Here's the next bit! As usual, thank you to everyone who's been reading, please please review! This chapter took me a while to think of, which is why there has been a delay with it, and hopefully we're going to push the connection subject in the next chapter.. Thanks again, and please review!
"So how's our little friend doing?'' Flack asks me, taking a seat opposite me in the café across the street from the crime lab. This is our fifth coffee of the week, it only took us four weeks to get here, and now we seem to be on a roll of our fifth day in a row of meeting for coffee. And that's about it. We never have time to make it anything more, dinner? No. Anywhere that doesn't involve coffee? No. Food in any form? Ok, a yes to that, Flack is like an eating machine, he's already tucking into a pastry before I've had a chance to reply.
"I'm fine buddy,'' I reply, flicking Flack's earlobe, for some reason this is now my customary greeting for Flack now, just to let him know I'm here. He shakes his head is response to the flick, giving me a nod, well he's nodded to an empty space but I appreciate the gesture.
"Still here,'' I sigh, stirring my coffee, watching as Danny tries to steal bits of Flack's pastry off his plate, not a move I'd make, Flack gives the space where Danny is sitting a look to keep off as his pastry continues to move. "Apparently he's hungry.''
"Yeah, well he can get his own.'' He answers, smacking the plate as Danny makes another move for the food, only to create a lot of noise as his hand falls through Danny's causing the plate to jump noisily on the table, getting us many curious looks.
I laugh as a couple of surrounding customers give them odd looks, "ask him if he saw the game last night.''
"He wants to know if you saw the game?'' Holly asks, sounding slightly more tired than usual. I know that she's been putting in long hours at the lab, today however she looks like she's even more frustrated and tired than usual, I think everything is beginning to get on top of her.
He tilts his head to the side, giving me a concerned look as I rub my nose in tiredness. "What's up?'' He asks, ignoring Danny's question.
"Nothing,'' I answer, not really meeting his eyes.
"You're kinda a bad liar you know,'' he responses, dipping his head so that his eye line catches mine. "Look me in the eye and say that again.''
"It just feels like I don't stop anymore,'' I answer flicking some stray hairs off my face. "I think at one point I had a life, but since I moved here, I'm either at the lab, trying to help Danny or sleeping, even then I don't get much of that.'' I can't remember the last time I slept for more than six hours without being woken up with a phone call or something else. "I mean, we haven't even managed to get out of this place.'' I gesture to the café, "I just don't know what to do anymore.''
"You been bothering her Messer?'' Flack asks, looking to his left where Danny is nibbling on a bit of stolen pastry, I often wonder at what point the food disappears in his hands, because no-one has ever given me an odd look as food floats and then disappears, but I don't even have the energy to work it out.
"No!" Why is he blaming me, it's not my fault she's been getting the rubbish shift patterns, and been on-call all week is it? Ok, so I might have been slightly annoying recently, but does anyone think I'm happy with the situation? I'm frustrated more than her, she's still acknowledged by the world, I don't get to talk to who I want, when I want. I don't get to do what I want, I can't work, I'm stuck in constant limbo, sooner we find this connection the better.
"It's not Danny's fault,'' I say wearily, "he's just as frustrated as me.'' I notice the look on Danny's face; he's feeling it just as hard as I am.
"I know,'' Flack answers, taking my and in his, rubbing it soothingly with his thumb. "You have tonight off right?''
"I'm meant too be,'' this is very much in doubt with the way things are going recently, the new girl tag is firmly stuck around my neck, bad shifts, disgusting cases, and being on-call most of the time. I know that the lab is one person short, with Lindsay still being absent as well as Danny, and everyone is pitching in, only I'm still trying to impress new bosses, which means taking extra shifts when they're offered.
"Let me take care of that,'' he answers, as his pager begins to beep. "I'll pick you up at seven, Danny you can have my place to yourself.'' He adds as he leaves.
"Oh my god Flack…'' I breathed as I surveyed the scene. We had just stepped off a small ferry, on to the Statue of Liberty pier, light by hundreds of twinkle lights, a small table situated by the water.
"Don't get too excited, we do not leave the pier.'' Flack says as he takes my hand leading me too the table. "I called in a few favours, but this was as close as we can get, personally I wanted dinner in her head…but I can't eat where there's been a murder.''
I laugh lightly, I think everyone in the country has heard about the murder in the Statue of Liberty, it made a big enough stain on the face. "What's with the armed guards?'' I ask, noticing two men at the end of the pier with machine guns watching us.
"That is in case we try to steal the statue on our return journey,'' he laughs, taking my coat. "You know, if I shove it under my coat when we get back on the boat.''
"Obviously,'' I laugh. "Flack, I have to say I'm very impressed.'' I once again took in my surroundings.
"Well, I figured, how many New Yorkers have been to the Statue?'' he asks, handing me a glass of champagne. "And I wanted to make it special, seems like you deserve a treat.''
This wasn't what I'd been expecting when he said he'd sort out tonight, I was thinking movie? Dinner? Not dinner on the Statue of Liberty, thankfully I'd dressed up in a strapless black dress that flared slightly at the bottom, complimenting Flack's smart black suit.
"So Matthews, what to be impressed even more?'' Flack asks me, standing up and taking my hand after we've eaten, which he even had the security guards bring over heated up as well.
"Flack I don't think I could handle it.'' I smile, as he presses a button on a cd player, which begins to softly play Frank Sinatra's 'The Way You Look Tonight', he gently spins me round as we begin to dance. "You can dance as well?''
"I know, it's a curse I must say.'' He smiles, placing his hands on my waist drawing me closer. "It's a cross I'm willing bear though.'' I can feel his breathe tickling my skin on the side of my face.
"If this is what you do for a first date, what do you do for a second?'' I ask, as we continue to dance.
"So I get a second?'' He asks, rising his eyebrow. I smile in response, damn right he gets a second. Flack dips me with the music, bringing me back up so were practically nose to nose, there's about a second's pause as Flack looks directly into my eyes, it feels like he's looking into my soul, as he leans in and captures my lips with his. He kisses me softly, with just the right amount of passion. I think I've hit the jackpot; the guy can dance, romance and kiss. As I wrap my arms round his shoulders pulling him in closer so he can deepen the kiss, at that moment there's no-one else in the world but me, Flack and Frank Sinatra surrounded by the twinkling lights of the city.