Disclaimer: I am only playing with Caroline/Echo/Cara, Adelle and Topher, I do not really own them.
Authors Note: So before any of my devoted fans get mad that this is getting posted before chapter 12 of Lady Heather's Dominion, let me reassure you, that Chapter 12 is almost done, I just needed to write something at the other end of the scale. You can only write about Heather for so long.
Authors Note 2: I guess this contains spoilers for Spy in the House of Love, kinda sorta. Not really, but it is where the idea sprang from.
So without further adieu I present to you, the tale of Adelle and Caroline/Echo/Cara.
Adelle DeWitt had no love life.
For that matter, Adelle DeWitt had no sex life.
Well, unless you count the various toys that she kept by her bed, her hand, or her shower head.
Everyone always teased that a bi woman had a much larger sea of fish to pick from, but still Adelle had no one.
Everyone knew her as the ice queen.
Completely unfeeling.
That was not the true Adelle DeWitt though.
She had a heart.
And it wasn't carved from ice.
And her heart not only was a very real, living, beating thing, but it longed for someone to hold her, kiss her goodnight, and protect her.
But her heart did not want that out of just anyone.
Oh no.
It wanted that out of Caroline.
Her heart had wanted that out of Caroline years before she became Echo.
She remembered vividly the first time she had met Caroline.
Caroline was still a student in high school, and Adelle had been a visiting professor from the local college.
She had been representing the science department, explaining their advances in stem cell research and same sex reproduction.
When Adelle finished explaining the programs that had been assigned to her, she had gotten off the stage and anyone with questions for her was sent to speak to her off to the side.
Caroline had had questions.
Adelle ended up sitting with Caroline in the cafeteria until the end of the day, discussing so many things.
Caroline had wanted to know so much about her as a scientist. Did she feel immoral using stem cells to do research? Did she feel immoral playing God and creating new generations from same sex cells? Why didn't it bother her that she was playing God? Did she believe in God?
When Adelle had left not only was she surprised the young woman had been so intuitive, but that she was genuinely interested in Adelle as a person.
And not only did Adelle remember that day vividly, she remembered the night as well.
The tossing and turning until she knocked a few books off her night table and the girls who's room was attached to hers had knocked on her door, asking if she was okay.
Adelle had set herself to a strict set of rules when she had to stay in the professor's dorm rooms that were attached to student rooms.
She would not, under any circumstances bring someone to her bed.
She wouldn't use any of her toys, even though she could hear the ones that belonged to the students running.
She wouldn't watch any of her rather extensive porn collection.
That night she broke rule number two.
She had tried so hard to just go to sleep, without thinking of the woman who had picked her brain all day.
But the harder she closed her eyes and tried not to think about Caroline, the more she appeared in her thoughts.
At first the thoughts had just been purely that Adelle had found Caroline attractive.
Then they pushed past that to create vivid images of the two of them together in bed.
Then it morphed into them making love, both screaming each other's name out as they reached that point that was utter bliss. Proclaiming their love for each other.
Adelle was thankful that night that she was a woman that would set a rule for herself and tempt herself with what she couldn't have.
She reached under the bed pulled out her overnight bag and dug around until she found her rabbit.
When she had brought herself to that amazing semi aware bliss, Caroline's name had been screamed from her throat.
Adelle DeWitt wanted Caroline from the moment she met her.
So when Caroline's boyfriend had been killed in their attempt to free the animals that Adelle no longer worked with, she grasped the opportunity to be close to Caroline once again.
After seeing the video Caroline had made from the labs, Adelle was glad she no longer worked with the animals.
Whenever she used them for research she always brought the animal home to care for it.
Now the people that she had once called colleagues abused the animals.
Adelle had understood Caroline's anger.
But when she sat across the table from Caroline, she realized Caroline had no memory of her anyway.
Caroline thought she worked for the company that was torturing the animals.
And by funding, she did.
But that was the only thing that Rossum had to do with the Doll House.
But inevitability Caroline had signed the paper work, handing over five years of her life.
Adelle had taken her to Topher to have her memory cleared away and put onto a tiny disk, to be stored with the hundreds of others.
And Adelle watched as Caroline, the once strong willed girl, became Echo.
Today Adelle made a decision.
She was going to have at least a sex life.
She had watched Echo for an agonizing nine weeks.
She had gone through countless packs of batteries at night, wishing that instead of a plastic toy it was Echo.
She sat behind her desk and wrote the list of things that their "client" requested in her doll.
She was going to spend one night with Caroline if it meant breaking the rules.
Adelle sent the list down to Topher, with the request that he use Echo as the active, because she wanted at least fifty percent of what she was going to go to bed with to be Caroline.
She phoned her sister, informing her that there would be a young woman coming to the house looking for her and that she was to give the woman the directions to the house that rested on the cliffs, over looking the turbulent ocean.
She told Topher that she would be gone for a few days on family business and that he would essentially be in charge.
Adelle wanted Caroline but not enough to be careless, informing Topher that if anything went wrong he was to call her.
Topher was in shock but took the change in stride and just nodded.
Adelle left that night in order to get the house ready for Caroline.
The following day when the doorbell rang Adelle opened the door and saw a blushing Caroline, with a bouquet of roses.
"Hello Cara." She said taking the roses from the once Caroline, then Echo, and now Cara.
Cara smiled and raised herself on her toes to kiss Adelle's check.
"Hello my love." Cara said, her hand finding Adelle's and letting the older woman pull her into the house.
Adelle put the roses in a pre-made vase, knowing in advance that they were coming and then pulled Cara out onto the deck with her, to watch the waves.
"What are our plans today Catherine?" Cara asked.
Adelle paused for a moment, forgetting that her name was Catherine for all intensive purposes.
"I was thinking some sparring, maybe a romantic dinner, and then see where we go from there?" Adelle answered, pulling Cara into her, her arms wrapping around the younger woman.
"Oh, that sounds fun." Cara said, smiling and leaning back into Adelle.
They watched the waves for a bit longer before Adelle guided them back through the house and they changed into fencing clothes and mock fought each other for a while.
Both women had worked up an appetite by time dinner rolled around and they headed to the kitchen to cook.
Adelle realized this is what she missed most.
And then, she mused, can you miss what you never had?
She decided if you could, then this is what she missed.
Cara stood by the stove, stirring spaghetti sauce and occasionally feeding her small spoonfuls, asking for her approval.
When they had finished their respective duties in the kitchen they went into the dining room and ate by a few candles Adelle had lit.
Halfway through dinner Cara looked up and met Adelle's eyes.
"Would it be wrong for me to ask you to go to bed with me, like right now?" Cara asked, blushing a bit.
Adelle smiled and shook her head, taking Cara's hand and pulling her to the bedroom.
Once they were through the door all bets were off.
Clothing came off, they attacked each other, their tongues battling for control of the kiss.
Adelle ended up under Cara on the bed, completely naked, her legs spread as wide as she could get them.
Cara was sitting between her legs before moving down and placing her mouth over Adelle's center, running her tongue over every inch of flesh that was dripping wet from Adelle's own body.
Adelle found her self jumping off the edge of oblivion way before she was ready to, and mistakenly screamed Caroline instead of Cara.
When Adelle came back down, Cara was looking at her, tears falling down her face.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Adelle asked, her hand coming up to touch Cara's face but she pulled away from Adelle like she had been burned.
"You called out another woman's name." Cara said, trying to bat away her shed tears.
Adelle sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "What did I say?" She asked, even though she had a pretty good idea who's name she had called out.
"Caroline." Cara said, pulling the covers around herself.
Adelle sighed, and cursed herself. She should have known better.
She opened her arms and pulled Cara into her embrace. "I'm sorry sweetie, my brain played a nasty trick on me and thought Cara was short for Caroline. I have never been good with calling out short names in the middle of amazing sex."
Cara looked up, her tears almost stopping.
"You mean it?"
Adelle nodded and placed kisses on Cara's face, kissing away the tears and any evidence that they had ever been there.
Adelle returned to work the day after Cara had left to have the memory of their weekend erased.
Topher had called that morning to inform her that while they cleared Echo's memory, she was frantic and wouldn't go see Clair until she saw Adelle first.
Adelle had sped back to the Doll House and as soon as she stepped through the door, Echo came running to her, tears streaming down her face.
Adelle found her arms around Echo before she realized it, and though she knew she had to push her away, she found that she couldn't.
Echo looked up and Adelle met her eyes, almost crying at the look in them.
It was that look that a small child gives its mother: unconditional love.
Echo had unconditional love for Adelle.
Topher walked up behind Echo and looked at Adelle.
"I wiped her memory three times now, and nothing changes."
Adelle nodded and stroked Echo's hair, soothing her.
When Echo pulled away she sought out Adelle's hand and grasped it with her own.
Topher looked at Adelle questioningly and Adelle shook her head.
She had broken the rules.
Not only had she broken them, but because she broke them, she had changed something in Echo's basic brain chemistry.
No amount of stripping away her memory would erase the imprint Adelle had left.
And Adelle was okay with that.
That night Echo did not sleep in the pod with the rest of the actives.
She slept in a bed.
Adelle's bed.
In Adelle's embrace.
Now me and my beta have decided this does nicely as a oneshot, but if I get lots of reviews begging for a part to I might think about it.