Picking Up the Pieces
Picking Up the Pieces
Wordcount: 4126
Rating: mild language, violence, allusions to domestic violence... *shrugs*
Pairing: Troy/Charlene, Jake/Charlene (OMCs/OFC)
Feedback: Hell yea! I didn’t post this thing for my health.
Disclaimer: Umm, actually I do own everything here...'cept the Special Feature pictures, those I nabbed off the internet.
Author's Note: Don't ask me where this came from. For some unknown freakin' reason I started thinking about some random thing I heard way back when about people in abusive relationships not wanting to leave because of their pets and within 30 minutes this whole damn story was cooked up in my overactive brain, while at work mind you, and it doesn't even really have to do with the whole pet angle that started me off!
Scott looked up from his haphazard desk and scrubbed his hand over his face just in time to see the dirty blonde haired woman walk into the station.
He took a sip from his luke warm coffee absent mindedly and studied her like the profiler he was.
Despite her eyes being covered with dark sunglasses, which she obviously didn’t need, he knew her eyes were darting about the building, taking in every person and ever corner and exit.
She had her hair down in such a way that, coupled with the sunglasses, hid most of her face in shadows.
She was an abused woman. No doubt about it.
She was far too jumpy and skittish, keeping a wide berth from almost everyone.
Although that wasn’t many at this particular point in time, the station was pretty empty.
She seemed to spot him and after glancing around once more made her way slowly to his desk.
He quick tried to clear the many case folders and random paperwork into somewhat orderly piles before she made it to his desk, standing awkwardly for a moment.
He motioned his hand and she sat down on the edge of the small worn seat, seemingly ready to bolt at a moments notice.
“How may I help you?”
“I uh, I need to know how to get to a safe house.”
Scott nodded knowingly. He had expected as much.
“Not a problem,” he said, reaching for the standard informational packets all officers kept at their desks.
“Is there a pet friendly one?” she said in a rush.
His hand froze mid air, pamphlet in hand.
“Excuse me?”
“I uh, I have a dog and,” she dropped her head, holding onto her small purse in her lap. “I won’t leave without him.”
Scott paused, his mind shooting in a million different directions.
“Why don’t we get you safe first, and then we’ll worry about the dog.”
“No.”
That had been the strongest, loudest word she had said yet and Scott’s eyes widened a bit as he crossed his hands over the brochure now on his desk and leaned forward a little.
“Listen...” he paused.
“Charlene.”
“Charlene, we need to get you somewhere safe. I promise when our deputies go to take care of your,” he glanced at her hand and didn’t see a gold band. “Boyfriend, we’ll confiscate the dog and make sure he gets back to you. But first we need to get you out and safe somewhere.”
She shook her head. “No, I won’t leave him. I’ve had him for years, he’s, he’s tried to protect me and gotten hurt himself because of it. If I leave him there alone, even for a day, especially after Troy realizes I’ve left, he’ll kill him.”
Scott inhaled deeply. God this woman was hard headed.
She stopped him before he could speak. “Look, I don’t have much time, he sent me to get him more beer, here’s the number to the house,” she said, quickly scratching out the digits on the back of one of his business cards, “Although if Troy answers you best just hang up,” she rambled, “and if you find somewhere that’ll let me bring Dakota, let me know.”
He nodded reassuringly and she grabbed her purse and started heading towards the door.
As the door swung shut behind her he remembered the information he had and called out.
“Hey, wait you forgot…”
The door clicked shut and Scott sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face again and placing the written on card by his computer.
***
Jake got back from a call and plopped himself down in the chair next to Scott’s desk.
“Anything happen while I was gone?”
Scott shook his head, typing up a report on his computer.
“It’s been dead.”
“Well that’s good,” Jake said with his boyish smile.
Scott rolled his eyes at his partner. Jake was only about two years younger but the damn kid looked like he just got out of high school.
Okay, maybe that was exaggerating. A little.
Still, those mischievous hazel eyes and spiky blonde hair, coupled with Jake’s infectious boyish grin did nothing but make him look young. Although he could still be downright scary when he wanted to be.
Scott had seen it enough times.
Scott’s stomach growled making Jake look up from the case file he had snatched off the desk and had been leafing through.
He glanced at his watch and scowled.
“Damn, I didn’t realize it was so late.”
Scott’s eyes shot to the corner of his computer screen and saw it was past one.
“God damn. I’m gonna go get something to eat, you want anything?”
“Yea, get me cheeseburger or something,” he mumbled, getting up and sitting in front of the computer as Scott vacated the seat and grabbed his jacket.
“Hey what’s this?” he questioned, picking up the business card scrawled with obvious female handwriting.
“A phone number and ‘hang up if Troy answers’? Dude,” he grinned, “That’s more my style.”
Scott finished shrugging on his jacket and secured his Beretta in his waistband, rolling his eyes at Jake, again.
“She’s a domestic violence case, says she won’t leave without her dog, left me her number incase I heard something,” he said, pulling out his keys. “I tell you man, women are crazy. Getting beat to hell and she won’t leave ‘cause of her dog,” he shook his head and headed off towards the garage.
Jake watched him go and then glanced back at the business card, brow furrowed in thought.
***
Jake walked around the side of his unmarked police cruiser and opened the door. Charlene stepped out slowly and pulled on Dakota’s leash, the shepherd mix jumping out behind her.
“I’ll get your bag,” Jake said, headed towards the backseat.
Charlene stood awkwardly in the middle of the driveway, fiddling with Dakota’s leash and staring at the small house that belonged to Deputy Jake Townsend. She felt out of place, being in such a nice, normal neighborhood, finally away from that rat hole she had stayed in with Troy.
Jake shut the car door behind her and saw her jump at the noise. Dakota standing up and spinning around, showing Jake just how much the dog did look out for her.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Charlene nodded curtly and looked down.
Jake offered a small smile and led the way up the small steps and onto the porch, pulling the screen door open and unlocking the dead bolt.
He stopped a little inside, letting Charlene follow in behind him and shutting the door for her.
“It’s not much, but uh, make yourself at home.”
He watched her carefully she had barely spoken since he had picked her up.
“Here I’ll uh, show you your room.”
He went down the hall towards the spare bedroom.
“Here’s the bathroom,” he pointed out and headed into the extra room, placing her bag on the bed. “And uh, here’s where you’ll be staying. I tried to clean a little,” he chuckled nervously.
The corner of her mouth twitched into a grin and Jake found himself smiling wider, proud of himself for at least coaxing that much out of her.
She bent down and unhooked Dakota’s leash. The dog instantly began walking around sniffing anything he could reach.
“I uh, I have to get back to the station,” he said, leading the way back down the hall and into the living room. “Feel free to anything in the fridge, or…cupboards. Umm, I have cable, pay-per-view’s been kinda crappy lately but you can order some movies if you want. Umm...”
He fiddled with his keys. “I guess we can go to the store or something tonight, or tomorrow, get some food, or you know, anything you need. Or for Dakota…anyway” he sighed, a bit nervous about her still being so quiet.
“I should be back around five, I left my cell number on the fridge if you, need anything.”
She nodded slightly, still not making eye contact.
“Alright then,” he said, headed towards the door.
“Thank you,” she whispered before he could step out.
He froze and looked back at her, her blue eyes almost glowing in her bruised and battered face.
“You’re welcome,” he said quietly with a small smile.
She smiled back and looked away shyly.
He grinned a little wider and left.
***
Scott and Jake had patrol duty that day and were out in their cruiser when Jake told him.
“You did what?!”
“What? Why’s that bad?”
“Jake, we don’t just take in people off the street!”
“She’s not off the street, she needed somewhere to stay, I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Scott shook his head and propped his elbow on the windowsill.
“You’re one crazy fuck, you know that?”
Jake grinned, “That’s why you love me.”
“Ass.”
“Jerk.”
Scott sighed and sat a little straighter when a possible gang shooting was reported over the radio.
He answered the call and they headed towards the address.
***
Jake was beat when he stepped in the door at a quarter after six. He hung his coat on the rack by the door and sniffed the air.
Was someone actually cooking? In his house??
“Charlene?”
“In the kitchen,” she called.
His brow furrowed and he walked across the living room and into the kitchen.
She had burgers and chips and all sorts of shit laid out, finishing up what looked to be lemonade.
“Hi,” she said shyly.
“Hey,” he said with a small smile.
“You umm, you didn’t have a whole lot of stuff, so I umm, I tried to make a decent meal. Figured since you were late you must have had a hard day,” she mumbled.
He grinned a little wider and walked over towards her, stopping a couple feet away when he saw her visibly tense.
“It looks good,” he whispered.
That was rewarded with a small smile and she relaxed a little.
Jake grinned to himself.
***
The next couple weeks were pretty awkward. Charlene still wasn’t use to trusting anyone and Jake was trying his damnedest not to just grab her and tell her she was safe.
They had settled into a little routine though, and damn that girl could cook, Jake hadn’t eaten so well in his life.
One night, somewhere around one, maybe two, Jake was startled awake by something. His mind still foggy, he laid in silence, his hand already gripping the Glock under his pillow and listened to see if he could pinpoint what had woken him.
His brow furrowed when he heard whimpering.
He nudged open his bedroom door and froze, gun half raised.
His adrenaline kicked in when he realized the noises were coming from Charlene’s room.
“Shit,” he walked over to her door and paused. “Char? Charlene? You okay in there?”
There was no answer, just more whimpers and muffled cries.
Jake raised his gun and pushed the door open in a rush, sending Dakota into a fit of barks.
He froze when he realized what he was aiming for wasn’t there.
Charlene laid thrashing in the bed trapped in a vicious nightmare.
Jake’s bare feet padded over to her bed, shushing Dakota who sat down obediently and did just that. He leaned over the bed and gently grabbed her hand, trying to wake her.
“Hey, Charlene, wake up hun, Char…it’s okay, you’re safe.”
He sighed and reached up to shake her shoulder when that didn’t work.
“Charlene,” he said a little more forcefully.
Her eyes shot open, wide with panic and the next thing he knew her fist was connecting with his face.
He stumbled back a step, his free hand cradling his jaw, Dakota’s frantic barks once again piercing his eardrums.
“Son of a…”
When Charlene started outright screaming, he fought the swirls in his vision to see her staring in fear at the gun that was still gripped in his other hand.
“Shit,” he raised it slowly and then placed it on her nightstand. “Char? Hey, hey, it’s alright, okay? It’s alright, sshh, sshh,” he shook his head a little, still trying to clear the spots from her vision and crouched down by her bed as she stopped screaming and seemed to be coming back to reality.
“Jake?” she whispered, wincing at how broken her own voice sounded.
Dakota was still giving off little huffs of barks, sounding like the dog was grumbling and Jake shot him a sidelong glance, immediately he stopped and started wagging his tail.
“It’s alright, Char, you were just having a nightmare.”
She was glancing around the room, slowly bringing her breathing back to normal.
“Oh god…”
His brow furrowed until she reached forward with a shaking hand and touched his lip, her fingers coming away with blood.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
He held up his hand as he touched the busted lip for himself, wincing a little at the contact.
“S’okay, I’ve had worse, trust me.”
Her eyes fell to a small circular scar on his left shoulder and she didn’t realize until then that he was dressed only in a pair of heather gray cotton pants.
Her fingers ghosted across the small circle absent mindedly while her eyes took in the few other scattered scars on his chest and abs.
He watched her carefully in silence before she seemed to snap herself out of it with start.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…I mean…”
“It’s okay.”
He stumbled his way into standing as she rushed past him and out of the room, Dakota at her heels.
He followed her into the kitchen.
“Char, what are you…”
He came around the corner nearly running into her, already on her way back a bag of frozen peas in her hand.
“Here,” she whispered.
A grin creeped across his face, albeit a lopsided one thanks to his slowly swelling lip.
“Thanks,” he whispered back, gingerly placing the bag on his lip.
She looked away shyly again.
“You gonna be okay?” he mumbled, taking the bag away from his face for a moment.
She nodded and glanced back up at him, “Are you?”
He smiled, “I think I’ll be fine.”
She smirked a little bit and scratched Dakota behind the ear, “Well, ‘night then,” she said, heading back down the hall.
“’Night,” Jake whispered, rooted to where he stood.
***
It had been awkward the day after that, but when Jake had gotten home from the station dinner was ready and Charlene had ordered a movie for them to watch.
Jake had his arm on the back of the couch and looked at Charlene from the corner of his eye when she at down next to him with a bowl of popcorn. She still wasn’t close per se, still too many mental wounds left to heal, although the physical ones were pretty much gone, but he smiled to himself that she trusted him at least that much.
When a particularly gruesome shot flashed across the screen he almost jumped as she buried her face in his chest. His arm came down awkwardly patting her back and holding her until that scene was over.
He swore she blushed.
He never would have expected something almost as gruesome was waiting for them the next day.
***
They had just finished dinner and were cleaning and washing dishes when there was a crash in the living room followed by Dakota’s barks and then a harsh yelp.
Jake rushed into the living room to see a very drunk, very angry Troy and apparently now dead Dakota.
Charlene was right behind him and he quickly tried to push her out of the way.
“Charvleen, I’s done told you never to leaves me,” Troy drawled, malice shining in his glazed over eyes. “Let alone fors some crap cop.”
Jake’s eyes shot to the hallway, where he knew his gun lay locked in its case.
Before he could make a move Troy had grabbed a lamp and yanked the damn thing from the wall in a rush towards him.
“Char! Gun! My room! Now!”
She slid between him and the wall and took off running down the hall.
Troy stumbled and made a move to follow her when Jake tackled him, throwing all the weight he could into the man’s thick middle.
Troy went down like a ton of bricks, his overweight form crashing into the coffee table sending splinters and glass shards flying.
***
Frantically Charlene grabbed the ring of keys off the dresser and cursed that he had so damn many. Her shaking hands were doing nothing to help the already slow going of finding the right key to unlock the padlock on his gun case.
***
Jake’s fist connected with Troy’s face, the pain shooting up his arm and his finger’s going numb.
Who knew this dick was so hard headed?
Troy wasn’t too far behind. His aim was off but the oaf had a good swing, his own fist crashing into Jake’s nose with a crack.
Jake stumbled back as he tried to catch himself from the strike, his vision swirling dangerously and pain lancing through his face.
His arms shot out behind him as he tried to catch his fall and all that was resulted was pieces of the broken coffee table glass embedding themselves into his palms.
“God damnit!”
***
Charlene jumped when she heard Jake yell and dropped the keys. “Shit,” she hissed, grabbing the ring again and flipping through them back to the one she ended with and roughly jammed it into the lock, relief flooding through her when she saw the lock pop open.
***
Troy jumped up from the ground and made a dive for Jake.
Jake’s eyes went wide before he brought his feet up, catching the larger man’s weight on his feet and launching him over his head.
He rolled over, instantly regretting it when more glass found its way into his shoulder and heard Troy’s bulk crash into the drywall, the small picture hanging above him crashing to the floor, the glass shattering and adding to the already dangerous debris.
Charlene slid to a stop at the end of the hall, wide eyes staring at Troy that was now mere inches from her as he stood dazed and spotted her.
She barely had time to scream before he reached up and slammed her head into the wall.
Jake’s Glock clattered to the floor drawing the other man’s attention, and Jake, his feet being sliced open on the glass shards, made a dive for it.
Troy unfortunately got to it first and aimed haphazardly, pulling the trigger.
Charlene screamed when the gunshot echoed in the house and she heard Jake yell in pain.
She jumped on Troy’s back and started punching the back of his head as hard as she could.
Jake’s vision swam as he fought off the pain and shock. Get it together dude, you’ve been shot before!
He grabbed the gun just as Troy slammed his back, and with it Charlene, into the wall.
She grunted and fell to the floor as Troy stumbled forward and tried to turn around to renew his assault on her.
Three more gunshots echoed through the house, Troy’s body jerking with each crack before he slumped forward, his head hitting the wall at a weird angle as he fell dead next to Charlene.
Jake fell to his knees and grunted in pain, his hand dropping the gun and searching blindly for his cell phone in his pocket. He hoped his finger had hit the right speed dial number as he heard the ringing coming from the speaker as he crawled his way over to Charlene who was starting to come to.
He heard Scott pick up on the other end and screamed without even holding the phone to his mouth. “Scott! My house! Now!”
***
Scott’s black unmarked Impala cruiser, lights and siren blazing tore into Jake’s yard, digging ruts into his manicured lawn as it slid to a stop. Scott was out and running before the car even settled. Backup units already squealing to stops behind him.
Scott immediately saw the busted in window and pulled his gun rushing the front door and kicking it in.
“Jake?!”
He stopped when he saw his partner, much too pale, propped against the wall, blood covering most the top half of his body and the whole room a mess. Charlene was there too, trying to keep Jake conscious.
Scott’s eyes fell to the obviously dead larger man and looked back at Charlene who just sniffed past her tears.
***
Luckily the bullet had gone straight through Jake’s shoulder and hadn’t hit anything vital. He was given a paid vacation and told to go home and rest.
Now that Troy wasn’t out there to worry about, Jake had helped Charlene get set up in her own apartment on the other side of town, finding her a job and even buying a decent car for her at one of the police impound auctions.
He never did tell her he didn’t want her to go. He knew she needed to find her feet again now that she was safe.
Within the month he was back at the station, although ordered to do nothing but paperwork.
He printed out and submitted Scott’s most recent report and headed to the break room for a cup of coffee. By the time he made it back to his desk Scott was back from his patrol.
“Anything new?”
Scott shook his head, “Some convenience store stick up, didn’t get very far though, Mike’s booking him.”
Jake nodded, “I think I’m gonna take the rest of the day off,” he said, setting down his mug and gingerly pulling on his jacket over his still sore shoulder.
Scott looked up from the computer, “What?”
“I got some…stuff I need to do, tell Chief for me?”
“Oh yea, sure, leave me to deal with that man.”
Jake grinned, “Tell him I didn’t feel good,” he said, touching his shoulder with a fake pout and walked away.
He smiled when he heard Scott cuss behind him.
***
He couldn’t believe he felt like such a damn fool.
He made his way up the stairs to the second story of the apartment building, and Charlene’s place.
He stood outside awkwardly for a moment before hesitantly knocking.
He heard the chain slide and the deadbolt unlock before the door cracked open to a grinning Charlene.
“Jake…”
“Hey Char,” he smiled.
***
They got back from dinner a little after nightfall.
“I can’t believe you haven’t seen that movie!” Charlene said laughing and entering her apartment.
“Sorry,” he grinned, “I was kinda stuck with daytime TV at the hospital.”
She went to her small entertainment center and started rummaging through some DVDs.
“Sit,” she grinned, pointing to the couch.
“Yes, ma’am,” he mocked saluted.
She hit the play button and sat down next to him.
There was a moment of silence while the FBI warnings and previews played before she turned her head to smile at him.
He smirked back, somewhat confused.
“What?”
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.
Why the hell was his chest so tight all of a sudden?
“Me too,” he whispered back.
She grinned and leaned into him, letting him wrap his arm around her and rest his cheek on her hair.
They were both asleep before the movie even ended.
***
Charlene shifted slightly against him and Jake’s instincts kicked him, waking him up.
It took him a second to remember where exactly he was.
He smiled and looked down at the peaceful Charlene.
She looked so much stronger now. She had dyed her hair a light brown, bought new clothes, started a new life. She had even gotten a concealed weapons permit, although she had yet to actually purchase a gun. Jake couldn’t see anything left of the timid little creature he had taken in months ago.
She shifted again and cracked open her eyes, reaching up and rubbing the sleep from them.
“Mornin,’” he rumbled.
She smiled and sat up a little bit. “Morning.”
They looked at each other in silence before Jake reached up and cupped her cheek in his palm, his thumb gently stroking back and forth.
She stared at him and somewhere in his subconscious he registered it as one of the very few times she hadn’t broken eye contact with him.
His hand slipped around to the back of her neck and pulled her into a soft kiss.
She came willingly.
He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled shakily.
She smiled and kissed him again gently.
He opened his eyes and smiled back.
A week later the apartment was back up for rent, Charlene’s beat up car for sale and a new puppy was running around their heels at their house.
Next: Pictures
Wordcount: 4126
Rating: mild language, violence, allusions to domestic violence... *shrugs*
Pairing: Troy/Charlene, Jake/Charlene (OMCs/OFC)
Feedback: Hell yea! I didn’t post this thing for my health.
Disclaimer: Umm, actually I do own everything here...'cept the Special Feature pictures, those I nabbed off the internet.
Author's Note: Don't ask me where this came from. For some unknown freakin' reason I started thinking about some random thing I heard way back when about people in abusive relationships not wanting to leave because of their pets and within 30 minutes this whole damn story was cooked up in my overactive brain, while at work mind you, and it doesn't even really have to do with the whole pet angle that started me off!
Scott looked up from his haphazard desk and scrubbed his hand over his face just in time to see the dirty blonde haired woman walk into the station.
He took a sip from his luke warm coffee absent mindedly and studied her like the profiler he was.
Despite her eyes being covered with dark sunglasses, which she obviously didn’t need, he knew her eyes were darting about the building, taking in every person and ever corner and exit.
She had her hair down in such a way that, coupled with the sunglasses, hid most of her face in shadows.
She was an abused woman. No doubt about it.
She was far too jumpy and skittish, keeping a wide berth from almost everyone.
Although that wasn’t many at this particular point in time, the station was pretty empty.
She seemed to spot him and after glancing around once more made her way slowly to his desk.
He quick tried to clear the many case folders and random paperwork into somewhat orderly piles before she made it to his desk, standing awkwardly for a moment.
He motioned his hand and she sat down on the edge of the small worn seat, seemingly ready to bolt at a moments notice.
“How may I help you?”
“I uh, I need to know how to get to a safe house.”
Scott nodded knowingly. He had expected as much.
“Not a problem,” he said, reaching for the standard informational packets all officers kept at their desks.
“Is there a pet friendly one?” she said in a rush.
His hand froze mid air, pamphlet in hand.
“Excuse me?”
“I uh, I have a dog and,” she dropped her head, holding onto her small purse in her lap. “I won’t leave without him.”
Scott paused, his mind shooting in a million different directions.
“Why don’t we get you safe first, and then we’ll worry about the dog.”
“No.”
That had been the strongest, loudest word she had said yet and Scott’s eyes widened a bit as he crossed his hands over the brochure now on his desk and leaned forward a little.
“Listen...” he paused.
“Charlene.”
“Charlene, we need to get you somewhere safe. I promise when our deputies go to take care of your,” he glanced at her hand and didn’t see a gold band. “Boyfriend, we’ll confiscate the dog and make sure he gets back to you. But first we need to get you out and safe somewhere.”
She shook her head. “No, I won’t leave him. I’ve had him for years, he’s, he’s tried to protect me and gotten hurt himself because of it. If I leave him there alone, even for a day, especially after Troy realizes I’ve left, he’ll kill him.”
Scott inhaled deeply. God this woman was hard headed.
She stopped him before he could speak. “Look, I don’t have much time, he sent me to get him more beer, here’s the number to the house,” she said, quickly scratching out the digits on the back of one of his business cards, “Although if Troy answers you best just hang up,” she rambled, “and if you find somewhere that’ll let me bring Dakota, let me know.”
He nodded reassuringly and she grabbed her purse and started heading towards the door.
As the door swung shut behind her he remembered the information he had and called out.
“Hey, wait you forgot…”
The door clicked shut and Scott sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face again and placing the written on card by his computer.
***
Jake got back from a call and plopped himself down in the chair next to Scott’s desk.
“Anything happen while I was gone?”
Scott shook his head, typing up a report on his computer.
“It’s been dead.”
“Well that’s good,” Jake said with his boyish smile.
Scott rolled his eyes at his partner. Jake was only about two years younger but the damn kid looked like he just got out of high school.
Okay, maybe that was exaggerating. A little.
Still, those mischievous hazel eyes and spiky blonde hair, coupled with Jake’s infectious boyish grin did nothing but make him look young. Although he could still be downright scary when he wanted to be.
Scott had seen it enough times.
Scott’s stomach growled making Jake look up from the case file he had snatched off the desk and had been leafing through.
He glanced at his watch and scowled.
“Damn, I didn’t realize it was so late.”
Scott’s eyes shot to the corner of his computer screen and saw it was past one.
“God damn. I’m gonna go get something to eat, you want anything?”
“Yea, get me cheeseburger or something,” he mumbled, getting up and sitting in front of the computer as Scott vacated the seat and grabbed his jacket.
“Hey what’s this?” he questioned, picking up the business card scrawled with obvious female handwriting.
“A phone number and ‘hang up if Troy answers’? Dude,” he grinned, “That’s more my style.”
Scott finished shrugging on his jacket and secured his Beretta in his waistband, rolling his eyes at Jake, again.
“She’s a domestic violence case, says she won’t leave without her dog, left me her number incase I heard something,” he said, pulling out his keys. “I tell you man, women are crazy. Getting beat to hell and she won’t leave ‘cause of her dog,” he shook his head and headed off towards the garage.
Jake watched him go and then glanced back at the business card, brow furrowed in thought.
***
Jake walked around the side of his unmarked police cruiser and opened the door. Charlene stepped out slowly and pulled on Dakota’s leash, the shepherd mix jumping out behind her.
“I’ll get your bag,” Jake said, headed towards the backseat.
Charlene stood awkwardly in the middle of the driveway, fiddling with Dakota’s leash and staring at the small house that belonged to Deputy Jake Townsend. She felt out of place, being in such a nice, normal neighborhood, finally away from that rat hole she had stayed in with Troy.
Jake shut the car door behind her and saw her jump at the noise. Dakota standing up and spinning around, showing Jake just how much the dog did look out for her.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Charlene nodded curtly and looked down.
Jake offered a small smile and led the way up the small steps and onto the porch, pulling the screen door open and unlocking the dead bolt.
He stopped a little inside, letting Charlene follow in behind him and shutting the door for her.
“It’s not much, but uh, make yourself at home.”
He watched her carefully she had barely spoken since he had picked her up.
“Here I’ll uh, show you your room.”
He went down the hall towards the spare bedroom.
“Here’s the bathroom,” he pointed out and headed into the extra room, placing her bag on the bed. “And uh, here’s where you’ll be staying. I tried to clean a little,” he chuckled nervously.
The corner of her mouth twitched into a grin and Jake found himself smiling wider, proud of himself for at least coaxing that much out of her.
She bent down and unhooked Dakota’s leash. The dog instantly began walking around sniffing anything he could reach.
“I uh, I have to get back to the station,” he said, leading the way back down the hall and into the living room. “Feel free to anything in the fridge, or…cupboards. Umm, I have cable, pay-per-view’s been kinda crappy lately but you can order some movies if you want. Umm...”
He fiddled with his keys. “I guess we can go to the store or something tonight, or tomorrow, get some food, or you know, anything you need. Or for Dakota…anyway” he sighed, a bit nervous about her still being so quiet.
“I should be back around five, I left my cell number on the fridge if you, need anything.”
She nodded slightly, still not making eye contact.
“Alright then,” he said, headed towards the door.
“Thank you,” she whispered before he could step out.
He froze and looked back at her, her blue eyes almost glowing in her bruised and battered face.
“You’re welcome,” he said quietly with a small smile.
She smiled back and looked away shyly.
He grinned a little wider and left.
***
Scott and Jake had patrol duty that day and were out in their cruiser when Jake told him.
“You did what?!”
“What? Why’s that bad?”
“Jake, we don’t just take in people off the street!”
“She’s not off the street, she needed somewhere to stay, I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Scott shook his head and propped his elbow on the windowsill.
“You’re one crazy fuck, you know that?”
Jake grinned, “That’s why you love me.”
“Ass.”
“Jerk.”
Scott sighed and sat a little straighter when a possible gang shooting was reported over the radio.
He answered the call and they headed towards the address.
***
Jake was beat when he stepped in the door at a quarter after six. He hung his coat on the rack by the door and sniffed the air.
Was someone actually cooking? In his house??
“Charlene?”
“In the kitchen,” she called.
His brow furrowed and he walked across the living room and into the kitchen.
She had burgers and chips and all sorts of shit laid out, finishing up what looked to be lemonade.
“Hi,” she said shyly.
“Hey,” he said with a small smile.
“You umm, you didn’t have a whole lot of stuff, so I umm, I tried to make a decent meal. Figured since you were late you must have had a hard day,” she mumbled.
He grinned a little wider and walked over towards her, stopping a couple feet away when he saw her visibly tense.
“It looks good,” he whispered.
That was rewarded with a small smile and she relaxed a little.
Jake grinned to himself.
***
The next couple weeks were pretty awkward. Charlene still wasn’t use to trusting anyone and Jake was trying his damnedest not to just grab her and tell her she was safe.
They had settled into a little routine though, and damn that girl could cook, Jake hadn’t eaten so well in his life.
One night, somewhere around one, maybe two, Jake was startled awake by something. His mind still foggy, he laid in silence, his hand already gripping the Glock under his pillow and listened to see if he could pinpoint what had woken him.
His brow furrowed when he heard whimpering.
He nudged open his bedroom door and froze, gun half raised.
His adrenaline kicked in when he realized the noises were coming from Charlene’s room.
“Shit,” he walked over to her door and paused. “Char? Charlene? You okay in there?”
There was no answer, just more whimpers and muffled cries.
Jake raised his gun and pushed the door open in a rush, sending Dakota into a fit of barks.
He froze when he realized what he was aiming for wasn’t there.
Charlene laid thrashing in the bed trapped in a vicious nightmare.
Jake’s bare feet padded over to her bed, shushing Dakota who sat down obediently and did just that. He leaned over the bed and gently grabbed her hand, trying to wake her.
“Hey, Charlene, wake up hun, Char…it’s okay, you’re safe.”
He sighed and reached up to shake her shoulder when that didn’t work.
“Charlene,” he said a little more forcefully.
Her eyes shot open, wide with panic and the next thing he knew her fist was connecting with his face.
He stumbled back a step, his free hand cradling his jaw, Dakota’s frantic barks once again piercing his eardrums.
“Son of a…”
When Charlene started outright screaming, he fought the swirls in his vision to see her staring in fear at the gun that was still gripped in his other hand.
“Shit,” he raised it slowly and then placed it on her nightstand. “Char? Hey, hey, it’s alright, okay? It’s alright, sshh, sshh,” he shook his head a little, still trying to clear the spots from her vision and crouched down by her bed as she stopped screaming and seemed to be coming back to reality.
“Jake?” she whispered, wincing at how broken her own voice sounded.
Dakota was still giving off little huffs of barks, sounding like the dog was grumbling and Jake shot him a sidelong glance, immediately he stopped and started wagging his tail.
“It’s alright, Char, you were just having a nightmare.”
She was glancing around the room, slowly bringing her breathing back to normal.
“Oh god…”
His brow furrowed until she reached forward with a shaking hand and touched his lip, her fingers coming away with blood.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
He held up his hand as he touched the busted lip for himself, wincing a little at the contact.
“S’okay, I’ve had worse, trust me.”
Her eyes fell to a small circular scar on his left shoulder and she didn’t realize until then that he was dressed only in a pair of heather gray cotton pants.
Her fingers ghosted across the small circle absent mindedly while her eyes took in the few other scattered scars on his chest and abs.
He watched her carefully in silence before she seemed to snap herself out of it with start.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…I mean…”
“It’s okay.”
He stumbled his way into standing as she rushed past him and out of the room, Dakota at her heels.
He followed her into the kitchen.
“Char, what are you…”
He came around the corner nearly running into her, already on her way back a bag of frozen peas in her hand.
“Here,” she whispered.
A grin creeped across his face, albeit a lopsided one thanks to his slowly swelling lip.
“Thanks,” he whispered back, gingerly placing the bag on his lip.
She looked away shyly again.
“You gonna be okay?” he mumbled, taking the bag away from his face for a moment.
She nodded and glanced back up at him, “Are you?”
He smiled, “I think I’ll be fine.”
She smirked a little bit and scratched Dakota behind the ear, “Well, ‘night then,” she said, heading back down the hall.
“’Night,” Jake whispered, rooted to where he stood.
***
It had been awkward the day after that, but when Jake had gotten home from the station dinner was ready and Charlene had ordered a movie for them to watch.
Jake had his arm on the back of the couch and looked at Charlene from the corner of his eye when she at down next to him with a bowl of popcorn. She still wasn’t close per se, still too many mental wounds left to heal, although the physical ones were pretty much gone, but he smiled to himself that she trusted him at least that much.
When a particularly gruesome shot flashed across the screen he almost jumped as she buried her face in his chest. His arm came down awkwardly patting her back and holding her until that scene was over.
He swore she blushed.
He never would have expected something almost as gruesome was waiting for them the next day.
***
They had just finished dinner and were cleaning and washing dishes when there was a crash in the living room followed by Dakota’s barks and then a harsh yelp.
Jake rushed into the living room to see a very drunk, very angry Troy and apparently now dead Dakota.
Charlene was right behind him and he quickly tried to push her out of the way.
“Charvleen, I’s done told you never to leaves me,” Troy drawled, malice shining in his glazed over eyes. “Let alone fors some crap cop.”
Jake’s eyes shot to the hallway, where he knew his gun lay locked in its case.
Before he could make a move Troy had grabbed a lamp and yanked the damn thing from the wall in a rush towards him.
“Char! Gun! My room! Now!”
She slid between him and the wall and took off running down the hall.
Troy stumbled and made a move to follow her when Jake tackled him, throwing all the weight he could into the man’s thick middle.
Troy went down like a ton of bricks, his overweight form crashing into the coffee table sending splinters and glass shards flying.
***
Frantically Charlene grabbed the ring of keys off the dresser and cursed that he had so damn many. Her shaking hands were doing nothing to help the already slow going of finding the right key to unlock the padlock on his gun case.
***
Jake’s fist connected with Troy’s face, the pain shooting up his arm and his finger’s going numb.
Who knew this dick was so hard headed?
Troy wasn’t too far behind. His aim was off but the oaf had a good swing, his own fist crashing into Jake’s nose with a crack.
Jake stumbled back as he tried to catch himself from the strike, his vision swirling dangerously and pain lancing through his face.
His arms shot out behind him as he tried to catch his fall and all that was resulted was pieces of the broken coffee table glass embedding themselves into his palms.
“God damnit!”
***
Charlene jumped when she heard Jake yell and dropped the keys. “Shit,” she hissed, grabbing the ring again and flipping through them back to the one she ended with and roughly jammed it into the lock, relief flooding through her when she saw the lock pop open.
***
Troy jumped up from the ground and made a dive for Jake.
Jake’s eyes went wide before he brought his feet up, catching the larger man’s weight on his feet and launching him over his head.
He rolled over, instantly regretting it when more glass found its way into his shoulder and heard Troy’s bulk crash into the drywall, the small picture hanging above him crashing to the floor, the glass shattering and adding to the already dangerous debris.
Charlene slid to a stop at the end of the hall, wide eyes staring at Troy that was now mere inches from her as he stood dazed and spotted her.
She barely had time to scream before he reached up and slammed her head into the wall.
Jake’s Glock clattered to the floor drawing the other man’s attention, and Jake, his feet being sliced open on the glass shards, made a dive for it.
Troy unfortunately got to it first and aimed haphazardly, pulling the trigger.
Charlene screamed when the gunshot echoed in the house and she heard Jake yell in pain.
She jumped on Troy’s back and started punching the back of his head as hard as she could.
Jake’s vision swam as he fought off the pain and shock. Get it together dude, you’ve been shot before!
He grabbed the gun just as Troy slammed his back, and with it Charlene, into the wall.
She grunted and fell to the floor as Troy stumbled forward and tried to turn around to renew his assault on her.
Three more gunshots echoed through the house, Troy’s body jerking with each crack before he slumped forward, his head hitting the wall at a weird angle as he fell dead next to Charlene.
Jake fell to his knees and grunted in pain, his hand dropping the gun and searching blindly for his cell phone in his pocket. He hoped his finger had hit the right speed dial number as he heard the ringing coming from the speaker as he crawled his way over to Charlene who was starting to come to.
He heard Scott pick up on the other end and screamed without even holding the phone to his mouth. “Scott! My house! Now!”
***
Scott’s black unmarked Impala cruiser, lights and siren blazing tore into Jake’s yard, digging ruts into his manicured lawn as it slid to a stop. Scott was out and running before the car even settled. Backup units already squealing to stops behind him.
Scott immediately saw the busted in window and pulled his gun rushing the front door and kicking it in.
“Jake?!”
He stopped when he saw his partner, much too pale, propped against the wall, blood covering most the top half of his body and the whole room a mess. Charlene was there too, trying to keep Jake conscious.
Scott’s eyes fell to the obviously dead larger man and looked back at Charlene who just sniffed past her tears.
***
Luckily the bullet had gone straight through Jake’s shoulder and hadn’t hit anything vital. He was given a paid vacation and told to go home and rest.
Now that Troy wasn’t out there to worry about, Jake had helped Charlene get set up in her own apartment on the other side of town, finding her a job and even buying a decent car for her at one of the police impound auctions.
He never did tell her he didn’t want her to go. He knew she needed to find her feet again now that she was safe.
Within the month he was back at the station, although ordered to do nothing but paperwork.
He printed out and submitted Scott’s most recent report and headed to the break room for a cup of coffee. By the time he made it back to his desk Scott was back from his patrol.
“Anything new?”
Scott shook his head, “Some convenience store stick up, didn’t get very far though, Mike’s booking him.”
Jake nodded, “I think I’m gonna take the rest of the day off,” he said, setting down his mug and gingerly pulling on his jacket over his still sore shoulder.
Scott looked up from the computer, “What?”
“I got some…stuff I need to do, tell Chief for me?”
“Oh yea, sure, leave me to deal with that man.”
Jake grinned, “Tell him I didn’t feel good,” he said, touching his shoulder with a fake pout and walked away.
He smiled when he heard Scott cuss behind him.
***
He couldn’t believe he felt like such a damn fool.
He made his way up the stairs to the second story of the apartment building, and Charlene’s place.
He stood outside awkwardly for a moment before hesitantly knocking.
He heard the chain slide and the deadbolt unlock before the door cracked open to a grinning Charlene.
“Jake…”
“Hey Char,” he smiled.
***
They got back from dinner a little after nightfall.
“I can’t believe you haven’t seen that movie!” Charlene said laughing and entering her apartment.
“Sorry,” he grinned, “I was kinda stuck with daytime TV at the hospital.”
She went to her small entertainment center and started rummaging through some DVDs.
“Sit,” she grinned, pointing to the couch.
“Yes, ma’am,” he mocked saluted.
She hit the play button and sat down next to him.
There was a moment of silence while the FBI warnings and previews played before she turned her head to smile at him.
He smirked back, somewhat confused.
“What?”
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.
Why the hell was his chest so tight all of a sudden?
“Me too,” he whispered back.
She grinned and leaned into him, letting him wrap his arm around her and rest his cheek on her hair.
They were both asleep before the movie even ended.
***
Charlene shifted slightly against him and Jake’s instincts kicked him, waking him up.
It took him a second to remember where exactly he was.
He smiled and looked down at the peaceful Charlene.
She looked so much stronger now. She had dyed her hair a light brown, bought new clothes, started a new life. She had even gotten a concealed weapons permit, although she had yet to actually purchase a gun. Jake couldn’t see anything left of the timid little creature he had taken in months ago.
She shifted again and cracked open her eyes, reaching up and rubbing the sleep from them.
“Mornin,’” he rumbled.
She smiled and sat up a little bit. “Morning.”
They looked at each other in silence before Jake reached up and cupped her cheek in his palm, his thumb gently stroking back and forth.
She stared at him and somewhere in his subconscious he registered it as one of the very few times she hadn’t broken eye contact with him.
His hand slipped around to the back of her neck and pulled her into a soft kiss.
She came willingly.
He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled shakily.
She smiled and kissed him again gently.
He opened his eyes and smiled back.
A week later the apartment was back up for rent, Charlene’s beat up car for sale and a new puppy was running around their heels at their house.
Next: Pictures