Wide Water

Author's Note: I've written before, but this is my first venture into the Fowl fandom (pardon the pun).

Disclaimers: The Water is Wide is by George Harrison, bless his dearly departed soul. Characters, etc., belong to Eoin Colfer, and I'm not sure I envy him. I'm not making any money, I do this all for the pleasure of it. (I know, I'm an odd one.)

Feedback: Please?

The water is wide,

I can't cross over.

It had been four months since LEP Captain Holly Short had heard anything about Artemis Fowl. No news should have been good news, considering that they'd first met when he, a mere Mud Boy of twelve, had kidnapped her completing the power-restoring ritual. In this case, however, there were mitigating circumstances.

One: Holly was beginning to suspect that young Artemis had more than a shred of decency about him. At first he had seemed to want only her ransom fund. However, he had turned around and given half of it back in return for the healing of his mother. He didn't harm people willingly. He had gone out of his way to save her life, repeatedly. He had risked everything to bring his family back together. And his portfolio hadn't grown by more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the past four months.

Secondly, while Artemis had an alarming talent for stirring up trouble, he was quite precocious, and kept her on her toes. She liked that, and she liked that she was always the first one called when he was concocting some utterly ridiculous shenanigan.

Finally, and this Holly was loathe to admit to herself, let alone anyone else, Artemis had good taste. Particularly in bodyguards.

Juliet Butler, or recent wrestling phenomenon Jade Princess, had returned to Artemis' service after her victorious first year in the ring. Fun, sarcastic, and very good at her job, if immature, the intensely loyal Juliet reminded Holly of a younger version of herself, were she a Mud Person.

And then, there was the other Butler. Domovoi. She'd learned his first name long after their first meeting over two years ago. He had saved her life several times over those years, and she had returned the favor when circumstances demanded. She had brought him back from the dead, essentially. And now she couldn't contact him anymore- they'd been mind-wiped, every one.

That should have been okay. It should have been great, in fact. Artemis' schemes had nearly cost her her job and her life multiple times. But they were always interesting and challenging.

And then, she had enjoyed getting to know Domovoi Butler. Holly had the feeling that he was a man of undeniably good character, regardless of his past, and that intrigued her. She was pretty sure that the attraction was mutual, at least in a sense. Had been mutual, really. He wouldn't even remember how she'd saved his life, or saving hers. Or why he suddenly felt too old to climb stairs quickly.

It was so unfair. Whoever heard of an elf having a relationship with a Mud Man, never mind a romantic one! The idea was utterly absurd. Especially considering that as far as he knew, they had never even met.

She missed him. Holly Short hadn't missed anyone since her father had died twenty years ago.

'You'll be seeing me.' Butler's words rang in her ears even after four months. And this month, after putting it off for so long, it was Holly's turn to monitor them. One full day per subject- three in total, beginning with Artemis Fowl the Second.

She rode the magma flare with considerable skill, guiding her pod into a secure dock that had been renovated for exclusive LEP use. She donned Foaly's new prototype wing product and shielded, then buzzed several hundred feet straight up. Tara was in darkness. Most households were sleeping, her helmet visor told her. Almost no movement. She had forgotten how much she loved flying. Four months underground would do that to you.

Eventually she alighted atop one of the gables at Fowl Manor. It was the night before Artemis' 14th birthday. She doubted very much that he was planning a party.

It was a cold night- Artemis would have to be born in winter- and she loathed the cold. It seemed to penetrate through the heating coils of her uniform into her very core. She would have shivered, but that might have interfered with her shielding.

Instead, she dropped off of the roof again and circled around the windows. All of them had locks, security systems and heavy, thousand-dollar curtains, she was sure. Except…

Holly descended a few feet and moved closer to the house. Except this window, which was open. The lights were out, and her helmet visor told her that the occupant was sleeping. Cautiously, she alighted on the window ledge and peered into the room. Who needed an invitation? She'd already been inside. Besides, they'd left the window open.

She should have known it would be his room- he'd never allow anyone else in the house to sleep with their window open. But surely he could still stop anyone who sneaked in…

Almost willing herself to be caught, Holly jumped nimbly down from the ledge, still shielded. Oh, this was a bad idea. She wasn't supposed to trigger Butler's memory and she definitely wasn't supposed to take risks like this one that could get her spotted. And yet she found herself drawn forward.

She suspected that he would wake. It was his job to keep unwanted intruders out- she was sure he was a light sleeper. But she couldn't stop herself. Sneaking into this room was just something she had to do.

Holly hadn't even unshielded when the mammoth form in the bed shifted and sat up. He cocked his head to one side for a moment, and she thought he might be listening for the vibration of her wings. She could see, even in the darkness, that his eyes had locked on her. She hovered for a few moments, and he laid back in bed. So he didn't remember. She was safe, for now. For some reason that saddened her.

And then his voice, deep and unfathomable as she'd remembered, softened with the last vestiges of slumber. "Captain Short, I presume. We should have been expecting you, but under the circumstances I'm sure we can be forgiven for the oversight."

D'Arvit.

She unshielded, removed her wings and jumped up onto the enormous bed beside him. "You're going to get me in trouble." Holly was very glad that she had removed her helmet up on the roof. Foaly finding out about this was all she needed. "How have you been, Butler?"

He chuckled dryly. "You tell me. I thought you were supposed to be keeping tabs."

"Yeah, about that." Holly shifted uncomfortably. "I haven't even been above ground in four months. Not since the mind-wipe."

The bodyguard regarded her curiously. She wondered if she had imagined the brief pain she'd seen flickering across his features. "That's interesting. I thought you loved to fly."

There were so many things he could have meant by that. Her heart wrenched painfully. "I do." She leaned back against the solid mahogany headboard. "I do."

"So why the absence?"

Holly had been wondering about that herself. Her reluctant brain had come up with several hypotheses, none of which, she knew, were one hundred percent accurate. She'd had too much to do underground. She was avoiding the guilt of the mind-wipe. She wanted Artemis Fowl the Second out of her life for a while. They sounded like excuses, even to her. "I'm not even sure that I know. Kelp's been keeping watch. Something came up for him, this month, and he couldn't do it."

"Flattering, being watched by a celebrated captain. You'll forgive me if I say you're better looking."

She could do nothing to stop the blush that spread across her cheeks, even if she could not smile. She hated having to remind herself that she couldn't be with him, not really. Not completely. And certainly not forever. A human's lifespan was like the blink of an eye to an elf.

That incredible voice gentled. "Why are you here, Holly? What brought you back?"

Holly sighed deeply, feeling old for the first time in her life. "Because you were right, Butler. I do love to fly." Before he could answer her, she sat up straight and looked into his eyes. "And because I think you want me here, sometimes, when you remember." The magic of the mesmer pulsed through her veins. She consoled herself by pretending that maybe he would have dreamt of her, anyway. "Sleep."

*