OK, you have to bear with me on this one. I was watching 'The Notebook' and it, like, really brought me down.
The inspiration for this ficlet were the recent discussions that have been going on between Cupcakes and Babes, and it got me thinking.
It's not Cupcake, and it's not Babe, it's just something angsty I cooked up.
As always, I'd really appreciate your feedback.
Rating:PG 13
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Same old, same old, they're not mine, I'm just messin' with them
It's Not Over 'till it's Over
By Kashy
Stephanie pulled up in front of the house and got an uneasy feeling in her stomach, like something wasn't right. But she couldn't put her finger on it. She killed the engine and looked at the two-story row house through the windshield, as if it might tell her.
Finally, she grabbed the bag of take-out food and got out of her car.
Bob the dog came galloping towards her as soon as she'd keyed the front door open, his sixth sense telling him before his nose that Steph was carrying food. Stephanie barely managed to close the door and keep Bob at bay while she balanced the bag of food against her chest.
"I missed you too, big boy," she said and patted his side, using his momentary distraction to squeeze past him and into the kitchen.
Once dinner was securely on the counter, Steph greeted Bob properly by rubbing his belly, then she stood up and said hi to her hamster Rex, who hadn't woken up from his daytime nap yet.
It was almost six o'clock, Steph noticed when she glanced up at the kitchen clock, but she was clearly the only human in the house. She frowned. Joe was never late.
Unless she'd heard him wrong, he was working the day shift at his desk these days, recovering from a gunshot wound he'd suffered in the line of duty two weeks ago. His shift ended at five.
When Joe had been released from the hospital, Steph had all but moved in into his house, to take proper care of him. She'd been scared to death when she'd gotten the call from dispatch that Joe was on his way to the hospital a few days earlier.
He'd been shot trying to bust a small gang that did everything from illegal gambling to drugs. Joe's backup had been a little slow and hadn't been able to disarm the gunman fast enough, and as a result, Joe had gotten shot in the hip.
He would fully recover, the doctor had promised her, but he'd have to take it easy for a while. Steph smiled at the thought. Taking it easy for Morelli meant that he wasn't going to work, there was no slowing him down in the bedroom.
At a quarter past six, Steph called the station, only to be told that Joe had left promptly at five. She asked to speak to one of her cop friends, Eddie Gazarra or Carl Costanza, but was told they had left with Morelli. The uneasy feeling was replaced with the first curls of panic.
Surely the station would know if there had been any accidents, he probably just went out drinking with the guys.
Except he never just went out, he'd always call her.
To keep herself busy, Steph took the subs out of the bag, placed them onto a big plate and put them in the oven to keep them warm.
She checked her cell phone to make sure she hadn't missed any calls, but the display told her there hadn't been any messages or even calls.
She told herself that she was being ridiculous, Joe probably had a good reason for being late, there was no need to panic.
But when she heard the garage door open, she all but ran to the front door and exhaled a relieved breath when she saw his SUV drive into the garage.
A few minutes later, Joe came out of the garage, holding a manila envelope. Steph figured he didn't see her, so she skipped down the stoop to meet him half way.
"You're late," She said, smiling, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the look on his face. She'd never seen him look so…empty.
"Joe, what's wrong?" She asked, touching his elbow to make him look at her. Their eyes met and Joe's mouth quirked up in a sad smile that didn't meet his eyes.
Steph clamped a hand to her mouth, fearing the worst. "Oh God, Joe, what's wrong?"
He shook his head slightly and motioned for them to go inside.
She couldn't help but notice that he greeted Bob mechanically before he went into the kitchen and grabbed himself a beer.
OK, Steph thought, change of topic. "Are you hungry?" She asked, "I stopped by Pino's and got us meatball subs. They're in the oven to keep warm, I didn't know how long you'd be…" She looked up to find Joe staring at her, motionless.
He was leaning against the fridge with the beer in his hands, just looking at her.
"What?" She asked, fisting her hands on her hips. "What the hell is going on, Joe?"
Joe snorted. "Yeah, that's what I'd like to know," he said and flung the envelope he'd been holding at her.
Steph was too surprised to catch it in time, so it just fell to the floor. She bent down to pick it up, but she could already see what it held. The flap had come undone when it was airborne, and upon impact, some photos had spilled out.
Steph picked the envelope up with suddenly shaking hands. She realized it had been her spidey sense tingling that had made her feel uncomfortable.
She sucked in some air when she looked at the first picture. It was of her and Ranger, standing outside the bonds office where they both worked. They stood about two inches apart, Ranger's hand was in her hair and her hand was on his waist.
The next picture showed them in his car, Steph was unable to tell where or when it had been taken. Not that it mattered, there were no two ways to interpret what was going on. She was sitting halfway on Ranger's lap and the bulge under her shirt could only be Ranger's hand. There were four more pictures, all of them showing Steph and Ranger in compromising positions.
Steph looked up from the pictures, tears pooling in her eyes. Joe's eyes were bloodshot; as if they were burning with unshed tears, too.
"Joe, I…" She began, but Joe raised a hand to cut her off. "If you're gonna say you can explain this, save it."
He pushed himself away from the fridge and brushed past her into the living room.
'Where did you get these?' Steph wanted to ask, but she realized how unimportant that was. She felt like that time when she was 17 and her mom had called her into the kitchen to present her with a pack of cigarettes she'd found in Steph's room. She had wanted to accuse her mom of snooping in her room, but that wouldn't have made any difference either.
The worst part was, she didn't look uncomfortable in any of the pictures. Joe had seen enough as a cop, and he knew women very well, he'd be able to tell Ranger's touches were reciprocated.
"Shit!" Steph muttered, "Shit, shit, shit!"
She had never seen Morelli so hurt, so angry, so beyond reasoning. Really, what was there to say? No excuse in the world would explain the pictures. Never mind that someone had obviously been spying on her, these weren't pictures taken through her bedroom window. She was out in public, in broad daylight. With Ranger.
No, she thought, she had to come clean. She took a beer out of the fridge, opened it, and took a long pull before she went to follow Joe.
He was sitting on the couch, absently stroking Bob, just staring into space. He didn't acknowledge her presence, he just started talking.
"I heard the rumors, you know? I saw the looks. I knew something was going on that the guys talked about behind my back." He took a pull from his beer and scoffed. "Not that anyone would tell me to my face. They know better. Until tonight at least." He shook his head.
Steph sat down in the chair next to the couch and held her breath.
"Something we gotta show you, Morelli, they said," he continued, "You need to know, they said." The sad smile was back on his face.
The suddenly, he slammed his bottle on the coffee table and leaned forward.
"Why, Stephanie? Why? You owe me at least this much! Was I not enough for you? Was there something you were missing?"
Steph would have felt a lot more comfortable if he had screamed it at her. His temper she could handle. This was a side of Morelli she didn't know. He seemed…broken. Tear welled up in her eyes again.
"Why?" He repeated when she didn't respond.
Steph took a shaky breath but was unable to meet Joe's eyes. "I don't know," she finally admitted, "it just…happened."
Joe snorted, "Accidents just happen, Stephanie. You don't accidentally fall onto someone's lap. You don't trip and accidentally lock lips with Manoso!"
His voice was low, dangerous. She realized it was missing his usual emotions. This Morelli was cold.
"I'm sorry," She said softly, "I never meant to hurt you." But she had, she realized. She'd hurt him worse than any bullet ever could have. He had trusted her and she had broken that trust.
"Tell me something," Joe said, "If you saw a picture of me in the car with a chick on my lap and my tongue down her throat, what would you think?"
He knew what she'd think, she didn't have to answer him. She'd think that he was cheating on her and it was her failed marriage all over again. Joe knew how hard it was for her to trust any man after what Dickie had done to her.
No, she had never fucked Ranger on Joe's dining room table, but he couldn't know that. He saw the pictures with stolen kisses, intimate gestures.
"Do you love him?" Joe asked, his voice flat.
Steph didn't know how to answer. The truth was, yes, she loved Ranger. But she loved Joe, too. She was in love with two men and she had kept her feeling for Ranger from Joe for the longest time.
Steph felt like she had lied enough, but she also thought she had hurt Joe more than enough, so she remained quiet.
"Do you love me?" Joe asked, and Steph nodded. A lump the size of Texas was constricting her throat, she felt unable to speak.
"Then how could you do this to me?"
The tears in Steph's eyes spilled over and silently ran down her cheeks. Joe wiped at his own eyes.
"I love you, Steph," he said, "I would never hurt you. Ever since I saw you at the gym on Stark Street, I knew I wanted you. And when you wanted me back, I swore you'd be the last woman I'd ever love. The last woman I'd ever touch." His voice broke and he grabbed his beer to take a sip.
Steph was unable to control her tears. Suddenly she knew where this conversation was leading. For the longest time, she'd been trying to make up her mind between Morelli and Ranger. Now Morelli had made up his mind.
"It's over," he said and the words hit her like a ton of bricks. "I'm gonna take a shower and then I'm gonna be in my office. Take what you want, I don't care, just be gone by the time I go to bed."
"Joe, no!" Steph sobbed and reached out for him. He jerked back as if she was trying to stab him and Steph gasped.
"I love you!" she exclaimed, but Joe only shook his head. "I can live without your kind of love, Stephanie. You say you love me but you let Manoso kiss you. That's not love, Stephanie, at least not the kind of love I want from my woman." He spat the word at her and left her standing alone in the living room as he went upstairs.
Steph sobbed and collapsed onto the floor, unable to move, unable to breathe. Bob came over immediately and sniffed at her head that was buried in her hands. She wanted to tell him it was OK, nothing was wrong.
But really, everything was wrong. She had lost Joe, there was no doubt in her mind. She hadn't thought it possible that his eyes, chocolate-brown when he smiled at her, could turn into black coals after what she'd done to him.
Slowly, she got off the floor, took her bag and Rex's cage and walked to the front door like a woman on death row.
It was over.
A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought, either way, I'd love to know!