Chapter Text
He was going through so much lately. Clay’s death, Gemma getting shot, not to mention the stress that came with the job. Although he would never admit that, those things were starting to affect him. But that wasn't the first time his actions made him uncomfortable, and with that in mind, he wasn’t planning to take a break anytime soon. Just the thought of his partner being on the field without him - alone or with a temporary partner, already made him anxious, not to mention the paperwork. He would not do this unless there was a good reason, and a normal everyday crisis didn't sound like one. Then again, he also thought that vacation was a good reason and it did not go well for anybody.
So, he meant it. He was not leaving anytime soon.
Still, it was only a matter of time before people started noticing it. The first one being – obviously – Maggie. It's been two days and so far she's been letting him avoid the subject, but he knew that, at some point, avoiding wouldn’t be a option anymore. He was expecting anything at this point: Bringing up the accident after closing a case, mindlessly visiting her house in the middle of the night because he desperatly needs to slow down, her pointing out reckless mistakes he could be doing on the field or even telling Isobel on his behalf in case things got out of control.
Instead, she arrived at the office with two cups of coffee and they had their first conversation. It was nothing related to his behavior, just a normal talk about their daily routine. Even so, she clearly noticed how serious he looked, despite his attempts at making jokes.
So she was letting his silence goes unnoticed once more? Why?.. Could it be that his actually good at hiding this? That his demeanor hasn’t changed as much as he thought? Maybe she didn't even noticed and hes just being paranoid for two days straight.
She kept acting like everthing was normal. They knew each other’s pacing so well that even a "fake conversation" sounded natural. But then, she suggested he "touched some grass".
What on earth was that?
He simply laughed at how good she was at ignoring difficult matters. Was she trying not to make a big deal out of the accident to ease things up? Maybe she's expecting him to feel more comfortable to open up without actually entering the subject?
If anything he was shocked. He would never be able to keep such normality under circumstances like this, even if it meant she would feel more comfortable. That was just not him, and neither it felt like her.
Anyway, the conversation went on until they got a new case. Though it wasn’t working in the way she wanted, it was being acleaver attempt. He was expecting that. What he didn’t, however, was that in the next day, they both would be on a plane to Indiana.
...Maybe it was working, in the end.
So much for “not leaving”.
But it was a good opportunity, in the end. His girlfriend left the hospital for yesterday and was recovering at her parents house. He insisted on going along, to deal with the trauma together and sort things out like a couple, but she asked for some time alone and he intended to respect that. His sisters were out there living their lives and he wouldn't worry his mother with something so stupid as his disaster of a personal life. Lastly, Isobel normally had to force his partner into using her vacation days, but since she decided to do a “change of habit” and become more open to people in her life, she's been trying to leave her “workaholic” self aside and use those days to visit her hometown. Omar was supposed to use his days with Gemma, but since "that" happened, he still had it available. Also, having Maggie on vacation too would cease the other issues he had related to the job. They didn’t really need to go to the same place for that to happen, but looking at it now, who could be better to accompany him now?
... And yes, maybe he was a little excited to see where she grew up.