Glass

Growing closer

Casey came back with a bowl of water a cloth and a first aid kit and set them down on the table, she moved closer to Dennis to get a better view of the wound.

"I'm going to have to clean the wound Dennis would you mind taking your shirt off so I could get a better look at it" Casey asked in a calm reassuring tone

Dennis studied her for a moment before nodding and slowly unbuttoning his shirt before peeling it off and handing it to her. Casey rushed out to the kitchen and chucked the shirt straight in the wash before coming back and picking up the damp cloth.

"I'm going to start cleaning it now it may sting a little because of the antiseptic, just try not to move okay" Casey instructed as she started wiping the blood that had spread across his chest and his abdomen. She wasn't at all surprised to find that his upper body was firm and covered entirely with muscle, She knew Dennis was strong even after their first encounter,  having said that though there was something about seeing it laid out right in front of her that she somehow felt entranced by it all. 

The more blood Casey wiped off, the more remnants of his previous torture were revealed to her, scars were present all over his body some small , some big all had a history, Casey felt a small tear make its way down her face, which Dennis reached over and wiped away, making her stop what she was doing to look at him with sorrowful eyes.

"How could she do this to you?" she whispered, Dennis shared the same look which Casey wore, cupping her face with his hand locking his eyes on hers.

"We all have our demons and we're responsible for what happens when we let them out" Dennis reminded her, Casey nodded before continuing with cleaning the wound.

Dennis tried not to show any pain but when Casey started cleaning the actual wound itself he couldn't help the hiss that escaped , his muscles twitching involuntarily when the antiseptic started to sting. Once Casey was finished cleaning the wound Dennis could bring himself to look at it properly for the first time, it looked much better now that the bleeding had stopped and it had been cleaned out, it actually felt worse than what it looked.

Casey placed the cloth in the bowl and took the bandage out of the packaging, it was quite big and would quite easily cover the whole wound. She pressed it down onto Dennis's strong, firm abdomen, before wrapping it around his torso with his help and tying it up in a tight but neat knot. Casey went to stand up and took all the equipment back into the kitchen with her, disposing of the bloody cloth and thoroughly cleaning the bowl she had used before placing it all back into the first aid cupboard.

Once she came back into the sitting room she slumped on the sofa next to Dennis, and they sat together in a comfortable silence. 

"Thank you for the help Casey I really appreciate it" Dennis said breaking the silence.

"That's okay, I mean it was the least I could do since, you know you saved my life and all" Casey replied guiltily. 

"Your not still blaming yourself are you?" Dennis asked his stern expression returning again, Casey nodded looking down on the floor and Dennis sighed "Look I already told you it was my fault alright, just let me take the blame for this" he answered softly, shifting slightly on the sofa moving closer to her.

"You wouldn't have that injury at all if it weren't for me" Casey argued, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him.

"And whose clever idea was it to tell you to run outside anyway, if I hadn't suggested that then you wouldn't have ran into those two thugs, this one is on me" Dennis answered before taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose "It's funny no matter what I do, I'm always getting people hurt or in harms way"

"Don't say that, you couldn't have known that they would have been out there, at least don't blame yourself for that" Casey replied, warm brown eyes pleading with him to not add to the guilt he was already feeling as she hesitantly reached out to touch him.

Dennis leaned into the touch needing some form of comfort to pull him out of his dark thoughts, Casey's fingers rubbed an imprint of a scar on his left shoulder and her hand tensed, Dennis turned to look at her and realized why she had suddenly tensed up.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you" Casey's voice cracked an Dennis held her again as her tears started making their way down her cheeks.

"It's okay you don't have to be, it happened a long time ago, to be honest I completely forgot about that one" Dennis joked as he comforted Casey, Casey huffed out a laugh as she looked up at Dennis.

"Do you?" she asked

"Do I what?" he responded raising his eyebrows

"Forget about your scars" she finished

"Never, there was a time I thought I could but...I don't know it didn't seem to matter in the end, I mean their apart of me whether I like it or not so I decided I'd just settle for getting used to them being there" he shrugged, Casey nodded in response "What about you?" he asked her.

"I've never known how to deal with them to be honest, they're too fresh, the memories I mean" Casey exhaled.

Dennis understood exactly what she was talking about, some memories from his past were too fresh for him they seemed like they happened yesterday instead of in his childhood.

"Casey I want to tell you that.... I think your incredibly brave to have been able to go through all of this by yourself, most other people wouldn't be able to go through what you've been through and still come out of this as strong as you have" Dennis said sincerely, meaning every word.

"Thank you Dennis that means a lot... I think your brave too you know" Casey said smiling up at him.

"Sometimes I don't think that's true" Dennis frowned.

"Stop doubting yourself, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for, I mean who else would willingly take a beating to protect their best friend, who would save a detectives life even if it meant never being in the light again and who would save my life even if it meant putting them-self in harms way, you are brave Dennis" Casey argued gripping his shoulders, they were so close now that Dennis could feel the heat that was radiating from her body.

"When will you stop being nice to me I don't deserve it after everything I've done" Dennis scoffed.

"When you stop bringing yourself down, maybe then I'll stop" Casey grinned

Dennis laughed then for the first time in what felt like years. It was a deep strong bellow which Casey found contagious and endearing. 

"I love you, your a massive pain in the ass but I love you" Dennis said without realizing. Casey leaned back looking a little shocked and Dennis felt himself blush as the realization of what he just said hit him like a ton of bricks. "I uh sorry I don't know what came over me" he cleared his throat nervously  " I should probably go" he said when Casey didn't answer.

Dennis started getting ready to get up when Casey asked

"Wait Dennis, do you really mean that?" 

Dennis sighed "Yeah I do but I understand if you don't feel the same way... I wouldn't either after everything you've been through" he avoided her eyes, debating whether to get up or not.

"Your right after everything I've been through I shouldn't feel the way I do about you now..." Casey trailed off as Dennis's eyes shot straight up, filled with a glimmer of hope that he hadn't imagined what he had just heard and asking a silent question which Casey answered with a slight nod of her head.

Dennis laughed breathlessly and leaned in slowly giving Casey ample opportunity to back out if she wanted to, but to his surprise she wrapped her arms around his neck and sealed the kiss.