Disclaimer: I do not own anything. But I don't mind to have a coffee break with both Eddie and Vanessa. The Pokemon reference is based on my own love the anime. And like Aiden, I suck at arcades. Enjoy! Please R&R.
TOKENS
© CATE
Detective Donald Flack is staring at a box in front of him. It was his first day back at his apartment after a three-and-a-half-month stay in the hospital. His wounds are still healing; painful at times, but Danny or Stella promised they would drop by from time to time to help him get back on his feet. As he was sitting there, Danny was in his scarcely used kitchen plating the Chinese takeout they bought on the way to his apartment. As usual, he was babbling away on how lucky Don is that he's on a paid leave and the city mayor will award him and Mac honors. But Don wasn't hearing any of it. He doesn't even care. His attention is to the box on his bare coffee table.
It was taped shut but he knew what was inside. It was unmarked but he knew where it's from. Danny brought it with him in his car, having stopped over one more apartment before picking him up from the hospital. Don hasn't even touched it – but he was feeling the weight of the box. It's from her… this is what she left him with. A heavy heart and this box.
Flashback
It was Stella's birthday and she decided to take them, including Mac to the most unlikely place imaginable… the arcade. Danny, Aiden, Sheldon and Flack were elated by the change of venue this year (last year was in an art museum courtesy of that guy Frankie). Mac was hesitant to join them but well, he can't say no to Stella.
After a light lunch, they went straight to the arcade. Stella gave them $50 each to blow on tokens and the one with the longest and most number of tickets at the end of the $50 would receive another gift from the birthday girl. She insisted that she'll do the gift giving this year. Yet, that hasn't stopped Mac from giving her a teddy bear. As much as he denied it, Danny's insistence caused the former Marine to spill. Mac was blushing the whole afternoon.
After exchanging the money for tokens, Sheldon went straight to the fighting games. He loves boxing. Don was successful in luring Mac to the racing games. Aiden was unsure where to go, her pockets heavy with tokens. Before Danny walked away to the basketball hoops, he said, "Hey, Aiden… Whack-A-Mole and Hungry Betty just around that corner, past the Dance Dance Revolution machines. I'm sure you'll have a blast!" Then he walked away winking and smiling.
"Yeah, Messer… tell me if you want a one-on-one on DDR, okay?" she yelled back. He's the only one who got into her nerves like that. But it was all friendly banter. He's her best guy friend after all. Stella was busy playing hyper hockey already with a teenager (and winning), which left her at the verge of following Danny's directions. She wasn't much of an arcade girl; she's more reading and music. So she decided to give in, "Damn, that Danny has the ability of persuasion," she said to herself as she slipped a token in the Hungry Betty machine.
Hungry Betty is a kiddy arcade game where you throw plastic balls into the mouth of a mascot 'Betty'. The mouth is moving left to right as well as opening and closing. All you have to do is to throw as many balls to beat the previous player's score. Aiden looked around, she was the oldest in the room, sans the parents looking after their kids. In no time, she won ribbon after ribbon of tickets just playing machines and machines of kid games. Standing up to stretch her legs, her pocket still heavy with tokens.
"Hey miss!" a little blond girl cried out. "You have a lot of tickets with you there. You must be a good whacker," she said, ringlets of hair framing her chubby face. "Can you help me whack those moles? I really want to win enough tickets for that chemistry set." She clambered up Aiden's leg while babbling, "Pretty please? I can see your police badge so I know you're a good person." Oh, she forgot to take off her badge.
Aiden was surprised. "Why do you want to win the chemistry set?" she asked placing the girl, Shiloh, on her lap. Shiloh's mom was watching not far away, waving at them. "There is a nice Pikachu doll over there and I think you have enough tickets for it." Pokemon was one of Aiden's guilty pleasures. She told no one about it.
"No, I already have one like that. My Daddy bought it for me on my 7th birthday," she smiled. "I want to be like Catherine Willows! CSI!" the little girl cried out. CSI is a TV show set in Las Vegas doing something like what Aiden does for a living.
"You know what, Shiloh," Aiden said bouncing her up and down, "I'm a crime scene investigator, too," she showed the little girl her ID. "Alright then, let's win those tickets!"
End of Flashback
Danny placed a plate of food on the spot beside Don. He sat on the lounge chair opposite his friend and tried to make a conversation. But everything seems to end up being about her.
"I miss her too, you know," Danny finally said. "We were actually planning a surprise birthday party for you a week before she…" he trailed off, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "She suggested a trip back to the arcade. And… she challenged me to a DDR match."
Don was quiet, chewing his food slowly. Downing his red iced tea and pouring himself another glass, he finally talked. "Did she say anything about the UFO machine?" It's the machine filled with stuffed toys and you have to use a crane to win a toy. "She never got the hang of that."
The CSI chuckled, "Yeah, she told me that she had been practicing. Maybe she was already good at it, she could barely contain herself when she was telling me about it."
Don just smiled.
Flashback
After she accompanied Shiloh back to her mom, complete with the chemistry set, Aiden decided to cool off for a moment. Her arms were sore from whacking almost a hundred moles and her thighs were a bit tired from the bouncing 7-year-old.
On her way to the soda bar, she saw Danny and Sheldon in a heated 12-round battle in Tekken Tag with Flack watching. She bought four colas and brought it over to the boys. Round six and Sheldon has the upper hand. Flack was cheering for the Doc and taunting the CSI. "Aiden, how about a little love?" Danny pleaded as his character received another blow.
"Fat chance, Danny – I have sore arms from all the moles and crocs to whack," she joked back. She was standing next to Flack, feeling the warmth of his chest against her back. The low-pitched chuckles from the detective felt good.
"Concentrate Messer," Sheldon joked as Danny lost again. "Or do you need a soda?" When he didn't receive an answer, he looked up seeing the two CSIs and the detective staring at the exchange counter… at Mac giving Stella a huge stuffed pig. "So they're official then."
"I guess so," Danny smiled.
Aiden finished her soda and threw away the can. She left the boys to their game. She knew what she'll play next. "Stella's not the only one who'll have stuffed toys today," she said to herself. Her machine of choice glowed cheerily in front of her… The UFO Machine.
End of Flashback
"She busted almost $10 on her first try on that machine," Don said chuckling a bit. "She wanted to get that pink round thing… I forgot what name she called it."
"That Pokemon thing?" the CSI continued. Don nodded. "D'you know that it held a special place in her locker?"
"Did it?"
"Yeah… right on top. Where she'll easily see it." Danny finished off his plate. "Who got her that anyway?"
Don smiled again.
Flashback
"Damn it!" Aiden muttered under her breath. "Stupid frickin' machine."
"Hey, watch the language, Burn. There are a lot of kids here," Flack said from behind her. "How much?"
"$9.50. Has anybody beaten this game before? I mean, all I want is a Jigglypuff," she huffed.
Flack leaned on the UFO Machine beside Aiden's. "A what puff?" he asked. Her cheeks glowed pink while she glared at the taller detective as if threatening him. "Alright, between you and me."
She sighed and gave up. "A Jigglypuff. It's a Pokemon." She turned to face the machine and pointed to around pink thing at the middle. "That stuffed toy over there. It's the only one left and I want it. But I can't." She was fishing out another token from her pocket when Flack snatched it from her. "Hey, hey…that's mine!"
The taller detective just smiled as he put the token through the slot. Aiden let him play. "Watch the master in action," he said suavely. The CSI could just watch in awe as Flack operated the crane, got the toy amidst the yellow Pikachu and light pink Chansey, and dropped the bright pink Jigglypuff into the chute. "Here you go," he said picking it up and handing it to Aiden – who has her mouth hanging open.
"Thank… you… Don," she stuttered. "How'd you…"
"Be one with the crane, Aiden… one with the crane."
Aiden got her remaining tokens and handed it to Don. "Do it again. I want that one," she smiled pointing at the Pikachu. "Please?"
Don laughed out loud. "No need to give me your tokens… I have my own," he said slipping another token into the machine. "Pikachu, right?" Aiden looked at him and grinned. "Try having 2 nieces."
"Don't worry about it. I have 5,"she said as she watched the master do it one more time. Don handed her the toy. "Boy, I could just kiss you right now."
"Hey… no one's stopping you," he joked. "Pucker up then."
"Nah, too many kids…" she said back at him.
"And Danny…" they said in unison.
End of Flashback
Don just laughed all of the sudden. Danny rushed back from the kitchen, surprised at his friend's sudden burst. "Don, you okay? Head hurt?"
"No, Dan – I'm okay," he said coming down from his high. "Need help with the dishes?" Danny shook his head and sat back down on the couch. "Danny, it's getting late. You have work tomorrow."
"Nah, don't worry about it," he said. "Unless you frog march me outta here, I ain't budging."
They laughed. "I don't think I'm up to that right now, Messer. But I would appreciate some time alone, if you don't mind." Danny understood.
"Speed-dial number 4, okay Don?" he said before going out the door.
Now alone, the detective decided to see what's in the box. Breathing deeply despite of the sharp pain on his side, he peeled off the tape holding the box together. He nearly laughed out loud when several stuffed toys fell out of it and bounced off the coffee table. Pink, purple, yellow, green, red, blue – a myriad of colors, of different sizes and shapes now cluttered his floor, table and lap. "What were you up to, Aiden?" he asked himself picking up a very familiar Jigglypuff off the floor.
Everything smelled like her. Especially this particular toy – "Maybe she hugged this puff when she's sleeping," he thought to himself, hugging it as well. There were more or less 30 toys in the box, and she left all of it to him.
At the bottom of the box, was another. It was wrapped in colorful paper and it had a bow on it. He remembered what Danny said, "We were planning a surprise birthday party for you." This was her gift.
He read the card on it… it simply read, I've been practicing. He ripped the paper apart and smiled; it was a heart-shaped pillow. There was a message written on it:
I've always loved you.
"I do, too, Aiden."
08.09.06