Title: Cowards
Rating: Strong T, for some strong language.
Pairing: Flack/Angell, Danny/Lindsay
Summary: "She'd probably called him from her boyfriend's bed. And that bothered him. The thought of some other guy's hands on her, running over her skin, his lips on hers... It made him feel physically sick." Flack has to deal with Jess having a new boyfriend. Not any easy task for anyone involved, especially with a sex trafficking ring to deal with as well.
Disclaimer: Nada. Don't own a sausage. Literally.

A/N: HEY! Okay, so after this chapter, I am ON HAITUS for 1 MONTH due to exams, etc. I won't be reading or writing fanfiction, or answering any PMs, so bear with me. Boy, I'm gonna miss it! Ah well. So, see you guys in about a month, 'kay? But still review. Cos I will check those!

Jess awoke slowly, wiggling her toes first, before stretching one arm across the lean body to her left. Sam shuddered slightly in his sleep, his arm tightening automatically round her waist. She traced a line over the scar on the top right of his chest - a scar from when he worked as a mechanic during his teenage years and college.

You can't work around hot metal for five years without getting a scar or two, he'd joked when she'd asked.

Needless to say, drinks had turned into dinner, dinner had turned into a movie, and the movie had turned into... something slightly less wholesome. They'd been dating for four weeks, and Jess was almost happy. Sam was charming, light-hearted and funny. He didn't mind when she came home and didn't want to talk about work. He didn't care that she sometimes shut herself off. He could handle it.

Her hand ran lightly over that smooth contours of his chest, moulding to every surface. He was well-toned for a teacher. Mind you, chasing ten year olds around all day would get anyone fit.

Sam opened one eye, smiling at her. "Can I help you, Detective?"

She slid over so the was laying on top of him, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I think you can, actually."

He leaned up to kiss her, his hand lacing through her hair, the other resting lightly on her bare back. Jess leaned into the kiss, allowing his lips and tongue to take away her worried. His lips brushed down her neck to her collarbone, sucking at the soft skin. But she pulled away as her phone beeped loudly. "Urgh, sorry." She grabbed it off the nightstand, to find a text from Flack.

Smuggling ring. Teenage girls being lured in and used as prostitutes. You available?

She grumbled slightly before hitting the 'call' button. "Hey, Flack."

"Jess. We got about thirty girls, all aged between around fourteen and twenty-one, according to Lindsay's super-sluething. And they're drugged. Heroin, cocaine, ecstacy. We've got them all down at the hospital, but half of them don't even know their own name. We need to figure out who they are, where they're from and who's looking for them." he sighed. "I could really use you doing some background work for me."

"Uh, sure. I'm on-call anayway in a couple of hours, I'll just have a word with the Cap when I get in. It'll be about half an hour."

"I can swing by, pick you up." Flack offered.

She hesitated, glancing at Sam, who was now sat up, reading through some book reports that were supposed to have been marked the previous night. "I'm... not at my apartment."

"Where - oh." he stopped abruptly. "Right. Okay, see you when you get in."

Jess hung up with a sigh. Flack had pointedly avoided the subject of seeing her and Sam together, and had not asked her whether she was seeing him. And now he had figured out that she was sleeping with him. Great. It was sad, really. In all this mess, she'd lost her best friend. Gone was the guy who'd come to her apartment with a bottle of Jack and a movie to heer her up, or drag her ass out of the office when she was working too much. Now it was polite conversations reserved for case-related conversations only.

She missed him.

Jess got out of bed, pulling on her clothes from the previous night, wondering briefly whether last night's outfit of a pair of jeans and a sheer blouse was inappropriate work attire, she decided she didn't really have time to go home and change. Besides, she had a spare shirt in her locker anyway. Kissing Sam goodbye, she grabbed her backup weapon, slipping it into the holster around her ankle and leaving quietly.

Flack entered the lockeroom with a tired expression and an ache in his shoulder. God knows how, but he'd managed to twist it and now had a sadistic bitch to interrogate and a mountain of paperwork to get through. 'Katie', or whatever her real name was, was currently stewing in the interrogation room, under the watchful eye of Martinez. he'd offered to watch her, on account of needing to perfect his death-glare, as his teenage daughter's boyfriend was coming over for dinner at the weekend. Flack'd had no objections.

He strolled into the space between the two rows of lockers, and stopped abruptly as Jess peeled of her blouse, standing in just a sheer white bra. Her skin was soft and slightly tanned, with a black tattoo of a star on her left shoulder blade. He blushed, clearing his throat. "Ah, sorry. I'll come back in five minutes."

Jess turned around, her shoulder obscuring his view of anything he'd like to see as she grabbed her spare black t-shirt, pulling it on quickly. "No need, I'm done. So, you got someone in custody, then?"

"Some woman named Katie, or so she says. Poses as a penpal, lures a girl to the city, then gets her incapacitated somehow at a party, so the traffickers can take her." a dark look passed over his face. "they got thirty girls, Jess. Girls who just wanted to make friends, have fun in New York. How can someone just take advantage of them like that? Betray their trust? Force them to do those things? It's disgusting."

Jess approached him calmly. "Don, you got them out, okay? You saved them. Thanks to you, these girls can go home to their families, regain some semblence of normality." she looped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. "Look, you can look at this one of two ways. you can either get all pissed off 'bout it, or you can interrogate that bitch 'till she breaks, write up the report and move on. And for what it's worth, I'd take the latter." she released him, and Flack held her gaze, smiling softly. "Thanks, Jess."

"Yeah, well." she shrugged, before leaving the room.

He took a deep breath. Flack was by no account stupid. He'd not gone to college, he didn't understand what the CSI's were talking about half of the time, but he was by no-one's estimation stupid. He was fully aware of the fact that Jess had been at someone else's house that morning, probably overnight. She'd probably called him from her boyfriend's bed. And that bothered him. The thought of some other guy's hands on her, running over her skin, his lips on hers... It made him feel physically sick.

But he had to accept it. If it killed him, he would accept it. He would be best man at their damn wedding, godfather to their children if he had to. But he would accept it.

With a sigh, Flack strode purposefully to interrogation where Katie was waiting. He signalled for Martinez to leave, slamming the door behind him. He turned to the young woman, sitting down in the chair on the opposite side of the table. "I want to know everything about your little trafficking operation."

Katie blinked innocently. "What trafficking operation? I was just meeting my penpal!" she protested calmly.

Flack slammed his hand down on the table. "Don't screw with me, kid! There are some things that really get to a cop. Maybe a child murderer, maybe a serial rapist... sex traffickers are the ones that really get me mad. And you helped them. You lured those girls to New York and tricked them into trusting you. You used them, for what, exactly? Money? Or did you service the girls yourself?"

Katie recoiled, her expression perfectly shocked. "Service the - Detective, I have no idea how you've managed to get this far in your career if you jump to such absurd suggestions such as that."

Shaking his head, Flack tried to fathom the transition between the excitable twenty-something they'd arrested to the perfectly poised and professional young woman he was faced with. "Look. How about we start with the basics. What's your name?"

"Katie."

"Really?" Flack passed her a photo of her with Tara, another of the rescued girls. "I thought you went by Carolyn." Another photo on top of that. "Or Sophie." Another photo. "Or Melissa."

Katie paused, before leaning forwards. "My name's Rebecca Lewis. I'm twenty-three years old." she smiled, her eyes full of life, life she had no right to posess.

Flack nodded. "So, Rebecca. Why did you do it?"

"Money," was the simple answer. "They offered me money, cleared my loans and gave me a life in the city."

"Yeah, a life of tricking naive girls into becoming slaves." he pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose it could be looked at that way." Rebecca nodded, calculating his statement. "But on the other hand, they wore beautiful clothes, met new people, lived in the big city."

Flack glared at her. "Those girls were drugged with three of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in existance to keep them oiut of it long enough to do exactly what your 'new people' wanted them to do, not to mention that some of the girls were fourteen! Does that mean nothing to you?"

Rebecca shrugged. "We all have to make a living, Detective. I grant you that mine is slightly less... conventional than others, but it is a way of making money."

"Who runs this operation?"

"No idea," she replied promptly. "I only dealt with Andre and his boys. No-one else. Speaking of which, are you interrogation them? Because if not, I think you're being unfair and bad at your job, really."

"You are a sick, narrow minded, dispicable woman and I hope you enjoy being someone's bitch in prison." he spat, storming out. He'd had quite enough of her smartass attitude and snide comments, and was in serious risk of clocking her if he stayed in the room. And there was no way she was worth losing his job over.

Jess smoothed her hands over the smooth material of her dress, watching as the emerald satin caught the light, shimmering as she moved. It skimmed lightly over her hips to finish just above her knee, gathered in at the waist with a sweetheart neckline, supported by two thin spaghetti straps. Although she felt beautiful as she always did when wearing the dress, she was also nervous, as the particular restaraunt Sam had chosen happened to be a favourite haunt of the CSI's. She was by no means ashamed of Sam, or their relationship, it was just that there would have been a lot of explaining to do when Danny asked why she was not with Flack, as he had decided that the two detectives needed to be together. She didn't want to have to explain the fact that Don did not want her, didn't want to be with her.

She wasn't in the damn mood.

So instead, Jess sauntered over to Sam's table, dropping a light kiss on his lips. His breath tasted slightly of alcohol, and she figured he'd probably already started drinking, having a beer before her arrival. Figured. By the time she got off work, half of New York were usually wasted in some form or another. "Hey. Am I late?"

"Nope, just ordered a drink." he indicated to the half-drunk bottle of beer.

"Great." she smiled, sliding into her seat with a smile and waving the waiter over. "Can I get a glass of Merlot, please?"

The waiter gave her a casual once-over, before smiling. "Of course."

Jess shifted in her seat slightly, turning her attention back to her boyfriend. "So, how was your day?"

"Uh, y'know... went to school, taught some kids, made them laugh, made them hate me when I gave them another book report without grading their last one-" he mock-glared at her. "That bit's your fault, you know. I could make the kids hate you too."

"You were the teacher I used to hate." she informed him as she took a drink of her just-delivered wine. "Always setting homework, never letting up... yeouch."

"I'll get over it." he chuckled, before glancing towards the door. "Uh... Jess? Some people at the door seem to be staring at us. More specifically, you."

She winced. "Hmm, yeah. This is a regular haunt of my friends, some of the people I work with. That-" she twisted round to see Mac, Stella, Danny, a heavily pregnant Lindsay, Adam, and to her dismay - Flack. Stella beamed, waving at her. "-Yep. That's them." she told him calmly, waving back.

Sam grinned. "You wanna sit with them?"

"No." she said, maybe a little too emphetically. "Sorry, it's just I try to keep work and... personal lives seperate. If I don't..." she thought back to the look on Flack's face the second before he left her apartment a couple of months ago. "It's not... It's not good, anyway. So... no, I would not like to sit with them."

Sam shrugged. "Well, they're comin' this way anyway, so be prepared."

"Frickin' boy scout!" she hissed.

"Hey, Jess!" Lindsay smiled, her hand resting lightly on her baby bump, the other tucked into Danny's hand. "Who's the boyfriend?"

"Hey, Linds. This is Sam Matthews. Sam, this is Lindsay and Danny. And the one with curly hair's Stella, the tough looking shoirt guy's Mac, the blond-ish geek's Adam." she gave the vague introductions as the group greeted her warmly.

"And the other one? Good-looking guy, tall... looking light he wants to kill me?" Sam prompted with an easy grin.

Jess flinched. "Uh, yep. That would be Flack. Don Flack, my partner. He's an asshole."

Danny's eyebrows shot up. "Li'l harsh, Jess."

"Ask him about IA. Ask him about what happened after the McBride case, ask him about what happened after the serial rapist case." she murmured to him, her eyes filled with hurt and shame. "I've got every right to call him an asshole, Danny. Believe me."

"Okay," Danny replied, his voice so low that only she could hear. He bent low, kissing her on top of her head. "Enjoy your date." he glanced at Sam. "You take care of her, else I'll kick your ass."

Sam nodded. "I will. No worries."

o()o()o

Lindsay glanced across the table at Flack, seeing the apprehension in his eyes. "Don? You okay?"

"'M fine, Linds." he forced a smile, not allowing her in. Jess and her date were in his exact line of view, laughing and joking. It was hurting him inside, knowing that she should be with him, that he should be the one leaning across the table making a suggestive comment to her, causing a giggle to escape her lips and her to slap him gently on the arm at the same time. It should be him calling for the bill, pulling her into his arms, guiding her towards a cab. It should be him kissing her gently, offering her a drink back at his place.

But it wasn't.

Instead, the blonde haired pretty-boy was opposite her, making her giggle over her wine.

"Y'sure, Flack?" Stella prompted. "Anyhow, I thought there was... somethin'..."

"No." he replied shortly. "No relationships within the precinct, remember?"

"That's not an official rule." Danny said, pointedly wrapping an arm around Lindsay's shoulders.

"Well, it's as good as. Which means me 'nd Jess are not together. Not allowed to be, not going to be."

Stella shrugged. "Well, call me old-fashioned but I think that if you like someone, screw the rules and live in the moment. You of all people should know that life's too damn short to waste it with someone who's not right for you." she craned her neck to see Jess and Sam. "If I were you, I'd go over there, introduce yourself, make sure she knows you're interested."

"Stell, it's not that easy, okay? Besides... there is nothing going on between us. We're just friends."

Danny smirked. "Well, I wouldn't say you're friends, bud. She's sorta pissed at you."

Flack took a long drink of his beer. "Shut up, okay? Let me enjoy my steak in peace."

o()o()o

Jess pushed the steak around her plate, her appetite lost. She could feel Flack's eyes on her, watching her date. It made her uncomfortable, because it felt like whenever she looked up at Sam, she just saw Flack, she saw how he wasn't as good looking, as tall, as charming, as funny, as sweet or as wonderful as her partner. Sam deserved better than this. He deserved more than she could give him, he deserved someone who could love him for who he was.

Sam smiled gently at her. "Jess, it's okay."

She glanced at him. "You don't know that I'm going to say anything."

"I do. And it's okay. There's history there, right? Something that happened? Jess, you don't need to pretend, okay?" he gave her a kind look. "This is mutual. But life is too short."

Tears pricked at her eyes, forcing her to shift her gaze to her plate. "I'm so sorry, Sam. This wasn't supposed to happen."

Sam indicated for the check to arrive, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "Go. Honestly, it's fine. Go home, curl up on the couch and watch I love Lucy re-runs."

She chuckled, despite herself. "Thanks, Sam." When she got outside, it was dark outside, and she hurried down the street, whirling around to face Flack. She knew he'd followed her, she could smell his aftershave... the scent was burnt into her memory. "You couldn't leave me alone, could you?" she demanded, the tears threatening to break free of her eyes.

"Jess, I-"

"No!" she yelled. "I was happy! I liked Sam! He was good for me! But I couldn't breathe! Because you were looking at me, watching me! It's not fair! Why can't you just let me be happy, let me be with someone? You don't want me, so why stop anyone else from having me?"

He moved forwards, holding her in his arms as she broke down, the sobs wracking through her body. "You think I don't want you? Jess, you couldn't be more wrong. I do want you, more than you realise. It's just that we can't."

"Don't t-tell me it's f-for my c-c-career!" she growled.

"No..." he whispered. "It's not just that. I-I don't want to hurt you. Every girl I'm with, I hurt. And I don't want to do that to you. I can't do that to you. So... that's why. I mean, you're smart, sassy, funny... not to metion possibly the hottest girl I've ever met, so don't think I don't want you. Because that would just be dumb."

She nodded, her arms tightening around his waist. "Please... just don't shut me out."

He kissed the top of her head, holding her close. He wouldn't shut her out. She was the only girl who'd managed to get close enough for him to try shut them out. She was too damn good for her own sake. He just hoped that he could avoid hurting her without holding her at arms length. because the last thing in the world that Don Flack wanted to do was hurt Jessica Angell.