Chapter one
She was sitting in her seat looking at the people around her. There were no going back, she had made up her mind. She couldn't take it any more. All her thoughts were interrupted by the stewardess.
"Do you want something to drink, Miss?"
"No thank you"
As the stewardess left she felt back to her thoughts. She had had a really bad argument with her boyfriend and just had to get away. She had thought about staying in Washington, but couldn't stand the possibility of meeting him everyday. So she had made up her mind, she would go to New York and be with her friend there till she could go back home. The only thing she didn't know was if she could ever go home.
"This is the captain speaking we will be landing in New York City in about 20 minutes"
She was really glad that she left Washington and was going to New York. The only thing she didn't do before leaving was telling her friend she would come. So the first thing she would do when she got off the plane was to call her friend.
20 minutes later the plane landed in the airport and after another 15 minutes she was ready to leave. As she got into the cab she took out her phone and looked at the missed calls. They were all from her boyfriend.
"Where to, miss?" the cabdriver asked
"NYPD crime lab, please" she responded
She looked at her phone again and decided to wait to call her boyfriend back before she knew what she wanted. Instead she decided to call her friend.
"Bonasera" she heard her friend say
"Hey Snowflake" she said, mostly to surprise Stella because she knew Stella would understand who she was.
"Oh. My. God... Hey Penguin" Stella shouted "It's been a long time... How are you?" Stella asked her friend.
"I'm good. I'm in NY for a vacation"
"Oh really you're in NY?. We have to meet then" at that time Penguin paid the cabdriver for the trip and stepped into the NYPD building.
"So where are you right now? Maybe we can meet for lunch" Stella said.
"I'm right down stairs. I'm standing at the security desk" Penguin said.
"Give them the phone and I will tell them to send you up. Then I can show you around and we can go out for lunch" Stella told Penguin.
"Security" the security guard said
"Hey this is Stella Bonasera. Would you please let this women in so she can meet me at the lab?"
"Sure. We will send her up now"
Stella waited by the elevator for her friend. She was excited to hear Penguin was in town and couldn't wait to see her. The elevator doors opened and Stella smiled at her friend.
"Hey Penguin nice to see you" Stella said
"Hey Snowflake nice to see you too" Penguin answered
"I'm off in ten minutes and then we can get some lunch. Is that okay with you?" Stella asked her friend as they started to walk through the lab.
"Yeah that's fine with me" Penguin said
"Okay. Let me show you the lab and then I will grab my things and we can go" Stella showed her friend the lab. Nobody was in so it was really quiet.
"Where is everyone?" Penguin asked
"They are all out on cases. Thankfully I'm not. It has been a long night so I'm glad to be off" Stella said as they worked to her office after she had showed her friend the lab.
"I can't believe you're here. It's been so long since I saw you last" Stella smiled "Are you ready to get some lunch?" Stella asked after she had grabbed her purse and jacket from her office.
"Yes I am. Can't wait to talk like old times" Penguin said. They walked out of the lab and down the street to a little restaurant where they sat down and ordered some lunch.
"So tell me what you're doing here. I know you and you don't just go on vacation without a reason. So tell me what it is" Stella said. Penguin signed she knew Stella would make her say it no matter what.
"I had a fight with my boyfriend" Penguin started. She saw the look on Stella's face and knew she had to explain what happened.
"Do you remember six month ago, when I called you and told you that I found a boyfriend?" she asked Stella. Stella nodded "Yeah, you called me and told me you finally found one you definitely thought will be the right one. It was the first time in two years that I heard from you. Of course I remember" Stella told Penguin with a smile reaching her eyes.
"Yes that's the one. We have been together ever since. He makes me so happy, but we had a big fight and it's not the first. I just couldn't take it any more. He treats me like a child when it comes to my safety" she told Stella. Stella could see how much this affected her friend. She didn't know what to say.
"Why did you leave town? Not that I don't like you're here, but don't you have friends or co-workers in Washington you could have stayed with?" Stella asked. She looked at her friend and could see that she was hiding something. Stella couldn't put a finger on what it was, but she didn't want to push either. Penguin could see Stella looked at her with the face that says 'I know there is something you ain't telling me'.
"I know what you're thinking" Penguin finally said after some time. "What?" asked Stella, trying to sound surprised by her friend's statement.
"I know you Snowflake. You can't hide. And you're right there is something I'm not telling you" Stella always knew she had lost a game to her friend, when she was called Snowflake. But also when it had something to do with their thinking. They could always tell what the other one was thinking just by looking each other in the eyes. It was something Stella used on Mac as well. She liked the fact that she could tell what Mac was thinking, most of the time, and that he wasn't as good as she was.
It made Stella smile every time she thought about Mac and now wasn't an exception. She knew Penguin would find out sooner or later what she felt about Mac, because Penguin was the only one she couldn't hide anything from.
"Why don't you tell me what it is then. Maybe I can help you" Stella suggested
"The reason why I had to get out of the city is because of my boyfriend, the fights, and my job" Penguin took a deep breath before she continued "My boss is my boyfriend" she finally said and a tear ran down her cheek.
"So that's why. I know how it is to get into fights with my boss, but I don't know what it would be if he was my boyfriend, don't you think you can talk about it and make it work?" Stella asked. She could see her friend was really upset about what had happened between her and her boyfriend. She really hoped they could work it out.
"Have you tried talking to him?" Stella asked
"No, I left without saying anything. I just need some time to think about this. And spend some time with my friend" Penguin smiled at Stella.
"That's totally up to you. Just remember that I'm here if you need to talk. And when you find out what you're gonna do, remember what you told me six month ago" Stella said as she rose from her chair and walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. Penguin smiled and whispered "Thank you".
Not before long the food had arrived and they started to eat as Stella's cell phone rang. Stella looked at the id and answered the phone.
"Hey Mac what's up?" Stella asked her best friend and boss.
"Just wanted to know if you are out of the lab, because I told you to get out before I would return. So I'm just calling for a heads warning" Mac said. Stella could tell by his voice that he was smiling she really like to see Mac smile.
"Okay thanks, but I'm not at the lab any more, so don't worry. I will see you tomorrow. Bye Mac" Stella said and hang up. She put her phone down and looked at her friend who had a big smile on her face.
"What?" asked Stella
"Nothing, you just seem happy" Penguin answered with a smile
"Whatever"
After they finished their lunch they decided to take a walk in Central Park. It was a beautiful day so there were many people in the park. They found a bench where they sat down and looked at all the children playing. Stella was the first one to speak after they had entered the park.
"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked
"No, I was gonna ask you if you knew some place nice and not too expensive, because I don't know how long I'm gonna be here" Penguin answered.
"Can't come up with one right now, but why don't you stay with me. I have a guest room, not big but it has a bed and you can stay there as long as you want" Stella said to her friend with a smile. She wanted her friend to feel at home. She knew her apartment wasn't home to her, but she thought it would be better than a hotel. And they could talk if she needed it.
"If that's okay with you" Penguin said
"Of course it is. It will be just like old times" Stella answered as she hugged her friend before they got up and went to Stella's apartment.
When they came to Stella's apartment they settled down on the couch.
"So is Mac just your boss?" Penguin asked after some time. Stella just looked at her, she didn't know what to say without telling her friend too much. Stella didn't know herself what was going on between them, but something had changed.
"Yes, he's just my boss... and best friend, but nothing more. Why do you ask?" Stella knew the answer to her question. She had gotten the same look earlier after she ended her conversation with Mac.
"Because earlier when you spoke with him you seemed happy. And beyond friendship" Penguin put in before Stella could say anything.
"It was just something he said, nothing else. Do you want to watch some movies and talk?" Stella asked. Glad that her friend let go of the other conversation. "Yeah, we can do that" Penguin answered as her phone rang. Penguin just looked at it without answering it. Stella just looked at her friend. She could see the expression on her friend's face and decided not to say anything. Soon it stopped ringing and they choose some chick flicks to watch.
They had watched a lot of movies and they had had a lot of take out food, which still stood on the coffee table in front of them. Stella could feel the exhaustions from her night shift, it had felt like she had been working for a whole week but it had only been a night shift. Stella could see her friend was tired too so she decided it was time for bed. She showed her friend the guest room and went to bed. She was really glad her friend was here and she would ask Mac tomorrow if she could get a day off to be with her friend.
Tell me what you think, should I continue?
Please review, if you want more :)
And I will tell you who Penguin is soon, but maybe you can figure it out.