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Chapter 3 – Plan B

Jane sat at her computer editing photos of Lance that she had taken that morning. Maybe she was just using it as an excuse to look at him. She had been finished with her session for a while. She edited those photos and sent them to be printed. Just as he had asked her to do, she had sent him a text. But, that had been hours ago. He hadn't answered, or rang back.

"Don't worry. He's a busy man." She reminded herself. She looked out of the window to see the night lights of London. It had begun to snow.

She looked back at the screen of a photo she had taken of him. She couldn't see his face, only his chest and strong arms. His clearly defined muscles reflected the sunlight that came in through the window. She remembered how his skin felt against hers. How those arms felt when they were wrapped around her.

Just as she was really beginning to enjoy her daydream of him, her phone beeped. She jumped at the noise. She looked down and smiled. It was a message from Lance.

'Would you still be interested in helping me study some geography tonight? I know it's late.'

She mumbled to herself, "Geography. Phhh…. How about some anatomy?" She held her head and smiled, "No. Don't type that." She thought and quickly typed in. 'I'd be happy to.'

She sat her phone down on the desk and turned around. He was standing in the middle of the room wearing a nice suit and tie. He held his hands up. "Sorry. I meant to pop outside the door. I got a number off."

She stood up and smiled, "It's alright. It's probably safer to pop inside of the flat. The hallway is used by so many. You might land on someone."

He walked towards her. "Nah, it has a proximity detector. I could see you were the only one here."

She shook her head. "Physics?"

He looked confused. "I think that's ….. hell, I don't know."

She giggled and turned back to her computer. "You might want to see these."

He saw his image on the screen and knelt beside of her to look at it. "Who is that?"

"That's you. These are those pictures from this morning."

"Nah. I don't have the scar."

"I painted it out. Let me show you my favorite one."

She flipped through the pictures and stopped at one where he sat on the back of a wooden chair. Shirtless and looking out of the window with his elbows resting on his knees, he looked completely comfortable in his surroundings. The light his body was a beautiful display of black and white.

She looked at him as he looked at his image. "That's amazing. I was so certain that I was going to fall out of that chair when you asked me to sit in it like that. At least, flip it into the wall."

She giggled. "It's all with balance. See, you lived though a photo session. Something else you can add to your resume."

He hadn't taken his eyes off the screen. "Show me the rest."

She flipped through the images. He stopped her at another one where he was running his hand through his hair and looking down. "Man. I need a haircut. I was just there with Howie and Caroline. Damn."

"President Shepherd trims hair?"

"No, Caroline does. She asked if I needed one, too."

Jane turned and her nose was inches from his. They both smiled at one another. She ran her hand through his hair. "It really doesn't look bad to me."

His lips met hers. She could taste some odd whiskey in his mouth as they kissed. He looked more handsome than she had remembered in his suit. What was it about a man in a suit?

She felt his fingertips on her face as continued to kiss her. He looked into her eyes, "It's late. I should probably go home and let you sleep."

"I thought you said you were going to study geography?"

His eyes looked her up and down. He clearly had anatomy on his mind, too.

She rose her eyebrows at him. "Unless you don't want me to-"

"No. Please. It would be fine. Yes."

He stood up and took her hand in his. He typed in something on his arm. "Do you need anything?"

"I don't think so."

He took her hand and smiled just before he popped them into his flat. It was raining on the island. As soon as they arrived, Lance said, "Friday. Lights up in here."

Friday spoke and the lights came on. "Welcome back, Lance."

He let go of her hand. "Music would be nice."

Friday spoke. "What would you like to hear?"

"Oh, I don't know. What sort of music do you like, Jane?"

She pointed up. "Who is that?"

"Friday. It's an artificial intelligence system that helps out here at the house."

"Something Tony did?"

"I don't know. Probably. He has one too. What sort of music?" He asked as he took off his jacket and tossed it on the sofa.

"Will she listen to me?"

Lance smiled, "Friday, this is Jane."

"Welcome Jane."

She covered her mouth. "That's so cool."

He took off his tie and chuckled at her as he tossed it with his jacket on the sofa.

"Do you have that song by Kansas? Dust in the Wind?" Jane asked.

Friday spoke, "Certainly."

The song started to play. Jane smiled back at Lance. "I love this song."

He put his hands on his hips and listened. "I've never heard this song."

She stood in front of him. He put his hand on her back and held her hand. They began to dance slowly to the song. She laid her head on his chest and felt him kiss her head.

"Gosh, this is a sad song." Lance told her. "Have you listened to these words?"

She groaned, "Play something else, Friday."

Lance looked at her and laughed. "You don't have to play something else."

"You are being weird-"

"No, I'm not."

"Alright. You name a song. Or are you as bad at this, as you are geography?" She rose her eyebrow at him.

He thought. "Got it. Friday. Play that song….ummm…. Fade into You."

Friday asked, "By Mazzy Star?"

He shook his head. "Most likely. Let me hear it."

Friday began to play the song.

He nodded, "Yes. I like this one."

They began to dance together again.

Jane laughed, "This one, I've never heard."

He smiled, "Ha! I finally know something you don't."

"Oh, I'm sure you know a lot of what I don't. Like, for example, where is your nephew?"

He looked in her eyes as they danced. "Partying with the guys. Nah, Caroline wanted to hold him some more, so I left him there in Washington. Legate will bring him back when Caroline's obligations require it."

She smiled, "That little boy is loved by so many."

He smiled proudly, "He really is."

"Is everything alright there in Washington?"

"There was an intruder alert there earlier. I had to go sort out why. That's why I was late answering you. I'm sorry."

She smiled at him. "I know you are busy man, Lance. I didn't worry."

"It's a 24 hour job to be in charge of this lot. It turned out to be a faulty wire. It's fine."

"Have you spoken to Lewis?"

He twirled her, "And he's in the hospital. But, he's fine. Not to worry. He'll be back tomorrow. At some point. I'm not sure when."

"Why is he in the hospital?"

"His leg. He's done something to it to injure it worse than it was. Our brother, Licis is with him. They ran into some trouble, but they are safe. And, more importantly, their charges are safe. That's the most important. They had two very important people to look after."

She smiled at him as they continued to dance. "Who?"

"Well, someone you don't know. But, the other was Pepper. Pepper Potts. Tony is with her now, but from what I understand, there were several hours where they thought they had not made it."

"So, we're celebrating?"

He twirled her again. "Oh yes! Because, I do not want to think what I would have to do if we had lost them tonight. Oh my goodness. No way."

She laughed. "You sound like the guy in your mad story that you told Arles."

He held her closely. "Yeah? Which guy?"

"I can't remember his name. The one that asked not to be King."

He shook his head. "I never want to do that. Lavatch is the one that asked to never be King. That's the name you are looking for."

She giggled, "All of these characters with names that begin with an L."

He nodded as they continued to dance, "There's a reason for that."

She teased, "To make the story harder to follow?"

He chuckled. "If you listen, it's not hard to follow."

"Yeah, now you sound like my Grandfather. He would say things like that."

Lance groaned, "Oh geez. Tell me, how old are you?"

"Me?"

He kissed her head. "Yes. How old?"

She smiled, "28. How old are you?"

They continued to dance. "How old do you think I am?"

"The same age as your brothers!" She teased.

He twirled her again and laughed. "And you're right."

She laughed as he caught her in his arms and they continued to dance. "Oh, Lance. I don't know."

He kissed her, "There's no wrong answer. Tell me."

"Why don't you just tell me?"

He shook his head. "Nope. That's not a good idea."

She groaned and laid her head back. "Alright. Well, Legate is your nephew-"

"No, he's not. He's….my…..umm….I don't know what the word would be. Not a nephew. I'm his father's Third man. He's…."

"Something else."

He nodded, "Yes. Let's go with that."

"Okay. Well, he's….in his early 20s. That's what he looks like."

He nodded. "Alright."

"So, I'd have to say you are….late 30s….ish."

"Ish?" He looked at her.

"Yes. Close?"

He nodded, "We need wine. What did you have for dinner?"

He held her hand and they walked into the kitchen together. She sat at the bar. The music continued to play in the flat. Lance looked into the fridge as Gary Clark, Jr started to sing Bright Lights, Big City. Lance started to bob his head in time with the music and sing. Jane laughed at him.

"You are mad."

He pulled out a bottle of wine and sat it on the bar in front of her. "What did you have?"

"A bowl of pasta. My favorite thing."

He reached in the cabinet and pulled out two glasses. He wrapped the bottle in a towel and opened it. "Pasta, huh? I don't know if I've had that."

She shook her head. "You had that this morning. Well, if you had time to take a bite."

He poured her a glass and handed it to her. "Oh. I didn't realize that's what it is called."

She looked at him and shook her head. "You….well, Tony said you spoke English as a fourth language."

He leaned against the cabinet.

"How many languages do you speak, Lance?"

He thought and sipped is wine. "I don't know. I've never counted. Not many. Lewis is really good at that. I know he speaks….ummm… this language-"

"This is called, 'English'."

He grinned, "Yes. And another one. Tony speaks it, too. It…sounds….strange."

"Tony speaks another language? I didn't know that."

He nodded and sipped his wine. "How many do you speak?"

She smiled, "Two. English and Spanish. Well, of course."

"I've never heard you speak that."

"Well, you always speak to me in English. So, that's what I use to speak to you."

He nodded. "Makes sense. What does it sound like?"

She giggled, "Surely you've heard someone speak in Spanish before."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Let me hear it."

She rolled her eyes and said something in her native language. Lance stood, leaning against the cabinet and watched her lips move. He imagined her lips on his own.

So far this chat was going pretty good. He was impressed with himself. Rose had given him some great advice, which was: drink some wine, ask her questions, answer hers, and dance.

He chuckled at her. "That sounds a lot like what Tony sounds like."

"He speaks Spanish?" She asked and sipped her wine. "Wow. That is good. What is this?"

"It's from that winery we went to. Tony and John drink it all the time."

She walked into the kitchen with him and looked at the label. "Oh, this picture of this little girl and her grandfather. That's so sweet. That's a nice photo. Tells a story."

Lance sipped his wine. Jane turned back to him. "Have you ever thought about being a model?"

He spit his wine into his glass in surprise. "A what?"

"It's where you let people take-"

"Yes. I know what it is. Why?"

She rose her eyebrow at him. "Really? Have you seen yourself?"

He sat down his drink and turned to look at her. She sat on the cabinet and faced him with her wine in her hand. "You are a very handsome man. Those images I took, I feel I could probably get them under some eyes that would ask for more of you."

He closed his eyes tightly, "Oh no no no."

"Why not?"

He bit his lip and thought. "I…."

"And that's a good start."

He leaned on the cabinet and looked away as he thought.

She smiled at his reaction. "You can't do it because you are a bodyguard?"

"I don't know."

"You can't do it because you are….too handsome. That's it."

He rose his eyebrows at her. "At the risk of sounding like Tony. Can we go with that explanation?"

She laughed and sipped her wine. "Well, think about it. Although, I'll admit. I wouldn't want to share you."

"Share me?"

"Well, everyone sees models. Their bodies-"

"This isn't talking me into this."

"All of the women would want you."

"That's not talking me into it, either."

She teased. "You would have….crazy fans."

He shook his head and drank all of his wine in one gulp. "Then I'm saying no."

She laughed at him. "You are really wound up about this."

"This date is turning into a three drink minimum." He told her as he refilled his glass.

She giggled. "So, refill my glass then, please."

He poured her glass full again. He drank all of his glass and she giggled at his nervousness.

He looked back at her, "Jane."

"Lance." She smiled playfully back at him, teasing his serious tone.

He smiled, "Sorry. I…need to tell you something."

She sipped her wine. "And it's not that you are married."

He chuckled and pointed at her. "Right. Ummm… Right…..how do you feel about people who aren't from here?"

"Like what? From this island?"

"No. Like from…"

"Britain? I'm not from there. I think you should live where you want."

He sighed. This wasn't going as he had planned. "Let me see. Another way. Cybermen, you are familiar with them?"

She sat down her wine and suddenly looked shocked. "Lance. What are you saying?"

"Well, they aren't from here-"

"Have you been spying on me?"

He was surprised. "What? No! Wait a minute."

She pointed at him as tears filled her eyes. "I can't believe you-"

He took both of her hands in his. "No no no….. Jane. No. What? I don't know what you are talking about. I have not spied on you."

She glared at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Jane, I wouldn't do that."

She sat on the cabinet looking at him, trying to decide if he was telling her the truth or not.

He held up both of his hands and looked into her hurt eyes. He wiped her tears. "Jane. I would never do that."

She started to cry. "Lance. I'm sorry."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her closely, "Hey, no. Shhhhh…"

She cried for a while. This was really not going how he thought it would. Maybe he should have spied on her to have already known what not to say.

He held her until she rubbed his chest. He quickly handed her a napkin and took another one to dry her tears.

"I'm going to pick you up, and take you to the sofa. Alright?"

She nodded. He carried her out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. He sat her down and kissed her head. "I'll be back. I'll just go get our wine."

She nodded and covered her face. He was back quickly with the glasses and the bottle. He sat them on the table in front of them and asked Friday to turn off the music. She felt his arms wrap around her and she lay into him.

He kissed her head. "Who did you lose?"

"My brother. His wife. His children. Everyone." She told him quietly.

He closed his eyes tightly. He had wondered why she had never showed him a picture of them or asked him to take her to see them. He could pop anywhere in the world.

He kissed her head, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"I tell everyone he is there. That's where he was. They were. I came here to go to school, and it happened. I never returned."

He held her tightly. "I understand."

"I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you. When you said that, I was sure you had found out."

He shook his head and looked at her. He wiped the tears from her face, "We all have secrets. It's alright."

She looked back at him and sipped her drink. "We all have secrets, huh? What's yours?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm not telling you that tonight."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Lance. You can tell me."

He shook his head. "No way! Not the time."

She groaned and sat her drink back down. He was grateful she had calmed down. "I'm so sorry. I've spoiled our evening-"

He shook his head. "You haven't."

She took a deep breath. "I'm so embarrassed."

Lance sat back on the sofa. "I have an idea. We'll take this bottle, and finish it in the tub. John and Rose's tub is huge. He won't mind at all. I'll draw you a lovely bubble bath and help you relax. I didn't let you sleep last night, but you need to rest tonight. I'll rub your back all night."

She smiled slowly. "Oh, that sounds heavenly."

He caressed her cheek. "I'll try to keep my lips off of you. It will be so difficult."

She smiled painfully at him and they held one another tightly.

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