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

Chapter Fourteen

It was close to two a.m. Fate was parked on the pier, facing Commercial Street, watching the last of the visitors straggle out of town. She was looking for anyone who wasn't fit to drive.

'Fate? You copy?' the disembodied voice of the night dispatcher called over the car radio.

'I'm here,' Fate responded. 'Go ahead.'

'We just got a request for you to call the East End Health Clinic...'

Fate gunned the engine, flipping on her lights with one hand as she wheeled out into the street. 'What's the situation?' she questioned, her voice tight. 'Is it another break-in?' She was two minutes away, and it seemed like an eternity.

'Unknown. Handle as routine.'

A call from the clinic at this hour could hardly be routine, and Fate knew it. No one should even be there. It had to be Nanoha. Fate slammed into the lot, half-way out the door before she even had the car in park. Nanoha's Jeep was the only vehicle in sight. She scanned the entire area as she raced toward the door, looking for signs of an intruder. The front door swung open just as she reached the porch. Suddenly, Nanoha was there.

'Fate -' she began.

Fate grasped her shoulders, searching her face intently. 'Are you all right?' she questioned hoarsely. She pulled Nanoha out of the backlit doorway as she peered into the interior of the building, automatically shielding her with her own body.

Nanoha was momentarily off balance and pressed both hands against Fate's chest to steady herself. Fate's body was tightly coiled, shimmering with tension. 'Whoa! Slow down,' Nanoha gasped. 'I'm fine.' There was a fierceness in Fate's eyes she had never seen before - a feral intensity that should have been frightening, it looked so dangerous. What Nanoha felt instead was closer to excitement. The powerful force of Fate's emotional fervor was stirring.

'Fate,' Nanoha began again, 'I'm fine.' As she spoke, she grasped Fate's arms, shaking her lightly to get her attention. 'I called you about a patient. Everything is all right.'

Fate looked at her then, not yet accepting that she was safe. What she had felt in those few minutes when she thought Nanoha was in danger was completely foreign to her. Her entire life had been spent preparing for defense - in the military, in the police force, in the dojo. She was trained to confront any threat with the cold calm of a soldier. The gut wrenching near-panic she had just experienced rocked her to the core. For the first time in her life she had felt the iron grip of fear. Without conscious thought she pulled Nanoha to her. 'Jesus,' she whispered, 'I thought something had happened to you.'

The intensity of her embrace was more than Nanoha could resist, and she yielded to it. She pressed into Fate, her arms slipping around Fate's waist.

'I'm sorry,' Nanoha murmured, holding Fate tightly. 'I only asked that they have you call me.' She couldn't seem to manage any other explanation. It was all she could do to control her own trembling. And it wasn't from fear, but from sheer overwhelming desire. With a soft moan she pressed her lips against Fate's neck, aching with need. She clung to her while her senses raged, her mind clouded with the escalating physical arousal she couldn't contain. Oh, god, I want you so much. Her nipples stiffened, aching to be touched, and her clit throbbed, screaming for contact. Her hips rocked against Fate's hard thigh, desperately seeking release.

'Hey, hey,' Fate soothed, stroking her back gently. 'I didn't mean to scare you -.' Her own sense of relief was so intense she was shaking.

God almighty, Nanoha, you can't do this now! Nanoha struggled for composure. With more restraint than she thought possible, she pushed away from Fate, breaking the exquisitely agonizing contact.

'Let me catch my breath,' Nanoha said as lightly as she could manage, turning away with effort. She was on fire, and she was seconds away from touching Fate in a way that could leave no doubt about her desire. She was going to make a fool of herself.

'Nanoha?' Fate questioned, confused by Nanoha's abrupt withdrawal. She stared after her as Nanoha moved resolutely down the hall, putting distance between them. Fate felt the separation as more than physical. As close as they had been an instant before, a chasm stretched between them now. The pain of an old wound flickered to the surface for a searing instant, the deeply buried agony of loss. Fate automatically pushed it away. That stoicism had protected her for years and it was second nature to her now. Whatever vulnerable place Nanoha had unwittingly touched was safely defended once again. By the time Fate followed Nanoha into her office she felt nothing.

'What happened?' Fate asked.

Nanoha sat behind her desk, needing to get as far away as possible. She prayed she would be able to look at Fate without revealing her turmoil. Even now she was trembling with the urge to touch her. She took a deep, slightly shaky breath and pulled forth her own defenses. She had called Fate as a doctor, and that's how she would deal with her. On that level she was safe.

'I just finished suturing a young boy's forehead,' she began, her voice sounding flat to her own ears. 'He and his boyfriend were walking back to town along Route six, out near Herring Cove. Apparently, they had been up in the dunes -'

'Damn,' Fate muttered, intent on Nanoha's story. She gave no sign of her own lingering agitation.

'They said a group of men in a truck tried to run them off the road. Someone threw a bottle at them. It struck one boy in the head. He had a nasty scalp laceration. I didn't think I should wait until morning to tell you, in case the men in the truck are still cruising around looking for trouble.' She was finally calm enough to look at Fate, and she caught her breath at the undisguised fury in Fate's face.

'Where are the boys now?' Fate questioned in a voice taut with anger.

Nanoha shook her head apologetically. 'I couldn't get them to wait, Fate. I tried. They're local kids, and they're scared. They don't want their parents to know about them.'

'God damn it! How am I supposed to protect these kids? They won't let me!'

Nanoha had a feeling that some of Fate's frustration was motivated by her increasing concern for Teana Lanster. She knew that Fate was fond of her, and that their bond was growing as a result of their nearly daily contact in the dojo. And she also had a feeling that the outwardly tough, inwardly sensitive young girl reminded Fate of herself at that age.

'Fate, I know how hard it is for you. I'm sorry. It's not that they don't trust you -'

'I know you tried, Nanoha. You did exactly right in calling me now. Did they give you any details?' She knew better than to ask for their names. She knew Nanoha couldn't breach her bond of confidentiality, and she wouldn't put her in that position. But she felt so powerless!

'It was a pickup truck - dark blue or black. They didn't get the make. There were at least a couple of men inside. One boy thought the truck had Massachusetts plates. It's not much to go on.'

Fate smiled thinly. 'It's a start. At least I can keep an eye out for similar vehicles, drive through that area a little more often. Maybe my presence will be a deterrent.' She sighed. 'It's more than I knew an hour ago. I just hope this isn't related to the other incidents up the Cape.'

Fate studied Nanoha's face in the dim light of the desktop reading light. The doctor looked drawn in a way that seemed more than simply fatigue. There were stress lines etched into the fine skin around her mouth and eyes. Her hands were shaking. Fate was aware of the long clinic hours Nanoha had been keeping since the summer began, but she had never seen her look quite so strained.

'What were you doing here at two o'clock in the morning?' Fate asked.

'I wasn't here. They called the number I leave posted on the door for emergencies.'

Fate stood. 'You look worn out. Let me drive you home.'

'I've got my Jeep. I'm fine.'

'I'd feel better if you'd let me drive you - please,' Fate said softly. She couldn't explain it any better to herself. She simply wanted the peace of mind of knowing that Nanoha was safe at home.

Nanoha inclined her head in agreement, too exhausted emotionally and physically to argue. 'Miyuki can drive me to work in the morning,' she conceded.

They were silent on the short ride to Nanoha's home. Fate pulled up the drive beside the darkened house, flicking off her lights and killing the engine. She turned to face Nanoha where she sat framed in moonlight. Fate found her both beautiful and unusually vulnerable. Something instinctual stirred in her, a response at once protective and possessive.

'Something happened to me tonight when I thought you were in danger. I was afraid,' Fate confessed quietly. 'All I could think was that I had to get to you. Nothing ever mattered so much-' She reached out tentatively to touch Nanoha's hand.

Nanoha flinched. 'Don't Fate,' she choked. 'Don't touch me right now.'

Fate moved closer, her voice husky with concern. 'Why? What is it?'

Nanoha tried unsuccessfully to contain a sob, her own conflicting feelings overpowering her defenses. 'Because I want you so much it hurts, and I won't be able to stand it if you touch me,' she said in a strangled whisper. She tried to focus out the window into the darkness, searching for the familiar, anything to keep her from coming apart.

'And you think I don't want you?' Fate rasped, her breath constricting in her chest. She was leaning so close her words ruffled Nanoha's hair. Her stomach churned with emotions so powerful she ached.

'God, Fate, don't play games with me!' Nanoha cried, turning to face her at last.

Fate cupped her face gently with both hands, her eyes burning into Nanoha's. 'I have never been more serious in my life,' she breathed softly as she pressed her lips to hers.

It was a kiss like none Nanoha had ever experienced. Questioning at first, tentatively seeking, then bolder as Fate pulled her deep into a swirling vortex of sensation, finally ending in something as tender as a prayer. Nanoha didn't feel as if she had been simply kissed; she felt as if she had been worshipped. When Fate lifted her lips away, Nanoha cried out at the loss. Her hands were twisted in Fate's shirtfront, and Nanoha clung to her, gasping.

'Where'd you learn to kiss like that?' Nanoha said unevenly when she could draw breath again.

Fate laughed shakily, pulling Nanoha against her chest, burying her face in her hair. 'I have no idea where that came from. But I can tell you this. I want to do it again, and I don't ever want to stop.'

'God, you're beautiful,' Nanoha whispered. 'And you're scaring me to death.'

'Why?' Fate questioned gently, pressing her lips to Nanoha's forehead. She wrapped her arms around her, wanting to feel all of her near. Fate groaned softly, closing her eyes.

Nanoha trembled. 'I want you to make love to me, Fate - so much I feel as if I'll come apart if you don't. And I'm terrified of wanting you so much. You don't know how you make me feel-'

'I know how you make me feel,' Fate said hoarsely, her hands stroking Nanoha's neck, her collar bones, moving closer to the full curve of her breasts with each caress. 'And I know with absolute certainty that I want you.'

Nanoha pushed away from her, although it took every ounce of her will power to do it. She was shaking with the effort of not touching her. Her lips felt bruised, and she was swollen to the point of pain with desire. But for the sake of what little sanity she had left, she needed time. She knew instinctively that if this woman made love to her, her life would never be the same. 'Fate Testarossa,' she whispered softly, 'I do not intend to sleep with you in your patrol car.'

Fate laughed unsteadily, grasping Nanoha's hands to keep her near, but accepting her unspoken request for time. Every instinct in her body urged her to kiss her again, every cell cried out to touch her, but she would not unless welcomed. She brushed a kiss against Nanoha's palm.

'Tell me when I can see you again,' she asked frantically.

Nanoha tenderly brushed the light locks back off Fate's brow, loath to let her go. 'I'll see you in the dojo, just like always,' she said softly as she slipped from the car. 'Now go back to work.'

She watched until the red taillights disappeared around the bend toward town, fearing that Fate had just left with a piece of her heart.

Note: Ha! Finally something is happening. Thanks for the reviews last chapter!