Chapter Three: Limbo

"Tru…"

Jack stepped cautiously toward the bed where Tru sat, dressed in a white robe, still and unmoving. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Tru," he said again.

His gesture seemed to startle her from her reverie as she glanced up at him, her dark curls framing the fiery innocence of her oval shaped face. Her skin was flushed and her chocolate brown eyes were pink and puffy from crying, dark circles starting to form underneath them.

"You came," she said softly, a faint flicker of a smile on her lips.

"I heard your voice. In the hospital after the nurses took you into the emergency room. After Jensen…"

"After Jensen took my soul," she finished for him. "He took the part of me you're seeing right now."

"I'm here to bring you back, Tru. I was sitting in the waiting room when I heard your voice whisper my name. I'm not sure if I fell asleep or…" his voice trailed off as he sighed heavily. "And then I saw this beautiful white light and I knew it was a sign. I knew I had to follow it."

"And here you are," Tru said, smiling.

"Where are we, Tru?" Jack asked, taking in the ethereal surroundings for the first time. "What is this place?"

To anyone else, it may have seemed like a kind of paradise. The room was fairly big and Tru sat on a queen-sized bed, which had thick, white sheets and a pillow to match. There was a dresser drawer beside her with three drawers and a lamp on the top of the dresser drawer. Also sitting on the top of the dresser drawer was a glass of water, a wooden bowl with a white washcloth underneath it and a small plate of food. The room could have easily passed for a four star hotel room with its lavishly decorated walls and random pieces of furniture in the far corner of the other end. This easily could have been some kind of paradise. But Jensen was keeping Tru here, so Jack knew better.

"It's the limbo," Tru replied. "A place for souls who don't have anywhere else to go. They can't go to heaven or hell, so they come here."

"You don't belong in limbo," Jack told her. "You belong in the realm of reality."

Tru just stared at him, saying nothing.

He crouched down on the side of the bed as Tru moved closer to him, draping her legs over the edge.

"It's not up to you to decide where I belong."

"Maybe not," Jack said, reaching out to caress her soft curls. "But I--…"

He paused suddenly, his breath caught in his throat.

"Oh, my God," he murmured as he brushed some of her hair away from her cheeks, noticing the purple bruises along the side of her face and a red handprint on the crease of her neck.

"Jensen got angry when he caught me trying to contract you, so he--…"

"I'm going o kill that son of a bitch!" Jack exclaimed in a sudden outburst of anger as he stood up defiantly.

"Jack," Tru whispered, reaching out and taking one of his hands in both of hers. "There's nothing you can do right now. He's already dead! Besides, this is the limbo and things work differently here."

"Are you telling me that he can't die twice?"

"No, but he is already dead. His soul is lost, displaced. But me… my soul… I'm not dead yet. If he hurts me enough… kills me here… my soul won't be able to return to my physical body. That's why I called you here, Jack. You're the only one who can talk to The Powers That Be. The Council. You're the only one who understands. I don't want Harrison and Davis finding out about this if it means finding out about us. And I know it might sound crazy since we're on opposite sides and all, but I feel like… I feel like the only person I can trust is you."

Jack crouched down again and traced his thumb carefully across Tru's cheek. "That doesn't sound crazy at all. I'm glad you feel like you can trust me. I'm going to figure out a way to get you out of here, OK?"

Tru nodded mutely.

"But Tru, I want you to tell me something. And I need you to be honest with me."

"About what?"

"Jensen. I need to know if there are any other places that he--…"

"My back," Tru cut in, getting choked up as tears ran down her cheeks. "He had a knife and would throw me against the wall and on the floor. He cut me and he hit me… there was blood dripping down my back. My whole body aches. My entire body has been screaming in pain, Jack. Please… help me."

He wiped her tears away and his lips brushed gently against her forehead.

"Has he given you any painkillers?"

Tru shook her head. "No."

Jack glanced over at the dresser drawer beside Tru's bed. He leaned over and began rummaging through each of the three drawers until he found a bottle of painkillers buried beneath some clothes. He placed the bottle of painkillers on top of the dresser drawer next to the glass of water. His eyes then wandered to the wooden bowl filled only halfway with water, the white washcloth folded neatly underneath. Tru watched in silence as Jack pulled the washcloth out from underneath the bowl and soaked the cloth in the lukewarm water.

"What are you doing?" Tru asked.

"Giving you a sponge bath," Jack teased lightly as he proceeded to wipe her face, arms, neck and back with the soft cloth.

When he was done, he folded the washcloth and placed it next to the wooden bowl.

"Feeling better?"

"A little," Tru told him, gazing into the hidden depths of his cerulean blue eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, pressing a gentle kiss against her lips and found himself satisfied when she responded in kind, urging him to deepen the kiss. If only for a moment…

When he pulled away, Tru yawned as she felt her eyelids start to become heavy.

"I haven't been able to sleep ever since he brought me here. I'm so afraid of what he might do next. I'm so tired."

Jack opened the bottle of painkillers and placed a small white capsule in Tru's hand.

"Take this," he told her gently, giving her the glass of water. "It will ease some of the pain and help you sleep."

After Tru swallowed the capsule, she went back into bed and let Jack tuck her beneath the covers.

"Stay with me," Tru whispered softly, her fingers laced in the fabric of his shirt as she pulled him closer.

"I have to go talk with The Powers That Be and find Jensen. I'll be back. I won't leave you here, Tru. I promise. Right now, you need to get some sleep."

She whimpered softly, mumbling something indiscernible. Carefully, he climbed into bed beside her and let her snuggle into him as she instinctively laid her head on his chest.

"Shhh," he whispered repeatedly, stroking her hair. Her breathing gradually evened out and he waited a few minutes before he was sure she was sleeping deeply. After pressing a tender kiss into her hair, he got up from the bed being extra careful not to disturb her slumber.

He then stood watching her for a few moments as she slept on.

"I know we're on opposite sides, Tru," he whispered. "I also know that I probably shouldn't be feeling this way, but there isn't anyone or anything that could keep me from loving you."

He sighed deeply.

"Jack Harper?"

He turned around, a man dressed in a white robe stood before him. "Who wants to know?"

The man stepped forward. "I'm a member of The Council, a branch of The Powers That Be. I've come to talk to you and your girlfriend Tru D--…"

"She's not my girlfriend," he objected, his tone a little harsher than it should have been.

The other man chuckled. "Right. Of course she isn't. But she's your opposite, isn't she?"

"That's correct," Jack replied. "Look, I really don't have time to play games. I'm just here to--…"

"I know what you're here for. You're here to give her what she needs."

"I know exactly what Tru needs," Jack told him, glancing briefly at her sleeping form once again. She finally looked peaceful.

"And what's that?" the other man questioned curiously.

"Relief."

To be continued…

Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took a bit to update. I fell behind on some schoolwork due to personal issues, but I'm all caught up now and it feels good to write fic again! I really wanted to emphasize the spirituality in this chapter in terms of what this limbo represents to Tru. The room that she is kept in is an almost subtle nod to Eliza's show Dollhouse because it emphasizes how surroundings can look Zen-like and perfect, but really hold darker purposes. Tru is the central displacement in the room she is kept in because of the abuse done to her by Jensen. Everything around her is lavishly decorated, comfortable, white and pure. Her white robe even signifies this, but it is the bruises and cuts on her body that tell otherwise. We also know she is emotionally unstable because of what has been done to her. Jack is there to try and help her, to ease her pain, but I also want to make it clear that they understand they are still opposites and the love they share is sacred and special but also innately forbidden.

More to come. Stay tuned and hopefully the next chapter will be posted sooner rather than later, but I can't make any promises. I spent all day in a café writing this chapter.

Please, please review! I worked really hard on this chapter and would greatly appreciate any and all feedback! Thanks in advance and thanks to those who've been reading and reviewing so far!