Caveat: Touching Evil - not mine - it would certainly NOT be a good idea if it were... Oh, and the category for this [Humor, Romance] is questionable in the next oncoming chapters. Let me know if I should change it. Too bad I can't have [Humor, Romance, Angst, Detective Work (lol), etc.] The meaning of the title "Heaven's Burning" will be brought out somewhere in the last chapters. You'll see.

- Heaven's Burning -

by Mia Ai-no-Tora

Chapter Six: "Male Bonding Experience"

"Grrrr...." Creegan gritted his teeth, eyes shut as he leaned his head against the glass wall before thumping it once more for the record, fogging up the glass with each breath. Several onlookers on the other side of the glass only glanced at him, saw who it was and went about their business as though it were just another casual Friday at work. Having David Creegan working there for more than a year could do that to a co-worker.

Agent Rivers came in and looked him over, what with his state of disarray. "Creegan."

"What." He stayed right where he was.

"About the 'Old-Maid' case - I'd like to discuss it with you in the War-Room." Thinking afterward he added just for a sinker, "Oh yeah, there's chips and dip in there too."

Hearing his footsteps going out the door, David only straightened to look at his reflection in the glass. He all of a sudden wanted to see what Susan saw every time she looked at him. Maybe there was something that bothered her and maybe, just maybe he could do something.

Bringing a hand up to rub his aching forehead, he replayed his own words in his mind. He had overdone it, that much he knew - he had snapped at the thought of Sanders ever getting the heart of Susan and for the first time he realized how overprotective he was being. The malevolence in his voice as he spoke of all the dents and cracks he found on the guy. He couldn't think of much; he tried to play out the Corn-Nuts issue as long as he could. Then her words echoed in his mind as they so often did after each argument. No, we most certainly aren't. Never.

Never.

"Shit." He had just stuck his foot into the preverbal matter and inevitably rubbed it in his face like so much face cream.

"Hey, you coming or what?" Rivers waited impatiently at his doorway, tapping his foot as though he were waiting for a little boy to obey.

"Coming, postmaster general." Creegan grunted, hauling his carcass after his temp partner.

He walked as though he were fatigued, having been wasting energy insulting Sanders' ass and trying to entertain Susie-Homemaker in his office what with the few precious hours of sleep he managed to snag. He walked into the empty War-Room while the projector illuminated an image onto a screen on the far wall of the face of a dead woman case victim.

They reached the end of the long table to where a stack of files awaited them along with the promised chips and dip, and as Creegan leaned against the back of one chair with the heels of his hands he questioned Rivers, "So we're the only ones on this case or what?" Indicating the emptiness of the room.

"Well, technically yes," He slid an open file toward him. "I'm just reviewing the basics here - and anyway we could work on this ourselves. Enright gave us small fish to fry this time since he gave Branca the leeway to mourn her aunt." He opened a bag of extra-cheesy Doritos, reaching inside and grabbing only one chip at a time. "That file there is one head suspect involved in the death of Athena Hausen. He's an auto mechanic and an ex-boyfriend of hers - also wears a battery charge on his records."

They were currently investigating the suspicious murder of two people within the same area, being killed in the same fashion: vehicle brake failure. Both Athena Hausen and the another victim named Vallerie Snider were both housemaids/home caretakers. Their employers were away at the time of their deaths and therefore weren't warranted as suspects in the case; they were to venture out and search on their own with very little to follow up on.

Creegan examined the mug shot of a beefy man staring up at him from the file and his mind began to shift gears; the analysis on the argument with Susan would have to wait. "Mechanic, eh? So you think that since he's got the smarts with the sparkplugs, he might've been the one that jimmied with her brakes that caused her car and a Mack truck to make love in the middle of the freeway?"

Rivers shrugged. "Why not? Anything is possible."

He felt like his ears were ringing. Groaning and ultimately tired, Creegan sat himself down and laid his head against the cool surface of the table. "Tell me something I haven't heard before and I'll give you what's in my wallet."

Throwing another chip in his mouth, Rivers crossed his arms. "Really."

David didn't look up at him but muttered, "Greedy bastard aren't you? Yes, really." He could practically hear the wheels grinding inside the agent's head and there was a stillness that lasted approximately 14.5 seconds.

"Ok, how's this: Boku wa atsugariya de kara ne." (I feel the heat you see.)

Creegan peeled his face from the table with his eyes still closed, face directed toward the man on the opposite side of the table as he analyzed the phrase in his mind, eyebrows drawing together. "Mm...nope, heard it."

Rivers turned a dubious blue eye on him as he laid his head back down. "What? How could you have heard that before? It's Japanese for Christ's sake."

Creegan shrugged. "I had a crush on a Japanese neighbor where I grew up in Boston. Oh, and your accent sucks ass."

Rivers didn't argue against what he already knew. Then he paused and turned directly toward Creegan and he began to see him in a slightly altered light. Even with his quirks, this guy wasn't one to be underestimated; he had compassion unlike any other man he had met before but he wasn't about to admit that any time soon. A particular thought crossed his mind and he blurted, "You like Branca. Don't you?"

Creegan slowly opened his eyes from where he was, thinking, hopelessly thinking and straining as he was to answer almost instantly, he managed to answer the question without lying but not telling the whole truth entirely - and it almost felt as painful as severing nerves. "Yeah sure, I like Branca. You make it sound like it's something else though...but yeah. Never heard that. No one ever really stepped up to the plate to ask that one. Oh by the way, I'm broke unless you want some laundry lint and my license, credit cards..." The other detective hid a smile at the unanswered question. He didn't need an answer, he already knew. He had already known for quite some time even if Creegan himself did not.

"She never really denied it you know - about being jealous I mean," Rivers pointed out, popping another chip in his mouth, chewing then swallowed. Perhaps he wanted to make Creegan feel better. "I was there from beginning to end, ever since Rodriguez brought the chick inside. I think the entire collective of men here at OSC noticed the moment she walked in."

So that's the six-footer's name. Creegan sat back, felt around his entire mouth with his tongue as he examined his cuticles and the faded blue ink on the back of his hand. "She's looks good naked and all, but she isn't really my type."

Rivers then chose that moment to choke on the little shards of Dorito in his mouth and Creegan looked over at him in slight curiosity. "Gah... Wh-What the hell?? You mean you...you --" He moved his hands around in a frenzy, indicating a certain meaning.

All Creegan did was frown. "I...what? What do you...?" He was shaking his head, uncomprehending or perhaps just trying to get him to say it out loud, annoying Rivers all the more.

"You know..."

"I'm a bit dense. Clarify it for me."

The opposite detective exhaled. "You didn't screw the woman, did you?"

David looked him in the eye, and quite innocently he answered, "No, I only changed her clothes; it was raining that night." He clicked his tongue. "Jeezus Rivers - don't go apeshit on me again."

Rivers' shoulders softened in relief. "Well, I'd thought you would have done a rerun of that Bruskie-woman."

"Ukrainian." There was a dish of shelled-peanuts on the table and he practically had to lay across on his belly to be able to reach them.

"Whatever. I'm just surprised is all. Branca was pretty ticked off about you not immediately letting the police in on it."

Creegan shook his head, cracking one nut in his mouth before he lost interest and sliding the dish away - too quickly and spilling it. The little peanuts fell in a small fan formation, the crystallic dish rolling before tipping back and thudding, seconds ticked as it stopped much like a dime being spun on its edge. "I don't see why she has any reason to be so snippety about it. She's got Sanders to warm her nights." Now he was shaking his head out of disgust, taking one nut and propping it up on its side so he could see how far he could flick it.

"Sanders? Hector Sanders?" Rivers sounded incredulous.

"Yes, yes, Colonel Corn-Nuts himself, that damn, sleazy proletariat." He definitely wasn't keeping score on how many names he was calling him. "He's got about the same amount of charms as a convicted balding homosexual tubby on death row." He reached up with both hands and forcefully ruffed-up his already-tousled black hair to relieve some stress - barely looking any different afterward (not to mention saucy ).

Rivers didn't deny it and let him blow off some steam for the obvious unspoken reasons. A smile creeped up on his lips. "So who's the jealous one now?" Something flew at him and struck his left temple. He looked from Creegan to the peanut at his feet that he'd just assailed him with then gave him a look that said, Okay, okay, untouchable topic, understood.

"Anyway," David went on. "Now I've got her pissed off at me for defiling the bastard - I was only pointing out the obvious. What can I say? 'Sorry Susan, I don't like men who have bad masticating habits'? I'd sooner get shot in the head again."

Rivers laughed, laughed for what felt like the first time in any conversation with David Creegan. He only vaguely realized that this was one of their first real conversation without each exchanging blistering glares or insults aimed toward each other - suddenly he couldn't think of why Bernal thought this guy to be so useless at times. "You're right though; the guy does have shit for brains."

That piqued David's curiosity. "Oh ho. What do you have on our man Sanders?"

His colleague chuckled, trying to fight full-on laughter. "Man, you haven't heard? The guy went into the bathroom wondering why there wasn't any men's toilets, and Shirleen - you know Shirleen Walden? She got out of her stall and told him it was because he was in the little girls' room." He barely finished the story before he lost composure.

Creegan blinked for a few seconds, drinking it all in before he joined Rivers in the laughter. After the hype, it still didn't repair the damage he'd done with Susan. "Damn, if only you'd told me that sooner - I could've warned Branca as to what planet she was crash-landing on." Somehow that bit took a turn for the worse in his innuendo-stained mind and he cringed.

"I'll add in my piece about Sanders too, if you want."

David didn't acknowledged the gesture but sighed. "Watch; she's gonna go home with a gallon of some cheap ice-cream, sit herself on the couch with some cotton throw and wrap herself up in front of the T.V. and turn it to some Lifetime movie - or better yet to that Diane Lane flick Unfaithful," He said the title with a sexy faux woman's voice, batting his eyes and pouting his lips in a kissy-poo fashion.

Rivers studied him closely. "Hey ... how would you know anything about that movie? Seen it yourself I presume?"

Perhaps Rivers meant to embarrass him but he had forgotten one minor detail ... that this man was beyond embarrassment. "Why not? But I think Richard Gere's gradually regressing...I liked Pretty Woman better - at least it had hookers. My ex-wife chose Unfaithful though and I think she suggested it out of a lesson for me." He didn't bother to notice Rivers shaking his head, almost if not taking on the embarrassment for Creegan himself. David all of a sudden popped a question, "You definitely liked the bathroom stall scene though, didn't you?"

"Yeah, it --" Rivers stopped short and glared at him, getting caught in his own web of embarrassment as Creegan laughed his ass off. "Bastard..."

"I know my father unfortunately." Somehow he felt his appetite return after all the talk on Sanders - ironic, really. He motioned for the bag of Doritos and Rivers reluctantly handed them over. He shoved a handful into his mouth and asked, "So whash ja latesh shon da 'Ord-Maz' caysh?" He only received a muddled look in return. He chewed some more then swallowed. "I said: What's the latest on the 'Old-Maid' case?"

Rivers snatched the bag of chips back. "Thought you were never going to ask. We've tried to bring in Hausen's ex-boyfriend slash mechanic in for questioning, but he's nowhere to be found."

--

Notes: Should've been Bernal instead of Rivers huh? I dunno. I hope no one was getting confused about the "Old-Maid" case they're working on. Just ask for questions you may have about it if something's amiss within your wee lil head. It involves Hallie Piper - but that's to come. Oh btw, here's a trivia question for avid TE fans: Who was the one that shot Steven Laney and what episode was that? LOL Sorry EASY stuff, bored you see. I thought the chappy was already long enough. Tell me if I'm wrong. BTW it's going to be until Monday or so until I can get the next chapter out - I'm in the process of moving. But thank you so much for the reviews and I'll continue to put out as long as you guys keep asking.

Thanx goes to:

SVUBound0121: Thank you for reading it, I will try to keep going with the pace I have now. :) I like Law and Order as well, I just haven't really felt the inspiration to write a fic on it...maybe someday.

Alamo Girl: Oh wow, I'm so glad I got the point across about the romantic/sexual tension without it being too full of cheese and having them hit the sack only 5 chapters into the story - I mean, I might not even have them "connect" at that level in this story...probably in some sequel because it feels like I'm hurrying the original TE plotline, and that's just something I don't want to ruin. Ah, but it is a TE fic. Maybe. And you got the unresolved angst! Yay! party Kudos to YOU.