"Are they all gone?" Tory asked cautiously as she ventured out onto the deck. She found Catherine stirring a pitcher of margaritas and nearly wept at the sight. "God, am I ready for one of those!"

"We are alone at last," Cath informed her, handing her a drink. "And how is the famous patient?"

Tory blushed. "Out like a light. I can’t get her to take any narcotics, and I think the pain is wearing her out." She sank into the canvas deck chair with a sigh. "I’m wondering if I shouldn’t send her to Boston for follow-up."

Catherine looked at her in surprise. "I thought you said she was going to be fine?"

"She is - but I’m sleeping with her for God’s sake!"

"I was meaning to ask you about that," Catherine said teasingly. "Just how did that come about? I got the sense this morning - or was it last night - that you weren’t quite ready for that."

"Who says I’m ready? It just happened. Well, actually she seduced me. Oh, hell. I’ve been wanting her for weeks."

"Is she as good as she looks like she’d be?"

"Jesus, Cath!"

"Well, you said she’d never been with a woman. Naturally I’m curious!"

"Naturally." Tory remarked sarcastically. "She is far better than she looks, if you can imagine that! It’s got nothing to do with how she makes love-" She stopped, blushing as she remembered their brief interlude just an hour before. "Well, of course, there’s that-"

"Of course."

"I just meant there’s so much more to it than that. Oh, I can’t explain it! She just has to look at me and I’m ready. So you can obviously see my judgement is impaired. Now you can see why I shouldn’t be treating her."

Catherine laughed. "Tor, your brain is still functioning, even if the rest of your circuitry is shorted out. Don’t worry about it - you’re not doing anything wrong. If you two had been together for years and this had happened, you’d feel perfectly comfortable looking after her."

"It’s not the medical issue I’m worried about," Tory confessed. "I’m afraid to send her back to work. I’m afraid of her work. Last night I saw her get shot. I thought I had seen her killed. I didn’t realize until that moment how much she means to me. Now we’ve made love, Cath. She’s opened the door to places I’m not even sure I wanted to know about. God, I don’t even know if she loves me, and I’m terrified of losing her!"

"Tor," Catherine said gently, "I can’t imagine how horrible last night was for you. The woman you’re crazy over almost got herself killed. Everything must seem shaky right now. You’re exhausted. Go upstairs, lie down beside her, and try to sleep. I just want to remind you of one thing. Ten years ago when you were lying in a hospital bed, none of us ever wanted to see you in a scull again - because we had almost lost you. Now every day I pray that you will someday row again, because you love it and you need it. If Reese weren’t the woman she is- the cop, the soldier - you wouldn’t love her. I don’t imagine loving her will be easy, but I can see that you do. You can’t change that, any more than you can change her."

Tory brushed tears of fatigue and fear from her face, offering her sister a tremulous smile. "I’ll admit she’s captivated my attention, but I’m going to try to look at this as a momentary loss of reason. I’m not ready for love, especially with someone as dangerous as Reese Conlon! If she doesn’t get herself killed, she’s bound to have every woman on the Cape chasing her after this!" she proclaimed.

"Go!" Catherine ordered, thinking that the woman upstairs was just what her sister needed. She knew instinctively what her sister fought to accept. They were already inextricably involved.

**********

"I’m awake," Reese said as she lay watching Tory undress in the late afternoon sunlight. A cool ocean breeze wafted through the thin blinds on the open window, streaming across her own nakedness.

"You’re not supposed to be," Tory commented as she reached for a tee shirt, her back to the bed.

"You don’t need that," Reese called softly. Her voice was husky, and unmistakably seductive.

Tory hesitated for a second as heat rushed into her belly, making her legs weak. Then, resolutely, she pulled the thin cotton over her head as she crossed to the bed. This was ridiculous! Reese needed to rest, not get twenty years of sexual experience in a single day!

"I’m beat, and I have no idea why you’re still able to form sentences. So, please, just - meditate or something, but for God’s sake get some sleep."

She lay down and purposefully faced away from Reese.

"I will," Reese assured her, turning so the length of her body pressed against Tory’s back. She slipped her hand under the tee shirt to clasp the soft swell of breast. She slowly pressed her lips along the bare skin from Tory’s shoulder up the side of her neck. "In just a minute," she whispered into Tory’s ear. With one hand she raised Tory’s head enough to catch the corner of her mouth with an exploring tongue. Tory hadn’t moved but she couldn’t resist opening her lips to admit Reese’s tongue. Reese groaned, cleaving harder to Tory as she tried to get even deeper into the woman whose very presence kindled a twisting fire in her.

Tory felt Reese surge against her, even as her own body began to pound in response. She didn’t have the strength to resist her, but this time she would set the tempo. Reese was already moving on the razor’s edge of excitement. Oh, no - you're not coming yet. You need to learn a little patience. She pushed away, turning until she was facing Reese, who stared at her in innocent confusion.

"What’s wrong?" Reese managed. She had been soaring, her entire body sensitized by Tory's nearness.

"Don’t think you’re getting off that easy this time, Conlon," Tory warned. She pushed Reese gently but commandingly onto her back. "Don’t move, don’t talk, don’t do anything. This time I’m in charge."

As she spoke she rose to her knees, pulling the tee shirt over her head, tossing it into the corner. Reese’s eyes widened as she surveyed the woman above her, following the soft curves fusing into firm muscle, the sweeping planes and angles, the interplay of strength and grace that she had sensed these many weeks. Seeing Tory now, Reese could not have imagined the beauty.

"Oh, god, Tory- let me touch you," she whispered, her throat dry.

"Quiet," Tory said softly, smiling at Reese’s response. She had never felt so powerful, or quite so sensual. Reese’s obvious desire fueled her own. She wanted to take her time, she wanted to explore every fiber of Reese’s being. She wanted Reese to feel her in every inch of her body. Tory leaned to touch her, her breasts just out of reach of Reese’s lips. Her fingers lingered on the full brows, tracing each bold arch. She followed the sharp ridge of cheekbone and strong angle of jaw with her hands. She lowered herself until her hardened nipples, achingly taut, brushed across Reese’s lips, then pulled back just as Reese touched them with her tongue. She gasped at the swift shiver of arousal, smiling as Reese groaned in frustration at her withdrawal.

"You’re killing me," Reese pleaded.

"You’ll live," she answered throatily.

Bending once again, Tory licked the sweet sheen of sweat in the hollow of Reese’s throat, and tasted the mist of moisture that ran down the center of her elegantly muscled chest. With the flat of her hand she stroked the hard planes of Reese’s abdomen, exulting in the quivering response to her touch. She brought her face close to the damp hair between Reese's thighs, breathing her scent, feeling the heat rising from her. As Tory indulged her senses, Reese moaned, lifting her pelvis, her leg muscles straining, urging Tory wordlessly to touch her. Tory held her there, feeling her tremble with urgency, as she breathed a kiss across her clitoris, barely touching the reddened tip. Reese whimpered at the fleeting contact. Tory kissed it again – then drew away.

"Oh, lick me, please - oh god, please Tory," Reese begged.

Her own answering surge of excitement nearly pushed her to orgasm. She had to fight to keep from pressing her aching clit against Reese’s tight thigh. "Not yet, baby, not yet," she whispered, ignoring the warning twitches from her distended clit, running her tongue over the soft skin of Reese’s inner thigh.

Only when Reese sobbed her name again, almost incoherent, did she take Reese into her mouth. She sucked her lips, her stiff clit. Tory expected it to be fast, but she wasn’t prepared for the force of the contractions that exploded under her tongue. She grasped Reese’s hips, clinging to her as she accepted each forceful thrust like a gift, absorbing the essence of Reese's passion with all of her senses. For long moments she knew nothing but the strangled cries, the taste of love, the quivering flesh. Only when she felt the tension ebb did the awareness of anything other than the pounding of her own heart penetrate her consciousness. She hadn't even been aware of her own orgasm until she felt the lingering spasms in her clit.

"Reese?" she questioned gently as she moved along side her. Reese was so still, one arm flung over her face, that Tory was frightened. "What is it?"

The breath caught in her throat when Reese turned to her, her expression so wounded Tory thought she had hurt her. She gathered her into her arms, cradling Reese's face against her breasts. "Oh god, sweetheart, what’s wrong?"

"I never imagined this," Reese murmured, her voice breaking. "I never imagined anyone touching me this way. Now I can’t imagine you not touching me." She turned away, afraid of what need might show in her face. For the first time in her life, she felt exposed and uncertain.

Tory pressed her face against Reese’s hair, holding her firmly. She could feel her tremble and it nearly broke her heart. This warrior woman who would face death without a qualm was suddenly so vulnerable that Tory was overwhelmed with the terrible power of their passion. It frightened her more than anything she had ever known. "It’s all right, Reese," she whispered, stroking her softly. "I won’t hurt you."

Reese lay silent, knowing that Tory was the one person on earth with the power to destroy her. All she need do was send Reese away, and she would be lost. Tory had given life to needs that could never be met by another. As clearly as she knew this, Reese knew that she wanted her, regardless of the cost. Placing her fate in Tory’s hands, she slept.
 
 

Two nights later, Tory returned from the clinic close to eleven p.m. Reese’s Bronco was parked in the drive. Tory stared at it, a mixture of fury and fear warring in her mind. She knew Reese had been fretting with boredom for days, but she still had sutures in, and Tory had told her specifically that she was not ready to drive.

Cath heard the front door slam and steeled herself.

"Where’s Reese?" Tory asked by way of greeting, her voice like flint.

"Uh, upstairs I think," Cath uttered. This is going to be worse than I thought

"Did you get her truck for her?"

"No, Marge did," Reese replied as she walked into the kitchen. She had her badge pinned to the pocket of her denim workshirt, and wore a pair of blue jeans. She was easing into the shoulder strap of her holster as she spoke. She smiled softly at Tory in welcome. "Hi."

Tory ignored the greeting, too angry to acknowledge how much she had missed Reese during the day. "Are you seeing a physician I don’t know about?"

"Of course not!" Reese responded in surprise.

"Then who cleared you to work?"

"I’m not working. I’m just going to drive around the dunes for a few hours, unofficially."

"With a gun, in the middle of the night?" Tory’s hands were clenched, and she fought down the urge to throw things. Reese just stared at her, clearly astounded by her reaction.

"Did Nelson approve this?" Tory asked harshly.

"No, I’m doing it on my time."

"The hell you are," Tory responded curtly, walking toward the phone. "If you won’t follow my orders as your physician, I’ll have Nelson suspend you. You can see another doctor tomorrow."

"Tory," Reese said gently, halting her with a hand on her arm. "Just hear me out, and then if you don’t want me to, I won’t go out."

Tory turned from the phone reluctantly, her jaw clenched. She nodded her head sharply for Reese to go ahead.

"Someone is after kids, Tory - our kids. Bri told me there have been other incidents of gay boys and lesbians being verbally hassled on their way to or from the dunes. Caroline has seen a black pick-up cruising out there, and she thinks once or twice it’s followed her home after she’s been with Bri. The kids are in danger, Tory. I just want to be seen out there, and let whoever’s doing this know that I know. Maybe that will be enough to put an end to this before someone gets hurt."

"It doesn’t have to be you, Reese," Tory argued, "not now, not when you’re not even healed. Call Nelson. Tell him what’s going on. He can have someone else patrol the dunes."

"I can’t, not for a few more days. Bri promised me she would tell Nelson about her and Caroline. I told her I’d give her a week. Even if Nelson knows, without me and Smith, he doesn’t have enough personnel to cover the town and step up patrol in the dunes. Since we don’t even have an official complaint, there’s no way he’s going to pull someone off the streets now. Neither would I. There’s no one else to do it. I’ll only be out a few hours." It was so clear to Reese what needed to be done. Surely Tory would see that.

"Damn it, Reese," Tory cried, "you’re not fit for duty. If you’re out there, anything could happen!" She turned away abruptly, not wanting Reese to see the fear in her face. Wordlessly, she walked out onto the deck, leaving Reese staring after her.

Catherine spoke quietly from the corner of the room. "My sister isn’t used to talking about her fears. She’s gotten used to dealing with her terror and her pain alone. First she lost her Olympic career, and she nearly lost her leg. Then she lost the woman she had believed she would spend her life with. She can’t take any more loss in her life, Reese. She was watching you through the night glasses the other night. She saw you get shot, she thought you had been killed. She’s terrified. She’s terrified of loving you, and she’s terrified of losing you."

"I don’t want to hurt her - she doesn’t just matter to me, she means more to me than I thought possible." Reese swallowed, forcing herself to say the next words. "I’ll leave her alone if you think I should." Catherine could never know what anguish those words cost her.

Catherine shook her head, laughing softly. "You don’t know much about women, do you, Reese?

"I don’t know anything about any of this," Reese responded quite seriously. "I only know what I feel for her. And it’s everything that I have."

"I can see how much you care. She needs you, Reese. Just go to her. Follow your instincts. They’ve been right so far."

Reese smiled her thanks, turning toward the woman highlighted in moonlight on the deck. "Tory," she said, slipping her arms around the still figure from behind, cradling Tory’s body gently against her. "I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first. I need a little practice at this. Forgive me?"

Tory grasped the hands that circled her waist, stroking the tender flesh of Reese’s palms. "This is so damn typical of you. I know you believe you have to do this. I keep trying to tell myself you’re right -"

"But?" Reese questioned, pressing her cheek to Tory’s hair, sliding a kiss against the soft skin at her temple.

Tory shivered at the touch. "But my heart keeps saying it doesn’t have to be you. Let someone else do it. Let someone else’s lover be the one in danger. Let someone else get hurt." Her voice trailed off in a nearly inaudible sob.

Reese tightened her hold until there was nothing between them but the night. "It has to be me because that’s what I do - that’s who I am," she whispered with absolute certainty.

Tory nodded imperceptibly, not wanting to disturb their union. "I know that - it’s one of the reasons I -" She stopped before she gave voice to feelings whose consequences she wasn’t ready to accept. "I don’t think I’m strong enough for this, Reese," she finished miserably, starting to move away. Reese tightened her hold.

"I can’t promise you I won’t get hurt, Tory," Reese continued, unwilling to let Tory withdraw from her. "But I can promise you that I will never put myself in a situation I’m not trained for, and I can promise you that every day of my life, I’ll be here for you, if you let me."

Tory turned in Reese’s arms, reaching behind her to clasp her close. She pressed her forehead into Reese’s hard chest, clamping down on the desire that flooded her as she felt Reese along the length of her.

"God, I could get used to that idea," she admitted reluctantly.

"Good," Reese said, lifting Tory’s face to kiss her.

**********

"Can’t sleep?" Cath asked when she joined Tory on the deck. It was two in the morning.

"Not while she’s out there," Tory responded, tipping the glass to finish her drink.

"You’ll have to learn to, you know," Cath said, lighting a cigarette, offering the pack to Tory.

Tory accepted wordlessly, smoking in silence as the stars revolved overhead. "I know I’m overreacting," she said at length.

"Probably," Cath agreed. "But it’s been a hellacious few days, and you’ve been through as much as she has, maybe more. Give yourself some time."

"I’m not used to being so emotional," Tory confided. "I’m not proud of myself."

"Oh, god, Tor!" Cath exclaimed. "If it were me, there’d be more screaming than you can imagine. Sometimes I think I might scream for you! I’ve never met anyone quite like her - she’s so goddamned logical, and right, that it’s hard to argue with her. If I didn’t know her I wouldn’t believe it. But she loves you, Tor - I can see it when she looks at you."

"God, I hope so," Tory whispered fervently. "Because she’s inside of me now."

Reese found them both dozing in deck chairs when she returned a little after three a.m. She bent to kiss Tory softly on the cheek, murmuring her name. Tory reached for her sleepily, circling her arms around Reese’s neck.

"Anything?" Tory asked.

"No," Reese replied, lifting Tory up into an embrace. She kissed her again, more thoroughly, until she had her gasping, then held her wordlessly, simply enjoying the feel of her. Tory rested against her, relishing the slow swell of desire.

"I think I’ll just toddle off to bed," Cath remarked, casting a glance at the two figures outlined in the dim light of the stars. She brushed her hand fondly across her sister’s back as she passed.

"She’s a good woman," Reese remarked.

"Yes," Tory agreed dreamily. "Are you ready to take me to bed?"

Reese laughed. "More than ready, although I had something in mind other than sleep."

"That’s what I was hoping."

**********

Reese led her upstairs, urging her gently toward the bed. With infinite care she removed each article of clothing, stopping to explore the enticing landscape of Tory’s body with her lips and hands, captivated by her delicate strength.

Tory quivered as insistent fingers traced her skin from her breasts down her legs and back up. Reese's teasing lips pressed fleeting kisses everywhere, coaxing Tory's body to ever higher peaks of sensation. As her muscles clenched with the effort of containing her desire, she moaned Reese’s name. She grasped Reese’s shoulders, her legs tightening around Reese’s thigh.

"I’m close," Tory whispered raggedly. "Touch me, Reese, please. I need to come so much."

Reese groaned, inflamed by the wet heat of Tory’s need against her skin. She wanted her so much she didn’t think. When she found Tory, swollen with urgency, open and ready, she was driven by some deeply primal instinct to claim her. As if she had been born knowing how, she pushed into her – hard. In a single motion Reese's fingers entered her fully, igniting a chain reaction. Immediately the velvet muscles spasmed around her hand. Reese's thumb rode against Tory's clit at the same time.

"Oh, god!" Tory screamed, her body heaving, her mind melting with the instant orgasm.

Reese pressed deeper as the cataclysmic spasms gave way to small internal contractions. Reese was so consumed by the wonder of it, she was barely breathing. Slowly she became aware of sobs.

"Tory!" Reese gasped in panic, slipping from her, her withdrawal eliciting another sob. "Oh Jesus, did I hurt you?"

"No," Tory whispered, her face pressed against Reese’s shoulder, her body still shuddering.

"Are you sure?" Reese persisted fearfully. "I didn’t mean to be so rough - god, I don’t know what happened! I just wanted you so much!"

She tilted Tory’s chin, searching her face anxiously. Tory shook her head no, but her cheeks were streaked with tears. Something twisted in Reese’s chest, catching at her heart.

"Tory," she choked. "Tory - I swear to you I never meant to hurt you -"

"You didn't hurt me, Reese," Tory managed, drawing a shaky breath. She had never been possessed like that before. She felt like she had been devoured. But what frightened her was not Reese’s passion, but how much she had wanted Reese to take her. If Reese hadn’t claimed her when she did, Tory knew she would have begged her. What Reese was capable of stirring in her made her a stranger to herself. "You make me so damn helpless, I want you so bad. What you do to me - " What it will do to me now if you leave me -

Reese held her as Tory gentled in her arms, hearing in the silence what Tory had not said. She remembered Catherine speaking of what Tory had lost, understanding the enormity of that pain as she contemplated a life without Tory.

"Tory," she said, her voice soft but crystal clear.

"Yes," Tory questioned as she lay listening to the strong, steady heartbeat beneath her cheek.

"I love you."

Tory was silent a long moment, hearing the words, wondering if she dared allow them inside her. Reese had never held another woman, never made love to another woman - how could she be sure now?

Reese had not expected an answer. Instinctively she knew that it wouldn’t be her words, but her constancy, that would eventually convince Tory of the truth of her love. She had spoken because she needed to, and as she said the words, something shifted inside of her. She felt peaceful in a way she never had before. She settled Tory even closer into the curves of her body, her hands gliding the length of Tory’s back to her buttocks.

"Reese, you’re not going to get any sleep tonight if you keep touching me like that," Tory murmured, wanting nothing more at that moment than their closeness.

"That’s okay," Reese laughed contentedly, continuing her caresses. "I don’t have to work tomorrow."
 
 

Tory reconciled herself to Reese’s nightly sojourns through the dunes. She even managed some restless sleep waiting for her to slip into bed beside her in the dark. Reese wasn’t due to return to work for a few more days, so she had simply stayed on at Tory’s. Neither of them discussed exactly what that meant.

Reese had only been back an hour one night when they were awakened by the phone. Tory reached for it with a sigh, thinking how much harder it was going to be to leave her bed with Reese asleep beside her. She didn’t want to think about what it would be like when Reese returned to her own home. Reese had fast become a part of her life.

"Dr. King," she answered.

"Doctor," an unfamiliar male voice said apologetically, "this is Officer Jeff Lyons. Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but I’m trying to locate Sheriff Conlon. I’ve got a girl on the other line - she’s hysterical, and she says she won’t talk to anyone except Reese."

"Of course," Tory replied with concern, "she’s right here."

"Conlon," Reese said tersely. As she listened to the call patched through to her, her body tensed. "Where are you now? .....Where were you supposed to meet?.....Go home. I’ll call you as soon as I find her. I will - I promise you."

Reese replaced the receiver as she climbed out of bed. It was two in the morning.

"What is it?" Tory asked anxiously as Reese began to pull on her uniform, her face tight.

"Brianna’s missing," Reese said as she checked her revolver. "She and Caroline had a date to meet in the dunes. Brianna didn’t show. That was two hours ago. ...What are you doing?"

As Reese spoke, Tory had started hastily dressing. "I’m going with you. We’ll find her faster with two of us looking. And if she’s hurt, you’re going to need me."

"Right," Reese replied, formulating plans. "Get your Jeep, your medical equipment, and your portable phone. We’ll keep in touch that way. If we haven’t found her in an hour, I’m going to have to call Nelson. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that."

"Where should I look?"

"I’m going out to Herring Cove where they were supposed to meet. Why don’t you drive down Commercial, then out 6A and circle back to the beach on 6. Look for her motorbike. Maybe she was just late, missed Caroline, and she’s hanging out somewhere in town."

Tory could tell by the set of her jaw that Reese did not believe that. "Reese, promise me if there’s trouble that you’ll call for back-up. Your wound isn’t healed yet. Your reaction time will be slowed. I can’t worry about both of you."

To Tory’s relief, Reese nodded agreement. "I will. Call me every five minutes with your location." Then, unexpectedly, Reese grasped her shoulders and kissed her with bruising intensity. "Be careful. I don’t want you hurt."

As Tory followed Reese downstairs, she knew from the rigid set of her lover's back and the tight expression on her face that Reese was more than a little worried. Reese's attention was already elsewhere as she focused completely on her mission. Tory knew with utter certainty that this single-minded determination was the essence of the woman she loved. To love Reese Conlon meant she must accept what that dedication demanded of Reese, emotionally and physically. Tory doubted she would ever grow accustomed to the danger, but she knew she would have to live with it - because she knew it was no longer possible to stop loving Reese.

Tory drove the length of Commercial Street, slowly canvassing the narrow lanes and alleys intersecting it. Several times she stopped to glance into the few bars and late night hangouts still open. Bri was no where to be found. She circled around past the jetty to Long Point, remembering her own perilous journey out onto the rocks, and the way Reese had suddenly appeared at her side- offering assistance and security as only Reese could. She remembered how great her pain was that night, and the sight of Reese bending over her, administering to her bruised and swollen leg. That was the night she had fallen in love with Reese Conlon.

She was nearing the Provincetown limits when her portable phone rang. "King," she responded tersely.

"It’s Reese. Take six west toward Herring Cove. Look for my cruiser on the side of the road. I’m about a hundred yards in along the dune trail."

"Have you got her?" Tory asked, thinking that Reese’s voice seemed strangely hollow.

"Yes - on the double, Tory."

Reese was waiting at the roadside, hastily stringing yellow tape across the mouth of a narrow path in the sand. Brianna’s motorbike lay on its side in the scrub by the side of the road. The front was twisted and dented. Tory’s stomach clenched when she saw it, and what Reese was doing.

"My god, Reese - is she alive?" Tory called as she approached.

"Yes, for now," Reese replied grimly, as she helped Tory slide the portable stretcher from the back of her Jeep. "Follow me - keep to the trail. I don’t want to contaminate the scene any more than we have to."

Tory stared at her in astonishment. This is Bri for God’s sake! Doesn’t she have any feelings!

Reese saw the question in her eyes, and read the silent criticism. It hurt, but she didn’t have the time or the inclination to explain. "You tend to her body, Doctor, that’s your job. Mine is to catch the bastard that did this to her," Reese stated flatly, a dangerous fire in her eyes.

Tory nodded, "Of course - lead the way."

Brianna was lying unconscious in a shallow cleft between two brush covered dunes. When Tory lifted the blanket Reese had laid over her, she recoiled from the sight of the torn shirt and the jeans yanked down around Bri's ankles. For an agonizing moment, all she could imagine was Bri's terror. A soft touch on Tory's shoulder jerked her back to the present, and her responsibility.

"Tory - we need to move her. Is her spine secure?" Reese asked evenly.

Tory knelt, making a quick assessment of Bri's vital signs. Her airway was clear, and her pulse strong and steady. Her face was badly battered, both eyes discolored. There was a stream of blood from her left nostril, and a hematoma forming over the right side of her jaw. Even in the dim light from Reese’s flashlight she could make out bruises on her throat. Blood crusted in patches over her neck and chest.

"She fought hard," Tory murmured, barely aware of speaking aloud as she continued her assessment of the battered girl.

"Yes. She would."

Tory glanced up at Reese, who stood staring down at Brianna’s violated body, her eyes so cold that Tory shivered. Tory slipped a soft restraining collar behind Bri's neck, immobilizing her cervical spine. She ran her hands over Bri’s extremities, noting no obvious deformities. The rest of the exam would have to wait until they moved her.

"She’s okay to transport. Just get your forearms behind her neck and under her shoulders when we lift. Keep her head midline and don’t flex it," Tory ordered, her mind already busy planning what else needed to be done.

"Have you notified Nelson?" Tory asked as they maneuvered slowly through the sand.

"Lyons is on his way here to secure the scene," Reese replied. "I’ll radio the Chief on route to your place. I didn’t want him to see her like this."

Tory nodded, wondering how she could have questioned Reese’s sensitivity, regretting her initial reaction. Reese was only doing what she was trained and sworn to do. "Reese, I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t think about what you needed to do out there-"

"It’s okay - why should you," Reese responded evenly.

"No, it’s not okay." Because I know you better than that, and because I love you

Tory needed to tell her that, but now was not the time. Instead, she followed the flashing lights of Reese’s patrol car as they led her through the dark.

**********

"What the hell is going on, Conlon?" Nelson Parker demanded as he shoved through the door of Tory’s clinic. "I heard on the scanner that you ordered Lyons and Jameson to block off a section of six. You’re not even on duty!" He got a good look at his Deputy Chief’s face and he stopped short, his stomach churning. There was something deadly in her eyes, and something so gentle in her hand on his arm that he was suddenly afraid. He’d seen that look in cops’ eyes before, when it was something bad. He steeled himself to hear it.

"Tell me," he said softly.

"It’s Bri - she’s alive, but she’s seriously hurt. Tory is with her now."

Nelson steadied himself with a hand against the wall. There seemed to be something wrong with his vision - he could hardly see her face. He heard his words, but didn't feel himself speak. "Did she crash her motorbike?"

"Someone beat her, Nelson."

He felt like he was gut shot. "I don’t understand - why? How did you find her?"

"Caroline Clark called me. She told me Bri was missing and I went to look for her. I found her in the dunes."

Nelson looked at her in confusion. "Caroline? Why did she call you? What’s going on?"

Reese returned his questioning gaze steadily. "Bri and Caroline are lovers. They’ve been trysting in the dunes. My guess is that someone followed Bri, forced her off the road, and dragged her up into the scrub."

Nelson rocked back as if she had struck him. Then he leveled angry eyes on her. "You knew about them? That’s why Caroline called you?"

"Yes. Bri told me she was going to tell -"

 All of his terror was transformed into anger. This was Reese’s fault! If she had told him, he would have put a stop to this nonsense before Brianna got hurt! Nelson moved so unexpectedly Reese didn’t have time to counter, had she been inclined to. He grabbed her with both hands and slammed her into the wall. "You son of a bitch! You knew my daughter was fooling around with some girl and you didn’t tell me?!!" he roared. He punctuated his fury by pounding his forearm into her body. "You let it go on?!!"

Fire tore through her side. Reese never lifted a hand, though she was well equipped to defend herself. "Nelson--" she gasped.

When Tory came around the corner, she saw the pain in Reese’s face. Nelson stood, one fist poised to strike, the other hand twisted in Reese’s shirt front, pinning her to the wall. He was momentarily stunned as Tory’s cane cracked down on his forearm, the curved handle catching around his wrist, preventing him from swinging into Reese’s unprotected face.

"Let go of her, Nelson," Tory said in a deadly tone. "Now."

Reese sagged slightly in Nelson's grasp as he turned to Tory in confusion. Reese coughed, one hand pressed to her side, trying to catch her breath. Every inhalation felt like a knife stab.

Tory’s eyes never left Nelson’s face as she shifted her weight, ready for the next strike. "Do it Nelson, or I’ll break your arm."

"It’s okay, Tory," Reese gasped.

"He’d better pray to God he didn’t hurt you," was all Tory said. When Nelson finally dropped his hands to his sides, Tory relaxed slightly, but she kept her eyes on him. "The evac team is on their way. She’s stable, and intermittently conscious. She’s asking for you, Reese."

"You stay away from her," Nelson seethed. "If you weren’t queer yourself this never would have happened."

"I need a statement from her," Reese stated. And I need to see that she’s all right

"Forget about a statement - you’re fired."

Reese shrugged. "You can fire me tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to catch whoever has been terrorizing the kids in this town. Tory - call Caroline, will you? I promised her -"

"Go ahead, Reese, I’ll take care of it. Then I need to look at you." Tory said these last words with a glare toward the Chief.

Reese, smiling gently, brushed her fingers over the hand Tory clenched around the head of her cane. She drew as deep a breath as she could, determined not to reveal how much it hurt.

"I’m really okay."

**********

Reese pushed open the door to the procedure room. Nelson followed, halting just inside the door. He was paralyzed by the sight of his daughter. She lay naked under a thin sheet, nearly unrecognizable from her bruises, hooked up to two iv bags. He saw a clear plastic evidence bag filled with bloodied clothes on the counter, with an open rape kit beside it. He fought the sudden urge to vomit. He looked again at the stretcher, expecting to see his little girl, and he saw a battered woman, someone he didn’t know. He was afraid to go near her.

Reese pulled up a stool, taking Brianna’s hand in hers. She pressed the torn and bloodied fingers to her cheek. She was aware of Nelson coming to stand behind her.

"It’s Reese, Bri," she said gently. "You’re all right now. You’re safe."

Bri’s eyelids fluttered, then opened. She tried to focus on Reese’s face. Her throat was so dry, it was hard to form words. She found the blue eyes, and let herself be held by the tenderness in them. "Caroline?" she managed at last. "Is she -?"

"She’s fine, Bri. She’s on her way."

"Don’t let her see me like this -please," Bri said with a struggle.

Reese smiled in understanding, brushing a lock of hair out of Bri’s eyes. "She’ll need to see you, Bri. She’ll be more scared if she doesn’t." She waited for a second, then continued with what she knew must be done. "Can you tell me who did this, Bri?"

Bri tried to turn away as tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. Reese caught them on the backs of her fingers.

"Did he rape me?" Bri asked.

Nelson choked back a groan.

Tory moved from where she had been standing in the doorway. "I don’t think so, honey," she said softly. "I still have a few tests to run."

Bri closed her eyes with a sigh. Reese waited patiently, her entire being focused on the young woman before her. She gently stroked her hair. Tory watched her lover, knowing that at this moment, Bri was the most important thing in Reese’s life. How had she ever been naïve enough to think this was just a job for Reese?

"Help me, Bri," Reese whispered.

"It was the black truck that’s been following us. I don’t know him, but I - I think I broke his nose. I punched him, when he was on top of me -" Bri lapsed into silence, shaking, overcome by the events too fresh yet to be memories.

"Oh, Jesus -" Nelson moaned.

"Give me something more, Bri -" Reese pushed. Bri gasped for breath as she tried to put words to her terror.

"Reese," Tory warned.

Reese ignored her. "Tell me, Bri. Help me get him."

Tory bit her lip, vowing she would stop this if Reese didn’t.

"He hit my bike - I think it smashed his headlight," Bri said with a struggle.

"Good girl," Reese said.

Bri, fighting to remain conscious, looked up at her father. "I’m sorry, dad. I wanted to tell you. I was scared. " Her voice trailed off as exhaustion claimed her.

Reese moved aside so Nelson could sit with her. She needed to get back to the field. She needed to check the motorbike for evidence, and start looking for the perpetrator. Very likely he would be seeking medical attention himself if Bri had really broken his nose. As she pulled the door closed, she saw Tory forcefully interrupt Caroline’s headlong dash down the hall.

"Wait a minute," Tory soothed, holding the struggling young woman. "It might be better if you see her tomorrow, Caroline. It’ll be hard to see her like this -"

Caroline fixed Tory with a contemptuous glare. "You’re just like all the rest. You think just because we’re young that our feelings don’t matter. Last night right about now she was making love to me. Do you think that doesn’t matter either?"

"That’s not what I meant, Caroline. I know you care about her."

"_Care_ about her?" she said coldly. "What if it were Reese in there, Tory? Just how long would you wait out here?"

Tory stared at her, knowing that it could easily be Reese under other circumstances. Just the thought made her ill.

"You’re right. I’m sorry," Tory said softly. "Nothing on earth would keep me away."

She watched the pretty young blond, who now seemed so much older than her years, resolutely push through the doors to her lover. She turned to her own lover, who was issuing orders into the phone.

"Call me with anything," Reese said. "I’m heading out now."

"Not until I take a look at you," Tory said as Reese hung up the phone.

"Five minutes," Reese conceded.

"In here," Tory said, motioning to an empty exam room. "And I’ll take as long as I need. Take off your shirt."

Reese complied with a sigh, trying to hide the pain that pierced her side as she shrugged out of her clothes. Tory bent to examine the stitches.

"Why didn’t you stop him?" Tory asked as she cleaned the healing incision with peroxide. "You could have."

"He didn’t know what he was doing," Reese grunted as Tory probed a tender spot along her rib cage. "Besides, he’s my commanding officer."

"I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Reese. Because as much as I respect and admire your pigheaded dedication to your job, I cannot believe you would let him do that to you." There was a faint sensation of movement under her fingertips, and she felt Reese withdraw from the pressure.

"He would have come to his senses in a minute. If he had really endangered me, I would have stopped him."

Tory stepped back, her face furious. "Well, he broke your rib. Now give me your goddamned gun. You’re not working tonight."

Reese took Tory by surprise when she caught both her hands, pulling Tory against her body. I’m going to frighten her again, Reese thought. How many times can I do this to her before it’s too much?

"Tory, I love you with everything in me! But I can’t do what you want. Please don’t ask me to."

Reese’s embrace was so tight it was almost painful. Tory pushed back in her grasp, searching the blue eyes that searched her own. There was honesty there, and shockingly, fear. She’s afraid I’ll leave her!

"You’ll need them taped," Tory stated, feeling the tension in Reese’s body ease. "And I want your word of honor that you won’t take any chances. Not one. If you love me, you owe me that, Reese."

Reese kissed her softly, "I promise - and thank you."
 
 

Nelson stood back against the wall watching Caroline Clark tenderly stroke his daughter’s swollen cheek. With her free hand Caroline brushed tears from her own face. The look she had given him when she entered the room had warned him he would have to forcibly keep her away. The steel in her gaze rendered him speechless.

"It’s me, Bri. I love you," she whispered over and over. At first Nelson was embarrassed to hear her say such things to his daughter, but after a while he found himself praying that the love of this slight blond girl would be enough to keep his only child holding on. God knows, he hadn’t offered her much reason.

Finally Bri opened her eyes as much as she could, trying to smile when she heard Caroline whisper her name.

"Hi, babe," she said through cracked lips.

"Hi, sweetheart," Caroline replied softly. "Tory says you’ll be okay."

"You?" Bri croaked.

"Don’t worry about me," she said tremulously "Just get well."

Bri squeezed her hand weakly. "I knew he was following me. That’s why I didn’t meet you. I went the other way so he wouldn’t find you-"

Caroline was crying in earnest now. "I love you so much, Bri. I just want us to be together."

"Soon, I promise," Bri whispered as her strength began to fade. "Be careful. I love you..."

Nelson cleared his throat.

"I’ll look after her, Bri," he said, thinking he had finally found something he could do for his daughter. Tentatively, he placed a hand on Caroline’s shoulder. As Bri’s eyes closed, Caroline turned unexpectedly into Nelson’s arms.

"I’m so scared," she cried, clinging to him like the child she would never be again. "I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to her!"

"She’ll be okay, girl. She’s got her mother’s grit." He led her around the table to a stool. "You sit here with her in case she wakes up. She’ll need you then."

He looked back from the door at the stranger who was his daughter, thinking what a fine, brave thing she had done. He didn’t know her, but he swore that that would change.

Tory was standing in the hall, giving a report to the team of paramedics who were there to transport Bri to the trauma center. When she finished, she looked at him coldly.

"Where’s Conlon?" he asked, his voice gruffer than he intended.

"Out looking for the man who assaulted your daughter."

He nodded, intending to step past her. She moved purposely into his path.

"I have several messages for you, Nelson. The first one is from Reese. She wants you to stay with Brianna. She said, and I quote - ‘That’s where you’re needed. You’ll taint the case if you’re involved in any way.’ She promises she won’t rest until she gets him. I have no doubt she means that." She paused until she was satisfied that he agreed. "The next message is from me, and you can be sure I mean it. You broke her ribs tonight, Nelson. If you ever lay a hand on her again, you’ll never wear a badge in this or any other place as long as you live. Now get out of my clinic - and stay out of my sight."

"I’ll resign tomorrow," Nelson said, his face gray.

"Reese wouldn’t want you to do that," Tory said as she turned away. "I’d rather you face her every day knowing that."

He stared at her retreating back, feeling smaller than he ever had. In the last hour he had seen what love between women was made of, and he knew that he would never discount it again. He only hoped it was in him to love so well. He walked out to the ambulance holding his daughter's hand, praying she would forgive him.

**********

What happened that night was the thing legends were made of, and as this story was told and retold by every cop on the Cape, and every person in Provincetown, the story grew. Only the two young officers who answered Reese’s call for back-up could really say for sure, and even they couldn’t agree on what really transpired.

Certain facts were indisputable. Reese waited in the dark, in her patrol car, on the edge of Route six, watching the few vehicles leaving Provincetown in the middle of the night. When a black pickup truck with a single headlight passed her, going five miles over the speed limit, she flicked on her lights and siren and chased him to the outskirts of Truro. He finally pulled over and Reese pulled her car in front of him, angling onto the shoulder so that he could not drive off. She sat in her car, looking at the fresh dent in the right front fender of his truck. She remembered her promise to Tory, and she radiod her position and requested back up. They were five minutes away. She did everything by the book, as she believed they should be done. Then she made a mistake.

She thought about Brianna - of her brave young spirit and her beautiful face, unrecognizable now. She thought about the finger marks on Bri's neck and her breasts, the gouges on her inner thighs. She thought about Bri's terror with him battering for entrance to the places only her lover had ever touched. She thought about Bri out there alone, bleeding into the sand, because some man did not like whom she chose to love.

She stepped from the car and unsnapped the strap that secured her gun.
 
 

Hospitals in the dark hours of the night were places like no other. Hushed with unnatural silence, punctuated by the moans and murmurs of the ill and dying, they were places to pass through, not to linger. Lives were changed forever here, for the dead as well as the living. Tory walked down the dim hallway toward the ICU carrying her third cup of coffee of a long night that promised to be a longer day. It was just after five a.m., and she welcomed the activity she knew the morning shift would bring. She’d had too much time to think the last few hours, sitting with Caroline, waiting for word from Reese.

At the end of the hall, Caroline stared at the closed doors of the intensive care unit, automatically wiping the tears that overflowed her eyes, waiting until seven AM when she could see Bri. Watching her, Tory reflected on the clear and simple passion between the young women. Untainted by disappointments, untarnished by the accumulated experiences of loves gone wrong, their devotion was unrestricted, their commitment complete. They were brave and fearless and so pure in their loving. They trusted in tomorrow, believing nothing could come between them. They were glorious in their innocence.

Sadly, Tory knew there had been a time when she had loved like that. She knew too, as did all those whose first loves withered with change, that she could never love that way again. Some part of her would always be afraid. She wondered if she could ever truly give herself to love again. She wasn’t sure she could, or even that she wanted to.

She glanced into a small dark waiting room just down the hall from the harshly lit main sitting area. Reese was standing at the window, her back to the room. She was still in her uniform. The sky beyond was just beginning to lighten with the dawn. The tense stillness in Reese's figure signaled to Tory that something was wrong. She went to her, slipping her arms around Reese's waist from behind, laying her cheek against Reese’s strong back.

"I’m glad you’re here," Tory murmured against her.

"How is she?" Reese asked, folding her arms over Tory’s.

"They’re still running tests. Her head CT was clear, thank god, so she’s just got a bad concussion. We should know the rest of the results within the hour."

Reese nodded, not turning.

"Did you get him?" Tory asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Are you all right?"

"I don’t know," Reese answered hollowly. She took a shaky breath. "I kept thinking about her- lying alone out there in the night, what he had done to her for no other reason than she loved another woman. Jesus! She’s just a girl!"

Reese pulled away abruptly, sinking into a nearby chair. She stared at her hands, dangling between her knees. Tory went to her, standing between her legs, placing her hands lightly on Reese's shoulders. Reese was trembling.

"Tell me," Tory said gently.

"I got out of my car intending to kill him," Reese admitted in a low voice. "I knew it when I walked up to the vehicle. If it was him, I was going to kill him."

Tory’s chest constricted in fear, but her voice was steady. "What happened?"

"It was him," Reese laughed grimly. "His nose was halfway over to his ear, and he had cuts from pulling her through the brush on his face and hands. I asked him to step out of the truck. I could hear my backup coming, and so could he. He didn’t put up a fight. As soon as he was out, I spun him down onto the hood. When the other patrol car pulled in I had my gun against the back of his head."

Tory nearly stopped breathing, but she tightened her grip on Reese’s shoulders. She would not leave her alone with this. "Keep talking, sweetheart," she whispered. "It’s all right."

"They just watched me. I knew they’d never say what happened. This was the Chief’s daughter. I thought about him ripping at her clothes, on top of her - oh, Jesus -" she gasped, her voice breaking. "I could hardly see him any longer. My arm ached from not pulling the trigger. Finally I holstered my weapon, and as I reached for the cuffs, he made his move. He came at me fast, but this wasn’t Nelson. I broke his arm. But God, all I wanted was to kill him! I came so close, Tory, so close! What does that say about me?!!"

Without thinking, she reached out in her pain for Tory, wrapping her arms around Tory’s waist, burying her face against her. Clutching her, she wept.

"Oh, my darling," Tory whispered, pierced by Reese’s pain. She stroked her hair, ran her hands tenderly over her quivering shoulders, held her fast. Reese’s need was so clear, her emotions so raw. In her own way, Reese was as innocent and vulnerable as those two girls down the hall. If ever there had been a barrier to Tory loving this woman, it was gone now. This was Tory’s chance at love again, the simple, fresh, untarnished love of the young. She had likened her frighteningly valiant, frustratingly honorable lover to an innocent, and in the uncompromising way she loved, she was.

"Oh, Reese," she murmured, her throat aching with emotion. "I love you. I love you so much."

She looked over Reese’s bowed head to see Nelson standing in the shadows of the door, watching them. She wondered how much he had heard. She motioned him away, not caring what he thought. Reese would not have wanted him to see her this way.

He turned away from the image of Tory cradling the sobbing woman. He had foolishly thought once that Reese had no more needs than a man. Now he understood what bravery it took to let the woman who loved you offer comfort. He walked back to join the young woman who loved his daughter, wondering if he had the guts to love like that.

"I’m sorry," Reese mumbled at last, her cheek against Tory’s breast.

Tory laughed shakily, lifting Reese’s face, gently brushing away the tears. "Don’t you dare say that. I so needed for you to need me."

Reese looked perplexed. "Didn’t you know that I do?"

Tory softly kissed her forehead, shaking her head. "You do give the impression of self-sufficiency, my love."

"Tory," Reese said, anxiously, "I seem like I don’t need any help because I never had anyone to ask! How I feel about you - what I feel since we’ve been together-" She stood, pulling Tory close. "God, how I need you. You mean everything to me!"

Tory ached with feeling. "I love you, Reese. I love your strength, and your integrity, and your beautiful sense of certainty. I need that - it scares me how much I need that. But you don’t have to be strong all the time - especially not for me. When you share yourself with me, I only love you more, although god knows how that’s possible." She kissed her soundly, then stepped back, running her hands down Reese’s arms. "I want to get you home. I’m not even going to ask about your ribs."

Reese smiled, slipping an arm around her. "They hurt like hell, and I’m beat. I just want to check on the kids."

"I know. Me, too."

**********

After a few hours sleep, Tory got up to go the clinic. Reese stirred as Tory slipped from the bed. Reese grabbed her hand, pulling Tory down beside her.

"I’ll miss you," Reese said softly.

"I don’t want to go, but there are a few patients who can’t wait. I won’t be long." She kissed Reese, all too aware of her nakedness. "Besides, since you always seem to be recovering from some injury or another, it’s just as well I stay away from you. I can’t trust myself to have any restraint."

Reese guided Tory’s hand down over her taut stomach to the spot that ached to be touched. "Too late," Reese whispered unevenly as Tory's fingers brushed over her clit.

Tory groaned, ambushed by the wet warmth of Reese’s desire. "You can’t know what you do to me or you wouldn’t torture me this way- " Helpless to stop, Tory caressed her, gently sliding her fingers up and down the distended shaft.

Reese rose against her hand, gasping. "Just for a minute-" she pleaded, feeling the pressure mushrooming in her belly.

Tory stared into Reese’s eyes as she milked the length of her rhythmically, watching the eclipse of color reflect her touch. Reese’s blue gaze grew hazy, her lips parting with a groan, as she blossomed into ripe fruition under Tory’s fingers.

"Tory," Reese sighed as release rippled through her. Eyelids fluttering, then closing, her neck arched with the final spasm. She smiled softly as the tension slowly subsided. "Ahh – god. Thank you."

Tory buried her face in Reese’s neck, still holding her fast. "You break my heart, you’re so beautiful," Tory murmured brokenly.

Reese languidly slipped her fingers into Tory’s hair, turning her face to breath a kiss against her cheek.

"May you always think so," she said drowsily.

Tory laughed shakily with the aftermath of passion still gripping her. "Don’t worry about that. Now unhand me or I’ll never leave."

Reese smiled contentedly. "Hurry home."

**********

When next Reese awoke most of the day had passed. Tory was moving quietly around the room as she undressed. Reese watched her in silence, her pleasure so acute it was almost pain.

"I always want to wake up and see you," Reese said into the still room.

Tory halted, catching her breath. "And I always want to be there when you do."

"Come here," Reese commanded gently, sitting up against the pillows, reaching out to her. When Tory neared, Reese placed both hands on her waist, guiding Tory up over her, one leg on either side of her body. With Tory gazing down at her, lips parted in anticipation, Reese lifted her head to lick her. She held Tory firmly to her mouth, dimly aware of the soft whimpers that grew to a crescendo of throaty cries. She took her time, despite the insistent rhythm of Tory’s pulsing hips. She lifted her lips away far enough to alternate light kisses on the tip of Tory's clit with circling caresses of her tongue under it. As Tory's movements became more frantic, Reese pushed her tongue into her, fucking her, until Tory dug her fingers into Reese’s forearms with a cry.

"Oh god! Reese - make me come, please, please do it now!"

With a knowing brush of her lips, sucking the length of Tory's clit into her mouth, Reese ended the sweet torture. Even as Tory bucked against her, Reese held fast, slowing her strokes until Tory curled down around her, exhausted. Reese settled Tory beside her, then pressed her face to Tory’s breasts. She rested surrounded by the softness of her, listening to her soft murmurs of satisfaction.

After long moments, Tory said brokenly, "If you ever leave me, I’ll be lost."

Reese lifted her head, still faintly flushed from their passion. "Not as long as I live." She wrapped her arms tighter around her love, and they slept.
 
 

It was a clear Provincetown morning in August, a bright blue sky punctuated by scattered wisps of clouds. The waves on the bay broke gently against the sands at Herring Cove. Reese sat in her patrol car sipping her coffee, waiting. She smiled as a flicker of color far off to her left caught her eye. Her heart stirred as she followed the course of the red kayak, cutting swiftly through the early morning sea. Tory’s rhythm was so steady the craft seemed barely to touch the water as she paddled toward the lighthouse at Race Point. When she could no longer imagine she saw her, Reese drove away, filled with peace.

Nelson glanced up when Reese entered the station, then shied his glance away uncomfortably.

"Morning Chief," Reese said, tossing her cap on her desk and heading for the coffeepot. She grimaced in disgust, emptying the contents into the sink.

"Good to have you back," Parker said gruffly. "Did the Doc clear you for duty?"

"You think I’d be here if she didn’t?" Reese laughed.

Just a few hours ago, Tory had inspected Reese's side, and poked and probed her rib cage before reluctantly approving Reese’s return to work. Tory watched her get dressed, loving her precision and the care with which she assembled each part of her uniform. Standing in front of Reese, Tory had straightened a tie that was already perfectly knotted. Running her hands over the razor-edge creases in Reese’s shirtsleeves, she smoothed down the collar of her shirt. With her hands pressed lightly against Reese’s chest, she had whispered, "I love the way you look in this uniform. You won’t do anything to get any holes in it, will you?" Reese had pulled her close, promising her that she wouldn’t.

Nelson Parker watched Reese’s face turn inward to some thought he couldn’t fathom, but he knew it held her powerfully. Something about her had changed in the two weeks she had been gone, and he figured he knew who had been the cause of it. Remembering the night he wished with all his being he could have to do over, he remembered too the look on Tory King’s face as she stared him down. He knew damn well that if he had struck Reese, Tory would have taken him apart. He cleared his throat, ready to say what he had been preparing himself to say since that night.

"Election’s are coming up in the fall, Conlon. I think you should run for Sheriff."

Reese poured two cups of fresh coffee, placing one on his desk as she passed.

"We already have a Sheriff," she said with finality, reaching for the stacks of paperwork that had accumulated during her absence.

"You’re qualified, the people of this town already think you’re a hero, and every law man in the state respects you for how you handled Brianna’s - assault. You’re a shoe-in."

He swiveled in his chair to stare out the front window, but he forced himself to look at her when he spoke again. "You handled the police part of it as well as anybody could, and you handled the personal part better than I could. If it hadn’t been for Bri and Caroline trusting you, Brianna would have died out there. I failed her, and I repaid you by busting you up. I don’t deserve my own daughter’s trust and I certainly don’t deserve to be Sheriff. Take the damn job, Conlon, you deserve it."

"I’m not interested," Reese stated again. "There’s too much paperwork and too much politics. I like patrol, I like being out on the streets, I like community interaction. I plan on teaching more martial arts classes in the fall. I’m too busy."

When she had stopped to check on Brianna the previous night, she had found her polishing the new dirtbike Nelson had gotten her to replace the one destroyed in the accident. Caroline, who had barely left Bri's side since her release from the hospital, was there with several of their friends. Bri was chaffing at the bit to resume her martial arts classes, but her doctors had declared no contact sports for six weeks due to her concussion. Two other young women and a boy had expressed interest in taking self-defense classes. She knew it was a reaction to Bri’s assault, and after talking with them, she had agreed to teach several evening classes a week. Tory endorsed the idea, and planned to teach as well. This was the kind of cop Reese wanted to be - one who was part of the community, responding to the needs of the community in a personal way.

"You didn’t fail Bri either," Reese continued. "Sure, she was afraid to talk to you, but some of that fear came from what others had done to her or her friends. As it turns out, her fear was unwarranted. Jesus, Caroline is practically living at your place since her father threatened her."

Nelson looked pained as he remembered Caroline calling Bri in tears when her father swore he would beat this ‘queer bullshit' out of her. "Yeah, well that might have been me saying something as stupid as that if Bri hadn’t almost been killed. It took almost losing her to put things into perspective. I’m don’t know that I’d be trying as hard as I am to understand it. Still, I look at those two girls and all I see is a hard road ahead."

Reese nodded. "That may be, but having you on their side will go a long way toward making their life easier. And believe me, Nelson, you couldn’t keep them apart without hurting them more than any prejudice ever could."

He grinned self-consciously. "The reason Caroline spends most of her time with us is because that hard-headed kid of mine tried to get up out of her sickbed to go after Caroline’s old man. Jesus, she’s tough to handle. Kinda reminds me of you."

"Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment," Reese grinned back.

"You and Tory give them something to look up to," he said to Reese’s surprise.

"We both care about them, Nelson, but it’s you they need."

"I don’t know how to ask you to forgive me for that night. What I said about it being your fault, that was bad enough. But what I did, there’s no way to make that right," he said quietly.

"There’s nothing to forgive, Chief. If anything ever happened to Tory, I’d—" her voice cracked and she looked away for a second. "I’d be no different than you. Forget it."

He shook his head, disbelieving. "I appreciate your saying that, but I know better. I know Tory King won’t forget it."

"She was worried about Bri, and scared for me-"

"She was protecting you, Conlon. I can see what you mean to her. You’re a lucky woman to have that."

"Yes, I know."

"Well, I guess I’ll just have to prove to her that I know what you’re worth, too." He cleared his throat, busying himself with the papers on his desk. "So why don’t you get out of here. Tonight’s Carnival night, so expect it to be crazy."

Reese sighed with relief, more than ready to get back out on the streets. "Yes, sir! You want anything while I’m out?"

"Donuts."

Reese smiled happily. "Roger that."

**********

An hour later she pulled into the crowded parking lot of the East End Health Clinic. Randy as usual looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Please, please don’t tell me you want to see her!!" he exclaimed.

Reese smiled. "No good, huh?"

"If she agrees to see one more walk-in without an appointment, I’ll have to cancel the hottest date of my life," he wailed.

"Tell her I stopped by," Reese laughed. Then, she lowered her voice, "and Randy - try to get her to take a break once in a while."

Randy’s face softened for an instant, then he said in a martyred tone, "Like she wouldn’t kill me if I sent you away! Go on back!!"

As Reese passed he inquired seriously, "Are you all mended?"

"Good as new," Reese responded.

"That’s good, Captain Marvel - a lot of people around here need you." He touched her shoulder lightly, then fixed her with a frown. "If it takes more than five minutes I can’t guarantee your safety."

Reese waited as she always did, studying the pictures of Tory’s Olympic days, warmed by the images. Tory stood in the doorway, chart in hand, watching Reese. The very sight of her stirred her, causing her breath to catch for an instant.

"Hello, darling," Tory said, her voice husky, as she pulled her office door closed behind her.

Reese turned with a smile, "Hi, love." She went to her, sweeping off her cap as she leaned to pull Tory close. "I just stopped for a second. I missed you. Randy says it’s a rough day."

Tory slipped her arms around Reese’s waist, loving her solid strength. "Not any more," she sighed. "You’re just the kind of interruption I needed." Tory indulged herself with the feel of her for an instant longer, then stepped back to straighten Reese’s tie and brush a stray lock of dark hair from her forehead. "Happy to be back at work?"

"Just happy," Reese said softly, smiling tenderly. She settled her hat low over her brows, kissed her swiftly on the lips, and stepped toward the door. "See you at home, Doctor King."

Tory called after her, the kiss still tingling on her lips. "You can count on it, Sheriff!"

The End

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