Thank you guys for renewing my faith in myself :) I know posting the same comments gets redundant sometimes, but I just really need to know people are still reading and interested. So thanks. I'm a bit nervous about this chapter, just because it isn't Lilly/Scotty centric like the others so far. It's Monday and that means all the other characters will be joining the story. Let me know what you think please.
Disclaimer: All I own is the dead girl and her boyfriend.
Chapter 6: In Your Own Way
Monday morning dawned bright and early. Too early for Scotty and Lilly who'd spent most of Sunday night… not sleeping. When being in bed finally turned to actual sleep, it was nearly dawn. They slept right past the alarm she'd set – and the back up one on his phone. It wasn't until the shrill tone of Lilly's phone filled the room for the third time that she finally awoke.
"Shit!" She exclaimed, knocking over a glass of water as she reached for her cell. All professionalism forgotten, she answered it. "Yeah? What?"
"Um, Lil?" Her boss's quiet, tentative voice on the other line startled Lilly. "You plannin' on comin' in today?"
"Yeah of course, Boss." She glanced at the clock. It was almost 10 am, she was usually in the office by 8:30. "Oh! Sorry, sorry. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"And Lil?"
"Yeah, Boss?"
"Could you give Scotty a call?" His voice was suggestive, as if he knew exactly where Scotty was at the moment, but he really really didn't want Lilly to confirm it.
All of a sudden Lilly's heart was beating faster. Apparently, the first test at keeping all of this a secret would fall on her. Hoping that her voice would not give away the fact that the man in question was currently, forbiddingly, lying next to her, Lilly steadied herself by leaning on the edge of the bed. You can do it, Rush.
"He isn't in yet?" Lilly asked. She hoped the feigned innocence was enough to deceive her boss. "And yeah. I'll call him."
Hanging up the phone so as not to arouse anymore suspicion, Lilly frantically shoved the lump that was Scotty Valens. "Scotty!"
He mumbled in his sleep. "Toast and eggs…" Then turned around onto his back, still completely oblivious to the world and the unusually late hour.
"What?" Lilly was momentarily confused.
"Breakfast…" Scotty continued to mumble.
For a moment, Lilly just stood there and smiled, caught in how adorable the moment was. When Scotty was asleep, the tough façade was cast away, and what was left was just pure Scotty. The Scotty who was still a child at heart and wanted nothing more than toast and eggs in the morning to be happy. Lilly wanted to get back into bed, hug him, and then make him the toast and eggs he craved. But unfortunately, this was definitely not the time. Duty called, and like it or not they had to answer.
"Who's making you breakfast?" Lilly yanked the sheets off of Scotty's sleeping form. "We're late, I'm going to take a shower."
Scotty sat up and rubbed his bleary eyes. He registered a blond form disappearing into the washroom with a hasty order of "And clean up that water."
Making his way over to the washroom, Scotty pressed his ear to the door and confirmed that the past few moments wasn't part of his dream. He raked his hand through his hair, groaning when he saw that the water on the floor was also real. Then he saw the clock and swore mightily.
Scotty hurried into kitchen and picked up a roll of paper towels to clean up the offending water Lilly had mentioned. He then looked around the bedroom, which after two nights of their use was in complete disarray. They were late. This was bad. He and Lilly were usually the first ones in the office. For them to both be late on the same day… it would definitely create suspicion. And the others, Vera especially, would definitely not let that go easily. Them coming in together though, not to mention Scotty being in his clothes from Saturday, would definitely be pushing their luck. Decision made, Scotty decided to leave a note and go to his house to pick up some clothes, hopefully staggering their arrival times.
As he leaned against Lilly's kitchen counter, chewing on a piece of left over pizza. He wondered how this should sound. Ain't like she's gonna read it carefully. And Scotty knew that was true. In fact, Lilly looked so harried that she'd probably bolt out of the door without noticing his absence. Still. His mind insisted that he make it clear he hadn't left her.
Lil,
Going home to get some clothes. I'll see you at work.
Scotty paused. What now? From Scotty? Too formal. Love Scotty? Too alarming and way, way too early for someone like Lilly. He settled on – Scotty, then paused and added a note. P.S. There's left over pizza by the microwave.
And with that he turned and left Lilly's house.
20 minutes later, record time for Lilly, she was fully dressed and sweeping her still wet hair into a pony tail. She walked into her bedroom, smiling happily when she noticed that Scotty had been conscious enough to hear her frantic request that he clean up the water she spilled.
"Scotty?" She called into the hallway, fully expecting to see his almost clothe-less form, wandering aimlessly in her kitchen.
But she was met by silence.
All of a sudden, Lilly felt an unexplainable, irrational, shot of fear pierce her veins. Had he left? Without so much as a goodbye? After everything they'd been through together that weekend, she'd expected at least an apologetic sentence about how this weekend was great, but they couldn't do this.
No damn it. That's not what she expected, she corrected herself. She expected him to still be here.
Her breathing slightly panicked, Lilly reached down to stroke her cats, who had wound themselves around her feet.
"Where is he, girls?" Lilly asked, not at all expecting an answer.
The look the cats gave her was easy to read. He left, Lilly. Just like all the rest of them.
Lilly walked into her kitchen, deathly quiet after the hubbub of last night. She immediately noticed the note on the table and when she read it, relief flooded her heart. Childish, naïve relief that screamed of old issues. But for that morning, it was enough to make her say to her cats.
"See? He's just gone to get some clothes. And… he left me breakfast."
Lilly picked up their delicious pizza and left for work. Lilly 1, Cats 0
Vera took in his colleague's slightly frantic and sheepish expression as he burst in the doors of the precinct. Face breaking into a wide grin, he nudged his partner Will Jeffries and the two of them prepared to give the younger detective some hell.
"Late night Valens?" Nick's gravelly voice drew attention to Scotty's arrival.
Scotty immediately went on the defensive. "Why do you care?" He asked suspiciously. No way Vera was hinting at - what he thought he was hinting at. Or if he was, it wasn't about the woman he was thinking about. Right?
Nick rolled his eyes, as if he shouldn't have to explain, "If you met some hot chick, we expect you to share. That's why we care. So spill it Valens. Why do you have sex hair?"
Damn it. He knew there was something he'd forgotten. Scotty smoothed down his hair, and Vera pounced on his silence.
"He did! Oh come on man, details. Was she good in bed?"
Suddenly irritated, Scotty retorted sharply, "Ain't any of your business Vera." He looked toward Jeffries for help.
Now Jeffries was all for friendly teasing, but this morning he sensed something was different. Scotty Valens, who used to brag about his women, or informants as he called them, whenever he could, was suddenly being defensively secretive. That could mean one of two things, that he was just seriously annoyed with Nick and hadn't had his morning coffee or... he'd met someone too special to talk locker room talk about.
Will Jeffries took another look at Scotty's face. It was filled, not with annoyance laced with anger and fatigue, but with worry and panic. Worry and panic that could only come from hiding a secret that was about to be exposed. Suddenly, the older detective knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Scotty Valens had met someone. Someone special that made his head spin round.
"Lay off Nick. Let the man be in peace." Jeffries knew that Scotty hadn't been in a serious relationship that made him this happy since the Elisa mess that left him inebriated half the time and angry the other half. And he wanted nothing, especially their meaningless teasing, to ruin whatever happiness Scotty had found.
Scotty sighed in relief. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the amazing weekend he had, lest he give away a vital detail… like the identity of the woman.
Just then, Lieutenant Stillman stepped out of his office, looking grateful at the brief reprise from paperwork. "So Lil got to you, Scotty?" He commented casually.
Scotty spun around and sputtered. "Lil? No I haven't seen Lil. What are you talkin' about boss?" His heart was racing in his ears and he quickly racked his brain, trying to find out when he'd screwed up and let the cat out of the bag in the 10 minutes he'd been in the office.
Stillman looked confused. "I told Lilly to call you." He spoke slowly and clearly.
"Oh, right. She must've missed me." Scotty replied, feeling the heat creep up his cheeks and the scrutiny of his colleagues, hoping against hope that Lilly would pop out of nowhere and corroborate his story.
"Hey Scotty. Tried to call you this morning." Lilly walked in through the door, locking away her gun, looking completely unperturbed. "Mondays are a bitch." She added, as an explanation for her and Scotty's lateness.
Lilly looked around the room, her colleagues and boss still frozen with shock. "What?" She asked.
"You're never late, Rush." Vera explained. "I mean you practically live here."
"Hey, I got a life." Lilly retorted.
"Yeah right." came Nick's sarcastic response. "What d'you do this weekend then?"
The conversation suddenly more interesting, Scotty chimed in. "Yeah Lil? What d'you do?"
Lilly was saved from answering by Kat Miller, who had sauntered into the room carrying an evidence box and was disgusted to find that they were questioning Lilly Rush instead of doing their jobs. "Hey! Anyone notice we got a case?" She asked to no one in particular.
Relieved, Lilly jumped at the chance to work. "What do we got?"
Lilly tried in vain to calm her racing heart as Kat began to explain the case. "Holly Wilder. 17. Found dead in Harlem, single shot to the chest, right around Christmas of 02."
"Any leads?" Scotty asked, thanking god he was switching back into detective mode.
Jeffries replied, "Original theory was a drug deal gone wrong. The corner she was found on was known drug territory." At Scotty's questioning look he added, "Some of us of us were here on time."
"But Holly came from Chestnut Hill, straight A's, honor student. The drug theory went nowhere." Vera continued.
"Then there was the boyfriend. Wayne, somethin' or other, Simms. Wayne Simms. Nothin' much on him, just a shady character." Kat informed the team. "Refused a comment the first time around."
"Only reason someone does that…" Lilly began.
"Is cause they got somethin' to hide." Scotty finished.
Having heard enough, Stillman informed the team of their game plan. "Vera, grab Kat and see if the boyfriend is more forthcoming today. Will and I will see if we can get her medical records and autopsy. Scotty and Lil why don't you guys go talk to the parents. Let them know we're reopening the case"
"How did this case get dug up anyways?" Scotty asked. He saw no evidence of a new lead that they hadn't had in 02.
Vera looked at Kat. "Someone, got bored this morning and decided to go digging through cases, found this one she liked." His grinn spoke of both amusement, and admiration for the woman who dedicated every spare moment to finding justice to give.
"She wanted to be a prosecutor, Nick. And besides, December of 02, most of Philly's cops were focused on that serial rapist hittin' universities. No one gave this case a fair shake."
"Maybe now's the time." Lilly added, her blue eye filled with determination.
Scotty and Lilly walked out of the Philadelphia Police Central Department and as they entered the parking lot, Scotty reached down and linked his fingers through Lilly's. They'd gotten through the first morning. Definitely not as gracefully as he would have liked, and more than once they'd seemed way too close to the edge, but all in all, nothing lost.
She looked up in surprise, "Not now Scotty." She warned quietly. They had to be more careful. The case would keep them busy for a few days, but at the next open opportunity, Lilly knew the team would be scrutinizing their every move.
"No one can see us." He promised, but he refrained from kissing her as they walked out in the open.
The moment they slipped into the car, their lips met and Scotty's hand tangled in Lilly's ponytail. "You're so beautiful." He told her honestly. As a response, she loosened his tie just enough to kiss the base of his neck and Scotty let one hand drop to her hip.
Sighing heavily, Lilly rested her forehead against Scotty's, their lips a few inches apart. "We can't."
"I know." He replied, but he continued to run his hand over her body.
"This is the department's car."
"Yeah…"
"We better stop, Scotty."
"Then you better stop lookin' at me like that Lil"
And with that they broke apart, both panting, both wanting more, both knowing this was neither the time or place. Thoroughly frustrated, Scotty started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Due to his characteristically fast driving, they were at their destination within 10 minutes.
Lilly walked purposefully toward the Wilders' front door, the feelings of the last few minutes completely buried, and rapped loudly. A middle aged woman answered the door. "Yes?"
Within a few minutes, Scotty and Lilly were seated together on the Wilders' sofa, deciding what would be the best way to approach the subject. It was never easy, the role of informing the loved ones, being bystanders to the kind of heart wrenching pain that comes from losing someone close to you. Being out on the line made you witness to the shocking, stinging pain that felt almost violent. Lilly had never been able to prevent herself from feeling that along with the families. Even when her old partner, Ben Fulcrum, had stressed NHI, she couldn't help but hold Patrick Bubly in her arms and close her eyes against the shock of the emotions overtaking her.
When she found her niche in the homicide department, cold cases, Lilly had hoped she'd be exempt from those kinds of experiences, but no such luck. Reopening cases years old only served to dredge up memories long ago buried, but equally painful. Over the years the entire team had learned to dread this part of the investigation, but Lilly knew it was this that would keep her going over the next few days.
Mrs. Wilder spoke up first, "You must be here about Holly." She smiled kindly. "Just ask."
"We wanted you to know that we're takin' another look at your daughter's case." Scotty said, all business.
"Why?" Mr. Wilder barked. "You people didn't care then. All you saw in my Holly was a girl who died on the drug corner. Just another worthless druggie, right?"
"Ignore him." Mrs. Wilder said. "I've come to peace with Holly's death. My husband hasn't quite managed it yet."
"The goddamn Philadelphia police didn't even look into Wayne Simms. He's the one who killed her, I know it." His rough voice in contrast with his wife's timid one.
Lilly jumped in, "Why do you say that?"
This time Mrs. Wilder spoke, and Scotty and Lilly were surprised at the angry tone her kind voice had suddenly taken. "When Holly started dating him, she'd always come home… hurt. Once I had to take her to the hospital. Three broken ribs. But no matter what we said, she wouldn't stop seeing him. By the time she died, we barely saw her at home anymore…" She trailed off sadly.
Lilly and Scotty exchanged a significant glance, all of a sudden feeling a new level of sadness. It would have been different if their victim had been a victim of opportunity, but Holly had struggled before her death. There was an entire, heart wrenching story for them to uncover. On her left, Scotty squeezed Lilly's hand, and the simple gesture gave her the strength to smile at the obviously still grieving parents.
They stood up to leave. "We'll look into it." Lilly handed the couple a card, "Call us if you remember anything else."
The team's interviews and forages through hospital politics took most of the afternoon and by the time all six of them returned to the precinct, the sun was setting and they were the only ones left.
"Well that was a complete waste of time." Vera exclaimed as he sank into his desk chair. "Did you guys know that there were 14 Wayne Simmses in Philly?"
Equally tired, Kat leaned against the wall, "We went through 6 of them. None of them remember dating a Holly Wilder."
Lilly was eager to share the information they'd learned, "The parents say Wayne liked pushing Holly around." She raised an eyebrow at Vera and Miller, "So maybe you'll have to track down those 8 other Wayne Simmses."
"Medical records confirm that," Jeffries added, "Numerous hospital visits in the months leading up to her death." His voice was heavy with emotion, and the entire team knew what he was feeling.
It was Scotty who voiced it first, "takes a special kinda jackass to beat up on his girlfriend."
"Well unfortunately, those special kinda jackasses exist around every corner." Kat informed him cynically. Trust Scotty Valens, the baby of homicide to get angry at this kind of thing when it happened all the time. Not only did jackasses beat up on their girlfriends, they got them pregnant, then left them...
He didn't mean to say that, Kat told herself, he doesn't know about Jarrod Jones.
As a wrap up to the conversation, Stillman said, "I think we'll have a lot to go on tomorrow. Someone's gotta stay and write up those reports, but I think the rest of us can call it a night."
The entire team shot meaningful looks at Scotty and Lilly, who chuckled and volunteered to stay. When the last of their colleagues had left, leaving only the two of them, Scotty sank down into a chair and pulled Lilly into his lap.
"Long day," he said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Yeah…" she replied, clearly exhausted. "We better get started on this paperwork."
He nibbled on her earlobe, "or we could go to my place." Scotty raised his eyebrow suggestively.
Standing up and walking over to her desk, Lilly replied, "not until we get this done. Holly's waited long enough."
They worked in silence for a few seconds, then after hearing Scotty's latest sigh of disappointment, Lilly spoke up, "If you don't do that for the next hour while we finish this. I will give you all the sex you want when we get to your place."
Scotty's face broke into a wide smile. This, this was certainly a side of Lilly that he had never ever in his life seen before. In all the years they'd worked together. He'd seen fear, that night in the attic with George. He'd seen sadness, when her mother died. He'd seen sheer panic, when she was cornered by Ed Martenson. And on a daily basis, he saw happiness, determination, and more recently he'd seen helplessness. But outwardly flirty? Never.
Her words made him go through the work with a renewed zeal and for the first time he could remember, he finished before Lilly. He stared across the table at his partner – his girlfriend? Her head was bowed, and she was focused on the task at hand, leaving Scotty completely free to take in the beautiful site. Te amo Lilly. He thought to himself, dreaming of the day he would be able to say it out loud.
So now you guys know what I mean by different. I thought it might make the story more realistic to give our favorite detectives a case to work on. Let me know if it's too uninteresting.
Also I know I changed Kat's story a little bit, but it just seemed appropriate as I wrote this. Sorry if it's out of character.