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      	  Down the Rabbit Hole 
 by icepixie  

 Story Notes: Sincerest apologies for my crimes against geography.

 

 "We are going to be so late," she fretted, thrusting her arms into her
red uniform tunic. "I knew we should've set the alarm for six instead of
six-thirty." In fact, six-thirty would have been plenty of time to get
ready, but...certain activities, which they really did not have time for,
had interfered.

 "Meg," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe." Narrowing
her eyes at him, she inhaled deeply through her nose and slowly exhaled.
While she did so, he quickly did up the buttons on her tunic. He'd already
gotten into everything except his boots, damn him.

 "We have plenty of time," he continued. "After all, the Inuit consider
the concept of time to"

 "Please, not now," she begged. She grabbed both sets of boots from the
closet, where they stood next to each other. Each of them quickly put them
on and laced them up, the years of practice making them quick and
efficient at the task.

 She looped her Sam Browne over her shoulder and around her waist,
skinning the leather through the buckles and jerking the whole contraption
into place while he settled his Stetson on his head. "Your cap," he said
when she'd finished, holding it out to her. She took it and jammed it onto
her head.

 "Here, let me just..." She used both hands to straighten his lanyardnot
that it needed straightening, but she liked to pretend that something
about him could fall victim to messiness like any normal person.

 "Thank you," he said, and something in his expression made it impossible
not to kiss him one more time.

 "We have to get going," she said when she finally managed to drag herself
away. She grabbed his hand and practically ran out of the bedroom, darting
through their house toward the back door, stopping only for her car keys.

 "At the posted speed limits, allowing for some variability in traffic
patterns and traffic light synchronizations, it takes approximately
fourteen minutes and thirty seconds to get to the courthouse from here,"
Ben said. "We have seventeen minutes before we're required to be present."

 She shook her head, locking the door behind them. "It's half an hour
later than we usually leave for work. Traffic's going to be worse; it'll
take more like twenty-four minutes, maybe twenty-five." She was surprised
to have caught him out like that. Of course, both of them had been a
little distracted this morning.

 "Ah." He got a distant look for a moment, as if calculating something.
"The courthouse is only thirty-six blocks from here. In light of the
traffic, it would likely be quicker to travel on foot."

 Thirty-six blocks. On foot. In her dress reds.

 She supposed she'd done stranger things over the past two years,
including helping him and Detectives Vecchio and Kowalski put a stop to an
international caribou smuggling ring, the proprietor of whom, one Chris
Kringle, they were appearing as witness against in court this morning.
Marrying Benton Fraser had certainly ensured she would retain an
interesting perspective on the absurd.

 "All right." With a nod, she pocketed her keys, and both of them started
down the sidewalk at a run.  
  

End Down the Rabbit Hole by icepixie 

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