My job is making me work late this week, so I'm not going to write much. Luckily I have a few chapters of this story so I decided to post this. Hope you enjoy... my eyes will not stay open.~S.K.

Two

"So.. how'd a sharp girl like you end up in a rat's nest like this?"

The smile was meant to make her understand it was all in good fun. Tori reflected, taking a thoughtful sip of her peach ice tea. "I submitted a resume, and it was accepted." She replied dryly. "And I happen to like it very much." It had been a slow morning, unfortunately, and no crises had developed that might have excused her lunch invitation from Steve Fabricini.

Though Jade had volunteered to create one, if she really didn't want to go, the executive had been in a fairly good natured mood after an early morning meeting with one of their newer account teams. Someone had clued them in, she'd informed Tori, having been fed strawberry crepes and biscuits for breakfast, instead of the usual fruit cup at the meeting, her twinkling eyes indicating who she thought was the culprit.

"You do, huh?" Steve chuckled, scooping up a spoonful of yogurt. 'That's hard to believe considering who you work for."

Tori shrugged "You know, people say that a lot, but I've really enjoyed working for Jade… she's smart, she knows her stuff, she gives credit where credit's due... and she stands up for her staff." She commented, honestly. "If you know what you're doing, you have no problem with her." Just like Sinjin VanCleef had said, at their first meeting. "Of course, if you don't… " She let the thought hang.

He laughed. "You poor little thing... wait until you get thrown to the fire as a sacrifice the first time she has to take the blame for something… you can't really be that naive, can you?" He leaned forward. "Listen, cupcake... I know her, all right? You don't…she will turn on you like a rabid dog at the first opportunity."

"Really?" The brunette nibbled on her sandwich. "Well, thanks for the warning."

"Anytime." Fabricini smiled, then lowered his voice. "Listen… There's no reason we can't work together, all right? My job here is to try and punch through these roadblocks we seem to be coming up against... and if I do it, the whole company benefits. Don't' get caught on the wrong side of that, hmm?" He put a hand on her wrist. "You're a sharp kid… everyone says so, and when this all shakes out, there could be opportunity for you, if you know what I mean."

Tori smiled kindly at him. "You mean, if you dig up enough things to force Jade out, I might get her job."

He smiled back. "I said you were sharp." A dangerous glint entered his eyes. "Stick with me, cupcake."

The Junior executive wiped her lips with her napkin, and set it down neatly on her plate. "There's just a few things I'd like to get squared away first." She paused.

"What's that?" He smiled, a triumphant look on his face.

"One, you need to let go of my wrist before I sink my fork into the back of your hand." Tori responded, very mildly. "Two, if you call me cupcake again, I'm going to be forced to find something equally insulting to call you, and that could get very ugly." She smiled right into his eyes, enjoying the shock. "And three, where Jade goes, I go." She stood, as he let go of her and picked up her tray. "Have a nice day."

She left him sitting there, as she counted to twenty under her breath, waiting for her heart to stop hammering in her ears from anger. "Stupid piece of god damned… oh. Sorry." She'd collided with Sinjin VanCleef, who glanced behind her.

"You okay?" He asked, having heard her growling. "Hey... what did you do to puss face over there? He looks like he's been hit in the head with an obsolete mainframe."

Tori took several calming breaths. "He is such a pig." She put her tray down in the washing area. "He wants me to work with him to find dirt on Jade, and then had the balls to say if I did, he'd see if he could get me her job when it was all over."

Sinjin burst into laughter. "Boy... did he ever get his lines crossed." He patted Tori's shoulder. "Guess he picked on you because you're the newest... figured the rest of us had our loyalties set by now." He put his own tray down. "So... what'd you tell him?"

"To kiss my ass." Tori replied, with a hint of a blush. "Only more politely."

They both watched as their subject sauntered up, his neck still red from anger, and deposited his tray. "My mistake." He oozed savage politeness to Tori. "I should have guessed there was… personal… loyalty... there." He threw his napkin in the bin. "Your loss." He left, giving them a disgusted look.

Sinjin and Tori eyed each other. "Asshole." They both said in sync. Tori sighed. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about him asking me out on a date, now." She remarked wryly.

"Yeah.. but he could get nasty that way." Sinjin replied, snagging two large chocolate chip cookies and offering her one. "You know how rumors are."

"Been there, done that." Tori accepted the cookie, and bit into it. "I think everyone's over that one already." Meaning the whispers about her and Jade, which had subsided dramatically since the new year had started. They'd been careful not to hang around each other at work, going so far as to not even have lunch together, and it seemed to have cooled the rumor mill to the point where everyone had gone on to something more interesting.

"Yeah… but be careful." The MIS chief warned, as they headed for the elevator.

Tori sighed, and punched the button for the fifteenth floor, then held the door as she heard footsteps approach. She couldn't see outside from where she was, but somehow… a smile was already pulling at her lips as Jade stepped inside, moving to the rear of the car and leaning against it. "Speak of the devil." Tori commented, as the doors slid shut. "I just pretty much blew up my lunch meeting."

"Really?" Jade crossed her arms. "You lasted a lot longer than I would have." She gave Sinjin a wry look. "He must have stirred up a hornets nest, though, because Cat just called me, and told me they're calling a meeting of all the upper management staff." As if on cue, both Tori's and Sinjin's phones went off. "I really don't have time for this crap today."

Tori was reading the text. "Yep… one o'clock in the big conference room."

Sinjin cursed softly. "I've got HP coming in this afternoon about the servers… damn." He glanced at Jade. "What's it about?"

The executive shrugged. "Cat didn't have any details... she was waiting on a packet from The board." She sighed. "Alastair endorsed it... and it's from ethics and personnel, That stuff doesn't go through me anymore, so god only knows what it is... probably another poster campaign."

Sinjin snickered. "I liked the security posters, Jade… I have the one about "preventing hackers" framed in my bedroom."

The doors slid open and they walked out, surprised to see Cat standing in front of Jade's doorway. "Uh oh." The executive murmured. "That doesn't look good." She gave them both a nod. "See you all shortly."

"Jade, I need to talk to you." Cat said, as she approached. "You're not going to believe what they just dumped on us."

"Oh.. I'll believe anything… once." Jade gestured towards the door. "C'mon…" She led the way into her office. "Mari, book me for 1pm at a meeting, and cancel the briefing conference call, please."

"Si." Her secretary looked up from the phone. "Jade, your little puppy called."

"Thanks." Jade said, absently, as she went through the door to the inner office, then she stopped short, causing Cat to crash into her. "Wait a minute...what?" She turned. "Sorry... " She poked her head back out. "Mari, who did you say called?"

The older woman smiled. "Si.. the puppy… I got a call, I picked up… nothing. I said, hello, hello… and then, bom dia, but nothing. I almost hung up, and I heard... " She made little whining noises. "I check the caller id, it is your house."

Jade blinked, ignoring the muffled laugh from behind her. "She must have gotten out... and knocked the landline off the hook in the living room... do me a favor, call resident services out there and have them go check, will you?" She shook her head and ducked back in the office. "Great… my luck, she went and called Singapore while she was at it." She muttered, as she closed the door. "All right.. what's up?"

Cat threw a packet on her desk for an answer. "Before you start screaming, I've already been on the phone with Alastair, twice, and he's not backing down."

Jade circled her desk and sat down, picking up the packet. Her eyes scanned it, and she looked up. "You're joking."

A shake of Cat's head. "Nope… it's an executive retreat, with a program specifically for team building. They have a reservation for twelve of us, starting Friday afternoon. They're sending a bus to pick us up." She crossed her arms. "Alastair says they've been using a very similar program out east for three months, and it's worked great for them."

Jade covered her eyes. "Let me see if I understand this." She muttered. "He wants to send us all on a bus, out into the wilderness, to climb over rocks, and trees, and live in a canvas tent?, and that's going to help us get along?"

"That's essentially it, yes." Cat nodded. "For the record, I've read up on this stuff, since I was trying to find some kind of help here, and it's got its merits, Jade... but it depends on the participants."

"In our case, it depends on the participants not KILLING EACH OTHER." The dark haired woman ends up yelling, her voice bouncing off the walls. "Is he NUTS?" She punched the phone. "Beatrice, is he there?" Then she drummed her fingers, until the line opened.

"Now Jade, before you say anything, let me get my spiel in." Alastair's voice was cheerful, as usual. "Okay?"

Jade folded her hands on her desk. "Okay." She responded, in a quiet tone.

"I got that email yesterday.. and to be honest, it concerned me." The Chairman of the board stated. "Not because I thought it was true.. although you can be a stubborn obstructionist when you need to be, Jade - but it's always been in our best interests when you have. "

"Uh huh." Jade grunted.

"I see it as an overall problem… company wide, and that's why we've been using these seminars... They're wonderful! You'll love it… listen, it's just a weekend out in the middle of nowhere... no cell phones, no computers… the food's pretty good… and we found the damn things really do work, to get people to know each other better."

"Uh huh."

"So, I'm sure if this new guy, and you, get to know each other things will smooth out... and besides, the rest of the group needs a little team building. I've been getting a bunch of grumpies from that office lately."

"Alastair?"

"Yes? You can go off on me now, Jade."

"The problem with me and Steve Fabricini is that we do know each other - I got him thrown out of school ten years ago and he's held a grudge" Jade paused. "You think sending us both out into the woods is a good idea?"

Long pause. "Ah." Alastair muttered. "I see… wish I'd known that."

"Can we cancel this now?" Jade asked, hopefully.

"Well... see, it's' prepaid, and we've already transmitted the payment." The CEO sighed. "And if we cancel, we lose all that money... " He thought. "Let's do it anyway, Jade… and I'm counting on you to set an example, and bring everyone back with at least a little more team spirit."

Jade sighed. "Alastair, I really don't have time for this… and you're tossing my top ops staff out incommunicado... what if something goes wrong over the weekend?" Her last trump card.

Alastair chuckled. "Jade, we both know you pick the kind of people who won't screw you over in a pinch… your staff can cover things... go on, have a good time, and loosen up a little. I went on one of these things, and I had the time of my life, trust me." He heard the repeated sigh on the other end. "You're mad at me, huh?"

"If I thought this was going to do a damn bit of good, I wouldn't be." Jade snapped back.

"Ah ah.. keep an open mind, Jade… you never know what can happen... you all could come back best of friends." Alastair chuckled. "And, by the way... I know I forgot to send you a birthday card, but see if the gift I sent over is an acceptable substitute."

"Alastair… "

"Gotta go… the chairman of IBM is here, we're going to swap lies and exaggerations over rubber chicken." Alastair told her. "Just do it, Jade… when you get back, if it was that awful, I'll make it up to you."

"How?" Jade inquired sourly.

A slight pause. "We'll talk about resolving the issues in a more direct way."

Jade's dark eyebrows lifted. "All right." She agreed quietly. "That's worth a weekend."

Alastair chuckled. "That's my Jade… try to have a good time, huh?" He hung up.

Cat shifted in her chair, and shook her head. "You have such an interesting relationship with him." She sighed. "You're one of the few people I can say for sure he really, really likes."

"Well, I tried." Jade gave her a wry look. "This is going to be a nightmare, Cat."

"I know ." The personnel VP agreed. "You and me, Robbie, Tori, Jose, Steve, Sinjin, his second, Elle, Robbie and Elle's assistants, and my assistant Mary Lou." She paused. "You know what your biggest problem is going to be, don't you?"

"Besides not killing Steve?" Jade played with a pencil. "Yeah. I do."

Not letting everyone in on their little secret. "You two have such a cute little chemistry when you're around each other. " Cat told her wryly. "That's going to be tough to hide, out there in the wilderness with nothing to do but talk to each other and roast marshmallows." She stood up. "Thanks for trying, my friend.. it was a good fight.. and you'd have had him if we hadn't already coughed up the bucks."

"Yeah." Jade leaned back, exhaling. "I should have just absorbed the loss to cover it." She told her friend wryly. "It would be worth the money."

Cat chuckled as she turned to leave. "It's just two days, Jade.. we'll be back in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon.. I'm sure we'll survive."

Jade regarded her back as she left, then she threw her pencil down on the desk, leaning forward and studying the packet in consternation. A light tap on the inside door, however, put a wry smile on her face. "C'mon in."

Tori poked her head in, then entered. "Hey."

"Hey," Jade leaned back in her chair and folded her hands across her stomach.

"Are we in trouble?" The brunette inquired curiously.

"We may be." Jade pushed the packet over to her. "Cancel your plans for the weekend." Actually, they hadn't had any concrete ones, just a vague plan that included diving, a trip to San Jose, and spending some quality time with Cappuccino.

Tori took the packet and sat down in one of Jade's visitor chairs, studying it with interest. "Oh.. I've heard of these." She glanced up with a smile. "This sounds interesting…it's in Calistoga, Right?"

"Mmhmm." Jade acknowledged."Out by Wine country. It's a nice campground in Clear Lake… "

A shrug. "Sounds like it might even be fun, Jade…I mean, there are cabins, it's not like you're out foraging for hickory nuts or something."

Jade chuckled. "If it were just you and me, or just you, me, Robbie and Cat, and even throw Sinjin in there, I'd agree with you.. but we're going to have Steve, Jose, Elle, and a couple other people with us."

"So?" Tori peered at the agenda. "Oh.. that's cool… They have obstacle courses, and you have to help each other through them… " She looked up. "Who knows? Maybe it'll help, Jade."

The dark haired woman gazed at her. "So.. you don't mind spending an entire weekend pretending not to know me?" She inquired mildly. "Other than as your boss?"

Tori blinked. "Oh." She bit her lip. "Right. Hmm.. you couldn't get us out of this?" She winced.

"I tried." Jade lifted her hands and let them fall. "Alastair had already paid for the damn thing... we're kind of stuck."

They looked at each other. "Ew." Tori finally sighed. "Well, I'm sure we can do this…I mean, we manage pretty well during working hours anyway." She stood up and put the packet back down on Jade's desk, then circled around and perched on the edge of the wood next to where Jade was sitting.

"We do huh?" The executive's lips twitched. "Well, I have to say you're the first assistant I've ever had who's made a habit of camping on my desk." She tweaked the edge of Tori's skirt. "Most of them wouldn't get within ten feet of me."

Tori's eyebrows lifted. "Their loss." She replied, in a sultry tone, which brought a genuine smile to her boss's face. Reflexively, she reached out and touched Jade's cheek, letting her thumb trace the smile, then she uttered a soft sigh. "Two days, huh? This is going to be a bitch on wheels, Jade."

The smile widened slightly, then the dark haired woman curled a hand around Tori's knee, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll survive." She glanced at her watch. "Let's get to the damn meeting…I want to see Stevie baby's face when he sees what his email kicked off… what did he want from you, by the way?"

"Oh." Tori stood, and backed to get out of Jade's way so she could stand up. "He wanted me to sell you out for the possibility of getting your job."

Jade paused in the middle of standing, then she slowly straightened and ran a hand through her hair. "Funny." She commented briefly. "That's the deal Elana took."

Tori snorted. "I knew she was an idiot when I saw her… trade you for this job? Give me a break!" She bumped Jade lightly. "Not for any job on earth… or anything else on earth for that matter, or anything on Mars, Jupiter.. the moon… " Her words were abruptly cut off by a pair of warm lips, and a fierce hug. "Mm.." Tori murmured, when they parted. "I'm not sure... but I think that might clue them into our relationship, Jade." She leaned back in and ran her hands over the cool fabric of her lover's shirt, and kissed her again.

"Yes it would, but thank you." The dark haired woman caressed her cheek, and pressed her lips against Tori's forehead before she released her. "C'mon… we're going to be late."

They could hear the yelling halfway down the corridor. "Oh, this sounds pleasant." Jade muttered, glancing at her companion, who pursed her lips in agreement, and pulled the door to the conference room open, motioning Jade to precede her.

The loud voices ceased as her imposing frame cleared the door, and all eyes turned her way. Jade was aware of Tori entering behind her, but she kept her attention on the group around the table, and paused, putting her hands on her hips.

The silence went on for a long moment, then Jade lifted one elegant eyebrow. "Is there a problem?" She snapped, putting aggravation into her voice. "Or are you people just yelling at each other out of boredom?"

Jose stood up, or to be more accurate, stood further up, since he was already kneeling on one knee on his chair. He waved a familiar looking packet at her. "Have you seen this shit?" He slapped it on the table. "What is this crap?"

Jade's eyes went to Cat, who was leaning with her fingertips on the table. "I take it you've filled everyone in?" She waited for the Personnel VP to nod.

"Certainly she did." Elle tapped her pen on the table. "Good grief, Jade… surely they can't expect us to just pick up and go… we all have lives!" A sweet smile at the Operations VP. "At least most of us do, at any rate."

"Yeah… I'm not going along with this." Steve stated suddenly. "It's senseless."

Jade sauntered around to the head of the table, which they'd left conspicuously empty, and leaned on the back of the chair there. "It's paid for. We're going." She stated bluntly "It wasn't my idea, but the Chairman is insistent, and that's all there is to it."

A chorus of voices thundered at her. Jade put up with it for a moment, then she straightened, and sucked in a breath. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" She thundered, making the glasses on the sideboard rattle. Tori's eyes widened, and she slumped down in her chair a little in pure reaction, as a conspicuous silence dropped over the room. She let that go on a minute, then she pointed at Steve. "Next time, be careful what you ask for." She pitched her voice low, and her eyes swept over Elle and Jose. "You people had to start this, now the Board has answered, and by god you're going to go to this stupid thing and not say another word about it, or I'm gonna take the charge for the course out of your damn paychecks." Each word had gotten louder, and more penetrating, until the last word barked out, making the glasses rattle again. "Understood?"

Silence.

"I'll.. um… bring a deck of cards." Sinjin offered, hesitantly.

Steve snorted, and leaned back. "I'm not going." He stated, staring insolently at Jade.

"Jes, you are." Jose turned on him. "If I gotta do this, you gotta do this." The Sales VP gave the room a disgusted look. "Lemme go call my wife."

Cat passed a packet out to each person. "There are instructions in here on what to bring, and what not to bring. No electronics, no cell phones, that kind of thing. Four changes of comfortable clothing, sundries, and any prescription drugs you need. "

"Does that include tranquilizers?" Elle muttered, glancing at the glowering Jade. "I'll bring some extra."

Robbie had been fiddling with the packet, reviewing it. , then he glanced at his assistant, a young, heavyset woman with short blond hair and thick glasses. "Sandy.. you all right with this? "

She pushed her glasses up her nose. "Yes.. I'll get my mother to watch my cats.. it'll be different, at least." She glanced sideways at Tori. "Have you been on one of these before?"

"No." Tori had been keeping an eye on her boss, who still had distinct, angry waves pouring from her. "I never have.. but I'm sure it'll be a learning experience, if nothing else." She glanced at Steve, whose face had settled into a grim mask, and whose eyes were fastened on Jade.

Robbie rubbed his jaw, as his glance followed Tori's. "Oh.. yeah." He nodded solemnly. "We are going to learn something… of that, I'm sure."

Tori glanced between two different shirts, then finally chose one and stuffed it in her overnight bag which hadn't gotten much use since she'd moved in with Jade. Her lover had taken Chino in the cart, and was scooting off across the island to the small Italian shop in the center, to pick up two orders of pasta for dinner. She had protested that she could just make some, but Jade had told her they'd both might as well relax as much as possible, since it was even money the next couple of days were going to be just a bitch.

Despite her usual optimism, Tori had to reluctantly agree about that, and besides, she had a taste for the trattoria's fettuccini alfredo, which was really tough to make from scratch.

She finished packing her bag, zipping it up and trotting down the stairs, stopping to review the chewed boot that Chino had gotten to, after the clever little puppy had escaped from her utility room dwelling. "Ooo… you're a lucky little girl, Chino… this is an old one." She chuckled, turning it over and running a finger over the shredded heel. The puppy had pulled it out of Jade's closet, after turning over the wastepaper basket, and managing to knock the phone off the hook. A visit by the puppy sitter had returned her to her room, but now they had to figure out how she got out in the first place.

The back door opened as she passed through the kitchen, and Jade walked in, carrying the puppy under one arm, and a large, nice smelling bag under the other.

"Mm… that smells good." Tori smiled, taking the bag from her. "I can just imagine what we're going to get at the retreat.. what do you think.. beanie weenies?"

Jade sighed, and put Chino down. The puppy immediately went to her bowl and started to lap water. "Probably…from what the packet said, it's very 'rustic' - which usually means burgers and dogs… guess it could be worse."

"Oh yeah.. they could have picked one that only served raw vegetables.. they have those you know. It combines a health food seminar with a corporate twist."

A low snort. "I'd have flown to NewYork and beaten Alastair with a bag of celery until he screamed if he'd done that to me." The dark haired woman muttered. "It's going to be bad enough as it is." She tugged the two containers out of the bag and pulled out a long, fragrant loaf of garlic bread stuffed with cheese. "You all packed?"

"Mmhmm.." Tori retrieved some silverware, a pair of napkins, and tugged Jade towards the living room. "C'mon, Jade… it's not going to be that bad… I bet everyone gets so involved in either what we're doing, or in how uncomfortable they are, that they'll forget how much we all don't like each other." She opened her container of pasta and breathed in the rich scent. "Mm…"

"Maybe." Jade sighed, prodding at her own dinner with a fork, a large pile of angel hair bolognese. She split the garlic bread in half, and gave Tori her portion. "Here… "

The Latina accepted the fresh bread, and tore off a chunk, dipping it in the alfredo sauce and taking a bite. "I mean… we are all adults, after all.. and professionals, for goodness sake.. surely we can get along for two days."

Jade chuckled. "You may be right, my friend.. and I hope you are, or it's going to be a damn unpleasant weekend." She swallowed a mouthful. "Did you read all the way through that packet? They observe us, and a status report gets sent back to the board. " She gave Tori a wry look, as the Latina flipped through the channels and settled on the History Channel. "That should kick start some cooperation… no one wants Alastair to know they acted like a cranky little baby."

Tori licked her fingers. "Do you think he's really concerned about our office? " She asked. "You don't think he's buying into Steve's accusations, do you?"

Jade shrugged, as she plowed through a mouthful of her dinner. "Hard to say. "She answered, after she swallowed. "How's your pasta?"

Tori leaned over and kissed her gently. "Taste for yourself." She teased, then offered Jade a forkful.

"Uh uh." Jade evaded the fork and went for the source, running her tongue over Tori's lips before she returned the kiss, putting her almost finished container down on the coffee table and freeing up her hands to stroke the brunette woman's face, then travel down her shoulders. "Oh yeah.. I like that." She breathed.

"Me too." Tori put her own dish down, and turned her attention fully to her companion's body, which her hands were itching to feel. She loved the silky texture of Jade's skin, and her fingers slid beneath the cotton t-shirt eagerly as they spent a leisurely few minutes exploring each other. She nuzzled Jade's neck, and tucked a playful touch under the waistband of her jeans, feeling the muscles contract as she did giving her easy passage. "Wanna give In Search of Ancient Mysteries a miss?" She inquired softly.

'This qualifies, doesn't it?" Jade replied, with a chuckle, as she teased a shirt button loose.

"Who are you calling ancient?" Tori bit down on a tasty earlobe, feeling the laugh travel through Jade's body. "Hmm?" She tickled Jade's belly button, an area she'd discovered was very sensitive. "C'mon, I hear a nice, warm bed whispering my name." She nipped the soft skin on Jade's neck, then glanced up. "Hey!"

Jade reacted, her body shifting as she straightened up. "What in ... oh." A soft laugh. "Chino, what do you think you're doing?"

The puppy was busted, tiny paws propped up on the low table, face covered in bolognaise sauce, wide brown eyes fastened on them in a big, canine "uh oh." A thin strand of spaghetti drooped from her mouth, and the pink tongue licked at it.

"Bad puppy!" Tori scolded her sternly, getting a tail wag. "No..don't wag your little butt at me… bad girl!"

The small, creamy ears drooped, and she dropped off the table, sitting down and looking up at them through dark eyelashes. The effect was ruined by a satisfied lip lick, however. Both women laughed. "Oh. It's not funny. " Jade sighed. "But I can't help it.. look at that puss."

"Yeah.. she's got a better pout than you do." Tori replied, with a faint giggle.

Both dark eyebrows lifted. "I most certainly do not have a pout." Jade stated sternly.

Tori traced the warm, coral colored lips with a delicate finger. "Yes you do… when you want something you know is bad for you." She teased gently. "Like that cake I made for your birthday." The lips edged in a sheepish grin. "See?" She laughed. "I love that smile."

"Does that mean I get the cake?" Jade asked, ingeniously. She reached down and tickled Chino's ears, and the puppy stumbled over, putting her paws up on the edge of the couch and licking Tori's arm. "I bet you'd like some too, hmm?"

"No no no.. no chocolate for her. " Tori rubbed the silky ears. "I'm glad Andre agreed to come puppy sit…I'd feel really bad leaving her here with just the island people dropping in once in a while." She flicked a glance at Jade. "That is okay, right? "

"Mmhmm." Jade agreed. "That works…I was going to see if Clemente could have someone hang out in here, but Andre's a better choice.. even if I do think he's still a little unsure about me." She tugged lightly on a lock of Tori's hair.

Tori sighed. "It's….he just worries about me, that's all… he thinks it's great we're together, but the work thing weirds him out." She admitted, slowly. "And it is sort of weird.. I feel like I'm two different people sometimes."

"Mm… yeah, me too." Jade agreed.

"And I feel so… " Tori pushed a lock of Jade's hair back. "I get upset when you get so stressed… like when you were yelling at everyone at the meeting today.. my guts hurt me." She admitted. "I got so mad at that creep today, I almost slapped him in the lunchroom, and it wasn't because I felt he was insulting my intelligence… it was just that he was doing something to get at you, and I just couldn't stand it."

Jade remained quiet, letting the puppy chew on her fingers while she considered Tori's words. "Sorry." She finally muttered. "It's just the way I do things."

"I know." Tori smiled a little. "It's just so…" She paused. "Your reputation is based on reality, and I forget that sometimes, because I know you mostly like this." She put a hand on Jade's cheek. "I forget most everyone else sees a different picture."

Jade exhaled. "You make me sound very schizophrenic." She made a wry face. "And unfortunately, you're going to have to live with Ms. Hyde this weekend…I'll apologize in advance."

Tori laughed ruefully. "Probably better off that way.. or I'm liable to forget, and start hugging you in front of everyone." She demonstrated, settling more comfortably as Jade returned the hug. "Mm… that feels so good. "

"How about we get rid of our plates, and keep searching?" Jade rumbled, right into her ear, the warm breath sending a light, pleasant shiver down Tori's back. "I don't want to think or talk about work any more tonight."

Tori murmured agreement, as she nipped her way along Jade's collarbone. She broke off reluctantly, and turned to grab the containers, only to find a cream colored puppy with an Alfredo colored nose licking her chops. "Oh… poo.. Jade, she's going to be sick to her stomach."

Jade lifted the pasta out of the puppy's reach and brought them into the kitchen, putting them in the garbage and dropping the silverware into the dishwasher as Tori slid up behind her, capturing her with a solid grip around her waist. "Whoa." The hands slipped up under her shirt, and explored her skin, making her knees shiver and almost unlock, and she grabbed the counter momentarily for balance.

Then she turned and met the relentless attack , wrapping her fingers in Tori's brown hair and ducking her head as the smaller woman pressed up against her, losing herself in the intense passion, and letting the complications of her life drop away, fogging her awareness as her heart started pounding.

That must have been why she imagined she lifted Tori up, and carried her to the bedroom, because she knew she wasn't capable of doing that.

Right?