That Doofas Poole

By tuna.dc

 

In the episode, ‘The Party’s Over,’ Chris mentions ’that doofas Poole’ as he is telling Rita how he was going through her personal phone book and he mentions to her how he thought they agreed she was going to tear his name out of her phonebook.  She doesn’t respond, but instead just changes the subject.  This is my take on who ‘that doofas Poole’ was and why Rita couldn’t tear him out of her phonebook.  Part of the story is a flashback and part of it takes place after my original story, Meant To Be.  The entire series of stories can be found at the websites listed at the end of this story.  My suggestion is that they be read in the order they were written.

 

 

His full name was Aaron Emil Poole, but to everyone on PBPD, including Chris Lorenzo, he was known as, ‘that doofas Poole.’  Everyone that is, except one Rita Lee Lance.  And no one knew why she didn’t think of him as ‘that doofas Poole.’  She never told anyone why.

 

Trouble seemed to follow Aaron Poole like the river runs to the ocean.

 

Aaron Poole and Rita were in the Academy together and while Rita quickly moved through the ranks and become a sergeant via the detective route.  Aaron Poole had become sergeant by way of remaining on the streets.

 

Their friendship completely baffled Rita’s partner Chris Lorenzo.  What Chris couldn’t or didn’t want to understand is what Rita ever saw in this guy.  He knew she wasn’t in love with him, but he didn’t see the friendly attraction either.  Chris chalked it up to Rita having a pet, like Poole was some sort of lost puppy dog that needed some type of saving and Rita was a good one for that.  She gave hope to the downtrodden.  Chris tried to explain it to her once, and when he’d casually or otherwise bring up Poole’s name, Rita neither defended him, nor said anything bad about him.  She merely refused to get ‘involved’ in discussing Aaron or to give Chris satisfaction one way or another.  She didn’t buy his theory and she never gave him one of her own.  Most of the time Chris just ended up dropping the topic.

 

Aaron Poole was no dummy.   He just did dumb things.  He’d be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And he’d end up making normal situations complicated.   He had been an above average student at the University of Miami and had the usual types of accomplishments under his belt.  While he never ‘excelled’ at one particular thing, his life was full of all sorts of things that he was competent at.  He’d played some sports, volunteered his time to causes close to his own heart, went to church, was kind to animals and children and all the other ‘good’ stuff that would make a biography complete.  So where did the ‘doofas’ come into play?  There was something about him that people thought was weird, or odd or downright stupid.  It wasn’t just one thing, it was a combination of things that all built into one ‘giant doofas.’  And the even sadder thing was that Aaron knew that people thought he was a doofas, and he’d jokingly even refer to himself as a doofas.  People thought he was even more of a doofas for doing that.

 

Rita kept in contact with Aaron over the years despite the fact that they didn’t work in the same department.  All through the academy and into working in the department it slowly drifted to a friendship that only the two of them understood as time wore on.  They never actually dated, but every so often, they’d have lunch together and sometimes even go out to dinner and a movie.  Some people would see them together and assume they were dating, but it was really nothing more than friendship.  There was something she saw in him or understood about him that no one else did.  The word doofas was not in her vocabulary when it came to Aaron Poole.

 

Chris never did see the attraction in him that Rita seemed to have.  Poole wasn’t normally the type of person she would have as a friend, acquaintance, yes, someone she’d greet with that fabulous smile, but to actually go out and have a meal together, it just left Chris shaking his head.  And even though he’d try to get it out of her in a round about way, she never let on.  Whatever it was about him, she kept it a secret.  It was something just between the two of them.

 

Several months before the Trisha Vale case, Rita had gone to assist on what appeared to be a simple traffic accident investigation.  She had been on her way home when the call came over the radio and she was just a few blocks away.  She called in her response and drove over to the address to see if she could be of any help.  It turned out that she was the first one who arrived on the scene.  Three cars were involved, two of the people had some fairly serious injuries and one of the people involved was out of his car standing in the middle of the street ranting and raving.  As Rita pulled up, she quickly put in a call for ambulances and additional backup, plus a fire unit response.  Traffic was already backing up all around and the situation was quickly escalating into a hot spot.

 

After calling in her requests, she quickly stepped out of her vehicle and into the melee that was developing.  Two other police units arrived, along with a paramedic crew and they began to extradite the victims.  One officer began to try to get the traffic moving in other directions and away from the accident.  And then Aaron Poole showed up.  He saw Rita in the midst of the street attempting to calm down a man who was out of control.  Two other men, observers, had jumped in to somehow try to help Rita.  Poole quickly made his way over to them.

 

Chris had left the station too and was on his way home, when he heard Rita answer the call on the radio and even though he was going in completely the other direction, he decided to swing around and see what he could do to help.

 

As he pulled up to the scene, he saw the fracas and shook his head.  Leave it to his partner to be right in the middle, trying to tackle it all herself.  Rita Lance rarely showed fear on the job and this situation was no different.  The men that surrounded her each outweighed her by probably 100 pounds, but she pushed and shoved right back at each of them as she tried to subdue the instigator.  Chris jumped out of the Charger just as Poole was jumping into the situation.  He stood about 6’5”, quite a bit taller than Chris, and a bit bulkier too.  He tossed a couple of people out of the way and as he put his hand on Rita’s shoulder, she spun around and saw that it was him, she smiled briefly and as she turned back to the crazy man, he had grabbed her arm and was pulling her forcefully out of the way.  Poole tried to grab her other arm, but the force and surprise that the other man was displaying, gave him the upper hand when it came to Rita.  Rita slid out of the grasp of Aaron and literally went flying across the street, she completely lost her balance and landed painfully on the pavement, smacking her head on the curbing as she landed.

 

Poole grabbed the man and quickly subdued him to the ground and slapped handcuffs on him.  Chris now raced over to his partner, who was sprawled out on the side of the road.

 

“Rita, you alright?” Chris said, kneeling down beside her.

 

Rita slowly was sitting up and trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head.  “I think so,” she answered, grabbing Chris arms to try to steady herself.  Chris noticed that a bump was already forming on the top of her head.  He started to touch it, but she pushed his hand away.

 

“Would you stop, that hurts,” she said, as she felt the lump forming on her head for herself. She tried to stand up, but he held onto her to prevent her from standing up.

 

“Don’t get up too fast, just relax and make sure you’re not really hurt anywhere,” he said, draping a caring arm around her shoulder.  His mood changed when he thought about her flying across the street.  “What the hell do you think you were doing?” he said to her, mad that she put herself in this situation, when she should have left it to Poole and the other street cops.

 

Rita was still in a daze, “I was trying to help, I am a cop remember?”

 

Now it was Chris’ turn to shake his head, “you are something else, you know that don’t you?  It’s a wonder you didn’t just get killed.  Trying to calm down an angry mob and taking on that guy.  He could have killed you.”

 

“From that guy?” Rita kidded.

 

“No, from Poole’s incompetence, the guy is an idiot,” Chris said.

 

Rita ignored the comment and started to rub the top of her head.

 

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Chris said, as he gently touched her head again, which just infuriated her all the more.

 

“Would you stop, it’s just a bump,” Rita pushed him away.  She looked over at the situation which had now defused itself.  Aaron Poole took charge and was directing his street officers.

 

Poole deposited the crazed man in the care of another officer and quickly made his way over to where Chris and Rita were.  “How is she?”  He asked Chris, as he stooped down to be at eye level with both of them.

 

Chris thought to himself, ‘what a doofas, Rita was sitting right there herself, why not just say, how are YOU?’  Instead he impolitely said, “She’ll be alright, no thanks to you Poole.”

 

Instead of sticking up for himself, Poole averted his eyes from Chris, to Rita, who immediately saw the depth of his caring. He just displayed it differently. She returned the same kind of gaze back, but it was too late, Aaron had stood up and was surveying the scene, attempting to ignore Chris and leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air.

 

Rita tried to give Chris a look of ‘back off, be nice to him,’ but it was no use, Chris wasn’t looking directly at her, he was trying to figure out if she was ok or if he should have a paramedic look her over.  He quickly opted for the paramedic.  “Poole, have a paramedic come over and take a look at her, don’t just stand there.”

 

“Chris, I’m ok, I don’t need a paramedic,” Rita started, trying to get out of his grasp and stand up for herself and as she did, her legs wobbled and her head throbbed.  Chris grabbed her tighter and Poole tried to as well, but Chris all but pushed him off.”

 

“Get a paramedic, will ya?” he shouted at Poole again.  Poole nodded and turned, again, not before gazing into Rita’s eyes.  She didn’t say anything.  Then off he jogged to get a paramedic.

 

In the meantime, Chris ushered Rita back to sitting on the curb.  “This time, do what I tell ya, don’t get up.”

 

She wasn’t going to argue with him, but she did feel like giving him a piece of her mind.  “Chris, you’re like an overprotective parent and you can be downright rude too,” Rita said, this time pushing his arm completely off of her.  Rita’s blood was beginning to boil from her partner’s behavior.  “I don’t need a paramedic, I’ll be fine, I just stood up too fast.  Sometimes you should think about what you say and to whom.”  It was really the only time she’d actually defended Aaron Poole to anyone, let alone Chris.

 

Chris wasn’t about to back away, not when the safety and well being of his partner was at stake.  “What?  You mean, that doofas Poole?  Come on Sam, he’s an idiot.  I don’t know how he made it through the academy, let alone becoming a sergeant.  It doesn’t say much for the department,” Chris started.

 

Rita shook her head, both trying to ignore his comments and to shake off the dizzy feeling she had, but didn’t comment one way or another.   She didn’t feel like explaining it to him, not now, or ever.  It was her usual response when it came to people attempting to bad-mouth Aaron Poole.  After all the years she’d known Aaron, he was what people thought, he was a doofas, he said stupid things, did stupid things, and it always seemed that strange, awkward and unusual situations always found him.  He’d always been like that.  It didn’t make him any less a human, he was just different.  She’d seen it all herself, including today’s little incident, but she knew more about him, she hoped that someday people would take the time to get to know the real Aaron Poole.

 

Chris quickly backed off because of her silent defense.  “Look, I’m just worried about you.  I see you go flying across the street, landing on your head and I start thinking the worst.  I am your partner, remember?”

 

“The whole thing was stupid Chris, I should have been paying more attention, or I should have just waited and let the street unit do their job,” Rita explained.

 

“Why do you do that?  Why don’t you ever blame that doofas?  None of this was your fault.”

 

“Well, it wasn’t Aaron’s either Chris, it just happened, that’s all.”  Rita was trying to gauge the bump forming on her forehead and before she could respond a paramedic walked over and asked her what happened.  Chris backed up for a few minutes to give the medic room to work, but he stayed in the vicinity so that he could keep an eye on his partner.  The medic got through with the workup and decided that she could go home and if she had any other trouble, dizziness, blurred vision or headaches that she should see her own doctor or get to an emergency room right away.

 

“Alright, I’ll drive you home,” Chris said.  “Or if you want you can stay at my place.”

 

“I’m ok to drive myself home and I’ll be just fine in my own bed, thank you very much,” she said, rising to her feet, even though he quickly stepped in to assist her.  “And you’ll be fine in your own bed too, she added.  “And what were you here for anyway?  You live on the other side of town?”

 

“I heard you respond, so I thought I’d follow you and see if I could help too,” he explained,” and just the same, I’m following you home and making sure you get settled in,” he added.

 

She gave him a smile.  He could really act like a big brother sometimes and while it could seem to be over the top, it still was a nice feeling knowing that someone really cared that much for her.  “You know you don’t have to do that.”

 

He grinned back at her, “I know I don’t, but what kind of a partner would I be if I didn’t?”

 

Aaron made his way back over to her.  “Rita thanks for all your help here and sorry about that,” he said, motioning to the bump on her head.”  Chris stood nearby, aching to give Poole a piece of his mind, but he held back for Rita’s sake.  “I hope you’re alright,” he added.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine Aaron, the whole thing was just sort of stupid wasn’t it?”

 

“It usually is when I’m around,” he joked, “We’ve got everything under control now.  I really do appreciate you stopping by and taking control though,” Aaron continued.  “You too Chris, thanks for helping.”

 

“It was no problem Aaron, I was in the neighborhood anyway,” Rita said.  She got the feeling he wanted to say something else, but with Chris right at her side, she knew he wouldn’t.  So she gently nudged Chris in the ribs.  It took him a moment, but he got the hint.

 

“Listen, I’ll wait for you by your car,” Chris said.

 

“I’ll be there in a minute,” she said, giving him a push.

 

He couldn’t just walk away though without making one last comment at Poole.  “Don’t get too close to her Poole, bad things happen when you do.”  He said it with a joking grin on his face, but neither Aaron or Rita found anything humorous about it.  His grin quickly disappeared and he just walked over toward Rita’s car.  He was sure that Rita would let him have it for that comment.

 

“I am really sorry about this,” Aaron politely said to Rita.  “Here you were trying to help and you end up in the midst of trouble.”

 

“Aaron, it’s not your fault, I know that and you know that and that’s all that matters right?”

 

“Well, you know, it’s the same old thing, just another way I become ‘that doofas Poole’ in the eyes of everyone in the department,” he said sadly.

 

“And since when have you cared what everyone in the department thinks?” Rita shot back.

 

Aaron’s eyebrows raised and he smiled at her, “I don’t, you know that.”

 

“But?”

 

“But nothing,” he said, “it’s over, you’re right, let them think what they will.”

 

“Listen, I’m heading home to take an aspirin and to use an icepack, you take care ok?” Rita explained.

 

“Oh, I will, you do too,” he started, “and if you need anything, you know you can call me and I’ll be there for you.”

 

She reached out and touched his arm, “I know, thanks Aaron, I’ll talk with you soon.”  Rita turned and started walking over to her car, where Chris was anxiously waiting.

 

“’Bout time,” he said.  “Tell me again, what you see in that guy?  Because I am not seeing it.  He’s just a doofas.  I think the word was invented just for him.  If you look in the dictionary under doofas, it says, see Aaron Poole.”  He was laying on the disrespectful humor.

 

“Just drop it Lorenzo,” Rita said with an annoyed and almost angry tone.

 

Chris caught her eye and saw the anger, “Alright, consider it dropped, I just wish you’d take his name out of your book, you know, clear your memory of him, wipe him off the slate.”

 

“Chris enough, drop it, ok?” Her tone was more than annoyed now.

 

He dropped it and opened her car door and didn’t say another word till they got to her apartment.  He followed her upstairs and into the apartment and by then he decided it was ok to start talking to her again, as long as it wasn’t about Poole.

 

“Can I make you some dinner or maybe call out for some takeout?” he offered.

 

Rita kicked off her shoes and made her way to her couch, where she lay down and casually put her feet up.  “Some Chinese would be great,” she said.  As much as she hated to admit it, she was glad he followed her and was getting her some dinner.  Even the thought of just putting a frozen dinner in the microwave was not appealing at the present time.  She’d never tell him that though.  Chris’ head was already fat enough.

 

Her approval meant that she’d forgiven him the discretion of badmouthing Poole and it also meant she wasn’t feeling up to par.  It was her way of thanking him.  He gave her a grin and went over to the phone and started speed dialing Mo Fat’s the nearest place to her apartment.  “Same as usual?” he asked her.

 

She nodded, “get some egg rolls this time too.”

 

“You must be hungry,” he said, just before he started placing his order to the person on the other side of the phone.  After giving the order he hung up and started taking off his suit coat, which he deposited on a nearby chair.

 

“Are you staying?” she asked.

 

“Did you hear what I just ordered?  There’s no way you’d eat all that?  I mean, come on Sammy, I know you like to eat, but 2/3^rds of that order is for me.”

 

She had to laugh at him.  “Probably more than 2/3rds,” she looked him over from head to toe, “and you never gain an ounce, you make me sick.”

 

“Metabolism, what can I say?”

 

She closed her eyes, while he plopped down in a chair across from her.  “My head is throbbing,” she said.

 

Chris jumped up and headed toward the kitchen saying, “I’ll get you an icepack that might help, do you want anything else while I’m up?”

 

“Bring me a coke, if there’s one in there,” she said.

 

“Icepack and a coke,” he shouted from the kitchen, “coming right up.”  He walked back into the living area and carefully placed the icepack on the lump that was clearly formed on her head and set the coke on the coffee table next to her.  “You should try to get some sleep, till the food gets here.”

 

“If you’d stop talking to me long enough, maybe I could,” she replied.

 

“You know Sam, I never have seen this side of you before, cranky and just downright obnoxious and demanding.  Here I am trying to be nice and you keep biting my head off,” he lamented.

 

“Listen Sam, just turn on the TV, answer the door when the food gets here and wake me up so I can eat alright?  That’s as nice as I can be right now,” she explained.

 

“Fair enough,” he said, sitting back down across from her, he grabbed the remote and tried to find something interesting to watch.

 

About an hour later the food arrived, which Chris promptly woke her up to eat, then the two of them watched TV for awhile, and after some time both of them dozed off, she on the couch, and him on the chair.

 

It was nearing 9pm when Rita’s doorbell rang.  It jolted both of them awake and Chris jumped up to answer the door.  It was Aaron Poole.

 

“Poole, what are you doing here?” Chris said, stretching the sleep out of his body as he stood in the doorway, blocking Poole from entering.

 

“I, uh, just wanted to check on Rita, how is she?” Aaron said, a bit intimidated by Chris.  He sort of cowered away from the door.  “I didn’t know you’d be here Chris.”

 

“I’m her partner and her friend, that’s what I do Poole, I make sure she’s ok,” he began and then for her sake, he gave up the attitude briefly, “She’s,” Chris began, but Rita had gotten up from the couch and had walked over and stood alongside of him and had Chris stop blocking the door.

 

“I’m feeling much better Aaron, thanks for asking and for stopping over, come on in,” she said, clearing the doorway so he could come in.

 

Aaron smiled warmly at her and entered the apartment.  “Listen Rita, I feel very badly about what happened, I hope you don’t mind that I stopped over, but with a head injury, I just wanted to check and make sure you were alright.  I should have realized that Chris would be here to take care of you.”

 

Rita followed right behind Aaron and motioned for him to sit down.  “That’s very sweet of you, Aaron, can I get you anything?  Something to drink?”

 

Chris rolled his eyes after Rita gave Poole an invitation to stay.

 

Poole saw that look and hemmed and hawed at first. “Ah, um,” Aaron felt very awkward as he sat down, like he was intruding.

 

Chris finally followed both of them over and jumped in the conversation, “Poole, do you want something to drink?  A glass of wine?  Beer maybe?  And there’s some Chinese left over too, we just ordered it a few hours ago,” Chris offered.  For Rita’s sake, he decided to pour on some Lorenzo charm.  Rita smiled at his attempt at being polite.

 

“I would love a beer actually, it’s been a long day,” Aaron said. “Nothing to eat though, but thanks.”

 

“You got it,” Chris said, heading toward the kitchen.  “Sam, do you want anything?”

 

“Just a bottle of water please, with two aspirin,” she asked. 

 

“Coming right up,” he disappeared into the kitchen.  He felt at home in Rita’s apartment, knowing just where she kept everything.  He grabbed a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and a glass for Poole and for Rita he took a bottle of water and glass and then right to the cupboard above the sink for the aspirin.  She had a bottle of 500 pills, generic brand, for just such emergencies.  He opened up the bottle and poured out two pills and put the bottle back in the cupboard.  He gave himself a couple of more minutes to give the two of them a few moments to talk. He heard Rita talking and then heard her laugh, while Aaron was talking.  He decided after he walked back into the living area, that he’d head for home.  He didn’t have a desire to stick around talking with Poole and now that Rita invited him in, well, two’s company, three’s a crowd, he thought.

 

When he walked back into the living room, they were both laughing about something.  He faked a smile and said, “Here you guys go, one beer, one bottle of water and two aspirin.  Now do you two need anything else?  Because if not, I’m heading home, since everything is in control here.”  He handed off the beverages and went over and picked up his suit coat from off the chair he had laid it upon and started to put it on.

 

“Thanks for dinner Chris,” Rita said. “For everything,” she added softly.

 

“My pleasure,” he gave her a smile and headed toward the door.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, try to get some rest tonight and call me if you need anything.  Poole, see you around, ok?”

 

“Yeah Chris, see ya,” Aaron said. 

 

When he closed the door behind him, he could hear the two of them continue to laugh and talk.

 

As Chris drove to his loft, he wasn’t really feeling jealous of Poole.  He knew Rita didn’t have any sort of romantic feelings for him, but he just didn’t understand their relationship at all.  Poole wasn’t even the kind of guy Rita would normally even have as a friend.  But in the three years they had been partners, she never really said anything about him, good or bad, she’d just drop the subject or give him a look whenever Poole’s name came up.  It was some deep, dark secret between her and Poole. 

 

It was nearing midnight and Chris had not yet fallen asleep.  He decided to give Rita a call, just to check on her one final time for the evening.  He knew she’d act like it bothered her, but deep down she’d appreciate the call.  It would signify to her that he did indeed care.  Her phone rang and rang and rang and there was no answer.  He thought maybe he dialed the wrong number and tried again, there was still no answer.  He began to worry.  He quickly hopped up from his couch, found his keys and headed out the door, with cell phone in hand, to continue to try and reach her.  The whole way over, there was no answer.  He knew she wasn’t in the shower for this long.  His next call was to 911 for an ambulance.  He exited his car and took the spare key he had for her place and opened the door.  She was there on the couch, apparently unconscious and he moved quickly toward her, he tried to roust her, but she only mumbled something he couldn’t understand and would not come to.  How the hell could Poole have just left her?   He’d only been gone a few hours.  Poole had to have stayed for at least an hour.  That was the first thought he had.  Then he thanked God for making him call to check on her.

 

The ambulance arrived momentarily and they took her to the hospital.  It turned out that she indeed had a serious concussion and she was kept in the hospital for the next day and a half for observation.  Chris couldn’t help but blame Poole for the entire stupid incident, from the time Rita rode up on the traffic accident all the way thru her landing in the hospital.  Rita could have died and it was all on account of that doofas.  At least that’s what Chris was thinking.  He just left her at her apartment.  Chris kept thinking that over and over and it began to drive him crazy.  During her hospital stay, Chris kept his feelings about Poole hidden from her, because he did not want upset her or her recovery, but upon his return to work the next day, after being sleep deprived himself because he was concerned for her well being, the first person he ran into at the precinct was Aaron Poole.  Poole, by now had heard about Rita’s misfortune and actually sought out Chris to ask him about her.  It was a bad move on his part.  He didn’t know what Chris was feeling.

 

“Chris,” Poole called out to him in the parking lot.  Chris was in his own world and at first didn’t hear anyone calling out his name.  Poole hurried over to him and called out again as he approached him, “Hey Chris, wait up.”

 

Chris heard it this time and stopped and started to turn, as he did, Poole caught up to him and put his hand on his shoulder.  “I heard Rita had to go to the hospital, how’s she doing?” Poole asked.

 

“How is she?  She almost died you idiot.” Chris said.

 

“Well, she was sleeping when I left,” Poole, “she seemed ok.”

 

“Can you be any more of an idiot?  She had a head injury, you’re supposed to wake her up and check on her.”  Chris angrily pushed off Poole’s hand and cocked back his arm and connected a solid right fist into Poole’s head.  It sent him reeling, but it didn’t knock him down.  Instantly Poole clenched his fists, but he held back from striking back at Chris.

 

Chris wasn’t about to let up though, “What’s a matter Poole?  Afraid to defend yourself?”  Chris took a step closer and clocked Aaron again.  He was letting out 24 hours of frustration in his fists.  He didn’t care if Poole was bigger and probably stronger than he was.  He just blamed him for Rita’s injury and he’d stop at nothing to show his anger.

 

Poole tried to back away, but Chris stalked him and landed another blow to his face, this time Aaron went to a knee.

 

“Lorenzo, just stop ok,” Poole held out his hand in defense.

 

“Are you really this much of a doofas, Poole.  You can’t even defend yourself?  When are you going to stand up for yourself?  You know I don’t know what Rita sees in you, because the rest of us think you’re just stupid, and she’s not here to help you out of this one,” Chris egged him on.  Poole stood up, but didn’t respond, so Chris landed a shot to his rib cage area.  “You know she could have DIED,” Chris shouted.  “Then what Poole, then you’d have no one to stick up for your lousy ass.”

 

That was the straw that broke Poole’s back.  Chris was right, Rita was the only one who ever treated him like any other human being.  It triggered his own fury and he started laying into Chris now.  The two of them going after each other, both letting out their frustrations.  Chris didn’t realize what he’d unleashed.  Poole towered over him and outweighed him and he easily began to dominate the fight.  Chris crumbled to the ground after a vicious blow to the side of his head and Poole reached down and hauled him up only to pummel him to the ground again.  It was a lifetime of frustration that Chris had opened up.  Aaron Poole was letting it all out on him.  People in the parking lot were shocked by what they were seeing.  They all knew Lorenzo’s fuse was easily ignited, but Poole had never let his anger loose ever, not on a suspect and certainly not on another officer.  Quickly, though the other officers came in and pulled apart the two of them.  Poole clearly had gotten the best of Chris, who was basically dragged away from the melee.  Somebody shouted to get an ambulance for Lorenzo. “You’re right Lorenzo, only she knows why, but maybe you ought to just trust her instincts,” Poole shouted at him, though Chris probably never heard him say it.

 

Poole stood off to the side and watched as Chris groggily lay on the ground.  He saw the damage his fists had done.  It made him sick.  He walked away.

 

Rita Lance got out of the hospital later that afternoon.  She made two stops, the first one was to her partner’s loft, and later she’d go and visit Aaron.

 

She knocked on the familiar door of the loft and she heard someone mumble from the other side.  She assumed it was Chris and she tested the door and found it open, so she entered.  She saw Chris on his couch, two ice bags on his head, covering his face.  He wore sweat pants and a sweatshirt.  He didn’t even bother to see who it was.

 

“I figured you’d be over here before too much longer,” he said from under the packs of ice, surprising her by knowing that it was indeed her who came into his loft.  “How are you?” he asked.

 

“You want to tell me what the hell happened?” came Rita’s familiar voice, with a slight edge to it, “and I’m fine.”

 

“Not really,” he answered, still choosing to not look at her. And then he added, “Like you already don’t know anyway.”

 

“You’re right, about 25 different people called me up and had to give me their version.  It actually was pretty interesting, sort of like an all-out ‘pass the secret’ type of thing.  I didn’t know you or Aaron could do some of the things they were describing.”  She lifted up his feet and sat down on the end of the couch, depositing his feet into her lap, where her hands magically started to massage his stocking feet.   She heard and saw him let out a deep breath.  “Look Sam, I’m not going to get into some debate with you about Aaron Poole. And besides I can imagine what you were thinking and why you did what you thought you had to do,” she explained.

 

He lifted one of the icepacks off his head and glared at her with one eye, a swollen one at that, “If my head didn’t hurt so bad, I may have understood what you just said,” he said, putting the ice pack back on his eye.

 

She managed to cringe at his eye and then had to smile.  “I really need to break you out of this big brother habit.  You’re not my protector.”

 

“Oh no?” he said, his voice muffled from the icepack, “then who was the guy who called you up at midnight the other night and then drove over to your place and found you unconscious and managed to get you to the hospital.”

She patted his feet, a show of her understanding, “Ok, I suppose that’s part of being a partner, partner, but come on Chris, getting into a fight with Aaron.  And right in the parking lot of the department?  How old are you now anyway?  Ten?  What did you think that would solve?”

 

Chris could feel his blood beginning to boil again.  This was the thanks he was getting for what he thought was defending her honor and saving her life.  He lifted both icepacks off his face and sat up.  She looked at his bruised face and shook her head in disbelief at the sight of him.   “The guy could have stayed and made sure you were ok.  You know, what a doofas he is?  He thought you were sleeping, that’s why he left.  He didn’t even bother to wake you up and check.  I talked with your doctor, he said you could have died.  I can’t stand the fact that he just left you.  That’s not a friend, it’s just stupid.”

 

She didn’t answer him.  “You know your face looks like hamburger?”

 

“Why do you always change the subject Sam?  Can’t you see that Poole is a doofas?  All these years, what is the attraction?  I just don’t get it.  And now, after this, he’s more than a doofas, he almost let you die.  Friend or not, and explanation or not, I got no use for him anymore, and I honestly don’t know why you do either,” Chris said emphatically.  He stood up and went to get himself some pain relievers from his kitchen.  He dropped the ice bags on the sofa.

 

Rita watched him walk away.  She didn’t agree with anything Chris was saying.  He just didn’t know Aaron, not the way she did, no one did and the times she’d wanted to explain it, they were dismissed.  So she just gave up explaining.  It would just stay between her and Aaron.   She didn’t blame Aaron for any of it, like he was doing, but she could see where Chris was coming from and how it all appeared.  She knew Chris’ heart was in the right place.  He just cared for her way too much sometimes.  Sometimes he acted more like her husband than her partner.  And look what happened to him because of it.  He thought he could beat up someone nearly twice his size.  She wanted to make sure she let him know that she appreciated his concern and welcomed it.  She got up and followed him into his kitchen area, and as she came up behind him, she carefully wrapped her arms around his waist.  “I never thanked you yet for the other night, did I?” she asked.

 

He nodded, “Yeah you did, at the hospital, but you were pretty groggy at the time.  You probably just don’t remember.”

 

“Well, thank you, again,” she said, as she placed a kiss on his back.

 

“Your welcome,” he answered.  “You’re still not taking him out of your book are you?”

 

Her silence spoke volumes……

 

And so the years had passed.  The only time since then that the name Poole was mentioned was after Trisha Vale was murdered in Rita’s apartment.  Rita never mentioned Poole to Chris again, but she didn’t forget him either and she remained his friend and there wasn’t anything Chris could do to prevent it.  Here it was now three years later.  Chris and Rita had indeed married, Rita had been promoted, Chris was contemplating a career change.  They were happier than they had ever been before.  Things had changed for the both of them.  They’d never spoken to each other of Aaron Poole since then.  Chris had basically written him off like he said he would, but Rita continued on with her friendship.  They both were content in letting any conversation about him never come up.

 

Rita had come home from work shortly after 6pm.  Chris was still working on a case when she left, so she told him she’d save some dinner for him.  It was nearing 10:30pm when she heard his jeep pull into the driveway.  She sat up on the couch and turned down the sound on the movie she was watching and waited for him to come inside.   Being as late as it was, he must have come across something important to keep him from coming home sooner.

 

He entered the house from the back sliding doors on the deck, through the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible.  He could hear the TV on in the other room and initially wondered if she’d fallen asleep watching one of her old flicks.  He entered the living room and saw that she was indeed awake, watching a movie, so he walked over to her and reached down for a kiss.  “Hey Sam, sorry, I’m so late,” he started as he sat down right beside her.

 

She cuddled up along side of him and took his hand in hers.  “That’s ok, it’s not that late,” she answered.

 

He didn’t say anything except that he slid his arm around her shoulder and kept her close.  She welcomed his gentle touch.

 

“Is there a particular reason you’re so late?” she questioned his silence.

 

He brought his right hand up to his face and cleared his throat.  “Well, it was just regular work stuff till about an hour ago,” he started.

 

“And then what happened?”  Her interested was piqued.

 

He didn’t answer right away.

 

“Chris?”  She saw him swallow hard.  “What is it?”

 

“I have some bad news for you,” he began and he let out a sigh, “there’s really no easy way to say this.”  He turned and was looking directly at her.  “Aaron Poole was killed in the line of duty tonight.”  He let it at that for a moment, watching her closely.  “I’m sorry,” he added softly, kissing the side of her face, hoping that he was giving some sort of comfort.

 

“Aaron?”  She said his name, not to question Chris, but just because it was such a shock.  Now she looked away from Chris and asked, “What happened?”

 

He tried to hold her closer, but she sat up straight and pulled away herself.  This was going to be hard.  He cleared his throat.  “He was doing a routine traffic stop out on Manray Drive and as he was walking back to his squad, a drunk driver swerved and hit him.  They think he died on impact.  The driver was doing almost 90mph.  He’d been clocked about a mile prior, and that officer was in pursuit.  After he hit Poole, the driver hit one of the barriers and suffered some cuts and bruises and blew about 6 ticks over the legal limit.  The guy was way out of control.  Poole was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he paused, “like usual,” he added, leaned forward and reached his hand up and placed it on her back, “I’m sorry Sam.”

 

Now it was her turn to be quiet.  She sat back and dropped her head onto his shoulder and he heard her let out a heavy breath.

 

“Go ahead and cry Sam, I understand, I know you two were friends, it’s ok, let it out,” he said softly.  He could tell she was, her body was tight against his and he could feel the little tremors building and then he felt some tears on his shirt.  He gently ran his hand up and down her shoulder.  “I knew you’d want to know and you wouldn’t want to hear it from anyone else,” he added.  “The station is pretty rocked, I mean, everyone knew Poole right?  It just doesn’t seem fair for something like this to happen.”

 

Rita’s tears started to turn to anger, “No one cared about him, whether it’s fair or not, he was just that doofas Poole, that’s what everyone thought,” she said, her tone changing from sadness to anger.  She even started to sit up.

 

“Come on Rita, that’s not fair, no one wanted this to happen, you know that?” Chris tried to explain.

 

“Oh no?  What about you Chris?  When was the last time you even spoke to him?  You wouldn’t even let me invite him to the wedding, remember?” she blasted right back at him.

 

He turned his head away.  He knew she was right, but even so, his reasons were pretty valid in his mind.  Chris remembered back to the traffic incident and the fight he had with Poole years earlier, and his vow to her that he was done with him.  “You know why Rita,” he said quietly, “but that doesn’t mean I wanted to see him die.  I think you know me better than that,” he added with deep sincerity.

 

Now she stood up from the sofa and from the comfort of his arms, “All anyone saw in Aaron Poole was a doofas.  There was a lot more.”

 

Chris stayed on the couch.  “Maybe that’s all he wanted us to see.”

 

Rita shook her head in disagreement.  “That’s all we do, is label people and we never get beyond that.  I do it myself,” she said sadly.

 

“You didn’t do it to him,” Chris said thoughtfully.

 

She turned back to him and gave him a sad smile.  “No, I didn’t do it to him.”

 

Chris took this opportunity to stand up and he went beside her and enveloped her in a hug.  “Can you tell me why now, after all these years?”  He whispered into her ear.

 

She just started crying and couldn’t stop.

 

“Sam, I’d like to understand, really, you’ve never told me about you and Aaron.  As much as I’ve tried to understand, unless you tell me, I won’t.  Help me to make sense of it, talk to me.  And it might help you too,” Chris said.

 

Rita didn’t say anything, she just continued to let herself be wrapped in Chris’ loving arms.  Finally, he felt her take a deep breath and she pushed away from him just enough to look him in the eyes.  “I know it’s late, but can we take a walk on the beach?”

 

“Sure, absolutely,” he replied.

 

It was nearing midnight, rather dark, except for the moon, which wasn’t quite full, but full enough to cast some light on the familiar beach.  It was an unusually cool evening for Palm Beach, so they both had grabbed sweatshirts and now they walked arm in arm through the cool sand.

 

“It’s kind of chilly out here tonight,” Chris began, “are you sure you want to be out here?”

 

“It feels good, sort of refreshing,” she answered.  “And the breeze is actually drying my tears.”

 

“That’s what I’m supposed to do,” he said, pulling her closer and reaching up to her face, dabbing at her cheeks.  “I hate seeing you sad.”

 

She gave him an extra hug back.  He could be so understanding when it came to her, but he never gave Aaron Poole a chance, no one did.  It was like his perception preceded him, people just sensed the ‘doofas’ in him, like radar.

 

“So, is it something you can tell me about now?  It might make you feel better,” Chris said, “and I’m all ears.”

 

“I knew Aaron Poole when I was a little girl,” Rita began.  “We were both foster kids.  After my Dad died, the first place I got sent to this huge group home.  There were about 25 of us that had to stay there.  The place was a zoo.  Too many kids, too few adults, too many problems.”

 

Chris stopped walking for a minute and held her up as well.  He wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start.

 

“I know, I’ve never told you this before,” she tried reading his mind, “there’s something’s I’d rather forget, you know.  I’ve wanted to tell you, but I just never knew how.  It didn’t seem right.”

 

“Sam, you can tell me anything, anytime, I want you to know that,” he explained.

 

She nodded, “I know, but some things are still too hard to tell you about and not because you won’t understand, just because they’re hard for me to tell.”

 

He dipped his head to let her know that he understood what she was saying.  Even after all this time, as partner’s, friends and now husband and wife, there was still some parts of Rita that were closed off and locked away from anyone, sometimes even herself.  “Rita, whatever you’re comfortable with, I don’t want to press you,” he said.

 

“You know how many times I wanted, no tried to tell you?”  She let out a sigh.  “I guess that doesn’t matter now, does it?”

 

“If it matters to you, it matters to me,” he said, trying to show his support for her.  “You know that.”

 

She waited a minute before she started talking again.  “We, uh, lived in this group house.  We were both about 7 at the time.  We both arrived on the same day, from opposite directions.  Aaron’s parents were killed in a bank robbery.  They were at the wrong place at the wrong time, believe it or not, they were at the bank to secure a mortgage, so they could buy a home for their family.  Aaron was with them.  He saw them both get murdered.  He could have let that tragedy ruin his life, but he decided right then and there that he was going to be a cop, after he saw one chase down and capture the man who shot his parents.  He thought cops were hero’s, he never forgot that,” she started to explain.

 

Chris listened carefully.  This was all new to him.  He’d thought of Poole as a doofas for so long, that hearing Rita describe his tragic childhood, really made Chris start to regret how he had felt about him for so long.

 

“So there we were, both of us dumped at this halfway house, in the midst of this chaos.  I guess we reached out for each other, trying to find some sort of peace among all the craziness that surrounded us.  We were just kids, we tuned out everything around us and we became friends.”  She smiled at the memory.

 

“Its amazing you both ended up being cops, did Aaron get adopted?”  Chris asked.

 

“You know that’s the first time you ever called him by his first name,” Rita said.

 

Chris rolled his head, “I feel bad Sam,” he explained.  “You know you could have told me you knew him when you were kids.  Now I understand why you remained friends.”

 

There was more she needed to tell him but she didn’t respond directly to him, but kept on with her memories.  “The Lances, uh, they came and started looking over all the kids.  Our supervisors tried to tell us all to be on our best behavior, because just maybe, some of us would be going to a real home.  One of the ladies at the home brushed and braided my hair and I found a dress in the community pile that actually didn’t look too frumpy or old.  And I tried so hard to be on my best behavior.”

 

Chris took her hand into both of his as they walked.  He listened intently.  He was picturing little Rita in his mind.  It was a bittersweet feeling.  He could see the petite Rita in her pigtails, diligently being polite, though it probably was killing her.  And yet he felt the sadness he knew she still carried for having had to live through the ordeal of a group home.  Her childhood left her painfully independent, yet she craved having a family.  “What about Poole?” Chris asked.

 

“Aaron wasn’t as lucky.  The clothes he had to wear were way too small and tight on him.  He was already twice as big as any other seven year old.  And the first day the Lances came, he was late getting to the shower, so he didn’t get one,” she recollected, “it was the usual Aaron Poole, no matter how hard he tried, things just never went in the right direction for him.”

 

“And the Lances picked you?” Chris asked.

 

“Not that day, I think they came back 4 or maybe 5 times before they made up their mind,” she tossed her head sorrowfully from side to side.  “There’s nothing like feeling like you’re nothing more than merchandise in a store window.  Even when you’re only 7, it still feels wretched.” 

 

As he watched her, her face lost all emotion. Chris took one of his hands away and placed it around her shoulder to let her know that that part of her life was over.  He’d never allow her to be treated like that ever again.

 

She continued on with her memory.  “Every time they came, it just got worse and worse for Aaron.  One time he got into a fight while they were there, another time he fell right at their feet, and the worst time was when some of the other kids threw a bucket of water at him, making it look like he wet his pants.  Every crummy thing that could ever happen, happened to him,” she was close to tears as she talked.  She sniffled and kept going, “Tom and Sue made their choice, Michael and I,” she paused, “Aaron stayed at the home, he never got adopted or fostered.  We wrote to each other for awhile, but it sort of faded away, and then when we both showed up in the Academy, I guess, I don’t know, part of me felt sorry for him after all those years, and then part of me just wanted to be his friend again.”

 

“And that’s why you’ve always stood by him, all these years.”

 

Tears rolled down her face and she nodded.  “When you’re seven, you deserve so much than what he got.  And I always thought that that could have been me, why wasn’t it me?  Why did he get what he got?  It just was not fair.”  Her crying started again.

 

“Hey, come on,” Chris began, pulling her into a monster hug.  His arms swallowed her up.  Into her ear he softly said, “You can’t think like that.  Not any part of any of this is your fault.  You weren’t responsible at seven and you didn’t kill him today.  I’m not gonna let you take that on yourself.  Do you hear me?”  He pulled back and pushed her hair back to look directly into her eyes.

 

She nodded, “I understand and I really do believe that, but I just can’t help but have those kinds of thoughts.  Was that the only reason I was nice to him, because I felt responsible or guilty?”

 

“Rita Lee Fontana Lance Lorenzo,” he began, “you are the most caring, kind, loving person I have ever known in this whole world.  There’s not one inch of you that would ever be nice to someone for that sort of reason.  It’s just not your makeup.  You don’t have any reason to doubt your sincerity.  You’re not only loyal, you’re a completely loving and caring person.  You don’t do things for the wrong reasons, you do them for the right reasons.” 

 

She put her head on his chest again and he held her close.  He could tell from her breathing that she was composing herself.  After a few minutes she said, “Aren’t you glad you married someone as messed up as I am?” 

 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, cuz it sure makes me seem like I’m altogether,” he said and followed it up with a patented ‘ha.’

 

“I don’t want to forget him Chris,” she said quietly.

 

“You won’t,” he answered.  “How could anyone forget that doofas Poole?” he added, placing a kiss on top of her head as they headed back for their home.

 

The End

 

 

Disclaimer:  Chris Lorenzo, Rita Lance Lorenzo and the mere thought of Poole are the creation of Stu Seagall Productions.  I’ll take credit for giving a personality to Poole.

 

If you want to comment, good or bad, and yes I prefer good, but bad is a learning experience too, please send them to me at dcat8888@yahoo.com

 

Special thanks to ‘T’ for reading and for continuing to ask me when I was going to continue with the series.

 

If you’d like to read the entire series before you read this one, you can go to Lisa and Linda’s Silk page:   http://silkpage.tripod.com/fanfiction.html

 and read them in order from top to bottom.  Some of the stories in the series are also listed at StalkerClaus:  http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6296/SSStories.html