Heroin and Vodka
Author's note: Ok. This fic is going faster than I anticipated. Ideas just keep pouring into my head left and right. Also, Season 5 is around the corner. What are your opinions regarding Season 5? Do you think it'll live up to the hype of the previous seasons? Do tell in the reviews section.
Anyways, without further ado, lets begin.
Disclaimer: I do not own How To Get Away With Murder. Its plot and contents are the sole property of Pete Nowalk and Shonda Rimes.
Chapter 17
It was 7 PM in the evening and the Keating 5 had gathered at Micheala's place to study for their upcoming midterms. There was a knock at the door. Micheala went to answer it.
It was Oliver.
"You got to see this." Oliver replied, walking in in a hurry and depositing his bag on the table. In his hands was Simon's computer which Micheala had nicked from him earlier that day.
"What're you doing here, Oli?" Asher asked, looking up from his notes.
"I asked Oliver for a favor." Micheala replied, shutting the door.
"What kind of favor?" Asher followed up.
"I hacked into Simon's laptop." Oliver stated, in a matter of fact manner.
"You stole his computer?" Asher asked, incredulously.
"Nope. That was me." Micheala replied cheerfully, rounding on them.
"You're insane." Laurel said, rolling her eyes.
"Who are you?" Asher replied, continuing on the same vein. "Some kind of hill-billy klepto all of a sudden?"
"OK." Michela said, calmly. "You're all going to be happy I did this when we get his arbitration outline."
"Couldn't find the outline." Oliver informed them.
"Check again." Micheala tried.
"I found something better." Oliver replied, occupying a spot on the couch. He switched on the laptop. The other's eyes widened as they zoomed in on its contents.
It was a digital copy of the 'Annalise-Killer' flyers.
"Oh my god." Micheala whispered.
"We have to tell Wes and Connor." Laurel replied.
"Has anyone seen Connor since afternoon? I mean Wes is holed up at AK's—but what about Connor?"
"I saw him last in Torts." Micheala supplied.
Connor followed the man into a café near campus in trepidation. He had a really bad feeling about this. What on earth could this man possibly want to know about Annalise? He certainly hoped that he wasn't an undercover cop or something. His mind flashed back to the earlier meeting that morning with Wes.
Flashback
Connor knocked at Annalise's door. Wes answered.
Connor walked in slowly.
"I half-expected you to be trying on her wigs and clothes by now." Connor replied sarcastically.
Wes rolled his eyes and shut the door.
"Annalise isn't here." Wes informed him.
"Oh, I know." Connor replied , rounding on him. "I…umm…was just wondering whether my good friend was thinking about someone else other than himself for once?"
"Meaning?" Wes asked.
"You're thinking about going to the police, right?" Connor asked, already knowing the answer to his question.
Wes looked away.
"Tell them everything you know?" he asked.
"You should go." Wes replied.
"I think you should listen to what I have to say." Connor asserted.
"You blame me for everything. I get it." Wes replied.
"Of course I blame you for everything." Connor's voice rose. "You're the reason why everything good in our lives is gone."
"Frank did this." Wes replied angrily.
"No. You did this." Connor shot back. "The minute that you killed Sam. You know—I was just trying to figure out how to get my head on straight and finally get out of this mess you made without the one good thing in my life—"
"Now Oliver is my fault too?" Wes interjected.
"Everything that has happened to us in this house is your fault!" Connor shouted. "If you say anything to the police—"
"I'm not—"
"If you—" Connor asserted, cutting him off "—mention my name to the police, I swear to God I will kill you."
Without another word, he turned around and lef.
End Flashback
On the other hand, Isaac was beginning to have second thoughts about this entire endeavor. This was after all an ethical violation on his part. He had no right to seek information regarding a patient from any other source other than the patient himself or herself. If Annalise ever came to know of this, she would most certainly go after his license to practice. As it is, he had narrowly dodged a bullet with the whole Jacqueline fiasco. He was pretty sure this was a two-strike system.
Besides ethical violation, he should be asking Annalise herself, not sneaking around behind her back and accost her students. It left a bad taste in his mouth.
Still, what was done was done. There was no turning back now.
Isaac asked for a corner booth so that the two may converse without any interruption. Isaac occupied hid seat with Connor following soon after.
"So…" Isaac replied, wondering how to begin the conversation. He couldn't just jump in and ask him confidential information regarding Annalise. He decided to start off light. "Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?"
"Coffee sounds good." Connor replied, his eyes darting to the door. He wondered whether s\he should make a run for it, but decided against it.
Isaac called over the waiter and ordered two coffees.
"Now…as I have already mentioned, my name is Dr. Isaac Roa. What you don't know about me is that I'm Ms. Keating's therapist." he replied calmly.
Connor let out an inward sigh of relief at that. So he wasn't a cop after all.
"Oh. So you're Dr. Roa. Annalise mentioned you to us sometimes." he replied. "You appear to have done a good job. Annalise hasn't touched booze in months."
Isaac couldn't help but smile softly at that. At least his efforts had paid off.
"Annalise has told me a lot about you, you know? You, Wes, Asher, Micheala and Laurel. I believe she refers to you as the 'Keating 5'?"
Connor's face darkened at the mention of the term.
"Oh yeah. We're the Keating 5 alright. Annalise's little murder crew" he spat out harshly.
Isaac's eyes widened at that.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked, hoping that he had heard wrong.
Connor looked away and bit his lips. He cursed inwardly. He had said far too much.
"I'm sorry. It was nothing." he replied , with a forced smile.
Isaac didn't buy the fake smile but decided not to push him.
"So… I suppose you lot feel quite special? After all, you were personally handpicked by Annalise herself."
Connor rolled his eyes.
"Sure. Yeah. We feel special. After all, we handle tasks for her that no one else can handle. That is, other than her associates."
Like chopping up body parts in the forest and depositing them in a dumpster, Connor thought inwardly.
Isaac could tell that there was more to Connor's statement than he was letting on.
"What other tasks do you handle for Annalise?" he asked, drawing out a note pad from his abg accompanied by a pen.
Connor eyed the notepad warily. Isaac caught his look and chuckled.
"Oh. Don't worry about these." he said, waving them off. " It's an old habit. Don't be afraid to speak your mind."
The waiter arrived and deposited the coffee on the table and left.
Isaac took an experimental sip of his coffee. He watched Connor out of the corner of his eyes. He hadn't touched the coffee yet. He was eyeing it with a look that made him feel like the cup might just take his head off.
"So…" Isaac replied, setting his cup down "Has Annalise ever asked you to do something you weren't comfortable doing?"
Connor's eyes widened before they narrowed. He got up from his seat.
"Just what exactly are you implying?" he asked suspiciously. There was a rough edge to his voice, bordering on anger and anxiety—two not healthy emotional combinations.
"I merely meant whether Annalise has ever asked you to do something unethical for her? As a lawyer, I'm sure she—"
"Then as a therapist, you should know that you're violating confidentiality." Connor shot back, cutting him off. He grabbed his bag and slung it across his shoulders. "You want to know if Annalsie has ever done anything 'unethical'? Just look up '20th December' online. You'll know." he replied ominously.
Without another word, Connor turned around and left, not once looking back.
Isaac sighed.
Well….that was….unexpected.
While Connor hadn't answered all his questions, his behavior had certainly taken the man by surprise. He was confident that he was hiding something from him.
Isaac had just gotten back to Jacqueline's and was about to look up 20th December on his laptop, when his phone pinged.
Glancing down, he noticed it was another voicemail from Annalise. Sighing, he was about to swipe away the notification when he glanced at the time.
It read 10:52 PM.
That's odd, he thought. It was certainly an odd time for Annalise to be calling. He decided to hear the voicemail. Clicking the voicemail, he put his phone to his ear.
At first, he couldn't hear a voice. There was merely music playing in the backgroundThen he caught her voice. It sounded slurred and disorderly.
"I knew you weren't going to pick up. But I was calling to say…you're lucky as hell that you left. Cuz now, you don't have to deal with this mess anymore and I got a lot of it. Like I need to tell you." Here, she paused and chuckled. "You can thank me next time you see me. "That is, if you ever do."
Isaac's eyes widened in shock.
Annalise had relapsed.
These are the days in your life
When the price of the time is free
Like your daddy said the world's your's
So let it flow natuarally.
All the season's changes
Escort them with a kiss
….
"So eat the peach without the pit…" Annalise sang along in a drunken stupor, a bottle of vodka clasped in her hands.
Suddenly, she heard a knocking at the door. Walking up to it, she opened it.
It was Isaac.
"Heeeeyyyy!" she called out. " Isaac. Come in. Come in." she said, welcoming him in. "You came back. Finally. Come dance with me."
Isaac's eyes widened as he noticed Annalise's appearance. She was in a disheveled state and was wearing her night dress. Her hair was astray and she had saliva rolling down her mouth.
"Annalise! What did you do to yourself?" Isaac asked in shock.
"What?" she shot back.
Isaac eyed the bottle in her hands. Annalise caught her look.
"Oh. This? This ain't nothing. This is only my seventh glass after all." she said, walking back into the living room.
Isaac could only watch in shock as Annalise stumbled into the living room, reaching for the glass, on the countertop. Isaac quickly caught her hand.
"That's enough, Annalise!" he replied sternly, grabbing the bottle before she could start chugging from it directly.
Annalise rounded on him with a fierce glare.
"You have no right telling me what's 'enough'!" she shouted back. "Didn't seem to care all those days back when I left those messages? Where were you then huh?!"
Isaac looked away in guilt. He knew he was at fault for her current condition.
"That's right." she shot back. "You left! So don't come barging in here and telling me that's enough. Cuz you haven't seen enough yet!" She made a grab for the bottle.
But Isaac wasn't having any of that.
"You are not drinking any more Annalise. That final!" he shot back, placing the bottle on a shelf out of her reach.
"Who do you think you are? Coming into my house and taking my drink? Just who the hell do you think you are?" she shouted as she beat her fists against his chest. She began to sob as tears ran down her face.
Isaac's heart twisted in pain. This was all his fault. If he had never ignored Ananlise when she needed him the most, she wouldn't be in this condition right now.
"I'm sorry, Annalise." Isaac replied. "I…I'm so sorry."
Annalise continued to sob into his chest. The man held him firmly in his arms as she cried.
"You abandoned me." She whispered softly.
Isaac was quiet as she sobbed. He gently stroked her head in a comforting manner.
"Lets get you up to bed." he replied, holding her steadily as he began to climb the flight of stairs. " We can talk about this tomorrow, when you're sober."
As Isaac tucked Annalise away, his heart twisted in pain. He shouldn't have ignored her. She was doing so well….and now her sobriety was ruined. And he was to blame.
He gently stroked her head, humming softly under his breath.
He bent down to kiss her forehead.
Instead Annalise reached out and pulled his face closer. Their lips met.
He pressed his forehead against her's gently. Had they been moving towards this the entire time?
Annalise's drunken mind was in a whirl.
Is this why she hadn't sought out anyone else? Not even Nate? Is this why? Because she had found what she was looking for. She told herself silently that he wasn't like Sam— he wouldn't hurt her, woudn't use her private thoughts and words against her.
This was right. This was good for her, good for them despite every obstacle presented before them. He had left her more than enough room to walk away, to still leave some part of their relationship intact. But Annalise didn't want that. Not anymore. She had been giving all this time and it was time for her to receive.
Isaac brushed his lips experimentally against her's . A million thoughts were swirling in his head as his lips gently touched her's.
This is'nt right. Jacqueline was right. I'm getting too close! …. Were the thoughts pounding against his brain. But miraculously, each of these thoughts gave way to nothing as she pushed her lips against his.
She soon gave away and dropped back onto her pillow, out cold.
Isaac watched her tenderly, wondering what on earth was about to happen come next morning. He decided he didn't care. They would sort it out, come what may.
Author's note: There you go! Their first kiss! How did you guys like it. I had to get quite imaginative as I've never written a kiss before. Hope I was able to satisfy your expectations. Don't worry. The next chapter will be juicy as well! Anyways, the season mid-finale is drawing closer and will be taking place in about 3 chapters—2 if I can manage it.
Anyways, read and review.