Long Distance Love

Chapter One

"Hey everybody... how's it going out there? This is Julie Cassidy along with the always stylish Graham Parker and we are coming to you live from Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City. We'll be here tonight and tomorrow enjoying the sights and sounds and all the around frenzy of the Kansas City Comic Con! We would love to meet you guys, so please stop by and say hello while we try to take it all in and do our best to keep you rockin' at the same time! I am super excited!!"

"You are not," teased her co-host.

"Yes! Yes I am!" Julie fired back, "You know how much I love all things to do with outer space and action and adventure. Cant' you see I'm even wearing my Capt. America t-shirt?!"

"Yeah, yeah... you only like those stories because of the sexy action heroes that manage to turn up in all the movies."

"Graham, that is not true!"

"Ok then, name me one action movie that YOU love that doesn't have a good looking dude in it." Graham was not going to let it pass and he laughed out loud at the look on her face.

"Right, that's what I thought. While Julie tries to figure that one out, here's some Scorpions to hold you over," and with that the unmistakable sounds of "No One Like You" filled the airwaves.

As the music played, they compared show notes and prepared for an interesting night. Their booth was set up just inside the main hall, back in a corner to be out of the way, but providing a clear view of the floor and the dozens and dozens of booths set up. Julie was going to be the roving DJ talking with as many people as time allowed. Noting the hordes of attendees, many in costumes, she couldn't help but giggle at the whole thing. It was like a Rock fest for comic book fans, complete with t-shirts and expensive tickets!

As the evening went on, the building was filling with people; fans and guests alike. The constant drone of voices and laughter and even some squeals of delight filled the whole place and Julie found herself smiling more and more. The K-ROC booth was a popular stopping point for many, as Julie and Graham were two of the local favorites around the KC Metro area. As planned, Julie left the booth a few times to walk among the crowd and experience the con the way the fans were. She was accosted by several Cosplay characters from Game of Thrones, ran into two different Spider-men, met dozens of fans dressed as various Star Wars characters and shared a hot dog with the alien from Predator. Many fans of the radio show stopped to speak with her, sharing their reasons for attending and one little girl asked her for her autograph. It was turning out to be a totally enjoyable night.

Sebastian had already done several interviews and was on his way to Hall B for a photo op when he noticed the small pack of people on the main floor, gathered around a smiling, glowing, perky, "girl next door" type with a phone in her hand and wearing a Capt. America tee. He couldn't help but grin at the look of utter surprise that crossed her face when a little girl stepped up to her, apparently asking for her autograph. She stooped down to be eye to eye with her 'fan' and spoke with her for a moment while her parents and others snapped photos. After that she hopped up, saying goodbye to the small group gathered around her and began making her way to the corner where a booth had been set up for a radio broadcast. He didn't know why exactly, but he thought he might like to stop by there and see what the fuss was about.

He spent the next hour or so meeting fans and posing for pictures and the photo op was over in the blink of an eye. On his way back to the 'green room' where he planned to mingle for a while, he heard someone burst into laughter and at that moment the curtain that separated the guest zone from the fan zone parted to allow the "girl next door "and a handful of others access to the hallway. He smiled broadly as he caught the recognition on her face... now was his chance. A man named Ben whose badge identified him as a sponsor of the event spotted Sebastian and reached out to take his hand introducing him to "Julie Cassidy from 96.5 FM, K-ROC". She smiled brightly, shaking his hand as well, blushing softly when he nodded at her shirt giving her an adorable grin and a thumbs up.

They were standing in the middle of the hallway, and a large group from one of the newer sci-fi shows was trying to make their way down the hall with great exuberance... Sebastian took her hand and gently pulled her out of harm's way. She smiled up at him, thanking him and damn if she didn't smell so delicious he wanted to bury his face against her neck. When the noisy group had passed, Ben told Sebastian that Julie was looking for people to interview on air the next day and wondered if he would be available. Julie was chewing softly on her lip as Ben spoke, her eyes locked on Sebastian's face. She needed to get back to the table with Graham shortly, but if she could somehow get Sebastian Stan for an interview, she knew she would be queen for a day!! To her complete surprise, he looked at her nodding in the affirmative, "Yes! I would love to do that! When and where?"

They moved to a quiet corner and compared schedules for Saturday, finally agreeing on a time. Julie offered Sebastian his choice of a "live on air" interview or a pre-recorded interview that they could do away from the crowds. After a brief pause he said, "Well, you don't look THAT scary, so let's just go for it!" She nodded her approval and after only a few more minutes, Julie heard Graham in her earpiece wondering just where in the hell she was and was she ever coming back!! Nodding, she spoke softly and thanked Ben and Sebastian and to her surprise, Seb put his hand on her arm, pulling her into a hug. Gawwwwd!! She almost, ALMOST lost it, but managed to remain calm enough to say goodnight and make her way back to the booth.

With ten minutes of broadcast time left, Julie & Graham filled the air with more chatter than usual. Both were enjoying their surroundings enormously and having a great time. During a short commercial break, she took a moment to give Graham the news about the interview. His eyes grew large as saucers. He was bit of a comic book fan and was quite impressed that she had been able to nab The Winter Soldier.

Julie couldn't keep the stupid grin off of her face as she looked at Graham who was giving her one of "those" looks and rolling his eyes. When they had completed their sign off, the techs took over immediately, stowing away their equipment and securing it for the night. They would be back bright and early in the morning to set it all up again for Saturday's broadcasts.

As Graham walked her to her car, he peppered Julie with questions about how she had happened to run into Sebastian Stan and what part of her anatomy she'd had to sell to get the interview. Laughing out loud, she shook her head, "Graham, I promise you I didn't do anything but bump into him on the way to the green room. It was almost as if he recognized me!! It might have freaked me out a little if I hadn't been so totally under his spell....those EYES!"

"hmmmm... well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. So, do me a favor and come up with some good questions for the guy, not the usual stuff we've all heard a thousand times."

"Wait!! Why do I have to come up with the questions? I reeled him in... shouldn't you contribute something?" She was teasing and he knew it, but she wondered why he was making it sound like it was going to be 'her' interview. As if reading her mind, Graham spoke up,

"Listen kiddo... I just have this gut feeling that Sebastian might open up a lot more if it's just the two of you. So, unless you feel too uncomfortable, I really want you to take this one on your own...okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Graham.... I'll see you early in the morning," she smiled and gave him a quick hug.

"You bet! Get some rest little one. Good night!" He closed her car door and waved before moving away from her car that was parked just a row across from his. She honked once and waved as she drove off, radio blasting into the cool night air.