Chapter 13
The wonderful and familiar aroma of caffeine invaded her senses at her first moment of consciousness. She didn’t want to wake up, but the desire for coffee overpowered the desire to sleep, so she opened her eyes slowly.
The bedroom was silent; the only sound was the breeze that ruffled the curtains as it filtered into the room, alerting her that the slightly colder weather of autumn was approaching.
Watson took the quiet opportunity to wrap her hands around her favorite mug and inhale the nutty aroma of her usual brew before taking a sip. It was only when she closed her eyes again, relishing in the warmth of the liquid, that she heard the soft footsteps up the stairs. A moment later Turner rushed into her room, a plate in one hand, a cup in another and a newspaper under his arm.
The sight of the usually composed advisor looking a bit harried was enough to make her smile, but added to that the sight of him in a ripped t-shirt and jeans, barefoot and looking like he belonged nowhere except her bedroom sent a different kind of warmth through her body, not the one caffeine usually provided.
"Good morning," He set the plate on the nightstand, dropped the newspaper in her lap, and crawled on the other side of her with his cup in hand and placed a clumsy kiss on her cheek. She noticed then that the t-shirt he was wearing was unfamiliar and he smelled faintly of an aftershave she knew he didn’t keep in her bathroom, which meant that while she slept he'd gone home.
Her stomach tightened at the realization and her palms burned slightly from the heat of the mug, but she shoved the unpleasant thought to the back of her mind before Turner noticed.
"Hey, you're quite busy this morning," she motioned to the plate stacked with French toast, but Turner just shrugged.
"Couldn't sleep, and besides not all of us chose to waste away our days off in bed," his teasing smile and mischievous gaze were meant to distract her from the mention of his persistent insomnia. Even though Watson really wanted to address this issue, she really wanted to talk about all the other things that were on her mind.
She played along, reached over to the plate, and playfully stuffed one of the triangles in his mouth.
"Hey, that's for you" Turner exclaimed as soon as he finished chewing. Watson couldn't stifle the giggle that erupted when she noticed the speck of powdered sugar on his nose. She wiped it away and smiled, taking a sip of coffee.
"I had to know if it was edible or not. I didn't even know I had powdered sugar."
"You didn't," Turner replied, taking another bite, "I did some grocery shopping today. I honestly don't know how you survived before me."
Watson rolled her eyes, "I survived just fine, but you know if you're so inclined, you could do the rest of the housework I've been neglecting, maybe vacuum or something."
"Hmm, always in control aren't ya? Already putting me to work at 10 in the morning? Well I hate to break it you but I've got some other plans for us today."
"I am not spending my rare day off on one of your adventures." Her comments were light-hearted and Turner simply shrugged off her protests.
"I prefer to think of it as one of the crazy Yuletide traditions worth partaking in, so get ready, we should leave soon if we want to beat the Sunday traffic."
"Christmas shopping?" Watson exclaimed, "It's not even Thanksgiving yet, it's way too early."
"Nonsense. I know you prefer to do your shopping the day of, but I'd much rather be prepared, so hurry up. I'll be downstairs when you’re ready. Maybe I'll even dust a little, if you're good." He winked at her before crawling out of bed. He gave her an infectious grin and sideways glance as he padded out of her bedroom, immune to any opposition on her part.
Watson took another sip of coffee and fell back in her bed, groaning as she felt the last vestige of peace slowly fall out of her reach.
Despite how many times she'd taken this trip, her breath still hitched ever so slightly upon the first view of the city. The skyscrapers against the clear blue sky were a sight to see even for someone who lived thre for as long as she did, and Watson indulged in the beauty of it all. Her hand unconsciously fell to her cross and she fingered the trusted pendant as they got closer to downtown.
Some of her best years were spent living in a small studio downtown, diligently working her way up the career ladder and paying her dues. While it all seemed so exciting when it was happening, there were many nights where her faith was the only thing that kept her going through the loneliness and the painful memories.
The cross, one of the only pieces of jewelry her mother ever wore, was given to her when she was twelve years old, and since then she worn it every day on the same gold chain. She found it highly suspicious that this morning she couldn't find the necklace anywhere. She looked for it for a while but eventually gave up, putting the pendant on another chain she had. She was so tired the night before, she couldn't recall whether she left the chain elsewhere and now it wouldn't leave her mind.
"Hey, since this is sort of your turf, I thought you could show me around later." Turner's voice ultimately distracted her and she sent him a small smile.
"Yeah, I'm considering retaliation for dragging me to a crowded mall on my day off. I am going to torture your taste buds. Give them a challenge."
A look of surprise crossed Turner's face for a split second, but his competitive nature overpowered any hesitation, "You are so on, babe."
He gave her a quirky smile and turned his attention back to the road, while Watson continued to stare out the window, her fingers wrapped around the cross unconsciously, a slight grimace on her face whenever she touched the chain.
Turner didn't believe in God and hadn't in a very long time. He didn't grow up in a devout household, no customary grace before dinner, or Sunday trips to church. For him, this standard faith didn't hold any self evident truths, didn’t instill hope or morale. The little faith he had in something greater than himself was buried along with his wife and child.
Ever since then he never paid much attention to religion, dismissed it for what he thought it was, just a way for people to justify the horrible things that happened to them. That seemed to hold true until he met Watson and became quite infatuated with the cross she wore.
She was one of the most rational and level-headed people he knew. Her faith, although tested throughout her childhood, still remained strong. Although she didn’t go to church, Turner knew she sometimes prayed. When they sat down to dinner, he knew she was itching to say grace, just to acknowledge God in some way.
It was in those moments that he realized how different they were. While tragedy struck her at an early age and became a permanent fixture in her life, the faith instilled in her from birth had never left her. Turner saw this when he first met Watson, when he first became intrigued by her, and he saw it now as she unconsciously stroked the cross.
He catalogued the observation and focused on driving; listening to Watson's sporadic directions as she navigated him through the city's downtown, bustling with people. Eventually they found a parking spot not too far from the street full of shops that ended with a large shopping center, right in the heart of Portland.
Turner could't even remember the last time he visited the city, but could definitely recall several times he made the trip here with his wife. His mind was suddenly overcome with memories of what seemed to be another lifetime, another woman with willowy blond hair and soulful blue eyes smiling, dragging his hand along, calling to him with excitement.
"Turner."
Another voice broke through his memory and Turner blinked, realizing he stopped in the middle of the street during his musing. The sunshine blinded him somewhat but when his eyes zeroed in on Watson's face, watching him with curious green eyes, black curls floating in the breeze behind her, a sense of strong guilt assaulted him, hitting with a force that made it hard to breathe.
He shouldn't be thinking about his past, shouldn't indulge in these little memories. They don't bring relief and their existence inevitably brings hurt to the woman who had become the only form of comfort he craved.
Turner knew he would never part with his past, would never fully come to terms with the consequences of his actions, and there would always be a special place in his heart for the two women who first introduced him to true happiness. He knew for Natalie's sake that he had to at least try to move on andappreciate the second chance he'd been given.
Before Natalie could give him another pointed stare, Turner reached for her hand, catching her off guard. He pulled her along, hands still intertwined as he gave her a smile and said, "Come on, before it gets too crazy."
Watson had no other choice but to follow. Even after months of dating, holding hands still felt strange for her. Handholding was for couples who wore matching sweaters and send out joint Christmas cards, not for two colleagues who were trying to hide their courtship from the entire police department.
By now, she was certain the guys on the fourth floor and some of Harper's team had a pool going for when the "are they or aren't they" scenario will come to fruition. Since she always adhered strictly to rules, it rubbed Watson the wrong way that she was breaking a cardinal regulation so effortlessly. It didn’t help that between the two of them, she was the only one concerned about their superiors finding out about their activities outside the office and Turner took up every opportunity to tease her about it.
She glanced at his hand gently wrapped up in hers as they strolled down the busy street lined with different shops, and despite the hesitation she felt, Watson could't deny the warmth that radiated from his skin and the protection she felt from the firm but soft grip.
The inner female in her was elated as she watched the looks other women gave Turner as they walked past and on an impulse she squeezed his hand, causing him to cast a side-glance at her.
"Feeling possessive?”
His abilities could sometimes be the most irritating thing about him.
"Bite me," Watson snapped, trying to cover her blushing cheeks with a curtain of hair and a quick tilt of her head. Turner's soft chuckle in her ear as he pulled her closer reminded her that she could no more hide from him than she could fight the feelings he was evoking in her.
"Be careful what you say, because I just might."
She whipped her head around and gave him a cautionary look, but he just laughed and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, sending goosebumps down her back. It was a familiar feeling as of late, but she still could't get used to it, no more than she could get used to the hand holding.
They stopped at the end of the block, and Turner placed his hands on her shoulder, playing with a strand of her hair.
"l have an errand to run that requires extreme discretion. Could you keep yourself busy for about ten minutes?" He glanced at his watch but Watson just raised her eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest in suspicion.
"If you're about to embark on one of your..." Her voice trailed off as Turner gave her a disapproving look.
"Why must you always be in work mode? It's not good, don't you trust me?"
He gave her his best puppy dog look, his sea colored eyes softening just the right amount and his lips set in a perfect pout. It was a loaded quesiton and she was certain he realized the enormity of what he was asking, but in typical Turner fashion, it was concealed behind a front. She just rolled her eyes and shooed him away.
"Ten minutes and then I'm leaving." She gave him a stern nod and he was already taking off down the street, pulling something out of his pocket.
"You’re not going anywhere. I've got the keys."
Then he disappeared behind the corner and Watson found herself shaking her head in the middle of the street, seemingly talking to herself. She softened as soon as he was gone, thinking herself too suspicious of him, always thinking he was up to something, so she told herself to relax and wandered down the street, window shopping mostly. She was not looking for anything in particular, having picked up some things for her brothers and nephews, but one particular shop caught her eye.
It was one of the only stores on the block that didn’t have some sort of fancy display. Instead the bulk of what it was selling was in the back of the room and Watson gravitated towards it, admiring the old pieces of furniture and antique jewelry sets.
The store somehow reminded her of Turner, which lead to the question of what she could possibly give him for Christmas. She hadn't really thought about it and suddenly felt guilty, because it hadn't even entered her mind.
Just as she was thinking about him, something caught her eye in the glass display and without hesitation she motioned the man behind the counter over. She examined it for a few moments and then paid for it very quickly, knowing she didn’t want the man in question to catch her in the middle of buying his Christmas gift.
Watson thanked the clerk and walked briskly out of the store only to find Turner sitting on a bench opposite the antique shop, smiling cheekily at her.
“Impromptu purchase?"
"You could say that."
She played coy, trying to act as nonchalant as possible so he didn’t figure out what just happened. After a few moments of his penetrating stare, Watson broke the silence, "So, are you ready for the greatest eating experience of your life?"
Turner seemed to perk up considerably at the mention of food, "lead the way".
He took her hand as they walked back to the car and this time she didn’t even flinch. She let herself enjoy the feeling of being held and being led somewhere by the man at her side...
"How'd you find this place?" Turner asked as they descended a flight of poorly lit stairs. Even though it was dark, he still saw Watson's eyes sparkling as she looked over her shoulder at him.
"It's one of the only places still open at four in the morning. The entire precinct used to come here when we worked overtime; l still crave their garlic chicken sometimes."
They walked into a large room bustling with activity. The main dining area was crowded with people eating, waiters serving, and a mixture of different Asian dialects giving the restaurant a general feeling of chaos. Watson grabbed his hand and lead them to a small table off to the side. Immediately, a server came over with two menus, but Natalie just shrugged them away and gave them their order without looking at the plastic tablets.
After listing off a couple numbers, she settled back in her chair and smiled deviously at him. Turner raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He was eager to learn more about her beyond what she was like at PPB, and a part of the reason why he drove them into Portland was in hope that he would get to know more about her past.
He knew even she was not immune to nostalgia and being on familiar turf, where she got her start. He never anticipated that Watson would be so eager, so open, dropping bits of old stories here and there as they shopped. Now she had taken him to a restaurant where she probably spent many a night joking with colleagues and blowing off steam.
His hand made it across the table and clasped hers, his thumb finding a pattern across her knuckles, the softness of her skin melting into his fingertip.
He listened as she divulged little details about her past, seemingly mundane aspects, but to Turner they meant the world. It showed that she did indeed trust him and didn’t censor or guard herself around him. Despite how long it had been since that trust had been tested, he still felt a rush every time it was confirmed that she held him in confidence of certain things no one else knew.
The server interrupted her when several dishes were placed in front of them, followed by two cups of tea. Turner looked at the assortment finding nothing strange about each plate, identifying several he'd tried before. When he looked up at Watson, she was still smiling and she pushed a smaller plate toward him.
"So Eric Turner, have you ever had this before?"
Her green eyes challenged him as she pulled out the choppsticks and he looked down at the plate, his eyebrows drawn up.
"Spicy pig ears. I'm impressed. I didn't know you were that adventurous."
"Well not even you know everything about me" She quipped back, "but we're about to find out if you're man enough to try it."
"Natalie, you know how dangerous it is to threaten a man's ability to eat weird food."
"What are you going to do about it, huh?"
The competitive air lingered around them, but instead of digging into the food; Turner moved closer and pulled her into a kiss.
She had never been comfortable with public displays of affection, but she had learned that Turner thrived on it. She figured it had something to do with his showmanship streak, but instead of tensing up like she usually did, Watson melted into the kiss, running her hand discreetly up his thigh.
Just as she sank deeper into the embrace, Turner abruptly pulled back. Expecting to see a sated grin on his face, Watson was confused when she was met with a cautioning look and no trace of a smile.
"Don't freak out." He whispered against her cheek, before scooting away from her, his face transformed into the expression Watson usually saw at crime scenes or in interrogation rooms.
"What the hell-..."
Her thought was cut off by a voice behind her.
"Natalie, Turner what a coincidence..."
She saw the beginnings of a devilish smile on Turner's face, so she gave him one last futile, pleading look before turning around to smile at the man looking at them, "Sam, what are you doing here?"