Not my characters, just my story. I only wish I owned Pete. The story is best read if you've seen the series and know the characters. If you haven't seen it lately, watch and enjoy.

This is my first foray into the universe of "Peter Gunn". The events of the story occur during the summer of 1959. This first chapter is a prologue which details an event occurring on Saturday, July 18. The remainder of the action, starting with the following chapters, begins on Thursday, September 3.

A Lifetime In Eight Days

Chapter 1: [Prologue] Eight Weeks Ago

It was just shy of eight weeks since she'd broken up with him.

Twenty-one days since the lone date she'd gone on while attempting to persuade herself that she was over him. That she'd moved on. That she could live her life without him. That she could find someone else to love. Someone else to love her.

Eight days since Lieutenant Jacoby had appeared, seeking her out at Mother's, asking if she'd seen him or heard from him. Jacoby was nobody's fool. He knew she hadn't but he asked anyway.

Four hours since she got the phone call.

Eight weeks ago...

It had been building for a while, this distance between them. He had a case that had taken him out of the country for almost a week. He told her about it, let her know he was going and how long he'd be gone. Wined her, dined her, wakened her for a passion-filled goodbye the next morning. One day back and it was a repeat of the same. The second case might not have sent him away from her, at least not distance-wise, but there was still the matter of not hearing from him more than once over a period of three days. When he finally did make an appearance the cast on his left wrist and the purpling bruise beneath his right eye didn't instill much comfort. And for once, neither did the soft smile and slow wink he gave her as she performed her final song of the evening.

But then life was good again for a while. Until it wasn't. The worry, the uncertainty, the wariness, the desperation came back to haunt. And she didn't know what to do. The only thing she did know was that their relationship couldn't continue as it was. And it was tearing her up inside.

She was leaning against the railing, staring down toward the river with an unfocused gaze, when he finally appeared toward closing time that night. She relished his warm strength against her back as he braced his arms against the barrier and leaned forward, nuzzling a soft kiss into that place between her neck and shoulder.

"Hi, Silly." His voice was a rough purr in her ear.

"Hi, Pete," she responded, her voice soft, sultry, lazy. Like good whiskey.

Her gaze finally focused on the softly flowing water below. She didn't turn around, but lay one hand on his larger one, lacing her fingers between his. They shared a companionable silence as he leaned his chin against her shoulder, breathing in the sweet, heavy scent of her perfume, recognizing it as the one he'd given her for her birthday several months earlier. He savored the intimacy of the moment, closing his eyes and moving his free hand to her waist and pulling her impossibly closer.

"They warned me about you, you know."

His eyes opened slightly and he looked sideways at her, a bemused expression on his face.

"They?"

"Yeah. You know." A gentle sigh escaped her lips. "People."

His eyes closed again, lulled by the soft caress of her hand on his.

"People?"

"People."

This time it was his turn to sigh. He could tell this was going to be one of those crazy conversations of hers. Those conversations were one of the things he loved about her. One of the reasons he'd fallen for her. And man had he fallen, so very hard. One corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile as he tried to decipher where she was going this time.

"What people?" He could be just as guileless as she when the occasion warranted.

"Just people. People you know." A slight but thoughtful frown marred her forehead for just a moment before disappearing. "People you don't know."

He straightened a bit and trailed a line of soft kisses along the back of her neck before shifting his chin to her other shoulder. Following her example, he settled his gaze on the dark shallows below. Dull points of light glittered on the crests of a few aberrant waves that sloshed against the pilings, reflections generated by the streetlight in front of the building next to Mother's.

"And just what did these people who I know and don't know warn you about?" He tried to make his voice sound serious, but there was a distinct tease in it. She took a while to answer. So long, in fact, that he had been about to say something further when she finally spoke.

"They said you were trouble."

He raised his head and dropped his eyes to the soft, rounded perfection of her cheek.

"Oh they did, did they?" He tucked a blond curl behind her ear as he pondered this. "And what other deep dark secrets did they let you in on?"

She turned her head to rest her cheek against his.

"They said you'd break my heart."

Her words were soft and her eyes had taken on a faraway look.

Straightening, he dropped his hands to her hips and gently turned her to face him. He wasn't sure where this mood had suddenly come from but he was going to put the kibosh on it. He bumped her forehead with his before placing a quick kiss on her nose.

"Don't be a silly girl."

He knew how people could be, how they could talk. It was part of his business to know. And a few years ago those people might even have been right about him. Back before he met Edie. He'd been rougher around the edges, quick tempered, impatient, confrontational. All qualities that tended to get him into trouble with both sides of the law, especially before he was able to be more selective about the cases he accepted. There had been a few women in his life, but no one he would have desired as a life-long companion. No one like Edie. And he certainly didn't think he'd broken any hearts along the way.

"You're it for me, you know that. Breaking your heart would mean breaking mine." Roughly. Tenderly. Unevenly.

His arm slipped back around her waist as she returned to her original position against the railing. They were both silent, she occupied with her own thoughts, he wondering what was on her mind. For all the simplicity and contentment she'd brought into his life, Edie Hart was still a very complicated woman to figure out sometimes. Especially at that moment. Removing his arm from its comfortable position around her waist, he leaned his elbow on the railing and turned sideways to look at her, attempting to catch her eyes. When she avoided his gaze he reached out his hand and gently cupped her cheek, turning her face toward him. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as they met his and he felt an uncomfortable ache grip his insides.

"Edie, what's-"

"Pete, I can't..." Her left hand fluttered between them, a sob catching in her throat. "I can't...do this anymore. This...thing...between us." She backed away half a step as he reached for her hand, the tears finally beginning to fall as she saw the expression of bewilderment that crossed his face as his hand fell back to his side. "I- we barely ever see each other anymore. You jump right from one case into the next and-" Wrapping her arms around her middle, she took another half step away from him, another sob escaping. "I miss you. I miss you so much and I don't-"

"Edie...Honey-" He tried to sooth her, at the same time wondering whether his voice sounded as panicked to her as it did to him. "That's how the business is sometimes. I'm sorry its been that way lately. You know that." He closed the gap between them, lifting his hands to her face and using his thumbs to brush away her tears. "Just give it some time, things'll calm down and I'll be around so much you won't know what to do with me. I'll be underfoot every way you turn and you'll be wishing for a case to come along just to get me out of your hair."

"Every time I watch you leave I wonder if it'll be the last time I watch you leave, if it'll be the last time I ever see you- And then when I do finally see you...you're all beat up or shot up-"

"Hey, it's not that bad." He attempted a grin, his hands reaching for hers, gripping them tightly.

"But it is, Pete." Her head tilted to the side as she studied his face. After a few moments of this silent contemplation she leaned forward and captured his lips with hers in a kiss that said so many other things that she couldn't put into words. Finally she pulled away from the kiss and from him. "I love you very much." She took a shuddering breath. "And I need you very much. But we can't go on like this." She searched his eyes, willing him to understand. "I'm sorry," reached his ears in a strangled whisper as she pulled open the door and disappeared into Mother's.

He stood where he was for a long while, not moving. Wondering what had just happened. Lifting his right hand, he looked at the key she'd slipped into it as she turned to leave. The key to his apartment...and to his heart...glistening in the lamplight just as her tears had done.