sbpd_papabear | OOM: After Stumbling On Milliways

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OOM: After Stumbling On Milliways

It's been a couple days since they stumbled into some sort of shared hallucination (which is really the best thing he can think to call it) and neither one has broached the topic. For Henry's part, he's decided it's either too weird to talk about or never happened at all.

Instead, he's working late on Thursday night fixing paperwork that tried to claim Gus' car insurance as a state billable work expense. Nice try.

Just after seven, the station had gone more or less quiet - the steady din of the workday tapering off to the solemn click of a few keyboards punctuating the otherwise still environment. It was kind of nice... perfect time to grab a coffee and check out the snack machine for options to stave off dinner until he went home.

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Henry can take the praise for what it is, looking down into his water anyway.

"You're welcome at my table any time, Karen," he looks back up at her with a soft smile; "I'll remember to bring you by some of the good stuff."

"That's kind of you, but I'd make myself a giant nuisance," she laughs.

It is a kind offer, and she chooses not to read anything more into it. Henry is a good man, and is becoming a good friend. And she could use a few more friends.

"So have you done any fishing lately?"

He can't imagine she'd be a nuisance at all, but he lets the comment slip by without notice - she knows he means it.

"Nah;" he shakes his head, "been busy with everything going on lately... was thinking about heading out this weekend if all goes well, though. It's been a pretty quiet week."

All things considered, really. Long hours... a bit of overwork and lost sleep, but mostly quiet.

"I'll cross my fingers for you." A quiet weekend sounds like a wonderful thing. A quiet hobby sounds even better.

"It must be peaceful, out on the boat, just you and the water and the fish."

He nods again, sipping at his drink. "You should try it some time... most of the time it's not even about the fish - just getting out there away from everything is nice."

"I wouldn't have the first clue what to do. Lures, bait, reels, all that. My dad was a fisherman,. I used to try to buy him gear for birthdays, Father's Day," she remembers with a smile.

"I never managed to get quite the right things, I ended up just getting gift certificates after a few failures."

And she manages another soft Henry laugh, he shakes his head; "That's the beauty of going by yourself - doesn't matter if you don't catch anything as long as you have a good time."

After another comfortable quiet he adds; "I'm sure you've got better things to be doing anyway than being out on a boat."

"Well, there's Iris. That's where my time goes," she says with a shy little shrug. She doesn't know why she feels like she shouldn't admit that.

"Nothing wrong with that, and I'm sure it's nice to get some time alone from time to time with your husband."

He doesn't miss trying to make a marriage work when he's gone all the time.

She doesn't have a good answer to that, so she just twists her mouth, and takes a sip of her water and stays quiet.

Stays quiet for a beat too long, because then she feels compelled to fill the space.

"This would be a nice time for a hallucination."

The awkward pause only serves to confirm his suspicions, and it hurts to know he can't do a damn thing about it.

He wants to tell her that he's sorry and that if she needs someone to talk to, he's there... but it would only make things worse.

Instead, he mutters; "I don't know if I could handle that right now... one shared hallucination is weird enough."

She sits up straighter, turning a little to really look at him.

"Do you really think that's what it was, though?" The topic's been broached, she may as well ask. The whole thing still isn't sitting right with her. "Is that even possible?"

Henry frowns, kind of wishing he'd gone with the Asian beer instead of water. It's not exactly an easy topic of discussion.

"Do you have a better theory? Because there actually being a place inside the station that's larger than the station and happens to stop time when you enter it sounds kind of crazy."

"What if we weren't in the station? What if we were somewhere else entirely?"

It's really the only thing that makes sense, when she thinks about it. They couldn't have just been in the station, or time would've stayed constant.

"I walked through the front door of the station and ended up in a bar. I know what door I walked through. How did you end up there?"

The thought unnerves him and he sips his water again.

After a long pause, considering the thought, he answers; "I was in the evidence room. I saw a door that seemed off and... well, you know how it goes."

"A random door?"

Now she's really intrigued. And a word comes to mind: portal.

"So we both went through doors, and ended up there. At different times. From different places. We weren't in the station. I don't know where we were but it couldn't have been. There was an outside, and that outside wasn't Santa Barbara."

"I know that," he grumbles, shaking his head - checking sidelong to make sure they're not being overheard. "Are you aware of how crazy you sound right now?"

"I know. If you want my job, call Internal Affairs, tell them I'm nuts. I can't deny it."

She drains her glass of water and props herself on her elbow.

"Whatever happened it's always sitting right there just outside my thoughts and as soon as I'm not focused on something else, there it is."

The creases around his mouth deepen again and he sighs; "One, you couldn't pay me enough to want your job. Two, I've been thinking about what the hell happened too - I just can't deal with it, Karen."

It's not easy to admit something's out of his league, but it's the honest to god truth.

"What are we supposed to do about it? Admit we've both lost our minds and there isn't some weird door in the back of the evidence room and worry about whether or not we'll end up in the parking lot when we try to leave the station?"

He's on a roll, "I can't even open a door at my house without double checking it actually leads where it's supposed to."

"I'm sorry, Henry." She touches his hand, but only briefly before looking away, a little ashamed to have brought it up, a little sad that it's still so present in her mind.

"I don't know," she admits at some length. "I can't go through a door, either. I hesitated this morning getting into the shower. I worried driving through the tunnel on Via Esperanza. Anything could be a portal. How do we know?"

Portal

The word strikes him and he shakes his head again, clenching the hand that she'd touched. He knows what the implication is.

Several silent moments later, he looks back up at her and mutters; "I'm not going back in the evidence room until I've had at least one drink."

"I've been coming into the station from the back door. It's only halfway helped."

The waiter brings their food, hovering a moment to make sure they have all they need.

"Do you want to get a bottle of wine, maybe?"

"That sounds like a very good idea."

Maybe if he can get a glass or two in his system things will seem a little less insane.

"I'm sorry I brought it up, I ruined our dinner. We should've stuck to talking about fishing."

"No... it's fine." He slides his hand back to lean it against hers, not even sure why he's seeking the comfort.

"If we're going to deal with this, we're going to have to talk about it." He sighs; "And eventually try to go back."

Try, because he's not entirely sure that they can.

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