Like Ships
Feb. 3rd, 2013 02:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The apartment is empty when Rachel walks in. Not that she expects anything different. They've been married for a little more than a month, but since their honeymoon, she's actually gotten to spend time with Noah that wasn't just the two fo them sleeping next to each other or shoveling takeout into their mouths before they passed out maybe a grand total of 3 times. 4, if you count the quickie on the couch, which Rachel doesn't really, since she's pretty sure she was asleep before he even pulled out and she's not sure she would have remembered it happened at all the next day if there hadn't been that bruise on her ribs.
Needless to say, the whole baby thing? Hasn't happened. She was ovulating last week and didn't get to see him at all (she woke up halfway when he got into bed, and then again when he got out to go back to work) those days. Rachel's frustrated to say the least and she kicks her shoes hard into the back of their closet, grumbling to herself.
Needless to say, the whole baby thing? Hasn't happened. She was ovulating last week and didn't get to see him at all (she woke up halfway when he got into bed, and then again when he got out to go back to work) those days. Rachel's frustrated to say the least and she kicks her shoes hard into the back of their closet, grumbling to herself.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 02:51 am (UTC)"Hi." He looks exhausted, and she can't imagine she looks too much better, but it doesn't really matter at this point, does it? At least she's actually getting a glimpse of him for the first time in what seems like forever.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 02:58 am (UTC)He manages a half-smile, his face instantly releasing the tension he didn't realize he was holding; he opens his arms to her, leaving her enough room to slide onto his lap and cuddle close. Fuck protocol. Nobody here is going to begrudge him a hug and a few minutes with Rachel. "Hi, baby," he murmurs, blinking as he gazes into her eyes [he is so tired]. "Big surprise. Thought you were staying home."
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 03:02 am (UTC)"I didn't think the nap was a good idea." I couldn't say no to everything. It's not your fault you work ridiculous hours is really what she means. Not that the first statement wasn't true. "When do you think you'll get off?"
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 03:16 am (UTC)"You can hang out here if you want," he offers gently, knowing that it's definitely not going to be her first choice, but he wants to be selfish anyway. "We could get take-out, eat it on break. I could go for noodles. You can crash on the couch in the break room. I miss you, babe."
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 03:38 am (UTC)"Can you take off Monday?" That's Rachel's one day off during the week. "Or Sunday?" She works that day, but only matinee shows.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 04:00 am (UTC)"I can try to switch with somebody," he brushes a few strands of hair from her face. "Rob owes me. I bet I can find somebody with a Monday who wants to switch. I could try and get a Saturday second shift, come home, sleep with you. Be with you Sunday." Lowering his voice, he leans in, his lips brushing gently against her ear. "When's your next shark week? Figure out when our good days are, and I'll put in to have the days off."
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 04:17 am (UTC)"Week after next." Rachel mumbles. At least, she hopes so. Going off of the pill has made her periods kind of weird while they try to re-regulate themselves. She didn't have one at all for December, and she was two days over in January after they got back from their honeymoon (not that they were having sex anyway...).
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:07 pm (UTC)Dammit, they will make this baby. He won't disappoint her.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:15 pm (UTC)The phone in ringing again and Rachel sighs, sliding off of his lap. He's at work, and hasn't officially taken a break, so he should probably do one or the other before he gets in trouble for neglecting his job. "I can't stay long...but I can run across the street and get dinner?" The Thai across the street is actually pretty good.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:36 pm (UTC)Fuck, he can bring the iPad to the theatre while they run rehearsals, relax in her dressing room when he isn't in the audience, run out and grab her something to eat between shows. He'll get to do all the shit he wants to do, but doesn't get to do because of his fuckin' job.
She slides from his lap and stands, regretfully, as he reaches for the phone with one hand and her hand with the other. "Puckerman," he answers, glancing up at his wife. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll check it out, get it back to you. Gimme 2." He drops the phone on the cradle and squeezes Rachel's hand. "Thai sounds awesome. I didn't take lunch yet," he admits. "I can get somebody to cover my break," probably Rob, 'cause he knows that Rachel is here, "we can get it delivered and have it in the other room. Yeah?" It's the best he's got.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:45 pm (UTC)It's the best either of them has, but it's still not good enough. She wishes she could blame the urge to burst into angry tears on pregnancy hormones. "It'll probably be quicker if I just go." No point in waiting extra for takeout when Rach could be there and back in probably less than 10 minutes. "Besides, you're supposed to be working. Get on that."
Squeezing back, Rachel leans in to kiss his forehead and snatch his wallet off the desk before heading out. She didn't bring any cash and the place across the street, while good, is entirely too sketchy for Rachel to want to chance using her debit card.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:58 pm (UTC)Fuck his life. He can't remember the last time they had sex.
"If you want." She's right; it is faster, and he's just being selfish by wanting her to sit in Jon's chair at the next desk over, not leaving his side. "I work my ass off, they can give me five minutes to see you." God knows they've called him in enough, sometimes an hour or two ahead of schedule to cover something. "I'll take lunch, meet you in the break room?"
All he has to do when he leaves is look up some information on this guy's aliases; they can't book him under "Tater Salad" but he knows it'll pop up on some record out there. Rob actually strolls in just as he's calling the Lieutenant back with the requested information, nodding at Noah. He waves him over with a hand, the phone clicking to the cradle. "M'takin' my lunch," he announces, and Rob nods understandingly. "Rach went out for Thai. Haven't seen her since we got back, bro. Drew and then she's working her ass off, too. I gotta see if I can get a couple days off and switch my vaca. Our parents are beggin' for a grandkid," which isn't entirely true, but it's a believable excuse. "If you got the time, can you switch with me?" You know I cover your ass all the time, he doesn't say.
He stretches out on the break room sofa, head at one end and feet at the other, waiting for Rachel; a smile relaxes the tension on his face when she walks into the room. "M'starving," he admits.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 02:58 am (UTC)She'd known, before she saw Noah, that she was tired of and upset about their circumstances. She just didn't realize how much so until she actually got to sit down and talk to him for the first time in days at his job. He hadn't even had time to take lunch yet and maybe it's the newlywed syndrome, but she has a bone to pick with the New York Police Department about that.
While she's glad for the breather, she doesn't realize that the tension from the past few weeks has settled back into her shoulders until she reenters the break room and moves to sit next to her husband, the tightness bleeding out of her back as she sits. "Obviously. Why didn't you take lunch?"
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 04:15 am (UTC)He sits up straight on the couch, moving over to give her enough room as he wraps an arm around her waist to hold her close. "Pretty sure Rob'll switch with me so I can have Monday. I just gotta check that week, see if I can take it off. Even if you're working, I can hang out at the theatre with you, get shit done at home." Unwrapping his Thai, he closes his eyes, inhaling deeply for a moment. "Smells good," he murmurs gratefully, tilting his head to kiss his wife's temple. "How's Brody working out with the show? We come home, then you get stuck doing crazy rehearsals 'cause Mike fell off the chair like a damn pussy." Seriously, who can't stand on a chair? He hasn't gotten to spend any time with this guy yet other than in passing; considering that he's feeling his wife up every night, he'd like a better introduction than that.
"When shit calms down with the show, we should have a party," he suggests. It seems random, but they used to celebrate their Glee Club wins [sectionals, regionals, nationals] and the general camaraderie that they shared. This cast has been a family for the past year. They should get cake, and booze, and they can have it at their place... Especially now that Rachel won't be traveling with them after the show's run ends, he wants to do something.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 04:29 am (UTC)He says he might be able to get Monday, and she smiles, but doesn't really say much else, not wanting to get her hopes up. Just their luck, Rob will fall off of a chair too and Noah will be stuck working Monday. "Noah, really. The whole week is unnecessary." Sure, when she gets off at night, it'll be nice to see him but he could be getting paid for those daytime hours. "Brody's doing great." Rachel nods. He's very talented, and she thinks maybe if it wasn't for Mike's experience, that Brody would have gotten Melchior from the very beginning. But Mike is still her friend, so her husband gets a gentle elbow to the ribs for his whining. "It wasn't his fault, Noah. He had allergies." The day before, a chair broke in rehearsal. A spare was pulled out of storage the next day just for a run through, dust got kicked up....Mike sneezed and lost his footing halfway into the chair.
Cracked his elbow and a rib.
"It's not going to." Rachel mumbles into her Thai. It's really not going to calm down, she doesn't think. After all, they're in the home stretch and everyone wants everything to be perfect. Even if they weren't rehearsing nearly every morning, everyone's putting every inch into the production. Rachel's not the only one who can barely keep her eyes open afterwards.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 06:36 pm (UTC)He gets it. It really sucks, being a cop's wife. The way she has to take a backseat to his job is, at times, unforgivable.
[But if shit ever goes down, she's his first priority. If they ever have to clear civilians out of the city, she's on the first wave out. She'll be safe. He has that power, at least, to protect her.]
If he takes a week of paid vacation - he'd rather use it now, when he barely gets to see her, than have to use it during a week when she's pregnant and easily irritated and pelting him with pillows 'cause he hogs the bed or does something he doesn't realize is offensive. [He's just remembering the way Quinn was when she was pregnant. Heartburn, gas, weight gain, and nausea can make a normally awesome woman be pretty... not awesome at times.] "I'm gonna try and get it," he insists. [He'll have better luck at not being called in if he's off for the whole week. Vacation's vacation. A day off? They can pull him in if they need him, which is great for the bank account but shitty for the relationship.]
Allergies? Seriously? Whatever. Pussy. He has to admit, Mike wasn't particularly offensive for a guy who regularly had his paws all over his girl. "Brody a better kisser than me?" He asks because, well, the guy's probably been kissing Rachel a lot more than he's gotten to lately. And he's probably the only guy on Broadway who's straight.
Maybe he should send Mike a pizza and a get-well card.
"Sunday night after a show," he offers. Everybody will be wired after a performance, and Monday's an off day. "Come on, Rach. It'll be fun. Night drinking with a bunch of people? We haven't done that since right before we got married."
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 07:08 pm (UTC)"Noah." Rachel huffs. He'd rather use it now, but she'd rather him save it. Use it later when he'd have a month, maybe even more, saved up. After the baby is born (because damn it, all they need is a couple of days. She knows it.) and he's really needed at home. A month for the two of them to get acclimated. That's her ideal. A month where he doesn't get called out in the middle of the night and wake the baby up on his way out (because she knows it'll happen. The amount of times he's slammed his knee into the doorframe trying to hop into his pants on the way out so he doesn't wake her up...)
His question upsets her much more than his questions usually do and she sits her food down on the table. "Why do you do that?" She snaps. "Why do you ask me things like that, Noah? Jesus, I already don't get to see you, can we have 10 minutes together without your ego getting in the way?" Maybe it's just the straw that broke the camel's back because she's sniffling. "I married you. Not Brody. If I wanted Brody, with everything that's been going on, if he was really better than you and I cared, that's where I'd be. Not eating halfway decent thai in a smelly police station with the husband I haven't seen in days."
"...Fine." She has to admit, it does sound fun. And Sunday would be a good night, since everyone's off Monday, and those with kids will be child free the next morning because of school.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 02:56 am (UTC)But this has been Rachel's dream since before they met, and he knew what it might take, one day. She's achieving her dream every time she sets foot on that stage. As long as she's okay with it, and it stays onstage, he's supportive. [If he offered her the ultimatum - stage or him - depending on the day, it might be a toss-up. And while he might be an insensitive jerk at times, he's not that much of a d-bag.
"Rachel," he counters with a full mouth of noodles. He gets paternity. He has vacation to use. He'd rather take it now then save it up for later then get told he can't use it because somebody with more seniority already scheduled it. Maybe he needs a break from work, too.
He drops his Thai on the table and stares at her. "Whoa. Dial down the bitch for a minute." And that probably isn't going to go over well... especially as she begins sniffling, and it makes him forget her outburst in an instant. "Shhh, shhh," he soothes, wrapping his arms around her and folding her close to his chest. "I know, baby. I swear, I'll get time with you. I just - Shit's tough. We haven't seen each other in days and it's killing me. I just - I don't want you to have regrets with marrying me and shit after this. Feels like that asshole gets to see you more than I do," because he does, "and gets to kiss you and touch you for the show when I'm lucky if I get to kiss you when you're awake." So, fuck that, because - even if they've got Thai-breath and they're sitting on a couch that has seen better days, and they're sitting in the NYPD precinct break room, he's still gonna cup her jaw in one hand, brushing tears away with his thumb, and lean in for a slow kiss. It's more than he's gotten in too fucking long.
[See? He has good ideas.]
no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 03:49 am (UTC)She's opening her mouth to say something indignant and angry, one hand reaching to shut the top over her thai, the other grabbing for her jacket because no way is she staying here after that, not when she's here instead of at home catching up on much needed sleep, when he interrupts her to hug her close. She knows he hates this as much as she does. And she'd even be a little sorry for jumping down his throat if he hadn't called her a bitch. She breaks the kiss after a bit, still picking up her jacket. It's been a while and she just stopped ovulating and...she's mad at him, damn it! So she needs to get away from him before they start something they can't finish right here.
"I don't have any regrets. You just called me a bitch, and I still don't regret marrying you." She does kind of regret coming down here though, since at least when they weren't speaking, they weren't fighting either. She seals the top over her food, scooting to the edge of the couch to stand. "I'm tired."
no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 03:08 pm (UTC)Even using the word bitch in reference to her is so far out of line that it's practically in another universe, and he knows that. Fuck, he knows that. He's irritable and tired and he fucking knows that he was at work when she was ovulating and he's not sure when this baby thing went from not right now to borderline obsession, and he's pissed. At himself, at the situation, at the NYPD, at the world for refusing to stop for five fucking minutes so that he can be with his wife after all the shit they've endured.
[All that being said, she did practically attack him because he asked about Brody. He's fucking insecure right now, okay? He's that stupid little kid who just wants everything to be okay.]
"You jumped down my fuckin' throat," he counters mildly. "I'm sorry, Rach. I shouldn't have said - what I said. I - I love you, and this sucks." He's getting thinner, the muscles standing out on his frame and he's practically surviving on coffee. They're both stressed, sleeping little, working long hours, and it's taking its toll on both of them, on their relationship. "I should be home in a couple hours," he murmurs, reaching out to stroke her cheek again with gentle fingers, his gaze pleading. "Go, have some tea, go sleep. Call me when you get home so I know you made it safe, okay? - Unless you want one of the guys to drop you off. I can ask." I'd feel safer, he doesn't say, but he'll be content with just a phone call.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 07:56 pm (UTC)Zipping her jacket, she shakes her head in response to his offer. "I'll take a cab." A cab driver won't come back and report to her husband that she cried on the way home, and she won't give in to the urge to yell at a cab driver about stupid hours and burst appendixes. She just needs to be anonymous for a little while.
"I'll see you...whenever." She can't even promise it'll be when he gets home, because she'll either be asleep or on her way out for rehearsal. And who knows where he'll be whenever she manages to fight her way through the crowd and back to their apartment?
do the next post and I'll have him come home during my next post <3
Date: 2013-02-06 09:30 pm (UTC)She allows herself a few moments' press of her cheek to his hand before moving away; his hand drops to his side. "Okay. Just... call me so I know you got back okay." The remainder of his shift will go easier if he knows that she's home, tucked into bed, sleeping. Maybe she'll feel better in the morning. He'll still be exhausted, but whatever. He's been awake for longer than 24 hours before now; this will just be another one of those times [he'll try to stay up with her]. "See you when I get home, in the morning," he murmurs, standing to walk her out, leaving his Thai on the table.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 11:04 pm (UTC)"Sit down, Noah. Finish eating." Rachel picks up her own Thai, shouldering her purse. Fight or not, he's still on his lunch break. A much needed one at that. They're both losing weight, but hers is more from stress and Noah's the one that gets all cranky when he doesn't eat. "I'll call you when I get home."
She doesn't cry in the cab. She sniffles a little, in the shower, but by the time she lays down, her head is pounding and her back feels like a column of knots and she's too tired to cry, too tired for nearly anything and she doesn't even realize that she's falling asleep until she's gone.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-07 03:06 am (UTC)He finally makes it home at six-thirty in the fucking morning after showering at work and taking the MTA. It's already light outside, and he stops for a Dean & DeLuca, knowing that there's a good chance that Rachel will be awake and hoping that she's in a better mood now than she was when she'd left the precinct. Opening the door, coffees in hand, he locks it behind himself with a soft click, sliding the chain in the lock and twisting the deadbolt.
He removes his shoes so that he doesn't make noise, setting the coffees on the table for a brief moment. The apartment is quiet, and he carefully walks toward their bedroom. He wears sweats - something he can easily sleep in, 'cause he keeps a change of clothes in his locker for days like this, something clean to wear after he showers - and dislodges his badge and sidearm from his clothing, placing them atop the dresser with the intention of moving them to the nightstand drawer later. "Rach, baby?" he murmurs, not wanting to wake her if she sleeps, but wanting to know if she's awake. "Brought you coffee."
no subject
Date: 2013-02-07 03:48 am (UTC)"Thanks." She stretches, turning slightly on the bed to look at him. The bitch thing still stings a little
a lot, and right now it's not doing much besides irritating the hell out of Rachel. She's got an extra hour before she needs to start getting ready for work, they're both awake, and she can't shake her hurt feelings about last night. Great timing. Really. They could be baby making right now. God."So..." She runs her fingers through her hair, trying to work out some of the tangles. "How was work?"
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From: