Standard Disclaimer: With the exception of Harper VanMeter: I don't own 'em, I just love 'em!

A/N: Hope this doesn't dissapoint! As always reviews are welcome!

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."

-Henry David Thoreau, Journals, 1839

Love's Remedy

ADA Harper Van Meter's cell phone rang incessantly. She reluctantly turned from the warmth of Jack's body and reached for it on her bedside table. Jack McCoy, DA Jack McCoy, her boss. After weeks of attraction and flirtation they'd finally succumbed to their feelings for one another.

Harper groaned as she flipped the phone open. "Hello?" Her voice was gruff with sleep, even though she felt more rested than she had in a long time. "Morning, Connie. What time is it?" Harper sat up, threw her legs over the side and looked at her alarm clock. It was almost 11:00. "Yeah, I guess I was catching up on some sleep. Yeah, Jack came by and told me last night," she glanced over her shoulder at him. He tucked his now free arm behind his head holding her gaze. "They left last night… free at last." She felt Jack move closer behind her. His hand lingered down her spine causing her breath to catch in her throat. "Tonight? Yeah, let's do that. How about 7? OK, see you then."

She closed the phone and turned sideways to face Jack. Jack propped himself up on his elbow. Neither said anything. Each quietly assessed the situation.

Jack was caught off guard by her loveliness. Her make-up was all but gone, her hair slightly mussed from sleep, her skin smooth and flawless with a hint of summer tan still left. Again she didn't bother to cover herself. He reached out and touched the strands of hair dangling in front of her breast. "You are breathtaking," he sighed. Her cheeks turned the most amazing shade of pink. In spite of the joy he felt, he had an awful sense of foreboding in the pit of his stomach.

"Thank you," she whispered. Likewise, she was in awe of him. His eyes were a little puffy from sleep and his face was scruffy and needed a shave. Despite this, his disheveled hair and smirk reminded her more of a little boy rather than the grown man he was. She liked the way he looked in her bed. "Connie and I are having dinner tonight, some drinks afterwards." She mustered her courage, not knowing how he'd react. "Would you like to join us?"

He smiled a half smile. "Ooh, I'd better not. 'Girl's Night' is best left to the girls."

Harper watched as the look on Jack's face changed. He turned onto his back, rubbed his stubbled jaw, and let out a burdened sigh.

"Where'd you go?" she smiled lightly. She took his hand, kissed his palm, and nuzzled it. She tried to pull him back, to push away any imminent problems they might be facing. "Come back to me."

Jack was not responsive.

"Don't do this." She reached for a pillow, pulled it close to her chest covering herself. "Can't we just enjoy this a little longer? Is that too much to ask?" Her stomach knotted nervously.

"Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away, Harper."

"But dwelling on it doesn't solve anything either, Jack. And," she tossed the pillow at him as she got up from the bed, "more importantly it ruins my mood."

Jack laughed sarcastically. "Well I'm sorry to ruin your mood, counselor."

She put on her robe and shot him a disapproving sideways glance as she walked out of the room.

Jack exhaled heavily and tossed the pillow aside. "Damn…." He could have handled that better. He shouldn't have to handle it at all. He knew better. He knew last night when he decide to come over instead of calling. Why didn't he just call? Then he could have continued to distance himself from her. Things would have been awkward at first, nonetheless eventually they'd go back to they way things had been. Boss, subordinate, colleague, even friend maybe, but that's it. Now, after last night, that would be near impossible.

Harper reentered the room. She had a toothbrush in her mouth and the look in her eyes told Jack he was not in the clear. "Here." She tossed a new toothbrush still in the package onto the bed. "There's coffee in the kitchen, if you want it." She left.

A couple of minutes later he heard the shower start. His first instinct was to leave. Get dressed and get out of there as quickly as possible. He couldn't do that though, he didn't want to hurt her. He would have to make it clear that this couldn't continue, not that it was a mistake, but it just couldn't continue. He needed to do it in the least hurtful way possible. If that existed.

Jack entered the steamy bathroom. "Will the sink running mess with your shower? I know how these old buildings can be."

"No, go ahead," she answered from behind the pastel paisley shower curtain.

He finished brushing and started to exit. The tiny bathroom was filled with the smell of her shampoo. He shook his head. Jack McCoy, a glutton for punishment. He slid his jeans off and pulled back the shower curtain as he stepped into the tub. Her eyes were closed and she was rinsing the suds from her hair. Jack laughed at himself, at his constant surprise in her beauty.

Harper sensed Jack the second he entered the shower. She resisted the urge to look at him, knowing her resolve would be washed away as easily as the shampoo in her hair the second she did. She wanted to be mad at him.

Harper felt him watching her. Despite her anger she took great pleasure in it. His eyes scrutinizing every inch of her body, every move she made. She would never have described herself as an exhibitionist, but at this moment she completely understood the appeal. She opened her eyes and stepped out from under stream of the shower. She didn't say anything, she just reached for the conditioner and stepped out of his way as he moved for the water.

He rinsed himself as she conditioned her hair. "I don't want to fight with you, Harper."

She studied him seriously for a moment. She felt her determination melting away. Taking a couple of steps closer she took his hands and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Then don't."

With Harper's body pressed against his Jack struggled to maintain his train of thought. "Before last night this was a difficult situation, but now…" He sighed.

Deflated, she broke their embrace and began to rinse her hair. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't want to have this argument, but she didn't want to face the likelihood of his regret either.

"It's complicated, Harper."

"No, Jack!" the volume of her voice raised. "It's actually not that complicated at all. I happen to think that this is something worth exploring. I'm not naïve. I know it won't be the easiest relationship we've ever had, but at the risk of sounding corny, most things worth having aren't easy. So, either you want to do this or not. The rest is just background noise."

Jack rarely found himself at a lose for words, but now at the most inopportune time he was speechless. He did think this was something worth exploring. Harper was right, the obstacles were just background noise. Unfortunately, his analytical mind couldn't get past all the hurdles; their age difference, her future at the DA's office, his position as District Attorney. As much as he wanted it he just didn't see how it could work.

Harper felt like she'd been hit with a ton of bricks. He wasn't saying anything. He just looked at her with what she could only assume was regret. She felt like such a fool. "Oh…." was all she could manage. She chuckled lightly, if she didn't laugh she'd cry and she'd be damned if she cried in front of him. She stepped out of the shower with out a word and left the room.

And so it begins, he thought. He'd hurt her. He hadn't intended to, but he did. "Inevitable…."

When he came back into the bedroom Harper was dressed and sorting through dirty laundry. Jack, wrapped in a towel, sat on the edge of the bed. "Doing laundry?"

She nodded. "That's what God created Saturdays for." She smiled a half-hearted smile.

"Do you have to go far? Or does the building have one?"

"It's downstairs."

He got up and started dressing. "Good," his voice was earnest and matter-of-fact. "The apartment I rented for years didn't have one. I lugged it back for to the laundry mat for years until I gave up and started having it sent out." He chuckled trying to release some of the tension in the room. Jack looked up. Harper had stopped sorting and was staring at him with a blank look on her face.

"Seriously? Are you seriously talking to me about your laundry right now?"

Jack threw his hands up in defeat. He knew she was right. But he also knew there was no way they'd be able to have a logical conversation at this point. Not after last night.

He left a few minutes later with very little said and nothing resolved.