[b]March 18th, 1997[/b]

[hr]
"Davin!"

"Dr. Davenport?"

"I thought I told you not to let Wilden in?"

"I didn't. He must have walked past when I went to the boy's room."

Nicole sighed, shaking her head. "Goddammit! Can't even catch a break here at work."

"Nicole..." Davin stood up, walking around the front desk to stand beside the woman. "Is the situation that bad? I mean, do you need help dealing with that guy?"

She looked up at him, her arms crossed in front of her and a slightly helpless look on her face. "What am I, or what are we supposed to do? He's a cop, and you know how work politics goes; they'll just tell me to get over myself. They'll tell me that he's a good guy, and a cop nonetheless, with no record. That either I'm exaggerating or I'm extremely bitter because we were dating and he dumped me, so now I'm coming after his job. Or maybe I've been spending too much time in here with all these bodies...it's all fucking--"

"Hey, calm down!" Davin interrupted the frantic woman, pulling her in for a hug. His voice was stern but only because she needed someone right that moment. He'd known her for a while, and even though the job brought some great deal of stress at times, he'd never seen her react as such.

Nicole remained still for a moment, slowing her breathing back to normal. "Thank you, Davin," she whispered, pulling back to look up at him. "You're one of the good ones, you know that?"

"So I've been told," he chuckled with a quick wink, taking a step back to lean on the counter with his elbows.

"I think I'm going to step out for a minute," Nicole went on, taking a quick look outside through the glass. "I'm not gonna be long, just a few blocks away to grab something at the store. Page me the second that body comes in if I'm not already here, please."

"Of course. Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort."

Davin went back around the desk to his seat, and Nicole started heading to her office to grab her wallet and the keys to her car. She would welcome the fresh air for a bit; not that she had been in the office too long but it would do her good after her run-in with Wilden.