This story was originally going to be a oneshot but many of you have requested that I add to it, so here is chapter 2. Thanks for all the reviews, please keep them coming :- )
Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case.
About a month had gone by and Lilly's ankle was feeling a lot better. She was back at work but confined to desk duty. She hated being stuck behind a desk but knew it wouldn't be too long before she was back out there with the rest of the squad. She was staring intently at some forms when she heard a familiar voice behind her call her name.
"Lil,"
She almost jumped out of her chair at the sound of Scotty's voice.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya," he said.
"It's okay, just caught up in this paperwork," she told him, but she was lying. She had actually spent the whole morning thinking about him. About how he had looked after her these past few weeks, driving her to work, bringing her coffee and generally keeping her spirits high because he knew how much she hated being stuck behind a desk. She sometimes didn't know why he cared so much, she wasn't used to people looking after her like that and wasn't really sure what to make of it. She knew she liked it though, maybe a little too much. He's your partner Lilly, she told herself, don't go getting too attached.
"Well I'm here to rescue you from that!" he told her brightly.
Lilly was confused.
"It's lunchtime, thought we could go get a bite to eat?"
"I don't know Scotty; I've got a lot to get through today…"
"Come on Lil, I know you haven't had any breakfast, you need to eat and I know a great place."
She tried to think of an excuse not to go but her mind couldn't come up with one.
"I ain't taking no for an answer," he told her, smiling.
Damn, she could not resist that smile of his. Since when did that happen? She wondered. "Okay but we can't stay too long," she finally relented.
Scotty helped her out of her chair. She was walking around a bit more now but Scotty still hovered over her like she would fall over any second. Lilly acted like she was annoyed with him but deep down she found it slightly amusing.
Once they were in Scotty's car, he began to drive to their lunch destination.
"So where are we going?" Lilly asked.
"It's a surprise," he said and couldn't keep the grin off his face.
"What are you up to?" she asked, she could read him like a book.
"Nothin'"
"I know that look Scotty,"
"You'll see,"
They pulled up about 5 minutes later and Scotty helped her out of the car. "The park?" She said surprised.
"Yeah," he confirmed, "wait here, it need to get something out of the trunk."
Lilly stood there wondering what was going on, only to see Scotty come back with a picnic basket in his hand. "It's a nice day, thought it'd be nice if we ate out here. Come on, let's go." He led her to a nice little spot on the grass and laid a blanket down for them to both sit on. Scotty unpacked the picnic basket as Lilly watched. She couldn't believe he had gone to all that trouble. "Hope you're hungry."
"Yeah, actually." She admitted, "this looks good!"
Scotty smiled and handed her a plate, some chicken pasta salad and gazpacho soup. Lilly took a sip of the soup, "oh my God, this is amazing!" she said. Lilly paused and smiled, "A cop and a chef!" she paused, "And good at both."
"My ma taught me to cook when I was a kid, figured it would come in handy one day," He explained.
"You gotta stop spoiling me, I may get used to it." She teased and immediately regretted saying it. Get a hold of yourself Lilly!
He smiled and she could see something flash in his eyes, just for a second, "I got the feeling you've been avoiding me today,"
"What? No, I've just been really busy." She lied again. She was indeed busy but she was also trying to keep her distance. Since the time she woke up that morning she had had him on her mind. She even had the feeling of butterflies in her stomach in anticipation of seeing him. They were partners and she shouldn't be having these feelings, whatever they were, for him.
"Really? Thought I might have said or done something to…"
"No, no, don't be silly Scotty. You've done nothing wrong."
He paused, briefly studying her face and he could tell there was something she wasn't telling him. "Okay," he told her, "let me know if you need a hand?"
"Thanks,"
There was silence for a few minutes while they ate before Scotty spoke again. "So I was thinkin', maybe we could do something this weekend?"
"Do something?"
"Yeah, we did say we were going to go someplace when you were feeling better..remember?"
"Oh, yeah, right." Lilly said and hesitated before answering, "I don't know if I can make it this weekend, I have to do something for a friend.."
"Lil, is something wrong?"
Lilly sighed, "Scotty," she began. "Lately I've been doing some thinking….about us."
He looked at her, intensity in his deep chocolate brown eyes, "yeah?"
"Yeah, you and I have been spending a lot of time with each other…. and I just think we need a little….space. You know what I mean?"
Scotty was confused, "no, I don't. I thought you liked hanging out.."
"I do, but maybe a little too much…"
"What are you saying Lil?" Scotty asked, half guessing the answer.
Lilly started to draw circles on the blanket, "Scotty I.…."
"Hey guys, mind if I join you?" Nick Vera asked standing over them holding a cheesteak. He sat down next to them before either of them could answer and started mumbling something about the diner being full but neither of them were paying attention to him, they just held each other's gaze. Nick stopped rambling as he noticed, "am I interrupting something here?"
Scotty quickly pulled his gaze away from Lilly's. "No man,"
Lilly looked at the cheeseteak, "you really gonna eat all that?" she asked trying to forget about what had been previously on her mind.
Scotty was doing the opposite though; he played the last words of their conversation over in his mind. Did she have feelings for him? He knew they were getting close. He had to find out; he had to get her alone someplace. He began to work on a plan.
