A/N: Uber-super sorry for the long wait! I've been getting project after project in school, so I haven't been getting that much free time. I have less than half a semester left, though, so I'm nearing summer vacation! Until then, I'll continue to try and get more chapters typed up!
Review Replies:
MoonGCyn: The wait is over!
Gottahavemyncis: Umm...I can't exactly answer any of those questions without revealing parts of the story, but I hope some of them are answered soon!
Eni01: The wait is over for you, too!
Phillipa: Thank you. I do try to write big ones, though.
Crawcolady: It wasn't my intention to make you cry! I am happy you're enjoying the story, though. I do feel guilty for not being able to update that often, at the moment.
Peglet: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. It makes my effort worth it.
With that, enjoy this latest chapter! I can't promise an exact time as to when I can get an update finished and posted, but I'll be working on it! (On a side note, a lot of these places that Tim will be going to are real! If you live in the Milwaukee area or ever visit, you can go to these places!)
Event Eight
"You know, Alice, when I agreed to your offer to show me the city, I didn't mean to use me as a beast of burden during a shopping trip." Tim slouched into the seat Alice had shoved him towards, moaning in protest. The blonde woman glanced over her shoulder as she let out a laugh.
"Tom, what better way to see how the locals act than to spend some time in a mall? Just be happy I picked Southridge and not Mayfair." Alice turned back to the shoe rack she had been looking at and focused on the heels. It still seemed a bit weird to Tim to hear her say 'Tom' instead of his actual name, but he knew he would have to get used to it. "That place can be a nuthouse."
"Sure..." Tim pulled the bags off his arms and let them settle into a pile next to the couch, mentally thanking the owners of the store that they had seating in what Tony had labeled the 'Girlfriend Hotspots'.
"Anyway, I partly lied. This mission has multiple objectives." Alice muttered just loud enough for Tim to hear, pulling another groan from him.
"What is it?" He retorted. A few near by customers threw him looks of amusement, correctly thinking him a shopping victim from the look of irritation on his face.
"My close group of friends are going to be meeting us here at the mall." Alice bit her lip as she turned around to look at Tim again with what she hoped was an innocent expression. "I told them I made a new friend through work and I wanted to introduce him. I'll leave it to you to tell them your 'hacker avoiding prison' cover story."
"You're lucky I said I didn't have a problem meeting them." Tim thought back to the day he arrived a few weeks previous and how Alice described her friends as 'his particular brand of strange'. He was honestly surprised it took Alice this long to arrange a meeting. She found it quite hilarious when Tim holed himself up in the house that first week and didn't wander out that far when he finally stepped outside again. Suffice to say, Tim wouldn't be surprised if the cashiers at the Walgreen's and El Rey Foodmart near his house knew him by sight by now. He went to each store daily instead of doing a proper grocery shopping trip with his car.
"Yep! And they're rather excited to meet you. I don't really talk about work that often with them, for obvious reasons, so meeting someone that I met through work is a whole new experience for them." Alice prattled on, returning to her shoe browsing.
"If they don't know you through the Bureau, what do they do and how did they meet you?" Tim inquired curiously. From what Alice had mentioned about her friends so far, they were her primary group of friends, but she didn't seem the type to keep her personal and work lives separate. It was security clearance that was doing that.
"Through school and each other." Alice gave up looking for a pair of heels she would like and joined Tim on the couch. "Two are psychologists, like me. I met the female one through mutual psychology classes at Alverno College when we were undergraduates. We met the guy at UW-Milwaukee when all three of us went there for our doctorates. He went into Experimental Psychology, while she and I went into Clinical."
"Yay for college-age friendships." Tim commented with a smirk. Alice rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Of the other three, the guy and one of the girls went to MSOE for a B.S. in Computer Engineering. The last girl went to Alverno, as well, for a B.S. in Interactive Media Design."
"Am I going to get names?" Tim joked, wondering how he was going to keep track of everyone after everything Alice just told him.
"When they get here." The two of them stared each other down for a few moments before Tim sighed in capitulation. Alice wasn't going to share.
"How did you three psychologists meet the other three?" Tim decided to ask, instead.
"The guys and Miss Interactive Media Design have been friends since they were in elementary. They sort of unintentionally brought everyone together. Mr. MSOE and Miss MSOE met in mutual classes, and have been dating since their final year. Don't ask me why they aren't married. I don't know." Alice rambled on, beginning to twirl a lock of her hair. "Dr. Experimental and Miss IMD actually are married but keep their names different for professional reasons. Dr. Clinical is still single, though, like me. We just seem to be too picky."
"I'll bet!" Tim laughed, shaking his head. He stood up and collected most of the bags, making Alice take the rest. "If you're not going to continue looking then I'm making the executive decision that we go get lunch in the food court."
"Ugh. Fine, we'll go get lunch. I know better than to drag you into Victoria's Secret when it's just the two of us." Tim looked at Alice incredulously, pulling laughter out of her, and shook his head before heading towards the store entrance.
"Ali!" A feminine shriek filled the air, causing Alice and Tim to look up from their meals.
"Portia! Clark!" Alice laughed, launching herself from her seat towards the couple walking towards the table. Alice hugged Portia tightly before pressing a kiss onto Clark's cheek, grinning at both of them. "I was wondering who was going to arrive first! The others have yet to get here. Come, come, come."
Alice pulled her friends towards the table, giving Tim only a few moments to look the couple up and down. Clark was a short haired blonde who looked to be a few inches shorter than Tim, himself, but was just as lanky. Portia, a long-haired brunette, was far shorter. Tim guessed 5'3". She was also a bit on the curvy side, clearly having a healthy appetite. Tim would never have guessed their professions, though. Both were decked out in what Tim affectionately called 'Geek Gear' under their winter clothing; Superhero shirts, jeans, and converse shoes.
"So this is the new mystery friend." Clark chuckled as Tim stood up to shake hands.
"Yes. Clark, Portia, this is Thomas Gray. Tom, this is Dr. Clark Essex and Portia Dubois. Dr. Experimental and Miss Interactive Media Design." Alice gestured back and forth rapidly.
"Miss Inter...what?" Portia tilted her head in confusion as Clark's face scrunched up in silent laughter.
"I didn't tell Tom any of your names ahead of time. Just how we met and what we all studied in college." Alice grinned mischievously, sliding back into her seat across from Tim. Tim returned to his own seat, motioning to two of the free chairs at the large table he and Alice had nabbed when they first entered the food court for Clark and Portia to sit at.
"Oooooh, you're feisty today." Clark shot at her, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "Anyway...Tom! Nice to see that Alice's friends from work aren't stuck up stiffs. I can tell you'll fit in with us quite well."
"Thanks." Tim replied wryly, glancing down at the large, 8-bit Mario on his own t-shirt. "It's a bit strange meeting new people outside of the Bureau right away. I haven't even been in Milwaukee a month."
"Then you lucked out with Ali! She's always been friendly." Portia chimed.
"Let's hope for the newbie here that she becomes a little friendlier." A new voice spoke up from behind the woman in question. Clark and Portia burst into laughter while Tim's face turned slightly pink. The new person was obvious the other guy in the group of friends.
"Edmund Crawford!" Alice snapped as she turned around in her seat to glare at the black-haired man. Edmund smirked down at her from his towering 5'11" frame, but adopted a sheepish look when the short ginger woman next to him hit his stomach with the back of her hand.
"What have I told you about behaving, Eddie?" The woman asked, letting out a defeated sigh. It was obvious that Edmund frequently made salacious comments. Edmund ran a hand through his hair and gave her a grin.
"Behaving outside the bedroom leads to lots of misbehaving inside it?"
"God!" The woman exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the empty seat on Tim's right. "Why am I still with you?"
"Honestly, Reg? No idea..." Edmund muttered as he took the seat next to her. Alice rolled her eyes at the exchange, leaning forward in her seat to see Tim better.
"Tom, this is Edmund Crawford and Regan McKay. Mr. and Miss MSOE. Edmund, Regan, this is Thomas Gray." Alice repeated her earlier gestures back and forth before returning to her food.
"Hello, Tom. It's nice to finally meet someone from Alice's work." Regan smiled, tucking a lock of her long red hair behind her ear.
"Yeah. Finally!" Edmund reached around Regan to shake hands with Tim, his grin still on his face. "The only thing Alice has told us about you is that you're good with computers. Just how good is this 'good'?"
"I would say I'm decent." Tim responded. Alice snorted through her mouthful of food, quickly swallowing it before Tim could argue.
"Don't let him talk himself down, Edmund. Tom here has a Masters in Computer Forensics from MIT." After Alice's declaration, Edmund and Regan turned to Tim with awe-filled expressions.
"MIT?" Regan whispered.
"Masters?" Edmund repeated in a quite tone. Tim shifted uneasily in his seat, glaring at Alice as she, Portia, and Clark looked on in amusement.
"Yes. I went to MIT and went all the way to Masters."
"Duuuuuuude..." Edmund let out with a small scoff in disbelief. "You could be making six figures in Silicon Valley with a degree like that! Why are you holing yourself up in Wisconsin?"
"Don't diss Wisconsin, Edmund. It's our home." A short, brunette woman inserted as she arrived at the table.
"Jay!" Portia squealed and jumped up from her seat, followed by Alice and Regan as all three of them hugged what Tim was assuming was the last person to arrive. All four women exchanged greetings as Clark and Edmund made faces at each other, Tim being left there with a bemused expression. Alice had told him the whole group saw each other rather regularly so their enthusiasm at seeing each other was quite entertaining.
"So, we finally get to meet Alice's new friend from work." 'Jay' said when the women separated as returned to their seats, taking the empty chair on Tim's left for herself. Clark gave her a put-out look for leaving the lone empty chair at the table between the two of them but she merely waved him off. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Jade Green. And yes, my parents were that cruel."
"Pleasure..." Tim laughed, nodding at her in acknowledgment. "Thomas Gray."
"Ah! Another color name! At least I'm not alone in that aspect, anymore."
"But it made you special!" Edmund whined through chuckles, ducking the head slap Regan had tried to do as Jade let out a few laughs and rolled her eyes. A twinge of familiarity went through Tim's gut, telling him that he has seen these people before now that he's seeing them all at once, but he couldn't figure out where. The confused look on his face didn't go unnoticed, though.
"What is it, Tom?" Alice asked. "You seem a bit flustered."
Having everyone's attention zoned in on him caused Tim's face to grow a bit pink again, but he shook his head to try and cast off the embarrassment.
"It's just...I would swear that I've seen you before, Dr. Green. I just don't know where. I've never been to Wisconsin before moving here." Tim explained.
"Oh." Jade let out, her eyebrows raising in amusement. "I see Alice told you next to nothing about us."
"Not a word." Alice confirmed, but she went ignored as Jade continued speaking.
"If you happen to enjoy paranormal television then you've probably seen me. In fact, you would have seen all of us, sans Alice." Tim did a double-take when the term 'paranormal television' crossed Jade's lips, remembering exactly where he had seen them before.
"You're the paranormal psychologist from Apparitions on the SyFy Channel. I hadn't realized that you guys were based here in Milwaukee."
"Yeah, we don't do too much work here. We mostly travel when we're filming." Jade remarked.
"Working on that show has definitely gained me a lot more clients than I expected when I graduated." Portia added. "Apparently a lot of people out there like my designs for the opening and closing credits."
"Though we do get our fair share of letters from people who think we all, especially Jade, should see a psychologist, ourselves." Clark stated.
"Well, I do see and speak with dead people." Jade snickered. "Even you guys had difficultly believing me at first."
"Are you a believer?" Regan asked Tim, leaning towards him in a pseudo intimidating manner with a grin on her face.
"Ummm...ummm..." Tim stuttered, beginning to lean away from Regan but stopping before he bumped into Jade. "I don't know?"
"Good answer. That'll give us the chance to convince you." Edmund inserted as he placed a hand on Regan's shoulder and pulled her back. Tim righted himself, nodding slightly at Edmund's comment.
"Ignore them." Jade said, grabbing his attention. "They like to screw around with the skeptical. They find it quite entertaining. Now, what were you guys all talking about when I arrived? Something about making six figures in Silicon Valley?"
Jade's attempt at changing the topic successfully diverted Edmund and Regan's attention away from Tim's unsure belief in the paranormal, making them adopt looks of awe again.
"Tommy boy here has a Masters in Computer Forensics from MIT, Jade. MIT!" Edmund continued on with his earlier ranting. "Six figures is a low end estimate!"
"Why on earth are you working for the FBI when you could be doing anything you want?" Regan asked. Tim exchanged a look with Alice, who simply made a small gesture with her hand to say that he should go ahead with his planned background history.
"Actually, I was doing what I wanted, Miss McKay." Tim began. "That led to me get arrested and having to play nice with the FBI to avoid prison."
"You're a hacker?" Portia joined the conversation, her eyes wide from shock.
"Yes, he is." Alice answered her. "But he's too good to immediately send to prison. The Bureau wants hackers like him on our side, so relocating him and putting him to work was our best option."
"Not that the relocation matters much. I have no living family and my so-called friends are the reason why I got caught in the first place." Tim sneered, playing the part. "And I've yet to actually do any work at the office. When am I going to get called in?"
"When we have something for you, Tom. I've told you this before. I'm sorry that the Milwaukee office doesn't have that much computer work to do but it cannot be helped. Any work you end up doing will most likely be requests from other offices." Alice explained with a sigh, making it look like this was a conversation she and Tim had had multiple times already.
"So you're technically no working." Jade interrupted in an attempt to defuse the 'argument'. The others looked back and forth between Tim and Alice with baffled expressions, unsure on how to react.
"Not yet, no. I can look for work elsewhere but it's with the understanding that the FBI gets priority when they require my assistance." Tim replied, turning away from Alice. A wicked look appeared on Jade's face, causing Tim to lean away from her slightly. It reminded him of the look Alice had given him right before asking him to come shopping with her.
"Well, if you truly are an expert with computers than I could use your assistance. Edmund and Regan are too busy with their business to be of much help."
"What is it?" Tim asked. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.
"I'm consolidating my private practice with the Apparitions headquarters. Between my patients and all the services I provide through our headquarters, I can't really afford to travel between buildings anymore. I need help setting up all the equipment to my liking once it all has been moved from the old locations, as well as someone to help run headquarters while I'm in a session." Jade explained. Her mischievous look turned sweet, as if she was hoping it would help convince Tim to agree.
"Help run...what?" Tim understood needing help to set up computer equipment, especially when multiple places were consolidating into one, but the second half of Jade's offer was difficult to wrap his head around.
"When we're not filming, headquarters is sort of like a community center for paranormal investigators in the area. We provide a place for people to meet up, advice on how to do things, as well as sell equipment. Getting someone to help run it will give me the ability to provide a wider range of time slots for patients." The others all nodded along silently as Jade explained further, showing that her plans at consolidation have been in the works for a little while now. "The network has also been saying they want someone with technical knowledge at headquarters when we are filming since Edmund and Regan are out in the field."
"Jade's right. You seem to be the perfect person for the job. It's like you were destined to come here." Clark commented with a smirk. Tim threw Alice a look, who shrugged, before letting out a sigh.
"I guess I could give it a try." Tim replied, turning back to Jade.
"It's a deal. We'll discuss things more a bit later." Jade grinned and stuck out her hand, Tim shaking it to seal the deal. Tim was about to drop Jade's hand when he noticed that her face had adopted a glazed look, causing him to look towards Alice in worry. The blonde woman let out a hiss when she saw Jade's expression, the others beginning to snicker.
"Ok, I should have told you this ahead of time. Jade's sensitivity to the paranormal causes her to sometimes 'zone out' when someone from the other side decides they want to speak with her. Normally they at least wait until she's at home, though. I don't know why they're bothering her now." Alice said.
"Maybe someone from his family is taking advantage of the situation." Portia pondered, pulling laughter from Clark, Edmund, and Regan. The worried expression didn't leave Tim's face as he continued to look at Alice, but she gave him a look that said they would address that issue later. Tim jumped slightly when Jade suddenly let go of his hand, causing him to turn his attention to her. The glazed look was gone, but a skeptical one was in its place as Jade looked him up and down.
"Who from the other side wanted your attention this time?" Edmund asked through titters.
"No one of importance." Jade immediately replied, not removing her eyes from Tim. "Just some random person for someone else here in the mall. They were going on about Nutter Butters."
Color drained from Tim's face when the table exploded into another round of laughter. Jade's answer to Edmund was very telling. Who ever she 'spoke' to told her who he really was and had mentioned his addiction to Nutter Butters. That was a very short list, as well, since he developed that addiction after moving to Norfolk. He threw another look at Alice, who had now adopted a worried expression of her own. Before Tim could say anything, though, Jade snapped at the others to shut up and changed the subject. She wasn't going to confront him just yet.