Charlie felt a dull ache in his limbs a from all the running and swimming and a prickle on his shoulders from the sun. It was time to go in. He lingered for a while looking out over the city below, allowing himself to dry off a little before he went into the house since he had no towel. Dani might well have left in a fit of pique already, he supposed.
Inside, to his relief, he found her sat on the sofa, dressed and towelling off her hair.
"I took a shower, hope that's okay?", she asked.
"Of course", he shrugged, "Mi casa es tu casa." He tried to detect some anger or resentment in her eyes but found none. Maybe he wasn't in the doghouse after all. "I'm going to get a shower too, I won't be long."
As he skipped up the stairs two at a time with his sweaty t-shirt draped over his shoulder she called out, "Crews?".
He stopped and looked down at her.
"You were right. I need to call Tidwell. I'll do it now.", she said simply.
Charlie beamed. "Did you just say I was right?!", he asked, mock disbelief on his face.
Dani frowned. "You're dripping water on the stairs. That's a hazard. Move along.", she snapped.
Charlie happily wandered into his bathroom and got into his giant shower cubicle. He decided that he wouldn't try to imagine Dani in there, which she must have been not fifteen minutes before, shampooing her hair, running her soapy hands over her body. He grit his teeth. As he looked up, he glimpsed her underwear set drying on the side of the bathtub because they were wet from the pool. He face-palmed. She couldn't go leaving stuff like that out in full view for him. What was more, it dawned on him that if her panties were in the bathroom, she couldn't have been wearing anything under her jeans right now. This was a thought too far. He rested his head against the shower wall and let the water rush over his hair. He gave in and set about relieving himself in the shower, just to earn some respite from the extreme provocation she was subjecting him to. It wouldn't take him long. She would never know.
/
Half an hour later, refreshed in more ways than one, Charlie reappeared at the foot of the stairs. Dani took him in, he was wearing jeans and a casual blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves. The blue of the shirt was darker than that of his eyes but it brought them out nonetheless. She liked seeing him dressed down more and more. She was sitting in the same position she had been when he had gone upstairs, suspiciously immobile.
"So, how did it go with Tidwell?", Charlie asked innocently, keener to hear than he wanted to let on.
"I, uh, haven't called him yet.", replied Dani, "But I'm gonna do it. Right now." She looked like she was gearing up to something mammoth.
"Okay. Well, I'll be outside." Charlie walked off to the kitchen, poured himself some juice and went back outside to give her some privacy.
Dani took a deep breath and pressed the button to dial Tidwell.
"Dani. Thank god, babe. Where the hell have you been?!", Tidwell exclaimed, having jumped at the sound of his phone and then the sight of her name a flashing up on the display. It was a sight he had prayed for all night. He was too relieved to be angry at her.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, everything's fine. I'm sorry, I had my phone on silent," she lied.
"You had it on silent? Where have you been? An all night movie marathon? I came by your place but you didn't answer. You weren't home.", he sighed. "I was so worried babe, I've been going out of my mind." His words came too quickly, giving Dani a headache.
"Don't call me 'babe', please."
"What? It's okay, I'm in my office, there's no one around to listen."
"Don't call me it, period. You know I don 't like it.", she scolded him, irritated at having to fend off his questions even though she knew they were entirely reasonable. He had every right to ask.
"So. You gonna tell me where you were last night or do I got to have you in and interrogate you?", he said feigning a chuckle, his annoyance now peeking through his initial relief although he still tried to hide it.
She thought about lying, saying that she had been asleep in bed at home all night. Tidwell wasn't dumb though, he would have noticed her car was missing if he had been to her place.
"Dani? Dani, goddammit! I'm going to ask you this once, and I want the truth.", he said. "Have you been drinking?"
"No, Tidwell, I have not been drinking."
He pressed her further. "You can tell me, babe, I won't judge. I won't be mad. Jeez, it's completely understandable given what you're dealing with. I just need to know." Tidwell had been out most of the night searching bars for her, certain that he would run into her sooner or later.
He was really pressing her buttons. "First thing: if I really wanted a drink, I'd have one whether I thought you'd get mad or not. Second: I told you once, I have not been drinking. Third: if you dare call me 'babe' one more time, I'm hanging up. Are we clear?" He was silent. "If you must know, I was at Crews' place last night." She didn't care if she pissed him off now, she was ready for a fight.
The line stayed quiet. "Tidwell?", she said.
"You were with Crews.", he stated, as if it were the obvious answer all along, now she had said it. She couldn't hear anger in his voice just yet. "I searched all over LA until 5am for you. Every sleazy bar in the city. I called hospitals. And you were with him? You couldn't even call me?! Nice. Real nice, Dani.".
There it was, the anger. It hadn't taken long to surface. Dani rolled her eyes. She knew what he was saying was right but she was done with being spoken to like a child. "Are you done?", Dani asked.
He wasn't done. "All night? Can I ask what you were doing with him that you didn't even think to call? Or don't I want to know the answer to that one?"
"We were watching tv. We ate pizza. I fell asleep on his sofa. Is that okay? Is there anything there you object to? If there is, I'd love to hear it." Dani challenged him, feeling indignant, ready to snap.
Tidwell didn't know what was worse; the picture of Dani enjoying a cosy night in at Crews' house, or his ongoing suspicion that she was fucking him getting stronger. He stayed silent. He wanted to tell Dani that she should be watching tv and eating pizza at his place. She should be fucking him. He hated the thought that she was getting something from Crews that she didn't get from him, even if he chose to believe her when she said it wasn't sex. He hated the thought that Crews might know Dani better than he did, that there was naturally more intimacy between them than he would ever achieve with her. Plus, he just knew that Crews wanted to fuck her, he was a guy, why wouldn't he? The sonofabitch was probably just biding his time.
"Nothing to say?", asked Dani, "I thought not."
She had managed to switch this around on him somehow, Tidwell reflected.
"I just want to take care of you, bay-...Dani. Is that so bad?", he almost whined.
"I was taking care of myself long before you showed up." she answered. "I don't need a bodyguard."
"No, you already have one of those.", Tidwell said bitterly.
They had reached an impasse. Both of them were quiet for what seemed like an age. Dani was fighting the urge to tell him it was over. She knew it would be a pretty shitty thing to do it over the phone.
"Can I come over tonight? We need to talk...", Tidwell was backing down, almost as if he sensed she was ready to pull the trigger.
"You know what? I don't think that's a good idea. I'd prefer to stay home alone tonight. I'll see you at work.", she responded coolly.
"At work? You're not due back until Monday. It's Thursday today. How about tomorrow? Saturday? Or do you already have plans with your partner?", Tidwell would not go down without a fight but he couldn't keep himself from sniping.
"Look, I don't know, okay? I just need some time to myself, is all. I'll call you, alright?", she sighed.
"Fine, Dani. You just take the time you need. Call me when you can fit me in. Oh, and be sure to give my love to Crews." Tidwell hung up on her.
"Asshole." Dani bit the side of her mouth and ran her hand through her hair.
/
Outside, she found Charlie leaning against the black railing, staring out at the view. He had been waiting patiently, feeling a little nervous although he wasn't sure why.
"Hey." Dani said quietly, coming to stand by his side.
"Hey." Charlie replied. He could tell that she was still processing whatever had been said during the phone call. He waited silently until he felt her turn to look at him. "You okay?", he asked, still looking ahead, determined not to crowd her.
"Yeah. Tidwell is pissed, no surprises there.", she replied.
Charlie nodded, raised his eyebrows and looked up into the sky. "Reese, are you hungry? I'm hungry."
"Like you wouldn't believe." Dani agreed.
"Then let's go eat." he smiled.
"Where?" she asked, glad that he hadn't pressed her for details on Tidwell. He must have decided that it wasn't his business. It had more to do with him than he knew, Dani thought.
"Someplace fancy or a pig out joint?" Charlie enquired.
"We can't go fancy with me dressed like this." Dani pointed out, laughing.
"We could swing by your place so you can get changed if you like?" Charlie offered.
Dani wrinkled her nose. "I could go for a burger and a shake." she said.
"Deal. I'll even throw in some fries. But one day I'll take you somewhere fancy." He promised. That sounded a little like the proposal of a date to Dani, but she let it slide.
"I could get used to sick leave." she remarked.
They gathered their things and walked out front to Dani's car, Charlie's latest ride having been wiped out during his quest to get Dani back from Roman's clutches. He tested her by asking if he could drive but whatever new warmth was developing between them clearly did not extend to driving privileges. Once in the car and buckled up, she looked across at him, noticing his aftershave now they were in an enclosed space. He smelled good. She wanted to stick her nose in his neck and breathe him in. For a second she was away, imagining biting his neck and climbing into his lap right there in the car. She wrestled with the thought until she noticed him looking at her in the rear view, his sharp eyes startling her back to reality. Dani was starting to feel decidedly grubby, despite her shower she was wearing yesterday's clothes. Not nine-days-strapped-to-a-chair grubby, but not as fresh as she'd like. She would get to change soon enough she decided, after they'd eaten she would have to make her way home and do some of that thinking she had promised herself, see if she couldn't get some things straight in her mind.
/
As they sat in a booth at a diner they had visited before whilst on duty, Dani listened to Charlie chirruping on merrily and she realized again how much she had missed him. He hadn't got on her nerves once so far. Okay, maybe just once; when he pointed out for the hundredth time since they'd met that the tomato in her burger was in fact a fruit, not a vegetable. Then he continued, telling her that tomatoes were part of the nightshade family, as were potatoes and so, at least two of the components of the meal on her plate were closely related to the poison, deadly nightshade. Dani became concerned that his fruit obsession was going to extend into the vegetable family.
Charlie was also glad to have his partner back, he could never talk like this to Seever. It hadn't occurred to him that he was the only one doing the chatting. Despite all the misfortune and cruelty that had befallen him in his life, sometimes when he looked at his partner he felt like the luckiest guy in the world. Dani's side of the booth was facing a window and he watched the light illuminating her face, shining onto her nose and cheeks so that the subtle smattering of freckles that she had despite her dark complexion were visible. He needed to get his suspension lifted, to be reinstated as a LAPD Detective and to get back to working alongside her, where he belonged. He resolved to give his lawyer a call tomorrow and see how things were going.
Dani watched Charlie's eyes twinkling. She assumed he was just having a good time expounding upon the lightness of being and peace of mind attainable through meditation. He told her about his boulder, the one in the canyons where he went running, and how it was his favourite spot for meditating and just thinking in general. Apart from his orange grove, that was his other favourite place, for its smell, its fruit and, well, for obvious reasons. At the mention of the orange grove they looked at each other nervously, both recalling what they had felt there, and then looked away at the same time as if it hurt to think about it collectively. When the waitress passed by to check everything was okay, she gave Charlie a scolding look, tutted, and turned to Dani.
"Ma'm, I believe your husband is having some fun at your expense." Dani frowned, confused. "You have a little something just here." The waitress gestured to the corner of her own mouth.
Dani brought her napkin to her face. Mayo. Quite a lot of it actually. How long it had been there, she wasn't sure, she tried to recall how long Charlie had been sitting there looking mischievous. She kicked his shin sharply under the table with the pointiest part of her boot and was satisfied when he yelped and nearly bent double in the booth to rub his leg.
"Thank you Kathleen," said Dani, reading the waitress' name badge, "my husband will be sure to tip you generously for taking such good care of us."
"My pleasure, m'am." said Kathleen, moving away and raising an eyebrow at Charlie.
Charlie was resigned to his punishment. It had been worth it. "Hey Reese, did you hear that Kathleen thinks we're married? Do we look married, do you think?", he said excitedly.
"Don't push it Crews, we've had a nice day.", warned Reese.
When the check came, Dani watched Charlie count the bills from his wallet, adding the tip. When he thought he had finished, Dani coughed abruptly, signalling him to carry on. He raised his eyebrows but kept doling out the bills until Dani told him she was satisfied with her eyes. He found there was something incredibly sexy about the way they were communicating, the way she bossed him around and he obeyed without question, all in silence. It was a huge tip but he didn't care, and anyway, it would make Kathleen's week.
"Thanks for the burger. Shall I drop you home?", she said once they were in the parking lot. As Charlie sank into the passenger seat his heart sank also, he didn't want her to go. As they drove, he tried to conjure up a reason she should come back into his house with him but came up with nothing. When she pulled up in his drive he said "You know, you don't have to leave, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. We could go buy you your own bed? I have plenty of guest rooms, we could fix one up for you?" He smarted inside at the sound of his own desperation.
Dani gave him a small smile, "Thanks, but I can't move in with you, Crews. That would be weird. I have a perfectly good apartment of my own that I haven't seen in two weeks and I need to go home one day, so it may as well be today."
Charlie shrugged, defeated. "Well, if you want me...in the night..", he realized how suggestive that sounded, "...if you want to talk, I'll have my cell right by the bed."
"Thanks. But I'll be fine. Anyway, Tidwell might be coming over. He's enough to scare any bogeymen away." Dani smiled but saw Charlie's face drop slightly. He quickly composed a neutral expression, but she had seen it there.
From this, Charlie surmised that Dani's phone call to Tidwell hadn't been as definitive as he had hoped. If Tidwell was coming over they might still work things out. She might want to work things out with him after all, what did he know?
Dani felt his disappointment right in the centre of her chest. "How do you go about letting a guy down gently?", she asked him, more to reassure him than to genuinely ask his advice.
Charlie didn't know whether she was talking about him or Tidwell. "Serve divorce papers on him in a prison cell where he's doing a life stretch for multiple homicides that he didn't commit? I really wouldn't know, Reese.", he said sadly.
"Ouch.", said Dani. Sometimes amongst all the zen bullshit and the positivity, he expressed things so raw that she felt like he had slapped her face. He never failed to catch her off guard.
"I guess you can only tell him how you feel.", Charlie gazed past the windscreen, steeling himself for the 'you and I are just good friends' speech if it was him that Dani was hoping to let down gently. The speech didn't come.
Charlie looked at Dani for a long time but said nothing. He was feeling like a hypocrite, talking about people telling others how they felt like it was the easiest thing in the world. It was time to go but he felt rooted to the spot, looking at her uncertainly.
"I'll be fine Crews.", she answered the question he hadn't asked.
Charlie unfurled his long limbs and climbed out of the car as she started the engine, even then trying to come up with a reason why she needed to stay with him.
For all his riches he had nothing except the fact that he wanted her close.
