EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE:
By Indigo Butterflyz
January 2002
Disclaimer: I don't own them… so there! :P
Spoilers: Mainly Season 4… however, be warned that future chapters may refer to episodes from other seasons…
Author's Note: Okay, just to let you know, this fic takes place in a sort of alternate universe after Season Four… (think end of Season 5, beginning of Season 6ish)… I have not seen Season 5 and so for writing purposes I am ignoring whatever David E. Kelly has written for this Season. That means there is no Glenn, Jenny or Raymond (yah I hear some of you say =P)… but some elements that I heard or read about have been incorporated but adjusted to fit the fic… for example, I have made Corretta join Cage & Fish just like she has in Season 5 (what can I say? I liked her from Season 4)… confused yet? ^_^;;; Oh one last thing, this is still very much a work in progress, so let me apologize in advance if things are a bit rough. Thank you all you who have been commenting… As always, comments and criticisms are most welcome…
PROLOGUE:
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I wouldn't say that I was psychic. On the contrary, I always seem to be getting myself into unusual and embarrassing situations, which (had I foreseen) would have resulted in me never stepping foot outside of my apartment again. But that's beside the point. This morning, as soon as I woke up, I knew something big… whether good or bad… something huge was going to happen. I could just feel it…
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Ally was sitting at the dining table, eating her breakfast, which consisted of two pieces of cinnamon toast and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Her attention was focused on the newspaper before her, as she read about the current events that all well-informed people took interest in knowing about. Her photograph was on the front page of the paper, along with a full report describing in intricate detail the merits of her case and ability. Stifling a small yawn, she smiled, as her tiredness was the result of winning her last case; successfully defending her client who had been wrongly indicted by the injustices of society.
But it was the weekend now -- a time for rest and relaxation.
Listening carefully she could hear the water start running for the shower, signaling that her husband had finally decided to get out of bed. She looked around the room and another warm smile escaped her lips. Many photographs of happy faces, a reminder of many a happy time, adorned the shelves on the walls of her happy home.
Gently sighing, she put down the paper and leaned back in her chair. For the millionth time since she had put it on, she stared at her left hand and admired the gleaming wedding band -- A perfect diamond ring. Closing her eyes slowly she let herself hear the hum of birds chirping and swishing of trees tapping gently against the window outside.
She was married to a wonderful man, and had two delightfully wonderful children (a boy and girl of course). Her career at Cage & Fish had prospered, and to date, she had the highest success rate of all the lawyers at the firm, including John and Nelle.
Despite giving birth to two delightfully wonderful children, Ally's figure had not at all been affected, and she had managed to return to wearing all her cute outfits almost immediately after their delivery. And while several blissfully unspoiled years had passed since her marriage to her handsome doctor beau, she didn't look a day over thirty-one.
The sun was shining, the birds were singing and Ally was finally content and happy.
*****
"GAAAH!" Ally sat bolt upright in her bed, gasping for breath, as she woke from her freakish picture perfect dream.
Breathing deeply she fumbled for her bedside light and turned it on, knocking over a box of tissues and a novel onto the floor in the process. Sighing, she brought her hand to her chest, trying to slow her breathing down and catch her breath.
"Renee," she called out of habit, hoping for comfort from her roommate.
There was no reply.
Shaking her head, she remembered Renee was no longer with her.
"Stupid perfect dreams," she bitterly muttered, throwing the blankets over her, as she tried to get back to sleep…
…alone…
*****
"Good morning," Elaine Vassal cheerfully greeted, handing Ally her Monday morning cup of coffee as she left the lift.
"Morning Elaine," Ally replied, taking a sip of her first dose of caffeine for the day.
Even though it was well into spring, it was still cold enough for Ally to have to wear gloves to keep warm. It was most unusual for it to be so wintry at this time of year. However, it seemed that difference of weather was one of the many changes in the air.
Grasping the mug with both hands, she momentarily paused, allowing for the feeling of warmth flow through her body. "Are there any messages?" Ally suspiciously asked as she entered her office, still uncomfortable from her dream.
"None," Elaine responded following Ally, "except for one that is..." A sly smile formed on the woman's face, "…from Vincent."
Upon hearing the name, a warm look of surprise formed on Ally's face as she turned around. She aloofly pushed away the hair from her forehead, trying not to look interested. "Oh… oh… uh… umm… what… what did he say?"
Noticing the lawyer's evident reaction, Elaine teasingly answered as she began to walk away, "Oh, nothing much."
"Elaine!" Ally retorted, clenching her teeth together.
"Snappish," Elaine correctly pointed out. "He said that he has something he needs to ask you, and he is going to pick you up for lunch later so you shouldn't go making any plans."
"Oh," Ally impassively acknowledged the arrangement, although it was obvious from the wide grin on her face that she was more than satisfied with the result. Sitting down in her chair, she placed the coffee on her desk and looked at the piles of paperwork that needed to be done.
"So, Ally, are you going to tell me?" Ally looked up from her desk and saw Elaine still standing there, her usual radiance reflecting in her inquisitive look.
"Tell you what Elaine?" Ally blandly asked, not really in the mood for Elaine's prying so early in the morning.
"You and Vincent of course," Elaine stated matter of factly, sitting down and making herself comfortable on the chair normally reserved for clients. She pulled the chair in closer, as if she was expecting Ally to suddenly divulge her deepest darkest secrets.
Ally sat upright in her chair, not looking Elaine directly in the eyes. "Wha…There's nothing to tell."
"You've been seeing each other for what? Three? Four months already? And you're expecting me to believe there is nothing happening between you too?" Elaine determinedly pressed, not willing to give up on being the first person in the office with the latest piece of juicy gossip. "What's the deal?"
"Deal? There is no deal," Ally explained, not liking where the conversation was going. "He… I… Vincent and I… are just… good friends."
"Is he gay?" Elaine unexpectedly asked.
"NO!" Ally quickly responded.
"Bisexual?"
"No!"
"Divorced with a child?"
"N--not that I know of," Ally stuttered, growing more and more uncomfortable by the second.
"Married?"
"Umm… No… no."
"Dying from a brain tumour?"
"NO!" Ally stood up in annoyance. "Elaine--"
"--You're telling me," Elaine interrupted, "that a guy like Vincent, who looks the way he does… who is rich and successful and did I mention attractive… is actually single and available?"
"Uh huh," Ally nodded her head up and down in response.
"And you've known him for the past four months…"
"Uh huh."
"…And nothing's happened?" Once again Ally nodded her head in reply. "What's wrong with you?" Elaine asked, worryingly astonished.
Ally couldn't say anything in response.
*****
"Okay people, moving on to the rest of today's agenda…" Richard Fish stood, waving pieces of paper as he spoke as he did everyday in the meeting room. Usually his talks involved money, or ways to acquire more of it. Today was no different. "Blah blah blah… money… blah blah blah… lots of money… blah blah blah… bygones!"
Still disturbed by her conversation with Elaine earlier in the morning, Ally was not really paying attention. Looking about the room she stared at the faces of her co-workers. The people who had sat around the table every morning had changed over the years. People had come and gone and yet Ally was still there…
After the meeting, everyone set to return to his or her work. Ally noticed that while she was packing up to go back to her office, that Richard was quietly standing, staring at the empty chair at the opposite end of the long table.
It was John's. Or rather, it had been.
Ally walked over and put a hand on Richard's shoulder. "Richard, are… are you okay?"
"Yeah fine," he indifferently replied.
Ally stared at the vacant seat. She could almost visualize John Cage sitting there, at the opposite end, eating his breakfast as Richard went about explaining the daily events. A faint smile formed on her face. Turning her attention back to Richard, she could see that he too was imagining something along the similar lines that she was.
"I miss him too." She spoke quietly, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
Richard suddenly snapped out of his melancholy slump. "I don't know what you mean," he swiftly retorted, walking out of the room, leaving Ally to contemplate what had just happened.
*****
Ally distractedly walked into the unisex and was met with Elaine staring in front of the mirror, fixing her soft and wavy hair.
"Ally, there you are," Elaine exclaimed, still looking at her reflection. "Vincent called again."
"Oh." Ally walked over to the basin next to the one Elaine was standing in front of. "Um, what did he say?"
Elaine stopped what she was doing and turned to face Ally. "He said he had to cancel lunch with you, but he said he would try and meet up with you later at the bar tonight." She was about to return to fixing her hair but the look of disappointment on her friend's face prompted her to ask, "Ally, are you okay?"
Before Ally could reply, the signaling of a flush from one of the stalls indicated that they were not alone. Nelle walked out from the cubicle, forcing a cold smile at the two women as she went to wash her hands. Elaine and Ally stared at the beautiful blonde with tinges of both envy and dislike. No one really hated Nelle. It was just that the intimidating combination of intelligence, beauty and frosty attitude that she possessed made it difficult for people to actually like her.
"Don't mind me," Nelle reassuringly stated. "Go ahead Elaine, console Ally over being stood up -- yet again."
Ally was not impressed. She scrunched up her nose in opposition. A mental image played out before her. Breathing fire like a dragon, she caused Nelle to scream as the ice witch melted into nothing more but a puddle on the unisex floor à la 'Wizard Of Oz'.
"Thank you," Ally sarcastically retorted, "it's always nice to know that you are care about someone other than yourself."
"Look Ally," Nelle sauntered over towards the pair, "don't you realize it's not fashionable to constantly complain about your love life, or lack of it in this case?"
"Which is why you're obviously so popular," Elaine stated in defence of her friend. "I mean, I see that you're not exactly attached to anyone at the moment. Could it possibly because you're too cold for anyone to get close to?"
Nelle spun around and shrugged her shoulders. "I can have any man I want. Just look at me," she pointed to herself, "I'm tall, blonde, beautiful, smart and--"
"--completely alone," Ally dispassionately interrupted.
*****
"Do you think I'm too cold for anyone to get close to?" Nelle diffidently asked, staring at the napkin in her lap.
"Of course not," Ling forcefully replied as she flicked her long hair behind her back.
It was lunchtime and the two of them were eating at a café outside. They weren't necessarily enjoying the outdoors, but rather taking pleasure in the idea of people walking and glancing at the two beautiful women as they passed by.
Or at least Ling was.
"What made you say something ridiculous like that?" the Asian beauty distantly asked, checking herself in the reflection of her compact. Seeing everything was as it should be, she looked back at Nelle who was now playing with her fork. "You're pretty. You're smart. You earn a lot of money. What's the problem?"
"I know, I know," Nelle agreed, slumping into her chair, "it's just that Ally and Elaine--"
"--They're just jealous," Ling confidently interjected. "Don't you think they would give anything to even remotely have what we have?"
"You're lucky," she replied sitting straight again in her chair, "Ling, you don't have to see them everyday now that you're a judge."
"Listen to you," Ling responded, not believing the words coming from her friend's mouth, "feeling sorry for yourself like that. You sound almost as bad as Ally." Nelle didn't reply, but instead returned to staring at her empty plate. "Come on, let's go," Ling suggested, glancing around. "This place bores me. There aren't as half as many good-looking men down here as I expected. Let's go shopping," she proposed, a flash of excitement in her eyes, "I promise it will make you feel better."
*****
Ally was about to press for the elevator, having finished for the night, when she noticed that the light in Richard's office was still on.
"Knock, knock," Ally called out as leant against the doorframe of his office.
Richard was sitting on his couch staring at a baseball mitt that he was holding in his hand. "Hey," he weakly replied, looking up to meet Ally's concerned gaze.
Ally saw the troubled look on her friend's face. It wasn't often that Richard Fish let his emotions show. All too often he hid behind the egotistical, chauvinistic and insensitive mask that everyone was accustomed to. It was commonplace for him to continually express his uncouth opinions through Fishisms, frequently followed by a 'bygones' as if to make amends for his words or behaviour. However, it was at times like this that it looked as if Richard was but a boy trapped in a man's body, unfairly having to follow by grown up's rules.
"Are you, um, coming down to the bar?"
"Um, no," he forlornly replied, turning away from her glance. He let out a deep sigh, and humbly rubbed the mitt in hands.
"When did you last hear from him?" she timidly asked, sitting down on the couch next to him. She wasn't sure if bringing up the topic of John would cause Richard to walk away in a bad mood again.
Fortunately, he simply stared at her and replied, "About a couple of weeks ago."
"An--and how is he?"
"Oh well you know. Fine I guess. Enjoying LA. I mean who wouldn't?" He let out a nervous laugh.
"Ah, um, Richard," Ally began, "you know I told you before that I miss him." She put her hand on his shoulder. "And you should understand that it is alright for you to admit that you miss him too."
He slumped his shoulders and let out another sigh, "I know." He stood up and tossed the mitt in the air and caught it. "It's just that things haven't been the same since John left, y'know?" Ally nodded in agreement. Sitting on his desk, Richard continued, "A couple of months before he left, he and I had a conversation about this place." Reminiscing, he sadly looked around the room. "We both agreed that something had to be done, I never thought it would lead to him leaving."
Ally tilted her head, not understanding what Richard was trying to say. "I--I--I don't follow you."
"Changes," Richard simply replied, shaking his head. "When John and I setup this place, we had certain goals -- money largely being it. Fun of course was another one. But money was the main focus." He paused a moment walking to sit in his chair, before muttering, "Somewhere, somehow things just…" He trailed off, still leaving Ally unsure what his point was. "It's just not the same anymore Ally."
"What are you saying?" she questioned in uncertainty.
"Something needs to be done..." He stood up firmly in resolution. "…I just wish I knew what…"
And with that he flopped back into his chair.
*****
"You're kidding me right? Richard Fish? Upset? Upset about something other than the lack of money he is earning?" Vincent McKay let out a loud laugh, drawing the attention of many of the people they passed on street.
"It's not funny." A wide grin was on Ally's face, as she pretended to scold him and then punch him in the shoulder.
Vincent stopped walking, letting his laughter subside. "Okay, I'm sorry," he apologized. "But you have to admit, that hearing about someone, with the reputation that Richard Fish has, showing his sensitive side is pretty amusing." Ally tilted her head from side to side, not willing to admit defeat. "Okay then," he asked, changing the subject, "So tell me more about that dream of yours you had."
"You said you wouldn't talk about it," she playfully cried, embarrassed about the whole thing.
He simply grinned back in response, wagging his eyebrows. Ally noticed how his baby blue eyes sparkled under the streetlights and then blushed when he caught her staring at him.
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Oh gosh, maybe Elaine's right. Here I am walking home with a gorgeously attractive guy and nothing! He hasn't even shown interest in me. After four months. FOUR WHOLE MONTHS. Maybe I am losing my touch. Even worse… maybe I am getting too old to attract gorgeously attractive men! Okay, Ally, breathe… just breathe…
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"Come on," he softly advised, "we're never going to reach your place if we don't keep moving." Like a gentleman, he offered his arm, which Ally amusingly accepted.
Having cancelled their lunch date, Vincent had met up with Ally at the bar, much to Ally's delight. Her talk with Richard had been disheartening, not only because it pained her to see him upset, but also because it also revived her own feelings of sadness at John's departure. Spending the rest of the night with Vincent seemed to have help push her sadness away.
"Well, here we are." Vincent's voice brought Ally back from her thoughts. It seemed like only a second had passed since they had stopped, and yet there they were, standing outside her apartment block.
"Ha he," she let out a giggle. "Well, um, thanks for walking me home."
"No problem. It was my pleasure," he politely replied. "It was the least I could do since I had to cancel lunch."
Once again, she became enchanted with his eyes. They were crystal and clear, warm and inviting. "Hhm," she brought her fingers up to lips, suddenly remembering her initial feelings that something terrible was going to happen today. "You never told, ah, me what it was you were going to ask me at lunch today."
"Actually," he took a step closer to her, "I was going to ask what you wanted for your birthday." A look of surprise and disbelief appeared on Ally's face. "I mean, I know its early and all," he shyly smiled, trying to explain, "it's just that I thought I ask you to come with me to a Sting concert considering he's coming to town soon and tickets have to booked in advance. Hey, I might even be able to pull a few strings and get us back stage so we can meet him," he boasted. Noticing an unexpected small chuckle escape Ally's lips, he bashfully asked, "What's so funny?"
"Ah… um… nothing…" Ally cut short her laughter. "It's just that, well, an … uh… ex-boyfriend of mine sung 'Every Breathe You Take' to me on my birthday once… he sung it..." Vincent gave her a bewildered look, wondering what the connection was. "And… uh… brought Sting along to sing it with him."
"Oh," he replied in combination of both disappointment and astonishment. "I see. Well, I heard that Tina Turner is also go to be around about that time also so…"
"Ah," Ally replied, understanding where he was going with his suggestion, "Actually… I've met her already as well. Sung with her too. Well back up vocals anyway." Nervously, Ally let out a laugh.
"Wow," Vincent reacted impressed but was still in shock, "I guess I should have suggested someone safer… someone less, well, less exciting I suppose." He paused for a moment, as if pondering a list in his mind. "Hmm, well there is always Barry Manil--"
"--Ah-HEM," Ally purposely cleared her throat, interrupting Vincent before he could finish.
"No way," he retorted, objecting in awe.
"Met him. Sung with him," Ally somewhat proudly exclaimed. "Even tried to knock him out." Noticing his confused expression, she responded in hushed voice, "Don't ask."
He laughed, causing Ally to smile. She felt so comfortable being around him. "Well, Ally, you certainly have met a lot of famous people. But that doesn't help me with deciding what to get you for your birthday does it?"
He flashed her a boyish look causing Ally's heart to flutter. He rubbed the back of his head, looking at the pavement beneath his feet.
"Well, maybe, there is one thing."
He looked up at her, closing the distance between them by moving forward. Their eyes locked in on another's gaze. "And what's that?" he whispered in a low voice.
Ally never had time to respond. Before she could speak again, their lips were already pressed gently against each other's.
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Okay, so maybe this was the BIG thing that I was so worried about happening. And… well… I guess I would have to say that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Quite pleasant in fact. Hmm, so much for gut feelings…
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Together they stayed like that for a while, not breaking the kiss, in each other's embrace, oblivious to the people around them staring... oblivious to the rest of the world. For in that moment nothing else seemed to matter.
Nobody realized that the winds of fate had only begun to change…
*****
To be continued…