30R: The Consequences of Head Trauma (3-4/6)
TITLE: The Consequences of Head Trauma
PAIRING: Jack/Liz (30 Rock)
RATING: en.sea.xvii
SPOILERS: 3x01
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone, except for the doctor.
NOTES: So, this is my first J/L piece. I'm not sure if I'm getting it or trying too hard or whatever. This idea struck me while at work a couple of weeks ago and I've been plugging away at it for a little while now. I'm not entirely comfortable in this fandom yet (it's still pretty new to me), but I thought I'd post it anyway and see what you guys think. Constructive criticism would be great, so I can improve :)
Parts 1 & 2 // Parts 3 & 4 // Parts 5 & 6
PART THREE
"Mmmpf."
A very male chuckle vibrated against her very bare back, in the area between her shoulder blades. "Lemon," a man (who sounded remarkably like Jack Donaghy) said, "you were supposed to meet me in the lobby at seven. We had reservations for dinner."
He paused, kissed her back, and resumed speaking. "Of course, finding you in our bed, soft and warm and without clothing, certainly makes up for being stood up."
Liz opened one eye and tried looking at him. However, he was behind her and she was too comfortable to move much. "Jack, what are you talking about?" she asked. Her voice was thick with sleep. She cleared her throat and then asked, "Did I miss the appointment with the lady from the adoption agency?"
"And now it's my turn. What are you talking about?"
"I have---or had---an appointment today."
He nodded. She felt his chin rubbing against her skin. "Yes, you told me you had a doctor's appointment," he told her. "You've been hard to pin down lately. Flighty. Asleep when I come home, already gone when I wake up... and when I ask you to come up to my office for TGS business, you send Pete. Do you remember any of this?"
Liz frowned. "Uh, Jack... I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
"I should be offended. But, it's hard to think properly... your skin's very soft."
She realised, for the first time since waking (even though Jack already commented on her lack of attire), that she was very undressed and between sheets that had an impressively, impossibly high thread count. Her sheets did not feel this soft.
"Did you say 'home?'" she asked.
"That's what we've been calling it for a while now."
His most recent statement caused her to bolt upright, unseating Jack in the process. She looked at him (without her glasses, so he was a little fuzzy) as he settled into a new position and saw that his eyes flicked downwards to her---
"God, Jack, cover your eyes!" she yelped as she yanked the bedding to her collarbone.
"What has gotten into you?" Jack asked. His brow was furrowed and he didn't seem to be scheming at all---he wasn't playing another trick on her like he had done in wardrobe earlier that day. If anything, Liz thought he looked worried. "We've been living together for a year, and believe me when I say there's no inch of you that I haven't seen before."
Jack may have been worried, but Liz was presently panicked.
Living together for a year?
"But... but... a little while ago... I was on my way to my apartment to meet with an adoption---" she broke off and looked around the room. It was a beautiful bedroom, with red walls and mahogany furnishings. She saw two different framed photographs on the bedside table nearest her, both of which were pictures of them; she was in his arms, in both shots, and they were smiling.
To help her process what was happening, she rubbed her hand over her eyes. A flash of bright light caught her attention and when she sought its source, she was shocked to find it was a diamond on her left hand.
Engaged?
"Ohmigod."
"Lemon? What happened? Do I need to call Dr. Spa---"
"I was at work," she interrupted. "You asked me to be your fake date for one of your Republican shindigs because Bianca was going to be there, and I was on my way to... and you messed with me in Wardrobe to prove you were all sexy and stuff and then Tracy spilled bouncy balls and I think I slipped and hit my head---"
"And you don't remember the last year and a half?"
Liz frowned. "Jack, I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't some sort of sham. I mean, two years ago for me, you were telling me that there was no way someone like you would date someone like me, and now we're engaged?"
"Not engaged," he replied. "You asked me to stop using that word because it freaks you out, and because it does---and because I don't want to scare you off---I stopped. We're just 'together.'"
"Jack... are you serious? I mean, I hit my head really hard---"
"Were you drinking? Excessively?"
"It's like---" She paused and sought out a clock. There was one on Jack's bedside table and she could make out the display well enough to tell the time. "---eight o'clock. Have I ever been a heavy drinker before eight?"
He shook his head. "Only if you're with Jenna. Or if you ran into Dennis."
"I don't think either of those happened today."
"Thank God, because the last time, you nearly stabbed that idiot with one of my Montblanc pens."
"Which id---huh?"
He sighed. "I apologise, Lemon, I forgot that you can't remember our life together. You were quite the hellcat that night."
"Jack... no offense, but are you messing with me? Because, you're pretty calm now. And, in Wardrobe, you were pretty convincing, but it turned out to be a rouse of some kind to prove to me that all women everywhere, including me, apparently, want you and I felt kind of like an idiot for being played with, so---"
Liz stopped talking when Jack's fingers connected with that spot on her neck. (He knew about it in that reality, too.) She shivered and sighed, but she tried to keep her reaction to a minimum because it was Jack and she wasn't sure how she felt about him no matter how well he could manipulate her nerve endings.
"I'm not calm on the inside," he admitted. "I'm rather distressed. But, you've stood by me during our time together, so now, it is my turn to support you."
Liz snorted softly. "Don't sound so excited about that," she muttered.
"I remember that night, the date," he told her quietly, changing the subject. "You wore a black dress. You were upset about the adoption agency canceling its appointment with you... I had to keep you away from the champagne all night. To top it all off, Bianca behaved herself, but she wasn't happy."
Liz blushed and looked away. "Is that when you... decided you could like me?"
"Oh, no, it was a sudden realisation before that night. I found that I did like you way back when I was in Washington," he replied. He slid back to the headboard and brought her (and the bedclothes) with him. Once she was carefully tucked against his side, he said, "That was when I decided to 'nut up,' as you like to say, and act on it."
"No regrets?"
He shook his head.
"Even when I have food in my hair?"
He shook his head again. "Oddly enough, I now find that strangely endearing---except when we're in public."
"Well, of course," she said on another little snort. She found it to be a relief that Jack was still himself, and not some strange, carbon copy that had once had a lobotomy.
He rubbed her arms. "Do you think... you might have a concussion?" he asked.
"This is really weird for me," she admitted. "But, I'm not in any pain."
"Not nauseous? Because you were complaining about that yesterday."
Liz silently searched herself for symptoms, but her central nervous system wasn't registering any complaints and her digestive system was fine, albeit a little empty.
"No, I think I'm good."
"Wonderful. I thought maybe eating those cookies Frank made had done something to your---"
"Gross. Frank made cookies?"
He chuckled. "And at last, we're in agreement. You had seemed pretty eager to, ah, chow down yesterday."
"But, Frank... baking?"
"I know, Lemon," he murmured gruffly as he gently squeezed her closer to his body.
When she felt Jack's lips on her bare shoulder, she squirmed---because it felt good and because it wasn't supposed to feel good. He sighed and proceeded to that spot on her neck. He licked and kissed it; she closed her eyes and sighed. He gently bit into it; she struggled to bite back a whimper.
"Jack."
"Yes?"
"I don't remember us being together... maybe we shouldn't... y'know."
Jack laughed---he actually laughed---and Liz briefly wanted to jam her elbow into his gut. She didn't think it was very nice of him to do that (or to try to take advantage of her in her current condition) but she did like how it felt to feel his deep laughter's vibrations traveling through her.
"We've finally gotten you past your dislike of using adult words to describe adult situations," he muttered. "Can't you be more descriptive than 'you know?'"
"Well, that doesn't sound like me," she mumbled. "I bet you're gonna tell me I let you say that you're my lover."
"We've both changed, Lemon."
"And how have you changed, hmm? Do you use the word 'feelings?'"
He brushed his lips over the spot he had bitten minutes ago. She shivered. He smiled; she could feel the expression curving his lips as they pressed into her skin.
"After you finally relented and decided to consummate our relationship, the mystique was gone and you learned all my tricks," he murmured gruffly. The words tickled her ear and traveled through her body, causing her insides to tighten. "I don't mind, because we're still together, you haven't run screaming yet, and we do our best to be creative, but I have to say that the idea of having a second first night together has me particularly intrigued."
Liz looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "It won't be your first night."
"No, so imagine how amazing it will be for you, because I know all of your secrets."
"But, what if I'm boring? Already-discovered territory?"
He kissed her temple. "I have never found you to be a boring land mass. I doubt I ever will."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
She sighed and allowed herself to relax in his arms as she thought about her current situation some more.
They were apparently together. Even though she couldn't remember anything after slipping and hitting her head, it seemed to be very real. She could see her clothes (and the sneakers Jack once deemed 'bi-curious') on the floor by what appeared to be a bathroom. Her cell phone charger was on the vanity table. There was a very fancy humidifier in the corner. The pictures seemed to confirm that they were together and there was no mistaking that rock on her left ring finger for a gumball machine trinket. Plus, once she worked past the initial ohmigod panic of being in a relationship with Jack, she realised that as he held her, she felt safe and comfortable and loved in a way that she was sure didn't lead to noogies or broken televisions.
She was even starting to feel a little guilty that she couldn't remember their relationship.
"What if I never remember?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"We have plenty of time to make new memories. I will commit myself wholeheartedly to the endeavor if you're still up to the task."
She nodded and then willingly---although not without a certain degree of awkwardness---put her hand on his. "Okay. But, can we postpone our second first night?" she asked. "I mean, I'm still sorta processing this, so---"
"Understood and consider it done," he interrupted. "If you like, we can just... talk."
He may have hesitated but he didn't flinch or tense, and that seemed to drive home the point to Liz that he had changed, too. While he wasn't so much a complete skirt-chasing hound dog, he had always seemed to be more interested in the physical than the mental or emotional. He seemed rather comfortable when he made the offer to talk; he hadn't freaked out yet, either, which suggested to Liz that he really cared about her.
"So, we really are together? Don't you find this strange?" she asked.
He chuckled again. Liz squirmed as the sound seemed to travel straight to her abdomen.
"Stop that," she mumbled.
"Never."
Liz peeked up at him, her vision still blurred. "You can't seduce me tonight. I may be suffering from amnesia."
"Sounds like we're in a soap opera."
"Yeah, except people don't actually live the stories."
He rubbed her bare back. "But, we could be. You're a talented writer who works for the hottest comedy show on television, and I'm VP of Television Programming and Microwave Ovens and I've been publicly tapped for Geiss' job. And you've lost your mem---"
"Geiss is awake?"
Jack kissed her shoulder. "Oh, yes. That was the day we kissed for the first time. It was a very special day, Lemon. Geiss called me 'Jackie Boy' from his hospital bed and then we made out in your office."
"Sounds pretty awesome. Bet you spent the day in Erection Cove," she muttered in a wryly amused tone of voice.
He snorted. "You have no idea," he whispered.
Liz laughed and was rewarded with a hug; she was beginning to feel a little bit more relaxed. She wouldn't say it aloud, but Jack was really helping her feel more at ease with her situation. She always had a thing for skinny (or wiry, as Conan had preferred to be called) men who didn't take much very seriously, but she was beginning to wonder if that was all an act to cover up the attraction she must have had to more structurally sound (or bulky, but that word didn't fit Jack at all) men who mostly made her growl and want to tear out her hair.
To test out how it would feel, Liz tried to hug him back---but without relinquishing her sheet, so she only really embraced him with her forearms.
"You can do better than that."
Liz smiled. "Yes, but then the sheet could fall---"
"I promise to behave."
She exhaled slowly and nodded. Slowly, she extended her arms and curved them around his body as she curled into him. Jack adjusted his body, too, and Liz found herself in his lap, wrapped in a sheet, and tucked under his chin and in the circle of his arms.
"Okay," she whispered as she closed her eyes, "this is nice."
Jack inched a little lower against the headboard, curving around Liz slightly. "Yes, it is," he agreed after releasing a contented sigh. "I missed you this week." He brushed his fingers over her spine. "We should get you to a doctor tomorrow, to see why you've lost so much time," he added.
"Not---"
"Alright, alright. I won't call him. You can pick the doctor."
Liz grinned into Jack's chest. "Thank you," she murmured.
Her cellular phone---still playing the 'kill the wabbit' song---interrupted the silence into which they had lapsed. Jack fumbled for the device, caught it on the sixth ring, and, after answering it, handed it over to Liz.
"Who is it?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I'm not a mind reader." He smiled and eased her out of his lap. "But, I will go to the kitchen and see if I can't whip us up some omelets while you take that call."
Liz felt rather playful (or excited at the mention of food), so she grabbed him by his shirt and tugged him down to her level for a quick kiss---their second first kiss.
"Oh. I... maybe I shouldn't have---"
Jack cut her off by kissing her again. "Don't apologise for going after what you want, Lemon," he whispered as he brushed his fingers through her hair. "I'll be in the kitchen. Straight down the hall, a left at the circular foyer. Follow the scent of the food."
She smiled and kissed him one more time before releasing his shirt. She watched him walk out of the room, before applying herself to the incoming phone call.
"Hello?" she said once the device was at her ear. "Liz Lemon speaking."
"Hello, Ms. Lemon, this is Doctor Domicilé speaking," the cool, cultured, and slightly-accented female voice said. "I'm calling you regarding your blood work results. You said you wanted to know as soon as possible---"
"Blood work?" Liz echoed.
The doctor spoke next. "Yes, you had been feeling under the weather but with no outwardly physiological explanation, so I had some blood drawn. You had cancelled your appointment today, so I thought it would be best to call you with the results."
"Oh. Right," Liz said, while hoping she could fake her way through the conversation. "So, what is it? Am I gonna die?"
The other woman chuckled. "Hardly. If anything you're as healthy as a horse, which is good because you're gonna be carrying more weight soon."
"You can predict weight gain?"
"In this case, yes, I can."
Liz frowned. Had she missed that much in the year or so that she lost? "Is it from stress eating?"
"No."
"But, I walk and I work and I chase after my cast and staff which is like running a marathon on the best of days, so---"
"Ms. Lemon, you're having a baby."
Liz stopped short. "Oh. Oh boy."
"Well, it's too early to tell."
"No, I meant 'oh boy,' like an expression of shock." She paused and rubbed her forehead. "Does pregnancy cause memory lapses?"
"Usually when tequila's involved," the doctor replied wryly.
"Not helpful," the brunette muttered under her breath. "Okay," she said after clearing her throat. "Thanks for calling. I'll... I guess I'll make an appointment next week for all the fun stuff that goes with this new development."
"Sounds great. Congratulations!" the doctor exclaimed before ending the call. "Ciao!"
Liz turned off her phone (she didn't want any more unexpected bombshells dropped on her) and tossed it towards the foot of the bed. As she rubbed her temples and tried to relax, she could faintly hear Jack cooking in the kitchen. Food always helped her deal with stress and she quickly devised a plan in which she pretended that she wasn't pregnant for the next few hours and just tried to get used to living with the fiancé that her mind had erased from her memory.
&&&&
PART FOUR
"Was it good?"
Liz looked up from her empty plate and found herself looking into Jack's face. He seemed to be very concerned.
"Oh, yeah. I liked it. Plenty of cheddar... mushrooms, onions... ham... it was great. Much better than what I'd make."
Jack smiled. "I learned very early in our relationship not to let you use my kitchen appliances for anything other than warming your jeans and keeping your pudding snacks at an optimal temperature."
"How... why... I mean... we... you..."
"Lemon, I need to you to stop freaking out."
He reached across the countertop and took her hand in his. "This isn't a dream," he told her. "I know it's scary, but, this has been happening for a while now---even if you can't remember it."
Liz felt her cheeks warming. She didn't know if she was embarrassed (for not remembering) or pleased (that he was touching her) or just so uncomfortable her body didn't know how to react.
The last thing she remembered was rushing out of the office to escape Jack---but also to get to a meeting with the sixth adoption agency that had accepted her initial application (two others refused her applications, mostly because she had sent them during the lawsuit Jenna instigated against Tracy and even she knew that she hadn't presented her best self on paper while all the hoopla of the lawsuit was presented on entertainment news programs).
She had really wanted a baby then, and she still wanted one. She could tell that much underneath all the panic about suddenly finding herself in a world where Jack Donaghy sees her naked on a regular basis because of their alleged feelings for each other.
She was going to have a baby.
She wouldn't need to continue trying to convince an agency that she would be a suitable parent despite her single-mother status, because she was going to have a baby, with a man who was committed to her.
Of course, the man in question had no idea she was pregnant.
She knew she needed to tell him, but she wasn't sure how much more shock Jack's system could handle. She wasn't even sure how well she was handling all the shock.
"Would waffles help?" he asked.
Liz looked up at him again. "You'd make me waffles?"
"If you wanted them." He paused and then added: "Of course, I could go for something spicier. Maybe Thai."
"Thai'd be good," Liz agreed.
Jack kissed her hand and then reached for the phone. She watched him, smiling a little as he found and dialed the number for her favourite restaurant, and she couldn't stop herself from imagining them years from that moment (sitting around the island, trying to decide what to order in between discussing about politics and any GE boardroom gossip Jack decided to share with his wife and child).
As the image faded from her mind, she felt a flash of panic---followed by a wave of happiness that she couldn't fully explain.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jack asked her, shaking her from her thoughts. "I know I ordered your favourites, but, honestly, Lem---"
"I'm pregnant."
When she realised what she had impulsively blurted out, she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
"Elizabeth Odelette Lemon."
"Oh, God... no. How'd you know that?" she asked. "I tried so hard to keep that under wraps. Not even IMDB has my middle name."
"You 'fessed up a few months ago."
"Blerg."
He set the cordless phone handset down upon the counter and walked over to her side of the island.
"It's okay," he assured her, "we'll just find a better name from your family tree to use as a middle name for our child."
"Jack... aren't you freaked out?"
"Are you?"
She blushed more. "A little," she admitted.
"I'm not," he told her as sat down on the stool next to hers. "So, it's okay. I'll be calm enough for both of us."
"Jack!"
"You're really pregnant?"
She nodded. "That call... the doctor... blood test results..." she trailed off and shrugged. "That's probably why I've been so weird lately. I mean, you said I was being weird, so---"
He cut her off with a sound kiss that literally made her toes curl against the very expensive and beautiful tiled floor.
Liz heard herself moaning as she fumbled into kissing him back. His hands crept up her thighs until they reached her hips and then, in an act that made Liz gasp and squeal, he lifted her into his lap so she was straddling him and pressed rather nicely against his upper body.
"Oh, God, Jack... wait, I..." she trailed off as she ended the kiss. "Are we celebrating?"
"That's the general idea, yes," he replied.
She smiled a bit. "So, you're okay with this? Even if I can't remember---"
"As far as we know, this could be a symptom of pregnancy," he interrupted. "And, the idea of my seed in your womb..."
"Oh, yuck."
He smiled more. "Well, I think it is rather exciting. You're going to get round in the good way, and I'm gonna be 'the man' because I knocked you up, and once the morning sickness passes---from what I understand from television and movies---you're going to succumb to hormonal impulses which will render you insatiable."
"You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?" she asked as her fingers found their way into his hair.
Jack nodded and grinned rather boyishly. "You should, too, Lemon," he added, "because you'll be able to eat whatever you want."
"Hmmm... good point."
"And, just so you know, I am not opposed to you kicking Jonathan out of the office and having your way with me any time you want to."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," he replied.
His hands started to move. His left slipped under the back of her t-shirt to caress her skin. His right traveled up to cup the side of one of her breasts.
"And these are going to get bigger, too," he added, smirking.
"Jack, shuddup."
He leaned up and kissed her once, briefly. "Counter or wall?"
"What?"
"We have about thirty or forty minutes before the delivery guy gets here and I think that we should get a jump-start on the celebration."
"But, I... I mean, it's me... and... the bed is much---"
Jack cut her off with a kiss. "Wall, it is, then." He gently slapped his left hand against her ass. "Pants off, Lemon. Hop to it."
"Do I always respond when you do that?" she demanded as she slid out of his lap and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yes."
She arched an eyebrow. "Liar!"
He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I wondered if you'd buy that," he confessed. "It's actually about fifty-fifty, depending on how randy you're feeling."
"Seriously?"
"Yes," he said as he stood up. "You find me rather attractive, and you've done some very adventurous things in order to express that attraction."
"Seriously?" she asked again. "That doesn't sound like me. What have I done?"
"Wearing special underwear with all those laces and snaps that weird you out," he replied, "sex in my town car, role-playing---"
"Role-playing? Now, I know you're making that up."
"I am not," he told her. "To make me feel better about Inauguration, you dressed up like Governor Palin and---"
"Ohmigod," Liz groaned. "Did I do the voice?"
"It was very convincing," Jack replied. He inched closer so their bodies were pressed together. "But, tonight, I just want you. Now. Quickly. Against a wall. And, yes, I'll guide you through it."
"Jack..."
He kissed her once and then said, "If this is all a dream or hallucination---it isn't, but I'll allow you to worry it might be for a little while longer---wouldn't you like to really enjoy it? If it's all in your head, you don't have to worry about me finding out about this secret passion for me that you're harbouring."
"Okay, good point. But, this isn't making me feel that this is real."
"Well, it is, and I think you just need to feel like someone's on your side, and that's what I was trying to be for you."
Liz frowned. "You could just be trying to get laid."
"And if I was a figment of your imagination, it wouldn't matter, would it? You'd be getting all the imagined pleasure and I'd be... well, basically, nothing."
"I see your point," she confessed.
"Excellent."
"So, we're really going to celebrate?"
Jack nodded. "Absolutely, yes. For thirty minutes, then a break for Thai, then more celebrating."
"I like that you've scheduled a food break in there," Liz murmured as she toyed with the buttons on his shirt.
He smirked. "I thought you would."
"Can we catch up on some of the current events that... are not so current... while we eat?"
"Yes, absolutely. I can tell you how your Democrat heroes are failing us."
"Don't make me slap you," she murmured.
"I'd enjoy it," he shot back, teasing her with his hands once they found the hem of her t-shirt. "Go ahead."
She laughed and rested her forehead against his chest. As she caught her breath, she inhaled and found out that she really liked the way he smelled---expensive, clean, and manly, with a hint of something unnameable that made her stomach flip and flop.
Maybe they really were together.
"Are you sure this is... us?"
"Well, I'm here and you're here, so, yes, I'm sure this is us."
She laughed again and then peeked up at him. "You know what I mean," she told him.
"Lemon, let me show you how sure I am," he said.
"Oh boy," she squeaked.
Jack smiled and closed the gap between them for another kiss.
He didn't dive in and initiate an open-mouthed kiss. Instead, he brushed his lips against hers before kissing the corners of her mouth. Liz whimpered (in frustration, because he knew how to draw out the moment entirely too well) and tightened her grip on his shirt.
"Bedroom," Liz whispered.
"Wall."
"But, I don't know---"
"Of course you know how," he said in the patronising voice he had used when they were just friends (except instead of wanting to smack him, she felt like kissing him again), "and I'll remind you how much you like it, too."
"Jack."
"I like how you can inject so many emotions and thoughts into my name," he commented as he put his hands on her hips and kissed her forehead. "No one ever does it quite like you do."
"Uh, thanks?"
He smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. That kiss was much more satisfactory and Liz moved her hands from his shirt to his shoulders to anchor herself as she let herself get swept up in the experience of kissing him.
She had been so wrapped up in the kisses that she hadn't noticed that Jack moved her from the middle of the room to the doorway, and from there to the circular foyer.
"You get better leverage against these walls," he said after they stopped kissing and she looked around while trying to hide her performance anxiety.
"I do?"
"You do. I think it's because they're curved."
"Well... okay." She scrunched up her face and asked, "I'm going to like this, right?"
Jack's chest puffed out a bit as he positioned her between two framed paintings by artists whose names Liz couldn't pronounce. "The last time we did this, you had two orgasms in a row, after the two from foreplay," he said in a voice full of pride (at his performance or her reaction to it, she couldn't tell).
"I can do that?" she asked, amazement overshadowing her discomfort.
"Oh, yes," he assured her. "We don't have that kind of time, but if we really aim for the stars, it could still be spectacular."
"You think?"
"I know."
Liz smiled. "Well, that's the sort of arrogance I like," she commented in a wry tone of voice.
"It's not arrogance, it's certainty."
"I like it even more, then." Her smile faded as she looked around and then back at Jack. Uncertainty was taking over again. "So, how do we do this?"
"You wouldn't be so cute if you weren't serious," he murmured gruffly as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her. "God, you make me nuts sometimes, Lemon."
"Right back atcha," Liz replied as she draped her arms around his shoulders and leaned against him.
It didn't take long for Liz to lose her clothes. She found Jack was very good at keeping her distracted with kissing and touching; she hardly voiced a complaint until his pants and shirt joined her and he was lifting her up into his arms.
"Jack---"
"You're almost there," he interrupted. "And so far, so good, right?"
Liz blushed and nodded. "Yes, but, I just wanted to make sure you're sure you want---"
He had shifted his weight. Being jostled made her afraid that he would drop her so she quickly latched onto him with both her legs and arms.
That move left certain parts of her pressed against his chest, and other certain parts very exposed. Jack slipped his hands down along her thighs before cupping her from behind in such a way that allowed him to tease her with his fingertips; she wriggled in reaction to his teasing, and that made her nipples rub against his chest which only intensified the fire that she was sure had been lit somewhere inside of her.
She hadn't needed much more convincing after that.
It was natural, she thought, to compare him to other partners she had had in her life.
Floyd had been gentle, never pushing her out of her comfort zone but never quite doing anything extraordinary; Dennis hadn't cared about her needs at all (unless food was involved); Conan had written too many songs about their few sexual encounters; Neil insisted on making silent movies of them together (in black and white, with cheerful piano music in the background).
Jack, on the other hand, wouldn't have the time or inclination to make a black and white movie about their screwing in the foyer and she didn't think he would be writing any songs about them.
(She decided those things because they had been deal-breakers in her relationships with Conan and Neil. If she was still with Jack, after more than a year, he couldn't have had annoying habits like those.)
Jack cared about her needs (and seemed to get a lot of satisfaction from making her moan and squirm between him and the wall). He wasn't very gentle (although the way he kissed her neck between thrusts indicated that he could be if they were in a different location and mindset), either, and she was surprised to find out that she liked that about him.
Hell, she was surprised to find out that she liked him in that way.
"What are you thinking about?"
Liz opened her eyes and found Jack staring at her, rather intently.
"What?"
"What's going on in your head? Are you enjoying---"
"Oh, yes. I'm really enjoying this," she admitted as she cupped his face in her hands and leaned back against the wall. "I'm a little surprised, but I think I could get used to this."
He rocked his hips forward and back and the friction of him moving inside of her combined with maintaining eye contact caused her to shudder and sigh.
"Yep, definitely," she whispered.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked.
"Oh, um... just..." she trailed off and moaned because Jack moved his hips again. "Just... that I like this."
"You were comparing me to Floyd and Dennis again, weren't you?"
Liz groaned and dropped her head down. She had aimed for his shoulder but Jack moved and prevented her from doing that. Her forehead was resting against his; their eyes were really close together and normally too much eye contact freaked her out, but she was surprisingly calm.
"You did it the first time we were together, Lemon," he said in a quiet voice. "Am I doing as well as I did that first time?"
Liz rolled her eyes. "You already know you're doing really well, so---mmpf!"
He was surprisingly good and shutting her up with kisses.
After a few minutes, he resumed moving against (and inside) her body. She wasn't thinking about the mechanics of the whole thing and her discomfort of being way outside her range of experience; instead, she found she was very focused on how good it felt.
He had been right. He knew where her hot spots were (she had no idea that she liked to have her earlobe sucked or her nipples rolled between his thumbs and index fingers) and he was having a great time exploiting them.
Her first climax had been a surprise---between thrusts, he had slipped his hand down between them and it had only taken two circles of his fingers before she was yelping and trembling.
Her second climax hadn't been much of a surprise, but it left her feeling as if she had turned to mush. The only thing that confirmed she hadn't liquified was Jack, still buried inside her.
"Liz," he whispered.
"Mmmhmm," she hummed, "I'm still here."
"I'm really close," he croaked.
"Oh... um, okay."
His laugh was brief and breathless. It faded as he pulled out of her body, enough so that just the tip of his erection was still inside of her, and he sighed quietly as his lips sought hers.
Liz yielded to the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders and lightly scratched at the back of his neck, hoping he'd enjoy it.
He did.
He groaned (almost growled) and then thrust back inside her with no warning.
The sensation of being filled again, so quickly, while her hidden muscles were still twitching a little, was almost enough to throw her into another tailspin of sensation, but she managed to hang on in order to return the favours he had given her.
She kissed down his neck and to his lips before leaning back against the wall to watch him (she was curious, although she wouldn't admit it aloud, to see what he looked like when he was in the throes of passion) as he worked himself into a frenzy.
"Li-iz."
The way his voice became raspy and the way it broke over her given name was more than a little sexy. It was even sexier than the way his face flushed and scrunched up before he stiffened and grunted.
Jack sagged forward and dropped his head to her shoulder as he breathed deeply.
"You okay?" Liz asked.
"Very," he whispered. He lifted his head and craned his neck to look at the grandfather clock next to what looked like a closet. "And we still have some time to spare. Excellent."
"God, Jack... I think my nerve endings are all tapped out."
He winced as he pulled out of her body, but he didn't move away to let her down from the wall. "I'm not gonna exploit those nerve endings," he told her, "I thought I'd get creative, though, and---"
"How about after our food break?"
"If you insist."
Liz smiled and kissed him. She still wasn't used to the way his lips felt on hers, but she did like it a lot.
"I do insist," she murmured, "but, just think, Jack---after a break, I'll be very enthusiastic."
"Hmm... yes, I do see your point," he said, conceding the point. He eased away from the wall and helped her unwrap her legs from his waist and settle on the floor. He settled her hands on her ass and pulled her towards him.
"Very well, go get comfortable." He paused and kissed her. "I will go get drinks and wait for the delivery guy."
"Can we eat in bed?"
Jack's lips twitched into a smile. "I assumed that is where we'll be eating," he murmured before kissing her.
"Okay, you're pretty perfect," Liz mumbled before realising she had spoken out loud. She blushed and almost took it back, but Jack kissed her again. "Oh... okay," she breathed, "I'm going to bed."
Jack bent down and picked up her t-shirt. "Here," he said, offering it to her.
"Do I get my shorts, too?"
He shook his head.
She huffed. "Jack!"
"I prefer you don't wear them," he told her as he slipped his pants on. "It will save time later---and drive me crazy."
"Crazy, huh?"
"Completely bonkers."
Liz smiled. "Okay. But, I get covers while I'm eating. I need a little buffer between my food and my---"
"Deal, if you don't say the J-word. It kills my mood."
"You mean the word 'jun---'"
Jack clamped a hand over her mouth.
The buzzer sounded, interrupting their moment. After releasing her mouth and kissing her forehead, Jack left her side to go to the intercom.
He told the doorman to let in the delivery guy, and then he finished dressing. Liz watched him after she tugged her shirt on over her head, and when there was a knock on the door, she kissed him one more time before scurrying down the hall to their bedroom.
She listened to Jack conversing with the man who brought their food, as she tucked herself into bed. She closed her eyes and tucked her face into Jack's pillow; it smelled like him, and she couldn't deny that she was enjoying the way he smelled.
If it was a hallucination, she thought it was a really great one (even if it was a little weird, still, to think of her and Jack in a committed relationship).
And that was the last thought she had before she drifted off to sleep.
PAIRING: Jack/Liz (30 Rock)
RATING: en.sea.xvii
SPOILERS: 3x01
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone, except for the doctor.
NOTES: So, this is my first J/L piece. I'm not sure if I'm getting it or trying too hard or whatever. This idea struck me while at work a couple of weeks ago and I've been plugging away at it for a little while now. I'm not entirely comfortable in this fandom yet (it's still pretty new to me), but I thought I'd post it anyway and see what you guys think. Constructive criticism would be great, so I can improve :)
Parts 1 & 2 // Parts 3 & 4 // Parts 5 & 6
PART THREE
"Mmmpf."
A very male chuckle vibrated against her very bare back, in the area between her shoulder blades. "Lemon," a man (who sounded remarkably like Jack Donaghy) said, "you were supposed to meet me in the lobby at seven. We had reservations for dinner."
He paused, kissed her back, and resumed speaking. "Of course, finding you in our bed, soft and warm and without clothing, certainly makes up for being stood up."
Liz opened one eye and tried looking at him. However, he was behind her and she was too comfortable to move much. "Jack, what are you talking about?" she asked. Her voice was thick with sleep. She cleared her throat and then asked, "Did I miss the appointment with the lady from the adoption agency?"
"And now it's my turn. What are you talking about?"
"I have---or had---an appointment today."
He nodded. She felt his chin rubbing against her skin. "Yes, you told me you had a doctor's appointment," he told her. "You've been hard to pin down lately. Flighty. Asleep when I come home, already gone when I wake up... and when I ask you to come up to my office for TGS business, you send Pete. Do you remember any of this?"
Liz frowned. "Uh, Jack... I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
"I should be offended. But, it's hard to think properly... your skin's very soft."
She realised, for the first time since waking (even though Jack already commented on her lack of attire), that she was very undressed and between sheets that had an impressively, impossibly high thread count. Her sheets did not feel this soft.
"Did you say 'home?'" she asked.
"That's what we've been calling it for a while now."
His most recent statement caused her to bolt upright, unseating Jack in the process. She looked at him (without her glasses, so he was a little fuzzy) as he settled into a new position and saw that his eyes flicked downwards to her---
"God, Jack, cover your eyes!" she yelped as she yanked the bedding to her collarbone.
"What has gotten into you?" Jack asked. His brow was furrowed and he didn't seem to be scheming at all---he wasn't playing another trick on her like he had done in wardrobe earlier that day. If anything, Liz thought he looked worried. "We've been living together for a year, and believe me when I say there's no inch of you that I haven't seen before."
Jack may have been worried, but Liz was presently panicked.
Living together for a year?
"But... but... a little while ago... I was on my way to my apartment to meet with an adoption---" she broke off and looked around the room. It was a beautiful bedroom, with red walls and mahogany furnishings. She saw two different framed photographs on the bedside table nearest her, both of which were pictures of them; she was in his arms, in both shots, and they were smiling.
To help her process what was happening, she rubbed her hand over her eyes. A flash of bright light caught her attention and when she sought its source, she was shocked to find it was a diamond on her left hand.
Engaged?
"Ohmigod."
"Lemon? What happened? Do I need to call Dr. Spa---"
"I was at work," she interrupted. "You asked me to be your fake date for one of your Republican shindigs because Bianca was going to be there, and I was on my way to... and you messed with me in Wardrobe to prove you were all sexy and stuff and then Tracy spilled bouncy balls and I think I slipped and hit my head---"
"And you don't remember the last year and a half?"
Liz frowned. "Jack, I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't some sort of sham. I mean, two years ago for me, you were telling me that there was no way someone like you would date someone like me, and now we're engaged?"
"Not engaged," he replied. "You asked me to stop using that word because it freaks you out, and because it does---and because I don't want to scare you off---I stopped. We're just 'together.'"
"Jack... are you serious? I mean, I hit my head really hard---"
"Were you drinking? Excessively?"
"It's like---" She paused and sought out a clock. There was one on Jack's bedside table and she could make out the display well enough to tell the time. "---eight o'clock. Have I ever been a heavy drinker before eight?"
He shook his head. "Only if you're with Jenna. Or if you ran into Dennis."
"I don't think either of those happened today."
"Thank God, because the last time, you nearly stabbed that idiot with one of my Montblanc pens."
"Which id---huh?"
He sighed. "I apologise, Lemon, I forgot that you can't remember our life together. You were quite the hellcat that night."
"Jack... no offense, but are you messing with me? Because, you're pretty calm now. And, in Wardrobe, you were pretty convincing, but it turned out to be a rouse of some kind to prove to me that all women everywhere, including me, apparently, want you and I felt kind of like an idiot for being played with, so---"
Liz stopped talking when Jack's fingers connected with that spot on her neck. (He knew about it in that reality, too.) She shivered and sighed, but she tried to keep her reaction to a minimum because it was Jack and she wasn't sure how she felt about him no matter how well he could manipulate her nerve endings.
"I'm not calm on the inside," he admitted. "I'm rather distressed. But, you've stood by me during our time together, so now, it is my turn to support you."
Liz snorted softly. "Don't sound so excited about that," she muttered.
"I remember that night, the date," he told her quietly, changing the subject. "You wore a black dress. You were upset about the adoption agency canceling its appointment with you... I had to keep you away from the champagne all night. To top it all off, Bianca behaved herself, but she wasn't happy."
Liz blushed and looked away. "Is that when you... decided you could like me?"
"Oh, no, it was a sudden realisation before that night. I found that I did like you way back when I was in Washington," he replied. He slid back to the headboard and brought her (and the bedclothes) with him. Once she was carefully tucked against his side, he said, "That was when I decided to 'nut up,' as you like to say, and act on it."
"No regrets?"
He shook his head.
"Even when I have food in my hair?"
He shook his head again. "Oddly enough, I now find that strangely endearing---except when we're in public."
"Well, of course," she said on another little snort. She found it to be a relief that Jack was still himself, and not some strange, carbon copy that had once had a lobotomy.
He rubbed her arms. "Do you think... you might have a concussion?" he asked.
"This is really weird for me," she admitted. "But, I'm not in any pain."
"Not nauseous? Because you were complaining about that yesterday."
Liz silently searched herself for symptoms, but her central nervous system wasn't registering any complaints and her digestive system was fine, albeit a little empty.
"No, I think I'm good."
"Wonderful. I thought maybe eating those cookies Frank made had done something to your---"
"Gross. Frank made cookies?"
He chuckled. "And at last, we're in agreement. You had seemed pretty eager to, ah, chow down yesterday."
"But, Frank... baking?"
"I know, Lemon," he murmured gruffly as he gently squeezed her closer to his body.
When she felt Jack's lips on her bare shoulder, she squirmed---because it felt good and because it wasn't supposed to feel good. He sighed and proceeded to that spot on her neck. He licked and kissed it; she closed her eyes and sighed. He gently bit into it; she struggled to bite back a whimper.
"Jack."
"Yes?"
"I don't remember us being together... maybe we shouldn't... y'know."
Jack laughed---he actually laughed---and Liz briefly wanted to jam her elbow into his gut. She didn't think it was very nice of him to do that (or to try to take advantage of her in her current condition) but she did like how it felt to feel his deep laughter's vibrations traveling through her.
"We've finally gotten you past your dislike of using adult words to describe adult situations," he muttered. "Can't you be more descriptive than 'you know?'"
"Well, that doesn't sound like me," she mumbled. "I bet you're gonna tell me I let you say that you're my lover."
"We've both changed, Lemon."
"And how have you changed, hmm? Do you use the word 'feelings?'"
He brushed his lips over the spot he had bitten minutes ago. She shivered. He smiled; she could feel the expression curving his lips as they pressed into her skin.
"After you finally relented and decided to consummate our relationship, the mystique was gone and you learned all my tricks," he murmured gruffly. The words tickled her ear and traveled through her body, causing her insides to tighten. "I don't mind, because we're still together, you haven't run screaming yet, and we do our best to be creative, but I have to say that the idea of having a second first night together has me particularly intrigued."
Liz looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "It won't be your first night."
"No, so imagine how amazing it will be for you, because I know all of your secrets."
"But, what if I'm boring? Already-discovered territory?"
He kissed her temple. "I have never found you to be a boring land mass. I doubt I ever will."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
She sighed and allowed herself to relax in his arms as she thought about her current situation some more.
They were apparently together. Even though she couldn't remember anything after slipping and hitting her head, it seemed to be very real. She could see her clothes (and the sneakers Jack once deemed 'bi-curious') on the floor by what appeared to be a bathroom. Her cell phone charger was on the vanity table. There was a very fancy humidifier in the corner. The pictures seemed to confirm that they were together and there was no mistaking that rock on her left ring finger for a gumball machine trinket. Plus, once she worked past the initial ohmigod panic of being in a relationship with Jack, she realised that as he held her, she felt safe and comfortable and loved in a way that she was sure didn't lead to noogies or broken televisions.
She was even starting to feel a little guilty that she couldn't remember their relationship.
"What if I never remember?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"We have plenty of time to make new memories. I will commit myself wholeheartedly to the endeavor if you're still up to the task."
She nodded and then willingly---although not without a certain degree of awkwardness---put her hand on his. "Okay. But, can we postpone our second first night?" she asked. "I mean, I'm still sorta processing this, so---"
"Understood and consider it done," he interrupted. "If you like, we can just... talk."
He may have hesitated but he didn't flinch or tense, and that seemed to drive home the point to Liz that he had changed, too. While he wasn't so much a complete skirt-chasing hound dog, he had always seemed to be more interested in the physical than the mental or emotional. He seemed rather comfortable when he made the offer to talk; he hadn't freaked out yet, either, which suggested to Liz that he really cared about her.
"So, we really are together? Don't you find this strange?" she asked.
He chuckled again. Liz squirmed as the sound seemed to travel straight to her abdomen.
"Stop that," she mumbled.
"Never."
Liz peeked up at him, her vision still blurred. "You can't seduce me tonight. I may be suffering from amnesia."
"Sounds like we're in a soap opera."
"Yeah, except people don't actually live the stories."
He rubbed her bare back. "But, we could be. You're a talented writer who works for the hottest comedy show on television, and I'm VP of Television Programming and Microwave Ovens and I've been publicly tapped for Geiss' job. And you've lost your mem---"
"Geiss is awake?"
Jack kissed her shoulder. "Oh, yes. That was the day we kissed for the first time. It was a very special day, Lemon. Geiss called me 'Jackie Boy' from his hospital bed and then we made out in your office."
"Sounds pretty awesome. Bet you spent the day in Erection Cove," she muttered in a wryly amused tone of voice.
He snorted. "You have no idea," he whispered.
Liz laughed and was rewarded with a hug; she was beginning to feel a little bit more relaxed. She wouldn't say it aloud, but Jack was really helping her feel more at ease with her situation. She always had a thing for skinny (or wiry, as Conan had preferred to be called) men who didn't take much very seriously, but she was beginning to wonder if that was all an act to cover up the attraction she must have had to more structurally sound (or bulky, but that word didn't fit Jack at all) men who mostly made her growl and want to tear out her hair.
To test out how it would feel, Liz tried to hug him back---but without relinquishing her sheet, so she only really embraced him with her forearms.
"You can do better than that."
Liz smiled. "Yes, but then the sheet could fall---"
"I promise to behave."
She exhaled slowly and nodded. Slowly, she extended her arms and curved them around his body as she curled into him. Jack adjusted his body, too, and Liz found herself in his lap, wrapped in a sheet, and tucked under his chin and in the circle of his arms.
"Okay," she whispered as she closed her eyes, "this is nice."
Jack inched a little lower against the headboard, curving around Liz slightly. "Yes, it is," he agreed after releasing a contented sigh. "I missed you this week." He brushed his fingers over her spine. "We should get you to a doctor tomorrow, to see why you've lost so much time," he added.
"Not---"
"Alright, alright. I won't call him. You can pick the doctor."
Liz grinned into Jack's chest. "Thank you," she murmured.
Her cellular phone---still playing the 'kill the wabbit' song---interrupted the silence into which they had lapsed. Jack fumbled for the device, caught it on the sixth ring, and, after answering it, handed it over to Liz.
"Who is it?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I'm not a mind reader." He smiled and eased her out of his lap. "But, I will go to the kitchen and see if I can't whip us up some omelets while you take that call."
Liz felt rather playful (or excited at the mention of food), so she grabbed him by his shirt and tugged him down to her level for a quick kiss---their second first kiss.
"Oh. I... maybe I shouldn't have---"
Jack cut her off by kissing her again. "Don't apologise for going after what you want, Lemon," he whispered as he brushed his fingers through her hair. "I'll be in the kitchen. Straight down the hall, a left at the circular foyer. Follow the scent of the food."
She smiled and kissed him one more time before releasing his shirt. She watched him walk out of the room, before applying herself to the incoming phone call.
"Hello?" she said once the device was at her ear. "Liz Lemon speaking."
"Hello, Ms. Lemon, this is Doctor Domicilé speaking," the cool, cultured, and slightly-accented female voice said. "I'm calling you regarding your blood work results. You said you wanted to know as soon as possible---"
"Blood work?" Liz echoed.
The doctor spoke next. "Yes, you had been feeling under the weather but with no outwardly physiological explanation, so I had some blood drawn. You had cancelled your appointment today, so I thought it would be best to call you with the results."
"Oh. Right," Liz said, while hoping she could fake her way through the conversation. "So, what is it? Am I gonna die?"
The other woman chuckled. "Hardly. If anything you're as healthy as a horse, which is good because you're gonna be carrying more weight soon."
"You can predict weight gain?"
"In this case, yes, I can."
Liz frowned. Had she missed that much in the year or so that she lost? "Is it from stress eating?"
"No."
"But, I walk and I work and I chase after my cast and staff which is like running a marathon on the best of days, so---"
"Ms. Lemon, you're having a baby."
Liz stopped short. "Oh. Oh boy."
"Well, it's too early to tell."
"No, I meant 'oh boy,' like an expression of shock." She paused and rubbed her forehead. "Does pregnancy cause memory lapses?"
"Usually when tequila's involved," the doctor replied wryly.
"Not helpful," the brunette muttered under her breath. "Okay," she said after clearing her throat. "Thanks for calling. I'll... I guess I'll make an appointment next week for all the fun stuff that goes with this new development."
"Sounds great. Congratulations!" the doctor exclaimed before ending the call. "Ciao!"
Liz turned off her phone (she didn't want any more unexpected bombshells dropped on her) and tossed it towards the foot of the bed. As she rubbed her temples and tried to relax, she could faintly hear Jack cooking in the kitchen. Food always helped her deal with stress and she quickly devised a plan in which she pretended that she wasn't pregnant for the next few hours and just tried to get used to living with the fiancé that her mind had erased from her memory.
&&&&
PART FOUR
"Was it good?"
Liz looked up from her empty plate and found herself looking into Jack's face. He seemed to be very concerned.
"Oh, yeah. I liked it. Plenty of cheddar... mushrooms, onions... ham... it was great. Much better than what I'd make."
Jack smiled. "I learned very early in our relationship not to let you use my kitchen appliances for anything other than warming your jeans and keeping your pudding snacks at an optimal temperature."
"How... why... I mean... we... you..."
"Lemon, I need to you to stop freaking out."
He reached across the countertop and took her hand in his. "This isn't a dream," he told her. "I know it's scary, but, this has been happening for a while now---even if you can't remember it."
Liz felt her cheeks warming. She didn't know if she was embarrassed (for not remembering) or pleased (that he was touching her) or just so uncomfortable her body didn't know how to react.
The last thing she remembered was rushing out of the office to escape Jack---but also to get to a meeting with the sixth adoption agency that had accepted her initial application (two others refused her applications, mostly because she had sent them during the lawsuit Jenna instigated against Tracy and even she knew that she hadn't presented her best self on paper while all the hoopla of the lawsuit was presented on entertainment news programs).
She had really wanted a baby then, and she still wanted one. She could tell that much underneath all the panic about suddenly finding herself in a world where Jack Donaghy sees her naked on a regular basis because of their alleged feelings for each other.
She was going to have a baby.
She wouldn't need to continue trying to convince an agency that she would be a suitable parent despite her single-mother status, because she was going to have a baby, with a man who was committed to her.
Of course, the man in question had no idea she was pregnant.
She knew she needed to tell him, but she wasn't sure how much more shock Jack's system could handle. She wasn't even sure how well she was handling all the shock.
"Would waffles help?" he asked.
Liz looked up at him again. "You'd make me waffles?"
"If you wanted them." He paused and then added: "Of course, I could go for something spicier. Maybe Thai."
"Thai'd be good," Liz agreed.
Jack kissed her hand and then reached for the phone. She watched him, smiling a little as he found and dialed the number for her favourite restaurant, and she couldn't stop herself from imagining them years from that moment (sitting around the island, trying to decide what to order in between discussing about politics and any GE boardroom gossip Jack decided to share with his wife and child).
As the image faded from her mind, she felt a flash of panic---followed by a wave of happiness that she couldn't fully explain.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jack asked her, shaking her from her thoughts. "I know I ordered your favourites, but, honestly, Lem---"
"I'm pregnant."
When she realised what she had impulsively blurted out, she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
"Elizabeth Odelette Lemon."
"Oh, God... no. How'd you know that?" she asked. "I tried so hard to keep that under wraps. Not even IMDB has my middle name."
"You 'fessed up a few months ago."
"Blerg."
He set the cordless phone handset down upon the counter and walked over to her side of the island.
"It's okay," he assured her, "we'll just find a better name from your family tree to use as a middle name for our child."
"Jack... aren't you freaked out?"
"Are you?"
She blushed more. "A little," she admitted.
"I'm not," he told her as sat down on the stool next to hers. "So, it's okay. I'll be calm enough for both of us."
"Jack!"
"You're really pregnant?"
She nodded. "That call... the doctor... blood test results..." she trailed off and shrugged. "That's probably why I've been so weird lately. I mean, you said I was being weird, so---"
He cut her off with a sound kiss that literally made her toes curl against the very expensive and beautiful tiled floor.
Liz heard herself moaning as she fumbled into kissing him back. His hands crept up her thighs until they reached her hips and then, in an act that made Liz gasp and squeal, he lifted her into his lap so she was straddling him and pressed rather nicely against his upper body.
"Oh, God, Jack... wait, I..." she trailed off as she ended the kiss. "Are we celebrating?"
"That's the general idea, yes," he replied.
She smiled a bit. "So, you're okay with this? Even if I can't remember---"
"As far as we know, this could be a symptom of pregnancy," he interrupted. "And, the idea of my seed in your womb..."
"Oh, yuck."
He smiled more. "Well, I think it is rather exciting. You're going to get round in the good way, and I'm gonna be 'the man' because I knocked you up, and once the morning sickness passes---from what I understand from television and movies---you're going to succumb to hormonal impulses which will render you insatiable."
"You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?" she asked as her fingers found their way into his hair.
Jack nodded and grinned rather boyishly. "You should, too, Lemon," he added, "because you'll be able to eat whatever you want."
"Hmmm... good point."
"And, just so you know, I am not opposed to you kicking Jonathan out of the office and having your way with me any time you want to."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," he replied.
His hands started to move. His left slipped under the back of her t-shirt to caress her skin. His right traveled up to cup the side of one of her breasts.
"And these are going to get bigger, too," he added, smirking.
"Jack, shuddup."
He leaned up and kissed her once, briefly. "Counter or wall?"
"What?"
"We have about thirty or forty minutes before the delivery guy gets here and I think that we should get a jump-start on the celebration."
"But, I... I mean, it's me... and... the bed is much---"
Jack cut her off with a kiss. "Wall, it is, then." He gently slapped his left hand against her ass. "Pants off, Lemon. Hop to it."
"Do I always respond when you do that?" she demanded as she slid out of his lap and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yes."
She arched an eyebrow. "Liar!"
He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I wondered if you'd buy that," he confessed. "It's actually about fifty-fifty, depending on how randy you're feeling."
"Seriously?"
"Yes," he said as he stood up. "You find me rather attractive, and you've done some very adventurous things in order to express that attraction."
"Seriously?" she asked again. "That doesn't sound like me. What have I done?"
"Wearing special underwear with all those laces and snaps that weird you out," he replied, "sex in my town car, role-playing---"
"Role-playing? Now, I know you're making that up."
"I am not," he told her. "To make me feel better about Inauguration, you dressed up like Governor Palin and---"
"Ohmigod," Liz groaned. "Did I do the voice?"
"It was very convincing," Jack replied. He inched closer so their bodies were pressed together. "But, tonight, I just want you. Now. Quickly. Against a wall. And, yes, I'll guide you through it."
"Jack..."
He kissed her once and then said, "If this is all a dream or hallucination---it isn't, but I'll allow you to worry it might be for a little while longer---wouldn't you like to really enjoy it? If it's all in your head, you don't have to worry about me finding out about this secret passion for me that you're harbouring."
"Okay, good point. But, this isn't making me feel that this is real."
"Well, it is, and I think you just need to feel like someone's on your side, and that's what I was trying to be for you."
Liz frowned. "You could just be trying to get laid."
"And if I was a figment of your imagination, it wouldn't matter, would it? You'd be getting all the imagined pleasure and I'd be... well, basically, nothing."
"I see your point," she confessed.
"Excellent."
"So, we're really going to celebrate?"
Jack nodded. "Absolutely, yes. For thirty minutes, then a break for Thai, then more celebrating."
"I like that you've scheduled a food break in there," Liz murmured as she toyed with the buttons on his shirt.
He smirked. "I thought you would."
"Can we catch up on some of the current events that... are not so current... while we eat?"
"Yes, absolutely. I can tell you how your Democrat heroes are failing us."
"Don't make me slap you," she murmured.
"I'd enjoy it," he shot back, teasing her with his hands once they found the hem of her t-shirt. "Go ahead."
She laughed and rested her forehead against his chest. As she caught her breath, she inhaled and found out that she really liked the way he smelled---expensive, clean, and manly, with a hint of something unnameable that made her stomach flip and flop.
Maybe they really were together.
"Are you sure this is... us?"
"Well, I'm here and you're here, so, yes, I'm sure this is us."
She laughed again and then peeked up at him. "You know what I mean," she told him.
"Lemon, let me show you how sure I am," he said.
"Oh boy," she squeaked.
Jack smiled and closed the gap between them for another kiss.
He didn't dive in and initiate an open-mouthed kiss. Instead, he brushed his lips against hers before kissing the corners of her mouth. Liz whimpered (in frustration, because he knew how to draw out the moment entirely too well) and tightened her grip on his shirt.
"Bedroom," Liz whispered.
"Wall."
"But, I don't know---"
"Of course you know how," he said in the patronising voice he had used when they were just friends (except instead of wanting to smack him, she felt like kissing him again), "and I'll remind you how much you like it, too."
"Jack."
"I like how you can inject so many emotions and thoughts into my name," he commented as he put his hands on her hips and kissed her forehead. "No one ever does it quite like you do."
"Uh, thanks?"
He smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. That kiss was much more satisfactory and Liz moved her hands from his shirt to his shoulders to anchor herself as she let herself get swept up in the experience of kissing him.
She had been so wrapped up in the kisses that she hadn't noticed that Jack moved her from the middle of the room to the doorway, and from there to the circular foyer.
"You get better leverage against these walls," he said after they stopped kissing and she looked around while trying to hide her performance anxiety.
"I do?"
"You do. I think it's because they're curved."
"Well... okay." She scrunched up her face and asked, "I'm going to like this, right?"
Jack's chest puffed out a bit as he positioned her between two framed paintings by artists whose names Liz couldn't pronounce. "The last time we did this, you had two orgasms in a row, after the two from foreplay," he said in a voice full of pride (at his performance or her reaction to it, she couldn't tell).
"I can do that?" she asked, amazement overshadowing her discomfort.
"Oh, yes," he assured her. "We don't have that kind of time, but if we really aim for the stars, it could still be spectacular."
"You think?"
"I know."
Liz smiled. "Well, that's the sort of arrogance I like," she commented in a wry tone of voice.
"It's not arrogance, it's certainty."
"I like it even more, then." Her smile faded as she looked around and then back at Jack. Uncertainty was taking over again. "So, how do we do this?"
"You wouldn't be so cute if you weren't serious," he murmured gruffly as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her. "God, you make me nuts sometimes, Lemon."
"Right back atcha," Liz replied as she draped her arms around his shoulders and leaned against him.
It didn't take long for Liz to lose her clothes. She found Jack was very good at keeping her distracted with kissing and touching; she hardly voiced a complaint until his pants and shirt joined her and he was lifting her up into his arms.
"Jack---"
"You're almost there," he interrupted. "And so far, so good, right?"
Liz blushed and nodded. "Yes, but, I just wanted to make sure you're sure you want---"
He had shifted his weight. Being jostled made her afraid that he would drop her so she quickly latched onto him with both her legs and arms.
That move left certain parts of her pressed against his chest, and other certain parts very exposed. Jack slipped his hands down along her thighs before cupping her from behind in such a way that allowed him to tease her with his fingertips; she wriggled in reaction to his teasing, and that made her nipples rub against his chest which only intensified the fire that she was sure had been lit somewhere inside of her.
She hadn't needed much more convincing after that.
It was natural, she thought, to compare him to other partners she had had in her life.
Floyd had been gentle, never pushing her out of her comfort zone but never quite doing anything extraordinary; Dennis hadn't cared about her needs at all (unless food was involved); Conan had written too many songs about their few sexual encounters; Neil insisted on making silent movies of them together (in black and white, with cheerful piano music in the background).
Jack, on the other hand, wouldn't have the time or inclination to make a black and white movie about their screwing in the foyer and she didn't think he would be writing any songs about them.
(She decided those things because they had been deal-breakers in her relationships with Conan and Neil. If she was still with Jack, after more than a year, he couldn't have had annoying habits like those.)
Jack cared about her needs (and seemed to get a lot of satisfaction from making her moan and squirm between him and the wall). He wasn't very gentle (although the way he kissed her neck between thrusts indicated that he could be if they were in a different location and mindset), either, and she was surprised to find out that she liked that about him.
Hell, she was surprised to find out that she liked him in that way.
"What are you thinking about?"
Liz opened her eyes and found Jack staring at her, rather intently.
"What?"
"What's going on in your head? Are you enjoying---"
"Oh, yes. I'm really enjoying this," she admitted as she cupped his face in her hands and leaned back against the wall. "I'm a little surprised, but I think I could get used to this."
He rocked his hips forward and back and the friction of him moving inside of her combined with maintaining eye contact caused her to shudder and sigh.
"Yep, definitely," she whispered.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked.
"Oh, um... just..." she trailed off and moaned because Jack moved his hips again. "Just... that I like this."
"You were comparing me to Floyd and Dennis again, weren't you?"
Liz groaned and dropped her head down. She had aimed for his shoulder but Jack moved and prevented her from doing that. Her forehead was resting against his; their eyes were really close together and normally too much eye contact freaked her out, but she was surprisingly calm.
"You did it the first time we were together, Lemon," he said in a quiet voice. "Am I doing as well as I did that first time?"
Liz rolled her eyes. "You already know you're doing really well, so---mmpf!"
He was surprisingly good and shutting her up with kisses.
After a few minutes, he resumed moving against (and inside) her body. She wasn't thinking about the mechanics of the whole thing and her discomfort of being way outside her range of experience; instead, she found she was very focused on how good it felt.
He had been right. He knew where her hot spots were (she had no idea that she liked to have her earlobe sucked or her nipples rolled between his thumbs and index fingers) and he was having a great time exploiting them.
Her first climax had been a surprise---between thrusts, he had slipped his hand down between them and it had only taken two circles of his fingers before she was yelping and trembling.
Her second climax hadn't been much of a surprise, but it left her feeling as if she had turned to mush. The only thing that confirmed she hadn't liquified was Jack, still buried inside her.
"Liz," he whispered.
"Mmmhmm," she hummed, "I'm still here."
"I'm really close," he croaked.
"Oh... um, okay."
His laugh was brief and breathless. It faded as he pulled out of her body, enough so that just the tip of his erection was still inside of her, and he sighed quietly as his lips sought hers.
Liz yielded to the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders and lightly scratched at the back of his neck, hoping he'd enjoy it.
He did.
He groaned (almost growled) and then thrust back inside her with no warning.
The sensation of being filled again, so quickly, while her hidden muscles were still twitching a little, was almost enough to throw her into another tailspin of sensation, but she managed to hang on in order to return the favours he had given her.
She kissed down his neck and to his lips before leaning back against the wall to watch him (she was curious, although she wouldn't admit it aloud, to see what he looked like when he was in the throes of passion) as he worked himself into a frenzy.
"Li-iz."
The way his voice became raspy and the way it broke over her given name was more than a little sexy. It was even sexier than the way his face flushed and scrunched up before he stiffened and grunted.
Jack sagged forward and dropped his head to her shoulder as he breathed deeply.
"You okay?" Liz asked.
"Very," he whispered. He lifted his head and craned his neck to look at the grandfather clock next to what looked like a closet. "And we still have some time to spare. Excellent."
"God, Jack... I think my nerve endings are all tapped out."
He winced as he pulled out of her body, but he didn't move away to let her down from the wall. "I'm not gonna exploit those nerve endings," he told her, "I thought I'd get creative, though, and---"
"How about after our food break?"
"If you insist."
Liz smiled and kissed him. She still wasn't used to the way his lips felt on hers, but she did like it a lot.
"I do insist," she murmured, "but, just think, Jack---after a break, I'll be very enthusiastic."
"Hmm... yes, I do see your point," he said, conceding the point. He eased away from the wall and helped her unwrap her legs from his waist and settle on the floor. He settled her hands on her ass and pulled her towards him.
"Very well, go get comfortable." He paused and kissed her. "I will go get drinks and wait for the delivery guy."
"Can we eat in bed?"
Jack's lips twitched into a smile. "I assumed that is where we'll be eating," he murmured before kissing her.
"Okay, you're pretty perfect," Liz mumbled before realising she had spoken out loud. She blushed and almost took it back, but Jack kissed her again. "Oh... okay," she breathed, "I'm going to bed."
Jack bent down and picked up her t-shirt. "Here," he said, offering it to her.
"Do I get my shorts, too?"
He shook his head.
She huffed. "Jack!"
"I prefer you don't wear them," he told her as he slipped his pants on. "It will save time later---and drive me crazy."
"Crazy, huh?"
"Completely bonkers."
Liz smiled. "Okay. But, I get covers while I'm eating. I need a little buffer between my food and my---"
"Deal, if you don't say the J-word. It kills my mood."
"You mean the word 'jun---'"
Jack clamped a hand over her mouth.
The buzzer sounded, interrupting their moment. After releasing her mouth and kissing her forehead, Jack left her side to go to the intercom.
He told the doorman to let in the delivery guy, and then he finished dressing. Liz watched him after she tugged her shirt on over her head, and when there was a knock on the door, she kissed him one more time before scurrying down the hall to their bedroom.
She listened to Jack conversing with the man who brought their food, as she tucked herself into bed. She closed her eyes and tucked her face into Jack's pillow; it smelled like him, and she couldn't deny that she was enjoying the way he smelled.
If it was a hallucination, she thought it was a really great one (even if it was a little weird, still, to think of her and Jack in a committed relationship).
And that was the last thought she had before she drifted off to sleep.