The Art of Being Right

Early Morning Conversations

A/N : This is a bit of a shorter chapter, it's more of an extension onto the last scene but still part of the story :)

"Bloody hell, Wilson. That was intense." McKein laughed, taking a sip of his coffee and shaking his head in disbelief. Hart and Wilson had finished the interview ten minutes ago, and the officers that had been observing - Andre, McKein and Edison - had joined them in the canteen. Their shifts were a few minutes away from ending, and the five were looking forwards to getting home and sleeping through the day; Wilson in particular. The cut on his head was beginning to ache, and his hand was in agony. Thankfully though, the interview had gone well, and hadn't lasted all that long in comparison to some he'd been forced to sit through.

"I can't believe he threw up," Jo Edison giggled, her hands wrapped round a mug of tea that was steaming in spirals around her. Her red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, as it usually was when she was at work, but she had changed from her uniform into a grey t-shirt and blue skinny jeans seen as her shift would be ending in five minutes, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone react like that."

"Then again, Wilson was grilling him pretty bad," Sergeant Maddy Andre justified, toying with a loose strand of blonde hair that was hanging loose around her cheeks. She watched Wilson out of the corner of her eye, smiling to herself as she watched his head drop forwards as he fought his exhaustion, "it was a good interrogation." She said directly to him, blushing as he looked up and gave her a sleepy smile.

Hart patted him on the back, before prising his Harley keys from his hands. Wilson tried to grab them back but almost fell onto the table, earning a quiet chuckle from the others and a sound of affection from Maddy.

"There's no way you're driving when you're this tired. I'll give you a lift, I'm heading home now anyway."

"M'fine," Wilson mumbled, making a lazy grab for his keys again, and missing. "I can, d-" he was interrupted by a loud yawn, "...what was I saying?"

Maddy, Jo and McKein burst into a round of laughter.

"C'mon, kid. You need sleep, look at you. You're practically asleep on the table." He mumbled something incoherent in response. "I mean it Wilson, you need to get home before you crash."

Hart glanced at McKein - who got the message - and got up to help the superintendent move Wilson, managing to help him to his feet.

"Right, I'll give you a lift, we can get someone to drop your bike off tomorrow." Hart grabbed the detective's good arm and hung it over his shoulder, moving to leave the canteen slowly.

"Night," he muttered, following Hart and waving goodbye to the others sat around the table clumsily.

"See you on Thursday, Wilson."

"Night mate."

The two disappeared into the corridor leaving the other three officers in the practically deserted canteen.

"I gotta say, he surprises me every case he works on. Never ceases to amaze, that kid." McKein remarked after a moment. There was a nod of approval from the other two as they sat quietly.

"Did you see the way he tackled that Murray guy?" Jo laughed, recalling the moment she saw Wilson leap from the wall and shove the suspect through some poor old woman's garden wall, "For a second I thought I was at home watching the rugby. Although I thought that old woman was about to beat him to death with her walking stick for crushing her flowers."

McKein choked on the mouthful of coffee he was drinking, spluttering as he tried to stifle his laughter.

"He's really great," Maddy smiled shyly, still toying with the strand of hair twined between her fingers. McKein nudged Jo with a chuckle, the two grinning at Maddy's expression.

"Alright, Maddy put your tongue back in your mouth and quit drooling over him." McKein sniggered, while Jo rolled her eyes.

"I'm not drooling over him," she mumbled, a blush creeping down her neck, "I'm not, really."

"Why don't you just tell him how you feel for God's sake, everyone's noticed."

"Everyone?" Maddy suddenly looked up, eyes slightly widening.

"Pretty much, we've all seen you staring after him when you two are on the same cases or working together."

"So what's with your obsession with him then? I mean he's a good kid and all, but he always seems to closed off. Unless he'd drunk or exhausted he won't rely on anyone."

"It's just...he's so smart, and he's adorable when he's tired - he's really good looking too." She considered with a dreamy smile, tapping her fingers on the table top slowly. The look in her eyes was a look that many in the station had come to see over time.

"Oh stop I'm gonna be sick!" McKein joked, blowing out his cheeks and holding both hands over his mouth.

The three officers stayed and talked for another ten minutes before heading home to get some sleep, as the sun started to come up over the city.