Jack arrived back at the house just under an hour after his abrupt departure; Gina was worried. He stumbled inside, leaving the door ajar behind himself, she hurried to close it before following him into the living room where he sank into the couch. Leaning on the arm rest he leant his head back with his arms splayed uselessly by his sides as he stared up at the ceiling. His breathing was fast, but he did nothing to hide it, it was as though he hadn't even realised.
Gently placing herself next to Jack she grabbed one of his hands and placed it between both of her own. Feeling the cold she gently rubbed it to try and warm him. Her eyes darted to the fire, she wanted to start it again but something told her not to leave Jack's side.
"Ric," she called gently, but there was no reaction. "What's wrong sweetie," she asked softly, not wanting to startle him.
He sat up slowly, removing his hand and rubbing it across his face. Looking down at the couch he whispered, "I'm sorry if I scared you. I shouldn't have left in such a hurry."
"It was the letter, wasn't it," she said, casting another sideways glance at the fire which almost completely died, wishing she had been able to see the paper before he had thrown it into the flames.
"Yeah. I… I got some bad news," he croaked, rubbing a hand across his face again, almost trying to hide behind it. How could he explain this to her, when she knew nothing of what had once been his life?
"Well what was it?" Gina asked, now even more worried. Jack had never spoken of any past or any ties to himself, so how bad news could this be? Who would be sending them news at all?
"I… a friend of mine.. They died," he said, looking up to meet her eyes; she could see the pain and confusion in his own.
"I'm sorry," Gina said automatically, they both knew it meant nothing. "Who was it," she asked, her voice still soft, she could see he was hurting.
"Somebody I once worked with," he offered, giving no further information. It wasn't a complete lie, he thought, as he began to drift back to his time spent in Washington with Audrey.
"Ric," she paused, "do you, em… do you want to talk about it?" She didn't like to ask, but not to would be rude and insensitive. But, she thought, how could talking help? It hadn't helped herself after her mothers death. So many people had offered to talk to her about it, as though it was going to help her accept the loss - but it hadn't. She smiled slightly as Jack shook his head in answer to her question before he closed his eyes again.
She lent over and kissed him on the forehead, before gently grabbing his arm and beginning to pull him up. "Come on," she said as he sat up on the sofa, "lets get you to bed."
"Gina I'm fine," he said, she shouldn't have to look after him now. He was supposed to be looking after her and the baby. "I should call work anyway," he said as an afterthought, as the small garage flashed into his mind.
"Work is the last thing you need to think about," she said as she pulled him to his feet and led him towards the stairs. She continued to talk to him, knowing and understanding that he wouldn't be fully listening. "You need to lie down and rest, its awful, when you lose somebody… even when you haven't seen them in years… it can be such a shock…."
Leading them into the bedroom she pulled back the covers and Jack sank into the bed, still fully clothed but uncaring. He felt weak and drained, his hands still shook slightly. Covering him up Gina closed the curtains and sat by his side, "Can I get you anything?" She asked.
His eyes stung from holding back the tears. He smiled before taking her hand to pull her closer. "Thank you," he whispered, "you are perfect," he said, but then paused, "I just want to sleep this off, then I am sure I'll be fine."
Getting up and switching the light off Gina spoke once more, "it doesn't matter if you're not, you know," she a little uncertainty which made him smile shyly before his eyes became too heavy to remain open.
He herd the door close and pulled the cover up over his head as he thought about Audrey. His heart ached and his head throbbed. He was sure that his love for Gina was somehow softening the blow of the gruesome news Tony had issued him.
Somehow this made him feel even worse.
Thinking back to their last day together, he remembered how Audrey had lost her husband and her partner within hours of each other. She had lost everything and had nobody to lean on. He felt terrible now, even though the love he had felt for her had died and been recreated in Gina. He fell into a troubled sleep as he wondered just how much pain he had caused Audrey in her life.