| Faith Chapter 5 |
| Jack discovers the allure of a man in uniform; Lennie finally fixes things with Rey |
| Saturday morning, Jack didn�t get up quite as early as he had planned. Actually, it was Lennie�s alarm which woke them both. He had hoped to slip out first, but now he knew Lennie had a deadline so he let him have the shower first. Of course, that meant Lennie actually had to get up. He rolled over to face his lover. �Lennie. Come on. Time to get up.� �Don�t want to.� Jack prodded him. �I want to get on the road. Move, already. I�ll go start coffee.� Lennie dragged him down into a kiss. �You first, then coffee.� �Lennie, you know we don�t have time.� Lennie sighed and let him go. �I know. But a guy can try, can�t he?� Jack laughed. �Yeah, Lennie, you can be VERY trying. Now go.� Jack started the process, rolling away from Lennie and out the other side of the bed. He was just pouring himself a cup of coffee when he heard Lennie come out of the bathroom. He filled Lennie�s oversized mug then headed back to grab a quick shower himself. He came out, wrapped in a towel, and headed to the kitchen. He had been looking forward to this � Due to the large number of uniformed offices who had holiday weekends off, plainclothes cops like Lennie sometimes had to fill in. This weekend was Lennie�s turn. He had been grousing all week about having to dig out his old uniform. Jack bit back a laugh as he walked into the kitchen. Lennie stood there drinking his coffee, tugging at the uniform. He glared at Jack as he saw him enter. �It�s your fault. You�re too damned good a cook.� Jack let the laugh out. �You could actually come to the gym with me, you know.� Lennie just scowled. �Oh, come on. It could be fun. Just think about afterwards when we�re all hot and sweaty . . .� That at least got an eyebrow raised. Jack took off the towel and snapped it at Lennie, raising his own eyebrows. Lennie growled as his eyes were drawn like magnets to Jack�s growing erection. Jack realized his mistake and hastily re-wrapped the towel around his waist. �Oh no you don�t. You�ve got to get to work. And I want to get on the road before it gets too hot out there.� Lennie stalked toward him, looking every bit the �bad cop� half of an interrogation team, and pushed him into the wall. He ripped the towel off as his lips crushed Jack�s. Jack felt himself responding to the implicit power of the uniform. He remembered their little game a few weeks ago. He suddenly couldn�t help surrendering to Lennie�s demands, as the officer�s hands grabbed him roughly and pushed him down. His hands trembled as he rushed to free Lennie�s cock from the too-tight pants. Lennie was reveling in the power rush. He�d never in a million years manhandle a perp like this, although lord knows there had been times he�d wished he could. He moaned as Jack took his cock into his mouth, now all too willing to do whatever Lennie wanted. Lennie began thrusting, taking control of the blowjob, his hands locked onto Jack�s shoulders. He slammed into Jack�s mouth, harder and harder until the convulsions wracked his body. He pulled out and put both hands on the wall above Jack, leaning and breathing heavily. Jack also leaned back against the wall, looking up at him as with a few strokes he finished himself off. �You�d better go; you�re already late.� Lennie smiled and reached down to help Jack to his feet, kissed him gently and turned to leave, nearly tripping because he had forgotten to retrieve his pants from around his ankles. �So much for my grand exit!� They laughed together as Lennie got the uniform back in place. Jack walked him to the door. Lennie turned just before opening it to caress Jack�s cheek. �Be safe out there, Jack. I�ll miss you. Call me when you get there, OK?� �Yeah.� A tender kiss, then Lennie was gone. Jack shook his head, bewildered. For someone who was such a dominant personality in the courtroom, he seemed to be drawn to a more submissive role in the bedroom. He was pretty sure he was going to have bruises on his shoulders from this, and his lower lip felt swollen. But damn, it had felt good. // Plenty of time to think about it on the way // He found the towel, went back for a quick second shower, dressed, and finally got around to that cup of coffee, which was of course cold by now. Nothing was going as planned today, but he had to admit it wasn�t all bad . . . A little later he was in his element, cruising down the highway on his beloved bike. The trip went quickly. He had to stop at the rest area just after the exit for Climax where he and Lennie had had some fun on their way up to the cabin last month. // Who names these little towns? At least it�s better than Intercourse PA! // His mind wandered as he rode, sometimes teasing at serious thoughts, but mostly he was just in a zone, one with the road. His route took him up the familiar I-87 to Albany, where he picked up the NY Thruway westward. Just outside Utica, he left the highway, taking state route 12 northwest toward Watertown, which sat just off the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. He stopped a couple of times for gas and food, but never for long. The entire trip took him just over six hours. Finally, he pulled over to dig out the maps that Brian Schiff, Adam�s grandson, had emailed him. Upon his return from Switzerland, Adam had moved in with his grandson�s new family. Jack easily located their home, a brand new two-story colonial with a two-car garage and a white picket fence. The American dream. As Jack pulled into the driveway, he saw Adam sitting on the porch in a rocking chair, holding something in his arms. He smiled at Jack and waved him up to the porch. Jack realized that the bundle in his arms was his new great-grandson. �About time you got here! Forgive me for not getting up, but young Adam here just fell asleep.� Jack grinned ear to ear. �Young Adam? Oh, god, you must be in heaven!� The older man chuckled and reached out his free hand to grab Jack�s. Jack squeezed it in greeting, then let go and sat on the other rocker. He leaned over to look at the tiny bundle. �He�s beautiful. You must be very proud.� Adam nodded, every bit the proud grandpa. The front door opened and a beautiful young woman came out with a tray loaded with a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses. �Jack, this is Linda, Brian�s wife and mother of this bundle of joy.� Jack stood and helped Linda settle the tray on the table, then took her hand. �We�ve heard so much about you, Jack. It�s a pleasure to finally meet you.� Jack laughed. �Don�t believe everything he tells you about me; nobody could be that bad!� Linda poured the lemonade, handing a glass to each of them. �Nonsense, Jack. Adam, let me take him so you two can talk.� She took the baby from his grandpa and went back into the house. Jack looked around. �Nice place they�ve got here. Not like the city, huh?� Adam grunted. �Brian�s a good kid. Architect. Designed this house. I helped them build it on the stipulation that he include a suite for me so I could watch my great-grandson grow up.� That explained it. Jack remembered when Brian had been born; he couldn�t be more than mid-twenties. This was an awful lot of house for a young family starting out, even here in a small town upstate. For a while they talked about generalities; yes, Abbie is doing fine, Nora is settling in to the big office, other office gossip. �So how�s your roommate?� Jack hesitated; now didn�t feel like the right time to correct him. But it was the time for his one bit of bad news. �Lennie�s been better. Rey Curtis� wife died yesterday. Lennie�s taking it pretty hard. He�s always been pretty close to the whole family.� A look of pain crossed Adam�s face. He had seen too many good people die over the years. �My condolences when you see Curtis.� �Actually, I�m going to have to cut this visit short; the funeral is Monday morning, so I�ll have to leave tomorrow afternoon.� Adam tried to hide his disappointment, just nodding acceptance. But Jack caught the true meaning. �I�m sorry, Adam. I�ve been really looking forward to this weekend. There are some things I really need to talk with you about. But I have to be there.� �Of course you do,� came the gruff reply. Linda came back out after settling the baby in for his nap. �Jack, would you like to take your things upstairs and freshen up a bit?� �Thanks, Linda.� After six hours on the road, he probably had a terrible case of helmet hair. // Three showers in one day, McCoy? That�s got to be a record // He retrieved his �luggage� from the bike and followed her into the house as Linda gave him the tour. �The first floor is pretty typical, except for Adam�s suite back there.� She pointed down a hallway where Jack could see Adam�s study, lined with built-in bookshelves, a lot of leather and dark woods. Reminded Jack of Adam�s old office. He followed Linda upstairs where she pointed out the master suite and nursery, as well as three additional bedrooms. The largest was currently set up as Brian�s studio. Plenty of room for a growing family. She ushered Jack into the bedroom closest to the bathroom. �Make yourself at home, Jack. Clean towels in the bathroom.� �Thanks, Linda.� Jack glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His lower lip did look a bit swollen. He stripped off his shirt and grimaced at the fingertip bruises over each shoulder. But it had been worth it. That reminded him. He dug out his cell phone and punched Lennie�s number. �Briscoe.� �Hey, Lennie, it�s me. Safe and sound in Mayberry RFD.� Lennie chuckled. �That bad?� �White picket fence. Doesn�t get any more traditional!� �Well, don�t you go turning conservative on me, Jack.� He laughed. �Not a chance, Lennie.� There was a moment of silence on the other end. �Jack? I�m sorry if I got a little too rough this morning. I don�t know what got into me.� �Don�t worry, Lennie. I enjoyed it too, even the rough stuff. I think I finally understand why women go nuts for a man in uniform.� Lennie felt himself blushing. �Damn. Maybe I should have dug this thing out a long time ago!� �Yeah, well, just wait until I get home tomorrow.� �Hell, Jack, after two days walking a beat I�ll be too tired to do anything.� �Well, then maybe I�ll just rub your feet and tuck you into bed.� �Mmm, that sounds nice.� �Hold that thought, Lennie. I�ll see you tomorrow. Love you.� �Love you. Bye.� By the time Jack came back downstairs, Brian had returned from his errands and Adam had told them of Jack�s change in plans. �Jack, sorry to hear about your friend. We were thinking � we had planned a cookout for tomorrow, but since you have to leave early, how about we do it this afternoon?� Jack agreed, and the rest of the afternoon turned into a wholesome, American family event. Jack had to admit that it felt good to just kick back and relax for the afternoon; Brian and Linda wouldn�t hear of having their guest help, so he and Adam were relegated to the rockers on the porch watching over the proceedings. They got into a game of �remember when,� reliving some of their best and worst times together. But still they never got close to the big issues Jack needed to discuss. Lennie finished his shift and went home to shower and change. Lt. Van Buren was coming by soon to take him to Debra Curtis� viewing. He still wasn�t sure he should go. Rey had made it pretty clear that Lennie was more hurt than help right now. But the Lieutenant was adamant; she wasn�t taking no for an answer. So he traded the uniform for his best dark suit and was waiting when his boss arrived. �Hey, Lennie. How you doing?� He sighed. �Dog tired. I�m getting too old to pound a beat, Lieutenant.� She chuckled and patted his arm. �Well, then, it�s a good thing I�m driving.� He smiled and followed her out the door. There were already quite a few people at the funeral home when they arrived, mostly family but a few familiar faces from the department. Rey was talking with someone, so they hung back, waiting until he was free. Lennie spotted Rey�s two oldest daughters standing with their grandparents. Olivia looked so grown up in her dark dress, it was hard to believe she was just 11. Serena spotted him looking at them and ran over, calling out �Uncle Lennie!� Before he could stop her, her arms were wrapped around his waist, her head tight against his side. He gently stroked the long brown hair. �Shh, honey, it�s OK.� Olivia followed slowly, trying to be �grown up,� but she too demanded a hug. At the sound of his daughter�s voice, Rey looked over at them. His eyes met Lennie�s and for a moment Lennie was afraid he would explode with anger. But his expression softened as he saw the girls with their �uncle.� He swallowed hard, then nodded at Lennie, acknowledging that his girls were safe. Lennie nodded back, then bent down to take both girls into his arms, holding them close. Anita went over to Rey, reaching up to hug him as she had when he left the precinct. �Rey, I�m so sorry. I know these past years have been a trial for you, but that doesn�t make this any easier.� He nodded. �Thanks, L.T.� She reached into her purse and brought out an envelope. �From everybody at the 27. They wanted to do something, maybe a donation to the MS society, but we realized that after all the medical bills, you could probably use it yourself. You are still sorely missed, Rey Curtis.� Rey closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the generosity of his friends. �You don�t know how much this means, L.T.� She smiled. �I think I get the idea.� She patted his hands, then her expression became serious. �Rey, what�s this with you and Lennie? He�s been tearing himself up over this. I had to make him come with me tonight � he seemed to think you wouldn�t want him here?� Rey bowed his head and sighed. �You know?� She nodded, knowing exactly what he was asking. �It just caught me so off guard, L.T. I really didn�t want to believe it. And I was so worried about Debra that I just didn�t have the resources to deal with it. I hurt him pretty bad, didn�t I?� Anita nodded. �But now�s your chance to make up for it.� She looked over to the side of the room, where Lennie had taken the girls and was sitting with Serena curled up in his lap and Olivia snuggled next to him. Rey nodded. �Thanks, L.T.� Lennie was so absorbed with comforting the two angels that he didn�t even notice Rey�s approach. �Girls, can I have a minute with your Uncle Lennie?� He looked up into his partner�s dark eyes and saw the pain there. He gave them one last hug. �Go on, now. I need to talk to your dad.� He gently set Serena down as Olivia stood up, and the girls went back to their grandmother�s side. Rey sat down beside his old partner and took a deep breath. �I�m sorry, Lennie. I overreacted. I�ve just had so much on my mind lately. So many doubts. I just couldn�t handle one more thing. I know I hurt you � can you forgive me?� He finally looked up into Lennie�s deep blue eyes, felt the hand on his arm, and the next thing he knew he was sobbing, heartbroken, into Lennie�s shoulder. Lennie held him. �Shh, it�s OK, Rey, it�s OK. I forgive you. I�m here, Rey.� His own tears spilled over as he comforted his grieving friend, relief flooding through him. Anita shed a few tears of her own as she watched them from a distance Continue on to Chapter 6 Send me some feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
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