blue_ajah | (no subject)

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

It means he'll get there before the coffee's done -- but that won't be so bad.

"See you soon."

"See you soon," she murmurs, and hangs up the phone with a soft 'click.'

Moiraine draws a soft breath, lets it out in a soundless sigh, and crosses over to the counter to take down the coffeepot.

He goes to the coatrack, shrugs into his jacket (tugging it automatically over his badge), grabs his keys, checks his holster, and leaves the apartment.

Exactly nine and a half minutes later, just as the sky begins to lighten, Cooper gets out of the car and moves steadily up to Moiraine's door.

He hasn't allowed himself to wonder what this might be about. The best response to heightened anxiety is to dwell in the present, and at present, there's nothing to worry about except remembering to turn off the car's headlights.

A slender shadow moves at the window beside the front door, and a moment later the lock clicks.

Moiraine pulls the door open and steps back with it so that he may enter unimpeded.

"True to your word, as always."

"I strive to be a credit to the badge, Moiraine." Cooper enters; he can smell the coffee. "Now that we're not on the phone -- are you sure nothing's the matter?"

"I do not think that anything is the matter," she replies, very carefully. "But something has happened that was ... surprising."

Extremely so, to judge from the care in her words, and the steadiness with which she is holding herself.

She gestures gracefully toward the kitchen, where a mug stands waiting by the coffeepot.

If Cooper was a betting man, he'd say it involves either an unexpected opportunity in Twin Peaks, or something that means she's leaving Twin Peaks.

Cooper heads for the coffeepot, and picks up the mug. "Oh?"

"Yes."

She glides past behind him, toward the small table she has set up at the side of the kitchen, near the window, and rests both hands on the back of one of the chairs there.

"I had a visitor."

Cooper doesn't watch her move -- he's pouring coffee.

And once he's done, once she's spoken -- he doesn't say anything. But his head lifts, and his expression is wary.

She draws a breath, and turns to him.

"It was Morpheus. Here, in Twin Peaks, in my dreaming."

It is a testament to his will that Dale Cooper does not drop the cup of coffee.

Still, it's several seconds before he takes a sip, and he's a few shades paler when he does it.

"The coffee's quite good," Cooper says.

"I am glad you find it so," she murmurs, but she is studying him carefully as she does. Even if she had not been half expecting it, it would have been impossible for one such as the Aes Sedai to miss all the nuances of his reaction.

Moiraine leaves the chair without hesitation and crosses the small room swiftly to stand before him. She looks up into his face, her dark-eyed glance seeking his, and reaches for his free hand.

"I am sorry. I did not know how else to say it."

"Well," Cooper says, tone quite mild, "there really wasn't any other way, Moiraine."

"I suppose not."

She takes a soft breath.

"I do not expect that it is likely to happen again, however."

Cooper wants details. He wants a lot of details.

(He wants to get to work and go in Harry's office, with Hawk, and close the door.)

The problem is that, among all the other things, Morpheus is Moiraine's ex-husband.

Morpheus is Moiraine's business.

And Cooper has no right to ask for any kind of information.

No right at all.

Still, his hand squeezes hers briefly, and lets go. "But it didn't go badly?"

"No, but--"

"I thought you should know, because -- "

It is a rare thing to see the Aes Sedai even this flustered.

It is, and that's why Cooper waits, patiently.

If it's bad enough that she called him at 5:15, and asked him to come over immediately, and she can't find the words on her first try, then prompting her for an answer won't do anything but heighten anxiety for both of them.

She presses her lips together for a moment, visibly forcing herself to stillness, then opens her mouth and draws a soft breath before she speaks again.

"May I tell you from the beginning? I suspect it might be easier, if you are willing to listen."

"Of course, Moiraine." Calm. "Please."

She nods, then takes a small step back. Moiraine rests one hand on the nearby counter as she gathers her thoughts.

"I do not recall when the dream I was having changed, but I recognized it almost immediately. It was the Garden, although not quite as I knew it before."

A tiny hint of a smile, soft and rueful.

"For one thing, there were Douglas firs."

This is not an interrogation, he tells himself.

"So that's a change." Quiet.

"It is," she confirms. "There were others, subtle in distinction but clear all the same, but that was the first I noticed."

"He was waiting for me by the fountain, and asked if we might speak."

At least he asked permission.

Cooper takes a sip of coffee.

"He said..."

She looks up at him.

"I had not noticed, not truly. I knew that I had not seen him at Milliways in some time, but -- I do not know how, but I had not realized the extent of his withdrawal. Had you?"

He shakes his head. "I haven't been in Milliways in... quite some time. And we had something like a gentleman's agreement. I wouldn't have noticed, and I certainly wouldn't have gone looking deliberately."