A/N: Hi all! This is my first time writing a Cold Case fic. Please go easy on me; as I haven't been a fan since the show first started, so forgive me if I have some mistakes in here (sniff)...Yeah, I know, it's pretty short, but oh well.
So,is this fic LSor not? You, the readers, can be the judges of that.

DISCLAIMER: Cold Case belongs to Jerry B. And, think about it: If I owned Cold Case, do you really think I'd be sitting here wasting my time on this fic and wondering how much people are going to hate it?

Thanks everyone, Enjoy!

Cold Case:

Breaking Down the Wall

Trying to talk to Lil is like trying to break down a brick wall...

Scotty Valens leaned his head back in his chair and closed his eyes. Wasn't an apology good enough for her? It wasn't like he didn't mean it. Scotty knew he should have trusted Lil...Chris was a troublemaker, a 'train wreck' as Lilly had put it. And he had hoped a sincere apology would have made it all better. Well, at least, it had seemed that way at first.

"...Really stupid of me to think that...Why would an apology be enough for Lilly Rush?"

Of course, she'd had every right to be mad at him before...but now it was over and it seemed that she couldn't accept that. And now, here he was, sitting there at his desk feeling like a complete fool. Scotty had walked into work that morning confident that he would be able to talk to Lil. Heck, maybe she would even let him show her a little support after what happened with that lunatic George not too long ago.

But boy, was he wrong. Lilly had given him the cold shoulder all morning. Now, while she was getting a cup of coffee in the break room, Scotty had some time to think. He tried to be positive at the beginning...

"Maybe she just needs some time alone..."

But he knew it was him. Lilly had been talking fine with everyone else...why was it just HIM that made her mad? "It's always me..". he thought. Scotty shook his head, in disapproval of his own thoughts...He couldn't start feeling sorry for himself. He had to figure out what was wrong. Lilly was stubborn, he knew, and maybe she just didn't want to let the fact that she had forgiven him sink in. Thoughts were screaming in his head, over and over again...

Suddenly a loud noise interrupted his thoughts. Lilly was back in the room, and had set her coffee cup down on her desk firmly...a little too firmly. Scotty jolted upright in his chair. "Geez..." he mumbled. What in the name of...Who..."

Realizing it was Lilly who had slammed her cup on the desk like that, he shut his mouth, for his own good... He looked up at Lilly. She was glaring daggers at him. Scotty quickly looked down at the report he was supposed to be reading all the time she was gone and tried to read, but all the words were a blur to him. He began to sweat a little and tugged at his collar. It was just that he always felt her watching him...he could only imagine what she was thinking about him. He sighed and mumbled, "I'm gonna get a cup of coffee..."

As he walked into the break room, he still felt those blue eyes on him...like a heavy weight. He really didn't want a cup of coffee at all, he just wanted to get away from the cold atmosphere that Lilly brought about. Scotty took a deep breath. It was good to be out of there. Just for a moment. Now he needed to get coffee, because he knew Lilly had heard him say he wanted a hot cup, and he would look suspicious if he came back without one. After pouring himself some, he turned to head out of the break room. As he turned, he bumped right into Lilly, and almost spilled his coffee all over her.

"Watch where you're going, Valens!" That was the first thing she had said to Scotty the whole day. But the one thing she had said had ticked him off, and Scotty wasn't gonna let it slide. He followed her to her desk and set his cup down on his.

"Lil, what's your problem? You haven't talked to me all day and the one thing you have to say to me is to watch where I'm going. Is it me!" Scotty grabbed Lilly's shoulders and stared into her eyes firmly.

"Answer me", he said in a calmer tone. "Are you still mad about...you know..."

Lilly pulled away from Scotty and said, "Don't touch me". But it wasn't in that icy voice, Scotty noticed. It was a quivering, almost defeated voice. Almost like she didn't even mean it. Lilly sank down in her desk chair. "Lil..." Scotty began, "I—"

"Please", Lilly interrupted. She looked as if she were about to cry. But Scotty knew Lilly never, ever cried. "Please", she said again. "Don't say anything..."

Scotty leaned closer to her, as she was sitting across from him. He wasn't going to give up until he knew why Lilly was resenting him so much. He wanted to help her.

"It's...it's not you..." Lilly said, finally answering his question. Scotty was slightly taken aback at this. "But why did you---"

"I talked to everyone else because I wanted to avoid you so you wouldn't see me like this", Lilly said, yet again cutting him off. "So many emotions..." she said, clearly fighting back tears. "...Piling up on me..."

Scotty had never heard Lilly speak that way before. It was like she was a totally different person. He stood up and walked behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and peering down at her. "Lil, you could have told me 'bout this. Why did you think you couldn't?"

"I..I was afraid you'd think I was a coward..." She was on the verge of tears and she stopped.

"Lil, I wouldn't think that..." Scotty was at a loss of words himself.

"You've probably noticed that I'm just not one of those people who cries that often", Lilly said. Scotty felt a little guilty, for that was exactly what he had been thinking. There was a moment of silence.

"Everybody's gotta cry sometimes", Scotty said finally. "Everybody."

And then the tears came. Scotty usually felt very uncomfortable when someone he was talking to just started crying; he always wished he was anywhere but where the situation was being held. But Lil was different. He had no trouble rubbing her back and whispering, "It's gonna be okay..." in her ear. Lilly wasn't really crying, Scotty observed, she was just letting all the tears bottled up inside her finally let loose. She took shaky breaths, but otherwise, not a sound came out of her. Lilly wasn't the type to be found hysterically crying. She looked up at him, sighed, and looked away.

Ten minutes went by like this. Suddenly Lilly stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I needed to let that go...I'm sorry..." Scotty stood up beside her.

"Don't be sorry, Lilly. You gonna be OK?" he asked. Lilly nodded and said, "Do me a favor...just don't tell anyone about this, you hear?"

A mischievous look danced across Scotty's features. "And, if I do?" he teased.

"It'll be the last thing you do, Valens", Lilly replied, heading to the break room for more coffee.

Scotty couldn't help but chuckle. Lilly was definitely back to her normal self. And, in those fifteen minutes he'd spent with her, he had managed to get through to Lilly, and see her with different eyes. Scotty had made Lilly take her guard down...for a brief moment, he'd finally, piece by piece, broken down her wall.

END

R&R, people! I need your opinions on this!

kawaii-peach14