Washed Up Memories

Chapter 1

It wasn't the leather jacket or blue eyes that sent a chill down her spine. It was the uneasy feeling she felt within her that scared her. A feeling that warned her not to act on any feelings she may feel for him. It was a strange warning, she must admit. She had only just met him. Why would she feel anything for him other than that of a co-worker. But, true enough, the moment he had introduced himself to her, feelings began to resurface. It wasn't feelings of a romantic kind, more of a sibling love. While in her mind, the sensation she was experiencing was unusual, her heart told her it was also familiar. At the same time, she both loved it and despised it. She did not know why she felt the way she did about him, but she was going to find out. She needed know. Otherwise, it would be eating away at her.

"Excuse me," she excused herself from his company. "I must get back to work."

As she walked away, she could feel those dark eyes watching her. Those eyes that knew what she was feeling. Something that made her feel even more uneasy. If he knew the reason why she felt the way she did, then why didn't e say something when he had the chance? Perhaps he didn't know. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Making her think that he did know something. She didn't want to go up to him and ask if he'd just stare blankly at her. That would make the situation even more awkward. So she just shook her head, trying to forget about the uneasy feeling in her stomach. However, that feeling would not disappear. It remained in the pit of her stomach.

She returned to the desk and found it covered with a stack load of files. She sighed heavily as she sat down in her chair.

"I see Harry's given you loads of paperwork too." Dimitri called over from his desk

"Yeah, it looks like it. What exactly does he want us to do with them?" Erin asked, grabbing one of the files from the top.

"He just said it's mostly signing off on summary reports on closed cases." Dimitri answered as he scribbled away at one file after another.

"Great. Looks like we doing another overtime. I hope we get paid." Erin said as she too began scribbling away.

"Yeah, so do I." Dimitri chuckled.

Erin was lost in trying to get through as many files as possible before calling it a day, that she hadn't heard him approach her desk.

"Everything okay?" His deep baritone voice filled her surrounding environment.

"Uh, what?" Her head jolted up when she heard him speak.

"I just asked if you was alright?" He repeated.

"Yeah, why?" Erin asked, a bit flustered.

Every time she was in the same vicinity as him that feeling of sibling love surfaced, followed by a strong sense of hatred. She tried to not give anything away. She cleared her throat hoping it would distract her from the tension that was growing inside of her.

"I was worried. Earlier on you seemed as if you had something on your mind. I was just wondering if I could help?" He offered.

"Thanks, but I'm good. Anyway, I've got loads of singing off to do." She replied.

"Yeah, so do I. Harry loves giving us paperwork, doesn't he?" He said with a smile.

"He sure does." Erin gave him a small smile before returning back to the files on her desk.

He stood there for a minute or two.

"Er, well I let you get on with it." He turned and headed back over to his desk.

Erin gave a quick glance at his direction. There was something about his demeanour that told her he didn't have a clue about what she was feeling. She was grateful for that and so didn't press the matter any further. The light was slowly fading into night, most of the team had gone home for the night. All except Erin, Dimitri and few of the others. Quickly scribbling off the final file, Erin directed her attention to the desk opposite her. His dark hair shone in the light of the lamp, creases showed in his forehead as he concentrated on the documents he held in his hands. She smiled to herself. He never could switch off from work. Even if it was getting late and he had spent most of the day working. She liked that about him. His dedication to the job. It didn't surprise her. The job they were in was demanding and took its toll on them. Life outside took a back bench when it came to working for Queen and Country. It was something they all had to sacrifice. But, not tonight. Tonight it was time to call it a day and head down to the pub for a couple of drinks. After doing overtime, they deserved it. Grabbing her coat, keys and purse, Erin walked over to the desk where he sat.

"Lucas," Erin interrupted him.

Lucas looked up from the page he was reading.

"Dimtri, Ros, Tariq and I are heading off to the pub. Want to join?" She carried on.

"Er, yeah. I'll just finish this and then I'll join you in a minute." He told her.

"You look shattered. You've been here all day. We all have. Why don't we call it night? The paperwork is still going to be here tomorrow." Erin said.

"No, really." Lucas insisted. "I just need to finish this off and then I'll come. I never leave things half done."

"Alright." She said. "Don't be too long."

He gave her a quick smile to which she returned back. Lucas watched her leave through the swishing doors before focusing back on the document on his desk.