When Frankie entered her lab early on Monday morning she was surprised to find a single white rose on her desk, a neat white ribbon tied around the greenish brown stem. She picked it up, glancing around the still quiet lab to see if anyone was there. She was quite alone, the only sounds coming from the electric lights above her head. Twirling the rose between her finger and thumb Frankie looked on her desk and seat to see if any note had been left with the rose. There was no card, no note, nothing but the single white rose. Walking to the cupboard she opened it and pulled out a glass vile. After filling it with water she placed it on her desk, standing the white rose in it. Leaving the rose she started to wake up all her machines, switching each one but glancing at the rose as she went around the lab.
When the team came down just after lunch it was Mel who spotted the rose first.
"Ohhhh, what's with the rose?" Mel walking over to the flower and picking up the glass vile holding the rose.
"No idea. It was here when I got in this morning." Talking as she lay out the crime scene photos on the work surface.
"Was there any note?" Mel asked as she put the vile back next to Frankies laptop.
"No, nothing. I have no idea where it came from." Looking at Mel then turning her attention to the rest of the team.
"Ohhhhh, Frankie's got a secret admirer." Mel giggling as she joined the rest of the team around the bench.
"Shut up, Mel." A slight blush creeping up Frankies face.
When Frankie went home that night she took the rose with her, placing it beside her bed in a small glass vase. She didn't get flowers often, and this one was so unexpected. She fell asleep smiling, the last thing she saw before she fell asleep was the white rose.
The lab lights were already on when Frankie arrived in the lab on Tuesday morning. It wasn't unknown for one of the team, or one of her team to come in and leave reports or mail for her. Looking around the place was empty, whoever had been in was now gone. Going to her desk she stopped when she spotted the new flowers, this time two white carnations, again tied with a white ribbon. They were lying on her desk just like the rose had been, the vile from the previous day having been put away before she went home. She got the vile back out and filled it again, putting the new flowers in it. Frankie started to switch all the lab equipment on then, leaving them all to finish starting up as she headed upstairs.
Entering the squad room Frankie looked around, Spencer and Mel nowhere in sight. Graces office was empty, the only other person visible being Boyd. He was sat at his desk, pen in his mouth, glasses on as he read some file he had open on his desk. Frankie didn't bother knocking, just turned the handle and pushed the door open. Boyd looked up, over the top of his glasses as Frankie entered his office.
"Hi Frankie." A smile on his face as he dropped the pen back on the desk.
"Hi. Have you seen anyone about?" Frankie asked as she stood with one hand in her jeans pocket.
"Other than you, no. Why?" Taking his glasses off so he could see her properly.
"No reason, just curious." Turning to walk away but stopping when she heard Boyd call her name.
"Frankie, everything okay?" Concern in his voice as he saw her nibble her bottom lip.
"Yeah, everything's fine." Frankie considering explaining but deciding against it.
"Okay." His coffee brown eyes seeming to see straight into her soul.
Frankie turned and left Boyds office, glancing around the squadroom before heading back to her lab.
Throughout the day she glanced at the flowers, her mind puzzling over who could have left them there. By the time she took them out the vile to go home she was still no nearer to working it out.
Wednesday morning she was late, her car getting a flat tyre making her over an hour later than normal. When she entered the squad room everyone was already in, Spencer and Mel looking up as she pushed open the double doors.
"What happened to you?" Spencer and Mel looking her up and down as she dripped water all over the floor.
"Flat tyre in the rain." Her anger evident in her words.
Just then Boyd and Grace came out of his office, Grace and Boyd stopping as they saw her.
"Don't ask, just don't okay." Frankie pushing her wet hair off her face.
"Frankie, in here." Boyd calling out to Frankie as he headed into his office.
Frankie followed behind him, seeing him close the door behind her. She stood watching him as he dug about in a bag, pulling out a dark blue towel.
"Here." Passing her the towel as he went and stood beside a long thin cupboard. "Have you got any dry clothes you can change in to?" Turning to see Frankie rubbing the towel over her hair.
"No, it's not something I ever think I'll need in the lab." Peeling off her soaking wet coat to reveal her top with big wet patches across the shoulders, neck and all around the bottom of it.
Frankie attempted to rub over her top with the towel, only stopping when she heard Boyd.
"Here, put this on." Frankie just staring at Boyd as he held out a freshly pressed grey shirt.
"Seriously?" Frankie just looking at Boyd as he held out the shirt.
"I'm not leaving you to freeze in wet clothes, Frankie. I haven't got trousers that will fit though, unless you want my shorts for when I play squash with Spencer." Giving Frankie a smug grin as he looked down at her legs.
"I can just wear a paper suit, it's no problem. I'll put these beside the heater to dry out." Trying to peel her wet clothes away from her body.
"You're freezing and need something warmer than a paper suit. Actually, here, you'll need these as well." Draping the shirt over a chair as he went back to the bag and pulled out a pair of socks.
He put the socks with the shirt and went to shut the blinds, blocking Spencer, Mel and Grace from view.
"Pass me the coat." Taking the coat from her so he could hang it beside his. "Now get out them wet clothes before you end up sick."
Frankie just looked at him, reaching down to pull her top up and over her head. He passed her the shirt and she slipped it over her head, not even bothering to undo any buttons. She toed off her trainers, and pulled off her wet socks. Her jeans followed, leaving her stood in just Boyds shirt and her underwear. He threw the socks at her and she caught them, walking over to the settee and taking a seat. She put them on, pulling them up so they reached her knees.
"Paper suit?" His eyes raking over her legs as he watched her reach for her bag.
Frankie opened her bag and pulled out a paper suit and pair of shoe covers. Putting the suit on she tied the sleeves around her waist, tucking Boyds shirt inside so the suit didn't chaft.
"Better?" Seeing some colour coming back to her face and hands.
"Yeah, thanks for this. You know they're going to gossip now though." Boyd stepping closer to her as he slipped his arms around her waist.
"They do already. And Grace already knows. Why didn't you ring me? I would have come and got you." Brushing his knuckles across her cheek.
"It was a flat tyre, I changed it, and here I am." Leaning towards the hand on her cheek.
"Still, you could have called." Leaning towards her so he could kiss her forehead.
"I'm a big girl you know." Tilting her head so she could kiss his jaw.
"Go, get some work done, and dry your clothes out." His nose brushing hers before he let her go.
Frankie gathered up her wet clothes and headed out his office, Spencer and Mel both smirking at her attire.
"Nice shirt." Spencer not being able to help himself as he eyed up Boyds shirt on Frankie.
"It is isn't it." Frankie not being able to help it as she walked away from Spencer and Mel.
When she reached the lab it was already lit up, most of her machines already switched on. One of the lad techs must have came in and done it. Going through the lab she hung up her clothes to dry and then went to her desk, freezing when she saw the flowers already placed in the vile. Three white chrysanthemums stood in the vile tied with a white ribbon. This was getting beyond strange now. Three days, three lots of flowers, all of them white. There was something she was missing, and it was more than just who was delivering them. The colour, the fact they were white, it was important but she had no clue why. As she got to work she decided to make it her mission to get in early the next day, she would catch whoever was leaving the flowers and find out why white was important.
She was in the lab by six o'clock Thursday morning and she still wasn't early enough. The lab was in still in darkness but on her desk was four beautiful white Lilies, the small vile swapped for a tall glass. She was definitely the first one in, the squadroom, the lab, everywhere deserted. The lilies were beautiful, and also her favourite flower. She had no idea who was leaving them for her, especially now since she was the last one out the last night and the first one in that morning. If she couldn't catch them coming in early, she would just have to stay all night and catch them in the act.
She woke with a start, the doors to her lab closing as she sat up. She stood up quickly, looked at the doors and then around her lab. No one in sight, her lab still partly dark from the night before. She stretched her arms above her head, working out the kink in her neck and back from the camp bed she had pulled out of storage. It was then she spotted it, the neatly wrapped package on her desk. She mentally kicked herself, she had missed whoever had been leaving her gifts. Speaking of gifts, the package on her desk was most certainly not flowers. Her curiosity peaked she walked over to her desk and picked up the package, seeing the white ribbon tied around it in a neat bow. The package was squishy, whatever was inside was soft. She carefully untied the bow, slipping the ribbon off and putting it on the desk. Impatiently she torn the paper off, silky red and white material falling into her hand. She threw the paper on the desk, cautiously holding up the material so she could get a better look.
"I'm going to kill him." The red negligee with white bows hanging from her fingertips.
Frankie folded the negligee up neatly and stuffed it in her lab coat pocket, a small smile on her face as she headed out the lab. If he was responsible for this then he was obviously responsible for the flowers, all of them white bar the negligee which was red. Why was white significant to him? Or more so her, and why change to red? It was then it hit her, what they had in common with the colour white, and why he ended with red. Their last case, with Gerald Doyle and the unexploded bomb. She had asked him to choice a wire, even though they were all white. Then when they cornered the suspect he nearly blew them all up, her getting the bomb and cutting the red wire to defuse it.
This was his payback of sorts, driving her nuts over who was leaving the flowers, knowing the underwear would be the give away. When she reached the squad room the place was empty, then again it should be at six o'clock in the morning. Both offices were empty, so where had he gone? She was just about to go search for him when she felt a arm snake around her waist and draw her backwards. She yelped in surprise, feeling her back settle against a broad chest.
"You looking for someone?" His words blowing across the shell of her ear.
"A tall dark handsome stranger, but it looks like I found one." Her arm going up behind her to slip her hand on the back of his head.
"I can be tall and handsome, but I'm definitely not dark and far from strange." Kissing her ear then her neck.
"That's your opinion. You can be strange when you want to be. Like leaving white flowers to show you still haven't got over the whole which wire thing on the bomb." His teeth nipping her shoulder as she spoke.
"I much preferred the red wire bomb." Smiling as he kissed her neck between each word.
"Yeah, and the red gift to match." Using the hand not on Boyds head to fish out the negligee from her pocket.
"You won't be defusing any bombs wearing that. That's strictly for my eyes only. I missed you in bed last night." Turning Frankie around to face him.
"I would happily of joined you, if I wasn't trying to catch whoever was leaving me white flowers. You're lucky I love you, that camp bed did nothing for my back." Seeing Boyds face light up at her words.
"That's okay then, because I love you too." Kissing her just as the doors to the squad room opened.
Frankie quickly stuffed the negligee back in her pocket, while Boyd let his arms slip from Frankie waist.
"You two are in early." Spencer's voice coming from behind them.
"Just catching up on paperwork, and showing Frankie here the difference between white and red." Frankie groaning at Boyd.
"Funny, real funny. I'm going back to me lab, see you late Spencer." Frankie turning her back on Boyd and walking towards the doors leading to the lab.
"I'll bring you lunch." Boyd shouting across the room as Frankie just waved her hand in the air.
"She'll get you back you know." Spencer shaking his head as Boyd made his way to his office.
"Oh I'm counting on it." Boyd Laughing as he closed the door behind him as he entered his office.
Spencer was right, Frankie would get him back for his prank. It was something she would take great pleasure in doing, and something he would enjoy every second of.