Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

"I met her working on the Shadow case." Deciding to downplay it and hopefully satisfy her mother's curiosity, she continued, "Tony's lived here for a while now."

"Is she the FBI agent whose picture was in the paper with yours? The one you went on vacation with?" Barbara asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes." Megan said, correctly deducing that Ashley must have told her that, but offering no further explanation.

She couldn't have lived there that long then. The article about her in the paper said she was new to Cleveland. "Ok. It was just a bit of a shock to hear someone else answer your phone." A thought suddenly occurred to Barbara. "Megan… you know if you need any money we could help you out."

Megan frowned, wondering where her mother had gotten that idea. "Thanks Mom, but my money situation is fine."

"Well, I just thought since you had gotten a roommate…" Barbara trailed off.

Megan’s brow furrowed and she pursed her lips. Holding her anger in check, she said, "Mom, I don’t have a roommate because I’m short of money."

"Well, just remember we’re here for you if you need some help. It’s nothing to be ashamed of." Barbara couldn't think of any other reason her daughter would have a roommate. There had to be some problem. Since Megan had left home, she’d always lived by herself.

Megan’s anger briefly surfaced, and her words flowed forth unchecked, "If my roommate was a guy, would you still think I needed money?"

Smacking her lips together in a disapproving sound, Barbara stated what she thought was obvious. "That’s different."

Sighing, Megan said, "No it’s not." Deciding to end the conversation, she added, "I’ll see you Saturday."

"Ok, dear. Bye." Barbara shook her head. She should have known better. Megan would never admit she needed help. She was too independent.

Megan glanced at Tony. "I can’t believe she thinks you live here because I need money. That’s my parents’ answer to everything." Megan paused and met Tony’s eyes. "One part of me wants to just tell them about us, but I know how narrow minded they are. They would never understand."

"If you think it would cause problems, there’s really no need to say anything about it," Tony said. She didn't want Megan to do anything that would make her uncomfortable or further strain her relationship with her parents.

"I know. But I would like to tell them. It would be so nice if they would accept the fact that we are together, like your mother did." Shaking her head, and looking down, she said, "Unfortunately, I just can’t envision that."

Tony reached over and put her hand under Megan's chin urging her partner's head up. Looking into the troubled hazel eyes, she said, "Hey.

Come on. "Don’t worry about it. There will be plenty of time to tell them if you decide to." Smiling and winking at her, Tony added, "I don’t plan on going anywhere."

Some of the stress faded from Megan’s face and the corners of her mouth turned up. Tony certainly wasn’t the most talkative person she’d ever met, but she sure knew how to make her words count. Leaning over, Megan kissed her and said, "Good."

Megan peeled off the surgical gloves and dropped them in the garbage can, having just finished her only case for the day. The woman had been found dead in her home from unknown causes. Megan had quickly located the cause of death as an aneurysm in the brain. The woman had only been 36 years old. Megan had long ago realized you didn’t take anything for granted, and it had been really driven home over the weekend.

She thought back over her conversation earlier with David. She had told him about Tony’s accident and he had shaken his head in disbelief.

He had commented that sometimes life was stranger than fiction, but it was amazing that no one had seen the impatient person who had caused the whole thing by shoving so hard. Considering how many people had been on the platform, Megan didn’t find it unusual at all.

Megan went to the locker room and changed out of her scrubs into her street clothes. A quick check of her inbox revealed a message from

Tony. Smiling, she picked up the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello."

"Hi," Megan said, smiling into the phone. "I just got your message."

Tony smiled at the sound of her partner's voice. "Do you have time for lunch? I could come and pick you up whenever you’re free," she said, already missing Megan even though she hadn’t started her new shift yet.

"Sounds great," Megan said, delighted at the chance to see her lover again today. "How about 12:30?"

"I’ll be there," Tony answered, pleased that Megan wasn't too busy to go to lunch.

David walked in and sat down. Megan looked up and said, "What’s up?" knowing instinctively that her friend had something on his mind.

Flopping into the chair, David said, "Mike went to the doctor Friday."

"Is he ok?" Megan asked, concerned.

David smiled and said, "Yeah. But it turns out he’s allergic to cats. He tested negative on everything else, but we’re going to have to find a home for the kittens. So, I was wondering if you knew anyone who might like them? We’d really like to place them together. But I want a really good home. We’re going to miss them."

While he was talking, David pulled an envelope out of his pocket. Pulling a photograph out of it, he handed it to Megan saying, "I’m going to take this to Trading Times this afternoon. For just $10.00 extra they’ll put the picture in."

Megan looked at the picture of the kittens. One of the kittens was black with a white face. It had a splash of white on the chest and white stockings extending halfway up the front legs. The other kitten looked like an artist had taken black, orange and beige, and just splotched them arbitrarily over her back. Her chest, face, and legs were all white. The mismatch of color extended up to the top of her head giving the appearance of a hat.

"Ooh. They’re so cute!" All of a sudden Megan had an idea. But wonder what Tony would think about it? "Can I borrow this picture until after lunch? I want to show it to Tony."

"Sure," David said, hoping this meant what he thought it might. "They’re really good kittens. You wouldn’t even know they were around," pausing, he added, "well… most of the time."

Megan laughed at the look on his face. She knew that the kittens were probably a hand full. "Yeah, right," she said smiling.

Megan was waiting outside the building when Tony arrived. Walking over to the Buick, she opened the door and got in. Looking at Tony, she smiled and said, "Hi."

Tony smiled back at her partner. "Hi, yourself. Where do you want to go?"

Megan didn't really care where they went. She just wanted to enjoy some time with Tony. "How about Isabella’s? That’s close, and it’ll give us more time."

"Ok." Tony said, maneuvering the car away from the building, and merging with the traffic on the street. A few minutes later they arrived at the restaurant.

Following the hostess to a table, they sat down and ordered coffee before perusing the menu.

"I’m going to have the chicken breast salad. That’s always good," Megan said, laying down the menu.

Tony laid down her menu and said, "Then I'll have that too."

After placing their orders, Megan looked at Tony and asked, "Is a dog the only pet you had when you were a kid?"

Setting her coffee down, Tony wondered what prompted this question. "Yes. Why?"

Smiling at the questioning look on Tony's face, Megan asked, "Do you like cats?"

Playing along, Tony said, "Yes. They’re ok. I like most animals. Why? Do you want to get a cat?" She knew Megan must have some reason for asking.

Megan grinned, and said, "Sort of." She took the picture of the kittens out of her purse and handed it to Tony. "Aren’t they cute?"