I don't own Cold Case.
Hi, there's a Law and Order SVU marathon on which lead me to think about Danny Pino, which made me think about Scotty Valens and then I had this idea. This happens during the fifth season. There's mention of one episode in the fourth season. The one when Lilly and Scotty went to Nashville. Let me know what you think. Please read and review .
Lilly Rush drank her coffee slowly; it was a slow day in PPD. That last case had touched her somewhat. It had to be the fact that she had been by herself for more than a year and the nightmares about Romeo were still fresh and happening almost every night. She drank her coffee that had become her best companion in the last months. She remembered the incident with Felton Metz, she had realized that she was alone and it was painfully obvious, and her nightmares seemed to only assure her of her loneliness. She wrote the last paragraph of her report. It was extremely sad to see Felton Metz in a holding cell but it was only fair to Audrey. He had robbed her of her child and her life. Lilly sighed; Felton would have to serve the last of his days in a mental health facility. Nick whistled past her, he was back with Toni and was the happiest she'd seen him. Miller, Will and Boss were downstairs closing Audrey's case. Scotty should be back any second now. She couldn't escort Felton to the holding cells it would be too heartbreaking.
She looked up from her work to see a brunette with a baby. "Detective Rush?" the woman asked with a small voice. Lilly had seen this woman before; she just couldn't place her anywhere.
"Yes, do you have information on a cold case?" Lilly tried to be comforting. The woman jostled the small child on her arms. She couldn't see the baby very well. All she could see was a blue cap and the white and yellow blanket. The detective noticed that she held a small diaper bag over her shoulder.
"I'm Charlene." She said hesitantly. Lilly remembered then, but this woman looked so different from the bubbly and friendly woman she met in Nashville. This woman looked tired and weary. "Is Scotty here?" She didn't have a good feeling about this.
"He should be back in a couple of minutes. Do you want to wait for him in the wait room?" She said with a calm voice. She hoped this wasn't what she was thinking. Could this be Scotty's child? Lilly lead the woman into the break room and stayed back. She made small conversation until Scotty entered PPD.
"Scotty's here. Let me get him for you." Lilly said a little relieved that her partner was here. She stepped out of the room and crossed to meet him. "You've got a new case." He said as soon as he found her.
"I don't know. She asked for you." She replied. "Charlene from Nashville." Scotty blushed a little and then went into the break room. Lilly remained at her desk. She had a feeling this wouldn't end well.
He entered the room and a cold feeling ran down his back. There was a baby. He wasn't a religious man but he sent a quick prayer. "Let this be about a cold one please."
Charlene looked at him. She didn't stand up; she had a bottle of milk and was feeding the baby who fussed. She looked different, tired, unkempt even. "Hi, Scotty. Do you remember me?"
"Of course I remember you Charlene. What can I do for you?" He was glad his partner had the foresight to tell him about her, he wouldn't have recognized her otherwise.
She fidgeted and burped the baby who fussed even more. He heard the child cry, Charlene looked lost and about to cry too. Thankfully she didn't, she found her voice and the words tumbled out. "There's no easy way to say this but this is your son Isaac."
Scotty felt as if someone punched him in the stomach. "What?" He whispered.
Charlene stood up and paced with the child in her arms. Scotty fell to a chair, all the while thinking that it had to be a sick joke. This had to be Nick's work. He looked at her, her lips were moving, and he had to pay attention now. "He's yours, my fiancée left us when he was born. I was going to get married in a church all in white. We wanted to wait until the baby came out but he said it wasn't his. It had to be his mother. "That's not your son Billy. He should be blonde, look at his black hair. No one in her family has black hair." I tried to stop them but they took the blood sample and it wasn't his. So it has to be yours."
Scotty tried to listen but soon enough Charlene was crying and rambling. The baby cried too. She shushed him. "Just be quiet please. This is all your fault." Charlene yelled and put the baby in the sofa. Scotty had the first good look at the child. He was red and crying furiously. He looked like any other baby; he kicked his little hands and feet in the air. Charlene spoke to him again. "He'll be a month next week. He was born October 7th. I can't do this anymore, not alone."
His eyes rounded, "What are you saying?" Scotty looked at the woman who had been just a one-night stand.
"He's a mistake, the papers are there. I can't do it." She said tearfully, without looking at the baby.
"You can't do that. He's your kid." Scotty said a little angry, still disbelieving his ears. This couldn't be happening to him. He used protection, this was just a one night stand nothing more. He remembered his conversation with Lilly that night. "What happens in Nashville stays in Nashville." He had been so wrong and this was the proof.
"I should have never told you. I should have given him up for adoption. I still can do it. He's not three months yet, this is a police station you have to take him in then." She said still crying.
She was overwhelmed, that was just it. She probably hadn't slept in a couple of days. He had to reassure her that everything would be fine. She just had a bad day with the baby and would come around once she had some sleep. He stopped her and put his arms on her shoulders. "Look at me." He used a gentle voice. She looked up, her eyes were red, she was definitely sleep deprived. "Tell you what. Let us calm down. We can talk about the baby and things. Don't rush into things." He was freaking out but once they talked quietly they would come to an agreement. His life changed before his eyes and he was on shaky grounds. He just had to find his footing again.
He seemed to have gotten through her because Charlene stopped her sobbing and sat down next to the crying baby. "Could you get me a glass of water please?"
"Yes." He went to the fridge and couldn't find any bottles. "I'll get one from the vending machine." She nodded and he left the room.
Scotty walked up to the vending machine on the floor below and got a bottle of water. His head was a mess of thoughts, he convinced Charlene to think about things, that was a start. He had a son, a newborn child. He couldn't have a child, he was a lone wolf, what would he do now? Charlene lived in Tennessee. He would have to visit the baby every other weekend and wire money to Charlene every month, to cover the expenses for the baby. Was this his baby? For all he knew the baby wasn't even his. He felt a headache coming in. He had to tell his parents that they had another grandchild. Would his mother be happy or angry? Scotty walked up the stairs to the bullpen. How would he tell this woman that he wanted a paternity test? Would that offend her much, he was so confused and overwhelmed. He had to put on a strong face again and try to reason with Charlene.
"Charlene?" There was no one but the baby in the sofa.