Careless With a Delicate Man

By rese

Summary: Jo regrets her 'no', but will she be able to rectify her mistake before Laurie's gone.

Disclaimer: chapter title taken from Fiona Apple's Criminal lyrics. Louisa May Alcott owns the characters and that dreadful ending to that certain chapter. No profit.

A/N: I took all your ideas on board and they'll all come out on screen soon enough but for now, Jo's off to Europe. I wrote the parts of this yonks ago and it's only now that I've found an appropriate story to paste it all together. Oh! I started a jo/laurie site http ://www. freewebs. com / jolaurie / index. htm (sorry you'll have to clean up the spaces but this sites a pain to post links up) after being pissed that after two or more fruitless hours of searching there are in fact none. There ain't much there but if you have anything that you think might be appropriate to add to the site please, pass it on if you would. If you'd give me permission to link to your stuff that'd be just as awesome.

…

"Oh Teddy" she whispered into the cushion. She shook her head at her sentimentality, honestly it was almost too much altogether. It wasn't possible for a happy ever after, not now that she had destroyed her boy. She sniffed violently, refusing to let the blinding tears fall. She didn't deserve her self-pity but for Laurie, she broke his heart. How could she be so stony and unfeeling to her best friend? All he wanted was her love.

Was she truly sure of her heart?

Jo shook her head, obstinate that her decision was for the best. How foolish of her to even consider the slightest possibility that there friendship was something more! But Laurie seemed so sure he wanted more. A fine predicament!

…

"Oh, Jo, can't you?"

"Teddy, dear, I wish I could!"

That was all, except a little pause; then Laurie straightened himself up, said "It's all right, never mind," and went away without another word. Ah, but it wasn't all right, and Jo did mind; for while the curly head lay on her arm a minute after her hard answer, she felt as if she had stabbed her dearest friend; and when he left her without a look behind him, she knew that the boy Laurie would never come again.

-Chapter 35 "Heartache" Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

…

"Wait!" she choked out, stopping the boy in his tracks.

The gate he had shut and she reopened, finally swung closed, the noise filling the hesitant silence. His tempestuous head full of determination turned slightly, ever so slightly so that Jo could make out the beginnings of his pained profile. Enough that Jo knew the damage she'd done to her boy.

"I –" she cleared her throat, her emotional state not surprising when one considered the desperate, short plea Laurie had made not two moments ago. In fact, one could feel that she had misled them both so much that she, Jo, was infuriating and torturous and completely unfeeling!

The pair of dark, hardened eyes finally rested on her and Jo wrung her hands. Oh how was she supposed to not care when he was so passionate and sure? Only now, when his cold stare fell on hers did she waver on her already unsteady decision.

"I don't want you to leave my life," Jo's whisper hurt her throat which had tightened with her conviction.

"Jo," he seemed to struggle with her name, "you won't let me in it!" Laurie turned away again and continued the short march down next door to the carriage that waited for his escape.

"No! Don't let him go!" cried a voice in her head and Jo ran again, grasping for the young man who had climbed into the black carriage. "Laurie!" she called but he obstinately ignored her plea. She was only going to keep hurting him, making him build his hope and destroying it with words he never wanted repeated.

"Drive on," he said, closing his eyes.

But Jo had moved to stand in front of the horses and the man exclaimed over his shoulder, "I can't young sir, there's a girl standing there!"

With a deep breath Laurie leant out of the carriage. Why did she want to keep hurting him? Hadn't he taken enough? "Jo, please."

Jo came around the side and took his head in her hands, struggling both to keep her voice and hands steady which could barely reach him due to the height of the carriage, "Laurie, I'm so dreadfully sorry."

There was a long pause where his eyes were lowered; "Is that all you have to say?" filled his patient voice.

She looked away for a moment. "No." Jo dragged her eyes back to his sullen form, determined to 'have it out' as he had all those painful days ago. "I've been such a coward Teddy. And I've hurt you so unfairly I can't bear to live with my intolerable self. I've made a mistake, one that I won't be able to save unless you -" Jo looked into his suddenly lit eyes, "unless you'll have me." She coloured at her words, but couldn't look away from those steady black peepers.

"Sir, are you ready to go?"

"Oh yes. Quite."

…

Jo moved closer to the source of warmth sighing with pleasure as it seemed to hug her back. "Jo," it then called and she blinked her eyes open in confusion. Heat certainly shouldn't speak.

"Jo, move over a bit. You're crushing my arm."

She sat up with a start, running a hair through her wild hair that inevitably mussed up with her dozing. Jo looked over sheepishly at Laurie, smiling when she caught his look.

They were alone in a carriage. Together.

Laurie chuckled; closing the gap Jo had politely created to tug her untamed hair. "You should sleep by me more. I like how you look, Jo, dear."

Jo turned a deep red at that and fiddled with her skirt. "At least he's his blunt self," she attempted to console her uneasy person. "Thank you, Teddy, but you needent say pleasant things for me. Look how I've creased your shirt!" Jo said aloud, pointing at the creases in open shame.

Again, he laughed and pulled close. "Maybe I like it that way? Besides, I'm sick of presses and primping and now that I've got you, Jo, dear, why should I have a care in the world?" Jo laughed too, at both the notion and his repeated use of "Jo, dear".

"You are silly. But if you won't than I shall have to, for one of us must be sensible for the world to get along with us." Jo said with a look that told him she would have a trying task, for it was all she could do not to agree with his declarations. "Oh, what will home say at this foolishness?" Jo gestured to the moving carriage with concern. "It was well for us to go in the heat of the moment; only, I fear we might regret it later when tear-stained letters with harsh words arrive at our inn."

Laurie smiled at Jo's very real worry and looked out the window at the passing country. They still had to leave America first. "That's still a fair way off, Jo. Come warm my side again, only mind you don't crease any more creases, for I'm sure they'll have a fit at the docks with the appearance of two well rested travelers."