Pathology Department

It was raining. Thick water drops splashing down onto the ground, soaking the detective's shoes as she walked along the abandoned street. The sky had darkened long ago and was now black, the street only lightened by dimmed street lights. She should have gone home long ago but that didn't really seem to matter now. Except the distant chatter of low voices there was no sound, thick silence surrounding her. She approached the harbor with slow steps, the bit of alcohol she had drunk earlier taking its influence on her. As she continued her way down the street, coming down to the sea an uneasy feeling settled into her gut. But it was only when the rough smell of iron inflated her nostrils that she knew something was wrong. She quickened her steps as she came near the edge of one of the old stone buildings, her black heeled boots clicking louder the faster she got. When she finally came around the edge she didn't jerk back, didn't flinch or close her eyes. It was her job after all, even though the dead body looked bad.

It was till raining furiously outside when detective Elise Delany stormed through the doors of the old police department.
"Is Jack here already?", she called and a few of her coworkers ducked their heads.
"Hey Delany, keep it down. What was it I told you about your inside voice?" She growled as her partner slowly walked into the room, a wide grin on his face. "Any resolutions yet?", the brunette detective questioned, causing him to shake his head.
"The corpse is downstairs in the pathology department. Alice will have the death cause in a few minutes", he replied.
"And that on my free evening", she mumbled as they made their way downstairs. She could still taste the sharpness of the whiskey she had downed earlier this evening and she really didn't wish for anything more than to be back at her apartment with that nice bottle of gin she had bought a few days ago.
"Alice!", Jack called, pushing the button to open the glass doors.
"Hey Jack, always a pleasure to hear your sweet voice in my holy halls", the blonde replied, hurrying from the cooler into the main room to greet her new guests.
"And of course always a pleasure to meet your beautiful partner." She sent a charming smile to the brunette and Elise felt her cheeks heating up. She was not blushing, she never blushed but that didn't hold the warmth from spreading through her body.
"Oh Alice it's always a pleasure for you to get any guests that are not dead, you know that", Jack teased, though his voice was little harsh.
"Well that might be true Jack but just imagine who you would spent your nights with if it wasn't for your pretty partner", Alice gave back, a wide grin clearly visible on her face.
"Enough, you two. We have work to do", Elise cut in between to stop the coworkers from a verbal fight that she would normally only assume to erupt between children.
"Alright", Alice agreed, leading them over to the metal table where the man Elise had found hours ago was lying. The brunette clearly remembered the first time she had walked into this room, her stomach boiling, turning against her will. The smell was still horrible but she had gotten used to it. "So, do you know the cause of death?", Jack questioned as he carefully leaned closer to the dead man.
"Yup. Shot in the chest, he caught the aorta and the man died of blood loss", Alice replied, looking through the case folder.
"What's with the mere injuries all over the body?", the brunette questioned with curios raised eyebrows.
"Ah yeah. They were kinda interesting." Alice slipped her gloves on before carefully examining one of the parts of the body where the skin was cracked open. The man's skin was covered by scratches, some light, others rather deep. Large pieces of flesh had lost their cover, muscles and veins now to see.
"He was found by the harbor, right?", Alice asked, her finger tips pressing into the wound to get a better look on the form of the injury.
"Yup. Two streets away from my apartment", Elise replied, earning a rise of eyebrows from her partner. "Well, then it makes sense. Due to the body temperature and the liver results I'd say he was dead about three hours before you found him. Enough time for the harbor rats to find his remnants and have a feast", Alice told them, slipping her gloves back off.
"Rats did that to him?", Jack requested, disgust written all over his face as he eyed the ripped flesh.
"Uhuh. He was already dead though, he didn't feel anything", the blonde said, pointing at the shot wound as she talked. "I'd say it was a Glock." "Thanks Allie, now we at least know what to search for." Elise sent a smile to the blonde and the other than her Alice's cheeks betrayed her and turned a dark shade of crimson at the use of her nick name.
Jack grunted. "Well, that helps us a lot thanks Alice. We should go upstairs again Ell', let's see what we can find out", he said, motioning in the doors direction.
"We still don't even know what exactly to expect and it's too late to look after witnesses", Elise stated, sounding tired. "Well I found white powder under the dead's nails. The lab is still working on it but I'm pretty sure it's cocaine", Alice informed them, placing the case folder aside before taking off her lab coat.
"So a drug deal gone wrong? That's a lead, thanks again Allie", the brunette said, winking at the forensic doctor whose blush increased slightly.
"So if searching for other leads is needless right now then we might as well call it a night", Jack offered, his unpleased gaze fixed on the blonde. "Sounds good to me, it's my free night after all", Elise sighed, her shoulders slumping down as tiredness overtook her.
"I second that", Alice skimmed in, hands already busy with repacking her purse. Jack nodded before turning to Elise to head up with her.
"Umm...Elise would you mind waiting a second? I'd like to talk to you about something", Alice called after them as they had almost reached the doors. "Oh, of course", the female detective replied, stopping dead in tracks. Jack stilled his movements as well, giving a questioning look to the brunette.
"You can go Jack, I'll follow you in a few", she told him with a tired smile. He released an unpleased grunt followed by a huffed out breath before leaving the sterile hall.
"So what is it you wanted to talk about?", Elise asked softly as the electric doors closed behind Jack.
"It...umm I was just wondering if you'd like to go out some time?" Alice's voice was thin, teeth chewing on her bottom lip in attempt to calm her nerves. "Going out as in having a date?", Elise requested, face a mask that didn't show any emotion. The blonde swallowed thickly. She was just a few steps away from the detective; if she reached out she could have taken her hand.
"Yes as in having a date", she replied, more confident this time. It was either win or lose in either way. As Elise continued looking at her however her nerves came up again and she started chewing on her bottom lip once more. The brunette moved then, stepping closer to and breaking into her personal space. She was suddenly aware if every raise of the other woman's chest, every blink and the movement of her tongue as it slid over her own lips to hydrate them. Within a second those lips were pressed onto hers in a tender kiss. It lasted several minutes, just two mouths pressed together though it was the best thing either of them could imagine.
"I would feel honored to go on a date with you, Alice", the brunette whispered as she leaned back. "And I would have some time now if that's alright with you."
"Really?", Alice questioned, eyes wide open in surprise.
"Yeah of course", Elise smiled, gaze locking with Alice's.
"Alright. L-Let me just grab my coat", the blonde stuttered, actions reduced by the shock.
"Don't worry Allie, I'm not going to disappear all of a sudden", the detective said as she gave a reassuring smile to Alice, who nodded before she hurried to get her stuff and return to the brunette woman.
Elise carefully took the other woman's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers as they left the pathology and a few moments later the department.
Neither of them noticed the man in the shadow of the building.
Jack Parker had been rejected quite a few times by his partner and now he knew why. His fists curled into tight fists at his sides, a deep growl leaving his throat as he watched the couple approaching the brunette's car.
The rain was still pouring down, a little storm announcing its arrival as he hid in the darkness to keep his eyes on the woman he loved. And he was sure she would return his love as soon as he removed the obstacle called Alice Stone.