Running From Jealousy

This is the 6th installment in my Flack & Angell; First Dates series.
This story stands alone, but there are minor references to previous stores, so it's best if they are read in order.
#1 - Dutch & 3
#2 - Rest Your Wings
#3 - A Real Date
#4 - The Gym
#5 - Trapped
#6 - Running From Jealousy

"Not as good as the Irish Coffees we used to get, but it's better than what's in your break room." She said.

Flack looked up when the unfamiliar hand placed the cup of coffee in front of him. "Shannon?" He asked in surprise.

"Hi, Don." She smiled, sitting on the corner of his desk.

Shannon Mallory and Don Flack knew each other from the academy and dated briefly afterwards. It had been several years since he'd seen her. She was still beautiful, with dark strawberry blonde (almost auburn) hair that nearly reached her waist, bright green eyes, and a top-heavy hourglass figure that was perfect for her 5'9" frame. He had always teased her that if a career in law enforcement didn't work out she could always try modeling.

"It's been a long time, Shannon." He said, leaning back in his chair. "What brings you here?"

"Work." She said, crossing her skirted legs. "Seems our Windy City motorcycle thieves have decided to visit New York." Flack nodded, remembering she had taken a job in Philly.

"It's good to see you. How's your case going." He asked.

"It's our case now." She said, toying with a pen she'd picked up from his desk. "Aparently they killed someone they were trying to steal a bike from. And since you're homicide...."

"I now have a murder to solve that's tied to your gang of motorcycle thieves." They both nodded, then Flack's phone rang. It was Mac saying they had a lead.

FAFAFAFAFAFAFA

The warehouse was small and easily surrounded. Flack wasn't sure how the leader of this little group could have gotten out. "Are we sure he was even here, Mac?" He asked into his radio.

"The source is credible, Flack. He has to be here somewhere." Mac replied.

"He didn't go out the back." Monroe said to Angell.

"We caught the only guy who tried." Messer added as he entered the warehouse with Monroe.

"At least this one was smart enough not to run." Angell said to them, accentuating the point with the clicking of the cufs before handing the thief over to an officer. "They're everywhere." She added, noticing Danny and Lindsay were eyeing the motorcycles loaded onto a trailer.

"Nice." Lindsay said.

"Nice?! These are more than just nice, Linds." Danny said turning to her, his eyes wide. He was like a kid in a candy store. "Some of these cost more than we make in a year." She just smiled, knowing how much he loved motorcycles.

"Check these out over here." Angell said, walking them to several bikes that were parked outside.

"Were they just not loaded yet?" Lindsay asked.

"The racks on the trailer are full of bikes. No room for these." Angell pointed out. "It appears these were going to be transported differently."

"Yeah, the keyes are in all of them." Danny observed, "Maybe they were going to be delivered locally."

"That's very possible." Lindsay said, "Look, a shelf of helmets even." She observed.

"They probably didn't want to risk getting pulled over. They've got fake tags & plates on 'em and everything" Angell said.

"Shhh!" Lindsay ordered, "What's that noise?"

Before Angell or Messer could answer, a car came busting thru the side of the building near them, peeling back the metal siding and sending the detectives dodging for cover. The sound of the reved up engine was followed suddenly by screeching of the tires as the car turned. None of them got a look at the driver, but it was probably the leader they were looking for.

Mac & Flack heard the car coming just as Angell radioed ahead. Flack jumped in his car, Mac in his Avalanch, and both followed the car with lights on and sirens blaring.

Angell, Messer, and Monroe could see Flack & Mac taking off in pursuit, leaving them no way to join in. At least not until Messer saw what Angell was doing..... She had grabbed two helmets from the shelf, placed one on a motorcycle's seat, then put the other on her own head. Messer got the message fast and put on the helmet. Monroe just watched, her kit in one hand and Danny's in the other.

Mac and Flack stayed in radio contact as they played leap frog via different lanes trying to get thru a traffic jam in pursuit of the perp. They could hear motorcycles getting closer and Lindsay on the radio.

Mac could see Messer coming closer in his passenger side mirror, he knew he would soon pass him and have a better shot at pursuing the perp.

Flack could see Angell approaching in his side mirror. She soon passed him in pursuit of the vehicle they were all looking for. 'Damn!' He thought to himself. 'As if her dark skinny jeans tucked into her boots and that white fitted tee weren't enought, now she's on a motorcycle! Yes! My girlfriend is beautiful, and she knows how to ride.' He didn't know how it could get any better than that. Wait, yes he did. They could catch this purp and wrap up this whole bike theft ring in time for their date. Flack laid heavy on his horn again.

"Damn bitch on a bike." The perp said from the ground as Flack pulled his arms behind him.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Mac ordered as Flack tightened the cuffs a little more than necessary. He, Angell, and Messer all holstered their guns, now that the perp was cuffed and in custody.

"Nice work, Detective." Flack said in a low voice and a wink as he walked past her, taking the perp to his car. She smiled. She knew she'd had a good take down.

"Thanks." She replied heading back to the bike. She and Danny both mounted up and reved their engines, knowing full well Flack would be jealous.

"I don't supose....?" He started to ask Danny.

"Not a chance, Flack." Danny said, cutting off any chance Flack had at riding one of the bikes. Angell just smiled, flipped her visor down, and took off with Danny close behind her.

FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA

"Nice work, Detective Angell." Detective Mallory said walking up to her as she exited an interrogation room.

"Thank you. So, does this wrap up your case, too?" Angell asked, chosing her words carefully and trying hard to not make it obvious that she'd be glad when the other Detective left New York.

"The case, yes. The work, no. I'll stay thru the rest of the interrogations and the arraignments tomorrow afternoon." Mallory replied. Angell noticed that she was turning to reposition herself so she could see Flack.

"Just two more to go." Angell said, forcing herself to remain professional.

"Good. Then Don and I can get out of here." Mallory smiled while still eyeing Flack.

"Got plans, huh?" Angell asked, opening a file and trying not to act interested.

"Mhmm," Mallory mumbled with a smile, "just drinks."

Mac approached. He and Angell would conduct the next interrogation together. Mallory would observe.

FAFAFAFAFAFAFA

"You, uh, ready to get out of here?" Flack asked Angell in a hushed tone. They were in the locker room shortly after the last interrogation.

"What's up?" She asked. Flack looked confused.

He leaned in closer. "You, me, date tonight. That French restaurant across town where no one will bother us." He raised his brows with a slight nod, as if he was reminding her.

"I know where the restaurant is, Flack." She smirked, trying not to make a big deal out if it. "I just thought plans had changed is all."

"Changed? I'm not followin' ya." He said, genuinely.

"Detective Mallory told me that you two had plans and were going out for drinks." She stated.

"She did, huh?" Angell nodded as she pretended to be looking for something in her locker to avoid eye contact. "Actually, she did ask me about a good place to get a drink after work." He paused. "So I told her 'Sullivan's'." Angell finally made eye contact. "So, if she wants a drink after work, she'll have lots of cops to keep her company."

"Uh,.... you realize, don't you, that she's under the impression that she's having drinks at Sullivan's....with you." Angell said, raising her eyebrows and placing a hand on her hip.

"I was going to explain to her that lots of cops gather at there after shift, but the captain called me over right then." Flack explained with a shrug of his shoulders. Angell rolled her eyes, wondering if he was trying to make amends with her. "Jess, listen to me. I have no interest in having drinks with Shannon, or anyone else. My only plans are with you." He said with a soft and sincere look in his blue eyes.

"It's just that I realize she's an old friend that's only going to be in town a short ti...." She didn't finish, as he had put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him to notice he was slowly shaking his head 'no'. Oh, how she wished they were any place else so he could kiss her.

"I'll pick you up in an hour." He said with a wink, then trailed his finger along her jaw line as he removed his hand, and walked out.

FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA

Flack could hear the music playing inside Angell's apartment as he knocked. He wondered which shoes he'd see her in tonight, it had become their inside joke. "Red." He said with a smile as she opened the door. They matched the red jacket she wore over a white blouse and dark grey dress slacks. Angell tucked her hand around Flack's arm he had offered and they were soon in the car.

Another reservation at another fancy restaurant. Angell could tell how much effort he was going to for their dates. She'd never really figured herself for fancy places, but found herself enjoying the specialness of their evenings and their time together.

"This is a nice place, Don." Angell said, making sure to lock eyes with him as she twirled her wine glass.

"I thought you'd like it." He replied, returning her gaze and adding a slight smile. "It suits you." He could tell she was embarassed by what he meant. "Yeah, it does." He added with a nod.

"A girl could get used to being treated like this, ya know." She said with a flirting tone in her voice. "Is this where you bring all your fourth dates?" A playful tone now evident in her voice.

"Um," Was all Flack could get out as he blushed.

She laughed, "Oh, come on, Don. One of the first things I heard about when I came to the presinct was your reputation."

"My reputation?" Now he was getting a bit nervous.

"Mhmm," She grinned, then couldn't hold back a laugh. "You look like a dear in headlights, Don. I'm just teasing."

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, laughing slightly at himself. "Actually, I've never brought a date here. Fourth, or otherwise." He said, then his tone changed to a bit more serious, "I've never actually gotten this far."

"This far?" She asked.

"Let me put it this way," he paused, taking a deep breath and exhaling before he continued, "Dating is the easy part, or at least it always has been for me. It's retationships I'm not so good at." He was now serious. "You know how it is, Jess. Crazy work hours, on-call all the time, working late when a case breaks. It's not easy to find someone who understands that, or at least someone who will put up with it long enough to reach a forth date."

She nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. "True." She said, then silence filled the air for several moments.

"But something tells me you've been in lots of restaurants like this." He said, wanting to talk about her instead of him, then blushing a bit at the thought of all the men that asked her out, then smiling because she was here with him.

"No." She said, shaking her head, "No, I've never been here either. Actually, aside from the cafe by the presinct I don't exactly go to real restaurants much." She paused and sighed, obviously thinking. "Guess I'm kind of the opposite from you.... you see, I'm, uh, not so good at relationships because I'm good at running from dating." She could tell her words surprised him. "I meant what I said, Don, about a girl getting used to this. You really do have a way of making someone feel special."

"That's the easy part, Jess." He removed the wine glass from her hand and set it aside so he could take both her hands in his. "Because you're already special." She blushed and looked away, although she was smiling. "I'm serious, Jess." She bit her lower lip and managed to make eye contact again. "The fact that your beautiful, well, anyone with eyes can see that. All the men that hit on you all the time can see that. I've seen how they look at you, how they treat you, and I don't want to be like that. I won't ever treat you like that, Jess. I promise." She'd managed to keep eye contact and was listening intently as the tone in his voice was fervent, but warm and sincere. "I've known you long enough that I've gotten to see that you're just as beautiful on the inside." She blushed even more and looked away again. "You are, Jess. When we got snowed in last Christmas Eve, everyone complained, but you. You went and served meals at the mission." He cold see the look of surprise on her face that he knew about that, "Yeah, I saw you. We were talking to the director about a lead and I saw you serving meals that night." He saw her shrug as if starting to say something, but he didn't let her, "And you let Patterson go in before you to see Cheu so he could get home to his pregnant wife. Then last week you used your lunch hour to look after that scared twelve year old girl till her parents could get there so she didn't have to go to Child Services. And then..." She cut him off.

"Okay, Don, okay." She hadn't realized he had paid so much attention to her actions. She blushed even more, "I'm just, um,...wow. I'm not usually bothered by heights, but you're putting me on quite a tall pedistol here, ya know." He laughed, they both laughed.

"Come with me?" He requested, rising from his chair while letting go of only one of her hands. She rose and followed him with a smile, without a word. He paused and turned back to their waitress they passed for a moment before continuing with Angell to the dance floor. They stopped in the middle and his hand wrapped around her waist. She put a hand on his shoulder as the music moved them. He stared in her eyes, then moved closer to kiss her forhead. His height made it easy for her to rest her head against him. They lost track of how many songs they'd danced to, they didn't care, they were just enjoying being close like that.

Irish coffee and cheesecake were waiting for them when they finally returned to their table. "Hope you don't mind, but the companies a little better here than at the bar last night." He said.

"It was a bit,... crowded" She said remembering.

flashback to previous night.
Flack & Angell just wanted a quite place to go for Irish coffee together. Imagine their surprise when they walked in to a pub to be greeted by several fellow officers. They'd intentionally picked one not near the precinct and not known to be frequented by officers. Angell quickly let go of Flack's hand before anyone noticed and Flack was glad they'd at least been spotted before they approached the bar where he would have surely put his arm around her. One of the officers was retiring, so several had gathered for beer and best wishes, so everyone naturally assumed Flack & Angell had stopped in for that purpose. Not only did they get stuck playing along, but genuinely felt bad they'd both forgotten about their fellow law enforcement officer retiring from their precinct. Aside from the excess of people, including Caine who was hitting on Angell as usual, the evening was otherwise enjoyable. (End of flashback)

Flack walked Angell to her apartment door. "You wanna come in?" She asked, insterting her key. Even though they obviously shared mutual feelings for each other, a small part of her instantly regretted the offer and made her nervous, but she wanted to be polite.

He smiled, but shook his head. "I should go." He replied before leaning in and kissing her good night.

"Ya know," She said, taking a slight step back to look at him, "Not only have you never seen my apartment, but you never even come in when you pick me up." He nodded at her observation. "Don, I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me,.... all that stuff you said earlier. I can see how hard you're trying here."

"Which," He began as he raised his hand to touch her hair, "is why I should go." Then he kissed her again, smiled, and left with a wink.

She watched him till he stepped into the elevator down the hall, then went inside and locked her door. It was true, she had ran from dating. First he proved he was not a 'Dutch'. Now, this was date number four, so he was definetly not a '3'. She decided she could stop running.

"Yo, wait up, buddy.," Danny called out as Flack stepped off the elevator and started to head in the opposite direction.

"What's up, Danny?" Flack asked, turning around and putting his phone away.

"Just wondering if you could help me out with something." He said, adjusting his glasses before crossing his arms as he rocked back on his heels. "I was wondering if you could reccomend a nice restaurant for me to take Lindsay to."

"Got some major sucking up to do, huh?" Flack teased.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Danny didn't appreciate the reminder that he'd screwed things up so much with her.

"So, what, you're wanting something more that beer and buffalo wings, I take it." Flack said, enjoying the jab.

"Ya know what, never mind. I'll just go ask Angell." Danny smirked back.

"Kidding, Dann-o. Whadda ya wanna know?" Flack asked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe that nice French place across town. You ever been there?" Danny asked, still doing well at keeping a straight face.

Flack supressed a smile as he thought back to his date the previous night. "Yeah, I've been there. Nice place."

"So, uh, how were the salmon creps there?" Danny asked, knowing full well that's what both Flack and Angell had ordered because they'd asked their waitress.

"Fine." Was all Flack had to say, remembering what he and Angell had ordered and growing a bit suspiscious.

"Good, good." Danny said, still rocking back and forth on his heels, but not doing quite as well at holding back a grin.

"Danny," Flack paused and maintaining his serious expression, "keep your mouth shut." He finished saying as he turned to walk away twards his original destination while mumbling under his breath.

"I hear they've got a nice dance floor, too." Danny called out. But Flack just ignored him and kept walking.

"Messer knows. Maybe Monroe, too." Flack mumbled as he came up behind Angell to reach for the coffee pot even though he didn't really want any coffee.

"About us?" Angell asked in an equally hushed tone, looking around the break room even though they were the only ones there. "How?"

Flack shrugged, "I don't know. But he started asking me about French restaurants, salmon creps, and dance floors."

"Great." Angell said, remembering what they'd ordered and how he held her on the dance floor for what seemed like forever. "Couldn't he just stick to beer and burgers." Flack stiffled a laugh, not wanting to draw any attention, but he totally agreed with her comment. "He knew about us being at the restaurant last night. Danny's got a big mouth." She said, stating the obvious.

He nodded in agreement. "Hopefully he'll man-up and honor my request to keep it shut." He said, putting the coffee pot back in place. "So, you still going for that run tonight?"

"Yes and no." She answered, stirring her coffee. "I'll go for a run, but not here. I have to dog sit for my brother tonight, figured I'd run there and get the dog some exercise, too."

"Dog sitting, huh?" He asked, trying to make conversation but not wanting to show he was disappointed he couldn't go running with her.

"You wanna come?" She asked, hoping he would. "I know it doesn't exactly make sense to drive forty-five minutes to run when you could run here, but..." She didn't get to finish, as both their phones rang. It was dispatch. They had a case.

Flack and Angell joined Mac, Danny and Lindsay again as they tracked down a few remaining accomplices in the motorcycle theft ring, finishing in time for arraignments that afternoon. Then headed back to the precinct.

"They didn't put up much of a fight." Stella comented to Angell outside interrogation.

"They didn't have much of a choice. Not to mention, they got quite a plea deal from the DA for rolling over on their leader." Angell said, not quite thrilled about the deal they'd been offered unnecessarily or the view she had down the hall where Flack and Mallory were talking, well, actually Mallory was doing most of the talking..... and touching the lapel of Flack's jacket.

"I was expecting you to be at the bar last night, Don." Shannon said in a flirtatious tone as she aproached Flack at the end of the hall.

"I had plans last night, Shannon. Besides, you had plenty of company." He said, wanting to get away from her, yet be polite.

"Not the company I was hoping for. Who were your plans with?" She asked while volunteerily straightening his tie for him.

Flack reached for his tie and took a small step back. "Thanks, I've got it." He said, removing the tie completely. "I'm seeing someone, Shannon. And I don't think my girlfriend would like me meeting a woman at a bar, even if she is a co-worker."

"Co-worker, huh?" She asked, touching the lapel of his jacket. "We used to be much more than just co-workers."

"Look, Shannon," He began as he backed away again, "Yeah, we used to date. But that was along time ago. The woman I'm seeing, she's very special to me, and there is nothing I would ever do to jepordize that."

"I see." Mallory said, realizing he was serious. "Well, it was still nice seeing you, Don." He gave a polite smile back at her. "Can't blame a girl for trying, can ya."

Flack blushed a little, "It was nice seeing you, too, Shannon."
Mallory left and Flack wondered where Angell had gone to. He thought he saw her just a moment ago with Stella down by interrogation.

Angell had just exited the NYPD parking structure when her cell phone rang. She was off duty now, so it was probably Flack. She began to second-guess herself. Should she have stuck around the locker room to wait for him? She couldn't believe she had actually snuck out of there as quickly as possible, just so he wouldn't see her. It was a childish thing to do and she hated herself for being jealous over Mallory. Flack had kept his date with her dispite Mallory's flirting. He said he wasn't interested in Mallory, or anyone else, only her. She suddenly felt like she was back in junior high school again. Did she just push Don right into Mallory's arms by leaving? Did Don really care for her the way he said? Why was she asking herself that? Didn't she trust him? He sure seemed different than any other men she'd given a chance. Not that that was very many, she had to admit. Her phone stopped ringing and she felt bad for not having answered it. She turned up the music and drove on to her brothers. She knew a run would help her clear her head of all these strange thoughts and unanswered questions.

Forty-five minutes later Angell arrived at her brothers to find Shea waiting anxiously for her. She could tell the dog was ready to burn off some energy and looked forward to a long run herself. She changed clothes, found Shea's leash, and headed out the door.

"I'm pretty sure there's cell reception out here, Jess." Flack said. He was at the bottom of the driveway leaning back against his car.

Angell approached with Shea on his leash. She didn't know what to say. She felt silly, yet didn't want to be hurt. "I, um," She mumbled, barely making eye contact, "wasn't sure you were wanting to come all the way out here."

"Oh no you don't, Jess." He said, standing straight up and taking a step closer to her. There was a tone in his voice that was a cross between being angry and being hurt. "If we're each going to be brave enough to try this relationship thing, then the first thing we've got to do is be honest with each other."

She nodded. "You're right." Shea was impatiently pulling on his leash. "This is Shea. He's a retired police dog with some energy to burn off right now. So before he tears my arm off, would you like to go for a run with us? Then we can talk." She was hoping he would, she wanted him to. They needed to talk, or at least she did.

"Sure." He agreed. "My gym bag's in my trunk."

Flack had changed into suitable running gear and they all headed off for a very long run that ended at a park. Angell let Shae lose in the dog-approved fenced area and took a seat next to Flack on the bench. "Guess I suck at this relatioship thing worse than I realized." She said.

"Actually, aside from some stuff yesterday and today, I think we're doing pretty good, Jess." He said, looking over at her as he leaned back with his hands laced beind his head. "I mean, honestly, if I got all bent out of shape every time a guy hit on you, I'd be at the chirpractor's office more than I'm at work." She broke into a smile before covering her mouth to stiffle a laugh.

She got serious again and said, "Truth is, I just feel kind of embarassed right now." Flack gave her a puzzled look. "It was silly of me to be jealous. I mean, I'm just not the jealous type. Nor am I the clingy type, Don."

"Not even a little clingy?" He said with a playful smirk, hoping to lighten the mode and make things okay between them again.

She playfully smacked his arm, "I'm serious, Don. Part of me has never been trusting of men, and it's just that,....oh, geez....I really do suck at this." He could tell she was struggling with what to say.

Before she could continue, "Jess." He said, reaching a hand around her neck and pulling her close as she looked up. He kissed her. "I drove out here because I want to be with you. It's as simple as that." He kissed her again, she kissed him back. He wrapped his other hand around her waist and pulled the rest of her close to him and kept kissing her. "So, does this mean we're good?" She let a smile slowly overtake her expression and nodded. "Because I want things to be good between us. And we have to talk things like this out." Angell didn't speak, but nodded in agreement before noticing Shea was chasing another dog.

"Um, looks like I'd better go get Shea." She said before retrieving the dog from the fenced area. When she returned, "You ready to run back." Flack nodded and off they all went.

The run back seemed longer somehow, but better. The tension between them was gone and they enjoyed their time together, even if it was in silence.

"You're staying for pizza, right?" Angell offered as they entered the house, Shea nearling dragging her to his water dish.

"Sure." Flack answered, watching her struggle with the dog's leash as Shea slid his dish across the floor.

"I'll get it ordered before I hit the shower." She said finally releasing the lesh. "You're welcome to use the one in the master bath if you'd like."

Flack blushed a bit at the though of him in one shower and his girlfriend in the other one just across the hall. He wondered if she was thinking of him.

Angell blushed a bit at the thought of her in one shower and her boyfriend in the other one just across the hall. She wondered if he was thinking of her.

"It's okay, Mr. Porter! He's a cop, too!" Jess called out to her brother's neighbor who had taken the opportunity of the pizza's arrival to check on a man he'd never seen before. She noticed the look on Flack's face as she walked back in, "Neighborhood watch." She explained.

"Nice to know he's doing his job." He said. "How'd you get this fire going so fast?" Flack asked.

"It's a skill." Angell said. "My family has always skied a lot and you can't do that without learning how to make a good fire. And you can't wait for someone else to do it, because odds are that your brothers are too busy fighting over who gets top bunks at the cabin."

"I see." He managed to say, stiffling a laugh at the thought of five Angell kids all in one cabin.

"It's all in the kindling." She said matter-of-factly. "Plus, it's nice for drying the hair." He hadn't even noticed hers was still wet.

Flack found himself smiling, at least on the inside. He was relaxing with his girlfriend, and a dog, sitting on the floor leaned up against the couch, in front of a fireplace. It all seemed rather.... cozy and homey to him. He liked it. They spent the next two hours talking about their childhood memories of skiing and other vacations.

"You driving back tonight?" He asked her as they broke their kiss and parted for air.

She shook her head, "No, I've got late shift tomorrow. Might as well stay here tonight and run with Shea in the morning."

"It's getting late. I should go." He said, but still not removing his hand from her neck. She liked having him there, in front of the fireplace, with her, there was something cozy and homey about it all.

"Mhmm." Was all she mumbled as their lips met again.

"We don't want to give Mr. Porter anything to tell your brother about when he gets back." He said, their foreheads resting together.

"It's Jacob. He'll like you." She said. "Jared and Joshua already like you."

"My mom's gonna be crazy about you." He told her, initiating another kiss.

"Are we ready for that?" She asked, when they broke for air again. "Meeting each other's families, I mean."

"I think that's a conversation best saved for next time." She agreed. "It's late. I should go." He said again.

Angell stood at the bottom of the driveway with Shea and waved as Flack drove away. When he was out of sight, she headed back up to the house, smiling as she thought to herself, 'I was right, a good run does fix a lot of things'.... It's just too bad she wasn't right about Mr. Porter.