Emily wasn't exactly coping well with all that had happened the last few months. Killing the prisoner in front of the Richmond's. The War with New Bern. Roger coming home half crazy. Things had taken a toll on her mental state. She was jumpy, anxious, and quiet; withdrawn. And Jake took notice. A lot of notice.
Since the two had moved in together, Jake was beginning to pick up on things about Emily; how she hid things from others, how she kept a careful facade in place when she was around people, how that facade cracked when she thought no one was watching. It reminded Jake of how he'd been after the incident in Iraq, and that scared him. Emily didn't need to be haunted like he was.
It wasn't long before he had to confront her about it, and he wasn't exactly comfortable with the notion.
He approached from behind, and pressed against her, murmured her name. Emily, startled, raised a fist and spun. Jake deflected the approaching fist, and caught her in a hug. He smoothed her hair down, and whispered, "Shh... You're hurting, I know."
Emily blinked. "Is it that obvious?" She asked.
"To me it is. I can see you're haunted, that you hurt." Jake murmured, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Emily, you don't need to be haunted this way; not like me."
Emily gave him an infathomable look. "What do you mean like you?"
"Emily, I never gave you the whole story about my time in Iraq..." Jake sighed, and winced, pinching the bridge of his nose. It wasn't a subject he liked to bring up. But an hour later, he had told his love his story, and she understood exactly why he was so distant sometimes, so haunted, and so very much alone, victim of his own internal machinations, his own mind's warped way of pointing the judge's finger at him, and warping him with guilt. "It's not what I want you to see, Babe. Not something I want you to live through. At least, not alone." He said, finally.
"I'm never alone. Not with you." Emily brushed the hair from his face, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You've saved my life more times in these past few months than you will ever know. Alone, Jake? I never have been." She said, softly. "Maybe together, our wounds can mend. Our haunted pasts can heal. I'll never leave you, Jake. That's a promise I intend to keep."
Funny how things worked out. Emily had comforted him instead of the other way around. But a promise given, was a promise meant to be kept. And he'd do everything he could to help Emily keep that promise. Because if he lost her, his past would devour him. And the ending of that would be enough to break them all.