[Jack Thompson] (The things they don't know about) Miss Tonya

[ 3 5 : d o o r s t e p - r e u n i o n ]

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Warnings: None (please let me know if I have missed any!)

Spoilers: Agent Carter Season 1

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Tonya startled so violently at the sound that Jack's hands instinctively jumped to her waist to steady her as she toppled on the bottom step. She would have laughed at the vehement curse Jack uttered behind her had she not been feeling the very same frustration. How was it that every time she was with Jack something or someone had to interrupt them?

"Who knows you're here?" Jack asked suddenly, taking Tonya slightly by surprise; not that she found it attractive how quickly he slipped back into federal agent mode... not at all.

She struggled to drag her mind out of the gutter as she felt Jack anxiously waiting for her response, oblivious to the spiral of thoughts in her head. "Just my best friend and your boss, I think..."

Jack didn't think twice before striding towards the front door to yank it open. It could quite possibly have been Chief Dooley, which would have led to some awkward questions, but something told Jack that it wasn't. He didn't think it was Tonya's best friend either. Maybe he was still on edge after the last couple of days, or maybe his instincts were more in tune than ever.

Tonya couldn't initially see who it was at the door, because Jack had blocked the gap entirely to shield her from whoever was on the other side. The slightly stunned silence from both parties once the door was actually open only made her more confused, and a little concerned. Standing on her tiptoes and steadying herself by placing her hands against Jack's firm back, she peaked over his shoulder, confident that there was no danger when he made no effort to push her away.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, sounding a little snappier than she'd meant to be when she took in the sight of Jarvis on her doorstep. His face was an alarming mixture of emotions: it was clear that he'd come here in relatively good spirits, but Jack answering the door had obviously thrown him off slightly and then Tonya's less than friendly welcome had caused him to adopt the expression of a kicked puppy.

Jarvis opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to ask the very same question about a certain S.S.R. agent, but promptly closed it again when he took in Tonya's thunderous expression as she moved to stand beside Jack, who had relaxed slightly and stepped back to awkwardly observe the conversation once he realised there was no real danger. "I needed to speak to you." was the feeble response he settled on.

The actress sighed internally and gritted her teeth in an attempt to contain her irritation. "Couldn't it wait?"

Again, Jarvis gaped like a lost-looking fish as his meticulously rehearsed conversation fell to pieces before he'd had chance to even begin it. Tonya felt her heart twinge with guilt slightly as she took in how uncharacteristically helpless he looked – she could tell how hard he was trying with whatever this was.

As if he could sense her hesitation, and partly because he was far too embarrassed now by this interruption to continue as though nothing had happened, Jack finally spoke up. "It's fine – I needed to be getting back anyway..."

"Er, excuse me, to where?" Tonya asked indignantly as she turned her scowl on him now and it was Jack's turn to look sheepish.

"I'm just saying," he shrugged, desperately clutching for words, and then they suddenly came to him more easily than he expected...

He thought about how lost Tonya had looked when he found her on the street after she'd refused to let Jarvis take her home. Almost every time Jack had gone to see Tonya or was arranging the next time they should meet, Jarvis was at the door greeting him or at the other end of the phone introducing the conversation. Jack was certain he was more involved in the case than he'd let on in the interrogation room, but either way, the man was clearly an important part of the actress' life; he was married to her best friend after all and had been close enough with the Starks for them to get him out of being court martialled. He supposed Tonya mustn't have been the same since Howard had disappeared, but he hadn't known her before that. What he did know for sure was that she'd been very different since she'd fallen out with her trusty butler, which he reckoned was the next best thing she had to her brother.