Take a Chance on Me - Chapter 13

Jonas' eyes opened heavily. Not moving, he noticed the red numbers on the clock read 5:38; a bit early to get up, and he was so comfortable. In fact, the bed at the base had never felt quite so comfortable, nor had it been quite so warm. His eyelids drooped closed again, his mind settling into a state of partial consciousness. He breathed in heavily through his nose. Cotton and oranges and Remin flowers. Remin didn't grow on Earth, only on Kelowna. Remin grows in the neighbors' herb garden on Kelowna. Jonas' eyes opened again. 5:41. His eyes drooped. His little finger brushed against something smooth and cool. Silk. Rayne. Jonas' eyelids raised a fraction. Arm around Rayne, arm around Rayne in soft bed. Dream. Good dream. Jonas' eyes drifted shut again. Soft skin. Jonas' fingers brushed back and forth a bit against Rayne's stomach. She stirred against him. Very good dream.

Rayne rolled over, her nose brushing against Jonas' chest. His hand was on her back now. Fingers touching the small of her back. His fingers brushed her spine. Jonas' eyes opened completely. It wasn't a dream. Carefully, so as not to wake her, Jonas attempted to extract his hand from under her shirt. She responded by throwing her arm around his chest and snuggling closer. He pulled his hand out and laid there with his arm hovering, trying to figure out where to put it. He didn't get the chance.

Rayne tilted her head up and looked at Jonas' face. He looked back at her. She shifted herself so that she could rest her head below his chin. Taking his hand in hers and, intertwining their fingers, she brought his hand to her mouth, giving his fingers a kiss, echoing her actions of the evening before. "Thank you, Jonas," She whispered froggily against his neck. She lay still for a few moments, her breath mirroring his. After a few minutes, she sat up and looked around sleepily. "I'll get you some towels so that you can grab a shower before work." She crawled over him and slid out of bed.

5:53. Jonas laid back against the pillows and stared at the clock. Granted it was still a bit early, but he should really get up. He still had to pack, and he wanted to make sure that Rayne would be alright. He continued to stare at the clock, but didn't really focus on it. Remin flowers. Sam had showed him an odd looking root that smelled like them. What did she call it? Ginger. Rayne's hair smells like oranges and ginger. A smile played on his lips. 6:00. 6:01. Jonas sat up and looked around the room. It was dim - the only light came from a small, grimy skylight. It was still rather dark outside anyway. The days were getting shorter. Despite the unusually warm early autumn weather.

Jonas watched as Rayne returned to the room carrying a towel and washcloth and put it on his lap. He noted that her face was freshly scrubbed and that now she smelled like grapefruit and mint.

Rayne was fully aware to Jonas' scrutiny. She wanted to leave the room, but her feet wouldn't listen to her. She stood there, next to the bed, staring at the towels in Jonas' lap. Unconsciously, she rubbed at the hem of her shorts. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck begin to rise and she shivered, realizing that she was rather chilly. She took hold of his hand and raised her eyes to meet his. She gazed at him a moment, then pulled away. "I'll, uh, I'll go make breakfast while you're in the shower. She backed out of the room, a bit more quickly than she had perhaps intended to.

Staring after her, Jonas swung his legs off the bed and slid to the floor. He carried his towel and walked out of the bedroom into the living room. Rayne was in the kitchen area, absently staring into the refrigerator, her back to him. Jonas went into the bathroom and prepared for his shower. He stepped over the side of the high cast iron bathtub. "Good grief, you have to be a gymnast to get into this thing, " He mumbled to himself. Vaguely, he wondered if Rayne was.

He got the water going and reached for the soap. He opened bottles, smelling them. Oranges and ginger. "Hmm, that's where it comes from."

In the kitchen, Rayne was fumbling around in the cupboards, trying to find the coffee filters. She wasn't having much luck. "Darn it." Rayne mumbled as she closed another door. "Why the hell can't I get anything to work today?" She dropped her hands to her sides, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Exhaling, she opened the last cabinet and removed the package of coffee filters. Grabbing the coffee from the freezer, she proceeded to make the coffee. Soon enough the nutty, pungent smell was wafting throughout the apartment. She helped herself to a cup, wrapping her hands around the mug to warm them up. She gulped it down quickly, hoping that it would wake her up enough to pull herself together.

She rubbed her neck tiredly, the beginnings of a headache creeping upon her. She wondered if she could sneak into the bathroom to grab some Advil. Suddenly, she had a burning desire to go in there. She made it all the way to the door and came to a sudden halt, before she realized that it wouldn't be a good idea to walk in on Jonas in the shower. She pulled her hand away from the door knob, but couldn't quite get her feet to follow.

She could feel the steam from the hot shower on her feet, passing through the crack under the door. She closed her eyes, savoring the sensation of moist warmth. Perhaps it was her imagination, but then, her senses seemed to have become hyper-aware lately. She could almost feel the air currents swirling around her.

She turned around slowly and padded back to the kitchen. Jonas would be out soon and she hadn't made anything but coffee. After seeing him hit the food at Jack's house, she didn't think that would quite satisfy him.

She popped some bread in the toaster and pulled out her griddle and pancake mix. She heard the water in the bathroom stop and the curtain slide around the bar. In her mind a vision of him falling, helplessly laying on the bathroom floor, and her rushing in to his aid flitted through her mind, but she quickly pushed it aside and shifted her focus to the batter. Next she needed two eggs.

By the time Jonas was finished, Rayne had managed to assemble scrambled eggs and a short stack of pancakes and was pouring the batter for more. She looked over her shoulder and smiled radiantly at Jonas. "Help yourself to the coffee. There's cream in the fridge and sugar on the table. Cups are in the cupboard above me." She went back to watching the pancakes.

Jonas wanted coffee. Very much. The cups were in the cupboard above Rayne, and she didn't seem too keen on moving. But then, she did say to help himself. "It's a good thing I'm tall," he thought. Standing behind her, he reached over her and opened the cupboard to pull out a mug. Rayne turned around to face him. "How do you like your pancakes?"

Jonas' mouth tried to form words, but he didn't seem to be able to - her face was barely a few inches from his. Just as his mouth was beginning to articulate a sentence, Rayne's expression of interest melted. Her eyebrows slowly folded together into an expression of confusion.

"You, uh, you need a mug? Right?"

Jonas took a step back and Rayne turned towards the now open cupboard and pulled out a mug, passing it to him behind her back. She glanced over her shoulder at him, the confused expression still on her face.

"Uh, Rayne, are you all right?"

Rayne stared at the griddle intently, trying to figure out the answer to that question. She didn't feel sick, exactly - except for the pounding headache she couldn't seem to shake off. And she wasn't quite sure that she remembered how she got to be out of bed, making pancakes. "I, um, I think so. I guess I'm more tired than I thought." She answered haltingly, not turning around.

"Tired." Jonas thought. "Yeah tired." He wasn't convinced that being tired was the only problem. His thoughts strayed to a former colleague who began having severe mood swings and confusion. He'd been diagnosed with a mental illness. He started to wonder if there was something wrong with Rayne.

Rayne finished making the pancakes and her mood shifted again. She smiled shyly at Jonas, cheeks slightly red. "Please Jonas, have a seat." She set the plates of pancakes on the table and busied herself getting silverware, napkins, fruit, and syrup. "I'm sorry that I'm acting so strangely. I just, I don't quite know how to act, I guess. I went to an all girls academy and then I never really had time for socializing through college. So, well, I.I'm going to quit talking now." She fell silent and continued with her tasks, cheeks blazing pink.

"Oh." Jonas replied, confused. Then he understood - no wonder she was acting weird. "Ohhhh." She was acting this way because he was a man, and she was a woman and. "oh."

"Well, uh." Jonas cleared his throat. "Well, I grew up in a more, um, traditional society, and my job was very time consuming, and, well, it isn't as if I never. but I don't, usually find myself in this kind of a. situation either. but it's not like anything happened. besides, well, being here. and there's no need."

"Right." Rayne looked slightly less embarrassed and possibly - did she look relieved? She changed the subject "Um, coffee?"

Jonas smiled and held out his still empty cup. "Thank you." Rayne took the cup and got up to fill it. She set it down in front of him and passed the sugar and cream to him before sitting down to eat her pancakes.

Jonas looked up from pouring the cream and watched, fascinated, as Rayne proceeded to places sliced banana, pecans, and caramel ice cream topping on her stack of pancakes. She looked up, caught him staring and smiled. "What? Like butter and syrup is better for you?"

"I've just never seen anyone eat pancakes like that.It looks fantastic. Could you pass the caramel?" He asked as he grabbed a banana.

They spent the meal in happy banter, talking about plans for Major Carter's birthday party, which was to take place on Friday evening at Jack's house. Finally, Jonas had to leave.

Jonas slid on his jacket and stood in the doorway, about to leave. He looked down at Rayne, trying to figure out the best way to say good-bye. She slipped a piece of paper into his pocket. "Call me when you get back on Thursday night, even if it's late."

"I will. I promise." They stood in the doorway staring at one another, neither wanting to move, but not sure how best to behave. Jonas bent down, intending to give Rayne a gentle kiss. As he did though, she pulled him in for a much deeper kiss than either expected. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his fingers twined in her hair, they pulled apart, looking surprised at one another.

"Good-bye, Jonas." She kissed him again gently and stepped away.

Jonas looked at her, bewildered. "Yeah, bye." She closed the door and he turned to walk away.