They Just Crack [ficlet]
OOC: Post-ep for Frame, so spoilers within. OOC comments/feedback welcome.
The faces all around me they don't smile, they just crack
Waiting for our ship to come, but our ship's not coming back
We do our time like pennies in a jar,
What are we saving for?
It was a routine autopsy. She was in the middle of it, instructing several junior M.E.s on procedural issues, when the door flew open, hitting the wall, causing her to jump slightly and look up. Goren. Shit.
Before she could so much as say “Detective”, he was screaming at her, waving his arms, and then one of the supply trays fell over. The junior docs were good -they backed away quickly. Normally Liz was very calm under pressure. With her job, she had to be. But Goren storming in was unexpected. She might not admit it to anyone, but the rage in his tone and on his face scared her, however briefly.
Then Danny and Eames came running in…She wasn’t sure how that happened-if one of the assistants saw the commotion from through the window or heard it down the hall and then had them paged, but suddenly they were there, the situation was diffused.
When Danny asked her if she was all right, she had no idea how shaken she looked. She muttered something about her tray-about being the one to knock over her tray-and it was over. No idea why she covered for Goren, even in that miniscule manner. It just seemed…he was already in deep shit as it was. Even though she wasn’t to blame-she’d told Danny about running Brady’s DNA in the context of cooperating with an investigation and nothing more-she still felt bad.
She’d been around cops for nearly thirty years. Dated them, loved them, or simply befriended them. She was well aware of the pressure they were under. Lennie used to bring it home every night. Even when he’d try to leave it at the door, it was always in the back of his mind. You never stopped being a cop-the job took over your life. Even when you had nothing left, it wanted more. It broke you. She remembered the night of Lennie’s daughter’s death-seeing him so torn apart was enough to break her heart, too.
Cops were betrayed, cops were played. She still saw it every day, whether it was Ross with Kathy Jarrow or Logan and Wheeler and the latest mess with the priest. Logan-there was another cop being pushed to his limit these days. How could she not look at him and see shades of Lennie? How could she not look at Goren, even as he screamed at her and scared her speechless, and feel for him?
In the next instant, Danny ushered his detectives out the door. As quickly as it happened, it was over. Liz was back in charge. She took command without a second thought, forcing the previous moments out of her mind.
“Well don’t just stand there,” she told the still-shocked junior medical examiners.
They came back over to where she stood, awaiting further instructions.
Liz looked at all three of them, making sure they each saw her eyes and the no-nonsense look behind them. “As far as you’re all concerned, nothing just happened here. Other than this demonstration.” She motioned to the cadaver. “Do you all understand?”
The faces all around me they don't smile, they just crack
Waiting for our ship to come, but our ship's not coming back
We do our time like pennies in a jar,
What are we saving for?
It was a routine autopsy. She was in the middle of it, instructing several junior M.E.s on procedural issues, when the door flew open, hitting the wall, causing her to jump slightly and look up. Goren. Shit.
Before she could so much as say “Detective”, he was screaming at her, waving his arms, and then one of the supply trays fell over. The junior docs were good -they backed away quickly. Normally Liz was very calm under pressure. With her job, she had to be. But Goren storming in was unexpected. She might not admit it to anyone, but the rage in his tone and on his face scared her, however briefly.
Then Danny and Eames came running in…She wasn’t sure how that happened-if one of the assistants saw the commotion from through the window or heard it down the hall and then had them paged, but suddenly they were there, the situation was diffused.
When Danny asked her if she was all right, she had no idea how shaken she looked. She muttered something about her tray-about being the one to knock over her tray-and it was over. No idea why she covered for Goren, even in that miniscule manner. It just seemed…he was already in deep shit as it was. Even though she wasn’t to blame-she’d told Danny about running Brady’s DNA in the context of cooperating with an investigation and nothing more-she still felt bad.
She’d been around cops for nearly thirty years. Dated them, loved them, or simply befriended them. She was well aware of the pressure they were under. Lennie used to bring it home every night. Even when he’d try to leave it at the door, it was always in the back of his mind. You never stopped being a cop-the job took over your life. Even when you had nothing left, it wanted more. It broke you. She remembered the night of Lennie’s daughter’s death-seeing him so torn apart was enough to break her heart, too.
Cops were betrayed, cops were played. She still saw it every day, whether it was Ross with Kathy Jarrow or Logan and Wheeler and the latest mess with the priest. Logan-there was another cop being pushed to his limit these days. How could she not look at him and see shades of Lennie? How could she not look at Goren, even as he screamed at her and scared her speechless, and feel for him?
In the next instant, Danny ushered his detectives out the door. As quickly as it happened, it was over. Liz was back in charge. She took command without a second thought, forcing the previous moments out of her mind.
“Well don’t just stand there,” she told the still-shocked junior medical examiners.
They came back over to where she stood, awaiting further instructions.
Liz looked at all three of them, making sure they each saw her eyes and the no-nonsense look behind them. “As far as you’re all concerned, nothing just happened here. Other than this demonstration.” She motioned to the cadaver. “Do you all understand?”