Disclaimer: I do NOT own FAKE

Berkeley tapped on the thick glass that served as the only window in his small room. He hated being here. What would he have to do to prove to them that he was all better? Sure, it still hurt but it wasn't unbearable. He needed to get back to work. Berkeley closed his eyes and released a breath he didn't realize he had even been holding. "Shit…" The blonde thought inwardly to himself, a feeling of dread washing over him as he stood up and ran a shaky hand over his face. Would he be able to return to work as the twenty-seventh's Commissioner? He prayed to God that no one decided to knock him down a position or two or worse … remove him completely. Hopefully they would give him a chance to prove his capabilities even with his new handicap. Berkeley cringed. He hated that word. It never used to bother him until he started having to use it to describe his situation. In his colleagues' eyes, he was no longer Commissioner Berkeley Rose. He was now That One Handicapped Commissioner. Of course, no one ever addressed him as that aloud. However, they didn't have to. He could see it in their eyes and the slightly awkward way they stood as they shuffled their feet and shifted their unsteady gazes to his biggest injury. It was annoying. It ticked him off. Dee ticked him off. Everything went to shit over the course a few weeks because that stupid fool couldn't bear to not be impulsive before rushing into a quickly collapsing building to save Detective Parker's ass from death. Berkeley pressed his forehead against the glass, savoring the coolness of it as he watched the greenery of a few sparse trees and the hustle and bustle of the hospital's expansive parking lot. He briefly wondered how well he'd be able to handle driving and doing other simple tasks that he never had to think twice about before. A soft string of knocks on the door pulled Berkeley away from his musings. Slowly, he turned around. He didn't want to tell them to come in because he didn't want any company. Still, he knew that whoever it was would probably barge in uninvited whether he gave them to go ahead or not so he slipped on a pair of black ankle socks –albeit awkwardly- and tried his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his tank top. Patient or not, he simply refused to look anything less than at least a little bit presentable.

"May I come in?" Asked a familiar voice from behind the door which Berkeley quickly recognized as belonging to no one other than Dee himself.

Berkeley took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he relaxed the taught muscles in his upper body. He wanted to say no. He should have said no but instead he found himself saying yes and as soon as the words left his mouth he wanted to snatch them back but of course that was impossible.

The door opened to reveal a tall, olive skinned detective wearing a loose t-shirt and dark denim jeans with his hands behind his back.

"Ryo always insisted in buying stuff like this when visiting people we knew at hospitals." Dee stated suddenly and revealed the small arrangement of flowers from behind his back. He looked embarrassed to be holding them. "I wouldn't have bought them for a bastard like you but I think Ryo managed to rub off on me some before we broke up." He said, giving a bitter laugh while he gently placed the bouquet on a nightstand near Berkeley's bed. "So don't think this means anything."

The blonde scoffed. "Well at least someone was able to influence you. Now you're only an impolite asshole ninety percent of the time."

"Whatever" Dee said in irritation and rolled his shocking green orbs towards the ceiling before letting them drop back down to the floor.

For what seemed like hours the two of them stayed in the thickening silence and for once Berkeley wanted to start up a more positive conversation with the detective if only to rid away the awkward atmosphere. He hadn't showed it but he was genuinely surprised to see Dee here. The male hated his guts from day one and unsurprisingly hated Berkeley even more when Ryo decided to 'take a break' -as the more soft spoken detective put it- so he could 'figure some things out'. Figure what out exactly? Berkeley wasn't sure but Dee was more than convinced for some stupid reason that Berkeley had somehow influenced Ryo's decision which wasn't true. That much should have been obvious since Ryo wasn't in a relationship with either of them at the moment. But getting Dee to change his line of thinking about something was like trying to get a house to move of your way - nearly impossible without going through a bunch of extra aggravating and time consuming steps.

"So how is it?"

Berkeley looked over his shoulder from the window and locked eyes with Dee before shrugging and subconsciously traced the gauze pads and bandages with his index finger. He hated answering that question but by now it was something he had gotten used to.

"Its fine, Laytner."

"How long did they say it would be until you can take them off?"

"The doctors have informed me that it should be about another month approximately."

"Oh."

And again there it was. The silence. That awkward, heavy silence. Suddenly, Dee sighed and made his over to Berkeley.

Berkeley smirked and was about to say something rude to the tall male striding over to him until a calloused hand gently gripped his shoulder to spin him around. What he saw was rather shocking to say the least. He would have never expected Dee to ever use that expression towards him. After all, they hated each other.

"Can I see?" Dee asked - his tone soft and unnervingly unsure for once.

The blonde stared with wide eyes and for a moment it felt like the room was getting a little too small for his liking. So far Dee was the first person to request such a thing and he didn't like it but before he could voice a response, Dee was already at work; attentively placing his fingers on the bandaged wound. Over the last two and a half weeks he had his injury examined, poked, prodded and the dressings changed more times than he cared to remember by the doctors and nurses since he had been in the hospital. But there was something about the way Dee touched him that made it feel so much different. Perhaps it was the way his fingertips brushed around the wound, digits lightly, just barely touching the bandages. Maybe it was the way Dee's eyes zoned in on his arm with a hint of what seemed like … guilt and concern maybe … in those penetrating orbs he normally hated staring into. Berkeley swallowed a lump in his throat as Dee continued with his tender ministrations.

"Sorry for gettin' you hurt out there."

"You owe me."

"Well, you didn't have to run in after me."

"I wouldn't be a very good commissioner if I did that now would I?" Berkeley shot back but there wasn't any force behind his voice. "I may dislike you but that doesn't mean I want to see any of my detectives hurt." The blonde smirked, feeling his normal self slip back into place and leaned into the detective's ear. "However, you're going to make it up to me by being my own personal office bitch between cases until further notice."

Dee jerked his head back and growled, snatching his hand away. "Jeez, even with a missing arm you're still a dick."

Berkeley stared at the stump ending two inches below his elbow. A month ago if someone had tried to tell him that he would lose his arm due to an infection from a wound after saving one of his detectives, he more than likely would have told them they were insane. But there he was with just that.

"You look different without your haired all styled and with those glasses off." Dee commented and Berkeley noticed the male jiggle his car keys as a sign that he was getting ready to leave.

Was that supposed to be an insult or a compliment? Berkeley wasn't sure.

"You should wear that look more often."

The blonde haired commissioner tried to hide a faint blush and frowned as he half heartedly pushed the younger man across the room and out the door with his lone hand. "Shut-up Laytner. Get to the precinct."

Dee just laughed as he let himself be forced out of the male's hospital room and before the door could slam in his face, the caught the handle with his hand. His gaze grew serious and the smirk that had once donned his face gradually faded. "Hey commish" Dee said and just barely closed the gap between them.

Berkeley sharply inhaled and pretended to tug at his already loose v-neck collar when really he was trying to steady his slowly climbing heartbeat. Dee was never able to make him feel like this before. He must have been catching a bug or something. "What is it?" He asked, still feeling his pounding heart. His ears grew hot.

"See you at work."

With that, Dee walked off leaving Berkeley alone to deal with his thoughts and feelings for the rest of that day.

"Yeah" Berkeley thought to himself as he replayed today's events in his head. "See you at work Laytner."

OWARI (?)

A/N: I'm thinking about continuing this story so even though I labeled it as 'complete' I may just add some updates. What do you guys think? This was hard to write. I've only written one story for FAKE before (JJDrake oneshot) and that was a disaster so I hope this was better. Berkeley and Dee are actually really fun to write with.