XxX
Harry slammed the car door and waited for Dempsey to get in. Her hands clamped the steering wheel and she stared straight ahead, fuming silently at what had just happened. She'd thought they were past this. She'd thought he was past this. She'd stupidly thought that she could have her cake and eat it too, and now it seemed like she'd been mistaken. And unless she could make him understand, then she'd have to say goodbye to a relationship that had barely started.
"Problem?" he asked lightly, as he entered the car.
"You could say that, yes."
"You wanna enlighten me or should we play twenty questions?"
"What exactly are you playing at, Dempsey?"
"Dempsey? I thought we were on friendlier terms than that these days."
She realized that if they were going to do this then she would have to split him in two. She had to make the distinction in her head and her heart, otherwise there would be no point in going forward. "James is the thoughtful, funny, handsome man I'm seeing. Dempsey is the idiot I'm partnered with, and right now I'm talking to the idiot."
"Hey –"
"Don't. I don't want to hear any smartarse comments right now."
"I wasn't –"
She just glared at him until he squirmed. "Alright. I'm sorry. Can you tell me what's going on, because I have no idea and you're starting to worry me here."
She stopped glaring and just put it out there. "Do you want another partner?"
"What? No! Where did that come from?"
"Do you still think I'm incapable of performing the more physical aspects of the job?"
"Harry, listen –"
"Do you or do you not trust me to have your back out there?" she pressed.
"Of course I do, you know – "
"Then what the hell was that about, Dempsey? Tell me, what was going through your mind when you decided that I couldn't do my job and it was up to you to save the day? Because Spikings will want to know why you left your position to run to mine, when I clearly had the situation under control. Do you realize that you blundering in almost got us both killed? Do you?"
"I'm sorry, alright! I thought you were in trouble and I wanted to –"
"Protect me?"
"Yes. No! Look, I know you can take care of yourself. My head knows that. But my gut . . .my gut reacted to hearing the woman I care about in trouble. I forgot – for a split second – that she could take care of herself. Don't read anything into it other than that."
Harry was silent for a moment as she digested both his excuse and his proclamation. "I thought this might happen. You are always going to try and protect me, especially now. It's who you are. But Dempsey, if you can't trust me to look after myself in the field, if you're always going to second guess my decisions and actions, then this isn't going to work."
"Hey, don't say that. Trust me, I get it. I guess I wasn't thinking. . .or I was thinking too damn much. You're a good cop, I know that. But you gotta realize something about me, Harry. I'm always going to want to run in and protect you, because you're right, it is who I am. I want the people I care about to be safe. It doesn't mean that I don't trust you. It just means that I'd rather take the risk to myself than have you get hurt."
Oh, he did not just say what she thought he said. "You have to know that I am not okay with you sacrificing yourself for me at all," she said hotly.
"And I'm not okay with just standing by while you get shot or beat up," he fired back.
"Who asked you to?"
"You did!"
"I asked no such thing! I just want you to think before you react. If the situation warrants it, step in. If I have things under control, trust me to keep them under control. You were good with that – for the most part – before we started dating. I just want things to go back to the way they were."
"Are you talking professionally or personally?" he asked quietly. He couldn't go back to the way things had been, not after being allowed to touch her, to kiss her. Not after experiencing intimacies that had nothing to do with physicality and everything to do with getting to really know the Harry she didn't share with the world.
She took his hand, suddenly desperate to fix the raw tone in his voice. "Professionally, James. That's all. You're not the only one who is finding it difficult to separate the two. I guess we're a work in progress. But I think for me, it will help if you remain Dempsey at work. I'll see James after hours. And probably complain to him about my dim-witted partner."
He conceded the point with a wry grin. "Okay. And I will try to remember that you're a Sergeant in a specialized task force who can take care of herself."
"Thank you," she said. She let go of his hand and started the car.
"But just so you know," he said, because of course he had to have the last word, "whether you're work Harry or play Harry, you're still my Harry. And for the record, I'm not done with either of you."
Harry tried to control the little shiver of desire that his possessiveness triggered. Now was not the time for that, especially after the concessions she'd managed to win. So her eyes locked on the mirror as she reversed, and she kept it light. "I'm not done with you either. No matter how much you try my last nerve."
"We still on for dinner tonight?" he asked.
"Of course."
Harry drove for a while before Dempsey broke the silence. "There is no one else for me, Harry. On or off the job. You gotta know that by now."
She did; she knew it. They just had to work harder at keeping the two separate so they could keep on this new path they were walking down. "For me either."
XxX
Thanks to everyone for still reading and reviewing. I have to admit, I'm having a lot of fun with this series. :) Oh, and FYI, sexyfuntimes are up next.
