Alarm

Disclaimer: All characters are mine

Summary: Hal Carson, a jaded Detective, lost his partner, Jim Walker, in a warehouse shooting. He has a tumultuous relationship with his ex, Leah Laverne, but they draw close through Hal’s emotional crisis. Can he work a case that involves her?


Warnings: m/f, angst, lemon

** Asterisks indicate thoughts

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Chapter Six



When Hal entered the kitchen, he was hit by a numbing case of déjà vu. Leah was already in there, her thick, jet black hair tied into a loose pony tail, wearing a loose t-shirt. It reminded him of all the mornings they shared while they were still together, how she would prepare him breakfasts every second weekend. They used to alternate, so that Hal would have equal opportunity to cook the weekend brunch.

While the sight made his heart thrum forcefully, it also created a pit of sadness in his stomach. Those days were over, the days where they would share lazy weekends and spend the days in bed or talking about their future together. It all ended up being a dream. Just a dream.

Leah turned around, squealing and nearly dropping the frying pan. Righting herself, she glared half-heartedly at Hal before placing a dish in his hands. He looked down at the omelet she had made for him, and then back into her eyes. She settled her hands on her hips.

“I did NOT expect you to be there.” He had made her slightly flustered. She didn’t like to be surprised like that.

“You turned around before I could announce myself.”

“Oh puh-lease, I know you better than that. You would have stood there blocking space like a big moose all day if you could.” He had to grin at her flimsy insult. She wasn’t trying to cause a fight, but she made it perfectly clear she did not appreciate his habit of sneaking along silently.

“Sorry. Thanks for the grub.” Hal decided to end it there, turning and leaving the kitchen before she could sneak in the last word. Opting to eat in the living room, he headed towards his plush couch. When he woke that morning, he was greeted with stabbing pain. Although the painkillers were doing an adequate job, the morphine was better at numbing his senses. It would probably be a few weeks at least until he was feeling a little like himself again. So much for wanting to return to active duty as soon as possible.

He ate his breakfast quietly, wondering why Leah wasn’t joining him. They usually stuck together, so having her in the house but not within sight was strange. He didn’t believe she had changed that much in two years, but then again, she hadn’t been around him long enough for him to see if anything had changed, for that matter.

Hal wondered if she had managed to pick up the pieces of her life since they had split. He hadn’t, which was why he hadn’t been with a woman since. Most men found that hard to believe, especially Frank, but it felt like the switch to his sex drive had been turned to ‘off’ when Leah went off on her own. He wondered if she had started dating again, or if she had been in a steady relationship with a man during some point in their two years away from one another.

He couldn’t stop the pang of jealousy in his heart at the thought of Leah with another man. It was going to happen, one way or another, if they were to part ways forever. It was just a cruel joke to have her back in his life at the moment, and he wondered if she felt the same way.

“Leah?” Hal called out, unsure of whether or not she was still in the kitchen. No answer.

He also thought about Frank. During the night, he reflected long and hard about the situation at the warehouse. They had been blindsided, ambushed. There was no way out of it. He was lucky he even survived the attack. More and more he had assessed the attack, and the ever-present image of Frank’s face as he fell to the ground, a clean bullet hole in his head. He had finally come to terms that Frank’s eyes weren’t glaring at him accusingly, that it wasn’t his fault that the shooting ended up with his partner dead.

Feeling the guilt lift off his shoulders felt like a black mark being erased from his soul. Although it didn’t dim the pain he had over Frank’s death, he knew it would help in the long run. The recovery time wouldn’t be as severe. He could grieve, and then move on with his life. He wouldn’t need to go to counseling to try and remove any traces of responsibility linked with his partners death.

Sitting up on the sofa, he placed his now empty plate on the floor beside him. He peered over the edge of the couch, trying to see into the kitchen. From where he was, he couldn’t tell if Leah was still in there. He couldn’t believe that she had slipped out and disappeared so quietly. Leah wasn’t usually the one to maintain silence for a long period of time.

“Leah?” Hal called out again, a little louder. When she didn’t answer, he was certain she was no longer in the kitchen. Pushing down a knot of worry, he wondered where she had gone.


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Leah watched her face contort into a look of anguish in the bathroom mirror, berating herself for her weakness. She couldn’t allow her emotions to get the better of her, especially when she was supposed to be helping Hal on his path of recovery. Every time she looked at him though, she felt her heart twist painfully, and a sick, cold lump form in her stomach.

His face was full of memories, ones that she’d rather not relive. The situation they were thrown into right now only had her remembering all the sour times they were together, and the horrible circumstances of their parting. With Hal looking so solemn, it was almost a replica image of what he was like before they split. If he was charming and social, like he was so many times while the going was good, then the time spent in his presence would be much more manageable.

It wasn’t like that though, and she felt horrible that she couldn’t control her thoughts. The awful time they had been through had passed. Leah tried to convince herself that it was no longer worth thinking about, but in the back of her mind she was certain that they were memories she would carry for her lifetime. You couldn’t erase what they had been through.

For Christ’s sake, they had lost Hal’s father and their child within a month of one another. What had that done for them? Leah could feel a bitter laugh rising in her throat. It made them hate each other, that’s what happened. She watched her reflection, her pretty bronze eyes growing wide and welling up with tears.

Except that the more she looked at Hal, the more foolish she felt. She should have worked harder to help Hal open up about his father. The baby affected them both, so they should have leaned on each other, supported one another. It didn’t happen. It didn’t happen and that frustrated Leah so much. They had a chance to create a perfect life together, and it all went to shit.

Leaning heavily against the bathroom counter, Leah made a futile effort to wipe her tears away. She didn’t know how long she would be able to live with Hal. Every time she laid eyes on him, she fell in love with him more and more. It was a disaster waiting to happen, but she couldn’t stop her heart. Every part of him reminded her of what they used to have, what he meant to her. Seeing his broad, muscular frame sent her spiraling into memories of the strength within his compact body, how his body seemed to meld perfectly with her own. His face, filled with a myriad of emotions had her remembering all the pleasant and wonderful times together.

His crystal blue eyes had always held a quiet intelligence, warmth, love and laughter. Occasionally they would turn sharp and heavy, but only in dealing with work issues. She missed running her fingers through silky blonde strands, and the content sighs it would bring from him. His smell – oh God, his smell. The combination of his cologne and the musk that was truly just him always brought forth amazing recollections. Smelling him when he arrived home to having his scent on her bedsheets – it always made her dizzy with excitement to smell his cologne.

That was another thing that made her stay so painful. His cologne was the same, his hair was the same, and everything he did, all his mannerisms, were the same. How could she stay around a man who she shared everything with, only to know that nothing was going to come out of it? She even began to wonder if a talk between them was useful. What good was going to come out of it? When Hal didn’t need her help anymore, she was probably just going to disappear, this time forever.

Kneeling in front of the counter, Leah rested her head on the cool wood frame. She was trying so desperately to hold back the tears that it was beginning to cause a burning sensation in her throat. A slow tidal wave was building itself up, and she was terrified to let it go. She didn’t know how much damage it would do, or when it would stop. The last thing she wanted was for Hal to hear her crying her little heart out in his bathroom.

Turning, she rested her back against the cupboard underneath the sink, pulling her knees up against her chest. For being only 29 years old, she felt like she had lived a lifetime already. She felt like a pitiful human being. Resting her head against her knees, the tears leaked out on their own. Leah held her breath, hoping that she could weep in silence. It was a totally private moment, and although she felt slightly ashamed, holding in the ball of hurt was unbearable.

Leah let the flood come, clasping her hands over her mouth as she soaked her jeans with her tears. Maybe a good cry was what she needed, and then she could go about the day pretending that she was unaffected by Hal’s presence.


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Hal had passed the worried stage and was now heading into panic by the time he decided to move off the couch. He had called Leah several times, each time louder than the last. She hadn’t responded at all. Although it took quite a bit of effort, Hal clenched his jaw tight and stood from the couch, trying his best to ignore the pain flashing through his abdomen.

Stepping over his plate, he had to check the kitchen to confirm she really wasn’t in there. Peeking his head around the corner, he was right. There were only two other places she could be. Walking by her bedroom, he didn’t see her in there either. That left the washroom, since he was certain he hadn’t heard her leave the house at all. As he headed towards the bathroom, he could see the door was closed.

He was relieved, but at the same time concerned. She had been in there a long time, and from where he was in the living room, she should have been able to hear him call her name. Stopping in front of the washroom door, he rapped his knuckles lightly on the wooden surface. No answer.

Shuffling on the carpeted floor, he tried again. Still no response. Leaning in so his face was nearly pressed against the door, he called softly,

“Leah, are you in there?” A barely audible sniffle was heard within the room. Hal recognized it immediately, with its underlying watery tone. He had heard it many, many times before. Casting caution aside, he opened the door, surprised to see Leah seated on the floor, her knees pulled up and her head tucked into her lap. He wasn’t sure if she had heard him or if she was just ignoring him.

Stepping inside, Hal slowly slid down the counter until he was sitting beside Leah, gritting his teeth against the pain. He tried to convince himself that it was a small price to pay. Something was going on here that was far more important than how his body was feeling at the moment. Hal reached out, placing a tentative hand on Leah’s knee. She didn’t flinch, which he took as a good sign. Leaning down slightly, he tried to catch a glimpse of her face.

“Leah, what’s going on?” Hal shocked himself by his hushed voice. He hardly expected to be doing this, and yet he was falling into the role of comforting far too easily. Leah sat up, furiously wiping at her eyes.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it Hal.” Her cover-up was poor, but he didn’t need to point out the obvious. She knew well enough.

“Yeah, yeah. So you say. Why don’t you tell me what is really wrong?” Leah took one last wipe at her eyes before turning to regard Hal, knowing that she must look terrible. Crying never flattered anyone’s complexion.

“I…don’t think I can.” Leah responded truthfully, tearing her eyes away from Hal’s perfect face. Jesus, it even hurt to look at him. Hal felt a stab in his heart when she looked at him, her eyes puffy and red, like she had been crying for awhile. She gave him almost a desperate look before turning her head away. It was at that moment that Hal realized that he was entirely capable of turning things around, and he felt that if he could get to the root of Leah’s problems, he could somehow figure out his own.

Flashbacks of Leah’s tear-stained face filled his mind after the death of their baby, and he felt guilty he had never helped her through it. Now she was sitting beside him, with that same tear-stained face, but the difference was that this time he felt compelled to say something.

Placing his thumb and index finger under her chin, he turned Leah’s face towards his. Taking a deep breath, he gave her a serious look. That seemed to capture her attention enough.

“Talk to me.”

“I can’t, Hal.”

“Yes, you can. Try me.” Leah stared into his eyes, mesmerized by the strength in his gaze. What was happening here?



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A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was on vacation, with no internet access. Thanks for reading, more to come soon. Please review!

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