Each story is set on a different morning. Also, did you know Angie Harmon is half Cherokee? Thought that would be something fun to include. Finally, I was reading over the final story and realized it could be interpreted as trying to send a message. Just to be clear, I am not trying to impart of any political views, just trying to make good J/A stories. Your politics are your business.
7:13 AM
Diluted sunlight drifted in through the gauzy curtains, lighting up the bedroom and the two people inside. One of the two people inside shifted under the downy comforter, rolling over so she bumped into her partner next to her. The man grunted.
"Sorry," Abbie mumbled snuggling into Jack, relishing the warmth. The window was open letting sunlight along with chilly November air inside. Jack put an arm around Abbie, pulling her closer.
"S'fine, " Jack slurred slightly, "Morning." He used his other arms to rub his eyes and clear the sleep from them.
"Mmm," Abbie said, sliding slightly more under the covers, her brain still foggy with exhaustion. She suspected she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep though.
"What's on your hand?" Jack asked, taking Abbie's left hand in his own. It was covered in a black stain.
"Ink," she explained. "Cheap pens don't dry as fast so it got smeared all over my hand."
"How- Wait." Jack tilted his head slightly in thought. "Your left-handed?" Jack sat up, leaning against the wooden headboard.
"Yeah. You didn't know?" Abbie said, mildly surprised. She yawned, feeling more awake and sat up as well. From this view she could see Jack's hair was awry, sticking completely up in the back. Abbie reached over and patted it down.
"We can do one right now. See if I can tell the difference," He offered, waggling his eyebrows and grinning. "Besides, your hands really aren't your most attractive quality." He briefly leered at her breasts, the dark nipples visible through her sheer white top. Abbie caught his leer and raised her eyebrows at him.
"Awfully brazen of you," Abbie challenged, leaning forward so they were nose to nose.
"One of the best parts of our relationship is that I no longer have to sneak glances whenever you wear a tight top," Jack said, kissing her lightly.
Abbie scoffed, pulled away with a teasing smile. Jack gave her a look "I forgot to ask you, how was the meeting with Judge Wright and the defense council?" She changed the topic. It was fun to tease Jack.
Jack sighed in annoyance, ambitions of sex temporarily forgotten. "Guess who's defense counsel? Barry Peck."
Abbie groaned, remembering the insolent and indolent lawyer. "You know every time I see him he says I have nice legs and I should show them off more."
"Well now I'm offended, he never says that to me," Jack quipped. Abbie raised her eyebrows. "Hey, I have feelings."
"Well then, you were fantastic in bed last night," Abbie teased, smiling at the memory.
"I heard you then," Jack remarked, giving her an indulgent smile.
"You're awfully smart-mouthed today."
"Thank you."
"I wasn't complementing your jokes," Abbie corrected. His ego was already healthy enough.
"Of course not. I was thinking of its other uses," Jack said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"Really?" She asked drily, her cheeks heating.
"Hey, with your original hand-jobs and my smart-mouth we'll never be dissatisfied," He offered. Abbie smiled at that. "We shouldn't talk about work right now though."
"Fine," Abbie said, "Let's do something then, we only have so many days off."
"We can whatever you want tomorrow. I want to lie in bed with you now." Jack kissed the side of her mouth, then moved down to her neck. His hands worked their way down her body.
"And why would I do that?" Abbie asked, giving him a coy smile. Jack lightly kissed her lips. Then he leaned to the right and whispered in her ear something so dirty it made her hair stand on end.
"That's what we can do if we stay in bed."
"You can do that?" She asked.
"Yeah." Jack said, giving an impish grin.
"Do you have a condom?" She asked. She leaned over him reaching down and running her hand between his legs.
"Believe me, you can't get pregnant from this kind of sex."
5:48 AM
Abbie Carmichael woke up to a sharp pain in her abdomen. She squeezed her eyes tighter shut trying to ignore it. She was halfway back to sleep when she felt another stab of pain. She groaned trying to shift over to lie on her stomach, hoping it would help, when she felt something sticky on her thighs. Abbie reached under the covers, running her finger along the inside of her thigh.
In her drowsy state, barely awake and still feeling the effects of her drinks last night, upon feeling the sticky substance coating her thighs Abbie wondered if she had peed herself, something she hadn't done since first grade. Soon however she woke up enough to realize what had actually happened.
She sat up abruptly. Jack mumbled beside her but did not seem to wake up. Abbie reached between her legs again. Her underwear was soaked through. She reached farther and when she pulled her fingers out found the light brown fingers coated in syrupy, red blood. Abbie ran her hand along where she had been sleeping and found the area to be sticky and wet.
Shit.
Abbie had a sudden flashback to her fifteenth year. Waking up in the middle of the night with her legs coated in blood for the first time. That time though she had been happy, had been waiting years for it.
Calm down. It's just your period. Change your underwear and find a tampon, She scolded herself. Abbie took off her underwear, throwing it haphazardly into the laundry and going to the living room to find her purse.
The lights were off but the street lights from the open window lit up the room.
She rifled through her bag, looking for her extra tampons. There were none. Damn. She must've forgotten to add more after last time.
The light switch flipped on and Abbie turned around, squinting as the rapid change in the light created spots in her vision. Jack stared at her from across the living room. He was dressed in a t-shirt and boxers. Abbie realizing she was naked from the waist down yanked down the shirt she was wearing.
"Hey." Jack said. He looked mildly confused.
"Hey," Abbie said plainly, "I got my period." She didn't know why she felt so embarrassed. He had seen her naked after all.
"That tracks," He said, gesturing to her legs. Abbie blushed.
"I'm really sorry," She apologized, "I can-"
"Don't worry about it," Jack said, walking across the living room until he was next to her. Abbie felt him take her hand in his. "Honestly I'm glad it was your period. When I woke up and saw blood covered sheets and you missing, I thought I might have drank too much last night and killed you." Abbie laughed, feeling a bit better
She eventually managed to find a tampon and she put on one of the pairs of underwear she kept at his apartment. When Jack turned on the lights in the bedroom Abbie was embarrassed all over again. The sheets were a cream color and a large patch was a dark reddish brown.
But Jack didn't say anything, just helped her take the sheets off of the bed and go to the soaked the sheets in cold water and stain remover and by the time they had scrubbed and dried the sheets. When they put them back on the bed the sheets looked almost the exact same. At this point it was a little past seven, but still dark outside.
Abbie watched as Jack flopped down on the clean sheets, pulling the comforter up from where it had been discarded on the floor. Abbie followed suit, lying down next to him. "Thanks for being so nice about this," She whispered.
"Well I couldn't exactly kick you out in the middle of the night half-dressed with blood running between your legs?" Jack remarked.
Abbie rolled her eyes. She noticed Jack often deflected compliments. "I'm saying I know it was a pain to have to wake up in the middle of the night and clean. You didn't complain." She kissed his cheek in affection.
"Your girlfriend telling you she got her period is always better than her telling you she hasn't," Jack said sagely. Abbie snorted in amusement.
"You know if this ever happens again, I have a box of tampons in the bathroom cupboard," Jack said.
"For me?" Abbie asked, both surprised and touched.
Jack said, "No Abbie, those ones are my tampons. Get your own."
3:02 AM
Jack lay in bed, wide awake. A cool breeze drifted in through the window, cooling his bare skin. Abbie lay beside him equally naked. She was completely asleep, breathing quietly. Abbie breathed oddly quietly. One time, early on in their relationship he had awoken and seen her completely still and silent and had put his hand under her nose to make sure she was still breathing.
He knew why he was awake. A scenario from that day, (or was it yesterday?) was running again and again through his mind. They had just finished a day in court. Abbie had been in the bathroom and Jack had been waiting by the court's pillars when Danielle Melnick had walked up.
"Danielle," He greeted, as amicably as possible since they had just spent the past eight hours facing off.
"Jack," She greeted back. "Where's Miss Texas?"
"Bathroom," He said evasively. He had known Danielle for decades and knew from the slight smirk on her face she was up to something. To explain why he was waiting for Abbie he added, "We're heading back to the office after this.
"It's," She checked her watch, "Nine PM. Seems I'm giving you quite the run for your money." He shrugged. "You know, I just noticed how pretty Carmichael is." She raised her eyebrows.
"I don't think she's into you, but I'd be happy to pass along the message," Jack quipped. He turned around looking for Abbie but didn't see her.
She scoffed at the joke. "No, I was thinking that's what you must be feeling."
"She's attractive. So are a lot of women," Jack retorted.
"You don't look at most women like you look at Abbie," Danielle said. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Anybody with eyes would notice."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jack said, hiding his nerves. What does she want?
"I'll lay it out for you then. You're sleeping with her," She accused.
"I'm not" He denied, his heart rate raising slightly.
"Honestly, I thought after all of the other ones you would have learned. Especially since she's so much younger than you."
He just gave her a cold look and said disdainfully, "Danielle, don't be a tiresome busybody. Maybe you should get your own lover instead of fantasizing about mine."
Danielle paused, surprised that he had broken the constraints of politeness. Then she narrowed her eyes, anger replacing the shock. "Is it fun dating a younger woman? Rather exotic too; Chickasaw isn't she?"
Jack had a sudden desire to slap her. He was about to snap back when he heard footsteps and turned around to see Abbie emerging from the building. He wondered how much she had heard. "Danielle." She said, Her tone was friendly which meant probably nothing.
"Abbie." Danielle said, voice cold. She turned to Jack, and gave him a look. Then she turned away.
Once she was appropriately far away Abbie asked, "What did she say?"
"Just plea bargains. Let's go home," Jack lied. Abbie didn't look like she believed him, but she nodded.
And lying awake now, Jack knew what she said didn't matter. If he told Abbie she might've laughed. Well after she raged at Danielle.
"Jack?" A soft voice said, startling Jack. He turned over to see Abbie, black eyes blinking sleepily. "Why are you still awake?"
"I'm sorry," He said, kissing her forehead. "Did I wake you?"
"You were grinding your teeth," Abbie said. Jack realized his jaw was clenched. "Why are you awake?"
"Thinking about stuff. It isn't important."
"You're lying," Abbie said bluntly. He sighed, wondering if he could make something else up that she would believe.
"It doesn't matter," Jack said, unable to think of anything believable.
"Then why won't you tell me?" Abbie asked.
"Fine… Danielle said some stuff to me," Jack admitted
"And what did she say?" Abbie asked.
"She made some comments."
"Comments about…" She stretched the words out. When he didn't answer she said, "Are you going to make me drag it out of you?"
"About you being younger. And how I thought you being Chickasaw was exotic," Jack said. It sounded silly when he said it out loud.
She scoffed. "I always knew she didn't like me," Abbie said, surprisingly calm. "Is this why you've been pouting?"
"Pouting?"
"Fine, pondering deeply," She pierced him with her stare.
"I guess it made me wonder if you had ever thought of any of that," He asked.
To his surprise Abbie said, "Of course I thought that! For the first month we were together I was half sure you were only with me for the sex."
"You did?" He asked surprised.
She laughed. "With your reputation, I'd have to be stupid not to think that! It doesn't matter though. Look how far we've come from when we first met though," She said emphatically. "Remember our first case?" Jack smiled at half at her conviction, half at the memory of her slapping his hand on the courthouse steps. "I mean my God look what you've done to me. I'm lying in bed in the middle of the night sharing my feelings! You think that comes naturally to a Texan?" Jack smiled, chuckling slightly. Abbie grinned, pleased at being able to reassure him.
"Okay, honest question though," she put her head on his chest so they were nose to nose. Did the Native American thing ever turn you on?" He laughed. Abbie was one of few people who would never cease to surprise him.
"Hey, don't laugh, I'm serious," She exclaimed, "I'm wondering about it now."
"No way. Honestly, it was the main reason I didn't date you for so long," Abbie looked horrified until Jack started laughing.
"You scared me!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe you fell for that!" He said, laughing harder. Abbie swatted at him. "I love you Abbie," Jack said, still chuckling.
"I love you too," Abbie said. Then she gave him a quizzical look. "By the way, you didn't think I was Chickasaw right?"
"Of course not," He said. "I know your Choctaw."
"Jack, I'm Cherokee."