Hey, it's a new chapter! Dana moves on.
Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.
- o – o -
Chapter seven: Fireflies
It said something about Jacob Philips that Trip never complained when he came over. The lack of dirty looks was also noticeable. Dana didn't know what was different between Philips and…say, Travis, but she wasn't sad that there was a difference. When she'd first brought her best friend's ex-boyfriend over for coffee, Trip had asked the poor guy if he was the gay guy from a movie he'd seen. (Dana had grounded her son for two reasons; one being embarrassing her guest, the other for watching an R-rated movie.)
Philips had promptly pulled a five out of his wallet and bribed Trip to never mention that movie again. The rising blush on the poor guy's face had made her laugh for a good half hour.
A week later, she'd gotten a phone call from Kia. Kia had moved to New York; according to her—and Jacob corroborated the story later—the split had been mutual and peaceful. As they cut the call off, Kia had given Dana her blessing to date Philips. When Jacob showed up at her office later, claiming to have forgotten that Kia had moved to New York, Dana saw right through him. And said so. Still, she and Philips shared the lunch he'd brought with him.
And that was that. It was the first step in an incredibly odd—and somewhat awkward—relationship. Whatever had drawn Philips in after that first cup of coffee kept him coming back, time and time again. Dana half-wondered what the ARK soldier thought he was atoning for. He hadn't been involved in her husband's death, after all. (He had looked a little guilty when she'd brought it up a few weeks ago, before quickly changing the subject.)
That wasn't the point she was trying to make, Dana thought with a sigh as she threw her pen down on the pile of paperwork on her desk. She'd been… Well, it wasn't exactly dating, but she'd been seeing Philips for almost three months now. The Cape wasn't so happy about that, but he could keep quiet or bring her husband back from the dead.
And that was extremely petty, Dana, she thought with a grimace as she packed her files into her briefcase for work in the morning. The vigilante meant well, but… Come on, she was making new friends and beginning to move on with her life. Was he really that oblivious to the fact that she was a grown woman?
Maybe he wasn't oblivious, but Dana was sure that a jealous vigilante was the last thing she needed. Especially today, she added mentally. The public defender slipped her tennis shoes on and crept quietly into the living room. She didn't want to interrupt the fascinating debate between her son and her new boyfriend.
It was about baseball, and was about the merits of professional versus casual games. Given that Philips played for the unofficial company team, he was loudly in favor of casual games. Trip was not.
Dana cleared her throat as she entered the living room, finishing her task of pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Jacob was sweet, and even Trip liked him. (It helped that Philips could easily relate to kids; he was good with them. Must have been why he was working with the crisis response teams, instead of being a typical ARK thug.)
"Hey you," Dana smiled, hugging Jacob as she got near him.
She chose to ignore the gagging sounds as she and Jacob shared a deep kiss.
- o – o -
So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Should Vince have brought himself back to life by this point? Drop a line and let me know!
