Summary: The days that they were together were many, but they passed too quickly for both of them, two naive children caught up in a moment of excitement, a moment of power, a moment of lust, the lust that is so often fatally mistaken for love, fatal in the inevitable outcome that at least one of the two hearts must always break. Follmer/Reyes.

Touch Me, Teach Me
By: Bobbi
Rating: PG-13
Keywords: FRR. Follmer. Reyes.
Summary: The days that they were together were many, but they passed
too quickly for both of them, two naive children caught up in a
moment of excitement, a moment of power, a moment of lust, the lust
that is so often fatally mistaken for love, fatal in the inevitable
outcome that at least one of the two hearts must always break.
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, which is probably a good thing,
or they'd turn into soap-operaish fools ;).
Archive: Sure, but let me know where, please--
smberens1013@aol.com .
Dedication: For Langleigh, who inspired me to write a Follmer/Reyes
fic.

***

In the night of love
Words tangled in her hair
Words soon to disappear
A love so sharp it cut
Like a switchblade to my heart
Words tearing me apart
She tears again my bleeding heart
I want to run, she's pulling me apart
Fallen angel cries
Then I just melt away
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
Haunted by her side
It's a darkness in her eyes
That so enslaves me
And if my love is blind
Then I don't want to see
She's a mystery to me

--From U2's "She's a Mystery To Me"

***

That new agent, she was really something else... Brad had to keep
reminding himself that he'd have to keep an eye on her. It was
young, ambitious, carefree people like her that could cause trouble
if they weren't harnessed on a leash, and it was clear that Monica
Reyes wasn't going to let anybody harness her on a leash.

The thing was, she reminded him of himself at one point: the young,
ambitious soul that he had been, so desperate to fit in, so desperate
to make a place for himself, so desperate to love and be loved. He'd
made a place for himself, he'd risen to the top, he was respected in
his place, and in some cases, feared: but he was still like a child
in some ways. He just wanted to love, and be loved.

Monica Reyes-- was she single? Assistant Director Follmer was
surprised to find himself thinking such thoughts. Sure, she was
young, outgoing, not to mention *attractive*... but she was a
special *agent*, and she worked under him... not to mention that she
was green as grass, fresh out of school, and really had no clue what
she was doing.

She was so different from anyone he'd ever met though, she just had
this air about her that really impressed him, and she was, he had to
admit... beautiful. An exotic kind of beautiful, a tragic kind of
beautiful. Her hair was really dark and looked very soft-- how would
it feel to run his hands through it?

Damnit, he had to stop thinking like this: it would only get him and
her in trouble. Follmer knew he could never have a relationship with
Reyes, even if he wanted to... it was against the rules, against the
books, clearly outlined somewhere in his thick FBI 'instruction
manual' that clearly instructed what and what not to do.

But... the more he thought about it, he liked her. He liked her a
lot. She was different, uncontrollable, ambitious, outgoing,
beautiful, and he was attracted to her. Thoughts of what she could
be with him, of what they could be, began to excite him.

Sure, he wasn't *supposed* to like her, he wasn't *supposed* to be
involved with her, but...

the prospect just began to grow more and more thrilling.

***

Monica Reyes picked up her briefcase and stuffed a few folders and
various other items into it, getting ready to leave for the day.
This wasn't exactly the dream career she'd imagined it would be: she
wanted to be out doing something, out saving lives, out knowing that
she was making a difference to someone.

For now, though, she was confined to her office investigating claims
of Satanic ritual abuse. She longed to be out on the field,
investigating, *holding* evidence, chasing the bad guys, doing
*something*... she knew your first assignment was never your most
exciting assignment, though, and she was willing to wait that out to
see what laid ahead for her.

The FBI wasn't all 'Johnny get your gun' as she'd imagined it would
be, the 'never have a dull moment' ideas that she'd had in her
head... at least not the desk work she was stuck doing at the
moment. There *had* to be more to it, had to be something more
exciting, something more worthwhile, something more... thrilling,
even for someone in her position.

Holed up in a tiny New Orleans office without even a window view
wasn't exactly her idea of a good time. She was making do with it--
only because she had to, though. She wasn't going to complain to
anyone, not Brad, not Assistant Director Follmer, even though he'd
told her to come to talk to him if she ever needed to, because she
didn't want to cause a hassle, she just wasn't that type of person.
If trouble could be avoided, she wanted to avoid it.

Monica saw her pack of cigarettes lying on her desk: it'd fallen out
of her briefcase as she'd thrown the folder in. She *knew* she
wasn't supposed to smoke in the office, but hell, she was bored as
she'd ever been, and a cigarette sounded *extremely* tempting...

Giving into the temptation, Monica reached for the pack of
cigarettes, took one out, reached in her pocket for the lighter, and
lit it, taking a long drag of it. Just then, there was a knock on
the door.

"Shit," Reyes muttered to herself. Just her luck.

If she was lucky, it was just her partner, Lucas Collins, who could
care less about whether she was smoking in the office or not...

"Come in," Monica called, attempting to stub out the cigarette in
the ashtray she hid in her top drawer, even though she knew the
putrid scent of the smoke must be wafting through the door.

"Agent Reyes," Follmer said, stepping in.

Shit, with a capital S. Could things be worse? Go fricking *figure*
that the moment she'd decided to smoke a cigarette was the moment her
superior decided to poke his head in to check up on her...

***

"Breaking the rules, are we, Agent Reyes?" Follmer asked, raising
his eyebrows as he stepped into the office and shut the door behind
her.

She couldn't deny it, because he was right, and she knew there was no
way out of it: she'd been caught red-handed.

"Always, Assistant Director," she finally decided to reply with a
smile, hoping he wouldn't scold her or report her.

Always, Follmer thought. She always broke the rules? She was
different, alright... and interesting... and tempting...

It was at that point that Reyes realized Follmer was staring at her.
Staring right through that spaghetti-strap black tank top she was
wearing, or so it appeared.

Reyes cleared her throat.

"Assistant Director, is there something I can help you with?" She
asked.
"Call me Brad," he said.

Three words that changed everything.

"Alright, Brad," she said, as if experimenting with his name for the
first time. "Is there something I can do for you? It's not every
day I see the Assistant Director show up at my door like this..."
"And it's not every day I have the pleasure of speaking with an agent
such as yourself."

Monica watched him, confused: she wasn't sure what he was saying,
and she wasn't sure what to say.

It was his turn to clear his throat.

"How about dinner tonight? It's on me."
"Dinner, Assistant Director?"
"Brad."
"Brad," Reyes corrected herself.
"Yes, dinner, Agent Reyes," he said, his eyes sparkling.
"Uh, well, I..." she stammered.
"Great, I'll pick you up at six," he interrupted, smiling a large
smile at her and turning toward the door.

He'd pick her up at six? A little pushy, wasn't he? She hadn't even
said yes, and he'd went right ahead and acted like it was the most
natural thing on earth to just expect her to go along with the whole
thing...

Not that she minded. Not at all, as a matter of fact.

"Do you need directions to my place, Assistant Director?" She called
after him as she watched him turn the doorknob.
"Brad," he corrected her once again with a smile.
"Brad," she corrected herself yet again, with a smile of her own.
"No-- I'm your boss, remember? I'll have no trouble finding you,
rest assured of that, Miss Reyes."

***

Monica Reyes couldn't decide what to wear. Something casual,
something conservative, something flashy, something formal? Clothes
were strewn out all over her bedroom, and the fact that Brad Follmer
was supposed to be picking her up in less than ten minutes wasn't
helping her situation at all. She didn't know whether to consider
this outing as a date, or as a business dinner with her boss.

She finally settled on a pair of khaki pants and a long-sleeved red
turtleneck sweater, and finished changing into it about a minute
before she heard the sound of someone knocking at the door. She
practically ran to the door, opening it to come face-to-face with
Follmer.

"Hey," Monica said softly, smiling as she answered the door. "Wanna
come in?"
"Sure," Brad said, smiling back at her and stepping in, closing the
door behind him. "You sure look nice tonight," he told her.
"Thanks," she said, blushing slightly.
"No need to thank me for the truth," he replied.

"One second, just let me get my purse and I'll be ready to roll..."
Monica said with another smile, briskly walking back to her bedroom,
picking up her purse, checking her reflection in the mirror to make
sure that she looked okay, and then heading back out to meet Brad.

"Ready to go?" He asked her, appearing to give her the once-over as
she walked back out.
"Of course," she said.
"Great."

Brad took her hand firmly and held it in his, closing the door behind
him and taking the key out of her hand to lock it. She was surprised
and impressed by the gentlemanly gesture, and the expression on her
face said so.

Keeping Monica's hand in his, Brad escorted her from his apartment
out to his car, opening the passenger side door for her.

"Wow... I didn't expect such... star treatment tonight," Monica said
as she climbed in, smiling up at Brad.

He was rather... attractive, in your classic kind of way. He was
lean, although muscular, and the shock of blond hair that fell across
his forehead complimented his face... not to mention he had a killer
smile.

"Well I guess you're getting more than you bargained for, aren't
you?" Brad retorted with one of those smiles, closing the door for
her and walking around to his side.

***

"Monica, I... I, ah... really like you," Brad said, taking a long
drink of his Pepsi and keeping his eyes on her.

Monica stopped chewing her piece of cheese pizza, and looked up at
Brad. She coughed for a second, but then returned to chewing, her
face regaining its normal expression. It wasn't that she didn't
*want* Brad to like her, it was just that she was a little surprised
at his sudden revelation, to say the least.

Not to mention the implications... for them to be involved *that way*
would be against the books, right? He was her superior, he should
know. He seemed very by-the-book, very "Mr. Johnny FBI", very
strict... and he liked her? Didn't he know what could happen if they
got involved?

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some sort of anti-
fraternization rule?" Monica asked Brad, taking a drink of her
bottled water to wash the pizza down.
"There is..." Brad said, letting his voice trail off for a
second. "But why should we let that stop us?"
"Couldn't we get in trouble?"
"We could, but if we're careful..."
"Which we would be," Monica was more than surprised to hear herself
add.
"Then we'd be fine," Brad said. "I mean, there are ways of...
getting around things."
"How do you mean?" Monica asked, setting her water down.
"I mean, well... I'm the boss, right?" Brad asked.

Monica nodded.

"People won't report me, at least not agents who work under me...
they'd be too afraid, they'd know better than to report me..."
"You'd take that risk, running around behind everyone's back, knowing
that the possible consequences include the risk of your job being
taken away..." Reyes started.
"I will if you will," Follmer cut her off.
"But isn't it wrong?"

There was a long pause.

"I suppose so, if you want to think of it that way," he finally
said.
"I don't, but I don't want us to get in trouble, either..."
"We won't," Brad said firmly.
"You're right... it's not like we're sleeping together or
something," Monica replied.

Brad's eyes twinkled for a moment as he imagined the possibilities--
but only for a moment, one of those look away and you miss it
moments... and Monica looked away and missed it.

"We'd better be getting in for the night, there's work tomorrow..."
Monica finally said after a long silence, breaking the silence in
which they had been just staring at each other across the table.
"You're right, we'd better," Brad said quietly, calling the waitress
over for the bill and then escorting Monica out to the car.

When they arrived back at Monica's apartment, Brad walked her in.

"I want to say thank you for tonight, Brad..." Reyes said, looking
deeply into his eyes. "I had a good time."
"I'm glad to hear that, but the pleasure was all mine, Miss Reyes,"
he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

She shivered slightly, in exhilaration, in anticipation of things to
come... of course she knew they shouldn't be involved like this, but
it suddenly felt so right.

***

"Agent Reyes to my office, please," Assistant Director Follmer
commanded over his intercom.

Follmer's secretary, Sandra Ellerson, straightened in her seat and
buzzed Follmer back to alert him that she'd received his message, and
started on her way to Reyes' office, wondering what the new agent
could be getting herself in trouble for.

"Agent Reyes?" Sandra asked, knocking on the door.
"Yes?" Monica responded from the other side of the door, quickly
stubbing the cigarette that she had yet again snuck into her secret
ashtray.
"Assistant Director Follmer wants to see you in his office."
"Alright, tell him I'll be right there," Monica said, smiling to
herself.
"Right away, Agent."
"I'm *coming*."
"He sounded pretty urgent, pretty impatient. I wouldn't test him,
Agent Reyes."

Monica quickly stood up and brushed herself off, hoping she looked
okay, and made her way down the hall to Follmer's office, wondering
what he wanted. It'd been two weeks now since their first date, and
they had seen each other more and more frequently, their relationship
intensifying.

She loved the exhilaration, the feeling of power, the rush of knowing
she was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing, but that no
one was going to catch her for it, that the whole thing gave her...
it was an all new feeling for her, and she was basking in it.

Brad sat behind his desk, listening to the clickety-clack of Sandra
Ellerson's heels as they walked down the hall together, mute of
conversation. Sandra knocked on the door when they reached his
office.

"Show Agent Reyes in, Sandra, and take a coffee break," Brad said
over the intercom.
"Well actually, on second thought... Agent Reyes, come in and take
the door, and Sandra, go now, take a coffee break for an hour or
so," Follmer altered his instructions.
"Okay," Reyes said uncertainly, opening the door and stepping in,
and then closing it behind her.

Sandra stood outside the door for a second, wondering what was going
on, but then decided she should probably go on and leave them to
their own business.

"Assistant Director," Monica started, clearing her throat. She knew
how to keep work and their personal lives separate, and that was
exactly what she intended on doing. "How can I help you?"
"Come here, Agent Reyes," Follmer said.

Eyeing him carefully, Reyes walked up to his desk.

"Yes?"

He stood up and walked over to her and pulled her toward him by the
low collar on her shirt.

"You... intoxicate me..." Follmer breathed into her hair, keeping
hold of her. "You make me... lose myself..."
"Brad, we're at work..." Monica whispered, not having the courage or
self-will to move away, knowing what was coming.
"So?" He asked. "I'll lock the door, we'll be fine..."
"We can't do this here."
"And why not?"
"I... I don't know..."
"See, there's no reason why we can't," he retorted.
"There's every reason-"
"Oh, *come on*, Monica... no one's going to bother us."
"Ok," she finally relented.

Taking her hand in his and stopping for the moment, Brad practically
ran over to the door and locked it, and then focused his attention on
unbuttoning Monica's shirt.

"Are you sure we should do this here?"
"Positive," he replied.
"But Brad--"
"Stop doubting, start living," he said, finally finishing with her
shirt and throwing it aside.
"I've never done this in an office... let alone my assistant
director's office..." Monica whispered in his ear as she threw down
his tie, followed by his shirt, and moved her arms across his
muscular shoulders.

After he finished removing her undergarments, he just stood there and
stared in awe at her for a moment, and then pulled her down to the
floor with him, behind the desk. They explored the mountains,
valleys, and crevices of each other for quite some time before they
finally joined and danced.

They each savored the sensation, breathing hard and letting out soft
exclamations, knowing that they couldn't be too loud, for fear that
the noise might raise questions if someone was walking by. It
excited the both of them, for they were young and naive of the
dangers of the world as they sucked each other dry and enjoyed each
other's deepest, darkest secrets.

He continued to trace the contours of her, trying hard to memorize
them in case this never happened again. In turn, she massaged his
shoulders, almost squeezing them, and didn't leave a part of him
untouched or unsavored.

***

In the time they were together, she was the student, and he was the
teacher, or maybe it was the other way around. They were good for
each other, maybe too good, so good that they were bad to a point,
they were terribly dangerous for each other in the event that they
might get caught, and they extremely, maybe even to a point of minor
paranoia, careful because of that.

The days that they were together were many, but they passed too
quickly for both of them, two naive children caught up in a moment of
excitement, a moment of power, a moment of lust, the lust that is so
often fatally mistaken for love, fatal in the inevitable outcome that
at least one of the two hearts must always break.

Unfortunately, it was hers and his. He knew he had to reassign her.
Their love... what the two young fools had mistaken for love... had
grown far too intense for the good of both of them. They'd had no
idea what they were getting involved in when they entertained the
notion of getting involved, and when they had done so, it had grown
so far out of either of their point of control that it grew
dangerous, incredibly dangerous. If they kept on as they were, they
were bound to get caught, nothing could stop it.

So he did what he had to do, even though it hurt both of them.

He lied to her to cover his tracks, told her it wasn't in his
control, that the order came from higher up to have her transferred:
but it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, and the hardest
thing he hoped he'd ever had to do.

There were nights that Follmer went home and cried like a baby, cried
like a child who'd received a scolding and wanted nothing more than
his mother's love, wanted nothing more than to be loved and accepted
again.

But as fate might have it, the two star crossed lovers were bound to
meet again someday... and they did.


***

FIN: smberens1013@aol.com