NationStates Jolt Archive

((*Whistles innocently* well ya know he still has those feelings for Ann ;) ))

Jeff thinks for a moment, "Yeah, she broke down at the party dad threw for all of us afterwards. I think she's perfect," Jeff said. "Things have to calm down, I'm debating turning down the presidency to just spend the time with her and you guys and the children."

-----

"Yeah," Katherine replied, "Just, with everything that was going on, Jeff was always running out trying to save the world, I felt like he was putting me and the children on the back burner, and we'd just had Conner and he was gone again."

She reached over and poured another glass of wine, "I know you do, and I don't want to force you to talk to him. I can head back and talk with Jeff and send him up here if you'd like? If you don't like his answer you can throw him overboard," she winked.

((We just need some bachelor to step in for Cris, and the transition could be perfect! I mean, I'm sure it would leave EVERYONE happy!..no hard feelings anywhere! :lol: ))

"It would be great to spend some more time together," said James, "but I don't know if that's the best way to go about it. Larkinia needs a strong hand at the helm right now - one like yours. Takeo Katana is a good man, but I don't know if he has the public support that's really needed."

He looked up as someone came back. "Oh, er, hello, Kate." James unconsciously ran a hand through his hair.

----

"That would be great, Kate," said Christin with a smile. "I'd really appreciate it.

"I don't think you'll have to be too worried about throwing a lifepreserver over," she continued. "I know I'll get the ...right answer."

((LOL, they make porn movies with plots like this, don't they? ;) Oh I can see it now.. "NationStates 90210" :P ))

"The public will only support me when I do what makes them happy, and with so many divergent views, you can't make everyone happy," Jeff nodded, "I guess I really can't turn the voters away."

Once again, duty comes before family...

-----

"I know you will too," Katherine said with a hug before walking to the back.

"Well hello you two," Katherine said sauntering to the pair. Jeff tossed her the sarong and she tightened it around her, obscuring part of the view. "James, Christin wanted me to send you up front to spend some time with her."

James could only clap Jeff on the back reassuringly.

"She does?" he asked, concentrating very hard on the sea that was certainly nowhere near the reattached sarong. "I'll - I suppose I must answer the call, no?" he smiled.

"Keep up the good work, Cap'n Jeff," James tossed over his shoulder as he crawled forward.

((ooc: my brain's pretty shot right now, dude, and I have an interview tomorrow. I think I'll have to cut this short for now. Catch you tomorrow!))

"Of course she does," Katherine said as she walked over and patted James' shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll do what I can," Jeff called back as James went forward.

((good luck on the interview! I can't wait to see what happens between the two of them tomorrow :P ))

OOC: *keelhauls a quadruple post*

OOC: *tells a quadruple post that it's fat, so it puts itself on a diet and starves to death*

OOC: May the forums be infested by the fleas of a thousand bad game designers!

(Yep, Niven is Jeff's real father... One of those Star Wars moments I'm sure ;) )
OOC: Actually, Grant = Jeff's father would be a Star Wars moment (Darth Vader was a bad guy, right?). Niven = Jeff's father is standard soap opera material.

We just need some bachelor to step in for Cris, and the transition could be perfect!
OOC: Nah, she's an Imitoran. She'll be happy just blowing everybody up.

I just finished a game on the X-box tonight and after you beat the main evildoer, you still end up dying!
OOC: You think that's bad? There's this game on the SNES where the hero just DISAPPEARS. There's no plausible reason for this, he just magically ceases to exist because he's not needed anymore. Or something like that.

OOC: Oh man, that's gotta suck! Hmmm... he just magically disapperars? That gives me an idea for Jeff....
OOC: Oh, and did I tell about that game where after you killed the "villain", it turned out that he didn't really want to take over the world after all?

(Yep, Niven is Jeff's real father... One of those Star Wars moments I'm sure ;) )
OOC: Actually, Grant = Jeff's father would be a Star Wars moment (Darth Vader was a bad guy, right?). Niven = Jeff's father is standard soap opera material.

OOC:: *clutches chest in dramatic moment* :wink: Ahhh ya killing me man, all that work to just be soap opera material. I think I'm gonna go cry now... :cry: :P I almost brought Grant back in Deadside, just to mess with Jeff, but I thought that'd be too cliche

OOC: Nah, she's an Imitoran. She'll be happy just blowing everybody up.

OOC: Yeah, there won't be much left to ID there. Call in the nuke strike from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

OOC: Oh, and did I tell about that game where after you killed the "villain", it turned out that he didn't really want to take over the world after all?

OOC: Oh damn dude, that's gotta be the definition of "failure to communicate" ;)

((Thanks, man. It went well - looks like I’ll be eatin’ this summer! (hooray!)))

“Hey, love.” James kissed Christin, who was laying on her stomach in the lounge chair, on the top of the head. He sat down next to her and started rubbing her shoulders.

“That feels great, dear,” she answered lazily. “You give the best backrubs.”

“It’s all in the great book of how to be the perfect husband.”

“Just like your manicotti recipie?”

“Nah, we have to blame Granny Tri for that one. Richard used to make it all the time for me when I was just a wee pup.”

Christin rolled over on her back and took his hand. “James, do you love me?”

That question took him more than a little aback. He blinked once before answering “Of course! More than the sun, the moon, and the stars!”

“And you’d never trade me?”

“Not for gold and not for silver,” said James adamantly, completing the little saying he had piced up from his father.

“Nor anything else?”

James was starting to get a little more nervous. “No, of course not, love. What makes you think I would?” She can’t know, right?

((and on that note, I have to run off. More to come later!))

((Don’t worry about the quadruple post, Milostein. It was so terribly enlightening...really. If you can’t contribute in any meaningful way, at least we all get the sheer delight of reading your wonderfully insightful off topic attempts at wit. :roll: ))

((Congratulations!! What kind of job is it? ... and do I need to start singing "Come on get happy" for all of us? :P ))

Katherine walked over to Jeff and slid in between Jeff and the wheel, "now how do you drive this thing?" she asked putting her hands under his.

"Well, you have to just maintain a steady hand, and know where you're going. In the 'old days' they used to navigate by the stars," he said kissing her neck.

"The 'old days' in Iansisle being... 10 years ago?" she teased. :P

"Something like that," Jeff chuckled.

Katherine turned around and wrapped her arms around Jeff. "I love you."

Jeff held Katherine in one arm, "I love you too baby."

"I don't want you to abdicate the election," she said as she leaned into Jeff, "This is the chance of a lifetime for you. Finally a decent reward for your bravery."

"The only reward I need is your love," He said as the two swayed to the rock of the waves.

"And you've got that. But this might be a nice change of pace for us, no dragons, no vampires, no evil brothers trying to kill you," she replied as she nuzzled his neck a little.

"I'll... think about it."

Katherine purred into Jeff's chest, "Has James been acting strange lately?"

"Yeah he has," Jeff nodded, "Like... I dunno, like he's distracted or something. I'm not worried about him yet, but it's starting to make me wonder."

“Oh...nothing,” sighed Christin, putting her arm up on James’ shoulder. “Just being silly, I guess.”

Now it was James’ turn to press. He lay down next to her with an arm draped lightly over her bare belly. “Are you sure, Cris? If there’s anything wrong, I’d like to know about it.”

“No, it’s nothing, really,” insisted Christin. A raised eyebrow was her only reply. “All right. I was just a little worried about you. You’ve been acting...kinda strange lately.”

“Kinda strange?” prodded James.

“Like this weight obsession you’ve been having. I swear to God, you haven’t put on a single pound since I married you.” That was a slight exaggeration, but James had been a downright twig before his father died.

“Well, I have been - I mean, I just didn’t want to embarass you...”

“Embarass me?” Christin turned her head to look at him. “In front of Jeff and Kate? James, how could anyone be embarassed in front of our oldest friends!?”

“Well - no, I guess not.” James looked a little sheepish.

“Here, love, take off your shirt. This is more sun than I’ve seen my entire time in Ianapalis. A little tan would do you good. Let me help.” Christin started to slide it up.

“If you insist,” James said, taking it off.

“You may not be getting fat,” commented Christin, rubbing his chest. “But you are a bit white. Here, let me put the sunscreen on you.” She fumbled about below the lounge chair.

((ooc: Oh no! Our topics are sliding away from one another! What we need is a Brilliant Plan™! Alas, all I have involves wrecking as many marriages as I can touch. ;) Any ideas?))

(Yes, James and Niven need to have a heart to heart talk ASAP! And I think James'll get the chance.. I see a storm on the ocean horizon.. ;) And I need a title for the new swearing in ceremony thread, any ideas?)

(Wow! That is a Brilliant Plan™! :P If there's anything a heart-to-heart with Niven can't fix, I sure don't know about it.

As for names...I think something with a question mark would be good. Like 'A New Dawn?' or something. Unless that's too corny? ;)

(nothing's too corny in Iansisle!)))

(Exactly, paging Dr. Niven! Dr. Niven to ER Stat! Before Jeff throws James over the side.. :P

And now with Jeff moving, I'll never get to use the title I was saving... "A Conneticut Larkinian in King James' Court" :P )

((You would bring Twain into this, wouldn't you! :P

Sorry, though - I caught this just on my way off to bed. Another early morning tomorrow. :? ))

((Gotcha, g'night man!))

Katherine pointed out to starboard, "What's that? Looks like a storm."

Jeff nodded, "Yeah it does, we'd probably better get back, I don't know how this boat'll handle a storm. Besides, we have a swearing-in ceremony to get ready for. (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=146282&highlight=) "

Jeff led the boat back to the docks, outrunning the storm by a couple of hours.

As the group made it back into the house, James turned to Christin and kissed her, "Be right back love, I need to check with dad on something."

"Everything all right?"

"Yes, I just need to ask him something about Jeff's.. you know."

James walked around the estate before finding himself in the front of Niven's study. He knocked before opening the door, "Dad? You got a moment?"

((Sorry guys, it turned into a busy night. I am here now. Perhaps a heart to heart on the morrow ?))

((Or now is good))

Niven was in his chair looking over some numbers. He dropped what he was doing.

"Come on in. Can I get you a drink ?"

((No worries dude, if it's too busy tonight, I can punch up more of the pre-ceremony stuff in the other thread. ;) ))

((Nope, not to busy now, fire away !! ))

(gotcha, give me a shout out if it gets that way)

James walked into the room and closed the door behind him, "I.. Um... have a problem. When you were married to your wife, did you ever, ya know.. love someone else? Well, Jeff told me about the thing with you and his mom and him being your son, and that's all really great that you're his dad instead of Grant, but.."

James took a deep breath to slow down, "I think I'm .. no, I know I'm in love with Katherine."

Niven looks James over...."Well, that is quite an problem." He takes a sip of his drink "There was only woman that ever stole my eye away from my wife, and that was Jeff's mom. I am sure he has told you the story.
What you have is considerably more complicated, I never knew her husband, so I never had to deal with that part of it all...Damn, son, are you sure ? This could just be an infatuation, that could pass. Katherine is quite a woman and I can understand you falling for her, but there is a lot more at stake here than feelings that could change. Jeff is like a brother to you. Is it really worth all of the trouble and hurt feelings ? That is the third question that you have to ask yourself. The second is does she feel the same about you ? The first is, is this a real love, or is this just your heart playing tricks on you ?" Niven walked around the desk and sat on the edge.
"I thrust that you want this conversation to stay between the two of us ? So tell me, when did this begin ?"

"Yeah it is quite a problem," James said quietly. "And it's not that I don't love Christin, I do. I really, truly do.

"When did it start? When.. it's always been that way it seems like. She's just so beautiful, and incredible, and smart, and beautiful. Is this a real love? It sure seems like it. I, I can't answer the second question. I don't know. I look at her, and it's like my heart melts. It only ever did that with Christin when we started dating."

"Sounds like you are not sure what to do when the new wears off a relationship, so you start looking for something new. Everybody does it." Niven clasps James on the shoulder " Look, I know that you think that you love Katherine, but if I asked Jeff waht he loves about her, he would be in here for an hour before he even made it to beautiful. Perhaps you just need to throw yourself into your relationship. Tell me about Christin ?"

(I'll let I-man tackle this tomorrow, since he's got all the info. plus I'm about to fall out at the keyboard, this hit me pretty hard... I'm sorry dude.)

(it's cool. Take care of yourself.)

((I didn't forget, swear to Jeff! I'll have to catch you tomorrow, Cele. Lord knows I wouldn't miss a heart to heart with Niven for anything!))

((Whenever is good for you ))

“Christin?” James blushed slightly. “I love everything about her: the way she laughs, the way she challenges me, talking all night in the honeycomb, the way she’s so different from everyone else I’d ever known...” He trailed off, embarassed for having gushed.

While James and Niven were talking, Jeeves walked up to Jeff, Katherine and Christin.

"Mr. President-Elect," Jeeves started.

"Jeeves, you really don't need to call me that," Jeff said.

"Very good, Mr. President-elect, there was a call from President Katana while you were out. I felt it wasn't necessary to route it to you with everything that had happened. He is willing to accept your offer to serve as your Minister of State," Jeeves continued.

"I haven't called him and asked him to..." Jeff started.

"No sir you haven't," Jeeves replied, "Well you did but you didn't. It is for the best that you have someone who has experience in Larkinian politics to guide you."

"Jeeves," Jeff said exasperated "I'd have like it if you'd..."

"No need to thank me, sir," Jeeves said with a wink to Katherine, "I'm just doing my job."

"You can say that ans still think that you are in love with Kathrine ? My dear, dear, boy you have a crush. Nothing more, it will fade in no short amount of time. I think that the stress and worry that have been generated by her injuries and having been in such danger , have confused your feelings about her. Take some time and think about it, evaluate your life with Christin. Then we can talk again. But for now, I think you need a drink, a shower, and a long night with Christin."

((I-Man, if there's anything you wanted to change about what I'd typed in before, go for it, I was kinda flying half-blind there... or something..))

(( I love Jeeves))

(( I love Jeeves))

((Jeeves is the man, I kinda think of Jeff as Bertie Wooster at times so Jeeves was perfect to help 'guide' him.. or just tell him what to do))

((I-Man, if there's anything you wanted to change about what I'd typed in before, go for it, I was kinda flying half-blind there... or something..))

((no, dude, you did great! Thanks for covering for me - I feel as though I've been running about all week.))

(( I love Jeeves))

((and I love Dr. Niven. Holy crap, that guy is to interpersonal relations what Bi Bere was to the Second Third World Conference!

...ah, nothing like a good insider analogy to confuse non-iniates ;)))

James blinked once. Dad’s advice seemed so simplistic, and yet it was the best he thought he’d ever heard.

“I...I think that sounds like a really good idea, Dad,” he said slowly, rubbing his chin. “Damn, I don’t know what I’d do without you, Dad. You always have the right advice for any situation.”

"lets hope you never have to find out. I love you like you were my own, and I will always be here for you." Handing him a bottle of Champaign from his desk (always prepared)" I think that you have a young lady to see."

James couldn't help but chuckle at the champaign produced from thin air. "And I..." He paused for just the faintest fraction of a second, "love you as much as I did my father." Despite the hesitation, there was no doubt in his voice.

"Now, if you'll pardon me," James smiled, "I believe I have some terrific advice to act upon."