Everyone Wants Normal Sometimes

Disclaimer: Not mine, even Atlantis, which is briefly mentioned in this chapter.

AN: You know what, this chapter title might have a smidgen of meaning after all. Go figure.

Chapter 6: Everyone Wants Normal Sometimes.

Jonas was happy with every aspect of his life for the first time since he met the people of Earth. Not that they could help it, and it was definitely not their fault, but they burst his bubble. So now he was here without a bubble of denial or expectation and he was just as happy. It was almost a week since their first date and so far there had been nothing but good moments. He had been nervous after their first night together, but the look on Dawn's face when he woke up wrapped around her was very reassuring. That first morning had been a little awkward, but only in the 'I have no idea what to do now' way that was typical for him. She said that no one had ever spent the night before, so she was as lost on the protocol as he was. They decided that they would figure it out, and it would be easier next time. She seemed pretty sure they would have plenty of time to work on it, which made him extremely happy. They had gone out and come back to her room for the night the next 2 days, and she had been right, the awkward went away with practice. After that he decided that she should come over to his cottage near the back edge of the property and hang out. That worked out so well that they spent most of the next 4 days there together, only going out to work. Now it was time for her to move herself and her girls into her new home and he really didn't want her to go. It was only down the road, but it felt like something special was coming to an end and they would never be able to get it back.

The fact that their relationship was shiny and new was the reasonable explanation for the euphoria that he had been in since that first night, but somehow it just felt special. It was way too soon to know what, if anything, they could be to each other in the long run, he knew that, and he was just enjoying things as they came. That's why he was standing in the parlor of her house helping her check items off her list of 'moving in stuff'. She had gotten a bit misty eyed when he offered to help her today and hadn't answered him at first. He started to think that maybe she didn't want him there when she suddenly kissed him fiercely and said, "Thank you so much Jonas. It really means a lot that you offered, and I would love you to be there, but I think that I would be best if I dealt with the girls on my own. They will be following the moving trucks with a family friend of mine, and I want him gone and them settled before I talk to them about you."

He understood her wanting to keep their fast moving relationship from prying eyes. She had mentioned the way her family tended to smother and stifle her. And he understood that it would be a new thing for her to have a man around the girls. So here he was getting things finished so he could go back to work before people showed up.

After all the ducks were lined up (she laughed when he said that, and he smiled because he had done it on purpose to make her laugh) he headed off down the drive. As he wound his way through the trees he passed a car coming up to the house. When he looked into the car he saw a skinny blond man driving with one hand and wrestling something out of the hand of a pale brunet girl who couldn't be more than 5 feet tall considering the way she was stretched across the back passenger seat and into the headspace of the driver's seat. Meanwhile, the other girl, an also pale redhead whose hair seemed to go on forever, just looked annoyed and smacked the brunet on the back of the head before grabbing her and shoving her back into the back seat. Jonas nearly laughed as he passed them up and turned onto the road toward his own home. These girls seemed fun. He couldn't wait to meet them.When he reached the lane that led from the main drive of the inn to his own cottage he saw a car pulling in ahead of him.

When he reached the house the driver was already sitting on the porch swing waiting for him.

"Hey Jonas, what's up?"

"Not a lot, how have you been Cassie? Haven't seen you in a few weeks. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing specific. Just having a few issues with Sam and Daniel and didn't want to get you in the middle of it."

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder as she leaned into him for comfort. "What kind of problems?"

"Daniel has been after me for months to commit to a job at the base. He wants me to be a research assistant until I get my degree and then come in full time. He thinks that with Sam leaving I need to be more integrated into the staff there. I told him I'd think about it, but I don't think that working on the base is a good idea. I mean, mom died working there. And I just want to be like other college kids. I already have this huge secret that I have to keep from the whole world; I don't want to add more top secret stuff on top of all that. And what if I wanted to move away some day? You're an adult and they wouldn't even let you leave the city. There is a whole planet I can explore and I'm stuck in the springs."

She sighed and sounded on the verge of tears. "Sam's leaving. Did you know about them sending her to Atlantis? She's so concerned that I can't take care of myself she started asking people to move into the house to keep an eye on me. I've barely moved back in myself and she's opening the place up to strangers without even consulting me. And I don't think I want to stay there anyway, it's too hard. The only reason I moved back there anyway is because everyone told me it was a waste to get an off campus apartment when I owned a house nearby. I really don't know what to do. I'm 'this' close to calling Jon and asking him to get them off my back. I miss Jack too. At least Jon is still around though."

Jonas frowned and rubbed her arm. "I know it's hard to deal with everyone hovering, but it's just because they care. Since I've been back I've seen how much they love you. You don't have to work at the base, and you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. The reason I'm here is because it's part of the agreement that I made when I came back. You never agreed to that. Janet MIGHT have signed something when she adopted you, but you are an adult now, and you are not bound by something your mother signed without your knowledge. And I seriously doubt it ever came up anyway. If you aren't comfortable at your house you should either rent it out or sell it. I'm sure there are plenty of military families that would love a place near the base."

He kissed her forehead and chuckled softly. "Hey, have you talked to Jon lately?"

She shook her head. "Not since he graduated. He said he was going to try to get into the academy, but they were questioning his background and he needed to get some higher ups to look into it. That was a few months ago."

"Well, he got his issues worked out, but they had already started their term, so he has to wait till next year to start, so he's going to need a job and a place to stay once the summer is over because that's when the Air Force stops funding him."

"Who's gonna hire a smart ass teenager with the knowledge of a senior citizen and the mentality of a first grader?" She was laughing now, which was why he had changed the subject in the first place.

"Me."

"WHAT?"

"Well, you're the one who made him sound like a freak. I'm sort of a friend, and I need someone to be a night manager at the inn. Summer is not the biggest tourist season here, but I have other things to do with my time than stay up there every night. I've had the night housekeeper working as a desk clerk every night this past week. And the job comes with one of the two apartments on the top floor as a perk."

"What's with that anyway?"

"They were already there when I bought the place. Would have cost more to refit that floor that it would have been worth."

"Jonas?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Hey, how did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Alien mind reading power."

"I'm an alien too. And if one of us was going to have that power, I think it would be me."

"Good point. I know you want out of that house, and you seem lonely with Sam leaving and Daniel always under a mountain that you want no part of, so it seemed logical that you would want to come out here and stay with people you know. And you know that we won't hover."

She nodded and then stilled and scrunched up her forehead as she added up a few things in her head. "How long have you needed a night manager?"

"A month actually. The last guy quit and I was living up there to take up the slack for a while."

"And when did you talk to Jon?"

"Couple of weeks ago. Why?" He could feel the activity of her brain and it was rather disconcerting that it was all focused on him.

"When is Jon moving in?"

"Day after tomorrow. And again, why?"

"Well, if you had been staying up there for three weeks, and he was going to be here so soon, why screw with the housekeeper? Unless you really do have other things to do." She stood up and turned to look at him, a wicked grin on her face. "You've been busy, every night, for a week. YOU'VE GOT A GIRLFRIEND! Oh my god, you've been with a girl every single night for a week. Seriously? Am I right?"

Jonas nodded dumbly. How had she figured that out like that? She sat back down and demanded information. They sat and talked about Dawn for a few minutes and then made plans for Cassie to move to the inn's second apartment. After a long while they went inside and he made her dinner, followed by a showing of The Holy Grail since she hadn't seen it either. "You know that's kinda creepy right?" After that Cassie crashed out in his guest room and he called and talked to Dawn about her day before turning in himself.