From sclark@best.com Mon Mar 16 08:55:54 1998 Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 15:18:27 -0700 From: clark To: fkfanfic@merlin.darkmage.net Subject: Season's Change Permission given to archive at fkfanfic website as well as FTP site. No other permission is granted to repost/reprint/reuse. If you're interested, drop me a line. Love it/hate it/whatever, feedback is always welcomed. This story is based on characters and situations that aren't mine. Thanks to TPTB for their use. Season's Change (01/01) by S. Clark Captain Amanda Cohen entered Nick Knight's loft. "You found them, Schanke?" Donald Schanke motioned towards the overstuffed black leather couch. "Yeah, as I figured." Seated on the couch were his partner, Nick Knight, and one of the county medical examiners, Natalie Lambert. "They look cute," commented Cohen. "Gazing into each other's eyes like that." Schanke nodded. "Yeah, but it's a bit more than that." Cohen walked over to Knight and waved a hand in front of his eyes. No movement; it didn't register. "He seems almost comatose. Any ideas, Detective?" "Well, I think I know. But it may sound a bit weird." "Of course it will, it involves Knight." "Ok, these two spend most of their time together. Work time. Off time. More than a lot of married couples. You'd think there'd be something going on between them but they keep swearing they're just," he motioned with his hands, as if making quote marks, "good friends." Cohen leaned over, resting an arm atop Knight's head. She had a feeling this explanation could take time. "Anyway, once in a while you see him looking at her, especially when he thinks she doesn't see. He kinda goes all googly-eyed." "So it's not his normal zone out?" "Nah, there's the standard vapid stare, the one you mean. Then there's the Janette-just-licked-my-tonsils smiling reminisce. The look I'm talking about is more puppy-dog-crossed-with-catatonia." "So that's a milder form of," she waved her hand at the two figures. "That's my theory. But see, it's not just him, it's Lambert, too." "The doctor is always a professional around the precinct." "True, but sometimes, I see the two of them standing off alone. Like over a body at an autopsy or some other semi-private moment. And during these times she can be looking at him like my Uncle George used to look at a t-bone, if you catch my drift." "Ok, so how does that explain our current predicament?" "Well, every so often there comes the rare time where she's staring at him, then he stares back at her not waiting until she's not looking. And they spend these angsty moments, sometimes going on days, desiring each other yet repressing their feelings." "So this state, these two just staring wistfully into each other's eyes, is one big lust feedback loop?" "Yup, Captain, that's how I call it." "So what can we do?" "You might try hitting Nicola over the head with a large, blunt object." It was a woman's voice, coming from the top of the stairs. "Janette. How did you get in?" "Detective Schanke. How pleasant to see you." Janette turned to Captain Cohen. "And you must be Nicola's boss." "You're a friend of Knight's?" Janette sighed. "There was a time when he held that stare only for me." "And how could you tell those times from normal?" murmured Cohen. Although she didn't think she'd spoken loud enough to be heard, she could have sworn the elegant, dark-haired woman hissed at her. "You think knocking him upside the head would work?" Schanke asked. "Probably not." Janette shrugged. Schanke was relieved. He did guess that his partner was rather thick skulled but he wasn't in a hurry to test the theory. 'Let his next partner do that,' he mused. Janette walked over to Schanke and began to finger the lapel of his sports jacket. "Perhaps I should borrow your pistol instead." Schanke could feel a cold sweat forming on his upper lip. Cohen broke the tension. "Ok, so we know of no way to rectify this state?" Schanke shrugged and edged back from Janette who was giving him a predatory smile. "Uh..." he cleared his throat. "Last time..." He cleared his throat again. Janette plopped into the arm chair letting go of all pretense of grace and decorum. "Last time they got like this CBS canceled us. It took eighteen months to get new episodes into syndication." "Eighteen months? I don't have that kind of time to wait around." Cohen leaned over and shouted into Nick's ear. "Knight! Will you just wake up and have sex with the coroner? That's an order!" Nothing. No movement. Janette pouted. "Him I can understand. But her," she gestured at Natalie. "She's an intelligent woman. She should know better." "I should know better," muttered Schanke. "Why am I always waiting around on this guy's hormones? I'm going home to my family." He turned to leave. Cohen started walking towards the lift. "Good idea, Schanke. I wouldn't mind seeing my husband, also." Schanke looked back at Janette. "You staying?" Janette walked up to Nick and smacked the back of his head. She shrugged. "Nothing. Just as I suspected." She joined the others. "No, I might as well go, also. After all, if it's not me Nicola is falling into a trance for when we are the two on this show who have sex, how can I compete?" "You and Nick? Are... you know..." Janette raised an eyebrow at Schanke. "Doing the horizontal tango?" "Schanke," warned the Captain. The three of them stepped onto the lift. "But Captain, this is getting good." The lift door closed.