Waking up in an airport is no fun.

Four

It was mostly dark, when a disturbing dream brought Tori out of her restless sleep, one hand reaching out automatically for something that wasn't there. Someone, she exhaled, her fingers trailing along the leather surface of the couch. Her body felt sore, and she realized it was the tension that had locked her muscles into rigid fear during their flight.

She lifted her head and peered around in the dim light, letting her eyes touch the sleeping lumps of her fellow travelers, some of whom were rattling the cups behind the bar with vibrant snores. Her time sense was telling her it was morning, though, her body was so used to waking before dawn that she found it annoyingly hard to sleep in even when she could.

Not that it was comfortable enough in the lounge to sleep in, but she didn't have Jade poking her in the ribs to coax her out of bed, either. Tori smiled to herself, thinking about the new game they'd been playing in the morning, shower dancing. Jade had gotten one of those in the shower radios, and they'd both discovered the music did a good job of waking them up and, occasionally, making them late for their morning run. Tori chuckled to herself. Once, late for work itself, something that had them both mildly mortified as they strolled through the lobby collecting knowing stares. Cringy… she knows but hell.. It was fun.Oh well.

Tori stifled a yawn, then crawled out from under her blanket and rummaged in her pack, pulling out her small case of toiletries and tucking them under her arm along with a change of clothes.. She trudged into the restroom, letting the heavy door swing shut behind her, and regarded her reflection.

"Uck." She stuck her tongue out at the rumpled figure glaring back at her. "Sleep in your clothes much,Tor?" Her jacket slid off, and she hung it over the door frame, then she untucked her shirt from her jeans and pulled it off, shivering as the cool air raised goosebumps across her bare skin.

"Bet we don't get hot water." She turned on the faucet, and was pleasantly surprised. "Ooo… glad I was wrong about that." She took out her soap and scrubbed her face and upper body, then used the small towel she always packed to dry herself off. She gave her hair a quick wash, then ran a brush through it's shortened length. "There." Tori smiled at the wet reflection. "Now you look human."

She brushed her teeth, giggling at the grape toothpaste Jade must have slipped into her bag, and trying not to swallow it. The horror of the day before had faded, and as she put her things away, and straightened, she felt her usual sense of self confidence returning, along with her appetite. "Hm... I wonder if they have Cinnabons here." Her plan of action decided on, she changed into the folded clothes she'd brought, tucking her underwear into the pockets of the jeans she removed and rolling them, and her shirt, into a neat little ball. Then she resumed her leather jacket, and proceeded out into the lounge again.

Everyone was stirring, and they'd turned the lights up. Tori was glad she'd gotten in and out early, as a stream of grumpy looking bodies moved towards the bathrooms, and two clerks appeared, carrying paperwork and a tray of fruit. "Fruit." Tori knelt beside her bag and put her things away. "What do they think we are, monkeys?"

Josh had been rubbing his eyes, and now he laughed. "You sound like my little brother." He teased her. "And I figured you for a health food nut when you got on the plane, too."

Tori grinned back. "Not me.. not for breakfast, that's for sure. I need a good dose of protein, and a little carbs or my body just doesn't behave at all." She stood up and stretched, then glanced around. "Bet the concourse has something along those lines."

"They're probably fighting to feed all the folks stuck here." Josh commented. "Let me go fight for a…um.."

"Urinal? Spot on the floor? Tree?" Tori's face crinkled into a smile as she watched him turn red. "I've got cousins… boys are kinda gross but a lot of fun." She sat down on the arm of the couch. "Go on... I've got to tell my people I'm not where I'm supposed to be." Josh left, and she keyed in the code for her voice mail, which her phone told her there were several of. The first two she deleted half heard, having already taken care of the problem they reported. The third she listened to, then rekeyed and listened again. It was from Jade, and the voice sounded uncharacteristically hesitant. She checked the time, and realized it must have been left while she was in the air. "Hm… she didn't mention anything when we talked.. wonder what that was all about. Guess it wasn't that important."

Nothing else was urgent, and she dialed the Madison office. "Hi, Clarice.. yeah, it's Tori. Listen, I'm stuck." Tori told the voice that answered.

"Yes, we got that message… your office is already trying to get you out of there, but it's not looking too good." The regional coordinator answered briskly. "I think I've managed to put the crisis on hold for Thanksgiving , though. We figure we'll pick up after the weekend, and by then, you should be able to get out here."

Tori sighed. "Yeah."

"Don't sound so excited." Clarice remarked dryly. "I wouldn't be asking for your help if I didn't really need it."

"No.. it's not that, Clar.. sorry." Tori told her. "It's just this was my first Thanksgiving…well, anyway. There'll be a lot more. It was just bad timing."

"Sorry.. didn't think you had family out there, Tori. My apologies." The woman responded. "I always think of you Ops people as..er…"

"Living under our desks on pizza and Jolt, right?"

"Well.."

Tori laughed. "It's okay.. some of us do. I'm just not one of them. I like my traditional comforts… but anyway, I'll see you out there on Monday, bright and early."

"Looking forward to meeting you, Tori. You're great to work with." Clarice complimented her. "Good luck on your flight."

"Thanks." Tori closed the phone, and looked up as Josh returned. "Ready to go find breakfast?" She stood, and they walked towards the door, opening it and edging out into the terminal. It was if anything, more packed than it had been the night before, and tempers were definitely on edge. Tori could see a blanket of snow through the window, and her heart sank a little as she realized she was likely to be stuck over the holiday . "Yuck."

"Double yuck." Josh agreed. "Do you know what this terminal looks like?"

Tori's eyes suddenly caught a motion to her left, and she swung her head that way, her eyes fastening immediately on the doorway leading into the main part of the concourse. She took a breath. Then a second. "Heaven."

"What?" Josh stared at her.

"Heaven." Tori felt her face tense into a smile, as she broke into a run and dodged through the milling crowds, ending up leaping into the arms of a waiting Jade, who had just cleared the threshold. "Eauuerrgggggg….." She buried her face in the paler woman's neck and wiggled like a puppy.

"Boy." Jade engulfed her in a hug. "That was worth traveling all night for."

"Oohhhhh…. " Tori inhaled, then sighed. "I am so glad to see you, I can't even begin to describe it."

"Me too." Jade murmured. "I mean... you know what I mean."

Tori grinned. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She finally released her partner, and leaned back to gaze up, seeing very tired blue eyes looking back at her. "You look like heck." She could see the lines of tension across Jade's face. "You didn't drive here, did you?"

"Ever see the movie Trains, Planes and Automobiles?" Jade joked faintly. "That's what my night's been like." She glanced past Tori. "You had breakfast?"

"Nuh huh." Tori took her hand and tugged. "C'mon and meet my friend Josh. I found him on the airplane, we almost crashed together, and now I'm recruiting him for WesTrek." She led Jade back to where the very puzzled Josh was still standing and gave him a happy smile as they drew near.

"I take it you guys know each other." Josh drawled seriously. "Or else you're just a real friendly kind of person, Miz Tori."

She laughed. "Well, I am pretty friendly most of the time, but yes, we do know each other. Josh, this is my boss, Jade West."

His eyes flicked to Jade, then to her, then back to Jade. "Oh. Wow. I think I'm going to love working for this company." He burbled. "You're not 'the' Jade West, are you?"

A smile tugged one side of Jade's mouth up. "I'm the only one I know."

"Your design for aircraft navigation matrices were a core component of my senior engineering and applications class." Josh told her. "I never thought I'd actually meet you. In fact, I thought you were probably retired already." He rubbed his eyes, and giggled. "I wonder if the professor who used to swoon over your code knows you're a woman? He hates them."

Jade laughed. "Tell me his name. I'll send him a note."

Tori relaxed, having detected signs her sometimes prickly wife approved of her new friend. "Why were they studying Jade's program?" She asked, as she nudged them both towards the doorway to the concourse.

"Because it was perfect." Josh told her. "The Prof used it to demonstrate proper coding and documentation, and economy of design.. it was so clean."

"How old were you?" Tori elbowed her wife. "My punky genius." She slipped an arm around Jade's waist, and sighed happily as the taller woman draped her own arm over Tori's shoulders. "Jade was an infant prodigy. She was dissecting Crays in the cradle."

They found a table, miraculously, and Josh gallantly told them to sit while he fought the masses for three portions of eggs and accouterments. Tori watched him plow off, and turned her partner. "Hi there."

Jade took her hands and just held them. "Hi."

"I was going to tell you that you didn't have to come all the way out here, but you know what, Jade?" Tori regarded her. "I wanted you here. I was just about to go find a way to get to New York." She chafed the long fingers gently. "Thank you."

"I couldn't sleep." Jade answered. "I figured you weren't going to get out of here in time to get home for the holiday, and I sure as hell didn't want to be there without you." Jade paused. "So. Here I am." The blue eyes lifted, and took in the crowded, overheated airport. "So, here we are."

"Well." Tori considered the situation. "We don't have to stay here."

"Planes aren't leaving."

"No, I mean.." Tori shifted. "We don't have to stay here in the airport.. we can go into the city, right? I bet it's nice in Chicago for Thanksgiving." She glanced at the window, where the snow was now driving so hard she couldn't see the sadly blanketed 747 that was just outside. "Driving's probably a bad idea.. I'm out of practice, but we can take the trains."

"Trains?" Jade looked interested. "All right. We can do that.. I"ve never spent time in Chicago."

"Me either." Tori smiled. "But it's a lot harder to get lost on the train than in a car, right? It'll be easy."

The tired face opposite her creased into a grin. "Sounds great"

"After you take a nap." Tori put a fingertip on Jade's nose. "I know where there's a leather couch that would just about fit you."

Jade nodded, and exhaled, allowing her body to relax, now that she was here, and the nightmares were behind her.

"Ms. Vega, would you like some ice tea?" The clerk kept her voice down.

"No thanks." Tori smiled at her, glad the lounge had emptied slightly. They'd taken over the couch in the furthest corner of the room, but it was still noisy and only the fact that Jade was completely exhausted was allowing the fairer woman to get some sleep.

She was curled up on the couch, her head in Tori's lap, mostly covered with one of the fluffy blue blankets, with one hand draped over Tori's waist... Tori had an arm circling Jade's shoulders, and she kept up a light, absent stroking on her wife's back. She had absolutely nothing to do while Jade slept, but what could have been a boring time was merely peaceful instead, as she let her thoughts drift and enjoyed the simple warmth of Jade's presence.

Josh had gotten some college buddies of his to pick him up, and promised to keep in touch. He'd stuffed Tori's business card into his pocket without looking at it, and she suspected he was in for a small surprise when he finally did. In the meantime, she amused herself with thinking up interesting things for her and Jade to do in Chicago.

Boating on the lake, unfortunately, was out, unless she wanted to introduce Jade to ice fishing, which she somehow doubted her warm weather sweetheart would really appreciate. They could find a cute little restaurant to have dinner in, though. Tori glanced down as she felt a long exhale warm her leg through the denim. Jade's head slowly turned, a faint hint of the devil evident in the half opened blue eyes. "Don't you get any ideas here in this crowded room, Jade G. West." Tori warned her. The tip of a pink tongue poked out slightly. "Jaderrrr…" An eyebrow twitched slightly, and Jade smiled, then shifted a little to look straight up at her. "Good girl."

Jade's head moved at that, and the white teeth nipped at a very sensitive area very close by. Tori almost let out a yelp that would have woken a dead man twelve feet away, but managed to keep it to a strangled gurgle as she grabbed for Jade's ears. "OooooI'mgonnagetyouforthat."

The teeth reappeared, this time in a smile. "Promise?" Jade inquired, in a low rasp.

"Ye.." Tori cleared her throat as her voice broke, the jolts of sensuality still making her tingle. "Yes.. oh yes, I do indeed promise. You are in such trouble."

"Good." Jade snuggled down contentedly, and nuzzled her leg. "I want to put you in a large Roman tub and fill it with strawberry bubbles and me."

Oh boy. Tori felt her hands move without permission, sensitive fingers finding the warm skin under the fabric of Jade's shirt and stroking softly. She felt another warm breath tickle her between the thighs and only just barely kept herself from leaning over and sucking Jade's ear, peeking out from the disheveled light brown hair. "Honey." She murmured piteously.

Jade chuckled. "Sorry."

"No you're not."

"Neither are you." Jade responded, with a twinkle. "What time is it?"

Tori ran a finger along Jade's jawline, watching the light and shadows slip across her face in sober fascination. Her hand moved up, to trace a dark eyebrow, which lifted as she stroked its fine hairs. "I'm sorry. What did you ask me?"

Jade's lips twitched. "What do you think I just asked you?"

"I have no idea." Tori murmured. "My brain must have slipped south."

Jade's eyes tracked, then lifted, and the eyebrow curved up suggestively. "What was the name of that hotel we were going to again?"

"Fairmont." Tori finally felt her synapses firing. "Um.. and I think we'd better get going, it's kinda late." Her eyes flicked to her watch. "Three o'clock, as a matter of fact."

"Thank you. That's what I asked." Jade rolled onto her back, then sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the couch, resting her elbows on her knees and scrubbing her face with her hands. "Boy, I needed that." She sat back and exhaled. "I don't feel like what my father used to describe as a used cat in a plastic bag anymore."

Tori's face scrunched up. "Ew." She handed Jade the brush from her bag. "You may not feel like a scruffy kitty, but you sure look like one." She watched Jade run the brush through her brown locks, static electricity making the strands crackle and cling to her fingers. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Did you bring a heavy jacket?"

Jade stopped in mid motion. "No. Why?"

"Because we're going out into the Arctic tundra, honey.. you might bump into a polar bear." Tori chuckled. "Of course, neither did I… we're going to have to get a couple before we leave this airport."

So they did. The airport was crowded and full of unhappy people, but most of them were not going near the leather shop near the terminal entrance. "And you need gloves." Tori pulled up the collar on the creamy, tan leather jacket Jade had tried on, with a furry lining and lots of interesting pockets.

"Gloves." Jade mused.

"And a scarf." Tori wrapped a long, bright red piece of wool around her wife's neck.

"Victoria." Jade disentangled herself. "I don't need a scarf."

"All right.. but don't say I didn't warn you." Tori selected a blue scarf for herself, and a pair of warm gloves, and brought them and the chocolate colored leather coat she'd selected to the cash register. "Please put this, and whatever that, sandy haired southern person has on this card." She handed the clerk her credit card. "And if she argues with you, just say I said so, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." The young girl smiled at her and took the card.

Tori looped her shoulder strap over her shoulder and glanced sideways at Jade as they rode the escalator down, watching the bright blue eyes taking in the view of the very crowded main terminal. "Decided to trust me, huh?" She flicked a hand at the red scarf dangling from Jade's neck. "I should have told you to get ear muffs… you'd look really, really cute in ear muffs."

"Don't push your luck, Buckyboo." Jade nudged her shoulder. "Or we'll see what you look like in a pair of those pink bunny ears." A long finger pointed. "Or a cotton tail."

"I'd look really dumb with a tail, Jade." Tori chuckled, and shifted her bag., making ready to step off the escalator and board the next one. Jade lagged behind, and lifted the edge of her coat speculatively.

"Nah.. you'd look cute." Jade patted her on the butt, then caught up and joined her on the next stair down. "Where are these damn trains?"

"Right there." Tori pointed towards the entrance. "C'mon, Buff.. let's get us on an L."

"El?" Jade held the door open, and they entered the train terminal, which echoed with faint, clicking noises that traveled up and down the tracks. "El what? El chupacabra?"

"El as in Elevated, Jade." Tori dug in her pockets for change, only to find long arms surrounding her like an octopus inserting crisp dollar bills into the ticket machine. "Hey."

"You bought me a freaking two hundred dollar coat. I can buy a pair of tickets." Jade enunciated precisely into her ear. "And we're going to wrestle for the hotel bill, Madame."

"No fair. You always beat me in wrestling." Tori complained, taking her ticket. "Can't we play checkers or something?"

"No. You win at that because you constantly distract me." Jade paced down the platform, looking around curiously.

"Not my fault you can't concentrate with peanut butter on your nose." Tori muttered, as she joined her. "Have you ever been on the subway, Jade?"

"Sub? I thought you said this was elevated." An eyebrow arched. The train arrived, and Jade reviewed it dubiously, before entering the car and selecting a seat. "Didn't you?"

"Well." Tori smiled and patted her hand. "Parts of it are."

"And the other parts are underground?" Jade's nostrils flared.

"Mmhm."

"Great."

"Or under the river."

"What!!??"

"It's really snowing hard." Jade had her nose pressed to the train's window, watching the streets slip by, covered in blowing white. "Wow."

Tori extended her legs and crossed them at the ankles, eyeing her wife with an amused grin. "Dixie Cup."

"Yankee." Jade smiled, meeting Tori's eyes in the reflection of the glass. "And you know damn well San Francisco's not part of the South."

"Mm." Tori waggled her hand. "But you grew up in San Diego."

"No." Jade turned around and faced her. "The south west doesn't count."

"But you were born in Alabama."

Jade's brows contracted. "Well, yes."

"There you go, you Southern Belle you." Tori took hold of the strap of her bag. "C'mon.. ours is the next stop." She stood up and held onto the seat as the train rumbled to a halt. They stepped out, and made their way to the door, which Jade reached out and opened.

"Yow." A blast of very cold, very wet air hit them. Jade shut the door at once. "What the hell was that?"

Tori pushed the door open, and tucked her scarf into her jacket. "Winter. C'mon." She latched on to Jade's arm and pulled her through the opening into the snowy weather. "Ugh." Snow immediately got in her eyes, and she threw a hand up, feeling the wet, thick flakes cluster on her skin. "I forgot how much I don't like this."

"Yeah?" Jade had her hands firmly tucked in her pockets, and she was squinting against the snowfall. "Doesn't seem as cold as I thought it would, I.. whoa!" Jade's body jerked as she lost her balance, and started slipping.

Tori grabbed for her, but felt her own footing slip, and before she knew it, the ground was sloping down and she pitched forward, hearing Jade yelp in alarm as the sidewalk came up very fast and very hard. They hit and rolled, slipping down the icy surface until they ended up smack against a bus bench, rapidly collecting a coating of frosty white. "Ow."

Jade scrambled up next to her and sat, ignoring the cold surface as she reached over and patted Tori carefully. "You all right?" She winced as she felt along one arm, where her elbow had taken most of the impact of her fall. "Tor?"

Tori sat up and rubbed her neck. "That wasn't fun." She brushed a coating of snow off her legs. "Did I mention how I never liked snow?" She got to her knees, and carefully stood, holding onto the bench as Jade rose on the other side of her. "Boy, this better be one heck of a hotel on the other end of this walk."

"Hm." Jade wrapped an arm around her and they started off again, walking a lot more carefully this time. It was dark, from the storm, and the street went under another one. They finally spotted the light of the hotel's entrance, and made for it gratefully as the wind tugged them back and forth. "I don't know.." Jade grabbed the door and pulled it open. "I'm beginning to wonder about you northerners."

The door closed behind them, and they entered the hotel lobby, heading across the plush, elegant space towards the front desk. As they reached it, the clerk looked up, and gave them a smile. "Good afternoon."

"Hi." Tori pushed the hood from her jacket back off her face. "I have a reservation under Victoria Vega?"

"Yes, ma'am." The woman pulled up the reservation, and entered some information. "I'll need a cred..oh, thank you." The clerk took the square of plastic helpfully held past Tori's reach by Jade's longer arms and processed it. Then she gave them their key, and wished them a good night.

Jade leaned back against the elevator wall as they traveled upward. "Nice hotel."

"Mm." Tori agreed, waiting for Jade to exit before she followed her off the elevator and down the quiet hallway to their room, which opened obediently and admitted them. "Oo." The room was large, and had a nice, big window in it, giving it an air of spaciousness that was very pleasing to Tori's eyes. The bed was plush, and very comfortable looking, and the room had a couch, and desk, and an interesting looking bathroom.

"Jacuzzi?" Jade asked, as she set their bags down.

"Yeah." Tori grinned. "You know, if I have to be stuck somewhere for Thanksgiving, this isn't a bad place." She leaned against Jade. "And the company's not bad either."

"Hm.." Jade smiled, then sighed, as her cell phone rang. "Yes?"

Alastair's cheerful voice answered. "Hello, Jade. Where the hell are you?"

"Chicago."

There was a moment of puzzled silence. "Chicago? I thought you were going to Madison?"

Tori heard, and shook a finger at her playfully.

"I was. Weather got in the way, now I'm stuck here, no thanks to WesTrek." Jade dredged up a growl. "You owe me."

Alastair sighed. "Sorry about that, Jade. I'll make it up to you. Listen. I'm calling because Bob wont' let me alone until I find out if you're all right. He said you got sick during dinner with him?"

Tori's head cocked in puzzlement.

"I'm fine." Jade answered, shortly. "Must have been something I ate."

"You sure?" Alastair pressed gently. "Bob was pretty concerned."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Came the reply. "Tell him thanks, but it wasn't anything serious."

"Okay." Her boss accepted that. "Glad to hear it… listen, I'm really sorry you got stuck out there, Jade.. is there anything I can do? Some little comfort I can get for you? Are you in a decent hotel, at least?"

Jade glanced around, then relaxed, as Tori leaned against her. "Yeah.. the Fairmont.. and I think I've got everything I need. Thanks, Alastair." She paused. "Have a good Thanksgiving."

Her arms slid around Tori's body, and they rested against each other quietly for a bit. "Were you sick?" Tori finally asked, glancing up. 'What happened..oh, hey.. did that have something to do with that voicemail you left me?"

What on earth could she answer to that? Jade put her phone away, and stripped out of her winter gear, using the act to give herself a moment to think. She found herself wanting to simply forget the whole thing, what was the sense in bringing it up again? It was over. A freak thing. Never happen again.

"Jade?" Tori folded her coat, and laid it over the chair. "You said you wanted to ask me about something weird, was that it?"

It sounded stupid to her, even thinking about it. "No.. well.." Jade dropped into a chair, and exhaled. "It wasn't any big deal, just…"

Tori read the warning signals very evident in her wife's body language, and they puzzled her. "Well, hold on.. I could use some coffee, so let me order some up, and we can talk about it." She paused, watching Jade's face tense. "If you still want to, that is."

Jade sipped the hot coffee, barely tasting the sweetness as it slipped down her throat. Tori hadn't pressed her further after the tray had been delivered, merely giving her a cup and taking her own, then settling into the chair across from her and waiting.

"You don't have to talk about it , Jade." Tori finally said, not quite managing to mask the disappointment in her voice. 'It's okay."

"It's not that I don't want… Tori, you were the first person I thought of after…" Jade got a couple of aborted starts off, then stumbled to a halt. "Shit."

Tori was puzzled. "Okay… I know that, since you called. What on earth was it, Jade? He didn't make a pass at you, did he? I mean, you can handle that, god knows you have to often enough."

"No." Jade put her cup down, and sucked in a deep breath. "I wish it were that. No.. we were having dinner, and in the middle of it, I.." She lifted a hand. "I can't really describe it, Tor. It was like… I don't know, maybe it was something I ate. It felt like the world crashed down on me for a little while."

"Really?" Tori put her coffee aside and got up, walking over to kneel at Jade's side, and let her hands rest on her partner's knee. "Wow.. I know you were really nervous during the presentation.."

"You knew that?"

"Oh, honey… you could see it all over your face." Tori smiled. "So yeah, I did.. maybe it was an aftereffect of that?"

Jade considered the point. "Hm. Maybe." She felt better. "Yeah, I was tied up in knots, I'll admit it… maybe that was it." She felt considerably lighter. "Beats the alternative.. I thought maybe I was going a little crazy.. having an anxiety attack or something." She managed a faint laugh.

Tori folded her fingers around Jade's hand. "I know you've been kinda… I mean, that whole thing in DC was pretty traumatic."

"Yeah." Jade swallowed. "I try not to think about it."

Tori took the next step very carefully. She'd been a little worried about Jade since they'd gotten back, but she'd hoped time would take care of that. Maybe she'd been wrong. "Would you feel better if you talked to someone about that?"

"I thought I was." Jade answered warily.

"Okay." Tori rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand. "I like that. If something bothers you, I want to know… besides you being the love of my life, you're also my best friend, remember that, okay?"

Jade smiled, a little more easily this time. "Likewise." She acknowledged. "You may be right about the conference. I was pretty wound up about that, maybe more than I realized." True. "Anyway, once I got back to the room, it let up for a while, then I was so busy worrying about you, I.. forgot all about it."

"Yeah.. I was pretty tied up in knots myself at that point." Tori confessed. "When we hit that first pocket, I think I was more scared than I'd ever been in my entire life. I remember looking down at my watch, just staring at it, wondering if I'd ever see it change from nine fifteen to nine sixteen."

Jade's brow creased thoughtfully. "Nine fifteen? You sure?"

"Damn sure… those decimals are imprinted on the back of my eyeballs practically." Tori replied. "Why?"

"I'd just looked at the clock in Times Square before that whole thing happened to me. " Jade stated. "It was Ten fifteen… and with the time difference…"

They stared at each other. "Weird." Tori finally muttered. "Well, it must have been a cosmic coincidence, Jade…there's no way you could have known what was going on up in that airplane." She paused. "Is there?"

"No." Her wife replied. "No way.. just one of those things, I guess."

"Yeah."

Tori stood up and circled the chair, leaning against the back and resting her hands on Jade's shoulders. Jade tipped her head back to watch her curiously. "You've never had that happen before, right?" Tori asked.

"Nope." Jade shook her head definitely. "Why?"

"Just curious." Tori murmured. "Anyway… I saw a great restaurant downstairs… They've got singing waiters. Want to give it a try for dinner?"

Jade nibbled Tori's shirt, and tugged the fabric.

"Or, maybe not." Tori leaned over and indulged herself in a kiss. "Maybe we can order in." She felt Jade's hands slip around her, pulling her around the side of the chair and into her wife's lap. 'Oh yeah…" Her body reacted to Jade's touch, powerful even through the thick denim fabric. She knew she had something else she wanted to ask Jade, but what that was..

Escaped her, as Jade undid her belt, and ran curious fingers under her shirt. She undid Jade's buttons and peeled the silk fabric back, dipping her head to nibble the hollow just above her wife's collarbone. "Mmm…" Tori tasted the skin, then caught a fold of it in her teeth, and nibbled upward, feeling Jade's ribs heave under her hands. "God, I love you."

For an instant, Jade paused, then the gentle touch returned, releasing the button on her jeans, and easing them down past her hips. "I love you too." She whispered, right into Tori's mouth, as she eased them both to their feet, turning gracefully as Tori stepped out of her jeans. "You're the most important thing in the world to me."

Tori took a breath. "That's such a nice thing to be." She pressed against Jade's body, moving her hands up the long back and pulling her closer so they were belly to belly as she unhooked Jade's chinos and got them out of the way. "Thank you." She kissed Jade's navel, then worked her way up.

And paused, as her half focused eyes registered a color change in front of her nose. She paused, and pulled her head back, blinking. "Good God, Jade.. what in the hell did you do to yourself?" Tori touched a finger to the ugly bruise that covered her wife's rib cage just under her breasts.

"Huh?" Jade broke off her distracting attack on Tori's ears, and glanced down. "Oh, damn. I forgot."

"Forgot?" Tori shoved her gently backwards, and pushed her down on the bed, then did a very thorough examination of the sprawled form. "That's not from the sidewalk."

"No." Jade pulled her down and kissed her. "I had a little accident on the road on the way here." A nightmare flash of white roads, and skidding tires sent a brief shiver down her spine. "Nothing permanently damaged."

Tori rested her weight on her elbows, their bodies touching, and looked down into Jade's eyes. "When?" She felt Jade's hand slide up over her hip, and had to force herself to remain where she was, instead of lowering herself and falling into the sensual warmth starting to rise around her. "When did it happen, Jade?"

"I don't remember." Jade turned her head and licked Tori's forearm, then nibbled the skin. "Sometime early in the morning.. " Her hands moved up Tori's athletic form and circled her breasts. "Does it matter?"

Did it? Tori knew she had a reason for asking, but the jolts of desire were too distracting, and she gave up worrying about it, leaning into Jade's touch as her head dropped forward to meet the waiting lips. Oh well. She'd remember later.

Maybe.