These two pieces were originally written as part of a challenge on Tory's Prey list.
The challenge was to take a Tom/Sloan scene that was written entirely form one character's
point of view and re-write it in the OTHER character's POV. The point of the exercise was to
focus on the differences between writing a dominant character and writing a human one.
I am pretty happy with the results and plan to incorporate some of each scene into "Lineage",
but a couple of people suggested that I also post the two scenes together here on my site. So,
here you go! And thanks to Sue, Lina and Joan for their encouragement and support.
These characters don't belong to me and this work does not represent a commercial
venture on my part. I do this for fun, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Sloan's POV
It was much later than Sloan had intended when they finally got through with grocery shopping. Menu changes had meant ditching her carefully laid out shopping list and wandering up and down the aisles of her local market as well as a quick trip to the gourmet deli. There were three full shopping bags in the backseat filling the car with the smell of garlic bread and roast chicken.
Sloan glanced over at Tom as they pulled out of the deli parking lot and started giggling all over again.
"I don't understand why you find this so amusing..." He said dryly, but his eyes were smiling.
"Oh, come on!" She was really laughing now, "It was priceless! I have got to take you grocery shopping more often..."
"I was just surprised." Tom's hint of a smile widened into a grin, "I thought your species was supposed to be civilized."
"You just can't admit that you're squeamish! I finally found something that you think is... icky!" Sloan lowered her voice and did her best deadpan Tom imitation, "Raw?! You mean you eat the oysters without cooking them?"
"Sloan, when I think of eating raw fish or meat, I think of survival training - not dinner for two at you apartment. The roast chicken will be much more appropriate."
Sloan laughed again. They stopped at a light and she looked at Tom. He was really smiling now, that rare, beautiful smile she wished she saw more often. Then there were his eyes, full of meaning and all the things he had trouble putting into words. It all slid like satin over her skin.
"I love you, too." She said.
Tom cocked his head and confusion clouded his expression. "Why did you say that?"
"Because I do, Tom.... you know that."
"How did you know what I was thinking?"
Now it was Sloan's turn to be confused, "I didn't, really. I just guessed. I mean, it was pretty obvious from the way you were looking at me."
The car behind them honked and Sloan realized she was sitting at a green light. "Oops!" She hastily stepped on the gas, "You are just too distracting."
"My apologies, Dr. Parker." He reached across the seat and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. Sloan felt her heart speed up and a tingle spread from her chest to her belly. "I'll try to do better."
"That I'd like to see." She said breathlessly, "but not while I'm driving."
Tom smiled.
They were just a block from the apartment when Tom's stiffened and leaned forward in his seat. He laid his hand on Sloan's shoulder and said, "Don't slow down."
"What is it?"
"There are people here, my species, four maybe five." Tom's eyes were unfocused and his head cocked right as if listening. "They aren't masked... They're hunting..."
"Us?"
He didn't answer for a moment. Sloan glanced at him and then quickly back to the road. The steering wheel was slick under her hands from sweat and she could feel her heart pounding.
Tom seemed if anything to have become calmer.
"I don't think so..." The car passed the apartment and Tom put his hand on door handle. "Just keep going. Get back to the lab. You'll be safe there. I'll meet you later."
"Wha-??" Before Sloan could say anything to stop him, Tom had opened the car door and jumped out. "Jesus!" It was all she could do to keep from swerving onto the sidewalk. The car door slammed shut as she accelerated to the next corner. "Dammit, Tom, what are you doing?"
*****************************************************************************
Tom's POV
Tom knew that shopping had taken longer than Sloan had intended, but he didn't sense any annoyance or impatience in her. As far as he could tell she had quite enjoyed it.
He saw her glance over his way as they pulled out of the deli parking lot. Amusement bubbled to the surface of her mind and she started giggling all over again.
Automatically he began doing the emotional calculus that would help him respond to Sloan's humor. She was enjoying having surprised him. He sensed no undertone of cruelty, just playfulness. He wanted to stretch it out, make her laugh again. He decided to play it straight. "I don't understand why you find this so amusing..."
"Oh, come on!" She was really laughing now, her eyes sparkled and she threw back her head exposing her throat. "It was priceless! I have got to take you grocery shopping more often..."
"I was just surprised." Tom could feel himself falling into her mood, her amusement becoming his own. He grinned and said, "I thought your species was supposed to be civilized."
"You just can't admit that you're squeamish! I finally found something that you think is... icky!" Sloan lowered her voice and did her best deadpan Tom imitation, "Raw?! You mean you eat the oysters without cooking them?"
Tom was fascinated with the incongruences she was constructing: the childish word, "icky", the image of a very serious Tom, who was also brave and protective linking now to "squeamish"... All this for Sloan led to humor, and, more deeply, to tenderness and a sense of growing closer.
Tom hesitated and then went ahead and tried adding to mix. "Sloan, when I think of eating raw fish or meat, I think of survival training - not dinner for two at you apartment. The roast chicken will be much more appropriate."
He was rewarded with another of Sloan's laughs. She glowed and he could not take his eyes off her.
And in that moment, as he had for that brief time that he had lived as a human in her world, he loved her. There was no need for calculation, or consideration of what was appropriate, no struggle to guess what she might or might not need, or expect from him. He knew.
He wanted her to know, bone deep, how he felt. After what happened in the parking lot he wasn't sure how much she could pick up but his presence reached out to hers and he felt a response. He poured his love for her into that connection.
"I love you, too." She said.
For a heart beat he just accepted it, it was a natural response to the sensing. But was she responding consciously?
"Why did you say that?" He asked.
"Because I do, Tom.... you know that."
Of course he knew. But... "How did you know what I was thinking?"
Now it was Sloan's turn to look confused, "I didn't, really. I just guessed. I mean, it was pretty obvious from the way you were looking at me."
The car behind them honked and Sloan turned her attention back to the now green traffic light. "Oops!" She hastily stepped on the gas, "You are just too distracting."
"My apologies, Dr. Parker."
Tom reached across the seat and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. The connection between them intensified and he heard her gasp softly.
"I'll try to do better." He said.
"That I'd like to see." She said breathlessly, "but not while I'm driving."
Tom smiled, it pleased him that they could connect on such a deep level, even if Sloan could not access it consciously.
At that level of contact, however, Tom could sense nothing outside of the two of them, and he couldn't ignore how unsafe that was. Reluctantly, he drew back from Sloan as they approached her apartment and focused on scanning the area for any intruders or watchers.
They were just a block away when felt them. He laid his hand on Sloan's shoulder and said, "Don't slow down."
"What is it?"
"There are people here, my species, four maybe five." He stretched his senses out as far as he could while simultaneously trying to mask his and Sloan's presence. "They aren't masked... They're hunting..."
"Us?"
He didn't answer for a moment. He could feel Sloan's fear spiking, but he purposely drew away. He needed to focus on the hunter team.
"I don't think so..." The car passed the apartment and Tom put his hand on door handle. He needed to get closer, and he needed Sloan away from here and safe. "Just keep going. Get back to the lab. You'll be safe there. I'll meet you later."
"Wha-??" Before Sloan could say anything to stop him, Tom opened the car door and jumped out.