At my apartment, I wished I had taken Peggy up on the offer. I had no idea what to wear, even for a simple dinner date.

"But it's not simple, it's Jack," I mumbled to myself.

I had a few options in front of me. There was the dress from last night, which was a no because I wore it last night. There were a couple other cocktail dresses but they didn't feel right for the occasion. Which reminded me, I had no idea what kind of dinner we were going to have. Was it upscale? Was it a hotdog cart down the street? I had no clue.

So, I tried to go for an outfit that would work for a nicer place. If it was too much, Jack would let me know and I could get on a different outfit. I set out a good outfit for that, just in case, and got on a nicer dress.

It was a dark green, silk like material. It had a high neck and 1/4 length sleeves and an a-line skirt. The skirt, starting from the waist, had little pearl buttons going down the left and it opened into a small slit that showed my knee. I could close the slit completely, but I thought it look nice so I kept it how it was.

I added on a pearl necklace and earrings and got my black clutch that had lipstick and a gun just in case anything happened. I might not look like an agent, but I was always prepared to be one.

The lipstick was something from Peggy, but not her special kind. It was just a shade she had gotten me a while back that I fell in love with. It looked great with the dress, too.

Just as I was getting ready to do my hair, my phone rang. I set the hair pins down and picked the phone up. "Hello, Tiffany here," I answered. On this phone, I wasn't as 'professional' sounding since it was my normal girl phone and not my work one.

"Hey Tif, just checking to see if you're ready," came the voice on the other end.

I smiled at it and answered, "Yep, just waiting on my chauffeur to come take me away." I giggled as Jack laughed on the other end. "I do want to clarify on where we are going, though. I need to make sure I dressed for the occasion."

"Well, I don't want to give it away, but I'm wearing a nice suit if that helps?" he asked.

I smiled. "Why, yes it does. How much longer do I have to wait before I can see you?" I asked, acting like a teenager who was waiting to go on a date with the coolest guy around.

He laughed again. "You just saw me a couple hours ago!"

"And it was a couple hours too long! Besides, that's not you you, that's Chief Thompson. I'm going out to dinner with my boyfriend, Jack," I clarified.

"Right, right, of course. Well, I'll be there in just a few minutes, okay?" he asked, and I got excited. I told him that sounded great and we said goodbye before hanging up the phone.

Finishing up my hair, I slipped some black pumps on and walked out of my apartment, dropping my key into the clutch once the door was locked. I also did a couple safety precautions, just to check and see if anyone tried to come in while I was away.

Also courtesy of Peggy.

"Well, don't you look amazing!" I turned around and smiled at one of my new neighbors, Stella Mary Jane, coming up the hall and getting ready to go into her apartment. "Who's the lucky guy?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Same lucky guy it always is, Stella," I answered. She started unlocking her door as I started to go down the hallway. "I'll try to be back before curfew, but don't panic if I'm not!"

Going down, I got more compliments from other girls in the building. On the main floor, I got so many more.

"Tiffany, doll, you look amazing!"

"Oh wow, you are gorgeous! Any guy would be lucky to have you, especially the one who already does!"

"You better stay away from my brother, or he'll make you wife number three!"

They all meant well in their own, sometimes weird, ways. For each one I returned the compliment with a bright smile and I genuine 'thank you' and kept on my way.

I was a few feet away from the doors when they opened and Jack became visible. He looked like he wanted to say something, most likely a sarcastic remark, but he became speechless when he looked at me.

While he was silent, I looked him up and down and saw he was wearing a very nice suit. I immediately knew I had gone with the right dress for tonight.

"Hi handsome," I said when I got to him.

That seemed to snap him out of his trance and he smiled back at me. "Hi gorgeous." He kept the door open for me as I walked out and then came up behind and let me put my arm in his.

The car was right outside and he opened the passenger door for me. Once I was in, he went around to the driver's door and got in. "Are you ready? You did dress perfectly for the occasion, by the way. I hope you like the surprise."

It wasn't a very long drive, and it was made shorter by our chatter about random things. That was something I liked a lot about Jack, something that made me remember random bits of my old relationship with George.

With George, there were times I had to force conversation out of him before I ultimately gave up and we would sit in a silence. They weren't awkward or comfortable, just boring.

Jack, on the other hand... conversation seemed to flow pretty easily between us whether it was about work or just random daily things. He didn't mind me talking about the things going on at the Griffith, and made an effort to remember who was who.

We arrived at the restaurant in good time and I smiled when I saw which it was. Delmonico's Restaurant was a wonderful place, around for quite a few decades, and one my parents and I would dine at before the war started. The last time I was here, so was my brother.

Now, with Jack, I could have different memories tied to this restaurant. Ones that made me a little happier, maybe.

A valet hurried around to Jack's side while another opened my car door and helped my out. It gave me flashbacks to the night before, and I threw a smile Jack's way. "Thank you," I said, turning back to the man who helped me out and gave him a smile.

He nodded back and stepped away so Jack could be there instead. "Shall we go in?" he asked. I smiled with teeth and nodded.

Once inside, we were seated at this lovely table and Jack ordered us a bottle of wine. We were sitting and talking right after ordering our meal a few minutes after when I saw someone over Jack's shoulder.

It was the same man I vaguely recognized from last night during our mission. He wasn't looking at me, but I swear he had been before I looked over at him. I squinted my eyes as I tried to place him in my mind.

"Tif, you okay?" My eyes snapped over to Jack who was looking at me with concern. "You have your work face on and I don't want your work face at dinner," he attempted to joke, but the concern was still evident.

I nodded my head toward the man. "There's a man behind you that I saw last night at the party. He looked familiar to me then and he looks familiar to me now," I explained in a quieter voice.

Carefully, Jack turned and saw the man out of the corner of his eye, then he looked back at me. "Doll, he's probably just some high society guy that likes to be in fancy places. You may've seen him around once before and that's how you know him."

The explanation seemed plausible, yes, but I couldn't quite shake off the feeling that something wasn't adding up. I didn't like having those feelings. My eyes focused on the wine glass in front of me as I tried to think.

"Hey," Jack said in a whisper, and reached forward to grab my hands that were clasped together on the table in his own. I looked up to him. "It's okay, if anything happens we're both agents and can both handle it. But, until something happens, he's just another rich guy and we are just another couple trying to enjoy a nice dinner."

He gave a sweet smile and I did the same. "You're right, no use worrying over something I can't do anything about because there's nothing to do anything about. Let's enjoy our steaks."

Our conversation resumed as I told him about a new girl that moved in on the floor above me who was very good at breaking Miriam's 'No Boys' rule.

At the end of dinner, Jack helped me out of my chair and suggested we walk around a bit. He tried to say he could just walk me back to the Griffith and he'd come back to get the car, but I told him I didn't want him to ruin his nice shoes.

So, we agreed to take a short stroll to the end of the block and back to try and work off the large meal we just ate.

"It was so good, I love having multiple courses where I just keep trying new things- it's so much fun," I said as we walked. My head was leaning on the arm I was holding and he had his other hand holding onto mine. "That's a place we'll have to go back to one of these days."

He replied, "Well, I'm very happy you enjoyed it. I wasn't sure at first, especially when I realized I didn't give you any hints on what to wear, but you're so much smarter than I realize every damn time."

I laughed. "I'm taking that as a compliment," I said through the laughter, teasing him just a bit.

"Oh come on," he said with a dramatic eye roll. "That's exactly how I meant it. I always think I've got you figured out but then you keep surprising me in different ways and I love it. I'm happily coming to the conclusion I will never fully figure you out."

I smiled again and we walked a bit more in a comfortable silence. We enjoyed the night breeze as it lightly blew, blowing away some of the gross city smells for just a moment before going away again.

At some point, Jack saw me shiver from the breeze and put his jacket over my shoulders.

"I love this," I said quietly as we turned and started walking back to get the car. "Walking around, talking, us- it's amazing."

Jack turned his head and kissed my own. "Me too, doll. I promise I'll find more time for things like this," he said in the same volume. "People just have to start behaving a bit more."

We laughed and got back to the valet, who went and got us our car. I decided in my head that I'd give him his jacket back when we got back to my place. Wait. "What time is it? I hope I didn't miss the curfew..."

Jack looked at his watch and lightly winced. "It's a few minutes till the curfew, I don't know if you'll make it in time."

I sighed and tried to think. "Well, I could always crash with Peggy and Angie. I know they wouldn't mind."

"Or," Jack started, "you could come with me."

I looked at him in surprise. Before I could even start to form thoughts and reply, a new voice entered the conversation. One I hadn't heard in years.

"Tiffany, is that really you?"

Jack and I both turned to behind us where we saw a random older couple standing there in fancy clothes, looking at me in shock. Well, to Jack they were a random older couple.

To me, they were mother and father.

"Mother," I breathed out in surprise. I felt Jack turn his head to me but I didn't move. "Father."

They began to walk toward us, so Jack and I also took a few steps to meet them. We stopped a few feet away from each other and stood in silence.

My mother cleared her throat. "Look at you, you've grown up into a lovely woman," she said. "The last few years have been much kinder to you than they have been to us."

She wasn't wrong, my parents did in fact look a lot older than they did when I was 20. The news of my brother's KIA must've done this, along with the war itself. They've only been able to really move on for a year.

"It's good to see you," I said, looking between the two of them.

We stood in silence again, and I saw that my father was looking at Jack. "Oh, where are my manners. Mother, father, this is Jack Thompson. Jack, these are my parents, Georgina and Frederick Jones," I introduced, gesturing when necessary.

Jack brought his right hand out and shook my father's hand and then gently shook my mother's. "Nice to meet you," he said politely. When he pulled his hand back, I returned my hold on it.

"Nice to meet you as well," mother said, giving me a look I couldn't decipher.

My father wasn't as polite. "So, what do you do, Jack? A man like yourself at such a fine establishment must have a nice job," he asked, jabbing a bit. It took a lot of power in me to not roll my eyes and pull Jack away from them immediately.

He cleared his throat and answered. "I work for the United States government, sir. That's all I'm allowed to share," he said.

My mother nodded. "Oh, is it like what Tiffany does?" she asked. It honestly shocked me that she still remembered what I told them when I left nearly five years ago. And I had to hand it to her, for a high society woman like my mother, she was very smart at making quick connections. I highly doubted my father remembered what I left for. Well, other than to 'disgrace the family.'

Jack nodded lightly, not knowing exactly what they knew, so I butted in. "Yes, I got promoted up here a few months back and we work in the same office," I answered.

"What? Was Miami not enough for you? Did you really need to move back up here and not even bother to tell us?" my father snapped.

My grip on Jack's hand tightened at this. "It was not anything against you in either scenario, father. Moving back up here came with a large workload and I didn't have time to myself, let alone to roam the streets of New York and find my parents," I said back. I got a little snippy at the end, but they deserved it.

My father looked quite offended at my small outburst while my mother remained stoic. A car pulled up beside us and I saw it was Jack and I's. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we must be going," I said.

Jack obviously noticed the car as well because he was quick to get us moving toward it after I spoke. He opened my door and I quickly got in, not bothering another glance at my parents. After he was in, we drove off and spent the first few minutes in silence.

My eyes were closed, my head was leaned against the window, and I had my left hand pinching the bridge of my nose. That was not a fun encounter.

"I'm sorry about that," I said quietly. My eyes remained closed but I removed the hand from my face. "That was unexpected and I should have been more polite."

Jack sighed. "Well, not when he was talking to you like that. I want to hear the whole story about what all of that was about, but for tonight, let's just rest, okay?" Something in his voice told me he really wanted to know, that he didn't like not knowing this stuff about me.

But he was being polite and saying this didn't need to be hashed out right now. Jack's an agent- he knows how to observe and read a situation. This was obviously reading 'I'm tired and not dealing with this.'

I nodded and we remained in our comfortable quiet for the rest of the ride back to his.

A/n: AHHHH PARENTS (and them spending the night?? omg).

Apologies for the inconsistent posting, work and all lol