AN: 3.1
Formal
At one point or another, Linden is going to have to admit it. She misses him.
She's not really sure why, although there are some obvious reasons. So when he shows up at her door one day decked out in a neatly pressed shirt and tie, it's more than just a pleasant surprise.
Cue awkward small talk.
They update each other on what's happened in the past year for each of them. Things seem to be going well health and work-wise. There's no talk of significant others or the like, but a partner is mentioned on Holder's part and Linden finds herself fixated on that bit of conversation. Mostly she's wondering if this new partner is male or female. Not that it matters, of course.
He's cleaned up a lot and it looks like he has gained some meat on his bones too. He doesn't bear the telltale signs of a junky anymore. He's even tanned a little. And shaved, thank goodness.
Cody pops in and there is the obligatory introduction. She chooses her words carefully but Holder snatches the opportunity to be… well… Holder.
And it was this sort of thing that she liked about him. How he's able to make light of anything and bring her back when her thoughts got dark. He grounded her.
She learns that Holder and Jack had kept in touch. The mother in her wonders what they talk about but she knows better than to ask.
There were so many opportunities for them to be intimate but it never happened. She finds herself wondering why. Maybe it was the time crunch they'd face, the kind of time crunch that makes you put off showering for three days or so.
Conversation (inevitably) turns towards murder. He brings up the case that put her in the Psychiatry ward; the case she'd told herself is solved and buried. The temptation is in front of her, presented nice and neatly on a plate and the addict in her awakens.
The age gap certainly isn't an excuse, at least not an excuse anymore. Maybe it was because she'd felt guilty about Rick. Rick had been good to her and she let him down. Multiple times.
But now she runs every day, is smoke free and has her hot tea in her hands.
(Holder's hotter though. If you like smart-mouthed toothpicks.)
Holder asks about the Seward file and Linden deflects. She knows he would see through it and he does. The question then becomes why she'd deflect at all.
Ah, but she'd always had a thing for men in suits. Everyone has their thing and she has hers. Simple as that.
Linden tells him not to get too involved. Something in his eyes incriminates her but he's become better with his words, it seems. Linden feels like she'd been shot down.
Her eyes follow him as the door closes behind him and he gets in his car. From her window, she watches his car pull away. And she regrets ending things here because she's done it again; she's cut things off without proper closure.
The file of the case he's working on is still on her table. She knows Holder knows better than to forget something this important. She's a little miffed but a little flattered that he knows her so well. Whatever, tomorrow she'll just drop it off at his office. It's an excuse to see him again. Kind of.
She chances a peek inside the file.
-End-
AN: Honestly, I don't actually believe this is what she's thinking during this scene. I love this scene, mostly because we get to see Linden and Holder reunite, but also because it's so layered and compact with unspoken truths. I wrote this to explore the possibility that Linden was sexually attracted to Holder at some point during Seasons 1&2. Given where the conversation headed, I doubt she's thinking about what's under his spiffy clothes but... I don't know... call it a not-too-distant AU maybe?