| Honeymoon Chapter 2 - Explanations |
| Anita Van Buren sat at her desk, reading the morning email. She shook her head, hoping this morning�s batch would be a little less confusing than yesterday�s. An email from Jack McCoy sent at 2AM to let her know Lennie wouldn�t be coming in. That had been an interesting start to the day. She hoped it was good news; she had to confess to a soft spot for the two of them as a couple. Lennie had always been something more than just an employee; there was something about the guy that just brought out her maternal instincts. Never mind the fact that he was older than she was; for so long there had been a sadness about him that made her want to make it better. When he and Jack had become roommates a few years ago, she thought it was the best thing that had happened to either of them. Then last fall when things had changed, she had been one of the first to figure it out. They really were very sweet together, and it certainly seemed to work for them, most of the time. But then a few weeks ago, Lennie had gotten really depressed. She hadn�t had a chance to get the whole story, but gathered that he had moved in with his partner, at least for the short term. So when she got the email from Jack, she hoped that they had put things back together. She had a feeling Ed knew more than he was telling, but she didn�t push. Hopefully this morning, she�d finally get the whole story from Lennie. So of course, fate had other ideas. Lennie didn�t even have time to hang his suit coat on the back of his chair before the phone rang and he and Ed rushed out of the station to get to a crime scene. Ed laughed as they got into the car. �And a good morning to you too, Lennie.� Lennie scowled at him. �Hey, it was either say good morning to you or answer the phone.� �Well, I was actually expecting it at home before I left this morning.� Lennie looked at him sideways, trying to keep one eye on the road. �Didn�t you see my note?� �There was no note, Lennie.� �Yes there was. I swear I left it. Didn�t you notice my stuff was gone?� �Didn�t go into the guest room. That�s your space. Or so I thought.� �Well, that explains why you didn�t see the note. Sorry, guess I could have been a bit more obvious.� �I�m guessing you two finally got things straightened out? Lennie grinned, shifting his hands on the steering wheel, wondering how long it was going to take Ed to notice. �You could say that.� Ed looked at him, realizing that there was something about Lennie�s grin. Just then the morning sun glinted off the ring. �Lennie, is that �?� By this time, Lennie was looking like the Cheshire cat. �Yeah. Wednesday night.� Just then, they came to the crime scene and the conversation was put on hold for the time being. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack couldn�t help smiling as he rode the elevator up from the parking garage. It was one of those perfectly beautiful summer mornings, still just warm, not hot yet. He hated summer mornings where the temperatures at 8AM were already in the 90�s. But today was just perfect, just like his life. He ducked into his office and quickly changed into a suit. He was sitting at his desk, going through the past two days� email and the accumulation of stuff in his in-box, when Nora stuck her head in. �There you are. Looks like you�re feeling better?� He looked up at her, grinning sheepishly. �Never better in my life, Nora.� She looked at him, realizing that something special was going on. She came into the office and closed the door behind her. �Jack? What�s up?� He reached for his coffee with his left hand, trying to draw her attention to the ring. �Lennie moved back in yesterday.� �Ah.� She still didn�t really understand how a man like Jack McCoy had ended up in love with another man. She had known Jack a very long time, and it just didn�t ring true to her. She had been secretly pleased when word got around the office that Jack was dating Danielle Melnick, thinking it was a much better match for him. But obviously that hadn�t worked out. �I still can�t say I understand, Jack, but if it makes you happy, then who am I to complain? But the next time you two break up, could you please manage to not disappear from the office for days at a time?� Jack grimaced. They didn�t exactly have a great track record on that front. �OK, Nora, you�re right. But we�re not going to be breaking up any more. I promise.� He finally gave up on subtle, putting the coffee mug down and holding up his hand. �We promised each other forever, Nora. I know it�s not legal, but to us it�s binding.� Nora stood there, stunned, shaking her head. Finally, she smiled and came around the desk, leaning over to kiss his cheek. �Congratulations, Jack. I certainly didn�t expect that, but I guess it�s a good enough reason for missing a couple of days of work.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been a particularly gruesome crime scene; three bodies, an adult woman and two children. It was looking like a murder/suicide; the mother killed her children, then herself. It had been enough to break even Lennie�s good mood. They rode back to the station in silence. Lennie just couldn�t understand how any parent could do that, when he�d give just about anything to get his Cathy back. They went into Van Buren�s office to brief her on the case. A mother herself, she also felt this one a little too close to home. As they wrapped up the details, Ed realized he was the least affected by this, and decided that it was time to lighten the mood a little so they could get on with the case. �Hey, Lennie, you gonna show the Lieu what you showed me this morning?� Anita looked at them, curious, grateful for the change of subject. �Lennie? What�s he talking about?� Lennie blushed, a smile stealing across his face. �I wanted to see how long it took her to notice it, but no, you have to open your big mouth.� He waved his hand in front of her face. Anita gasped, reached out and grabbed his hand. �Lennie? You didn�t?!� Lennie laughed. �Yeah, we did. I swear, it wasn�t planned. Really.� Anita looked at him. �OK, so give. I want the whole story.� �Uh, well, I guess it started when Danielle Melnick made a pass at Jack.� That got a look from Anita. �I�m not making this up, I swear. Anyway, it kind of got under his skin; he started wondering if he was just with me to avoid getting involved with a woman, wondered if he still could, if you know what I mean. So we decided to kind of step back a bit. Date other people, see if this was what we really wanted. Didn�t take him long to realize he�d made a mistake. We actually made up last weekend. But I decided I didn�t want to move back in right away. I wanted us to be sure, not take anything for granted this time. So we had a date for Wednesday afternoon � playing hookey just for the fun. I know I shouldn�t have, but I wanted to have some of the fun of a new relationship, you know?� Anita nodded, smiling. Considering how little time Lennie took off, she didn�t begrudge him this little bit. Lennie blushed again, continued. �So we�re out Wednesday afternoon, went to a matinee on Broadway, and after we�re sitting in this little coffee shop waiting for rush hour to let up a bit, and we�re talking, and the next thing I know he�s proposing. Said it was time to get rid of the assumptions that got us into this mess. He was ready to make a promise of forever. How could I say no? So anyway, we decided to go shopping right then for the rings. Ended up on this overlook he found up on the Hudson, just the two of us, exchanging promises and rings, with the sun setting over the city. God, it was beautiful.� Lennie looked so happy, it was all Anita could do to keep her own tears in check. �Oh, Lennie, I�m so happy for you.� For once, she dropped the professionalism and reached out to hug him. Ed sat back grinning at him, pounded him on the shoulder. �Damn, Lennie, trust you to out-class anything I could come up with on the romance front!� Anita couldn�t resist nudging him just a little. �So that email I got from Jack Thursday morning at 2AM?� Lennie�s face turned beet red. �Come on, Lieutenant. It was our wedding night, OK? We were up kinda late �!� She couldn�t help laughing. �OK, time for you two to get back to work. Get out of here.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack was enjoying this tremendously. He and Serena had been going over cases for the past couple of hours. He knew she had noticed the ring, and couldn�t figure it out. She had just started working with him when this whole mess started. As far as she knew, he had just started dating Danielle; she didn�t know about Lennie at all. He could see the curiosity killing her; it just didn�t make sense that a man who was just starting to date someone would disappear for 2 days in the middle of the week and come back wearing a wedding ring. He decided to leave her hanging for a while. Lennie was planning to come over after work, they were meeting Abbie for dinner to share the news with her. Let her see them together � Just before 6:00, a tap at the door got both of their attentions. �Lennie!� Jack�s smile lit up the entire room. Serena looked up at them as Lennie came into the office, walking around the desk. He glanced at Serena, noticing Jack�s grin and raised eyebrow. OK, Jack wanted to have some fun; he�d play along. He perched on the edge of the desk, leaning over to kiss Jack, his left hand planted in the center of the desk for support. He heard Serena�s gasp of surprise; it was all he could do to keep from laughing. He sat up, leaving the ball in Jack�s court. Serena was hastily grabbing folders, obviously wanting to make a quick exit. Jack grinned at her. �Something wrong, Serena?� �Uh, no, Jack. Nothing wrong.� She suddenly sat still, not sure what to do. Jack laughed. �I�m sorry, Serena. We shouldn�t have done that to you. I just couldn�t resist.� She sat there, blinking. �So was that just to throw me off?� Jack made a face. �No, actually it was real.� He reached out and took Lennie�s hand, smiling. �And the rings are real.� �But what about that defense attorney, Danielle?� Jack sighed. �That was a mistake. A big one.� Lennie smiled and squeezed his hand. �I don�t know, Jack. If she hadn�t stirred things up, we might never have taken this step.� Jack smiled, bringing Lennie�s hand to his lips. Serena sat back, watching the unguarded moment between them, realizing that this really was something special. It certainly wasn�t what she had expected, but at least it made sense now. Finally, she smiled and got up. �I�ll leave you two lovebirds alone, then. See you tomorrow, Jack.� ��Night, Serena. And Serena � I am sorry.� She laughed. �Don�t worry, Jack. I�ll get you for it one of these days.� As she closed the door behind her, Lennie reached out to pull him from his chair. �Hey, you. Come here.� Jack stood, wrapping his arms around Lennie, still perched on the edge of his desk, bending down to kiss him. Thoroughly this time, not distracted by laughter. �Mmmmmm� Lennie purred, settling his head on Jack�s shoulder. He sighed. �I guess we�d better go if we�re going to meet Abbie.� Jack squeezed him and let go. �Give me a minute to change, and we�ll head out.� Lennie sat there grinning as Jack traded his suit for jeans. He was tempted to jump him in that moment he stood there in his skivvies, hanging the good clothes in the closet. If Abbie wasn�t waiting for them, he would have; he filed that under the heading of �something to do one of these days.� A little while later, they met Abbie at a nearby restaurant. Her new job at the US Attorney�s office was just a couple of blocks away, making this a convenient meeting place. The hostess showed them to a table, Jack and Lennie sitting together opposite Abbie. Abbie smiled at them. �God, it�s good to see you two together again. You�ve got to stop this; I don�t think I could take it again.� They looked at each other, grinning. Lennie spoke. �I don�t think you have to worry about that, Abbie.� He reached over and took Jack�s left hand in his, laying them together on the table in front of her. She looked down, realizing Lennie was making a point, and gasped as she saw the rings. �You didn�t! Without me there?!!! How could you!� They looked at each other again and laughed. �Didn�t I tell you, Lennie?� �You nailed it, Jack.� �Hey!� Abbie looked at them, indignantly. �So what happened?� It was Jack�s turn to tell the story. Lennie slid his arm around Jack�s shoulders, reliving the memory yet again. Abbie was wiping away tears by the end. �Oh, guys! I�m so happy!� She squeezed their hands. They sat back and enjoyed a nice dinner, talking about the various reactions they had gotten throughout the day. Finally the waitress came back and asked if they wanted dessert. Jack and Lennie looked at each other and burst out laughing, leaving the poor waitress hopelessly confused. Abbie assured her they wouldn�t be wanting anything from the menu and sent her off for the check. �Speaking of dessert, I�ve got to get going. I�m meeting your friend Mike at the club tonight.� Lennie looked at her, surprised. �He thought he wasn�t your type.� �Well, after seeing him with you last week, I decided to give him a chance.� Jack was intrigued. �What do you mean?� �It was just so sweet; Lennie was sitting there talking about how much he wanted to get you back, and Mike sat there with his arm around Lennie�s shoulders, supporting him totally. I figured anybody who could be that good a friend was worth getting to know.� Lennie smiled. �He is, Abbie. You won�t regret it. Just don�t expect anything serious and you�ll be fine.� �I hear you, Lennie. I�m not looking for serious right now, so we should get along just fine.� Jack�s thoughts were spinning. Mike and Abbie? That was a combination he hadn�t expected. �You know, I�m the only one here who hasn�t seen this club. Maybe we could all go sometime?� Lennie grinned at him. �You just want to see Abbie�s club gear. Don�t deny it!� Jack blushed. �Well, that�s part of it.� Abbie grinned at them. �I�ll talk to Mike about setting it up. Sounds like a fun night!� Lennie caught her hand. �Abbie, do me a favor. Don�t tell Mike about the rings. He�s coming over tomorrow, I want to tell him myself. It�s Ok to say we�re back together, but let me have the big news, OK?� �Sure, Lennie. I think I can manage that.� As they walked the couple of blocks back to the garage at One Hogan Place, Lennie grinned at him. �So, Jack, how about dessert?� Jack chuckled. �Why did I know you were going to say that? Bet I�ll beat you home.� �No fair � you�ve got the bike, I�m stuck in a car!� �So I�ll be waiting for you. Naked and horny. How�s that sound?� �Perfect.� About half an hour later, Lennie walked in to the apartment, wondering what Jack would have waiting for him. He found Jack sprawled on the bed, naked, pleasuring himself as he waited for his lover to return. Lennie stood in the doorway of the bedroom, grinning. �Oh, now that�s a beautiful sight. What were you thinking about?� Jack smiled at him, his expression dreamy as he continued fondling himself. �You.� Lennie chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that sent shivers down Jack�s spine. He came into the room and began undressing, making it almost like a slow strip-tease. Lennie made a big show of unzipping his pants, reaching in to stroke himself through the boxers, sighing at the contact. Jack watched him, his eyes following every movement, moaning in sympathy at the moment of contact. Finally all his clothes were gone, and Lennie stood there, jerking off while watching Jack do the same. Jack licked his lips and grinned. �Will you come here already?� Lennie laughed and came over to the bed, crawling on top of Jack. �Better?� Jack reached up to pull him closer. �Much.� They pressed together as tongues probed deep, moaning with desire. Lennie sat up, reaching for the lube. He got Jack nice and slippery, then moved into position over him. Jack smiled, knowing this was Lennie�s favorite position. He certainly wasn�t complaining either; in addition to feeling awesomely good to him, it put Lennie�s cock within reach. He moaned as Lennie sank down on him, his hands eagerly latching on to help Lennie catch up with him. They moved together, enjoying the sensations. Jack suddenly got a mischievous grin on his face. �Hey, Lennie. Here�s one for tomorrow. How would you like it if Mike was sucking your cock right about now?� Lennie closed his eyes, imagining the warmth of a mouth added to the mix of sensations. �Oh, god, Jack! You trying to kill me for the insurance already?� Jack could feel Lennie�s cock jump with excitement as the idea took hold. He laughed. �I guess you�re saying you like that idea?� Rather than answer, Lennie just picked up the pace, unable to hold back any longer. Jack happily cooperated, loving the expression on Lennie�s face as he got closer and closer to the edge. Shortly he lost focus as his own climax threatened. Lennie cried out with his pleasure, his contractions all Jack needed to push him over the edge. When it was over, Lennie crawled off and laid beside him, sighing with contentment. Jack smiled and caught his hand, running his thumb over the ring there. �It was a good day, wasn�t it?� �Mostly.� The memory of that gruesome crime scene snuck back in, much to his dismay. Jack heard the sadness in his voice. �Lennie? Something happen?� �Nah, just work. Real nasty case. Woman killed her two kids, then herself.� Jack pulled him close, knowing how hard that would have hit him. �I�m sorry, Lennie. Sometimes our jobs suck. You OK?� Lennie sighed and held on tight. �Yeah. It just sickens me that she could do that, given how much I�d give to get Cathy back.� Jack ran his fingers through Lennie�s hair, leaned over to kiss his forehead. A sudden thought struck him. �Hey Lennie. Cathy � wasn�t that short for Catherine?� Lennie looked up at him. �Yeah, why?� Jack chuckled. �Katie is for Katherine with a K. Our daughters have the same name!� The happy coincidence was just what Lennie needed to shake off the melancholy. He smiled and hugged Jack again. �Small world, huh? Thanks, Jack, I needed that.� Jack kissed him again. �I�m here for you, Lennie. Always.� Continue to Chapter 3 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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