A/N So here we go. We all know THAT episode. And this is just a little oneshot about the extended version of THAT scene (I swaer it was the one the writers' cut!). Please read and review! BTW, I've used the actual dialogue from that scene for the beginning part, but you'll see where I started...extending?
Disclaimer: The beginning is not mine. The end is, though. But that's just because I'm special.
Scotty hurried out of the elevator, seeing Lilly a few steps ahead of him.
"OK, hey! Enough with the Ice Queen, Lil. Just hit me with it already." She turned to face him, her eyes blazing angrily.
"Look, I got nothin' to say."
"You wanna drop this thing? Great. But you ain't droppin' it. You're givin' me daggers all day!"
"And you don't deserve that!" she retorted. Scotty laughed incredulously.
"Lil, I'm an adult. I don't need your permission to go out with someone." Her eyes flashed menacingly.
"It's not someone, it's my sister!" she snapped, her voice wavering.
"So what's that to you?" he asked, frowning. She turned away. Scotty knew she was thinking about running. But, much to his surprise, she turned back. Why is she lookin' at me like that? It's like…like she wants me to see somethin', but I ain't getting' it.
"You lied to my face." OK. That probably wasn't the best idea. Lilly watched as something resembling guilt appeared on his face. He took a couple of steps towards her.
"You asked me, in front of everybody. I'm gonna say it with Vera an' the boss right there, yeah, Chris an' me are steppin' out?" She laughed in disbelief, a mocking smile on her face.
"OK, you're right. Lying was the right thing to do."
He shrugged.
"I'm gonna see who I want, Lil." Something died in Lilly's eyes, and it was almost as if she was trying to make him believe she didn't care.
"Great, God bless."
And then Scotty opened his mouth again.
"I can't help whatever happened nine years ago!" If his earlier words hadn't hurt, these certainly did. The look on her face almost killed him. Shit. Lilly… He watched in horror as all the fight left his partner, and for a brief moment, 10-year old Lilly was standing in front of him, hurt and alone.
"She's trouble," Lilly said quietly, looking away.
"Well, maybe to me she's not." She looked up quickly.
"Fine, Scotty. But whoring it out with a cocktail waitress won't bring back your dead girlfriend," she replied, her voice breaking. He had a feeling that the look on his face must have matched hers; hurt, angry, surprised.
"What's going on?" Jeffries' voice interrupted their fight. The partners stared at each other for a moment. I didn't mean to say that, Lilly thought. When will I learn not to lash out at him? Jeffries looked between them. He approached them cautiously, hating to get involved. But the way they were looking at each other… Aw, shit, he thought. Eventually, Scotty shook his head.
"Nothin'."
Lilly turned away, and for a moment, Jeffries thought he saw tears in her eyes. He cleared his throat.
"Turns out Nathan was more active in seeing Colin's future than he said." Lilly took a deep breath, feeling Scotty's eyes burning into her back.
"Yeah? How?" she asked, praying that her voice sounded normal.
Scotty felt his heart sink even further. Is that…is she crying? Jeffries continued to speak.
"Old records in Vermont showed that he applied to be college guardian." Scotty managed to tear his eyes away from his partner to glance at Jeffries briefly.
"Vermont. That's where he was goin' to school."
"The registrar at Middlesbury has his request for family housing."
Lilly turned slightly, allowing Scotty to finally see her face. She was pale, paler than usual, and he could have sworn her eyes were two shades darker than before. The blonde detective still refused to look at him.
"So Colin could live with him," she confirmed.
"But he told me it was just a job. That, uh, Sarah and Colin were getting' too much for him," Scotty said. Lilly fought the temptation to remind him that people lie.
Jeffries shrugged, eyeing the pair suspiciously. What the hell is going on?
"He might have wanted out, but he was just getting deeper in." Scotty glanced at his partner, hating himself for what he had done. An' now I know that it wasn't even worth it. Not worth losin' Lil.
He opened his mouth to speak, but thinking twice, began to walk towards the elevator. A few moments later, she heard Jeffries' heavy footsteps recede. Lilly breathed a shaky sigh of relief, staring sadly at the floor. She suddenly felt like crying, and struggled to keep the tears at bay. Before she knew it, the words had been ripped from her throat, and she was too late to hold them back.
"It should have been me."
The two men turned back at the sound of her voice. Scotty watched as slow tears crept down her cheeks. Through his confused eyes, she looked more beautiful than ever.
"It should have been me," Lilly repeated. Scotty took a step towards to her, and another, until he was finally standing in front of her. With a shake of his head, Jeffries continued into the elevator. I'm pretty damn sure I don't want to see this.
Scotty moved even closer to his partner, shrugging his shoulders. Lilly stared up at him helplessly, allowing him to see the truth shining from her vivid blue eyes.
"What's that to you, Lil?" he repeated softly, daring to touch her cheek. For a moment, she leant into his touch, her eyes closed. His palm was soft against her cheek, and just for that instant, Lilly pretended that he was hers. And for that instant, she was in heaven.
"It should have been me," she whispered.
Before he could do anything, Lilly removed his hand from her cheek, and walked away. Scotty watched as the doors swung shut behind her. She was his partner, his friend…the woman he loved. As he lowered his gaze to the floor, the sickening realisation made tears of his own prick the back of his eyes. Now he knew why going with Christina had felt so wrong.
When Scotty finally spoke, there was no one to hear, and his voice came out as a broken whisper.
"It should have been you."
Sorry! I hope none of you were expecting a happy ending. Oh. You were? Sorry! But hey, I'm branching out. Decided to write a Lilly/Scotty story where there WASN'T a happy ending for a change. Sigh. If you hated it, I guess you COULD leave me a review. I guess you could just leave me a review anyway, right? Pretty please? Pretty please with Danny Pino on top? Thanks!