Viewership has dropped off so I probably won't be investing much more time into this endeavor. Sorry folks. Thanks for your support as always.

/

Tamsin led the trio of gremlins back to her truck.

Before she could even open the door for them — they scurried off somewhere beneath the vehicle and one by one emerged inside. They sat thigh to thigh on the passenger seat, giddy with excitement. Tamsin awkwardly pulled the seatbelt across the three of them - which was met with some disapproval. She suggested if they didn't like her rules they could ride in the glove compartment. Oddly enough, this wasn't a meaningful threat.

The detective drove in silence for a time, one eye glued to the road, the other keeping track of the power lines off in the distance. When the lines disappeared from view she pulled over and parked, noting that they were probably less than half a mile from the compound. She pulled out her phone and pinned her current coordinates on the map.

"Izzat an iphone?"

"Blackberry."

"Hmmph," the gremlin replied dismissively.

Tamsin unbuckled her cohorts and they quickly scampered beneath the seat. When Tamsin hopped out of the truck she found them waiting for her outside.

"It's got to be somewhere out that way," she said vaguely with a sweep of her hand. The area surrounding the compound was heavily forested, their current location less so. But she could see the nearest high voltage transmission lines — which would invariably lead them to the substation.

"Come on, this way, uh — I just realized I don't know your names."

"I'm Charlie," said one.

"I'm Doyler," said another.

"And you are?" Tamsin asked of the first gremlin, the gruff, gravelly-voiced one she spoke to back at their tree.

"Susan."

Tamsin swallowed hard, "Okay then… gang, let's go."

Finding the substation wasn't difficult at all — just a bit of a hike. Her companions, despite being rabbit-sized at best, seemed to have inexhaustible energy. When they came upon the fenced in area with it's danger signs and warnings, the gremlins were eager to get to work.

"No, wait wait wait — not yet!" Tamsin blurted, "This is just.. reconnaissance."

The little grey beasts stopped in their tracks, puzzled.

"Roight, roight, we get excited is all," Susan was scratching the back of her head.

"So.. do you think you can… disable this substation?"

Susan massaged her chin, "Ah do indeed. Nah question to you is do you wan' it completely destroyt or pah-shally annihilated?"

"I need it down for a couple of hours.."

Susan slapped Doyler's arm and he promptly pulled out a tiny notebook from his breast pocket. He started taking notes.

"Is there'a specific time yew had in mind?"

"I'll need to get back to you on that. Probably sometime next week."

"We have plans on tewsday an' are outta office frahday mornin'."

"Okay, okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"How will we contact chew?"

"I'll come by your tree tomorrow and give you a cell phone."

"An' iPhone?" Charlie asked.

"Probably not."

"Balls."

"Aww-roight, seems like we have reached an agreemint. One las' thing — we'd like 50 puh-cent up front. A lil' sumthin' t' remember you bah," Susan smiled wide, her tiny little teeth glistening. The hairs on Tamsin's neck stood upright.

"I'll give you the watch now, the rest later."

Susan's eyes grew focused and stern, and Tamsin could see her little tongue darting around inside her mouth.

"Awroight, give it 'ere."

Tamsin dug into her pocket and fished out the old watch. The glass face had a crack like a crow's foot, and it hadn't worked a day since she stole it. It was probably silver, though, and possibly of some value — but not to her. She handed it to Susan.

Anxious little fingers took hold of the timepiece, and expertly popped it open. The cooing gremlins didn't seem to care about the cracked glass or the broken mechanism; they ooh'd and ahh'd and ran their sleeves briskly over the silver, restoring some of it's shine. Tamsin stood by quietly and watched, dumfounded.

The detective felt a buzz in her jacket pocket and looked at her phone. It was her alarm.

"I need to get going. Come on, I'll buy you a coffee."


Lauren had butterflies in her stomach. She was eager to see Tamsin.

Walking down the long hallway that led to her lab, Lauren realized she was probably still glowing from last night. Her fantasized exchange with Tamsin was still bright in her memory, as was the fiercely sharp pleasure that came along with it. How would she look Tamsin in the eye from now on without smiling like a cat that stole a canary?

When she rounded the last corner she realized that her anticipation had been building the whole time, possibly the whole morning, each minute that passed brought them nearer and nearer like magnets tugging at each other. Seeing the detective waiting for her — leaning against the wall in her usual cavalier way — Lauren felt weak in the knees. She steadied her breath and tried to compose herself. A light blush blossomed across her face.

The doctor couldn't help but notice that Tamsin was dressed differently today. The skinny jeans and snuggly-fitting pastel-colored top were replaced with black military style cargo pants and a tank top. The matching uniform shirt was slung over one shoulder, very laissez-faire. Lauren placed her palm to her forehead — convinced for a moment she might indeed faint.

"Good morning detective," she smiled, a faint quiver in her voice.

"Yeah, good morning," Tamsin wearily responded.

When they entered the lab Tamsin flung herself into a chair, her limbs collapsing. Lauren wrenched her coffee from its cardboard tray and asked if she was alright.

"Do you need me to examine you?" The doctor deliberately baited her.

"Nah, I'm just tired. Been up since, I dunno, three..?" She said hazily. Lauren was disappointed her little joke sailed over the detective's head.

"Gremlin hunting, I assume? How'd that go?"

When Tamsin had explained her plan to hire some gremlins Lauren was more than a bit skeptical. After all, it seemed like too great a task to trust to creatures notorious for being so easily distracted. Plus, she'd never actually seen one in all her years of Fae research — they were supposedly somewhat rare these days.

"Pretty well," she sighed heavily, "I hired a group of three. So we just need to set a date."

"I'd like that."

A second or two passed before Lauren realized her fumble. She watched as Tamsin's gaze slowly rolled upwards to meet hers, "I'd like to get out of here," she specified.

Tamsin chuckled. "I must be tired," the detective said, "I'm hearing things."

Lauren paused and considered her options. She watched as Tamsin folded her arms across her chest and settled into her chair. She was obviously hoping to catch up on sleep, and as sympathetic as Lauren was, she felt compelled by a strange sense of urgency.

"Tamsin.." she began, delicately, "I was hoping I could talk to you about yesterday."

"Hmm? Oh. Crap. Look, I already know I was out of line, you don't need to rub my nose in it. Message received, loud and clear."

Lauren backed up a few steps and sat on the edge of the table. She wasn't sure how to proceed.

"It's not as simple as that."

Tamsin's expression transformed from utter exhaustion to alert curiosity in the span of a few seconds.

"I can't tell you how many hours I've spent puzzling over what it means, from a psychological standpoint, what my motivations and desires are and why I feel the way I feel — on one hand I'm disturbed that I should be attracted to my ex-lover's ex-lover. On the other hand — I don't care who you were before I started working with you.

"And I can't deny that you're right, a distraction could do me some good," This last bit came in a different, hushed tone — as if it was harder to say out loud. Tamsin rose to her feet and wordlessly moved towards the doctor. Lauren's heart skipped a beat when Tamsin's hands made contact with her knees, parting them.

"Oh boy," the doctor exhaled nervously.

Tamsin pushed a lock of Lauren's hair behind her ear.

"You don't need to be afraid of me," the detective insisted. She rested her forehead against Lauren's and with the likelihood of a kiss hanging in the air, kept this minimal distance until it was no longer bearable. For either of them.

When Tamsin's mouth first made contact with her own — Lauren's scientific brain sifted through its library of similar experiences, and to her it felt something like sticking a fork into an electrical outlet. The sensation was sharp and sudden and — electrical. She felt it race through every vein, every capillary, every nerve and every cell. Each particle of her being was buzzing with excitement. When Tamsin finally pulled away her breath was ragged, and Lauren understood the feeling was wonderfully mutual.