Can't Pretend
"What about him?" Danny asked as he and Baez sat in the car watching the people on the street in front of them.
"Which one?" She asked trying to follow his line of sight.
"Yellow sweatshirt." He replied and she scanned the street quickly spotting the item of clothing.
"That's a her." She told him grinning.
"Oh." Danny's cheeks reddened slightly. Baez watched as he shifted around in his seat.
"Bored?" She asked.
"No." He replied glancing at her, she raised her eyebrows and stared at him.
"Okay, yes." He admitted and she smiled in triumph.
"Adrenaline junkie." She teased him.
"Am not." He argued smiling.
"Are to." She countered grinning back. They stared at each other for few seconds before they remembered what they were supposed to be doing and quickly looked back at the street. As he looked Danny saw a man fitting the description exit a building fifteen feet in front of them.
"Is that him?" He asked and Baez lifted up the mugshot she was holding. They both glanced back and forth between the man and the photo.
"Yeah, that's him." She confirmed. As she spoke the man spotted them in the car, instantly made them as cops and took off running.
"Dammit!" Danny swore as they both got out of the car and gave chase.
They dodged and weaved down the crowded street slowly gaining on the suspect. The suspect checked behind himself and saw the two cops getting closer, he reached in front of himself and when he raised his hand Danny and Baez saw a gun. Before they had time to react the suspect put his arm behind himself and fired off a few rounds as he ran. As the gunshots rang out people started to panic, they scattered in every direction as Danny and Baez ducked down. As they drew their weapons, they watched the suspect scramble around the corner. Baez, who had ended up ahead of Danny took off around the corner after the suspect and Danny paused just long enough to radio for back up.
When Danny rounded the corner he saw Baez disappear through the open door of what looked to be an abandoned building. He followed slowing down as he entered, he went around clearing each room looking for Baez and the suspect. As he was sweeping the fourth room he had come to he heard something, he stopped where he was and listened.
"Danny!" Baez called out. The fear in her voice sent a chill down his spine. He turned and left the room he was in and walked towards the sound of her voice.
"Danny, in here!" She called again. He knew something was wrong as he made his way slowly down the hallway to the only open door. He paused when he reached the door, he trained his gun through the doorway coming around slowly until he could see into the room. What he saw when he looked into the room made his stomach drop. He saw Baez and the suspect standing in the middle of the room, the suspect was behind Baez, he had his arm around her neck and a gun to her head. Baez stared at Danny, her eyes wide like saucers, as he inched his way into the room. When the suspect tightened his grip on Baez Danny stopped.
"Let her go." He growled.
"I don't think so. She's my ticket out of here." The suspect smirked. Danny watched as the suspect glanced nervously around the room looking for an exit other than the one he was blocking.
"There's no way out. Just let her go and we'll talk." He tried bargaining.
"No, I'm not going back to jail. Let me go or I'll kill her." The suspect told him touching the barrel of the gun to Baez' temple. Danny felt the knot in his stomach tighten at the suspect's words as he realised just how serious he was.
"I can't do that but if you let my partner go we can all walk out of here together." He explained. The suspect stared at Danny, something told him his hostage was particularly valuable to the detective pointing a gun at him.
"She's pretty isn't she? How do you think she'd look with a bullet in her brain?" He taunted Danny, staring him down as he pressed the barrel hard against her temple, Baez squeezed her eyes shut.
"Don't!" Danny shouted reflexively. He stood paralysed, his heart hammering in his chest, not willing to take a shot and risk hitting Baez. After a few seconds she opened her eyes, she looked at Danny and quickly realised he wasn't going to shoot. She waited until he looked at her again before pointedly glancing down, he immediately understood her plan and nodded almost imperceptibly. He saw her lift one finger from the suspects arm around her neck, then a second and a third. On cue she thrust her elbow backwards into the suspects stomach with all the strength she could muster, he loosened his grip and she immediately dropped to the ground. As soon as she hit the ground Danny fired off two shots, both hit their target in the middle of his chest. The suspect fell backwards hitting the ground with a thud.
Danny raced over and kicked the suspect's gun away as he holstered his own, he then turned to Baez who had gotten to her feet. They stared at each other for a second before wrapping their arms tightly around each other, she rested her head on his shoulder and he leaned his head against hers. They stayed this way for several seconds before Danny pulled back just enough to look at her. He gently brushed and held aside her bangs to get a better look at a large lump on the left side of her forehead.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he studied the lump.
"Yeah, it doesn't hurt that much." She gave him a small reassuring smile. His hand stayed on the side of her head as his eyes moved down to meet hers. He stared into her still wide eyes and thought about just how close he had come to losing the incredible woman in front of him.
"I love you." The words tumbled out before he could stop them. Her eyes widened further and her mouth dropped open at his unexpected confession. With her arms still around him she could feel him tense as he realised what he had just admitted.
"I love you too." She told him nervously and felt him relax a little. They stared at each other for a moment before they both started to lean in. He felt her warm, soft lips touch his, he kissed her back and slipped his hand from the side of her forehead to behind her head. They kissed intensely until, just a few moments later, they heard the sound of the their back up entering the building. They quickly broke apart seconds before cops swarmed the room. Danny bent down and checked the suspect for a pulse and not finding one while Baez crossed the room to retrieve her gun from where the suspect had tossed it.
"Are you guys okay?" An officer asked Danny as Baez walked back over holstering her gun. She looked up from her holster and her eyes met Danny's, his eyes did not leave hers as he answered the officer.
"We're good."
Baez tipped her head back and swallowed a Tylenol and a large sip of water, she took a second one and finished the glass of water. She left the break room and headed back to her desk, when she got there she noticed Danny still wasn't back at his desk. She scanned his desk and saw his phone sitting amongst some papers and his coat hanging on the back of his chair. Learning he hadn't left, she dropped the Tylenol bottle on her desk and walked back out of the bullpen.
As she pressed down on the handle and opened the door she was hit by a cool blast of evening air. As soon as she stepped out on to the roof she saw him at the far end leaning on his forearms on the ledge. She pulled her jacket closed as she walked over to him, once she reached him she stood beside him and stared out at the sun setting over the city.
"You okay?" She asked keeping her eyes on the view.
"You're the one who was held at gunpoint, shouldn't I be asking you that?" He replied stealing a glance at her.
"Other than a bit of a headache I'm fine." She reassured him as she rested her arms on the ledge. An uncomfortable silence fell between as they both kept their eyes glued to the view. After a while he sighed and turned to face her.
"About what I said back there…" He began. Her heart sank and she slumped her shoulders.
"It's ok, you don't have to…" She started, trying to spare them both. He saw her demeanour change and realised what she thought he was doing.
"I'm not taking it back." He interrupted her. She straightened up and turned her head to him.
"I wish I didn't feel this way but…I do." He told her honestly. She stared at him wondering where this was going.
"I just shouldn't have told you, it only makes things harder." He concluded. She nodded and looked back out at the city.
"It's okay." She told him, trying to hide her disappointment that this latest development apparently hadn't changed anything. He turned back to the view realising he hadn't made things any better. They watched the sky's colours change as the sun began to dip below the horizon, silently wondering what the other was thinking.
"I never understood those guys." He thought aloud.
"Which guys?" She asked a little thrown by his random statement.
"Married men who fall for someone else. I never understood how you could love two people at the same time, now I do. I am one of those guys." He sighed and shook his head. She stole a look at him and saw how awful he felt.
"We never asked for this. We never meant for any of this to happened. We're not bad people for having these feelings." She defended them.
"Yeah, I know." He nodded slightly and watched the sun finally disappear from view. He took a deep breath and turned to look at her again.
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked and she looked at him, surprised he asked.
"Of course." She gave him a small smile.
"Hypothetically, if I wasn't married and the only thing in the way was us being partners, what would do?" He asked nervously, she stared at him stunned by the question.
"Are you thinking about…" She started, unable to help herself.
"Hypothetically." He insisted, interrupting her. She thought for a moment and realised her answer could tip the scales for him.
"Ok. I would put in a change of partner request tomorrow, then…I'd do this." She summoned all her courage and took a half step, closing the gap between them. She watched his eyes widen as she placed her hand on his jaw. She leaned in and their eyes fluttered closed as she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. He immediately kissed her back, his arms slipping around her waist as hers rested on his shoulders. She deepened the kiss and felt his arms wrap tighter around her pressing their bodies together as she tightened her grip on his neck. When they finally broke apart for air they stayed in each others arms and rested their foreheads against each other.
"So, that's what you'd do?" He asked catching his breath. He saw a grin spread across her face.
"Yeah…hypothetically."