Good morning, afternoon, evening, whatever it may be where you are. This is my first Cold Case story and I'm not entirely sure in what direction I am heading in so bear with me please... I half wrote this on impulse and half thought about it so please tell whether or not I should carry on. Thank you in advance and enjoy...

Reviews would be greatly appreciated, thank you...

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN COLD CASE

Chapter 1

Have you ever stared down the barrel of a gun? Stared death in the face? Wondered what would happen if their aim was just right and the pressure was applied? What would happen if it all just went black? Who would be there? What would your last words be? Lilly Rush has, on more than one occasion and if she was being honest it never scared her, until George, until Ed… But it wasn't the situation; it wasn't the fact that she was staring a gun in the face, it was what they said. The words they used - the precise words that got under her skin; it terrified her. At least before, when it was just the gun, she could be thankful that it was pointed at her and not anyone else; she could handle just the gun. To her it was just part of the job, your life was risk everyday but it was yours – you had the training to deal with situations like this. It never mattered when it was just her at risk; at least it's me and not a civilian that was what she used to tell herself. Besides other than the job and her cats what more was there to live for?

Then Mister Scotty Valens happened, and that's when she had something more to live for. Something more than her cats and the job, she had a friend – in fact she had a best friend and she knew that no matter what happened, whatever reckless situation she put herself in, he was going to be there. It made staring death in the face that much more terrifying, she didn't want to leave him; she wasn't under any circumstance about to lose one of the best friends she's ever had.

"Lil, are you okay?" the man in question asked with a concerned twinge to his voice and when she looked up from her mountain of paperwork she saw that the worry was not just confined to his voice. What Lilly hadn't in fact figured out was that she had stopped filling out whatever form she had started and was now staring into space.

"Of course, just got lost in my thoughts I suppose," she answered with a tired smile on her face. The office around them was emptying quickly and both co-workers looked at the time to find that technically they could have gone home about an hour and a half ago. Neither were planning on going back home, (at least not on their own anyway), and they used their paperwork as an excuse to stay, in fact the rest of the cold case squad were still here finishing off the things from their last case.

"It happens," Scotty replied before standing up and grabbing her jacket.

"Valens, what are you doing?" Lilly asked staring at her now dangling jacket from the hand of her partner with a tired yet slightly amused tone. She switched her gaze from her jacket to her partner's amused expression.

"Well, we are going to grab some real coffee and some doughnuts," he replied in that smug, confident tone Lilly came to know and love.

"Is that so?" Lilly replied now standing up and crossing her arms, catching the attention of her fellow co-workers, who simultaneously chuckled with a shake of their heads before looking back to whatever they were doing before the distraction. The truth is throughout the years this partnership became a tad more than just a partnership: it became a friendship; an indelible friendship. And with what they have gone through together it's a wonder something more hasn't happened! Not yet at least…

"Very much so," he replied cockily with a flirtatious twist while taking a step closer so they were toe to toe. Both looking directly at each other almost daringly but this wasn't uncommon. In the last couple of months the two co-workers started to flirt with each other nearly 24/7 while at work, it was practically a common occurrence.

"Come on you two, at least get the coffee first," Kat Miller chimed in with a chuckle at the back of her throat. The two took a step back from each other and Lilly made a grab for her jacket when Scotty pulled it away.

"Valens," Lilly started warningly which would make anyone who knew her back down but not Scotty, oh no. He has become immune to her Ice Queen persona unless it was personal, but for all the little things he was well and truly immune.

"Come get it Rush," he dared while making a dash for the elevators causing cheers from Nick Vera and Will Jefferies.

"Oh you are going to get it, Valens," she replies laughing while running after him entering the elevator before the doors shut despite the numerous attempts from Scotty to close the doors, (in good will of course). But she didn't miss the cheer of support from Kat, her only other female colleague in homicide and she definitely didn't miss the chuckle from their boss; John Stillman.

"Okay, anyone else notice that they have become about ten times closer than before?" Nick asked briefly looking up from the file he was reading. That was probably a mistake because what he was faced with was three disbelieving and accusing glances. "Just asking," he defended himself with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah, sure you were," Kat said incredulously while brushing past him with a smirk and earning a small chuckle from Will, of course it would be up to Nick to state the obvious, the two thought.

"You're all staying until Rush and Valens get back with the goods right?" Kat asked popping her head out of the break room. A resounding yes came from all three men who remained in the office, to which Kat held her hands up in surrender.

Meanwhile the other two detectives were coming out of the elevator and into the lobby of the Philadelphia precinct. Lilly had regained ownership of her jacket and was smiling brightly at the small victory while Scotty followed her with a small frown on his face which quickly disappeared and turned into a small grin.

"Damn Rush, did you really need to hit so hard?" Scotty asked as he caught up with her while rubbing his arm in an exaggerated act to get her attention as she was still laughing.

"Well Valens, if you just gave me my jacket then I wouldn't have needed to hit you now would I?" Lilly replied turning around to face him briefly with a broad smile on her face. It was one of those infectious smiles that whenever you see it, you just kind of have to smile along too - and that was exactly what Scotty was doing now that he had stopped pouting from a punch that actually didn't hurt all that much.

"Yeah but where would be the fun in that," he whispered and it was only then that she realised exactly how closer they really were. She could feel his breath on her ear and it made her shiver something that didn't go unnoticed by her partner and very quickly she formed her revenge in her mind.

The two continued to walk in a comfortable silence, with Scotty occasionally putting his hand on the small of Lilly's back, almost as a gesture of support, but it was just comforting to Lilly to know that he was still there. It wasn't long until they had reached the coffee cart, and while Lilly placed the orders Scotty got the money out from his wallet. "You're not paying again Valens," Lilly stated before getting her own purse from her pocket. That was until she felt a hand on her wrist, a silent indication to stop and she cherished the warmth before looking up at the beholder's face to find a smug smirk. He knew exactly what she was feeling; oh he is seriously going to pay, she thought before removing her wrist from his grip and putting her hands up in surrender and let him pay. For a simple reply he smiled, that normal cocky smile while indicating to her to grab the coffees while he gets the doughnuts.

After she grabbed the coffees, Lilly started walking back in the direction of the precinct while Scotty put his wallet back in his pocket and grabbed the doughnuts. Just as he was getting ready for a quick jog to catch up to his partner, the man at the cart called him back. "Detective," he shouted after making sure Lilly was out of ear shot.

"Yep," Scotty replied turning to face the man.

"Have you asked her out yet?" the man questioned with a wiggle to his eyebrows which elicited a laugh and a shake of the head from Scotty.

"Just friends Doug, how many times?" he replied before taking off in pursuit of the woman in question. By this point she was standing by the doors, facing him with a curious look on her face.

"What did Doug want?" she asked while nodding thanks to Scotty for opening the door.

"He wanted to know if I had asked you out yet," he stated with a shrug of his shoulders and his partner started laughing.

"Why don't people believe that we are just friends!" she replied in mock exasperation with a broad smile on her face.

"Hey and partners!" he corrected with a tone of mock hurt but couldn't keep the grin off his face. The two continued to laugh at Doug's proposition while making their way into the elevator with the hot coffee and doughnuts in hand.

Once they had made it to the safe haven of the elevator and had finally calmed down enough to talk, Scotty decided it was a good idea to confirm their evening plans – but just to clarify, for them at least, it wasn't a date. In fact to them it was as far from a date as you could get. To them it was a continuation of tradition; neither had a date in a while so their weekends were spent with each other simply relaxing – I suppose you could call it bonding. "Lil, we are still on for tonight right?" he asked with his signature lopsided grin that would make any other woman swoon in his presence but Lilly had never really noticed - she just thought it was cute.

"Of course, doll face, what would you like me to bring?" she answered quickly and turned to look at him.

"You already have some stuff at mine, the movies are already on the coffee table, we are ordering pizza when you arrive," he started listing while looking for confirmation from Lilly to which she simply nodded. "In which case," he continued before leaning down slightly so he could whisper in her ear again, "Just bring you." This time she didn't shiver because this time, unlike earlier, she knew exactly where he was and when she looked up at him she gave him a small smile that told him she had won this round. Before the elevator doors opened to their floor, she moved up on tiptoes and whispered, "Nice try Valens." Soon after, the ding of the elevator caused Scotty to jump and Lilly to simply laugh at him before quickly turning on her heels and entering the bullpen.

"Not nice Rush!" he stated before following her out and entering the break room to put the doughnuts on the table and in less than a second Nick was standing next to him grabbing the first doughnut. "Jesus Nick, at least let me put the doughnuts down first!" Scotty stated laughing at the impatience of his friend and co-worker.

"No Valens, Nicky over there is incapable of waiting when it comes to food," Kat chimed in entering the break room closely followed by Will and John but there was no sign of Lilly. "Hey, where's Lil?" Scotty asked a small frown gracing his face and his brow furrowing slightly.

Lilly had in fact managed to slip out of the break room without anyone noticing with a coffee in hand, deciding that a little fresh air might do her some good to wake up. She always liked the view from the balcony it was like you could see the entire city all at once and from the height their office was at, all one could here was the distant noise of the traffic down below. It was calming; the soft breeze of the summer air hitting her skin blowing some loose strands of hair in front of her eyes. Especially now at twilight, when the sky has that purple glow and the street lamps are just turning on, illuminating the streets with that familiar yellow-orange glow while the tired drivers begin to race, anxious to get home to their families – or for some, to get to an empty bar.

By this point Lilly was now leaning on the wall clutching a half empty coffee cup in her hands listening to the soft whisper of the wind around her. It was that time of day which only lasted for about twenty minutes before the sun sets paving the way for the night – it was twenty minutes of peace. It was only when she felt a jacket being draped across her shoulders did she realise that someone was with her. "Hey," she said with a smile briefly looking at her partner before re-focusing on the city ahead. She had been outside for about ten minutes now and it was slowly becoming dusk meaning that the once warm summer wind had a bit of a chill to it. Unknowingly she had hugged further into the jacket that was still draped over her shoulders and quickly discovered that it was Scotty's. This new information only caused her to snuggle into the jacket further and a smile to grace her face at the comfort of being close to her partner.

Scotty had stood by the door for about five minutes before eventually coming to the decision to join his friend on the balcony, she looked so peaceful and he was afraid he was going to disturb that. He knew she still wasn't sleeping despite the fact that she refuses to admit it but he knew – he always knew. It was her eyes that revealed all that she wouldn't say; that's how he knew; it's how they created an unspoken understanding of each other. His jacket was now draped over her shoulders and he smiled when he saw her relax into it. Like Lilly, he adored this time of day; it was that rare twenty minutes of calm that came day after day. Rarely did the two have the time to just stand there and watch the sun go down over the bustling city. "I saw the purple sky and had to come out," Lilly whispered still staring into the horizon. Scotty had turned to face her before saying, "Me too," in a tone matching hers. Almost unknowingly Lilly leant her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her pulling her closer to him. She hugged herself further into him so she was now leaning on his chest and the two watched as the sun went down.

"Where'd Rush and Valens get to?" Nick asked causing the other three to look around the break room and eventually move into the bullpen.

"There," Kat answered quietly pointing out to the balcony and the men came to stand next to her to see where she was referring to. They looked out and saw Lilly leaning into Scotty with his arm pulling her closer just looking out into the sunset. "They look so cute," Kat said with a little glint in her eye before realising that she did in fact say that out loud. As she turned around she saw all three looking at her with an amused look on their faces, of course Nick's was around a mouthful of doughnuts. Trying to defend herself she said, "What? Let me have my girl moment!" causing Nick and Will to go back into the break room while mumbling something about needing to watch some game. Meanwhile John had started to head for the balcony before Kat stopped him by saying, "Come on Boss, leave them, they'll come back in when it gets dark." He seemed to contemplate this for a bit but after seeing how relaxed, how peaceful they both looked he nodded in agreement before sending the rest of the team home and heading into his office waiting for his remaining colleagues.

The sun had now set over the City of Brotherly Love and the two partners were still in the same position, neither had wanted to move. "Why don't I just give you a lift to mine? We can come back in the morning and take your car home," Scotty whispered not wanting to break the serenity that the twenty minutes had created. "Okay," was the simple reply from Lilly but still neither wanted to move, the moment was so perfect it seemed a shame to break it. "Come on," Scotty said while leaning down to place a soft kiss to her hair before removing his arm from around her and heading back into the office. The summer breeze that Lilly had been protected from now hit her and she found herself missing the warmth of her partner. She took one last look at the city that was silhouetted in front of her before joining Scotty in the office.

"Hey Boss, where'd the others go?" Scotty asked as he walked into the empty office followed by Lilly who had now taken off his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair.

"Home Scotty, you two should go too, you can get the rest of the paperwork done on Monday," John stated before taking off his glasses to be presented with two very confused faces. "You were out there for over an hour," he clarified and chuckled quietly at the shock on both of their faces.

"Why didn't you come get us?" Lilly asked curiously now holding her things and passing over Scotty's things.

"I guess it just slipped our mind," John lied because he knew as did the rest of the team that something more than friendship was beginning to form between the two detectives in front of him. But he also knew his detectives and they were completely oblivious.

"Well okay then," Scotty said fixing his jacket before turning around to head out, "I guess we'll see you Monday then, have a good one Boss," he continued.

"You too Scotty and you too Lilly," John replied before replacing his glasses and looking back at the last remaining piece of paperwork.

"Yeah Boss, have a good one too," Lilly responded before following Scotty into the elevator. The pair made their way down to the lobby in a comfortable silence and headed for Scotty's car.

"You ready?" Scotty asked before driving off.

"Let's go," Lilly answered with a smile and with that he pulled out of the precinct and headed in the direction of his apartment.

I'm not usually one for double author's note but this is the only exception I'm making. So should I continue or what?