| All That Jazz |
| One month later: Dress Rehearsal // Damn it, Briscoe, watch your FEET! // Lennie scolded himself as he stumbled yet again on the choreography of 'Razzle Dazzle.' The singing came naturally, but dancing? That took a bit of work. Billy used an old-fashioned walking stick in this number, and he was tripping all over the damned thing. And here it was, 24 hours before showtime, and he STILL couldn't get it. But then he wasn't the only one having problems today. It was late Sunday afternoon, the day before the show, and the final rehearsal. Nothing seemed to be going right. One of the girls playing the other 'murderesses' in Mama's cell block had tripped and twisted her ankle. One of the male dancers had suffered a very embarrassing costume 'blowout.' Even the orchestra seemed off today, and they were the 'second string' professionals. Lennie figured it was a good thing there weren't a lot of sets or props in this show; it if had a fancy chandelier like "Phantom of the Opera" today the damned thing would have fallen right on their leading ladies. Oh, yeah, and the guy playing 'Amos' couldn't squeak out a note, so his understudy was frantically trying to fit in. "Lennie, Lennie, come on, CONCENTRATE!" Anthony's voice pierced his reverie. "You can do this! I've seen you. So DO IT!" Lennie took a deep breath and collected himself, took the pickup from the orchestra and dived back into the last verse of the song. He almost made it through the whole thing, except right at the very end he caught a glimpse of a side door opening. It was Jack coming to pick him up for dinner, with Mike and Ben in tow. The momentary distraction threw him off just enough that he slipped on the big finale and ended up flat on his ass. "Cut!" Anthony's voice wailed. "Enough! I can't take anymore. If you don't know it by now, you'll never know it, people." He sighed theatrically. "I suppose you've all heard the theater superstition that a bad dress rehearsal portends a good opening night. Well, you'd all better hope it holds true. See you two hours before showtime tomorrow, people. Now go get a good night's rest. Please!" But before leaving the stage, Anthony stopped to give Lennie a hand up from his ignoble position on the floor, whispering something to him that left them both laughing. Jack frowned; Lennie had sworn there was nothing going on there. "Jack, don't �" Mike's hand was on his elbow. Last night after Mike and Ben arrived, the cops and lawyers had split up to catch up, and Mike had heard the whole story about the mutual jealousies that had haunted them a month ago. Just then a woman and three kids who had been sitting in the audience watching the rehearsal swarmed onto the stage and over Anthony. Mike laughed when he saw the sheepish look on Jack's face as he realized Anthony had a wife and kids. "See, you worried about nothing." Jack just glared at him, but before he could say anything, a powerful female voice came from the stage. "Mike Logan, is that YOU?" Anita Van Buren came bounding off the stage. Mike turned toward her, greeting her with a huge grin. "Hey, Lieutenant! Don't tell me you're in this too?" "Didn't Lennie tell you?" She reached up to hug him, laughing. "Nah, he neglected to share that bit of information!" Anita turned to his companion. "Ben! Good to see you again!" Jack decided to give the old friends a chance to catch up, since they hadn't seen each other since the 'wedding' the previous fall. As he stepped aside, he nearly crashed into Tracy Kibre. "Jack! What are you � oh, you're picking up Lennie?" Tracy was a fairly new addition to the senior staff at One Hogan Place, but she'd already proven herself quite formidable in the courtroom. Like most of the driven staff there, they both worked long hours, and since their paths rarely crossed, he'd never really gotten to know her. But it seemed just about everybody there knew his 'open' secret. "Uh, yeah � So you ready for the big show?" She grinned. "Chance of a lifetime, Jack. But I gotta run, I'm meeting someone for dinner." Jack smiled. "Well, good luck then!" Anita groaned. "Jack, don't you know anything about the theater? That's the worst omen possible! You're supposed to say 'break a leg'!" Mike elbowed him. "Yeah, even I knew that!" Lennie finally made his way to them. Jack gave him a good looking-over. "You ok, Lennie? That looked like a painful fall." Lennie gave him a sour face for reminding him of his less than graceful performance. "I'm fine. Just slipped, that's all �" Anita wrapped her arm around him. "Don't worry, Lennie. Tomorrow will go fine. We got all the screw-ups out of our systems today." "Damn, I sure hope so," Lennie sighed. Jack pulled him into a quick hug. "You'll be fine, love. But we'd better get going � the girls are waiting for us at the restaurant." Julia had gotten in from Miami this afternoon; Cathy was meeting her at the airport, and the six of them were meeting at a restaurant after the dress rehearsal. Lennie turned to Anita. "See you tomorrow, 'Mama!'" She grinned. "Night, 'Billy!'" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They arrived at the restaurant to find Lennie's daughters waiting for them. After welcoming hugs all around, the Maitre'D led them to a table set for six. It was a lively evening, conversation flowing as liberally as the wine. Julia of course had photos of Lennie's grandson Jason, which were passed around as they waited for the food to be delivered. Lennie of course was the center of attention, and Jack realized that it was right where he belonged. He shined in the spotlight, laughing and telling stories about the production and all the back-stage antics. "Well, look who's here! Having a party and didn't invite me?" Jack looked up at the familiar voice. Abbie Carmichael and another young woman were making their way through the crowd towards the door, obviously having just finished their dinner. Jack had to laugh at her 'feigned hurt' expression. "Oh, hi Abbie!" At the name, Jack could almost feel Lennie's eyes boring into her; it was the first time they'd met. "Um, yeah, some friends in from out of town for the big show tomorrow. Folks, this is Abbie Carmichael, my assistant." She smiled directly at Lennie. "He hasn't stopped talking about it for the past month. Lennie, it's great to finally meet you." She offered her hand, and Lennie realized it was a peace offering. He wondered who her friend was � Toni, perhaps? He took her hand and smiled at her. "Same here." He decided to prompt her by starting introductions. "These two lovely ladies are my daughters, Cathy and Julia. Mikey Logan over there used to be my partner many moons ago, and Ben Stone used to work in your office." Abbie acknowledged the introductions, knowing what Lennie was after. She turned to her companion. "This is my � friend, Toni Ricci. She works over at the US Attorney's office." There was just enough of a pause before the word friend to tell Lennie what he wanted to hear. Toni just smiled and nodded at the group. Julia noticed that suddenly her dad was grinning ear to ear, and wondered why. Abbie decided it was time to move on. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Jack. Break a leg, Lennie!" But as the two women walked away, Toni called back over her shoulder. "Oh, Jack? You're right, I am!" The two women laughed together as they left the restaurant. Jack just sighed and shook his head. Mike was looking at Lennie with a raised eyebrow. Julia couldn't stand not knowing. "OK, what's going on here?" Jack and Lennie looked at each other and shrugged. Together they gave the Readers' Digest condensed version of their little spat last month. Including Jack's comment to Abbie that "Tony is one hell of a lucky guy." Julia stared at him. "You mean they're �" Lennie gave his standard sardonic smile. 'It would appear so." Cathy gave him 'the look.' "Dad, do you have ANY straight friends?" Jack just laughed. "We didn't plan it to turn out this way!" Mike's turn for a jab. "Yeah? And who was it that put me and Ben together? And who played matchmaker for Donnie and your favorite shrink? Jack, you're turning into a gay Yenta!" "Rey Curtis!" Lennie broke in suddenly. "Huh?" All eyes turned to him. "Rey is the straightest man in the world. See, I do have a straight friend!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By the time they got home, it was rather late. Jack eyed the clock. "Well, I've got to be in early tomorrow, so I think I'm gonna hit the sack." Mike and Ben nodded, but Lennie held back. "You go ahead, Jack. I'll be up later �" Jack turned to him, concerned. "Lennie? You ok?" Lennie shrugged. "Pre-opening-night jitters, I guess � I'm tired, but not sleepy just yet �" Jack reached out and caressed his lover's face. "You sure?" Lennie nodded. "Go. You need sleep, I can sleep in tomorrow." Jack smiled and pulled him into a good-night kiss. "OK. 'Night, then, everyone." As he headed up the stairs, Ben and Mike looked at each other. Ben realized that Mike wanted to talk with Lennie. "I'm heading up as well, Michael." Mike smiled at him, glad that his lover was finally secure enough in their relationship to not worry about Mike and Lennie rekindling their old passion. "Thanks, babe," he whispered as he kissed his partner good night. As Ben disappeared up the steps, Lennie and Mike sank down on to the couch. �OK, Lennie, what�s really on your mind?� �I don�t know, Mikey.� He sighed. �It�s just � it�s almost over. For the past month, I�ve been working on this show, looking forward to it, and now it�ll be gone before I know it. What am I gonna do to keep busy now?� �Ahh, now we get to the root of the problem. Bored with retirement?� Lennie nodded. �I�d never have been so jealous of Jack and Abbie if they hadn�t been working late while I sat at home alone �� �And the record store isn�t open nights �� Lennie nodded. �You�ve really enjoyed working on this show, huh?� Lennie�s face came alive. �Oh, yeah, Mike. You can�t believe how much. It�s been a dream come true �� �Well, then, isn�t it time you chased YOUR dreams? What little I saw, you looked good up there. You�ve got a starring role here; surely you can get something in a neighborhood theater project?� Lennie shook his head. �It�s a fluke, Mike. I don�t know anything about theater, really.� �So learn.� Lennie raised an eyebrow. �Learn?� Mike grinned. �Hey, I went back to art school; you could get into a theater program somewhere, there are millions of them in this city!� �Yeah, and millions of unemployed actors, all of them younger than us �� Mike shrugged. �So you�re not looking for a career. Take the classes for their own sake, just to learn for yourself. Have fun with it. Meet new people, try new things. Best way I know of to stay young.� That got him a look. �Like you know anything about getting OLD �� �Hey, come on, Lennie, none of us are 20-somethings anymore.� He indicated the grey that had started to infiltrate his dark hair. �But I like hanging around campus. There�s an energy there. And I�m not the only �old dog� learning new tricks.� Lennie laughed. �What, Max got some new ones?� Mike and Ben�s German Sheppard was a notorious scardey-cat, having washed out of Police Dog training for not being aggressive enough. Even Shadow had gotten the better of him last fall. Mike grinned. �Don�t push it, Lennie. Some things never change. But seriously, Lennie, you should consider it. You could still work at the record store some if you wanted, and fill the rest of you time with classes, and theater workshops, and � HOMEWORK!� �Ouch, did you have to mention THAT? You know I never made it through college the first time!� Mike laughed. �Yeah, but what were you studying back then? Criminal Justice or something? Theater is something you love. It�ll hold your interest. Trust me.� Lennie sighed; Mike did have a point. And it would certainly be better than driving himself crazy waiting for Jack to get home every night � �OK, Mike, I�ll think about it.� Mike just laughed, biting his lip. �Nah, you�ll do it. I know you, Lennie. Done deal.� He cut himself off with a yawn. Lennie chuckled. �OK, Mikey. I think somebody�s waiting for you upstairs �� Mike stood up and pulled Lennie up beside him into a loose hug. �You too, my friend.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie slipped into the bedroom quietly, not wanting to wake Jack. He tossed his clothes in the hamper and slipped under the turned-down covers. He lay there for a fairly long time, but still couldn't sleep. Mike�s idea about going back to college to study theater kept rolling around in his mind. He sighed and rolled over onto his side. The movement woke Jack. He glanced at the clock � 2AM. Lennie needed sleep. He rolled over and spooned in behind his lover. Lennie sighed as he felt Jack wrapping around him. "Sorry; didn't mean to wake you." Jack's hand gently caressed his lover's body, while he placed a soft kiss on Lennie's neck. It wasn't specifically erotic; more the companionable comfort of a loving partner. " 'S ok. Can't sleep?" Jack asked softly, his hand roaming lightly over Lennie's chest. Lennie just shook his head. "Worried about tomorrow?" Lennie sighed. �Some. More worried about after that. I won�t have the show to keep me occupied.� �So you�ll find something else.� �Mike thinks I should go back to college, study theater.� Jack�s hand topped moving, his surprise at the idea evident. �You know, that�s a great idea.� �You think so?� �Hell yes! As much as you�ve enjoyed this? Hey, maybe you and Kelly can take some classes together!� Jack�s daughter was starting college in the fall. �Oh, great, just what I need � to be shown up by an 18 year-old.� Jack hugged him. �Lennie, if it�s what you want, I�m behind you 100 percent.� Lennie smiled, feeling totally wrapped in the warmth of his partner�s love. He caught Jack's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the fingertips. They cuddled together for a while, until Lennie sighed and rolled over again. �Lennie?� �Now if I could just get over the opening-night jitters �� Jack laughed softly, leaning in for a gentle kiss. His hands trailed softly over Lennie�s body. "Roll over," he said as he let go and leaned away. "Jack, not now �" "Shh. Just relax. Trust me." Jack's hands gently urged Lennie to roll over on to his stomach, then began floating very lightly over his back. The touch was relaxing, halfway between a massage and a caress. Lennie sighed as he gave himself over to the sensation. He was only half-aware when Jack sat up and straddled him, settling lightly over his hips. The touch was becoming lighter as Jack leaned forward, sliding his hands up the entire length of Lennie's spine, further, up into his dark hair, then back down again. Light touches, up again, this time back down one long arm. And again, and down the other arm. Lennie vaguely realized that if he were in the right mood, this could be tremendously erotic. Tonight it was just soothing; the ultimate comfort of being touched by his mate. It wasn't long before Jack felt Lennie's body relax beneath him and heard the soft snore that confirmed that Lennie was sound asleep. He smiled, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on Lennie's neck, before sliding off and stretching out beside him. Soon his snores joined Lennie's in a soft counterpoint. Continue on to Chapter 6 send me some feedback Back to the main Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC; I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 5 |