Amrita Singh exited Mile High Center on Broadway, red hair flying in the heightened breeze. It was late summer in Denver, hot without being humid and windy as every city of skyscrapers was. There was a rainstorm coming, all the plants in the vicinity could sense it and were in fact thirsty for it. She smiled; a summer rain would make everyone feel better, and there might even be one of the city's famous double rainbows afterward.

Pausing to breathe deeply and reorient herself, Amrita fought off the urge to head for Civic Center Park to spend some time among green, growing things. She'd been indoors all morning, dealing with financial planners, real estate agents, and moving companies. AEGIS had offered to handle the details of all the Guardians' respective relocations but Amrita felt strongly that the only way to know a city was to function in it. San Francisco would always hold her heart, but Denver was going to be her home now and she wanted to feel at home in it as soon as possible.

What she did need AEGIS for, however, was arranging certain financial matters for Wild Lotus. The superheroine needed access to her own funds and lines of credit separate from Amrita Singh's and the accountants at AEGIS were the ones who would be setting that up for her. So she gritted her teeth and promised herself some time in the cool coastal redwoods later as a reward for being a good girl now and taking care of the rest of her duties.

The cabbie pegged her as being new in town immediately of course and took it upon himself to point out the same sights as the cabbie this morning had. Amrita smiled and made the expected sounds of awe and delight -- such a small thing to do, but the driver appreciated it and was smiling broadly when they arrived at her destination. She tipped him well as they pulled up to low-profile office building that served as AEGIS's headquarters in the city. The clouds were rolling in and now even her own limited human abilities could sense the rain coming.

She hurried for the door, riffling through her folders for her financial papers. A small knot of people exiting the building caused her to veer right instinctively, unfortunately into the path of someone else heading in the same direction as she. They bumped with some force; Amrita's newfound dexterity saved her papers but she felt that moment of familiar horror that she might have managed to injure someone inadvertantly. "I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, fighting the freshening pre-rain wind to put her folders back into some kind of order. "I didn't see---"

The rest of the apology died in her mouth as she looked into the face of one of the last men she expected to meet in Denver. "Jack? Jack Tyler? My goodness," she exclaimed, a smile of genuine delight curling her mouth. "It's so good to see you again."

"Amarita!" he replied after a surprise-born hesitation. "Uh...hello! Geez, it's been...what?" All of about ten hours, he answered himself. He realized that while they would have met eventually, he hadn't prepared himself for the conversation. Oops.

He recovered by placing his soft leather briefcase down and returning the hug she offered. "What a surprise," he lied into her ear.

For the briefest of moments Amrita considered it odd that he had no trouble placing her after the physical changes she'd been through since they last saw each other but that faded in the pleasure of being in his arms, even for a casual hug. Jack Tyler...! She'd dated more often in the past two years but nothing ever got serious and she often found herself wondering, in the lonelier moments since then, about what might have been...

"A nice one," she agreed, pulling back to smile at him. "I didn't realize you'd be staying in Denver after you retired. Or are you just passing through?"

"No," he replied, enjoying how her smile was reinforced in her eyes. "I'm here on a permanent basis - or at least, as permanent as these things tend to be," he added. "AEGIS offered me a position that suited my retirement plans almost perfectly, so I bit on it."

"How about you?" he thought to ask. "What karmic twist brings you to Denver?"

'Still dancing in the pocket,' he noted wryly to himself.

"I... ah, well...that's...." Even in the brief time they'd dated earlier, Jack had gotten the sense that Amrita Singh wasn't a very good liar. Apparently she wasn't that good at hedging, either. Fortunately for her, nature favored her by beginning the downburst it had been threatening for the past 20 minutes. Unlike every other woman he'd ever known, she didn't flinch from it -- but her glance at the sky didn't entirely hide the fact that she was grateful for the distraction.

"That's a long story, actually. Let's get that expensive suit out of the rain. Do you have time for lunch, or maybe a coffee?" She asked, matching actions to words and heading for the front doors of the AEGIS building, her mind whirling chaotically. It wasn't the first time she'd had to sidestep questions about her dual life but it was the first time since she'd broken cover with her father a few months ago that she found it burdensome.

`I can't lie,' she mused as they mounted the steps. `But I can't tell him the whole truth either. I just hope part of the truth will do.'

"For you?" he asked with a hint of incredulity in his voice. "I'll make time. Let's drop these things at my office and then visit AEGIS's cafeteria."

In truth, he'd wanted to talk to her since she outed herself at the team's first encounter, but Morgan's insistence that he maintain his secret identity precluded any catching up. It had been nagging at the back of his mind during their training, working next to her and being unable to ask anything personal. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

"Of the two of us, I think I'm underdressed!" She laughed.

Amrita still had her visitor's pass and used it to get through security rather than her official pass -- flashing that would have raised way too many questions and she still didn't know how to explain any of this. Then she saw the green and white shield of the Medical Wing and thought perhaps part of the truth might suffice after all.

He was waiting for her at the elevators and as she joined him there she was hit all over again by just how handsome he was. As tall as she (by then at least -- before, he tucked her under his arm rather easily), fair-skinned but with sun-creases around his eyes from the time spent outdoors on so many playing fields. Sandy hair, and those gorgeous hazel eyes that changed color with his moods. Easy smile, strong jaw, the kind of All-American good looks that kept him perennially on every "Most Eligible Bachelor" lists she knew.

"My God Jack, you must have women lined up around the block if you're dressing like that for work these days," she told him, taking his arm with a sense of relaxed camaraderie she could never have managed, the last time they met. "How do you get anything done?"

Jack replied with a self-depreciating chuckle and a shake of his head. "That hasn't been a problem for me lately," he answered. "My new job has certain responsibilities that...keep me out of sight for long periods of time. It's a little refreshing, honestly, not to be under the magnifying glass every week."

He wasn't lying. His social life, particularly his love life, had taken a serious hit since he accpeted the mantle of Paladin as he knew it would. But Amarita's closeness and friendly familiarity were, for the first time, making him notice the faint stirrings of lonliness in his heart. It was a foreign sensation for the man who seemed to have friends and fans everywhere he went.

The elevator chime sounded it's arrival. A burst of impulsiveness took over and Jack pulled Amarita quickly into the elevator while holding out his free hand to forestall the rest of the people waiting for the car.

"Elevator inspectors, please, no more passengers, elevator inspectors..." he instructed with a smile as he backed into the elevator and pressed the button for the cafeteria floor.

"You're no inspector," a woman complained. "You're that guy, the quarterback..." Murmurs of recognition began to bubble forth from the crowd.

As the elevator doors began to close, Jack replied with a wink, "Guilty as charged." From the other side of the then-closed elevator car doors he could hear the crowd noise swell as the people's responses varied from fandom to annoyance.

...and from within it, Amrita's delighted laughter filling up the air around them. Her gaze took him in one more time, obvious pleasure in their reacquaintance radiating from her in waves. No fear, no modesty or self-consciousness, none of the shyness that once characterized her. Behind those bright green eyes, however, Amrita Singh felt something inside her opening up like a flower under his regard.

"You've maybe changed a little, but not that much," she said, leaning back against the side wall with easy grace. "You still take command of a moment like nobody else I've ever known."

"It's like someone once told me," he acknowleged, "you can't be anything other than what you are." The fact that she was the someone he was sure wouldn't be lost on her. And he was right -- the reminder made her laugh again.

His eyes met hers and got caught for a moment. He'd always thought she was a serious looker, but the physical changes in her brought about by the emergence of her abilities made her an outright stunner. Those eyes were simply captivating, and maybe it was the extra height or the more confident way in which she carried herself, but her figure was scandalously thought-provoking to his male libido - even moreso clad in the body-hugging top she'd chosen to wear.

He realized he was checking her out and forced his eyes back up to meet hers. She hadn't stopped smiling, and he felt both relief and gratitude at that and it showed in his smile.

"You've changed quite a bit, Amrita," he suggested in a complimentary manner. "And for the good, from what I can see."

She nodded, then shifted her weight back onto her own two feet. "Thank you. I hope they're good changes. It feels like they are." His nearness was very distracting, as was the fact that he didn't seem intimidated by her height or anything else about her. That sense of one flower opening inside was beginning to feel like a whole field of them by the time the elevator chimed again.

They could hear the noise of the cafeteria just down the hall beyond
the small knot of employees waiting for them to exit. Amrita glanced
toward the source of the noise, then back at Jack, remnants of that
smile still curling the corners of those full lips. "Shall we?"

"Hmm? Oh! Right..." He wrenched himself away from those deep emerald
pools and moved to allow her to exit first.

The cafeteria itself was busier than normal with the rain driving everybody to stay inside for food instead of seeking it elsewhere. Jack guided Amrita into the food court. It was divided up into several stations, with a deli, a salad bar, a pizzeria, a grill, and a hot food-slash-carving station. He grabbed himself a tray and waited to see where his lunch companion went first - to the salad bar, he expected.

Right again -- she migrated in that direction immediately for chilled fruit salad and some salted sunflower seeds then waited for him to "recapitulate his carnivore heritage" (a joke between them from years ago) before paying the tab and finding a table.

They were drawing attention, the two of them -- some speculative, some admiring, some envious in a good-natured way. As before, Jack took it in stride, obviously having learned his lessons about public scrutiny many years ago. Amrita admired that easy grace in him (as so many other things) as they settled into seats near a window with a view of the nearby park. That left people at tables around them on the other side, but there was really nothing to be done about it except hope the general noise levels would cover what she had to tell him.

When he looked up from arranging himself he found her eyes on him again, as palpable as a caress in some ways. "I guess I should apologize," she grinned, managed to tear her eyes away long enough to sprinkle sunflower seeds over fruit. "I don't mean to be rude. It's just so good to see you again, Jack."

"A very pleasant surprise," he readily agreed, only half a lie. He hadn't had a crisis of conscience about keeping his team members in the dark about who was inside the Paladin suit, not yet. But sitting here he felt a small pang of guilt, like he was taking advantage of a woman. It chafed against his old-school conservative values.

Unfortunately there was nothing for it. He'd agreed to keep himself a secret at least until he had the hang of being Paladin. Once he'd matsered that, once being Paladin was truly a part of him, Morgan assured him that it would be orders of magnitude keeping everything straight. It was a distraction he couldn't afford right now, learning on the job as he was.

But it didn't mean he couldn't have any fun at all.

"So," Jack asked conversationally around a bite of chicken ceasar, "What brings you to Denver? You're not working for AEGIS too, are you? I didn't think I was that lucky."

Amrita chortled softly. "Do they need yoga instructors? Keep talking like that and I'll have to apply." Her mirth settled into a soft smile. "No, if I wanted to go on teaching yoga, I could go back to Frisco. I just... needed a change. Or maybe a direction," she amended, glancing out the window as lightning flashed across it. "I nearly died last year, Jack. I realized as I was in recovery that I'd only been living half a life anyway and that a full death for half a life is a very poor trade-off. So I resolved from then on to live, really live, as fully and completely as I could."

And it was true, every word of it. The extent of what that meant... well, there might be a time for that in the future, perhaps. But it was not this day. She reached into her small purse and pulled out a notepad and a pen. She scrawled two words, then tore off the paper and slid it across the table, accompanying it with a soft *sssshhh.* The words were:

chimera virus

"End of March 2006," she added when he looked up. "I was one of the only survivors. AEGIS has the technology to continue studies into the changes, and so here I am."

Jack leaned back in his chair and exhaled, a more serious look visiting his face. "Yeah...I thought it might be something like that, given how much you've changed."

He shrugged lightly and slid the paper back to her. "Well, in your case at least, it doesn't seem to be a burden. I'm just glad you're ok, Amrita."

"I'm okay," she agreed, smiling again. "More than okay. Better than ever, really." She took back the paper and put it in her purse. "So what are you doing with AEGIS, Jack? Generally, I mean. Investigations? Operations? Public Relations?" She popped a pitted cherry into her mouth and grinned. "I have no idea about what you're trained for outside of football."

He laughed good-naturedly. "Not much, really," he answered her, sliding back into a less serious mood for a moment. "I never thought about anything else. When you're still in the game, you just don't look ahead like that. But then all of a sudden you're out and you're left wondering what to do. My agent had this plan for me to get into broadcasting, calling games and joking around with a few other guys on TV every Sunday morning, you know?"

Her nose wrinkled and she nodded; apparently she did know, or at least, could sympathize

Jack's eyes took on a far-away, thoughtful cast to them and he stopped poking at his food. "But...I don't know. I wanted something more, something different. When you've spent your entire life either leading men into battle or preparing for that fight, sitting around wearing makeup and being cute for the fans just doesn't do it. At least, not for me. I've had enough fame and fortune for one lifetime."

He stabbed a piece of chicken in punctuation and then realized with a start that he'd completely talked around her rather simple question. "Geez, sorry about that," he smirked. "Didn't mean to dump that on you. I guess it's been longer than I realized since I've felt comfortable enough with anybody to talk about it."

"It's okay," she replied, leaning forward a little to touch his hand. "I think we share that attitude actually. I don't know anything about fame and fortune, but I know what it's like to want to find a good challenge for my talents and abilities in this world. To make a difference, somehow." A memory caught her, causing her smile to return.

"Poppi -- my father -- told us as children that if every person on this planet put their time and energies toward solving just one issue the world faces, problems here would be short-lived indeed. So I guess I'm looking for `my issue' -- big or small -- the one I can devote my life to conquering.

"And now," she went on with mock fierceness, threatening him with her spoon, "tell me why you're at AEGIS!" She laughed. "Look, if it's classified or something just give me a job title -- I have to know what to tell my best friend when she and I dish about this later."

He nodded, smiling, and held up both hands in surrender. "Okay, okay..."

Reaching into his suit jacket's left outside pocket, Jack produced a gold business card case which he opened with a deft flick of his hand. He drew out an AEGIS business card and laid it on the table, then slid it over as he made the card case dissappear.

"Jack Tyler, Vice President for Marketing and Special Projects, at your service," he announced. "If it sounds a little fishy, it is," he explained. "It's really a made-up job specifically for me. They get a celebrity who can help the sales guys bring in a client or shmooze investors for a specific project, and I get a private sector job in a part of the country that I love. I get to make my own hours to a large extent and the money's right. But the best part is that I have the autonomy to pick and choose what projects that I want to be affiliated with, which lets me cross-promote the Jack Tyler Foundation along with AEGIS's philanthropic efforts. It's really an ideal situation."

It was as good a cover as he and Morgan could come up with, and what made it all the more believeable was that it really was Jack's idea of the ideal post-football job.

"Didn't sound fishy to me," Amrita said honestly, gazing at the card. She'd done her research on Jack's foundation and it was his example that made her wonder if she could possibly do something similar -- but as Wild Lotus, not Amrita Singh.

"It sounds exactly like where I'd expect my friend Jack Tyler to go after his career in football was done." Then she laughed again and slipped that card into her purse. "`Friend'," she repeated. "Will that do? We don't have a word in English for someone you once dated -- and would like to, again."

'Hoo boy,' Jack thought to himself as he considered the invitation he'd just been offered both verbally and in the shine of her deep green eyes. If he hadn't been prepared to interact with Amrita as Jack Tyler, he was even less ready to address the situation he now found himself in.

"'Friend' works," was all he said in reply, delivered with an easy, relaxed smile that belied his unease. It left itself open to interpretation, and he hoped it might buy him enough time to figure out how the hell he was going to handle his latest and greatest ethical dilemma.

"Then `friend' it is," Amrita agreed, pulling out her notepad again. "I don't have any cards yet -- no idea what to put on them, really. But this is my cell number... and Gmail address." She tore it off with a bit of a flourish and held it up between her fingers, suppressed mirth rippling at the corners of those full lips. "I'm splitting my time between San Francisco and Denver for a few more weeks until I can close on that house I'm buying and the movers get the van out here. Then I'll be a full time resident." Those eyes flickered at him again. "And ready for some new friends to go with my new life."

"Somebody better warn the populace, then," he sarcasmed while taking her contact information, the bullet dodged - for now.