CHAPTER TWENTY

Martha sat alone in her hospital room. She couldn't help but feel nervous about being by herself. She hoped someone would come and sit with her soon. She'd had her face cleaned and stitched up, so she was feeling a bit better; but still quite sore. All she wanted now was to go home.

She heard a noise coming from the door and looked up. She smiled when she saw Jack enter the room; closing the door behind him.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

"I'm okay," she answered.

Jack picked up her hand and started caressing it softly with his own. Martha looked down at their conjoined hands and smiled softly. She then looked back up at Jack who was watching her intently.

"For a while there I didn't think I'd ever get to touch you again," she told him.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Jack said, leaning over to give Martha a kiss. But before their lips touched, a knock at the door interrupted them.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I need to ask you a few questions," McGrath said, sticking his head into the room.

"Come in," Martha invited him in.

McGrath entered the room and stood next to the bed. "You're looking much better," he commented.

"Thanks," Martha smiled lightly. "I feel better".

"You probably don't want to know, not that I blame you, but Corey is stable. For the time being anyway," McGrath told them.

"What's going to happen to me?" Martha asked. "I mean, I shot him. What if he dies? Will I be in trouble?" she continued, starting to get upset.

"Hey, calm down. You're not in trouble," Jack tried to comfort her. Jack then looked up at his boss. "Right?" he asked.

McGrath nodded. "We saw what he was doing to you. You we're just protecting yourself. If you hadn't of defended yourself, you'd probably be dead," he began. "We're looking at it as self-defence," he finished.

Martha relaxed a bit; relieved that she wasn't in any form of trouble or going to prison, for that matter.

"Look, I hate to do this now, but I need for you to tell me exactly what occurred today," McGrath started speaking again. "I want you to start at the beginning. I need to know when and how many times he hit you, what sort of things he said. Especially what he told you about his mother's death and how he was involved," McGrath exclaimed.

Martha took a deep breath; preparing herself to explain the horrible events of that day.


By the time Martha had finished her story, she was in tears again. It was hard having to relive everything. She just wanted it to be over.

"Will you lay with me?" Martha asked Jack, once McGrath had left the room.

Jack smiled at her and nodded. He sat down on the bed and pulled Martha into his arms; lying back onto the bed.

"The nurse told me I could go home. I don't have to spend the night here," Martha sniffed.

"That's good," Jack said, rubbing her back.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Martha asked. She didn't want to be alone. Sure, her grandad would be home, but she really wanted to be with Jack.

"Of course you can. I wouldn't have it any other way," Jack told her.

Martha smiled, and buried her face in Jack's chest. She loved the feel of his arms around her; making her feel warm and safe.

They lay in silence for a few more minutes before Martha started speaking again. "I thought he was going to kill me Jack," she said suddenly.

Jack didn't even want to think about Martha being dead, or how close she could have come to be being killed. He wasn't ready to talk about that yet. "Let's not talk about that now. I just want you to forget about it and rest," he began. "Alf should be here soon with some clean clothes. Then we can go home and you can get some sleep," he finished.

Jack looked down at Martha; taking in the bruises on her face and neck. He even noticed that there were some bruises forming on her wrists and upper arms. They were probably from where Corey was grabbing her. She looked so innocent and fragile lying in his arms. How anyone could want to hurt her was beyond him.

Jack couldn't wait to confront Corey. He couldn't wait to tell him that he had lost. As much as Jack despised the guy, he was actually kind of glad that Corey was still alive. That way he would go to jail and would rot there for a very long time. It was what he deserved.


Martha lay curled up on Jacks' bed; waiting for him to get out of the shower. She had already showered and was now wearing an over-sized shirt of Jack's as PJ's.

She rolled over onto her stomach and looked around his room. This was the first time she had been in there since they had gotten back together. She loved Jack's room; it was so warm and comforting. It would be better if Jack was there with her. For some reason now she didn't like being alone. God, she hoped that she didn't turn into one of those clingy people who needed to be around someone all the time because they were scared. Everyone would get sick of her. Jack would probably get sick of her.

Martha buried her face into Jack's pillow and started to cry. This is all Corey's fault, she thought. Why did he do this to me?

After a few more minutes Martha finally heard Jack's door open. She watched from the corner of her eye as Jack quietly crept into the room and closed the door. He must have thought that she was asleep.

"You don't have to be quiet, I'm awake," she said, sitting up into a cross-legged position.

"I thought you'd have been asleep by now," he said, looking over at her as he pulled on a pair of track pants.

"I wanted to wait for you," Martha told him; almost feeling shy.

Jack smiled and moved over to the bed, sitting down opposite her. They looked at each other for a few moments; neither really knowing what to say. They both felt what they wanted to say, but they didn't know how to actually say it.

Martha, who was finding it hard to keep her emotions at bay, finally broke the silence. "I was so scared," she dissolved into tears.

"Don't cry," Jack whispered, moving closer to her and taking her hand in his. "It's all over now. You don't have to worry anymore," he soothed; raising her hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss on the inside of her palm.

Martha couldn't stop the tears from falling. "I was afraid I'd never see you again," she sobbed. "I don't ever want to be alone and without you again".

"Come here," Jack said softly, and pulled Martha into his lap; wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "We're together now, and that's all that matters," he said.

Jack gently raised a hand to her cheek and ran his fingers over the bruise that had formed there; being careful not to hurt her. Then he softly ran his fingers down her face until they reached her throat; where more bruises were starting to get darker. He ran his fingers over them; gently caressing her neck.

"I'm sorry I let this happen. I should have been able to stop him from hurting you," Jack whispered.

"You didn't know what he was going to do. It's not your fault," Martha told him, cupping his face in her hands. "Don't ever think that it is," she continued.

"I don't know what I would have done if I had of lost you," Jack exclaimed.

"You didn't lose me," Martha smiled; despite the tears still rolling down her face.

"There was another thing that really scared me," Martha said.

"What would that be?" Jack queried.

"I didn't think I'd get the chance to tell you that I ……" Martha began. She paused and took a deep breath. "I love you," she said in a hushed voice.

Jack smiled and lowered his lips closer to her own. His warm mouth gently closed over hers and she met him in a deep, lingering kiss.

Jack then slowly pulled away; looking deep into Martha's eyes. "I love you too," he whispered.

Martha smiled back at him; her eyes still glistening with tears. She was so happy that he felt the same way as she did. Then he was kissing her again, and she was kissing him back. It was as tender and tentative and as thrilling as a first kiss.

Martha placed her hands around Jack's body and softly ran them over the expanse of his back; water droplets still clinging to his skin. Jack rested one of his hands on her bare upper thigh; which proceeded to shoot hot sparks throughout her body. Martha placed her hand on top of Jack's; pushing it further up her thigh, wanting Jack to touch her even more.

Hesitantly at first, Jack pulled away from Martha's embrace. "We probably shouldn't be doing this right now. You really need some rest," he said softly.

"I don't want to rest," she pouted. "I just want you," she said honestly.

"Who am I to say no to you," Jack smiled.

"Exactly. And besides, I got hurt today," Martha smirked. "And I really need you to make me feel better," she teased.

Jack let out a small laugh and pulled her back into his arms.