Title:  Office Blues

Series: Wind & Rain  - Part XIV

Author: Barb Marx

Pairing:  Ezra/ofc 

Universe:  ATF

Archive:  http://het_oasis.tripod.com/hot4het.html (adult pages)  

(Authors note: OFCs' first names changed in Web version)

Summary: Life may be rough, unfortunately for Adrian, it goes on and on and on...

Open fandom: Yes.  And, if you wish to discover another side of the story, read TJ's 'Aftermath…'  'First, you stumble…' and 'Then you fall…'

Open fandom: Yes, and if you wish to discover another side to some of these, read TJ's Aftermath, First, you stumble, and Then you fall

Rating: PG 

Disclaimer: The M7 characters are owned by Trilogy, MGM and Mirisch, No copyright infringement was intended. For sheer entertainment.

Acknowledgement & Dedication: Thanks, Sis, for everything!

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Office Blues

Tuesday… why did that day exist, if not to torment?

That thought flashed through Adrian Delaney's mind as she sat at her desk that morning. Remembering the ride in with Josiah, she sighed. He was such a dear man, trying to cheer her up while at the same time trying to find out what was wrong. It took all her patience not to snap at him to leave her alone.

Sanchez had once again attempted to get the brunette to talk to him about what was going on between her and Ezra. The hazel-eyed woman let the big man down gently, yet firmly, explaining to the profiler that she was fine and that he needn't worry about her.

Adrian knew that he wasn't satisfied with that answer, and that he was thinking… hard. There was a light in his eyes that signified that he was up to 'no good', but she loathed to ask what he was thinking.

Now, sitting in the office, Delaney contemplated her schedule for the day. Checking her voice mail, the brunette chuckled at the two messages left by Agent Larabee. The leader of Team seven was once again hounding her for the Prichard report. Grinning, she quickly erased them and moved on to the others. A frown formed as Adrian listened to the message from Debbie. Wondering what was up, the assistant dialled Montgomery's local and waited for the cheerful Texan to answer.

"Hey, Deb, it's me, Adrian. What's up?" Delaney asked while booting up her computer.

"Hiya.  Houston, we have a problem," the administrator giggled, then turned solemn, "seriously we've been having issues with the disk."

Shaking her head at the quirky sense of humor, the brunette sobered as she heard the rest of Debbie's comment, "issues? What's wrong with the disk?"

"Not sure, but when we tried to print off a fourth copy of the report, it didn't work," Montgomery explained, "I've showed it to a computer tech and he said the disk was corrupted and now useless."

Sighing, Adrian rested her elbow on the desk, "ok, no problem. I was kind of hoping to have the report this morning, but nothing we can do. I'll quickly download it and run it down to you as soon as I can. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem. I'm sorry about this," Debbie replied, "I'll get right on it once I get the new disk."

"I appreciate that, see you soon," Delaney hung up and quickly worked her way through the files until she found the report and copied it to a brand new disk.

Once done, she checked the rest of her day planner and, not finding anything urgent, went to Travis's office and knocked.

Receiving permission to enter, Adrian poked her head in, "Sir, I have to go down to three for a bit."

"Anything wrong?" Orin looked up from his paperwork and took in his assistant. He was concerned about her, but didn't think it was his place to ask about what was going on in the woman's life. All he knew was that something seemed to be slowly snuffing the verve that used to twinkle in her hazel eyes. He made a mental note to ask his wife to do a bit of 'snooping'. Evie was a master at finding things out.

"Problems with the disk I gave Ms. Montgomery. It contained the Prichard report. I'm just going to run a new copy down to her, if that's alright?" the brunette asked, as she held up the floppy.

"That's fine, Adrian," the AD replied. Just as the door closed he called out, "what did you say your dictation speed was again?"

Opening the portal once more, Delaney popped her head back in and looked at her boss quizzically, "about 150 to 200 words per minute. Why?"

"Perfect," Orin looked satisfied. "I have a meeting with the review committee in about an hour. I would like you to accompany me and take notes." He was tickled. He hated these meetings and it was always a chore to have to take notes as well as participate in the discussions. His new assistant once again would prove to be the perfect solution. Besides, she'd only have to transcribe his chicken scratches any way.

Adrian knew exactly what he was thinking and couldn't help smiling, "that's fine with me, sir. I'll be quick." She then closed the door and hurried to the elevator.

Standing there for a moment, the Canadian remembered the notice that was on her desk yesterday. The elevators were being serviced. Maintenance was taking them off line one at a time while they worked on them. Watching the display show the remaining car work its way down, one floor at a time, was painful. Deciding that she would get to the third floor faster if she took the stairs, Adrian turned away quickly, and headed to the emergency exit.

Wrapped up in her thoughts, Delaney barely paid any attention to where she was going and soon collided with an immovable object. Steadying herself on the wall with one hand, the other reached up to lightly rub at her chest which had been impacted by the other person's head. Looking down, her eyes widened as she took in the appreciative gaze of Chris Larabee.

Startled, the agent looked up into the woman's eyes and quickly drew his thoughts away from the alluring distractions. "I was just coming to see you," he stated, clearing his throat. "What the hell's this about?"

Momentarily distracted herself, Delaney blinked. "I'm sorry… what are you referring to?" she asked calmly side-stepping the tall blonde and moving a few stairs down. Her mind instinctively moved her body to ensure a better position to flee, if the need arose.

Chris held up the crumpled piece of paper in his fist and flashed it in the brunette's face, "the psyche evaluation. What the hell was Travis thinking?" he growled and took a step back towards her.

Adrian grinned. Her eyes flashed anger, yet she was trying desperately to calm her heart rate, the impulse to flee very strong in her mind. "Well, if you must know, the AD just signed off on it. I was the one that uncovered the fact that you hadn't been evaluated in over two years. So I set it up."

Growing more livid by the second, Larabee was distracted for a moment, swearing he could see a touch of fear hidden behind the bravado. Inexplicably, this set his anger a flame. Glaring, he asked, "who gave you the right to do this?"

"It's my job. But hey, you don't want to attend? Then don't!" Adrian shrugged and again moved a step down.

"Damn straight! The boys and I won't be going," he stated self-righteously.

"Fine then, no sweat off my ass. Hope you enjoy sitting at your desk from now on?" Delaney said, "anyway… it's been fun, but I’ve got to fly."

Larabee tried to reach for her but she had manoeuvred enough away from him that his hand closed on empty air, "wait… what do you mean by that?"

Sighing, Adrian stopped and peered up at the angry agent, "it's regulations. Every two years you have to have a psychological review. If you don't, you get taken off active duty and assigned a permanent desk job. If Team Seven doesn't get tested by the end of next week, you're screwed," she explained slowly so that even he could understand. "Now I really have to get the Prichard report to Ms. Montgomery. Good day."

Delaney quickly continued down the stairs, her rapid decent thankfully taking her further away from the livid man.

"When do I get a copy!" she heard him holler in her wake.

"When it's done," she called back, glad that he hadn't followed her.

Finally arriving at the third floor, Adrian pulled the door open and slid through. She stopped and took a few deep breaths in order to calm her heart, and stop her hands from shaking. The run down hadn't winded her but the confrontation with the team leader had 'unsettled' her. The lanky agent was stirring up too many memories that she’d rather forget. Straightening her blouse, she continued on her way.

Debbie looked up when Delaney entered, "hey, you made good time," the blonde smiled and leaned on the counter.

"Well no thanks to the elevators. Any idea when they're going to be working properly?" the brunette asked as she slid the disk over to Montgomery.

"Thanks. I have no clue on that one. They’re notoriously unpredictable," the Texan stated, "I'll get a couple of girls to work on this ASAP."

"That's great, I'd appreciate it," Adrian replied with a smile, "Oh, before I forget, I need a floater until sometime after lunch. Mr. Travis just told me he would like me to attend a meeting with him."

"No problem. Melody Chambers is free today. I was just going to put her to work here," Debbie commented, "she'll have no trouble filling in for you while you're gone."

"You the best, Debs. I've got to scoot," Delaney smiled and was once again off and running.

As the brunette walked back into her office she found Orin waiting for her, “ready to go?”

“Let me grab my purse and a steno pad and I’m good,” the assistant replied as she quickly gathered her things.

The AD held the door for Delaney and then escorted her to the elevators.

The meeting with Travis lasted three hours, including the lunch break and it was early afternoon when Adrian returned to the office.

Walking to her desk, the brunette watched the redheaded floater field a call.

Looking up, Melody rolled her eyes and quickly ended the conversation. Hanging up she gathered up her things and stood up, "how was the meeting?"

"Fine. I've got a ton to transcribe, but at least I can read my own writing," Adrian smirked, "how was it here? Anything I have to be worried about?"

Chambers giggled, "naw it was quiet. Nothing I couldn't handle," the cheerful woman replied. "I did chase off three salesmen and took two calls from Agent Larabee. Don't know what his problem is today, but his jeans must be tighter than normal."

Delaney could see the young redhead's realization that she probably shouldn’t have commented on the team leader's attire. Instead of the reprimand the temp expected, the older woman decided to set Melody at ease, "think they're cutting off the circulation to his brain?"

The two women laughed as Adrian took the messages Melody handed her. Glancing at the notes, she sneered, "I'll file these with the others I received from the good agent," she scrunched them up and tossed them into the trash, "there we go, under G… for go to hell."

Melody couldn't believe what she just witnessed, "you're crazy, Adrian. You can't just throw them away."

"Can, and did. Don't worry, I'll take care of Larabee should he call again," Delaney calmly stated, "thanks for your help today."

Knowing a dismissal when she heard one, Melody said her goodbyes and quickly headed out of the office. She'd talk to Debbie later and see if she could find out what was going on with Ms. Delaney.

After the young woman left, Adrian settled in and started on transcribing her notes from the meeting.

About an hour later, she received another call from Debbie. This time it seemed that the binding machine was out of commission. "So what does this mean? Surely there's another one kicking about?"

"Yup, there is, thing about it though… it's busted, too," the Texan stated sheepishly, "got to promise not to tell Kate. I've been trying to get it fixed for over a month."

Adrian ground her teeth at the mention of the Senior Administrator. She didn't give a damn what the woman thought but had enough self-control not to say anything to Debbie. "So how long are we looking at?"

"I've put in an urgent request for a replacement binding machine and was told it should be here tomorrow morning… early afternoon at the latest." Montgomery admitted. She was waiting for the explosion and was pleased when nothing occurred.

"Ok, Debbie, do the best you can," Delaney sighed, "can you make sure that my binding job is your first priority when the machine arrives?"

"Absolutely," Debbie promised, "I'll see to it personally."

"Thank you, I'll talk to you later," hanging up once more, Adrian felt a headache brewing. It certainly seemed like the world was out to get her lately.

Diligently working away once more, the brunette was dismayed when Travis summoned her to his office.

Having to listen to a tirade over not having the report, Delaney stoically paid attention and tried to prevent her growing anger from leaking into the conversation. It seems that the DA's office was pushing for the Prichard document. They weren't happy, so Orin wasn't happy… the trickle effect was turning into a raging river with Adrian as the final recipient for the blame. She could have passed the buck onto Debbie's department, but the hazel-eyed woman didn't play that way. She would accept the undeserved reprimand and get on with the job.

Once again at her desk, the brunette glanced at the clock… 3pm. 'Damn' she thought another hour to go.

Bad enough that Adrian had to plod through the final sixty minutes, but she also had to deal with another call from Larabee. Frustrated and more than a little angry, Delaney was ready to toss her phone in the trash. The man just couldn't or wouldn't understand that it was out of Delaney's hands.

The brunette's headache was increasing with every call and the aspirin she took a half-hour ago wasn't kicking in. There was nothing better than finally being able to turn the phones off and pack up for the day.

Not caring how long she had to wait, Delaney stood in front of the elevator, and, five minutes later, stepped inside. Arriving at the garage, the hazel-eyed woman leaned against Josiah's suburban and tried to relax.

Adrian took the time to reflect on her day and the way Larabee was behaving. She couldn't help but think he was acting like a spoilt child. The brunette was determined not to be a player in his drama. She wanted nothing to do with the man, and hoped that she would be able to handle whatever tomorrow brought.

Delaney shoved that thought aside as Josiah appeared.

The big man was feeling good. Despite Chris' small meltdown this morning, it had been a fine day, especially since Ezra had apologized for his recent behavior. Looking at the tired woman, he gave into an impulse and hugged her.

Startled, Adrian yelped and tried to push the small mountain away from her, "Josiah... let me go!" she panted, "I like my ribs in one piece."

Chuckling as he gave Delaney one more squeeze, Sanchez released her, "couldn't help myself. It's a great day and I’m taking a beautiful woman home with me. What more could a man want?"

The brunette's eyes narrowed as she fought the grin that was sneaking its way onto her lips, "you're going to take me… home, huh?" Adrian's eyebrow quirked and she tilted her head giving him the once over. "Well now… that opens up all kinds of possibilities…" she said lowering her voice to that of a breathy whisper.

Josiah's face reddened and he looked as if he'd just been burned, "no… I mean... I, well… you're staying downstairs…" he stopped, suddenly unsure of himself. He was stunned at this turn of events and frantically tried to think of what to say. The profiler remembered the conversation that he had with Ezra earlier. The southerner had apologized for his ‘abhorrent’ behaviour but subtly let it be known that the brunette was off limits. Standish was staking a claim and was prepared to fight for what was his. At the time, it had amused Sanchez to no end, but now with the obvious flirting the woman before him was doing; the ex preacher was worried.

Watching the big man try to talk his way out of the blatant come on, Adrian couldn't help herself and started giggling.

Straightening his spine, Sanchez realized he'd been played. He shook his head fondly at Delaney and mock growled, "ha ha, get in the car. Save your seductive ways for someone younger."

Still laughing softly, she sat in the passenger seat, and grinned as Josiah started the engine.

The two chattered aimlessly as the suburban wove its way through traffic.

About ten minutes away from home, Sanchez remembered to tell Adrian about the upcoming weekend work party.

The brunette sat silently as she comprehended what the profiler told her. 'Great' she thought, her good mood popping like a soap bubble. "You've done what?" she asked hoping that she had heard wrong.

"I've invited everyone to my place on Saturday to help clean up the backyard. The brambles are taking over," Josiah explained happily. "And I think we all needs a little down time to get reacquainted."

"Just who is, everyone?" Adrian closed her eyes, dreading the answer.

"Team seven, Kate and Rain. We'll have a barbecue and make a day of it." Sanchez missed the flash of anger and pain that crossed the brunette’s face.

'Damn it! Why are they invading my home!" she thought uncharitably. Frantically trying to think of a way out, her hopes were dashed by Josiah's next comment.

"I'm hoping you can help me with the food?" the profiler asked giving her his best imitation of JD's puppy dog eyes.

Asking for strength from on high, Adrian nodded, "of course I'll help." 'just don’t make me talk to them' she added to herself.

Pleased, Sanchez continued talking, not realizing that Delaney wasn't really listening. For her part, the brunette was trying to figure out how she was going to handle spending the day with a certain ‘couple'. Taking a few calming breaths, Adrian was determined that she would survive this invasion.

Finally arriving at Josiah's, the hazel-eyed woman turned down her friend's offer of dinner and journeyed downstairs to her place.

Not hungry, she quickly changed and crawled onto the couch with her novel, hoping to waste some time before heading to bed.

TBC  

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