Together

Fourth in the Fall Series
by Tiriel
Rating: PG-13, m/m

Picks up the story a few hours after "Retreat" -things are getting more and more spoilery as this progresses. So far, it all fits in very nicely as missing scenes from the eps, but that may change later on.

Disclaimer: The characters of this story don't belong to me...they came from the twisted minds of David Lynch and Mark Frost (and I mean that respectfully)-I'll put them back when I'm done. Please don't sue me, all I have are student loans...also, this is not beta'd, errors are entirely my fault.

Yes, I said PG-13. I do write more than just smut. *grin* Just not very often...

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The morning after our argument--well, maybe I should call it my argument, really, since I didn't give Dale a chance to argue--that next morning was unremarkable. In fact, it was most remarkable in its unremarkableness.

I felt rested. I'd slept on my couch again, this time because I was unable to face my bedroom and the memory of what Dale and I had done there a few mornings before. I hadn't dreamt at all that I could remember. I felt like nothing had ever happened, except I felt a little bit dead inside. I was professional, efficient, all business.

When Dale arrived at the station, I asked him about the ransom drop right away, heading off any other topic of conversation. He seemed so cheerful, like nothing was different. We weren't alone at all that day, until we planned the assault on One-Eyed Jack's.

There we were, working together as if nothing had changed--no, more than that--as if there'd never been anything between us *to* change. He was efficient, casual, skilled, same as always. He still had that thrilling way of focusing on you when he spoke to you, making you feel like you were the only person in the world at that moment. I focused completely on the task at hand. Most of the time.

It was a long drive north, though. Everything was ready, and silence fell in the truck. There were only so many times we could review the same plan.

"Harry," he said, "can I say something? No interruptions?"

"Sure," I said, and felt my heart rate pick up.

"I don't want to go into a dangerous situation with tension between us. We don't have time to settle things right now, but I think I should tell you that after you left last night, I hardly slept. When I finally did, I woke up and found myself chewing on one of my earplugs. I was disturbed by the way the night ended. Can we put last night aside for now, and agree to talk, later, after this is done? I think it's important."

"Sure," I said. Maybe it was petty, but the knowledge that he had been affected by what had happened last night made me feel somehow better. I felt, for the first time that day, like maybe there would be a solution to all this. We drove the rest of the way in a considerably more comfortable silence.

Audrey's rescue went fairly well, considering we were two men going into a busy whorehouse to find and rescue one girl. The experience was terrifying but exhilarating. There was a certain thrill to trusting Dale with my life, seeing how well we worked together. We all got out alive, at least, thanks to Hawk. I just hope that's the only secret of ours that he knows.

We took Audrey to the Bookhouse. I tried to dismiss Dale's obvious concern for her as merely friendly, but I couldn't stay and watch. I left the room to look at mug shots. When Dale joined me, and I told him about Jean Renault, he got more agitated than I'd ever seen him. He blamed himself for what had happened to Audrey, and for something else, too, but I didn't know what. I said what I could to make him feel better. I poured him a cup of coffee and then I held his hand across the desk for a few minutes.

"I've got to talk to Ben Horne. I already called and arranged to meet him. I'd still like to have that talk with you, though. Can I come over and see you when I'm done with him?"

"Sure, Dale. I've got some things to finish up before I head home. Why don't you take this in case you beat me there?" I pulled my spare key out of the desk and handed it to him. My mind was on the practical. It wasn't until I saw the key pass from my hand to his that I realized how it could be interpreted.

"I'll see you there," he said, and was gone.

I went back out to check on Audrey. *So many teenagers in danger in my town lately,* I thought. I heard Hawk's voice behind me.

"I'll stay and keep an eye on her. You go home and get some rest."

"Thanks, Hawk. For earlier, too."

"You're welcome. Now go, get some sleep."

I left and headed home. Dale wasn't there yet, so I took a quick shower, put on boxers and a t-shirt, and lay down in bed, intending only to rest my eyes until he arrived. Instead, I fell fast asleep.

The dream had changed again. Same place, Dale was still there, but the terror was gone. Instead, after giving me the thumbs-up, Dale walked to the edge, standing so close to it that I was afraid for him. I heard another sound, footsteps, and I turned. Josie was there, some distance away, far from the edge. I looked down, then back at her. Then my alarm went off.

I stretched over to silence it and realized that I was reaching over Dale. He was lying in my bed, still dressed in last night's clothes, shoes and jacket on the chair nearby. I was spooned against him, and I saw his eyes open. He looked at me, surprised.

"Good morning, Harry. You were asleep when I got here. It looked like you could use the rest, so I didn't wake you. I was just going to lie down for a moment. I must have been more tired than I thought."

"It's okay. I understand." I smiled, and he smiled back. I allowed myself to act on an impulse. I ran my fingers through his hair, leaned down, and kissed him. It was different, nice. A simple good-morning kiss. *Josie and I have never spent the night together,* I thought, and pushed the thought aside. Then I said, "We'd better get going. Hawk was staying with Audrey, but you'll probably want to check on her. We can have our talk tonight?"

"Count on it," he said, and sat up. "I'd better get a change of clothes. See you at the station later on." He put his shoes on, and I walked toward the bathroom.

"I'll see you there," I said. After I heard the door close, I noticed my spare key on the bedside table. Apparently he'd understood my intention in giving it to him the night before. I ignored the twinge of sadness I felt and got into the shower.

Meeting Gordon Cole that day was quite the experience. His hearing problem made conversation with him difficult at best, but something about that vicuna coat that he mentioned, the one worn by the person who'd shot Cooper, something about that nagged at me. I couldn't place it at the time. I probably didn't want to. I was pleased to see that Gerard, the one-armed man, had been found. I allowed that to distract me.

When Cooper arrived, he and Gordon went to talk in private, but the volume of Gordon's voice made privacy impossible. I went in to let them know, but not until after I'd learned something new. Gordon referred to Pittsburgh, something that had gone wrong there. *Is that the other thing he was blaming himself for last night?* I wondered, but that thought was soon pushed aside as I learned that Windom Earle, Coop's dangerous former partner, had sent a chess move, addressed to Dale. I didn't know what it meant, but I didn't like the sound of it.

Dale wanted to wait a while longer before questioning Gerard, wait for his medication to start wearing off, so I went to see Josie.

I'm not sure anymore what I was going there to say to her, but when I saw that she was leaving, apparently for good, my mood turned desperate. I asked her so many questions, and got only half-answers. Finally I grabbed her and kissed her hard. She pulled away. I asked her not to go. I did everything I could except order her to stay as the sheriff. I could have done that, too, but I wanted her to stay for me. I even told her that I loved her. Despite the fact that I'd told Dale I loved her, I had never said it to her before. The first time I said it, it was a statement. The second time, it was a plea. She left anyway. I stood there for a few minutes, until I heard the car start and drive away. Then I left and went back to the station.

Dale gave me an inquiring look when I came back, but I shook my head. "I'll tell you later," I said, and we went in to question Gerard. We wound up talking to "Mike." It was unsettling, frightening. I've always known that there was something strange in the woods. That's why the Bookhouse Boys exist, after all, but I'd never seen this kind of thing up close and personal before. To hear Gerard, or rather Mike, talk, anyone could be inhabited. It was, at the time, the oddest interrogation I'd ever been a part of.

We agreed to wait until morning to check out the Great Northern. Hawk took Gerard to a holding cell and made sure he was comfortable. Dale, Gordon, and I walked toward the exit.

"Gordon," Dale said loudly, "are you heading back to the hotel?"

"Thanks anyway, Coop," Gordon shouted, "but I'm heading back to the hotel. I'd better get some shut-eye before I head out tomorrow morning. It's too late for coffee, anyhow!"

"Okay, Gordon! See you in the morning!"

"Goodnight!" Gordon left, and Dale and I smiled at each other.

Then I remembered, and my smile faded.

"So, where shall we go to have that talk, Harry?"

"Well, my place is, so far, free of giants, dwarves, and inhabiting spirits. Normal sounds good right now. Is that okay?"

"Sounds good to me. See you there."

We headed to our separate vehicles and drove to my place. On the way, I tried to decide what I wanted to say, but didn't have much luck. We arrived and went inside. I started a pot of coffee, then stood in my kitchen and started to speak.

"She's gone, Dale. Josie's gone. For good, I think."

"I'm sorry, Harry," he said.

"I'm not," I said, more anger in my voice than I'd known I felt. "Well, no, I am, just not as sorry as I should be. I'm angry at her. I'm also a little relieved, and that feels wrong."

He walked into the kitchen as I said that, and took me into his arms. "If it's what you feel, Harry, it's not wrong."

I spoke into his shoulder. "I told her I loved her. That should have meant something to her."

He continued to hold me. I felt like I should be crying, but I wasn't. It felt so good to be in the arms of someone I knew I could trust, someone I literally trusted with my life. Maybe that's why saying all those things came so easily then. Exhaustion, emotion, and trust.

"This feels good, Dale," I said.

"Yes, it does, Harry." The coffee was ready then, and I reluctantly pulled away. I poured each of us a cup and we moved to the couch.

"I'm sorry about the other night, Dale. It's just--my track record isn't too good. I guess--I guess I got scared." I continued talking, all my words spilling out at once. "And then there was Josie, and Audrey, and my track record is even worse with men. Man, I should say, because there was only one. Once, there was someone, a friend. We were so close, there were no secrets between us. None. We briefly mistook that for something else. Things never went very far, but when we realized we'd made a mistake, we found we couldn't get back to where we'd been before. We drifted further and further apart. I didn't even notice that he was changing until it was too late to help him. He'd become someone else, someone different from everything we'd ever believed in. And if we hadn't--if *I* hadn't, it might never have happened."

He put his hand on my knee, a friendly, firm, supportive gesture, not a sexual one. "Hank?"

I nodded and looked down at my coffee cup.

"It's easy to blame ourselves for the things that happen to those who are important to us. Especially in our profession. Sometimes it's even justified." He paused there for a moment. "But from what I've seen, from what I know of Hank, you shouldn't blame yourself. You both drifted apart. He made the choices he's made, to turn away from the law. You can't take that on yourself, Harry."

I considered asking him about Pittsburgh then, but decided to wait. He'd let me tell him about Hank on my own time, so I'd offer him the same respect. "But Josie--" I started.

He brought his hand up to my hair. "Josie chose to leave. You didn't drive her away. As for Audrey, while it's true that she's an attractive young woman who has a schoolgirl crush on me, we are just good friends. And, Harry, I am not Hank. I'm not going to throw away my career with the Bureau for a life of crime."

I smiled at that, as I'm sure he'd expected me to, and he continued.

"As for you and I, I don't think it's a mistake. I don't make a habit out of fucking other law enforcement professionals, either." His hand dropped back to my knee. I flinched a little at the sound of the words I'd used the other night. Then his voice changed. "Most local sheriffs are nowhere near as agreeable as you are."

I laughed at that, and so did he. When we'd stopped laughing, I spoke. "So this, you and I..."

"Why don't we just see where life takes us, Harry. Life is full of surprises, and I've learned it isn't wise to try to plan too far ahead."

"Take it as it comes? I think I can do that." I smiled at him, and he smiled back. "Do you want to stay? I mean, we've just got a few hours now before it's time to head back to the station, but it'd be nice to have the company."

"I'd like that," he said.

I put my hand on his shoulder, leaned over, and kissed him, tentatively, a soft, gentle kiss. We sat like that for a few minutes, just kissing, neither of us pushing things any further. Josie had only been gone a few hours, and we were both tired. We slept together in my bed, dressed in our undershirts and boxers, holding each other.

In the dream that night, when I heard Josie's footsteps and turned to look at her, she vanished. I turned back to Dale, who was still standing very close to the edge. I walked over to join him, and then I woke up. Dale was in my arms. I watched him sleep until the alarm went off. We got up, and headed our separate ways. He went to get a change of clothes. I went to the station to make the arrangements for our trip to the Great Northern with Mike. But I felt like, in some important way, we were together.

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THE END

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Tiriel

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