Scott woke from his deep, comfortable slumber when the sun was just beginning to peer out from the eastern horizon, its rays beginning to shroud the city of San Francisco in its bright, warm light. Though her bedroom window faced the west, he could tell the sun was rising, because the bedroom was beginning to light up more and more as time passed. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times to get himself used to the light after being in the dark all night. As he adjusted, sitting up only slightly, his gaze flickered around the room, and on the floor he could see different articles of clothing. Some were his, others were not. Then, he remembered what happened the night before, and in an instant, his gaze landed on the woman lying next to him. Her back, still bare, was turned toward him as she still slept soundly. Her breathing was deep and slow. She was very close to him, as she had been before they went to sleep. Scott's eyes followed the curve of the indentation of her spine, in love with the fact that he'd woken to find that last night hadn't been a dream. He didn't need to see her face to know how beautiful she was while asleep. Everything about Hope van Dyne did was beautiful to Scott.
He carefully edged closer to her body, careful not to suddenly disturb her. He pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder as he lazily snaked an arm around her waist. When he pulled on her, he was so gentle, and thankfully, it wasn't long before he was against her. She was again enveloped in his warmth. It was the first thing she noticed as she stirred.
Hope took a deep breath in as her mind went from the dream world to the real world. She could tell the room was bright, so she kept her eyes closed. A little smile made its way across her sleepy face as she recalled falling asleep the same way the night before. Her body leaned back into him. Scott realized she was awake, so he brought his face close to her skin, his breath hot against her as his lips hovered.
"Hey," he whispered in a hoarse voice to her ear and kissed her shoulder as he sat up a bit to lean over her. He tightened his arm around her, as well.
"Mmm, hey," her reply came at the same volume as his had been. He could tell she was still half asleep, because her word was drawn out, like the breath that came after it. In fact, Hope was drifting in and out of sleep, only half conscious.
Scott gave a soft grin and buried his face into the back of her neck. The blissful sigh that he emitted was a long one, absolutely content. She was so warm, her skin soft. He'd spend the rest of his life like that with her if he could. After a moment like that with her, he kissed her shoulder, then the nape of her neck. Hope craned in response, a soft moan escaping the back of her throat. She smiled lazily at the contact against her skin. He moved his mouth down to her shoulder once more, and afterward, he brushed her dark hair behind her ear so he could kiss the patch of skin just below her lobe. Hope turned her head to make it easier for him to reach. She took in a deep breath and sighed heavenly, loving the feeling he was giving her.
She allowed him to keep working her with his lips until she decided to slowly turn in his arms to her other side so she could face him. This time, she took her turn to kiss him, leaning up to plant a lazy kiss against his jaw, another one to his clavicle, then to his chest before burying her face into his chest and settling down to doze off while enveloped in his warmth. Scott peered down at her with a smile and kissed the top of her head ever so gently.
"Beautiful," a soft whisper fell from his lips as he remained close. He kissed her forehead slowly.
Hope drew out of sleep again and smiled, finally opening her eyes and lifting her gaze to look at him. He thought she was so cute with her heavy eyelids and that tired gaze. She blinked slowly and scooted upwards to kiss his jaw once again, this time a few more times than the last. His hands stroked her waist, squeezing gently, before he pulled her up to meet her lips. They kissed deeply, slowly, not as aggressive as yesterday's kisses had been. Hope gave a little moan against his lips the longer they were like that. Soon, her hands slid up to cup his shoulders and start pulling him to the side. She turned at the same time. Scott followed her movements, and before long, he was over her, looking into her eyes.
"Good morning," he spoke quietly as he hovered over her beautiful lips. His voice was thickened from sleep, and Hope found it incredibly endearing, and arousing.
She pulled him down for a heated but slow kiss. Her hands reached around to his back and pulled him to her. He was already hard and throbbing for her. "Ooh, good morning to you," she crooned, one of her hands sliding down to his front to take hold of his throbbing velvety shaft. He jolted and moaned as she stroked him. "What do we have here?"
He moaned again and ground his hips oh so slowly, the tip of his length dragging against her, getting her to spread her legs wide for him. Her arms wrapped around his neck to hold him close. She ground her hips up toward him, as if to beg for entry. Then, she wrapped her legs around his, pulling him to her. His tip met her soaked, pulsating entrance. As he kissed her slowly, he pushed himself into her, causing her to squirm and writhe below him as he filled every inch of her.
"Mmm, oh, Scott," she moaned, her back arching.
Scott's thrusts were slow, passionate, lazy. They weren't quite as needy as they had been the night before. But they still felt just as good. Hope writhed against him, clinging to him as the pleasure overwhelmed her. Scott throbbed for her nonstop as he filled her all the way every single time. He moaned against her, softly rather than loudly. But the pleasure was amazing as it had been last night.
As he moved within her, he kissed her neck, which made her pleasure heighten. Those neck kisses were her kryptonite. She clawed at his back as her hips followed the rhythm he'd created. Their moaning became in sync with one another the longer it went on.
"Oh, Hope," he murmured against her ear as he pushed into her once more, all the way.
She tightened her arms around him, because the pleasure was starting to build even more. Her breathing became harder and faster, and she bucked wildly beneath him. "Oh, god, Scott, yes!" she moaned. "Don't stop!"
He heard the desperation in her voice and obeyed the demand. He wasn't going to stop anyway. There was no way. He grew faster, his own pleasure building. Thrusts grew harder, as well. They both got louder. Both were hanging over the edge by a thread.
Scott's eyes grew wide as he began tumbling off the edge. "Oh, shit, Hope, I'm going to—!"
"—Come, Scott, come!" she begged through her teeth.
That was it for him. Her demand was like a push off a cliff, and the orgasm was explosive and incredible, like fireworks on the Glorious Fourth. She came with him, her walls tightening around him and further heightening both their pleasures. She arched and convulsed below him as she relished in the feeling of his heat within her, filling every inch of her. He remained deep inside her as his length throbbed. She tightened her legs around him so he couldn't pull out. She shivered, moaned, arched, her toes curling, her body shaking nonstop. It was just how he liked to see her.
He stayed deep as they came down from the high. He pulled back to look into her eyes, finding her expression to be oh, so blissful. Her hands cupped his face and pulled him down to kiss him.
"God, you're amazing," she whispered, relishing in the feeling of his shaft still within her.
"Yeah?" he replied with a murmur. He traced her jawline with his thumb as he gazed at her.
She gave him an out-of-breath nod, a sleepy, lazy, blissful smile.
"You're not so bad yourself," he informed her as he took in her features, from her freckles to her hazel eyes. Her dark hair was unkempt from sleep and sex. It was hot. "How'd you sleep?"
"Like a baby. And you?"
"That was the best night of sleep I've had in a long time."
She grinned, and she frowned slightly as she watched him pull out of her and lie next to her. She could feel the result of their sex slowly dripping down her thighs. Her mouth turned into a smirk as she reached down to scoop some of it up and bring it to her lips. With a seductive gaze she sucked on her fingers and licked them clean. He watched in wonder.
"You dirty tigress," he smirked back at her. When they kissed he could taste himself on her tongue. "I gotta say, I never expected that from you."
"I guess you can say it's my dirty little secret," there was that sultry tone of hers. "Only you get to know it."
"Oh, god, I feel so special now," his face brightened at the thought of being the only person to know that she could get like that. "I must say, I had an amazing time last night."
Hope grinned and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "I did, too."
"It was really, really sexy that you took the lead, by the way."
"What? Did you expect me to let you guess my weak spots? I was too impatient to wait through that."
"Fair enough," he nodded, pulling her close to him and embracing her to keep her warm. She snuggled close to him. With him, she'd never need a blanket. Scott kissed her forehead. "Cuddles after sex, greatest thing ever."
Her agreement came as a heavenly sigh against him, since her face had been buried into his chest like it had been before. As they lay like that, she could feel his hand stroking the skin of her back softly. It was soothing, enough to lull her to sleep if she wanted it to. Nonetheless, she tangled her legs with his, stroking him with her foot, and she slid her arms under his and held him like that. She focused on her body for a moment. The aftermath of last night's fun had left her a bit sore, and she was almost positive she had some marks covering parts of her, especially around her neck where he'd worked her so much. Her hair was a mess, and she didn't need a mirror to know that her makeup was smudged. Not to mention that she had a dried mess between her legs. So after a few minutes cuddling him, she started to squirm away.
"Where are you going?" he asked curiously.
"I'm going to take off my makeup and clean myself up," she explained as she started to get up out of bed. "I'll be quick, I promise."
He just grinned as his gaze followed her as that naked body of hers made its way around the bed and toward the bathroom. She left the door cracked open, because honestly, she didn't really need to shut or lock it. It was only Scott there with her, no one else.
Hope went right for the shower stall and turned on the hot water. While waiting for it to heat up, she went to grab a towel from the rack nearby and hang it over the stall so she'd have it ready when she was done. When she passed the mirror something caught her eye. She turned, and she found her neck to be covered in marks. Her breasts had a couple of light bite marks, too. She'd have to work hard to cover her neck, because they were some pretty dark hickeys. They would definitely be there when she went back to work. But thinking about the marks made her smirk at the memory. There would be plenty more in the future.
It wasn't long before the steam from the shower began to fog the mirror, and so she went to step inside and let the hot water drench her body. She just stood there for a while as her hair got wet, letting her body getting the same way before she grabbed the bar of soap that she kept nearby. While she hummed quietly, Hope washed her body, making sure to clean between her legs a few times over.
As she took her shower, she was turned toward the back corner, so she didn't see the bathroom door push open as Scott walked inside. The room was hot because of the steam, and he could barely catch the sound her humming over the running water, and he smiled to himself. Her shower stall was made of frosted glass, so he could only make out the curve of her beautiful body. Slowly he made his way to the stall. He was careful with the door, because it was magnetic and one had to pull kind of hard to open it. Luckily, when he tugged on it, she didn't notice, and with that soft smile on his face, he entered the stall. His arms went to slowly wrap around her waist from behind.
Hope made a slight jump, and a little gasp left her, but she quickly relaxed as Scott's arms pulled her close. As if she wasn't already warmed by the water. She turned her head to see him in the corner of her eye. "Why, hello there," she murmured quietly.
"Mmm hey," he kissed her shoulder. When he inhaled he could smell her soap. It was a nice, calming scent. Her scent.
"Get too lonely in there?" she asked him.
"A little," his embrace tightened around her. Another kiss pressed to her shoulder. Then another. And another. Hope leaned her head back into him. While she was distracted, he took the soap from her and started to run it all over her. He made sure to get every inch of her body, even though she'd covered some spots already. He washed her slowly, paying extra close attention to her breasts. He couldn't help himself. But thankfully, she didn't mind. In fact, she encouraged it. His speed was slow as he massaged her soft mounds, and he continued for quite a while. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder as he ran his hands over her.
As she leaned, his eyes caught sight of the hickeys on her neck. Pride swelled in his heart. Those marks were his, and that thought would always make him quite pleased with himself. He kissed each hickey he could reach.
"You left quite a few marks there," she smirked.
"I did. And it's hot."
"You sound proud. Proud that you successfully slept with your boss? Twice?"
"I'm trying to get a raise here," he joked, making her laugh a bit.
He went reaching for her shampoo so he could wash her hair for her. When it was wet, her dark locks seemed longer than they actually were. It made Scott wonder what she looked like with longer hair. Had she ever had longer hair? He tried to picture that as he massaged her scalp to clean it. Hope relaxed at his touch as he did. He and his magic hands.
Once he'd finished with her hair, she turned so she could return the favor. The shampoo she used was actually considered for both men and women, so he wouldn't be smelling like roses when she'd finished. Not that he would mind that. She peppered his face with kisses as she lathered the shampoo in his hair. Her fingers were firm, and yet gentle, and it almost left his legs in the form of Jell-O. Neither of them spoke a word as their hands explored each other's bodies, washing one another in the peaceful ambience of the running shower water.
They rinsed and just stood together under the hot water before Scott reached behind Hope to turn off the shower. They didn't leave right away, though. They were too content just standing like that in each other's hold. Eventually, though, Scott opened the door for them and Hope reached for her towel. Scott stepped out to find another towel nearby and used that to dry his hair some, before he brought it around his waist. When he turned, he found his girlfriend doing the same, towel-drying her hair before wrapping it around her body. As she stood up straight, she grinned at him.
He walked up to her until he could get his arms around her. "Feel better?"
"Much better," she nodded.
"So, now what?"
"Well, it's Saturday. We don't have to work, much less do anything else today."
"I say we just stay inside all day, no clothes required." He sounded really hopeful when he spoke. For added effect, he gave her that goofy smile of his, with slight puppy eyes. After all, it wasn't that unreasonable of a request considering how far they were into their relationship. He leaned forward to hover over her lips.
She adored the way he made those eyes, and that smile of his got her every time. She went to meet his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck loosely. "I think that's a great idea," her voice was soft and low, sultry almost. Then she took his hand and led him back to the bedroom. They were back in bed in mere seconds, back in each other's embrace. Soon they were kissing, slowly, lazily, without any other care in the world. That moment was interrupted when Scott's cell phone rang. Hope pulled away, but he brought her back for another kiss.
"Ignore it," he mumbled against those lips of hers. "Whoever's calling can take the hint."
There came a giggle, and once again, their mouths and tongues were dancing amongst one another. Thankfully, the call ended and went to voicemail, giving them silence. But the silence didn't last long.
Scott grumbled and finally tore away from her to lean for his phone. He picked it up and saw that Luis was calling him. Why now? He answered. "What is it, Luis?"
"Bro, you never came back last night!" Luis exclaimed from the other line. "Where are you?"
"Luis, I'm fine," Scott replied smoothly. He had to quickly come up with an excuse. Luis and the guys knew that Scott was dating Hope, but he wasn't going to tell them that he slept with her the night before just yet. "I came back late and left early this morning to get stuff done at Pym's place."
Luis was about to speak, but in the background, Kurt could be heard. "He not come back. I was up all night." God dammit, Kurt.
Then Dave had to add something. "Yeah, man I would have heard you come back."
"Where were you, Scotty?" Luis pressed fervently.
"Probably at mean pretty lady's house still," Kurt guessed.
"Guys, not now, please," Scott tried to intervene so they'd stop. Meanwhile, Hope was giggling. She could hear everything that was going on since she was so close to Scott still. Scott shook his head. "Can we talk later?"
On the other end, Luis could be heard gasping after there'd been a long pause as the realization hit him. "Bro, you got laid last night!"
Scott's face turned crimson. The last thing he wanted was for loudmouth Luis to learn of this. "Luis, not now."
"You totally did, bro! That's why you didn't come back last night!" The other two guys soon joined in the commotion. Great.
"Luis, I'm hanging up."
"Way to go, Scotty!"
Scott rolled his eyes and ended the call before dropping his phone aside. "Why did I answer his call?"
Hope chuckled and snaked her arms around him. "No idea. Now, where were we?"
Her little smirk and fluttering eyelids made Scott immediately focus on her instead of the call, pushing it to the back of his mind as he leaned down to continue kissing her. Several minutes later, the phone rang again.
"Ugh, go away, Luis!" Scott huffed and reached over to blindly tap the ignore button before returning to Hope's lips. "He never learned what 'privacy' meant."
"You know, you could put your phone on silent," she reminded him. "Especially since we don't want to be bothered."
"You're right. But he hasn't called back right away, so I think he might have taken the hint."
"Good, then," Hope laughed and pulled him down to meet her mouth.
As they continued with their make out session, Scott began to drag his tongue over her lower lip, prompting her to open her mouth wide for him. His tongue slid across her teeth, along her cheeks, and against her tongue, exploring every inch of her mouth he could reach. When she bit his tongue, he moaned, and he then searched for her tongue to catch it in his teeth so he could suck on it. The moan came from her this time. Scott would never get tired of hearing that beautiful sound.
But then he heard another sound. It was faint, but audible. At first, he couldn't tell what it was. He jerked his head up curiously, leaving Hope confused below him. Then she heard the sound, too. It sounded as if someone was… laughing? There were incoherent whispers along with it as well. Both of them stayed perfectly still so they could hear it a little clearer. Scott suddenly froze as his eyes flickered across the blanket and found his phone. His face twisted into horror as he realized that instead of ending the call, he'd answered it instead.
"Shit!" he interjected, fumbling for his phone. The guys were laughing hysterically on the other end. "Leave me alone, Luis!" He then ended the call and made sure to turn his ringer off. No more calls.
Below him, his girlfriend was blushing. She wasn't too embarrassed, though. In fact, she found it a little funny. "Look at the bright side," she told him. "At least they didn't walk in on us doing anything. That would have been so much worse."
"Good point," Scott nodded with a slight shrug. He ran his hand over his face. "God, they're never going to shut up about it, though."
"Don't worry about them," Hope used that lowered tone of hers to calm him down. She ran her finger along his jaw. "Now, it's just you and I. No more interruptions." At least, that's what she hoped.
That seemed promising to him. Her reassurance brought a smile to his face, and right away, they were locking lips once more. Luckily, there were no more interruptions the rest of the day. They spent the rest of the day like this, cuddling, kissing, whispering sweet nothings, rarely leaving the comfort of the bed at all. No one else called, or sent a text, or knocked on the door. Scott and Hope could finally enjoy each other's company without the rest of the world interrupting their bliss. It was definitely a much-needed lazy Saturday for them.
Elsewhere, in Becca's apartment, Jack was over again, as he'd been every day since she had surgery. He was on the couch with her, letting her rest on him as the two of them passionately kissed nonstop. This had become a daily thing for them at that point. If they weren't kissing, they were cuddling, or eating together, or, on some days, sleeping peacefully together. After a few long, sweet kisses, she pulled away from him so she could look into his eyes. His hand came up to run fingers through her long hair. The way he looked at her was like he was seeing stars. She looked at him with the same gaze. There was no talking. Just silence. Blissful, beautiful silence…
And then the silence was suddenly broken as a phone started to ring. Becca jumped slightly. Looking over at the coffee table, she found that it was her phone that was ringing. She started to reach for it, wondering who was calling, but Jack stopped her.
"Leave it," he whispered just as he pulled her down to capture her lips again. She could only giggle and she reached to at least silence the ring. They kissed again, smiling against one another.
The phone rang again. That time, they let it ring. But then it rang again. And again. Finally, Becca grumbled and reached for the little machine and brought it up. A sigh escaped her when she saw who was calling. Without moving from him, she hit answer.
"Hey, Mom," she spoke. "Sorry, I was, uh, preoccupied."
Colleen sounded relieved. "That's okay. I'm just calling to check in. We never managed to get a hold of you after your surgery. How'd it go?"
"It was successful. They got the whole damn thing out."
"Oh, good!" the woman on the other line exclaimed.
Colleen went off on a tangent, and Becca listened for about half of it when she suddenly felt Jack's lips on her neck. Becca gasped and bit her tongue.
"Becca? You okay?"
Shit, Colleen had heard her. "Oh, yeah, Mom, everything's fine." Her words sounded hesitant and choppy. It was hard to focus with those magic lips on her neck. She managed to whisper to Jack. "Jack, you're going to get me in trouble."
"I'm not doing anything," he murmured against her jaw with that damn smirk on his face.
"Becca, who was that?"
Oh, god. "No one Mom," she tried to sound as innocent as possible.
Colleen immediately got suspicious. "I thought I heard someone. Who's Jack?" After a split second a gasp came from the other line. "Becca, is there a guy with you." Now, why it took her so long to figure out, no one would ever know.
"What? No, there's no one here. I don't know what you're talking about." As she spoke, Jack continued to work her neck and jaw. Her sentences were split up as she tried to fight back her moans.
"Oh, Becca, you never told me about this! When did that happen? How'd you meet?" Colleen didn't believe Becca's excuse one bit, and she threw several questions at her that displayed her excitement.
Becca grumbled to herself, running a hand all over her face. "Great," she huffed under her breath. "Mom, can we talk about this later?"
At that moment she could hear Kevin walking into the room, because he'd called Colleen in the background. Becca heard him ask "what guy?" Then he started to ask curious questions, as well. Meanwhile, Becca glanced at Jack. "You're so bad, you know that?"
Jack's grin was smug. Thankfully he decided to give Becca a break so she could speak properly. He listened as best he could.
"I know there's a guy, Bex," Colleen stated.
Oh, goodie. There was no way she'd get out of this one. Dammit. After a long sigh, she began to answer the questions. "His name is Jack. I met him through work. The, uh… romantic involvement started the day after I had surgery. He's been taking care of me every single day. That better?"
"Becca, he sounds wonderful!" her mother chimed. It was nice to know that Becca was finding happiness for once. "And he's there with you now?"
"Wait, what's his name?" Kevin asked.
"Jack," Becca answered, almost with a grumble. "Do you guys really have to be so nosy?"
"We can't help it, Bex. You live so far away, and we barely get to see you. Flying over there for a visit is expensive. So when a long time passes between the times we talk, we can't help but be nosy and wonder what you've got going on."
Becca sighed just then. Her mother had a good point. "All right, fair enough. But can we please talk another time?"
"I guess," Colleen sighed, but it was a fake one, just to mess with her daughter. It didn't take a master's degree to know what Becca was really up to on her end. "I'm glad you have someone there with you, though."
Becca smiled a bit. "Me, too." She fixed her gaze on Jack, who gave her a sly wink. She rolled her eyes at him but the smile remained. "All right, I'll talk to you soon."
"Stay in touch, okay, Bex?" Kevin made one reasonable request.
"I will, I promise."
They said goodbye and hung up. Once the call ended Becca put her phone back on the table before rubbing her face and grumbling. Jack grinned at her. "They sound nice."
"They're so nosy," she scoffed. "My dad isn't as much as my mom, though." She then rested her chin on his chest. "But she has a good reason, since she's on the opposite coast. The last time I saw them in person was about a year ago. Probably a little less than a year. But hey, on the bright side, she seems to already like you, so bonus points for you."
He gave what looked like a triumphant expression before chuckling and guiding her up some more. He liked it when he could see her eyes without having to strain to look straight down at her. Fingers found her hair again, playing gently. "Well, I already like her," he murmured. "What do they do?"
"Mom's does therapeutic horsemanship stuff, and my dad is a now-retired vet."
"Wow, so you got some of the medical brains from him, then?"
She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. But I was more interested in human anatomy and medicine rather than animals."
"How'd I get so lucky to get a girl who has looks, brains, and personality?" Jack thought aloud. A love-struck expression was written all over his face as he gazed at her.
The woman's face turned a bit red. It had been a while since she'd received constant flattery like that. It was still new to her. "Oh, hush." She then offered a soft smile before she leaned down to give him a soft kiss. She seemed a little distracted, though, as she thought of her parents, and the last time she saw them in person. Well, really, the last time she saw her mother in person.
Jack noticed that her smile had faded some. He tilted his head and cupped her cheek. "Hey, you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm just… thinking, I guess…"
"You can tell me, you know," his voice was gentle.
"It's just that… my mom has done so much for me in the last year. I mean, she's been there for me my whole life, as my dad has, too. But my mom has been my rock, especially in the past year and a half. She's nosy because she worries. I'm 32 years old but she still is constantly checking up on me."
"Well, that's a good thing, though," he assured her. "Considering what happened last year, I'm sure she was constantly checking up on you while you grieved."
"She's also checking up on me now… because of something I did." That was when she hung her head a bit shamefully.
Jack frowned and lifted her chin gently. "Hey," he whispered. "It's okay." He didn't know exactly what she was talking about, but she was upset and he wanted to make it better, even if he really didn't know how. "But if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to say anything."
"You should know this," she shook her head. "I don't want to keep anything else from you. But, honestly, I don't even know where to begin."
He took hold of her hand then. His fingers laced with hers, and his thumb stroked her hand softly. "I'm listening, one hundred percent."
Becca nodded and took a few seconds to think. How was she supposed to tell him this? Should she just cut to the chase and tell him what happened? Or should she tell him the entire story? The gears in her head turned quickly and she just decided to say whatever came to her mind first.
"Last year, I made… an attempt on my life…" Well. There was the blunt part of it all.
Jack face became horrified and saddened immediately. A murdered husband, two lost babies, and an attempted (and luckily, failed) suicide? What else had she gone through? "Oh, Becca," he whispered, bringing his arms around her so he could hug her and hold her.
"My mother was the one who found me," she continued as she was pressed against his warm chest. "She just so happened to be visiting that week so I didn't have to be alone. If she hadn't found me when she did…"
"Hey…" he hushed her and kissed the top of her head. "Don't think about that, now. You're here, now." One hand came up to cradle her head against his chest, much like a parent would a child. "You survived. You're stronger now because of it, I can tell."
His words were calming, what she needed to hear. Remorse and resentment had been the only things she affiliated with the attempt. She'd never considered strength to come from it until he'd said something about it. "Thank you," a whisper finally came from her. Her eyes soon met his as she realized something else about herself. "I will say… I'm doing much better than I had been. I'm happier now. I'm still taking things day by day, but it has gotten so much better."
"Well, good," he praised her. "I'm glad you've made it far enough to be able to say that. You're a soldier, a fighter."
In her head she was repeating things: I survived. I'm stronger. It was rejuvenating to have thoughts like that in her rather than negativity. It also hit her that one of the reasons she was happier now was because of the man upon which she rested. She shared a long, quiet gaze with him as he stroked her cheek with one hand and rested the other on the small of her back, keeping her safe.
"I'm glad you're here, now," Jack whispered after a moment. "I'm very happy and proud that you made it this far since then." His mouth turned into a soft smile as they locked gazes. Soon the space between them closed when their lips met. There was encouragement in that kiss. There was pride, and there was gratitude. Then it turned to comfort when he started to stroke her back tenderly. He made a promise to himself that he would keep reminding her that she was a warrior. She was strong.
She was a survivor.