Thank you for all the lovely reviews! You guys are amazing and I'm glad I was able to get the characteriazation at least somewhat right. This chapter is by far the longest and was also the hardest one to write - so I hope I did good in ending the story. I know, no more - so sad...

Everything Series 4/4

Title: Reflecting in a Broken Mirror

Rating: M, just to be safe

Characters: Reese (character study), Crews/Reese

Summary: Reese wants everything, Crews wants nothing.

Disclaimer: I in no way own the characters of Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, or any other affiliated with NBC's Life. I only borrow them for my selfish acts and intend no harm. Also, the lyrics belong to Buckcherry's fantastic song, "Everything."

A/N: This story came to me first as a fanvid idea (still planning on doing one) but then morphed into a full fledge fic in the planning. It's my first foray into the Life fandom and so I need some critique. But please, smart critique only.

-- You know I wanna be, I want everything
-- I wanted everything, everything

She could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

In… Out… In… Out…

Usually, this would have annoyed her, especially the weight against her back from his body, his arm around her waist, and the hand that was cupping her breast. She rolled her eyes; leave it to Crews to cop a feel while asleep.

But at this second, her partner feeling her up wasn't the most important thing on her mind: the pressing matter of her bladder was.

Carefully, she grasped his hand and lifted it slowly while she tried to roll out from under his arm. As soon she had most of her body to the edge of the bed, a groan was issued from the man beside her and she felt herself being pulled back against his body. "It's freezing: where do you think you're going?"

She smiled, not that he would ever know, as he encircled her waist and burrowed his nose into her hair. "Crews, unless you want an embarrassing accident to happen, you might want to let me up."

Groaning, he loosened his grip on her and she was finally able to slip out of the bed.

Moments later, after flushing the toilet and washing her hands, she finally looked at herself in the mirror: she looked like hell. Her hair was frizzy and curlier than normal, which made the strands stick out at odd angles. There were dark rings under her puffy, red-streaked eyes that stood out against her too pale skin. And to top it off, her shirt was stained with – she sniffed at the yellow stain – bourbon.

She needed a shower.

Anything to make her feel clean again.

To make her feel in control.

Walking to the bathroom door, she opened it and stuck her head out into the bedroom. "Cre –," she stopped suddenly when she saw that he was fast asleep.

Opening the door more, she stood there self-consciously. She was in her partner's bedroom, having spent the night with him after he saved her from a night of debauchery, in only her shirt, bra, and panties… This was a new situation for her; not really the next-morning aspect with little clothing on, more on along the lines of having said partner snoring lightly in the Californian-king mattress in front of her.

Finally, Reese let her instincts take over and she walked over to his closet. Trying the handle she found it wasn't locked.

Pushing the door open, she walked in and immediately found a huge collection of button up shirts and built in drawers and cabinets. She ruffled through his shirts for a few moments till she saw a charcoal one at the end of the rack and grabbed it. For some reason, the shirt seemed to stick out of the mass collection of colors.

Turning to leave, she saw an alcove at the end of the huge walk-in. Moving towards it, she noticed case file boxes lining the back wall, which had the pockmarked look of one that had been littered with tacks. She kneeled next to the boxes and picked the top of one of them off. She knew she shouldn't pry into Crew's personal life, not that he wasn't prone to doing the same to her, but these were official L.A.P.D. case files. This could be a breach of police procedure, again something her partner had a knack for.

The box was empty.

And so were the other three.

Sighing, Dani grabbed the shirt and then proceeded to look for socks and perhaps a pair of boxers. Once, she had found the elusive items in the drawers built into the wall, she exited the closet and made sure Crews was still asleep before she continued with her plan to take a shower.

-- Your eyes, never close your eyes
-- And open up your mind

Half an hour later, clad in her partner's shirt, boxers, and socks, she opened the door to his bathroom to find… Him.

Dani gasped as she jumped slightly, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to finish." He flashed her that nauseating smile of his and moved to go around her into the bathroom; stopping only when she laid a hand on his arm.

"Thanks." She didn't look at him but shrugged instead and gestured to the bathroom and to the bed, "For everything." She prayed that her voice didn't give her away, then again this was Charlie Crews and he had a knack for seeing in between the lines.

Especially when it came to him.

"Not a problem; we're partners." Her eyes rose to his as he pointed to the bed. "Get some more rest, you deserve it."

With that, he shut the door lightly in her face as she stood there staring at the off-orange of his door. She deserved rest? Reese had never felt like she had deserved anything that had been handed to her, whether good or bad… But then Crews had come into her life with his damn Zen and she had started to see how much she could have; started to see that she was worth his care.

His affection.

Walking towards the massive bed, she stopped and let her eyes trace patterns in the comforter.

That was it, wasn't it? That's why she felt so out of place, here with him. Crews was giving her affection. It was concept that had long become foreign to her.

Affection.

Her mother had given that to her once upon a time. Before her father destroyed what was best in the woman; taking what was most important to her and teaching her to be ashamed instead of proud of her heritage.

Affection.

Then he had given it; the only man who she had ever given her heart. They had loved since the first moment they had met; and it had survived through all the hardships only to end with him blowing his brains out while she watched on in drug-induced hysteria.

Now Crews was giving her that same attention. He was starting to give a damn about her and for what, this foreign concept of 'partners?' What scared her more, was that she craved everything he gave to her… Like a new drug.

Crews was her new drug; her new need. As annoying as he was; she was starting to want him around. She was starting to look forward to see that disgustingly bright smile when she picked him up for a shift.

Good god, she had finally gone insane.

-- Oh and baby you can have everything
-- Your eyes, never close your eyes

Suddenly, a hand appeared on her shoulder, squeezing her out of her mental wanderings. "You okay?"

Brown met blue, as she answered, "No, but…" She looked down again.

"What?"

"I have no idea."

His head fell to one side; then he went over to the side of the bed and proceeded to climb under the covers. Dani's eyebrow arched, "What are you doing?"

"It's my day off." He pointed at her, "And yours too."

She felt a grin tug at her lips but fought it back into a frown as she sighed and climbed up onto the bed. Soon, she was settled back under the covers with her eyes boring into the ceiling.

They laid there for a while, the quiet, for once, atmosphere letting Dani's mind wander to that day when the packs of heroin had exploded onto her; thus leading Crews to help her wash it off. She remembered the way his arms had gone around her when he had picked her up; how his hands had gripped her shoulders as she desperately rubbed herself clean. Funny how the one of the most horrifying experiences of her life still had a bright spot. Even more funny, was that the bright spot would have been Crews' comforting presence.

As if the memories had unlocked a secret within her, her eyes drifted down to the shirt she was wearing. Reese now knew why she had felt drawn towards it; it was the one he had been wearing that day…

Her life was just full of irony when it came to this partnership.

"You're going to be okay, Dani."

She closed her eyes as her mental wanderings came to a stop at the sound of his whispered statement and turned to face him. She waited a few seconds then she opened them to find his blue ones staring back at her.

"I'm not so sure about that."

Not breaking eye contact, she felt his body close the distance between them until one of his legs tangled with her own leg, causing there to be mere inches between their torsos. Her eyebrows rose but she didn't say anything, just waited for his response.

"A broken mirror never reflects again; fallen flowers never go back to the old branches."

She stared at him for second and then started to move away, but was stopped when a hand grasped at her waist. "Don't go."

Dani searched his face but found no malice; his words had hurt her, but the pain caused had not been intentional.

She listened.

"Your problem is that you want to return to your old life, but Dani, that's impossible." The hand on her waist applied pressure and she herself be moved back to her original position before she had pulled away. "Too much has happened to you; you've seen too much." They stared at each other until he looked away and said quietly, "I wish I could go back, but it doesn't work like that, Dani."

His gazed locked on hers again, "I know, I've tried too."

"So what do we do? Just move on."

"I think so." He raised his shoulder in a kind of awkward shrug. "But there's a difference now."

She felt herself gravitate towards him, "And what would that be?"

Reese saw his eyes waver and settle on her lips before lifting back to hers. "Maybe we just need someone who understands what hell really is."

She was now so close to his lips, that she could feel them when she moved hers, "We definitely know what hell is like." And with that, she moved her head and captured his lips with her own.

They laid there for a few moments, letting their mouths move against each other but never anything more. As they broke apart, Dani moved her head to rest against his bare chest and thought that maybe she could start to move past the events of the last few years now.

Maybe this man, who had annoyed her and seemed to actually enjoying driving her towards insanity, was the savior she hadn't even been aware she had been looking for.

Or maybe, he was a broken man like she a broken woman. Two people who knew what the bowels of humanity existence were like and had survived, more or less, intact.

She took in a deep breath and let the world disappear slowly. Nothing was certain, she could be using again by tomorrow night or he could fall completely off the deep end… But she knew in this moment, she was safe and so was he.

'Partner' was just another word for someone who you trusted to watch your back, no matter what.

-- And open up your mind
-- Oh and baby, you can have everything

So... What'd you think? Leave a note. Also, tell me if you want this to continue... I would love to evolve this story into a sequal (short, like this one was), especially once the season is over.