Hadley & Ken :: you look beautiful tonight

[JORDAN VALENCIA FAIRCHILD]

Jordan wanted to be understanding, but of all the various scenarios she had played out in her head, this hadn't been one of them. In some Hadley had joined the CIA, in others she was just fine, in others she was going through a sex change, in others she greeted her sisters like her saviors, but she had never imagine that Hadley would turn them away.

Didn't she want to be found? Didn't she want to be saved?

Jordan stared for a moment before finding her voice again, "But Hadley, we were worried about you... we miss you," She said, indignantly at first, then softer. Jordan had dragged Ray from Europe for this, because of her hunch that was so close to blowing all the ground the two sisters had made up. Haley was in Aspen after all, but Jordan feel vindicated, now she just felt dumb.

Jordan finally swung around to what she rally wanted to say: "What happened to you? Why are you here? Why haven't you just come home?" She said. Jordan wasn't going to pretend that she liked being the only daughter to come home for the holidays generally--- this year of course, they all seemed to be in Aspen.

[HADLEY CLARISSE FAIRCHILD]

It was, of course, rational that her sisters would have been worried about her. Truthfully, Hadley should have known better than to call them and tell them not to worry and not to try to find her. That really only gave them more reason to worry. But it had been the best she could do at the time. And it would have been kind of them to listen to her request. Now, she was faced with a world of worrying possibilities. If she couldn't get rid of them, they'd only be drawing more attention to her. If they tried to make her go home with them, she'd be exactly where Phillip would expect her to be. If they met Jack... Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought before it could form. She most certainly would not be allowing them to meet Jack.

Frowning at Jordan, who was quite on the verge of making a scene, Hadley clenched her jaw and wondered if she should even bother trying to explain. In the end, though, she resolved that explaining was the only realistic option she had. It wasn't as if Jordan and Ray were going to willingly leave without hearing anything. Particularly when they had obviously been under the impression that she needed rescuing. Biting her lip, she glanced across the room toward Jack, who she was surprised to see hadn't tried to follow her yet. She was taking an absurdly long time to get a drink, and she wondered how much longer she'd have. Hesitantly, she turned her attention back toward her sisters. "I can't really talk about it here," she hissed, pushing past them and walking toward the bathroom. If they were so desperate to ask questions, she could at least ensure that they had a little privacy.

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[JORDAN VALENCIA FAIRCHILD]

Jordan followed Hadley dutifully, wanting to know what was going on with her sister, whom she loved and missed and wanted to support more than anything. They rushed into the bathroom and Jordan realized Ray was no longer with them, maybe she wanted to respect Hadley's wishes, and Jordan felt momentarily bad, but they were sisters and Hadley had to know she could count on her.

Jordan stood there quietly just looking at Hadley. "I thought something terrible must have been happening to you... I wanted to try to find you, We've all really missed you." She said softly. Jordan didn't know what to do, she didn't want to be pushed away. He relationship with Hadley had always been better than her relationship with Ray. Things were improving on the Ray front, but she couldn't bear to lose Hadley's love and trust.

"Please sis," Jordan pleaded quietly, feeling like she would cry. "Don't turn me away, I just want to help."

[HADLEY CLARISSE FAIRCHILD]

(....................)

Exhausted and feeling more than a little deflated, Hadley made her way out of the bathroom. The moment she re-entered the bustle of the party, her eyes began scanning faces in search of Jack. Even if she wasn't so tired, she couldn't stick around for fear that her sisters might, once again, fail to do as she had asked. Letting out a sigh, she finally resolved to head back in the direction she'd left him. He probably wouldn't still be there, of course. She'd undoubtedly been gone much longer than he might have expected and he was probably looking for her. It seemed that lately everyone was looking for her.

Shaking her head and forcing herself to focus on the moment, Hadley returned her attention to the crowd. As she'd thought, Jack had apparently been looking for her, and she spotted him near the drink table where she'd told him she was going. On one hand, she was glad she'd found him. On the other, she was painfully aware of how this looked. She'd told him she was getting a drink, and she'd disappeared for who knew how long. Hopefully, he liked her well enough to believe that she hadn't been doing anything she shouldn't have been.

Closing her eyes, Hadley took a cleansing breath and smoothed a hand over her hair before quickly crossing the distance between her and her date. Gently, she placed a hand on his arm and offered him a smile that she hoped was convincing. "Sorry about that," she murmured, debating whether she ought to offer further explanation. But there wasn't anything she could really say to explain away her absence, so she moved right to the next matter of business. "Can we... um... Could we go?" she asked, biting her lip and hoping the pleading look in her eyes would be enough to convince him even without a reason.

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[JOHN ADAM DAVIDSON JR.]

Hadley had been gone a rather long time. Jack didn't know if he ought to worry or not, she'd seemed so relax after they kissed, but she was delicate emotionally... maybe it was too much? Or maybe she'd just run into Ken and his date and was caught up in a conversation... Jack tried not to take it personally, but after a while, he started to work the room, looking for his date. Jack had no luck and went back to the drink table, figuring she'd have to come back there if she was going to convince him she'd actually gone to the table. Jack ended up drinking as he waited, trying to look occupied and not too worried.

But then he felt a small, soft hand on his arm and he looked down at Hadley, who looked shaken and tired. He wanted to ask her where she'd been, what had happened, but he figured she'd feel better not telling him here. "Sure," He said after a moment and he led her off the dance floor. Jack figured he could probably drive, but one look outside told him it was snowing. That certainly made it a little more difficult to drive her home. Maybe it would pass.

"Should we just go to my room?" Jack asked, pointing down the hall and away from the festivities. It was bound to be quieter, and if she felt like going back to the party, they could.