Chapter Seven

Well take a good look
And tell me what you see
I got a bad feeling about a thing or two
And the way life's supposed to be
With your ... life you choose

-"Tell What You See", Von Bondies

Flack stiffened, not sure he deserved anyone's sympathy. "It's not like it's a big surprise, she pretty much told me this was coming". Flack looked like he was about to lash out at something again.

"Uh, Flack, why don't we move to the living room, where there are much softer surfaces to punch?" Gus suggested, grabbing both of their drinks.

Flack nodded in agreement, leading the way.

Gus sat their drinks down and joined Flack on the sofa.

Flack temporarily let go of the ice pack to take a long swallow of the whiskey, enjoying the burning sensation in his throat and chest.

Gus sat curled on the opposite end of the sofa, circling the rim of her glass absently.

"You ain't gonna try to make me talk?" Flack asked, staring at her.

Gus shook her head, her blond ponytail flying, "Not if you don't want to. I was about to watch some crappy movies and drown myself in ice cream when you knocked, so it's up to you". She pointed at the dvd cases and now half melted pint of Ben & Jerry's on the coffee table.

"Crap, I guess I owe you some ice cream", Flack remarked, taking in the sticky mess.

"I think I can let you slide this time", Gus replied stoically.

"I don't know how I got here, Gus", Flack said, looking more like a lost little boy than a tough New York cop.

Gus could feel her heart breaking; she had been there more times than anyone ever should be, your whole world out of control and no idea how to fix it.

"What did she say?" Gus asked, hoping she wasn't prying.

Flack sighed, the weight of the world on his shoulders, "That's just the thing, she didn't say anything, she wasn't even there. I tried calling but she won't answer. I called Danny and Cory and she wasn't there. I went to Matt's..."

Gus winced, unsure what Flack was going to say.

"He said she wasn't there, but I'm not so sure he wasn't covering for her, I mean where the hell else would she be?" Flack looked bewildered.

Gus had to agree, there weren't many places Carmen would go, but Matt's was the one place she was always going. She didn't voice this to Flack; however, instead she started picking at the fuzz on her pants, and shoving her bangs behind her ears.

"You think I'm right, don't you?" Flack questioned.

Gus gave a noncommittal shrug, suddenly hurrying to pick up the ice cream container so she could retreat to the kitchen for a minute.

"Crap", Gus swore, tipping the container into the trash, though it had nothing to do with the waste of ice cream. She knew from both parties that things hadn't been the best between the couple for some time.

Gus felt torn, she was friends with Carmen, and she wanted the best for her friends. But Flack was her partner and that bond went far deeper than the one of friendship, gender lines aside. Flack had her back, always and with no question and she returned the favor. This time would be no different, but Gus knew she was going to end up feeling like she was stuck in the middle.

Not to mention the fact that she had been having some very unprofessional dreams about her partner as of late. She had chalked it up to all the time they had been spending together working on the mob case and the fact that she hadn't gotten laid in far too long. Gus had hoped to be taking care of that earlier, but like most things in her life it went horribly awry.


Now she had to deal with her vulnerable and dejected partner currently moping in her living room. She grabbed the bottle of whiskey and headed back into the living room. "Figured whiskey was better on a night like tonight over ice cream anyways", Gus said, happy to see Flack return her small smile.

"Why don't the criminals never this dumb in real life?" Flack asked as the villains on screen painted themselves into a corner.

"Because then we wouldn't get the fun of tearing them a new one in interrogation?" Gus suggested.

Flack nodded, "Yeah, that is pretty damn fun".

Then his whole body slouched, he took his wedding ring off his finger and began spinning it on the coffee table, "But this, this is not fun".

Flack ran his hand through his hair, "I thought we were gonna be forever, ya know, the whole 'til death do you part thing?"

Gus just nodded, letting him talk it out.

"I mean, maybe part of me figured that death thing might happen sooner than we might like because of our jobs. And I knew it wasn't gonna be easy, I mean you know all the statistics on cops marriages. But I thought it would be better because Carmen would know what I was going through. I wouldn't have to feel guilty not telling about my day and what horrors I had seen or feel even worse for actually telling her". Flack took another pull of whiskey, topping off both their glasses.

He continued, "We went through a hell of a lot just getting married. But we got there and then we had Thomas and I thought that meant everything was going to be great".

Gus couldn't help but interject on that one, "Getting married and having a kid isn't some magical fix, Flack. Just because something looks good on paper or is something you are supposed to do doesn't mean it is going to be easy".

She studied him for a long moment, hating that his eyes were so full of pain. "You'll get through this, you'll figure it out and you'll survive no matter what the outcome".

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because I know you, down to the core of you and you ain't a quitter, so even if thing don't work out how the picture book you read in kindergarten said, it doesn't mean you won't be fine, Don Flack".

"You're a damn good partner, Broussard".

"I should be, otherwise my daddy would be spinning in his grave".

"He probably had you yelling Semper Fi en utero", Flack joked.

"Probably, but I am sure you heard all the same crap I did growing up about the brotherhood bond and the blue line", Gus said with an eye roll.

Flack puffed up, "I like to think it's not crap".

"Fine, not crap but gender biased".

"You win on that one".

"Of course I do", Gus said, clinking her glass against the one Flack was tilting toward her.


"I am not saying you need to leave", Gus started in as another movie ended, "but do you think you should go home?"

Flack considered it for a moment, "Do I have to?"

"I am not your mother, Donnie boy", Gus snorted.

"What if she isn't there?" Flack asked.

"Or are you worried if she is?" Gus countered.

Flack poured another drink, "No, I already know she isn't going to be. Carmen's stubborn and she's already made up her mind".

Gus looked from his glass to the now empty bottle, "Whatever you decide, I can tell you, you ain't driving, sugar".

"You drank half!" Flack protested.

"Which is still leaves a ton of whiskey".

"How are you not drunk?" he asked.

Gus propped herself up on an elbow from where she had been curled up on the couch, "I am good at hiding it; frankly I'm drunk off my ass now, why do you think I haven't stood up?"

Flack had to laugh, "Good point" he said, flipping through the channels. "There is nothing on!" he whined.

"Probably because it is 3am", Gus pointed out.

"Do you mind if I crash here?" Flack asked with pleading eyes. "

You know you don't even have to ask, Flack" Gus said, "Whatever-"

"Whenever, wherever", Flack finished up, "I know, I know, but I still appreciate it".

"Good to know; now I am going to go appreciate my bed and in the morning, I am going to appreciate you buying me breakfast. So night, blue eyes", Gus said, pulling herself to sitting and kissing him on the cheek.

"Night, sunshine", Flack said as she slowly stood.


Gus had made it almost to the doorway of her bedroom before the full force of the whiskey hit and she wavered.

"Whoa, Gus", Flack said, jumping up to steady her, but not being steady himself, he knocked them both into door frame, leaving Gus on the floor.

"Though it was 'whoa Nelly' and I did tell you I was drunk off my ass", Gus said with a sardonic smile.

Flack grinned back, "Yeah, and you also told me you were good at hiding it", he said hauling her to her feet.

Still not able to find her center of gravity, especially when being hauled to her feet, Gus caught hold of Flack's shirt to steady herself.

Flack gripped her upper arms, "We are both gonna hurt tomorrow", he said looking into her eyes.

Gus just nodded, trying to tell herself to let go of Flack's shirt and to ignore the obvious heat between them.

Flack wasn't sure why he leaned in and kissed her, all he knew is that as Gus grabbed his shirt and he gripped her arms, it was nice to be in a situation where both parties were needed and wanted. He also couldn't deny the fact that there was a beautiful woman right in front of him that was going to back him no matter what.

Not to mention the fact that they were both drunk and each had one hell of an emotional night.

Whatever might have been going through either of their heads was ignored by the meeting of their lips.

Flack moved his hands up from Gus' arms to her neck, his hands tangling in her blond hair as he deepened their kiss.

Gus' hands let go of Flack's shirt in order to circle around his back, feeling the muscles tensing there as he slid his tongue into her mouth. Gus moaned low in her throat as Flack moved up against her, his hardness evident through their clothing.

It wasn't until the moved backwards through the room, tongues probing at each other's mouths, hands clumsily exploring, collapsing in a tangle on the bed that Gus broke away, horrified that she was seconds away from the point of no return.

"Flack, stop!"

Flack broke of the heated kiss, taking in her flush face, tousled hair, and swollen lips as he suppressed a shiver. He blinked slowly, as if coming to, realizing how close he had just come to sleeping with not only someone who wasn't his wife, but his partner.

He sat up with a start, and then dropped his head into his hands. "Shit, Gus, I'm sorry", he moaned into his hands.

Gus pulled herself up beside him, sobering quickly. "No, Flack, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed back, it's just been a rough night. But I think you need to get out of my bedroom before we go somewhere we can't come back from".

Flack nodded, not saying anything.

"See you in the morning, Flack" Gus called to his retreating figure, knowing she was going to be up the rest of the night kicking herself.

She just wasn't sure if it was going to be for kissing Flack or for stopping it.

Thanks for your support so far, we really appreciate it!

mustlovecat: -M- Of course where else would he go ;) and I can't take any credit for the non-dialogue, other than to say Aphina pushes me to be a better writer compared to her nonspeaking bits! – Aph- lol I'm not always that good at non dialogue it' just when a scene clicks together, it works for you and that's how this scene did. lol I'm glad you enjoyed it, it all just pieced together really well.

Bluehaven: -M- Sad is going to be a repeating theme in this, me thinks. Interesting idea, I don't think I would have the heart for it, though. –Aph- lol I couldn't write it either, I think kids should be exempt form that kind of harm until it's definite.So you won't be seeing too much Thomas in this story.

sparky: -M-I know, it is so easy to just be po'ed at everyone. Evil, evil, evil! Glad to hear about your dad! :) – Aph- glad your dad's better at least that's something. Lol the truth in the story is that there is no bad guy, it's just a bunch of people stuck in a very screwed up situation.

katy: -M-Once again, can't take credit for this one, but thanks for the review.-Aph - lol Thanks Kate! That's what I was going for.