Alarm Drops and Dryers

"Are you OK? You have been distant lately. Did I do something? Allie?"Allie was looking out the window."Yes, Alex, I'm OK. I know I have been distant, but you didn't do anything," Alex said to himself in a high-pitched voice."What?""Allie, where have you been for the last week? I feel like you're pulling away from me.""I know. I'm sorry. I think we need---""Any units in the area of 1642 Wesley?" the dispatcher radioed."C-327 is right around the corner," Alex radioed back."We got off five minutes ago. Can't we please just go home?""Yeah, but it's shift change, so a limited number of shops are on the road. We'll give them a little bit of our free time.""C-327, we have an alarm at that location. The house is vacant and is currently up for sale. The alarm is coming from the garage man door.""10-4 put us 10-23 on scene.," he said."Alex, I need...""I'll take the second floor; you take the first," he said.They entered the house through the open door, guns drawn. Alex headed upstairs while Allie cleared the first floor, checking rooms and closets. She then quietly made her way down to the basement. She cleared the basement.Alex was upstairs. He walked down the hall, weaving in and out of the rooms. The house was magnificent compared to what he had. He wished that he could buy this house and live with Allie till the day he took his last breath to say I love you. He walked into the final room. It was pink with little bunnies on the wall. There was a height chart next to the door where someone named Marie had been measured till she was four and was 42 inches tall. His heart ached a little for the parents who left the little girls' past behind. He wanted children so very much. Like he had told Allie he wanted as many children as he could afford or his wife was willing to bear. When she told him that she couldn't have children, he said it didn't matter. He wanted to be with her no matter what she could and could not have. But deep down, he was hoping for a miracle. Deep down, we wanted to have a family. He wanted to have that family with her.He holstered his weapon. He took one last look around.She heard Alex at the top of the steps."Allie? Everything good down there?" he called."Everything is clear. Nothing but a washer and a dryer," she called back.She heard his heavy steel-toe boots coming down the stairs. The thunk-thunk on the stairs echoed throughout the empty basement."This is a pretty nice house. You should see the upstairs, spacious bedrooms with huge closets. The main bathroom has a jetted tub. Let's look into what they are asking. There's a room that would make a perfect..."He stopped. He was going to say nursery, but he caught himself.Allie was holstering her weapon."A perfect what?""Office. It would make a perfect office.""Alex, we're cops. What do we need an office for?" she asked. "Besides, owning a house together would be a huge commitment. Besides, you have a house.""Yes, my house. I picked it out myself. I was hoping maybe one day we could pick one out together."I understand where you are coming from, but we haven't even been together that long," she said."Four seconds, four minutes, four days, four weeks, or four months; I don't care how long it's been; I know that God put you in front of me to be with me. We're supposed to be together. Why can't you see that? I was the jugador. I had any woman that I walked up to, and all I had to do was say hello. I'm not saying that to be vain or to toot my own horn or think that I'm hot shit. But no woman ever said no, and I know no man would ever say no to you. We are meant to be together. I don't understand why you can't see that.""I got a good idea. Why don't we drop the Subject.""You're right, I'm sorry. You know, there's just something about a woman with a gun that is so sexy.""You think this is sexy? You should have seen me with my rifle," she said with a smile."You know what I would love to see? You in your dress, Blues.""I haven't put those on since Malibu's funeral.""Maybe it's time to make a new and better memory in them."Please don't say you want to get married and have me in my dress blues."She thought, please don't say you want me to get married at all."Well, now that you mentioned it, the thought never really crossed my mind, but... that wasn't where I was going with this. I've been meaning to ask you, but my cousin's getting married. I was hoping you would come with me. Meet my family.""Meet your family. Isn't that kind of a serious thing?" she asked."I thought we were kind of serious.""Well, I guess you can say we are exclusive.""Then come with me," he said."Meeting your family is a big step in a relationship. Let me think about it, OK?" she asked."Sure, no problem. But it is in two weeks.""Apparently, you've been meaning to ask me for a while.""I just didn't want to scare you off. You're right; it is a big deal. It's like an audition to see if you fit in with the family. But please don't be worried. My mom is going to love you so much. If Madre loves you, you're in the family. And I want you to become part of my family.""Alex, very few things on this earth scare me."And meeting your family is definitely one of them, she thought."Oh really?" he asked.He came up close to her. He gave her his beautiful smile."So, we're exclusive, huh?""Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't slept with anyone else in quite a while," she said."Ah yes, the one-nighter with Shane.""Shawn.""Yeah, whatever. Don't care."He kissed her heavily on the mouth."What are you doing? We're in the middle of a call.""As soon as we say we're all clear, we're no longer on the call, and if I remember correctly, we were off 10 minutes ago."He used his body weight to push her gently, and she started walking back towards the dryer. He continued to kiss her the entire time. She was pinned between him and the dryer."Alex, what are you doing?" she asked."To put it in the simplest terms, I'm going to fuck you. Right here. Right now.""Oh, I don't think so. That's not a good idea."She thought it was a great idea, but I can't do this to you anymore.He started to unbutton her keepers. He slowly snapped each button off the loops that held her duty belt to the belt on her pants."Mi Vida. We should not be doing this," she said."I love it when you call me that. My Cara Mia."He took off her duty belt and put it on the washer. The heavy metal hitting the lid echoed throughout the empty basement. He followed in kind.He undid her pants and slid them over her hips to the floor."Well, I have never seen these before."He snapped at the pair of fire engine red lace panties. He pulled her shirt open, each snap coming undone in sequence. Underneath, she was wearing a matching red lace bra."Oh, dear God, Alex," she said as he started kissing her breasts."I don't think we should be doing this.""All you have to do is say no.""Shouldn't we call in the all-clear? We don't need another shop arriving," she said.He stopped for a moment."That's a good idea. Call in the all clear."He went back to kissing her bodyShe picked up the radio and keyed the mic."C327 is all clear 10-8. We will secure the house. C327 is 10-24 out of service."They stared at each other for a moment. Alex's eyes were begging her for some attention. He wanted to be with her, and she knew it was a bad idea. She knew what was coming next. She dreaded what was coming next."I'm saying no," she said."What?""I'm saying no.""What the hell is going on with us, Alexsandra? You haven't touched me for a week. We barely have conversations anymore. What is going on?" he asked. "Allie, Is there someone else?""No. Absolutely not. You know I would never do that to you. I would never do that to anybody."You know if you want out, all you have to do is say it. I will not hold you hostage.""I know," she said"OK. Then we have an understanding.""It's not that I don't want you. I do, but...""Then take me. Take what you want," Allie heard him whisper. "I love you so much. I have never felt this strongly for anyone. Please tell me you love me too."She lifted her head and looked horrified."I think we should get going."She started to get dressed."Oh my God, Allie, did I say something wrong? I just said I love you. What's wrong? Do you not love me, too? You don't have to say it back to me."He took a couple of steps back. He watched her as she got redressed hastily.He was confused and dumbfounded. He knew saying I love you was a big deal, but he never thought she would react quite like this. He knew her past. He knew how she felt. He knew how he felt and had felt that way for a while now. He couldn't restrain himself anymore. He needed her to know.He was snapping his last keeper when he got to the shop. She was already looking out the window.They drove for a minute in uncomfortable silence."Allie, I'm sorry.""You know how I said very few things that scare me. That's one of the few things. You know that, Alex. Why did you have to say that? I know you want me to say it back now that you've said it. And if I can't say it back, I know you won't want to be with me. Trust me.""You know that's not true. I am not Shawn. I will be with you no matter what. You never have to say it to me. Just make me feel it. I wanna be with you.""Apparently, I am not particularly good at the whole more than words thing. I tried so hard to let Shawn know I loved him without saying it, and we saw how that turned out. I don't think I can. And you're talking about me becoming part of your family. It's a lot in one day.""We are so good together; you know we're good together. And you know it's not just the sex. We had so much fun. Remember when we went to Cedar Point? It was the best day of my life because it was the day that I knew that we could be together. And we've been through so much to be together. Please don't throw it away because I opened my mouth and said something. Life is about taking chances. And taking a chance on love is the ultimate challenge.""Maybe it's for the best," she said."For the best? I can't---"She cut him off."I'm leaving the fourth.""What? You're leaving the fourth? When did you decide to do that? Did you get another call from the Corps? Did they offer you more money or something? You told me that you were not going to take the job.""No, I am not taking the job with the Corps. I decided to leave when I found out I had passed the detective exam. I'm going to the sixth. They have an opening in their bureau.""The detective exam? The sixth? You're going to be a sixer? Why didn't you tell me this?" he asked, visibly hurt."I'm telling you right now.""Allie.""I was going to tell you. I didn't know when or how. I guess now's the time," she said.He pulled the shop into the lot."When are you going?""In two days. I am going to start my orientation with my new partner."He stopped the shop, got out, and started pacing. He was aggressively running his fingers through his hair."Two days? Two fucking days! Why did you wait so long to tell me? How did I not know about this beforehand? Now, what am I going to do for a partner?"She got out."I guess they will find you a float. Lucas should be back soon. I heard maybe by the end of the week. Things can go back to normal. Like they were before we even met.""I don't want normal. I want something complicated and confusing. I want excitement and wonderment. I want pain and pleasure. I want you. I want us. Why don't you want us?""I do want us. Us. All of me and All of you. Not All of you and what's left of me at the end of the day," she said."Can you at least tell me who's your new partner?" he asked."His name is Bruss. Patrick, I think.""Well, at least I know he's a good guy. I've run into him a few times at Jake's. I'm going to miss seeing you every day. I love having you as my partner. That's all I ever wanted is to be your partner."He was so hurt. Allie could see it in his face. It's the same look she had when she found out what Shawn had been doing behind her back."I'm going to be busy with training and getting acclimated to the new station and position. I am just not going to have time. I was told that even though you are scheduled from 8:00 to 5:00, you will never leave on time. I've done a job where I am never home or when I am drinking, eating, or sleeping. You deserve someone who can give you all their attention. I won't be able to," she explained."Then I will take whatever I can get. Cara Mia, I would rather spend twenty minutes a day with you than not have you in my life at all.""I have been through this. It only causes animosity. Shawn and I---""JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, ALEXSANDRA, I AM NOT SHAWN! HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO TELL YOU THAT!""Alex," her voice was shaking. "You have never spoken to me like that before. I haven't been spoken to like that since I left boot camp.""We can still talk. Still be friends. At least we don't have to worry about crossing paths," she said."No, Allie, we can't. I can't be friends with you. I am so in love with you I can't just be friends.""Maybe after we are apart for a little while, we can revisit the idea?" she asked."No. I can't just let you go. Please. It would be a huge travesty if we split up.""I want you to find someone who will say I love you twenty times a day. I want you to find someone who will dedicate their life to you. Please find someone who isn't afraid to become part of your family. Someone who can... who can give you a child.""Can you say it just once? Please? Say I love you, Alex. Whisper it into my ear.""No. Because I would mean it, and then I would lose you forever.""You need to work on this phobia, Allie. That's all it is: a phobia. You think you are going to say it, and I am going to die? That I am going to be out of your life? That is total bullshit."She got out of the shop."It's more like PTS Alex. I have linked those words to death and heartbreak. So, if you want to call it a phobia, I can accept that. If that makes you feel better, then fine. And I have worked on it. I have been through so much therapy," she said. "I'll be by to get my things at some point."She got into the shop."Please go back to the station. We are off, and I have two days off that I would like to---""Please say spend it with me," Alex begged."Mi Vi---""No. Please don't call me that. If I really were Your Life, you would never even consider doing this to us."They rode in silence till they got back to the fourth. They stripped the shop and turned in their gear."Alex, I am sorry this went down how it did. I need to do what I have wanted to do, which is become a detective. And I don't see us working out. I'm sorry.""What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?""Goodbye is always an option. Take care. Good luck. Till we meet again.""How about... whatever."He turned to walk away."I'm sorry, Alex.""Again... whatever."