A/N: Hey guys! Well because I have some access and it's done, I thought I'd give you guys a two-fer-one deal! Chapters 3 and 4! How sweet is that? Anyway, please drop me a review and remember IchiMay loves you!
Chapter 4: Sweet Beginnings
"Kim," Jack called "Kim, come on wake up." He urged. She felt something touch her cheek and grunted she just wanted five more minutes of sleep. "Come on Kim, you get to go home today." He chuckled and the mention of returning to her bed was enough to force her eyes to open.
Jack was leaning close to her face, his chocolate brown eyes smiling down at her with a bit of mischief. It'd been a week since the Frank incident and Jack had been a regular at Kim's bedside, occasionally holding her hand and once even feeding her when she'd refused to eat, an action that had made the girl turn so red Jack feared she'd gotten a fever and promptly called for a nurse, which only caused her to turn a darker shade of red.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." He smiled helping her sit up –a difficult action since her ribs were still in pain –he held onto her right arm, helping her shift forward and pulling her up so that she wouldn't force her arms to work. Kim caught a whiff of his cologne, and smiled gently to herself, she'd realized two things; the first being that she loved the smell of Jack, it was masculine but not overpowering, almost like a spice and of course the second was realizing the smile it caused her –though it hurt her lip –she smiled none the less.
"Kim," Jack said leveling his face with hers and the girl jumped. "You ok?" he asked worry evident in his eyes, though the mischief still played within them. She nodded, fearing her throat would make her sound more nervous than she felt and Jack smiled.
"I'm walking you home by the way." He said, handing her a pair of jeans and shirt. She stared at him confused at both the statement and the clothing and he smiled. "You couldn't exactly walk out of here naked. Rudy got them from your locker; I hope you don't mind them."
"Their fine Jack, thank you." She smiled, her throat had been slowly recovering, though she still could not speak as loud as she usually did she was on the road to 'a quick recovery' or at least that's what the doctor said.
"Do you want to stop any where before you get there?" he asked walking a few feet away from her and pulling the curtain that separated her space from the space of the other room occupant, so that she could change in private.
"Not really," she sighed stepping out of her standard issue hospital robe and into her jeans, her eyes focusing on his shadow just outside the curtain. "I really just want to go home and sleep."
"You're not hungry?" He asked and she frowned, putting a finger to her chin as she thought, food sounded like a good idea, but she just wanted to be home, in her bed, or on her couch watching movies with Jacks arm wrapped around her, snuggling for a while until he turned her in his arms and…
"Kim?" Jack's voice broke her from her daydream and she shook her head, pulling her shirt on over her head quickly.
"I'm ready." She said, folding the hospital robe as he pulled the curtain back and stepped over to where his bag sat on the far wall. "Are you going to tell me what's in there?" she asked running her fingers through her hair and Jack snorted.
"Jeez Kim, can I have some sort of privacy?" he asked, faking outrage and she laughed. Short and bubbly, and completely unknown even to her ears, but a laugh that made Jack smile.
And before either of them had noticed he'd walked up to her andsoftly brushed a strand of hair from her face, the knuckles of his fingers brushing across her cheek lightly, his thumb tracing the line of her bottom lip. Kim inhaled deeply, she wanted this moment to last, and she wanted to stay this close to him, able to smell his cologne, admire the mark on his cheek and feel the mix of softness and roughness that were his hands on her skin.
Jack had no idea what'd come over him, he'd stepped forward at the sound of her laugh before his mind had even known what was happening; and all too soon, Kim's bottom lip was beneath his thumb, her lavender scented shampoo knocking his senses askew and her brown eyes staring back at him with a hint of excitement that made his already stuttering heart falter.
He was so close to her, their faces only inches apart, all he had to do was just, lean forward, tilt her head back just an inch, and then place his lips over hers. God how he wanted to, but something stopped him, and he softly withdrew his hand, stepping back a foot to give her space to breathe.
Kim inhaled slowly, blinking rapidly as if she had to clear something from her eyes before she smiled softly, biting her now freed bottom lip and giving him a half smile as she stepped past him.
"Idiot." He said to himself as he exited the room and followed after her.
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He reran the scene that'd transpired not even twenty minutes before time and time again in his head. Why the hell hadn't he kissed her? She'd stayed perfectly still and almost begged for him to do it so why the hell hadn't he!
"Jack," Kim said from beside him and he turned to her with a hum. "Are you alright? You look angry." He stopped walking and stared at her as she stopped and turned to him, her blond hair swooshing around her shoulders like a waterfall.
'Oh damn man really; a waterfall?' he thought to himself, he was turning into such a sap! Kim raised an eyebrow waiting for him to say something before she finally spoke.
"Jack seriously what's wrong?" she asked stepping forward, concern evident in her eyes and tone. Jack shook his head, hadn't he already decided that he wanted to be with her? Why the heck was he acting like a damn idiot? He understood now why girls were always irritated with boys, they were too damn complicated.
"Kim," he sighed, he wanted to tell her, but it was too soon, he was barely handling what had happening to her and these new feelings he felt, how could she? "I'm fine," he lied stepping a bit closer to her, his resolve sealed. He'd help her overcome this, and he'd get her to love him as well. "Come on, let's get you home." He whispered taking her hand in his, their fingers intertwining.
Kim looked down at her hand held so tightly in his, and then back to his face, he was watching her face, gaging her reaction, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Fine." she whispered as they both stepped forward, his hand tightening around hers just a bit.
Kim's heart did a little splutter at that, and she tried desperately to keep the goofy grin she wanted to spread on her face from actually doing so. She hadn't expected Jack to hold her hand while he walked her home, hell she hadn't even expected him to walk with her!
Yet she was happy, she'd had the biggest crush on him since they were thirteen, and seeing how he'd grown into a mature, handsome and caring seventeen year old just proved to her why she'd fallen for him in the first place. Jack was just so different; he was almost too good to be true sometimes.
Try as she may she couldn't keep from smiling, her head resting on his shoulder as they walked together.
Jack was in the middle of berating himself for taking her hand like that when Kim rested her head on his shoulder, whatever concern he'd had about their friendship being potentially ruined running out of his head in that moment. He had been unsure of why she'd let him hold her hand, but having her rest her head on his shoulder gave him new confidence.
When they arrived at her house Jack walked her straight to the door, and as Kim went to kneel beside the faux rock that sat beside the door, where her spare key sat, Jack pulled her back gently, opening the door and ushering her inside.
Kim stared at him confused and he chuckled, gesturing for her to hurry up and walk in.
"How did you open my door?" she asked once they stood in the living room. Jack set his book bag down on her couch and smiled shyly.
"I might have taken it from beneath the rock the other day when your mom invited me over." He admitted and she stared at him bewildered.
"When did my mom invite you over?" she asked, her eyes darting to the bag he was currently rummaging through.
"The other day, while you were asleep, you know before she left on her trip." He said taking out a pair of basketball shorts and a white tank top. "Your bathrooms upstairs right?" he asked walking towards the stairs before she could answer.
"Jack, what are you doing?" she asked as he ascended and he smiled, turning to look at her.
"I'm going to go take a shower, you should pick out a movie for us to watch for a little bit before you go to bed."
"You're staying over." It was more of a statement than a question, but he nodded regardless. "But...bu-" she tried and he laughed jogging up the stairs.
"Movie Kim!" he said as he walked into the bathroom down the hall. She stared after him, her mouth hanging open, hadn't she had fantasy earlier of him on her couch watching movies with her?
"Oh and Kim!" he called leaning his head out of the door and smiling over at her. "It can be romantic if that's what you want."
"What?" she asked trying to assure herself she'd heard him, Jack hated romantic movies with a passion.
"Don't make me repeat it woman!" he shouted before the door slammed once again.
Kim laughed, choosing to execute the task at hand rather then dwell on it. Jack was staying over with her? And they were going to watch romantic movies on her couch!
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Jack sat on the couch, his hair slightly wet from his shower, a towel wrapped around his shoulders as Kim followed his lead and showered. She hadn't seemed hesitant to do so, but he checked the front and back door to make sure they were locked, if only for his peace of mind.
When she came down the stairs she wore long pajama pants and a tight tank top, her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. She sat beside him Indian style, her right knee pressed up against Jack's left thigh.
"You sure you want to watch a romance? We can watch an action flick if you want." She said sheepishly and he laughed.
"Kimberly Crawford just play the movie." He said and she pouted picking the remote up from the coffee table and clicking on the DVD player. As the opening credits began to roll Jack leaned back, his arm draping over the back of the couch as he tried to get comfortable.
"What exactly are we watching?" he asked the girl beside him who turned to look at him with a small smile.
"It's called "Untamed Heart' it's about this really sweet guy who thinks he has the heart of a baboon king, he was always bullied but then he saved the life of the waitress he works with –he's the chef –and she falls for him so they start dating and he comes out of his shell." She explained leaning back into the couch as well.
"So it's a typical love story?" he snorted and she glared at him.
"The ending is unexpected, maybe you should watch it." Shesnipped as she turned to see the opening scene play out. Jack chuckled, turning to face the screen, though his eyes kept darting back to Kim every so often.
He had to admit the movie was good, it was at a scene where the two were returning from a baseball game and the guy had fallen asleep, Adam, that was his name and Kim was full blown crying. He didn't understand why, he was asleep, until it turned out that his heart had been failing for a while and that was his last day to live.
Kim wiped at her tears as the girl on the TV tried to shake him awake but failed, and seeing Kim cry made Jack move on auto pilot again. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest as his hands rubbed up and down her back; letting her tears soak his shirt.
They stayed in that position for a few minutes, Kim crying into his chest and Jack tracing circles over her back, he had the faintest feeling that she wasn't only crying because of the movie, but he kept his mouth shut. If he couldn't figure out why she was crying after everything she'd been through, then he really was an idiot.
When she finally pulled away from him Jack tried not to pull her back, her eyes were rimmed in red. She looked into her eyes, and he realized they weren't that far away from each other, he could feel her breath on his lips they were so close.
She looked into his eyes, trying to read whatever it was that was running through his mind, here they were again, in the same predicament they'd been earlier in the day and Kim wondered if maybe this time Jack would close the distance between them, and reassure her that maybe, just maybe he did want to be with her.
She licked her lips and his eyes followed the movement before returning to her look her in the eyes, the look in them was almost hungry as they stared back at him and he told himself to just do it; his consciousness screaming at him to just lean forward and kiss her already.
His hand rose, coming to rest on her cheek like before, and he leaned forward noticing how her eyes began to droop as he inched closer.
They were millimeters away from each other when Kim's house phone rang loudly, making the girl jump away from her crush and inhale sharply. They stared at each other for a second, before blushes adorned both of their cheeks and Kim jumped off the couch and towards the kitchen to answer the phone.
Jack turned to the TV which was now rolling movie credits and he sighed, turning it off and running his hand through his now dry hair.
"Fuck." He grunted hiding his face behind his hands. He was so close, so damn close.
"It was my mom," Kim said from the opposite end of the room, she had her lip in between her teeth and her sights set on anything but him. "She just wanted to know how I was doing."
"Right," he said after a moment of silence "she told me she'd be checking up on you." Kim sighed, and they locked eyes, each depicting both their irritation at the lost moment and yearning for it to return.
"I'm gonna go to bed." Kim said after a moment stepping promptly over to the stairs and Jack nodded, pulling the blanket they'd used to cover themselves during the movie over him.
"Hey Jack," Kim called and he turned to see her half up the stairs. "Thank you, for staying." She added and he smiled.
"You bet." He said and she quickly ran up the stairs and into her room.
Jack grunted flopping into the sofa cushion. He wanted to scream he was so damn aggravated. They'd probably never get a chance like that again, not without some help at least. He grunted once again and turned himself over on his back, pulling the blanket over himself and staring up at her ceiling.
"Soon Kim," he said to the roof. "I promise you, soon." And with that he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
A/N: OMG! Yay finally a Jackie and Kim moment! It's a long chapter, sorry and I'm sorry about the teaser but damn those late night mom calls! I hope you guys liked it, and please let me know what you think, this things not done yet!
