Chapter Text
Tennant stepped into the bullpen and stopped in the middle of it. A tall woman was walking beside her, an illustration of perfect posture in white satin shirt and pencil skirt, long blond hair tucked neatly into a tight ponytail. Tennant eyes scanned the room, addressing everyone and no one in particular.
“Everyone, meet DIA officer Kate Whistler. She’s our new DIA liaison.”
Lucy stood up from her desk, eyeing the new woman curiously. She waited for her to turn around to shake her hand. She smiled at her politely, and Lucy returned with a smile of her own. Her business smile. There was no reason for her heart to beat slightly faster than usual, but it did.
The DIA officer made her round greeting everyone, then followed Tennant back into her office, heels clicking on the vinyl floor. Lucy’s eyes followed her as she walked away, up the stairs and disappearing out of sight.
She’s hot.
As if hearing her thought, Jesse was immediately on her case, shaking his head subtly. “Lucy, don’t!”
“I’m not doing anything!” Lucy tried, really tried to not sound too defensive.
“She’s DIA!” He warned.
“Jesse, I’m not doing anything!”
And really, Lucy wasn’t planning on doing anything. It wasn’t planned at all when she flashed her Lucy smile, eyes crinkling, holding Whistler’s gaze as she walked by her desk on her way out later that day. Whistler slowed down her pace just a tiny bit, cleared her throat and nodded at Lucy before striding out of the bullpen, her faint perfume lingered just a tad longer in Lucy’s mind.
—
The next time she saw Whistler, it was in close proximity. She came out of the elevator and marched straight to Lucy's seat, sliding a thick envelope on the desk surface with her long slender fingers. Lucy looked up, her breath quickened at the way those brown eyes were looking into hers.
“Special Agent Tara.”
“DIA officer Whistler. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Lucy might’ve batted her eyelashes for added effect. Whistler missed a beat, but she recovered quickly.
“Records of McLean's movements in the past two years, per your SAC’s request.”
Lucy delivered her thanks with an extra smile, trying to reign in the temptation to say something flirty. Whistler nodded stiffly at her, turning on her heels and strode out of the room as quickly as she came in.
Jesse raised an eyebrow when Lucy looked his way.
“Wow, case files hand delivered by DIA. I wish I had that kind of privilege!”
He dodged the balled up piece of paper Lucy chucked it at him, laughing. Lucy felt a tiny spark of hope nervously bubbled up in her chest.
—
The shrilling ringtone reserved for Tennant woke Lucy up instantly. She pushed herself up on one arm, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar surroundings and located her phone. This was definitely not her bed, not her apartment, and unless she had grown an extra limb overnight, the arm draping across her body definitely wasn’t hers. She traced her eyes up that arm to the face of the woman it belonged to, half hidden behind silky long blond hair. Hailey. From the bar last night.
Shit.
She gathered her clothes from the floor and stepped out of the bedroom quietly into an equally unfamiliar living room, still dimly lit from the pale morning light outside. She closed the bedroom door behind her. At least there’s a door this time.
“Yes, boss?”
Her groggy brain registered a few keywords from what Tennant said on the phone. Sailor, murdered, collecting evidence, text address right after.
In two minutes on the phone with Tennant, Lucy managed to put on her bra and her shirt. Then she put on the rest of her clothes and was out of the door after a quick trip to the bathroom, trying to keep the noise to a minimum. 6 am was early, especially when she and Hailey didn’t leave the bar until midnight last night.
It wasn’t until she stopped at the first traffic light that she realized she didn’t have Hailey’s phone number. A brief pang of guilt crossed her mind, but the light changed to green again and she hit the gas, her mind busied recalling the details of the case that Tennant told her.
—
It was Kai this time who casted a sideways glance at Lucy. Sometimes she hated that her friends and coworkers were so damn observant.
“Walk of shame straight into a crime scene. That’s a first!”
She ignored his snark, choosing to focus on the coffee Jesse offered her. She’d worry about today’s clothes later, right now yesterday’s clothes would do. She was a professional, and her extracurricular activities did not interfere with her work!
—
They closed the case two days later. It had been an easy one, with the main suspect confessing after two hours in the interrogation room with Jesse and Tennant.
Lucy picked up her backpack and crossed the two steps to perch on the edge of Jesse’s desk.
“Come on, be done with work already!” She made sure to be extra whiny, in the tone she usually reserved just for him.
Jesse held up a finger in her direction without looking at her. Lucy huffed and looked around, looking for something else to distract herself with. What would be better at that than… a serious looking DIA officer, walking across the bullpen as if a thousand unfriendly eyes had been watching. But it was just Lucy, and Lucy’s eyes were definitely not unfriendly, especially when they darted quickly over her figure before Lucy reigned them in to a more appropriate glance for the office setting.
“Whistler! You should come with us!”
Whistler halted and hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning to face Lucy, eyebrows raised with an unasked question.
“We’re going to a bar, to celebrate.” Lucy hastily supplied.
Whistler’s smile was apologetic.
“Thanks but… I can’t.”
Something in the way she replied stopped Lucy from pushing. She smiled politely at Whistler and then watched her retreat to the elevator, her elegant form a stark contrast to the awkward mannerism witnessed just a few seconds earlier.
“Don’t take it personal, Luce. She’s DIA, she’s not supposed to be our friend.” Jesse said over his shoulder, eyes still glued to his monitor.
Lucy didn’t say it, but she didn’t exactly want to be Whistler’s friend. And Lucy wasn’t one to give up without trying at least once. In the friend and non-friend categories, each.
—
“I promise I wasn’t stalking you.”
In immediate retrospect, it wasn’t the best opening. Lucy inwardly grimaced the moment the words flew out of her mouth and into the cacophony of the coffee shop. Whistler was also there, waiting in the same area, two orders ahead of hers. If she was amused, she was definitely showing it.
“It’s fine, free country and all that.”
“Double-shot cappuccino with vanilla sweet cream and extra milk foam. For Katherine.” The barista announced over the music, eyes scanning the small crowd in front of him.
“I'd bet it isn’t yours. Even though you might be Katherine.” Lucy said, enunciating the name just to get a raise out of Whistler.
“Oh, how so?”
It was the most non-work talk Lucy had heard from Whistler, and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.
“You don’t seem like the vanilla sweet cream type.” Lucy huffed at the additive for extra effect. “Soy latte, double shot is my guess.”
As if on cue, the barista’s voice boomed out again. “Double shot oat latte for Kate.”
“Close enough,” Whistler smiled at Lucy before stepping up to take her drink from the counter.
To Lucy’s surprise, she didn’t leave right away but waited for Lucy to get her order. As they walked out of the coffee shop and were about to turn in opposite directions, Lucy subtly took a deep breath.
“I’m going this way. Next time we meet outside of work, could it be over dinner? I know some good places.” Lucy rushed out, abruptly and not at all smooth as she’d like.
Her heart sank at the panicked look flashing across Whistler’s face. Maybe she had read her wrong. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, but Whistler stammered out an answer before she could say it.
“I don’t… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She cleared her throat, said goodbye and walked away. Lucy froze on the spot for a few seconds, the rejection stung while her mind dealt with the response. Why would that not be a good idea?