Axellia: Hoorah! I am so glad that you updated too. I love how both of our stories are usually next to each other on the page. Danny is extremely cocky, but in this funny egotistical yet somewhat flirtatious way. LOL. I'm glad the Spanish seems alright. Yep, Aaron is a darling and we will see some more of him in this chapter. This chapter also brings back Maggie into the mix! Yay! I missed her character, so it'll be fun to write her back in for a chapter. Thanks for the review!
chili-peppers: Thanks so much! I am glad you are enjoying it!
demolished-soul: Yeah, I would be like that too, but Anna is comfortable around new people because of her wit and charm, I think. Haha. Yes! I am glad you liked those lines. They're probably my favorite from the chapter as well. Thanks for the review and I am glad you're enjoying!
meadow567: Thanks for the review! Haha. I love Axellia's story so when I saw she updated I was like "Oh my gosh! I have to go read!"
sparkyCSI: Ah, Danny/Anna exchanges are great. There will be more to come, I assure you. She does fit right in already, which is good. Thanks for the review and I am glad you're enjoying the story! Hopefully it's living up to your expectations!
Well, everyone, thank you so much for reviewing this story. This next chapter will contain some team bonding, and will bring back our dear Maggie into the mix for a little bit. Also, it's going to be fun to see how quickly Anna picks up things about the team. Again, the foreign languages were taken from an online translator, so I apologize if I butcher them. Well, sit back, relax, and grab some popcorn because we're watching a movie in this chapter! (P.S – This is quite a LONG chapter, not that you mind. Haha) Disclaimer: I do not own the title, lyrics, or Copeland.
Chapter 8: Pin Your Wings
Pin your wings down,
If it's over now
Pin your wings down
Just take a chance somehow…
And you know when it rains in this town,
I get washed away, without a sound
So pin my wings down
I stared at a teenage girl, dressed in white, a pair of delicate angel wings lying beneath her body. I snapped a few photos and studied the girl once more. She must have been younger than I was, and there she was – her time was up. Stella walked around the hotel room and collected anything that she found unique. The girl's eyes were closed, revealing the glittery eyeshadow on her inner eyelids. Her eyelashes were coated in dark mascara, and her lips were painted a deep shade of red, probably with some exotic shade like Merlot or Noir Red or something like that. I knelt down and studied her fingernails, scraping under the manicured fingers for any evidence that would be of use. I snapped pictures of her knuckles, bruised and coated in dry blood – she had fought back. The camera seemed to sigh as it clicked away pictures of the poor young woman's neck – she was strangled.
"You get anything over there Anna?"
I perked up at the mention of my name, shaking away thoughts of this young woman lying dead before my eyes. I hastily stood up as Stella entered the bedroom.
"Yeah, I – uh – noticed some bruising and blood on her knuckles. I think she might have fought back against her attacker. Other than that, there is blood on the back of her head, possibly from her attacker slamming her into something."
Stella nodded. "There was blood that I swabbed from the edges of the bathroom door. Her attacker must have tried to knock her unconscious before he killed her."
I swallowed and nodded. "I should get the fingernail scrapings and the other stuff back to the lab."
Stella nodded and looked at me carefully. "Are you alright, Anna?"
I nodded, despite the plummeting feeling in my stomach. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll just go get these to Adam or someone."
Stella gave me another look before motioning for me to leave the room. I stepped out into the hallway, nodding at the officer who was waiting outside of the crime scene tape. Once I was outside of the hotel, I found the nearest trashcan and emptied the contents of my stomach into it. I crouched down next to the trashcan on the cool New York pavement, trembling despite the summer air's humidity. I just stared absentmindedly into the traffic. How could anyone kill her? I asked myself. She was just a child, a teenager, a girl having a good time at a convention. And now, I thought, swallowing hard, now she is just another dead body, another case to solve, another person to lie on Hammerback's autopsy table. Just one in a dozen, I thought sadly. She would be lost in the shuffle. Her parents would mourn, her friends would sob until their throats were sore, and her absence would cause grief and pain. And yet, here she is: just someone else for us to process, just a girl, strangled in a hotel room – just more paperwork to file.
I stood up, steadying myself, breathing deeply: inhale, exhale, inhale, and exhale. That was all I knew, all I could truly do. I was only able to breathe so much until it hurt. It hurt for me to breathe when Alyssa Lockhart – that was the teenager's name – would never take another breath of New York's smog-filled air. I kicked the trashcan in retaliation. Retaliation for what, I did not know. All I knew was that I would go back to the lab, consume myself in finding Alyssa's killer, and then I would curl up on my couch and watch old black-and-white movies when the day was over – my coping mechanism.
"What'd that trashcan ever do to you?"
I looked up and saw Flack peering at me, head tilted slightly to the side. I shook my head at him and walked hurriedly towards the crime lab SUV leaving a severely confused and sympathetic homicide detective in my wake.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"We're still on tonight at your place, right Annabelle?" Danny asked, accentuating the end of my first name. I rolled my eyes at him and slammed my locker door shut. The case with Alyssa had really gotten to me, but Stella had been able to talk me through it. She was good for those kinds of conversations. I considered her to be my mother figure, my role model for womanhood. She was strong, yet sensitive and tough, yet tender. She was everything that I needed to become in a CSI.
"Sure, as long as everyone brings something, like I told them to."
It was my "initiation" into the crime lab – even though I had been working there for weeks. In the end, my task was simple: I had to prepare dinner and a movie at my place. Lindsay had gawked when she heard that I was given such an easy task.
"They made me cook a 'country meal' and then they ended up staying at my place 'till one in the morning watching The Ultimate Fighting Champion," Lindsay remarked, jerking her thumb in the direction of a guilty looking party of Hawkes, Danny, and Flack. The men shrugged and I patted Lindsay's shoulder consolingly.
"Alright, well, I'll bring drinks," Danny said with a smile over his shoulder as we exited the locker room. My mouth dropped open.
"No way! That's way too easy for you, Messer. I want to see you bring something you actually cooked yourself, not bought from the nearest convenience store!"
Danny smirked as I caught up to him. "Drinks it is. I will see you at seven."
I glared at the retreating back of the New Yorker, and then simply rolled my eyes. I didn't think I would have wanted to eat anything that Danny cooked himself anyway.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
There was a knock at my door promptly at five o'clock. I frowned and checked the clock again, just to be sure. Shrugging, I wondered exactly who would arrive two hours early. I opened the door and nearly fell over from shock.
"Guess who?"
I threw my arms around my former roommate and gave her a tight hug. "Maggie!" I exclaimed with a wide smile. "What are you doing here?"
Maggie grinned and I motioned her into my apartment. She placed a backpack down on my floor and meandered around my living room. "Still the same as when I left for the good ol' country, I see," she noted with satisfaction.
"Yeah, I just never had the motivation to change this place much," I said honestly. Between my work schedule and my social life, I had no energy or creativity left in me to re-decorate my apartment. Maggie plopped down onto my couch and smiled at me.
"So, what's up with you?" she asked, eyes glimmering.
"Besides work?" I asked with a little laugh, pouring two glasses of soda, "Actually, nothing all that eventful. Aaron's back in town, but you already knew that."
Maggie nodded and smiled. "So how're things going between the two of you?"
I shrugged and sipped my drink, handing her the other glass. "There's nothing much to say. I mean, he's not staying here in the city for much longer, and we both agreed after college to steer clear of the long-distance idea…"
"…but you like having him back in your life, don't you?" Maggie asked curiously, taking a swig of her drink. I nodded sheepishly.
"Yeah, it's good to have someone back in my life again, especially him."
Maggie sat up straighter and continued. "But you have to know other guys besides Aaron and the people on your floor," she stated. Again, I shrugged.
"There are the people I work with, like Mac, Danny, Flack, and Hawkes…"
"…and none of them are date-worthy?" Maggie asked, finishing my sentence with a light laugh. I laughed with her and fixed my gaze on the clock behind her. She noticed this, of course.
"You like one of them!" she exclaimed, setting her drink down on my coffee table and leaning forward. "Well, which one is the lucky guy?"
I rolled my eyes and set my drink down as well. "What makes you think that I like someone?"
"Because," Maggie stated matter-of-factly, "you won't look me directly in the eyes." I rolled my eyes again, this time a blush crept onto my cheeks. Maggie – being the perceptive little bugger that she is – noticed this and began to giggle.
"Alright, who is he? You can tell me," she swore. I looked at her and sighed, a grin playing at my lips.
"È un tipo che ho fatto funzionare casualmente sul lavoro dopo la mia intervista…" I began, my body shaking with laughter at Maggie's indignant look.
"Not fair!" she exclaimed. "I don't know how to speak any other languages! What the heck is that anyway?"
"Italian," I said proudly then continued, "and that's the idea. You're not supposed to be able to understand me," I said with a little grin before continuing. "Penso che potrei gradirlo, ma non desidero ottenere implicato in un rapporto ora." It was true. I wasn't sure that I was ready to tackle a relationship, especially with someone who worked with me. "Inoltre," I continued, shrugging my shoulders, "Neppure non penso che lo gradisca indietro. Suona così elementare, ma non desidero ammettere che ho uno schiacciamento su questo tipo. Anche se, ha gli occhi blu più bei…"
"Are you going to continue to ramble to yourself all day in Italian?"
I smiled at my friend, and switched languages. "Fine, I'm done."
"Where the heck did you learn Italian from anyway?" Maggie asked with her nose scrunched up.
I shrugged my shoulders and walked over towards the kitchen area to prepare a quick meal for my co-workers. "Where I used to live in Miami, there was this old lady who lived next door to us, and whenever Claire and Jacob went somewhere, she came over and babysat me," I explained, boiling a pot of water for pasta. "So, this old lady came from a huge Italian family. Her ancestors were some of the first to emigrate over from Italy. Whenever she would watch me, she would tell me stories about her family's journey and she would teach me Italian. During high school, I decided to take a couple years of Italian too."
Maggie nodded. "Impressive." The young woman stood up from the couch and helped me prepare the pasta dish. "Anything else I don't know about you?" she asked with a wag of her eyebrows.
I thought for a moment. "I also speak French, but not as well as I speak Spanish or Italian. And I actually know a few phrases here and there of German and Dutch."
Maggie's eyes widened. "Sheesh," she remarked with a little gasp. "And to think that I can only speak one language."
"It's alright," I said with a pat on her shoulder, "not everyone knows as many languages as I do. I'm one of the rare breeds of human beings." Maggie laughed and helped to stir the pasta.
We cooked in silence for a little while, before Maggie asked if I had chosen a movie to watch yet. "Well, I honestly don't know what movie to choose," I said. I motioned towards my television, "Why don't you go choose one?"
Maggie agreed and bounced over towards the stack of movies that I owned. She sifted through them, often perking up with interest at some of the ones that she found. "Monty Python!" she exclaimed with glee, holding up the DVD. I shook my head and motioned for her to continue looking. Maggie pouted, and sighed dramatically, placing the movie on the top of the stack. "A Walk to Remember…no, not if we're having a bunch of guys over," Maggie said, tossing the DVD aside. I laughed, picturing three guys and four girls trying to watch a chick-flick together. I had to admit, it would be pretty darn funny. "Dodgeball…nah." Maggie tossed aside another movie as I drained the pasta. "Jeez, Anna, do you think you have enough Cary Grant films in here?" she asked, peering over the sound system's cabinet doors. I smiled shyly.
"My coping mechanism," I explained, "for getting through tough cases."
Maggie shrugged and continued to try and find an appropriate movie. "The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Sahara, Failure to Launch…do you have thing for Matthew McConaughey too?" she asked.
"Duh," I said with a laugh in her direction. "The man is hot."
Maggie grinned broadly. "Amen to that!"
"Hmm," Maggie continued, pulling out another movie. Her eyes brightened. "How about Spider-Man?" she asked curiously. I thought about it and nodded.
"There's enough of Tobey McGuire loving for us girls, and enough action for the guys, so I guess that works."
Maggie nodded conclusively. "Spider-Man it is."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
There was a knock on the door a little before seven, and Maggie bounded over to answer it while I finished preparing the lasagna. Stella waved at me and smiled, setting a bag of chips and a container of dip on the countertop.
"Can I do anything to help?" she asked curiously. I shook my head and smiled.
"Nah, Maggie's got salad duty, so she's finishing up with that," I explained. "And the lasagna should be done by the time everyone gets here." Stella nodded, impressed with my organization, and I motioned for her to have a seat on my couch.
"Maggie, this is Stella Bonasera, and Stella this is my friend and old college roommate Maggie Parker." Maggie and Stella smiled at each other and shook hands, just as another knock was heard at the door. I wiped my hands on a dishtowel and made my way over to the door. A smiling Lindsay stood, bearing an apple pie. I smiled, ushering her inside and proceeded to introduce her to Maggie.
"What movie are we watching?" Stella asked from the couch. I grinned and shared a look with Maggie, before I answered another knock at the door.
"Spider-Man," Maggie replied with satisfaction. I rolled my eyes from the threshold as Danny stood there, holding a few cases of beer – true to his word. He smiled and walked inside, placing the beer in the fridge.
"Oh, that's a good movie," Lindsay remarked, seating herself next to Stella on the couch. Maggie took one look at Danny and subtly straightened her shirt. I had to suppress a giggle. Maggie was going to attempt to flirt.
"Maggie, this is Danny Messer," I said, pointing from my good friend to my colleague. "And Danny, this is Maggie Parker."
"Howyadoin'?"
Maggie let out a little laugh and shook Danny's hand. "New York native, obviously," she said with a smile. Danny smiled right back, and I watched Lindsay shift in her seat. Again, I had to stifle my laughs, but was thankfully interrupted by another knock on the door. I smiled at the two men who were standing in the doorway and welcomed them inside. Flack had brought some dinner rolls, while Hawkes brought an appetizer. I ushered them both inside and everyone talked for a minute, making polite introductions. Maggie subtly studied Flack for a minute and then proceeded to talk to him. She walked into the kitchen area and whispered into my ear: "He's the one you like, isn't he?"
"Peut-être oui et peut-être non. Mais plus que probablement, vous ne découvrirez jamais," I replied cryptically, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes and tossed the salad.
"You're completely loco, you know that."
"Ooh," I said with a teasing grin, "Maggie knows a word in Spanish!"
Maggie hit my arm playfully and divided the salad up into bowls and then moved my furniture around to accommodate everyone.
"Wow, this lasagna is great," Hawkes complimented, settling onto the couch. I pulled up a few bean bag chairs from my spare room and sunk down onto one of them. I had to admit, it did taste pretty good. Everyone else nodded and murmured their compliments. After a peaceful dinner and a fabulous dessert – Lindsay smiled bashfully and admitted that it was her mother's recipe – Maggie slid the DVD into the player. I stood up from my bean bag chair to clear away the dishes and Flack stood up with me.
"Here, I'll help," he offered. I smiled at him and agreed. Maggie was probably grinning, but I decided that she would be in for it later – a much deserved pillow fight would be in store after my co-workers left. The previews rolled and the group was animatedly discussing the newest box office hits.
"Thanks for letting us all come over here," Flack said, emptying the dishes' contents into the trashcan. I shrugged and smiled.
"It's no big deal, really."
Flack looked at me and we both smiled. I felt my heart skip a beat and concerned myself with cleaning off the dishes. After I was done cleaning up, I grabbed a beer from the fridge and looked for a place to sit down. Stella was sitting on a bean bag chair on the far side of the room. Hawkes was seated on the opposite side of the room in my recliner, and Maggie had – quite purposefully – stolen my bean bag chair. And I knew why, too. The only two available seats that were left were with Danny and Lindsay on the couch. And four people to my couch might be a tight fit.
I threw Maggie a tiny glare, and she intercepted it with an angelic smile and bat of her eyes. "Hey, you two, there's room for you guys over on the couch. The movie's starting."
Flack looked at me. "If there's not enough room on the couch, I can always sit on the floor. I don't mind…"
"No," I finished with a wave of my hand, as I moved over and sat on the couch next to Lindsay, who – without hesitation – shifted herself closer to Danny. But just to make more room…of course. Flack sat down next to me and I looked at Maggie. Happy? I asked with my eyes. She smirked. Of course.
"God, Tobey McGuire is so hot," Maggie said with a dreamy sigh. Danny looked at her skeptically.
"The kid is a nerd at the beginnin' of this movie, and you find that attractive?" he asked incredulously.
"Well," I perked up, looking at Danny, "guys who look nerdy are sometimes the cutest of them all."
Stella and Lindsay nodded in agreement. Danny looked at Lindsay with eyebrows raised, but the brunette didn't notice, and instead replied: "Plus, he has blue eyes." All of the women in the room grinned at each other and nodded, affirming the statement. Hawkes, Danny, and Flack shared a 'what have we gotten into?' look and Hawkes – the only non-blue-eyed male – spoke up.
"Girls dig guys with blue eyes?" he asked curiously. I bit my lip and tilted my head to the side slightly.
"Well, it depends. Some people love blue eyes, and some don't, but one thing is for certain: when polled, females found that the most attractive feature on a guy were his eyes."
The three men raised their eyebrows and chorused together: "Really?"
All of us women nodded. "I like Tobey because he has beautiful blue eyes, and he's hot when he wears the glasses, but he also has that sandy brown hair…" Maggie said, trailing off. Lindsay leaned forward in her seat to talk to Maggie.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed. Danny raised his eyebrows and smirked. I shared a glance with Hawkes, who looked like he was about to burst from enjoyment. Lindsay had just agreed that she was attracted to men with the same physical description as Danny. I was trying my best to not laugh when Stella turned the tables on me.
"So, what kind of guys do you go after?"
My eyes widened, but I was thankfully saved by Maggie, who pointed to the screen. "This is the best kiss in the entire world," she stated with a little squeal. I sighed dreamily and watched the famous "Spider-Man kiss" with a smile. Everyone in the room was silent for a moment, and Maggie paused the DVD.
"Show of hands," she began, turning around in her bean bag chair to face all of us, "who thinks that this kiss is the most romantic one ever?" Every person of the female gender in the room raised their hand. Maggie nodded approvingly and then proceeded with her questions. "Now, show of hands: how many people think that Kirsten Dunst should be wearing a bra?" Again, all of the women in the room raised their hands. Maggie scrutinized the men. "And who thinks that it really doesn't matter if she's wearing one or not?"
All of the men raised their hands eagerly.
Simultaneously, Maggie slapped Hawkes, I slapped Flack, and Lindsay hit Danny. They all shot us the 'you can't blame us for being guys' look and Maggie rolled her eyes, but pressed the play button, nonetheless.
Near the end of the movie, there was a knock on my door, and I furrowed my eyebrows. No one else was supposed to show up. I delayed removing myself from the couch for as long as possible – I was very comfortable with Flack's arm resting casually on the back of the sofa, just barely touching me. Lindsay didn't seem too terribly uncomfortable either – her and Danny's thighs were touching. That was how close the two of them were sitting. Maggie took the hint that I didn't want to get up and decided to answer the door for me.
I strained my neck to see who was at the door and Maggie walked in with a look that told me everything. This might get a bit interesting, she told me with her eyes. I peered over to see her ushering in none other than Aaron. The blonde smiled at me and I hastily got up from the couch, inducing puzzled looks from both Lindsay and Flack.
"Aaron," I said, beaming. Granted, I was pleased to see him, yet at the same time, I didn't exactly know how to explain our relationship to my co-workers. My colleagues all looked up at the new arrival, and Flack seemed surprised. But maybe I was just imagining it. "Everyone," I said, speaking to the group, "this is Aaron Folk, and Aaron this is…everyone," I said with a little laugh. "That's Sheldon Hawkes, Stella Bonasera, you know Maggie, obviously – uhm – that's Danny Messer, Lindsay Monroe, and Don Flack." Aaron acknowledged everyone with a friendly smile, and most of them returned the genuine smile – most. Danny and Flack were studying the stranger carefully.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your movie, Anna," Aaron said, apologizing. I shook my head and smiled at him, locking my eyes with his.
"It's no problem at all," I said hastily. "In fact, you should join us." I motioned for him to join the group in the living room.
"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to intrude on your evening…"
Stella piped up. "No, it's fine. The more the merrier, like they say."
Aaron smiled at me and we moved back into the living room, this time I moved towards the floor. "No, no," Aaron insisted firmly, "you sit on the couch. I'll sit on the floor."
I looked at him and obliged. Stella beamed. "It's sure nice to have some gentlemen around for a change," she acknowledged. Aaron merely smiled his reply and watched the rest of the movie with us.
We all applauded as the movie's credits rolled and I stood up from the couch, stretching. One by one, the group filed home, bidding their goodbyes. Lindsay had insisted on staying to help clean up, and she and Maggie were arranging my furniture back to its original position. Danny had convinced Lindsay that he should hail her a cab, so the egotistical CSI was seated on my couch, watching sports. Aaron tapped me on the shoulders and began to talk to me – of course, this was in a different language, which caused Lindsay to look between the two of us with keen interest.
"Ho rovinato la vostra notte?" he asked with guilt. I shook my head furiously.
"No, no. Naturalmente non. Era buono da averli qui."
"But…" he began slowly.
"No 'buts'," I assured him. Aaron studied me, before continuing.
"Che tipo che stavate sedendo vicino a non ha sembrato come a me troppo."
I shrugged. "È a volte sconosciuto."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Come on, Anna…li gradisce."
I shook my head at Aaron. "No, no. Non penso che lo gradisca."
"Bene, Penso che. E penso che sia stato jealous di me," Aaron stated. I laughed.
"Forse quello è giusto la vostra comunicazione del ego, Aaron."
Aaron shook his head with a little smile. "Osservi, Anna, Ti amo, ma non lavoreremmo mai."
I looked at my former boyfriend with sad eyes. He continued.
"Li desidero avere il la cosa migliore. E penso che dovrte dare a questo tipo una probabilità." And there he was, admitting that he loved me too. It was all too saddening for me. Why did Aaron have to live in California?
"Non devo aspettare fin qui chiunque," I told him firmly. Aaron looked at me with sympathy and drew me into a hug.
"Well, when you are ready – give the guy a chance," he whispered into my hair. I smiled into his shoulder and sighed, promising him that if I did decide to date, that I would give the detective a chance.
Aaron kissed me on the cheek and looked into my eyes. "Ti amo Anna."
I grinned. "Ti amo anche."
I shut the door behind Aaron and met the smirk of Danny Messer. "So," he began, voice barely above a whisper so that Lindsay and Maggie wouldn't hear, "you and Flack, huh?"
My jaw dropped. "You…aw, crap. You know Italian, don't you?"
Danny merely continued to smirk. "Yep."
"And you heard…"
"…every word."
"Dite a chiunque circa questo, particolarmente Flack…" I began threateningly.
Danny held up his hands in defense. "Relax, relax," he said with a smile. "Il vostro segreto è sicuro con me," he assured me.
I exhaled deeply and watched both Danny and Lindsay leave my apartment.
Danny Messer knew another language. Italian for that matter.
I shook my head and lifted my eyes to the ceiling.
The Higher Powers: 1
Anna Price: 0
Whew. That was the longest chapter EVER. But this is mainly because I won't be around much soon, due to school starting up on Monday. My senior year starts in July – ew, gross. Anyway, please leave comments to make me happy!
