A/N: J/C fic. The song is I'll Stay With You by the Goo GooDolls. This story deals with abuse. If that squicks you don't read. I'm going to say right now that this does not reflect my personal beliefs. If you are being abused, get out! It's not your fault. There is help available. Try your local abuse hotline or community center.
These streets
Turn me inside out
Everything shines
But leaves me empty still
Jack had come back from his captivity a changed man. He spoke rarely, and when he did it was in anger or apathy. During the Chinese interrogation they had removed one of Jack's eyes. It hadn't quite healed enough he could get a glass one, so he wore a patch. His knee cap had been shattered and healed wrong, forcing him to use a cane to moderate his terrible limp. The injuries prevented him from returning to field work and left him a bitter shell of a man.
And I'll, burn this lonely house down
If you run with me
If you run with me
Chloe was the only person he even attempted to interact with any more. He spent more time drinking himself into oblivion with the lights turned off. All the mirrors and the majority of reflective surfaces in his house had been shot out or otherwise destroyed. Chloe knew, she'd been the one to pick up the glass. With his eye also went his depth perception andshe didn't trust him near sharp objects yet.
I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you
"Fuck you, little bitch!" Chloe barely avoided the glass thrown at her head. It shattered on the wall behind her tossing tequila and glass shards into flight. Sharp stings like small bees flicked over her arms as the glass and alcohol struck her. Jack's words stung worse, evenborn of drunken rage as they were.
Standing defiantly upright, Chloe snapped, "I won't leave," in a voice heavy with tears. That's when Jack hit her.
Fooled by my own desires
I twist my fate
Just to feel you
The next day Bill saw the bandages covering the worse of the cuts and the bruises on her face and arms. When he demanded to know what happened she refused to answer. She spent the rest the day dodging not only his gaze but that of Curtis and her own staff. Sheri asked her if she needed a safe place to stay. Chloe refused and told her to mind her own business. Jack hit her again that night.
But you, turn me toward the light
And you're one with me
Will you run with me?
The bottle was ripped from his hand. "No," Chloe snapped at him. "You've had enough." No matter how hard Jack hit her she refused to give him more, repeating, "You've had enough."
Chloe called in sick the next day. She drove herself to a doctor she knew to be discrete to have her arm set. When Jack saw the cast, it was blue his favorite color, he couldn't meet her eyes. There was no hitting that night. Instead, he lay in bed next to her cradling her against his chest. He pulled a spare pillow out of the closet to elevate her arm. She had dumped the pain pills the doctor had given her down a sewer grate before she came home.
I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you
One night Jack asked, "Why do you stay?" Chloe didn't answer. He didn't hit her then either, but slept in her bed again.
The questions at work were ignored. She found various ways to conceal the cast just as she had learned how to use cover up to mask the worst of the bruising. Luckily, Jack tended to go easier on her because of the injury. It gave many of the discolorations time to fade. Then she came home late and he threw her down the stairs. This time she had a concussion.
Now come in from this storm
I taste you sweet and warm
Jack drove her to the hospital despite his license restriction. The whole trip she was unconscious, not waking until the doctor began his examination. He was a perceptive black man with graying hair who looked knowingly at Jack. Embarrassed, Jack looked away as the doctor gave Chloe the usual spiel for head injuries. On their way out he handed Jack a business card. "Look into it, son," he advised sadly. "Before you kill her and destroy the best thing in your life."
Take what you need
Take what you need
From me
"Dammit, Jack," Bill warned standing in the doorway, "you keep hurting her I'll have you arrested." His glare showed just how serious he was.
Coldly, Chloe spoke from the side room where she'd been working on her computer. "And if you keep harassing Jack I'll have you arrested." She crossed her arms defensively across her chest.
Later, Jack said, "He's right. You should leave now."
Chloe's eyes were sorrowful as she gazed at him. "Just take what you need, Jack. I'll survive." Deep in his heart, Jack wondered if that was true or if her blood would end upstaining his hands too.
Wake up this world
Wake up tonight
It was uncomfortably for Jack, being here with this group of men. Anger stirred him, directed at Chloe for putting him in this position. An image of the resignation in her eyes just before her fall appeared in front in is mind's eye. Brutally reminding him that it was his own fault. Chloe had become collateral damage in his own burn out. Sitting back, he listened to the others talk. Men who loved their wives, daughters, girlfriends but kept hurting them. One older man began crying as he described how he had battered his wife emotionally since they had married at eighteen.
The stories brought into stark relief Jack's own behavior. Blaming Chloe for everything, calling her names and constantly putting her down, controlling her life as best he could, 'punishing' her for not acceding to that control. That didn't even touch on the times he raised his fist or other objects against her. He consoled himself he had never abused her sexually. But when he thought about it, there were times when she had been less than willing.
And run with me
Run to me now
The second week Jack talked. He explained his injuries as being involved with the military in combat. But mostly he talked about venting his own demons on Chloe's body, or her mind, or her things. At the end he was hoarse as he finished, "She deserves so much better, but she refuses to leave." When he reached up he realized he'd been crying.
One of the other men, a former marine, clasped his shoulder. "Just remember who she is, man. When those day terrors start covering her up, just remember how much you love her."
I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you
Chloe was home when he came back. Pausing in the door, Jack forced himself to see her as she was in reality. Bruises, old and new, covered most of the pale skin. Dark bags had taken up permanent residence under her eyes and the sweatshirt she wore made her frail and emaciated. Where was the slightly crazy, vibrant, very much free spirited woman he'd loved since God knows when?
Looking up from her laptop she smiled brightly at him. "You're home. Great, I got us a movie. You like Indiana Jones, right?" It seemed he hadn't killed her after all.
His legs trembled and he leaned heavily on his cane. "Why do you stay?"
Chloe looked serene as she replied, "If you had to ask I wouldn't be here."
"I'm sorry." Jack sat next to her in silence after his declaration. The trembling continued upwards until his whole body shook. Tears dribbled from the corners of his eyes. Rather than fists or harsh words, this time he gave her his sorrow.
Cradling him without judgment, Chloe promised, "I'll stay with you, Jack. As long as I can, I'll stay with you no matter what you do.