|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 1:03:17 GMT -5
The perp was detained, being hauled off to lock up, and once again the day was saved... Or perhaps less dramatically, they could prepare the evidence for trial and hope that the man saw twenty-to-life for his crimes. It'd taken five solid months of investigative work, question, re-questioning, DNA evidence. Twice the case seemed to have floundered, but Stephen wouldn't give up and so neither could Sean. He admired his partner's tenacity, but sometimes he felt it was a detriment to him. If the man didn't look more tired these days...
Unwrapping the sandwich he'd packed for lunch, he set it on the center of his desk and turned his chair slightly towards Stephen. They had paperwork to process... Both of them. But neither seemed in a hurry to get started on it. This was by far the least interesting part of the job...
"What are you doing after work?" he asked, straightening his leg out to kick the edge of Stephen's chair, hopefully with just enough force to get him out of what seemed to be a dreadful daydream. He was seeming to zone out more and more, his thoughts trouble. But that was just Sean's guess and he didn't want to pry. "Thinking we could go to the pub."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 1:42:05 GMT -5
He'd known who they were looking for. He'd seen it at the crime scene, from the blood that had dripped on the floor to the fibers of clothing they'd pulled from beneath the victim's fingernails. Getting into the lab to check on that had been the hardest part, but it was worth it because he'd known the moment he'd touched them that they would be able to find this guy somehow, someway. It was just like going backwards from the end of a movie and trying to figured out how things got to where they were. Sometimes he had to go over things once, twice, a dozen times, but there was always something they could find if they just looked hard enough.
Now all of the work had been validated. They'd found the criminal and he was going to face justice. It was all either of them could ask for.
Stephen looked up at the sudden kick on his chair, face blank until he processed what Sean was saying. Then after a pause, he looked down and opened his desk drawer to find... a half-eaten package of crackers. Oh, right. He'd eaten the apple two days ago, right before the big break in the case. Well, crackers and coffee and maybe something from the vending machines was good enough.
He lifted his head back up before responding, "I need to help out at the shop..." Maybe getting out to celebrate wouldn't be so bad. They'd managed to finally get their man, after all. Stephen knew he should go, but he could already feel another headache starting up... "Good work today, though."
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 1:46:25 GMT -5
Sean saw the meager fare when the drawer opened and made a face at him. Rolling his eyes, he turned back to the sandwich and broke it in half, handing one half to Stephen. "What would you do without me?" he said with a grin, leaning back to bite into his half. "Always looking after you. They should pay me double for that, you know," he teased, trying to get the man to crack a smile. It was like pulling teeth lately.
"Rejection again?" he said in mock surprise. "I'm beginning to think you're cheating on me." Setting his lunch down, he leaned forward and said, "I insist. You look like you need a night out. I'm sure they'll understand. Seriously, Stephen, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. We are going for drinks and you're going to pretend to enjoy it."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 2:01:28 GMT -5
"That's your sandwich," Stephen pointed out, before catching on to the fact that Sean wasn't going to take it back. Tentatively, he accepted the offer. Did he really seem that pathetic? He needed to get things together, and quick, or it was going to turn it just like the last time... He took a bite and chewed without really tasting what was inside.
It was odd and just a little frightening that the senses he was supposed to have seemed to be getting duller, while the ones that weren't supposed to be real were growing stronger. He closed his eyes for a brief second. Don't think about it, just eat. Routine. Structure. It would go away.
"I need..." Not a night out. He needed to go home and count receipts and cook dinner and wash the dishes. Normal things that didn't take any thinking. But Sean was insistent and when he got like that, it was hardly worth arguing... He set the rest of the sandwich half down after only a few bites and looked around his desk. "I need... I need a pen."
There was one where it always was, right by the phone. Stephen put everything on the desk right where it was supposed to be and it never moved, unless someone else moved it. He always knew when Morrison borrowed his stapler because he never put it back right... He pulled the paperwork in front of him and started filling in the simple parts at the top. Might as well rip the bandage off now. Besides, it gave him something else to do rather than talking himself into another migraine.
"It's not--" Stephen cut off, not sure how to word things. "It's not a rejection, I'm just... I don't know if I have the energy. It's the summer heat starting up or something, I don't know..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 2:12:23 GMT -5
It was definitely something... But it wasn't the Summer heat. Sean knew that much. Stephen hadn't been acting right for a long time and it was starting to not only worry him, but effecting how he did his job. He was constantly looking over his shoulder after him, making sure everything was all right. Hell, half the time he looked ready to just keel over on the spot. Whether it be stress or exhaustion, it was definitely something.
His own sandwich half forgotten, his brows furrowed and he watched as his partner sought the pen that was always where it was supposed to be. Anxiety was something Sean recognized. His baby sister was prone to it and used to have attack frequently because of it. Sure Stephen was always a little obsessive about his things being in order, but rarely was it so bad that he seemed manic. This was starting to wreak havoc on Sean's own well practiced calm.
"What's wrong with you, man?" he asked pointedly. "You've been acting strange for weeks."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 2:23:36 GMT -5
The question hit him hard. Stephen stopped writing for a moment, but then plunged back into the papers at full force. Just act normal. Ha, if it only it was that easy...
"Just wanted to close this case," he replied shortly. "Glad it's wrapped up now, though, aren't you?"
He stopped at the next question on the form, pen hovering above the blank space as he blinked. "When... When was the date of that witness interview? The girl from the petrol station. Before we had the lab results to pin him." He should have known this. He should have remembered. Why couldn't he remember that? It was such an important part of the case!
Stephen didn't look up from the paper. He was trying to keep his face as calm as he could, but it wasn't his face he was worried about. Sean would be able to see it all behind his eyes, the confusion and the doubt... "I must have misplaced my notes," he lied.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 2:31:29 GMT -5
"Of course," he said with a curt nod.
His eyes narrowed and he looked at the pen as his hand stopped feverishly recording facts about the case. How the hell had Stephen forgotten that one? It wasn't like him. Not in the slightest. But that wasn't so bad. People forgot things. Things they shouldn't have forgotten, but nobody was perfect. It was the wavering in his voice that was off. Or how he seemed to tense when he explained himself. There was definite nervousness and it was offensive how he thought he could hide it from Sean. But more than that, he had thought by now they'd developed a friendship close enough that he could at least confide in him. And here he was... clearly holding something back.
His jaw tightened and he tore his eyes away, looking somewhere that wasn't important, but anywhere else that wasn't Stephen. "April twenty-first," he answered, knowing that right off the top of his head. But then there was only one distraction from his work right now, and that was his partner.
"Fine," he said a little too huffily. "I suppose we're all entitled to our privacy and our secrets. I won't pry. But I will say this... If you don't get your act together, Ayers, I'll have no choice but to report you to the chief inspector." It was a low blow, but it was all he had. "Can't do my job if I'm too damned busy worrying about you."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 2:52:28 GMT -5
"Right. You're right. I remember now." Stephen nodded, filling in the questions again. His ink was smudging a bit from pressing to hard, but he just needed to be thorough. No more mistakes. No more forgetting. "Silly thing to forget, really."
Then the threat came. It blindsided him completely and he nearly dropped the pen to look back up at Sean, his mouth ajar. "Why... Why would you do that? I was the one who pushed on this case. I followed the leads that got us the break." The shock subsided and then twisted into anger. His personal life was a mess and he knew that, but at least he could still do his job. It was all he had left. No one could take that from him.
"I need a partner, not a nanny," he snapped. Backstabber. Traitor. For some reason, the thoughts came a little too easily, like maybe he'd had them once before... But no, that wasn't right. He and Sean were friends... or so he'd thought. The next words came out more tired than angry. He didn't have the energy for this. "No one asked you to worry."
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 3:00:09 GMT -5
He seemed unfazed at Stephen's new found anger. At least it was something real for once. He looked back at him, studying him for a moment before sighing. "You did very well on this case, Stephen. It never would have been solved if not for you. But you nearly killed yourself over it. You were obsessed. And it's going to catch up to you. You're making yourself sick. I don't even know why. I've never seen you like this, and we've been working together for years." It was the obsessiveness that frightened Sean. There were leads Stephen found that nobody should have been able to find. He was good. But nobody was that good.
"I am being a partner," he defended, his voice remaining level but there was an insistence behind the tone. "If you don't expect me to worry about my own partner, then you've got no idea what it means to be one." He fell quiet after that. Though he had plenty to say, he wasn't quite sure how to articulate it right. Damn he'd never been good at being wordy.
"I'm not going to go to the bloody chief," he said at last. "You know me better than that. But damn it, Stephen... could you at least tell me what's been eating at you. And don't you dare insult me by saying it's the case. I know you better than that."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 3:26:22 GMT -5
Stephen let the pen fall onto the half-finished paperwork. He couldn't concentrate anymore. All the lines were blurring together and sometimes he thought he saw words that he hadn't written. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back a little in his chair, trying to take long breaths. He didn't look back at Sean.
"I'm just... tired. I'll be fine tomorrow," he insisted. He wanted to believe it, so maybe saying it would make it come true. Sleep would usually help, but too much sleep carried a risk of its own... He didn't want more dreams. He just wanted oblivion, if only for an hour or two. Stephen reached down to open his desk drawer again, reaching all the way into it until he found the little bottle rolling around in the back.
He wasn't supposed to have these. His last prescription had run out, but they had been making so much progress, he couldn't risk the investigation falling apart. There was a doctor in the city that didn't ask a lot of questions, so that part had been easy enough... Just one for tonight and then things would be easier in the morning. He took the pill without any extraneous effort; just like everything else in his life, it was just part of his routine. Allergies, he'd said from the beginning. Everyone had allergies.
He chased the pill with tepid coffee, then looked back to Sean one last time. "Maybe I do need to get out. Just... somewhere quieter. Where did you have in mind?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 21:14:23 GMT -5
Tired probably wasn't entirely a lie. But it wasn't entirely the truth either. But from his mum-lipped friend, he supposed this was the best he was going to get. He'd just have to accept it. For now.
Somewhere quieter?
"We could go to Georgie's," he said. After work it was pretty much dead. It was the morning rush that one wanted to avoid. And it wasn't exactly drinks, but there was coffee. And it was quiet.
He turned back to the sandwich, not feeling exactly hungry anymore. Then he looked at the papers that needed to be filled out, but he wasn't feeling that either. It was still upsetting to him how Stephen was behaving. As if he didn't know by now that Sean would do anything to protect him. Being his partner made him more like a brother. He would probably never say it out loud, but he'd have thought that by now, Stephen knew.
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 21:33:07 GMT -5
"That's fine," Stephen answered. Now that the conflict had blown over, he was back to the same worn-down, half-distracted state he'd started in. The medicine wouldn't kick in for a while yet, but just knowing that it would gave him a small amount of relief, at least. Things would be back to normal soon, or as close to normal as he'd ever gotten. "I mean, it's great. We haven't done it in a while, so it's about time."
He'd forgotten about the food, but went back to the paperwork. Usually he would just let the silence settle as he worked, but now it seemed like he needed to make a bit more effort to assure Sean that nothing was the matter. Therefore, smalltalk. It wasn't Stephen's most practiced skill, but he could manage.
"So, anything new?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 1, 2012 22:10:15 GMT -5
He reached for one of his own pens and squeezed it. Sometimes it relieved stress to pretend he was squeezing Stephen's throat. Being loyal to his partner didn't necessarily mean he didn't want to strangle him from time to time. Ayers could be rather infuriating. Even without trying. Just, he seemed to be trying right now, which was all the more frustrating.
New? Yeah... this behavior was new. Him forgetting things he shouldn't be forgetting was new. Everything... But he kept that to himself.
"Been avoiding home. My sisters are attempting to set me up with one of their friends..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 1, 2012 22:25:20 GMT -5
Stephen paused for a beat over the papers and turned to give Sean a look. "You mean... your sisters.... who are around 15?" He and Sean never talked too much about their families, which was for the best, but Stephen could have sworn his sisters were still just kids. "I hope by 'friends' they mean their teacher or their babysitter."
The expression of his face turned a little more sympathetic. "But either way, that does sound rather... awkward..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 2, 2012 3:45:13 GMT -5
Sean grimaced. Yeah, he'd walked into that one. "You're an ass," he said with a slight chuckle. "No... Some girl my sister met at the University. Public relations major or some such... You know how much we love PR types..." he said sarcastically. "Well... You know on second thought... Maybe I could hand her off to you. You look like you could do with some attention. And it might divert my sister's little crush on you." He teased him about it, but honestly... it wasn't something that Sean liked acknowledging. His sister had no business having crushes on men who were older than her. Men who were police officers. Men who were Sean's friends.
"I'm running out of excuses... My mother expects me 'round for Sunday dinner and I just... am terrified she's going to be there."
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 2, 2012 4:06:22 GMT -5
Stephen made a face. "I don't need attention, from your cast-offs or anyone else's for that matter." He also didn't need reminding of that odd little schoolgirl crush. Even more than that, he disliked trying to get set up even more than Sean did. He hadn't even thought about women, not seriously, since... Well, a long time. He didn't feel right in his own head, so why would he feel right around anyone else?
"Girls in PR talk too much anyway," he pointed out. "If she's there, just try your best to offend her. With you, it shouldn't be too hard." That was teasing, but it just might work.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sean Scott on Mar 2, 2012 4:14:23 GMT -5
He might have poked fun at him then, but Sean agreed fully. He really had not stopped to think about fostering any sort of relationship outside of professional ones in a long time. It almost seemed ridiculous to even fathom it. It would seem in this, Stephen and Sean were very much alike. "You don't have to make it sound like that. I prefer to think of it as being charitable. Not giving you cast-offs."
He smirked and started to fill out the blanks on the page in front of him, easy things that required little thought. "Ignoring a woman offends them, right?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Stephen Ayers on Mar 2, 2012 20:47:57 GMT -5
The corners of Stephen's lips turned up in beginnings of what might have been a grin. "With the way you're spinning that euphemism, seems like you and PR girl would get on pretty well, actually."
He took the rest of the sandwich half that he'd neglected and tried to finish it off in a few more bites. No point in letting it just sit there. When he was done chewing, Stephen answered, "Unless she just thinks you're playing hard to get. Could come back to bite you..."
|
|
