Dead Letter Office: Interlude

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Jake calls Wanda before the action starts in Sun City. Guest appearance by Wanda's hair.



Jake sat on the end of a dock that jutted out over Lake Geneva, his bare feet dangling in the water. He wasn't quite sure whether he was still drunk or if instead he'd moved into hungover; he'd only managed two restless hours of sleep before he'd given up and left the apartment, wandering through the city until he'd come to the lake. That had been a couple of hours ago.

Well, Morgan did say he should get more sun.

He looked at the phone in his hands, checking his watch for the hundredth time since he'd stepped onto the dock. Late enough now, maybe, or maybe they were still on a plane, or maybe in the middle of things--he'd been having the same argument, over and over with himself, and he was tired of it. Shoving his free hand through his hair, he dialed, then tucked the phone in between his shoulder and his ear.

Wanda was actually in the bathroom of the hotel when her cellphone started to play the theme song from the Pillsbury dough commercials. With a sigh of frustration, she threw down the brush and comb she'd been using so she could actually pick it up. It wasn't that she was frustrated that she'd gotten a call but just that her hair was refusing to actually do what she wanted.

"Hello, Jake," she said, tucking the phone into the crook of her shoulder so she could still try and muck about with her hair.

"Hey." He tried to think of something else to say, but if he wasn't able to keep the catch out of his voice on a simple hello, he didn't want to find out what would happen if he tried a full sentence.

With one hand in hair gel, she paused in her attempt to scoop it out. "What's happened? Is everything going okay over there? You weren't shot, were you?"

He giggled at that, which was distressing; it really wasn't funny, and he swallowed it down almost immediately. "No. Although," he paused to lick his dry lips, "it might've made things better. Easier."

That really worried her. Jake was terrified of pain, even though he could bounce back from it better than most. Though it made handling him sometimes rather easy. "What happened? Who do I have to go and hurt for you now? You know, that list is getting quite long these days."

"I know." The thought made him want to laugh helplessly again. "They were already on the list, though. I'm in Geneva, Wanda, who else?"

With some careful handling, Wanda slipped the phone into her hand and pressed the speaker button so she had two hands free. The bodyguard look called for slick back hair and it was proving almost impossible. "Oh sweetie, your sister and your mother were cold stone bitches, weren't they?"

"Yeah." He kicked his feet idly in the water, watching the splashes. "You'd think I'd stop being surprised by now."

"You went for them for help, of course you're surprised." She cursed suddenly in French as her hand got stuck in the side of her hair. It took three yanks to pull it out and only made that side suddenly stick straight up.

"Yeah, I--what are you doing? You aren't in the middle of the job, are you?" He frowned, eyes tracking a sailboat as it passed in front of him.

"Preparing for it," she said, sounding sulky. "Since I am playing bodyguard to Sofia, I'm trying to get my hair to slick down. I've been in here for an hour and this is not working correctly." That was enough, she could play later. Instead, she swung herself up to sit on the sink and picked the phone back up.

"Oh." It was weird to think that the four of them were cooling their heels in Geneva, with nothing to do except be in Geneva, while Wanda and the rest of the team were about to start on the dangerous part of the job. Even if he had absolutely no interest in being on the dangerous part of the job. He bit his lip. "I won't keep you. I just--Wanda? Do me a favor?"

Wanda made a rude noise at him over the phone. "You aren't keeping me from anything - I was this frustrated thirty minutes ago. But yes, anything you need."

He swallowed thickly at that, the contrast making his chest ache dully; if he asked her to, Wanda would do just about anything for him, while his family had shown that they would do just about anything to screw him. "Never mind. I just--" wanted to talk to you "--wanted to tell you that I'll be coming home with Amanda and David and Doug. I promise." And there was another aching contrast, sitting with his feet dangling in Lake Geneva and talking about New York as home. But he meant it, he realized. Somehow in the last few months, home had become the Brownstone, and Wanda.

Instantly, Wanda's face softened at that. It was obvious that the meeting with his family had sent him flying into a million pieces and all she wanted to do was be there to put it to rights. "You do know I'll hold you to that," she teased, deliberately keeping her voice light. "Once our part is done, I'll see you at home, okay?"

He nodded, then remembered she couldn't see him. "Yeah." He wanted to tell her to be safe, but swallowed that urge down. "Hey, it looks like we're going to have plenty of time to play tourist," he said instead. "What should I bring you--clocks or chocolate?"

"Do you really have to ask? Chocolate clocks, of course."

He laughed again, but this time because he actually wanted to laugh. "I'll see what I can do. No promises, though--North's been making noises about dragging us around to all of the clock shops. I might stuff myself on chocolate to stave off boredom."

There was a smirk in her voice, it came through clearly over the phone. "And how is that different from normal?"

He tipped his face up towards the sun. "North geeking out over clocks, or me stuffing myself with chocolate? No, wait, don't waste your time answering that."

She laughed and the sound echoed a little in the bathroom as she leaned her head against the wall, careful to not get any of the gel on the surface. "Do you think I know you perhaps a little too well?" Wanda teased, enjoying the few minutes of not having to prepare for the mission.

"It's possible," he admitted, easing onto his back as some of the tension released from his shoulders. It wouldn't last much past the end of their phone call, so he enjoyed it while he could. "But sometimes I think that's okay."

"Mm, it's a good thing I think the same way, I think, or else we really would be in trouble." The counter was cold against her bare legs and Wanda started to eye the bathroom to see if she could spot the skirt Sofia had helped her purchase earlier that day. "Well, more trouble. You seem to always be quite the handful." Her tone was more amused than anything else.

"It's true," he responded solemnly. "Without me, your life would be boring and dull. At least, the parts where people weren't shooting at you." Which was a little too close to home at the moment, so he moved on quickly. "At least I'm the good kind of trouble."

When she spotted her skirt, she pounced and somehow managed to not drop the phone in the process. "And you're the kind of trouble that puts up with my trouble and brings me chocolate clocks. Yes, I think I'll keep you."

The sun-warmed planks of the dock on his back coupled with the sunshine on his face and the utter lack of decent sleep since they'd landed in Geneva were all combining to make Jake warm and sleepy. Still, it took the affection in Wanda's voice to ease the aching emptiness in his chest. "I bet you say that to all the boys," he murmured in response.

"Only sometimes. But you're the only one I say it to when I'm not wearing any pants."