Sorry it took so long! Have no fear though, I am already half done with the chapter after this one so that one shouldn't take a month to post! Also, I am beta-less for the next month so if there any errors please just bear with it. If they are HUGE errors, please tell me and I will gladly fix them (except you XxCrashAndBurnXx, you just want to shove my blonde grammatical errors in my face...hehe)
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"My gaze falls behind, you make desire seem so easy..."
-Empty Spaces by SR-71
"Where are you two heading?" Lyn asked.
"Bar, brotherly bondin'," Bobby replied, grabbing his jacket.
"I hope this brotherly bonding doesn't involve too much fighting in the near future," she said.
"Yeah, Bobby, don't get Jack into too much trouble. He can't afford to be a dumbass in public anymore," Isabelle said. She walked over to him and pushed him softly. "Watch out for him. I'm serious."
"The worst that's gonna happen is he'll come home a bit wasted." He grinned and wrapped an arm around Isabelle. "Maybe if you're lucky, Jack will come home a bit more frisky."
"I'm serious, Bobby." She pushed his arm off of her and turned to face him. "Don't lead him into any fights."
"I won't, I promise, Belly."
Bobby walked over to Lyn and kissed her forehead, before leaning over and doing the same to Abigail. It surprised Isabelle sometimes just how easy it was for Bobby to turn off his tough guy persona to conform to being the stereotypical family guy.
"Come on, fairy, you're makeup looks fuckin' fine," Bobby bellowed.
Laughing, Isabelle sat down on the couch and watched as Jack came down the hallway, muttering to himself. He headed towards the door, grabbing his coat and turned towards Bobby remained where he was standing. Jack narrowed his eyes in confusion before Bobby walked over to him with a loud groan.
"Give your wife a fuckin' kiss before you leave, idiot," Bobby muttered, pushing Jack towards the living room.
Jack looked over at Bobby angrily before walking over to Isabelle. He bent down to press a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth. As he stood up, he watched her face for a moment causing Isabelle to wonder if he could tell from her expression the slight disappointment that she felt from the lackluster kiss.
"Are you okay with me going?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Go and have a good time with your brother. Just stay out of trouble."
"I will." He grinned softly and pressed his hand to her stomach before looking over at Lyn. "Make sure she behaves herself, will you?"
"Well, I can' guarantee anything, but I'll try," Lyn agreed. She placed her hands on Jack's shoulders and shoved him towards the door. "Now go, have brotherly bonding time, so that Isabelle and I can have some girl time."
Bobby and Jack exited the apartment with no further pushing from Lyn who followed them to the door. She closed it behind them and rested her back against it, looking over at Isabelle who remained at the couch, eyeing her sister-in-law curiously who suddenly busted out laughing.
"What's so funny, Lyn?" Isabelle asked.
"That kiss was so weak," she said, still chuckling.
Isabelle sighed and collapsed against the couch cushions. Abigail climbed up beside her aunt and looked up at her innocently as she rested her head against her arm.
"What do you think kid?"
"Ew," Abigail replied.
"Okay, so maybe it wasn't our finest moment," Isabelle agreed with a laugh. She looked over at Lyn as she walked into the room. "It's not like it was supposed to be, it's all an act anyway."
"I've seen a guy kiss his cat with more passion than that."
"And the most disgusting comment of the day goes to..."
"Just saying." She laughed and looked over at her daughter. "You got to see daddy leave, now I think it's time for the little munchkin to head to bed."
"No," Abigail pouted.
"Yes," Lyn retorted just as childishly. She grabbed the toddler and hoisted her against her hip. "Say goodnight to Aunt Isabelle."
"Night Aunt Belly."
Lyn laughed as she carried her into the room. She placed her on the bed before going over to her suitcase and removing a pair of pajamas for Abigail. Dropping them to the bed, she instructed her daughter to lift her arms up before starting to dress her for bed.
"Mommy, why do Uncle Jack and Aunt Belly fight?" Abigail asked, as she slipped on her nightgown.
"What do you mean, sweetie?"
"They fight. A lot."
"All adults fight," Lyn said, pulling back the covers so that he daughter could slip underneath them. "Daddy and I fight sometimes."
"They don't fight like daddy and you do. They don't make up."
Lyn knelt down beside the bed and gently brushed her daughter's hair away from her face. She knew that Abigail was waiting for an answer, but she wasn't sure how to explain it because she didn't even completely understand.
"I don't know why, baby." She kissed her forehead softly and reached over to grab the stuffed bunny on the opposite side of the bed. "Sometimes adults, just do." She slipped the bunny beneath the covers and into Abigail's arms. "If they start to fight again, you wake me or daddy up and we'll make sure they make up, okay?"
Abigail nodded emphatically and then snuggled closer to her bunny. With a small grin, Lyn stood up and shut the light off. She walked out into the hallway, leaving the door open a crack, before making her way towards the kitchen where Isabelle stood, grabbing mugs off of the shelf.
"Put them down."
"Not five pounds," Isabelle replied triumphantly.
"You're more pregnant now, so I've lowered the weight limit to a pound and a half," Lyn retorted, snatching the mugs from Isabelle's hands.
"I only have to listen to you for a day longer."
"That's what you think. I'll know if you disobey my rules even if I'm all the way in Detroit."
Isabelle laughed and rested her back against the cabinets. She looked down at the tiling on the floor
"Are you and Jack fighting again?"
"Maybe." She groaned and dropped her head against her chest. "I know the stress isn't good for the baby, but I can't help it, there's just times I want to scream because of him."
"What happened? I thought things were good on Christmas."
"What happened was the two days between Christmas and now," she answered, fiddling with the locket absentmindedly.
Isabelle lifted her head at the sound of the kettle going off, interrupting the awkward silence that was approaching and turned towards the stove. She quickly turned the stove off, focusing all on her attention on the menial task.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lyn asked.
"Sure."
"What do you miss most about being with Jack?"
"Why?"
"I'm just curious," she said. She grabbed the pot away from Isabelle and began to pour that water into the mugs. "I mean, if I was in your situation with Bobby I don't think I'd be able to stand it. Being that close to him, pretending to be together for the sake of someone else, but constantly thinking about him. I mean, I'd go crazy dealing with his shit and not reaping the benefits, hence why all your fighting."
"You sound just like Bobby. Anyway, all of our fighting does not stem from...physical frustrations," Isabelle said, laughing. She grabbed the mug that Lyn offered to her and looked down at it, scrunching her face up. "You really want to know what I miss?"
"Yeah."
"Kissing him. Being in his arms too, but mostly just kissing him."
"You have a guy that hot and you miss kissing and being in his arms? Are you sure it's not the mad, hot, passionate sex?"
"What is this? You put Abigail to bed and suddenly it's freaking relationship and sex talk time?" she muttered awkwardly.
"What?" Lyn asked, feigning innocence. "That's what girls do, we share information and complain about our boyfriends or husbands when they're not around. Anyway, don't lie, you know the two of you-"
"I do not feel like talking about sex right now," Isabelle said with a groan.
"Why?"
"Honestly, because I don't want it to somehow drift into you talking about Bobby. He's like my brother, thinking of him naked and sweaty makes me want to throw up." She thought for a moment and then groaned. "Shit...That image is officially never going to leave my mind."
"Hey, he's good looking that way...I bet Jack is too."
"We are so not going into this." She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the wall. "Plus, you're practically married to Bobby, you shouldn't be thinking of his brother that way."
"It doesn't bother you that I'm thinking of your husband that way?"
"He's practically my ex-husband at this point and it doesn't really matter, a lot of people think of him that way and that amount is only going to get bigger soon...I'm used to it."
Lyn groaned and followed Isabelle into the living room. She sat down on the couch, placing the mug on the coffee table in front of her and looked over at Isabelle who was staring out the window.
"Can we just watch a movie or something and stop talking about this?" Isabelle said suddenly.
"Come on, Isabelle, I see how you are with Jack."
"Comedy or drama?" she asked, walking over to the DVD shelf and ignoring Lyn.
"You still want him."
"You know what, I do," she admitted looking over at Lyn. She groaned and looked down at the ground. "It's completely fucked up but, yes, I still want him."
"I knew it."
"However, us apart is for the best," she continued, causing Lyn to groan. "It wouldn't be fair to bring a baby into our chaos."
"If what you two have is chaos then what do Bobby and I have?" she asked with a laugh. "I mean, we're both very chaotic creatures, but when it comes to Abigail we put all of our drama behind us and that's when I fall in love with him all over again. Bobby and I don't make sense apart. You and Jack don't either."
"Maybe that's the problem. Jack and me not making sense apart basically implies I don't have my own sense of being without him. It could be possible that we both need to figure out who we are because when we're together, it's not healthy."
"Yeah, but when you're not with him, you're miserable."
"I'm not-" Isabelle's voice trailed off as her phone started to ring. She pulled her cell out of her pocket and smiled down at the name on the screen. "Speak of the devil and he shall text message."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Put the fuckin' phone down," Bobby grumbled, grabbing the cell out of Jack's hand. "How many times is that?"
"You're the one who told me to be more dominant," Jack muttered, snatching his phone back.
"But you're vergin' into fuckin' psycho territory. Find a fuckin' balance."
Jack closed his phone and placed it back in his pocket. He sighed before resting his elbows on the bar and looking down at his half empty beer.
"Can we go home already?"
"We're too sober to go home now," Vaughn said, clapping Jack on the back. "And there are tons of hot girls staring at us."
"Actually, they're not staring at us, mostly just Jack and Scott," Ray replied.
"That's not fair, Jack's wearing a wedding ring and Scott's making fuck eyes with Rachel."
"Girls always want the unattainable ones."
"Would the two of you shut the fuck up?" Bobby asked, looking over at Ray and Vaughn. "Stop complaining and go fuck the ugly friend of the hot girl or go home and make nice with your fuckin' hand. I gotta take a leak."
Jack smirked and looked down at the bar in front of him as his brother went one way and his band mates the other. He reached for his cell in his pocket once more and eyed the time display on it, knowing that Bobby was right, ten text messages in the past hour may have been a bit much. Shoving it back into his pocket, he groaned and idly picked up his beer.
"Hi."
Jack looked over to the side of him, barely giving the petite blonde slipping onto the stool next to him a passing glance. He muttered a greeting back before returning to his drink and debating whether or not Bobby would let him leave by the time he returned from the bathroom.
"Well, you're extremely talkative," she joked. She smirked at him and scooted closer. "I'm Veronica."
"I'm Jack," he replied. Without looking at her, he held up his left hand, making his ring clearly visible. "I'm also married."
"Not happily."
"What makes you say that?" he questioned quickly, finally giving her his attention.
"Why would you be sitting in a bar by yourself if you were happy with her?"
"We give each other space."
"Enough space that little dalliances probably wouldn't be noticed," she suggested.
Jack slammed the beer bottle onto the bar and narrowed his eyes at Veronica. He started to recognize her from a few gigs that the band had, how she always hung over whoever was willing. He smirked to himself with a small shake of his head, ready to dismiss the groupie until she continued to speak.
"Who's to say she hasn't had a few of her own. I mean, everyone's seen the way your guitarist looks at her."
"I trust her," Jack said. He raised his eyebrows, the beer and her words fueling him enough that he didn't think twice about saying what was on his mind. "You know what, you must be fucking miserable."
"And why's that?" she asked, leaning towards him.
"Because you're hitting on a married man. Most happy people aren't so morally bankrupt. You know what else happy people aren't?"
"What?"
"Sluts."
"Yeah, well, you're missing out," Veronica replied, suddenly irked.
"I'm sure I am," he sarcastically agreed.
As the blonde slid off of the stool, he grabbed his beer and took one last swig from it before sliding off his own and heading towards Scott. He patted his friend on the back, causing him to finally turn his attention away from Rachel, who had been monopolizing his time the entire night. Scott grinned and rested his back against the bar as Rachel went off to go serve an annoyingly persistent patron.
"Hey," Scott said. "You don't look so good. A few too many?"
"Nah, mostly just tired of this crap."
"Yeah, I saw V.D. Veronica attacking you."
"And you didn't think to come and help a friend out?"
"I was busy," he replied, innocently.
"Yeah, I could tell, you and the bartender are getting pretty friendly.
"Blame your wife for that one."
"Yeah, she likes to work on everyone's love life except her own."
"About that-" Scott started, before turning his attention to the man approaching Jack from behind.
"Are you Jack?" he asked, looking at Scott.
"No, I am," Jack answered, turning around. He took a step back, eyeing the man who stood a good five inches taller then he did. "What's the problem?"
"You're the asshole who was fuckin' with Veronica?" he asked amused. "Thought she had better taste than that."
"What?"
"You're the fucker who called my sister a slut?"
"See, there are circumstances that I'm sure she left out-"
"Jack," Scott said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Don't try to rationalize with a guy who outweighs you by eight pounds."
Jack turned around to face Scott, raising his eyebrows at his friends concern. As he turned back around to face the man who was accosting him he saw a fist swinging in his direction. Ducking quickly, the meaty fist missed Jack and slammed into Scott's eyes.
"Fuck," Scott yelled.
Instinctively, Scott swung his own fist as Jack, who was still crouching, tackled the guy to the ground. Jack felt Scott's hands on the back of his shirt, lifting him off of the guy. He was almost standing when the brute kicked Jack in the shin, causing him to fall back to the ground. Distracted by the pain in his leg, Jack was oblivious to the man's approaching fist until it connected with his eye. He fell backwards, hitting his head on the bar behind him.
Blindly, Jack kicked his legs out, not caring how ridiculous he must have looked. He finally felt his left foot connect with something and heard a guttural groan of pain. He started to sit up, dizzy from his head hitting the bar, but as he did he saw the man approaching again. He muttered under his breath, knowing that it wasn't going to end well if he had to move, when he saw the guy go flying backwards, landing hard on the wooden floor and the unmistakable voice of his brother.
With a small groan, Jack started to get up, Scott grapping onto his arm to help. By the time he had gotten to his feet, Bobby was standing over the guy, a smug smirk on his face. He kicked him once before turning back to Jack and shaking his head.
"I go to take a fuckin' piss and you get in trouble." He laughed, an animalistic look on his face, and walked over to his brother. "Shit, how the fuck am I gonna explain this to Izzy?"
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The front door flew open and Jack and Bobby walked into the house, resting heavily on one another's shoulders. Isabelle gasped at the sight of Jack, his lip busted, a line of dried blood emerging from it and another gash just above his left eyebrow where beneath lay a swollen eye. Lyn was instantly at their sides, grabbing Bobby off of his brother.
"What happened?" Isabelle asked, walking closer to Jack and surveying the damaged.
"We got into a fight," he replied.
"With each other?" Lyn questioned.
"No, with this fuckin' asshole," Bobby said, his arm draped around Lyn. "Babe, he totally deserved it."
"Are you okay?" Isabelle asked Jack, ignoring the comments coming from Bobby.
"Yeah, nothing too bad."
"You say that now." She looked over at Lyn and nodded towards Jack. "I'm going to go help him out, do you need help with Bobby first?"
"Nah, I can take of my man. Why don't you go play nurse with Jack? You can even borrow my stethoscope if you need to get into character," she replied, smirking as Jack looked over at her curiously. She looked up at Bobby and tugged on his arm. "Come on, killer, let's go get you ready for bed."
Isabelle rolled her eyes and grabbed Jack's arm, pulling him with her down the hallway. She opened the master bedroom door, slipping inside the bathroom inside it while Bobby and Lyn occupied the other one.
"It's always a bad idea to let you go out with the guys unsupervised," Isabelle joked, motioning towards the toilet. "Sit."
."I'm fine," Jack replied.
"Sit," she insisted, pushing him down onto lid of the toilet. "When you're drunk you act like an obstinate child."
"I'm not drunk, I'm just a little buzzed, I swear," he contended.
"Prove it," she said as she ran a washcloth under cold water.
"Z...Y...X...W...V...U...T...S...R..."
"Okay, I think I get it. Whoever you got into a fight with did a number on you," Isabelle muttered, pressing the washcloth to his lip as she knelt down in front of him. "Care to tell me who and why?"
"No," he replied. He smirked then contorted his face in pain as he felt his lip split open further. "Fuck."
"Smart move, Jack." She laughed and pressed the cloth harder against his lip. "Sometimes I think you search for ways to get in trouble."
"Why's that?"
"Because you look kind of sexy all beaten up," she admitted, with a small laugh.
"I missed your smile," Jack said without thinking.
"I've missed it, too."
Isabelle stood up and dropped the washcloth in the sink. She looked over at him, surveying the various ailments and then quickly scourged the medicine cabinet. She found the antibacterial balm and then knelt down in front of him. She gently dabbed some on the cut above his eyebrow before gently running her finger against the curve of his face.
"All better," Isabelle said, suddenly removing her hand from his face.
"Thanks."
Isabelle nodded as Jack walked out of the bathroom. She rested her hands on the edge of the sink, composing herself as what Lyn had said earlier replayed in her head. She turned the water on and splashed some onto her face. Looking at her reflection she took a deep breath and slowly walked out into the bedroom where Jack was already sprawled across the bed, still in his clothes from the bar and with remote in hand.
"Do you want me to shut it off?" he asked, looking over at her with lazy eyes.
Shaking her head, Isabelle slipped into her side of the bed and rolled over so that her back was to him. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep but found herself unable to. She lay motionless for fifteen minutes before she felt Jack's eyes on the back of her head.
Jack shut the television off, the only light and sound in the room ceasing, and settled in against the bed. He rolled over towards Isabelle, wrapping his arms around her waist, his hands gently pressing against her bump. He set his head down on the pillow just above hers so that his chin rested on the top of her head. So close that he could smell her shampoo and she could smell the faint aroma of smoke on his skin.
Slowly, Isabelle rolled over in his arms so that her head fit against the crook of his neck and he pulled her closer. She felt Jack's hand trail down her back, soothingly running over his skin and sending shivers down her spine. She slid back a bit so that she could look up at him and saw that he was still wide-awake, eyes open and watching her with help from the light glow that came from the busy streets just outside their window.
"You okay?" Jack asked, as his fingers softly crawled against her skin.
"Mhmm."
Jack smiled and closed his eyes, resting his head against the pillow once again. He felt Isabelle move in his hands again then heard the soft crinkling of the pillowcase. Before a thought could enter his mind he felt the soft pressure of Isabelle's lips gently taking his top one between hers. She pulled away slowly, looking down at him, the soft glow that came in from the busy streets just outside their window illuminating his face so that his reaction was unhidden.
Opening his eyes, Jack looking over at Isabelle, his slack lips suddenly turning upward. The memories of nights with sudden kisses and warmth of her body pressed to his hit him and he quickly grasped her face between his hands, his thumbs lightly brushing her cheeks. Moving closer to her, and without further hesitation, Jack kissed her. He rolled onto his back, bringing her down on top of him never breaking the connection. As he pushed himself away from the bed so that he could be closer to her he felt the small bump press to his stomach and the present came rushing back to him. It wasn't like nights before, every action now had more complications.
Jack pressed his hands against her shoulders, gently pushing her away from him with a shake of his head. He could feel her gaze on him, confused by his sudden change in behavior. He groaned and sat up fully, while Isabelle continued straddling his waist.
"I'm drunk, Belle, it's not the-"
"You're not drunk, Jack," she muttered sliding off of him. She slid out of the bed and looked over at him, running his hand through her hair. "God, Jack, if you're going to reject me, at least have the decency to be a man about it and tell me the truth."
"I'm not rejecting you. It's not what you think. I don't want to confuse you."
"Confuse me? You know what, fuck off."
Isabelle headed towards the door, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Jack fumbled out of the bed, attempting to reach her before she could leave, but tripped over the sheet that wrapped around his legs. As he detangled himself, Isabelle opened the door and slammed it in his face as soon as he had gotten to it.
"Isabelle," Jack said, running after her in the hallway.
The ruckus had woken Lyn up, she stuck her head out of the bedroom just as Isabelle rushed past the door, Jack a few feet behind her. She sighed and quickly stepped out of her room and dodged in front of Jack. He tried to pass by her but she blocked him.
"Jack, go back to your room," Lyn instructed.
"No, I need to talk to her."
"You're just going to make it worse. Go get some rest and talk to her in the morning because I guarantee you're just going to piss her off right now," she replied, pointing towards his room.
Jack muttered something under his breath before turning around and heading back to his room in a huff. Shutting the bedroom door so that what was going on wouldn't disturb Bobby or Abigail, Lyn headed to the front of the apartment and slipped out into the hallway where Isabelle was standing in front of the elevator frantically pushing the button barefoot, pregnant and clad only in pajamas that would do nothing to protect her against the weather.
"Isabelle, what are you doing?" Lyn asked.
"The fucking elevator is taking forever," she muttered, pressing the button harshly.
"Where are you going to go at three in the morning in your pajamas?"
"I don't know, Scotty's?"
"Honey, Bobby told me he went home with Rachel tonight. I think it's time you give him his own life," Lyn said delicately.
"Then I'll walk around."
"That's not safe. For you or the baby." Lyn nodded towards the apartment door and shrugged. "Come back inside, we can talk."
"He's in there. I can't go back in there."
"Why?"
"I made a fool of myself. I did what you said, I took a chance," Isabelle whispered. "He rejected me." She closed her hand over her mouth and rested against the wall to hold her up. "This was our last chance and now it's gone."
"It's not over, sweetie."
"Yes it is. We go to the lawyer's tomorrow. That makes it final."
"Isabelle-"
"Do you think you have room for me back in Detroit? I can't stay here after tomorrow. If you want I can stay with my sister instead, she'll love to hear about how I fucked it all up."
"We always have room for you," Lyn said, taking a step closer to Isabelle. "Heck, Bobby misses you driving him crazy, but do you really think that's the best decision?"
"Yes. Can you just push off leaving for a few hours until I get back from the lawyer's? Please, Lyn."
Thank You:
Bigamericanflirt (you'll kill "any" boy that comes into her life? Lol)
EvilBunny101
Hardy's Gurl
JustAnotherFallen (You hate Rudolph? Lol.)
kids-these-days
LindseyRedfield
XxCrashAndBurnXx (Now remember as much as you LURVE Scotty, Jack isn't chopped liver either here...hehe)