6 months later
As Jess stepped out of Horatio's car, she inhaled deeply. It had been a rough day, ending with her Uncle Ray, who was supposed to be dead, showing up and taking her Aunt Yelina and cousin Ray, Jr. to Brazil.
"You okay, Tig?" asked Horatio.
"Hmm?" She looked up. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…just a lot of events to process, is all. Shall we go in?"
"After you." The two of them walked across the parking lot towards the bar, a small brick building by the name of Marty's. The place was so small, it seemed that its max capacity should have been 50 instead of 300. It was a popular place for those wishing to drown their sorrows in bad '80s music and cheap booze. It was also one of Jess' favorite hangouts due to its mock-'50s diner interior. They walked in and grabbed a table. 5 minutes later, Calleigh and Eric joined them. As Eric sat down, Jess noticed the hardened look on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Wolfe," he muttered.
"Oh for God's sake! What the hell did he do this time?" she asked, thoroughly annoyed. Eric and Ryan had been butting heads since day one and it was really starting to piss her off.
"He sold his soul to the media, that's what."
Jess rolled her eyes. "Actually, if you watched the whole report, you would know that he gave you the credit." They sat in silence for 15 minutes when Ryan walked in. He sat down and ordered. Nobody said anything for a while.
"Okay. This awkward silence is bugging me. I'm going to put on some music on," said Jess. She walked over to the jukebox and started fiddling around with it. A couple minutes later, she came back and grabbed Ryan.
"Where are we going?" asked Ryan
"To the dance floor. I'm bored, so we're going to dance."
"That probably isn't such a good idea," he said.
"If your girlfriend gets pissed over this, she's even bitchier than I thought."
"First of all, I dumped her. Second of all, I suck at dancing." The jukebox finally kicked in and started playing 'I love Rock 'n' Roll' by Joan Jett.
"It's really simple. All you have to do is follow my lead." As she started dancing, Ryan found it extremely easy to follow her. As the song came to a close, Jess did one more twirl and landed in Ryan's arms. "See, it's not that hard," she said.
"Honestly, I didn't do that much."
"You want more of a challenge? Hold on a minute." She ran back to the jukebox and chose another song. "Now, this is a slower song, so what you need to do is place your hands on my hips."
"Oh yeah? Where are your hands going?" he asked.
"On your shoulders, you pervert," she said while rolling her eyes. As soon as they had positioned themselves, 'Everything I do' by Bryan Adams came on. "You know, when I first met you, I knew I could trust you," said Jess, trying to lead.
"Yeah? I wish I got that feeling from everyone else. Erica totally took something I said out of context and used it to her advantage."
"How did she get the information in the first place?" asked Jess.
"She used her woman skills."
Jess started laughing. "Women skills? I've never heard it refered to that way. If it's bothering you that much, just have me with you while you work."
"How will that help?"
"Well, if you've got someone with you, especially a female colleague, she'll be less likely to use her 'women skills' to get information off you."
Back at the table, Calleigh and Eric were talking about the scene in front of them.
"They make a cute couple," said Calleigh.
"Isn't he still dating…her?" asked Eric, saying the last word with disgust.
"Do you honestly that'll stop Jess? She's as stubborn as Horatio. Like father like daughter, I guess."
Jess and Ryan came back to the table a minute later. "Where'd Daddy go?" she asked.
"I didn't even know he left," admitted Eric. Jess pulled out her phone and dialed. On the third ring she got an answer.
"Hey daddy, where are you?"
"I had to leave. I had somewhere I needed to go, and I don't think I'll make it home tonight," said Horatio on the other line.
"Ok." She hung up and started digging through her pockets. "Can one of you…CRAP!"
"What's wrong?" asked Ryan, Eric, and Calleigh at the same time.
"I was going to ask for a ride home, but apparently I forgot my keys at home, so I suppose a better question would be does anyone have a place I can stay at tonight?"
"I'm sure I've got some room," said Ryan.
"Great. So I guess I'll see you two tomorrow." She and Ryan headed to the parking lot where Ryan's car, a little silver Volvo, sat. Jess started cracking up.
"What's so funny?" asked Ryan.
"THIS is your car? What are you, a soccer mom?"
"I crashed my other car a year ago, and this was all I could afford at the time."
"If you say so. It's still hilarious." They got in and drove off.
A couple miles down the road, Ryan asked, "So why don't you have a car of your own?"
"Well, what with moving around a lot, I figured a car would be too much of a hassle. Besides, carpooling is easier on the environment."
"If you decided to get a vehicle of your own, what would you get?"
"A Harley. I've always loved motorcycles." Soon after, they arrived at Ryan's apartment, a one-bedroom white box. "So, where am I sleeping?" asked Jess.
"Is the couch okay?"
"Yeah, of course. You wouldn't happen to have any pajamas I could borrow, would you?"
"I might have something." Ryan went into his room and rummaged through his drawers. He came back with a oversized shirt and some flannel pajama pants. Jess took the clothes from him and started changing. As she pulled off her shirt, Ryan noticed her many tattoos on her back: A helix on her left shoulder, an open triangle with feet and a circle above it, and a celtic cross intertwined with roses going from the base of her neck to the top of her hips, and stretching across her ribcage. He also noticed the crescent-shaped scar starting at the middle of her left shoulder and ending on her left hip bone. "What happened there?" he asked, tracing the scar lightly with his index finger.
"That? I honestly don't remember what happened there." She pulled on the shirt and turned on the television. As soon as she sat down, the theme song to Star Trek: The Next Generation started playing.
"You actually watch this show?" asked Ryan, totally confused. Of all the things he could have pegged her as a trekkie was way down at the bottom of the list.
"Of course. I happen to find Captain Picard and the Borg very sexy."
"Ooookay. Here's your blanket. There are some more in the closet and if you get hungry, go ahead and help yourself to the fridge. I'm going to bed."
"Night," she said, turning back to the TV. She loved this show and the episode on right now was one of her favorites. It was the one where Picard became a Borg. She didn't know why, but the thought of one of the most powerful, awesomest character on TV could just as easily become part of the flock, become a follower always made him seem more human. After a couple episodes, she started dozing off.
"Commander Caine, I need you to go negotiate with the Borg," said the captain. Jess looked around at her surroundings and realized she was in an episode of Star Trek. She looked down and noticed she was wearing a yellow shirt.
"Uh-uh. No way in hell am I leaving this ship," she replied.
"Why not?" asked the captain, confused.
"Because I'm wearing a yellow shirt, which is the equivalent of a red shirt in the original series." Jess turned to face the captain and realized that it was not Picard, but Ryan instead. Before she could voice her confusion, Marilyn Manson's Beautiful People interrupted her.
As the song continued, Jess started to understand what was going on. She grabbed her phone and answered. "Piglet, do you have any idea what time it is?"
On the other line, a distinct female voice answered, "10:00?"
"Maybe in Vegas, but I'm in Miami, and it's one in the fucking morning here. I'm hanging up." Jess closed her phone and was fast asleep in five minutes
Ryan woke up with a start. Something had disturbed his sleep, but he had no idea what. He rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. It read 3:00. He rolled back over and tried to fall back asleep when he heard Jess moan softly in her sleep. He got up and went to close the door when he heard a thud in the living room. Running out there, he saw Jess thrashing about in her blankets on the floor. "Jess! Jess, wake up!" He bent down, pulled the blankets off her face, and held her so as to stop the thrashing before she seriously hurt herself.
Jess woke up to find herself on the floor and in Ryan's arms, pressed against his chest. "What happened?" she asked completely bewildered.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. I came out here, and you were flailing on the floor." Jess thought for a minute. What was she dreaming about that could possibly cause her to do that. The conclusion came quickly.
"I haven't had that nightmare in quite some time," she muttered. She looked up to see Ryan sitting on the couch. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Do you think I'd let you sleep unsupervised after that little scene?" asked Ryan. She looked at him funnily. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he said
"Aw, that's sweet," she said, smiling at him. She grabbed the blanket and got back up on the couch. She laid her head on his chest and almost instantly fell asleep.