[NRPG : All : Here's the final part of our stay at the Corrigan's. Not to say that the collaboration is done yet.
Syd : I just added some background info on why Leo reacted the way he did in the middle. Loved the ending.... ;) Back to you.... ]
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[Corrigan Ranch, next morning]
All was well in that dark dreamless sleep that Leo enjoyed, that is, until his world went from dark to light, back to dark, back to light, then back to dark once again. Once his sight was activated, his hearing kicked in as well as he heard the soft padding of feet heading back towards his room's door.
"He's not waking up, Aunt Zenya." Janet's voice said in the loudest whisper that she could muster. "Opening his eyes didn't help."
Lying as still as he could, Leo opened his eyes a crack, not wide enough to let them know he was awake, but just wide enough to see what was going on in his room on this morning. He saw Zenya standing in the doorway in her robe with little Janet standing next to her in her nightdress. Apparently, his covert spying didn't go unnoticed as he saw Zenya suddenly smile.
"I see." Zenya said, bending down next to Janet while looking towards Leo. "Well, when I was your age, and I had to get my father up, I ...." and her voice went to a low whisper as Janet stood there smiling and nodding her head.
For a moment, Leo's mind seemed to have shifted and he was no longer outside of D.C. but back in Durham. Janet slowly turned to Andrea, while Zenya shifted into Jenn, his memory taking him back to a familiar situation a few years ago. He remembered how Jenn whispered something to their daughter as she looked at the sleeping form of Leo and smiled evilly. Then Andrea looked up at Jenn and took off in a full sprint towards the bed. Jenn stood back up and leaned against the doorway in her robe as Andrea got closer to the bed. Leo nearly lost himself in his memory until his mind snapped back to the present just in time to see Janet launch herself towards Leo's midsection, her arms wide open in an all-consuming hug. He got his arms out in time to catch the flying Janet and started to tickle her mercilessly, paying no heed to her squirming and squeals of laughter. After a few minutes, Leo put Janet back down on the floor and looked at Zenya, still standing in the doorway with a smile.
"Is that some sort of female secret to be handed down from one generation to the next on how to wake men up?" Leo asked as he propped himself on one elbow.
Zenya just laughed at this as she looked at Leo on the bed. "Of course not, it's a secret to be handed down on how to make sure if a man is really sleeping or not."
Leo groaned as he lay back down, staring at the morning light streaming into the windows of his room. "Breakfast is nearly ready." he heard Zenya say, "Besides, there are other ways of waking a man up in the morning." As he turned to look at the doorway, Zenya had already gone back into her room to get dressed. Leo shook his head as he got out of bed and tried to wake himself up enough to face the day ahead.
Conversation at breakfast was light since Richard had to leave a little early in order to prepare for some new students he was planning to receive. He shook Zenya's hand and told her that she was welcome anytime to the ranch before heading out to D.C. and Station X. Janet and Scott were tearing into their food as Zenya, Leo, and Theresa took their time to enjoy their meal.
As soon as she finished, Janet tugged on Zenya's sleeve and told her how she was going to tell her class for show and tell her new russian name. Zenya smiled at this and told her how wonderful that would be.
"What is your russian name?" Scott asked his little sister.
Janet turned to her brother with a smile and said, "Zaneta. Isn't it neat?"
Leo nodded with a smile, "Zaneta, Janet." Turning to Zenya, he had a curious look in his eye and was about to ask Zenya what her name translated to in english before Scott tugged on his sleeve.
"Uncle Leo, could you come to speak to my class about FBI stuff?" Scott asked, "Our class is bringing in different people for different careers, and since Dad has a new class and we've already had a teacher speak to us, sorry mom...."
"Sure, let me know when it'll be and I'll try to make it." Leo said. "If I'm on a case, I'll let a friend of mine come in my place and let you know before-hand. Deal?"
"Deal!" Scott said as he shook on it with Leo.
A few minutes later, the kids were packed up and ready to head off to school with Theresa as Leo and Zenya packed up the car with their stuff also, getting ready to head back to D.C. and JEH.
"As usual, it's been a pleasure." Leo told Theresa as he kissed her on the cheek, giving her a hug.
"Now, don't you two be strangers for too long." Theresa said, as she hugged Zenya farewell.
"Don't worry, we won't." Zenya promised as she waved to the kids in the car.
"Bye Uncle Leo, Aunty Zenya" the kids yelled back and waved furiously as they rode off to school. Not long after, Leo and Zenya were headed back towards Washington D.C.
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Leo took a short nap on the drive back as Zenya drove his ancient T-bird. As they neared D.C., Leo got up and looked over towards Zenya.
"So, what is your name translated to English?" Leo asked with a smile.
Zenya froze, eyes glued to the road and hands clutching the wheel a little too tightly. She had figured that bullet had successfully been dodged when Janet didn't bring up the subject over breakfast. She never imagined that Leo would ask that question.
She would never have thought of it herself, except she remembered an argument between her parents when they were filling out the immigration papers all those years ago. When they came to the part that asks what name you want to use, they'd had a bitter disagreement. Zenya's mother was in favor of anglicizing all their names, but as usual, her father had won the battle. Zenya had been relieved. She didn't like the name Jennifer, particularly for herself. It just didn't fit her, although her mother had insisted on using the name for a short time.
"Zenya is a nickname," she said, "short for Zenevieva which.." She could have traced the name back to its Arthurian origins and then forward through a variety of incarnations in French and Hebrew and half a dozen other languages, but that was just avoiding the issue. She could also lie to him and he'd probably never know the difference, and she considered that option, but only for a moment. Finally, she just muttered the answer. "Jennifer."
A minute passed, and then another before she could bring herself to glance over at him. Leo was sitting perfectly still, staring straight ahead, and all the color had drained from his face. As soon as she said it, a million conflicting emotions and thoughts whizzed through his mind. But, through it all, three faces came into focus, the only three women that he had truly loved. Perhaps it was coincidence, some may call if fate, but Leo doubted that since the one thing that tied them all together was that one name, Jennifer.
First, there was Jennifer Caldwell, his first girlfriend back in 10th grade who was taken from him by a drunk driver in front of his eyes. Then, of course, there was his late wife, Jennifer Li, the result of an accidental meeting while Leo tried to protect a diplomat from being assassinated. And now, Zenya, or rather, Jennifer Gorky. Hmmmm... Zenya did sound much better, come to think of it. He had already lost two Jenn's in his life, he really didn't want to lose Zenya as well, although it was a chance he was willing to take.
"Leo, I.." She had no idea what to say to him. She felt miserable for having just ripped open an old wound, but that would be a small consolation.
A few hundred yards ahead, she saw a little gravel parking area around a historical marker. She slowed the car, pulled off the road and coasted to a stop.
"Are you all right," she asked, for lack of anything better to say.
"Fine," Leo said in a clipped, strained voice. He repeated the word a second time in a more normal tone and forced a smile, but Zenya wasn't the least bit convinced. There was too much tension hanging in the air. Slowly, he shook his head, a strange look, something between a grimace and a wistful, far-away expression, spread across his face, and he began to tell her of his impressions when he woke up that morning.
Zenya listened, feeling worse and worse with every word. When Leo finished speaking, he sat for another moment, then opened the door, got out of the car and walked over to the marker. Zenya gave him a minute and then followed.
"Levushka," she said, just this once giving in to the impulse to call him by the pet name she'd almost used last night - and a few other times recently. The circumstances seemed to warrant it. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories." She wanted to reach out to him, but something held her back. There had been too much of that in the last twenty-four hours - standing a little bit closer together than necessary, perfectly innocent touches, and even where there was no actual contact, like taking a fraction of a second longer than necessary to pass the pepper at dinner last night, there was a sensation of electricity. Something both of them, obviously, were almost, but not quite, ready to deal with.
"I know," Leo said. "I can't exactly blame you for any of it, can I?" There was enough good humor back in his voice to ease Zenya's feeling of guilt somewhat.
"Technically, no. But.."
Leo frowned when Zenya suddenly smiled. "What?"
Zenya thought about the conversation with Richard out by the barn the previous evening. He'd put the hard sell on her, talking up Leo's good points. "He's great with the kids, isn't he," was how it had started. Zenya had, of course, agreed with that, and with every other point Richard had made. She'd found his blatant matchmaking amusing - if unnecessary - at the time. Only now did she realize that no one had ever bothered to correct Scott's introduction of her to Theresa as Leo's girlfriend, and Richard must have gotten that impression from her.
Zenya shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "Just.. Let's not let this ruin an otherwise perfect trip, if we can help it. Okay?"
Leo nodded. "You just gave me a shock, that's all. Might take a few minutes to get used to the idea."
"Of course." Without really realizing what she was doing, Zenya reached up and lightly touched his cheek. "I'm sorry. I wish the subject had never come up."
"There's nothing to be sorry for."
For an instant, so brief that Zenya wasn't quite sure if it had really happened or if it was a figment of her imagination, their lips met in not so much a kiss as an accidental touch. Then Leo took her arm and gave her a light tug back toward the car.
"Time to get going," he said. At the car, he paused before opening the door, looking at her and frowning slightly. "What was it you called me back there?"