Title: Always a First Time
Author: Mindy
Rating: K.
Disclaimer: I'm not ready for the big chair. It and they belong to Tina et al.
Spoilers: Pilot, "Blind Date", "Jack Meets Dennis", "Black Tie", "Corporate Crush", "Hiatus" and more…
Summary: Jack/Liz. The events of season one through Jack's eyes.
A/N: I began this story ages ago. It goes into far too much detail on Liz and Jack's relationship, but if that's your thing, as it is mine-- please read on. I planned to continue this into season 2 and have written part of it. But I was struggling a little, so I thought I'd post this first. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
I.
Spark
Jack could remember that first meeting with Liz Lemon like it was yesterday.
He remembered the first time he shook her hand, quite perfunctorily. He remembered giving her a quick once-over, taking in the dark jeans and budget blazer that he would later come to recognise as Lemon's uniform. He recalled the first time she glowered at him in that distinctly undisguised style and pinned him with her unrepentantly sour tone. And he remembered warmly the first of what would become various memorably clumsy exits she made from his office.
But it struck him now as strange that there was no perceptible warning, no indication, however slight, of what was to come. Usually, before a thunderstorm, there's the spark of lightning. Before a tornado, there is a gust of wind. And, usually, before he faced any new opponent or challenge, Jack felt some intrinsic sense of foreboding or excitement.
The hairs on his neck might stand up on end or there would be an anticipatory rumbling in his gut. He liked that feeling – it gave him an edge, a rush. But there was absolutely no warning when Liz Lemon walked into his immaculately ordered and comfortable life. And he really felt there should have been one.
For the first time in Jack's life, his considerable and fundamental instincts had failed him.
Scheme
The first time Jack wondered whether Liz Lemon might be gay was when he mentioned her on the phone to his old pal from Plastics. Privately, he couldn't help but note the remarkable similarities between the two women.
When he first met Gretchen Thomas, she was not the Amazonian Goddess she had since morphed into. She'd had a short mannish haircut, hid a pretty face behind outdated frames and had no clue what to do with her long limbs. Before he took her under his wing, he never saw her in a dress above once a year and knew for a fact that she spent most of her evenings staring at her computer screen.
She also didn't like him very much, which was not only hard for him to understand, but most unusual for any member of the opposite sex. Something was undeniably amiss. Then, one day, partway through her transformation from ugly ducking to gorgeous swan, he caught Thomas flirting with the girl who delivered coffee to their offices. And suddenly, Jack understood completely.
He couldn't help feeling it was a bit of a shame though. After Gretchen had begrudgingly accepted his mentorship, he'd started to quite enjoy her company, and felt her opinion gradually shifting as well. The closer and more comfortable they became with each other, he'd often found himself lamenting that, if not for her sexual inclination, Gretchen might've been his perfect woman. Only excepting that on the whole, he tended to be far more attracted to brunettes.
But Gretchen had other qualities that he slowly grew to appreciate. He'd never been a fan of stupid women – not in the long term anyhow -- and Gretchen had one of the sharpest minds he'd ever come across. It was also rare to find someone in their field with a decent sense-of-humour, but as she came out of her homely shell, so did her more cheeky, mellow side. She was also not unpleasant to look at, easy to be around and the one person in his daily life who would always tell him the absolute, unadulterated truth.
When he met Liz Lemon, she also didn't like him very much. An opinion which, gay or no, he was sure he could reverse. She also needed his help more than she'd ever admit, and he liked her company more than he'd ever admit. There was a swan to be uncovered and he was just the man to do it.
But, for whatever reason, he was utterly loath to wait around and see if he caught Lemon flirting with any coffee girls. Or found out through office gossip that one of the bra-less female writers at her table was her clandestine lover. He was not entirely convinced it was her preference, but this time, it seemed imperative that he know for certain.
Which was why he'd set Liz up with Gretchen. At the most, he'd have made two lonely gays very, very happy and he'd be toasted at their civil ceremony. And at the very least, they would have something in common to talk about. Him -- which didn't bother him one bit. By then, Gretchen was one of his biggest advocates and only true friends. Perhaps she could influence Liz into seeing him in a more generous light.
Another advantage of setting up the match was that without doubt, he would hear about the outcome of their date through one or both of them. And he certainly didn't have to wait long. Gretchen had phoned him as soon as she'd gotten home, accusing him of setting her up with someone he himself was interested in for the express purpose of gleaning information about her sexual proclivity.
According to her, Liz was his perfect woman. That was the downside of having close friends. They knew you, and your tactics, far too well to be oblivious to being manipulated.
Still, the wine she'd drunk at dinner had mellowed Gretchen's outrage somewhat and, as he reasoned, an evening out with an entertaining dinner companion, whether the companion turned out to be her future bride or not, could not do her any harm. Gretchen was mostly placated by the fact that she had truly enjoyed meeting Liz, which inexplicably pleased Jack a great deal.
What pleased him more -- but which he did not admit to his friend -- was that his little scheme had succeeded exactly the way he'd hoped it would. Even before she slopped into his office the next day, with that peevish look and tone he was starting to rather relish, Jack knew that Lemon was one hundred percent straight. And he couldn't resist a smug, secret smile.
He now had substantial reason to believe that, despite any protestations she might make to the contrary if he were actually to verbalise such a suspicion, Liz Lemon was as sexually susceptible as the next woman. That beneath the obvious misrepresentation of her drab garb and prickly reserve, her heart beat the rhythm of a passionate, heterosexual woman.
It was only later that something struck him as odd about that. Because it meant that Lemon genuinely disliked him for reasons not related to enraged lesbianism. It was not men in general that repelled her. But him -- certified, non-genius Jack Donaghy.
Why it bothered him so, apart from it being such an uncommon occurrence, was unclear. But it was more unsettling to him than it should be. After all, he had it all – charm, wealth, influence, looks, smarts, sex appeal and more. But apparently, none of it was working on Liz Lemon.
Clearly, there was a first time for everything.
TBC…