AN: Hello all. I love Empire and I love Cookie Lyon. Here's my first fic for the show. Cookie is one hard character to write for so I hope I did her justice as this has just been bugging me since the last episode aired. What happens after Malcolm picks Cookie up? And since she miraculously sobered up quickly how did it all happen? Here's my take on what could have been a thing. Thanks for giving it a shot! xoxoxo No beta all mistakes are all me. As much as I'd love to I don't own any of these characters.

Her head was pounding and her stomach was on fire, she woke up from a groggily haze on her sofa, barefoot with a blanket wrapped around her.

"What the fu-" A sudden queasiness overcame her and she instantly threw a hand over her mouth rushing to the bathroom, too preoccupied to notice the footsteps that followed.

After emptying whatever what was in her stomach in the toilet, she grabbed a toothbrush to clean out her mouth; she took a moment to glance at her appearance in the mirror.

"Wow, I look like shit," she murmured aloud.

"I've seen worse."

She jumped at the sound of the familiar voice at her bathroom doorway and turned to see none other than Malcolm Devoe. Damn, he is fine. She thought. Quickly aware she was staring she cleared her voice and spoke up.

"What are you doing here?" It came out harsher than she intended and she took note of that.

"Making sure you're still alive." He teased, she simply bowed her head in response, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed, in my line of work I've seen far worse than this." He assured her with a smile. "Plus, I wanted to make sure you were alright, would kill me if anything happened to you."

Cookie scoffed. "Ha, I doubt that I'd be one less burden he'd have to deal with." She replied bitterly. "But thank you for checking on me. I'm sure you have better things to do than babysit a grown woman."

"Actually, part of my job says babysit grown women so you know I think I'm good." He laughed.

"I guess, how long was I out for?"

Malcolm looked at his watch. "About four hours."

"FOUR HOURS? I can't just sit around I've got to get back to Empire, we're in the middle of a war!" Cookie rushed out of the bathroom and headed to her living room to grab her shoes and coat before she felt another wave of nausea and stopped in her tracks.

" I think you'd better off staying home for a few more hours."

"I'm fine nothing a Tylenol can't cure. And the name is Cookie." She said moving to her kitchen to grab something to eat and a glass of water, only to be met with an empty fridge. When's the last time she went shopping.

"Yeah, it was looking a little scarce in there that's why I grabbed you this."

Malcolm held out a brown paper bag before setting it on the island. "I got a huge bowl of chicken soup from my favorite Caribbean spot in Brooklyn, it's kinda spicy."

He pulled the lid off and an aroma of spices immediately filled the air. It smelled so damn good. Cookie walked over to her drawer and pulled out two spoons.

"There's no way I'm eating all that by myself. Here."

"I thought you'd never ask."

Cookie dipped her spoon in and let the warm liquid fill soothe her; she let out a moan that was way more sensual than intended.

"This is so good, I could just kiss you."

"I don't think Mr. Lyon would like that very much."

She took another bite.

"Good thing I could care less what Mr. Lyon thinks, huh?" She smiled before adding. "You got crackers too?"

"You know it." He pulled the crackers from the bag as well as a large ginger ale.

"You are heaven sent." She grabbed the ale, soup and cracker moved to sit on her sofa and turn on the TV.

"If you're gonna be here and babysit we can at least enjoy ourselves right?" She patted the seat next to her, beckoning him to sit.

Twenty minutes later she was already full and had tucked a foot underneath her on the sofa, Malcolm kept quite a bit of distance between them his hand on the back of the sofa mere inches from her arm. She looked over at him as rested her head on a propped up hand.

"Why are you so," she searched for the right words without sounding too harsh, "uptight?"

"Uptight?" He threw the question back at her.

"Not in a bad way." She shifted her weight and moved her body to face him. "I mean conservative."

"I'm not conservative, just a little reserved."

"Same damn thing." She laughed to lighten the tension she involuntarily caused. "Are you always like this?"

"I'm like this because the job requires me to be like this, otherwise I know how to have fun."

"Really?" She teased. "You didn't want to have fun a few hours ago." She dropped her voice to a whisper.

"That's because you were drunk and that'd be taking advantage of you."

He heard her. "Well it's only taking advantage if it wasn't consensual." She replied suggestively.

She was well aware she was toeing the line of professionalism, however there was sudden burst of confidence she felt when she was around him. Maybe it was the subtle looks he gave her or the often unsubtle eyefucking the two of them usually did at Empire or the occasional smile she pulled from him, but there was something about him that made her feel braver than usual and it wasn't entirely unwelcomed.

"I remember everything you know. It's a gift and a curse. So, the only thing stopping you was the fact that I was drunk." She trailed off at the end.

"That and the fact that it's against my code of ethics to be involved with anyone I protect. Oh, and the fact that whatever it is between you and your ex is so intense I don't want to get caught in the crossfire."

She frowned. "So you're afraid of Lucious that's why you won't fuck me?"

As if the look on his face was any indication of his shock of her colorful choice of words she reined herself back in.

"I forget you're reserved. What I mean to say is, it's because of Lucious you don't want to get involved with me?"

"I'm not afraid of any man."

Cookie shifted closer to see how far he would go. "Then what is the hold up? I'm gorgeous, you're fine. I'm single, you're single."

"How do you know I'm single, you don't really know anything about me?"

That stopped her in her tracks. He was right. All this time she had been outrageously flirtatious and didn't think to wonder if there was already someone he was going to every night. Damn.

She immediately distanced herself, feeling embarrassed. She was just about to get up when a hand shot out to grab her wrist, keeping her still.

"I am single by the way. My point is Cookie you deserve more than just wanting someone to fuck you. Getting to know someone can be just as intimate."

"Yeah well last time I got to know someone they fucked me over so I'm over that."

"Well that's a shame, you seem like a great person to get to know."

He looked at her with a sincerity that scared her almost as much as it turned her own. This man didn't know her from a can of paint, but it felt like he was speaking to her soul. Yeah, she was just extracting herself from the poison that was Lucious Lyon, a poison that was so damn hard to get rid of, but she couldn't deny the attraction and level of comfort she felt with the man sitting a mere 10 inches away from her.

"Yeah well, not everyone thinks so." She bit the inside of her cheek immediately thinking about the estranged relationship with her sons. While her and Hakeem were making strides there was still some hesitation there, and with Andre it was almost non-existent.

As if he read her mind he placed a hand on her knee. "They will come around don't worry."

"How do you know?"

"My mom left us when I was 17. "

"I'm sorry. What happened?"

"My father. I didn't get it at first. I was angry but I realized that she did it to protect herself. My dad served in the army and went through major PTSD, my mom couldn't handle it and she up and left." He looked away for a moment then back at her and smiled.

"So what about now?"

"Closer than ever. It took time of course, but I had to understand her descion. I didn't like it at the time, but I realized that her leaving was best for everyone. I wouldn't be the man I am today if she hadn't gotten out."

There was an awkward silence before she decided to fill it.

"When I was locked up I thought everyday was going to be my last. After-" she stopped herself mid-sentence feeling the tears threatening to break the surface. She took a deep inhale before continuing. "After Lucious divorced me, I was devastated. I didn't understand. I mean, I knew it was coming he'd already stopped coming by but I was at least hopeful. When I got those papers it seemed almost final. It was final and I couldn't handle it. I would have panic attacks, even thought about committing suicide a few times." She felt the hot tears staining her cheeks as she went on. "The only thing stopping me was the fact I knew I had my three boys. There was an unexplainable feeling, it was almost as if they were there encouraging me to hold on when I thought I would lose my grip on reality." She quickly wiped her tears on the back of her hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to burden you with my issues."

"No it's fine. I just, wow. Cookie Lyon, you are one remarkable woman." He smiled at her wistfully.

The tension was thick in the air, she felt it and she was almost certain he did too. His hand moved from her knee to her hands that were settled in her lap, instantly feeling the heat radiate off of him. She knew it was over when she noticed him staring at her lips. She watched his face as it was almost as if she could hear his inner thoughts, she watched his jaw clench as if he was trying to force himself from moving closer, so instantly she made the first move hoping she wouldn't be denied. She removed her hand from his and moved closer to Malcolm rising up a bit so that she hovered over him slightly her hands on his shoulders, she looked down as her eyes locked with his. She noted the hesitation, but also the underlying desire. She waited for confirmation, which she received when he looked at her lips once again. She didn't waste anytime leaning in to capture his lips with her own, taking her time coaxing his mouth open as their tongues finally met. She felt his hands grab her waist as hers moved to his face as they both fought for control over the kiss. He gave as much as she took, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth she moaned. Damn. He's good.

Just as he moved to have her straddle his lap, there was a loud ring from Malcolm's pocket. He pulled away with a sigh and looked into her eyes.

"Ignore it." She leaned in to kiss him again as he took the phone out and they both looked at the caller ID.

Lucious Lyon.

Instantly they both stiffened at the name as if it was like the man himself just walked in the room. A different kind of tension filled the air. Cookie wordlessly got off of his lap and went to put up the remnants of the food while Malcolm answered the phone.

"Hello. Yes Mr. Lyon. I'm on it. Be there in twenty."

Cookie came back out just as he was putting the phone back in his pocket and reached for his coat.

"I uh. I gotta go."

"I figured as much."

Silence filled the room as the two of them just stared at each other, aware of the line crossed that there was no coming back from.

"I'm sorry about-"

She held up a hand to stop him.

"I didn't exactly stop you."

"This wasn't a good idea."

She moved closer to him fully aware of consequences of their actions.

"You're probably right."

"This violates everything I promised to uphold."

"Even promises were made to be broken."

"But I don't break promises Cookie. We cannot do this. We will not do this."

"Both you and I know it's a little too late."

"I gotta go. Lucious needs me. I'll um. I'll see you around."

"Sure." She smiled as he headed towards her front door, she called out after him. "Malcolm, wait," she walked up to him and before he could pull away she pulled his head down and pushed her lips against his one more time, smiling against his lips as he moaned into the kiss. Before he got a chance to deepen it she pushed away.

"Be safe."

She shut the door and leaned back against the frame with a sigh.

"I'm gonna get that man killed."