We'll Be Okay

I still felt lightheaded as I sat up with Don's assistance. I couldn't tell him yet, I was still reeling from it. Right as I was about to tell him the biggest news, it was taken from me. Yes, I was pregnant. I lost the baby and I was devastated, but I couldn't tell him.
"Hey, Don, I got her. You can go on back onto the scene if you want", Lindsay said. She handed me a bottle of water and some chips. Don gave me a hesitant look.
"Go on, babe. I'll be fine", I told him. He gave me a kiss, murmured for me to be careful, and walked out, glancing back over his shoulder as he went. Lindsay looked at me.
"Okay, spill, Izzy", she said. I gave her a sorrowful look.
"We've been arguing so much lately, I hate that me getting sick is what's waking us up", I replied. It wasn't a secret that things between Don and me were getting tense as cases progressed. We didn't fight about personal things, but now it was boiling down to bringing our work home with us.

"That's not what I'm talking about. What happened?" Lindsay said. I sighed. She knew me too well. I was very fond of Lindsay, but her ability to read me was getting annoying. I rested my head against my knees and muttered something under my breath.
"Izzy, are you pregnant?" she asked, her eyes wide. I shook my head.
"I was, but not anymore", I replied. Immediately, her eyes softened.
"Oh, Izzy, I'm so sorry", she said, hugging me. I hugged her back.
"I was only about six weeks along, but still", I replied.
"Does Don know?" she asked, but apparently thought better of it.
"No, he doesn't. I'm so scared he's going to walk out on me any day now", I replied. She held onto me, hugging me tightly.
"He loves you, you know. I haven't seen him like this with anyone", she said. I wiped my eyes, chuckling.
"He doesn't even know half of my story. Our biggest issue is my trust issues. I can't let him know my story, it's going to be too much and he'll leave me. I can't get hurt again, Lindsay", I replied, wiping my eyes again as tears started welling up.
"He's getting frustrated because he's learning all of this stuff secondhand. He's not learning this from you firsthand, he's finding out about it from other people. If he was going to leave, he would've done it already", Lindsay said.
"Then that new girl in the precinct, Detective Suarez, is pissing me off. She's all over him and she knows I'm looking", I said.

"Well, she's not gonna get away with it, just don't do anything you'll regret, alright? You make the lab tons more interesting and I'll get bored if you go on suspension", Lindsay replied, squeezing my shoulder. I smiled to myself.
"Meanwhile, you should tell Don about what almost was", she said. I grimaced.
"I'll tell him tonight, we get off at the same time", I replied. I got up, still feeling a little woozy from earlier. Lindsay helped me to the precinct to my desk. I sat down, getting my paperwork ready.
"Well, lookie here at the lab rat! Heard you took a spill today", Suarez said with a smirk.
"Yeah, I did. I'm good now, thanks for asking", I replied, not looking up.
"Too bad you missed out on chasing down the suspect while you were busy with evidence", she said. She was baiting me.
"Actually, I was busy cooling down, Suarez. What are you trying to say?" I said, glancing up at her.
"That you should try doing your job for a change", she replied menacingly. I stood up. I'd had enough of her. Suarez got in my face. Massive mistake.
"You got a complaint about me, take it up with Mac. Don't go spreading rumors about me about stuff you don't even know anything about. Get out of my face or you won't like how I'll make you", I said. She was pissing me off majorly.
"Make me", she replied. She was getting too close and I was about to shove her back. This heat was getting to everyone, I refused to be a part of the 'Heat Wave Madness'.
"Flack's mine, by the way", she said. That pissed me off the most and I tried to fight the strong urge to deck Ariana Suarez right across her smug face.

She made the mistake of shoving me. I hit my desk and swung with my left fist. I connected with her jaw, causing her to stumble back a few steps. She touched her jaw and lunged for me. I grabbed her neck and threw her onto the ground. Suarez grabbed my leg and yanked me down. Fists started flying and we were yanked from each other. I writhed against the officer's grip, glaring balefully at Suarez. She was swearing at me in Spanish.
"Be lucky that your brother pulled you off, bitch, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten back up", she raged. I struggled against Levi, seething.
"We'll see, Suarez. I would've knocked you out", I retorted.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sythe yelled.
"What the hell is going on here?" Sinclair demanded. Damn. Sinclair hated me enough as it was, I just might have given him a reason to fire me.
"She hit me, Inspector", Suarez said.
"I did not! She shoved me first, I just defended myself", I argued. I was bleeding from my lip.
"Pacino, calm your ass down. What the hell happened?" Sythe demanded.
"Suarez started the altercation", Ariel replied. I wanted to hug him.
"Pacino's got a bad temper, she shouldn't have let it get to her", Levi argued. My own brother turned against me. I glared at him.
"Suarez shoved her first, Levi, you saw it", Ariel said. He was standing up for me. The officers from the scene in the Upper East side came in the precinct, clapping each other on the back. Don came in, looking at everyone. His eyes set on my brother holding me back from Suarez.

"Alright, what happened?" he asked. He was now Mr. Business.
"There was an altercation that is being resolved currently, Flack", Sythe replied.
"Suarez hit Pacino", Quinn announced. My brother was involved, now Don was too.
'Fantastic', I thought.
"What? Suarez, you were told not to go near Pacino's desk", Don said to Ariana. She didn't have anything to say to Don. He was her CO. His eyes set on me.
"And you are supposed to be resting from heat exhaustion", he said.
"I'm fine now, I have water and Powerade", I replied.
"And you definitely shouldn't be in fights", he added. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
"I was hit first, in my defense", I replied. Levi let go of me.
"Don't think Detective Taylor's not going to find out about this, Pacino. Hitting a co-worker is serious business", Sinclair said. I fought the urge to argue like a teenager.
"If Suarez ignited the altercation, then she should take some heat for this", Don said. We were dating, he would surely be accused of playing favorites.
"Suarez only shoved her, Pacino threw the first punch", Levi said. It was weird to have my brother call me by our surname.
"Flack, I want you in the meeting room in an hour. We need to discuss punishment for this", Sythe said to Don. He nodded.
"Yes sir", Don replied. After he left, he turned to me.
"You, come with me, now", he said. I was in deep, deep trouble. He grabbed my arm and walked me into interrogation.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Getting in an altercation with Suarez, are you crazy?" he demanded. He was going to rant and monologue, I was sure of it.

"She started it, Flack. She came up to my desk and started talking trash", I said, then immediately regretted it. I sounded like a bratty teenager.
"You didn't have to retaliate. Do you know what's going to happen now? IA might start an investigation, and they're going to pull up all kinds of stuff. You and I won't be able to say a damn thing about the other because it's not going to mean anything to them", he retorted. He was pissed.
"She shoved me. I was defending myself", I said.
"You didn't have to react, Pacino. C'mon, you're better than that", he replied.
"She was in my face. I told her to back off, and she shoved me", I said. I could feel my temper rising and I was about to snap.
"You didn't have to hit her", he retorted. I set my jaw, narrowing my eyes.
"I know that. I'm not saying I'm completely innocent in all of this, I'm telling you my side of the story", I replied as calmly as I could. Inside, my blood was boiling.
"Why does it matter?" he demanded. I slammed my hands on my hips.
"Because you're the one who dragged me in here!" I snapped, nearly shouting now.
"Don't snap at me", he warned. That did it.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You're not my boss, you're not my CO, and you sure as hell ain't my daddy", I yelled. I couldn't have hurt him more if I'd slapped him.
"I'm looking out for you, but you're not letting me. Every time I try to do something for you, you completely disregard me and do whatever the hell you want", he snarled.
"Because you won't listen. I try to tell you what's really going on and you shut me out", I said. Now we were getting somewhere. He'd been good to me in the locker room and I had thought we'd resolved our differences. Big mistake.
"If we can't put aside our differences off the clock, we sure can't do it on the clock", he said. I skittered back a step.

"Are you breaking up with me?" I asked. My turn to be offended.
"We need to work this issue out. If you weren't so damn hotheaded, we'd be fine", he snapped. Oh, hell no.
"You would've done the exact same thing, don't pretend like you wouldn't and don't you dare blame this on me", I said. I was pissed now.
"When you grow up and realize this isn't all me, give me a call. Until then, we're through", I said, flinging open the door to interrogation and stormed out.