Title: Love and War, 28/28
Author: Goddess Evie
Date: January 4, 2017
Category: JJHR, Adventure
Summary: Christmas in Prague doesn't go exactly as anybody planned.
Disclaimer: I do not own JQ. I make no money off this story. I am only using the characters for my own unique story.
Author's Note: And this is the last chapter. The chapter all of you have been waiting for (you'll see what I mean once you read it) and dreading (oh no! The end!). I can't thank everyone who has supported this fic enough. From reviews to favorite to follows. Or even those who just come and read even if you never review or follow or anything. If you came, read and enjoyed, that's what mattered to me.
Also thank you to TJ12398 for her invaluable help in beta-ing this chapter and making it way more awesome than it already was. She made this chapter and all the cute Jonny and Jessie stuff in the entire fic just so much better. And I need to thank CubbiesFan1 again for all her input and help as well. This fic is as awesome as it is because of both of those guys!
Now go read the chapter. And I'll see ya'll in the next fic!
Chapter 28
Jessie studied the city of Prague, with its blanket of glittering snow, through the paned windows of Prague castle. The night sky sparkled with stars above the fairytale city and Jessie could almost believe she hadn't lived the last thirty-six hours.
The hallway she stood in was dark and quiet. Jessie was wearing slippers, flannel pajama pants and one her dad's hoodies since it fit over her arm and kept her warm. She could feel the cold from outside emanating through the window. Jessie lifted her right hand and placed her palm against the cool glass.
She'd been released from the hospital early that morning. Once her hydration levels were better, her hypothermia was gone, her arm was set, Dr. Vesely said she could see no reason for Jessie to remain. Jessie hadn't missed the relief on her parent's faces, which had mirrored exactly what she felt.
President Stasny, Benton, Hadji and Jonny had all been waiting to greet her when she arrived. A short meeting. Her pain medication made her so sleepy. Estella and Race had ushered her up to her room after only a few minutes.
Jessie had insisted, before going to bed, that she get cleaned up. She'd needed her mother's help, especially with the tangled mess that was her hair. The whole process took longer than Jessie expected, but when she finally climbed between the sheets of her bed, she was clean and her hair was neatly plaited.
She'd awoken once when her mom had brought her food with more medication. She'd woken again just about twenty minutes ago. The suite was dark and quiet. When Jessie had padded out into the anteroom, she'd found her dad sleeping on the couch and wondered if that had been his idea of her mom's.
It was a testament to how exhausted he was that he didn't wake up as Jessie skirted the couch and went to the entrance. One handed, she'd managed to unlock and open the door, then slip out, and still he hadn't woken.
Maybe she should have left her parents a note, but she didn't plan on being gone that long. She just couldn't sleep any longer, and she wasn't ready to take more pain meds. She didn't like the way they made her feel, even if they did help her sleep.
No, they trapped her in sleep with nightmares of still wandering the forest, running from Reznicek, who seemed to be constantly on her tail so she never got any relief. Or even worse, unable to do nothing but watch as he killed her dad. And unlike with regular nightmares, she didn't get to wake from them. The medication ensured she woke slowly, the nightmares lingering.
When she'd awoken in the middle of the night, Jessie had lain in her bed, tears running down her face, assuring herself they were just dreams. Seeing her dad on the couch had been such a relief.
So Jessie just needed to be up and out for a little bit. The halls of the castle were perfectly safe. She'd seen a couple of guards, but they'd ignored her. And after a little bit of walking she'd found this quiet stretch of hallway.
The cold of the windowpane had leeched the warmth from Jessie's palm, but she held it there on the glass. It still wasn't anywhere near as cold as she'd felt out in the forest…
"Jessie?"
She looked up. Her heart melted a little. Jonny was walking toward her. He was dressed similarly to her: slippers, pajama pants, a grey Rockport High hoodie. His hair was a gorgeous mess.
"What are you doing up?" he asked as he stopped in front of her.
He stood so close, looking down on her, that she could feel his light breathing in her hair. Maybe it was the pain meds still lingering, but she felt a little bit mesmerized by him.
"I couldn't sleep. I've spent way too long lying in a bed the last day or so. What are you doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep either. I've been antsy all day." He paused and just looked at her for a moment. "Actually, that's not entirely true. I was hoping to see you."
"I'm right here," she said softly.
A smile spread across his mouth. He reached out and took her hand from the window, holding onto it. His warm touch immediately infused her cold skin.
"Haven't you spent enough time being cold?" he teased, though there was a nervousness to his voice.
"I suppose I have," Jessie replied vaguely, her eyes drifting to the Prague winter night.
"C'mon," Jonny said, tugging on her hand.
There was a couch against the wall opposite the window. Jonny drew her to it and pulled her down next him. Jessie ended up sitting with her legs across his lap, her good arm closest to him. He hadn't let go of her hand, and he cradled it now in both of his.
They were both quiet for a long time. Jessie's thoughts began to drift, but she didn't notice until Jonny spoke.
"Hey, Ace, where are you?"
Jessie turned to look at him, smiling for his benefit. "I'm right here with you."
"You weren't a second ago," he pressed.
Jessie inhaled and then leaned her head on his shoulder. "I guess I'm still trying to process it all," she admitted.
"You don't have to do that alone," Jonny said softly, his breath in her hair once more. "I'm right here with you."
Jessie gave his hand a momentary squeeze and he returned the gesture. "Half the time it doesn't even feel real. Just like it was some nightmare. I think that has to do with whatever they gave me for the pain."
"Lucky. I remember the whole terrifying ordeal, at least my side of it."
"Even seeing it as a dream, I still don't feel like I can escape it. And I just want to, for a little while. Have a few hours, maybe, where I can pretend it didn't happen at all."
"So then we don't talk about it," Jonny suggested.
Jessie lifted her head to look at him.
"Today we went on a walking tour of Prague," Jonny said with a wistful smile.
"Just the two of us," Jessie responded, mirroring that smile.
"I was Jaques, and you were…"
"Zuzanna. I've always loved how that name sounded. So elegant."
"Zuzanna it is. I bought you all the chocolate you wanted," Jonny said.
"Mmm. We definitely stopped at some cute little café for cocoa and pastries when we needed a break from the cold," Jessie supplied.
"You were adorable in your mittens and hat," Jonny teased.
And even though it was a fake compliment, Jessie still blushed.
"And you were so gallant the way you helped that old lady with her grocery bags, walking her all the way home. She thought you were too. I thought she was going to steal you away from me," Jessie said.
"No one could ever steal me away from you," Jonny assured her, getting serious again. "No one compares, Jess."
Jessie's head tilted forward on instinct. She wanted to be closer to him. Jonny pressed a kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes for a moment, reveling in the pleasure of it all. She only half opened them, her gaze settling on the collar of his hoodie.
And the bruises peeking out above them on his neck.
Jessie sat up. She extracted her hand from his and oh so gently pulled down his collar. She didn't want to cause him any pain.
"Are these from-"
Jonny grabbed her hand again, pulling it away from his neck. "I thought we weren't talking about that."
"I didn't realize he'd-"
"You're sitting there with a broken arm and a gunshot wound and you're worried about a few bruises."
"I don't like you getting hurt. Period."
"I don't like you getting hurt, either."
"And my injuries don't mean I don't care about yours."
"I promise. I'm fine. In fact, most of the time I forget I have them until I irritate them."
Jessie huffed, her eyes still on Jonny's neck, a deep frown on her face. Jonny gently took her chin between his fingers and thumb to tilt her head up so she was looking at his face. His blue eyes were so intense her breath hitched.
"Can we maybe just focus on the fact that, despite both our injuries, we're sitting here together?"
Jessie took a calming breath and relaxed. She nodded her head and leaned on his shoulder again, though she was more careful about not bumping his neck this time. Neither she nor Jonny said anything for a few moments.
Jessie did her best to bring back that pleasant feeling from five minutes ago while she and Jonny were imagining their day in Prague together.
"Hey, I have something for you," Jonny spoke up, the first to break the silence.
"What?" Jessie moaned, keeping her head on his shoulder.
Jonny shrugged to get her to sit up once more. When Jessie lifted her head, Jonny held out his hand. Looking down at what he proffered, Jessie's eyes went wide and she gasped.
Delicately she took the necklace from him, a teardrop crystal on a gold herringbone chain. "Where did you find this? I thought I'd lost it."
"In one of the rooms at Reznicek's mansion. It's how we knew you were there," Jonny explained. He dug in his pocket once more. "We also found your medal."
But Jessie couldn't care less about the medal. She ran the pad of her thumb over the crystal, then slipped a fingertip underneath. The picture of her and Jonny popped up, floating in air above the crystal, arms around each other and smiling. Seeing it, Jessie couldn't help smiling in return.
She handed the necklace back to Jonny. "Help me put it on."
She didn't care that it didn't match her sweatshirt and pajamas as well as it had her party dress. She wanted to wear it and never take it off again.
Jessie reached back and lifted her braid out of the way as Jonny fiddled with the catch. He leaned forward, looking over Jessie's shoulder as he manipulated the tiny loop into the claw. It took a few moments and he cursed once under his breath.
"How do you make this look so easy?" he asked, adorably frustrated.
Jessie laughed at him. "Experience and smaller hands."
"Got it." Jonny leaned back, looking down to where the crystal lay against her dad's old hoodie. The contrast seemed to show off the gleam even more in the faint moonlight.
When Jessie lifted her face to look at Jonny he was still leaned in close and both her heart and her breath caught. Somehow she managed to get out a "thank you" without any breath support.
Jonny found her hand again, just for a moment. "You're welcome." He framed her face with his hands, using the lightest pressure, his fingers weaving into her hair
There was no hesitation this time. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly. Her eyes fluttered closed without thinking and she leaned in to increase the pressure of the kiss. Her mind was totally blank for the first time in days. It was just white space being slowly filled up by Jonny and the way his mouth felt against hers.
In the future when somebody asked her what her first kiss with Jonny was like, Jessie already knew how she would answer.
Perfection. And his lips were even softer than she imagined.
She did curse her broken arm. It made wrapping her arms around him very difficult. She had to settle for gripping the material of his sweatshirt. She pulled at the garment, persuading Jonny closer to her. He came willingly and then started moving his mouth against hers. He pulled his hands forward to frame her face again.
Jessie definitely didn't feel cold anymore. With each pass of his mouth against hers—and the way his hands caressed her face—she grew warmer and warmer. She couldn't imagine ever feeling cold again. She sighed a little in the kiss. And as if it were some cue, Jonny lifted his lips from hers.
Jessie's eyes drifted open. Jonny was staring at her. His mouth hung half open, looking like it had the potential to smile. But he wasn't smiling. He was looking at her.
Jessie lifted the corners of her lips. And then so did Jonny. And then Jessie couldn't resist kissing him again, stretching up to find his mouth with her own.
Less nervous now, and letting instinct take over, she swept her tongue across his lower lip. He made a soft sound that caused her stomach to flip. He took control of the kiss then, brushing his tongue against hers tentatively. Then she was the one making soft sounds against her will.
"Jonny," she whispered when he came up for air, but he didn't let her catch her breath, sinking right back into her.
In the future, if somebody asked her what her second kiss with Jonny was like, Jessie wouldn't answer. She'd just smile to herself because this was theirs alone.
She wanted to crawl into his lap and wrap her arms around his neck. She settled for pulling at his sweatshirt again. Her injuries prevented more. But Jessie rested assured that there would be more kisses like this. And many more types of kisses to experience with Jonny.
Like he sensed her need for closeness, Jonny's hands lazily slipped down from her face to rest comfortably against her neck. Jessie never wanted this kiss to end.
But such is not the nature of kisses and eventually they parted again. This time Jessie snuggled up to her best friend, resting her head on his shoulder once more. Jonny's arms slipped around her, carefully.
"Now I get what all the girls at school raved about," Jessie sighed happily.
Jonny's cheek rested against her hair and she could feel the movement of his smile. "Me too," he responded. "But that was nothing. Just wait 'til New Year's."
Jessie yawned suddenly. "My dad won't be happy if he finds us like this." But she made no effort to move away from her best friend.
Jonny settled his arms a little more snuggly around her. "I'm willing to risk it if you are."
Now Jessie smiled, letting her eyes close, feeling safe. "Deal."
They stayed like that until they fell asleep. Jessie didn't dream for the rest of the night. And in the morning their parents found them still sitting on the couch in the hallway, warm and cozy and asleep.
Of all her nights in Prague, this was the one Jessie would never forget.
The End
