still you become a policewoman. And the gay thing, well..." There was a slight pause. "I don't understand, but it makes you happy. I wish I'd been more supportive before. Maybe then you would've felt more comfortable talking to me about it. I hate feeling as though you can't talk to me Kate."

"I'm sorry."

"No Kate. I'm sorry."

"Not even Scribbs ever suspected," Ash said.

"I think she really loves you," June said suddenly.

"No Mum," Ash said in a slight groan. Her heart ached when the words had reached her.

"I'm serious, Kate. I saw her in the hospital with you. She'd been there everyday you weren't conscious. I saw how she was right before you woke up. I also saw how you were when you woke up. I think in her own way, without really knowing it, she loved you even then. How ha she been since your so called divorce?"

Ash didn't know is she should tell her mother what had been going on. She started to tell her some of the things that Scribbs had done, including the fact that Sullivan obtained a real marriage document to fool her. "So you are married?" June Ashurst wondered, clearly a bit confused.

"Technically..." Ash replied after a moment.

"And Emma showed you this?"

"Yes, but-"

"And she said that she loved you?"

"Yes, but Mum-" Ash tried again, but she was interrupted yet again. It was clear that whatever interrogation techniques Ash had were learned from her mother.

"So what is holding you back? Sure she lied for a month, but she was protecting you. Emma loves you." At this, Ash sighed this time. "It's what you want, what Emma wants, so quit being stubborn. I say, whatever tests you're putting her through, she passed."

After a second of pause, Ash asked, "Are you finished?"

"For the moment, yes." June's voice was identical to Ash's after winning a bet with Scribbs, the smugness was evident there. "Be happy Sweetheart," she added when Ash didn't reply right away.

Ash wasn't sure if she could now. She'd pushed Scribbs away for over two weeks now, and if that day told her anything, it was that her partner had given up. Ash supposed she couldn't blame her. The Ashurst women made more idle chit chat for a couple more minutes before Ash finally hung up. Putting the phone back with it's charger, Ash thought about the conversation with her mother.

"Oh, bloody hell," she said, rolling her eyes at nobody.