A/N:
i) As always; I just play with Flack and Angell, I don't own them
ii) Anything that sounds familar (Krups, Blackberries etc) is not mine...but I've probably spent my hard earned cash on it
iii) Flack and Angell are a little flippant towards some aspects of life; they drink like fish, swear like troopers, rarely mind their Ps&Qs etc. Just because they do it doesn't make it right
iv) Thank you to everyone who has read and also who has reviewed. I've tried to reply to all the reviews; if I've forgotton, I'm really sorry
Every night I just wanna go out, get out of my head
Every day I dont want to get up, get out of my bed
Every night I want to play out
And every day I want to do ooh ooh oh oh
But tonight I just want to stay in
And be with you
And be with you
Paul McCartney - Every Night
He'd been raised in the arms of the church, a good Catholic; serving as an altar boy in his youth and continuing to attend weekly mass in adulthood. His faith kept him on an even keel. Confessing the times he'd shot to kill or failed to protect the city, brought him absolution.
She understood his faith. The Flack and Angell children had had similar upbringings; a cop for a Father, church each week and the formality of Catholic school. But her faith had waned over the years; the violence and horror she saw on the streets led her to doubt the existence of one almighty God. Some Wednesdays however, she went with him to St Joseph's; finding comfort and peace in the familiar words.
Although his life didn't come close to a holy or righteous one; happily drinking, partying, fornicating and profaning; he liked to think he was a least a decent person. While he was far from naive about the cruelty that some would inflict on others; the Abraham-Klaus case was too much even for him to comprehend.
He abhorred racism and prejudice; despised the likes of Michael Elgers. It riled him, it sickened him.
:-:-:
Between an overload of cases and being rattled yet again by Elgers, he hadn't seen much of Jess that week. A trip to the batting cages, where they'd both worked off frustrations by aggressively connecting bat to ball, and then the night in her bed, where the remainder of their tensions had been expelled, was the most they'd managed. They had dinner plans for the following evening but he had an overwhelming need to have her in his arms; to feel the soothing touch of her hands and hear her calming voice.
He stood in the Precinct corridor, waiting for the elevator; having decided that he'd find her, suck it up and hope she took pity on him. Staring at his feet, rocking back and forth on his heels, he heard the low whistle; it's intent unmistakable:
"Hot damn Angell!"
As his head snapped up, immediately filled with contempt for whoever just whistled at his girl; he realized the sight that caused the commotion.
Jess always looked good, but being more of a tomboy, she tended to opt for variations on jeans; tight dark denim that hugged her in all the right places with dangerously sexy tops for dates and more casual jeans with t-shirts or tops, or sometimes his shirts, the remainder of the time. Her feminine side came out in the lingerie she chose; satins and silks and laces, in colors and styles which blew his mind. The dresses that hung in her closet were, for the most part, reserved for special occasions.
She sassily strode along the corridor; hair falling in soft waves and fabric swishing around mid thigh. Dressed in an uncomplicated purple strappy dress, she carried an uncharacteristic purse in her hand and her eyes were smoky. As she fell into place beside him at the elevator, his eyes automatically raked up and down her figure, widening in approval.
"Detective Flack" she smiled, courteously, as the doors pinged open.
"Detective Angell" he nodded.
Watching her glide into the elevator, his jaw tightened as he saw the extent ofreason for the earlier whistle. Given that she wasn't going out with him, the dress was a little short for his liking but face on, suitably modest and unrevealing. The back however was cut daringly low and other than the crossed satin straps, her skin was bare until the skirt started at the base of her spine.
Grateful that the elevator was empty, he stood in front of her, arms folded, "New dress?" He knew his voice was filled with jealously and possessiveness and, from her amused raised eyebrow, he knew she was onto him.
"This old thing?" she did a little twirl before innocently asking, "You like?"
He shrugged petulantly, "You should be wearing a coat; it's cold outside."
Stifling a snort of laughter she cocked her head, "Perhaps, but I'm getting straight into a cab and then going straight inside, so I think I'll be okay. Thank you though."
He scowled, "You're not getting in a cab looking like that; I'll drive you."
"You don't know where I'm going Don!"
His scowl darkened until she laughed, kindly, stretching up to brush her lips to his as the elevator reached the basement parking. "I'm meeting Ali, and your sister, and Stella, and one of Stella's friends; Sam got tickets for some party at a swanky new club."
Scorning at his look of disproval, that his sister and a club were mentioned in the same sentence, she chided "Jeez Don, lighten up; she likes having fun. Going to a club doesn't mean getting loaded or falling off the wagon."
"Maybe not, but I've seen what you and Haggis Head are like on a night out..."
She'd introduced him to her friend Ali McGregor not long after the cracked rib incident and they'd forged an immediate alliance, based largely on childish name calling; 'Haggis Head' currently being his favorite insult. While his comment was wholly valid, she and Ali had particularly disgraced themselves only a few weeks ago, relying on him to pour them from the bar and into the back of his car; she never the less elbowed him firmly.
"Okay, okay; I know she's in safe hands. Promise me you'll keep an eye on her though?"
:-:-:
The car journey across town was quiet; she didn't set the stereo nearly as loudly as she usually did and contented herself with tracing an imaginary pattern across the top of his thigh. Drawing up to Metropolitan Bar, the rendezvous venue, she suggested "Want to come too? I know you don't like dancing but you could come in for a little bit?"
He shook his head, "To girl's night? No way, they'd eat me alive!"
Laughing, she pulled him towards her, pressing a kiss to his temple "Maybe just a bit! You sure? I like being able to show you off..."
Smiling at her words, he shook his head again "Nah, I'll let you parade me another night though."
"You okay Don?" her hand smoothing over his hair, "You're awfully quiet?"
He dropped his head onto her shoulder, selfishly delaying her as he relaxed under her touch, "Yeah, I'm fine; just not in the mood for partying."
She'd worked out very early on that Don Flack was just the same as the Angell men; 'fine' could mean everything from deliriously happy to verging on suicidal, and it was best to let talking about what ever bothered them, come at their pace.
Nodding, she gave him one last kiss before hopping out of the car, "I'll call you in the morning."
:-:-:
He was roused by a rustling at the foot of his bed and, simultaneously reaching for his service weapon on the nightstand and flicking on the light, he sat up; surprised but delighted to see her.
"Christ Don! Don't do that!"
Already barefoot, she was stepping out of the dress; leaving herself naked and exposed except for a very small seamless nude thong. "Give me your t-shirt."
"Your t-shirt Don, please?" she repeated after a few seconds of his appreciative stare.
Obediently he tugged the t-shirt over his head and tossed it to her, smiling as she snuggled against the fabric after pulling it on, "Cozy!"
As she crawled into bed, spooning herself against the contours of his body, he took her wrist in his hand; following the path of the tattoo with his lips. Undoing her watch, he peered at the face before setting it beside his, "It's early Jess, everything okay?"
Nestling herself closer to his body she nodded, "Yeah, Sam had had enough and it turned out I wasn't quite as much in the mood as I thought, so we just headed off; I think the other three are in for a wild night though."
She wriggled a little, the way she always did to get comfortable, before taking his hand in hers. "Why didn't you tell me about Elgers and Abraham-Klaus?" Bringing each of his fingertips to her lips, she kissed them sweetly, "I'd have stayed home with you tonight you know..."
Grunting and snorting a little, he muttered; 'Stella' and 'big mouth' and 'not a baby' being the only clear words.
Turning in his arms to face him, she frowned "I know you're not a baby. But it's okay that you're not always the tough guy Don."
He snorted again, mumbling incoherently.
Instead of arguing she held him close, brushing her lips to his forehead and softly rubbing circles on his back, the way she knew he liked, until he sighed. "I liked your dress; perhaps you'll wear it for me? For dinner tomorrow?"
Lazily stretching and shifting so her body ran along the length of his, the two melding together, she grinned "I bought two new dresses actually, I think you'll like the other one a whole lot more"; nodding knowingly until he groaned, claiming her lips.
A/N 2:
i) I've spent the past month travelling back and forth between the east and west coast for work, consequently I've had a lot time on my hands to write. Now that I'm back home with my own Flack (funnier and better looking but can't cook anything beyond 'breakfast' either) the updates are going to be a wee bit slower. They're written, it'll just take a bit longer to upload them.
ii) Updates might be a bit faster however if anyone can impart the secret of getting Word to OpenOffice to without yelling and threatening my laptop with certain death (and I'll kick in coffee and cake to sweeten the deal!).