Under the Stars by Emma DeMarais (Challenge #38 - Space)
Title: Under the Stars
Pairing/Characters: Billy
Rating/Category: G
Spoilers: Man Hunt
Summary: Billy takes a vacation before he gets his new partner
Notes/Warnings: Read the disclaimer on my LJ
Harris had been a good partner, great perhaps. He'd learned a lot from the old man, but had to respect his decision to retire. Emily was a good woman and while she'd stood by her husband and his crazy Fugitive Recovery hours, it was his turn to stand by her after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
So now he was going to get a new partner - some rookie upstart he'd never heard of - and it would be his turn to break in a junior agent, teach him the ropes. For now it was vacation time, not that Billy was in the mood for it, but he had to agree with his AD's logic that now was an ideal time for him to use up all the days he'd racked up not taking time off for holidays and such.
Not having any family left vacations were awkward or unpleasant. Visits to now married old friends rarely went well and there were fewer now than in his rollicking college days. Most of the time that was fine, but sometimes another human being - someone untouched by his world of violence - was a welcome respite.
He started up his motorcycle and headed into the mountains, not caring where he arrived or when, only that the night sky was clear of rain clouds above and the road was empty and inviting before him.
Around 5,000 feet he saw a lone car by the side of the road - and old junky VW van, clearly in disrepair. His agent's instincts wouldn't let him ignore it, concerned that they'd broken down and slightly suspicious of less innocuous reasons for a car to be out in the middle of nowhere late at night.
He pulled over and killed the engine, the sudden silence of the mountain night giving way to tiny sounds of life: buzzing insects, rustling in the underbrush, the far off hooting of an owl...
The van appeared to be empty, but not abandoned. A still warm thermos rested on the hood and Billy picked it up as he looked around for the owner.
Once his eyes adjusted to the inky blackness of the streetlight free mountain road, he was able to pick out a shape about twenty feet down the side of the hill where there was a small plateau.
Working his way through the underbrush, he carried the thermos down to the young man below who was currently distracted by the telescope he was looking through.
"Forgot your thermos," Billy said genially as he approached. "Figured you might want it."
Surprisingly the young man wasn't startled, but looked up and accepted the thermos with a grateful smile.
"Cool man. Thanks. I totally forgot about it."
He unscrewed the top and poured some of the steamy liquid into the cover cup, offering it first to Billy who declined with a wave of his hand. He took a long drink and settled down to sit on a nearby rock.
"Anything good out tonight?" Billy asked, gesturing to the telescope.
"Actually there's a kick ass meteor shower going on in the Perseids." The young man cocked his head towards his equipment. "Go ahead. Give it a look."
Billy sauntered over and bent low over the viewfinder of the clearly very expensive telescope. It took him a second to adjust but when he did an errant shooting star crossed past his eye.
"Cool..."
He remained hunched over, watching shooting stars as his quiet companion finished his drink.
"Always nice to have a reminder of how tiny we - and all of our earthly problems - are in the big scheme of things," the young man mused, putting his thermos away and joining Billy at the telescope.
Billy straightened up, feeling a bit sore from holding in that position too long, and gave the young man a closer look.
"If you don't mind me asking..."
"Shoot," the young man said, shrugging. "Worst case, I have no answer."
"You clearly have money - this telescope, your expensive hiking boots, stainless steel thermos... Why the junky car?"
The young man smiled. "It was my dad's when he was in college. He kept it all these years. When I got into college he let me have it. I thought about fixing it up, but then it wouldn't be his anymore, you know? It'd be like erasing all his memories."
"But the engine?" Billy asked.
"Oh that I replaced!" He laughed heartily, his pleasant voice ringing out in the brisk air. "New trannie, new tires - anything that wears out or can't be seen got replaced. I wanted to preserve his memory, not his bad experiences!"
"His memory?" Billy asked gently.
The young man let his head hang down. "Yeah," he said quietly. "He only lasted until my sophomore year. So that VW? It's kind of my piece of him to keep, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it." Billy gave the man a genuine smile. "Where do you think I got this Harley from?"
The young man nodded appreciatively. "You know, this is just the warm up night. The meteor shower is going to be at its peak over the next two nights. I'll be here, I mean if you're passing by this way again and want to see some really impressive astronomical displays."
A grin spread across Billy's face. "I'll be back tomorrow night then. You bring more coffee, I'll bring the donuts."
"You're on!" The young man grinned back.
"What's your name?" Billy asked.
"Todd."
"Well, Todd. I'm Billy Cooper. Nice to meet you."
Billy held out his hand for Todd to shake who did so with a solid grip.
"You like jelly?" Billy asked as he started up the hill.
"Chocolate," Todd replied, smirking.
"More jelly filled for me then," Billy teased. "A dozen donuts, same time tomorrow."
"See you then!" Todd waved his goodbyes and turned back to his telescope.
Billy started up his motorcycle and with one last look to cement his memory so he could come back he started back down the mountain.
His vacation might be solo, but at least now he had plans.
Someone was expecting him.
He liked that idea.
=
Pairing/Characters: Billy
Rating/Category: G
Spoilers: Man Hunt
Summary: Billy takes a vacation before he gets his new partner
Notes/Warnings: Read the disclaimer on my LJ
Harris had been a good partner, great perhaps. He'd learned a lot from the old man, but had to respect his decision to retire. Emily was a good woman and while she'd stood by her husband and his crazy Fugitive Recovery hours, it was his turn to stand by her after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
So now he was going to get a new partner - some rookie upstart he'd never heard of - and it would be his turn to break in a junior agent, teach him the ropes. For now it was vacation time, not that Billy was in the mood for it, but he had to agree with his AD's logic that now was an ideal time for him to use up all the days he'd racked up not taking time off for holidays and such.
Not having any family left vacations were awkward or unpleasant. Visits to now married old friends rarely went well and there were fewer now than in his rollicking college days. Most of the time that was fine, but sometimes another human being - someone untouched by his world of violence - was a welcome respite.
He started up his motorcycle and headed into the mountains, not caring where he arrived or when, only that the night sky was clear of rain clouds above and the road was empty and inviting before him.
Around 5,000 feet he saw a lone car by the side of the road - and old junky VW van, clearly in disrepair. His agent's instincts wouldn't let him ignore it, concerned that they'd broken down and slightly suspicious of less innocuous reasons for a car to be out in the middle of nowhere late at night.
He pulled over and killed the engine, the sudden silence of the mountain night giving way to tiny sounds of life: buzzing insects, rustling in the underbrush, the far off hooting of an owl...
The van appeared to be empty, but not abandoned. A still warm thermos rested on the hood and Billy picked it up as he looked around for the owner.
Once his eyes adjusted to the inky blackness of the streetlight free mountain road, he was able to pick out a shape about twenty feet down the side of the hill where there was a small plateau.
Working his way through the underbrush, he carried the thermos down to the young man below who was currently distracted by the telescope he was looking through.
"Forgot your thermos," Billy said genially as he approached. "Figured you might want it."
Surprisingly the young man wasn't startled, but looked up and accepted the thermos with a grateful smile.
"Cool man. Thanks. I totally forgot about it."
He unscrewed the top and poured some of the steamy liquid into the cover cup, offering it first to Billy who declined with a wave of his hand. He took a long drink and settled down to sit on a nearby rock.
"Anything good out tonight?" Billy asked, gesturing to the telescope.
"Actually there's a kick ass meteor shower going on in the Perseids." The young man cocked his head towards his equipment. "Go ahead. Give it a look."
Billy sauntered over and bent low over the viewfinder of the clearly very expensive telescope. It took him a second to adjust but when he did an errant shooting star crossed past his eye.
"Cool..."
He remained hunched over, watching shooting stars as his quiet companion finished his drink.
"Always nice to have a reminder of how tiny we - and all of our earthly problems - are in the big scheme of things," the young man mused, putting his thermos away and joining Billy at the telescope.
Billy straightened up, feeling a bit sore from holding in that position too long, and gave the young man a closer look.
"If you don't mind me asking..."
"Shoot," the young man said, shrugging. "Worst case, I have no answer."
"You clearly have money - this telescope, your expensive hiking boots, stainless steel thermos... Why the junky car?"
The young man smiled. "It was my dad's when he was in college. He kept it all these years. When I got into college he let me have it. I thought about fixing it up, but then it wouldn't be his anymore, you know? It'd be like erasing all his memories."
"But the engine?" Billy asked.
"Oh that I replaced!" He laughed heartily, his pleasant voice ringing out in the brisk air. "New trannie, new tires - anything that wears out or can't be seen got replaced. I wanted to preserve his memory, not his bad experiences!"
"His memory?" Billy asked gently.
The young man let his head hang down. "Yeah," he said quietly. "He only lasted until my sophomore year. So that VW? It's kind of my piece of him to keep, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it." Billy gave the man a genuine smile. "Where do you think I got this Harley from?"
The young man nodded appreciatively. "You know, this is just the warm up night. The meteor shower is going to be at its peak over the next two nights. I'll be here, I mean if you're passing by this way again and want to see some really impressive astronomical displays."
A grin spread across Billy's face. "I'll be back tomorrow night then. You bring more coffee, I'll bring the donuts."
"You're on!" The young man grinned back.
"What's your name?" Billy asked.
"Todd."
"Well, Todd. I'm Billy Cooper. Nice to meet you."
Billy held out his hand for Todd to shake who did so with a solid grip.
"You like jelly?" Billy asked as he started up the hill.
"Chocolate," Todd replied, smirking.
"More jelly filled for me then," Billy teased. "A dozen donuts, same time tomorrow."
"See you then!" Todd waved his goodbyes and turned back to his telescope.
Billy started up his motorcycle and with one last look to cement his memory so he could come back he started back down the mountain.
His vacation might be solo, but at least now he had plans.
Someone was expecting him.
He liked that idea.
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