Surprise
Title: Surprise
Pairing: Jack/Liz, Liz/Other
Rating: PG
Word Count: 470
Spoilers: Just for 6.01
Summary: Post-ep for "Dance Like Nobody's Watching." Jack's investigating for purely platonic reasons.
Note: I've personally embargoed myself from all promos for the next episode. All I know about the new character is who plays him and a couple of his key personality traits. Even so, it's a mortal lock that this not what's going to happen in episode 6.02.
Jack isn't fully able to process his feelings.
Within two months of meeting her, Jack was fully embedded in Liz Lemon's personal life. He actually can't remember not having a front-row seat to it. There's been the odd curveball, like the Danny thing, but he's always figured things out pretty quickly. He can read her that well.
At first, he thinks it's pure shock, that he's been so very, very wrong about someone he thought was beyond surprising him. His failure to predict it or figure it out is... a failure, something he isn't accustomed to.
But more than that, he tells himself, he hasn't vetted this new man. She'd always run guys by him, going all the way back to Floyd. What if the guy turns out to be a serial killer? Or all wrong for her?
That, at least, apparently isn't the case. Liz Lemon is clearly happy. There's a look in her eyes when she's with him that he hasn't seen since the early days with Floyd, a look she never had with Carol. And, he has to admit it's irritating that he has no role in it. He's used to being a necessary ingredient for her satisfaction. And now, she's found happiness by cutting him out of her personal life. That distresses him.
For purely platonic, mentor-related reasons, of course.
So it's purely for platonic, mentor-related reasons that a couple of hours later he's discretely parked on a street outside Liz Lemon's apartment, present for the return of the happy couple from their movie. The mystery gentleman is certainly a handsome man, with no obvious deformities. And he accompanies her into her building with no apparent negotiation. It's clearly a habit for them. Something deep inside Jack suddenly feels a bit nauseous.
Normally, nothing in the world makes him happier than seeing her happy. But when he's not involved, it's different -- maybe because he's in not such a good spot right now, missing Avery and consequently well-undersexed. He's horrified by the idea he's jealous of Liz Lemon. But that's just it: he's jealous of Liz Lemon, he tells himself, not for her.
And in any case, this is merely a cup of coffee upstairs. Jack waits and waits for the man to emerge, planning to engineer a chance encounter on the street to size up the man. He eventually realizes that it's 2:30 in the morning, and there is little chance of that happening. He considers bursting into her apartment; it's something he's done many times before at this hour. But what's his pretext?
He'll just have to bide his time. Lemon will slip up eventually, especially if he provokes her. Unless he knows even less than he thinks he does, and he can't push her buttons anymore. And that thought is too scary to contemplate.
END
Pairing: Jack/Liz, Liz/Other
Rating: PG
Word Count: 470
Spoilers: Just for 6.01
Summary: Post-ep for "Dance Like Nobody's Watching." Jack's investigating for purely platonic reasons.
Note: I've personally embargoed myself from all promos for the next episode. All I know about the new character is who plays him and a couple of his key personality traits. Even so, it's a mortal lock that this not what's going to happen in episode 6.02.
Jack isn't fully able to process his feelings.
Within two months of meeting her, Jack was fully embedded in Liz Lemon's personal life. He actually can't remember not having a front-row seat to it. There's been the odd curveball, like the Danny thing, but he's always figured things out pretty quickly. He can read her that well.
At first, he thinks it's pure shock, that he's been so very, very wrong about someone he thought was beyond surprising him. His failure to predict it or figure it out is... a failure, something he isn't accustomed to.
But more than that, he tells himself, he hasn't vetted this new man. She'd always run guys by him, going all the way back to Floyd. What if the guy turns out to be a serial killer? Or all wrong for her?
That, at least, apparently isn't the case. Liz Lemon is clearly happy. There's a look in her eyes when she's with him that he hasn't seen since the early days with Floyd, a look she never had with Carol. And, he has to admit it's irritating that he has no role in it. He's used to being a necessary ingredient for her satisfaction. And now, she's found happiness by cutting him out of her personal life. That distresses him.
For purely platonic, mentor-related reasons, of course.
So it's purely for platonic, mentor-related reasons that a couple of hours later he's discretely parked on a street outside Liz Lemon's apartment, present for the return of the happy couple from their movie. The mystery gentleman is certainly a handsome man, with no obvious deformities. And he accompanies her into her building with no apparent negotiation. It's clearly a habit for them. Something deep inside Jack suddenly feels a bit nauseous.
Normally, nothing in the world makes him happier than seeing her happy. But when he's not involved, it's different -- maybe because he's in not such a good spot right now, missing Avery and consequently well-undersexed. He's horrified by the idea he's jealous of Liz Lemon. But that's just it: he's jealous of Liz Lemon, he tells himself, not for her.
And in any case, this is merely a cup of coffee upstairs. Jack waits and waits for the man to emerge, planning to engineer a chance encounter on the street to size up the man. He eventually realizes that it's 2:30 in the morning, and there is little chance of that happening. He considers bursting into her apartment; it's something he's done many times before at this hour. But what's his pretext?
He'll just have to bide his time. Lemon will slip up eventually, especially if he provokes her. Unless he knows even less than he thinks he does, and he can't push her buttons anymore. And that thought is too scary to contemplate.
END