This Christmas
Chapter 2- The Plot Thickens
Disclaimer: Still don't own any of them. Well, except for Cassie 'cause I made her up, but that's about it.
Warnings: There really aren't any, just Neil is having a really bad day in this fic. Oh, and Jane and Cassie gain up on Neil in a snowball fight but that's about it. And the rating has been taken up a notch because, (come on!) Jane woke up to find herself in Neil's bed. I just couldn't resist to throw one or two things in there. Plus with how Jane treats Neil on a normal basis is worthy of a PG rating (at the very least).
Late last night, General Hein had required a meeting with Captain Gray for five-thirty this morning. So now, Gray was standing all alone just inside the military office building, waiting for the general to show up. The building seemed empty without numerous amounts of people rushing around, trying to not get caught slacking in front of Hein. Gray resisted the urge to yawn. After all, this was his Christmas break and he really didn't want to be up this early when any sane person would still be sound asleep in their nice warm bed. Ah, bed. Such a comforting thought with the warm blankets.. The sound of the General's footsteps snapped him back into reality. "Good morning, General," Gray greeted him, noticing his breath froze when he spoke. Why couldn't the general have waited until it was a little bit warmer before having this meeting?
"Good morning, captain," Hein replied, nodding his head once. "It certainly is cold out here, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir," Gray agreed, all the while shivering. If the general knew it was so cold out, why did he have to have this meeting now?
"Well, then why don't we go for a walk to get ourselves warmed up?" Hein suggested, indicating the way with his arm. They started walking down the streets of New York. No one else was up yet. "Captain, did you manage to place my bet with Sergeant Whittaker?"
Gray hesitated in answering. Even he was afraid of General Hein sometimes. "Yes, sir, however, he thinks the bet is with me."
General Hein could somehow sense Gray's nervousness. "That's fine captain, just so long as it was made." General Hein laughed. "You were the only to turn down my offer."
That didn't surprise Gray. Sometimes he wondered why he didn't take the bet, it was almost a sure win. But this was general Hein; he must have had some type of plan if he was willing to wager all that money. "Sir," Gray said after a few moments of silence between them, "you're not really planning on taking the money from all those soldiers, are you?"
Hein stopped walking and turned to face Gray. "No, Captain Edwards, I'm merely trying to teach all those fools a lesson." Gray was confused now. "They're all willing to bet so much on something they feel will always be the same. It's almost the same thing as betting their families' lives on the fact that the barrier will always be there." Hein stared coldly at Gray. "Many of these soldiers are getting too cocky for their own good."
Gray nodded in understanding. "So, you're going to show them that something unexpected, such as Neil and Jane kissing, is quite possible and they shouldn't think that it's not. But, sir, exactly how are you going to get that to happen?"
"I believe you met a girl yesterday named Cassie Fleming. She'll be a major player in this game."
"Sir, isn't that a little," Gray paused, searching for the right word, "cruel to use the girl like that?"
"Not at all, captain. She seemed quite eager to help me out yesterday. By the way, tell her uncle to bring her down to my office for lunch around one o'clock. I have to talk to her some more."
"Yes, sir." Gray saluted and left.
&-&-&-&
Military protocol absolutely demanded that Jane got up at six o'clock, even if she was on vacation. The facts that she was in a strange room, there was an unfamiliar weight next to her and Neil was the last person she saw last night all came together at once, and made her stop and think for a moment. She wouldn't of...? Nah, only in his dreams and her worst nightmares. That's when it came back to her. Neil's niece had come to visit and she had stayed at his apartment with her. She looked to her side and, sure enough, there was Cassie, still sound asleep. "So this isn't some crazy nightmare," she muttered softly.
She wondered how long it would be until Cassie woke up. Since there was nothing better to do, Jane spent the time looking around the room. For the most part, it was exactly like hers; completely dull and boring. "Doesn't he have anything interesting in here," she said exasperated. That was when she caught sight of the nightstand with the top drawer slightly open. 'This could prove to be quite interesting. But then again, I really shouldn't go through his personal stuff. Who knows what sort of grimmy things I'll find in there. Curiosity eventually got the better of her. Who cares? He'd do the same to me given the opportunity. From angle she was, she could just barely see into the drawer. It would have to do. She opened the drawer a bit farther and began to sort through the top layer of items. A lot of it was newspaper clippings, mainly about the Deep Eyes, and there were a few photos. There was one picture that caught her attention, and she really couldn't see it that well, so she brought it out for closer inspection.
The sound of the doorknob turning caused her to quickly shove the drawer back in and thrust the picture behind her back. None other then Neil walked into the room, minus his shirt. He looked surprised to see Jane there. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Nothing," she replied innocently, making sure the picture was safely hidden.
"You know, if I were in that bed with you," he began, walking over to his dresser.
"Never happening," she replied, watching him. "You'd better hope Cassie doesn't wake up."
"Why?"
"Because if she sees you like that the poor girl will have nightmares for the rest of her life. It's bad enough that I have to suffer."
"Very funny," he replied, rummaging through his drawers.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked him suddenly.
The tone of her voice made Neil jump. "Gettin' clean clothes," he said, grabbing a clean uniform and closing the drawers.
"That's not fair," she protested. "I have to walk all the way back to my apartment before I can change."
He shrugged. "Borrow some of mine; that way you'll have a clean uniform to wear until you get back to your apartment," he suggested jokingly.
A loud yawn prevented any further talk as Cassie woke up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?" she asked, blinking as she looked around the room. She caught sight of Neil and went running towards him to give him a hug. "Morning, Uncle Neil, Aunt Jane!" she told them quite cheerfully.
"How can you be so cheerful first thing in the morning," Jane muttered, grateful for the chance to sit up.
"What's wrong with her?" Cassie asked, giving Neil her full attention.
"She's not much of a morning person," Neil told her. "Or an anytime person when it comes to me," he added under his breath.
They left the room together, leaving Jane alone. She took another long look at the picture, then glanced over at Neil's dresser. He owed her big time.
&-&-&-&
Cassie was sitting on the couch listening to Christmas carols when Jane come out of Jane's bedroom wearing one of his older uniforms. At least it was clean. "Hey, Cass, where's your Uncle?"
"Getting dressed," Cassie replied, indicating the bathroom. "When he's done, he's going to make breakfast."
Jane gulped. Was that really such a good idea? "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, scurrying out the door.
"See ya," she called absent-mindedly as she began humming to the song.
Jane walked nervously down the hall, hoping she wouldn't run into Gray or Ryan who would instantly recognize that the uniform wasn't hers. And it wouldn't take either of them much to figure out who's it was. She caught sight of Gray walking towards her and groaned. It was not turning out to be a very good vacation. She tried walking past him, but he stopped her. "Jane, aren't you up awfully early?" he asked, wondering why anyone who was on break would be up at this time. "And more importantly," he added once he noticed what she was wearing, "why are you wearing Neil's uniform?" Jane started to answer him but Gray stopped her. "Never mind. I'm not really sure I want to know. Are you going back to Neil's anytime soon?"
If it was anyone else, Jane would have refused to answer that question, but, since he was her captain, she really didn't have much choice in the matter. "Yes, sir. Just as soon as I get changed."
"Good," Gray told her, yawning. "Then you can tell him that General Hein wants to have lunch with niece at one." He involuntarily shivered. "I'm going back to my nice warm bed," he muttered as he walked away. Jane watched him for a moment before hurrying on to her own apartment.
&-&-&-&
Neil looked around his apartment for a few minutes, confused, then went back to making breakfast. "Cassie, where's your aunt?" He waited a few seconds. "Obviously not within hearing distance if I just said that statement aloud and I'm still alive."
"She said she'd be right back," Cassie told him, walking over and taking a look at breakfast. She wrinkled her nose. "It smells funny."
"That's because Neil made it," Jane said as she walked in the room, causing both Neil and Cassie to jump. She threw several bags down on Neil's couch. "Cassie, here's your stuff. Oh, and Neil," she said tossing him a bundle which hit him in the back of the head, "thanks."
He rubbed the back of his head and picked up what she threw at him, only to discover it was one of his old uniforms. "You didn't," he said nervously. "You do realize I was only joking when I said that, right? If this even came close to fitting you, I'm gonna have to shoot myself to spare me the embarrassment."
"Mind if I supply the gun?" she asked maliciously. "And should you really be talking like that around your niece?" she said, pointing to Cassie.
Cassie had been sorting through her stuff, ignoring the two adults until she heard her name. "Huh? What?" she asked looking around the room.
"General Hein wants to have lunch with you at one o'clock," Jane told her, sitting down on the couch. For a brief second, she wondered why General Hein had taken such an interest in the girl. Quickly as the question had come to mind, it was gone.
"General Hein wants to see me again?" Cassie asked incredulously, all the while smiling. She had had fun talking with him last night; she learned many interesting facts about her uncle and "aunt" Jane.
"Yep, so don't stuff yourself on Neil's breakfast. Though I wouldn't recommend it anyway," she said, casting a sly glance his way.
&-&-&-&
Twelve-thirty came around quickly. Cassie stood at Neil's apartment door, all bundled up in jacket, gloves, scarf, and hat. "Uncle Neil, Aunt Jane, hurry up," she called to them impatiently.
"We're coming," Neil answered for them both as they stood up. Jane wasn't very happy about him answering for both of them. She also wasn't very happy that she had to go outside in the cold to take Cassie to General Hein's office when she could have just as easily stayed inside where it was warm.
Yeah right, she thought. Just as easy as it was to go back to your own apartment last night. She shivered as they stepped outside into the cold air. Despite her warm jacket, she was freezing. For once, she hoped Neil would be his usual flirtatious self and try to keep her warm. She regretted the thought the instant it came. Of course, it wasn't very likely he would; the punch she had given him last night would keep him from trying that trick again for a very long time.
&-&-&-&
Neil looked nervously over at Jane as they stopped outside General Hein's office. She was mad at something, which scared him to begin with, but what made it worse was he didn't know what she was mad at. He thought he was innocent "Do you want to knock?"
She shook her head. "It's your niece. I shouldn't even be here."
"Yeah, but your father was a general," Neil countered. He did not want to face the General, for reasons he was not willing to share."
"But your father is his -"
"I'll knock," Cassie interrupted her. "After all, I'm the one who's having the meeting." She reached up and knocked lightly on the door.
General Hein opened the door a few inches. Upon reorganization, he opened the door all the way, his cold eyes studying them. Does the man never smile? Neil thought as he peered inside the room. He was quite shocked; General Hein must have had a full feast prepared.
He glanced over at Jane to see what her reaction had been. Jane had smartly saluted the general when he opened the door. Realizing his mistake, Neil followed suit. "At ease, soldiers," General Hein told them, placing a hand on Cassie's shoulder and ushering her inside. Jane visibly relaxed, but Neil was still edgy. "I'll take good care of her." He smirked. "Come back within an hour to get her." He paused for effect. "You are dismissed," he told them with a wave of his hand. He then shut his door.
Neil didn't relax until they were far away General Hein's office. "Hey, Jane," he said as they walked along, "since you've been a doll and helped me out with Cassie, how 'bout I take you out to lunch?"
"Are you paying?" she asked suspiciously.
"I wasn't planning on it, but you got it, babe."
"Don't call me that," she scolded as they went off in search of the nearest place to get some food.
&-&-&-&
General Hein waited patiently while Cassie stuffed herself full with the food he had ordered, all the while going through what he was going to talk to her about. He decided on telling her everything that she would understand. After all, what was the point of telling her something she wouldn't comprehend? He would start with general conversation, then move on to the important stuff. Only after she leaned back in her chair did he begin talking. "So, how do you like visiting your uncle?" he asked as the conversation starter.
"It's fun," she told him, then smiled. "Watching him and his special friend is lots of fun."
The general managed a small smile. "Did you call his special friend what I told you to?" Cassie nodded. "How did she react?"
She appeared thoughtful for a moment. "I think she liked," she said after a while. "In fact, I was stilling calling her that this morning, and Uncle Neil even called her that."
General Hein smirked. This was getting to be quite interesting. "Cassie, did you see a small Christmas tree anywhere in your Uncle's apartment?"
"I think I did," she said thoughtfully.
General Hein brought a package out of a drawer in his desk and handed to her. The tag read "To: Jane, From: Neil." She eyed the present carefully, and looked at General Hein expectantly. "That's Neil's, ah, special present for Jane. Make sure she opens it before the party tomorrow night."
Cassie nodded. "Sir, if this is Uncle Neil's present for Jane, why do you have it?"
The general had been anticipating that question. "Let's say Jane said something to Neil about wanting that particular item. Since he didn't have enough money to buy it for her, he put a word in with his father. His father 'accidentally' slipped this information to me over a few drinks. I did some research about the two people in question and discovered with luck I could use them to teach some of the other soldiers a very valuable lesson. So, I took the liberty of buying that," he pointed to the gift, "for him to get for her. Did you understand any of that?"
"All went right over my head, sir." General Hein sighed in defeat. This girl was his best chance of making his plan work, and she didn't even understand what was going on. "But," she added quickly, "I'll be glad to help you out, but only if it will make my Uncle Neil happy."
"Trust me," the general grinned, "it will make your uncle very happy indeed."
"So, what do I do?" Cassie asked innocently.
"Not much for right now. You'll get more specific orders tomorrow at the party. All I need to do for now is make sure your 'aunt' gets this gift that before the party." General Hein checked his watch. "They should be arriving here any minute now," he said, standing up and leading her to the door. "One more thing, make sure those two spend a lot of quality time together."
Quality time together? She could do that. After all, she was a lot smarter then people took her for and most excellent at playing dumb.
&-&-&-&
Neil took another long look at the check on the table as he reached into his pocket for money. "Did'ya have to order the most expensive thing on the menu?"
Jane just smiled sweetly at him. "You owe me big time for what I'm doing for you, Neil. You might as well start making up for it now."
Neil simply rolled his eyes as he pulled even more change out of his pocket.
While Neil pulled every single last penny out of his pockets, Jane thought back on the past hour. Spending time with Neil wasn't so bad, was it? a little nagging voice in her head asked. She had to admit, it really hadn't been that bad. Well, except for when the waitress asked them if they were on their first date.
The waitress came back and took the money. "I hope you're happy," Neil mumbled to Jane, "because I'm completely broke now."
Jane tapped her watch. "General Hein's going to make you completely broke physically if you don't get to his office soon."
Neil glanced up at the clock. "Aw, man, no!" He picked up his coat and walked as quickly as he could out the door without drawing too much attention to himself. Jane took her time, making sure to leave money for a tip.
&-&-&-&
General Hein had taken the liberty of walking Cassie down to the street when they weren't waiting for her outside his office, only to find they were not in the street either. He was starting to get very angry. It was really cold out, and it wasn't like he could leave the girl to fend for herself. "Where is your uncle?" he muttered under his breath.
"Here he comes," Cassie said, pointing down the street where Neil could be plainly seen running towards them. Remembering about the gift, she placed it in her inside coat pocket.
"Where were you, Corporal?" General Hein asked as Neil approached them, out of breath. His voice was as chilling as the air. "And where's your wife?"
That question took Neil by surprise. "My-y-y wife, s-sir?" he gasped.
"Yes, this little girl," he placed a hand on Cassie's shoulder, "has been telling me all about her aunt Jane. Surely she's your wife?"
"No, sir, never been married."
"Neil, Cassie," Jane called as she jogged towards them. She saluted General Hein. "Good afternoon, sir."
"Good afternoon, soldier. What's the rush?"
"Cassie's dad called and said it was urgent that he talked to Neil and his daughter right away."
"Well, if the girl's father wishes to speak with her then what kind of person would I be to keep them here." The general stared directly at Neil. "You were lucky this time, soldier. Goodbye, Cassie. It was a lovely noon."
"Thank you, sir." She bowed. "I'm glad you enjoyed my company," she said as he walked away. Not for the first time, General Hein wondered where she got to be so smart. Some type of special school? Not likely.
&-&-&-&
"Thank you," Neil told Jane, moving to give her a hug. "You saved me."
She nimbly moved away from his arms before he could fully hug her. "I didn't come here to save you. I just wanted to see you squirm when I told you the captain wants to talk to you."
&-&-&-&
They arrived outside the captain's apartment within twenty minutes. The whole way there, Jane had been smirking at Neil because he was about to get a lecture and she wasn't. Neil tried to ignore her snide remarks, but it wasn't easy. Now the three of them stood anxiously outside, waiting for Gray to open the door. He did, slowly. They peered inside to see Ryan sitting on the couch, looking quite ill. "Just the three I wanted to see. Jane, Neil, sit," he told them, indicating his couch. "Sergeant, take Cassie back to Neil's apartment." Ryan nodded.
"I wish you two the best of luck," he told them as he grabbed Cassie's hand and began walking towards to Neil's place.
Jane and Neil sat down on Gray's couch and he sat across from them on a recliner. "Listen," he began, "I was going to see if I could put this lecture off for a bit longer, but after I saw Jane this morning in Neil's uniform, I fear it may already be too late." Neil and Jane looked nervously at each other and gulped.
&-&-&-&
"Serge, you're the best," Cassie proclaimed, jumping in his lap.
Ryan laughed. "I'm glad you think so."
The door opened and Jane and Neil moved sluggishly through it, both plopping down on the couch. "That was disgusting," Neil said, leaning back and covering his eyes. Jane mumbled her agreement.
"Hey, you two just agreed on something!" Cassie proclaimed happily. Ryan and Neil laughed; Jane rolled her eyes.
"I feel bad for you guys," Ryan told them. "The captain practiced some of his lecture on me." There was an awkward silence. "Jane, why were you wearing Neil's uniform?"
"Long story, I'll tell you some other time, Serge."
Ryan dropped the subject, considering he wanted to get back to his own apartment. "Right, I'll see you three tomorrow at the party," he said, depositing Cassie on the couch beside Neil. He walked slowly out the door, wondering perhaps if he should retract his bet with the captain. Nah, it had to be a strange fluke that they were actually getting along.
&-&-&-&
"So, what are we going to do now?" Neil asked Cassie.
"Serge and I were listening to the radio and they said there was lots of snow down at the park."
Neil thought that going to a place where there was a lot of snow with Jane around was not a good idea. However, Cassie had ideas of her own and proved to be the more stubborn of the two. So, thirty minutes later, Jane and Neil were watching Cassie play in the 'snow.' "Why must we have stimulated weather?" Neil mumbled as the wind kept blowing snow into his face.
Jane smiled. "It's supposed to remind us of what the earth was like before barrier cities," she told. She watched intently as Cassie made a snowball, making note that Neil was completely oblivious to it. She grabbed his arm. "Look over there." She pointed in the opposite direction of the girl.
"What?" he asked nervously, turning to see what she was pointing to. Three seconds later, Cassie's snowball came in contact with Neil's side. "Oww! You're going to pay for that," he said jokingly as he reached down for a snowball of his own.
Jane watched their snowball fight for a few minutes with great interest, wondering whether or not she should join them. The chance to hit Neil with something as cold as a snowball was to great to pass up. So, she made a fairly decent sized snowball and waited. The opportunity came when a stray dog ran between the fighters, causing them both to pause momentarily. It was long enough for her to make her move. She threw her snowball and grinned when it came in contact with the back of Neil's neck. "Hey!" he protested, turning around to face her. Which left a perfect opportunity for Cassie to launch her missile, which also found its target. Neil looked nervously between the two girls. "It isn't fair if you two gain up on me."
"According to who?" Jane asked. It was then she realized Neil was standing with his back to a particularly large snow drift. "Don't move," she said, taking a step towards him. "I know you come in peace."
He watched carefully as she walked closed, anticipating at any moment for her to pick up another snowball and lob it at him. But now, she was standing right in front of him, and she hadn't pulled any dirty tricks. Until she pushed him over into a snow drift. For a moment, he was utterly confused as to what happened. As she tried to walk away, he somehow managed to trip her, causing her to land unceremoniously in the snow next to him. "Glad you could join me," he said, picking up snow and dropping it on her.
"Neil," Jane threatened, pinning his arms to the ground.
"Be gentle," he begged, looking around for an escape route. Meanwhile, Cassie just stood there watching with a knowing smile on her face.
&-&-&-&
Jane actually didn't hurt Neil, she just made sure some of that cold, white powdery stuff had started to sift through his clothes. Three hours later, they were back at his apartment, trying to get warmed up. They had all been smart and changed into dry clothes. Jane sat on the couch with Cassie next to her. Cassie was busy flipping through the channels on Neil's TV. Neil was getting them all something, preferably hot, to drink. The rest of the night went by quite smoothly. Well, except for the small kitchen fire, Jane's tripping over a chair, Neil's cutting his hand (which Jane had to bandage) with a knife, and Cassie bumping her elbow off the table about five times. Things took a turn for the worst when it came time to take Cassie to bed.
"How come you two don't share a room?" Cassie asked, whenever Neil had made himself comfortable on the couch. When they hesitated, she added, "All my other Uncles and Aunts share a room."
Neil looked nervously at Jane who simply glared back at him. "We're not like your normal uncles and aunts."
"Well, I know you two aren't normal," she told them with a grin," but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Didn't you hear the conversation I had with the general?" he asked, trying to find a way out of this.
"You were talking to General Hein?" The truth was, she knew the answer to her question. She just found it amusing to watch them when they were uncomfortable.
Jane came up with something that would save them. "I'm making Uncle Neil sleep on the couch. Hasn't your mom ever done that to your dad?"
"All the time." Neil laughed at the idea of his brother's wife making his brother sleep on the couch. "Why are you mad at him?" Cassie asked.
"Because," Jane's voice trailed off as she tried to come up with something without lying to her. Suddenly, it came to her. "Uncle Neil has taken pictures of me without my consolidation." It wasn't a lie. In fact, Jane had her proof in her pocket.
Cassie gasped and Neil thought he was going to pass out. He should probably try to kill himself before Jane got a hold of him. Sometimes, he's rather face the phantoms. "What were you doing going through my stuff?" and at the same time "Is this true Uncle Neil?"
"Well, that answers my question," Cassie said, looking up at Jane.
Jane sniffed. "I thought we had a better relationship than that, Neil," she said placing a hand to the base of her throat.
"Now look, you made her cry," Cassie proclaimed, turning on Neil.
"I'm not the bad guy here," he protested but he seemed like Cassie wasn't paying any attention to him.
"Give her a hug," Cassie ordered, pointing at Jane.
Jane stiffened. "I don't feel that badly."
"No, he was wrong and he's going to give you a hug to start to make up for it."
Jane sighed. She had seen a display of Cassie's stubbornness earlier, and if she kept it up, they would be here quite a while. Not that you wouldn't mind getting a hug from him, the nagging part of her head told her. It always seemed to talk the most when the rest of her thoughts were on Neil. Shut up, you're annoying, she told it. That's because you know I'm right it argued back.
There was no more time for mental argument because Neil had stood up and was walking towards her, looking quite scared. She would have punched him, but Cassie was standing there watching and she didn't want to set a bad example for such a young girl. Bad example? Beating up Neil was a good example. So instead of punching him, she whispered, "I'll kill you," as he pulled her into a quick embrace.
Neil had to admit, the only reason he had gone over there was for the chance to hug Jane, however her brief, without it resulting in physical damage to his person. "That's better," Cassie said satisfied. "Now, Uncle Neil, because of what you did, you're going to be spending the night on the couch again. Come on, Aunt Jane," Cassie said, grabbing her hand and leading her into the bedroom. As Neil laid back down on the couch, he thanked whatever powers that might be for making sure his niece was there whenever Jane found out about the pictures.
