A/N: Eliza and William are off on their case, but their minds are decidedly elsewhere...

Part 4

"How are you so okay with all of this?"

Eliza asked with a tone of uncomfortable hesitation. She wasn't sure now was the best time for this conversation, but then, would there ever be a good time for it. At least they currently had the distraction of following their suspect.

It was close to dusk, they were walking through a small crowd of people down the main high road, arms closely linked, almost in perfect step, though Eliza could tell that William had narrowed his stride to walk a little slower than he usually would. They had recently spotted their suspect, Billy Watkins, stumbling out of a bar, and they were content to spend some time just observing what he was up to, since currently they had no real evidence to link him to the robberies.

Billy was a middle-aged man, tall and unkempt, badly dressed in dirty ill-fitting grey trousers and jacket with a long baggy dark overcoat. He was looking something like a vagrant. They walked cautiously a little way behind, with both of them keeping their eyes firmly on him, as he unsuccessfully tried not to look dubiously out of place walking through the east end crowd.

Eliza and William themselves were the opposite, too well dressed for the rundown area of town, most people out were street sellers closing-up and lower-class people either on their way to work for the night or heading home from the markets for the evening. Still, to the unassuming eye, they were just a couple on an early evening stroll through town.

William for once was rather relaxed as they walked, since he realised that with Eliza on his arm he was almost blending into the crowd, instead of standing out like the police officer he was. Billy certainly had paid them no attention as they followed him.

Somehow, being out on the streets following a lead, Eliza felt far more comfortable in William's presence, even with her arm tucked against his body feeling every muscle movement was they walked. This was what she knew, where she strangely felt safest, doing what she did best, investigating.

"Okay with what?" William replied, with a smile.

He was deliberately being vexing because he knew exactly what she was meaning, and it had nothing to do with the suspect they were following.

"You know what," Eliza told him firmly.

She gave him a momentary side glare watching his facial expression before she returned her eyes to Billy. He was far enough ahead that he wouldn't notice being followed, but close enough that should William need to, he could catch him easily with some long strides.

"Who say's I am?" William chuckled at her attempt to be irritated with him. He liked that for once the power seemed in his court. It didn't happen often, usually it was her frustrating him so he would stumble and lose his thoughts.

"Well, you're not exactly putting up much of a fight or objection," Eliza pointed out plainly.

She was right, he wasn't, because deep down he quite liked the idea of this development between them. However, it wasn't without conflict for him. Eliza was usually the cause of all his headaches these days, and whilst in this new phase she had a certain amusing awkwardness about her, he knew that once comfortable with the situation she would probably use what she could to gain leverage over him in every possible situation. In all honesty, this change in their relationship didn't exactly reap a lot of benefits for him, beyond the obvious of course.

"Perhaps I'm just more open to finding ways to co-exist without constant fighting."

William smirked deliberately talking to her ear with a mischievously low tone, that somehow seemed to make his suggestion less about their usual innocent bickering and rather more like he was proposing something far more scandalous. Eliza had heard rumours of his reputation, and whilst she didn't really want to know what he got up to with other women, she couldn't help but wonder if it was his experience that put him at ease with the change in their relationship compared to her.

"It is not always me who argues!" Eliza defended, keeping away from his implication. She had recently been trying to get along with him and not always fight, but sometimes William was more of a pain then touching a thorn on a rose.

William laughed, perhaps their arguing was a little more half and half, but Eliza would never agree to that. Despite the fact this change between them could spell Trouble with a capital T for him, he couldn't deny the air of excitement he felt at the prospect that maybe she felt something more for him than just friendship.

"Of course, but, you're not the easiest of people to get along with," William teased.

"Oh, because you're always so amenable!" Eliza batted back.

"You mean I won't always do exactly what you want when you want me to do it!" He preferred to call that having a backbone, with the added benefit that he knew it really aggravated her when she didn't get her own way.

"You never do what I want! You make me jump through your hoops to get you to do anything! Case in point when I wanted that file the other day! You could have just given it to me, but no, instead you had to fight me on it and well…"

She trailed off, as she felt her cheeks redden as she briefly referred to the day she kissed him and set them on this crash course, to whatever their relationship happened to be now.

"Well what…. I suppose it's my fault now that you kissed me, because you certainly wouldn't have done that had I just let you take that file," William baited.

Eliza huffed, because as much as she would like to blame him for her actions, she knew she couldn't. She had to own this one whether she wanted to or not. Still, she kept quiet on the subject, and William chuckled that she couldn't even admit aloud that it was her fault.

"I do it to make you a better detective," William reasoned when she didn't respond to his teasing.

"No, you do that to attempt some sort of control over me." She wasn't letting him spin what he did in his favour.

It was a quick, light, teasing back and forth between them. They knew each other's faults well by now, that they didn't need them pointed out.

"Please. I know full well I have no control over your actions. You will do exactly what you want Eliza, whether I agree to help you or not."

Eliza sighed, and tucked her arm a little more into Williams, pulling herself tighter into his side. This was another problem with things changing between them. Kissing didn't change who they really were. She didn't know how to not fight her corner constantly, and William wouldn't suddenly accept her as his equal. What if this change didn't work between them? What if kissing is what would pull them apart?

Whether she liked it or not, she needed him, needed his ability to help her work when other people saw a woman behind her desk and turned the other way. She also did enjoy spending time with William, like they were now. She felt they had recently been in a comfortable place, so would changing things between them jeopardise this?

"Why me?" Eliza asked hesitantly.

Why, when William could probably have any woman in London, did he seem to want to kiss her. She'd deny it if asked, but she'd been unable to sleep the previous evening, incapable of shutting off her brain from thinking of his kisses, and wondering why. What was he hoping to achieve by pursuing this idea that kissing was something they could do?

Was she just some unattainable prize that had resisted his handsome looks and rogue ways for years?

"Why not you?" he shrugged.

"That doesn't answer my question," she warned him, though he just chuckled.

William knew that Eliza was work, lots of work, and perhaps they both were. Yet, maybe she was precisely what he needed. Someone who would push him and keep him on his toes and give him the motivation that stopped him from resting on his laurels. She had a way of getting under his skin, and frustrating him, and she wouldn't let him get away with 'just enough.'

She was beautiful and smart, quick witted, and somehow unbelievably fearless. Deep down he admired her work, the way she got hold of an idea and wouldn't let it go, like a dog with a bone. Her methods weren't always above reproach but perhaps they didn't need to be. After all, she wasn't a police officer, so she wasn't bound by the rules of duty like he was. Her mind was brilliant and reminiscent of how Henry had once been, and he loved watching her as she tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

However, if he truly admitted all of that, he'd probably never hear the end of it, so instead he chose to tell her the safer version of his thoughts.

"I enjoy kissing you, you like kissing me. Is that not enough to try?" William replied simply.

His eyes remained locked on Billy, even as he let his mind drift back to their kisses in her drawing room the previous evening. It felt freeing to kiss her without fear that she would slap him or accuse him of taking advantage of her. Knowing that despite her resistance she enjoyed kissing him too. He was willing to admit he liked how it felt to be able to just kiss her if he wanted, and that she'd dropped her guard and let him in just a fraction.

"And it's just that simple for you?" Eliza asked.

Was it really that easy for him, Eliza wondered? Here she was feeling panicked about what it meant and how it could change things, and all William seemed to care about was the fact he liked kissing her. It was typical thinking for man, clearly. If his officers at Scotland Yard knew, they'd probably go round giving him a pat on the back, yet she'd be labelled a tart and both her personal and professional reputation would be in tatters. These things didn't affect him in the same way, and it wasn't fair.

"Nothing with you is ever simple Eliza," William joked. "I'm just not over thinking it like you."

"Yes well, if a man is seen kissing a woman, it's deemed something to be celebrated, but a woman is labelled a tart or worse…" Eliza grumbled.

For a moment, William wondered if this whole conversation had a totally different meaning. If instead, Eliza was trying to talk herself into kissing him, or perhaps even talk herself out of it completely. He hesitated, because he never wanted to force her into anything or truly cause her reputation to be tarnished. He only vaguely understood and it was likely, he want things to change between them more than her.

"These things affect me too, okay not quite in the same way, but still…" He offered honestly.

"Oh really, how so?" Eliza challenged quickly, since she didn't in any way believe it was the same for him.

"Well, for example, just working with you I've been accused of having my judgement clouded…" William admitted cautiously.

He recalled Sterling's words from many months earlier, but purposely left out the part where the man had also inferred he'd taken a shine to her. Sterling might have been a little closer to the truth then William might have liked but, a lot had changed since then.

"But that's still a reflection on me, for the mere fact that I'm the one who supposedly clouds your judgement, because I'm a woman."

"True, but the reflection on me is that I should be able to keep you in line…"

Eliza smirked, because a change in their relationship or otherwise, there was fat chance of that ever happening. They stopped walking for a moment as she took her eyes off Billy and noted that William had too done the same to look at her, as they shared a smile and the realisation that William himself knew there was no controlling her or her actions.

Somehow, the fact William seemed to have changed his view and even accepted her more for it, made Eliza look differently at him. She wondered, was he starting to view her more as his equal?

After a second, they both returned their gaze to Billy, who had also stopped in a darkened archway. He looked around suspiciously, perhaps checking he wasn't followed before turning into the arch and disappearing out of their sight.

William and Eliza hurried to catch up and keep him in their view. They kept to the shadows as they saw him walk into a small courtyard surrounded by brick and wooden houses. They turned into the archway but immediately moved to the left to a dark corner between the wall of two houses, where they wouldn't be seen.

It was a small and narrow gap, and they were remarkably close to one another as they peered around the wall. Eliza stood in front with William close behind her, his breath tickling her ear as she felt a stray hair move with the rhythm. Feeling the warmth radiating from William's body was more than a little distracting, and Eliza knew she would have to force herself to focus on what Billy was doing.

They watched another younger man approach Billy, he too looked shifty as he checked around for people following before walking up to Billy. There was no way from their distance to hear what was being said. So, they could only watch the two men and make their assumptions as Billy opened his overcoat like a peddler to show off some hidden items. From a brief glance it certainly seemed like jewels were being concealed, and most likely stolen ones.

Even though Eliza couldn't see what William was doing behind her, she could feel him shuffling his body slightly and his heavy breath of frustration. He moved even closer as he steady a hand against the wall beside her, and she could almost feel the weight of him against her back, even though he wasn't touching her.

Eliza felt that spark in the pit of her stomach stirring despite her brain instantly reminded her that now was not the time nor the place for it. She imagined the smirk on William's lips and the sparkle that would be in his eyes if he knew what being that close was doing to her. That she felt all her senses heightened, all completely alert and he hadn't even touched her. Briefly, she wondered if he felt that same spark that she did. Did being this close to her put him on edge? Or was he completely focused on their suspect.

Billy was clearly trying to get the man to buy something, probably an item of jewellery stolen in one of the robberies listed in William's report that she'd read. Yet, he wasn't really doing anything of consequence. Chances were, William could arrest him at any point now they knew he had items of value on him ready to sell.

So, with her eyes fixed forward, Eliza let her mind wander as she moved her hand slightly backwards, and carefully searched for William's hand. She couldn't be sure, but did he move his hand towards hers as their skin lightly connected. She brushed against his fingers, feeling the slight roughness, as he flexed and moved his fingers against hers. Excruciatingly slowly she moved her fingers delicately against his, while Eliza tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile.

Whilst they never fully connected their hands, there was something Eliza found reassuring that William never moved his hand from her reach. That he seemed to let her tentatively reach for him and accept it willingly.

William, from his stance behind could see what she was doing and study her face as he watched while she tried to keep her expression neutral. She was a tease, he told himself, as he continued to let her play her game brushing their fingers together a slow sensual rhythm. Was she trying to keep him on his toes and confuse him? Since earlier she seemed insistent on questioning this change between them, to the point he wondered if she was trying to back out of it.

His eyes darted between her face and her neck. They were supposed to be working, and gathering evidence for him to make an arrest, yet it would have been so easy for him to extract some revenge on her teasing movements, by planting soft slow kisses on her neck.

Eliza noted that Billy looked like he was finishing up his business as he closed his jacket around him and moved to shake hands with the young gentleman that he'd been talking to.

She tried to move her hand away from William's, knowing their time was up and they needed to return their focus to what Billy was doing. Only William grasped her little finger with his own curling it around, as he stepped the fraction forward, pressed his whole body firmly against her back and tenderly moved his hand from the wall to rest it tightly against her waist.

"Careful, Eliza," William growled low into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "I might just think you ARE trying to cloud my judgement."

William pressed a firm, warm kiss against the soft skin right behind her ear, causing her to take in a sharp breath and release it slowly. She could feel him grinning against her skin and sensed herself losing this battle against him. Whilst her mind told her it wanted one thing, her body most definitely wanted something different.

"You're blushing," William murmured gleefully.

Even in the darkness of the shadows, he noted her cheeks were turning a bright shade of pink, before he looked up to see Billy and the man that he was with moving to go their separate ways. William stilled and pulled them backwards, hold them close to the darkest crevice as Billy walked past without noticing them hiding in the narrow space.

Taking her chance to not let William entirely win, Eliza took charge of herself and quickly turned whilst stepping out of his warm embrace. He didn't fight her on it and easily let her slip from his grasp.

"You need to arrest your suspect, William," Eliza told him with faked bravado.

She beamed a smile while her eyes teased him that he now had to go and do some actual work. He chuckled as he cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows before he stepped out to quickly follow Billy and arrest him.

Eliza took a moment to recover her breath as she pressed a hand to her cheek, and she realised how flushed warm she felt. Damn you William, she told herself. She could deny all she wanted what was going on, but she suddenly felt like she was on a slippery slope that was only ending in one place.

to be continued...