Chapter Ten
Bobby cradled Lock to him, trying hard to not break down, and slowly went upstairs. He was thrilled that she'd had the stitches taken out of her shoulder a few days ago, so she couldn't really fuck that up anymore, but he didn't like seeing all the crimson blood on her.
"Jack!" he called when he was on the top step to the hallway. "Did you get her--?"
"Pain killers? Yeah, I did!" he said, coming out of the bathroom.
Lock was terribly silent in his arms, her tears slowly letting up, and his heart felt like it had been crushed flat. He carefully set her down on the tile floor, she still wouldn't look at either of them, and he checked what Jack had gotten out.
"Jack can you go get. . .You know what? Fuck it, I'll just have to clean in here anyway, a little rubbing alcohol won't kill the floor. . ." he said. "Jack, sit behind her. . .Will you?"
"Sure," he said, sitting behind Lock.
Bobby grabbed the stuff he'd need right away: tweezers, gauze, rubbing alcohol, and a pain killer. He watched Jack pull her close, nuzzling her neck, and he filled a Dixie cup of water.
"Lock, baby, look at me," he said firmly, kneeling down.
She rose her head, looking at him with distant eyes, and he was very gentle with her.
"I need you to take this," he held up the pill. "I'll help you get the drink and everything. . .And if you feel tired, just sleep. . .We'll get you cleaned up and take real good care of you, K?"
She nodded, taking the pill, and leaned back into his baby brother, eyes closing. Jack had his arms around her, resting his head on hers, and was holding together rather well for Jack. Bobby waited a moment for her to really fall asleep, then began working on her. He gently took her left hand, cleaned the glass out of the cuts, poured the rubbing alcohol on it, dabbed it off, and put the antibiotic ointment on it, finally wrapping it up tight with gauze.
"Oh, baby girl," he breathed, looking at her right hand.
When she had grabbed the large shard of mirror she had managed to slice all along the head line of her palm, it was sort of deep, and looked like it'd hurt like hell later on. He was very careful cleaning it, he dabbed lightly, and put a lot of antibiotic ointment on it, then bandaged it tightly, and moved to her knees. He rolled the pajama legs up gently, cleaned her up, and bandaged her. Surprisingly, her feet weren't as bad as he thought they would be, and he only saw a few minor cuts.
He got a warm, wet rag and cleaned the blood from her arms and face. Her clothes, correction, Jack's clothes were completely totaled, and he grabbed clean ones from Jackie's room.
"Stray?" he touched her face gently. "Kiddo, can you wake up and get yourself changed?"
"Hmmmm?" she came to a bit and looked at him.
"Change," he handed her the clothes. "We'll be just outside. . .Let us know when you're done, K? Then we'll go get you put to bed."
"K, Bobby," she mumbled, taking the clothes.
He and Jack stepped into the hall, shutting the door, and leaned on the wall. Jack wiggled nervously, Bobby slung an arm around his shoulders, and he calmed down.
"I'll clean everything up. . .bathroom and her room. . .You'll be staying with her until then. . .Then we'll both just stay with her. . ." he muttered.
"Right. . ."
"And I'll talk to Ma when she gets home. . .She'll be all right, Apple Jacks," he said gently.
"I don't think the whole birthday plan is gonna happen. . ." Jack whispered.
"Hey, you never know," he smiled reassuringly. "She might want to do it still. . .We'll just wait and see. . ."
The bathroom door opened, Stray stood there, rubbing her eyes, and reminded Bobby of a very small, very exhausted little girl.
"Come here," he murmured, picking her up.
"I can walk, Bobby," she whined, arms going around his neck.
"I know, but I feel like carrying you," he snickered. "That a problem?"
"No, I guess not. . ." she mumbled, hiding her face in his neck.
Jack went down to make up the bed, giving Lock a brief kiss on the head, and Bobby started down after him.
"Bobby?"
"Yeah, baby girl?" he whispered.
"Thank you. . ."
"Hey, anything for my baby sis," he said gently, feeling his eyes well up.
"Bobby?" she whispered in his ear.
"Hmmmm?"
"I. . .love you. . ."
"Oh, Stray," he felt tears fall. "I love you too, kiddo."
He had to stop on the middle landing for a minute, he couldn't see clearly, and hugged the girl close. She hugged back tightly, then pulled back and looked at him.
"Bobby. . ." she murmured, wiping his face.
"Leave it to you, baby girl. . ." he let out a small snicker. "Make big, Bad Ass Bobby cry. . ."
"I'm sorry. . ."
"Don't be. . .These are good tears, trust me. . ." he said, pulling together. "Well, let's go. . ."
She kissed his cheek, dried his face, and put her head back on his shoulder. He sucked in a steadying breath, felt his heart swell to exploding proportions, and went the rest of the way down the steps. Jack crawled into the bed next to her, snuggling closely, and Bobby went to clean up.
'I. . .love you. . .'
The words made him feel funny, a good sort of funny, but funny nonetheless. He cleaned the bathroom first, then Stray's room, and waited to talk to his mother.
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Lock woke up sore as hell in the morning, her shoulder throbbed, and so did her hands. She was a little disoriented at first, but gradually remembered where she was.
God, I fucking lost it last night. . .she thought, looking at her bandaged hands.
She wanted to see just what all she had managed to do herself this time, slowly creeping out of the bed and upstairs. She cut the gauze from her left hand with some scissors, threw the bloody bandage away, and looked at her palm.
Not too bad. . .What about the other one?
Her right hand hurt worse than the left and her shoulder combined, she carefully cut the gauze off, going under the bandage on the back of her hand, and slowly turned her hand over.
Fuck! she winced, seeing the deep cut. Holy shit, this is gonna suck. . .
"Hey," Jack murmured, "want me to help you bandage that?"
"Yeah. . .I'm gonna leave the left alone, air will help it heal faster. . ." she whispered.
"That's fine," he said, grabbing the stuff he'd need from the medicine cabinet. "Here, lemme see. . ."
She extended her wounded hand, allowing Jack to carefully hold it, and watched him. He held her hand over the sink, then poured rubbing alcohol over it. She hissed, clenching her jaw, and forced herself to stay still for him. Jack's strong hand held fast, he moved behind her, bracing her against him. The burn dulled, he gently dabbed the excess away, and then carefully put a generous amount of ointment on it.
"Lock," he muttered, slowly wrapping her hand. "I was thinking. . .We don't have to do anything for your birthday tomorrow. . ."
"No, Jack, I sorta want to. . ." she whispered. "I mean. . .I think it'll be nice to do something. . .all of us. . .together. . ."
"Really? You still want to? I'll have to alter things a little, but you'll still have a blast, I promise. . ."
"I know," she smiled, sinking back into him.
"Mmmm. . .All finished," he grinned, suddenly kissing her neck. "Oh, Happy Valentine's Day, Lock. I love you!"
Oh shit. . .I should do something for him today. . .Make him something or whatever. . .
"Love you too, Jackie boy," she said, turning around.
I'm soooo not the romantic type. . .I have no idea how Valentine's Day even works. . .
"Sorry about yelling at you last night. . ." she whispered sheepishly.
"You're forgiven, Lock. . .Sorry I snapped back at you. . ."
"Forgiven," she muttered, leaning up to kiss him.
It was innocent and sweet, just like when they first were affectionate with each other, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. It had been a long time since she'd had them, she tingled for some reason, and felt fuzzy. He wet her lips slowly, gently, and the next thing she knew, she was backed up to the wall.
Whoa! Wait, what? her mind stammered. What's he doing?
"Jack?" she whimpered, pushing him back.
"Shit. . .Sorry, I don't know what came over me. . ." he blushed.
"I'll say. . .is Bobby's leg all right?" she changed subjects quickly.
"He's fine. . .Worried sick about you. . .We both are. . ."
"Sorry. . ." she yawned.
"Are you still tired?"
She nodded, yawning yet again, and covered her mouth. Jack grinned, covering a yawn, and stretched. She watched him as he closed his eyes, stood on tiptoes, raised his arms, and stretched every single part of his body. Lock admired his body, soaking in the way his muscled body moved, and saw that his pajama bottoms were starting to slip down his slender hips.
Stupid fucking curiosity! she scolded herself, looking away. It's gonna get me into trouble if it doesn't tone itself down here. . .
"Whoa," he squeaked, noticing his pants. "Oops, sorry. . ."
She shook her head, a little embarrassed, and went back downstairs. Bobby was still sleeping, curled up on his side, and she crawled into bed, feeling safe. She needed more sleep, she wasn't going to bother trying to fight it anymore, and she settled in. She was asleep immediately, a deep, dreamless rest. She woke up a lot later to Bobby.
"Stray, can you wake up enough for me to talk to you?" he asked, gently brushing hair from her face.
"Huh?" she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes. "What is it, Bobby?"
"Hey, baby girl," he grinned. "I'm gonna go over to Jerry and Camille's to watch the girls. . .I didn't want them coming over if you were gonna be getting more sleep. . .Take care of Cracker Jack for me?"
"Sure, Bobby," she snickered. "Will you be back tonight?"
"Yup. . .'bout one or two. . ."
"Wait. . .What the fuck time is it?"
"Seven," he laughed. "You slept a long ass time, kiddo."
"Jesus. . .I guess. . ." she stretched.
"I gotta get goin'," he kissed her forehead. "Love ya, Stray."
"Love you too, Bobby," she smiled, kissing his cheek.
Wow. . .I really have a big brother. . .A good one too. . .
"See you tonight, baby girl," he said, leaving. "Later, Jack!"
"Bye!" Jack called, coming down the steps. "Hey, you're up! Gonna stay up or no?"
"I think I'm all caught up. . .But I'm afraid I might not sleep tonight. . ." she grinned.
"You better get sleep tonight," he smiled. "Tomorrow will be a day that I want you well rested for. . ."
She stretched again, hearing Jack go into the kitchen, and went upstairs to use the bathroom, brush her hair, and brush her teeth. She stole a different shirt from Jack's room, then went back down. The lights were all off, two candles illuminating a small table, and she wondered what was going on.
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Jack waited by the steps, watching Lock's reaction, and stifled an excited snicker. He rolled the rose stem between his fingers, feeling his heart race, and chewed his lip.
"Jackie?" she whispered.
He silently moved behind her, holding the red rose in front of her, and she jumped back into him. They snickered, she relaxed, and slowly took the flower.
"What's this for?" she asked quietly.
"Valentine's Day," he said with a grin. "Wait. . .Don't tell me. . ."
"Nope. . .Never. . ." she mumbled, obviously embarrassed.
"Mmmmm. . .I see," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "Well, I'm honored that I seem to be your first everything. . .I promise you that nothing bad will happen tonight, tomorrow, or ever while you're with me."
"Jack. . ." she breathed. "You're too fucking sweet. . ."
"If I go out in the rain, I melt," he joked, nuzzling her neck.
She laughed, shaking her head, and he felt his stomach flutter. He slowly kissed her neck, feeling her shiver, and was gentle.
Are you going to ask her or what!? animal desire demanded.
Later. . .When the moment's right. . .he shot back.
He sat her at the table, telling her to keep her eyes closed, and went into the kitchen. He felt sort of foolish about having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as their "romantic" dinner, but he and Bobby were doing the shopping early tomorrow for Lock's birthday, so this would have to do.
"Dinner is served," he smiled, bowing slightly.
Lock opened her eyes, laughing when she saw what she was going to be eating, and he grinned. He held up a finger and vanished to get their drinks: cans of Cherry Coke. He opened both cans, sitting down, and handed hers to her.
"Dessert is better, I swear," he smirked.
"Honestly, this is perfect as is," she giggled. "I couldn't ask for anything more."
You're in for a surprise then. . . he grinned.
They ate their "romantic" dinner, talking and laughing. He couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her for very long, it was something about how the candle light graced her skin, and soon, their feet were in a small battle under the table. She giggled, running her foot up the back of his calf, and eventually she used his lap as a footrest. He almost tickled her feet, but remembered last night, and gently caressed her ankle with his thumb. She bit her lips together to keep from laughing, twitching a little, and he kept doing it. Eventually she'd had enough and pulled away from him, laughing.
"Time for dessert," he smiled, stealing a brief kiss. "Close your eyes please."
She stuck her tongue out at him, but her eyes slid shut. He grabbed the dirty plates, headed into the kitchen, and put them in the sink. He whistled lightly as he got the stuff out.
Whipped cream, sprinkles, these little chocolate thingies. . .he thought, grabbing everything. And of course. . .the cookie!
The cookie was something he'd made while Lock had been sleeping, it was huge and in the shape of a heart. Bobby had watched in disbelief as Jack had mixed up the chocolate chip cookie dough, but laughed at the end when it actually worked. He had pre-cut the slices, but left it all together on the tray, and took everything into the living room.
"Can I look yet?" she snickered.
"Hold on a second," he laughed, setting everything down.
He uncapped the whipped cream can, shaking it well and resisted spraying her with it.
"All right, now," he whispered, nibbling his lip.
"Wow. . ." she smirked, seeing the stuff. "Did you make that?"
"Sure did," he laughed. "Ready to taste it?"
"I guess so."
"What all do you want on it?" he gestured the toppings.
"Surprise me," she giggle, closing her eyes.
He went with a little of everything, putting it on two pieces of the cookie, then decided to be daring and put some whipped cream on his finger. He contemplated putting it to her mouth, but for some reason, put it to his own, and kissed her. A small squeak escaped her as she tasted the pure sugar on his mouth, he smiled, and kissed deeper, going slow. He pulled back when his lips were clean, seeing her nibble her bottom lip, and fed her a bite of cookie. Half an hour later, they were done with the sweets, pretty buzzed on the sugar, and he figured it was time.
"Lock," he whispered, getting up and kneeling beside her.
"Yes, Jackie?" she asked, turning to look at him.
His hands automatically went to her waist, thumbs carefully caressing her sides, and he looked deeply into her eyes. The silver pools glowed warmly with love and contentment, her left hand brushing some stubborn strands of hair from his face, and he took a plunge.
"You know I love you with every fiber of my body and soul. . .I'd die for you, kill for you, hell. . .I'd give you the whole universe if I could. . ." he wet his lips. "You are my every dream come true. . .every wish I've spent on the stars is answered when I look at you, every silent prayer I have offered up happens when I'm near you. . .Lock, will you. . .go out with me?"
Her eyes went wide, she chewed her lip, but he had expected something like this to happen. All of this was new to her, a little unnerving even for her, and he understood completely. He cleared his throat gently and began to whisper a song to her.
"Looking in your eyes,
I see a paradise.
This world that I found
Is too good to be true.
Standing here beside you,
I want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm feeling for you. . ."
She snickered lightly, tears starting to flow, and he gently wiped them away, still whispering the song to her.
"Let them say we're crazy.
I don't care about that.
Put your hand in my hand, baby, don't ever look back.
Let the world around us just fall apart.
Baby, we can make it if we're heart to heart.
And we can build this thing together,
Stand in stone forever,
Nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other.
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now.
I'm so glad I found you, I'm not gonna lose you,
Whatever it takes to stay here with you.
Take it to the good times,
See it through the bad times.
Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do.
Let them say we're crazy.
What do they know?
Put your arms around me, baby, don't ever let go.
Let the world around us just fall apart.
Baby, we can make it if we're heart to heart.
And we can build this thing together,
Stand in stone forever,
Nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other.
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us.
Oh, all that I need is you.
All that I ever need.
All that I want to do is hold you forever, forever and ever.
And we can build this thing together,
Stand in stone forever,
Nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other.
Nothing's gonna stop us,
And we can build this thing together,
Stand in stone forever,
Nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other.
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now."
He finished the song, murmuring the words against her lips, and she kissed him. Colors exploded in his mind as the kiss went very slow and became even more passionate than any they'd shared before. He didn't know how long it had lasted, she had gently broken the contact, and was leaning their foreheads together. He was literally shaking, weak all over, and couldn't even force his eyes open.
"Jack. . ." she breathed.
"Mmmmm?"
"You. . ." she took a slow breath. "You are everything I've ever needed in life. . .You've shown me that love exists and doesn't come with a price. . .You alone have given me something I've never experienced before. . . Make me feel safe, chase the darkness away, put up with my bullshit, and you have the patience of a fucking saint. . .So, to answer your question: Yes, I'd be honored."
"I love you, Lock," was all his mouth would say.
"Love you too, Jackie boy. . .My prince who's not a monster in disguise. . ."
"Damn straight," he snickered. "I think I know how to end this night properly. . ."
He opened his eyes, expecting to see fear consume her, but he saw trust instead. He kissed her, pulling her to her feet with him, and held her close.
"How?" she murmured when they broke apart.
"Movie," he grinned. "Of the horror genre."
"You know me too well, Jack Mercer," she laughed, kissing him again.
Not really. . .I only know so much. . .But I hope to know everything one day, Lock. . .I really do. . .
They only made it twenty minutes into the movie before they were asleep on the pull out bed. They had their bodies wrapped together, cuddling closely, and his black comforter pulled around them. Both perfectly content how they were: together.
How many of you thought I was going somewhere bad with this when I got to the whole "Ending the night properly" bit? Naughty, naughty, minded people! Haha I'll get more chapters up ASAP…..College and whatnot has been slowing me down…..SONG: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now- - -(originally by Starship) but I wanted it to be The Starting Line's version! hehe