Jimmy's POV

Smooth move, Olsen. Piss her off good and proper, then grab her and snog her on the roof. Very suave and seductive. Of course, it's mostly her fault. I mean, she was standing there. Breathing. How does she expect me to resist when she provokes me like that?

I surprised her. Hell, I surprised myself, too, but I definitely surprised her. She feels surprised. Tensed up. She made a funny little sound, kind of like a 'merf'. The soft whiff of her breath and tiny motion of her lips when she did that made me kiss her harder. I'm telling you, it wasn't my fault.

But her lips are still closed, and I'm getting a little desperate, thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Finally I pull away, but I don't let go. Her eyes are still open, and she's looking at me like she hasn't seen me before. I wait for the crack; either a smart ass remark, or her hand across my face. Instead she just says, "Well. Hello to you, too."

"Uh, Scribe... look..."

"I'd like to see you try that again."

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"I said, I'd like to see you try that again."

"Oh?" She's smiling. "Oh.'

This time her lips part when I touch them with my own. I probe gently with my tongue. She tastes like wine and cherries and chocolate, and I feel a definite stirring of interest below my belt buckle. When she starts sucking on my tongue, I begin to get hard. There's something a little different from the other girls I've kissed. It's hard to define, especially with the blood rushing away from my brain. There's a sort of... questioning quality about her right now. Like she's saying, "Me? Are you sure about this?" I let her come up for air while I switch grips. I slide one arm around her waist, and grip the back of her head with the other, and start again. The next time we break apart is when I feel her grab my ass. Not that I don't like it. It just startles me. And gets me even hotter.

I lean her against the vent shaft and bury my face against the side of her neck. She jumps, and giggles. "Ooo! Ticklesticklestickles!" I sort of growl at her, and lick a spot just behind her ear, right where her neat hairline runs. She hasn't got much earlobe, it's just a little morsel, but I manage to nibble it. She moans a little, and starts squirming. I move back down to her throat and get to work, drawing the blood to the surface.

But now she's pushing at me, with increasing insistence. "Jimmy? Slow up, honey. Jim. Dammit, Jimmy, no hickeys. How'm I gonna explain a love bite when you were the only other person up here? I can't very well say Dracula swooped down on me, though the tabloid's would probably buy it..." I'm not listening. I'm concentrating on getting that little patch of skin the exact right shade of red-purple.

What finally gets my attention is a painful jerk at my hair, and the hissed words, "Jimmy! The freakin' traffic helicopter is on it's way!" I pull away from her and lean back against the wall beside her just as the machine comes up level with the rooftop. I can see a guy practically hanging out of the side with a camera, snapping pictures. Scribe makes a gesture at him that I believe must be common to both our universes. Anyway, they'll have to paste a decency screening dot on the photo if they ever want to publish it.

She glares at them till they fly away. When I reach for her again, she moves away. "Whoa, Big Red. This is not the time or the place. While I'll admit the idea of losing one's virginity on a rooftop under the wide, blue sky has a certain romantic cache to it... A) I'm worried about the chance that they've invented zoom lenses around here, and B) I'm not fond of the idea of pebbles against my butt."

"Gotcha."

"That being said... Wow." She rubbed her neck. "Where did all that come from?"

"It's been building up for awhile. Since you got that first paycheck, I think. It was the way you grinned at me. And since then there's just always been so much going on... I mean, everyone wanting you."

She frowns, blushing. "That's an exaggeration." "Not by much. So I figured, what chance did I have? I didn't let it bother me when I knew you were... er... close with Clark... and Lois." Boy, and I thought that I blushed. "I mean, they're friends, and they're good people. I knew you'd be safe with them. But when Luthor came in today..." I can feel myself tensing up at the thought.

'Jimmy," She lays a hand on my chest, wanting to make a point with her touch, I know. I want to take hold of her hand and move it down my body, but I don't. "Don't let it bother you. I wasn't all that impressed. And I know that wasn't the real him. I'm not fooled."

I say, seriously, "You think you know him, Scribe. That's what's dangerous. You know what they say about a little knowledge. I know there are a lot of things you know about this world from what you've read in your own. But you've found that a lot of things are different over here from what you've expected, haven't you?" She looks doubtful. "Did you ever imagine Lavender's Green when you were reading those comic books?" She shakes her head slowly. "Or Diana Prince?" She winces, and I'm sorry for bringing up the memory, but she has to understand the way things are.

"I'm just telling you, Scribe, you have to be more careful. This isn't like that comic book world, not where it really counts. Maybe the main characters are always guaranteed to come out the end of the story safe and sound..." I touch her face, needing to have her listen and understand. "but you were never written into this. How can you be sure the same rules apply?"

She slowly pulls the business card out of her pocket, and stares at it. Her voice is hesitant. "But Jimmy... What... what if he really is my only chance to get home? Nothing else has turned up."

"I guess it depends on how badly you want to go back."

She sighs, and her voice is wistful. "I want it pretty bad, Jimmy."

"It isn't so bad here, is it?" I ask gently. "You have people here who care about you, a lot."

She smiles, but it's still a little sad. "No, it's not so bad. It's fun, actually. And it would have been different if I'd had a choice in the matter. Jump into the DC universe and hobnob with Supey, Lois, Jimmy, and the rest? Hell yeah. Have a certain cute red-headed reporter grab my behind and kiss me half senseless? Get outta my way. But I got grabbed, jerked, and flung. And I didn't get to say goodbye."

She doesn't cry, but her eyes are brighter than they should be. "I miss people, Jimmy. I want to tell Lawrence and Alex about Lavender's Green. Oh, and Clive. They'd probably break their necks trying to come over to set up appointments. My wiener dog is probably half dead with worry by now. I go to the store, she greets me like I've been around the world. And my Mom..."

She stops for a minute, gathering herself. "I'm all she has. She's ready to give me up to marriage, but to have me just disappear, with no word, no idea of whether I'm alive or not... I know what that would do to her. Hell, I got separated from her in the mall for about twenty minutes once, and she was reporting me as a possible abductee to mall security. That was when I was thirty-two. Can you understand, Jimmy?"

"I think so. It's not so much that you want to leave us. It's that you want to go back to them."

She nods. "Or get word back, somehow. I don't want to just disappear from their lives. That would hurt more than my being dead, and their knowing it. At least with a death, they could try to move on. With a disappearance... I know my Mom, and my friends. Every time a body was found, anywhere in the USA, they'd wonder. So, I can't discard a possibility just because it might be risky. Understand?"

"Yeah, I guess so. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

"Yeah, well..." She smacked my shoulder. "Just don't be such a snot about it again. Don't make me have to bitch slap you in public."

"What?"

"You don't want to know. C'mon, let's go downstairs before one of the tabloids has me having your baby."

We start toward the door. "Having my twins."

"Triplets."

"All born with full heads of hair."

"And the teeth. Don't forget the teeth. Due to the special honey and goat yogurt diet, exclusive article next to the ad for hair restorer..."