Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin

musebysentence | 94.12. Rant

2011-02-21T12:22:04Z

That awkward moment when you realise yelling at your partner is really not going to get you anywhere.

For sixwordstories

2010-08-13T08:51:54Z

I really need a bloody holiday.

For musebyrp

2010-07-05T10:15:29Z

LINK: Damn, everyone seems in such a shitty mood today.

For sixwordstories

2010-06-30T01:08:29Z

Post-lunch decomposing body examination.

Ugh.

For sixwordstories

2010-06-18T02:13:19Z

LINK: Nicked an Elvis impersonator. Good times.

justprompts | May: Quote

2010-05-06T07:33:51Z

"He who tells a lie is not sensible of how great a task he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain that one." - Alexander Pope

[Follows THIS and THIS]

Matt was slipping his detective badge back into the breast pocket of his coat as he looked at the nurse skeptically. "Appendicitis? That is impossible. I have it on good authority that he's already had his appendix out. What, is this some sort of screwed up generic diagnosis? You're going to cut him open and take out a body part before the tox screens have even come back? Do I need to get a court order to stop that, or are you just bloody begging for him to sue the hospital for battery?" It was no secret that Matt was cranky after his hectic day at work that ended with being vomited extensively upon by Vee's Irish BFF. After making sure both Vee and Gee knew what was going on, Matt met with Natalie back at the CID to present her with the poisoning suspicions, especially with the new information from Vee that confirmed Euan had already had his appendix out at some point in the past... a fact that allegedly came from Euan's own mouth. They really had no choice but to run with that, and she gave the go ahead to investigate the possibility of poisoning, which gave Matt the opening he needed to question the medical staff at the hospital taking care of Euan.

Gee relieved Ronnie of his bedside vigil duties, and he met up with Matt in the Casualty department. Matt had given Ronnie a quick rundown of everything, and then they were both onto the case. Natalie had faxed through a court order for tox screens on Euan's blood, and on the chance he vomited again, his stomach contents. They were just waiting on the results. Unfortunately bloody doctors and nurses could be extremely unhelpful when they wanted to be, liking to generally hide under the protection of the doctor-patient confidentiality umbrella, or patient confidentiality policies. Which were all well and good, until there was a police investigation, in which case, Ronnie and Matt should have easy access to what information they needed. Should being the operative word. They got roadblocked right up until getting palmed off onto the Head Nurse of the unit, no one else under her willing to risk giving any wrong information to the coppers.

Ronnie cleared his throat and gestured to Euan's medical record lying open in front of the nurse on her desk. "You got telephone authority from his sister in Ireland, who is on her way to London as we speak. Did the authority cover any surgical procedures, or just medication intervention? Can I see a record of the telephone conversation?" he requested while his adrenaline-pumped, nippy and snarky younger partner fumed and played bad cop beside him. Matt was primed, but Ronnie had never been beyond telling him to just chill out and get a cuppa. He wasn't too far off that, he suspected.

Matt watched with a frown as the nurse manager flicked through the file and found the written telephone record. "He has a scar, Ronnie. On his abdomen," he pointed out for emphasis.

The nurse cleared her throat. "Detective," she began evenly, watching Matt with her eyebrow raised, and then handed Ronnie the sheet of paper. "It is true that we don't have access to any of Detective Fitzpatrick's prior medical history or records, but his sister is adament he has never had appendicitis and she has given authority for surgery. In fact, our doctors have examined abdominal scar and it is not only too high on his abdomen to be from an appendectomy, but the way it has knitted indicates it was caused by something large with a serated edge. Most certainly not a surgical scalpel. If you see there, our doctor queried this with his sister and she told us he was stabbed with a knife in his late teens, something she couldn't elaborate on because she had been estranged from him for a period of time when it happened."

Ronnie was listening while he read over the record of the telephone conversation. It basically just recounted what the nurse had just explained verbally, with some other boring facts such as querying allergies or any possibly medical history. He handed it to Matt, clearing his throat. "The docs have diagnosed appendicitis, then? There is a beyond reasonable doubt assumption of the diagnosis?" He could feel Matt fuming beside him by now, probably wondering if his blonde lay had been lying to him.

"All of the symptoms fit like a new glove. We can ultrasound to confirm, but since your intervention with a police investigation, we have had to wait for any further medical procedure under your go ahead. I can understand how a suspicion of poisoning may have been raised, sir, but from a medical perspective, it's unlikely. Detective Fitzpatrick has vomited repeatedly, yet on examination, we can see no signs of a substance burning or blistering his lips or throat as would with a caustic substance upon ejection. There's also no traces of blood in the vomit, so it would have to be a poison that could act as merely an emetic causing stomach pain. It would not have been something given with intent to murder. With all due respect, Detectives, if either of you have had appendicitis, you would know that it can be extremely painful and distressing prior to surgery, not to mention life threatening. Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't you delaying his inevitable surgery be grounds for involuntary manslaughter if he dies from a septic appendix? The tox screens have been taken and you can still wait for the result while he is operated on. We go in, take the appendix, whether it's healthy or not, he is symptomatic, so it comes out. While we're in there, the surgeons can look around for any other internal sides of poisoning."

Matt pressed his lips together, clearly pissed off at the turn of events, but he handed the sheet back to her roughly, clearing his throat. Vee and Gee would both castrate him if he got overenthusiastic in an investigation with basically no evidence just out of principle, especially when Euan's life could potentially be on the line. He just had no idea why the hell Vee believed Euan had already had his appendix out. All they could do was let him have the surgery, there was no other choice. "You're sure it's appendicitis. Not the other staff, you," he said with a nod for emphasis.

"Yes, Detective Devlin. And I know that you're sure now, too, aren't you? You've been in his shoes. Not sure you would have appreciated someone holding up your medical treatment over a hunch, would you?" The Head Nurse returned pointedly as she tucked the piece of paper back into the file and closed it over. "I will advise you of the tox results the minute we have them. Feel free to utilise this office if you require privacy for your investigation." And then she left them alone.

Matt's lips formed a thin line as he sat back in the chair with a huff. "Appendicitis," he snorted, shaking his head.

Ronnie looked at Matt over the top of his glasses, eyebrow raised, an then slipped them off his face to shove them in his pocket. "I'm going to start thinking you wanted him poisoned, Matty. Or that you're worried he's about to pinch your title of the hospital's Appendectomy King."

Matt rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. "She told me he had his appendix out. Either she's lying or he is. I don't think it's her, meaning there is a chance here she really doesn't know her apparent best friend at all. Can of worms," he mumbled with a shake of his head. "You know the worst part? I can't tell her any of what the nurse just told us," he realised, rubbing a hand over his face. "Christ, I need a pint."

Ronnie patted Matt's back. "She still a detective at heart herself, Matty. Let her connect the dots. I'm sure she's not a pillock."

"No, but I'm starting to wonder if he is," Matt murmured.

- forensicated used with much love and permission

Word Count | 1,359

RP LOG with thinbluegee | Don't shoot the messenger

2010-05-02T12:38:51Z

[Follows THIS | Occurs before THIS]

Matt had been about two steps from getting into the ambulance with Euan to go to the hospital with him, but then he remembered Gee, who was apparently still in the interrogation room with the suspect. After some debate back and forth, it was Ronnie that agreed to accompany Euan in the ambulance. Euan had been drifting in and out of consciousness, and Ronnie had it in hand with his typical Ronnie Brooks reassuring calmness. As he watched Euan be loaded onto a gurney, shoved on oxygen and then wheeled away down the corridor, Matt felt guilty for not going. Almost like he was letting Vee down, and he just knew in his gut Vee would probably chew him out for it once she found out. "Fuck," Matt murmured to himself, scratching his fingers through his hair. He didn't know what the hell was going on with Euan and Gee, but he had to let her know he had just arranged for her partner to be packaged off into the back of an ambulance... and then he would have to go home and tell Vee. Thank god his shift was nearly over and considering they had just reached a crossroads in their investigation, Natalie let him knock off a bit earlier.

He waited outside the interview rooms, pacing up and down waiting for Gee to exit, which she did, after their suspect was led off in handcuffs in the other direction by two uniforms. Matt raised his eyebrows, curiously. "You got a charge, then? Well done," he offered and then cleared his throat.

Gee was more than a little surprised to find Matt waiting outside the room, but she gave a nod before looking around for Euan. "I didn't realise it was time to play musical Irishmen. Is he okay? Or did you push him down a flight of stares for not being your kind of Irishman? He can actually be a pretty good cop, you know. And a good good cop. He's not such a bad date, either." Gee stopped talking as she looked at Matt's face again. "What's wrong?"

Matt had just raised his eyebrows as she started to ramble about Euan. She had the same disease as Vee. God fucking help him if it was catching... seemed only to be isolated to females, though, and he suspected that Mary in Forensics had it too, and possibly Tracy in the cafeteria. Still, Matt might look innocent, but that didn't mean he couldn't be a shit when he was a tiny bit irked. "So good that he upped and left you high and dry in an interrogation with a murderer?" he challenged.

"He needed a recess," Gee answered as she held his gaze and straightened her posture as she set her shoulders back. "He's never left me alone with one before, so it had to have been serious. And I got a result, didn't I? I'm still here. I'm not the bloke's type. There was a uniform in the corner. I wasn't high and dry, I know how to keep an interrogation going. I don't fall apart without him."

Matt watched her evenly for a moment, unable to help wondering how she would feel is she realised getting a charge on the suspect wasn't the only thing she would be doing alone in the next few days. "I just shoved him into the back of an ambulance, unconscious," he finally told her.

Gee's face changed in an instant as she sucked in a breath, feeling like she'd just been hit hard in the chest. "What?"

"You want me to repeat it?" Matt could play the stoic game if that's what she wanted. He wasn't exactly sure what he did to deserve the continuous defensiveness about Fitzpatrick of late. He hadn't said anything against the guy beyond querying the stuff out of his own mouth. He had it in stereo with Vee and Gee.

Gee shook her head as she felt her bottom lip begin to quiver and bit down on it. "Why? What happened? He was... he was fine. Wasn't he? Matt, what happened? Where's he going? Which hospital? Will he be okay?"

Matt draped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a small squeeze. "I'm sure he's going to be fine. Ronnie's gone with him. He's just ill. I found him in the hall, I think he was coming back from the bathroom, but he really didn't look good. He threw up all over the place and passed out. I mean, I'm no doctor, but it looked like it might be appendicitis, which I can bloody vouch for by the looks of him. It could be just food poisoning or a virus or something. I'm not sure that I buy he was fine, but probably did a good job not letting you know he wasn't because something like that doesn't just come on in five minutes."

Gee leaned against him as she let herself feel overwhelmed for a moment before she started to pull herself back together. "But why wouldn't he just tell me? If he's not feeling a hundred percent, I need to bloody know. Especially as his bloody partner. I need to know if he can't perform his job for some reason. Jesus, fucking appendicitis... Poor bloke. Stupid lying bastard, but poor Euan."

Matt's memories of his own illness were still fresh in his mind and he shrugged. "I don't know him well enough to make any of those calls. I do know, however, that sometimes you just don't want to admit you're sick or you think if you feel crap, it'll just pass eventually. You had work on, you had an interrogation pending. He obviously thought he would be fine with it. I know how he was over Christmas when he was here, and he was starting to get ill then. He just went down, went to bed and didn't want to be bothered. If he was deliberately not telling you, then well, that's an issue you'll need to sort out with him, but I doubt it. I don't know why I do, but I just do."

Gee looked at Matt before she reached up to rub her hand over her face. She was actually angry with Euan for not just telling her. He could have let her protect him, and watch out for him, but no. He just put on another mask, and suffered through an interrogation until he just couldn't. "Bloody men," she murmured. "Does Vee know? Have you told her? You need to tell her. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Do I just wait? Do I go? I'm his partner, but that doesn't mean anything."

"A date and a weekend in Amsterdam is nothing?" Matt asked skeptically with a small snort of amusement. "Just about everyone here knows you two are getting it on away from work. At work, apparently the UST is so thick it can be cut with a knife. I assume he's gone to the closest public hospital. Just go there. Ronnie's there. What are they going to do, kick you out of a public waiting room? I'll tell her. I just need to fill out an incident report seeing as he decided to take a dive on work premises in work time. For all we know, it could be poisoning. Need to cover our bases, you know how it goes."

Gee blinked before she made a face. "Fuck, does he know? Does the whole place really know? You can't be serious. And what UST! It got resolved. You can't have UST when it's been resolved even if I don't know how it got resolved. Just that he won't date me while we're still partners. Only I can't not still want him while we are. Only know I'm down a partner again. I lost Stu, and I lost Euan. I know I'm not the cause, but still. Who's going to want to work with me? I'm a curse. I need to go. I have to... I need to be with him. Or at least in the waiting room."

"Probably. He doesn't seem to give a shit what anyone thinks he is doing though. He only confirms what he needs for the job and nothing more. It's UST at work when he's keeping the professional distance. Getting it on behind the scenes can make work UST even more obvious. You know, this could be food poisoning and he might be back tomorrow. What are you writing him off for, and Stuart is going to be back in a couple of weeks. When did you turn into such a drama queen?" Matt asked, smirking at her. "Also, you don't choose who your partner is, the powers that be do. It's irrelevant if someone wants to work with you or not. I can drop you off on the way back to my place. I need to let Vee know, I get a feeling he didn't tell her anything, either. They had lunch together."

"He probably let her see him unwell though," Gee said before she could stop the words slipping out. She looked at Matt apologetically and huffed out a sigh. "I'm sorry, I'll stop with the drama queen act. I have no idea where it's coming from, especially since the stick up my arse was dislodged. I can't help the UST. I'd stop it if I could, but he's all... him. And it's hard. There's just always this instant electricity between us. Or maybe just from me. Is Vee feeling alright? She'd tell you if she was sick, right? A lift would be great. Thanks, sarge."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I guess she would. She didn't eat the same as him at lunch, though. Actually, she came back with him and mentioned he was being weird, but shrugged it off. Maybe he was feeling bad before. You didn't notice anything? I only had a chance to notice he was looking rough before he just... exploded. Do you know if he's had his appendix out? I'll ask Vee, she might know. You know, if he needs surgery, he likely won't get back to work until after Evans gets back, so... technically not still your partner," he told her lightly as he fished his car keys from the inside pocket of his jacket.

Gee shrugged. "Sometimes the contamination can come from the same kitchen, not just the same food. Depends on what the contamination is. I just want him to be okay. He's really not having the greatest of luck here in London, is he?" Gee gave a shake of her head as she thought back on the interrogation. "No, but my attention was more on the suspect than Euan. I thought he was purposely staying away from me to buddy up with the bloke, but maybe he thought I'd be watching him?" Gee arched an eyebrow before she smirked. "Are you really trying to tell me it would be okay to date him? Are you sure you want to leave now? If you have to do that incident report I can find something else to do."

"I'm taking it with me." Matt pulled out an envelope with the necessary forms in it followed by his keys. "I'm not telling you to do anything, you're going to do it anyway. I'm just pointing out the obvious. I was off work for a month after I landed in hospital. I needed a lot of help in the first week or so. He hardly touched his lunch, she joked about it being a waste going out eating with him. I doubt he would have been thinking about much else than getting the information. In an interrogation, he wouldn't be thinking what his girlfriend thought about his tactics," he reasoned.

"I'm not his girlfriend," Gee replied softly before she just nodded, and checked her pocket for her money and keys. Unlike a lot of female cops she'd gotten used to not carrying a bag around with her. As a uniform she'd never been allowed to have one on patrol, so why would she have one as a detective? She'd learned to make use of pockets. "Well, he's never not touched his lunch before. He must really be in a bad way."

Matt smirked. "Only a matter of time," he said, maybe pushing her buttons a little but the truth was, he had a niggling feeling in his gut about it. Euan might about turn and prove them all wrong. Here's hoping.

Word Count | 2,090

RP LOG with nychandcuffs | The messenger... again

2010-05-02T06:50:27Z

As soon as Matt knew what the hell was going on, he had sent Vee a text message telling her he was on his way home earlier and asking her to wait for him in case she had any plans on going out anywhere. Bloody typically, he got stuck in a rush of school traffic and he felt like he was negotiating his car at snail's pace through the streets of London to his apartment, which really wasn't that far away from work. Long enough to get stuck in traffic, though. Waiting at a clogged intersection, he called BT for the number of the closest public hospital and got put through to the switch, and then to Casualty. Unfortunately, because Matt wasn't Euan's family, they would give him fuck all information. In fact, they wouldn't even confirm he was there and this just pissed Matt off to no end. Even though he was going home to tell Vee what had happened with her best mate, he really had no information to tell her. So, Euan had spewed all over the hall and Matt's expensive shoes, he had been holding his stomach, then he fainted. It could be appendicitis. It certainly seemed to fit the niche, but at the same time, it could be a shit load of other things too. In fact, it could be something a whole lot more serious than a burst appendix. Despite being a heavy smoker and drinker, Euan was actually extremely fit. This was sudden, and Matt was still reeling from it. It just fucking frustrated him to no end when people weren't forthcoming with information. But law was law, and privacy policies were in place for a reason. With an uncomfortable realisation, Matt did consider the notion that Euan might not want him knowing bloody anything about his healthcare. The hospital had been right to block Matt's attempts for information. It just niggled at something inside, considering was Euan his girlfriend's best friend. If he had made any sort of effort with Euan, they might not even be in this predicament right now. When he tried Ronnie's cell, the automated message just kept telling him the phone was switched off, so he couldn't even access information that way.

By the time he made it back to the apartment, he was stressed out, cheeks flushed from a slight anger at the traffic jam. He peeled his jacket off and loosened his tie. "Vee!" he called, and messily tossed his jacket onto the sofa. It was times like this he wished he was a smoker.

Vee had been waiting on the sofa for Matt since she got his message, but the call of nature had finally kicked in and she'd gone upstairs. She now came rushing back down them at his call, practically throwing herself at him as she checked him over for bullet wounds, bruises, or any other signs of harm. "Are you okay? You're in one piece. One piece is good. I waited, I just had to pee. You know what it's like." She stopped to kiss him on the lips before running her fingers through his hair. "Hi."

"Hey," Matt said with a small laugh as she scrutinised him closely and messed his hair up. "I would have told you if something happened to me, you know that, right? Or I would have gotten Ronnie to. But it doesn't matter. Listen, I have to tell you something... ask you something. Do you know any of Euan's medical history?" he asked, taking her hand and leading her over to the sofa so they could sit down. He took the incident forms from his pocket and found a pen in the dish on the coffee table.

"I do now," Vee acknowledged with a slight frown. "And Ronnie did tell me last time. It was the worse moment of my life. Tell me something about Euan?" She watched him closely as he pulled out the forms and the pen, and tried to follow along with what was happening. "I know some of it, sure. Why? Matt, what happened?"

Matts eyes were on the form as he filled in his badge number and other details. "Has he had his appendix out?" he elaborated, glancing up at her in question. Hopefully she would get the hint that now wasn't the time to be playing Fitzpatrick Isn't Really a Dick games.

Vee's frown deepened and she cleared her throat as she tucked her hands into her lap. "Yes, he has. He has this scar on his stomach, and he told me it was from having his appendix out. Why? Matt, will you please just spit it out. There can't be anything wrong with his appendix if he had it out, so what's going on? Is he okay?"

Matt paused in his writing, eyebrows shooting up as he looked at her again. He got a small shiver up his spine of apprehension and looked at the form under his fingers. Was there really a possibility Euan had been poisoned? Everyone Matt had asked, they hadn't noted anything off in the way Euan had been that morning, but he was severely ill and holding his stomach like it was painful. He was quiet for a few moments, a small frown on his face as he tried to analyse the facts like a typical detective. "I don't know," he finally admitted honestly. "He wasn't earlier. He was ill, walked out of an interrogation half way through and I ran into him in the hall. He vomited... a lot, and then passed out. We had to call an ambulance. That's why I'm here, but I really need to fill this form out first. I just... we assumed it was appendicitis."

Vee shook her head. "But it can't be. It was just his 'dodgy gut'. He said it was the pie. Why would he lie to me about a thing like having his appendix out? The scar's exactly like the kind you'd get in surgery. There's just no other explanation. I know he's not always forthcoming, but lying about something like that? That's bullshit." Vee let out a quiet frustrated growl. "I knew he wasn't fine. I knew it was serious. He could hardly stand up after lunch. It's the only time he's ever asked me to walk him somewhere, even before your pissing message."

"Jesus Christ, who said anything about lying?" Matt asked defensively, holding up his hand. "I just asked you if he had it out and you said yes. Fine, he has. I was only asking! Ronnie was the one who thought it was, not me. All the signs were there, but obviously we were wrong. Maybe it was the pie, in which case, I might have even more paperwork on my hands and an avenue to make the hospital actually give me information," he said, scratching his forehead with the end of his pen before filling in the date. "I don't even know what a pissing message is. Some days it feels like you're talking another language to me when it comes to him."

Vee held up her hands and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm just... I can't believe he's back in hospital. If it's the pie at least we know what it is, and if it isn't then that's just terrifying. It means he's got something wrong with him that we have no idea about. The hospital gave you nothing? Are they even going to give me anything. What about Gee? Does she know? Is she okay?" Vee rubbed her fingertips against her lips before she leaned forward and braced her elbows against her knees so she could rest her head in her hand and try and stop the urge to bounce her leg up and down. "Apparently you were marking your territory by sending him a message about taking me to the station."

Matt quirked and eyebrow with a smirk. "Sure it's me doing the pissing? I tried to call your mobile. It was out of range," he clarified and then his face fell serious again, pointing at the sheet with his pen. "Where did you eat? Because he was distinctly clutching at his stomach. I'm starting to wonder if he was poisoned." He even went so far as to take his phone from his pocket and send a message to Ronnie to get him to request testing on Euan's blood and stomach contents. "Gee knows, I just dropped her at the hospital. The hospital isn't allowed to give me anything and I'm giving you all I know? I can't offer anymore without going into things like volumes of vomit or otherwise."

Vee arched an eyebrow back at him. "What's he got to piss on me for? I'm not his girl. I only belong to one Irishman in this city. He's my BFF, he doesn't get pissing rights. He can sniff and growl at potential pissers, but that's it. I don't get why mine was out of range, but his wasn't. I fucking hate technology. We ate at the... pub near the station. The Funky Chicken? Cow and Crowbar? I can't remember which one it was, I'm sorry. He picked it, not me." Vee shifted to touch her hand to Matt's for a moment before letting him get on with the form. "Thank you for telling me all you know. I can deal without knowing the volumes of vomit."

"Do you know if he picked it for a specific reason?" Matt paused again, putting his pen down with a sigh as he turned to offer her his full attention. "He was really sick when I saw him, I don't know if he was before that but he was coming back from the bathroom, so maybe. Gee said he left the interview room pretty abruptly, no warning. One minute I was trying to talk to him, and then next he was throwing up all over my shoes and nearly faceplanting in it. I had to catch him before he fell and smacked his head on the tiles. The ambulance got there pretty quickly, and he was in and out by then. Ronnie offered to go with him. He's good like that, always looks out for his own... with Euan is now."

Vee chewed on her lip as she listened, still trying to keep her foot from bouncing impatiently. "It was close. Pretty sure that was the reason. He just wanted somewhere convenient." Vee let out a sigh, and raised her hands to rest her head in them again as she just watched Matt. Her gaze flicked to his shoes briefly to see if they still had bits of Euan's lunch on them. "I tried to tell him he wasn't well, he just wouldn't listen. He was just chalking it up to the pie, and the food. Just said it was dodgy. I seriously hate that word right now. I'm just glad Ronnie went with him. I know U doesn't say much, but I'm pretty sure he hates being alone at times like these. We all do."

Cleaning his shoes had actually been one of the first things Matt had done before waiting for Gee to come out of the interview room. "I don't think he was conscious enough to really know what the hell was going on, but it'll be better if you and Gee are there when he wakes up there. Hopefully they won't take long to find out what's going on. Ronnie will do his best to get what info he can. Are you listed as his next of kin? If you aren't, we could have a problem getting them to tell us anything. Unless I go with the potential poisoning thing and get a little pushy, copper wise," he mused.

"I'll try not to admit just how much of a turn on witnessing that would be," Vee replied with a slight smirk. She closed her eyes briefly as she tried to remember if Euan did have her listed as next of kin or not on his forms. "I don't think so, no. Pretty sure he still has his siblings listed. Guess you'll have to get pushy and I'll just have to try not to jump your bones on hospital grounds."

"Now that would just be unprofessional. You're talking to a bloke who once nicked his mate, remember," Matt sniggered and filled the rest of the details out on the form in his succinct scrawl. He got to the part where he had to describe the incident in detail and he scrunched his nose up. "Last time I did one of these, they sent it back because I didn't write enough. Do I look like Mills and Boon?"

Vee leaned back as she brought her hands up like she was framing Matt to take a picture. "Hm, now that you mention it... Just flesh it out a little. Make sure you include avid details about the vomit and volume of said vomit. They'll soon never ask you to write more detail. You might have nicked your mate, but can you really nick yourself for indecent behaviour, and exposure? Maybe we should get hitched so I don't have to testify against you. Is that a law here?"

"Anyone can testify against anyone here. Your laws over there are screwed." Matt growled softly, looking at the paperwork. "I can't just flesh it out. If the tests come back to tell us he has been poisoned, this is going to be the start of a whole new ball game. I've got to write out exactly what happened. Bearing in mind the fact I could well be a suspect. It's no secret we don't get along, so bollocks to him for choosing me to hurl on. It just makes it look more suspicious," he said wryly.

Vee smirked. "Well, we do seem to enjoy twisting perfectly sane systems and then calling them our own." Vee got up to move into the kitchen and soon came out with a cup of tea for Matt that she sat on the coffee table near him. She'd boiled the pot just before he'd gotten home. "Here, this might help. Alright, so no fleshing out. Just write exactly what happened. You cannot be serious about being a suspect, that's fucking ridiculous. Why would you kill him? Just because you don't get on with someone doesn't mean you can't just agree to mutually hate each other, and no threats of death get involved. He's sick. He has to be. No one would try and poison him intentionally."

"Because I haven't particularly liked him up to this point?" Matt offered with a shrug. He picked up the cup of tea, shooting her a grateful look, and took a mouthful of it. "I've seen people kill for a lot less than that over my time, and I'm sure you have too. Also, just to play Devil's Advocate, he has sex appeal. A lot of it. A lot of females want him. Only takes one scorned to get him some extra seasoning on his pie."

"That would still mean that they knew where we were eating. That you knew where we were eating. I knew, and I still can't remember the name of the place. What makes me any less of a suspect? Maybe I got jealous of him and Gee and decided to just not let anyone have him at all? We can make guesses until the cows come home, but we won't really know anything, or what to guess until the hospital gives us something." Vee ran her fingers through his hair as she kissed his temple. "Most women just slap him in the face, and get on with things. Or he talks them around and fucks them until they forget they're angry. He does have sex appeal, but unfortunately he really knows how to use it."

Matt shrugged again. "It doesn't. No one needs to know anything. They just need to follow, or have someone follow. Maybe you did. You didn't, did you?" he couldn't fight the urge to ask, smirking at her. "But that is my point. The hospital will give us bollocking all unless I run with this poisoning suspicion. Which means, I need to get this form to Natalie and get her to give me the go ahead to start asking questions. If it turns out to be a simple medical condition, all the better. By then, we'll have what we want and he'll hopefully be awake to call the shots. Seriously? Where have you been? I've not seen one woman slap him, just many drool over him and flirt with him."

Vee glanced down at the form, her hand still cupping Matt's face as she rubbed her thumb against his cheek. She looked up at him again, her eyes narrowing just slightly. "Oh, come on! Haven't we covered this ground already? He's a free agent, I don't want to be fucking him, dating him, or in love with him. I'm quite happy with my own Irishman even if he thinks I might poison my ex partner. If you're going to drop that back at the station, I'll just make my way over the hospital to keep an eye on Gee, and Euan. I'll find out if they've called his siblings, too. Otherwise I can do that. I really do hope it's just a medical condition, anything else makes my head hurt." Vee smirked. "Alright, so it's just me that slaps him in the face. The rest of womankind is a lost cause. Feeling a little jealous?"

Matt shook his head in amusement as he had started to pen in the details of what happened. He glanced at her with another smirk. "You really are touchy on that subject, aren't you? That's not what I meant at all. I'm really starting to wonder if you want me to think you still want him the way you keep bringing it up. I was just agreeing with you that yes, you could have had a motive and an opportunity to poison him. You were the one that suggested it, I agreed. That's all," he insisted, shooting her a pointed look. "Why would I be jealous? Because I'm supposed to think he still wants you. All these assumptions are going to start making me wonder why the hell I'm bothering getting in between you two."

Vee gave a shake of her head. "No, because he has sex appeal and no women seem to hate him. I'm just asking. I wasn't actually implying anything. And alright, that was my suggestion but you didn't have to agree. You could have defended me, and made me feel all innocent and pure. You're bothering because I'm the kind of neurotic bitch you could love and can see yourself going grey with," she suggested softly as she gave him another kiss on the temple. "I'm sorry, baby. I really am. I promise to stop being American. I don't want you thinking anything other than that I want you, and you alone."

Matt watched her for a moment and then went back to the form, his writing getting a little messy when he picked up his pace. "You don't have to keep convincing me either way, you know. Do I look and sound like I have any hang ups? It's been months, it's fine. He and I just rub each other up the wrong way, shit happens. And... I do love you," he added, trying to figure out how to tactfully write that he was going for a pee when he came across Euan in the hall.

Vee smiled as she picked up his tea to steal a sip. "I love you too, Matt Devlin."

Word Count | 3,299

musesandlyrics | 6.18. Ace Ventura quote

2010-04-30T13:34:22Z

6.18. "If I'm not back in five minutes... wait longer!"
Ace Ventura

With lovesguinness
[Follows THIS]

Euan really shouldn't have gotten out of bed that day. That realisation because more and more clear to him as the day progressed and he began to feel increasingly more crap as the hours passed. Lunch was a huge mistake. Knowing he had a long haul interrogation ahead of him, he should have taken the signals and realised that he wasn't just exhausted, he was just feeling plain sick. The pnuemonia had been one thing and contracted because of the plane journey, but in general, he rarely got sick. He had always had a tough constitution and most things apparently passed him by while they struck others down around him. He didn't take notice of the signs and figured it would all just pass anyway. Maybe overdoing it in Amsterdam after already knackered from trying to find his feet in London. Whatever it was, Euan found himself in the hours following lunch with Vee feeling unnervingly like he was going to throw up. Or maybe worse. Right then, his gut could completely rebel and throwing up might be the least of worries.

Still, he was good at masks and good at concealing what he was really feeling. Perfect at it, even. He managed to completely elude Gee that he was feeling crap and they headed into the interview room as planned. The suspect was Irish, and it wasn't a hard call to automatically let Euan fall into the good cop roll, buddying up to the bloke to squeeze answers out of him, while Gee slotted into the bad cop pants, roughing the guy up a little. It got to a point, though, that all Euan could think about was how painful his had become. While he was sitting on the edge of the interview table facing the suspect, but with his back to Gee in an effort for his body language to be more mate-like than copper versus perp, he was hit with a distinct wave of warning pain slicing through his gut and he clutching at it before he could stop himself. An uncomfortable heat swept over him and he broke out into a sweat, causing him to push up off the table and start heading for the door. All he offered was an abrupt, "I need a recess," as he quickly pulled open the door and was already making a bolt for the men's room when it swung back closed behind him. Gee would have her hands tied. Inevitably, she would reflexively want to follow him, but she couldn't just up and leave a perp alone in the room, even if it was being video taped, and ending the interview abruptly would compromise any progress they had made. She would need to stick it out in Euan's absence, no matter how distracted she was.

Slamming the door of the first stall open so roughly is banged against the wall of the cubicle, Euan barely got bent over the toilet before he started to throw up forcefully, which only caused the pain in his stomach to increase. He was leant awkward over the bowl holding his stomach, but not the flood gates had opened, it felt like it would never stop. In fact, it felt like he was puking more now than he ever had done in his life but it could just be because it was taking so much effort to pull it off. By the time it seemed over - for the moment - Euan was sweating heavily and tears of pain and exertion were streaking silently down his cheeks. He didn't even realise they had started until he had a moment to try and get a breather, panting as he slumped down on the floor of the cubicle and swiped a hand over his damp face. But the pain wasn't easing; it wasn't coming and going like it had done over the day and with a hiss that was swallowed by an agonised groan, Euan dropped his head back against the wall and gripped his abdomen, trying to will it to stop hurting. There had been only one other time in his life he had this much pain in his stomach, and that wasn't something he wanted to think about.

He was probably only in there for about ten minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. When he managed to get a small hold on the pain and recovered from the bout of vomiting, he flushed the toilet and weakly got up off the floor to wash his face with some cold water and rinse his mouth out. His legs were shaky and feeling like jelly, forcing him to take a moment standing with his hands braced on the edge of the basin as he tried to contemplate whether he was going to vomit again. It felt like he wanted to, but he wasn't sure he had the energy to pull it off. This was some really fucking full-on food poisoning. He had to go home, he felt too sick and in pain to even be able to think straight, let alone try and return to the questioning. It probably wouldn't go down well if he barfed all over a suspect. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, seeing now that he actually looked really terrible. His face was white and he looked exhausted, sweat trickling down his temples despite the cold water. It couldn't be a relapse of the pnuemonia, his chest felt fine, he wasn't coughing. It also couldn't have been a dodgy pie for lunch because no way would he be feverish from that and pressing the backs of his fingers to his cheeks, he felt that he was actually burning up. "Fuck," he cursed hoarsely, trying to swallow back another nauseated urge to be sick. Bed. He just wanted to be in bed.

He felt around in the breast pocket of his jacket to try and get his cell phone out as he exited the bathroom. Even walking was hurting. Seriously, the last thing he needed was to cross paths with Vee's human-sized vibrator, but before Euan had a chance to back track and make himself scarce, his eyes landed on Devlin coming up the hallway and Euan sighed, still attempting to dig his phone out of his pocket. "Devlin," he greeted him politely as he approached, stepping to the side so he could pass.

"Fitzpatrick," Matt returned calmly. It wasn't a secret that neither of them had really hit it off together, even if they had Vee in common. Euan hadn't stayed long at Matt's over Christmas before he landed in hospital and then he went on to stay with Gee, much to Matt's irritation at the time. Since then, things had just been stoic between them. Euan stepped into Evans' shoe and even though he came with a reputation as an excellent detective, the two still didn't make much effort with each other and hadn't needed to be in each others presence very often. This was an unusual event, with Matt and Ronnie just finishing their own interrogation in a nearby interview room. Matt needed a slash before he went back to the department, so inevitably, paths were now crossing.

Euan barely heard the returned greeting, though. He had to pull his hand from his pocket without the phone when a strange wave of dizziness engulfed him and he had to drop heavily against the wall when the floor started to feel like it was tipping under him. Uh oh, this really wasn't good. If this was vertigo, why did it suddenly have to kick in right in front of Supercop? That was the least of his worries for the moment, though, when that disturbing nausea came back full force and next thing he knew, he was throwing up all over the tiles of the hall and both their feet. Hadn't he already been empty? He was sure he had thrown up everything he had ever eaten back in the bathroom. Obviously not. It was the last thought he had before the room lurched around him again and the dizziness increased ten-fold, causing him to, just a couple of beats later, pass out cold.

Matt was just stunned. There wasn't really any other word for it. He didn't even have time to process the fact that Euan had just barfed all over his shoe before the fellow Irishman was crumpling forward. Matt automatically made a grab for him, catching him before he hit the floor and face-planted into the mess of vomit. A few colourful expletives fell from his lips in surprise and he pulled Euan backwards to ease him down to the floor. He quickly looked both ways up the hall before calling out, "Someone call triple nine, we need an ambulance here!" The alert immediately had people running from all directions and by the time anyone even reached their side, Euan was coming-to, though he looked far from well. Matt crouched over him, squeezing his shoulder and giving him a small shake to try and further rouse him. "Euan, mate... can you hear me? It's Matt."

"I needa go'ome..." Euan mumbled woozily until that terrible agony was back and he groaned, trying to curl onto his side as he clutched his stomach, fingers digging into the flesh through his shirt. There was no saving face now, and he didn't want to, either. All he wanted was the pain to stop and his own string of cursing escaped without stopping it. He had no idea he had an audience. In fact, he couldn't even remember where the fuck he was. He just wanted to sleep... or die. Both might be nice. It was the last clear thought he managed before he blacked out again, his head slumping to the side and hitting the tiles.

"Shit!" Matt hissed and looked up at a uniform copper standing over them. "Help me turn him in case he spews again. Has someone called a fucking ambulance?" he demanded, hooking his hands under Euan's back to ease him onto his side with the help of the WPC.

"About six minutes out, Matty," came Ronnie's voice from just up the hall, indicating the ambulance was on it's way. "Looks like he might need a good surgeon, don't you think?"

Matt frowned, head shooting up so he could look at Ronnie and was met with a knowing raise of his eyebrows over the top of his glasses. Euan had been gripping his stomach and it was only a couple of moments later that Matt was felt a tickle of dejavu creep up his spine and a distinct surge of empathy. "Oh bloody bollocks..." he muttered in realisation.

Word Count | 1,782

musebysentence | 75.3. Discipline

2010-04-28T06:44:33Z

LINK: No matter how professional and dedicated you are, sometimes you just want to go out, have a few drinks and really chill out... at least until you start to feel guilty about it.

musebysentence | 74.8. Busy

2010-04-16T00:41:48Z

LINK: Some days, he just really did not have time to scratch himself and that could be annoying when you had a certain itch you wanted to see to...

For sixwordstories

2010-04-16T00:36:47Z

LINK: Oh bollocks. Dropped my bloody chips.

musebysentence | 67.5. Temper

2010-03-25T10:52:02Z

LINK: Matt knew it was going to be a bad day if he found himself pissed off at Ronnie and subsequently yelling at him for some reason... that Ronnie usually eventually proved him wrong about anyway.

musebysentence | 68.10. Aroused [ADULTS ONLY]

2010-03-20T00:19:58Z

LINK: A long stakeout of a suspect, alone in the car, bored, Vee on speed dial... inevitable he would break his rule of no phone sex on the job.

For musebyrp

2010-03-17T09:38:00Z

LINK: I got asked if I wanted to be a sperm donor today. I think as far as life experiences go, my life must now be complete.

musebysentence | 61.8. Unwind

2010-03-04T07:05:50Z

LINK: I really need a pint.

musebysentence | 60.4. Time

2010-02-26T11:10:45Z

LINK: I need more.

musebysentence | 57.2. Quiet

2010-02-23T10:10:28Z

LINK: Matt winced just a little as he heard the door slam loudly in the distance, and then as the apartment seemed to fall silent again, he turned to Vee sitting next to him on the bed, raising an eyebrow questioningly, yet with an air of annoyance, at her.

[Follows THIS]

RP LOG with nychandcuffs | Best laid plans

2010-02-19T10:57:34Z

[Follows THIS and THIS]

Matt had made it home for Valetine's Day with about 3 minutes of the day to spare. He had been on the go since 5am since they got the call out of the new case, and he and Ronnie only managed to clear the decks to go home at around 11.30 that night. He was apologetic, of course, and somewhere through all that admitted that he had never really been hooked up on Valentine's Day and hadn't ever taken much of a liking to it. That wasn't to say he wasn't going to try, only they agreed to take a raincheck on it and celebrate it the next day, which turned out to be a day Matt was forced to take off because he had worked too many hours in the last week. Apparently according to the police force policy, even coppers needed a rest period, case or not. So, after a good night of heavy sleep, Matt had woken up feeling a lot more refreshed the next morning and a long shower with a shave was just the icing on the cake.

He came out of the bathroom wrapped in just a towel and made his way towards the kitchen, his stomach starting to growl in anticipation of breakfast. His last meal had been half a soggy burrito left over from the day before that left Ronnie complaining about Matt's digestive system when they were stuck in a car together on a stake out. Matt was almost drooling at the thought of a good fry up with lashings of bacon, eggs and sausage. How anyone could survive on eating something like grapefruit for breakfast was beyond him. He found Vee in the kitchen and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulders as he leaned just a little to flick the kettle on for coffee. "Did you sleep okay, love?" he asked her, kissing the side of her neck.

"Mm... yes, thank you. Did you?" Vee murmured as she reached behind her to find his ass covered in just the towel. "You know, I think you should always wear just a towel. It's criminal how fucking sexy you are wearing one." She didn't move to face him, enjoying the embrace too much as her other arm covered his, and her fingers brushed over the back of his hand. She hadn't minded that he'd got in late, even if she had been looking forward to 'raping Elmo' as Euan had put it. In fact, she hadn't even had a chance to tell Matt yet that her former partner was back in town. "I need to tell you something."

Matt laughed. "Oh yeah? Not sure the loved ones of the murder victims I'm questioning would really appreciate that," he deduced and unhooked a couple of mugs from where they were hanging on the rack near the kettle. "I did sleep well, actually. First time in a while. I think I was anticipating it more than I realised. It's been a hell of a few weeks. Hell of a few months, actually. Lots of stuff going on from all directions. I'm sorry again about the Valentine's Day thing. I only remembered it was even that when the lass at the coffee cart served me pink coffee as a Valentine's bonus. I kept expecting it to taste like strawberry and I couldn't bloody enjoy it. It made it worse that it was covered in pink sprinkles." He raised an eyebrow warily. "You do? That sounds quite ominous. Do I need to sit down? You aren't going to whip out a positive pregnancy test or anything, are you? Should I get an ambulance on stand by?"

"Shame. Maybe it's just a policy we should instigate around the house. You always wear a towel, I'll always just wear lacy panties." She turned just enough to look at him from over her shoulder, and smiled as she tilted her head back to brush a kiss against his jaw. "You've probably been carrying a lot of the worry over the Scot and the suit's case, too. Now that it's over with you can get back to normal. Or as normal as handling cases with strangers is. It's fine about Valentine's Day. It was just a stupid idea. I mean, it's the first time I've been properly hooked up around one. Like with a boyfriend, and not just a lay, or whatever. Mostly I used to ignore it, so I guess I just wanted to see what it was like doing the romance thing. But we don't need a holiday for that. She made you what? Ew... That's worse than Euan's green Guinness on Saint Patrick's Day. How did the sprinkles not melt?" Vee nodded, and did turn around this time as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at Matt. "Yes, I do. And no, you don't. Nothing involving babies or hospitals. Euan's going to be a DS at your... I was going to say precinct, but that's not right, is it? He's moving to London. Sneaky prick lined up a job and didn't tell anyone. Sneaky prick also managed to get offered a promotion in New York, but he turned it down. He doesn't want to be a desk jockey."

"And guarantee, Ronnie will make it that day to start dropping around for a daily coffee," Matt predicted in amusement. "Then we really could have a heart attack on our hands. That case rode really close to home. I've known Evans since he transferred from Scotland. Not personally, mind, but in passing. It was why I was amused when Gee told me that she thought he was odd, because I really hadn't gotten that feeling about. Turns out the poor guy was just dealing with the aftermath of a case, and wasn't acting top notch like he would. I'm glad they've sorted things out, but then it all hit the fan with the lawyer, who really does have quite the name in London and the case was high profile before we knew what was happening. It wears you down. You try to remain impartial but it's impossible. It drives you on adrenaline to get the job done ASAP so it doesn't keep wearing down on everyone involved, but when it's over, you just inevitably come crashing down from the high." He was getting everything out of the cupboard for a coffee, or he would be way too tempted to just crawl back into bed and sleep the day away. "Yeah, the sprinkles just sort of squished together and made the coffee lump- what? What did you say? He's here? In London?!" he asked, looking at her like she was mental.

Vee leaned back on the counter as she watched him, her eyes more than focused on his waist, and those luscious hip dents of his she just wanted to lick every time she saw him. It was unfair that Matt was just so damn sexy. Then again, at least he had intelligence and wit to match. "Is he likely to do that? How is he, anyway? Still thinks I'm going to suck out your soul and wear your skin as a dress? I know, baby, and I can't blame you. I would have been exactly the same if it had been me in your place, and Euan in Evans. Or something like that. Cops are still human. Complete impartiality is never going to be completely achievable." She frowned a little at his look before she nodded. "Yes, unless I really did imagine him. He's here but staying in a hotel until he finds an apartment."

"Not really. I mean, he'll drop around occasionally and isn't exactly the best at giving forewarning, but he's not a pest. He mostly keeps to himself. It's usually me haunting him when I get fixated on things, and he just puts up with it. I've lost count of the amount of times he's stopped me making a dick of myself." Matt frowned a little and gave a slight nod. "Aye, never completely achievable..." he agreed and then set the coffee jar down on the counter with a small groan, rubbing a hand over his face. "Are you absolutely bloody sure he's here and not in New York? Are you bloody serious that he's just upped and moved here without word? Left his apartment in New York?"

Vee had been trailing her hand over Matt's back and stopped as he groaned, realising something was wrong, but she wasn't sure what. He and Euan hadn't gotten along that badly, had they? "Of course I'm sure, he showed up on your doorstep last night and freaked me out. There's no way he's in New York. Why? What's wrong? And yes, left the apartment. What am I missing, Irish?"

Matt really wanted to ask her if there was any chance she had dreamt it, but it would probably just succeed in pissing her off when he kept continously thinking she was a mental case. Not that he meant to do that, but it really would be much, much easier if she had dreamt it and he wouldn't even be weirded out she was dreaming about her ex partner. He kept his hand over his face for a few moments and then let out a rough sigh as he let it drop back down to his side. "Gee's gone to New York. To see him."

Vee stared at him. "Are you joking?" She waited a beat before she shook her head and answered her own question. "Fuck... He doesn't even know! She didn't... He didn't... Oh, fuck. Shit. Fuck!"

"He bloody told her to come! He told her to come visit him sometime! Clearly he never fucking meant the invitation!" Matt cried in frustration. He couldn't quite believe that everything seemed to hit the fan all over again. "Why didn't he tell you he was coming? She's had a shit couple of weeks and needed to get away, so Evans convinced her to go over there. I figured it was a good idea! It should have been a good idea. Now she's probably landed on his doorstep, and it's not even his bloody doorstep!"

This time it was Vee who covered her face with her hand as she groaned. "Goddamnit! I can't believe it... Of all the shit timing in the entire world... How long's she gone for? I need to call Euan. He has to call Gee and make this fucking right. No good ever comes of his stupid secret bullshit Irish business. He's all about making the decisions when they feel right, and not realising sometimes people need to know he's actually got decisions to make."

Matt realised he was starting to get the hints of a tension headache and he rubbed his fingers against his temples. "When did you say he got here? Last night? Is he even going to be conscious? He was jetlagged for days the first time he got here. Not that I can blame him, because it's a bitch, but bloody hell! I'll try and call Gee, or talk to Evans to see if he's spoken to her. She flew out the day before yesterday, and she's never been over there before." He huffed out another breath, trying to figure out what he should do first. "Are all your friends this much of an impulsive pain in the arse? I swear he's given me hemorrhoids."

Vee slid her arms around Matt's waist and pulled him into a hug as she kissed him softly. "Well, kind of. I mean, Euan is pretty much my only friend now. I'm sorry if he's given you haemorrhoids. I'll gladly kiss them better, or massage them, or do whatever it takes. I'm sorry, Matt. I had no idea he'd be this much of an impulsive pain in the ass. I never would have even guessed he'd wind up back here so soon. I'll go wake him up and smack him around, or something. Fuck the jet lag, he needs to make up some serious ground."

Matt had a momentary burst of selfishness that seemed to come out of nowhere. He moaned in annoyance and threw up his hands. "This is my day off! I was supposed to be relaxing!" he cried, even the thought of needing to cook breakfast putting him off now. He scrunched up his nose and fished a box of Cornflakes out of the cupboard, the cereal swishing around in the box as he dropped it heavily onto the counter. "I need to call her. Who wants to be friggen stranded in New York, of all places? No offense. But when you're a Brit and always been a Brit, that place is gonna be a shock to the system and you're on your own. That movie with the kid abandoning his family and running around there having the time of his life is bullshit."

Vee bit her lip as she watched him helplessly. "Baby, you don't have to stress about this. I mean, it's fucked. I don't doubt that. And I really, really want to give Euan a bitch slap, but it's his mess to fix. I know you should call Gee to check on her, but it won't take all day, right? You still can enjoy your day off. We can still enjoy your day off," she added hopefully. Vee picked the box up and put it back into the cupboard before going to the fridge and getting everything out for a cooked breakfast. She set the stove going, and put the pan onto it. "And it's okay, no offense taken. How long is she even going to be there if Euan isn't?"

Matt scratched his head and leant against the counter. "Mess? Did you think there was maybe a slight hint his decision might have involved her on some level? He might not see it as a mess, you know. He might see it as practical to have gotten it all set and happening so he didn't fuck anyone around by hinting he might, especially if he got cold feet about London. It might have averted crisis if she gave him a heads up that she was going, too. It's one whole big fuck up from all angles again." He pressed his lips together, working the situation over in his mind. It was going to be completely screwed if he came back here and didn't contemplate Gee's presence on some level. Matt didn't need her to verbalise it for him to see she was hooked on the bloke, he just hoped Euan wasn't as big an arsehole deep down that he declared himself to be... or Gee was going to get hurt. Again.

Vee pressed her lips together as she replayed her conversation with Euan last night. "He... didn't talk about her. Not until I brought Gee up. He was glad the case was done with, and seemed concerned about interrupting any paperwork. He also asked me how much of a grace period he had before I tried to set him up with her. I told him I was done with it! Which I am! No more interfering. I know he sees it as practical, but given the fact neither of them spoke to each other they've now had the bizarre crossover and landed in each other's cities without each other. I didn't do anything this time!" Vee felt the need to add as a defence while she held her hands up. "He's probably just keeping his thoughts about Gee to himself like everything else."

"Can't exactly blame him for being wary, though. Your cupid arrow was well mis-aimed. It's all very sudden. It sounds like he wasn't even sure he was going to do it until he just did. He probably just thought Gee would be here if he came and whatever else went on after that remained to be seen. You said yourself, he's impulsive. Reckless. Whatever else you want to call it. Are you really all that surprised he has done all this, or is it basically completely in-character for him? You wanted him here, he's here. Gee's just gone and gotten inadvertently caught up in it, and she really doesn't need to contend with any more shit, but it's happened. She just needs to know he's here, and he needs to know she's there." Matt had to unhook the towel and re-tie it when it started to slip off his hips. "What do you think his thoughts about Gee are?" he felt the need to ask. "Because now that he's here permanently, they've suddenly become more prominent."

"I know, I remember. I'm seriously regretting that entire period and wish I could have a do-over. But I've been good since then. I'm just sticking to my own self. Or your own self. Lots of talking and sharing, and not being a batshit crazy woman. Look, truth be told, I am surprised. I get him turning down the promotion, but I don't really understand completely why he's come back here. Not when he hated London so much. I'm not entirely sure of the reason except he doesn't mind that he's stuck with me again, and I think he likes the idea of staying a detective. If Gee's a factor, he's really not saying anything. I'll talk to him, you talk to Gee." Vee watched the towel slip, and almost cried out in protest when Matt re-tied it. "Baby, you really don't need the towel. I think today should be naked day," she told him as she turned to quickly flip the bacon and sausages over, and poke at the eggs to make sure nothing was burning. "I don't know... I know he'll think she's hot, but he's hardly biased in that regard. He's just always appreciated great breasts, and a great ass. I just... I don't know. That part of Euan I've never been able to tap into. I just know he likes sex, and has stopped bothering with the complications of a relationship. Then again, not sure any chicks have held his interest long enough. Not for a while."

Matt couldn't help just feeling discontent about the whole thing. It was bad enough to think of Gee over in New York along when she was probably anticipating having the guy there for at least some stress relief and a bit of something positive after all the shit. This wasn't how anyone should debrief after such a horrible case. He scratched the back of his neck, watching the breakfast cooking in the pan. "She needs more than someone who is just going to think she's hot," he said with a small frown. "He's either going to hook up with her, or he'll just want to play with her like he plays every other girl in his vicinity. And with everyone around her hooking up, she might just settle for that shit, which is screwed. Some girls are alright with that, but Gee isn't. I know she isn't. She wants more. I'm just really not convinced Euan has the capacity to fill anything she wants, but she's blinded because he's apparently such a brilliant lay." He shot her a pointed looking, knowing they had a history. "Why can I just not see any of this ending well?"

Vee sighed, and reached out to cup the side of his face. "Because you're you, and you care about your friend. Just like I care about Euan even if I know he doesn't need protecting against Gee. I just can't assure you it'll work out when I get the feeling none of us are going to be sure if he wants more with her until he's asking her out, or sweeping her off her feet, or whatever it is he does do when he's ready to date someone. It's a waiting game, and it's a shit one. I'm sorry, Irish."

Matt's forehead creased as he looked at her. "Have you seriously never seen him date someone? But you know he has, it's just like Nessie. You think it exists, but no one has ever really seen it? You know him, how do you think he would be dating someone? Would he do the right things, or is dating in his head just fucking with the odd bunch of flowers? Because Gee, she's..." He sighed heavily. "Had a really bad relationship experience in the past."

She gave a shake of her head. "Seriously. And you're right about that comparison. I'm still wondering if it has really happened, but he assures me it has. Honestly? I think he'd be a great boyfriend. He's rough around the edges, but that's just Euan. You take him as you see him, or you don't take him at all. He was actually pretty good when Gee needed him before he left. Don't you think? And he let her take care of him which was huge." Vee's brows drew together as looked at him. "No wonder you're being so protective."

"What about Gee? Would she alone be enough to... satisfy him?" Matt asked, scrunching his nose up at the way he had to put it. "Because he's like a sex addict or something. She said he was. He seemed to give her some of what she needed, but I was too busy wanting to smack him around a bit just for the sake of it. It's not that I don't think she can hold her own. But he's just... all sex, and sex was a big factor in her relationship that ended, and not in a good way."

Vee wet her lips and flicked the heat off as she looked to see their breakfast was cooked enough. It could afford to just sit there for a moment. "I think if anyone has a chance it's her. She's smart, she's sweet, she's funny, she really is sexy, and she's a cop. She gets the cop life, and he doesn't need to feel guilty about it. She's real. Euan's just... sleeping around is like wanking for him. Why use his right hand when he can just stick his dick in a real chick?" She pulled her mouth to the side as she looked at Matt. "I wish I could say the right thing, but I really don't know what it is. I can't speak for Euan's ninja thinking."

Matt's train of thought was interrupted when his stomach growled loudly, making him feel like he hadn't eaten in a week. He gave a small snort of a laugh and rubbed it a little. "Seriously need to make up for shit stakeout food right now. I might be able to think better if I've eaten... among other things," he added, throwing her a cheeky smirk and giving her arse a small pinch. "I still only get one day off right now, may as well make the most of it. There's no snapping fingers and getting her back here in ten minutes, anyway."

Vee laughed when he pinched her ass before looping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the mouth. One of her hands dropped, and she patted his ass through the towel before she pulled away to start serving breakfast on the plates she'd pulled out earlier. "Then we better make sure you eat plenty. I'm not having you run out of energy halfway through making the most of today. I spent all last night waiting for you being horny as hell. Gee'll be alright. I hope."

"Maybe halfway to hell," Matt bargained, raising his eyebrows at her and glancing down. The towel wasn't hiding anything, nor did he have any intentions of it doing so. There was a reason he hadn't gotten dressed after the shower, he just hadn't anticipated another drama on the list, especially not one that involved Vee's elusive Irish ex-partner. Matt was exhausted the night before, but after a good night's sleep, it was evident he had taken a raincheck on other parts of his anatomy that were renewing with a vengeance.

Vee smirked as she followed his gaze, and reached out to flick the towel undone so the troublesome item was gone. She picked up a piece of bacon and held it up for him as her blue eyes shone. "A little fuel for the tank. You can't be like that, and not have me act on it, Irish. That would just be cruel," she replied as she started to sink down to her knees, and wet her lips. "Especially when I suddenly want something else for breakfast."

Word Count | 4,110

musebysentence | 56.5. Painful

2010-02-16T05:39:45Z

LINK: Nothing quite says Happy Valentine's Day like an horrific, bloody double murder at a red velvet adorned brothel.

musebysentence | 54.4. Nuisance

2010-02-14T10:57:06Z

LINK: If I wanted bloody pink coffee, I would have asked for it.

RP LOG with nychandcuffs | Stress Relief

2010-01-30T09:25:22Z

It had been a hellish few days, to say the least. Matt had barely had time to scratch himself, let alone allow anyone else to scratch him, and it was just one of those types of cases where you had to drop everything else to focus on it. There had been some slight breakthroughs, of sorts. They just weren't entirely positive breakthroughs. To start, fibres from Hunt's car had been found under the victim's fingernails, and there was traces of DNA from the victim, Hunt, and other unknown persons in the back seat... from semen. None of it threw a positive light on Hunt, but at the same time, none of it was enough to convict him. He wasn't the only one who used his car, and with his sexual history, it wasn't a surprise that there were unknown semen traces in the back seat. The only thing was, the victim was there at some point in the recent past, though without a sworn statement from Hunt as to whether it was him who had the guy there, or the driver, it was just still all messy.

It had also hit a stalemate. Some evidence was still pending, it would take a few days for some of the testing to be complete. There were no signs of Hunt waking yet, either. For the moment, all they could do was just keep tracking over the same ground, hoping to find something more. Matt was tired, though. He needed to rest and switch his mind off for a little while, so he chose not to stay back at work that night and knock off at his normal time. He picked up some Chinese takeaway on the way home, and had a coffee while he was waiting for it. He didn't actually want to just head home and crash out. He had hardly seen Vee these past few days, and passing out cold the minute he walked in the door definitely wasn't on the menu.

The Chinese food never got touched. It was left on the kitchen counter while Matt had Vee pressed up against the fridge in a snog. He needed to feel something other than the frustration and anger over the case. He hadn't really wanted to talk right up, so his mouth just entertained itself elsewhere, and takeaway food could always be reheated. They had made their way up his hall, stripping each other of their clothes as they headed towards his bed. He didn't feel like the awkward up against a wall or on a kitchen table type encounter. He hadn't been sure he would have the energy for it anyway. He was a traditional guy, he did like the bed now and again. He was now sprawled on his back amongst the tangle of sheets, his naked body still covered in a sheen of thick post-coital sweat as he took a few deeps breaths to regain his breathing. His heart was still thumping in his chest and he draped an arm lethargically up over his head with a small hum of satisfaction. It had been days since they'd shagged, now he was wondering how he lasted that long.

Vee grinned as she turned her head to look at her lover, her blonde hair a mess of tangles framing her face. There had been no lacy knickers this time, and she couldn't deny that she was glad Matt had forgotten the food in favour of a fuck. She'd missed him while he'd been at work, her days pretty empty now that Euan was gone. He was back in New York where he should be, and Vee was here to try and figure out her next move.

She rolled onto her side to curl up against Matt, her head resting on his chest where she could hear his heart beat, and her hand rubbing against his hip. He really did have an amazing body, and an amazing smile, and she loved the way he thought, and liked to listen to his voice. She even appreciated the way he called her on her shit, and the way he really did just drop everything to focus on the important cases. She continued to make a mental list of everything about him that she had seen, and couldn't help but fall that little bit further for him.

Vee pressed a kiss to his chest, and moved her hand to brush it over his cock. There were no signs of the little detective recovering yet, but that didn't stop Vee from just wanting to remind herself of how it felt. She looked down his body and walked her fingers up his thigh to his hip dent. "That better, Irish?"

Matt cleared his throat and turned his head to offer her a tired smile. He would probably need some more rest before any part of him was ready to go again when the first time was that intense. It wasn't just a determination to get his mind off the case, it was also just as much determination to reconnect with Vee all over again. They hadn't been on the same page, lately. He was really aware of that, and it was for different reasons. His uncertainty over relationships in general, let alone one when they were from different countries. Also everything with Euan, which had made the shit hit the fan. Matt had been able to see how much the guy meant to her, and he did understand why she did it all, but he had just wished she hadn't dragged Gee into it all to get hurt, and that had given him another wave of uncertainty. They needed to just get back on track, and although he was busy with the case, there was no reason why they couldn't start fresh again. "Getting there," he told her, a cheeky smirk appearing faintly on his lips. "What about you? How you holding up now he's gone home... he didn't stay."

Vee kissed his chest again, and gave his side an affectionate rub as she smiled back at him. "I'm okay." And she meant it. There was no heavy burden feeling like it was dragging her down, and no pressure to get Euan to understand why she'd done this. She realised finally that he didn't need to be in London to still be her friend. He didn't need to be here so that she could feel good about what she was doing with Matt. The only people that mattered there were in this bed. And she did want her ex-partner to be happy, but he needed to find it all on his own. And he probably was happiest back in New York. It was his city. "I'll miss him, but he's where he should be. I just have to work on finding out where I should be."

"Wish I could say the same for Gee..." Matt murmured and wet his lips. He rubbed a hand over his stomach to ease an itch there. He was looking forward to taking a shower and relaxing a little, even if he would need to be back on the case first thing in the morning. They had some of Hunt's colleagues to interview, which was going to be interesting. "Euan's been pretty vital in building our case. Managed to get information we couldn't have dreamed of without risking our badges and an our whole career. I'll be glad when this whole thing is over."

Vee felt her stomach tighten, and for a moment she didn't say anything. "I'm sorry she's not okay. Euan can... touch people when he wants. He has this way of inserting himself and it's hard to shake him after that." Vee pulled herself up a little so she was more level with Matt as she rest her hand on the side of his face and held his gaze. "About the information thing... Euan doing that helped me realise something. Of course it's built on a what if, but I think it would be the right thing if the what if became real."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "He fucked and entraped a witness for information. But okay... go on. This is going to be interesting." He stretched out a little, probably needing a little more time to get the tension from every part of him. It seemed to want to settle in his back this week, with so many people involved in the case, it was one that kept them well on the go. "She's got feelings for him, and he's not reciprocated. That's still one part of your plan I'll never get, if you knew he was like that, but it's done now. She's doing the best she can. Sticking her head in the sand and pretending it didn't happen."

Vee pulled away from him, and sat up as she braced her hands against his side to try and get Matt to roll onto his stomach. "Come on, Irish, shift those bones. I'll give you a massage. I don't want you to think I'm not tender, and caring. I look after my hard working man." She pushed her blonde locks back from her face. "Because apparently he isn't like that. One of his many lovely ex-partners informed me he is capable of being an attentive boyfriend. He was just bored with the girls he was dating. I know he can be attentive with the right girl. I was kind of hoping to break the partner-fucking mould he's got for himself. I'm still sorry my plan was half-baked. I'll make it up to Gee somehow. Anyway, the fucking and entrapping wasn't quite what I was referring to. More the information gathering that isn't always possible for cops. But would be more possible for private detectives."

Matt shifted onto his stomach. A massage wasn't something he could actually turn down right then. "Private Investigator? You want to do things like Euan did for cash?" he asked, unable to help feeling a little skeptical about it. "It's not that it's impossible for coppers to get the information, we just can't break the law to do it. Kind of defeats the purpose of serving justice. It's going to be a big step down from what you're used to. You'll mostly be tailing cheating husbands and secretaries with their hands in the petty cash drawer."

"But it's a living I can make here, and back in New York if I don't stay." Vee rubbed her hands against his back before she started to focus on his shoulders, pushing her thumbs deep into the muscle tissue as she made circles with them and tried to find which spots needed the most attention. "I know it's a step down, but there will be times I might be able to assist the police. I know it's not the most respectable profession, but it's something and maybe if I start at the bottom I can get up somewhere better. Like, I don't know... Working security for a big firm, or something. I need to start somewhere, just like with being a uniform when we're entering the police force."

"Not officially. Vee, our legal system is well different here than in the US." Matt's breath caught in his throat when she his a tender bit and he couldn't help moaning a little in response. He hadn't noticed just how much stress he had been carrying around there and probably for awhile, too. "But okay, for conversation sake... some large law firms have PIs on retainers, you know. To build their cases from that side of things. Law firms like that our current victim is sitting on a not-so-small fortune with."

She noted the moan, and braced one hand against his side while she used the fingers of the other to really work that knot. "Exactly, so I could be kept on a retainer for a place like that. I just need a few lessons in your legal system. I'm a quick study, I always have been. Once I get the hang of it, I'll be cruising. I can do this, Matt. And I want to do it. What are my other options? Become a secretary for some dipshit asshole that wants in my panties, or getting minimum wage flipping burgers, or making fish and chips?"

Matt couldn't actually respond right away. The way she was working the knot it was painful, and he had his face buried into the pillow to brace himself through it. It was probably tension from well back before Christmas. "Welcome to non-citizenship work in London. Pulling pints more like. You need to build a rapport and trust with someone who will employ you so you can lay your cards on the table about your skills. They won't just take you on because you think you want to be a private investigator. Thomas Hunt might be a good place to start once he's on the mend. If he's on the mend. It's just an option."

"Maybe I should pull pints and investigate?" Vee asked as she raised her eyebrows. Then she bit down on her lip and squeezed her knees against his hips. She leaned down to kiss the back of his neck as she gave him a break and moved on to rub all over his back, doing another sweep for knots. "We should have done this before. You're a mess, Matt Devlin."

Matt shifted his head again, trying to find a comfortable spot, but it was impossible when his back suddenly felt like it was being bent backwards. "I'll take the avoidance of my suggestion as a no then, and I'll stop trying to help. Go pull pints and investigate. Sure you can't do that in a better city than London, even if you'll be competing with Aussie and European backpackers for the pub gigs."

"Which suggestion? Thomas Hunt?" Vee frowned as she pushed her knuckles up his back and then worked them against his shoulder blades. "I wasn't avoiding it, or ignoring it. I just don't want to put pressure on him even if he is on the mend. He's just been through a major car crash, and everyone's discussing the fact he might have murdered someone. Assuming he comes out of it, and comes out of it innocent, is he really going to want some American chick on his doorstep asking for help? And don't stop trying to help. Please. I need you to keep my head on straight."

Matt gave a small grunt of pain again, gritting his teeth through it. This wasn't exactly in the realms of a sensual massage, but maybe if there was a shower after it, he wouldn't wake up completely cripple in the morning. The last thing he needed was Ronnie asking him if he had a sex injury. "That's now. If you're going to be here long-term, you need to step into other peoples worlds, make friends, network. How do you know what he'll want and what he'll not? He might actually appreciate talking about something that isn't the crash or the murder investigation, which will hopefully be resolved by the time he starts healing and getting back on his feet. Thomas Hunt is best friends with one of England's youngest millionaires, who owns a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical company and has a father who is a Justice in the Court of Appeal... network," he added pointedly.

Vee pulled back on the massage when he grunted in pain, even though she was still intent on working out all of his kinks. She would just have to do it slowly and methodically. She would need to network the knots. "Okay, I get it. Network. I can do that... I don't have a badge to flash any more, so I'll need to go back to using my social skills. Now I just have to dig them up. And you're right, I don't know what he'll want. So if he needs to talk about something else, I can do that." She looked down at him. "How do you think it will end?"

Matt let out a rough breath, trying to focus on her fingers massaging his muscles. It was probably a good thing it was painful, or he would have a boner again by now. "With the driver banged up for a very long time, hopefully, with a murder and attempted murder charge along with his DUI charges. Hunt on the mend with hopefully no long term brain issues, Evans not ending up getting ostracised for his involvement with Hunt and the case."

"Do you really think he'll be ostracised? It wasn't as if he could have foreseen his boyfriend coming up as a murder suspect. He might have made a mistake not telling anyone of the connection at first, but we're all capable of mistakes. Show me one cop who hasn't made a mistake, no matter how big or small." Vee hummed as she watched her hands on Matt's back, and wriggled a little on top of him. God, she loved his body.

"For every cop who has made a mistake, I can show you five who have homophobic tendencies or hang ups about gay cops. In fact, I recently worked a case where one copper left another copper for dead and didn't back him up all because he was gay. He died. Horrifically, because his colleague deliberately didn't have his back just because of his sexuality. Not many people knew Evans was bisexual. I didn't know. I don't have any issues with it, but there are cops out there that do. That's all I'm saying. To be a gay cop caught up in a murder investigation? I think when this is over, it just might do him some good to take a bit of leave and spend time with Hunt. He can come back with a fresh mind then, with the confidence to take the issues in his stride. He's not going to be the same copper when he gets back. No one goes through something like this and it not affect them." Matt's words caught again at the end and he sucked in a breath. "Are you using your fingers or claws back there?" he asked with a small smirk.

"Jesus, are you serious? I thought that kind of bullshit ended in the seventies. People are fucking crazy, I swear. What does matter what the guys do with their dicks so long as it's not animals, or little kids? They're entitled to love whoever the hell they want. Doesn't make them a better, or worse cop. I guarantee most of the straight cops are the failures anyway. I think you're right about him needing to take some time, though. The emotional drain would be overwhelming." Vee stopped her hands moving to rest on his ass as she gave it a squeeze and leaned forward so she could meet his gaze with a small smirk of her own. "Whatever you want me to, baby."

Matt pressed his lips together wryly. The case wasn't all that long ago, and it was fresh in his mind. "I'm serious. They had this Christian club against it, or rather, under the guise of being for Christian humanity or something, doing God's intended work. It was a trumped up cult for gay bashing, and nothing more. Homophobic evil bastards. But that's all I'm saying, it's out there. Evans will be fine, but he needs the strength to head back into it with confidence. He's not going to have it until he knows Hunt is going to be okay. Right now, we just don't know. There's no sign of him waking up. It's like our whole case rests on him, and it's not like we can try him in a coma, either. Legally and as his human right, if we charge him with anything, he needs to be fit to testify. There's nothing we can do about it. Which is why, right now, I'm hoping we can work to clear him, not take him down. If we can clear him and find the murderer, he can be left to recuperate in peace without police guards at his hospital room door." He looked back at her, smirking again. "No claws, please. I'm very fragile, you know."

"I honestly can't believe that they even have time for this crap. There's better things to be doing, than hating gays under the guise of doing God's work. His body's probably taken a huge shock. Hunt, I mean. It might think it's safer to just shut down for a while. He was pretty banged up. Hopefully when he does wake up and he can help, and doesn't have amnesia on top of everything else." Vee grinned, getting an impish look as she pushed her fingers through Matt's hair, and ran her tongue over a patch of skin near his shoulder blade. She followed it through by grazing her teeth against it gently. "What about that? Is that too much for my fragile Irish?"

Matt gave a slight hint of a smirk. "C'mon. You're an NYPD detective. I know your mind isn't that closed. This thing happens all the time, every day. Homophobia is rife. That's why we try to do our bloody best in this job, to at least right some of the small wrongs out there and get justice. Safer, but no less frustrating. He didn't do it, I don't believe he did it, and I believe Evans when he says he spent the whole night together. It's just what a jury will believe." He let his eyes fall closed briefly, enjoying the attentions. He might not be managing to successfully switch off from the case, but at least he was beginning to relax. "You're going to have to give me a bit longer to recharge. It wasn't like we just had a quick, half-hearted shag just then."

Vee shrugged her shoulders. "No, of course not. It's more just me being astounded that they do genuinely have time for this shit. In New York it's still mostly a lot of race stuff. Which I also don't get. We should just be worrying about the crime, not whether any of us are the right colour, sexual orientation, or whatever. Can you imagine how much work we'd actually get done? And don't even get me started on the corrupted pricks that accept bribes, or try stealing drugs. Are juries as pathetic here as they are in the States?" Vee laughed softly, and continued to kiss, and nip at areas of his back, and skin as she explored him. "That's okay, I'm sure I can amuse myself in the meantime. And no, it really, really wasn't."

Matt gave a slight laugh. "It's all of that causing most of the crime, love. There would be less work without it. Nope, they aren't. Your legal system is utter bollocks, no offense. Some of the things your system bends the law for astounds me, and the technicalities. Holy hell. I would hate to be a copper in the States." He was happy to just stayed settled against the pillows for the moment. It really had been one hell of a week. He wasn't exactly tired, but he was lethargic and he definitely needed some time to chill out, and this was catering to it perfectly. "This is my life, you know. There's always going to be cases I have to drop everything for and focus on. It's Major Investigations, we're often on a stop watch."

"All this time off is actually making me wonder how I coped with it so long," Vee admitted. "It's enough to send us all into straight jackets. And I know this is your life, Irish. Have I actually complained about you not being here once? I know the cases come first. I'll never demand your time. I would just ask for you to remember that sex is a fantastic stress reliever, and it's nice to just come home to collapse next to someone."

"I'm not saying you were complaining. I'm stating fact. This is the first one. It could get tiresome. That's all I'm saying. Sex might be a fantastic stress reliever, but after dealing with crime scenes or loved ones of victims, the last thing you feel like doing some days is coming home and having sex. Probably why coppers have a high divorce rate." Matt couldn't help but think of Ronnie, then. Failed marriages, kids he hardly saw. It was part of the reason why Matt always thought being single was easier, and safer. Not to have all that, and then not have it, ending up back at square one anyway.

Vee slid off Matt's back and settled down beside him as she picked up his arm and draped it over her middle while she nestled herself up against him. "Matt, I know what it's like. I get all of it. I even get the being too tired for sex, but that's where just being together can help. We don't have to do anything. Just sit there."

Matt nodded, even if he was quiet for a few moments. "Just sitting here sounds good," he murmured.

Vee gave him a smile as she threaded her fingers through his. "Until you regain your energy and we go another round." She let him wait a beat before winking at him. "Kidding, but I think it might be at least worth taking a shower together to get some more kinks out."

"I think I might prefer a bath," Matt found himself saying, raising his eyebrows as he did. "And I'm not a bath person. I wouldn't even know if it still worked, it's been so long since I used it."

"We can have a bath," Vee replied as she smiled a little more. She gave his hand a squeeze, and rubbed her nose against his. "We should probably find out if it works first, but I'm not ready to move yet."

Matt rolled over onto his side, even if he made a tiny groan of pain at his tired, aching muscles. He shifted close, wrapping his arm back around her and threading their legs together. He gave her a lingering, lethargic kiss and closed his eyes again, letting his forehead rest against hers. "Let's not move yet. Moving sounds too hard," he decided with a smirk.

Word Count | 4,396

musebysentence | 51.6. Killer

2010-01-30T02:43:00Z

LINK: Being a detective, Matt knew killers could literally came in any form, but he really hoped his gut instinct was right with this case and that form wasn't a smart, successful lawyer with a romantic link to one of Matt's colleagues.

RP LOG with thinbluegee | When the shit hits the fan

2010-01-25T06:57:20Z

[Follows THIS and THIS]

It wasn't really a huge surprise when the case got passed over to Major Investigations and landed in Matt and Ronnie's lap. Of course, Matt actually knew nothing about it until he got the call in the very early hours of that morning, and it did make him wonder if Gee even knew. Tom was of high status in the city, and news of his accident had already leaked through the London's a-list, even if the details behind it hadn't. It was only a matter of time before his link to the paralegal murder came to light, though. Matt and Ronnie could invesitage the case, but they weren't miracle workers. They couldn't stop info getting out, even if they would try their hardest to conceal what they found so it didn't impede the investigation. Now they had a murder and a suspicious accident surrounding it. Matt was loathe to settle that the accident had nothing to do with anything and was just a coincidence. Talking to Thomas' driver was the first step, and Matt was already suspicious about why he would even have gotten behind the wheel of his employer's car drunk, and their questioning of him did nothing but make the shit
hit the fan of an already extremely messy case.

Before they even managed to get access to the guy's room, though, tox screens showed he had herione in his system, as if already having a blood alcohol content of 0.2 wasn't enough. Miraculously, he suffered nothing more than a minor bump to the head, but was being kept in hospital for observation and now under police guard. Whether the guy was involved in the case or not, he was going down on driving under the influence occasioning in grievous bodily harm. That was going to be a given, but Matt and Ronnie wanted answers as to why the guy was so drunk and off his face on the trip home from Thomas being questioned about his link to the murder victim. And the guy was more than ready to spill his guts.

According to the driver, Thomas M. Hunt was a murderer. Not only that, but apparently the guy drove Thomas to a part not far from where the body was found in the early hours of the morning in question but then bribed the guy - in cash - not to say anything to police if he was asked. Thomas coaxed the guy to drink after being at the police station and they shared the drugs, and the guy apparently did as was requested because he 'feared for his life' knowing 'Hunt was a murderer'. It was a good thing Ronnie mostly led the questioning, because it wasn't hard for Matt to slip right into bad cop mode. He wanted to smack the guy. Everything coming out of his mouth was in complete contrast to what Gee had said about Thomas. Matt knew for the sake of the case he had to remain impartial, but something wasn't sitting right in his guy. There had been no evidence whatsoever linking Hunt to the crime scene, only two people pointing their finger in accusation of him. He wondered if the driver knew the other woman who had come to the station spouting hearsay about Thomas, but it was going to take some more digging. He also said Tom had sex with the victim in the back of the car that night while he told the driver to stand outside; the same car that had been wrapped around a van at high speed. But the guy's trump card was an alleged motive for Thomas to have killed the guy. According to the driver, who knew the victim in the wake of him working for Thomas, Thomas had sexually assaulted the victim in the workplace and then paid him off to keep quiet and part of the deal was he leave the job. The victim had plans to go to the media about it so Thomas wouldn't do it to anymore people. By the time the interview was over, Matt was reeling, and had to take a few minutes of pacing back and forth in the corridor to just try and get his head around it all. Admittedly, there seemed to be a case to be built against Hunt, but without evidence, it was all hearsay and accusations. Matt didn't know what to think, and they needed to get their hands on that car.

While Ronnie went to get a court order to access the wreckage for an evidence search, Matt arrived at The London Bridge Hospital at around seven am. He already had access to Thomas' medical records and staff had to cooperate with his questioning on any change in his condition during the night. There was none. It was still touch and go. Police were standing on guard of the Critical Care room also with suspicions arising that Thomas could be a victim of framing just as much as he could be the murderer. There wasn't enough evidence of the latter to rule out the former. He was a hot shot lawyer, any number of witnesses on opposing sides to cases he had won could want his blood. Seeing someone go down falsely for murder and stripping them of everything could be more satisfying than just getting blood, though, especially if the guilty party were vindictive enough.

Matt found Gee sitting outside Thomas' room on a row of plastic seats along the wall. She had a prime view into the room, and she was sitting watching her partner like a protective guard dog, who was in the room sitting vigil at the bedside. As a new detective, although she had been technically taken off running the case, she was going to be working alongside Matt and Ronnie to gain experience in a major investigation case. Right now, Matt was just relieved both she and Evans had been spared questioning the driver. That sort of information would be just slightly easier to swallow secondhand when they were so linked to one of the witnesses. He came up beside her, looking into the room for at few moments at Evans sitting slumped beside the bed. Standing a little distance away from the door were man and woman Matt had been told by nursing staff were Thomas' best friend and his wife. Matt was going to have to talk to them, too, at some point. He held out a second-rate cup of vending machine coffee to Gee, all he could offer at that time of morning, and took a sip from his own cup. "We've got a problem," he told her quietly.

Gee looked up, surprised when she saw it had been Matt coming down the hall. She'd noticed someone out of the corner of her eye, but hadn't looked away from Stuart and Tom long enough. She'd missed everything that had been going on, no calls placed to her cell, and Gee hadn't left the hospital since she'd arrived. Any thoughts of investigating had gone out the window for the moment when she realised Stuart could have used some silent support, even if it was a few hours. Tom's best friend, and wife were here, but it wasn't the same. Even if they seemed nice enough, and seemed to want to help her partner.

Gee accepted the coffee gratefully, no matter how second-rate it would be. She glanced at the couple across from her, then back up at Matt before she stood, and ushered him a little way back up the corridor. She needed to stretch her legs, and she also didn't need them to hear anything. "'We'? Wait, the case did go to you? What's the problem?"

Matt cleared his throat as he nodded. "We got it. Emphasis on the 'we'. Corinne wants you to tag along with us for experience in major investigations. I don't think she had the heart to turf you off it just because Evans isn't going to be able to continue with it. I don't even know how much you know. Evans went to her and told her about Hunt after the questioning, apparently, but before the accident, so everyone can have a clear conscience, at least on our side of the fence. She was going to let him continue the case, but that was before Hunt nearly got wrapped around a traffic light pole. One more metre, and he'd be dead." He shook his head slowly, still not believing the turn of events that had happened in the last twenty four hours.

"Ronnie and I have just spent the last three hours questioning the driver back at the Royal. It's not good. He's pointing the finger firmly at Hunt. Says he drove him to a park near the crime scene that night, and that Hunt made him wait outside the car while he had sex with the victim. He also said that Hunt made him booze up and take heroine in the car after the questioning at the station, and he did it because he feared for his life knowing Hunt was a murderer. Which just seems odd to me. Hunt's smart, very smart. Legally, he's a genius, and his tox screen and blood alcohol were completely clean. If he did this, he wouldn't be doping up a potential witness, especially not on heroine. I don't think the bloke realised Hunt was even dating Evans, so that puts the khyber up something because someone is lying. It's either Hunt and Evans, or the driver and the victim's friend. It also makes Evans' as a witness more shaky than anticipated. He says he was with Hunt, but was asleep for a long period of time. There's also a possible motive. The driver says the victim was going to go to the media about Hunt sexually assaulting him when he worked for him. Says Hunt got wind of that, so he did him in to save his reputation. The problem? It's impossible to interrogate someone in a coma. Other than what you got from him in your questioning, which was very little, we have no statement from Hunt. This whole thing could hang until we talk to him, or we get firm evidence that he's innocent. Ronnie's getting a court order and search warrant for the car wreck as we speak, and he's going to try and push his luck for a search warrant on Hunt's home. So, make sure that coffee does it's job, because you'll be coming with us. Hopefully we don't find the victim's DNA in that back seat. How serious are things with Evans and Hunt?" he asked her, nodding his head in the direction of Thomas' room.

Gee's eyebrows went up. "She does? That's... yeah, I'll definitely give it everything. Lots of coffee, trust me. Thank you. I'm not sure Stuart would cope if he knew we were both off the case. I had no idea he'd told the boss about him and Tom. Last I knew he was in two minds about it, and we were trying to work out how to keep it safe."

She quickly fell quiet though as Matt continued, feeling suddenly alert when he started talking about the driver. Something about this whole thing just set her insides off, and Gee just knew there was something wrong with the whole picture, but she couldn't figure out what. Besides the driver being a lying wanker. "Twat," she said out loud, and her lip curled back in a sneer. "He's a lying little two-faced fucker. If he was pissed, and doped up to the eyeballs that was his decision, not Tom's. Tom and Stuart talked, and Evans believes right down to his core that Tom didn't do it. And I believe him. I asked him straight out. If Stuart was wavering, he'd tell me. Hunt's clean, the driver isn't. There's just something about that guy... And the story he's trying to spin. Tom's always been open about his sexual relationship with the victim. Especially to Evans. He wouldn't be bothered killing him, he would have gone after him in a courtroom for defamation, or something. He's not that stupid. It's all too convenient, Sarge. I don't like it." She took a sip of the coffee, and tried not to wince at the taste. "They've fallen in love, and were planning on moving in together. And planning a cruise. Which is apparently huge for Hunt considering he's always been incredibly set about casual sex, and no attachments."

Matt was silent for a few moments, sipping his coffee as he thought. He continued to watch the scene in the hospital room as some sort of fuel to get his mind on a few different directions at one, his line of sight only breaking briefly to glance at Thomas' friend with his wife. "That might not go in our favour. It could be suspected Hunt offed the ex so he didn't cause problems in the current relationship. I'm not saying anyone is guilty, I'm just saying there are about ten different dimensions to this case. Right now, you're soley looking in from Evans' window. Stop it. Yeah? Don't let your heart rule the case. Let it fuel you to get the job done, but if you don't keep an open mind, you're going to miss vital pieces of information. Bottom line here is not you, not Evans, none of us have known Hunt as long as his driver has. We can't, as much as we hate to admit it, rule out that there is a chance he might have done it. Even if it's all lies and fabrication, he had motive and means. Until he talks or until we find evidence, he's a suspect, Gee. That's just the way the cards have fallen."

Gee's nose scrunched up, but she couldn't fault Matt. He was right. Of course he was right. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to push back most of what she was feeling about her partner, and Tom. "So we start with the car, right? I just... It's not just the Stuart connection. Hearing what that guy was saying... It's rubbing me wrong. Don't you ever just get feelings? Tom can have sex with anyone he wants... He doesn't need to force it. He can even pay someone off not to talk, why kill them?"

Matt held his hand up and shook his head. "No one said he forced it. The driver said it was a willing sexual act in the car. The alleged sexual harrassment in the work place doesn't automatically mean rape. It could mean anything from inappropriate looks to brushing up against someone at the photocopier. No one has accused Hunt of rape. Why? Because he worried the guy might approach Evans, maybe? Because money can't completely shut someone up? Because this city has eyes and ears everywhere we turn? The list goes on. In this sort of case, it's always messy. There are always conflicting stories and takes on things. I emphasise again that none of us know Hunt very well. He might get a thrill out of dominating people, he might like rough sex, he might like roleplay. Wasn't it you who told me he wanted Evans to go to an orgy with him? This isn't cut and dry. Sure, I get feelings, hunches. Something isn't playing out right with the driver. It's obvious. But all he we know he is guilty of in fact right now is driving under the influence. We start at the car, but it's going to come up all but clean. Whether Hunt or the driver was involved here, they aren't going to leave evidence. It's all too neatly constructed. We need to talk to people further afield. People who know Hunt," he added with a glance at the friends again, "and people who knew the victim."

"I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood. I still don't... No. Tom's too smart for any of this. How do you get to be a lawyer at his level, and not suffer through something like this before? He was all that into control, and power games he'd have slipped up somewhere else. Not just with a paralegal that he was fucking. Yeah, that was me, but that still doesn't mean anything. Just means he likes a lot of sex. Everyone likes sex, but that doesn't make them killers." Gee held her hand up. "But alright, open mind, it could mean he's a killer. We don't actually know what kind of shit goes on at that sort of an orgy. Could be like some really rough stuff. If Hunt's darkside, then I'm thinking he would be saving that side of him for when it really needs to come out and play." Gee followed his look, and nodded. "Agreed. We might have to think about chasing up someone that does know what goes on in the orgies. Doubt Hunt would restrain himself in that environment, so if there's a hint of evil they would have seen it."

"All I'm saying is there could be more to this than meets the eye. I hope for Evans' sake it's not, because it means Hunt has been lying to him too. I'm hoping it's all just a fabricated attempt to frame Hunt, and we find evidence to support that soon. From what you've told me, the guy seems to be a straight shooter, and hopefully has been completely open with Evans. If that's the case, this is a huge mess and we need to explore the bad to discount it and find the good." Matt paused and let out a small sigh. "And hope in the meantime that Hunt actually lives through the night."

Gee nodded, and cradled her coffee against her chest. She looked in on her partner and Tom, and her mind wandered to Euan. She actually wanted to call to check up on him, but she quickly quashed the thought. He didn't need her being clingy. It was just because of the case, and watching Stuart distraught over his lover. Euan wasn't her lover, he wasn't anything but a house guest at the moment. Just one that she couldn't seem to control herself around, even when he had pneumonia. "We need to go see the car," she murmured. "The sooner we start, hopefully the sooner we'll have some answers."

Matt gave a slight nod. "But for now, we wait. Ronnie's going to call me when he gets the court order." He pointed with his cup to the couple nearby. "I think we should talk to the BFF. Have you met them? I know they've probably been here all night and they're upset, but the sooner we start getting some character witnesses in favour of Hunt, the better."

"Sure, if you think it's a good start. And only enough to explain to them who I was when I first arrived. I thought they were going to accuse me of coming to arrest them, or something. But Stuart was relieved to see me even if he went right back to Tom's side, so they relaxed after that." Gee held out her coffee cup for Matt to take so she could try and make her hair neater by pulling it back into a poinytail, and clipping it. She'd put the band, and clips into her pocket when she'd left home but had yet to use them. She also brought out a notepad, and pen before taking her coffee back off Matt and finishing the rest of it off. "Maybe they'll be glad to get it over with. They've probably been expecting it."

Matt took another sip of the coffee, but realised he couldn't stomach the rest of it. It tasted like it had been scraped off the bottom of an ashtray, and he discarded it into a nearby bin with a scrunch of his nose in disgust. "Think we should go at them separately or together? Apparently the bloke arranged Hunt's lawyer, but they don't seem to know anything else about the case, so I doubt they're concealing anything. How did they respond to Evans? It could be telling if they were weird with him."

Gee shrugged her shoulder. "Maybe together. I don't think they're concealing anything, and the husband seems reluctant to let his wife out of his sight. It's nothing suspicious, just think that Hunt's accident has shaken him to his core. He seems quite protective of her right now. As for Stuart, they've seemed to have really welcomed him. He mentioned that they've actually been really good. Said something about a hug."

Matt analysed the guy from a distance for a few moments, eyes narrowing just a little. "Ethan Williamson... wait. His father is Sir Clifford Williamson, a Lord Justice with the Court of Appeal. He's one of England's youngest millionaires. Jesus... bloody hell," he cursed softly, shaking his head. "This just got a whole lot more interesting. Sophie Williamson nee... I can't remember. She's a court liaison for kids. We need to tread carefully, the media are going to want to crawl all over this."

"Bingo," Gee said quietly as she pointed at Matt. "So far there hasn't been any media, but then this is a pretty private hospital. I'm waiting for body guards to appear out of thin air, and kick someone out. And it's Johns. I remember dealing with her a couple times as a uniform. I guess they do have the money to try and hide anything they want, though."

Matt nodded a little. "True, but on the same token, I'm not sure the guy would risk his father's standing and title for the sake of paying off someone for a mate's stupid mistake, no matter how good friends they are. Blood is thicker than water. I'd be more worried if he was absent, but he's not. This isn't just playing with fire, it's throwing fuel on it and fanning it. Too much is at risk here, and Hunt would need to be more than a smooth-talking hot shot lawyer for them to conceal anything like the murder of a lowly paralegal on his part. But someone else could be trying to hurt him to get to the bigger guns he's connected with... so to speak. The more that comes to light, the more it looks like a framing. It's why someone would do that to him that I want to know."

"So we tackle them together?" Gee asked as she tapped her pen against her notepad. "I think this has got to be the first time I'm hoping a lawyer isn't as slimy as I've always thought them to be. I'm guessing in this scenario we can both just be the good cop if it's simple questioning?"

Matt shrugged. "Unless they give us reason not to be. I don't think they're going to be. This is going to be the easy part, but if it ends up in court, we could need them both to testify as to his character, so it needs to be done now before opinions and views get skewed the more info comes to light." He paused and glanced down at her. "Are you alright? I know things have been tough, and you've got Euan to deal with too."

Gee gave him a thumbs up as she smiled. "I'm fine, Sarge. I've already had my mental breakdown, and Euan actually helped out with that, so I'm good to go. Promise. I won't go mental, or break apart in a ball of tears."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. The bloody bastard," he said with a small smirk, but didn't elaborate. "Alright, ready to roll, then?"

Gee frowned, not sure she had completely understood Matt's comment, but shrugged it off. "Ready to roll," she confirmed with a small salute.

Word Count | 3,977

musebysentence | 48.3. Hurt

2010-01-22T01:56:39Z

LINK: It was impossible to come out of this case without someone he knew getting hurt.