Sorry I didn't get this posted by Valentine's Day, but my schedule and my muse are just not cooperating right now. My goal is to say in the same timeline as last season, so I'm posting exactly one year behind. Well, that's my goal anyway, we'll have to wait and see. I'm glad you all liked the scenes between Flack and baby Lilie in the last chapter.
Since this chapter includes "The Formula", which originally aired in February, it also includes Valentine's Day.
This chapter also includes Angell's birthday; According to CBS's version of Pay Up, the newspaper Mr. Dunbrook handed Mac indicates that Angell's birthday is February 9th. I'm going with that date, even though in S6 E3 Mr. Angell inviting Flack to her birthday dinner on a different date.
According to one of my previous stories, Angell's brother Jared's birthday is 2 days before hers, so this chapter begins on Sunday, February 7th at Mr. Angell's house for their joint birthday dinner.
Here is a reminder of the Angell family;
Father - Cliff Angell (widower)
Father's girlfriend - Sherri
Oldest brother - Jared, wife Madeleine, son Dominique
Next brother - Jason, is still in jail, so he's not present
Next brother - Jacob, wife is Jenna, baby on the way
Youngest brother - Joshua (single)
FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA
"Oh wow, it's lovely." Angell said as she pulled the antique vase from it's box. She always did like antiques and things with sentimental value and it would go great with the antique frame Flack had put one of their pictures in, his birthday gift to her.
"Happy birthday, Jessica." Her brothers Jared, Jacob, and Joshua replied between bites of cake. Angell smiled, knowing full well that either Jenna or Madeleine had picked it out. But that's what sisters-in-law were for. She looked up to see her father's girlfriend Sherri taking pictures. She was happy for her father, that he wasn't lonely, and for the most part she liked Sherri, but it was times like these that she missed her mother the most.
'It was a wonderful and fun evening' Angell thought as she began the drive home. With she and her brothers all grown now it was becoming more and more difficult to get together due to their jobs and family obligations. But birthdays were always treated as special days in the Angell household, something her mother made sure of. With five kids, it was important to her that each one have their special day. Of course that wasn't quite the way it was for Jared and Jessica, being only two days apart, so they had theirs combined. Oh sure, kids having to share their special day with some, especially a sibling, wasn't quite as much fun when they were little. But now as adults, they both kinda liked it that way. Something they would always have in common that no one could take from them.
As Angell continued her drive home her thoughts diverted from her family to missing her boyfriend who got called in at the last minute with a lead on a case. He had to go, she knew that, it was the job, but she missed him anyway. It was getting late now and she hadn't heard from him. She wondered how his case turned out, if the lead had been worth it. She thought about calling him, he'd probably still be awake. But before she made that decision, her phone rang, it was Nadine. Nadine was a dispatch operator, so whenever she called, you answered.
"Detective Angell." She answered.
'So much for heading home.' Angell thought to herself. '... or getting any sleep.' She added, as she took the next exit, headed for a dead body in Queens.
THE NEXT DAY...
"I need ideas, Danny." Flack all but pleaded with his friend as he followed him into the layout room.
"You need ideas? I need ideas! I've been at this longer than you and am running out of them." Messer replied in truth as he leaned up against the evidence table.
"Well, I'll save ya the time of calling any decent restaurants, 'cause they're already booked." Flack informed him with a sigh.
"Boom!" Messer suddenly said at seeing Angell approach the doorway, effectively ending the guys' conversation.
"Hey, guys." Angell greeted, stopping in the doorway.
"I've always assumed you had some big guns, Angell. 'Cause I've see ya take down a few perps, but I had no idea." Messer teased at seeing her stand there holding two rifles, one resting on each hip.
Just as Angell was about to explain,... "Whoa! Where did you get those?" Monroe interrupted as she quickly approached Angell out in the hallway. Flack and Messer came closer to the door to listen to the ladies'.
"Evidence from a scene." Angell answered. "Hawkes just finished dusting them for prints and cleared them for ballistics. Wanna help me with a little test firing?" She teased.
"You know it, girl." Monroe said with an immediate smile and taking one of the rifles from her. "This is a 700 XHR Remington Xtreme Hunting Rifle, 7mm with a 24 inch Barrel."
"Hawkes wasn't quite finished with the scope that was on this one." Angell said just as Hawkes rounded the corner.
"Mine." Monroe demanded with outstretched hands to Hawkes as he approached. Hawkes quickly and wisely handed the evidence over. "It's a Quest 4 scope." The guys heard Lindsay say to Angell as they departed for ballistics.
"You look like a kid who just lost his favorite toy." Flack said, teasing Hawkes who just stood there, now empty handed.
"Why do they get to have all the fun." Hawkes mock pouted.
"Because she's going to pretend that pig in there,... is a deer." Messer stated, referring to his wife. "Just like when she was back in Montana."
MEANWHILE...
"So what do I get him?" Monroe asked Angell. "I'm running out of ideas." She added with a furrowed brow.
"Sorry, Linds. I'm not gonna be much help. I'm still not sure what I'm getting for Don." Angell answered. "I mean, I think I should get him something. It's always the guys who are under all the pressure when it comes to Valentine's Day, but it would seem odd not to get him anything. Right?"
Monroe nodded, "It's a good thing for both of us that we've got all week to figure this out." She said, looking at the pig through the scope, pretending it was a deer.
LATE FRIDAY...
"He was dressed as a what?" Flack asked again into his phone, still confused as he aimlessly wondered his living room while he talked.
"Well, I'm not quite sure what he was dressed as, to be honest. But he looked like some alien space ship captain on a Star Trek episode." Angell answered, wedging her phone between her ear and shoulder to have a free hand to type at the same time.
"O-kay." Flack drug out. "I know Adam is into all this Second Life stuff, but I had no idea he did the whole costume thing, too."
"Avatar, Don. It's called an avatar, not a costume." She corrected. "Caine and I had to track down a lead at Avabar, that cos-play bar way out on 147th. I was totally shocked when Adam came up to see what we were doing there. If he hadn't spoken to me, there's no way I would have recognized him." She said while hitting the print button.
"Who did you say he had with him? Flack asked.
"I think he said her name was Carrie. A tiny petite lady with long blond hair and big green eyes." Angell answered.
"And who was she dressed as? Uhura?" Flack smirked, kicking back in his HUC.
"Actually, I had no problem recognizing her character. Tinkerbell." Angell stated as she filed her DD-5. "Suited her to a tee, I must say." She added as she heard him let out a heavy sigh. "Don't let it bug you, Don."
"It's Valentine's weekend, Jess." He began, not surprised that she knew he was bummed. "I realize we have all weekend to do something, but with our crazy schedules, it may take all weekend just to get to see each other."
"I know, Don. I know." She stated, feeling the same way. "But it's only Friday."
"Yeah, it's Friday night and you're stuck working with Caine again." He huffed.
"Don't worry about Caine. I can handle him when I have to." Angell assured her boyfriend.
"I know." Flack stated, noticing she had said 'when' not 'if' in regards to handling Caine.
"Tell me about your case." Angell said, trying to distract him.
Flack gave a slight smile, he could tell what she was trying to do and appreciated it. "There was a pre-race exhibition today. The car blew up, leaving the driver in the hospital and the lab playing Humpty Dumpty with all the car parts."
"Santos." Angell stated.
Flack chuckled to himself, he shouldn't be surprised. "You're familiar with him." He stated, reaching for the pillow she'd had made for him.
"Of course. The New York 400 race is on Sunday. Formula one racing at it's best." Angell said, re-holstering her gun as Caine gave her the signal that they needed to head back out. "I've gotta go, Don. We've got another lead to check out."
"Be safe, sweetheart." He said.
"Don't sound so sad, Don" She said with a pleading tone.
"Tonight is shot and we're working opposite shifts tomorrow." He said.
"Doesn't mean we won't see each other in passing." She tossed in with optimism.
"Not the same, Jess." He said.
"Do you love me?" She asked.
"You know I do." He assured her.
"That's all I need to know." She stated.
"Be safe, sweetheart." He repeated before they hung up. Flack clutched the pillow to his chest, taking in the scent. She liked to hold it while they were curled up on his couch watching a movie and he usually kept it on his bed because it reminded him of her thoughtfulness.
EARLY SATURDAY...
"One wire." Flack repeated.
"One yellow wire." Monroe specified.
"You put an entire car back together and all you had left over was one yellow wire?" He said, rocking back on his heels. "That's pretty good."
"I know it doesn't sound like much, but that yellow wire could tell us who our killer is." Monroe stated.
"You said Adam helped you out on this. I didn't know he knew about cars, too." Flack stated as they continued their journey down the hall to the evidence room.
"Adam was great at all the computerized stuff." Danny stated as he approached and joined in the conversation. "But when it comes to driving, Speed Racer shifts his gears better on his Play Station."
Flack laughed before speaking, "I'm headed back to the track with Mac to question Liza Gray and the Crew Chief."
"I'm gonna go see if Stella's awake yet." Monroe stated as she started to walk away.
"Awake yet?" Her husband inquired, a confused expression on his face.
"Found her asleep at her desk this morning. I figured whoever her Valentine's date was, they must've stayed out quite late." Monroe explained with a shrug before walking away, leaving her husband and Flack standing in the middle of the lab's hall way.
"So, uh, you figure out what you're gonna get for Linds yet?" Flack asked Messer once Monroe was out of earshot.
"Yeah, yeah. I did." Messer began as the guys resumed their walking. "This is gonna be perfect, it's totally Lindsay."
Flack stopped after only a few steps. "What's that?" He asked, gesturing towards Mac's office.
"Looks like someone's on Mac's couch." Messer half-guessed as he took another step closer.
Both men walked closer towards the glass wall surrounding Mac's office and peered over the back of the couch. What they had seen was Mac's knees sticking up, as he was sound asleep on his couch.
"Looks like someone stayed out very late with their Valentine date last night." Flack stated, then both men looked at each other.
"You don't suppose..." Messer began, but didn't finish.
Flack didn't speak, but gave his buddy a knowing nod before leaving.
SATURDAY NIGHT...
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Flack all but whined into his phone. "I though if I went in early today that I'd manage to get off on time."
"Don." Angell stated, mostly to get his attention. "Don, the reason we are making our relationship work, is because we're both cops, and because we're both cops we understand what it's like."
"I know, Jess, I know. It's just that... Valentine's weekend or not, I want to see you." Flack stated, "I wan-" Flack paused. "What's that noise?"
"Water." Angell answered.
"Water." He repeated after a moment. "Are you taking a bath?" He asked, not sure if he wanted the answer, or at least the image stuck in his mind while he tried to concentrate on work.
"Hot tub." Angell clarified.
'Whew.' Flack thought to himself, 'At least she's got a swim suit on and isn't completely na-'
"My brother Jacob called." Angell said, interrupting his thought. "He and Jenna got a last-minute opportunity to go away for the night, but they needed someone to dog-sit Shea. Fortunately for them, he called right after Sythe told me you'd be pulling a double. So I agreed." She heard her boyfriend sigh on the other end of the line. "I know we both have to work tomorrow, but I'll be here all night, if you care to join me."
Flack pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. His beautiful girlfriend was sitting in a hot tub waiting for him and he had to work. 'What is wrong with this picture?' He mentally asked himself. "No promises, Jess. But only because I'd hate to break a promise to you. I'll see what I can do."
"I love you, Don." Angell said before hanging up, knowing full well he would not be able to get away to come to her.
"I love you, too, sweetheart." Flack said, disappointment in his voice, knowing full well he would not be able to get away to go to her.
SUNDAY...
"What's wrong?" Angell asked Officer Potter, seeing a look on her face that definitely said something was wrong.
"Nothing." Potter answered very quickly and with a nervous tone to her voice.
Angell noticed the way she was clutching her jacket up high near her neck and walked over to her, "Glenda, we women officers are far outnumbered, so it helps when we stick together." She noticed Potter looking down at the floor. "If there's something wrong, it might help if you told someone."
Potter slowly looked up at Angell, then she looked around the locker room to make sure no one else was there. "Well, you see, I, um,... I just got off shift and... was in the shower a little while ago. And, um..." She trailed off, needing to take a deep breath, intending to continue.
Angell nodded at the realization of what her fellow female officer was referring to. "Was there someone else in here?" She gently prodded.
Potter nodded in affirmation.
"Do you know who it was?" She asked.
Potter nodded again, then took a deep breath. "Caine."
Angell was right. There was no other guy at the precinct who would be so bold as to do something like that. "You want me to go with you to talk to Lieutenant Sythe?" She offered.
Potter adamantly shook her head, "No. I can't do that."
"Glenda, you have to report it. You can't let this slide." Angell insisted as gently as she could.
"Angell, I have no proof. It'll just be my word against his. I'm an 'officer' and he's a 'detective'. He outranks me." Potter said in one long breath.
"Sexual harassment isn't about rank or seniority, Glenda. This is about all of us, men and women both, being able to come here and do our jobs." Angell said.
Potter looked away, as if thinking about it, "I can't." She finally said quietly, as if apologizing.
"What if I told you I can help." Angell watched Potter's eyes widen at her words.
A few minutes later Angell and Potter sat in front of Lieutenant Sythe's desk. "This is a very serious matter, ladies." Sythe said to them. "Officer Potter, do you have any proof? Is there anyone that can collaborate your account of what happened in the locker room?"
"No, sir." Potter answered. This is what she had been afraid of, that he wouldn't believe her and it would come down to Caine's word against hers.
"I am aware of Detective Caine's-" Sythe began.
"I believe I can help with that, sir." Angell spoke up, interrupting Sythe and gaining his attention, and surprising Potter. "I caught Detective Caine a while back in the locker room spying on someone." She said, taking out her cell phone, "It was someone in the women's shower. He didn't hear me come in, so I was able to get pictures of him with my phone." She explained, handing her phone across the desk to Sythe.
When Sythe had finished viewing the pictures, "I'd switched my phone to 'video' mode after taking that last picture, sir. There's not much to see, but there is some audio you should hear." Angell explained, then set her phone to play mode and they all listened...
Angell: "Perfect. One that shows your face."
Caine: "Hey, what're you doing?"
Angell: "Don't worry, Caine. You didn't break the camera."
Caine: "What're you going to do with that?"
Angell: "What? The picture? Oh, I don't know. Let's just say it's a little 'insurance policy'."
Caine: "Insurance against what?"
Angell: "Against you're bothering me. I'm sick of you always glaring at me, looking me up & down like I'm some piece of meat, making unwanted comments."
Caine: "What if I like what I see? Besides, women like to get compliments."
Angell: "Those aren't compliments, you womanizing pig. So keep your non-work related comments and your glares to yourself."
Caine: "Or what?"
Angell: "Or the captain sees the photo."
Angell had been right, there wasn't much video to be seen, but after they all listened to the playback Sythe took several minutes to upload Angell's pictures onto his computer and study them. He eventually rested his head in his hands, propped up on his desk. "I'm, uh, gonna need a little time to deal with this, ladies. Do you have anything else to add. Is there anything else I should know."
Potter shook her head, but Angell spoke up, "Yes, sir. I have something else you need to see. But I don't have it here. If you could give me an hour, sir."
Potter and Angell left Lieutenant Sythe's office before he called Caine in for a meeting, during which time Angell went home to retrieve a notebook, then returned to the precinct.
Flack watched Caine exit Lieutenant Sythe's office, then a few minutes later he saw Angell enter the office again and shut the door.
"I've been keeping a notebook, with dated details, about Detective Caine's... um, 'advances', I suppose is the best word to use." Angell said, handing the notebook to Sythe. "I knew this would come up some day. There have been inappropriate comments about personal things he's referred to, like my clothes or my hair. There have been inappropriate comments or questions about things like,... like my bra size, or my figure. He's asked me out numerous times, all of which I declined, of course. Lots of things have been smaller, like catching him staring at me in the locker room. It's all in there, sir."
"This is very, thorough, Detective Angell." Sythe said as he flipped the pages of the notebook, impressed and glad he had even more to back up the case against Caine.
"Seeing how upset Officer Potter has really changed things. She felt so defenseless today. She was afraid she wouldn't be believed because he outranks her, and that's not right, and that's not fair." Angell said.
"I'd like to keep this, if you don't mind, Detective." Sythe said, starting to put her notebook in his top drawer.
"Actually, sir,..." She began, holding out her hand for the notebook, "I stopped by the copier on my way in. These are for you." She finished, handing him a small stack of papers.
After seeing Angell, Potter, and Caine all go in-and-out of Lieutenant Sythe's office in a short amount of time, Flack decided it was his turn.
"Sir?" Flack said, poking his head in the door. "You got a minute?"
A FEW MINUTES LATER...
"Well, well, well,... if it isn't little miss tattle tale." Caine said, walking into the locker room where Angell was. Angell ignored Caine and tucked the notebook into the back of her locker before closing it. She didn't want him seeing the notebook or getting his hands on it. Caine walked up and leaned against the locker next to hers and reached out as if to touch her hair and said, "It's too bad we never got to go on that date, Jessica."
Angell swiftly grabbed his wrist, "That's 'Detective Angell' to you." She said in a firm voice, throwing his wrist to the side.
"Aw, common, Jessica. Don't be like that." His voice was sweet and taunting. "Those are some nice looking slacks you're wearing today. Smooth fabric, probably means you're wearing a thong. Right?"
"Not appropriate, Caine." Angell hissed back at him.
"You really should learn how to take a compliment better, Jessica." He said in the same sweet voice.
Angell crossed over the bench to walk away, but Caine reached out for her again. Angell pulled her arm away in time and said, "Don't! Don't you ever try to touch me again."
"But you have such beautiful skin, Jessica. We really should..." He didn't get to finish.
"You are a chauvinistic pig and I'm ordering you to stay away from me." Angell said through gritted teeth as she turned to leave, but froze when she saw Lieutenant Sythe and Flack standing there.
"Detective Caine." Sythe said, crossing his arms over his chest like Flack was already doing.
"Lieutenant." Caine began nervously, "I was just apologizing to Detective Angell here for..."
"Shut up, Caine." Sythe instructed, in an even but firm tone. "You've got two witnesses against you for sexual harassment, so far, backed up by pictures and video, a log book of complaints, and now another witness... Detective Flack here was just telling me about seeing you at the gym a while back. He thought you were just resting against the punching bag, but discovered that you were actually hiding behind it... as you were watching Detective Angell." Angell looked over to Flack, wide eyed and surprised he hadn't mentioned this at the gym. "Get back in my office, Caine." Sythe ordered with a furrowed brow.
Flack's phone rang and he followed Sythe and Caine out to answer it, leaving Angell alone again in the locker room... glad it was all over.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON...
Mac climbed into the blue race car as Stella climbed into the green one. "Remember, you break it, you bought it." Liza Gray reminded them.
Flack and Angell stood in the pit area as they watched their friends race around the track. "My money is on the Steve McQueen wanna-be." Flack said.
"Nah, my money is on Danaka Patrick could-be." Angell stated.
Flack turned to her, "You can't honestly think that Stella can beat Mac." He said.
"You'd better not be saying that because she's a woman." Angell said, hands now on her hips.
"Of course not. Stella's being a woman has nothing to do with Mac's ability to beat her in this race." Flack defended.
"Care to put your money where your mouth is?" Liza Gray spoke up, getting both of their attention.
"How's that?" Flack asked Gray.
"As soon as Steve McQueen and Danaka Patrick are done,... it's your turn." Gray said, referring to Flack and Angell.
"Really?" Angell asked in obvious excitement.
"Yep." Gray assured her.
Thirty minutes later Flack and Angell were suited up. Mac handed Flack his helmet as Stella handed Angell hers. And the race was on.
SUNDAY NIGHT...
Angell answered the door to her apartment. "Oh my gosh, Don, they're gorgeous." She stated at seeing her boyfriend standing there with a very large bouquet of red, pink, and white roses.
"These are just flowers, Jess. You, on the other hand, are gorgeous." He corrected as he handed the bouquet over to her. "The red ones are because I love you, the white ones are because you are also my best friend, and the pink ones are,... well, actually those are because it's the eleventh hour and that was pretty much all the florist had left."
Angell laughed, "Thank you." She said with a smile before kissing him, then heading to the bookshelf to retrieve the antique vase her brothers had given her for her birthday. She arranged the flowers, then set the vase back on the bookshelf next to the framed picture of her and Flack. "That looks perfect."
"It certainly does." He said, wrapping his arms around her from behind, then turned her in his arms to kiss her. "I missed you." He said when their lips parted.
"You saw me earlier today at he race track." She reminded him in a teasing tone, running her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders.
"No, I saw the back of your race car at the track today." He smirked.
"You didn't let me win, did you?" She asked in suspicion.
"Didn't have to. You had me beat from the moment the flag dropped." He admitted.
A knock at the door was heard, Angell answered it and took the Chinese food delivery. "I was hoping you'd be able to stop by, so I ordered for two." She said, holding up the container of spicy orange chicken.
"As long as you use a fork." Flack teased, taking the chop sticks from her other hand.
"Very funny." Angell smirked back. Her last repeated attempt to master the two sticks resulted in a piece of sweet and sour pork flying across the room.
"Why did you order Chinese when you've already cooked?" He asked, taking a seat at the small table in her kitchen.
"Me? Cook? Yeah, right." She refuted, then saw him gesture to the pan on the stove. "Oh, that. That's just melted chocolate for the strawberries." She explained while taking the strawberries out of the refrigerator.
"What's on your mind?" Flack asked a while later over dinner.
"Just thinking." Angell replied, "This has turned out to be a great Valentine's after all. Roses, dinner together, and Caine... gone."
"Shhh." Flack shushed her. "Please don't mention him, I'm eating."
This caused Angell to laugh as she reached for an egg roll and the rest of their dinner was spent talking about many things, other than what's-his-name.
"I talked to Sythe earlier today." Angell stated without looking up and as she broke her fortune cookie in half.
Flack looked up at her and waited until she eventually looked up at him. "My fortune cookie reads, 'Everything is worth it in the end'."
"No it doesn't." She said.
"Okay, maybe it doesn't say it quite that way." He relented. "Actually, it should say 'Sythe needs to learn to keep his mouth shut'." Flack attempted to joke, but it didn't work and he took her hand. "Jess, you are worth it."
Angell let out a heavy sigh. "Don, I don't want you to give up an opportunity like this because of me."
"Us, Jess. Us." Flack clarified as he gently pulled her out of her chair and over to his.
"It's a great promotion, Don. A great opportunity you're passing up." She said, now sitting on his lap and feeling somewhat calmer staring into his blue eyes.
"It's a great promotion and opportunity... in Washington D.C." He clarified, staring into her warm brown eyes. "And I don't live in Washington D.C., so there's a problem there." Angell didn't respond, she didn't know what to say. "I'm here, and you're here, so the job's gotta be here. I'm staying here, Jess. With you." He stated before kissing her.
Angell returned the kiss with all the passion she could pour into it. She knew he was passing up this job because of her, well, their relationship, technically, and it made her love him even more. Without breaking the kiss, she shifted on his lap so she was straddling him.
Eventually Flack tilted his head back, in desperate need of oxygen. Angell began kissing his neck, sending his mind into immediate overdrive. They hadn't seen nearly enough of each other all week and between the close physical proximity and the the kissing, his mind wasn't the only thing in overdrive right now.
It was Angell's turn to tilt her head back in need of oxygen, giving Flack perfect access to her neck, which he immediately began kissing. Angell ran her fingers through his hair and held him close to her as her mind raced with thoughts she struggled to control.
"I want you." and "Stay." Were the simultaneous words they spoke to each other, then they just stared at each other for a moment, as their hearts raced, their breathing heavy.
Flack's hand slid under her top, resting on the soft warm skin of her back, his other hand rubbing her thigh as he kissed her again.
Angell's hand was on the back of his neck, keeping him pulled close to her, her other hand on his large right bicep as their kiss continued.
"Damn." They both mumbled in unison at hearing a phone ring.
"That's mine." Flack stated as she slowly got off his lap, allowing him to stand and reluctantly retrieve his phone to answer.
He turned back to her a moment later, "I've gotta go, Jess." He said, an apologetic and disappointed look on his face.
"Can you stay... for a few more minutes?" She asked, putting her hands back on his shoulders.
"Nadine says they're holding a man who was wielding an axe as he walked down the middle of a buy street." Flack explained, pulling her close again.
"I don't think his victims are going anywhere. They probably won't mind if you're delayed,... just a few minutes." She stated, pulling him in for a kiss and thinking about the way he needed her at that moment.
Flack understood what she was offering. He wanted her, he wanted to stay with her, and he was even a little shocked at her offer to tend to him in that way at that moment. Of course, as his brain was processing these things, he was backing her up against the refrigerator. "He's covered in blood,... but there's not a scratch on him... So I've gotta go... find his victims." He explained between kisses. Obviously only two homicide detectives could speak of such things without it ruining the moment.
"Between our schedules and the Fabric Law, It'll be-" She began to say as their lips parted.
"You'll be worth it." Flack interrupted, mumbling his words against one side of her neck. "Besides, Jess, I can guarantee you one things." He said, looking into her yes, "When I do finally get my hands on you,..." He paused, kissing her again, then she felt his hot breath on the other side of her neck as he whispered in her ear, "It's gonna take hours."
Angell felt her hands slide back down his strong shoulders as he slowly pulled away from her. He had to go, she knew that, it was the job and they both understood. That's part of what made them so great together. She watched him reach for one of the chocolate covered strawberries as he headed for the door, leaving her heart still racing.
FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA
If you need another Valentine's fix, let me remind you of my one-shot story "Flack & Angell's 1st Valentine's Day".
If you are reading my stories in order, as they are intended, then you already know that HUC stands for Flack's Hideously Ugly Chair that Angell loves to tease him about. And Flack's pillow is the one Angell had made for him for his birthday.
Yeah, I know 'Avabar' is a lame name for an avatar bar, but oh well. And I've decided to lay the groundwork for Adam having a girlfriend.
And now you know about the promotion Flack was offered - the reason Sythe kept calling him into his office in the last two chapters.
I hope you're as happy as I am that Caine is finally gone. I had originally planned on doing that several stories ago and had it all written out, but decided to save it and wait. In case you need help remembering, the part with Angell photographing Caine in the locker room was originally in story #7 "On-call x2".
Here's an excerpt with Flack at the gym with Caine from story #11 "The Mask"...
It's a good thing the punching bag wasn't a perp or Flack would be charged with unnecessary force. The weights had been a good workout, but Flack needed the punching bag to get his heart rate up and let off some steam. He was just finishing when he noticed another guy leaning against his own punching bag to rest, but when he didn't move for a while. Flack walked over, just to make sure the guy was okay.