1. Jen's Secret by calalily
2. Chapter 2 by calalily
Jen was sitting at her desk reviewing paperwork when Cynthia walked in holding a beautiful arrangement of orchids.
“Third week in a row, ma’am.” Cynthia commented, setting the arrangement on the corner of the Director’s desk.
Jen just nodded, waiting until Cynthia was once again on the other side of the door before slipping the card out of the envelope. A slow smile spread across her face as she read the message. She held the card close to her chest, looking for the moment like a schoolgirl staring at her flowers.
~*~Flashback~*~
Jen almost panicked when she walked into her office to find Tony holding the card for her flowers. It wasn’t signed and the florist had written the message, but Tony was a skilled investigator. When she called him on it though, he had acted like he was admiring the flowers and the card fell out. Without drawing attention to her previous panic, she had offered Tony his own team in another country. He told her he had to think about it and left her office.
Sitting back, she was thinking of all the changes Tony had gone through since Jethro had left. Her gaze was drawn back to her flowers and that led her mind back to her recent albeit too brief vacation.
~~~
It had surprised her. They both worked in D.C. but she had to go all the way to South Africa to really see him. In their line of work, they saw each other regularly, but that trip had removed her blinders.
He was there for business, she for a much needed break. Chance had it that they were staying in the same hotel. She returned one night from a day of sightseeing at the Lone Creek Falls. As she entered the dining room, she spotted him talking with colleagues. He looked up and smiled. But the time she was seated, he had excused himself from his group.
“May I join you?” he asked and she assented.
Dinner passed quickly, yet they lingered, sharing stories of their travels and the places they’d seen. Chance stepped in again as his conference ended earlier than expected. She invited him to share the next day with her on the Forest Falls Nature Walk to view Forest Falls and he agreed.
~*~End Flashback~*~
Jen was still holding the card when her phone rang reminding her of the videoconference she had in MTAC. Getting back into business mode, she put the card away and went to her meeting.
He was sitting at his desk staring blankly at the report he needed to complete. The flowers would have been delivered by now. It was truly amazing to him how they had connected by running into each other in South Africa.
~*~Flashback~*~
He was bored with this year’s conference. That in itself was odd. He loved to learn new techniques and methods so these conferences were usually a gold mine. This year’s was just tedious and repetitive. It was a relief when the speaker announced an early end to the meetings.
At dinner that evening, he had been discussing an early departure when a familiar red head caught his eye. He watched her be seated and excused himself to ask if he could join her for dinner.
The talked for hours, not noticing the passing of the time until the staff started their closing activities. Deciding whether or not to join her the next day on the Forest Falls Nature Walk was easy. She was intelligent, beautiful and a great listener. They spent an easy day with each other and both were reluctant to give it up.
~~~
Returning home was bittersweet as it meant a return to their normal lives. He never believed she would agree to secret, secluded dates where no one would know who they were. Her acceptance of a clandestine relationship surprised and delighted him.
~*~End Flashback~*~
Tonight marked their fourth date since their return from South Africa. His attention was drawn back to his work when the doors slid open and young Mr. Palmer spoke.
“If you don’t need me Dr. Mallard, I’ll be leaving now.”
“That’s fine, Jimmy. I’m almost finished as well.” Ducky said.
As his assistant left, Ducky turned off his desk lamp. He was going to meet Jen for dinner and he refused to be late.
~The End~
~Calalily