Man of Her Dreams (Closed for M13)

Half an hour.

Half an hour until she could go home, take off these heels, and pop open a bottle of wine. Mondays were the days most people grumbled about, but for Claire Thompson, it was Wednesdays. Everyone in the office suddenly had an immediate need for her to do everything at once; the realization of the week being half over kicking in at about 4 pm. It happened like clockwork, people rushing to her with papers in hand, some begging for her help in finishing reports, others demanding that it was her job to complete the sales figures that they hadn't bothered to do themselves.

She forced a smile, took them all. Inside, she was ready to explode. If it was so easily predictable for her, why didn't they realize they were doing it themselves? But Claire would never say a word. This job was far too important to her right now. The 24 year old had gone from a part time retail job to the office assistant at one of the largest marketing firms in the area- nope. Not going to risk losing that.

"Claire! You get that proposal done for me yet?"

She simply shot a look over the top of her monitor, frowning slightly. "John, you just gave me that. Like 10 minutes ago... No. It's not."

John groaned, rolling his eyes. "I have a meeting with this guy in the morning. Can't you hurry it up?"

"Can't you type it yourself?"

"What was that?" He gave her a sour look, leaning over her screen a bit more. "What're you working on now, anyway?"

"A report for Rick. You know- our BOSS."

"Oh. Well, um, you finish that then." He straightened up, grimacing slightly. "I'll just do it myself, then. I guess."

She shrugged, letting off a slight 'hm' noise as she continued to type. John really wasn't that bad a guy; one of the few who were usually good on giving her time to work on projects. Today just happened to be one of those random days where even he was in that list of people who wanted something done ten minutes ago. She puffed out another hard breath, finishing the last of Rick's report before emailing it off.

---------

Home. FINALLY.

The comfort of bare feet against the plush white rug brought a smile to her face, moving silently to the kitchen to pull out the bottle of wine from the fridge. Pouring herself a glass, the couch was her next stop, Claire settling in and sipping her drink. The grey persian cat that decided to join her received a quick tousle of it's fur, Claire's eyes lazily peering up at it as it claimed the back of the couch.

"Hey there, Wesley. You had a rough day too, huh? Bet sitting home all day can be such a pain..." She sighed, letting out a soft yawn before setting the wineglass on the coffee table. "Just... laying there... sleeping all day. Yeah.. You got a real hard life, kittycat."

Wesley only mewed, hopping down to curl up in his owner's lap as she drifted off to sleep. All she wanted was a few minutes' nap, a chance to let the frustrations of the day slowly leave her mind.

Her day had been a nightmare.
A few good dreams would help.

An hour.

"Crap," John said under his breath as he got back to his desk after the last of his meetings for the day finally finished. He sat down, spending a minute or two to clear his head, and focus on what he needed for his meeting first thing the following morning.

"Double crap. I need to get that proposal done too." John looked around the mess on his desk, a sure sign that he was having a bad day. Not the neatest person around, his desk was normally clean and in an orderly condition. After about ten minutes of frantic searching, he found all the notes for the proposal, gathered them together and sorted them into order. Along the way, he found some other work that needed to be done for the meeting.

"Argh." He scooped up the proposal notes, and hurried over to Claire's desk, leaving them on the edge of her desk with an apologetic smile as he hurried back to his desk to do his other work. Putting thoughts of the proposal aside, he focused on his other work, getting a dint put in it before his thoughts strayed back to the proposal, which was the key thing to get done. He walked over to Claire's desk quickly, dodging other co workers racing around like he was.

"Claire! You get that proposal done for me yet?"

The look he got from over her monitor was not the friendly one she normally gave him. "John, you just gave me that. Like 10 minutes ago... No. It's not."

John groaned, rolling his eyes. "I have a meeting with this guy in the morning. Can't you hurry it up?" Visions of a late night started to form in his mind.

"Can't you type it yourself?"

"What was that?" He gave her a sour look, leaning over her screen a bit more. "What're you working on now, anyway?"

"A report for Rick. You know- our BOSS."

"Oh. Well, um, you finish that then." The vision became a reality as he stood up. He looked over on her desk, picking up his notes. "I'll just do it myself, then. I guess."

He sat down with the proposal notes, and started typing away frantically, watching the time carefully.


John kicked off his shoes, tugged his tie off, almost choking himself in the process. The echoes of the closing door stayed with him as he found his way into the kitchen.

"What a day!" A glass of juice disappeared as he headed for his bedroom to get changed. The glass was placed on the bedside table. He sat himself down on the bed then slumped back onto the bed with a loud groan.

Within moments, he was asleep.


The bustle of the office was no worse than normal, but John noticed that people where deviating on their paths to stop by Claire's desk. The thing that stood out for him was that they were dropping anything off, or picking anything up. He leaned back on his chair and watched more closely. The stream of people was steady, but he couldn't make out what was going on.

He got up, and wandered over. As he closed, he saw that Claire was looking happy, genuinely happy. This piqued his curiosity further as he got close enough to hear what was being said.

"Thank you, Claire."

"Claire, that was great work. Well done."

"Thanks, Claire."

Nothing but heartfelt thanks for the stuff she had done. John joined the rapidly diminishing line of grateful co workers waiting their turn to give their thanks and praise. When it was his turn, he was smiling broadly.

"Hey, Claire. Thanks for all the help recently." He leaned down and gave her a hesitant kiss.

Claire had never thought this would ever happen. They were... thanking her. Actually appreciating everything that she had done. The sound of their praises brought a smile to her face, a slight blush to her cheeks. The ones that really got her were the words leaving the people who so often mocked her, yelled at her- but now they were the ones giving the most praise and thanks.

It had to be a dream.
Had to, had to.

But she really didn't want to wake up.

Her eyes raised slowly as John's voice was added to the line, looking up at him in surprise. He was one of the nicest people she had ever met. If anyone should have been saying anything, it should have been her, for snapping at him-

He kissed her.
Ok. Definitely a dream.

She shifted on the couch, her arm raising up against the back of it and spooking Wesley away, murmured words leaving her as she became more enthralled in the dream. "John...," She whispered out, the light smile on her lips growing a bit more.

"Not a problem," she replied softly, a sheepish grin on her face. "I mean, it's my job. But... getting a little thank you now and then really is a nice thing."

John's pulse jumped slightly at the reaction he got from Claire after the kiss. That it was just them suited him fine.

"Pr-proper thanks? What exactly do you mean by that?"

John could see the effects of his kiss on Claire's heart rate, her pulse showing clearly under the skin of her neck. He hopped off the desk, easily lifting her from her chair, and placing her on the desk. He lowered his arms to either side of her, once more leaning in dangerously close to her lips.

"Maybe I should show you?" One hand moved to behind her head, supporting it as he closed the minuscule distance between their mouths. The first contact was an affair of lips only, but a definite taste of things to follow. A short break preceded another kiss, this time with the faintest, but confident touches of his tongue on her lips. The confidence was demonstrated by the passage deeper into Claire's mouth for a brief contact with her tongue.

He shifted the focus of his kisses to her neck, adding the occasion touch of the tip of his tongue. His hand behind her added support without any attempts to guide or control. His breath blasted her skin with gusts of hot air as his lips trailed upward. His own heart started to sound in his ears louder than a gong as he continued to thank Claire.

His lips paused near her ear, his breathing starting to rattle slightly. He nipped her earlobe softly. "Let me truly show you how much you mean to me," he purred in her ear. The purring grew to almost deafening levels as his icy cold, damp nose was buried in her ear.

Wesley looked mortified at Claire's reaction to his display of affection.

Both the Claire on the couch and the Claire in the dreams were breathing heavily now, the woman in the real world letting off noises and gasps delicately in her sleep that left the feline perched above her to stare at his owner curiously. As another set of noises escaped her, the cat delicately reached down, a paw gingerly patting her in the stomach. The dream she was so enthralled in was certainly making her act strangely...

Claire stiffened briefly as he picked her up from her chair, unsure of what to make of this. The gentle words that left him, however, brought a reassured smile to her face, settling onto the desk he placed her on and watching him. Her heart was racing now, still amazed at the fact that he was... well, doing this. She had never thought John would ever treat her like this. Friends? Certainly. But this?

"Show me," She whispered in agreement, her eyes closing as his lips danced gently against hers. The breath that left them tickled against her own lips, a shiver running throuh her as her eyes reopened slowly. The whole office seemed empty now. No.. Gone. Everything was gone; just her desk, her chair.. and them.

Not that it mattered.

A soft moan left her as he kissed her again, her hand snaking up over his shoulder to run her nails against his back, lost in the feel of him... the scent of him. She could actually smell him... Her eyes managed to close once more as his tongue pressed against hers, withdrawing quickly and leaving her to pine for more. This was a wonderful way to say thank you. She really hoped he would continue to give such praises.

"Oh- Oh my...," she gasped as he left her lips, instead wandering his kisses down the side of her neck. Her back arched up from the fake wood grain beneath it, her moans coming in a greater frequency as he continued to explore and tease. When he reached her ear, whispering the seductive 'warning', she gave her own light purr of a laugh, holding to him as she nearly melted into his arms. "Johnnnn..."

She moaned. Loudly.
Quite loudly.
Enough to send the slightly spooked cat into a full off terror, yowling as it pulled its curious nose from its master's ear and bolted from the couch.

Confused and dazed, Claire sat up quickly, rubbing her fingers against the shell of her ear as she glanced around. "Wes-Wesley? What..."

A dream. Just a dream.

"Of course it was. No one ever thanks me at work." She sighed as she swung her legs back around to touch the floor, her heart still pounding hard in her chest. "...Especially like that." She looked to the clock atop the television, gasping at the time. Almost 10 pm? She had slept that long?!

"So that's what your issue is, huh Wesley? Getting hungry? Alright. I'll get you something, grab something for myself... Then I gotta get to bed. I should probably go in early tomorrow, see if I can actually get that report done for John." She felt bad about the way she had told him off, but now also felt she owed him for that dream.
Not that he had anything to actually do with it.
But still...

Some leftover lo mein and a DVR'ed episode of Lost later, Claire had finished with her shower and was headed to bed. The odd dream from the couch was still on her mind, but she tried to forget about it. What would John say if he knew what she had been dreaming about? But it was just that- simply a dream, nothing more. To linger so long on one was just silly. It wasn't like he could get mad at her for it. She didn't force herself to dream about him!

John groaned as he hauled himself out of his bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He saw the blurry 11:52 on the clock as he made his way to the kitchen. He stopped in front of the kitchen, doing a half-hearted search for something to quell the loudly rumbling stomach. He found some uneaten pizza, nuking it enough to make it warm enough to be enjoyable. Finally fed, he stripped himself down and collapsed into his bed and fell asleep.


John cut a few corners in the morning routine, allowing him to just beat the morning traffic, and got into the office a lot earlier than he normally would have. Even at what he thought of as a disgusting hour of the morning to be in the office, there were a few people who seemed to be already in the groove of their daily routines. He said hello to anyone he passed, or said hello to him first as he made his way through the maze of cubicles to his desk.

"God, what a dream last night. I will admit, I never saw her in that light before, but... pheew. Anyway, back to reality." He pulled up his proposal, and started to verify what he had done the previous night. He swore softly a few times at some of his more obvious errors and typos. "That'll teach me to rush things after leaving them to the last moment." John settled into working on the remainder of the proposal that he was mostly unaware of the arrival of fellow co workers.

"Oh... hello, John. I wasn't expecting you here just yet."

John looked up to see Claire standing beside his cubicle wall. He smiled a little wanly. "Well, I've been finishing off the proposal I need for my meeting first up this morning."

"Yeah... well, I'll leave you to it then."

"Thanks, Claire," John said, his eyes lingering on her for the brief period she remained visible in the cubicle labyrinth. He returned to finishing the proposal, double checking it before sending it to the printer. John gathered all his other notes and necessary documents for the meeting. When he got to the printer, there was a small queue waiting, while Stephanie was working through the pile of freshly printed pages.

"Neville, here's yours," Stephanie said, thrusting her arm out holding the thick pile of paper. Neville took the papers with a barely audible grunt. "John!" A similar arm thrust presented him with his proposal. "Thanks, Stephanie." He blindly wandered back to his desk, barely avoiding a couple of collisions along the way. When he stopped and actually started to look where he was going, he was close to Claire's desk. He took a slight detour, halting at her actual desk.

"Hey, Claire. Sorry about yesterday. It was my fault. I should have got to you a few hours earlier after seeing how badly my day was disappearing in the meetings. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the help you give to me when you can. Thanks."

He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Not waiting around, he stood up and headed back to his desk. When he got there, he had 10 minutes remaining before he needed to meet with his client. He gathered everything together and heading out to meeting room 3 to make sure that the projector worked at least.

She smiled at him as she continued off to her own desk, though the blush that managed to hold out through the brief conversation didn't make it any longer. Settling into her chair, she quickly picked up a folder and opened it in front of her, trying to hide the fact she was baring such an unusual state. *Calm down. You went over this last night. It was just a dream, nothing real. You look like an idiot, doing this. Now stop it and get to work.*

The self-scolding did well to calm her down, the folder returning to its place beside her on the desk as she woke up her computer. The usual start to the day; a list of emails asking where things were, a few grumblings on not receiving things that they never even asked for, a couple of missent emails that had been intended to clients. She sighed at the sight of those, working ot redirect them before any real trouble was caused.

She paused as she felt someone looking at her, peeking up to see John standing there. She smiled weakly, glancing between the screen and the man before her. "Y-Yesterday?"

Oh. That little thing at the end of the day. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I.. I really didn't..." She trailed off as he kissed her cheek, a sheepish smile coming to her face, her fingers touching the spot as he walked away.

Good lord, she was shaking.
All he had done was give her a quick simple peck. Why on earth was she shaking like this?

"Woahhh. Had some of Hank's coffee, did ya?"

She looked up, a dazed look on her face. "Huh?"

The man laughed, pointing to the shaking hand Claire still had against her cheek. "The shakes. I get those after my first cup too. Someone should teach that man how to make coffee."

"Y-Yeah. The coffee. Hank... Hah." She smiled, though it quickly dropped as she saw John rushing by once more. His presentation... His client would be here soon.

*He kissed you. Just like the dream. Well, not JUST like the dream. But-*

The door to the office clicked open, a well-suited man entering and giving her a warm smile. "Good morning, Miss Thompson. I hope John doesn't mind that I'm here a little early?"

"Oh, not at all. He was just getting things ready. Please, have a seat in the lobby. I'll get him for you." She stood from her desk, heading for the conference room and knocking lightly on the door. "John?"

"Yes." John turned to look at the door where he heard the muffled voice.

Claire hesitantly cracked the door open a tad, smiling at him as she thumbed back toward the lobby. "Your client is here. Would you like me to help you set things up? That way he doesn't have to wait that long."

"Uh... sure. Can you check the projector for me? Mainly make sure that it's plugged in and working." John turned his attention back to the pile of notes, and the proposal documents. She nodded, slipping through the door and letting it close behind her before going to the smaller table, playing with a few of the cords as she stooped down in front of it.

"I guess there was a few issues with it last week. I think they were all fixed, but-" She stopped suddenly, wincing as the light came on directly in her eyes. "Ow-! Ugh, guess it's fine now..." She rubbed her eyes for a moment, frowning as she wandered around the table, nearly bumping into him.

"S-Sorry. Kinda blinded myself..." Still with a finger pressed against her left eye, the right peeked at him, a faint smile on her face. "This might sound weird, but.. thanks. For saying that earlier. It really did make me feel a lot better to know at least someone cares." A slight dejavu feeling came over her; she felt like she had really said something similar to this before.

John stifled a laugh at Claire's encounter with the projector, but he was clearly surprised at her thanks.

"Of course I care, Claire. You've helped me out more times than I can count since you've been here. I'm sorry I haven't said thanks more often." He took a step closer to look at Claire's right eye. "Are you OK there? Let me have a look at that."

"Oh, no, really; it's alright, I just- Um." She shifted slightly from her left foot to her right, then back again, a rather lost look on her face as he peered into her eye. Too close. Far too close. That dream crept into her mind, the idea of being this close to him once again (or was it the first time?) making her heartbeat echo in her ears.

"M-Mister Chalker. Mister Chalker's waiting for you," she stammered out, knowing full well that her face had to be burning red. She could certainly feel it-!

John felt the skin under his hands warm slightly, noticing the slight change in colour. He was a little confused by it, but his focus on the meeting and the well being of his friend kept him from pondering it further. Her right eye was a little red, but there was nothing wrong he would see with it.

"I know he's waiting, but he's also early. Now, let's have a look at the other eye." He softly but firmly moved her hand out of the way of her left eye, turning her head slightly to get a better view, bringing her face even closer to his as he did so.

Well, that didn't work. He was still pretty set on getting close enough to look in her eye. She gave another light smile, letting him peer into it as he moved her hand out of the way. "It's just really weird to have you staring at me like that," She laughed gingerly, frowning a bit. "Its like you're going to - I don't know, bite me or something. Ha..."

"Bite you," John laughed as he continued to look at her other eye. "Well, if you'd really like that, I suppose I could..." Her left eye was a little more red than the right, but all she she looked fine. He took a step back, dropping his hands from her face. His mind suddenly caught up with what had been happening, suddenly seeing her flushed face for the first time.

"Ahhh... yes. I do have a meeting on very soon, and we must not disappoint our clients by delaying them." He was a little embarrassed not from what he had done, but where and when. "Again, ah, Claire. Thanks for the help. Um... could you ask Mister Chalker to come in when you ah... head out?"

*Don't say that. Oh, god, don't say that.* Instead of verbalizing this thought, she simply gave another laugh, looking ot the ceiling as he inspected her eye, blinking a few times as he finally let go. "Sure," She squeaked out at his request to let in his client, a higher pitch than she intended leaving her voice as she quickly stepped back. "He'll, ah... be right in."

Heading back out into the hall, she wiped under her eye, trying to both keep them from watering and avoid any more redness to her face. "John is in room three, Mr Chalker," She explained to the seated man, holding the door into the other hall for him and pointing to the open room. With him on his way, she returned to her own desk, shaking her head at being so foolish.

John shook his head a few times, trying to get his mind back into a professional mindset. 'Had Claire been flirting with me? Does she like me?' The appearance of Mr Chalker drove any further thoughts from his mind as the proposal bulldozed everything else out of the way.

"Hello, Derrick. Good to see you at last. Please, take a seat and we'll get down to the matter at hand.


John relaxed at home. He had changed into track pants and a loose T shirt and was enjoying a cold beer. The proposal was a bigger success than he imagined, and he had heard news that it had been accepted and the paperwork was being drawn up before the end of the day.

His eyebrows crept together slightly as his thoughts turned to Claire.

"She was blushing while I was talking to her. But... nah," he took another pull of his beer. "She's nice, and I do like her, but like that? What about how she feels about me? Could she...?" More of his beer disappeared. "She sure is nice on the eye, and she is equally nice to be with and talk to as well. But..." He drained the bottle, and got himself some dinner.

"Damn, that proposal was more draining than I first thought." John got up and dumped the empty plate and cutlery in the sink, yawning as he headed back to the living room. "Maybe a little TV will do the trick." He slumped into the chair in front of his wide screen TV, bringing up the next episode of Supernatural. By the time the credits had started rolling, John was deep asleep.

[OOC: A big thank you to Mephistophelily for her help with this post.]

She had wanted to kiss him. he was right there, practically already on top of her lips with his hands cradling her face. If that wasn't something taken right out of a Harlequin book, she didn't know what was. But what did she do? Stupidly remind him that he had a client.

Sighing, Claire wiggled the mouse to turn off her screensaver, glancing behind her as she heard people talking. Oh, wonderful. More whisperings frmo the office gossip. She frowned slightly, trying to catch if her own name managed to sneak in there this time. Nothing. Good.

The rest of the day was fairly easy, light work for a Thursday; some filing, some reminder letters on past due bills... All in all, enough to make the remaining few hour fly by at a nice pace. It felt like no time at all before she was shutting down the place for the evening and driving home.

As usual, Wesley greeted her.
As usual, she kicked off her shoes and headed for the fridge, fetching that bottle of wine.

Running low. Need more soon.
The thought passed through her mind briefly as she started to uncork it, but paused before it fully loosened. Funny. She didn't really feel in the drinking mood tonight. That was only when she was depressed, when the day had been pure hell... and today, it... hadn't been. It had actually been nice. Maybe this wasn't a drinking night after all.

A quick dinner, a little tv, and she was off to bed. Friday was awaiting her, and the idea of the last day of the week getting here as soon as possible was very appealing. Fridays were usually pretty slow days; most of the sales staff off for meetings, she and the rest of the office staff left to handle things... A rather nice end to the week.

"Good night, Wes." She reached down to the cat nuzzled against her side, giving him a quick pat on the head before turning off the light.

Maybe tomorrow she could find the nerve...
Yeah. Right.

"Your client is here. Would you like me to help you set things up? That way he doesn't have to wait that long."

"Uh... sure. Can you check the projector for me? Mainly make sure that it's plugged in and working."

Familiar. It all seemed so familiar, that repeating part of the day, coming to her once again in her dreams. What was it that was sticking out so much from that harmless time together in the conference room that made her mind return to it in her sleep?

Her eyes were blinded by the bright light once again, John's comforting hands taking her face once more. That nervous laugh, the stupid comment on him looking ready to bite her-

"Well, if you insist..."

...What? That was new.

Claire twisted in her bed, the sheets wrestling between her thighs as she shivered. It was like she could actually feel it; the warmth of his breath against her skin, the gentle nip of his teeth along her neck, even the subtle roughness of the afternoon stubble along his own jaw. She whimpered softly as he kissed her in her dream, the feline beside her raising its head curiously, watching her for a moment before lazily slipping off the bed. He remembered what happened last time she did this... He didn't want to stick around for a second one.

"J-John-," She gasped, her hands moving up to grab his shoulders as he pressed her up against the table, her legs pushed around his. She didn't shove him away, she simply held to him; confused, amazed, every possible emotion she could have... except fear. There was no fear. She wanted to be closer to him. She had wanted to do this in real life, hadn't she? This was her second chance, where he wouldn't know what she was truly thinking in life...

Other requests?

She stared up at him for a moment, her smile growing a bit more. No inhabitions here. Nothing to slow her, make her regret any of her words... A simple kiss was a child's request. A grown woman made better use of her dreams, didn't she?

"Here," she whispered, using his shoulders to hoist herself up onto the table. "I want... I want you to take me, here. That would be the greatest thank you that you could ever give me...."

The sleeping Claire was smiling, a blush seeming to overcome her cheeks.

She was shaking. Not a frightened quiver beneath her sheets, but more a surprised, overwhelmed, enthralled shiver that refused to leave her body. John was... so close. He had never acted this way before, never spoke in such beautiful ways to her. Friendship, kindness- certainly. But like this? Never in her wildest dreams.
Aside from now...

Her breasts rose and dropped with her heated breaths, her eyes watching him in awe as he moved. His lips made their way to the flesh that moved so much from his work, Claire gasping softly as he gave more attention to them. The soft noise turned to a harsh cry as he toyed and experimented, the strong playful nips he made causing her hands to take refuge in his hair, almost pulling him in closer to her.

His head lifted, returning for a kiss. Claire's tangled fingers eagerly stated her interest in this, helping to pull him in closer against her lips as she kissed him, her tongue tracing delicately against his lower lip. A whimper passed from her throat as he left her once more, her hands retreating as he backed away. Sneak- He had managed to work off her skirt and panties during that little diversion. Left nude and panting atop the table, she simply watched him, her eyes darkened with the passion he had already driven inside her.

His warm hands met her thighs. Claire stiffened slightly, but only for a moment... she gave him control, let him do as he pleased. Her legs simply followed as he led them, pulling apart, holding still as they could as his affections found their way up her flesh.

He breathed.
Simply breathed.
Claire nearly melted away right then.

Her moans were soft and attempted to be muffled as he started to let his tongue play, her left hand coming to rest against her lips as she closed her eyes, while the right found its way back to comb through his hair. Those soft noises she tried so hard to keep dulled refused to stay that way now, Claire moaning deeply as he focused his attentions so wonderfully against her aching center. This was terribly wrong. Not here, not in the middle of the office... This was a place where anyone could simply-

"Oh Good Lord."

The words were wheezed out as he brought her thoughts to an abrupt halt, both the dream and real Claire crying out blissfully as he brought his tongue to meet her welcoming bud. Those fingers tightened, clenching to his head; not to demand, but to thank- and thank she did, a chant of "Yes, please, don't stop" repeating from her lips as she closed her eyes.

She was sweating. Her pillow was damp, the woman asleep in the bed gasping for breath as she twined in the pulled blankets. Her thighs clamped against the sheets wrapped between them, a cry coming from her lips in the most passionate of octaves. It was-
It was-

A dream.

Claire sat up with a start, panting as she looked around the room. Again? Her fingers ran against the side of her face, trying to make sense of it all. Why did this keep happening? Two nights of dreams, John the focus of them both- this time in such a different manner.

Maybe it was from seeing him so much the last two days. Maybe she simply needed to avoid him. Yes. That was it. Avoid him and have these dreams...
These... wonderful, amazing dreams...
..stop.

She slipped from her bed, going to the kitchen and fumbling for a glass of water. Gulping it down, she shook her head again, still getting over that vivid creation of her imagination. Good lord, her legs were still shaking. It was almost as if she had-

Claire paused.
That hadn't been just in the dream. She had thought it was simply the overly realistic feeling around her, but...
"Oh my god," She breathed softly, setting the glass back down as she closed her eyes. No wonder she had felt so amazing when she woke from that. That really had been the most incredible dream.

A low groan greeted the alarm's nerve jarring sound. The hand flashed out ceasing the alarm, but the groan continued for a good minute afterward. John slowly shook his head, the echoes of the night's dream still going through his head. He slowly lifted his head off the pillow, peering down at the prominent mountain midway down the bed.

"Damn... that was so real I thought it actually happened. Wow..."

The morning routine saw him into the office at the normal time. The office was over half full with all the usual suspects going about their normal activities at that time in the morning. Some people gathered around the coffee maker, slowly making their caffeine hits while trading gossip. Others were printing out stacks of reports and other documents before the main body of the staff started using the printers. There were a few people in separate groups that were just hanging around talking openly.

But it was Friday, and it was the day the team debrief occurred. John had enough time to get his notes together, run off a few printouts and grab what passed for coffee in the office before dashing off for the first meeting of the day. He went past Claire's desk, barely registering her as he made his way to the meeting.

'That reminds me, I need to thank Claire for her help yesterday. And maybe talk to her about some other stuff too.'

Friday. A more casual day for work. Claire was able to get away with wearing jeans that day, compromising the 'weekend wear' with a pink silk button-up, a single pearl on a strand hanging low enough to point out the probably-pushing-it buttoning of her blouse. Her hair was already in a loose bun, held up with a pencil stolen out of one of the other office staff's pen cup. The printer had gotten jammed after Tony got pissed at it for not printing and started beating on it- Without bothering to check if it was on. Between calling for a serviceman and trying to fix it herself, her morning was already rather hectic. She had wanted to come in early just to get her mind refocused... Not to deal with that so early.

Finally able to return to her own desk, she dropped into the chair with a hard sigh, taking up the bottle of water beside her monitor and taking a sip. At least that was taken care of. Now to call the repair center and cancel the guy. "Three hours, give or take." Oh, that would have went over SO well. She was better off trying herself- and it worked.

That reminded her. Order more paper. Tony used half a damn box with the 19 other printings of his reports. Because, of course; hitting print 20 times fixes EVERYTHING.

She glanced up as she saw John rushing by, smiling faintly. Those dreams were getting stranger. Not bad- Just... strange. This couldn't be healthy. She needed to get past those dreams. Was it because he was simply 'a guy at the office'? Maybe she needed to see him in a different way. Get to know him in a better light. That would clear her head up, right?

"John!" She smiled as she stood up from her chair, waving to him. "Hey, um... I know you have the big Friday meeting to get to, but I was just wondering.... Do you want to go for a drink tonight? Y'know, just a little... um... quick one. I mean, I understand if you've got stuff to do or something, I was just- Maybe- Um."

This had sounded so much easier in her head.

John was so focused on making it to the meeting that when Claire called out to him, he jumped slightly. He spun about to see Claire standing up, looking over the top of the cubicle wall straight at him. She was smiling, which made her look prettier. He came to a violent stop as he walked back into Terri's cubicle wall.

"Watch it, John," Terri growled.

"Hey, um... I know you have the big Friday meeting to get to, but I was just wondering.... Do you want to go for a drink tonight? Y'know, just a little... um... quick one. I mean, I understand if you've got stuff to do or something, I was just- Maybe- Um."

John pursed his lips, frowning slightly at her question. His thoughts were jumbled severely, but he rallied himself.

"Ahhh... sure. I'd ummm... I'd like that. I'll... I'll talk to you about when when I get... " He pointed a thumb over at the rapidly filling room. "But, I've gotta meeting." He smiled nervously, and turned to get to the meeting.

Terri's auburn locks surfaced over the top of her cubicle, first looking at the retreating John, then turning to Claire and smiling. She gave Claire a nod before disappearing to resume her work.


John walked out of the meeting hardly remembering a word anyone spoke. He had taken notes which he hoped were good enough to remind him of what he needed to do. But most of his mental capacity was taken up by the prospect of having drinks with Claire.

'Why the hell am I so nervous about this? Just having drinks with Claire, that's all. Not like it's a date or anything like that. She's a good friend... well, more a work colleague. Hell, she looks good, and she's definitely nice to talk to, so... But what if she's interested in me? What if she wants to...' John started softly chuckling to himself. 'Right, as if she thinks of me in that way.'

John brought himself to a rapid stop as he was just about to walk past Claire's cubicle. He quickly set his expression to something a little more normal, and cleared his throat so he cold actually talk properly.

"Claire," He smiled with a little more confidence than he actually felt, "about drinks tonight. I'd like that. Unless you have somewhere in mind, I thought we could go to Petersen's. It's just a block over. The food there is pretty good too. Ahhh... the rest of my day is full of stuff that can be put off til Monday easily enough, so when you're ready to go, just stop by on the way out. Sound good to you?"

Claire sat at her desk, rubbing her temples as she closed her eyes. Things had been going rather well for a little while. Just a little while. Markus' phone had shorted out in his cubicle, and somehow that had become something of HER doing. After an argument on how he couldn't take her phone, how the line was fine everywhere else, and how his cell phone was a different number entirely, the true reason behind the short was revealed: He had spilled a 2 liter bottle of Dew into the phone.

And... this was her fault, HOW?

"I'll order you another one."
"Can I take the one from that empty cubicle across from me?"
"Empt- YES! Just take THAT!"

And people wondered why she had so much tylenol in her desk.

Her eyes were still closed when a voice called her name, Claire yelping slightly as she straightened, smiling as she spotted John. "Oh. Hi there. Sorry..." The smile grew a bit more as he agreed to the drinks, nodding at his suggestion. "Never been there. Sounds good! I just need to put out an order for a new phone for Markus... Only take a minute or two."

It took just a bit longer than that, Claire joining him about five minutes later with her purse over her shoulder and a smirk on her face as they headed out for the night. "I definitely need a drink after that. A soda. A stupid SODA killed his phone..." She sighed, shaking her head as she locked the door behind them, glancing at him as she slipped the key back into her purse. "It's only a block? Do you want to walk it?"

John felt his nerves ease up a bit as Claire smiled.

"Never been there. Sounds good! I just need to put out an order for a new phone for Markus... Only take a minute or two."

"Great. I'll... uh... I'll be at my desk, tidying up some stuff."

John wandered back to his desk, wondering what brought all this about with Claire. He was looking forward to having drinks with her. He sat down at his desk, lost as what he could do while he waited for Claire. By the time he had figured out what to do, he caught sight of her heading his way. He was out of his chair as she got to his cubicle.

"I definitely need a drink after that. A soda. A stupid SODA killed his phone..."

John look confused as he hit the button for the elevator. "A soda killed his phone..? Who killed their phone with a soda? Never mind, I don't really want to know."

The two made it out of the building. John liked the feel of the fresh air, even though it was laden with some rather unpleasant smells.

"It's only a block? Do you want to walk it?"

John smiled, "Sure, that was the plan. A nice short walk would be a good way to unwind a little." He indicated which way to go, and fell in beside Claire. John's thoughts were running wild, trying to speculate on the reasons for the invitation.

'Look, John, just calm down. Just enjoy the time out, have some drinks, something to eat and see what happens.'

The sidewalks was full enough of people to make them not look empty, but not crowded or claustrophobic. Most of the people were like them, leaving their work and trying to put it behind them. John found himself starting to relax, and looking forward to having some social time with Claire. She always was a nice person to him, which in turn made it easy for him to be nice to her in return. He had the normal male lust like fantasies when he first saw her, but never thought of it becoming a reality, or of them being anything more than employees of the same company. But tonight was going to change that, even a little. He was going to get to know her just a little more as a person, and that idea had a great deal of appeal to him.

He spotted the sign for Petersen's, opening the door for her. The inside of the bar was dimly lit, but not too dark. The bar ran the full length of the establishment, and there were lots of small tables scattered around the room, seating between two and six people. Each table was slightly more illuminated than the rest of the room, but still gave it a comfortable feel. Only a few tables were occupied, similarly to the stools near the bar.

"How about we sit over there?" John led Claire to one of the tables set for two people. When he got there, he pulled out the chair for Claire, giving her a sheepish smile as he did so.

"Ummm... I hope you don't mind..."

"It's a long story," she sighed, shaking her head as they stepped into the elevator. "Just- promise me you'll keep Pepsi products away from your phone, okay? The receiver is not interested in sharing a drink with you." She glanced up at him, smiling. "I, however, am." Her smile grew as they arrived at the ground floor, Claire following him outside and taking his lead on the proper direction.

It wasn't that long a walk, just as he had said. A little idle chat filled their walk; what she had done before coming to work there, how long he'd been there, random little things about work... but she was adamant on remembering that this type of talk would end once they reached a table. This was to get to know him, not more about work.

Claire smirked as he pulled out a chair for once a table was found, settling into it and glancing up at him. "Thanks. Hey, let me get the first round. Finally got caught up on all my bills! I have a fun money check, finally!" She reached into her purse, smiling a bit more as she took out a couple of twenties. "It would have taken me a month on my old wages. Ugh, I am so thankful for this job..." She suddenly frowned, shaking her head. "Ohhh, I'm doing it. I promised myself I wouldn't talk about work.... Maybe.. If we just... tried talking about ourselves?"

She started talking about her family, the school she had studied at, the whole story of moving away to the city. There really were nights that she felt like a little kid, lost in a place far too big for her and afraid of what was hiding in the darkness. "It's kind of silly, I know." She blushed, both from revealing that and the effects of the now 3rd round of drinks. Claire was never a big drinker...

John felt more at ease when Claire sat down. He quickly moved to the chair opposite, sitting down and flagging one of the waiting staff to come over their way.

"Thanks. Hey, let me get the first round. Finally got caught up on all my bills! I have a fun money check, finally!"

John smiled and nodded. "Tell you what, I'll get the next one, OK?" He listened to her ramble on about her money, and the job. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Claire launched into telling him a little more about herself. He listened carefully and attentively. He took the chance to learn more about the nicest person in the office with both hands. The drinks helped lighten the atmosphere. The more she relaxed, the prettier Claire looked. Still, he was actually developing a new friend, and he was more than happy with that development.

"It's kind of silly, I know."

"Nah, not really. I mean, I've lived here all my life, and there are places that scare me after dark, even though they are perfectly safe." John returned Claire's favour in kind, telling her about what it was like living in the 'big smoke', wondering what it would be like living somewhere smaller. About how he just made the grades to get into University, busting his ass in the very company they worked in to pay his way through his degree. He paused to order them some food, and another round of drinks.

"As I said, there's nothing wrong with being afraid of the dark at times. But, you don't have to be afraid, because I'll keep you safe." John chuckled a little.

Until the room went pitch black.

All around them, everything went quiet. No one moved. No one spoke. John looked around to find that he couldn't see a thing. Then, the light over their table flickered into life. The two of them, their table and little else existed in the pool of illumination.

"Hey... isn't that just..."

Another light started to flicker, showing another table and patrons, followed by another. Within seconds, lights were coming back to life until the bar was returned to it's previous lighting. A low buzz of conversation started before drifting away again.

"Well, that could have been fun with the right person, couldn't it?" John realized what he had said, who he had said it too, and then blushed slightly trying to hide it behind his glass.

Claire smiled at his promise to keep her safe in the dark, laughing a bit- only to gasp as the bar turned pitch black. Was someone playing a joke? Had they heard what she had said?

When the first light returned, fizzling its way back into life, it was the table they currently sat at. Claire stared at John in shock, her eyes wide at the reawakened brightness, taking a quick glance around to see there were no other lights yet. Her blush grew more. This was like being on display... *Fix it, fix it, fix-*

It had only been a few moments longer, but soon the entire place was back to its normal lighting. Claire shifted in her seat a bit with that, looking back to John as she sipped from her straw. At the comment he made, she simply smiled, laughing slightly as she released the straw. "I suppose it... it could have." She smirked a bit more as he hid behind his own drink, glancing up as the waitress stopped, apologizing for the blown circuit and offering their food for free. Claire gave a quick thanks for that, shaking her head as the lady walked away.

"That was very weird, wasn't it?" She took out the straw, tilting the cup to her lips to finish it off, sighing softly as she set it back down. "Oh. Oh, wow. This is... um, the first time I've actually drank this much in quite some time." She gave a sheepish grin, pushing the cup away. "But this has really been fun. Think its something we both needed, from the sounds of it..."

Her eyes drifted to the clock at the bar, a frown coming to her lips. "But its getting so late. I really do need to be headed home soon. We should do this again. Maybe... next Friday as well? Escape the chains of the office."