Chapter 106 - Special Request

Cate hurried into the staff section of the Dining Hall, her eyes scanning the tables for the familiar faces. It took her about two seconds to recognize the line of Jon’s muscular shoulders, even though he was sitting with his back to the rest of the room, a baseball cap covering his blonde locks.

She smiled and made her way over to the table. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late!” she said breathlessly.

“Hey Girlfriend,” Mandy grinned. “We just got here about five minutes ago ourselves. Big mean teacher kept the students late because they wouldn’t pay attention in lecture and kept asking questions about stuff I already covered.”

Cate chuckled. She knew exactly what Mandy meant. Though they were technically adults, BATs sometimes had the attention span of Kindergartners. Especially during the middle of the week when they were tired and stressed out.

She turned her gaze to Jon. “How did you like the class?” she asked, a bit formally. She knew she didn’t have to mask her intimacy with Jon in front of Mandy, but you never knew who else might overhear a conversation in the crowded dining room.

“Fantastic!” Jon grinned, his eyes sparkling at her with unconcealed affection. “But I could hardly keep up. There’s a TON of shit to learn about crime scenes!” He reached over to subtly brush his hand over Cate’s as she stood beside him.

“Yeah. That’s why people go to college for years and years to learn it all,” Mandy laughed. “You, I’ll teach in an hour and a half.”

Jon playfully stuck out his tongue at her. “And you sure tried to cram it all in there didn’t ya?” he countered. “I got a cramp in my hand from the eight pages of notes I took!”

Mandy smirked back at Jon. “Well, at least you don’t have a cramp in your hand from doing something else.” She winked suggestively at Jon, then gave Cate a grin. “I see you’ve finally come to your senses.”

“Oh, and what makes you say that?” Cate asked, faking innocence.

Mandy leaned forward and lowered her voice. “You’re too damned happy not to have gotten laid last night, Cate,” she said out of the side of her mouth, then grinned brightly.

“Who said it was last night?” Jon chuckled under his breath as he raised his iced tea glass to his lips.

Cate felt herself blush. “That’s enough out of you,” she muttered to Jon before giving Mandy a sheepish little grin. “Yeah, well… he caught me in a moment of weakness,” she admitted. “Hey, let me go grab something to eat and I’ll be right back,” she said, quickly changing the subject. Before Mandy could protest, she turned and strode for the cafeteria line.

Jon chuckled again as he watched her depart. Mandy gave Jon an expectant look. “So? You gonna tell me or am I gonna have to drag it out of Cate later?”

Jon gave Mandy a smirk. “You’re gonna have to drag it out of her. I don’t kiss and tell, sweetheart.”

“The Hell you don’t, “ Mandy countered as she smiled at Jon's playful chivalry. She was truly happy that Cate and Jon had worked out their differences. Cate had been so miserable the last couple days. It had hurt Mandy’s heart to watch her friend suffer. It was apparent to Mandy that Jon was flying high as well. She wondered what he had done to change Cate’s mind.

As she thought about it for a moment, Mandy’s smile widened. She sat silent, just staring and grinning at Jon.

“What?” Jon asked after a minute of Mandy’s disconcerting stare. “Jesus, you’re starting to creep me out. What is it?”

“You used the props,” Mandy smirked dirtily. “Didn’t ya? That’s how you got Cate to change her mind.”

Jon chuckled. “Sorry, Sister, but nope. Haven’t had to break those babies out yet.” He gave her a teasing look. “I’m good enough all by myself. Don’t need theatrical effects.” He winked and took another bite of his sandwich.

“So really, what IS up with you two?” Mandy asked, her smile gentling. “I mean, whatever it is, I’m happy for you. Cate acts like she’s on cloud nine. And you look like the cat who just ate the canary.” She paused and gave Jon a direct look. “Honestly, how’d you get her to change her mind and let you in?”

Jon sighed and dropped his sandwich onto his plate, then licked his fingers. He picked up a napkin and wiped his hands as he spoke. “Well… I kinda had to agree to her ground rules,” he answered quietly. “Yesterday I fucked up -- big time -- with her. I was positive it was over, that she wasn’t ever gonna speak to me again.

He paused and took a sip of iced tea before continuing. “But we had Night Fire last night so she had to work with me. Of course it all went to shit and we had it out on the range. I mean really knock-down, drag-out, yelling-at-the-top-of-our-lungs fighting. Danny got so pissed he walked out. Just left us there all alone to kill each other or make up.”

Mandy interjected with a smirk as Jon paused again. “You made up.”

Jon gave her a smile. “Yeah. We made up.” He chuckled naughtily, unable to resist. “Several times, in fact.”

Mandy groaned. “God, just kill me why don't ya...” She was sure the makeup sex had been insanely hot. And she was gonna badger Cate for every last detail about it as soon as she had the chance.

Jon laughed at Mandy’s response. “Anyway, I convinced her to come back to my villa and spend the night. But to get her to do that I had to make her a promise. One I didn’t really want to make.” Jon’s voice softened a bit and Mandy heard the lament in his tone. “She said the only way she would continue to see me was if we agreed that, when Friday comes, we’ll both say our goodbyes and walk away with no regrets.”

“What?” Mandy asked incredulously. “Are you fucking insane? You agreed to that? Jon, I thought you wanted to continue a relationship with her!” She shot him a dirty look. “Or was that the answer to your prayers? Three more days of hedonism, then you walk away scot-free?”

“Hell, no! That’s not what I want at ALL!” Jon retorted hotly. “But it was the only way I could get Cate to give me a chance. She was gonna push me away again, Mandy.” He gave her a little scowl. “So, we have a pact. Live for today, don’t talk about the future.” He shook his head in disagreement with that idea. “It sucks. But at least she’s talking to me, confiding in me, in my arms.”

Jon sighed heavily. “I have to figure out some way to talk her out of this deal, though. Christ, Mandy, I’m doing everything I can think of to figure out how I can have a long-term relationship with her. And I think I just might have the answer. But I can’t talk about it with her, because she refuses to think beyond Friday.”

He paused and shook his head again, then continued. “If I push her, I’m gonna piss her off then we’ll be right back where we started. Apart and miserable.” His heart twinged at the thought. He didn’t want to go back there. Ever.

“What do you think I should do?” Jon challenged Mandy as he gave her a plaintive look.

Mandy smiled gently at Jon. It was obvious how much he cared about Cate; he was totally wearing his heart on his sleeve as he asked for her advice. “Well…” she began. “Without talking to Cate and knowing what happened last night -- and this morning…” She shot Jon a little grin, acknowledging his earlier comment. “... I can’t really tell you what I think you should do. Other than not give up. Keep trying. Win her over.”

“Hell…..” Mandy grinned again. “Use your assets. God knows, Jon, you have plenty of weapons at your disposal. You need to use them wisely, but use ‘em.” She stopped before she added the corny “going out in a blaze of glory” reference that was waiting on the tip of her tongue. “Keep working to earn her trust, and eventually she’ll have to listen to you. Because she’ll realize that it’s important to you, to be able to tell her how you feel without her running away.”

Jon nodded thoughtfully. He knew Cate was empathetic to his feelings; she had shown him that last night when she had told him about her nightmare. He had heard the pain in her voice as she assured him her panicked flight was not his fault. Maybe if he eased into it he would convince her to at least listen. But first he had to be sure he had something definite to talk to her about.

Jon smiled again as he heard Cate’s voice. He turned to look toward the familiar sound and saw her carrying a tray toward their table, flanked by Danny and Bobby. He watched her as she approached, then set her table on the tray and slipped into the seat beside him. When she was seated he moved his hand under the table to her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Cate and Jon exchanged a private little smile as the two men greeted Mandy, then settled into their seats on the opposite side of the round table.

“Good to see you’re still alive, Jon,” Danny said nonchalantly as he picked up his fork. Cate watched as Danny’s evaluating gaze flitted to Jon’s throat, searching for the evidence he suspected was there. Finding it easily, he looked to Cate and gave her a lecherous smirk, arching his eyebrows.

“Shut up,” Cate growled at him, lowering her chin and giving him a warning glare.

Danny chuckled quietly and speared a forkful of lettuce from his salad bowl. “So, Jon… looks like you got a little beat up, there, Buddy,” he said evenly, ignoring to Cate’s warning. “Did Cate get a little rough with you in DTs yesterday?”

Jon grinned, knowing exactly to what Danny was referring. He accepted Danny’s silent invitation to join in the tease. “Yeah, Man. She about beat the shit outa me. Said it was a final exam, but I think it was just an excuse for her to smack me around a little. She got me pretty good, too.”

Jon shifted in his chair, turning his body toward Cate. He gave her a teasing smirk in response to her wide-eyed “what the fuck are you doing?” stare. He had to stifle a laugh when she let out a little gasp as her eyes settled on the half-dollar sized purple bruise on his neck, to the right of his Adam’s apple.

Cate groaned inwardly, closing her eyes for a moment as her cheeks flamed. Oh, FUCK…. how did I miss THAT this morning? Her mind flashed back to the night before, to the exact moment when she had marked Jon with her teeth as he held her down against the hood of the cruiser. She felt a little surge of lust at the memory.

Taking a deep breath and willing herself to remain calm, Cate opened her eyes and looked around the table at the grinning faces of her friends. Mandy was almost quivering as she tried to control her laughter, and Danny was still smirking dirtily at her. Only Bobby looked slightly confused, realizing he wasn’t in on the joke but not quite able to figure out what it could be.

“I wasn’t fast enough with the brachial stun,” Jon lied in response to Bobby’s inquisitive look. “She got her hands around my neck.” He glanced slyly at Cate. “She got me pretty good on the inside of my thigh, too,” he couldn’t resist adding. He again slipped his hand to Cate’s leg and rubbed gently as she blushed even more deeply.

Mandy couldn’t control herself after that comment. She burst out laughing, and soon was joined by the rest of her lunch-mates. Even Cate had to chuckle, though she was the butt of the joke. Feeling Jon’s touch definitely took the sting out of the tease.

After they quieted and made a little small talk about the morning’s events, Bobby spoke up. “Jon, I have a question for you,” he began as he dropped his fork onto his plate and took a drink of his Coke.

“Shoot,” Jon responded.

“It’s actually a request, on behalf of my BATs. My class that’s graduating on Friday.” Bobby continued. “They wanted me to ask you if you plan to attend their graduation ceremony.”

Jon nodded emphatically. “Absolutely,” he replied. “I’d love to be there.” He glanced at Cate. “We don’t have anything else on the schedule, do we?”

Cate shook her head. “No. Graduations are a big deal. All instructors that have worked with a class attend; we have other instructors cover for us. It’s one of the most important days of these young agents’ lives – we try to make it really special.”

“Great. I’m there,” Jon said with a grin, looking back to Bobby.

“Well, they also were wondering if you would be willing to sing,” Bobby continued. “We always have someone sing the national anthem at the opening of the ceremony; usually a student if there’s someone who has the talent. Then we usually have a guest vocalist or instrumentalist perform later in the ceremony, after the class video.”

Jon smiled with heartfelt humility. “I’d be honored. What would they like me to sing?” he agreed.

“Whatever you want,” Bobby replied. “You can do one of your songs, or cover something you think is appropriate. Just let me know tomorrow what it will be, so I can inform the Director and we can plan for it during graduation practice. Also, let me know if you’ll need a piano, or if you want an accompanist. We have several musicians here on Center who can work with you.”

Jon nodded excitedly. “I know exactly what I’ll do. It’ll be just me; I have my guitar here, so I’m set.” His lips curved into a beaming grin. “This is cool! Tell them thanks for the invitation.”

Bobby smiled in response to his enthusiasm. “Thank you, for agreeing to do it. They’ll be really psyched. Probably the first class in history to have a real honest-to-God Rock Star sing at their ceremony.”

Cate watched the exchange between Jon and Bobby with a sweet smile on her lips. Her heart melted at Jon’s excitement about performing for the students. She was sure the performance would be as memorable for him as it would be for the newly-minted Special Agents.

Her smile turned just a hint bittersweet as she realized the ceremony would mark a graduation of sorts for Jon, too. Not long after it was over he would be leaving. Cate quickly pushed the thought from her mind. She wasn’t going to let herself think about that right now. There would be plenty of time for that later.