A/N: This is a spinoff of Rhiannon Leigh Black's It's Not My Fault You Love Italian. Yes, it's a bit cheesy. Oh, well.
Dreams
It was 1:00 in the morning, and, although Leesie Jackson had to report in for a sting in four hours, she was wide awake. The brunette policewoman lay on her bed staring up at the slowly spinning ceiling fan. The arm of her boyfriend, John Cena, was wrapped around her, holding her close to his side.
"I should sleep…I've got a sting at five."
John groaned softly.
"I wish you didn't."
"I know, Hun, but I don't have a choice. Serve and protect, remember? Means I can't just call off work to lounge around with my boyfriend."
"You know that's not what I was talking about."
"I do," she said with a sigh.
"I just don't like the idea of you out there, so vulnerable. I know I'm supposed to support you and believe that you can handle yourself just as well as a man, but--"
"But I can't," she said frankly.
"I just worry about you, that's all."
She bit her lip.
"I never set out to be a police officer, John," she said softly.
"What?"
Leesie smiled sadly.
"It's true. No one, not even Rynne or Missy, know, but I've never been truly happy in this line of work."
"Then why do you do it? What happened?"
"I guess I had several reasons."
"I've got all the time in the world to listen to you."
"My stepfather was a douchebag who beat my mother," she said frankly. "I vowed that one day I would learn to defend myself and others from people like him. At the time, I wasn't sure how I was going to go about doing so. I'd certainly never planned to go to the Academy…
"What I wanted, more than anything, was to be a writer. I planned to go to a prestigious school and get a degree in English. I dreamt of being a journalist, or writing novels, or… I had such lofty aspirations that it hurt even more when I failed.
"I applied to several prestigious colleges, and made it into every one. However, a month before term started, we lost our house. I went to school anyway, but my grades suffered and I lost my merit-based scholarships. I couldn't afford to continue with my education, so I went home…my asshole ex-stepfather kept bothering my mother and being generally asshole-ish, and I realized that I needed to be able to shoot a gun if necessary. So…I entered the academy.
"And now, two years later, here I am, risking my life. Throwing it away, when all I ever wanted to do was write."
"I didn't--I really wish I knew what to say. But at least, although it wasn't the path you wanted to take, it brought you to me."
"That's true," she said with a smile. "And I'm glad for that."
"Me too."
He rolled over onto his side, looking down into her face. He kissed her softly.
"I'm quitting the force next week," Leesie said finally. "I love Missy and Rynne and the rest of my fellow officers, but…"
He smiled and nodded, understanding.
"You need to follow your dream," he said. "And I'll be here to help however I can."
"Thanks. That means a lot to me."
"Your happiness means a lot to me," he said. "Plus I'll feel a lot safer if your life isn't in danger on a regular basis. I'd really hate to see anything happen to the woman I love."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
"I'm going to write my own story, John. And I'm really glad you're going to be a part of it."