ALL DISCLAIMERS FROM PART ONE STILL IN EFFECT.

PLEASE NOTE: Okay, I've seriously messed up timelines in order to make elements of the story work. It wasn't intentional, but I don't even know, chronologically, when episodes were filmed ('though I'm pretty sure "A Solstice Carol" wasn't filmed during Christmas ;) and I'm reluctant to change the order that I've written. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!! ;)

PART TWO
Second Season
1996-1997

~~~~~
The waiter came back to find Lucy on the phone.

"Yeah...I'll be home soon. I love you, too. Bye."

She hung up with a wistful sigh and smiled when she saw Dave come in laden with two thermoses of fresh-ish coffee and one marked 'tea'. He held the 'tea' one up and said, "Just in case you'd rather have it..."

"Thank you," she said as she helped unburden him. She poured herself a cup of tea then sat in the chair opposite his. "Where was I?"

~~~~~
Chapter One

Her eyes closed as she felt the petal soft fingers trail down her neck and linger around a sensitive part of her collarbone. A satisfied smile spread its way across her face and she sighed. They lay on a blanket at the beach watching the sunset as it slowly descended below the line of the earth, creating a spectacular array of colours...but no sunset could compare to the colour of the eyes they had only for each other.

"What are you thinking?" her companion asked.

Indigo eyes opened to look up into the forest green that leaned over her face. "When exactly our anniversary would be," responded the owner of those moving blue eyes, Lucy Lawless.

Renee smiled and smoothed the brunette's forehead before she lay on her side, perpendicular to her lover whose head was on her stomach.

"Ahh, well, I think we should go from the first night in Texas," the blonde responded with thought.

Lucy turned over onto her stomach and moved more diagonally to Renee so she could look into her eyes. "That sounds good...I like that," she said before she slowly crawled forward and gave her a light kiss.

A few strands of bottle-black hair fell in front of Lucy's eyes as she scooted back and Renee swept them back behind her lover's ears. "You think we should tell, I dunno, someone? Families, agents, Rob..."

Lucy blanched at the name of the producer and said, "No and definitely not Rob..."

"Lucy, if we tell him, maybe he'll leave you alone," the blonde suggested hopefully, knowing that the chances of that were about as good as Jerry Falwell realizing he's a card-carrying member of the Queer Nation.

"We're under contract to him...but other than suggestions every once in a while, we have no tangible creative input...if he were to find out, can you imagine what he'd do to us through these characters?" the brunette replied.

Renee laughed mirthlessly and pointed out, "Nothing would happen to you, Luce...he wants you. I'm the one who'd end up with a chakram upside the head. Straight guys have this thing about gay women...they either want to be invited to play or they want to say they converted 'em, not that they're found undesirable.
"And there's no way I'm sleeping with him...nor will I allow him in our bed when we do go further, so...."

Biting back a smile, Lucy said, "Oh, c'mon...be adventurous."

This time, Renee's laugh was bright. "You want adventure, huh?" she asked, her eyebrow raised and that sexy 'We'll see' smirk. "Well, why don't we just jump into it?"

Lucy knew just what she was talking about. They'd been together for a year, but they hadn't been together yet. They'd been close, very close, but something would always happen that would stop them before they could really get started. "Is that your idea of foreplay?" the brunette asked cheekily, "Cuz if it is, I think you've swept me off my feet."

Ignoring her, Renee continued with her point, "Well, think about it...how many times have we been stopped by one thing or another? I mean, Daisy must be suspecting something by now with all the times I happen to 'fall asleep' while studying scripts with you.
"The time in Texas just wasn't the Right Time and...and..." The blonde stopped and sighed then ran her fingers through her hair.

Lucy took Renee's hand, kissed it, and pressed it to her cheek. "I know...I know...and when the time is right, it will happen. Obviously, we love each other or else the sexual frustration alone would have driven us apart already."

"Maybe...or maybe we're just determined to make love to each other at least once before we die or split up," Renee said jokingly.

Part of Lucy felt that the precious blonde was serious...and that made her heart ache. She scooted forward and pulled the woman toward her. "We will, love. We will. But not out of pity or frustration or anything that would muck it up, y'know? We have the rest of our lives to spend together...so no worries, okay?"

Renee nodded, then the two of them grabbed their refuse, blanket, basket and glasses and departed from the beach where they had their picnic, the sun now far below the horizon casting a pleasant blue over the land. They walked to the trash cans and their car hand-firm-in-hand, secure in the knowledge that nothing was going to break them apart.

~~~~~
Chapter Two
"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"

Renee readjusted the leather bodice she was supposed to wear as "Bloodsucker Gabrielle" and sighed.

"Still not comfortable, love?" asked Ngila Dickson, head costume mistress for the show, her cigarette bouncing between her lips as she spoke.

"No, but I'm only wearing it for this shoot, right? It's not like Xena's gonna want to see Gabrielle dressed like a Bacchae as some sort of kinky foreplay," she joked, making Ngila snort in laughter.

"Alright, I heard that," said the character in question, sultry voice tinged with a Kiwi accent, which had lost its punch after all the hours speaking with a Midwestern one. The owner of the voice walked into the trailer, already in her leathers and Bacchae make-up, and leaned against one of the walls, her arms crossed.

"Y'know, Luce, I might not have been decent...and you just kinda waltz in here..." the blonde chided playfully as her fang fell out. She caught it before it could fall to the ground yet again.

"Dammit! Don't we have Poligrip around here?!" Renee laughed. "It's like the millionth and one time it's fallen out!" Lucy stepped forward, a smirk on her face, to see if she could help with the fang.

Ngila, being quite perceptive, took this as a cue to go find something else to do for a moment. "I'll be in the other trailer if you need anything, you two," she said, smiling, as she headed for the door and left.

Lucy took the fang and opened Renee's mouth to put it back for her, then took the opportunity and kissed her deeply. When she pulled back for air, the brunette said, "That was interesting..."

"Mmm...that it was. I've never kissed a gal with fangs before," she replied with a saucy smile and an eyebrow wiggle to match. She was about to lean in for more experience when Rob Tapert knocked and walked into the trailer, followed by Liz Friedman and Eric Grunedemann.

"Yep, yer contact looks okay," Lucy said and stepped away from Renee. She caught the blonde's brief look of dejection before Rob and crew addressed them both, and her heart broke, but for now, it was for the best.

Rob looked them over, especially Renee with her complete costume change for the episode, and said, "Okay, good. We're filming the bite and killing Bacchus and all the cover shots, yadda yadda yadda...
"Okay, we're all set? Let's go!"

With that, they all left the costume trailer and headed toward the set. Anthony Ray Parker, who was playing Bacchus, was already in position and the extra Bacchae were milling around the set, sipping water through straws and talking to some of the crew members they liked.

Lucy and Renee quickly climbed to their mark on the cliff and assumed their positions with the blonde standing on a small box behind the brunette. "I hate this box, Luce," whispered Renee.

"Yeah, but I know you like the view..." Lucy returned, having noticed the blonde catching eyefuls from over her shoulder down into the leather bodice.

Renee touched the small of her lover's back, something that always sent chills up and down her spine. "Obviously."

The director called for quiet on the set and the boom mic made its way over to its place above the actresses. "Okay, Gabrielle, you've got your mouth attached to Xena's neck. Places...and ACTION!"

Renee sucked lightly on Lucy's neck, nearly dropping the brunette to the floor in a quivering puddle.

"Okay, Gabrielle, pull away from Xena, the bite and transformation complete!" the director shouted.

As she did so, one of Renee's fangs fell out of her mouth and down into Lucy's bodice...making both their eyes go wide. "What happened?" the director shouted.

"Uh...Ren's tooth's in m'bra, mate," Lucy said, causing riotous laughter to erupt among all present. The blonde herself had to wrap her arms around Lucy's waist to stop from falling off the box.

"Need some help getting it out, Lucy?" asked Rob as a cat-call.

The brunette laughed and replied, "No, we've got it, Rob. Thanks. Just wait a sec, okay?" She then grabbed Renee's hand and pulled her into a small, dark alcove behind them where they couldn't be seen.

"What did you drag me back here for? Ooh! Do I get to dive for buried treasure?" asked Renee, smitten with the giggles, as she rubbed her hands together in excitement.

Lucy arched her eyebrow and smirked, "I don't think that's a good idea right now..." She readjusted her bodice to try and reach in there to get the fang. "I just HAD to wear this bloody thing a little loose today..."

Renee stepped forward and looked down and saw the tip of the fang inside the bodice. "I'd love to be that fang right now."

Lucy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help herself from smiling. *Geez...she makes me feel good about myself without being dumb about it... How does she do that?* The brunette nearly melted when Renee looked at her with a fire burning bright in her dark jade eyes.

"Okay, go ahead...torture me," Lucy said as she held Renee's eyes with her own. The blonde reached inside the bodice and took her time trying to find the missing tooth.

"Everything okay up there?" called Rob.

"Yeah, everythi-" Lucy’s voice hitched and she cleared her throat to try and reply again, "Everything's fine, Rob. Just getting things back in order."

Several giggles were heard among the crew, but the producer must not have paid them any mind as he waited patiently for his actresses. Meanwhile, Renee backed Lucy up against a wall as she "searched" her bodice.

"I knew this was a bad idea...you're driving me crazy," the brunette gasped just as Renee found the fang and slowly pulled her hand out of the leather clothing.

The blonde leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed Lucy's chin. "I'm not in much better condition, Luce..." She then turned on her heels and walked out, showing her fang to the crew. Lucy heard applause break out as someone climbed up the ladder to clean off the fang, turned tan by the body make-up the brunette wore.

The tall actress breathed to calm her racing heart then took her place in front of Renee. She then whispered back to her, "Tighten the laces, would you?"

"Of course," the blonde replied. Whatever excuse she got to get that close to her lover while on-set, she once told Lucy.

"Everything copasetic, then?" the director asked, receiving nods from the actresses as Lucy broke into a verse from the song "Deep in tha Heart a'Texas."

"You have no idea," Renee whispered low enough that the boom mic couldn't pick it up...but Lucy did. And the brunette thought she was going to bust the bodice and "Iron Bra", her heart swelled so much.

~~~~~
Chapter Three
"Return of Callisto"

It was time for the wedding scene and they were nervous...at least, Lucy was. They actually got to kiss on air, which wouldn't be bothersome normally, but could the brunette control herself?

She and Renee didn't do much talking during the off-times of this scene...they just wanted to get it over with. It felt too real, for some reason.

"And...action!"

The two Best People and the newlyweds stepped away from the altar, then Joxer and Perdicas stepped away to give Gabrielle privacy in which to say her good-byes to Xena.

*Gods, she's beautiful,* thought Lucy as she performed her lines. Her thoughts gave her the emotions she thought the warrior princess would have: confusion, the final dawning knowledge of the imminent and permanent loss of her best friend by her side, what would be going on in the room at the inn tonight, the fact that she hadn't told Gabrielle how she truly felt and now she never would...but maybe, just maybe, she could convey it all in that small kiss and with her normally unemotional steel-blue eyes.

She held her breath, nervous...then leaned down and ever so gently kissed the softest lips and wrapped her in an embrace. She saw the look in the other woman's eyes and felt that Gabrielle was feeling everything Xena was supposed to.

They separated and as Gabrielle walked out of the temple, she looked back at Xena, a sad smile on her face. The warrior herself felt drained of strength, spending her last bits of energy waving listlessly as the bard walked out of her life...

"...and CUT! Print! That's a wrap, folks!"

Lucy cleared her throat, choking back the sobs that threatened to consume her if she continued to think about this scene. Renee walked back in and threw the bouquet. Lucy caught it easily. The blonde tossed her head toward the exit, indicating that she wanted to walk with Lucy to the costume trailer and the brunette smiled widely, accepting the invitation.

They were silent as they walked to their cars after getting out of their costumes. Lucy was so deep in thought, she walked past her car.

Renee stopped where she was and called out to Lucy. "Hey, space cadet...your car's over here," she said, smiling.

The brunette looked up and shook her head to clear herself of her thoughts, then walked back toward her car, her head down. The blonde caught the posture and leaned against Lucy's car.

"What's the matter?" she asked as her lover got her keys out and opened the door.

Lucy looked at her and sighed. Biting the bullet, she said, "The scene felt too real...I dunno. I'm just being silly, I guess."

Renee stopped Lucy from getting into the car and turned her face so she could look into her eyes. "Nothing you say or feel is silly...I want to know what you're thinking, what you're feeling."

Lucy looked deeply into the forest green before her and asked, "You wanna have dinner with me before I leave? Daisy's at a friend's house..."

The blonde smiled and said, "I wish I could, but mom said she needs to talk to me about something tonight so I have to go home and wait for her to call.
"Open the passenger side door...we'll talk in the car."

Lucy reached down and unlocked the other door, then sat inside the car, watching her lover as she walked around the car to the front passenger side and got in. She turned in the seat to face Lucy directly. "Okay, what's the matter?"

The brunette took a shuttering breath and said, "I dunno...I guess I'm kind of afraid that that is how we're going to end up and I'm going to lose you..."

Leaning forward and wrapping Lucy in a firm embrace, Renee whispered, "I'm not going to leave you, Lucy, and I don't think you're going to leave me. We love each other, right?" The brunette replied with a firm and vehement nod against a strong shoulder.

Tears fell from blue pools which the blonde wiped away gently. Lucy looked up at her lover and smiled weakly as she pulled a tissue from a packet in her glove box and wiped her face.

"You okay now?" the blonde asked, receiving a sheepish nod in response.

Lucy sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Ren..."

"Don't apologize for what you feel, so long as you share it with me, okay?"

They embraced again, then Lucy tipped Renee's face up for a long, lingering kiss full of love and promise for the years to come. She was grateful for the tinted windows as she broke the kiss to breathe, her forehead against Renee's.

"How long will you be in New York?" the blonde asked, her voice thick and her eyes closed.

"Not long," Lucy replied. "Just a few days to film this thing for Leno, then I have to be there for the live broadcast and all."

"Call me when you get back, okay?" Renee asked.

"Of course..." the brunette replied before gently pulling Renee in for another searing kiss. Lucy broke the kiss and moved to the blonde's neck, gently nipping at her pulse point.

"Not in the car," the dark haired actress said, reluctantly pulling herself away from the veritable feast that was before her before their first time together was in the cramped interiour of a car in the parking lot at work. "It's gotta be in some place a bit bigger than this...and less public...and with a couple of weeks worth of time for us..."

Renee smiled and asked, her voice strained, "Hurry back, okay?" She then leaned forward to give her lover a quick kiss before she opened the car door and walked to her car ad few spaces away.

Lucy sat back and smiled, then looked out her windshield. She saw Rob Tapert walking away from the parking lot, he always parked in the production centre, and her heart started pounding violently within her chest.

*Oh god, did he see that?* she said, noting that her windshield wasn't tinted...it was illegal to do so. *How much did he see? Did he see anything?*

Quickly, Lucy put her keys in the ignition and drove off to the airport, her bags already in her trunk. She was to head off to New York City that night to film some pre-roll footage for her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She wanted to be off before Tapert could call her, should he have seen what she thought he saw.

^^^^^

"What goddammit, it's freaking three in the morning!" admonished the fiery blonde at whomever it was on the other line.

"Ren, it's Liz. Lucy's been in an accident."

Those five words acted like a bed of fire that she was laying on as she bolted up and to her closet to get dressed faster than Jackie Joyner Kersey. "Where is she? What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's okay, but she's badly hurt. She broke her pelvis in a stunt for the Leno show pre-roll. She's in hospital in New York. I've already got tickets for you to go out there. Here's the number. You're okayed to see her."

"Thank you, Liz...I'll be over to get them in five minutes," the blonde said, already dressed.

"Oh, wait, hold on a sec. Rob wants to talk to you," the producer said, puzzlement obviously tinting her voice.

"Hi, Renee, it's Rob. Listen, I don't know if you should go out there, we're working on changing around some scripts and we'll need Gabrielle here," he said.

"Please pardon this, Rob, but fuck you, I need to go."

Rob sighed. "Look, talk to Lucy before you decide, okay? It's, uh, like seven or eight PM in New York. Give her a call, okay? G'bye."

So that's just what the little blonde did after she slammed the phone down on the cradle several times in anger that Rob would want her to stay in New Zealand while her lover was hurt. Then again, he didn't know that they were lovers.

"So, I think we need to, as they say, come out because I can't stay in New fucking Zealand while you're hurt," she said on the phone to Lucy, after telling the brunette the whole story.

*So, he does know,* Lucy thought as she said, "Look...the day I left, I think Rob saw us kissing in the car..."

"So?!"

"So...I think you should stay there..."

"Lucy, I don't want to let him think he can bully us around just because he's got a crush on you," Renee said.

"Please, Renee...I don't know what he's going to do. I know you want to be here, I want you here, but I'll be home soon, then you can come see me, okay? Please...maybe this will be his only revenge and maybe you'll be right, now that he knows, maybe he'll leave me alone and we'll end the run in two years like he wants and live the way we want wherever we want," the brunette said. Her heart was aching, had been aching since that day. She wasn't afraid for herself, just for that precious Texan and her budding career. All she wanted was to curl up inside Renee, heart and soul, and reside there for the rest of her life.

There was a long silence before Lucy again said, "Please."

"If it's what you really want, Luce, okay...but you better make it up to me," the blonde said, her voice sounding far away, in spite of the light threat.

"How does Christmas with just the two of us, sound?"

She could hear the smile bloom on the blonde's face. "Really?"

"Yep. Just us. Daisy wants to be in California for Christmas and New Years again so why not? We'll have to stay in New Zealand, though..." she said, knowing her lover wasn't going to quite like that.

"No problem. I'll spend a few days with mom, then I'll come back and spend the rest with you, how's that?" the blonde offered.

"Sounds good, hon."

They spent a couple of minutes just listening to each other breathe before Lucy said, "I'd better go...this is costing you your residuals and I need to get some sleep."

"I just want to say that I miss you, Lucy, so much, and I love you and...and it's really fucked up that I'm not there right now. I don't like it, and I'm not going to pretend to...but I'll stay here because you asked me to," Renee replied.

"Thank you, Ren...and I will make it up to you. I promise," the brunette said.

Renee laughed solemnly, "I'll make sure of it, but most of all, I just want you near me. I want to be able to forget the world, and help you forget the world. I want hold you as we cuddle up under a nice warm blanket and watch some really bad TV and laugh and kiss."

"We will...very soon. Good night, Renee. I love you."

"I love you, too," replied the blonde. "Good night." Then she hung up.

It was a moment before Lucy herself hung up her phone and stared at the tiles in the ceiling of the hospital room.

*Damn you, Rob,* she thought as she closed her eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.

~~~~~
Chapter Four
"The Quest"

*I can live with this,* Lucy thought to herself as she recited the line, "Gabrielle...I'll always be with you," and leaned down to kiss her co-star. She knew the crew must have known by now about her and Renee, especially when they let the camera run a little longer than necessary.

"And cut! Print that and let's go on to the next scene," shouted the director.

When Lucy later asked the director why he let the take go for so long, he smiled, his eyes sparkling with knowledge, and lied, "Safety."

"Feelin' okay, Luce?" Renee asked as she readjusted one of the gauntlets to her Amazon Queen costume, readying herself for the next scene to be filmed, where she and Xena are sitting by the campfire at the end of the episode. The brunette in question was sitting in front of her.

It seemed as though the crew gave them their space and didn't bother them. Whether it was respect for the process of characterization or because they thought they might want a little privacy, Lucy never did know.

The brunette was staring slack jawed up at Renee in the new costume. She recovered herself enough to stumble over "Uh...yeah..." The blonde looked at her in time to see Lucy's reaction to the leather, feathers, and metal she wore before her lover looked toward the ground trying to calm her racing heart.

Heedless of the eyes around them, Renee stepped closer to Lucy and lifted her face by the chin to look into her eyes, darkened with desire. "You like this?" the blonde asked as she caressed Lucy's chin briefly before motioning to what she wore. The brunette could only reply with a mute nod.

"Maybe they'll let us borrow it once you're completely healed," suggested Renee with a smirk and a wink before she turned to talk to the director. Lucy expelled the breath she didn't know she was holding and ran her fingers through her hair as she smiled and watched the wonder that was the fiery Texan she loved.

~~~~~
Chapter Five
"A Day in the Life"

"I love this episode," Renee told Lucy as they sat next to each other on the couch in the blonde's house. The taller actress caressed the legs that were placed on her lap.

"We could have a lot of fun with this," Lucy smiled wickedly. "Make executives really uncomfortable."

"Which ones?" asked Renee as she put down her script and pulled Lucy down to lay against her.

The brunette laughed and put her copy of the script on the floor. "All of them."

"Is there a specific one you want to make squirm?" Renee asked after she kissed the top of Lucy's head.

"Which one do you think?" she replied, smiling. They sat in silence, absorbing the presence of each other as Renee's phone rang. While hardly disturbing the body against her, the blonde reached behind her and grabbed her cordless, then looked at the caller ID window.

"Ugh, it's Rob. I've gotta answer it, we're in my house, not yours," she rambled as she hit the 'talk' button. "Hello?"

"Hi Renee, it's Rob. Daisy told me Lucy was with you and you guys were going over the new script. You like?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun!"

"Good! Is Lucy still there? May I talk to her, please?"

"Lucy? Yeah, she's right here. Hold on," the blonde replied as Lucy tried to vehemently shake her head that she didn't want to talk to him. Renee said nothing, but pressed the phone to Lucy's chest. Finally, the brunette took the phone and lay back down against her lover.

"Hi, Rob...how are you?"

"Good, Lucy...how are you?"

Lucy closed her eyes as Renee began to nibble at her pulse point. "I can't complain."

"That's good. Listen, I was wondering if you were busy tonight...y'know, if you were interested in getting together for dinner. I know, I'm a bit of a pest about this..." he laughed.

"Mmm...no, sorry, Rob...I've already got plans for dinner tonight," she replied as the blonde moved her mouth to her earlobe and her hands began to trail up and down Lucy's sides causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body.

"Oh, well, that's too bad...well, maybe when you have a night open you could give me a call?"

"Mmmhmm," she said as Renee trailed kisses along the base of the brunette's neck around to the other side to give equal attention there.

"Good, well, I'll talk to you later then. G'bye," he said, willfully receiving another shot of Hope.

"Bye," Lucy said as she turned off the cordless and threw it across the room then turned around to kiss her lover deeply before giving the same kind of torturous attention to the blonde's neck.

"Did you think that was funny?" the brunette asked, her mouth pressed just to the left of Renee's throat. She could only nod under the pleasurable assault on her senses.

Just as the blonde had started to pull Lucy's shirt up, the hone rang and the doorbell rang simultaneously. The brunette pulled away as Renee pulled her back saying, "Forget it."

"Like you said, hon, this is your house...I'll get the phone, you get the door, okay?" she suggested as she reluctantly dragged herself away from the tantalizing blonde and grabbed the phone. The caller ID window said, "Lawless, L."

"Daisy?"

"Yeah, mum...I was calling to make sure Rob got in touch with you."

"Yeah, he got in touch with me," she replied. Lucy's mom ears picked up that something was wrong. "You okay, sweetie?"

"Uh...no. I've got a fever..."

"What's wrong? What feels bad?"

"I've got a headache and my throat hurts...I'm kinda achy..."

"I'll be home in ten minutes, okay? You want me to go get you anything? Ginger ale? Flavoured ice?"

"I'm okay, mum, you don't have to come home."

Lucy smirked as she rushed to get her shoes and jacket on while talking on the phone. "You don't tell a mother that her child is sick and then tell her that she doesn't have to come home... I'll see you in a few, okay? Bye, sweetie."

The brunette turned off the phone and tossed it onto the couch as she tied her shoelaces.

"What's the matter?" Renee asked.

"Daisy's sick. I've gotta go," she responded.

"Gods, yes, get outta here!! Is there anything I can do?" she asked, anxious to help.

Lucy smiled then wrapped the cute little blonde in a warm embrace. "Just keep those thoughts in mind for another time, okay? I love you and I'll call you later."

She bent down for a quick kiss, then sped out of Renee's house and home to her sick daughter.

~~~~~
Chapter Six
"Blind Faith"

Lucy stood a few feet back and cocked her head to first one side then the other, then stepped forward and adjusted it a few centimetres to the left.

"What do you think?" she asked Renee, who was also doing the 'picture hanging head dance'.

"Why do you want that?" the blonde asked of the portrait of her that was done as a prop for the episode they just finished.

"So you can be here even when you're not."

Renee wrapped her arms around Lucy's waist and said, "I AM here when I'm not. Duh."

The brunette giggled and held her lover. "Is it straight?"

"Not really," the blonde replied a smile pulling at her lips as she hugged Lucy.

"Not you, love, the picture."

"Oh, well then yes."

They kissed then Renee noticed what time it was. "Shit...gotta go."

"And you'll be back for Christmas with me, right?" Lucy asked.

"Of course. And I'll call you as often as possible, but don't expect too many since I'm only going to be there a week and I know they've got a lot planned for me... Why don't we play that dream game again?"

"Sounds good...and you'd better go so you don't miss your plane!" Lucy agreed.

"Ack!" Renee said when she looked at the clock again, then rushed out of the bedroom. Lucy grabbed her arm and pulled her back for a deep, thorough kiss that would have to last them the entire week. She then broke the kiss and stepped back, but Renee wasn't ready and enveloped Lucy in another all-consuming kiss.

"Now that was a proper 'see ya in a week' kiss," the blonde said as she rushed out of the house. Weak, Lucy fell against the door frame as she watched the blonde's car pull away.

~~~~~
Chapter Seven

Lucy missed the blonde like crazy, but she only had one day until Renee was back from Texas and in her arms as they sat in front of a blazing fire and generating heat of their own.

And so Renee was due back in Auckland tomorrow evening. *Glorious,* the brunette thought as she smiled. She had taken Daisy to the airport the day before for Christmas in L.A. with her father and now the tall brunette was aimlessly milling about her house. She missed her daughter terribly, but whatever she wanted, she got and since she wanted to go to California for Christmas, it was okay with Lucy. She got her most of the rest of the year anyway, it was only fair.

A knock sounded on her door. Through the peep-hole she saw the executive producer of the show, Rob Tapert. Rolling her eyes, she unlocked the door and let him in.

"Howdy, Rob," she greeted.

He smiled and handed her a bouquet of flowers. "Hi there, Luce. How're you feeling?"

"Better, thanks. Want some coffee?" she offered as he walked in and closed the door behind him. She walked across to the bar stools and climbed up into it. Other than her poofy leather chair, the bar stools seemed her greatest comfort.

"No, thank you...actually, I wanted to talk to you about a few things, most specifically next season and what you're willing to do to keep Renee on the show," he said. He was remarkably calm.

"What?" Lucy asked, her voice bordering on the incredulous and pissed.

"I've already gotten next season worked out in order to get her off the show...I want to know what you'll do in order to keep her here. You know, of course, that without a work permit, she'll have to go back to the States," the executive producer said, not one emotion evident.

Lucy sat speechless as she absorbed what the producer was telling her *Date me and she stays...spurn me once more and she's gone.*

"You know that once she gets back to the States, she'll go back to Hollywood, or maybe Austin, and she'll probably meet some nice guys who turn her head and she'll end up marrying one of them, forgetting all about you..." the producer continued, trying to goad his star into the decision.

"She could stay here...she doesn't HAVE to go back," Lucy pointed out.

Rob smiled, "Why would she stay without a job? You Kiwi's are a tight group...to let a foreigner get a role in a stage play or movie made here would be like committing blasphemy, you know that."

"She doesn't need to act...we could live off what I make on the show," she said, trying to counteract Rob.

"What makes you think there will still be a show? And I'm sure you and Renee won't mind never working again...except in Indie cinema and even then, most of those kids grew up on Sam's movies. anything can be arranged," the producer pointed out, his voice not carrying the tone that the threat required, but still making an impression on the actress.

Lucy sighed and, disgusted, admitted to herself that if she wanted to keep Renee here and in the job, if they both wanted to continue working, she needed to date Tapert.

*What if she finds out? What if I start to like him? What if he goes further and I have to fuck him in order to keep her in the job? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she's happy and with me?* the brunette asked herself as she considered.

"No dates until next season, when I'm sure Renee is still on the cast. If she wants to direct or write an episode or two, there will be no argument," Lucy said, setting up her conditions to the agreement.

The producer smiled as a snake might and replied, "Done." He stood and walked out with only a slight wave at the door to say goodbye. Lucy's shoulders slagged forward under the weight of what she'd decided to do. Her heart raced and she felt like she was going to be sick, but all she wanted was to keep Renee close to her and happy...and she knew that acting made her happy.

Tears began to roll down Lucy's face, her heart aching. She was torn, but she doesn't go back on a deal or a promise. All she wanted was to be with Renee and this seemed the most logical thing to do in order to keep her lover working and near her.

The phone rang, startling the brunette. She wiped away her tears and tried to sound normal as she picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, baby...what‘s yer favourite porn movie?"

At the sound of the blonde's voice, Lucy gave up any attempts to quell the tears and started crying. *Should I tell her what's going on? Not over the phone...she's too far away...*

"I knew something was wrong...Lucy, what's the matter?"

"N-nothing, Ren...I just miss you so much," she sort of lied, rationalizing the lie by thinking, *Well, it's true...you miss her terribly although that's not what's wrong and you know it. She probably does, too.*

"I miss you, too, hon, but I know that's not what's bothering you cuz I know you. What is it?"

"Seriously, I just miss you...I wasn't expecting your call and when I heard your voice...I just cracked." She didn't think Renee was going to buy it, but one never knows.

"Oookay...well, I'll be home in a couple of days and then we can talk, okay?"

*Nope...she didn't buy it,* the brunette thought as she said, "But, can't we talk now? I mean, you did call for a reason."

A sigh came from the Texas end of the phone line. "I called because I knew something wasn't right over there...but you don't want to talk about it and that bothers me."

"I just don't want to talk about it over the phone...that's all...I'd rather have you here so I can show you exactly how much I miss you without having to talk about it."

"Okay. You know I'm not going to drop this when I get home, right?"

Lucy smiled wanly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well...I'd better go...I just felt like something had gone wrong with you and wanted to find out...are you feeling okay?"

"I feel great, especially after talking to you and hearing your voice...I just can't wait to see you. I'm almost about to go wait at the aeroport for you..."

A soft laugh came from the blonde Texan and temporarily soothed Lucy's aching soul. "I'll be home soon...I can't wait to see you, too."

Lucy replied, "Where do you want to meet tonight?" They'd played a game every night since the blonde left that they'd meet in their dreams in some exotic location.

"How about in your house?"

"Sounds good...no dream luggage to pack. I'll see you then."

"I love you, y'know...more than I could ever manage to tell you." "You couldn't love me more than I love you, Renee," the brunette replied as she almost burst into tears again, but was able to control herself.

“Good night, love," the Texan said.

"Good night," Lucy replied and they hung up.

The brunette sat there, staring at the phone and concentrating on her best friend, her lover, her heart, her everything.

*This can only end badly,* she thought to herself briefly.

^^^^^

"Where are we going?" Renee laughed as Lucy dragged her through the airport.

"You'll see," the brunette replied. Finally, they ducked into a bathroom by the entrance to the airport and into a stall there. Lucy closed the stall door and pressed Renee against it with her body, then bent down and kissed her deeply, refamiliarizing herself with the blonde woman how had her heart.

After several long minutes, they broke apart and just held each other, not even caring that they were in the public bathroom of a busy international airport.

"It couldn't have waited until we'd gotten in the car," Lucy whispered as she pressed herself into Renee again, reveling in the feel of the soul against her own. The blonde wrapped her arms around Lucy's waist and pulled her closer than possible, laying her head against the taller woman's chest to hear her heart.

Lucy kissed the top of Renee's head then whispered, "We should leave now so we can continue this at your leisure. I know you're tired..."

"I think I can handle whatever you have in mind...I just got my second wind from that electrifying kiss," the Texan smiled, hugging her lover tighter.

They reluctantly broke apart and left the bathroom summarily unnoticed, heading directly for Lucy's car where they continued their familiar explorations until they decided to leave.

"So, what're we doing tonight to celebrate my return from the land of the Longhorns?" Renee asked as she stretched her back within the confines of her seat belt and they drove away from the airport.

"Well, I was thinking 'simplicity'...we'll go back to my house where I've got a bottle of white wine chilling and I'll make us dinner, and we'll sit and watch a movie on the pay-per-view. Just relax before I run you ragged," Lucy replied, a sexy smirk on her face.

Inside, she screamed at herself to tell the blonde whom she loved everything, but she reasoned with herself that Renee just got back in town after being with her family in a land very far away. She's exhausted. Lucy resolved to tell her when she felt the time was right.

Renee smiled and put her hand on Lucy's thigh. "Mmm...that sounds good. I'll probably pass out ten seconds into the movie, though I won't mind so long as I'm in your arms."

Lucy smiled and put her hand on top of Renee's and the rest of the way home was spent in silence, with looks of love filled with promises charging the air around them.

As they pulled into Lucy's driveway and got out of the car, Renee asked, "What're your two favourite names?"

The brunette laughed as she helped Renee get her bags out of the car and carry them inside the house. "Why?"

"I'm curious...I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," the blonde replied, a cute waggle of her eyebrows as emphasis.

"Miles, like Miles Davis, and Daisy."

"Well, what's your other favourite name for a girl?" Renee asked as they walked into the house and closed the door behind them. Without warning, Lucy backed her up against the front door and kissed her again, tongues caressing and exploring familiar warmth.

"Just needed a fix," was the explanation the brunette gave her pleasantly stunned lover as she stepped away from her and lugged the bags into the master bedroom. "Second favourite name for a girl...I dunno. Juliana, I suppose. What're yours?"

Renee thought for a moment and responded with, "Julius and Penny."

Lucy frowned. "I thought you said Julius was an embarrassing name for a kid."

"Yeah, it is...but I still like it. I wouldn't name my son Julius. It just kinda rolls off the tongue. Say it with me 'Julius,'" repeated Renee.

With an arched eyebrow, Lucy said, "Anything sounds good off your tongue."

"You better watch it or I'll make you prove it," the blonde smiled as she put her bags down and unpacked one of them.

"Ooh! Is that a promise?" Lucy purred into the blonde's ear as she stepped up behind her and wrapped her arms around her.

Renee leaned her head against the strong shoulder behind her and said, "You're awfully rowdy today..."

"Randy."

"Who?"

"The word I think you're looking for is 'randy' m'luv, and the answer is why wouldn't I be when you're so close?" Lucy whispered, her hot breath tickling Renee's ear and neck.

The blonde turned in the embrace and wrapped her own arms around her lover's waist. They stayed like that for several moments before Lucy pulled away to say, "Let's get some real food into you...aeroplane sludge isn't healthy."

She turned Renee around and lead her by the shoulders from behind out through the main house and into the kitchen. Lucy briefly massaged the tired muscled beneath her fingers, then sat the blonde in a bar stool that looked into the kitchen while she went to start their dinner.

"What do you want to eat?" she asked as she opened the fridge and peered inside.

"Chinese?" Renee replied hopefully. "As much as I love to see you in action, I just wanna hold you. Is that okay?"

"Not particularly healthy," Lucy commented, trying to talk herself out of the idea.

The blonde looked down at herself, then at Lucy and returned with, "I think we'll survive..."

"You're too cute. Okay. The lady of the house wants Chinese, then Chinese she will have. What do you want?" Lucy said as she closed the fridge door and took a post-it pad and pen over to Renee.

"General Tso's chicken...lo mein vegetables...and root beer! Dear God, I've been pining for a decent root beer with my Pepsi-addicted family," the blonde replied, her eyes sparkling and smile wide.

"And dessert?" Lucy asked, greatly amused and grateful that Renee was back from Texas.

"You."

The brunette wrote down the word 'you', then nearly dropped the pen. She regained herself control and looked into Renee's eyes as she said, "I'm not sure I'm offered on their menu, but I can check."

"Gee, I hope you're not. I don't want to share you," the blonde replied as she left the bar stool, smirking, to sit on the big comfy couch in front of the TV.

Lucy watched her as thoughts of her deal with Tapert floated through her head. *I hope that no matter what happens, we're both happy.*

^^^^^

Empty Chinese take-out containers littered the floor as the movie played in the background. They lay on the carpet in front of the blazing fireplace with the TV facing toward them, but they didn't pay much attention to it.

Renee lay on top of Lucy, straddling her waist. She nibbled and kissed the brunette's neck, leaving tell-tale marks of her affection below the collar. Lucy's strong hands held Renee's hips gently but firmly, like a lifeline.

"Let's go to the bedroom," the brunette suggested, her voice thick with need.

"No."

Lucy frowned in surprise and asked, "Why not?"

"Because that painting of me is in there and I know it. It'd be kinda weird having me watch myself make love to you," she answered, reluctantly taking her mouth away from the feast that sustained her soul and looking into the blue pool that enveloped her.

"Well, the carpet by the fireplace with Home for the Holidays in the background isn't exactly romantic."

"Fuck romance," the blonde whispered as she leaned down and caressed Lucy's lips with her own before taking them passionately.

*Can't argue with that,* she thought as she slowly divested Renee of her clothes and gave the rest of herself over to the blonde who already had her heart and spirit.

~~~~~
Chapter Eight The cast party that year was a lively affair, especially since neither Rob Tapert nor Ted Raimi could be there. Everyone practically outed Lucy and Renee, and promised to keep quiet about it, but the truth made Lucy breathe more comfortably. She still had one more thing to tell Renee, but she didn't want to do it at the party celebrating the passing of another year.

*Later...tonight. Yes, later tonight I'll tell her what happened the day before she came back from Texas. I'll tell her about the deal tonight. Or maybe tomorrow night...yeah, I'll do it tomorrow night since we're going to that new dance club with everyone,* Lucy thought to herself as she kissed her lover briefly before turning her attention back to the gag reels.

The party wound down and several cast and crew members left to spend some much needed time with their families. The rest, with Lucy and Renee included, went to a dance club. Neither Lucy nor Renee were too into techno music, but they wanted to hang out with the crew and so they went.

The outside was a normal building a few stories tall with a simple sign that read "Spiritdance". The line was relatively short and the crew didn't have to wait too long before they could get in.

There was a stage opposite the doors with a screen down in front of it. The ceiling, three stories above was domed and against it were laser lights in time to the pulsating beats of a remix of Bjork's "Big Time Sensuality." There were two levels above the revolving dance floor where people hung out and tried to get hooked up. In the back to the right of the stage, by the Oxygen bar, was a mural in relief of a Maori celebratory dance.

Behind the bar on the first floor were three men in blacklight reflective clothing and make-up, their shirts marked with the name of the club and glowing. They performed little tricks here and there that you'd see in the movie Cocktail, earning bigger tips for every successful trick.

Lucy and Renee looked around the place and were amazed at how cool the club was. They all grabbed a couple of the black velvet couches, then left to get drinks or to start dancing.

"You want anything?" Renee asked as she stood to go to the bar.

"You...but you probably meant to drink, didn't you?" Lucy asked. When she received a sexy smirk and a nod, she replied, "A starburst."

The brunette watched as Renee made her way through the throng of people and to the bar, then turned her attention to the club around them. Liz took the opportunity and sat next to the tall actress.

"Pretty cool, doncha think?" she asked.

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, actually. Really cool."

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm really glad you and Renee finally got together. It does my heart good to see you both so happy," she shouted over the music. "Are you going to tell Rob?"

Lucy's face fell...she'd been able to forget the deal for a few minutes and the reminder was like a slap to her face. "He already knows...he's known for a while, but we didn't tell him...he saw us..."

Liz leaned back and studied Lucy. "That explains a lot."

"Like what?"

"His plan for next season. He gave it to the producers already...he's getting rid of Renee," she said, almost rushed.

"No, he's not...I've made sure of it," she said just as Renee walked up.

"Does she know? What do you mean 'made sure of it'?" the producer asked, but before Lucy could say anything, Renee walked up with their drinks and a bottled water for herself.

"Something wrong?" the blonde asked as she gave Lucy her starburst.

Liz looked at Lucy then said, "I, uh, wanted to, umm, make sure Lucy knew what she was doing in the ways of love...and I'm glad to report that she's never been happier." Before she departed, though, Liz whispered to the brunette, saying "Don't do something that will ruin your happiness. It's not worth it."

Once the producer had departed, Renee sat down and took a sip of her water. "Was she hitting on you?" she asked, smirking.

"Nope...just giving me good advice," Lucy replied.

The blonde looked at her. "And will you follow her advice?" she inquired with a tone that made Lucy's heart pound in fear that Renee had found out about the deal.

"Maybe...we'll have to see," she said, playing idly with strands of blonde hair.

"Oh! Guess what I got," prodded the blonde. "C'mon, guess."

"I dunno, what?"

"A bartender's phone number!" she shouted with pride as she took the napkin out of her pocket to show her lover.

"You gonna call, uh, Steve?" she asked as she read the name off the napkin.

"Only if you give me a reason to..." Renee said at a normal tone which, in a place like that, was as loud as a whisper.

Lucy heard her and a pang shot through her body. *I've certainly given you a reason...if you were to ever know about it...* "What was that?" the brunette asked as she moved her hand to caress the back of the blonde's neck.

"Nothing...c'mon, drink up," she said, then dropped her voice low as she whispered into Lucy's ear, "I want to dance."

A chill ran up Lucy's spine as she quickly drank the alcoholic beverage that tasted like the candy it was named after and allowed herself to be dragged to the dance floor. The music segued from "Big Time Sensuality" to a remix of the Sister Machine Gun song "Burn."

When they got to where Renee wanted them, she turned toward Lucy and got as close to her as possible without actually touching her. The blonde looked up at Lucy's smouldering blue eyes with her raging green and they began to move as though they had been doing this dance since time began. Hips moved together in a slow, sensuous figure eight and when Lucy reached to touch Renee, the blonde swatted her hands away.

"No touching," she mouthed to her lover, her sexy smirk piercing Lucy's heart and soul. They breathed each other in and positively glowed. For the brunette, it was absolute torture. She wanted to touch her lover, but found herself turned on by this little game.

Renee leaned up close to Lucy, as if she were going to kiss her, and stopped. They both stopped all movement and just looked at each other. The air seemed devoid of oxygen to Lucy as the blonde made her feel light-headed.

"Let's go to my house," Renee said, her lips brushing against Lucy's.

"But you said 'no touching'," the brunette pointed out, teasing her lover.

"That's right...you can't touch," Renee affirmed as she ran her fingers up Lucy's arm, eliciting goosebumps and making blue eyes close involuntarily. "But I can..."

The tone in the Texan's voice threw gasoline on Lucy's flame as she nodded mutely. Renee crooked her finger for the brunette to follow her as she went back to say good-bye to the crew then walked out of the club to go home.

Lucy followed willingly and would follow her to the ends of the earth and beyond...

~~~~~

"But what about the deal? I mean, that seems pretty convoluted," asked Dave, the waiter, as he poured more coffee into his mug. It had started raining outside the hotel long ago, but neither of them seemed to notice.

Lucy smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess in retrospect it does seem convoluted, but at the time, everything I chose to do made sense...hindsight is 20/20 and all that. Woulda, coulda, shoulda...I only wanted to keep her happy...I didn't know what was right in front of my face."

"So what happened next? What did Renee do she found out?" he asked, lifting the cup to his mouth.

The brunette was about to launch into the next part when she stopped and looked at him. "You hungry?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"I'll call room service...write down what you want," she offered as she stood to get the kinks out of her back and walk the stiffness from her legs.

She thought more about the next part of the story and how painful it was, but this was like a catharsis...she was feeling herself slowly become free of the depression that blanketed her since the finale had wrapped.

*And maybe I can work through all that and find my way back to her...if she'll have me...*

end of part two
Continued here.

---

HOME
Table of Contents