Title: Cowards
Rating: Strong T, for some strong language.
Pairing: Flack/Angell, Danny/Lindsay
Summary: "He allowed himself a moment, just a moment to allow himself to be with her, instead of fighting it. But it was a moment, nothing more." Jess gets a bump to the head, and Flack gets the big freeze. Not an altogether successful day.
Disclaimer: Nada. Don't own a sausage. Literally.

A/N: 5x12 this time. I skipped 'Forbidden Fruit' because I was in the school library and got told off for swearing at the screen thanks to a severe case of writers block. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that reviewed, and I'll do my best to keep updating regularly. Feel free to PM me if I'm slow ;) Also, on a tangent, here are some TV thoughts:

a) behind the times, but anyone GUTTED about Renee dying on 24?? I loved her!! But absolutely ADORE Annie Wersching - she's mental, but so cute.
b) Anyone see Chase TOTALLY check 13 out in 'Knight Fall' of House? I'm a C13 shipper!!
c) Tony, Ziva... Obsession... dude, she's into you! Reciprocate already, man!

Okay, I'm done. Honest. But this is for the REAL Jess, my bestest friend and possible future polititian...

"Angell." Mac spoke quickly over the phone, simmultaniously thumbing through the sheets of bloodwork a tech had handed him on the way past, trying to fathom out the chemicals in the victim's blood. Although he was more than adequate at keeping up with Sid and the other autopsy gremlins, sometimes trying to instruct a colleague and make sense of the ridiculously long names could be trying, to say the least.

"Yeah, Mac." the female detective replied tiredly.

Mac noted the defeat in her voice, and knew instantly tht it had nothing to do with the case. There was more chance of Flack becoming celibate than there was of Jessica Angell giving up on a case just because things got a little tricky. No, it just made her more determined and forceful. Something she'd told them jumped to the front of his mind;

We dod what we do because they can't do it themselves. We give them a voice, some justice.

No, this defeat was nothing to do with the case. And although Mac had a cardinal rule about getting involved about the personal lives of his staff (excluding Stella, and Danny or Lindsay since her was Godfather to their child) he'd made a single promise to Cliff Angell when the friendly Detective Sergent had informed him that his daughter was joining the NYPD; he would protect Jessica. And so he allowed himself to wonder. The rumours around the NYPD precincts - perticularly any where Martinez was stationed - raced faster than Usain Bolt on rocket fuel, so he was well aware of the scuttlebutt regarding a certain two Detectives stationed a the 12th Precinct, and wondered what Flack had done this time.

He knew that Flack refused to date anyone who worked within, with or anywhere near the NYPD, partly out of self-preservation, partly out of fear of screwing things up... his track record with women was less than exemplary. To be perfectly honest, the guy moved through women at the rate of knots, so it was only fair that he kept a certain level of professionalism with any woman he worked with, again excluding Lindsay and Stella. With Lindsay, thy teased each other mercilessly, yet Mac knew the younger man would go to the ends of the earth to portect his best friend's wife, as well as her being his own confidant and moral compass from time-to-time. And with Stella... the two were as unprofessional as possible. They went out of their way to tease, taunt and irritate each other, all the while remaining good friends and mischeif makers.

But with Angell... there was definatley the potential for things to turn in another direction altogether, as he knew for a fact that Flack thought she was attractive (in his words, 'sexy as hell'), charming ('face like an angel, an' she knows how to use it'), intelligent ('a goddamn wiseass') and professional ('if I'm not careful, they'll demote me and give her my job!'). That, combined with her ability to both drink him under the table and outsmart/outsnark him at any given oppertunity, Mac knew there was a very good chance that Flack could fall head over heels in love with her. The situation was, to quote his Marine Sergent, a total SNAFU.

"Mac?" she prompted down the phone line.

"Yeah... could you grab Flack, and pull Trey Fegar in for questioning?" he replied, not allowing his thoughts to cloud his tone.

"Yes." She replied curtly, confirming his concerns. Flack had done something, alright. Though God only knew what.

"Don." Jess called, pulling her jacket on, her face completely neutral.

Flack glanced up, surprised she was using his first name. She'd not spoken to him whatsoever since the incident at her apartment, so to hear her call him by the name she used to, when they were alone made him smile involuntarialy. "Yeah?"

"Mac called. We need to pull Trey Fegar in for questioning," she replied quickly as she clipped her holster onto the waistband of her jeans. He tried desperately to ignore the way the hem of her shirt rode up an inch, exposing the smooth, soft skin of her him and abdomen, almost pleading with him to touch. But no, he had some control. Besides, he was mad at her.

Because she'd made the decision, long ago. She probably didn't even remember.

"What, you've never dated a co-worker?" Flack asked incredulously, swigging his beer.

Angell laughed, pushing her curly hair away from her face. "No, Don. I like to stay professional."

He studied her, the strange temp-turned-permanant cop transferred to his unit, with the pointy boots and badass-attitude. Was she really as poker-straight as she seemed? God knows she didn't cut corners, or break rules. But... bend the unimportant ones? Nothing wrong with that, surely. "Not even the cute guy in the store you worked in when you were fifteen? Never sneakily made out with him in the back room when the boss wasn't looking?" he teased, leaning closer.

She smirked at him. "Not even the cute one who thought he was irrisistable." came the immeadiate response. "No. I'll never date a co-worker, not even if I really liked him. It's just... one of my rules."

He'd come to realise she had many rules.

Don't make fun of her boots

Don't mess up her desk

Don't adjust the settings of her seat

Don't smoke around her

Don't challenge her to a drinking contest. You'd lose.

He could feel the anger bubbling in his veins, in much the same way as it had at her apartment. He was mad at her. She was blaming him for trying to protect her, personally and professionally. She could pretend to be as tough as he liked, but it didn't change the fact that if she dated him in any capacity, she would get hurt, one way or another. She was being selfish expecting him to be able to live with that.

"Sure. Subway?" He pulled out his own weapon, struggling with the clip. It'd been giving him trouble, and now the safety catch was caught on his belt. He sighed in frustration.

"Yeah." she watched him for a moment, before stepping closer. "C'mere." Jess adjusted the holster with ease, allowing it to sit flat against his hip. Her fingers skimmed against his waist, her eyes adamantly avoiding his.

"Thanks," he murmured, fighting with every ounce of self-control he posessed. The close proximity of her face to his, the simplest movement it would take to simply close the gap, admit defeat...

But in a second, she'd moved away, heading out of the squadroom, car keys in hand. He followed her immeadiatley, hating himself for what he was doing.

"That's him." Jess pointed towards a small man with long brown hair, strumming his guitar with a look akin to that of a stoned guy. Flack nodded, taking his hands out of his pocket. Although the chances of a confrontation were slim, he was going to be prepared. He needed to be prepared.

He glanced up as the pair approached, slapping his hand against the front of the guitar, grinning at Jess. "Detective Hendrix..."

Jess was having none of his shinanigans. "Trey Fegar, you're under arrest-"

She was unable to finish the arrest as he tossed his guitar off, throwing it at her partner. They sprinted after him, and Jess cursed her choice in footwear, wishing to God that some time soon she could just learn to love sneakers of some sort. The crowds were a problem for them - it was nearly rush hour, so people were milling around left, right and centre thanks to New York timing, so trying to manouver through the throng of people proved to be less than simple.

"Move!" Flack yelled, forcing onlookers out of the way as Jess sprinted through the gap behind him. Trey headed for the subway train, pushing a woman over as he went. Jess skidded, slamming into the said of the car, her head smacking against the metal. The shockwave ran through her body, sending a shudder through her nerves. Her head throbbed, but she stood up, her legs aching with the effort and ran on, in time to see Flack take Trey down. He lept off the platform, throwing one arm out in midair and tackling Fager, knocking him against the stone chippings on the track. Her heart thumped furiously as she watched them in shock, almost losing her balance and falling herself. Relief flooded over her as they both landed, nothing seeming to be broken.

"You stupid idiot!" she glared at him. "Isn't that redundant?"

"Not with this guy!" Came the short response.

Jess wasn't totally sure why she was so pissed off about the way Flack had tackled Fager. It wasn't that she wanted the glory; she'd long-since earnt her jockstrap, and she liked this coat, didn't want to get it ruined doing an unecessary tackle. It shouldn't have been that she was concerned for Flack in anything other than a professional sense - he was her partner, sure so it was important that he was healthy in order to watch her back, but she shouldn't care for him, want him to be safe...

But she knew in her heart that she still cared. He had lead her on, made her care, broken her heart and she still cared. She wanted nothing more than to make him see, see what he'd done to her, see how she couldn't look at another man without immeadiatley comparing him to Flack, seeing how much she preferred her partner, effectively killing her love life. He'd let her believe that they had a chance. He'd kissed her. She was mad at him!

So why did she care so much?

Jess rested her head in her hands, trying desperately to ignore the dull thudding rattling through her skull. Every movement ached. She didn't know that subway cars were made of such tough material, but evidently they were. A lump had already formed, and she immeadiatley regretted her decision to skip the pharmacy on her weekly shop - she'd initially made the incorrect presumption that she would avoid getting injured on the job, at least for a week. But Murphy's law had kicked in, and now she was pissed off and in pain.

All she wanted was to go home, curl up on the couch in front of the TV and watch old re-runs of Friends with a glass of wine. Instead, the reality that faced her was three hours of unpaid overtime finishing off case reports and DD5s regarding the entire, messed-up case which would undoubtedly make her headache a whole lot pen was sat on top of the untouched pile of forms, all awaiting her concemtration, which was, sad to say, lacking.

Her procrastination was cut short by the tingling sensation she got up the back of her neck when someone was watching her. She turned round to see Flack approach her, his face filled with concern. "Jess, you okay?"

"Well, my head hurts and I've got a pile of paperwork as big as you list of ex-girlfriends, but other than that I'm peachy." she shot back, irritably.

He let the jibe wash over him, his expression remaining in place. He'd suffered much worse in the past, and no doubt Jess would try step back up her game at some point to get back under his skin, but at the moment, she was tired. He wouldn't provoke her. "You should go home, get some rest."

She shook her head. "Can't. Too much to do."

He paused for a second. "Okay. Come to the lockerroom. Come on." He insisted, seeing her reluctance.

With a sigh, Jess stood up, following Flack through to the lockerroom. She stayed her distance, leaning against her locker as Flack opened his own. He rumaged around the clutter for a short while. Jess kept her locker stocked with various essentials; aspirin (usually), band-aids, pepto-bismal, mints, tampons, a fresh change of clothes, gym clothes, basic make-up and whatever else she might need at work. She knew Flack kept more or less the same (other than the make-up and tampons, thankfully) so he was probably looking for painkillers for her

She was trying to stay mad at him, to remind herself of why she was so damn angry. He'd led her on, then broken her heart. That was reason enough. But slowly, se could feel the anger dissolving, she could feel the flutter in her chest as Don leaned over, handing her two pills with a slight smile. She swallowed them dry, having had a little too much experience with the drug to require a drink.

"C'mere." Flack touched her head gently. She flinched, but stayed still. His hands brushed gently over her scalp, his fingers sweeping her hair away. She relaxed at his touch, allowing herself to close her eyes for a spell. It reminded her of when he kissed her. Although the sensation on his lips on hers, the way his eyes bored through her own, the intensity of the moment were all vivid memories, the thing which she could feel the most was the way his hand looped around the back of her neck, his fingertips threading through her hair to rake lightly against her scalp, squeezing gently. It was intimate in a non-intentional, non-conventional way.

"Doesn't look too bad... it's a bit swollen, but nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." he murmured, his chest close to her face.

Jess jerked back to reality, a sadness washing over her as she realised that the chance to be with Flack would have to be sacrificed if she wanted to keep her career. Her entire chest ached as she faced him with her jaw set, but he could see the fear and heartbreak in her eyes. She was trying to hide it, that much was clear. But suddenly, she reached up and kissed him gently on the lips. Hers were smooth and soft against his, her hands resting against him shirt front. He allowed himself a moment, just a moment to allow himself to be with her, instead of fighting it.

But it was a moment, nothing more.

He pushed her away gently. "Jess, we can't."

Tears began to form in her eyes as she battled with herself. "I know." she whispered, her heart aching. She turned, taking a shuddering breath before walking away, not wanting Don to see her heart break and her resolve crumble a little more.