Jason had had a long night. He’d worked an extra shift, and chosen to do it during the night. Then he had a morning meeting with the other in-charges before a small staff meeting with his floor. He was hoping to be home before lunch time, in time to get a nap with Aidan. For a short while, anyway. The toddler could sleep, but seemed to do that better with his mum.

Yawning as he stretched, in the staff bathrooms, Jason could feel the wear and tear in his muscles. The day before, he’d gotten only three hours of sleep before the extra shift, with any attempts to sleep more having been thwarted one way or another. He’d finally given in and said he’d help out and work a little, short staffed and all. Now, though, he wasn’t even sure how he’d be able to stay awake throughout the meetings.

Shaking his head, he finished his coffee and set the mug down before stepping near his locker. A few moments later and he was walking to the showers, his towel snug around his waist. A cold shower would keep him awake, and a warm one would make him relaxed and happy. Torn between it, he pulled the shower knob out and let the water decide. When the icicles rained down on his sensitive skin, he let out a gasp and hopped around for a brief few moments while he went numb.

Once it had warmed up slightly, he settled into the water, leaning his hands against the wall as his head dipped under the steady beat down of comfort. He felt it drip slowly down his cheeks and over his nose, falling in strings down to the floor. After a few moments, he finally stood up and started to soap up; he needed to smell good when he went to the meeting, after all. Hearing a noise, he startled slightly, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the sound, frowning a little. His hands in his hair slowed in their massage, the shampoo dripping down his neck.
 

The polyjuice potion had been ready for months. Rita always kept a few vials of it redy, just in case it wasn't enough to simply turn into her beetle form. Sometimes it took more than that, and this was one of those occasions. The meeting with Miranda Elliot the day before had been more than just a social call, or a means of getting her next story. Rita had been there for personal reasons, too.

During the meeting, Rita had very kindly picked a couple of stray hairs from Miranda's back - unmistakeably hers, due to their length and colour - as she had a 'thing' about women having hairs stuck to their clothes. However, putting them in the bin was a lie, as she hid them in her hand and put them in her pocket, congratulating herself on how easy it was and what a good job she'd done.

So, here she was. Rita Skeeter was undercover. She ran her fingers through her long hair and smiled slightly. Miranda had the day off today - Rita had made sure of that. She hitched up her scrub trousers and fastened the tie to make sure they stayed up where they should. She paused at the end of the corridor of the first floor: Marren's first floor. There he was, making his way to the showers. "Perfect." Rita purred to herself, Miranda's voice coming through her mouth.

Two young healers walked past with quizical looks on their faces and Rita immediately straightened up. "Move along!" She barked at them, a scowl on her face. The healers did just that and scooted round the corner and up the stairs to wherever they were going. As soon as they were out of eyeline, Rita hurried herself along the corridor towards the staff bathroom, where she could hear the unmistakeable sound of a shower. She crept as quietly as she could into the shower compartment, and leant against the wall, trying to look as appealing as possible. He glanced over his shoulder in her direction. "Hello, sailor." She winked at him.

So much had happened, so much needed to be finished. With Rita Skeeter in possession of the knowledge of his infidelity, it was only a matter of time before it was spilled. The guilt was eating him up, keeping Fiona out of it, lying to her, trying to act as if nothing was different or going on and that he was still the same, caring husband he’d been. This whole lifestyle, the going behind someone’s back for… what he went for, it wasn’t cut out for him. His conscious was hitting him over the top of his head daily.

“Hello, sailor.”

And then his conscious rightfully shut up and put the book behind its back. His mouth opened slightly as he saw who was standing there, the shower forgotten for a moment. What was she doing? His eyes moved over her outfit and his eyebrow rose. “Hey…” He was uncertain; she’d not been too happy with him the day before. Licking his lips, he almost walked away from under the water. Then he recalled where he was, what he was doing, and her adamant refusal for things at work. Which he totally agreed with, when he was of sound mind.

Blinking, he tried to will his eyes away from her top; it was a very nice color, honest. Sticking his head back under the water, he scrubbed the rest of the shampoo out quickly and turned the water off. Grabbing his towel, he grinned as he wrapped it around his waist, walking over towards her. What to do… She seemed happy with him, at least.

Glancing around out of habit, not seeing anyone around, he finally looked back to her face, grinning wider. “I’d sail with you any day.” Licking his lips, he couldn’t quite put past what she was doing to him. Leaning against the wall in front of her, he looked her over again. “What, ah… are you doing here?” Finally Jason looked up at her face, frowning slightly. “Is everything okay?”

He looked shocked but pleasantly surprised to see Rita - Miranda - standing there against the wall looking all appealing and welcoming. Apparently he wasn't used to seeing a smile on her face as his expression was one of confusion. Immediately, Rita thought maybe she was over-doing the happy exterior. Miranda wasn't a particularly 'happy' person. But perhaps that was what attracted Jason to her. Immediately, Rita turned her smile into a scowl. Very quickly, however, she found a mid-point, thinking that perhaps Miranda's mood didn't change quite so dramatically.

This whole being-someone-else malarky was not as easy as it looked. But Jason looked content, and he very quickly removed the shampoo suds from his hair before wrapping a towel around his waist - much to Rita's disappointment - and making his way to her side. He leant against the wall too, mirroring her own position. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards as she recalled that mimicry was the highest form of flattery.

“I’d sail with you any day.”

She gave a small breathy laugh as she ran her fingers though her hair once more, trying as hard as she could to look seductive. It was apparent that he hadn't expected her to be here, as he questioned her motive for being in the shower room. "Well...I forgot something from my locker, and..." she batted her eyelashes in his direction as subtly as she could. "And then I saw you coming in here." She lifted her hand and ran her fingers gently down his chest, through the droplets of water. "So no, not everything is OK." She paused. "I can't help myself." She said quietly.

Jason had noticed she went from happy to irritated to… well… Anyway, he frowned slightly but shrugged it off. Sometimes Miranda was moodier than a teenager. He supposed that was part of the attraction, though. He was more confused as to why she was there; it had been a good sign to see she wasn’t upset still, though he couldn’t be so sure anymore. Maybe she remembered why she had been upset with him the day prior.

He couldn’t stop looking at her, finding himself a little out of breath as his eyes roamed her face (and then some). She certainly made him follow her easily. If she told him to sit, he probably would. At least… when they were alone. For some reason, she had an effect on him he couldn’t quite explain. Lust, perhaps, was the easiest explanation. And she used his desires to her benefit.

Well, perhaps it was a mutual benefit.

“Well…I forgot something from my locker, and…”

He leaned his head forward just slightly, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

“And then I saw you coming in here.”

And then she effectively stopped all logical thought processes when her fingers touched his wet chest. At least majority of them, anyway. His eyes watched her fingertips move down, feeling the goosebumps rise up, the desire to shiver coming over him, though he resisted it. Finally he licked his lips and let his eyes move over her arm and up to her face.

“So no, not everything is OK… I can’t help myself.”

Closing his mouth, he swallowed, finally grinning at her. She had never told him he was irresistible before. He uncrossed his arms from his chest and rested one hand on his waist. Smirking slightly, he leaned closer to her. “Well… I can leave for the day.” He was just in for a quick clean off and relaxing warmth anyway. “We could go back to your place.” That’s what they normally did, anyway. His place was off limits, considering his wife lived there and who knew what her schedule was.

With that, Jason leaned forward and kissed her, testing how willing she was right then. He pivoted slightly so her back was to the wall, resting a hand on either side of her, leaning into the kiss. Finally he pulled away and licked his lips. That was a different flavor… Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a small smirk. “Just let me get dressed.”

His breathing started to get mor shallow has her fingertips made a trail from his chest down his body. She could feel the goosebumps, and massaged her own ego by reminding herself that it was she who was making him feel like that. Screw Miranda. Even though she looked like the healer, it was her own personality and experience that was doing the real job. She smirked slightly. Oh, if only Miranda could see how it all should be really done.

His suggestion that they could 'go back to her place' was met with the most fleeting of worried looks. She very quickly masked it with a more alluring expression, however, knowing that it wouldn't take much to convince him that wasn't the best of ideas. "Or..." she said slowly, letting her right hand feel the muscles in his arm. "We could just...stay here?"

He leant in and kissed her - and it was good. Oh, it was so good. It was something she'd been desperate for since their first meeting. Her back was now against the wall and his hands were either side of her. This was a definite perk of the job. The Prophet would get an influx of applications if they stated that this was all part of a normal days work.

He pulled away and licked her lips, and she felt her whole body shudder slightly. She had expected things to be good, but even she had undervalued it. The smirk on his lips was appetising and playful. Why did he have to pull away?

“Just let me get dressed.”

"No!" she stated loudly - a little louder than she had intended. A lot louder than Miranda would have responded. "No..." She said a little quieter. "No clothes." She grinned as she took his face in both hands and pulled him back in for another kiss, knowing fine well that he would not complain or try anything different.