Title: Truths of a Different Color
Chapter: One
Rating: Rfor language
Pairing: Weaver/Lopez, Weaver/Legaspi
Timeline: Last seen episode
Spoilers: Most likely
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles
Summary: A drunken night leaves Kim face to face with
certain home truths. But when the blonde goes to
Kerry in hopes of another chance, she finds that she
may be too late.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to John Wells, NBC,
and Warner Bros.

---------

"Nonono, you know what your problem is?" Christy
slurred around the bottle of vodka she'd been nursing
all evening.

Kim rolled her eyes to the ceiling in a silent plea
for patience. She loved her friend dearly, but ever
since Janine had broken up with the blunt brunette,
she'd been finding the novelist almost unbearable to
be around. Then add to the equation Kate and Mary
Beth, both equally loaded down with alcohol, and she
had one hell of a situation.

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me," she said patiently.

Christy leaned forward on the sofa with only Mary Beth
keeping her from tilting the rest of the way over.

"You get your goads off on butches."

Kim's eyebrows disappeared into her hair as she stared
at the three women nodding and murmuring their
agreement. She'd expected a dozen different vulgar,
crude assessments, but that one she hadn't seen
coming.

Kate raised her head from the backrest of Kim's lazy
boy. " 'Specially Weaver butches."

"I do not," Kim protested. She was willing to deal
with a couple of drunken, heartbroken friends, but
there was a limit to what she'd endure in the name of
friendship.

"Please, that's why you went after Miss
'I-have-a-crutch-instead-of-balls'." Christy waved a
dismissive hand at the sudden deadly scowl that Kim
shot her. "You said that the f-fiwst time ya saw h'r
was when she took on those wrestlers."

"I mean, the only reason you wanted ta bed her to
b'gin with was 'cause she's this fiery-tempered ER
chief that could tear a ramp'ging elephant a new one
with one hand and still get you off with the other."

"Do not talk about her like that!" Kim hissed angrily,
barely able to restrain herself from smacking her best
friend around.

"Oh, and don't ferget the whole breakup soap opera,"
Mary Beth nudged, ignoring Kim like the others.

"Mmmm, Dat's right, our dear, thoughtful Kimmy wanted
'Red' to be all assertive and aggressive with her ass,
so what does she do?" Christy asked with a flare.
"She invades her lover's territory and forces her
personal life into the ER and even worse... She uses
me, ME, her best friend, to ambush 'butchy'. Probably
hoping she'd get all defensive and kick us out of
there."

Mary Beth glared at the now stiff, red-faced Kim.
"You didn't?!"

Christy elbowed Mary Beth while snickering. "And
guess what she did during our usual shake-and-bake?
Nothing. She jus' sat there, hopin' that the great
tiger would go medieval on us, but noooooooo, thanks
to Blondie's fetish, Red walked out on her. "

"Christy, I'm warning you..."

"Oh, and then there was the Wallace thing. She wasn't
angry over...over Red's lack of support. Hell, she
un'erstood perfectly; no, her problem was Weaver's
lack of spine. Oh, an' don't even get me started on
her using Lori in an attempt at lighting a fire under
Red's ass."

Kate nodded solemnly, never oepning her eyes. "My
favorite was when she got fired."

Christy snorted.

"Sentiment. What the hell did you think that was going to do? Get her to guerilla-kiss you in the middle of the ER?" When she saw Kim clenching her jaw, she let out a short bitter laugh. "Oh god, you did!!"

"It's toooo bad," Mary Beth muttered. "I'd never seen
you so in love b'fore."

"Not only didn't she get the butchiness she wanted,
but she lost the woman she loved," Kate agreed.
"Sad..."

"Bye bye, Weaver," Mary Beth whispered sleepily.

"G'd bye."

"B-bye red," Christy joined in as she curled up
against Mary Beth.

"I'm going to kill them," Kim growled, glaring at her
supposed 'friends'.

Right at that moment, she hated
them almost as she hated Romano. If the
now-passed-out trio had been sober they never would've spouted that crap out.

The problem was that, drunk or not, that 'crap' was
true. In her attempt to experience the redhead's
fierce, aggressive side, she'd lost sight of how much
they loved each other and the maintenance needed to
keep their relationship alive and healthy.

"Oh god..." Kim raised her shaking hand as the full
implications hit her.

She'd always fought, struggled, tried to make a
relationship that she could see working in the long
term. She practically lived by forgiveness, if the
mistake made wasn't abuse or cheating. But she'd
become so caught up in one side of Kerry that she'd
lost sight of everything else.

The blonde quickly stood and grabbed her coat. She
needed to see her, even if it was just a small
glimpse. Maybe then she'd be able to decide what to
do.

---------

Kerry eyed the mischievous firefighter wearily. The
gorgeous caramel-skinned woman was wearing a smirk
that left her both cautious and excited. There was
just something about the way the lean, firm
woman's eye's twinkled and the intense smile that
lifted up the corners of her mouth just so that left
Kerry wanting more.

"What did you do now?" Kerry asked.

The firefighter tracked into the long bed of the red
monster truck and lifted a large equipment bag and
firefighter's helmet from it. "The company just got
new equipment, and the captain let us have our old
gear. I thought we could reenact the school fire."

Kerry laughed loudly at the suggestive eyebrow waggle
her lover gave her. Sandy placed the helmet on
Kerry's head as the redhead pulled her into a deep
kiss that set the firefighter burning.

Stepping away from Sandy's strong lips, she started
tugging her towards the front door. "Lieutenant, I
have a fire that needs to be put out."

Sandy's face broke into a large Cheshire Cat grin as
she asked in her best business tone, "What room is it
in?"

Kerry paused on the front steps to yank the Lieutenant
into her body. "The bedroom...but it may spread into
the rest of the house."

Sandy growled at the redhead disappering into the
house, "Good thing I brought my hose."

"Maybe, but mine's bigger."

"We'll just have to see about that..." Sandy muttered,
so intent on Kerry that she failed to notice the tall
blonde standing at end of the driveway.

---------

Kim wasn't sure how long she stood outside the large
house Kerry had recently purchased, and she didn't
care. All she knew was that there was a horrible,
staggering hole in her heart that was threatening to
engulf her soul. She'd believed on some level that
Kerry would move back to men, or if she did stay with
women, she'd still be pining for her.

But never in her wildest dreams had she considered the
redhead would be openly out and actively dating.
Especially not some firefighter man-wannabe that
probably wore a strap-on, twenty-four/seven. Not
some...

She closed her eyes against the tears running down her
cheeks. She loved Kerry more at that moment than she
ever did, and she wouldn't - she couldn't - just stand
back and lose her again without even trying. No, she
had to try, for her sake, and her future.

Glaring at the bedroom window, Kim whispered, "I hope you like competition, Miss Weenie Roast. Because I am going to get my Kerry back. "

---------