This is for all of you, because I love you all, but especially for ValandMarcelle, Thespiangal888, and JustADreamAway735. Thanks for the wondrous reviews, guys! They mean a lot to me. :)

Standard disclaimers apply. I own only my computer, and even that is conditional.


They stay like that for a long time, until his breathing is slow and even and she's sure he's fallen asleep just sitting there on the fire escape. She closes her eyes, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest. She doesn't even think of moving until light rain drops begin to fall from the sky, dripping onto her skin and sending shivers down her spine.

"Jack."

She gently extricates herself from his arms, and he blinks up at her slowly. "Huh?"

"It's raining," she tells him softly. He runs a hand across his face, brushing off the water that's already gathered there. There are droplets on his eyelashes, shining in the light from the street lamps far below.

"What time is it?"

She smiles at his sleepy expression and messy hair. Even his hat didn't prevent it from getting all disheveled as he leaned back against her window. "Late. After midnight, at least."

"Wow." His voice is tired and scratchy, and he clears his throat. "I'd better get back. The boys will be worried. Nobody'll be out in this weather, anyway." She knows he means the Delancies – he won't have to worry about another attack tonight. It's the perfect chance for him to return home.

She eyes the sky uncertainly, though. The heavy cloud cover is completely blocking the light of the full moon, so she knows it's thick.

"The rain is only going to get worse, and it's a long way back," she says warningly. A streak of lightning flashes across the sky, lending weight to her words. Raindrops fall faster now, soaking into her skirt and weighing her down as she stands, reaching out a hand to him. She could lend him an umbrella, but she's not sure she wants him to leave yet. "They've waited this long; they can wait a few hours more. They'll all be asleep anyway."

He shrugs, catching her fingers in his own and letting her pull him through the window. And because she's selfish, she does. The boys have had Jack all their lives. She's only just found him.

Her free hand reaches up to snatch the cap off his head, and while he grabs for it weakly, he lets it go in the end. She hangs it on a hook in the hallway, where it drips water onto the floor with a small splash. Thankfully the rest of him is mostly dry – she doesn't exactly have any more clothes lying around that would fit him. The outfit he's wearing now had been left here by her father, from nearly a year earlier when his own home was being renovated and he had nowhere else to go. She's definitely not going to tell him that, though. She's fairly sure he'd rather be soaking wet or covered in blood – or naked – than dressed in something that once belonged to Pulitzer.

She pushes that thought quickly out of her mind. Her mouth is dry as she starts rummaging around in the cupboard for cups, fumbling with the tea bags after she sets the water boiling.

He comes up behind her and reaches around her, one arm on either side, to pull the kettle from the stove. "I got it, Ace."

She ducks under his arm to freedom and raises an eyebrow. "You can cook?"

"It's not cooking," he snorts. "It's tea. Cheap tea, at that," he comments, eyeing the label. "The question is, can you?"

"I've made tea before," she says defensively. He's questioning the quality of her tea? "Once or twice."

Jack pries the cups gently from her hands. "If you want my opinion, you got the tea bags for Christmas, and used them one time to make whoever gave them to you happy before going back to the cafe down on the corner for drinks. I ain't stupid. What you gave me earlier was good, but it was leftovers from that place."

"I've made at least three cups," she mutters, but by this point he's already done, setting two steaming mugs on the table, and so she gives up. She knows he doesn't care if she can cook or not anyway.

She sits across from him, her damp skirt dragging on the ground. He holds the cup in his hands but doesn't drink from it. His foot moves closer to her own, playing with it gently under the table. His bare feet feel icy even through her socks.

"Aren't you cold?" she asks.

"Not really."

"Tired?"
He sighs. "Yeah." He finally takes a sip, and makes a face. "I can see why you didn't use the rest of this."

She gives him a smug look. "There's sugar over–" But he's already found it, carrying it back to the table and dumping a generous amount in both of their cups.

His cold toes find hers again when he sits down, and his skin brushes directly against hers through a small hole in the bottom of her sock. She shivers.

"I'll get you a pair of socks," she says, abandoning her tea. Even with all of the sugar Jack put in it, she still doesn't really like it. He protests quietly but eventually follows her out of the kitchen. In her room again, she digs out the thickest pair of socks she owns and hands them to him. He smiles as his fingers brush hers.

She pulls a nightdress and thick dressing gown out of a drawer and walks quickly to the bathroom to change. When she returns to hang her damp skirts in her closet, pulling the dressing gown tight even though it covers more than her dress did, he's sitting on the floor in front of her bed, his eyes almost closed. "Got a blanket, Ace?" he murmurs. "I'll head on over to the couch . . ."

She pictures her tiny sofa that even she can't lie down on comfortably. His long legs will be sticking over the edge. "Jack, you're already going to be sore. You definitely won't be able to walk in the morning if you sleep on that. You take the bed."

He snorts. "Uh, no. I ain't taking your bed, Ace. That's not– no. Nope." He's standing now, backing toward the door. At least he's stopped going for the window like he can actually get away from her.

"Fine." Her response makes it seem like she's giving in, but her tone is anything but agreeable. "Aren't you at least going to kiss me goodnight?"

"Huh?" His voice is high-pitched.

She pulls the covers down and arranges the pillows, waiting. Sure enough, he comes up behind her, tentatively. She pulls him gently to her, kissing him quickly on the cheek. Then she shoves him into the bed, none too gently, ignoring his gasp at the pressure on his ribs. She turns off the light, walking towards the door.

"Ace." His voice sounds loud in the dark, not angry but contemplating. "Ain't you going to kiss me goodnight?"

"Kelly," she says warningly, but she goes anyway. How could she not? And though she's almost expecting it, it comes as a shock when he yanks her down beside him. They both go to leap off the bed at exactly the same time, ending up falling back next to each other. Katherine giggles, half amused and entirely awkward. Jack joins in a moment later.

After a few minutes he rises again, fully intending to move to the couch, but her small hand catches his sleeve.

"Don't go," she whispers softly. "Please."

His hand finds hers in the dark. She smiles.

"Okay, Ace. Goodnight."


I'd love to hear from you . . . Reviews are confidence-boosters. Also, if anyone has any ideas about what they would like to happen next, let me know! I've got maybe one more chapter planned out and then I'll probably end it unless I find a really good idea to make it longer, so . . . it's up to you now! I am taking ideas for other stories you'd like to see, too. And I will try my very best to respond to every review I get. :)

Much love,
KnightNight7203