"This is your new 'office' Sergeant" The Unit Commander was saying as he stood in the doorway of a huge room full of desks facing towards a raised platform - thankfully however, there were steps with a handrail leading up to it so Greg didn't have much to worry about then.
Three huge windows adorned the right side of the room overlooking the city, casting great walls of light across the room but the desks were neatly placed so that the light wouldn't be too intrusive, blinds sat at the top of the windows ready to be dropped down when needed.
The walls were a gentle soft kind of blue color, not too bright not too dark - just right enough that it didn't intimidate. Some photos adorned the left side of the room of various sizes - some of the city some of important police events, and some notices were pinned to the notice board in the middle - low enough for people to reach.
"You'll be based here so you can just get settled, set your desk however you want it" the man continued
But Greg wasn't listening, his mind elsewhere - the Unit Commander studied Greg "Parker?" He asked gently, knowing he had to go easy on the man before him.
Snapping out of his momentary loss of concentration he gave the Commander an apologetic "Sorry, just need a minute"
"Sure, take your time. Figured you'd like the day to settle in and get to know people before you start proper classes" the man answered kindly, everyone at the college know who Greg was and knew what had happened to him so it made it that much easier to face walking in and not feel like he would have to answer too much.
The drive here had been relatively calm and quiet with small talk about the approaching day. On arrival Dean had simply followed Greg into the college and then headed off with Clark to another room for something - leaving Greg to wait for the Commander - who had wasted no time bringing him to this room.
Greg gave him an appreciative nod before adjusting the backpack on his shoulder and beginning the slow walk to cross the room - with every step he took the pain in his leg grew a little more persistent - then as he climbed the steps he felt his side where the first bullet had gone begin to hurt and he grimaced stopping he took a breath.
He heard a soft sound and turning he saw the commander had entered properly and closed the door, thankful that the commander hadn't made any sudden loud sounds Greg completed the steps and headed across to the desk where he placed his backpack on top of it.
Taking a seat he grunted in pain and shook his head, stretching his bad leg out in front of him "Any chance of getting rid of this podium?" he asked hopefully, not only because of the agony of climbing it but also because he seemed to be standing over people which Greg actually hated to do - the commander smirked as he crossed the room "Figured you might say that, this was the only room we had available for the size of the class you're taking on - I wanted the podium taken down but" he cut off as Greg interrupted "You wanted my word on it, Eddie?" he asked and the commander chuckled holding up his hands "He said that we need to let you choose that's all" and Greg shook his head. It didn't bother him that Eddie had done that, it was small compared to what the man could do if he was allowed to.
"I'll get this podium taken away, it's easy to disassemble so don't worry, it won't be here tomorrow" the Commander replied leaning on the hand rail "You okay with everything else?"
Greg nodded appreciatively "Yeah. I appreciate it thanks Toby" he answered using the commander's name "And you know you can call me Greg right?"
"Yeah, sure. Greg." Toby answered easing into a smile "Kids might be along later, so you know. To say hi maybe. But you start classes when you're ready. And I mean ready" he smirked and gave Greg a nod before heading out.
Greg watched him go, a small smile on his lips - once the door was closed Greg looked out towards the window and stared at the city - it was beautiful and it had recovered well after the devastation, there were some marks left but you had to know where those marks were to see them.
He remembered leaving the hospital with the team for some air, this had been the first time in a month that he had been outside since the devastation - despite having his team with him and having lot's of preparation before, nothing could have prepared him for the moment he saw the city again properly.
A lot of repair work had been done already in those weeks and it didn't look as bad anymore, but you could still get the sense something had happened here - there were flowers and memorials scattered here and there on trees and posts and signs on walls and doors, tributes and messages were scrawled here and there on different boards - the unity Greg had asked for had happened.
Greg had stared up and around him completely stunned, it didn't matter that he had been able to see things from his room window inside - it was different to being actually outside - the sounds and smells rocked him, the news for days had spoken about the devastation, he had even talked about what things might be like going outside with people but it was too much for Greg to handle in one go and he had begun to break down.
They had gone back inside within minutes and just sat in the canteen to look out the window instead - talking about how things were being rebuilt outside - how the city was still going.
Occasionally the news would mention Greg and how he was doing. because even though his appearance had been brief, no one forgot him, no one forgot the words he had spoken - he was even mentioned on the day he was released from hospital but thankfully he was snuck out - eager not to have to deal with any focus.
Pensively Greg surveyed the room he was now in, the silence was deafening to him in a way, just strange - he was used to hearing things - he hoped the room wouldn't be empty and quiet for too long.
Because he had a whole day to himself today and he didn't plan on spending it in silence.
Greg began to empty his backpack into his new desk, arranging things the way he wanted - he had a photograph of himself, Marina and Dean which had been taken at Jules' wedding - a small reminder of what they had gone through - he had another photo frame but instead of a photo there was a note, the note that Greg had received from an anonymous person thanking them. Another photo was of his team along with their families on the day of Greg's retirement.
All of them Greg arranged on his desk along with his laptop and other things - Placing the backpack under his desk he adjusted his chair into a comfortable position.
Settling down again he stared at the photos that he had placed on his desk, specifically the group photo from the retirement party.
(To be continued...)
