| Coming Home Episode 17 |
| ** "What do we have here?" Nash looked on as the coroner wheeled the filled body bag away. Antwon had arrived at the scene moments before he did. He knew the area well and was surprised to get a call reporting a murder at the respectable hotel. "Another murdered rape victim, it looks like Marks has struck again." Antwon was sickened by the grotesque sight, but he knew it was all part of the job. "I tried to reach Joe, but he wasn't home yet.'' "He and Inger will be back tomarrow. Have you called McCabe and Harvey in yet?" Nash knew this case would take the full effort of the force, there was no way he wanted the case to drag on like Daniels' did. "Can't get a hold of either one of them.'' Antwon was hoping he didn't imply that they'd be together, sure they hadn't announced their relationship to Nash yet. ''I'll try.'' Nash guessed Antwon probably tried Rachel on her cell phone and not at home, he knew Rachel turned her phone off after ten. As for Harvey, it could be anyone's guess as to where he'd be this late. ** "Dare I say your cooking was impressive?" Harvey looked at Rachel as set the plate upon the coffee table. He had come by to see her after he got off and he was surprised to find she made him dinner. "Flattery won't get you everywhere." Rachel's mischevious grin appeared across her face. She could tell what Harvey had in mind as he moved in closer towards her. "Oh no?" Harvey's eyes locked with Rachel's, he pulled her in for a kiss. Everything about that night had been perfect, except for him running a little late. It was apparent now that Rachel didn't seem to mind. "But you're getting closer." Harvey didn't know what it was, but he was completely seduced. It could've been the food, the perfume or just her --- he knew he didn't want the evening to end with a mere kiss. Rachel pulled away for minute and got up off the couch, "I'll be right back." "Where are you off to?" Harvey hoped he hadn't done something wrong, wondering why she'd pull away. "You'll see." Harvey sat patiently on the couch and waited for Rachel to return from the kitchen. She emerged from the darkened hallway with a carton of the beloved Ben and Jerry's. "You're too good to me." Harvey reached out and she handed him the carton, followed by another lengthy kiss. The phone's ring interrupted the moment. "Don't answer that." "You know I have to." As much as Rachel hated to move from the compromising postion she found herself in, she had to answer the phone. "Hello?" "Rachel, it's Nash. I need you to get down to the corner of Wells and State." Nash knew it was late, but the case couldn't wait till morning. "What's going on?" Rachel was curious about why he'd want her to go there at this hour. "It's our latest crime scene with Marks." Rachel knew the case immediately. "Have you seen Harvey? I can't seem to reach him and we need him down here too." "He's over here," Harvey looked up to Rachel, trying not to distract her too much from the call by kissing her neck. He couldn't resist the temptation any longer. Rachel didn't know what Nash would interpret from her telling him Harvey was at her place. "Okay, let him know and get down here A.S.A.P.'' Nash hung up the phone, wondering what Harvey was doing at Rachel's house at this hour. He knew the two were friends, but this seemed a little odd. "Who was that?" Harvey had been more interested in Rachel than her call, so he didn't pay much attention to what she had been saying. "That was Nash, we've got to get down to Wells and State." Harvey rolled his eyes, as much as he loved his job, duty did call at inopportune times. Harvey kissed her again before she slid off the couch, "just remember where we were for later." Rachel smiled at him as she gathered her badge and holster. "You've got my word." ** Harvey and Rachel arrived at the crime scene and Antwon approached them to give the details. "Looks like Marks has hit the streets again, this time with a vengeance." "I'll go get the prints." Harvey walked over towards Nash and the other officers to get the prints off the knife that was found by the body. Antwon had to ask Rachel, it was a little too odd for him to ask Harvey. He didn't like having to walk on eggshells everytime Nash asked him about Rachel or Harvey. "Rachel, I hate to pry, but have you and Harvey told Nash yet that you're seeing eachother?" "Not exactly." Rachel had been putting it off for a while, she didn't know how to tell him. She didn't want to tell him, but she knew she had to. Rachel didn't want Nash to find out from someone else. "Just wondering. I'll cover for you, if you need me to. But you have to tell him." Antwon was trying to stay unbiased, but he knew it would be hard. The situation was complicated and he couldn't easily pick sides if push came to shove. ** After Nash had left the crime scene, Harvey approached Rachel's car. She looked warn out and ready for bed. ''How about a rain check for tonight?" "You read my mind." Rachel wanted to spend the evening with Harvey, but now wasn't a good time. Had work not interrupted, things would be different. "I'll see you tomarrow then," Harvey leaned in against her car to give her a long, passionate kiss. He wanted to go home with her so badly, but he knew their moment would come. Harvey didn't want to rush things with Rachel, but he didn't want them to remain stagnant either. ** "Looks like this case will be keeping us busy for a while." Joe was excited to have another high-profile case, luckily one he had no personal involvement in. He walked into the SIU with Antwon, surprised Antwon was coming in so early. "Sure does. Hopefully, it won't drag on like Daniels' did." The case itself was exhausting, though he didn't quite understand why it took such a toll on Rachel, moreso than the rest of them. "Amen to that." Joe was hoping this would be an easy case. Marks would leave a trail, they'd follow and lock him up. Antwon set his stuff down on this desk, waiting for Joe so they could grab a cup of coffee. "Where's Cassidy been lately?" Antwon realized she hadn't been around lately, especially during the Daniels' case. He found that a little odd, considering her partner became a major player. "Nash said she needed some time off, I think she's been helping him out with Nick." Joe really didn't like bringing up Cassidy with Nash, fearing he'd overstep some boundaries by questionning her employment with the SIU. "Oh, is she coming back?" Antwon noticed Rachel had been putting in longer hours since she left, thinking she was picking up the slack for her MIA partner. "I think Rachel will pound her if she doesn't." Joe laughed at the thought, for as small as Rachel was --- the woman could pack a punch. ** Rachel waited for Harvey outside by the railing as he approached her with their afternoon coffee. "You better stop spoiling me, I could get used to this." Rachel grinned as Harvey handed her the warm cup. "This is as good as it gets.'' Harvey smiled, knowing he'd do anything for Rachel. "What are you doing tonight?" "Once I pull the info on the other victims and consult the records at City Hall, I should get out of here by 7:30." Nash had asked Rachel to stay earlier that morning, trying to get more work done on the Marks case. "Meet me for dinner at my house, about eight?" Their evening the night before had been wonderful, aside from Nash's call. If this was any indication of their future, it was going to be a long, beautifully bumpy ride. "Sounds perfect." Rachel checked to make sure no one else was around, and kissed him. She caught Harvey totally by surprise as her lips met his, he didn't want to let her go after he wrapped his arms securely around her. ''Hey now, I'll be over later." ** "Find anything new on Marks?" Joe perused the paper, reading the local paper's write-up on the case. "Nothing you haven't already seen." Nash thought the case would be the standard rape/murderer but John Marks was already proving to be more evasive than usual. "You think he'll strike again?" Joe knew the type, if he followed a pattern he'd be easier to catch. "Not if he knows we're onto him. Give him some time." Nash knew time was important. They had to catch him before he struck again. "How is it we get all the nut cases? Why can't we ship them over to Sunset?" Joe was aware that it was these crazy cases that kept them employed, but he longed for a normal, easy case every now and then. "You complain more than most women..." Nash chuckled, knowing Joe was only half serious. "Maybe we'll ship you over to Sunset instead." ** Fresh out of the shower, Harvey checked the lasagna in the oven, it was nearly done. Cooking for a vegetarian wasn't easy, but it was worth the effort for him. He checked the flowers on the table, he wanted everything to be perfect. "Harvey?" Anna opened the door and set Jerry down, "are you here?" Harvey knew Rachel wouldn't be there that early, she'd probably want to change clothes before coming over. "Harvey?" Anna was worried something was wrong when she called again and got no response. Harvey walked into the living room from the kitchen, recognizing the voice immediately. "Anna?" Harvey was speechless as Jerry ran into his open arms. "I thought we'd come to town and surprise you." Anna bent down and kissed Harvey on the forhead, "he missed his daddy." "Well, I'm certainly surprised." His plans for the evening slipped his mind as soon as Jerry started talking about their day. Suddenly, Anna and his son were all he could think about. "But happy all the same." ** Rachel walked up to Harvey's doorstep, she was a little early. He told her to meet him there at eight. She knocked on the door. "Hello?" Rachel was more than a little surprised to find a scantily clad woman on the otherside of Harvey's door, as the woman greeted her wearing a towel. "Can I help you?" Rachel didn't know what to say, she was completely befuddled. She immediately knew who the woman was. "Is Harvey around?" She was completely embarassed, not quite sure of what was going on. Evidently, the kiss had meant a lot more to her than it did to him. Rachel wanted to run, but she was cornered when Harvey appeared behind the woman, with his shirt unbuttoned and looking disheveled at best. "Rache?" Harvey had comepletely forgotten to call her and let her know that Anna was in town so they could change their plans, he could only imagine what she must be thinking. "I should've called. Sorry to interrupt.'' That was the only thing that came to Rachel's mind, and she wished she had to save her the embarassment. "I'll... I'll see you tomarrow, Harvey." Rachel headed down the stairs from the porch, she had to get away. Harvey didn't know what to do or how to explain, their appearances alone were incriminating. "Rachel, wait..." Harvey stepped out of the doorway onto the porch and glanced back at Anna. "Rachel..." He walked out onto the sidewalk and towards Rachel, still lacking the words to clear up the situation. "Rachel, let me explain." "You don't owe me an explanation, Harvey. I'll see you tomarrow." Rachel got into her car and drove away. As he watched her leave, Harvey could feel Anna's eyes on him. He knew there'd be questions. Harvey slowly walked back up to the house. "What was that all about?" After he sat down next to her on the couch, Anna ran her fingers through Harvey's curly hair, sending a slight sensation down his spine. "Just a friend." As soon as he said it, Harvey wondered if that's all she was. Lately, she seemed to be a lot more than just his friend. "I see. Does this friend know about me and Jerry?" Anna had to assure herself an important place in Harvey's life, she wanted to make sure there wasn't any competition. "She does." But what Rachel didn't know was that this was Anna he was with, not just some random girl. He didn't think at this point it would make a difference, Rachel already had come to her own conclusions. Anna moved in closer towards him, the night was theirs since Jerry was already asleep. Nothing stood in there way. Anna kissed him, bringing on a rush of all the feelings and emotions he thought died years before. "Anna, please..." He had to pull away, there was too much going on at the moment. "Harvey, you know we're meant to be together." Anna ran her fingers through his hair before she kissed him again. Harvey pulled away for a second, ''please don't start this now.'' He couldn't do that to Rachel and he certainly didn't want to lead Anna on. He got up and walked towards the kitchen, he needed time to think. "Harvey, what's stopping us?" Anna followed Harvey into the kitchen, "you know Jerry would love it if we were together all the time.'' "Anna, we've tried that before and we were both miserable.'' Harvey knew how things ended last time, and it was still hard for him to accept. After their previous attempt at reuniting, Anna took off for Seattle with Jerry. "Well, let's try again.'' She was intent on winning Harvey back, there was no one to stop them from being together. She stood next to him at the counter, waiting for a response. ''Anna, I need time to think. This is a little sudden." It was the truth, he hadn't expected her to drop in out of nowhere and disrupt the life he had made for himself. He fought desperately to ignore her advances. ''To think about what? This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Harvey." Anna thought she was doing Harvey a tremendous favor by suddenly coming back into the picture. She walked out of the kitchen, leaving Harvey to torture himself with his thoughts. ** "So, how goes the search?" Antwon walked with Rachel into the SIU early that morning, surprised to see she wasn't with Harvey. Harvey didn't tell Antwon much about their relationship, but he had assumed they were getting closer. "For a house?" Rachel wasn't sure what Antwon was questionning, whether it was work related or not. "Yeah, so is it right next door to the hippie welcoming committee, behind him or across the street?" Antwon loved to tease Rachel about her personal life, there was so much ammunition. He was pleased that she and Harvey were finally headed in the right direction. "Not that close, three blocks away." Rachel hadn't intended to move close to Harvey, it just happened to be that the house she liked the most was in his neighborhood. "Say what?" Something didn't seem right with Rachel that morning, he couldn't tell what it was. His eyes moved to Harvey as he saw him come through the glass doors. Something had happened between the two. Harvey's eyes fell immediately on Rachel, there was so much he wanted to explain about the night before. "Rache, can we talk?" "Harvey, there's nothing to talk about." Rachel arranged the papers on her desk for the third time since Harvey walked in. Antwon could tell an argument wasn't far off. ''I'll let you two talk and I'll catch up with you later, Rachel.'' Antwon picked up a folder off his desk and headed towards the stairs, wondering what had happened. Harvey looked over to Rachel, wanting so badly to convince her that there is nothing between him and Anna. He didn't know where to begin. "Rachel, about last night..." "Harvey, please, I said I didn't want an explanation. I really don't care what you do in your free time." Rachel didn't know what had come over her, this sudden fit of rage wasn't part of the response she intended to give him. Rachel was desperate to assure herself there was nothing between her and Harvey, and that she shouldn't care who he was with. It wasn't working. "Why won't you let me tell you what happened?" Harvey couldn't understand why she wasn't willing to listen to him, he had a right to give his side of the story. "Because it doesn't matter. If you want to be with the mother of your son, be with her. You have no obligation to me.'' Harvey hated Rachel's brutal honesty at times, but he could see she was fighting how she really felt and spouting off things he knew weren't true. Rachel tried to minimize her feelings, but couldn't find it in her to do so. "There's nothing going on between me and Anna." Harvey knew now wasn't the time to mention the kiss they shared the night before, that was irrelevent . "Harvey, she obviously feels something for you. She came back." Rachel tried to put herself in Anna's postion, not that it would make her feel any better. ''The feelings aren't mutual.'' He questionned the feelings himself after he said that. "I thought you'd know that by now." Harvey wasn't shy about showing Rachel affection anymore, he didn't know any other way to let her know it was her he was interested in. "She's the mother of your son, Harvey. Anna has Jerry." Rachel saw it as Anna having the upper hand, she had his child. Rachel didn't stand a chance. "So you're saying we're already done?" It was clear that Harvey wasn't going to get a chance to speak his mind. Rachel already gave up the battle. "I'm saying do what you have to do." Rachel was by no means going to stand in the way of Harvey's happiness with his son, even if it meant having to let him go. ** "Nash, I just got a call. Looks like Marks has struck again." Joe wasn't happy with the news, they haven't moved fast enough. "Dammit." Nash thought about the situation for a moment, "where?" "Same area, another elite socialite." Marks was forming his pattern and making his trail around the city. They had to stop him before he got to his next victim. "Get Antwon up here, we're going to track this guy down and quick. Five are already dead, we can't waste anytime." Nash wasn't going to let this guy get away, there had to be a way to catch him. ** ''Rachel, can I just say one thing?'' Harvey hurried to catch up to her as she walked towards her car late that afternoon. She stopped before opening the door, giving Harvey a chance to catch his breath as he leaned against the door. ''Harvey, you don't owe me anything, if that's what you're worried about. We're friends, good friends --- and we can still have that.'' Harvey had dreaded this discussion since Anna had returned. Rachel kept her hand on top of Harvey's as they stood in the parking lot together. "If Anna makes you happy, then be with her.'' "I wish I could tell you something definite, I really do. But a lot of time has gone by, and I just don't know.'' Harvey hated to leave her hanging without an answer, but he wasn't sure about Anna anymore. He was completely taken with her return, and not sure if the novelty was going to wear off. ''You have a son and a history together, that means something. I am not going to pretend I don't want to be with you, because I do, but you deserve this chance." Harvey couldn't have asked for a better reaction from her. She was willing to let him be happy. ''Go spend the evening with Anna and your son.'' ''I'm afraid things won't work out and...'' Harvey couldn't believe he was flat out asking her to wait for his decision. "I won't wait forever." Rachel kissed him hard on the lips, just as Harvey was about to put his arms around her, she moved away. "Go do what you have to do." ** |
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