Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas from The Killing. It's all just way too much fun.

Spoilers: Season 2, episode 9

DAY 21, evening

Later that evening, Linden and Holder are in the car outside the station. Holder has already been in their office, which has been completely cleared out. Lt. Carlson had been there as well, telling Holder that it wasn't his fault that he'd been partnered with Linden, but that he should find a new partner. He'd also said that he was lucky to still have his badge after the mess that had been made of the Larsen case.

"I still got a few amigos down in County," he tells Linden when he's back in the car. "I'll make a few calls first thing, see if I can track down those case files."

Linden just nods. Holder starts to get out of the car.

"Holder, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have split up."

"It happened. We're good, Linden. You're still my BFF," Holder replies without a trace of bitterness. He's wearing that grin he always does when he's telling her jokes. Linden smiles. She always smiles when he calls her his BFF.

"Where you going now? Still stayin at that $120 a night flap joint you call a hotel?"

"Get out of my car," Linden says with a smile. They both laugh. Holder opens the door and gets out into the rainy night, leaning back in through the open door.

Linden is momentarily serious. "Holder, thanks. And thanks for being there for Jack." Holder gives a small nod in acknowledgement.

Holder

Linden is Linden, and damn is that woman stubborn. When it has to do with work, it's usually a good thing – helps her get the job done no matter what… though of course it also gets her into trouble almost as often, if not more. Funny how that same quality makes her so impossible when it comes to anything not work related. Not that she's not also impossible to work with… But seriously, why does she insist on staying at those crappy motels? I think she knows that she could crash at my place… but of course, only the fear of being physically in danger would make her do it.

Yep, Linden is a tough nut to crack.

Linden

I feel so guilty about this whole thing. I have trouble believing that he doesn't blame me for it. Yes, he came out of it OK, but how can he not be angry with me? I'm angry with myself, and I'm not the one who was beaten and left for dead in the woods!

Why is this always the way it is with me? I wish I knew why everything around me ends up broken.

…

It was morning, and Holder had found Linden sleeping in her car outside of her hotel. Why she had slept there instead of in her hotel room, he did not know, nor did he ask. She surely had her reasons, but Holder knew she'd most likely dance around them.

He had called over to County to ask about the Larsen case files, only to discover that they knew nothing about them. This was obviously not good, but Holder was pretty sure he knew who did know about them, and he was going to pay him a visit.

"The Larsen case files, Linden. They're gone." Holder let her process that for a minute – she was still waking up – while he walked around to the passenger side of the car and got in. She turned and looked at him as he sat down next to her, an expression of exhaustion mixed with shock on her face. "We're going to pay Gil a little visit. I think he may know something about it," Holder told her. "But first, we're stopping for breakfast."

"No, I'm-" Linden started to protest.

"Don't even think about it, Linden. We're getting breakfast and there's nothing you can say to change my mind. Do I need to take the keys and drive there myself?" Holder looked at her sternly.

"No, fine, I know a losing battle when I see one…" Linden grumbled. Their stubbornness was about evenly matched for the most part, but one topic on which Holder would not compromise was food, especially breakfast. Linden had long since learned this. She steered the car to the coffee shop around the corner, where they stopped at some point almost every day. They parked on the street in front of the small shop and shivered against the cold as they walked to the door.

The aroma that overwhelmed them as the doors opened made Linden realize that she actually was hungry. At the counter, Holder ordered coffee for both of them, a maple bacon doughnut for himself as well as several other miscellaneous pastries. He knew Linden well enough to know that left to her own devices, it wasn't certain whether she would eat at all. She tried to protest when he paid for the whole order, but barely got a word out before he cut her off. "Forget it, Linden. Drink up," he told her, handing her a coffee cup.

Back in the car, he removed his maple bacon doughnut from the bag of pastries and handed her the rest of the selection. "Pick something," he said simply. "And don't try to tell me you're not hungry. I heard your stomach growling when we walked in that door, and that's one scary sound. I can't be hearing that all day."

"Shut up, Holder." She tried, but failed, to hide her smile completely. He was so irritating sometimes, but a good friend at the same time. She couldn't help but feel like she didn't deserve to have someone care that much about her. Especially when she did nothing but mess up his life and threaten his career.

Taking a bite of a blueberry muffin, she debated whether to ask him the question that was on her mind, but then decided she might as well. "Why do you care so much about whether I eat or not, anyway?"

He looked over at her, his face serious for a change. "Why do you care so much whether I hang out in the middle of a bridge in the middle of the night?"

A hint of a smile crept across her face. "Fair enough," she replied. She buckled her seatbelt and turned the key in the ignition. "Alright, we have work to do. Let's go find Gil."