Chapter Text
Sabrina debated with herself for almost five minutes before she eventually decided to address the elephant in the room. To call it an elephant was probably not the best choice of words she corrected herself, but it did stand out as an elephant would if it was inside the living room of the Munroe beach house.
The three Angels were enjoying a 'girls' night in' at Kris' beach house and had been sitting in relative silence for almost ten minutes, with Kris having slept through the last five of those ten. Their silence wasn't the elephant; there had been plenty of times during prior 'night ins' they all had sat in silence, content with each other's company. Sabrina knew they had become very comfortable and secure with each other during their time together working for Charlie, and none of them felt the need to fill their silence with forced conversation. The elephant wasn't the fact that Kris had fallen asleep either; it was her house, she could do what she wanted! Neither Kelly nor Sabrina took offense when the blonde Angel would occasionally nod off; her house was so comforting it was fairly easy to do. She had napped a few times herself (Kelly likewise). And on those times when Kris did fall asleep, either Kelly or herself would wake her up to say goodnight, and both of them made sure she locked the front door after they exited the house.
The elephant in the room was how Kris was sleeping.
After what all of them had gone through recently, Sabrina knew they needed a break, so she suggested in having a 'night in'. Kris seemed a bit hesitant in playing host, but Sabrina insisted she didn't have to host or do much of anything, just provide the house. She'd bring the food and drinks (no alcohol for this 'night in' though), and they could use the time together to rest and re-charge their internal batteries. Their current case looked to be a tough one (and a personal one, with the death of Charlie's good friend Frank), and Sabrina felt they needed the rest.
When they all had their fill of the Chinese food Sabrina had brought over (it was very good, surprisingly, considering the condition of the place she bought it from), they each made their way to the living room. Kelly started a fire in the upright iron fireplace that took center stage against the living room wall opposite the kitchen, and then sat down next to Kris on the wicker couch that was just in front and to the left of the fireplace. Jill had furnished the beach house with wicker furniture when she lived there (couch, daybed, and two chairs), and Kris had kept all of it when she moved in. A month later Kris added cushions and throw pillows to the couch (and a coffee table in front), and cushions to each chair, which made each wicker very comfortable to use. It seemed the only sensible choice Jill made in furniture was getting the wicker daybed with cushions and pillows already included. Sabrina never understood why Jill had kept the rest of the wicker 'bare' during the time she lived there!
Wicker chairs guarded each side of the fireplace, and Sabrina picked up the chair closest to her and moved it over to where other two Angels were. She sat down, kicked off her shoes, placed her feet on the coffee table (playfully moving Kelly's feet with her own to get enough room to stretch her legs), and began to finally unwind. The living room was illuminated only by the fire and the single ceiling light from the kitchen, which made the setting all the more comfortable to Sabrina (and to the other Angels as well). The sounds and warmth from the fire and her current company made Sabrina feel very secure at that moment.
"Thanks for the idea for tonight Bri," Kris said after a minute or two of watching the fire dance around the lone log in the fireplace. Sabrina thought Kris' voice sounded very relaxed, and very tired. She could relate to both of those feelings quite well.
“Very welcome. And thanks for letting me talk you into it. Thought we all could use some quality down time after what we've been through lately,” Sabrina replied, and stopped. The first rule of 'girls' night in' was no work talk. Any other subject was fair game, and they've had quite a few very interesting conversations in the past. But tonight seemed to be mostly filled with silence, with each Angel deep in their own thoughts. And after about five minutes of said silence, the elephant made its appearance.
Kris had been sitting close to Kelly on the couch, and Sabrina knew that wasn't uncommon for that to happen; they sat close to each other more often than not during 'night ins'. And lately it had been a fairly regular occurrence. But after that day's events she was pretty sure there was something between the two that was much more than just friendship, and when Kris went to sleep she changed Sabrina's 'pretty sure' to 'very sure'.
Kris moved slightly away from Kelly, which initially made Sabrina think Kris was going to get off the couch and head over to the kitchen for more food. Nope! Kris lifted up both of her legs, tucked them in behind her, and leaned over to place her head on Kelly's lap. Her move seemed to take Kelly a bit by surprise at first, (Kelly raised both hands slightly, as if saying, "what?") but after Kris had settled down (and quickly fell asleep) Kelly used her right hand to lightly stroke Kris' hair. After a few brushes with her hand Kelly stopped, and rested her hand on Kris' shoulder. To Sabrina, Kris' movements seemed very natural, and if Sabrina discounted the surprised look, Kelly seemed natural with her response as well. Natural in the sense that Kris didn’t ask permission to use Kelly's lap as a pillow, and Kelly didn't refuse or push her away. One movement followed by another. The only 'hitch' to their movements was Kelly's slight surprise, which was very brief and hardly overt. Kelly had smiled and looked at Kris almost lovingly (even in the slightly dim room Kelly's expression was easy to see) while she had brushed Kris' hair, and Sabrina knew right then what she had suspected over the past few months was true.
After about a minute of looking down at Kris, Kelly suddenly raised her head and looked at Sabrina as if she just remembered the tallest Angel was still sitting in the chair next to them. With slightly raised eyebrows Kelly gave Sabrina a nervous smile (way different from the smile and look she had given Kris). Sabrina hoped the smile she gave in return didn't reveal the 'a hah!' moment she just experienced. It must have been good enough, because Kelly looked at Kris again, moved her own body slightly in an effort to get comfortable, gave Kris' shoulder a soft squeeze and turned to watch the fire continue its dance. And that was when Sabrina's internal debate began.
Sabrina believed for the three of them to work together as an effective team, they needed to have a good idea of what the others were thinking at any given moment when they were undercover or in the field. They needed to 'operate on the same wave length', for the lack of a better expression. And not that BS biorhythm wave pattern crap that seemed to be the rage lately (fad!). If a case suddenly went to hell in a hand basket, each Angel had to accurately predict what the other's response could or would be. Their lives, or the lives of others, depended on how well they knew each other. Kris' choice of where to nap (or how), and Kelly's response to it, told Sabrina there was something Kelly and Kris knew about one another, but until either one of them outright admitted to Sabrina what was going on between them, she only thought she knew. And at that moment it didn't seem Kelly was very talkative about Kris' current sleeping habit. After five minutes of internal deliberations, Sabrina won the debate with herself and asked Kelly about the elephant.
"Kelly, have you heard of the lyric "How long has this been going on"? It's from a song that was fairly popular a couple of years ago. I think the band’s name was Ace or something, I’m not sure. It got a lot of play time on the radio when it was first released, that I do know. KFXM used to play it constantly." Sabrina's voice was almost a whisper in an attempt to not wake-up Kris. Her recent experiences had been more stressful than either Kelly's or hers, and the nap was well earned. No matter how she chose to take it.
Kelly replied in her own hushed voice, "No I hav…", then became quiet. She looked at Kris for a second or two, then back at Sabrina. Kelly's body tensed as a thoughtful look appeared on her face for a moment, and then she visibly relaxed as she spoke.
"I don't know if I can explain it Bri. I've liked Kris since the first day she began working with us, and the more time I spent with her the more that feeling had grown to…" She looked at Kris and continued. "I wasn't really sure how I felt about her until today. Over the last few months I've had many sleepless nights thinking about my feelings towards her, and it seemed each night I eventually fell asleep without knowing for sure. I knew I liked her; liked her a lot. Not sure if 'like' would be a strong enough word on some days, Bri. There have been quite a few times, especially recently, I would look at her and ask myself if I was falling…"
Kelly paused, and tilted her head slightly as she looked at Kris. Did Kris' body move slightly before Kelly stopped speaking? Sabrina wasn't entirely sure it didn't.
Kelly took a deep breath and continued. "But now I am sure. So I guess my answer to that lyric would be," Kelly looked over to the clock that hung on the kitchen wall. "Twelve hours?"
A slightly sleepy voice said, "After our first 'girl's night in.'" Kris' eyes opened. She kept her head on Kelly's lap and looked at Sabrina while she spoke. "I'm sorry Kell' I haven't told you that before now. It's just every time I thought there might have been a chance to tell you, I got scared. I wasn't sure how you would react if I did. But I did figure it probably wouldn't have shocked you very much." She covered Kelly's hand still resting on her shoulder with one of her own. "I just wasn't sure when I could, or should say something. I was afraid I would scare you away by telling you how I felt. That I would lose you before I ever had you, or at least ruin the friendship we had with each other. I was going nuts! But after hearing you admit your feelings for me made all the fear, all the uncertainty go away, and made it easy for me to tell you. Now that I have, I'm glad I did." Kris closed her eyes, and Sabrina thought she seemed to move herself a little closer to Kelly before falling asleep (again!).
Kelly looked up at Sabrina after Kris had finished speaking with an expression that seemed to ask the tallest Angel 'now what?'. Sabrina thought long and hard before she responded to Kelly's look, because she knew her answer could affect the entire dynamic of how they worked together. And also could decide the future of Townsend Investigations.
Her first response was to answer her own lyrical question, and she smiled at Kelly as she spoke. "My guess as to 'how long' would've been sometime over the last six months, so apparently we all aren't the best detectives when it comes to ourselves." Kelly smiled back as Sabrina continued, "Which means if we use my time frame, we've worked on three different cases during those six months, and not at any minute during any of those cases did I feel unsupported or cast aside by either of you. In fact, I believe those last three were some of our best work, and that most definitely includes what you did in landing that jet." Sabrina glanced towards Kris. "I bet she had a part in you doing that, didn't she?"
Kelly tilted her head down to look at Kris, and brushed a stray strand of blonde hair away from Kris' face; very affectionately it appeared to Sabrina. "Yes she did." Kelly smoothed out a wrinkle on Kris' sleeve after she replied, slowly and carefully, with a very light touch.
"Sorry I wasn't much help to you for that one, Kell'. Darn it, we're breaking rule number one here," Sabrina said with a slight laugh, attempting to help them both remain at ease. Kelly responded with her own little laugh, and that caused Kris to move slightly but remain asleep. What a sleepyhead! Or was she…
Kelly looked back to Sabrina and said "Bri, I..."
"Kelly, please," Sabrina held up both hands as a form of apology for the interruption. "Let me continue." Kelly nodded her head. "Remember what Charlie said to us at the morning briefing for Frank's case? He told us we're his extended family. That is exactly how I feel about you two: family. Family I can trust to be there when I need them, just as I'll do my damnest to be there when you or Kris need me. And that trust is what I believe…" Sabrina shook her head slightly, "… what I know makes us a very good team. I don't want that to change."
Sabrina lowered her head to help her put words to the thoughts and emotions currently tumbling inside her. For one thing, she had to admit to herself she was afraid. Tonight's revelations by Kelly and Kris had changed the core relationship between the three of them, which made Sabrina afraid they would no longer consider her as an equal. Love is a very powerful emotion, and Sabrina knew that particular emotion could cloud a person's judgment, especially under stress. But love can also be powerfully good. She had watched the two of them grow stronger and more confident while working various cases, which she initially credited to simply gaining experience. She now knew it wasn't just experience by itself; it was experience amplified by their love and trust for each other. But how did they feel about her now? She needed to know she could trust them from tonight onward exactly how she had over the past two-plus (one-plus for Kris) years. Reaffirming that trust started by telling Kelly how she truly felt about the two of them being together.
"Before I go on, I want to answer a question that has probably been bugging you both for some time. And I'll tell this to Kris, whenever she wakes up…"
"I'm awake," Kris interrupted in a soft voice. She kept her eyes closed and her head on Kelly's lap. Without looking down Kelly smiled as she brushed Kris' hair once with her hand, then returned it to its prior resting spot on the blonde Angel's shoulder.
Sabrina smiled. "And just how long have you been awake, Miss Munroe?"
Kris lifted herself off Kelly's lap and looked directly at Sabrina as she answered. "Awake long enough to hear what you said about family and trust. I feel exactly the same way Bri." Even though she looked very tired, Sabrina knew Kris was very sincere and spoke from her heart.
"So do I Sabrina, you should know that," Kelly added with equal sincerity.
"I do know that Kell', and thank you both for saying that. Now, isn't there a question that's been on both of your minds over the past few months?"
Kelly and Kris looked at each other for a moment, and were smiling when they both looked back at Sabrina. The two responded in unison, "What does Sabrina think?" And that made them all laugh together. It had become almost a running joke with the three; whenever they were presented a problem it seemed the first question from either of the other Angels (and Bosley on more than one occasion) was 'what does Sabrina think?'.
"Exactly, what does Sabrina think? So here's what I think. You both know I'm a common sense type of girl, and my common sense tells me what makes either of you happy makes me happy. My common sense also tells me love is love is love. Meaning, where ever you can find it, good for you. I thought I had found it with Bill, but it turned out we make better friends than husband and wife. And that's okay, because we all need friends too. You two have found love with each other, and on a personal level I'm happy for the both of you."
Sabrina paused, which made Kelly ask "But?"
"Yes, but." Sabrina struggled to find the words. She looked down at her clasped hands that rested in her lap, and realized she was gripping them rather tightly. How can she tell them she was afraid? Afraid that she was no longer an equal in the team Charlie called his Angels. Afraid that one of them would risk their life for the other and not for Sabrina when she needed them to. She knew that sounded selfish, but she also knew things were way different between all of them now. She had once thought 'so what' to the idea of Kelly and Kris being together, but that was when she wasn't one hundred percent sure. Now she was one hundred percent sure, and she had to admit to herself that surety had caused her think differently. It wasn't the fact of the two of them being lovers that bothered her; it was the possibility of that love affecting the judgment of one or both of them during a case. And that could get any or all of them killed! Her hands really started to hurt; she unclasped them and gently massaged each finger in the attempt to lessen the pain.
Kris' voice surprised Sabrina slightly when she asked, "Bri, please, tell us what’s going on. What are you thinking?"
Sabrina took a deep breath; she knew she needed to be truthful with them, even when the truth was so damn hard to admit. "I'm happy for you both, like I said. But at the risk of sounding sel-…" Sabrina's voice cracked, and she tried to swallow the knot that was growing in her throat. No tears! She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid there will be a time when one of you will be worried about the other instead of helping me when my life could be at stake. I'm afraid of all the trust and friendship we have with each other won't be there. I'm afraid…" Dammit! Sabrina thought she could finish without crying, but there was no way she could stop the tears from running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away with both hands. "Sorry."
Both Kelly and Kris got up off the couch, and knelt down on either side of Sabrina's chair. Even in the slightly darkened living room, Sabrina could see tears in their eyes as well. This wasn't how she wanted this to go!
Kris took one of Sabrina's hands in her own and surprised the tallest Angel by how firmly she held it. Her moist eyes looked directly at Sabrina. "Since day one of my time working for Charlie, I thought you were the smartest, bravest, and most emotionally strongest person I had ever met. Still do! And I've come to realize I wouldn't think twice about putting my life in your hands. That realization will never change, Sabrina. And I want you to know you can still trust me to do whatever is needed for me to do; anywhere, anytime. I won't let you down."
Sabrina wiped another tear that had escaped from its hiding place, leaned toward Kris and gave her a strong hug. "I know that Kris." She broke the hug, and rested her hands on Kris' shoulders as she continued. "I guess I just needed to hear it. Thank you."
"Thank you Sabrina, for being truthful, caring, supportive… hell, for being you!" Kris gave Sabrina hug of her own, and in a voice that was almost a whisper told the tallest Angel "Thank you Bri; for everything." Kris suddenly stood up and began to walk towards the kitchen. "Any of that take-out left? I'm hungry!"
Kelly was still kneeling beside Sabrina, and the two of them watched Kris make her way to the kitchen, then turned to look at each other. They both smiled (Kelly actually rolled her eyes in mock disdain), knowing how easily Kris could go from being totally serious to very playful, and vice versa, at the drop of a hat. Probably one of the reasons Kelly fell in love with Kris, Sabrina thought. Now it was Kelly's turn to take one of Sabrina's hands into her own, and Sabrina could feel a slight tremble in Kelly's grasp.
"Not quite the 'girls' night in' you had in mind, was it Bri?" Kelly smiled at Sabrina as she spoke; a smile that was very warm and very friendly.
Sabrina laughed once, and smiled back. "Not in the least!" She laughed again. "But it will be one of our most memorable ones though. Pretty sure 'bout that!"
"I'm sure too!" Kelly paused, and spoke again with a soft voice full of emotion. "Thank you Sabrina." Kelly's eyes began to tear up again.
"Thank me; for what?" Sabrina was quite puzzled why Kelly would thank her, especially watching her cry as she said thanks.
"Thank you for asking me about Kris. To help me… make me open up about how I felt towards her. I don't know how long I would've argued with myself in whether or not to say anything to her, until your little question about a song. I had a pretty good idea of her feelings towards me, but without her saying anything at all to me all I could do was guess. And now neither of us has to guess, thanks to you." A tear away made its way down Kelly's cheek, which she quickly brushed away. "You're a very special woman Sabrina, and I'm blessed to call you my friend. My best friend." Kelly glanced over to the kitchen area where Kris was getting the last bit of food out of one of the take-out boxes. "What Kris said to you earlier, about how she feels towards you, I feel the same. More, if that's possible." Kelly looked back at Sabrina and gave her hand a squeeze. "We're still a team, Bri. Now we're a stronger team."
Kelly stood up, and pulled Sabrina up with her. "C'mon, let's see if Kris left us any food. I'm suddenly hungry too."