28 February 2006

Rendevous Part 10

“He died at the hospital in spite of their efforts," Natalie stated in a sterile tone. " He was already paralyzed at the scene so he couldn’t feel his pain,” Natalie detailed. “I’m happy for that,” she added. “The funeral will be next week. Can you make it?”

“Make it?” Derrick thought as he looked at the calendar. “Shit! Why would she even want me there?” He thought to himself. “I’m afraid I can’t. I have court all next week. I’m sorry Nat, you know I would,” regret etched his tone. “But I…”

“It’s okay. I do understand. It’s not like you knew him anyway, but I…I’d…I’d just like to see and be around someone who wasn’t going to remind me of him in some way you know?” Natalie was on the verge of tears and her voice cracked under the weight. “I…I gotta go,” Natalie said feebly.

“Wait! Natalie?” Derrick heard her pause. “The family has a townhouse in Philadelphia, Society Hill section if you need to get away after the funeral. I can email the address to you and I’ll overnight the key to you if you give me your home address. Deal?”

As much as Natalie wanted to say no she couldn’t. Time away was something she’d absolutely need. She refused to stay at the home she shared with Lloyd and having her mother and sister fuss over her would make her feel bad too. Dorothy would take care of the business affairs and settle with the insurance company. She’d already been granted a leave of absence from work, so there was no need to turn down such a generous offer.

“I’ll join you after the case if you want the company?” Derrick went on before Natalie replied.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she said finally. “Do you have a pen? I’ll give you the address now.”

Natalie rattled off the address and ended the call. She still had to meet with the funeral director and Dorothy. Derrick checked the time after he wrote down the address and sent his secretary to FedEx. He had less than half an hour to get home before the twins arrived.

The funeral was attended by hundreds of people and the settling of Lloyd’s affairs was grueling. Natalie was a beneficiary on two policies and to Dorothy’s dismay; Natalie remained a stakeholder in Lloyd’s business, though she chose to be a silent partner and allow Lloyd’s general manager the role of running the shops. Dorothy would remain chief counsel and would oversee the books periodically to ensure the business remained profitable or it would be sold. It took a few more weeks to completely settle the affairs before Natalie was able to leave and she couldn’t wait to go and looked forward to the solitude to give herself time to regroup and restructure her life. Natalie had called to say she’d arrived and found the accommodations to her liking.

21 February 2006

Rendezvous Part 9

Derrick took a cab back to his hotel and tried to imagine what Natalie must have been going through. Death was a frequent companion in both their lives, but when it was personal the emotions typically hid, surfaced ten fold. Derrick thought about his own relationship. He wondered how he would react to the news of his wife’s death and it saddened him because their marriage was and had been six feet under for years now. He shrugged off the thought and looked at his watch. There wasn’t much time left for him in town and while he didn’t want to leave Natalie at a time like this, he had to get back home. The cab dropped him off at the hotel and Derrick went about getting his bag packed, making contact with the professor, and ordered breakfast in; he wasn’t up for the company of strangers and his mind was still on Natalie. The time passed and the front desk called to say the airport shuttle service was on its way. With little time left, Derrick decided he needed to touch base with Natalie one last time.

“Hey Natalie, it’s Derrick,” he paused. “I’m about to head to the airport and I’ll be on the 10:20 flight with American. I’ll leave my phone on for as long as I can. Hope you’re feeling a little better and I hope to hear from you soon.” Derrick figured she was still at the hospital. He knew death required a lot of paperwork.

When Derrick landed, he called home, but decided to go straight to the lab and drop off the files he’d gathered. The twins wouldn’t be home until 3:30 and he’d be home by then. Seeing his wife wasn’t something he was up for; not that she’d pay much attention to his presence anyway. Derrick wanted nothing more than to feel the warmth of compassion, but home was not where he was going to find it, so he buried himself in the warmth of a death he had something in common with.

Two hours later Natalie called.

“CSU. Parker speaking.” Derrick’s tone, sterile and professional.

“Hey you,” Natalie said softly. “I got your message. I’m glad you made it back safely.”

“Hey Natalie,” Derrick smiled, “good to hear from you. How you holding up?” He asked gently.

A deep sigh preceded her voice. “As best I can I suppose. A harness broke and pinned him to the wall,” Natalie was purposely not saying Lloyd’s name in order to stay detached enough to fill Derrick in.

Derrick ran his hand over his head. “I’m sorry,” was all he could say. There was nothing else he could say even though his scientific mind was screaming out questions.

07 February 2006

Rendezvous Part 8

Natalie glanced over at Derrick. “Nervous?” Her voice broke his thoughts.

“A little,” Derrick admitted.

“Don’t be. They won’t bite. I’ve told them all about you”, Natalie revealed as if knowing Derrick’s thoughts. “They’re not judgmental. Well, Dorothy is, but that’s not for me to worry about right now." Derrick gave Natalie a quizzical look. “Dorothy's Lloyd’s sister. We’ve never really gotten along and she’s the attorney for L…” Natalie stopped and the tears fell.

“It’s okay,” Derrick reassured. “I’m a big boy and I can handle the scrutiny”. Derrick patted Natalie’s thigh. Nothing more was said.

Derrick pulled into the hospital parking lot and turned the car off. He got and walked around to let Natalie out. He opened the door and she paused before exiting.

“I’d say it’s gonna be alright, but that’s not really true is it?” He rhetorically asked. “I’ll walk you to the door and you can decide what you want me to do from there,” he added.

Derrick wrapped his arm around Natalie’s shoulder as a pillar of support and encouraged her weakening steps as they entered the doors. With a firm, yet tender squeeze, Derrick forced her to ask for Dr. Goldman who’d been the attending ER physician when Lloyd was brought in. She was directed to an adjoining wing and Derrick continued to guide her way. Natalie saw Lloyd’s parents sitting down with Dorothy talking to a nurse. Her sister was in the room also. A small sigh of relief escaped Natalie’s mouth.

“I’ll delay my trip home if you need me to,” Derrick’s voice was barely above a whisper.


“No, your case needs you. Call me before you leave though. Please.” Tears flowed again.

“Of course,” Derrick reassured as he kissed her cheek. “Take care Nat.”

Natalie waved and entered the waiting room.

06 February 2006

Rendezvous Part 7

“Oh God! No!” Natalie screamed, tears streaming down her face. “What happened? How? Oh my God,” Natalie collapsed onto the floor.

Derrick ran to comfort her. “What happened?”

“Its…it’s Lloyd,” she struggled. “He…he’s been in an acc…he…he’s dead.” Natalie choked on her tears.

“Oh Natalie, I’m so sorry,” Derrick tried to console. “Let it out. Just let it out.” Derrick rocked Natalie in his arms. His heart ached for her and he carried her to the bed. “Do you want me to drive you back?” Derrick’s tone wreaked compassion.

“Yes. No…I don’t know,” confusion captured Natalie’s mind.

“Where are your keys? I can drive you,” Derrick repeated. “Is there someone you want me to call? I’m sure someone will be expecting you,” Derrick suddenly a feeling of dread came over him.

Natalie tried to think of what to do. Going to the hospital was the right thing to do, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to go there and see the shell of what used to be Lloyd.

“Nat, I think you should let me drive you back. I can get directions to the hospital and take you there,” Derrick had to think in spite of himself. He knew how things would look, but he couldn’t care about appearances. Natalie needed to get to the hospital or things would look a lot worse.


No answer. Natalie cried until she fell asleep in Derrick’s arms. Her cell phone rang relentlessly, but he didn’t answer it. She couldn’t deal with all the questions; the sympathies, all she wanted was for the news not to be true. Natalie woke up about thirty minutes later from a fitful slumber and Derrick told her she had several missed calls. Not wanting to hear the messages, Natalie handed Derrick her phone and asked him to listen to them for her. Derrick did as he was asked, wrote down the names and messages, and handed the paper to her. Tears rained down again and Derrick laid back down cradling her against his huge frame.

“I have to take you back Nat. This'll look really bad if I don’t and you don’t need people making negative assumptions. This will be hard enough for you,” Derrick rationalized.


Derrick eased his body from Natalie’s and sat on the edge of the bed wondering what to do next. He took a shower, changed, and waited for Natalie to compose herself as best she could. Derrick emerged from the bathroom in jeans and a sweater ready to drive Natalie to the hospital.

Derrick sat beside Natalie. “Are your keys in your purse?” Natalie nodded. “Okay, I’ll drive you to the hospital and then take a cab back ,” Derrick spoke slowly and clearly. Natalie nodded again. “Let me get you a warm towel for your face”. Derrick went to the bathroom. “Here you go,” he handed her the towel.

“Thank you,” Natalie handed the towel back. “I’m ready”. She smiled unconvincingly.

Derrick asked the desk clerk for directions and drove Natalie to the hospital. The ride was in complete silence save for the sounds coming from the slightly muted radio. As they approached the hospital, Derrick’s mind raced as he wondered what lay ahead for Natalie. He knew she had a close family and was in good keeping with Lloyd’s, but the image of her arriving with a seemingly unknown man? He knew that his name had come up in conversation but to see him in person could easily change the scope of things.

01 February 2006

Rendezvous Part 6

Derrick arrived on schedule, took the shuttle to the hotel, showered, and checked in with Professor Robertson to confirm their plans. Professor Robertson’s assistant picked up Derrick in the morning and Derrick and the Professor worked closely on the details for the case for two days until near exhaustion. Derrick was used to functioning off minimal sleep, but he’d already pushed himself to the edge prior to the trip and was in dire need of a nap. If not for Natalie’s call to reconfirm their meeting time as she thought she might be a little late, Derrick might have missed dinner all together. Derrick rushed to take a long hot shower and get ready.

Derrick took a cab to the restaurant and waited at the bar for Natalie’s arrival. Anxiety was getting the best of Derrick as he waited for Natalie. As he toyed with the glass on the bar, Derrick spilled the remainder of his drink when Natalie approached him.

“Shit!” Derrick fumed, as the bartender casually wiped up the liquid. “Hi. I’m sorry about that,” Derrick stood up. “How are you?” Derrick hugged Natalie.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Natalie returned, and wrapped her arms tight around Derrick.

“It’s okay. Table’s ready when you are,” they broke their embrace.

“Okay. Been waiting long?”

“Not really; although, if not for your call, I might’ve still be sleeping. This case is gonna be the death of me; no pun intended,” Derrick confessed while they were taken to their table.

“Well, let’s not talk shop for now,” Natalie said sweetly. “Let’s try to keep it relaxed and catch up on things.”


“I’m game for that.”

Derrick and Natalie ordered wine and their meals, and spend the next two hours talking about everything including work, though they said they wouldn’t. The casual ease between them displaced the previous lack of communication. For the first time in a long time, Derrick felt relaxed and comfortable. He didn’t feel like he needed to caution everything he said for fear of fallout or hostility. The more Derrick relaxed, the more his guard came down. After dinner, Derrick and Natalie decided to return to Derrick’s hotel to share a little more time and for Derrick to run a few of his findings from the case by Natalie. They went through the minutia and concluded the information with some new insight, which made Derrick very happy.

It had gotten quite late and Derrick didn’t want to cause any problems for Natalie at home and prompted her to call it a night. Natalie went to call Lloyd, but was interrupted by an incoming call.