Archive of Our Own

All he was asking was to stay the night at her apartment. Just once. And she was tempted to say yes, but she was scared. This was a big step, bigger than anything she'd done before, not since her last relationship.

And Flack was nothing like Grissom, not in any respect other than the important ones.

She'd come to New York for a change, for the chance to do something that had nothing to do with a crime lab, but fate had steered her in the direction of Mac Taylor, and she found herself, on occasion, consulting for the crime labs when she wasn't teaching at the Manhattan public school where she'd ended up. It was nice, still getting to do a little crime solving but not having it be her complete life. And she loved teaching, loved the kids that she was able to get into science when it really counted, in that time between elementary and high school.

During a consult for Mac she'd literally run into Flack as he rushed out of the labs. He'd stopped, helped her up and apologized. She had expected that to be the end of the encounter when he'd offered to buy her a coffee, just because it had looked like she was having a rotten morning. The first thought that went through her mind was that she should demur, that she should just do what she needed to do for Mac and get out as quickly as possible.

But then he'd smiled at her and she was sunk. It had been a while since she'd come across a smile like that. In fact, Nick was the only guy she knew who had a smile that would just light up his whole face, that would make his eyes crinkle slightly and the dimples start showing. And that smile made her a little homesick. Not enough to stop her from accepting the invitation, but just enough that she had Nick and Greg and Catherine and Warrick and Brass and even Grissom on her mind as they began to talk.

It was only because he had a scene to go to and she really did need to talk to Mac that they ended their initial conversation, two and a half hours after he'd run into her. She hadn't felt that at ease with anyone in a long time. All her life she'd been loathe to open up to someone and this guy got her to let down some of her defenses and smile and laugh and actually talk. It amazed her. And when he asked for her number, she gave it to him without a second thought.

Things had progressed easily, smoothly. It had been a few months now, and she was happy. But now he wanted to spend the night, and she wasn't sure what to do. She'd dropped a lot of her defenses, but not all of them. When they'd meet, it would be on neutral ground: the movies, Central Park, the labs, her school...lately it had been his apartment as well, and she was fine with that. But her apartment, that was another matter. Other than walking her to the door of her building, he had no idea about where she lived.

And now he wanted to know.

"I don't have to come in," he said, looking at her in the passenger seat. "I was just saying I wanted to."

She broke out of her thoughts and looked at him. "I know. And I want you to. It's just that I don't want you to, too."

"I understand," he said with a nod. "Want me to walk you to the building?"

"Yes," she said, grateful that she knew he really did understand. She got out of the car and wrapped her arms around her. It was that time of the year, when the air got chilly but it wasn't always cold enough to need a coat. Soon she would, though, and soon she would probably enjoy spending her nights next to him even more. There was a deep-seated comfort there, something that warmed her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.

He put his hand at the small of her back once she got over to him. It was a small gesture, but one that he did frequently, and one that she loved. Sometimes the small physical moments, where they really connected, they made her feel more alive than she had in a long time. Things hadn't quite been that way with Grissom, and she was continually surprised at how it moved her, comforted her, built up something inside her that just wanted more.

They got to the steps and he pulled her a little closer. "Night," he said, leaning in slightly to kiss her. She responded in kind, eventually settling her hands on his arms to keep her balance. His kisses, even the soft and light ones like the one they were sharing right now, tended to make her want to cling to him and make him never stop, and tonight was no exception.

And tonight...

She pulled away slightly. "Don."

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath. "Would you like to come in?"

He nodded slowly, that endearing grin slowly filling up his face, lighting it up from the inside out. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

She smiled back at him and reached over for his hand. She wasn't so scared anymore, and in her mind she knew that was a very good thing indeed.