Title: The Excuse

Author: Python

Fandom: Law & Order

Pairing: Briscoe/Green

Series: In the same universe as Under Pressure, the Family Strife Trilogy, This Is Good, and An Anniversary Plea, which can be found at my website. 2nd part in the Can't Live with 'Em, Can't Kill 'Em Trilogy, following The Ex-Wife.

Disclaimer: These guys don't belong to me. This is just for fun. Please don't sue me.

any feedback is appreciated, in fact, I'm begging for it.

The Excuse
by Python

The knocking didn't stop and Lennie faintly heard Maggie's voice telling him that they had to talk. "Ed," he managed to say.

"Ignore her," Ed stopped briefly to say. His breath caressed Lennie's moist neck, sending more shivers down the older man's spine.

Normally, Lennie probably would have tried to push Ed off of him. Maggie wouldn't disturb them if it wasn't important...but he couldn't ignore his own growing need.

Ed settled more firmly on top of his lover, making sure the older man could feel his arousal. The knocking eventually stopped and he vaguely heard Maggie saying that she'd wait in the hotel lounge and that she had to talk to them about something really important.

A little while later, Ed collapsed onto the bed, next to Lennie, completely spent. Both were still breathing hard. After a few minutes, Lennie said, "Don't go to sleep."

"Whatever she has to say can wait."

"I'm afraid not. If Maggie says it's important, then it is and she's still waiting downstairs," Lennie responded. He sat up and reached for the phone. He felt Ed's hand on his lower back and he shrugged it off. He covered the mouthpiece. "Look, the sooner we get rid of her, the better."

"All right," Ed said, not convinced. He wondered what could be so urgent. He probably wouldn't like the answer.

Ten minutes later, they heard Maggie knock. Lennie got up to let her in.

When he saw her, he was instantly sorry that they'd made her wait. She was visibly upset. He could tell that she was barely holding back the tears.

"I'm sorry Maggie. Come in."

Maggie stepped in and nervously looked from one man to the other. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything." She sank down into a chair.

Lennie sat on the corner of the bed, facing Maggie, and took his ex-wife's hand. She read his face and saw his guilt and concern. She gave a small, but brief smile. "I needed that half-hour to calm down a little and, apparently, you two needed the time also. That's ok," she said.

"What's wrong?" Lennie asked.

Before answering, Maggie glanced at Ed. The younger man met her eyes and went to go sit next to his lover, placing a hand on Lennie's shoulder. She took a deep breath. "Mark threatened to call off the wedding."

"Why?"

"He said he wouldn't get married if a nigger was at his wedding," Maggie explained. She saw Ed's face harden. "I'm sorry."

Lennie felt Ed's grip tighten on his shoulder. "What are you going to do?" he asked his ex-wife.

Maggie stared at the floor and didn't answer.

"It's ok, Maggie. You don't have to say it," Ed stated. From the look on her face, he knew that she believed that Mark would follow through on his threat. "I won't go to the wedding."

"Do you still want to marry him?"

Maggie nodded. Before Lennie could say anything else, she added, "I love him, Lennie, despite the fact that he's a racist. I want to be with him."

"You're telling me that he's ok with gays, but not blacks," Lennie said.

"Mark's brother is gay. He can deal with that, but with people of a different color..." Maggie's voice trailed off. She felt terrible having to say all of this. She hated it, but she loved Mark and would do what she had to do for him. "Lennie, I'd still like you to be there."

"I don't know."

"Please."

Lennie rubbed the back of his neck. Ed was still beside him and he felt his lover's tension. He and Ed needed to talk before he made any decisions. "I'll let you know," he told her. "But it's getting late and you should probably be heading back."

"All right," Maggie responded and stood up. "I really am sorry," she said before leaving.

Ed stood up and walked to the window. He stared out into the darkness.

That explains the vibe I got from Mark, he thought. He felt Lennie's eyes on him and knew his lover would stay quiet, giving him silence to think.

The younger man didn't know how long he stood there. Eventually, he turned back to Lennie, who hadn't moved. He saw the far away look in the older man's eyes. He cleared his throat to get the other man's attention.

"I'm ok, Lennie."

"Let's go home, Ed. I'll tell Maggie that I just can't make it."

"No, I want you to go," Ed said.

"Why?"

"Because Maggie still wants you there. And I'm not letting Mark drive me out of this town before I'm ready to go," the younger man stated.

"Are you sure?" Lennie asked.

Ed sat back down next to his lover. He hugged the older man and buried his head in Lennie's chest. "I'm sure." He smiled. "And don't worry, I've dealt with a lot worse than Mark Crawford."

For the rest of the week, the only time Lennie went to the house was for stuff dealing with the wedding. He only spoke to Mark when he had to. He spent a lot of time exploring the old town with Ed. After the first couple days, people stopped giving them odd looks and actually nodded in greeting.

The first time that happened, Ed took his hand and said that this town might be so bad after all.

The afternoon on the day before the wedding, Maggie walked Lennie back to town. "Please don't be too hard on Mark," she said.

Lennie refrained from asking what she saw in Mark. He didn't like his ex-wife's fiancé for obvious reasons, but didn't want to rub it in her face if he didn't have to. She said that she loved Mark and he believed her. "I can't really help it Maggie. You invited me and Ed up here. Now, he's not good enough to go to your wedding because he's black."

"I have nothing against Ed," Maggie replied defensively. "I like him."

"Oh, that's comforting," Lennie said sarcastically.

"If I would've known..."

"Then you wouldn't have invited him and I wouldn't have come."

"That's not true," Maggie stated. "I didn't know about Mark's feelings until the day Ed came to Middlewood. He told me after you two left."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No, but I just wanted you to know."

Lennie let out a long breath. "Ok."

"I'm glad that you're still coming," Maggie said.

Lennie nodded. He was still upset with his ex-wife, but let his hostility drop. It wouldn't make her or Mark change their mind. "Well, at least after all of this is over, I won't have to pay you any more alimony. There, I've found one good thing about Mark."

Maggie stopped. She waited until Lennie stopped and faced her. Then she gave him a smile. "Have a good day. I'd better be heading back."

Lennie finished the walk into town and found Ed at one of the small restaurants. "Hey," he said, sitting down.

"Hey," Ed responded with a grin. He handed his lover a menu. "Every restaurant in this place serves the same stuff."

"Well, what are you in the mood for?" Lennie asked in amusement.

"Chinese."

"I don't think there's much call for that around here."

"It's their loss," Ed responded.

Lennie laughed and then said, "Everything's set for the wedding tomorrow. Then, we'll be able to get out of here."

Ed nodded. Middlewood was bearable. The people weren't too bad, but he just didn't feel comfortable and there wasn't a lot to do. "It'll be nice to get back home, although I will miss the bed in out hotel room." His lover didn't blush very often, but he got the rare pleasure of seeing Lennie's face turn red.

It may have taken him an extra moment, but Lennie always had a comeback. "I think we've put more miles on that mattress in one week than it's seen in twenty years."

Ed laughed. "You're probably right. I hope we don't get charged for a replacement."

"I don't think they'd believe that we wore the mattress out."

"Good point. I think the townspeople have realized that we're here together, but not in the physical sense, but that's just as well. I don't know if this town is ready for gay couples."

"Maggie told us that Mark's brother is gay," Lennie said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't live here and someone told me that he's not coming in until tomorrow morning," Ed replied. He was tired of talking about this and rubbed Lennie's leg with his foot under the table.

The retired detective's eyebrow rose. "Are you trying to start something?"

"Uh-huh. I'd like to rack up some more miles," Ed answered with a big grin.

"You'd better be careful talking like that. Someone else might hear you," the older man said lightly.

"So what if they do? Do you think they'd actually realize what I was talking about if they heard it?"

The waitress stopped at their table. She leaned in and spoke quietly.

"You're right. Most of these people don't even remember what sex is like, but there are a few of us that still like to have a little fun. Go on you two. Sex is a lot better than the food we've got here." Then she smiled, straightened, and walked away.

Lennie watched her leave in shocked amusement. He looked at Ed, who was trying to keep from laughing. "Do you believe that?" the older man asked.

"No," Ed answered. He wiped his eyes. "Should we follow her advice?"

"One of these days, you're going to kill me."

"It would be a hell of a way to go," Ed responded. He stood up and stared down at Lennie.

The older man put his hands up in surrender. "Ok."

Lennie got up early the next morning. He left Ed sleeping soundly, as he disappeared into the bathroom to get ready. When he was finished, he glanced at his watch. He needed to leave soon. The wedding wouldn't be till later in the morning, but Maggie asked him to be there early.

Before leaving, Lennie crouched near the bed. Ed was barely awaked and covered the older man's hand with his own.

"I've gotta go, Ed."

Ed nodded. "Hurry back," he responded sleepily, before slipping back into his dream.

Lennie chuckled, stood up, and left. When he got to the house, a maid told him that Maggie wanted to see him right away. He went to his ex-wife's bedroom, knocked, and went in.

"How do I look?" Maggie asked.

"You're beautiful."

Maggie blushed. "Thanks."

"Are you ready to give yourself totally to this guy?"

"Yes," Maggie answered without reservation.

"Ok. I hope he makes you happy," Lennie said.

Ed woke up a couple hours after Lennie left. He stretched and lay in the comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling. He was looking forward to going back home, where things were normal. Middlewood, Connecticut was just not the place for him. It was too much of a combination of Norman Rockwell and Pleasantville.

After getting dressed, Ed packed all of their stuff and took most of it to the car. Then he got something to eat and decided to take another walk around the town square. He'd seen a figurine in one of the shops that he'd been thinking of getting for his mother. I'll got take one more look at it and then decide, he thought.

Ed discovered that most of the shops were closed. It turned out that most of the townspeople were at the wedding. All of a sudden, he had the feeling of being watched. He looked around and saw a patrol car. He stopped walking.

The car passed him and he noticed the patrolman giving him the once over.

Ed didn't like the way that the officer looked at him, but the car moved on. Ok, he thought, he just stopped because I'm a stranger in town. Remember, all of these people know each other.

The ex-detective continued on his way. He came to the shop with the figurine in the window. It was closed like all of the others. He stood outside, just looking into the window when he heard someone behind him.

"Police! Let me see your hands."

Ed cursed in his mind. He started to turn. "Just wait a sec. I think you have the wrong idea."

"Just stay where you are and let me see your hands."

Ed could tell from the officer's voice that the guy was extremely nervous. He did as he was told. He didn't want to make the other man trigger happy. "This is just perfect," he muttered sarcastically under his breath, as the officer stepped behind him and began to cuff him.

Lennie had to admit that it was a nice wedding service, with all the trimmings. He could see that Maggie was truly happy by the way she was beaming. He just wished that he could actually like her new husband.

At the fist available opportunity, Lennie told Maggie that he'd have to be leaving.

"So soon?" she asked.

"Ed's waiting for me and we've got a long drive ahead of us."

"Thanks for coming up," Maggie said, giving him a hug. Then she took his arm and added quietly, "And thanks for staying."

Lennie gave her a smile. As he was on his way out, Mark stopped him and asked him to come into the small study, just for a few minutes.

"Look, I know that you don't like me, but I wanted to thank you for coming. Your presence meant a lot to Maggie," Mark stated.

"You'd better take care of her."

"I will."

Lennie nodded and left the study. That short conversation was all he needed with Mark. If they would've spoken longer, the other man probably would've said something that would cause Lennie to give him a black eye.

Lennie reached the door and thought he'd finally be able to escape. He sighed when Maggie caught up with him. "You'd better take this," she said, handing him a cordless phone.

"For me?" Lennie asked. She nodded and he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?...Ed?...You're where?...Ok, I'll be right there."

"What is it?" Maggie asked when Lennie gave her the phone back.

"Ed's been arrested," Lennie answered simply and left. He got to the police station as fast as he could. He saw Ed pacing in a small cell and an officer sitting at a desk. "What's going on here?" he asked, addressing the cop.

"Are you with this guy?" the patrolman inquired, gesturing back to Ed.

Of course. He's my lover, dipstick, Lennie thought. "Yes," he stated. "What's he in there for?"

"I caught him outside McShane's store. He was about to rob the place."

"I was not," Ed broke in. "I was only looking in the display window."

"Quiet you," the patrolman snapped.

Lennie knew that Ed wasn't a thief. The very idea was absurd, but the officer looked like he believed it. He'd have to be careful in handling the patrolman or he might end up in a cell himself. In his experience, small town lawmen tended to glory in their own importance. "Did you actually catch him doing anything?" the retired detective asked.

"Well, no."

"Then, you really don't have a reason to hold him," Lennie said.

The officer couldn't argue with Lennie's logic, but was still leary about cutting Ed loose. "I don't know."

"Look officer, we're from New York and we're leaving to go home today. He's not really a threat to your town."

"All right," the cop responded. He got up and let Ed out of the cell.

Lennie saw the fury on his lover's face and quickly took Ed's arm before the younger man could get a chance to do something rash. "Let's go," he ordered quietly.

"Stupid moron," Ed ground out when they got out to the street.

"Ed..."

"He arrested me because I'm black and was standing outside of a store."

Ed felt the urge to march back into the police station and kick the patrolman's ass. Then he felt his lover's soothing touch on his arm.

"He's not worth it. If you go back in there. you'll do something that he'll really be able to nail you for," Lennie said with a small smile, trying to break the tension.

Ed sighed. Lennie was right, but that really didn't help his mood.

"Come on, Ed. We're going home," Lennie stated and walked to the car.

Ed couldn't help but follow. The sooner he got back to New York, the better off he'd be. And this town can sink into the seventh level of hell, he thought.

end