by Amber Heart
‘Damien.’ She whispered, pulling away for a moment. He pulled her back to him, pressing his lips to hers, letting himself get carried away.
‘We can’t do this.’ She pulled away again, stepping out of his arms. She pushed her hair behind her ears and sighed, putting some space between them.
‘What do you mean?’ He asked, a little breathless. To him, it felt natural to be together.
‘You and me. Us. It’s too complicated.’ She sighed as Damien closed the gap between them once more. He put a hand on her cheek and rested his forehead on hers.
‘Give this a chance, please.’ He sighed, closing his eyes. She moved her hand to rest on top of his and he opened his eyes to find her smiling sadly at him.
‘It’s not the right time, Dame, you know it’s not.’
‘But we’re great together, it’d be so easy.’ He tried to change her mind.
‘Easy?’ She laughed. ‘We hate each other half the time.’
‘I’ve never hated you.’ Damien pointed out, moving back a little.
‘Really?’
‘Why? Did you hate me?’
‘Of course I did!’ She exclaimed.
‘What did I do?’ He was more confused than anything, not necessarily upset.
‘You are very capable of being a pain in the ass.’ Olivia explained. ‘You can’t even deny it.’ He smiled a little.
‘We don’t have to put a title on it. Like, we could just stay at each others places sometimes, have breakfast, go to the movies together, maybe a meal… and we happen to not see other people romantically?’ She gave him an unimpressed look.
‘You know it’s not that easy. We’ve both got stuff to focus on, stuff that’ll get in the way. It’s not worth it, Dame. I’m sorry.’ She kissed his cheek and walked away, leaving him stood alone.
Chapter Three
Olivia shot awake, her heart pounding. Why was she dreaming about her night with Damien? Pushing her hair away from her face, she could feel his touches as though that night had just happened, instead of two years ago. She blamed it on the way he was with her yesterday. He had been on her mind a lot; she had toyed with the idea of them being a couple all evening, it wasn’t surprising he was in her dream. Even so, her decision hadn’t changed, he had more important things to focus on.
When she arrived to work, he was already there, typing away on his computer. They were the only two in the bullpen and Olivia was worried that their conversation would be awkward. What if he hated her now? What if he couldn’t stand to talk to her, even look at her? It was better than bickering all the time, but she couldn’t cope if they became strangers. Maybe, sometime soon, she could consider his offer seriously.
‘Good morning, Damien.’ She smiled, placing a coffee cup on his desk before making her way around to her own.
‘Good morning to you too, Hardy. What’s this?’
‘I went to Starbucks, thought you’d appreciate a proper coffee.’
‘Someone’s being awfully nice today.’ He beamed. ‘You know, you don’t have to act differently around me because of yesterday.’
‘Are you talking about the breakdown, or when you asked me out?’ She teased, hoping he was in a playful mood.
‘Both, I guess.’ He smiled back. ‘The offer’s still open, you know.’
‘I might take you up on it… one day.’ She smiled as she shrugged.
‘Once you stop hating me?’ He laughed.
‘Once you stop being an ass.’
‘You love my ass.’ Damien smirked and Olivia threw a mini basketball at him, hitting his head.
‘You’re in early.’ She said, catching the ball as he threw it back to her. He rolled his chair out into the middle of the room, bringing his empty bin with him to be their net. Olivia rolled over to join him.
‘Mum was quiet, so I slept quite well.’ He explained, taking the ball back and taking a shot, missing the bin by an inch or so.
‘Not up thinking about me then?’ She smirked as he rolled off to grab it, throwing it back to her. ‘Score!’
‘There goes that modesty again.’
Her desk phone started to ring and she rolled herself over to answer it.
‘Hello?’
A female voice asked through the phone.
Yes, this is Hardy. Can I help you?’
‘Oh, great, thank you. Is she talking?’
‘Is it possible to come and visit her now? We won’t be asking any serious questions for the moment, but it would be nice to see her.’ She smiled.
Olivia hung up the phone and smiled at Damien.
‘Everything okay, Hardy?’
‘Remember that domestic abuse case we did a few months back?’
‘The one with the psycho ex that put her into a coma?’ He asked, rolling his chair back to his desk.
‘Yeah, well, she’s just woken up. You want to come with me and see how she’s doing?’ She asked.
‘Sure, didn’t the guy get out on bail?’
‘Yeah, what a fucking joke. He almost killed her, bastard should be in jail.’ He could see she was getting angrier by the second. Cases didn’t affect Hardy very often, but these ones never failed to piss her off.
‘Hey, come on. Let’s go see what she says, we can still put him down for this.’ He smiled, moving to her side of the desk to pat her shoulder. She nodded and then they started to leave.
When they arrived at the hospital, Damien looked uneasy. He hated it; he no longer saw them as places to get better, instead, hospitals felt like places where people came to die. He’d been here too often. The receptionist recognised him as soon as they came through the door and he hoped she didn’t say anything about his mother. Olivia didn’t fully know what was wrong with his Mum, and he didn’t really want anyone to tell her. It was still a sensitive subject and if she knew he’d lied to her, she’d hate him.
‘Hey, Damien. Everything okay?’ The woman behind the desk smiled. ‘How’s your mother?’
Olivia didn’t miss the exchange and watched his expression.
‘She’s good, thanks. We’re actually here on police business to see Miss Ferguson.’
‘Oh, of course. I’ll show you the way.’
The receptionist led them near the ward they needed and, on the way there, Damien had bumped into a handful of nurses he knew. A few had asked how his mother was, asked why they hadn’t seen her for a while, but nothing too incriminating.
‘You seem to know a few people around here.’ Olivia pointed out just before they entered the ward. ‘What’s wrong with your mom exactly?’
‘Nothing serious.’ He brushed her off, shrugging. ‘Honestly, don’t worry.’
‘Damien!’ A high pitched voice called almost as soon as they’d opened the door. He knew who it was before he saw her but Olivia looked around till she saw her. The voice belonged to a nurse on the ward, a petite blonde woman. She was beautiful, model worthy, and the look she gave Damien didn’t quite sit right with her. ‘How are you doing?’
‘Meghan. Hi.’ He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. Never good for a one-night stand to meet the woman you’re trying to impress.
She wrapped him into a big hug, ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’m working a case.’ He said, barely hugging her back.
‘Saving the world as always?’ She giggled, only then realising Olivia was next to him. ‘And I see you brought a friend.’ She looked Olivia up and down, an eyebrow raised at her.
‘This is my partner. I’m tagging along on her case.’ He said, resting a hand on Olivia’s shoulder with a smile. He noticed she didn’t smile back
‘I’m Detective Hardy.’ She offered a hand but Meghan just looked at it and ignored her, purposely turning her body so she could only see Damien.
‘God, I haven’t seen you forever!’ She smiled, blocking Olivia out of the conversation. ‘Last time must have been...that really amazing night last year, do you remember?’ He knew exactly what she was doing and it made him nervous.<
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‘Yeah, sure. We’re actually here to see-’
‘Oh, and your mom! I haven’t seen here for a while, is she okay?’ Meghan pushed on, flipping her hair off her shoulder so it hit Olivia. Damien stiffened at the mention of his mom. Meghan had looked after her a few times, it was how they met in the first place and he knew she’d be the one to ruin things for him.
‘Look, Meghan, we just need to-’
‘Cancer’s hard, Damien.’ She sighed, resting a hand on his upper arm, taking a step towards him. ‘If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, or something a little more… distracting, you can always call me.’ Meghan winked at him and Damien felt his cheeks redden.
‘Your mom has cancer?’ Olivia scoffed and he pushed Meghan’s hand off him to face her. She was pissed and disappointed all at once. He tried to reach for her hand but she backed away.
‘Liv-’
‘Wow, you really don’t get to call me that.’ She shook her head. Meghan rolled her eyes at Olivia.
‘You’re a pretty shitty partner if you don’t know about his mom.’ She scolded Olivia before turning back to Damien. ‘You can do so much better.’ She shrugged and he knew she meant more than finding a better partner.
‘I’ll see you in the room.’ Olivia muttered, scowling at him. ‘Don’t let your dick get in the way of your work.’ She walked off without another word, her shoulder clipping Meghan’s as she went past.
‘Olivia, wait!’ Damien called but she didn’t stop, she didn’t even look over her shoulder.
‘Well she seems like a bitch, sorry you’re stuck with her.’ Meghan shrugged, smiling at him brightly after a moment of glaring down the corridor at Olivia. ‘So, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen you around here.’ She fluttered her eyelashes at him. ‘Where have you been?’
‘Oh you know, they put mum on a few different wards.’
‘Do you want to come over to mine tonight? You look like you need a distraction.’ She smirked, putting a hand on his chest.
‘Look, I’m kinda seeing someone at the moment.’ He lied, looking down the corridor for where Olivia went.
‘I’m not.’ She shrugged. ‘What’s the harm in-’
‘Look, Meghan. I’m really not interested. What happened a year ago was a mistake, I was freaked out by my mum’s diagnosis and you happened to be there.’
‘You know, you’re a real jerk.’ She slapped him, hard, and stormed off.
Olivia sat by the woman’s bedside, holding her hand and speaking to her softly. She looked tired, even a little thin, but she looked a lot better than she had a few months ago. Her face was bloodied and bruised back then.
‘This is my partner, Detective Macken.’ She explained when he walked into the room, standing silently near the door. ‘He’s helping me with your case.’ At least she was being professional.
‘Thank you.’ She smiled at them both. He thought about taking the chair next to Olivia, then thought against it. He didn’t want to frighten the patient, and he especially didn’t want to piss Hardy off more.
They asked the woman a few questions, about her whereabouts, what had happened, but her memory wasn't the strongest. It didn’t take very long and the pair excused themselves politely. In the corridor, Damien grabbed Olivia’s arm.
‘Hey, about-’
‘Detective!’ Someone called from behind them. Damien turned to see a nurse coming towards them, Casey, if he remembered correctly. A young boy was holding her hand. ‘We hoped we’d catch you before you left, someone wanted to see you. The boy was perhaps ten, at most, but he was frail and thin, his head completely shaven.
‘Callum?’ Damien smiled, kneeling so they were the same height. The boy grinned and ran up to him. ‘Hey buddy! Looking good, how are you?’ He lifted the boy into the air, making him smile and laugh, before holding him to his hip.
‘Have you been catching a load of bad guys?’ Callum asked, picking the badge up around Damien’s neck.
‘I have, it’s why I’ve not been to visit recently. How’s the drawing going?’
‘He’s gonna be the next big thing.’ The nurse smiled and Callum shrugged.
‘Do you want to meet my partner?’ Damien asked.
‘Is she nice?’ He whispered, clinging onto him.
‘She’s lovely, and she’s a much better detective than I am.’ He smiled, taking a few steps towards her. She was already watching them and smiled. ‘Olivia, this is Callum. We spent a lot of time together when my mum was getting treatment. He’s the one who drew that picture on my desk.’
‘The one of you and me?’ She asked, thinking about the crayon drawn picture that sat proudly on his desk. ‘It’s really nice to meet you, Callum. I love that drawing.’
‘Thank you. Do you help Damien catch the bad guys?’ This kid clearly saw him as a hero.
‘I do, and he’s very good at helping me.’ She smiled.
‘Callum got some good news today.’ Casey smiled; she’d worked with a lot of the children with cancer, and loved it when Damien visited. He was great with the kids and he always made them laugh and smile.
‘Oh yeah, what’s that bud?’
‘My cancer is gone!’ He beamed. Damien couldn’t believe it; it was a miracle, no-one had imagined he could get better after so long.
‘That’s great! So, this your last hospital appointment for a while, eh?’ Callum nodded.
‘I’m happy for you.’ Olivia smiled.
‘Hey, you said if I’m ever better, I can come to work with you!’
‘So, you remember that?’ Damien chuckled. ‘Of course you can, we’ll sort something out with your parents.’
‘Yaay! Can I come see your car?’ He smiled.
‘Well, we’ve got a tiny little bit of work to do, but if you’re still here later then of course you can.’
‘Callum, we need to leave the police alone now but we’ll find them in a while.’ Casey assured him as Damien put him back down.
‘Okay, goodbye Olivia!’ She waved and smiled. ‘See you soon, Damien.’ He gave him a big hug and a fist bump.
‘See you soon, bud.’
Olivia and Damien were sat in their car a little while later. After a few more questions with Miss Ferguson, they showed Callum around their car, even turned on their siren for him. He loved every second of it but now, the excitement had worn off and the detectives were sat in an awkward silence.
‘Aren’t you going to drive?’ Olivia asked impatiently and Damien turned in his seat to face her.
‘I want to talk.’ He said. Jesus, they had never talked so much in their lives. ‘About what happened with Meghan. I gather you’re upset about her.’
‘You think that’s what I’m upset about?!’ She raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Damien, I don’t give a shit who you stick your dick in.’
‘You sure about that? You seem pretty pissed back there.’ He snapped and Olivia scoffed. ‘You know what, if you’re really not that bothered, maybe I will see her tonight.’
‘Do what you want! Why are we even talking about her?’
‘Because you’re upset about her!’
‘I’m upset because you said your mom was just ill, Damien! She’s got cancer, fucking cancer, and you didn’t trust me enough to tell me! You think I’m pissed that I’m not your only one-night stand?’ She was almost yelling now, getting more and more frustrated with him.
‘Wait, this isn’t about Meghan?’ Damien said slowly, a little confused.
‘No! Why didn’t you tell me about your mom?’
‘Because it’s none of your business!’
‘No, it’s because I said I couldn’t go out with you, isn’t it? You didn’t get what you wanted so you didn’t tell me about the most important thing in your life. Is that it?’
‘It fucking hurts to admit!’ His voice broke and he took a moment to compose himself. ‘Every person I tell makes it more real. She decided to stop her treatment yesterday and now she’s dying. I don’t want to go around shouting that my mum’
s choosing to die quicker.’ He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, and when he looked back to Olivia, she had a sad look on her face, one he didn’t quite understand.
‘I… I just, I thought I was different.’ She whispered. ‘I thought you trusted me. I know we argue, but…’ She trailed off. How can you open up to someone and yet not tell them the most defining piece of your life? Was she not important enough to know? She opened the car door and went to step out but Damien grabbed her arm.
‘Where are you going?’ He looked as broken as Olivia felt. They were both hurt, both stinging from the realization that whatever they thought they had was disappearing.
‘I need some air. I’ll see you at the precinct.’ She pulled her arm away and shut the door before walking off in the opposite direction.
Damien was sat at his desk later that day. Olivia had stopped to grab some small things and had left again, he felt useless when he looked at the empty desk. Slowly making way through his work, Jason grabbed the empty chair opposite him and sat down next to him.
‘Jesus, pal. You look shit.’
‘That woman is driving me crazy.’ He sighed. Maybe he should have told her about his mother, he’d told her just about everything else, but saying it out loud hurt him every single time. At the same time though, he shouldn’t have assumed it was Meghan she was upset over. Of course it would be his mother, Olivia doesn’t get jealous easily.
‘Let me guess, you fell out again?’ He nodded. ‘What about this time?’
‘She found out about mum’s cancer.’
‘And you argued about that?’ Jason was confused.