Disclaimer: I don't own Jumper.
A/N: This seems to be turning into Griffin the Sleepy, but what the hey. A slightly more relaxed chapter now, owing to the fact that Griffin was left to die. Grrr.
Chapter 2 - Meeting Falcon
Griffin landed, staggering slightly. He was in a small room, with purple walls, and bookshelves everywhere. Although most of the bookshelves did, indeed, contain books, several were full of neat piles of money and photographs.
Turning, he saw the sleeping body of a girl. He smiled. This girl was different to the others. She would never betray him. She couldn't. Most likely, she would join him in his quest for retribution. And together, they would burn the Paladins.
Griffin knelt by the bed and gently shook the girl's shoulder. She moaned softly and turned her head, the movement causing light to reflect off the tear tracks running down her cheeks. Griffin saw them, and frowned. Wiping them away with a thumb, he shook her shoulder again. No reply. Griffin stood up and looked around the room. Spotting what he wanted, he grabbed the glass of water and flung it at the sleeping girl.
Spluttering, the girl heaved herself upright. Before she could Jump, Griffin grabbed her wrist.
"Griff?" asked the girl uncertainly.
Griffin smiled. "Hey, Falcon."
Suddenly, the girl's hand snapped out and punched Griffin in the face.
"Whoa!" Griffin cried. "What was that for?"
Falcon was sitting up properly now, eyes open. She glared at Griffin. "I wonder," she said sarcastically. Griffin shrugged, confused. "Ok. First, you leave me in a shack, handcuffed to a safe, threatening me with death if I follow you. Again. Then, when I finally get out and Jump to the lair -"
"Which I told you not to do," Griffin reminded her.
"When I finally get out and Jump to the lair," Falcon continued, ignoring him, "I find that you've crashed a bus into it, set it on fire, let it be invaded by Paladins, got rid of my bomb and disappeared. I thought you were dead!"
"Not my fault," Griffin interjected.
Falcon crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "So who's fault was it?"
"There was another Jumper," Griffin explained. "David. He was trying to rescue his girlfriend from a bunch of Paladins -"
"Bad move."
"- and I agreed to help him on the grounds that he wanted Roland dead too."
At the sound of the Paladin's name, Falcon stiffened. "So … is he dead?"
"I don't know. I wanted to blow them all to Timbuktu, hence the removal of your bomb, but he disagreed cos his girlfriend was still in there. We had a fight, and he Jumped me into a pylon in Chechnya."
Falcon winced. "Ouch."
"Yeah. But someone cut down one of the other pylons and the power went, so…" he spread his arms, wincing slightly, "here I am."
Falcon looked at him properly for the first time, cradling his head in her hands.
"You're an idiot," she muttered. Griffin scowled, but let it pass. Falcon pulled the neck of his T-shirt down, then sighed. "Do you like this T-shirt?" she asked, tilting her head.
Griffin shrugged. "It's a T-shirt." Falcon nodded, then suddenly grabbed the neck in both hands and ripped it down the middle. "Hey!" Griffin protested.
"You've got burns all over you," Falcon explained. She stood up from the bed, then helped Griffin onto it. "Lie down," she ordered. "I'll get the stuff." She walked out of the room. "And take your clothes off," she yelled back.
Griffin sat up, shocked. "What? All of them?"
Falcon stuck her head back round the door. "You can leave your underwear on," she allowed, grinning mischievously. Griffin hesitated for a moment, then shrugged, and began to undress.
Falcon came back, carrying an assortment of bandages, plasters, creams and pills. Kneeling beside the bed, she presented him with a small packet of painkillers. "Your favourite," she said with a grin. Griffin popped a couple of pills out and threw them in his mouth, swallowing them dry. Then he lay back, half-asleep now as the exhaustion returned, watching Falcon through half-closed eyes. She bent over him, rubbing in the burn salve, sticking on plasters, and wrapping the few burns that needed a more substantial covering.
Her brown shoulder-length hair slipped forwards and she brushed it back irritably. Griffin smiled, and Falcon's dark brown eyes glanced at his face, before returning to his torso. "You're beautiful," he said softly, surprising himself.
Falcon snorted softly. "And you're delirious," she replied.
"No arguments there," Griffin murmured. Falcon smiled as Griffin drifted off, exhausted but relaxed, knowing that, finally, he was safe.
A/N: So what do you think? The magic button below dispenses happy vibes if you press it. It's the one that says 'review'. Give it a try. Please!