Sex: Yes, by popular demand, there will be sex between two women in this story.  It will be a little graphic, but don't expect a porn story here.

Violence: Yup. It's an integral part of the story, sorry.  I don't plan to make it too graphic, but there are a few scenes of torture and gunplay.

Language: Shit, yeah.  It's part of the characters' personalities.

Thanks: Many thanks to my bud Xenalicious for introducing me to the wonderful world of fan fiction.  Without her prodding I might never have sat down to write this little tale. When you're done with this story, jet over to her page and check out her fiction. Also, thanks to Redxena, my excellent beta reader. Her input is most welcome.

I'd also like to thank the following bards, whose fiction inspires and awes me: T Novan, Tonya Muir, XWPFanatic, Nene Adams, Frost, Sword N' Quill,  BL Miller, and of course Missy Good.

Comments: I love to get email.  Feedback on my story would be most appreciated.  Nasty comments will be sent to that great electronic wastebasket in the sky.   EMAIL ME!

Chapter 4 (unfinished)

Quinn fiddled with the collar of her shirt, as she examined herself in the rearview mirror yet again.  She had agonized over what clothes to wear for almost an hour, finally settling on a dark blue shirt that covered her injured arm and a sleek pair of pants.  She sighed as she pushed an errant lock of hair back into place.  She had once stared down the barrel of a gun without blinking an eye, and yet here she was, nervous at the thought of going up and knocking on Riley’s door.

I must be out of my mind, she thought.  It’s been a week and I’m still seeing her, which officially makes it six days longer than most of my relationships.  She had ended up talking to Riley for hours last night on the vid-phone, only further confirming what Quinn was afraid of.  Her attraction to Riley was beginning to be more than merely physical.

It wasn’t too late.  It had only been a week, she could just start up the car and drive away right now.  Then what? she snorted.  Send her a note to explain?  ‘Gee, hi, Riley, sorry about this, but I think I’m starting to like you too much, and I’m not really ready for that.  I’m scared where this might end up.  See my last girlfriend’s husband tortured me and destroyed my life, so I’m still feeling a little bitter about that. Latent anger and all, you understand.  After I kill him, maybe I can give you a call, okay?’

Quinn shook her head and very deliberately turned off the car and got out.  She had avoided relationships in the past for various reasons – they bored her, there was no chemistry, etc etc – but she had never, ever run away because she was afraid, and she wasn’t about to start now.  She took a deep breath and headed into the apartment building, trying to suppress her nervousness.

She glanced around as she climbed the stairs.  It was a nice building, nothing too fancy, but clean and bright at least.  It was certainly far nicer than her own place, which was situated in one of the more unsavory locations in the sector.  She and Stephanie had made the best of their tiny loft, bringing in some furniture to try to spruce the place up.  It didn’t really matter much, though, since neither of them were there much.  When Quinn left, Stephanie had just settled down for another all-nighter at Headquarters, shouting that she expected a full report when the date was over.

Quinn stopped in front of apartment 420.  This is the place, she thought, as she raised one hand and knocked.  Well, here goes nothing.  Faint footsteps could be heard and then the door opened.  Quinn’s eyes widened at the vision before her.  Oh boy…

Riley was wearing a shimmering black dress that fell just above her knees.  The high collar was intricately embroidered with silver lace and the area from below her throat to her bosom was a dark, slightly translucent silver material.  Her shapely arms were bare below the shoulder, save for a simple bracelet on her left wrist.  Tiny clips in her blond locks glinted in the light, making it look like she was wearing a crown of stars on her head.  For a moment, Quinn had the urge to reach out and touch one.

Quinn looked down into Riley’s eyes and had to fight the sudden temptation to sweep her into her arms and drag her back in the apartment.  Instead, she clasped one hand in her own and dropped into a deep bow, placing a gentle kiss upon the captured hand.  She straightened and smiled at Riley.  “You look beautiful.”

Riley blushed with surprise and returned the smile bashfully.  “Thanks.”  She slid her arm through Quinn’s.  “Shall we?”  Quinn nodded and the two of them departed for the evening.

*  *  *  *  *

The restaurant was a small cozy establishment, nestled in the basement of a tall building downtown.  The stairs leading down to it were located in the side alley by the building and were unmarked, and Riley briefly wondered what kind of shape the interior would be in.  Much to her surprise, it was neat and clean, with comfortable little booths along the walls.  There was a crowded bar at one end and a dance floor at the other end.  The smoky candlelight air gave the place a nice intimate atmosphere.

Sitting across from Quinn at dinner provided Riley with ample opportunity to study the other woman.  She was beautiful, yes – that much was obvious the minute you looked at her.  But there was something more there, a sort of restless energy that lurked below the surface.  It glinted in those blue eyes that saw everything, that were always moving even while the rest of her body looked completely relaxed.  Riley met her gaze, wondering what was going on behind that edgy expression.

Her attempts all week to find out about Quinn’s past had thus far failed.  While Quinn was more than happy to listen to stories Riley offered up about her past, the tall woman apparently did not feel the need to reciprocate.  Riley decided that the time had come for more aggressive tactics.

She put down the bland cracker she had been fiddling with and leaned forward.  “So, Quinn, tell me about yourself.”

“What do you mean?” Quinn replied, looking up from her menu.  She seemed at ease, but Riley did not fail to notice the faint guarded look that crossed her features.

Riley shrugged in what she hoped was a casual manner.  “Well, I guess the standard stuff.  Where are you from?  What do you like to do?  Did you always want to be a pilot? That sort of thing.  Whatever you feel like talking about.”

Quinn studied the multi-colored blobs of processed food on her plate for a few silent moments.  She had been dreading this conversation and was unsure of how much to omit.  She considered her answer carefully.  “I moved around a lot when I was young, mostly in the far north.  No place you would have heard of.”

Riley nodded.  Okay, this is a good start.  “Was it hard moving around so much?”

“It wasn’t so bad.  I like to travel.”

“There’s one interest,” Riley replied, resting her chin on her knuckles.  “What else do you like?”

You, a tiny voice in Quinn’s head supplied helpfully.  She squashed the thought ruthlessly before it could escape her lips.  “Um…flying.  I love flying more than anything.”  A smile broke out on her face.  “It’s in my blood I guess.  I’ve been flying all my life.”

“Oh really?  Were your parents pilots too?”

“Uh, well my father flew transports, but my mother was a biologist.  I think she always thought I would follow in her footsteps.”

“Ah, but instead you followed in your dad’s footsteps,” her blond companion said knowingly.

She shook her head.  “No, actually I followed my own path.  I became an engineer after school.  Designing shuttles and transports.  That sort of thing.”

“Did you like it?”  Quinn nodded in response.  Riley quirked an eyebrow at her. “So why the career change then?”

Quinn shifted in her chair uncomfortably.  She tried to look nonchalant.  “I felt like doing something else.  It’s not like I’ve totally abandoned the field.  I still have some personal projects that I work on.  I just didn’t have a passion for the sort of projects they wanted me to work on anymore.”  Not exactly the whole truth, but close enough.

To Quinn’s relief, her companion did not seem to want to prod further and soon the conversation drifted back to more mundane things.  She remained alert, however.  Quinn had to be careful about what she said – even though she found herself drawn to Riley she couldn’t forget that the other woman was a cop.  It wouldn’t be safe for either of them if Riley knew about her involvement with the resistance.  And what made it so dangerous was the way that the innocent looking policewoman had of completely disarming her.  Quinn could feel the unspoken connection between them and she was hard pressed to keep from blurting out all her secrets.

Then why get involved with her at all? the tiny voice in her head chimed.  Why put yourself at risk?

The answer came unexpectedly, as Riley set her glass down at the same moment that Quinn did.  There was a brief moment of contact as their hands brushed accidently, and they glanced nervously at each other.  Then their eyes locked and the nervousness fell away as though it had never been there in the first place.  Riley’s hand slipped easily into Quinn’s, neither woman sure who had initiated the action and neither woman really caring.  All that mattered was how strangely right it all felt, how everything between them was spelled out so perfectly by that touch.  At that moment Quinn knew that she was hopelessly bound to follow out her attraction to Riley, because the blond woman was the sun, and Quinn, like some modern day Icarus, was fated to reach for her, no matter what the cost.

Almost on cue, the music in the background changed, and a slow song started.  Quinn could see couples starting to pair off on the dance floor.  She looked back to Riley, who smiled at her in that gentle way she had.  Quinn felt her hand tingling where it made contact with the other woman’s, and knew she had to have more.  She rose out of her chair, never letting her hand slip free.

“Come on, dance with me,” she said, in a voice low and husky that sent shivers down Riley’s spine.  The other woman nodded mutely, spellbound by ice blue eyes that flickered with a passion she knew she also felt inside.

Riley wrapped her arms around Quinn’s neck, enjoying the sensation of the taller’s woman’s arms encircling her waist.  There was incredible strength in those arms, Riley knew, and yet she was being held like she was the most fragile thing in the universe.  She let herself slide into her partner’s embrace, until their faces were almost touching and she could feel Quinn’s breath on her ear.  She stayed like that, unable to close that final distance and yet unable to pull away.

For Quinn it was almost too much – being torn between the desire she felt for the other woman and the fear of what it would mean if she gave into that desire.  It was a rush to be so captivated by someone, wanting to lose herself in the other woman so bad that it hurt.  And yet part of her was paralyzed with fear, unaccustomed to feeling like this.  Even being this close to Riley, she felt like there was an invisible force field betwen their bodies.  It was like trying to touch someone through a plate glass window.

They danced like that for what felt like an eternity – impossibly close and yet impossibly far from each other.  Then Quinn, in a moment of bravery or insanity (she couldn’t tell which), turned her head ever so slightly and let her lips press gently against Riley’s ear.  It was the lightest of touches and yet it hit Riley like a sledgehammer.  She let out a tiny whimper of relief and joy, so soft that Quinn almost didn’t hear it.  Yet that one sound was enough to bring the wall between them crashing down and Quinn willingly surrendered to the moment.
 

TBC...