AN: Drama galore in this chapter! Enjoy

Chapter 21: Cabin Confessions

"See, thing is, I still have friends back home. Friends with connections who are still willing to do anything for me. Seeing as I was banned from going anywhere near your sister, I thought you would be a better target." With every word James got gradually closer and Marie found herself backed up against a tree with nowhere to hide. "Turns out you were easier to get drunk than my friends or I expected. And Brian was just so good at playing along. I really did enjoy hearing him recount the story to me the next night. He definitely had fun and now it looks like I get a turn too." Marie wanted to scream, she knew she should, but he was so close to her now she could almost hear his heartbeat and she was too scared to make any noise at all.

He reached over and brushed some hair out of her face. "You know, in some ways, close up, you're so much prettier than your sister." He leant down and kissed her cheek, then her neck, before moving the strap from her shoulder, planting a small peck there too. Marie just stood frozen, too frightened to move.

James grabbed her hands, pulling them behind her back then pushing her against the tree. Marie winced in pain as she heard a crack emerge from her bones.

"Innocent little Marie, always in the way, always defending her sister. Well where's Eliza to protect you this time? You're all alone aren't you?" He stroked his hand down the side of her cheek and it took everything within Marie not to hurl. In her mind she was begging for help, but she couldn't make the words escape her lips. She closed her eyes, awaiting what she thought was inevitable.

"Get your hands off her!" They heard yelled through the trees. Marie opened her eyes to see Jason running towards her, his face full of fury. Before she could even wonder what he was doing there, Jason flung himself at James, pulling his grip from Marie, who instantly moved away and then watched stunned as Jason threw James to the ground and laid a punch straight into his nose. She'd never seen the eldest Grey so aggressive.

"You stay away from my family, my friends and most importantly Marie, you got it?" Jason instructed before throwing yet another punch, "If I ever find you anywhere near us again, you're a dead man." Jason stood to walk away but James just laughed and caught hold of Jason's leg, pulling him to the floor. A full out fight broke out and Marie knew Jason would be covered in scars and bruises as a result. As neither boy seemed keen to give up until their enemy was dead, Marie cautiously moved forward and then, in one swift movement, she kicked James straight in the ribs causing him to fall to the ground and stop moving instantly.

Jason stood and grabbed Marie's hand, wanting to get her far away from him quickly, but stopped when he heard her whimper and looked down to see her wrist swollen and blue. He grabbed her other hand and together they ran from the woods. When they were in clear grounds they stopped and Jason immediately grabbed Marie in his arms and held her as tightly as he could. He felt her shaking uncontrollably against his chest and it made him want to run back into the woods and punish James once and for all. He'd never seen her so distraught.

"Are you okay?" He asked, but Marie didn't respond, she just cried. As he stood there holding her, he saw his brothers running towards him. "It's alright, I've got her." He yelled to them.

When they got to him both were shocked by the state he was in, with blood dripping from various cuts and his face covered in bruises. Then they saw Marie and both their hearts sank.

"What happened?" Nate asked, stunned.

"I'll tell you later. All you need to know is that James is in that woods and he's dangerous. Tell Brown and then go back to the others and make sure they're safe. I'm going to take Marie to our cabin to calm down for a bit." Jason though it was unlikely Marie would want anyone else to see her like this. The others agreed to leave them and Jason lifted Marie into his arms and back to his cabin, swearing to himself that he would never let her be in danger again.

CR-CR-CR

Eliza sat down, relieved. Nate and Shane had just returned, informing the others that Jason had Marie and they were both safe.

"So everything's alright?" Eliza asked, assuming that as her sister had been found, nothing was wrong.

"Not exactly." Nate paused, unsure how to explain the state they'd seen Marie in without causing too much alarm, when he himself didn't know exactly what was going on.

"What do you mean?" Mitchie asked from her comfortable position in Shane's arms.

"When we found her and Jason, she was really upset and Jason didn't look in a great state either." Nate explained.

"Jason knew exactly where James was too." Shane continued. To him it only made sense to tell them everything.

"He got to her." Eliza said, realising what her brothers were trying to say.

"She looked alright though. Whatever James was trying to do, Jason got there in time to stop it."

Eliza wanted to go to the guys cabin, to thank Jason and make sure they were both okay. But the others (and the rather large security guard outside) wouldn't let her, believing it to be unsafe to leave until they knew James was caught. Nate assured Eliza that Jason had promised to bring Marie back as soon as she'd calmed down.

CR-CR-CR

"How are you feeling?" Jason asked as he handed Marie a glass of water. She was shaking less, but had yet to say anything. Jason knew what he'd seen James doing in those woods. Though he doubted Marie would ever talk about it, he hoped she would at least tell him she was okay.

"My wrist hurts." She muttered, almost as if she hadn't said it out loud on purpose. Jason sat beside her, taking her wrist gently in his hand. He'd brought the first aid kit from the kitchen and proceeded to wrap a bandage around to swollen area to give it more support.

"That should make it a bit better until you can get it checked out in the morning." He would have suggested a trip to the hospital right then and there but he doubted he wanted to venture far in her current state.

Marie glanced around the room, almost as if she was waking from a trance. She turned to Jason, shocked by what she saw.

"You're face" She exclaimed, seeing the collection of bruises and cuts that covered him.

"It'll be fine. Ri, you've got to be honest with me, you understand? Just this once." He waited for her to nod, promising to be, before continuing, "Did he do anything to you? Anything he shouldn't have?" He wanted to be certain he'd saved her in time. If he hadn't, he was certain James wouldn't make it through the night.

Marie slowly shook her head, surprised she could say no. She'd been certain she had no escape and never thought she would be able to thank Jason or repay him for saving her.

Jason gave her a moment to calm down, watching as she slowly sipped at the water. Eventually he decided to ask another question.

"Why were you out so late?" He was prepared to be blamed, for her to tell him everything was his fault, he had already accepted that. But he wanted her to tell him, to call him out on his actions. Maybe it wasn't the best time to ask, but Jason sensed it would be the one time she'd be completely honest.

"I wanted to get away." Marie shrugged, not even sure herself anymore why running away had seemed the best idea. "I was upset and no one would leave me alone. I just wanted to sort through my thoughts and I thought going off on my own would help me do that. I wasn't exactly expecting him to turn up." The bitterness and anger at how she said 'him' actually scared Jason.

"You could have come here if you wanted to get away from the girls. Nate, Shane and I have had plenty of times we wanted to be alone when unhappy, we'd understand." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to be comforting, but she shrugged out of it, turning to glare at him, remembering what had happened earlier that day.

"So what, you leave me in the woods because I'm not good enough but then expect me to come to you when I'm upset. So you can what, just turn your back on me again. Why should I talk to you if you can't be bothered to do the same to me? You have plenty of other people, people you'd always choose as better than me. Where is Peggy anyway?" She hadn't meant to sound as unreasonable and harsh but all the emotions from the night were catching up with her. Jason knew it was to be expected that she'd be angry, but he hadn't expected her to think he believed Peggy was better than her. He sighed, deciding to tell her why he'd run off so suddenly.

"I'm sorry I left. I should have stayed and talked to you, told you what was going on. You want to know why I left you so suddenly?" He couldn't look at her as he said the words, he didn't want to see her reaction. "I realised I was fooling myself with Peggy. I left so I could go break up with her. We're over."

"You're an idiot." Marie replied bluntly. That was not the reaction Jason had even considered would occur. He never seemed able to do the right thing.

"No I'm not." He said, trying to defend his actions. "Marie there's something you need to know." He wanted to tell her everything, then maybe she'd give him another chance, she'd realise he never moved on.

"What?" Marie asked, but she refused to look at him, finding the ground far more interesting.

"Will you look at me?" He wanted to say this to her face, but she refused to move her gaze. Jason moved so he was kneeling in front of her. "Just this once, please." She heard the desperation in his voice and it caught her attention. Her intrigue got the better of her and she glanced up, accidentally catching his eye line. Their eyes locked and she felt a flutter she wished would disappear.

"I'm not an idiot because I was putting a mistake right. You see Marie, thing is, I never had feelings for Peggy, ever." And then at the last minute he chickened out of telling her the truth of the past, deciding instead to stick to telling her how he felt right then and there. "It wasn't Peggy I fell for after two months on a tour or Peggy I never stopped thinking about, no matter how far away she was. Thing is Marie, I never stopped loving you. Ri, you have a firm grip on my heart and I don't want you to let go." He didn't know what made him blurt it all out, but he felt like it was right as the words left his mouth. "Marie Austen, I love you."

He raised his hand and brushed some hair away from her face. The electricity stung his fingers and he decided to take another risk. It was almost as if he brain stopped thinking and his heart took over. Keeping their eyes locked he leant in slowly and was surprised to find Marie doing the same. Almost in sync their eyes fluttered closed and their lips met in a sweet, simple soft kiss. Their first kiss.