Title: While We Sit Here
Rating/Warnings: PG | Language
Word count: 1170
Summary: Having such a good success rate only makes it harder when they lose.
Notes: You guys! Apparently I wrote this back in November last year and then totally forgot about it. I was skimming through old docs and I found it. Set after 02x09 Mindhunters.
Scotty pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and drew in a deep, slow breath.
The rustle and murmur of the bullpen had died away; there weren't many people staying late. He had no idea who was still around - if he had to guess, Vera had disappeared for a drink already, Jeffries probably alongside him.
The door opened quietly, and Scotty rubbed at his eyes for a brief second before he looked up, folding his hands under his chin. "Hey."
"Hey." Lilly sat opposite him, the hollow light of the interview room casting shadows beneath her eyes. She braced her arms against the table and rested her head down with a sigh.
"Hell of a day, huh."
She gave a humourless laugh. "I'll say."
"Anyone still out there?"
"Stillman."
"He okay?"
"Hm."
Scotty left it at that. Stillman was no more okay than the rest of them right now. They were going to be turning today over in their minds for weeks - months. Forever, maybe.
"I keep trying to pin somethin' down," Lilly admitted, raising her head just enough to meet Scotty's eyes. "Somethin' he said."
"He didn't say anythin'," Scotty answered tiredly. He shook his head and scraped his chair back. "C'mon, Lil. I'll walk you out."
She looked like she was going to argue - she straightened her back and frowned, opened her mouth to say something... but it all faded away. She slumped again and pushed herself to her feet.
The air outside was crisp, a bite of frost pinching at exposed skin. Scotty shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and slowed his steps as Lilly draped her scarf around her neck.
"How're you gettin' home?" he asked, glancing around for a cab.
"Train."
He fell into step beside her, and she didn't protest. They walked in silence for a while, and he was sure she could feel the same prickling fear at the back of her neck; an irrational sensation of being watched or followed.
"Bet he's not even in Pennsylvania anymore," Lilly said after a while.
"Said he was leavin'," Scotty said in response. There was a heavy weight across his shoulders, something that pulled and ached. "We're gonna get him," he added after a moment, not sure where the conviction was coming from. "It's just gonna take time."
Lilly nodded. "Yeah."
He felt grossly unsettled. He clenched his fists inside his pockets and thought about heading to the all-night gym for a couple of hours to take some of his frustration out on a punching bag or a treadmill. Exhausting himself, because he wasn't going to get any sleep otherwise.
It was so late the station was almost deserted - just a couple of teenagers in torn jeans at the end of the platform, wrapped up in each other's arms, laces untied and jackets hanging loose and open.
Lilly glanced up at the clock over the platform before she sighed and looped her arm through Scotty's. They sank onto a cold metal bench and waited quietly.
"I thought I had him," Lilly admitted. "When I went to walk out on him, I thought..."
"Me too." His arm was still linked with hers, and he felt a slight tug as she shrugged her hands deeper into her pockets.
She shook her head and slumped, eyes closed. "God damn it," she whispered.
"Yeah," Scotty muttered. "Fuck today."
The train squealed as it rounded a curve in the tracks. They both watched it pull up alongside the platform. The teenagers separated themselves just long enough to climb aboard and fling themselves into the same seat, grinning and happy. Lilly made no effort to move, and Scotty sat still beside her.
The doors closed and the train creaked away again, disappearing into the dark.
Lilly rested her head against Scotty's shoulder. "Next one," she whispered.
"Yeah."
A cold breath of wind ruffled Lilly's hair and shifted a stray sheet of newspaper against the floor. The lights above them hummed, a moth fluttered sickly against one of the caged bulbs.
Scotty found himself thinking about the next morning - their next case; another victim, another suspect, another motive. He felt an unpleasant quiver in his gut at the thought of having to move on.
"He threatened me," Lilly said softly.
"Yeah." Scotty shifted, the bench cold and hard under him. "Don't worry about it, Lil."
"No, I'm not. I was gonna say - I mean... It's kind of comforting."
"Comforting?"
"I got to him. So bad he's gonna come back one day. Even if he thinks it's to finish me off, you know? And I'll get him then. I swear I will."
"You'll have to beat me to it," Scotty muttered.
She gave a short laugh that sounded somewhat genuine. Scotty grinned and rested his cheek against the top of her head.
The newspaper cartwheeled across the platform in another gust of wind, and Lilly shivered, tugging against Scotty's arm.
"We don't have a whole lot of days like this," she said after a moment. "Makes it harder when we don't win one."
"Yeah," Scotty agreed. "Our success rate is pretty good, you and me."
She nodded, gently enough so he didn't feel the need to lift his head away from hers. "Guess we should be thankful for that," she said.
"It don't make today suck any less."
"I'm gonna get him," she murmured. "He only has to make one mistake."
Scotty grinned against the top of her head. "I know," he said. "And I gotta say, Lil, I don't envy the guy. You're about the last person I'd ever want pissed at me. You just ain't gonna stop."
"Not until he's where he belongs," Lilly confirmed grimly. She tilted her head against his shoulder and he shifted so he could see her eyes. "And you'd better not ever do anything to get on my wrong side, Valens."
He gave her a little salute with his free hand. "Do my best not to."
They sat in silence for a few minutes more. The ache across Scotty's shoulders had slowly faded away, though he could still feel his heart pulsing dully in his temples, and his eyes itched to close.
"Gonna sleep tonight?" he asked eventually, his voice quiet.
"Gonna try."
He nodded. He figured everyone in Homicide would be ghost-wrecked tomorrow; too busy chasing thoughts and frustration tonight to catch any rest.
"Thought I had him," Lilly murmured again.
In the distance, another train squealed and clacked around the curve in the track.
"Me too," Scotty said. "Next time, Lil. I swear."
The train shunted to a stop in front of them, disturbing the quiet, windows lit up in butter-yellow tones. They both gazed at it, neither of them moving. After a long minute, it rolled away again, rattling out of sight.
"Next one," Lilly whispered.
Scotty rested his head against hers again. "Yeah."