Collateral Damage

- ELEVEN -

"Feeling better?" Adrian asked as I wondered out of the room that Scott and I had shared last night.

I looked up to find him in the kitchen with his back towards me. "Not really," I said, "But I'm not going to repeat what happened last night."

Adrian eyed me over his shoulder and I could practically read his mind. He didn't believe me even though I was serious. "Okay." He simply said, I didn't push my luck with him, not this early in the morning anyway.

"What are you doing up do early anyway?" I asked taking a seat on the bench top

"I couldn't sleep," he muttered taking a sip of whatever he was drinking. I took in his appearance. He looked exhausted. Kind of like the devil had stripped his soul of a good night sleep. The bags under his eyes were puffy and the green pigment in them had dulled.

"How come?" I asked.

"There is a meeting tonight to discuss Tilly," he said. In that moment I had realized that she meant more to the people here than I had thought. Everyone that I mentioned Matilda to had shot me down o given me disapproving looks. It made me see that they probably thought that I only saw her as another case, not my daughter.

"Are you going?" I asked, watching Adrian run his hands over his face.

"Yeah, you?" he asked. I nodded my head. I had to go. She is my daughter. I need to find her. "Anyway, what are your plans for today?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Probably go to the gym and go for a nice long and hot shower." He nodded his head. His face was void of emotion and it broke my heart.

Scott wandered out of the bedroom in just a pair of boxers. I saw Adrian roll his eyes at my boyfriend and I resisted the urge to laugh. Scott wrapped his arms around me and I snuggled into his body. "Did I hear gym today?" he whispered into my ear.

"Yes you did." I smiled. His placed a quick kiss to my lips and I smiled into the kiss.

Scott and I wandered across the courtyard towards the gym. We discussed the sets and reps we planned on doing when we got there and I smiled as all of the memories of training with Dimitri flashed through my mind. I had so many good memories with him. For the longest time he was one of the most important people to me. And now he was nothing.

I followed Scott over to the punching bag and copied his warm up moves. Our serious training session quickly turned into one of laughter. Scott had me over his shoulder in a matter of minutes and I swear I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time.

Scott and I walked arm in arm into the cafeteria and he said something about ordering food, so I took a seat at the nearest two seat table. Lissa walked into the café. She and I hadn't really spoken much since I got back. But in saying that we are very different people now. She is a devoted mother, wife and principal. And I was a cop. I guess we both knew that she would make something of herself and I wouldn't.

"Did Adrian tell you about the meeting tonight?" she asked as she sat down elegantly into the seat across from me.

"About Matilda?" I asked and she nodded, "Yeah he did and I'll be there."

"Thank you for all of your help, maybe we should spend a bit of time together when things settle down."

"I'd love that." I whispered.

She smiled and placed her hand over mine. "Dimitri said you were upset yesterday."

I resisted the urge to go find him and cuss him out. "It doesn't matter, it wasn't anything to do with anything, don't worry yourself over it."

"Okay?" she said, shifting as Scott walked over with his packed café tray. "Anyway I better get going, things to do. See you both tonight." She said, giving me a quick hug and giving Scott a smile, I still had to explain things to them. Note to self, sit them down and introduce them properly.

Once we had finished our food we made our way back to the apartment where we showered and waited for Adrian to come home so that we could go to this meeting together.

I only hoped that we would get to her in time.