Research (Law & Order: UK)
Title: Research
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Alesha/James
Rating: G
Spoilers: 3.04 Confession
Summary: James is most attracted to Alesha when she's in research mode.
Disclaimer: ITV owns Law & Order: UK
Author Notes: The show continues to tease us with shippy moments, and my plot bunny continues to insist that I expand on them!
~~~~~~
Arriving at work that Friday morning, James is startled when he sees Alesha napping on the office sofa.
"PTSD!" she exclaims excitedly, sitting up as he goes in.
"PTSD?" he asks, mystified but amused by her enthusiastic exclamation. He shuts the door and goes to sit beside her on the leather sofa, taking in the empty coffee cups, the piles of paperwork and books, both on the table and on the floor, and the way she's got her new coat over her knees.
"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," she says, and he's even more amused. He knows what PTSD stands for, but he's bemused that she's mentioning it to him.
"It's not just that Garvey's life fell apart," she tells him, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "It wasn't just suicide. He was suffering from PTSD." She hands him a sheet of paper. "That's a psychiatric illness. The damage to the nervous system is psychiatric harm, and that's recognised by the Courts, right? So if we prove that Nugent's abuse caused PTSD, we can charge him with manslaughter."
"Good morning to you, too," James responds, leaning forward to kiss her briefly but firmly. He knows she prefers him not to do such things in the office, but he can't help himself: she's adorable when she's excited, especially when she's got the bit between her teeth about work.
"James!"
He smiles at her. "Well, how do you expect me to respond when you're all excited after spending the night doing research?" He puts an arm around her shoulders. "You were up all night, weren't you?"
She looks a little sheepish. "Yeah. I knew it was your night for the Club so I figured I'd get it done while I had the chance." Her tone expresses the distaste that she feels for the Royal and Colonial; he knows that she's disliked the place ever since they went there to see Kilic last year. Not that he blames her since the attitudes there are pretty antiquated, but it's useful to him for networking, so he usually goes there once a month.
"Did Matt put you up to this?" he asks.
"No!" She's indignant and he puts a hand on her arm, and she speaks more calmly. "No. Ronnie asked me after that meeting we had yesterday if that was the end of it. But he didn't put me up to it either. I wanted to help. Paedophiles and rapists are as bad as each other."
He holds her closer, hearing the little catch in her voice. "Okay," he says quietly, rubbing at her shoulder. "We'll talk to George."
"Thanks," she says gratefully, then leans in to kiss him back. "Good morning James."
He smirks.
* * * * * *
That night Alesha goes back to James' flat for dinner, and to spend the weekend with him; they usually try to spend time together at least twice a week.
"Do you think we'll get Nugent?" she asks James as they're preparing stir-fry together.
"I don't know," he answers, seriously. "But if we don't, it won't be from want of trying." He goes back to cutting the chicken into chunks as she shreds the basil leaves.
She nods, then starts preparing the pepper as James begins to tip oil into the wok. Once the pepper's ready Alesha turns to getting out plates, cutlery, glasses and the wine.
"Are we eating out here or in the other room?" she asks.
"Other room."
She nods, then takes two napkins from the drawer and puts them beside the plates. She wanders across to the cooker to watch James, and he leans over and kisses her briefly, still stirring.
"Show off," she teases, and he smirks at her.
She likes watching James cook as it's one of the few things he ever seems totally relaxed about doing; he's got such a competitive bent, as well as a ruthless streak a mile wide, that it's rare for him not to seem as if he's trying to outdo everyone around him. She thinks that it may be because they both know that he's the better cook, that he can be so relaxed about it.
He serves up the food, and carries the plates into the sitting room, while Alesha brings everything else, and they eat with their plates on their knees as they listen to the early evening news.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" James asks as the news finishes.
She's pleasantly surprised by the suggestion, and nods around a mouthful of food. "What have you got?" she asks after swallowing.
"I bought some older movies recently," he tells her. "They're on the right hand end of the middle shelf."
She finishes eating before going to look, and starts to laugh softly when she spots Pretty Woman, Erin Brockovich, Notting Hill and Finding Forrester amongst the DVDs.
"What's so funny?" he asks, setting down his plate to join her.
"I see you've got some of my favourites," she answers.
He slips his arms around her waist. "Of course," he answers easily. "I want you to feel welcome here."
She turns around in his arms and stretches up to kiss him, then squeaks in surprise when he lifts her up so she doesn't need to stretch. "I do feel welcome," she tells him. "I wouldn't come here if I didn't."
"Good." He kissed her back, then sets her back down on her feet. "So, movie?"
"Finding Forrester," she tells him, taking the DVD from the shelf.
He puts it in the player, and they settle onto the sofa together, Alesha resting her back against James' side as she stretches her legs along the seat. He wraps both arms around her, then shifts as if he's uncomfortable.
"What's up?" she asks. "Am I leaning too hard?"
"No." He puts his feet up on the coffee table, then lifts her onto his lap, smirking when she rolls her eyes.
"No distracting me," she warns him, settling against his chest.
"Yes ma'am," he answers, a glint of amusement in his eyes, and she knows that it's entirely possible he will try to distract her later, although if she's lucky, he'll wait until nearly the end of the movie first.
* * * * * *
In the end James doesn't get the chance to distract Alesha as she falls asleep in his arms about three quarters of the way through the movie. He's not surprised knowing that she was up all night doing that research for Matt's friend.
He reaches out carefully and grabs the remote control and stops the DVD, then tosses it onto the sofa and gets to his feet. Alesha murmurs something incomprehensible, but doesn’t wake, so he carries he into his bedroom and lowers her onto the bed.
Returning to the sitting room he retrieves the DVD, then carries their empty wine glasses and mugs into the kitchen and fills up the dishwasher. Then he turns out the lights, checks the front door is locked, and joins Alesha.
She half wakes as he's undressing her, and murmurs a sleepy comment about pyjamas.
"What?" he asks quietly.
"Tired James," she answers, her eyes still closed, and he shakes his head in puzzlement, then covers her with the duvet.
He undresses quickly, then climbs into bed beside her; she's curled up on her side facing away from him, so he spoons around her, kissing her cheek and murmuring a goodnight, then switches off the light. After all, we've got the whole weekend for 'distractions', he thinks with a sleepy smile.
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Alesha/James
Rating: G
Spoilers: 3.04 Confession
Summary: James is most attracted to Alesha when she's in research mode.
Disclaimer: ITV owns Law & Order: UK
Author Notes: The show continues to tease us with shippy moments, and my plot bunny continues to insist that I expand on them!
~~~~~~
Arriving at work that Friday morning, James is startled when he sees Alesha napping on the office sofa.
"PTSD!" she exclaims excitedly, sitting up as he goes in.
"PTSD?" he asks, mystified but amused by her enthusiastic exclamation. He shuts the door and goes to sit beside her on the leather sofa, taking in the empty coffee cups, the piles of paperwork and books, both on the table and on the floor, and the way she's got her new coat over her knees.
"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," she says, and he's even more amused. He knows what PTSD stands for, but he's bemused that she's mentioning it to him.
"It's not just that Garvey's life fell apart," she tells him, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "It wasn't just suicide. He was suffering from PTSD." She hands him a sheet of paper. "That's a psychiatric illness. The damage to the nervous system is psychiatric harm, and that's recognised by the Courts, right? So if we prove that Nugent's abuse caused PTSD, we can charge him with manslaughter."
"Good morning to you, too," James responds, leaning forward to kiss her briefly but firmly. He knows she prefers him not to do such things in the office, but he can't help himself: she's adorable when she's excited, especially when she's got the bit between her teeth about work.
"James!"
He smiles at her. "Well, how do you expect me to respond when you're all excited after spending the night doing research?" He puts an arm around her shoulders. "You were up all night, weren't you?"
She looks a little sheepish. "Yeah. I knew it was your night for the Club so I figured I'd get it done while I had the chance." Her tone expresses the distaste that she feels for the Royal and Colonial; he knows that she's disliked the place ever since they went there to see Kilic last year. Not that he blames her since the attitudes there are pretty antiquated, but it's useful to him for networking, so he usually goes there once a month.
"Did Matt put you up to this?" he asks.
"No!" She's indignant and he puts a hand on her arm, and she speaks more calmly. "No. Ronnie asked me after that meeting we had yesterday if that was the end of it. But he didn't put me up to it either. I wanted to help. Paedophiles and rapists are as bad as each other."
He holds her closer, hearing the little catch in her voice. "Okay," he says quietly, rubbing at her shoulder. "We'll talk to George."
"Thanks," she says gratefully, then leans in to kiss him back. "Good morning James."
He smirks.
* * * * * *
That night Alesha goes back to James' flat for dinner, and to spend the weekend with him; they usually try to spend time together at least twice a week.
"Do you think we'll get Nugent?" she asks James as they're preparing stir-fry together.
"I don't know," he answers, seriously. "But if we don't, it won't be from want of trying." He goes back to cutting the chicken into chunks as she shreds the basil leaves.
She nods, then starts preparing the pepper as James begins to tip oil into the wok. Once the pepper's ready Alesha turns to getting out plates, cutlery, glasses and the wine.
"Are we eating out here or in the other room?" she asks.
"Other room."
She nods, then takes two napkins from the drawer and puts them beside the plates. She wanders across to the cooker to watch James, and he leans over and kisses her briefly, still stirring.
"Show off," she teases, and he smirks at her.
She likes watching James cook as it's one of the few things he ever seems totally relaxed about doing; he's got such a competitive bent, as well as a ruthless streak a mile wide, that it's rare for him not to seem as if he's trying to outdo everyone around him. She thinks that it may be because they both know that he's the better cook, that he can be so relaxed about it.
He serves up the food, and carries the plates into the sitting room, while Alesha brings everything else, and they eat with their plates on their knees as they listen to the early evening news.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" James asks as the news finishes.
She's pleasantly surprised by the suggestion, and nods around a mouthful of food. "What have you got?" she asks after swallowing.
"I bought some older movies recently," he tells her. "They're on the right hand end of the middle shelf."
She finishes eating before going to look, and starts to laugh softly when she spots Pretty Woman, Erin Brockovich, Notting Hill and Finding Forrester amongst the DVDs.
"What's so funny?" he asks, setting down his plate to join her.
"I see you've got some of my favourites," she answers.
He slips his arms around her waist. "Of course," he answers easily. "I want you to feel welcome here."
She turns around in his arms and stretches up to kiss him, then squeaks in surprise when he lifts her up so she doesn't need to stretch. "I do feel welcome," she tells him. "I wouldn't come here if I didn't."
"Good." He kissed her back, then sets her back down on her feet. "So, movie?"
"Finding Forrester," she tells him, taking the DVD from the shelf.
He puts it in the player, and they settle onto the sofa together, Alesha resting her back against James' side as she stretches her legs along the seat. He wraps both arms around her, then shifts as if he's uncomfortable.
"What's up?" she asks. "Am I leaning too hard?"
"No." He puts his feet up on the coffee table, then lifts her onto his lap, smirking when she rolls her eyes.
"No distracting me," she warns him, settling against his chest.
"Yes ma'am," he answers, a glint of amusement in his eyes, and she knows that it's entirely possible he will try to distract her later, although if she's lucky, he'll wait until nearly the end of the movie first.
* * * * * *
In the end James doesn't get the chance to distract Alesha as she falls asleep in his arms about three quarters of the way through the movie. He's not surprised knowing that she was up all night doing that research for Matt's friend.
He reaches out carefully and grabs the remote control and stops the DVD, then tosses it onto the sofa and gets to his feet. Alesha murmurs something incomprehensible, but doesn’t wake, so he carries he into his bedroom and lowers her onto the bed.
Returning to the sitting room he retrieves the DVD, then carries their empty wine glasses and mugs into the kitchen and fills up the dishwasher. Then he turns out the lights, checks the front door is locked, and joins Alesha.
She half wakes as he's undressing her, and murmurs a sleepy comment about pyjamas.
"What?" he asks quietly.
"Tired James," she answers, her eyes still closed, and he shakes his head in puzzlement, then covers her with the duvet.
He undresses quickly, then climbs into bed beside her; she's curled up on her side facing away from him, so he spoons around her, kissing her cheek and murmuring a goodnight, then switches off the light. After all, we've got the whole weekend for 'distractions', he thinks with a sleepy smile.