Special thanks to Phantom Flamer (sparkyCSI)

Chapter 2 – Secrets are revealed

Flack and Danny were at the locker room after their shift ended.

'So, how's that lady of yours?' Danny asked.

'We've gone out a few times to catch up, remember things …'

'It's hard to get her between your sheets, isn't it?' Danny smirked.

'It's not about that,' said Flack annoyed, 'she's pretty and everything but, I like being with her for other reasons.'

Danny raised his eyebrows.

'It's nice to have someone from your past return to your life, you know?' he paused, 'all those good and bad memories I thought forgotten come up in our conversations. It reminds us that what we were and what we did is part of who we are now.'

'It's even better if the person from your past is easy on the eyes.'

Flack rolled his eyes.

A week later Lily Stewart was in the precinct. She walked to a desk where a policeman was working.

'I'd like to file a complaint.'

He looked up and took a yellow sheet of paper and a pen from his desk.

'I need your name and address,' he said, boredom etched in his face.

'Lillian Helena Stewart, 1570 Broadway.'

'Who are you pressing charges against?'

She answered and the police officer kept asking questions in that 'I-couldn't-care-less-about-your-problem' tone.

Lily was really frustrated and angry. She depended on this officer to help her, to solve her problem once and for all and all she got was indifference. An idea struck her and being the hot-headed woman she was, she walked to the elevator and got in. She descended and after a quick 'inspection' walked confidently to one of the desks occupied by a detective.

'Hello,' she said while sitting in a chair opposite the man.

He looked up from the report he was writing and smiled.

'Hey, what are you doing here? Defending another one of our suspects?' he joked.

'Look, I'll cut straight to the chase; I need your help.'

'What happened?'

'Well, I'm a lawyer. Some people I've sent to jail have made threats. You know, the usual stuff,' she stopped for a moment and he nodded, 'and there was one guy that since he got out of prison has started harassing and stalking me as well.'

'Have you filed a complaint?' asked Flack automatically.

'This morning I've filed the 9th complaint in three months,' she said with a mix of fear, anxiety and nervousness.

'And the guy's still stalking you?'

'Yes.'

Lily sighed with frustration.

'What's his name?'

'Richard Dusby.'

'I'm afraid Don! Please do something to help me. He's insane, he'll … he'll kill me. Please help me!' she pleaded. 'He sometimes calls me late at night and follows me from the office. It's scary! I can barely sleep, I can barely go out, I think he will be waiting for me at every corner.'

'He's a stalker; he's trying to frighten you.' Flack said matter-of-factly, 'Apparently he's doing a good job,' he said acidly as an afterthought.

She fidgeted in her seat.

'Why come to me? I'm a homicide detective and as far as I know; you aren't dead.'

'Because I'm sick of this! I'm scared. I've filed complaints against this man and he keeps harassing me. And to top it all, the police officer who registered my complaint today dismissed it, said it was a misdemeanor, that I should go shopping and forget all about it,' she glared at him, 'I'm desperate, you're the only who can help me.'

Flack sighed and stayed silent for some time.

'Okay, give me half an hour. I'll check some things and I'll meet you in the café on the corner.'

She stood up, already composed and looked at him.

'Thanks.'

Half an hour later both Flack and Lily were seated in the café having some coffee.

Flack took a sip out of his mug, looked at her and finally decided to ask what was on his mind.

'Why didn't you tell me before?' he asked, a bit hurt.

'It's a tough situation and besides, I'm not the only one scared,' she paused for a minute deciding whether she would continue speaking or not, 'I … haven't dated a man for a year because they are frightened too, they don't want to get killed because of me.' She lowered her gaze, blushing a bit.

Flack muttered something that sounded like 'pussies'.

'Why didn't you tell me that you've filed 20 complaints over the last year?' he asked bewildered.

Lily didn't say a word.

'You told me today. We've been meeting for coffee or dinner for almost a month and you never mentioned it.' Flack didn't drop the subject.

'You're right. I should have told you that day after court,' she stopped for a second, 'I'm Lily Stewart; we were friends ten years ago. My life? I went to law school, I'm really close to becoming a partner in the firm where I work and, oh, there's a guy harassing me. That definitely was the right moment!' her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Flack felt the pang in his gut; she was doing it again. She was talking like the lawyer and not like the woman he was friends with.

He looked even more hurt than before and after seeing the pain in his eyes, Lily softened her tone.

'This isn't easy, you know? I try to keep a normal life, pretend that everything's okay. But it isn't. I feel weak and I hate myself.'

'Why do you hate yourself?' Flack asked puzzled.

'Because even if I'm pretty tough at court, I'm still a woman. If I were a man, this wouldn't be happening to me.'

'You've been really strong, handling this for more than a year on your own.'

'Yeah, I've been doing a really good job, I haven't panicked at all. What happened at the precinct was all acting, it's not like I've been desperate this last nine months …' there was her sarcasm kicking in again.

'You know what I was trying to say,' he gave her a stern look, 'stop being a smart ass.'

'I'm sorry, I'm too stressed. So … are you going to help me or just ground me and leave me without TV, dad?'

Flack shook his head but smiled anyway. Her aggressive tone was slipping away.

'This is what we'll do:' he said trying to get all her attention, 'you'll go to the office, when do you finish work?'

'At seven.'

'Okay, now you'll go to your office. You won't leave the building until I go and pick you up at seven, understood?'

She nodded.

'Good. Then we'll go to your apartment and you'll make your bags.'

'Where am I going to stay?' she asked worriedly.

'I'll see to that.'

'Thank you so much, Donny!'

'Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright.'

Lily stood up and left feeling relieved, she trusted him.

At seven o'clock Flack was waiting for her in his car. Lily got in and he asked for her address. They drove for ten minutes until they got to her place. They got on the elevator and descended on the fourth floor.

Lily opened the first lock and before opening the second one she looked to both sides, her face etched with fright. She opened the second lock and entered as fast as she could. While she was turning the lights on she ushered him into the living room.

'You shouldn't be scared, I'm here,' said Flack trying to calm her down.

'You can't get rid of fear so easily,' she said while starting to pack.

'How long am I going to stay out of this place?'

'Two months, maybe a bit more.'

Half an hour later, Lily had two suitcases and three boxes full of her things.

'I'm ready.'

'What have you got in there?' he asked surprised.

'Clothes, shoes, bags, great amount of books, CD's, jewellery, make up, that sort of thing …'

Flack stood up from the couch, sighed heavily and helped Lily with her things. Once in the car the young woman asked where he was taking her.

'To my apartment,' he answered.

She was nonplused for some minutes and then she spoke. 'Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to interfere with your life …'

'I thought it was the best way of keeping an eye on you. Besides, I wouldn't mind a feminine touch in the house,' he grinned.

She smiled back.

Don Flack opened the door of his apartment and let his new roommate in. He gave her a 'tour' of the place.

'That one is my favourite couch,' he said while pointing to a sofa, 'I'll only let you sit in it if you're a good girl and the Yankees aren't playing.'

She rolled her eyes and grinned. 'I'll keep that in mind, try not to be naughty.'

He smiled.

'Would you mind if I put some clothes in your closet? I don't want them to get creased.'

'Yeah, sure. There's plenty of space.'

Lily opened the door of his closet and gaped. Hanging there were three suits and two jackets.

'You only have three suits and two jackets?!' she asked.

'I have four suits: two for winter and two for summer.'

'But you go to work everyday with those.'

'How many should I have, then?' he asked nonchalantly.

'Well, I don't know. But I have at least six skirts per season to take to work.'

He rolled his eyes, 'You're a woman, you're supposed to care about those things.'

Lily shook her head.

The first dinner together as roommates Lily and Flack talked about their lives for the past ten years and their lives now. As they both had to wake up early, they decided to go to bed sooner than they wished.

'The sofa's already set so I'll go to sleep,' said Flack.

'I'm the one sleeping on the couch,' said Lily nonchalantly.

'No way, you're the lady.'

'I'm the intruder, so don't be silly; the couch is mine.'

'At least sleep on the bed this first night,' he said charmingly.

She shook her head.

'Please, just this night,' he gave her the puppy eyes.

'I'll oblige. But just for this night.'

'O.K. Good night.'

'Good night, Don,' said Lily as she headed to the bedroom.

A somewhat agitated night awaited.

Late at night Lily woke up from an awful nightmare where she was being chased and stabbed in the chest. To calm herself down, she decided to get a glass of water. Although she was drinking a glass of water, she wasn't feeling better; her hands were trembling. Due to her trembling, she dropped the glass. She knelt down to collect the shards still shuddering.

'Don't worry, I'll get 'em,' said Flack softly standing next to her, 'you get back to bed.'

'I'm, I'm sorry … I wasn't careful enough.'

'It's alright, now go to sleep,' he said in a sort of fatherly tone.

'I just had a nightmare, being foolish again,' she said sheepishly.

Looking up from where he was picking up the broken glass, he saw her trembling. Flack threw the shards into the wastebasket and put one of his arms round her shoulders. He took her to the bedroom and motioned to her to lie down. He lay down on the other side of the bed and with an arm round her waist pulling her closer to him as he muttered 'It's gonna be alright.'

Lily was the first one to fall asleep and then it was Flack's turn.

The alarm went off at six o'clock and both Lily and Flack grunted.

'We should probably be getting up,' said Lily without making any effort to do it.

'Yeah. How are you feeling?'

'Better, I guess … sorry for breaking that glass,' she apologised again.

'I didn't even like it, anyway!'

Lily smiled. She knew he'd said it to make her feel better and she appreciated it.

They got up and he went to have a shower while she dressed and went to the kitchen. Some minutes later, when Flack got out of the shower, he met with Lily's disapproval.

'There's nothing to have for breakfast. We seriously need to buy some food.'

'I'll buy you breakfast at a coffee shop nearby.'

'Lead the way …'

After having a quick breakfast Flack dropped Lily at her office and headed to the precinct. Both had a lot of work to do and wished they could have stayed in bed a little longer. They yearned for the softness of the sheets and the warmth of their roommate. But life was cruel and there was work to be done. For eleven hours they suppressed their need for that human warmth that both had been missing for some time, ever since their beds had been empty.

Well, here's the second chapter. Thanks for reading! Comments, suggestions, opinions and ideas are welcomed, so leave a review. Prepare for chapter 3:

Of calls and troubles

Where her life's in danger and the Crime Lab make its first appearance.

LaUrIsHa-just me