The Strong Will Survive
Disclaimer: Don't own, may contain some facts from the F29D books that I've expanded on. Plot is all mine
Author's Note: Written pre- Hotel Tango so no spoilers. Any similarities are coincidental.
Characters aren't OOC, I prefer to think of it as exposing parts of their personalities they've tried to keep on the down low or have finally developed based on their island experiences, EPOTPTTTKOTDLOHFDBOTIE, for short.
Some walls go up, while other barriers are torn down. Slowly, brick by brick or shattered all at once.
Just my little version of one possibility.
POETIC LICENSE used profusely, it is FICTION after all.
Remember to SUSPEND DISBELIEF to fully enjoy.
This is the penultimate chapter.
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Melissa suddenly stopped and sniffed. "Do you smell that?" she asked.
Jackson sniffed the air. "Smell what? I don't smell anything."
"It smells like a fire," she said.
"I think you're just smelling our fire on your clothes," Jackson said.
"No, I don't think so. This smells...new, fresh, burning now," Melissa said.
Jackson sniffed the air again. "I still don't smell it. Maybe it's wishful thinking?"
Eric was so far ahead. He felt as if something were pulling him toward the north shore. He was practically running. He rounded a bend in the beach and stopped short. Is that a...?
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Chapter Thirteen
He turned and yelled back to the others, "Hey! Come on! Hurry up!" What is that, is that a...a hut?! Yes! We've found someone! We're saved!!! Eric started shouting as he ran toward a little hut. He looked over his shoulder and noticed the others had stopped and were staring at him. Exasperated, he flung his pack down and ran back towards them. "Come on! Hurry up!"
"Eric, what's the deal?" Jackson yelled.
"There's a hut! With a fire! We're saved!" Eric yelled back. He was grinning and laughing and jumping up and down. "Come on! Hurry up!" He ran up to Melissa and took her pack then pulled her arm over his shoulder to help her walk faster.
"Really, Eric? A hut? Did you see anyone?!" Melissa was getting as excited as he was.
"I don't know, I was so excited and I just wanted you guys to hurry up!" he replied. "I did see a fire and it was burning. Definitely, it was burning."
"See, Jackson, I told you I smelled a fire!" she said excitedly.
They all rounded the little bend and there it was. A little hut with a fire pit in front of it. You could see the flames dancing. It looked like there was someone lounging in front of it. They were all hurrying as much as they could. Eric was laughing, he was so happy. As they neared the hut, the man sitting there, it's definitely a man, didn't move. Melissa was afraid for one second that he was dead but then he slowly turned his head.
He had dark hair. He was balding on top. He had quite a scruffy beard that he was scratching purposefully. His one leg was sticking straight out in front of his body in an awkward sort of way. He was grinning. That ugly pineapple shirt. Where have I seen that before? It suddenly dawned on all of them.
Eric was the first to speak. "Captain Chaos? What the?"
"Hey kiddies! It's about time you found us! Juju! Millie! Get out here, I have a surprise for you!"
Juju? Millie? Who?
"What is it gramps? I'm busy," Jory said coming out of the little hut.
"Gramps, dude, what's the deal? I'm working on that hammock you wanted," Ian said, coming around the far side of the hut.
"Juju, Millie, don't be rude, we have guests!" Captain Russell said.
"Ian? Jory? Is it really you?" Jory was a lot thinner than the last time they had seen her. Ian's hair was even shaggier than Nathan's. But they both looked happy and healthy.
"Oh my God!!! Melissa! Eric! Abby! Jackson!" Jory yelled. She ran forward and hugged Melissa and Eric in turn. Ian did the same. They hung back from Jackson and Abby and looked at them quizzically.
Captain Russell noticed that Abby was hanging back and silent. "Veggie! Sweetheart! We were so worried about you! We looked for you for days! What's wrong? You're not gonna come say hi?" Then he noticed she was tied up. "Hey, what's the deal? Why do you have my Veggie tied up? Millie, untie her!"
Ian moved forward to untie Abby but Jackson and Eric stepped in front of her. "Um, dude, you don't wanna do that," Eric said.
"Why not?" Ian asked, taking a step back toward Jory and the captain.
Melissa joined Jackson and Eric blocking Abby from the others. She took a step forward and said calmly, "Because Abby tried to...uh, kill me, a few times. She's not um...feeling uh...right in the…a..." she stammered, pointing to her own head.
"What do you mean? What happened to her?" "Tried to kill you?" "No way! Not Abby!" "Why would anyone want to kill Melissa? She's the nicest girl at school!" Ian, Jory and Captain Russell were all speaking at once. Melissa noticed they all were staring intently at her, taking in her crutch and every cut, every bruise and especially the big goose egg on her forehead. She looked at the ground uncomfortably and unconsciously moved behind Jackson.
Jackson held up his hands, "Enough!" Everyone stopped talking. "Let's just all sit down and we'll tell you everything."
Jory and Ian sat down on either side of the captain. Melissa and Eric sat opposite them. They had a nice little stone fire pit with logs to sit on surrounding it. Jackson led Abby to a seat near Jory but he held tightly to her tether. She was staring at Captain Russell, Jory and Ian with a blank expression. They were staring back.
"Abby, sweetheart, it's me, Meathead," Captain Russell said softly trying to catch her eye. "Remember, your Meathead?" Abby slowly focused her eyes on him. She stared at him for a few minutes. Then she stared at Jory and Ian in turn. You could see she was fighting to understand what she was seeing. A single tear slowly ran down her cheek.
"Meathead?" she said, barely a whisper.
"That's right, sweetheart. It's me, Captain Meathead. Remember?" he said softly. Abby stared at him for a few seconds then almost imperceptibly she nodded her head once.
"Abby, do you remember me?" Jory asked quietly.
Abby turned her eyes to Jory and considered her for a minute. A small smile played at one corner of her mouth. There was a tiny spark of recognition in her eyes. "Jory?" she whispered.
"Yes," Jory replied softly, nodding and smiling at Abby.
"What about me, Abby. Do you remember me?" Ian asked eagerly.
Abby looked at him. Her smile grew a little. "Ian." Another whisper.
"That's right, Abby. It's Ian. We've missed you!" he said.
Jory cautiously moved next to Abby and sat down. She slowly put her arms around the bound girl and hugged her. Abby's face showed a wide range of emotions in quick succession starting and ending with surprise. Abby finally relaxed into Jory's embrace and started crying.
Jackson, Eric and Melissa silently watched this whole scene play out. They were intent on watching Abby's face and eyes to read what she was really thinking. You could see Abby's eyes were beginning to come back to life but they still didn't trust her.
"Um, Captain Russell? What's wrong with your leg?" Melissa asked.
"Oh, that," he said waving his hand nonchalantly. "It's broken. I'd hurt it before we were separated from Veggie, I mean Abby. After the flash flood, we spent days looking for Veggie but found no sign of her. We decided to continue north and a few days later, I got up in the middle of the night to go, tripped on a root, fell down a hill, rolled right into a boulder and broke it. Lucky for me, Millie and Juju found me the next day. Millie straightened it and Juju put a splint on it."
"Yeah, we camped in the jungle a few days and when gramps was feeling better we made a stretcher and carried his lard ass until we got here. What was it, Ian, like eight days toting that dead weight?" Jory asked.
"Hey! Watch who you're calling a lard ass!" the captain said with mock indignation.
"What 'cha gonna do, gramps, ground me?" Jory shot back. Captain Russell gave her an indulgent grin.
"Yeah, dude, it was like, eight or nine days carrying gramps' heavy butt here. Good thing we were on this side of the mountain, we'd have never made it otherwise," Ian said.
"You buckin' for a grounding too, Millie?" the captain asked.
"Bring it, dude!" Ian shot back.
"That's it, I'm giving you a haircut!"
"You'll have to catch me first, old man!" Ian said laughing. The captain laughed too. Melissa, Jackson and Eric were watching this exchange with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment. These three had obviously formed a very strong bond. Abby kept her head buried in Jory's shoulder.
"Anyways," the captain continued, "My leg is much better. Millie and Juju made me some crutches and they've been taking excellent care of me," he said beaming at the two of them. They smiled back.
"Hey, nice hut," Eric said. "Was it here when you arrived?" His voice was full of hope.
"No, me and Jory built it," Ian said proudly. "Come on, check it out!" He jumped up and motioned for them to follow him. Melissa stayed behind with the captain and Abby.
"It turned out so good because of my plan and supervision!" the captain called after them.
As they approached it they saw it wasn't so much a hut as it was a hut-like shelter. It had bamboo walls with palm fronds woven through them and a thickly thatched roof to protect them from the weather. There was plenty of overhang so the doorway was protected from rain too. There were palm fronds on the floor off to the side for sleeping and crude shelves filled with gear on one wall. Their packs were hanging from pegs on another wall. Everything was neat and tidy. There were small bunches of dried plants and ripening bananas hanging from the crossbeams overhead. There was even a small, crude window that faced the jungle. Looking out, Jackson noticed a path into the jungle.
Jory, seeing where Jackson was looking said, "That goes toward the stream. It branches off, left to the latrine and right to our water source, fruit trees, garden, and bathtub."
"Garden? Bathtub?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, there's this great place about a quarter of a mile away where the stream comes shooting off some foothills. It's like a little waterfall and underneath it is this great bowl-shaped place that's perfect for taking baths or swimming or whatever," she said.
"And the garden?" Jackson asked.
"Oh, we planted some stuff we found growing wild so we wouldn't have to walk so far to get food."
"What's with the 'Juju' and 'Millie'?" Eric asked.
"Gramps couldn't remember Ian or Milbauer so he started calling me Milk Bone. Then he changed to Millie," Ian said. "After his Aunt Millie."
"Yeah and he'd never heard the name Jory before so there was no way he'd remember that. He called me 'Twist tie' and 'Twister' for a while then he started calling me Juju bean and now it's just Juju," Jory said with a shrug. "It's his favorite candy."
"Hey! Did you forget about us? Get out here!" Captain Russell yelled.
"Keep your pants on, old man!" Jory yelled back, laughing. "C'mon. Gramps gets upset if we're out of his sight for too long." They all walked back out and reclaimed their places around the fire.
"So, what happened with you guys?" Jory asked cutting her eyes toward Abby.
Eric explained briefly about Abby turning up at the plane twice and the four of them deciding to come west looking for civilization and them. He slowed down and hesitated more and more as he had to describe Abby's increasingly scary behavior and her attacks on Melissa. Jackson helped him fill in parts of the story when it seemed Eric couldn't or wouldn't continue. They both kept looking nervously at Melissa who was staring into the fire, reliving every attack in her head. Abby was sitting slumped over to one side staring at the ground. Ian, Jory and Captain Russell were wide-eyed in disbelief.
Eric and Jackson described Abby pushing Melissa off the cliff and finally their ultimatum to Abby to either do things their way or be left behind.
After they finished, no one said anything for a few minutes. Jory's mouth had been hanging open. She slowly closed it and moved toward Abby. She made the girl look at her and said softly, "It's going to be okay Abby. Ian, Meathead and I are here now. You found us. We're together again. We're safe. You can relax. Everything is fine now."
Abby looked at Jory. Tears were streaming down her face. "We're together?" she said in a whisper. Jory nodded. "We're safe?" Jory nodded again. Abby seemed to be processing everything. Her face screwed up and she started sobbing wholeheartedly. Jory threw her arms around Abby and pulled her into a hug. She sat there rocking her for some time. Ian moved to the other side of Abby and gently rubbed her back. The others just watched them awkwardly.
Hopefully, this means her healing has started, Melissa thought.
"So, uh, how about you show us this 'bathtub'?" Eric said, lifting his arm and sniffing his armpit. "Whew! I know I could sure use one!"
"Um, sure," Ian said. "Follow me." Eric picked up his pack and followed Ian behind the hut. Jackson looked at Abby then Melissa. "I sure could use a bath, too. Will you be okay here until we get back?"
Melissa gave him a small smile and nodded. Jackson picked up his pack and jogged after the other boys.
"Would you like to lay down for a while?" Jory asked Abby. She nodded. Jory helped Abby stand up and led her into the hut. She returned after a few minutes and added more wood to the fire before sitting down. "So Melissa, is it true? Did Abby really do all of that to you?"
Melissa looked at Jory then the captain. They were staring at her skeptically. "Yeah, it's all true."
"I can't believe that!" Jory exclaimed. "Abby is one of the sweetest people at school. She'd never hurt a flea!"
"I used to think that too," Melissa replied. She sat up straighter and looked them both in the eye. "Abby was one of the sweetest people at school. But this Abby, after she came back to the plane the second time, she was...different. Cold. Hard. She just kept saying, 'the strong survive, the weak don't'. On this trek, she stalked and killed a big sea bird without flinching. She isn't a vegan anymore. She was stealing food and lying and secretly hoarding and eating food. She was constantly sharpening and polishing her knife, stabbing any bug or lizard that came too close. It was creepy. She isn't the same girl we knew at Hartwell. When she pushed me down the first time I thought it was an accident. After that, she was deliberately trying to hurt me. To kill me. Because I was slowing her down. She said I was a threat to her survival. I was weak so I had to die so she could survive." Jory and the captain were staring dumbfounded at Melissa. "I understand she's not in her right mind. Almost dying twice herself, guilt about not finding you three, all of that just made her...snap. I don't blame her and I'll forgive her when she asks, but right now, I don't trust her. I can't."
Jory and the captain looked away and thought about what Melissa said. No one really knew what to say. Jory stood up and threw another log on the fire. The boys returned after a while looking freshly scrubbed and carrying wet laundry. They hung it over some branches and joined the girls and the captain around the fire. "Where's Abby?" Eric asked, looking around and sounding a little panicked.
"She's in the hut, sleeping," Jory answered.
Jackson sat close to Melissa. "You okay?"
"Yeah. No worries." Jackson smells so good. "What's that smell?" she asked.
"Oh, Ian showed us this plant that Jory found, she called it...something or other. Anyway, natives in this part of the world use it for soap, it gets all foamy and it makes you feel so clean."
"And smell so good," she smiled at him. "Jory, I would love a bath and maybe you could help Abby take one?"
"Sure! Come on!" Jory picked up Abby's pack and went into the hut. She emerged a few minutes later with a towel and Abby on her tether still looking disoriented. Melissa shouldered her pack, picked up her crutch and limped off after them.
The captain was filling Ian in on what Melissa had told them. Ian was shaking his head in disbelief. Eric and Jackson pulled some fruit out of their packs and offered it to the others. They sat there quietly eating.
"So, how's my baby?" the captain asked, looking hopefully from Eric to Jackson. They looked at him like he'd lost all his marbles.
"Your...baby?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, my baby. My plane. My Sally," he said.
"Dude, you named your plane, Sally?" Eric scoffed, smirking.
"Of course! After my best gal! You always name your plane or your ship after a girl! Don't they teach you nothin' in that fancy school of yours?"
"Uh, I guess not. Well, you see..." Eric began.
"We saved it from being carried away by the tide the first day," Jackson said. "But after that really bad storm hit, when we came out the next morning, the plane was gone. All that was left was a wing and an interior door."
"Oh!" the captain groaned. He had a pained expression on his face.
"But then we came out a few days later and there it was!" Eric said quickly.
"Really? Sally came back? How is she? Will I be able to get her flying again?" Captain Russell asked.
"Yeah, in your dreams," Eric said under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Um, well, probably not," Eric said.
"She'd been rolling around the ocean floor for a few days. Her wings were torn off, several of the windows smashed, she was pretty beat up before she was spit back up on the shore," Jackson said.
"Oh, my poor, poor Sally!" the captain said. He actually had tears in his eyes.
"But it's all good!" Eric said cheerily. "We pulled her up the beach to our fire pit and made it..." The captain glared at him. "...Uh, her, into a shelter. And before the ocean took her, Lex, the little kid, used all kinds of things from her to make stuff. We were using the radio before lightning fried it. We removed the chairs and were using them around the fire. We used some wires for fishing line and Lex used the speakers to hook up our mp3 player so we had music. And he found the battery charger and the battery and we've used that everyday. So you see, Sally lives on and she helped us live...we owe our lives to Sally," Eric finished dramatically.
"You...you...stripped my Sally?" the captain sniffed.
"Only for the things we needed. She was a good plane, nay, a great plane. She gave her life so that we could live..." Eric said, placing a hand over his heart. "Sally helped save eight peoples' lives. You should be very proud."
Jackson was looking at Eric in amazement. I can't believe he said that with a straight face. That guy could sell dirt to farmers.
"Well," the captain said sniffing. "If she had to go, it was a noble death." No one said another word. They didn't know what to say. "To Sally," the captain said, raising his canteen and taking a few big gulps.
Eric, Ian and Jackson exchanged looks then raised their canteens and water bottles too. "To Sally!" they said in unison. They each took a swig.
They sat there in silence. The captain assumed it was out of respect for Sally. These are some good boys, he thought.
Melissa was amazed at how beautiful Jory's 'bathtub' was. It was absolutely perfect! Thick, green foliage and trees surrounding this bowl shaped depression underneath a gorgeous waterfall, just enough sun coming through the canopy to warm the water and give it light, but not enough to make it hot. This looks like a movie set, she thought. Melissa had noticed aloe and her favorite flowers growing all over the place. Jory showed her the soap plant and she picked some for all of them. Melissa went to the far side and stripped off her clothes and waded into the clear water. Keeping her back to the others, she used the soap plant to lather up her hair and her body. She couldn't believe it! It was almost like using real soap. She felt like she was scrubbing layers and layers of accumulated grime off her body. I haven't felt this clean since before we left the plane and had some real soap. Melissa noticed that most of her bruises were starting to fade. Several were turning green and yellow. I'm healing, too. She used the aloe in her hair then just floated around letting the water ease the tension out of her abused body.
Meanwhile, Jory helped Abby out of her filthy clothes. They waded in together and Abby dipped under the water. When she surfaced, Jory started washing Abby's hair while talking soothingly to her. When Abby had finished her bath Jory helped her put on the first fresh clothes she'd worn since pushing Melissa off the cliff. Melissa was already out and using the soap plant to wash her clothes. Jory looked at Abby's filthy, discarded clothes then at Abby. "Don't worry, I'll wash them and bring them back with me," Melissa said. Jory nodded then picked up Abby's pack and led her back to camp.
Melissa added Abby's clothes to her own. She was happy to be really alone for the first time in what seemed like forever. She stopped washing the clothes and just marveled at the beauty around her. Places like this make me forget we're stuck on a deserted island. Melissa let out a deep sigh. This peace is another reason I don't want to leave the island. She sighed again then brought her attention back to the laundry.
Jory and Abby arrived back at the fire. Eric and Ian were off getting firewood, the captain had hobbled off to the fruit trees to get more fruit and Jackson was sitting staring into the fire. He looked up as they approached and watched expectantly for Melissa to follow them in. When she didn't he felt his stomach lurch. "Where's Melissa?" he demanded.
"She's washing the clothes, she'll be along soon." Jackson visibly relaxed. Abby and Jory sat down by the fire. Abby looked better than she had in days. And she smelled so much better.
"Uh, Jory, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
"Sure," Jory said. Jackson motioned for her to follow him. They walked over by the hut. "What's up?" she asked.
"Look, I know Abby seems...okay now but please, don't trust her. Just a few days ago she was very dangerous. Maybe she's past that, I don't know. All I know is, I'm not willing to risk anyone's safety yet. I'm going to go help Melissa. Please, no matter what, don't untie her. And don't leave anything sharp around her."
"Okay. No problem," Jory said looking at him like he was the one with the problem.
Jackson walked over, picked up his pack, both knives are in here, I don't want to leave this near Abby, and went off to find Melissa. As he approached the waterfall he saw her reclining on a boulder with her eyes closed. She looked so beautiful and so peaceful he hated to disturb her. He just stood there watching her awhile. She deserved to have this peace and quiet. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He approached her slowly and said very quietly, "Melissa."
She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. There he was, standing and watching her with a smile on his face. She smiled back. He held out his hand and she took it. He pulled her to him and buried his face in her neck. She smells so incredible! He pulled back and stared into her eyes, gently caressing her cheek with his fingertips. Then he leaned in and kissed her. Their kiss was full of passion but not desperate, adolescent groping. This kiss meant so much more. They both felt their desire mounting. They stood there locked in an embrace, kissing each other with abandon, wanting each other more than anything. Shivers were going up both their spines but they both knew they couldn't give in to the temptation. Their mouths slowly parted and they just stood there holding onto each other until their breathing returned to normal.
He could still pick Taylor. He could still pick Taylor. Melissa sighed heavily. She broke the embrace.
"Mel, I'm sorry. I..."
"Stop, Jackson. Don't say it, I know. I'm a big girl, it's okay." Jackson felt like a first class shit. "Let's just go back to camp. Could you grab the laundry?" Melissa picked up her pack and crutch and started limping back the path to the camp.
Jackson picked up his own pack and the wet laundry and followed her. "Mel, are you mad? I'm really sorry..."
Melissa stopped and turned to face him. "Jackson, stop! Really, it's okay. I'm alright. I'm not mad at you." He didn't look like he believed her. "Honestly! I'm not. I'm a little mad at myself. I'm mad at our situation. But I'm not mad at you, okay?" She smiled at him reassuringly.
"Okay." They continued back to camp. I am such an asshole, he thought. I'm mad at me! Mel deserves better!
When they arrived at camp the others were all sitting around the fire. Abby looked better after her bath but she was still silent and looked confused. Jory and Ian were sitting on either side of Abby, each holding a hand. They and the captain were talking quietly to her. Melissa dropped her pack by the hut and took the laundry from Jackson. She walked off toward the trees to hang it up. Jackson hid his pack behind the hut and went to meet Eric who was walking up from the beach with several fish on a stick. They threaded them on a spit and put them over the fire to cook. Melissa went into the hut and cut up some fruit. When the fish were done they passed the food out to everyone. They all sat in silence, eating and thinking their own thoughts.
"This fish tastes great, kiddies!" the captain said, smacking his lips. "Ol' Millie over there hasn't had much luck getting us fish. It's been what, about two weeks since we've had any?"
"I didn't see you bringing home the bacon, old man!" Ian shot back, smiling.
They all finished and sat around making small talk. The captain was reminiscing about his Sally and all the trips they'd taken. Jory and Ian were still holding a quiet, one-sided conversation with Abby. The sun was slowly sinking into the western sky. Everyone made their last trips to the latrine and decided to turn in early. Jory announced the girls would sleep in the hut and the boys would sleep outside. Eric and Jackson set up the tent off to the side between the hut and the fire pit. The captain hobbled in and was soon asleep as evidenced by the loud snores emanating from the tent. Ian moved to join him. Eric and Jackson looked at him like he was crazy. "Dude, I'm so used to his snoring I can't sleep without hearing it," he told them.
Jackson and Eric preferred to sleep near the fire, under the stars. They unrolled their sleeping bags and crawled in. Eric pulled his hat over his eyes and was soon lightly snoring.
Melissa was exhausted but couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned long after both Abby and Jory had dozed off.
Jackson, too, was having a hard time sleeping. Something didn't feel right. He must have finally dozed off because the next thing he knew, something made him open his eyes. Abby was standing over him with a big stick. Before he had time to register and react, she had clubbed him over the head. Stars exploded behind his eyelids. He blacked out for a minute but then he heard screaming. Melissa! He struggled to sit up. The pain exploded in his head again. He clutched at it and felt something slick on his hands. Blood. He looked over in Eric's direction, ready to call him to help. Eric was sprawled halfway out of his sleeping bag, with a bloody gash on his own head. His hat was lying crushed, next to him. Jackson moved to check his pulse when another scream erupted. "Melissa!" Jackson fought against the pain and dizziness threatening to envelop him and stood up. Clutching his head, he lurched in the direction of the hut. The moon had fully risen and cast a bright glow on the whole campsite. He reached the door and looked in. The hut was empty except for one body. "Mel!" Jackson stumbled in and fell onto the floor next to her. "What the?" No! "No!" he screamed as he suddenly noticed the knife sticking out of her chest and the big stain of blood on the front of her shirt. His felt his knees getting wet and he realized it was her blood soaking through his jeans. Melissa slowly looked up at him. Her breathing was shallow and labored. Jackson was panicking, he reached out to try and stop the flow of blood. She winced and cried out in pain. "I'm sorry, Mel. You'll be okay. I'll stop the bleeding and then we'll get Jory and the captain and we'll..." He felt hot tears on his cheeks. Oh God! No! Not Mel! Please, not Mel!
Melissa spoke in a strained whisper. "Jackson...I'm...sorry."
He looked at her incredulously. "What are you sorry for?" His voice was full of pain.
"This," she said indicating the knife sticking out of her. "I should have...been more...more...careful. It's my...fault and now...I'm...sorry." Her voice was fading. "Tell Abby...I forgive...her. I...know she...she...couldn't...help it"
"Shh, Mel. Quiet. Save your strength. Eric! Captain Russell! Ian! Jory! Get in here! Melissa's hurt! Hurry!" Jackson felt the same panic rising as when he'd seen her on the cliff. His hands were working, he wanted to touch her but he was afraid he'd hurt her again. He settled for brushing her hair off her face.
"J...Jackson. I have to...to...say this. Please." Jackson swallowed his protest. "Tell Eric...Daley and...Lex ...Taylor...I love them. And tell...tell Nathan...tell him...that he...was the brother...I... I...always...wanted." She took a ragged breath and let out a little cry of pain.
"Mel!" Jackson had never felt so useless in his life. He grabbed onto his cross and prayed harder than he ever had before.
"Jack...Jackson." Melissa's voice was becoming weaker and weaker. Jackson grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back. "Jackson, tell Nathan to...to tell...my parents...I love them." He felt her grip on his hand slackening. Her breathing was slowing. "And... and...Jackson ...I...I...really...I... love...you." She was staring at him with such adoration in her eyes it made his tears fall faster. His heart was hammering so hard in his chest he thought it would burst. Melissa's free hand slowly reached up and gently brushed the tears off his cheek then she wrapped her fingers around the cross at his throat. "You...don't...have...to feel...the...same...it's okay." Her breaths were more like gasps now. "Just...please...one more...one more...kiss?"
Jackson bent down and put all of his emotions into the kiss. He felt her kissing him back. That means she'll be okay, right God? Please? Please! Jackson pulled back and looked into her fading eyes. "I love you, Melissa. I love you with all of my heart. I really do. You're my best friend! You're the only one for me! Please hold on! Please! Don't leave me! Please, Melissa! I love you!"
Melissa's eyes were filled with such joy as she stared up into Jackson's. "My...only...only regret...is not...not being...with...you," she gasped. Her hand was still wrapped around his cross. She gave him one last beautiful smile before the light completely faded from her eyes. He heard her last little exhalation of breath. Her head fell to the side, her eyes closed and her hand slowly relaxed its grip on his necklace.
Jackson grabbed her hand and wouldn't let it unclasp the cross. He bent over and pulled her onto his lap. He was sobbing uncontrollably now. His keening sounded like some wounded animal. "NO!!! Melissa, come back! Don't leave me! NO!!!
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A/N: NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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