SPOILERS: through season three

NOTES: The reactions in the reviews so far have not been quite what I'd expected. I guess I've been a bit too subtle. All I can say is that I'm not trying to pick on Diana; I'm trying to create a dramatic but hopefully believable sequence of events and keep the characters in character. (Just because Nina's not warm and fuzzy doesn't mean she's mean.) In the U.S., people don't normally get to take off work for six months and walk back into the same job they left, and showing up without an appointment at two to ask about a job you want is not very professional. Just try to keep in mind, this is a Ben-fix fic! I believe this chapter will better demonstrate that I am not trying to get anyone to like Ben. Please, no mention of season four spoilers in reviews.

DISCLAIMER: The 4400 and all things associated with it belong to other people.

DESK, PART 3

INVITATIONS

Working in NTAC's virology lab definitely had its advantages over being a field agent. The regular hours made it easier for Diana to keep a decent schedule with her family and offered her enough free time to adequately plan her rapidly approaching wedding. As an added bonus, working in the medical wing made it easier to avoid Marco. Despite Sid's inability to find anything unusual about the email messages involving the resignation of her field status, Diana was growing to think of Marco as her nemesis. Just the sight of him could set her on edge. Fortunately, he seemed equally eager to avoid her.

Although she wouldn't admit it to anyone, it irked Diana's competitive, perfectionist nature to have someone with so much less experience be deemed better than she was at a job for which neither of them was particularly well-suited. Even so, some compulsion kept her from trying to access records about all that had happened during her absence. It was as though a vital part of her was dead-set against knowing, that knowing was somehow a threat to her happiness. So she ignored the whole issue.

In the meantime, she invited Tom to dinner to get to know Ben better and ask her ex-partner if he would be her bestperson at the wedding. Tom's reaction was a mix of surprise and reluctance, but after a pat on the back and a joke from Ben, Tom responded with appropriate enthusiasm. She reassured him all he needed to do was get fitted for a tux, show up on time, hand her a ring and make a speech. They weren't even going to have a rehearsal dinner, since the wedding party was going to be so small--just herself, Ben, Maia, Tom and Caesar, who was an old friend of Ben's and a vital part of his photography network. Ben had convinced her it was okay to give in to the impulse not to invite her father. It was supposed to be a happy day, so he saw no point in having someone there who might spoil that for her.

Somehow, despite going over all the relevant details with Tom that night, Diana managed to overlook a particularly bothersome question, one that needed to be dealt with if she wanted to finish sending out invitations.

The virology lab was hardly the central hub of NTAC activity, and Diana had done little enough to keep up-to-the-minute on the assignments of other departments. So she wasn't sure what might be happening with Tom. Hoping he'd have a few minutes, she drummed up some courage and went to visit his office. She almost balked when she saw Marco was also there, but he was putting on his jacket, as though about to leave. That helped her resist the urge to call Tom instead of seeing him in person. Steeling herself, as though walking into the lion's den, she approached the office. Some part of her wondered how she'd grown to so dread the office she was hoping to someday regain.

She knocked on the door frame, and both men looked up. Tom greeted her with a small smile while Marco glanced hastily away.

"Got a minute, Tom?"

"Sure, come in." He waved her in with one hand while typing with the other.

"I'll just...get a car and meet you out front." Marco managed not to meet her eyes despite having to move sideways to pass her on his way out the door.

She waited until the he was out of earshot before wondering aloud. "You let him drive?"

Tom snorted. "Yeah. Who'd have guessed that inside such a mild-mannered geek lies a Mario Andretti?"

"Really?" She watched Marco as he made his way to the elevators. "Doesn't make up for how shifty he is." A snort drew her attention back to Tom. "What?"

"You've had it in for him since the minute you got back to NTAC." With a shrug, he finished turning off his computer then stood and pulled his jacket from the back of his chair. "Can you blame the guy for being skittish around you?" Shaking his head, he slipped into his jacket.

"It's unprofessional."

That got her a puzzled look from Tom, the one he got while trying to work through something his intuition felt wasn't right. He even raised a hand and opened his mouth, as if on the verge of an epiphany. Then, like a switch was flicked, the expression abruptly disappeared, his hand changing direction to retrieve and holster his gun, instead. Blinking, he beamed at her with a rather unTom-like smile. For some reason, it reminded her of the minister. "What can I do for you, Diana?" He said it as though she'd just walked into the room.

"Actually, I..." His behavior was disquieting and made her want to ask him what he'd been thinking, but something inside her urged her ignore it. He was a busy agent on his way out the door, after all. It was best to get to the point. "I wanted to ask you if you think I should invite Marco to the wedding."

With an exasperated huff, he shook his head. "No way, José." Then he raised his eyebrows in response to her expression.

"What?" She couldn't help her defensive tone.

Tom held up his hands as though to fend off further inquiry. "I've given you my opinion."

"I was hoping for more than that," she pressed, closing the door for privacy. "I want to know what you think."

"Seriously?" In response to her nod, he gripped the back of his chair, tilting it back as he leaned forward with a furrowed brow. Just before he reached the tipping point, one hand shot out to gesture after Marco. "Less than a year ago, you and Marco were in a serious relationship, and now you're marrying someone else. I know I'm no Mr. Sensitive--so I'm not the first person who should comment on other people's behavior--but just because you got over him quickly doesn't make it okay to ignore the fact that he hasn't gotten over you." That revelation came as a surprise to her, though it apparently seemed obvious to Tom. Leaning back, he spread his hands wide. "He may have made it as easy for you as possible, but you can't be unaware of how much this has hurt him. Asking him to watch it happen would be like twisting the knife. How could you even consider inviting him?" Tom had never been good at hiding his incredulity.

"Maia said he'd be there." It had been an odd, almost skittish confession, one Maia had insisted on making only to Diana. Neither of them had really talked to Ben about Marco, let alone how important he had once been in their lives.

Tom swept the statement aside with a flick of his wrist. "Then she's wrong."

"Maia's never wrong." Her daughter's prediction about April being at the wedding was all but confirmed. If April had agreed to go, why not Marco?

"I keep hearing that, but I can't help questioning the truth of it." One hand fluttered beside his ear. "How can a little girl always flawlessly interpret something as insubstantial as visions?" He tilted his head, his gaze serious. Then he snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Maybe she saw Marco at a different wedding, one she would be at, too, like Garrity's."

"Jed's getting married?"

Tom shrugged, again. "Marco mentioned Garrity's serious about someone, so that would make sense."

"It would..." she nodded in agreement. Why hadn't she considered that, herself?

Tom moved to the door and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Do yourself and Marco a favor--don't invite him."

"Right." She felt like there was something important she was overlooking, something just within her reach. Then her cell phone rang. Pulling it from her pocket, she found the display said it was Ben.

"Gotta go." Tom slipped past her and out the door. "Just call if you need me."

"Sure. Thanks, Tom."

"Any time." With a wave, he trotted down the hall to the elevator that lead to the front entry.

Answering her phone, she sat in her old chair and couldn't help but note the changes to her desk. "Hey."

"Hey, sweetheart. I managed to make an appointment with the Carmichael Academy at four. Think you can make it?"

They'd been looking at various academies for Maia, but few felt comfortable about having a 4400 student. So getting an appointment at Carmichael Academy was quite a triumph, yet she couldn't enjoy it. Smelling the subtle scent of Marco while hearing Ben's voice was innately disconcerting; she felt dizzy. "Um..." Standing, she left the office to head back to her own. "I'm not at my desk right now. Can I call you back when I get there?"

"Sure. Talk to you then."

On impulse, she stopped by the NTAC medical lobby on her way to the virology lab. There was no one waiting, so when she mentioned feeling dizzy, they took her right away. They found her blood pressure a bit elevated, but a quick blood test showed she wasn't anemic. It had been a while since her last exam, and she had been abroad for six months. So they convinced her to let them draw blood, take a throat culture and do a few more basic tests. Then they gave her an electrolyte balancing beverage and sent her back to work.

Once at her new desk, surrounded by the unique scents of the lab, she felt much better. Arranging to have someone cover her last hour and a half of work made her feel better still. That the Carmichael Academy was gorgeous, and Maia loved it, made her feel fantastic. To top it all off, because Maia was a 4400, she was eligible for a special scholarship, which made the Academy more affordable than homeschooling. They celebrated with a dinner of paella at a fantastic little Spanish place Ben had found while scouting for gallery space. But the lovely afternoon and evening were briefly spoiled as Diana and Ben got ready for bed.

"Diana, what's that?"

Rinsing out her toothpaste, she spit into the bathroom sink before turning to see an anxious, almost angry look on Ben's face. "What's what?"

"What's that on your arm?" There was an odd tension in his voice, and he set aside the photos he'd been flipping through on the bed to stand up.

She absently tapped her toothbrush against the rim of the sink and set it in its holder before peeling the tape and cottonball off her inner elbow. "It's nothing, really. I just felt dizzy this morning, so they ran a few tests."

"They who?"

She looked back up from her arm, surprised by the demand in his voice. "The NTAC clinic, of course. I was past-due for a checkup anyway."

The step he took toward gave her an odd sense of menace. "They drew your blood?" His eyes rounded.

Why was he so upset about this? "It's okay. They didn't find anything wrong. It's all just routine." She laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Don't tell me you're squeamish about blood?"

He gazed at her for a long moment with a hard, heated look in his eyes before turning his gaze back to the bed. "I just remembered I need to make a call to Spain." His tone was back to normal. "There's been another snag with the rights for the San Sebastian photos. With the appointment at the academy and everything, I forgot all about it."

"Are you sure?" She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It isn't even seven in the morning over there." Stepping closer, she touched his arm, and he glanced up at her with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah. It shouldn't take long, though. I just need to light some fires to get a few people moving." His kiss on her cheek made her feel reassured that everything was okay. "You go to bed. I'll catch up with you soon." Then he slipped away from her, gathered up the photos and left for the dining room.

The sangria she'd had with the paella made her sleepy, so she didn't bother contemplating Ben's behavior too long. By the time her head touched the pillow, she'd all but forgotten the odd little moment. Just as she was drifting to sleep, she felt Ben snuggle up behind her, stroking her arm and murmuring reassuringly in her ear. He did that most nights, though she was never quite sure what he said. That night, she dreamed of a beautiful wedding and of Maia graduating with honors from prestigious Carmichael Academy.