"So you see why I didn't feel as though I could confide in you."
"How could you expect me to trust you after everything you've done? My life turned into a living hell because of you. Do you understand how much I loved you? You were my life, you and Sydney. And in the blink of an eye it was all gone!"
Irina walked away and stopped with her back to him as she stood in the doorway. Tears had filled her eyes at the pain in Jack's voice. When she'd turned herself into the CIA, she had known that she would have to face him at some point. But she had been unprepared for the changes she'd seen in him, that permeated his being. Gone was the easy smile, the sense of well-being, the light in his beautiful brown eyes. And she had been the one to do it to him.
"Jack, I never thought about how my extraction would affect the rest of your life beyond the fact that you would live. As much as it hurt to think it, I assumed that you would eventually fall in love again and remarry, give Sydney a mother."
"How could I fall in love again when you effectively ripped my heart out?"
"I'm sorry, Jack. I only wanted to protect you. I loved you too much to let you die," her tears began to fall in earnest. "I still love you!"
Jack was stunned. He had assumed that any feelings Irina might have had for him would have disapated over the years they had spent apart. Yet there was a tiny piece of his heart that was thrilled at her revelation. A little shakily, he got up and went over to her. He hesitated only a moment, then put his arms around her.
Irina struggled for a second. "Don't!" she said. "Leave me alone!"
"We both been alone for so long. Just . . . shhh," he murmured in her ear.
They stayed like that for several minutes, drinking in each other's warmth. Then, inexplicably, Jack placed a light kiss on her neck, right where it met her shoulder. Without saying anything, Irina turned to face him; she studied him, confused.
"Jack?" she questioned, at last.
His only response was to close the distance between their lips. The kiss was nothing like the one in Panama. This one was gentle, tentative, almost chaste. It reminded Irina of the first time they'd kissed, only a week after they'd met, when they were still getting to know one another. It wasn't enough for her; she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, letting her tongue glide along his lips.
Jack moaned his approval and began to mimic her actions. It was several minutes later before they came up for air. She cupped his now smooth cheek, caressing it lightly.
"Why?" she asked, simply.
He wiped away her remaining tears before answering. "I never could stand to see you cry," he admitted.
They held one another for a few more minutes when Irina noticed the lengthening shadows. The pinks and purples of the sky indicating the closeness of the evening hours.
"We should get something to eat," she suggested, "And continue once we're refreshed.
His stomach growled and he chuckled when hers joined in. "I'll order some Chinese."