AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, so I was bored and decided to write a drabble!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Taggart.

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"Just leave me alone!"

"I'll leave you alone when you say those three words!" The voice taunted and she just rolled her eyes. There was no way he was going to persist in his latest game of annoying the hell out of her. She just rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird before continuing to search the abandoned building. "That's not a very ladylike gesture." She just didn't comment as she pulled her flashlight out of her and switched it on.

They'd had a tip off that this was going to be the scene of a drug heist. The two had been sent into secure the area because they knew no one was inside and then when they had analysed the whole building, they'd plant their own armed officers inside so that when the bust took place it would be done professionally. The boss didn't normally send her on jobs like this but her partner had asked for her company and the Boss hadn't argued. He tended no to. He preferred working with the third member of the team anyway.

"Why won't you just tell me?" He whispered into her ear causing her to jump because she hadn't expected him to be behind her and definitely not near enough for his warm breath to tickle her cool flesh. She felt goose bumps form as she turned her flashlight onto his eyes so that he'd be blinded. He immediately winced and attempted to cover his eyes.

"I won't tell you because you'll use it against me in every way possible." She hissed glaring at him. "You've never loved any woman in your life and you sure as hell aren't going to start now so just back the fuck off before I do something I regret." She threatened with fake bravado and she was surprised when hurt flashed over his face.

"God there was no need to be so brutal!" He commented as he started to walk away and she heard the hurt in his voice but stopped herself when he turned back around and winked, "You also didn't deny it there." She just growled and turned away from him.

"I hate you." She shouted and was annoyed when all she heard was his chuckle that made her go weak at the knees.

She kept telling herself that one day she should tell him that she loved him and that nothing else in the world would make her as happy as falling asleep in his arms would make her feel. She'd dreamt about it often and every night she fell asleep smiling. The nights of crying into her pillow after her divorce had long since ended and it was all thanks to the attraction she felt towards him. She knew his reputation. She knew he treated women like nothing more than sex toys but that never stopped her from loving him. There was something about him. It was probably the way he wrapped his arms around her after a hard case or the way his lips brushed against her temple when he was giving her a friendly kiss or when he smiled at her after she'd insulted him.

She decided she was going to tell him after this. He was practically forcing her to do it anyway!

That's when she heard a gunshot. It was quickly followed by another one. She heard running footprints and as she reached for her own weapon, she felt her heart racing as she started to say his name. Bad case scenarios were running through her mind as she crept back into the room where he'd headed. She saw him lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and another one just where his heart was. He lay in his puddle of blood as she took out her mobile and quickly called for an ambulance while holding her gun around her in case the assailant came back.

She knelt down next to him and took hold of his hand. "I love you. I swear to God I do." She whispered and smiled through her tears when his eyes flickered open. He tried to move his lips to say something but they trembled before his head moved slightly the side and she shook her head as the tears flowed, her head burrowing into his chest as she let her body shake with grief.

The hospital pronounced him D.O.A. They claimed there had been nothing they could do. She had just stared in horror at their words because that meant she'd never have been able to say the words to him and listen to him say them back. She'd never feel safe in his arms at night all because she said 'I love you' at the wrong time.

She should have been brave enough to tell him sooner.

The doctor tried to advise her not to go inside and see him but she'd refused his offer saying that she had something to tell him. The doctor stopped arguing and let her in because he could see she was never going to listen.

He looked so peaceful and they'd tried their best to make his forehead look in shape. She pressed a hand to his cooling cheek and felt tears welling in her eyes as she leant down to kiss him gently on his already blue lips. She whispered three words against his lips as she took hold of his hand and they echoed around the room as if he was responding.

"I love you."