Jewel ran the brush through her long, straight hair, finally dry, until it was tangle free, then carefully brushed it back. She was leaving it down, for once, but tonight was a special occasion. Humming, she leaned in close to the mirror to apply eyeliner and pale grey shadow, then sat back to dust on blusher. She had recklessly bought a twelve dollar lipstick from Elizabeth Arden and savoured applying the rich dark berry colour for the first time. Then Jewel took out the tiny studs she usually wore and fastened a pair of creamy pearls in her upper ears, square cut sapphires in the lower holes. She turned her head to watch them sparkle in the lamplight, then stared at her face. The dark lipstick accentuated her fair skin, and her eyes looked both huge and deep blue, both a plus. *Not exotic* she thought, with a hint of chagrin,*but not little miss country club either. Kermit's used to these devastating, sinister beauties and I'm...well, I'm me, dammit. Either he likes me or he doesn't.* But she practiced a few Natasha looks anyway, just in case.

*****

Kermit, in his usual dark suit and tie with plain white shirt, was in his freshly washed and waxed Corvair. The car gleamed in the setting sun as he sped through town to Jewel's loft. They hadn't had an evening together since the incident with the Sandman. Even their quiet movie nights hadn't happened, and he wasn't quite sure what was stopping the casual get togethers he was used to. So Kermit had proposed a night out on the town, and a little to his surprise, Jewel had liked the idea. Peter had recommended a quiet restaurant on a back road near the casino, and dancing was to be had at the casino lounge. They played a lot of old standards, and from browsing through her CD collection, Kermit knew his date had a weakness for WWII and Fifties love songs. A quiet, romantic evening for two. What could be better? And Kermit smiled, realizing that he was actually looking forward to it.

*****

Jewel paced nervously in her heels, glancing over at the wall mirror every so often to check her appearance. *First date time again* she thought, then laughed softly. When had she and Kermit dated, really? First they had worked together, then he had begun visiting her at home, and they had managed a weekend trip to her family home in Maine. But they never went out, they ordered in or cooked together, watched movies from his or her tape collection, talked and played with her little black cat, Shade. She realized that she had never even seen his apt and frowned at herself in the mirror, then made a face. She and Kermit were such an oddball pairing anyway, it made sense for them to go away together before they ever had a date. Or at least as much sense as anything about them made.

*****

Kermit rang her door chime right on time and heard the unfamiliar clicking of heels as she came to open it. The door opened and he stared, forgetting the spray of star gazing lilies and tiny lavender roses he carried.

She stood there, and blushed as he peered over his shades, and finally snapped, "Well? Do you like it?"

He met her eyes, then deliberately swept from her deep blue heels, up over the matching fitted dress, lingering where a teardrop sapphire dipped dangerously on its silver chain into the white satin cuff around her bare shoulders. He took in her loose, shining hair and moved in, to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close.

Looking down into her face, he said, very softly, "Oh, yeah."

"Yeah?" Jewel smiled up at him, her look definitely provocative, daring him to..."How much do you like it?" she pressed herself against him, felt his embrace tighten, and drew his head down to hers.

Kermit felt the shock run through him, as SHE kissed HIM for the first time, a jolt of pure pleasure all out of proportion to the simple act of kissing. He wasn't aware of crushing the flowers against her hair as he tried to get closer, her tongue flicked his in a quick, teasing touch, and her teeth gently closed for an instant on his lower lip before kissing him again. Kermit groaned and seared her mouth under his, tangling his hands in her loose hair, pressing her back against the doorframe in his eager need to feel her body with his. He pulled away first, leaning back slightly and staring down at her wide dark eyes, the daring, kiss-bruised lips and shook his head wordlessly. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, and the tension dissolved as she laughed, and he could laugh with her

"I think that's been a long time coming, Kermit" she said, still flushed, and glanced back through the open door to the mirror that hung over her little door table. "Well," she sounded pleased, "Those fancy lipsticks ARE pretty kiss-proof."
Jewel lifted a hand to his face, one small thumb rubbed at his lower lip, making the move a caress, then turned her hand to show him. "and that means you don't end up wearing it for me."

He planted a hot kiss on her palm, and stepped away, offering her the broken stems and crushed blooms of a once beautiful bouquet. "Milady, I believe that we have dinner reservations."

She accepted the flowers with a giggling curtsey and tenderly touched the shredded plants. "Poor babies, victims of passion." She laid them on the table, picked up the small purse waiting there and pulled the door shut behind her.

*****

At the restaurant, Kermit had made reservations under a false name. They were escorted to a quiet table near the rear of the place, partly hidden by an enormous potted fern. The maitre'd held Jewel's chair and Kermit settled in across her, as always, in the chair facing the room. He ordered a bottle of wine without looking at the list, but the waiter never raised a brow, just murmured "very good, sir" and bowed slightly before walking away. She looked after the waiter and then at Kermit, who grinned. " If you don't like it, we'll order something else, ok?"

She smiled back at him and sipped her water. "I'm sure I'll like it, Kermit. I love that you know about this stuff." The smile turned into a grin and she leaned across the table to brush the white lock of hair off his forehead. "Does Mercenary Monthly have a wine section?"

He seized her wrist, and leaned in to kiss her quickly. "You'd be surprised what you pick up when you travel as much as I did. You develop an appreciation for the finer things in life." and he leered comically over his shades at her.

She was laughing when the waiter came back, white cloth over his arm, pushing a small cart with a silver ice bucket containing the wine. He uncorked it with one swift movement, handed the cork to Kermit to sniff, then poured a few drops into a glass at the man's nod of approval. Only after Kermit had tasted it, did he fill both glasses, with a graceful twist to avoid spills. With a small smile, he handed them both menus and departed.

They had ordered their meal, and were enjoying the excellent fresh baked bread and herbed butter when Kermit suddenly froze. She saw him staring and started to turn but he hissed, "Stop."

"What is it?" she asked low, and he replied, never moving his gaze, "Three guys at the front of the place, they don't look like they've come here to eat." Jewel nodded slowly, and reached up to unfasten her earrings, and necklace, cupping the jewels in her hand while reaching for her purse.

"I'm not losing Mother's wedding set if I can help it." she told him, and he shook his head

"Your purse isn't a good hiding place, but don't worry, they won't get them anyway." Kermit was reaching under his jacket and she hissed at him.

"Kermit" If you pull out a gun before they do anything, you could provoke them into shooting. There are a lot of people in here tonight. Give me your wallet."

"My wallet? What...Jewel, I'm a cop. I'm not letting this scum get away with robbing the place."

"If they don't try to hurt anybody, what does it matter, Kermit? You can get them when they leave the restaurant, when they won't get a chance to take a hostage"

They glared at each other, and, slowly, he handed his wallet over. A scream rang out as the men did pull out guns and forced the maitre'd away from the cash register, then began going to each table for "donations". As they were approached, Kermit looked at Jewel, her purse was sitting on the table beside her, sapphires and his wallet nowhere to be found. She grabbed his hand and held it in hers when he suddenly reached for his gun, the serene look on her face showed no part of the struggle going on. He'd have to hurt her to get his hand free and that hesitation cost him the chance to pull the Desert Eagle out before the gunman was at their table. He gestured with the barrel of the pistol at her purse.

"Just put it in the bag, miss, and those pearls too. I'll take your wallet, mister, and just be calm. No one acts the hero, and no one gets hurt."

Kermit's face was stone fury and he never moved. In contrast, fear trembled in the woman's voice as she told the gunman, "He doesn't have it, it was stolen at the mall last night, I was paying for dinner, you can check my wallet, I brought the money and our Diner's Club, please, don't hurt us." Her eyes were pleading and the man believed her, and turned away.

They made their escape from the restaurant and Kermit was after them like a shot, running out the back entrance, gleaming black cannon in hand. The manager was already on the phone to 911, a black and white unit was on the scene in just a few minutes, but the gunmen were gone. Kermit stood at the front, fist clenched at his side, for a long time.

*****

Peter was debriefing Kermit in his office, while Skalany talked to Jewel out front. She explained to Skalany where she had hidden Kermit's wallet. "I knew if they got his wallet and saw his badge, there would be trouble. Ditto if they searched my purse and got my gun."

"Your gun? You carry a gun?" Mary Margaret was surprised. Jewel shook her head.

"Of course I carry a gun. I'm a private investigator, I need one. But not tonight, these guys weren't offering to hurt anyone and I didn't want to give them any excuse. So I took Mother's jewelry, tucked it into Kermit's wallet and wrapped my revolver in my napkin, then buried them in the fern next to our table. I figured they wouldn't look there."

Skalany was impressed at her quick thinking. "I'm surprised that Kermit didn't have his gun out though. It's not like him to not take action during something like that."

*****

"God only knows why I listened to her, Pete" Kermit raged in his office. " I know how to control a situation, I could have stopped them without anyone getting hurt. But, no, Miss Caring and Concerned is worried about provoking them. Hah, more worried about saving her jewelry if you ask me. And you should have heard the way she begged that guy not to hurt us" I thought she had some backbone, but now..."

*****

"I was so afraid that they wouldn't believe Kermit had lost his wallet, Mary Margaret. If they knew he was a cop, they might have shot him" And you should have seen him, all ready to jump up and do the macho hero thing, no matter who got hurt."

*****

"And then they got away. Pete, I just wanted to...to.." Kermit was clenching his fists again and eyeing his office wall. "Why did I listen to her? I always go by my own instincts, and I could have handled those amateurs blindfolded."

*****

"He wouldn't even look at me afterwards, like it was all my fault. We'd just been through this really tense situation, I was sure one of us would get shot if he had lost it. He tried to provoke the one that took my purse, just ignored him. I had to jump in and played scared little woman to cover." Her eyes were blazing through unshed tears. "Why would any man take that kind of risk with his life? And Kermit, with his precious honour code, why would he take that kind of chance with innocent lives?" then, quietly, "with my life?"

*****

When Kermit and Peter were through, they emerged from his office to find Skalany typing away on her PC. Alone. She looked up and answered before he asked. "She left already."

"Alone? Why didn't she wait for me? She didn't have her car." Kermit fumed, "This is just like her. Out there alone, walking around in that dress, just to prove her point."

"Caine's with her, Kermit. He showed up to have supper with Pete, but as he was occupied and we were finished, he offered to take Jewel home. She was still pretty shaken." Skalany looked at Kermit, her gaze cool and non committal, then turned back to her paperwork.

*****

Jewel sat in Caine's rooftop garden in the dark, drinking tea with a quilt draped over her shoulders. The stars were faded by the city lights, but she still liked the sight of them, and the scent of the fresh growing greenery around her. Caine was nearby, playing his flute and the sound rippled through the night like clear water, smoothing the rough rocky edges in her heart. She sighed, and a tear slipped down her cheek, not the first to have fallen and been blotted away on the old quilt.

A step sounded inside the house and Peter came dashing in, "Pop? Pop, have you seen Jewel? She isn't at her..." and he saw the huddled figure on a bench at the edge of the garden. "Jewel, Kermit's going nuts looking for you, he's really.."

"Peter, please. I don't want to talk about Kermit." Her voice sounded small and frail, even to her own ears, but it was all she could choke out without crying. She tried to grasp and hang onto the tranquility of the night, but it was shattered and she stood up, folding the blanket in thirds. The white cuff of her dress gleamed in the moonlight, and her heels clicked on the stone walkway as she handed the quilt to Caine. "Thank you," she whispered, and kissed his cheek.

He raised a hand to hers, and wiped away a stray tear. "You are welcome here, Julia. You need not leave." Her hand held his to her wet cheek a moment, then released it and turned away.

"I don't want to involve you in this, Caine. Kermit's going to track me down, but if I'm home, I can at least put him off for the night by locking the door and turning off the phone. Pete, can you give me a ride?"

The younger Caine nodded and stopped to hug his father before following her down the stairs. "I'll talk to you tomorrow about supper, Father."

"Goodnight, my son." the older man smiled his shy smile, and as they walked down the stairs, raised his flute and began to play again.

Peter opened the car door for the woman, who slid in and leaned against the door as it closed. He climbed in, started the Stealth, and pulled into traffic to drive the several blocks to her loft. "Must have been pretty scary for you earlier," he said conversationally, inviting her to open up. Maybe if he understood where she was coming from, he could give Kermit a few pointers. He knew his friend liked this girl a lot, but he also had seen how betrayed Kermit felt.

She turned to look at his profile, slipping in and out of the shadows with each streetlight. "Yes, it was. Good thing your dad stocks chamomile tea. I probably drank three cups before it kicked in." If it hadn't been for Caine, it might have been a shot or two of Absolut Citron at the closest bar. Then a half cocked screaming match with Kermit on a street corner somewhere. Providentially, Caine had shown up when he had.

Peter made a face. "I never liked chamomile. I'd much rather have a beer to relax" and she laughed suddenly.

At his puzzled glance, she shook her head. "I'm not hysterical, Peter. I just got a visual of you as a boy in a temple, opening a Rolling Rock to relieve stress." and she giggled, with his chuckle for counterpoint, for longer than the weak joke required. Laughter was even better than booze for stress relief.

*****

When they pulled up at the loft, Peter double parked in front, insisting on walking her up to the door. "Pete, I'm not afraid. The building is safe and Kermit may be pissed off, but I know he would never.."

Peter's incredulous stare cut her off. "It never crossed my mind that Kermit would do anything, Jewel. You do know him better than that, right?"

"Of course I do, Peter. I just really need to get some sleep and try to pull myself together. Thanks for the ride, okay?" she leaned in, one small hand on his denim covered shoulder, to kiss his cheek and went indoors. He heard the locks click and turned to go.

Kermit stood behind him in the hallway, long black trench coat wrapped around him like armor.

"Kermit, man, she's really upset tonight. Let it go, for now, alright? You guys can talk tomorrow, after some sleep. C'mon, let's get out of here." Peter slung an arm around dangerous shoulders, deliberately ignoring the warning signals pouring off the ex-mercenary.

Kermit stared at Jewel's door from behind a dark green mask, his face was unreadable, then he shrugged off Peter's arm and turned to go, leaving the slight scent of Chivas behind him. By the time Peter reached the street level, his friend had disappeared into the night.

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