Borrowed Time
The science room is haunted, he tells her the second time his pen rolls under her desk. It�s met with giggles, but he wonders if he only imagines her breath catch when he brushes her leg � by accident, of course.
He walks off without as much as sparing her a look, but he can feel her eyes following him as he goes and feels his heart skip a beat.
�Is everything okay?� Leo asks and he must think they�ve had another row.
He only shrugs. �Who knows?� he launches over his shoulder.
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The first time he flirts with her openly is over a dead man�s body. She holds his heart in her palm and the way her eyelashes flutter when his fingers scrape over hers puts a smile on his face for a week.
He teases her about it later, when they�re alone in the office and no one else can hear them. She blushes a little and he wonders if she minds it.
�I�ve got a PM first thing in the morning, thought you might like to know,� she tells him before she leaves and he looks after her until she�s out of sight completely.
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She doesn�t seem to mind that he�s undressing in front of her, so he doesn�t bother covering up more than necessary. His scrubs feel cool against his heated skin and he�s surprised to see her leave before he�s fully dressed.
In the mortuary, she won�t meet his eyes and her scalpel is as sharp as her silence. He plays her game coolly, until another case takes him away for two days and he gets a first phone call from her in the middle of the night.
He tells her goodnight before he can embarrass himself.
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They�re cold to the point of frost until he cracks and corners her by the coffee machine. She tries to act casual but when her hand touches his and she nearly drops her mug, he steadies her without laughter.
The time for jokes has passed, he tells her, leaning in much closer than he ever has before. She�s ready to speak when Leo walks in on them and she flees the scene like a guilty suspect.
�We�re okay,� he anticipates, following at a much slower pace.
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He waits a total of twelve minutes and sixteen seconds before he asks her out to dinner and the way she bites her lip makes his knees go weak. She finds a way to get close without making it seem too obvious and he�s ready to kiss her when she breaks the spell he�s under.
�Harry,� she says his name apologetically and he wonders why she�s embarrassed. �I�m seeing someone.�
�Oh,� he says and shrugs as the dart poisons his heart. �He can come too.�
He knows he�ll regret saying that when her whole face lights up with a smile.
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There�s one thing he hates and that�s lovey-dovey couples. He�s been single too long to remember why you�d want to walk down the street with your tongue in someone else�s mouth.
Nikki and her Mark � that�s how she introduced him, as her� Mark � aren�t like that, bless them, but he feels like throwing up all through dinner anyway.
�Nikki�s told me a lot about you,� says Mark. He smiles politely, but doesn�t take the bait. She�s looking uncomfortable enough as it is, even if her Mark can�t see it.
Why did she let him agree to this third-wheel nonsense in the first place?
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When he sees her change into a different set of clothes at work, it puts him in a foul mood for the rest of the day. He denies it when Leo asks, but he�s sure she isn�t as clueless. He waits for her to inquire, but she�s unnervingly diligent and pays him no attention.
It�s her fault, he thinks, if things are awkward now.
�Mark liked you,� she tells him as she packs her things. He makes it a point not to look up. She must notice it because he hears her huff. He ignores her so well in fact, that he can�t even be sure if she bids him goodnight.
He�d like to think it doesn�t matter.
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His sleep is restless and he wakes up to thoughts one shouldn�t have of one�s workmates. He drowns them all in midnight films and a bottle of red. By morning, he has a headache and his humour hasn�t changed.
�You look awful,� Leo tells him and he doesn�t bother denying it.
She doesn�t tell him anything, but looks guilty when their tempers collide and he is too tired to stalk off.
�Sorry,� she says and he�s the one who ignores her.
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By the third time he�s seen her bring a change of clothes to work in the morning, he�s misused and abused his position to get his hands on all he can on her Mark. It�s a disappointment, as he was sure it would be. Even she must have broken her pattern of bad boyfriends.
He feeds everything into the paper-shredder and takes the afternoon off to ring up an old friend.
But though he ignores her text-messages and goes on a date, he can�t stop thinking about her and ends up calling his friend by her name.
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He doesn�t like jealousy but he can�t explain her coldness any other way.
�Where were you last night?� she asks over the body of a fifteen year old girl. �I tried getting in touch with you.�
He doesn�t answer, doesn�t even look at the woman plaguing his every moment, whether awake or sleeping. The moment he thinks she can handle the rest of the PM on her own; he�s out of there and takes Leo�s scene for him.
It�s not out of the kindness of his heart.
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She calls to ask him for a ride to work and he surprises himself by complying. After all, they are only colleagues and he has to be civil.
�Did Mark take your car?� he asks as she�s fastening her seat-belt and thinks he sees hurt in her eyes before it turns to anger.
�Thanks, but I can walk.�
She�s out of the car before he can stop her and he hits the steering wheel as she fades in the morning rush.
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It takes a weekend and three more days before they can speak with a semblance of normality and he thinks he�s gotten over her. It�s only when he hears her yell into her cell phone and sees her run off during lunch that he understands he�s still very much hung up.
He rings his friend again and tries to make amends, but gives up and pokes his nose in her business instead. Her Mark has to be more interesting than it seemed on the first occasion.
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She finds out � or maybe she already knew � and when she comes back from her Mark�s, her eyes are red as she drags him into Leo�s vacant office.
�What do you think you�re doing?� she asks and he seizes her arms, worried and furious at the same time. �Let me go!�
He doesn�t know what to tell her, so he frees her from his grasp and watches her slip past Leo, out of the office.
�This has got to stop,� he�s told and he agrees.
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Her Mark escaped a fraud conviction on a technicality. He doesn�t stop to think how similar that is to her father. It�s not the sort of thing he needs to dwell on.
She�s sitting across from him, looking tired and he can�t bring himself to resent her anymore either.
�Fancy a cuppa?� he offers as peace token and he�s not surprised when she takes it.
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The second time she lets him take her out on an almost-date-between-colleagues is after she figures out how her fifteen year old victim was killed and they spend lunch talking about it.
�I know things haven�t been exactly right between us,� she tells him before he drops her off, �but I don�t want you to avoid me, just because of��
�Don�t worry,� he says and knows it�s redundant. It�s not what she needs to hear.
He doesn�t think to ask about her car.
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He doesn�t do romance. He doesn�t have time for it and he can�t see the point. It�s just biding his time until she�s drunk enough to go home with him. Yes, it�s jaded. So what? Penny taught him life is short and he doesn�t intend to waste it with hearts and cupids and all the rest of that crap.
But when she rings him up and he almost spills his glass of red, he�s pliant and ready to meet her downtown. He even promises dinner, then remembers he�s too drunk to drive.
She�s a woman after his heart and says that�s okay. She can stop over with a bottle of red instead.
He doesn�t bother to tell her he has one already.
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It�s not rehearsed, but when he bends, she arches and when he pushes, she pulls. They�re leading each other down the hall, hitting walls and doorframes, noticing nothing.
�Wait,� she asks and he swears he might die if she tells him to stop.
But he does and isn�t sure if he should lower her skirt, when her lips crash against his. It�s more powerful than anything he�s ever felt before, imperfect and unexpected though it is.
�I broke up with Mark,� she tells him with a smile. �Thought you might like to know.�
He smiles back.
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The first morning he wakes up truly well rested is after a night of no peace and even less quiet, but she�s in his bed and her feet are cold. His arms tighten around her until she complains that he�s crushing her.
�You love it,� he accuses and silences her with a kiss.
�Mm-hmm� missed you too.� He hears her whisper as she wraps an arm around him and goes back to sleep. He doesn�t correct her.
Maybe the science room is haunted, maybe his whole life is. She can be his ghost.
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