Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not Law and Order, or Flawless. Brad Paisley helped give me the idea.


Ed turned a little too quickly around a corner. "Seriously baby," Cha-Cha began, letting go of the handle she'd grabbed in a panic, "you're going to give me a heart attack. You're not in a high speed chase, you're taking me to Rusty's. Slow down."

"It's more fun this way. Besides, you used to like it when I would speed through the city." He couldn't remember her complaining before. Usually she laughed and told him to go faster. Insist he turn the cherry on to avoid red lights. "What's up?"

"Nothin's 'up', I just don't want to go flying out the window." She knew she was whining, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't gotten much sleep the past night, her high heel snapped on the stairs, and she just wanted to complain.

Ed tapped his fingers on the wheel as he slowed for a light. "Still mad about your shoe, huh?" Girls and their accessories.

"It was one of my favorites," she said, not even sure if that was true. Mourning over any old pair would make her look more foolish than she already did.

"Really? It didn't look like one you wore a lot." Not that he could keep up with every single shoe she owned. He doubted even she could. But it hadn't looked that familiar.

"Well I only wore that pair on special occasions," Cha-Cha said. When Ed inquired why today was a special occasion she rolled her eyes and said she didn't know. It just was. He held his hands up in surrender, apologizing before the light turned green and he had to grip the wheel again.

The detective waited a moment before glancing back at her. "Is this only about the shoe this morning?" He understood she adored her heels, but this seemed a little extreme. "Are we okay?"

"'We'? Don't you mean 'Are you okay'?" She was being a brat. Sue her.

Ed blinked. Yeah, technically that's what he meant. But if she had a problem it usually was something that would effect him. Especially now since it was making her snap at him. "I said 'we' because I'm getting the feeling I did something."

"I'm upset so it must be your fault? You assume you have that much influence over my moo-"

"Hey! Stop it!" Ed braked a little too hard for the current light. Cha-Cha bounced in her seat, pushing against the seatbelt uncomfortably for a second. "What is wrong with you?"

"Me?! What do you think you're doing?! You could have killed us!"

"I just stopped at a stop light." What was going on with her?

Cha-Cha crossed her arms. "Going from sixty to zero in two seconds!" Whiplash much?

"The speed limit is only forty five!" Not that she paid attention to that, but in his defense.

"As if you don't speed," she said, looking out the window.

Ed was beyond shocked by this personality switch. "Where is this attitude coming from?"

"I don't have an attitude. You're just too sensitive for your own good." He always took things way too personally. She examined her nails, uninterested in looking at him.

He nodded. "Right." When it was green he hit the gas, causing her to bounce again, this time into the back of the seat. "Sorry."

"I can't stand this! Why didn't we take the subway!" Forget studying her nails, she threw her hands up dramatiacally instead.

The dective was trying not to react to her shouting with yelling of his own, but it was hard. "If I did something just tell me!" She ignored him.

"You always have to drive. Always have to show off. 'Oh look at me, I live in New York where it is absolutely unnecessary to drive myself anywhere, but I constantly feel the urge to remind everyone I have a license! I'm too good for the subway!'"

Ed looked at her in disbelief. "That's what this is about?"

"What is what about?" She was ranting. He was just supposed to take it like a man and sit there listening to her irrational complaints. Or block her out. Not think too deeply about anything.

"You're mad at me because I can drive." She'd never had a problem with it before. That she'd shown anyway. And Cha-Cha had never expressed any interest in driving. No animosity about not being able to.

"I am not." What a stupid thing to be mad about. It's not like she felt inadequate or anything. Like she was missing out on something. No, she thought driving was dumb.

Obviously she was. Maybe not mad, but jealous at least. "Why didn't you tell me it bothered you?" Ed asked. "And…if you want a license, hun, we can work on that." You didn't have to be between the ages of sixteen and eighteen.

"It doesn't bother me, I don't want a license, I just want you to get me to Rusty's sometime today without killing me." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"No hurry?" he asked.

"No hurry." As long as he didn't intentionally go out of his way to make it take longer than it really needed to.

Ed nodded. "Okay." There would be a slight detour then. If she was in no hurry, what would it matter? She wasn't paying attention to where he was going anyway. Didn't notice he pulled into an empty parking lot of a closed building. He got out and walked to her side.

The getting out part she caught. "Ed what are you doing?" She didn't get an answer until he opened her door.

"I'm switching places with you. Now come on, get out." He held out a hand for her.

"No. No I'm not getting out Ed. This is ridiculous."

He kept his hand in the air, waiting for her. "Have you ever tried driving?" It would be understandably scary if she hadn't.

Cha-Cha glanced around a bit. "No." She may have wanted to try it once or twice… But no. No one she knew had a car. With the subway it hadn't been necessary… What kid didn't want a license though? Whether or not it'd be used.

"Well. No one's around, we've got the lot to ourselves. I'll walk you through it. Okay? It'll be fun."

She swallowed nervously and snapped again. "No. It won't be fun Ed. I want to go home." Ed's face fell. He thought she might want to try it. Dropped his hand. As he started to close the door she stopped him. "Wait!" Pause. "Since we're already here and everything." She slowly unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. Ed took her place, smiling softly when she couldn't see.

Sitting down on the drivers side, she instantly got cold feet and asked again if they could just forget the whole thing. "Five minutes," Ed said. "If you hate it we can go home. Or to Rusty's. Whichever one you want." She sighed in agreement. Put her seatbelt on. "First things first, turn it on." He handed her the keys.

"Let me guess," she said sarcastically. "This goes here?" Into the ignition went the key. So far so good. "Now what?"

"Put your foot on the brake, the one on the left. Then change from park to drive like this." He showed her how to go from one to the other. "Alright. It's in drive. Now slowly take your foot off the brake…good." It began to roll forward. "Press the gas slowly, however much you feel comfortable."

Cha-Cha squeaked as she went faster than anticipated, foot returning quickly to the brake. "I hardly touched it!"

"Yeah, it only takes a tap to get going." He was trying not to smile. It had been a little amusing.

"Thanks for the heads up."

Ed sobered. "I told you slowly." Okay okay, don't argue with her. Just let her blame you. "Let's try it again, alright? Go to the end of this lane. Pretend there are cars in the parking spots." She successfully managed a straight line. "Good!"

He had her drive around a bit more, turning to go down the different lanes, a few attempts at parking, and anything else that came to mind. He was relieved to see her smiling. Much better than yelling at him.

It was getting darker now. Dinner plans at Rusty's forgotten. The lights in the lot were on, and that was enough for them. "Go to that light," he said, wanting to make sure she could see what she was doing properly.

She pulled up beside it, the car nose poking into the lane. "Back up a bit." She gave him the look. "Hey, if this were real, you'd be in the way." She did what he asked. "Alright, let's…go left," he decided. Cha-Cha turned the wheel and took her foot of the brake. But she forgot to put it in drive.

The car backed into the concrete base of the lamp post.

Ed would never forget the first time he heard that pretty mouth say a dirty word. "Shit!" Cha-Cha cried. She covered her mouth and her face got red, and she looked ready to cry. "Ed I-" Words failed her, muffled anyway by her hands. His car was not in good shape, she was in worse. But she looked so darn cute, in a panicked, emotional wreck kind of way. Ed looked at her, and couldn't even act like he was mad. "I'm sorry," she squeaked, eyes watering.

"It's alright," he said softly.

"Ed I-"

"Put it in drive." She did. "Move up a bit and park." Cha-Cha's hands shook as she did what he said. When they were parked he took the keys out of the ignition.

"I..am so…sorry…" She was near hyperventilating. Positive she was really gonna get it.

Ed reached over to touch her face gently. "Sweetheart, you did great."

"Ed!" She choked on the sob she was trying to prevent. He had to be furious! "Sugarcoating it only makes me feel worse!" Made her feel bad for making him lie trying to convince her he didn't hate her. She'd rather get the yelling over and done with.

"It's my fault, Cha-Cha, I had you back up." She would have been in drive otherwise.

"But I'm the idiot who didn't-"

"I should have double checked you switched to drive. I'm sorry." Cha-Cha couldn't believe Ed was apologizing to her. She'd just wrecked his car, and she was getting the apology? Ed's other hand went to her face too, bringing her close enough to kiss gently. "Are you okay?"

"Don't you mean 'we'?" she said, blinking back tears, a small smile showing. "Are we okay?"

"We are fine. You are…something else." More polite than you look severely distressed and red from crying. "Let's switch spots." Cha-Cha practically threw the door open and darted around. Ed hadn't gotten up yet. After he opened his door, he pulled her onto his lap. "We'll try this again, but away from the lights."

"No, Ed, I won't wreck another car."

"Exactly, you'll be fine." He was worried he'd killed her spirit to try.

Cha-Cha shook her head. "Ed I'm not doing this again."

"If you had a real instructor you'd be fine."

"If I can't do it with you, I can't do it with anyone." That was her new philosophy.

Ed was afraid she'd say that. "Honey, at least think about it. I'd hate this to be the reason you don't get a license if you want one. Everyone makes mistakes."

"Whatever. I'll think about it. Can we go home?"

He kissed her nose. "Sure." She hopped off and stood, he followed suit, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.

"Who are you calling?" she asked.

He was going to call a tow truck, but he wasn't sure if it was that bad. He'd need to see it in better light. Didn't want to risk driving it though. "No one," he said, changing his mind. "I think we should take the subway home though."

"Alright." They walked in silence for a while. "I'm sorry," she said again, still feeling horrible.

"Don't worry about it," he said, smiling at her. "Honey really, don't even think about it."

When Ed would look back on this, he wouldn't even remember what she backed his car into. He'd just remembered the first time he heard her swear, the look on her face as she said it while realizing what she'd done, and how she was too adorable to even try to be mad at.