Breathe

It was after she did the breakfast dishes during which her cell rang. After Chace listened to her side of the slightly less irate conversation she had with her father which was no less hilarious but far more confusing. She went on about someone called Walter who apparently had a chunk of his brain cut out, but who would also never disrespect his son called Peter, even though Peter wasn’t really Walter’s son but an identical person Walter kidnapped from an alternate earth. From her side of the conversation, it was clear her father found her analogy just as confusing as Chace did. Chace didn’t try to swallow down his chuckles because the whole thing was so f**king hilarious he knew he wouldn’t succeed. And he had no problem enduring Faye’s annoyed glares because those were equally hilarious.

It was also after she finished the call with an exasperated but nevertheless heartfelt “Love you, Dad,” that didn’t include her threatening to dump him on a habitable planet with an ass**le, that she explained to Chace her analogy was from a show called Fringe. After this she spent a little time explaining the show and zero time attempting to convince him he’d like it since, from what little she said and since she knew him, she also knew she had no hope of achieving that.

It was after she made him lunch, they did the minimal dishes and she suggested they relax in front of the TV. This filled him with dread and he didn’t hide it which made her laugh, wrap her arms around him, lean in deep, tip her head way back and promise in her sweet, soft, musical voice she wouldn’t lead him astray.

Therefore, he’d agreed.

So it was also after she found he had Netflix and convinced him to try the TV show Psych. She told him it wasn’t geeky but hilarious. He’d agreed mostly because she was in his house, wearing nothing but his tee and ruby red panties, he was in track pants and a long-sleeved thermal and he didn’t much give a f**k what they did just as long as she was close when they did it.

Which meant it was also after she found one of her favorite episodes, turned it on and they settled stretched out on the couch, Chace with his back to the back of couch, head in his hand, elbow in the couch, Faye tucked in front of him in the curve of his arm, head on a toss pillow.

And last, it was after he was relieved to find she was right about Psych. It wasn’t geeky. There were no spaceships, alternate universes or fantastical explanations for ridiculous plot devices. It was just damned funny and, to top that, clever.

So it was then, when the episode ended, she reached to the big square coffee table that sat surrounded by his sectional, hit the button to take them back to the Netflix menu, she turned on her back in front of him and gave him her crystal blue eyes.

“So?” she asked and he grinned down at her.

“You were right, baby, not geeky, just funny.”

She grinned back. “Isn’t Shawn the bomb?”

The guy was funny but that wasn’t the word Chace would use.

Still he said, “Yeah.”

She turned his way and got up on her elbow, head in her hand and suggested, “Maybe you need a fake psychic detective at the Carnal Police Department.”

Chace chuckled, carefully tangling his legs with hers, an intimacy like all of them that he’d cautiously initiated with her that she took without reaction except to allow it and settle in.

And as he did this, he replied through his chuckle, “He’s just hyper-observant with an understanding of detective work. That’s kinda my job so we already have one and that would be me except the fake psychic part.”

Her eyes slid to the side and she mumbled, “Oh, right.”

Which was so cute, he had to lean forward and touch his lips to hers.

So he did.

As he was doing it, his cell on the coffee table rang.

Faye twisted her neck to look over her shoulder at it but Chace tightened the arm already around her waist, leaned into her, let her go to reach and nab his phone then brought them both back.

He looked at the display and let out a sigh.

Then he looked at her and said, “Hopefully this won’t take long, honey, but I gotta take it.”

“Okay,” she murmured and he took the call he didn’t want to take.

When the phone was at his ear, he said, “Keaton.”

“Chace, hey. Sorry to disturb your Sunday.”

It was new Carnal detective and Chace’s co-poster boy hero in saving the CPD, Frank Dolinski. A good guy. A smart cop. A local since birth. A police brat who wanted exactly the same things in life that Chace had wanted before his life turned shit. To earn his badge. To go about his business respecting it. To stay true to his oath to protect and serve. To find an attractive wife that cooked well, gave great head, made him laugh frequently and could shoulder the burden of his coming home from a bad day.

During his tenure on the Force, unlike Chace, Frank stayed clean through the entirety of it. This didn’t mean he didn’t have to look the other way but he also didn’t hide the fact that he didn’t like it. This made him not Arnie’s favorite person. It also showed he was courageous. He’d approached IA some months after Chace did but he did what he could inside to try to turn boys back to the right side. But when Ty Walker was coming up for probation and it came clear that hell could easily break lose when he got it, Frank decided he had to do what many cops had a great deal of trouble doing.

Turn on his brothers.

Last night they’d had a discussion with the Cap who decided that Frank should stay as primary on the Newcomb case. The kill site being Harker’s Wood, the dump site the access road to Miracle Ranch, too many similarities to Misty’s murder, Cap felt Chace was too close to it. He also felt Frank needed the experience. Last, they all knew Frank would get nowhere. The investigation into Misty’s murder had been purposefully jacked but Chace conducted his own. There were few leads and the ones there were went nowhere.

But the men of the Department knew Chace was still looking so Chace handed over all he had to Frank and Cap told him to take Frank’s back.

Frank, Chace and the Cap had another conversation about Clinton Bonar’s warning and what this move against Newcomb meant. This meant Bonar would get a visit. It also meant other powerful men with motive would be approached too. All strictly protocol. All following standard investigative procedures.

So last, this meant things were going to heat up in Carnal and Frank, the Cap, Chace and a new, inexperienced Force were going to have to do what they could to make sure no one else got burned.

Chace did, however, have to go with Frank to Newcomb’s sister to inform her that her brother was dead. It was her who had called the Station Saturday morning to say he hadn’t come home the night before and she was looking after his kids so she expected him at nine. She waited as long as she could before all out panic ensued. She knew he was into bad business, something that couldn’t be missed because he was fired from CPD for his participation in Arnie’s corruption but had stayed out of jail due to his willingness to testify. CPD knew he was vulnerable. Thus began the search.