Shopping, Barbie in Bondage & Fruit
Charlie had once again been sent on a mission outside his comfort zone and perhaps his ability level. He was a skilled marksman, an attentive cop, a dutiful partner, and training to be a Zen master - but shopping for clothing for a five year old girl, flummoxed him. He stood in the midst of several aisles of what appeared to be dolls clothes and stared. How will I know what fits? What color? Dresses? Shorts? Pants?
Just when Charlie thought his Zen had failed him and his head might explode, a sales lady sensed his distress and came to his rescue.
"Sir…you look a bit lost…did you lose your wife?" She asked meekly.
"Oh, I don't have a wife." He smiled in greeting.
"But you have children?" the woman inquired.
"No. But I need to buy some children's... little girl's clothes" Charlie stated. Great now she probably thinks I'm a pervert, Charlie thought having the urge (for the second time that day) to slap himself in the forehead. "My partner and I have this little girl and she needs some clothes."
"Oh…" the woman blushed. "May I ask - are your partner and your little girl here?"
"Nope, they're at home" Charlie said.
"Well, how old is your daughter?" the woman tried helpfully.
Charlie stood staring, realizing he really had no idea. His head cocked to the side, he narrowed his eyes and began guessing "4, 5-ish, maybe 6, could be 7?"
The woman tried to get a little more information. "Perhaps you could call your partner and ask him how old the child is".
"Him?" Charlie looked at her strangely.
"I'm sorry, you said….partner….aren't you gay?" she asked.
"No" Charlie stood all of his six foot one inches tall and proclaimed in a slightly deeper voice "I most certainly am not." Maybe I should call Reese he thought. He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial.
"What is it Crews?" Dani whispered into the phone trying not to wake the girl who was curled under a duvet in the middle of Charlie's enormous bed.
"How old is…." Charlie paused knowing the saleswoman was now convinced he was a pedophile "…that little girl?" Trying to speak softly enough that the sales lady wouldn't think they'd abducted someone's kid.
"How am I supposed to know that Crews?" Reese said sharply "She isn't exactly Chatty Kathy, ya know?"
"Reese..." Charlie implored "help me out here, I have no idea what to buy or what sizes…There's so much stuff here…too much stuff really….it's cluttered and I like to lead an uncluttered life, Reese" he rambled, hearing himself beginning to whine, Charlie stopped abruptly.
Sighing, she calmed down realizing Charlie rambled when he was nervous. "Charlie…" she said softly capturing his attention. She could hear him listening to her through the phone and imagine the look on his face as he stood there in the midst of all that "stuff". "Find a salesperson. Tell them you need a couple pairs of pants or shorts, a couple t-shirts and some underwear for a little girl about 5 years old… who is….say 34-36" tall and weighs about 40 pounds, ok?"
She heard the breath ease out of his body as she delivered the answer to his dilemma and then the phone snap shut as he terminated the call. Funny how our conversations never seem to end - no one says goodbye - we just stop talking. When they were first partnered together, Dani used to hang up on Charlie - a lot - and then it became something of a thing with them that she rarely noticed but other people remarked about. It didn't strike her as particularly rude, the two of them just seemed to know when a conversation was over and didn't waste time saying good bye to someone they were going to see again, and again, and again.
Just then her phone rang again and she answered it without looking "What is it now Crews?" The phone was silent for a second, just long enough for to Dani to realize it was not Charlie Crews on the other end.
"Detective Reese" Tidwell began "you wanna tell me why the uniforms say my detectives cleared the scene over 90 minutes ago enroute to the station with a witness, yet here I stand in the station and I see – no detectives – no witness – huh?"
"Captain, I can explain" Reese began formally knowing this was going to be an argument.
"Dani where the hell are you?" Tidwell said much more softly. Softer than he intended, but he still loved her, even if she didn't love him back. "Where's Crews and why isn't he with you?"
"It's complicated….there was a kid in the scene. She was hiding under the bed and covered in blood, I know I shouldn't have taken off like that but the scene is secured and the dead guy isn't going anywhere. I just couldn't....she didn't need to be there...I had to get her out of that place" Reese could hear herself rambling but couldn't stop, she'd held back tears most of the day, but they were threatening to break through now and the strain in her voice was palpable.
"Why didn't you come here?" Tidwell asked. "You can come here, Dani. I won't call Child Services if that's what you think?"
"Really?" she said.
"Are you kidding? After the dog house I found myself in after that last thing, I learned my lesson…no way, the kid can stay at my house if you want, just come back to the station will ya?" Tidwell beckoned.
There were times when Dani really missed him. He was sweet and so nice to her, nicer than she thought she deserved. He truly cared about her and it was going to be so hard trying to explain to him that her heart belonged to Charlie Crews. He really deserves better she thought. She didn't want to inspire false hope in him, but also didn't want to lose him.
This was tougher than she'd ever imagined. Almost all her life she'd had no one. Then she had someone but it was over so fast, she almost thought she'd dreamed it. Now she had two men both of who loved her and in truth - both of whom she loved - in very different ways. It was too much some days.
"Crews will be back soon and I promise we'll bring her in then" she acquiesced.
"Ok, Detective you do that…." He said icily, which always happened when Crews crept into their conversations.
Dani sighed knowing this was not going to work itself out and she'd have to make a hard choice. She thought that simply refusing to sleep over would send Tidwell a message, but he was not giving up and was going to make her break it off, break his heart and that - Dani did not have the strength for right now. So they all stayed in limbo, like planets locked in gravitational orbit circling the same sun.
The two men were as different as the sun and the moon, Crews and Tidwell. Charlie Crews was pure sunshine, fiery orange hair, flecked with gold and blue eyes like the ocean. He was long and lean; his personality sparkled like the sun over the Pacific. Kevin Tidwell was like the cooler moon, with warm eyes and dressed down style, but still shiny and luminous in spots, shining his own, softer, less harsh light.
Crews was always there in the moment, alive, spirited even in dark moments he possessed a captured energy that electrified her. Kevin was smooth and subtle, painted her world in softer colors, but still beautiful ones. They were both far better than she felt she deserved and to have them both…well, it was ….draining right now.
Thankfully she heard the front door open and Charlie's whistling echoed through the house. She descended the stairs, unable to find the spirit to shush him. Stifling Crews was like trying to throw a blanket over the sun, ineffectual and a waste of time. He simply was - and that said everything to her. She smiled down at him and said coyly "what did you bring me?"
Charlie gulped at the sultry tone in her voice, looked into the bags he held and realized nothing in there was for her. Just then Reese smiled and he realized he was off the hook. The look of relief on his face must have been priceless because it caused her to truly smile at him for the first time all day. "Shopping is hell" he pronounced dropping the bags on the floor "I know they said "war was hell, but I think whoever said that has never been to a mall" he continued walking until he met her on the stairs.
"Crews?" she said quietly grabbing his attention and stopping his rant. "Shut up".
And he did because Dani Reese grabbed his lapels of his suit jacket and kissed him breathless. Her relative height deficit was allayed by the steps and this was a whole new position for them. She didn't tower over him, but rather was at his level and it was interesting to explore all the new places he could reach from this position -- down her back, his hands splayed over the tight jeans she'd changed into when they got home. He reached further down her leg and stroked the length of her thigh before stopping on her ass. He moaned into her mouth and they broke apart before they lost control, knowing there was still a very scared child upstairs.
Breathing heavily he held her against him, forehead to forehead and told her "gotta remember the stair thing…that's nice" before kissing her gently and taking her by the hand down to the bags of clothes he'd bought.
Dani took the bags to the kitchen and removed their contents on the marble island that served as the room's focal point; the self same one where Ted and Charlie did most of their research when tracking Kyle Hollis, which now seemed decades ago. She took the clothes out appraising his shopping performance and Charlie felt like he was being graded. There were two pairs of little leggings; one green, one orange; a small denim skirt, four shirts in various colors, some underwear, socks and a pair of green kids Crocs. In the last bag Dani opened she found a little cotton sun dress with daisies on it. She raised an eyebrow at him, earning her a sheepish admission "I liked the dress".
"Plus I got this" he said pulling a pink Barbie box from the floor.
"Crews….not all little girls like Barbies" she finally got to say out loud, sighing.
This had not occurred to Charlie and he considered it fiercely in that very Charlie like way where his eyes seemed switched off, looking but not seeing, turning over something in his head – something you couldn't see.
"Crews" she said "I'm sure she'll love it" causing him to smile again. "Now you just have to free her from bondage" she pronounced.
"What?" Crews said dumbfounded.
"It's the weirdest thing. Every Christmas when my dad would buy me a new Barbie it took almost a half an hour to cut the doll of the box. She is tied in there in like a sadist dream captured in cardboard. It's just not right." And then she turned to go up stairs and dress the child, leaving Charlie to free Barbie from her cardboard prison.
Crews was now curious and a curious Charlie Crews was a dangerous thing. He opened the box and slid the doll out. Sure enough Reese was right…she usually was, he thought. The little blonde doll was strapped to the box at her wrists, ankles, torso and even her hair was stitched down. What a disappointment to a kid. Give them a toy they couldn't play with – only look at – this simply wouldn't do.
Charlie flicked open his knife and began to cut, twist and remove all the bindings and ties. Finally, after a devoted ten minutes the doll was free and Charlie looked at the remains of the box and considered the exercise and what a metaphor it was for life. We all live in boxes, tied down and unable to move he thought.
About that time, Dani came down the stairs leading the little girl who was now clean, dry and wearing the little sundress with daisies on it and green Crocs with no socks. She looked beautiful and Charlie was transported to the future, not that he believed in the future, but there he was in it. Dani and him with their little girls, in their house and she was happy, they were happy, it was like a dream - only it seemed tantalizingly real.
"Crews?" Dani said unsteadily. He was looking at her like she was… what?
Then the little girl saw the doll and drew them both towards him. He knelt before them and held the stupid half naked doll up. Why don't they dress those things? Reese thought. Even Ken was sold in just his skivvies. It was downright weird Reese thought. But the child wanted the doll badly, she was still shyly clinging to Dani, but she wanted the doll. She wanted to be close to Charlie, but she was afraid. Just like me Dani thought.
Charlie held out the doll until the girl could reach it and then softly made a deal. "This doll is for you if - you can tell me your name" he asked the question with his eyes and the tilt of his head. The girl regarded him coolly and then decided there was not a downside to this deal and pronounced "Sarah".
Crews smiled his brightest smile and released the doll, saying "Hello Sarah. I'm Charlie."
Her eyes focused on the doll and her other hand still in Dani's, Sarah repeated quietly "You're Charlie". This was progress, she spoke. It took Rachel years to speak he thought.
Dani inclined her head and eyes expressing her obvious surprise and admiration.
Crews decided to press his advantage and while she was distracted, putting his hands around her waist and lifted her into the air. "Sarah, do you like pineapple?" he said swinging her back and forth in the air, making her giggle and Dani smile simultaneously. I can't lose here, Charlie thought.
He set Sarah on the counter reached into the fruit basket and pulled out a pineapple. "That's not pineapple" Sarah pronounced, causing both Charlie and Dani to look at her quizzically. "Pineapple comes in a blue can" she said with absolute confidence in her rightness; the kind that only comes from a child.
Joy is a strange emotion, one impossible to plan for - or project, but when it springs to life it is like a "jack in the box", scary and fun all at the same time. Suddenly, it is there, unplanned, boundless, but very fragile. The joy in that moment cut away cleanly the unimportant and inconsequential and left them nothing but hope and promise. Charlie and Dani locked eyes and smiled – both seeing into their shared future.