Author's Note: Wow! I did not expect so many reviews, but thank you for them! They really helped motivate me to get this chapter done so fast, and hopefully I'm still pulling this fic off. I made several changes with the dialogue, because I don't want it to just be Lisa and Jackson reading the other's part of the script, and hopefully the changes work for this scenario. Please, keep the reviews coming (I fixed it so I can accept anonymous reviews now, I didn't realize I hadn't fixed that already, thanks for pointing it out!), because they are a major help.

Disclaimer: Don't own, please don't sue.

CHAPTER TWO: THE SUBJECT OF BUSINESS

To say Jackson Rippner felt uncomfortable would be an understatement. He ignored the woman's rambling about him being polite and so nice to her and how wonderful it was to have found someone who was still a gentleman. He tried to ignore the way she stared at him as she talked, but that was harder. It made his skin crawl slightly, but soon he had her suitcase put away and was offering a completely fake smile.

"Pleasant flight," he stated almost awkwardly as he tried not to jump back over to where he was sitting. He was more than relieved to turn his back on the woman. Jackson almost walked back to the restroom, feeling bile rise in his throat, but he forced it down. He managed a weaker, but more sincere smile when Lisa got up to let him slip back into his seat.

"Oh my," he stated, half joking and trying to ease his own mind as he sat down and buckled back up. Jackson could tell Lisa had noticed the way the woman had acted. He earned a brief, soft laugh from the woman who would be next to him during the flight, and chuckled himself. "Thank you," he added as she sat down, his smile stronger now.

"No problem," Lisa stated, returning the smile. She, fortunately, did not give Jackson the same look, and he found he could actually relax around her. She'd even managed to get Jackson to sit down and have a drink with her, which had been a first. "Probably a good thing you're sitting on the inside," Lisa added, glancing at the woman, Jackson following her gaze briefly. "Or else you might become that prune's prey."

Jackson nearly snorted out that. He wouldn't have been quite as blunt, but he certainly felt the same way. "Well, glad to have someone charming for a shield," he replied, flashing Lisa another grin. He couldn't remember the last time he'd flashed anyone a grin besides Cynthia. And it had never been quite the same, since he'd never found himself attracted to Cynthia.

Attracted. That was a dangerous word. Jackson quickly tried to ignore that last thought, but even while he tried, he reluctantly admitted that attraction was what he'd been feeling towards Lisa. Not that love at first sight attraction, but the kind that makes you want to relax and flirt and get to know someone. The kind that didn't leave you obsessed, but made you want to see how serious and how far things could go. That was probably why Jackson was so reluctant to admit it was what he felt.

Then again, maybe it was a good thing. Especially since now they had a whole flight ahead of them. He supposed he hadn't wanted to admit it before because they hadn't had much time. But now they would have a whole flight. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe he could finally make steps towards someday having a normal love life.

Getting way ahead of ourselves, Jackson.

Lisa returned the grin he'd flashed, and even seemed flattered. "Well, it's my pleasure to be your ward against older women in search of younger lovers during the flight," she stated seriously, and then burst into soft laughter, the relaxed sound of it prompting Jackson to join her.

Just the elderly woman from earlier came down the aisle, and gave them both a large smile, holding up that pointless Dr. Phil book. Jackson couldn't believe he'd ever agreed to taking it from his dad, but it had gotten the old man to stop asking Jackson to try and get out more. And then he'd finally gotten an excuse to get rid of it, so he would forever be grateful to the woman.

"I'm already in chapter two," she stated, and Jackson smiled back.

Lisa smirked slightly, and gave Jackson an almost questioning glance. "You know, not many men walk around reading Dr. Phil."

"I made a bargain with my father - he would stop prying into my social life, and I would read that book. But I will admit, I think I'm in eternal debt to her for taking it off my hands," Jackson replied, giving Lisa a sheepish grin.

Lisa chuckled softly, nodding in understanding. She opened her mouth as if to speak again, but the ring of her cell phone interrupted her. She rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh as she reached into her purse.

"Somebody's a popular girl," Jackson quipped good naturedly, eyes watching her, amused.

"I'm usually not," Lisa replied with resignation as she answered the call. "Hello? No, it's quite alright. What's going on?" She paused, waiting for the full answer, giving Jackson a brief, apologetic smile as she did. "So it's definitely happening? Alright, five thirty, good as done." There was no goodbye, but Lisa acted like there wasn't a need. "I'm sorry, that was work, but that's the last time," she stated, putting the phone away and then smiling at Jackson.

Giving a slight shrug, Jackson waved her apology off. "Trust me, I've gotten plenty of calls from work today myself," he replied, though part of him couldn't help but pick up on Lisa's tone. He was tempted to ask her about it, the finality in her tone piquing his interest, but he didn't. He didn't think it'd be polite to ask.

The sound of the door closing and being locked could be heard over the soft murmurs of conversations around them, and Jackson felt the beginning tingle of unease at the base of his skull. The friend steward walked down the aisle and checked everyone's seatbelts, while the voice of the older, and somewhat sour, stewardess gave the obligatory speech that all stewardesses gave before take off.

I really hate flying.

Jackson pretended not to be as anxious about the impending take off as he truly felt. Once the lights went off, and it was announced they were cleared for take off however, his fingers curled slightly, gripping the arms of the seat.

The plane started to lift off, and he could hear one of the boys - teenagers or college students, he assumed - saying they weren't going to make it, and he nearly threw his cell phone at them. The plane shook somewhat, hardly helping him to relax, and his fingers curled more, hands balling into fists. His knuckles turned white, but he really wasn't aware.

Lisa, on the other hand, must have noticed his anxiety, because she abruptly asked him which side of the family his grandmother was on. "So what is your mother's mom or your dad's?" she inquired, her voice calm, and that helped Jackson relax slightly.

"Mom's. Dad's died several years ago, I didn't really know her well," Jackson answered, then closed his eyes and hissed at the turbulence of the takeoff. "I was actually closer to her than I am my mom," he admitted, just trying to keep to the conversation and ignore the turbulence.

Lisa nodded, but didn't pry the subject of his last sentence, which Jackson was grateful for. "Are your parents still together…?"

Jackson shook his head. "No. Divorced. It was finalized three years ago, but they separated nearly five. They were married, officially, for thirty-two years," he answered. His voice carried some of the resentment he felt, mainly towards his mother, but he didn't add the fact that he thought the divorce could have been avoided.

"That's a shame. Always hard to hear about the long lasting relationships," Lisa stated, sympathy in her voice.

"Yeah, it is. Especially when it's your own folks," Jackson commented, his voice a whisper and more biting than he'd meant for it to be. Fortunately, he hadn't offended Lisa.

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't know, my parents died before they could divorce," she replied, and her voice still carried the sympathy in her previous statement. "Do either of them still work, or what?"

"Mom works, back in Texas, she moved back to her home town. Dad retired just recently, and is having trouble finding ways to occupy himself. Sometimes I wonder if he should just go back to work. It'd keep him from worrying about me and Mom so much," Jackson answered, relaxing a bit more.

Lisa quirked an eyebrow at him. "Well, his son, his ex-wife, it's natural he'd worry. Does he have any reason to though?" she asked, sounding more curious than before.

Jackson met her inquiring gaze, and then shrugged. "Well, Mom's doing fine, even with Grandmother's death." He paused, reluctant to actually approach the subject of his dad's worries about him. He knew Lisa was probably expecting and waiting for an answer about himself. "And as for me, well, I am legal. Little old to be fussed over. He just has to remember that not everyone can live the life most expect from single men."

"Well, not everybody can confirm to the world's view of normal," Lisa commented, her tone indicating she knew exactly what that felt like, even if not from her parents.

Chuckling dryly, Jackson nodded, then gave Lisa another grin, this one grateful as the plane became more still, stable, the captain announcing that they were through the worst of it. "Thanks. That was a nice distraction." And much better than not getting a distraction at all.

Lisa, however, only gave Jackson another apologetic smile. "You're welcome, but that wasn't really my intention." Her voice was soft, almost sympathetic, but there was an almost detached quality to it.

Jackson gave her a confused look. "Then what were you doing?"

"Keeping the focus on you, and your dad," Lisa stated calmly, and the sympathy was gone, her tone now cool, calm, still soft, almost hushed now. "It's part of my job." Lisa didn't explain any further for a moment, and Jackson's expression became more confused.

"And what is your job?"

"Manager."

Jackson arched an eyebrow, his gaze now questioning. "Manager?"

"Not of a hotel," Lisa stated, her lips curving into a demure smile. "Government overthrows, high profile assassinations, the like. Don't worry. I'm not Mafia and I'm not a terrorist, nor suicidal," Lisa added, and her smile became a wry smirk - a female terrorist was something of an oddity. She then spoke up again, before the even more confused Jackson could ask any other questions. "Right now, I have business to take care of, and you're the focus of it."