Disclaimer: I do not own Prodigal Son
Summary: Malcolm finally apologizes to Edrisa and finds he may be too late
XOXOX
After what happened at the crime scene, Bright got as far away from his friends and fellow partners as possible. He was so embarrassed and felt horrible about how badly he screwed up his friendship with Edrisa, he didn't want to face any of them; even Gil.
He knew he had to do something to make this right. He valued his friendship with Edrisa; she was amazing and before this whole mess started, she always had his back. He'd like to think he always has hers as well but he's realizing he may be wrong in that assessment. He needed to be a better friend to her.
He thought about it while he worked on what little information he had about the case and knew that by the end of the day, he needed to talk to her.
By late afternoon, He makes his way down to the morgue and he sees Edrisa working over a body diligently. She was speaking clear and professionally in a tape recorder as she observed her findings.
Watching her now, it bothered him that he and the rest of the team dismiss her so much. She was very good at her job and it's like they forgot she was a very respected doctor just because she was eccentric.
He coughs politely to get her attention and she quickly turns herself to face him and gives him a confused stare. This is the second time today she hasn't greeted him with a smile and he found himself frowning at the realization. He loves when she smiles at him. Her smiles have always made him happy because she was the first person to always be happy to see him...until now.
"Dr. Tanaka." He greets pleasantly and she gives a small smile before turning off her recorder and pulling off her gloves.
"Special Agent Bright. How can I help you?" She asks him as if he was a stranger and he really didn't like that. He knows he fucked up, but they were still friends right?
"I was hoping I could talk to you, if that's okay?" He kept eye contact with her and tried to profile her. She was calm, still in her element being in the morgue, but not nervous like she usually is with him. She wasn't flustered either; in fact, she was looking around as if she didn't want him here.
What he couldn't see was how nervous Edrisa was on the inside. This is the first time she's been alone with Bright since that disaster 'date' mishap almost a week ago. She didn't really want to talk to him, but it seemed like her luck was finally running out. She was still humiliated by how she acted with him; practically throwing herself at him, but mostly she was just done. Done being taken advantage of by him and the rest of the team. She was better than that and was finally starting to see it.
She straightens herself before nodding.
"I can't talk long, I need to finish my work, but I can spare ten minutes." She informs him before they walk towards her office. Neither of them move to sit down, and he notes she is starting to fiddle with her hands. Finally something he was familiar with.
"I know I'm late, but I need to apologize about the other night." He starts to say and she just shakes her head.
"There's no need to apologize. I took a figure of speech and got carried away, it was my mistake. There's no need to ever bring it up again." She tells him strongly and they could both hear the anger in her voice when she mentions it never needs to be brought up.
"No, it was my fault. I had a lot on my mind that day and I should have just spoken to you honestly. You put effort into something for us and I ignored it."
"That's nothing new." She mumbles and then looks at him and sees his eyes were widened in shock.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He has to ask and she almost scoffs in disbelief.
"Before you came here Agent Bright, this department respected me. They respected me because I'm a good pathologist; hell I'm an amazing pathologist!" She tells him and he says nothing, taking in every word she says and sees how angry and passionate she is feeling. He doesn't think he's ever seen her like this before, it was kind of...beautiful.
"Then you show up and almost overnight I get turned into a joke! No one in this fucking place respects me anymore and I'm sick of it!" She's almost yelling at this point and Malcolm moves closer to her.
"I respect you Edrisa." He says calmly and she laughs. She actually laughs out loud at him. He was hurt at the sound of her actually laughing at him.
"You don't respect me! You use me! You've been using my feelings for you since you got here! Even when no one believed in you I was by your side helping you and you didn't even give me the courtesy of letting me know everything was good when you cleared your name." She tells him and is still laughing at the craziness of the situation. She can't believe how much of an idiot she was before.
As the words washed over him, Malcolm realized she was right. He wasn't respectful of her and did use has every right to be angry with him because he was an asshole and didn't deserve her or her friendship.
"You're right." He mutters sadly and she looks at him and she can feel her angry at him start fading away at the miserable look on his face.
"I've been an awful friend to you when you have been nothing short of amazing. You have always had my back and have been there for me when I never returned the favor. I am truly sorry and plan on fixing that immediately." He tells her and he wants nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her tightly. But he can see by her body language her guard is still up and the gesture would not be appreciated.
"I've taken up too much of your time, I'll let you get back to work. I really am sorry Edrisa and hope we will be able to mend our friendship." He tells her and she looks at him sadly.
"It's hard to mend something that was so one-sided." She softly replied and he gave her a sad smile in return.
"Hard but not impossible." He said before walking out of her office.
He had a lot of work to do but this time he knew without a doubt that he was going to do this right.
XOXOX
When Edrisa got off work she was still in a daze about what happened this afternoon. Malcolm Bright sincerely apologized to her, and she didn't immediately forgive him. She took that as a big step up in being taken seriously at the NYPD and Major Crimes Unit.
She told Jack she was going to the bar tonight if he wanted to join her, and he told her he would meet her there around 8 because he was working a little late tonight.
This would be the first time they were going to their bar as...whatever they were now. They didn't put a big label on it and she found that she didn't mind as much as she thought she would. It was still early and Jack was amazing. He was sweet, charming, handsome, and almost insanely smart. Being around him this week has been amazing so far.
For their first 'date' he took her to his favorite Italian bistro. It wasn't overly fancy like she thought it was and was so happy about it. He seemed to know that a place that fancy would make her uncomfortable and therefore took her somewhere that was special to him. He wanted them to have a good time, not for him to show off his wealth; he knew she didn't care about that stuff.
After a delicious meal, they walked around Central Park hand in hand and just talked. He told her more about what his interests are and she asked him more personal things. He seemed so happy that she was taking an interest in him and at times she literally asked him if he knew how gorgeous and smart he was.
He laughed and said while he knew he was good looking, no one seemed to look past that and she did; he liked that about her. He took her home and gave her a sweet kiss goodnight. He didn't try and come in and didn't take their kiss further than sweet.
They continued to text and call each other everyday since but haven't made plans until tonight. She told him she needed a drink and he seemed more than happy to join her.
She couldn't help but be nervous though. The bar was Jack's hunting ground. He was a known stud there and people were drawn to him when he was in his territory. What's going to happen when all those people see Jack DeLuca, sexy man extraordinaire, hanging out with yes hot, but still simple, weird her? Yes, she kissed him there but they haven't been there since.
She went home to change before going to the bar and she felt a little more comfortable being out of her work clothes; she didn't feel as old. She wasn't bothered that Jack was younger than her, but it was hard not to forget how out of his league she was. Wearing her dark skin tight jeans and red laced long sleeved shirt that may flatter her more than her usual style. She thinks her tan knee high boots and pleather jacket are a nice touch though.
She sat in her usual bar stool and ordered her usual with the bartender Elena and chatted happily with her for a little. Elena was a sweet college student, trying to pay her way through school, but mostly she was the only bartender that was always nice to her.
Elena leaned in closer to her.
"Don't look now, but Jack is totally checking you out." She muttered to her and Edrisa couldn't help but smile as her heart fluttered.
She bit her lip to stop herself from squealing before turning around. There he was in his usual work suit, a deep navy that complimented his dark skin tone so well. His hair was slicked back so it looked more professional but it was the look that he was giving her that really made her swoon.
He was looking at her like he was going to eat her up on the bar counter, not caring who watched. It made her feel powerful, sexy, and so desired. He didn't seem to have any qualms about being seen with her and that made it all the better.
He walked towards her with his usual swag, his eyes never leaving hers, even when a woman started walking towards him. He excused himself before she could say anything to him and made his way to her. She barely saw the look of disdain the woman gave her.
He licked his lips seductively as he went to sit on the stool next to her.
"You look absolutely beautiful." He muttered into her hair before he sat down. The shiver that ran down her spine was not helping her keep her self control when it comes to him. He was too sexy.
"You don't look too bad yourself. You have quite a selection for yourself tonight." She told him and smirked when he rolled his eyes at her.
"Only one person I'm interested in tonight." He tells her and she can't stop the giant grin from appearing on her face. It makes him smile as well before he turns to Elena who was watching their exchange with a surprised, yet happy look.
He ordered himself a bourbon and gave his card to start a tab for them. When she tried protesting that she can pay for her drinks he just gave her a look.
"I'm trying to be romantic and shit, why can't you just let me?" He jokes and she can't help but laugh.
"Oh fine, have it your way." She tells him before taking a sip of her drink.
"So, are we venting or celebrating tonight?" He had to ask and she thought about it for a minute.
"A little bit of both actually. I stood up to the Major Crimes Unit today." She tells him and his eyes light up in happiness for her.
"That's great! What happened?" He sounds so proud of her and it makes her happy. When she tells him what happened at the crime scene without giving any details about the actual crime, he looks delighted by the end of her story. This past week he's made his disdain for her coworkers known after she told him they don't take her very seriously and are borderline rude to her at all times.
"Elena please refill everyone's drink here on me. This is cause for celebration. Those assholes aren't going to be messing with my girl anymore!" He tells her and Elena just smiles before filling in his request.
Edrisa can't help but blush at his choice of words. His girl? He turns to look at her and gives her a soft smile.
"Am I your girl?" She asks softly.
Instead of answering her, he leans in and kisses her. It wasn't like their kiss here last week; wild and passionate nor was it like their kiss after their first date; soft and sweet. This was a pleasant in between.
When they broke apart they could both see people were staring at them but neither of them cared very much. They were too caught up in each other to pay anyone else attention.
"Edrisa, I'm trying to do this right with you. I really like you and want nothing more than for you to be my girl." He confesses and she smiles at him before kissing him again.
"I definitely want to be your girl. Only if you're my guy." She mutters into his lips and he hums in agreement before his hand makes its way into her soft black hair.
She doesn't know why she was so worried about tonight.
tbc