Author's Note: This story is totally AU but core characters (because I'm borrowing them) will stay true to character. But I've taken liberties with some details, and there are new characters. But the story truly belongs to Lizzie and Don, and for them alone.
I wanted to have a different kind of fun with these characters. All the stories seem to be about them "getting together", like will they or won't they. And I wanted to be bit more out there creatively, so I placed them in Quantico where they're both students in FBI academy.
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Chapter 1: The Orientation
"Hi, you must be Elizabeth. I'm Jane, nice to meet you. Come on in!"
A cheerful blond woman swung open the door with much energy and greeted Lizzie with a bright smile. Her light brown eyes lit up unassumingly, and her toothy smile gave an impression of a kind and tender spirit. The sight of her new roommate brought a huge wave of relief as Lizzie had already been feeling at the end of her wits all day, with all the traveling, registering for classes, and accepting the reality of leaving home and getting used to this new environment. Lizzie's life was about to change completely; she felt it in her heart, in her mind, and in just about every faculty of her being. And on top of her list of anxiety was just who she would be stuck with as her roommate of her double bed dorm room.
"Hi Jane, nice to meet you, too. Please call me Lizzie." She entered the dorm room and quickly scanned the inside. The room itself was quite big, with two single beds situated on the opposite walls, underneath the big windows on each wall. There was also a small desk, a dresser, and a closet next to each of the beds. It looked as though Jane had settled in completely, as her bed looked quite lived in with all its lavenders and creams. Lizzie also detected a faint waft of lavender scent in the air.
"Are you getting your stuff delivered?" Jane inquired while plopped on her bed.
"Yeah, my dad dropped them off downstairs." Lizzie replied while testing out her own bed. Not bad.
"Oh, your dad didn't want to come up?"
"No, we said our goodbyes downstairs. Plus I was with him all day, so I think both of us were ready to say goodbye." Lizzie looked out the window to check out the scenery, but that was a mere reflex movement to conceal the fact that she was actually lying. She knew that her dad left quickly because he himself couldn't bear saying goodbye to her. And Lizzie missed him so much already, and if she didn't concentrate hard enough, she knew her tears would roll unceasingly.
Jane picked up on Lizzie's ambivalent emotions, and decided wisely to change the subject. "So, have you registered for all your classes?"
"Yeah, I got really lucky. I got all my intro classes, and also the upper div Behavior Analysis."
"You got into upper div BeSis? How? You're just a first year!" Jane sat up on her bed, with eyes wide open.
"I'm…I'm on an accelerated program. Let's just keep that between us, can we? I don't want other cadets to treat me like I'm a pompous ass."
"Wow, congratulations, that's a rare feat. I'm sure you worked really hard for it, I'm thoroughly impressed. And now that I know you're such a smarty pants, I'm seeing a lot of study sessions together in the future." With that, Jane gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and a wide sincere grin. Lizzie laughed in return, and was instantly relieved and thankful that she felt easy and free to be able to trust this girl.
"Just a warning, though. It's an upper div class, so you're stuck with all the upper class cadets. The competition is fierce. It's going to be tough and intimidating, and they don't look too kindly at some first year cadet invading their space. Be careful, or blood will be spilt." As Jane ended with an exaggerated ominous tone, both girls broke out into fits of laughter.
"Yeah, thanks for the warning. I'm just going to do my thing, and stay out of everyone else's business. And hopefully I'll come out of it with my life intact. I'm just trying to survive on a daily basis here."
"You will have a better feel of the place at the orientation tomorrow. I've actually been here for a week, so I feel a bit more settled in. But I'm looking forward to the orientation, to see all the big whigs, size up other cadets, all that sorts of things."
"Well, before all that, I'd like to have my boxes delivered so I can start unpacking." Lizzie exhaled deeply and fell back onto her bed, with eyes that looked out onto the pine tree outside the window, with its green leaves turning shy red in the soft autumn wind.
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"We would like to welcome the class of 2010 to the Marine Corp Base at Quantico, the FBI Academy."
Amid the thundering claps, Lizzie looked around the Quantico Station Auditorium, with its five thousand seats taken up by upper cadets in uniforms, present to welcome the first year candidates. She felt her head whirling, as she freshly realized the gravity and the magnitude of this place, with its rich history, the unwavering discipline, and the uncompromising academics.
The colonels and the officers from each FBI discipline were introduced, and as Lizzie recognized some of the faces from the articles she used to read, she couldn't help but feel the strange mixture of excitement and fear. She was excited to be present at this richly respected institution, and she recognized it as her privilege and honor. Yet Lizzie was filled with fear; that perhaps she wouldn't be able to live up to its high standards and discipline. She feared that she wouldn't be good enough. At that moment, she missed her dear dad and wanted to run home to his warm embrace, as if this was the first day of school.
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The orientation was over in two hours, and the cadets were led to the front hall, an impossibly large standing area where cadets were given opportunities to meet one another, as well as academic professors and training officers. Lizzie and Jane stood in the corner with shy nervousness, feeling intimidated at the throng of unknown faces and the presence of academic professors who hardly cracked a smile. Surprisingly, Lizzie appeared to be faring worse than Jane, who appeared more curious and adept at new findings. Lizzie just wanted to stand in the corner until all this was over.
"Lizzie, they're serving some cocktail punch over there. I think we should grab some, and talk to some of the professors by the far wall." Jane prodded Lizzie, gently tugging on her arm. "I think Colonel Gundsen, the tall gentleman with the mustache, teaches upper div Behavior Analysis. Maybe you should introduce yourself."
"I don't know…" This was getting quite embarrassing, Lizzie thought. She has never experienced such peaked nerves before, not like this. All of her past academic accomplishments, accolades, and pride meant absolutely nothing at this moment, and they added no value to her confidence whatsoever.
"Lizzie, it'd be all right. We all feel the same way. Come on." With that, Jane pulled along Lizzie's arm and led her across the hall, toward the refreshments table. The area was expectedly crowded with cadets and officers mingling and enjoying the refreshments, and the girls had to exert some force to get to the serving line.
The cocktail punch was being served by six young men behind the table, each dressed in their uniform and with a white towel on their shoulder. Jane and Lizzie made their way to the next available server, who was a tall blond young man with deep teal blue eyes. He had an easy smile on him, and his eyelids squinted a bit at the corners.
"Hi, you guys look like first years. Welcome to Quantico." He spoke with ease and composure as he started to pour the cocktail punch into the small glass cups. "I'm a third year. It's a bit of a tradition for the upper classmen to serve the first years during orientation."
"Thank you." Jane replied as both girls accepted the drinks.
"You're welcome, hope you enjoy it. Oh, and whatever happens, keep going." He gave a slight wink, and Lizzie felt herself blushing, as if she couldn't help it. She wanted to kick herself for looking like a fool.
As the girls walked away, Jane abruptly pulled Lizzie's arm toward the far window by the entrance of the hall. "Do you know who that was?" She exclaimed, with her eyes bright and apparently excited.
"Jane, I have no idea what you're talking about." Lizzie replied while attempting to take a drink of the punch.
"That was Donnie Ressler."
"Still no idea."
"He is the top student of his year, and he's gotten perfect marks in all of his classes for the last two years. Nobody has done that, as in the history of the academy. And most likely, he'll graduate as the top ranking cadet. Can you believe it?" Jane quickly spoke in hushed tone, getting more excited at each revelation.
Lizzie turned toward his direction to look at him one more time. "That's impressive."
"Impressive? That's all you can say? It's amazing. It's crazy. It's unprecedented. He's perfect."
"He's perfect? Jane, you sure you don't have a crush on him?" Lizzie snickered as she took in another sip of the punch. The sugary drink gave her a slight wave of happiness, and her nerves felt a bit abated.
"He is quite handsome. His eyes are so blue, and so beautiful. And he's so tall."
"Jane, seriously. Snap out of it. We are here to study, and to train. Get your head out of there." Lizzie nudged Jane on her shoulder, and shook her head twice to signify disapproval.
"Yeah, you're right. Plus I heard he has a girlfriend, some daughter of a colonel. Most likely, he'll marry into some high ranking family, and just climb up and up in his career. He has his cushy life mapped out already."
"Oh now, that's just nonsense. He does not have his life mapped out, because his life hasn't started yet. Let's get out of here." And with that, it was now Lizzie's turn to grab Jane's arm and lead her out of the hall, and into the chilly autumn afternoon towards their dorm building.
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Lizzie made her way down the stairs located along the wall in the Rising Hill Lecture Hall. Lizzie did not think lecture halls of this size existed, and she immediately felt like a mere tiny raindrop in the vast lake of water. She nervously tugged on her academy-issue maroon sweater, and looked for an empty seat. It was an upper div class, and the other cadets most definitely looked older and more seasoned. And they all seemed to know each other, as just about everyone was engaged in an animated conversation. Passing by all the bustle and the noise, the lone Lizzie finally located an empty seat on the edge and quickly moved toward it.
In relief, Lizzie claimed the seat and sat on it with a small huff. She looked around one more time, at the enormity of the place and in contrast, the tiny and the lonely existence of her being. Lizzie was sure she was the only first year cadet in the room, and she felt so small and so young. She was afraid of doing anything to call attention unto herself, afraid that others would point fingers, mocking her even. Lizzie just needed to survive this, that's all.
Just then, there was a loud laughter heard from the far left of the lecture hall, and Lizzie's attention went to the corner where several cadets were talking and mingling. She looked on to them for few moments, until she spotted the one familiar face. Donnie Ressler. She recognized the object of Jane's affection. His golden blond hair glistened in the bright lights of the lecture hall, and he was talking very animatedly with other male cadets. There was no chance he'd see her, she thought. There's also absolutely no chance he'll remember her, and that she's a first year cadet. There's no way, and she quickly dismissed it. Plus, she's got more important things on her mind, such as surviving her first upper div class.
The hall became instantly hushed as Colonel Gundsen appeared from the front stage. All of the cadets immediately sat properly and gave him utter silence and respect, as Colonel Gundsen walked to the center of the front stage and addressed the class.
"Good morning cadets, welcome to Behavior Analysis. By now, you all have the syllabus, so I will not use your time reviewing that. You also should have the textbooks by now, and have read the first three chapters. Now, shall we begin?"
And just as the students were getting ready to take notes, Colonel Gundsen spoke once again.
"One more thing, I hear that we have a quite a scholar amongst us. A first year student has been admitted to this class from the accelerated program. Now, I'll respect the student and will not divulge his or her identity, but to the rest of you, you have a stiff competition among you. Now, let's begin."
At this rather unforeseen announcement, Lizzie felt her face in full flush. She could hear some comments from other cadets, all condescending and not too welcoming. Some cadets were looking around the hall, in hopes of spotting such a youngster. Lizzie felt like she was in the middle of a fire storm, and desperately wanted to slide down her chair like liquid ready to evaporate. She wanted to disappear, but not like this. Survival just got more interesting, and Lizzie wondered how she'll keep up the obscurity for the entire semester.
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The first lecture of the class ended promptly at the hour, and Lizzie started slowly to pack away her belongings. Colonel Gundsen disappeared from the door at the front stage, and some cadets were seen racing out to catch up to him. Lizzie, however, needed more breathing space to process this day and decided to visit his office some other time, away from the eyes of the other cadets. She picked up her bag and started up the stairs when she felt a sharp tap on her right shoulder.
"Hey!"
Lizzie turned around quickly, only to find bright blue eyes looking deeply into hers.