A/N: This is a present day chapter. Well, sort of. Present in the fact that it's 2009. Just not May. In this, I changed the date of when Baby Messer was born, which will be May 6th, 2010 rather than '09. Jules' looks are based off of Julianne Hough. The 3/17/09 Rangers/Canadiens game was actually in Montreal, but we're changing that to NYC.
Disclaimer:I do not own CSI:NY or any of their characters. I do however my story idea, Anjuli Elisabeth Allegra Fallon, members of the Fallon family, and anyone or anything you do not recognize.
Thank You's: Mainly to BEG. Thanks for always being there to bounce ideas off of, mainly for this chapter. Always there for some good Carolina Hurricanes bashing, brainstorming, and Ryan Buell gossip J . A special thanks to the other reviewers: babygurl1944 and knightlight86.
The Chronicles.
xXx
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky - Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Callait
xXx
The Chronicles of Goals.
March 17th, 2009
"There's my birthday girl!" The voice echoed off of the glass walls of the thirty-fifth floor. A permanent smile was etched across Anjuli's lips as she stepped off of the elevator into her best friend's arms.
Lindsay Monroe slipped into Jules' life when the platinum blonde needed someone the most. Since arriving at the Crime Lab in 2003, things between her and Aiden Burn started the moment they met outside of Mac Taylor's office on their first day.
For lack of better words, the two hit it off. Jules already knew, and was dating, Flack, who brought his best friend, Danny Messer, into the fold. On any given night, the group could be found at Sullivan's, tossing back shots and beers like no one's business. There were even a few nights that Aiden and Jules would be seen on the bar singing to the jukebox.
When Aiden was killed at the hands of D.J. Pratt in May 2006, everything hit Anjuli at once. Even after the brunette was fired from the lab, they remained close. Friday nights were blocked off for a night out, either at Sully's or out to dinner. On occasion, they would be spotted maxing out credit cards on Fifth Avenue or at a salon having a "girls day".
Those in the team thought Danny took it the hardest. Jules, however, knew how to mask her emotions with a smile while clocked in. Once she was clocked out, life was a completely different story.
Three days after Aiden's death, and after the funeral, Jules locked herself in her apartment. Flack, being only three floors beneath her in the same apartment building, could not get through to her. Mac and Stella had yet to figure out how to deal with the blonde. Danny was too busy grieving on his own.
So that left the Bozeman native. While she had only known Anjuli for a few months, she felt the undying need to help the younger woman.
The following week, as Anjuli slowly crawled out of her shell and returned to work, Flack was caught in the middle of Dean Lessing's "demonstration", her life slowly seeped back into the darkness.
However, Lindsay Monroe took the reigns again, and became the only person who could coax the youngest member of the team to leave Flack's bedside, even if just for a few moments to get fresh air or something to eat or drink.
When Flack finally woke up, it was to his girlfriend's sleeping form. She sat in the chair next to the bed, with her head and shoulders resting on the mattress and her hand fixed inside of his. Lindsay had been the first call Anjuli made after spending a few minutes with the only man in her love life - ever.
Jules just beamed as she received hugs from her co-workers. Glancing over Jessica Angell, her second best friend's, shoulder, she saw balloons and decorations littering the break room.
Lindsay knew the smile on her friend's face wasn't just because it was her birthday. The honey blonde knew Flack's plan for the morning; breakfast in bed, and then some personal time for the two before they had to be at work. With a simple reminder that they had tickets for the New York Rangers game later that night.
In Lindsay's mind, Jules could never keep a straight face after a nice night - or morning - with her boyfriend. It was one of those small tidbits she learned about the platinum blonde over the two years they had known each other. If anyone said a thing to Jules about her sexual relationship with Flack, especially early in the morning, she would usually turn into a blushing school girl. That was until a witty comeback was spewed from her mouth.
With birthday wishes directed at the youngest team member, she caught a sight of Stella and Mac in the boss' office. A twinkle in her eye, a jump in her step, and her best friends on either arm, though Lindsay had to fight with Jules' purse, which Danny nicknamed "the monstrosity" due to its size and contents, the three headed towards Mac's office. Stella sat against the side of his desk as the former Marine relaxed in his leather chair.
Jules rapped her knuckles across the door, her smile still fully intact. She pulled the door open, and stuck her head in. "Happy Birthday, Mac!" she offered, followed by the two women with her.
"You too, Jules. Don't work yourself too hard today."
She chuckled and nodded. "No promises."
He smirked. "Just make sure you're out of here on time tonight. There's a detective downstairs who plans to take you to a hockey game for your birthday."
If possible, it seemed as if her smile widened. "Ain't I just a lucky girl?" the blonde with the vibrant blue eyes asked. Mac shooed the three girls from his office, all knowing exactly what they had to do for the day.
As they came to a stop outside of Lindsay and Jules' office, Jess gave each a hug and kisses to the cheek before bidding them adieu. Once inside the office, Jules placed her purse on the floor next to the office chair, and laid her eyes on the wrapped package on her desk.
Glancing up to her best friend, Lindsay couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "Linds, we went out on a girls day this weekend. You didn't have to do anything else."
"Nah," the country girl started with a shrug, "I didn't have to. I wanted to buy tickets for a game coming up, for me, you and Jessie, but I didn't really want to copy Flack," she explained.
With a raised eyebrow, Jules took the package, wrapped in metallic silver paper, which seemed totally impossible to open due to the large amount of tape on it, into her hands. "Can I shake it? Or is it an animal that I could possibly kill?"
Lindsay laughed. "Were you one of those kids that shook all their Christmas presents, until their parents finally admitted to buying them a pet?"
Innocently, she nodded. "Sort of." Montana's eyebrow raised into a perfect quizzical expression. "Took me three Christmases to get my first dog. Like my own dog. One that I didn't have to share with my brothers." Smiling to herself, she settled against her desk, holding the present between her hand and hip. "All the three of them wanted were boxers and pit bulls and the like. I just wanted a rescue dog. Specifically a retired NYPD dog."
"Did you get one?" Lindsay asked.
Jules shook her head. "I got a Shih-Tzu instead. Loved the dog, though. Caesar was my best friend growing up. With the exception of Donnie," she quickly added.
"C'mon, Jules! Open it!"
The blonde only smirked. "It's not another trip to Vegas, is it? 'Cause I got in a lot of trouble last time," Jules stated, biting on her lower lip.
"Nope. This," she said and pointed to the box, "Should keep you out of trouble with Detective Flack."
Jules offered a simple smile. The task of opening the gift, however was looking to be daunting. Lindsay had an affinity for wrapping presents in the toughest paper, with tons of clear plastic tape. And bows and ribbon.
Pulling her keys from her pocket, she began to slide a key between the paper and tape. Until Lindsay stole them from her. "Cheater!"
A few minutes later, when she finally made it through the layer of tape surrounding almost the entire box, she slid out a plain white box. "Linds, it's gorgeous. It's the most beautiful white box you've ever given me!" she gushed, a playful smile gracing her features. "My God, child, did you use enough fucking tape?" asked Jules.
Frustrated with the ungodly amount of tape even on the box, she continued to fight through with her nails - which she had gotten done over the weekend while out with Lindsay and Jess - to finally rid the box of the tape.
"You're a pain in my ass sometimes, Monroe."
"Sometimes?" came a voice from the open doorway? "More like eighty-five percent of the time," Danny Messer stated as he entered the room. "But we love her, right?"
Danny placed a hand to the small of Lindsay's back, enough to prove he was there, but little to not get in trouble for furthering a relationship while working. "Most of the time," Jules added, a laugh in her voice. "Except for when she buys stock in transparent tape!" Lindsay just blushed and urged her friend to continue opening the present with her hands.
Once finally open, Jules placed the box on her desk, and pulled out a New York Rangers sweatshirt, heather gray with navy blue writing, directly from the Alyssa Milano line. "You can't say I never listen to you!"
"Linds, you totally didn't have to do this!" Sliding the zip up hoodie on top of the box, she pulled her best friend into a tight hug. With a kiss to the cheek, she beamed. "It's not exactly the cheapest Rangers sweatshirt. Do you ever wonder why I always beg Donnie to buy it for me?" she asked, pink tint creeping into her cheeks.
"There's more," Lindsay stated, before being pinched in the side by Danny. "And it's all from the two of us. Danny can make up nicknames for people, but he can't for the life of him shop for birthday presents."
Reaching under the paper tissue left in the box, her fingertips fell over hockey jersey. "Nuh uh!" she exclaimed. "I thought by more, you meant just more tissue paper." For the comment, Lindsay whacked her on the arm.
Jules pulled out a blue jersey, with the Rangers logo on the front and complete with red and white stripes on the bottom and on either sleeve. "It's the right player, right?" Lindsay asked, all while secretly crossing her fingers. When making the purchase online, she couldn't remember if her best friend was the 'world's biggest fan' - Jules' exact words while talking about the player, of number seventeen or twenty-four. Things wouldn't have been so tough if Jules hadn't talked about the Rangers like a sports analyst, mainly between the two players.
Anjuli ran her manicured fingers over the number twenty-four on the sleeve and just beamed. When she held the jersey out to take it the last name 'Callahan' on the back, she placed it on her desk and hugged Lindsay again. "It's perfect. Thank you so much, Linds."
"And I just get shoved to the side," Danny said, before receiving a slap to the back of his head, from the blonde while she was still hugging his fiancée.
"Wise ass." When the two women separated, Jules gave the Staten Island native a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Happy?" He grinned and nodded. "Good. Now go do some work," she said, her smile bright on her lips.
Danny nodded and offered his fiancée a smile and a nod before leaving the office she shared with her best friend, who also happened the be his best friend's girlfriend.
"I'm gonna go put these in my locker," she said as she gathered the sweatshirt and jersey on one arm and picked up her purse with the other. "Thank you, again, Linds. I was totally content with wearing my practice jersey tonight," she added with a laugh. "I love them. Almost as much as I love you."
Lindsay pulled the younger blonde into her arms again. "Love you too, Ju-Ju," the Bozeman native replied, using her nickname for the Queens native. When the two first got close, Lindsay suggested making nicknames for each other. Jules, however, blew it off as a 'country thing' and went along with the idea to make her new friend happy. However, two years later, the nicknames were still in circulation.
"Lanney, if anyone's looking for me, I just went to the locker rooms." Lindsay nodded. 'Lanney' came mainly from Lindsay's middle name, Anne, with the first and last letter of her first name finishing it off.
xXx
"I am never eating that much, ever again!" Jules decided as she leaned back in the stool she was seated on in the break room. In front of her on the table was a half eaten second piece of birthday cake. She placed a hand to her stomach and let out a deep breath. "I'm stuffed."
"Happy Birthday, babe," Don whispered in her ear before placing a kiss to her temple. "And Mac, happy birthday to you, too." He offered the older man his hand.
With a smile, Mac shook Flack's hand. "Thanks, Don. And thanks for buying lunch, everyone."
There were nods in every direction of the break room. Mac slipped away from the table to toss out his trash before leaving the room. All eyes moved from Mac's form heading towards his office to the curly-headed brunette sitting next to his empty seat. "Stel, we all know something's goin' on. So just follow him." The Greek woman opened her mouth to protest, but Jules shook her head. "You two are terrible at hiding whatever it is that's going on between you two."
"And before you ask, we're happy for you," Lindsay added.
A wicked smile crossed Jules' face as she picked up her fork. "Just so you know, yeah, you'll have to have the 'talk' as well. If the four of us had to go through it, so do you," she said, pointing her fork at the older woman.
Stella just smiled and rolled her eyes before leaving the break room. "I, uh, have some, uh, stuff to do, y'know, in AV," Adam rambled off from his spot across from Anjuli. They had pulled two round tables together so everyone could eat together. Jules offered the tech a smile. "Happy Birthday, Jules."
"Thanks, Adam. I'll be in to join you in a few to go over those tapes," she added. He smirked and waved to the group before exiting. "And then there were six," the blonde said, referring to herself, Flack, Lindsay, Danny, Hawkes and Angell still being in the break room.
A chirping sound came from the cell phone in Flack's pocket. After checking the new text message he received, he kissed his girlfriend's head again before standing up from his chair. "Scagnetti got a location on our perp."
"A current location this time?"
Flack just smirked. "Yeah, Anj. A current location." He placed a hand to either shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you downstairs at 5:30, right?"
"On the dot," she responded. "I love you."
"I love you too, Anj," offered the detective. "Comin' Jess?" The female detective in question nodded before standing up.
After a hug and a kiss to the cheek, she whispered in Jules' ear, "And believe me, I want all the details tomorrow."
"Sounds good. Thanks for my necklace, Jessie." Angell just nodded and smiled before following Flack out of the break room. At the mention, Jules ran her fingers over the sterling silver Celtic knot, with a simple aquamarine stone in the center and shamrocks at each edge. "Well, I should probably go meet up with Adam in AV. Can't leave him alone with his machines for too long," she added with a laugh.
After cleaning most of the trash away, she covered up what was left over and slipped it into the refrigerator. She waved to Hawkes, Lindsay and Danny before following the path Adam took from the break room to the AV Lab.
xXx
"Nice jersey, detective," Flack commented as Anjuli arrived at his desk.
"A birthday present from my best friend," she responded, a smile crossing her face. "Let's go, Donnie. We have to run home first."
He just placed a hand to each of her arms and smiled. "I know, babe. Chill out."
She pursed her lips together and locked vibrant blue eyes on sea blue eyes. "Baby, I'm excited!"
Shaking his head at his girlfriend's behavior, he waited a moment for his computer screen to go black before tossing the remaining files in his drawer. After locking the compartment, he grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair and slipped it on. "Ready when you are, Anj."
The blonde beamed and started out of the bullpen. Don had stopped to remind a fellow officer of something when he heard his girlfriend's shriek. "Scags!" she yelled, causing all eyes in the area to be directed to her. When the older detective thrust a bag into her hands, she shrieked again. "God, I love my birthday! It's just like Christmas," she exclaimed before peeking inside. "Can I open it now? Or should I wait. Johnny, don't tell me you bought me something dirty. Y'know, my boyfriend wouldn't like it if you did."
"Neither would my wife," he replied, a smile on his face as he tried to climb out of her hug. Flack had met up with the two at the tail-end of Scagnetti's comment. When Don's eyebrow rose in confusion, his girlfriend only smirked and shrugged.
"It's a secret, Donnie," she stated, all while trying to be innocent and not laugh. "I mean, just 'cause Scags and I are having this hot and heavy love affair on the side doesn't mean I love you any less." Scagnetti pursed his lips together to hold in a smile or laugh. "Hell, he probably even bought me diamonds for my birthday. All I got from you was the most amazing seats at a New York Rangers game," she offered, finishing off with a wink to her boyfriend.
Flack nodded. "Speaking of which, we should get goin' babe." She grabbed his hand and twisted it so she could check his watch. "Just so you're aware, my wrist isn't supposed to bend like that."
She shrugged. "It's not supposed to, but it did, didn't it?" With a cute smile playing across her lips, she stepped closer to her boyfriend. Flack just watched her in amusement before reminding her of the time. Jules slipped a finger through his belt loop and turned back to face Scagnetti. "Daddy says it's time to go get ready for an amazing hockey game. I guess I gotta go."
Flack only rolled his eyes. The burly detective wrapped an arm around the petite blonde's shoulder and pulled her towards him. "Have fun tonight. Make sure the boys win."
"Please," she huffed. "I have never been to a game where they've lost. Ever!" she exclaimed. "Johnny, that's like twenty-nine years of going to games."
"You just turned thirty today," John reminded her.
She nodded. "My dad's been taking me since I was around a year old. He saves all the tickets, and I checked once, and since my very first game at the tender age of thirteen months, they have never lost."
"Well, keep the tradition going."
She grinned. "I'll try." With a kiss to the cheek, she backed away into her boyfriend's arms. "See you tomorrow, Johnny. And thanks for my present."
He nodded and shook Flack's hand. "Have fun tonight. Both of you." Flack nodded before taking Jules' hand and following her out of the building. Opting to take the long way to the underground parking lot, Jules tightened her grip on Don's hand.
"You're the best, you know that, Donnie?"
He turned to his girlfriend and offered a smile. Slipping his hand out of her grasp, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close and planted a kiss to the side of head. "What's the plan for when we get home?"
"I thought you were in charge of the plans tonight, Detective? This is your present for me," she replied as they reached the door to the parking garage.
He shrugged. "Wanted to make sure you didn't have anything in mind before we had to go."
She giggled as he pulled the door open for her to walk through first. "Well, I always have something in mind, but we don't really have time. It's already quarter of six, and you have to shower and stuff quickly, so there's like no time."
"You could take a shower with me," he offered.
Jules just rolled her vibrant blue eyes. "Yeah, I could," she replied, but shook her head. "We don't have time, Donnie. I want to get there for the pre-game shindig this time. Last time, when we got ready together, we were late."
Flack just smirked. They had opted that morning to take Jules' SUV, due mostly to the fact that Flack forgot to stop and get gas the night before. As he clicked off the alarm, he opened Jules' door for her before stepping around to the driver's side. Once they were both seated and the car was turned on to heat up, Jules leant over the center console and wrapped an arm around Flack's neck, turning him to face her.
When their lips touched, she moved her hand from the hairs at the base of his neck to his cheek. As they slowly pulled apart, Jules rested her forehead against his as he pecked her lips. "A thank you, in advance."
He smiled. "For what?"
"What I know will be the best birthday ever," she said, all while placing her other hand on the other side of his face and running her fingers over the dimple in his cheek. She pecked his nose and began to lean back in her seat, removing her hands from his face in the process. "C'mon, the sooner we get there, the better I can feel about my age when the sellers card me and say I don't look thirty at all."
"You don't look thirty, babe," he said as he pulled the vehicle out of the parking spot and out of the parking lot onto the street. "And I mean it. I can only imagine what people think when they see us together."
A giggle erupted from the passenger side. "Why? 'Cause I barely look old enough to drink and people can tell you're at least thirty. Damn cradle robber."
"Yep. Because fourteen months is that big of a difference."
She shrugged. "But as you just said, I don't look my age. People could think we're a lot farther away in age than fourteen months and two days."
"Wise ass." He winced as soon as the back of her hand collided with his arm. "The hell was that for?" he asked as he pulled the car to a red light. Glancing over at her, she just nibbled on her lower lip and shrugged. He placed a hand to the back of her head and ran his hand over her hair.
"Hey!" she exclaimed before pushing his hand away from her. "I don't have time to fix my hair when we get home."
He just pursed his lips and drove through the green light. "That's why man created baseball hats."
"For you, maybe. It's my birthday, baby. I wanna look cute," she said with a pout.
"Cute?" he asked, only to receive a nod from his girlfriend. "And you complain that you look too young."
Her face fell. "Donnie, you're not being helpful," she stated and crossed her arms over her chest as he pulled into the parking garage of their apartment building.
When Jules moved back to New York City from Concord New Hampshire, she began renting an apartment on the Upper West Side at the Archstone. After spending a year in her apartment with Don only a few floors below, the two decided to move in together. After knowing each other for pretty much their entire lives, and dating since Flack asked the blonde out when he was in eighth grade, and she was in seventh, living together was a whole new ballpark.
Flack had lived in the apartment on his own for roughly eight years, and through his tough work schedule, he never really took the time to decorate the apartment. When Jules moved in, the walls were still the same off-white that they were when a new tenant moved into the space. His furniture barely matched - a dark blue couch with a medium shade of green recliner took up residence in the living room. And then were moved to Craig's List and someone else's living room.
Since Anjuli moved into the apartment with him, not only was the space completely re-decorated, with matching furniture, and actual color on the walls, but he actually looked forward to coming home from a long shift. When the two lived in separate apartments, they spent quite a bit of time at Jules' apartment in comparison to his. But when the decision came to move in together, they decided on Flack's since he had lived in the building the longest.
Upon entering the apartment, Flack tossed his keys down on the table in the entryway. Jules stepped in behind him and practically pushed him in the direction of the bedroom and bathroom area. "I'm going, Anj."
"Well, not fast enough!" she replied before shutting the door and tossing the mail next to the keys on the table. "Hurry."
"We have plenty of time," he said, before turning around in between the closets in the entry and the kitchen. Flack placed a hand to either side of her stomach and kissed her forehead. "Just calm down, babe. It's only a ten minute drive."
"Without traffic," she replied. "And we're not driving there remember?" He nodded and stepped away from Anjuli and headed towards the bedroom. As much as he loved how organized his girlfriend could be, when she made him leave out the clothes he wanted to wear that night before they left for work that morning, he seriously wanted to ask what the point was. There was always the chance that he would change his mind about what he was going to wear. She claimed she wanted to have everything ready since they didn't have a whole lot of time between work and the game.
When he stepped back out and headed towards the bathroom, he met his girlfriend at the doorway. "Just calm down, babe. Everything will be fine." She smiled as he leant down towards her to peck her lips. "Go get ready. I'll be out in a few."
The blonde nodded before slipping past Flack in the doorway.
X
With a cup of beer in either hand, her oversized black purse resting on her left shoulder and herself decked out in New York Rangers gear, she followed Flack down to their seats. For her birthday, he bought two first row seats behind the Canadiens' goal, where the Rangers would shoot for two periods. A friend of his family owned the season tickets for close to fifteen years and sold them to Flack Junior for a very special reason.
As the National Anthem concluded and the starting line-ups were announced, it was game time. As Anjuli worked on a beer, hot dog and French fries, the game started. Next to her, Flack was almost done with his dinner, or the first helping of what would be their dinner, and halfway through the first beer of the night. "Did I tell you Monroe's actually watching the game tonight?" she asked, before taking a sip of her drink. "I told her we had front row seats, so she's practically watching for us."
Flack smirked. It was a wonder that Lindsay Monroe and Anjuli Fallon were as close of friends as they were. Lindsay was a country girl through and through. More focused on nature and her surroundings than sports like the younger blonde was. Anjuli was a city girl at heart, and it took her time in New Hampshire to realize that. Though Concord wasn't exactly the 'boondocks' as she called it, the city was no where as lively as New York City was.
Jules' life mainly revolved around hockey, whether playing it or watching the Rangers. It had become a tradition for the Flack and Fallon families to travel into the city to go to Rockefeller Center at least once a winter to go ice skating. Though all of their children had grown up, and most had started families, the tradition continued.
Three days after September 11th, when Anjuli came down from Concord to be with Don, the two started talking about the future. Anjuli was twenty-two and fresh out of college and just beginning her career, while Flack was twenty-three and was well into his career. Flack had just come back to his apartment from working in the rubble at the World Trade Centers, when over a home cooked dinner - Jules stocked him for food for at least a week when she had to head back to New Hampshire - he asked what she thought about for them and their future.
"Honestly, Donnie," she started, twirling her pasta on her fork before looking up at him across from her. "I wanna marry you. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life."
It was then, that for the first time since the calls went out that a plane had crashed into the WTC, that he smiled. To hear her confirm the things he had known since she left four years before. Granted, she visited at least two or three times a year, when she could. And he had taken a couple of weeks off to spend time with her in Concord, but neither had actually said how far they thought their junior high school relationship would go.
She had stayed with him for three weeks, until the beginning of October when she was told to either return to the CPD or find a new job. Three weeks after New Years 2003, she was back in his life - permanently. And she promised him that she wasn't going anywhere. It had been fourteen months between their conversations about marriage and babies, but it seemed as if no time had passed. When their families got together to go to Rockefeller Center, a few weeks later than usual, as Jules and Flack watched over her nephew, Killian, who at the time was just shy of nine months old, Flack had surprised her with telling her he wanted what their brothers had found.
Gregory Flack, Jr. had just gotten married six months before. And Brendan Fallon married his college sweetheart and had since welcomed their first child.
He told her he pictured them bringing their kids to the Center to learn how the 'trick of the trade'. Jules responded with an off-handed comment about teaching their kids to pick up perps somewhere other than an ice rink. He only shook his head and offered a smile.
"Anj, I'm talking about skating and hockey. Two of the things that really brought us together," he said as he took her glove-covered hand in his. "I'm talkin' about havin' a family and being able to carry on this tradition with our kids."
She wasn't sure if she was scared of how much he wanted a future for them, or scared that she knew she wanted the same thing.
Watching the players on the ice, she turned to face Flack who looked like a kid in a candy shop. His blue eyes piqued with interest due to the game. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, just enough of a sign to show he was there with her. That the only two things that mattered were the game and her.
Removing the red, white, and blue Rangers scarf from around her neck, she tied it on the side of her purse. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom. Want another beer while I'm gone?" she asked, all while trying to drown out the cheering due to an Andre Kotstitsyn penalty.
He nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out a twenty. He placed it in her hand before pecking her lips quickly. She grinned in his direction before slipping out of the aisle of seats.
Glancing to the clock on the HD screen in the center of the arena, he tried to map out what he had for time. The game had gone to a television commercial break, leading to the ice being cleaned up.
He turned to the people behind him, a couple who couldn't have been much older than himself and Jules. After introducing himself, he asked one of the biggest favors of his life. "I'm planning on proposing to my girlfriend at the end of the game. If I give you my camera close to the end, when she leaves again, 'cause I know she will, do you think you could get a picture or two for me?"
The woman, who he found out was named Victoria, agreed immediately. With a promise that even if Jules didn't leave her seat again, she could distract the younger woman enough for the Don to give the camera to her husband, Jeffery.
When Jules returned, two beers in hand and a pretzel dangling from her fingers, she handed Don his drink before starting on her treat. With her beer by her feet, she peeled off a piece of the pretzel and fed it to Flack. All the while, he just shook his head at his girlfriend's actions, even though he accepted the food. "So how long have you two been together?"
The question from Victoria startled Jules. Planting a smile on her face, she turned to the redhead behind her. "Honestly? Seventeen years," she replied before popping a piece of pretzel into her own mouth. "Our parents 'introduced' us when I was only thirteen days old," the blonde said, a laugh escaping her mouth.
"You can't be that old, though."
Jules just smirked at Flack. "It's my thirtieth birthday today."
"So, you two have been together since you were in junior high?" The blonde nodded. "How has that worked out?"
Anjuli only shrugged. "I moved to New Hampshire for a while to go to college, but we were pretty much still together while I was gone. Other than those six years, 'cause I stayed up there for almost two years after graduation, we've only broken up one time."
"And we thought five years together was difficult," Victoria added.
Jules just smiled. She offered her hand to the older woman, "Anjuli Fallon."
Victoria smiled and shook Anjuli's hand. "Victoria Thomas."
With the game back underway, Flack tore his girlfriend's attention from her new friend back to the action in front of them. He also rolled his eyes when she cheered extra loud when Ryan Callahan appeared behind the net right in front of them.
No matter how long she had played for, and the amount of blood, sweat and tears she gave the game, at heart she was a true Rangers fan girl. At home, the second bedroom of their apartment was turned into a home office which boasted all of their Rangers memorabilia. No matter how much she tried to tone down her tom-boy persona, Jules' most prized possession was a signed Mark Messier jersey from the 2004 season.
Since his very first game as a Ranger, and as their captain, in 1991, she had been obsessed with every stat and fact she could read about him. From his time with the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks to his glorious return to Broadway in 2000, she received a Messier jersey every year for Christmas.
When word went out that number eleven would have his number retired and raised to the roof at Madison Square Garden, Flack bought tickets from the family friend responsible for tonight's game, so his girlfriend could be front row to see her idol for the last time. Flack couldn't wait for Christmas morning for her to open the box containing the tickets and the description of why that game was so important.
As he explained it, she placed a hand to her hip and raised her eyebrow. "Donnie, of course I already knew that!" she exclaimed before beaming and thanking her amazing boyfriend in several different ways before they had to meet their parents for brunch. "My boy's havin' his number retired!"
She always referred to Messier as 'her boy'. Flack would tease her about the eighteen year age gap between her and the famed hockey player, to which she would respond with, "Yeah, and your point is what?"
The present Rangers team brought two new 'boys' for the blonde; Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. Angell, her Rangers partner in crime, would joke about her being a 'cougar' and going after the twenty-four and twenty-three year olds. But then Jules would explain that both made over six hundred thousand dollars per year and things were settled.
Jules glanced at the man sitting next to her in the Henrique Lundqvist jersey and smiled to herself. He was one of those fans that would encourage the team from the sidelines, though most of the language spewing from the detective was hardly rated PG.
With her hand resting on his knee, she took a moment to double check the score and time. Due to her experience at hockey games, Jules kept her drink far beneath her seat. She never knew when the home team would score and she'd have to jump from her seat to cheer or when she would be startled by a check into the glass in front of her. Even after twenty-nine years of going to games, the sound of bodies on glass was one of her least favorites, probably because she was injured by a check like those in professional hockey. Men's professional hockey, that is.
As the clock ticked around the nine minutes remaining mark, she jumped to her feet as Ryan Callahan scored at the opposite end of the ice from their seats, bringing the Rangers to lead three to two.
After the excitement died down, a Montreal goal tied it up almost four minutes later. With no more scoring in the third period, Jules rushed off to the bathroom - and to get another beer - before Overtime, giving Flack ample time to hand off the camera.
A non-eventful overtime period led to a shootout. As Madison Square Garden rose to its collective feet to cheer the 4-3 Shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens - by a score of three shoot out goals to two - Flack and Jules celebrated with a kiss. Jules' view left Flack's face to cheer along with the rest of the Blueshirts in attendance.
Flack nodded to Jeffrey and Victoria before placing his chin to Jules' shoulder. He whispered softly in her ear, "Marry me," and that was enough for her to turn her attention back to him, her expression showing complete surprise.
Her hand quickly covered her mouth as she searched Flack's sea colored eyes for an answer to her shock. When a nervous smile crossed his face, a tear escaped Jules' eye. "Really?" she asked, a near whisper, causing Flack to have to read her lips for the most part. He nodded and slipped his hand into his pants pocket, the pocket kept farthest away from the blonde all night.
The black velvet box in his hand gave her all the truth she needed. When it was opened to reveal a platinum setting with pave set diamonds surrounding a half carat cushion cut diamond, she swallowed the lump of emotion rising in her throat. "Marry me, Jules?"
No three words could have sounded any more perfect to her ears. Knowing how Flack worked, she had expected a lot less from him when it came time to propose. She expected it to be while watching the news on the couch in their apartment or while at a deli on lunch break.
Never in her wildest dreams did she actually expect for him to propose with over eighteen thousand people surrounding them. "Anj?" he asked, afraid that he wouldn't get a response.
"Of course," she responded, the butterflies in her stomach soaring at top speed. As he plucked the ring out of the box, she finally noticed photos being taken from the row behind them. Her face broke out into a huge smile as Don slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. "I love you," she whispered against his lips.
"Always, Jules. It's gonna be me and you forever," the detective whispered in her ear. She slipped a finger under his hockey jersey and through his belt loop.
As congratulations were passed around from people sitting around them, and mainly from the Thomas' behind them, Jules could not wipe the grin off her face. "We're getting married, baby." She couldn't believe it. And she couldn't have planned her thirtieth birthday being any better than Detective Don Flack, Jr. had made it.
From breakfast in bed, which sat untouched on the bedside table while he offered a better first birthday gift bright and early in the morning, to the perfect culmination, she realized how completely and wholly she was in love with the man of her dreams.
Not too long after, as people began to file out of their seats, Jules yelled at the top of her lungs, "I'm getting married!" only to receive cheers and hollers from people she had never even met.
But nothing they said or did compared to the blue eyed man who had been in her life for ten thousand, nine hundred and forty-five days.
xXx
A/N2: Photo of the ring as my avatar :)