Fic: Behind The Scenes, Chapter 10 (CSI, Flakc, Hawkes, Danny, Nick / Greg, Ryan / Eric)
Title: Behind the Scenes, Chapter 10
Pairing: Nick Stokes / Greg Sanders,
Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko,
Don Flack / Sheldon Hawkes
Rating: PG
Genre: AU
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Summery: Six months later. Some things have changed, some things are exactly the same.
Sequel to Soaps R Us:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 (NC-17) Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Epilogue
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 (NC-17) Chapter 5 (NC-17) Chapter 6 (NC-17) Chapter 7 (NC-17) Chapter 8 Chapter 9
“-and that’s the one and only correct way to eat a hot dog.” Danny finished his story with a much telling hand gestures when he and Don stepped out of the restaurant.
“Good luck trying to find a good dog around here.” Don laughed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Three misses calls. You mind if I…?”
“Go ahead, I’ll get the car.” Danny turned to go, but swirled right back again. “Before I take you back to Nick’s, we gotta clear few things.”
“What?”
“First of all, I’m not doing this at his doorstep while they’re eavesdropping.” He grabbed Don’s tie, pulled his head down and kissed him softly. “Second date in the cards?”
“Hot dogs?”
“If we can find a decent place in L.A. Or maybe pizza.”
“I’m easy.”
“I got a kiss in the first date, so that’s true.” Danny pulled back with a wide grin on his face. “I’ll get the car.”
Don checked the missed calls. They were all from an unknown number.
------------------------------------------------------------
“Sorry, I know it’s late.” Dawson stepped inside and Nick closed the door behind him. “I got the Ecklie-case.”
“Has he done something?”
“We’re not sure. I got the case because I’ve dealt with you people before.”
“You people?”
“Studio people, you know.”
“I thought you were still in Britain.”
“I was, but my vacation ended. Speed’s still there, he’ll come back by the end of the month.” Dawson peeked into the living room. “Is Greg here?”
“Fell asleep. I’ll fill him in later.”
“Well, this won’t take long. Locals checked Ecklie`s room in the asylum. A lot of drawings.”
“Something weird?”
“Floor plans and stuff like that. We think they’re drawings of the studio building.”
“He worked there for few years, he knows the place inside out.”
“I know, that makes it even worse. We’ve tracked their route back to L.A. based on the ATM withdrawals. They spend a night in the motel near a building site. We probably wouldn’t have noticed the connection if the local had not noticed it. A woman, fitting to the sister’s description was seen at the site. After they left the motel the builders noticed some of their explosives were missing.”
“Explosives?”
“The builders are squeaky clean and that’s too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.” He pulled a photocopy from his pocket. “Look at this.”
Nick took a look at the floor plan. It covered most of the studio and two points were marked with a cross.
“They are both soundstages.” Nick commented. “Just the two biggest sets are kept intact all the time, the smaller ones are stored in pieces and put together when they’re needed.”
“How many people would there be during the day?”
“Cast members, the crew… up to thirty or thirty-five people.”
“And this is on the other side of the building from the offices and dressing rooms?”
“Yeah, you have to go through the corridor to get to the soundstages.”
“So he’s targeting a place where a lot of people would be at the same time.” Dawson sighed. “There can be few people in offices or dressing rooms, but he wants to maximise the impact.”
“I still don’t get it. Why come all this way? And why would he plant to do something so stupid? We’re doing a daytime soap! It’s harmless entertainment.”
“I heard from the guys who interviewed his doctor, that he can’t keep things separate anymore. Whatever happens on the show is real and he thinks he is one of them. He even talked about how some character killed people, set a house on fire and then got out by seducing her therapist.”
“So… what? He thinks he can get away with everything because characters on a soap do?”
“I’m not a shrink.” Dawson shrugged. “To me, crazy is crazy. Period.”
------------------------------------------------------------
“You were listed as his emergency contact.” The doctor explained. Danny got comfortable on the waiting room couch and gave them privacy.
“What happened to him?”
“Just before the closing time, bartender went to check the bathrooms and found him on the floor. Looks like he was drugged. The bartender saw him talking with a woman after he first came into the bar, then he went to serve other customers and when he came back he was gone.”
“What state was he in when he found him?”
“Couple bruises, he’s groggy from the drugs, some of his clothes were torn, but all and all he’s doing pretty well.”
“Was he…?” Don lowered his voice and the doctor seemed to understand.
“No. He wasn’t sexually assaulted.
“Do you need to keep him here?”
“No, we’re done. The lab results will take a while, but I don’t see any reason to keep him here as long as he gets a lot of rest at home.”
“Thank you. Can I see him?”
“Of course.”
The doctor gestured him to follow. Don gave Danny an apologetic smile.
------------------------------------------------------------
“Delko…” Eric groaned into his phone.
“Eric?”
“Greg, it’s… almost one in the morning.”
“Sorry, but I’ve been up all night too. I got a thirty minute nap and that was it. I’ve been on the phone the whole time.”
“Now what?”
“Tomorrow’s shootings have been cancelled. The officials are bringing their dogs to check the soundstages for explosives.”
“Explosives tomorrow, got it… good night…”
“Eric, wake up or give the phone to Ryan.”
“Can this wait till tomorrow?”
“You’re not needed tomorrow. Tell Ryan we’re having an emergency meeting at ten AM. Writers, producers and directors. And Hawkes, if I can dig him up. I’ve been calling him all night but it goes straight to his voice mail.”
------------------------------------------------------------
“How are you feeling?”
Hawkes`s head snapped up. He was sitting on a hospital bed, still in his torn shirt and dirty jeans.
“Don? What are you doing here?”
“They called me. I’m still marked as your emergency contact.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. How are you?”
“Hung-over without the good part. I had two beers. That’s all.”
“Okay.”
“Two! I swear, that’s all.”
“I know.”
“I don’t get drunk and pass out in the bathroom-”
“Listen to me. They said you were drugged.”
“Drugged?”
“Yeah.”
“But I wasn’t… why?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s what happens when people get drugged in a bar, isn’t it? Why would someone just do that and not…” Hawkes pressed his mouth shut and took a deep breath. “Forget I said that.”
“Your doctor said you can go home.”
“I… I can take a cab.” Sheldon grabbed his wallet from where the nurse had left it on the nightstand. “If I still have…” He pulled the wallet open and checked the content. “It’s all here. Cash and cards.” His eyes checked the final pocket and he forced his face blank. “Yeah… all here.” He shoved it into his pocket before Don could see it.
“So you got lucky more ways than one.” Don stated with a careful smile. “Come on, let’s go.”
“How did you… you can’t drive, right?”
“Not yet. I got a ride outside.”
Hawkes looked down and felt like a fool.
“Your date. I forgot that.”
“How did you know about that?”
“I saw you.” He admitted. His feet kept swinging nervously over the edge of the bed. “Leaving Stokes’s place. Is he a nice guy?”
“I think so. Pretty good for a first date.”
“Except that the ex calls and needs a ride. You didn’t need to come.”
“Don’t do that.” Don sighed. “You’ve had a long day, don’t start that now.”
“I… thanks.” Hawkes kept his gaze fixed to the floor. “I missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Don admitted. “But that doesn’t mean we were wrong to split up.”
“Everything’s falling apart." Hawkes`s voice cracked. "And I can`t do anything. I cound`t stop this, I couldn`t keep you from leaving...”
Don took a step closer and Hawkes buried his face against the man`s shirt. He listened to the steady heartbeat and let his warm tears soak into the blue cotton.
Chapter 11