| Choices Chapter 1 Chapter 7 Chapter 2 Chapter 8 Chapter 3 Chapter 9 Chapter 4 Chapter 10 Chapter 5 Chapter 11 Chapter 6 |
| Our boys' story takes some interesting twists and turns through this cycle Don't worry, there's always a happy ending . . . Timeline: July, 2001 |
| Choices Chapter 1 |
| Jack was sitting in his office reading through some briefs on upcoming cases. It had been a couple of weeks now since Abbie had left for a new job in the US Attorney�s office, and he had to admit that he missed her terribly. It wasn�t just the hassle of breaking in a new assistant. He missed HER, everything from her fiery temper when they crossed swords arguing about a case to her gentle friendship with Lennie. He knew she was just down the street, but he wanted to give her a chance to get established in her new life before dragging her back into his crazy mixed-up life. It didn�t help that the new assistant Nora had hired just wasn�t his type. Abbie, Jamie, even Claire, all had challenged him, butted heads with him, made him be a better prosecutor. Serena seemed to live up to her name � serene. Maybe it was just because she was new, but she didn�t seem to want to rock the boat. She seemed more like an eager puppy than an equal partner-in-training. Oh, yeah, and the worst. She was blond. Jack pictured her as a little yappy cocker spaniel, the blonds of the dog world, and chuckled. �Something funny, Jack?� came a voice from the doorway. He looked up to see his old friend Danielle Melnick holding open the door. �Danielle! What brings you here?� �Oh, I had to see one of the ADA�s about a client of mine, nothing you need to worry about. But I thought I�d stop by and see if I could take you out to lunch? It�s been too long, Jack.� She smiled warmly, and Jack returned the smile. �That it has. I�d love to.� They wandered into a little caf� not far from the office. Jack was going on about the hazards of breaking in a new assistant when the waitress came to take their drink order. Danielle jumped in �A glass of red wine, and scotch for my friend.� �Uh, make that iced tea for me, please.� Danielle looked at him. �Jack?� �I�m dry now, Danielle. I finally hurt somebody I care about.� Danielle sat back. �So it�s true?� Jack smiled. The rumors had spread like wildfire. �Depends on what you heard.� �That you and your cop roommate aren�t just sharing an apartment; you�re sharing a bed.� �Yup, that would be the one.� The waitress came back with their drinks and took their lunch order. Danielle shook her head, still not wanting to believe. �Jack, never in a million years would I have seen that coming.� He laughed. �Neither did we, Danielle.� �But after all the assistants you�ve gone through, now you decide to switch sides?� �I haven�t really, Danielle. Overall, I still generally prefer women. Except for Lennie. It�s just something special, I can�t explain it, but it works.� Danielle sipped at her wine, wondered whether she should go through with this. // I�m not getting any younger. He left an opening. // �But at least you finally let yourself love again. I was worried there for a while, Jack. You weren�t letting anybody in.� Jack sighed. �I know, Danielle, and for that alone I�ll always be grateful to Lennie. I feel alive again for the first time in a long time.� She made a decision. �Jack, we�ve known each other for a long time now. When we met, I was with someone, then you were with Claire, then you were lost, and now you�re gay. When do I get my chance?� �Danielle?� Jack hadn�t seen that one coming. She reached across the table and took his hand. �Jack, are you with Lennie because you love him, or because he was willing to love you when you couldn�t love yourself? Don�t you owe it to yourself to try a normal relationship one last time before you give up? You said yourself you still prefer women.� Jack gently withdrew his hand. �Danielle, believe me, I�m flattered. And I have to admit, intrigued. I really never knew you were interested. But I�m happy where I�m at with Lennie. I�m sorry.� Danielle sighed. �No, Jack, I�m sorry. I shouldn�t have pushed.� Jack could see the disappointment written across her face. �Danielle, we�re still friends, right?� She managed a weak smile. �Why should now be any different from the past 20 years?� Lennie got home relatively early that evening and was surprised to find Jack sitting on the couch channel surfing. He had the oddest expression on his face. �Jack? You OK?� He shut the idiot box off and tossed the remote aside. �The strangest thing happened today, Lennie.� Lennie tossed his suit coat over the back of a chair and came to sit beside Jack. �So are you going to tell me about it?� �Danielle Melnick made a pass at me over lunch.� �The lady has excellent taste in men!� Lennie grinned. Jack huffed. �Glad to see it amuses you.� Lennie�s smile faded. �Should I be jealous?� �I turned her down.� �So what�s the problem?� Silence. �Jack?� Jack sighed and shook his head as if to clear it. �Nothing, no problem at all. I guess it just caught me off guard.� Lennie didn�t quite believe that, but let it slide. He slipped his arm around Jack�s waist, letting Jack lean against him. �What do you want to do about dinner?� �I�m not really hungry.� Lennie got the message. Whatever was bothering Jack, he wasn�t ready to talk about it. Sometimes Lennie could coax it out of him anyway, but he was pretty sure this wasn�t one of those times. So finally he just gave a squeeze, kissed the nearest temple, and got up to rummage around in the fridge. An hour later, Lennie was sitting at the kitchen table working the crossword from the morning�s paper. Jack had watched him from the couch as he puttered around the kitchen, pulling together something that vaguely resembled dinner. Lennie was so inept in the kitchen it ended up being cute. He felt so bad; how could he have even considered Danielle�s offer? And yet even now his mind kept coming back to it, wondering what it would have been like, wondering if it was actually possible for him to love another woman. // Stop it! // This was fruitless. He was with Lennie, and he was happy with it. He got up and crossed the room, coming to stand behind Lennie. He laid his hands on his lover�s shoulders and squeezed, then let them slide forward as he hugged Lennie from behind. �I�m sorry, Lennie. I�ve been a real grouch tonight.� He began nuzzling Lennie�s neck as his hands unbuttoned his shirt. �Let me make it up to you.� Lennie leaned back against him, leaning his head to the side to give Jack better access. �Mmmm,� he sighed. He caught Jack�s hands, brought them to his lips. �Shall we make it an early night?� �Sure you don�t want some dinner first?� He nodded toward his leftovers. Jack chuckled. �I had a big lunch, thanks.� He let go so Lennie could get up. Back in their bedroom, they quickly undressed. Lennie stretched, working out a kink in his lower back. Jack came to him. �Back still bothering you?� �A bit.� �Want me to rub it?� Lennie laughed. �Like I�d say no?� �Go lie down.� Lennie stretched out on the bed as Jack got out the massage oil. He all but purred with contentment as he felt Jack climb onto the bed, straddling him over his ass. If Jack was going to be this nice when he snapped out of it, he could put up with a grumpy mood for a few hours. He felt Jack�s hands spreading the warm oil over his back, and abandoned himself to the relaxing massage. For a good 15 minutes, Jack worked on Lennie�s back, kneading out several tight spots. But finally he let his hands roam a little further south, his touch becoming less therapeutic, more erotic. His fingers lightly caressed Lennie�s ass, trailing down to the back of his balls. Lennie spread his legs to give Jack better access. �Oh, that feels nice,� Lennie sighed as the fingers caressed the insides of his thighs and slid around to tease at the base of his cock. Jack chuckled. �So, you want something else, or should I just take you like this so you don�t have to move?� As much as he was tempted to be a lazy slug, Lennie squirmed around and rolled over. �Come here, you.� Jack laid down beside him, immediately enveloped by a pair of strong arms and a hungry mouth seeking his own. All afternoon he had been suppressing the desires stirred up by his conversation with Danielle. Now he gave in to them, taking control of the kiss and plunging deep into Lennie�s mouth as his hands tweaked the sensitive nipples. He rolled back on top, this time face-to-face, their cocks pressed tight together as his mouth latched onto Lennie�s neck. Lennie was panting with the pleasure at first, until he pushed too hard. �Ow! Damn, Jack. Ease up, will you?� Jack looked down at him, his eyes refocusing. �Sorry, Lennie. Guess I got carried away, there.� He slid off, letting Lennie catch his breath. A gentle hand brushed the hair from his eyes. �Hey, it�s OK.� The gentle concern in Lennie�s eyes was more than he could take. He turned away and sat up. �No it�s not, Lennie. I can�t lie to you. I forgot where I was, Lennie. I forgot who I was with.� The realization hit Lennie like a ton of bricks. He rolled over to face Jack�s back. �You were with her.� The head nodded. �I�ve been thinking about it all day, Lennie. I just can�t shake it. I don�t know why.� Lennie wasn�t sure what to do or say. He felt frozen inside. The silence was more than Jack could bear. He finally turned around. �Lennie? Talk to me.� Lennie got up and reached for his bathrobe. Jack�s eyes tracked him around the bedroom. �Lennie?� Finally he turned to face Jack. �What do you want me to say? You�re thinking about somebody else while you�re making love to me. How the hell do you think that makes ME feel?� Lennie was usually so laid back that Jack almost didn�t recognize the anger in his eyes. Fear stabbed through his stomach. �I�m sorry.� Lennie shook his head. �You�re obviously not interested in me right now. Go ahead, have your fantasy, fuck the bitch in your dreams tonight. Get it out of your system. I�ll be next door.� He slammed the bedroom door behind him as he left. Continue to Chapter 2 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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