A/N There will be no funny author's note today, because I am depressed and in mourning - one of my cats died. Which, admittedly, sparked this story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case.
When your best friend is a creature of habit, someone who sticks to patterns like paper to glue, any diversions from those habits set alarm bells ringing in your head.
So as the clock on his computer screen changed to 10:32, Scotty realized that there was something wrong.
"Any o' you guys seen Lil?" he asked. Miller shrugged, her attention focused on the case file in front of her. Jeffries glanced towards his watch, a frown creasing his brow.
"Maybe she's sick," he suggested. Scotty appreciated the attempt to reassure him, but shook his head anyway.
"Nah, Lil don't get sick."
Setting his coffee mug down on his desk, he stood up, moving towards Stillman's office. The lieutenant looked up at the tap on his door.
"Scotty, come in."
"You seen Lilly today, boss?" the younger detective asked straight off. Stillman removed his glasses.
"I was just coming to find you. She won't be in today."
He watched Scotty tense, saw Scotty's eyes darken, and began to wonder when the relationship between his two detectives had started to evolve.
"There somethin' I need to know, boss? She in trouble?"
"It's nothing, Scotty. Lilly just won't be in. She's taking a personal day."
"A personal...Lilly doesn't take personal days! What the hell is going on, boss?" Scotty said, his voice a mixture of panic and confusion.
Stillman sighed heavily, knowing that now he had no choice but to explain.
"One of her cats died."
There was silence.
"One of her cats died?" Scotty echoed in disbelief. The lieutenant nodded.
"The white one," he added with a hint of a smile. Scotty chuckled, relief relaxing his features.
"Oh, man...you...I thought..." He shook his head, "The white one?"
He leant forward, and felt his heart rate slowly return to normal now he was certain his partner wasn't in danger again.
"All I know is that Lilly called first thing, said she wasn't going to be in, told me why, and then hung up," Stillman replied, "She's had a rough couple of months, so I let it go. It's not like she's short on vacation time."
Scotty nodded, pleased that Lilly had taken a day off, despite not for the reasons he would have hoped.
"OK...well, I guess I better get back to work," he said after a moment, standing up and shoving his hands into his pockets.
He had almost made it to the door when Stillman's voice stopped him.
"You know, I'm sure nobody would mind if you wanted to disappear."
Scotty looked back over his shoulder, but his boss was carefully studying the papers on his desk. The younger man dipped his head, smiling to himself.
"I'll get right on that."
Lilly and Olivia sighed simultaneously.
"I know. I miss Tripod too," the detective whispered. She blinked in surprise as her cell phone began to ring. She stared at for a second, and then slowly climbed off the sofa to answer it.
"Rush."
"How you doin'?"
She stifled a sigh, closing her eyes and falling back onto the couch cushions. Olivia released a wounded mewl, crawling into Lilly's lap.
"What do you want, Scotty?"
"To make sure you're OK. That's what partners do, right?" he said, his voice soft and warm in her ear.
"It's just past twelve, Scotty. Aren't you supposed to be working?" she replied in confusion, running her fingers through Olivia's fur. He chuckled.
"More important things came up. You sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine. Honestly. I'm even getting ready to go to the gym. You know, work it out."
"Oh really?"
"Really."
"You sure you're not jus' sittin' on your sofa wit' Olivia, watchin' daytime TV and eatin' Twinkies?"
Lilly's eyes shot to the coffee table, fixing on the empty Twinkie wrappers. She released a soft growl of frustration, standing up and moving to the front door.
"I swear to God, you better just be psychic," she snapped, before throwing open the door.
Scotty grinned, snapping his phone shut and sliding it into his pocket.
"Hey, Lil."
She rolled her eyes, feeling a blush creep into her pale cheeks.
"What are you doing here?"
"You gonna invite me in?" Scotty asked, ignoring her question and peeking around the doorframe. Lilly stood firm, folding her arms.
"No. What are you doing here?"
With a sigh, Scotty indicated the white box at his feet.
"Brought ya somethin'."
"I don't want it," Lilly replied hastily, and blocked his attempt to squeeze past her. Scotty chuckled, one of his hands sweeping a strand of blonde hair from her eyes.
"Yeah, you do," he contradicted quietly.
For a brief moment, she leant into his touch, and he knew he had won. It was one of the benefits to their current 'not quite friends-with-benefits' situation- it was far easier to make her see things his way.
As Scotty had discovered over the last two months, Lilly wasn't as free from emotion as she liked people to think. When she gave her heart, no matter how much of it, you could be certain that it was yours to keep.
He couldn't even remember how it had started – maybe there was nothing to remember.
As Lilly reluctantly stood aside to let him in, Scotty realized how grateful he was for having even the slightest part of her for himself.
"Boss know you're here?" Lilly asked.
"Gave me the afternoon off after I freaked," Scotty admitted, carefully setting the box down on the kitchen counter. He slid his jacket from his shoulders, kicking off his shoes and setting both by the hall table.
Against her will, because she really hadn't intended on smiling for at least a week, Lilly felt her lips curve.
"You freaked? Why?"
"Because my...because you weren't there. If I remember right, it ain't good when you don't turn up."
Lilly arched an eyebrow at his defensive concern, and shrugged.
"My cat died. I'm fine. What's in the box?"
"Thought you didn't want it?" Scotty teased. Lilly elbowed him, releasing a soft chuckle at his pained grown. His hands fell to her hips, guiding her forward.
"You gotta promise me somethin'."
"What?" Lilly asked uncertainly, hating the fact that a simple touch through her t-shirt could make her whole body start to relax. Scotty slid his arms further around her waist, more than happy with her failure to push him away.
"Don't get mad at me?"
She turned her head to look at him questioningly.
"What did you do?"
Scotty chuckled.
"Why don't you open it an' find out?"
Lilly's fingers moved to the red ribbon encircling the box, but before she tugged on the ends, she hesitated and then turned to face him.
Scotty jumped in surprise as her lips landed on his. His palm found the small of her back, holding her tight against him, the other snaking up into her hair. Lilly sighed softly, and smiled into the kiss, her arms tightening around him. She moved closer, every inch of her slim body fitting perfectly against his, and Scotty let his tongue dart out to sneak past her lips and tangle with hers.
When they finally broke apart, hearts pounding and cheeks flushed, Scotty blinked owlishly, earning a shy giggle from the blonde pressed firmly against him.
"What was that for?" he said breathlessly. Lilly gave a one-sided shrug, sheepishly looking away.
"No reason," she replied. Scotty grinned, stealing another quick kiss before turning her in the direction of the kitchen counter.
"Open the box."
Her fingers found the ribbon again, pulling on the red strands until it gave way and fell to the countertop.
"Can I shake it?" she asked. Scotty chuckled from behind her, his breath warm against the back of her neck.
"Definitely not."
Lilly smiled, picking at the tape.
"Can I eat it?"
"Uh...if you want to," he laughed. Finally, she lifted the lid off the white lid, and frowned.
"Scotty..." she said in a pained voice, "it's a cat bowl."
"Yeah," he agreed, "Read the note."
Lilly picked out the small white card, tossing a quick glare over her shoulder. Receiving nothing but a cheeky wink in reply, she turned her attention back to the card.
Lil,
The trip to Pets R Us is on me.
Scotty
Her frown deepened.
"You gave me a cat bowl?" she said slowly. Scotty gasped in mock astonishment.
"You mean I forget the actual present? Dammit!"
She turned, arching an eyebrow.
"I don't like games, Valens."
He laughed, bending forward to kiss the outer shell of her ear. Lilly shivered.
"Stay here an' don't look," he whispered, before disappearing outside. The blonde detective fought to control the butterflies in her stomach, pushing them down prior to his return. She wondered what would happen if she turned around, but he had sounded so excited, Lilly didn't have the heart to let him down.
Two minutes later, she heard the front door close again, and took a deep breath.
"I think you can look now," Scotty said. Lilly turned, her jaw dropping at the sight before her.
A tiny kitten stared back at her, all big green eyes and soft black fur. It yawned, small pink tongue darting out.
Scotty smiled apologetically, readjusting the cat in his arms.
"I know it ain't your style, but they only sold cats wit' four legs an' two eyes."
Much to her dismay, Lilly felt her eyes fill up with tears, and she bit her bottom lip in an attempt to hold them back. Scotty chuckled, moving towards her as she reached out for the kitten.
As the weight left his arms, he brushed a thumb over his partner's cheekbone, gently catching a few stray tears that had managed to escape. With the small cat sitting comfortably in her hands, Lilly once again tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, warmth spreading through all of her at his gift.
Scotty didn't know how long she stood like that, just staring at the small animal, occasionally sweeping her thumb over its head.
"You alright?" he asked cautiously. Lilly nodded, sniffing and smiling up at him.
"I'm better than alright," she said softly, leaning into him. Scotty grinned, pressing a kiss to her brow.
"Good."
"You planned all this in a couple of hours? There had to have been an easier way to make me smile, Scotty."
"How'd you know that was my intention?" he teased, "Maybe I jus' wanted the afternoon off?"
Lilly smirked, feeling more at ease than she had all day. Setting the kitten down on the floor, she wrapped her arms around his neck tugging him towards her.
"Oh yeah?" she murmured. Scotty's grin grew, his head dipping to nudge her nose with his.
"Yeah."
Their kiss quickly turned into something neither of them could control. Scotty's shirt dropped to the floor, followed by Lilly's sweater and t-shirt.
"Bedroom," she gasped as his tongue dipped beneath her ear.
He had only just started to guide her down the corridor to her bedroom, when a squeaky mewl reached their ears. Laughing, Lilly looked down at the mischievous kitten sitting at her feet.
Scotty groaned as her hands slipped from beneath his vest.
"Maybe I should got you a hamster or somethin'."
OK, reading through that did put the tiniest smile on my face, but only because it's so ridiculously random. Remember, reviews are love.