(Warning! Femslash. Denise/Claudia Joy. The characters are not my property. They belong to Lifetime. Takes place during "Payback" when the support that Denise is trying to offer a shaken Claudia Joy after her attack becomes something unexpected.)
Denise stood helplessly in the Holden's kitchen, watching her best friend tremble. She tried to help, to offer some kind of comfort but Claudia Joy wasn't having any of it.
"Talking doesn't do any good. Talking didn't bring Amanda back."
"Claudia Joy you can't just keep it all bottled up inside you."
The older woman seemed not to even hear Denise. She tried to concentrate on making a cup of tea and in spite of her comment she kept talking.
"I've taken three showers and I can still feel him touching me." She shuddered and nearly dropped the teapot. She tried to take a deep breath and regain control of herself.
"They can't do anything to him. The bastard's untouchable." More than anything else this infuriated her. And frightened her. There was nothing they could do to keep him from coming back if he wanted. No law that could touch him. She was surrounded by an entire garrison of armed men and women and they couldn't protect her.
Claudia Joy gave up on the teapot. She braced her hands on the stove, fortunately not yet turned on. Her mind a whirl, she couldn't concentrate anymore. The shakes started, first with her fingertips and then traveling right up her arms and throughout her entire body.
Denise realized the other woman was about to break down completely. She needed to take no more than three steps before she was able to wrap her friend up in her arms and hold her. With one hand she brushed the tears from Claudia Joy's face. The other hand patted her best friend reassuringly on the shoulder.
"Shhhhh, it's okay, it's going to be okay," she murmured, not even believing it herself but needing to keep the silence at bay.
The shorter woman hugged her back, her face turned up to Denise as she attempted to smile. Moved by the caring feelings she had for the other woman, who was normally the rock all the other wives held on to, Denise bent her head and kissed Claudia Joy.
Denise had intended the kiss to be on the other woman's cheek. Somehow though she found herself drawn to the slightly parted lips before her. Her lips touched Claudia Joy's and clung there. Those lips were soft and warm and Denise didn't want to let go of them. Then those lips parted further and the other woman kissed back.
Arms tightened and Denise's head spun at the sudden invitation she felt from Claudia Joy and the taste of the other woman's mouth as her tongue almost automatically began to explore it. The kiss went on and on. Denise's hand slid from Claudia Joy's face and drifted down.
She covered the other woman's breast, squeezing so very gently. A gasp was muffled in her mouth and Claudia Joy pressed against her. Denise hungered to slip her hand inside the shorter woman's blouse, to feel the silky smooth skin against her palm. She wanted to take the hardening nipple she could detect in her fingertips and roll it while she watched her friend's face twist in pleasure. She could feel the heartbeat against her hand, feel it pounding faster as the two women plastered themselves together.
In some dim corner of her mind Denise knew that this moment, as unexpected as it was, had been coming for a long time. Her mouth closed on Claudia Joy's lower lip and sucked it. She released it and showered kisses all over the upturned face before her.
Hands began to pluck at clothing. What would have happened next was anyone's guess, because just then the doorbell rang.
The two women sprang apart. Automatically they straightened their clothing. Purses were grabbed and compacts used to check smeared lipstick and makeup and a scramble made to repair the results of the last several minutes.
"That's someone arriving for the Senior Officers' Wives meeting," Claudia Joy stammered as she attempted to fix her hair.
"I better go then.' replied Denise.
Claudia Joy nodded jerkily. The two women looked at each other, both at a loss for anything to say. Denise backed towards the outside door, unwilling to lose eye contact with her friend. Once again each groped for words but had no idea what to say. Denise finally left, quietly closing the door behind her. Her mind was a whirl, just as she suspected the other woman's was. No matter what was to come in the future, this had changed everything.
Denise climbed onto her bike. She touched her lips before putting on her helmet and breathed deeply. Yes, she could still smell Claudia joy's perfume. She donned her helmet and rode away.
(The End)