This was it, she thought grimly for about the seventeenth time. The last phase of the plan… and I hope to God this works.

The plan had been pretty straightforward as outlined by Viv and Darcy.

Go to Scotland.

Get to Nairn.

Order a delivery.

Seduce Jamie.

When it was being kicked around over pizza and beer, it had sounded foolproof.

Now, Juno wasn't so sure.

Seduce Jamie.

How? Juno thought anxiously. I'm not beautiful like Darcy and I'm not charming like Viv. I feel silly in this dress and high heels, and I'm not sure I'll even have the power of speech when Jamie comes through the door. I'm not sexy, I'm not confident, and I'm not even sure he'll be happy to see me.

Seduce Jamie.

Maybe she still had time to alter the plan… Juno thought suddenly. Maybe instead of being here, I could leave him a note. I always express myself better in words than in speech, so I could write him this really great letter. Or maybe I could just…

Juno jumped a few inches when the doorbell chimed downstairs. She immediately stood and began pacing the room, willing herself not to bite her fingernails or tug on her hair. She heard Betty go to the door and answer it, then the muted sound of two voices.

She could vaguely hear the rumble of Jamie's voice echoing through the hallway, and it almost made her homesick.

A few moments later, she could hear Jamie slowly climbing the stairs, and Juno had to smile at the thought of Jamie hauling her delivery upstairs, not knowing what, or who, was on the other side of the bedroom door.

"That first door on your right, dear." Juno could hear Betty calling up the staircase to Jamie. "Just find anywhere to set it down. I'll just be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Yes ma'am." Juno heard Jamie say as she pressed her ear against the door, her heart pounding inside her chest and her palms sweaty against the wood. Juno quickly backed away from the door as Jamie's footfalls moved closer to the bedroom door, gave her skirt one last nervous tug and waited.

The door was nudged open a moment later and Jamie stepped into the room, lugging the enormous sack over one shoulder. He didn't see Juno until he had taken two steps inside and was looking for somewhere to put it down.

Juno's knees felt weak as he looked up and his eyes connected with hers. Her breath gusted out of her lungs, and she looked at him, transfixed.

He was absolutely the most gorgeous man she'd ever known.

Thumping the bag onto the floor heavily, Jamie straightened and stared at Juno openmouthed. They stood mute for the longest ten seconds of Juno's life until Jamie finally broke the silence.

"It's… it's you." He croaked, clearing his throat immediately as he stood staring at her. "You're here?" He said, as though it were a question.

Juno nodded and tried to smile a little. "Surprise."

"You're really here?" Jamie repeated. "Really?"

Juno giggled a little and shrugged slightly. "I'm really here. Hi."

"But… why?" Jamie breathed, still standing stock still across the room from her.

Juno paled for an instant at his words before squaring her shoulders and trying to think of something brilliant to say, to convince Jamie to stay and be seduced. "Because you're a babe." She blurted out, immediately squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment. "I mean, because, I, you know… when I got home I just… and then there was this … " Juno cut herself off and opened her eyes again to look down at the floor in humiliation. "You know what, to hell with it. I'm just not going to talk from now on, since I can't seem to do it without sounding like a bonehead."

Jamie was still frozen in place, but when Juno looked up he had a small smile on his face. "I like listening to you talk."

Juno blushed slightly. "I'm an idiot."

"Why are you an idiot?" Jamie asked seriously, still locked in place across the room from her.

Juno shrugged again. "For a lot of reasons. For rambling on like an idiot. For flying all the way over here and not knowing how you felt about me. For not busting through security to see you at the airport. For falling for you in the first place. Many, many idiotic moments lately. Strangely, though, they all seem to have happened since I met you."

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "I'm to blame for your idiocy?" He asked, his voice tinged with teasing.

Juno nodded. "You're at least a major player in my decline."

Jamie nodded in return. "I see." His eyes locked on hers for a long moment. "If I were the rogue instead of the sidekick, I imagine the results would be a bit different."

Juno pretended to think about it for a long moment before shaking her head no. "Doubtful."

"Hm." Jamie murmured, slowly taking a single step closer to her. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been a bit of an idiot myself lately."

"Oh?" Juno asked with interest. "Do tell."

"Well, I nearly got arrested by airport security chasing after you. I drove Thor the Thunder Car off the road the other day because I was thinking about you and not the roundabout I was on. I hired a friend to track down all your information on the internet so I knew where you lived. And I just bought a plane ticket to the States, leaving in two days." Jamie said, his voice calm and even. "Are those the actions of a rational man?"

Juno's face split into a wide smile at his words. "No. No, not really."

"You see?" Jamie said, taking another slow step towards her. "And there's something else."

"What's that?" Juno asked, her brow knitted in concern.

"I'm very much considering wrinkling that dress of yours, though it's very pretty." Jamie said smoothly.

"Wrinkling it?" Juno asked skeptically. "How?"

"By throwing you onto the bed and yanking it off and tossing it into a corner where it will lay crumpled for a good, oh, five or six hours." Jamie replied, his voice still serious and steady.

Juno felt her heart speed up to warp speed and her breath caught in her throat as her jaw dropped open slightly. "Huh?"

Jamie shrugged a little. "Well, not quite the reaction I was going for, but…"

Before Jamie could continue his thought, Juno had taken two steps of her own and thrown herself into his embrace, her face against his broad chest and her arms wound around his waist. His arms pulled her against him, and then released her slightly so that Jamie could dip his head and kiss her.

"You're really here." He murmured, his lips blazing a trail of kisses from lips to cheek to temple and back again. "You're really here."

"I had to come back." Juno whispered. "It's the scariest thing I've ever done, but I had to come back."

"I'm glad you did." Jamie whispered in return, his hands trailing to the back of her dress and tugging on the zipper they found. Juno giggled as he fumbled with the zip and tried to take a step back.

"You know, in the plan in my head, I was supposed to be seducing you, not the other way around." Juno said, wagging a finger at him.

Jamie grinned happily. "You are. Strip."

"Oh. You love sexy talk, don't you?" Juno giggled, evading Jamie's wandering hands as he tried again to unzip the back of her dress.

"Uh huh." Jamie said, his breathing more and more labored. "Strip faster."

"We need to teach you some new bedroom seduction talk." Juno teased with a grin. "I've heard this whole conversation before."

"It worked before. I'm a simple man – when I find something that works, I stick with it."

"Very Cro-Magnon of you." Juno shot back with a teasing glint in her eye.

Need see woman naked now." Jamie grunted, making Juno laugh.

"I thought maybe we could just sit and hold each other and talk about our feelings." Juno said, puffing out her bottom lip and pretending to pout, dying of laughter inside at Jamie's tortured expression.

"Juno…" He begged, throwing himself onto the bed with a tormented look. "Please…"

So much for worrying about seduction, Juno thought as she tumbled onto the bed and into Jamie's arms.

"I want you to know it wasn't my original plan to just come here and hop into bed with you." Juno said, tugging her dress down her thighs and handing it to Jamie, who promptly threw it across the room, where it landed in a crumpled heap in the corner. "I really did want to talk about our feelings."

Jamie's laugh echoed throughout the room. "Hussy."

Juno gasped in mock indignation. "Rogue." She shot back after a long moment.

"Damn right." Jamie said, crushing her against his chest and fisting her hair to tug her lips down to his. "And don't you forget it."

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before . after