A/N - Sorry guys that it's been so long between updates. I've had a lot going on lately. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter!
"So, that was the 10 cent tour." Drew chuckles opening the door to his office and letting Jo walk in ahead of him.
"Wow! Who would have thunk it, Chief Andrew Cai.., sorry, Quartermaine, a CEO of his own company." Jo teases.
"Ha, ha, I know all those times we diffused explosives or our extensive pool playing skills didn't really train me for running my own company." He laughs as he pulls out the chair for Jo to sit in. He walks over to the credenza and grabs two bottles of water. Drew strides over to Jo and hands her the water sitting down in the chair next to her.
"So, tell me about what you've been up to, JJ. You made Commander, that's so great!"
"Yeah, well, I'll tell you it was NOT easy. You know the military, it's 10 times harder on women, I encountered resistance the whole way. But, let's see, where should I start. I feel like it's been a whole lifetime since I saw you." Jo places her water on the table and turns in her chair to face Drew. "After my last deployment in Afghanistan, when we worked that mission together, I was sent to DC for a while. I did the whole liaison thing, which I hated, because there is no excitement." She relayed rolling her eyes. "Now I'm teaching at the base in Little Creek."
"DC, nice! You got the cushy gig's huh?" Drew laughed and slapped his knee. Jo shot him a glare and then started laughing knowing he was just kidding.
"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who's part of a wealthy family and living in a mansion, smart ass!" Jo, pushed against Drew's shoulder and rolled her eyes at him. They both giggled and mumbled under their breath. After a minute Jo's face turned serious and she got up and walked across the room. She moved over to Drew's desk and picked up the picture of Scout he kept there. Jo smiled when she looked at the happy girl staring back at her.
"So, Kim is living in Port Charles? How long has she been here?"
"Ugh, you really know how to dampen the mood." Drew still cringed when he thought about Kim and all her destructive lies. "She's been here about 3 years, I guess. I only met her in December of 2017 but I think she was here for a while before that, she works over at General Hospital."
"Wait, I thought you couldn't remember anything from the last 5 years, only your past before the memory mapping?" Jo inquired.
"I have cheat sheets, well technically, cheat videos." Drew got up and walked over behind his desk. He opened the top drawer and took out his iPad. He opened it up and showed Jo his video files. "Before the procedure Dr. Maddox had me make videos on all the people in Port Charles that I would need to or want to know. That way when I came back, I wouldn't be so lost."
"Clever idea," Jo quips. She reaches down and picks up the iPad to get a better look at the videos. "Whose Oscar?"
"That's my so.." Drew stopped himself and got a sad look on his face. "That was the boy Kim told me was my son. That is the lie I was referring to earlier. Kim told me that Oscar was my son and that her and I had a 'relationship,' in San Diego."
"WHAT?" Jo bursts out laughing. "She told you that?"
"Yeah. I know crazy, right? I mean, of course at the time I didn't remember and she some how was able to fake a DNA test saying I was the father. I guess that wouldn't be too hard for an ObGyn. Anyway, now that I know, in San Diego, I barely tolerated her, everything makes more sense." Drew sat down behind his desk and started shuffling through the papers on top of it.
"What do you mean everything makes more sense?" Jo inquired, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the desk.
"I mean, I never really felt anything for her. When I was around her there was nothing there. I figured if we had a relationship and this 'connection,' she told me about, I would feel something, but I never did." As he talked Drew opened the drawers and started rifling through the contents inside.
"Looking for the watch again?"
"Yeah, how did you know?" Drew looks up slightly to meet Jo's eyes.
"I guess when you disarm a few bombs with a guy you get to know him a bit." Jo retorts with a giggle.
Drew chuckled as he replaced the contents of the drawer and closed it. He re-organized the papers on his desk and let out a big sigh.
"Sorry, I'm sure it will turn up." Jo sweetly reassures him as she places the iPad back on his desk.
Drew got up from behind the desk and moved around to the other side to sit next to Jo.
"We did get into some pretty dangerous situations didn't we JJ?" Drew leans back in the chair and clasps his hands into his lap.
"We had some pretty close calls that's for sure." Jo turned herself in her chair to face him.
"Remember that time during training and the simulator kept malfunctioning?" Drew recalls. "It was the middle of summer and it was hot as hell in that warehouse. We kept having to do the whole drill over and over again and we had all that gear on! Oh my God I thought I was going to pass out from heat stroke." Drew laughs as he sits up in his chair.
"I remember that! Oh my gosh it was so hot! I wanted so badly to take all that bomb gear off, but we had to run it as if everything were live. Do you remember what we did after that though?" Jo scooches up in her chair and leans in closer to Drew putting her hand on his knee.
"You bet I do." Drew places his hand on top of Jo's recalling the memory sweetly. "We hauled our asses down to the beach and stripped down to our skivvies and went swimming."
"We sure did." Jo snickers. "Oh, that water felt so good on our skin after being practically on fire all day. Then remember, we found that dive bar and played pool and drank beer all night?" Jo was smiling and looking right at Drew. Reminiscing with him was great. She loved remembering all their adventures and all the fun they had together.
"I remember, you got into it with that biker and almost got us killed we had to run for our lives!" Drew laughs and put his hand on Jo's thigh. He reaches up and sweeps a piece of hair out of her face. Looking at her in the eyes he remembered all the memories they shared together, how fun and easy it was with her. He leans in a bit closer until their foreheads are almost touching and continues softly. "We had to run 8 blocks, remember, with that big dude cursing at us the whole way."
Jo was staring into Drew's eyes as her recalled the story. She leans in even closer and touches his face. She could feel his breath on her lips. "Then we realized we left our keys and couldn't get into the car." Jo whispers, touching her fingers to Drew's lips. Drew caressed Jo's face with his thumb. He gently grabbed her neck and pulled her in even closer. Just as their lips were touching the chime on Drew's phone broke through the silence. They both jolted back quickly and turned away from each other. Drew cleared his throat, stood up and walked back behind his desk to see who had texted him.
"Uh-hmm, it looks like I need to go handle something in legal." Drew muttered.
Jo, still trying to catch her breath from their encounter, stood up and grabbed her purse.
"Yes, of course, you should go and take care of business. I should probably get going anyway." Jo fumbled out the words.
"JJ, you don't need to leave, I'll only be a minute, then we can grab some lunch." Drew was trying to relieve the awkward tension.
"No, really, it's okay. I should go and see Kim at the hospital." Jo was trying to avoid looking Drew in the face. "I'll, um, I'll just see you later." Jo blurted out and scurried out the door.
"Jo, wai….." Drew called after her but she was already gone. He stood there for a second trying to collect his thoughts and recover from the sensual moment. He didn't think those feelings would still be there after all these years. What was going to happen now and how would this affect his relationship with Sam?