Disclaimer: I do not own Red Eye or any of its characters. I weep.

A/N: Wow. I haven't updated for awhile so I thought I should. My muse was taking a vacation in Italy. This one-shot is a bit different from the others I have written previously. Fair warning: things are not as they appear! Hope you enjoy and please leave a note on the way out!

In the Cold, Dark Night

It had been a long day for Lisa Reisart. She had spilled her coffee all over some important papers she was working on, the computers had all crashed thanks to the new girl she had hired and then there were always the rude and snobbish customers to contend with. And, to top it all off, she had to pick up groceries and then walk home in the cold, dark night.

Lisa hated days like these.

Luckily she had her fiancé to think about. As she shopped, she let her mind wander. She and her fiance were to be wed in the upcoming week and their lives were all but revolving around the wedding at this point. In fact, Lisa mused, I have to call the florist when I get home. Her thoughts were brought up short when Lisa practically crashed into an elderly lady with a cane. After profusely apologizing and making sure she was ok, Lisa cautiously walked away, all the while cursing luck. Frazzled, Lisa purchased her groceries and high tailed it out of there.

As soon as she was out into the fresh air, Lisa breathed a sigh of relief and set off at a brisk pace for her newly furnished apartment. After much debated she and her fiancé had decided to live together in Lisa's apartment since it was the more spacious of the two.

Lisa's heels clicked rhythmically on the cold concrete and she struggled with the bags weighing her already tired arms down. She had to stop more then once to adjust their positions. It was during one of these instances that Lisa realized she was hearing things. While she had been walking she was sure she had heard footsteps and it had only sent a slight chill up her spine. She had turned her head and had seen a couple of people walking behind her and she had decided that it was their footsteps she had heard. She had kept a steady pace and kept walking all the while hearing the footsteps, sometimes loud and sometimes very quiet. Lisa shook her head at herself, writing it off as paranoia.

Now she wasn't so sure though. She had stopped to adjust her packages yet again and realized the sound of the footsteps had continued on for just a second too long before stopping as well. Lisa turned and realized no one was there. Shivering slightly she kept walking, only a bit faster than she had been before. Again the footsteps were behind her and Lisa realized her heart was beating in her ears.

Hoisting the packages to one arm she kept walking forward, rummaging in her purse as she went. Her fiancé had bought her a can of pepper spray, wanting to make sure that his precious Lisa would come to no harm. At the thought of her soon to be husband Lisa calmed the slightest bit, imagining him in the kitchen, preparing dinner for them both, humming a tune under is breathe as he worked.

Only the sound of her footsteps could be heard now and Lisa released a breathe she was sure she hadn't been holding a second ago. Her ordeals in the past had put her on edge and even though those instances, which Lisa preferred not to think about, were quite awhile ago and she had laid them to rest, she sometimes couldn't help but remember.

Suddenly the cold night air seemed a bit more oppressive. Lisa pictured the image of her almost-husband again for comfort and smiled.

And then the wind was knocked out of her lungs as she was shoved against a wall and dragged into the nearest alleyway. It was completely dark and Lisa began to panic. Sometime between crashing against the wall and toppling into the alleyway her purse and packages had been ripped from her arms and now she was defenseless against her attacker. She was being held by her neck and was kicking and gurgling for breathe but soon his whole body was covering hers and she couldn't move. Sudden images of the past raced to the forefront of her mind and she struggled harder.

Why me, she screamed in her head. Why now that I have finally found my life and the man I love? And then he was whispering in an all too familiar voice.

You know, he hissed, I told you I would have to steal you Leese.

It was at this point that Lisa stopped struggling. What in bloody hell?

"Jackson?" She questioned when she realized her throat had been released. Her mind was completely blank for a couple of seconds before she recovered.

And then she was laughing.

He was laughing too as he pulled her out into the light of the street and they were basking in the halo of light that shone from the street lamps.

"Shit, Jackson, you scared the hell out of me!" She said as she playfully hit him in the arm.

"Yeah, I know but I had to do it, for old time's sake." He chuckled, ice eyes shining in the false light. "I mean, we're going to be wed in a couple of days anyways, I just had to get it out of my system."

Lisa shook her head and gathered up the parcels that she had dropped in her fright. She should have been mad at Jackson but really, these things happened all the time. Sometimes they would spend hours dueling it out physically and verbally only to end up in each others arms and happily doing… other things.

Jackson wrapped his arm around Lisa as they began to walk back to their apartment, a smile on his face. Those smiles had become more and more common and Lisa was glad for it.

"And now, my lovely bride to be, what is it that you would like for dinner?" Jackson questioned.

"Hmm," Lisa thought aloud, "maybe a stir fry?"

As the couple made their way home, Lisa looked up at the stars and realized the night wasn't as cold or as dark as she had once thought.