Chapter Thirteen – Funeral for a friend.

'Hey Greggo, how's it going?' Nick asked, cheerily.

Greg muttered a quiet 'hey' in return to Nick's greeting and slumped down onto the break room sofa. Harriet quietly squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and went over to the coffee machine to get them both a drink.

'Is something wrong?' Nick asked.

Greg took a deep breath and glanced at Harriet. How dumb could Nick get? They had both walked solemnly into the break room, him in a black suit and tie, Harriet in a black dress and jacket.

'Had Mikey's funeral today,' Greg said, not really wanting to discuss it.

'Who?'

'The little boy from Greg's case last week,' Harriet explained, sitting down next to Greg and handing him his coffee.

'Oh right, sorry man, how're you holding up?' Nick asked.

Greg sighed. It had been a week since Mikey's death and it was still haunting him. He knew he wasn't anything to do with this child and it should just be another case to him but he was still a human beingand he hadfeelings. Man, I sound like I'm on Oprah, he thought to himself. Still, he would have given anything as he watched Mikey's coffin being lowered into the ground not to have emotions. He could be a Vulcan, it would be so much easier, but instead he had to be a human and a male at that in a world where the societal norm was that he shouldn't cry like a baby at the funeral of a child he only knew for a few hours.

'Greg? Was everything o.k?' Nick was asking him.

Greg searched for something to say that wouldn't make him sound too involved or too lame.

'He was absolutely fine,' Harriet interrupted before Greg could speak. 'He really represented the side for us.'

'Nice one,' Nick said.

Greg looked to Harriet with an immense feeling of respect as she relayed how Greg had done an incredibly moving reading. She knew full well he had been a wreck at the funeral but she wasn't about to say that. He had felt a little foolish at not being able to control his emotions during the readings.

Mikey's mother had been told about Greg finding Mikey in the house and visiting him at the hospital and had invited him to do a reading. Greg hadn't had a clue what to do but the day before the funeral had remembered about Mikey's favourite book that he had asked for before he died.

'When I visited Mikey in the hospital, he asked me if he could have this book,' Greg had said, holding it up for the mourners to see. 'He also asked if I could visit him again and read it to him, he never got the chance to hear it so I'd like to read some of it today.'

He had then continued to read the story out loud but hadn't been able to make it past the second page as the innocence of the words hit him, emphasising what a waste this child's death had been, his voice broke and he began to cry. Harriet had stepped up to the podium with him and finished the page for him before leading Greg back to his seat. Greg was angry with himself for being like that. He didn't want Harriet to think he was weak and feeble as selfish as it seemed to think like that at a child's funeral. He wanted to be able to show her that he was capable of more than being goofy and crying.

'I have to go, I need to get to my lab,' Harriet said. 'Will you be o.k?'

'Yeah sure,' Greg smiled and nodded.

He watched her get up off the sofa and return her mug to the sink before leaving the break room. He could feel a small smile on his face and he watched the closed door for a second or two before realising Nick was staring at him, a sly grin on his face.

'What?' Greg asked.

'Man, you've got it bad,' Nick said, shaking his head and smiling at him.

'I've got what bad?' Greg asked, confused.

'You have a major crush on Hattie,' Nick said.

'I do not!' Greg protested, his mouth dropping.

'Yes you do, you just watched her every move as she left and I saw the way you looked at her when she was telling me about the funeral.'

'That's because she was dressing it up for my benefit. It was a look of respect.' Greg tried to explain.

'Yeah, whatever,' Nick said, getting up from the table and putting his own mug into the sink.

He turned to Greg before leaving the break room.

'That wasn't a look of respect,' Nick said again, eyeing him firmly.

'Yes it was Nick, what else would it be?'

'The look of love,' Nick sang, impersonating the old love song, swaying slightly in a mock dance move, before leaving the break room.

Greg sat dumbfounded. He did not have a crush on Harriet. Yes, he had misjudged her at the beginning and yes, he really valued the friendship they had built in a short time and he found her easy to talk to. But he didn't find her attractive. She was always wearing smart, unflattering trousers and shirts, she never wore make up and her hair was always scraped back into a ponytail. That's really shallow Sanders, he told himself but it was true. She hardly advertised herself to the opposite sex. She could be a lesbian for all he knew. Although today, the dress had suited her, it clung to her curves in the right places in a conservative way and she had worn her hair down for a change. It was the first time he had noticed that it was actually cut into a nice style to suit her face and she must have worn some mascara because her eyes were more noticeable today. They were brown; he hadn't really noticed that before and they had a distinct look of sadness about them that someone so young shouldn't have.

'Oh my god,' Greg said to himself, under his breath.

Maybe he did have a crush on her. He had to admit that he smiled when he wandered down to her lab to say hello or give her a cheeky taunting remark as he often did, only in a joking way. At least now she took his jokes the right way. No, it was just Nick putting ideas into his head. But maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Greg was getting confused. He decided maybe it would be a good idea to suggest they went out together, not on a date, but he could get to know her better and make a more informed decision about how he felt

Deciding this would sort out his head, he set off down the corridor towards her lab. She wasn't there but Hodges informed him that she was on her way to reception. Greg trotted down to the reception desk and saw her talking to the woman behind it who pointed to something. He was about to call out to her as Harriet turned around and looked in the direction the woman had been pointing.

Greg felt like the next thirty seconds went in slow motion. A man and a small boy were sitting on chairs in the waiting area. The little boy jumped up and ran towards Harriet. Nothing could have prepared Greg for what he heard next.

'Mummy!'

A/N - Heh heh! Another twist for you all there. I hope you didn't see that coming! Can I also just point out that I wasn't making any derogatory assumptions about lesbians in that chapter just in case it sounds like I am.