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Chapter 11
She had everything with her, boarding pass, ID, her luggage was checked already and Christina gave her the address where she needed to go.
"This is it. Please don't forget to feed the cats. They do like you Scotty, even if they don't show it much." She said to him. "I won't forget Lil." He hugged her tight. "Call me when you get there." It was Christmas Eve morning. Scotty had to go straight to work. It was already 9:00 AM and the airport was crowded with people and luggage.
"Merry Christmas Valens. Check your drawer, your gift is there." She kissed his cheek and then went through airport security.
Scotty had a busy day. The precinct bustled with activity, their latest case was closed they just needed the last pieces of paperwork and a signed confession from the doer. Nick and Kat were in the process of getting that right now. It was 7:00 PM and Lilly hadn't called yet. He knew her flight had been delayed a couple of hours. Well more than a couple of hours. The last annoyed text he got was at 2:00 PM telling him that she was about to finally board the plane.
He checked his cellphone one more time. He frowned, nothing yet. Stillman and the other two detectives came out of the interrogation room. A middle-aged woman walked handcuffed to the holding cells.
"Go home Valens. Vera and Miller are going home as we speak." Boss wished him a Merry Christmas and they left together.
Scotty drove to his parents' house. "You're home." Rosa hugged and kissed him.
He ate his dinner and watched as Emilio and Alejandra lost the fight to sleep. They wanted to open their gifts at midnight. Emilio lasted until 10:30 while Ale cuddled to him at 9:00 PM.
It was 10:40 when he called Lilly. She must have forgotten to call him. It sent him to voicemail. He didn't bother to leave a message. "Hey Scotty, come play with us." Mike invited him to play dominoes but Scotty shook his head. "I'm busy right now." He put Ale on the couch and went outside. He knew he had to have that number in his cellphone. Scotty was too impatient to find it. He called Lilly again and this time he left a message. "Lil it's me, call me when you get this." Scotty paced as he spoke. He went back into the house to the living room. Mike must have moved Ale and Emilio upstairs. He could hear dad and mom talk in the kitchen and Allie's laughter down the hall.
He found Christina's number; he hoped it was hers, "Hello." Scotty heard Christina's voice.
"Hi Chris. It's Scotty, Can I talk to Lil please?" He said quickly.
"She's not here Scotty." Christina said quickly. Scotty remained silent. "I thought she stayed in Philly. I've been trying to call her since 3:00 PM. She was supposed to be here at 2:00."
Scotty raised his voice and paced, his heartbeat increased. "No, her flight was delayed. You were supposed to pick her at the airport Christina." Scotty said angrily to her.
He saw his Dad and Mom standing just outside of the living room. "I know but I cancelled. I had no one to babysit Becky so I gave her my address." Chris said calmly.
"What do you mean you cancelled? You should have taken Becky to the airport with you." He was becoming increasingly frustrated with Chris and worried about Lilly.
"She's a grown woman, and a cop. She'll be fine." Chris tried to convince herself.
Scotty laughed cruelly, "She's not on service, and she doesn't have a weapon on her or her badge. Your sister is not answering her phone. She's been in LA since at least 7:00 PM. It's almost midnight. God Christina, she didn't ask much of you. All you had to do was pick her up from the fucking airport." He loosened his tie and kept pacing on his mother's rug. His back was to the kitchen but he was sure that his whole family was watching him.
"Scotty, you have no right. She's my sister, you can't talk to me like that." She hung up the phone on him.
Suddenly he felt all the fight and anger leave his body. He fell to the couch and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a nightmare, he felt someone sit next to him. "What's wrong with Lilly?" his mom asked. He didn't open his eyes. "She's not with her sister. Christina thought she cancelled, she didn't even pick Lil from the airport." Scotty rubbed his eyes. "Mike, give me your phone." Mike gave it to him. Scotty checked Lilly's flight. It had arrived to LAX at 7:15 PM. That information only brought more anxiety to him. He called Christina again to let her know. She just asked him, "What should I do?" in her defense she sounded scared but Scotty couldn't see beyond his own fears. "Go to the airport and start asking people if they saw her." He said imperiously.
"Scotty, I can't. I have the baby…"
"What do you mean you can't? Lilly is missing." He said angrily to his partner's sister.
"Don't you dare hang up on me again Christina. I'll book a flight to L.A. right now. Call your boyfriend, and get to the airport as soon as you can. I'll meet you there." Scotty had a plan now; he would go to L.A. and look for her.
"Scotty, hold on a second. Lilly's flight was delayed maybe she's on her way to her sister's home right now." Mike tried but Scotty was already buying his airplane ticket online. He took out his wallet but was too nervous to put in all the numbers. "Damn it." Allie took his credit car. "Let me." She took the phone and car from him.
"Scotty, tell me what's going on?" Rosa asked stilling his hand. "It's my fault, she was going to stay here but I had to buy her that ticket. She was sad Ma, she couldn't sleep well, Lil tried to hide it but she moped around. She woke up in the middle of the night. You should have seen her face when Christina cancelled. Lil was really looking forward to seeing Becky." Scotty said softly, turning around to see Allie still with the cellphone on her hand. "Did you get the tickets yet?" he said anxiously.
"No, I'm looking for something right now but there's nothing online." Allie said helplessly. She was about to refresh the page again when the phone started ringing. Scotty snatched from her hands. "Hello, Chris did she call you?" Scotty asked quickly.
"I'm fine Scotty." Lil's sweet voice said. Scotty felt relief like he'd never felt before, "Thank god. Are you ok? What happened?" He said as he walked upstairs into his bedroom. He needed a moment with her.
"Yes. I'm fine. My cellphone is out of battery and I missed my connecting flight. I just got to Chris's place." She said, Scotty closed his eyes and fell on the mattress.
"You scared the hell out of me. I think I aged ten years this past thirty minutes. Mi Cielo, are you sure you're fine? Don't lie to me Lil." He said softly.
"Do you want to facetime me to make sure?" She said jokingly.
Scotty didn't have to think twice, "Actually I do. I'll call you right now." suddenly he could see her beautiful face on the screen. She was carrying Becky. "Hey Becky." He said to the little baby who giggled and tried to grab the phone.
"See I'm fine." She smiled to him. "Did you get your Christmas gift?" She asked him.
He smiled back, "Not yet. I haven't been home yet. Tell me what you got me." He said relaxing more by the fact that she was fine.
She shook her head. "Come on Lil. I deserve to know. I've been a good boy Rush." He pleaded. Lilly laughed, "Ok, just because I scared you tonight." He looked expectantly at her. "Remember that leather jacket you wanted?" He nodded. "It's on the closet by my dresses." She said to him.
"Thank you Lilly." He said sincerely. Lilly reassured him once again she was fine and that yes she had all of her luggage. She smiled openly, "Merry Christmas Scotty." She blew him a kiss. Becky did the same. He smiled at them. "Scotty I have to go, Chris's boyfriend is here."
He wished her Merry Christmas and the connection ended. He breathed a sigh of relief. He understood how Lilly felt when he had the accident or when he stormed out. He cared for Lilly before they started living together. He'd been worried sick when she was kidnapped by George and he almost broke down when she was shot. This was different, the pain, the fear, the anxiety were sudden and overwhelming. It was like a truck hitting him with all these feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability.
Scotty composed himself and went downstairs again. He found his family on the living room. "Is Lilly ok?" Rosa asked as he saw him come downstairs.
"She's fine, she missed her flight and it was almost impossible to get a cab to Christina's place." Scotty said, "Ma, where are coconut cakes?" he asked while going to the kitchen in search for them. The Valens looked at each other relieved that Lilly was fine. They had seen that desperate look on Scotty too many times because of Elisa. This time however Scotty had crumbled completely. Whenever Elisa got sick Scotty would be devastated but he always showed a strong front. This time it was as if all the drive and fight left him. Mike saw it; Scotty had only one thing in mind finding Lilly Rush.
Scotty reverted to his happy self and enjoyed himself. Mike and Allie went back to their home. Scotty drove back home; Lil's place was home now. He found his gift where she said. Lil really was something else. He hadn't even said anything about that jacket. He just looked at it and she knew. He felt bad that he only gave her the ticket to L.A. He would have to make it up to her. Scotty tossed and turned in the bed. He pressed his face into her pillow and inhaled her scent. He smiled and slept a little.
Lilly wasn't faring any better. She thought that all the excitement and stress from the day would tire her out. That she would drop unconscious as soon as she hit the bed, wrong. She was awake; she checked her phone that was now charged. She couldn't help but facetime him. It would be a miracle if he answered. She almost gave up when a sleepy Scotty smiled at her. "Hi Cielo, do you miss me too?" he asked sleepily, a self-satisfied smirk graced his beautiful face.
"Maybe a little. I can see you're doing well without me." She teased him.
"No, I just managed to sleep. I had to bury my face on your pillow. Have I ever told you that you smell absolutely delicious?" He told her with his eyes barely open. She thought he looked sexy, and adorable at the same time. He must be really out of it to tell her these things.
"Not really but now I know." She replied.
Lilly kept looking at the screen, Scotty went back to sleep. Lilly watched him until she closed her eyes too.
