DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CSI:NY OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I DO HOWEVER OWN SAMANTHA FLACK AND BABY KIERAN
A/N: I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT HOLIDAY! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!
Painting the town blue Part Two
"I don't care if it hurts
I want to have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice
When I'm not around
You're so fuckin' special
I wish I was special
But I'm a creep, I'm weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here."
-Creep, Radiohead
It was quarter after eight in the evening when Danny let himself into Flack's apartment, using the spare key that his best friend had given him months ago. A plastic bag from Foot Locker in one hand and a brown paper one containing Chinese food tucked under his arm. He could hear the television on in the other room and Adam talking in a phenomenally good Yogi Bear voice. Closing the door behind him, Danny toed off his boots and journeyed into the kitchen where he sat the take out on the counter and dropped his keys on top of the microwave before shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it on one of the kitchen chairs.
He journeyed out into the living room still carrying the shopping back and smirked as he found Adam on his ass in the middle of the floor, making funny faces and entertaining Kieran with animated voices. The baby was freshly bathed, his black hair still damp and matted to his head and had been dressed in a bright yellow sleeper, sat strapped into his infant Papa-san chair.
"How goes it Uncle Peanut?" Danny asked, tousling Adam's hair.
"It goes well," the lab tech replied. "We just had a bath and got a fresh diaper and jammies on and had a bottle. So it's all good."
"I meant how goes it with Kieran. Not with yourself," Danny teased.
"Very funny," Adam snorted.
"Well the place hasn't burned down and the kid doesn't look any worse for wears, so I guess you're doing an all right job," the CSI said, as he placed the Foot Locker bag on the ground and crouched down in front of his 'nephew'. "How ya doin' Little Flack?" he asked, running a hand over Kieran's fine black hair and trailing a finger down the baby's rosy cheeks. "You keeping out of trouble? Not causing too many issues for your Uncle Peanut?"
"He's been an angel," Adam declared proudly as he used the coffee table to push himself up onto his feet. "I was schooling him in the finer art of the brilliance of George Lucas."
Danny rolled his eyes and reached out to unclasp the restraints holding Kieran in the chair. "Come and see your Uncle Dan-o big guy," he said, carefully picking the infant up and laying him along his forearm. "Who loves you most of all?" he asked the baby as he sat down on the floor and stretched his legs out. "Who loves you more than anything in this world?"
"Uncle Adam," the other man answered, as if it was the most logical response in the world.
"In your dreams. Uncle Dan-o's your favourite, isn't he, K? Your Uncle Dan-o loves you the most. He loves you so much, he just wants to munch you and gobble you up like a big cookie. Yes, he does."
Adam rolled his eyes as Danny tickled Kieran's tummy, eliciting a wide smile from the infant. "It's just gas you know," he said, collapsing onto the couch. "He's not really smiling at you."
"Yes he is," Danny argued. "Say yes I am, Uncle Adam. You're just jealous that I love Uncle Dan-o more than you."
The lab tech flipped him the middle finger.
"And look what your Uncle Danny picked up for you today," Danny laid Kieran down on his legs and with one hand on the baby's stomach, reached for the shopping bag with the other. "Check this stuff out," he said, pulling an impossibly tiny Giants jersey from the bag. "Eli Manning jersey just for you, buddy," he told his nephew. "And this…" sticking his hand into the bag once more time, Danny pulled out a football. "…for when me and you and your old man are ready to toss it around."
"You think that's cool?" Adam asked, as he leaned over the side of the couch and scooped up medium sized cardboard box. "Look what I bought him today," the lab tech said and held the item out for Danny to see.
"A science set?" Danny asked, a smirk on his face. "Are you kidding me?"
"A chemistry set, actually," Adam corrected him. "And it's a top of the line chemistry set. Does over forty experiments. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Flack should kick your ass for letting you bring that into his house. You trying to turn his kid into a geek?"
"I'm trying to turn him into a future Nobel prize winner," Adam informed the CSI.
"Ain't no future Nobel prize winners in this house," Danny declared. "This kid right here? Future number one draft pick for the NFL and a future hall of famer. Mark my words."
"Don't let Flack hear you utter Kieran's name and the NFL in the same sentence," Adam said. "It's NHL and nothing but around here."
"Daddy's little Ranger," Danny said to the baby. "You're going to be putting pucks in the net and crushing guys at the blue line. And you're going to hire Uncle Danny as your agent and pay me huge dollars while you're raking in the millions."
"He's going to hire me as his assistant when he's discovering a cure for cancer," Adam declared, turning the box over in his hands and studying the writing on the back. "Or appointing me to Vice President when he's running the country."
"You wanna fight about this Ross?" Danny asked, as he gently and carefully slipped the Giants jersey onto his nephew. The thing was massive on the kid, but it looked damn cute. "You wanna take this out onto the street? 'Cause if I say he's going to be a pro athlete, then that is what he's going to be. End of story, a'right?"
"I say we take this to the Wii," Adam said, then headed for the kitchen. "Fight our battles during a little John Madden football. After we eat that is. I'm starving."
"Chinese is on the counter!" Danny called to his friend as he pushed himself across the floor on his butt and leaned up against the couch. "You mind making me up a plate? I wanna have a talk with my little man here."
"Don't corrupt him too much," came Adam's voice, along with the opening of cupboards and the clattering of plates and silverware.
"Never," Danny promised, straightening out the jersey before leaning down to press a tender kiss on the tip of Kieran's tiny nose.
All he had to do to cheer himself up on a shitty day was think about his godson. About how precious and innocent and beautiful the baby was. About how big K was getting and all the things he was learning in such a short period of time. Watching him grow and develop was nothing short of amazing, as far as Danny was concerned, and he was enjoying every moment he got to spend with his nephew. And he tried his damndest to make sure those moments happened as often as possible. He and Flack had always been the best of friends. But since K had come into the world, Danny had noticed that his relationship with his best friend had evolved into something so much more. A brotherly love existed between them. And Danny looked at Don Flack Jr with the utmost awe and respect. Flack had come a long way, maturity wise, in such a short period of time. And he was showing everyone that he was one hell of a husband and an even better father.
"So tell me little man," Danny said to the baby, as he combed his fingers through Kieran's silky black hair. "You meet any cute girls in this Mom and Tot swim thing your old lady is taking you to? Any hotties there? Anyone that's caught you eye that looks good in her suit and her Little Swimmers?"
The baby gurgled noisily.
"Don't worry about it too much," Danny told him. "You got a lot of years ahead of you to meet girls. Lots of years and lots of ladies for you to go through. Don't jump into anything right away and don't give your heart away to the first girl that shows interest. No getting your heart broken, okay? You hang on as long as you have to before falling in love. Make sure you know for a fact, a hundred and ten percent, that the one you're with is the one that you love with all your heart and your soul."
Kieran stared up at his uncle with wide blue eyes.
"And whatever you do, when you do find that one? Don't let her go? Love her and treasure her every fibre of your being. Don't mess things up and spend your whole life regretting the things you should have said or the things that you've done and wish like hell you hadn't. You treat her right from the start, you hear me? You hold onto her as tight as you can and tell her every day what she means to you. Think you can do that for me?"
Another gurgle.
"'Cause you know what? Your uncle Danny? He messed up. Big time. He let the one true love of his life get away. Now don't get me wrong, I love your Aunt Erica. I do. It's just…" Danny sighed heavily. "It's just she's not this other girl, you know? And this other girl? She has my heart and I don't think she'll ever give it back. And I don't think I want it back. 'Cause as long as she has it, it means that me and her are never able to walk away completely fro each other, you know what I'm saying?"
Kieran yawned noisily.
"It's confusing, I know. Women are confusing. Ask your dad. He'll agree with me. He'll tell you how women were put on this earth to drive us completely insane. And how we let them do it and we keep going back for more. You're lucky, you know that? That you got the parents that you do. You've got an amazing mommy and daddy. Your parents love each other so much and they don't let a day go by without telling each other that. And your dad…well your dad is nuts about your mom. Completely and utterly nuts. And I think she thinks pretty highly of him, too. I mean, look at what they managed to bring into this world together. What they created just 'cause they love one another. You're a pretty amazing, special kid. And they're just as blessed to have you as you are to have them."
The baby yawned again. His eyes slowly drifting closed. His tiny hand curling around one of Danny's fingers as his uncle's hand softly lay on his stomach.
"You're a good boy, Kieran," Danny whispered, as he brought the infant up to rest against his chest. A hand on the back of K's head, the other hand under the baby's. "You're a good boy and you've got a long, great life ahead of you. You know that right? You're going to do amazing things with your life. No doubt about it."
Danny pressed his lips against the side of Kieran's head and closed his eyes. Relaxing in the sounds of the baby's steady breathing and the smell of his hair and clothes.
"What's ya saying to him?" Adam asked curiously, as he brought food out into the living room.
Danny smiled. "Everything that I so desperately needed to," he replied.
The grand ball room was a spectacular sight to behold. The entire room was decorated in various shades of blue. From the tablecloths to the seat covers to the brocade drapes that adorned the palladium windows and the French doors that led out onto a canopy covered patio. The ceiling bore loose panels of royal blue gossamer fabric over top of thousands of sparkling miniature white lights.
Waiters in starched white top coats with tails and navy blue pants and linen gloves hurried around the room serving hors d'oeuvres and champagne to women in regal evening gowns and men in both NYPD dress blues and tuxedos. Uniformed busboys busied themselves with quickly clearing empty wine glasses and champagne flutes from tables elegantly decorated with sparkling crystal and fine china and gleaming silverware. Centrepieces of fresh flowers and pillar candles completing the look. Guests mingled while a string quarter played classical music in the far corner of the massive ballroom.
Despite the extreme beauty and sheer elegance of her surroundings, the only thing Samantha could think about what was the women that were in that room. About how they were all slender and phenomenally attractive and in a class that existed far above her head. They wore designer dresses and shoes and bore hairstyles that cost three hundred a sitting. Diamonds and various other gems sparkled on their ear lobes and around their necks. There was no way that these women were the wives of just regular old police officers simply there to get the hardware of a well deserved promotion. These were women that looked as if they'd be born, and bred into, the high life.
And none of them appeared to be over a size five. That was her major concern. How she looked amongst a sea of women with supermodel figures. She'd never been the type to be self conscious about her appearance. While she had always kept herself in shape and wore stylish clothes that showed off her figure and make up from time to time, her opinion about her looks had always been 'What you see is what you get'. And she had always firmly believed that if people didn't like what they saw, they didn't have to look.
But that was until she'd put on nearly sixty pounds during seven and a half months of pregnancy. She had managed to loose twenty five of those pounds through breast feeding - best damn diet she'd ever been on in fact - and well balanced and nutritious meals and getting some exercise in and around the apartment. Taking the stairs to and from the laundry room in the basement was her current choice for working up a sweat. But there was still another thirty five pounds to go and she cursed that weight each and every time she looked in the mirror. It was going to take a miracle to go back to the way she'd looked before.
If she ever got there. And her main fear was that if she didn't, that the man beside her handing in their invitations to the hostess at the door, would simply stop finding her attractive and move onto a woman far more attractive and slender.
"What are you so nervous about?" Flack asked, as he laid a hand on the small of his wife's back and escorted her into the ballroom. Aware of how she was trembling and the way she looked around the room with wide, anxious eyes.
"Look at all these women," Sam whispered, as a statuesque blond in a clingy gold sequined gown paraded past them. "Did you see the body on her?" she asked her husband.
"On who?" he asked, grinning down at her. Truth was, he had seen her. A woman with a body like that was hard to miss. But he wasn't interested. Maybe in another time, another place. Long before Samantha Ross had ever come into his life and transformed it for the better. She was his wife. The only woman he wanted. Whether she believed that or not.
"Don't tell me you just didn't see the reincarnation of Jane Mansfield walk by," Sam said in response.
"I saw her," he admitted. "I'm just more interested in the woman that I'm with."
She smiled brightly. "Look at these women, Donnie," she said, as they began their search for their assigned table. "There's more Roberto Cavalli and Versace in this room then on a runway in Milan. And either all these women were born lucky and have stayed skinny all their lives, or there's been a lot of money spent on liposuction."
"My guess is the latter," Flack said. "Ask me, none of them look real. Fake eyelashes, fake lips, fake boobs. Might as well trade your wife in for one of them outrageously expensive plastic dolls we heard them talking about on CNN the other night."
"Silicone," Sam corrected. "They were silicone."
"Well whatever the hell they were, they were goddamn creepy and a guy's gotta be really desperate for company to shell out that kind of green. An escort or a hooker would cost less."
"The doll can't carry some nasty STD," she reasoned. "And she can't talk so the guy doesn't have to have any social skills."
"Think he'd have performance anxiety?" Flack asked.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean do you think he has a hard time getting it up when he's doing his business with the doll."
Sam grinned. "Are we actually having this conversation at an NYPD ball?"
"I'm just curious is all. Like do you think he gets all nervous when it comes time to get down to business? That's daunting when you're with a real woman. Think it's the same with one of them dolls? Think he gets all freaked out she's not going to like his style and has a hard time getting it up?"
She laughed and shook her head.
"What?" he asked with a grin, sliding his hand up to the middle of her back and dropping a kiss on the top of her hand. "It's a legit question. Performance anxiety is a killer. All guys go through it."
"All of them?" her eyes sparkled up at him. "You didn't seem to have a problem with that the first time we were actually together. In fact, both nights you were on your game. Even if you did bail the first time we ever tried anything."
"I bailed for a perfectly good reason," he reminded her. "And you know what? I was nervous. Both times."
"You were?"
He nodded. "Really nervous. Scared shitless actually."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Guess I was worried you weren't going to like my technique. What's good for some women doesn't do it for others, right? How was I suppose to know if you were going to be the one it wouldn't be good for?"
"Well you had nothing to worry about," she assured him. "There was nothing for me to be disappointed in. Trust me. You handled your own quite well."
He grinned, pleased with her answer. And finally locating their table near the front of the room, pulled her chair out for her. "You never answered my question," he said, waiting to take his own seat until she was sitting herself.
"What question?" she asked.
"The one about if the guy would have performance anxiety while trying to get it on with a doll."
"I don't know, Donnie. Why don't you buy one and find out?"
He smirked. "Why spend that kind of money on a doll that just lies there when I get to have free sex with a wild and crazy nympho like you every night?" he asked.
She smiled and leaned into him. "That is a very, very good answer."
He grinned and winked at her and kissed her softly. "Don't be so nervous, babe," he said, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "All these women here? They've got nothing up on you."
"I've got about ten sizes up on them," Sam snorted. "If not more."
He snorted. "Think it matters to me what numbers are written on the label of your dress? Or what comes up on the scale when you step on it? I don't care about that shit. You just had a baby two months ago, Sammie. It's going to take some time to get back to the way you were. And you need to do that naturally. Not go on some crazy ass diet. Last thing K or I need is you getting sick."
"And if I don't get back to the way I was?" she asked.
Flack shrugged and picked up her hand. Entwining his fingers with hers, he laid their joined hands on the table top. "Doesn't matter to me. You know that. I love you no matter what, babe. Think I can take this damn hat off now? It's making my head sweat."
"You take it off now, you're going to have a huge mark from it across your forehead," she said. "I personally think you're incredibly hot in your uniform."
"Yeah? Well we could have just easily stayed up stairs and I could have worn it just for your eyes only. Instead of having to come down here and mingle with the brass and get some stupid award."
"And the bars and the stripes to go on your uniform," she reminded him. "And it's not a stupid award. It's a medal of valour. And you deserve it. I know I'm going to be incredibly proud hearing your name called and seeing you go up there."
"And you have every reason to be," Gerrard said as he appeared at the side of Flack's chair.
The usually arrogant and crotchety Inspector was all smiles and incredibly charming and handsome in his dress blues, the left breast decorated with a wide array of gleaming medals and his highly polished badge. Beside him was a tall and slender woman, stunning in a beaded red sheath dress with her long black hair gathered into an elegant upsweep held in place by sparkling ruby and crystal combs.
"Inspector," Flack greeted, as he got to his feet and offered his hand.
"Detective Flack," Gerrard said in return, shaking the younger man's hand. "I guess I should be saying Detective Sargent Flack now."
"You remember my wife, Samantha," Flack said, as he held out his hand to his wife and helped her to her feet.
"Inspector Gerrard," Sam greeted and offered her hand.
"How could I ever forget such a lovely face," Gerrard gave a smile and kissed the top of the young woman's hand. "It's been a long time since I've seen you at the crime lab. I trust that maternity leave is treating you well."
"So far so good," she responded. "I'm enjoying the extra time off."
"This is my wife, Etienne," Gerrard introduced. "Darling, this is Detective Sargent Donald Flack Jr and his lovely wife, Samantha."
"A pleasure," his wife said in a soft, elegant voice as she shook their hands.
"Detective Flack and his wife just welcome a child into the world," Gerrard explained to his better half. "A little boy. Kevin, is it?"
"Kieran," Flack corrected. "He's two and a half months old now."
"And doing fine I presume?" Gerrard asked. "He had a bit of a rough start," he said to his wife. "I guess he had to spend some extra time in the hospital."
"He's doing great now," Flack said. "Eats a lot. Starting to put on the weight. Still really tiny but he's picking up."
"It's been a long time since we had a baby in our midst," Gerrard told the younger couple. "Our Natalie is just getting ready to head off to college and her younger brother is interested in a career with the department. I guess now that you've had yourself a son, the NYPD can look forward to having another Flack join the ranks in eighteen or so years."
"That's something we'll have to see about," Flack told his superior officer. "We're just enjoying him and his baby days. His future is the last thing we've even thought about considering."
"With a Flack as his father, you know he bleeds blue," Gerrard said. "There's no question in my mind that come twenty years, he's going to shattering your records within the department and making a hell of a name for himself."
"We'll be just as proud of him if he goes on to college and gets a degree or two like his mother," Flack told the older man. "And to be honest, I'd think we'd both prefer if he took that path with his life."
"You can't have the last name Flack and not be in the NYPD," Chief Sinclair declared, as he and his wife, a petite woman with her dirty blond hair done up in an elegant chignon and her slightly chubby body on display in a black taffeta and silk, off the shoulder gown.
"Not if you're a male, anyway," Gerrard said.
"Chief Sinclair," Flack offered his hand to the older man.
"Detective Sargeant Flack…Mrs Flack…a pleasure to see both of you here. This is my wife, Michelle."
Handshakes and pleasantries were exchanged before Sinclair turned back to the younger man in their midst.
"What was this I was hearing about not wanting your son to go into the department when he's older?" the Chief of Detectives asked, clearly disturbed at the thought.
"I didn't say we didn't want him to chose a career with the NYPD," Flack defended himself. "I was just telling Inspector Gerrard that my wife and I would be proud of Kieran if he chose to go to college after high school as opposed to going into the academy. That we may actually prefer the thought of him getting his education and a degree. Just like his mother."
"Then he could be an excellent addition to the crime lab," Sinclair declared. "Although it would be a shame to see a name like Flack go to waste by having him cooped up like a mad scientist when he could be out on the street making a difference and living up to his family name."
"Well with all due respect, Chief Sinclair," Flack said, trying to remain calm. "But he's a Ross just as much as he is a Flack. And the Ross' are the ones with all the brains. My wife has a masters and a BA from Dartmouth. And if our son chooses to go in the same direction as his mother, I say all the power to him."
"He'll be doing more good out on the street serving and protecting," Sinclair argued. "When you carry the last name Flack, you also carry a lot of pride for the history behind that name. Something you know first hand about."
"Then maybe we'll consider changing his last name from Flack to Ross," the younger man said with a polite smile.
Sam cleared her throat noisily and tightened her grip on her husband's hand. In an effort to calm him down.
Sinclair gave a slight smirk. "Now that would be a damn shame in the eyes of the NYPD. And an insult to those members of your family that wore the uniform before you."
"The real insult is in the fact that those family members who wore the uniform before me, can't swallow their pride long enough to even met the newest addition to the family. That's an insult," Flack said. "And my son is two months old. He's got a long life ahead of him and lots of time before he has to consider what career path to choose."
"It's a shame when people push children into something they don't want to do," Gerrard's wife spoke up. "I say give them gentle pushes in several different directions and then simply let them choose which one they want to go in."
Both Sam and Flack appreciated the woman defending them and their choices with their child, even if her husband and Sinclair laughed as if her words were the most ridiculous ones they had ever heard in either of their lifetimes.
"You always were the soft one when it came to raising the kids," Gerrard said to his wife.
"When you have the last name of Flack, it's all but expected of you to follow in your father's footsteps," Sinclair told her.
"Being a Flack practically makes you NYPD royalty," Gerrard added.
"Well I understand that the family may be well respected and bearing the name may come with some form of prestige," his wife said. "But really, Stanton. It is not the end of the world if the boy doesn't become a police officer. He's just a wee baby still. And his mother and father know what is best for him."
"Well hopefully," Sinclair spoke up, his dark eyes locked with Flack's intense blue ones. "They know that their son following in the father and grandfather's footsteps is what's best for the department. It would be a shame if the blood line simply died off and stopped where it is out of sheer spite."
"Maybe we just want to wait and see what our wants to do in twenty years instead of showing a Glock into his hand when he's only two months old and telling him his future's already been decided for him," Sam said.
Gerrard and Sinclair stared at the young woman. Unblinking and unmoving. And highly unimpressed. While smiles tucked at their wives' lips.
"If you'll all excuse me," Sam said, squeezing her husband's hand tightly before letting it go. "I need to go and use the ladies room and call home."
Flack nodded and kissed her chastely, watching as she walked away confidently, proud of her for getting the last word in on Sinclair and Gerrard. Something not a lot of people could attest to getting away with.
Etienne watched the pretty young woman as she headed through the crowded ballroom. She was impressed with Samantha Flack's poise and grace. And her obviously feisty and independent demeanour.
"Your wife is absolutely adorable," she said as she turned to Flack. "She's fiery and intelligent and knows how to handle herself. You've got your work cut out for you with that one. I hope you know how to hold onto someone like that."
He smiled and nodded slowly. "Holding on to her is a technique I'm trying to perfect every day," he said.
"You ever see yourself having kids?" Adam asked, as he and Danny sat on the couch, with heaping plates of Chinese food balanced in their laps and cans of Coke on the cluttered coffee table.
The television tuned was into ESPN -Danny threatened to beat the lab tech off if he didn't turn off the Stars Wars already- and the volume had ben turned down to a decent level as Kieran slept peacefully in the bassinet Danny had moved into the living room from the master bedroom. The baby was wrapped securely in a white and blue stripped receiving blanket and was propped on his side to control his reflux. So far, so good. No puking and no stomach aches.
"I've never really ever thought much about it," Danny replied. "K's the first baby I've ever really been around. I mean, I've got cousins that have babies and what not, but I'm never really been close to them. So being around Kieran is a whole new ball game for me."
"Seriously?" Adam asked.
Danny nodded. "Why?"
"I don't know. You just seem to know what you're doing. You're totally comfortable around him and you know exactly what he wants by certain cries. I'm still trying to learn all of that."
The CSI shrugged and speared a piece of steamed broccoli with his fork. "I come around a little more then you do," he reasoned. "No fault of yours. Your life is just a little more full then mine. Things with you and Gus are really picking up with planning for a wedding. Erica and I barely see each other with the hours she works. So I spend all my spare time here."
"Do you ever see yourself having kids?" inquired Adam. "Like I watch you with Kieran and things go so smoothly for you that I can't help but think what a great dad you'll make when, and if, you have your own."
"You really think I'd make a great dad?" Danny asked, touched by the younger man's vote of confidence.
"Absolutely," Adam told him. "You're amazing with Kieran. A natural. And he responds so well to you. Almost as well as he does with his own father."
Danny chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. Flack's doing an incredible job with his son. Far better then I expected him too, to be honest. Now there's a guy I never, ever expected to become a father. Or a husband for that matter."
"You and Don have known each other a long time," Adam commented. "So you probably know more about him then anyone else."
"Probably," Danny agreed. "Although I think your sister is right up there with me. I don't think there's much that he keeps from her. If anything. But in all the years I've known Flack, I'd never heard of him talk about marriage and kids. We were always too busy looking for Mrs Right Now, not Mrs Right. And then your sister came along, and BOOM. That was it for him. She just took him by complete surprise. Transformed his whole life."
"Hopefully that's a good thing," Adam said with a small laugh.
"You kidding me? That's an amazing thing. Hell of a feat. She turned him into a man. Plain and simple. She smacked some sense into him and forced him to grow up and hold himself accountable for his actions and his decisions. Made him give his own head a shake and realize what he really wanted out of life. And trust me Adam, he loves your sister. Wholly and completely and unconditionally. There's no one else but here. You've got nothing to worry about. He's not out to hurt her or screw her over. This is forever. So you can go easy with that protective brother stuff now."
Adam grinned sheepishly. "I thought I was doing a lot better hiding it then that."
"You're a little better with it. But it's still there. And I think it's time you realized that your sister and Flack? They're crazy in love with each other. And they're happy. They're also husband and wife. And it's to him, as a husband, to take care of her now."
"In other words I need to back off and hand over the reigns," Adam concluded.
"You said it," Danny told him and took a sip of his pop. "Look, I know she's your sister. She will always be your sister. And you guys survived some harsh times together. But she's a grown woman now. With a baby and a husband. A husband that would stop at nothing to take care of her and give her everything she wants and needs. He'd die for her. So you don't need to take care of her anymore. She's got someone else to do it."
Adam nodded slowly as he considered the other man's words. "Maybe I can't let that part of me go," he said quietly. "Maybe I like to feel needed. That she needs me. That K needs me."
"Of course they need you, Adam. You're her brother. You're K's uncle. They will always need you. But Flack's the one she goes to now when she needs something or someone. And you need to deal with that a little bit better then you have been, buddy."
"You've been talking to Flack," the lab tech sighed.
"We've been talking a bit," Danny admitted. "About these issues that you two seem to be having. I thought after that heart to heart you two had the night before the wedding, things would be cool between you."
"They are," Adam said. "They are cool. I just…I have a hard time with my sister being with someone."
"He's not just someone," Danny told him. "He's husband. The father of her son. He's far surpassed just being some guy in her life. And when he comes to me and tells me he doesn't exactly feel welcome around you…"
"I don't like the way he talks to her sometime," Adam admitted. "I just…he shouldn't be talking to her that way."
"I know that Flack isn't perfect. I know he can be a little smart with his mouth and aggressive with her," Danny said. "But with all due respect, your sister gives as good as she gets. It's not right how they talk to each other. It goes both ways. But you know what? That's not our business. It's how they handle things. They get smart with each other and they argue. Not like it's a constant thing. It was a lot worse before. A lot. And they went to that therapist and worked on some things. They talk things out more now instead of just jumping into a fight. And you need to sit back and keep out of it when they're having it out. Because that's between them and it has no bearing on you."
"She's my sister," Adam argued.
"And she's Flack's wife and the mother of his son. And I'm sorry that that takes precedence over her being your sister. She's an adult Adam. With an adult relationship and adult problems. You need to step off and mind your own, okay? I'm only getting on you about this 'cause I care. 'Cause you're a damn good brother and an amazing friend to not just Flack, but to me, too. And as your friend, I'm giving you some advice here. Let your sister live her life. Let her be a wife and a mother. Stay in the background. Think you can do that for me?"
"I can try," Adam said with a heavy sigh. "It's hard. Because we've always had to look out for each other, you know? And I'm always worried she's going to get hurt. And I couldn't live with myself if I just sat back and let that happen."
"He's not going to hurt her," Danny assured the younger man. "Flack's not out to hurt her. He's out to have a future with her. And you have to give them the space to let that happen."
Adam nodded.
"And trust me, if he ever hurt her, I would beat his ass from one end of the city to the other. There's a whole line up of people who would fuck him up if he ever did anything wrong to her."
"I think he had a thing with Carmen," Adam blurted out.
Danny looked sideways at the man beside him, pop can poised in mid air. "You know?"
"I didn't want to say anything to anyone because I don't know for sure. I just suspect that it happened."
"When?" Danny asked.
"Shortly before she moved out. Sammie had to take K for that check up when he got that little bit of a cough. And I was at the lab and I saw Flack and Carmen leaving together when their shifts were over. And Sammie called me about an hour later asking me if I could find a way to get over here and pick up K's insurance papers because she forgot them. She said that she'd been trying to call Don but there was no answer on his cell or at the apartment. So I came over here and let myself in with the spare key she gave me. And I totally caught Flack by surprise."
"Doing what?" Danny asked, trying to keep all speculations and accusations to himself.
"Well he wasn't really doing anything. But he'd just gotten out of the shower. His hair was wet and he had on sweats and a t-shirt…"
"Guy had just finished a shift," Danny reasoned. "Normal to clean yourself up afterwards."
"I know. But it wasn't just that. He was totally floored to see me. And he was carrying a basket of laundry."
"So? So what? He does do laundry."
"Bed sheets," Adam said. "I mean, it doesn't take an Einstein to figure that out, right? Took a shower, is getting ready to wash the bed sheets in the middle of the afternoon. And to add insult to injury…"
"There's more?" Danny asked.
Adam nodded. "Carmen came out of the bathroom…"
"Which one? Little one or the one in the bedroom?"
"She came out of the bedroom, having just taken a shower. Wrapped in a towel."
Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly and shook his head.
"Shortly after that, she moved out. Found that apartment over night and…"
"Boom," Danny finished. Trying his best to keep his fury in check. "We never talked about this Adam. Okay? We never had this conversation, alright?"
"But that's my sister, Danny! She's my sister and I…"
"I will take care of it, okay? I will talk to Flack and find out what the fuck went down. Don't worry yourself with this, a'right? Let me take care of it."
"But…"
"Let me take care of it," Danny repeated forcefully.
Adam simply nodded and sipped his pop. "I'm sorry," he said after a long silence.
"What are you sorry about?" Danny asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I never should have told you that," the lab tech replied. "I should have just kept it to myself. I don't know for sure that anything happened between them. I only know what I saw and that can be interpreted many different ways and I.."
"I will take care of it," Danny said. Dismissively.
Adam sighed heavily and stared down at the plate of food in his lap. "What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I don't know yet," Danny replied. "But promise me, I will take care of it."
And royally kick someone's ass, he thought.
Thanks to everyone that is reading and reviewing! I appreciate each and every one of you! Even the lurkers. But please, please, please review folks! Your support means the world to me!
Special thanks to:
Hope4sall
Laplandgurl
much madness
Soccer-bitch
Forest Angel
New-york-babeee