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Title: Under a Silver Moon
Rating: G
Warning: no real warnings; seriously, this is about as filling as cotton candy, lol. Actually, here's one: this wasn't originally meant to be a chaptered fic, rather, a short story, one that's never really gained the legs needed for me to complete it. I'm posting it here and breaking it into chapters in the hope of finding the inspiration to finish it. : ) Now that we have that out of the way…
Pairing/Characters:Sheridan, mentions of Luis, Julian, the Lopez-Fitzgerald family, original characters
WordCount:860
Summary(forchapter): It's the first Halloween Sheridan's experienced in Harmony.
Jack-o-lanterns wink wickedly from storefront windows as trick-or-treaters scurry excitedly from door to door, all gleeful giggles.
It's the first Halloween Sheridan's experienced in Harmony. She's surprised at the realization she doesn't want it to be the last.
Suddenly, a little girl stumbles in front of her, a little fairy princess, and she stoops to help her, straightening her crooked wings, before the tears filling her pretty blue eyes can fall. "My, aren't you pretty," she smiles, and the trembling little chin ceases its wobbling, rewarding her a second later with a gap-toothed smile that makes her heart ache in a delicious way.
"So are you," the little girl returns, a curly blond lock slipping into her eyes.
"Thank you," Sheridan says, and her fingers itch to tuck the blond curl behind the small, perfect ear, but the little girl beats her to the punch, combing the curl away with exasperated fingers.
"Oh, Kenna," a woman, obviously the child's mother, hurries over, kneeling at the little girl's side and inspecting her for any bumps and bruises. Finding none, she turns thankful eyes on Sheridan. "Thank you. I swear. This one's always in such a hurry, afraid her brother is going to get all the good candy."
"Let me guess," Sheridan surmises with a smile as she turns her attention back to the little girl. "Big brother?"
"Big, mean brother," the little girl nods with a frown. "He always steals the good stuff."
"Don't they all," Sheridan agrees, speaking not from experience, but the too clear picture of Julian she can see in her head. Stealing the good candy is something she can easily see him doing, even if she cannot picture him ever dressing up for Halloween and going trick-or-treating. Picturing Julian as a child is hard enough.
"Thank the nice lady," the woman jumps in. To Sheridan she says, somewhat apologetically, "We have to go. Catch the big, mean brother. It was nice meeting you, Ms…."
"Crane," Sheridan supplies, offering her hand. "Sheridan Crane. Nice meeting you too, Kenna. Hey, do you like hayrides? That's where I'm headed right now. You're all welcome. Big, mean brother included," she grins.
"Can we, Mom? Can we, can we?" Kenna bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet.
"May we, Kenna," comes the automatic correction, and the woman looks unsure, until Sheridan continues.
"There's a haunted trail, toasted marshmallows, and I'm sure Luis has enough candy for a thousand kids."
"Luis? Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald?" the woman's eyes light up. "We went to high school together. Even went out a few times. I'm Kate, by the way. How's Luis doing these days? Has he ever mentioned me? How do you two know each other?"
Sheridan blinks and opens and shuts her mouth a couple of times, blindsided by an emotion she doesn't care to name as the woman gushes over Luis and their history and finally she settles on the safest answer, because she doesn't want to air her own history with Luis in front of this woman and her child. "We, uh, we work together."
"On the police force?" the woman asks, urging her little daughter to run along and retrieve her MIA older brother.
"At the Youth Center," Sheridan corrects her, leaving out the how's and why's, and instead answers the woman's questions as best she can, because it seems the easiest thing to do, the best thing to do to distract herself from the gnawing feeling of…jealousy?…in the pit of her stomach as they walk toward the Youth Center, the kids racing ahead, the little fairy princess now joined by a fearsome Count Dracula.
"The Youth Center," the woman repeats in recognition. "Braden's always talking about that place, wanting to go. I didn't know Luis was the director. I bet the kids love him. He must be a fabulous boss."
Fabulous boss? Arrogant slave driver's more like it, but he does have a way with the kids. Sheridan can't deny that fact so she agrees with the woman. "He's great with the kids."
"I'm not surprised," Kate replies. "He was so good with his little brother and sisters when his father disappeared. I always felt bad for him, you know. Being forced to grow up like that had to have been hard. He just wasn't the same, after. He was different."
Before she can stop herself, Sheridan blurts, "Different how?"
Glancing at Sheridan as they pause in front of the Youth Center's steps, Kate frowns as she contemplates the question. "He forgot how to have fun." Without waiting for Sheridan to reply, she climbs the steps after her boisterous children, chiding them as they enter the bustling building, "Braden, Kenna, is it really necessary to stampede through the doors like a herd of elephants?"
Sheridan stands there, distractedly acknowledging a handful of teens as they jostle past her, and lets Kate's words sink in before she makes a decision, the challenge too much for her to resist. Smile firmly in place and mission clear, she holds her head high with confidence, because she has an important lesson to teach Supercop tonight, and she plans on having some fun herself doing it.
So...verdict time.
Your thoughts?
Is this fic worth continuing or is there a reason it's been languishing on my harddrive for literally years?
Your feedback is welcomed and much desired.
:)
Thanks so much for reading!
More to come, if you want it.