The Hat Trick

by Tara Wimble

  Janice eyes the piece on Hope’s hip with a little awe. “Used that tonight?”

  Hope glances at her. “Nope.” She passes some change into the tips jar before Jasmine gets to them. Janice blinks over that. How many jobs does this girl have? “But my ticket book on the other hand...”

  Janice perches up on one of the stools at the counter while Hope buys her a drink. She’s flipping over that part too. Janice figures the wink Jasmine threw Hope when she thought Janice wasn’t looking is a good sign.

  “So, what? You hand out speeding tickets for fun?” Janice tries to stop swinging her legs against the counter because it’s not helping Hope’s image of her being young. It’s not her fault her feet don’t touch the bar though.

  “For now.”

  Janice watches Jasmine juggle her cup and napkins behind the scenes. “I’d pictured you more of a vigilante cop y’know. Fighting crime one punk ass criminal at a time.”

  Hope raises her eyebrow. Damn. “One ‘punk ass criminal at a time’?”

  Janice shrugs but shifts to the edge of her seat. This was the real reason she came in search of Hope tonight, the hot chocolate is just a bonus.

  “I was.” Hope plasters on a fake smile when she spots Janice leaning forward. If she wasn’t sure she had the upper hand in this meeting, she’d think Hope knew exactly what she was doing.

  A pause plagues Hope’s words and Janice nervously swings her legs harder. Grimacing when she stubs her toe.

  “Your partner, she seems nice. Young.” Janice splutters. Hope raises her eyebrow at the added comment wondering what’s being implied. “I mean. She’s the Robin right?”

  “You’re really digging aren’t you?” Hope’s amusement is the only thing keeping Janice from throwing herself out of the door and wishing for the day to restart. “Batman metaphors? Really?”

  “I’m totally down to keep playing that metaphor if it’s working.” Janice points out.

  Hope tugs at the cuffs on her sleeve. It would be a twitch on anyone else, but everything Hope seems to do just makes her appear more confident. Janice knows that she manages to keep that composure even when tying running shoes or dodging dogs in the park. “Alright, Harley-”

  “That’s offensive.”

  “Is it?”

  “...”

  Hope’s radio crackles and the two of them jump out of their joking manner. When neither of them hear Vianne call for her they fall back.

  Janice runs with honesty. “I may have, googled you.”

  “Oh.” Hope exhales. There’s a glint of something under the sound that makes Janice regret admitting that instead of coming directly to her like this and just-

  “I was, I didn’t mean to I just-” A short laugh bursts from her lips. “You’re basically Batman, or Bruce Wayne, and you could probably tell me when my sister’s birthday was but I don’t even know your dad’s name.”

  A noticeable shift occurs and Hope’s fist clenched tightly. White seeps into her knuckles and Janice leans back suddenly at how still Hope gets.

  “I’m sorry.” She panics. Too fast. Too soon. Too shit this wasn’t meant to happen like this. What if she’s ruined everything-

  “I’m being punished. This is all a probation of sorts.” Hope states very slowly. The words come out and she relaxes again, bit by bit. “Because I do my job the way it should be done. The way we should all do it.”

  Janice doesn’t push. She can see the flight in Hope’s eyes after mentioning her dad and her excessive googling has already given her the tragic creation story.

  Hope Sorenson graduated the top of her class from the academy. Fastest. Strongest. Quick to learn and quicker to speak her mind sometimes. An eleven year career leading up to making detective for some prestigious division in the LAPD that Janice didn’t read properly.

  Determined, hard-working, committed and experienced.

  Until about fourteen months ago.

  There had been an incident involving a shooting in one of the places in L.A that Janice’s actively tried to avoid. Hope had taken a shot to the shoulder as a first respondent before saving her partner, Bri Scully, from the line of fire. The reports she’d found say that Hope had also taken down the shooter in the process.

  Janice won’t lie. She’s looking at Hope with awe behind her eyes because who wouldn’t get caught up in the whirlwind of press that followed. Detailing the story, her bravery, her accomplishment-

  None of that had mattered after the dust had settled. Hope’s division head had called for an inquiry after Scully had reported ordering back up and Hope disobeying a direct order to do what she did. Even if it resulting in saving Scully’s life.

  The inquiry found Hope in the wrong. Set her out of the running for the promotion. Left her without a partner. 11 years down the drain.

  The local news reports about it seemed pretty pissed off about it all too when the story came out after the hearing. Local hero cast as villain. Janice couldn’t get the picture of Hope outside the court after her reprimand hearing out of her head.

  She’d saved someone’s life.

  “How much did you read?”

  “Enough.” Janice replies. “Sorry.”

  Hope taps the top of her coffee cup. She hasn’t taken a drink since they came in here. “Don’t be. Curious mind. I’m glad that school is teaching you something.”

  Janice ducks her head to stifle her grin. “Young minds n’all.”

  Hope glimpses at her oddly when she says that but when Janice looks up, the expression has disappeared again.

  “Is that why you came to see me?”

  “No.” Janice states. Her blush beats her words. “I just wanted to see you.”

  “Yeah?” Hope picks up her cup. There’s a definite smile she’s hiding there that encourages Janice on. She kicks her feet, no longer feeling self-conscious, as she keeps eye contact.

  “Why else would I be wandering around this late at night?”

  “Starting more fights?”

  “It was one time.”

  “Better be.”

  “Does this mean I can’t ride in the squad car anymore?”

  “If you want to explain to Vianne how you ended up there the first time. Then sure.” Hope shrugs. “But I’m pretty sure she’d be laughing too much for you to open the car.”

  “Or she’d be woo’d by my bravery.”

  “Not sure her girlfriend would like that.”

  The mention pinches in Janice’s chest, the way realizing pretty girls being in love with other pretty girls always does. A light happiness at the thought of it all.

  “I guess I’ll just have to keep trying to impress you then.” Janice challenges. No sooner are her words out does Hope’s radio spark to life.

  ‘Sorenson, we have a code thirty ringer by the campus. We’re the nearest response.’ Vianne barks out the code and Janice watches as Hope’s face turns with disappointment.

  “Code thirty ringer, what?” Janice shakes her head.

  “Someone’s tripped an alarm in one of the residential buildings off campus.” Hope switches off the radio and picks up her coat. “We have to go and check it out.”

  “Oh.”

  Hope’s move to walk away stops abruptly when she realizes Janice isn’t following. “How are you getting home?”

  The street lights have started to come on and Vianne has switched on the squad car blues already. Janice stumbles. “I was gonna walk?”

  Hope frowns. “Grab your stuff. We’ll take you home.”

  Getting to ride along to a call isn’t the thrilling adventure she’s always imagined. It’s not even as good as one of her many dreams featuring her, Hope and the back seat, but Vianne’s enthusiasm keeps them going. Janice sits in the back while they pull up to one of the student houses.

  Hope doesn’t say a word as she leaves to step out. Janice can see lights and hear music blaring inside and knows, like Hope and Vianne do, that this is a dud call. Some kids must have accidentally tripped the ala
rm in their parent’s uber fancy house and alerted them to it.

  Vianne is the first to come back, kicking a beach ball out of the lawn, before settling into the car and confirming what she pretty much guessed anyway. “Hope’s trying to call the kid’s mom. He’s like sixteen. He’s just lucky there’s no alcohol around.”

  Hope falls back a few minutes later, putting away her notebook as she does so.

  “We’ll swing on to campus to drop Janice off.” Hope tells Vianne when she climbs back in the car. She glances back at her in the mirror. “Then call in and tell them we’re clear.”

  “Will do.” Vianne pulls down the visor in the car and Janice catches a glimpse of Vianne and another girl in a picture clipped there. She looks away, suddenly feeling like she’s intruding.

  The ride back doesn’t see them pulled into any high speed chases, to her disappointment, but leaves her with more and more questions. A probationary period lasting up to a year, saddling her with a new partner and having to basically start her career from scratch all for the grace of saving her partner and her life.

  Where was the justice in that?

  Janice only snaps out of her thoughts when Hope pulls open the door for her to climb out.

  Vianne says a short goodbye before leaning to get something out of the glove compartment. Hope grasps her hand to help her out and Janice is struck dizzy by everything all at once.

  The picture most of the news reporters had used in their coverage of Hope’s story wasn’t her police academy picture but one of a previous case in which she’d assisted some fire fighters. Hope is staring out over the scene of a recently put out fire, leaning against the truck, while someone tended to something on her arm.

  She’s not looking at anyone. Just focused and calm and just thinking about it sends signals to places Janice wants to groan about.

  And then Janice’s thumb brushes Hope’s chin like she’s done this before. With purpose and just enough warning for Hope’s eyes to go wide and jolt from her touch. The fire extinguished.

  Hope swallows. “Oh-”

  “I’m sorry.” Janice freezes. Her stomach dropping to the floor out of sheer embarrassment. “I’m so sorry-”

  Hope’s hard glare flickers to Vianne’s window and she lowers her voice, interrupting her with a strong hand on her shoulder. “I’m on duty.”

  “What?”

  “Alright?” Hope’s fingers knead into the side of her neck and the words push into her skin. “I’m on duty right now. I can’t do this right now. Okay?”

  “Okay?” Janice repeats in confusion. The rejection stings. The words sink in. “Oh.”

  Hope closes the door to the squad car. When Vianne doesn’t appear in the window, Hope pulls her hand back and traces it over Janice’s forehead.

  “Alright?” Hope asks again picking apart Janice’s embarrassment and replacing it with a reassurance for something they can’t quite name yet.

  That’s enough for her right now. To feel Hope touching her lightly and restrained and promising. Opening up. “Yeah. I’m good.” She laughs, easing off the former feeling. “I’m good.”

  Hope nods and the hand on her head is heavier for a second.

  “Don’t linger out here. Get home before we leave.”

  “I will.”

  Hope circles the car to her side, but before she opens the door she rolls her eyes over the top of it. “I can see you blushing from here, y’know.”

  “Shut up.” Janice combats weakly. Hope clicks the door open and their private conversation ends. But still- “Call me when you finally get off duty.”

  Hope grins. “We’ll finish this another time McPherson.”

  The door closes and Hope becomes unreachable again. Janice wants that time now.

  She doesn’t see the squad car leave until she’s safely inside her building. Pressing her face to the window to see the lights disappear to finally let out a sigh of everything she’s bottled up. It takes a moment to get her legs together before she starts her way to her room.

  Janice sneaks past Santos’s room on the way in, carefully not waking her up like usual, before she unlocks her dorm room. Dim light in the dark from Robin’s bedside greets her. Janice almost relaxes and continues the route to her bed with her usual disregard for Robin’s sleep, to collapse and think about what just happened, until she spots two heads resting against a single pillow rather than one.

  Robin, even though she’s sharing with Lexie, is laying on her stomach with her mouth partly open, snoring lightly. Lexie has somehow managed to claim enough space to rest on her side, with her head resting on the part of Robin’s arm not hiding under the pillow.

  Janice somehow manages to stay silent while she internally loses her mind with echoes of ‘I KNEW IT’.

  Chapter 5

  It seems like a perfect moment, caught in the light air of the morning coming through the window, yet Lexie has to move. Away from Robin’s soft skin and the way her eyes flutter in her dream. She may not be wearing a watch but she knows that she hasn’t got long before she has to get to class.

  It takes another second, and her thumb glancing over Robin’s chin before Lexie rolls away to look across the room in search of her jacket and shoes.

  The gleaming face of Janice McPherson’s meets her directly, sitting crossed legged on her bed, with a bowl of cereal in her hands looking like the cat that got the cream and anything else it chased after. “Well, good morning, Jameson.”

  If there was ever a grin that personified smugness, Janice’s face would be it right now.

  Lexie freezes.

  Janice shovels a spoonful of breakfast into her mouth before pointing. “Your shoes are under the chair and I folded up your jeans on the drawer.”

  Lexie blinks. Janice was like one of those animals in the wild that would jump on her at any moment. She just needed to stay still and look as unthreatening as possible.

  “So, did you guys stay in for dinner or did you eat out?”

  Janice’s mouth curls into a smile and Lexie can feel the pressure of not reacting swell in her chest. Both of them stare each other down, willing the other to laugh first when Lexie hears a noise rip from the top of Robin’s mouth behind her as she starts laughing uncontrollably.

  “Janice,” Robin sighs amidst her outburst. Flopping onto her back and using her hand to lift herself up to see over Lexie. “How long did you horde that joke for?”

  Lexie flinches when Robin’s other hand falls on her back, out of sight.

  Janice groans and swallows her food, giving a little mocking bow. “Dude, you seriously have no idea.”

  Robin presses her hand to her back more forcefully until she realizes that Lexie isn’t moving or laughing with them. “You alright?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She recovers slightly. “I just didn’t expect Officer Janice on our case this early.”

  Janice places a hand over her heart. “We’ve progressed to nicknames now? Lexie. I’m very fond of you too.”

  Lexie still doesn’t make a move to leave the bed or join in on their laughter, slightly stuck in the headlights of being caught in a moment like this, relying on Robin to diffuse the tension.

  “Janice, can you get out while I put on some pants?” Robin asks.

  Janice puts the spoon in her mouth and hops off the bed. She winks at the both of them when she closes the door.

  Lexie goes to move, able to breathe again now that Janice has given them space, but Robin grabs her waist quickly. “Wait for it.”

  “What?”

  Footsteps suddenly rush in the direction of the door and the handle is turned furiously and uselessly now that Janice has locked herself out. “ROBIN LENSHIRE, WHY AREN’T YOU WEARING PANTS?”

  Robin collapses into Lexie’s shoulder, quietly laughing before pulling back. “Just for the record,” She pulls back the covers to show Lexie. “Totally wearing pants.”

  Lexie nods before furiously turning away because there is no way her eyes are saying anything other th
an; “I fucking wish you weren’t.”

  Her sudden movement isn’t what Robin wants. The hand on her back turns and twists under her shirt until it touches the skin there. Lexie loses all thought and Robin sits up. “Hey.”

  There’s a line that they have been walking. Lexie can see herself standing on it, edging over and swaying with it while Robin walks it, switching feet and spinning on the spot. She feels Robin sleepily put her head on her shoulder and tap her fingers on her back. “Janice’s definitely aiming for that ‘worst timing ever’ nomination.” She jokes.

  “For sure.” Robin nods her head and Lexie closes her eyes. This is happening. This bubbling warmth in her stomach and the tingle of dreamspace still filtering from her mind. She feels like anything is possible. “But, she also makes a mean bowl of lucky charms.”

  “I knew we kept her around for something.”

  Lexie tilts her head slowly, aware of just where their faces are now. Robin gazes at her. The scrutiny doesn’t make her look away, not that she’s ever backed down from eye contact, but something passes between them. She knows it does. From the rings of Robin’s eyes to the small scar on her forehead. Lexie toes the line.

  Robin steps back.

  “If we’re quick, and apologetic, she might make us some.” Robin hunches over and crawls off her bed. Skipping to get the feeling into her legs as she finds her sweats.

  Lexie sits on the bed running her hand over the place they just slept and wishing to fall back into that dream.

  “You coming?”

  Then again, she thinks, nothing is impossible.

  ***

  @janicemacky: has magical one handed pull up skills.

  @robynred: @janicemacky no dude.

  **

  The look on Amy’s face when she’d brought in breakfast was just sweet. So sweet that Laurel hadn’t even minded the effort it took sharing a kitchen with an agitated Janice who was muttering something about pants for the entire time she was scrambling eggs.

  They hadn’t been able to stay over together that much. What with Amy usually having to join the team to run in the mornings before classes. Last night though her schedule had freed up, after their captain had pulled a muscle in her leg and called off the sprinting. Laurel had finally spent the night holding her while Amy talked adorably in her sleep.