Conflict of Interest (4/?)
Title: Conflict of Interest (4/?)
Fandom: Silent Witness/Merlin (Modern AU)
Characters & Pairings: Morgana/Nikki (with side Arthur/Gwen and past Gwen/Morgana)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,746
Summary: When Uther is found dead, Morgana is at the top of the authorities' list of suspects, despite her insistence that she has been set up. But there is one person who believes her, even when the evidence against Morgana seems conclusive.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or Silent Witness, this is not for profit, just for entertainment!
Note 1: Due to unforseen circumstancess I am without a beta so forgive any mistakes!
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Thank you so much to everyone who commented last time, I really appreciate it. I hope you take the time to do so again! ♥
Morgana Lafferty wasn’t the type of person who got nervous. At least she didn’t usually get nervous, but that had apparently changed when someone had murdered her stepfather. She had never thought to look over her shoulder whilst walking home from the tube station in the dark before, but now she couldn’t go more than a few steps without the feeling that someone was watching her. At first she had convinced herself it was paranoia, but as the days wore on, she found herself starting to believe that maybe there was something more to it. She hadn’t thought about who had killed Uther at first; instead she had been busy worrying about herself and about Arthur; admittedly more about herself.
A lot of death had happened to Morgana in her relatively short life. She had only been fifteen when her mother died in a car crash; she’d had to be strong, Arthur was inconsolable and his father was too busy being selfish to comfort him. Her mother had been the last of her blood relatives, bar Arthur. She was no stranger to death, but none of her family had been murdered. What had happened to Uther was different. It was the reason she had gone out for a drink with Arthur the night before, when had bumped into Nikki. She just needed to get the thoughts out of her head.
The phone buzzed impatiently in its cradle.
“Arthur?” She held the phone between her shoulder and cheek, stirring the pan with one hand and searching the cupboard for cardamom with the other.
“It’s probably nothing but I wanted to phone you,” her brother began, hesitation in his voice. That was never a good way to start a conversation. “Gwen would kill me if she knew I was bothering you with this. She thinks I phone you too much.”
“Imagine that. Go on,” she encouraged, emptying the cardamom pods into her pestle and mortar and lightly crushing them. “I promise not to tell on you, no matter what she does to me. I can take it.”
“She’s been feeling really ill, Morgana, with the baby. I don’t think it’s normal, not this bad.” He was obviously worried; it made her feel bad for her second of jealousy over him when she had found out about the baby.
“How bad?”
“It isn’t just in the mornings, it’s at night too. And it’s probably during the day too but she won’t tell me,” he whispered.
“Arthur,” she said, amused, “are you hiding in the bathroom?”
“No...” he said defensively, before sighing in defeat. “I’m in the shed. Gwen was in the bathroom.”
She laughed. “It’s morning sickness, Arthur.”
“But I told you it’s during the-”
She cut him off. “Still morning sickness; it’s badly named, most things are. Don’t worry so much.” She knew that worrying about Gwen was stopping him thinking about his father, and maybe it was helping but...
“Do you really think so?” he asked.
“I’m as sure as I could be. She’s not fragile, Arthur, don’t treat her like she is.” Dumping the cardamom into another pan, it needed dry roasting before it went into the sauce. “Trust me. I’m speaking from bitter experience.”
Arthur laughed at that. “I remember. I had to clean up the broken china.”
“Exactly, so learn from my mistakes.” A dash more ginger and the sauce would be done. “I still have a scar on my foot from stepping on a shard you left on the floor.” It was cheating, but she was using powdered ginger.
“I was fifteen, I hadn’t fully developed my skills of cleaning up after my big sister’s domestics,” Arthur said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Hey, that was all your wife’s doing, not mine.” She smiled at the memory. “Gwen will be fine, she’s in perfect health. She would have told me if she was worried.”
“I know,” Arthur sighed. “I just... I really worry about her, after what happened with her mother.”
“Her mother was ill, Arthur, and it was almost thirty years ago. Nobody dies in childbirth anymore. Even if Gwen had it - and we know she doesn’t, she was tested as soon as she turned eighteen - modern medicine makes the risk would be almost negligible. Don’t you think I’ve already thought about this? That she’s thought about it?” She didn’t say that what had prompted Gwen’s test all those years ago had been a pregnancy scare. Morgana had been so relieved that she had kissed Gwen when she found out that she hadn’t inherited her mother’s condition. It had been their first kiss. Arthur didn’t need to know that.
“I know,” Arthur said again. “Thanks Morgana, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ll be an amazing godmother.”
Morgana’s eyes stung. She blinked rapidly and shook her head until the feeling went away. “God, don’t be such a girl.”
He laughed. “I love you too.” There was a muffled noise. “Oh shit, I’ve got to go, I’ve been discovered. Run!”
There was a louder noise, the sound of Arthur protesting in a high voice and then, “Hello Morgana...”
Morgana held her breath.
“I know it’s you, there’s no one else Arthur would go to the shed to call. The two of you are such children.”
Hanging up wasn’t an option. “Gwen, we weren’t talking about you, I swear,” Morgana lied.
“Yeah, right.”
“He’s just worried about you, don’t be too hard on him. I thought about the same things,” Morgana said. “Let him worry, please? I don’t want him dwelling on Uther.”
Gwen sighed.
“Don’t be angry with me,” Morgana pleaded in a tone that she knew worked on Gwen.
There was another, louder sigh. “So, is she there yet?”
Morgana smiled. “No, I’m just making dinner,” she laughed nervously, “I can’t believe I’m actually making her dinner, oh God.”
Gwen laughed. “It’ll be fine, you’re a great cook.”
“We haven’t even had a proper date yet and I’m already making her dinner. What the hell am I doing?”
“Embracing the stereotype?” Gwen teased.
“God, never,” Morgana swore.
“Relax, Morgana. She wouldn’t be coming back so soon if she didn’t like you. And even if she wasn’t sure, she will be after she’s tasted your cooking.” Gwen’s voice was calm and sweet.
“I’m going to tell her I want to cool things off until after the case is closed,” Morgana said quickly. If she said it out loud then she’d have to do it.
“That’s probably for the best,” Gwen agreed. “If she likes you, she’ll still be there after it’s all over.”
The doorbell rang.
“Oh no, she’s here,” Morgana hissed.
“You’ll be great,” Gwen assured her. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Throwing the phone down on the counter, Morgana ran to the door, skidding to a stop just short and taking second to compose herself before opening it.
“Sorry, I’m a little bit early.” Nikki smiled nervously. “Traffic was surprisingly good, for a Friday night.” She handed Morgana a bottle of wine, it was expensive. “I’m not drinking, sorry, but I still brought this. I was going to get a taxi but one of my colleague’s cases really put me off. I drove instead.”
Morgana stood back to let her in. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not really a fan of taxi’s either. And as far as not drinking is concerned, I think I’ll join you. It’s no fun drinking alone. As long as you don’t mind me putting this in the wine the cellar? I promise it won’t go to waste.”
“By all means,” Nikki said, stepping inside. The thing about taxis was a lie. She needed to take alcohol out of the equation before she did anything... else. It had been playing on her mind all day. Flashes, of memories she didn’t exactly find unpleasant kept interrupting her thoughts. They weren’t things she had thought about before, but now she had started, now she had firsthand knowledge, she couldn’t stop thinking about them. She wanted to tell Harry about it. He would know what to say, when he had finished teasing her. But she couldn’t, it could get her fired. And he wouldn’t understand, not with Morgana being a suspect. She couldn’t put him in that position. “I was brought up never to turn up at someone’s house without a gift, and wine seemed... apt. Plus, I came straight from work so the off-licence was the best I could do.”
“It’s good, I love South African wine. I spent a summer there when I was at university. It was gorgeous,” Morgana said, closing the door, leaning back against it and closing her eyes for a second. She pushed back into a walk just before Nikki turned around.
“I grew up there,” Nikki said, smiling. “It’s a beautiful country.”
Morgana thanked God that she hadn’t told her South African horror story the moment she had seen the bottle, she very nearly had. There had been a break-in into her and Gwen’s apartment. She had never forgiven herself for leaving Gwen alone that night, even if it had only been for an hour. They hadn’t taken anything valuable but they had threatened Gwen. It was a blessing that was all they had done.
“It wasn’t without its issues though,” Nikki continued. “But all the most beautiful places have their troubles.”
“I hear you,” Morgana agreed.
Nikki looked at the photo of a dark skyline hanging up in the otherwise white hall, and nodded. “Dublin?”
“Derry, actually. I was born there but my mum and I moved after my Dad was killed in a bombing. We had family in rural Galway so we spent a few years there. We moved to Dublin after Arthur was born, hence the accent. Not that you asked for my life history, sorry.” She shook her head and gestured towards the door to the living room. “It’s something I try not to talk about much; I tend to get too engrossed in the politics.”
“I know what you mean.” Nikki said, sitting on the sofa. “There’s something about the place you come from...”
“Runs deep in you veins,” Morgana said. “Whether you want it too or not.”
Nikki smiled. Maybe she had more in common with Morgana than she had thought, though it wasn’t exactly their differences that were worrying her.
“I -err - I’d better put this away,” Morgana said, holding up the wine. “Would you like a drink? Non-alcoholic of course.”
“I don’t suppose you have tea, do you?” Nikki asked. “I’m dying for a cup.”
“It’s not usually my thing but I think I have some PG Tips for my sister-in-law. Is that okay?”
Nikki nodded gratefully. “That sounds great.”
~*~
“Still here?”
Harry looked up from his desk to see Leo walking towards him, file in hand. For the second night on the run, Harry was working late, and he didn’t like it.
“Apparently so,” Harry said, sitting back in his chair. “What have you got?”
“Nikki must have gotten the lab to rush through the DNA results on the Pendragon case,” Leo said, dropping the report on Nikki’s desk. “I think the entire lab fancies her.”
“And?”
“There was a second sample, but there were no matches on the database,” Leo supplied. “But it does look like we’re looking at a female killer. That is, if the sample came from the killer. It could just have easily come from his secretary.”
Harry frowned. “Do you think it was the stepdaughter?”
Leo shrugged. “She would certainly have the expertise to pull it off, but nowadays, with the internet, everybody does. I don’t think DNA will be the linchpin in this case, but then again, it rarely is in the real world. What do you think?”
“I think that Nikki believes she’s innocent, and that she’s probably right. She has no reason to want her to be innocent,” Harry said, twirling his pen in his hand. “Are you going to phone her?”
“No, it can wait until Monday. It’s not as if this one’s up against the clock. She deserves the break.”
Harry nodded, and then sprang forward. “Hey, how do you fancy going for a drink? It is Friday and the lovely Dr Alexander has let me down.”
“Sorry, no can do, I’m afraid. We’re going out for a meal tonight. Next week?” Leo offered.
“Yeah, next week. I’ll invite Nikki.” Harry smiled.
“Right, that’s me done then. See you on Monday, and hopefully not before.” Leo smiled, turning to leave. “Oh, and Harry?”
Harry looked up.
“Go home. And don’t even think about calling Nikki about this. It’s been a long time since she’s had a weekend.”
Five minutes later, he had his coat on and was heading for the door when the DNA result file caught his eye. It couldn’t hurt to phone and tell Nikki, could it? She would want to know, and it didn’t mean that she had to come back and work on it. They couldn’t do anything until the detective had talked to the family and DNA samples had been collected. He might even get a reward.
He flipped open his phone and speed dialled Nikki’s mobile.
~*~
“This is lovely,” Nikki said, taking another bite of the pasta. “And I’m not just saying that to be polite. Where did you learn how to cook like this?”
They were sat at the dining table at the far end of the open plan living room. Led Zeppelin was playing low in the background and there was a candle flickering between them. It was perfect, and Morgana made it look effortless.
“Here and there,” Morgana said vaguely. “Uther wasn’t exactly much of cook, so I picked it up. My mother was an excellent cook, much better than I am. I really whished I’d paid more attention when she tried to teach me. They shared a smile.
She took a deep breath. “Nikki, I really like you.”
A hot wave passed through Nikki’s body.
“But I think it’s better if we cool things off... until the case is over,” Morgana finished. “It isn’t worth the risk, for both of us. I’m sorry that I invited you all the way over here to say that.”
Nikki felt simultaneously disappointed and relieved.
“Last night was good, really good, but... things are just too complicated at the moment. Can we be... friends, in the meantime?” Morgana’s brow was pinched with worry and her eyes were the so dark Nikki was afraid she would drown in them.
“Of course,” Nikki said, wishing she didn’t sound out of breath. “I agree, and to be honest, I have a lot to think about, so the time will be good.” She blushed. “Last night was the first -”
“I know,” Morgana cut her off. She laughed gently. “It takes a lot of working out in your head, doesn’t it?”
Nikki nodded, smiling.
“I hope I didn’t put you off,” Morgana smiled charmingly.
“No, quite the contrary.” She blushed. “I’m ashamed to say I was a little distracted at work today.” Any awkwardness that had been between them was slowly melting away. “And I can’t even talk to my best friend about it. We work together, it wouldn’t be fair on him.”
“I have a confession,” Morgan said, biting her lip in a way that didn’t quite come across as nervousness. “I told Gwen, my sister-in-law. She won’t tell anyone though. She -err - actually just told me today that her and my brother are expecting a baby.”
Nikki tilted her head to the side and smiled slightly. “And how do you feel about that? Not that I’m agreeing with the good detective’s opinion on your family arrangements.”
“Honestly? At first it bothered me a little, but I’m fine with it now. I can’t complain about becoming a godmother and an aunty all at once. They really are great together, Gwen and Arthur.” Morgana speared the last piece of pasta on her plate. “They make each other happy, and that makes me happy. I know it’s pretty unconventional, but it works for us. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Nikki jolted in her seat and reached for her pocket, “Sorry, it’s my phone. It might be work.”
Morgana gestured for her to take it. “Go ahead. I’ll take the plates to the kitchen.”
“Thanks.”
As Morgana disappeared out the door, Nikki accepted the call. “Hello, Harry? Are you determined to ruin another Friday night.”
Thank you so much to everyone who commented last time, I really appreciate it. I hope you take the time to do so again! ♥
.
Fandom: Silent Witness/Merlin (Modern AU)
Characters & Pairings: Morgana/Nikki (with side Arthur/Gwen and past Gwen/Morgana)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,746
Summary: When Uther is found dead, Morgana is at the top of the authorities' list of suspects, despite her insistence that she has been set up. But there is one person who believes her, even when the evidence against Morgana seems conclusive.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or Silent Witness, this is not for profit, just for entertainment!
Note 1: Due to unforseen circumstancess I am without a beta so forgive any mistakes!
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Thank you so much to everyone who commented last time, I really appreciate it. I hope you take the time to do so again! ♥
Morgana Lafferty wasn’t the type of person who got nervous. At least she didn’t usually get nervous, but that had apparently changed when someone had murdered her stepfather. She had never thought to look over her shoulder whilst walking home from the tube station in the dark before, but now she couldn’t go more than a few steps without the feeling that someone was watching her. At first she had convinced herself it was paranoia, but as the days wore on, she found herself starting to believe that maybe there was something more to it. She hadn’t thought about who had killed Uther at first; instead she had been busy worrying about herself and about Arthur; admittedly more about herself.
A lot of death had happened to Morgana in her relatively short life. She had only been fifteen when her mother died in a car crash; she’d had to be strong, Arthur was inconsolable and his father was too busy being selfish to comfort him. Her mother had been the last of her blood relatives, bar Arthur. She was no stranger to death, but none of her family had been murdered. What had happened to Uther was different. It was the reason she had gone out for a drink with Arthur the night before, when had bumped into Nikki. She just needed to get the thoughts out of her head.
The phone buzzed impatiently in its cradle.
“Arthur?” She held the phone between her shoulder and cheek, stirring the pan with one hand and searching the cupboard for cardamom with the other.
“It’s probably nothing but I wanted to phone you,” her brother began, hesitation in his voice. That was never a good way to start a conversation. “Gwen would kill me if she knew I was bothering you with this. She thinks I phone you too much.”
“Imagine that. Go on,” she encouraged, emptying the cardamom pods into her pestle and mortar and lightly crushing them. “I promise not to tell on you, no matter what she does to me. I can take it.”
“She’s been feeling really ill, Morgana, with the baby. I don’t think it’s normal, not this bad.” He was obviously worried; it made her feel bad for her second of jealousy over him when she had found out about the baby.
“How bad?”
“It isn’t just in the mornings, it’s at night too. And it’s probably during the day too but she won’t tell me,” he whispered.
“Arthur,” she said, amused, “are you hiding in the bathroom?”
“No...” he said defensively, before sighing in defeat. “I’m in the shed. Gwen was in the bathroom.”
She laughed. “It’s morning sickness, Arthur.”
“But I told you it’s during the-”
She cut him off. “Still morning sickness; it’s badly named, most things are. Don’t worry so much.” She knew that worrying about Gwen was stopping him thinking about his father, and maybe it was helping but...
“Do you really think so?” he asked.
“I’m as sure as I could be. She’s not fragile, Arthur, don’t treat her like she is.” Dumping the cardamom into another pan, it needed dry roasting before it went into the sauce. “Trust me. I’m speaking from bitter experience.”
Arthur laughed at that. “I remember. I had to clean up the broken china.”
“Exactly, so learn from my mistakes.” A dash more ginger and the sauce would be done. “I still have a scar on my foot from stepping on a shard you left on the floor.” It was cheating, but she was using powdered ginger.
“I was fifteen, I hadn’t fully developed my skills of cleaning up after my big sister’s domestics,” Arthur said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Hey, that was all your wife’s doing, not mine.” She smiled at the memory. “Gwen will be fine, she’s in perfect health. She would have told me if she was worried.”
“I know,” Arthur sighed. “I just... I really worry about her, after what happened with her mother.”
“Her mother was ill, Arthur, and it was almost thirty years ago. Nobody dies in childbirth anymore. Even if Gwen had it - and we know she doesn’t, she was tested as soon as she turned eighteen - modern medicine makes the risk would be almost negligible. Don’t you think I’ve already thought about this? That she’s thought about it?” She didn’t say that what had prompted Gwen’s test all those years ago had been a pregnancy scare. Morgana had been so relieved that she had kissed Gwen when she found out that she hadn’t inherited her mother’s condition. It had been their first kiss. Arthur didn’t need to know that.
“I know,” Arthur said again. “Thanks Morgana, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ll be an amazing godmother.”
Morgana’s eyes stung. She blinked rapidly and shook her head until the feeling went away. “God, don’t be such a girl.”
He laughed. “I love you too.” There was a muffled noise. “Oh shit, I’ve got to go, I’ve been discovered. Run!”
There was a louder noise, the sound of Arthur protesting in a high voice and then, “Hello Morgana...”
Morgana held her breath.
“I know it’s you, there’s no one else Arthur would go to the shed to call. The two of you are such children.”
Hanging up wasn’t an option. “Gwen, we weren’t talking about you, I swear,” Morgana lied.
“Yeah, right.”
“He’s just worried about you, don’t be too hard on him. I thought about the same things,” Morgana said. “Let him worry, please? I don’t want him dwelling on Uther.”
Gwen sighed.
“Don’t be angry with me,” Morgana pleaded in a tone that she knew worked on Gwen.
There was another, louder sigh. “So, is she there yet?”
Morgana smiled. “No, I’m just making dinner,” she laughed nervously, “I can’t believe I’m actually making her dinner, oh God.”
Gwen laughed. “It’ll be fine, you’re a great cook.”
“We haven’t even had a proper date yet and I’m already making her dinner. What the hell am I doing?”
“Embracing the stereotype?” Gwen teased.
“God, never,” Morgana swore.
“Relax, Morgana. She wouldn’t be coming back so soon if she didn’t like you. And even if she wasn’t sure, she will be after she’s tasted your cooking.” Gwen’s voice was calm and sweet.
“I’m going to tell her I want to cool things off until after the case is closed,” Morgana said quickly. If she said it out loud then she’d have to do it.
“That’s probably for the best,” Gwen agreed. “If she likes you, she’ll still be there after it’s all over.”
The doorbell rang.
“Oh no, she’s here,” Morgana hissed.
“You’ll be great,” Gwen assured her. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Throwing the phone down on the counter, Morgana ran to the door, skidding to a stop just short and taking second to compose herself before opening it.
“Sorry, I’m a little bit early.” Nikki smiled nervously. “Traffic was surprisingly good, for a Friday night.” She handed Morgana a bottle of wine, it was expensive. “I’m not drinking, sorry, but I still brought this. I was going to get a taxi but one of my colleague’s cases really put me off. I drove instead.”
Morgana stood back to let her in. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not really a fan of taxi’s either. And as far as not drinking is concerned, I think I’ll join you. It’s no fun drinking alone. As long as you don’t mind me putting this in the wine the cellar? I promise it won’t go to waste.”
“By all means,” Nikki said, stepping inside. The thing about taxis was a lie. She needed to take alcohol out of the equation before she did anything... else. It had been playing on her mind all day. Flashes, of memories she didn’t exactly find unpleasant kept interrupting her thoughts. They weren’t things she had thought about before, but now she had started, now she had firsthand knowledge, she couldn’t stop thinking about them. She wanted to tell Harry about it. He would know what to say, when he had finished teasing her. But she couldn’t, it could get her fired. And he wouldn’t understand, not with Morgana being a suspect. She couldn’t put him in that position. “I was brought up never to turn up at someone’s house without a gift, and wine seemed... apt. Plus, I came straight from work so the off-licence was the best I could do.”
“It’s good, I love South African wine. I spent a summer there when I was at university. It was gorgeous,” Morgana said, closing the door, leaning back against it and closing her eyes for a second. She pushed back into a walk just before Nikki turned around.
“I grew up there,” Nikki said, smiling. “It’s a beautiful country.”
Morgana thanked God that she hadn’t told her South African horror story the moment she had seen the bottle, she very nearly had. There had been a break-in into her and Gwen’s apartment. She had never forgiven herself for leaving Gwen alone that night, even if it had only been for an hour. They hadn’t taken anything valuable but they had threatened Gwen. It was a blessing that was all they had done.
“It wasn’t without its issues though,” Nikki continued. “But all the most beautiful places have their troubles.”
“I hear you,” Morgana agreed.
Nikki looked at the photo of a dark skyline hanging up in the otherwise white hall, and nodded. “Dublin?”
“Derry, actually. I was born there but my mum and I moved after my Dad was killed in a bombing. We had family in rural Galway so we spent a few years there. We moved to Dublin after Arthur was born, hence the accent. Not that you asked for my life history, sorry.” She shook her head and gestured towards the door to the living room. “It’s something I try not to talk about much; I tend to get too engrossed in the politics.”
“I know what you mean.” Nikki said, sitting on the sofa. “There’s something about the place you come from...”
“Runs deep in you veins,” Morgana said. “Whether you want it too or not.”
Nikki smiled. Maybe she had more in common with Morgana than she had thought, though it wasn’t exactly their differences that were worrying her.
“I -err - I’d better put this away,” Morgana said, holding up the wine. “Would you like a drink? Non-alcoholic of course.”
“I don’t suppose you have tea, do you?” Nikki asked. “I’m dying for a cup.”
“It’s not usually my thing but I think I have some PG Tips for my sister-in-law. Is that okay?”
Nikki nodded gratefully. “That sounds great.”
~*~
“Still here?”
Harry looked up from his desk to see Leo walking towards him, file in hand. For the second night on the run, Harry was working late, and he didn’t like it.
“Apparently so,” Harry said, sitting back in his chair. “What have you got?”
“Nikki must have gotten the lab to rush through the DNA results on the Pendragon case,” Leo said, dropping the report on Nikki’s desk. “I think the entire lab fancies her.”
“And?”
“There was a second sample, but there were no matches on the database,” Leo supplied. “But it does look like we’re looking at a female killer. That is, if the sample came from the killer. It could just have easily come from his secretary.”
Harry frowned. “Do you think it was the stepdaughter?”
Leo shrugged. “She would certainly have the expertise to pull it off, but nowadays, with the internet, everybody does. I don’t think DNA will be the linchpin in this case, but then again, it rarely is in the real world. What do you think?”
“I think that Nikki believes she’s innocent, and that she’s probably right. She has no reason to want her to be innocent,” Harry said, twirling his pen in his hand. “Are you going to phone her?”
“No, it can wait until Monday. It’s not as if this one’s up against the clock. She deserves the break.”
Harry nodded, and then sprang forward. “Hey, how do you fancy going for a drink? It is Friday and the lovely Dr Alexander has let me down.”
“Sorry, no can do, I’m afraid. We’re going out for a meal tonight. Next week?” Leo offered.
“Yeah, next week. I’ll invite Nikki.” Harry smiled.
“Right, that’s me done then. See you on Monday, and hopefully not before.” Leo smiled, turning to leave. “Oh, and Harry?”
Harry looked up.
“Go home. And don’t even think about calling Nikki about this. It’s been a long time since she’s had a weekend.”
Five minutes later, he had his coat on and was heading for the door when the DNA result file caught his eye. It couldn’t hurt to phone and tell Nikki, could it? She would want to know, and it didn’t mean that she had to come back and work on it. They couldn’t do anything until the detective had talked to the family and DNA samples had been collected. He might even get a reward.
He flipped open his phone and speed dialled Nikki’s mobile.
~*~
“This is lovely,” Nikki said, taking another bite of the pasta. “And I’m not just saying that to be polite. Where did you learn how to cook like this?”
They were sat at the dining table at the far end of the open plan living room. Led Zeppelin was playing low in the background and there was a candle flickering between them. It was perfect, and Morgana made it look effortless.
“Here and there,” Morgana said vaguely. “Uther wasn’t exactly much of cook, so I picked it up. My mother was an excellent cook, much better than I am. I really whished I’d paid more attention when she tried to teach me. They shared a smile.
She took a deep breath. “Nikki, I really like you.”
A hot wave passed through Nikki’s body.
“But I think it’s better if we cool things off... until the case is over,” Morgana finished. “It isn’t worth the risk, for both of us. I’m sorry that I invited you all the way over here to say that.”
Nikki felt simultaneously disappointed and relieved.
“Last night was good, really good, but... things are just too complicated at the moment. Can we be... friends, in the meantime?” Morgana’s brow was pinched with worry and her eyes were the so dark Nikki was afraid she would drown in them.
“Of course,” Nikki said, wishing she didn’t sound out of breath. “I agree, and to be honest, I have a lot to think about, so the time will be good.” She blushed. “Last night was the first -”
“I know,” Morgana cut her off. She laughed gently. “It takes a lot of working out in your head, doesn’t it?”
Nikki nodded, smiling.
“I hope I didn’t put you off,” Morgana smiled charmingly.
“No, quite the contrary.” She blushed. “I’m ashamed to say I was a little distracted at work today.” Any awkwardness that had been between them was slowly melting away. “And I can’t even talk to my best friend about it. We work together, it wouldn’t be fair on him.”
“I have a confession,” Morgan said, biting her lip in a way that didn’t quite come across as nervousness. “I told Gwen, my sister-in-law. She won’t tell anyone though. She -err - actually just told me today that her and my brother are expecting a baby.”
Nikki tilted her head to the side and smiled slightly. “And how do you feel about that? Not that I’m agreeing with the good detective’s opinion on your family arrangements.”
“Honestly? At first it bothered me a little, but I’m fine with it now. I can’t complain about becoming a godmother and an aunty all at once. They really are great together, Gwen and Arthur.” Morgana speared the last piece of pasta on her plate. “They make each other happy, and that makes me happy. I know it’s pretty unconventional, but it works for us. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Nikki jolted in her seat and reached for her pocket, “Sorry, it’s my phone. It might be work.”
Morgana gestured for her to take it. “Go ahead. I’ll take the plates to the kitchen.”
“Thanks.”
As Morgana disappeared out the door, Nikki accepted the call. “Hello, Harry? Are you determined to ruin another Friday night.”
Thank you so much to everyone who commented last time, I really appreciate it. I hope you take the time to do so again! ♥
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