The Reason
Disclaimer- I don't own them. sigh
A/N: Just a short standalone/songfic for Patrick and Jennifer. Please read and review.
Jennifer pulled into her driveway, coming to a halt in front of her garage. This was the type of night she dreaded now that Jack was gone. Abby was staying at a friend's house, Jennifer had just gotten back from dropping her off, meaning she would be all alone in this big house, full of the memories from the life she shared with Jack before he was brutally murdered by one of her most trusting friends.
'Damn Marlena. Why did she have to take him away?'
Taking a moment to compose herself, Jennifer inhaled deeply, trying to sustain her wandering mind from Marlena confessing to killing her husband. Grabbing the car door for support, she took one last deep breath before pushing it open and pausing, allowing the fresh after dark breeze to sweep inside and take all her worries with it. Steadily placing feet on the cold pavement, she climbed out of the car, shoving the door shut with a greater force than she intended.
Trudging up to her front door, she admired the front lawn and scenery, little things that make this cozy house feel more like home than ever before. Fumbling through her purse, a house key was retrieved and she slid it into the keyhole with the greatest ease, opening up a dark haunting feeling inside her as she forced her legs to move further into the gloomy darkness.
Purse tossed onto a semi-well-kept table, she debated whether to head straight to bed or make an unscheduled stop to the kitchen for a late night comfort snack. She decided against it and flung her coat lazily onto the coat rack, turning to go straight up the winding staircase into the bedroom where she alone will sleep.
She passed a family portrait of herself, Jack, and a four-year-old Abby. Too tired to cry, instead she trudged into her bedroom and didn't even bother to flick the lights on. She changed in the darkness and entered her welcoming bed, pulling the soft covers up to her chin and waiting until the moment when she finally drifted off.
Patrick closed his cell phone after another exhilarating conversation. He hated being cornered like a rabid dog, waiting to see how it all pans out and hoping for the happy ending you only see in fairy tales.
"I can't do this to Jennifer."
He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to come up with any way to slide out of this without causing harm to Jennifer. Frustrated, he lies down on the luxurious bed, resting his head on the pillows Jennifer had picked out with special care.
He couldn't do anything to hurt her. Not willingly. There was a bond between the two of them that he had never experienced with anyone before. Not even his close knit brother-sister relationship with Mimi compared to the closeness that he felt when he was around Jennifer.
His eyes pierced the wall, wondering if Jennifer was home yet. He couldn't help but worry. After all that she had been through, he worried about her. The night she passed out on the roof after the stress and heartache of reliving Jack's death all over again, he had never felt so…. So painstakingly worried. He genuinely cared about her, and he wasn't about to let anything happen to her on his watch.
Shoes thrown on the floor, Patrick tried to become more comfortable and drift off to a needed slumber, but was instead met with a dramatic case of insomnia.
After tossing about for an hour and a half, he pulled himself out of bed, drowsy from another action packed day.
'So much for sleeping all my troubles away.'
Stumbling over his shoes that were carelessly thrown onto the middle of the floor, he reached the door and opened into the darkened hallway.
Jennifer was having no such luck falling asleep either. As tired as she was, there was no way she could fall asleep. Going back on her earlier decision about the late night snack, she slipped out of bed and made her way down the hall and into the kitchen.
When Jennifer swung the door open, she startled a dark figure standing alone at the counter. Worried that it might be an intruder, or possibly someone who had their eyes set on her bonds, she decided to take it easy so as not to startle this person.
Creeping over to the light switch, she clicked it on and a bright flash of light flooded the room, burning her cornea and blinding her momentarily. When she got her vision back, she was relieved at what she saw.
Patrick, too, had the same idea and was chowing down on a fresh bowl of chocolate chunk ice cream. She was overjoyed at the surprise of seeing him up this late.
"Mind if I join you?"
Patrick grinned, overwhelmed with the feeling of his stomach doing back flips at the sight of Jennifer. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, just as he bet his were at that moment.
"Grab a spoon and join me," he said heartily, perked up and ignorant of his worn out body and mental capabilities. Instead he focused on her, blocking out all other thoughts except for how beautiful she looked to him in her pajamas.
"I didn't expect to see you up this late," she replied.
She walked to the drawer and retrieved a spoon.
"If I would have known you were going to be having cravings at the wee hours of the morning I would have been sure to save some."
He nodded his head in the direction of the sink where a half-gallon carton of ice cream laid empty, the remains seeping out the sides as it melted.
"Oh, that's okay. I can find something else."
She was about to dig into the freezer for more frozen goods, but Patrick stopped her.
"I can share, if you want some."
He held out the bowl, tempting her with its delicious dragnet.
"Oh, um-."
"I can ensure you, I don't have any cooties," he saidzestfully, and received a laugh in return.
"You are quite the sweat talker, Patrick, you know that?"
"You really think so?"
Jennifer looked deeply into his handsome features, admiring every aspect of his shirtless anatomy. Dazed, she zoned out for a moment. Realization struck like a brick wall when she saw Patrick waiting for a response, flashing her that charming smile again.
"Yeah… I really do."
Patrick was lost in her vivacious blue eyes. He came to before he was gone too long and asked, "So, do you want to catch some late night TV?"
"I'd love to."
Patrick took a seat on Jennifer's sofa, handing over the pillow so she could situate her pregnant self in the ideal, comfortable position. Patrick picked up the remote and clicked on the television, landing on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.
Jennifer fidgeted beside Patrick, searching for a seemingly impossible to find position that suited her just right. To make for more room, Patrick moved closer to the arm of the couch, relaxing his bare feet on the coffee table before him and swinging his arm over the back of the sofa.
Jennifer sprawled out on her back, resting her delicate head on Patrick's smooth chest. Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey continued with their comedic report, no doubt entertaining millions of people at this very moment. Jennifer's only attention was on Patrick's steady heartbeat reverberating through her ears as she moved up and down in pattern with his breathing.
Patrick felt the tingle increase in his stomach as Jennifer relaxed into him, probably the most stress free she had been in such a long time. He liked being her scapegoat from the everyday horrors of the world. Being a loner for so many years, he needed someone he could depend on, and who could depend on him whenever an emergency arises.
She changed him in so many ways, and he was grateful for everything she had done for him.
That nervous feeling resurfaced just as soon as Jennifer snuggled closer into her new pillow. The feeling of mixed emotions, of not quite knowing where things were going to go.
Patrick shifted his weight, scooted farther from the arm of the couch and closer to Jennifer. He was feeling the same powerful force that she was, and it was pulling them closer together.
Another skit was being performed on the television, but neither of them cared. They had both lost interest in it several minutes ago. Now they were trying to make sense out of a jumble of nonsense, trying to create a Van Gogh out of jumbles of Picasso.
A commercial break interrupted the dead silence that permeated through the cozy living room. Patrick, having decided to take a great leap but still unsure where his feelings were headed, wrapped his arms around Jennifer's body, pulling her closer still to his own.
Still not enough.
He bent his head down and planted a gentle kiss on her hair, bringing her attention up to his dark brown eyes. She hesitated a few seconds, but slowly closed the gap between them, their lips interlocked with a great force.
Neither of them was showing signs of relenting, and the kiss deepened, all the jumbled mess of what-ifs and how-comes finally resolved.
He knew there was something about her that sent his cravings up the wall. He knew there was something between them that could never be broken.
She hadn't felt this surge of energy and emotions since Jack. She never felt this way about anyone else. Until now.