The farm house was deathly quiet in the early hours of the morning. No creaking stairs and no snoring sounds of sleep as John sat there wide awake watching out of the window in his room. Listening intently for any sound that was out of the ordinary, he was looking out for the woman he loved so that next time he left he knew she was safe. To have held Christina in his arms, to have spent the day with her beyond that of a screen or face to face in a clinical setting, it was the best and worst of life rolled into one. Sitting in the farm house, the place she had been taken from John found he was on edge, more so than he had been when he had worked there or even when she had entered the facility Penny placed her in.
He had taken a few trips along the hallway to Christina's room, opened the door just a little to double check she was sleeping there. When he saw her face, peaceful and resting all he could think of were those images he had from the hospital. The still, sleeping form that never woke despite the flow of one sided conversation that he still couldn't bear to tell her about. He was still trying to work out how best to bring that up, to say everything he wanted to and not sound like a blithering idiot at the same time.
John had learned the hard way to tell the person you love everything the minute you felt it. The waiting had almost taken everything he had to give, talking to a person who had no idea what he said. It was tough, tougher than he ever thought it might be. Now he just wanted that moment, that private moment to talk to Christina and tell her everything he had done while she was silent. John just wasn't sure he could bring himself to do it, to show anything but the happy smiley face that she was awake and back with the living.
Stuck in that thought John heard a noise from outside, he poked his head around the door of his room seeing nothing out of the ordinary there. Instead he did what he had done after Thunderbird Five had been attacked; he checked and double checked the doors and windows on the way downstairs. A habit that on a bad day or after a bad call he still did, John moved around the house quietly making sure all the doors were locked before he made himself a coffee. The usually quite whistle of the kettle sounded more like a fog horn in the silence of the house as he hurried to take it off the boil.
Mixing the instant coffee in the cup before he walked himself outside into the cold of the morning, he was reminded how the farm house was a home away from home. A place he could appreciate for it's quite times and one he could stand back from when it was busy. He was quite happy to blend into the wallpaper of life and Christina's home allowed him to do that in the best way he knew. John wasn't sure how it all came about, he couldn't put a finger on what happened but the woman he loved was right upstairs and she was still broken from the events that had transpired.
It was why he perched himself on the seat swing on the porch, a favourite spot of Bill's but John saw exactly why. At this time in the morning he could hear the breeze rustle the grass and trees while it whipped up the wildlife that made an early appearance. He sat barely feeling a chill as he drank his coffee, the hours passing idly until he heard footsteps from inside. It was about the right time for people to start making a move on the day as he drank the last cold remnants from his cup. These footsteps however became louder, almost a thunder down the stairs as John furrowed his brow. Something wasn't right he thought as he reached to open the door to head back inside. No sooner had he done that did he feel the slam of a body into his.
"Oh god." Came the familiar voice, "You're alive."
John stared at Christina for a moment; the frantic look on her face had him guessing a million reasons as to why she would think he wasn't alive. John moved to wrap his arms around Christina as she recoiled back from him, the frantic look replaced with a worried one.
"You're cold... you're freezing." Christina stated, "What did you do? What happened? Why weren't you in your room?"
John could hear by her tone that calming down wasn't happening right then, even when Bill and Cookie made a bleary eyed appearance they just nodded and waved their hands in a general 'morning' notion. Bill's eyes firmly on Christina as the man look as worried about Christina as Chris did about him.
"She checked on us all son." Bill announced as he rolled his eyes. "Woke us up too when you weren't in your room."
John winced hearing that, he hadn't meant to cause any trouble but it seemed that there were two people doing the exact same thing. Worrying about the other and crossing wires all the while.
"Christina, I'm fine, it's okay." John stated trying to reach out again for her only for his hands to be pushed away. "I just sat out and drank some coffee; I couldn't sleep so I was just outside."
Chris could feel herself verging on panic as she stared at John. He looked tired and the icy feeling of his hands and arms were enough to send shivers through her. Christina had done the one thing she knew how to do, check that everyone else was okay. She found Bill and Cookie which provided some relief, effectively waking them in the process of trying to check on them and when it came to John. John's room was empty, her heart had stopped and panic set in as she managed to check the rest of the house before heading outside.
Her mind had already led her to the fact John had been kidnapped while she slept, he was hurt and no one knew it, murdered and the countless list of other possibilities that flew through her muddled brain. Instead he was stood there, cold as ice and despite the fact he was talking to her, telling her it was okay all she could think of was the idea that she lost him.
"No it's not okay, you're not okay. You don't drink coffee outside, what if something happened to you? What if..." Chris gasped trying to keep the sudden urge to hug him out of things. "I lost Alan from this house; I'm not loosing anyone else from it."
John nodded as he finally figured out the issue, the night they had been taken the Tracy family had been out with the Thunderbirds. It was just Christina and Alan, two people and Alan still wasn't in the mood to talk about it much. Instead it was a topic avoided by the family and John and Alan didn't talk about it at all. Even the subject of Chris was off limits to the two of them, truth be told John tried to avoid his brother as much as Alan avoided him these days.
"Nothing's happened Christina, it's okay." John repeated not sure what to do to calm her down as this time when he reached out to pull her into a hug she didn't pull away.
Christina placed her head against his chest, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart as she stood there. She could feel the chill he had against her cheek as she felt herself start to breath in a more appropriate manor. Those panicked breaths of before starting to slow as she realised how foolish she had been in jumping to the worst conclusions imaginable.
"You're too cold John." Chris said as she glanced up at him, seeing his smile but she could also see the tired look he had.
"I'm fine; it'll pass now I'm inside again." John replied as he smiled down at her.
All he cared about was seeing her safe, seeing that she had calmed down to a level he knew and could cope with. Last night had scared him, seeing her so frightened about a memory though he knew all too well how easily that could happen. The fact he had wanted to protect her had him sitting outside for the early part of the morning and now he had managed to scare her. Not ever something he wanted.
"You need to warm up, you're tired, come on just get some rest." Chris said as she pulled John toward the stairs.
For a moment John hesitated, glancing over at Cookie and Bill who just nodded and motioned for him to follow her.
"Don't stress her out over it, just go with it." Bill said smiling, almost smirking watching Christina tug at John.
"But I'm okay." John replied almost pleading as he saw the worried look Christina had again. "Okay, I'm going."
The last thing he wanted to do was to upset her anymore, he still wasn't sure if she even remembered their conversation about the Island or not. Right now likely wasn't the best time but John knew he had to go through that again at some point that day. Following Christina upstairs was easy enough, even when she threw open his bedroom door the first thought he had was that he wished he had made up the bed. The covers were still strewn from earlier that night, just the way he had left them before he wondered outside.
"Sit down and give me a minute." Chris said as she pointed to his bed before pulling out a few blankets from the wardrobe in the room.
John never said a word as he watched Christina move around, it was a sight he could never tire of. Watching her move, the animated version of the woman who had been so still for what felt like forever. Even though she was fussing over him, sure he wanted to tell her to stop but it didn't seem there was much use in arguing with her right then. It didn't take long for John to be smothered in blankets as he felt Christina rubbing at his arms in an attempt to warm him up. John didn't feel all that cold but then he wasn't sure what was going on in her head at times.
"John." Chris asked her voice laced with worry. "Talk to me, what's going on. Why didn't you sleep? If it's the bed or the house we can fix anything and you're safe here. I'll make sure of it."
Smiling John shrugged; oh he knew all too well why that was. Sure the memories of the Hood and Thunderbird Five had a lot to do with it but then so did Christina having been in a coma. The having to wait and not be able to do a thing while she in his mind suffered, the waiting after that, the not knowing and then talking through screens, phones and rarely face to face. It felt like stepping back when all he wanted to do after that Gala night was hold her and never let go.
"Christina, I ..." John began, the words right there on his tongue again.
Just as they were when he wanted to say I love you but as before he never did until it was too late.
"I was getting our trip sorted out." John lied smiling to try to cover it. "I just thought it would be easier outside so I didn't wake anyone."
Christina stared at John for a moment, her eyes could see that there was something and her mind screamed at her that what he said wasn't right though listening to her head right then. She found it a little too confusing to trust, John hadn't done anything to throw her trust away so with that came a level of trust she would normally scream at herself for giving.
"We're going on a trip?" Chris questioned smiling as if this was the first she had heard of it. "Where to?"
John couldn't deny hearing those words caused his heart to break a little more, he knew what he had been told. Doctors, nurses, staff and Lady Penelope had all told him what to expect and what not to. It was all laid out for him in black and white on paper but seeing it first hand, living it. It took all he had in that moment not to want to ask her to think about that, think about what he had told her last night. He knew she was tired and scared at the time but he thought somewhere she might remember him telling her.
"Yeah it was a surprise but now you know." John said trying to force his best smile. "Figured we'd get away for a few days or so. Give you a rest somewhere new."
Chris smiled and shook her head laughing for a moment. Was John crazy, she was fine right where she was? She had the farm to try and get back to working on, things she needed to catch up on and a trip wasn't going to help her find her feet anymore than rest or relaxing would.
"Thanks but you know, I'm fine right here. I've Bill and Cookie and if you want to stay longer then you know I'd love you to." Chris said smiling back at John. "Thanks but I don't want any trouble, it's only my second day back home."
John had to wonder just how much Chris knew about that previous day, good days and bad ones until her brain managed to work it out. If it could do that was, it was the reason John wanted to stay with her. He wanted to know she was okay, he had seen what she had done so far and yes Chris was starting to come back but he wanted the Christina he knew. The one he had fallen for and the one that could remember exactly what he said yesterday.
"Well it's already been decided, Bill and Cookie approved it." John said smiling hoping that would be enough to nudge her in the right direction.
Chris shook her head, the smile slowly dropping from her face as John wasn't sure what emotion he was reading but whatever it was, it wasn't good.
"See... now this is exactly what I mean John." Chris said a little sharply, "Other people deciding things for me and you... you're doing that thing again. Looking at me like I need help, like I can't look after myself anymore. What do you want me to do, what do I have to do for you to make this right?"
Chris barely knew what right was anymore, her head was a mess. Between the FBI team with Duke, Shep and Reese preceded by the CIA and now Owen Pierce wanted her to come back. She had no choice in that either but doing her own thing until she went back to work, she could choose. Her mind was swimming, trying working out what she knew she could do and what was now possible for her to do. She wanted herself back and screw what they said about time, work hard and it would be possible. It had to be because having John looking at her like she would break or disappear at a seconds notice was killing her. It had been one day, one day and she was struggling to work out what way was up with him now that things had changed.
"You don't have to make anything right Christina, I love you and that's all that matters. I can't help the way I'm looking at you because you freaked out I was cold. I was here, just out front and yes you do need help, that's not a choice you can make." John stated, "You need to take it easy and here, you won't, so yes you're coming with me to a place where you can't muck out stables, fix fences, dig a garden or do anything that remotely resembles work."
John had to take a breath to stop talking before he yelled as he stood up from the bed and shrugged off the mass of blankets Chris had thrown around him. Was he wrong for wanting her back? Did he just give up on the idea now she was getting back to what she knew? John couldn't help but look at her, he had spent days and hours staring at her face wishing and praying for her to do anything and now even arguing with her was amazing to him.
"I want you back Christina, I want the woman I love and right now I hate to see you struggling like this. Pushing yourself beyond what you're capable of at the moment. You'll end up hurting yourself and I can't go through sitting in that hospital room again." John blurted as he blinked back that tears that were starting to form. "I can't do that again, it broke me once and I can't go back to that so yes you can hate me for this but you're going with me."
If it killed him to see her like this, John knew it would end him to see her back in that hospital and tacking her to Tracy Island was the only way he knew to make her stop pushing herself. If he could steal her away for a day or five or ten it would be worth it to see her rest. Christina stepped back as she felt her ability to breathe slowly being taken away, the slow deep breaths of before replaced by short shallow ones as she tried to think of anything to say in return.
"I never asked you to sit in any hospital John. I never will." Chris said as she reached for the door to pull it open before she stepped into the hallway. "Alan is back with you, back with your family. That's all that matters John, nothing else. I don't want to hurt people anymore than I know I already have. I'm done, I can't do this. You need to go home."
Alan was okay, John had tried to patch things up with the youngest Tracy but in true Tracy style they were still locked in a no talking rift. John apologised and it simply wasn't good enough for Alan, they coexisted on the island but beyond that there was little chitchat. No idle conversation or even a passing word on school, it had been difficult to start with but now John had managed to accept what the youngest Tracy wanted and they avoided each other. He would snap out of it when he wanted and despite John's guilt over what he said to his brother, nothing seemed to make it any better for either of them.
"Alan is back, he's okay but you need to be okay too." John replied. "You won't talk to me about it, you won't tell me what happened and you're pushing too much. Just take a step back."
"John, I want you to go. Just leave." Chris pleaded staring at him as she saw him head for the door.
His face about said it all, the look of hurt that she hadn't noticed until then. The toll the entire event had taken on them all as she watched John leave the room. Something she really didn't want in that moment. It felt like all she had done was turn lives upside down and hurt the people she was closest to. Getting back to her real world she thought it might fix things but seeing John, all she seemed to do was make it worse.
With that Chris took off downstairs as John tried to work out what to say to her. Did he even chase her down, yell at her or apologise or even beg to stay with her? He hadn't meant to say what he had and he was pretty sure that when someone you loved was hurt. You went to be with them, no matter what and yes it had broken him. He had tried to work it out of his system until Bill told him to leave, then he locked himself away on Thunderbird Five until Scott dragged him back down to earth.
After that things were just, a motion. Life was just a motion he did, he got up, ate, did the family trade for the day and slept if he could. Was he too tired at that point to be angry, the answer was yes? Was he angry now that so much had been taken away, yes he was but he had the woman he loved back in a sense? She was walking, talking and laughing which had been more than he thought could exist until that night at the Gala. All she needed was time and John wanted to give her that if she would only let herself take it.
All John could do was try he thought as he walked across the yard and headed out to find Bill and Cookie somewhere on the Ranch. They would know what to do or say and if they didn't he could call his father and see how badly the oldest Tracy thought he had screwed up. After that there was always Scott if he wanted the blunt and honest truth.
Christina stopped at the closet as she reached for the laptop bag she kept in there hearing John shut the front door. She tugged it out from under a few other bags that had been thrown in there the last few months; Christina heard the landslide of canvas hit the floor as she moved out of the way. She could clear up later she told herself as she opened the bag on the kitchen table. Bill and Cookie appeared to have vacated the area as she fired up the laptop. Logging into the FBI files she still had access to, it was one file she wanted in particular.
One file that had her whole statement on it from time she was taken from the farm house to the moment she woke in the hospital. It was all there, written down and audio taped, amended and signed when she actually knew what way was up for a few moments. Talking about it made it real and it scared her more than anything else. Sending Alan off into the trees alone was a last ditch attempt to keep him safe and who knew what she would have done if he hadn't been found. Even thinking about it she could feel the fear she felt that day.
Sprawled out on the ground, that face above her as he told her what would happen. The fate she had resigned herself to and she barely felt anything herself anymore as her life faded away slowly. It was all in there, that one document that she had voiced to Duke and other investigators before staying pretty much silent on the subject. Showing John that document, it couldn't change things from the way they were she told herself. Even that down cast worried look he had, the way he watched her now as if she was fragile and would break at any second. Chris knew she wasn't doing herself any favours but she wanted to believe she could get back to any normal. To believe that the man she loved would look at her like she could do something, anything really.
Chris picked up the laptop, about to head back upstairs with it when she heard the knock at the door. Her eyes instinctively glanced at the clock on the wall; it was after six in the morning but who really called in at that time? She put the laptop down, closing it before going to the door as she pulled it open to see yet another familiar face for the day. Damien Reese was stood there, the widest grin on his face visible and the smell of a thousand breweries wafted into the house. Chris stood there a little surprised but before she could do otherwise she felt herself dragged into a bone crushing hug. One even Duke could have been proud of but it was Reese hugging her. A guy she had talked to now and again while she was recovering and a guy who didn't even work for the FBI anymore or the police. No Reese worked security for a local firm, she remembered it even now and given the pressed white mall cop uniform she saw, she couldn't help but grin back at him despite the smell of stale alcohol.
The mall cop look didn't really sit right given what she knew the team had done over the years, a mall cop seemed like a very safe nine to five that she figured his wife wanted for him. Still the smiling face of a friend wasn't all that unwelcome as she stepped back and motioned him inside.
"Well a little bird told me you were out." Damien said, "Thought I'd come by and see how you were doing."
Chris just laughed and smiled at him for a moment. She was out but at that moment she was unsure if that was a good thing or not.
"You've always had strange timing." Chris answered shrugging, "I'm me, still okay so far as I know just trying to tell everyone else that."
Well it wasn't the truth but letting anyone else know that was a far reach. Yeah she wasn't for the pity parade or having one more person look at her like she was broken. John had done enough of that already.
"What about you? Liking the new uniform?" Chris said as she stood back for a moment to admire the strange combination of a white pressed shirt, security badge and black suit pants.
Reese just laughed it off, his life yeah, that had taken a turn once he had hit the whiskey. He retired from the team to spend more time with the family and once he did that he found that he didn't really enjoy it. Not the family part but mainly somewhere along the way the long hours, the strange work days and time away worked for his wife. Truth be told they didn't really have to spend that much time together and for them, he found it was the exact reason their marriage worked. Neither one of them had time for it. His daughter on the other hand was the light of his life but even she had looked at him like a stranger a few times when he came home for dinner at a regular hour. Her eyes giving away the message she hadn't a clue what to do with the stranger at the dinner table anymore.
"Yeah the uniform if great, you know. Get to walk around a different place every week. Check doors and padlocks... pretty much it now. Left the team and the job is all I have." Reese said letting the smile drop from his face. "Wish we could get the band back together though. Duke, Shep, you and me. All in the one office doing what we do best."
Chris laughed as she nodded; oh she had wanted to just go back to how things had been. To work that next case for the Feds or running off with Lady Penelope for some off book job half way around the world. It was all different now, Shep had been gone a while and now worked as a protection officer and Duke. Well Duke had managed to land a gig with the Tracy's, Chris was still wondering what that was however she was sure he was enjoying it. At least the last time they spoke he was upbeat about things. The disbanding of the team was unfortunate but Penny had her reasons for it she was sure. As Chris remembered it, Reese had been the first one to go and the rest of them had just gotten on with life.
"What do you mean the jobs all you have?" Chris asked a little worried, she had been out of the loop on a lot but listening to Reese she was sure there was a story there. "You've a wife and daughter that wanted you to give up that job for years. You've got them too."
Reese laughed and nodded to Chris, he usually came in with the marital argument over his job. Told the entire office his wife was always expecting the worst and now when he had left his job. Now things were over and done with, he didn't live at the home they had made together. He just had an apartment in town, he spent nights at the bar and saw his daughter when he could or when he was sober enough to. It wasn't the picket fence life he had planned out for himself.
"You know when you think have something, then you realise the way you are, it works for you and your wife. You do the one thing your wife asks and it all falls apart." Reese said with a sigh, "Yeah, my marriage is broken and I have a job I hate. But I didn't come here to talk about me; I just came around to say hi again."
It felt like a cold harsh dose of reality. Chris just stood there staring at Reese; the man still had a slight smile though now she looked at him. Really looked, she could see the badly ironed shirt and the pants that needed turned up about a half inch. The worn look he had on his face and the eyes that were almost out of sparkle which normally she would have caught first time around. It had taken a conversation and bad news for her to see it, maybe John was right. Her head wasn't in this at all.
"Reese, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Chris replied a little shocked as she tried to figure out the right thing to say. "I thought you were... I... here take a seat. Come on."
Motioning toward the couch in the living room Chris had almost forgotten about the idea of letting John read her statement. Giving him access to everything that had happened that day in hopes of steadying her own relationship before it broke too.
"Hey, I just came to say hi before work okay. I'm glad you're back out in the world again." Reese said smiling as he slid his arm around Christina's waist and sat down on the couch. "So what's new with you?"
Chris laughed and rolled her eyes as she pushed herself away from Reese. She could smell that tell tale sign of stale alcohol on his breath from the start. Stale maybe but she glanced around his belt for a second, no gun well that was a good thing she figured as her brain seemed to be screaming something she didn't understand. The cuffs were there, a pepper spray and a radio, all things that came with a security job.
"New, well I get to be here now instead of my little walled room." She said grinning, "John's here, he picked me up yesterday and that's it so far."
Reese gritted his teeth at the mention of John Tracy; if it hadn't been for the Tracy's he was sure they would have found Smiley sooner. They had been a distraction the entire way though the case and the fact that one was messing with his girl. Reese just rolled his shoulders for a moment.
"Take it the two of you are still... what a thing?" Reese asked trying to hide the bitter tone in his voice.
"Sure we are or I think we are." Chris said not really sure what to define it as given five minutes ago she had asked him to leave. The label boyfriend and girlfriend sounded like they were two years old and partners, it was a little too formal. "We're sort of a thing yes."
"Ever thought you deserve better?" Reese asked her without hiding the bitter icy tone.
Chris laughed and shook her head.
"Dorian Reese, John is better than I could have dreamed." She said getting that wistful doe eyed loved up look in her eyes.
The very look that Reese hated, the look he used to see in his wife's eyes and then there was that day at the office when he had gone for John. He hated the man for taking away the only other woman in his life.
"You say that now but he isn't good enough for you Chris." Reese said starting to feel a little angry, "I know the perfect guy for you, the guy that get's you. The one that understands what goes on in that head of yours."
Chris just watched Reese for a moment, everything in her told her to get up and go. To leave the house, to run for the hills but she sat there for a moment. Listening to a description of a guy who was upstairs if she just let him into her world, a world she didn't want John to know of.
"Reese stop okay. I'm happy, I really am." Chris said as she glanced around the living room. "You should probably get to work too... we can catch up later okay."
Chris tried to make any excuse she could think of but before she knew what was going on, she felt Reese's arm around her waist again. Gasping Chris could barely move as she felt Reese push her back onto the couch. His breath reeking of alcohol as she tried in vain to push him off her. The weight felt ten times heavier than she expected as he almost squashed the breath out of her. Chris turned her head as she tried to slide herself from under him, his hands keept her in place as all she could see in that moment was Mr. Smiley. That face above hers as she tried to fight him off, no amount of struggling could help as she felt Reese's lips trying to find her own.
"Reese, no stop this." Chris gasped under the heavy frame of who she thought was her friend.
Her hands tried to push his face away but as soon as she had a hand free it was caught again as she felt herself freeze with fear. She knew what John was talking about now, she wasn't herself and she wasn't strong enough either. Months ago she would have knocked Reese out for this, the man would have been screaming in pain on the floor but now. Now it was a struggle to breath with him pressing down on her.
"It's you Chris, you're the reason I don't love her anymore." Reese grunted as he felt Chris deal him a blow to his side that only made him persist. "I love you."
"No Reese. Don't say that. I hate you, get off me." Chris gasped trying to shove at any part of him she could. "Stop... just no... help, please help."
Gasping trying to get back any breathe she could, knowing that normally throwing someone off her was no issue. Her fear started to take over, fear that she knew made her hesitate and thinking right then wasn't her friend. What she knew to do and what her arms and legs were doing were entirely different as she tried to pull her way out from under Reese. Taking the deepest breath she could Chris tried to shove against Reese one last time.
This time she hit the carpeted floor as she managed to wind herself in the process. She hit the ground with a thud as her training left her brain. Like lightening Reese appeared on top of her, straddling her chest. His face inches from hers. Chris tried to arch away from him. Even when he leaned closer she turned away soon feeling the fear paralyze her again. She turned to look at him and then that was it. His lips mashed against her as she shrieked.
Her cries for help were silenced when she heard the clicking of metal cuffs around her wrists. She could barely scream anymore as she felt her hands being raised above her head, pushed back into the wooden floor as a hand clasped around her throat. The feeling of fingers tightening around the only way she could get air. It took her a moment to realize that this, it was happening. His weight at least one hundred and ninety pounds and at six foot Reese was making it near impossible for her to breath let alone fight. She screamed herself hoarse as she couldn't hear anyone. Chris could see Reese realize something, what it was she couldn't honestly say as she struggled underneath him.
"You act as if I will hurt you Chris. I just want you to realize that you haven't been thinking straight lately." Reese told her, the same lunatic smile on his face as she has seen on Mr. Smiley. "He is all wrong for you. I just want you to know that he is all wrong for you"
"What the hell are you…" She began suddenly realizing what he was talking about. "You're a crazy lunatic Damien. You get the hell out right now!"
Once again Christina managed to push herself out from under Reese, this time not hesitating as she ran for the front door. Her cuffed hands found the door handle as she pulled it open stumbling onto the porch. She had half hoped that someone would see what was happening or Bill would come back even John, he was somewhere. Yet she couldn't or hear anyone apart from the lunatic behind her.
"Even after calling me a lunatic, I still find you gorgeous!" Reese stated.
Christina didn't like where this was going as she gulped, having the urge to wretch there and then. Reese was her friend, the guy she worked with and trusted her life to. If this was a nightmare, she wanted to wake up there and then but it felt too real. She realized as she stumbled from the porch that she'd sent John away, the one man beyond family she trusted and right now. Even family was shaky given she considered Reese family two minutes ago.
"Go Reese. Leave me alone" She pleaded.
"All I want it a kiss, more depending on it, but a kiss for now" Reese told her making an advance towards her.
Christina couldn't believe she had heard him right. He wanted a kiss; he wanted her to kiss him when he was drunk and acting like this?
"For old time sake." Reese said pushing forwards as Christina tripped backwards again hitting the dirt ground.
Like lightening Reese appeared on top of her, straddling her legs once more forcing them flat to the ground. Chris had little strength to kick them up against him though it didn't stop her trying. His face inches from hers as Chris arched away from him. As he leaned closer she felt sick, terrified and angry all at once. She turned to look at Reese to try and reason with him but that was it. His lips mashed against hers again as she shrieked.
Her cries for help were gone for a moment before she threw her hands into his shoulder. Her voice much louder this time as she screamed. She didn't know where anyone was but if by some miracle they could hear her, she just wanted to someone to hear her.
John heard a voice from behind him but he didn't want to turn around, it was too difficult to figure out what he was doing here. It wasn't what he thought would happen, no happy reunion, no meet the family. It was tears and arguments and John didn't want to be the guy that hurt Chris anymore than she had been. The second set of cries, he knew the voice that made them and John turned on his heels. He was half way down the yard when he saw Christina on the ground with a guy on top of her.
John set off running back toward the two, his mind racing as he didn't stop running until he had barreled into the guy that had pinned Chris down. John tumbled to the floor with Reese, grabbing at the man's boots to stop him going back as he finally saw who it was. None of it made sense but John didn't let go. He felt Reese's boot connect with his face, the burst of pain followed by the spray of blood from his nose but John still didn't let go.
Christina lay there for a moment shivering as she saw John; she didn't know what to do as she lay there. Her friend had done this to her, her friend, the person she invited into the house. The feeling that she should have known circled in her mind until she saw John's nose practically explode. Something about it shook her and for a moment she had no idea what she was doing. Her legs forced her to her feet and Chris moved toward Reese.
Unlike the many times she would have run toward the man to help fight off an enemy or lend a hand. This time her knee flew up towards Reese's chin. She felt it connect and watched as Reese sprawl backwards away from John. Christina didn't even need to think as whatever piece of her brain hadn't worked before was fully awake now.
Reese stumbled to his feet only to be met with a blow to his cheek, followed by one to his leg which dropped him back down to one knee. Reese could only stare up at Christina, the blank face of hers no longer scared but blank. A face he knew from her very first days with the group, a face that sent more fear into him than any killers ever could. Reese didn't even see the blow to the side of his head from Christina's boot as he landed on his back before his world went black.
John didn't care about his nose as he ran toward Christina; he could see her hands were cuffed as he reached out a hand to touch her arm. Her face didn't show anything as John barely managed to touch her before she shrieked. John stopped right where he was when he saw the blank face of Christina come back to life, the horror and shock of the past few minutes evident.
"Don't touch me." Christina gasped stepping away as she glanced between Reese sprawled out on the floor and John. "I need my phone."
John nodded as he darted back inside in the house; his nose bleeding as grabbed the cell phone off the kitchen countertop he knew was Christina's. Coming back out John passed it to her as he saw the dust cloud of an approaching truck. He could see it was Bill's truck but stopping the man seeing what had happened. It wasn't really going to work as he watched Christina drop her phone stepping back again.
Christina had scrolled through he numbers, the auto pilot for a situation kicking in as her thumb hovered over the number she knew to call. Damien Reese. Her boss, her friend, the team boss, the one they called when things like this happened and he was the one laying there in the yard. She could hear her own gasping breaths that she almost couldn't take, even as John reached to pick up her phone all she could do was stand there.
The more she tried to hear who and what was said, she couldn't hear a word from John. It didn't take long before Bill and Cookie were there, their voices feeling distant as she backed away from anyone who reached for her. Soon the yard was filled with lights, cars and people asking her questions she couldn't answer. Why? It was the question she asked herself. How? That turned out to be the simple question, the recall of a play by play. The realization that John was right, she wasn't herself and the sooner she could find that self again the better for everyone.
Even the question of who, caused her a problem because the man she had seen. The man she let into her home wasn't the same man who attacked her, forced himself on her and stated he loved her. The Reese of now and the Reese she knew were two separate people and there was no blending the two. Christina was stuck in a bubble, people spoke and she answered. Hearing the questions but that was about it until she felt someone unlock those cuffs that held her hands.
The moment the clink of metal hit hear ears as they opened and were removed, Christina felt her legs give way. Her breaths were still loud in her own ears and she could barely see what was going on right in front of her face. Even when people stopped asking questions, the ambulance moved away and she was left sitting there with Bill and Cookie by her side. Christina had no idea what way was up.
"John?" She asked as her eyes seemed to focus long enough to see John sitting on the porch of the house.
It seemed like the police had long since done with him, her eyes saw the bandage on his nose and the slow start to a pretty bad bruise. The way his eyes never left hers for a second as she stared back at him. The lines under John's eyes that spelled tiredness and the heavy shoulders that appeared to have a weight tying them down. Christina thought in that moment she had seen John truly for the first time since the Gala night.
No forced smiles or happy attitudes, no the world is all sunshine and roses promises. It felt like her eyes could really see in that moment. Christina stood up slowly with Bill and Cookie trying to get her to sit back down again, the yard was slowly emptying of cars and people as she made her way toward John. She knelt beside him as her hand came up to his face, gently pressing against his cheek for a moment as if to prove he was really there.
"You said we could get away for a few days." Chris asked barely able to meet John's eyes. "Is that still… is it still okay?"
John reached his hand up, wrapping his fingers around the hand that he felt against his cheek as he nodded. He should have taken her away that morning, even last night and not let her sleep on it. He could have stopped this John thought as he had listened to Reese scream that he wasn't good enough for her. Christina was his and several other things before the police had taken him away.
"We can go now if you want to?" John offered smiling weakly through the pain he felt in his face made it difficult. "The plane should be landing in about an hour."
John knew that he would tell the police where they were, he knew better than to run off after something like that but getting Christina somewhere he knew was safe. It was all he wanted to do as he glanced over at Bill and Cookie who just nodded.
"Take her and go, I trust you." Bill mumbled as he tried to steady himself. "Well sort this out."
"I want to go now." Chris said as she gripped onto John's hand tightly. "Just don't let go okay. Please."
Christina knelt there with John, holding onto his hand as if it was life itself. Her grip tight as she stayed silent, her eyes watching John's as she felt Bill squeeze her shoulder when he passed by and went inside. Even when Cookie mentioned getting their things ready, Christina didn't move and neither did John. They just sat there quietly in the daylight of the morning of the front porch.