A/N: Sincere apologies for this late entry and it's a short one at that. Real life has been pretty busy the last week and I was occupied with posting chapter 2 of my post-Courtship fic, Happily Ever After, in time for Father's Day. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. :) Thanks also to my beta, Tripp3235, who also puts up with questions like, "I happened to be watching 'For The Defense', why does Mike have a box labeled shirts on top of his coat rack in his office?" Spoilers for 'Brilliant Disguise' and 'Innocence'.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.
Apartment of Michael Cutter, 6325 Cornelius Drive, Wednesday, February 10
When Mike comes back out to the kitchen after cleaning up, the trail of clothes had been picked up and either hung or tossed in the hamper. Connie was leaning against the counter with a menu beside her. She had wiped off her make up, her hair was tied up away from her face and she has one of Mike's t-shirts on. If it wasn't for the fact that they just had sex less than fifteen minutes ago, he'd have taken her there and then. When did I become a teenaged-boy again? The last time I was so constantly thinking of sex was when I was sixteen.
Connie looks up to see Mike and says, "I ordered some Greek. I hope you like their souvlaki. It should be here in about fifteen minutes."
"Thanks for tidying up." Mike gestures at his now tidy apartment.
"Not a problem." Connie smiles at Mike. "I didn't want our coats and your suit jacket to get wrinkled. I hope you don't mind that I put our dirty clothes in your hamper. I'll run a load the next time I'm here. I don't like dragging dirty clothing around the city."
Mike grabs an apple from the kitchen counter. Before he takes a bite, he says, "Why don't you leave some stuff here? That way you don't have to bring something every time you're over."
"Thanks. I just don't like to drag a bag every time I'm staying over. Makes it that much more obvious at the office."
Mike puts down the apple on the counter, walks over to Connie pulls her into a hug and says, "I'll make some room in my closet for you. How much room do you need?"
Connie smiles at him and says, "Just a couple of hangers worth and a small section of a drawer to put my unmentionables in."
"Co-mingling our unmentionables. That's exciting." Mike leans in to give Connie a kiss on the cheek, but Connie turns around in his arms and kisses him on the mouth instead. They kiss chastely for a while and are eventually broken up by the ringing of the phone from downstairs. Their dinner has arrived.
While they consume their food, they discuss the unsuccessful lineup for the Milner case as well as the upcoming Conway case. The juror selection had been a weeks ago and they are both still wondering why Conway accepted juror number seven. This was the juror who had just separated from his wife and said that he couldn't focus and yet Conway decided to accept him.
After clearing the dinner stuff away, they settle on the couch in the living room. Connie says, "I got an email back this afternoon from that position I applied for on Monday night. They want to meet for lunch sometime next couple of weeks."
"Already?" Mike is surprised by that firm's interest.
"They want to discuss the generalities of the position and see if we have mutual interest," explains Connie.
"Sounds typical. Are you going to go?"
"I might as well. If Jack can't sort out that reporting to him thing, we're stuck in this position for another year to eighteen months. I'm not going to wait that long to get out of the conflict of interest."
"True," says Mike, but all he could really think was how he was going to miss her at the office if she took that job. I just can't win. Either I get to see her at the office or after work. Why can't I have both?
"Is something wrong?" asks Connie. "You seem less enthusiastic about this than I would have thought about this interview."
"It's nothing," says Mike, unwilling to admit to Connie that he is being childish about this. "I'm glad that the firm is expressing interest."
"I'm going to need your help," says Connie. "The last time I interviewed for a job was five years ago. I need to practice so that I'm not nervous."
"You'll do fine," says Mike. "If you need help though, you can count on me."
Connie looks at the circles under Mike's eyes and says, "I think I'm going to head off to bed. I didn't sleep well last night and I have to go cross town tomorrow morning for my appointment. I don't want to be late or else I'll have to wait that much longer. Coming?" Connie gets up from the couch.
"In a minute." Mike seems distracted, so Connie heads into Mike's bedroom and goes in the ensuite to go about her night time routine. When she comes back out, Mike is sitting up in bed reading.
When she sits down on her side of the bed, Mike hands her a set of keys. "Since you'll be leaving stuff here, I thought I'd give you keys to the apartment. That way, you'll have access anytime to your stuff."
"OK. Thanks," says Connie somewhat surprised. Does this mean I have to give him keys to my apartment?
"In case you're wondering, no, you don't have to give me keys to yours," adds Mike. "It's a big step and I want you to make that decision on your own. I'm ready but you may not be."
"Oh, OK," Connie manages to say. When the heck did he become a mind reader? At least there's no pressure. Why is it that I'm always feeling one step behind in this relationship? Connie then puts down the keys on the night table on her side of the bed, lies down and curls up in a sleeping position. She is exhausted. As she closes her eyes, Connie realizes that this is the first time aside from traveling that they haven't had sex right before going to sleep. I guess this is a new step in our relationship. Before Connie falls asleep, she hears Mike put down the book he was reading and turn off the light and soon Mike is curling up around her.
"Good night, my sweet Consuela." Mike whispers it into Connie's hair thinking that she's already asleep.
Connie turns over to face Mike and says sleepily, "Goodnight, Mike."
When Connie's alarm goes off at 6:00 on Thursday morning, it's much too early, but Connie has to get up and get ready to go across town, so she give Mike's sleeping form a quick kiss before heading to the shower. Mike for his part mumbles something, rolls over and falls back asleep until his alarm goes off a half hour later.
Towards the end of the shower, as Connie is waking up, she considers how quickly things have changed between her and Mike after spending a long weekend with him. A week and a half ago things were really spontaneous. Now nearly everything is planned in advance. I miss some of that spontaneity. I guess it's a sign that we're an item rather than just hooking up. I can't believe that Mike wants us to move in together. Is he nuts? No, it's just typical Mike, not quite knowing when to quit. But you like that persistence when it's not directed at you. Correction, you like that persistence when it's not directed at something you don't want to do. Connie smiles in remembrance of Mike's persistence in his pursuit of her since right after Woll's conviction and her giving into the chase right after Christmas. With that, Connie turns off the shower and starts to get ready for the day.
At 6:30, Mike's radio alarm goes off for about five minutes and Mike listens to the news as he slowly wakes after a good night's sleep. The first thing he does after turning it off is reach over to Connie's side of the bed only to find her missing. It's then that he hears the blow dryer in the ensuite and remembers that Connie has a doctor's appointment across town and has to leave early. I can't believe how well I sleep when Connie is here. I did nothing but toss and turn for hours the night before and last night I was asleep within five minutes. What am I going to do tonight? I think she mentioned earlier that she has a dinner with her sister this evening. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep last week before we went to Oregon. What changed? Remember what Connie did on Monday night after you got back from Oregon? Oh right! Mike smiles at the memory of Connie dressing up provocatively for him and the amazing sex that ensued. A certain part of Mike's anatomy warms at the mere thought. Relax! Connie is not going to appreciate it if you decide to barge in the bathroom and fantasizing about her in the shower is just not the same any more.
Just then, Mike hears the hair dry turn off. Knowing that Connie is almost ready to come out, Mike gets out of bed and starts to make it. Connie exits the bathroom and goes to get her clothes for the day. When Mike completes his task, he gives Connie a quick kiss before heading into the shower. Connie dresses quickly and is out the door before Mike exits the shower, careful to lock the door behind her with the keys he gave her last night. Mike is highly disappointed that she is gone when he gets out of the shower even though he knew intellectually that she had to leave early this morning. He eventually convinces himself not to be that childish and gets on with his day.
The rest of Thursday is a blur for both Mike and Connie. Connie arrives early to her nine o'clock doctor's appointment, but she isn't seen by the doctor until 9:45 and is out by 9:50 armed with a shot for the human papillomavirus and a prescription for the ring. Connie ends up having to call Mike to let him know she is going to be late for their meeting at ten. When she finally gets into the office, the meeting with Mike to go over the Conway case is rushed. When it ends at eleven, Connie has another meeting with the paralegal to deal with some of the forms for the Stuebber case that is starting up in just over a week and it lasts until one in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Mike leaves at 11:30 to get his blood drawn over the lunch hour. His doctor had emailed the required forms and Mike brought the printouts with him. When Mike gets back to the office at nearly one in the afternoon, he sees Connie come out of the meeting with the paralegal.
Mike stops her and asks, "Have you had lunch yet?" Connie shakes her head. "Did you want to grab a quick lunch? I don't have anything until two."
"I have to meet with Robbie Vickery and his lawyer at two at Chelsea University. Vickery didn't want to be away from his experiments for too long." Connie rolls her eyes at this. "We're going over his testimony for next week since he's one of the first on the stand in the Conway case."
"Well, grab your coat and briefcase and we'll make it quick." Mike suggests.
They grab some food from a food cart in front of Hogan Place and managed to find a bench to sit at since the lunch crowd is waning.
Mike finishes his lunch first and waits for Connie to swallow her mouthful before asking, "So, how did it go?" They are in full view of Hogan Place so the unspoken no-contact rule is on.
"They took vials of blood, did an internal, gave me an HPV shot and a prescription for the ring," says Connie.
"The ring?" asks Mike.
Connie pulls out the pamphlet she got from the doctor which is nothing but tiny print and hands it to Mike.
As Mike is reading the pamphlet, Connie asks, "So how did your blood draw go?"
"They took six vials of blood. Results in a week when I go for the rest of my physical." Referring to the literature in his hands, "This is an interesting new concept. Let me know if you need help with testing it out." Mike smiles at Connie, who blushes.
After she manages to swallow her last mouthful of food, Connie says, "I'll be sure to ask, if help is required. What are the plans for tomorrow night? I'm going to dinner in Brooklyn with my sister right after my meeting with Vickery and his lawyer, so I'm not likely to see you until tomorrow."
"If you don't mind staying over again? I know you have an appointment at one on Saturday, so I don't want to interfere with that."
"That works for me. My appointment is actually closer to your apartment then mine, so that will cut down on my travel time. I'll just bring over clothes for tomorrow since my overnight bag is actually at your place." Connie's Blackberry beeps. She takes it out and looks at it, then says, "I've got to get going. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Here you go." Mike hands Connie the pamphlet in his hands. "See you tomorrow." Mike tries to smile but can't really muster the energy. It's as if his sunshine has just gone away.
Before Connie walks out of Mike's earshot, she says, "I'll call you tonight after my dinner and we can talk."
Mike smiles back. Now he has something to look forward to.
A/N2: I'd like to think that Mike's moods depends on how Connie is treating him. He dearly loves her and I would like to think that he is happier when she shows her love and less so when he's missing her. What do you think? As always, would love to hear from you! :)
