Survivor - Connor x OC

Gods & Monsters

Lana Del Ray – Gods & Monsters

Taylor blackened the screen of her phone as Alex's name popped up again. She held the power button and slid the icon on the screen until the device went dark for good, completely off. She knew she couldn't avoid him for too long or he would be on the next flight to Detroit to throttle her, but she wasn't ready to talk about it.

Slipping her lanyard over her head, she ducked into the staff entrance of the precinct while avoiding eye contact with the people waiting in the lobby. Thankfully, no one noticed her, and it was the only stroke of luck she'd had all day.

"Miss Kolbeck!" She winced as she sat her bag down on the desk next to Hank's. Glancing up, she met the angry gaze of Captain Fowler. He was standing in the door of his office, glaring down at her. "My office! Now!"

She could have shriveled up and died on the spot as everyone in the office turned to stare at her. Straightening her spine, she walked toward the glass office avoiding their sympathetic gazes. They had probably all gone through this walk of shame at one point or another, she mused.

Fowler was already seated behind his desk when she entered the room, so his glare was at maximum effectiveness as she crossed the room to sink into the chair across from him. He let the silence permeate for a few moments before he spoke.

"I told you when you came here not to turn my station into a media shit show."

"Captain—"

"Shut up." His tone silenced her immediately. She felt like a child being scolded, like she had been called to the principal's office. "You are going to listen. For once. I have had to assign officers to stand outside and turn reporters away. Not only are they here for you, now they all want to know the details of these deviant cases."

He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "Meanwhile, there are real crimes going on in this city. I can't afford to play ringleader to this circus and I certainly don't have the manpower to be wasting cops. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Taylor ducked her head, staring at her hands for a moment, before she looked up and locked eyes with the police captain. She could see the lines in his face, the hard set of his jaw, and could almost feel the exhaustion in his bones mirrored in her own. She wondered how long he had been a cop. She wondered if he knew about her history with Hank. She wondered how much he knew about her childhood.

"I apologize." She said finally. His eyebrows twitched upwards for just a moment, the only tell that she had surprised him. No doubt he had expected her to start listing off excuses. She had none.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't take that badge you're wearing and kick you out of my police station." Taylor opened her mouth to fire back, to say that she deserved to be here, that she had been instrumental in finding the deviants on both crime scenes she had been on, and that she had to do this.

Instead, she said, "I don't have one." She sensed that Captain Fowler didn't want to hear any of her reasons. He leaned back in his chair and considered her again.

"You're lucky," he began, arching an eyebrow at her, "that I hate that asshole. He always makes my cops look bad on the news." She felt the smile stretching over her face, even as he noticed and scowled at her. "If you purposely draw attention to this case again, I will kick you out. Don't test me again."

"Yes, sir." She exited the office as quickly as she could, while she was still ahead. As she descended the steps from Fowler's office, she found that Connor was standing near the bottom, waiting for her.

"Good morning, Connor." He must have been drawn out by the Captain's yelling; she hadn't seen him when she'd walked in. He nodded.

"Good morning, Miss Kolbeck." She was still smiling over her small victory in the office as she walked for their desk. Connor trailed after her.