A Dog, A Hat, A Homecoming

Author: atotaltotalfan

E-mail: atotaltotalfan2001@yahoo.com

Summary: A July Nicfic Challenge story, using the words bohemian,
duchess, and leech.

Author's Notes: Many thanks to Suzanne Moore and Cecilia Hererra for
their kind words and editing of my first fan fic. P.S. Sorry about
the weird title. Couldn't think of anything else!



It had been another long day and Nick was dead tired.
His workload at Fallin and Fallin was killing him, but
things were even worse at LSP, now that Lulu was gone.
Just the thought of it weighed him down. He'd been so
upset that he hadn't said a word to her before she left.
Now she was in San Francisco, and had been for three
weeks.


He pushed through the back door, bracing for the
deafening silence that had greeted him every night
since they'd broken up. Instead, something pounced on
him -- a small gray furry thing. Went headlong, straight into
his gut.

"Hey...hey....get off me!" He didn't know whether he
was more stunned or irritated. But he was definitely
both. What was a dog doing in his house? It was ugly,
all matted and dirty. A bouncing ball, jumping up and
down, up and down, yipping -- and leaving a watery
trail of something on his trousers. Was that urine?

"Duchess! Duchess! Come here."

Nick froze. Lulu?

Yes, Lulu. Standing in his kitchen. Huh?

"Sorry about that," she said. She gingerly approached
Nick, managed to grab the fur ball in mid leap, and
then stepped away, putting distance between them. He
couldn't move. Couldn't think. For sure couldn't
speak. She seemed nervous, though. Awkward, like she
was sometimes around him, back before they were
together.

"Well." She cleared her throat. "So, what am I doing
here, right? Umm..... I'm back." She gave him a forced smile and then
threw her hands up, like *Viola!*

"I left the clinic. It just wasn't the right set up,"
she continued. "Great place, I love San Francisco. But
I just felt...well, we didn't mesh, I mean the clinic
and me. You know....?" she trailed off, bit her lip...realized this
wasn't going the way she had hoped. Why didn't he say something? Did
he still hate her?

Oh, god. This is a mistake, she thought. Oh god,
Duchess went pee on his suit.

"Anyway, it was sort of a quick decision, and I just
got on a plane and then I realized...well, you know,
Nick, I sold the house. I couldn't think of anywhere
to go. And then I remembered I still had your key. I
mean, hotels won't let you bring pets, usually. And
the problem is that I have a dog now, to keep me
company. This is Duchess," she ended, lamely, letting
the dog down. Duchess took off for parts unknown.
"But obviously, you've already met."

Nick stared. Did she say she's back? His mind was
both numb and reeling. For how long? Does she hate
me? I was such an ass, never said good bye. I couldn't.
Too much pain. Too much anger. In his imagination, she
came back and groveled. Now she was here, he didn't
know why and didn't care. Although he should. Nick
remembered how much he had wanted revenge.

He still hadn't said a word.

"Look, don't worry. I won't stay here long. I
certainly wouldn't leech off you like that," she continued.

He could tell she was getting irritated, but mostly he
thought she was still just nervous. He knew by
the way she bit her lip, the tiny furrow in her brow.
He knew that look so well. He felt himself start to
breath again. She was wearing something on her head,
he realized. A beret? It looked so silly he wanted
to smile.

He realized the woman shifting from foot to foot in
front of him truly was Lulu. It was really her.

"It's okay," he said quietly, now that he could
finally form words.

"I'll pay to have your suit dry cleaned, OK? Jeeze Nick, you're
such a pain. I mean, I'm sorry I've interrupted your sanctuary
here." Now she really was mad at him. He could see
that. Knew that look really, really well. "This is just so like
you. You could say hi at least."


He heard the slight tremor in her voice, and
recognized that, too. He moved closer, and then, slowly, closer
still.

"It's okay, Lulu." He hovered so close now she
could smell him, feel his warmth. His fingers tilted
her chin back slightly so he could look into her eyes.

And there it was -- that slightly dazed expression that overtook her
when they were together, when he was about to touch her. It was his
favorite expression of all.

He took her head in his hands and kissed her
softly, felt her relax and soften into him.

He slid the hat off, and tossed it on the kitchen
table. "Interesting hat. Very Bohemian."

"I really am sorry about your pants," she whispered.
He was nuzzling her earlobes, her neck, starting to
move further down.....

"Lulu, it's all right," he said, moving her hands to his
belt buckle. "Who needs pants anyway?"

The End