The Blessed and the Broken

By: Liz B

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Broken
It's one moment, one second that just plays over and over in his head. He doesn't know why this one moment's stuck in his head, but maybe it's because of everything that happened. He just can't help thinking it's stupid though. Really stupid. It didn't mean anything. It was just a con. Them, married. God, it was so damned ridiculous. First case too. The guy had seen through that in a heart beat. And now, he really kinda wishes they had a chance to get better at the act. A few weeks ago he got to see Eames and Goren in action and there was this little pang of jealousy. They could have been that good, if she had stayed. And that's the root of it all, isn't it? She didn't stay.
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She wants to call. Really, she does, but the longer she's in Washington, the more she just looks at the phone and thinks about calling. She used to pick up the phone. Her hand would hover the numbers and she'd almost call. And then her fear would get the better of her and she'd hang up and go think about something else while trying not to think about him. She hates thinking about him because it makes her ache. It's a rich sort of bitter sweet pain that she can't shake, even though there's hundreds of miles between them. They didn't even do anything, but the ache is there every time and it drives her further and further from the phone.
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Blessed

It's never really planned that they take the elevator up instead of down to the garage. It's never really planned that there's a room open and he's got the key. It's never really planned that she knows exactly where the bed is in his hotel room, but it's done and they still don't have a plan. The annual police special tactics convention just happens to be in Washington this year. He just happens to be perfectly willing to tag along with Wheeler to it. She just happens to be a speaker on terrorism investigation. It's never really planned, but just because it's not said, or not given a name doesn't make it any less real or powerful. They don't have a plan for this, and they can't talk about it either. He wants to reach for her again and never let go, but she's in Washington and he's in New York and things don't work that way. She wants to stay, but can't ask because, well, he's not the type to like women spending the night. So they lie there in silence, trying to rationalize it all so that it makes sense and works into some sort of plan. And in the end, they don't plan, he just slides his hand over and touches the back of her hand. She curls her fingers around his and that's the plan.