control_issues | And What Remains ((RP with 12yrs

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And What Remains ((RP with 12yrs_life))

((OOC: Takes place after this thread!

It always struck Dani as fucked up that out to the two of them, Charlie was the one who’d been to prison, when she was the partner who had committed actual felonies. But she’d had Karen on her side, she’d had her father’s reputation on her side, and those things were enough to keep her name out of papers and off the case reports.

Charlie hadn’t had anyone protecting him. Not anyone. But he did now. He had Dani, Ted, Stark, Tidwell. Even Karen had shown up for Charlie’s bail hearing, along with some of the other people in the office whose names Dani sometimes pretended to forget. He had a lot of people on his side.

But when visiting hours were over, he’d still been in that cell, alone. Dani didn’t know what that meant, or what that was going to mean.

He got bail. He got bail, and that was the important thing. And when the thing was called and people went off to the bar to celebrate, for some reason it was just Charlie and Dani left in the courtroom. She walked up to him with her arms crossed, not sure what to say.

“Crews?”

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Bail was a good sign. If someone was setting him up again, they wouldn't let him get bail. They'd get him back in jail, put him in gen pop and get him stabbed. He got bail though and so he was a free man but he didn't feel that free.

Nor did he feel like celebrating. Only Ted seemed to get why, but he and Ted shared prison, Ted understood a lot other people didn't get. That left him alone with Reese, which never bothered him.

"Reese," he said.

Dani looked towards the courtroom doors, and then back at Charlie. She wondered if this qualified as a good moment, but she didn’t want to ask.

“So, my guess is that you aren’t up to seeing Stark and Tidwell challenge each other to a round of ‘stories we’ve all heard before’.”

He shook his head. After everything, he was still on edge, more con than cop and he didn't really want to deal with people.

"Wanna drive me home?"

"Sure."

Dani wasn’t up for a lot of people right now either. That was true about her usually, but it was especially true for her now. She pulled a set of keys out of her pocket. They weren't hers, though. She dangled them off of her index finger.

"Unless you wanna drive you home. Ted and I figured that you’d be missing your car. Mine’s parked at your place."

Yeah, yeah, he wanted to drive. He wanted to drive fast and reckless, listening to the engine roar as he got farther and farther away from the city.

"You trust me to drive?"

But it was an unspoken rule between them that Reese drove. It was just the way they worked.

Dani couldn't help it. She smiled.

"Not really."

It was a good rule. But there were exceptions to rules, even unspoken ones.

"But I don't think you'll do anything monumentally stupid with me in the car. I have this hunch that you don't want your partner to die in a car crash."

He took the keys from her because she looked like she wanted him to drive. He slid his hands into his pockets though.

"I don't want my partner to die at all. I like my partner."

She had stood by him through all of this hell. He was keeping her.

Dani looked from side to side, and then back to Charlie. She ducked her head in. Slightly, conspiratorially.

"Well, don't tell anyone, but I like my partner too."

That was probably going to come back at her later, but right now she didn't care.

"I can seriously drive if you don't want to."

He smiled a little, a more honest, real smile. Reese was always hesitant to admit things like that.

"I like to drive."

And since he really wanted to get out of here, he started for the exit in long strides that ate up distance.

Dani had to walk quickly to keep up because, well. She was short. If anyone had the gall to call her short, they would have been kicked. But it was still a fact.

Walking quickly, she was breathing a little easier when they were out of the chambers.

"Crews, you might want to go out the back entrance. Press was sniffing around earlier."

He stopped at the mention of press. He didn't want to face the press again. They'd been bad enough when he had to face them the first time.

"Thanks."

He adjusted his gait so it would be easier for her to keep up as he turned towards the back entrance to the courthouse.

All Crews got in response to his "thanks" was a shrug, which was essentially Dani speak for, "don't mention it".

Keeping up with him a little easier now -- and that was good, because the sooner they got back in step, the sooner Crews was here -- Dani put on her sunglasses. Wasn't that bright out, but she didn't have any fondness for press, either.

There were one or two reporters loitering out back, but not a horde. That was good, right? Dani pulled out her badge, prepared to clear them away if need be.

Charlie beat her to the reporters, who once they spotted him had rushed forward with hand held recorders and eager faces.

"No comment," he said calmly. There was no Zen brush off, no half-hearted attempted to charm the reporters away, just a simple, cold statement.

He still wasn't Charlie Crews, free man, yet. That would take a little while longer. Stepping around the reports, who were still trailing after him, he kept his stride level for Reese but clearly wanted to go.

"I brought my tazer," Dani muttered under her breath, quiet enough for Crews and no one else. "Just saying."

He flashed a brief, honest smile before his features went carefully blank again.

"That'll just give them a story."

Dani nodded and looked down as she walked, considering the headline.

"LAPD Detective tazes the paparazzi: gets key to the city and anger management training."

"I don't think that have keys to the city anymore. Do they?"

He cocked his head as they neared his car, tried to consider that problem before he shook his head and went to the driver side door.

"Anger management will never go away."

"I don't know. I don’t even know what a key to the city would open."

She slid into the car, slouching back. She took a pen out of her pocket and started to fiddle with it unconsciously.
"Not until people stop getting angry." She glanced at the reporters out of the side of her eyes. "I don’t see that happening."

Charlie turned the engine over and with one last look at the reporters, roared out of the parking lot without looking back. He turned on the lights so he could speed.

He wanted out of the city.

"Anger is a poison. Anger is pain. I give up my anger, I give up my pain."

Dani couldn't really argue with that, could she? She looked over at Crews, at the city behind him, at the buildings that were becoming nothing but blurs as they sped by.

"I'm angry for you," she admitted. "Is that poison?"

"We don't need more poison in our lives, Reese. Let's just... let it go."

But it was hard for him. He was pissed and scared, wavering back and forth between the two and while it was getting easier the farther they got from the city, it was still not that great.

“Okay.” Dani didn’t think anger was poison. Anger had gotten her through a lot – but she wasn’t the one that needed to get through this.

“How are you right now?”

He glanced at her for a second and then looked back at the road.

"I am..."

He thought about lying to her, because well, he'd lied to her before about things but really what was the point? It was Reese.

"I want to drive out of LA and never look back."

“I know.” Who could blame him? “I wanted to do the same thing, after...” She waved her hand. The drug thing. Charlie knew.

“I’m not saying it’s the same, ‘cause it’s not.” Dani actually deserved to be in prison. Crews didn’t. “But I get when things all seem too close together. Like you can’t trust the same streets you used to walk every day.”

Yeah, he didn't need the hand wave to know she was talking about the drugs. They didn't talk about the drugs though.

He shook his head a little. "I trust the streets, the streets don't change. I don't trust the people. I thought it ended with Rayborn and in that SUV, but... someone still wants me."

And What Remains ((RP with 12yrs_life))

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Just realized I have no sunglasses icon. How is that possible D:

I don't think I have any either, but I have very little space for icons.

Ditto~

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