Disclaimer: Sorry, still the same as every other disclaimer.
Rating: M
A/N: The last part. Whoo! I hope you all like this one. I know it's lengthy and I thought about cutting it in half. But I couldn't find a right place and - yeah, I thought about it. But this is going to be the last chapter for a while I'm afraid. I'm having a little break from writing, other than to update 'Finding What Is Lost'. But rest assured, this fic'll be my top priority when I feel better and ready to come back. Thank you so much for all the continued support and love I've got for this story. I can't say how much I cherish every word. :) Every reader and reviewer have made it what it is today. Thank you. x
Huggles every one of you...
Concentrated Fury - Part Three...
I was exhausted, drained and still filled with so much anger, I wondered how I was going to get through the rest of the day, the morning after Stuart attacked Susannah. I stayed in bed with Nicky until he woke up. My eyes sore and aching from no rest. I couldn't, not with knowing where Susannah was and because of everything she had been through. The only thing that was keeping me relatively calm and under control was Nicky sleeping peacefully next to me all night. He slept far past the time he normally wakes, and he was ravenous when he did. Knowing I had no choice but to see the day ahead at that point, I got up and saw to my son. Changing and feeding him. It broke the morning up the slightest bit and I took comfort from spending one-on-one time with him. Not uncomfortable about leaving him alone with Galen standing close by at all times.
His protectiveness for my son and Susannah is something I'm especially grateful for. And I know, somehow, he would have tried to help Susannah the night before. And I also know she will not be making the mistake of closing the door when he needs to go out at night.
In the time between giving Nicky his milk bottle and his breakfast, I made a call to the hospital. First checking up on Susannah and how she was. The nurse on duty said she had a very fitful night and didn't get much sleep. Not that it surprised me. But she continued on to tell me she had been pestering them about wanting to leave as soon as possible. And the earliest they would let her go was sometime after four. She hadn't had her second round of tests yet, but they would know more once they were done. I knew the routine, but it was soothing to hear it anyway. And then I disconnected and called the head of our department, the chief and asked to speak to him. He was sympathetic and more than lenient in letting me have the time off to take care of Susannah and Nicky and I let the burden lift from that worry too.
For the rest of the day, I spent it looking after Nicky. I had numerous calls from Helen, Brad and even David all wanting to know how Susannah was fairing. Helen in particular was mortified we hadn't let her know soon after and that she could have taken Nicky for the night so I could stay with Susannah. She eventually calmed down enough for me to explain that I needed Nicky with me. That everything was in control and my apologies for not letting her know.
If I was honest, I was reluctant to call her until the last possible moment. It's much harder to tell a lie to Susannah's mother than it is to anyone else. And I was relieved Brad had been the one to do it before I had. But I placated her with Nicky. Saying he had been disrupted enough, I didn't want to make that worse by carting him around to different family members. It also helped when I asked her to sit with him while I went to collect Susannah from the hospital. She jumped at the chance to.
For the better half of the morning, Nicky and I were cooped up inside. And by midday, cabin-fever was starting to settle in. So coming up with the excuse of needing to go out and collect some things for Susannah seeing as she was going to be having bed-rest for the next few days, I got Nicky in his coat and set off for the supermarket. Just walking around the large shop and being jostled by people helped. I didn't want to be alone too long, thoughts and plans starting creeping into my mind. And I couldn't let them take hold until later. Much later. So I filled the trolley with tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream in her favorite flavors. And strawberries and three different fashion magazines for her. Anything to help her pass the boredom I knew she was going to be plagued into.
And by the time we left the supermarket and made for home, I was feeling relatively calmer and more in control again.
Helen came to sit with Nicky earlier than I had planned and I couldn't stop the frisson of tension to race through me when I answered the door. I suspected part of her early arrival was to try and get information out of me of what had really happened. But surprisingly, she didn't. She spoke to me for a while, asking how Susannah was before laying her attention on her Grandson and allowing me to get Susannah's things together to take to the hospital with me. A change of clothing, toothbrush, comb; things I knew she would need. But I was actually glad she had arrived earlier than normal. I had someone I needed to see first before going to pick up Susannah.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay with Nicky?" I asked Helen, stopping by the living room before leaving. "Because I can always get someone - "
"Nonsense!" She cut me off, cuddling Nicky on her lap. "You forget I raised his mother, I know exactly what I'm doing Jesse, don't worry. Just concentrate on Suze for a while. I know she'll need it no matter how much she says she doesn't. You have stocked up on plenty of ice-cream for her haven't you?" She asked with a small grin, lightening the mood and topic of conversation dramatically. "You know she's going to demand it two seconds of being stuck in bed." She quirked an eyebrow at me before turning to look down at Nicky. "Your Mommy does love her Ben & Jerry's. But not as much as she loves you and your Daddy." She cooed.
I knew why she had said that to him too. It was her way of settling my nerves without saying anything directly. She isn't an award winning newswoman for nothing, as Susannah pointed out to me this morning when I called and told her about her mother's reaction. And she was right, I grinned internally.
"Okay, well we'll be back soon," I gave her a small wave and left the house. Putting Susannah's bag on the seat next to me before starting the car and pulling out, heading in the direction of the Mission Academy. Needing to see a certain priest before I went to get my love. I hadn't told him about Susannah yet. Partly because I didn't want Father Dominic to worry too much about it. And I knew he would be where I can usually find him during the week. Still behind the principals desk. He should have retired by now, but he couldn't bear to part with his job. And seeing as he is still fit and more than capable, they agreed to keep him on for as long as he wished to be.
I parked in the staff car-park and made my way across the familiar courtyard and down the breezeway. I don't get the flashes of memories that I used to do in the early stages of first coming to the school. And I walked to his office, asking the receptionist if I could see him without any bother. He looked up as I walked in, his glasses he had perched on his nose were removed and laid down on the desk of papers he was signing, standing and holding out a hand to me with a smile.
"Jesse! How good it is to see you! It's been a while," He commented, no hint of judgement or sadness in his voice.
He understands how demanding working at the hospital can be and that I like to spend as much free time with Nicky and Susannah as possible. He took my hand in both of his and gave me a warm smile. "How have you been? You look very tired; life with Nickolas been very demanding has it?" He chuckled sitting back behind his desk and re-taking his seat. When I sat down heavily in my chair with a weary sigh I hadn't realized I'd released until he gave me a worried look, I ran a hand through my hair.
"I've been well Padre, Nicky can be a handful, but I would expect no less," I smiled wanly, my usual enthusiasm gone from my voice. Being in the presence of his wise and warm nature, I could feel my guards dropping. The need to lean on someone else for a few seconds taking over. "I'm here about Susannah though. There was a . . . incident last night while I was at work. Susannah's told you about her latest charge, Stuart?" I asked, getting a concerned nod. "Well he finally seemed to snap, and Susannah is now in the hospital paying for it. She's going to be okay," I quickly put in, seeing his eyes widen with fright. "She's very bruised and has a few cracked ribs. But she's going to be okay. You know how fast she recovers."
"Indeed I do," Father Dominic, muttered, rising from his chair and walking to his filing cabinet. Removing his infamous pack of cigarettes he usually retrieves when he is stressed. Or the topic is about Susannah. He sat back down in his chair and fiddled with the packet restlessly. His blue eyes urgent and piercing on mine. "How is Nicky? He didn't get harmed did he? What did Stuart want? What made him snap the way he did?" He rushed out.
I sighed again. "Nicky is fine. Susannah was doing everything she could to distract him from finding out about him and it seemed to work. Thankfully Brad turned up and got Nicky out of there for her," I said with relief, seeing the same emotion flood Father Dominic's eyes. "But Stuart knows about shifting. That was what it was about. He wanted Susannah to go back and prevent his death."
"Oh Heaven above," Father Dominic muttered, shaking his head. "Well we knew a spirit was going to find out about that eventually. I was just hoping that it wouldn't be in such a . . . severe way. It doesn't bode well for future meetings with more spirits, does it?" He rhetorically asked. I'd already been through every scenario, and they just got as unappealing as the one before it. "I'll be honest Jesse; I have no idea what to do to rectify this mess. How to stop other spirits coming after Susannah. Or, Heaven forbid, Nicky to get to you and Susannah. It's a terrifying thought. But you can't keep him shielded for the rest of his life. And until we're sure he will have this gift too, there's no course of action to take."
I sat forward in my seat, resting my forearms on my knees. "I know Padre; I've had the same thoughts myself. I think I just needed someone else to say it too."
Father Dominic nodded and leaned forward in his own seat, the packet of cigarettes going still in his hands.
"Jesse, you're not going to do anything rash are you? I mean, you're not going to go after Stuart yourself? Because you know that would be a foolish thing to do. There's no accounting for what kind of power he could have evolved with since last night. You'll be doing just what he wants," I raised my head and gave him an expression that told him of my innocence and he nodded patiently. "Of course not. This is you I'm speaking to. Not your headstrong fiancée. Never mind, forget I said anything." He smiled, sitting back in his seat.
"Thanks for listening, Padre. I just needed to talk to someone who knows the truth instead of keeping the secret close," I said, rising from my seat and clasping his hand as he rose from his own. "I'll let you know how Susannah is doing. Maybe you can come for a visit, I'm sure she would appreciate that," I turned to leave and was just reaching for the door handle when his voice stopped me, my back going rigid. But I didn't turn to look at him as he spoke.
"Jesse . . . I know this is your family. And I know you want nothing more than to protect them. But just – " He sighed wearily, sounding every bit his years. "Just take care, Son."
I gave him an inclining of my head before I left the office. I didn't want to stick around when I knew I was lying to him. I may not have lied with words, but I had with my expression. I had stepped on his trust for me and he knew it. Father Dominic knew I was going to do something. He didn't know what and he didn't know when. But he knew I would. And although part of him is against it, that it goes against his beliefs and his nature; he also knows, deep down where his own fatherly instinct comes into play, that there is no other way for me to accept it. No other option for me to protect my family. And I took his last words and pulled them close.
It would all be finished soon anyway.
xXx
When I arrived at the hospital to pick Susannah up, I'd put the guilt I felt when with Father Dominic aside and concentrated on getting Susannah better. I spoke to the doctor on duty dealing with Susannah and found out all her test results came back fine and that she was free to leave once I signed the papers. He said he'd leave me with the pleasure of telling her freedom awaits and I signed the papers that granted her that before walking down to her room. She was sitting up in bed, staring dejectedly out of the window when I walked in. She hadn't heard me; she was too lost in her daydream. So I leaned up against the doorframe, watching her.
She looked just as pale today as she did the night before. And the bruising had really come through overnight making it look even more painful and disturbing. And causing a flood of emotion to rise in my chest, halting my breath. Her hands worried at the blanket covering her and the bandage above her eye had been removed, showing the strips of gauze covering the laceration. She had dark circles under her eyes that showed of her restless night. And the lines around her mouth I could assume were from the pain. Pain I wish I could take on to myself.
She heaved a huge sigh, her eyes closing.
"When I first found out I was pregnant, I was so excited," She surprised me by saying, her eyes opening again and still looking out the window. She spoke to me, but acted as if I wasn't there. I stayed where I was, waiting for her to continue. "I didn't really think about whether it was going to be a mediator too or not. I just wanted to be a normal family. And I figured if the baby was going to have my curse or gift then we'd deal with it when it comes," She paused, swinging her eyes around to me. "But I didn't think the trouble would start now, Jesse. I didn't think I'd have to protect my baby every second of everyday, because some sadistic spirit doesn't like his fate,"
Her eyes grew moist her voice descending to a mere whisper. "How am I supposed to deal with that?"
I bowed my head, taking in a silent sigh of my own before I stepped into the room, closing the door and dropping her bag on the end of her bed. I moved over to her side and gently sat down on the mattress, careful not to jostle her too much because of her ribs. I reached out to thread my hand with hers before I raised my eyes and locked them on Susannah's.
"We deal with it together, querida. We take whatever is going to come, as it comes. Put up a united front, stick to what we know and dismiss anything else," I said as strongly as I could. And I wondered if she believed my words as much as I wasn't. I only know one way to end it before it begins and send a message out to every spirit watching. And I wasn't planning on telling Susannah just what. "But whatever happens, Susannah, we ride it out and we stay strong together. We've been through bad, we can get through worse. I promise." I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand and pushed every ounce of belief into my eyes.
In the end, Susannah smiled and nodded. Looking away from me, I knew she didn't believe what I said. It was nice to imagine, but she would always be on the alert. Waiting for the next spirit to demand something and use Nicky as leverage. And part of that I knew, is a maternal instinct. And I won't get in the way of that. But I can do what a man is meant to when his loved ones are threatened.
"Yeah, it's nice to dream I guess," She smiled wanly, pointedly looking away from me and down towards the end of the bed. "You brought my stuff? Does that mean I can leave now? I hate being here. I want to go home and see Nicky," I nodded, grinning at her enthusiasm, glad to have changed the subject. I'll be her shoulder when she needs it and I'll do everything I can to reassure her. But if she didn't want to talk about it, then I was happy enough with that. "Great! I want out of these scrubs, they itch." She scratched through her shirt as to prove a point and I got up off the bed, pulling the bag closer to her.
For the next fifteen minutes, I helped her get changed and back into her clothes. She blanched at my choice of wardrobe I brought for her, but didn't say anything more about it. She hissed with pain when she caught her sore leg with the bed and then growled when she moved too quickly in response to the first pain, jarring her ribs and making the colour she had come to her cheeks, drop away instantly. I combed her hair for her so she didn't catch her stitches and left it down to cascade around her shoulders how I like it. And then I sat down on the bed, waiting for her to finish up in the bathroom and ready to leave.
"Get me out of here," She said tiredly, letting me wrap an arm around her shoulders and lead her away from her room and out of the entrance, taking a slow walk to the car.
"I went shopping earlier and stocked up on your favorite ice-creams for you," I explained once we were on our way home, happily leaving the hospital behind. "And your mom is quite anxious to see you. So prepare yourself for what she may be like when you walk through the door," I stopped at a red light and turned to look at her. Her face was full of expectation and an eagerness to see our son again. "I should probably let you know I promised your brother you would tell him everything. And I mean, everything, Susannah. It was the only way to get him to agree to keep quiet and stick to the cover-story we've told everyone.
She looked over at me in alarm, before shaking her head and shrugging it off.
"Yeah, I guess he would have found out sooner or later. I'll tell him in a couple of days. I just want to hole up with you and Nicky for a while. He can wait a little while longer." She easily said. Taking it better than I thought she would. "He did see something I can't exactly brush under the rug can I? I just have to accept it gives him more ammunition for blackmail in the future."
"I don't think Brad sees it that way, Susannah," I said, not taking my eyes off the road. "He was very shook up with what he saw. I don't think he'll turn your gift against you at all."
And I let the silence reign between us for the rest of the drive home. Susannah lost in contemplation of what I said, rising to defend her brother surprisingly. And I, in getting her home and settled as much as possible. I was coursing with expectation and an energetic hum streamed through my being. I knew it wouldn't be shaken loose anytime soon and patiently left it to bubble beneath the surface until such a time when it could be released.
"Oh there he is!" Susannah exclaimed as we pulled into the driveway, her mother appearing at the door with Galen seated at her feet and Nicky resting on her left hip. Raising his arm to wave to us for him. Susannah gripped the door handle, unbuckling her belt and waiting for me to help her out of the car. I took her bag out of the trunk on the way around to her side, pulling open the door and helping her out. Despite how much it hurt her just to breath, she still walked up the porch steps with a grin, eager to see Nicky. He was quite excited himself as he bounced in Helen's arms. "There's my baby boy! Come here!"
And before either I or Helen could object, Susannah took Nicky into her arms and cuddled him close to her.
I dropped the bag to the floor and stood by waiting to take him from her in case it got too much. I knew she was finding it difficult, especially with how over-excited he was to see her. And I gently took him off of her, watching closely as she leaned up against the doorframe and tried to catch her breath. "Okay, so that wasn't such a smart idea," She panted, looking over at me innocently. Her mother huffed and walked back into the house. "Come on, Mom, you didn't think I was going to wait to get through the door before I cuddled him did you? Not after missing him all night and day." She adamantly pressed, walking over to the couch and sitting down gingerly.
"I shouldn't be surprised," Helen answered, watching her daughter, very closely. Her eyes traced over her bruised face and cut above her eye. How she sat as upright as possible to ease the pressure of her ribs. She took it all in with a critical eye before sighing sadly. "I know you're clumsy Suze, but to fall down the stairs and do this to yourself!" She exclaimed, waving her hand to encompass her daughter's state. "And why didn't you call me? I could have helped!"
"No offence, mom, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight," Susannah winced. "If you didn't hear, I kinda knocked my head pretty hard on the way down and didn't really know what I was doing by calling Brad in the first place. But it's done now, I'm home and I'll be fine. Nothing to worry about."
"You know," Helen said conversationally, sitting back into the couch comfortable; creating an air of relaxation and ease. Susannah and I both went on tense alert. "Seeing you like this, reminds me a lot of the time that boy beat you up down by The Point? You looked pretty close to how you do now. Did Susie tell you about that, Jesse?" She asked, rounding on me. "She stuck up for herself pretty well, but she had a couple of broken ribs that time too. So how did you manage to get scratches and scrapes down your arms Suze? I don't remember seeing them on you any other time you've fell down the stairs."
Obviously getting tired of the interrogation, Susannah sat forward on the sofa and pinned her mother with a scathing look. I stepped back closer to the kitchen, holding Nicky against me like that would ward off the mother/daughter glare match currently progressing.
"You obviously don't believe I fell down the stairs, Mom. And honestly, that's not my problem. I don't know what you're trying to get at, but whatever it is, you're wrong. I was home alone with Nicky. Do you really think I would do something that would put him in danger or leave me from not being able to get to him?" She asked, her mother's glare softening and turning into slight chastising. "Look, I'm tired, I hurt and I just want to spend some time with Nicky. Can we talk about this another time?"
Helen got up off the couch as an answer and knelt down by Susannah's side. Raising a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind Susannah's ear the way she used to when she was younger. Susannah only rolled her eyes at the action. "I'm sorry I'm interrogating you. I'm just worried. When Brad told me what happened and Jesse explained how hurt you were, I was scared and worried. I know you wouldn't do anything reckless to put Nicky or yourself in danger. And I'm sorry I pressed the issue. I do believe you, honey. I just wish you'd be more careful."
"And I will be. Don't worry about me, Mom. I have a doctor to look after me," She smirked at me, fatigue clear in her eyes. "Now go, doc says I need rest."
Helen laughed and rose to her feet. "Okay, I get a hint. I'll pop round sometime tomorrow and see how you're doing," She said, walking over to Nicky in my arms and running a hand over his head. "Be good for your parents, sweetheart," And she gave Susannah a kiss on her head before she picked up her bag and jacket. "And please take care, Suze. I don't want any more calls telling me you've had another accident. A mother can only take so much." She said jokingly. But it hit a chord deep within both Susannah and me. And we shared a look as her mother called out a good-bye and left us alone.
"Just what I wanted to hear," Susannah said with a sigh, running a slow hand through her hair, wincing.
I didn't say anything to comfort her, because I knew there wasn't anything that would have made it better. The incident with Stuart had shaken her up. Far more than even she seemed to realize. And for the rest of the day, I made her stay seated on the couch, as comfortable as possible while I saw to both of them. Nicky played up more than usual. But I suspected that had something to do with the fact he was picking up on the tense atmosphere surrounding the house and the excitement of seeing his mother for the first time all day. We sat at the table as a family eating out dinner together mostly in silence. Susannah had her back to the kitchen, concentrating on feeding Nicky. She was tense and in pain. And all I could do was stare down into my food and push it around my plate.
She watched as I played on the floor with Nicky afterwards, Galen sat by Susannah and kept guard over her. She laughed when I tripped over one of his toys as I was trying to make a dive for our son. And as long as it wasn't strained, I didn't mind. But the pain was soon becoming too much for her and her eyes were starting to get heavy. So while I got Nicky ready for bed, Susannah climbed the stairs slowly and got herself ready too. Not objecting when I suggested she have an early night. That alone was cause for worry. And when she was settled in bed, I brought Nicky into our room, laying him down on the bed beside her.
"What are you doing?" She asked drowsily, stroking him on the head and watching as he fell into a deeper sleep. "I take it he slept here with you last night too?" She smiled, staring down at him with a mixture of joy and concern. To put her mind at ease, I stretched out on the other side of the bed, my arm across Nicky and resting on Susannah's stomach lightly. She gave me a look I interpreted well, and I leant up on my elbow, reaching across Nicky to kiss her lightly on the lips. "Ow," She moaned, whining a little when I pulled away. She touched a finger to her lips lightly, prodding the split lip. "I can't wait until that's healed. I want a proper kiss."
"Patience, querida," I soothed, stroking a hand down her hair, watching her eyes get heavy as she dozed off. "You'll heal soon enough." But she was already gone. And I stretched back out on my side of the bed, keeping a watchful eye on my family sleeping beside me. And before I knew it, I had slipped off into sleep too.
xXx
I didn't wake up until after Midnight. Perfect timing I thought to myself when I rolled back over from the clock and focused on my family sleeping next to me. Nicky was snuggled close to Susannah and she had a protective arm wrapped around him in return. For a split second I thought about staying there with them. Watching them sleep for the rest of the night. But when I saw Susannah's arm twitch over him and a wince come to her beautiful face even in sleep, I furrowed my brow and knew I had to go through with what I had wanted to do the moment I left Susannah at the hospital the night before. What my anger had been begging me to fulfil since I got Susannah home and watched her fuss and worry over Nicky.
And the next thing I knew, I was spurring myself into action.
I rolled off the bed not daring to kiss either of them. Susannah is a light sleeper anyway and I didn't want her disturbed anymore than she already was. But as I was slipping my heavy boots on and lacing them up, I heard her shifting from behind me. Moving quietly and slowly so she didn't wake Nicky. I didn't turn to look at her, just grabbed the sweater off the back of a chair and pulled it down over my head, running a hand through my mussed hair and pulling the sweater straight.
"Jesse?" Susannah softly murmured, her sleepy voice reaching me across the room and causing me to stop for a second, taking a deep breath before I turned around and walked over to her. "Where are you going?" She asked sleepily, looking over at the clock on the bedside table. "Jesse its gone Midnight. Where could you possibly be going at this - " She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes-widening and looked at me slightly distressed, shaking her head at me. "No. No, Jesse don't do this. You don't have to! We'll sort it out together. You said it yourself! Don't go and do this alone. Please." She reached out to me, laying a soft hand on my cheek. Looking at me with enough intensity to make me want to look away.
But I didn't. Not from Susannah's gaze. Not ever.
"I've waited all night and all day, Susannah. I'm going to do this. I have to do this. I know you understand, but this isn't your fight anymore. This is between me and him," I turned my face to kiss the center of her palm and looked back to her. "It won't be happening again, querida. Ever," I pulled her hand down, whispering the end. "I won't be long." With one quick kiss to her forehead, I got up and walked out of the room. Ignoring her urgent calling of my name. I just tightened my hands into fists, telling my fury to hold back just a little while longer and let Galen run up the stairs and into our room. Leaving the house with the small comfort that he would be there to keep watch over Susannah and Nicky.
The drive to the Mission and the cemetery Stuart was buried in was too quick. I sat in my car for minutes, trying to keep myself under control before I couldn't take it anymore. I climbed out of the car and slammed the door. Looking in the window and ignoring what I saw. A man consumed by rage. By fury and the desire to protect his family. To exact the revenge on the person that harmed my love and put the life of my child in danger. My expression was dark and dangerous; my eyes as black as the deepest pit. I walked towards the wrought iron gates and entered the grave-yard. Slowly, patiently walking around the grounds until I came across his marker. His final resting place.
I stared down at it with pure hate.
"Got a problem?" A deep masculine voice asked from behind me, his tone suggesting what I thought. He was angry, annoyed, riddled with emotion he couldn't unleash. I understood it. I could accept and relate to it all. Because I was feeling it too. Towards him. "You got some nerve showing up here. This isn't your territory anymore. You lost that right the day your bitch went back and saved your sorry life. So do yourself a favor and go. Before I do to you, what I did to her." And there was a smirk and gluttony edge to his voice.
I knew he was aware that I had tensed at every single disparaging remark he made towards Susannah, and every drop of anger I had been harbouring since finding her beaten and broken rushed to the surface in a glorious display of rippling muscles and a loud cry of fury as I turned on the spot and grabbed him by the throat with a snarl. And instantly I saw his eyes widen with shock when he got a good look at what I was holding in mine. My teeth clenched hard as I squeezed my hand around his throat tighter, my blood boiling in my veins and my heart thumping wildly in my chest. Thoughts fled and emotion took over. One, pure, raw and undiluted emotion in particular. And I channelled every drop of it into my stare and hold.
He choked and grappled at my hand, trying to loosen the grip.
"You hurt, Susannah," I said, very quietly and very slowly. My tone was like ice, sharp like crystal and biting. I felt no sympathy towards him for what he did. For the situation he is in, even though I once shared his fate. It's inexcusable and does not make up for anything he's done. I knew it then and I know it now. And I let that build and fester on the white hot flames blazing and growing out of control deep down in my gut. In the recesses of my soul. "You put the life of my child in danger. Threatened to kill his mother. Now tell me who has lost the right to be here, you sádico hijo de puta."
Before I gave him a chance to answer or say something equally as burning, I let go of him and swung my fist around and into his face. His nose breaking beneath my knuckles and causing him to cry out with pain. He staggered back, catching his balance and throwing me a disgusted scowl. But I just marched towards him, raising my twitching foot and kicking him hard in the chest where he was doubled over still clutching his nose. He was sent sprawling across the grass, falling against a headstone heavily and I pounced. I was aware of a loud, echoing sound in my ear as I reared my fist back and hit him again and again, his hands trying to fight me off, but my fists were coming down too fast. It wasn't until I was sent flying off him and landing on a grave, crushing a vase of flowers beneath me, did the echoing, loud noise stop.
And only then did I realize I was the one screaming. With every ounce of distress and fury I'd had building in me.
"You're as bad as her!" Stuart roared, getting up and striding over to me confidently. "She thought she was better than me too! But I sure showed her didn't I?" He spat, helping me up the rest of the way as I climbed to my feet, his hands around my throat this time. "You should have heard her. The way she begged for her life. For the life of your son; crying for me to stop. Crying out for you. It was kind of pathetic," He smiled mockingly, his sneering face too close to mine. "But then again, why should I be surprised. She's just a weak little girl."
I gritted my teeth against the curse I wanted to throw at him and used it another way instead. Swinging an arm around, I gripped his face in my fingers, pushing him far enough away that I could sink my tight fist into his gut, making him double over winded, giving me room to swing my fist into an uppercut to his jaw feeling it break against my knuckles. Pain went unnoticed and I just shook my hand, flexing my fingers.
Once again he was sent to the ground, his jaw slack as he gagged reflexively trying to breathe.
"It's not nice to insult someone who was trying to help you," I commented roughly, kicking him in the face again blood spurting from his mouth, making him roll over. I stepped on him as I stepped over him. Bending down and grabbing his hair in my hand and bringing him up to look at me. Blood was smeared across his face and I revolted from it. "I was going to make this quick. But I'm not sure I want to now." And I dropped his head to the ground, stomping on his chest and his ribs. Feeling a some give under my thick, heavey boots, his cries barely reaching my ears as I kicked and punched him, my rage still not ebbing no matter how much I unleashed it on him.
Stuart laughed when I stood back to catch my breath. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He coughed and laughed, snickering at me as he looked up at me. "I can see you are. What's the matter, the missus' not giving you enough action? You have to take it out in other way - Shit!" He choked, when I pushed him over with my foot and pressed down hard on his throat. "What's - the matter? Did I - hit - a chord?!" He continued. And before I thought about it, I raised the foot I didn't have holding him down and kicked him.
Snapping his neck instantly and 'killing' him, thus cutting off his cruel laughter.
I ran a hand through my hair and stepped away from his corpse. Pacing small tight circles near his body, waiting for him to come back. I growled and snarled as I paced, glaring at his worthless dead spirit. Trying desperately to brush off the comments he was making about Susannah. I knew for a fact she hadn't cried out for him to stop. Supposedly begging for help. And the thought that he was using her against me went completely unheard as I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up to his feet. His eyes were dazed, but still mocking me from their cruel depths. I snarled, deep and low in my chest.
"You have no idea what you started when you threatened them," I growled, my fingers flexing into tight fists. "Snapping your neck is only the beginning of what I want to do to you. I'm going to rip you limb from limb and make sure you do beg for me to stop. I don't care if you can keep coming back; I can be here all night and still not feel satisfied with killing you again and again and again," I smirked, my expression twisting into something that would terrify anyone who knows me. "But I'm not going to, because I'm not like you. I'm not cruel and evil. I have a family waiting for me. And I'd rather deal with your sick and twisted spirit and get back to my life."
That wasn't what he wanted to hear though. And the next thing I knew, I was gone from standing over him, to finding myself pinned to the ground with his knee pressing down on my chest restricting my breathing.
"That's where you're wrong," He growled, no mocking and smirking leer this time. Just a cold fury that could never and will never match my own. I'm a Lion protecting my Pride. And nothing can match that. "Because you are like me. You're here, giving to me exactly what I gave your girl. You do have a darkness in there you can't control. You're not as pure as you think," He punched me hard, whipping my head to the side, blood filling my mouth from where I bit the inside on my cheek. "And now I think I'm going to kill you. And then I'm going to kill your bitch, before your son. How do you feel about that?"
My answer was to raise my head and slam it into his chin, stunning him enough to fall off me. Within seconds I was on my feet and back to kicking him in the ribs, the kidneys, his face again and again. When my legs burned from that, I bent low and punched him over and over, not giving him a chance to recover. And when my knuckles bled and split open, I grabbed his head in my hands and twisted. Snapping his neck again. But I didn't stop there. I dragged his body across the ground by his hair. Tired of his kicking and growling threats I didn't hear because I was so deafened by my racing heartbeat, I dropped him to the grass and let him stand up. I calmly walked over to a wooden pile of thick tree branches that had been cut off an old tree not far away. Finding a large thick piece, I picked it up in my hands.
The fury almost rivalled my anger for Diego. Almost. Because this went deeper. Soul, bone, earth-shatteringly deep.
"You fucking bastard! You think you can - "
I didn't let him finish whatever scathing remark he had. I just swung around on my heel and smashed the thick branch of wood across his head, throwing him to the ground with a sickening crack. When I reached him, he was shaking his head and just rolling on to his side clumsily. I raised the wooden piece and brought it down hard on his leg, breaking it in multiple places, his cries of agony echoing around the silent graveyard. All I could continue to hear was my heavy breathing in my ears though, tempered by my heart as I brought it down on his other leg. His angry retorts and screams of pain were nothing but faint sounds drifting to me hazily. He reached out a hand to clutch his leg and I swung my wooden weapon hard enough to snap his arm; leaving it dangling lifelessly.
And I laughed. Long and low, at my own pun.
Fury was beyond me. Calm rationality had never even entered the equation. I was driven by desire now. Lust to wipe the disgusting smile off his face. To beat the thought of hurting my family out of his head. To scar him as deeply as he did, Susannah. To show him and any other spirit that may have been watching, that threats to my family do not go unpaid for. That I won't stand by and allow them to get hurt. And I used Stuart as a good example of this. I didn't say a thing as I brought the wooden piece down onto his back. My chest just heaved with exertion, my lungs dry and raspy and my body aching from the hits I'd taken and the exhaustion from the emotion. But I wasn't done.
I threw aside my piece of wood and hauled him up to his feet. Punching him in the face once, his weakened spirit staggering again. I grabbed his shirt in my hands and pushed him until he was bent backwards over an old, mossy gravestone. "Had enough yet?" I asked him scathingly. "Have you learnt yet, never to threaten me with my family? The consequences are painful, whether you're dead or not. I don't take kindly to it. And now you're paying the price," I bent closer, growling. "I may be alive and be able to feel the pain more. But I will never stop until I'm fulfilled of my revenge," I stood up straight, pulling him up with me.
"And now you and I are going for a little trip."
"No. NOOO!" He shouted, kicking and struggling to get out of my hold.
But I held on with a death grip, closing my eyes tight against the emotions running rampant in my mind and concentrated hard on the place I have only been to once. And not when I was alive. A place Susannah fears and hates to go. But the one fog encrusted hallway that I knew would end it and thus stop my fear of the threats from Stuart. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by an eerie, quiet darkness that sent shivers down my glowing form, my emotions tamer and any pain I felt before, gone as though it was never there. As soon as my mind caught up with me, I let Stuart go making him tumble to the floor disrupting the fog that seemed to swallow him. Looking away, I raised my eyes to the sky, awed and fascinated by the stars high above us, as though you could raise your hand and pluck one down easily.
The shadowland was both terrifying and beautiful.
When I dropped my gaze back down, I watched Stuart scramble to his feet, a mixture of hate, anger and terror written across his face. He didn't look so threatening and imposing now. He looked weak, small and inferior to me. A spirit so caught in his lust for a life, he didn't care who he harmed or who he threatened to get it. Some time ago, I probably would have felt sorry for him, having been a ghost myself and knowing how it feels. But I felt nothing towards him. Just a deep-set relief that Susannah and Nicky are safe. That we can continue with our lives without the fear of him coming back for her. Without worrying about other spirits trying their luck. Because I know, somehow, they won't dare to.
I made my point clear with Stuart. I won't have to do it again.
"What have you done?" He asked quietly, stepped back from me and looking around him frantically. When his eyes fell on the corridor of doors seemingly appearing out of no-where, he whipped his gaze back to me. His lips curling with hatred. "Where did you bring me?!" He shouted his voice drifting off in all directions around us. But not echoing back like you would think it would. And he grew more scared by the second. "I'll leave here and I'll come for you. I'll come for you first, you bastard!" He growled advancing towards me until a large, muscled hand clamped down on his shoulder, stopping him short.
"I brought you to a place where you'll never harm another person I love again." I simply said, standing tall in the presence of the Gatekeeper standing behind Stuart with authority and power. Stuart turned around to glance at him, finding how tall and big he was, his eyes furrowed and he glared. Even at the end of the road, he was still trying to fight. And I knew then there was no hope for him. That there never would be.
Before the Gatekeeper or I could react, Stuart broke away from the Gatekeepers hold and made a run down the long, endless corridor of doors, trying to get away from his fate and his sins. But the Gatekeeper raised a hand and just as Stuart was running past a set of thick, wooden doors, one opened, the bright light shining out on him and taking him away with only a cry of, "NOOO!" left behind in his wake. The door slammed shut quietly and everything slipped back into place as though an angry, vengeful spirit hadn't just been trying to run from himself. The fog continued to glide around my knees and the stars stayed stationary above me. The constellations lost on me.
I took a deep breath of nothing and looked back to the Gatekeeper.
"You shouldn't be here," He said, his booming voice surprisingly gentle and non-judgemental around the large open stillness. "You have a life you were destined to lead. Go back to her and your son, Hector. You have no place belonging here." And I whole-heartedly agreed with him. Nodding in acceptance. I only caught a flick of his hand before I felt a pull, a tug on my soul, for lack of a better term. And the next thing I knew, I was rising from the wet dewy grass of the Mission cemetery, my head pounding and my body throbbing.
But with a much lighter heart and clearer head. Any fury I had before was gone. And I was left with extreme exhaustion in its leave.
"Now I understand how terrible, Susannah feels after shifting," I grumbled, rising to my feet stiffly and making my way back to the wrought-iron gates leading me away from a place I don't plan on stepping in to anytime soon. Every step felt painful. But I smiled at it, because it was worth it. To be able to go home and be with my family without a huge storm cloud hanging over us, it was more than worth it. I got into my car and made my way away from the Mission and for home. The streets deserted and quiet; just how I liked it. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I snuck into the house, locking the door behind me and making my way down to the kitchen. I took some painkillers for my headache and wrapped up my hands as best I could; knowing I would need to put ice on them the next day.
Quietly creeping up the stairs, I snuck back into our room and got changed in the bathroom so I didn't wake Susannah or our son. By the time I petted Galen, telling him what a good boy he was, and stretched back out on our bed, rubbing my hand up and down Nicky's back, I was feeling sated and more than pleased with myself. And I knew I would do it all over again if I had to. I did what any father and lover would have done. And I couldn't find any kind of disgust with myself for that. What-so-ever.
"What did you do?" Susannah whispered when I finally lifted my eyes to meet her own after feeling them on me since I walked back in the room. Susannah's were glistening with unshed tears, brimming on the edge of her thick eyelashes. I reached out a wounded hand and pressed it against her cheek running the backs of my fingers over it and smiling when she turned into the warmth again. I stayed quiet for seconds and silently begged her not to question it or ask me again. To just have some faith and trust in me. But Susannah being Susannah did. And I did nothing but stare back. "Jesse, what did you do?!"
Leaning over Nicky, I pressed a kiss to her forehead, sitting back just enough so I could look into her eyes. Letting her see the clear untroubled emotions harbouring there.
"Nothing, querida," I whispered back, stroking my thumb over the bruise to her cheek. It would heal. Susannah would heal. And I would be there to make sure she did every step of the way. "It's over now. Go back to sleep."
And she did, soon followed by me.
A/N 2: Quick explanation about Jesse shifting; I gave him powers because it was never said he didn't have them. And I assume with him being a former ghost, he would have them equally as powerful as Paul and Suze as compensation. Just in case any of you were wondering. :) Take care, y'all! Reviews are always loved. x
Anonymous Reviews: Should be up on my profile page within the next day or so. Sorry for the inconvience again. ^^