Song: Oh, My Love
Artist: John Lennon

Note: Wow. I had to do this.

Startling Clarity

A lance of pure fire speared through his side, ripping him open, and Jason clutched his side as he toppled over into the soft snow. The white fluff rose in a feathery cloud from the weight of his body as he crashed with a loud and jarring thud that threatened to shatter his weakened form.

He had been shot.

Pain seared through his body, radiated through his limbs, as he lay like a dying animal in the woods. He had tried to escape and managed to crawl all the way out near the boxcar but now the abuse was too much for his tortured body and he could move no further. His fingers, bare with the nails turning blue from the cold, clawed at the frozen ground as he tried furiously to get up, to get away. He couldn't die here – not like this.

His arms trembled and he fell down on his shoulder again as the wound at his side threatened to rip his body in two. The fluff underneath him had become stained with a brilliant crimson as the life and consciousness began to seep out of his body along with his blood.

Six years later, and once again he found himself dying in the snow.

Jason touched his side gingerly, almost afraid of what he would find. But even through his blurred vision, he could clearly see the sticky red liquid that now covered his fingers. His breathing quickened, coming in shallow pants, as he lowered his hand numbly and tried to remember what he had to do to survive in a situation like this.

But delirium was making that increasingly difficult.

He rolled over on his back, his raw and wet eyes gazing up at the white sky that stretched above him into oblivion. The pointy heads of a couple of fir trees and evergreens made it into the field of his vision as the mighty enforcer just lay there, unable to ward off the numbness that set into his body. He was going to die. Here.

At least he'd smell like snow.

Despite the freezing air that assaulted him, creeping into his tattered body, beads of perspiration broke out on Jason's forehead. He felt as if the sweater he wore under his jacket were slowly choking the life out of him. He heard a soft trickling somewhere in the distance, and imagined that all the heat emanating off his body was turning the snow into water that would float him over to someone who could help him.

Float him over to her.

Oh, my love, for the first time in my life
My eyes are wide open

He could hear her voice before he could see her. That young, innocent voice, sweet and lilting even in her fear. She had no idea how beautiful her voice was. Especially when she sang Come all Ye Faithful.

"Jason! Jason! Jason – oh, my God. Oh, my God! No, this can't be happening. Jason! Jason? Can you hear me? Jason, come on, wake up! You have to wake up! Come on! I can't help you if you don't open your eyes! Jason? Oh, thank God. Oh, thank God! Are you okay? What happened? How did you get here?"

A breeze passed over his cheeks but Jason only felt her hair, soft and silky, dance across the rough, dry skin. She was leaning over him, her small hands seeking his wounds and trembling all the while as she frantically tried to get him to wake up.

"I can't help you if you don't open your eyes!"

He was trying. He was trying very hard to open his eyes, not realizing that they were already open and staring up at the pale winter sky.

Oh, my lover, for the first time in my life
My eyes can see

She was looking down at him, wrapping one arm around him and hanging on as if she could physically hold him to this world. Her sapphire eyes, one of the few bright splashes of color in the forest that winter had killed, darted around like a caged and frightened bird. She wasn't wearing any gloves or a scarf, and her coat was too thin for the frigid air. He wanted to give her his jacket.

Her voice raced through the fog that had swallowed him up. "Are you okay? What happened? How did you get here?"

His tongue felt swollen and flopped around in his mouth, over his chapped and cracking lips, as Jason tried to speak to her. "Again," he croaked to the empty forest. "It happened again."

She closed her eyes, depriving him of the vibrant color he had grown to love. One small hand, soft and warm, found his cheek and gently soothed over the rough stubble there. Her forehead touched his, and Jason could feel her warmth transfer into his tortured body.

He was afraid. Panic seized him as those beautiful eyes remained closed, and Jason could hardly breathe. He wanted her to open her eyes. She had to open her eyes. He needed to see her. He made a tortured noise of protest, futilely trying to shift in her firm hold. The curly, raven lashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes, gracing him with that brilliant blue, the sight of which immediately put him at ease. Her eyes glittered with purpose and determination and he could see the unspoken promise within – the promise that she would not let him die in the snow. She hadn't before and she wasn't about to let it happen again.

"I'll help you up, Jason."

Her voice flowed through his body, warming his limbs and Jason sighed softly, trusting her completely. She was the one person he could trust without fear in a situation like this; the one person that would put his safety and health first, who wouldn't ask questions. The one person that would give him what he needed. And right now, he had all he needed.

I see the wind, oh, I see the trees
Everything is clear in my heart

She leaned closer to check him for a fever, and the minute her cheek found his forehead in that familiar and comforting gesture, tears inundated Jason's raw eyes. Elizabeth's fingers gently stroked his hair as she murmured soft, nonsensical words of comfort. She kissed his temple, pressing her nose to his flaming skin, and when Jason turned his head slightly their lips brushed together.

"Where will you take me?"

Only a single black raven perched on a nearby boulder heard his question.

"I'll take you for a ride," came the smooth answer. "We'll get on your bike and I'll take you down the Cliff Road. We'll follow it up the cliffs and then end up at the Ruins, and we can go see our statue again. Would you like that?"

He murmured in the affirmative, enjoying the feel of her small hands on his chest as she continued to check him for injuries. The pain that had been radiating outwards from his side wound was now reduced to a dull throbbing ache.

I see the clouds, oh, I see the sky
Everything is clear in our world

"You've got the bug for riding, you know."

The corner of his mouth curved up as he lay on the snow in the deadly silent woods. "That's my line."

They remained silent for a few minutes and Jason let his heavy lids close. He could feel the soft flutter of her fingertips as she did something to his side, but he couldn't feel much else. Occasionally, she'd make a soft noise, a melancholy cluck, and her fingers would move faster over the wound. He didn't know what she was doing but he trusted her with his life, so it didn't really matter.

When she spoke, her voice was filled with sorrow.

"I hate seeing you hurt."

He opened his eyes and saw that hers were glistening with tears. That full lower lip she liked to mangle between her teeth was quivering, and her small nose was turning red and beginning to run.

"This is my life," he replied to no one but the raven, who cocked its head at him curiously.

"I know."

He watched her as she studied his side, her soft fingers dancing over the laceration. "I'm sorry you can't handle it." There was no accusation in his words, no bitterness, just a genuine apology.

She looked up at him soulfully. "It's not the wound here, Jason, that I can't handle." Her hand left his side and Jason noticed that her fingers weren't smeared with blood as he expected them to be. He could only watch as she lifted her pale hand and pressed it over her own heart. "It's the wounds here that kill me."

His sandy brows furrowed. "Who hurt you there?"

Those full lips curved into a sad smile. "You did. I did. We both did."

"I never wanted to," he confessed, swallowing hard as her fingers raked gently through his hair. "The last place I wanted to hurt you was there."

Oh, my love, for the first time in my life
My mind is wide open

"I know."

"Then why did I?"

The raven didn't have any answers.

"You shut me out. You walked away." Her eyes closed slowly and that familiar panic once again had the enforcer in its clutches. Her forehead brushed against his tenderly. "You didn't think we would make it."

He didn't know how to respond. Tears pooled in his cerulean eyes, a few of them shattering like glass on his dry skin only to be swept away by her warm, soft fingertips. "I wanted us to make it," he confessed. "I never wanted anything more."

She shook her head. "It's over now, Jason." The simple statement was like an iron fist closing around his heart, threatening to take away the feeble life that still remained inside him. "There's nothing more to do or say. We've moved on…"

"I don't want anyone else helping me," he announced fiercely, his blazing eyes trying to capture her averted ones. "I don't ever want anyone else helping me."

Her lips curved downward as a flicker of remorse danced through those wide eyes. "I should really help you up."

Fear licked at the back of his throat, making it impossible to breathe, and Jason watched with wide and bewildered eyes as Elizabeth leaned forward, ready to take him into her arms and help him rise to his feet. She was crouched over him, her arms on either side as she readied them both for the strenuous task ahead, and Jason could still see the sorrow in those beautiful eyes.

It made his heart hurt more acutely than his side as the iron fist clamped shut.

Oh, my lover, for the first time in my life
My mind can feel

Through some sort of Herculean effort, he managed to raise his hands and wrap them around her slender arms. She stilled but didn't look at him, and Jason's fingers tightened. He wasn't going to let them end like this.

"Elizabeth."

The raven ruffled its wings against the cold and looked away almost as if the creature couldn't bear to see him in such agony.

"We have to get you out of the snow, Jason."

He winced at the frost that touched her words and willed more strength into his hands, still clasping her slender arms. A wind rushed past, blowing her hair across his chest and Elizabeth closed her eyes against the freezing rush of air. Jason's breathing quickened as he waited for her to open her eyes – she had to open her eyes.

"Please."

She wasn't listening. "We can make it, we can make it."

"Eliz-"

"You just have to stay awake for me, okay?"

"I don't want this."

"Can you do that? Can you stay awake?"

He wanted to scream – he would have if he had the energy. The raven shifted its weight from one claw to the other, warming each foot alternatively in its feathers.

"I don't want this. I want…I want things to be the way they used to."

"Okay, ready?"

"Elizabeth, please." His hands tightened around her arms as she got ready to lift him up, grunting with the effort. "No. I don't want this!"

She still wasn't looking at him.

"I want a second chance!"

"On the count of three…"

"A second chance!" His hands left her arms and he blindly wrapped them around her, feeling her small body shake with a suppressed sob. He didn't know that she was crying, or about to cry. He barely knew what he was saying, what was going on. His body was on fire and his wound was sending bolts of razor-sharp pain throughout his entire body. The snow wasn't pink anymore. It was red.

"A second chance," he croaked into her hair as her arms wrapped around him, this time in a firm hug. "Please, Elizabeth. I don't want this. I want you."

"I'm a lot stronger than I look."

Somewhere, a raven flapped its wings and cawed. A pile of snow slipped from the embankment into a frozen river, falling on the ice with a dull slushing noise. The wind howled through some trees, playing and tangling itself between the bare and gnarled branches.

"Elizabeth, please." She pulled back and those dazzling sapphire orbs hovered just above his. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that a few tears clung to her lashes. But her eyes were dry. And despite the fact that she was leaning against him, pressed to his body, her coat remained free of blood and he didn't feel her weight bearing down on his lacerated side. "I just want a second chance."

Her lips melted into a small smile and she nodded once before bending down over him once more and burying her face in the warm, dark cavern of his neck. Letting out a sob of relief, Jason clung to the petite brunette with all his mind, ensconcing her in his arms and pulling her close.

I feel the sorrow, oh, I feel the dreams
Everything is clear in my heart

His eyes were closed, finally, and her heat bled in through his open jacket and blue sweater, warming his scorching hot flesh. But it was a different kind of warmth than the one created by the fever that threatened to engulf his body. It was a calm, soothing warmth that pervaded every fiber of his being. A warmth that made him one with the angel in his arms.

Her voice vibrated off the skin of his neck, soft and sweet, as Jason clung to her with his eyes still closed.

"Lean on me, okay? Lean on me. I'm a lot stronger than I look, so you can just lean on me, okay?"

He didn't hear the crunch of snow underfoot as a lone figure walked through the woods in his direction. He didn't hear the pained gasp that echoed through the silent air like a gunshot, nor did he hear the cacophony of sounds as that figure rushed to him.

All he felt was the beating of her heart pressed solidly against his chest, her face in the crook of his neck, her small fingers in his hair, her warm body lying on top of his.

Elizabeth Webber couldn't believe her eyes. A quiet walk in the snow had ended up the same way as it had six years ago – finding a mobster shot in the snow. Jason was on his back, his neck turned sideways a little, and the snow around him was stained, poisoned, with his blood. His sweater was soaked with the sticky liquid and clung to him, and his jacket was wide open and inviting the frigid winter air.

But Jason wasn't showing any signs of discomfort. Instead, the mobster's arms were wrapped solidly over his torso, as if he were shielding himself from something, and his breathing was slow and even.

In an instant, she was at his side and it was as if nothing had changed in the six long years that had passed. Her bare fingers, trembling from the cold and from shock, found the side of his face and cradled it gently. It was a minute before she could get her voice to function, and she softly called his name.

"Jason? Jason, can you hear me?"

His sandy lashes fluttered but he wouldn't open his eyes.

"Oh, God, Jason – Oh, God." Her pulse was racing as Elizabeth kicked herself into motion, frantically trying to rouse him. Bloody snow soaked through the knees of her jeans, tainted the white tweed of her knee-length coat, but she was oblivious to it all. "Jason, open your eyes! Can you hear me? Damn it, Jason! Please, open your eyes. Jason, please!"

He heard some noise in the hazy background, flowing over to him as if from a great distance. Slowly, he tried to rouse himself. A jolt of panic raced through his body when he realized that she wasn't in his arms anymore. Struggling now, entirely frantic, Jason fought to lift his lids.

He could barely believe the sight that awaited him.

It was Elizabeth.

Or was it?

Her hair wasn't curly anymore. Instead, it was long and silky, not frizzy. She looked older. Her lips were glossed, her eyebrows plucked, and she was dressed differently. He was about to make a noise of protest before her eyes captured his and all the energy was sucked from his body.

Her eyes.

They were the same.

I feel life, oh, I feel love
Everything is clear in our world

Elizabeth let out a shaky gasp as those piercing cerulean orbs bore into hers. They were dazed, starry, glistening and red, but they were Jason's. He had jerked violently in her arms a moment before, and had then finally managed to open his eyes. He looked startled for a minute when he first saw her, but then she felt the tension bleed out of his body as he relaxed in her arms, continuing to gaze up at her.

His tongue moved over his chapped lips. "E-Elizabeth."

He was sweating. Beads of perspiration were breaking out on his forehead, trickles were running down his neck and at his temples, and he burned at her touch. Blinking back her own tears, Elizabeth shook her head and pressed a finger to his lips.

"It's okay, Jason, I'm here. I'm going to help you up, okay? The boxcar's not too far – we can make it. We're going to make it, okay, Jason?"

His lids drooped even as he prepared himself to rise with her help, and a hint of a smile curved his lips. "We'll make it."

The End.