So here is my 2nd Body of Proof fic... please let me know what you think...
As always, I own nothing and it's unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine! Let me know if you see a lot of them so I can correct/edit this!
Also...do you know what the title is from?
Love Makes Ya Do Tha Crazy
Megan sighed as she rubbed her right hand, attempting to bring some form of feeling back into it. It had gone numb again from all the writing she had done over the last hour.
Her and Peter were finishing up paperwork on a particularly brutal case of a woman who had been stabbed seventeen times by her boss. It turned out that her boss had actually been her lover and when Mia had gotten pregnant with his child, he freaked out and killed her. He had been scared of losing both his wife and his position at the advertising office where they worked. He thought turning to murder was his only way to keep his life the way it was. Unfortunately for him, his choice of action had ultimately led to his losing his wife, his job, and his freedom as he was facing 20 to life in an upstate correctional facility.
Such a waste, Megan thought as she shuffled the autopsy photos back into the file on her desk. The sound of the cell phone Peter had left on her desk brought her attention away from the dark eyes of the beautiful woman they had just gotten justice for. Her partner had left to refill their coffee cups as it was going to be a long night of paperwork, leaving his phone behind.
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Megan reached over and grabbed the device. He had been on the phone earlier in the day, laughing and talking to someone in private and Megan had wondered if the person calling now was the same person that had put a smile on his face despite the case they were processing.
A tug in Megan's gut made her frown as she saw the name flashing on the screen before her. Victoria, Megan read the name with trepidation. Her mind immediately ran the gamut of possible matches to the name but she came back blank. As far as she could remember, Peter had never mentioned a Victoria. Although that really didn't mean anything as she couldn't remember him really mentioning anyone.
She wasn't quite sure why she cared. She knew Peter was attractive and they seemed to have some sort of connection in his uncanny ability to read her actions but nothing had ever come of it. Over the past year and a half that they had been working together, he had never indicated he was interested in her in anyway besides professionally and even if he had, she did not reciprocate those feelings; did she? That questioned swirled around in her head for a moment.
So he had never specifically mentioned a girlfriend but did that mean he didn't have one? Maybe she had missed the clues that were right in front of her. An attractive and intelligent man such as himself had to have some type of companionship once he left the office. But why hadn't he mentioned it before?
Megan realized the ringing had stopped and sat the phone back across her desk just as the object of her thoughts walked back through her doorway, two steaming cups of coffee in hand.
Peter immediately noticed that Megan looked different from when he had left her just moments before. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, um… just my hand." Megan gave him a meek smile and began massaging her hand again although it wasn't the only thing she seemed to not be able to feel. Her mind was spinning around her thoughts and going into directions she wasn't entirely sure she liked. Peter was her partner. They worked together. There was no reason for her to be jealous of a simple phone call, regardless of who it was on the other end of the line.
Peter began to speak but was cut off by his phone beginning to ring again. He sat the coffee cups on her desk and checked the caller ID. A smile appeared on his face, "I have to get this. Gimme a minute will ya?"
Megan nodded as Peter opened his phone and stepped outside of her office. Just has he was walking away, Megan heard Peter answer his phone "Hey Vicky."
Megan vaguely thought that the woman must be annoying to call back a second time so soon but turned to her work to get her mind off the entire situation. Peter would come back in soon and they could continue their paperwork. This would give her an opening to try and figure out who this Victoria was.
Not two minutes later, Peter came back into her office. His eyes were bright and he looked happy, no longer concerned for her as he had been moments before. "Look, why don't we call this a night? It's getting late and I need to get going." He looked at his watch before he continued, "we've been working for twelve straight. This can all be finished in the morning." He hastily swept his pile of papers as well as the ones in front of Megan into the file folder, mixing them in with the pictures Megan had just sorted.
Normally Megan would have been upset that he had messed everything up but truth was she was tired and she could tell he was now in a hurry to leave. No doubt to see Victoria, Megan thought with anguish. Maybe going home was a good idea as the job was obviously starting to mess with her head.
Megan gathered her belongings as Peter practically pushed her out of the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office. As the pair walked through the parking garage towards their intended vehicles, Peter stopped Megan. "Are you sure you are okay?" the concern he had had earlier seemed to finally come back and Megan was relieved. Maybe he just wanted her to go home to get some sleep. They had both had a hard day.
Megan smiled, "yes, I'm fine. Nothing a hot bath and a glass of wine can't fix."
Peter looked at her for a moment before nodding and turning to lead her to her car. He had driven her back to the crime seen earlier in the day and he had specifically parked next to her to make sure she made it to her car safe and sound, figuring they would leave long after sunset. He was pleasantly surprised that it was still daylight out. Had he not received that call though, he was sure they would have worked at least another three or four hours.
Megan Hunt was definitely not one to slack. He had come to expect that which was why he was still kind of concerned. Not sure why he had been allowed to make her leave the office at such an early hour. He didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth though and was glad that it was still daylight out.
His thoughts shifted from the woman beside him to the woman in front of him as they rounded to corner to where their cars were parked. Megan noticed the reaction and turned her head in time to see a short brunette fly across the few feet separating them and launch herself into Peter's arms.
"Pete!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Peter laughed and pulled the woman up to give her a warm hug. "What are you doing here Vic? I told you I would meet you at my place."
Megan caught a brief glimpse of the girl as Peter sat her down. Her dark hair fell to the middle of her back. Her high cheek bones and rounded eyes gave her a beautiful exotic princess look. It was obvious to Megan that the two could not be related as they were opposites in about every physical way imaginable but she also saw a closeness between them as they began to talk.
Megan realized that she had slowly been backing away from the couple when the bumper of her car came into contact with legs. She turned then, not wanting to see any more and got into her car.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly backed out of her parking spot. It was then that she noticed Peter had walked over to her car as he tapped on her window. Megan plastered a big smile on her face and rolled it down.
"Hey, I wanted you to meet Victoria." Peter gestured to the woman standing just behind him.
"It's lovely to meet you Victoria." Megan had never felt so fake in her life. She turned back to Peter "but I really must be going. I just remembered that I have to pick up Lacey from her riding class and I'm already late."
Peter knew that was an excuse. Lacey only had riding classes on Saturdays and an occasional Tuesday afternoon but he didn't have time to question it as Megan had already rolled the window up and started forward out of the garage.
"Well." He turned to smile at Victoria, "that was Dr. Hunt." He shrugged and walked towards his car. He would figure out what was going on with her tomorrow. For right now, he wanted to spend some time with Vicky.
Megan felt like an utter fool. She had practically run away from Peter, something she wasn't accustomed to doing in any situation. The thought that he had a girlfriend that he failed to mention was too much for her to take at the moment. She fought the tears until she made it home. Once there, she ran a hot bubble bath, got a glass of red wine, and settled in for a night of being alone once again.
She thought about what her ex-husband had said over a year ago: she really was a nun. While she was sure she could find a suitable partner for fulfilling her biological needs, she hadn't wanted to. At first she was dealing with the divorce and keeping her practice. Then she had the accident and after killing that woman on the operating table, she had concentrated on finding another way to be a doctor. Telling the stories of the dead had then consumed her life. She hadn't really even thought about finding someone to come home to. She had been content with her life the way it was.
It wasn't until she had seen Peter with another woman tonight though that she had realized why she hadn't felt the need to be with someone. She was in love with him. Letting that realization sink in, she signed and took a heavy pull from the glass in her hand. One lone tear breached her waterlogged eyes and slid down her cheek to disappear in the bubbles that surrounded her. She was alone and the one person besides Lacey and her mother that she had truly come to care for was lost to her. She realized what was there just too late once again. She hoped she wasn't creating an unbreakable pattern.
While he had tried to keep his mind in the present, the fact that something was off with Megan was plaguing him. "Pete? You obviously are not here with me. What's going on?" Vicky asked as she found Peter falling out of the conversation for the third time that evening. "You are worried about Dr. Hunt aren't you?"
"I just don't get what was going on with her tonight. She was acting weird. I usually get what is going on but I'm not sure what could have caused her to act like that. And Lacey, her daughter, doesn't have riding classes on Thursday so there is no way she had to go pick her up."
"You know her daughter's riding schedule?" Vicky asked, perplexed that he had taken such an interest in his boss. She wasn't quite surprised though; this was one of the reasons she had come to visit.
"Well yeah, we have to go pick her up sometimes and it's usually easier if I'm there with Megan so she doesn't get all clingy and push Lacey away, or that's how it started at least. Now I just go along for the ride. She's a good kid though and they have gotten so much closer of the past year."
"And you say she was acting weird tonight?" Peter nodded. "Does she know who I am?"
"I didn't really get a chance to introduce you. What would that matter though?"
Victoria laughed, "I thought you knew so much when it came to women. But obviously that's not when it comes to the women right in front of you." Peter still looked confused.
"She's in love with you, you idiot! And she thinks I'm your girlfriend."
Everything seemed to click in place all at once and Peter understood. "She was jealous."
Victoria laughed and threw her hands up in the air; mindless of the crowd of people in the pizzeria surrounding them, "he finally gets it! Yeah, she was jealous. Now what are you going to do about it?"
Peter hadn't come up with a plan because he didn't think he would need it. He would just force her to listen to him. They were alone a good chunk of the day normally so he would corner her when they were riding to a crime scene or he could block the door when she was in her office.
Or at least that was what he had hoped to do. They had gotten called in to a crime scene around six the next morning. He had called to see if she needed a ride but Megan had already been at the location. He wasn't quite sure how she had gotten there that quickly but he had thought it best not to ask.
From an untrained eye, she looked impeccable. Her hair was perfectly curled and her makeup looked as though a Hollywood makeup artist had visited her home that morning. Peter thought the suit she wore was new as the grey pen stripes somehow made her legs look even longer than normal. The red peep toe stilettos were a perfect match to the red button down that hugged her torso and seemed to set her usually redish hair on fire.
He could see it though. He could see how her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of him. He could tell she had had one too many glasses of wine the night before as her darker than normal eye shadow worked magic in hiding the dark circles kissing her eyes. Anyone else would have assumed it was just part of the look she was going for but not him. He could tell that she hadn't slept well and the costume that she wore was just that; a costume so no one would notice the little imperfections. He loved that he saw them though because even though she might be able to hide them from the world, he knew she couldn't hide them from him.
He did wonder how he could have overlooked the fact that she was in love with him though. He had known for a while that he was in love with her but no matter how many times he looked for some sign from her that she felt the same way, he never saw it. He figured that that was because there hadn't been any signs. This led him to his own realization: if he knew Megan, and he was fairly sure he did, he'd venture to say that there were no signs because she hadn't let any slip. And the only way that was possible was if she hadn't realized her feelings until last night.
Realizing that, he decided to hold off on the confrontation. He was scared she hadn't come to terms with her feelings and wouldn't want to act on them yet. Taking his own advice, he smiled politely at her and did his job. He would confront her when the time was right.
Megan somehow seemed to stay one step ahead of him for the rest of the day. He was kind of relieved that they hadn't gotten a chance to be alone and truth be told he had been avoiding her as well, opting to ride along with Sam and Bud instead of hand around the lab. He still felt like he should at least explain who Victoria was to clear the air but wasn't sure how to breach the subject.
Once he arrived back at the morgue, Curtis cornered him in the lab "look, I don't know what ya did. And I don't care. Just fix it cuz she's drivin' me crazy."
"Why do you think it was me?" Peter asked, obviously already knowing what they were referring to.
"Because anytime her mood is all crazy it's because of you or her daughter and she hasn't said a word about her daughter so that leaves you. Plus you haven't been here at all today and you are normally following her around like a puppy." Curtis replied, "jus' fix it."
Peter looked at Ethan who was nodding beside the assistance chief medical examiner. "She's in her office." He supplied and patted the man on the arm, "good luck." The two men then turned to go back to the myriad of tests Megan had requested be done on their latest victim.
Peter groaned. It's now or never.
He knocked on the glass door as he stepped just inside her office. "Busy?"
Megan swiveled her chair around to face him. "Yes, we are at a standstill at the moment on the Tanner case so I'm finishing up the paperwork from yesterday."
Peter nodded, they had been called out on the new case this morning so neither had had time to finish the paperwork he had assured her would get done this morning. "Sorry about that. I'll help." He walked towards her desk and pulled up the chair. Sorting through the papers she had already completed. "Looks like most of it is done."
Megan gave him her go to hell smile. "Yes, I've been trying to finish it before I start the stuff from today. I should have stayed to complete it yesterday."
"About that…" Peter began, not sure how to approach the topic. "I'm sorry, I don't get to see Victoria that often. I wish you would have met her."
"She seemed nice. I really am about done here. I'll go check on those tests Curtis is running for me."
Peter laughed to himself as Megan stood to leave the room. She had never been that adept at changing the subject. "Megan." He stood to go after her, blocking her from leaving the room.
"What are you doing? I need to check on those results."
"They don't have them yet, I just spoke with Curtis." He took a step closer to her and encased his hand around her wrist just in case she decided to make a run for it again. He never thought Megan would run away from something but after she disappeared last night, he didn't want to take the chance. "Megan" his voice was low and intimate as he attempted to look into her eyes.
"Well then, I need to check on the body again. I think I noticed post mortem bruising starting to develop on her lower abdomen. If you don't mind." She nodded towards where he still held on to her wrist.
"Megan." He whispered again, this time getting her to look at him. "She's my sister."
"What? Who?" Megan gulped as he heart picked up speed. He had somehow captured her attention and she was unable to look away from the endless depths of his eyes.
"Victoria is my sister."
The name Victoria brought her out of her daze. "But how is that possible? The two of you are obviously not related to each other biologically." Megan didn't want to believe that what he could be saying was the truth. She had seen the two of them beside each other. She was a doctor and knew that there was no way they had the same parentage. "Her bone structure is clearly….."
Peter recognized the signs of Megan getting ready to go off into a long explanation of how he couldn't possibly be related to his sister. Deciding to stop it before it even began, Peter took the proximity of their bodies to his advantage and leaned down to cover her mouth with his; abruptly stopping her scientific babble.
While the kiss did not last long, it was thorough and definitely not appropriate for the environment they were in yet somehow he didn't care.
Megan shook her head to bring her thoughts back to her. She had been thinking about something but wasn't quite sure what it was. "hum?" she asked, thinking Peter must have been the one talking because for the life of her she had no clue what they had been discussing.
Peter slid his hand from around her wrist down to clasp her hand in his. Giving it a squeeze, he began to explain the situation; glad that kissing her had shut her up. He would definitely have to remember that in the future.
"I told you before, I grew up in a foster home. It was me and my three sisters. While none of us are actually biologically related, they are my sisters in every other sense of the term. Charlotte, is 6''4' and has curly red hair with bright green eyes. Stacy is about 2 inches shorter than me and has black hair and blue eyes and you saw Victoria yesterday."
"She isn't your girlfriend?" Megan asked, hopeful but wanting to make sure she completely understood the situation.
Peter grimaced, "god no, that'd be wrong on so many levels. Plus, don't you think I'd mention it if I had a girlfriend?"
"I don't read people well. I assumed I just missed it."
"You usually have me pretty spot on." He reassured her with a smile. "So, you were jealous huh?" His smile morphing into a smirk that brought Megan back to herself.
"I wasn't jealous. I didn't feel well last night, like I already told you."
"It's okay, you can tell me the truth." He laughed and wiggled his eyes at her.
She hit him over the head with the file that was still in her right hand. "I really have to go check the body."
"Okay. But we will finish discussing this tonight, over drinks?" Peter asked, hopeful she'd accept his invitation.
Megan released his hand and walked towards the door, "only if we catch the killer." She gave him a smirk of her own and headed off to look over the body again. Now that her mind was on her job instead of her partner, she figured her fresh eyes were sure to reveal something she had missed the first time around.
So? Did ya like it? I had to write more Meter! There just aren't enough fics out there to get my fic fix yet! I hope y'all will write more as well!