The Right to Love - Part 6
Title: The Right to Love
Spoilers: Takes place after ep 101 (8x09) after Pepa and Silvia have become engaged. This is a sequel to my previous PepSi fanfic, In Love’s Defense. My fic follows LHDP up to ep 101 but departs from the show at that point - ep 104 never has and never will exist in this version of Pepa and Silvia’s world.
Rating: PG-13 for profanity in Spanish. ;p
Pairing: Pepa/Silvia
Summary: As Pepa and Silvia deal with the aftermath of their encounter with El Gordo, a new case comes forward that challenges their rights as well as their lives.
A/N/Disclaimer: The characters of LHDP aren’t mine. Okay, this is a much shorter part, but I need to type out a lot of notes before I go forward, so the rest of the plot can somehow get out of my head! ;p
[ Part 1] [ Part 2] [ Part 3] [ Part 4] [ Part 5]
The cracking, piercing sound of rapid gunfire rang throughout the room as the bullets unerringly found their mark. Eyeing the outlined target down the sight of her Walther P22, Pepa concentrated fiercely as the last shot tore a hole through the thin paper. She quirked a small smile as she thumbed the safety on her weapon and removed her earmuffs to sling them around her neck. It felt immensely satisfying to be in the shooting gallery at the precinct after her extended absence, like she was a real cop again.
“Joder!” Curtis grunted to her left as he pried his earmuffs from his massive curls, laying them next to his own gun in the next stall. He picked up a clipboard from a nearby table, restlessly tapping a pencil against the paper that was clasped to the wooden surface.
“Pe, I don’t know why the hell Central needs to evaluate you on completing a firearms test to return to active duty!” The agent snorted in bafflement as he flicked the pencil away. “I might as well not even fill out this stupid form!”
Pepa laughed as she ejected an empty clip and reloaded her gun with a full cartridge. “I know! The damn politics of being a cop!” She sighed contentedly, inhaling the sharp scents of gunpowder and brass. “I thought I’d never get back to the field with Silvia fussing over me and watching my every move for the last two months.”
“Ooh, you’d better be careful, Pepa!” Curtis teased as he waggled a finger in her direction. “You’re marrying a woman who won’t take any nonsense from you!”
The taller woman’s smile widened. “No kidding! Hey, I know who wears the pants in our relationship!” Her expression stalled as she put down her gun and crossed her arms, regarding her college earnestly. “You know, Silvia and I are learning that it goes both ways. All that head shrink stuff has made us realize when to push or pull in our relationship, without becoming too overprotective of one another.”
“Hm, especially in your case!” Curtis agreed, as his heavy mustache twitched in agreement.
“Sí. It’s still a learning process.” Pepa shrugged lightly. “I went to sessions with Felix for a while. Silvia actually finds them really useful and still sees him once a week.”
“Well good for you two!” The agent winked at his friend.
“Speaking of the learning process…” Pepa removed her tinted protective glasses, regarding her target that was peppered with bullet holes. “Safety on?”
“Claro que sí.” Curtis stepped to his 9mm, double checking that his safety was on before Pepa stepped into the firing range.
The brunette closed the 20 meters to her target, closely scrutinizing where her rounds had punched into the paper. “Mierda…” she muttered to herself. Five bullets had hit the target precisely in the innermost ring, dead center. A sixth was off by a few centimeters, just on the outer edge.
Pepa pulled down the paper in disgust, balling it into a wad before setting up another unmarked target. She walked quickly back to her firing stall, resetting her glasses and earmuffs on. “Vale Curtis, I’m not stopping until I get this right. Ready?”
“Go ahead.”
Six shots rang out and six bullets punctured the exact center of the target, effectively destroying the X that marked the middle. Intense brown eyes were revealed through a haze of gunpowder smoke as the brunette lifted the corner of her mouth in a tiny smirk, seeing that she’d achieved her aim.
“There! Now you can fill out that damn form, Curtis!”
“Tst! As if there any doubt!” Her fellow agent chuckled as he checked off various boxes and scribbled on the paper. “Perfecto! Let those motherfuckers at Central shove that up their ass!”
The two agents reloaded and holstered their weapons. Pepa shrugged on her shoulder holster over her black t-shirt, happy to find that the accoutrement still fit her like a second skin. Curtis stepped over, giving Pepa’s hand a friendly clasp.
“Agent Miranda, it’s my honor to welcome you back to active duty!”
“Gracias a Dios! It sure took long enough!”
Curtis held the door open for Pepa as they exited to the main room of the precinct, which was abuzz with ringing phones and the activity of working personnel, as usual. The motion and flurry stopped for a second as Curtis put his fingers to his lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle, the unexpected sound causing Pepa to almost jump out of her skin.
“Señors y señoras!” He gestured to the taller agent with a grand flourish. “I’m happy to let you know that the best shot in San Antonio is back in the house!”
Pepa felt her face flush with a mixture of pride and embarrassment as everyone in the room stood and applauded with a cacophony of sound that washed over her. Aitor and Sara whistled and cheered as Montoya and Rita grinned broadly. Kike, Nelson and Mariano shoved each other good-naturedly while still managing to clap. But it was Paco who caught Pepa’s eye as she observed her brother leaning against the doorframe of his office, his eyes wet with sentimental tears of joy. She tried unsuccessfully to stifle the grin that threatened to ruin her cool, professional facade. After all, she was known as an agent who kicked down doors and could get suspects to talk - a genuine badass. But none of that mattered in the face of her family’s love and affection.
“Vale, vale!” Pepa raised her hands, putting the cheers to an end. “Don’t you all have work to do? Or are we just going to sit on our asses all day?”
Amiable laughter greeted her as the brunette made a quick retreat to sit at her desk, exhaling a sigh of relief through pursed lips. Her refuge was short lived as a folder with the stamp of the CNP was slapped abruptly on her desk, directly in her field of vision.
“It’s about time, Miranda!” Don Lorenzo’s familiar bark assaulted her ears. “Two months on desk duty and you’re still late in getting reports to me! I’ll be glad to have you in the field to be out of my hair!”
Pepa stood to face her superior, her smirk now fully plastered across her features. “Don Lorenzo. I take it this is my file to bring me back to active duty?”
“Signed by me this morning! It couldn’t come fast enough!” The commissioner held his grumpy frown in place for another second before his expression began to crumble, as he broke out into gruff laughter.
“Ahh! You just can’t stay mad at me for long, can you comisario?” The tall woman teased.
The older man sighed resignedly. “No. Believe it or not, I’m starting to like you Pepa. Much more of this, and you’ll completely ruin my reputation as a hard-ass!” Don Lorenzo’s eyes gentled as he squeezed her left arm, which had now fully healed. “I’m glad you’re back, hija.”
“Gracias, Papa.”
Pepa felt her right side embraced by a strong, warm hold as she smiled lovingly at Silvia, who was looking radiant in a summer dress, her hair loose around her shoulders. “Papa, you’re not the only one who’s relieved. One more day of her prowling the precinct or the house with all her restless energy and I would have thrown her in a patrol car myself!”
The agent playfully stuck her tongue out at her fiancé. “Everyone’s a critic!”
“Well, you still need to work on getting those reports to me on time, Miranda!” The commissioner huffed, gesturing pointedly to the agent. He was distracted by Montoya motioning in his direction with a file. “We’ve got a briefing in ten, hijas. See you then.”
“Vale.” Silvia replied, receiving her customary kiss on the forehead from her father before he walked off. She smiled up at Pepa who looked visibly relieved. “Alone at last, hm?”
“I think I need to talk to Felix again. Half the time, I still don’t know whether your padre loves or hates me. If he’s really pissed off, if he’s joking…I almost prefer the straight up yelling -” Pepa bit her tongue as she realized what she was saying. “On second thought, forget I said that!”
She received a soft kiss on the shoulder in answer. “Claro que sí.”
“Inspectora! Agent! Mira, mira!” Povedilla sputtered as he came dashing up to the pair, waving an envelope. “I just got it in the mail and wanted to show you -” He slipped out an official looking piece of paper and held it up to display it proudly. “I am now certified!”
Pepa leaned in to read the certificate. “Jose Luis Povedilla…you are hereby granted the authority and legal rights to officiate weddings and other such ceremonies as dictated by the Spanish Constitution… Dios mío, Pove! You completed one of those registrations to officiate weddings online?”
“Sí, sí!” The bespectacled man nodded enthusiastically. “I figure if I once had to impersonate a priest, now I can at least do weddings! And I thought I’d perform your ceremony. You know, as a gift!” The agent hesitated, seeing the couple eye each other questioningly, communicating without words. “Um…that is…unless you think I spoke too soon. Lo - lo siento!”
“Hm, what do you think cariño?” Silvia asked, leaning into the strong arms that held her.
“Well, we were going to have Father Bonilla do our ceremony, but I say…” Pepa drew the word out, seemingly oblivious to an almost hyperventilating Povedilla. “I say that we can’t get any better than familia!”
“Claro que sí!” Silvia hugged the shorter agent, who almost collapsed with nervous relief. “What a lovely surprise, Pove! I think it’ll be wonderful!”
“But, I have a few conditions!” Pepa said seriously, causing her fellow agent to snap to attention. “No twin brother standing in for you, no hostage situations, no gunfire, no one getting shot -” The brunette kept ticking off the points on her fingers as she went down the list. “And no fucking Italian mafioso ruining the day! Got it?”
The inspector laughed as she rubbed her fiancé’s back. “I think you covered everything Pepa.”
“Sí! At your service Agent Miranda!” Pove saluted his superiors before blanching once again. “Dios! I’ve got to practice my lines!”
“Pove, you’ve got a while until the ceremony.”
“I know, I know Inspectora, but I don’t want to mess anything up for your sake!” He leaned into affectionately kiss both women on the cheek. “Gracias, mi novias!”
Silvia felt Pepa heave a small sigh as Pove scooted away to the briefing room. “Qué pasa, Pepa?”
The agent shook her head bemusedly, before quickly dropping a kiss on her partner’s lips. “I think we’re going to have the most interesting wedding, pelirroja!”