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Chapter 2: Jealous heart

Work my fingers to my bones

I scream with pain

I still make no impression…

(Queen; Flick of the Wrist)

November 2013 - 2 years and 9 months after the last contact…

ooOOOoo

"Janie, dear?" Eric called carefully, poking his head into her office.

"Huh?" Jane sighed, not looking away from the screen of her computer.

"The guests are here. It's time." He tried again, pointing at his watch.

She turned finally. "Did you say guests?"

"Correct. Did you read the email?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Too much work, I guess." She added apologetically.

"Well, Professor Callahan is bringing a student along."

"What? You mean a post-doc?" Jane raised an eyebrow.

Eric smiled nervously. He knew what would come. "No… He's a PhD student."

"What year?" she asked, with a hint of disbelief and anger.

"First…?" He said slowly, knowing that this was the wrong answer.

She frowned. "Callahan's gone insane or what? With so much work to be done, I really have no spare time to take care of someone who just graduated. I'm sorry but this is…" she sighed again, half with annoyance, half with resignation.

"Well, it doesn't seem so bad. I've heard he's actually pretty good - he got the degree in two years. Quicker than you, I think." Eric tried to lighten the situation, but it seemed the effect was quite the opposite.

"Splendid!" Jane rolled her eyes. "Anything else? Wait, let me guess. He's got a higher IQ than you and me combined?"

"165, if I remember rightly. That's not bad."

Jane stood up, putting her hands on the desk of her table. "Tell me Eric, how long exactly have you known about this?"

He shrugged. "For about a week." He confessed vaguely.

"What?" She leaned over the desk menacingly. "And you informed me just by some email you sent… When? Yesterday, late night? Or even today?"

"I'm sorry Jane, but I knew you would not like it." He apologized.

"Well, I do not, true. But anyway, it's been already approved by the director I guess?"

Eric nodded.

"So what are we talking about?" She inclined her head.

"Jane, I know, it has been rushed a bit, but… It's complicated. The guy was supposed to go to CERN, but in the end, Callahan's fellow had pushed his own candidate through. Garo was really mad about it, I can tell-"

"Aw, what a pity. So he's coming here instead?"

"Yep."

"Great. There's always a place for an extra nerd." Jane retorted, collected the crumpled papers and stuffed them into the bin.

Eric folded his arms in front of him and leaned against the closed door. "Look, Jane, to be honest, it's high time for us to start taking in new students. Otherwise I do not see any sense in what we are doing anymore."

But Jane grabbed a writing pad and just stared at him, not responding. "You said it was time. Shall we?" Ignoring Eric's comment completely and openly, she spoke at last and walked to the door.

ooOOOoo

"We're late." Eric assumed when he noticed that the data-projector had been already switched on and the conference room filled with people. Even Darcy was there and that meant they were late indeed. "Sorry!" He apologized, as he and Jane entered the room. They proceeded around the table and took the seats next to Darcy. "Where have you been? The director's getting nervous." She snapped at them promptly.

Jane tried to explain, however, the director had stood up in the meantime and cleared his throat meaningfully. "Now then, I see we've all gathered in the end," giving Jane and Eric a quick, sharp look, he joined his hands in front of him. "So I believe we can start todays' lecture. It is my great pleasure to welcome here my old friend. To those who do not know him yet, it is Professor Garo Callahan from MIT. He's a great scientist, a great man and I really appreciate the opportunity to spend some time together. He comes with his new PhD student, um…" He glanced at the papers he was holding. "Leonard Wednesday. Well, Garo, would you care to say a few words before we begin?"

Professor Callahan nodded, stood up and moved to stand at the head of the table, the projection screen behind him. He was about 60 years old but still very lively. He was a man of short figure but great mind. His merry face was almost always smiling. He looked exactly the same as Jane remembered him since his last visit.

"Thank you, Jim. Well, I am very glad to be here with you again; to be at the place where the science touches the most challenging questions of the universe. And of course, to see all the known faces after almost a year." He smiled widely. "However, I would not like to slip into some senile chatter, so now I'll pass the word on Leonard - he will give the presentation today. I believe I'm not exaggerating when I say he's one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. His talent for this particular branch of science is outstanding, not to mention he's a great companion. So I hope we will all get together well and begin a fruitful cooperation. So, Leonard, the stage is yours."

Jane raised her head to see who it was. The young man sitting near the projection screen stood up and exchanged places with his professor. The first thing that caught the eye was how tall and lean he was, quite the opposite of the old man. He bent down to Callahan to hear him whisper the last few encouraging words, then the professor patted him on his shoulder and sat back down.

"Thank you, prof…" the young man began, but was stopped right after.

"Louder, please!" someone said.

So the presenter cleared his throat and continued; his voice more intense this time. Jane tried to take a detailed look at him before the lights got dimmed. He appeared to be very... Likable. Or even handsome? Jane decided to save that thought for later. Next she noticed that he had his long raven hair bound in a pony-tail, high on the back of his head, so his delicate, angular face and the rather intriguing eyes were fully revealed. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing a watch and a metal chain around his wrists. Well... At least he's not ugly, Jane concluded.

"Thank you, professor, for your kind introduction." He looked at Garo and smiled lightly. Then he viewed the auditory. "Just before we begin I wanted to say that I am also very grateful to have the opportunity to be here, for I know the deal was a bit rushed. Still, I hope to be of some help to you and to gain a worthy experience as well." He rubbed his hands. "So, now I would like to introduce to you our research group, the latest results and some future plans regarding the starting project."

And there Jane realized she liked his voice. It was soft and comforting, a smooth, melodic flow. She recalled that after about five minutes of every presentation certain people, including Darcy, would usually fall asleep. But this was not the case. Jane did not know how he was doing it, but everyone, including Darcy, seemed to be interested. She felt a small poke on her arm. It was Darcy.

"He's cute, isn't he?"

"Yeah, whatever." Jane answered, focusing on the equation being presented. She decided to intervene. "Um, Mr. Wednesday?" She raised her hand. He stopped talking and looked at her.

"Yes, please?"

"I just wondered… could you please derive this equation?" she asked. Some people turned their heads to throw nervous looks at her and a heated murmur could be heard in the auditory. Jane suddenly realized she'd asked him to do a rather uneasy and time-consuming job and bit her lip. She was being nasty. Leonard exchanged a few silent words with his professor. Then he looked at his watch and spoke.

"Well, I could but I'm afraid we will have to postpone the lunch a bit."

Someone laughed.

She looked around nervously. "Of course you don't have to take it from Schrödinger. Just quickly, please."

"All right." Sighing, he left his presentation, crossed the room to switch the lights on, then marched back to the whiteboard, took the black felt-tip pen and started. And if the speech before was interesting, this was just fascinating. Jane had to admit this guy was definitely aware what was math and quantum mechanics all about. After some five minutes he stood back and looked at his work, then at Jane. She was going through the symbols and equations with her eyebrows knitted tightly together. He looked back at the board then, muttered quietly and rubbed a minus sign off. But then he wrote it again.

"Mr. Wednesday, it's…" Jane tried but he did not seem to pay attention. "Mr. Wednesday?" She tried again, louder. He straightened and looked at her. "That's enough, I think. I'm impressed. Thank you."

"Oh. You're welcome." He answered, looking a bit surprised. "Can I continue the presentation?"

"Please." She nodded and gestured at the screen.

In reaction, he went to switch the lights off and resumed the presentation. Jane felt a poke again. "You were able to follow that?" Darcy asked.

"I tried." Jane uttered, eyebrows still furrowed.

"It was phenomenal, I think." Darcy continued playfully.

"Please, spare your comments for the discussion, ok?" Jane retorted.

And as Jane expected, there was a rather heated debate after the presentation. Jane knew that she would have definitely gotten nervous being asked so many questions, but it seemed like answering complex queries was Leonard's second nature. Is there anything he doesn't know?

She suddenly felt somewhat uneasy and excused herself. Her next steps led her to her office. I have more interesting things to do, after all. She mused, but then she looked at the report for the director she had to finish this afternoon. Well, maybe not interesting but definitely more important. She thought and sat down to get on with the job.

However, after some time, Jane realized she was getting really hungry and her eyes refused to look at the stupid report anymore. It was surprisingly warm today, considering it was the beginning of Novemeber, and she realized she had to drink. So she stood up, stretched, and left her office and headed to the water reservoir. The one on this floor was already empty, so she was forced to go downstairs, hoping that the endless discussion was finally over. Why, it should be.

As she reached the spot and started pouring the water, she heard a creak of the door. She turned slightly and saw Leonard leaving the restrooms. His shirt was unbuttoned at his chest and the sleeves were still rolled up. It appeared he did not notice her presence. He just breathed for a moment, looking down, and then he bent down and brought his hands to his face, sighing deeply. A few drops of water fell down on the floor.

Having watched all of it, Jane wanted to ask if everything was ok, but the door in front of him suddenly opened and the director, Professor Callahan, and Eric walked out of the conference room. Leonard straightened quickly and wiped his hands to his shirt.

The three companions were talking lively and laughing. Finally, the director took Leonard's hand and spoke.

"Congratulations again, Mr. Wednesday, great job. Well, the bureaucracy is done, so now you and Garo can go with Eric and manage the last necessities. You'll receive the keys of your rooms then. So, have a nice time, guys, I have to go. Oh!" he exclaimed when he noticed Jane. "And that overly curious, but nonetheless charming being over there is our Dr. Jane Foster. Come on, Jane." He beckoned.

Jane woke up of sorts and realized the water was still running, flowing out of the cup and down to the floor, forming a small bay around the reservoir and her feet. "Ah! I'm sorry…" She quickly turned the tap off and wiped her hand to her pants. She paced towards the group and noticed a small smile on Leonard's face. He took her hand.

"It's my pleasure to finally meet you in person, Dr. Foster. I've heard so much about you." His voice sounded even more comforting from this proximity.

"Nice to meet you, too." She said simply and raised her head to face him.

And she was stunned. She had never seen eyes like these before. Such a green color, depth and… sadness. She thought that Tolkien must have meant something like this when he was describing the eyes of the elves. But then she realized Leonard was literally staring back at her.

Her eyelids fluttered. "Mr. Wednesday? Is everything ok?" she asked curiously. He blinked, surprised.

"Yes, I… I just wondered... Have we met before?"

Jane finally managed to look away from his eyes. "Um, no, I suppose. I'd certainly remember that... I think."

"I see." He rubbed at his eye.

She noticed he looked a bit dizzy. "Are you all right? Is there anything I can do for you?" Jane asked with a bit bigger portion of concern than she intended.

"No, thank you, you're very kind. It's just too hot today. I need to get accustomed to this weather." He smiled wearily.

"Yeah. So, um... get well and have a nice time." She answered, smiling slightly.

"Same to you." He said and left with Eric and the others.

Strange guy, Jane thought as she watched them.

ooOOOoo

As Jane had expected, the following days and weeks and months were a struggle. Questions, explanations, consultations… But most of all, she had begun to hate one particular sentence. She liked Garo, but whenever she heard 'Miss Jane, would you consult this with Leonard?' she got mad. She had her own work to do and definitely had no time for any distractions. She would even skip the lunch at times, just to have a moment for herself.

But after all, she had to admit that Garo was actually the one in need to be taught and reassured constantly. Leonard, on the other hand, was asking only when necessary. Every time he was taught something new he remained still, listening carefully, his curious eyes focused. He seemed to be very perceptive; sometimes Jane could not stop observing him – the way he took in new information and ideas, the way his eyes twinkled as they reflected the constant torrent of thoughts flowing through his mind… it was amazing in a way.

However, too soon Leonard learned everything he needed. With him, it seemed like quantum mechanics and IT technologies or quantum mechanics in combination with IT technologies were just a piece of cake. Day after day, he was getting better, and what was the worst, better than she ever was. Some of his ideas were just brilliant, but it was supposed to be her ideas. No matter how hard Jane tried, it seemed that Leonard was always a step ahead.

And it just made Jane feel desperate. Useless. Unneeded. And whenever she was lying in her bed, her eyes closed, she hated herself for being so envious inside, and even more for displaying so much undeserved arrogance toward him. Jane knew she wasn't like this, not really, and yet she could not help it. Yes, that was it. Most of all, she felt helpless…

ooOOOoo

Now, where's that stupid book? Jane fumed, fluttering about her office. Eventually, she marched out the door and spied the corridor. However, then she just turned back and re-entered her office, her hands running through her hair. This day was clearly turning out to be a complete disaster so far. In about half an hour, she was supposed to drive to the headquarters for the monthly meeting. Not to mention it was a terribly long and tiring journey, in addition she had promised to bring some news this time. The meeting with the SHIELD representatives was going to be awkward and boring without this particular outcome.

If only she could just find the book, finalize the computation protocol and start the process. Ok, she wouldn't be able to present it, but at least, she could say it was in progress. After a weeks' fight, Jane had been finally able to book the server for today, but without her book it seemed it was completely in vain. Just why couldn't I copy the data to my computer at least? Jane asked herself, hitting her temple with the inner side of her wrist.

I must have left it somewhere. No, it has to be here… But she had searched everywhere in her office, turning it into a complete mess. C'mon, Jane, think, where have you left the book, where did you see it last? It was useless. She went out the office again to pace though the corridors back and forth, and then… she saw it. It was on the copier. It was left opened.

She ran quickly and grabbed the book. She went through the pages impatiently and stopped at the last one. She noticed that someone else had been writing in it. Just a few comments and equations. And no matter how angry it made her, it was making sense.

Who was it…? She looked about with a menacing look. Jane remembered Eric doing it a few times, but she knew he would not tease her like this. He was perfectly aware of the mood Jane was in. He would not risk it. And on top of that, this was definitely not Eric's handwriting. This one was smooth and elegant, space-saving but still very clear. The ends of the letters were a bit tilted - exactly as in the case of Mozart's notes when the composer's hand was not quick enough to follow his thoughts.

But then Jane noticed a small arrow pointing at a text she had crossed through before. Under the arrow, there was a note that was beginning with "Not a bad idea, but…" At this point, she had enough.

"Who was it…" she said aloud through gritten teeth. She paced nervously around the corridor again, poking in the other offices. When she was passing Eric's office she noticed a certain person handling some papers. And it looked like said person was separating copies from originals. It was him. It must have been.

Jane stormed inside and banged her book on his table. Leonard looked at her curiously, removed the headphones from his ears and focused on her.

"Who do you think you are, Mr. Wednesday?! What possibly gives you the right to take away someone else's property?" she exclaimed, filling with rage.

"Pardon me, Ms. Foster, but I did not take anything away." He said quietly, yet distincly. "If you mean your book, I left it exactly at the same spot I'd found it." He remained perfectly calm, his piercing eyes studying her. He looked almost amused. And it was driving her insane.

"Oh, really?" Jane almost squeaked with anger. "Well, at least I thought someone of your intellect would know that looking in personal belongings is considered quite impolite."

"I know, thank you for the kind reminder." He looked back at his papers and resumed sorting them. "However, your property was left opened at the top of the copier, and as I needed to use that particular copier, I had to remove the book. And as you will surely agree, everyone is usually looking at the things they are handling." He continued, his voice still unbearably steady.

"Ah, thanks for the explanation!" She laughed. her voice full of sarcasm. Then she came closer. "Anyway, it does NOT give you any right to read or write in it. Spare your splendid ideas for yourself next time, would you?"

He sighed and turned to her. "Believe me, Ms. Foster, now I feel deeply sorry for what I did. I promise it won't…"

"It won't happen again?" Jane cut in furiously, not letting him even finish the sentence. "Is that what you wanted to say? Well, it won't. I'll make sure it won't." And she left.

After that, Jane shut the door of her office violently, threw her book away and fell into her chair, her hands on her face. She sighed deeply. She did not feel like working on the calculation protocol any time soon. Definitely not in the next half an hour she had left. She sighed again, resigned. What the hell was that, Jane?

She felt tears coming out of her eyes. She wiped them out angrily and realized there was nothing better she could do but leave. So she collected everything she needed for the meeting, switched her computer off and left her office.

She bumped into Eric outside. "No questions." She handed him her book. "Please, if you find some time, look at the latest protocol and try to run the computation - the server is booked for today. I just… was not able to finish it. Don't wait for me. Good luck." And she walked away.

So, surprise, surprise! ;P :) Anyway, what do you think?