Day 5: 9003 words, Total 59,100

Had a couple things to take care of today that took some time -- and then I pushed very hard to get to that 9,000 mark. (grin)

The story is going well, still. I'm having a great time. I can't really say much more than that!

But here's today's snippet:

Nic slid into the back seat and leaned back, hoping that Eli didn't realize how much that little fall had hurt. He ached, and he wanted to take something for it -- but not until they got back to the house. He could really relax then.

Damn Weasel. In a couple more weeks he'd maybe repay him for this.

"You okay, St. Jude?" O'Donnell asked, turning in the seat.

"Not bad," he said, then turned the conversation away from how he felt. "You are taking this far too calmly, Captain O'Donnell. I get the distinct feeling this is not the first time you've faced something like this, is it?"

"Of course not," she answered moving so that she sat sideways on the seat. "I'm a woman working in a man's world. I'm a widow and I've never made an attempt to remarry."

"And you aren't CCP," Nic added.

"Oh, most definitely not CCP," she said, nodding so abruptly that a strand of her hair came free from the bun again. "I can't be -- well, not unless I'm willing to go up on the auction block for a suitable husband."

"Auction block?" he said.

"They make a list of widows and men can choose from them if they are willing to take on the burden. I'm not willing to be on a list to have my life ruined by some slob who thinks I should be his next mother. I've seen too many women go that way in the last few years."

"I hadn't heard that one, but it doesn't surprise me," Nic said.

"I've had this kind of high school stupidity before with my car," she said, and waved a hand over toward it. "No, I'm not surprised. I'll give you some warning, St. Jude -- because you and Eli are in much the same position as I am in many ways. Sometimes you just have to let things go or you'll go insane. Though, thinking about the two of you, maybe I'm too late with that warning."

"Oh no," Nic said. "Eli is perfectly sane."

She laughed and looked better again. He grinned as well. He liked her. She made him feel... well, normal seemed to be a good term. He didn't feel self conscious around her, and for a few moments, he even forgot that he could not feel what he used to feel.

He almost let that thought drift up to the top again, but he buried it away.

"When I first joined up with Eli someone dropped a bag of drugs in our desk," Nic said. She looked, eyebrow raised. "We announced it as soon as we spotted it, and Eli started to put a call into the uniforms down stairs to come up and dust for prints."

"Oh?" she said.

"I've never seen Franks move so fast," Nic said. "He came straight across the room, grabbed the stuff from our desk and ranted and raved to everyone there about how stupid these kinds of games were. Then he went to his office and slammed the door."

"That's where Weasel picked up the door-slamming trick, huh?" she said.

"That and other things," Nic agreed.

"So, Franks planted it himself, and then had to grab it to keep from having his prints show up. My. I don't remember reading that one anywhere."

"It didn't go any farther. It didn't have to. Everyone in the office knew."

"Good point." She looked at him, head tilted. "Why are you a cop?"

"I'd say for the money, but you know how much Eli and I make and you'd know I'm lying."

She grinned and shook her had this time. "You're avoiding the question."

"No, I'm avoiding the answer," he admitted. "Sometimes you don't want to think too hard about something like this, especially when you're not in the best of moods anyway."

"Forget that I asked," she said. She seemed to understand. "There are nights when I don't dare ask myself that question either."

"I can give you one simple answer," Nic said. "And it's one that works for you as well. We do it because someone needs to, and better it's us than those who don't care at all, like the Donner and Beltons of the world."

"True," she agreed. "And since we have to live in the same world -- yeah, I'd much rather there were people like the three of us -- and most of the rest of the detectives in the office -- who are at least trying to keep things from going to hell. Or going farther to hell."

"Do you remember what it was like before the quakes?" Nic asked, curious.

"A little," she said. "That's something else it's better not to think about, because we just can't go back."

He nodded, glad to see Eli coming back to the car.