Thank you all for the reviews! They were wonderful, I'm shocked I didn't get more! I'm glad you all enjoyed my last chapter, I hope you all enjoy this one as well!

RedPhoenix1821

Chapter 5

When Scott had first 'bumped' into Jean, it had been right in the middle of June. It wasn't until four months later that they finally came forward and told each other how they felt, and then another three weeks after that... Jean was still smiling about it. Now it was towards the end of December, and Christmas was upon her. She hadn't seen Scott in a while, and she missed him terribly. They hadn't made love since their first encounter. After finally getting it out of their system, they were able to control themselves and their desires, but that didn't mean they still didn't long for each other.

Scott had told Jean when she last saw him, that Taryn was making him spend all of Christmas Eve and Christmas day with her; and he told her that even after that he may not get the chance to see her until after New Year's. He had explained that he had to visit his brother back at the mansion, he owed him a favor, and that she should go visit her parents; but Jean hadn't wanted to visit her parents. She wanted nothing to do with them, not at this time of year, not when her heart was colder than ice and empty as a hole...

It was Christmas Eve now, and she had been alone for... Jean couldn't remember how long she'd been alone for, she'd lost track of the days again. She sat on her futon hugging the plump pillow Scott had left for her, his pillow, to help her sleep better when he wasn't there. Christmas music and sounds played on her television in the background, and she could hear laughter and carolers down on the street. Christmas lights twinkled in the trees outside her window, and the few that she had strung up around her apartment blinked on and off in a rainbow stream of colors. Somewhere in her apartment, the phone was ringing; she didn't get up to answer it.

Every time she thought about Scott her heart ached and tears welled in her eyes. She let the few fall and wiped them away. Reaching down for the bottle at her feet she picked up the wine and drank straight from the bottle, her only friend in her time of need. There was still a lot left in the bottle, she wanted to save as much of it as she could, it was her favorite, Arbor Mist. She never cared about what kind it was or what flavor, so long as it had alcohol in it. She was of legal drinking age, and right now, since she was all alone for God knows how long, she was taking full advantage of that. Taking a last long drink from the bottle Jean let the liquid pour down her throat, then she replaced the cap and left the bottle on the floor. She allowed her body to fall back onto the bed, holding the pillow tight, and tears falling down her cheeks.

"Scott..." She cried his name over and over; this just wasn't the time of year she wanted to be alone. "Sco...ott..." She choked on her own words as the tears fell harder, then she let herself all out cry. She fell asleep like that.

He was worried about her. Scott had called over to her apartment at least a dozen times by now, and she had never picked up, he was worried. Had something happened to her, was she drinking again and had passed out, he'd seen the bottle of wine in her fridge, just waiting to be opened. Scott was sitting on the couch in Taryn's living room, the phone in his lap, praying for Jean to return his calls. She never did, and he feared the worst. Fighting the urge to grab his keys drive over to see if she was ok, he got up placing the phone back on the table next to the couch. As he walked through the living room, he could hear the radio playing Christmas carols, the TV was on, A Muppet's Christmas Carol was playing, Taryn's favorite holiday movie.

Scott walked past the Christmas tree, laden with decorations and lights that they had spent the whole day putting together. There was already a decent amount of gifts under the tree, some were from Taryn's parents to both of them, some of them were from each other to each other, and a few were from Scott to Jean that he would take over to her as soon as he could. Scott spotted the two Duncan had given him to give to Jean, he said he would never get the chance, since he was moving back in with his mother and her boyfriend after New Year's, college just wasn't working for him right now.

"And Scott," Duncan had said as Scott began walking away, "tell Jean I love her." Scott had cringed on the inside when Duncan had said that, but he had been polite and nodded, saying that he would pass it on.

Scott walked into the kitchen finding Taryn at the counter preparing their dinner. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling his nose in her neck and making her laugh.

"Here." She said handing him a cookie over her shoulder. Scott took it with his mouth and bit it. It was actually good, she had done a good job. It made Scott remember about six years back when he had taught Jean how to make cookies for the first time. The end result had been two dozen perfect chocolate chip cookies, but both came out of a kitchen that looked more like war zone. Both had been covered in batter, flour, eggs, and among other ingredients, and had left a monstrous pile of dishes in the sink. Ororo had been the one to find them and told them as long as they showered and cleaned themselves up that she would take care of the kitchen.

"You ok?" Taryn asked bringing Scott out of trance.

"What?" Scott asked picking his head up off her shoulder, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just..." he laid it back down and inhaled the scent of her hair, peppermint, "totally relaxed right now, being here with you."

"I love you, too, Scott." Taryn said turning and draping her arms around his neck. She leaned up and kissed him. "You're so wonderful to me, Scott, did you know that?"

"No, I didn't, I thought I was worst boyfriend in the world." Scott teased.

"No," Taryn said letting her hands slide down his body until they were near his butt, she palmed him, "you're wonderful." She teased, an erotic tone in her voice. Scott suddenly felt an amorous twist in the air, his passion for Taryn causing him to swoop down and capture her in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms back around his neck and held him close, shivering in delight as his hands massaged her hips, Scott had wonderful hands. He picked Taryn up suddenly and sat her on the counter.

"What about dinner?" she asked as Scott picked her up again and shifted her weight in his arms and carried her off into the bedroom.

"I'm not hungry." He said dumping her unceremoniously on the bed. Taryn laughed when she hit the mattress, grabbed Scott's collar and pulled him down on top of her, her hands then reaching for his belt. Scott unbuttoned her blouse and got her pants off as she removed his. She slipped his shirt off. All the while, Scott never once thought of Jean, only of Taryn and what she was doing to him.

It was way past midnight when the phone rang. Scott didn't know the time, he and Taryn had apparently knocked the alarm clock off the nightstand in their throes. Scott reached across Taryn's body and picked up the phone, Taryn was a deep sleeper.

"Hello?" he mumbled, half awake.

"Scott..." the voice on the other end was broken, thick, and shaking. Despite the distortion, Scott recognized it immediately and sat bolt upright.

"Jean, what's wrong?" but her voice had gone and all he could hear was silence. "Shit." Throwing the phone down he jumped out of the bed and pulled his clothes on. Taryn shifted beside him, but didn't wake. Scott threw his shoes on, grabbed his keys and bolted out the door. He raced his car over to her apartment and made it there in five minutes flat. Racing up the stairs he got to her door, finding it already open. "Oh God..." he whispered seeing it. The panel was splintered, the locks broken, someone had either kicked it or battered it in; and since Jean was the only person living on the top floor, no on else was around to hear it. Scott opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into chaos. Glass and wood, and filth was all over the floor. There was a large hole in the wall behind her desk where her laptop had been plugged in, her TV was gone, and her fridge by the looks of it had been torn apart.

"Jean?" he called out. He saw a light on in the bathroom and heard running water. "Jean?" he said more gently as he approached the door. A chair was lying on its side by the door, the back of it was split. He pushed the door open and saw Jean in a huddled heap on the floor, her right hand holding her left forearm, blood was oozing slowly from between her fingers. Her face was red from tears, there were fresh bruises forming around where she was holding her arm, and her hair was totally mussed. "Oh my God, Jean..." Scott crouched down beside her and slowly peeled her hand away from her arm, she acted as though he wasn't even there. "Oh God, oh, Jean." The wound on her arm was deep, not deep enough to nick an artery, but definitely deep enough to need stitches. "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital." Scott said standing. Jean reached out and grabbed his arm, getting her blood on him.

"No, please, not the hospital." Jean said. Scott crouched back down in front of her and took hold of her shoulders.

"Jean, I have to take you to the hospital, your wound is serious, I don't want anything else to happen to you. Come on, please, let me take you to the hospital." Scott wrapped his arms around her and helped Jean to her feet. She clung to him as she stood, barely able to stand on her own. Scott grabbed some toilet paper and wrapped securely around her arm then washed his own arm. As they walked back out, Scott noticed a busted lamp and a large piece of glass on the floor with blood on it, Jean had been slashed.

He helped Jean down the stairs and to his car, her feet stumbling all the way. "It's ok, relax." Scott said as he helped her into his car. He buckled her in then got in and peeled out. The only reason he was going so fast was because Jean was beginning to bleed through the toilet paper and she was having trouble remaining conscious. When he arrived at the hospital, he rushed Jean into the ER and signed her in. She begged for Scott to be with her, but the nurse wouldn't allow it. Jean had tears running down her face and started crying for him, screaming his name, she wanted him with her, she needed him more now than she had ever wanted him before. People were staring at her, at the blood dripping from her wrapped wound, in the end though, the doctor and nurse still wouldn't allow Scott to be with her, Jean was carried away crying a flood of tears, and it broke Scott's heart to see her in such pain, more emotional than physical.

The doctor returned forty-five minutes later, a silver clipboard in his hands. Scott stood as he approached. "I need some information from you." He said to Scott. "Your name first, you are the one who brought her here, correct."

"Yes, I'm her, uh, boyfriend, Scott Summers. Jean called me from her apartment, it had been broken in to; she had been robbed. I found her in her bathroom with the cut on her arm, I don't know how she got it."

"All right, do you have insurance Mr. Summers?"

"Ah, yes, I do, but I don't have that information with me at this moment, my concern was for Jean, I just wanted to get her help before anything more serious happened."

"I'm going to need that information, do you know when you'll be able to bring it in?" Scott shifted his eyes around the room for a minute before he looked back at the doctor.

"Uh, it's Saturday now, so, before next Thursday probably, or is that too late?"

"That'll be fine." The doctor looked down for a minute to write things down on the paper attached to the clipboard then looked back up at Scott. "We ran a test on Ms. Grey to check for sexual assault, just in case, we found nothing, did she anything about who attacked her?"

"No, I haven't even called the police yet. I wasn't thinking about that at all, like I said, my only concern was for Jean."

"All right, thank you for your time Mr. Summers, you can see her now. Here's a prescription for some pain relievers that she may need." The doctor handed Scott a note with an illegible signature. Typical, Scott thought tucking it away in his pocket. The doctor told him the room Jean was in then walked off to help more patients. Scott followed his directions and found Jean in the room, already dressed in her clothes again, her arm heavily bandaged in gauze and wrapped securely. She was holding it and massaging the damaged area.

"Hey," he said gently as he walked in. He went over to her and carefully wrapped his arms around her. "How are you?"

Jean looked up at him, didn't smile, he knew she wasn't up to that, she just frowned, and didn't say anything. "Jean?" he asked wiping a piece of hair from out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. "Hey," he placed his finger under her chin and pushed her face up to meet his then he leaned in and kissed her. Jean didn't kiss him back. "I'm not going to ask if you're ok."

"You know what the answer'll be anyway." Jean said quietly, her voice oddly dark. "What the fuck do you think?"

"How may stitches?"

"20."

"Wow, that many, huh?"

"It was a long cut. They just came at me. I was just laying there, fast asleep."

"Were you drinking?"

"Yeah, a little. They took the bottle too. They kicked the door in, pulled me out of the bed, threw me in the bathroom, and shoved the door under the knob. In all the shouting and confusion, my lamp got knocked off the nightstand, and when the one guy pulled me off the futon, he had a piece of the glass in his hand, and it slashed me."

Scott nodded as he listened to her, held her close, her head on his shoulder, and let her cry when she needed to. After, he walked her out the hospital, his arm protectively around her waist. They arrived back at her apartment building fifteen minutes later, and saw flashing lights in the parking lot.

"He called the police." Jean groaned.

"Who?"

"My landlord. Oh great, this was the last thing I needed tonight."

Scott parked his car next to Jean's and got out to open her door. He helped her out of the car and wrapped his arm around her waist again, instinctive protection.

"Jean, there you are, thank God!" A middle-aged man yelled running over to her and Scott. "Who are you?" He asked looking Scott up and down.

"A friend." Scott said bluntly.

"Why did you call them?" Jean asked motioning to the cops.

"I saw him run you out of here with your arm wrapped up. After you left I went up to your apartment, guess what I found. Guess why I called the cops."

"Are you Ms. Grey?" A stern looking man in uniform asked walking over and flashing a flashlight on the couple. Scott put his hand over Jean's face to block the blinding brightness of the light; his glasses took care of that for him.

"Yes, and yes that's my apartment, and yes it was broken in to."

"Why didn't you call us, ma'am?" he asked firmly.

"Because I was taking her to the hospital." Scott answered.

"Do you live here as well, sir?"

"No, I'm Jean's friend. She called me and I came right over. I found her then I took her to the hospital."

Jean stood there in the spotlight, letting Scott argue with the cop, she hated them, was afraid of them. His arm was still tight around her waist, his hand on her exposed skin. She felt the light from the cop travel to Scott's hand where it lay on her hip.

"Were you violated in any way, ma'am?" he asked.

"No, she wasn't." Scott answered.

"I was addressing Ms. Grey."

"And I'm answering for her, she's been through enough tonight, she doesn't need anymore of this."

"What hospital did you take her to?"

"Closest one I could fine."

"Please be more specific, sir."

"I don't know, ok, I don't know which hospital I took her to. The closest one from here."

The flashlight was finally put away and Jean could look up again. The voices were still just a swirl around her; she was barely able to make any of it out. Finally the voices stopped and she could feel Scott moving her toward the building. He walked her up the stairs and to her apartment. Inside, there was still a mess everywhere. Scott picked Jean up and carried her over to her futon, where he laid her down and covered her in the blanket.

"Please don't leave me." She said when he stood back up.

"I'm not, I'm just going to clean this up and call Taryn."

"Don't tell her what happened, please."

"I won't, relax." Scott said sitting back down beside her. He gathered her in his arms and hugged her for a long minute. "I'll be right here, ok. Don't worry." Scott laid her back down and kissed her. "Try and go to sleep, ok, I'll be with you in a little while."

Jean nodded and shut her eyes. While she slept, Scott cleaned up her apartment and called Taryn, she didn't sound too happy and had hung up on him. He didn't really care about her mood right now, Jean needed him more than she did. After he had thrown out the last of the trash, he slipped his shirt and pants off and got on the futon beside Jean, wrapped his arm around her side and pulled her back to his front. He held her tight the rest of the night through, not wanting to be anywhere else.

Author's Note:

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