Mine Mentor, a law and order: ci fanfic

"Mine Mentor"

Usual disclaimers apply.

Timeline: Anytime after "Maltese Cross", Season Six.

This was to be a second chapter to "Logan with a Twist" but it's not smut so it came across as an anti-climax. I've therefore made "Mine Mentor" a 'T' stand-alone, with the temperate parts of "Logan with a Twist" written as a prologue so that there is no confusion to those who can't read the 'M' version. Did that make sense?

In my LOCI universe, this occurs after "Wheelin' Car". Logan and Barek's affair was 'outed' in 'Extracurricular Pursuits', after which Barek transferred to the Chief of D's (Bradshaw) office and the two detectives shacked up together in Carolyn's apartment.

oOo

Prologue

Sounds of whispers and moans, rushed breathing and whimpers of pleasure drifted through the darkened room, circling Logan's awareness, coming at him and from him. The sounds combined with the musky steam rising from two entwined and heaving bodies on Barek's large antique bed.

A new sound impacted on his heightened consciousness; the sound that Logan dreaded at moments like these.

"Tell me that's not your cell phone," Barek begged through her teeth as she arched her back above him.

Trembling, Logan gave himself a minute for his heart to slow, then rolled onto his back, taking Carolyn with him. Throwing an arm over the side of the bed, his fingers searched for and found his cell phone. It had gone to voice-mail but the caller was trying again, the Pink Floyd guitar rip he'd chosen for his ring tone jarring into the sounds of Barek's whimpers as she raised herself onto her elbow and rained kisses onto his chest.

"Lohh…gan," he groaned into the phone.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he listened to the cool detached voice of Wheeler informing him they had an urgent call-out.

"P...pick me up…in ten," he mumbled, flopping his other arm wide over the pillows beside him.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Wheeler asked.

He sighed heavily, his heart still tripping in his chest. "Is there a good time when it's…" He lifted his head to squint at the time on the entertainment unit across the room. "…11:38 at night?"

"You could have been having a good time."

Barek moved sinuously against him, reaching up to bury her face in his neck, her tongue lapping at his skin. Logan bit his lip. "You anglin' for an insight into what I've been doin' right now, Wheeler?"

"No!"

Yanking the phone away from his ear, Logan was too late to save his eardrum.

"I was just being…chatty," he heard her finish lamely.

Logan thumped his head against the pillow before cradling the phone again. "Wheeler, there's times for chatty and there's times for not being chatty. Now is one of those 'not' times."

"Okay," she grumped. "Um. But…what…what have you been doing?"

"Wheeler!"

"Fine then. See you in ten."

Logan slapped his phone down onto the bedside table and chuckled, then turned to plant a kiss on Barek's nose. "The teaching process is so tiresome sometimes," he lamented.

"You giving your partner a hard time?" Carolyn murmured into his collarbone.

"Always," he smiled. "It's so easy to do. She's so quick to rise to my bait…there's no challenge in it."

"Then stop it."

"And spoil my fun? Never!" He slid out from under her and kissed her startled mouth in regret. "Gotta go." Pulling back, he cocked his head to the side. "Ya know? I've got the best of both worlds. A partner at work I can tease to feel the joy and a partner at home I can enjoy to ease the tease." He slid off the bed and headed for the ensuite.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Barek called from the bed.

"You work it out," he shot back, giving her an ass wriggle before hitting the cool tiles of the bathroom.

oOo

The saga continues…

Logan reached to grab his coat from the coat stand as Barek opened the door of her apartment to his new partner.

"Megan," Carolyn said, standing back to let the other detective in. "He won't be long. Is it bad?"

Wheeler shrugged. "Politically sensitive. That's as bad as they get, sometimes." She looked around the apartment. "Nice digs."

Logan felt his brows go up. "Digs? Who've you been listening to? Ross?"

She looked at him but hesitated, as if changing her mind about what she was going to say. "You ready?"

"Yeah." He bent down to kiss Carolyn. "Don't wait up for me, babe."

"I won't, but make sure you wake me when you come in." She gripped his neck to pull his head back to her and gave him a deep kiss. Releasing him, she turned to his partner. "Watch his back, okay?"

Wheeler nodded, then headed for the door.

"See ya," Logan said to Barek and followed Wheeler out of the apartment. "Fill me in on the way down."

oOo

Changing lanes to enter a faster-moving stream of cars, Logan let the wheel slip back through his fingers and settled in at the new speed toward the crime scene. Even past midnight the road was teeming with cars and their drivers all with agendas and places to be. Feeling Wheeler watching him, he took his eyes off the brightly lit road briefly to flick a glance her way.

"What?"

Her breath came out in a rush. "If I had a dollar for every time Barek tells me to watch your back…"

Logan chuckled. "She's lookin' out for me."

"No, she hasn't forgiven me for you getting that beating at the Fire Station and she stakes her claim on you every time she sees me, as if…as if I were thinking about racing you off as soon as her back is turned."

"You noticed her little jealous streak?"

In earlier years, Logan had resented his girlfriends getting too proprietary, but this time, he liked it. It made him feel secure without his knowing why it was so important.

He felt prompted to defend himself, however. "I don't give her any reason to–"

"You don't have to. I think I know where she's coming from."

"Yeah?" He looked impatiently ahead as the car in front seemed to slow down for no reason. "Care to enlighten me? It might help me when I get in a tight corner."

Wheeler shifted position on the passenger seat, turning toward him more fully. "You have a bit of a reputation playing the field–"

"Had," he corrected. "A long time ago–"

"Have," she insisted. "And as a hothead–"

"Wheeler, you done yet?"

"Barek has the distinction of living with that," she said, ignoring his interruption, "and loving you and wanting it to work for you both. It won't be easy for her."

Logan's mouth curled in disbelief. "You sayin' she's unsure of me?"

"I'm saying she's got a big task ahead of her."

"I hate myself already. Why are you wasting your time?" Shaking his head, he looked again for an opportunity to overtake the car ahead.

"You asked me to enlighten you."

"I'm regrettin' it already. Let's talk about you."

"Let's not."

The car in front finally pulled into the slower lane and Logan was able to resume a faster, but still legal, speed.

"It is nice to have someone to come home to," he acceded. "And I guess she has to put up with a lot. I'm probably not the easiest guy to live with."

"You admitting you're a bad investment?" Wheeler idly tapped her fingers on her knee.

"Maybe I am." He slumped in his seat. "If you're tryin' to chop down a tall poppy here, Wheeler, forget it. I have no tickets on myself. Barek's worth ten of me and I've already told her she could do better, but she's thrown in her towel and willing to accept me, warts an' all."

"That's not what I'm doing," she said, shaking her head firmly. "Ross wouldn't have partnered me with you if he had any misgivings about your ability as a detective and role-model."

He snorted. "A role-model to a sweet young thing like you? What was he thinking?"

"Like I said before."

She finally turned away to look out of the passenger window and Logan breathed a little easier. It didn't last long. When she turned to study him again, he instinctively tensed.

"So where're you heading with Barek?" she asked. "Long-term live-in? Marriage? Babies?"

Logan swung his head round in shock. "You kiddin' me?"

"What? You never figuring on procreating?"

Logan sat stunned, barely seeing the road. The blast of a horn behind him made him realize he had slowed the car and was now holding up the fast lane. He stepped on the gas, but his eyes felt strained against the revelation.

"It's a bit late for that now," he said, believing it were true.

"Why?"

"I dunno. It just is."

"Tell Barek that."

Checking the rear vision mirror, he swung the car into the slow lane, then pulled into the curb. Killing the engine, he twisted round to glare at Wheeler in the glare of the street lighting.

"Do you know something I don't?" he asked, his voice hoarse with alarm.

"No! I was just saying. If Barek's like most women," she held up a hand, "and I say, most, so don't accuse me of generalizing here, and she thinks she's in a steady relationship… Well, if she thinks you're the one she wants to spend her life with, she might be thinking babies." Wheeler swept out both hands with a flourish.

"You trying to terrify me into an early grave here?"

She pressed her lips together. "Hey, I appreciate the experience being partnered with you, but can you consider you might have a few lessons to learn from me?"

"You're steppin' over boundaries here." His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and he forced himself to release his fingers' death grip.

"What? You can't contemplate that even I, a 'freckle-faced kid', might be able to teach you something?"

Leaning on the steering wheel, and scratching his forehead with his thumbnail, Logan considered her words carefully.

"I'm not disputing that," he said.

"Then you're disputing that, as a woman, I know these things."

He sighed heavily. "Okay. I can't argue with that, but what makes you think I need help?"

She jerked in her chin, her mouth disbelieving.

"Hey," he complained, "I haven't got to where I'm at now without knowing something about women."

Wheeler raised her brows, still unconvinced.

"Okay, okay, I could use a little help. Just to make sure I do right by Barek. But you're hardly in a position to–"

"Logan," she put a hand on his forearm, "I'm not as young as I look, and what gave you the impression I'm inexperienced or don't know my sex?"

He nodded, then held out a conceding hand. "Go for it. Tell me what's ahead of me."

oOo

Sliding into the bed at 3am the next morning, Logan test-drove one of Wheeler's first suggestions. He did not wake up Carolyn as she had earlier instructed him, but instead, lay close to her and gently pulled her back against his chest so that she spooned him. He noted with satisfaction that she was naked and he'd discarded his boxers so her body was warm against his cool skin, sending a ripple through him that he felt all the way down. There was nothing between them but her first move.

Don't wake her up, Wheeler said, let her wake up. To you. To your presence. Let her know you are there, but if she doesn't want to be disturbed, she'll ignore you. If she wants to be woken, she'll roll over.

Logan felt Carolyn move slightly and freeze, then wriggle against him, immediately stirring his body, his breath catching. She stretched luxuriously before turning into him, her nose butting against his chin before finding his mouth. He kissed her deeply, not initiating anything, but waiting, enjoying the feel of her lips and the taste of her mouth.

Pushing him onto his back, Carolyn splayed herself above his body and sighed.

"Doesn't that thing ever go down, hon?" she murmured.

"You know it does, babe."

"Yeah, but only after I give it a good workout."

"You plannin' on givin' it a workout now?"

"It seems a shame to waste it…"

Throw out feelers if she's interested in having a baby. Every opportunity you get. That way you show her you're not afraid of the subject, or intimidated by the prospect and you get her honest feelings about her plans, rather than what she thinks you want to hear.

"…but then, while you're on birth-control, it's always a waste, eh?" he murmured against a dangling breast before strongly sucking on it.

Barek gasped, then gave a long, low groan that struck a swell of response in him.

If she's thinking about babies, she'll jump on the opportunity to follow your opener through. If not, she'll ignore it.

"Whatever…" Carolyn sighed. "The other one, hon. It's more sensitive."

Finishing off the first before he complied with her request, Logan smiled to himself. No babies on the horizon. Yet. He relaxed a little in relief and concentrated on the delicious matter at hand.

Flipping her over, he plundered her lips with his own, drinking her in, feeling light-headed on the flavor of her. He dragged his mouth from hers, then pushed himself up to look into her eyes, shining in the near-dark of the room.

Suggest the possibility of permanency yourself in a light-hearted, non-serious way. That shows her you're not afraid of commitment which is what every woman believes every man is.

"I feel I could do this with you all day for the rest of my life," he said, smiling widely, then shaking his head in wonder. "Amazing, eh? Let's hand in our resignations tomorrow and be beach bums in L.A."

She froze under him, her eyes widening. "The only thing that will achieve is sunburn on our respective asses." Scooting out from under him, she pushed herself up against the headboard, throwing out an arm to turn on the table lamp. "What's going on, Mike? What's this all about?"

"This?" He collapsed onto his side. "I don't know what–"

So much for you knowing your sex, Wheeler, he thought.

"Don't give me that, Detective Logan." Pushing him onto his back, she pinned him down with a hand on his chest. "I bet you're not usually so talkative when you've got a naked woman with you, much less put out feelers designed to get her thinking rather than pleasuring you, so what gives?

Logan mentally smacked himself against the head. It wasn't so much Wheeler getting it wrong as it was bad timing on his part. She'd told him what to do without informing him when to do it.

And when you find yourself backed into a corner, give her what she most wants. What you deny her under normal circumstances.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Logan tossed his head on the pillow and threw an arm across his face. He let his bottom lip quiver and took a shuddering breath. "I…I feel…" he whispered, his voice catching, "I feel so…"

"What do you feel, Mike?" Barek asked urgently, holding him lightly by the shoulders. "Tell me. You can tell me anything. I'll listen–"

He took a deeper breath. "You won't understand," he insisted, peeking from under his arm at her. "You'll think I'm being–"

"No. No, I won't. Remember what I said once, no judgments."

He nodded as if relieved she'd reminded him. "Well, I feel like telling you a little about my…my childhood, but I'm…" He yawned widely. "…so tired at the moment. It's such a long story and…" He yawned again. "…I haven't had any sleep yet…"

Lying down again, Carolyn snuggled against his side, her head nestled on his shoulder. "That's all right, hon. Another time. When we get home from work tonight. I'll make you that thick, hot chili you like and pop open a couple of beers together and we'll talk then. Okay, Mikey?" She kissed him on the chest and snuggled in again.

Eyes closed, Logan grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah, okay. That'd be great."

Damn, Wheeler, you're good!

"Extra beans with that chili?" he asked hopefully.

Barek hesitated. "Well, you know what beans do to you… Oh, okay, then. If you must."

Logan sighed. "Thanks, Carolyn."

Thank...you...Wheeler.

oOo