| A different kind of family reunion Sunday 9/16/2001 |
| Lennie wished with all his heart that he could find something to distract Jack. Saturday after they got back from the hospital, a movie had worked for a while. Afterwards, Lennie had tried a more � �personal� distraction. But not surprisingly, Jack just wasn�t in the mood. So instead they�d called it an early night and just curled up together, talking, until finally they fell asleep. So now it was Sunday morning, and Lennie was desperately trying to think of something to do. A beautiful September Sunday like this would normally be a great candidate for a ballgame. But after the events of last week � god, had it only been a week ago! � the giant turtle that was New York was still huddling in it�s shell. Broadway was still dark, ballparks silent. The usual crowd of late summer weekend tourists was nowhere to be found. Most of the business travelers who had been stranded last week had found some way home, even if it was driving a rental car across the entire country. For once, New Yorkers had the city to themselves. And it was kind of spooky. He decided to get up and start some coffee. This was weird. Two days in a row he was up first. Which reminded him why he had been up early yesterday. Julia had said she�d email some photos of Tommy. He�d been so worried about Jack yesterday afternoon, he�d forgotten to check. He also wanted to drop a note to Abbie to tell her about Julia. He wasn�t sure if he should mention Kate � When the coffee was ready, he filled his oversize mug and headed back to the study. It occurred to him that if Kate was coming to stay with them, they should probably clean up back here, and especially in the guest room. He booted up the computer, once again thanking his lucky stars for Abbie�s patience in teaching him how to deal with the damned things. Of course, giving him something worth going on-line for had been a big factor. He shook his head, still amazed at all the changes in his life this past year. He logged in to his email, and sure enough, there were several messages from Julia, with attachments. He caught his breath as he opened the first one, seeing the eager blue eyes of his 6-year old grandson Tommy. �Oh god!� Joy nearly overwhelmed him as he worked his way through through the dozen or so shots Julia had sent. And even better � the last email had a link to a personal web site Alan, Julia�s husband, had set up, with dozens of shots. And there, there was his baby girl, his firstborn, holding her son. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And that one � kids did the DARNDEST things �! He was laughing so hard he forgot to keep quiet. Jack came into the study, his eyes still foggy with sleep. �Lennie?� He spun around, surprised at the sound. �Jack! Oh, geez, I�m sorry. Forgot you were still asleep.� His lover came to stand behind him. �S�ok. Was sleeping too late anyhow. So what�s so funny?� He peered over Lennie�s shoulder at the computer screen. Lennie couldn�t help the grin. �Meet my grandson Tommy.� �Oh, Lennie! He�s adorable!� Jack squeezed his shoulders. The tow-headed child definitely had an affinity for the camera. He was as much of a ham as his grandfather. �Tell you what � give me a minute to get some coffee, and we�ll go through all of them.� Alan had done a beautiful job on the website. They spent an hour poking through it, laughing, as Lennie told stories of how Julia had done some of the same �stupid kid tricks� as Lennie called them. Cathy even made it into some of the stories without breaking the jubilant mood. But finally they finished and went in search of breakfast. As Lennie cleaned up from the meal, Jack came up behind him, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his neck. �Thank you.� Lennie turned around to face him. �For what?� �This morning. I needed that.� Lennie smiled and ran his fingers through the thick silver hair. �Yeah, you did.� He leaned in and kissed Jack�s forehead. Jack sighed and leaned against him as Lennie pulled him in. �But it�s not going to last, is it?� Jack shook his head. Lennie let go and pulled back, looking at Jack. �I�ve got an idea. You up for some company? I was thinking we could see if Abbie was around. Or maybe Mike.� Jack shook his head. �Lennie, I�m really not in the mood �� �It doesn�t have to end up in the bedroom, Jack. And after last Tuesday, I�ve been wanting to see both of them. Gather our �family� around us, you know?� Jack nodded. He had to admit, Lennie was right. He wanted to see both of them as well. This crisis with Kate had pushed aside all thoughts of what was happening in the rest of the world. �OK. Sounds like a plan.� Lennie smiled. �Good. Why don�t you hit the gym, and I�ll see what I can arrange.� �You take good care of me.� Lennie just smiled and held him close. After finally getting Jack out the door, Lennie got on the phone. �Abbie? Hey girlfriend!� �Lennie! It�s about time you called! I got your email last week, you promised we�d get together soon.� �Yeah, well, that�s why I called. We�ve been sort of having an extra crisis around here.� He quickly briefed her on the sudden appearance of Julia and Kate in their lives, and the situation with Kate. �Jack�s been a bit of a basket case. Today she�s getting out of the hospital and taken to jail. There�s not a damned thing he can do until the arraignment tomorrow, and it�s driving him nuts. I was hoping maybe you could come over this afternoon; I figured some company would do him good.� �Well, Mike and I were going to have a picnic in Central Park this afternoon, since the tourist count is so low. Why don�t you two join us? Make it a double date.� �Mike? As in Logan? You two still seeing each other?� Abbie laughed. �Yeah. Is that such a surprise?� �Sweetie, I�ve NEVER known Mike to stay with somebody for a month. NEVER.� She laughed. �Never say never, Lennie. I think you�ve been a good influence on him.� �Me?� �If the great cynic Lennie Briscoe can get married again, maybe there is hope in the world for romance.� Lennie had to laugh. �I guess you�ve got a point there. In any event, a picnic sounds great. When and where?� She gave him the info � he recognized the spot, a place he and Mike had often hung out at on those rare spring days when it was just too nice to go back to the precinct. �See you there at two, then!� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack parked the bike at the entrance to the park and grabbed the saddlebags which held their picnic lunch. It didn�t take long for them to find Mike and Abbie; it was actually kind of scary to see the park so empty on such a lovely late summer day. Abbie had laid out two blankets under a big old tree so there would be plenty of room for all four of them. She and Mike got up as they saw their friends coming, greeted them with hugs. At first, they talked about where they had been last Tuesday, how they each had made it through that awful day. Even though they were out in public, they felt the need to connect. Mike laid along the edge of the blanket with Abbie leaning against his stomach, his arm wrapped over her. Lennie stretched out along the side forming a corner with Mike, one hand surreptitiously touching Mike�s arm. Jack leaned against him, his feet tucked under Abbie�s legs. Jack sighed, welcoming the contact, feeling truly at ease with his friends. He loved Lennie, but right now both of them were under a lot of stress. It felt good to be able to relax and let others take a little of the burden for a while. Finally, they got past the need for reassurance and moved on to other things. �Hey Abbie. You�ve got one of those new digital cameras, don�t you?� �Yeah, Lennie. Actually, I brought it today. Why?� �My daughter sent me some photos of my grandson. I wanted to bring them today, but I can�t very well bring the computer out here. Do you know how I can get some prints?� She laughed. �Well, it�s a laptop, so you could have, but sure. Just email them to me and I�ll take care of it.� �You said you had the camera here? Could you take a shot of us? I wanted to send her something.� �Sure. Let me get it.� She got up and dug through their picnic supplies and got the camera. �No, don�t move, that�s perfect.� She took the photo, and switched the camera to display mode. It really was a perfect shot; they were both relaxed, not looking like a forced pose, smiling. She showed it to them. They looked at it then looked at each other. It seemed odd; it was really the first time they saw themselves �together,� as if through somebody else�s eyes. It looked strange, yet somehow right. It almost made it more real. Their hands came together almost of their own volition. Abbie quickly turned the camera back to capture mode and grabbed another quick shot of that moment, and the kiss that followed it. Lennie suddenly blinked and looked at her. �Did you take another one?� She laughed. �A couple more, actually.� She showed them. The first candid was truly exceptional; she had caught a look of absolute love on their faces. Jack stared at it, captivated. �Can you print some of those, too? I�d like to keep that one in my office.� As usual it was Lennie who brought up the subject of the food they had brought along. They enjoyed the afternoon in the shade, laughing and talking. Relaxing with good friends. But Lennie was getting a little frustrated. He wanted to be able to reach out to Mike, touch him, hold him. He knew why Mike wouldn�t let that happen in public, and he respected it. But he couldn�t resist gently running his fingers over Mike�s ankle in the corner when nobody outside could see. Jack wasn�t too surprised when he leaned back against Lennie and felt the bulge in his jeans. He knew he just wasn�t interested right now, but that was no reason Lennie should suffer. He noticed Abbie watching the two cops as well. He made a decision, keeping his voice low. �Abbie, you want to come home with me so these two can go get a room?� She laughed as the two cops both turned red. �Sounds like a plan, Jack.� Lennie looked at the two of them laughing, then looked at Mike. A grin was spreading across Logan�s face. �What do you say, Lennie? Back to my place for a while? Then we can pick up a pizza for dinner on the way back to your place later.� Lennie looked at his partner. �Are you sure, Jack?� �Go. Have fun.� His smile left no doubt that he wasn�t at all upset by this turn of events. So the picnic was packed up and Lennie left with Mike, while Abbie hopped onto the back of the bike with Jack, wearing Lennie�s helmet and denim jacket. She rather enjoyed the ride, was almost disappointed when she had to let go when they got to the parking garage under Jack�s building. Finally they settled down on the couch in Jack�s apartment, sodas on the coffee table. She looked at him, concerned. �How are you doing Jack? Really?� He shrugged. �Holding up, I guess. It�s been a rough week.� She nodded. �It was rough enough on the rest of us. To have your daughter reappear as a murder suspect now of all times �� Jack picked up his soda, almost hiding behind it. Abbie cocked her head to the side, watching him. When he put it down, she reached out to him. �Come here.� He shook his head. �Abbie, really, I�m not in the mood.� She sighed and rolled her eyes. �This is probably the most basic disconnect in communication between men and women. Guys are taught that touch equals sex. Women learn that touch is comfort, doesn�t necessarily have anything to do with sex. At least come sit next to me instead of isolating yourself over there.� Jack had to admit that the way they had sprawled on the picnic blanket, all touching, had been oddly comforting. He slid down the couch to sit beside her, and smiled as she laid her hand over his. �You sure you�re ok with Lennie taking off with Mike?� �Yeah. It was my idea, remember?� �That doesn�t necessarily mean anything.� He shook his head. �No, really. Lennie�s been doubly stressed too, with Julia calling from out of the blue. I know I haven�t exactly been able to give him the attention he deserves. I�m glad he has somebody else to lean on for a little while. That we both do.� He squeezed her hand, looking into her eyes. �I just hope I didn�t mess up your evening too much.� Abbie laughed. �Not a chance. So tell me about your daughter.� Her arm slipped around his back as she pulled him close. Jack sighed and gave in, leaning against her, content in the warm glow of friendship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie had really been taken by surprise by Jack�s suggestion that he go home with Mike. Yeah, he wanted it. And he knew Jack had to have felt his hard-on when he leaned back against him. But he still hadn�t expected Jack to be this open. One more thing this week to be thankful for, because he really needed this. He�d been so shaken by Julia�s call, but then Jack�s crisis with Kate had taken center stage, and rightly so. But for a little while, he wanted someone to take care of him. He had a feeling Jack realized that; and that was why he�d made the suggestion. Finally they were safe behind the locked door of Mike�s apartment. Mike caught him and kissed him, hard. He responded, physically and emotionally, as the younger man�s arms wrapped around him. When Mike finally released him, he sighed. �Oh, god, I needed that.� Logan�s hazel eyes gazed back at him. �Me too, Lennie.� He realized how much the events of the previous week had affected Mike. They fell together again in a tight embrace, lips locked together, the stresses of the prior week finding outlet in their passion. Mike let go and grabbed his hand, leading Lennie back to the bedroom. They both quickly stripped and climbed into the unmade bed. Mike climbed on top of Lennie, moaning at the full body contact. His mouth worked its way down Lennie�s body, caressing it with his lips and tongue. Lennie laid there, reveling in the attention. He moaned as that mouth finally covered his cock. Mike sucked him until he was rock hard, then let go, and worked his way back up to Lennie�s mouth, neck ear. �Fuck me, Lennie,� he whispered. Lennie�s hands slid down his back to cup his ass. �Gladly� he whispered back as he pulled Mike closer. Mike almost reluctantly got up and retrieved the lube from the nightstand. He smiled as Lennie took it, then flopped down on his back. Lennie got them both slicked up and moved into position, pressed in. �Ohhhhh!� Mike moaned as Lennie entered him. �God, it�s been a while.� Lennie grinned and held still, letting him adjust. �One thing your girlfriend can�t give you, huh?� �Yeah, but she�s so good at everything else �� His words faded as Lennie�s hands began stroking him. �Oh, shit. Come on, move already, will ya?� Lennie chuckled and did as requested, keeping it nice and slow, his hands caressing Mike�s stomach, hips, teasing at his cock. When he sensed Mike getting close, he drove in hard and stayed there, leaning forward, pulling Mike into a kiss. His back complained, but for the moment he ignored it, plunging his tongue deeper into Mike�s throat. Mike squirmed under him, desperately wanting him to continue moving, but Lennie held him down. Finally, he couldn�t stand it any more himself, so he let go and began thrusting, hard, again and again, until the climax took his breath away. Mike was still coming as he caught his breath; Lennie�s hands were milking him for all he was worth. Lennie disengaged and fell to the bed beside Mike. Logan�s hand caught his, and for a moment they laid there side by side, learning to breathe again. Finally, Mike got up and ducked into the bathroom, bringing back a warm cloth for Lennie. Mike sat on the edge of the bed, watching Lennie clean up. �You want a soda or something?� �Yeah, sure.� Mike grabbed a robe and headed off to the kitchen. Lennie grabbed his jeans and followed. Mike dug out some chips and salsa as well as the sodas, and they parked it at the kitchen table. �OK, Mike. What�s on your mind?� �I�m thinking about it, Lennie. Me, Mike Logan, actually thinking about it.� Lennie was puzzled. �What are you talking about?� Mike looked up. �Settling down.� That got Lennie�s attention. �Abbie?� Mike nodded. �It�s just, after last week, I really started thinking about my life. I mean, OK, I guess I started thinking about it before. Seeing you and Jack really did something to my head, Lennie. If YOU could find happily ever after, maybe it wasn�t just a fairy tale. Then last week. All day, all I could think of was her. Wanting to let her know I was ok. Wanting to be with her �� Lennie reached across the table and took his hand. �I know, Mike.� Logan looked up at him, knowing that Lennie did indeed know exactly how he felt. �And who�d have believed I�d be seeing one woman exclusively for a month and a half? This isn�t normal, not for me. She�s a special one, Lennie.� Lennie laughed. �Don�t I know it. But I warn you, Mike. You hurt her, you answer to both me and Jack.� He kept his tone light, but he knew Mike knew he was serious. �I know. Believe me, that�s the last thing I want to do. So �� �So? What, are you asking my permission or something?� �Or something. What should I do?� Lennie sighed. In some ways, Abbie was like a daughter to him. Some ways decidedly NOT, but that wasn�t the issue at the moment. �Take your time, Mike. There�s no rush here. Everybody�s nerves got stretched last week. Just run with it for now. When the time is right, you�ll know.� He smiled as his fingers found his own ring, remembering that special day. But Mike was right � a year ago, he�d have said he�d never wear a wedding ring again. When you found the right one, your whole world changed. OK, his changed more than most people�s. But he could definitely see how Abbie could tame the wild Logan, mostly because she wouldn�t insist on owning him. Mike�s voice broke his reverie. �So how about you, Lennie. You OK from last week?� He nodded. �Mostly. I mean, this thing with Julia caught me off guard. I guess you�re right, it made us all think about what � and who � was important to us. Then with Jack�s crisis with Kate coming right on top of it, I guess I really haven�t had a chance to absorb it all yet.� He sighed. Mike looked at him. �So suddenly your crisis took back seat.� Lennie nodded. �I don�t begrudge him anything, Mike. Kate�s problems are a lot bigger than mine.� �Yeah, but still. One minute you�re leaning on him, and the next he�s leaning on you. Somebody�s got to fall here.� Lennie smiled. �Tell you the truth, I think that�s why he sent me over here, Mike. It�s good to know we both have somebody else we can lean on occasionally.� Mike smiled and got up, circling the table to stand behind Lennie. He leaned down and hugged his friend. �You want to come sit on the couch for a while?� Lennie sighed as he settled into Mike�s arms. It did feel good to have somebody taking care of him, if just for a little while. He poured out his thoughts and fears of re-connecting with Julia, as well as his worries for Jack and Kate. Mike listened, and held him, glad that he could be there when Lennie needed him. Finally, Lennie ran out of words. Mike bent down, gently kissed his cheek. �Feel better now?� �Yeah. Thanks, Mike.� Mike squeezed him. �Hey, it�s getting late. They�re probably wondering what happened to us. Let�s go see those photos of your grandson.� Lennie tapped on the door before opening it, not sure exactly what he would find. He smiled when he saw Jack and Abbie curled up on the couch, much like he and Mike had been. There was a moment when his eyes met Jack�s, speaking volumes without words. Both had needed this time apart. Mike parked the pizza on the coffee table while Jack got up and went into the kitchen to get drinks. Abbie came over to him, pulled him into a hug. �Feeling better?� He laughed. �Much.� She pulled him down to the couch beside her. Luckily, it was a long couch, because tonight nobody wanted to sit in the side chair. Jack came back with the sodas and they squeezed together to make room at the end for him. Mike grinned at him as their legs touched; Jack was kind of surprised to find himself responding, couldn�t help grinning right back at him. Lennie watched them with an amused smirk. The pizza disappeared in short order, and they moved into the study to see the photos. All agreed young Tommy was definitely a chip off the old block. He emailed the photos and the website link to Abbie so she could make prints for him, and turned to see Jack�s hand resting lightly on Mike�s shoulder. Lennie was very glad to see the two of them connecting again � it hadn�t been a fluke. Finally, Mike and Abbie decided to call it a night. Hugs all around; Mike just couldn�t resist a parting shot. As he hugged Jack, he confirmed that his flirting had had the desired effect, so he leaned in and kissed him, hard, then let go just as suddenly. He winked, whispering �Catch you next time, Jack!� as Abbie dragged him out the door. Jack stood there, not sure exactly what had happened. Lennie just laughed, and slipped his arms around his lover from behind. �Well, that was a good day, wouldn�t you say?� Jack shook his head and laughed. �Yeah, I�d say so.� He turned to face Lennie, who leaned in for the kiss just as he did. Lennie pulled him close and chuckled. �Well, seems like Mike got you all worked up there!� Jack blushed. �Lennie, I�� Lennie silenced him with a kiss. �Don�t apologize. It�s still in the �new and exciting� category. Besides, he may have started your engines, but I�m the one who gets to run the race tonight.� With a smirk, he took Jack�s hand and led him back to their bedroom. Later, when they were both exhausted, Jack laid his head on Lennie�s shoulder. �Thanks, Lennie.� Long fingers feathered through his hair. �For what?� �For everything. For making this day perfect. For getting us into this crazy extended family.� Lennie kissed him. �Thank you for letting me.� Continue on to Daughters Ch 5 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. |
| Daughters Chapter 4 |