Chapter 50

Night had befallen Blackwater when Catherine heard a knock at the front door. Her father went to bed half an hour ago. Surely, he wasn't expecting a visitor. Interest settled into her mind as she placed her book on the table in front of her chair. Standing up, she ran her hands along the front of her skirt to smooth it before going to the door. She took a peek out of the window from behind the curtain to see if she could see who the unannounced visitor was before she opened the door for them. Her brows drew together when she saw who it was. Going to the door and unlocking it, she opened the door to greet the visitor. "Jack? It's late, is everything okay?"

The man in front of her wore a troubled look on his face. "I ain't interrupting anything, right?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. I was just reading." His hair looked damp underneath his hat, like he'd just gotten out of the bath. His shoulders bowed instead of sitting straight. His eyes were taking in every inch of her face as if he hadn't seen her in years. "What's wrong?"

"Can… can we talk a minute? I won't stay long. Just…" he sighed and took his hat off before running his fingers through his hair, "just need to hear your voice for a little while if that's okay."

"Absolutely. Let's talk out here, Father's gone to bed already. I don't want to wake him." Catherine took a few steps out of the house and closed the door behind her. Taking Jack's hand, she pulled him to the porch swing. She got comfortable, tucking her legs underneath her. "Did the job with Agent Sawyer not go well? Is that why you're upset?" She asked when he sat next to her.

"I'd like it if we didn't talk about the job. Tell me about your day instead."

She rose a brow at him. "My day? It was just a regular day. I ran errands for Father, cooked dinner. I'm a very boring person, I'm afraid." Catherine tilted her head to the side in confusion. "The most exciting thing I did today was going to check on Lucy."

"I noticed the braid in her mane. You're getting a lot better with that hair stuff." Jack took his hat off before leaning his forehead against hers. "I also saw all the treats you left for her."

Catherine wore an impish smile. "She was stuck at home, she deserved them. She didn't seem happy that you left her behind. I tried putting in a good word for you, but I'm not sure she listened."

He laughed. It was breathless, like it took an enormous amount of energy to do so. "She gave me an earful, that's for sure. Gave me the cold shoulder until I fed her an apple." His hand reached for hers. When his hand clasped over hers, he sighed again.

"Are you going to tell me why you're upset?" She hated pushing when he clearly didn't want to talk about it, but she grew more worried the longer he deflected. What happened on that job?

"Tomorrow I will. Right now, I just needed to hear your voice and know that you're alright." His hand tightened. "I promise, tomorrow."

Catherine accepted his promise by reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. She had been right it was still damp. He must have gotten home not long ago. "Would you like me to go back inside and grab the book I was reading? I can bring a lantern out and read to you." Jack reading to her years ago had been one of the few things that made all of her worries melt away. The story wasn't important. Just hearing his voice and being near him was all she needed. She wondered if he would feel the same comfort she had with the roles reversed.

"I'll take a rain check. Just being beside you right now is enough."

"Okay. Whatever you need." She told him.

Jack grew quiet as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. He leaned his head into her hand and sighed again. "You know that I would do anything to keep you safe, right?" He whispered.

"I know."

"Good." He caught her hand and brought it to his face, resting his cheek on it. "I love you."

Catherine offered him a smile. "I love you, too."

"I should probably go before your Pa comes downstairs and thinks you ran off."

"Are you sure? You just got here. You can stay longer if you like."

He shook his head. "I've already bothered you enough as it is."

"You are never a bother to me, Jack."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "You sayin' things like that is why I keep bothering you." Jack rested his forehead against hers again. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Be careful getting home?" She untucked her legs to stand up with him.

"I promise." He grabbed his hat from the swing and placed it back on his head. His hands reached for her again, this time holding her face between them. A soft, gentle kiss was placed on her lips for a brief moment before he pulled away. "Thank you for this, Cat. I can't really put into words how much I appreciate it."

"This isn't anything you need to thank me for, Jack. How often have you done this for me?"

A soft chuckle filled the quiet space. "You better get inside. Don't forget to lock the door."

Though she would have preferred not to, Catherine pulled herself from Jack's hold. "Okay, I'm going. Goodnight, Jack."

He smiled a wistful smile. "Goodnight, kitty Cat."

Afternoon arrived before Catherine found time to slip away to Beecher's Hope. She was eager to see Jack after his surprise visit last night. She hoped that he kept true to his promise about telling her what had gone down on the job that he needed to hear her voice. Her mind had run wild most of the night with possibilities, leading her staying up later than normal and getting a late start to her day.

When she crossed onto the property line of Beecher's Hope, she found Jack standing at the front of the house. He dragged the table from the gazebo out, she noticed. He stood beside it with his back facing her. He was doing something on the table, but she couldn't see what. She looked around and found some makeshift targets in the form of bottles and cans set up a short distance away from him. Confusion crept into her thoughts. What did he need those up for? Almost as if he read her mind, Jack turned around to face her. He offered a smile to her before waving her over. He seemed to be in better spirits than last night and no longer wore the troubled look he had.

"What are all the bottles for?" Catherine inquired, making her way over to him.

"Target practice." His answer was short and simple.

"Oh." She looked back at the bottles and quirked a brow. "Those look like easy shots for you!"

A smirk tugged at his lips. "Not for me, I'm afraid."

"Not for you? Who for?" Would someone else be joining them for the afternoon?

Jack shook his head. He turned to his left and picked up the weapon Catherine had failed to notice. "For you." He told her, plain as day. The weapon was offered to her.

"For me?"

"Yes ma'am."

"But… why?"

He gave her a strange look. "So, you can protect yourself, why else?"

"What do I need to protect myself from?" Catherine felt safer these days than she had most of her life. Uncle Edgar was gone, her Father trusted her. Most importantly, she had her best friend at her side. She felt confident about her safety for once.

"You weren't this resistant when Pa showed you how to shoot."

"Well, that was… different." When John insisted he teach her how to shoot, she was in a dangerous situation. Her uncle's abuse had only been escalating. John hadn't taken no for an answer, either. Her idolization of him only swayed things in his favor, as well. "Does this have anything to do with whatever happened on your job yesterday?"

Jack sighed, leading her to believe her guess was right. "I just want to make sure you're safe, Cat. That's all."

"You promised you would tell me about the job." She reminded him.

He sighed again and sat the weapon down on the table. "It wasn't an easy job. Me and Dominick went down to Rhodes, where this Bartel gang had taken over. They had hostages. Wasn't pretty." He looked away from her before continuing. "There was a girl that got held for ransom, some heiress. She was being held at gunpoint. I tried talking her way out of the situation, but it just didn't work. 'Fore I knew it, my brain convinced me it was you being held at gunpoint, not her. Didn't help that she had red hair, too." He took hold of the weapon again and offered it to her once more. "As it stands, you're all I got left in the world. I'll be damned if anything happens to you."

"I don't know, Jack. I haven't even touched a gun since the last time John practiced with me." She picked up a piece of her hair, twirling it around her fingers. "It's still a very intimidating thing for me to wrap my head around."

"It's just a thing, Cat. Ain't nothin' to be scared of, I promise. I'll be right here the whole time." He insisted. "It would make me feel better knowing that if I ain't around, you'll be okay."

"I wasn't very good at it the last time."

"That's what practice is for."

Even though she still held serious reservations about handling a gun, Catherine started to nod. "Okay. I'll try." It seemed like him teaching her these skills meant a lot to him. She would try her hardest. After all, Jack had sat through an entire dinner with her Father for her, she supposed that made him just as uncomfortable as guns made her.

A smile worked onto his face as his shoulders relaxed. "Thank you." He breathed. "What can I do to make you feel more comfortable with all this?"

"I'm not sure that I'll ever feel comfortable with guns, to be honest with you." She hoped her answer wouldn't disappoint him, but she couldn't lie to him.

As she finished her sentence, she could see the wheels in his head begin to turn. "I think I got an idea." She didn't have a chance to reply before Jack took his hat off his head, only to place it atop hers. "Wearing that always makes me feel like Pa is around still, at least in some kind of fashion." His smile softened, almost turning melancholy. "Always gives me a good reminder of what it means to be brave. Maybe it'll help you like it has me."

Catherine did her best to blink away the unexpected tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Jack was letting her wear John's hat. She rarely saw him without it. To think he would let her wear it to try and make her feel more comfortable with the situation? "You are the sweetest man in the world."

"Don't tell no one." Jack gave a chuckle and held the gun out to her again. "I remember Pa had you learning with the Winchester. Thought that might make this a little easier."

Drawing her focus back in, she looked down at the slightly familiar weapon. Taking a breath, she finally took it from him. She kept her finger away from the trigger as she refamiliarized herself with how it felt to hold a gun. John drilled into her head to never have her finger on the trigger unless she was ready to shoot. "I hope you aren't expecting much. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

Jack helped her to hold the Winchester more comfortably in her hands before giving a response. "Only thing I expected was for you to tell me no. We're already going much better than I thought."

"It's not very easy to say no when you were looking at me the way you were."

He turned his attention to her face. A smirk sat on his lips. "Says the owner of the saddest kitten eyes I've ever seen in my life. You ain't got any idea how hard it is to say 'no' to you." He checked her stance, putting a hand on the small of her back. "Try and straighten your back a little more."

She tried to do as she was told, using his hand as a guide. "Like this?"

"Good job, kitty Cat. How much do you remember from when Pa showed you?"

Catherine chewed on her bottom lip trying to remember the things John told her three years ago. "Squeeze the trigger, don't pull it." She focused on the repeater and tried to imagine loading and cocking it like he'd shown her. "I think I remember how to load and cock it."

"Go ahead and try. Don't worry, I'll catch you before you make a mistake."

She nodded and set to work doing what she'd been taught. Her fingers were uncertain as they fumbled around the gun. Jack didn't say a word and just watched with careful eyes. She heard the faint sound of everything clicking into its rightful place. A smile began to pull at her lips. "Did I do it?" She asked, looking up at Jack.

"See, you remember a lot more than you thought you did. Let's get you ready to shoot." The smile on his face was worth going through the discomfort of handling a weapon. "Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. I promise." Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her body to face the bottles he had set up. Once he had her the way he wanted, his hand returned to the small of her back. "Did Pa show you how to do this wrong-handed or did he show you right-handed?"

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Jack. He showed me how to do it with my left."

"Wrong-handed, then."

"Shut up."

His laugh filled her ears from behind her as he positioned the gun against her shoulder with his free hand. "Is that comfortable?"

"As much as it can be, I suppose."

"Try finding a bottle through the sights."

The longer she held the gun, the more she felt her memory on shooting return. Finding the bottle was easy. Shooting it would be a different story, of course. "Found it."

"I want you to focus on the bottle, keep your breathing steady. When you're ready, go ahead and take your shot."

Catherine tried her best to keep the weapon steady as she aimed. She kept her focus for a few seconds before exhaling a breath. She took her shot, squeezing the trigger. The gunshot blared through her ears, but not as loud as she expected it to be. Lowering the weapon, she took a glance at the bottle she aimed for. "I missed." She didn't feel as dejected about missing her target as she did when John showed her.

"Your back is still pretty tense. It's making the repeater jump." Jack's hand rose from the small of her back to the middle of it. His touch was comforting, and she found herself relaxing a little more. "I used to make that mistake a lot. Try breathing slower. Shoot when your lungs are empty." Catherine repeated the steps of preparing the gun for its next shot. Taking Jack's advice into consideration, she readied the weapon once more. As she felt the air leave her lungs, she took her next shot. The sound of shattering glass brought a grin to her face. "That's my girl." Jack praised her.

Her grin widened. "Should I take another shot?"

"Go for it!" He encouraged. "You're doing a real good job, kitty Cat."

Fueled by his praises, she set to work reloading the gun. Once she repeated all of her earlier steps, she took another shot. Again, the bottle she aimed for shattered before her eyes. "I've never hit two in a row before!" She squealed in excitement.

"I told you, once you get the hang of things it ain't that hard. You still feelin' uncomfortable?"

"A little." She admitted. The adrenaline of hitting her target twice in a row was overriding that this minute. "But I made two hits!"

"That you did, Cat." He smiled warmly at her. "You want the Winchester?"

Her brows shot up in surprise. "Do I want the Winchester?" She repeated.

"Yeah, do you?"

"Oh, Jack. I couldn't. Not only do I barely know how to use it, but John left that for you. It's yours."

He shook his head. "Pa would've wanted you to have it seeing as it's the gun you know how to use. I don't use it nearly as often. Would be better in the hands of someone who will use it." He thought for a moment before speaking again. "I'll keep it for now, but we'll keep using it for your practicing." He took the gun from her and set it down on the table beside them. "Once you feel completely comfortable with it, you can decide if you wanna keep it. Sound like a fair deal?"

Knowing that her feeling completely comfortable with the gun was ages away, Catherine decided to agree with a nod. Jack's use of the word "fair" sparked an idea in her mind. "You know, speaking of fair deals…." She began.

He rose a brow at her. "What?"

"I don't think you've been very fair with me, Jack Marston."

"How do you mean?"

She detected the slightest bit of alarm in his tone. She almost felt bad for teasing him like this instead of being blunt. "I think I've touched my fair share of slimy fish. I'm learning to shoot despite my discomfort," a cheeky smile spread across her face. "and yet, I don't think I've gotten to get to teach you how to swim."

A grimace crossed his face. "I was hoping you'd forget, to be honest."

"See, not fair at all." She attempted to fake a pout, but the smile on her face gave her away instantly.

"Alright, alright. When and where do you wanna drown me at?"

Catherine thought for a moment, tapping her chin. "Well, didn't you say there was some lake you wanted to show me? Would you think it would be okay to swim in?"

"Aurora's Basin? Yeah, it would probably be a good spot. We could go there. It's a little bit of a trip, though."

Thinking some more, a realization hit her. "It's supposed to be sunny next week! We should go then! I'll make us a picnic. It would be so nice."

"You wanna drown me on a sunny day?"

She gave his shoulder a small shove. "Oh, hush. I wouldn't let you drown." She looked up at him with expectant eyes. "What do you say?"

"Okay, you win. We'll spend a sunny day at Aurora's Basin."

Catherine didn't think she'd ever smiled so big before. It wasn't often that she got to show Jack how to do something. "Swimming is a really useful skill. Once you get the hang of it, it's not that hard." She giggled at her use of his words against him.

Jack fought a smile and shook his head. "I'll worry about that next week. For now, you learning how to protect yourself ain't over with."

"It's not?"

"No, ma'am." This time, he let the smile cross his features. "Let me show you how to throw a punch."