Power of Will, a SAW Fanfiction

Ch. 25 Pre-SAW: Trading Partners

Mark Hoffman

The sun was streaming through the blinds, hitting his eyes and beckoning his consciousness from pleasant dreams. He stirred in his bed, spreading his limbs to stretch when he contacted a familiar mound of warm, soft flesh beside him.

Hello. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around Will, pulling her close into his chest and taking a deep breath of her shampoo. Flowers and candy. He had gotten used to that scent, finding it lingering on his bedsheets and towels these days, a pleasant reminder of the past months of bliss.

He had everything he wanted. All he could ever ask for.

These months had been paradise.

She was softly snoring as he held her firmly, making him chuckle.

"...Mhm what?" She awoke with sluggish words and a tired tone, exhausted from the long week. Though his personal life was perfect, work had been hell.

The city was on fire as the latest plague of gang wars ravaged the streets.

The fucking yakuza was moving in and taking out the smaller factions. All vultures wanted a taste of the carcass left by Rosello's absence.

Tapp and Sing were currently taking on the chaos westside, after one of K2K's old booby traps detonated in the middle of a crime scene. To complicate things, Kerry and Matthews had been forced to sever their partnership after Matthews' wife had raised hell over their relationship.

Thoughts like that made Hoffman know he had to be careful. They had to be careful. Even Grissom had taken him aside the day before, right before his weekend.

"Level with me, Hoffman. You and Maddox. I'm not going to hear any problems like with Kerry and Matthews, am I?"

"No, sir. Neither of us are married. And Maddox' psycho ex-husband hasn't been around."

"You know what I mean, smartass. Damnit. I don't hear any denying of you two screwing. God. Damnit. You just couldn't keep your dick in your pants. Just made my life a hundred times more difficult."

"We still work well. No issues."

"Doesn't fucking matter. It's against the rules. I kept a blind eye for too damn long. Now the commissioner expects me to crack down on interwork relationships. You've only just turned your career around." Grissom had taken his glasses off to rub his eyes. "I'll give you the weekend to break the news to her. Starting Monday, your partnership is done. You're going to be reassigned to take Matthews. Kerry will be with Maddox. And don't give me that look, Hoffman. It's for your own good. And hers. What do you think Kerry's going through right now, dealing with the shit slinging right now? You want Maddox suffering through that too?"

"Morning," Will turned to face him, amber orbs radiating back the sunlight, her cheeks rounded as she grinned. "You look intense. What's up?"

He blinked. He didn't want to ruin this. Telling her now, he knew she wouldn't take it well. Her job was important to her and this uprooting would complicate things.

He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to enjoy this for just one more day. He brushed some stray copper curls from her forehead, strands of rose gold in the sun. "Just admiring the view."

He liked when her cheeks got so pink when she was embarrassed. She covered her face with the blanket and he pulled it away, teasing.

"Stop!" She yowled as he kissed her, tasting her morning breath and loving every moment of it.

They rolled under the covers, the sound of laughter blending with the tremor of traffic and sirens.

Eric Matthews