Fic: Snapshots Through Time Part 8
Summer
He had grown to love the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. There was something about the rhythmic whooshing that calmed his soul. It may also have been that the woman standing next to him was the steady influence in his life that had changed the way he felt about sand. They both stood looking over the waves and for his part wishing that they were on the beach with the sand between their toes and the water lapping at their feet. But no. Instead, they were gathering strength to go into the gaudy and opulent house behind them. Another Red John murder, this one worse than the last. This time the monster had killed a child. A little girl. Cho had seen the pictures of her; she looked like the idea of the young American girl. Blue eyes, blond curls, and a smile that melted the heart. And now dead, along with her mother. The young girl’s father, a consultant called in on the Red John case, had gone on national television and insulted the killer. It was always the little things that seemed to offend the truly pathological. Cho put his hand on Teresa’s arm and watched her take a final deep breath before nodding her head and turning towards the house. Time to face the work of a monster.
Suffering
She was slipping from him, falling away. Her brother had called with bad news about her niece and she had stated to pull away. He’d thought they were past that, past pushing each other away when life got difficult. He knew it was just her defense mechanism, the way she tried to keep her heart from damage, but it still hurt. He knew what needed to be done. He showed up at her apartment with a bottle of her favorite wine and Chinese takeout. And he didn’t push, he didn’t pry. But when she started to cry he was there for her, a shoulder to cry on and a tender embrace. A friend when she needed it without asking for anything in exchange.
Victory
Ten people were dead. Grizzly, nasty, gag inducing mutations that had seemed too horrific to have been committed by a human. But they had been. And they caught him. It wasn't rare to celebrate an arrest in a case, but this one was different. This was a true celebration. The local cops were celebrating, the extra-large CBI team was celebrating. There was music and dancing and they were trying to forget the monstrosities that had been created. And in a dark corner a man and a woman came together in a way that they had both thought about but never acted on. The ultimate in comfort and care and friendship and love.
Travel
Case after case on the road. He rarely had time to do more than wash his underwear and socks than they were on their way again. But he didn't mind. Being on the road, on a case, enabled them, him and Teresa, to be close. To share with each other in a way that would have been near impossible in the office. He found himself thinking about the future. About what would happen if their fledgling relationship were to become known. Would their friendship survive? Would they as a couple? She called to him in a way no one had before. And he didn't want to lose that. He didn't want to lose her. He'd already lost so much in his life.
Alone
It was his job or her. But it wasn't his choice alone. And so Cho found himself alone, looking at the stars. Minnelli had found out about their relationship. And as much as he wanted to pretend that they could go on as though nothing had changed, he knew that he couldn't. And he knew it wasn't his choice alone. He loved her, though he'd never told her, and accepted that the job was her choice. He could leave, but there was no guarantee she would come back. Being close at work was a poor consolation prize, but he would take it.
Hook
It killed him to see Teresa talking with the psychic, with the fraud. Cho had honestly thought they had seen the last of the broken man when they left the crime scene in Malibu. Jane was broken, much like Cho had been, and he worried that Teresa's compassion and care would develop the same solutions to Jane's problems that there had been to Cho's. The thought of it, of Jane and Teresa together, was enough to make Cho want to go to her and tell her that he still had feelings for her, that he never stopped loving her. That he loved her and wanted to be with her no matter what. He wanted to grab her and never let her go. Instead, he perfected the ability to watch her without being seen and to hide his emotions, hide his love and affection, even better than before. He knew he had succeeded when Jane didn't call him out on his emotions the way he did with everyone else. And no one knew when a tiny part of him died inside.
He had grown to love the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. There was something about the rhythmic whooshing that calmed his soul. It may also have been that the woman standing next to him was the steady influence in his life that had changed the way he felt about sand. They both stood looking over the waves and for his part wishing that they were on the beach with the sand between their toes and the water lapping at their feet. But no. Instead, they were gathering strength to go into the gaudy and opulent house behind them. Another Red John murder, this one worse than the last. This time the monster had killed a child. A little girl. Cho had seen the pictures of her; she looked like the idea of the young American girl. Blue eyes, blond curls, and a smile that melted the heart. And now dead, along with her mother. The young girl’s father, a consultant called in on the Red John case, had gone on national television and insulted the killer. It was always the little things that seemed to offend the truly pathological. Cho put his hand on Teresa’s arm and watched her take a final deep breath before nodding her head and turning towards the house. Time to face the work of a monster.
Suffering
She was slipping from him, falling away. Her brother had called with bad news about her niece and she had stated to pull away. He’d thought they were past that, past pushing each other away when life got difficult. He knew it was just her defense mechanism, the way she tried to keep her heart from damage, but it still hurt. He knew what needed to be done. He showed up at her apartment with a bottle of her favorite wine and Chinese takeout. And he didn’t push, he didn’t pry. But when she started to cry he was there for her, a shoulder to cry on and a tender embrace. A friend when she needed it without asking for anything in exchange.
Victory
Ten people were dead. Grizzly, nasty, gag inducing mutations that had seemed too horrific to have been committed by a human. But they had been. And they caught him. It wasn't rare to celebrate an arrest in a case, but this one was different. This was a true celebration. The local cops were celebrating, the extra-large CBI team was celebrating. There was music and dancing and they were trying to forget the monstrosities that had been created. And in a dark corner a man and a woman came together in a way that they had both thought about but never acted on. The ultimate in comfort and care and friendship and love.
Travel
Case after case on the road. He rarely had time to do more than wash his underwear and socks than they were on their way again. But he didn't mind. Being on the road, on a case, enabled them, him and Teresa, to be close. To share with each other in a way that would have been near impossible in the office. He found himself thinking about the future. About what would happen if their fledgling relationship were to become known. Would their friendship survive? Would they as a couple? She called to him in a way no one had before. And he didn't want to lose that. He didn't want to lose her. He'd already lost so much in his life.
Alone
It was his job or her. But it wasn't his choice alone. And so Cho found himself alone, looking at the stars. Minnelli had found out about their relationship. And as much as he wanted to pretend that they could go on as though nothing had changed, he knew that he couldn't. And he knew it wasn't his choice alone. He loved her, though he'd never told her, and accepted that the job was her choice. He could leave, but there was no guarantee she would come back. Being close at work was a poor consolation prize, but he would take it.
Hook
It killed him to see Teresa talking with the psychic, with the fraud. Cho had honestly thought they had seen the last of the broken man when they left the crime scene in Malibu. Jane was broken, much like Cho had been, and he worried that Teresa's compassion and care would develop the same solutions to Jane's problems that there had been to Cho's. The thought of it, of Jane and Teresa together, was enough to make Cho want to go to her and tell her that he still had feelings for her, that he never stopped loving her. That he loved her and wanted to be with her no matter what. He wanted to grab her and never let her go. Instead, he perfected the ability to watch her without being seen and to hide his emotions, hide his love and affection, even better than before. He knew he had succeeded when Jane didn't call him out on his emotions the way he did with everyone else. And no one knew when a tiny part of him died inside.