Chapter 2
New York City—Malba, Queens
In Berlin, the conductor lifted his baton, and in New York, a couple pulled up in their SUV to the neat, well-built home within sight of the Throgs Neck Bridge. Already, the street and driveway was crowded with cars of family and friends.
The small woman in the driver's seat braked, put the transmission into park and unlocked the doors. Once she had dreaded this day, a birthday, because it had only reminded her of a great gift and an equal loss, an emptiness that she never dreamed could be filled.
Said I, many times, love is illusion
A feeling result of confusion.
With knowing smile, and blazing sigh,
A cynical so and so was I.
She slid out of the driver's side and balanced herself a little stiffly on the sidewalk, then turned back to look at her passenger. He was already in the back, undoing the seat, smiling and talking to the small bundle contained within it.
I felt so sure, so positive
So utterly, unchangingly certain.
But I never was aware of love and you.
Seventeen months. Seventeen months since he walked into 1PP with his partner and "the tour group" and everything changed. Of course, a lot of what happened after I could have done without...
Dark blond hair parted on the right and cut fairly short. Strong but refined features that reflected his good breeding. Not quite as tall as her partner, but leaner and more muscular. A bearing and direct manner that with his build she recognized as former military. A quiet charm that was strictly his.
Among the women and at least one guy, there were whiplash cases galore. Word spread, and suddenly MCS had sightseers from SVU, Cold Case and even Warrants in those late August/early September weeks.
Right up until September 11, when the nightmare started. And one of the images that kept her sane was his.
But this year was a gift. And this man was a gift. The kind that just kept giving.
In this world of ordinary people
Extraordinary people
I'm glad there is you
In one large arm he held the bundle of boy closely and in the other, her. She was small beside him, but she was used to that. The cold nipped at them and they hurried to the door of her parents' home, but not before smiling at each other and cooing at the smallest one of the three.
The door burst open—as usual—and the noise and excitement of her large clan spilled out into the street. Having grown up in a small and very proper family, he found it took some getting used to, but he liked it. It reminded him of his older brother's lively brood and even the best of barracks life. Everything was fair game, including his accent, that he could read both Arabic and Hebrew, and the usual joshing about their "mixed marriage" even though he was Roman Catholic like the rest of the family. He had even figured out most of the arcane "house rules."
In this world of over-rated pleasures
Of under-rated treasures
I'm so glad there is you
Snack in hand, he watched her in the living room with the riot of children and teenagers. His first marriage had been so different. He was in the Royal Marines, with a woman he thought he knew and loved. A beauty who craved what she thought was the glamorous life of an officer's wife and could not hide her disappointment when it turned out to be long deployments and cold flats on dreary bases. He gave in to her wishes and resigned his commission. Friends from the Forces advised him that there were openings in the London Metropolitan Police—Scotland Yard—that suited someone of his background and talents. London had plenty of other men to entertain her, with no children to curtail her time or spoil the figure. Civil divorce, a hard to get church annulment and that was the end. They had not been in touch in nearly ten years.
I live to love, I love to live with you beside me
This role so new, I'll muddle through with you to guide me
He looked at her cradling their boy—Robert John—family names that were in no small coincidence the names of her partner and his partner's late husband—and moved to her side. She shooed her brothers' kids off the couch, making some room for him. Of course they would come right back to tug at their new uncle who spoke funny but loved to romp.
Her mom got them away with promises of cookies so the three could have a little semi-private time together. If she could read the thoughts behind their smiles, they would be:
We are so fortunate to have each other, well and reasonably sound. We are lucky to have had a strong, healthy child to love, who filled a hole in two hearts. We are lucky to love our work and to have the two best partners in the world, whom in the arc of their return to each other brought us together. They love and take care of each other and in no small measure, us.
In this world where many, many play at love
And hardly any stay in love
I'm glad there is you
More than ever, I'm glad there is you
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Author's Notes: Chapter 2, New York City
The canon is not specific about the Eames family residence other than it's large to accommodate a large family. It's been placed in Queens and Long Island. I placed it in Malba, Queens, because it is an exceptionally nice (and now very exclusive) area with large houses, but John Eames in the 1960s may have been able to afford a "fixer-upper". It was also a safe area for a family during the bad years of NYC, a factor important to a policeman father.
Lyrics: "I'm Glad There Is You" by Paul Madeira (Mertz); music by Jimmy Dorsey. This includes the seldom-used introductory bridge. Excellent versions by Frank Sinatra and Carmen McRae (Carmen's includes the intro, Sinatra's is better known).
OK, now that you've read this, you deserve some clues (updated 12/22/06):
1) If you read this closely, most (but not all) of the relationships are there, plus the crucial event, but explained in broad strokes. Yes, there are two sets of partners: the one you recognize is NYPD (don't toss any bricks, they'll remain so) and the new one's from the "Met" (not the opera, but the London Metropolitan Police, a/k/a Scotland Yard). The newcomers have a little more exposition because you know the other two so well.
2) For how we get to this happy world, you'll have to wait for "Second Chances", which is a long fic to be written sometime in the future. This is going to be a long romantic yet angsty adventure and while mostly worked out, a major commitment of time to actually write that I don't have right now. (I have a folder full of notes, however!). I may take these characters and some others from the LOCI canon for a trip in a different direction, though, before then.
3) The first chapter is a little "dense" because these two are. They just are. And neither comes easy off the keyboard.
4) Did anyone catch the reference to the "Dani" character (SVU, Stabler's temp partner) in para. 8? She was from Warrants. If so, you get a L&O gold star!
5) Finally--why didn't I name the characters? To keep you guessing! Hey, we have to have some fun here!
Newbies love feedback and I'm no exception. Tell me whether you liked it. And thank you to all who have commented so far--I've valued every single one!
Merry Christmas!