What a beautiful day today – the sun is shining, the snow is shimmering, hearts are breaking – I mean sighing. With happiness. Obviously.

The farther we get in this story together the more joy I feel at your absolutely beautiful reviews. Keep 'em coming! (Did that sound greedy? I meant please.)

Oh what was that? ON WITH IT? I can feel it in your not so menacing tones as you cheer me on. You guys are the best. -multiple hearts-

Disclaimer: Janette Oke and Hallmark own WCTH, but I own a laptop desk. Those things are beautiful.

As long as this story remains with the rating T, there will not be graphic violence.

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The Negotiator: Chapter 11 – Of Mornings and Massages

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Jack woke to a crick in his neck, a cramped arm and a leg that had fallen asleep.

Remembering last night, it had been worth it.

A body stirred beside him and he grinned, lifting his loose arm to gently brush a stray curl over Elizabeth's cheek. It looked like she had drooled in her sleep and it was absolutely adorable.

Elizabeth's head lifted an inch and the next moment she tumbled off of the couch before Jack could stop her. Laughing quietly, he peered over the edge, her having taken their only blanket with her.

"Jack?" Elizabeth whispered groggily from the floor.

"Yes?" he answered between chuckles at a normal volume.

"Why am I on the floor?"

Jack laughed harder and stood up, shaking out his leg and arm. "I think we ended up falling asleep on the couch again," he replied with an amused shake of his head. He scooped her up into his arms, blanket and all and laid her back on the couch.

Elizabeth smiled up at him, reaching out to hold his hand. "Bed?"

Jack grinned and nudged her over, taking the outside this time. "This is so you don't fall overboard in your sleep again, Love," he told her with another laugh.

Elizabeth sighed, her fingers walking up his bare chest as she rested her head against him, Jack now on his back and her curved half on top of him. He shivered at her touch, tugging the blanket up above both of them.

Elizabeth cuddled closer to him and her breathing regulated, Jack stroking her hair.

All he could think about was the intensity of last night. After both of them had warmed up considerably in the most agreeable manner, they had found themselves curled on the couch together, talking. They had spoken of everything for what seemed like hours, a new openness discovered now that they had confessed their love.

Elizabeth truly opened up about her hesitation to pick a school, much to do with her sadness of leaving him behind but Jack easily convinced her that wouldn't be an issue and that she should just follow her heart.

Jack in turn, told her more about his relationship that he had had with his brother. Elizabeth had held his hand throughout their whole conversation and it had comforted him to no end.

That had taken place, of course, between one of them saying 'I love you' and the other responding with a kiss.

That had been a rather pleasing situation for both of them.

Just sitting there, telling each other of their dreams and hopes, they fell asleep.

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The next thing Jack knew, his phone was going off.

Jack could hear it ringing from the bedroom, but he was so comfortable he didn't want to move or disturb Elizabeth. A moment later, he jolted upright when he remembered just what his job entailed. Being as careful as he could, Jack slipped from underneath Elizabeth's body and bolted for his phone, left charging in his bedroom.

Just in time, he caught the call.

"Thornton," he answered in a tone slightly more than a whisper.

"How soon can you be here? It looks like we've got a possible jumper on the corner of 9th and 8th Avenue!" Bill Avery's voice seemed so distant, it sounded like he was in a firetruck.

"I'll be there in twenty."

Jack ended the call and dressed as quickly as possible in plainclothes, grabbing his jacket and scribbled a quick note to Elizabeth on a sticky note and leaving it on her forehead.

He gave her a quick kiss and then he was out the door, the adrenaline of what he had to face already kicking in.

Jack quickly drove to the corner of 8 and 9, getting there with several minutes to spare before the wailing of sirens approached his vehicle. Jack quickly approached the first firetruck as Bill Avery leapt out of the vehicle. "Come on, Jack." He waved the firetruck past him and Jack followed him into the large building right beside him.

"Get me up to speed," Jack requested.

"So we have a man who works in this building. He came in with his ID, took the elevator up to the 40th floor, and now he's broken one of the office windows and locked himself in." Bill paused, and Jack could tell there was more news and it wasn't good. "Jack, the broken glass cut him. I'm afraid if he loses enough blood he might fall."

Jack nodded. "Harness me up."

They made it to the Negotiator's portable setup within the building, and the cops there wasted no time in hooking him up.

Jack briefly considered his options. "Listen up, Gang. We're going to take the elevator. I'm going to need four pairs of hands. As soon as we get in view of the office this man has barricaded himself in, you are going to stay out of sight, okay? Are the barricades set up on the street already?"

Jack knew how vital it was that there were no spectators or even police in this man's line of sight.

At a nod, Jack took a deep breath. "Remember gents, as long as it takes."

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With the door locked, it would be impossible to talk to the man.

Jack cursed under his breath has the office came into view. True to their word, the men helping him had dodged out of sight. It was still fairly early in the morning, so it helped that there were no workers yet, and the people coming into their building would have been told already or stopped by the barricade.

Giving an experimental tug on his harness, Jack sighed. This was the problem. With the door locked and no window to see through, if Jack just charged in he might cause the man to jump just by entering the room.

Jack steeled himself, counted to ten, and gave a slow and steady knock.

To his surprise, the door opened.

And to his shock, the scene unfolded before him.

"Get in," the man with the pistol to the other man's head told him, and Jack obediently stepped inside. "Shut the door." Jack slowly obeyed. "FASTER." Jack, remaining completely calm, quickly finished the task, staying exactly where he was.

"Good. Now walk towards me." The man holding the gun was sweating. Jack took all of these details in, also noting that the window was indeed broken behind them, letting the whistle of wind and the soft blaring of traffic in. He silently followed orders, his hands raising in the air to prove that he had no weapon.

The hostage whimpered, and the man's grip visibly tightened.

"Maybe we could just talk," Jack suggested, his voice smooth and calming.

"Talking?" Red in the face, the other man turned the gun on Jack. "What did TALKING ever DO?!" he screamed.

Jack studied him, judging the distance from where he was to the window, knowing the distance was getting dangerously close.

"My name is Jack," he said conversationally, his voice still calm. "What is yours?"

"Oh no, you're not getting me with that!" the man yelled, eyes wild as he waved the gun, hitting Jack full in the face with the butt of it.

Jack went down, but not all the way. He saw his moment and took it in the slight confusion of movement. He smoothly stepped forward, pulled the gun from the man's hand in one fluid motion, and stuck it behind his back.

"Release the hostage," Jack murmured with a kind smile as blood dripped down his face, "And we'll talk about what you want."

The man stared at him with a menacing smile as he slowly backed up with the hostage. He suddenly let go, pushed the hostage forward and opened his arms, tumbling out of the window.

"No!" Jack leapt past, half flying out of the window himself as he grabbed hold of the man just as he had cleared the edge, holding onto his arm. Jack let out a howl of pain as his body scraped across the jagged glass.

The sheer weight of the man threatened to drag Jack down too, making his hand scream by the sheer pull, but his harness was still firmly doing its job.

"Come on," he grunted, as the rope slowly tugged them up, "No one has to die today."

The man's expression seemed to change as he stared at Jack's face. It morphed from fear to loathing, and Jack saw the change too late. "You do," the man hissed. A sudden jolt and Jack's harness had unclipped.

With a cry, Jack plummeted forward, releasing his grip in surprise, sending the man spiralling downward. Suddenly the feeling of falling stopped.

Jack was still dangling in midair, both his legs in suspension as hands gripped onto them, and slowly, inch by merciful inch, Jack was being pulled up.

Once he was face down on the carpet, he rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling that he was so sure he'd never see again. He mentally took stock of his injuries.

Possible broken hand, cut leg, wrenched arm, bruised ribs, split lip, cut eyebrow…all in all, not bad.

A nervous, sweaty, red, bespectacled face was staring down at him in worry. "You s-saved my life," he told him, mopping his face with a handkerchief. "Only f-fair that I s-save yours."

Jack slowly sat up, taking a moment to catch his breath, wincing. The man he recognized as the scared hostage. "Jack Thornton," he finally said, holding out his uninjured hand. " I can't thank you enough."

"P-Peter Davies," the man replied, shaking his hand. "P-pleasure to meet you, regardless of the c-circumstances."

"Same. Come with me and we'll get your statement."

Peter offered Jack his hand to help him up off the ground and Jack readily accepted, moving very gingerly. He gently slapping him on the back with his good arm in a sign of gratitude. "Thank you again, Peter."

Peter nodded as they walked out of the office together, and Jack knew he had a few phone calls to make.

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The relief on everyone's face was nothing compared to the relief Jack felt at still being alive.

"Jack, there's an Elizabeth Thatcher on line one for you," one of his buddies said as they entered the makeshift command center.

Jack grinned and patted Peter on the back. "Someone get my saviour some food and take care of him."

He picked up the phone, sat on the corner of the table-turned desk and hit the line. "Good morning, Love. I'm glad you found my note."

"How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he replied, hoping she couldn't hear the pain in his voice. No such luck.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Her voice was soft and worried.

"I'm so sure I'm practically deodorant." Jack obliged a paramedic to have a look at him at their quiet insistence.

"Jack, that's not even a little bit funny!"

"It is a little," Jack conceded with a chuckle at his own joke, holding in a ache of pain. "I'm sorry Elizabeth, I'm fine. No bruises." Maybe a tiny lie. "No blood." Definitely a lie, Jack winced as the paramedic who had begun dabbing at his cuts stopped to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Can I call you back? I have to wrap this up."

"If by wrap it up you mean a limb," Joe the paramedic muttered under his breath.

At Elizabeth's slight gasp, Jack knew she had overheard. "I love you, Sweetheart," Jack reminded her hastily and cheerfully, and he could practically hear Elizabeth's scowl over the phone.

He waited a moment. "Love you too," she finally replied with a slight huff.

With another laugh followed by more pain, Jack hung up the phone. Joe looked up at him scowling. "You are in so much trouble, friend, you have no idea."

"What do you mean?"

Joe shook his head. "You got more beat up than the hostage. You think your girl is going to be okay that you lied to her when she sees you?"

Jack frowned. "I was trying to protect her."

"You know nothing about women," Joe laughed.

Bill Avery joined them then. "Jack, are you alright? We just got the statement from Davies."

"I'm great," Jack smiled, then winced at the twinge of pain. "Thanks to Davies I survived. What baffles me is how we didn't know there was a hostage situation going on instead of a jumper situation. There are surveillance feeds everywhere. Who gave you the tip?"

Bill looked extremely agitated, which was so completely out of place for him, Jack would have found it comical if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Alec, get your ass over here."

One of Jack's old friends on the force jogged over, looking like he had just eaten a raw egg.

"Yesssir?"

"Where did our tip come from? About the suicide jumper?"

"We got an anonymous tip. Said that a man of Davies' description had locked himself in an office, had blown out an office window at that they feared the worst. Said they worked here."

"I want you to talk to Davies, ask him why he was here so early in the morning," Avery ordered. He turned to Jack, his eyes betraying his worry. "Thornton, go to a hospital to get checked out. I'm worried about that glass, got that? Then you go home and rest. I want that paperwork in by tomorrow on my desk, first thing. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Jack nodded. "I'll be at my car."

"You are in no position to drive," Joe protested.

"Alec!" Avery barked, "Go find Stevens."

Alec obeyed, scurrying away at his boss's orders.

"Really?" It almost came out in a whine, but Jack was too tired to care at this point. Bill narrowed one of his famous death glares at him.

Alec came back, Stevens in tow, an excitable rookie.

"Stevens, drive Jack's car to the hospital, stick with him until someone comes for him. I do not want to see him driving, you hear?" Jack didn't need to wonder how Bill Avery had become chief of the negotiator squad; it was perfectly clear.

"Clear, sir!"

Jack took a deep breath and almost passed out. "Let me take a look at those ribs," Joe chided, leading his friend to the gurney. "You're coming in the ambulance with me."

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Elizabeth had woken up to a memory of a sweet but hurried kiss and something sticky on her forehead. Irritated, she swatted the thing off of her head, and blinked when she discovered it to be a sticky note.

She pulled it to her face to read and smiled.

Good morning, Love.
Was last night good for you too?
Help yourself to anything at all, I have to deal with an emergency.
Stay as long as you like – just use the spare key on the coffee table to lock up.

Underneath his signature was a note to call him at his work number where he would definitely get it.

Elizabeth sighed and slowly sat up, blinking with the light. What time is it? She gazed at her watch and jumped off the couch with a start. 11:00?!

After carefully folding Jack's blanket and placing it back on the couch, Elizabeth quickly grabbed the key, locked up his apartment and hurried down the hall to Jon and Mary's, opening the door just as Mary was leaving.

Elizabeth's cheeks flamed as Mary stared at her sister-in-law in her pajamas doing the walk of shame. "What on earth?" Mary wondered.

"We didn't do anything," Elizabeth was quick to point out, "We fell asleep on the couch, talking. Again." Slightly embarrassed at this point, she sighed.

Mary gave a soft giggle and ushered Elizabeth inside. "Jon and I were just as bad," she confided. "What if we go for coffee? I was just about to run some errands, but they can wait."

Elizabeth smiled, touched by Mary's thoughtfulness. "Why don't we do coffee and I can help you with your errands?"

Mary grinned. "How soon can you get ready?"

"Give me twenty minutes."

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Before Elizabeth left the apartment with Mary she had remembered to call Jack on his work number, hoping that whatever emergency had happened he had remained safe and unscathed. No such luck.

He had refused to tell her how bad it was, making jokes about deodorant brands and laughing, but he couldn't hide the pain he was obviously in.

Men.

Biting her lip, Elizabeth hung up her phone and walked over to Mary. "Let's go. He said he would call me later but I'm not holding my breath. He'll probably be tied up for a while."

Mary smiled in sympathy. "I've been there, Elizabeth. With his friends, Jack would rather keep his injuries and problems to himself than to intrude on anyone else."

Elizabeth bit back a huff and scowled as she yanked on her sweater. "Well, he's going to have to get used to me."

Mary grinned. "You are very much like your brother, you know? 'Elizabeth Thatcher, not a force to be reckoned with'." With a laugh, the two ladies headed out the door.

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Jack had been right about his injuries – apart from his hand and his ribs, they were mostly surface ones and fixable. His arm had been dislocated but that was fast on its way to being mended. He couldn't do much about his hand, but luckily it wasn't his writing one.

He also knew that he would be on desk duty for 3-6 weeks. Not his ideal situation, but it wouldn't do for someone to die because he wasn't at his best.

Stevens was staring at him like he was a bomb that was about to explode, or maybe he was just terrified of being in the same room with him because he'd heard all of the stories.

Jack winced as he tried to sit more comfortably in the hospital bed he'd been drafted to. "Listen, Stevens, can you get my phone? I need to make a personal phone call for someone to pick me up."

He also just really wanted to see her.

Stevens obliged, handing him his phone carefully, almost as if he didn't trust Jack at all. Which, Jack admitted, was absolutely ridiculous. He had his orders.

He dialed Elizabeth's number. It was answered almost immediately.

"Hello, Lover Boy."

He heard muffled giggles on her side of the line and ignored them. "Hello, Love. I was wondering if you were busy right now."

"I'm just helping Mary run some errands. What can I do for you?"

"Would you please come pick me up?" Jack asked quietly, almost hesitant to spoil her good mood.

"Where are you?" Elizabeth asked automatically, her tone curious.

"The hospital," Jack replied meekly.

"Jack Thornton!"

"Sweetheart…"

"Don't you Sweetheart me. You are in so much trouble, Mister."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jack replied sheepishly.

"Tell me where you are and I'll come and get you." Her tone was brisk and efficient, the equivalent, Jack thought, to her teacher voice.

As Jack told her and tried to reassure her one more time, Elizabeth cut him off.

"Do not say another word. I want to be relieved when I see you, not have you try to downplay your injuries."

"Can I just ask one thing?" Jack pleaded, very quietly, not wanting to Stevens to overhear any part of this conversation. Yes, he was whipped, and in love, but he didn't need the rookies to spread the word.

"Yes." Her voice softened and turned sweet.

"Can you give me a neck massage when I get home?" His voice sounded so vulnerable, even to his own ears, he winced, but a part of him was too tired to even care.

"Of course I can," she said with a sigh, and he could hear the smile in her voice, even if it was faint.

"Thank you. I love you," he whispered.

"You too."

"You what?" he challenged, his tone teasing, despite the pain he was in.

"I love you too," she admitted, and Jack could swear he heard squealing over the other end. "I will see you in twenty minutes."

When Jack hung up the phone, he found Stevens staring at him and gave him his most intimidating scowl. "What? You never scared the crap out of your girlfriend?"

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Wow, that was intense even for me.

I hope y'all like it!