sbpd_papabear (
sbpd_papabear) wrote2012-12-07 08:26 pm
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A Proper Apology (locked to Karen Vick)
He's been an idiot, and unlike most men he's absolutely sure of it when he has been. Maybe not at the time, but soon enough after the fact that if he's lucky - when he's lucky - he can make up for it... and hopefully not lose what he had hoped would be the second love of his life.
The girl... he couldn't even remember her name after what happened... she had been a mistake pure and simple. He had no right looking at a girl that young. And really, he had no place looking at someone that wasn't the woman who held his heart.
He'd gone the only way he knew how - a bouquet of roses and a bottle of wine laced with apologies sitting beside him in the truck as he waited until Iris' window went dark and only a small living room lamp remained lit.
With a deep breath, prepared for the worst, he knocks at her door and waits for her to answer it.
The girl... he couldn't even remember her name after what happened... she had been a mistake pure and simple. He had no right looking at a girl that young. And really, he had no place looking at someone that wasn't the woman who held his heart.
He'd gone the only way he knew how - a bouquet of roses and a bottle of wine laced with apologies sitting beside him in the truck as he waited until Iris' window went dark and only a small living room lamp remained lit.
With a deep breath, prepared for the worst, he knocks at her door and waits for her to answer it.
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Well, hopefully not completely without apology. She has some to make, she hopes he does too.
"Hi," is all she says when she opens the door. She'd like to say more. She'd like to kiss him. But she plays it cool.
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He then holds out the half dozen pink carnations (roses would be too showy, and dozen would be overwhelming) wound tightly with baby's breath in white paper with a big pink bow. "A big one."
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He wants to feel punished for his mistakes.
"I mean it, Karen." He looks back up to her, his eyes showing dark circles in the network of creases from the sleepless night he had. "Not just for the camera."
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He follows her in almost timidly, clutching the bottle of wine for some kind of moral support when he stops at the end of the short sofa. After a moment of consideration, stalling the inevitable, he asks; "Maybe I can pour us a drink?"
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"I just want to talk."
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Henry sighs, crossing his arms as he tries to find exactly the words to say what's on his mind.
"I made lots of mistakes."
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If she has to arrest half of Santa Barbara to make sure of that, well, she has a box of zip tie cuffs in her trunk.
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"You need to know." He sighs and licks his lips, feeling her eyes on him and curious. "The other night, I went out to a club with Gus and Detective Lassiter - I was... I don't know, lonely I guess. The stupid part of my brain thought maybe we were through."
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"What did you do?" the words are barely a whisper.
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"There was this stupid bet about who could get a number first and we just sort of hit it off, and you know... it felt good to talk to a young, attractive woman but when it was clear - blatantly clear - she wanted more I just thought about the sweet, young, attractive woman I had at home who isn't a lot more Shawn's speed than mine."
He laughs nervously, scratching over his scalp; "I wanted to call you so bad, you know? And just tell you that I'm sorry and I shouldn't have put you in a position that would compromise your job."
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"I should've just called you myself. But you seemed so angry." She didn't want to fight with him any more. She's had enough fighting to last her a lifetime. "Not angry any more?"
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"I wasn't angry. I was stupid."
Henry shifts himself closer to her and murmurs; "I don't want to be stupid anymore."
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She puts her arms around him. "And maybe try not to have any more moments. Either of us. I promise for my part."
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Slowly, Henry nods against her and brushes a kiss against her cheek. "You have my word." For what it's worth.
"I won't pull that kind of stunt again."
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She caresses his cheek, looking into his warm blue eyes. "And I'll do my best not to let my roles as your Chief and your lover get all muddled up again."
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He'll make sure they won't get muddled, no matter what. It's time.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
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She's not entirely sure that she did nothing wrong. Everything since Henry walked into her office -- actually, since her IT compliance officer called her -- has felt wrong. She was just entirely on the wrong foot in the right shoes. But it's not really about right or wrong now. That part's behind them.
"Right, wrong, we're here, now. It's done. We move forward."
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"I love you, Karen. I hope you know that."
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She may have doubted whether their love -- not just his, but theirs together -- was enough to make this complicated, mostly clandestine, second chance work. Or rather, she worried that it wasn't. But she never doubted him, or his heart.
She confesses that doubt in a whisper, her lips brushing his ear. He deserves to know her slip, her moment of losing faith in this fragile thing they've built. "But I know you love me, Henry, and I hope you know how much I love you. And I want this, us, no matter how much work it is."
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"It's worth it. You're worth it."
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She kisses him softly and steps out on a limb. "Stay with me tonight?" She's not ready to let him go, won't be ready for a long time.
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"I'll stay as long as you like."