Kermit was unapproachable. For three days, he had gone in early and left the precinct late, working alone in his office. Knocks on the door went unanswered, and the few brave souls who risked a face to face encounter were greeted with a grim face, biting sarcasm, and a short temper. When he finally left, it was to take the Corvair out, driving aimlessly for hours with utter disregard for locations or speed limits.

When he pulled up in front of his apartment building, late on the third evening, there was a battered little VW Rabbit parked out front. Kermit took the stairs to the top floor two at a time, and there she was, back to his door. Her knees were drawn up under a faded yellow sweater, arms folded with her head down on them.

Cat-footed, Kermit deliberately thumped a foot against the floor, and Jewel jerked alert, staring wildly around her until she saw him. He saw her face light up, a smile start, then slowly fade, like a hurricane lamp out of oil. Her nose and eyes were tinged with pink and she looked as miserable as he wouldn't admit to feeling. Wordlessly, he stood over her, extending a hand and pulling her to her feet. She stood back as he unlocked the door and disarmed the security system, then gestured her inside.

She noticed the pale green walls and gleaming wood accents, the spartan decor and filed it all away until she could properly appreciate Kermit's good taste. If the time ever came again..

"Would you like a drink?" his voice shocked her, coming after the intense silence, and she shook her head, moving to the living room area and curling up in a large old chair.

Jewel could hear him at the oak sideboard he used as a bar, heard the clink and liquid sound as he poured two fingers of Chivas into a Waterford tumbler. Kermit crossed the room to her and sat down on the couch nearest to where she sat, glass in hand. She stared at him, trying to read his face, trying to start the conversation they had to have. But words had deserted her and all she could do was stare. *This is hopeless* her mind screamed and she dropped her head, burying her face between her palms.

"Not easy, is it? There's so much I want to say to you, but damned if I know how to start." Kermit contemplated the depths of his glass and reduced them by a swallow or two.

She laughed then, a little harshly. "I never would have seen this coming, y' know? If someone had told me that you and I would go out to dinner and get involved in a holdup.. We should have outclassed them, Kermit. I really would have figured more of a scene from Undercover Blues or True Lies, something witty and hi-tech, with a little butt kicking for the masses to enjoy."

"Yeah, well, life isn't exactly an action adventure movie. What happened with you in there?"

"What do you mean, what happened to me?"

"You pride yourself on being such a tough guy, Jewel. You tell me you can take care of yourself and then you turn into this scared little girl, just when I really needed you to back me up." Kermit was fighting to keep his voice low, unthreatening.

"Back you up?? When you're about to fly off the handle and start a shoot 'em up, with no provocation? What, I should just pull out my gun and pull a Pulp Fiction with you?" Jewel was not bothering to keep her voice down, and she was losing her hangdog expression too. Loving, or fighting, with Kermit was apparently a stimulating experience.

"You could trust me to be able to handle a crime scene. I'm the cop here, I've got the experience and the skills to bring it under control. What I needed was you to follow my lead"" His voice was rising and liquid sloshed in his glass as he motioned with it.

"I do trust you, Kermit" But does that mean I'm supposed to follow you blindly, no matter what? 'Cause it isn't going to happen, I can tell you that." She shook her head, cheeks flaming, "I tried to do what I thought was right. No one got hurt, and isn't that the most important thing? I don't really understand why you were so angry that night."

"You really don't, do you?" He tipped up the glass and placed it carefully on the table in front of him, fighting for the right words. "Jewel, you actively prevented me from stopping a crime in progress. I know you thought you were helping, but you put me in the position of hurting you or letting three armed robbers get away, and that wasn't right. I could have stopped those men, without anyone getting hurt, but what if one of them had panicked? They might have killed someone in there, on the street. They got away with this one, they'll hold up another place. If someone dies there, it's my fault for not stopping them three days ago. Do you get it now?" Intensity darkened his very simple explanation and he saw the realization of it dawn over her face.

"But, I thought...oh, shit.. Kermit. I am so sorry." she couldn't look him in the face, staring down at her hands. " I really fucked up, didn't I? All I could see were the guns, and one of us getting killed, and I was so mad at you for wanting to take that kind of chance with your life, or mine. I told myself that any man who was so eager for a gunfight couldn't care the way I thought you did...and I thought I was so slick, hiding your shield and covering.. that's what I do, talk a good talk, keep out of trouble, make sure that no one, including me, gets hurt."

"You're not a cop, sweetheart. If it was a jumper up on a building, or someone hurt and frightened, you'd be the first person I'd want on the scene. But you don't have the experience with this kind of trouble, you're going to have to trust me to handle it. And I mean trust me, Jewel, to handle it my way. If you can't.." He let his words trail off and her tear stained face snapped up.

"Or what? You walk? Is that what this is about, a way for you to take off, Kermit?"

"You came over here, Jewel, after hiding in your apt with the office closed and the machine on for three days, I thought you wanted to get this straightened out."

"I do, but I don't want to be threatened into being your meek little sidekick, who holds your coat and screams for help while you dust the bad guys, either. Is that what you mean by trust? It works both ways , you know."

"I do trust you, enough to believe that you haven't been jerking me around these last few months while you run off with some other.." he caught himself, but not soon enough. She jumped to her feet, furious.

"Some other guy?? Is that what you think, I'm cheating on you?? I don't ask you where you go when you're not at home.. How COULD you think I was with someone else? After all we've shared.."

"Oh, yeah, all we've shared" Kermit muttered bitterly, "Our intimate close relationship really should reassure me that there is no one else."

Jewel couldn't believe her ears, "Excuse me? Is this suddenly about our sex life? I'm not hearing you say that if I trusted you, I'd be sleeping with you, am I?" She glared at him, then laughed, reaching back to pull her braid loose, shaking the mass of red hair free. "Well, if that will prove it, Kermit, if I have to fuck you to make you believe me, then let's go, right here, sailor." She tugged the soft sweater over her head, throwing it onto the floor and moving toward him, false smile on her lips. "C'mon, stud, this is what you want, right? This is what you're really after, all you can truly believe in."

Kermit stared at her in something akin to horror. He had wanted her, dreamt of her, but not like this, angry and hurt, proving a point to herself and him. Years before, he might have taken her, without caring why she offered, but not now. "Jewel, sweetheart, don't do this.."

Her spicy perfume assaulted him as she swayed closer, hard glint in her blue eyes, smirk distorting her mouth. "This is what you want, Kermit. I want you to know how much I trust you" and her inflection made the word an obscenity.

He put his hands up, to gently fend her off, and she struck out at him blindly, tears burning in her eyes, "Damn you, Kermit Griffin!" How could you think that I wanted anyone else? I love you, I've been so miserable these last few days and you think.."

He evaded her loosely aimed blows and wrapped his arms around her. "I don't, not really, sweetheart" he murmured into her hair as she leaned against him and cried. "I've missed you so much this week, it's been making me crazy. I'm sorry too, I should have explained, I should have told you... I was so mad, I didn't want to go after you while I was still so angry.."

"I'm not afraid of your anger, it's a lot less scary than your silence. I'd rather have you yell at me than shut me out, Kermit. At least that way I can yell back." Still snug against his shirt front, she glanced around the room and sighed. "You know, I had thought we might come back here after our big night out. Make it a really special evening.. It's never been about not wanting to be with you. I just wanted to be sure, I don't think I could take another mistake like the last one."

Surprised, Kermit raised his glasses and looked down into her face. "You don't have to explain. I know you went through a rough time, and I don't want you doing anything because you feel obligated to.."

She hesitantly reached up to kiss him. "Good, and you shouldn't either, of course. But, if you want to.. maybe you could kiss me back?"

She was pliant and warm in his arms, eyes shining, all silky hair and creamy skin and he didn't resist. Tossing his glasses aside, he leaned down and kissed her, mouth teasing at hers, slipping along her jaw line, up over her eyelids and cheeks, then back to her lips. Her arms reached up to lock behind his neck, one hand caressing the sensitive nape while the other stroked through his white streaked hair, her mouth growing demanding beneath his. His hands stroked along her back from her waist, large calloused hands spreading themselves over the silky skin, up over her bare shoulders, lifting the curtain of hair free and sifting it between his fingers.

His lips burned a trail down her neck, nibbling and soothing the love bites with his tongue, feeling her shuddering response as his hands gently cupped her breasts, still encased in a soft cotton bra. She kissed his ear, tugging on the lobe with gentle teeth, her breath warm and pulsing against his wet skin. Delicate looking hands reached for his tie, clever fingers pulling it free and unbuttoning his shirt and he gasped as her lips nuzzled his chest. Kermit placed gentle hands on her shoulders, separated them for an instant.

"Jewel, we can make up without this. I swear, you don't have to prove anything to me."

She laughed low in her throat, a sensual sound he instantly craved more of. "Kermit, I want to prove to myself that I can trust my feelings. And those feeling tell me how much I want you." A slight shadow crossed her face. "I wasn't planning on this, though. Do you have..?"

He nodded, pulling her close once more and scooping her up in one graceful, powerful move. "In the nightstand, for a while now, just in case. You can't be too careful, not with someone you love. Right?"

Her mouth seared his in reply and he carried her into the bedroom. Which, she reminded him an eternal night later, was just like Rhett and Scarlett. And she giggled, cuddling warm and cozy with him under the sheets, while he swore in mock frustration about her movie fixation. And the eternal night continued with soft laughter...

End

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