Title: Mango
Rating: PG-13 (some violence, angst, a couple f-bombs)
Characters: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Kevin Tidwell, Ted Earley, a few OCs
Pairing: Crews/Reese
Summary: Crews and Reese, five years post-series. Life is changing.
Spoilers/Time Period: Set five years after One. (May 2014)
Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans the Ayers) aren't mine, but the situation is.
Author's Note: Thanks for the great response. So I don't burn through the chapters too quick, I'll be posting them about once a week, usually on the weekends. Enjoy!
Chapter Two: The Moment
The phone rings at four a.m.; in their line of work, that means someone is dead.
Dani groans at the interruption to their sleep, and Charlie reaches over her to quickly end the ringing.
"Hello?" he grumbles.
"Charlie." It's Bobby, and he sounds awful. Charlie sits up quickly, trying not to further wake Dani.
"Shh, go back to sleep," Charlie soothes as he carefully gets out of bed. Once out the door, he says, "Sorry, Bobby. What's up?"
"Is the Sarge with you?" Bobby asks, using the uniforms' affectionate name for their small but mighty commanding officer.
"She's asleep. Bobby, what's wrong?"
"Oh, jeez, Charlie. Some of the guys heard about an accident and an arrest outside of Ventura. It's bad, Charlie. A car spun out and got crushed against a tree. Driver didn't make it. Passenger's been taken to the hospital."
"Bobby," Charlie says more firmly, dread filling his gut. "Why are you calling us about this?"
"The passenger was Jake Conroy."
"No."
"His sister was driving. That's D's mom, right?"
"But you said the driver didn't make it."
"No, EMS said she bled out before they were on scene."
Charlie concentrates on breathing so he doesn't have to think about sweet Katie Ayers crushed to death.
"Jake. Was he high?"
"As a kite. Charlie, is there anything we can do? I know she and Reese were close…"
Dani. Asleep in the other room, still blissfully unaware. Did D know already? And Jamie?
"Has the family been contacted?"
"The husband's down at the hospital IDing the body. As far as I know, Little Danny's at home with a neighbor."
"Okay."
"One more thing."
He's trying valiantly to stay in the moment, but he keeps slipping ahead, thinking about what he has to do next.
"What?"
"They took Jake to the hospital in cuffs. Word is they've arrested him for vehicular manslaughter. Maybe even homicide. That's why we picked up on the accident. Reese has us on the lookout for any arrests on this guy, to keep tabs on him."
"Thanks," Charlie manages before snapping the phone shut, stung by the implications of that last fact.
"Charlie?"
No. Why couldn't she have slept just a little longer? He looks up to see her leaning on the doorframe, a confiscated pair of his boxers low on her hips, her wifebeater riding up to reveal the smooth skin of her stomach, still flat but already holding their future inside. Her dark eyes are soft with sleep and concern, and her hand is already reaching to soothe the tension from his frame.
"Who was on the phone?"
"Bobby."
He wants to lie now, tell her it was just something stupid so she can have a few more hours without this awful knowledge.
"What did Stark want at four in the morning?"
Their hands are joined now, and he uses that to pull her closer and into his arms, unable to look her in the eye as he says this.
"There's been an accident."
She tenses in his arms, pushing away, but he holds her tight.
"Crews…"
"I'm sorry."
"Who? Who's dead, Charlie? Tell me. I'm a big girl."
"Katie."
"No. No, no, no," she repeats. He can feel the tears on his T-shirt. "D… He wasn't…"
"No. He was at home. Asleep."
A breath of relief leaves her small frame, but it is quickly replaced with the shudder of a sob.
"What happened?"
"Not now."
"Crews, tell me what happened." She manages to be imposing even through the tears.
"I don't know a lot. She and Jake were in an accident outside of Ventura."
She freezes, and then breaks free with a sudden push. Her eyes meet his in the dark, and his heart breaks a little.
"She was driving out to Ventura to get him. He was high."
"'As a kite'," he repeats Bobby's cliché.
"He called her to come get him in Ventura because he was too high to drive. Like she always tells him to."
He doesn't want to tell her this part. The anger is already building up inside of her, pushing out the grief to make the pain more bearable.
"They arrested him."
"For what?"
"Vehicular manslaughter. Bobby said they may bump it up to homicide. They were the only vehicle involved."
"What? How?"
"I don't know, Dani. We can't know until we see the report."
"It's four o'clock in the morning, Charlie. Tell me this is a nightmare."
"Only the kind you're awake for."
***
After two hours of processing and crying and cursing (and Charlie giving thanks they've removed all alcohol from the house), she demands to see Daniel. Charlie doesn't know what they're walking into, what D knows and whether or not Jamie's there, but it seems like a reasonable request. She lets him drive, which is never a good sign. She stares out the window, and he doesn't even bother trying to get her to talk.
"He's gonna need a nanny."
"Dani."
"Jamie can't afford…"
"Dani," he interrupts more forcefully. "We will take care of Daniel, okay? We'll make sure he has everything he will ever need. But we don't have to think about it right now."
"Yeah, yeah I do," Dani says, her voice tight. "'Cause it's the only thing I can think about. So I don't have to think about…"
"I know, but this is the time to think about the moment."
"I don't wanna be in the moment."
"That's when you need to be the most."
She makes a face. He reaches out a hand. She threads their fingers together.
"I'm sorry," he says softly. She nods and squeezes his hand, her eyes drifting back out the window.
"I'm gonna kill him," she whispers a few minutes later.
"She wouldn't want that."
"She wanted to live, Charlie. She wanted him to grow the hell up. This wasn't a simple fuck-up. He killed her. I don't know how yet, but once I do…"
"Focus on Katie and D," he says soothingly. "We'll deal with Jake later."
She lapses back into silence, their hands still clasped. Even this early in the morning, traffic is picking up.
Ten minutes away from the Ayers' house, she says: "Pull over."
"What?"
"Want me to puke in the car, Crews? Pull. Over."
He pulls into the nearest parking lot and is out the door as soon as he throws it into park. He catches her hair and then expertly avoids any puke on his shoes.
"I'm sorry," he says once again.
"Not your fault," she grinds out, lifting her head up to meet his eyes.
"Well, it is. Just a little. This part at least. Half my fault."
"Yeah, you're right." She punches his thigh gently.
He squats beside her, cupping her face in his hands. Her eyes fill again and she looks away.
"I can't do this, Charlie."
"Which part?"
"All of it. Live without her. Be strong for Daniel. And a baby, Crews, what are we thinking?"
"Hey. Dani, we talked about this. We can do this."
"Can we? She's supposed to be here. In all the plans, she was here."
He pulls her close. He doesn't have anything to say to that.
***
"What do you mean no one's told him yet?"
There she is. Anger has always been easier for Dani.
"How exactly am I supposed to tell him this, Dani?" Jamie yells back. He looks awful, understandably, but they seem content to take their grief out on each other. It's almost appropriate, since the only thing that ever bound them together is gone.
"He needs to know!"
Charlie lets them argue. Dani's okay, she can function, as long as she's angry. He wanders back to D's room, pushing the door open to reveal the boy curled on his bed, knees pulled up to his chest, tears on his face.
"Uncle Charlie?"
"Hi, buddy."
"Where's Mommy? Why're Daddy and Aunt Dani so mad?"
Charlie sits down beside the boy, putting his arm around him.
"How much did you hear, Daniel?"
"Just the yelling. Uncle Charlie, I want Mommy."
Charlie closes his eyes.
"We gotta talk, Little D." He holds the boy close.
"No! I want Mommy."
"Daniel… There was a car accident. Do you know what that means?"
"When two cars crash and people get hurt."
"Right. Your mom was in that car accident, and she got really hurt. The doctors did everything they could to save her, but sometimes people are just too hurt, and…"
D's eyes widen. He's a very bright little boy, and the wheels are turning in his head.
"You know about heaven, right?"
The boy nods, his face crumpling. "Mommy says that's where people go and become angels."
"Mommy's in heaven now, buddy."
"But angels don't come back from heaven! They stay there forever and ever. She can't!"
"I'm so sorry, Daniel."
He lashes out, sobbing and pounding against Charlie's chest. Charlie doesn't say anymore; it's enough for the boy's young system to process. He just holds him closer, rocking gently.
Dani appears in the door. Her eyes widen as she takes in the sight before her, realizing what Charlie's done. She's torn between anger and gratitude. He beckons her over and transfers Little D into her arms. He stops squirming against her softer form and goes limp as he continues to sob into her shoulder. Her tears start again; suddenly exhausted, she lays down with him in the small bed, pulling him as tight to her as she can. Charlie squeezes her hip.
"I'll be back," he whispers, going out to meet what he knows will happen next.
Jamie is in the living room, a wedding picture flat on the coffee table next to a bottle of whiskey, his head in his hands.
"I told him," Crews announces.
"You what?"
"I told D. About Kate. Dani has him now. You should go…"
Ayers is out of his seat at "D" and punching him, once across the jaw, at "go".
"That's not your place!"
"You wouldn't, and Dani shouldn't have to."
Crews straightens out, rubbing his jaw. Damn, Marines can punch.
"I would have…"
"When? After he'd listened to the two of you scream at each other and figured it out? He's smart. He would've caught on. He knows now, and you didn't have to tell him. Go comfort your son."
"I can't," Jamie deflates. "I can't face him. This isn't happening. Can't be happening."
"Sometimes you have to let the moment come."
Jamie looks disgusted. He sits back down and opens the bottle of Jack.
"Noor, Dani's mom, is coming. To help out. If you're going to get drunk, go in your room and do it away from your son and my wife. What can I do?"
"I have to call the funeral home…"
"I'll take care of it."
"Crews…"
"Go. Grieve however you have to. You have today. Then your son needs you."
***
Dani and Noor are having a heated exchange in Farsi, most likely over Noor's reluctance to allow her pregnant, mourning daughter to leave to do what she is planning. Though they weren't explicit about their destination, and bleary Jamie was oblivious, Noor obviously picked up on Charlie and Dani's plans to go visit Jake Conroy in lock up.
"You," Noor finally turns her attention to her son-in-law, slipping into English for his benefit. Charlie's Farsi is limited to food and curse words. "You shouldn't be encouraging her."
Charlie holds up his hands in defense. "I couldn't stop her if I wanted to."
Noor grumbles something about cops. Daniel sleeps in his room, having exhausted himself with crying.
"We'll be back for dinner," Dani promises.
"Do you want us to pick something up?" Charlie offers.
Noor shakes her head. "Go."
One quiet car ride later, they are at the station in Ventura where Jake is being held.
"I'm Detective Crews; this is Sergeant Reese. Detective Hart should've called ahead for us," Charlie introduces them to the officer on desk duty.
"You're here for Conroy," the man, Wright according to his nameplate, nods.
"Can you catch us up on the case?" Reese asks.
"Yeah, come with me."
Wright leads them back to the coffee room. Reese accepts the proffered coffee readily, trying to get her wits back about her. She still feels as if she's viewing everything through a fog.
"What do you know?" Wright asks as the three sit down at a circular table.
"Just that Jake Conroy got hauled in here on charges after…" Dani starts off strong but trails off, taking a deep breath. "After the accident. What exact charges and why, we're not sure."
"The DA's office is reviewing the evidence. Either vehicular manslaughter or homicide. Maybe reckless endangerment? Not sure what charge is gonna stick, but we're sure as hell gonna make one of 'em stay."
"And what is the evidence?" Crews presses.
"His blood tests, which we're sure will come back full of booze and coke. Witnesses that saw the vehicle blow through a red light and the camera from that light."
"But Katie should have been driving."
Wright gives Reese a measuring look and then continues. "The sister was driving. But Conroy was goofing around and grabbed the wheel, fighting her for control. The vehicle spun out and crushed the driver's door into a tree. ER docs checked out Conroy, just a few bumps, scratches. Some stitches. Glass went through the sister's chest. 'Least the bastard had to watch his sister bleed out."
Dani flinches, and Charlie resists the urge to take her hand. She's trying her best to be professional right now.
"Can we see him?" Charlies asks instead.
"Sure. He's still coming down, though. Twitchy as hell. We're transferring him to county in the morning."
"Does he know what he did?" Dani asks.
"Oh, yeah."
A grim set to her jaw, Dani stands. The men take her cue and stand as well, Wright immediately directing them in the direction of the cell.
TBC