In a grouchy voice, Jaylynn said, "I don't know...Maybe one-thirty or so."

"Whew, pretty early for us."

Jaylynn yawned and nodded slowly, her face pressed next to Dez's bare collarbone. "Feels like I haven't slept for days."

"Tell me about it."

As the rookie's breath evened out, the dark-haired woman lay holding the sleeping woman for quite some time. Marie was right. Companionship was a good thing. And love was even better.

PART ELEVEN

The tall cop awakened shortly before ten a.m. and grinned when she found Jaylynn sleeping like a log next to her. Despite Dez turning over and rearranging covers, her slumbering partner didn’t move. She extricated herself from the blonde’s grip, eased out of bed, and went in to the bathroom to take a shower. When she came out some time later, the rookie hadn’t stirred and was still curled up on her side, facing the wall, holding her left arm protectively to her chest. The dark-haired woman slipped on jeans, a long sleeved red t-shirt, and tennis shoes, and went into the kitchen to brew some tea and make breakfast. The smell of food would wake the rookie up in a good mood if nothing else would.

Dez mixed up pancake batter from scratch, plugged in a griddle, and switched on the oven to its warm setting. She waited for the griddle to heat up, and stood with her back to the counter, her arms crossed over her chest. With everything that happened the night before, she hadn’t had the chance to give Jaylynn the strange Christmas present she had to offer her. She peeked around the corner. The blonde slept on. She stepped into the room, to the entertainment center, and hunted through her CD’s until she found the one she was looking for. She opened the plastic case and popped out the disk, leaving the case on the shelf. In the kitchen she put the disk in a small CD player and turned the volume to low.

The griddle was good and hot now, so she smeared some butter on it and dripped four circles of batter from a handled mug. They sizzled and spread. Within seconds, bubbles formed in the batter. Dez could smell the cinnamon and her stomach rumbled.

She sat down at the kitchen table to wait. In the background, an acoustic guitar played softly, and then the husky voice sang. She hummed along to the medium beat.

I’ve been waiting so long... longing for you Getting harder and harder to hold on Come and give me your love Come and take mine... come and take mine Late at night, early in the morning Late at night, early in the morning

She got up to turn the pancakes over. They had cooked to a deep, rich golden brown. She took a plate down from a cupboard, and when the other side had cooked, she flipped them onto the plate and stuck it in the oven. After buttering the griddle again, she poured four more circles of batter, then got out some eggs. She decided that if she was going to eat a high sugar and high fat meal, she may as well have some protein - scrambled eggs - to go with it.

A movement in the doorway caught her eye, and she turned to see Jaylynn barefoot and wrapped in a comforter. In the background, the music played.

Parallel line... I’m waiting for you Take me higher and higher and I just hold on The look in your eyes It’s all right... It’s all right...

"Do you know how many times I played this CD, Dez?" The dark-haired woman shook her head. Jaylynn stood barefoot, and they both listened for a moment. "I grew to love and hate Hydraulic Woman."

"Why?" Dez frowned as she listened to the song fade out.

Late at night, early in the morning Late at night, early in the morning...

Jaylynn moved into the kitchen and pulled a chair out, then sat down wearily. "Her voice is a little like yours, and some of the songs made me think of you."

Dez checked the pancakes to find they weren’t quite ready to turn over, then leaned against the counter by the sink. "I know what you mean - the songs reminded me of you, too." She stepped over to the table, punched the button and turned off the CD player, then looked over at the blonde, sitting swathed in the thick quilt. She couldn’t help it - she found herself grinning.

"What?" the blonde said, a scowl on her face.

"You just look so damn cute."

Jaylynn blushed. "I don’t feel so damn cute. I feel like I need a shower and about 45 pancakes."

"Not in that order, though, right?"

The rookie shrugged. "Doesn’t matter." She looked over miserably. "All I know is that if you don’t have a bread bag that I can put this blasted cast in to shower, then I don’t know what to do. I can’t wait to get it off."

Dez rooted around in one of her kitchen drawers, then looked in a cupboard. "Nope, sorry. Don’t have one. I’ve got zip-lock bags and plastic wrap, but no bread bags." She picked up the spatula and flipped the pancakes over. They sizzled and popped when the wet side hit the hot grill. Still holding the spatula, the dark-haired woman shifted until her hip leaned against the counter. She noted that Jaylynn had a sour look on her face, so Dez took two steps over close to her. "Didn’t you sleep well?"

"Yes. No. Hell, I don’t know. What time is it anyway?"

Looking at her watch, the tall woman ran her fingers of her other hand through the short-cropped blonde hair below her. "It’s ten-forty."

"Well, then, I guess I slept fine."

"You gauge it by the clock?"

"I got enough hours, so I must be okay."

"But aren’t you still on West coast time?"

A look of comprehension passed over the rookie’s face. "Yeah, that’s it. I feel like it’s two hours earlier - or at least my body thinks that. No wonder I’m so tired."

"You could go back to bed if you like."

She yawned. "No, I better not. It’ll probably take me two hours to get ready, and I have a one o’clock doctor’s appointment to get this thing sawed off."

With a grin, Dez said, "Too bad we don’t have the Aikuchi All-Purpose Kitchen Knife here. I’m sure we could take care of it and save money on doctor’s fees all at once."

"Don’t think I haven’t already thought of that." She turned in her chair and put her elbows on the table, chin in hand. Yawning again, she looked around the kitchen. "The pancakes smell good. What else have you got that’s good for me to munch on?"

Dez didn’t answer. Instead, she bent and placed a soft kiss on the back of the smaller woman’s neck, which caused them both to shiver. She set the spatula on the table and wrapped her arms around Jaylynn from behind, her hands coming to rest on the smaller woman’s chest. Jaylynn sighed and stroked the dark-haired woman’s forearms. "Dez?"

"Yeah," she said softly into the pink ear.

"I love you."

"Right back atcha, pardner." Dez straightened and picked up the spatula. "You ready for the first round of vittles?"

"I thought you’d never ask."

The tall woman dished up all four pancakes and delivered them to the table along with a container of maple syrup. "Eggs coming up." She cracked four into a bowl and used a fork to whip them up with a little milk, salt, and pepper, then poured them onto the griddle and chased them around with the fork. When they were cooked nice and dry, just how she liked them, she swiped Jaylynn’s plate out from under her and spooned half the scrambled eggs onto the plate, then returned it to the table. "Voilá. Instant eggs."

"Thank you. I was hungry." The blonde yawned once again.

"Cut that out! You’re making me feel tired." She returned to the griddle and turned it off, then picked up a hot pad. She flicked the oven switch to off and opened the door to remove the plate from inside. Once she had scooped the last of the eggs onto the hot plate, she sat across from Jaylynn to eat, remembering just as she was seated that she didn’t have anything to drink. "Want some milk? Or juice or something?"

"Milk would be good."

Dez rose and poured them two glasses. "You know what you need?"

"Besides a shower, a healed arm, and some energy?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

The tall woman grabbed a napkin out of the holder on the table and wiped some syrup off her chin. "You need a good Christmas present."

Jaylynn set her fork down with an alarmed look on her face. "I have a birthday present for you, Miss Disappearing Act, but I don’t actually have a Christmas present. Not yet anyway."

"Don’t worry about it. You can call the birthday gift a combination present, okay? I don’t mind. I didn’t expect any present at all."

Jaylynn pushed her plate away, leaving half a pancake and a couple bites of eggs.

Dez reached across the table and cupped the smaller woman’s forehead in a big hand.

Jaylynn scowled. "What?"

"Just wondered if you had a fever. You usually scarf up all your food and half of mine."

"Oh, I just got full, that’s all." Actually, it had suddenly occurred to her that when she’d purchased Dez’s birthday present a few days before Thanksgiving, she had been full of hopes and expectations. But later, she hadn’t ended up buying a Christmas present for the her, because - she now realized - she had lost faith to a certain degree. She hated to admit it, but she had plunged into so much doubt that she got to the point where she didn’t believe Dez would come back. That bothered her. Dez believed in her enough to get her a Christmas gift, but she herself hadn’t felt the same way. In fact, she realized she had been so angry at the dark-haired woman that at one point, she had thought about taking the birthday gift back, though she knew she couldn’t because it was personalized. The entire train of thought made her feel small and petty.

She looked up into bright blue eyes, eyes full of concern, and she couldn’t help it. The tears came. She closed her eyes and looked down at the awkward cast in her lap as the tears leaked out. A warm hand grasped her cool fingers, and she opened her eyes to find Dez squatting next to her chair, a concerned look on her face. "What’s the matter, Jay?"

The smaller woman couldn’t speak, but she allowed Dez to pull her up out of the chair and lead her into the other room to the couch. The big woman sat and tugged Jaylynn down into her lap, enfolding her in a warm embrace.

"I must just be tired still, that’s all."

"Umm hmm, right. I’m sure that’s all."

The sardonic tone of Dez’s voice caused the blonde to turn her head and lean back so that she could get a good view of the dark-haired woman’s face. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You never cry for no reason. Something’s hurting you, and you’re not telling me what it is. And that’s okay. You can tell me if and when you want to."

Jaylynn reached a hand up and stroked along the side of the pale face above her, letting her hand trail from face to neck to the middle of the wide chest where she brought her hand to a rest. "When did you get so smart?"

"Must be all the therapy."

This brought a smile from the smaller woman. "If that’s it, then I guess I need to meet this shrink."

"You will." Dez touched three fingers to Jaylynn’s cheek and wiped away the tears, then kissed cool lips. "You taste like syrup." She tightened her hold on the figure swaddled in the comforter.

"Guess that’s better than the dragon breath I had when I first woke up."

"Let’s see. I believe we were talking about Christmas and holiday presents when you launched into the tears. I take it that some infidel has informed you that there is no Santa."

Jaylynn laughed out loud, having not expected the joke from Dez. The tall cop was like that - usually so serious, and then just when the blonde least expected, making some sort of deadpan comment that cracked her up. She got up and tossed the quilt on the couch beside Dez. Wearing only a t-shirt and underwear, she hurried across the room and went to the grocery bag by the doorway. She rooted around in it until she found and pulled out a small box wrapped in shiny blue and silver paper. She spun and started back toward Dez, but the dark-haired woman pointed. "Will you get that envelope over there on my desk.?"

The blonde reversed course, picked up a thick envelope, and came back to the couch. She handed both items to the tall woman, shivered, and grabbed the quilt. After she wrapped herself in the comforter, she let herself be pulled down again into Dez’s lap. She shivered.

"Good grief, Jay! It’s ninety degrees in here. How can you be cold?"

The blonde shook her head. "I hope you don’t mind having this conversation for the next, oh, say, eighty years. I don’t think we are ever going to have complementary thermostats."

Dez smiled. "No kidding. I think your comfort range is all of about five degrees one way or another. Maybe you should put on some weight. That would keep you warm. Sure works for me."

Jaylynn rolled her eyes. Before Dez could say anything more, the blonde pointed to the package in her hand. "Open that."

The dark-haired woman shifted her arm so that she could unwrap the shiny paper. She took the lid off a small white box and found a velvet covered gray box inside of that. She turned the white box over and let the one inside fall out into her hand. Stroking the soft velvet with the side of her thumb, she wondered if this was what she thought it was. Sure enough, she found a silvery-colored ring made of white gold nestled inside. The ring, partly buried in satin, glinted in the light and took her breath away. It looked like a simple wedding band, except that there was a pattern circling the band. She pulled the ring from its satin bed and squinted at it closely to see that the pattern was actually made up of the letters JDJDJD... all the way around the ring. The script blended together, and it wasn’t until she examined it closely that she recognized the two letters.

She raised her eyes to meet Jaylynn’s and could see that the younger woman was uncertain - fearful again. Holding the ring between her thumb and forefinger, the Dez said one simple word. "Wow." She looked back at the shiny silver and noticed the inside was also engraved. Peering closer, she read the script there: You are the Love of my Dreams - Forever - Jaylynn.

The dark-haired woman was speechless. She raised her left hand and slipped the band onto the ring finger. It was snug over her knuckle, but fit just fine once she slid it down. She looked into the anxious hazel eyes, and once again wondered why Jaylynn was so nervous. "This is perfect. I love it, Jay. It’s - it’s beautiful. Thank you."

The blonde relaxed against her. "That’s a relief. I was afraid it was - well, I don’t know. You don’t wear any jewelry that I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t sure you would like it."

"I more than like it. But I have to admit, it’s so much more personal than what I have for you." She hesitated, as though she had more to say, then shrugged and picked up the envelope from the couch beside her and handed it to the blonde. "Here, open this."

Jaylynn got a finger under the flap and tore the back open. She slid a sheaf of papers out and something fell onto the quilt. She looked up at the bright blue eyes above her, then picked up a gold key. "What is this to?"

Dez gave her a crooked half-smile but didn’t respond.

The rookie folded the papers open and looked at them. "But this is Vanita’s address... oh my! They talked to you, too. Dez! You bought Vanita’s house?"

"Not yet. If we do it, you have to fill out that sheaf of paperwork."

"We? You mean us - together?"

"That’s what I was hoping."

"But I don’t have any down payment money. Well, I have a little, but not much, and then I’d be broke . . ."

"That’s no problem. I have enough to pay for about a third of the house, and then we’d finance the rest."

Jaylynn stared down at the shiny key in her hand. "Dez... that’s not fair. I wouldn’t be doing my part."

"Sure you would. You could do all the yard work, massage my aching muscles morning, noon, and night, and - you know - wait on me hand and foot."

When Jaylynn realized her partner was kidding, she poked her in the ribs. "Very funny."

"Jay, I want it to be ‘share and share alike.’ I want you to have everything of mine and vice versa."

"You just want to get a hold of my Aikuchi kitchen knife."

Dez laughed out loud, and pulled the smaller woman tight against her. "I’ve been waiting all my life for you, and now I want us to share everything."

"I think I have more debts than you do."

Dez shrugged. "So what. Little by little, we can pay them off together. Please say yes. Vanita’s house is a good one, and if, after a few years, you decide you don’t like it, we can trade up."

"Oh, I love her house. The woodwork is great, and it’s a nice, cozy solid place. It’s a wonderful house."

"We’ll have to tear down that horrendous garage, though, and build a new one this summer. But that won’t be too hard. I can get someone to pour the concrete, and I can easily frame it and roof it. Crystal and I built Luella’s garage a few years back. It’s easy."

Jaylynn laid her head against the dark-haired woman and let the feeling of contentment roll through her like a wave. "I shouldn’t have doubted you."

"What? You don’t think I can build a simple garage?"

"No, that’s not what I meant. I mean that by Christmas Eve, I just sort of lost faith in you." She felt terrible to admit it, but she forged on. "When I hadn’t heard from you for so long, I felt awful, and then I got mad, and then I didn’t think I could ever forgive you, and by the time I flew home, I felt so godforsaken because I was starting to try to figure out how I could live without you." She looked down at her lap. "But you never gave up on me."

"Jay, look at me." With one big hand, she turned the smaller woman’s face so that their eyes met. "I not only gave up on you, I gave up on me, too. I walked out of the hospital a wreck that day, shattered into pieces that I still haven’t gotten all put back together. We’ve both had our crises of faith, and I’m sure we’ll have more in the future. I didn’t know how you’d react last night, either. Do you realize that? I was afraid, too. But that’s past. Let’s not waste another minute of time feeling bad about what has happened. Let’s just move on, okay?"

Jaylynn nodded. She took a deep breath. "All right. I’d like that. More than that, I’d like to move on to a shower, and I bet you’d like to finish your breakfast. After that maybe you’d better take me back to the house. I have a stash of bread bags there."

"Luella probably has one, but hey, I have another idea. How about I run you a bath? You can keep your arm out, and you could relax in the Jacuzzi. I’ll even wash this rat’s nest for you."

"Wh-wh-what?" The blonde was so taken aback she sputtered. She reached up and ran her good hand through her short-cropped hair. "What’s wrong with my hair?"

"Not a thing... if you don’t count the 22 different varieties of cowlicks."

"Very funny." Despite the mock glare she was giving Dez, Jaylynn was relieved. "Okay. I have no desire to go outside anyway. A bath would be fine - if you’ll help me, that is."

"Nothing I’d like more than helping you undress." She gave the smaller woman a wicked smile and was rewarded with a kiss.

* * *

Jaylynn sat in the center of the bench seat in Dez’s truck waiting for her partner to hurry up and fill the gas tank so that they could turn the engine back on and get the heat going. The winter weather had warmed up considerably since the day before, but it was still only ten degrees out, and the dark clouds above promised more snow soon. As far as the rookie was concerned, it was positively bone chilling when the wind blew. She stretched her sore arm out in front of her and flexed her hand, then shivered. The protective splint she now wore was lightweight with Velcro straps and gave her some extra needed support - and sort of a reminder not to do anything too sudden. Getting the cast off had been such a relief, but her sore arm was colder than the other one. I hope I never ever get hurt again. It’s been awful.

She was still full from the eggs and pancakes Dez had made earlier. If she were slightly warmer she could say she felt just fine. As it was, she thought that she still felt pretty decent - in fact, emotionally she had never been better.

The door to the mini-mart opened and one tall, long-legged woman ambled out. In the hiking boots she wore, Dez stood close to 6’2". Jaylynn watched her partner stride toward her, the bright blues eyes looking all around and taking in everything. When they came to rest on Jaylynn, neither of them could help but smile. Dez quickened her pace. Reaching the truck, she opened the door and swung up into the cab, bringing in a gust of cold air. Jaylynn gazed up at her, smiling and happy, waiting for her to shut the door.

"What?" The dark-haired woman turned the key in the ignition, and the heater kicked on.

The smaller woman sighed. "Nothing. I’m just happy."

Dez’s right hand dropped to the rookie’s thigh, and she gave it a gentle squeeze. "I’m glad. I’m happy, too." She pulled forward and out of the lot.

"I don’t know how you can go without gloves. Brrrr. I’m freezing even with ’em on."

"It’s just easier to drive. I like being able to get a good grip on the wheel." She raised her left wrist and checked her watch. "It’s easier to get to my watch, too."

"You going to be late?"

"Nope. My appointment is at 2:30, and we should be right on time."

"You positive you want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, sure - that is, if you don’t get too bored sitting in the waiting room for an hour." She changed lanes to steer around a line of cars trying to make right hand turns.

"No, I don’t mind at all. I’ve got a book to read. And besides, I would really like to meet this miracle worker who has you all excited about counseling."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let’s not go that far." Dez chuckled as she turned onto the interstate and headed downtown. "I still don’t enjoy it - not one bit."

Jaylynn made a fist around the splint with her left hand and opened her fingers again. Her whole arm felt weak, and she couldn’t hold a fist for more than a second before the muscles in her forearm screamed in pain. The doctor had said it would take several weeks of exercises to get it back to anywhere near its former strength and coordination. She wasn’t looking forward to that.

"What’s the matter?" Dez asked as she exited the freeway. "Your hand isn’t hurting, is it?"

"Not really. It just feels weak."

"I’ve got a gripper thing - a hand exerciser - that you should borrow. It helped a lot when my arm was healing. One day I could hardly grip a thing, and it seemed like just a while after, it felt back to normal." She pulled up next to a brick building and turned off the truck, then put her hands on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. "Well, here we are."

Jaylynn picked up her book from the seat next to her and tucked it under her right arm. She examined the profile of the woman sitting next to her who was gripping the wheel so hard that the veins in her hands stood out. The blonde leaned into the solid frame. She stroked the thigh nearest to her. "Dez?"

The dark-haired woman took another deep breath. "I hate this."

Jaylynn smiled, but bit back the grin. "It won’t be too bad. Come on. Let’s go before I freeze to death."

Dez groaned. "I don’t want to. You don’t know what it’s like."

The blonde reached across the bigger woman and grabbed the door handle. "Oh, yes, I do." She leaned into her companion playfully. "Are you going to make me eject you? Or are you going willingly?"

"Like a good prisoner, of course." Dez sighed and shifted over. Jaylynn prodded her in the butt as the dark-haired woman slid off the seat. "Hey! Enough of the pushy stuff."

Giggling, the blonde scooted under the steering wheel, swung her legs around to the side of the seat, and prepared to hop down from the tall truck. Dez stepped forward and grabbed her on either side of her hipbones and set her down on the icy street. Jaylynn ended up standing inches from the tall woman, a wide grin on her face, so Dez took the opportunity to lean down and plant a kiss on the smiling lips. She raised her hands up to cradle Jaylynn’s face, then broke off the kiss, glancing to either side of the deserted street.

"Don’t worry, Dez. Nobody’s looking." Jaylynn gazed up at her with an amused look on her face. "Ooh, don’t take your hands away. They’re so nice and warm." She took a deep breath, and the air that came out when she exhaled formed a small puff of smoke.

Dez gave her a gloomy look. "Nice job trying to distract me." She dropped her hands to Jaylynn’s shoulders and pulled her to the side, then shut the truck door. Gazing back at the shorter woman, she said, "Guess we better go in, huh?"

"Look at the bright side - when we’re done here, we get to go eat goodies at Luella’s." Jaylynn hooked her gloved hand around Dez’s arm, and walked next to the taller woman, off the street, and onto an even icier sidewalk. They walked carefully toward the front door of the building and into the warmth of the foyer. "I never even knew this place was here. It’s kind of nice what they can do with old warehouses these days."

Dez didn’t answer. She took off toward a door near the elevator and held it open so that the blonde could pass through and start up the stairs. By the time they reached the top, Jaylynn was peeling gloves and jacket and talking about being overly warm. Dez laughed to herself, which calmed her nerves. She couldn’t help but think, Some things never change. She’s right, too - I hope I don’t mind having this same conversation about the temperature for about the next 80 years.

Once they reached the blue door of Marie Montague’s office, though, she was nervous again. She put her coat on the hook inside the door and sat in a soft chair in the waiting room. Jaylynn hung up her down coat and sank into the chair next to her, steadying her book in her lap with her good hand. Taking a deep breath, Dez leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees, letting her hands relax, palms down. She closed her eyes and let air in and out just as Marie had taught her, concentrating on relaxing all the muscles in her chest. After a moment, she felt a warm hand on her back and peeped at the blonde sitting close to her. "What I wouldn’t give for a backrub right now."

"Lie down on the floor," Jaylynn said, amusement in her voice. "I’d be happy to oblige."

Dez let out a snort. "Yeah, right." She looked at her watch. "She’ll be opening the door any - " The wooden door popped open, and Dez was on her feet before the figure appeared before them.

"Well hello, Dez!"

The tall woman cleared her throat. "Hi, Marie. I have someone here I’d like you to meet." The rookie rose, extending her hand as Dez went on. "This is my, uh, partner, Jaylynn Savage."

The two women shook hands, both smiling broadly. "So nice to meet you, Jaylynn."

"Me, too. I’ve heard good things about you."

Marie released the blonde’s hand and looked up at Dez with a mischievous smile on her face. "You’ve heard good things, huh? Why, Dez, I’m surprised at you!"