A Pleasant Change {Joanne}

[Maureen Johnson]

Maureen headed up the busy city streets to Joanne's office, cursing how cold New York was in February. 34 degrees just wasn't conducive to a slinky black Valentine's dress that barely covered her kneecaps! Joanne better not be too busy for this, she couldn't help but think, shivering as she pulled open the front door to the law firm. She'd spent all day planning this out, and Joanne calling to tell her she'd be staying late had only thrown a minor wrench in the plans. She'd just had to move location from the apartment to Joanne's office. Nothing huge. Smiling at the receptionist, she paused to ask if Ms. Jefferson had a client at the moment before heading in the direction of her girlfriend's office, smirking to herself.

Coming around the corner to a quiet, more secluded area of the building, Maureen paused again, made sure her dress was where it was supposed to be, flicked her hair over her shoulder, then continued on her way, poking her head into Joanne's office without knocking, as per usual. The overworked lawyer was on the phone, her back to the door. Smirking again, she was able to slip in unnoticed, hiding the flowers she'd brought behind her back. Creeping forward, she pushed herself up and settled on top of Joanne's desk, barely able to keep from laughing as she imagined the look on Joanne's face when she'd turn around to find her there.

[Joanne Jefferson]

Joanne loved her job, that couldn't be contradicted. What she didn't love was the fact that she was stuck in this office late, on Valentine's Day, no less. People didn't realize this, but she actually had a romantic side to her that, silly her, believed that one should be allowed to be home with one's significant other/spouse on Valentine's Day. But hey, what did she know, right? Clearly, her boss knew more than she did. She almost rolled her eyes at that thought, her office phone between her shoulder and ear, several neatly stacked documents in one hand and for her other hand, a pen so she could write any notes that would be needed.

"All right, Steve? You'll have to tell them we'll sue if they're not going to cooperate...there's a girl out there who's being treated like a second class citizen in that business and I'm not about to stand by and allow that sort of monster of a boss to get off scott free." All right, so maybe 'monster' was a little harsh, but considering her slightly bitter mood towards people who run anything today, that wasn't something that someone could blame her for. Steve seemed to understand, or at least that was what she was getting from his sympathetic tone as he said that he'd do what he could in this. "Thanks Steve, I appreciate that..." However, she found herself being interrupted when she heard something on her desk.

Her eyebrows furrowed, she turned her face toward, lo and behold, Maureen Johnson. Joanne had to fight to keep her eyes in their sockets or her jaw off the floor. "Maureen?!" she cried, giving poor Steve quite a shock on the other line. "Oh, sorry Steve. Umm...I'll have to get back to you on this later on. Something just came up," she responded, trying very hard to stop herself from laughing. This was insane! Joanne was pretty sure she had never been so surprised in her life, and she knew that not too long ago, she probably would have been scolding Maureen by now. Really, interrupting her at work...but honestly, this was what she had been waiting for.

Once she managed to get off the phone, she turned back towards Maureen, an incredulous look on her face. "My God. You are crazy, do you know that Honeybear?" she stated, a grin starting to grow on her face. "You don't know how glad I am to see you."

[Maureen Johnson]

Maureen couldn't help but giggle as Joanne turned around, and she quickly clapped her free hand over her mouth, grateful for her God-given sense of balance. Otherwise, it was highly likely she would've fallen off the desk. "Hey Pookie," she replied quietly, hoping the other woman got off the phone soon. This position was uncomfortable. Thankfully, her wishes were granted, and within five minutes the phone was back in its proper place. She toyed with the idea of locking the door and disconnecting the phone, but that might be a little much for Joanne.

"Yep. Crazy as a bat. But that's why you love me," Maureen teased, swinging her legs around and shifting closer on the desk. Giving her girlfriend a quick kiss, she remembered the flowers behind her back. "Oh!" she started, bringing her other arm around. "Look what fell from the sky on my way over. I mean, it was so weird! I left the apartment and hadn't walked three blocks when it started raining bouquets. Weird weather here lately."

[Joanne Jefferson]

Joanne could clearly see how hard Maureen was trying to quash her urges to laugh and she had to admit that she had expected worse. Maureen didn't usually have that much self control to begin with, as proven by her greeting while Joanne was on the phone. As if she wasn't already shocked, she had to pull that card. It was just as well that she ended that phone call when she did. After all, how late was it? And she was still here working? Honestly, that was probably why she was grinning at her girlfriend's slight insanity. She was desperate for some kind of escape from all of this work, even if she did love this job. Enough was enough.

Joanne shook her head when Maureen reminded her that her insanity was why she loved her. How could she forget? "Indeed I do, especially now that you've just rescued me from monotony." She gladly accepted the kiss and let out a happy sigh. Yes...she felt that she was long overdue for a break. Maureen was certainly good at reminding her of that, something that she did forget. She barely had time to think that when a forest of flowers decided to go in front of her face. Joanne's jaw dropped. No way! Maureen never seemed like the type to give flowers. That was so romantic...and Joanne hated to admit it, but she never thought of Maureen as romantic. At all. With those beautiful roses in front of her, she felt sort of bad for ever thinking that.

"Oh Maureen, they're beautiful," she gasped before she accepted them, a chuckle exiting her lips at her girlfriend's joke. "Oh, yes indeed. But I think I could live with this kind of weather," she agreed, beaming before she kissed Maureen again. In a way, that was true. She would hardly object to this sort of treatment more often, although she supposed half the reason she was so overjoyed was the surprise in it. God knew that Maureen was full of surprises.