Erin watched the clock hands tick closer to six o'clock with a sickening feeling in her stomach. She had given up on reading a few hours ago, the words just seemed to blur into a jumble of meaningless squiggles on the page.
"Erin?" she looked up to see Leo's concerned face staring back at her
"I'm fine" she replied to his silent question
Leo looked doubtful but was stopped from taking the issue further by a knock on the door. Erin knew that not only did it signify the arrival Edward Adams but it signified the reopening of the past events she had been desperately trying to bury.
Moments later a tall, grey haired man followed Leo into the living room. Erin immediately tensed at the arrival of the stranger and wrinkled her nose as she took him in. He was dressed in a grey suit that just seemed to sum his whole personality up in one word: bland. He saw Erin huddled up in one of the chairs and gave her a false smile; it didn't communicate any of the happiness she saw when Nikki, Harry or Leo smiled. It was just the smile people force onto their faces to be polite. It held no emotional warmth for Erin and she would have just preferred it if he hadn't smiled at all.
"You must be Erin" he said extending his hand to her
Erin froze; her body language was screaming that she was uncomfortable around this man only within a few moments of him appearing in her life. Like a young child she held her hand behind her back and refused to shake hands with him.
Edward was undeterred by this, he cleared his throat and began again "Erin my name is Edward Adams and I'm the lawyer for prosecution for the case against Nora Jones"
Erin mumbled something in response that only Leo, who was in-tune with her moods and expressions, could pick up
"Pardon?" Edward questioned
"She doesn't like her godmother's name being mentioned" Leo translated for Edward
"Oh of course" Edward gave her another one of his empty smiles "I understand"
But both Erin and Leo knew that he didn't.
"I'm sure you have been informed of the upcoming trial of your godmother. The case is going to court in less than a couple of weeks and the case has called on you as a witness"
Erin didn't like the way he spoke. His words were just technical jargon; there was no expression or feeling behind them. Edward Adams was just simply a walking law textbook.
"Anyway" Edward continued, not noticing that Erin's attention was waning and she was making the transition into the world that was contained in her head "I think it would be helpful if the whole procedure was explained to you…"
But Erin was a million miles away now; her mind had flown away from the dull drivel that was gushing at a constant, never-ending rate from Edward's mouth. She retreated back into her own little world where nothing could harm her. Currently she was reliving the conversations between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy as they took a walk around Pemberley. Erin was much happier roaming Austen's microcosm and eighteenth century England than she was listening to the incredibly dull legal spiel that was being aimed at the small part of her mind that remained in the real world. She was perfectly content in her fantasy world when a voice drew her out of her little world and dragged her back to earth with a bump
"Erin?" she heard Leo's voice calling
With a great reluctance she pulled herself back into the bland world of reality as the colours and images of her fantasy world melted into the grey and dismal dreariness that summed up her reluctant reality.
"Hmm?"
"Mr Adams asked if you had any questions"
"Oh" Erin said realising that Edward was staring at her. It was then she noticed that his eyes were a dreary shade of grey just like the rest of him "No I don't have any questions"
Edward nodded and stood up "I'll be in touch" he nodded to Erin as Leo led him back to the front door
But there was no response from Erin as she was already back in her fantasy world, seeing if it had sustained any damage from the unexpected interruption that had made it's way into her private thoughts.
She was later most pleased to report that it hadn't
The next day Leo and Harry were working on the latest 'John Doe' to have the pleasure of joining them at the morgue.
Harry, with a handful of small intestine, turned to Leo after a short silence "How did Erin take the visit from the lawyer last night?"
"She wasn't listening to him at all" Leo smiled "She drifted off into her own little world within about five minutes of him being there"
Harry snorted with laughter as he put the intestines on the scale to be weighed
"I don't blame her to be honest" Leo admitted "Lectures on law are tedious at the best of times"
"Do you think she's coping?" Harry asked, delving back into the chest cavity again
Leo paused for a moment "She's trying to block everything out and just move on. Many would argue that doing such a thing wouldn't constitute as evidence for coping. But I know Erin, or at least I think I do, and I know that she's working things out in her own little way"
Harry nodded as he hand came back out of the chest cavity "Are you still coming over for dinner tonight?"
Leo made a noise of affirmation
"Is Janet coming as well?" Harry asked and he was sure he saw a blush creep into Leo's face
"Yes" his voice didn't betray anything "She's coming after work"
"Erin will already be there when we get there" Harry told him "Nikki picked her up from school"
"She didn't need to do that" Leo protested
"She wanted to" Harry told him "And you know as well as I do that you do not argue with Nikki when she's made up her mind on something"
Leo chuckled and Harry could have sworn he heard the words 'under the thumb'
"Erin?" a voice called with pulled Erin out of her deepest thoughts
"Sorry?" she said, realising that Nikki had been trying to get her attention for quite a while
"You were a million miles away" Nikki shook her head "I asked whether you could come and help me lay the table"
"Sure" Erin said struggling to her feet and slipping her arms into the crutches
Nikki watched Erin closely as she made her way over to the dining area. She could see the struggle Erin was going through and knew immediately that her injuries were taking more out of her than Erin cared to admit
"Erin sit down" Nikki sighed knowing that Erin was in no state to be of help to her
Erin grimaced slightly as she lowered herself into a chair Nikki had pulled out for her.
"How's you leg?" Nikki asked
Erin pulled a face
"Is it still giving you pain?" the concern was evident on Nikki's face
"A little" Erin admitted
"How's your wrist?"
"A little stiff but not as bad" Erin smiled but Nikki wasn't convinced.
Just like Leo, Nikki knew that Erin still had a long way to go. She wasn't coping with things like everybody else would do but they knew not to measure Erin's mood by society's standards. They both knew the strain Erin had been through and maybe was wasn't back to normal but they knew Erin well enough to know that she was coping in her own little way even if they couldn't fully understand what those little ways were.
Author's note: Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been crazy busy at the moment.
