Jack awoke that morning with a smile on his face. No, not a smile. A grin. A very wide, very happy grin. He was remembering he was at his cabin in Minnesota. He was remembering last night trying to teach Jonas how to fish.
It wasn't all bad.
Jack thought that it would be a Hell-on-Earth experiance spending his entire downtime with Jonas Quinn. But he was wrong once again --although he would never actually admit to it-- and Jonas was turning out to be kind of fun ...In an amusing depreciating way...
He heard shuffling from the guestroom and looked up from his frootloops to see the subject of his ponderings enter.
"Good morning Colonel," Jonas said in a thick sleepy voice.
"Hey Jo---" Jack halted in mid-speech, smile gone, staring the other man.
Jonas fidgeted self-consciously. "What?" he asked, afraid he had done something wrong.
"Your face..." Jack ventured.
Jonas stared at him dumbly. 'Is he trying to covertly tell me that I'm ugly or something?!' he thought, bewildered.
By this time, Jack was hovering his hand all around the jawline area.
Jonas reached up and touched his own jaw and quickly snapped his hand away. It stung. Jonas' eyes narrowed in thought for a second and the memory of those men from yesturday afternoon came flooding into his head.
"Ahh," Jonas said, "It's nothing."
"It sure as hell doesn't LOOK like nothing!"
Jonas jumped back a little at Jack's outburst and cradled the area with his hand, shocked. "Really, Jack. It's okay."
"No!" Jack yelled in reply, "It's not okay! Not at all! You look like you've been beaned in the face with a deformed baseball! So tell me what
happened?!"
"I-I was hit," Jonas stuttered, "T-this uh---Yesturday, in the, uhm..."
"Bathroom?" Jack finished, "That's why you wanted to leave so quickly?"
"Yeh," Jonas nodded, "That's it."
"Damnit Jonas! You should've told me, why didn't you?! I coulda kicked their asses! Never let anybody push you around like that! You hear me?!"
It was hard not to hear him. He was yelling so loudly that all of Minnesota could probably hear him.
'Oh no,' Jonas thought, 'He's gonna hate me forever now. We were getting along just fine and then I had to go and ruin it. Damnit, can't I do anything right!' He was near tears, but he didn't want to cry. That would just make Jack hate him more.
Jack had stopped his tirade and was now staring guitily at Jonas' face. The grey-blue eyes glazing over, building up tears.
"Damnit," Jack muttered to himself, then said outloud. "But that's over and done with now, head on outside and set your chair up. Fishing lessons
start as soon as I'm finished my frootloops."
Jonas abled a small nodd and headed outside, walking passed Jack as if he were walking the Green Mile.
Jack sighed and shoved a spoonful of frootloops into his mouth.
"Damnit."
The bowl was almost empty when he heard Jonas give out a sharp cry and Jack jumped to his feet.
"Oh great, he probably fell into the lake or got the fishhook tangled in his hair or..." Jack jumped outside and looked around. "Jonas?!" he called
out. No reply. "C'mon Jonas! Show yourself!"
Jack heard something whizzing through the air and then felt a pang of pain shoot up through his leg. He looked down and grasped the offending object, staring at it dumbly with ever-hazing vision.
"A... a dart...?"
The ground rushed up to him and then nothing.
It wasn't all bad.
Jack thought that it would be a Hell-on-Earth experiance spending his entire downtime with Jonas Quinn. But he was wrong once again --although he would never actually admit to it-- and Jonas was turning out to be kind of fun ...In an amusing depreciating way...
He heard shuffling from the guestroom and looked up from his frootloops to see the subject of his ponderings enter.
"Good morning Colonel," Jonas said in a thick sleepy voice.
"Hey Jo---" Jack halted in mid-speech, smile gone, staring the other man.
Jonas fidgeted self-consciously. "What?" he asked, afraid he had done something wrong.
"Your face..." Jack ventured.
Jonas stared at him dumbly. 'Is he trying to covertly tell me that I'm ugly or something?!' he thought, bewildered.
By this time, Jack was hovering his hand all around the jawline area.
Jonas reached up and touched his own jaw and quickly snapped his hand away. It stung. Jonas' eyes narrowed in thought for a second and the memory of those men from yesturday afternoon came flooding into his head.
"Ahh," Jonas said, "It's nothing."
"It sure as hell doesn't LOOK like nothing!"
Jonas jumped back a little at Jack's outburst and cradled the area with his hand, shocked. "Really, Jack. It's okay."
"No!" Jack yelled in reply, "It's not okay! Not at all! You look like you've been beaned in the face with a deformed baseball! So tell me what
happened?!"
"I-I was hit," Jonas stuttered, "T-this uh---Yesturday, in the, uhm..."
"Bathroom?" Jack finished, "That's why you wanted to leave so quickly?"
"Yeh," Jonas nodded, "That's it."
"Damnit Jonas! You should've told me, why didn't you?! I coulda kicked their asses! Never let anybody push you around like that! You hear me?!"
It was hard not to hear him. He was yelling so loudly that all of Minnesota could probably hear him.
'Oh no,' Jonas thought, 'He's gonna hate me forever now. We were getting along just fine and then I had to go and ruin it. Damnit, can't I do anything right!' He was near tears, but he didn't want to cry. That would just make Jack hate him more.
Jack had stopped his tirade and was now staring guitily at Jonas' face. The grey-blue eyes glazing over, building up tears.
"Damnit," Jack muttered to himself, then said outloud. "But that's over and done with now, head on outside and set your chair up. Fishing lessons
start as soon as I'm finished my frootloops."
Jonas abled a small nodd and headed outside, walking passed Jack as if he were walking the Green Mile.
Jack sighed and shoved a spoonful of frootloops into his mouth.
"Damnit."
The bowl was almost empty when he heard Jonas give out a sharp cry and Jack jumped to his feet.
"Oh great, he probably fell into the lake or got the fishhook tangled in his hair or..." Jack jumped outside and looked around. "Jonas?!" he called
out. No reply. "C'mon Jonas! Show yourself!"
Jack heard something whizzing through the air and then felt a pang of pain shoot up through his leg. He looked down and grasped the offending object, staring at it dumbly with ever-hazing vision.
"A... a dart...?"
The ground rushed up to him and then nothing.