Disclaimer: This is an adaptation of a book of the same title by Radclyffe. I do not own any of the story or characters in this fanfiction nor the original Safe Harbor and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.

Chapter Eight

'It's open,' Nanoha called, glancing at the clock. She smiled when she saw it was exactly six a.m.

Fate entered, carrying two paper cups of espresso.

'Thought you might need this,' she said, sliding onto one of the black and chrome stools in front of the kitchen bar counter. 'It's a double.'

'It's a start,' Nanoha groaned, leaning on her cane as she reached with her free hand for the coffee.

'I could make some more,' Fate suggested, pointing to an elaborate espresso machine nearby.

'Sit,' Nanoha commanded. 'I'm up already, and I'll be functional in just a minute.' She sipped the rich brew, noting that Fate looked fresh in her crisply pressed uniform shirt and pants. 'I suppose you've already run ten miles or something else equally obnoxious.'

'Haven't you noticed it's raining outside?' Fate asked mildly. 'I only ran five.'

Nanoha stared at her, beginning to smile when she caught the barest flicker of a grin on Fate's elegant face. 'I could learn to hate you,' she replied.

Fate laughed. 'God, I hope not!' She paused, then asked, 'How's the leg?'

Nanoha looked away for a second, then met Fate's questioning gaze. 'Hurts like hell, but it's been worse.'

'I guess staying home is not an option?'

'You do like to live dangerously, don't you?' Nanoha asked softly, amazed that Fate's concern did not rankle her the way it did coming from others. For some reason her attention did not make her feel less than whole.

'It wouldn't do for you to be out of commission,' Fate said seriously. 'The town needs you too much. So if it's a question of one day off to prevent a bigger problem, I'll risk suggesting it.'

'Thanks,' Nanoha said. 'But I'm used to these episodes, and I can tell if there's a real problem.'

'Good enough,' Fate said.

'It's really just my ankle. The nerve is severed, so I can't flex it. Its either the brace or an ankle fusion.'

'Wouldn't the fusion be less painful?' Fate ventured carefully, appreciating that this was a sensitive issue for the independent physician.

'Probably,' Nanoha admitted. 'But I'd also be less mobile. I'm still good in the water without the brace, and I can work out with an air cast if I'm careful. Besides, I've always hoped-' Her voice trailed off as she looked away.

'Hoped what?' Fate urged gently.

'That I'd row again. I'd never be able to get into the cleats if my ankle were fused.'

'How long has it been since you've rowed?' Fate asked quietly.

'Since the day of the accident - almost ten years. I guess it's pretty ridiculous to keep hoping, isn't it?'

Fate shrugged. 'If it's something you want that much, it makes sense not to close any doors. You know how much pain you can take - and if it's worth it.'

Nanoha looked at her gratefully. 'Thanks. My friends and family might not agree with you. They think I should have let them do it when I was in the hospital the first time.'

'The first time?'

Again Nanoha dropped her gaze. 'There were problems - infection, some muscle necrosis. It took the surgeons a few tries to get it cleared up.'

Fate regarded her steadily, revealing none of her churning disquiet. Her training had taught her not to personalize pain, nor to be distracted by another soldier's injury, because even a split second's loss of focus could mean the loss of more lives. But the knowledge of Nanoha's suffering penetrated that shield and Fate had to consciously dispel the vision of Nanoha in a hospital bed, fighting to keep her leg. Nanoha would not have wanted her pity then, or her sympathy now.

'Does the kayaking help?'

'Some – I'm on the water, the rhythm is good. The damn shell is so heavy, and of course, my body is restrained. It's nothing like the feeling of being alone in a scull,' she cried, her frustration evident.

Fate remembered the needle thin sculls from the pictures in Nanoha's office, no more than a sliver between the rowers and the water. She also remembered the long, clean line of Nanoha's legs as she pulled through her stroke. 'I'm sorry,' she said softly.

Nanoha laid her hand on Fate's forearm, squeezing gently. 'Hey, it's okay - really. I only get morose when the damn thing's acting up. Believe me, most days I'm just glad it's there. But thanks for not saying I'm being a fool.'

'You said you still work out?' Fate asked.

'Yes, Hapkido, remember?'

'I don't usually forget when someone humiliates me!'

'I can't imagine anyone getting the best of you!' Nanoha laughed. 'As you saw, I do mostly weapons work, with the cane - which fortunately for me is a traditional Asian weapon.'

At Fate's nod of understanding, she continued, 'With a light air cast I can stand long enough for self-defence drills, and mat work is not a problem. The only things I really can't do anymore are forms. The katas are too much of a strain.'

'So, would you be willing to teach me the cane?' Fate asked.

'If you'd be willing to work on the mat with me,' Nanoha countered immediately.

Fate smiled happily. 'Absolutely. I haven't had a training partner in a long time. Just let me know when your leg is better.'

'Give me a week,' Nanoha replied just as enthusiastically. 'Now we'd better get out of here before we're both late for work!'

Fate looked at the clock over the stove, amazed to find it was close to seven. She couldn't remember the last time she had lost track of the time.

Vita was just unlocking the front door when Fate pulled into the lot. She watched with raised eyebrows as Fate walked Nanoha to the door.

'Well! Good morning,' she smirked with exaggerated emphasis, looking pointedly from Nanoha to Fate.

'Sheriff Testarossa needs her stitches out, Vita, if you could manage to let us in?' Nanoha said, frowning at her innuendo.

'Oh, of course, Doctor! Right away Doctor!' she continued, her tone lightly mocking.

'Cut it out, Vita,' Nanoha muttered as she passed her.

She managed to follow them down the hall on the pretense of opening the exam room doors. She leaned against the door of the treatment room while Nanoha removed the sutures from Fate's brow.

'Just keep it clean. It should be fine,' she said as Fate stood to leave.

'Sure thing. Thanks, Doctor,' Fate said. She nodded to Vita as she brushed past her into the hall.

Vita craned her neck to follow her progress toward the door though narrowed suspicious eyes.

'Oh my, what a hot piece of ass she is!' she dryly announced once Fate had gone.

'Vita!' Nanoha said in exasperation.

'Oh, come on now, Doctor Takamachi, what would you call her?'

Nanoha grinned at her. 'An incredibly stunning hot piece of ass!'

Vita's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't ever remember her solitary employer commenting on a woman before. She had given up nagging Nanoha to get a date when she saw the pain in her eyes whenever she teased her about it.

'And just what was Sheriff Heartthrob doing driving you to work?' she persisted, curious and hopeful that someone had finally managed to capture Nanoha's attention.

Nanoha looked suddenly serious. 'She drove me home last night - I couldn't.'

'Damn it Nanoha! I would have stayed! Why didn't you ask?'

She sighed. 'I know. I'm just not used to asking.'

'Then how come you asked her?'

'I didn't. She didn't give me any choice.'

Good for her! Vita thought, but had the good sense not to say. It was about time someone refused to be intimidated by Nanoha Takamachi's staunch reserve. Then again, remembering the commanding air of the woman who just left, she didn't imagine anyone intimidated her.

'So-o-o..?' she questioned suggestively.

'So nothing!' she replied curtly. 'She would have done the same for anyone. That's just the way she is.'

Right, Vita muttered as she watched Nanoha move stiffly away down the hall.

Fate entered the office whistling, much to Tiida Lanster's amazement.

'Do you mind telling me what's so wonderful about the first day of Memorial Day weekend?' he asked grumpily.

'Excuse me?' Fate asked, perplexed.

'Never mind!' he snapped. 'You're on seven to seven today, okay?'

'Sure,' Fate responded. 'No problem.'

'And you've got traffic detail at the pier from one to five.'

'Yep.'

He looked at her closely. She was relaxed, smiling faintly, and, if he didn't know better, not totally present. In the two months he had known her, he had never seen her the slightest bit distracted. His curiosity was more than piqued.

'So what gives, Testarossa?'

'What do you mean?' she asked, genuinely confused. 'Not a thing.' She glanced at him as if he were acting strangely.

'Never mind,' he muttered. 'Anything new on the clinic break-in?'

Fate shook her head. 'No. The things that were missing are impossible to trace. Unless were lucky, we'll never know. There's too much traffic in and out of there to make finger printing valuable. Not much to do but keep an eye on the place.'

'Well, you'd better swing by there a couple of times a shift for the next few weeks. I hope that will discourage any repeat break-ins. By the way, nice job out on the jetty yesterday. I heard the guy was a mess.'

'I didn't do much. If Nanoha hadn't been there, I think the guy would have bled to death before the EMTs got him out. She deserves the credit.'

'Chances are you'll have plenty of work for the doc before this summer's over. We spend half our time dealing with accidents, overdoses, and minor brawls - and all of them end up at her place.'

'That's a heavy load for one doctor,' Fate commented, remembering how exhausted Nanoha had seemed the night before.

'Don't remember her ever taking a vacation in the three years she's been here,' Lanster noted.

Something about discussing Nanoha made Fate uncomfortable - she had no idea why. She shook off the sudden urge to drive by the clinic. Impatiently, she grabbed her keys.

'I'm going out for a tour before I start the traffic detail,' she announced. Maybe that would dispel the odd anxiety.

'Sure,' the Sheriff called to her departing back.

Fate travelled out Route six to Truro, then circled back to town along 6A, purposefully avoiding the turn onto Bradford that would take her past the clinic. She stopped instead across the street from her mother's gallery. She sat with the engine idling for a few moments, wondering why she had come. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel entirely sure of herself. Impulses were not something she had ever been prey to, and yet here she was. She cut the engine and climbed from the car before she had any more time to think.

'Fate!' her mother exclaimed when she opened the door.

'Bad time?' Fate asked uncertainly.

'Not at all. It's wonderful to see you. Come on back and have some coffee.'

'Sure,' Fate replied, following the other woman through the house to the kitchen.

'How are you?' her mother inquired.

'I'm fine. I was just passing by, and-' Fate faltered, not able to explain.

'Fate,' Precia said softly, 'you don't need a reason to come by. Being able to see you is a miracle.'

Fate looked away, then faced her mother directly. 'It was part of the agreement, wasn't it? That you not see me?'

Her mother's distress was palpable. 'Yes. I wouldn't have agreed, but twenty years ago, a lesbian mother had no rights at all. And I couldn't fight it. Your father had pictures.'

Fate grew very still. 'He had you followed?'

'Yes. We weren't very discreet. Lindy and I were young and terribly innocent. It didn't occur to either of us that loving each other could be wrong. I'm so sorry, Fate! I was selfish, I know, but I was so unhappy for so long! Not with you! You were the best part of my life! And then I met Lindy, and I felt alive for the first time!' Her eyes were wet with tears as she looked at the woman her daughter had become. 'I am so terribly sorry!'

Fate shook her head. 'You chose life. If you had stayed, I can only imagine it would have been worse for all of us eventually. I don't blame you. If I ever felt what you felt for Lindy, I'd do the same.'

Precia studied the tightly controlled, perfectly contained features of her daughters face and asked boldly, 'And have you ever? Felt that way for someone?'

'No.' Fate looked past her mother to the smooth water of the harbor, looking inward to a life she never examined. 'I'm like him, you know. I was happy in the military, and I'm happy now. I love the order, and the duty, and the responsibility. I don't need anything else.'

'You have your father's best qualities, Fate. I can see that. You remind me of why I married him - seeing you in that uniform - not a wrinkle, not a fold out of place. It reminds me that he represented something decent and honest and admirable. Or so I thought. Your father never made room in his life for love, Fate. I hope that won't be true for you. If it finds you, don't turn your back.'

Fate smiled ruefully. 'I'm not sure I would recognize it.'

Her mother laughed, squeezing Fate's hand gently. 'Trust me – you'll know.'

Fate spent the next four hours directing slowly moving cars and hordes of weekend arrivals through the congested, narrow streets in the center of town. Tour buses crowded the pier, disgorging packs of mostly elderly people who milled about uncertainly, seemingly oblivious to the cars passing within inches of them. Lesbian and gay couples of all ages and description poured into town for the first gathering of the summer season. Commercial Street was wall to wall pedestrians, interspersed with vehicles attempting to navigate around them. Fate greeted Griffith Lowran, her relief, with a grin.

'Welcome to bedlam, but I guess you expected it!'

Griffith looked up and down the street, shaking his head. 'Yep, looks about like I thought. Once the sun goes down, most of the out-of-towners will leave. Then all we'll have are the gays - until two or so.'

He looked harried, and Fate remembered that his young wife was pregnant. 'When's your baby due?'

'Any second. Lucino's so big now she can hardly sleep, and she's getting really spooked about being home alone at night,' he said worriedly.

Fate looked at her watch, then said, 'Listen - how about I relieve you at midnight? I can duck home now and sleep for a while.'

He looked at her hopefully. 'You'd do that?'

'Sure - its only for a few days. Just let the Sheriff know, okay? I'll be home if you need me.'

She waved away his attempts to thank her, walking off to retrieve her cruiser. The enthusiasm and holiday spirit of the people surrounding her was contagious, and she doubted that she'd be able to sleep much. She might as well work. Besides, she was anxious to see the Provincetown that only came to life at night.

At ten minutes to midnight, Fate pulled her squad car into the small lot behind city hall, across the street from the Pilgrims Monument, and one short block from the center of town. She found Griffith and sent him home. Standing with her back to the pier, she looked up and down Commercial Street. It was nearly as crowded as it had been at noon, but the entire atmosphere had changed. There was a Mardi Gras energy in the air, as same sex couples of all ages, styles, and garb strolled the sidewalks and spilled out into the street. Men in impossibly revealing shorts, leathers, and spandex passed singly or in groups, openly appraising each other. Women, mostly in couples, and occasional knots of youths were very much a presence as well. They held hands or draped their arms about each other, delighting in their visibility. Fate had never seen so many gay people in one place before. It was clear that Provincetown was every inch the mecca it claimed to be.

She started west along Commercial, toward the Coast Guard station that marked the end of the most populated walk in Provincetown. For the most part, the crowds were congenial and controlled, parting like the sea for the bicyclists and rollerbladers who dared navigate the packed one-way street. Fate took her time, glancing in the shops she passed, most of which were still open and would remain open eighteen hours a day until after Labour Day. The merchants of Provincetown had a very short season, and worked nonstop during the three months of summer. The restaurants and many bed-and-breakfasts were also dependent on a heavy tourist trade during the summer migration of gays and lesbians in order to survive the near desolation of the empty winter months.

Fate walked down to the entrance to the Provincetown Gym and stuck her head inside. Alto was behind the counter, piling tee shirts and sweats onto the shelves behind her. Alto smiled a greeting. 'Hey, sexy! I thought this was Griffith's shift!'

'It is, but he's home with his wife, waiting on the baby. I'm filling in for a few days.'

'Ain't it beautiful out there?' Alto remarked with a grin.

'Everything I've been told is true. It's changed overnight,' Fate agreed.

'And it isn't even busy yet!'

It was hard not to catch the enthusiasm that pervaded the small fishing village. Fate nodded, knowing that the hardest three months of her year were in front of her, and not minding a bit. This was the reason she was here - to make sure that the town and its people were safe and prosperous through another cycle.

'I've got to get going. I just wanted to say Hi.'

Alto waved her on, saying, 'How about dinner again soon?'

'Sure,' Fate agreed. 'How does September sound?'

'Oh, come now, Sheriff,' Alto teased, 'you've got to find some time to enjoy the goings on around here. I'll take you to the tea dance!'

'Deal,' Fate acquiesced, 'as soon as I get a day off.'

'It's a date!'

Fate raised one eyebrow. 'Oh really?'

Alto laughed, 'Get out of here. Go make our streets safe for the younguns!'

Fate smiled to herself as she rejoined the throngs in front of Spiritus Pizza, the central gathering place for the dozens of men and women who sat on the curb, occupied the benches, or leaned against the light poles to watch the spectacle of life passing by. There wasn't much in the way of public drunkenness, or obvious drug use. Generally, someone in the gathering managed to keep the heavy partiers under control or off the streets. Fate was glad of that. She didn't want to spend her shift hassling people over fairly harmless substance use, but shed have to if it became too publicly blatant. She was paid to enforce the law, and she would, but she reserved the right to use her own judgement as to what constituted a real violation.

She glanced down the alley next to Spiritus and noticed movement in the shadows at the far end. It was dark enough that she pulled out her flashlight, playing over the ground ahead. Two people, wrapped in an embrace, pulled apart as she approached. Her light flickered over the face of a boyish blue-haired teenager. The girl looked like any of the leather-clad youth who crowded the streets. She had the requisite multiple piercings along the edge of her ears, a small silver ring through the rim of her left nostril, and a tattoo showing along the inner aspect of her left breast. The lace up vest she wore with nothing under it was still open to the waist from what no doubt had been an interrupted caress. A typical teenage rendezvous, except this girl was holding tight to Teana Lanster's hand, trying to look defiant. Teana stepped forward, her shoulders braced, obscuring the girl from Fate's view.

Fate spoke before Teana could. 'It's not safe down these alleys. You two head on back to the street.'

Neither of them said a word as they sidled past her, hurrying toward the end of the alley. Fate took her time, giving them the opportunity to disappear into the crowd. She glanced at her watch. It was one-twenty in the morning. She was willing to bet that Tiida Lanster did not know that his seventeen-year-old sister was out on the streets, or what she was doing there. She was glad it wasn't her daughter. She was positive she would make a mess of handling what didn't have to be a problem. As she walked east back to city hall, she thought about herself at seventeen. She had never had the desire to sneak out to be with anyone, male or female, and for the first time in her life, she wondered why not.

Note: Again, some characters will behave quite differently from their canon selves due to the AU and the original story itself, especially, especially Subaru. I can't emphasize this enough and hope this is fair warning for readers.

KJacket and nanofatehere, thanks for reviewing! I agree it's a little sad that MGLN fics and activity has gone down greatly. I definitely want to finish what I started so many years ago, so rest assured you'll get to see the end of this fic at least. And also perhaps a few sequels *wink wink* lol This first book in the series is quite short compared to the sequels, so I've been updating very quickly to get through this and hopefully start on the next book where we'll have more of our favourite characters coming in.

If there's any reader out there who is familiar with this series, and wouldn't mind helping me to nail down some of the characters for the future books, please don't hesitate to pm me! Thanks!