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 #7 - On-call x2
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Flack had just sent the suspect to booking and was looking forward to getting out of there. He turned off his computer before heading to the locker room. He was only on-call and didn't have to be there unless something else came up. 'Although, if I wait a little longer I might get to see Jess when she comes in.' He thought to himself. Angell had the late shift so he knew he wouldn't get to see her tonight. "Flack!" The captain called into the bullpen and signaled him over.
"Hey, Flack!" Caine stopped him before he rached the captain's office.
"What's up, Caine?" Flack asked.
"Have you seen Angell yet?" Caine asked. Flack shook his head.
"And you're not going to. At least for a while." The captain said, aproaching the two detectives.
"Why's that?" They both asked.
"She's hung up on a B&E right now. Caine, I want you to take Miller with you instead." The captain istructed, then Caine left. "Since you're on-call," the captain began as he turned to Flack, "I may need you to cover for her."
"How many?" Flack asked.
"Zero. There were no homicides on this one, fortunately." The captain replied.
"Then why is a homicide detective on a B&E call?" Flack asked, seeking clarification.
"When she's the victim." The captian explained, noticing Flack's immediate reaction of concern. "She's okay. I just got a fax from the P.D. over in East Queens. Apparently that's where Angell was last night. You're welcome to read the fax as soon as I'm finished with it."
Flack nodded, he would read the fax in a few minutes. First he went to the locker room and took out is phone.
"Detective Angell." She answered, not looking at the caller ID first.
"Hey, it's me." Flack answered back.
"I take it you've heard."
"Just found out. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm not finished here at the Queens P.D., so I can't talk right now. I'll call ya later, when I'm back."
They both hung up and Flack felt better having just heard her voice. His phone rang, it was dispatch, he had a call to go to. He'd have to read the fax later, or better yet, hear it from Jess herself.
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Flack left the small mom & pop store quite frustrated. There were just not enough clues on this case to point him in any distinct direction. What frustrated him more was not having heard back from Angell. 'Surely she can't still be in Queens.' he thought to himself. His phone rang, it was Mac, there was another lead and he needed to stop by the lab.
"Can you explain this in English for me, Lindsay?" Flack requested, knowing full well that she knew full well that he didn't understand a word of the scientific termonology she'd used.
Lindsay laughed and started to explain again when Flack's phone rang. "Excuse me, Linds. It's the captain." He said. "Flack." He said, answering his cell, followed by, "Hmm, okay, why's that?"
"Everything okay, Flack?" Lilndsay asked, noticing the look on his face as he hung up.
"Captain wanted me to know that Angell is still in Queens. Aparently they made her get checked out at the hospital after she was finished giving her statement." Flack told her.
"Hospital? Why? I thought she wasn't hurt in the B&E." Lindsay asked.
"Apparently, the perp thru her down the stairs." Flack said with a ticked off look on his face.
"I didn't hear about that part."
"Yeah, me either. Captain hadn't finished reading the fax when I talked to him earlier."
Two hours later Lindsay had re-explained the evidence, Flack had run down a lead, and a perp named Jayco was in booking. But he was drunk, so Flack would have to wait till later to interrogate him. Flack decided to swing by Angell's on his way home, hoping she was back from Queens. He needed to see her for himself.
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Flack was walking down the hall to Angell's apartment door when his phone rang. It was the captain again, "Flack." He answered.
"Since you're on-call and waiting for your perp to sober up, I'd like you to swing by Detective Angell's place. I got a call that the hospital cleared her, but I'm giving her the rest of the day. She was given a copy of her papers that need to go in her employee records. I'd like you to check on her and pick them up, since you'll be back here later." The Captain said.
"Good idea, sir. I'll take care of it." Flack replied, standing outside Angell's door. He hung up and knocked.
Angell answered the door. She had one hand on her hip and the other holding her phone. "Yes, Captain. I'll give Detective Flack the papers as soon as he gets here." She said, winking at Flack before she hung up. "You break a few speed limits getting here, Detective?" She asked, moving out of the way for him to enter.
"I've never been in your apartment before. It's nice and cozy." Flack said, ignoring her question.
"'Cozy?' Is that another word for small?" Angell smirked and put her cell on the kitchen table.
"Well, if you're like me, you're rarely ever home, so what's it matter as long as you have a place to sleep?"
"True." She replied. "And don't think I didn't notice how you avoided answering my question."
"Well," He began, looking around the room a bit, but didn't get to finish.
"Checking up on me?" There was a playful tone in her voice.
"Maybe." He answered, moving closer. "Maybe I needed to see you for myself." His arm was now snaking around her waist, pulling her gently into an embrace and burring his face in her hair. She could feel him breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm okay, Don." She told him, her head resting on his chest and her hands gently raking the back of his jacket as if she was soothing his worries over her. She could feel him nod. "You want some coffee?" She offered.
She felt him exhale another heavy sigh, as if he was finally convinced. "Sure." He finally said, releasing her, slowly and reluctantly.
Angell sat two cups on the kitchen table where they each took a seat. "I'm sorry you got stuck taking that last call from dispatch." She said.
Flack just shook his head as he swallowed and set the cup back down, "No big deal." He said.
"That should have been mine, but the Captain wouldn't let me come in and take it." She explained in a low voice and dissappoined tone.
"I'm sure you're tired of explaining it, Jess, but I'd like to know what happened." He requested.
Flashback:
Angell was fast asleep in the master bedroom of her brother and sister-in-law's home. Unlike the guest room, it had a king size bed and she was going to take full advantage of the opportunity. It was two a.m. when Shea jumped up on the bed and began nuzzling her. Angell quickly stirred and Shea jumped off the bed and went to the door, pacing back and forth. Angell immediately knew something was wrong. She took her gun from the night stand and went to the bedroom door. She opened opened it quietly and listened. Her patience paid off as she heard a noise downstairs. Angell quietly shut the door and grabbed her cell and called 911. After help was on the way, she opened the door again and quietly crept down the stairs, with Shea right on her heels. The stairs were 'L' shaped, and the landing, which had a window overlooking the front porch, gave her a good vantage point into the living room. Someone was in there. She could tell it was a man and he looked familiar, but she couldn't make out any more than that in the dim light. Suddenly he made a move for the corner and she couldn't see him any more. Angell made her way into the living room and yelled, "NYPD!" as she pointed her gun and flashlight at the man trying to hide in the corner, between the couch and a bookshelf. "Mr. Porter?" Angell exclaimed, but he didn't answer. The momen of silence was all she needed to hear someone coming up behind her, and that someone got a foot to the gut as she kicked back. This sent the second man to the ground as 'Mr. Porter' bolted from the corner. Angell tackled him to the ground and cuffed him to the coffee table as the second man ran upstairs. "If you wanna try and get away, you'll have to take the whole table with you. That is, if you can get past Shea." She told him. Shea growled at the man in agreement.
Angell headed for the stairs and the second perp. She stopped again at the landing to look around the corner, it was clear, and she cautiously continued up the steps. He had gone into the first bedroom. There were footprints on the carpeting, much too large to be hers. She was about to enter when he came running out and tried to grab her gun. They struggled and she fell down the stairs. Her only thought was to hold onto that gun, no matter what. She tumbled down to the landing where she slid across on her back till she slammed against the wall. He'd ran down the stairs right after her. She pointed her gun up at him, "Freeze!" She yelled. He did. "I'm NYPD. I called 911 earlier and as you can tell by the sirens, the cops are here. Now back up! Keep your hands where I can see 'em. Keep going." She instructed him, and he obeyed. When he'd backed up the stairs far enough, she slowly stood up and reached a hand behind her to unlatch the window. An officer parted the curtains and stuck his head in and kept the perp at gun point while Angell went around the corner to unlock the front door.
End Flashback.
"So all the time 'Mr. Porter' was playing good samaratin, he was really casing the house?" Flack asked the rhetorical question. Angell nodded in acknowledgement. "So who was the other perp and why'd they break in if you were there?"
"Porter's real name is Matthew Holmes, the other guy was his son Matt, Jr. After you left I moved my car into the garage for the night. When they didn't see it, they assumed I was gone." She explained, paused, then asked, "What are you doing?"
Flack had hung his jacet on the back of the chair when he sat down, but had spent the last few minutes annoyed with the top button of his dress shirt. "Something's wrong with this button."
"Let me see." She offered, moving around to his side of the table. Flack turned his chair to the side as Angell bent down to look at the offending button. She couldn't get a good view of what was wrong it it. "Here, put your knees together." She instructed, although she pushed them together herself before sitting down on them. Flack tipped his chin up for her to get a better view. "Now I see the problem. There's a thread from the button hole wrapped around the button." She fixed the problem and started to remove herself from Flack's lap.
Flack thanked her, then quickly put a hand on her waist and asked, "Going somewhere?"
Angell looked up to see the mischevious grin on his face.
"I could stay here. If your legs can take it, that is." She said, returning his mischevious grin.
"I'm pretty sure my knees can handle all ninety-nine pounds of you." He watched her roll her eyes. "Besides, it's much easier to kiss you this way." He added as he put one hand behind her neck to pull her in.
Eventually their mutual need for oxygen was too great and they broke for air. Although very briefly. Their kisses were long and slow, and full of passion.
Angell's POV:
Mmmm, he's never kissed me quite like this before. Of course we're not standing out in the hall where others can see us, either. Damn, he's good at this! I could get used to this kind of making out, that's for sure! Should I offer yet?
Flack's POV:
Okay, so she does weigh a little more than ninety-nine pounds, but I won't tell her that. Damn, I haven't made out like this in a long time! I could get used to this again, but only with her. Mmmm, her hair smells good. I wonder if she'll offer.
Another break for oxygen. Flack goes to speak, "Shh," Angell shushes him quietly, putting a finger to his lips, "we're not done yet." She adds initiating another deep and passionate kiss, then just as they pull apart he fills it.... the light brush of her tongue against his upper lip where she quickly plants another tiny kiss. She pulls back and makes eye contact with him.
She had offered. He could kiss her that way if he wanted to. He had her permission now, should he chose to act on it.
Angell goes to speak, "Shh," Flack shushes her quietly, putting a finger to her lips, "we're not done yet." He adds, then pulls her back in for another deep and passionate kiss. They pull apart briefly, just far enough and just long enough to look into each other's eyes again. He pulls her back for another kiss, this time brushing his tongue lightly against her lips. She parts them, allowing him access.
He could feel her hair against his right hand that was still on her neck. His left hand felt the soft skin of her lower back. The hem of her shirt up had rode up when he reached around her. He hadn't meant to and was being careful not to move that hand.
Her right hand rested on his shoulder. Her left was hooked under his picep and she liked the feel of his strong arm. She could tell her shirt had ridden up when he put his arm around her waist, but that was okay, he wasn't moving it.
Their make out session continued until the sound of a phone interupted it. "Flack." He answered in a polite tone that didn't match the irritated expression on his face. She knew he'd have to leave. Duty was calling.
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The next day was a swap in work roles. It was Flack's day off and Angell who was on-call.
Angell was glad Caine hadn't noticed her enter the locker room. He was once again peeking around the bank of lockers that separated the men's dress and shower area from the women's. Angell got out her cell phone and took a picture, then quietly moved in closer and took another, then moved even closer for one more just as Caine turned around. "Perfect," she said, "one that shows your face."
"Hey, what're you doing?" He demanded in a nervous tone.
"Don't worry, Caine. You didn't break the camera." Angell replied sarcasticly.
"What're you going to do with that?" He asked, walking up to her.
"What? The picture?" She asked, not letting on that she'd taken more than one. "Oh, I don't know. Let's just say it's a little 'insurance policy'."
"Insurance against what?" He asked, taking another step closer.
"Against you're bothering me." She replied with a stirn face. "I'm sick of you always glaring at me, looking me up & down like I'm some piece of meat, making unwanted comments."
"What if I like what I see?" He was now invading her personal space. "Besides, women like to get compliments."
"Those aren't compliments, you womanizing pig." She said in a firm tone and taking a step back, "So keep your non-work related comments and your glares to yourself."
"Or what?" He asked, taking another step twards her.
"Or the captain sees the photo." She warned, taking another step back.
Caine took a step back this time, then turned and walked away, stopping briefly at his locker before leaving. Angell was glad her phone had a 'video' mode. There would be little to nothing to see, but the conversation had been recorded, and Caine was unaware.
Angell opened her locker just as her phone rang. "Angell."
"Hey, gorgous." He greeted, imagining her blushing at his words. "You busy?"
"Nah. I'm on call today. Just finished an interrogation and the paperwork on the case." She informed him, taking a seat on the bench.
"You headed home now?" He asked, running a hand thru his bed head.
"Yeah, I guess so." She replied, pulling out her jacket.
"You wanna swing by here. I've got the day off and am just hanging around doing laundry." He could hear her smirk thru the phone. "Yeah, I know, watching me fold laundry isn't exactly fun, but I'd sure like to see you."
"Sure. I'll be by soon, laundry-boy." She hung up and exited the locker room.
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Flack answered the door, running a hand thru his still wet hair. He was sporting NYPD sweatpants and a wifebeater. 'Yeah, he'd look good in a kevlar. No shirt, just the kevlar.' Angell thought to herself as she enjoyed the view of his exposed shoulders and arms. "You want coffee?" He offered, breaking her from her stare.
"Sure, thanks." She replied back, taking off her jacket.
"Sugar, no Irish." He joked, placing her cup on the coffee table and taking a seat next to her on the couch.
"Nice apartment. It's 'cozy'."
"Isn't that another word for small?" He asked.
"It's bigger than mine." She observed. "But it's like you said, we're seldome in 'em, except to sleep."
Flack & Angell spent the next hour just kicking back on the couch and talking about anything they could think of that wasn't work related. Between laundry loads, he showed her photos of his family and they ended up talking a lot about Sam. Of course, they ended up making out. They both knew they would. It was like picking up from where they'd left off the day before. Their kisses were long and slow, and passionate. But unfortunately there was an interuption via her phone. "Angell." She answered. "It's in the report, Caine." She informed him. "Yes, I did. That's in my report, too." She added, standing up and pacing a bit, "Caine, it's all in my report. Just go read it." Flack stood up and was now sitting on the arm of the couch. Angell was standing close enough that he reached out for her, pulling her in front of him. "Caine, I said it's in my report. I'm not going to answer all these questions for you, just because you don't want to read it." She said, leaning her back against Flack's chest. "You heard me." Were her final words before hanging up on Caine. She let out a sigh of frustration and hung her had forward.
Flack slowly began rubbing her shoulders, "You're tense." He said. She mubled something back that wasn't worth repeating. He kept rubbing her shoulders till she relaxed. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, releasing a lot of tension with it. He pulled her back against his chest and began kissing the side of her neck. That took away the last of her tension. She reached back and put both hands on the back of his neck, running her fingers thru his hair. His lips on her neck felt good. He released her only enough to turn her around to face him and pulled her close again, then licked her lower lip. She allowed him access again, but this time the kissing was more intense than before. His hand was again under the hem of her shirt, but she knew he'd put it there on purpose this time. He kept it just above the waistband of her pants, but she could feel his thumb rubbing her lower back. She was taking a turn kissing his neck when her phone rang again. She reached for it without letting go of him.
"Angell." She said, answering it. "Oh, hi, dad." She pulled back a bit from Flack's grasp, enough to turn around and lean her back against his chest again. "Okay, yes, I'd forgotten." He moved her hair and began kissing the back of her neck again, making it hard for her to concentrate. "Mhmm." She mumbled. "Oh, yeah, sorry, Dad. Listen, I'll call ya back later. I gotta go right now." She hung up and tossed the phone back down on the couch. She knew her dad would think she was distracted and had to go suddenly due to work. But those kisses Flack was putting on the back of her neck were getting to her and she wanted more of them.
Flack was nothing short of brain-dead as Angell was sucking his tongue and rubbing her nails across his back thru the ribs of his wifebeater. When they eventually broke for oxygen, they just leaned their foreheads together and kept their eyes closed. They were both still breathing hard.
She was so soft and sexy to touch. He had been determined from the beginning to not be anything like any man she'd ever dated, or even met. He didn't want her to think he was like that. He didn't want to be like that. He'd been like that in the past, he realized that, but he'd changed. He was tired of those short-term relatioships and wanted something serious, something real. He wanted something with Angell. He was determined to let her set the pace for their relationship. They leaned in for another kiss just as her phone rang. She ignored it. The ringing stopped, their kissing didn't. Her phone rang again, this time she checked the caller ID and grabbed it. "Angell." She said, trying to catch her breath. "Yeah, sorry about that, Nadine." Flack knew Nadine was the dispatch oporator. "Okay. Mhmm." Angell released herself from Flack's arms. She pulled her pen and tablet from her jacket pocket a few steps away and began writing. Flack stood up. He knew she'd have to leave. Duty was calling her away from him.