It was a lousy day. Another murder she took to heart, she knew she should not but a country girl's murder in NY was something that hurt. The girl reminded her of herself just a few months ago. Lindsay had had a job waiting for her but the other poor girls that had come to the big city hoping for a fame and glory but finding only heartache. She and Hawkes had solved that crime with ease. Crimes of passion, although very dramatic, were always easy to solve; her boyfriend who had come to take her back to the country had murdered her because she had refused to leave.
When she got back to the lab, she started scanning the evidence from Melody's and Olivia's murders hoping she had missed something. She had to find something to end everybody's misery. Those murders had turned her life upside down.
She was looking at the lock that Hawkes had collected from Olivia's murder scene. Since there were no scratch marks on the lock, it meant that the killer had to have had a key. Terry Swans both keys were still with her; Mac and Sheldon had seen them. Terry Swan didn't know Flack and she didn't have motive. Her phone interrupted her thoughts.
"Detective Monroe."
"Lindsay, this is Donald." Don's father always called her only one reason when he was annoyed.
"What did he do this time?"
"Oh he is bitching again." Lindsay grinned, good thing that she was told about their family inside joke. "Donald you have been to long with your son-in-law again."
"Hey, his sentences stick. But back to my son, he sulking and back talking and he won't do anything he's asked."
"Donald you forget he is always talking back."
"Yeah I know, but now he's being a real pain in the ass."
"But what can I do about that?"
"Would you come down here and beat some sense into him." Lindsay rubbed her forehead. Don had been released from hospital for over three weeks and in that time he had done everything to make his family and friends want to kill him. Five days ago, his doctors had given him the green light to take long walks but he always needs someone to walk beside him. Before that, he had been like an angry lion in a cage.
"I think of something, I'll go and talk to Mac."
"Like Donny says, you're an Angel." Well, now there were two Flacks who threw compliments at her both Senior and junior.
She found Mac in his office.
"Hey Mac, can I go home?"
"What's the problem?"
"Oh he is 6 foot 4, with black hair, blue eyes and he is called Don Flack."
Mac smirked, "He's driving his father crazy again?"
"Yeah, his mother has more patients with him."
"I think we can handle without you. Go and make his life hell. And ask Danny to drop you of there."
"Thanks Mac."
When Lindsay got to Flacks apartment Donald was waiting by the door and ready to go.
"He's frustrated; I think he will start breaking things soon."
"Go home, I can handle this. I think I know what to do." But she had no idea what to do.
"You're sure?"
"I'll try not to kill him."
"Okay, bye." And gone he was.
Lindsay dropped her keys on the table and walked into the living room where Flack walked around like a caged animal.
"So what did the doctor said to you?"
Flack wasn't even surprised that Lindsay was there. He was so use to seeing Lindsey after his father could not handle him. His mother had done that also few times but she had more control over him.
"What did they say?!" that got Flack angry; he grabbed a vase from a cupboard and threw it against a wall. Lindsay stood calmly beside the sofa.
"They said that I can't go back to work for a month." Fleck considered himself totally healed but everyone else saw the reality. His wound wasn't properly healed yet and he got tired quickly. His left leg wasn't functioning like it should and he was still taking painkillers.
"You poor thing."
"Don't patronize me, Monroe."
"I won't, if you stop acting like a child."
"A Child?" then all his anger and frustration was gone, before Lindsay there stood a vulnerable man, when all his defenses were down he looked like a teenager, sometimes Lindsay had wondered how could there be so many sides to one man. A tough cop, a fun loving child, a vulnerable teenager and a caring man who sometimes didn't give a damn about anything.
"Go change your cloths, I'll call a cab. We're going out."
"What's wrong with my cloths now?" Lindsay gave him a pointed look. Flack looked himself: torn jeans and worn blue T-shirt.
"Alright, I'll go change." Lindsay smiled.
When he came back to the living room he wore black jeans, and a T-shirt what was too familiar for Lindsay, it said: All I want is peace in the Middle East and… a blow job. Leather jacket and on feet he were Converse. Lindsay chuckled, "You couldn't resist it, could you?"
"Nope, it was to tempting."
"You look like you're back in high school."
"Hey, I need to amuse myself with something. When I look like that no one think that I'm a 29 year old cop but an 18 year old kid."
"Come on, grab your cane."
"Where are we going?"
"It's for me to know and for you to find out."
When they sat in the cab, Lindsay told the address to the driver so Flack didn't hear it. The ride was quiet. Flack looked out of the window trying to figure out where they were going but it was of no use. He even thought about asking Lindsey, but he knew it would be pointless – Lindsey could keep secrets. He kept looking at the landmarks that he could recognize only to realize just as the cab stopped.
"You're taking me to the Central park."
"Of course, look how beautiful it is today. The Park is the perfect place to walk and calm down." Flack did a face to her and started walking leaning on his cane little more heavily than the day before, his left leg still bothered him.
"How's your leg?"
"Fine."
Lindsay fell into the same pace as him.
"Flack?" Lindsay asked in an irritated tone
"Okay its bit stiff and hurts a little but its fine, honestly."
Lindsay decided to drop it. They walked side by side and enjoyed the autumn weather.
"It's my favorite time of the year, you know." She turned her face to the sky, "when the leaves start changing their color and the sun is softer than in the summer. I remember the autumns back in Montana. Those are my favorite memories from my childhood."
"You're strange woman, you now that?"
"Oh yeah! What your favorite time of the year then?"
"Winter." He said without thinking for a second.
"Winter! Why?" Lindsay had always suspected Flack to be a spring kind of guy.
"I don't know why exactly but it's a beautiful time of year, calm, everything is white in the park and the streets a muddy and slippery so the suspects don't want to run."
"I knew that you find some strange logic in it."
"Hey what's wrong with my logic? Those bastards always run, I don't get their logic what does it help, we always get them. But in the winter they don't run so much they're afraid that they'll break their bones."
"You're strange man Flack."
"And because of that, you love me."
"And just what makes you think that I love you?"
"You told me."
"Maybe I lied." She took a few steps further down the path.
"You know that I can't run but I can pull you down with my cane."
Lindsay smirked; she stood beside Flack who had hooked his hand behind her head, "You know I love you, even if you do act like a jerk sometimes."
"And I love you even if you boss me around." Flack chuckled and kissed Lindsay.
"Euww." A mother with her eight year old boy passed them. The mother frowned and the boy made a disgusting face at them.
"Come Donny; let's get you back at home."
When Flack opened his apartment door he felt something was wrong.
"What's wrong Donny?" Flack only shook his head at Lindsay and walked into the living room.
"What is it annoy-hell-out-of-Flack Day?"
"No, its revenging-Flack-for-annoying-us-for-29-years day." Patrick and Colin smirked from the sofa.
"Donny, Stella is going to pick me up we are going to go shopping. I'll leave you to enjoy your time with your friends." Before Flack could say anything Lindsay was out of the door.
"I knew that I shouldn't have given Pat a key."
"Oh, do you want us to leave you alone?" Colin stepped next to Flack and put his hand on his friends shoulder.
"Yeah, I would like that very much."
"No can do." Colin pushed Flack gently on the sofa.
"Why not?"
"Because we have orders." Both his best friends stood before him.
"Orders? From who?"
"Your mother." Patrick and Colin said in unicent. They looked each other and started laughing. Flack groaned it was going to be very long evening.
"Oh, I should have known that." He stood and went to change his clothes. When he came back Colin was doing something in the kitchen and Patrick was putting away his phone.
"We ordered pizza." Patrick smirked.
"Your paying, Donny." Colin yelled from the kitchen.
"Why is it that every time you crash into my place, which happens 75 times a year, I must pay for everything you order." Flack frowned and crossed his arms.
"Oh I don't know, maybe because we are your best friends."
"You forget that every time when you crash in one of our places we pay. Oh right, we can't drink at my place because of the family and that jumbo in the kitchen doesn't have a normal home to crash too."
"Or is it just that you like to annoy me."
Patrick and Colin, who had come out from the kitchen with two beers, exchanged glances, "Pat he's on to us. How did he catch on to us so quickly?"
"He is a smart one. We have trained him well."
Flack smirked even if those two were getting on his nerves; it was good to have them with him.
"Here you go, a beer Pat," he turned to Flack, "You can't have any, your on meds."
"I hate you guys."
"Your job here is done Col." And they started laughing again.
A Few hours later when Colin and Patrick had drank enough beer to be little bit drunk. Pat somehow managed to direct their talk to women, Flack didn't have a clue as to how Pat had managed that but he had. When Patrick and Colin were discussing Lindsay Flack tuned out because he already knew what they thought of her. Even if Flack had protested in the beginning he had enjoyed his company, he had laughed so hard that he was afraid he would hurt himself again.
When he looked at Colin he saw that somewhere during this fooling around he had changed, he had become sadder and quieter. Now Flack understood what had happened.
"Colin?"
"Yeah, Don?"
"You still in love with Lauren aren't you? That's why you haven't found yourself a woman yet."
"You're sometimes to smart for your own good."
"I know."
"Want to talk about it." Patrick looked at Colin.
"What is there to talk about," Colin shifted from sad to angry, "I loved her, still do." He looked at both of his friends, "You know, sometimes I am so jealous of you two. You, Pat, have Camille and two beautiful children and you Don, Melody hurt you so much, but you still found the strength to go on with your life. And now you've found you're happiness with Lindsay. But I can't move on, every time I let myself slip, I see her in that goddamn hospital bed taking her last breaths."
"We're sorry man."
"Please would everybody stop feeling sorry for me! It just happened and now I must move on. We must live it as it comes. Now, let's talk about some a little less depressing. Do you know what Alex did when he was in Paris…?" The evening continued with amusing tales but that part of the evening hung heavily in the air.
A/N: I'm back sorry it took me so long to but this chapter up, but me and my beta-reader, had exams and their were killing us, but finally it's up and I'm writing the 17 chapter as we speak. So it will be up soon. No I have worryd myself because I feel like I have writen Lindsay and Flack out of the character, please tell me if I'm wrong or right.
