Vic knew she was grumpier than usual, and that made her even grumpier. Having been woken a couple of hours earlier than usual before her shift by an intensely erotic dream had just added fuel to the fire. Holding the hockey puck in a white knuckled grip, she remembered the particular highlights, torturing herself with the now fading memories of pleasure, clenching the muscles of her thighs in respons

His voice rumbled out of the office behind her "Vic" and she took a couple of deep breaths before attempting to stand and walk into Walts office. She lounged against the doorframe, hoping it looked casual and not that it was doing most of the work keeping her upright. He was donning hat and coat in preparation to going out, turned to her, adjusting the hardware on his belt (dear god!) and paused for a minute.

"You OK?"

She plastered on a fake smile and nodded "Fine".

"Hmmm" he rumbled "You look tired, sleeping alright?" and this time all she could do was nod. "OK I'm heading out to the courthouse, should be back in an hour". She nodded again, watching him leave before breathing out a huge sigh of relief and walked carefully back to her desk and sat, sinking her head into her hands and played out how the conversation COULD have gone,

"Actually Walt, I got woken up a couple of hours too early by a very erotic dream of you going down on me and I found it difficult to go back to sleep after that!"

She sighed again. It had been far too long since her last fuck, good bad or otherwise, and her body was making its opinion clear on the matter. She couldn't fault its choice of material, clearly she and her subconscious were on the same wavelength there and both had excellent taste. But god forbid she would spend the rest of the day wondering how his perpetually stubbled jaw would feel against the inside of her thighs….

Vic shivered, bit the inside of her cheek to gain focus and picked up the phone to call the DMV for the third time today, there were perps to catch after all.

xxxxx

Walt frowned as he headed down the stairs and across the street to his truck, and sat thinking for a moment before he buckled up and headed out. Vic had looked tired and truth be told, had been a little off the last few weeks. She seemed tense around him, and the easy relaxed banter they usually shared was a lot less relaxed. Too often there were long silences instead, of course he had to admit partial blame for those.

When you had woken up tangled in bedsheets, sweaty and hoarse from crying out, heart pounding and wearing the evidence of lust like a teenager, and the reason for it was the image of the blonde woman kneeling over him and riding them both to urgent shuddering climax, silence seemed a safer option.

He shook his head to clear it, adjusted his belt to a more comfortable position and started up the truck. Thank god the weather was cold enough to justify his long coat.

xxxxxxx

Cady slid into the seat next to Vic at the bar and signalled for a beer "Hey Vic".

"Hey Cady"

Cady turned in her seat, taking a long pull at the foam topped glass "How have you been Vic, after…everything?" a vague wave of the glass signalling the everything she meant.

Vic sank the rest of her beer in one go, she couldn't drive home if she had another one but she really didn't want to have this conversation without one and so gave the bartender a nod when he asked if she wanted another.

She smiled tightly at Cady and carefully did NOT say "Sure Cady, I'm fine, just been having amazing sex dreams about your father", and instead sad "I'm managing, I guess"

Cady nodded, "Yeah that's a good way to describe it". Events of the past few months had been difficult for Durant, and in particular the Sheriff department. Vic braced herself and said in return

"And you, I heard you had a new job?"

Cady smiled "Yes I got a job in Philly, head up next week to find a place and get stuff sorted" Vic clinked glasses with her in silent female solidarity

"Congrats, that will make your father proud".

Cady smiled and drank some more beer, and fiddled with the glass, making moisture rings on the bar before saying cautiously "Vic, about my Dad". Vic sighed and interrupted her

"Cady I'm not your Dad's keeper, if you want to talk to him then TALK TO HIM". Cady laughed softly and said "Fair point, but actually it was you I wanted to ask about, your …relationship with my Dad"

Vics heart sank "Cady, he is my boss, that's our relationship" except she remembered the kissing, the touching, the feeling of bodies moving against each other and her body ached in response.

Cady set her beer down "Please don't take this the wrong was but I got the definite impression there was more to it than that. After all you are still here?" she finished with a definite questioning tone.

Vic really wanted to be doing shots for this conversation but resisted heroically "Cady are you fishing or do you genuinely want to know? We don't know each other that well, and this isn't really a conversation I wanted to be having with the daughter of my boss" and Cady flinched a little at her harsh tone, pulling back and eyeing Vic for a moment.

She stood abruptly, picking up hers and Vics glasses "Lets do this in Henry's office, he is not here and won't mind" and walked away. Vic considered for a long moment and then reluctantly followed. They settled themselves, Cady ordering up a basket of fries and another round, and sat chatting about local gossip until the food and drinks arrived, and they wouldn't be disturbed further.

Dipping a fry into ketchup, she leaned forward looking intently at Vic before saying entirely unexpectedly "Vic I think my father is in love with you". Vic inhaled her mouthful of beer, coughed and sprayed it everywhere, and sat coughing and trying to get her breath back. Cady jumped up apologising, grabbed the napkins on the table and rushed out of the room, to appear shortly after with another handful and one of Henrys ever present soft white cloths.

Vic wiped her face, and dabbed at her clothing, while Cady wiped the spray off the table, and moved the soggy fries off to the side. Cady said very apologetically "Sorry I thought you knew". Vic was silent, her astonishment at what Cady had said balanced by the reality of her actually saying it".

Carefully, not giving anything away she asked "What makes you say that?"

Cady smiled "Oh lots of little things, the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is looking, how protective he is, how he spends so much time with you. Henry and I have a whole list we have put together". Vic shook her head at the thought of Henry and Cady in cahoots over this and then realised it was inevitable and said just as carefully "That's not evidence, that's conjecture".

Cady laughed and saluted her with her beer glass "Vic ever the capable detective" and she paused, clearly wanting to say something "Vic not sure how to say this or even if I should."

Vic felt her heartbeat suddenly increase, and the room felt warmer than it had been, she swallowed and said just as carefully as before "You have my discretion".

Cady huffed a laugh "Yes that's probably part of the problem. Fuck it Vic, don't ask me how the hell I know this but I can tell you he dreams about you" and stopped with a meaningful silence.

Startled Vic took a sip of her beer "Dreams?" she shifted uncomfortably "What kind of dreams?" Cady gave her The Look. Her heart pounding even harder now, she felt like she might pass out "Ummm I need a drink" Cady proffered the beer and Vic shook her head "No a REAL drink"

Cady stood up and walked to the other side of Henry's desk and rummaged in a cupboard, returning with a round glass bottle mostly full of dark amber liquid and two cut glass tumblers. She poured a generous portion into each tumbler and handed one to Vic "Henry's private stash".

Vic sunk hers like a shot, blinking and coughing at the unexpectedly strong alcohol fumes, but it was good stuff and burned nicely on its way down. "Hit me" and held her glass out again. Cady gazed a moment before pouring and then sat back, bottle on the table next to her. Vic had a good buzz on how so turned the hard eye on Cady and said "Spill, why are you telling me this?"

Cady looked surprised "Vic, I, well actually Henry and I were under the impression you felt the same way about Walt"

"Why?"

Cady looked sympathetically at her "All the same reasons I just listed but for you, plus you stayed. Here. In Durant." Cady took a deep breath and said "What are you waiting for Vic?"

Jesus her hands were shaking, did she risk telling Cady the truth or not? Despite the buzz she still had some control over her faculties and instead said cautiously "Cady if we are having this conversation, then is it fair to assume that you would be in favour of something… if there was a something….between Walt and myself?"

Cady laugh and clapped her hands "God you are a tough cookie, I totally get what Dad sees in you, yes of course!" She sobered "He was so lost after Mom died, for such a long time, and I think you were a big part in bringing him back. If you feel about him the same way, then you absolutely have my support" she leaned forward to press her hand briefly on top of Vics "Whatever makes him happy, I will do everything I can to make it happen, you understand?"

Gesturing to the two of them in the office and the alcohol "Even if it means having an impossibly embarrassing conversation with a hostile witness" Vic couldn't help it and burst out laughing, and that set them both off for a tipsy gigglefest. The ice was well and truly broken.

Vic tried to catch her breath "Sorry Cady, you took me by surprise a little. Scratch that, a LOT"

Cady smiled at her before continuing in an arch tone "But you still haven't answered my question Vic, are you in love with my father?"

She stared at Cady, the cards were on the table and she had no more in her hand to play and knew she couldn't bluff her way out of this one, so she did the only thing she could and nodded 'Yes, goddammit I am".

"But we have never….. " and waved a vague hand in indication "Hell he has never even kissed me!"

Cady held a hand up "LA LA LA LA HAPPY PLACE details not required". Vic would have quite liked there to have been details actually but instead she got Cady doing a victory whoop and throwing herself across the table to grab Vic in a spontaneous hug

"YES! Now all we have to do is get the two of you together" It took a moment through the alcohol buzz for Vic to process that

"Wait? What!"

Cady reached out a hand and took a firm grip on Vics knee "You two are made for each other. The biggest problem is you are both so damaged you will never talk to each other about it" Vic couldn't deny the truth in that.

"So Henry and I will take care of it".

The sinking feeling in Vic's stomach got worse as it now added an interesting churn and she whispered "Cady can you give me a ride home?"

xxxxxx

Despite several glasses of water and some Ibuprofen, the hangover was epic. What the hell was in that firewater of Henry's anyway? At least she hadn't been woken by any dreams last night.

Walt called her into the office an hour into her shift and gave her his most disapproving Sheriff face before saying "Vic" and she held a hand up

"Stop right there, yes I'm hungover on a Thursday at work which is entirely unprofessional, and I can assure you I'm regretting it in all sorts of ways. But before you yell at me you should know that this was Cady's fault"

And she stopped, resisting the urge to sink quietly into a fetal position on the couch and Walt blinked slowly at her "Cady got you drunk last night?"

She nodded and immediately regretted that too "She had some serious stuff to talk about that required alcohol" Walt nodded, he had been there many times himself.

"OK what was the serious business?" She crossed her arms, pondering her options but the cat was well and truly out of the bag, so instead of telling him to ask Cady or mind his business she said shortly "You" and stalked out of the room to her desk.

Walt sat back in his chair, thoughtful. Vic and Cady weren't particularly close as far as he was aware, so why were they talking about him?