A/N: A Valentines ficlet for my friend - this one is obviously written after episode 6 had aired!
After he had left the orphanage, he'd hurried home in hopes of finding Emily there - supportive, present, the way he had known her before - but his hopes were quashed within a matter of surprise of seeing her dressed in bright colors again (was there a hint of the old Emily he detected? The Emily that was his?) did not last long. She had escaped his grasp, desperate as he felt it was, once more, leaving him to his own devices. Alone. The one thing he had so badly wished to avoid after…
Images of Miss Goren - Deborah - rose up in his mind, and as he took a sharp breath it almost seemed as if her smell still lingered. He had always thought himself a faithful man, a loyal husband, someone who would never stray… and yet crossing the line had been so much easier than he thought it would be. In his line of work he had seen his fair share of beautiful women but he had never been tempted. Not once did it cross his mind to step away from his place at Emily's side; but today it had felt almost natural.
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, unsuccessfully trying to focus on something - anything! - else but Miss Goren's face, listening so intently as he told her his story (he had told but one soul of that day, unable to speak of it to any other person, but again, it had felt so natural to tell her) and then so much closer to his own. He could still taste the memory of the kiss on his lips and, reliving it vividly, at last gave up trying to get it out of his head. What would have happened, he wondered, had Drake not shown up at the door?
For a while, she had managed to keep herself busy after the Inspector had left. Grateful for the many chores for once, she took care of them with unusual fervor. She could not allow herself to let her mind wander, but the children kept her busy for the rest of the day. Only once they had all been fed and settled into their little cots and she found herself on her own the thoughts she had repressed for hours came flooding back into her mind. In vain she took up a book, but the letters did not want to make any sense tonight. It was wrong, she told herself. He was a married man after all and she… she had accepted her fate long ago, telling herself that the love of the children, earned through hard work and loyalty, was all she needed. She did not want feelings bubbling up inside of her, but the affection she felt for the Inspector was not to be denied.
A sigh on her lips she put aside the book and got up to check on the children. The dim light of the candle illuminated each of their faces for a brief while. She felt her emotions settle again, slowly, and, telling herself that she was a sensible woman after all, she made another attempt to lock him out of her thoughts. Only once she had found her way into her own bed, cold and empty, she could not help but remember his hot breath on her cheek, his hands on her waist, pulling her body close to his, and his lips finding their way to her own…