Thank you for your reviews, hope you won't hate me too much on that chapter because it's short *cough*. Enjoy
Some references to the Ecstasy of agony, Memories of murder, Dead men tell long tales, Best foot forward, The night in question
- Ugh! This is so upsetting – Lucas groaned, still trying to find a match for Henry's tools.
He's been doing that for two straight weeks now and so far, nothing but Henry's prints were found. He didn't want to believe it, and he wasn't going to start now. Henry would have never done something like that, last time really left him too much in a great shock, for that idea to even cross his mind, especially so randomly.
Hanson walked toward him and saw the frustration on his face. He felt sorry for the guy because he knew how much he has been working hard, even slept a couple of nights at the morgue to try and find the matches, hopeful something would come up but nothing, nothing has been working.
He handed a coffee to the young man
- I was thinking you may need this
Lucas startled and gladly took the coffee. He rubbed his forehead.
- Thank you! I do! I just… I can't get anything out of this. I've been analyzing his tools all over again, I cleaned them I even used a special product that is meant to go beyond the original prints and nothing, nothing worked. Whoever did that really did a good job and I hate them for that.
He sipped on his coffee and looked at the ceiling. This wasn't fair to anyone. Someone needed to pay. The FBI was behind them and if the truth wasn't coming out, Henry would remind behind bars for the rest of his whole long life. Lucas knew just a bit of this story, but enough to know the guy has suffered enough to keep going like that. He deserved a break, especially after 200 years.
Hanson took a seat next to him, and they both remained silent for a little while.
- How far is our couple in Wonderland? – Hanson asked
Lucas shrugged
- I got Jo a few days ago and they are as far as we are… They made a list of all the potential suspects but Henry declined most of them and you know him, better trust his instincts, the doc knows what he talks about.
Hanson nodded
- At least they're together. Lieutenant already knew something was up and she's not even mad.
Lucas scoffed
- Reece is probably the first one who noticed the tension between Jo and Henry. Of course, she would approve. Everything they did in the past year, she practically turned on a blind eye.
Hanson couldn't agree more
- That's true! – he sighed – I'm actually the last one who noticed something. I'm really not good at this.
That made Lucas smiled. He was one of the first to notice but he kept it to himself until Jo asked him if Henry didn't take a day off because of him. Well, he couldn't hide his excitement of thinking about the two of them together. He was hoping, he would have the opportunity to double date with them, probably only to fangirl about them more than paying attention to the woman he would bring to the said date.
Lucas looked at Hanson
- You know you can go home if you want to. You have your kids and your wife so you shouldn't stay here, I'll keep the boat afloat.
Hanson rolled his eyes
- Karen can handle the kids for a night! She knows what we're working on and she's encouraging me to stay late if needed. So don't worry about that. So now, what can I do to help?
Lucas felt his heart warmed, this was the first he was that close to Hanson
- Well, I'll keep looking at Henry's tools, if you could take a few of them and watch them with the microscope.
- Got it!
They both took a side. The morgue was awfully quiet. Most assistants already left and Lucas didn't really want them around because they were asking more question than they were helping to get an answer so he told them he was handling, even though they were still trying to help.
Lucas has taken Henry's knife and pliers and with a steady behavior that was unlikely his, he carefully looked under the microscope, paying attention to whatever he could have missed.
After three different checks, he heard Hanson calling for him
- Hey Lucas, you should come here
Lucas quickly jogged by his side
- Yeah, what is it? Did you find something?
Hanson shrugged
- I'm not a scientist, so I don't know but I think I may have.
Lucas took his place and looked under the microscope and had to check twice to make sure something finally came up.
- Oh boy!
- What? – Hanson asked – is that good or bad?
Lucas took the pliers and a funnel and removed what Hanson noticed
- Maybe this will tell us exactly what we're looking for or rather who. Good job, detective.
Hanson didn't know exactly what he has done but he accepted it. He was usually bad at finding proofs. He was glad he could help. Lucas quickly dropped the funnel on the search base.
- This could take a while to find a match but that's something at least.
He removed his phone from his pocket
- Jo needs to hear about this, because this is the best we could have come up with, in weeks, hopefully, it's not for nothing.
- I hope so!
- So, what about Cliff Waldo? You know he went completely nuts when you were flirting with your dominatrix.
Jo made a face at the memory and remembered how badly she wanted to choke Molly with her bare hands when she told him she had kissed Henry even though it was on the cheek but she caught them later lips locking and that's something she wished she hadn't seen considering how she felt her heart broke into million pieces that day… But to be honest, that girl was just a joke next to… She shook her head. She needed to focus.
She was sitting on the couch and Henry was on the carpet, his back against it and they have been so hungry they were now full of the pizza, the box was empty on the small coffee table.
Henry raised a brow
- No! I don't think so, that would be unlikely.
Jo shrugged
- And why not?
- He doesn't have the skill to use my tools, not to brag but you have to be really accurate and with a solid knowledge to know how to handle them and correct me if I'm wrong but he's still in prison.
This was the last name she wrote she crossed it and tossed the notepad aside. She sighed
- Damn! Henry, you're not doing your part of the job there.
- How so? – he asked, not sure where she was heading
- I mean, all of this is on you and according to you, everyone we listed is innocent. We can't go on like this, we need a name and soon.
Henry pursed his lips in a fine line
- I'm sorry! You are right! I should pay more attention. I have been very distracted.
- So I noticed! What's going on? I know it's a lot for you to take in but I need you to focus, I can't do all the work all by myself, I'm not that clever.
Henry looked down, rubbing his pocket watch
- It's just... – he sighed – I can't help but think about all the consequences if nothing works. Not for me but mostly for you… Jo, your job, your career, everything, I don't want to be the one responsible for…
She cut him off
- Henry! You're not going to start again with that! I already told you what I thought about it and I'm fine! And what happened to your optimism?
He bit his lip with a frustrated sigh
- I know! But pardon me! It's hard to have any positive thoughts. I just wish no one is going to find us and get at you and...
Jo rolled her eyes
- Henry, stop whining like that! Damn you really do sound like an old man sometimes.
He gulped if only she knew.
- I know what you told but tell me honestly, would you really be ready to lose your career just because you helped me?
Jo didn't think about it that way, of course, she didn't have time to think about that. She bit her lips. Why was Henry like that? Always thinking about the pros and cons and mostly the cons, as per usual.
She joined him on the carpet, trying to look for a good answer to give him
- You want to hear the truth?
- Yes! Please do! I won't get hurt, I promise.
Their knees were touching and that slight ambiance was making that moment even more powerful than the one they shared earlier.
- I would lie to you if I was saying this wouldn't affect me. Of course, I'm scared about my career, it always been my dream job… But
She stared at him and he suddenly felt as naked as he was when he was rising from the East River
- I'm not as scared of losing it than losing you forever!
His cheeks started to warm up and he felt his heart beat faster, his hands moistened… Was this the moment?
- I just… I can't imagine a world when you're not a part of my life now, I just can't. I wouldn't be living if you weren't working by my side, I would just be… Surviving or barely. So, a career can be replaced but someone like you… - they stared at each other's lips. They felt that tension burning, the same one they shared back in the shop when she never went to Paris in the first place. – someone like you can't. It's just once in a lifetime and whatever you say, whatever you do to try and convince me otherwise, is not going to work. It's you and nothing else.
She let out a deep breath. She basically told him what she felt for him. Henry was smart, she knew he understood when she didn't go to Paris and the same was probably happening here.
Henry looked at her from head to toe, capturing her whole beauty. Her big brown eyes were shining with the light of the fireplace. The last woman who told him that, he never left her afterward… She didn't know anything yet… Would he dare? He quickly closed his eyes and tried to picture a life with Jo and frankly, it sounded good in his head. Especially since he… He opened his eyes and Jo was looking at her hands. He had no idea what got into him, if the adrenaline rushed through his veins or if it was just the frustration of dancing all around her for a year without making a move but for once he decided to keep his mouth shut and just acted.
They wouldn't get anything done for tonight so at that point, that research could wait one more day.
He didn't even let her react that his lips were on hers and he shoved his tongue down her throat, so much, that passion and desire quickly took over them. Jo moaned in between the kisses, wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand slowly massaging the back of his scalp, the other playing with his brown curls.
Unable to resist, even more, Henry pushed Jo on the carpet and lay his whole body on top of her and their tongues kept battling for dominance, their hands traveled up and down each other's bodies. Henry lifted Jo's shirt above her head and she did the same by quickly unbuttoning his shirt, her hands shaking with both excitement and lust.
The kiss became more intense when they found themselves shirtless, more erratic, so as the sweet sounds they both were making, nothing seemed to stop them at that moment which only belonged to them.
Author's note: I've mentioned Memories of murder and Dead men tell long tales.
Dead men tell long tales is probably the episode where Hanson truly noticed there was something more between Jo & Henry (when they flirt at the crime scene at the beginning of the episode)
Memories of murder, I've mentioned a scene we haven't seen on the show, the one where Jo catches Henry & Molly lips locking. It has been completely erased from the episode but on the promo pictures, we can see her in the background holding two coffees (I personally assumed she brought one for Henry) so she was supposed to walk on them (like she needed that)