Keats Juniper Remington walked down the familiar halls of Miami Dade P.D. She headed toward the office of one Horatio Caine, feeling mildly embarrassed about asking to continue her internship after she'd caused so much trouble already.
Horatio opened the door swiftly, as though he'd been expecting her at any given moment. Keats began to flush mildly, keeping her eyes on her feet.
"June…I'm glad you're back." He said with a sigh. It was one that she didn't begrudge him; he had every right to feel frustrated with her.
But instead of lecturing her as she'd seen him do to so many others, he simply smiled at her in a wistful way. Almost as though he was remembering a time when he'd done similar things himself.
"I've been waiting for you to come back. The Lab is ready to welcome you with open arms again…provided that specific requirements have been met." He said reluctantly. It was Keats' turn to sigh.
What, you didn't just think that you could come back, did you? One day you're out, the next day you're back in…it's not that easy, Keats.
"Requirements?" She asked. Her concern was apparent.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Remington, I'm Detective Berkeley." said the man who had been sitting in the corner the whole time. Keats jumped.
"I don't understand." She mumbled. Det. Berkeley smiled, his upper lip sporting a scar that hid a deeper story. Horatio cleared his throat.
"They want Detective Berkeley to oversee your internship…making sure you follow all the rules." He said with a hint of sarcasm. Keats bit her lip.
"And I mean to make sure you abide by all the rules." Det. Berkeley said, his scruffy brown hair falling into his brown eyes. Something about him made Keats uneasy, but she was determined to finish her internship with flying colors.
"All right. What case are we working on right now?" Keats asked, anxious to break back into crime solving.
"Alexx is through with the autopsy, why don't you start there?" Horatio said, leading her into the hall again. He gave Berkeley a rather cold glance but said nothing.
Keats listened as Alexx filled her in on the cause of death and other details. Jake Berkeley stood beside her, yawning. When she made her way back up the steps from the morgue, she turned on him suddenly.
"Do the rules stipulate that you have to follow me everywhere?" She snapped. Berkeley gave a small nod and rolled his eyes, as if she should have known all along.
I had hoped to talk to Ryan but I can't exactly do that with Magnum P.I. on my tail…
Keats walked into the lab with her shadow trailing behind her. Ryan looked up, more surprised to see Jake Berkeley than Keats herself.
"You again…didn't you stir things up enough last time?" He asked, referring to the incident with Boa Vista's ex-husband, Nick. Berkeley laughed, finding it hilarious that he had actually been remembered.
"I'm not here to ruffle feathers, I promise. I'm just doing my job. My job as of this morning is to monitor your intern." He said, staring brazenly at Keats' derriere. She blushed, trying to shake off that cheap feeling one has when sampled like a piece of meat.
"As long as you're not in the way, I don't give a damn." Ryan said, returning to his paperwork. Keats felt as though she'd been punched in the chest.
Another guy is checking me out and he doesn't care??? I'm his wife, for crying out loud!
"Hey, no worries. I'm just here to observe." He said. And observe he did: When Keats examined photos of the crime scene, when she processed potential weapons, when she sampled the DNA results from Valera. He was attached to her hip.
"Who's the stalker?" Valera whispered as she handed Keats the data. Keats introduced Valera to Det. Berkeley and she nodded, giving her glances of utmost sympathy.
Natalia entered the DNA lab just as Keats was leaving and they stared at each other for a brief moment.
"K.J…um…I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to be so facetious. I apologize." She said worriedly. Keats smiled, telling her not to worry about it. Boa Vista then turned to Jake Berkeley and glowered at him.
"I never thought I'd see you again, Jake. Too bad they didn't fire you for incompetence on Nick's case." She said, brushing past him.
Jake Berkeley gave an amused, somewhat annoyed laugh. He then leaned very close to her ear, still smiling.
"Why don't you bite me, Boa Vista?" He whispered.
Keats felt the tension in the room and wondered how she would be able to function carrying the stigma of Berkeley around with her.
Instead of giving Natalia a chance to reply, Keats hastily dragged Jake out of the DNA lab and pulled him aside.
"You told Agent Wolfe that you weren't here to cause trouble." Keats folded her arms over her chest. Berkeley shrugged.
"If someone is going to mess with me, I'm entitled to stick up for myself." He said, glancing at his watch. He gave himself a pat on the stomach.
"I'm gonna break for lunch. You comin' with?" He asked. Keats turned her head slightly in confusion.
"Are you kidding me?" She asked. This was beyond what she would deem as torture. Berkeley shook his head.
"The rules state that whenever you're on duty, I'm on duty. And since I'm going off duty to grab a bite to eat…do the math, cutie." He said, leaning his arm against the wall behind her.
Ryan appeared out of nowhere and shoved Berkeley into the adjoining wall, standing in between him and Keats.
"For a guy that's so by-the-book, I'm surprised that you'd compromise your position for a quick fling with your case study…I'm only going to say this once, Berkeley: Leave Keats alone." He said, grabbing Keats by the arm and walking off in the opposite direction.
He pulled her into the nearest bathroom, wrapping his strong arms around her, kissing her with great intensity. She followed suit, meeting his passionate kisses with sudden sureness. It was stupid…it was wrong…but none of it mattered when their lips met.
"I knew you wouldn't leave…" He mumbled against her neck. She smiled, glad to know that he had faith in her. She captured his lips once more, not caring about words or anything else. She was in love. Even if he was in it for lust alone, she'd gladly give herself over to it if it meant being with him like this.
"I love you…" She said without thinking. She tensed up, wishing that the heat of the moment hadn't made her admit it. Ryan took her face between his hands, rubbing his thumbs along her cheeks.
"Keats…" He whispered, gazing into her eyes. He mouthed the words back to her, words so sacred that they couldn't find a voice.
She brought her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her. She felt indescribably happy. Perhaps tomorrow he would change his mind and say that he was just caught up in the romance of the moment, but Keats didn't care.
He was with her now, loving her now, and that was all she cared about.