| "Two" | ||
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I hear the crystal raindrops fall And see the beauty of it all Is when the sun comes shining through To take those rainbows in my mind When I think of you some time And I want to spend some time with you ~ Just the Two of Us, by Grover Washington, Jr. Paige sauntered near the back of the plane, twirling her hair and listening to the phone ring. She had seen the tiny envelope on her phone signifying she had a message but assumed it was Gray so she ignored it. The phone finally picked up. "Hello?" a shaky voice answered the phone. Her eyes narrowed, "what are you doing, Baz?" He attempted to stifle a giggle, then just burst out laughing, and the phone dropped. There was some shuffling noises then someone else got on. "Hello?" another voice but still with that tightness to it. "Brian, what are you two doing?" she demanded. "Nuthin," he said giggling almost uncontrollably. "Nothing? Nothing is not nothing. You two are up to something. What are you doing?" "Nothing," he managed out between gasping for breath and giggling uncontrollably. In the background she could hear Baz in full out hysterics and something else...some kind of motor or something. "What is that?" she demanded again. "What's going on?" The phone was dropped again and Baz picked it up this time. "Paige?" Baz said through giggles. It really wasn't right for men to giggle, she thought, but Baz, he was definitely giggling. "Yes," she said flatly. "We love you, you know that? Me and Bri, we do love you." "What. Did. You. Do," she growled at him. She could just imagine what one very intelligent nine year old boy and one very, very immature 30-something "adult" could do when they wanted to have some fun. "We, um," he giggled again. 'Shut up, she'll hear' she heard muffled. "We, um, didn't do anything." Then he burst into another fit of giggles. "Baz, I'm warning you, if he gets hurt..." "It's not him you should be worrying about," Baz said then there was more phone shuffling noises. "Paige? Let me just explain." Brian again. "You had better not..." What? What was she trying to say? "Not have...broken anything...or anything." Brian laughed loudly. "You're a pisser when you're mad," he said laughing. Paige's mouth dropped open. Did he just say that? "I'm a pisser...when I'm...mad? You have no idea..." "Yeah, so," he interrupted her and she could hear Baz laughing in the background, "we went to the toy store, that big giant one in the city. And we got these HUGE containers of Gunk...you know the ones on tv, the Gunk, you know Paige?" "No, what is...Gunk?" "It's this reeeeeally cool shi...stuff that glows and runs and it's all gooey and stuff. So, we went back to the Safehouse but you guys were in your stupid meeting. And we put the Gunk in there." "Put the gunk in where?" Paige asked her heart rate starting to speed. Brian just giggled. "We put it in the water container by Rebecca's office." Then he burst out laughing. Paige closed her eyes shaking her head. "Tell me you did not just tell me that." Brian laughed even harder, "when...when...she goes...goes to take some...some water...this green GOO is gonna come out." Then the boy howled in laughter as well as Baz in the background. "Yeah," Baz said suddenly on the phone, "and we put some on Gray's chair in his office. "Baz! Why would you do that?" Baz stifled his laughter. "What do you mean? We were just having fun." "Rebecca is gonna kill you for putting...whatever that shit is in the water container and Gray?" "No, she's not," Baz said defensively. "Oh really, you think she's gonna let that go." "She won't know it was us," he stated matter of factly. "Are you smoking weed or something? She's going to know it was you two!" "I'm not smoking anything with the kid here," he admonished her, as if she were the bad guy. 'I'm not a kid' she head Brian in the background. "Yeah, so, now, we just put the Gunk in the blender with some ice cream, you should see it, it's so cool." "I'm not hearing this," Paige shook her head. "Don't take the top off..." Baz yelled than dropped the phone. Paige looked at the phone hearing the hysterics loudly coming from it. She couldn't leave them alone, not even for one second. It was her fault. Rebecca was gonna come down on her for this. And Gray. God, Gray freaks out when he gets a wrinkle in his clothes...never mind getting Gook or Gunk or whatever the fuck it was all over him. She groaned and tried to calm the boys (because Baz was not acting like a man right now) down. She waited until Baz got back on the phone. "Baz, I can't believe you did those things," Paige said. "Brian's only 9, I mean, what are you teaching him at such an impressionable age." "Gimme a break Paige," Baz laughed at her, "the kid's smarter than me - HE should have known better." 'I'm only NINE!' Brian shouted from the background. "Okay, calm down Bri. What's up Paige?" Baz asked her as she heard things calming down in the background. "Nothing," she pouted. "You're so pouting now aren't you?" "A little. I just want to be having fun with you guys and not...here." "You transit?" "Yeah," she sighed. "Everything alright?" "Yeah, I just...you know." "Yeah, I know. How's Saf and Jordy?" "Jordy's good. Saf's ignoring everyone." Baz snorted, "she'll come around, you know it's been tough for her." "For all of us," Paige said. Paige heard the doorbell in the background. Baz's she assumed. 'Girls are here' she heard Brian shouting then some commotion. Girls? "Baz?" "He's just goofing on you...there's no girls here. That's the pizza guy." "Baz!" she hissed at him. "C'mon Paige! Gimme more credit than that! He's only nine!!! I could go to jail for something like that!" "I know, I'm sorry. I just worry about you two." "You worry about everyone," he scoffed. "Not true." "Bullshit." "Alright, I'll let you go eat your pizza." "You sure? You alright?" he asked. "Yeah, just tired and amped up for this mission." "Uh huh. I hate not being there." "We miss you." "Alright, well, before this gets all mushy, tell Alpha be careful. And you be careful, no more broken bones or anything, K?" "Yeah, and don't get into any more trouble," Paige said. "Pffft, me? Trouble? Never!" "I'll call you on the way home." "Ok, be good." "You, too." And Paige hung up the phone. She stood there for a moment wishing Baz was there. He would make her feel better. He always did. There was just something about him, something that made the most pissed off, grouchy of people crack a smile. It was hard not to. But when it counted, when it really counted and lives were on the line, Baz was one of the very few that Paige trusted with her back. She sighed and made her way back near the front of the plane. The few agents on board were spread out, which didn't surprise her. She would call them together near the end of the flight, right before they landed and go through a quick scenario again. Practice made perfect. She sat down near the window getting back on the lap top. It was still the same thing, maps, maps, more maps, maps with lines, maps with lines and arrows and scratched out names of Agents. They were imprinted into her head so thoroughly she didn't think any blow to the head would make her forget it. Unless, of course, that blow killed her�but then it wouldn't matter anyway. She pouted and tapped at the laptop as Simon IMd her. He was sitting about eight rows from her on the opposite side of the plane, and apparently bored, and typed over some scenarios. Something new to memorize, a small smile made it's way to her lips. She ran through them, but not too quickly so she could kill some time. Probably should be sleeping. Yeah, sleep would be good. But scenarios and the appearance of being very busy was just AS good. After all, lover boy was lurking somewhere on the plane and doing these scenarios kept her mind off him. And off Joshua. And him. And Joshua. What exactly would happen if those two ever met? She wondered if Joshua would just get his kicks off, soak in the shock value, offer up that smirk of his, whisper something dirty and bold in her ear, then simply put a bullet in Jaime's head? Game over. "How's my girl?" Paige's eyes flicked up to the deep sorrowful blue ones that asked her the question. She would kill Joshua if he ever laid a hand on Jaime. She took a small breath and returned her attention to her laptop. The window seat, which she occupied, gave nothing away of the water they were crossing, admitting only the blackest of black into her view. There were the few raindrops from the East Coast summer low pressure system that pelted it every so often. Other than that, it was just blackness. How many times had she looked out of an airplane window only to see nothing? Too many, her mind answered her. Too many indeedy. Jaime sat next to her, a small smile on his beautiful face that no matter how many times she had seen it and how many looks were captured in her mind, it was still a sight to behold every time. Almost as if looking upon it just in a new situation, or event, or light, would somehow render it different. But it wasn't. It was just Jaime, in all his wonder. And those weren't really pictures popping up in her mind of Jaime's head with bullets superimposed into them. No, nothing like that at all. She cleared her mind and smiled gently at him, for what else could she do? Shake her head and laugh at the innocent question? For what did he know of her now that she was so different, what would he know of being touched by the darkest being that walked the face of the earth? What would he know about the burn and the fire that scorched her soul into nothingness? What would he know? "I don't want this to be awkward," she said. And she didn't. She didn't want it to be awkward, or weird, or uncomfortable. She didn't want it to be anything. Not anymore. "Since when..." he said, even to dare reaching out to her to brush a stray strand of golden blonde hair from her cheek. She dropped her gaze to the floor for a moment. "Since when..." her eyes returned to his, "is it ever awkward between us anymore?" She looked at him thoughtfully. They had been through so much in so little time it was hardly comprehensible. The glances, the touches, the mission in New York, California, making love in an abandoned store in the middle of Nowhere, California...awkward? "You're right," she breathed out with a small smile. "You're right," she repeated taking his hand in hers. "I'm sorry." She squeezed his hand gently feeling the tingle along her nerve endings with just touching him. "I never said goodbye." "No," he said shaking his head, "no, it's alright, I know you couldn't. I'm just...I'm just glad you're ok." God, if she could do anything, anything at all, even pull her heart right out of her chest and hand it over to him, she would do it. Anything, anything for him. How could he be so understanding? How could he know? "There wasn't time," she began to explain. "To do anything, not even leave a note. It was just come to my office and out the door. It happened so quickly." "Paige, it's alright, relax. I know how things are, I know what goes on. I just," he took a breath and shook his head again, "wanted to know if you were alright. I wanted to know you were safe." "I'm safe," she nodded her head. "Are you?" he asked, that look of doubt shadowing the blue in his eyes. "Are you safe here?" She offered the gentle smile again. Safe. Well, that word certainly demanded to be defined. But considering the relative safety she had in Section One, "yeah, I'm pretty safe here." "Are you happy, working with these people?" He looked so innocent asking the questions. Which she was certain he was, the man was just incapable of being harsh or harboring an ulterior motive. Still. "I don't think happy is the word I would use to describe it, but, it's better than Section. Rebecca and Gray are good people, if not demanding, still, good people." He nodded his head studying her. "You still...don't seem happy." "It's not like that," she shook her head. "I've always wanted to be out. Out of the game, out of play, out of the stress. But I can't ever achieve that. Not officially. Not one hundred percent." Jaime nodded his head in understanding. "But this, working for the SIA, it's...I think...as close as I'm gonna get to it. So happy may not be the right word. Satisfied for the most part, that might be better to describe it." "I just want you to be happy. I want you to be okay," he said. And she swore her heart broke with that statement. "I know, and it is okay. This is as close as I'm gonna get to it. And that's fine with me." "Good," he said softly. "I've missed you." She smiled softly at him. "I've missed you, too." "I think," he said sitting up straighter, "the last time we were on a plane heading out into the elusive unknown, we were at a tie in a game of naughts and crosses?" Paige giggled softly, "and I thought I was the one with the good memory," she quipped. "Ah, see, you're not the only one with the good memory," he whispered leaning in close to her. Paige closed her eyes her heart speeding up with a rapid intensity that almost scared her. "Apparently," she breathed out. "I remember," he brushed his lips softly against her cheek, "I remember how you feel." "Jaime," she said straightening, then caught his amused gaze with her eyes and shook her head. Not here, not now, she told him with her eyes. He shrugged, still amused but relinquished his quest, or what she perceived as his quest. "I have a few days before I ship out to Virginia, where I'm to be officially on loan, perhaps," he gazed into her eyes, "perhaps you'd like to have dinner or something with me?" She held his gaze evenly trying desperately to ignore the puppy dog pout on his lips, "I could do dinner." "Good," he said pulling out a piece of paper from somewhere and a pen. "Until then perhaps you'll indulge me in a game?" He drew the four lines on the paper, added an 'x' to one of the homemade squares and offered the pen. Paige grinned taking the pen, "I'm so gonna kick your ass this time." And she drew an 'o' in a spot guaranteeing him the victory. Because tic tac toe could be mastered by even the youngest of children. It all came down to who made the first move and where they made it. The entire game was dummied down into two first strikes, and four pretty good first strikes. It was easy. Something to pass the time, something to eat up the otherwise clumsy silence between two lovers who find themselves thrown back into each other's presence suddenly. Something to fill the spaces in between. Something to block out the abyss of water beneath them and the fleeting raindrops that pelted the window every now and again... Return |
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