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The email came on a relentlessly sunny Thursday morning. He supposed that this is what people meant by being careful what you wished for. The Met, never known for its efficiency, had finally responded to his pleas from 2 years earlier and had agreed to his return to London. It was all there in black and white, everything he had asked for, a new job, a new team and a return to his homeland.
Except, it didn't feel like home these days. He had returned, briefly, two months ago to escort a prisoner and brief SOCA about her embezzlement and whilst it was lovely to stand in the drizzle and drink endless cups of tea with real milk, Richard has quickly realised that something was missing. Or, more specifically, someone was missing. He hadn't yet managed to find his courage to tell her but Camille Borday was very much the reason he got back on the plane to Saint Marie.
Richard, sighed heavily and scrubbed his hands across his head. He didn't know how he was going to be able to get out of it. Or if it was even possible.
'Richard?' His head snapped up as he registered that he was no longer alone.
'Oh, Camille! Erm, hello.'
'What's wrong?' She asked, raising her eyebrow at him.
'Nothing!' he said, quickly. She continued to fix him with her stare knowing it would only be a matter of time before he capitulated. She didn't have to wait long. 'I've had an email from the Met,' he told her, quietly.
Her face changed instantly and he could see the emotions flit across it. The fact that she didn't look happy about it made his twisted insides relax a tiny bit.
'What does it say?'
'I'm being transferred back to London,' he remained stoic, hiding his inner turmoil well, 'they want me to head up a new cold case unit.'
'Do you want to go?' she asked, quietly. She watched as he looked away and then at the floor, disappointment crashing over her as she swiftly came to her own conclusion.
'No,' he murmured, finally looking up and catching her eye, 'no, I don't want to go.'
Richard fidgeted nervously in his seat as she was silent for a few seconds and then let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as a soft, warm smile blossomed across her face.
'I don't want you to go either,' she confessed, startling him with her honesty. Richard felt his heart thumping in his chest and wondered, briefly, if perhaps this is what it felt like to have a heart attack.
'I, er, I don't know that I can turn it down,' he said, gravely, giving her a rare glimpse of his emotions.
'Turn what down, Chief?' Dwane asked, loudly, startling them both as he settled at his desk. Fidel followed and immediately picked up on the tension in the room, he wondered if the Chief and Camille had been arguing already. A small look passed between them and Richard gave Camille an imperceptible nod.
'The Chief is being transferred back to London,' Camille explained as she sat despondent on the edge of her desk.
'What?! Can they do that?' demanded Dwayne.
Richard grimaced and then nodded emphatically, 'Yes, I'm afraid they can Dwayne. I am employed by the Met and they can move me where they like as long as I get 28 days notice. Which they've given me today.'
'There must be something we can do, sir,' Fidel stated, reasonably, and Richard was touched that they all obviously wanted him to stay. 'Some way to appeal the decision. Maybe the Commissioner might-'
'Might what, Sgt Best?' the Commissioner asked as he strode in to the station causing the team to jump to attention. He looked at Fidel intently until the young Sergeant stuttered 'Might help stop the Inspector being sent back to London, Sir.'
The Commissioner rounded on Richard and caught the other man's eyes. 'Is that what you want Inspector, to stay here?'
Richard swallowed his discomfort and nodded his head. 'Yes, I don't want to leave my team.'
'You know,' the older man drawled, 'there was a time you couldn't wait to get off this island,' Patterson drawled, enjoying the sight of his best Inspector squirming.
'I remember, sir,' Richard told him, gathering his wits about him and darting a small look at Camille, 'but on balance, I think I have more to offer here than in London.'
The two men stared at each other silently for a tense moment. 'I agree, Inspector.' There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone else in the room until the older man spoke again, 'however, I am not at liberty to stop the Metropolitan Police from determining where their officers are sent.'
Richard nodded, disappointment and something that felt oddly like despair settling in his gut as he took in Camille's face behind the Commissioners shoulder.
'Perhaps, I could join the RSMP and leave the Met?' he asked, as calmly as possible, trying not to sound as panicked as he felt. He couldn't leave, not now, not when he had found his place in the world.
'You would need to be a permanent citizen for that, Inspector. It would take a while for that to happen before you could apply.' Patterson explained, candidly.
'Right. Ok,' Richard mumbled shoulders dropping in defeat.
'You could always marry a citizen, sir.' Fidel ventured.
'What?' Richard asked face screwed up in confusion.
'Well, if you married a resident your citizenship would be automatic,' Fidel explained, simply, 'then you could stay.'
Richard blushed instantly and refused to look at anyone as he stuttered out, 'Ah, well, um as you know, I'm not currently dating anyone. Let alone close to-to, marrying anyone.'
'You could marry me!' Cammile announced, decisively, which caused all the blood to drain out of Richard's face completely.
'What?!' He asked, his voice sounding strangled to his own ears.
'You could marry me,' she repeated, giving a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders as she did so, 'I'm single. You're single. What's the problem?'
'Absolutely not,' he said, resolutely.
Camille instantly sprang to her feet and thrust her hands on her hips, 'Are you saying I'm not good enough?'
Richard counted to three in his head before responding, keen to try and avoid an all out slanging match. 'No, I never said that,' he ground out, aware of the heated glare she had trained on him.
'What then?' she challenged, unwilling to let the subject drop.
'This is ridiculous,' Richard exclaimed, pushing himself on to his feet and glaring at her across his desk. 'I'm not going to have this conversation.'
'So now I'm ridiculous!' Camille shouted, throwing her hands up in despair, 'I offer you a way to stay, the easy solution and you refuse to take it. Or talk about it! You are so infuriating, Richard.'
'I'm infuriating?? Are you even listening to what you're saying? What you're suggesting?'
'Of course I know what I'm saying. I'm offering to marry you in order to help you stay here,' she countered, 'I don't see anyone else offering!'
'A marriage of convenience is not exactly legal Camille' he argued, getting worked up despite his earlier intention not to fight with her, 'and considering I want to remain the Chief of Police it's, quite frankly, an absurd idea.'
Camille pulled a face at him and carried on regardless. It was abundantly clear to the others in the room that the Inspector and his Sergeant had both forgotten they had an audience. 'It isn't absurd, you're just not willing to consider doing whatever it takes to stay on the island.'
'It's out of the question,' he said, firmly, crossing his arms over his chest to emphasise his point, 'I will not discuss this any further.'
'So you just give up?'
'Camille!' he growled, throwing his hands back up in the air and gesticulating angrily, 'I can't just ring the Met and say, Getting married, not coming back. Oh and its to my detective sergeant by the way!'
'I don't understand why you can't just let me help. It's not like-'
'Because I bloody well love you that's why!' he roared, causing everyone to freeze. As he panted and blinked rapidly trying to clear the red mist from his head Richard suddenly remembered where he was and who else was in the room.
Camille's startled eyes had not left him and he could feel the rising colour in his face. He briefly looked past her towards the door as the true horror of what he had shouted began to settle upon him. He moved to take a panicked step forwards but she blocked his path easily.
'Don't even think about running away,' she told him with a prod to his chest.
Richard nodded once as his shoulders slumped in defeat.
'Dwaye, Fidel, I think its time we leave the Inspector and Sergeant to have a long overdue discussion,' Comissioner Patterson stated as he ushered the two uniformed men out of the station.
'By the way, Inspector, in the RSMP we don't let rules get in the way of Erzulie's bidding. Just in case you we're concerned about that sort of thing,' he said, eyes sparkling with suppressed amusement. When he received no immediate reply he turned on his heel and left the station, whistling happily as he did so.
Richard stared morosely at his shoes and wondered how quickly he could get a flight back to London now that his innermost secret is out.
'You love me but you can't marry me?' she asked, softly and he was grateful that she wasn't shouting at him anymore.
'Look, Camille, I'm sorry. I didn't, I never meant for you-'
'Richard,' she snapped, exasperated, 'just tell me why you can't marry me!'
'I can't pretend,' he mumbled, trying hard not to let his emotions get the better of him again. He swallowed hard against the sudden lump in his throat and whispered, 'It would hurt too much.'
'Because you love me?' she clarified and Richard closed his eyes, wishing it to be over.
'Yes.'
Camille moved in towards him and cupped his cheek, lifting his eyes to meet hers, 'you're an idiot,' she said, giving him a soft smile.
'Excuse me?' he said, blinking rapidly.
'Why do you think I offered to do it in the first place, Richard?' He opened his mouth and then closed it again, before shrugging. 'Because I love you and can't stand the thought of you leaving.'
'Oh!' He looked so shocked that Camille giggled softly at the sight. 'So, we both love each other?'
'Yes,' she said, dreamily, 'we do.'
'Will you marry me?' he asked, seriously, 'for real I mean. Not just so I can stay.'
Camille beamed at him and answered 'Yes, I will, Richard."
He barely had time to process her answer before her lips descended upon his and they were lost in a passionate embrace for several enjoyable minutes.
Richard wrenched his mouth free, reluctantly, before he lost all sense of propriety. 'Camille?' he murmured, watching her as her eyes popped open and feeling a swell of pride surge through him at the desire he could plainly see there.
'Hmm?'
'Would you like to go look for an engagement ring?' he asked as he lifted her left hand to his mouth and placed a soft kiss there making her weak at the knees.
'Yes! And then I would like to take you home and make love for the rest of the day.'
He pretended to look scandalised, 'During the daytime?'
'If you tell me you'd prefer to stay here and work, the engagement is off!'
'I think,' he said, completely serious, 'that we should take the rest of the day off. And look for an engagement ring tomorrow.'
'Well,' she said, disentangling herself from him and taking half a step back, 'you are the boss and you know I always do as I'm told.'
Richard snorted softly but chose not to comment on that statement. Instead he turned and collected his briefcase as she had seen him do a thousand times. 'Come on Sergeant, time to go home!'
Laughing she grabbed his free hand and led the way out of the station, 'I'm ready when you are, Inspector.'