One More

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Summary: Sequel to Make the Call Jackson's failure is still fresh, but now he has Lisa in his life. Together they are trying to rebuild their lives. But when Lisa vanishes, Jackson is forced to return to his roots in an effort to save the one person that he's ever loved. But in a world of deceit, where is someone to turn? JxL.

Chapter One: Home?

"Well, what do you think?" Jackson Rippner asked as he lifted his hands.

Lisa Reisert opened her sparkling green eyes and gasped. She was standing inside her late father's recently renovated home. Following his untimely death, Jackson had taken on the task of completing the remodeling of the Miami house.

For the past few months, Lisa and Jackson had been living together in an apartment that she had lived in by herself for the last five years. She had been the one to convince him that a hotel room was not a home—otherwise; he would still be living in the room where she had tracked him down to on that stormy day.

When her parents had begun squabbling on a regular basis over just about anything—ranging from bills to what Lisa should do with her life—she had decided to move out and into her own place. Three years ago, the divorce had been finalized and her mother had moved back to Texas to be near Lisa's grandmother.

Lisa had not visited her mother since a quick trip to Texas had been required to attend Grandma Henrietta's funeral. It was on that fateful red-eye flight home that she had met Jackson. Together they had gone against his employers to stop an assassination that he had painstakingly planned. In process of saving Charles Keefe and his family, they had unwittingly lost her father's life.

Losing Joe Reisert was their punishment for disobeying Jackson's orders. His death still haunted her to this day. It had been after his funeral that she had fled back to Jackson after sending him away.

Together, Jackson and Lisa were healing. Now they were home.

"I love it, Jackson. It's just how he would have wanted it," Lisa responded with a sad smile.

He returned her smile and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace. He had been the one to support her through the trials of last few months. She would have fallen apart if he had not been there to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

They both blamed themselves for what happened. However, his death had been beyond their control. Neither of them had anyway of knowing that the hit man would be alerted as soon as he was and that Joe would be dead before they even reached his house.

"If I could, I would change what happened that day. I'd do anything…" Jackson whispered to her.

"I know. I know…"

"I'm sorry Lisa."

"Don't be. I begged for your help. If I had only followed the plan, then he'd still be alive," she murmured, tears falling onto his shirt.

"Ssh, Leese. Don't think like that. We have to stop second guessing ourselves. We have to move forward. He would want that."

"How would you know? You never even met him!" cried Lisa, distraught as she pushed him harshly away from her.

I'm not ready for a relationship. I can't handle this. I can't…

"What is it that you want from me? I can't bring him back, Lisa, or else I already would have! What do you want!" Jackson yelled angrily. He had grown more patient with her, but there were still times when he lost his temper.

"I don't know! I don't know…" she sobbed, sliding down towards the floor. "I'm just so confused."

"Leese, I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm sorry."

"It's too late." Lisa shook her head at him. "It's too late for apologies now, Jack!"

She saw him flinch at the shorten version of his name. It never failed to remind him of his past and of what he had done until she fought back.

"Lisa! Wait!" he called after her.

Lisa ignored him and stalked back to the front door. She picked up her purse from the end table that he had placed it on and opened the door.

"Lisa!"

She quickened her pace to the car. Technically, it was Jackson's car, but none of that mattered at the moment. She just had to get away from him and away from the memories. She could not handle it all at this moment.

The pain was far too much for her to bear. It had her a great deal of time to forgive Jackson for his deeds and she still doubted that she would ever truly forgive him for the role that he played in Joe's death. It was his hit man that had cruelly stolen her father's life. If…

The what-ifs alone might kill me…

She just needed a little space; a little time to herself. Time to think and reflect. Time had she had not been given.

"Lisa, don't do this!" Jackson was still chasing her even as she backed the car and pressed the gas pedal to head down the street.

The hurt look in his blue eyes shocked her heart. He had done so much for her and give up everything that he had known just to be with her. He had essentially forfeited his life to allow them to live together and have an impossible relationship. She knew that now. They could never be together.

"Go back to your job, Jack. Just get out of my life!" she yelled back at him, rolling down the electric window. He was running beside the car; unwilling to let her go.

Jackson stopped running as suddenly as if she had hit his heart with a bullet. He froze in the middle of the street, and his rasping voice could still reach her.

"Don't do this, Lisa…"

Salty tears stung her cheeks as her heart broke once more. She refused to look in mirrors and see him standing there. She had to forget him. She had to move forward.

We can't be together…we're too different…

Despite what she knew in her mind, Lisa could not help but wonder if she had just made the biggest mistake in her life by pushing him away once again.

Only time would tell…

Author's Notes:

Finally I have gotten around to writing this sequel. I tried to put bits of the last story in to refresh everyone's memory and so that newcomers are less confused. The fight between them is a little unrealistic, but Lisa is still emotionally unstable and edgy. She occasionally needs her time away from him still, and he respects that, but this time he's mentally kicking himself. Thanks for reading and please review! The next chapter should be up tomorrow.