But they couldn't stay in Sleuth forever. Both of them had jobs and responsibilities to attend to back in Olympia. So in the morning they climbed back in Joe's Range Rover and headed into the city.

Her return to the office was met with no small amount of enthusiasm. To celebrate her first front page story and surviving a bear attack her coworkers had gotten her a cake. The smart ass who picked the chocolate cake up had ordered a child's 3D confection shaped like a teddy bear, that they had requested be done in white icing. Sierra laughed off the gag and ate a generous portion of the bear's head.

James too, was receiving no small amount of attention around the office. There was already talk of his photograph making Time Magazine's best photographs of 2014. One of the girls in printing had had it framed and hung up in the office, but only after Sierra assured her it would not bring on some kind of PTSD.

No one asked about the broken desk. A new one had arrived for her while she had been out of town. This one was solid oak, three inches thick. Sometimes Sierra's mind would wander at work and she'd catch herself staring at it and wishing Joe was there so they could put it to the test.

Molly's work situation was also going quite well. The "Home Invasion" show had not only netted her an obscene amount of money, but a fair bit of notoriety as well. She was selling paintings faster than she cold paint them, and the money was burning a hole in her pocket. After buying all the overpriced paint and wine she could possibly want, she kidnapped Sierra for a girl's weekend down in Las Vegas. At Joe's insistence, Zeke had accompanied them on the trip. By the end of the weekend Zeke had developed a quite formidable schoolboy crush on a totally oblivious Molly.

Camp Norwood opened its gates on the first of June, to much success. The opening fell conveniently just five months before Joe would be up for reelection, and the prediction was this feel good project was sure to sway a few more voters to reelect Governor Joe. Sierra accompanied Joe to the grand opening, shaking hands with the donors, meeting the kids, and pretending her hadn't met Brian's wife, the camp accountant.

Lately she accompanied Joe to most public functions. Often enough at least that after a few months the press had grown bored of taking her picture and trying to make a scandal out of the Governor's new girlfriend. She mostly went to these things to serve as arm candy, but she didn't mind. It meant she got to spend more time with Joe, wear really fabulous clothes, and had previously unparalleled access to the state's politicians and local celebrities, who hadn't quite wised up enough to stop talking to her yet.

Her and Joe spent their nights together more often than not. They split them between her place and his and got away to Sleuth whenever they could. At her place they enjoyed the privacy of not having half a dozen staff milling around them (though Molly could sometimes be annoying). At his, they enjoyed Rose's strawberry pancakes, which were as good as promised. But it was their time in Sleuth that was her favorite. Somehow that little house felt like theirs in a way neither of their separate places in the city did. She found herself fantasizing about moving in together and getting married some day. Maybe even making room in their hectic lives for a baby. But even after seven months together neither of them had quite found themselves able to broach that subject just yet.

Joe, much like Molly, also had a bit more money then he knew what to do with. So he sent her gifts a lot, especially when he was out of town and couldn't see her. He sent flowers, chocolates, handbags, and shoes she was sure his secretary was picking out. Sierra kept meaning to send her a thank you card, expressing her gratitude for her excellent taste in footwear.

Sierra returned home one day to find Molly ripping open a package on the counter. Molly froze when Sierra walked in, knife poised halfway through the tape, and looked up at her guiltily.

"It's not what it looks like," she insisted.

"It looks a little like you opening my mail."

"Me? Never. That's a federal offence. Wouldn't dream of it. This just came by courier."

Sierra laughed.

"Well what's in it then?"

Molly finished ripping the box open. Inside was a fancy box of chocolate and salted caramel truffles imported from Switzerland and a card. Molly snatched the card up.

"Hey! Cool! I absolve myself of all guilt for opening this now," she said as she handed Sierra the card.

The card read,

"Sierra and Molly,

I'll be in Seattle for the weekend. I know the two of you were planning a movie marathon and thought these might make a nice accompaniment.

-Joe"

Molly popped one eagerly into her mouth. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh my god. They taste like love."

Sierra sampled one herself. Molly had not exaggerated.

They settled into the couch with the chocolates and a bottle of raspberry dessert wine. The wine went to their heads faster than Sierra had thought possible, making them both giggle stupidly at the movie. Molly fell asleep on the couch next to her some time shortly after they killed the bottle.

Pleasantly drunk and a little tired herself, Sierra stood up to get another bottle. The room spun and she sat back down again. She eyed the empty wine bottle as a foggy thought tried to make it's way through her brain. That they'd shared just one bottle, two glasses of wine each, but she felt like she'd had at least eight. Still, that thought didn't seem incredibly important because she was just so tired. She'd worry about it after she got some sleep. She'd been working way too hard lately.

Sierraleaned against Molly's shoulder and closed her eyes.