CSI:New York : Who Are You? (Don Flack/OFC fanfic)

Another Level

Coffee and something that smelled like baked bread drifted through Olivia's apartment early the next morning. It wasn't long before it reached her nose and woke her. Her eyes flickered open and they felt sore and heavy; a dull headache throbbing behind. The early morning sunshine streaming through the window wasn't helping any. She squeezed her eyes shut, which only made the splitting pain in her head worse. Groaning, she turned away from the window and rolled onto her side. 

If she'd been expecting to see Flack, he wasn't there. She could hear the clinking of crockery and the faint hum of the kitchen radio. Was he cooking breakfast? God, her head was throbbing. It didn't feel this bad when she'd downed a bottle of vodka the night before. 

The night before.

The breakdown.

The uncontrollable sobbing.

She hadn't lost it like that in a long time. She had never let it get hold of her like that before. Or at least not in front of anyone. The gnawing ache she still felt now, but along with it nervous anxiety was knotting up in her stomach. He hadn't asked questions but she knew he'd wanted to. She had come so close...so very close to opening up to him. The realization of that was just now setting in. He had just held her and when she'd finally stopped crying he put her to bed, kissed her on the brow and left. Or at least she thought he had. A few minutes later he had climbed in behind her, wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his warmth and only then had she been able to fall asleep.

She had actually fallen asleep.

Only to wake a few hours later. But still, she had slept a little while; exhausted from all the crying. Or maybe it was because he had been there...holding her. But she didn't want to deal with that right now so pushed it to one side. After waking she had got up to go to the bathroom and that was when she'd realized why he hadn't come to bed right away. He had picked up the photos from the floor - every last one - and put them back into the box, Lily's box, and put it back in its place on the shelf. It touched Olivia more than it probably should have. It was as if he knew that regardless of her fit of rage, those photographs were the most important things in the world to her. 

That they were all she had left. 

The bedroom door pushed open and in he came carrying a tray, smiling and she felt her heart trip. She tried to stem it. It was hopeless. She would have to be careful with this one...Oh, how easy it would be.

'Hey,' Flack said warmly, 'how you feelin'?' 

'Like an idiot,' she admitted.

'No need.' 

He was being so nice and she didn't know how to deal with it. Wasn't used to it. 'What's this?' she said as he set the tray down on the bed. There was juice, coffee and a plate of ham and egg omelet, complete with cherry tomatoes and a side of toast. 

'This is breakfast,' he said. 

'I don't usually have time for breakfast.'

'This morning we're making time.'

'You didn't have to do this.' 

'I figured I had some making up to do,' he said giving her an awkward smile. 

'No...I think that's me,' she said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. 'How about we start with me apologizing - ' 

'Nothing to apologize for, Olivia. Not a thing.' 

'The way I lost it...Flack, I - '

'Didn't you hear me? If anyone feels bad about last night, I do. I pushed too far and I...' Remembering the events leading up to it and the aftermath...the desolation in her eyes...it ripped into him again. He sighed, scrubbed a hand over his mouth. 'Okay, look, let's not do this right now. There's a time and place for everything. I don't think this is it. But there is one thing I want to say.' He reached for her hand. 'You wanna talk, I'll - '