Chapter Two:
The next morning Scotty woke up, earlier than usual and headed for the shower. His legs ached from the over exercise the previous night and he hoped he would still be able to walk by the afternoon. He drove over to Lilly's wanting to offer her a lift; he found a spot just outside her door and happily bounded up the stairs and knocked on her front door
The door opened and there stood Lilly's mystery man, wearing only boxers and a t-shirt. "Can I help you?" he asked, absently patting Olivia who was curled up in his arms.
Scotty stared blankly at the strangers, unable to find his voice. Clearing his throat he began "Oh yeah, Scotty Valens, I work with Lil, I thought I'd see if she needed a lift"
"Oh hi, I am Rick, come on in man. She's just in the shower" and he stuck out his hand which Scotty reluctantly shook. He followed him into Lilly's apartment and watched as he walked down the hall towards her bedroom. The last time he was in her apartment, Lilly's mother had just died and he'd stopped by to see if she was okay. He remembered seeing her on the couch her cheeks stained with tears and he longed even then to pull her into his arms and let her cry it out on his shoulder.
"Hey Scotty" Lilly said in surprise as she came down the hall "What are you doing here?" she asked as she slipped into her jacket and holstered her gun.
"I was wondering if you needed a lift" Scotty asked, she looked at her partner curiously and shook her head.
"No, I am fine, I am gonna have breakfast with Rick" She said
"Oh...right okay" Scotty began to back out of the apartment, Lilly followed him out.
"Are you okay Scotty?" she asked
"Yeah, fine" he said as he almost tripped over one of her cats "I'll see you at work" he said and he all but ran back down the stairs to his car.
Lilly watched her partner get into his car and drive away, slightly faster than usual and sighed. He probably just wasn't expecting me to have company, she told herself as she walked back inside.
Scotty was consequently the first to enter the precinct that morning; he immediately headed over to the coffee machine and deciding that an extra large coffee was in order, began to spoon the powder into the filter. "You're such an idiot" he whispered to himself, he figured when he had called her last night that Lilly had company, though he tried to tell himself that this Rick person, would be gone by morning but he had apparently stayed the night.
Scotty walked back to his desk and sat down; he stared at Lilly's vacant chair. He sighed again lowered his head onto his desk "God I am pathetic"
"Well I wasn't gonna say anythin" a voice came from across the room and his head snapped up, spotting Kat Miller. She noticed that her colleague wasn't his usual, cheerful self and she walked over to him.
"Are you okay Scotty?" she asked
"Course" he replied "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked
"Cause you look like someone run over your puppy" she said and he sighed heavily, there was no use denying it anymore he supposed.
"Lil had a date last night" he said
"Okay" Kat said and she sat on the edge of his desk "And why is that a bad thing?" she asked curiously, even though she knew the answer already.
"I don't know...I...just...lately I realised that" he sighed "I think I have feelings for her" Kat smiled, he had finally admitted what the others had expected, that Scotty Valens, the guy who acted like he had a black book the size of the yellow pages, was in love with his partner.
At that moment Lilly entered the department, Scotty spotted her putting her gun in her locker, brushing the loose strand of hair out of her eyes and walk into the squad room.
"Morning" she said cheerfully
"Hey Lil" Kat said "Coffee?" she asked getting of Scotty's desk.
"Yeah, thanks" Kat nodded and leaving Lilly and Scotty alone, walked towards the breakroom. Lilly shrugged out of her coat and draped it across the back of her chair. "Hey" she said softly.
"Hi" Scotty said, not daring to look up at her.
"Scotty, about this morning..." she began
"Forget 'bout it Lil, I have" he lied
"Okay" she sank down into her chair and pulled her paperwork towards her, staring the laborious process of filling in the mountains of paperwork. Kat placed her coffee on her desk and Lilly smiled her thanks, returning her gaze to the paperwork.
"So Lil, heard you had a date last night" Kat asked and Lilly nodded
"Yeah, I kinda been seeing this guy for a week, Lindsay introduced us" Lilly answered
"What's he like?"
"He seems like a nice guy, he's funny and good looking"
Kat and Lilly continued to talk about Lilly's date and Scotty tried desperately to block it out. The problem was she sounded so happy and although he was as jealous as hell that he wasn't the one she was gushing about, he was at least glad this guy didn't seem like the typical 'train wreck' type she was usually attracted too.
As the rest of the department began to file and begin their work day, Scotty looked out the window. The snow was just beginning to fall. He normally loved winter, it reminded him of snowball fights with Mike and his cousins as a kid and ice skating with Elisa, now all it made him think of was how alone he felt. Sighing heavily he stood up "I am gonna go get a bagel, I'll be back" he said and he walked out of the bullpen before Lilly could stop him.
As he made his way over to the coffee cart that was parked outside of the entrance to central he spotted Stillman, getting his morning coffee and Danish. "Morning Scotty" he said smiling
"Hey Boss" Scotty replied miserably
"You okay Scotty?" the older detective asked
"Yeah Boss, I am okay, just tired" he ordered his usual coffee and a bagel and cream cheese. After he paid the vendor the two of them walked back up to the squad room.
The day seemed to drag on and on Scotty couldn't stop watching the clock, he was praying for it to be five o' clock so he could go home already, maybe go visit his mother and scab a free home cooked meal. Maybe he'd ask her to make her risotto with mushrooms; it always made him feel better.
"Hey Scotty?" Vera asked comming over to his desk
"Yeah?" Scotty looked up at Vera and put down his pen
"Will and I were going to Jones's tonight, wanna tag along?" he looked around, making sure they were out of ear shot from the girls "I have it on good authority that there will be a lot of single women there, you might even stand a chance" he added.
That's an idea, he thought, go get good and drunk maybe hook up with some random girl. But on the other hand he wasn't really in the partying mood "Nah man, having dinner with my folks" he said.
"You're blowing off a chance at getting laid to have dinner with your parents" he asked incredulously, looking down at his younger friend.
"Ma's been hasslin' me for the last month and if I blow her off again I'll get another 'I spent fourteen hours in labour with and eleven pound baby' guilt trip" he answered. Vera shrugged and walked back to his desk.
"Your loss man"
Five o'clock finally came and Scotty stood up, not wanting to spend another minute looking across his desk at her.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow" he said and he left.
"Does anyone know what's wrong with him?" Lilly asked "He's been acting strange all day" The other three shared a look and Will cleared his throat.
"No idea" he replied
Lilly was just about to say something when her cell rang, glancing down she smiled as she recognised the number.
"Hey" she said flipping it open.
"Hey" came Rick's soothing voice "Was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight?"
"Sure" Lilly said and she stood up, waving goodbye to her colleagues and she headed towards the exit. "I'll meet you at my place around six" she said
"Okay" he replied and he said goodbye and hung up the phone, sighing contentedly Lilly opened her locker and slid her gun into her holster.
Across town Scotty knocked on his parents door, he could smell something good comming from inside and he as he heard the chains being taken off the door he plastered his 'everything's fine, so don't ask me what's wrong' smile and the door opened.
"Scotty, what are you doing here?" his mother asked in surprise.
"What a son can't come and visit his mother?" he asked and he forced his face into a wider smile.
"Of course" she said and he walked in and hugged her tightly. Rosa Valens was a sharp woman and she had knew when her son's weren't happy, despite his smile she knew that something was troubling her little boy. "Mi hijo are you okay?" she asked, pulling back and studying his face.
"Never better" he said softly.
She smiled up at him and planted a kiss on his cheek "You gonna stay for dinner?" she asked, knowing the answer already.
"Thought I might" he replied, taking off his coat he hung it up on the hook by the door.
"Good, your father should be home soon, you can help me in the kitchen and we can talk" Scotty followed his mother into the small kitchen and took a seat on the stool next to the kitchen counter.
"Ma, can I ask you somethin?"
"Yes Mi hijo" she said as she washed her hands.
"How did you know dad was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?" he asked and his mother turned to him, her grin widening.
"I knew he was the one the moment I met him" she said "He was so handsome and romantic I fell for him instantly" she added dreamily
"What would you have done if Dad was with someone else when you met him?" he asked
"Scotty is there something wrong?" she asked but Scotty shook his head.
"Nah Ma, I told you I am fine" he said "Just curious" his mother sighed.
They heard the front door open and Scotty watched as his mother's face lit up. Ramiro Valens walked into the kitchen and made a bee line for his wife.
"Hola mi bella esposa" he whispered kissing her cheek, Rosa blushed and turned to face him.
"Hola mi marido guapo" she replied, kissing him back.
Scotty smiled at his parents as his father turned to face him "How are you Scotty?" he asked hugging his son.
"I am okay dad" he answered and his father gave him the same disbelieving look as his mother had.
Scotty helped his mother in the kitchen and chatted with his father about what was happing at work, making sure he avoided the whole 'I am in love with my partner but she is dating someone else' issue but they knew something was wrong with their youngest son, something that seemed to be making as unhappy as he was when Elisa had first gotten sick. Ramiro knew his son was not the type to voice his feelings because he was the same way, as was his father before him.
"Valens's men don't complain, Valens's men don't unload their burdens on others" Ramiro's father had told him and he in turn had past this on to his two sons. Even as a child Scotty had never showed much emotion and the terrible things that happened to Mike, Madre di dios, this one lesson was one of the biggest regrets of Ramiro's life.
As He walked his son to his car that night he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder."Good night Scotty" he said
"Night Dad" Scotty replied and he opened the door sliding behind the wheel "You know Scotty" he began leaning through the window of the car "It's alright to talk about what's bothering you, your mother and I worry about you" Scotty nodded.
"I know dad, but like I said there is nothing wrong" he watched as his stubborn son pulled out of his driveway (fast as usual) and sighed, turning to walk back inside.
a/n: be honest, what do you think please leave a review.