DISCLAIMER: Nikki & Nora are the property of Nancylee Myatt and Warner Bros. Television. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Manhunt
By Ann
Nora walked into the bedroom and fell face first onto the mattress, her pitiful groan stifled in the soft material of the down comforter. The phone she'd cradled in her hand slipped onto the wooden floor and bounced twice before it came to rest under the bed near the headboard. Her muffled plea could barely be understood by the other occupant in the room.
"Make her stop, Nikki. Please make her stop."
The brunette chuckled, knowing exactly to whom her lover was referring. "Nora, your momma is never going to stop trying to find you a man. You may as well face it; unless you tell her why you have no interest in the male population, she's going to continue in her manhunt." Nikki strode out of the closet as she spoke her words, and neither woman grasped the symbolic significance of her action.
"Hmm, then maybe I should find one myself." Nora rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating her words. Her idea took shape, and she smiled. If she could find someone to play the role of her new man friend, then maybe her momma would leave her alone.
From the other side of the bed, a dark head bent over the blonde's. Nora blinked a couple of times, finally focusing on her lover's eyes that were looking down on her from an upside down position. If Nora was to lift up, she'd only manage to kiss Nikki on the forehead.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Think about it, Nikki. If Momma thinks I've already got someone, she'll leave me alone."
"Well, first of all, you do have someone, just not the sex your momma thinks. Secondly, she wouldn't leave you alone, Nora; she'd be planning your engagement."
Nora rolled over and sat up, facing her lover. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
"You mean, short of knocking on your parents' door and informing them that I'm in love with their daughter, in the 'I sleep with her every night' sort of way?"
The blonde glared at the brunette. "Ha ha, very funny, Hun. Now, please help me figure out what I'm going to do." Nora stuck out her lower lip, begging her lover to find a way to help her.
Nikki grinned and climbed onto the bed, easily knocking Nora over on her side. Hovering above her lover, she slowly leaned towards the soft lips below. "I don't know what you're going to do, but I know exactly what I'm going to do." Contact was made, and only moans of pleasure were heard for the rest of the evening.
The next morning, Dan greeted the two detectives the moment they walked into the doors of the precinct. "Good morning, ladies. One of our local congressmen came home last night and decided to shoot his wife, and then he turned the gun on himself. The powers that be are demanding that the case be treated with velvet gloves. Nikki, I need you on this one."
"Aw, Dan, can't you give it to someone else? This is a murder/suicide, cut and dried." Nora protested, not looking forward to having to dodge the media.
"Sorry, Nora. You're it. Here's the information." Handing over the specifics, Dan turned and walked away, leaving the two women standing in the doorway.
Nikki looked down at the address and frowned. This case was not going to be fun. "C'mon, Nora. The faster we get there, the faster we can wrap everything up."
The blonde detective grudgingly followed her partner out the door and down the steps. Just as they'd made it to Nora's car, a voice called out. "Yoo-hoo, Nora!"
Nora froze on the sidewalk and grimaced. Turning around, she saw her mother walking towards her, and she wasn't alone. "Momma, what are you doing here?"
"Well, that's a fine how-do-you-do. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by and say hello. Nora, you remember Tyler Thibodeaux, don't you? He was a year ahead of you in school."
Nikki bit the side of her mouth to keep from laughing as she watched her lover squirm at the awkwardness of the situation. Turning her gaze to the man accompanying Nancy Delaney, the brunette noted the brown, ankle length trousers worn with black socks and black shoes. The man's shirt was a poor fit, and his belt buckle was straining to stay in the last available notch.
Mrs. Delaney didn't allow her daughter time to answer. "You remember Tyler went to LSU until his football injury cut his college days short? Well, he's moved back here from New Iberia where he was a very successful car salesman. He's now employed with Fontenot's Chevrolet."
"Momma, I can't talk now. Nikki and I have to get to a crime scene."
"See, Tyler? I told you Nora's an important detective now. You go along now, honey, and solve that crime. I'll just give Tyler here your number so he can call you later." The older Delaney took the man by the arm. "Nice to see you again, Nikki. Come along now, Tyler. We can't keep these ladies any longer."
The pair turned and walked away. Nikki waited until they were out of earshot before chuckling. "That guy played football for LSU?"
Nora walked around the car and opened the door. "No. Tyler was the water boy. One day at practice, the star fullback was tackled near the sidelines and knocked him over, breaking both of Tyler's legs. He never went back."
Nikki laughed aloud as she climbed into the car.
Nora sat on the edge of the bed, phone in hand. "No, Tyler. I can't make it tomorrow night. In fact, I'm working every night for the next month . . . Huh? Days? Well, I'm on call and can't stray too far from the precinct . . . Okay, maybe some other time then. Bye."
From behind her, Nikki admitted defeat. "You were right, Nora."
The blonde turned and lay next to her lover. "I was? About what?"
"I think we need to find you a pretend boyfriend. Maybe we can invent a traveling salesman or someone who has to always leave to conduct their business."
Nora smiled. "I've got another idea. What if we found someone Momma would never in a million years accept in the family? Someone she'd be so happy to get rid of that she'd leave me alone, at least for awhile anyway."
Nikki pulled her lover close. "Ooohh, I love the way you think."
"I'll ask Bobby tomorrow. See if he knows someone who'd play the part." Nora began to slowly move her hand up and down her lover's side.
"We need to make a list of everything your momma would despise," Nikki added as she rolled on top of the other woman.
Leaning up and nipping her lover's lips, Nora agreed, "Okay, first thing in the morning." Nikki didn't need an invitation to latch onto the nearbly lips and, once again, their planning was interrupted by a much more pressing need.
An hour before shift, the couple met Bobby at Café de Monde for beignets and coffee. Nora sat across from her brother and smiled. "Bobby? I need your help."
Bobby continued to munch on his beignets as he listened to Nora outline her plan, and he looked over at his sister when she'd finished. "You're sure going to a lot of trouble to get Momma to stop searching for the ideal man for you. Seems to me that if you'd just tell her about Nikki, she'd get the picture much quicker than by using a pretend boyfriend."
Nikki shrugged and nodded her head while Nora disagreed with her brother's assessment. "No. Bobby, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm just not ready to tell them about me and Nikki? Just help me find someone to get her off my back, would you?"
Bobby noted the disappointed look in Nikki's eyes that she'd tried to hide. Sighing, he finally agreed. "Okay. One of the guys I work with does some acting over in the local theatre. He's always looking for more practice. I'm sure he'll jump at this."
Nora grinned. "Perfect. I'll call Momma and tell her that I'm bringing someone special over for dinner Friday night. Here's a list your friend needs to memorize. Just tell him to use this as his script." Nora passed the paper over to her brother, and he shoved it in his shirt pocket.
"Okay, Nora. I guess you know what you're doing. I'll have Phil come by your desk later on today." Bobby looked down at his watch. "Sorry, ladies. I need to hurry if I'm going to make it on time for my shift. Thanks for the beignets and coffee."
Both women smiled their goodbyes as Bobby stood to leave. As he walked towards the door, he turned back to see Nikki smile at his sister. He just couldn't understand how Nora could refuse to share her wonderful lover with the rest of the family.
Friday afternoon, Bobby walked into the precinct, frantically looking for his sister. Spotting her talking to Georgia, he made his way over. "Nora, I need to talk to you in private."
Frowning, Nora excused herself and motioned her brother towards the outside courtyard. Once they were alone, Bobby blurted out why he'd made his impromptu visit. "Nora, you've got to call Momma and cancel dinner. Phil fell off his horse today and broke his arm. He's still in the hospital. He has to have surgery to put a pin in his wrist."
"Bobby, I can't cancel at the last minute. She'll accuse me of making the whole thing up."
"Duh, Nora. You have. Phil's not your boyfriend."
The blonde sat down on the edge of the planter box. "Shit. What am I going to do now?"
"Hey, what are you two doing out here?" Nikki had seen Bobby come into the precinct and had watched as he and Nora walked outside. She'd joined the pair when she'd noticed how upset Nora seemed to be.
"Nikki, Phil can't go tonight. My plan's ruined. Momma's never going to stop now. She's not going to believe that my boyfriend couldn't make it. She's going to accuse me of lying."
Nikki held her tongue, her thoughts mirroring those expressed by Bobby. Instead, she sat next to her lover and placed her hand on Nora's back, rubbing small, soothing circles.
"I should've had a backup plan. Where am I going to find the one person who will get on my mother's nerves at the last minute?" Nora closed her eyes and leaned into her lover's touch.
"I've got an idea." Nikki's devious smile made both Delaneys nervous.
Nora took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Seconds later, Nancy Delaney swung the door open with a huge smile on her face.
"Hey, Momma. This is Darius."
Slack-jawed, the elder Delaney stared at her daughter's date. Darius smiled a toothy grin and extended his hand and, dazed, the woman reflexively reached out, her focus on the silver nose ring and the long dreadlocks; however, her southern roots wouldn't allow her to be rude.
"Welcome, won't you come in?" Darius nodded his head and grabbed Nora's hand, pulling her inside. Nancy Delaney hesitated on the doorstep, wondering if perhaps she'd been wrong worrying about her daughter's lack of love life all these years.
Darius played his part to perfection, and Nora began to feel sorry for her momma. Nancy Delaney was playing the perfect hostess despite her obvious unhappiness at the situation, but Nora's daddy didn't seem bothered in the least. He was too busy enjoying his favorite meal of crawfish etouffee and eggplant casserole.
When the evening finally came to an end, Darius thanked Nora's momma for the lovely meal, and he left his 'date' to say her goodbyes as he headed down the sidewalk to the car. The two women stood on the porch in uncomfortable silence.
"Momma?"
"Nora?"
Both women spoke at once, and Nora gestured for her momma to continue. "Nora, I'm sorry I'm always hounding you about getting married and settling down, but I think I may have changed my mind. Don't get me wrong; Darius is a nice man, but I just don't think he's the one for you."
Nora decided to let her momma off the hook. Well, just a little. "Um, I don't think Darius is right for me either, Momma. I think maybe I should wait awhile to date again. You know, just wait until the right person comes along."
Nancy Delaney reached for her daughter's hand. "Good for you, honey. I think you're right. Next time you come for dinner, why don't you bring your partner instead? Nikki seems like a nice, young lady. I'd like to get to know her better."
"I'll do that, Momma. Now, you have a good night. I'll call you tomorrow." Nora kissed her momma on the cheek and turned to walk down the sidewalk. She looked up at the sky and smiled; her plan had worked to perfection.
Best of all, Nikki was going to be very pleased. Although she wouldn't be introduced as Nora's lover, Nikki was finally going to get to meet her parents. Maybe someday, her momma would realize the Nora's ideal man was actually a woman.
The End