EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE:
By Indigo Butterflyz
January 2002
Disclaimer: Nope… I don't own them…
Spoilers: Mainly Season 4… however, be warned that some chapters may refer to episodes from other seasons…
Author's Note: Well, here's the next bit of EVYT… It is supposed to take place a few months after the prologue (beginning of Season 6ish). Unless otherwise stated, Vonda Shepard sings all songs referenced in context. Now on with the fic…
CHAPTER ONE: EVERY BREATHE YOU TAKE------------------
I think everything happens for a reason, I really do. It's just that no one is really prepared for what happens when it happens. Take this week for example, on Monday it seemed like it was going to be an ordinary week, when in fact it was anything but...
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"Ally," Richard shouted during their daily meeting. Ally cried out in shock as she was awoken from her thoughts. "New case, yours, Henderson versus Henderson. Big client. Make that *extremely rich* client. Corretta, I want you to be second chair."
"What exactly is the case about?" Corretta asked as Richard flung the client's file towards Ally.
"Custody battle," Richard loosely described. "Our client wants full guardianship of their daughter."
"Umm… errr… isn't that sort of case meant to be tried in family court?" Ally asked, examining the file.
"Technically yes…" Richard replied, beginning to lose interest in all the questions. "Her husband signed a prenupt saying that if they ever divorced she would get custody given evidence that he was considered an unfit husband/father… blah blah… cut straight to the chase… he is now backing down on this contract which our client is obviously not happy about…" He began waving his hands about, expressing his disinterest. "What can I say? Rich people… big case… they wanna go to the top… the rest of the details are in the file… Oh, and Mrs. Henderson is scheduled to come in tomorrow afternoon."
"Who would want to have custody of a snot nosed, spoilt, bratty child anyway?" Nelle chimed in, conveying her disgust. "If you ask me, her husband was the smart one to sign such a prenupt. Why on earth would he want to have to care of something that can't even take care of itself? She should be taking him to caught to get him to look after the kid."
"THANK you Nelle," Ally sarcastically replied.
The temperature of the conference room fell a few degrees as the two lawyers took turns giving one another icy glares across the table. All the other lawyers, except Richard, felt uncomfortable, struggling in their seats in hope that the tension in the air would soon pass.
"Ooh," Richard grinned, "cat fight. I--I like that."
"Stay out of this Richard!" Both women yelled at Richard.
"Bygones," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, "Okay, onto the second issue that needs to be addressed this morning." He pulled out a large chart from under the desk. The lawyers all looked at in confusion, wondering what the downward sloping graph was supposed to represent. At the top of the chart in bright bold red font were the words, "VERY VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE."
"What's this about Richard?" Nelle asked, still flustered about her spat with Ally.
"Gee Nelle, I would have thought you of all people would know what," using his pen he pointed to each of the words as he spoke, "a 'VERY VERY IMPORTANT' is." Richard was met with blank faces staring back at him. "One word people--" Everyone sighed; understanding that when it came to their boss, there was only one thing that could be considered important. "-- MONEY." He pointed to the descending gradient on the graph, "Haven't got enough of it and something needs to be done." He pulled out another chart and pointed to the graph. "Compared to this time last year we aren't making half as much money as were then. We aren't even winning as many of our cases. How can I fulfill my aspirations of becoming richer than I already am when you aren't bringing in the money?" Richard's face turned stern. "I don't want to have to say this but I might have go and hire someone else to full the money making shoes that you are obviously not capable of filling." He pulled out yet another chart. It showed the effects of hiring another lawyer on everyone's income. Everyone, except Richard's sector, was considerably smaller. "And that means less of the pie for the rest of you."
Everyone struggled around in his or her seats again, but this time it was the thought of a pay cut that made them feel uncomfortable.
*****
"Can you believe that guy?" Mark asked meeting Jackson in the unisex.
"Well, you know Richard's right," Jackson coolly replied, straightening his tie in the mirror. "I mean there are definitely some people who aren't pulling their weight around here. No offence or anything."
Mark, who was leaning on the sink, suddenly stood upright in resentment. "What do you mean by that?"
"Hey don't get me wrong," he replied, raising his hands in surrender, "you're a GOOD lawyer. It's just that you're not a GREAT lawyer like--"
"Like you I suppose," Mark derisively implied.
"Well, since you said it… yeah like me." It was obvious this conversation was fuelling the good-looking man's ego. "Come on Mark, when did you last bring in a settlement that resulted in big bucks for the firm?
Mark shrunk back, trying to remember the last time he had actually won a large settlement for Cage & Fish. He came up blank. "Yeah, well," he muttered in reply, trying not to make it apparent that Jackson was right, "what about you Mr. Big shot. The only reason Richard hired you was because he thought that you were going to be the next rainmaker for this firm. Humph," he provoked, "some rainmaker. I haven't seen any big numbers on your recent record either."
Jackson walked closer to Mark, imposing his height upon him. "That sounds like a challenge."
Mark cowered back, under his intimidating gaze. "Wh-what do you mean?"
Jackson stepped back and spun around. "I mean a bet. Whoever can bring in the most money, by themselves -- without co-council, before the end of the year gets the title of rainmaker."
"And the loser?" Mark nervously gulped.
A large malevolent smile formed of Jackson's face. "Now, that's the interesting part. The loser," he paused for dramatic effect before continuing, "has to dress in drag and perform in costume at the bar on New Year's Eve."
"How does that punishment fit the crime?" Mark asked in astonishment, not understanding how the bet had connected the title of rainmaker with dressing in drag and singing in public.
"I don't know," Jackson shrugged nonchalantly. "But you have to admit that it would sure be some way to welcome in new year, seeing you singing AND dressed up as a woman."
"Hey," Mark objected in offence, "what makes you so sure that YOU won't be the one up there on stage?"
Jackson gave Mark a quick glance up and down, as if sizing up his opposition. "So you're in then?" he smiled, putting out his hand.
"Of course I am," Mark not so confidently replied, taking Jackson's hand to shake on the pact. "Oh my gosh," he muttered, slumping to lean on the wall once Jackson had left, "What have I got myself into?" The sound of flushing indicated someone was exiting one of the cubicles. "Elaine!" He asked without thinking, "How long have you been there?"
The receptionist curtly smiled, walking over to the basin. "I heard EVERYTHING," she proudly said.
"Oh great," he exasperatedly exclaimed, putting his hand to his forehead in despair and embarrassment.
"Don't worry Mark," Elaine reassured, putting an arm around his shoulder. "I'll help you."
"Thanks Elaine, but I don't see how you are going to be able to help me win a million dollar case for the company before the end of the year."
"I wasn't talking about the case silly," she clarified. Mark stared at Elaine, wondering what else she could possibly be offering her help for. "I meant your performance." Elaine cheerfully smiled. "Since you're gonna lose, I can at least make sure you look hot in dress singing on the night."
*****
"And that's my story," Mrs. Henderson concluded her summary of events leading up to coming to Cage & Fish to represent her. This brunette haired woman was nervously sitting across the table from Ally and Corretta in Ally's office. She had a young and attractive, yet weary looking, face, suggesting she had not slept much in the last few days. "Do you think I have a case?"
Claire and Martin Henderson had been happily married for nearly eleven years. They had a ten-year-old daughter, Annabelle, who both parties were fighting for full custody over after their impending divorce. It had been Claire who had first filed for divorce, stating irreconcilable differences.
"Well," Ally replied, as she completed writing her notes, "I think we have a strong case. I mean he did sign a prenuptial agreement before the marriage saying any children the two of you had together would go under your guardianship providing there was evidence of his unfit nature as a father/husband."
"Did he ever hit you?" Corretta earnestly asked.
"NO!" Claire reacted startled, taking offence.
"I'm sorry," Corretta apologized, reviewing the file. "I'm only asking because it's going to be difficult to prove that he was an unfit father and husband since the prenupt didn't actually specify what a definition of that is."
"He left us!" the client shouted, throwing her arms in the air. "Isn't that enough evidence?" Ally and Corretta stared at each other, as Claire restrained her tears. "He left us..." she repeated, her voice more subdued, "He left my daughter and I without even a word… an explanation… or even a simple goodbye… for nearly a year." She sniffed as she rubbed away the tears. "If that doesn't constitute for being a bad husband, let alone father, I don't know what does."
*****
["I was mistaken our love was forsaken, worst mistake I ever made
Were you lonely, where you brave, now?
I guess the two are one in the same"]
Later that night at the bar, Ally was explaining the details of the Henderson case to Vincent.
"So what are you going to do?" Vincent asked, completely absorbed in his date's words.
"Well," she replied, playing with her martini stick, "we've decided to skip the initial deposition and go straight to court this Friday. You know, try and get this over and done with as soon as possible, so not as to put their daughter through anymore than she has to." She looked up and caught his admiring glance. "Hah," she nervously exclaimed, "Listen to me, I must be boring you."
"No, not all," he honestly replied. "It sounds a lot more interesting than what I do."
"Yeah, now that I believe," she sarcastically retorted. "You're a doctor, and pediatrician at that. Are you telling me that helping children and saving lives is a dull job?"
"Well…" Vincent smiled gazing at her intently. He reached out for her hand across the table. "…I do like children."
"You're aren't secretly married and have any do you?" Ally suddenly blurted out, causing her to blush immediately in embarrassment. Vincent stared at her, taken aback by what she had asked. "Um…I…" Ally quickly brought her hands up to cover her eyes for moment before looking him straight in the face. "It's… it's just that, um, I once had a boy friend who was, well, married and had a child… with two separate women actually…" She was beginning to speak faster and faster as if stopping to take a breath was illegal by law or something. "Haha… funny story… had a child with his girlfriend… left her and his son… married again, to a woman who actually lives here in Boston… Divorced… Did I mention he was a lawyer? Another funny story… thought he was a therapist… found out he was a lawyer… hired him… then started dating him… he was…ah… the one who sung with Sting on birthday… yeah anyway, caught him playing with whip cream and his, previously mentioned, ex-wife… dumped him… then he left Boston, leaving me with a note." By time Ally reached the end of her nervous monologue she was gasping for air.
"I see," Vincent said after a moment of watching Ally, "and does this ex-boyfriend have a name?"
"Lar--" Ally panted, still trying to catch her breath, "Larry."
"I see," Vincent exclaimed, crossing his fingers on the table, "and is this, Larry, is he out of the picture?"
It was evident that Ally's date was very concerned by her unexpected rambling on about her ex-boyfriend. And who could blame him? People who were dating never liked hearing about their partner's love lives before them. A small growl formed in her throat as she remembered how she had felt upon learning about Jamie and Helena (Larry's ex-girlfriend and ex-wife respectively). But now it was the man she was dating who was in her shoes. Vincent was still waiting for an answer, his baby blue eyes looking at her in anxious anticipation.
"Completely," she finally managed to reply. Her expression was blank and unreadable, yet her answer was obviously enough to assure Vincent, as he started talking about a patient he had seen at work today. However, Ally was too distracted to pay much attention to the conversation.
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At least, I hope so…
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*****
["In the wildest times of the world
Let's stay together in this lonely and crazy life"]
"So," Jackson greeted his coworker who was sitting alone at the bar, "nearly two days have passed already. Got any BIG clients yet?"
"No," Mark solemnly replied. "You?"
"In
actual fact," Jackson ordered a drink from the bar before continuing, "I
have." Mark's expression dropped. "Have you heard of Sterns & Tucker?"
"That electronic company who has
been in the news recently for taking over nearly all of its competition?" Mark
asked.
"That very one." Jackson explained, "They've run into a bit of legal difficulty with regards to monopoly laws. And who else but yours truly has been asked to represent them in court to allow their growth to continue." The look of despondency from Mark was enough to for enough to cause Jackson to rejoice. "Well, I would to stay and saviour that expression of yours, but I better go." He indicated towards Ling who was sitting at a table waiting for him.
["Hey Hey Hey…"]
Mark stared at Vonda who was singing on the dance floor. For some reason her words seemed to be mocking him tonight. A mental image of him standing in her place, singing in a red vinyl dress with a matching red wig and stiletto heels, caused Mark to shudder. He took a large swing of his drink in discomfort, pondering what on earth he was going to do.
["Hey Hey Hey…"]
*****
Ally was lying in bed, flicking through a copy of Cosmopolitan before she slept. '10 ways to attract a man -- and keep him' one of the headlines read on the cover. 'What men don't say but actually mean' and 'How to get over him in just four days' were a couple of other captions printed. Disturbed, she put down the magazine and sighed. She looked at the clock.
It was nearly midnight.
She should have been fast asleep by now, especially since she had the Henderson case in court tomorrow. However, instead of turning off the light, Ally reached over to her bedside counter, picked up the phone and begun to dial.
"Hello?" she said upon hearing someone pick up on the other line.
"Ally?" Renee asked in surprise. "What's wrong?" she automatically inquired in suspicion.
"Wh-what?" Ally replied, slightly offended. "Can't your ex-room just phone to say 'hi'?"
"Not at this time of night," Renee coolly retorted.
"Opps," Ally squealed, "I forgot about the time difference. Sorry, I go and let you get back to--"
"Don't worry," Renee reassured, yawning, "I'm awake now. So what's the problem Ally?"
"N-nothing," she replied fidgeting with the telephone chord, "nothing at all."
Renee waited before speaking again, trying to figure out how she could get Ally to tell her what was wrong. "How is everyone?"
"F-fine," Ally replied staring at her bedroom door. "Mark's good… Richard's you know, money hungry… and… and Nelle she's… she's still an *ice* queen…" Ally could hear Renee giggle bringing a smile to her own lips. "Elaine's, well, Elaine. And, uhm Jackson," Ally hesitated before continuing with news about the man Renee had once gone out with, "He's…"
"…Still going out with Ling," her ex-room mate finished for her.
"Yeah," Ally replied sighing as she fell back on her pillows.
"How's John?" Renee asked, still prodding for information.
"G-good," Ally stuttered cheerfully, covering her eyes from the bedroom light, "he might be coming back for Christmas, which would be just g-great."
"Uh huh. And Vincent? How are things between the two of you?"
"Well you know." Ally exclaimed, a bit too eagerly, "just FANTASTIC."
"Ally," Renee humorlessly called, recognizing the tone that Ally had just used, was one that meant she was hiding something.
"Okay, okay," Ally confessed, realizing her friend knew her all too well. "You know he is such a *great* guy. I mean he's cute, funny sensitive… and a doctor… did I tell you that? He is a pediatrician. He loves children. Renee, he is perfect…"
"But?" Renee interjected, sensing the impending turn in conversation.
"Vincent and I went out for dinner at the bar the other night," Ally began retelling her embarrassing monologue with Vincent about Larry, "…and then when he asked if I was over him I felt that I lied to him when I said that I was. Renee, I really thought I was…"
"Now, now, Ally," Renee tried to make calm her friend, "don't go getting yourself all worked up. Are you over Billy?"
"What?" Ally exclaimed. "We're talking about Larry here. Larry and Vincent. Not Billy."
"Sshh," Renee hushed, "I know. Now answer my question. Are you over Billy?"
"Of course not," Ally replied without hesitation, "I LOVED Billy. And a part of me still does. I don't think I will ever not… he was my first everything, Renee…" She sighed before replying in confusion, "But that don't see how I felt about him affects how I feel or will feel about other people, Renee."
"Well, there's your answer then," Renee replied, satisfied with Ally's response. "You loved Larry, whether you care to remember it or not, you did. Billy dying didn't stop you from loving Larry. With Larry, he burned you… he burned you real bad. But that doesn't mean that you can't love Vincent…" She paused before adding, "…if you want to."
"If I want to…" Ally echoed her friend's words, looking at the ceiling above her. "…If I want to…"
*****
"Where have you been Ally?" An unimpressed Corretta ran up to meet Ally as she entered the courtroom foyer.
"Um, uh, sorry," Ally apologized, on the brink of dropping her bag and files. "I had difficulty sleeping last night and slept through my alarm this morning."
She felt even worse than she looked. Her hair was flat, combed quickly through with her fingers as she ran frantically around her apartment trying to get ready. The bags under her eyes weren't too evident, hidden with makeup, but what was obvious was the lack of radiant sparkle that her eyes usually had.
Corretta helped the over laden attorney, taking the files from her under her arm. "We're supposed to be in court in a couple of minutes." She gritted her teeth and motioned with her head and eyes over to the mother and daughter waiting, "We've been waiting for you for over half an hour."
Ally looked around and walked over towards the two of them, forcing a smile as she spoke. "Hi," she lied to her client, "Sorry I am late… traffic problems…" Ignoring Mrs. Henderson's skeptical look, she turned her attention to the child standing next to her. "You must be Annabelle," she cheerfully extended her hand, but was rudely rebutted by the girl who refused to even acknowledge her mother's lawyer. "Hmm," Ally let out a small laugh to stop herself from scowling. "Well, we had better be going in," she motioned towards the large courtroom doors in front of them.
"Did you get the memo?" Corretta whispered, following behind Ally after the client had entered.
"MEMO?" Ally shouted, stopping in her tracks. Their client overhead Ally's sudden outburst and gave her an unsure look. "Mrs. Henderson, why don't you and Annabelle go on in first… that's right… the seat on the left there…" she politely signaled, "we'll be right there in a minute…" Walking back outside, the doors closing behind them, Ally turned back to her co-counselor. Her voice changed from sweet to serious, "WHAT memo?"
"According to the memo, Mr. Henderson's lawyer bailed on him or something last minute," Corretta exclaimed.
"What?" Ally was completely bewildered.
"Yep," Corretta continued, "Looks like Mr. Henderson has gone and hired himself a new lawyer from out of town. Haven't seen him yet though. Perhaps they are already inside. As should we be, I might add," she suggested, pointing towards the doors. Ally nodded her head in agreement. "I wonder what this means about Mr. Henderson's case. It can't be good to have your lawyer resign the day before the trial is set to begin." Corretta muttered to herself, opening the door to enter, "Oh well, all the better for us I suppose."
Ally followed behind Corretta, still wondering what to make of the sudden change. She wasn't as confident as her younger companion. While it made sense for them to be at an advantage now, Ally couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had.
*****
Mr. Henderson was sitting down patiently, his fingers intertwined together on the table. He, like his wife, was attractive for his age. Yet, also like his wife, it was apparent that the whole divorce/ court/ prenuptial/ custody battle was already taking its toll on his ability to sleep. Corretta sat down and quickly went over the proceedings to Mrs. Henderson again, while Ally glanced around the courtroom.
Mr. Henderson's attorney was nowhere in sight.
"All rise for the honorable Judge Philips."
The judge entered the room and everyone stood up in recognition. "Please be seated." He looked in Mr. Henderson's direction. "Mr. Henderson," he exclaimed, "unless you are planning on representing yourself I would have expected you to have a lawyer by now."
"Your Honour…" Mr. Henderson stood up, obviously worried, nervous and embarrassed about the situation, "My attorney has not turned up…"
Ally suppressed a smile as Mr. Henderson tried to explain his situation, with little success. The judge was not impressed and was about to remark when suddenly a voice interrupted from the back of the room.
"I'm sorry I'm late your Honour." All heads turned to where the male voice had come from.
All heads that is, except Ally's.
She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
It was a voice that she hadn't heard in over a year but recognized in an instant...
It was a voice that belonged to a man who had left her life almost as quickly as he had entered it…
A man whom she thought she had loved and was loved back in return…
A man who had left her heart in broken little pieces with a mere note…
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…Larry…
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*****
To be continued…
Author's Note (ii): Song and lyrics "The Wildest Times Of The World" belong to Vonda Shepard & Michael London