Evie Grace (Repost)

Carol returns from South Africa.

When I wrote this fic to start (almost a year ago) I was a very new writer. I want to have another crack at this fic, so enjoy. Will probably post some new content as well.

Sensing some movement from Tony's side of the car, Alex looked around. From Tony's overly serious concentrated face, she could tell that he'd been paying close attention to the lyrics. They meant something to him.

'You okay Tony?' she asked, breaking his concentration.

'Yeah, sure,' he replied quietly, going back to staring out of the window.

The grotesque, ill advised and dingy design of Bradfield Airport gazed out at Alex and Tony from the car. The sky was grey with cloud, the sun just managing to creep through at times, and the general atmosphere; miserable. Just the way Tony was feeling right now.

He couldn't help but think about Carol when listening to that song. The sun never seemed to shine when she was gone; Tony's days were always miserable without her presence. A whole 4 years she'd been gone, it seemed like longer. To him, every second without her became an hour, every minute a day and every day a week. Quite frankly, he was surprised that he'd survived whilst missing her so much because his heart ached everyday for her.

Pictures were all he had, just pictures. They did not measure up in any way to the real thing, and left Tony hollower every time he laid eyes on them.

His focus on his thoughts were broken by Alex's tapping on the window. Snapping out of his almost hypnotic daze, he slowly made his way out of the car.

'Good daydream?' asked Alex.

'No daydream, just thinking,' he replied quickly.

'O-kay,' she replied slowly. 'You really do need caffeine in the morning to function, don't you?'

All he could manage in reply was a feeble and sluggish nod.

'Let's get you inside then,' she replied. 'I'll get you a large coffee.'

With another sluggish movement he moved in the direction of the arrivals entrance.

'Make that a double espresso then,' she replied, following him inside.

In the Coffee Shop...

'Feeling better?' she asked, looking at a slightly more coherent looking Tony sitting opposite her.

'Slightly more human,' he said, downing yet another double espresso. 'What time is Captain whoever getting here?'

'Flight should be touching down any minute now,' replied Alex, staring into the remnants of her latte.

'How will we know her?' he asked.

'I have a sign,' said Alex, reaching into her bag and pulling out a piece of card that said, 'Captain Jordan, Johannesburg Police.'

'Does that say Captain Jordan?' asked Tony, not quite believing his brain's interpretations of the image before him.

'Yeah, why, are you having problems seeing? Do you need glasses?' she asked.

'No glasses, vision fine, running to the bathroom, won't be long,' he said quickly, leaving the coffee shop and finding the nearest toilets.

Running into a cubicle, he shut the door, locked it and panted heavily.

'Captain Jordan?' he said to himself, over and over. 'Female Captain, Johannesburg, South Africa, Jordan, Bradfield, 4 years, oh my God!'

Unlocking the cubicle and moving towards the sinks, Tony began to pace up and down the limited space on offer.

'Captain Jordan?' he said to himself, over and over like he had done in the cubicle, his words incoherent. 'Female Captain, Johannesburg, South Africa, Jordan, Bradfield, 4 years, oh my God! Could it be?'

Letting the tap run, he cupped his hands and filled them with water, splashing said water in his face and letting his hands brush over.

'That's what you were hoping for,' he said to his reflection. 'Why you dressed up more than usual, why you took so long to pick an outfit...You were hoping that it was her coming from Johannesburg. You associate Carol with Johannesburg, so subconsciously you preened yourself like a vain self obsessed metrosexual just in case. You want to prove to her that you can still be the one!'

The door of the toilets crept open and another man walked in, heading towards the cubicle.

'But she's bringing someone, who is it? Could be a fellow police officer, might be a friend, or a boyfriend? Or a husband? Have I missed my chance?'

'You alright mate?' asked the other man.

'Yeah,' replied Tony. 'Yeah I am. I'll be going. Time to face the music.'

He left the toilets and came back to where Alex was sitting.

'They've just announced that the flight is in, so we'll go to the gate now,' she said. 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, fine,' replied Tony.

'I don't believe you,' she replied.

'Captain Jordan of the Johannesburg Police is former Bradfield DCI Carol Jordan,' said Tony rushedly.

'Oh my God!' replied Alex. 'The one that you?'

'Worked with,' said Tony, finishing her sentence before she inserted her own conclusions.

'I gathered from Kevin and Paula that it was more than that,' she said.

'It wasn't,' snapped Tony.

'Okay,' said Alex, noting that she'd hit a nerve.

Getting up from her chair, she took the lead in the walk to the arrivals gate. Taking the piece of card out of her bag once more, she held it up as people began to walk through.

As half of the travellers had decimated, Tony clapped his eyes on Carol. She was still beautiful, she still had that ethereal glow about her that made him smile every time he glimpsed it. She had a new hairstyle as well, a longer version of her slightly wavy, laid back style. Her eyes still had the captivating look to them, that left Tony feeling like he was being immersed in their deep beauty.

And she was pushing a buggy?

'Hello Tony,' she said timidly, shifting uncomfortably and feeling the tension between the three of them.