Six Months

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The sound of the office door opening made Darien grind his teeth in irritation and want to pound the keyboard in frustration; it had definitely been one of those mornings and he wanted no part of dealing with his employees much less clients at this point. "Miriam, I said I was not to be disturbed," he yelled, spinning about to see... Michele standing in the doorway with a smirking Miriam behind her.

"Somehow I didn't think it applied to her, boss," Miriam stated, then as she shut the door, "Good to see you again, Michele."

Michele stood there with hands shoved into her pockets, messenger bag slung over her shoulder and a poor attempt at a smile upon her face. "L...l...lun...un...unch?"

Darien didn't even bother glancing at the clock on the wall, the look on her face was enough to encourage him to say, "Yes," without hesitation. He logged out of the computer, grabbed his jacket and was by her side in mere moments. "Where to?" he asked once they were standing on the sidewalk outside his building.

She shrugged. ::Anything nearby,:: she finally suggested.

"You okay?" he asked, her entire posture suggesting her morning had been worse than his.

She shook her head, not even making the effort to glance in his direction.

He draped an arm about her shoulders, figuring she could use the camaraderie, and contained a sigh of pleasure when she leaned against him for support. She hadn't brought her cane along today, which meant she hadn't planned on a lot of walking, as she still had to deal with the vertigo and balance problems. He led the way down the street to where he knew one of those generic bar and grilles hid in the shadows. This one happened to do one of the meanest burgers in the area. The beers on tap weren't half bad either.

"So, what brings you to my neck of the woods? Slumming it?" He held the door open for her and waved to the waitress, before directing Michele to one of the booths in back. The interior was dark, but not so much that they'd be lost to each other in the gloom. The television over the bar had a Padres game on, the local boys winning for the time being.

::Job interview,:: she answered once he was seated across from her.

"Cool." He hadn't realized she was still looking for work. "How'd it go?"

::Awful,:: she admitted. ::They...::

Darien reached out to stop her hands mid-sentence. "You don't have to sign. I like your voice."

She shook her head, yanking her hands from his. ::Too slow.::

"I'm in no hurry," he assured her. Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress.

"Hey, D, want your usual?"

"Make it two." He figured Chele wasn't going to be too picky right now, and besides, it wasn't like this was Chez Loma. She was back in seconds with the beers, placing them atop the cardboard coasters she produced from within the depths of her half-apron before leaving them alone.

He waited patiently as Michele picked up her drink, a bottle of Corona, complete with lime wedge in the mouth, removed the citrus and downed a quarter of the contents without pausing for breath.

"What happened?" Darien asked, toying with his bottle.

::Wish I knew. He wouldn't even look at my work. Just told me that they had met their quota for handicapped employees.:: She ran a hand through her hair, tousling the short curls.

"Son of a bitch," Darien cursed softly, wishing there was something he could do.

::I am not handicapped. Am I?:: Her eyes were filled with pain and he stretched a hand out to caress her cheek.

"No way, baby. You're perfect." He knew his words wouldn't take away her hurt, but it was the only thing he could think of to do. "I hope you told them to go to hell."

She nodded. ::Among other things. I just... It is getting old. I just want to work, and all anyone sees is the limp and all they hear is the stutter. Even the ones impressed with my coding gave me the bum's rush. They were just more polite about it.::

He lifted his lime and sucked on it thoughtfully. "Do you need money? I can loan you some..."

"N...no. M...m...mon...n...ney i...is n...not a pr...pro...problem," she assured him, which is what he had thought. Alyx had made more than a few bucks on the side and he couldn't imagine it just vanishing in the last few years. That house of hers hadn't been purchased by the Agency or with Betty Crocker stamps, that's for sure.

"So why work? Specially for some big company that won't appreciate you and take all your credit."

::Truth?::

He nodded, seriously curious now.

"I...I'm b...b...bored," she stated.

"Bored? After everything you've been through?" He paused as she raised one eyebrow and reconsidered his words. Once again, he'd managed to forget that she didn't remember her life of the last few years. "Uh, let's just pretend that I didn't put my foot in my mouth, kay?" She chuckled softly. "So I take it being a mom ain't enough."

::Yes, it is, but it's not like they need a mom. Least not my version. I still have to remember that I am not in the midst of potty training Rose. She... they all have their own lives. Between school, friends, and the Agency I rarely see them.:: She sighed and looked wistful. ::They all grew up when I wasn't looking. And it's not like I have anything to do at the house. We have people for things like cleaning, cooking, driving. Plus, Mike is their legal guardian, so, anything they need he gets for them. I am redundant and feel like I am in the way most of the time.:: This time there was the distinct feeling of hurt about her and he knew there wasn't anything he could say. Luckily, the arrival of their food saved him from the potentially awkward moment.

They spent a few minutes eating, dunking the oversized steak fries into ketchup and her eyeing the monstrosity that claimed to be a burger before bravely taking a bite. She gave an actual groan of pleasure when the unique combination of flavors hit her tongue, and Darien didn't bother hiding the smile. There weren't many people who appreciated bacon, onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and horseradish on a burger made in heaven itself. He had no idea what the secret ingredients were, but the term melt in your mouth' had to have been coined just for this piece of cooked meat.

"So, you want me to beat up the jerk who blew you off today?"

Chele gave him a grin and shook her head. ::Doubt it would make a difference. Bobby suggested I talk to you.::

"Really, about what?" Darien couldn't help but wonder what his friend was plotting this time.

::He mentioned you were looking to expand into electronic security. Go high tech with computer monitored systems, preferably tied into your mechanical ones.:: Chele's entire posture had changed. The anger and unhappiness of earlier was gone; to be replaced with that self-assuredness he had come to know so well during her recovery. ::I can give you samples of my work. Draw up some designs to show how the various systems would work together... if... if you are interested, of course.:: And suddenly she was shy, her cheeks reddening as if concerned she might have overstepped her bounds.

Darien wanted to throttle Hobbes, and would have had he been present. It wasn't that he didn't want to offer her a job, from what he knew about her skills, she'd be damn near perfect for what he was trying to accomplish, but circumstances had prevented him from broaching the subject with her. "'Chele..."

She sat up perfectly straight, her face going blank. ::Not a problem. Thought Bobby was off his rocker.:: She smiled wanly and turned her head to gaze out over the room in an effort to avoid meeting his eyes.

"You do assume the worst, you know that?" His statement was effective and she snapped her head back around to eye him warily. "Call Miriam and schedule an appointment for next week. Next few days are too busy for me to look over your ideas."

"R...r...really?" The hope in her voice was physical thing.

"Yes, really. Bobby suggested I talk to you a while back, but..." He shook his head at his own foolishness. "I didn't want you to think I was offering you a job out of pity or anything."

Confusion skittered across her face for a long moment. ::Why would I think that?::

Darien chuckled, remembering that Hobbes had warned that she wouldn't react that way. "I... Exactly how many feet can I shove in my mouth at once?" he mused aloud.

::At least two,:: she observed with a grin. ::You won't be disappointed. I'm up to date on current tech, can work in Windows, Mac, Linux or Unix and have more than a few tricks that are... nonstandard.::

"I believe you. Now, relax, and finish your lunch. You still haven't regained all of the weight." She stuck out her tongue, but dutifully picked up the burger and took a huge bite from it. His willingness to seriously consider her for a position seemed to ease some of the worry from her. If only it were so simple to make his clients happy.

They spent another hour, lingering over a second beer before Darien paid and escorted her out the door into the early afternoon sunshine. Instead of heading back towards his office, they strolled casually down the street, glancing in the windows of various shops until they arrived at a small park that defined the edge of this semi-industrial area from the older neighborhood it bordered. There was a fountain in the center of the park, with trees surrounding it that were set just far enough back to provide shade for the artistic benches, but still allow sunlight to hit the dancing water. Darien would occasionally drop by in the evenings when he was in no hurry to return to his empty house.

Michele strolled over to the fountain, watching the flow of water in silence for several minutes. Darien stood beside her, mildly surprised by the air of discomfort he was sensing. "Anything wrong?"

She shrugged. "D...d...do y...you l...l...like m...m...me?" she suddenly blurted out, blushing furiously as she did so.

Darien blinked and went perfectly still, wondering where the hell that question had come from. Liked her? If it wasn't for the self-imposed restraint he had in place, he'd have his hands buried in her hair and his lips tasting the skin of her throat. He shook his head to clear it of that image before anyone walked by him was able to notice exactly how he felt about Michele. "Of course I do, why?"

She shuffled her feet then turned slightly so he could see her hands better. ::I thought we were going to... date or something, but we only go out with Bobby or the kids and you haven't even tried to kiss me since my welcome home party and every time I have tried to kiss you, you squirm out if it. So, I cannot help but wonder if you like me.::

Her hands moved so fast that he had to take a moment to mentally catch up with the impressive run on sentence she had signed, and by the time he had he could only groan in dismay. And he'd thought she hadn't noticed that he'd gone from taking it slow' to spinning his wheels and going nowhere.'

::Did Mike get to you?:: she asked, clearly not willing to believe that after all his pronouncements of caring for her that he had suddenly changed his mind.

Since he saw no easy way out of this discussion, he decided the truth was best. "Yes, but not the way you think." He sat down on the edge of the fountain and gestured for her to join him, which she did after a few seconds of quiet contemplation. "He told me some stuff that happened, between you and Jess."

Chele's eyes widened, the irises shrinking into pinpoints as he watched. "D....d...damn it," she cursed, plainly not happy with her brother. ::What did he tell you?::

"Not as much as you might think. I already knew about the abuse, though you," He cringed slightly using that term, but there wasn't another option that made a whole lot of sense, "never went into detail. Mike was more worried about the fact that you became dependant on Jess. He was afraid that you might do the same thing with me, and... I couldn't disagree with him."

Chele sighed heavily. ::I am getting real tired of his interference,:: she complained.

"Mike saw this as your second chance. No Jess, no Agency, no one and nothing in your way to live your life the way you want." He nudged her with his arm. "He actually had the best of intentions, y'know."

"I kn...kn...know," she agreed, then switched to signing. ::Too bad the rest of the world isn't willing to give me a chance.::

"The ones who matter will." Darien shifted sideways and took one of her hands into his. "I want you to understand that I did as Mike asked because of... what I know about you. When we met, you were a very different person and I suspect that something in the years you don't remember caused the change. I didn't want to risk you losing the... the happiness you have now."

"H...h...how w...w...was I d...d...dif...ferent?" she asked, lowering their hands to her lap and running the fingers of her other along the back of his.

"You didn't trust anyone. Couldn't. It was months before you were able to lower your guard even the tiniest bit," he told her. She was subdued, but seemed to be handling the discussion with a minimum of difficulty.

"I tr...tr...trust y...y...you," she stated.

"Yeah, you do and I don't want to mess that up."

She gave him a smile. "Y...you w...w...won't." She freed her hand from his, what she wanted to say too complex for speaking, he guessed. ::I feel out of place, out of step from the rest of the world... except when I'm with you. I know just who I am, what I want to do. I don't feel lost any more.::

She gazed into his eyes and he felt his heart lurch in his chest, followed by that wondrous feeling of falling that he recalled experiencing the very first time her met her. She had just bared her soul to him, admitted that he was swiftly becoming the center of her universe, could he do any less? "You don't have to feel lost ever again, Michele. When you woke up and didn't have a clue who I was... I wasn't sure what to do. I just knew I couldn't walk away and... and then I went and fell in love with the woman you'd become."

Michele stared at him, stunned. "Wh...what d...d...did y...you j...j...just s...s...say?"

Darien chuckled. "I said, wanna make out?"

"D," she squawked, standing and glaring down at him.

"'Chele," He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I said I love you. And if you are ever feeling lost you are more than welcome to stop by my place to find yourself again."

"D... does th...th...this m...m...mean w...we c...c...can d...d...date n...now?" The grin was swallowed up by the absolute joy he could see in her eyes.

He got up and curved his hand about her neck. "Oh yeah," he murmured, and kissed her.