Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the characters that I create.
Vanessa knows she shouldn't be there standing, outside an apartment building in the afternoon. She should be nose deep in a file in the safety of her office. Trying to solve the case of a young girl whose dreams and life ended too quickly. A life rubbed out for no apparent reason.
If it was one thing Vanessa hated most was an innocent life, which held so much promise and hope be snatched away before that hope bore the fruit known as success.
Vanessa stood there thinking about Angela and the kind of life she must have fought to get out of. Life wasn't fair and this was one of those moments that tragedies are built around.
She felt like crying. Crying for a life that wasn't hers and a life that will never be again. Crying because the very things happening to her own daughter would tear her heart in two. Crying for herself and the things that never were. Crying because she wanted to. Something, anything to drown out the anger residing in her heart for the cruelties she had to witness as well as experience.
But she didn't. She just stood there hoping that by some miracle it would all go away and the happy little carefree girl she used to be would return and take the place of the woman she was forced to become. She hoped that by some miracle she would not have to act like she was okay, but actually be okay.
"She's not here." Comes a voice from behind her. Vanessa turns around to see Eric.
"What are you doing here?" Vanessa asks
"What do you know, I was about to ask you that as well." Eric says.
"I'm not in the mood, right now."
"Care to tell me what's bothering you?"
"Not really."
"You used to tell me what was bothering you."
"Used to. Not anymore."
"Why are you here? To talk to Cassie am I right?" Eric asks glancing at Cassie's apartment building.
"Still observant as ever."
"I know something ain't right if you came all the way here in the middle of the day when you're supposed to be working. What is it?"
Crime Lab
Angell walks down the hallway and sees FBI Peterson standing at the end talking to one of the lab technicians. She turns to walk in the opposite direction when Peterson calls out to her.
"I'm glad I ran into you." Peterson says. "I needed your help."
"Sure what is it?"
"Looks like she didn't get away fast enough." Adams says looking out into the hall from his vantage point of one of the lab rooms. A lab tech in the same room looks into the hallway then returns back to her work without saying a word.
"Personally I would have made a run for it." Adam says with a nervous laugh.
"You talking to yourself there, Adam?" Danny asks. "How about telling me about my evidence before you continue that conversation with yourself."
"Evidence?"
"Yeah you know... the evidence I left here with you about 20 minutes ago."
"Oh that evidence. Yeah its here. Give me a second to get you the results."
The Park
"I don't want to be angry anymore." Vanessa admits to Eric once they take a seat on one of the benches.
"Then don't. You got a choice you know."
"Its not that easy. Every time I think back to all that has happen…I get even more angrier."
"That's your problem you dwell too much on everything that has happen. You tell Lindsay not to dwell on the past when you can't keep yourself from it."
"How would you know what I tell Lindsay?"
"I know you. Take your own advice. Trust me you'll be happier."
"Just like that, huh?" Vanessa asks sarcastically.
"It'll take a lot more than that. The point is that you put whatever is getting you angry behind you."
"What would you tell me if I told you that you were the one causing me so much anger?" Vanessa asks.
"I would say that I would be the least cause of your anger."
"Aren't you the wise one?"
"It comes with age."
"You're only 32 years old." Vanessa says with a smirk.
"I can still be wise…now don't change the subject. Anyone I could beat up for you?"
"You can start with the FBI agent and work your way from there." Vanessa says. Eric gets up. Vanessa grabs his arm to stop him.
"I wasn't serious."
"Excuse me for thinking you were serious." Eric says. "Is that all that's bothering you?"
"I have this case where I think …no I know there's domestic violence going on."
"I know how much that affects you."
"I don't know why it does…it just does. I thank God everyday that I didn't grow in that kind of an environment."
"You're lucky. Some kids don't have that same luck."
"Just sit down and don't say anything. Things were always better when you didn't say anything." Vanessa says.
A few minutes pass by in silence until Eric breaks it.
"You don't hate me, right?" Eric asks.
"I'm hating the fact that you're talking when I asked you not to."
"But do you hate me?"
"I used to…now I'm not so sure." Vanessa admits honestly. "That doesn't mean I can forget what you did."
"I can live with that." Eric says. "Hey remember when we took Lexie to the Zoo here in the city?"
"How could I forget, she was completely terrified."
"Little kids are afraid of sharks." Eric comments.
"It was two years ago, Eric." Vanessa says.
"So she inherited your sister's fear of sharks."
"I blame all the Jaws movies Lindsay used to watch when she was younger." Vanessa says with a laugh.
"Are you feeling better now, Ness?" Eric asks.
"Yeah a little."
"You must be because you didn't yell at me for calling you Ness."
"So much for feeling better." Vanessa says.
"Everything's gonna be fine. Don't focus on the things you can't change just concentrate on your future."
"If I have one."
"Sure you have one. I know you didn't do anything wrong. I know because I have faith in you. You may have done things that you regret but you're still good and good people have a great future ahead of them."
"Seems like going back to church has completely turned you around."
"It does, doesn't it?"
"I better get back to the apartment."
"You're not going back to work?"
"I clocked out early. Surprised a couple of people because I'm not known for leaving early."
"I walk you home." Eric says. "May be we can get a drink on our way." Vanessa doesn't protest as they walk side by side in the direction of her apartment.
Crime Lab
"Have you seen Vanessa? Lexie keeps calling me saying that she hasn't been answering her phone." Lindsay says in one breath.
"Whoa, Montana. Slow down. She probably turned it off to get some rest. She didn't look too good after meeting with the FBI guy."
"The front desk said that she clocked out two hours ago."
"Well there you go… she went home." Danny says getting back to the paperwork in front of him.
"She didn't go home. Lexie stopped there earlier after her classes. That's when she started calling me."
"She's probably out with some friends."
"She doesn't have any friends besides you, Flack, and Stella."
"Did you try…"
"They haven't heard from her." Lindsay says. "I hate when she just takes off like that without telling anyone."
"Just calm down and try calling her again." Lindsay sighs and tries her number again. She hangs up after five rings. "Still isn't answering."
"Let me finish this and then we can both go look for her."
"Thanks, Danny."
An apartment – The next morning
Vanessa wakes up with a throbbing headache. 'This is why I don't drink as much as I used to' she thinks to herself. She gauges her surroundings and realizes for the first time that she isn't in her bedroom or apartment for that matter.
A dish dropping to the floor in the next room alerts her to the possibility of another person nearby. She grabs her clothes that were nearby and puts them on after making the second realization of the morning – she wasn't wearing nearly as much as she should being in strange bedroom in a strange apartment. She wasn't sure what to think, but she was pretty sure that the person in the other room would know more than she did.
The smell of food was the first thing her nose was bombarded with as she walked into the room.
"Would you mind explaining to me why I woke up here?" Vanessa asks holding her still throbbing head in one head. She sits down on one of the stools and lays her head on the cool counter.
"I was waiting for you to wake up so you could tell me." Eric says. He was by the stove cooking dressed in a white t-shirt and sweatpants.
"If my head didn't hurt so bad I would beat you over the head with that skillet you're using." Vanessa says. Eric turns off the stove and faces her.
"Don't blame this on me."
"Whose idea was it to go for drinks?" Vanessa asks. Eric walks over to a drawer and pulls out a bottle of aspirin.
"Didn't force those extra shots down your throat."
"You remember that and you don't remember how I wound up in your bed?"
"I was drunk too ya know."
"You don't seem to have a hangover like I do." Vanessa states.
"I've been up for a while."
"Look I don't remember a lot of what happened, but would you mind if we pretend none of this ever happened?" Vanessa asks.
"That's fine with me. Now eat before you go to work you still have a few minutes." Eric says putting a plate in front of her.
"They're going to know something's up when they see me there in the same clothes as yesterday."
"Check in the bottom drawer in the other bedroom there might still be some of your old clothes in there." Eric says.
"You still have some of my clothes?" Vanessa asks.
"Don't look at me like that some of your clothes got mixed up with mine when I left."
Vanessa finishes her breakfast and goes into the other room to change.
"I can't believe this still fits." Vanessa says walking back into the room wearing a pair of black pants and a white blouse.
"You might want to look for another shirt."
"Why?"
"Because that one's see through."
"I'll just put a shirt under….and stop looking." Vanessa says turning and heading back into the other room.
Crime Lab
"Where were you?" Lindsay asks when she sees Vanessa slowly walk into the locker room.
"No where, mother." Vanessa says heading to her locker.
"Lexie kept calling me yesterday because she couldn't find you."
"Let me just get something from my locker and I'll call her." Vanessa says opening her locker.
"You went out drinking, didn't you?"
"What gave you that idea?"
"No one heard from you yesterday and you come in here with what looks like a hangover."
"Just lay off, Lindsay." Vanessa closes her locker and walks out of the room.
She is passing by Stella's office when she sees Stella stare at something on her desk. Vanessa decides to stop and knock. Stella looks up.
"Hey how is the case from yesterday going?" Vanessa asks walking into the room.
"A woman killed herself and two other men over a death pact they made."
"Assisted suicide?" Vanessa asks sitting down in the chair.
"It was murder. They were all dieing from illnesses so they made that pact to help each other die before the disease killed them."
"I would rather live every moment I have left then die like that."
"That's what I was thinking." Stella says.
"Everyone dies eventually its what we do with the time we are given that really matters." Vanessa says softly.
"Are you okay?"
"I just had a rough morning."
"Lindsay was looking for you yesterday." Stella says.
"I know. I got an earful when I walked in. Made the headache worse."
"Hangover?"
"Yeah."
"You up to work today?" Stella asks.
"Yeah I'll be fine."
"Good because you have a case down at the docks."
"Guess the my other case is going on the back burner."
"Sorry about that everyone else is occupied. Angell is already at the scene."
"Alright. See you later then." Vanessa gets up and walks out.
That's all for now. I hope you liked the chapter. It's not my intention to break up things between Flack and Vanessa. I have a few things coming up in the next chapters that will explain my reasons for doing that. Let me know what you guys think. I update soon. Don't hesitate to send in a review. I encourage your reviews.
Until Next Time,
Ancient 85
