A/N: Sorry for the long delay but other things have gotten in the way. Thanks to Betherdy Babe for the assistance. Fluff alert.
Jennifer stared in shock at the man laughing before her. "You insult my profession and then laugh at me?"
"Your comment… about wormholes was… funny," Rodney said.
"Well, I don't know if you study them or not but I saw a stupid TV show last night about them so it stuck in my head," Jennifer replied hotly as she crossed her arms and turned to look back at the hotel.
"What show would that be? Something hosted by Neil de Grasse Tyson perhaps?" Rodney offered, swiping at the few tears around his eyes.
"No, Wormhole X-treme. A stupid story…"
Rodney started laughing again.
"I take it you know the show?" Jennifer continued to clench her fists and glare at him.
"And the guy who consults for it."
"There's really a scientist advising them?" Jennifer stared at Rodney and a part of her wanted to get away from him but the other part of her was drawn to his confidence. If only he wasn't so darned cute it would be even easier to just walk away.
"Not a scientist." Rodney couldn't get the smirk off his face.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I hope you enjoy your breakfast. I need to get ready for my presentations this week." She turned and headed back to the hotel.
"W-wait!" Rodney shouted as he ran to catch up with her. "Wh-where are you going?"
"I don't appreciate having my profession, something I've wanted to do all my life, be referred to as voodoo." Jennifer felt tears prickle her eyes. Her father's smug face telling her that she was a bad judge of character came to mind and only added to her sense of annoyance.
"Stop. Please." Rodney stepped in front of her holding his hands out to stop her.
"Rodney, I'm sorry but…"
"Please. Stay right there." The big blue eyes and concern on his face held her in place. She nodded and Rodney walked away.
"Where are you going?"
He didn't respond at first but then he smiled and walked up to her with his hands in his pockets. "Hello. I'm looking for a nice, quiet coffee spot nearby. Would you happen to know of one?"
It was now Jennifer's turn to fight off her laughter. She failed and held out a hand as she chuckled, "I'm Doctor Jennifer Keller. And yes, I know of a wonderful place nearby."
Rodney took her hand and enclosed it between his. The sensations that his larger hands sent through her when they made contact were as intense as his brief kiss in Red Square. "I'm Doctor Rodney McKay, astrophysicist and engineer extraordinaire…"
Her laughter intensified as did the heat that flooded her body from the contact.
"Would you allow me to buy you a coffee? I understand if a beauty like yourself might not want to be seen with a man… like me."
"What are you talking about?" Jennifer asked, wishing she could remove her hand without seeming rude yet secretly wanting him to continue to hold it.
"You know… with a little extra weight around the middle?" The innocent look he shot her sent her into a fit of giggles and caused her to squeeze his hand in return without thinking.
"I did not call you fat!" she replied.
"And I am certain your practice of medicine is of a higher scientific quality than the Scotsman I work with."
Rodney moved her hand so it was now wrapped around the bend of his arm and he tugged her toward the crosswalk. "Now let's get some breakfast and go shopping."
"Uh… I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to go with me tonight. Don't take offense, but I highly doubt the other doctors at this dinner will appreciate your unique view of our profession."
"I'm not concerned," Rodney replied, arrogance exuding from his voice and body language.
"Well I don't think being cute will get you out of your comments with them." Jennifer's eyes widened as soon as she finished. Her entire body temperature elevated after her slip up, not just her red face. "I… Uh…"
"Oh no. You are not taking back the fact that you called me cute." Rodney's smug smile grew as he placed his free hand over hers. "And you look amazing with that red tint on your cheeks."
Jennifer's mouth opened but no words came out. She followed him across the street as her mind swirled through all the emotions she was feeling. How am I going to survive tonight? He'll either destroy my career with his words or I'll lose my head when he touches me and destroy it myself.
While Jennifer was getting dressed, she thought over the day she spent with Rodney, who was a perfect gentleman during their excursions. After breakfast they went to the CambridgeSide Galleria, the local mall, to find clothes for the evening: a suit for Rodney and a dress for Jennifer.
The dress Rodney suggested wasn't anything she'd ever look at by herself. It was a classic little black dress with a scoop neckline, but shorter than Jennifer ever wore before. The second that Rodney saw her pasty white legs she swore he stopped breathing or at least thinking because she had to call his name several times. He immediately turned to the saleswoman and said Jennifer needed shoes to match.
After they purchased their clothing Rodney dragged her to Swarovski to help him buy his sister a gift to celebrate her award of a high profile grant. Jeannie McKay was working on her PhD in mathematics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Because of his travels he hadn't been in touch with her for some time and thought the jewelry would make up for lost time.
Jennifer thought it was the sweetest gesture ever and helped him to select a small diamond pendant and matching stud earrings.
After grabbing lunch at the Cheesecake Factory they headed to the Boston Museum of Science and its planetarium. Rodney said as a kid a planetarium was his favorite place to visit and he liked to check them out whenever he had time-which was almost never.
Today was also the first time Jennifer got to see that Rodney was every bit as smart as he claimed to be. The planetarium was having technical difficulties and after several minutes of their refusal to let him help, he finally offered to call Doctor William Shapiro from the Harvard Observatory for a reference.
Jennifer was thrilled to see all the happy school kids get to look at the sun and stars on their field trip because of Rodney. It took him five minutes of fiddling with the projector and two on the computer to get the program running at a higher resolution that it originally had. The planetarium staff couldn't have been more thankful and gave them free passes to the planetarium for whenever they were in town.
"You made all those little kids happy," she said as the waited for a cab.
"I could care less about them. I wanted to impress you," he grinned as he saw the blush spread over her cheeks again.
"I was already impressed about the gift for your sister." Jennifer quickly stepped up to the cab before she could see his reaction.
Jennifer stared at the woman before her in the mirror and heard the voice of her father loud and clear in her head. You're leading him on, Jenny. He only wants to have sex with you and then he'll be on his way taking your virginity with him. It'll crush you to be used and you know it.
Turning away from her reflection she began to lose her nerve about the dress. She had a suit in the closet that would be casual if she wore only the white blouse and skirt. I should also put my hair up. Dad says it looks sloppy to have your hair down.
It was as if all the happiness she's gleaned from Rodney's company and his remark when she was trying on the dress about being beautiful didn't matter. A little bit of time alone and Dad's voice twisted Rodney's words and gestures into something ugly.
Just as she was reaching behind to unzip the dress, her cell phone rang. She picked it up with a bit of hesitation because her father hadn't called her yet and said, "Hello?"
"Hey," Rodney's jovial voice came over the phone. "You forgot something in my bag. If you're ready I'll bring it over."
Jennifer's eyes scanned the room and her body to see if anything was missing. "I don't think so."
"Just tell me the room and I'll be there," he said.
Jennifer hadn't told Rodney the room she was in as a precaution and she was still uncertain. "What is it? Can't you give it to me in the lobby?"
"Jennifer, are you afraid of me or something?" he asked, his voice sounded nervous. "I'm not sure about the jerks you've dated before but I'd never force you to do something you don't want to do."
It was as if Rodney had read her mind. "You can never be too cautious."
"I understand. And I expect you to be extra cautious when I'm not around. Okay, I'll meet you in the lobby when you're ready."
Looking down at the dress that hugged her figure and taking one last glance in the mirror at the blond mass of hair around her face, Jennifer decided to trust the funny genius she'd meet in Russia once more. "I'll be down in a couple minutes."
TBC
A/N: I am not endorsing the stores and places I mentioned, well maybe the Museum of Science, which has an upgraded awesome planetarium now. It didn't when this story takes place.