Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY.
Series: None.
Spoilers: Jamalot; Dead Inside; tiny mention of Rush to Judgement.
Okay, my X-Men: Evolution fanfic just hit 200 reviews and I'm really psyched. HOWEVER, that fic is on Chapter 37. This one is on Chapter 12 and we're already at 150 reviews. Once I realised that, I started bouncing off the walls (not literally, of course; that would be a little painful) at the thought of how many reviews this fic could potentially get. So thank you to everyone in advance!
Chapter Twelve – Jamalot
"The Kingdom of Jamalot?" Jess repeated slowly. "Is that the title of a porn film?"
Don chuckled on the other end of the line. "No, it's the promotional work for the Manhattan Minxes."
"Manhattan Minxes?" Jess sniggered. "You sure it wasn't a porn film?"
They were both at separate crime scenes and Jess was half-concentrating on the conversation and half-watching Danny and Aiden extract a half-naked man from a carpet.
"Hang on." Jess covered her phone. "ALS."
"Excuse me?" Aiden glanced up.
"You need an ALS." Jess elaborated.
Aiden looked around. "Why?"
Jess thought for a second. "Can't remember. But I'm sure you need one." She turned her attention back to her phone. "Who are the Manhattan Minxes?"
"A roller-derby team." Don told her slowly, not, she knew, because he thought she wouldn't understand otherwise, but to allow the words to sink in one by one, possibly jogging her memory better than a rushed message. "Victim was Rose Wilson, otherwise known as She Hate Me."
Jess groaned. "Dammit. I heard about it, Don, but I can't be sure I didn't read it in the papers. How was she killed?"
"We think blunt force trauma." Don answered. "She was found dead at the bottom of a pile; someone's skate came down on her face."
The memory flitted just out of Jess's reach. "I'm not sure, Don. I've got a feeling that wasn't what killed her, but Sid will tell you that when you get her back to autopsy. Sorry; I haven't been much help."
Don sighed. "It's okay. Back to the old-fashioned solution of actually investigating then."
Jess sniggered. "See you later." She hung up and turned back to the body, seeing words lit up on the man's skin. "That's why you needed an ALS."
"Talk about stating the obvious." Hawkes muttered. "What is all this?"
Jess shrugged. "Don't know."
"Once again, you're a load of help." Danny rolled his eyes.
"I do my best, Danny." Jess frowned. "I wasn't here for all this, remember?"
"Calm down, Detective." Danny squeezed her shoulder as he passed. "I'm just joking."
"Hey." Aiden called quietly. "What's wrong? You seem a little on edge today."
Jess shook her head. "I don't know." She admitted. "But it's freaking me out." She looked around, stamping her feet on the icy ground in an attempt to keep the cold from stealing the nerves in them.
Something about the parking lot they were standing in was familiar, though Jess was sure she'd never been there before.
And that something was throwing her off.
As soon as the case was closed, Jess found herself back in the parking lot, looking around for any clue now that the crime scene tape had been removed. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she started walking, wondering if her subconscious would lead her somewhere.
And it did.
A block over, she stood in another parking lot, staring at the back entrance of a cheap motel, an icy chill that had nothing to do with the weather contracting her chest and making breathing difficult.
"Jess."
Jess spun around, seeing Don walking towards her. He had a smile on his face and she guessed his case had been closed too. "Hey."
"What are you doing out here?" He asked. "It's freezing."
Jess smiled sadly. "Reminiscing."
"You ever figure out what was getting to you?" Don pressed. "Aiden said you've been snappy for the last few days."
"It was the area." Jess answered. "And the date."
Don frowned for a second in confusion. He took in the longing in her eyes and the sad smile on her face and his own expression cleared. "Anniversary?"
Jess nodded. "First kiss. We were standing right here. Crime scene was a block over. It only just hit me."
Don sighed, slipping an arm around her waist. "I'm sorry, Jess." He murmured. "I need …"
"Time, I know." Jess finished. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty, Don. You asked. I didn't think you'd appreciate a lie."
"I wouldn't." Don confirmed, gently steering her away from the parking lot and towards her apartment. "What were we doing there anyway? Stakeout?"
"Something like that." Jess agreed vaguely.
Don sighed. "Half-truths don't work either, Jess. Why were we in a place like that?"
Jess took a deep breath. "Samantha."
Don stopped walking. "My sister?"
Jess nodded, turning to face him, unable to read his expression now the light of the streetlamps were dimmer. It made it easier. "I was running down a warrant with Martinez a few nights earlier and a beer bottle suddenly collided with the windshield of our car. It was the guys she was hanging with who were causing the problem so I let her off with a warning and told you the next day. Few days later, I'd just gotten home after closing a case and you called me; asked me to meet you back there. I drove out, waited, then you came out and told me that you were gonna walk it off instead."
"What did you say?" Don asked quietly.
"I told you I understood." Jess answered just as quietly, remembering the worn, almost heartbroken expression on his face as if it was yesterday. "Asked if you and Sam were gonna be okay. You told me you were stubborn. I asked if you were gonna be okay. You told me you would be and walked away. I was about to get back in the car, when you called me back and kissed me."
She'd never divulged that much about their relationship (or the future at all, for that matter) before and she was hoping that would distract him from the mention of his sister.
"Jess, why were we there?" Don asked again.
Jess sighed. "Not here, Don …"
"Yes, here." Don disagreed. "Why?"
Jess sighed again. "She was at an AA meeting. She is – or will be, I don't know how long it had been going on – an alcoholic."
Don took an automatic step back. "No."
"I'm sorry." Jess murmured.
"Why?" Don whispered. "What drove her …?"
"She said …" Jess swallowed, wishing she hadn't started her sentence, but he moved closer again, his eyes begging her for answers and she found herself unable to deny them. "She said that her family was perfect and that she was the screw-up."
"Dammit." Don muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry." Jess repeated.
"It's not your fault." Don shook his head, his arm reappearing around her waist. "What do I do?"
"Honestly? Don, I don't know if there's anything you can do." Jess admitted. "I think your best option is to wait until something happens, but don't blame her, don't yell at her and don't tell her what she's doing wrong. Just sit her down, tell her that you love her and that you're worried and is there anything you can do?"
"How did I handle it the first time?" Don asked.
"Well, it's different." Jess pointed out. "At that point, she had realised and accepted it about herself. One of my brothers, Rob … it took us six months of dragging him to AA meetings and he didn't talk to us the entire time. We just used to go over; the boys used to pick him up and physically carry him to the car; I'd drive him to the meetings and then they'd carry him in. And we used to sit outside that room, praying he'd start talking, but he didn't. Then we'd take him home and he'd turned to us and say, "I hate you all for this.""
It wasn't until he stopped walking again and pulled her into his arms that she realised she'd started crying. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
Jess shook her head into his shirt. "It's not your fault."
Don kissed her head. "C'mon. Maybe we'd better get back to your apartment before you finish the story."
Jess didn't argue, allowing him to walk her home, both of them stepping carefully on the icy ground.
When they were finally inside her apartment, Don made them both a mug of coffee and sat her down on her couch. "Hold the Irish." He grinned.
"Probably a good idea." Jess agreed, tucking her feet up under her to lean against him.
Don wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. "So how's your brother now?"
"Sober." Jess answered with a smile. "After six months, we were waiting outside and he finally started talking about the drink and … I think that was the last time I cried until …" She trailed off, remembering the next time she'd broken down.
Without a word, she pulled a notepad from her pocket and jotted something down.
"That's not the usual one." Don noted.
"No, this one I keep note from the future in." Jess explained. "Sometimes, things come to me and I can't do anything about them yet, so I note down the day – May 2009 – and the case."
"Can I?" Don asked and she handed him the notepad. "Todd Fleming – follow him at all times?"
"It's a long story." Jess sighed. "I'll tell you closer the time. I promise." She took the pad back and tucked it away. "What happened with your roller-derby team?"
"It was the owner's wife." Don pulled a face. "She was pissed off that her husband was jeopardising their pension and wanted to make sure they succeeded so she spiked their shampoo with a very dangerous weight loss drug. When Rose got caught in the pile-up …"
Jess nodded and he knew he didn't need to go on; she had guessed what had happened.
"It's a shame." Don shook his head. "We talked to the reserve player and she was saying how she never showered with the rest of the girls, because they were perfect and intimidated her … she was a pretty girl. I mean, I wouldn't say she'd win Miss America or anything, but there was nothing wrong with how she looked. Why are so many women incapable of looking in the mirror and seeing what the rest of us see and not their own twisted vision of reality?"
Jess chuckled. "Hey, I don't get it either."
"You know, right?" Don asked suddenly.
Jess frowned, tipping her head back. "Know what?"
"That you're beautiful." Don elaborated. "I mean, I know I don't tell you enough now, but back then, I must've told you every day, right?"
Jess smiled fondly. "Sometimes more than that. I stopped doubting that a long time ago."
"Good." Don tightened his arm around her shoulders. "You're worth so much more than that."
Jess smiled, knowing a response was unnecessary. She knew Aiden – and now Lindsay and Stella – were wondering why she wasn't pushing Don to put some sort of label on their relationship, but she had begun recognising his behaviour and knew it was only a matter of time; she had lived through this before, after all.
They spent all their time together, regularly had dinner together; he hadn't so much as looked at another woman since he'd met her.
As Lindsay had pointed out the first time round, they were already dating.
He just hadn't realised it yet.
And, for now at least, she was willing to wait.
AN: As I believe I've mentioned before, aside from a few oneshots in which I reference May 20th, my fics tend to follow a different timeline. I don't remember if Dead Inside took place in January or not. Jamalot definitely took place in the winter, because there was snow on the ground. But on the whole, 'Impossible' follows the same general timeline as 'Kindred Spirits', so a lot of Jess's memories will come from that (mainly because I can't be bothered to create yet another story for their relationship), and in that series, their first kiss was in January.
So if Jess remembers something that you don't from the show, it's probably from there (Ex. In my Rush to Judgement, Jess cried for the first time that she could remember, which is why her story reminded her of that case).
Just ask if something confuses you; I don't bite, honest :D
Right, the next thing you see out of me will hopefully be the next instalment of 'Kindred Spirits', which, for those of you who are keeping up, is 'A Daze of Wine and Roaches'. However a pesky song-fic is flitting in and out of my head, so it might be that … Whatever it is, watch out for it!