Title: A Quiet Mind
Rating: K
Archive: If someone would point me in that direction…
Summary: '…I'm in pain, but I won't let you band-aid the wound…'
Author's Note: I haven't written a Law and Order: CI fic since the beginning of the summer. For some reason I lost my CI muse and got caught up in a whirlwind of Wicked fiction writing. I actually don't know what to say because my CI muse is still somewhere off in the tropics with a fruity drink with a tiny umbrella floating in it. I've decided to start out my CI writing small and work my way up to try and drag my muse back. Hopefully, the start of the season (whenever that will be) will help.
So, I'm so sorry if this is out of character, so late you hate me, or just plain bad. Hopefully there will be more to come.
Also, if any likes Wicked (musical or book) I would encourage them to glance at the Wicked section or jump straight there via one of my stories. The awards were just held, and the winners really are wonderful stories that I strongly encourage.
Without further nonsense:
Chapter Four
The pillows were, as Alex expected, in perfect order, and the sheets were just as meticulously packed away in the back of the closet. Not for the first time she found herself questioning why her brooding recluse of a partner needed a guest bedroom. The convenience of the situation, however, pushed out any thoughts of this as she stretched the soft blue material across the mattress. One nail pulled at a lose string.
'What pray tell my dear Alexandra, are you still doing here? Do you listen to me? Do you listen to reason? No, and look where you are- in the bed of your partner making his bed, reopening your wounds, and on your knees like some common harlot. Just minutes ago he was begging for your forgiveness, and now you're making his bed for you to sleep in to keep him the company that he needs because he can't hold onto his life as it slips through his hands. The least you could do is make it about you for once.'
Alex jerked the string once and shook her head at the sudden 'snap' from beneath her hand. This would not do. Her fingers worked at the sheets as her brain worked at the man only one room away pouring coffee and heating up some forgotten meal from yesterday. She could hear his footsteps as he paced, and she could almost see the tension his body always held. A small part of her smiled as the other part tossed one pillow against the headboard.
'Leave him in there a while longer. Make him wait to hear your judgment. He left you barricade in building for hours while he danced around his old mentor. Oh no, Robert Goren is never wrong; it could never be right under his nose. Let him sweat.'
She traced one finger down the corner of the nightstand. The bandage across her face did nothing to ease the pain flaring under the skin. A headache, not the last, began to spark behind her eyes. Relaxing against the doorframe, she cocked her head to the right and watched Bobby's arm appear in her line of sight every three seconds.
'Look at him in there, pacing like a caged lion. You know, it's the females who do all the work. They hunt, care for the young, and yet it's the males that get all the popularity. Listen to him He's stalking back and forth, tossing his head and growling at himself. He's just waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on you again. Feel that-that burning under your skin? He's just waiting for you to walk in there so he can do it again.'
She pushed herself off from the wall…
…Into the lion's den.
-TBC-
