Author's Note: Thanks to my reviewers for the vote of confidence. Here's the first chapter. It's kind of slow as I'm still establishing their lives, so bare with me for a while. It will pick up. Thanks again and don't forget to review!
Chapter One: Dinner Plans
Lisa came through the door and was immediately set upon by her rambunctious three year old. She instantly dropped her purse to the ground on reflex and scooped the little girl up into her arms, swinging her up above her head. Mariah kicked her legs and spread her arms out like she was a plane.
"Hey, baby!" she exclaimed.
Just as she moved to set Mariah back down on her feet, Luhki came bounding into the room. "Mommy! Mommy! Maggie taught me how to make bracelets! Look it!"
"She did?" Lisa chimed, kneeling down so that she was eye level with her daughter.
"Yep! See how pretty?" Luhki exclaimed, presenting her wrists to allow Lisa a better view of her accomplishments.
"Wow." Lisa said brightly, fingering the strands of beads and threads that enveloped the little girl's arm. "Those are beautiful. Where is Maggie?"
"Hi." said the seventeen year old towheaded babysitter as she emerged from around the corner. Lisa straightned from her kneeling position to greet her. "Sorry, Mrs. Rippner. I didn't hear you come in. I was just giving Jack Jr. a bath, wasn't I little guy?"
The miniature version of Jackson came toddling out from behind the sitter's legs sporting a mop of damp hair. He then proceeded to latch onto Lisa's legs, nearly causing her to topple on top of him. Instead, she leaned forward and swept him up from the floor and kissed both of his red chubby cheeks, breathing in his fresh clean scent. "Mmm, someone smells good!" she said into the baby's hair before turning back to Maggie, "It's fine, dear. How were they today? Did they give you much trouble?"
"Not even a little." Maggie replied, "Okay, so, everyone's been fed and bathed. I know you have people coming over for dinner tonight, so if you need me to stay and help you get them all into bed..."
"Oh, goodness no. That's fine, honey. You're such a life saver, I couldn't live with myself if I held you prisoner for an entire Friday night."
"Oh, no problem. Is, uh, Mr. Rippner gonna be home soon?"
"Who knows?" Lisa said, "His hours are crazier than he is."
"Oh." Maggie said, doing a very poor job at hiding her disappointment.
Lisa chuckled. Maggie had a hopeless crush on Jackson and Lisa thought that it was about the cutest thing she had ever seen. She knew that most women in her position would probably feel a little threatened by the prospect, after all, Maggie was the cute little blonde cheerleader type. Maybe Lisa even would have been had it not been for the fact that Jackson had looked at the girl maybe twice in the entire four months that she had been working for them. She grinned at the young babysitter. "Do you need a lift home?"
"No." Maggie said, "Charlie from the video store is picking me up on his motorcycle. He's got a lip ring. So hot."
"Okay." Lisa laughed. "If you wanna grab your paycheck, it's in my purse."
Maggie picked Lisa's purse up off the floor and withdrew her paycheck. She set the purse on the table and slipped into her jacket as she moved to open the door, but stopped when Lisa called after her. "Oh, honey, wear a helmet."
Maggie giggled into her sleeve, "Sure thing, Mrs. Rippner. Hey, have a nice dinner." With that, she out the door.
Not two minutes later, the door opened once again and Jackson entered. "There was just some kid with a lip ring in our driveway."
"Oh, God. You didn't kill him did you?" Lisa asked.
"I was just about to," Jackson said in all seriousness, "but then Maggie came running out and started making out with him. So, I just kind of slipped past them without drawing attetnion to myself."
"That probably wasn't much of a challenge."
"No. Not at all." Jackson grinned, shrugging out of his jacket and lacing his hands around his pretty wife's waist. She still held Jack Jr. propped against her hip and Jackson kissed the top of the boy's head and stroked a hand over it affectionately. "Hey, big guy. You gonna be just like daddy when you grow up?"
"God I hope not." Lisa muttered.
Jackson chuckled deep in the back of his throat and pressed his lips to Lisa's cheek. "You smell nice."
"That's Jack Jr." Lisa said, her green eyes flashing at him.
"Down!" The boy cried as if on cue and Lisa let him slide down her leg to the floor where he began running as soon as he feet hit the ground.
Jackson pulled Lisa to him and nuzzled into the nook of her neck, kissing his way up to her earlobe. They hadn't been that way for a moment when, "Daddy! Daddy! Come and see what Maggie showed me today!" Luhki exclaimed as she came bursting into the room. She was a daddy's girl through and through and being Jackson's first born, he doted on her. There was nothing that he would deny her. He spoiled his younger children just the same, but Luhki was such a perfect combination of Lisa and himself that it took his breath away every time he looked at her.
As Mariah and Luhki dragged Jackson into the living room in order to really compete for his attention, Lisa searched out and carried a very sleepy Jack Jr. to his room. He was more or less falling asleep in her arms and the poor little guy was not happy about it. He whined and wimpered and rubbed his plump little fists over his eyes. Lisa rocked him in her arms and shushed him gently, humming lullabies to him. When she lay him down in his 'big boy' bed that still had sides so that he wouldn't roll out into the floor at some point during the night and he looked up at her with those big blue eyes, she felt her breath catch in her throat. It never seized to amaze her. He was so like Jackson; so like him that the little boy's eyes practically glowed in the dark just like his daddy's.
"Are you ready to go to sleep, little man?" she asked.
"No." The two year old said adamantly, his lower lip jutting out and his tubby little arms crossing as he mimicked what he had seen countless adults do. He leapt to his feet on the springy mattress and wrapped his arms around his mommy's neck, determined not to let go. He had done the same movement a million times before, so Lisa did as she always did and carried him over to the rocking chair in the corner, wrapping him up in the soft blanky that he would not sleep without and proceeded to rock and hum to him until he fell asleep in her arms. After which, she tucked him into his bed and crept from the room without the slightest noise, careful not to wake him.
She made her way to the kitchen and, to the comforting sounds of her two daughters and her husband laughing in the living room, she began poaching a batch of salmon for dinner. Soon, the lovely noises of her family quieted down and she could hear the television more clearly than them. Dinner was just about ready, so she wiped her hands on her apron and went to check on Jackson and the girls.
When she got back into the living room, she found her little Mariah lying on the couch, her legs splayed up on the armrest, one hand resting on her chest, the other thrown over the edge of the cushions. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open with a little bit of drool running down from the corner. She was breathing in and out in a slow rhythmic way and Lisa knew that she had fallen asleep. Jackson was at the other end of the sofa, watching the evening news with Luhki curled up in his lap trying her best to stay awake and pay attention to the show that she did not understand. Lisa cleared her throat, drawing Jackson's attention. He nodded and lifted Luhki from his lap, setting her on her feet. Without a word, he bent down and gently scooped his youngest daughter into his arms and carried her to the room that she and her sister shared, Luhki at his heels and Lisa not far behind.
They tucked Mariah into her bed and then Jackson pulled the covers up on Luhki's bed and signaled for her to get in. With a huge bright grin, Luhki leapt into the bed and then blinked her big green eyes up innocently at Jackson. "Daddy?" she asked, "Is the boogie man gonna get me tonight?"
"Of course not, sweetie." Jackson said, folding the covers in tightly all around her.
"How do you know?"
"Because, sweetheart," Lisa said, a cheeky grin on her face, "Your daddy is the boogie man."
Luhki broke into an uncontrollable fit of giggles as Jackson narrowed his eyes at Lisa. The five year old sat up and wrapped her arms around her father's neck and kissed his cheek, then turned to her mother and held her arms out, clenching and unclenching her hands in a 'gimme' gesture. Lisa smiled warmly at her and leaned down to give her a hug and a goodnight kiss. Lisa switched on the nightlight and walked out of the bedroom before Jackson. Jackson shut the bedroom door behind him, then grabbed Lisa roughly around the waist and pinned her to the wall at the other side of the hallway, twisting his hand into her hair and pulling her head to the side giving him access to speak directly into her ear.
"So, I'm the boogie man, huh?" he breathed against her jaw.
He tugged Lisa's hair hard and it hurt, drawing a smile from her. Their relationship had never been a gentle one. Sure, there had been times when one of them had had a bad day or Jackson had come home with particularly bad new wounds and they would nurse each other and Jackson would sometimes rub Lisa's feet or shoulders. He gave one hell of a massage. They were loving and affectionate with each other, but when it came right down to it, it was the thrill of the chase, the pain, and the exhilaration of domination that excited them the most.
"You're my boogie man." Lisa said turning her face to kiss his mouth. A low animalistic growl rolled from deep in Jackson's throat and he pressed the length of his body against her. Lisa's hand went to Jackson's neck and she pushed him away. "You know we have company coming for dinner."
Jackson groaned and backed away from her. "Cynthia?"
"Yes, Cynthia." Lisa said, narrowing her eyes, "What's wrong with Cynthia?"
"I don't like that husband of hers."
"Oh, come on, Jackson. We've know Rick since before our wedding."
"Yeah, and I still don't like the guy. What's that tell you?" Jackson said walking into the kitchen.
"That you're not a people person." She countered following him.
Jackson spun around and kissed her, "You knew that when you married me."
Lisa smiled as she watched him start setting out the wine glasses for the evening. It was true. She had always known that Jackson was the exact opposite of a people person. When he had proposed to her, and that had been interesting in and of itself, she had wanted to know who it was that she was marrying...but it was an uphill battle to say the least to get any personal information out of Jackson Rippner. Getting him to talk about himself was like pulling teeth. She still didn't know everything about his past. What she did know was that his mother had died when he was two, his father had ditched him in the same year, and after his third foster family gave him up, he had spent the remainder of his childhood in an orphange. People apparently get a little freaked out by a five year old who knows that he's smarter than the adults around him and goes out of his way to show it off. He got a full scholarship to Brown University, where he graduated with honors. He was recruited his junior year, he would never say by whom, and was told that he fit a certain psychological profile. That was all that he had told her about his past.
"Yeah," Lisa said, walking up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek between his shoulder blades, "I knew that."
Jackson rubbed his hand over her forearm and leaned his head back, letting his eyes flutter closed. He knew that sometimes Lisa needed more than he could give to her, but he gave her all that he had to give and she reassured him every time she smiled at him that she knew that. It had taken him a long time to get used to having her touch him so casually. There had been times when they had first gotten married that she would do nothing more than put her hand on his arm and on relfex he immediately had her by the throat. Lisa wasn't some simpering abused wife though, she would kick him, punch him, whatever she had to do until he would let her go. He never knew what to say after something like that, so he would just go into the bedroom to be by himself. Lisa would usually give him about fifteen minutes or so to calm himself down before she would slip into the room with him. Jackson would then cling to her, bury his face in her hair, and forget himself, taking comfort in her mere presence. It had been hard, but over the years he had learned not to jump whenever Lisa touched him and even, ever so slowly, he began to be affectionate with her as well.
They stood in that position for a long moment, until they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Lisa kissed Jackson on the back and went to answer the door. Cynthia and Rick came in, both smiling brightly. Rick Monogan was a tall handsome man with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was an advertising agent who had met Cynthia at the bar in the Lux while he had been schmoozing up to potential clients. They were absolutely perfect for each other. Rick shared Cynthia's sunny disposition. Jackson couldn't stand Rick. He liked Cynthia okay, after all she was Lisa's dearest friend but there was something off about Rick. He couldn't place it, but something was definitely wrong. Lisa felt that if he had earned Cynthia's mark of approval then there couldn't be anything wrong with him. After all, they had dated for nearly three years before she had agreed to marry him. Cynthia was the kind of girl who needed to be sure before she made a commitment like that.
They entered the house each bearing a present. Cynthia held in her hands a large bottle of merlot and Rick carried a huge yellow gift bag. His eyes scanned the room before settling on Lisa. "Where are the little ones?" he asked.
"Oh, they..." Lisa began.
"It's past their bedtime, Rick." Jackson cut her off from the kitchen doorway. He was smiling, but his eyes were narrowed in a way that Lisa knew all too well.
Lisa reached over and took the bottle of wine from Cynthia before looping her own arm through her friend's and leading her towards the dining room, flashing Jackson a warning look as she passed him. "Let's eat."
Jackson came into the dining room only to have Lisa shove the merlot bottle into his hands for him to open, giving him an excuse to separate himself from the company even if only for a moment.
"So, how was New York?" Lisa asked as they all sat down.
Cynthia was still officially on vacation, though she and Rick had returned home from New York City the night before. Cynthia had been looking forward to the trip for ages and had called Lisa as soon as they had landed to tell her how brilliant everything really was.
"It was amazing. We saw three Broadway plays, had ice cream at Serendipity, and I found you the perfect present from SAKS...which I forgot back at the house. Remind me to bring it to you next time we talk." Cynthia gushed. Lisa was willing to bet that she didn't take one breath during that entire statement.
"Sounds like you had fun." Jackson said, trying to imitate what he thought was normal conversation.
"Oh, we had a wonderful time." Cynthia stated.
Throughout the rest of the meal, Lisa and Cynthia chattered away happily about work, particularly rude hotel guests, the latest chick flick that either of them had had the chance to see, and the kids. Rick and Cynthia both absolutely adored Lisa and Jackson's kids. For the entire three years of their marriage they had been trying to have kids, but had been unable to get pregnant. Lisa had told Cynthia that she was trying too hard. As a result, Luhki, Mariah, and Jack Jr. had become the sort of apples of their eyes and they cared for the three of them as if they were their own.
Lisa kept checking on Jackson over the course of the night. He sat at the end of the table with Lisa sitting to his immediate right. She smiled to herself as she watched the way he tried his best to appear to be at ease, but she could tell how uncomfortable he really was. Now, one thing about Jackson, he took care of himself. He was a firm believer in staying healthy. He didn't smoke, except for the occasional cigar with her father, he had never taken any sort of drugs in his life, and he was far from a heavy drinker. Just a scotch or two in the evening was his limit. With that bit of knowledge in her head, Lisa sat there and watched him down three glasses of merlot before they were finished with the first course, and he looked about five seconds from hitting the liquor cabinet.
"So, Jack?" Rick said suddenly, not noticing the way that Lisa's gaze snapped away from Cynthia or the way that Jackson's nostrils flared with rage at the abbreviation. "How are things down at the law office?"
"Vexing." Jackson snapped and Lisa had the feeling that he wasn't referring to his work. She took a long sip of her wine.
"Oh, yeah?" Rick went on, oblivious. "You have any big cases?"
"Of course." Jackson said, "But I really can't talk about them."
"Right, right. Lawyer/client privilage and all that." Rick said.
"Something like that."
"I get it."
"You know, here recently, I've really been thinking I should do a little work for myself." Jackson said, his eyes lighting up as he stared at Rick, his mind going through the hundreds and hundreds of ways that he had been trained to kill a human being.
The words left his mouth just as Lisa took another swig of her wine and it took an enormous amount of effort to get that wine to go down her throat. She looked at Jackson wide eyed, but he simply shrugged and cut himself another bite of salmon. Rick however, was perplexed.
"How do you mean?" he asked.
Jackson merely smirked at him as Lisa coughed and laughed all at once, covering her mouth with her hand. Once she regained her selfcontrol, she placed her hand over her husband's and stroked it affectionately.
"How cute are they?" Cynthia cooed, "Wow, Lisa, you have the perfect family."
Lisa laughed deep and hearily but Cynthia just blinked at her. "Oh, you're serious." Lisa said, straighening her face at once. Jackson chuckled into his napkin at the look on his wife's face.
Luhki's sudden scream pierced the air and Jackson dropped his napkin on the table, at once on his guard, and moved to stand up.
"Oh, here let me." Rick said, also rising.
"Thanks, Rick." Jackson sneered, "But I think I can handle it."
Jackson disappeared down the hall to the girls' room, leaving Lisa alone with Cynthia and Rick.
"Just thought I could help." Rick sulked, sinking back into his chair.
"Oh, it's not you." Lisa lied, "It's just that with all the traveling he does, when he's home, he gets kind of possessive of the kids."
"Well, that's understandable." Cynthia said, trying desperately to break the tension that had suddenly thickened in the room.
Jackson raced into the girls' bedroom and Luhki flew from her bed into his arms, fat tears rolling down her round little face. She clung to her father's neck and sobbed into his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Jackson whispered into his baby's hair.
"The...the...the man...he..." Luhki tried to say, but her tiny voice came out strangled and choked.
"Shh..." Jackson purred, kissing the top of her head, "it's okay, pumpkin. It was only a dream."
Jackson was still comforting Luhki from her nightmare when Lisa showed their guests to the door. She hugged Cynthia, watched them load into their car and back all the way out of the driveway before she retreated into the house, locking the door behind her. Jackson chose that moment to reemerge from Mariah and Luhki's room.
"Finally got her back to sleep." He said.
"How convenient." Lisa retorted, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
"Hey, I was just tending to my little girl." Jackson said.
"Until Cynthia left." Lisa said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"No. Not Cynthia."
"Rick is not a bad guy!"
"There is something off about him. I have instincts about this kind of thing. Trust me, Leese, he's not right."
"You're paranoid."
Maybe she was right. Maybe he was paranoid. But Rick just seemed a little too sunny; seemed to try a little too hard. Then again, maybe that's just how people who weren't hired killers behaved. He pushed past the thought and decided to change the subject.
"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you're upset?"
"No." Lisa said with an exasperated sigh, "but you push my buttons so much, I always just assumed."
Jackson jutted out his bottom lip, mimicking Jack Jr. He stepped forward and laced his hands around her waist and pulled her tight against him. "Bed." He said.
Lisa grinned and gave him a light peck on the lips. That was all it took. He swept her up off of her feet and carried her up the stairs to their loft bedroom. Once they were under the covers together, all the misgivings and bad days and violent jobs were forgotten and the only thing that existed in their worlds were each other.
Author's Note: So, that's the first chapter. I know it's slow, but as I said, just bare with me for a little while. Let me know what you think!