CHAPTER 47

FAMILY ISSUES

Dianna knew that Jason was still tangled with her body before she even opened her eyes, because of his warmth. No wonder he was always wearing t-shirts and shorts, the guy was really hot, in both senses of the word. But she didn't mind that, at all, and opened a smile when she saw he had pushed their blanket down. She barely remembered when she took her meds at 4AM, but she probably took them, because Jason would make sure she took them. She smiled because she was finally knowing what it was to be taken care of, after a long time.

Dianna was always independent, and loved it, but she noticed the difference between being independent and having no one to rely on, in case bad things happened, when her mother died. Even when she was living in another city in Uruguay, and when she took courses in the U.S., she always talked to her mom on the phone, or through texts, or emails; and when she got sick and passed away, that link was gone. Her father was very attentive, but he had his own things and new wife and life soon enough, and her brother too. Men usually were soon taken care of by women, and it was good for them, but Dianna just kept taking care of herself, and hardly trusted anyone to truly open up.

As soon as she met Jason, even before having anything with him, or even before she had a crush on him, she felt that he was probably the most reliable guy that she met. And it was refreshing for her. She trusted him to make good decisions and to be there, for his team, family, friends and for her, even when they had a fight. She trusted him with her life, so much that when she was with the VSP she actually felt bad for him, because she knew he was probably going insane trying to find them and rescue them. He wouldn't give up.

But at the same time that she liked to be with Jason, she also liked that he was someone who had his own things, friends, life, and a great job to focus on. She didn't want him to be attached to her, because she also didn't want to just be attached to him. They were individuals, before they were a couple, and she loved that he wasn't clingy or needy.

"You awake?" Jason's husky voice suddenly pulled Dianna away from her thoughts, and she realized she was smirking and slightly, consciously or unconsciously, grazing her butt against his core.

"Kind of" she answered, smiling, because she knew what was coming next.

His hand slowly made its way inside her panties, and the other one was already cupping her breast. She closed her eyes, feeling him push her panties down.

"How awake are you?" he said, more huskily than ever, right in her ear, and she shuddered and squirmed.

"Very" she guaranteed, moving her right hand behind to touch him, but he held it with his hand, surprising her.

"No" he whispered to her again, and started to massage between her legs, with his entire hand, "Just stand still".

Dianna was confused, but she kept quiet, completely embraced by him, and he just kept rubbing his hand lazily between her legs and gasping and moaning in her ear, and soon enough she was shivering and gasping.

"Are you always like this, huh?" Jason suddenly asked, with a husky voice, in her ear, grazing his stubble on her neck.

Dianna shuddered, hard, and squirmed. "Like what" she asked, trying to focus.

He pressed his hand harder and pulled her closer to him, and she felt a bulge on her lower back.

"So willing" he said, after a pause. "Thirsty" he added, and she swallowed hard. "I felt you rubbing on me this morning, Dianna" he said, dangerously, in her ear, and she moaned because he pressed harder between her legs, moving faster.

"I'm not" she closed her eyes, trying to focus, but now he pressed his hand harder and breathed in her ear, and she was close to her climax, "I'm not thirsty" she tried, completely aware that she was being very thirsty with Jason lately.

"I'm not complaining" he assured her, in her ear, "I just want you to relax and come for me. Can you?"

"God" she stuttered, and he gasped in her ear, making her squirm again and move against his hand.

"Say my name Dianna. Say it, and I'll make you come", he said, huskily than ever, and Dianna was squirming in agony already.

"Jason" she said, with a shaky voice, and he moved slower.

"Louder, Dianna" he said louder in her ear, breathing hard, and she loudly said his name again.

"Yes" Jason said, gasping in her ear, and moved his hand faster and harder, and Dianna came, hard, shutting her eyes. When she opened them, Jason had already rolled her on the bed and was on top of her, joyfully smiling.

"I'll fuck you now, is that ok?" he said as soon as she opened her eyes, and waited until she nodded, lost and blushed, to push into her.

Jason was catching his breath, happy, with his fingers buried in Dianna's thigh, his face buried on her neck. He looked at her blushed face, and felt she was still shivering a little, because he made her loudly come again, after keeping his face next to her ear. He playfully smiled at her, because he confirmed what he suspected: Dianna really liked the sound of his voice. He knew his voice was nice, but not that he had the power to do that. Of course, his hand helped him the first time, but he didn't even need to move it that much; he noticed Dianna shivering and squirming whenever he said something in her ear. He decided he would call her or send her audios more often, and not just text her.

"You hungry?" he joyfully asked and rolled over, while Dianna was still recuperating from her pleasurable torture. "I'm famished" he said, sincerely, and checked his phone.

"Oh" Dianna finally came out of her haze, blinking, "I have brunch with Davis this morning". She said, sitting on the bed and quickly standing up with the blanket around her. She usually covered her body, especially during the day, even though Jason already knew all of her almost by heart. "Oh" Dianna felt her legs weak and sat back down on the edge of the bed, avoiding eye contact with Jason.

He chuckled. "Yeah. I know. I can open the water for the bathtub if you want to" he said, cocky. But she had no choice, and muttered to him "Ok. Thank you".

He smiled at her and took his phone while he walked to the bathroom, calling Emma, but she didn't answer him. So he sent her an audio, asking if she'd like to have brunch with him that morning, just the two of them, because Dianna had an appointment.

"Is it ok if I shower while the bathtub fills up?" Jason asked, to save time, and Dianna nodded, while she separated some jewelry. He came closer from behind her and saw the pretty small box she kept over her chest of drawers, hand painted. He never noticed it was where she kept her jewelry. He immediately turned grumpy.

"Is this the box that Nick gave you for your birthday?" he pointed, standing next to her.

She smiled at him. "Yes. Pretty, right?"

He grunted, then watched her taking her rose gold ring from inside of the box. "Pretty ring" he cockily said, smirking and playfully looking at her, and she shyly smiled.

His phone buzzed, and Emma texted him back saying that she didn't know if she'd have time for brunch, she was still tired from the party. But she'd let him know. He decided to go to his apartment and talk to Emma anyways, because he wanted to know if something happened, maybe related to her college.

"Hey Davis, Dianna is coming down in a sec" Jason casually opened Dianna's front door, letting Davis inside. He glanced at her and noticed she was very chic that morning, and since he was in a great mood, he decided to compliment her, for once. "Your hair looks really nice" he said sincerely.

Davis slightly smiled. "Yeah, I decided to wash my hair at the salon yesterday morning" she casually said, but Jason noticed her cut on the cheek was far from her hair, but maybe she had a problem with her stitches too, so he kept quiet.

"Hey, Davis. Sorry to keep you waiting" Dianna walked down the stairs and hugged Davis, then walked to Jason with her phone in hands, frowning. "Hey, tell Emma to tag me on her photos. I know I only took photos from a distance, because of my face, but I'd like to have them on my phone".

Jason shrugged. "Don't know the difference, but sure" he said sincerely. He didn't know much about tagging someone in a photo or how to download it on his phone. "I'll go get Emma at my place, talk to you later then". He gave Dianna a quick kiss on the lips and waved to Davis, walking to his car.

"Oh wait" Dianna loudly called him from the front door, "you should take a house key in case we're not back yet". He nodded, walking to the door, and waited for her to get an extra key.

"Hello Mr. Hayes", Ms. Lewis appeared on Dianna's sidewalk, with a lady friend of hers next to her. Jason turned and they were already coming closer to him, walking on the parkway.

"Oh, good morning Ms. Lewis. Ma'am" he nodded to her friend, and they both opened a wide smile, glancing at each other after checking him out, from head to toe. Lingering on his chest and package, he noticed. He felt like a big piece of meat.

"Quite a party you guys had yesterday, huh. It sounded like you were having a blast" Ms. Lewis told him, with a husky voice, standing next to his car. The other woman seemed to be younger than her.

"Oh" he said, embarrassed, "I'm sorry if we were loud. And if the music was too loud. Our friend Sonny just has to listen to country music while he grills".

Ms. Lewis and her friend chuckled. "Oh, come on. Don't worry about that. We also like to gather our friends every once in a while. And your friends seem very fun" she said, and she and her friend looked at each other, smirking.

Jason swallowed hard, only imagining what they heard from what they talked in the backyard. Probably not everything, but he remembered that there were moments where the guys yelled about intimate things. A lot. "I'm sorry anyways. It won't happen again. I'll ask my friends to keep it quiet next time, promise".

Ms. Lewis chuckled again, and came even closer to Jason, standing not even five feet from him. "Oh, now come on, Mr. Hayes. Maybe you're not the best person to tell your friends to be more quiet, huh. And neither is Ms. Veiler". And she blinked, making Jason blush and stare at her, with his mouth open. He watched the ladies walk away, glancing at him, and he knew Dianna would kill him if she found out.

"What did they want?" Dianna suddenly asked, from her front door, grumpy. She was caressing her hair.

After quickly escaping from Dianna's promise of terrible death, since it was him who left the glass door open when they loudly fucked the other day, Jason arrived at his apartment, noticing an open window. Emma was obviously still there, maybe recovering from the party, so he softly knocked on his front door when coming in. "Hey Emma, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Dad" Emma said, from the kitchen. She was fully clothed and looking well. "What are you doing here?"

"Well" he got inside, noticing that Emma looked anxious and annoyed, with her arms crossed. "I came to check on you. You said you were tired and had a headache, but I was worried. I mean, you left the barbecue quite suddenly".

Emma grunted, and took her bag from the floor and placed it on top of the bed, putting some clothes in it. "Yes, I was. But I'm a little better".

"Oh. Ok then. Do you have to go back to New York now? Even if you're not ok for brunch, I wanted to see if I can buy the flight tickets for Thursday night, if that's ok with you. Since you usually have online classes on Fridays".

Emma stopped to think, but didn't turn to look at Jason. "I don't know if I'll be able to go, dad. I think I won't", she bluntly said.

"Really?" he came closer, disappointed. "Are you sure? And what if we go on Friday night? The birthday is Saturday anyways. We maybe could stay until Monday-"

"I won't go, dad" Emma suddenly turned, annoyed, and Jason was caught off guard because she had tears in her eyes.

"Why? What happened?" he came closer to her, concerned.

Emma shook her head, defiant. "What do you mean, what happened? I'm sorry, but did you really expect me to go to the birthday of the father of the new woman you've been dating for five minutes?", she gestured with her arms.

Jason had no reaction. "What? You know it's not like that. I told you, we were kind of together months ago-"

"Yes. You were" Emma crossed her arms again. "Then she left, and you complained to everyone how inconsiderate it was of her to leave the team suddenly, like that. I remember. I attended those barbecues, dad".

Jason swallowed. "I know I said some things about her, but I was angry. And as you know, she left for training. I didn't know that back then".

Emma nodded, sarcastically. "Yes. Sure. Then she just came back and a day later you broke up with Natalie, huh. Your official girlfriend for a month and a half", she said, angry. Jason blinked, because he actually thought that he was officially dating Natalie for longer than that. The boring days seemed to pass by slower, apparently. No wonder HR made fun of him.

"Well, like I said, I had issues with Natalie before that, and for your information, yes, when Dianna came back and I found out she was away training, my feelings for her reappeared. But I definitely broke up with Natalie because of our own issues, ok" he explained, annoyed because Emma was meddling into his business a lot more than a daughter should meddle.

"Oh, so you admit that you had feelings for her when she came back? And nothing happened until you broke up with Natalie?" Emma said sarcastically, and defiant.

"Emma" Jason alerted her, coming closer, "I really don't need to tell you anything about my relationships. And obviously nothing happened between me and Dianna until after Natalie and I broke up".

"Oh, sure" Emma raised her voice, "because she's just a saint, and you're a faithful guy, huh, dad".

Jason was shivering, "What? What the hell are you implying?"

Emma came closer to him, now with tears rolling down her face. She looked furious. "Did you really think that I wouldn't figure it out, huh? That you had something with Dianna when mom was alive?"

Jason was shocked, and was completely confused. "What are you talking about? You know I didn't even know Dianna until months ago".

Emma turned her back to him and crossed her arms again, shaking her head. "And you just happen to know her co-worker?" she said, now with a low voice. "Ralph?"

"Yes" Jason nodded, indignant, "I only talked to him on the phone. I talked to him months ago, about the case she had, like I told you".

Emma turned again to face him. "I don't believe you, dad. Or her. She was working right here close to you, in DC, with a guy you knew very well, apparently, and then she happened to come to work with your team after mom died? And like weeks later she's already close to you, taking rides here and there, sleeping at our house" she pointed at her face, livid, "and you say you didn't know her before that?"

Jason was furious, but since Emma wasn't believing that he didn't know Dianna before, he took a different approach. "I never cheated on your mom. And we were separated for months before she passed away. Actually, she filed for divorce months before she died" he said, trying to remain calm.

Emma nodded. "Ok. True. Maybe you were already separated from mom when you met Dianna-"

"I didn't know Dianna when your mom was alive, goddamn it" Jason raised his voice.

Emma gestured, not believing it, "Even separated from mom, dad. Mom loved you. She thought you loved her. She told you, and us, over and over, that all she wanted was for you to be there, present, when you were with your family. Like Ray is" she said, and tears rolled down her face. "She would've tried again, if you gave her the chance. She thought you were thinking about Bravo, but you were obviously thinking about her".

Jason shook his head, hurt by Emma's words, also because they were partially true.

"Your mom knew what was our problem. Yes, I could never open up to her, and had my mind on Bravo when I was here, and she just accepted part of me in her life. She had no space for Bravo One, too" he came closer to Emma. "But Emma. What happened between me and your mom has nothing to do with Dianna. I swear. I didn't know her back then, and I didn't cheat on Natalie with her".

Emma shook her head, taking a step back. "No, dad. I don't believe you. Because how can you be like this, all relaxed and open, with someone you've just been with for days, weeks? And with us, and mom, you were all closed up? For years" she sniffed, cleaning her nose on the sleeve, and Jason felt awful.

"I swear, Emma. I think maybe because she works with me, I don't know" he tried to explain.

Emma shook her head. "I don't trust her, dad. I still can't believe you broke up with Natalie, who really adored you, to be with her. And Natalie didn't work with you, and you were both doing great together. How can you know if you and Dianna would work out if you couldn't share classified information with her, huh?"

She took her bag on the bed, and walked to the door. "I know that what goes on between a couple, between you and mom, is none of my business. But you were also distant from me and Mikey, dad. Not just mom. And you know what, it's my right to not like your new girlfriend. I don't really know her, I don't trust her, and I'd like to keep my distance from her".

Emma walked out the door, shutting it loudly behind her.

And Jason was too hurt by her mistrust, and too shocked by her words, to go after her.

Dianna was savoring her eggs benedict, but watching attentively as Davis pretty much stared at her own scrambled eggs.

"You okay?" Dianna asked, concerned.

Davis sighed, finally taking a bite of the eggs. "Jason said my hair looks good".

Dianna swallowed. "It does".

Davis looked away. "Did you try to shower? Could you?"

"No. I haven't tried yet" Dianna admitted, not wanting to talk about Jason's inability to tie her hair up. "I took only baths, because of my cut. But I can't drink water, still. I mean, I haven't tried to drink water yet. Don't want to taste it".

Davis sighed, she looked defeated. "It's been less than a week of this, and I'm already sick of it. Of not being able to take one simple fucking shower. It takes forever to fill my tub, Dianna, it's huge" she said, annoyed.

Dianna chuckled, teasing, "It is enormous. But you said that the jets are amazing".

Davis finally opened a smile. "True. At least I get to feel relaxed everyday", she said, sarcastically.

Dianna put her fork down. "There's no time or right way, Davis. I told you. Maybe I can shower normally, just like you can drink water. I mean, who cares. It's our brains defending themselves. The Navy will make you see a shrink to evaluate you anyways, and the CIA will do the same to me too, so just go there and unwind. It won't kill you. Maybe talking will help".

Davis looked at her, and shrugged. "Maybe. I just hate feeling this vulnerable about stupid things, all the time" she admitted, and came closer. "And it kills me how much it bothers Sonny".

Dianna gave her a crooked smile. "So, he's there, huh? Helping out" she teased.

"He is" Davis opened a wide naughty smile. "That helps, sure". They both laughed.

Davis glanced at Dianna. "How's married life treating you?"

Dianna squirmed. "What do you mean? He's there to help me out too. You know I have to have someone with me".

"Hey, I'm not saying anything. I just like that he feels that comfortable in your house and everything. It's nice to watch him this relaxed" she smiled at Dianna, who shyly smiled back. "And apparently Emma really likes you too. So, well, one more obstacle down, right?"

Dianna shrugged, timid. "I guess. It's all been really nice, to be honest" she admitted, and Davis kept staring at her, with a naughty look, so Dianna decided to change the subject.

"I think I found the dress for my dad's birthday party. It's cold there now, so I have to wear sleeves. Maybe even something with fake fur, too. I feel the cold a lot".

Davis got interested. "Oh, true. I have an amazing blue dress with sleeves. I'll wear that, I think. What's the color of the one you'll buy?"

"Light blue, almost gray. A pale color" she casually said, and didn't like Davis' reaction. "Why, what's the matter?"

"Isn't the party going to be at night? Won't that color wash you out?" she said, sincere.

Dianna sighed. "I know you're honest with your words, but I really like the dress. It's different, and it doesn't wash me out" she mocked. "I'll buy it. I'm tired of wearing black, red and dark green for parties".

"Oh" Davis swallowed her egg, with her eyes widened, "you'd look amazing in red or green".

Jason sat on the bed of his apartment completely lost. He didn't understand how Emma could pretend to like Dianna so much in a minute, and hate her the next. He knew it was unfair of her to dislike Dianna, especially because she didn't do the things that Emma said she did, but still, Emma was right, and if she didn't like her, he couldn't force her. He knew he'd have to deal with that situation once Emma got back to VA Beach again, but that was something that he never expected. And he knew it would break Dianna's heart if she found out that Emma hated her that much.

He didn't want to go to Dianna's place because he knew he'd have to lie to her, or at least omit some things, so he decided to change clothes and go for a run, maybe near the beach.

As he ran on the sidewalk, on that hot sunny day, he kept thinking that it was too weird how Emma's opinion seemed to change all of a sudden, and he had a feeling that Natalie might have something to do with it. It was Sunday and she wouldn't be at the Base, and he wasn't in a mood to face her after what she did to him, but he just couldn't wait to find out if she had something to do with Emma's change of heart, so he ran to her house, in hopes of finding her there.

It wasn't too far away to his place, and he saw her car at the front of her house, so he knocked on her door, already angry.

"Jason" Natalie opened the door, stern, looking victorious for some reason, which made Jason even angrier, but he tried to keep it cool. "What do you want?"

"I want my blue shirt back" he started, to have an excuse besides Emma, "and anything else you might have with you that I never allowed you to keep in here" he gestured, pointing to the ground.

She looked around him. "Are you going to take your stuff with you on foot?"

Jason stared, in disbelief. "Yes. How much stuff is there?"

Natalie's face twitched. Obviously she found it odd that he didn't know what she had that was his. She opened the door to him, resigned. "Come in. Wait in the living room".

He got inside and felt incredibly awkward. He wasn't really used to her place, because for some reason she was always staying at his apartment, even though her house was a lot bigger. He couldn't help but to compare this cold and sterile house to Dianna's cozy one. Natalie had contemporary décor with dark and black furniture, all expensive and good taste, all boring and without character. Even the art pieces lacked soul. He waited next to the gray sofa, with his arms crossed.

She came back with a box that was obviously already ready for when he'd pick it up. It wasn't as big as the box where he put her stuff in, but big enough to surprise him.

"What the hell is in here?" he asked, not expecting an answer, and looked inside. There was his blue shirt, a couple of t-shirts, a puffy jacket, a pair of sneakers, a pair of sweatpants, even a bottle of whiskey. He looked at her, surprised and annoyed. "When the hell did I leave this here?"

She pointed with her chin. "Some things you left when you stayed here or passed by. Or forgot at my office. Others I took from the laundry. The whiskey I bought for you when you said you liked this one, remember" she opened a slight smile, but he kept staring at her. He knew he definitely didn't forget a pair of his sneakers there.

"Why didn't you just return them to me then?" he didn't understand why she kept taking his things and hiding them there.

She came closer to him, with hopeful eyes. "Because, Jason. We shared a life together. I knew maybe you'd need these things later on, when you'd stay here again. What's the matter with that, huh?"

He stared, perplexed, because obviously she took their relationship a lot more seriously than he did. "We didn't share a life together, Natalie. We were dating for less than two months, officially".

"Yes" she nodded, and came even closer, "But we saw each other all the time. I was always staying at your place, when you weren't with the guys or on ops".

"That doesn't mean anything" he tried, but realized that it did mean something. It meant that even seeing her many times during the week, she didn't make him feel comfortable enough to share almost anything with her, but he decided to keep quiet. He'd leave that discussion for another day.

"How could it not? I hung out with your friends, I met your kids, I talked to Emma all the time" she said, and he took the opportunity to get to the point. He put the box to the side.

"Yes. You did. Apparently, you still talk to her, huh" he said, dangerously. He noticed how her face looked offended, but he wasn't buying it anymore. "Maybe you shared a thing or two on your thoughts about Dianna?"

Natalie snorted, sarcastic. "Please. Emma asked me about her, and truth be told, I didn't say much. Just what I knew. That you probably cheated on me with her" she admitted, surprising him, and continued coming closer, "But to be honest, I told her that we had an argument, and that if you cheated on me, it was between you and me. And to be more honest, I also told Emma that the person that I had a problem, if you cheated on me, was you, and not her", she finished, surprising him completely.

"I don't believe you for a second" he said, annoyed.

"But you better believe, Jason. I'm not the type of woman that keeps blaming other women for the guy's mistake. If Emma thought something about Dianna, it's her idea, not mine. I didn't defend her, obviously, because I don't like her, just like she doesn't like me. But it's your problem to deal with, not mine". She walked to her door, and opened it, not hiding her happiness about his problems. "I really hope we can maintain a professional respect at the Base. You know I just want what's best for you".

Jason was gobsmacked because he couldn't believe how well she could pretend to be a victim. He kept reminding himself that she took notes from his sessions with his therapist, but if he didn't know that, listening to her, he couldn't even believe that was possible. So he walked to the door, because he knew that she would never admit to anything, even though she sounded honest about what she talked to Emma about.

"I don't need this shit" he said, taking the whiskey out of the box and placing it on a table, but his clothes he didn't want anywhere near her. He quickly left and walked around the block, before calling an uber to his apartment.

Dianna glanced to the sky and saw it was about to rain, a storm seemed to be approaching, and she thought it was weird that Jason didn't answer her latest texts. He said he'd go for a quick run and soon arrive at her place, but nothing more. She sighed, thinking that maybe he forgot his phone at his apartment. She checked the Instagram to see if Emma posted something with him, maybe about a place they went for brunch, but she couldn't find her account.

"Hey, I need to go to that drugstore real quick. I'll be back here ok" Davis said to Dianna, but Dianna shook her head.

"No, you know what, you can go home. Jason told me that he'd go for a run, so surely he's taking a shower and will be here soon. You can go".

"No, I don't think it's safe" Davis said, concerned, "What if you get dizzy or something? Or need the second hand" she joked.

Dianna chuckled. "I'm good, I told you. I'm not going to eat anything, and I don't take those heavy meds during the day, so honestly, I assure you, you can go back to your place, ok?"

Davis shrugged. "Ok. But if anything happens, call me and I'll come back ok?"

Dianna nodded and smiled, gesturing for her to go, so as soon as Davis got out, she turned her attention to the Instagram again.

Jason got into his apartment just in time, before the first drops of rain fell, and he got inside with his things, placing the box on the floor. He quickly showered and changed, and took extra clothes to Dianna's place, even though she didn't ask him to be there during the week. But she still needed help with some things. He read her latest text but since he was already going back to her place, he didn't think he needed to answer, so he got in his car with his things and drove there, under the heavy rain. He drove around her block once, to prepare himself to talk to her about Emma, not sure if he'd omit too much or just a few things, then he pulled to her driveway. He took his bag and ran inside, opening the front door with his key.

He called her when he came inside, but she didn't answer, and he didn't see Davis anywhere too. He thought maybe they went some place else, and he looked at the rain and thought that it wasn't a day to spend walking or driving around, but he shrugged. He grabbed a beer on the kitchen, nervous about what he'd tell Dianna about Emma.

He was looking at his phone when his alarm for Dianna's meds buzzed, and he knew that she'd receive the alarm too if she was with Davis, so he turned off his alarm. But he heard a distant sound of her alarm, and walked around the house, looking for her phone, annoyed that maybe she left it in the house. He found the phone on the console table, over the papers, and turned it off, then he felt a slight breeze. The glass door was slightly open, which was weird, because Dianna was a security freak and would never leave the house and leave the glass door open, or even unlocked, even if it was a sunny day.

His heart started to race, finally realizing something was wrong, and that maybe she fell or something, so he looked for her downstairs and couldn't find her. He then ran up the stairs, worried that maybe she fell, alone, and noticed the bathroom door closed.

"Dianna" he knocked and called her, loudly.

"Yes?" Dianna answered on the other side, and Jason breathed, relieved. "I'll be out in a second".

"That's ok" he said, catching his breath, "I called you before and you didn't answer, and saw your phone. I thought maybe you fell or something".

Dianna opened the door, in her robe and drying her hair a little with a towel.

"Oh, sorry. I went outside to gather the grilling kit we forgot, and ended up getting a lot wetter than I calculated" she said, smiling. "I really didn't hear you". She walked by him, and went to her bedside table to take her meds, then to her closet. "You arrived just in time to help me put on some dry clothes" she said.

"Great" he opened a wide naughty smile and came closer, making her laugh.

She put her bra on the bed with some sweatpants and a top, and Dianna noticed his change in demeanor as he waited for her to pick the clothes, seated on the bed.

"Something wrong? Did something happen to Emma?" she asked, looking at him.

He swallowed hard, and stood up, taking her bra and closing it for her on her back. He grazed his fingers on her back and neck, thinking, and she shivered. "No, she's ok. She was just a little tired from her party" he started to lie immediately, and mentally kicked himself, but he didn't know what else to do.

Dianna kept quiet for a few seconds, then asked, "So, did she say if she liked our barbecue?"

"U-hum, yeah" Jason continued to lie through his teeth. He knew Dianna would eventually find out the truth, but he didn't want to give her more sad news when she was already recovering from a kidnapping, torture and a wounded shoulder. "She thanked you again".

Dianna nodded, and watched as Jason gently passed her injured arm through a bra strap. She was really good at her job, so she knew he was lying to her, especially because he was terrible at it. And Dianna had a pretty good idea about what happened. She fought her curiosity and the urge to interrogate him to find out the truth. Because this time, she was really afraid of it.

So, when Jason silently took her sweatpants to help her put them on, she stopped him, touching his arm.

"I changed my mind" she said, swallowing hard, while looking up at his confused face, "This is the perfect day to stay cozy in bed. I think you should undress me".

Jason opened a wide and cute smile, melting her completely, and slowly kissed her, not hesitating for a second to undo his recent job, quickly opening her bra.

Dianna felt his kisses on her neck and collarbone, and his hands already all over her body. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind from her worries about what she found out that day, and what it could mean for her and Jason.

For once, she wanted to know what people meant when they said that 'ignorance is a bliss'.

.