Chapter 21 --- Deceptions And The Mrs.

It had been a long two days and the shower had revived him, somewhat. The few gallons of coffee he had been living on the last 48 hours had worn off. All he wanted to do was stretch out on his bed, wrap his arms around Diane, bury his head in her soft hair and hibernate. Standing in the bathroom door, he watches Diane rocking Nora Lee while she paces the room. He sends his 'thoughts' to Diane, "If I wasn't already in love with you, I would fall hopelessly in love with you now."

"You just like the nightie." She 'thinks' back.

"Don't be silly;" he says softly, "it doesn't have your contour."

The arched eyebrow he receives is amusing. "You're tired Jake, go to bed."

Complying, he becomes transfixed on a freckle on the back of Diane's left thigh. Usually hidden, it would have stayed that way except the hem of her nightie rode up while she was placing Nora Lee in her crib. Straightening up she looks in the mirror and tries to flatten her hair with her hands.

"Diane," Jake says softly, "come to bed."

Smiling she looks at the light and it flickers and she scrunches up her face, concentrating at it until it finally goes out. Sliding into bed next to Jake she wraps her arms around him and squeezes. "This is where you belong."

Answering her hug with one of his own, "You smell like heaven." He replies, burying his face in her hair and easing into sleep.

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At 7:00am Jake wakes up to the chirp of his alarm; glaring at the offending device, sparks fly and smoke appears. Yanking the plug, he opens a window and checks Nora Lee's crib. Finding it empty, he listens: Sarah is in the shower, the tea pot is about to boil and Nora Lee's suckling in the kitchen. Climbing into his jeans, he grabs the ruined clock and heads for the backyard. After slamming the clock into the trashcan he heads for the kitchen.

"Sweetheart, I need a new clock." He says entering the kitchen and freezes – it's not everyday you see an NSA director burping your baby. Diane, sitting to one side straightening up her shirt, smiling mischievously. "Thanks for the warning Diane." Jake says sternly.

"She follows orders."

Diane 'thinks' to Jake, "Sorry."

"I'm not mad sweetheart," he 'thinks' back.

Lou eyes the two as Nora burps. "That's what I wanted to avoid."

Guiltily, Jake and Diane look down.

"Diane, where is Sarah?" Lou asks handing Nora back to her mother.

Squinting at Nora Lee for a few seconds, Diane cradles her in her arms and answers Lou, "She just turned on her blow dryer."

"Good. I'm going to explain why I kept Diane in my office during the memorial service yesterday…"

Jake and Diane exchange curious looks.

"…Since you were shot and your marriage outed, I've been listening to the scuttlebutt. I've also had trusted members of Sat Ops finding out what is actually known, outside of our team…"

Jake 'thinks' to Diane, "This is news to me."

"…There is a lot of confusion as to who your wife is."

Interrupting, Jake asks, "Is this why Carver has been so attentive lately?"

"Exactly, I asked Carver to work with you in the hopes that you would become associated with blondes."

"So keeping me away from Jake yesterday and Sarah with him at a widely attended NSA function, people now associate her with him?"

"That and the work Jake did on the computers last weekend should help your future."

"Help but not secure?" Diane asks.

"You want to be assured of not being locked away, find a way to lose the nanites. Otherwise, we can only do so much." Lou replied sharply.

"Sorry Lou, I was just trying to get it clear in my head."

Lou stares at Diane for a minute. "No Diane. I'm sorry. I better get myself together before my meeting with Chief Director Skerrit."

"Anything we can do to help?" Jake asks.

"No, thanks for asking. Back to you two. Behave the way you always have. Don't change anything. We just need Sarah and Jake to appear together at a couple of strategic functions. You two either skip them altogether or leave so early no one remembers you there."

"You make us seem pathetic." Diane under her breath.

"Jake, you've been quiet."

"I've been thinking. Two, no three things; first, and most important, I don't like denying my wife." Holding up a hand to show he's not through, "I understand your reasoning; I just don't like it…"

"You'll just be misleading some people. Your future may depend on it."

"…Secondly, Sarah's not NSA, she can't attend the functions we do…"

"There are a few functions I can get her into."

"…Lastly, will Sarah agree to your proposal?"

"She is loyal to you both. I think she'll do it without to many qualms."

"She's coming." Diane announces.

The three of them are sitting quietly when she walks in.

"Am I interrupting something?"

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"I thought Diane was Ok with this arrangement?"

"It's difficult Sarah, on both of us. We know the truth, but it feels wrong."

"I'm sorry, what can I do?"

"Just… Stay… Help… Don't… I guess I don't know."

"When we get home, I'll watch Nora for a while. Romance your wife, reassure her. If she's still upset, we'll terminate our 'marriage'."

"You're a good friend."

"Wake me when we get home." Sarah leans her head against the car window, closes her eyes and thinks, "I hope she never finds out just how easy it is to pretend to be Jake's wife."

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Next: Blowing Beads

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