Okay, so this is a response to messersmontana's FA challenge. Review, please.
Anna :)
Disclaimer: Seriously?
Everytime I think I'm closer to the heart
Of what it means to know just who I am
I think I've finally found a better place to start
But no one ever seems to understand
*****
He had heard whispers. He'd heard whispers that Jess wasn't dead, that she was alive. He'd ignored them, knowing he'd be better of believing she was dead. Because if she wasn't, he'd have to face the truth.
She didn't care.
Because if she did, she wouldn't have left him, would she? She wouldn't have left him to drink himself into an abyss every night, Irish without the coffee, burning his throat.
But this time, he believed the whispers. Because he'd found a note, on his desk.
I know just the place, that was all it said. But he knew who it was. Jess said that to him every single time he offered her Irish coffee. It was like their secret saying.
She was alive.
*****
I need to try to get to where you are
Could it be, your not that far
*****
"Sinclair!" Flack shouted to the Chief, not caring he could get himself demoted for it. "The hell's goin' on?!"
"Detective Flack!" The man spun round, the usual look of contempt on his face.
"Jess. Is. Alive!" He spat, glaring at his boss.
"I don't know-"
"Where is she? Or so help me God I will do something-"
"Jessica Angell is dead. I'm sorry for-"
Flack waved the note in front of him. "No, she's not. She sent me this."
Sinclair's face paled. "She-"
"Loves me." He retorted, folding his arms. "Ya didn't know that, did ya Chief?"
"Very well. I will take you to her."
*****
You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing
I need to find you
I gotta find you
You're the missing piece I need, the song inside of me
I need to find you
I gotta find you
*****
"Why?" He asked as they drove.
"Because we needed to get them." Sinclair replied as though Flack was stupid.
"Why Jess?"
"She didn't have a choice, Detective."
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I know she didn't..."
"Less of the attitude, Flack. Remeber who it is you're speaking to."
"Some asshole that made me think my girlfriend was dead!" He hissed.
Sinclair blinked. "Pardon?"
"Nothing, sir."
*****
You're the remedy I'm searching hard to find
To fix the puzzle that I see inside
Painting all my dreams the color of your smile
When I find you It'll be alright
I need to try to get to where you are
Could it be, your not that far
*****
She looked pissed when she opened the door. "Sinclair, so help me God I'm gonna - Flack!"
Flack caught her as she threw herself at him, wrapping her legs round his waist, hugging him tightly.
He kissed her forcefully, once, twice, three times. "Jess!" He whispered, biting back the tears as she held him as tightly as she possibly could.
Sinclair cleared his throat. "I'll let you explain, Angell-"
She hopped down. Flack paused. "One sec," he grinned at her, before punching him in the jaw. The Chief stumbled back, furious. "Detective Flack! I-"
"Bye, sir!" Jess beamed, pulling Flack back into her apartment.
*****
You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing
I need to find you
I gotta find you
You're the missing piece I need, the song inside of me
I need to find you
I gotta find you
*****
He kissed her again. It had been four months - he had to make up for lost time. "Jeez, Jess. I killed a guy for you!"
She stepped back. "Seriously? Wow. Y'know, that's sweet."
"I was goin' for hot, but whatever."
She smacked him lightly. "So, I guess I got sme explaining to do, huh? I'm so glad you figured it out. I had to send the pizza guy to deliver it to Martinez, who put it on your desk."
He nodded. "Yeah. Yo got some explaining to do."
Jess pulled him onto the couch, resting her head against his chest. "There were threats, against the Dunbrook kid. Sinclair told me to take care of him, an' after our... conversation... I woke up in hospital. They told me I'd been shot, and everyone had been told I was dead. They needed the guys, and I was the bait."
He pulled her closer. "I'm gonna kill him."
"Don't." She sighed. "Then how'm I gonna see you?"
*****
Been feeling lost, can't find the words to say
Spending all my time stuck in yesterday
Where you are is where I want to be
Oh next to you... and you next to me
Oh I need to find you... yeah
*****
They sat in silence for ten minutes, before Flack spoke. "I thought I'd lost you, Jess."
She kissed his jaw. "No such luck, Detective."
He pulled her up, kissing her fiercely. "I'm never letting you go again."
She wrapped her arms round his neck. "Good. I've been waitin' to hear you say that."
Suddenly, he pulled off the ring his father had given him the day he'd graduated from the acadamy. "Marry me."
She blinked. "Huh?"
"Marry me." He repeated, his eyes blazing.
She answered him by kissing his gently on the lips, sliding the ring onto her finger.
"I meant to do that before... everything." He whispered against her forehead.
"I'd have said yes then, too."
*****
You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing
I need to find you
I gotta find you (yeah)
You're the missing piece I need, the song inside of me
I need to find you
I gotta find you
*****
As they sat, entwined, Don thought about how lucky he was. Losing Jess - if only for a while - firmed up his realisation. He was completely and utterly in love with her. She was the reason he could be bothered to get up in a morning, to drag his sorry ass into work. She was his reason to live.
And there was no way in hell he'd ever let her go again.
He dropped a kiss onto his fiancée's head.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she replied with a smile.
*****
You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing
I need to find you (I need to find you)
I gotta find you (I gotta find you)
You're the missing piece I need, the song inside of me
I need to find you
I gotta find you
Yeah, yeah... I gotta find you