Disclaimer - the characters of Simon & Simon do not belong to me. This is solely for entertainment purposes.

Feedback: Comments welcome at jenifer0223@yahoo.com

Author's Notes: This is NOT the unseen Liz mentioned in the original series. I prefer to believe that Liz never existed. This is the same Liz as in my previous story CONTRAST. Hope you like her - she's here to stay.

Rick

It was late when Rick used his key to unlock the door to A.J.'s kitchen. He was beat and his only objective was to get horizontal on the couch and catch some Zs. As the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, Rick should have walked magically through A.J.'s kitchen counter, then between the barstools and directly onto the sofa. But, Rick decided, even tonight he was only mortal. He walked around the counter, deposited his hat on the trunk-come-coffee table, spun on his heel and plopped, fully clothed on the couch.

As he quietly waited for sleep to overtake him he realized there were sounds coming from upstairs. They were the unmistakable sounds of two people, namely A.J. and Liz, engaged in "inter-personal sports". Some bed creaking and guttural voicings were audible though any exact words were unintelligible. Well, this wasn't a corollary to the Rick Simon Theory of Two-way Mirrors. He was sure the couple had been too absorbed to hear him come in and so they were not performing for his amusement.

Rick never meant to overhear, and this was maybe only the third time it had happened, but it always made him smile. Why shouldn't his brother enjoy a woman intimately especially this one that he seemed to adore and seemed so well matched with? And vice versa? Since Rick loved both of them, if they were happy - he was happy. And they did sound very happy, he thought still smiling.

Now if he could just find the right woman for himself and settle into a pattern of uncovering a single partner's deepest needs... As usual, Rick did not get to finish that thought. Sleep oozed over him and claimed his consciousness.

A.J.

A.J. awoke with his arm around the woman he loved who was sleeping silently next to him. This was happening with increasing frequency and that was absolutely fine with A.J. Maybe he should make this permanent, he thought.

He kissed her shoulder and Liz shifted gently making a soft, short hum. She was so beautiful and she looked so peaceful lying there. It was his greatest wish to always keep her safe.

He hated to wake her but it was already 10:30 a.m. and they had discussed going sailing today. He kissed her shoulder again and gently shook her, "Mornin', Babe."

Liz took in a deep breath and rolled toward him. A smile crossed her face then her eyes opened looking at him.

"I love you," she whispered and they kissed.

He was definitely going to have to make this permanent.

A.J. tightened the tie on his robe as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He also found the source of the snoring he had begun hearing at the top of the stairs. Rick was on his back, on the couch, every limb extended in a different direction.

"Lovely," A.J. mumbled as he continued toward the kitchen. He was certainly used to Rick's morning presence.

He busied himself making the coffee. He looked up to see Liz arrive on the main floor and pause at the sight of Rick spread-eagled on the couch.

She had always been kind and accepting of Rick, possibly more so than A.J. "Should I wake him?" she asked.

"You can. But don't touch him. He'll take a swing at you." A.J. warned.

"Gee." She straightened her posture and tugged at the bottom edge of A.J.'s pajama top that she was wearing. "Here goes nothing then."

Rick

Through a sleepy fog, Rick thought he heard the voice of an angel calling his name.

"Rick?" Liz said.

Rick could feel her touching his arm. He opened his eyes. He remembered what he had heard last night and here was Liz dressed ostensibly in A.J.'s pajama top. That made sense.

"I'm up, I'm up." Rick sat up and tried to orient himself.

Liz lightly rubbed his shoulder then moved off toward the kitchen.

Rick noted that he enjoyed watching her legs as she walked away.

"Hey, babe. I just remembered...I need to stop by the office briefly this morning." A.J. said to Liz. "Do you want to come along or stay here? It won't take long either way."

"Would you mind if I stayed here and sipped coffee?"

"Coffee," Rick heard himself grumble. That's what he needed. He rose and found he was pretty stiff all over. He was sure that his tight movements made him look like he was doing a bad Frankenstein impression.

Liz saw him coming and handed him a full, steaming cup.

"Thank you, my goddess," Rick said in the same grumbling tone. He raised the cup and took a large swig.

Rick's focus became fixed on the back of Liz's pajamas as she talked with A.J. He was hearing that they were having conversation but he was not hearing the words they were saying. He started thinking about those pajamas and, specifically, the feminine form underneath them.

Rick shook his head to snap out of it. What was he thinking? More coffee has got to help.

"I'm going to go get dressed, then," A.J. stated.

Rick watched as A.J. moved out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Liz

Upon A.J.'s departure, Liz went upstairs thinking that a shower sounded fabulous. She was almost glad A.J. had gone to the office. That way she could take her time getting ready and move slowly through what was left of the morning.

Once she was in the bathroom she quickly surveyed the shower stall for the necessary soap and shampoo. She grabbed a towel and placed it within reach of the shower. Satisfied that she had what she needed she disrobed.

A nice long, steamy shower was what she was envisioning. She stepped into the shower, turned on the water, and adjusted the temperature. The hot water beat down on her shoulders and neck. She tipped her head into the stream and let the water run over her face. This was very good.

Suddenly, in the middle of this glorious shower, the lights went out. Liz fumbled to turn off the water. At least, she wasn't all soapy. She had never noticed how totally A.J.'s blinds blocked the light from coming in the window of the bathroom before. It was very dark. And she was wet. And she couldn't find the towel. Damn. What now? Help.

Liz geared up her highly trained, professional voice to make long distance contact. "Rick?" she shouted.

Rick

Rick heard everything in the house go quiet at once. The power must be off. Wouldn't it be funny, Rick thought, if for once it was A.J. who hadn't paid his bill? Rick wasn't sure he would ever live long enough to see that.

Then he heard his name being called from upstairs. Oops, Liz. Simple thought process: No power, grab flashlight. Then he headed up the stairs.

Outside the closed bathroom door Rick paused, knocked lightly, and opened the door a crack. "Lizard?" Rick thought she could certainly identify him as other-than-foe by his using his special nickname for her.

"My hero. Could you hand me a towel?" Her voice came from the shower.

"Have flashlight - will travel," he responded as he stepped into the room, found one, and handed her a towel. He was surprised at how dark it was in here. He shined the flashlight on the ceiling, which cast low and general illumination around the room.

She placed the towel around herself and stepped out of the shower. She was pretty all wet. Her short hair was in damp ringlets and the towel equally hid and revealed her in the most provocative way especially in the dim light.

"Okay, then. I'll leave you the flashlight." He said as he passed it to her.

She never got a good hold and her slippery wet hand dropped the flashlight.

In tandem, Liz gracefully squatted down while Rick bent over to reach for the escaped flashlight. Their hands came together on the shaft, his over hers.

He hoped he wasn't imagining the sensual heat that passed between them at their point of contact.

They both rose slowly - standing only inches apart, both hands still together on the flashlight. Both remained silent facing each other.

He slipped his index finger down the top edge of her towel and pulled gently. The towel fell to the tile near her feet revealing her entire beautiful body.

"Rick..." she said softly, not moving.

He couldn't tell if her word was a warning or an invitation. He thought he would take the interpretation of his choice.

His arms slipped around her naked waist. As their lips met in the warmest kiss Rick could imagine, his world suddenly went black. Had he had been stuck on the back of the head with something heavy?

"Rick...Rick," Liz spoke softly to the prone elder Simon.

"Liz?" Rick queried with a weak voice, his hands reaching out for her. He softly caressed Liz's arm and pulled her to him.

"Oh, he really is out of it. He isn't calling you Lizard." A.J. commented from the kitchen as he watched his lady being enveloped by his groggy, octopus of a brother. He moved toward the couch to extricate her. "Ah, ah, ah. Careful, big brother."

"I thought you said he'd take a swing at me not make a pass," teased Liz as she reached for A.J. who gently pulled her from Rick's grasp into his own protective embrace.

Rick's eyes snapped open and he sat up with a start. He looked panicked.

A.J. thought Rick was acting strangely even for having just woken up. "What were you dreaming, Rick?" he asked with a smile on his face and Liz in his arms.

Rick

That was a good question, Rick thought to himself patting the couch cushion next to him just to be sure it wasn't going anywhere.

It took him a few minutes to fully grasp that this was, in fact, the real world; that all that nice, warm, sexy stuff was just a dream - a dream about his brother's lover. Rick thought that that probably required a few hours of therapy or a couple of bottles of Don Diablo and a full confession to Carlos. Yeah, the latter would absolve him for just dreaming about it.

Rick was also pretty sure that there was a written rule somewhere that you just don't tell your brother that you were dreaming about his woman as long as they were still together. Another quick review...yeah, pretty darn sure you don't tell your brother.

"Rick?" A.J. repeated a bit more concerned.

"Uh...piranha...surrounding the boat." Rick made a circle with right index finger to emphasize the circling motion of the fish. Would that make it more credible? Where were these words coming from?

"Piranha had you reaching for Liz," A.J. slowly stated with skepticism.

"Uh...No! There was this mermaid I was rescuing." Certainly that was plausible, Rick hoped.

Rick looked at Liz. He could see Liz trying not to laugh by biting her beautiful lip, the lips he had just kissed or felt like he had.

"Oh, of course." A.J. shook his head. He seemed to be giving up on trying to make sense of Rick's dream and that was what Rick was hoping for.

Rick saw his opportunity to beat a hasty retreat. "Oh, would you look at the time? I have got to get going. Thanks for the couch, A.J." He grabbed his hat and exited out the kitchen door.

"You're welcome," and "Bye," was all the couple, confused by the abrupt departure, could manage. They watched him go still standing with their arms around each other.

Once in the Power Wagon, Rick put his head down on the steering wheel. "It was just a dream, just a dream...," he repeated to himself. Though it left him with the real feeling of shared intimacy. But he was the only one who had it. Sure, he thought, he was attracted to Liz. Who wouldn't be? And so what? He couldn't help it if he had dreamt about her. As long as he never acted on it in anyway - for all their sakes - this would all pass, he convinced himself. Just forget about it.

Besides, he didn't have one chance in hell with Liz. Though she had always been genuinely nice to him she had been A.J.'s from the very beginning, totally and completely.

Jeez, he hoped A.J. and Liz simply chalked all his nonsense up to Rick being Rick.

He started his truck and backed it out of the drive. "It was just a dream, just a dream..."

This story dedicated to all my friends at Simon and Simon Private Eyes (especially those of you with Simonitis.).