Chess (Team Angst)
Title: Opening Gambit
Author:jlm110108
Pairing/Characters: Larry Fleinhardt/Megan Reeves, Larry Fleinhardt/Lorna Ludlow
Rating/Category: G
Spoilers: "When Worlds Collide" and "Animal Rites"
Summary: Larry makes his move
Note: This fic is unbetaed because I am a procrastinator.
Larry Fleinhardt remembered the words as if it were yesterday. The day Megan Reeves had told him she was resigning from the FBI and moving to Washington, DC, he was convinced the move would not make a difference in their relationship. In fact, he had told Charlie and Amita, “Last year I was 217 miles above the Earth. Our relationship has never depended on geographic proximity.”
His friends had exchanged skeptical glances, but hadn’t dared to say anything to dispute his optimism.
Now he realized how misplaced that optimism was. He had visited Megan regularly the first few months. She hadn’t come to Pasadena to visit him. That should have been his first clue that all was not well. For a world-class physicist, he was notoriously clueless when it came to matters of the heart.
Then Megan had called to tell him that she had met someone and he had asked her to marry him. It had all happened so suddenly, she had explained, but she knew this was the right move for her. Larry bit back tears, and hoped his voice sounded calm when he congratulated her.
The night of the attack on the animal lab, and the death of Dr. Nelson Horowitz, Larry’s heart was again awakened. Dr. Lorna Ludlow had been somewhere between a colleague and a friend, leaning more towards colleague. But the night the lab had been vandalized she became something more. She had leaned on Larry, physically and emotionally, and they had had deeper discussions than they had ever had before.
Larry admired Lorna’s inquiring mind, and found her physically attractive. He hoped she felt the same way. Even after the case was solved and the vandals who had killed Nelson were under arrest, Larry and Lorna still saw each other. They would walk, talk, go to dinner, and occasionally play chess. Larry enjoyed the game, but most of his friends were substantially better at it than he was. His active mind tended to wander. Lorna gave him a good challenge, but she didn’t beat him every time they played.
One afternoon, he was going through his inbox because it was at risk of structural failure. He came across a game catalog. As he was flipping through the pages, he found a beautiful bird theme chess set. Each piece was a carefully carved and painted bird. Lorna studied birds. She would absolutely love this. He glanced at the price and cringed. But she was worth it.
After several phone calls, he found a local shop that carried the set. Lorna had invited him over for dinner and chess that evening, so he stopped at the shop on the way to her house.
“Larry! Hello!” Lorna greeted him at the door with a friendly hug. She noticed the bag in his hand immediately. “What is that?” she asked as she led the way into the dining room.
He set the package on the table. “Just a little something I thought you’d enjoy. Open it.”
Lorna smiled broadly as she reached into the bag and pulled out the box. Lifting the lid, she gasped. “Oh, Larry, these are beautiful!” She lifted the white king, a stunning peacock on a white base.
Larry beamed. “I thought you would enjoy them.”
Lorna’s expression changed, and she looked down, shaking her head. “I can’t accept this, Larry,” she said softly. “You’ve spent way too much…”
“Don’t worry about the price. I saw the set and knew you would love it. Please accept it, as a gift from one friend to another.” Larry stopped himself from explaining further and waited for her answer.
She finally met his eyes. “No strings?”
“No strings.”
“Just friends?”
Larry hesitated. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was a beginning. “Friends.”
Lorna’s smile returned. “All right then. Thank you.” She replaced the king and ran her fingers over the other pieces. “It truly is beautiful, and I’m sure you spent much more than you should have, but I do love it. Now, let’s eat.”
Please vote here!
Author:jlm110108
Pairing/Characters: Larry Fleinhardt/Megan Reeves, Larry Fleinhardt/Lorna Ludlow
Rating/Category: G
Spoilers: "When Worlds Collide" and "Animal Rites"
Summary: Larry makes his move
Note: This fic is unbetaed because I am a procrastinator.
Larry Fleinhardt remembered the words as if it were yesterday. The day Megan Reeves had told him she was resigning from the FBI and moving to Washington, DC, he was convinced the move would not make a difference in their relationship. In fact, he had told Charlie and Amita, “Last year I was 217 miles above the Earth. Our relationship has never depended on geographic proximity.”
His friends had exchanged skeptical glances, but hadn’t dared to say anything to dispute his optimism.
Now he realized how misplaced that optimism was. He had visited Megan regularly the first few months. She hadn’t come to Pasadena to visit him. That should have been his first clue that all was not well. For a world-class physicist, he was notoriously clueless when it came to matters of the heart.
Then Megan had called to tell him that she had met someone and he had asked her to marry him. It had all happened so suddenly, she had explained, but she knew this was the right move for her. Larry bit back tears, and hoped his voice sounded calm when he congratulated her.
The night of the attack on the animal lab, and the death of Dr. Nelson Horowitz, Larry’s heart was again awakened. Dr. Lorna Ludlow had been somewhere between a colleague and a friend, leaning more towards colleague. But the night the lab had been vandalized she became something more. She had leaned on Larry, physically and emotionally, and they had had deeper discussions than they had ever had before.
Larry admired Lorna’s inquiring mind, and found her physically attractive. He hoped she felt the same way. Even after the case was solved and the vandals who had killed Nelson were under arrest, Larry and Lorna still saw each other. They would walk, talk, go to dinner, and occasionally play chess. Larry enjoyed the game, but most of his friends were substantially better at it than he was. His active mind tended to wander. Lorna gave him a good challenge, but she didn’t beat him every time they played.
One afternoon, he was going through his inbox because it was at risk of structural failure. He came across a game catalog. As he was flipping through the pages, he found a beautiful bird theme chess set. Each piece was a carefully carved and painted bird. Lorna studied birds. She would absolutely love this. He glanced at the price and cringed. But she was worth it.
After several phone calls, he found a local shop that carried the set. Lorna had invited him over for dinner and chess that evening, so he stopped at the shop on the way to her house.
“Larry! Hello!” Lorna greeted him at the door with a friendly hug. She noticed the bag in his hand immediately. “What is that?” she asked as she led the way into the dining room.
He set the package on the table. “Just a little something I thought you’d enjoy. Open it.”
Lorna smiled broadly as she reached into the bag and pulled out the box. Lifting the lid, she gasped. “Oh, Larry, these are beautiful!” She lifted the white king, a stunning peacock on a white base.
Larry beamed. “I thought you would enjoy them.”
Lorna’s expression changed, and she looked down, shaking her head. “I can’t accept this, Larry,” she said softly. “You’ve spent way too much…”
“Don’t worry about the price. I saw the set and knew you would love it. Please accept it, as a gift from one friend to another.” Larry stopped himself from explaining further and waited for her answer.
She finally met his eyes. “No strings?”
“No strings.”
“Just friends?”
Larry hesitated. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was a beginning. “Friends.”
Lorna’s smile returned. “All right then. Thank you.” She replaced the king and ran her fingers over the other pieces. “It truly is beautiful, and I’m sure you spent much more than you should have, but I do love it. Now, let’s eat.”
Please vote here!