So, I'm really into the second season of Fairly Legal. I liked Ben from the first moment. (I mean, Ryan is really hot!)
Since there aren't a lot of stories out there yet I wrote my own. This is my first fanfic and English is not my first language, just keep that in mind ;) Reviews are highly appreciated, especially constructive comments.
The fic is an episode tag to 2x08. I watched this episode so often, that I realized how much potential that scene and especially Ben's face at the end of the scene had. I hope i understood everything they said, cause again, English is not my first language ;)
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own anything to do with Fairly Legal.
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"Still in your good mood?"
Walking out of the courtroom, Kate didn't seem to be pissed at all, that the motion to re-open the Lea Ferran case before Judge Becker didn't come through. Ben himself didn't share this feeling though. He thought he could win. Kate had talked to Justin the day before and saw the original case files.
She had a point in saying that there was a pattern to those bank robberies and it was also true, that an innocent woman could be in prison for 15 years right now, because nobody saw this evidence before or even considered Lea's side of the story.
But if that wasn't enough, Kate had gotten to him. It all started the morning before when she stepped onto the elevator in the last second and started humming with the elevator music. At first he thought it couldn't be true when everybody else started singing too, but just mere seconds before everybody joined in with her, she was singing to him, looking at him with a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. `And love is not a victory march…´ She turned away while singing that line and he wondered if she was just a little afraid of singing about love while looking at him.
They shared some awkward moments these last few weeks. Most memorably was probably the night at the bar when Justin walked in with a hot brunette and Ben had to drive Kate back home after she freaked out about seeing Justin. She was drunk and asked him to come in since he had to pee anyways. But when he came back from the bathroom she tried to seduce him, to get some revenge sex for Justin dating another woman.
Normally he wouldn't have minded. She was hot, that was out of question, and he hadn't slept with any woman in month and normally he wouldn't have refused an offer like that by any other formidable looking woman who wasn't even close to Kate's looks.
But Kate was different. She had gotten under his skin the moment he met her and continued to do so. That was probably the real reason why he filed the motion and why he had lost for the first time in ages.
And now Kate was walking beside him, not at all mad about losing.
"Ben, I am grateful, Lea would be grateful. You said it was hopeless, but you did it anyway."
She just had no idea why he did it in the first place, but that was just nothing he could tell her at the moment. So he said while walking in front of her:
"I would never do anything that I thought was hopeless", which was kind of true, "I thought I could win."
"Ohh, is it that simple for you?" she said with a mocking voice. He knew she didn't want to hear him saying stuff like that. And he knew exactly the way she was staring at his back right now. But he just couldn't look back at her.
"Yeah, you put the goods in one column, the bads in the other. You pick a winner. Ben Franklin called it moral algebra."
They had reached the coffee cart and Kate was inspecting the cookie jar.
"...usually right. Can I get a regular coffee with steam milk and…"
"Ohh, one with sugar please", she said without hesitating, knowing that he was planning on buying her one anyway.
"With sugar", he mumbled, getting out the money.
Leaning on the cart she started talking again.
"Did you just compare yourself to Benjamin Franklin?"
He heard her mock, unbelieving voice but didn't care.
"I read every word that he wrote at St. Augustine's." He grabbed his coffee and started walking towards the elevator. "And French prostitutes aside, he never let his emotions mock around with his decisions."
"So you never do anything impulsively, it's just because you have to?"
Again she was walking behind him and he just couldn't bear to look back at her.
"No I never have to do anything"
He can hear her making an annoyed sound and so he stops before the elevator turning in her direction. Looking at her, he can see she's finally a bit mad at him.
"You know what", she says, "You're so full of it. I saw you in there today and you did care!"
She was right and he knew it. He did care. Not about Lea Ferran, not really. He cared about her. And that was something new. He never cared, that's why he was such a good lawyer. He couldn't afford caring. And he sure as hell couldn't afford falling in love with his co-worker. So he snapped at here, knowing that was the only thing he could do to avoid falling any more in love with Kate Reed.
"You know what I wish?"
"I bet you're gonna tell me anyway", she said, using her mocking tone again.
He looked down at his feet for a moment, knowing he would drive her away from him with his next words.
"When I use the word fairness in the courtroom, it's because it's the best way to get to a bleeding heart judge. It's not because I believe in fairness, or doing the right thing", her face fell and he could see she was hurt by what he was saying, "or being on the right side of anything. I wish, that just for a moment you could imagine", he took a step closer to her, so that they were only mere inches apart, "that I'm not even a little bit like you."
That was it. He could see how furious she was. How she couldn't believe what he was saying. She stared at his face with an angry, yet sad expression.
And then she said "Wish granted" and stormed to the elevator.
He just stood there, knowing she was probably looking right back at him. He swallowed hard, thousands of thoughts running through his brain at once. He had to do it. He was turning into a weepy douche because of her. And if he couldn't stop her from seeing him as the new hero in town, looking at him with her puppy eyes, he would jump her anytime soon. And that was just not an option. She was his co-worker, probably even his partner by now. It was just not right, it was just not him. He was going to hurt her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
He bit his lip, hearing her stepping on the elevator, and walking away. He had no idea where he was going. After all, he had been on his way to the elevator himself.
He stopped, turned, walked back to the elevator and waited for it to come back up. He had no idea what he was going to do when he'd see her in the office later. He just knew, that he was falling madly in love and that he had no idea what to do about it.
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Hope you liked it. Please leave me some reviews :)