Charade

Disclaimer: Don’t own anything.

Rating: PG

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It seemed he’d been sitting stagnant like this for hours. The television continued to flash random scenes, none made sense to him and he chose to divert his attention to nothing in particular anyhow. Picking up a discarded beer can he trudged to the kitchen and disposed of it, thinking how much it would have peeved her to see trash lying around. He ruminated on the preceding days’ events and shut his eyes, praying for the threatening images to disappear, the haunting feeling in his stomach had to perish unless he wanted to face another sleepless night.

Flack stopped by uninvited but strangely welcome a few hours before, hoping to break the never-ending cycle of insomnia and malnutrition but Danny didn’t seem to mind that lately his days consisted of just that.

“She’s not dead.” Don said in a rueful voice, like a mouse avoiding the trap, yet still yearning for the slice of cheese that prayed like an enticement on the soul.

Danny looked at him, piqued by the frankness of the statement, and threatening Flack to continue on the charade, because in honesty sometimes Danny wished she had been dead, and yes it was a loathsome thought to have but at least this way he knew she wouldn’t have gone voluntarily.

“Can’t you do something?” Danny asked Stella accusingly after she emerged from Mac’s office two days before “Can’t you?” He whispered to himself, almost diverting the inquiry from Stella onto him.

The Greek born shook her head and walked quickly away, puzzled just as much if not more by the turn of events than Danny.

No, that couldn’t possibly be, no one was more affected than the young detective, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to recover.

She walked out, she was fired and he could do nothing but help her with her guilt and regret.

“I didn’t do it.” She’d whispered, not a trace of tears or remorse in her voice, everything overpowered by disbelief.

He could relate.

“I know you didn’t.”

That’s all he could say, because he hadn’t been there for her, hadn’t guided her and though it wasn’t his fault she tampered with evidence, it was that it led to this.

No one should be condemned for being human, and that’s what angered him the most.

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