Chapter 3: The encounter
"Constable Crabtree." Dr. Grace said as she approached George at the bench.
"Doctor Grace." George replied. "How are you?"
"I'm good." There was a brief pause before she added, "By the way, I didn't have a chance to congratulate you on your promotion to detective."
"Oh, no worry's, Doctor. It was a surprise for me."
"Well, you deserved it, George! Now you can do what Detective Murdoch does, solving crimes and catching criminals." Emily praised.
George nodded. Emily's encourage provided a spark that lightened up his mood, although he was still hurt by the reality that he is no longer engaged to his sweetheart.
Sensing that George didn't appeared happy, Emily asked, "Well, what seemed to be the matter, George? You don't look really happy for someone who had earned a promotion to detective."
"Oh, don't worry. Everything's alright." He said, trying to hide his feelings.
However, the look on Doctor Grace's face indicated that she was concerned about his mood.
"Are you sure, George?" She pressed. "Please be honest with me."
Inside George's mind, there was a flash thought for him to continue to hide his true feelings. However, the look on Doctor Grace's face told him that he won't be able to hide his feelings from her for long.
Their relationship may be over, but given that he had been courting her for two years, he figured that she still knows him well and can read his feelings correctly.
Finally, he decided to open up in spite of his doubts of being able to trust her again after the Leslie Garland affair.
"Well, Emily, I supposed you have been aware that I have been courting Mrs. Edna Brooks in the past while ever since the whole O'Shea affair, are you not?"
"Yes, I am aware of that, George. Please go on." Emily said as she took a seat beside George.
"Okay. So on the day Inspector Davis selected me to be his new detective at Station House 3, I proposed to Edna. Now before I go on, I should note that she has a stepson named Simon who was in need for a father. Simon's father, who is a Sergeant with the Militia, had gone off to fight the war in South Africa a few years back and was killed in action."
Emily nodded understandingly. "Then, what happened?"
"Well, Edna accepted the proposal, and we were engaged. However, that night, Sergeant Brooks returned, accompanied by his commanding officer."
Emily was surprised. "Returned from the dead? As a zombie? You said he was killed in action in the war."
"He was declared dead, or that's what Edna was told." George explained. "There was a mix-up in the paper work that resulted in Sgt. Brooks being declared dead, and the news was sent. By the time the Militia realized the mix-up, Edna and Simon had already received the news."
"Wasn't Sgt. Brooks able to communicate with his family when he was injured?"
"Well, he was in a coma for a while, and by the time the Militia realized the mix-up and sent the news about it, he had recovered and was already on his way home with his regiment."
"So as a result of his return, you had to annual your engagement to Edna, George."
"That's right." George nodded. "Well, that sure meant that I'm back to being a bachelor."
"How unfortunate." Emily agreed. George turned to look at her and saw only sympathy in her eyes. There was some silence after that remark.
Finally, Emily broke the silence by asking, "So George, I am curious in finding out what were you doing sitting at the bench all alone?"
"To be honest, Emily, I felt the need to clear my mind after work, so I decided to take a long walk and then sit here to clear my mind. Then you showed up."
"Sorry for interrupting, George. I happen to be-"
"No, no. It's okay, Emily. I think I needed your intrusion to lighten my mood after what has transpired in the past two weeks."
"Oh, very well, then." Emily smiled.
"Speaking of that, I was wondering if you still, uh, care for me, Emily."
"Care for you?" Emily excitingly asked. "Why, I still do, George. What makes you think I don't?"
"To be honest, I have no idea. It's just that I was thinking about what has happened between you and me in the past three years, and given that I'm back to being single again, I was hoping that you still keep the idea of restarting our relationship open." Emily can see the regret of his treatment of her in the past year in his eyes as he finished his sentence.
"Really, George?" Emily asked as she placed her hands into George's hand. He nodded.
"Oh, I just needed this to lighten my mood after what happened during the afternoon." She said happily.
"So what happened?" George asked
Emily's smile lightened as she said, "First, before I can tell you what had happened, there is a secret I don't know if I can trust you to keep."
George was silent for a second, then he said, "Well, I think this should make up my inability to trust you much after the, uh, Leslie Garland affair."
"Alright, then." Emily said. She then proceeded to tell George of her fallout with Lillian in the afternoon, mentioning that they've been courting for a few months. George listened silently and nodded when she finished.
"I see. Well, don't you worry, Emily. I will not let that secret come to light, regardless of any circumstances. I may felt hurt by your poor decision last year, but I still don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Oh, thank you, George!" Emily said happily as she gave George a hug.
After the hug, George added, "And thank you for making my day better, Emily. After what I went through in the past few days, I really needed someone to comfort me."
"Oh, that's not necessary, George." Emily smiled. "Care to escort me home?"
"I'd certainly be happy to, Emily."
As the duo stood up, unbeknownst to both of them, a figure was watching them silently, hiding in the nearby bush.
He then aimed his pistol at Emily. Soon, there were gunshots.
Note: This is the cliffhanger I'd imagined for Season 8 to end in if the season finale followed through with this fanfic, where the dark, shadowed figure holding a pistol takes aim at George and Emily, and then the screen turns black as some gunshots can be heard.
How do you think of this cliffhanger? Please read and review!