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

Spoilers: Season 3, episode 4

They're driving around, following up on the latest lead, a girl who apparently got away from the killer and was spotted on the road, then ran off into the woods again, being chased by a guy on foot.

"Hey, I talked to Jack for a couple of minutes a few days ago," Holder tells her.

"Yeah?" Jack's been in Chicago for a while now, but it's still a very touchy subject for Linden. She wonders why he's bringing it up.

"Yeah. He seems more chill about living in Chi-Town every time we talk. Seriously, like, every time."

Linden pauses before responding, then says, without any enthusiasm whatsoever, "Yeah, that's good."

"Yeah, he's doing real good, Little Man. He's happy."

"I know," Linden responds quietly.

"You should. You know? So I hope you do." Holder's not sure why he's emphasizing it so much, but Jack had mentioned that he hadn't talked to her for a while, so he's trying to make a point.

Linden looks around, her face stormy. Suddenly she pulls the car onto a side street without warning or slowing down, screeching the times around the corner.

"Damn, Linden! Hey, heads up never hurt anyone," Holder calls out in surprise.

Yeah, I could say the same thing to you, she thinks to herself.

Linden

I feel like he's rubbing it in, and it seems unnecessary. Of course I want Jack to be happy. I would never wish anything bad for him, he's my son! But I would think that Holder, of all people, would understand how difficult it is for me to hear about it. To hear how happy he is somewhere else, how happy he is without me there to screw up his life. OK, he didn't say that. He wasn't trying to imply that, even I know that. But do we have to talk about it?

I know that I need to call him. I know. I owe him a phone call. Things have been crazy. I need to face it, things are always crazy. It's no excuse.

Holder

Sometimes I totally get her, and sometimes I don't get her at all. Jack said he's been trying to call her, but that she doesn't answer and doesn't call him back. Granted, she's with me a lot of the time, but not all the time. I don't see her ignoring a lot of calls, or I'd definitely ask her about it.

In a way, I guess I get why it's hard for her to talk to him… because then she has to hear about how happy he is. I know that she wants him to be happy, but of course it's more complicated than that. As much as she wants him to be happy, part of her hates to see it, because it makes her feel like more of a failure. Like she was the only thing standing in the way of his happiness before. And maybe in a way it's the truth, but it's not something she had a lot of control over. Things between them were way more complicated than that, always had been. But she doesn't see it that way. As usual, she takes on the entire weight of the blame.

I tried to tell her she has to let it go, to forgive herself… I know that she heard me, but she obviously has trouble doing it. I just don't want to see her avoid Jack because she feels guilty and because it bothers her that he's happy there. They have enough problems without her letting this come between them. Nothing about their relationship is fair to either of them, and I don't want to see them get any farther apart. So I do what I can, even if Linden hates me for it for now.

…

Linden and Holder had just endured what was perhaps the world's most awkward situation.

It was Valentine's Day, and Holder had forgotten completely. Unsurprisingly, so had Linden – not that she had any reason to remember. She'd missed the last ferry to Vashon Island, and had gone by Holder's place… to find him there with Caroline, that ADA with whom he apparently was "a thing." Oh, how she had wanted to crawl into a hole right at that moment in the hallway of his apartment building when they both came to the door, rather than be there with the two of them!

They had invited her in, and Caroline had fixed her a plate of food. They were sitting in front of the tv and eating, when Caroline must have realized that the day was a lost cause. So she'd presented Holder with the special gluten-free, vegan cupcake and said "Happy Valentine's Day."

That was when the awkwardness had become unbearable. Valentine's Day! Shit! Holder stammered out an explanation about how he celebrated Valentine's Day on the fifteenth, when it "wasn't so commercial." Linden wished desperately that she was anywhere but there, and wondered if she should leave. But mercifully, minutes later Holder's phone rang, and though he was going to ignore it – he'd already forgotten Valentine's Day, it was the least he could do – Caroline told him to answer it. So he did.

He and Linden had been called in to follow up on a tip from Bullet, who said she had a lead. So the two of them had left Holder's apartment together, successfully escaping the awkwardness and leaving Caroline alone on Valentine's Day. Holder felt guilty about that, but was glad to escape just the same. He felt guilty about all of it.

As they got in the car, Linden once again in the driver's seat, they just looked at each other and shook their heads. "Youare in so much trouble…" Linden said with a chuckle.

Holder rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I know, I know," he replied with a smile. It wasn't funny, of course, and yet… it was, as long as he could imagine that it had happened to someone else, and not him. Not good, Holder, he told himself. "But yo! It's not my fault! Aren't girls supposed to remind guys about shit like this?" he asked in desperation to find some way out. When he'd said "girls," he'd been talking about Caroline, not Linden, of course.

Linden just raised an eyebrow at him. "No, not you, Linden. I was talking about Caroline," he said with a grin. It would never occur to him to suggest that Linden of all people should think about Valentine's Day. She just shook her head and gave him a wry smile.

"You know you're never gonna live this down, right?" she asked him. They were on the road now, and Linden found that for once, she wished she wasn't driving so she didn't have to face forward. She was rather enjoying watching Holder squirm, actually.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Holder replied, shaking his head and looking out the window. "Ya know, I'd say you shoulda reminded me, but…" He didn't even bother to finish that sentence, chuckling at his own joke.

"Ha ha ha," she replied. "I'm glad you still have your sense of humor."

"Look at that, I had two dates this Valentine's Day…" Holder said with his typical false bravado.

Linden just rolled her eyes and shook her head, reaching over to smack him lightly with the back of her right hand as she drove. Holder was amazingly unconcerned for a guy who'd just deserted his girlfriend – if that's what she actually was – in his apartment on Valentine's Day to go off with another woman, even if it was completely innocent and work related. But then again, it was Holder. That actually sounded exactly how she'd expect him to act.

And then they were arriving at the their destination, Bullet was telling them that her source had seen a girl in bad shape being carried into an alley behind a vet's office, and the jokes about Valentine's Day were left behind.