Don woke up with a small groan. His eyes flickered open as the events of last night flickered in his mind. With a small smile, he took in the sight of Kris lying sprawled beside him. The blanket covered her bottom half, her chest rising with each breath while her arm lay across his chest. One of her legs was strewn across his, and her head lay close to his shoulder. Smiling at the familiar scent, Flack pressed a small kiss on her head before slowly getting up. He stood up and pulled the blanket over her before leaving the room.
"So she forgave you?"
Flack jumped at the sound of Stella's voice and spun around to see her seated on the plush leather couch, a coffee cup in hand.
"Plan on killing me early?" Flack shot back as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. It was then that he realized that he was only wearing his boxers. Freezing momentarily, he shrugged to himself and headed towards Kris' kitchen. However, before he could get there, Stella had gotten in his way and pressed a hand against his bare chest.
"Oh no, you don't, Flack. You have got some explaining to do." She raised an eyebrow at him.
With a sigh, Flack's shoulders sagged along with his head. "Can I put on some clothes first?" he asked hopefully, wanting to buy some time.
"Make it quick, Flack." And with that Flack rushed back into Kris' bedroom and pulled on his sweats and wife beater.
"Now sit." Stella was immediately on him when he re-exited the bedroom. Obliging, Flack took a seat beside Stella on the couch.
"Stell… I…"
"You what, Don Flack; and don't you dare give me excuses!" Stella's voice was stern as she continued. "I have watched Kris kill herself over what happened. For one whole week and two days, that girl has walked around like a zombie, only eating when I shove something down her throat. So help me God, but if you don't have a very good answer for what you did to her… I'm going to kick your ass." She paused momentarily. "and so will Danny – you're just lucky I haven't told him what happened."
"Shit." Flack cursed as he buried his face in his hands. "It was an undercover job, Stell…" he looked up at her, pain swimming in his piercing blue orbs. "Devon is the daughter of a suspected drug lord. The French mafia has been acting up and there were rumors of a huge shipment of coke coming in. We had no idea where and when the shipping was to take place. All we knew was that Devon had access to the information and that our time was running out."
"So were you able to bust the shipment?"
"The asshole who gave us our information lied." Flack snarled, anger now burning fiercely in his eyes. "The lie was used to cover up another shipment in California. I just found out two days ago… FUCK!" Flack got to his feet and began pacing before continuing. "How bad did it get?"
"Honestly… I was on the verge of taking her to the hospital. She… she wouldn't talk to me for the first two days. There was this brief moment when I saw a spark, a flicker of resilience… but it faded quickly and she was even more torn up then she originally had been… There was one really bad night though… She…" Stella, on the verge of tears, paused to regain her composure. "I had been working overtime on a case and so I got back pretty late. I decided to check up on her, you know? See if she was doing alright. So I headed towards her room and found her huddled in a corner surrounded by bottles of alcohol. And… she just there… silently staring at her hand. If… do you know what was in her hand?" Stella looked up at Don.
He simply shook his head and waited for Stella to continue. "From what I saw… almost half a bottle of pain killers."
To Stella's surprise, Flack's hand reeled backwards and slammed into the wall nearby. "Flack!" she got to her feet as he got ready to hit the wall again. "Don! Stop it!" Stella grabbed his arm before he could proceed.
Choking back a sob, Flack let Stella wrap her arms around his tall frame. Then suddenly, she was there; Kris, clad in his polo, wrapped her arms around the man she loved. That was all it took for a tear to run down Flack's face and for him to collapse back onto the couch and burry his face in Kris' shoulder.
"Shh…" Kris straddled him and gently placed kisses on his face as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"I'm so sorry… I'm so, so sorry."
Stepping back, Stella watched the bittersweet scene in front of her. With a slight smile, she grabbed her purse and quietly left the apartment. It was obvious how much the two needed each other. From the outside, it may have seemed like Flack was always the one keeping Kris standing, that she was the dependent one in the relationship. But then, it was in rare moments like those that the truth behind their relationship really showed. Kris was as much a support as Flack was. True, Kris had her moments, but so did Flack, and when he was on the verge of breaking, she was the only one who could keep him standing. That was the way their relationship simply went. It was one of giving and taking, one wherein the two needed each other to stand – love.
Ignoring the slight clench in her heart, Stella flipped open her phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey Mac, you up for some coffee?"