AN: Hey, there. Been awhile. I got a few reviews asking if I've abandoned the story and I can safely say no. I have a lot of chapters yet to write and a few I need to type up. This is something of an important chapter as far as the series goes. There are lesbian/gay characters in the series and you'll find out one of them now. The name of this series is - right now - "Incomplete" and it'll be something of an ongoing theme as we work our way out of Fiction-verse 2011 and onto the next few years.
Ezra came into the office as Buck nervously paced the breakroom.
"Mister Wilmington," he nodded slightly as he passed to get some coffee from the 'safe' pot. "What seems to be the fuss?"
"He's about to apologize to someone," JD grinned from nearby, laptop up and running. Ezra had to admire the young tech's determination. JD certainly was taking his task to heart. As of yet, he hadn't found out who messed with the camera in the secretarial pool, but he wasn't giving up.
"Ah," Ezra nodded understandingly.
AJ chose that moment to stick her head into the room. "Good morning, Agent Standish," he responded via salute. "Agent Wilmington, the flowers have arrived. And the chocolate. Oh, and I made reservations for Sunday at Lucien's."
"Well done, Ms. Johnson," Ezra had been to the classy, yet inexpensive restaurant in the past.
"Yeah, Darlin', thanks," Buck squared his shoulders and marched out with calls of good luck.
When he came back an hour later, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Vin was standing near AJ's desk when his bigger teammate scooped her up and spun her around. "Take it you got a date, Bucklin?" Vin smirked.
"Yup. Darlin', Blake was right," he referred to her FBI teammate, the one they'd met not so long ago. "You really do know how to apologize to a girl. She liked her milk chocolate and did you know that yellow carnations were her favorite flower? What am I sayin', course you did. That's what she got."
"It was a lucky guess," she shrugged modestly. It was a little odd, Vin thought. AJ didn't blush or bat her eyelashes when Buck beamed at her like other women did.
It was like she didn't notice, as she picked up her files.
Buck clapped Vin on the arm as he passed into the office.
"Hey, Darlin'," Vin leaned against the wall, watching her. "That was some lucky guess. And Lucien's wouldn't have occurred to me to take a lady. So, how do you know how to apologize to a girl?"
"Easy," she answered flippantly, brushing past him. "I just pretend that I'm the one dating them."
As she disappeared into the file room next to her desk, she didn't seem to have realized that she'd just outed herself to Vin. He stared after her thoughtfully. Suddenly, a lot of things that he'd observed about her started making sense.
It wasn't that AJ was impervious to them; it was that she was legitimately not interested.
This brought up an unexpected problem.
Vin frowned to himself as he returned to the office. It wasn't that he or any of the boys would have a problem with her. They had two gay co-workers on two different teams. Andrew and Matt were good men and the three teams were known to hang out on occasion. But that was the thing. They were guys. AJ wasn't.
Buck was right. If they did have to apologize to AJ in the future – whether as their teammate or just a good friend - , then they were going to need to figure out how to apologize to her.
Vin didn't think any of them had ever slighted a lesbian, so how did a straight boy apologize to a gay girl? The way he would if she was straight?
The boys were going to need to get some idea if they wanted to stay her friends – and they wanted to. Even if she was a Feeb employee.
"Hey, Junior," Buck spied him standing in the middle of the office with a thoughtful frown. "Somethin' we can help you with?"
Vin looked up to see the curious looks from the boys and a pair of green who had no doubt seen him standing there. "Nah. Personal."
"You know where we are if you need us," Buck nodded, knowing that his private teammate would decide if he needed help or not. The others went back to their tasks as Vin thought about it and headed for Chris' office. "Got a minute?"
The blond immediately set aside some paperwork in order to give his best friend hi undivided attention. "Something on your mind, Cowboy?"
Vin studied him, thinking hard. Moving into the room, he closed the blinds and locked the door. "I want this to be 'tween the two of us. It don't leave this room. And… I understand that you want details, but it ain't my story to tell.
Chris nodded in understanding. Vin wanted advice, but the blond would be getting the barest possible details. Vin didn't have permission to reveal too much and Chris understood that the Texan took that very seriously. Especially when the subject of conversation confided in him. "Understood. It doesn't leave this room."
Vin relaxed in one of the chairs in front of the desk and sighed. "It's about someone who gave me an idea, but I don't think they realized that they gave me this idea. Now, I know that Andrew and Matt are gay, and so is this someone, too, but in a different way. Andrew and Matt are the ones I know how to apologize to and I've done it in the past. But this someone… I don't know."
Chris thought about it. "If I'm readin' this right, we're talkin' about a girl here. One who may or may not realize that you know about her. And you have done or will do something to upset her. The question is, do you know her well?"
"Not yet," Vin held his gaze as he slowly sat back, the answer clear now. It wasn't a problem for Chris to work with a gay member of either gender, but he did know that others would see a problem. As long as his co-worker knew that 'no' was 'no', Chris had no problem. He didn't even mind flirting, because heaven knew that it was harmless a majority of the time regardless of preference. And he happened to know that he could give as good as he got - much to Andrew's partner's delight. But for the fact that the not so secret subject of conversation was female…
Women usually had a 'basic' set of guidelines – if you would – when men wanted to apologize to them. Usually, however, the man knew what the individual liked. Johnso- Vin's friend didn't seem to be giving him much to go on.
"My advice," Chris smiled slightly, "is to get to know this someone you say hinted at it. She could either tell you outright or you would need to study her body language. She should be dropping some sort of clue, but you don't know her well enough to catch it."
Vin nodded. He'd thought that would be the case. "Have you ever had that problem?"
"Well, no, but if you get some idea, be sure to pass the information on so that I can apologize, too."
They exchanged a grin, both agreeing that AJ's revela- Vin's discovery would stay between them until further notice. They didn't know who else on the team knew, but they wouldn't be learning it from them.
Of course, Vin and Chris wouldn't give any indication that they knew.
But later, when Chris stopped by to give her a file, he found himself under unbelievably intense scrutiny by grey eyes.
"Can I help you, Darlin'?" he raised an eyebrow.
She just smiled and said nothing, but Chris couldn't help wondering if she knew that Vin 'told' him, how she knew and how she felt about it.
She must not have been very upset about it, because, just as Chris and Vin were packing up for the night, they found a small smiley face at the corner of their desk calendars. They knew that they hadn't put them there and would have thought it was one of the boys if the entire team hadn't been out at the same time, leaving AJ in the office.
** Later
Nathan pulled up at the only apartment complex on West Sunset and parked in a visitor spot.
Adjusting his jacket, he locked up and headed inside to wait for AJ. He entered the lobby and noted the professional surroundings, but it seemed at odds with the clientele. There was a group of young girls clumped near the elevators, an older girl standing watch as the four younger gathered together.
There was a wall of mail boxes and Nathan wandered over to check out which number AJ called home. It turned out to be on the third floor: 13C.
There were four floors in all, with fifteen units on each floor. Most of them, he noted, were members of the same family on each floor. He had to chuckle as he saw noted the first initials of 13, 14 and 15C: A, B and C.
Nathan took a picture of it on his phone and sent it to the boys for future reference.
A few minutes later, AJ entered the lobby from the stairwell, Nathan having noticed her avoidance of elevators. No one thought she was claustrophobic, because even Vin had some trouble using the file room behind AJ's desk, yet she still took the stairs.
Then again, she was sitting down all day. Nothing wrong with some exercise to burn off energy.
"Hey, AJ," Nathan smiled warmly at her, noting the same blue number that she'd worn at the Auction. "Ready?"
"Yeah. Oh, uh," she paused. "I know you go with … our Southern friend once in a while, so I was wondering what I should call you."
Nathan stared for a minute before understanding dawned. She was obviously comfortable with using their titles. And it was true that Nathan sometimes went undercover with Ezra and AJ was obviously thinking about that.
"It's fine to call me by my first name," he told her quietly. "I was wondering why you always call us by our titles. But you know, it would make me feel better if you called me Nathan. Oh, I know that being familiar with strange men might not be very comfortable, but I would like you to consider calling me Nathan out of the office from now on." He wanted to at least let himself think they were friends.
AJ studied him for a few silent moments before nodding. Nathan smiled back and nodded.
"Thank you," he stepped back, not realizing what he'd just done. "I guess we should be on our way."
She hummed before turning to the children by the elevator, who Nathan just realized was studying them. "Okay, you've seen him. Now, go back upstairs."
"We'll see you tomorrow?" the oldest confirmed. The young blonde was obviously in her early teens, with braces and big framed glasses.
"Bright and early," she nodded. "Night, Li."
"Night, Ms. AJ," they all chorused. They seemed to converse for a minute amongst themselves before one of the young African American girls darted forward.
"Don't forget about Stevie," she told AJ, giving her a hug around the waist.
"Yes, Mimi. Say goodnight to Stevie, too. See you tomorrow."
Mimi skipped back to the others and let Li herd them into the elevator.
"Friends of yours?" Nathan chuckled.
"Mimi and Elaine – the other black girl – live on my floor. The other girls live above us."
Nathan offered his arm. "We should get there just in time."
AJ took it and let him escort her to his car. "You don't have to," she told him as he opened the door for her.
"But it's only fair," Nathan closed it and hurried behind the wheel. "This is because I asked you out tonight."
"How would this look to someone who might know your girlfriend?" she wanted to know.
"I told them that I was bringing someone and Rain wasn't going to be available. So, don't worry. And I let Rain know about it, so she's well aware that I'm taking out another woman." He sneaked a look at her and was surprised to see the smile on her face. She appeared to be amused at something, but Nathan was too intrigued by the change to her features to ask.
At the office, with her female friends, AJ smiled, sure, but there seemed to be something she was holding back. With the others on the team, she seemed polite and distant, though they wanted to change that. But here, she seemed almost content. He wouldn't say relaxed, but it was a far cry from the almost bland smiles she normally gave people. The boys all noticed that she didn't really let her smile touch her eyes.
This new smile may have been the one that touched her grey eyes, but Nathan couldn't see them as he drove down the street.
They got to the gallery and found a sizable crowd already milling around. As they entered the doors, the first thing that greeted them was a rainbow arch.
"I've never been here before," Nathan told her. "Isn't this pretty neat?"
She was too busy looking around to really answer, but that was okay because he was, too.
The art they were here to see wasn't on any of the visible walls, but there were other paintings to look over. Nathan was quite taken with a sailboat in a sunset, as AJ seemed content to look over pictures of outer space. Nathan noted the space exhibit would come around August and he made a note about it in case AJ wanted to go in the future, when she was back at her regular office, because they were going to hang out when she went back. The eight of them were all going to look back on this 'transition period' and laugh at how reluctant she was to befriend all of them.
The team could make a day of it.
And, if Nathan were honest, keeping in touch with AJ wouldn't be a bad thing, because they all needed someone trustworthy in the agency they hated.
After a few minutes, they rejoined the trickle of arrivals and Nathan handed their tickets to one of the young adults manning the gates.
The first painting they were faced with was a silhouette of a man walking by himself on a lonely road.
AJ had picked up a program a program and found the painting. "It looks like all the artists were asked to visualize emotions. This one, as you can probably imagine, is loneliness."
Moving on, another painting showed two women smiling into each other's eyes.
Nathan peered over AJ's shoulder and noted contentment. "Basically," he mused, "ask the artists to paint what an emotion looks like to them."
"Or what inspires the emotion," she added, pointing to another painting of a knitting basket sat next to an instrumental soundtrack.
"It's an interesting concept to be sure," Nathan nodded thoughtfully. "Rain did say that they had a theme every year. It's actually pretty interesting."
They continued through the exhibit, Nathan running into some of Rain's friends and co-workers every once in a while as they went.
As AJ and Nathan stood in front of a very fierce twister painting, Nathan suddenly felt like he was being watched. Many scenarios racing through his mind, Nathan was glad to have his cellphone with him as he subtly scanned the room for anyone paying him any mind.
Thinking that he was being careful, he was surprised when AJ squeezed his arm lightly.
"It's fine, Nathan," she murmured confidently. "See that tree over there?"
He blinked, nodding thoughtfully, kind of surprised she noticed. AJ obviously had some awareness of her surroundings if Nathan hadn't known to pay attention to the leafy potted tree next to the entrance of this particular room.
He frowned thoughtfully before spotting a pair of narrowed black eyes watching their every move.
"She just doesn't give up, does she?" AJ shook her head in amusement as they turned to confront the tree. "Alright, Jackie. Game's up."
"Yeah, Jack," another girl joined them. "Game's up, race is won and AJ's got your number!" she crowed.
"Hey, Lucy," AJ raised a hand in hello.
"Hey, there," the taller brunette waved back. She turned to Nathan. "I'm Lucy May Nielson."
"And I'm June Louise-Kathryn Nielson," another brunette – the exact mirror image of Lucy – materialized next to her.
"We're twins," they chuckled merrily.
"I see that," Nathan grinned, liking them instantly. "Nathan Jackson." He turned to see the pair of black eyes narrow further.
"That's Jackie," Lucy grinned.
"Yeah," AJ sighed. "Jackie Rivers. She works at Supernova at the mall. Jackie, this is Nathan. He'll be working with me for a few more weeks."
Jackie slowly stepped out from behind the tree. "Hi," she gave him a sidelong glance.
"Where's Junior?" AJ frowned. "He's usually around somewhere, isn't he?"
"He's not feeling well," June sighed. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head, just like Lucy's. "It's just me, Luce, Jack and Todd. Oh, AJ, have you seen Todd's painting? He said you're in it."
"I heard he did the painting, but I didn't realize it was for the Rainbow," she tilted her head.
Nathan was content to just watch them.
He wondered how long they knew each other, because of the relative ease of their interactions. But the more Nathan studied AJ, the more he realized that while she let the other girls be friendly with her, they had gotten no deeper into her shell than the four secretaries had.
This led Nathan to wonder if AJ had any close friends. She was closed off to a lot of people, but one would almost never figure her out until they stood back and watched. Then he wondered how anyone could get through the walls she had up and how many had bothered to try. After this long, Nathan doubted anyone would try any harder to be friends with her, but he knew that the team had already had (hard fought) success with Ezra and they were more than willing to take up the challenge that AJ presented.
AJ might have come into their lives by accident, but Chris did have a habit of collecting strays. What was one more?
"Nathan? Are you okay?" June tilted her head. The only way that she and her twin could be told apart was their earrings – June's hoops to Lucy's studs.
"Yeah, sorry. Off in thought. AJ, I think we've got a few more paintings before we're done. I mean, if you want to stay with your –"
"No," she shook her head. "It's your favor. I'm supposed to finish with the girls and the rest of the team. I don't go back on a promise."
Nathan and the boys would later find out how true that was – and what lengths she would go to - , but that was still a ways off yet.
He nodded once he made sure that she was okay with it. The last thing he wanted to do was force her to be somewhere she didn't want to be. "Alright."
AJ's friends – if that's what they were – said their farewells as her and Nathan went on to the last area.
This room alternated the various 'emotions' like the rest of the exhibit. Seeing not many people present, AJ went left and Nathan went going from one painting to another, it took a few minutes for him to realize just what it was he was seeing. Turning, he studied AJ across the room before turning back to the AJ in the painting in front of him.
And it was AJ, alright.
She was sitting in a large empty room, on a white rug on the floor. Cross-legged, her forearms were braced on her thighs and hands hanging down in the space left by her legs. In front of her, there was a completed outline of a jigsaw puzzle with different pieces scattered all over the place around her. The box that the puzzle came in was opened on her left.
"Nice, isn't it?"
Nathan turned to see someone that resembled that girl Jackie. Blue eyes were riveted on the painting in front of them.
"Yes, it is," Nathan agreed, looking back at it. AJ in the painting didn't have her glasses on, but she was staring at the puzzle in front of her and she seemed so far away.
"It's not complete," the soft Southern lilt went on.
"What do you mean?" Nathan frowned. "It looks amazing. I may not know much about art, but I see nothing wrong with it. I always heard that artists were their worst critics."
"While that may be true," the other man sighed, "I don't feel that it's complete. But no matter how I try, I just can't figure out what's missing. What do you think?"
Nathan frowned as he flipped through the program in his hands until he got to the painting he stood in front of.
Loneliness.
Nathan let his hand fall back to his side as he looked back to the painting. It looked like AJ needed help finishing that puzzle, but she was the only one there. And her body language seemed dejected as she stared at the puzzle, like she couldn't go on by herself. And, as Nathan stared at it, he realized what the other man meant.
"Oh, good, you found it," AJ came up next to him. She was silent for a minute as she studied the painting of her. "Looks kind of sad, huh?" she sighed. "By the way, have you seen Todd, by chance? He's Jackie's cousin, but he's got a light Southern accent. Not unlike our other friend. Though, Todd's is more lighter."
Nathan blinked before turning to where the other man…used to be. "He was right here a second ago…"
"Oh, well," she lifted a shoulder. "I'll probably catch up with him somewhere else." Nathan glanced at her as she stood beside him and nodded slightly.
The painting just seemed too big for one person. The scene was set up for others, as well. The puzzle was made for more than one person.
Friends.
But as Nathan studied the AJ beside him as she stared at her likeness, he knew that there was something even more important missing from both versions of the brunette.
Without a smile or sparkle in those grey eyes, the picture just seemed…
Incomplete.