Boulevard of Broken Dreams

author: BambiBlake007

rating: M cos ya kno...

pairings: something quite unexpected, i think ;)

summary: with the case over, Danny & Flack go out for drinks. meanwhile, Abby contemplates what her life will be like once she arrives in New York. and Ashley DuGray sees something she likes...

disclaimer: i do not own CSI:NY or CSI:Miami, or the characters within. they belong to Zuiker & Co. i do however, own Abby Walker & Ashley DuGray.

author's note: any mistakes, i take full responsibility for. they are totally mine :) plz R/R. feedback is love!!

author's note pt2: i really enjoyed writing this story. it being my 1st attempt at fanfiction, i think it turned out pretty good. also, thank you to all the loyal readers. ya'll made it easier for me to post every time i did. look forward to posting the 2nd part of Abby's journey...


Chapter 12

Flack tipped the last of his beer back and took a long swallow.

It was well near midnight and Adam had left half an hour earlier. It was now only Don Flack and Danny Messer seated at a table for four at Sullivan's. The pitcher was almost empty and neither of them were seeing very straight at the moment.

"Another round?" Flack asked, placing his glass down on the table.

Danny set, chair turned backwards, elbows on the table top and glasses removed. He shook his head. "I'm out."

Flack nodded, slowly. "I guess I aught to quit, too. But since when do I ever listen to myself?"

"That's reassuring..." Danny told his friend.

Flack chuckled. "Coffee?"

"Sounds good," Danny agreed.

Flack motioned for a waitress. A petite blond with a pretty smile approached. It was after shift-change, and she was new. He gave Danny a knowing look. Danny followed his lead.

"Could we get two coffees, Miss?"

"Sure." She jotted something down on her notepad. "Black?"

"I'll take it black," Danny answered.

She turned to Flack.

"Black... With sugar..."

She jotted the orders down and turned to head back to the counter. After she left, Flack grinned at Danny.

"She's into me."

"In your dreams, Don."

"Naw. I saw it. We had a connection just then."

"The alcohol is talkin', Man. She ain't interested."

"You're cute, Messer. Why don't you just leave the table so I can work my magic?" Flack asked.

Danny grinned at his best friend. "Are you serious?"

Flack pouted.

"Alright. Alright. I'll go to the bathroom and I'll leave ya two to it. Just don't touch my coffee."

Flack set back, folding his hands in his lap. "Thanks, Dan-o."

Danny got up and headed back to the restrooms. He meandered his way through the crowd. He entered the restroom and stepped over to the sink. No one was in the room with him and he could relax. He stared into the mirror for a moment--he looked tired. He wiped his eyes and shook himself from head-to-toe. He moved his neck, popped it, and rolled his shoulders to do the same. He had been thinking about Chloe Philips and her mom for most of the evening. That was the main reason as to why he had drank so much. Adam hadn't made it past two beers. Flack had joined Danny on his crusade, so he had drank more than usual. But now Danny regretted drinking so much. He was feeling the familiar tinge of a headache coming on and he knew that the morning light would bring one hell of a hang-over.

Danny turned the water on and let the tap run for a moment. He put his hands under the cool running water, savoring the feeling of something cold against his skin. He cupped some of the water in his palm and pulled it up to his face. He splashed the cool liquid against his face and groaned loudly. He let the water run for a minute or so more, head hung over the the sink, and eyes shut tight.

Five minutes passed. Ten. He figured Flack had scored with the pretty waitress and he decided to return to his table. No one had entered the restroom while he had been inside it. Danny liked it that way. He liked to be alone. Things were easier when he was alone. Simple. When Danny Messer was alone, he was in control.

He made his way out of the restroom and back into the main part of the bar. Flack was still sitting at their table--alone--but with a goofy grin over his face. Danny stepped up to him and took his seat once more. He waited. Flack only sipped at his coffee.

"I'm dyin' here. Did ya get her number or what?" he asked after a moment.

Flack gave him a smug look.

"Bastard..." Danny chuckled as he reach for his own coffee mug. He took a long sip of the hot coffee, letting it invade his mouth and throat with heat.

"Her name's Tessa. She's a Gemini."

"You did not ask her her sign, Don."

"No. She asked me mine."

Danny shook his head, more in amusement than anything else. He took another sip of his coffee, feeling sober by the minute. Part of him was grateful for the fogginess to be lifted from his body, but another part of him, hated that it was leaving him. Being numb from the world was better than having to feel anything real.

"You OK, Dan?" Flack suddenly asked.

Danny lifted his eyes to his friend. He looked serious. Danny bit his lip with a half-hearted smile. He shrugged as he ran his fingertip around the mug. He didn't want to talk about what he was feeling. Things were crazy between him and Lindsay. She still didn't trust him with her secrets. He hated that he hadn't been able to save Chloe Philips from that horrible creep. No girl deserved to die like she had. But this was life and Danny was used to disappointment.

"Montana still doesn't trust me."

Flack's blue eyes looked sincere for a moment. "She told me some stuff."

"I know."

"She told ya?"

"I asked."

"Oh." Flack took a sip of his coffee. "You pissed about that?"

Danny shrugged. "Naw. I think it's great that you and Montana can talk to each other."

Flack smiled. "She wants to talk to ya, Danny. Just give her time."

Danny exhaled. "Yeah. Give her time. I know the drill."

The two of them set in silence for a moment. Both sipping their coffees, respectively. About five minutes passed, both of them silent. There was just nothing more to say about Lindsay Monroe as far as the two men were concerned. She was a topic better left in silence.

Flack took the last sip of his coffee, placed the mug down on the table, then stood. He pulled his billfold out and placed a few bills on the table.

"You wanna grab a cab with me?" he asked as he placed his billfold back into his pocket.

Danny shook his head. "I think I'll walk."

"You sure?"

Danny nodded.

"'Aight. Hoops Saturday?"

"Sure." Danny reach up and shook Flack's hand to seal the deal.

Flack left Danny seated alone at the table in the middle of Sullivan's.

...

Ashley DuGray noticed the Detective from across the room.

She set at the small booth, wishing the boy across from her would just shut the hell up. He was a Chelsea University student and he was boring her to tears. She decided to make her get away.

When she had first spotted Detective Messer, he was with another man. Moments later, he had disappeared into the back. She had thought for sure he had left, but he had returned a few minutes later, set back down, drank some coffee, had small talk with the other man. They were obviously friends. Then, the tall drink of water had left. Detective Messer remained at the table, alone.

Ashley had watched him for so long now that she doubted she could muster the courage to talk to him. Nerve was one thing--courage was something entirely different. She wanted to talk to him and she had the nerve, because in all actuality he was just a guy, but the courage to do it was something that she was afraid she didn't possess. Until the jerk she was sitting with suggested the two of them go back to his dorm room. Check, please.

"What'cha say? A little you. A little me. A little s-e-x."

Ashley made a face at the boy. His name was Steven. He was cute, but not handsome by any means. He was on scholarship for basketball and had a nice body, but he was obsessed with his car and Ashley didn't want a guy who was preoccupied with a car. She needed a man who could focus his energies entirely on her and her needs. Sure, he was offering sex, but only sex. Ashley wanted more. She glanced over to the Detective. She wanted him.

"This has been fun, really. But I need to be going. I have an early audition." Ashley stood up.

Steven stood up as well. "I'll walk ya--"

"No thanks. I can catch a cab."

"You sure?"

Ashley nodded.

"I'll call ya. Maybe we can hook up next week..." He reach over and rubbed his hand against her arm.

Ashley jerked away. "We'll see..."

She turned and headed across the bar, pretending to leave. It was fairly crowded, so she knew that Steven wouldn't notice where she had went to. She walked up to the table, behind Danny. He didn't see her. He didn't hear her. He didn't sense her. She stared at his back for a moment: dirty blond hair--thin, red t-shirt, dark jeans, and a leather belt peeking through between them. She smiled to herself.

"Alone?"

Danny turned to look over his shoulder. It registered who she was in his mind and showed quite obviously over his handsome face. Ashley's smile broadened.

"Ashley DuGray. How are ya?" Danny asked, his words slurring a bit.

"I'm better... Thanks to you." Her voice was soft and Northern. A far cry from Lindsay Monroe.

"I just did my job," Danny answered.

Ashley nodded. She said nothing.

"You wanna sit?" Danny asked, his lids half closed as he stared up at her.

Ashley took his invitation and set down beside him. He smelled of cologne and beer. But it was a nice smell, not bad at all.

"You thirsty?" Danny asked.

"I don't drink."

"Riiiggghhht." Danny tipped his coffee mug back.

Ashley giggled as she pushed a piece of her coppery hair behind her ear. "Maybe a Coke."

"One Coke, then," Danny raised his arm to get the waiter's attention.

It was Tessa. She came to the table with a huge smile over her face. Obviously Flack had made her night. Danny gave her Ashley's order. Tessa jotted it down and headed back to the counter.

"I wanted to thank you for getting the guy who..."

Danny waved his hand. "No problem."

Ashley took that as a sign that he didn't want to talk about the case. All the better. She didn't feel much for talking about it herself. She stared down at the table top for a moment in silence.

"Wild night?"

Danny glanced about the table and took note of the beer that was there. "Not really."

"Drunk much?" Ashley continued, ignoring his modesty.

Danny chuckled under his breath. He glanced over at her. "Maybe just a little."

Ashley smiled back. Tessa set the Coke down before her, which stopped her from saying anything further. They both thanked the waitress, then watched as she went to her next customer.

"Enjoy that." Danny told her. "It's costin' me a dollar seventy-five."

Ashley grinned as she took a sip of her drink. "I'll savor every second of it. Promise."

...

Abby stared at the number in her hand for a moment.

She wanted to call him. She wanted to tell him that she was coming to New York. Let him know that it wouldn't be much longer until they got to see one another. But fear kept her from doing anything about it. She just couldn't bring herself to dial his number.

She was in a Hotel room--not because she wanted to be there, but because Horatio had made her stay there. The room was the size of her living room and she liked the view. But home was someplace else.

Abby turned from the phone and set back against the headboard. She held the small slip of paper the palm of her hand, reading the numbers over and over inside her head. She sighed. Just a few buttons needed to be pushed and the ringing would begin. Despite her fears, she decided to do it.

She reach over and took the phone up in her hand. She pushed the buttons nimbly, like a pro. She waited. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Click:

A chuckle. "How ya doin'? Danny Messer. Can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message, call ya back. Later."

Beep!

Abby held the phone--breathing into the receiver. She tried to speak, but nothing would come. She pushed the receiver down and lay her head back against the headboard with a sigh. She wanted to sleep and forget about everything. But she knew that sleep was still hours away.

...

Danny pushed Ashley against the wall.

He kissed her feverishly, wanting to ravish her right there in the hallway. But he knew that he had to maintain himself, and get her into his apartment. He pulled away and stepped over to his door. Ashley hung onto him from behind, kissing his neck as he unlocked the door.

Once inside the apartment, they resumed their dance. They kissed each other, hungrily. It was dark in the apartment and they were stumbling over everything in their path, but neither of them cared.

The answering machine clicked on. Danny's voice echoed through the main room, but he ignored it. Ashley wrestled away from his grasp.

"You think you aught to--"

Danny cut her off with a kiss. "It isn't work. They call me on my cell."

Ashley returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. She moved her lips over his cheek and onto his ear. She tugged at the lobe, nibbling. She leaned up and whispered in his ear something dirty. Danny chuckled as she spoke. He liked it when a girl talked dirty to him.

Danny held her close to his body, running his fingers over her silky smooth skin. She was twenty-one, sure, and she had been a key player in a murder investigation, but there was a definite attraction there. She had liked him from the first moment she had lay eyes on him and after talking to her for almost an hour at the bar, he had found himself liking her back. What was one night? He needed to have fun. Besides, she wasn't looking for a relationship any more than he was. It would be fine as long as Mac didn't find out.

He was a grown man. He could sleep with whoever he wanted to sleep with. Montana did not dictate his life. He liked women. And they liked him. Montana didn't want to be with him. She had no say in this. She was not his girlfriend and he would not feel bad for what he was about to do with this pretty, funny, smart girl.

Ashley interrupted his thoughts by tugging at his belt. He stopped her. She stared up at him, a little confused.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No. Let's go into the bedroom. I like the bedroom."

"Oh," Ashley smiled wickedly at him. He grinned back, his blue eyes flashing.

Ashley leaned over and kissed Danny once more--long and passionate. She pulled back, then, she reach out and took his hand in hers. He gripped her hand back, letting her be in control. She tugged him across the room, down the hallway, into the bedroom.

They needed each other.

Ashley needed some fun.

Danny needed to lose control.


alright, ya'll. tht's the end of Boulevard of Broken Dreams...but not the end of Abby Walker's journey. thank you for all the reviews & positive feedback. also, thank you for just reading it )