DWD

Sara shifted for the hundredth time, having spent enough time in the bed to find it miserable. The doctor had told her she could go home tomorrow, which only served to make today's confinement perversely worse. Pez found herself checking the clock much more frequently than she had any other day since she had woken up.

Unfortunately, going home did not mean going back to work. The doctor had been very firm that Pezzini could not return to duty for at least two more weeks, and after that it might still be light duty only, depending on how her physical went. The sharp cautioning had reminded Sara that she had another exam to pass, one that would be even more rigorous in it's own way.

Thinking about what Joe had said about how her Psych evaluation was going to go down increased her irritation and sense that she was wasting time sitting here. What Sara had learned about her old captain had nearly overshadowed the warning he had given her. It was hard to shove the betrayal and anger aside and focus on what to do about what Siri had told her about Dante.

It was so hard, in fact, that so far Pezzini had come up with nothing. How do you prove you're not crazy? Between losing Danny and the visions the Gauntlet kept thrusting upon her, she had been acting in a very erratic fashion these last few months. There was no way around that fact.

The only positive thing she could think of to say about her life since November was that her number of cases solved had increased. Being the Wielder might be Hell on her personal life, but it was incredibly useful at a crime scene.

A diffident knock on the door broke into her thoughts. The door opened halfway and one of the officers stationed at her door peeped in. "There's a Kenneth Irons to see you. Should I let him in?"

Detective Pezzini had a reputation for being a real ball buster, and being hospitalized had done nothing for her temper. The uniforms that had been assigned to her had a healthy respect for her rep, and worked hard to avoid bearding the lioness in her den. Sara wondered how Kenny was dealing with the fact that they were keeping him waiting on her pleasure.

For a moment Pez considered sending him away, her discussion with Nottingham had reinforced her feeling that she should have nothing to do with Irons, but Joe had come right out and said she was going to need powerful friends to stay on the force. Besides, she was going to have to break Kenneth of his silly idea of them as a couple at some point.

"Sure, send him in." No time like the present.

The uniform disappeared behind the door, which began to swing shut. Before the wood touched the frame, it swung back open. Hmmm, impatient are we? Sara quirked an eyebrow and wondered exactly what his approach was going to be.

Nottingham was first through the entrance, his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment. The chocolate brown depths held such a maelstrom of desire, confusion, and anger that Sara did not know what to say. Fortunately she said nothing, as his employer was not far behind him.

Irons strode in, his lips stretched in an affable smile. "Sara, you are looking much better today. I daresay they are going to be letting you go home soon."

"Tomorrow morning." Pezzini nodded in agreement. Thankfully she had never been much of a talker, as Kenneth was as good at using what he heard as any prosecuting attorney Sara had ever met.

"Excellent. I'll have a driver waiting to pick you up at, shall we say, nine?" Irons settled himself on the uncomfortable metal and sea green cloth chair as if it were a throne.

"Thanks but no thanks. The department is sending over a car." Sara stuck her chin out, not liking to be steamrollered into anything.

"A patrol vehicle yes?" Irons gave a moue of distaste. "Well, if you would prefer to ride in the back of something that has held so many unsavory persons, that is, of course, your prerogative."

"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound very attractive does it?" Sara grinned ruefully.

"No matter how one phrases it, I cannot imagine how one would consider the back of a police car more pleasant than reclining in the peaceful luxury of a limousine." Kenneth shook his head, his tone one of good-humored confusion.

The only time Sara had been in a limousine she had been shot at, which put it right next to her time spent driving a squad car. Before that however... Sara shot a glance at Ian under her lashes and found him staring at her with the same hunger she had felt in those blissful minutes before the shooting started. "On second thought, I will take you up on that ride, if it's not an inconvenience."

"It is no inconvenience, I assure you." Irons stretched his lips in another of those not-quite smirks, he intended to gain much more than he was going to give. Much more.

Sara narrowed her eyes at Kenneth's smug look. She suddenly felt like giving him a swift kick. "It is very kind of you to offer. After the Witchblade abandoned me, I had thought you would follow its example. I know I don't do gratitude very well, but I want to thank you for sticking by me. I don't know what I would have done without your guidance."

Ian looked up in shock, his eyes wide. Irons continued to smirk. Sara smiled beatifically, even as her eyes were darkening with malice. First, the setup, now for that kick, "I've come to think of you as a father figure."

Oh yes, that got rid of that smirk quite nicely. Kenneth looked as if he had ruined his handmade Italian loafers by stepping in dog shit. Sara continued to smile at him as he recovered. Irons face smoothed back into affable lines, but his eyes were as dark as she had ever seen them.

Pezzini waited, wondering how he would get out of the neat little trap she had just sprung. It was even better than the 'friend speech', because it allowed absolutely no room for hope. To be seen as a parent implied a total and complete lack of sexual interest. Sara would have loved to glance over and check Ian's reaction, but knew she had to maintain eye contact with Kenneth to project her sincerity.

"I am pleased to be held in such high esteem, although it is hardly the position I expected. You have never evinced such feelings before." Irons kept his voice level, but inside he was seething. He wanted her to be the mother of his children, not consider herself his child.

"Oh but I did. A child begins by believing their parents know everything, progress to thinking they're being unnecessarily mysterious and restrictive, then comes the rebellion against anything they say, and finally the idea that your parents aren't your enemy. We've gone through the stages at an accelerated rate, but that doesn't make it any less real."

Kenneth leaned back in the chair, turning over what Sara was saying in his mind. After that disastrous initial meeting, he had toned the seduction down and changed his demeanor to that of a mentor. Clearly that had been a mistake.

As if reading his mind, Sara continued, "You have only yourself to blame you know. You've been treating me like a daughter all along, trying to teach me, catching me when I fall, always there for me, even when I'm being a brat. "

"You have been as willful and difficult as a child, that is true, but I have never considered you to actually be one." Kenneth began, his tone a little tart, wanting to subtly steer her back in the right direction. He could turn this around with a bit of work. Get her thinking Pygmalion instead of Oedipus.

"Yeah right. I know there is a huge age difference between us; I've seen pictures of you with Kennedy. You can't possibly help thinking of me as a kid. Don't get me wrong you don't even begin to look your age, you've taken great care of yourself, but the 'generation gap' is actually more like a canyon." Sara tilted her head slightly and grinned. She was having far too much fun picking on Kenny. It was great payback for all the times he'd given cryptic answers to her questions.

"Fortunately, such differences are often bridged. A strong foundation of understanding can be constructed, and built upon in the future." Kenneth said suavely, although his thoughts were far more volatile.

A canyon? Irons fought to keep the frown off his face. As Ceto had pointed out, there were ways to circumvent mortal limitations. No matter the year this body had been born, he was still a man in his prime. His actual age should make no difference to the way Sara reacted to him.

When had Sara seen pictures of him with Kennedy anyway? That was one of the difficulties with this age of information, there were too many obviously datable pieces of information archived out there. Given her reaction, Irons could easily imagine her reaction should Pezzini learn that he was thrice again her age. No doubt he would be treated to more broken bits of juvenile wisdom.

"Ugh. Don't talk about construction on bridges. Do you have any idea how much that slows down traffic?" Sara decided to deliberately misunderstand Kenny again, just to watch the vein pulse in his temple. She didn't get the reaction she had been hoping for. Instead of twitching with further irritation, Kenneth's countenance smoothed.

"Sometimes a delay is needed for the betterment of one's situation." Irons said thoughtfully as he stood. The sentence was more for him than for Sara, but he looked down at her anyway. Let Pezzini think he was counseling her again, instead of voicing his assessment of their relationship.

"I've never been the patient sort. Waiting has never done me any good." Sara grumbled, mostly disgruntled that she hadn't gotten the reaction she wanted.

"Yes well, this whole experience has to have been very unsettling for you. It may take a while for you to recover, to see clearly again. You may yet discover the virtues of patience." Irons wandered in the direction of the door, pausing along the way to examine the bouquets that overflowed every available space.

"Fat chance." Not being able to really cross her arms, Sara brought her good arm over and laid the bad one across the top. It got her point across. Her mood was no longer receptive.

"I will leave you to your thoughts. You should use this time to think most carefully about your future. I have heard some disturbing things about your precinct, things that make me think you may have to exercise that virtue which you profess to have so little use for." With that cryptic parting shot, Kenneth let the door close behind him.

Ian hesitated as the door swung shut. He knew he was supposed to leave the video for Sara to find. During her conversation with Irons he had set the tape down and picked it back up several times. The video was up his sleeve at the moment. From there it could be easily and discreetly set down wherever he chose, yet the tape remained where it was.

Nottingham just couldn't bring himself to let it go, even though part of him believed Sara should be given the tape. It just didn't seem right to do here in a sterile environment, with nothing familiar around her for comfort. Even worse, Ian knew she would watch it alone. He knew he should wait until Pezzini was home before giving her the video. He had that much leeway. Irons wouldn't expect Sara to see the tape right away, or to act on it if she did.

Decision made, Ian slid his hands in his pockets, letting the video drop from his sleeve to a better hiding place. Casting his mind back to the conversation Sara had had with Irons, he lifted his gaze to hers. 'Canyon?' he mouthed, lips turning up in a boyish grin.

Mindful that Irons could very well be eavesdropping outside the door, Sara carefully shrugged and grinned back.

"You picking me up tomorrow?" Sara asked softly.

"I don't know. I hope so. Get some rest, you look a bit flush." Nottingham replied just as quietly, and then headed out the door. He could feel the video slapping against his leg as he walked, but knew it was only his conscience making it seem so obvious.

As Ian had thought, Kenneth was waiting right outside the door. Irons was holding himself quite rigid, his ire a palpable thing. Nurses gave him a wide berth, and the two uniformed officers were very careful not to look at him.

"Quit dawdling Nottingham." Irons snapped and stalked down the hall.

Normally Ian would have been cowed by that tone, but he kept remembering Kenneth's face when Sara told him that she thought of him as a father figure. He did not think he had ever seen Irons bested so thoroughly.

It would appear that Kenneth had forgotten how formidable the lovely detective truly was. This round had clearly gone to Pezzini. He just hoped Sara could hold the ground she had gained. Irons was as twisty as any serpent ever hatched, and her record with snakes was not exactly reassuring.

Thinking about snakes made Ian wonder if they had heard the last of Ceto. Her daughter, Medusa, had been vanquished, but could such as she truly die? Nottingham had the uncomfortable feeling that she had simply been reborn, much as the Wielder was wont to do.

Nottingham had assigned a team to look into Carmelita Boucher's family, another team to research Ceto, had brought in a specialist to build up the Mansion's warding against supernatural beings, and he still wasn't happy. The condition of the Wielder Room had given mute testimony to how badly they had underestimated the patience and will of the ancient serpent. It was a mistake he was not going to make again.

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A/N: Jade, glad you're enjoying the series. I am working to keep everyone in character, and keep the tension between the three dynamic. Which way will Ian go? A wise man once said, 'You can never tell what someone is going to do until they've done it.' We shall see. Thelma, Dragongrrl, as Moon says, Kenny didn't get this far by playing nice. Don't you just love it? Heh. Moon, ya know I love ya babe. How's the eye doing? IcyFlame, that was a HARD chapter to write. I've complained elsewhere about how hard it is for me to get a handle on Jake. I almost gave in to weakness and didn't put him in the story so prominently, but I have to be fair. He has his place in the tale, and maybe by the end of this I'll have a better idea about how McCarty works. Alys, welcome to the wild world of fanfiction. Hope you are enjoying the ride, and I hope to hear from you again. Another note to Dragongrrl, thanks for what you said about Ian's inner monologue. That was another tough chappie to write. I wanted to show how he could be torn, after all, his relationship with Irons doesn't seem very healthy from our outside view.