A/N: For awhile I wasn't sure if I wanted to pair Dana with Alan or Jordan. It's a lose/lose situation, with her ending up in major trouble. Alan = running from the law; Jordan = government big wigs getting angry and already having their hands on her. Dana's a real trooper, but I'd choose Alan just for the record.
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Dana walked into the foyer, reading her watch turn eleven-fifty. Jordan should be here soon, she thought, grabbing her coat from the hook and holding it over her arm. She had behaved and was completely sober, and she kept responsible company as she was told to. She was awake but extremely tired and glad she wasn’t driving home, but she wasn’t sure she liked her parting company. Jordan, though lenient enough to allow her attendance to a Christmas party, was an agent of the one national government she despised: her own.
The doorbell rang. Dana said her farewells to her acquaintances and the hostess, Cade, when Jordan stepped into the foyer.
“You ready?” he said. She nodded and he reached for her coat, taking it from her arm carefully. He held it up and let her slip into the sleeves. “It dropped twenty degrees since nightfall.” Dana zipped up her coat and both turned as Cade cleared her throat from the entrance to the living room. Plastering on the best imitation of a happy but tired guest, Dana looked at the woman, beckoning her to say her peace. When she said nothing, Dana searched for what she was trying to show her. After a moment, the woman glanced up to the ceiling.
At first the sight of the mistletoe didn’t and couldn’t faze her; but after a few seconds her logic faded away and her imagination began to fill the void instead.
Dana Winifred Eiseley never catered to a daydream. She had always believed that logical reasoning was enough to drive any reverie away, no matter how possible a situation may have seemed. It was always easy to change her mind about small, miniscule daydreams when they reared their ugly head. This one was made to be very vivid. She wasn’t prepared for it.
Jordan had leaned over and kissed her. It was a simple thought, really. Jordan’s dry lips touched hers softly and sent a single shiver down her spine. He’d been walking around in the cold. She could tell by his chilled nose which was pressed against her cheek. She had brought up her hand to touch his cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. Wait, she thought. Her logic was abandoning her to join the imagination. Her breath was short, her body warm with anticipation when his hands massaged the small of her back. Backs were neglected areas. Traitor.
The reverie faded. She looked up to see Jordan’s lack of interest in the decoration. She tried to calm her nerves as he reached for the doorknob, choosing not to humor Cade’s mistletoe. Upon Dana’s face came a burning sensation, something she hid. Looking away was something she’d never done before now. Boy, she thought with a twist to her stomach in case Jordan noticed her discomfort. There really was no limit to how much a person could discover about herself. Jordan opened the door and exited the house, walking towards the street where his sedan was parked. The air was colder than Dana had anticipated and she focused on the weather now which was the only way to calm the rapid beating of her heart. He was the only person whom she saw on an everyday basis; this was turning for the worst.
Most likely the only reason for her behavior was that she was lacking companionship, losing touch with people her age. The fact that she spoke with only those who were several years older than her hadn’t seemed that important until just recently, and maybe it was finally taking its toll on her. Since she’d only spent time with Jordan, it was natural that she would begin to feel affection for him. She would need to suppress the mundane sentiment so she could get on with her life. Government workers were not to get emotionally connected with their charges, so logic would say that she needed to trust her reason with this issue.
“Dana?” She looked up to see Jordan looking down at her with slight concern on his face. His hazel blue eyes reflected the overhead streetlamp. She blushed again. It would be impossible to tell if it wasn’t the cold air that made her cheeks red; and for this she was grateful.
“Yes?”
“I asked if you had fun.” Dana didn’t say anything at first. She thought back to the party. The guests and Cade made her feel at home, hadn’t judged her past. No one asked her where she came from or why she moved up north, but they did let her join in a game of trivial pursuit and scrabble. Everyone trusted her and she fit in well. She felt wanted, loved. She hadn’t felt that comfortable since before her mother died, when she met the blues band at J.D.’s Sandwich Shop. It felt as if a warm security blanket had been pulled over her, and she didn’t know how to respond to Jordan’s query. She couldn’t answer him truthfully. He wouldn’t understand.
“It was fine. I’m just a little tired.” When they reached the car, Jordan opened the door for her. Her manners had rubbed off on him since he’d come to know her. When he saw the mistletoe hanging from the roof beam, he had the oddest vision of kissing Dana, which was something he had dismissed almost immediately because of proper protocol. He admitted her lips had felt good during the small flash when he relished in the moment, but knew better. Being older than Dana, maybe not as old emotionally, and with proper training, he had some control over his actions. When he looked downwards towards the doorknob, he had gotten a glance of her reaction. She was pink in the cheeks as she thought probably the same thing as he. He wasn’t going to tell her he knew, though. Sitting down in the driver’s seat, he through it would be in their best interest to let the subject alone. He couldn’t bring anything so personal up to her.
“We’ve got some work to do. Colin sent us another case and wants information within the week.” The car switched on under his careful hands and drove forward while Dana fastened her seatbelt with a nod of acknowledgement. The case file would put them back on track.
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