It was three days after they'd released Dani Reese from the hospital. Four days after Crews has wrested her from Roman Nevikov and Charlie Crews had a serious problem. He needed someone to talk to.
Ted was gone – to Spain - from the looks of his note, and although the reason was not entirely clear, Charlie was pretty certain it had to do with a girl - his father's fiancée Olivia to be precise. Normally, if he need to talk to someone he'd talk to Ted…or Reese. But this time Reese, well…Reese WAS the problem.
Crews tried not to examine his feelings, but he kept replaying the joy in his heart when Roman pulled her unharmed from the car. He wanted the feeling to be relief. Relief, that a friend was safe; but the flutter in his heart when she touched him was unmistakable. It was same way he'd felt on prom night with Jen; the same lightheadedness bordering on dizzy he'd felt the first time he's seen a sleek, fast, expensive car. In all the excitement of dispatching Roman he'd been able to push it out of his mind and in the days that followed Charlie tried hard to delude himself.
Then there was the hospital that night after she'd been sedated. He wasn't even sure Reese remembered, but the vulnerability she showed made Charlie Crews become fiercely protective, possessive of his little raven haired partner. She slept in his arms and it was one of the hardest thing he'd had to do in recent memory - to slide from under her warm sleeping body and slip quietly out of the hospital.
After her discharge from the hospital, Reese hadn't called, but he realized her mother was probably "mothering" and Tidwell – despite their unspoken exchange in the hospital, was not throwing in the towel. He was making himself indispensable to Dani's mother and even took a week off to be with Dani. This chaffed Charlie more than he cared to admit.
All the time Charlie spent in solitary made him very aware…and with awareness came certain wonderful things that no one else saw, but it also made it harder to hide from the harsh light of awareness turned inward. No matter how many times he repeated his mantra…."I am not attached to this…." It didn't come close to applying in this instance.
And so on day four, following their escape from Rayborn and Roman, Crews finally allowed himself to accept the fact that he loved Dani Reese.
He then tried desperately to rationalize it as paternal love, but he wasn't THAT old. He then decided if was fraternal, brotherly…until the dreams came. There was nothing brotherly about his dreams.
In them Dani was always wearing that white tank top, sometimes she was in the shower of that crack house, reaching for him. He knew it was not something he should be thinking about, but his subconscious refused to obey and no amount of meditation could erase Reese from his mind…or his dreams.
Crews hadn't seen Reese in over a week. Actually he hadn't seen her for several weeks because when she was at the FBI he didn't see her - but they talked a lot. This somehow seemed worse. He distinctly remembered the sound of her voice in the stairwell of the Coroner's office asking him if there was "still room in the car for her?" He never remembered Reese sounding so vulnerable and it concerned him. Of course, her being kidnapped occupied him so entirely that he had little time to consider that until now. Now he had nothing but time – and no one to talk to.
He considered calling Deepra, but thought this really wouldn't qualify as a service issue so he decided against it. Charlie considered how small his world of friends was. Bobby Stark was out of the question because with Bobby this would become a discussion of how "hot" Reese was and that really wouldn't help – with the dreams especially. Charlie did not need to be reminded of the curves and angles of Dani Reese, he envisioned more than he should.
He took some comfort in knowing Reese was home, safe and sound, being shadowed by Tidwell who was concerned she might vanish again. Charlie smiled as he envisioned how absolutely berserk Reese must be right now. She did not like being pampered or coddled. She deserved it, he thought, but she'd never tolerate it. Reese was probably climbing the walls…he was thinking when his phone rang… to his great surprise it was Dani Reese.
"Crews" he answered brightly.
"Crews" Reese hissed quietly. "You've got to get me out of here."
"Reese.." He spoke her name in a long sigh. "You are supposed to be resting and recuperating." He chided her.
"I AM rested" Reese said in an angry shouted whisper "and we need to talk" she added.
"Reese, I'm not sure Tidwell would like us…" he began.
"Tidwell is driving me nuts." Dani sighed.
"Are you sure? because you usually say I'm driving you nuts, but you're not nuts Reese. In fact you may be the most sane person I know – not that I now a lot of people…" He paused … "Guess I should know more….but like I told Seever, I've been away…" he continued.
"Crews" Reese snapped. But he could he the agitation in her voice ease with his superfluous ramblings. He knew she needed him to be – himself, her partner, not her protector or her lover, just Crews.
Reese listened as Charlie Crews rambled as only Crews could. She couldn't shake the feeling of him holding her, although she'd convinced herself she dreamed it.
Both were only half in the conversation, not there at all, locked in their own vague recall and imagined future. Charlie continued knowing that she needed the constancy to unwind and become familiar with them again. "Reese" he continued" did you know that it takes the average pineapple six weeks to ripen and only four days from being placed on your grocery store shelf. Think of it, six long weeks to mature, ripen become the perfect pineapple and then in just four days, four days….it can be on your kitchen table. This perfect blend of acidic and sweet, yellow as the sunshine and juicy goodness, God I love pineapple Reese" he wound down.
Crews had already walk to his car and begun driving to her as he spoke.
"Crews?" she interrupted more softly "are you coming or not?"
"I'm already on my way" he smiled into the phone. "Meet me at the park across the street from your place. Top of the stairs. Tell him you need to go for a run." Charlie said, knowing Tidwell was not likely to follow Dani on one of her punishing runs.
Twenty minutes later he was sitting behind the wheel, when Dani Reese emerged from the stone staircase and into the street. She hadn't wasted the opportunity to actually exercise. She looked good, Crews thought, adding "healthy" to his thoughts -to qualify it. He must remember not to think of Reese as a pretty girl and remember she was his partner.
She saw him up the street, sitting in the car with the windows down, wearing his trademark sienna shades and a smile. She nodded and slowed to a walk while removing her ear buds and smiling. Her hair was in a ponytail that bounced when she walked.
Charlie took a long look at her as she approached. She was wearing sneakers and black boy shorts – the kind that looked tight, but weren't and showed off both her legs and her ass. He was still okay, until he noticed her shirt was the white tank top from his dreams. That was when his heart began to beat like a jackhammer in his chest. His shirt felt tight and his car too warm. He got out, couldn't sit that close to her, he thought.
"Hey" she said in Reese's way of greeting. He'd meet women who would shriek and hug and fuss over you when they saw you in a restaurant or mall, but he'd given them all up for one of Reese's shy smiles and a simple "hey" from her.
"Crews?" she questioned, making Charlie realize he was still staring at her.
"Yeah, hi. You look good." He said, suddenly wanting to slap himself in the forehead.
"I feel good" Reese admitted, not at all understand the double entendre Charlie's brain made into that comment.
"Sooo, where would you like to go?" was all he could think to say. Silently, he cursed himself for putting them back in the car. But all he could think was does she think this is a weird as I do?
Dani eyed the car. Another exotic foreign job from the long list of ones he'd always wanted to drive, but could never afford before prison.
"Let's walk awhile, I'd hate to get that pretty car of yours all sweaty" she replied.
Geez, he thought is she saying these things on purpose as Charlie's mind hopped into the backseat of the car, figuring out if there was enough room to accommodate them.
"Crews? You here?" she questioned.
He shook his head to loosen the thoughts and refocus, but when he did she was closer and concerned. "I…what…yes…. Fine" he stammered. "Let's walk" he offered.
The walked into the quiet coolness and dappled sunlight that only old shade trees can provide and meandered along a wide path until they could no longer hear the noise of the street. The grasses and trees, damp with morning dew, shone in the sun like they were wearing jewels. They approached a black wrought iron bench with wooden slats warmed by the sun and sat down.
Nothing was said between them and Dani thought great, I told him we need to talk and then don't say anything. There were so many things she wanted to say, that she didn't know where to begin. Charlie knew Dani took time with her thoughts and was careful with how much she revealed. He wanted to be patient with her but also ached to touch her again.
She composed herself and turned to face him. You can do this she thought, it's just Crews. A slight breeze lifted a strand of hair across her face and she wiped it away returning her eyes to his, hidden behind the glow of his strange orange lens. Charlie couldn't speak because he was simply mesmerized by the sweat on her upper lip and in the hollow of her breast, which he had a good view of - given their height difference. She'd missed part of her hair, which still stuck to the side of her face.
Charlie didn't think, he simply moved - his hand to her cheek, gently brushing the strand of hair back and tucking it behind her tiny ear. To his great surprise, Dani neither batted his hand away nor move away from him, she blushed and it was then he realized he was not alone in this adventure, she felt it too. Electricity crackled through the air between them.
"Reese" he said softly, his voice filled the emotion of days that felt more like weeks without seeing her. He felt like he was really seeing her for the first time. She wasn't in shock from being held captive by Roman, she wasn't delirious from sedatives to help her sleep, she was there – now- in the beautiful sunshine, alive, healthy and her dark eyes looked right into his soul.
She wet her lips nervously and then the smile appeared, his smile, the one she showed no one else, not Tidwell, not those men in the bars, just him. Charlie Crews began to feel possessive and attached to something for the first time in many, many years. This is mine, he thought, I want this to be mine. I want her to want me, only me. I am so attached to this woman.
His heart was beating wildly, hammering in his chest. His mouth was dry and he felt like he'd swallow a mouth full of chalk. Her lips looked so inviting to him, like a cool drink of water to a man wandering in the desert. He leaned in closer to her, covering her with his shadow.
Dani didn't pull away when Crews touched her, she'd hoped for contact with him all morning. She had to know if what she'd felt in that orange grove a week ago was real. He'd made her faint just smiling. The urge to touch him was overwhelming then, as it was now. She closed her eyes and smiled. It was the same for him.
Charlie was quite close now, he could taste the saltiness of her sweat and feel the heat radiating off of her still energized body. She was so incredibly close and he felt drawn to her as he had no one ever before. Leaning closer still, he whispered her name across their lips like a prayer, before kissing her.
The sensation of kissing Crews was nothing like she imagined. He was tender and gentle, almost reverent in his approach. But when she didn't reject him, Crews became more fervent, sliding his hand to her throat pulling her close to him, under him. She was breathless and the release of emotion resulted in her moaning into his mouth. He growled an unintelligible response and reached for her with both hands.
A child's cry cut the air and they both froze remembering they were in a public park. Crews eyes were dark and his voice was low when he said "Come with me." It wasn't a request, it was a demand and he held her hand and drew her with him. They walked further into the park and departed the path into a small glen. Charlie took off his sweatshirt and laid it on the ground. He sat down and patted the shirt on the ground beside him. "Come're" he said.
Dani was standing looking down at him, dressed in jeans, and a white t-shirt, he looked long and lean. The sun highlighted the reds and blondes in his hair. The scars on his arm, the ones his long sleeved dress shirts hid so well were visible, but so were the freckles and reddish hairs there. She smiled at the way he seemed to be always two things at once; broken and whole, joyful and sad, gentle and dangerous. He was everything all at once, she realized. He was everything to her.
She sunk to her knees on his sweatshirt and looked down at him. This was the point of no return, she realized. This move was entirely hers – he made the first and this was going to be all her. He smiled at her, all white teeth and bright blue green eyes, the color of the sea. In that instant she made her decision, putting both hands in the middle of his chest, she pushed him to the ground and kissed him hard. She wanted to leave no doubt about what she wanted and how she felt.
Charlie ran his hands up her torso, along the ribbed white tank top from his dreams and hooked his hands under her arms and lifted her onto him. Dani set straddling him backlit by the sun. She looked like a Hindu goddess, Charlie thought. Dani smiled at him and murmured his name almost subconsciously "Crews", she breathed.
He placed his hands on either side of her face and pulled her to him, stopping her just short of his lips. Charlie stopped her with his hands and demanded her eyes, Dani was perplexed with this hesitation until he spoke. "Say my name" he said. She shook her head no.
Again Crews demanded "say my name, Dani". It was as if, without it, it wouldn't be real. They would still be Crews and Reese, not Charlie and Dani. He was asking to be inside her personal space, not just sex – intimacy. "Crews… she started.
"No, say my name Dani", he demanded. He wanted to kiss her, she could tell and she tried to close the gap. If she could just get past this, he would forget it. But Crews was not giving in and would not let her kiss him. He stopped her short and looked directly into her soul.
It was a power struggle. Dani was comfortable with meaningless sexual encounters and if the department's rumor mill was to be believed Crews did okay with the ladies. Part of her didn't want to let him make it personal, but Charlie wouldn't let her. He wanted more from her than anyone had ever asked. He wanted total commitment to them, not a dalliance. This was serious, this was a life choice, this was forever. It was all there in his eyes, they sparkled and danced with life. But deep within them she felt herself getting lost. "No, I'll get lost" she said defiantly.
"You'll be with me, Dani. Even lost I will never let anyone hurt you, even lost and wandering you'll be safe with me. I love you, Dani" and there it was.
She became impossibly still and returned his gaze. He was not trying to be dominant, but he was not going to be used. This was real to him and his eyes pleaded with her to be serious. She could see all the times he was betrayed, left and alone there. She found she could not look away and for the first time in her life, she felt comfortable surrendering to his demand.
He saw the choice in her eyes and let her approach. She stopped herself, just short of his lips and breathed his name onto his face. "Charlie" she breathed as she kissed him.