DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Trial By Jury and all characters are
property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Temptation
By purplebrat
"It wasn't your fault," Salazar offered as he poked his head into office #634 and found Kelly massaging her temples; the desk piled with files, transcripts and evidence logs.
Kelly growled and dug her fingers so hard into her temples she momentarily saw stars. "If one more person says that…" she threatened, snapping her eyes open to glare at the current individual trying to offer commiseration on her shocking trial loss.
"I mean it Kel. I missed it, and it's my job to make sure you have all the information. If anything, it's my fuck-up, not yours."
Whilst she knew he had a point, Kelly knew the cliché was true; they worked as a team, not only when they won a case, but also when they lost. Knowing they shared responsibility for the so-called 'fuck-up' didn't help but she gave Salazar an appreciative smile, as though his admission had bought her absolution.
He watched her as she deliberately packed up, leaving all her files in neat piles. 'Probably even alphabetically," Salazar grinned to himself. He liked his blonde co-worker, really liked her, but he knew there would never be a chance for him; it was obvious her attractions were directed elsewhere. Speaking of which…
"Where's Kibre?" Her desk was in disarray, much like the mess Kelly was tidying on her own, but her briefcase was missing, and so was the woman herself.
Kelly stopped what she was doing and looked up, seemingly exasperated either by his question or the fact that he was still standing in her doorway. "She went home I guess. It's been a big week," she retorted.
Salazar barely hid a smile at her hot response. 'She really does have it bad for Kibre,' he mused silently, watching her fling folders around her desk; a new irritation fuelling her. Crossing the room in 2 strides he took the pile of papers from her hand and put them on a newly formed stack.
"You need a drink," he announced, ignoring her protests to the contrary. Kelly was completely aware she needed a drink; her plans for the evening involved going home and cracking open a bottle of wine. Alone. In a place where there was no one else, especially no one to remind her of anything work related.
Realising the blonde was more distressed than he initially thought; he stopped pressing her to come for a drink and instead offered to drive her home. Kelly hesitated in responding to his offer, and Salazar seized the moment to pick up her briefcase and guide her towards the door.
'She probably thinks I'm trying to hit on her,' he surmised as she eyes him warily. "I'm just worried about you Kel," he offered out loud, "nothing else."
For most of the trip Kelly remained silent, barely acknowledging any attempt made by Salazar to engage her in conversation. That is until he called her on a topic she was completely unprepared for.
"Why don't you ask her out?" he asked, looking sideways at her, anticipating a reaction. As Kelly registered the implication of his statement she stared at him in shock.
"I … uh … who?" she choked out, attempting to feign ignorance.
Perhaps it wasn't fair. Tracey had confided in him one night over drinks, and even though she hadn't said it, one could assume she had meant for the conversation to go no further.
'But I'm not repeating anything she said,' Salazar justified to himself, 'I'm just using the resources available to me.'
Salazar flicked his eyes back to the road, wishing he wasn't driving for this conversation. "Kibre," he responded casually, virtually feeling the heat rising in Kelly's cheeks. He felt bad ambushing her in a situation she could not easily remove herself from, but he couldn't stand watching the 2 dancing around each other for any longer.
Kelly laughed nervously, unable to form words to either confirm or deny the detective's insinuation. She knew there was no need to confirm Salazar's statement, as it had been just that; a statement. A statement indicating he knew, or at least assumed, a lot more than she did.
This was it. The revelation she had only fantasized about was dangling in front of her; begging to be snatched up. Did she dare?
Kelly let out the breath she had been holding and spoke quickly; rushing the words out before they could change direction. "So how about that drink?"
The End