Title: The Same Place, The Same Time, written by Mitsi1819
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is in anyway related to CSI or the lyrics used in this fanfic. Now we all gasp in surprise! The song, 'Me And Mrs. Jones', belongs to, in my knowledge, to Billy Paul and CSI to the great Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS!
Warnings: A 'T' rating just to make sure, because there's a slight mention of domestic violence. And this fic is pretty AU...
Spoilers?: Nope!
A/N: This is my first CSI:NY fan fiction, and English is not my first language. I tried to avoid making any mistakes, but if I did; I'm sorry! Please point them out to me, so I can learn from them. I hope you will enjoy this story, and review it. Because I love getting words of approval or disapproval so I can change my style of writing. So if you feel like this story was no good, please tell me why you thought so!
This humble, shy piece of fan fiction is dedicated to my best friend Susie Q/Fré. I would like to thank her for listening to all my crazy ramblings, 'ideas' and weird conversations we ever had. I hope there will be many more! And I promise you; the next fic will be a D/L one!
Enjoy, and please review!
The Same Place, The Same Time
It was a day in August, he recalled, when he first had met her. It was a grey day, nothing particularly beautiful about it. The sun hid itself behind a sky filled with grey clouds who were threatening to spill their tears. There was a quite a strong wind, and he was working on a horrendous case. Most likely that was the worst part. But then something chanced; She. He smiled as he remembered their first handshake, their first introduction. He liked her instantly. The way she smiled, the way she spoke with such grace and so much wisdom, the way she walked away to her first case. Suddenly that day didn't seem so grey anymore. The wind was gone, it had changed into a soft breeze. The clouds were turning white once again, and the sun graced the Earth with its beams of light.
According to one of his colleagues he had been staring at the place were she stood when they were talking for a good five minutes. Of course, he would never admit that to someone that still had a heartbeat, but he had been staring. She had left her imprint in his heart en mind, and he didn't mind. No on the contrary, Don Flack liked it very much.
It was the start of a good friendship. They would talk for hours in 'their' cafe, about anything and everything. She would laugh at his jokes (even though they really weren't that funny) and he would listen to all of her problems. And she had a lot of those. But to him it didn't matter, he was glad that she felt comfortable with him, comfortable enough to pour her heart out to him. But when they were working, it was all strictly professional. Or at least most of the times. Sometimes she could see his eyes wondering towards her. Or he would catch her smiling at him. Just that one smile could make his day. "But she would never know that." He thought rather sadly. She was married…
But that never stopped them from seeing each other. No, she sometimes would run to him because she was married. He would always understand her, and support her. He was always there for her, no matter what her problems were, in which place she was in or the time. He was her best friend, and visa versa. After work they would always hang out somewhere. Laughing, chattering, whispering. But then she cast a glance on her watch or at the clock in the café and freak out. She always told him she already should've been home. After saying that she would throw a few dollars on the table or on the counter where they had been sitting, she would kiss him on the cheek and say her goodbyes. Within a minute she was gone, and he would be left sitting on his chair feeling rather abandoned.
Once he had made the mistake of telling her she should call her husband, and invite him over. She laughed for a couple of seconds, but then took his hands in hers and looked at him so seriously he thought she was going to tell him, right there and then, that her husband was an axe-murderer. She whispered so softly he had to lean across the table to her what she was saying. She wasn't looking at him when she told him that her husband didn't like her to meet or talk with other man. Flack could understand that; she was drop-dead gorgeous! But what he didn't understand was why she wouldn't like him in the eye. She was never shy towards him, never. But why now then? Did he do something wrong or said something that he shouldn't? He couldn't figure it out, and he also didn't have the time to ask because she had already run out of the bar they were in. What he did see though, was the tearstained napkin lying on her side of the table. He shook his head, paid for their drinks and quickly ran out of cafe to follow her.
It didn't take him long to find her. A muffled sob lead him right towards her and her hiding place, the narrow, dark alley between the cafe and the drugstore that was placed next to it. She had slid down onto the wet and dirty floor, where she was weeping. Her head was lying on her knees, while her arms were safely wrapped around them. It was like she was rocking herself to sleep. He sat down beside her. He took her shaking body in his strong arms, which only made her cry more. He tried to sooth her by softly padding her back and whispering comforting words. She would just mutter: "Please stop, please." So he did, although he didn't understand what he had done that had upset her so much.
She was afraid that no-one would ever understand, she had been such a fool. It was all her fault. He would see that too, and leave her. And then she would, once again, be alone. That's why she had decided never to tell anyone, especially not him. She could pretend quite well, in her opinion at least, because nobody knew what was happening behind closed doors. Nobody had a clue, for which she was thankful. Nobody knew about them. They thought she was a well-educated scientist whom was happily married without kids. "Two out of three, is not so bad." She thought wryly. Yes, she was a master at a little game called 'Let's Play Pretend'. She had it all worked out, nobody would ever know the truth if she just did her work, seem happy, didn't get too emotionally involved in the cases she worked on and keep her guard up.
But then he came into the picture. At first he was just another colleague, someone that didn't mean much to her. Playing her game was easy, even when he was involved. But after a while they became good friends. The best of friends really, and that's when she started to find it hard to not blurt out what was really going on in her life. She had to keep her guard up! So when they were talking about their problems she would just beat around the bush, so to speak. She would say that her husband was a bit grumpy towards her the last couple of days, when really he was just downright rude and annoying for the last couple of years. And after telling him her problem he would always reassure her that everything would be alright, that she needn't to worry. But she always did worry. She always had to worry, because it was not just her that had to live under his iron fist. No, she first and foremost had to take care of her little boy…
But that was something most people wouldn't understand. How could she live with that man that she called her husband? It certainly wasn't going to help with the upbringing of her son! But Stella thought differently. She knew that she had to stay with him, other wise things would even turn out to be worse. She tried to get away once, she did. Only, it didn't work out. Her husband found her, and then all hell broke lose. She wouldn't risk that again, she couldn't. No, she had to keep on playing her little game even when Flack was involved. God, she especially had to keep on playing when he was involved. He would leave her all alone if he would find out. Because he wouldn't understand, just like everybody else. The smiles he gave her, the cups of coffee he bought her, the little jokes no-one understood but her, she didn't want to lose those. She couldn't lose those or him. "He's the reason why I smile, but he'll never know that…"
0-0-0
He sat with her in his arms until the sky outside the alley had grown dark. She was still sobbing softly, and whispering words that sounded like an apology. He, kindly and softly, pushed her body away from him and waited until she would look up at him. She sniffed a few times but didn't look him in the eye so he put a long digit under her chin and brought her head up. Her face was tearstained and her eyes red and puffy. Brown, curly strings of hair clung to her face, which he gently pushed back behind her ears. He kissed her brow ever so gently and then looked her in the eye again. A sense of love came over her and she smiled a small smile. She swallowed hard, and focussed her eyes on the ground.
"Stella look at me, please." He whispered. She bit her lip and slowly brought her gaze up to him. She could the concern for her in his eyes and it all became to much for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. Really away all the frustrations of being married to a horrible man. The frustrations of years of mental abuse. The frustrations of always making sure that the walls she had build around her were still standing. The frustrations of being in love with him, when she knew that she shouldn't be, because it would make everything way to complicated. And he would hold her. Every tear she cried fell on his shoulder and making a stain on his black coat. He would rub her back, while saying that everything was going to be alright. That he was going to be there for her, no matter what. And she believed him. For the first time in a long while she had something to believe in. No, correction, she had someone to believe in…
0-0-0
Flack smiled again and shook his head. He had been standing in the doorway of their house remembering how lucky he was that they were there. He remembered how he had taken Stella home that night that she broke down in front of him. How she had told him everything and how shocked he was. How he had promised her that he would always be there for her and her son. He also remembered how Stella had fallen asleep in his arms after telling him how much she loved him. He remembered how he fought with her now ex-husband, and how he instantly fell in love with Stella's son Matthias. It had been one hell of a ride to get where they were now, but every drop of sweat, blood and tears had been worth it.
Her back was turned towards him. Her brown curls cascaded down on it. The soft sea wind made them dance in the air. Her arms were safely wrapped around her knees. Her laugh sounded like the one of an angel. He smiled. The little boy, with a silly grin on his face, came running towards her. His hands were behind his back. The woman unwrapped her arms and hugged the little boy tightly.
"Look mummy!" He stepped away form his mother to show her what he had held behind his back. In his hands lay a beautiful white seashell.
"Pretty, huh?!" His mother nodded .
"Yes it is, yes it is." Her voice was soft and gentle. The little guy's grin seemed to grow a few centimeters bigger. He looked up. "Daddy!" The little boy cam running towards him and flung himself in his Flack's arms. They both laughed and Flack walked, with Matthias in his arms, towards Stella. He kissed the boy in his arms and placed him on the ground. He lowered himself on the ground next to his wife.
"Hello beautiful!" He said, and kissed her. Stella smiled and lay her head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and felt at peace. The sun was shining brightly, and he was enjoying every minute of it.
Stella laughed and Flack opened his eyes. Matthias was doing a silly dance. But then Flack turned his attention to the light blue radio that Stella had brought outside. He turned the sound up, stood up and took Stella by her hands and pulled her up.
"Mrs. Flack may I have this dance?" He asked with a very fake English accent. She just laughed and wrapped her arms around him. Slowly they began to dance, Stella softly singing along with every word of their song;
Me and Mrs. Jones We meet every day at the same cafe Me and Mrs. Jones We gotta be extra careful Me and Mrs. Jones Well, it's time for us to be leaving
We got a thing going on
We both know that it's wrong
But it's much too strong
To let it go now
Six-thirty and no one knows she'll be there
Holding hands, making all kinds of plans
While the juke box plays our favorite songs
We got a thing going on
We both know that it's wrong
But it's much too strong
To let it go now
That do we don't build our hopes up too high
Because she's got her own obligations
And so, and so, do I
We got a thing going on
We both know that it's wrong
But it's much too strong
To let it go now
It hurts so much, it hurts so much inside
Now she'll go her way and I'll go mine
But tomorrow we'll meet
The same place, the same time
- Het Einde -