Over the Top (Forever)(One Shot)

[Shay]

This story was inspired by the last line of Wig_Powder's Good Samaritan fic, so this is all their fault.

It's a missing scene for episode 18 so there are some minor spoilers for that episode as well as for episode 16.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.

------

Jo looked up from her paperwork and saw Henry exit the elevator. She couldn't help smiling as he quickly made his way toward her desk. He had that excited, almost manic, look on his face that he'd get when he had some incredible revelation.

"Detective, I was hoping that we might go over..." Henry stopped walking a few feet from Jo's desk and frowned when he saw the large bouquet of red roses sitting there.

Jo followed Henry's gaze and sighed. "Isaac Monroe sent them. I know what you're thinking Henry, and I agree with you. This is really over the top for someone I just met."

"I didn't say anything of the sort," Henry protested.

"You didn't have to. The grimace on your face says it all."

"Detective, I think you might be misinterpreting..."

"Look it's ok," said Jo cutting him off. "I told you I agree with you. It's really too much and it makes me a bit uncomfortable to be honest."

"Jo I think that..." Henry trailed off. He inhaled sharply, and then sneezed loudly into the crook of his arm. "I think that we have very different reasons for objecting to the flowers," he said with a sniffle.

Jo's eyes widened in understanding. "Bless you. You're allergic to them aren't you?"

Henry nodded, then sneezed twice more into his arm, blinking watery eyes as he raised his head. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped both his nose and his eyes with it. "Indeed. It would probably be best if we moved this conversation to my office."

"Yeah, sure," said Jo and followed Henry to the elevator. Once they were inside, Henry rubbed his nose, gasped, and then sneezed explosively into his handkerchief. He let out a soft groan as he blew his nose. "I'm really sorry."

"Nonsense Jo. You have nothing to be sorry for," Henry replied with a warm smile. "You neither requested the flowers or had any knowledge of how I would react to them. Even if this wasn't the case, I can't expect the entire building to forgo romantic floral gifts on my account."

Jo shrugged. "I still feel bad that you're suffering."

"Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment."

Jo winced as Henry sneezed three more times in rapid succession. "Are you going to be ok?"

Henry blew his nose and nodded. "I should be fine in a few minutes. However, I do have some pills in my office that I can take if things don't settle down." He chuckled at Jo's raised eyebrow. "One never knows what substances will be on a body, and it's best to be prepared. Unfortunately, my nose is quite sensitive, and some scents prove to be rather overwhelming for me," Henry explained.

"Well I'm grateful for your sensitive nose," Jo replied with a wry grin. "Your keen sense of smell has helped solve a case on multiple occasions."

"This is very true," Henry said grinning back. The elevator arrived at the morgue and they disembarked. Henry sniffled and rubbed at his nose, trying not to sneeze again until they reached the relative privacy of his office. Walking briskly, it didn't take long for him and Jo to reach his office. He shut the door behind them and slid into the chair behind his desk, Jo taking one of the chairs on the opposite side. He quickly brought his handkerchief to his face just in time to catch two harsh sneezes.

"Bless you," said Jo giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks," Henry answered before blowing his nose. He cringed at the state of his handkerchief, knowing that he'd have to resort to tissues if his allergies didn't calm down soon.

"I know your sense of smell is good, but I doubt even you could still smell the flowers all the way down here," Jo teased.

Henry rolled his eyes. "It just takes a little while to get the reaction out of my system. I'll be alright. Though perhaps I should take an antihistamine now just in case." He pulled a small bottle from his desk drawer, shook out a couple of pills, and swallowed them dry before returning the bottle to the drawer.

"So I guess if we ever dated, I shouldn't expect flowers from you," Jo remarked jokingly.

Henry shook his head with a slight smirk. "I'm afraid not. While there are some varieties of flowers that don't affect me this way, entering a florist's shop can be a rather trying experience."

"Yeah I can imagine," Jo replied in a more serious tone.

"I would hope that you'd find chocolate to be a suitable substitute."

"I'd never say no to chocolate," said Jo with a wide grin. "It certainly tastes much better than flowers. In fact, we don't even have to be dating. Feel free to bring me chocolate any time."

Henry laughed. "I shall keep that in mind for the next time I anger you." Henry switched gears, and began to go over his new theories on the case with Jo, only interrupting himself a few times to sniffle or sneeze.

Jo nodded when Henry had finished. "Thanks. I'll definitely look into that."

"Before you go, might I give you a bit of advice?" Henry asked cautiously.

Jo narrowed her eyes, unsure if she actually wanted to hear what Henry had to say, but curiosity won out. "What is it?"

"Although Mr. Monroe's courtship methods are extremely forward, I still believe it might be worth it to give him a chance. You deserve someone special who will make you happy. Now Mr. Monroe may or may not be that man, but you will never know if you don't try."

"Thanks, I appreciate that Henry. Hanson agrees with you that I should go for it. I'm just not sure I'm ready," she said, unconsciously reaching for her necklace and fingering her wedding bands.

"Just go on one date. What's the worst that can happen? If you don't like him or feel uncomfortable, then you never have to see him again," Henry pointed out.

"You do have a point. I promise I'll think about it."

"Fair enough. I just want to see you happy Jo."

"Thanks Henry, you're a good friend. Well I'd better get going. I have some paperwork I need to get done in case I do decide to go on that date tonight. Sorry again about the flowers."

Henry waved off her apology. "Really Jo, stop worrying yourself over that. I'm mostly recovered from the incident at this point. Have a good time tonight."

Jo just shook her head and smiled as she left the office, wondering how he was so sure that she would opt to go on the date with Isaac.

Henry sighed as he watched Jo walk out of the morgue. He wasn't sure why he was so eager to push Jo into Isaac's arms when he knew that he cared for her more deeply than one typically does for a friend or colleague. Jo's joke about them dating had really hit a nerve. He knew that a part of him did desire that, and yet he was still so heartbroken over Abigail that he wasn't sure that he was ready to be in a relationship with anyone. He certainly hadn't been ready when he had tried dating Molly. He just knew that he wanted Jo to be happy, even if that meant being with someone other than him.

------

For the record, I really didn't like Isaac that much and did not want to see Jo with him, but Henry was so supportive of her dating him on the show, that I felt I had to write it that way.

[tenderwarrior]

Cute!

[AngelEyes]

This is Fantastic! You have their characters so spot on I read it in their voices. Perfection!

"Jo I think that..." Henry trailed off. He inhaled sharply, and then sneezed loudly into the crook of his arm. "I think that we have very different reasons for objecting to the flowers," he said with a sniffle.

Jo's eyes widened in understanding. "Bless you. You're allergic to them aren't you?"

My favorite part was her rambling on, justifying the situation, while he's all like No, Jo, No, Listen. Finally it sinks in and she just abrupt halts, Oh! I can totally hear her tone of voice. LOL

I love your stories.

[Shay]

@greetingsfromboston

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

@AngelEyes

Thanks so much for the glowing review. I do tend to hear the characters voices in my head when writing so I suppose that helps. So glad that you're enjoying my stories. I actually have quite a few non-fetish Forever stories posted outside this site. If you're interested at all you can PM me and I'll give you the address. If not that's cool. For a long time I wasn't interested in fanfiction except for fetish stories.

[Wig_Powder]

I don't know why, but the mental image of Henry sneezing into his elbow is really attractive to me right now. Maybe it's the desperation that it implies.

This is a great "Deleted scene"; I think it would slot into the episode perfectly. Well done!

[Shay]

Yes definitely desperation because the sneezes just came on a bit too suddenly for him to be able to get his handkerchief out in time. I mean he kind of knew what was coming, but he was trying to explain what the problem was to Jo and she was interrupting him, so he was more focused on that than getting his handkerchief out. I recall there was a lot of that too in my Erratic Sensitivities fic with him sneezing into his elbow or against the back of his arm or wrist just because the sneezes would come on too fast to be able to grab a handkerchief or tissues. I probably like to write that because I seem to have that problem myself, never having enough warning to grab a tissue even if the box is right next to me and I end up using my arm to cover up.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I'm glad that you enjoyed the story since it was the last line of your fic that put it into my head.