Note: Occurs between seasons 5 and 6.
Living in New York had desensitized Liz to endless security checks, but it was still a new surprise for her to have a bag searched when entering Jack's office. It was even more unsettling to see a couple of intimidating, crew-cut men in suits and earpieces buzzing about his office.
"What's all this, Jack?"
"The government's picked up some intelligence that Avery's new husband, Kim Jong-Un, is out to get me."
"Well, that makes sense, I guess. What's he doing? Hurling some propaganda at you?"
"He's sent an assassin."
Liz raised her hands to her mouth in horror. "Oh my God! What are you going to do?"
"I have this security detail, I've sent Liddy to Avery's mother, and now I'm just going to have to wait for them to catch him."
Liz grimaced. Jack's day-to-day routine was always larger than life, but this was a new level of horror.
One of Jack's windows shattered. Liz let out an involuntarily yelp, as Jack instinctively surrounded her with his arms and threw her to the ground, as a second shot rang out.
"Ouch!" Liz's irritation slipped out before it fully occurred to her that he may have saved her life.
"Sorry." They sat up, but stayed on the floor as the security men scurried around. After a lot of radio calls and pointing out on the terrace, they decided it was all clear.
"Perhaps you'd better go, Lemon. It's not exactly safe up here."
She swallowed hard, concern in her eyes. "Be safe."
X-X-X-X
Back working at her desk, Liz was having a very hard time concentrating. She'd confronted Jack's mortality before, but that was years ago, when her view of him was as a friendly-if-irritating boss whose interest in her might be useful to the show. Now, she was completely overcome with worry. Every noise coming in from the street made her jump. She resisted the urge to call him after each incident.
Having accomplished no actual work, she scooped up her laptop and headed up. Although physical courage was not one of Liz's strengths, the idea that her friend's life was in serious danger seemed to overcome her natural fear. Or rather, she needed the comfort of being there with him.
"Jack, mind if I work from here for the rest of day?"
"Lemon, it's not sa..."
"I know. I just would feel better if I was here."
Jack relented. Although he was stuffing his own fears in his mind-vise, he was comforted by her presence, and if she was getting something out of it too, so much the better.
They remained that way for the rest of the day, Liz silently working on revising sketches as Jack performed the endless small tasks of an executive.
X-X-X-X
Liz felt an inexplicable, unfamiliar urge to stick to Jack like glue. She asked to crash at his place that night, and ended up camped out on his couch when he went to bed. It was absolutely ridiculous to stand guard like that, against a trained assassin and with professional security men everywhere. But it made her feel better, like she was doing something.
On the way in to work the next day, she held his hand in the car. Not in a romantic way, but because she was worried about him and needed to feel his touch. He seemed gratified by the gesture, and she sensed that he was more unnerved by the whole situation than he let on. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding that she would stay with him through the crisis.
After going home to get some clothes, she came back over the next night. After a quiet dinner, and a little shared TV, she crashed on his couch once again.
X-X-X-X
She was having trouble falling asleep when she heard an unusual noise coming from the entry, as if something was crumpling on the floor. Now wide awake, Liz tiptoed over to the source and found one of the guards there, bleeding profusely. She dialed 911 and sprinted for Jack's room.
Luckily, Jack's place was huge. The assailant, in theory, could spend hours wandering through the Escher wing before finding his target. But Liz knew right where to go, and she was relieved to find her friend sleeping soundly.
"Jack, wake up," she whispered.
She explained the situation, leading Jack to dart out of bed. He pulled his pistol out of his nightstand and waited against the wall, next to the door, in the darkness. He handed Liz a knife.
"Jack, I don't know how to use this, unless the assassin happens to be a block of cheese."
"Just wait. Instinct will kick in if you need it. Now go stand by the other door."
X-X-X-X
They didn't have to wait long. As soon as the attacker entered, Jack engaged him in a melee. As they were both skilled in martial arts, both of them managed to disarm the other and send their guns sliding across the floor. Both also had numerous knives stashed on their bodies, and the fight was an almost comical arms race of new weapons and disarming moves.
Finally, after a bout of grappling the younger man threw Jack to the ground. It was only then that he noticed Liz standing there with one of the pistols.
They both froze for a moment. Liz was momentarily startled that the man was of European stock and in fact quite handsome. Of course, she realized in an instant, he's a hired gun. She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. The shot landed in the center of his chest and threw him against the wall, unconscious.
Liz dropped the gun (silently thankful for the one time Jack had dragged her to the pistol range) and ran over to help him up. They embraced tightly in a release of tension and relief. It lingered. She wept quietly. Liz had never seriously harmed anyone, despite some threats to staffers, and now she had literally killed for Jack Donaghy.
He kissed the top of her head.
Liz looked up at him, seized his jaw with both hands, and they kissed again, on the lips this time. It lingered as well, until she noticed a warm and sticky feeling around her stomach.
Gross, she thought, until she realized what it was.
"Jack... you're bleeding."
"Yeah, he got me with one of the knives. But it's just a flesh wound." He suddenly had an irresistible urge to sit down on the bed.
"Whoa.. Jack... stay with me." She sat behind him and lowered his head into her lap, fighting back tears. She didn't know first aid but pressed down on the wound as best she could.
X-X-X-X
Thanks to Liz's 911 call, help was only moments away. Cops were blanketing the crime scene, but Liz was entirely focused on getting to the hospital to be with Jack. It was with great relief that they wheeled him out a couple of hours later.
"Hey Liz." She was not reassured that Dr. Spaceman was greeting her.
"How is he?"
"Well, he's getting up there in years, so I think he might be near the end."
"Oh, no."
"Yeah, I sure love my pet turtle."
"I mean, how's Jack?"
"The knife impacted his heart..."
"Oh my God!"
"No, I mean, his liver... wait. You're hearts on the left, just inside your lung..." Spaceman quietly sang a little song to himself as pnemonic device, pointing at places on his torso, trying to remember where the vital organs were. Ah! I mean his appendix."
Liz frowned.
"But he should be fine. He needs to stay off his feet for a few days. I recommend a regimen of either painkillers or prostitutes. It's up to you." Leo shrugged.
"PAINKILLERS. Will be fine."
He filled out a slip of paper. "Here's a prescription." He continued to write. "And another for you."
"For me?"
"Yes, we're having a buy-one-get-one-free prescription promotion." He lowered his voice. "I assumed you wanted the prostitutes."
Liz took it without responding. She sat down next to Jack and held his hand till he regained consciousness.
X-X-X-X
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm not at my best," he whispered.
"You look good."
He gripped her hand tighter. They smiled at each other.
"Liz, about what happened in my room..."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up in the moment. That's all. I've never shot anyone before, well, except for that time at the Source Awards."
Jack seemed to change direction in his mind, as if hadn't expected her interruption. "Of course. No need to apologize, Lemon. It's a natural reaction to an emotional event." He paused. "If you hadn't been there..."
She nodded. "Well, I'm just glad you're OK."
"Now you see why guys like guns so much."
"What do you mean?"
"You see what firing one does to women."
Liz had to laugh at that. She lifted up the bed's side rail and curled up beside him. They lay there, together, until visiting hours were over.
END