Author Note: Check my profile for an audio note about the audio version of Waiting for Somebody! Take the story with you, wherever you go! The first chapter is up and ready. If it goes well the rest will be posted as well.

Cha-Cha was expecting Lennie's phone call, but trying not to make that expectancy obvious. She wanted to be near the phone, but wanted to be near Ed, too. After the night before, it just made her want to be close to him. Like nothing was going on. They were on the couch, her cheek against his chest as he sat in his corner. As comfortable as she was, on ear was open, waiting for that phone call.

Ed was playing with her fingers. It was surprisingly interesting and very fun. He had one of her hands in both of his, and he lazily laced and unlaced their fingers. Observed her palm lines. Noticed her polish was chipped. Couldn't help picking at it.

Then again, if Lennie forgot to call her, maybe that would be okay too. Rubbing her cheek against his shirt gently, a smile came over her lips. "You gonna repaint those?" she asked softly, shifting up to get closer to him. As close as possible.

"No," he answered honestly with laugh. It was their own fault for being so tempting. He backed off anyway, now intent on watching her skin change color as he pressed it differently. There was a fine line between bored and too relaxed. The phone rang in the kitchen but he ignored it.

Cha-Cha moaned softly, a deep sigh following. She really hated to do this. "Baby, I gotta get up," she mumbled, kissing him chastely as she started lugging herself up. Would waiting a couple more minutes have killed you, Lennie? she thought with a grimace.

"Expecting a call?" he asked. She'd missed a dozen before due to this same scenario. What was up with tonight's? He watched her go curiously. One thing she and Lennie hadn't planned on. He was much more alert tonight.

"No," Cha-Cha wiped some sleep from her eyes, going to the kitchen quickly. "Hello?" she got to it just in time. Darting her eyes toward Ed, she turned her back in an attempt to speak quietly. Why couldn't he turn the tv on or something? She could tell he was watching her and she didn't like it.

It was easy to tell their voices apart. "It's Lennie," he said. "Ed nearby?" As far as he knew they still weren't talking. Hopefully he'd be where he was last time.

"Who's calling this late?" Ed wondered aloud. It was only about nine, but that wasn't the normal time for a chat.

"Um, yes," Cha-Cha replied with wide eyes. She still faced away from Ed, trying not to speak too loudly. Think quickly, Cha-Cha. "Yeah, this isn't a good time. What's up?" As much as she wanted to keep Ed out, it was hard to talk with him nearly breathing over her shoulder.

"Well, either think of reason to get outta there, or I'll try tomorrow." Lennie was actually counting on a discussion tonight. "We found the third person. Things just got a bit stickier. Without telling me what, did he say anything today about it? Or anything strange?" Because this case was definitely getting strange.

"What, who?" Cha-Cha asked, forgetting her closeness to Ed. Narrowing her eyes, she did what she could to cover it up. "I can get there now if you want. I was wondering where I'd put it." Maybe she left her purse at a friend's house. Or a glove or a hat. That was the story they were going with, anyway.

Lennie was satisfied. "Good. We've got a lot to go over..." Maybe he was subconsciously replacing his partner with her. He needed someone to talk this out to before he went to Van Buren. None of his detective buddies were appropriate to go to at the moment, and ther really was no one else as in the loop as she was at this point. "Things may have just taken a turn for the worse...I'll save that for later though. How long 'til you get down here?"

Cha-Cha frowned at the sound of that. How could things get worse? Thinking about it, she glanced toward Ed. If he was hiding something from her...well, she knew he was. But how big could it honestly be? "I don't know, maybe...twenty minutes? Hopefully," she replied, turning her back again and averting her eyes from Ed. As if that would somehow make her invisible.

Twenty minutes for what? Ed wondered. She was glancing at him occasionally, but then he hadn't taken his eyes off her either.

"I'll give you thirty, then I gotta get to the precinct. Unlike Eddie there, I've been pulling all nighters trying to figure out what's going on." What was she doing? Well, actually, maybe he didn't want to know. She sounded much more chipper than yesterday. She and Ed must be getting along better.

"So have I, but no luck. Well, not all nighters. Well, then again..." Cha-Cha trailed off. Yeah, that was what Lennie wanted to hear. "Twenty minutes, okay. Same place?"

Lennie cringed. "Jesus..." he mumbled awkwardly. He really didn't need to know that. "Yeah same place." He hung up. Yes, he had figured they'd be sleeping together, being in the same apartment and all. But did she have to actually tell him?

Cha-Cha felt bad, yet somehow couldn't hide a grin. As much as she didn't want to annoy Lennie, she couldn't help but love making people feel awkward. What could she say? People were funny when they got flustered. Hanging up, she turned to Ed. "I've gotta head out for a couple minutes. I forgot my purse at Rusty's" she informed him, praying he wouldn't look at the closet door where the bag hung on the knob.

"Couldn't it wait til the morning?" he asked. It's not like she had a driver's license she needed back. And he wanted to cuddle. Ed looked at her curiously, waiting for an answer. Moods like this were rare for him lately. One would think she'd jump at the chance.

Why did he have to be so tempting? Lennie's words kept her somewhat grounded, but she wanted to snuggle with him just as much. 'A turn for the worse', though. Would she want to cuddle with him later on? "It won't take me long, baby," she promised, kissing his cheek and going to slip her shoes on.

Ed frowned. He didn't want to make her stay, that'd only get her angry. Plus he doubted he could actually make her do anything. She was stubborn. But he didn't want her to leave either. Which would win? "...Well, alright..." Yes. He was a pushover when it came to her. He adjusted his position and grabbed at the television remote. He was a professional at zoning out now, it'd be easy to get lost in some program while she was gone. It was up to her to knock him out of it when she was back.

It took effort for her not to take her purse. Kissing him quickly, she promised, "Half an hour...forty-five minutes. Absolute tops." Silently, she prayed she'd still want to kiss him by the time she was done with Lennie. She was so tired of being upset with him. Heading out the door and down to the street, she didn't notice she was holding her breath.

Lennie was waiting outside Dana's again. He hated having bad news. He wondered if she would have anything good. Except for the fact that apparently she and Ed were on good terms again. He shivered. The man really hadn't needed to hear that.

Cha-Cha headed down the street, waving as she spotted the older detective. Okay. Whatever he told her...she could handle it. She loved Ed, and that was enough. That really wasn't enough. But she was clinging to anything at the moment. The last thing she wanted was to be away from him. Nothing Lennie said could make that happen...right?

Lennie responded with an awkward half wave. "Where are we going tonight?" he asked. What story did she come up with tonight? He only partially wondered, but he didn't want to jump right into what they were there for.

"I left my purse at a friend's. We've got half an hour-ish," Cha-Cha replied. Enough chit chat would be good. He'd gotten her nervous, now he couldn't leave her hanging. "Coffee?" she suggested, motioning to the restaurant.

Lennie wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he agreed and went in. Sitting with her wouldn't kill him. Soon he had a drink in his hand, and like always, coffee made him less irritable. There was something in it that had that effect on him. "So," he began, getting on with it. "The Jersey thing is still being investigated, but we did find something."

"What?" Cha-Cha asked, obviously eager. Despite everything, she had gotten no new information from Ed. Lennie was her only connection. "Who was the third person?" she added. It was driving her crazy, and he wasn't holding the information back any longer.

Lennie knew she wanted a name, but he thought he should explain what they'd found before that first. "We knew he went to Jersey, and 90 minutes later he was back in New York shooting Bunny. He stopped to get gas, and stupidly used his credit card." Lennie thought Ed would have known that'd be traceable. Apparently he wasn't thinking everything through. "We got the history of the pay phone there and checked it with his cell phone records."

"And?" Cha-Cha asked, taking her first, and likely last sip of coffee. She didn't see why any of that was important. Lennie had promised bad news, and she wanted to get it over with. The sooner they could get it out of the way, the sooner she could evaluate it. She could handle it, she could handle it, she could handle it. She really hoped she could handle it.

"One matched a number he called that night around ten. Adam Lannen. Sound familiar at all?" he wondered. Maybe it was a friend? "Anyway, we found him, and he first wouldn't admit Ed had called. Then said they talked for maybe a minute. Then slammed the door in our face after relieving the babysitter." Lennie paused to make sure he was going in the correct order.

"Apparently Ed called this guy a lot in his gambling days, used to be pretty close. Babysitter said Lannen called her, right after Ed called. He told the babysitter he needed to go out all of a sudden. Babysitter comes to the house, Lannen leaves, few minutes later Ed shows. She tells him Lannen went out, he says 'Oh crap' and the next thing we know, Ed's at the gambling club asking for Bunny, and if anyone else was looking for him."

Adam Lannen didn't ring a bell at all. Okay, then. She could handle that. She knew she could. "He's never mentioned an Adam Lannen. A friend I guess..." she thought it over. To be honest, she sometimes forgot Ed was gay. She wasn't the most manly of men, and Ed was just so...masculine. So straight. He looked like he could be married with kids. That Adam could be an ex didn't immediately click. "Is that all you have? Why's that a turn for the worse?"

"I'm getting there. Ed was afraid Lannen would go to the club. He goes outside, finds Bunny shooting at someone who's gotta be him, he shoots Bunny. It would make it justifiable if Ed was protecting him, but isn't it odd that Ed never mention he was there? And that this man never mentioned Ed saved his life?" Was she following? "Internal Affairs is saying for all we know they were accomplices."

Accomplices? "In what, shooting Bunny?" she asked slowly. Why would they want to shoot him in the first place? If the debt story was untrue. None of this was making sense. Ed was not...a murderer, that much was for certain. Why would he need help? And who was Adam Lannen, anyway? "You don't believe that though...right? Ed's innocent. I mean, if he killed anybody...it would be self defence. Or...in defence of some innocent person, Adam Lannen then," Lennie had to know he wouldn't. This was ridiculous.

"It's not me you have to convince, it's Internal Affairs and the lawyers. But we've got two options. Either Ed is a murderer, or he's protecting that man. But from what..." Lennie pondered his own question. "That Lannen used to be a gambler? He knew those people? ...It's gotta be something bigger. Worth going to prison for..." He had nothing. "They've indicted Lannen with accomplice to murder hoping it'll get Ed talking. Or scare this new kid into talking."

"He's not a murderer, though. And I can't see any reason he'd want to protect Lannen..." What was so important about some man? Ed hadn' said two words about him. Then again, though...he hadn't said two words about anything. Not to her. Cha-Cha wasn't sure what to think and what to suspect. She didn't want to jump on cheating, mostly because she didn't believe Ed would do that to her. She didn't want to believe that. But she'd be lying to say it wasn't a little fishy.

"I'll tell ya what they're thinking." They, not we. Lennie was determined to prove this was all a big misunderstanding. "Ed may have quit gambling but this, uh, friend here may not. Maybe Lannen owed him money. They hear Bunny's under suspicion. Ed doesn't want his addiction and past connection to Bunny, included beating him up, to be found out. One provokes a coked up Bunny to shoot, the other kills him. Story is self defense, but the motive would make this murder." Things seemed to be falling together. "I have to admit, if this were anyone else it would make sense." Even Ed's biggest fans were having trouble making excuses now.

"I don't believe that," Cha-Cha refused. Like Ed has said himself, why would Bunny ever be that important? Who would be that important, that he'd put his career on the line for them? That he'd put his freedom, his life at stake?

Well, Cha-Cha could imagine him doing that for someone, if she was being honest. He was an unbelievably good person. And...if he risked all that for her...she wouldn't want a situation to arise where he had to, of course. But if he did, that would be...epicly romantic. The thought of him doing it for someone other than her...risking his free life with her...

She didn't want to believe it, and wouldn't believe it. "Ed never mentioned Lannen to you, did he? I guess if they were dating he wouldn't have..."

"We just have to wait and see what Lannen does. Maybe he'll give us the story if Ed won't." Phone records showed they hadn't been in contact for years. Not obviously, anyway. But if Ed had kept a crucial fact like being gay hidden from him all these years, maybe he could keep a second guy from... A stupid thought. The IA guys were starting to get to him. Lennie knew Ed Green.

Cha-Cha nodded silently, not sure how to carry on the conversation. Ed wasn't a bad man. He wouldn't murder, he wouldn't cheat. That was what she believed, and what she really wanted to be true. But she couldn't stop that nagging voice in the back of her head, reminding her of all the things Ed was keeping from her. Something to protect. Their relationship? So she wouldn't know there was someone else? If Cha-Cha could cheat on someone herself, there was no reason why Ed wouldn't.

But Ed was probably a better person than her in alot of ways (the very fact she was admitting that outlined how much he meant to her). And they were happy together--why would he go out with her in public, hold her, kiss her in public, if she didn't mean alot to him? Why would he take off time? It didn't make sense.

A thought struck her. "Do you think I could talk to Lannen? I mean, if I found out who he was. Just thinking, cause police might scare him off..." plus, she sort of wanted to hear the story for herself.

Lennie frowned, unsure. "This isn't supposed to have been released to the public or anything... you aren't supposed to know anything, especially not a name." Although if they had some common ground...knowing Ed...maybe she could click? And then Lennie would be fired. Great. "I don't think so. When I talked to him he seemed anxious, but with a charge against him now he'll explain everything in no time. Ed might be strong enough for prison but this guy sure ain''t." He'd had a similar figure to Cha-Cha.

Cha-Cha nodded, sort of understanding. She wouldn't mention Lennie's name or anything, she could just say Ed mentioned him. But if she did something to mess the case up, that wouldn't be worth it. "Then you'll call me as soon as you find anything, right? Run to our house if you have to. Yell it across the city, I don't care, but please tell me," she pleaded, dead serious. It wasn't fair what Ed was keeping, and she intended to find out.

"Yeah." When this was all over, Lennie would hate to be Ed when she was allowed to confront him. He'd said it a million times, but, "There's gotta be a good reason for all this."

At home in their apartment, Ed stared blankly at the television. A frantic knocking on the door interrupted his zoning, and he stood and walked to the door, slightly puzzled. Did Cha-Cha forget her key?

After opening the door, he momentarily froze. This was not good.

"Of course there is," Cha-Cha nodded. There had to be. Sensing they were pretty much done, she began standing up. A very minor freak out occurred in her as she wondered where her purse was. She just wasn't used to walking around without it. "Thank you for the coffee," she nodded to him. "You off for tonight?"

"Nah, I've still got work to do. Getting my partner back is my top priority." Sleep could wait. He stood as well, saying goodbye when they reached the sidewalk.

Ed gripped the doorknob. Before him stood Adam Lannen. Dressed very differently than when Lennie had caught him earlier that day. Ed couldn't prevent him from walking in, he was too busy panicking. After glancing down the hall and seeing it vacant, he got himself relatively together and closed the door. Turning to the visitor he said, "You shouldn't be here."

Cha-Cha waved, heading down the street. She wasn't sure how to treat Ed once she got home. Her suspicions about him were higher than they were before talking to Lennie, but at the same time, she couldn't let on where she'd really been. If Ed figured out what they were doing, it would only be a step backward. As she stepped onto the elevator, she resolved not to treat him any differently. Keep his suspicions down, and hopefully resume their spot on the couch.

Lannen looked desperately at Ed. "They're talking about arresting me, Eddie. For killing Bunny. They know you called me, they know I went to the club."

Ed moved to him, grabbing his shoulders gently, trying to shake him out of his panic. Hopefully he'd do the same for him. Cha-Cha would be back any minute. "They're just trying to scare you."

"Well it's working!" he shouted.

"Shh!"

Cha-Cha headed down the hall to their door. Acting natural, acting happy, acting as though nothing had happened. It wasn't that hard, right? The fact was, it was doubtful too much new development was going to come about at quarter to ten. Better to relax, and enjoy a night of calm and love with Ed. They were getting rarer and rarer as the days went on. But she was trying not to think about that.

Oh, dammit. Her key was in the purse she was supposed to have gone to retrieve. Well, this would be hard to explain. Sighing, she was about to knock, when she heard a yell from inside. A male yell, but not an Ed yell.

There was someone in their apartment with Ed. Another man, though his voice was higher, panicked. Narrowing her eyes, she waited a moment before knocking, letting her fist drop to her side. The only person she could think of who might come over was Lennie, and it obviously wasn't him. Leaning against the door, she kept her ears open.

"Ed, I can not go to jail now! What about my baby? Do you know how long it took for them to let me adopt? And there's no one else around!"

"I know, I know," he insisted, rubbing his arms to calm him down. "And I'm not gonna let it happen, okay? I'm not gonna let it happen."

"Ed, you shouldn't be doing this." Lannen pulled away, crossing his arms.

"If it wasn't for me-"

"I'd be dead now," he said, cutting him off.

"No, you wouldn't be in trouble in the first place!" His voice rose accidentally.

Cha-Cha listened intently through the door. It seemed she got most of her knowledge these days that way. Was this Adam Lannen? She hadn't expected to face this the second she got back. Wait. What did Ed mean by that? Ed wouldn't put another person into danger, would he? His whole profession was sort of the opposite of that.

"I don't know about that," Lannen said, biting his nails, near tears. "I loved the action. It was crazy fun." He sat on the arm of the couch.

"No it wasn't sweetheart, it was just crazy." Ed sat beside him, looking at him and internally crumbling.

Lannen shook his head. "It's like a bad dream all coming back.. I thought I woke up," he said, laughing slightly and blinking his watery eyes. "And here it is all over again."

Ed put an arm around his shoulder. He needed him gone, but... "Listen to me. I'm gonna take care of everything, okay?" The younger man shook his head and began to protest, but Ed continued, voice fading into a low, comforting whisper. "Listen to me. I got it under control. Okay?" Lannen sniffed and nodded, wanting to believe he'd keep him safe. He made to lean into Ed but he stopped him. "You really need to go," he said, starting to remove the arm draped around him.

Cha-Cha wasn't sure she wanted to listen anymore. By the end she could barely hear what Ed was saying anyway, but it didn't matter anymore. She'd heard enough to get her heart racing and she wasn't sure how to feel. She wanted to be angry, but it was hard to feel over top of all that sad.

Sweetheart. It had taken more than a couple months for Cha-Cha to get so much as a 'dear'. He wasn't that kind of person with just anybody, and it pretty much put a fork in her suspicions. Whoever was in there, they were pretty close. He especially wouldn't have if the person was a man. Not unless they were dating, for a pretty long time, too. She'd pretty much figured out that the person inside was Lannen. Cha-Cha really hated to be right.

She was half convinced he was cheating on her. Half convinced she'd walk in on them half dressed. The thought was making her want to cry again, despite her efforts to blink the tears back. It made her want to run back outside. Maybe not come back. If it had to be this way, why couldn't she have...why couldn't it...why did it have to be this way? She'd been so good. For once in her life she was in love, total love without any second thoughts.

This was ridiculous. Moving away from the door, she ran a hand through her short curls. Ed didn't know she was outside the door, had no idea she'd overheard anything. He didn't know what she knew, thought the third person was a secret he was still keeping. As much as she knew she had to, there was no way Cha-Cha would be able to act casually. Act as nothing had happened. There was an awful tingly feeling in her lower stomach, her heart had sped up and her arms were shaking. When the door opened she would be there, having obviously heard the whole thing. She couldn't make herself move fast enough and settled for leaning against the wall.

"What? Why?" Lannen asked, wiping at his eyes.

"Because Cha-Cha will be here any second. She's already mad enough as it is, I can't explain you to her right now."

"Who?"

"My... Please, you really need to go. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Ed stood, Lannen followed suit, and they headed for the door.

"Calling me is exactly what started this."

"I'll handle it, okay?" he asked, opening the door.

Oh...crap.

Cha-Cha was a deer in the headlights as she spotted the drag queen. Her brain didn't comprehend it at first. That was Adam Lannen? Then it dawned on her. Of course that was Adam Lannen. High voice, check. Slight frame like Lennie said, of course. Connection to the crime? Connection to Ed? Unfortunately.

He was beautiful, Cha-Cha had to admit. It killed her to say it, but if he were to enter the Flawless competition...well, he was a little manly for her tastes. A little rugged...in a drop dead gorgeous kind of way. She was trying to act calm, but she was so upset. She was visibly so unhappy, and she couldn't go to the one person she was dying to be with. No. He was busy with another man. A man, a man, a man.

It was a shame Ed's plan back-fired. Another time, another place, she could see the attraction. But the fact was, they were together in her apartment, where she lived, with her boyfriend. For the moment. A million and two different things were flying through her brain, from Ed's guilty face to Adam's regretfully tasteful (if, now, slightly runny) makeup to her own blood pounding in her ears. She was flush, tearing her eyes away from Ed and focusing on a spot just above his head. It was easier to talk that way.

"Sorry to interrupt," she finally got out. Her voice was shaking slightly with the emotion inside her. She would give anything in the world to run over to Ed and hug him, cry and sit with him and sleep and never ever think about Adam Lannen or gambling or gorgeous other drag queens ever again. But that obviously wasn't going to happen, both due to the men in front of her and her own pride. She was determined not to cry in front of Adam. Maybe Ed, later on, but that weakness didn't get shown in front of her competition. If she could stand calm in front of Stormy and her lot, she could at least try in front of this...person. The only difference was what was at stake. But Ed was a cheater and she could live without him, she could. She was probably going to have to.

Ed was paling. He didn't need this. He didn't need this. Cha-Cha was just starting to get comfortable around him again. They were getting back to normal. This couldn't be happening. Ed stepped in front of Lannen, fully aware he couldn't hide her now, but wanting to be between the two. Just in case. "You're not interrupting anything," he said. Nothing was going on, nothing could be disturbed. She'd gotten back fast for having to go to Rusty's. Wait a minute. "...where's the purse you left to get?"

Cha-Cha really hoped he wasn't asking her where she'd been. Not when he had the third person, the third damn wheel behind his back. "I don't have it. Who is that?" she asked quickly, still avoiding his eyes. She wasn't talking about anywhere she might have gone, anyone she might have seen. Not until she got the truth from his lips.

The million dollar question indeed. "This..." Ed paused. He had no idea where to start. Lannen was still sniffling, and a muffled, almost hyperventilating sound was coming from her direction. Great. She was going to suffocate and Cha-Cha was going to kill Ed. Was anyone going to live through this ordeal?

Feeling caught and trapped, he knew no lie could get him out of this. Maybe she would understand if he started from the beginning? Yeah. And maybe he should start running. "This is...a long story. Let's go in and sit down, okay?"

Cha-Cha was close to tears herself, absolutely determined not to show them. As soon as she was alone, whether with Ed or not, fine. But not in front of Adam. Nodding her head, she took his hand for no other reason than to make sure Adam saw. So he knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't make Cha-Cha leave Ed. A total lie, but that didn't matter at the moment. She was probably showing Ed double messages too, but maybe he deserved it.

Ed stopped after a few paces, turning around to Lannen. "I don't think you should stay..." This might get bad. And she was upset as it was. He didn't want her thinking she'd caused Ed to loose his girl. True, she may have just done that, but she didn't need to know that now. He glanced to Cha-Cha and back.

Cha-Cha silently agreed with Ed, trying not to look at the other queen. Why couldn't he have been ugly? It was the shallowest thing in the world, but if she could at least have that over him...Cha-Cha was never second best. She refused to be. But at the moment, she felt like a reject. Like second fiddle, like Ed's backup plan. She never thought she'd feel that way with him. But if Adam and Ed were close years ago...of course.

She was his backup. Just like when she tried to fall in love with boys to make herself feel better about ruining relationships. She was his new Adam, his effort to move on. Hell, now Ed was probably going to breakup with her. That thought brought new tears to her eyes, and she could've sworn out loud as she felt one slip down her cheek.

Lannen's jaw dropped before quivering. "Where am I supposed to go, Ed?"

He felt incredibly cold for answering this way but, "Home?"

Muddy Maybelline tears welled up in her eyes. "I need your help, Ed! For all I know I could be arrested tonight! What am I-"

"You didn't do anything," he insisted. "You're going to be fine. I'll take care of it. Please, Starr, go home."

A/N: Again we made an audio version. First chapter is in my profile. If it goes well I'll put the rest up.

Cha-Cha was played by the amazingly fantastic Operatic.