Chapter 4

I don't own ANYTHING! Except for Alex.

I'll try and get more Tran in the next chapter. I promise.

Recap of last chapter

"No commitments, that's you pitch?" Sam questioned.

"Did I say no commitments, I meant marry me." He smiled.

"Am I going to be dealing with this for the next two weeks?" she asked all of us.

"Yep," was all Jack said, and Cole just nodded his head.

She looked to me, and all I could do was laugh. Jack looked up at me, I surely didn't notice but a certain someone did…

Darkness came all too quickly for all of us. I made my way to the back of the ship when a hand covered my mouth and forced me hard up against the wall.

I looked into icy blue eyes.

"I told you to stay away from him!" Bill whispered letting me loose.

"Oh my God Bill, geese could you have warned me next time you try to scare me to death." I asked him.

He just stared back at me.

"And I have been trying to stay away from him, I sit next to Sam." I say innocently.

"I saw the way he looked at you." He snorted.

"Wha, what are you talking about?" I snapped back.

"You know exactly what I mean; look Alex, I'm only trying to protect you, you know that. But I really don't trust this guy. So please be careful." He pleaded.

"Bill, I promise I'll be careful around him and I'll let you know if he tries anything." I smirked.

"That's my girl." He smiled and gave me a big hug. He let go and walked off. I was on my way back to the front when I over heard Sam and Gail talking…

"So you were one of Jack's students?" Gail asked innocently.

"Yea, he was teaching a seminar on mechanical pharmacology, and as soon as I finished my dissertation, he hired me." Sam smiled.

"Well that's one way to get a leg up" Gail threatened.

There was a slight pause, "What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked already knowing the answer.

"I had a professor who wanted to hire me right out of school; of course he wanted me to be a secretary." And she took another swig of beer.

"Look if I've done something to offend you in any way." Sam didn't even finish her sentence.

"Oh no, no dear not at all, actually I admire you, it took me 10 years to get where I am. Clearly your generation has it figured out." She smile sweetly and walked out the door.

Fortunately, I got out of sight in time. I watched her walk passed and I sneaked into the room. Sam looked at me, "You heard that whole thing?"

I nodded, "look, don't listen to her, she's just jealous of you and she knows it. I kinda figured that you and Jack had some type of relationship, but I know you wouldn't have a very serious one with him." I said.

"That obvious huh?" she laughed. "But it looks to me that Jack has taken a slight interest in you, I saw him looking at you earlier." She smiled.

"Ah, how come everyone knows he was staring at me, I didn't even know until Bill told m…" I looked at her. "Bill spoke with you about Jack?" she asked concerned.

"Yea, can you keep a secret?" she nodded. I walked towards her. "Ok, well Bill has always been a little protective of me, but since Jack came around, it's like he doesn't trust me or something, I don't get it." I whispered.

"He has been acting pretty strangely when Jack is around, but I don't know him that well so I can't really say anything." She stated.

"Ok, well could you watch Bill and Jack for me tonight?" I pleaded.

"Of course," she replied. We both walked outside to eat dinner.

"This is good man, where did you learn to cook like this?" Cole asked Ben.

"Just a little recipe I picked up in Sri Lanka." He replied. "What were you doing there?" Gail asked.

"Doctors without orders, it's my day job." He smiled and sat down and Sam placed a dish on the table and she leaned towards me. "If I see Jack is looking at you, I'll shift to one side. And most likely id Jack is looking at you, Bill is also too." She whispered in my ear. I nodded and continued to eating hoping Jack, sitting on my left, wouldn't hear it.

"You expect me to doctor for some reason?" Bill asked standing behind me.

"Well we can't the expedition bonded without one." Gail stated.

"Or you could just think of me as a charming insurance policy." Ben winked at Sam, I watched this and I saw her look at me and shift to one side. I quickly looked down at my food.

I could feel Jacks eyes burning into my skin; I started to get a little hot sitting next to him. I calmly dropped my fork and stood up. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." I said pushing my chair in and climbing the ladder to where Tran was. I turned to meet Jack's crystal eyes, he smiled and I turned around quickly.

Suddenly Kong reached up and tried to snatch a banana from the table. "Hey!" Bill yelled and Jack looked away. I took this as a chance to bolt up the ladder. "You've had your dinner, get outta here." Kong got down and then tried to make another attempt, "Ah, what'd I say?" Bill threatened, and Kong ran up the ladder past me. He continued to climb while I went to go talk with Tran.

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