AN: I love Jim, and if I owned Terra Nova I would have him for my own. Unfortunately, I don't, so he isn't.
Jim and Elisabeth needed a fic, so here it is. Probably AU since I haven't been able to rewatch the episodes since they first aired. If there are details missing, I apologize for nothing! This is my canon. ^_^'
Hope you enjoy.
J&E
When Jim read the ad for the apartment he was now renting it went something like this; 'Cozy (meaning he could reach out and touch both walls at the same time), one bedroom (a sleeper closet with a double bed if he was lucky) with all the amenities (it has hot water.) Quaint design (meaning pipes sticking out in odd places) conveniently located near City Center (the hospital and police station are five minutes away.)
Sounded perfect. Better yet, it was within his price range.
One week in and he knew he hated the place. To begin with, it was obviously designed with midgets in mind. Every time he went through the kitchen he banged his head on the water pipe that ran across the ceiling and into the bathroom (if you could even call it that, it was more of a stall.) Secondly, the bed did fit in a small alcove off the kitchen. (It wasn't a room. There was no door.) And it was something similar in size to a double bed, with a small nightstand next to it, but to fit without his feet up against one wall and his head against the other he had to sleep crossways with his head in one corner and his feet hanging off the other. (Comfort at its best.)
In the following months he thought about finding someplace else, but he had signed the lease and it did have its perks. With all the double shifts he had been taking when he got the place (he really wanted to make detective that year) he could walk home half asleep and be in his bed ten minutes after he clocked out. Better yet, Elisabeth loved the place.
He would never understand her fascination with his lifestyle.
She had grown up privileged in the London dome. She had gone to all the best schools and had all the best things and when she lost her parents at eighteen she had been left with an acceptance letter to the best medical academy in Europe and plenty of money to pay for it. Instead, she applied to the top medical school in the US and followed up her residency by taking a position at Chicago City Center Hospital. While they were the top research hospital in the Midwest, they also did a booming business in their ER and trauma centers. That was how they met. He needed a knife wound stitched up and she was finishing a double shift in the ER. Afterwards she told him he could buy her a drink for her troubles.
For the first few weeks they would simply meet for a beer and talk, both too exhausted to become more invested than that. It was always the same dive bar, and Jim always made the same argument that a woman as intelligent as she was shouldn't be hanging out in that part of town. Elisabeth always argued back that she had him to protect her, so what was he so worried about? Won over by her sassy nature he always gave in. And at the end of the night he always made sure she safely got a cab back to her apartment on the nice side of town. It wasn't until the 'Very Bad Day' that tequila got involved and they finally left 'together.'
When Jim had woken up the next morning he didn't have a clue where he was or how he had gotten there. He was in a big (very comfy) bed in the actual bedroom (there were doors) of what he assumed to be a hotel (if the lack of personal items and bland color scheme were any indication.) He could hear a shower running and there was the smell of coffee (real coffee, not that instant synthetic crap) drawing him into the kitchen. It was huge. Stainless steel appliances and the latest in food prep units. Looking in the cabinets he noticed they were mostly bare. There were a few dishes in one and he found milk in the fridge, but otherwise the place was barren of anything save the two coffee mugs on the counter.
He heard the shower shut off and shortly after Elisabeth wandered into the kitchen to find him watching the drip of real caffeine into a large carafe. Seeing her face finally brought back the previous nights activities, and he couldn't help the smile on his face as she offered him some painkillers for the massive headache he was suffering. Over their coffee he finally asked where they were and was surprised to hear that this was her apartment. After noting the look on his face she explained that she spent more time than not at the hospital and she really lived out of her locker there. She occasionally slept and showered at her place but that was the extent of it. They didn't get to discuss it further as they both needed to be at work, but Jim made note to bring it up again in the future. There was no way a place so nice should go to waste like that and he meant to tell her as much.
He soon figured out why staying at the place was such a pain when it took them close to forty-five minutes to get to work. At one point he muttered that it might be quicker to get out and walk and Elisabeth chuckled, responding that it wasn't, she'd tried it. He vowed to drop the subject of her apartment going to waste after that.
That night Jim got in late and was barely finished cleaning up his dinner when there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find a haggard looking Elisabeth standing on the other side. Three major surgeries, back to back, was her explanation as she walked past Jim and fell into his bed. He leaned over her to ask a question, perhaps even protest and was told, definitively, that he owed her one.
The next morning Jim asked (in a totally nonchalant sort of way) when he could take Elisabeth on a real date. She laughed and told him that while she thought dating was a wonderful idea, and she truly did miss it sometimes, it wasn't something that she was able to make time for. But it was sweet of him to ask. He only 'hmmed' thoughtfully and they went their separate ways.
But that night, when Elisabeth showed up on his doorstep again (as he knew she would,) he was ready for her. She walked in to the gentle glow of imitation candlelight. Jim had made her a real dinner and bought a box of wine. He'd even shaved for the occasion. To say she was surprised and delighted was an understatement. He figured he had her at 'bonsoir.'
'Date' night wasn't exactly a regular occurrence. If Elisabeth was on call she usually slept at the hospital, and if she had a day off she would make the trip back to her apartment for a more uninterrupted sleep. Jim was pulling extra duty for awhile before getting deep into an investigation where he had to spend most nights tailing someone or staking out all-night clubs and bars. That didn't mean they stopped seeing each other. (Although it was never in the formal sense. They had tried an actual night out once… concluding afterwards that it would be best if they kept their 'dates' casual.)
Flowers (a true indulgence) would occasionally show up at the hospital for Elisabeth. Nothing big, a few daisies attached to her locker with a note saying he was thinking of her (or certain parts of her…) Other times there would be a message at the nurses station saying he would be stopping by with Chinese at the end of her shift. The nurses thought he was a hoot and often gave Elisabeth a wink on her way to the break room to join him. It wasn't a perfect relationship, but they made it work.
A few months in and Jim started noticing that her stuff was slowly migrating to his apartment. An extra toothbrush, bottle of shampoo and towel in the bathing stall (as he called it.) Bras and frilly underwear in his sock drawer, a coffeemaker on his counter. Coming from any other woman and he probably would have been horrified, but from Elisabeth it only made him smile. He didn't understand what she saw in him that made her keep coming back, but he knew what he saw in her that made him want her to keep coming. She was smart, and funny, and kind. She was sassy, and bright and genuine. She wasn't afraid to take risks and she never took no for an answer. He admired her courage to leave everything she knew and become the person he knew today and he adored her for being the person who fit so well with him despite their differences.
It wasn't until the day Elisabeth almost died that he realized he loved her.
He's just made detective and Elisabeth was so proud of him. She'd come to the promotional ceremony and they'd had a great night out with his fellow officers and some of her friends from work. They hit up a local place and spent most of the evening creating quite a bit of noise. Considering the guy he had to put away to get this promotion, he should have been expecting a little payback.
It happened when they were on their way home. Jim, Elisabeth, his partner Mike, and Mike's wife Alice were all walking to the L when a car came careening around the corner, a rain of bullets spraying from the window. Jim and Mike's keen cop senses told them something was off the moment that car turned the corner, and they tried to get their women and themselves to cover as quickly as they could, but they didn't have much warning, and they weren't Superman.
They hit the ground hard behind a parked car, shattered window glass raining down on them as the bullets were let loose on the vehicle as well. Jim landed on top of Elisabeth and was trying to use his hands to protect her head from the glass as she scrunched her face and curled as small as possible to make less of a target. It seemed like the shots went on forever as he watched her face, horrified that something could have happened to her because of him. That she would be a target for his enemies because of him. Because he loved her…
Holy. Shit. When had that happened? It was like it snuck up on him and was now bashing him over the head at the most inopportune moment.
When it was over, and Elisabeth was looking up at him with her big brown eyes, he knew he would do anything for her. Take a bullet for her, steal for her, kill for her… it was all so cliché, but he would. He would even let her go if it meant she would be safe.
When she told him to get off of her (breathing was getting difficult) he shot to his feet and then gently helped her to hers. He handled her like she was made of glass, his newfound awe making him act, well, goofy was the word Elisabeth used later. As he was staring at her like she was some enchanted creature she pointed out that he had been shot, to which his response was 'I love you.' Elisabeth rolled her eyes and said yes, of course, she loved him too, now would he please sit down before he bled out all over the sidewalk.
From then on he figured their fates were sealed. No amount of wheedling would get her to admit leaving him was probably her safest option (it wasn't her first drive-by, this was Chicago after all). No amount of reasoning would get him to admit it took him so long to realize he loved her all along. They wouldn't have it any other way.
