I walked into the office and Alana was sitting at the desk, crying hysterically. Her chest was heaving and tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. I was totally confused as to why she was having such a disproportionate reaction to walking in on Ellen and I. Yeah she had caught us post-coitus, in the lounge area of the station, but this was excessive. I had never known Alana to be extremely emotional, quite the opposite, she was very stoic and barely cracked a smile, normally. However, she was no prude, either. Her and I knew more about each other than our spouses did. She knew I was getting a divorce before my bitch of an ex-wife did. I also knew about her problems at home and her extramarital calisthenics.
I stood there and looked at her and cleared my throat. She looked back at me and I could see her shoulders still shaking. "What the hell is wrong, Alana?"
She got herself under control. She answered with a question "Are you telling me, you really don't know?"
"Know what?" I asked.
"How could you be with that ...person? Don't you know what she is?"
I was getting angrier as we spoke, "Yeah, she is the woman that I am with and a fellow officer on this job."
"Well I hope you are at least using protection." Alana retorted. "Considering her history."
"What the hell does that mean?" I asked.
Alana shook her head at me. "John, she has 2 kids with 2 other Lieutenants. She has a history of screwing married guys and then calling their wives while they were still laying next to them."
"That's just rumors." I said.
"Really?" She sniped back. "How the fuck do you think I found out Jimmy was screwing around, huh?" "He was dumb enough to bang her and when she called me, she handed the phone to him." "She's a snake, John."
Alana started crying again. I pulled a chair up next to her and put my arms around her. I held her and let her cry on my shoulder until she was cried out.
"I had no idea, hon. You never told me."
"I hadn't told anyone but my attorney, till now." She said "Johnny, you can't say anything. I couldn't deal with the humiliation."
"But that still doesn't explain your reaction." I replied. "If you were angry with me because it is her, in particular or because we were screwing in the lounge, I could understand." "But what's with this reaction?"
She stared at me for a few seconds. It seemed she was mulling over something. Finally she spoke.
"Johnny, I've been in love with you since we were partnered up." She blurted out. "I thought you had figured it out."
"I love you too, Alana." I answered. "It's just that I never thought of you like that." "You are my partner, but I can see how seeing me with her would upset you."
"Wow" she said. That's got to be a first, a woman put in the friend zone by a guy."
"Look, it's not that I wouldn't love a romantic relationship with you. I would be ecstatic." "But I am with Ellen. Regardless of her history, I really care about her and want to give this an honest attempt." "If it doesn't work out, who knows?"
Alana nodded her understanding. "I don't have to like it, John, but it is your life. Just be careful."
I heard the backdoor of the station open and looked at my watch. I didn't realize it was that late. The day shift was coming in. I kissed Alana on the forehead and told her I would see her later. Suddenly I remembered that I drove Ellen to work and had to go pick her up.
I gave my report to the oncoming Officers and headed out the door. I jumped in my truck and headed to Ellen's station.
I pulled up in time to see her coming out of the door, followed closely by another Lieutenant. I recognized him immediately. Tall, balding and looking like Shrek, it was Lieutenant Richards. I parked and got out in time to hear Ellen yell at him, "I told you, leave me alone. I'm not interested in your fucking timeshare." "This is the last time I'm telling you, next time, I put pen to paper."
I walked over to where she was standing, yelling at him. I lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw me there and he growled "What do you want?"
"I want you to leave her alone." "If not, a sexual harassment complaint will be the least of your worries."
"Is that supposed to be a threat?"
"No Richards, that's not a threat." "Threats are never intended to be carried out. I would consider it to be more of a promise."
"What, you think you're tough enough to take me on?"
"See, that's where you go wrong. I don't have to be."
He looked at me, questioning.
"I just have to know someone or a couple of someones who are. You remember where I worked most of my career? Lots of large guys still live in that neighborhood, with broken noses and they remember who used to patch them up when shit went sideways for them and, trust me, they return favors."