Author: SerenaJ
Title: Rachael and JD
Part: Chapter 11
Universe: Reedville and The Davidson Fishery
Summary: Of course they get back together - this IS a romance
after all
Keywords: MF, cons, rom, piv, interr (HF/WM)

Chapter 11: Hold Me

“Rachael?” Gail called over the intercom.

“Yeah”

“There’s a Mr. McElroy here to see you.”

She stared at the phone.

“Rachael?  Rachael?”

“Uh, yeah.” Her hand was shaking, “Uh, I’ll be down in just a
second.”

It had been more than three months since she any contact with the
family – she did not count the card at graduation.  Maybe it was
not him.  She almost called the front desk to ask for a first
name but paused.  If it was JD, he was here for a reason.  If it
was not JD, then something was wrong.  That thought got her out
of her seat and rushing down the hallway.  ‘Calm down, nothing’s
wrong.’  She told herself but did not believe it until she saw
him – before he saw her – in the lobby wearing the navy
pinstriped suit that they had bought together and holding the
battered old fedora his insisted on wearing on cold days.

He had gained a little weight, and he had skipped a haircut or
two.  But when he looked at her, her heart stopped.  She froze to
keep from throwing herself into his arms.  He smiled and she felt
her knees shake.

He cleared his throat, “Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan.”

It took her a moment to gather herself enough to answer, “Good
afternoon, Mr. McElroy.  You’re looking well.”

“Thank you.” He looked away, “You are looking lovely as always.”

“Thank you.”

They stood in silence for a while and finally the receptionist
spoke up, “Hey, Rachael, you know the meeting room is free if you
need somewhere to speak in private.”

Rachael shot the woman a panicked look but JD spoke up quickly.
“No, no. I was not intending to take up that much of your time. 
I was…in the area…I thought I’d see…” he shrugged, “I wanted to
see how you were doing at your new job.”

“Well.  Everything’s going just fine.”

“Good, good.”  He hesitated, “Well, I didn’t want to hold you up,
I just wanted to – uh – well, anyway, I’m glad all is well.”

They looked at each other.  He cleared his throat again, “I don’t
suppose you are free for lunch at this late hour?”  She opened
her mouth but no words came out and he continued before she could
think of anything to say.  “Of course not, what I’m I thinking. 
You have things to do – other than fool with an old man like me –
I’d best be on my way.  I’d just wanted to say hello.  And…”  He
stopped and looked away again, “…well.”

“Dinner?” She asked tentatively.

“Dinner?” he repeated and when she nodded, he smiled again,
“Dinner would be right nice, Miss Sullivan.  Shall I call for you
here or at your home?”

“Uh,” she was shaking again, “Here is fine.”

They stared at each other for a few more minutes.  Then JD gave
himself a shake and cleared his throat again, “Well, then, I
guess I will be seeing you later this afternoon.”  He tipped his
head to her and the receptionist. “Miss Sullivan.  Ma’am.”  And
pushed the elevator button.  He looked down at the floor, she
noticed, not back at her – not even at her reflection in the
elevator door.  But she saw his hand shake as he pushed the lobby
button to go down.

“Well that was awkward.” Gail exclaimed, “Who was grandpa?”

Rachael bristled at the reference to his age but did not comment.
 It was not the first, and would not be the last, “’Grandpa’ is
my fiancé.” She frowned and sighed, “Ex-fiancé.  We broke up a
few months ago.”

Gail’s face registered several different emotions before she
looked pained, “Oh. Uh.  Sorry, I didn’t mean -“

“Don’t worry,” Rachael waved the comment off, “he’s a little
older than me, so it’s a common reaction.  We just…it was a…he
dumped me and I deserved it and I haven’t seen him since so I
just…” She shrugged and bit her lip.  She though she was past
crying over this but she could feel the tears, “I just really
miss him…and…”

Gail handed her a box of tissues then answered a call.  When she
finished, she looked back at Rachael, “Hey he came to see you. 
Maybe he’s over it and wants you back.”

Rachael shook her head, “Not what I did.  He won’t get over
that.”  The phone rang again and Gail rolled her eyes as she
answered it.  Rachael waved goodbye and went back to her desk. 
She tried to concentrate on her work but after the third time she
typed JD’s name into the forms she was completing, she gave up
and called Helen.

“Guess who came to see me today?”

“Good.” Helen purred, “Bright boy.”

“Helen, what did you do?”

“I had a brief discussion with a co-worker.”

“Helen…”

“Oh, stop.  You don’t really care what I said so long as he makes
up with you, do you?”

“Yes, actually I do.” Rachael shook her head, “I was wrong, not
him.  I should have told him everything.  I should have called
him as soon as it happened.  I should have been honest and
trusted him.  Instead I lied.”

“Yes and if the prick had ever taken the time to listen to you,
he’d know all that.”

“Be fair, Helen.”

“Look, the only reason I care about him moping around like his
dog died is because I know you’re doing the same thing.  Really;
if I’m going to lose one of my favorite fuck buddies, I’d like it
to be for a reason!”

“Oh,” Rachael could not help laughing, “you are such a
self-serving bitch.”

“I never claimed otherwise.  Oh, another call.  Call me when you
get home and tell me what he said.”

“It might be late.  He’s taking me to dinner.”

“Oooh!  Well in that case, call me with the juicy details.”

She was able to clear her mind somewhat after that – although she
kept returning to the idea that he really just stopped by to see
her.  Helen said ‘moping like his dog died’.  It gave her hope
that maybe he could forgive her.  Maybe they could try again. 
She was imagining the conversation where he says ‘I still love
you’ when Gail buzzed.

“You know he’s still waiting, right?”

“Who’s waiting?”

“You’re ex.  He’s been here since four-thirty.”

Rachael looked at the clock; it was 5:15.  Ordinarily, she did
not leave until 5:30.  “Why didn’t you call me?”

“He said not to.  Said you knew he was here.  He’s been reading
the journal but I thought maybe you forgot about him.”

“Of course I didn’t forget him!” She snapped, “I gotta tell Steve
I’m leaving.  Don’t let him go anywhere.” She hung up, cleared
her desk by dropping everything into a drawer and called her
boss.  She turned off, locked up, grabbed her coat and purse and
tried to fly down to the reception area.

She entered panting, “Oh, JD, I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean to
make you wait!  I don’t usually clock out until 5:30 and I-“

He stood to greet her and stroked her shoulders, “Miss Sullivan,
it’s ok.  I arrived early an’ didn’t want to disturb you.  After
all, I can’t approve your hours any more if-n you leave a bit
early.”  His chin lifted slightly then stopped.  He pulled away
from her, suddenly serious, and called the elevator, “’Sides, you
have waited patiently for me frequently in the past; I imagine I
can wait once or twice for you.  Ya’ll have a nice evening,
Ma’am.”  He called out to Gail.  As they stepped on to the
elevator, Rachael realized that he had started to kiss her but
stopped.  She felt a warm shiver run through her.

He opened the car door for her and drove to Friendship Heights –
to her favorite Italian restaurant.  Neither said much as they
waited for a table.  Once seated, they ordered drinks and pursued
the menu.

“Alright,” JD finally said, “how is he?”

Rachael looked up at him, “How is who?”

JD did not look away from the menu, “My son.  I presume he’s with
you.  You can tell him to come on back to work when he wants to.”

She stared at him opened mouthed, “You think I would let him near
me after…” she stopped, remembering the JD did not know what
truly happened; how close to rape it was.  “JD,” she tried to
stay calm, “I have not seen him since that day.  I don’t want to
ever see him again.”  She sipped her wine and tried to breathe
normally.

He did not respond, just waved to the waiter and gave his order.
She ordered her favorite ravioli and found herself fascinated by
the light striking her wine glass.  Strains of “When Somebody
Loves You” in the background did not help her feel any less
stressed.  Dinner had not been a good idea.  She looked up when
he spoke again.

“If something happened, that I should know about…” he said
softly.

“Nothing happened that anyone should know.  I made a mistake and
I lost you for it.  My own fault.  Not his, not anyone else’s.”

“I see.”  JD looked thoughtful.  After an extremely long pause,
he spoke softly again, “Are you seeing anyone now then?”

She stared at him again; maybe he never believed that she loved
him.

“I’m sorry.” He looked away from her, “That is none on my
concern.  You certainly have a right to your privacy.”

“No, I’m not.” She pursed her lips, “Are you?”

“I” he stressed the word, “am a retired old man.  Ain’t nobody
interested in me.  You, however, are a vibrant, intelligent,
beautiful young woman.  They should be linin’ the streets just to
speak to you.”

She blushed a bit, “Let’s not get carried away, now.”

“Surely your friend must know someone.”

“Several someones.  I wasn’t interested.”

His smile grew slowly, “Really.”

“Really.”

“Miss Sullivan,” he carefully folded and refolded his napkin as
he spoke, “If I were to ask you to accompany me to the courthouse
tomorrow morning, would you say yes?” His eyes never looked away
from his hands.

It was the last thing she expected him to say.  She sputtered for
a moment before blurting out, “How could you trust me again?  I
lied to you.”

He shrugged “I just do.”

“JD, you caught me in a lie.  How could you possibly believe
anything –“

“Oh, I don’t believe you.”

She froze, not quite sure she heard that, “What?”

“I don’t believe you.” He refolded his napkin again, “But I trust
you.  I know something happened to you that you feel – for
whatever reason – that you cannot share with me.  I don’t like
that, not at all.  But if you say that there is nothing I need to
be concerned about, then, alright.  I am not concerned.”

“You forgive me.  Just like that.”

“There is nothing to forgive.  I love you.  I trust you.” He
paused, “You see, the error was mine.  I let anger cloud my
judgment and for that, I am truly sorry.”

She sat with her mouth open as the waiter served their meals.  JD
began eating calmly and after a moment, she picked up her fork
and tried to digest his words.

“I have been a fool, Miss Sullivan.” He announced after a few
minutes. “An unmitigated fool.  I would appreciate it if you
would forgive me, but I would understand if you did not.”

She stared at him again, “You want me to forgive you.” He nodded.
“You still want to marry me.” He nodded again. “I fucked your
son.”

He held up his hand, “Please, Miss Sullivan.  I would just as
soon not recount the details.” He reached into his pocket and put
a ring box on the table between them, “I’d rather forget all this
foolishness, an’ go on with our lives together as if none of this
ever happened.”

“But it did happen.  What if it happens again?”

“If it happens again, then we shall discuss it at that time.  It
will not happen again with him because if it does, I will kill
him.”  He said it so simply; Rachael almost believed he meant it.

“You’d threaten to kill him, not me.”

“I have reason to suspect that, despite your assurances to the
contrary, that he is at fault in this matter.  I have discovered
some disturbing things about my sons over the last few months. 
An’, frankly, I would very much like you back in my life. If that
means I have to learn to share your affections,” He sighed
deeply, “I will have to learn ta share.  I am more than willing
to forgive and forget any perceived trespasses against me at this
point.”

“You haven’t spoken to me in months.”

“No.” He said between bites, “I have not.”

“And you don’t seem to care one way or the other if I stay or
go.”

“I do have a confession.” He looked at her then, “I had a very
large brandy before joining you for dinner this evening.  It was
the only way to stop mah hands from shaking.” He looked back at
his plate, “Even so, I’m so terrified you’ll say no that I can
hardly look at you.”

A courthouse wedding.  Tomorrow.  No fuss, no muss but her mother
would scream just as loudly as his. Rachael took a bit of her
dinner while she thought about the situation.  Not whether to
marry him – that, she had no doubt about.

“What would your mother say if we went the courthouse route?”

“Oh,” he sighed, “She raise holy Hell, probably ban me from the
house for a week or so, but eventually she’d get over it.”

Rachael nodded, “My mother wouldn’t be much better.”  She took
another couple of bites then felt her heart pounding as she said,
“I think we should just stick to the original December date.”

“Alright, Willow.  Whatever you want.”

She shivered when he called her ‘Willow’ again.  She picked up
the ring box and quietly slipped the engagement ring on.  It felt
right on her hand.  They ate without saying anything else about
it.

Midway through the meal, he cleared his throat yet again and
stood up, excusing himself.  Then, as he passed her chair he
stopped short, leaned down and kissed her – softly at first but
shortly his hands held her face and he kissed her soundly.  For a
moment, she forgot where they were and could only respond to the
pleasure of his lips against hers and the heat of his tongue in
her mouth.

He pulled away eventually with a deep groan, “Oh, mercy!” he
whispered, “I missed that.  Be right back.”  He headed toward the
restroom.

They finished dinner quickly after that with little conversation
but a strong desire to go home.  They held hands walking back to
the car and grinned like teens the whole ride to Falls Church. 
He took her hand again when they got out of the car and kissed
her deeply on the doorstep.  She slipped her arms around his neck
and maneuvered her purse behind her.  He leaned her back against
the door and for a moment, she wondered if he intended to take
her there and then.  She moaned at the idea and tried to
encourage it by unbuttoning his coat.

Without warning, the door opened behind her and the two of them
tumbled onto the hallway floor.  Rachael let out a surprised yelp
and JD and Charles’ familiar voice both swore.

“Oh fer chrissake!  What are you two, fifteen?”

Rachael began laughing and could not stop.  JD joined in.  They
remained heaped on the floor laughing until JD kissed her
lightly, “I love you.  I need you.  I want you.  I love you.  I
can’t live without you.”  He punctuated each sentence with
another kiss somewhere on her face.

Rachael whispered back between kisses, “Don’t ever, ever, ever,
ever, leave me again. You hear me?  I mean it.  You hear me?” 
Her hands were finished with his suit jacket and were busy
opening his shirt.

“I hear you.” He caught her lips again and pinned her to the
floor with a kiss. “I missed you so much.”

“How much?”

“This much.” He kissed her again and pulled her shirt, nearly
snapping the buttons off.  She started to complain but he pushed
her bra out of the way and virtually attacked her breasts.  She
gasped and purred.  He nipped her lightly.  She could feel his
erection against her leg.  One of his hands slipped behind her
back holding her still while the other slid under her skirt and
into her panties.  That alone was enough to spark her first
orgasm.  She had another before they could finish undressing.

When he finally held her legs open and eased his length into her,
Rachael moaned, “Oh Julius, I missed you.  You feel so good, so…”
she voice dropped off as he used shallow strokes to rub her
g-spot.  She came again and seemed to ride a continuous wave as
his strokes became deeper and faster.  He came with a roar and a
prayer.  They lay wrapped around each other, still in the front
hall.