Remembering
PG-13
Serenity Sea
(Serenity_Sea@yahoo.com)
Author's notes: Just a thought I had the other day, while thinking of how my BoP series is sort of dragging along. I figured, well, I've already got open too many stories to handle, so why don't I just. . . start another one?!! And so I did.
SUMMARY: Some things get easier with time. Some don't. Reese/Helena.
* * * * *
Detective Reese was a good cop.
No, scratch that.
Detective Reese was a *great* cop.
. . . Would *exceptional* be going too far?
Whatever. He was a *insert word of choice here* cop because he drew the line between his personal and business lives. He reserved his judgment-for the most part-until he had at least *half* of his facts straight and at least partially verified. Which was more than could be said for some of the people he worked with in the precinct.
Of course, having an Oracle on hand wasn't always a bad card to pull when things looked like they were at a dead end. Add in a telepath/kinetic who was always willing to help, and one vengeance-hungry (and admittedly delicious looking) girlfriend, and, well, you get the idea.
So, in addition to being fantastic at his job, Jesse Reese had friends in high places-no pun intended-and used them (and vis versa) at will. This strengthened his credibility as a detective (the being great at his job, not the "friends in high places") and gained him the respect of most.
But sometimes, that wasn't worth a damn.
Sometimes, it just came down to plain, simple, instinct.
And he had pretty good instincts.
* * *
She looked like an ivory statue, not that she would have cared to know it. Leaning against the thin (and probably not fire-safe) railing, hair mussed adorably from sleep, eyes slowly adjusting to the night, Helena Kyle was thinking. And for someone like Helena Kyle, this wasn't always a good thing.
In fact, thinking led to bad things. Actually, bad thoughts. And bad thoughts led to drinking. We all know what goes on from there.
But this night, this woman, even this railing; this is a different Helena Kyle then the one we know. Two years can make a world of difference. And they did.
So as she leaned on the rail, not concerned at all by the fact that she could be tumbling to her untimely demise should she lean too heavily, with her eyes alert and body tightly controlled and ready to spring at will, she thought. She thought of the journey she'd taken to get here, the route's many twists and turns, and the losses she'd suffered. The things she'd gained unfortunately did not outweigh the sadnesses she'd endured, and it was something that never failed to escape her.
But it occurred to her, at precisely 2:47AM on a unassuming Wednesday, that she was happy.
Which was a feat in itself.
"Hey."
A big warm hand on her shoulder. She would have known who it was if she'd undergone amnesia and had been planted in Siberia. They were that close.
She didn't turn around. "I didn't mean to wake you up." Slightly apologetic, though knowing that he truly didn't mind.
Helena allowed herself to shift so she was resting on him and let her hands skim the railing. His skimmed her shoulders until they came to rest on her waist.
"It was time for me to get up, anyway." She heard the grin in his voice and a wisp of a smile played on her lips.
"You don't say," Helena murmured, elbowing him lightly.
They stood like that for a while, just letting the moonlight play on their skin, comfortable enough with the other that words didn't need to be added to the silent conversation.
"So." He sighed slowly, and she moved slightly as a result. "Couldn't sleep?"
Helena moved her shoulders restlessly. "More like didn't want to."
Reese's brow rose. After living with her for nearly two and half years, and knowing her mannerisms even longer, he knew a thing or two about Miss Helena Kyle. And one thing she *loved* was her sleep. "Is that so." He shifted her in his arms until she was turned and looking at him. "And why is that?"
She swallowed gently and ran her hands up his arms, finally settling to look in his eyes. "Today. My mom."
His eyes went soft with emotion and he hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's just. . . I usually can't sleep this time of year."
He noted that she had been particularly restless for the past few days. "Anything I can do?"
Helena shook her head. "You're already doing it." He brushed back some of her hair-it had grown out a bit, and she was forever complaining about it, though he knew she secretly loved having longer hair and would have done it sooner were it not for her (ahem) line of work-and she sighed contentedly. "She would have liked you."
A compliment of immense proportions. "Really. What makes you think so?"
"She always liked dangerous men."
"I'm *dangerous*?"
She rolled her eyes. "Reese, you're a cop."
"Oh."
"A cop who's not too big on conversation this evening," she frowned lightly.
"Hey, I just came out here to listen."
Helena kissed his nose teasingly. "Just to listen?"
"Well. . . "
He touched his lips to her temple and squeezed her briefly. "I would have liked. . . to have met her."
She smiled. "Me too."
They stood for a bit longer until Helena grumbled about being tired and cold, and Reese knew she still, even after their time spent together, had trouble dealing after opening up to him. He fought back a smile and drew her back into their apartment, to the warmth of their bed and made sure she'd fallen into a deep sleep before allowing himself to nod off.
As the sun finally began its slow ascent, a lone black cat walked across the balcony railing, then jumped to the street below. It looked back up at the apartment and twitched its nose once. Then it slunk away into the darkness.
* * *
If the response to this is good, I'd do either a sequel, or another part, having the first bit of it be from Helena's point of view. Or, sort of a four-part series, following the three birds and the detective. Let me know what you think! And check out my other BoP stories while you're at it!
PG-13
Serenity Sea
(Serenity_Sea@yahoo.com)
Author's notes: Just a thought I had the other day, while thinking of how my BoP series is sort of dragging along. I figured, well, I've already got open too many stories to handle, so why don't I just. . . start another one?!! And so I did.
SUMMARY: Some things get easier with time. Some don't. Reese/Helena.
* * * * *
Detective Reese was a good cop.
No, scratch that.
Detective Reese was a *great* cop.
. . . Would *exceptional* be going too far?
Whatever. He was a *insert word of choice here* cop because he drew the line between his personal and business lives. He reserved his judgment-for the most part-until he had at least *half* of his facts straight and at least partially verified. Which was more than could be said for some of the people he worked with in the precinct.
Of course, having an Oracle on hand wasn't always a bad card to pull when things looked like they were at a dead end. Add in a telepath/kinetic who was always willing to help, and one vengeance-hungry (and admittedly delicious looking) girlfriend, and, well, you get the idea.
So, in addition to being fantastic at his job, Jesse Reese had friends in high places-no pun intended-and used them (and vis versa) at will. This strengthened his credibility as a detective (the being great at his job, not the "friends in high places") and gained him the respect of most.
But sometimes, that wasn't worth a damn.
Sometimes, it just came down to plain, simple, instinct.
And he had pretty good instincts.
* * *
She looked like an ivory statue, not that she would have cared to know it. Leaning against the thin (and probably not fire-safe) railing, hair mussed adorably from sleep, eyes slowly adjusting to the night, Helena Kyle was thinking. And for someone like Helena Kyle, this wasn't always a good thing.
In fact, thinking led to bad things. Actually, bad thoughts. And bad thoughts led to drinking. We all know what goes on from there.
But this night, this woman, even this railing; this is a different Helena Kyle then the one we know. Two years can make a world of difference. And they did.
So as she leaned on the rail, not concerned at all by the fact that she could be tumbling to her untimely demise should she lean too heavily, with her eyes alert and body tightly controlled and ready to spring at will, she thought. She thought of the journey she'd taken to get here, the route's many twists and turns, and the losses she'd suffered. The things she'd gained unfortunately did not outweigh the sadnesses she'd endured, and it was something that never failed to escape her.
But it occurred to her, at precisely 2:47AM on a unassuming Wednesday, that she was happy.
Which was a feat in itself.
"Hey."
A big warm hand on her shoulder. She would have known who it was if she'd undergone amnesia and had been planted in Siberia. They were that close.
She didn't turn around. "I didn't mean to wake you up." Slightly apologetic, though knowing that he truly didn't mind.
Helena allowed herself to shift so she was resting on him and let her hands skim the railing. His skimmed her shoulders until they came to rest on her waist.
"It was time for me to get up, anyway." She heard the grin in his voice and a wisp of a smile played on her lips.
"You don't say," Helena murmured, elbowing him lightly.
They stood like that for a while, just letting the moonlight play on their skin, comfortable enough with the other that words didn't need to be added to the silent conversation.
"So." He sighed slowly, and she moved slightly as a result. "Couldn't sleep?"
Helena moved her shoulders restlessly. "More like didn't want to."
Reese's brow rose. After living with her for nearly two and half years, and knowing her mannerisms even longer, he knew a thing or two about Miss Helena Kyle. And one thing she *loved* was her sleep. "Is that so." He shifted her in his arms until she was turned and looking at him. "And why is that?"
She swallowed gently and ran her hands up his arms, finally settling to look in his eyes. "Today. My mom."
His eyes went soft with emotion and he hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's just. . . I usually can't sleep this time of year."
He noted that she had been particularly restless for the past few days. "Anything I can do?"
Helena shook her head. "You're already doing it." He brushed back some of her hair-it had grown out a bit, and she was forever complaining about it, though he knew she secretly loved having longer hair and would have done it sooner were it not for her (ahem) line of work-and she sighed contentedly. "She would have liked you."
A compliment of immense proportions. "Really. What makes you think so?"
"She always liked dangerous men."
"I'm *dangerous*?"
She rolled her eyes. "Reese, you're a cop."
"Oh."
"A cop who's not too big on conversation this evening," she frowned lightly.
"Hey, I just came out here to listen."
Helena kissed his nose teasingly. "Just to listen?"
"Well. . . "
He touched his lips to her temple and squeezed her briefly. "I would have liked. . . to have met her."
She smiled. "Me too."
They stood for a bit longer until Helena grumbled about being tired and cold, and Reese knew she still, even after their time spent together, had trouble dealing after opening up to him. He fought back a smile and drew her back into their apartment, to the warmth of their bed and made sure she'd fallen into a deep sleep before allowing himself to nod off.
As the sun finally began its slow ascent, a lone black cat walked across the balcony railing, then jumped to the street below. It looked back up at the apartment and twitched its nose once. Then it slunk away into the darkness.
* * *
If the response to this is good, I'd do either a sequel, or another part, having the first bit of it be from Helena's point of view. Or, sort of a four-part series, following the three birds and the detective. Let me know what you think! And check out my other BoP stories while you're at it!