"Hey you're sneezing on my crime scene."
"Sorry Mac, allergies. Cats. Hate 'em."
Mac Taylor and Don Flack, CSI New York, Episode 203- Zoo York
Outside the door of the apartment, Flack sneezed. Then he sneezed again.
Stella shot him a concerned look.
"Dust," he said, with some justification. The building was more than a little dilapidated.
"You good?" she asked.
"Yep," he said, motioning the landlord forward. As the old man struggled to find the right key and fit it into the lock, he sneezed five more times. He tried to swallow them, but he knew he wasn't fooling her.
She frowned at him and he waved off her concern. Aww, fuck it, he already knew it wasn't just the dust. The doorknob finally turned and Flack motioned the landlord out of the way.
Drawing his weapon, Flack nudged the door open. As soon as there was a gap, a mangy four legged beast leaped out at them and scampered down the hall.
"I hate cats," he muttered to himself.
The door swung wide to reveal dozens of them. They sat, stretched and licked themselves on nearly every flat surface in the small apartment. A couple of them were screeching, and several others were climbing over the body of a young man on a floor littered with trash.
Flack sneezed again then called back over his shoulder to the uniformed officer standing in the hallway. "Get animal control down here. Tell them to bring a lot of cages."
None of the other cats tried to get out of the door. A few windows were open, one leading on to a fire escape and an exit for the cats- or a killer.
Flack moved forward, clearing the room. The air was thick with the smell of decomposed human and cat piss and his eys watered as he picked his way between the cats. He checked the bathroom but the only living things in there were more of the four legged variety. He sneezed again, and again as he moved back into the main room.
He felt a whisper in his lungs and tried to cough it up, fist in front of his mouth. It didn't really work.
"Hey Flack," said Stella, crouched over the body examining the head wound. She batted away a cat with the back of her hand. "Stop contaminating my crime scene." She was grinning as she looked up, but her smile quickly faded.
"Don?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
"Fucking cats," he said, or tried to. He was wheezing heavily now, and felt a little lightheaded. His eyes were still watering and his nose itched.
He stumbled towards the doorway and out into the hall. He felt a hand on his wrist and the next thing he knew she had wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You," she snapped at the uniformed officer. "Wait here till back up arrives."
He tried to tell her it wasn't necessary. It usually wasn't this bad- a couple of sneezes, watering eyes and he was fine. Then again he had never willingly walked into a room full of cats before.
Stella was nearly dragging him back down the hallway now, towards the stairs he had comfortably hiked up not ten minutes before. He stumbled a little walking down them, leaning a little more heavily than he liked on the woman beside him. Somehow she didn't let him fall, and he found himself marveling at how strong she was.
The New York City air hit him as they stumbled out the front door and down the stone steps. At the bottom she eased him down, letting him slump against the stone plinth. He felt her hands on his head and he looked up at her through tears.
"Breathe, just breathe," she said. He tried to do as she said, struggling to breathe what little air he could into his lungs, little bits at a time.
She tugged at his tie, quickly undoing the knot and pulling it free. "I'll be right back," she said.
It seemed an hour that he sat there on the step, waiting for her. Slowly his lungs began to clear a little and he stopped sneezing with every second breath. Then she was standing in front of him.
His heart fluttered faster, like it did every time he saw her. That's why he walked into the fucking room. She could take care of herself, but as far as he was concerned, when he was around that was his job.
He could have stayed at the door, both Stella and the officer who accompanied them had guns and could have easily cleared the room. But no, he had to be the one going first, the one who would bear the brunt of any consequences.
He tried to wipe away the tears that had fallen involuntarily from his eyes. They were still itching but he could see her clearly. Fuck it, now this was just embarrassing.
"Here," she said holding out two pills. He took them and she handed him an uncapped bottle of water to wash them down. He choked them down with a few swigs of the bottle.
She crouched down in front of him placing her hands on his knees to keep her balance so their eyes were level. "That was a stupid thing to do, Don," she said. "Next time don't be an idiot okay?"
She sounded angry but her words lacked her usual fire. "Hey, no harm, no foul," he said. She shook her head and sighed. The palms of her hands were warm on his knees.
He looked at her. After a moment she looked back up at him, and he held her gaze, searching her eyes for something.
He found it.
"Ah, do you guys need a room or somethin'?" Danny asked from where he was standing next to Stella. He had arrived without either of them noticing.
She stood up quickly, taking a step backwards, and Flack sighed. Damn Messer. He could never leave well enough alone. She nodded at Danny, eyes hard, and walked back up the steps and into the building.
Flack stayed where he was, not yet ready to get back to work.
"Hey, Flack, you okay?"
He could still feel the warmth of her hands on his knees. He waved away his friends concern. "Cats, man. Allergies."
Danny nodded. "You good?"
He closed his eyes briefly, remembering the look in hers. "Yeah man, I'm good."
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I rewatched this episode lately and when I found out Flack had allergies (I had been to busy paying attention to the meeting of Danny and Lindsay the first two or three times) I imagined him walking into a room full of cats. Gee I'm mean, hey?
Then I saw him sitting on that step, Stella crouched in front of him, so wrapped up in each other they they didn't even notice Danny until he was standing right next to them. And I couldn't resist.
Oh, and I love cats.