Ok so this isn't "tomorrow" but I've had the oddest two weeks and writing has just gone out the window, and although I had most of this written and ready to post, I struggled over some of it. My muse returned late, late last night (just as I as about to go to sleep) with another story and that helped this along.
Thank you for sticking with me and an ever bigger thank you to all those who took the time to review. I am planning on writing a few more friendship fics, plus a few D/L fics in the near future. I hope you'll stick around for those as well. Its only going to get better…right?
There's going to be another part cause this got a bit longer than expected.
If there was one thing he could say about Stella Bonasera, it was that she was punctual. At 9am on the dot, he heard a key turn in his door and it open to reveal the New York investigator. Cup of coffee in hand.
"Hey" she said after she had closed the door and turned to face the inside of the apartment.
He acknowledged her with a nod of his head, his mouth full of food.
"She still asleep?" she asked coming in and setting down her bag.
"Yeah, hasn't stirred all night" he said after swallowing the thoroughly chewed food in his mouth
"Did she tell you what happened last night?" Stella asked as she took a seat on the other end of the couch, setting her cup of coffee on the table.
"Kinda," he said spooning another load of cereal into his mouth "She went round to his last night. He wanted to know why she was there, told her he was expecting someone else then slammed the door in her face"
"Bastard," she spat "I know he's been having a hard time but that's no way to treat her"
"A point I'm going to put across to him later on this morning"
CSINY CSINY CSINY CSINY CSINY
The first thing Lindsay was aware of when she woke, was a terrible pounding in her head. It was a steady sort of pounding till she became more aware of her surroundings and realised she wasn't in her own apartment, then the pounding increased in both sound and speed. Suppressing a groan she lifted her head from the pillow and cast a quick look around, noticing the glass of water perched on the bedside cabinet.
Sitting herself up as quietly and carefully as she could, she took a long drink from the glass. A quick inspection of the pills confirmed them as aspirin and they where quickly consumed.
Laying her head back down on the pillow she surveyed her surroundings. The room was typically male. White washed walls with a minimalist furnishings totalling two bedside tables, and the double bed she was currently residing in.
A punching bag hung in one corner while a pile of sports equipment stood piled in another. A door set in one wall was slightly open revealing shirts, shoes and jackets, numerous ties in a multitude of colours hung on the door handle.
The ties where the give away and biting back another groan, Lindsay closed her eyes and tried to put together the few fragmented pictures of last night, tried to remember how she had managed to get from the bar to Flacks bedroom.
She could remember a pair of very blue eyes, which she assumed had been Flack, and a quite a number of beers. She couldn't remember any impromptu karaoke however and for that she had to be thankful.
The reason for her drinking the night away in a downtown bar hit her at full force just then, screwing her eyes tight shut she tried to push it to the back of her mind. She did not want to think about that now, her head hurt too much already.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and Stella's head peeked round the door frame. She pulled the covers over her head in a vain attempt to hide. She knew Stella, she knew she was going to ask questions that Lindsay really didn't feel like answering at that time.
"Hey, you awake?"
"If I say no will you go away?" came the muffled reply and Stella laughed before entering the room and taking a seat on the end of the bed, idly stroking the bed sheets.
"How's your head kiddo?"
"Don't ask" Lindsay said as she let the cover fall down and expose her face. The blind at the window keep most of the sun out though the faint light that did manage to make it through caused Lindsay to screw up her eyes.
Stella watched her for a few moments before speaking "Do you fancy some breakfast?" she asked.
At the mention of breakfast Lindsay's stomach gave a great rumble though the mere thought of food made the same organ roll rebelliously. Breathing deeply she fought to keep whatever was in her stomach, in there.
"Maybe just some toast" Lindsay finally conceded, sitting up in the bed. Stella left her to find her feet on her own, heading out the door to rummage through Flacks cupboards.
Lindsay gingerly got to her feet, slowly raising her body from the bed to a sitting position before standing up. The pounding in her head increasing with every level up and when she was standing fully upright, she fought to keep her head from dropping to rest on her chest.
Mindful of the fact that she was in socks and that Don had laminate flooring, and that slipping and ending up on her butt was the last thing she wanted, so she proceeded with caution to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
One look in the bathroom mirror confirmed her suspicions, she looked as though she'd been pulled through a hedge backwards, several times. Flattening her hair and tying it back in a quick bun, she then took a cool, wet face cloth and removed the remains of last nights makeup. She was momentary disappointed that the black bags hanging below her eyes weren't the result of smudged eyeliner and mascara.
The smell of recently toasted bread drew her out of the bathroom and into the living/kitchen area. A jug of water sat on the table in front of the television, a tall glass beside it. Stella busied herself in the kitchen while Lindsay lowered herself onto the couch, sighing as she rested her head on a pillow and closed her eyes.
The gentle clink of a plate being set down on the table and the movement of the couch as she sat down, alerted Lindsay to Stella's presence and opening one eye slowly, she looked at the curly haired woman who was eyeing her with interest, a question splashed across her face.
"I really don't want to talk about it" Lindsay said as she sat up a little and reached out for a piece of dry toast.
"You sure?"
She nodded "Yeah. Maybe later though" she said looking across at Stella with a small but friendly smile, with Stella returning one full of comfort and understanding, a silent pledge to be there when needed.
"Whenever you're ready to talk kiddo" Stella said as she reached out to rub Lindsay's arm before giving it a squeeze.
"I'm under strict instructions to tell you not to leave until Flack gets home" she said as she stood.
Lindsay rolled her eyes "Does he want me to cook him dinner as well?" she asked sarcastically before her expression softened. "He's a good friend" she said quietly but firmly. Stella nodded then looked at her watch.
"I've got to get going. You going to be alright on your own?" she asked as she lifted her jacket of the hook by the door and slipped it on.
"I'll probably go back to sleep for a while"
"Well try and eat something, and keep drinking fluids. It'll help to shift the headache"
"Headache?" Lindsay asked with a grin "What headache? I ache all over, its not just confined to my head"
"Serves you right for drinking too much in such a short space of time" Stella chided as she put her used cup and dish in the sink.
"Urgh don't remind me" Lindsay said as she sank back down on the pillows.
"If you need anything," Stella said as she leant over the couch, looking down at Lindsay who opened her eyes to stare back "Give me a call. Okay?"
"Thanks Stella" the younger woman smiled and the elder left the apartment, pausing at the door to look back at a person she considered a friend. As she watched Lindsay lift her self from the couch and slowly but surely tuck into her toast and water breakfast, Stella made herself a promise. That if Flack didn't have any luck with Danny, she'd be the next one round there, and he wouldn't know what had hit him.
