Norman sat on his hotel bed in the early morning sunlight, Monday morning had come quickly and without issues. Norman sighed in thought and walked over to the icy window. Carter had driven him back to this hotel after their ventures to the strip club, and as Norman climbed out of the car and waved Carter goodbye – watching the car slowly pull out onto the silent roads – he couldn't but feel a deep and echoing pang of loneliness. He hadn't felt that feeling for years, the last time he could recall being aware of his quiet lonesomeness was when he had started college. He had these silly adolescence hopes of finding someone that he could have a real connection with. He held onto to that hope for his first few years, but to no avail. Rather then wasting time with his frat 'friends' he spent his time in the great old library. He decided to accept this isolated reality and he was able to find a comfortable place in his new found realisation.

The situation that brought him closer to Carter, and the loneliness he felt when they weren't together was a shock to Norman. 'I should have seen it coming, I just wish I knew where I stood with him...'

Norman arrived at the precinct before long and as he walked through the sliding doors his minds inner working caught his attention once more; he thought about the mundaneness of his current life. Before when he was working in the FBI everyday had to be different for Norman, a new case even a new route that he would take to drive to work, anything that would keep him from getting board. Norman smiled slightly as he though about how his new mundane life could never be boring for long with an unpredictable Lieutenant occupying most of his time.

Making his way through the busy early morning bustle of the precinct Norman spied a steaming cup of coffee sitting on his desk. As Norman picked up the warm cup off his desk while sitting down he noticed the folders that the coffee was sitting on – the folders he accidentally left in Carters car. Even before Norman could flick through the papers to make sure he had finished everything, Perry's old calloused hand gripped the folders right from Normans hand and preceded to flick through them.

"I trust everything is in order Jayden"

Norman took one look at Perry's tired and irritated face and took his chances that he had finished the reports,

"Yes sir."

"Good good, that's the last thing I need on my plate, after all the shit that happe-"

Perrys voice droned out as Norman turned his undivided attention on his Lieutenant as he came walking through the doors.

'his lieutenant?' Norman couldn't help but keep down a small chuckle at that thought. He briefly spotted Ash walking behind Carter, who looked as if he was carrying a dark thunder cloud above head.

Perry must have seen that Normans attention was else where, because he stopped whatever he was saying and turned to look at what Norman seemed transfixed on.

"Ah Carter, Ash, a moment please."

As the two other men came to stand by Normans small desk, the ex-agent suddenly felt awkward and small. He quickly stood up and brushed his pants out of habit. Carter acknowledged him with a small nod and am almost invisible smile – only noticeable to those who would look for it, and Norman was defiantly looking for it.

"Blake, I trust you got the case files that Ash..no Norman was to deliver to you?"

In that moment where Perry and Carter fell into conversation, Norman risked a glance at Ash, only to see the other man's jaw clench and his head tilt in disdain for Norman. Norman played his poker face and looked away as if in boredom.

'oh shit this isn't going to be good.'

The conversation between Perry and Carter ended quickly with Perry patting Carter on the back then retreating into his office. This just left Carter, Ash and Norman standing around his small desk. Normans eyes flickered across the precinct then back at Carters blue shirt, only a few hands distance away from him. Carter cleared his throat and looked back at Ash - who curled his lip and stalked back to his desk. Carter turned back to look at Norman, but only kept eye contact for a second before looking down at Normans hands and nodding his head in goodbye before he walked over to his desk and sat down.

Normans eyes narrowed in confusion as he sat down and briefly watched Carter make himself busy with his computer.

'well that was weird.'

The whole feeling of the day was off, Perry's irritability was nothing out of the ordinary, but Ash's heated silent exchange and Carters almost coy behaviour – If coy could ever be in relation to Carter it was in that moment that had just past. Norman knew why Ash was pissed with him, but it was blown massively out of proportion, true or not, it didn't help his precarious relationship with Ash.

It was only later in the day that Norman would see just how deep Ash's contempt for him ran.

Norman was experiencing the joys of filing when Carter called out to him. Placing down the few files he had left to sort on top of the filing cabinets, he walked over to Carters desk where the Lieutenant was sitting. Norman stood to the side of Carters desk as Carter flipped through a folder and pulled out a suspects wrap sheet.

"What do you think of this? Doctor Kaufmann, respected doc and all that shit, but something just doesn't add up."

Norman moved closer to Carter and rested his hand on the desk to get a better look at the file.

"Just thought you might spot something with that psychology degree of yours, finally put it to use."

"You sure I don't have to look at the rest of the case to diagnose him properly?" In that moment Norman wished it could be like this more often – Carter asking for his help without being a dick about it, them both working on a case as partners without bullshit in their way. But perhaps without Ash who suddenly pipped up,

"Carter, the fuck man!"

The man in question sighed loudly and rolled his shoulders standing up,

"Fucking chill Ash! If Norman can find something we couldn't then great, if not, so fucking what, and Norman-"

Carter paused to get Normans attention away from the file,

"-all you need to know about this guy is in this file, I'm gonna get a coffee, you want one?"

Norman quickly nodded a yes then turned his attention back to the file on the desk. Only a few moments had passed before Norman realised someone was watching him, ever so slowly he lifted his head to discover Ash staring at him from across the desk.

"You might have Blake fooled you fucking fag, and Perry too. But I don't fucking trust you." Ash stood up and seemed to slowly stalk towards Norman who quickly stood up straight,

"I'm not asking you to Ash, i'm just trying to do my job"

Ash was only a hands distance away from Norman now, he scoffed at Normans comment,

"Yeah right, your fucking job, you're a fucking fed and something aint right here."

Norman was feeling nervous now but he wouldn't give any ground and back up. If him pulling a gun on Carter in the middle of the precinct when they were on the OK case didn't get attention from anyone, then this dispute wasn't going to even get a mention.

"Why were you so keen to take those files to Carter like a fucking lap dog hey? What the fuck did you want with them?"

Ash's fisted Normans tie and yanked him closer, almost spitting on his face as he snarled out abuse. Yanking Ash's hand from his tie Norman stumbled backwards a few steps,

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you paranoid fuck!"

And in that split second after he shouted his retort, he could see the hooked arm, the clenched fist coming towards his face with unblock-able speed. The next thing Norman noticed was the loud crack of his jaw, blood in his mouth and the jarring of his brain. And in a heartbeat Ash's solid punch had sent Normans head smack bang into the filing cabinet a few feet away from where he stood. Now that had caught the precincts attention, not that it would help now.

"That all you got you littler fucker!" Ash was quick to stand over Norman who was half hanging onto the filing cabinet, blood dribbling from his cut lip. Before he could stand himself up, Ash's boot had collided with Normans gut, stunning him and causing him to fall back against the cabinets with a loud groan. Clenching his fists tightly Norman prepared to launch himself at Ash, but before he could even straighten his knees there was a blue blur and Ash was thrown into the water barrel. The loud banging of the barrel and Ash's body on the floor along with the glug gluging of the water onto the precincts floor had no match to the resounding crack of the fist that had slammed into Ash's face.

Finally standing up and seeing straight Norman looked from Ash's slow moving body as he picked himself up, to his saviour that had gotten in his way. His eyes made contact with deep blue narrowed eyes, Carter stood only a foot away, hand clenched and chest lightly heaving. They both stood there dumbly staring at each other, the groaning of Ash, the gluging of the water and the whispers of the precinct faded out. It was only the two of them, Norman with his bloody lip and aching jaw to Carters clenched fist and fresh coffee stains on his blue shirt from where he dropped the cups of coffee in a rush to get to Norman.

"What the hell is going on here!" Perry's loud shout cut them both from their stupor. It only took a moment for Perry to survey the scene and put two and two together, and even a moment less to order Ash and Carter into his office, telling Norman to 'go clean your self up man!'

Norman was quick to leave the gawking faces of the onlookers and retreat into the bathroom. Pushing the door open he shakily walked over to the end basin and looked in the mirror. Norman grimaced at the damage Ash's punch had inflicted on his face – his bottom lip had a nasty break through it and was already swelling and turning purple, his right cheekbone already had a sickly yellow tinged bruise forming, no doubt in ten minutes it would turn deep purple.

"Son of a bitch!" Norman spat out blood into the sink and moved his jaw around. Sighing loudly he turned away from the mirror and leaned heavily on the basin. Norman winced as he gingerly moved his jaw around with his hand.

"fucking asshole nearly knocked my head right off."

Normans neck felt all locked up and tight, his fall into the filing cabinets hadn't done his back any good either. All round he felt like he had been through the mill. But as for one punch wonders, Ash's couldn't top Mad Jacks, now those knocks had done quite a number on his body, but since then he had lost weight along with the muscle that would have helped lessen the severity of his fight with Ash. Norman turned around and spat more blood from his lip into the sink. Normans other hand slid to his aching stomach where Ash had kicked him, he sighed loudly as he moved his hand away, he couldn't be bothered checking for bruising right now, standing up straight didn't hurt too much, couldn't be too bad Norman thought.

"didn't even get one hit in thanks to Carter."

But Norman wasn't sure that even if he did manage to get at least one hit in that it would have any impact on Ash, his strength had weakened over these past few months. Carters involvement had been a god send and Norman knew it, much to his prides annoyance.

'fucking tripto.'

Meanwhile in Captain Perry's Office.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two!" Perry shouted, he paced back and forth behind his desk as the two detectives stood in front of his desk at either end – obviously trying to be as far apart as possible without causing Perry to shout at them for another reason. "I've got a fucking press conference in two hours! Imagine what could have happened if the press got a whiff of this! I can see the headlines now 'Police Brutality Knows No Bounds, fights break out in the streets and the in the precinct."

"Captain-"

"I don't want to hear a word from your mouth Ash, from what I hear you started this whole mess."

"But Captain!" Ash tried once more,

"I don't want to hear why you felt obliged to hit Jayden into a filing cabinet! I don't want to hear a sound from you again for the rest of the day! Got it?"

Throwing an angry glance over at Carter then looking back at Perry, Ash nodded. His clothes stuck to him uncomfortably from all the water that had crashed over him. He held an icepack to his cheek that Charlene had given to him – not that it did him any good – his head was throbbing loudly and his left eye was blurred, no doubt Carter would have busted a blood vessel, 'son of bitch.'

Sighing loudly – surely just for effect – Perry sat down at his desk and turned his attention towards Carter.

"Carter, you of all people shouldn't have to be reminded the consequences of hitting another officer, I allow your treatment of suspects to continue because you get the job done, but hitting another officer – no matter what the reason – in my precinct I will not allow! I should have you suspended! And for god sake man do something with that shoulder!"

Carters eyes only widened briefly at Perrys mention of his shoulder, he quickly glanced down to his right and saw blood slowly soaking through the bandage underneath to his shirt, 'shit I must have pulled the stitches.' Carter took a quick glance over at Ash and locked eyes with the man with the swollen jaw, he couldn't keep down a small smirk, 'stitches or not I would do it again for what he did.'

"Carter! You can leave, go to the doctors if you need but I'll be finishing this conversation with you later." Perry sighed loudly and massaged his temple in annoyance.

Carter didn't bother replying or even nodding at the Captain, as soon as Perry had finished speaking Carter quickly turned and left the office – barely stopping his hand from slamming the office door closed – he really didn't want to push Perry into acting on his threat on his suspension.

In house fights were common enough, especially when they involved Carter, so he was surprised that the fight between the three men hadn't been forgotten. Officers and lackeys alike threw him curious and cautious glances – it probably didn't help that his right shoulder was bleeding like a bitch right now. Sneering at anyone he happened to make eye contact with Carter quickly scanned the main room then decided that Norman would be cooped up in the bathroom no doubt nursing an angry bruise and busted lip.

'Is wasn't how it was meant to go.'

Carter slowly pushed the bathroom door open, hoping to briefly spy on Norman without him noticing. Carter was rewarded for his sneaky efforts by catching the scene at hand – Norman was bent slightly over the sink, his belt buckle grazing the porcelain as he tried to get as close to the mirror as possible. His head was very so slightly tilted back and his bottom lip was set in a pout as he carefully dabbed a soggy piece of tissue paper against his busted lip.

Carter didn't know what thought he'd swear by as he watched Norman tenderly nurse himself, there were just too many thoughts, piling up upon one another.

'God he's such an idiot'

'Can't take a fucking punch'

'I didn't get there in time'

'Can't stay out of trouble for two minutes'

'Bureaucratic pussy'

'I want him for my own'

'He's so naive.'

Enough was enough, Carter was sick of this heat in the pit of his stomach every time he saw Norman. Setting his face in a frown Carter strode into the bathroom making his presence known to the other man. Normans eyes rose as he saw Carter angrily walking towards him – and wait what was that? A fucking bloody shoulder to match that thunder face.

"Carter!" Norman stepped away from the sink, the soggy tissue forgotten in his hand, "your shoulder-"

"Shut up Norman" Carter said, barely making eye contact with him as he snatched the tissue away from Normans limp hand and threw it into the sink, "What the fuck difference do you think that's going to make? Now come here."

Carter stepped much closer to Norman, unknowingly making the other man back into the wall. His frown lessened as he roughly gripped Normans jaw with one hand and turned his head from side to side. Norman held his breath as Carters strong hand gripped his jaw, his muscles went tense, not knowing to expect. But it quickly became clear when he saw Carters gaze settle on his bruised cheek bone.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance Carters thumb stretched across Normans pale chin to his cracked lip. He gently grazed his thumb across the wound in curiosity but at the sound of Normans wince, he pulled his thumb away quickly.

His hand dropped completely and he stepped back – only slightly, but it must have been enough because Norman let out a breath and relaxed against the wall – if only for a moment.

Norman opened his mouth to ask about Carters shoulder but all that came out was a loud squeak as he felt Carters rough hands pulling his shirt out from his pants.

"Carter!" Norman hissed, this time keeping his voice low. His hands shot out and gripped Carters wrists, "what are you doing?"

Sighing loudly Carters hands paused hanging at Normans belt, part of the shirt bunched up in his hands,

"fucking dumbass you think I'm about to feel you up? you got kicked in the stomach right? I've got to check the bruise."

"What! No you don't! I have!" Norman squeaked once more, his hands busy trying to get Carter to let go of his shirt.

Normans heart was beating too fast, he was paranoid Carter could hear it, paranoid that Carter knew where he really wanted those hands.

"Then why is your shirt tucked in?" Carter sighed and took his hands away, leaning on the sink next to him. At Normans blank face Carter became pissed off all over again. But before Carter could say a word Norman quickly spoke,

"What the fuck happened to your shoulder!"

Carter half heartedly looked down at this right shoulder, 'yep still bloody, probably stopped by now, suppose I should do something with that.'

"I'll deal with that in a minute, now fucking take off your shirt."

"Carter I'm not doing a thing while your shoulder is fucking bleeding like that." Norman made quick work of stuffing his shirt back into his pants, trying to hardest not to think about how close those hands had gotten.

"Suit yourself but you're coming with me." Carter quickly reached out with his left hand and gripped Normans forearm, yanking him across the room as Carter quickly strode towards the bathroom door.

The contact was quickly gone between them as the bathroom door opened and they stepped out into the main room once more. But Carter didn't hang around, he quickly walked towards the Interrogation Observation Room and the cells and down a small corridor. Norman followed close behind briefly noticing the precinct had gone back to normal once more.

The corridor led to another open room but much smaller to the main room of the precinct, there were doors leading off the corridor on each side, and before Norman could get a proper look as to what was in the other open room, Carter pushed open one of the small doors to the side. The doorway seemed so small as Carter walked through it and as the other man made his way into the small room Norman finally knew where they were. To the right there was a small white bed pushed up against the wall, stacked upon the other walls where shelves and cupboards filled with all sorts, and nestled in amongst all this was a small arm chair, a wall mirror and a sink standing right beside him. Norman let out a breath of air, they were in the first aid room. Carter flicked on the light, it's overly bright fluorescent bulb illuminated all that was kept on the shelf's, and array of medical instruments and drugs alike. The room was so small and packed it made Norman feel the slightest bit claustrophobic.

Normans eyebrows rose as he looked around, "If this were the FBI they'd have all this locked up."

"Yeah well, we got rid of that rule ages ago, too many pissed of cops being pissed off at ass holes when they lost the key, meanwhile they had a fucking blood nose that could fill the grand canyon."

Norman slightly squinted in confusion at Carter, he was expecting to hear some comment about crackpot FBI agents, not such a long – if not lousy – explanation from such a short tongued man.

It was only then that Norman actually stopped looking around the room and noticed what Carter was doing. The other man was leaning on the arm of the armchair, undoing the buttons of his shirt. His fingers were quickly popping each button and Norman couldn't help but anticipate the popping of the top button while also being consumed by the feeling that he was watching something that he shouldn't. But he couldn't turn away, still standing dumbly near door.

Before Carter popped the top button he looked up at Norman and caught him in the middle of his inner confusion,

"Close the door would ya Washington."

"...ah, yeah yeah, sure." Norman quickly turned away and closed the door, maybe a little to fast for Normans liking.

Carter barely held in a grin at Normans awkwardness.

Normans hands were still pressed against the cold door and it was only now that Norman noticed the small window in the door, right about his head height. Normans eyes widened, 'oh shit any body can see in!...wait, what? Why does that matter? Oh shit I have to get a hold of myself.'

Norman turned away from the door and carefully sat on the very edge of the bed – not wanting to sit down at all but he felt to awkward to just stand there! While trying to look as relaxed and board as possible Norman tried to gather his thoughts and throw them to the wind, 'too many mind, too many mind.'

But he never finished his goal as his attention was suddenly thrown back to Carter as the man had just pulled his shirt back revealing a tight white singlet covering his chest. Carter and had pulled one arm from the arm hole and was carefully preparing to pull the other through. At this Norman wasn't sure if he should lend his assistance, would Carter be pissed off at him again? Was it really a good idea to get any closer? And by god it was bright in here what if he blushed! There'd be no saving his own skin then!

But the decision was already made up when Norman spotted the bloody bandage tapped across Carters shoulder, right near his collar bone. Norman stood up and in just a few steps was right next to Carter, helping to pull the last section of his shirt off. Carter was trying not to wince, but from this added height being the only one standing, Norman could see the strain on Carters temple.

Normans jumbled thoughts were suddenly and finally smashed by the heavy realisation that Carter had pulled his stitches when he had defended him against Ash.

"...I'm sorry Carter." Normans face became sullen as he took Carters shirt and dropped it in the sink.

Carter grumbled a "Don't mention it" as he started peeling off the bandage from his shoulder. Norman turned around to look at Carter then scanned the shelves. Walking past Carter, Norman picked out some anti-septic lotion, cotton bandage pads and a new thick square bandage that he found in one of the cupboards. By the time Norman was finished Carter had peeled off most of his bandage to reveal a nasty looking tear in the skin, only a few threads could be seen of where the stitches once were. Norman put the supplies on the bed and moved towards Carter. He kneeled on the ground next to Carters side as Carter pulled the last section of his bandage off. Without thinking Norman carefully reached out and gently touched the red skin surrounding the newly open wound.

It was then that Norman noticed Carters chest; just the lack of his blue shirt or even the bareness of his muscled arms were enough to draw Normans attentions completely in, the tight white fabric of the singlet wasn't enough to hide his chest muscles on his thick build or the black chest hairs lining the top of said singlet. He wasn't even half naked but holy shit did it feel like it! his fingers were pressed against his hard muscle, surrounded by his black chest hair and he could feel Carters hot breath on his face as the other man watched him. It was for only a moment but it was enough to make an impact on both men and to cause a series of sensations to rush through Norman. He quickly pulled his hand away and stood up, promptly turning towards the bed to hide his blushing face. 'what's wrong with me.'

"That's going to need new stitches" Norman stated the obvious, but it was all he could think of in his panicked state, "You should go to the hospital."

Norman shifted his head to the side as he heard Carter stand up and walk over towards the cupboards, "I can do it myself, done it plenty of times."

'Knock, Knock'

there was sudden a knock at the door and before either man could answer it, it opened. A young cadet popped his head in the door, looking from Carter to Norman.

"..aa.." The young man stammered, he hated being a cadet, it was always the cadets that were called to help when a scary officer had gotten them selves hurt. "Charlene suggested that..that you might need hel-assistance..?"

Carter frowned as he thought for only a moment, 'stitching with my left hand is a bitch.'

"Norman you know how to stitch a wound?"

Normans was reluctant to make eye contact but he replied,

"yeah, yeah sure no problem."

The young cadet threw a cautious glance between the two men,

"ok then great, all sorted.." he quickly closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief, Carter was the scariest of them all.

"You know Norman..."

Norman turned back to Carter,

"..you should really put an icepack on that cheek of yours, it's going to start swelling up real soon" Carter tapped a lower cupboard near him and continued to look through the shelves. Norman nodded to himself and headed over to Carter, when he opened the cupboard that Carter had pointed out Norman saw a range of ice packs filling the mini freezer disguised as a cupboard.

Norman winced as he bent low to retrieve them, oh yeah that stomach bruise was speaking to him now. Standing up slowly as to not hurt his stomach further – and not to draw Carters attention - Norman brought out with him two ice packs, one to hold against his cheek and another one to hold against his lip. As the stinging ice was pressed against his lower lip Norman pulled it back to reveal dried blood. Looking back at Carter then turning around towards the sink Norman placed the ice packs on the side of the small sink as he set about cleaning his bottom lip of crusty blood.

"Shove over Washington," Norman heard his nickname for the second time today and turned his head around to see Carter standing right next to him. If Norman didn't have water all over his mouth and Carter didn't look pissed off enough he could swear he would have burst out laughing at the sight of them cramped together in this small room. Carter standing there half naked with a red sore bullet wound and a irritated frown as Norman stood bent over the small sink splashing water over his -sure to be- fat lip with a sore bruise marking his cheekbone.

But still Norman couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he moved out of Carters way and grabbed his ice packs. Sitting on the bed while holding two ice packs against his face he couldn't help but smile stupidly at how ridiculous they must look right now.

But Carter was not in the same mood that Norman was, he was busy washing that sore as hell bullet wound on his shoulder. In the past 20 minutes Carters mood had dropped and spiked, with the closeness of the other man his mood spiked but with the pain of his wound and seeing Normans wounds his mood would drop and he'd get frustrated with Norman all over again.

"What the fuck Norman!" Carter said angrily while flushing his wound with antiseptic fluid ready for stitches. 'fuck that hurts.'

The sudden change from 'Washington to what the fuck Norman' had Norman pulled out of his little daze and into reality where he was sharing a very small room with a very sore lieutenant.

"err..."

"What the fuck did you say to Ash huh?" Carter turned around to face Norman, a wet cloth pressed against his wound, the water trickled down the side of this peck to his stomach and rolled all the way down to his belt line, and for a moment Norman really didn't know what Carter was talking about. But that was enough of Normans silence to be translated into a guilty concious by Carter.

"I know you can say some fucking dumb shit some times Norman, what was it!"

Norman quickly pulled himself together and hopped off the bed, it didn't take long for his mood to shift either.

"I didn't say a fucking thing! That psycho went off at me for no fucking reason! He's fucking paranoid, thinks I'm spying for the FBI or some shit, how should I know! You're his fucking partner!"

The room was too small, the sounds of their argument reverberated off the walls and it took a moment for silence to surround them once again.

Carter sighed and threw the wet cloth on the side of the sink where his shirt now lay. He knew Ash wouldn't have had a good enough reason, he always guessed that this would happen sooner or later.

"..Fucking sounds like him."

It was silent for a few more moments before Carter picked up one of Normans ice packs on the bed right next to the man and gently pressed it against Normans cheek. At first Norman flinched away from the other man's touch, the argument had barely ended and suddenly Carter was tending to his bruise. But before Norman could turn away Carters other hand lashed out and gripped the underside of his jaw – holding Norman completely still – the stark contrast between Carters strong hand gripping his jaw, holding him captive, and the gentle pressure of the icepack on his cheek hardly came as a surprise to Norman; who now had witnesses the sudden rough touch turn gentle, as if Carter wasn't aware of his own strength...or was so blatantly aware that he knew just how to use it.

Norman was still frowning at him from his captive position, but his breathing quietened and soon Norman closed his eyes in a sigh. The moment didn't last long enough for Carter, he wanted to remember Normans face when he was frustrated but resigned; his eyes closed in slight frown, his jaw somewhat clenching each time Carter pressed the icepack to his bruised cheek and most memorial were his lips, just a shade off light pink – almost comical to Carter – and pressed so perfectly into an annoyed pout you might find on a child instead of a grown man.

Norman reached up and took the icepack from Carters hand. He sat down with a 'huff' and looked away as he reached for the smaller ice pack.

"Thanks..by the way..for helping me out back there."

Carter looked around the room, feeling awkward, not knowing what to say to that anymore. He suddenly felt as if the cage that had kept his heart from the world had developed a crack, a small crack that only Norman could see. Worried and almost scared that he would find a way in from the world that he shielded himself from as best he could. As a detective he made it is job to blend in with the darkness of the streets, to know it's secrets and the people it hid. He made sure he was harder then those he hunted, that he was professional, he never got too close to a case – to a witness – or to anyone that could make him feel. He had seen what people could do and the suffering that their actions had caused. He just needed to keep his facade going and get through life and not get beaten down by the constant frustration and impatience of his job and the constant stress. It was easier when people thought he was simple, he didn't like people, and his reputation on the streets and in the precinct helped with this job.

Carter quickly turned his attention back to the present, back to something simple.

"I need to teach you how to block."

Lifting the ice block off his cheek Norman rolled his jaw around slightly, "No body could have blocked that left hook."

"I have." Carter replied, but without the common smirk. It didn't stop Norman from rolling his eyes though. Carter gathered up his stitching equipment and sat on the small single bed near Norman.

"Alright fine, I'll teach you how to read people."

"That's my job ass hole."

"And you're doing a damn fine job." at that Carter did smirk and Normans only reply was a small sneer and a roll of the eyes.

"You know even if I stitch this you're going to have to go to the hospital to get the inner stitches checked out."

Norman said reaching across and taking the needle, thread, forceps and scissors, and ripping open the packets and pulling out the stitching equipment.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel that bad, it's probably only the surface stitches that are busted."

Norman threaded the needle and scooted closer to Carter, "Are you sure you cleaned and sterilised the wound well enough?"

"Oh for fuck sake, give me the needle and I'll do it my self." Carter reached forward with his good arm and half-heartedly tried to grab the needle from Normans hand.

"Ok, shit, fine. But if there is any shit stuck in there don't complain to me." Norman brought his right knee up onto the bed so he could get a better angle at Carters shoulder. In response Carter turned his upper body towards the other man. Norman scooted closer to Carter again so that this time his bent knee and calf were pressed up against the side of Carters thigh.

Trying hard to concentrate on the task at hand and not at heat from Carters body, Norman readied the needle with the needle holder.

"Alright, I'm just going to do a simple interrupted stitch ok, it won't hold for more then a few days so you have to go to the hospital and-" At Carters loud exaggerated sigh Norman decided he better get started.

Gripping the small scissors tightly in one hand Norman placed his other hand against the abused skin and started to unpick and pull out the broken stitches. Even with all his attention glued to the bullet wound Norman couldn't help but notice Carters wince and quick intake of air. Being this close to the other man and having his hand firmly pressed against him Norman could feel and see Carters reaction to the stitches; the shock of energy running through his muscle to tense his biceps in pain, the quick tension that would gather in Carters neck at each pull and the slight relief once a thread had been removed.

Dropping all the broken threads into the small metal dish that Carter had brought with him Norman dropped the scissors and picked up a sterilising wipe. Quickly ripping open the packet and none to gently wiping it against Carters skin before the other man could protest.

Taking a quick look at Carters face and not getting any eye contact Norman gripped the needle holders tightly in one hand and placed his other hand against the skin and pushed the needle through the sore red skin. Norman made sure he was as quick as possible without creating a dodgy stitch, pulling the thread through then cutting off the other end Norman made a double knot tight against the skin then started on the next knot stitch.

"You know talking will take your mind off the pain."

There was silence for a moment while Norman pushed the needle through the skin again and out the other side.

"...It's not that ba-" Carter started but was cut off by his own wince. His wound was still too raw, the flesh hadn't had any real time to heal.

'Bad fucking time to bust the stitch.'

As Norman tied off the thread and pulled a tight knot against the bloody skin he was shadowed by a fog of guilt; it wasn't the first time someone had been injured because of Normans incompetence, a few years back one of his partners had ended up shooting and killing a suspect after they had started attacking Norman – if only he was able to fight them off and deck them to the ground then the case would have gone smoother...and Christian wouldn't have had a death on his concious. Christian told him it was his decision; he had made his choice the second he pulled back the trigger. But Norman still felt he was too blame. An Agent must be ready at all time, be focused and competent – among other things. But it was now that one area that Norman felt himself lacking. Sure Carter hadn't busted his stitches or even been shot on a routine run with him, it was just an in-house fight, but although less of an impact as the shooting of the suspect on Christians part, his connection with Carter had gotten far too strong too quickly, he now felt responsible for the fight in the precinct. Norman closed his eyes in annoyance and he snipped off the excess thread, 'only moments ago I was blaming Ash; the real culprit'

But it didn't come as a surprise, since he was young he had always felt a misplaced sense of responsibility and with that terrible guilt, but shit why did it have to come back now? He had thought he had killed and buried that damn issue. 'Dammit it was Carters decision, I didn't even ask for his help, he wasn't even in the same room for Christ's sake!'

Norman couldn't help himself, he had to say something...again.

"You didn't have to do it Carter, I had it under control."

"And what part of the fight did you have under control?" Carter locked eyes with Normans "I noticed you had the whole falling in the filing cabinets and getting your ass kicked part under control. But I think you've missed the basic aspects of a fight Washington – Defence and Offence, and you weren't in control of either one of them." Carter finished with a small joking smirk, the type that was now becoming a regular occurrence when Norman was around.

Norman 'huffed' and resisted the urge to roughly push the needle through the skin, but even as he did it carefully Carter made a wincing sound and grabbed the top of his shoulder with this other hand as if Norman had been rough, "Vindictive are we?" Carter joked smiling almost cheekily. Norman caught on and replied "Don't tempt me Carter."

A silent moment passed as their eyes drifted away from one another, Norman returned his focus back to the stitches but Carters focus didn't stay on the far wall long; his eyes drifted back to the other mans pale face. 'He better hurry up and put the icepack on those bruises.'

"...all i'm saying is that you shouldn't have felt obligated to..help me back there" Norman continued saying, though what he said next Carter nearly missed it, Norman spoke so quietly; "You wouldn't have on the OK case."

Carter tried to catch Normans eyes but the other man was avoiding his gaze – as best he could considering they were only a few inches apart. Carter wanted to convey what he felt through his gaze, he didn't want to speak to it aloud; the stakes were too high if Norman refused him.

At Normans refusal to make eye contact Carter tried to form words in his suddenly dry throat. He needed to say something...anything, just...just not what he really felt.

Carter shifted on the bed slightly and cleared his throat then chastised himself 'shit now it's going to seem like I'm working up to something!'

"We've both changed a lot since then." Carters voice was soft, almost as much as Normans.

'Finally!'

Norman finally made eye contact with Carter; his face – to Normans ever present surprise – was sincere, but most surprising was the vulnerability and determination in his gaze, as if he had dared himself to say it.

"You...you're the one that has changed." Norman quietly replied, continuing with the stitches but flickering his gaze up to meet with Carters once again.

Carter nodded very briefly and looked away from Norman. His eyes scanned the shelves as he absorbed the feeling of Normans breath on his shoulder as it glided across this partially naked chest and over his neck. It seemed every moment he spent with the Ex-FBI agent there were times that he could easily give into curiosity and temptation, the continuity of these moments where starting to frustrate Carter a little too regularly now. Turning his attention back to Norman, Carter spoke once again, keeping his voice at the quiet tone they had accidentally created, making the room seem smaller as the moment turned into something more intimate.

"You can't honestly say you haven't changed, you never went so far for my company as you do now."

"Well that's only because now I'm not in fear of you latching onto my neck at any given moment."

As soon as the words slipped from Normans mouth his heart sped up a pace, 'oh god, did that sound gay? Oh shit what if he, if he, if he-' Norman was saved from his thoughts as Carter replied. Only a few seconds had passed but that was too big a pause for Normans nerves.

"You never know, I could just jump you one day" Carter smirked at Norman then quickly looked away, 'oh fuck, did that sound gay? It fucking did!'

The room quickly fell into a awkward silence as both men fretted over what they had just said, neither taking much notice of what the other had accidentally insinuated.

After a few minutes and a stitch later Norman cleared his throat, "Last stitch."

Carter turned to watch Norman as he threaded the needle once more and pushed it through the skin, his other hand carefully gripping skin on either side of the tear making it easier for the needle to go through. All Carter wanted to do was watch Norman silently but his thoughts wouldn't let him be, he felt nagged to say something, worried the silence would turn awkward suddenly. Beating down his impulse to speak Carter indulged himself by studying Norman completely, from his soft brunette locks, his messy dark eyebrows and down his pale white neck straight to his worn brown leather shoes. Norman had a good lean build, he had lost some weight – much to Carters disappointment, 'kid needs to eat more...maybe I should take him somewhere, make sure he eats a decent meal.'

Norman was about as tall as Carter, not something that Carter cared too much about, he was never a tall kid, he didn't need height to intimidate or dominate, he had the build and skills to do that. Though he couldn't say that if Norman was shorter then him that he wouldn't have gotten a thrill from it, the fact that he had a thicker build then the Ex-Agent was something that always crossed his mind, however his thoughts on that had changed considerably since he first met him; they had gone from; 'I could probably throw him a couple of metres' to 'he would fit against me nicely and I could probably keep him there too.' These were thoughts Carter did not like to dwell upon.

"Ok...there!" Norman punctuated the last word with a quick pull of the thread, knotting it close to the skin. Carter turned his head to check Normans handy work on his bullet wound and what he found made his eyebrows raise in surprise, he really didn't know what to expect, but his expectations must have been low because the tight knots holding the wound together were neat and precise. The wound it self looked – and now felt – raw, sore, bloody and slightly bruised. 'Shit, I suppose he did take my mind off the pain.'

Carter carefully rolled his shoulder then slid off the small bed and walked over to the small mirror above the sink. As he studied his wound in the mirror he caught Normans reflection and grinned back at him, "Good job Washington, I might keep you around yet." Norman smiled briefly and slid off the bed and out of Carters reflected view, turning his head to see what Norman was doing – which was only looking at the high shelves – Carter made quick work of washing his wound of drying blood and clicked his tongue as he noted his once white singlet had turned crimson brown near his wound, 'fuck it I'll change it soon.'

Deciding to leave his singlet on Carter walked only a few steps up to the bed and picked up the two ice-packs Norman had forgotten.

Norman turned his attention to behind him as he felt Carter walk up to him; a little too close. As he turned around Carter reached out and skimmed his fingers across his cheek bone – right on the bruise. Norman quickly fought down the urge to flinch away from the pain and the fluttering embarrassment. Carters fingers slowly drifted across his cheek, far from a medical curiosity now, Normans heart started thudding in his chest as the slow moment became far more intimate as Carters fingers slid from his cheek up to his ear then ever so slowly ghosted down his neck. He could feel his skin shiver in wake of Carters gentle touch. The other man never made eye contact with Norman, his blue eyes locked onto the trail his fingers took.

Even when Norman saw Carters fingers curl away and retreat to the other mans side, he still felt as if Carter had a hold of him. The shivers from his cheek to his neck turned hot and Norman became suddenly self concious.

The moment had left them as Carter turned back towards the sink next to the small sick bed, but the feeling of that moment hung heavy in the air, neither could escape the heat that had formed between them just now.

Norman only had to walk a few steps over to Carter and tug softly at the ice-pack in his hand, Carter let it slip out of his fingers easily, still avoiding looking at him.

Norman quickly pressed the ice-pack to his bruised and shivering cheek and sat on the bed, looking away from Carter, but he couldn't help himself from looking back towards Carter every few seconds; who was currently hunched over the small sink, arms braced on either side of the small white bowl. From his position Norman could see Carter hanging his head somewhat, his shoulders looked far bigger as they bunched together with something akin to strain, the muscle leading from his shoulders packed tightly together coming to his biceps that were slightly tensed. The main vein on the underneath of his forearm bulged and Norman noticed Carters large hand gripped his other ice-pack tightly.

Carter seemed to snapped out of what ever was occupying his thoughts and he straightened up and turned towards Norman who was just sitting on the bed; ice-pack pressed against his cheek looking dumbly at Carter - having been caught staring at him.

Carter came to stand by Norman, feeling unsure if he should sit or stand, at Normans nervous shift – as if he was about to stand- Carter quickly sat next to Norman, sitting as close as they were before.

Carter tried to keep his in face in line, keeping the slight frown on as he looked over Normans expecting face. Nothing had been said between the two in quite some time, Carter hoped the consuming awkwardness could be extinguished if one of them were to speak, not that he really wanted to break the silence, but he did anyway.

"It's not looking too bad now-" Carter mentioned to the bruise on Normans face "-If you keep that up it should clear up in the next few days."

Carter was hoping Norman would say something, anything, but all he did was nod his head, look Carter in the eye and lick his bruised lip. That was all it took for Carter to be dragged back into the moment with Norman, his sole attention was on the other mans lips. The tongue that had slide over them had brought the colour out, the slight gloss of his saliva caused the fluorescent light to dimly reflect off them and that was all it took. Before he knew it Carter was leaning forward towards Norman, eyes still focused on his mouth; it widened slightly in surprise before Normans mouth was captured and pressed against Carters. Their heart beats sped up simultaneously as Carter pressed closer to Norman. Carters beard scratched across Normans upper lip and chin, his eyes still wide with surprise – a complete opposite to Carters relaxed and closed lids as his lips moved against Normans. It was when Norman felt Carters thick tongue press against his bottom lip that Norman pulled away with a flinch and winced, his fingers shot up to his bruised lip and pressed softly against it.

Norman didn't see Carters expression as he quickly turned away from Norman and stood up, but before Norman could even think of what he was doing his hand shot out and grabbed Carter by the forearm, stopping him from going any further. "Carter"

Carter only slightly turned his head towards Norman, only enough so that he could see him from the corner of his eye. Putting down the ice pack Norman hopped up off the bed to stand next to Carter – still holding onto his arm, worried he would turn tail and run at any moment – his expression Norman found hard to place, Carter almost looked ashamed, that couldn't be right. But this situation couldn't be right either, Carter had just kissed him. Not that Norman was complaining, quite the opposite actually; his heart was beating loudly, his lips tingled -making him want to wet them again- his head was a jumble of thoughts and feelings but only one topped them all – Elation. Norman was barely keeping a smile off his face, 'wait...why am I trying not to smile?'

At the tug of Carters arm Norman let his unsure smile cover his face. Now standing directly in front of Carter Norman decided it was best to act now, before Carter really did leave. 'oh shit oh shit, what do I do, he's a guy, how should I -ah fuck it'

Spurred on by the elation he felt when Carter kissed him and not his confused thoughts Norman leaned towards Carter, he pressed their chests together as his hands slid up Carters arms to his neck, careful of his bullet wound.

"Just not my cut lip" Norman mumbled in embarrassment as his un-bruised cheek brushed against Carters stubble, his breath hot against Carter as it rolled past the other mans ear.

There was a rush of hot air as Carter let out a breath against Norman that he didn't even know he was holding. His hands held Normans hips firmly as he bend his head to sink into Normans inviting neck, his scent was dizzying and the sensation liberating. Weeks full of thoughts and feelings he tried to shut down sprang free as his hands slid up Normans sides, gripping tighter, fingers spreading wider, just to make sure Norman was there, 'I finally have you'

A/N Author is a procrastinator who has a terrible memory and is super lame. Characters are OOC because that's how i roll.
I will be surprised if people are still reading this because i failed at updating :/ RL has been too busy and lame.