An Internal Affair

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“So, tell me something.”

Chad glanced over. “Depends on what it is…Starbucks or Caribou?”

“Either’s fine.” Battle unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door as soon as he had pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. “It’s about Hopper.” He sighed and climbed out as she circled around to wait for him.

“Go on…” He held the door open for her in the age-old gesture of courtliness and she smiled thanks as she passed him.

She scanned the menu board as she continued, and the question was enough to make him wish he’d never agreed to this little trip for coffee even though it got him away from both Hopper and Rita. “Every single time you two get together, you’re at each other’s throats. You were partners once, so was it Rita or something else?” She looked up at him. “It just seems like it’s past time for you two to make peace once and for all. It’s really not my business-”

“You’re not wrong on that one.” Like he needed to be psycho-analyzed while he was in line at Starbucks? “He put you up to this, or was it something you just came up with all by yourself?”

Battle turned to him and surprised him by putting her hand on his arm, a strange look in her eyes. “He didn’t put me up to anything. You looked like you wanted out of there, and fast. It’s just…it doesn’t seem right.”

“That’s because it’s not. Your turn to order,” he pointed out. “I guess I could say that I appreciate the concern, but…”

“But you don’t.” She bent him another of those looks and placed her order, coming over to wait beside him while he pretended to be interested in watching the counter girl make some sort of latte. “Look, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” she began.

Chad cut her off easily. “No, you’re not.” She wasn’t, either – he could tell by the look on her face. He admired the way she’d just confronted him about his hostility towards Hopper, like she either didn’t know or didn’t care that he could put her through hell the next time she set foot in IA. Battle being how she was, he guessed it was the latter. She just smiled up at him and settled back to wait, one shoulder brushing up against him. Is that on purpose, too? He wondered if she knew exactly what she was doing, or if this whole week had simply been one she would conveniently forget on Monday. Maybe I’ll wait and see before I ask her on that date that’s not a date. Yeah, I’d better do that. He’d run into more female officers than he cared to count who wanted to trade favors since he headed IA and could ‘fix’ things. Not to mention the male officers, but that was certainly something that he didn’t want to think about ever again.

He looked down at her, how she was leaning back against the counter like she didn’t have a care in the world. She probably didn’t, aside from whatever was going down with Danny Yan over in Chinatown…but he’d have plenty of time to ask her about that later. Chad did enjoy how she stood up to him, though – not many did. Even Rita had always given in, but it’d never stopped him from pushing, just to see how much she would take before pushing back. Ultimately she’d folded every single time except the one that had really mattered. He suppressed a smile at the thought of Battle allowing him to order her around, and decided to conduct a little test. “What did you get?” he asked her, as if he hadn’t heard when she had placed the order.

“Iced Vanilla Frappucino…why?”

“Cancel your order and get something hot – it’s better to start your day with,” he said loftily, crossing his arms and leaning back to wait.

Her response wasn’t long in coming, either. Battle blinked and stared at him thoughtfully for a second before turning fully to confront him. “Despite the fact that you are about 300 lbs. heavier than I am, if you try to pull that ‘control’ crap on me again I will take you out right here and leave Shania over there to clean up the mess. This isn’t work, Shelten – don’t push me around.”

Chad raised his hands in surrender, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. “My mistake then, Battle. I hasten to tender my most humble and abject apologies.”

Battle’s mouth opened slightly when she realized he’d simply been messing with her, and she looked away sharply to hide a smile of her own. “It’s Andrea.”

Andrea. Guess we moved one step closer to the non-date, if she’s letting me call her by her first name…shame, though. The name ‘Battle’ really suits her personality better. He smiled at….Andrea…and tossed a few bills on the counter as the counter girl brought their order over.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Andea sighed and pushed the money back towards him. “I got it.” First he was messing with her and trying to order her around, and now he was subtly trying the exact same thing again. “Remember what I just told you? That wasn’t even two minutes ago,” she reminded him. She suddenly wondered if he’d pulled these stunts with Rita.

The infuriating man just smiled and pushed it back. “If you allow me to pay for it that means you might feel as if you owe me something.”

Why, you… “The only thing I’ll owe you is an insincere apology when I dump Hopper’s espresso in your lap while you’re driving back, hot shot.” She surprised laughter from him, and smiled as she took the coffee over to collect napkins and sugar packets.

He came over after buying a bottle of water to lounge against the side of the counter and tease her about the amount of sugar she was emptying in her Frappucino. “Woman such as yourself, I’d think you’d pick the ‘Komodo Dragon Blend’. Your teeth will fall out with all that crap you’re putting in there,” he observed cheerfully.

Andrea gracefully ignored the ‘Komodo Dragon’ comment and snapped the lid on her cup. “Everything’s better with more sugar,” she instructed. “Maybe if you had more of it you’d – no, wait. I think the whole “spawn of Satan” thing you’ve got going on would just cancel it out.”

“Ha, ha.”

They drove back to Rita’s in companionable silence, but Andrea was able to see the tension returning to the big man’s frame as he turned off the engine and glanced over at the house. “I don’t think anyone would blame you if you didn’t come back in,” she tried.

Chad looked over at her. “No, she asked me to help her and I said that I would. It doesn’t really matter how much I regret it now,” he finished in a thoughtful tone that she knew wasn’t meant for her ears. “Shall we?”

They walked up the steps together and she just shook her head as he sidled past her and grabbed the tray from her hands, giving her some line about delicate women not needing to carry heavy objects. She shook her fist at him in warning and was rewarded by another of those smiles that seemed to come out of nowhere. He sure looks a lot different when he’s not being himself. Or is this the real him? She wouldn’t mind finding out…they’d had a lot to talk about both at that party and when they were getting coffee, after all. Perhaps if she asked him to dinner? A date with Sergeant Slaughter? Are you crazy? She told herself. Maybe just lunch, then. Or not…lunch still counts as a date.

As they all resumed working – Chad had gone back to it immediately to avoid having to be in the same room with Hopper – she thought about it some more as she tried to sneak some looks his way. The man wasn’t at all bad looking; on the contrary, he was rather easy on the eyes…when he wasn’t being a holy terror. Nice ass. She’d caught him looking at hers earlier, too. If all else fails and he goes back to being a bastard to me at work, I can at least threaten him with a claim of sexual harassment, she thought, amused. His phone rang and Rita rolled her eyes at Andrea. “Okay, I think this is nearly done…the contractor’s on his way over now.”

Hopper pulled his girlfriend into his arms, kissing her cheek while she snuggled close. “We can stay at my place tonight if he doesn’t get it finished today, baby.”

Andrea winced as Chad ducked through the door. “Rita? I gotta go, so…” the muscles in his jaw tightened as he took in the scene, and he flicked his eyes over to her. “I guess I’ll see you later. Battle,” he inclined his head in farewell and walked out the door. She watched him leave and just as he reached his car she felt a strange urge to do something.

“Oops, think I forgot something in Sunshine’s car – be right back,” she said hurriedly, and ran after him. “Hey, Chad!”

He turned slightly. “Yeah?”

“What’re you doing tomorrow?” she blurted before she could help it. Oh, God. What made me come out here? And what the hell made me ask that?

“Why do you want to know?” he asked suspiciously. “If this is about making me come back and move all that shit back inside, you can forget it.”

Despite herself, she smiled. “No, that’s not it. I mean, well…oh, never mind. Forget I asked. I better go back and help.”

Chad called her back when she turned to leave. “I go running on Sundays, actually.” Andrea turned back to him as he rubbed the back of his neck and coughed. “You know, if you want-”

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Why not? Where and when?” She glanced over her shoulder to see Hopper peering over the balcony at them. “Can I have a pen or something?”

Chad blinked at her. “Um. What?”

“I said I forgot something in your car,” she explained, a blush rising to her cheeks.

He pointed a finger at her suddenly. “You’re turning red…were you asking me on a-”

“No. Were you asking-”

“No.”

“That’s good, because-”

“Uh-huh.”

“Yeah.”

“So, meet you by the station at seven?”

“Sounds good…wait, as in seven a.m.?” Chad gave her one of his patented “looks” and got in the car. “I’ll be there,” she yelled after him as he drove off.

“You’ll be where?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin as Hopper appeared behind her, scowling. “Damn it, Hopper – don’t sneak up on me. You’re lucky I left my sidearm in the car.”

Hopper put his hands on his hips, scowling after the black SUV that was turning a corner up ahead. “What was all that about? Is he trying to get something over on you in IA that you’re not telling me about?”

Andrea started to laugh – of course Hopper would have no idea of what was really going on…sometimes the man could be so blind it was nearly frightening. Still, if he didn’t know then she wasn’t about to tell him that she was basically going on a date with his nemesis tomorrow morning. “It’s nothing I can’t handle by myself,” she assured him. “What’s left to do?” They walked back to the house and she listened with half an ear, too busy thinking about the confusion she felt when she was around Chad these days. Maybe by tomorrow, things will be sorted out…

“It’s good to see someone smiling and happy,” Rita greeted her as she walked back in. “Mr. Sourpuss right here needs to take lessons.”

Was she smiling?

She glanced in the hallway mirror to find that yes, she was. It would probably kill them both to find out just who put that smile there.


tbc…
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Meep. It’s a non-date!