Chapter Thirty-Seven: Priorities

If Keira had harbored any hopes of Will relenting once she entered the women's locker room, she was sorely mistaken. Less than a second after the door closed behind her, it barged open again, making a thumping sound as it swung into the opposite wall.

"Where are you going to go?" he asked when she turned around to face him.

Although the question caught her by surprise, she was relieved: the practicality of it allowed her to distance herself from her emotions, to concentrate only on her plans for the immediate future.

"I don't know," she admitted, swallowing. "A hotel, or something. I'll figure it out." A hotel would be expensive—but she would gladly shell out the money if it meant avoiding Diane. She didn't need anything fancy, either, just a place to sleep in between work shifts.

Will hesitated, then said, "You could stay with me. At my place. As long as you need to."

Keira's breath caught in her throat, and instinctively she opened her mouth to say yes—but then she stopped, remembering one crucial detail. "What about Cassie?"

Will's eyes dropped to the floor when he admitted, "We broke up."

"You—you did? When?" Keira momentarily forgot about her own troubles as she gaped at him, less surprised by the end of the relationship (now that she thought about it, he hadn't mentioned Cassie in a while) than she was by the fact that he'd never told her.

"A few weeks ago." Will sighed, reluctantly looking up again. "I didn't say anything because… I don't know. It just never seemed the right time to bring it up."

A few weeks ago, she had been dealing with the fallout of talking Alice down from the roof—of her teammates discovering that she had been drugged and raped ten years ago, the same night she'd disappeared from Will's life. "It's okay," she murmured. The shrug that accompanied her words made her wince at its clumsiness. "You didn't have to tell me anything. It's not—it's not my business."

Their eyes met, and in that moment she knew they were both fooling themselves, that he wanted it to be her business just as much as she did.

"I have a couch," Will finally said, making her wonder when they had moved so close to each other. "It's not much, but—"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've slept on your couch," she reminded him.

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Yeah, I know."

She enveloped him in a tight hug, taking him by surprise; it was a few seconds before he recovered and returned the embrace, his palms warm against her shoulder blades. "Thank you so much," she whispered, and she wasn't just talking about his offer—she was talking about everything he had done for her over the years, a mountain of debt she could never hope to repay.

A knock on the door startled them, and they drew apart. "It's me," Spike called as Keira wiped uselessly at her eyes. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Keira managed. She took an extra step away from Will for good measure—not that she thought Spike would comment, but there was no reason to make things even more awkward.

Evidently coming to the same conclusion, Will headed for the door just as Spike opened it. "I'll be outside," he told her; and then he was gone, leaving her and Spike alone to start navigating the wrench her resurrected past had thrown into their relationship.

"Brian—" she began, wanting to delay the moment for as long as possible.

"He's back with Jason."

Keira grimaced: Jason could be introducing Brian to Diane at this very instant, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Look, Keira…" Spike's voice softened, making it difficult for her to hold his gaze. "You probably don't want to talk about any of this right now, and I'm not going to ask you to. But when you're ready…"

"Yeah." Keira had to try twice before any sound came out. "I know."

The corners of his eyelids crinkled when he smiled at her—but unlike Will, who could get as close to her as he wanted without breaching any boundaries, Spike was purposefully maintaining a physical distance between them. "Lou and I are going to the airport right after work," he said, "so I won't have phone access for a while." Keira blinked in confusion, then realized that she'd completely forgotten about their trip to Jamaica. "But if you need anything, there's internet at the hotel, so you can send me—"

"No, Spike, don't." Keira shook her head. "Just enjoy your vacation. You're there to spend time with Lou, not check your email in case I need something. You guys have been planning this for ages. I'll be fine." She tried to ignore the irony of telling him this with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks; judging by his arched brows, the ruse wasn't working. "Seriously, don't worry about me. Go have fun."

Spike studied her for a moment, his warm brown eyes taking in every inch of her face. "You'll have Will," he finally replied.

"Yeah." She gave a small smile. "I'll have Will."

"Maybe we can talk when I get back?"

Keira didn't know if she would be ready by then, but she nodded anyway. Every moment of her time with Spike had been shaped by the lies she'd told to keep her secrets at bay, the lies she'd continued telling even when it strained their friendship. He had called her out on it, but he hadn't stopped caring for her—the least she could do in return was sit down with him to figure things out.

"Yeah, we can do that," she agreed.

The door to the locker room opened, shaking Will from his thoughts—which were cycling between old memories of Keira and inane worries about whether his apartment was in any shape to receive a visitor. He glanced up and saw Spike emerge into the hallway, shutting the door softly behind him.

Their eyes locked. "Take care of her," was all the other man said. It was a direct echo of something Will had murmured months ago, when their positions had been exchanged; that moment now felt like it had happened in another lifetime, with completely different people.

And Will knew that it didn't matter anymore. His petty problems with Spike were nothing in comparison to what Keira was going through; it was time for them to set aside their differences and focus on helping her, the woman they'd broken all the rules for. "I will," he said, though it was an unnecessary promise. He would always be there for her.

No further words were exchanged between them. Spike walked away, and he didn't look back; then, just as Will was preparing to check in on Keira, Greg appeared at his side.

"Now's a good time as any to have that chat," the sergeant said, in a friendly tone that Will knew better than to refuse.

Greg led him to a side office—"I let Jason and Ms. Richardson have the conference room"—and then surveyed him for a moment before saying, "We're going to be short-handed next week, since Keira's not coming in and Spike and Lou'll be in Jamaica. Depending on what kind of calls we get, Donna and the rest of Team Three might tag along with us for a few days."

Will knew this wasn't what Parker really wanted to talk to him about. "Makes sense," he replied, waiting.

"I take it Keira's going to be staying with you until things settle down."

And there it was. "Yes, sir."

Greg was quiet for such a long time that Will, in spite of his resolve not to appear shame-faced or guilty about what he was doing for his best friend, found himself shifting uncomfortably. It was almost a relief when the sergeant finally spoke again. "Will, I'm going to give you some homework."

"Homework?" Will echoed. He'd expected an interrogation, a warning, or both—not an assignment.

"Yes." Greg smiled, aware of his confusion. "I want you to spend the next few weeks thinking about what you want in life."

Will blinked at him, thrown off by the philosophical turn the conversation had taken. "Uh… Sir?"

"It's time to re-evaluate your priorities," Greg said gently.

That was when Will understood.

He was being asked to choose between Keira and his job.