A Champagne Celebration

Author's notes: Sooner or later, I was planning on writing a longer Serena/Ed story that involved the two of them both inside and outside the bedroom. I know that my other stories took place inside the bedroom and it probably got a little tiring, but those were all just warm up stories while I got used to writing a new pairing. I was also experimenting with writing in a slightly different style than what I was used to. Anyway, this particular story is the product of my always vivid and fertile imagination after seeing the episode "RD1 - 104", or in other words, the one where Serena nearly gets disbarred because she didn't tell a suspect that she wasn't a defense attorney. I gave it some thought, wrote it down and decided to put it up. So, here it is. Enjoy.

Serena Southerlyn stood on the balcony of her penthouse apartment, letting the wind whip her blonde hair around her face and taking in the beautiful cityscape. She'd never felt happier or more alive in her entire life. She still had her job and she was still a member of the state bar association. It was absolutely thrilling. The last time she'd been this happy, she'd gotten a job as Jack McCoy's assistant. She sighed, wanting to shout to the world her good news.

She was suddenly snapped out of her reverie by the sound of the buzzer ringing. It was probably her doorman, Jack. Smiling, she went over to the buzzer, pressed it and said, "Yes, Jack?"

"A gentleman is here to see you, Ms. Southerlyn." Jack replied. "Should I send him up? He has a badge."

Serena knew exactly who it was and her smile grew wider. "Send him up, Jack. He's a friend of mine."

A few moments later, just as Serena was putting on some jazz music, the doorbell rang. Smoothing out the wrinkles on her suit, she straightened up and headed for the door, anticipating what was on the other side as she unlocked the deadbolts. Even in a penthouse, one can never be too careful.

Eddie Green, her detective and her lover was on the other side of her door, holding a bottle of champagne and a gift bag from the Hershey store in Times Square (Yes, there is such a place). "Hey." He said. "I brought you a present." He handed her the gift bag and kissed her cheek. "Congratulations. May I come in?"

"Sure." She said as she took the bag. "Wow! Hershey! They make the best chocolates…well, the best chocolate that comes from cocoa. Some chocolates are better without it." She gave him a little smirk and raised her eyebrow for emphasis.

He smirked right back as he walked inside. "I love what you've done with the lights." He held up the champagne. "I also brought some champagne. It's the good stuff your sister said you liked."

"You spoke with Rachel?" Serena asked as she led him into the dining room. " She didn't tell me that."

"Yeah, just to find out what sort of champagne you liked. Dom Perigion 1990. She mentioned that 1990 was a good year for champagne."

Serena smiled. "Remind me to thank her. Now, I hope you don't mind that I ordered dinner in from a restaurant. I really didn't feel like cooking tonight."

Ed's eyebrows went up when he saw the intimate dinner table and what was on it. "How did you know that I loved Italian food?"

On the table was chicken parmigana, Caesar salad, ranch dressing, breadsticks, and pasta with Alfredo sauce. And all of it was from Ed's favorite Italian place, That's Amore!

Serena grinned. "I believe that you told me on a date we had last week, remember? I like to think that we do other things besides reach Nirvana with each other." She took a seat and crossed her legs. "Have a seat, detective."

Ed didn't need to be told twice and he sat down across from her.

~Later~

"Wow." Ed said. "What a wonderful view."

The coupling were sitting on Serena's balcony, taking in the view.  

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, it is." Ed replied. He held up the champagne bottle. "Did you bring the flutes?"

Serena held up two champagne flutes. "Pop open that bottle."

Ed chucked and somehow managed to pop the cork and sent it flying over the railing. They both laughed as he poured some into each glass.

"To our love and to the Bar for letting me keep my job and continue on practicing law." Serena said, raising her glass.

"Here, here." Ed agreed as they clinked their glasses together and sipped.

They stayed like that all night until Serena fell asleep with her head resting on his shoulder.