A/N:I own nothing.
Just a stranger on the bus
trying to make his way home
-Joan Osborne
Flack came home, once again, to an empty apartment. Once upon a time, there was someone he was so nuts about, that he would've gladly married and settled down with. He felt like such an idiot for not doing it when he had the chance. They'd had a huge fight one morning and she'd stormed out. When he'd come home, all her stuff was gone. The next morning, Mac told him she'd quit her job and moved out of state. That was two years ago.
He had no idea where Aiden was.
Part of him was just dying to know, but the other part of him didn't, because if he found out she was married to some guy and they live in a Bungalow with a white picket fence, three kids and a golden retriever, it would break his heart all over again.
He thought everyday about what could have been, and every once in a while, he'd see a dark-haired girl in the subway, or the store, or even the lab, and he'd stop, half-believing it was her- that she'd come back and would tell him it had all been a mistake.
But it never happened.
Flack turned off the lamp and fell into bed, not wanting the dreams to come, because they were always about Aiden.
The next morning, Flack was walking through the hall when Danny frantically motioned him over.
Flack, wondering if this was going to be another lame blonde joke, moved over to where Danny stood. He now noticed that Danny looked pretty serious, his hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly stooped.
"Look, man, I don't know how to tell you this, but, uh…."
"Flack." A voice came from behind Don
Don looked over his shoulder to see Mac standing outside his office.
"Yeah?" He asked, turning all the way around.
"Can I see you in my office?"
Flack's eyes flickered nervously to Danny, who stood like a stone, eyes looking at the floor. He now noticed that almost everyone in the lab was staring at him.
"Sure." He said, swallowing hard, knowing it couldn't be good news, not with the way everyone was acting.
He walked into Mac's Office.
Mac Sat behind his desk and Flack took one of the chairs in front of it.
Mac studied Flack for a minute, and then began speaking.
"Yesterday someone came to see me. Someone who hasn't been around for a while."
Mac waited to see if this had registered.
Flack's face looked blank.
"Don, Aiden came to see me yesterday."
Flack felt numb.
He could hardly concentrate on what Mac was saying to him.
"She's going to start working here again. I suspect that she's going to come see you. I'm not telling you how to feel or how to deal with it, but at least try to listen to her."
Flack nodded, still completely numb.
He vaguely remembered thanking Mac and leaving the office, but he couldn't remember anything after that, until Danny found him, leaning against the wall near the Ballistics Lab.
"Yo." He said, leaning on the opposite wall.
"Yo." Flack said, but it was quiet and not all the way there.
"Ya' gotta' listen to her, man."
"Why?" He asked, suddenly a lot more alert. "Did you talk to her?"
"Briefly." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"And?"
"I- I can't tell you man, you've gotta see for yourself."
He clapped Flack on the shoulder and walked away.
Flack was watching some lameass primetime comedy show when there was a hesitant, quiet knock on the door. Part of him really didn't want to answer the door, but for some reason he found himself walking down the small hallway, undoing the latch, and slowly, climactically, opening the door.
She looked like shit.
Shit wasn't really the word he was looking for.
It looked like she'd been beaten to a pulp.
She had.
She was smirking at him, but it didn't go all the way to her eyes like it used to.
"Take a picture." She said quietly, grinning a tiny bit wider.
It still didn't reach her eyes.
"Hey, Aiden." He said, smirking sadly.
"Hey, Don."
He shook his head slightly and ushered her in.
She had a long sleeve shirt on and he could guess why.
She had two black eyes and a gash over her eyebrow. She had stitches on her earlobe, like an earring had been ripped out. Probably had.
There were marks around her neck and she had bruised fists and two broken fingers.
He tried not to stare.
She sighed shakily.
"So, this is sufficiently awkward." She said, scuffing her feet on the carpet.
He nodded, leaning on the counter.
"I, uh, I didn't come here looking to be forgiven." She said, finally looking at him. She continued.
"I came here to apologize."
He looked up at her.
"For what?"
"Leaving. I never should have. We can both see where that got me." She said with a scoff.
"Where did that get you?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning into the counter a bit more.
"Cleveland, Ohio. I was engaged to a total jackass named John Moretti. About a month into our engagement, we got in a fight, and he hit me. Being the typical damsel in distress, I told myself it would stop, but it didn't."
Flack let out a breath, thinking it was over. It wasn't.
She continued.
"One day I had a moment of clarity. I realized how good you had been to me. I knew you would never take me back, but I knew I had to leave. I was walking out the door just as he came home…and he almost killed me. A neighbor ran over and stopped him, but it was almost too late. I was in the hospital for two weeks, and then I came here."
She lifted the hem of her shirt up to the top of her ribs. One side of her body was swollen black and blue, covered in scratches and stitches. The bony part of her ribcage resembled ground beef.
He swallowed back bile.
"I'm sorry." He said finally.
"Don't." She said, suddenly. "Don't say you're sorry. It's my fault for not leaving sooner."
"No, it's not."
She looked away.
He walked slowly towards her.
"Where is he now?"
"Jail."
"Good."
Her eyes flickered up to his.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"I would've killed him."
She swallowed.
"I'm so sorry for leaving." She choked out, voice tight.
He carefully wrapped his arms around her.
"I know." He said.
She clung to his shirt, desperate to feel the comfort of him.
"I still love you." She said, and the damn broke.
She was sobbing in his arms. He was kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back.
"I love you too." He said, holding her closer.
Forever.
A/N: I didn't really like it, I could've done better, but I felt like writing something fast. Reviews are nice!