Alan stood in the doorway of his office and watched as Liz gingerly walked through the now quiet and darkened hallways and out of his line of sight. It had been hard for him to stay calm and be professional while taking the pictures when all he could see were the ugly, dark bruises mottling her skin. He was still angry about it, if he was honest with himself. He didn't understand why this woman's case had gotten under his skin more than any other case he'd taken on. He'd defended dozens of battered women and he'd never reacted like this.
She was different, but he couldn't figure out how. That wasn't even taking into account how he had felt with her crying in his arms; there had been something in the pit of his stomach that he hadn't felt in a long time. He wasn't sure if he liked it. Tara had just broken up with him only days ago, and he still missed her more than he thought possible; but ever since meeting Liz, his thoughts had only been about her.
He sighed and made his way towards Denny's balcony. He needed a friend to talk to, even if it was just to take his mind off of his troubles.
Denny was standing against the concrete barrier smoking a cigar seemingly lost in thought as Alan approached. Alan reached in his suit coat and brought out his own cigar and joined the older man.
Denny spoke before he could say anything. "That is one hot mama you're representing. What's her deal?"
Alan lit his cigar and took a long pull, then blew the smoke out into the cold, winter air. It had threatened to snow all week, but they had lucked out so far. "Almost killed by her husband." He really didn't feel like talking about her case with Denny, because he would just make his usual sexist remarks and trivialize Liz's problems. He found that he didn't want to hear any of that. It bothered him even thinking about it.
Denny blew a plume of smoke out and took a drink of his scotch. "What's bothering you, Alan?"
Alan shrugged and studied his cigar. "I still miss Tara." That was the best excuse he could come up with, even if it wasn't true.
Denny looked at him and studied him closely, then turned away again. "That's horse shit, but if you don't want to tell me then I can't force you to."
"Denny..." Alan said warningly.
Denny turned to look at him with his cigar in his mouth. "I can start guessing, but I know you won't like that." He was a little hard to understand with the cigar in his mouth, but Alan was used to it.
Alan turned and sat down in the comfortable, beige arm-chair and crossed his legs. "Soon, Denny. Soon." He took another pull of his cigar and closed his eyes.
Denny sat down next to him with a quiet grunt. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Denny finally spoke. "Whatever it is that's troubling you, just know that you can talk to me anytime about it."
Alan opened his eyes and nodded at his friend. "Thank you, Denny."
He really was grateful to the man. He was his best friend, he should be able to talk to him; but he couldn't. Not yet at least.
OOOOOO
The next day he strode into Crane Poole & Schmidt feeling marginally better than he had the previous day. As he had lain in bed the night before, he had managed to convince himself that he didn't feel anything but pity for Liz. He just felt sorry for her, and he was a man, so it was natural to feel protective of her. That was all it was. He didn't actually have feelings for her...until he walked into his office and saw her sitting on his couch with tears streaking down her face; the feelings he had seemingly squashed were back in full force.
He set his briefcase down on his desk and turned to face her with a neutral expression. "I guess asking how you're doing would be a stupid question. What's going on, Liz?"
She wiped her nose with a tissue and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Tom called me last night and threatened to make me disappear if I didn't agree to settle at today's meeting." She looked down and toyed with her tissue, not sure why she was in his office crying. She just hadn't known where else to go.
Alan's eye twitched, but he showed no other outward emotion as he glanced at his watch. The settlement meeting was in ten minutes. He needed to calm her down and attempt to erase all signs that she'd been crying.
He walked over to her and grabbed her closed fist that was resting in her lap, then hauled her to her feet. "What are you doing?"
Instead of answering, he took her arm and pulled her out of his office and down the hallway. She went along willingly; not that she had much choice.
He walked into the men's restroom and barked at a junior associate to leave immediately. Then young man quickly zipped up his zipper and all but ran out of the bathroom. As soon as he was gone, Alan checked the stalls for any other occupants. When he didn't find anyone else, he backed Liz up to the counter that held the sinks, grabbed her by the waist, and lifted her up on the marble counter top.
She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back so she could look at him. "Stop. What the hell are you doing?"
He stepped away and grabbed a hand-drying towel, then put it under a faucet and wet the cloth under warm water. As he wrung out the extra liquid, he finally turned and looked her in the eye. "The settlement meeting is in," he glanced at his watch again, "eight minutes. We need to get you calmed down an erase all signs that you've been crying." He stepped forward and pressed the warm cloth to the skin under her eyes, then began rubbing gently back and forth for a few moments.
She didn't know what to say, or think for that matter, so she just sat there and tried to decipher the myriad of emotions that played across his face.
He finished with the first eye, then moved to the other one and did the same; always careful not to smudge her eye makeup. After a couple more minutes, he set the cloth down and framed her face with his hands. "Now, are you going to go in there and act like his threat didn't affect you? Or are you going to go in there like a sniveling woman and give him the satisfaction that he got to you?"
She winced slightly at his blunt words, but took a deep breath and tried to nod against his hands. "I'm going to go in there and kick his ass."
He patted her cheeks lightly and said, "That's my girl." Then he took a step back and helped her off of the counter. She didn't know what to make of that comment, but she didn't have time to analyze it as he grabbed her arm again and led her out of the bathroom towards his office.
When they reached his office, he shut the door then let go of her arm and walked over to his desk to grab the files that he needed. He turned to look at her and noted that it didn't look like she had been crying anymore. One crisis averted.
He approached her with his head tilted slightly. "Are you ready?"
She squared her shoulders and smoothed her black pencil skirt over her legs. "I'm ready," she said resolutely.
He nodded and walked past her, then opened the door and gestured for her to precede him. As she passed, he couldn't help but admire how well her skirt hugged her in all the right places. He wanted to feel those strong, lean thighs under his hands. Before he could get in trouble, he quickly averted his eyes and guided her towards the conference room.
As they walked in, Liz froze for a moment when she spotted Tom, but then she pulled her shoulders back and held her head high as she walked the rest of the way in and sat down across from Tom and his lawyers. Alan smirked proudly and unbuttoned his suit coat as he sat down next to Liz.
Tom's lawyer, Roy, began. "So obviously we all know why we're here. Thomas wants to be compensated for all the things he had to endure after Elizabeth joined the FBI. We'd rather not take this small matter to trial-"
Alan interrupted him angrily, "Small matter? Small?" He turned and pointed at Liz. "This woman was brutally beaten, then left for dead. If you think we're going to agree to pay money to this son of a bitch, then you need to go back to school Roy."
Roy glared angrily at Alan. "And what makes you think you can get any charge to stick? My client has connections who have all but assured me that Thomas will never see the inside of a jail cell. What are you charging him with? Battery? Assault?"
Alan smiled and sat back in his chair. "Attempted Murder."
Tom stood up angrily and pointed at Liz. "You bitch! I'll kill you before we ever see the court room, you can-"
"Thomas! Sit DOWN!" Roy yelled as Liz unconsciously scooted closer to Alan.
Tom stood staring at Liz with steely eyes behind black-rimmed glasses, but after a few moments he sat back down with a smirk on his face.
Roy glared at Tom, then turned back to Alan and began speaking again, "Now if we could-"
Alan stood and pulled Liz up with him. "We're done here. I'll be filing a restraining order since your client threatened mine." He looked at Tom with narrowed eyes. "You. Stay away from her. We'll see you in court."
Tom's smile didn't fade. "Why do you care? You screwing her?"
Alan just shook his head and walked out of the room with Liz following close behind.
As soon as they were out of earshot and out of sight, she rounded on him and pointed her finger in his chest. "What the hell was that? He was never even convicted of battery, and now you're going to charge him with murder? He's going to kill me." Her chest heaved as her index finger dug into his chest.
He grabbed her finger and leaned closer to her, his face open and serious. "Trust me." He straightened and quickly changed the subject. "Where are you staying?"
She pulled her finger out of his grasp and glared at him, confused. "The Sheraton. Why?"
"Does Tom know where you are?"
She shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."
He sighed. "The restraining order won't go through until tomorrow, and I'm concerned that he'll try to go after you when you're alone."
She clenched her jaw. "What the hell am I supposed to do then?"
He bit his lip and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Come stay with me in my hotel. I'll sleep on the couch. You need to be able to sleep somewhere where you'll be safe."
She laughed at little, but sobered when she saw that he was serious. "You're serious? What would that look like to an outsider?"
He shrugged. He couldn't believe he had asked either, but he couldn't seem to shake his need to protect her. "It's just a suggestion, but one I wish you would agree to."
She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'll ask the hotel to put me in a different room and I'll make sure to lock the doors."
He couldn't force her to stay with him, unfortunately. "If that's what you want, but if you change your mind, I'm staying at The Liberty Hotel in room #302.
She reached over and squeezed his arm, her blue eyes clear and grateful. "I won't, but thanks for the offer."
He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow for our meeting. And Liz...please be careful. Tom is obviously a dangerous man."
"Ya, think?" She teased, then turned serious. "I will, I promise. I don't want to be anywhere near him if possible."
He sighed as she bade him goodbye with another squeeze of his arm, then he turned to go into his office to try to get some work done.
He didn't manage to get a single thing done the rest of the day though as his thoughts continually returned to Liz and his worry for her safety.
And the small matter of his growing feelings for her.
OOOOOO
Alan walked into his hotel room tiredly and shook the snowflakes off of his jacket and out of his hair. The snow had finally broken through, but it was just a light snow so he was hopeful that it wouldn't stick.
He walked into the bathroom and took a short shower, then shaved and changed into a pair of black sweats and a black, long-sleeved athletic shirt. He crawled into bed and collapsed against the sheets. He wasn't physically tired, but he was mentally tired; and it was all a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed woman's fault. He'd been lucky that he hadn't been due in court that day, or he probably would have lost all of his cases. He had been that distracted.
He turned over and picked his cell phone up from the bedside table, then set his alarm and checked to make sure Liz hadn't tried to call or text him. He couldn't help but continue to worry about her safety. Tom's eyes had been murderous in the conference room, and that's all he could see every time he closed his eyes. He couldn't imagine how Liz felt.
Not seeing any messages, he sighed and set the phone back down and turned the light off. He laid there staring at the ceiling for a good hour before he finally drifted off into a troubled sleep.
OOOOOO
'Knock, knock, knock'
Alan shot up in bed and glanced around with one eye open as he tried to figure out what had woken him. He managed to open the other eye and ran a tired hand through his hair as he yawned. One of his neighbors must have-
'Knock, knock, knock'
That definitely hadn't been his neighbor. He quickly slipped out of bed and walked to the door, then looked through the peephole to see Liz standing there looking upset.
He unlocked the door and pulled it open as fast as he could. "Liz? What's wrong?"
Her hair and clothes were damp from the snow, and he could see her shivering as she pulled her coat tightly around herself.
"I..I..can I come in?"
He felt like an idiot for not inviting her in in the first place. He stepped back. "Of course. I apologize for not already doing so."
She stepped inside and he closed the door then moved forward and helped her with her coat. Once it was hung up next to his, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Tell me what happened."
She sniffed. "I've been getting odd phone calls all day. Then the last one before I came here was someone threatening to come in my room. I didn't know what else to do..I'm sorry for-"
He cut her off and squeezed her shoulders gently, "It's fine. I want you here, don't ever be sorry."
She nodded. "Thank you."
Alan could see that she was still shivering. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and began to lead her towards the bed. At the edge of the bed, she slipped her shoes off and let him help her lie down. He pulled the blanket over her as she pulled it up to her chin and turned on her side towards him. He could hear her teeth chattering in the quiet room and wished he could slip into bed with her to help warm her up.
Instead, he smiled slightly and looked at her. "Are you going to be ok?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Now that I'm here," she whispered.
He couldn't help himself as he reached down and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and said, "I'll be on the couch if you need anything. I mean it Liz; anything at all."
"Ok," she said quietly as she snuggled further down into his pillow.
He turned away reluctantly and quickly made himself a bed on the uncomfortable couch, then laid down on his back and linked his fingers together over his chest.
He laid there for at least another hour listening to Liz's slow breathing, and eventually fell back asleep.
OOOOOO
He was woken for the second time that night by an odd sound. He opened his eyes slowly and listened to the strange, muffled sound. It sounded a lot like crying. And it was coming from his bed.
He didn't know what to do. Did he go to her and comfort her? Or did he ignore it and hope she eventually fell back to sleep?
He definitely had feelings for her, but he didn't know how she felt about him, and she was in the middle of a divorce. He had no right falling for a client. Especially one that was married, even if said marriage was over.
He was so lost in thought that he almost missed her quiet plea, "Alan...can you come over?"
AN: I was so surprised by the response the first chapter got. I was honestly expecting like five or six reviews. I guess people love Alan Shore and Sheen (Keen and Shore) as much as I do. :)..I just wanted to thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I appreciate them so much. I would love to hear what you think of this chapter, thanks for reading! :)
Special thanks to FrostyFingers for helping me hammer out the details. I appreciate it so much.