Disclaimer: Same story. Different day. Same shyt. Shannon, Jeff, Cody, and Matt. They're not mine. Although if Shannon was mine I would do unspeakable things to him….. ;-)

Chapter 7: Runaway Train

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 Weeks Later

Jade and Shannon had talked on the phone almost everyday. He kept his promise and had come to see her in 3weeks. He took her and Justin to a smack down taping and had introduced her to some of the guys, even asked her to come back to North Carolina with him. She declined, of course, saying that Justin was in the middle of school, and there was no point in having him miss so many days.

She was sitting in her living room going through some bills and watching Family Guy, when he phone rang. Justin came running into the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?" He asked into the receiver.

"Hey, buddy." Came Shannon's southern drawl.

"Hi Shannon! What's up?"

"Just chillin, how's school?"

"Great, I got a 100 on the spelling test that me and mom studied for. She's gonna take me to get an ice cream tomorrow."

"That's great, Kid." Shannon said using the name he always did. "Can I talk to your mom, dude?" He asked.

"Yeah, She's standin here waitin for the phone. I think she's gonna make me go to bed, but its Friday and I want to watch smack down. Maybe you could talk her into it for me?" He asked more than stated.

Jade heard Shannon's hearty laugh come from the other end of the phone.

"Nice try, Justin, Give me the phone." She said laughing at him.

"Here's mom, Night Shannon." Justin said disappointed.

"Night, Kid." He said still laughing a little.

"Heeeeyyy" Jade said enthused to hear from him.

"Hi, Beautiful, how was your day?" Shannon asked, happy to hear her voice.

"Not bad, just served a whole shit load of grumpy old men. It was senior day. Ugh. It makes me sick when I see teeth on a table." She replied to him.

Shannon laughed again. Just thinking of Jade waiting on a table that was having a denture party, that was enough to amuse anybody.

"That's funny, girl."

She closed her eyes, 'Oh, damn. There he goes with that 'girl' again.' she thought. She and Shannon had talked about numerous things over the past 6 weeks. Sharing little parts of their life with each other, and now Shannon knew for sure that she was the one he couldn't let go. He knew he could be her rock, if she would let him. She just needed some more reassurance.

"So when you comin to see me, baby?" he asked.

"Baby?" She asked him slowly.

"Sorry… Just…..felt natural." He paused waiting for her response.

"It's okay. Its cute." She said smiling.

"So when you comin?" He asked again.

"I don't know. When I can get off work, when I have the extra money. When I have a car." She said laughing at him.

"I can make it happen, ya know."

"I know you can, but the money I have saved now is for the pile of bills on my coffee table, and the money I'm saving in the box is fo.." He cut her off.

"You wouldn't have to pay for anything. Just get a ride to the airport."

"Shannon, we've been through this, I can't take time off work like th.."

"Quit. Move here with me."

"Shannon."

"Yeah?"

"You know I can't do that."

"I know, but if I don't try, why kind of person am I?"

"You're funny. I gotta go though, honey. I gotta put Justin to bed, and do some dishes. I'll call you back later?" She asked him.

"You better, I wanna talk to you until we fall asleep again." He said breathing into the phone.

"I will. I promise." She said smiling. Lately, when she talked to Shannon. He could make her smile over the littlest things. That had never happened to her. The only thing to ever make her happy was Justin. She didn't know how or why he came into her life, but she was glad, and after that first day they spilled there past to each other, she knew she could trust him after he kept his promise to her.

"Okay, that's the first promise you have ever made to me, I keep mine..you keep yours." he said to her.

"I don't make promises I can't keep." she breathed into the phone.

"Okay beautiful, I'll talk to you later." he said to her through his smile.

"Bye" She said, hanging up the phone.

She walked down the hallway to make sure the doors were locked and to tuck Justin in. She walked into his room to find him looking at the latest WWE magazine. Shannon had gotten him the subscription for his birthday, and the first magazine had the whole smack down rosters autographs on it. He loved it, and it made Jade happy to see her boy happy. And even more so to know that Shannon had made him that happy. She tucked Justin in and shut his door, just in time for the phone to ring again.

She picked it up without saying hello, assuming it was Shannon again.

"Shan, I told you I would call you lat.."

"Not exactly florida, is it?" Came a dark voice over the phone.

She was silent. This couldn't be happening to her again. Not when things were finally going right.

"You're a sick, sadistic, fuck. Stay away from me and my son." She sneered.

"Or, what. Wrestler boy will take care of me? I thought I told you Jade. Me. Or nobo.." She hung up the phone and ran to Justin's room.

"Baby, get up!" She hollered frantically, digging under his bag for a duffle bag. "Pack all you can and hurry up."

"Mommy, what's wro.." She screamed when she heard the window in the living room by the fire escape break. She grabbed Justin and ran to her bedroom locking the door. She picked up the phone and noticed there was no dial tone.

"Open the fucking door, Jade. I swear to god I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" Gabe's voice echoed through the apartment. She opened her window in a hurry, shaking as she was holding a now crying Justin in her arms. Just as she was about to climb out the door flew open with a boom. Gabe raced across the room and pulled her back by her hair, causing her to fall with Justin on top of her. Justin got off the floor as Gabe grabbed Jade's neck and started to choke her. He ran out of the room and unlocked the door to go to the hallway.

"I thought I made things clear, sweetheart" He sneered at her punching her in the mouth. He continued to choke her while assaulting her face. He moved over her to a now straddling position. She screamed while he didn't have a hold of her neck, earning her a punch to the face.

"It's been a long time, pretty girl, you miss me?" He asked breathing into her ear. She swung her arms at him clobbering him in the side of the head. He punched her again, and grabbed her face making her look at him. He pulled a knife from his back pocket and snapped it so it opened. He held it to her temple, and ran it softly down her face.

"If you scream Jade. I will kill you, and you will never see Justin again. You don't want that do you?" He spoke in a deep voice.

"Why are you doing this?" She cried.

"Because, I love you, Jade. You don't get it do you, Sugar." He said using the nickname he had for her. "You're mine. And no fucking WWE nimrod, is going to have what's mine. I'm the man in your life."

"You're far from a fucking man. You're a PUSSSSSY" She screamed at him again. He wrapped his hands around her neck and choked her more. She was running out of consciousness, when Shannon's voice floated into her head.

'You're strong enough to get through anything, Jade.' his voice echoed from a previous conversation. She struggled against him earning her more punches. She used all her strength to grab the cast iron statue of the dragon Shannon had sent her from Japan 2 weeks ago. Now more than ever, she needed it. She grasped the statue in her hand and hit Gabe over the head with it. It caused enough pain to get him off her, she flew up from the floor, grabbed her bag on the way out of the door, and ran down the stairs. She saw Justin pounding on Carrie's door, getting no response.

"C'mon, baby, hurry." He ran to her and it took all her strength to pick him up. She flew down the last 3 flights of stairs and ran out of the building. It was the middle of November, and freezing cold out. She cursed when she saw the bus take of She knew it was the last one. It's was late and the buses stopped at 10 on Fridays.

"Just my fucking luck!" she screamed. "Can you ever just give me a fucking break?" she cried into the air. She looked behind her and kept running. Justin was fully crying into her neck, asking who that was and why he hurt her.

"It's okay, baby. We're okay." She cried with him, but never stopped running.

She hailed the first cab she saw and climbed into the back.

"Greyhound, Now. Please." She breathed heavily to the driver.

"You okay, Ma'am?" He asked his voice filled with concern.

"Just go the bus station, please." She begged.

"Right away." he relpied.

She could taste blood in her mouth, her neck was sore and already stating to bruise. She knew that she looked like she just came off the set of a horror film. What everyone looking at her didn't know, was it was a replica of a horror movie, and she was the star.

"Do you uhhh, have a tissue, or something?" she asked him. Her voice hoarse from being choked so much.

The cabbie nodded and handed her a box. She wiped her lip and nose. She knew tissues were no good. She needed soap and water, and now, a new place to live. She looked over at Justin, still crying in the seat.

"I'm sorry, baby." she whispered to him.

He moved closer to her, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Where are we going, Mom?" She looked at him and shook her head.

"I don't know, baby." She said still holding him.

"Why did he hurt you? Who was that?" He asked his voice still thick with sobs.

"I don't know, baby. Some people are just mean."

How was she supposed to explain to her son, that it was his father. And his father wanted to kill his mother. The one thing in his life that he needed to most, his selfish bastard of a father wanted to take away. He didn't want her to be happy. For whatever reason he thought she didn't deserve it.

The pulled up to the bus station, and Jade took a hold of Justin's hand. She shut her door and looked through the window. The cabbie had heard the whole conversation. Decided not to pry, but he could get the gesture of what was going on.

" How much?" She asked.

"No charge ma'am." She smiled graciously at him.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yeah, you keep him safe." he said pulling off.

She nodded. 'Yeah, right. How do I do that now?' She asked herself.

They made their way into the bus station and to the bathroom.

"I can't go in there mom, its for girls." He said to her, pointing at the sign. He had stopped crying. He was terrified and she knew it, but what could she do now. The same thing she always did. Run.

"You can come with me baby. Its so grown up guys don't go in." She said leading him into the bathroom.

He sat down on one of the benches and Jade looked him over. He had no scratches or bruises. Meaning Gabe hadn't gotten close enough to lay a hand on him when he ran out. She knew he reached for him, but had to keep her down. She laid her forehead on his tiny stomach and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry, Bubbie. It's my fault." She said crying.

He hugged his mother back, not knowing what to do. After all he had just turned 7 a few weeks ago, and wasn't fully understanding why his dad wasn't around to protect them. When he got older she might tell him. She knew that he was old enough to remember this, and what kid could forget being so terrified.

She rose up from the floor and looked in the mirror. She was sickened by what she saw. The right side of her face now purple, black and swollen. Her lip busted open and a trail of dried blood running from her nose to almost her lip. She wet a paper towel and gently cleaned her face up. Observing the new colors on her neck and cheekbone. The white of her eye now a blood red. She looked down at the sink, bracing herself with her arms as she started to cry again. She quickly stopped, realizing that crying right now would do no good. She looked over at Justin, yawning as he at Indian style on a bench.

"Where are we gonna go, momma? He asked for what seemed like 100th time.

She shrugged her shoulders and sat by him.

"I don't know baby."

She pulled her wallet out of her bag counting the money she had.

'$433.00' She sighed to herself. ' What kind of fucking mother am I?'

She picked up a now sleeping Justin and carried him to the ticket counter.

"Can I help….you?" the guy at the counter paused when he looked up.

"I need 2 tickets to North Carolina, please. One adult. One child."

"What part?" He asked.

She struggled to think. She remembered everything all the time, but being so shaken up she couldn't remember for the life of her. She shook her head and adjusted Justin's weight on her.

"Ummm…Whispering Pines?" She asked more than told. "Is that right?" She looked at him with hope. He shook his head.

"North or south?"

"There's much of a difference?" she questioned.

"Yeah, not too far from each other, but still 2 bus depots." he said looking back at his screen.

"I'll just go with north." She said hoping it was right. She hoped that Shannon wouldn't think she broke her promise and not called him back. She should have memorized his number, she remembered the name and number of his house on the street. She couldn't remember the town or his phone number for the life of her. The man printed out her tickets and itinerary.

"Any baggage?" He asked her.

'too much' she thought to herself but knew that's not what he meant.

She shook her head. Justin had no coat. She had no coat. He was in his WWE pajamas. At least they were long sleeved and fleece. They would keep him semi warm. She looked at her Rolled up gray sweat pants and her baggy old navy shirt. She still had her slippers on. 'I look awesome.' she thought to herself. 'I should go to ball or something.'

"That's $257.74." She sighed and handed him the money. 'So much for bills.'

He handed her the tickets and she waited patiently in the terminal for her boarding number to be called.

After 3 hours she finally heard the announcer.

"All destinations headed east, Indiana, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New York. You're now boarding at door 5."

She stood up and got in line. She handed the driver her tickets. He ripped the stub off and handed them back to her. She climbed on the bus, inhaling the familiar scent of bleach and people. All greyhounds smelt the same. No matter what. She placed Justin in the seat and reclined it a little. The bus finished loading and the driver's voice came over the speaker.

"The next stop will be Indianapolis, scheduled to arrive at 6:45 am, then Vass, North Carolina scheduled to arrive at 1:45 pm, and shortly after Whispering Pines, scheduled to arrive at 2:15pm. Enjoy your trip and than you for choosing Greyhound." He hung up his mic, and started to pull out of the depot. Jade looked out the window and took a last look at her life in Chicago.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She woke up as the bus pulled into Indiana. She looked over to find Justin awake and looking out the window.

"Mom. I can see everything." He said to her when he realized she was looking at him.

"I know baby."

"I've never been on a big bus before." He continued to look out the window as the pulled into the bus depot.

The driver came on the loud speaker again. "If your boarding pass is number 216 you will be back on this bus until North Carolina. You have a 45 minute layover here in Indianapolis, and we're running on time. We should arrive in North Carolina as scheduled.

"Can we get something to eat, Mom?" Justin asked pulling Jade from her thoughts. She nodded her head at him and got up grabbing her bag and holding his hand. They walked into the terminal and found a restaurant and sat to eat breakfast. She counted her money again. Wondering how much a cab fair would cost to Shannon's house. She hoped he wouldn't react harshly. She hoped he would still be that same guy he was on the phone, and he was when he was visiting. Now he would get a clear view why she was so short with him for the first few days. She was still feeling him out, but had proved himself to her, when he had nothing to prove at all. That made him worth it in her eyes. They finished their breakfast and waited in the line to hear the boarding call. She ignored the whispers and looks. She held Justin's hand, and pulled him close to her resting her hand on his shoulder. She looked down at him and smiled.

"One. Four. Three. Baby."

"I know, Mom. One. Four. Three." He smiled holding a small hand around her as far as he could. They climbed on the bus and she waited anxiously to get to N.C. Justin's voice broke her out of her thoughts again.

"So, Where are we going, mom?"

"To see Shannon." She said smiling.

"Really, I can meet Jeff, now?" He asked excitedly.

She nodded her head. "Probably, baby. Him and Shannon are friends right?"

He nodded vigorously, and turned his head toward the window. She hopped Shannon was home. If ever she needed something to turn out right for her, it was now. She knew he had a few weeks off. He was taping some t.v. show that wasn't even on t.v. Somewhere between her thoughts she fell asleep until the annoying sound of the drivers voice came over the loud speaker again.

"This is Whispering Pines, North Carolina. Please claim your bags on the left side of the bus."

She had no bags. She had nothing. And the more she thought about it. The more it hurt her. She left everything. She had no time to pack anything. That never happened. She usally had time to get clothes and her memorabilia. Nothing this time.

She made her way through the terminal. She walked out the front doors to see a line of vacant cabs. She crawled in one pulling Justin into her lap getting him out of the pouring rain and thunder.

"Where to Miss."

"1421 Crews Rd." She replied.

The cabbie nodded his head and pulled off. About 20 minutes later they pulled up in front a large one story house. It had a fenced in back yard and bushes around the windows.

She sighed in relief when she was Shannon's Hummer and the Orange Honda Prelude, he had recently told her he bought. The rain was falling hard against the windows and the top of the cab.

"How much?" She asked the Cabbie.

"17.50" he replied pointing at the meter.

She handed him two 10 dollar bills.

"Keep it." she said grabbing a sleeping Justin into her arms, wincing at the sharp pain that shot through the right side of her body. She was almost sure she looked like a walking corpse right now. She didn't care. All she wanted was a hot shower, and dry clothes.

She walked up the long drive way, holding Justin's head to her body trying to shield in from the rain. She took a deep breath 'Here goes nothing' She thought ringing the doorbell. She heard a loud bark echo through the house and a few seconds later, someone walking to the door. The door flew open and Shannon stood there with no shirt on, and only a pair of gym shorts.

"Oh my god, Baby, What Happened" He said taking in all of her bruises and her busted up lip. He didn't wait for her answer as he pulled her into his strong arms from the rain wrapping her and Justin up in a hug. She sobbed against his chest as he rubbed her back. She pulled away from him as he shut the door.

"Can I lay him down?" She asked looking at him.

He looked at her softly and nodded, taking Justin from her arms and laying him on the huge plush sofa. He walked back over to her and looked her in the eyes.

"Baby…What happened?" He questioned softly.

"I never thought this would happen again, Shannon." She cried as he pulled her into his arms again. She flinched as his hand ran over bruises he didn't know were there.

"He just came in, and..and…"

" Okay, baby. Lets get you a shower and some dry clothes."

"I don't have anything. I left it all." she continued to sob. " I couldn't get anything. He called right after we hung up. Not even 5 minutes. I thought it was you, and I hung up and he broke the window and came in. Justin was scared and I just did…didn't know. I thought I was dead." she said looking up at him.

"Okay. We can go get your stuff and you'll stay with me." He rambled without thinking.

She finished telling him what happened. Shannon never felt so angry in his life.

"I'm gonna kill him, Jade. We're going to go get your stuff and if he's there. I'll kill him. I'm gonna make him pay for this." He kept saying over and over. She put her head in her hands and cried. He took her hand and led her to his room. He pulled an extra pair of boxers and a Tar heels t shirt.

"Take a shower, baby. We'll get some food. And we'll go get some clothes." He said showing her the bathroom. Jade let the hot water cascade over her. She slid down the tile wall crying, letting the water wash away fresh tears as they came. She emerged from the shower a few minutes later, and walked into the living room. She saw Shannon and Justin playing video games. Justin paused the game and ran over to her.

"Are you okay now, mommy?" He asked as he threw his arms around her waist.

She flinched and closed her eyes as he hugged her. She knelt down to his level and looked at him. She felt fresh tears coming down her cheek.

"Don't cry Mom. Please don't cry." He said hugging her around her neck tight. "That guy won't fallow us here, right?" He asked her. She shook her head against him.

"No, baby. He won't hurt us anymore." She said giving him a small smile through her tears.

"Shannon said we could go to El Chupifalas for dinner." She heard Shannon laugh a little.

"It's El Chipalos, buddy." He said now standing next to them. He looked down at Jade and his heart immediately broke for her.

"Okay, baby." She said standing back up.

"We're gonna go to the store and buy you guys some clothes and stuff first." he said taking her into his arms again.

"Shannon. I don't ha.."

"Jade, stop. I have money I don't know what to do with. Please, just let me do this. I want you to have everything." He said into he neck placing a light kiss below her ear.

"This isn't the way I wanted us to see each other again." she whispered to him.

"It's okay, baby. You're here with me and you guys are safe. That's all I wanted." He said rubbing her back.

Justin started at them wondering what they were talking about.

"You guys aren't gonna kiss right. Cuz that's gross" he said.

A small smile came to Jades face while Shannon looked down at him.

"You kiss your mom right?" He asked.

"Yeah, but not like they do on TV and stuff."

"Is it okay if I kiss your mom like that" He asked looking at Jade.

"Yeah, but its gross. Why would you do something like that?" It was cute to Shannon that he still had no idea. He remembered when he didn't like girls and they were only there to ruin the fun that boys were supposed to have. Who knew that women would affect him like they did now.

"It's okay, buddy. I got my cooties shot when I was your age." He laughed at him. Jade smiled. The first real smile since she got off the phone with Shannon last time. He could make her smile no matter what. That was a huge quality she loved about him.

"What's a cootie?" Justin asked suspicious.

"Seriously?" Shannon asked in disbelief.

"Like Germ Paste?" Justin asked.

"Germ Paste?" Shannon and Jade asked in unison.

"Yeah, girls carry it in tubes and put it on boys to eat their skin." He said seriously. "And it gets into their mouth and then when they kiss you. Your tongue falls out." he finished.

Jade's eyes opened with shock. She and Shannon laughed at him.

"That's doesn't happen, buddy. One day you'll like girls, And they'll all want you, but you can only pick one, and you have to treat her good." He said looking at Jade. "You have to kiss them to show them that you love them." He said looking back at Justin.

"Not for along time though right?" Justin asked.

"Not until you're 43, bubbie" Jade said placing her hand on his head.

"Sounds good to me." He said turning around to go play the game again.

"Let's go to the mall and get you some clothes real fast, and then go eat some of the best Mexican food you'll ever have." He said winking at her.

"Shannon, I can't go anywhere looking like this" She said motioning to her body with her hands.

"You're with me. You can go anywhere, baby. If they don't like it. They can fuck off. You're beautiful no matter what. We'll go into a store, buy an outfit, you guys can change there. And then we'll hit the rest of the mall."

"It's too much for you t.."

"Jade, Don't turn down a shopping spree on someone else." He said smiling at her. She knew he was kidding. It was just too much for her to take in. He was always so nice to her. She never felt threatened or like she had to defend herself against him. He understood her, and that's what she needed.

"Why are you so good to me?" She asked focusing on her bare feet.

He tilter her chin up for her to look at him. He tucked her wet hair behind her ears and placed a soft kiss on her cheek bone, then one on her lips.

"You're my girl, beautiful. I wanna be good to you. I wanna be good for you." He kissed her cheek. "C'mon. Lets go. C'mon, boy."

They arrived at the mall, Shannon bought her things she would never have bought herself. Many stores and tons of shopping bags later, they made their way out of Southern Pines mall and over to the restaurant. They went inside and sat in a booth in the corner.

The waiter came over to them, looked at Jade then at Shannon, like he had put the bruises on her.

"What can I get for you" he asked in a thick Mexican accent.

"One Hot dog." Shannon looked at him then laughed a little. "No, ahhh, 2 enchilada supreme's one chicken and one cheese and a shrimp cocktail."

He looked at Jade. She ordered for her and Justin. While they were waiting, they made small conversation, but Shannon could see the concern in her eyes when she looked at Justin. He knew she was wishing that he wouldn't have seen some of what happened. She had told him everything. How Justin ran and she found him knocking on Carrie's door. How scared she was for their life's. And how the only thing she could think of was coming to Shannon. She knew she was in love with him. She was just afraid to tell him.

"Shannon?" she broke the silence in the car on the way back to his place.

"What's up, baby?" he asked.

"You are good for me." She said remembering what he said to her earlier.

"I know. And you're great for me. I want you to be happy, Jade. You deserve it." He reached over and grabbed her hand. He slipped his fingers through hers, and pulled the now made fist to his mouth kissing her hand. He looked over an winked at her. They pulled into Shannon's driveway and unloaded his vehicle with the bags of stuff they had gotten earlier.

"Mom, can I go swimming?" He asked her.

"No, bubbie. Its like 9:30. You need to take a bath and go to bed." She said to him.

"Okay." He said disappointed looking at the ground.

"We can go tomorrow, dude. Don't sweat it. Your mom just needs to relax" Shannon said unlocking the door.

"I'll call Jeff and Matt. You can meet them, We'll cook some burgers and hot dogs on the grill. We can swim all day." Shannon said while a smile formed on Justin's face.

"Really?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, kid. Why would I lie to you?"

"I dunno." he answered.

"I wouldn't, dude. Go take a bath for your mom and hit the hay. We'll see you in the morning for some breakfast." he said kneeling down and giving him a hug.

Justin ran down the hallway where Jade was running a bath for him. She pulled him out a shorts and t shirt PJ set. After his bath she tucked him into the bed in the spare room. She didn't notice Shannon lean against the door.

"I'm glad we're here, Mom." Justin said leaning his head against the soft pillows.

"I'm glad we're here too, baby."

"I like Shannon. He's nice. He wouldn't hurt us, Right, Mom?"

"No, baby. He won't hurt us."

"Good, Cuz I don't wanna move again."

She smiled down at him. "Me either, baby."

"Will you sing our song, mom?"

"Of course baby, you wanna sing too?"

"Yeah, I'll sing with you too."

She leaned over him and started humming a soft tune. Shannon leaned his head on the doorframe and listened, watching her as she stroked his hair.

Lay a whisper on my pillow
Leave the winter on the ground
I wake up lonely, there's air of silence
In the bedroom and all around

Touch me now, I close my eyes
And dream away...

It must have been love, but it's over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out

Make believing we're together
That I'm sheltered by your heart
But in and outside I turn to water
Like a teardrop in your palm

And it's a hard winter's day
I dream away...

It must have been love, but it's over now
It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without
It must have been love, but it's over now
It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows

It must have been love, but it's over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out

It must have been love, but it's over now
It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without
It must have been love, but it's over now
It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows

They finished the song, and she pulled the covers up to his chin.

"One. Four. Three. Baby."

"I love you more that you'll ever know too, mom." Jades eyes watered, she bent down to kiss his forehead.

"Night, baby." She whispered.

She got up from the bed and turned to walk out of the room. She jumped when she noticed Shannon there.

"JESUS. You scared me." She said putting a hand up to chest and walking out of the room, closing the door a little.

"Sorry." he said smiling at her.

"It's okay." she said smiling at him a little. They walked into the living room and fell onto the overstuffed couch.

"So, Roxette?" He asked.

"Yeah, I've sang that to him since he was a baby. It made him stop crying and fussing, and he'd just dose off. He'd listen to every song, but that's the one that would put him to sleep."

"I love to listen to you sing."

She smiled lightly at him. "Thank you for…..everything, Shannon" She said looking down at her hands. "I really don't know what I would have done. I'm sorry I ran to you, I just didn't know where else to go, you were the first person I thought of when he broke in and the first person I thought of when I reached the bu.."

He cut her off by pulling her chin toward him. He ran his hands softly over the bruises, and traced the finger prints along her neck. She looked up at him, tears falling down her cheeks. He wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs.

"I'm glad you came here, and now I know you didn't break your promise. I was worried when I couldn't get a hold of you and your answering machine didn't even pick up, but I thought I did something and you didn't wanna talk to me."

"Never. You…..make me happy. For the first time in a long time. And I'm sorry it took this to make me realize it."

He leaned in to capture her lips gently. She kissed him like she'd wanted to for a long time. Since he first came back to see her. The first kiss they shared in 6 weeks. His tongue grazed the outside of her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to let him gain access, his hands still stroking her face. He ran his fingers through her hair, and held onto her neck deepening the kiss. They pulled back from each other, breathless.

"Wheeeww. That was fucking intense." He said smiling at her still running his hand through her hair.

"I know." She said raising her eyebrows. He leaned in a kissed her again. He pulled back looking at her.

"So does this mean you're my girl? I mean its not under the circumstances I would want it under, and I have a thing about rejection, but I really wanna be with you Jade. Since the first night we hung out at your house. Defiantly, when I spilled my heart to you on the stairs in your building. And I knew for sure when I came back from the road and I didn't even go home first, and then when I was in Japan and I saw that statue I sent you I knew the….."

She cut him off with her lips. He was rambling, and she couldn't get word in.

"I wanna be with you too, Shan. I knew it when you came back the first time, too."

He kissed her again, and pulled her on to his lap.

"I'll treat you and Justin so good, baby. I promise." She nodded her head.

"I trust you" She said surprising herself. She hadn't trusted anybody in a long time. Now it was time for her to start.

"You know what I think you need?" He asked her. She looked at him questioningly.

"I think you need to put your head right here." He said pointing to his heart. She layed her head on his chest and felt him suck in a deep breath. He resisted the urge right there to tell her he loved her. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

He sighed and looked at the clock.

"Baby, it's Midnight. Lets go to sleep." He said lifting her from his lap. She nodded her head at him again, and fallowed him to his room. She changed into one of his t-shirts and crawled into his king sized bed. It was a soft pillow top mattress, and he had a ton of pillows. The black Egyptian Cotton sheets were enough to get lost in, but the huge white down comforter sent her into pure bliss. She felt Shannon get into the bed next to her, she slid over and wrapped her arm over his waist. He kissed her again, and sank back into the pillows. Jade was here and they were together. And nothing or nobody was going to stop them, and he was going to kill that mother fucker when he saw him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Wow. 18 fuckin pages. Hope you liked that. Thanks for reviewing. I love it. It makes me wanna write you more. I'm on my way. Song is not mine. Its Roxette- It must have been love. I love it. Love it, a lot. And its from one of my fave movies. Okay. R&R. And send our baby boy Cena some love. ;-( Poor baby.