Gotham's Heroes is a collective story from SparkyCSI, Aphina and Axellia (please read the author bio for further information).

Whilst we own our OC's, even when we combine our savings, we are not even close to owning a percentage of CSI: NY - so don't sue us!

Gotham's Heroes

AN: Okay. First of All we very much apologize for the long delay! Real life kinda intruded on all of us and as a result, this story go pushed back a bit! We can promise that we will try to update sooner! As always, unless we won a lotto, then there is no chance of any of the 3 of us owning any part of CSI: NY. We just own our OC's!

Chapter 10. Act First, Think Later

"Well?" Cory asked.

"Well, what?" spat Carmen.

Cory sighed, praying for patience. "What the hell just happened? Why in the world were you two fighting like a pair of common thugs?"

Carmen exhaled. "Just leave it, Cory. I'm not in the mood."

Cory stamped down her frustration as Carmen walked away from her. She ran to catch up with her and grabbed her arm. "Oh, no. You're not getting out of this that easily. I warned you, Carmen. I told you that you should tell Taylor about you and Flack. Did you listen to me? No. Look where it's gotten you."

Carmen turned around, facing Cory. "Why am I the bad guy here? She hit me."

Cory rolled her eyes. "Carmen, just tell me what happened. Please."

Carmen finally relented. "She was upset because of Don. She was pissed that I didn't tell her about me and him and then she just flew off the handle!"

Cory nodded, a realization dawning in her head. She shut her eyes briefly then opened them to see a lingering crowd. "Let's go back to my place. I think we need to have a heart-to-heart."

~G~H~

Cory didn't remember until they were riding on the elevator up to her apartment that it was still in shambles. Mac had given her the okay to start cleaning it up, but her and Danny had only made a start to the mess when they had gotten the call about Flack. "Shit," she muttered.

Carmen looked at her. "What?"

Cory sighed and shook her head. "I just forgot that my place is a wreck."

Carmen looked at her in confusion. "So? I've seen worse."

Cory exhaled again. "Not like this, well maybe like this. My apartment was broken into. It's utter chaos."

Carmen drew her brows together. "What!" she exclaimed.

"That's part of what we need to talk about," Cory said as they exited the elevator. They walked up to her door, which still had crime tape on it. As soon as they were inside, Carmen looked around in astonishment.

"This looks like a hurricane blew threw it. What was stolen?"

Cory shrugged as she put the cushions back on the couch, so they could have a place to sit. "That's just it. Nothing. But more about that later. We need to talk about you and Taylor now. How exactly did the argument escalate to the point of violence?"

"I don't know! I went outside to apologize to her from not telling her about me and Don and she lost it. She blamed me for him getting hurt and then she called me a manipulative bitch."

Cory raised her eyebrows. "I can see her point of view. I told you that you needed to tell her. Do you know why?" At Carmen's shake of the head she continued, "Because I don't think that she is completely over him." She raised her hand to stave off Carmen's objection. "I know that she broke it off with him, but she still has major feelings."

"But…" Carmen trailed off in her confusion.

"Carmen. Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel if you just found out that one of your friends is dating your ex-boyfriend and she hid it from you?"

Carmen closed her eyes in self loathing at the pain that her selfish actions had caused Taylor. "Shit. I've really screwed this up, haven't I?"

"That's an understatement. You need to ask yourself this question. Who is more important to you? Don or Taylor?"

Carmen felt indignation at Cory's statement. "Why do I have to choose between them? That's not fair!"

Cory raised her eyebrows. "Honey, life ain't fair. Deal with it and move on. I know that you said that you didn't want to hurt her if it was just a fling, but you've known that it wasn't a fling. So why did you keep this from her? Were you afraid that she would object?"

Carmen lowered her head, refusing to meet Cory's gaze. "I don't know."

Cory just shook her head. "I don't buy that. I think you know, but you just don't want to admit the truth to yourself."

Carmen looked down at her hands, feeling horrible for the pain that she had caused.

Cory watched her reaction and knew that she had gotten through to her on some level. She decided to change the subject. "So, the state of my apartment."

Carmen looked at her, relief in her eyes. "So, what happened?"

"Danny and I came home from Coney Island and it was like this. Here's what I'm thinking. Jennifer let it slip that Taylor's place was broken into as well. What if our luggage going missing wasn't just bad luck? What if VSPA was trying to get the flash drive back?"

Carmen's eyes widened at the implication. "Oh, God. That means that my place was probably broken in to as well."

Carmen leapt up from the couch and made her way to the door, intent on finding out if her place had been hit.

~G~H~

Carmen thrust some bills into the cab driver's hand, leapt out and dashed into her building, up to her apartment. When she had unlocked her door to enter her untouched apartment, she let out a laugh in relief. Her mind had been all over the place in the cab ride home, it was finally happy to register on one thing that still made sense.

Carmen paused in the hallway looking into the mirror, and touched the side of her face tenderly, it was already swollen, and patches of dark bruising were beginning to show. Her lip didn't look much better, Taylor's ring had cut it, and she could still taste the blood.

She pulled out her cell phone and quickly called Cory to let her know her apartment hadn't been searched, then flopped backwards onto her bed, letting out another laugh. Today had been truly awful and her apartment being turned over would have topped it off.

She lay there for a while until her mind took over again, replaying the evening over and over, until, frustrated, she padded into the bathroom and ran a bath. She sank into it, taking a breath and sinking under the water. When she came up for air, her mind was a little clearer.

Taylor had over-reacted – there was no doubt about that – but the reaction had been her fault. Cory had been right about that. She needed to talk. To Taylor, and to Flack. Things couldn't continue like this. The question Cory asked her replayed in her mind Who is more important to you? Don or Taylor?

~G~H~

Over in Brooklyn, in Angell's apartment, Taylor was back at the window, glaring out at the city as she steadily drank through the bottle of Southern Comfort.

Finally, from her position leaning against the counter, Angell pushed herself away and walked over to the fuming woman, sitting on the sill in front of her. "Where'd you learn to punch?"

Taylor took a sip of her drink and looked down, "Navy brat. My dad and brother are in the Navy, and I spent my Monday afternoons learning to fight," she sighed. "Well, my brother taught me to fight after school, but it's no better than bar fighting. It's not a discipline or anything."

"I'm surprised you didn't knock Carmen's head off."

Taylor shrugged. "If you hadn't have pulled me off her, I probably would have."

Angell frowned, "Taylor, I think you should actually be concerned that you're disappointed you were pulled off her."

Taylor glared at her. "Concerned? Right now I want to get a knife and stick her in the back like she did me."

Angell leant back, holding her hands up. "Where's all this venom coming from, and what have I done to have it directed at me?"

"Nothing," Taylor admitted, walking to the couch and slumping down on it. "You've done nothing," she repeated.

"Well, what did Carmen do?" she asked hesitantly, bracing herself for the glass she was sure was going to be launched at her.

It didn't come.

"You know where she was this evening?"

Angell blinked. "No?"

"With Don."

"And that's a problem, why?"

Taylor scowled into her glass, not answering.

Angell moved over to the opposite end of the couch and faced Taylor, bringing her legs up under her. "I take it there's a history between you and Don?"

Taylor continued to stare stonily into her glass, but nodded.

"Well I guess you're not exactly going to share with me the ins and outs of it, but Taylor, you're not seeing him anymore."

"I know that," Taylor confirmed, her voice strained.

"So why the hell did you hit Carmen?"

Taylor sank further into her chair as the beer tears began to fall. "I don't know. I was scared, and angry, and hurt, and… and she was there, and all these feelings came bubbling up and she just got on the receiving end of it, and oh God, I'm a horrible, horrible bitch," she babbled.

Angell scooted over and pried the now empty glass out of her hand, placing it on the side. "You're not a horrible person."

"I am. I hit my friend. Twice!"

Angell arched her eyebrows but said nothing.

"She's never going to want to speak to me again," she wailed.

Angell sighed and wrapped and arm around her shoulder, pulling her to her, "So do you want to speak to her again?"

"I don't know," she sobbed into Angell's top. "I'm so mad at her for what she did. And I'm mad at Don too. But he's in a hospital and you're not allowed to be mad with people in hospital." There was something else she wasn't admitting out loud either. The fact that she was mad at herself because the man she loved was lying in a hospital and all she could think about was someone else.

Angell pulled her tighter as she cried into her, making the appropriate shushing noises as she stroked her hair.

"Thank you," Taylor muttered finally.

Angell glanced down. "For what?"

"For letting me stay here, after everything."

"Any time," she told her softly, pulling the blanket down from the back of the couch and throwing it over Taylor.

Taylor sat upright, "What are you doing?"

"Letting you get some sleep. You're going to feel like crap tomorrow," she informed her, looking over at the bottle of Southern Comfort that was now standing virtually empty.

Taylor laughed bitterly. "I don't get hangovers, but I don't remember anything either. Why do you think I drank so much?"

Angell sighed. "Whether you remember it or not, you're going to have to work out what you want, and soon. Before someone else gets hurt."

Taylor stared at the detective. Somehow, the person she saw staring back wasn't the attractive female detective, but an attractive medical examiner. She must have drunk a lot, because… she leant forward and pressed her lips against Angell's. And then Angell was kissing her back. Taylor pulled back. Had she been sober enough, she'd have been wondering when she became the type to act first, think later – even if it was some form of misplaced affection. Had she been sober, she would have also realized she had been doing a lot of that recently – acting first and thinking later. Instead, she smiled, pulled the blanket over her, and lay down, asleep in seconds, her dreams plagued with Porches, ghosts and cats.

Angell got to her feet and walked over to her bedroom door. She turned the light of then looked back at Taylor in the light from her bedroom and sighed. "Maybe it's already to late for that," she sighed, closing the door.

~G~H~

AN:

meadow567 – (Ax) Why, thank you! (Aph) I'm glad you liked it, we had fun doing it! (Sparky) I'm happy that you liked it!

demolished-soul – (Ax) I'm still in two minds as to who she should end up with. It was originally going to be with Angell! (Aph) lol Which would have been controversial reading. Lol The whole Physical violence thing came out of nowhere, we were having trouble writing a fight so we decided to play it out and then Pow! Tay's hit Carmen and their being restrained, so we had to use it. It was great fun though. (Sparky) I wish I could say that I was part of that IM convo, it sounded like so much fun!

Madison Bellows – (Ax) Aphina and I IMed the convo – it was mucho fun, so I'm glad you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!(Aph)That's the best part of co writing some times, the stuff that surprises you. Lol you have plenty to look forward to if I remember correctly. (Sparky) Oh, it surely going to get interesting! I love where we are going with this!

AN: Okay guys...See that little button below that says Submit Review? Our muses would be very grateful if you did!