NOTES: Anyone else notice how, in Tom's created reality--a world without Maia or Marco--Diana remained single, even after eight years? I was tempted to write about that Diana, but decided to stick with our Diana, instead.
SPOILERS: through Life Interrupted
DISCLAIMER: The 4400 and all things associated with it belong to other people.
TWELVE STEPS
STEP 6: INSPIRATION
It had been a fairly routine day, and then...
Her heart was still racing, cheeks flushed, with embarrassment and shock vying for emotional dominance. She felt the need to talk to someone about it, and, really, there was only one person who came to mind. Pulling out her cell phone, she hit 1 on the speed dial.
"Hey, Diana. What's up?"
She could have called him on her work line, but this was personal. In her mind, that warranted the use of her own phone. "The weirdest thing just happened."
"Weird at NTAC is relative." Marco's tone was mildly amused. "What was it?"
"Tom kissed me."
"What?" Within the shock and surprise, she thought she heard a hint of wrath. Some part of her was pleased by it, but that wasn't why she'd called.
"Tom kissed me."
"On the lips?" It came out with a slight squeak.
"No, not on the lips," she huffed indignantly. Of course, saying so brought to mind how she enjoyed watching Marco's lips, and she wondered, not for the first time, what it might be like to kiss them.
He cleared his throat. "May I ask why?" His voice was back under control.
"That's just it," she puzzled. "I don't know why."
"Well...what happened right before he...did that?"
"It's been all paperwork, today, and he was kind of zoning out. So I threw a pen at him-"
"You threw a pen at him?"
"Yeah, to get his attention."
"Are you in the habit of throwing pens?" Was that censure mixed with the curiosity?
Irked, she reminded, "I thought we were talking about Tom."
"Right. So did you get his attention?"
"Yeah, he snapped out of it but looked kind of startled."
"Well, you did throw a pen at him." Now he was just teasing her.
"It wasn't because of that!" She took a breath. "Look, I mentioned a report, and he got all excited. This is where it gets weird... He asked me about the 4400."
"Anything specific?"
Twiddling her pen, she contemplated how to express the weirdness, but settled for brevity. "It was like he was asking if it was real--Highland Beach, the ball of light, the whole thing."
"Huh..."
"When I told him it was, he grabbed my head, kissed me then ran out of here with a big grin on his face."
"Tom can smile?" His surprise seemed almost wholly genuine.
She couldn't help but chuckle. "And it's not even a blue moon."
"Yeah, that is weird." There was the faint sound of typing on the other end of the line. "So...where did he run to?"
"He headed for the elevators, so I guess right out front. Why?"
"Huh." He sounded bemused.
"Huh, what?"
"Can you access the security cameras on your computer?" Although he hadn't explicitly suggested it, she knew he expected her to follow along.
Holding her cell with her shoulder, she started opening the necessary programs. "Sure."
"Check out the feed from external cameras eleven and twelve." She detected a subtle mirth in his voice.
He waited silently as she dug her way through security protocols. After a few seconds, she was in and pulling up the live video Marco had indicated. The results shocked her to the point she almost forgot she was on the phone.
"Diana, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
She blinked to be sure, feeling a blush creep across her cheeks. "Tom all but making out with some woman who isn't his ex?" She felt a pang of envy and wondered if she had ever been held like that, if she ever would.
"Yeah...that would be what I'm seeing." There was an appreciative whistle in the background, and she heard Marco hiss at someone to shut up before he asked, "So...what was the report you mentioned?"
She realized what he was suggesting and opened the file. "Mareva... Well, I'll be."
The sound of more typing was followed by, "Looks like her, doesn't it? Do you know her?"
"Never even met."
"Surely, Tom must have..."
"Not that I know of."
"Then how do you explain... Oh, there they go."
Switching back from the 4400's file to the security cameras, Diana watched Tom and Ms. Mareva walk off, his arm wrapped familiarly around the woman's waist. "There's only one explanation."
"Really? What's that?" Marco seemed amazed she'd solved this puzzle so quickly.
"Life really is stranger than fiction."
