Chapter 22: Breaking Out
Two more days in captivity with his grandmother's zealous care and his father raving about ' how back in the day', Flack was on the phone with Gus. "I need your professional help here, I think I am going crazy."
"I don't know if you can afford my hourly rate while on disability pay, Don," Gus teased.
"I can't be held responsible for my own actions," he shot back.
"Come on, it can't be that bad," she chided.
Flack growled, " don't you care I am getting smothered to death?"
"What else did you expect? You were practically blowed to bits two and a half weeks ago!"
"But it wasn't as bad as it could have been, doctor said so!" Flack protested.
"Right, you could have been dead!" Gus said, her voice cracking.
"I can't take it, she brought out the Superman blanket from when I was a kid to and I quote, 'remind me of when I was a little boy and wanted to be the man of steel'."
Gus snickered and then broke into laughter, okay, fine, I'll come visit."
"No!" Flack all but yelled.
"What, I can't come visit?" Gus sounded confused.
"Well, yes, but I need to break out of here," Flack pleaded.
"You can't go home. You can't climb stairs, and your bathroom is upstairs and I needn't remind you how much your couch sucks..." Gus babbled, not catching Flack's request.
"Gus, focus, I know I can't go home," Flack said, trying to redirect her without having to come out and say it.
"Well who ya gonna stay with then, people have lives you know, jobs, everyone except me and homeless Eddi-" Gus stopped short, catching up. "No, no, you aren't asking me to..."
"Please, I am begging you, you have space, and both Sam and the team have told me you are going stir crazy but refuse to go anywhere." Gus was silent, weighing her words.
"Sunshine, you still there?" Flack said, desperation filling his voice.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," Gus muttered, crossing herself.
"What?"
"You want me to just pop on by, have nice visit, have your grandma bring us milk and cookies and then just announce that I am going to be taking Junior home with me? They won't go for it. Your grandmother would die. Or kill me," Gus tacked on.
"No she wouldn't, why would they have a problem with it?" Flack asked.
"How would it look?" Gus protested.
Flack didn't catch her underlying meaning. "What do you mean how would it look, my partner taking care of me after getting how did you say it practically 'blowed to bits' while she sat in an office, seems like the only fair thing to me!"
"You are not pulling that card so early are you Flack?" Gus sighed, pacing while she talked.
"I'm just saying that's how it would look!" Flack shot back.
"To you maybe!"
Flack was flummoxed, "but not to who?"
"You are so dense!" Gus almost yelled.
"Enlighten me, woman of an advanced degree then, I'm working only on public education here."
"I just think it might look...inappropriate to someone, like your grandmother," Gus said, after letting out a long, slow breath.
"Inappropriate?" Gus didn't respond.
"You are aware we are both professional adults, right?" Flack said, an edge creeping into his voice.
"Says the man with his superman blankie," Gus retorted. A few more moments of heavy silence, and then Gus sighed and resignedly said, "Fine. You can come stay until I am back on desk duty but-"
"Of course there is a but," Flack sighed.
"More than one actually. First, you are explaining this to your family, I don't want your grandmother hating me. Second, I am not going to be your slave or skirting doctor's orders. And lastly, you better figure out some sort of damage control on the rumor mill, because I can't deal with that if I am ever going to get my badge back."
"Conditions accepted, now when can you rescue me?" Flack pleaded.
"This weekend?" Gus suggested.
"Aw come on!" Flack whined.
"Are you whining at me, Flack?"
"No," he whimpered.
"Just checking. Fine I can be there tomorrow, I gotta set up my office for an invalid."
"I am not an invalid," Flack protested, agitated.
"Simmer down, blue eyes, I was only kidding. Good luck with explaining this to your family."
"I'm a big boy, Gus!"
"Whatever, boy of steel," Gus said with a smile, before she hung up.
Flack hung up the phone, feeling weak and hating it. Now how to tell Grams?
He dialed Sam. "Hey sis, on your amazing advice I called Chez Broussard and they have a vacancy."
"Told you so, but why are you calling me then?" Sam said trying to juggle her purse, phone and groceries.
"How do I break the news to Grams?" Flack was suddenly concerned about this, though he hadn't been before he called Gus.
"Good point..." Sam contemplated.
He spent the next twenty or so minutes running through scenarios with his sister until finally saying, "how about I just tell her straight out?"
"Fine but you better have 911 at the ready," Sam teased.
"Funny, Sam, regular comedian you are."
It went better than Flack expected. A lot better in fact. Sam showed up conveniently after dinner with a look on her face, "I want a ringside seat, Donnie,"she said coming into the living room and planting a kiss on her brother.
"Ringside for what, dear?" Irene Flack said coming into the room and giving her granddaughter a hug.
"Tell her now, so I can catch her when she faints!" Sam interjected.
"Tell me what, you two?" she said sitting on the edge of the bed Flack was lying on. Sam grinned slyly.
Flack cleared his throat, "Grams, you know I love you and I really appreciate all that you are doing to take care of me, but, I just can't take it anymore, you are smothering me."
"Thank you Mary, mother of God!" she exclaimed.
Both Flack and his sister looked shocked. "Whadda mean, Grams?"
"I mean, dear boy, I love you, but you are a pain to take care of and I don't have the energy between my bridge group and volunteering with the nursing home and my painting class, not to mention your father..." she trailed off.
You ever think you do too much?" Flack asked.
"I like to keep busy. So who is going to take care of you then?"
Flack shot a look at Sam who stared back. "Gus - but it was Sam's idea!" he burst out with.
"How are you older than me?" Sam remarked, "and yes, it was my idea."
"Oh Augusta, that is a wonderful idea. Especially since she has time off, I think it is good that they gave that poor dear some time off, I can't believe she started working so soon after the storm, didn't even want to leave she told me," Irene clucked. "So when is my relief coming to get you then?"
"Tomorrow, Grams, you have to wait until tomorrow," Flack said, shaking his head.
"Well, what do you know?" remarked Sam, "I guess it was amazing advice after all, wasn't it?"
Chapter 23: Nurse Broussard
Amazing advice, my ass," Flack sneered about a week later to the pretty young therapist working him out, "she's like a freaking warden!"
"I am still here you know," Gus called from her dining room table toward the office.
"At least you aren't a slave driver," he dimpled down to the PT, "are you Karen?"
"Not yet, detective," she flirted.
Gus' eyes narrowed to slits, "not yet, detective," she mocked silently.
"I think that is good for today, you will be up and around in no time, big strong guy that you are!" Gus dropped her head to the table. Karen walked over to the door, "I'm going to let myself out, Detective, by-ee" she sing-songed out the door.
"By-ee," Gus dryly responded. Her phone buzzed, Gus glanced at the caller id. "Oh thank god you called, Lindsay, I could feel my IQ dropping!" Gus answered as she went into the kitchen.
"Hey, how's it going Nurse Broussard?" Lindsay teased sweetly.
"Heh, it's going. He doesn't listen well to doctor's orders. Stubborn, hard-headed, thinks he's made of...well...steel," Gus snickered to herself.
"Sounds like Flack and Danny and about every guy on the team," Lindsay chuckled.
"Yep, pretty much," Gus sighed.
"How are you holding up?" Lindsay asked seriously.
"Almost halfway there. Thank god."
"We miss having you around. Flack too, we have..." Lindsay stopped short.
"What, you have what Linds?" Gus pressed on, feeling like she wasn't going to like whatever Lindsay was about to reveal.
"There kind of is another detective working with us," Lindsay finally replied, softly.
"So did we both get replaced then?" Gus snapped, but dropped her voice so Flack wouldn't overhear.
"No, no, it's just we needed someone to work with us obviously and since you can't be in the field once you get back..."
"I know, I know they had to it, but it still sucks," Gus sighed.
"It's weird. But Danny and Hawkes know her from back in the day."
"Her?" Gus tried to keep her tone even.
"Yeah, Jessica Angell. Seems solid, haven't really talked with her that much."
"Linds, I know I got myself into this mess, just promise me you won't replace me on margarita night!" Gus pleaded, shocked at how worried she felt.
"Oh no, Gus, we wouldn't ever do that. She doesn't seem to be a hang out with the lab rats kind of girl anyway."
"How are all you lab rats?" Gus asked, switching the subject.
"Same old, same old," Lindsay replied, not wanting Gus to feel left out.
"Gus wrinkled her nose, "it feels like I have been gone for so much longer than twenty-two days."
"Yeah it does!" Lindsay exclaimed, realizing how much she missed the other woman.
"You know you all can still come by, even though Flack is here, especially since is here, I think he needs more company than just me and the endless supply of unnaturally made up PT's that are parading through here. I didn't know they made scrubs that tight!"
"Bad huh?" Lindsay was curious about the underlying jealousy she detected in her friend while also feeling bad for her. Lindsay had far too much knowledge in unrequited love.
"Are you kidding, since they don't seem to acknowledge my existence once they realize we aren't a couple, I have heard some things. They are actually paying each other to switch shifts. Not to mention they show up looking like they are going to a club."
"You aren't jealous are you, Gus?" Lindsay had to ask.
"Now, I just don't feel it the proper image for a health care professional. Or any professional woman that is. I mean you and I and Stella don't go parading around the office with our goods all on display, because we want to be valued and respected. There is a time and place for such things, but two o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon in my apartment is certainly neither the time nor the place!" They chatted for a few more minutes, made arrangements to meet for lunch if Lindsay could get away and hung up.
Gus walked out to the dining and living area when Flack spoke up, "they are a little obvious aren't they?"
"Huh?" Gus said looking up from her mail stack.
"Your kitchen doesn't have a door you know."
"Yeah, so?"
"Lindsay, conversation, professionalism, time and place."
"Hey, I waited until the PT actually left, and it is the truth. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Gus said walking toward the office where Flack was ensconced on a the day bed.
"Not likely," Flack snorted.
"I figured. Besides they all seem very..." she paused, searching for the right word "...accommodating," she finished breaking into a sly smile.
"You are evil, Broussard, pure evil." Flack grinned at Gus.
"Just because I am a psychologist does not mean I have to be all roses, rainbows and kittens you know," Gus retorted, hating that everyone automatically felt she had to be a certain way.
"Oh I got that one a while back, thanks."
"If you want, I will start leaving when they come, give you some," she cleared her throat, "alone time."
"I don't think that will be necessary."
"Ah, whatever, I probably need to get out more anyway, I can't spend three more weeks cooped up in here with you."
"Thanks a lot!" Flack pretended to be wounded.
"Not what I meant. I mean you are probably right, I have been a stickler for the rules, and I am not the one recovering. I just don't want you to think you have to be doing things at twice or three times the rate suggested. I don't want you to set yourself back by trying to prove something that no one is asking you to but you".
"I am not trying to prove anything, I just want to get back to normal." Flack could feel his jaw tightening.
Gus knew she shouldn't barrel forward, but that didn't stop her, "normal, do you even know what normal is going to be for you now? You might have to redefine it, there may just have to be a new normal. You can't go through trauma and just snap your fingers and make it disappear!"
"I'm not expecting it to disappear, and you are one to talk about just ignoring things!" Flack snapped.
"I don't ignore things, I do process them in my own way on my own time, I just adjust faster than most. I am not going to stand here defending myself to you. This isn't about me, it is about you. You haven't talked about the bombing once in any modicum of seriousness," Gus felt her voice raising along with her blood pressure.
"I don't know what there is to talk about or what I even want to talk about and I thought you would be the last person to try to make me talk or tell me when I should talk or how I should feel!" Flack blurted out, not knowing where his outburst had come from.
Gus looked crestfallen, she sat on the edge of the bed, trying to not disrupt Flack. She hung her head, "I'm sorry. I just-" she cut off trying to gather herself. "I told you I'm bad luck, anyone I let get close gets hurt, and I just don't know how much more of it I can take."
"Gus, you aren't responsible, you aren't bad luck, you have just had some really bad experiences, and I'm not going anywhere," Flack replied.
"Logically, I get that," Gus sighed.
Flack was torn between wanting to hold her and wanting to strangle her, but decided on neither. "So listen to that logical part of you!"
"I'll try," she grumbled.
"Good, now what about getting this invalid something to drink?"
"I thought you weren't an invalid," she quipped.
"Well you don't want me to push myself," he countered.
"Fine, what do you want?"
"You got any more of that fabulous lemonade?" He flashed a dimpled grin at her.
"No, you finished it, along with just about everything in my kitchen," she chided.
"Can you make some? It is the best!" He dimpled again and gave her doe eyes.
Gus rolled her eyes, "just because that works on every female medical personnel, doesn't mean it is going to work on me."
"You don't have any good reason not to make more," he pointed out.
"I can see why your grandmother wanted rid of you, but yes I will." Gus got up and walked out the room and then turning around, "But not because you flashed those baby blues, sugar, I'm getting immune to them seeing them put to use so often!" Gus came back in with two frosty glasses of fresh lemonade. "Here you go, whiner."
"I don't whine," he protested.
"Fine then, big flirt," she said, handing him the glass.
"I don't flirt," he replied, taking the glass from her and taking a long swallow.
"Your mere presence has been flirtation enough for the twelve or so women traipsing through here the past week," she said after taking her own drink.
"Not my fault, it is not like I am asking for it," he protested.
"You don't have to. Which is my point. I am just hoping you will be back in your own place by the time you are up for any liaisons with them."
"Who's says I'm not now?" Flack sounded wounded.
"Pul-ease, Casanova, even you need a little more recovery time," she snorted. "And you would know this how?"
"I can take that lemonade back you know," she gestured to grab at the glass. "You wouldn't!" he mocked a horrified look.
"I would!"
"You wouldn't!"
Gus shook her head, "no, I wouldn't."
Flack gave her a far too satisfied look. "Hey, guess what the nurse told me?"
"Oh, I can hardly wait to hear this," she dripped sarcastically.
"Shut it, she told me I can start having full showers next week."
"How excited you must be," Gus said.
"Yeah, but apparently I have to have assistance the first couple of showers," Flack admitted.
"That amenity is not available on this level of stay at Hotel Broussard!" Gus mocked.
"Laugh riot. Assistant from an OT to make sure I can re-do the dressings and stuff," he said, looking slightly worried until Gus spoke again.
"That shift is probably on eBay, I wonder what it is going for?"
"I would bet at least a grand," he smirked.
Gus groaned, "you have such an inflated sense of ego."
"I was kidding, or can you only dish it?" he teased.
Gus stuck her tongue out in response. "How is the wound?"
"Are you asking to see it?" Flack said, setting his glass down.
"Not really."
"Oh."
"Don't sound so disappointed, fine show me the wound."
Flack slowly swung over to the edge of the bed, attempting to lift his shirt, wincing. "Hold up," Gus said, lifting it over his head for him.
"I could have gotten it," he grumbled.
Gus hated him feeling weak, coming back with, "I don't have all day!"
"You got big plans all of a sudden?"
"No," she admitted.
Flack carefully peeled the edge of the tape and gauze pad back. His chest was crossed by two lines of sutures, the wound itself still red and raw, the outer edges of his chest still looked burned. The bruising had faded for the most part though.
"Um, tasty. Hey, X really does mark the spot!" Gus remarked, trying to not hurl.
"You are such a nerd, not that I hadn't figured that out from your book collection in here," he gestured to the overstuffed bookcases.
"I will take that as a compliment. How much does it hurt?" she inquired, her brow furrowing.
"Only when I stretch, it mostly itches, I have to be careful and not pull out any stitches. They might come out next week as well."
"Real showers and suture removal, you're just having a grand old-time next week aren't you?" she said with a smile.
Flack winced, fighting the urge to scratch the wound. "I can hardly contain my excitement."
"I can tell."
"Now if you wouldn't mind, can you help me get my shirt back on and get me to the couch? I want to see if there is anything good on TV."
"Should you be moving that much after your p-" Gus saw the ice creep into his eyes. "Okay, okay, have it your way, up we go you big lump." Gus got Flack over to the couch, luckily only a few feet away and settled on the lounger side with the remote. "Just please don't turn on any soap operas!"
"You should know me better than that," he said, turning on the television before looking up at her earnestly, "and Gus?"
"Yeah?" Gus said, trying to ignore the seriousness in his expression and the butterflies it released in her stomach.
"Thank you," he said with great sincerity.
"You're welcome, Don," she choked out before rushing off to the kitchen.
Chapter 24: Man of Steel
The next week Gus was faced with a heavy silence in her apartment. Flack was having his sutures taken out and Gus didn't want to impose by being there. He didn't need her anyway, he just needed a place without stairs, and even that wouldn't be forever. She was softly playing music and trying to following along rustily on her guitar in her bedroom when Flack came back from the doctor.
Gus heard to PT helping him in. "So you'll have to be careful to not reopen the wound, that means no strenuous activity, which I know must be hard for someone like you." This was punctuated with giggles and Flack laughing back with, "I'll try to manage."
Gus gagged and turned up her music as the physical therapist continued, "but starting this week you need to start walking a bit, if you want, I can see if I can come by after my shift to take you out to the park."
Gus switched to another track, shoving her feelings down.
"Um, yeah, that might be good, I'll have to see though," Flack replied somewhat nervously.
"Okay, well you just let me know, here's my cell number you can call anytime." The PT empathized the last word far more than needed.
Gus realized she had turned on Take another piece of my heart and was suddenly horrified, she switched to a song from one of her favorite New Orleans bands and attempted to play along.
"I didn't know you could play. Like Mac," Flack said supporting himself against the door frame of her bedroom.
Gus smiled, "not even close to as good as Mac, but he is the one that taught me, first summer I spent with Claire and him. They had just started dating." Gus continued to play.
"I recognized the Janis Joplin, but what's that?"
"Something a New Orleans band released a couple of months ago," she said, frustrated when she couldn't get the chords right.
"About the storm then?"
"Yeah. I figured it out on the piano, but I'm just horribly out of practice on this," she set the guitar down and paused the music.
"You play piano too?"
"Yeah, like all good Uptown girls do. Growing up in New Orleans, everyone is a musician, pick your instrument before you can even walk," Gus patted the bed beside her, seeing Flack having trouble leaning on the door for too long.
"Is there anything you can't do"? he asked shuffling slowly to the bed.
"I have yet to perfect a souffle or find a guy to stick around long term," Gus replied self-deprecatingly while she ignored his trouble getting to the bed and sitting down, knowing he would hate if she acknowledged his weakness.
"Be easier if you didn't run away," he pointed out.
"I have never run from a souffle," Gus replied, picking back up the guitar. "So, heard you can start doing some walking," she said, switching the subject off of her, as usual.
"I know, my life is so exciting," he replied, knowing he wouldn't get anymore information out her, the moment gone.
"Add the excitement of mine to that and it could practically be a reality show around here." "At least you only have two more weeks left," Flack retorted.
"Two weeks and then I get to be a good little desk rider, I am so happy about that," Gus grumbled.
"You know for someone who made such a big deal about not wanting to be a cop, you sure are bitching a lot about having to go back to just being staff psych."
"You just have to call me out, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes at him, slamming the case shut harder than needed.
"Like you don't do the same?" he replied, wondering how he had misstepped.
"Hmm. Well at least I will be able to keep an eye on my replacement. I wonder if you will be partnering with her."
"What replacement?" Flack looked thoroughly confused.
"You mean no one has said anything to you about, crap what it is her name...Angell?"
"Jessica Angell, yeah, she's been a round for a while. Good cop, used to be up in Manhattan north. I think she knows Hawkes pretty well." Flack let the statement sit and studied Gus.
"What, why are looking at me like that, there hasn't ever been and won't ever be anything between me and Sheldon, he is like a brother!"
"Well he is a-" Gus cut him off with a flying pillow.
"I'm just saying," Flack replied with a smile.
"And I am just saying I don't care who of you all she knows really well, I am just saying I am not liking being replaced."
"No such thing as that for you, sunshine," Flack replied with a long look.
"Well I hardly doubt she is replacing you," Gus pointed out.
"No such thing for me either," Flack said puffing up.
Gus shook her head, "again with you and the super ego."
"We don't have ownership rights on working with the CSI's you know."
Gus flopped backward, pulling another pillow to her chest, "I know, still. But if you say she is good people, I will try to like her. As long as she doesn't take my place during margarita night."
"As long as you have your priorities straight."
Gus burst out laughing, "Hey you can take a girl out the bayou..." she shrugged pulling herself back up to sitting. "Do you want any lunch?"
"Nah, I got some with Sarah."
"Park girl?" Gus tried to not let her voice frost up.
"Yeah." Flack wondered if he had heard a bite to her voice.
"Do I need to get you a leash before she takes you on your walks this week, something maybe in a nice plaid?" Gus couldn't help herself, why was she feeling so territorial?
"Why are you mean?" Flack asked, both teasing and curious.
"Must be alcohol withdrawal. Hardly like you are a UN ambassador either."
"That's different," Flack said.
She cocked her head at him, "how?"
"It's like my thing," he replied with a shrug.
"Gotcha. Seeing as I didn't have a pretty young thing to take me out to lunch, I am going to make a sandwich, you need any help in getting back to your cave?" Flack started to shake his head no, pulling himself off the bed then, wincing, Gus came to his side
"Come on, man of steel," she said helping him to the couch, "remote is all yours."