Title: You and Me (Chapter 2)

Author: WistfulGuy

Fandom: Pan Am

Rating: PG

Pairing: Full cast

Disclaimer: I do not own Pan Am the company or the TV series. I am not associated with ABC TV in any way. I am just a huge fan of the show and like to write. Also, please don't sue me…I don't do well in jail and I have no money. Void where prohibited.

Colette suddenly realized the girls had probably left the Pan Am office and were probably well into debriefing somewhere. They'd surely be wondering where she was by now. "Before we continue, I need to make a phone call or I will be hearing it from Maggie and the rest."

"Ahh, cover story, eh? No problem, do what you need to." smiled Dean.

Smiling in return, Colette walked over to the Pan Am employee lounge and payphone. The girls were meeting at Maggie's place again, so she called that number. When the other end answered, she could hear voices chattering in the background and some music playing as well. Sounds like they were off to a good start. She soon heard Maggie say "Hello?"

"Hi, Maggie...its Colette. Listen, I'm not feeling well at the moment. I guess everything from today just caught up with me."

"No doubt, I'm sure. Don't worry about it; there will be plenty of more of these for you to participate in." Maggie said encouragingly.

Smiling, Colette replied "Thanks, Maggie. Tell the girls I'll see them soon," and hung up.

Turning around, Colette met Dean's eyes. "Everything copacetic?" he asked.

"Certainement! So, where shall we go?"

"Well I suppose we should be careful as to the location. I know the bars that Ted tends to frequent, so we can hopefully avoid him. How about Jake's?"

"Sounds good, lead the way" Colette said, offering her hand to Dean and narrowing her eyes with a slight smile. They walked through the deserted Pan Am offices and out towards the parking lot. After getting to Dean's car it was a roughly 15 minute ride until they arrived at Jake's.

Jake's was a quiet Manhattan pub that was an excellent place to not be found if you didn't want to.

Unlike the higher profile establishments in the area, Jake's was frequented by a few regulars and mostly people minded their business. It was excellent for the service industry types just getting off a late shift, and even better for two Pan Am employees not ready to go public with their office romance just yet.

Jake's had a rectangular type layout, with a long bar lining one side of the room. The front door opened to one side of the bar. Dean and Colette quietly made their way past the five or so patrons at the bar to the far end.

Seeing them enter, the bartender approached them. "What'll it be?" he asked.

Dean glanced at Colette. Catching his gaze, she replied "Chardonnay."

"A glass of chardonnay for the lady, and I'll have a whiskey sour," Dean told the bartender. As he went off to get their drinks, they both eased onto chairs at the bar. Smiling coyly at Dean she said, "So, here we are."

"Yes, and I'm glad."

"Are you now?"

"Sure I am. I know it hasn't been very long since we started working together, but I've noticed there's something...different about you."

"Different? Besides me being French?" Colette teased.

Smiling, Dean added, "Yes. You have this confidence and sense of wonder about you. Like when you and I were alone in the cockpit and you made your case to fly the plane." Colette smiled sweetly at this memory: one of their little secrets. To think that her flying episode with Dean just started with a simple game of truth or dare with the girls. A simple game led her to realize deeper feelings that were building for Dean.

Dean continued, "I also know you've had a rough life." Colette's smile faded. Dean commented, "I don't know what it must have taken to get from where you've been to where you are now."

"Hope, maybe a touch of denial," Colette joked half-heartedly.

"No, there's more there than that." Dean quickly replied. "You've got strength. I've seen it in you, Colette. The way you handled yourself on the tarmac in Haiti. The way you faced down those rebels bearing machine guns. The way you carry yourself through our visit to Berlin, facing the bastards who took your family away..."

Dean's words were comforting to her. She had been strong to make it through, she thought. She looked at Dean and realized how much she cared about him, this wonderful man who believed in her and who knew things about her that no one else did. She felt herself pulling closer and closer to him.

"What are these feelings I'm having right now?" she thought to herself. A sense of security? Affirmations from a friendly co-worker? Simple physical attraction? While she certainly found Dean attractive, she contemplated that. She'd been in physical relationships before.

This seemed to be more than that. Much more.