The Suspect Part 8

Sunday came and went with no words between Cass and Allison. Allison thought it was the longest day of her life. She spent it cleaning house, reading, and watching television. Anything to keep her mind of the dark profiler. Claire called around one wanting to know if Allison would like to have lunch with her, and just to get out of her house Allison agreed to go. She and Claire had a nice lunch in town. Claire chatted about goings on where she worked. She listened as Allison vented about being suspended from work and about the dark profiler who had left the night before. Allison actually smiled when she thought about it, good old reliable Claire. She was always there when she needed a shoulder to cry on. Claire spent the rest of the day with Allison, listening, offering advice and comforting Allison.

Cass on the other hand, spent the day working. She had gotten and early start on the case. Kate woke around eleven and wandered into the kitchen to find the tall woman seated at her table, coffee in hand, looking through files and downloading information on her laptop.

"Morning" Kate said as she walked to the coffeepot. Pouring herself a large cup of the chicory liquid she turned leaning on her counter to look at Cass. Cass looked like hell, there were dark circles under her eyes and she looked pale. Kate had asked her why she was there last night but the dark woman had simply replied, "I’d rather not talk about it right now." Kate had let it go. But this morning, seeing Cass looking so disheveled and tired, she could no longer let it go.

"Sleep well?" She asked Cass.

"I slept fine thanks." Cass lied. She spared Kate a glance before going back to her work.

"Hmmm, well I guess you’re welcome. But just for the record, you look like shit warmed over."

"Thanks, I love you too." Cass said sarcastically.

Kate took the sarcasm as a sign that Cass had either calmed down, or was too exhausted to defend her feelings. She pounced at the latter, hoping she was right. "Well, you’re more talkative today. Feel like talking about what the hell is going on?"

Cass’ head dropped slightly and she pinched the bridge of her nose with her hand as she sighed. Kate knew she was going to find her answer. Cass was too tired to fight. "Kate do you know what an epiphany is?" Cass asked.

Kate looked at the tall woman and shook her head to indicate that she did not. Seeing this, Cass continued. "It’s a heightened sense of awareness that often accompanies a religious experience. In some cases it’s just a showing of what you believe." She looked up at Kate to see if she was following. Of course Kate had no idea what Cass was talking about, but she nodded her head in the affirmative anyway.

"Well, yesterday evening, after spending a glorious afternoon with the most wonderful person I ever met, I questioned her about everything you told me about on the phone. I basically told her that her story didn’t fit and that we were checking into things. She was angry, I was just trying to help. But it appeared that I didn’t trust her. It appears that my actual being there will jeopardize this case more than anything." Cass’ voice was soft and defeated as she finished her explanation.

Kate pursed her lips for a moment and took a sip of her coffee. She looked at the profiler and had an epiphany of her own. "You’re in love with her." It was a statement, not a question.

Cass dropped her head in her hands, nodding slowly. "And it hurts like hell."

Kate smiled and walked over to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting next to Cass she began. "Cass Martin, ‘Doctor to the sick of mind’, has finally met her match." She laid her hand on Cass’ upper arm. "Welcome to the big leagues Cass."

Cass looked into the hazel eyes that seemed to offer comfort and understanding, she secretly hoped that Allison had someone to turn to right now. "What the hell am I gonna do Kate?"

Kate smiled again, a softer smile that seemed to comfort more than understand. "You’re gonna be fine Cass. We’re gonna solve this case and you’re gonna go get your girl." Pursing her lips in thought again, "Does Allison know why you left?"

Cass shook her head slowly. "I didn’t tell her I was in love with her, I just told her I couldn’t be there with her. We had a disagreement over trust. I told her it was a conflict of interest to be there with her. I did tell her that win, lose or draw, I’d be back though."

"Well, that’s a start. You could call just to check on her, let her know you’re okay. I mean I know you’re pretty telephone handicapped, but you could try." Kate teased lightly.

"I told her to call if she needed anything. If I talked to her and she asked me to come back, I wouldn’t be able to say no. And it would be wrong. I need to do this case Kate. I need to solve it and I need to do it without outside opinion. I won’t do that being around her. Jesus Kate, I can’t think half the time I’m around her. It’s like this bizarre feeling of déjà vu all the time. It’s like I belong there. Leaving her behind last night felt familiar and wrong all at the same time. It’s just too damn weird." Cass talked as if she had had an out of body experience that she couldn’t explain. Kate had a hard time understanding the concept of feeling familiar when leaving someone, but she never had the feelings before.

"Okay, don’t call. Let’s get out asses in gear and solve this case. How about it?" Kate suggested.

"I’m all for that Kate." Cass sighed as she looked back to her computer screen.

The first line of business was to interview a neighbor of Bryce’s, who had subsequently turned up with fingerprint analysis. The woman’s name was Laura Determan, AKA "Honey".

Bryce had arrested her two years prior for solicitation. Apparently, he also recommended suspended sentencing for the woman. Each time she had been arrested since, Bryce had pulled strings to see to it that she did not serve time. She moved in across the street from Bryce about six months ago.

The fingerprints had turned up a match through criminal records. Allison’s prints had matched through DCI as a routine check for DCFS. The other prints belonged to Bryce and the officer that found him. Only one set of prints remained unidentified. Right now the hooker across the street looked like a good place to start. Kate and Cass knocked on the door to the house. Cass noticed that the front door and a picture window faced Bryce’s house. If there had been traffic in and out, ‘Honey’ would have surely noticed it. A newer model jimmy sat in front of the house, so it was safe to assume the woman was home. Kate continued banging on the door. Suddenly a voice yelled from inside, "Keep yer pants on, dammit. I’m coming."

The battered wood door opened half way, a chain on the upper door left in place, as a blood shot gray eye peered out. "Whaddya want?" Kate peeked inside at the woman before replying. "Mrs. Determan?"

The voice that answered was thick with sleep and hoarse. "My mother was Mrs. Determan, I’m Ms. Determan. Who are you? And what the hell do you want at this hour?"

"Sorry," Kate began. "Ms. Determan. I’m Detective Reece with ISP homicide and this is Cass Martin with the FBI. We’d like to ask you a few questions about Bryce McDaniels if we could."

"Am I in some kind of trouble here? Cuz I need to call my lawyer first." The scratchy voice replied.

"No ma’am. We just wanted some information. It’s quite informal. If you’d like an attorney that’s fine, but we just wanted to talk to you." Kate explained.

"I thought they already had a suspect in Bryce’s death? His wife killed him or something?"

"We are investigating all options right now. We just wanted to ask you some questions about if you saw anyone at the house recently." Kate was practically oozing charm through the cracked door.

"Well, you got any ID on you?" The woman asked.

Kate and Cass both showed their respective identifications through the crack in the door. Suddenly the door closed all the way and the chain could be heard rattling. Then the door reopened. "C’mon in. You may as well be inside. Damn sunshine. Yuck." Kate and Cass both smiled politely as they entered the young hooker’s home.

The house was neat and well kept. The woman obviously made decent money doing what she did. As they walked through the house, Cass took the opportunity to study the woman. She was in her early thirties, rail thin, had honey blonde hair that had darker roots. Her nails were fake and very long. She spent time at the manicurist on a regular basis it appeared. Her gray eyes were dull and bloodshot. It appeared that the woman probably didn’t eat well. But considering her line of work, she would be surprised someone could eat at all.

They followed Honey to the kitchen where the woman began making a pot of coffee. "You two like some coffee? It’s regular I hate that decaf shit. Sit down, make yourselves comfortable." She motioned her head in the direction of the table in the center of the room.

Kate and Cass each pulled out chairs for themselves and sat down to await their hostess. "Coffee is fine, ma’am." Kate replied politely.

Honey finished setting up the coffeepot and brought three mugs, creamer and sugar to the table. "So, you want information on Bryce?" she asked as she flopped down into a chair.

Kate began the questioning. "Actually, we were more interested in who’s been coming a going there. We also wanted to know about your fingerprints being found at the house."

Honey smiled a wicked little smile as she lowered her head slightly. She made direct eye contact with Kate as she replied. "You’re wondering if I rode the ‘hobby horse’ with Bryce?"

"Well, for all practical purposes, we know you’re a hooker, we know he busted you two years ago for soliciting. We also know that you moved here about six months ago, and your prints were found in his home." Kate was concise as always. Not rude or pushy, just matter-of-fact about the whole situation. "We also know, he pulled favors for you to keep you out of jail. That leads me to suspect that either you were, ‘riding the hobby horse’ as you put it. Or he was pimping you out."

The hooker snorted at that. "Bryce was smart, but not that smart. He could have made a fortune if he’d pimped me out. He was more interested in seeing to it that he had a piece on the side. I went to his house a good deal after his wife left him. He liked his sex rough though. About two or three weeks ago, he stopped calling."

Cass took this opportunity to interrupt. "He just stopped? Did he tell you why?"

Again the hooker snorted. "Listen gorgeous, a man like Bryce stops calling you, you don’t look the gift horse in the mouth." She got up to get the coffee and continued talking. "I owed Bryce ‘favors’ for keeping me out of jail. He liked the rough sex and said his wife just wasn’t into it." She caught the surprised look on both women’s faces and laughed again. "I know he wasn’t exactly a model citizen ladies. I had to put up with him because if I didn’t. I’d be in jail."

"Why didn’t you tell anyone?" Kate asked incredulously.

"Tell who what?" Honey barked. She poured the coffee into the cups and set out three spoons for the condiments. "You think I’m gonna call the fucking state police and say, yeah there’s a cop making me fuck him so I don’t go to jail for being a hooker?"

As vulgar as the explanation sounded, Cass and Kate both had to agree. It wouldn’t have mattered. Honey would have gone to jail and Bryce would have made her life hell.

"Look he stopped calling, I guess it was two and half weeks ago. I saw a chick about five days ago leaving the house. It was early in the morning. About four thirty or five I guess. I had just gotten home. I was standing in the living room having a drink after work. I saw her get into her car and leave. They found Bryce’s body ummm a few days later I guess."

"Did you report seeing the woman to anyone else?" Kate asked.

Honey smiled as she half nodded her head. "Ahhhh, no. Cops and me just don’t jive. You know?"

"Did you get a look at the woman or the car?" Cass asked hopefully.

"Yeah, both. The car was a late model four door, it was dark color, and had Illinois tags. The woman was tall maybe five eight or nine, nice looking, not drop dead gorgeous or anything, but nice looking." The hooker looked up and to her right as she recalled what she could.

Kate took a picture out of her blazer pocket and showed it to the woman. "Was this the woman you saw?"

The hooker looked and the picture and snorted again. "His wife? Nah, wasn’t her."

Cass and Kate both looked surprised. "How’d you know that was his wife?" Kate asked.

"Her pictures are all over that house. He used to just look at them and then get angry." The hooker explained. "This woman was good looking, but his wife is drop dead gorgeous."

Cass looked down at the table finding interest in the patterns on the formica top. She closed her eyes briefly, picturing Allison in her mind. A slight smile formed and she felt a familiar pang of want in her heart. Kate noticed the change in the profiler but chose to ignore it.

"So you saw this woman leaving the house three days before he was found dead?"

"Yeah, weird thing. She never came back. I was home that entire time. Never saw her come back."

"Why were you home the entire time?" Kate inquired.

"Had a ‘John’ that didn’t like my performance. So he beat the crap out of me. Had a black eye and swollen face. Wasn’t exactly work ready, if you know what I mean." The hooker replied angrily.

Kate nodded her head in understanding. The woman was a straight shooter. No variations in voice and she wasn’t nervous at all while being questioned. She believed the woman to be telling the truth. "Would you be able to pick this woman out of a line up if you saw her again?"

"Don’t know, just know the basic demographics on her. I had one eye completely swollen shut. I could try it. But I don’t know if I could or not."

"Okay, that’s good enough." Kate replied. "Did you know anything about Bryce’s monetary situation?"

The hooker smiled. "You know, Bryce didn’t like when you asked him questions. So I didn’t ask him any. Never."

"Okay, thank you for your help." Kate and Cass finished their coffee. As they walked toward the door, Kate turned to the woman and handed her a business card. "If you think of anything else. Give me a call at this number okay?"

The hooker took the number and tucked it in her shirt. "You bet."

Kate and Cass made their way to the car. Once inside Kate looked over at Cass, "You thinking what I’m thinking?"

Cass looked at Kate from behind the lenses of her RayBans, "Depends on what you’re thinking."

"I don’t get the impression that she’s lying. Did you?"

"Nope, she looked to the right instead of the left when she talked. She also wasn’t nervous about talking to us. I’m not sure if her spotting a woman there helps us out though." Cass sighed.

"Why not?" Kate asked, then as if on cue she moved into detective mode again. "Okay, so she could have paid someone else to kill him. But I’m not buying that. The fact that someone saw a woman leave that house brings other things to mind Cass."

"Like what?" Cass asked angrily.

"Like maybe this woman is who killed Bryce, maybe she called the insurance company. Maybe…" she was cut off by Cass interruption.

"Maybe what Kate? This whole thing still stinks to high heaven. I don’t believe for a minute that Allison killed her ex, not for a minute. But you have to admit, somebody is making it hard to deter us from that fact." Cass was getting more frustrated by the minute.

Kate took a deep cleansing breath. She was sincerely afraid of discouraging Cass right now, but she didn’t think Allison was guilty either. "Look Cass, we need a connection here. Some how either someone wanted to set Allison up or they wanted to defer the track off of them."

Cass listened as Kate talked. She knew in her heart that Kate was right it was just frustrating trying to put this all together with only one killing. She had racked her brain the night before and was at square one every time she turned around. The logical solution was that the killer had been paid by someone to kill Bryce.

Resigning to the fact that time was the only thing that was going to help in this situation Cass sighed again. "Okay, let’s go to the office and see what we can dig up on that last set of prints."

"Good plan, and while we’re at it, I’ll see if the crime lab has anything on the toxicology results." Kate replied as she put the car in gear and drove away from the house.

Cass and Kate spent the better part of the afternoon in Kate’s office reviewing pictures, crime scene evidence, and the personal files of all persons with links to Bryce. Lunch had been a cold sandwich delivered from a local deli and Kate was starving. After waiting around for Cass to realize that it was well past mealtime, Kate gave out an exasperated sigh.

Cass looked up at Kate over the top of the file folder she was holding in her hand. "Something wrong?"

Kate looked back at Cass in mock anger. "You know it’s a wonder you ever remember anything when you’re working. We need to eat Cass!"

Cass smiled and looked up at the clock, "Oh yeah, I guess it has been six hours since we ate last. What do you want to do for supper?"

Kate pursed her lips in thought and then smiled. "Look, it’s late. Why don’t we take the files we need home, and pick up Chinese on the way?"

Cass slid her reading glasses off her nose and smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Picking up the folders they could use, they closed up the rest in the file cabinet. Cass emailed some downloads to her laptop and the two left for home.

Arriving back at Kate’s home an hour later there were two messages on her machine. One from DCI crime labs stating that the lab tests would be complete and verified in the morning and one from detective Holgrom, stating they had a hit on the last set of prints but they were from a juvenile case and couldn’t be opened without a court order. Kate made a note to see about getting a court order in the morning. With the new information, the women set to getting dinner set out and eaten.

"What do you think a juvenile record case has to do with our investigation, Kate?" Cass asked while fishing through her plate to find more water chestnuts.

Kate looked up from her plate blankly. "Well, it’s hard to say. It could mean any number of things." She replied casually as she looked back down and resumed eating.

Cass looked back up at the young detective, her eyes strained in thought. "Yeah, but what all are you thinking?"

Kate dropped her fork and sighed loudly. "Well, okay if you’re sure you want to hear this?" Looking at Cass directly she waited for the dark woman to nod in affirmation. "It could mean something simple, like we got a hit on a file that’s just old. Our criminal may have been a juvenile delinquent, but has had no problems since that time. Or it could be something more."

Cass put her fork down and looked directly into Kate’s eyes. "I want to know what the worst case scenario you can come up with."

Kate looked up at the ceiling before taking a long slow breath. "Okay, worst case scenario. A. Bryce was screwing a kid he met on the streets. Possible, but considering our talk with ‘Honey’ today, pretty unlikely. B. A juvenile delinquent that Allison had contact with was, at some point in time, in that house. An unlikely possibility as well since Allison was a DCFS officer. Chances are she was pretty low profile. C. A juvy broke into the house and killed Bryce. Very unlikely because it lacks motive and the killer tried very hard to cover their tracks."

Cass thought about the options carefully. All of it was possible, but how much of it was likely. She pressed her fingertips together and lightly tapped them against her chin. Her reading glasses lowered on her nose she looked the proverbial professor in thought. Kate watched her with interest for a short time before asking. "What are you thinking Cass?"

Cass smiled as she looked toward the case file in front of her. "I was just thinking about Occam’s Razor."

Kate looked perplexed, "Huh?"

Cass looked at Kate again, a small ironic smile on her face. "You know, the physicist’s theory that states. All things being equal, the simplest answer is most likely the right one. What’s your simplest answer Kate?"

"Well, my best guess would be.." but she was cut off by Cass’ repeat question.

"No Kate, the simplest answer." Cass repeated.

"Okay, the simplest and most logical solution is that the killer has a juvenile record and has laid low or been out of trouble since." Kate deducted.

"So, all other things aside, that’s our most likely conclusion. Right?" Cass asked.

Kate looked confused. "Well, yes, that’s mine. What’s yours?"

"We need a link. But we keep looking at Bryce’s life." Cass began.

"Yeah, so? He’s the victim." Kate rationalized.

"But everything we’ve looked into with him leads us back to Allison." Cass supplied.

"Holy shit," Kate exclaimed as the realization hit her. "Our killer knows her."

"That’s what I’m thinking." Cass offered. "It makes sense. Why would everything else lead back to Allison if Bryce were the victim? It just makes more sense that the victim either did this on Allison’s behalf or was doing it to get back at her."

Ohhhh, I’ll bet that admission hurt like hell, Kate thought. "Okay, so we need to look at her closer, or do we look at her friends closer?" Kate asked the question matter-of-factly.

"We need to look at everything." Cass said defeatedly. "As much as I hate to say this. We are going to have to pick her life apart."

Kate nodded in agreement. If this killer were this good the first kill, she would only get better at it. They would have to find her, and it looked as though Allison would be the connection.

"I’m going to call her and make arrangements to question her again tomorrow. I want to know everyone that’s been in her life for the past three years. I want a list of anyone that could’ve had a connection to both her and Bryce, but mostly with her." Kate went to the phone and looked at Cass. She waited patiently until the profiler realized she was waiting for a phone number. Once again sighing, she gave Kate the pad of paper with the number on it.

Allison had finished up the dishes and was just sitting down to read a little bit when the phone rang. Raising herself back up she hurried to the phone, hoping against hope that Cass would be on the other end of the line. "Hello?"

"Allison?" The woman’s voice asked.

"Yes, who’s this?"

"Allison it’s detective Reese. I’m sorry to bother you this late but I need to talk with you."

"It’s quite all right detective. What can I do for you?" Allison sneered at the phone as she put on her best telephone voice. Bitch! She thought angrily. Cass is up there at your house and you’re wondering if I’m asleep. I didn’t sleep last night thinking about her being at your house why the hell would it be any different tonight?

"I need to know if there’s a time tomorrow when we could get together. I have some new information on the case and need to ask you some questions. Is that all right?" Kate asked politely.

I have some questions I’d like to ask you myself detective. Allison thought angrily. But instead she replied, "Of course detective. Any particular time?"

"Well, I have some lab tests I’m waiting for in the morning. How about tomorrow afternoon, say around four?"

"That would be fine detective. Anything else I can do for you?" Allison asked sweetly.

Kate chuckled into the receiver. She finally realized Allison must be jealous as hell, knowing Cass was staying at her house with her. "Not from me. Would you like to talk to Cass for a minute?"

"I…umm…well…I..Actually, I would." Allison stammered.

"Good, hold on a minute." Kate motioned the phone to Cass while holding her hand over the receiver. Cass shook her head ‘no’ and Kate picked up a fork off the counter and threw it at her. Cass glared at the smug look on the detective’s face as she got up. She took the phone from Kate angrily and took a swing at Kate as she danced away from her to the other side of the room.

"Hello?" Cass answered softly.

"Hey." Allison said.

"Hey yourself." Cass said. She could hear the smile in Allison’s voice and her breath caught in her chest at the thought of it.

"How are you?" Allison asked.

"I’m okay. A little tired but okay. And you?" Cass asked.

"I’m surviving. Missed my sleeping companion last night though. So I didn’t sleep well." Allison answered honestly, hoping she would get the same response from Cass. She wasn’t disappointed.

"Me too. If it’s any consolation, I’m hoping to wrap this up in the next couple of days. I have some unfinished business to take care of down your way." She flirted.

"Are you coming with Kate tomorrow?" She asked hopefully.

"I am. I wasn’t going to, but I decided I wanted to." Cass replied.

"Good. I’ll see you tomorrow evening then?"

"Yes you will. Take care of yourself. Get some sleep." Cass ordered gently.

"I’ll try. You too okay?" Allison said. "And Cass?"

"Yeah?" Cass replied.

Changing her mind at the last second, Allison simply said. "Never mind, I’ll tell you tomorrow."

"Okay. I’ll see you then." Cass said softly as she hung up the phone. She leaned her head on the wall near for the phone for a few seconds. Her eyes closed, envisioning Allison curled up in her bed and missing her terribly. She turned at the sound of a throat clearing. Kate stood, arms crossed, leaning in the kitchen doorway. A smug smile gracing her features. "I don’t know what you’re smiling about, detective Reese, but I’d hate to remove that smile with force." Cass ground the words out through clenched teeth.

"You’re so whipped." Kate began. "When we solve this case, heaven help that girl once you get her alone."

The phone rang as Cass pushed off the wall and headed towards Kate. Deciding it may be Allison again she immediately picked it up. "Hello?"

"Umm, hi. Kate?" The voice was female and not one Cass recognized. She turned to Kate and shrugged as she said into the phone. "No, hold on."

Kate took the phone from Cass’ hand and spoke into the receiver. Her voice instantly softened and took on a lower tone. She turned her back to Cass as she continued the conversation. Cass looked at the detective’s back for a few seconds before deciding it was probably the woman who answered the phone the other morning when she called Kate. She tapped Kate lightly on the shoulder and made soft kissing noises to her when she turned around. Kate immediately blushed and covered the phone as she threw her arms out, in an effort to get the profiler to leave the room. Cass smirked at the young detective and went back to the table. She continued sitting at the table pretending to work as the detective talked in a soft voice to the woman on the other end. The conversation lasted several minutes and as the detective hung up the phone Cass overheard her say, "Me too, see you soon."

Cass remained at the table watching as Kate meddled in the kitchen with a teapot. She returned to the table a short time later with two steaming cups of hot tea. Thanking her for the tea, the profiler waited for Kate to sit down before beginning. "You know, this is kind of hypocritical of you to tell me how whipped I am, when you seem to have the same problem."

Kate snorted at Cass from above her mug as she retorted. "My personal is not going to affect this case in the slightest Cass. So you don’t have to worry for my well being."

Taking it to mean she didn’t want to talk about it, the profiler backed off. "As you like it. I’ll leave it alone." Then reconsidering, she added. "Is she good to you at least?"

Kate smiled openly at Cass. "I thought you agreed to leave it alone?"

Cass merely shrugged.

"Well, just so you can sleep at night, I’ll tell you. She is good to me, and for me." Kate replied. Seeing Cass open her mouth as if to add something more, she held a hand up in front of her. "END of conversation Dr. Martin."

Cass smiled and went back to her work and Kate resumed her file browsing as well.

It was almost midnight before they decided to call it a night. As Cass got up from the table to go to bed, Kate stopped her with a question. "Cass, do you think we could cross reference those fingerprints with the FBI’s database?"

Cass thought about it for a minute, then shrugged. "I guess we could. But why?"

"Well, it’s really hard to open a file case on a juvenile here. Maybe we could have that iron in the fire just in case we don’t get it opened."

It made perfect sense to Cass. Shrugging again, "Sure I’ll call Hal at Quantico and have him do the print transfer first thing in the morning. Anything else we need from their end?"

Kate shook her head to indicate that she didn’t know of anything. "Okay, then I’m off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning."

"Kay, g’nite Cass."

"Nite."

The profiler went back to the spare bedroom and changed into sleeping attire. Normally she slept nude, but while she was a guest in someone’s home, it would probably just be rude. So she settled for her baggy short and a tee shirt. As she lay down, she noticed the faint smell of Allison on her shirt. She had worn it twice to bed at her house. She pulled the collar of the shirt up close and inhaled deeply. Closing her eyes she swore she could feel the warmth of the younger woman next to her. Curling up with her pillow, she smiled contentedly. Wasn’t the real thing, but it was a pretty close match when combined with her imagination. Picturing the object of her affection in her head she smiled again. "Soon love, so very soon. You and I are going to be where we belong, together."

Ninety minutes southwest of her, Allison was curled up asleep in her bed. The smell of Cass’ cologne on her nightshirt as she curled up with her pillow. "Nite Cass. I love you." She whispered into the darkness. Letting out a slow deep sigh she cuddled closer to the pillow as she entered Morpheus’ realm.

Cass awoke to the sounds of movement in the quiet house. She stilled herself to listen to the sounds and noticed it was Kate moving about. After a particularly restless night of sleep, she resigned herself to not getting any more rest, so she decided to go in search of coffee. Groggily she found her way to the bathroom, then to the kitchen where a grumpy Kate stood watching the coffeepot. "You know, watching it won’t make it work faster." Cass smirked to the bleery-eyed detective.

Kate snorted. "The mood I’m in, this thing had better cooperate this morning or it may find itself homeless."

Cass looked down at the grouchy detective and smirked again, "So you’d leave a poor defenseless coffeepot out on the street without a home just because it didn’t brew coffee fast enough for you?"

Kate looked at the pot, thinking for a split second before replying, "Abso-fucken-lutely." Then turning back to the pot again, she yelled. "If you don’t want to be on a store shelf advertised as ‘made with recycled materials’, I suggest you hurry the hell up."

Cass laughed out right at that. Kate hated mornings. As far as she was concerned the only thing worth getting up for in the morning was sex, and that was only if she could go back to sleep afterwards. Looking skyward, Cass put her hands together and closed her eyes. "Gods, if you’re listening, please make the poor defenseless coffeepot work faster so it’s morning-hating owner doesn’t have to send it to the recycling bin."

It was Kate’s turn to laugh now, "You’re funny Martin, really funny".

Cass smirked again, "So are you, but looks aren’t everything now are they?"

Kate flashed Cass a look that made her want to look for shelter. Slowly backing from the grouchy little detective, she held her hands out in front of her as if to ward off attack. "Kidding Kate." Then noticing the look had not changed, she replied softly, "Coffee’s done."

Deciding that coffee was a better choice than a homicide investigation for killing the dark profiler; Kate turned to get the coffee. "Would you like a cup?" she asked innocently.

"Yeah, thanks." Cass replied stepping to the counter. Just as she reached for the cup in Kate’s hands, she bent her head and took a sip. As she sauntered to the table she threw over her shoulder, "You know where the cupboard is." She then sat at the table with a very satisfied smile on her face.

"Some hostess you are." Cass snorted to the smug little detective.

"Hmmmffff, you want a hostess? Go buy a cupcake, because that’s as good as you’re gonna get this morning Doc." Kate shrugged.

Cass knew Kate wasn’t a morning person, but her mood this morning seemed even more grumpy than normal. She poured herself a cup of coffee and silently wished that she were with a certain perky blonde. Allison definitely made waking up a worthwhile experience. She missed the young woman so badly that she made a silent vow not to let her out of her site when she finally got to see her again. Sighing quietly she set about drinking her coffee and booting up her laptop.

Kate had two cups of coffee before she was able to speak in a civil tone. Cass patiently waited as the detective finished her second cup of coffee before speaking to her. "I got an email from Hal, he started the cross reference on those prints. Hopefully he’ll have a match soon."

Kate had grunted in response to earlier inquiries, but after her caffeine level returned to near therapeutic, she was more receptive. "Good, I’ll call the D.A. this morning and see about a court order to identify our unknown’s prints. If they can’t get a judge’s order, we’ll need what ever Hal finds."

Cass looked up over the rim of her glasses as she finished replying to Hal. "What about the toxicology screen?"

Kate sighed, "I’m not calling them again until later. They keep telling me that a rush order still takes time. They did say that today they would have results. So we’ll wait until this afternoon."

Cass nodded in understanding. She knew how frustrating it was to know that a huge clue in a case rested in the hands of others. She had been so frustrated waiting on a tox screen once, that she had called the director of the lab and threatened to take a course in biology so she could run the damn tests herself. Looking back at the computer screen, she looked up the information on the insurance company. Since Bryce’s death had been labeled as suspicious and was now being investigated as a homicide, the payment had been held up pending investigation.

She looked at her watch, then looked at Kate. "Did the lady at the insurance company tell you what time she’d call?"

Kate looked up from the file she was looking at, then looking toward the ceiling in thought she replied. "No, I don’t think she did give a time. I could call her when she gets in her office though and see if they found anything else out." Looking back at the clock, she realized that the insurance company wouldn’t even be in for another hour and a half. "Geeez, what do people do at this hour of the damned morning?"

Smiling again, Cass simply replied, "Carpe diem." Then looking at the normally calm detective she asked. "Why did you get up so early this morning?"

Kate groaned as she stretched, "Hell, this case has me so damned confused. I haven’t been sleeping really well at all the last week. How do you do it?" Seeing Cass’s eyebrows raise in question, she clarified. "How do you survive cases that last this long?"

Cass pursed her lips in thought for a moment as she considered her answer. "I don’t know. This case is definitely frustrating because we only have one victim. Normally when I get called to consult it’s because there are several victims, thus leaving a pattern for me when I start. This case is different. I’m here as a liaison because the victim was an officer of ISP. We don’t have numerous cases here. We just have the one. Can’t set a good M.O. Makes it more frustrating." Then thinking again, Cass added. "Hell with what little we’ve got, my whole damn profile could be ass backwards. If we had another killing with the same M.O. I’d have to rethink my whole profile. I think our killer has killed before, but I don’t think it’s a serial thing. I think she sees it as a necessity. It’s kind of weird, but like I said a second killing would change my profile."

"You know the Bon Vista Murders damn near drove me nuts. It did cost me my marriage, not that it matters mind you. But still, it was the catalyst for it." Then looking back at Cass, she added. "You know most homicides we do here are pretty easily solved. There’s an obvious motive, an obvious suspect, and the pieces all seem to fit. But this case, Jesus Cass, I’ve no clue where it’s going. You know we have a prime suspect with a perfect motive, and for the life of me, I can’t buy that she’s guilty. Even with the evidence we have, I can’t buy it."

Cass smiled a soft grateful smile to the detective. "Thank you for believing in her Kate. That means a lot to me right now."

"I know, but I’m not saying it to make you feel better. I’m saying it because I don’t believe she did it. But someone sure as hell wants us to believe it." Kate sighed in frustration. "I wonder if the phone records are in." Getting up, she went to the phone bringing it back to the table with her, she dialed a number and waited. After a moment she began to speak. "Charlie? Hey, It’s Kate Reese. Fine thanks. Listen did you get those phone records I asked you about on Saturday? You did? Great, can you fax them to my house? Well, now would be a good time. Great thanks, I owe you one Charlie." Shutting the phone off, she turned to Cass. "Looks like we’ll get to review phone records this morning."

"Yippee." Cass replied dryly.

Kate laughed, "You know, you should be excited, we could wrap this case up within the week if we get our shit together."

Hmmmmm Cass, wrap the case up and be back in Allison’s bed by the weekend. How’s that sound to you? Sounds awfully damned good to me. I miss that nice warm body. I really missed her last night. Had to go see her in your head dammit. Shut up id. What? Tell me you don’t miss her. Tell me that at least every other waking thought we’ve had hasn’t included one drop dead gorgeous blonde. Shut up id. Cass chanted in her head. But id was not to be quieted this morning. You know the one Cass. The one with the deepest green eyes you’ve ever seen. Shut up id. The one with the honey-blonde hair that smells so good. Id, shut the hell up. The same woman that is so pliant in your arms, that would be willing to do anything to her. I mean for you. The one that you dreamt about making love to last night, anyone coming to mind here Cass? You need to go away id. Please. And you need to get laid old girl, and badly. No I need a good lay, not a bad one id, now go away. Hah, id interjected, at least you admit it. Letting out an exasperated sigh Cass pushed back from the table. Looking down at a very surprised Kate she sheepishly shrugged her shoulders. "Need some air." Then she turned on her heel and walked outside. Once outside Cass took several deep breaths. Looking out into Kate’s backyard, Cass smiled. The sun was up and shining; it appeared it was going to be a beautiful day. The sky was a wonderful blend of blues and grays mixed with a hint of crimson left from the sunrise. She looked up at the clouds as they floated effortlessly in the air. Absorbing the sunshine she lost herself in thought. Pictures began forming in her mind. Closing her eyes she welcomed the visions. Allison smiling at her right before she kissed her the first time. The way she walked, the way she talked. The way she had smiled at her the other night made her breath catch in her chest. As she opened her eyes, a slight smile graced her normally stoic features.

"Must be one hell of a nice thought to put a smile like that on your face." Cass hadn’t heard Kate come outside. Lowering her head slightly Cass blushed. "It was."

Kate left the simple response at that. "The phone records are here. Wanna take a look with me?"

Turning around and heading toward the house, Cass smiled down at the detective. "You bet."

They spent the next hour going over phone records from both Allison and Bryce’s homes. They had found no matches for the insurance company office. Apparently Bryce had been talking to someone though, there were several different numbers, only one of which was to the Springfield area. There were three calls from outside each lasting about thirty minutes. And there were two calls to the Effingham area. Cass picked them out immediately and called the number. Getting no answer, she decided to get a name to go with the number. If he called someone down there, he may have been looking for Allison’s address. She asked Kate to get a name and address. They decided they could stop by that place in Effingham later today. After both women had showered and dressed they headed in to Kate’s office.

Allison spent a restless night in bed and woke early as well. Instead of work she decided to write in her journal for a while. After finishing her entry, she made a pot of coffee and had a bagel. Walking back into her living room, coffee in hand, she decided to watch the sunrise. She went out the back door of her apartment and smiled. The smell of morning in the spring was something that couldn’t be duplicated for anything. There simply was no substitute. The air was crisp with only the slightest chill to it. Allison watched quietly as the sun made its ascent into the new day. A primitive calm engulfed her as she watched the day break. She noticed the dew on the grass and thought about diamonds lying on a verdant bed of velvet. She noticed the sounds of the occasional traffic as it passed on the nearby interstate. She also noticed the chirping of the birds as they bid the sun good morning. She laughed at their hopping antics as they went about the business of finding their breakfast. She sat in her lawn chair and quietly sipped from the steaming mug. As she enjoyed the morning she couldn’t keep her thoughts from drifting to Cass. Cass was the most wonderful person she had ever met. She was beautiful, intelligent, charming, and caring. Allison found herself smiling again as her thoughts about spending the night with the dark profiler deepened. She wondered if she and Cass had a serious chance at a future. With the way she had slept the last two nights without Cass in her bed, she doubted she could survive without the dark woman. Her thoughts drifted to the way Cass held her and kissed her. Granted she hadn’t kissed all that many people in her life, but Cass was by far the best. She giggled softly as she thought about feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. Well, that truly was not the case with Cass. She had fallen hopelessly in love with the profiler. Silently she wondered what kind of lover Cass would be, then she smiled again. She would be the perfect lover, Allison knew already. She would be passionate, caring, kind, and gentle. Of course, when it came to Cass, Allison wanted to ravage the woman. She literally wanted to make the dark profiler hers and hers alone. Silently taken aback by her thoughts, Allison looked around her. Nothing she had ever experienced in her life compared to what she felt when she was with Cass. Smiling again at the thought of seeing the profiler again this evening, she bid the birds good day and went back inside.

The District Attorney’s office located in downtown Springfield held a notorious record for successful prosecutions in the state. Kate felt it was primarily because they cut deals right and left if they couldn’t make an airtight case against someone. They practically laughed Kate and Cass out of their office when they requested a court order to have a juvenile record opened. The D.A. had been sarcastic in her reply. "I’d have better luck impregnating Judge Judy."

Cass had been angry, but Kate had been livid. "You mean to tell me that you won’t let us open this file to identify the prints of a potential homicide suspect?"

The attorney had stiffened at the implication that her office was not protecting its citizens. "Detective, I’m afraid, it’s not only state, but federal laws that this affects. Even if we did get a court order, it could be overturned in federal appeal. Then we’d lose our identification of a suspect at all."

After running into problem after problem with leads today, Kate had had just about as much as she could take. "So you’re telling me that you would rather see this killer walking the street than take a chance at identifying them? That’s what my tax dollars do?" Kate was almost to the point of yelling. "You just don’t want to take a chance on losing a case. Plain and simple."

The attorney tried to pacify Kate but was not very successful in her attempt. "Detective Reese, please try to see this from my point of view." But before she could continue, Kate’s screaming interrupted her thought. "I am trying to see your point of view, but unfortunately for me, I can’t quite get my head that far up my ASS!" Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the room, leaving a rather embarrassed Cass behind.

Clearing her throat softly, Cass smiled apologetically at the now angry attorney. "She’ll come around. I think she’s well on her way to getting her head that far up there." Then shrugging, she quickly followed Kate out of the building.

Catching up to Kate outside the doors of the building Cass spun Kate around by the arm. "What the hell’s gotten into you today? Please tell me this is like some really bad PMS trip and I’m not gonna go to hell in a hand basket with you."

Sighing and rubbing her temple with her fingers Kate replied softly. "I’m sorry, Cass. I just get so fed up with this bureaucratic bullshit. They know we have a good chance at finding this, but she’s worried about her damn record. Like anyone gives a shit. If the public found out how many people they let loose because they were afraid to go to trial, they’d all be out of jobs."

Cass looked pointedly into Kate’s eyes, seeing the frustration and anger there she chose a more gentle approach. "Look, I know this is very hard for you, all of us. But you have got to get a grip here Kate. Going off half cocked and getting a D.A. pissed at you isn’t going to help our case any here."

"I know," Kate replied, "but dammit, they know we could have our suspect in those files."

Cass smiled in understanding. "I know. I’ll have Hal speed up his search. If this person has a good juvenile history and if I’m right about them killing before, maybe something will turn up."

"I sure as hell hope so Cass." Kate said as she walked toward the car.

"Are you ready to head down to the little city?" Cass asked.

"Yeah, we need to run by the office. I’ll grab a few files and you need to take your laptop."

"Good, let’s go," Cass replied happily as they headed to the office.

They returned to Kate’s office and found that a messenger had delivered the tape from the insurance company. Deciding to go ahead and listen to the tape they had a cup of coffee and played it on the small recorder in Kate’s office. Both of them agreed the voice was a female, but they couldn’t determine ever hearing it before. They only thing they really got out of listening to the tape was that whoever was on that tape pretending to be Allison, it was definitely not her.

Grabbing jackets and computer, the two were heading out of the office when the phone rang. Yelling in rage at yet one more delay, Kate turned and walked back to the desk. "Homicide, Reese" She mumbled into the receiver. Listening for a second she turned to Cass and quickly signaled for her to come in the office.

"Yeah, I got it. Good. Okay and how much would you guess was there?" Kate wrote quickly on the piece of scratch paper. Her eyes grew wide as a sudden realization hit her and she smiled with it. "So it’s pretty hard to get and pretty easily detected on chromatography?"

Her smile broadened and Cass literally let out a sigh of relief as she realized that maybe Kate’s mood was improving. "Okay, yeah, right, got it. Oh, and thank you for rushing it. I know I’ve been a pain in your ass lately." Hanging up the phone she turned to Cass and engulfed the larger woman in a huge bear hug.

"Well, that’s certainly more appealing than sticking someone’s head up my ass." Cass joked. "What’d ya find?"

"Well, you were right about the chromatography. It was positive." Kate said as she smiled.

"Okay, so it’s positive for what?" Cass asked.

"Anectine." Kate replied smugly.

Cass looked puzzled momentarily. She hadn’t expected that. "Anectine, huh?"

"Yep," Kate smiled broadened. "Apparently a perfect dose of it no less. The lab thinks it was the 500 to 1 ml dose. It had to be given in a minute amount because no needle tracks were found except for.." Kate and Cass finished the sentence together. "insulin syringe tracks."

Both smiled broadly. This would definitely narrow the suspect search. An exact amount of anectine would have to be known by the person who administered it. There was no way someone without significant medical knowledge would be able to give a perfect dose measured in an insulin syringe. This was carefully plotted and almost perfectly executed. The other thing you had to have was access to it. As a potent paralytic agent, anectine was used to paralyze patients for surgery. If someone wasn’t there to breath for you once administered, you died from asphyxiation. Cass smiled. Allison had no way of knowing anything about the anectine or how to give it. Bryce’s killer had intended to kill him, and had done it intentionally. Now all they had to do was find the identification on the prints and follow the leads. Grabbing her laptop and her cell phone, the two practically ran to the car. Allison had to know the killer. If someone had called identifying themselves as her, that person had to know her. Allison may have known the killer the whole time.

They drove quickly toward Effingham. Kate drove as Cass continued talking with Hal about the fingerprints. Hal had found the match. The prints belonged to a Lori Matheson, but they couldn’t find that person on current identification lists. The Matheson they had on file was reportedly killed in a car accident in June of 1986. Hal and Cass discussed the possibilities. "Hal see if anyone else died in that accident. It isn’t very hard to take over someone else’s identity after they are killed, especially if they are young. Try to cross-reference anything you can think of to match it with. If you find anything, call me and we’ll try to do a photo download online via laptop. Okay? Great work Hal, thanks"

Cass immediately disconnected from Hal and tried Allison’s phone. Finding a busy signal at the end of the line was not what she wanted to hear. "Gotta get that girl message service for when she’s busy, or online."

Allison was online on her computer checking out web sites and looking at different legal counsels. Preparing for the worse was a fore thought in her mind. If someone really was trying to set her up for murder, she was going to need one good defense lawyer. She found several potential attorneys, and had e-mailed a few of them to see if they could take her case. After doing that she decided to go to the gym. Shutting down her computer, she went to her room, changed clothes, and jogged over to the YMCA near her home. Little did she know that a tall dark profiler was in an absolute panic looking for her.

"Goddammit, where the hell is she?" Cass yelled looking at the phone. "First she’s got a busy signal, now no one’s answering." She threw the phone down in frustration.

Kate kept her eyes on the road as they sped along toward Effingham. "Thirty minutes Cass. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Do you want to try to get a hold of the city police there and check on her?"

As much as Cass liked the idea, she didn’t want to panic Allison if nothing was wrong. On the other hand, thirty minutes would make the difference between life and death if the killer were there. Shit what do I do here? Call the cops Cass. Have someone take a run through her parking lot and run tags or something. It’s better than not doing anything. Cass thought for a split second more before deciding she would not gamble with Allison’s life. Consequences be damned, she would send help. "Call them. See if they’ll send a patrol to the area."

Kate used the cell phone to inform the local police about what was going on. Once the area was cleared, they should call back. Kate gave them the cell number and her ID number for her squad car on ISPERN station. If anything turned up abnormal, they would move in.

Feeling slightly better, Cass sat back and watched the road. Then an idle thought hit her. What if the killer had no idea they were on to her? They would have no reason to hurt Allison. That sounded reasonable. Well, sort of. Maybe not. Oh shit, I suck at this. I could reason myself to death here and not feel any better about the decision. Dammit.

They rounded the edge of Beecher which was fifteen minutes from Allison’s house. Cass could feel her palms sweating and her hands fidgeted nervously on the dashboard. She had the sudden thought that she wanted to throw up. In Kate’s Squad? She’ll kill you for sure. Shut up id! Only warning, shut up! "Dammit Kate, won’t this bucket of bolts go any faster?"

"I’m going as fast as I can here Cass. Why don’t you try calling again." Kate suggested. Kate was hoping that something to do would quell the nervous energy that was emitting from the dark woman next to her.

Allison hummed happily as she stepped into her shower. The water was pleasantly hot, and she sighed loudly as she stepped under the steaming spray. She had put on an Annie Lennox Album and the music blared out over the sound of the shower. However it also drowned out the ringing of the phone in the next room. She didn’t hear the ringing of the phone, or the answering machine pick up, or the disconnection as it was discreetly unplugged from the wall.

"So the profiler is on her way to save her little girlfriend, huh? Well too bad for her, because she’s mine. She was mine before you found her Cass, and she’ll be mine after you’re out of the picture." Well-manicured hands carefully drew the medication into the syringe and slipped the vial gently back into the pocket of her blazer. Once that was complete she simply sat back and waited for Allison to finish her shower.

Cass’ cell phone bleeped and she picked it up before it completed its ringing cycle. "Allison?…..No, sorry Hal, was expecting someone else……Yeah, you got it?……Can you download it to my email on my laptop?…..Great Hal, thanks." Shutting the phone off again she quickly hooked it into her laptop and pressed the key for her dial up connection. After waiting and tapping the keys on the laptop impatiently, she finally sighed when it came up to her inbox.

"Hal is sending us the file picture he got of this Matheson chick." She watched anxiously as the file transfer showed its level on the screen. "Come on." She yelled to the screen. When the picture finally downloaded they were on the outer edge of Effingham. Cass looked up briefly at the road before looking down at the picture as it transformed on the screen in front of her. "Holy fucking shit," she exclaimed loudly. Kate took a minute to glance at the screen.

"You know her?" She asked Cass.

"Yeah, but more importantly, Allison does too. Very well." Cass said.

The police radioed Kate to inform her that nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the apartment. They had knocked, but the radio was so loud they doubted that Allison could hear it. Kate told them to stand by and call an ambulance just in case as they rounded the corner on their way to Allison’s. Two blocks. They seemed to Cass, like two hundred miles.

Allison stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself off. As she dressed and pulled her hair up into a towel she realized that Cass may have tried to call to tell her when she would be there. She opened the bathroom door and walked into the living room. Looking at the answering machine and not seeing it blinking she shrugged. "I guess they’ll be here when they get here." Suddenly she realized that the CD she had put in the stereo was no longer the one playing. Instead she recognized Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Immediately the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and a layer of gooseflesh covered her now chilled skin. She wasn’t alone in the apartment.

Turning around slowly she saw the reason for her goosebumps and sighed a huge sigh of relief. "Geez, you scared me to death. What are you doing here anyway? Did you get done at the hospital early today?" She smiled brightly as she chattered away.

The figure slowly walked towards her, idly twirling a single long stemmed rose in her hand. As she approached Allison she smiled a slow deliberate smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She reached out and handed the rose to Allison, who took it from her hand. As Allison brought the scarlet flower to her nose to smell it, she began to speak. "You know how much I love you don’t you? How much I want to be part of your life. That I would do anything, and have done everything in my power for you?"

Allison looked at her confused for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. "I know, you were there for me when no one else was. I’ll be grateful for that forever. I love you too."

She closed her eyes and sighed. How many times had she dreamed of Allison saying ‘I love you too to her? More times than she could count. It was all because of her. She’d relocated, found a new job, even sought her revenge on anyone who would dare harm her. She’d done it all for her. And now she was going to have to make her point to get Allison to see her point of view. Killing Bryce had been easy compared to facing this angelic face. "I know you do. But I need something else from you right now." Seeing the puzzled look on Allison’s face, she reached up to gently stroke her cheek with the back of her hand. "I need your forgiveness Allison."
Allison’s face scrunched in absolute confusion. "What do I need to forgive you for?"

She reached behind her back and pulled the syringe out of her pocket. Concealing it carefully in her hand she cocked her head to the side as she replied. "For what I have to do now. I’m so sorry love. I wanted you to be mine so badly. All that I did, I did for you. Now you love another and I have to say that if I can’t have you Ally, no one can. No one will."

For Allison the realization that she was in deep trouble came too late, as she began backing away from the woman in front of her she had an epiphany. It had been two weeks since she’d seen the woman, two weeks since she had heard from Bryce, and then he’d been killed. Holy fucking shit! She killed him! For me! The realization scared her more than the fact that she herself was about to be killed. She continued to slowly back away as her predator continued to talk.

"Ah, you understand now don’t you?" She taunted. "You know I killed Bryce. It was a necessity love. He hurt you. That was unacceptable. I told him all of that as he died though. Stupid man. Letting his dick think for him. He’d have never learned Allison." She continued stalking towards her prey. "He actually stood still and let me inject him. Although he thought it was his insulin. Too bad for him, he couldn’t think past himself and his own needs. That’s why he needed to die Allison. Every time I got close enough to you, he called or showed up. I wanted no more interference."

"You don’t have to do this you know." Allison began. Her voice was shaky from fear and the thought of what was going to happen to her. Jesus Cass ,where the hell are you? What do you mean where the hell is she? God dammit woman, run!!!!!!! Finally hearing her inner voice she turned to run as she saw the syringe in the woman’s grasp. She fell over the corner of the coffee table and crumpled to the floor. As she began to struggle back to her feet she felt a hand grasp the back of her neck.

"Get up. Don’t run from me. I’m going to be nice, this will be totally painless for you. Unlike what you deserve. I loved you dammit!" The woman hissed at her. "I just wanted you. That’s all. And you went and found that damned whore. I’ll deal with her too, but you first my dear." As Allison struggled against her captor, she had a vision of the dark haired profiler. I chickened out and didn’t tell her how much I love her. Closing her eyes, she looked up at her attacker willing to face her fate. The hand drew back and popped the cover off the syringe.

Chapter 10

Cass hit the ground at a dead run before the car stopped rolling. She sprinted the short distance to Allison’s door and hit it full force with her shoulder. The door popped open and Cass saw the woman holding Allison on the floor. A sudden feeling of rage and anger snapped into action in her mind. A primal and age old anger increased her rage. She continued her onward motion, letting the momentum carry her into Allison’s attacker. Cass hit her full force in the side as she turned toward the door.

The three of them fell to the ground. Allison dropped where she had been sitting on her knees. The momentum of Cass had knocked herself and Claire out of the way of Allison getting hurt. "Allison run." Cass shouted. But the young woman sat transfixed on what was going on. Claire turned to Cass as they both got to their feet. "You just don’t quit do you?" Claire hissed at her.

"Not when it comes to her I don’t." Cass replied angrily. "She’s mine Claire."

"We’ll see about that." Claire spat as she charged Cass again.

Cass had been in the process of pulling her gun when she felt Claire slam into her arm. She felt the gun slip from her hand and it press firmly into her lower back as she landed on it. Then she felt a slight sting and a burning sensation in her upper abdomen. The burning sensation quickly spread outward and into surrounding tissues.

Claire smiled a feral grin at the profiler as she removed the now empty syringe from her side. She held it up for Cass to look at. Cass’ eyes opened wide in disbelief. The burning sensation was from the anectine she had just been injected with. "Check mate." Claire said triumphantly. "You’ve got less than a minute to live Cass. Whatever will you do?" She laughed maniacally as she pulled a second syringe out of her pocket. Looking down into Cass’ fear filled eyes she smiled again. "Don’t worry, she’ll be joining you soon."

She quickly stepped off the profiler, who was now struggling to control her body. She felt the medicine spreading quickly throughout her body. She could feel a familiar burning in her chest as the muscles of her chest and abdomen became victim to the deadly paralytic. Her lungs ached and burned for air as she yelled to Allison, "Run, get the medics here." The paralytic took control and she could feel the muscles of her shoulders and arms refuse to obey her commands. Her neck froze and she could no longer hold her upper body off the ground. She felt herself falling backward and was conscious of everything that went on, but her body was unable to do what her mind bid of it. She could hear the sirens as they approached; her legs were now useless as well. The drug had completed its journey to her nervous system, and in a matter of seconds she would not be able to draw a breath. Shit, holy fucking shit. I didn’t get to tell her I love her. The only bad part about dying like this was that you were totally cognizant of it. You could feel, hear, and see everything that went on. Your body was just totally incapable of response. She felt her head grow heavy as it fell back against the floor. Her lungs burned for air and her thoughts had grown dark. She could hear Allison crying in the back of her somewhere. But try as she might, she was unable to turn to see her face.

Kate hit the door a full minute behind Cass, but she was a full minute to late. Seeing Cass on the ground she yelled for backup. Charging the rest of the way in she saw the woman holding Allison’s arms, she held a syringe in her hand and was preparing to inject her. "I’ll see you in hell my love." She said softly to her.

Allison was a few feet from the door when she was yanked back toward the kitchen as she struggled to get away. She continued struggling, trying to think of a way to get away from Claire, she had to get help for Cass. Gods, don’t you dare die on me. Don’t you fucking dare. I just found you. Claire pinned her to the wall by the arms and smacked her hard against the face. As she watched Claire pull the cap from the syringe she struggled again. The last thing she heard Claire say was, "I’ll see you in hell my love."

Then she heard a voice behind her reply, "You first, bitch." Then a deafening pop that left her ears ringing. She closed her eyes a split second before the pop. Then as she opened them, she looked into Claire’s eyes. They were filled with wonder and pain, and a sense of disbelief all in one. Then she fell limply into Allison’s arms and slid lifelessly to the floor. Allison looked down at the body on the floor then back up to see Kate standing near her. Gun still drawn, Kate kicked the syringe out of Claire’s hands. Quickly she knelt to check for a pulse, "Dammit, she’s gone. How’s Cass?"

Allison suddenly bolted to the living room where Cass lay. Tears streamed down her face as she cried her name over and over again. Cass heard all of it. She heard the medics come in. Her lungs still burned from lack of oxygen and she had become slightly disoriented. Kate quickly told the medics that Cass had been hit with a syringe loaded with anectine. The female medic nodded in understanding. As she knelt at Cass’ head she looked directly into her eyes. "I know you can hear me, I’m gonna help you breath ma’am. Just hang on." Cass felt the rubber of the bag valve mask being pressed tightly to her face. Suddenly she felt a rush of air into her lungs, the burning began to dissipate and she became less confused. The medic hyperventilated her for a full minute before considering placing a tube in her throat. Her partner was obviously confused as he handed her the endotracheal tube. "You gonna tube her or what?" The younger EMT asked.

The medic thought for a moment. "Yeah, I’m gonna have to. I don’t know how much sux that she got hit with. She could need help breathing for a couple of minutes to a whole day." She looked at the younger EMT and asked for a smaller tube and some lubricant. The EMT looked confused, "You need a smaller tube and lubricant?" He truly looked puzzled and the medic looked annoyed. "Get me the 7.0 tube, and a mac 3 blade." The younger man quickly began digging in the jump kit as the medic continued to breathe for Cass. She looked into the dark profiler’s eyes and smiled. "Trainees, what are you gonna do with them?"

If Cass could have laughed she would have. She was no longer afraid that she was going to die. Her lungs filled and expanded with every squeeze of the female medic’s hand. The oxygen level had returned to normal, now all she had to do was to wait for the drug to wear off. Shit, where’s Allison and Kate? I can hear Allison crying, who got shot? Dammit, somebody talk to me. Apparently the female medic looked around and noticed the sobbing Allison on the couch. "Ma’am, she’s going to be fine." She said sympathetically. "She can hear you right now too."

Allison looked up from the couch where she’d been held back by Kate. She can hear me? She can hear me! She quickly rose from the couch and knelt at Cass’ side near where the medic was working. She looked down into deep azure and smiled. Cass couldn’t respond to her, but was thankful for getting to see her face anyway. Allison looked at the medic who was diligently breathing for Cass. "How do you know she can hear us?"

The medic smiled softly and looked back down at her patient. "The sux, well anectine, is a paralytic agent. It’s used to paralyze people for surgery and for keeping them stilled when they are on ventilators and stuff. The only problem is that all it does is paralyzes. It doesn’t affect anything but the body movements. All concious thought, all pain sensation, all the others senses remain completely intact." She explained it simply enough for Allison to get it. A look of understanding passed her eyes as she looked over Cass’ supine form again. "So, you can hear me, can’t you baby?" The medic smiled again, "Yes she can hear and feel everything. All we have to do is breath for her until the medication wears off. But I need to put a tube in her throat to do that."

Allison looked alarmed. "Why? Is there something else wrong?" Looking down into those blue depths she couldn’t imagine not waking to them every day. Not for one minute did she want to think about that.

The medic smiled an understanding smile. "No, she’ll be fine. I just need to secure her airway to take her to the hospital. The only way to do that is to put the tube there." She looked down into Cass’ eyes and explained to her what was going on. "Cass, I’m going to put a tube down into your lungs to so I can breath for you. It won’t be there long, but it will be uncomfortable. You ready?" I guess I really don’t have much choice here. I like breathing, so put the damn tube down. Jesus, I wish I could move. As Cass’ mind reeled in what was happening, Allison suddenly appeared in her visual field. She felt the gentle pressure of her hand on her shoulder and wanted so much to touch her back. "I’m right here with you sweetheart. Okay? They are going to take such good care of you, and I’ll be right here." Then lowering her lips to Cass’ ear she whispered fiercely, "I love you Cass Martin."

Silent tears slid from the corner of Cass’ eyes and Allison wiped them away. The medic looked down at Cass and said, "Okay, ma’am, here we go."

Cass felt the cold steel blade slide down her tongue. As it hit the back of her throat she thought she had to vomit, but nothing happened. She continued to feel the gagging sensation, then she felt the medic lift the blade handle. She felt her lower jaw slide away from her face. The pain in her jaw was intense, but was quickly replaced by another searing pain in her throat. Cass could see the tube being placed and could feel it as it was pushed into place. Then she felt a pressure sensation in her lungs as she watched the medic inject air from a syringe into a port on the tube. Cass noticed her lungs had begun to ache for air again. Then she saw the top of the bag being attached to the tube and her lungs were once again filled with much needed oxygen. She felt the medic placing a stethoscope on various parts of her chest and abdomen. Looking up at the EMT, she said, "Tube’s good." Then smiling down at Cass she said softly, "The tube is in your lungs and we’ll leave it there until you can breathe again on your own. I need to get you to the hospital now, okay?"

Cass wasn’t sure why the medic kept asking her questions but she was glad she at least talked to her. Although she couldn’t respond, the medic knew she could hear her and her voice didn’t have the slightest tint of nervousness to it. This was one smart cookie, she thought. She felt Allison squeeze her hand again and wanted to smile. The tube still burned in her throat, but the pain was tolerable with Allison there. Gods I love this woman.

Allison looked at the medic as she and her partner began securing the breathing tube to Cass’ face. The medic looked around and asked a couple of police officers to help them move her to the cot. Cass felt her body being lifted gently to the cot and then it raised up in the air. Allison let go of her hand as they moved her. She grabbed the medic’s arm "Can I go with her?" The medic smiled in understanding, but before she could answer, the EMT chimed in "You’ll have to ride in the front with me ma’am." The medic looked at her partner and smiled as she softly asserted her authority over the younger man. "I think our patient will feel better if she’s in the back with her. Don’t you?"

The EMT looked confused again and then seeing he wasn’t going to win, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Okay." They moved the cot slowly out to the ambulance; the medic never once missing a breath for Cass. They loaded the cot into the ambulance and the medic went to the jump seat at Cass’ head. Looking down into deep blue eyes she smiled again. "It’s okay she’s coming with you." She inclined her head toward where Allison was being assisted into the back of the ambulance and soon Cass felt a small hand close around hers. Allison stood up and stooped over Cass’ prone form. "I’m going to collect on that rain check you know." She smiled brightly, her eyes filling with fresh tears as she noticed the tears at Cass’ eyes. Then as the ambulance started toward the hospital she sat down on the seat next to Cass, her hand never leaving hers.

The medic had radioed ahead and called for a ventilator to be set up in the ED room. As they transferred Cass carefully to the hospital bed; she was attached to the machine that would breathe for her until she could again. Feeling the machine push air into her lungs at close intervals, Cass had an epiphany. Gods, how many breaths do I take in a day that I take completely for granted? It’s so frustrating to think that I have to depend on this machine to do what I normally do every second of each day without conscious thought. It was true, how many times did she not take an opportunity because she thought it would be there the next time around?

Allison had been escorted from the room by the medic as soon as they arrived at the hospital. She explained to them both that she would be allowed back in as soon as the doctor had seen her. She missed the young woman so badly that the ache in her chest overwhelmed the burning ache in her throat. She needed Allison as much as she needed the machine that was pumping the precious oxygen into her chest. So this is what it feels like to be in love? Wow. Welcome to the big leagues Catherine. You are so whipped that you can’t tell up from sick’em. Hello id, thank you, I am and I like it a lot, she thought to herself. Smiling internally, she vowed that not another opportunity would pass her by. She embraced the sensation of her lungs filling. It was incredible. No more missed chances, not in life, and not in love.

Allison had given them what information she knew at the registration desk. She realized that she didn’t know any pertinent medical information about Cass. She didn’t even know her full name. She thought it was Cass, but she honestly didn’t know. She was frustrated by the fact that she knew none of Cass’ allergies, or medicines, or medical history. She silently rocked back and forth on a chair in the waiting room, praying for Cass to be all right. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there before she noticed the medic from her apartment. She smiled a hello as the medic sat down next to her. "How you holding up?" She asked.

"I’d be a lot better if they’d let me back to see her." Allison said. Then looking at the tall medic she smiled a warm smile. "Thank you. You saved her life you know."

The medic actually blushed. "You’re very welcome. She’s going to be fine though. I was just by the room and the doctor was finishing up ordering some tests. As soon as they get her situated, they’ll let you back."

"I’m so thankful for that. I need to see her." Allison began to explain but could only shrug at her attempt.

The medic smiled knowingly. "It’s okay. You love her very much. That’s a priceless gift. Don’t ever let go of it." Getting up from the chair she patted Allison on the shoulder. "Take care of you both, ma’am. And good luck."

Allison could feel fresh tears stinging her eyes again as she watched the medic walk away. Gods she had to get a grip here. She couldn’t go see Cass looking like this. As she wiped her tears away a large burly man in dark scrubs appeared. "Did you come in with the FBI agent?"

"Yes, yes I did." Allison said as she walked toward the man. "Is she all right? Can I see her? Is the tube out yet? Can she breathe and talk yet?" She was rushing the man as she approached and he laughed. "Ummm, yes, yes, not yet, and not yet." Grabbing her by the arm he gently ushered her to the back. He stopped at the door of the room, "You know she can hear you. We didn’t give her any sedation. She won’t be able to communicate with you at all, but she can still hear, see, and feel everything." Allison nodded her understanding before walking into the room.

Seeing Cass lying in the bed totally dependent on the noisy machine in the corner brought on a whole new batch of tears. Those tears welled and fell freely as she mustered up all her courage to slowly approach the supine form on the cart. She approached the bedside and gently laid her hand on Cass’ arm. The cart was lower than the ambulance cot had been and she could easily look over Cass’ face. In the bright lighting of the room, her skin appeared pale and her eyes were glazed from the inability to blink and refresh them. Her skin was warm to the touch and Allison immediately folded her smaller hand into Cass’ larger one. She took a slightly shaky breath and looked to the ceiling for a moment. As soon as she composed herself, she looked at Cass’ face. "You sure know how to charm a girl Dr. Martin." She laughed in that same shaky breath before continuing. "You barge into my house, save my life, and now you’re as talkative as a piece of furniture. A tall dark and sexy piece of furniture mind you, but still furniture." She sat quietly on the stool next to the bed and stroked Cass’ arm. The noises of the ventilator and the steady beeping of the heart monitor were the only sounds coming from the surrounding area. After only a couple of minutes, Allison grew frustrated by the noisy silence of the room around her. "You know, I hate silence. It really annoys me. I don’t know where it comes from; I just need that noise. Even at home, I have to have the stereo on most of the time. I like to hear things. It doesn’t really matter what it is even. Makes me think about you. It’s weird to have this sense of peace with you. It’s such a comfortable feeling. I feel so safe with you. I don’t need to have something going on; I’m content to just sit in silence and enjoy being with you around. Doesn’t that seem odd? Of course to you, nothing seems odd." Sighing and drawing another shaky breath, she continued. "I just wish…..I wish you’d wake up dammit. I need to tell you things. I didn’t tell you on the phone last night that I loved you. I told you a while ago and you couldn’t respond. That wasn’t very fair of me was it?" she laughed slightly as she wiped her eyes again. "Umm, anyway. I do love you. I think I fell in love with you the day you saved my life. The first time that is. You damn near died trying to save me today. We’ll discuss that later, by the way." She scolded slightly. Allison continued talking softly to the profiler for what seemed like an eternity.

Cass simply listened to the tone of Allison’s voice. There was so much sincerity in it. It was pure healing warmth to her. She listened as Allison told her stories of her childhood, and about adolescence and her work. She let her mind follow Allison’s voice to a place of safety and security for her. Old wounds were healed, past mistakes forgotten. The pain she felt was quelled by this beautiful creature’s voice. She let herself fall into the feelings Allison expressed; she listened to every sigh, every breath, every catch in her voice. It was truly a wonderful experience. It was amazing to her how so many people missed such things because they were too busy talking to themselves. Perhaps Claire had done her a huge favor by allowing her no voice for this time with Allison. Realizing that some good had come of this bad situation; she squeezed Allison’s hand.

Allison jumped back from the bed at the feeling of motion beneath her fingers. Then realizing that the drug was wearing off she quickly pushed the call button on the wall. She returned to Cass’ side and grabbed the hand again. Looking at Cass she realized that her eyes were no longer closed. Wanting to see those eyes focus on her became an instant goal. "Cass, honey. Look at me." She commanded gently. When no response came forth she tried again. "C’mon Cass. Open up those eyes and let me see those baby blues. Do it for me sweetheart, please." The nurse entered the room just as Cass opened her eyes and focused on Allison. Allison was so happy she couldn’t decide if she wanted to laugh or cry. Instead she stifled a half sob, half smile for her love. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Cass squeezed her hand again. She tracked the nurse who had approached the head of the bed. She shined a light in Cass’ eyes then had Cass squeeze her hands and then wiggle her toes. It was amazing to Cass how she could feel each sensation but had not been able to make her body respond. As the drug wore off she followed the commands of the nurse until the nurse was satisfied that she would be all right. She went off to find the doctor. Allison smiled down at her as she continued holding her hand. "I love you." she said softly. Cass winked at her, and squeezed her hand.

The nurse returned in minutes with the doctor in tow. A respiratory tech followed them. They did a quick trial run by shutting off the ventilator and letting Cass breathe on her own before deflating the cuff in the endotracheal tube and removing it. Cass felt the immediate return of the burning in her throat as the tube was pulled. She sat up and gasped for air as the tube came out. Her voice was hoarse and her lungs ached a bit, but as she focused on the room around her, her eyes sought out and found the green depths of Allison’s. The nurse slowly stepped out of the way as Allison made her way to the head of the bed and she found herself engulfed in the tightest hug she’d ever gotten. "Cass, honey." She pleaded softly, "I love you, but if you don’t let me go, I’m gonna need one of those machines to breathe."

Cass laughed a hoarse and throaty laugh as she pushed the younger woman slightly back from her. "Sorry, wanted to make sure they still worked." She implied to her arms.

The doctor finished up his assessment and after much arguing about what would be best, he finally agreed to let Cass go home. She let him and the nurse finish up their duties all the while holding Allison’s hand. As they prepared to discharge her, the nurse asked Allison to step out while she helped Cass dress. Cass immediately interrupted her. "I think she’s perfectly capable of helping me dress." Seeing Allison blush, Cass smiled broadly. The nurse simply shrugged and let Cass have her way.

Allison watched as the nurse walked out of the room and closed the door. She walked up to Cass slowly and stopped in front of her. "How do you feel?"

Cass inhaled deeply and smiled. "Well, I can breathe on my own. I have a little sore throat, and one hell of a woman that I love dearly."

Allison smiled as she stepped into Cass’ arms. She squeezed her tightly and buried her face in her shoulder. "I love you too. It feels wonderful to hear you say it though." Pulling back slightly she looked up into azure depths. "You know, that’s twice you’ve saved my life."

Cass smiled back into verdant eyes and replied. "Yeah, I guess I’m pretty handy to have around." Then pausing to look into those eyes deeper she asked softly. "If I follow you home, will you keep me?"

Allison stifled a sob as she hugged the dark woman tightly. "Absolutely." She whispered fiercely. Then she pushed Cass back a little and replied. "Just for the next 70 years or so, though."

Cass laughed as she lowered her head to capture Allison’s lips with her own. The kiss started gentle and was meant to reassure and affirm her feelings for the younger woman. But it quickly escalated to an all out battle of the mouths as each fought for control of the other. Each wanting to convey their want and need of the other. They continued like this for long minutes until a loud clearing of a throat forced them apart. Kate stood in the doorway waiting patiently as Cass finished dressing and Allison blushed furiously. "Well at least you have the decency to blush Allison." She smirked at Cass, who did not. "Are you two ready to go?" Kate asked.

"Yep, all ready." Cass said as she put her arm around Allison’s waist. They signed the discharge papers and left the hospital. They returned to Allison’s apartment, gave their statements, and watched as Claire’s body was removed from the house.

Allison shuddered as she thought about how close they’d both been to death that day. Cass squeezed her shoulder slightly and asked if she was all right.

Looking up into blue eyes that shone bright with nothing but love, she smiled. "I’ve never been better, love. Never."

Kate finished up the paperwork and the three made their trek back to Springfield. Allison couldn’t stay in that apartment for the night and Cass needed to retrieve her car. Not wanting to be apart, they opted to go back with Kate. They never ceased contact with one another on the way to Springfield. Cass liked that. As they drove ahead into the horizon Cass thought of being the hero that rode off into the sunset. She smiled warmly as she kissed Allison’s temple.

This time the hero got to take the girl with her.

Epilogue

Cass and Allison lay tangled together in the cool silk sheets of Cass’ bed. Cass had awakened early and opted to just lay quietly and enjoy the simple pleasure of holding her lover.

They had been living together in Nashville for almost six months and life and love didn’t seem to get any better than this. After resigning her post with the FBI, the profiler and her long time friend Kate had started their own security consulting firm. Now that the business was off the ground, it really seemed that the duo was unstoppable. Kate had relocated and was working out of the office with Cass. Allison had opted to go back to school to get her master’s degree in sociology. She was studying to be a counselor for battered women and children. The insurance money that Bryce had left her paid for her education and left one hell of a nice nest egg, for later.

As Cass thought about how happy she was, she smiled. "Must be a pleasant thought to make you smile like that." She heard the sleepy voice next to her say. "You always do love. You always do." She turned her head and kissed the younger woman gently. "I love you."

Allison smiled. "I love you too." She stretched her short muscled frame and felt a familiar pang of need. She slowly began stroking her hand along Cass’ abdomen. Hearing the sharp intake of air from her tall lover she smiled. It was truly wonderful to have that kind of effect on someone. "You know," she began in a slow husky voice, "I was just having the most amazing dream." She continued stroking with her hand as her lips found Cass’ collarbone. She nuzzled and nipped at the area with her teeth, and was rewarded with another sharp intake of breath from Cass.

"You were?" Cass tried desperately to sound casual in her response but it was to no avail. As Allison’s fingertips glided across her ribcage she shivered. Allison laughed softly.

"Yes, I was. I dreamt that I was making love with the most wonderful woman on the planet. She’s quite a lover too, I might add." She trailed her fingers along Cass’ sternum to rest momentarily at the soft full globes that were waiting anxiously for their turn at the delicious torture. Allison slowly circled Cass’ breasts, not touching the already tightened buds.

Cass gasped again and growled. "Anyone I know?" she ground out.

Allison smiled again as her hands continued their gentle ministrations and her lips moved lower to capture one of the hardened peaks. She felt the already tightened bud grow harder in her mouth and she nipped it lightly with her teeth before releasing it. "Mhmmm." She began, "This tall dark sexy retired profiler. She’s a soon to be entrepreneur now though. You might know her." Lowering her head again, Allison repeated the teasing to the other nipple and was rewarded with a similar response from it.

"Ahhhh," Cass moaned as she arched into the contact. "I can tell you what. She’s one hell of a …ahhhh oh god….lucky woman."

Allison’s hand roamed lower as her lips maintained the contact with Cass’ breast. Cass’ breathing became slightly labored as she moaned. "Gods, lower." Allison laughed a low throaty laugh as she complied with her lover’s request. Pressing hot moist kisses along Cass’ taught stomach; she groaned slightly as the muscles contracted under her mouth. She had been right all along. Cass was an incredible lover in the giving and receiving departments. She was gentle at times; she was fierce at others. Sometimes making love with Cass was like riding a roller coaster. It was always different. The sensations, the touches, the timing, the degree of need. The desire was always plain and obvious, but the need to touch this woman never ceased to amaze her. Allison directed her thoughts back to her lover’s needs and slowly let her mouth and hands roam lower. She slowly stroked the inside of Cass’ thigh, hearing another intake of breath and the accompanying moan. "Gods, that feels so good." Allison mumbled, "Mmhmm."

She stroked Cass’ lower abdomen with her tongue, slowly trailing down to her pubic area. She placed moist kisses along the line of dark hair that glistened slightly with evidence of her need. She felt Cass’ hips rise against her mouth and smiled. There was nothing more erotic than that offering, she thought to herself. She smelled Cass’ arousal and lost all conscious thought. Lowering her mouth again she stroked her tongue the length of Cass’ sex. Cass’ hips came up off the bed in response. "Oh gods, Sweetheart. Don’t stop that."

Allison looked up and took her mouth away slightly. "Patience, love." She lowered her head again and flattened her tongue pressed hard as she stroked Cass again. She continued this slow torture until she felt Cass buck her hips impatiently at her. She smiled and closed her lips around the center of Cass’ need, circling her tongue slowly around the swollen nub. "Oh, ahhhh, that’s it baby. Right there." Cass panted.

Allison decided her lover was definitely ready if the wetness accumulated on her chin was any indication. She removed her mouth from her lover long enough to thoroughly moisten three fingers with her lips and tongue. Cass’ hips had begun rocking slowly with her but stilled as she felt Allison press her fingers against her opening. "Oh yeah, sweetheart." She groaned as she felt Allison slide inside of her. Allison felt the same dizzying sensation every time she slid inside her lover. It was a feeling that could not be described. She moved her mouth back to it’s original position and began sliding her fingers in and out of Cass in sync with the slow swirling of her tongue.

Cass could do little more than moan and rock her hips in time with the younger woman’s ministrations. Gods, she had no idea that lovemaking could be this damn good. Allison simply knew how to touch her. Their lovemaking had been very exploratory but she just knew how to touch her. It was uncanny how easy it was for her to feel completely at ease in with her. And with what she was doing to her right now. Gods, she’s going to kill us. Hello id. And go away. Cass thought. I never thought I’d be saying this Cass. But goddamn. She’s good. Thank you id. Now…… "Ahhh gods sweetheart." Go away. She had begun to ascend and Allison knew it. She could feel the change in texture along her fingers as they continued to slide in and out of her. Allison Stopped concentrating on the little nub at Cass’ center and began a brisk circling of the area with her tongue. As she increased the tempo with her tongue, she matched the stroking with her hand. Cass began writhing and rocking wildly against her as she reached her climax. Allison slowed her stroking until she felt the tremors subside. Slowly she withdrew her fingers. Giving one last powerful stroke of her tongue along Cass’ sex she smiled as the dark woman shuddered and struggled to pull away. Smiling at herself she slowly licked her fingers clean as she crawled up the profiler’s body placing soft kisses along the way.

As she reached Cass face, the profiler’s eyes were transfixed on hers. As green met blue, they kissed a slow deep kiss. Tongues gently melding together to reaffirm their love. As the kiss broke Cass looked at Allison through hooded lids. "You know, if you keep dreaming like that, I’m not gonna live long past your sexual prime. You’ll kill me." Allison blushed slightly as she kissed her dark lover again. "Yeah, but what a way to go."

Cass laughed as a stray thought entered her mind. "Yeah, some poor mortician is gonna be pissed as hell at you. He won’t be able to get the damn smile off my face. I’ll be smiling like the village idiot from my coffin."

Allison laughed with her. "I love you Cass."

Cass’ face turned serious as she kissed her lover again. "I love you, Allison." Then she flipped the younger woman over onto her back. "My turn." She growled.

Allison simply laid her arms out to the side and replied huskily. "As you like it, love." She moaned loudly as Cass caught her neck with her mouth. She quickly began writhing beneath her lover. "Cass, no hickeys. I know you like to mark me, but my neck’s not the only place on my body that you can ahhhhhhh. Do that to." She heard Cass’ laugh as she looked up. "Really?" she asked innocently. "Really" she replied. Cass simply shrugged, "Okay, let’s see where else I can leave my mark."

Lowering her head again Allison instinctively raised her head to allow her better access. Cass laughed again, she was kissing Allison’s shoulder as her hands moved lower to slowly stroke the moist triangle of hair between her legs. Allison shivered and rocked her hips up against Cass’ hand. "I thought you didn’t want me to kiss there?" she said into Allison’s neck. Moaning in frustration, Allison looked up at the profiler. "You talk to much. I need you lower, NOW!"

"Yes ma’am." Cass said happily. She quickly descended on Allison’s lower body. Taking a moment to kiss along the firm stomach on the way. "Lower Cass." Allison ground out. Smiling again she began stroking Allison’s sex with her hand as she continued to kiss her taught abdomen. "Ummm, ohhhhh.. yeah that’s better." Allison staggered out between pants. Making love to Cass had her so turned on she could barely think. She rolled her hips up and down against Cass’ hands as long fingers slid through moist folds. Cass felt the moisture against her hands and began slowly circling her fingers around Allison’s opening. She was trying to tease the younger woman, but Allison would have none of it. She rocked her hips up off the bed taking Cass’ fingers deep inside of her. "Ohhhh definitely better." She gasped. Cass smiled at her defeat and began a slow rhythmic stroking of Allison’s sex. As Allison accommodated her slow thrusting Cass lowered her mouth to Allison’s center. She began a slow stroking across her swollen bud that matched the rhythm of her hands inside her. As she felt Allison increase her movements, she matched her stroke for stroke. As the tempo increased, Cass pressed her tongue harder and began a swirling along her clit at the end of each stroke. Allison rocked faster against her lover’s mouth as she began moaning more loudly with each swirl of her tongue. "Oh gods Cass. Don’t stop." She begged and panted at the same time. Cass moaned against her sex and it was the only catalyst she needed to fall over the edge into oblivion. Cass continued her insistent stroking with both her tongue and her fingers until she felt Allison’s contractions subside. She slowly withdrew her fingers but left her mouth firmly planted on Allison’s sex. Ever so slowly she stroked her tongue lightly against her. Feeling the younger woman’s legs quiver with each stroke. "Oh….Cass, gods…..stop." she begged. Cass slowly withdrew her mouth only to place small hot kisses along Allison’s thigh. As the younger woman came down from her high, Cass moved her body up towards her face.

She settled herself between Allison’s legs and levered her upper body off of her with her arms. Allison’s eyes were still closed as she tried to slow her breathing. Cass lowered her head and placed soft kisses on each eyelid, waiting for her to open them. When verdant orbs finally opened they were filled with tears. Cass looked at her with open understanding. "I love you too." She said softly. She kissed the trail the tears took along her jaw, waiting patiently for her lover to compose herself. When Allison finally resumed her control, she looked up at Cass. "It just gets more intense every time." She whispered.

Cass nodded in understanding. "I know. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. We’ve got a whole lifetime to see just how intense we can make it."

THE END

Okay, that’s the end of this story. No sequels, no more, that’s it. I would like to take this opportunity to thank MaryD for being a most gracious host and having my prose on her site. I also would like to thank Tara for being my wife, and beta reader. (See her for punctuation mistakes et al.) And to Flyer and Sass, this epilogue is dedicated to you. You are the best friends a person could hope for. I love you both dearly. And to all of you who read it and liked it, thank you so much. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

For comments and criticisms I can be reached at RescueWarrior@hotmail.com