Once again, I have not been keeping up with updating. I'm sorry. But maybe this time I'll do better, but I'm not making any promises. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Ten81CSI owns Kylie and temporary relief owns Kelly. And I own the Foxxes.
The coffee shop was rather quiet for a Friday morning. Danny Messer had picked a booth in the back so the other coffee shop goers wouldn't hear Flack and himself talking about a case they were working on. Danny put his coffee down and let out a sigh. For the past week Flack had just been a pain in the ass. He hardly talked and if he did talk he was quick to bite your head off. Unfortunately for Danny, he mostly got yelled at by Flack.
"So how's Niki been?" Danny asked suddenly; thinking this question would get Flack to talk.
Flack just shrugged. "No one knows. She hasn't talked to anyone in about a week."
So that's why he's been so grumpy and moody, Danny thought. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean everyone has been calling her, but she won't answer. Her friend Ellie said she hasn't been to work in a week. Kylie is freakin' out thinking that Niki is going to do something stupid." Flack sighed as he picked at his breakfast.
"I don't get why she's doing this," Danny said, shaking his head, "She needs people right now."
Flack just shrugged and shook his head. "She's always been like this though. Anytime something bad has happened to her, she goes off and hides for a while and never talks to anyone about what happened."
"Is she alive at least? Have you called her or anything?" Danny asked.
"I went to talk to her neighbors to see if they have seen her around. They think she only goes out to walk Wrangler. But I haven't called her. She doesn't want to see me." The homicide detective stated.
"You're actually listening to her?" Danny asked, "Grow a pair and make sure she's alright. She may say she doesn't want to see you, but she does. She needs you right now and you're being a dick."
Flack rolled his blue eyes. "You don't know her. She's not like other girls when she says one thing and means another. If Niki doesn't want to see me then she doesn't want to see me. I'm not being a dick. Cause I know if I go and see her she's going to fight me. And trust me; you don't want to fight Niki."
"So what," Danny said as he took a bite of his toast, "Arguing is better than not doing anything at all. Cause even if you are arguing with her, it shows that you care."
"You don't get it…"
"No I do get it," Danny interrupted his friend, "You don't want to mess up your relationship with her. Just take a chance."
"My relationship with her?" Flack said again as he raised an eyebrow.
Danny gave his friend a pointed look. "Don't play dumb with me. It's really obvious that you two are dating."
"Niki would kill you if she heard you say that." Flack said; still slightly shocked that his friend figured out his secret.
"Awe so you don't deny it," Danny smirked, "Dude it's pretty obvious. A girl like that doesn't just hang around with a guy like you for nothing."
"I think you might have accidently called me hot." Flack said as he tried to move away from his friend.
Danny scrunched his face in thought as he thought about the sentence he just said. "Shit," He mumbled, "I think I did call you hot."
"Well, I think I'm gonna go now…" Flack said slowly as he awkwardly began to walk away.
"Whoa, you can't leave without paying for your food! If I pay for everything people might start to think things!" Danny argued as he put his hand out to get Flack's money.
Don rolled his eyes. "Fine, take it." He handed the money over to the CSI and left the coffee shop.
Danny watched as his friend walked out the door. He wasn't too sure if he had gotten through to him, but at least he made an attempt. And maybe Flack would go and see Niki. That would definitely get him out of his slump.
…..
Once Flack had returned from his breakfast with Danny, he dove straight into the mound of paperwork on his desk. His icy blue eyes were practically glued to the papers before him. He was so focused on his work that he hadn't noticed the five foot eleven Joey Foxx standing in front of his desk.
Joey cleared his throat to get the homicide detective's attention. Flack looked up to see Joey standing there in a gray t-shirt his right hand trying to hide his Foxx tattoo on his left arm. He noticed how awkwardly the Foxx was standing there. It must have been that he was in a room full of cops. And not to mention probably all the guns he had on his person.
"Can I help you?" Flack asked. He couldn't even begin to wonder why Niki's older brother had come to see him.
"It's about Niki," He said as he sat down, "I'm worried about her. I need you to go and talk to her."
"Me? She won't talk to me." Flack chuckled.
Joey shook his head. "You have a better chance of getting her to talk then me."
"How?" The Detective asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Cause you two are dating," Joey sighed, "And she really likes you."
"She told you about us?"
Joey shook his head and gave Flack a small Foxx smile. "She didn't have to tell me. I know my baby sister. And no guy would put up with an angry me twice if they didn't really care about her."
"That's true." Flack nodded his head.
"Exactly. So please go and talk to her. She may not talk to you, but you have a better chance of her opening the door for you. I don't even care if you sleep with her. I just want someone to see her." Joey said seriously. His brown eyes bore into Flack.
Flack immediately looked away. Joey's eyes were exactly like Niki's and it was freaking Flack out. He looked back toward Joey and let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll stop by her place after work."
"Thanks man," Joey said as he stood up and shook hands with Flack, "I really appreciate this. And my sister will too, even if she doesn't show it."
Flack nodded his head. "I know man, I know."
…..
"Hi, you've reached Niki and Wrangler! You know what to do!" The answering machine said.
Niki rolled her eyes when she heard her middle brother's voice come on her answering machine.
"Niki! Niki, god damn it just answer the god damn phone! I'm sick and tired of hearing your fucking answering machine!" Kevin Foxx said aggressively.
She let out a sigh when she heard the machine beep. That was the fifth message he had left her today. She was sick and tired off all these messages she was getting; she just wanted to be left alone.
Wrangler walked over to the couch and rested his head on Niki's stomach. She automatically started scratching him behind his ears, something she knew he loved. Wrangler licked Niki's face to thank her for being so kind.
"I love you too pal." She smiled and then went back to mindless watching TV and scratching Wrangler.
Suddenly Wrangler became excited and ran straight to Niki's door. Before Wrangler started barking there was a knock at the door.
"Niki, open up, I know you're in there!" The voice on the other side of the door shouted.
The stripper rolled her eyes. She knew exactly whose voice that was. "Go away! No one wants to talk to you!"
"Nik," The voice whined, "Please just let me in."
"Why should I?" Niki asked as she stood up and walked over to the door.
Flack shifted his weight as he tried to figure out a reason of why Niki should let him in. "Because I'm ridiculously sexy."
Niki looked through the peephole and her jaw dropped. Flack was wearing a dark green t-shirt that formed to every muscle in his chest and the sleeves looked tight around his biceps. And Niki was sure those jeans were doing wonders for Flack's ass. The clothes looked good on him but Niki knew his clothes would look better on her bedroom floor.
Niki gave into her desires and opened the door to let Flack in. He walked inside and lightly brushed his lips on her forehead. He wasn't too sure if he should kiss her or not, but he did anyway. He looked around the apartment and shook his head. There were beer cans and soda bottles all over the place. The kitchen was filled with all sorts of different take out. It looked like she hadn't left her place in weeks.
"So why are you here?" Niki asked as she closed the door.
Flack was about to say something when a growl stopped him. He looked down to see Wrangler's black ears pinned against his tan head. He bared his teeth at Flack and crouched down, ready to attack at any second. Flack stood still as his heart pounded in his chest.
"Ugh Wrangler," Niki sighed as she dragged him into the bathroom. When she came back she looked at Flack and gave him a small smile. "So why are you here?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing." Flack said as he smiled at her.
The dancer just rolled her eyes. "It took you long enough."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Flack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It just means that I thought boyfriends would come sooner to see their girlfriends." Niki shot at him
Flack rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you didn't want to see me."
"That's not the point." Niki snapped.
"Then what is the point?" Flack asked, clearly annoyed with her, "You didn't want to see anyone. I was just doing what you wanted. You always get what you want."
"If you're going to be like that get out of my apartment!" Niki shouted as she folded her arms across her chest.
The detective ran his hands through his hair and let out a sigh. This is exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. Fighting with Niki was the biggest pain ever. He could never win a fight against her, even if he was right.
"Babe," Flack said softly as he put his hands on her forearms, "I should have known better. I just didn't want you kicking my ass because I didn't do as you said."
Niki relaxed and wrapped her arms around Flack's waist and rested her head on his chest. "I know," She sighed, "It's just that I didn't want to deal with people being like 'Are you okay?', 'Do you wanna talk about it?', and all that kind of shit. I don't want pity."
"I know Babe, I know." He whispered into her hair. They stood there in each other's arms for a few minutes until Flack pushed her away and gave her a smirk.
"What?" Niki asked, raising her eyebrow.
"I'm gonna take you out tonight," Flack said, "Kylie and some people from work are at Sullivan's."
"Donnie, I don't know…" Niki hesitated.
Flack rolled his eyes. "Come on Nik, it'll be fun. And I'll make sure no one pity's you or asks you what happened. Okay?"
"Alright," Niki sighed, "Let me go get ready."
About twenty minutes later Niki walked out of her room in dark low rise jeans and a black tank top that revealed the tattoos on her hip and back.
"You're showing off your Foxx tattoo?" Flack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It scares some guys away." Niki smirked.
Flack wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body against his. "Obviously it didn't work for me." He smiled and kissed her. He let out a low moan. Flack hadn't realized how much he missed the way Niki's lips felt against his or the way her tongue danced with his.
"You know, we don't have to go out tonight," He said seductively against her lips.
The brunette pushed Flack away from her and gave him a stern look. "No way pal; I put make-up on and I'm looking damn hot. We're going out."
"Alright fine," Flack whined as he lead Niki out the door, "But you owe me."
"I owe you nothing," Niki laughed until she looked at Flack's pathetic face, "But I'll pay you back generously for paying for my beers."
Flack suddenly had the biggest smile on his face. "Deal."
…
Niki had walked into the bar a few steps ahead of Flack. She didn't want anyone to get any ideas. Flack caught up to her when she stopped in the middle of the crowd. She wasn't too sure if she was ready for this. Flack grabbed her shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze before leading her to the table with the others. Niki got to the table and smiled at everyone who was there; Danny, Aiden, Kylie, Hawkes and some chick who Niki had no idea who she was. And then that's when it happened.
When everyone at the table saw Niki they all did it. They all gave Niki the 'Sympathetic head nod'. She turned to Flack and gave him the dirtiest look ever. If looks could kill Flack would have been dead. He just slowly shrugged his shoulders and sat next to Danny. The Stripper rolled her eyes and sat next to Kylie.
"So," Danny spoke with a smirk on his face, "A friend of mine's birthday is coming up. I was thinking we'd throw him a party at a strip club. Could you possibly give me a friends and family discount?"
Niki stuck her tongue out at Danny. "Who said we were friends?"
"What about loyal costumer discount?" Danny asked.
Flack shot Danny a look until Niki kicked him in the shin. Flack bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out in pain. The heel on Niki's shoe had got him.
"What about I buy the next two rounds?" Niki said with the Foxx smile.
Danny bobbed his head around before he answered. "Alright, I'm good with that."
"Cool, I'm gonna need some help. I don't have seven hands." Niki said.
"I'll help." The mystery woman said as she stood up.
Niki nodded her head and started walking toward the bar. She easily got the bartender's attention and ordered everyone beers, except for the mystery girl. As they waited for their order, Niki turned to the woman and asked, "So who are you?"
"Kelly Higgins." She said as she put her hand out.
Niki nodded her head and shook Kelly's hand. "Oh you're the one who wrote that article."
"Yes, that was me." The journalist nodded.
"Good work. And smart thinking to call the cops to get them to trace the call." Niki said, not making eye contact with Kelly.
"Don't worry about it." Kelly said. She could tell that Niki worked hard to avoid saying thanks. "That doesn't look like a wallet a girl should be pulling out of her pocket." Kelly said as Niki paid for the drinks.
Niki handed Kelly some of the drinks and gave her a smirk. "Because it isn't my wallet. I pocketed it from Donnie. Like hell I was actually going to pay for two rounds of beer."
"Good thinking." Kelly laughed.
The rest of the night went smoothly and Niki had a lot of fun. She was glad Flack had made her go out. She missed people. And lucky for her no one asked her what had happened or anything about her three days with the 4 Day Devil. And Niki was grateful for that.
…
Flack knew there was something wrong. The way Niki was tossing and turning wasn't right. He sat up and watched as Niki flipped back and forth; her arms flying all over the place. She had ripped the covers away from him; her body becoming a tangled messed in the soft sheets.
"No stop, please don't!" Niki pleaded in her sleep.
Flack's body suddenly tensed. Niki hardly ever talked in her sleep. She looked scared and like she was trying to fight something or someone off.
"Please don't!" She cried, "Please!"
"Niki!" Flack shouted as he grabbed her and tried shaking her awake, "Come on Nik; wake up!"
Suddenly Niki sat straight up with a gasp and her body shaking uncontrollably. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she tried to control her breathing. She could feel Flack's hand tightly wrapped around her arm.
"Babe, are you alright?" He asked as he pushed a piece of Niki's long brown hair behind her ear.
She shook her head and forced a smile. "Yeah don't worry. I'm good."
"Nik," Flack said sternly, staring into Niki's brown eyes, "You're not good. No one tosses and turns and cries like that for nothing."
"It was just a dream. No big deal." Niki said as she rubbed her right temple.
"Nik,"
"Please," Niki interrupted him, "I'm tired. And I have work tomorrow. I'm probably having dreams cause I drank a lot tonight."
Flack rolled his eyes but didn't push the matter anymore. He had work tomorrow and he knew that if he pushed this any further him and Niki would fight and both of them wouldn't be getting any sleep. He rested his head back on the pillows and closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt the sheets move and Niki's head on his chest. Flack wrapped his arm tightly around Niki's shoulders, hoping that next time she was having a dream he would figure it out sooner.
Niki let out a sigh as she lay on Flack's bare chest. She knew she wasn't going back to sleep tonight. Every since she got home from the hospital she'd been having the same nightmare over and over again. She shivered at the thought of the dream. Flack's arm became tighter around her shoulders. Niki let a small smile escape her lips. This is way she asked Flack to stay the night. So someone could hold her when she had the nightmares, but she would never admit something like that out loud.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! It would be great if you could leave a review and tell me what you think! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks again1
