Disclaimer: don�t own characters but still playing �So I guess you and Serena are getting on better than ever then.� Nora was teasing him, they both knew it, but it was fun to play along nevertheless. He shrugged, snuggling his head closer into her chest and shifting the duvet higher up around his chin. �I guess so.� He heard her smile. She was fiddling with his hair, sitting up in bed with a mug of tea in one hand and Jack�s head planted firmly against her breasts. It had become one of his favourite positions, not to mention a glorious way to start the morning, when they had time to indulge in spending lazy mornings in bed that was. �Hmm, you guess so.� A playful tone, feigning a lack of interest. �And what do you suppose your other woman makes of it all, you staying out til 3a.m. with this beautiful young lady?� Her fingers tousled in his hair now, massaging his scalp. He didn�t want to talk right now; he wanted to drift back to sleep with the feel of Nora�s fingers working their magic and her heart beating beneath his cheek. �Hmm, Jack, are you listening to me?� Her hand stopped moving now, she was staring down at him. �I�m trying not too�� He mumbled incoherently. A step too far though, she was fidgeting beneath him, upsetting his rest. �Nora, don�t move, let�s � let�s just talk later.� He sighed. �Am I allowed to ask why?� �It wasn�t at all a pleasant evening.� �Oh?� Her interest piqued. �Oh would be the word,� ah there was no getting any sleep now, he decided lifting his head a little so he could speak. �Would you like Tea, Coffee?� Her hand moved to his shoulder, it was oddly comforting to him to have her there watching him wake. �No, I�m fine thanks.� He tried to lift himself up but really his instincts told him to stay exactly where he was, enjoy the moment, his body wasn�t quite ready to wake fully yet. Besides she seemed reluctant to break the contact they had right at that moment. So he settled back down in his position and she smiled again and kissed the top of his head. �I could charge you for this, using me as a pillow.� �The best I�ve found yet.� �Funny!� She drained the last of her tea and dangled the mug on the end of her fingers waiting for him to become coherent again. �Alright,� He finally groaned, �you really want to know about my great evening out partying with Serena.� Nora laughed at the dry tone he�d adopted, leaning over and putting her mug on the cabinet. �Well� well�� He stopped searching for the best way to say it to her, knowing that as soon as he did the warm intimacy of the morning would be gone. �Nora.� He sighed again lifting his head up from her, this time regarding her early morning face. She looked fresh, her skin glowing, her eyes bright and that mouth� He leant forward cupping her face with his free hand and kissed her slowly. �What�s that for?� �Just because.� She bit down on her bottom lip, waiting and watching as he manoeuvred himself around so he was facing her completely, his body coming to rest above hers. �And there I was thinking we were going to have a conversation.� �All the time in the world for that.� That self-assured grin as he kissed her again and ran his hand down to the hem of the shirt she was wearing. * * �Nora�� �Hmm.� �Nora, turn over.� �I�m sleeping.� �No you�re not, turn over, look at me.� His hand was insistent on her shoulder, his other reaching down to her waist to draw her around to him. Reluctantly she moved, settling herself against him, her eyes still closed. He brushed the errant hair back from her face. �I meant what I said you know.� �When?� She mumbled. �Last night.� �You hardly said anything last night, did you call?� �Erm, tried to, no signal on the phone, lines must be down with the weather.� He lied, suddenly embarrassed by the foolish calls he�d made. �Yeah, I guess.� Silence again as he watched her, he should explain now, whilst she was settled and he had her full attention. �I took Serena home, to her parents house.� �Mmm.� �Her car�s outside, need to drive round to her place later and park it up, if you don�t mind.� �Course not� �And yeah, she wants us to go out for dinner sometime. Only she wants me to bring along my new girlfriend too.� Nora smirked, �Could be difficult.� �Could be. You ready to come out yet?� �Whenever you are.� She sighed, spreading an arm out across his chest. �There was a girl at the party.� His only confirmation she was listening was her slight movement against him. �I found her dead. Overdose I reckon.� Whatever Nora had been expecting him to say had vanished as the reality of his words sunk in. That�s why he didn�t want to discuss it. She lifted her face up to him, suddenly fully alert. �Why didn�t you tell me this last night?� �At 3 this morning, for gods sake Nora it was hardly polite chit chat.� She didn�t respond, only stiffened in his arms slightly, holding his gaze until he looked away. �Sorry, oh fuck, I don�t know�� he ran his hand through his hair frustrated. �I wanted to forget it, I wanted to come home to you and forget it ever happened. Why is it I can�t have one day without some depressing shit landing on my doorstep huh?� She lifted a hand to touch his face. �She�d taken drugs, I don�t know I was just taken a god damn walk in the snow and there she was. Why couldn�t some other poor son of a bitch find her hey, now I�m left with her face occupying my thoughts.� His head dropped, eyes closed now as he buried his face into the pillow. The blissfulness of the past hour irrevocably lost. She reached out and touched his hair, this time no playful ruffling, just a comforting caress. �Oh Jack, I�m sorry. Did you know her?� �No, never seen her before in my life, Serena said she knew of her.� He noted the confusion on her face and shook his head. �No, I don�t know why it�s bothered me so much either. But it has. Just has.� �Is that why Serena has gone to her parents?� �Said she didn�t want to be alone. She was in no state to drive so I took her, figured it was the best thing to do. Ended up having several deep conversations about life and the fragility of it, which as you know is not my forte.� He laughed at himself but she didn�t respond. �Which is why I�m telling you I love you now�� �Jack.� ��Just in case.� �Oh Jack.� She pulled him close and held him tight against her, a hug was not something they�d shared before but right at that moment it seemed perfectly apt. * * �Hi, feeling any better?� �A little.� Jack rubbed his hair with the towel resting around his shoulders. �A shower works wonders.� �A-ha,� She sipped her coffee. �You ready for something to eat now?� �Sure, if you are.� �And what would you like?� She moved around the breakfast bar to him, cradling the cup in her hands. �Nora, enough with the kid-glove treatment hey, feel like some invalid.� She bit back her ire and instead indulged him his mood. �Fine, so you cook then, and I�ll go ring my Mother, I promised I would. We need to arrange a convenient time by the way to go over. When�s best for you?� He glanced over at her dumb founded. �What for again?� �Dinner, her birthday, you haven�t forgotten? Jack, you said you check your diary for me last week.� �Anytime!� He snapped. �Anytime is fine, just as long as I fit in with you.� He jumped up from the sofa and grabbed his jacket. �Where are you going now?� �To take Serena�s car back.� �I thought you wanted me to go with you, to drive you back.� �I�ll walk.� He stomped down the hall towards the door. �Jack, what about lunch?� She called after him, her hands planted firmly on her hips. �I�m not so hungry anymore, I need the air.� A slammed door and he was gone. �Fine, fine, fine � go then. Damn men.� * * * Whatever plans Jack had made for the day they certainly didn�t involve this. He�d returned Serena�s car and started the walk back to Nora�s house, absently thinking up ways of apologising for his off-hand behaviour when he spotted the bar. He knew it well, used to spend a hell of a lot of time there in his day. He dug his hand deep into his jacket pocket and found a few notes there, not enough to get completely inebriated, but he could manage a fair few drinks with that. Perhaps just a couple before he faced the wrath of Nora. Yeah, just a couple of whisky�s then the walk back would clear his head. Only a couple turned into a couple of hours and by the time he�d spent the last of his spare change he was only just warming up. He hailed a cab halfway back to Nora�s apartment and instead went back to his own place. He hadn�t been spending a great deal of time here lately and as a result the place was getting damp and dusty. What it really needed was a thorough clean, what Jack really needed was to find somebody to do just that! He made a mental note to find out about cleaning services as soon as possible. He quickly showered and changed, collected his wallet and for a second picked up his mobile. Three missed calls, he turned the phone over in his hand debating whether or not to check who they were from and if he should return them. But no, no it was Saturday night and he�d not been out on a Saturday night for what seemed like an eternity. With his phone defiantly switched off and stowed in the top drawer of his desk Jack McCoy set off on his bike, determined to cheer himself up somehow. * Similarly Nora had spent her day having a little fun. After Jack neither returned nor rang she decided he must be craving time alone and so she decided to catch up with her niece. Taking her to a movie and for a fast food dinner, it was funny how fast time could fly when you were catching up with the latest gossip. It also never ceased to amaze her just how much could happen in her niece�s life, she�d seen her only a few weeks before and yet there was much to be informed on. Her life moved so fast, tragedies that had been important only days before were now unimportant and instead there was excitement over a new boyfriend or career prospects. Everything was new, everything was exhilarating � Nora recalled those days with a slight tinge of envy. But despite her bravado on the subject she wouldn�t return to it, things were much simpler now. She had her lifestyle and she enjoyed the trappings of it, she didn�t at all miss her role as DA. It was always only a temporary position and when the time came to leave the post she was more than ready to be moving on, at times it became stifling, and of course politically it had elevated her position, people knew her name now � and after all her years of hard work and devotion it was about time she got noticed. She�d returned home around 9, taken a long soak in the bath with a glass or two of wine and then climbed into bed with a good book. She was making the most of her time alone, although Jack was good company. His intelligence matched her own, he had a dry wit and a sharp mind and she enjoyed battling with him over many issues. But he was also extremely laid back, he made her laugh, he never took himself too seriously and she liked that way of life, it made such a change to her usual lovers. Her relationship with Jack, now that had weathered some storms over the years! She remembered a time when they worked side by side � and argued each and every day of it! She was young and idealistic and looking to be at the very top of her profession. He was a hotshot lawyer who dated everything in a skirt, and god how she hated him. Those snide remarks and his offhand way of dealing with each and every case they encountered. To her he was still a silly schoolboy out to impress the ladies, rather than actually make a difference professionally. So it was quite a shock to her that somehow over the years they�d remained in contact, not intimately but she�d kept an eye on his career as he had hers. And when she�d ended up as his boss somehow there was an element of triumph in it, that had quickly dissipated of course when she came to realise she needed him. He was no longer that hotheaded fool, he�d matured, just as she had mellowed. It was good to have him as a confidant, and a friend, and he was a good friend to her for those two years. It wasn�t until she�d stepped down as DA, some three months after that actually, that he called her and asked her out for dinner. She�d accepted, they�d had a good time and it went from there. Five months down the line and things were ticking along very nicely, nothing to serious, well his occasional outbursts of emotion like last night but she chose to ignore those moments. At least for the time being anyway, in her opinion the longer she could simply enjoy being with him rather than analyse being with him the better. If it ended tomorrow well that was that, she wasn�t denying it would be a blow but it wouldn�t be entirely unsuspected, Jack wasn�t known for his long-term commitment to women. Many had learnt that the hard way, Nora was adamant she wouldn�t be one of them. |
 |
| T h e S u r f a c e part two |
| by Ms. E |