Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to J is for Justice. AU, after Janus List. This is number 22! Q is for Quagmire is the 1st in the series. There will be no further updates to this piece.
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Entr'acte - An interval likened to the one occurring between two acts of a drama.
Definition from American Heritage Dictionary
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Sean paused outside Melanie's apartment door. She had told him that she would be sleeping that afternoon to recover from the night shift she'd taken to cover for a coworker who was leaving to get married. He made up his mind and knocked anyway.
Melanie scowled at him when she opened the door. "You'd better have a good reason for being here. I told you I'd be asleep."
"I know," Sean tried to soothe her. "I just thought I'd cuddle with you while you slept."
She looked at him with a puzzled frown, then opened the door a little wider to let him in.
Though she hadn't looked very much mollified by his answer, he grinned with relief. He had wanted, no, he had needed a connection tonight, before they left for their missions the next morning. Not even bothering to undress, he got in next to Melanie. She had already burrowed back into the bed. She sighed softly with pleasure when he slipped his arms around her and spooned himself around her.
"You must be leaving tomorrow or something," she said quietly after a few moments.
"Or something," Sean murmured into her hair.
She rubbed her cheek against his arm where her head was pillowed. Her breathing evened, and Sean thought she had gone back to sleep. But she turned with a soft sigh and snuggled her cheek against his chest. He grinned when he felt her unbutton his jeans. He pulled his shirt off and wriggled out of his pants, then began to press kisses against her soft skin, starting at her neck and moving downwards. Then he proceeded to make a deeper connection.
Several hours later, he woke up when Melanie's cell phone rang.
"Jeez!" Melanie muttered with displeasure at having her sleep interrupted yet again. She picked it up with a sigh, and after the greeting spoke in Chinese. Grumpily, she hung up. She fell back against Sean with a sigh.
"Problems?" Sean gently massaged her shoulders.
"Not really. Mom wants to know if you want to make up the fourth in mahjong." She was still annoyed. "I can't believe she woke me up to ask me that."
Sean grinned but said nothing. He began to massage her back.
She moaned softly when his strong fingers eased the tension in her back. "Anyway, apparently Mrs. Lee called and invited her and Mrs. Wong, but she doesn't want Mrs. Chen there if she can help it. Asked Mom if she could get you there tonight."
"What did you tell her?"
"That I'd call her back after I called you."
Sean laughed.
"Hmph!" Melanie elbowed him.
"Call her back; tell her I'd love to."
Melanie sighed, "So much for sleeping in today."
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"Donnie, I understand when you put yourself on the line for one of your cases. Barely, but I do understand. Why do you have to put yourself on the line this time?" Alan was beyond frustrated this time.
"It's also my case," Don said reasonably.
Alan glared at him. "DDFS has agents who do this sort of thing all the time."
"And three of them are going."
"So why you?" Alan demanded. "Charlie says you volunteered."
Don shot a scowl at Charlie, who lifted his chin stubbornly. Don sighed.
"I couldn't do any less," Don said quietly. "I can't explain it. I only know I can't sit back and let them do this. Not without me."
"Sean's going," Charlie told his father.
"What does that mean?" Alan glared at Charlie, then transferred that glare to Don.
Charlie shifted uncomfortably when Don glared at him. "Nothing," he muttered.
"It has to mean something if you brought it up," Alan wished they were still small enough for him to turn them over his knee and paddle them within an inch of their lives. He flinched when he realized that Don would be risking his life the very next day, and he could very well be hanging on to dear life before long. He glared at Charlie instead. "What do you mean, Charlie?"
"Yeah, what do you mean, Charlie?" Don demanded.
"Jeez," Charlie wished he hadn't opened his mouth. He'd never realized how much Don resembled their father until that moment, with both of them glaring daggers at him. "You just seem to have this competition thing going with Sean."
"I do not have a competition thing going with Sean," Don growled in frustration.
"Charlie might be right, at that," Alan eyed Don with disfavor.
Don threw up his hands. "I just wanted to spend some time with my family before I go off tomorrow. And all I get is this third degree. It's my life, and I'm risking it for the greater good. Can we at least enjoy this time as a family?"
There was a short silence. Alan sighed, "You're right, Donnie. I'm sorry." Then with a quiet smile, he said, "Let's play Scrabble."
Don grinned.
"Let's not," Charlie said hastily. His eyes gleamed, "How about poker?"
Don scowled, "Not with those damn playboy bunny cards."
Alan laughed softly. Maybe Don did have a competition thing going with Sean after all. Who knows? All he knew was that he loved his sons most when they were bickering like this. "Any cards you choose, Donnie."
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Colby scowled in frustration when the crêpe he was trying to make tore. Yet again. It was his sixth torn crêpe. All he needed was two crêpes that weren't torn for the crêpes Suzette he was making for dessert. So far he'd only managed one.
"Patience, my friend," Pierre told him, smothering a smile.
Sighing, Colby started another crepe. He glanced quickly around his kitchen, relieved that he had taken Pierre's advice and gone for a menu that could be made ahead of time. The boeuf bourguignon would only improve with the simmering, the gratin dauphinois and carottes au gingembre would not suffer from being warmed in the oven.
He looked up and smiled at Pierre, grateful that the chef had been willing to help him. He had wanted to cook a special dinner for Hannah, and had originally hoped to try for something extra special, like a soufflé. But now, he was glad that he hadn't insisted on it.
"Now gently push the edges in, to check if it is done enough to turn," Pierre instructed.
As he followed Pierre's instructions, Colby thought how grateful he was that Luke had been willing to ask Pierre to teach him. He was sure that Pierre would not have done so otherwise. But Colby was surprised that Pierre had not thrown a single pot at him.
"It is a romantic thing you are doing," Pierre sounded pleased. "American men are not known for this, oui?"
Colby grinned, absurdly pleased. Perhaps that's why Pierre had been so genial, his Gallic soul had been touched by the romance of the gesture. He almost cheered when this time he turned the crêpe without tearing it.
Pierre laughed with delight. "We are almost there!" He beamed at Colby. "She will be here soon, oui? I will leave now."
Leaving me with the dishes. Colby grinned as he put the pots and pans in the dishwasher, and cleaned the kitchen up as best as he could. He also wanted time for a quick shower before Hannah actually got there. Anxiously, he checked the dining table to make sure the flowers and candles were still there. Straightening up the silverware, he moved quickly into the bathroom for a shower.
"Colby?" Hannah called out as she let herself in with the keys he'd given her a while back. She rarely went to his apartment, since he usually showed up at hers after work. "Oh!" Her heart melted at the sight of the flowers and candles at the dining table.
"You're early!" Colby said accusingly. He'd come running out of the bathroom when he heard the door shut.
Hannah giggled. He was clad only in a towel, one that rode low on his hips. "You look good enough to eat."
He laughed, "I'm going to get dressed. Stay right there!" He warned her as he dashed back into the bedroom.
Still giggling, she decided he didn't mean it literally. She went to sit in the living room and turned the TV on. She brightened when she found a Cardinals game on cable. They were playing the Braves.
A few short minutes later, Colby came back out of the bedroom.
"You're all dressed up," Hannah looked him over with a smile. "What do you have planned?"
"I made dinner," Colby said proudly.
Hannah's eyes misted over. She got up and slipped into his arms. "Thank you," she said softly. Then she laughed when he went to the table and pulled a chair out for her.
"Stay right there."
She giggled, "You're saying that a lot tonight."
"I just want to get this right," he called out to her.
If I weren't already in love with him, I'd fall in love with him tonight. She teared up each time he brought something out of the kitchen. She recognized the effort he'd put into dinner. "Why are you doing this, Colby?" she asked softly, part way through dinner.
"Because I love you," he grinned at her.
She laughed at the shit-eating grin. "I mean why right now, in the middle of the week?" The laugh went away when she saw the flicker in his eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't answer that."
"Hannah, I do love you."
"I know, Colby," but she'd lost her appetite. She kicked herself. After all, she knew better than to ask.
"Sweetheart," Colby went over to her and knelt by her side. Gently, his fingers cupped her chin and turned her to face him. "Marry me."
Her lips parted in surprise, "Oh, Colby!" She sniffled when he opened the jewelry box he'd struggled to dig out of his pocket. "Yes. Yes, of course!" Then she eyed him, "Where did you get this?"
Colby laughed, "Do you realize how hard it is to buy you jewelry? Knowing that you'll probably be critiquing it to death?"
She grinned, "It's beautiful." And it was. He'd decided on a marquise cut sapphire, with tiny diamonds clustered around it.
"I'm sorry I can't afford a diamond yet," Colby told her softly. "But someday, I will."
Hannah slipped her arms around him, "It's not the diamond that matters, Colby. It's you." And the days I hope we'll be able to spend together.
--
"You're not really mad at me, are you?" Luke asked Fiona warily when they finally got to his place. She'd been silent all the way from the office.
She sighed, "No, not really. I could make you really miserable for getting Steele to keep me here instead of going to Duquesne or going on the mission, but I don't want to do that with you leaving tomorrow."
He pulled her into his lap, and wrapped his arms around her. "I have a better idea, why don't we go to the courthouse and get married?"
She turned to look curiously up at him, "Are you sure?"
"I should be asking you that. Don't all women dream of a huge wedding?"
"I'm not worried about that. Why do you want to get married right now?"
Luke was silent, unwilling to voice his fears.
But Fiona understood. "I'd love to, Luke. Do you want to just do it, or did you want to call someone to join us there?"
"I'd hate to intrude on their personal time," Luke said slowly.
"We should let them know anyway," Fiona said gently. "We've all become important to each other; we should give them the choice."
Luke nodded. After a moment, he smiled, "Mrs. Luke Jameson. I like the sound of that."
Fiona had to smile, "You're such a male. You're lucky I've decided to let you live." Her face clouded over when she realized what was to come the next day.
"It's going to be alright," Luke said softly, drawing her into his embrace.
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"Change of plans, Melanie; call your mother back," Sean told her with a delighted grin. "We're going to a wedding."
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"You're doing what?" Colby sat up suddenly in his bed where he and Hannah had been talking quietly.
Hannah yelped in surprise when she almost rolled off the bed. She frowned at him when he hung up.
"Luke and Fiona are getting married!" Colby said, scrambling off the bed.
"But I don't have anything to wear!"
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"Are they really?" Charlie looked at Don in surprise.
Don grinned. "Call Amita. Call Larry, see if he and Megan want to come." He turned to his father with a gleam in his eyes. "Bring those playboy bunny cards. We're going to celebrate!"
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Luke's hands shook as he handed the rings to Steele while they were standing in the courthouse. He sighed with relief when he saw first Colby and Hannah, then Sean and Melanie come through the front doors. Then he stared in surprise when they were followed by Charlie and Amita, Larry and Megan, David, Don, and Alan.
Steele grinned when he turned to him. "The circle gets bigger, doesn't it?"
Luke nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. He had been a loner for so long, this was unexpected and he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Then he didn't have time to think as he was summoned by the justice of the peace. He caught his breath when Fiona walked in with Hannah by her side.
Everything went by in a blur for him, then the justice of the peace was saying, "I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride."
Fiona laughed at the silly grin on his face, "Kiss me, silly."
He did, amidst cheers and catcalls. "I love you," he whispered. Come what may.
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A/N: And tomorrow, the boys risk their lives.