Of Dreams and Miracles
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Prologue.

Part Twelve: Falling

"You and Mac seem to be getting along better." Jack commented lightly a couple days later when he and Elizabeth were hanging out in his room.

Her father had talked to her about the amount of time she was spending at the dorms, since he didn't approve of the fact that she was spending all spare time there. However, Elizabeth had pointed out that he was the one that wanted her to be their friend and to do that she had to spend time with them.

Herb had reluctantly admitted that she was right, but had warned her that he better not find out she was anything other than friends with any of the guys or there'd be Hell to pay.

"We cleared the air a bit." Elizabeth said with a shrug.

"So are you twoÖ" Jack inquired, trailing off.

"No!" Elizabeth exclaimed adamantly.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. You use Mac as the reason you won't get involved and then suddenly you're all chummy with him and I wondered if it was because you weren't over him."

"JackÖ" Elizabeth began, not sure how to answer.

The truth was, she wasn't completely over Robbie, but that was to be expected. It also wasn't the reason that she kept pushing Jack away, at least not really. It wasn't so much her leftover feelings for Robbie as her reluctance to make the same mistake twice.

"LizÖ" Jack began, then he stopped and looked at her. She met his gaze and caught her breath. He really was one of the best-looking guys she had ever met.

Jack leaned down and kissed her again. She kissed him back, just wanting to lose herself in the moment.

After a long moment, they pulled away. Elizabeth stood there, not sure what to do and finally she leaned in and kissed Jack again. The kiss grew deeper and he ran his fingers through her long blonde hair.

"I've wanted this for what feels like forever." He breathed against her lips.

She didn't say anything, just leaned against him, savouring the feel of his arms around her. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe she was setting herself up to get hurt all over again, but she couldn't help it. Maybe, it was time to take a chance again.

"Herb's gonna kill me isn't he?" Jack asked with a grin.

"Probably." Elizabeth said, thinking that if he didn't kill Jack, he'd most certainly kill her. "Do you mind?"

"Not if I get to do it again." Jack told her and claimed her lips once more.

Elizabeth decided to just go with the flow. She had tried to fight it and couldn't. She was drawn to Jack, fascinated by him.

For the second time in her life, she was experiencing emotions that she had no rational control over. She just had a bad habit of that happening with the wrong guy, but maybe it would work out this time.

"You're so beautiful." Jack whispered in her ear.

"You're not too bad yourself." She told him softly, leaning against him.

He didn't say anything, just captured her lips in another kiss.
---

That night, after she left Jack, Elizabeth was forced to really think about what she had gotten herself into.

She knew that getting involved with Jack was a bad idea for many reasons.

There were her own doubts about going down that road again, but those she could work through. Maybe Jack and Kathleen and everyone else had a point. She shouldn't let fear rule her actions.

Of course, there was the fact that her father was going to have a fit. After all, she might be twenty-one, but she was still his little girl. There was also the fact that he really didn't want any complications.

Elizabeth remembered the way he had reacted to learning that she was dating Robbie. Of course, she had just turned eighteen then, still that had been only part of the problem. The rest had been simply that Herb didn't like mixing his two worlds more than he had too.

Still, he had done nothing to interfere as the relationship ran it's long and complicated course. But Elizabeth knew that her father had been relieved when the relationship ended, though he hated to see her unhappy.

So, she knew he wouldn't react well to her dating Jack, especially since he'd told her he didn't want her getting romantically involved with any of his players.

Then there was the other big complication: Robbie. Elizabeth doubted that he'd be thrilled with the idea of her and Jack. They might be friends again, but there was still a tension there. Not as much as there had been the last few months, but more than there was between her and any of the other players. But then it was hard to have a completely easy relationship with someone you used to be in love with. It wasn't something you could just forget.

Elizabeth also wondered how the rest of the team would react to the news.

All in all, it was a complicated situation and after what had happened with Robbie, she should have known better.

But, she just couldn't help herself. She was drawn to Jack and she really wanted to see where this could leadÖ She was terrified, but also excited. Besides, what was done was done and she had already started things with Jack.

The question was where did they go next?
---

"We need to keep this under wraps for a while." Elizabeth told Jack the next day, after practice, when they were once again alone in his room.

"Hide it you mean?" He asked in disbelief.

"No." She denied. "Not exactly."

She paused, trying to find the right words.

"If someone asks, we'll tell the truth." She assured him. "I just don't want everyone involved, it's none of their business."

The two of them were standing only a foot apart, but they weren't touching. Jack had his arms crossed in front of him, his whole stance unhappy.

"I don't sneak around, Liz." He told her.

"It's just for a little while." She pleaded. "Please?"

"Is this because of your father or Mac?" Jack asked flatly.

"Both." Elizabeth told him honestly. "And the other guys as well. My father will freak out and I don't want to cause tensions between you and one of your teammates."

"Do you want to be with me or him?" Jack demanded quietly.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Elizabeth asked. "If I wanted to be with Robbie, I would be. But I'm not, I'm here with you."

She reached out and touched him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Jack, Robbie and I, that's history, you and IÖ It's new and unknown and I'll bet the first to admit that it scares me." She told him.

Jack nodded and took the last step towards her, cupping her face in his hands. "I don't want to scare you." He whispered. "I just want to be with you."

He leaned down and kissed her gently. When they pulled apart, he looked at her for a long moment and then smiled ruefully.

"And, I guess I can do that on your terms for a while." He said with a sigh.

"Thank you." She told him, leaning in to kiss him again. "It won't be forever, I promise."
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