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It might have taken two years of working in Corpus Christi but Kristen was finally used to the Texas climate, to say nothing of working as a field agent, conducting interrogations and successfully getting people to talk. Working as an analyst had been one thing, but there was something even more satisfying about physically chasing down leads that she worked up, to say nothing of the feeling that came with closing a case, knowing she’d made a real difference.
It only took one name to bring her back down to Earth with a jolt.
She and her partner, a ten year veteran named Andy Connolly, had been chasing down a particular drug ring for months, had put more hours than she could possibly count, certainly than they’d been paid for, into the case. They’d managed to bring one low level henchman, or so they thought, in for questioning, but Jake Chadwick, an even more recent New York transplant than Kristen herself, was not in the mood to give them anything.
Apart from a name. “Hell no, I won’t talk to you,” he declared eventually. “Only Fed I’ll talk to is Jubal Valentine. You get him here, we’ll talk.”
The name sent an electric charge running through Kristen’s body and she stood, jerking her head towards the door. Andy followed her out, frown lines etched deep on his forehead. “What’s that all about?” he asked. “Who the hell is Jubal Valentine?”
“My ASAC when I worked in the New York Field Office.” Two years she’d been working with Andy and it was the first time she’d seen him look taken aback. It was nice to see that it could happen. Also nice to see that she wasn’t alone in her surprise.
“That’s a coincidence.” Andy was given to understatement. “What’s he like? We looking at a dirty agent here?”
“No.” Kristen didn’t even have to think about that. “No.” She shook her head. “Jubal’s a good agent, a good man... whatever link he has with Chadwick, it’s nothing like that.”
Andy didn’t question her, just nodded. After two years working together, he trusted her instincts. “All right then. Let’s take this to the boss. See what he says.”
When their boss, Paul Carter, heard Jubal’s name, his reaction was not the same as Andy’s . Instead, he frowned. “Jubal Valentine....” He rolled the name around in his mouth. “You think we can get a lead out of this guy?”
Kristen and Andy exchanged a look. “It seems like our best chance,” Andy said but Carter didn’t look impressed.
“Connolly, give us the room.” It wasn’t a request and Kristen felt herself stand up a little straighter. Andy shot her a look that plainly informed her she’d be hearing about this later, then turned smartly on his heel, closing the door behind him.
“Sir?” Kristen joined her hands behind her back, surprised to find them trembling.
“Jubal Valentine was your ASAC in New York.” Carter didn’t wait for her to reply. “When was the last time you saw him?”
Kristen tilted her head, considering, but didn’t see a trap anywhere. “About six months ago when I went home for a visit,” she answered. “Some of the team I used to work with met up for dinner. He was there.” She didn’t mention that Jubal had sat beside her at the long table, that he’d stuck close to her side all night when they’d moved on to a bar for drinks. She certainly didn’t mention the amount of low key flirting that had gone on between the two of them, which apparently, in the next day words of Maggie Bell, had been an epic amount. She definitely didn’t mention the fact that she’d had a thing for Jubal ever since she’d been working for him, or that that night, for the first time, she’d let herself wonder if the feeling might be mutual.
“And I don’t suppose he mentioned that he and I used to work together?”
Kristen felt her jaw drop. “No, Sir, he didn’t.”
“Back then... he had a pretty serious drinking problem.” Carter spoke slowly, carefully. “I only say this, you understand, because if there’s a possibility that he’s somehow involved...”
“No.” Kristen had never interrupted her boss before. “Jubal is sober now... and even if he weren’t, he’s not a dirty agent. I would stake my reputation on that.”
Carter lifted one eyebrow and she realised she just had. “Well, looks like we’re going to find out. Let me call the Director... get Valentine out here.”
Kristen hoped that the skip of her heart wasn’t audible and she ducked her head to hide her smile as Carter waved his hand in dismissal.
Apparently when he heard the name Jake Chadwick, Jubal was only too eager to help and Carter had him on a flight out as soon as he could. Possibly not soon enough - he wouldn’t get to Corpus until the early hours of the next day - so Kristen and Andy did all they could and then headed home for the evening.
And if Kristen gave herself a mini spa treatment before she went to bed? Well that was no-one’s business but hers.
She arrived at the office bright and early the next morning, having taken slightly more care with hair and makeup than she normally would have. Not too much though - she worked in an office of trained investigators and it didn’t do to be too obvious. She stowed her purse under her desk - not her usual bag of choice, it wouldn’t fit in her desk drawer - and turned on her computer, set about reading emails and setting up searches, all with one eye on the door.
She sensed him before she saw him, before Carter called her and Andy into his office. He and Jubal were standing in the doorway and Jubal was looking right at her. His face was impassive, neutral almost, save for the tiniest of ticks at the corners of his mouth, almost as if he was fighting off a grin. Kristen didn’t even bother to fight her smile, let it flash across her face before tampering it down as she stood and crossed the room. She didn't take her eyes off his as she walked, taking in his appearance. He hadn’t changed much in two years, or six months. Slightly more grey around the temples, definitely a touch more in the beard. But he evidently still favoured button down shirts, rolled up to the elbows, this one a pleasing shade of royal blue that, surprisingly enough, formed part of the pattern in the blouse that Kristen had picked out that morning.
Kristen was not given to thinking of things as signs, but the thought did cross her mind.
Andy let her go into the office first and Carter didn’t waste any time with the introductions. “Connolly, Valentine; Valentine, Connolly.” The two men shook hands. “I believe you know Agent Chazal.”
“Little bit.” Jubal’s eyes were warm. “Hey you.” Somehow she wasn’t surprised when he offered her a hug and she didn’t think twice about returning it. It was kept brief though, probably out of deference to where they were, but it wasn’t so brief that she didn’t get a whiff of his cologne. The scent was familiar from all the times he’d leaned over her shoulder when she was an analyst and a wave of homesickness - as well as something else - swept over her.
She was proud that her voice stayed steady when she stepped back. “Good to see you, Jubal.”
Carter definitely wasn’t one for pleasantries. “Now we’ve got the introductions out of the way - what can you tell us about Jake Chadwick?”
It turned out that Jubal knew plenty about him. Jake was a contact from one of his undercover days, a low level druggie that Jubal had flipped to be a confidential informant. He’d got clean, turned his life around and the last Jubal had heard of him, he’d been working in Queens, all legal and above board.
“I don’t know what he’s doing here,” he concluded. “But I can get him to talk.”
Carter didn’t need to hear any more than that and Jubal and Andy went to the interrogation room to conduct the interview while Kristen watched from the other side of the one way viewing window. Which she was fine with - junior agent wouldn’t get the interview over the senior agent and besides, sitting so close to Jubal? She knew it would play hell with her concentration. Even watching him was doing that. About halfway through the interview, Carter came in to observe. He didn’t say anything, just stood beside Kristen, silently watching but she could feel the judgement rolling off him in waves.
Then it happened.
Chadwick said something that had Jubal straightening up in his seat almost imperceptibly. Kristen noticed it right away, ran the statement back in her head and realised exactly what it was that had struck a chord with Jubal. She grinned to herself, hightailing out of the observation room to her desk where she grabbed her tablet and returned immediately, tapping keys as she walked.
“What did I miss?” Carter asked her, just as on the other side of the screen, Jubal stood.
“Why don’t we take a break? I’ll see if I can find you some soda.”
“Whiskey would be better,” grumbled Chadwick but Jubal didn’t react, just walked out and straight into the observation room.
Andy followed hot on his heels, an angry frown on his face. “Giving up so soon?” he demanded.
Jubal ignored him, grinning when he saw the tablet in Kristen’s hand. “You catch that?” he asked but it wasn’t really a question from him, more a statement.
“Oh yeah.” Kristen grinned, pressed a few more buttons and then passed him over the tablet. “Presto.”
Jubal skimmed the information before looking back up at her. “Still a miracle worker I see.”
“Are you two ever gonna speak in complete sentences?” Andy sounded exasperated.
Jubal turned the tablet around so that Andy and Carter could see it. “We’ve just established a link between Chadwick and the Cortez cabal.”
Carter blinked. “They’re the largest gang operating in Corpus at the moment. You’re telling me we’ve got someone who can turn on them?”
“Maybe.” Jubal shrugged. “Give me five minutes and some soda, I’ll go at him again.” He glanced across at Kristen. “Good catch.”
She didn’t look at the next part of the interrogation, sat instead at her desk and worked on shoring up the lead that she and Jubal had found. The first she knew that they’d done what they needed to do was when Carter came over to her. “You were right about Valentine,” he said and she looked up, surprised. In her experience, Carter didn’t like to admit that he might have been wrong. “He’s not the same agent I remember. And right now, he’s in there getting Chadwick to sing like a canary.”
Kristen leaned back in her seat, resolutely not saying “I told you so.” “Good,” was all she said instead but there might have been something of the other in her expression. Carter didn’t say it if there was, just jerked his chin towards her screen.
“Let me know what you work up.”
By the time Kristen had everything ready to show him, Andy and Jubal were out of the interrogation room, Jubal going to Carter’s office, Andy coming over to sit at his desk beside Kristen’s. “I’ve got to hand it to Jubal,” he said. “With what Chadwick’s giving us, we’ve got a lot of bad guys to chase down... this is major.” He tilted his head then, frowned. “Even if you guys did have that freaky telepathy thing going on.”
Kristen laughed. It wouldn’t have been the first time someone said that to her. “We worked together for a long time,” she reminded him. “We got a good verbal shorthand going.”
“Guy’s not even asking for credit.” Andy sounded amazed. “When’s the last time you heard that?” He stood up then and Kristen looked over her shoulder to see Jubal coming towards them. “Hey, man, thanks again for your help.”
“No problem.” Jubal shook his hand and then Andy looked between the two of them, then, not so subtly, down at his watch.
“Well, I’m gonna make tracks... I might actually make story time tonight.”
He didn’t make any further comment, just grabbed his jacket and left, leaving Kristen to explain. “He has a four year old at home.”
“Ah... I remember those days.” A fond smile lit up his face, but only for a moment. Then he turned more serious. “It was good working with you again... even if it was only for today.”
“Yeah.” Kristen crossed her arms over her chest, the reminder of his imminent departure making her shiver. “It was.”
“So...” Jubal tapped his fingers against the desk. “I know it’s short notice... but I don’t suppose you’d like to grab dinner? Show me the sights?”
Kristen didn’t try to hide her smile, or tone it down in the slightest. “I know just the place.”
Jubal didn’t have a rental car so Kristen drove, the conversation flowing easily between them as she navigated the downtown streets. In what she took to be another good sign, she found a parking space not far from the restaurant so she and Jubal didn’t have far to walk. He opened the restaurant door for her, his hand ghosting along the small of her back as she walked past him and it reminded her of the many little touches he used to bestow upon her back when they were working together. Now, as then, goosebumps rose up on her skin and she was glad her jacket covered the evidence of how he affected her.
They were seated near the back at a table for two, the lights low and a tea light candle in between them, and Jubal tilted his head and frowned just a little when the waiter took their drink order and Kristen, like him, stuck to water. “You don’t have to-” he began, but Kristen shook her head.
“I don’t like drinking when I have to drive,” she said, which happened to be the truth, if not quite all of it. “Besides, knowing my luck, Carter’s going to call and I’ll end up having to go back there.”
“Well, let’s hope not.” Jubal echoed her sentiments exactly. “Now, if I know you, Miss Chazal, you have five million questions about what you’ve missed in New York since you were last there...” He made a motion with his hands. “Hit me.”
Laughing, Kristen obliged and just like in the car, just like always, they spoke easily, never running out of things to talk about. It was the nicest meal that Kristen had had in a long time.
“So,” Jubal said after the plates for their main course had been cleared away. “I have something to tell you." His voice was low as he scooted forward slightly, leaning in towards her. He pressed his lips into a thin line, which usually meant he had something to say but wasn't sure how it was going to be received. But his eyes were sparkling, so whatever it was, he considered it good news.
"Go on," Kristin said, intrigued, leaning forward and mimicking his posture.
Jubal's eyes moved left and right, as if he was afraid someone was going to overhear them. "You didn't hear it from me... but Isobel's been promoted. She's going to be the new ADIC."
Kristen's eyes widened but she was smiling too. "That's fantastic," she said warmly. She'd never worked with Isobel but from what she'd heard from OA and Maggie, to say nothing of Jubal himself, the woman was tough but fair, easy to work for. Compared to their current ADIC... well, Kristen and several others were of the opinion that the popular way of pronouncing his title was dead on the money. Then something else occurred to her. "Wait... so who's getting the corner office?"
His eyes seemed to take on an extra twinkle, his lips twitching like he was fighting back a smile. She made the obvious leap.
"You?"
He nodded, looking pleased with himself. "Me." He shrugged. "I haven't told anyone yet... I can't until all the paperwork is signed off... but I just... I couldn't not tell you."
There was a lot to unpack in those few words, but Kristen pushed that aside for the moment. "Congratulations." She reached across the table, laid a hand on his arm. His skin was warm under her palm. "They chose the right person." Another shrug but he looked even more pleased with himself. Like her opinion mattered to him. "And since we're sharing secrets..."
He tilted his head. "Oh?"
"You're not the only one who's going to be starting a new job soon."
Jubal's eyes widened, some of the sparkle leaving them. "You are?"
"Mm-hmm." Her hand was still on his arm, her thumb stroked up and down. "A place came up in Counter Terrorism... I start next month."
The words hung in the air between them for a long moment and she knew the second that they landed with Jubal because she felt goosebumps erupt under her palm. "Counter Terrorism?" He narrowed his eyes and she could actually see him working out the distribution of various FBI units. "Does Corpus Christi have a Counter Terrorism Unit?"
“No.” Kristen shook her head slowly, keeping her face blank with difficulty. "But New York does."
"New York?" Jubal blinked rapidly, saying the words slowly, like he was afraid he was getting this wrong. "You're... you’re coming home?"
"Yep." She popped the "p" at the end for emphasis, trying not to show how her heart was speeding up at his reaction, at the smile that was threatening to break his face wide open. "Another month and I'm back, trying to find an apartment and move all my stuff into it." She didn't have to pretend to shudder; that was the one part of the whole thing that she wasn't looking forward to.
Jubal's eyes fell on her hand, still resting on his arm, then he looked back up at her, his eyes serious all of a sudden. "And will you be moving back... alone?" he asked, enough of an emphasis on the final word for her to know what he was really asking her.
She nodded, not even trying to fight the grin that was spreading across her face. Slowly, the smile he’d been fighting spread across his face to match it, his eyes dancing in the dim light of the restaurant. "Just me and my plants," she said, dimly wondering if those plants were even still alive. When had she last watered them again?
"Single woman in the city... watch out New York."
He was teasing her but she shrugged, taking a deep breath as she prepared to jump off a metaphorical cliff. Flirting was one thing. This was something else. "I don't know... you know what the job is like. And Counter Terrorism? Long unsociable hours, being on call at a moment’s notice, possibly lots of travelling... it's gonna be pretty hard to find a guy who'll put up with all that."
Again, the words hung between them for what seemed like a very long time but in reality could only have been seconds. Then Jubal spoke. "I'd say you're worth waiting around for," he said, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers up and down her spine, a rush of heat pooling low in her stomach.
And when he laid his hand over hers, the feeling only intensified.
Jubal tilted his head. "You want to get out of here?"
Kristen didn't have to think about her answer. "Yes."
He paid the bill, despite her efforts to at least go halves, his hand warm on the small of her back as they walked out onto the street. They took a couple of steps away from the restaurant, then Jubal looked around, as if trying to get his bearings.
Kristen had been living in the city for two years now; still she knew exactly how he felt.
"You want to get a drink?" Jubal asked, gesturing with one hand. "My hotel's right down the str-" He stopped, pressed his lips together. "I didn't mean that-"
"I know." She stepped closer to him, laid one hand on his chest, right over his heart.
Jubal frowned, obviously confused. It wasn't an expression she was used to seeing on him and she found it endearing. Adorable, actually. "You know?"
"I know you didn't mean it like that." Her other hand came to rest on his chest too and she tilted her head back to look into his eyes. "And I know where your hotel is."
He blinked a couple of times as the pieces fell into place. "You knew where I was staying?" She nodded and he looked up at the sign above the restaurant. "You suggested this place."
"I did." She held his gaze for a long moment before closing any distance between them, pressing her body against his, knowing that she was about to change everything between them, definitively, irrevocably. His eyes flickered down to her lips then back up and she lifted herself up on her tiptoes, whispered, "Ask me to stay."
He didn't ask her to stay.
He kissed her instead, and once his lips met hers, electricity lighting up her body, she knew there was no way she'd be going home. Especially not when he deepened the kiss with a groan, his tongue tracing the line of her lower lip, requesting entrance, his arms sliding around her waist, holding her like he never wanted to let her go. Her own hands weren't idle either, winding around his neck, tangling in his hair and they were both breathing hard when he broke the kiss, trailing his lips across her cheek, her neck, anywhere he could reach. "Stay," he whispered between kisses. "Tonight, forever, I don't care."
She huffed out a breathless laugh, closed her eyes and committed those words, this feeling, to memory.
Then she stepped back, lacing her fingers through his. "Hotel," she said firmly. "Now."
They walked hand in hand but behaved themselves in public and by the time they got to Jubal’s room, she was beginning to think she might have been a little forward. That idea lasted for as long as it took Jubal to close the door behind them. Pulling her against him, he backed her up against the door, held her arms above her head and kissed her until she was gasping for breath. Only then did he drop down to his knees in front of her, a devilish smile on his face and proceed to make her lose her mind.
She came back to herself slowly, knees and hands shaking, laid a hand on his cheek and sucked in a shuddering breath. “Oh my god,” she whispered and he grinned as he stood, scooping her up into his arms.
“I haven’t even started,” he promised, laying her down on the bed and kissing her again. Clothes were removed with slow and thorough precision - apart from the one button of his that went flying across the room when it was a little too resistant for her tastes - and she came once again on his fingers before he finally gave into her whispered pleas and slipped inside her. She whimpered at the sensation and he clenched his jaw, braced himself above her and moved slowly, agonisingly slowly, until he found the spot that made her arch against him and gasp his name. She barely had time to register the flash of something like victory on his face before he moved again and then there was only sensation and emotion as the world shattered around her.
Much much later, she found herself lying with her head on Jubal’s shoulder, her heartbeat slowly returning to normal as he traced a lazy path up and down her spine with his index finger. “You okay there?” Jubal’s voice seemed to come from very far away and when she shifted just enough so that she could look up at him, the expression on his face could only be described as smug.
“You have ruined me for all other men,” she told him, a statement which increased the level of smugness on his face but which happened to be true.
“That was kind of the idea.” He sounded amused as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, let his hand linger on her cheek. “I have to do something to convince you to keep me around.”
Kristen’s eyebrows shoot up at that. “Apart from the fact that I’ve wanted this to happen for years?” Which probably wasn’t the done thing to say, she realised, but considering she’d just screamed her throat raw with his name, she thought she was past the point of playing hard to get. He looked genuinely surprised and she continued, a laugh in her voice, “What, you never realised I had a huge crush on you all the time we were working together?” He shook his head, genuine amazement in his eyes. “It wasn’t my fault... the way you’d walk around the JOC, giving orders, completely in control...” She couldn’t help it, even now the memory made her shiver. He saw that and his eyes darkened. They darkened even more as she shifted her weight so that she could push up against his chest, sitting up and straddling him. His hands landed on her hips, fingers flexing, and she grinned as she ran her hands up his arms. “And then you’d roll your sleeves up and I’d wonder what those arms would feel like around me...”
One hand skimmed up her side. “You don’t have to wonder any more.” His voice was rough but she couldn’t see his face because his hand had reached her chest and her eyes fluttered shut. “But you weren’t the only one, you know... I’d watch you work magic on that tablet of yours, making something out of nothing, blowing us all away... and I knew, every day, you were way out of my league.”
His hands hadn’t stopped moving and Kristen arched her back, biting her lip against a moan. She was breathless when she said, “So you’re telling me we could have been doing this way before now?”
“Well...” He laced their hands together as she rocked against him, his own voice sounding strained. “Let’s make up for lost time.”
Kristen didn't argue.
It was long past midnight by the time they both fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms, her head pillowed on his chest. She slept deeply, peacefully, waking to the sensation of a warm body at her back, of lips trailing down her neck, a hand sliding down her side, gently yet with unmistakable intent. She smiled to herself, shifting just enough that she could turn and look over her shoulder at him. There was no trace of sleepiness in his expression, so she guessed he’d been awake for some time and his quiet, “Good morning, sleepyhead,” seemed to bear that out.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked, rolling over properly and bringing her hand to the back of his neck, letting it tangle through his hair.
He grinned. “I figured I’d let you sleep a little... thought I might have tired you out last night.” She chuckled at that but when his lips resumed their path along her neck and continued downwards, it very much wasn’t a laughing matter any more.
They made love slowly, unhurriedly, as if they had all the time in the world, even though they both knew that the opposite was true. Even afterwards, they kissed for what seemed like hours until Kristen’s head was spinning. Still, Jubal was the one who pulled back first, looking down at her with a frown. “What time do you need to leave at?” She frowned at the question and he clarified, “I doubt you can wear yesterday’s clothes into the office.”
Kristen pressed her lips together, looked at a spot over his shoulder. “I have a spare blouse in my purse,” she admitted and she felt him go very still. Knowing what she was about to confess, she took a deep breath before she continued, “And underwear. And makeup. Basically everything I need to make myself presentable.” She met his eyes then, gave a little shrug. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that I was carrying a purse that could fit a small planet?”
“I thought it was some Texas fashion thing.” Jubal shook his head slowly as if he still couldn’t believe it, even though she thought they’d covered this the previous evening. “You planned for this?”
“Hoped,” was all she could cop to. She turned her head then, glanced at the clock on the bedside table. “But it does mean we have another hour before I need to start getting ready.” She affected an exaggeratedly thoughtful look. “Whatever shall we do?”
Jubal’s smile was slow, lazy, but no less stirring for that. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something,” he murmured before he kissed her again.
As it turned out, they lost track of time and showering together wasn’t the time saver that they imagined that it might be. But they managed to get themselves together enough that Kristen would still be at the office in time, with Jubal figuring that he’d stop off somewhere and get them some takeout coffee. “God knows we need it,” he said as he pulled her in for another kiss.
For once, she kept it brief and not because she’d just touched up her lipstick. “If you keep kissing me,” she said, her fingers playing with the buttons of his new shirt, “we’ll never get out of here.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” His lips twitched but he stepped back, putting some distance between them but still holding her hand. “I have to leave this afternoon,” he said, a simple truth that made her throat tighten. “But I take it that I wouldn’t be out of line if I asked you to dinner when you get back to New York?”
This time, it was Kristen who answered him with a kiss.
And when they were reunited in New York, she did it again.