A/N: Rather long but I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only own Scarlett Monroe!

Chapter 13: Out of Focus

"Detective Monroe," Scarlett said breathlessly, grabbing her phone before it went to voicemail. Lindsay's voice greeted her on the other line. Slightly disappointed, Scarlett slumped against the counter. She had been hoping it was Mac.

"Hey, Linds, what are you and Danny up to?" she asked.

"Guess you were expecting someone else? I'm just hanging out in Danny's apartment now. He went over to the lab to check up on things," Lindsay said and Scarlett could here her chewing.

"Ew, Linds, you know I hate when you do that," she said, making a face.

"Sorry, Lett," Lindsay paused for a few moments before continuing, "Danny made me the best pasta and I was just so hungry."

"Right, so I take it you too are getting along quite well."

She heard Lindsay laugh on the other line, "I know what you're thinking, Scarlett, and we're getting along just fine. As friends," she said, stressing the word friends.

"You know what Linds? You're just in denial," Scarlett said, stressing the word denial.

"Enough about me and Danny, how are you and Flack doing?" Lindsay asked curiously.

"Fine," Scarlett muttered, lowering her voice down a notch, "I need to tell you about the dream I had." Scarlett heard Flack walk into the kitchen so she quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, when Danny gets back from the lab call me back immediately. I mean, immediately."

"Sure thing," Lindsay said cheerfully and hung up on her cousin.

Scarlett dropped her phone back on Flack's counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "Danny went back to the lab to check up on things and Lindsay is going to call me if she hears any news."

Flack smiled at Scarlett and then said, "Good thing you found out he went. I have a feeling you'd be dragging me over there if you hadn't heard from anyone."

"You know me too well," Scarlett said and walked over to Flack's fridge. She pulled open the door and grabbed two more beers. She tossed them to Flack who opened one bottle using the other. He passed one back to Scarlett who clinked her beer with his. "Cheers," she said before taking a long sip.

An hour later, after a few more beers, Flack and Scarlett were lounging around on the couch. Slightly drunk, Scarlett grabbed the remote from Flack and sat clicking through the channels. She finally gave up and dropped the remote on the floor. She lay her head back, resting it on Flack's stomach. "Donnie, your ceiling," she said with a giggle, pointing her finger upwards.

Flack laughed, "What about it?"

"It's moving," she answered seriously.

"I think someone has had a little too much to drink," he said gently to Scarlett.

She sat up quickly, whipping him in the face with her hair. Her head was spinning so she laid back down immediately. "Maybe," she said with a chuckle. She curled up and rested her head on a pillow, closing her eyes. "Or maybe I'm just getting started," she said and let her hand drop off the couch to search for the beer she could have sworn she left there. Lindsay had never called her back but Scarlett was too concerned with finding her beer to be stressing over the case at the moment.

"Okay, Lett. Time for bed," Flack said, standing up and stretching himself out. They'd had about the same amount of beers except Scarlett and her tiny frame really couldn't hold their alcohol as well as Flack could. He lifted Scarlett up gently, which was easy since she was so little.

He carried her over to his bedroom, and placed her down on his bed. He was trying to get her to climb under the covers but gave up once she started protesting. "Goodnight, Donnie," she whispered lightly.

"Goodnight, Lett," he said. He was going to sleep on the couch tonight, although he really would have loved to curl up next to Scarlett. Flack was about to leave the room when Scarlett's voice stopped him.

"Donnie, aren't you gonna kiss me goodnight?" she asked, slurring her words a bit.

He hesitated slightly. There was absolutely no way he was going to take advantage of her when she was in this state. He moved towards her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. He felt Scarlett's hand on his cheek, trying to guide his face so that she could kiss him on the lips. He moved her hand gently and kissed her on the cheek, backing out of the room before anything else could happen.

Scarlett woke up the next morning with a headache. The sun was streaming in through the windows, hitting her right in the face. She groaned and covered her face with a pillow. She had a little hangover, nothing major, but she still felt awful. Why had she decided it was a good idea to get drunk? Probably to stop herself from worrying about the case. She slapped a hand on her face when she remembered her proposition to Flack. Aren't you gonna kiss me goodnight? Why are you so stupid, Scarlett, why?

She wandered into the kitchen where a shirtless Flack was already making coffee. Scarlett leaned against the counter and ran her hands through her messy hair. "I'm sorry for being an annoying drunk last night, Flack," she said bluntly.

"Goodmorning to you too, Lett," Flack said, trying to hold back a laugh. "Don't worry about it. I thought it was kind of cute that you wanted to kiss me."

Scarlet gave him a look, raising one eyebrow. She felt her face flush slightly. "No, I didn't mean to say that, I just - "

Flack winked at her, "You look cute when you blush, you know that?"

She turned away from him, feeling her face grow even hotter. "I hate you," she mumbled and fixed herself a cup of coffee with cream and two sugars. Damn him for making her feel even more uncomfortable. Technically, he hadn't done anything wrong but he didn't have to tease her about it.

Instead, she changed the subject, "Has Mac called you yet?" She suddenly remembered that Lindsay had forgotten to call her last night and she was anxious to know if there'd been any news.

Flack shook his head, "No, but Danny told me that you and Lindsay have the evening shift today. Mac was going to give you girls another day off but he figured it was useless since he knew you'd show up at the lab anyway."

"Smart man," she said, sipping on her coffee. "I need to run out and pick up a few things to wear since I can't get into my apartment. I'll probably take Lindsay with me so my bodyguard can have the morning to himself," she said, smirking at him.

He laughed and said, "In that case your bodyguard will see you later."

Scarlett smiled at him and went to go get her purse. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was some sort of awkward tension between them. Was this because of what I said last night? she thought to herself. No, that was nothing. Maybe Lindsay was right, maybe I do have to talk to Flack...eventually, she finally decided. She called out a quick goodbye to Flack who was still in the kitchen, and slipped out of his apartment and onto the busy city sidewalk.

Flack heard Scarlett leave and ran a hand through his hair. God, last night he'd been tempted to kiss her. But he knew that wasn't the best idea, given the circumstances. She'd been drunk and he would have been an idiot to take advantage of her. He shook his head, trying to figure out exactly what was going on between the two of them. He couldn't quite figure it out either. Now probably wasn't the best time to bring anything up since they were in the middle solving a dangerous case.

At that moment, Flack's phone rang jerking him back to the present. "Detective Flack," he said, his tone serious.

"Hey Don, it's Mac," Detective Taylor's voice said from the other line.

"Hey, Mac. Any news yet? Scarlett's been going stir crazy."

"Actually, yes and it's pretty serious."

"I'm listening," Flack said.

"The blood we found on Scarlett and Lindsay's apartment door matches the blood from our second Jane Doe so whoever killed her is likely after Scarlett. Is she with you?"

"No, she went out to meet Lindsay and then she'll probably head back to my apartment or over to the lab."

"Right, well I'll tell her myself when she gets here," Mac said and hung up the phone.

Flack stuffed his phone in his pocket, feeling restless and worried now that he'd let Scarlett out of his sight. He knew she was with Lindsay but he felt better when he could keep an eye on her himself.

A few hours later, Scarlett sat at a table in Starbucks, surrounded by shopping bags. Lindsay sat down across from her, placing their iced lattes on the table. Scarlett picked hers up and took a generous sip. "Mmm," she said, "This is delicious." Running around the city all morning had been exhausting and the girls still had a shift at the lab to look forward to. Scarlett had told Lindsay all about her dream, which Lindsay had found extremely amusing.

Scarlett placed her latte down in front of her, and rubbed her eyes gently. She'd thrown her hair up in a knot on top of her head and she wasn't wearing any makeup.

"You look like, well, you need some sleep," Lindsay said to her cousin.

"I look like crap, I know, I know," Scarlett muttered. "Don't make me feel any worse."

"Sorry," Lindsay said, shrugging apologetically.

"It's not your fault, Linds. It's this case and that message on our door. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel like I should be able to put the pieces together and figure out who is after me but I can't. I'm drawing a blank."

"Lett, you're gonna go nuts if you keep doing this to yourself. Mac and Stella are doing all they can and we just need to wait and see what happens. Besides, we'll be in the lab later on and then you can get your hands on the evidence," Lindsay said soothingly.

"Once again, I know you're right," Scarlett sighed, kicking her flats off and rubbing her aching feet.

"Something else is on your mind, isn't it?" Lindsay asked.

Scarlett nodded, "This situation with Flack. It's driving me crazy. I'm starting to think this may be why I'm not thinking clearly. Maybe I need to pull myself away from him so that I can solve this case with my head on straight."

Lindsay shook her head, "I really don't think that's the problem. I mean, don't push him away just because you're afraid of what could happen. You're just making excuses and you know it."

Scarlett threw her hands up, "I don't know. But I do know that if we don't get moving, we're gonna be late for our shift. I still need to shower and change. I'll meet you back at the lab?"

Lindsay nodded and smiled at her cousin, "See ya." Scarlett took off for Flack's apartment, shopping bags in hand, feeling just as confused and stressed out as before.