It felt like it took hours to reach the door to Cordelia's room - Jack had never been more nervous about anything in his life. He found it hard to believe that his hand was shaking as he touched the doorknob. "Keep it together, Jack," he whispered to himself.
He opened the door and froze in the doorway. He saw Cordelia in the middle of the large bed, her back to him. The oil lamp next to her bed cast a soft glow about the room and the rain, when uninterrupted by thunder and lightning, created a soothing sound.
Jack shut the door behind him without making any noise, then began to make his way towards the bed. He circled around the front of it and looked at his love's face. How could I ever have wanted to keep you away from me? When he got close enough, he could see that tears were flowing from Cordelia's closed eyes…and they were landing on something: Jack's bandana was tied around her left hand, which was cradling her face.
Immediately, Jack sat on the edge of the bed and wiped Cordelia's tears away with his thumb. Her breathing hitched for a moment, but she didn't wake. He resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and instead ran his fingers through her hair.
"Love…" His voice sounded distant, even to himself. "Cordelia," he said a bit more like himself, "darling, can ye hear me?" Cordelia stirred and a small sound escaped her lips. "I'm so sorry I hurt ye, love, ye 'ave t' know I only tried t' do wha' I thought was right…" Cordelia slowly opened her eyes; she saw Jack right away, but she didn't react – at all. "Are ye tha' mad with me?"
Cordelia sniffled and when she spoke, her voice was terribly pained. "You're not here…it's not fair that I keep seeing you and you're never here when I wake up."
Jack smiled sweetly, "Ye are awake, love."
Cordelia's eyes widened and she forced herself to sit up. All color drained from her face as she looked into Jack's eyes. "You can't be here," she whimpered. "It's never real."
"It's real, love, I swear it." Tears fell freely from Jack's eyes. "I wanted a better life for ye, an' I felt awful for not trustin' ye…an'…an' if ye wan' me out o' yer sight, say the word an'…"
Sobbing, Cordelia caressed Jack's face and kissed him tenderly. When she pulled away from him, she looked into his kohl-free eyes and said simply, "Prove to me that you're real."
"Prove?" Jack asked softly.
"I don't want to wake up alone."
"Ye won', love." Jack kicked off his boots and put himself fully on the bed and took Cordelia into his arms. He kissed her deeply, despite the fact that they were both crying. Gently, he lifted her nightgown over her head and let his hands caress her shoulders - her flesh rose beneath his fingertips. He ridded himself of his shirt and pressed his chest against hers. Neither were able to move.
Finally, Cordelia's hands roamed Jack's chest – her fingers tracing along the scars that haunted her dreams. Her breathing turned ragged as she struggled against a new bout of tears. Jack calmed her by trailing kisses along her neck.
"It's all right, love…everythin's all right…"
"Don't go," she begged. She kissed him with such urgency that one could have sworn that he was her life source.
"I won'…"
"Make love to me."
Jack had expected tears, silence, slapping…but he didn't expect things to get this far. Wha' if she really thinks she's dreaming? "Cordy, don' ye wan' t' talk about wha' I did t' ye?"
"I can't, not now. Jack, I need to feel you…I have to know that you're really here."
Jack put his mind to rest temporarily and let his body take over. He fumbled with his pants, eventually ridding himself of them. He pressed his body to Cordelia's and shivered. Home… Jack gently entered Cordelia and they both clung to each other. For a few minutes, Jack didn't move at all, he simply took refuge in his lover's body. Instinct began to take over and Jack's hips moved. Moans filled the air as Cordelia wrapped her legs around his waist.
Their coupling didn't last as long as either had liked. With emotions running high, they found their releases rather quickly…When Jack's body tensed, Cordelia held her tightly against him, refusing to let him pull away.
"Cordy, I…"
"No, Jack…please. I need this…I need you – all of you." Jack didn't pull away, instead he kissed her with every ounce of passion in his body. Afterwards, they collapsed, exhausted into one another's arms. "Please don't be a dream…" Sleep overtook their bodies.
Author's Note: The story can stop here, with a happy ending and nothing more, or it can keep going. I feel that I could write a sequel to this if you, the readers, would be interested in one. Let me know what you think, I've grown very attached to these two.
