Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers and to my beta sparkyCSI. I don't know what I would do without your sensible and practical observations.

Chapter 3 – Of calls and trouble

That night Flack picked her up at her office and they drove to a supermarket to buy groceries. Almost an hour later they were heading back to his car, their arms full with bags.

'I can't believe we spent all that money on food!' said Flack shocked.

'We had to buy lots of things because your cupboards were empty. Besides, you're spending the same amount of money that you did before, you'll just be eating healthy food for a change.'

Flack simply shook his head.

After they had gotten home Lily cooked dinner.

'Hope you still like your steak rare,' she said while placing a plate in front of Flack.

'Yeah,' he paused for a second, 'How did you know that?'

Lily laughed and blushed a bit. 'Well, back in high school a friend of mine had a crush on you. So she would come and tell the rest of us things about you; what you liked, disliked, etc. Guess I have a good memory.'

He threw her a sideways glance.

'Aren't you gonna eat?' Flack asked seeing as she didn't bring a plate for herself.

'It's still cooking.'

'Of course it is.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Lily raised her eyebrows.

'You're a sophisticated woman. You would die before eating raw meat,' he said and brought a big piece of steak to his mouth.

'I don't like taking chances when it's not necessary. And, for your information, meat is the only thing that I like overcooked.'

'Of course it is.'

She shot him a warning glare and stood up to get her overcooked steak out of the oven.

They finished their meal, washed the dishes, watched TV and went to bed.

Flack was talking to a detective. Now he was on the other side of the desk and hated every minute of it.

'You were very involved in this case, Detective Flack, why?' a young and somewhat cocky detective asked.

Flack glared at him and answered, 'Ms. Stewart is my friend.'

'That doesn't explain your involvement in the case,' the guy was enjoying this.

'She came to me for help.'

'Why go to a Homicide Detective?'

'Because conceited officers were too bigheaded to acknowledge her problem.'

'So you did some research?'

Flack nodded.

'What did you find out?'

'Richard Dusby was convicted in 2001 for domestic violence and served a five-year sentence,' Flack said reading the notes on his notebook.

'Why go after Ms. Stewart?'

'She was the wife's lawyer. The guy thinks it's her fault, wants revenge. Stalks her for a year and waits for the final blow.'

The younger detective nodded in understanding.

'She made 20 complaints in a year against him but the detective handling the case said there wasn't enough evidence to lock him up again,' finished Flack.

'So, what happened this morning?'

'Well …'

At four in the morning Lily's cell phone rang. She woke up and answered it while propping herself up on the couch. When the call ended she heard the bedroom door open.

'What happened?' asked a sleepy Flack.

'Sorry to wake you. It's a new client, he's in trouble and wants me to go to his house to help him,' she sighed.

'Okay,' he said and walked to the kitchen, 'I'll start with breakfast while you take a shower.'

She took some clothes and smiled.

'Thanks Don! You're the best,' she said as she ran to the bathroom.

Fifty minutes later both Flack and Lily were on their way to her new client's house.

'So I'll wait for you in the car and then drive you to the office,' he confirmed.

She nodded.

'It won't take long, I promise.'

When she got to the door she was told to come inside. She entered but didn't see anyone.

'Mr. Johnson, are you there?' Lily asked.

'I'm in the kitchen. It's the room to the right.'

She got to the kitchen and saw a short and somewhat fat man who had his back turned on her.

'Mr. Johnson, I'm Lillian Stewart, care to tell me what's the problem?' she put her briefcase on the floor next to the kitchen counter.

The man turned around.

'You are.'

Lily froze and gasped. She tried to get to the door but the man grabbed her arm. She struggled, scratching his face and arms in the process. They kicked Lily's briefcase while fighting, scattering its content over the floor.

'Finally! I've waited so long …' his eyes shone with malice.

She shoved him and was turning around to run away when he hit her squarely in the face, knocking her out. She fell near her briefcase.

'Now you'll see what Richard Dusby is capable of!'

She came round again and saw that Dusby was turned around looking for something. She was trying hard to find a way to escape when she saw it. Lily stretched her hand to where her cell phone lay and hit 4 in speed dial.

Outside, in his car, Flack was listening to the radio when his phone rang. He saw it was from Lily and answered it.

'Are you ready?'

No answer came.

Back in the house, Dusby had heard Flack's question.

'So you're trying to get help? It's not gonna work.'

Richard Dusby grabbed a butcher's knife from one of the drawers and told her to stand up.

'C'mon! Get up!'

He forced her to stand up, the knife almost touching the skin on her chest. Dusby heard a noise and looked up. Lily seized the opportunity and started running. He caught her almost immediately, getting hold of her pearl necklace with one hand and her wrist with the other one. He gripped the necklace with such strength that was almost strangling her. He pulled and the necklace broke sending pearls all over the floor. Then he made Lily face him.

'Ha, ha. Can't escape,' he was enjoying her fear.

Dusby's hand, the one holding the knife, went to her throat and descended to her chest. It got closer and closer to her skin, he lifted it and was about to strike when he heard a voice.

'NYPD, freeze! Put the knife down, turn around and put your hands in the back of your head!'

Dusby smirked and did as he was told. Flack proceeded to call for back up and then cuffed him.

Back up and an ambulance came right away. The officers took Dusby to the precinct while the paramedics focused on Lily.

'You coming with her to hospital, Detective?' asked one of the paramedics.

'No, I have something to do.'

Flack took his cell phone and made a call.

'Mac … need a team … yeah, I know … It's very important … as a favor … I need a team … okay, thanks.'

Twenty minutes later Mac, Lindsay and Danny were at the scene. When they got into the kitchen their jaws dropped.

'Somebody put up a fight!' were Danny's words after seeing the mess which they had to process. There were pearls and papers and some shards of glass on the floor and a few chairs were knocked over.

'I didn't want to leave before you came, so I'm going to the hospital now,' said Flack after telling them what had happened.

When Flack got to the hospital Lily was lying on a bed, already patched up.

'How are you feeling?' he asked softly while sitting on the chair next to the bed.

'Beaten up …' she smiled, 'Thanks.'

'It was why you came to me, wasn't it? I was doing my job,' he shrugged it off.

'Well, I appreciate my life very much, so what you did … I can't, can't thank you enough,' she said at the verge of tears.

'No need to cry, it's over,' tried Flack to console her, 'he won't hurt you again.'

He patted her hand awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Half an hour later there was a knock on the door and Lindsay came in.

'I'm here to take some pictures,' she explained to Lily, 'I'm sorry Flack, but you'll have to go.'

He stood up and silently left the room.

'I'm Detective Lindsay Monroe, by the way,' both women shook hands, 'So, I'll start with the bruise on your cheek and then the rest of the body.'

The following day, at five in the afternoon Lily was released and Flack went to pick her up.

'I say we go for a cup of coffee, do you feel up to it?' he asked her, 'If you're too tired, we can go home …'

'That would be nice,' she saw the puzzled look on his face and smiled, 'Going for coffee, I mean. I'm still a bit sedated, sorry.'

After coffee Flack drove her back to the apartment.

'Do you mind if I go to sleep? I'm tired,' she asked trying to stifle a yawn.

'Go. You need any help?'

Lily shook her head and walked slowly to the bedroom. She suddenly stopped, turned around and walked towards Flack. He gave her an inquisitive look.

'Need anything?'

'Just to thank you, you've done so much for me …' she struggled with the words coming out of her mouth so she decided to stop talking altogether.

Lily hugged him for a few seconds and then let go of him. She walked to the bedroom wondering why it had felt so wrong and uncomfortable to do it but put those thoughts aside as her head hit the pillow.

She woke up the next day with the smell of fresh coffee, put on her dressing gown and walked slowly to the kitchen. She sat on a stool and Flack gave her a mug full of the hot liquid.

'Good morning!' said Lily cheerfully.

He grunted in response.

'Didn't sleep well?' she asked sympathetically.

Flack shook his head.

She walked to the cupboard and took a jar of cookies. She left it on the table, between her and Flack and took one. They remained silent, sipping their mugs for a moment or two.

'You should eat one,' said Lily while gesturing the cookies, 'when I'm in a bad mood eating them makes me feel better.'

He took one and then another and another. It wasn't until the fourth cookie that he spoke the first full sentence that morning.

'Yeah, they are magical,' he said with the usual amount of sarcasm.

'See, you're already feeling better, being sarcastic and everything.'

He rolled his eyes at her sunny disposition and grabbed his gun and jacket.

'Going to work,' he said, 'I don't have the week off.'

'You should be thankful for that. I'm on medical leave and feeling like crap so it's not going to be a picnic.'

'Weren't you all so happy and cheerful today?' he asked a bit amused.

'You know I can't pretend to be cheerful for too long.'

'See you tonight,' he said and left the apartment.

'Bye,' she muttered to herself and finished her coffee.

Flack got to his apartment to find Lily engrossed in her laptop. She didn't realise he had arrived until he came from the bedroom, already changed.

'Oh, you're home. I'll go make dinner.'

'Make it for three. The Yankees are playing and Danny's coming over when he finishes his shift.'

She nodded and went to change. After some minutes she came out wearing some jeans, a red sweater, sneakers and a scarf which hid the awful bruise on her neck.

Dinner was almost ready when Danny arrived. They ate mostly in silence. The men moved to the couch in front of the TV and Lily washed the dishes. When she finished she sat in an armchair and lost herself in a book.

The game finished and the men started talking.

'So … Pride and Prejudice?' Danny asked Lily after seeing the cover of the book she was reading.

'One of my favourites.'

'I don't like it,' he said honestly, 'too much romance,' he pulled a face.

Lily laughed.

'That's the best part about it, you know? That despite their differences, they still fall in love.'

'It was obvious that they were going to marry, no surprise in that,' scoffed Flack.

'So you didn't like it either?' she asked Flack, who shook his head, 'The fun part is watching them change, interact with each other, form a relationship. They come from different backgrounds, they have different stories, different points of view. They clash in many things but at the end of the day, they just want love.'

Danny and Flack looked at each other and they were thinking the same thing: Women!

Thanks for reading! It makes me happy to hear from you. For comments, suggestions and ideas send a review. Brace yourselves for the next chapter:

Chapter 4 - Aftermath

Where things change. Where fights ensue.

LaUrIsHa-just me