Home is where the heart is

JISA/ sets in right after the end of S05E18/ Candles in the Wind – Jack makes his way to France but was this the right decision? This story explores Jack and Lisa's time in France.

(Hey people, it's me. I started this story-suggestion about the same time I started "Stay Strong" but focused on the latter more. So "Home is where the heart is" has been sleeping since then and after finishing Stay Strong something was really missing – writing. Not that my daily work or my brain lets me but I wrote a few words whenever I could and so this happened. It's the first chapter of a story...I don't know how long it's gonna be or where I want to take it. As always – let's see. Furthermore, don't wait for quick updates because there won't be any. I will write whenever I can but unfortunately this won't be very often. And last thing - just you know – I neither speak a single French word nor have I been to Paris yet. All I can do when using French - bank on the translator HA! So, please have mercy with my French...and my English, as always :) )

Chapter 1

They told him that she was here. At Hippodrome de Longchamp – Paris' most popular racing court. Equine high society at its best, as Jack would call it and unsurprisingly he felt extremely uncomfortable and out of place while walking through the posh hallways of the main building. Luckily it wasn't a racing day and so there were only a few other people besides him that, for whatever reason, had ended up here. He didn't pay too much attention to them as his eyes were scanning the surroundings, looking out for the outdoor venue where he expected Lisa to be at a meeting. That's what the man in the clean black suit at the front desk told him. After landing at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport Jack had absolutely no idea where to go from there. Lisa had never given him an address where she stayed during her time here in the French capital. He only knew that she rented an apartment somewhere in the city while having her second residence in Toulon. Since it's always business that brought her here, Jack figured that she would be at the racing court and this was the only thing he had to go on in this strange country.

Once there and after the clumsy conversation with the front-desk guy, Jack asked for a room where he could get a change of clothes and leave his bag. In his causal clothes – a pair of comfortable jeans, a beige shirt and his hat and boots, of course – he immediately felt much more like himself.
Whether it was a good idea or not to travel to France, Jack got only one destination and as long as he was with her everything else would be bearable. Even when it meant to be cramped in an air plane for over ten hours. Jack couldn't remember the last time he travelled for so long and such a distance and he couldn't remember the last time he felt so terrible. Something he better didn't mention to her.

With another annoyed side glance at a perfectly looking large floral arrangement that stuck in a bronze and richly ornamented jug, Jack exited through the back doors of the lobby and found himself on a gravel path that run through a little park. The boxwood hedges left and right of the pathway were neatly trimmed at knee-height, even the different bushes and trees that adorned the flawless lawn were kept immaculate. Among them on a low pedestal stood a full-sized horse statue that rose majestically from the ground. Some famous race horse, Jack assumed but kept walking towards the signpost at the fork in the path. Fortunately it told him not only in French but also in English that the venue was on the right hand side. Not wasting any time Jack followed the way with scrunching gravel underneath his boots. After passing a pavilion which stood almost hidden behind some conifers and a fountain, the path ended in a round square that was bounded by a low iron fence. Several garden tables and chairs stood nicely arranged in front of a building which was mostly made out of glass. Some quite gigantic palm trees stood next to the entrance where a waiter just appeared to carry a tray of drinks to the guests at one of the tables. Jack had finally arrived at the outside venue.

While he still stood on the same spot where the park path changed to the round square of the venue, his eyes wandered around, searching for her familiar face.
And then he spotted her sitting among a group of people around a table under a black pine tree. Lively talking and laughter filled the air, glasses of white wine were wandering up and down and pens were hurrying over sheets of paper. With their colourful dresses and suits they looked similar to the flowerbeds of violets that Jack had passed on his way.
He could only see Lisa's face from the side as she sat almost hidden behind a woman that wore a ostentatious yellow hat and talked with wildly gesticulating hands in a high pitched voice.

Although Jack was dying to get to her he didn't dare to step up to the table. Maybe it was an important business meeting. Maybe interrupting would let her appear unprofessional. But maybe it was just the fact that Jack didn't want to meet and talk to any of those wealthy people she was sitting with. He didn't want to cause a stir. Waiting was the better option, until the meeting was over.

Yet, somehow their eyes met for a brief moment as she was coincidentally looking into his direction and he was searching for an empty place to sit. He could tell that she didn't realized who was standing there. It took a few seconds before she turned her head again, this time looking straight into his eyes, a frown starting to appear on her forehead. He smiled and moved a hand to his hat. She recognized him and hesitated for a second. Without breaking the eye contact she slowly rose from her chair, mumbled something to the group of people and started to walk towards him. Her face in complete surprise. The table had gone quiet. Dozen eyes were watching her from behind.

Now that she was on her feet, Jack noticed how beautiful she looked in that summer dress that swirled lightly around her knees. It was as blue as a field of forget-me-not flowers and shone bright in the light of the sun. Around her waistline a ribbon of the same colour that was tightened and knotted into a loose bow. The complexion of her skin seemed different. It looked tanned and her dyed hair let it appear even darker. She looked like coming from a well deserved vacation. Jack had never realized what kind of effect the stays in France had on her. In contrast to her life in Canada that is.

With open hands and a still surprised face she walked up close to him.
"Hi.", he said with a low voice when she was within earshot.
"Wha-?"
But she was already enfolded in his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and leaning the side of her head against his. At this moment Jack finally felt the warmth of home again which he already missed so badly. At this strange place, in this strange country he at least had her which was enough to retrieve what he left behind. Despite the curious looks of the people, Jack couldn't help but almost lift her off the ground to draw her even closer against him. Over the years this had grown into a habit after a longer time of separation. For a moment they just stood like this – the world around them standing still.

"What are you doing here, Jack?", she asked after he set her back on the ground.
"I needed to see you."
"So you fly all the way to France?"
His hand wandered up to her face to caress her cheek with his thumb.
"I promised that someday I would come."

Her head fell slightly to the side and she rose an eyebrow at him. He noticed the subtle twitch in the corner of her mouth.
"Who would have thought you keep that promise, ey?", she teased but he kept watching her with a loving smile on his lips. It wasn't just her who was surprised. He himself still couldn't believe he was standing here. Far away from home. In a foreign country that spoke a language he didn't quite master.

The persistence eyes of the people around the table was piercing and bothered him. Maybe he should let her go back and catch up after the meeting.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your-"
"Oh don't be ridiculous, Jack. Come and meet them. Have a glass of wine."
"I-". but she already led him by the hand over to the table with a wide smile on her face. He knew he just made her day, her stay here a whole lot better. A surprise she would have never expected.

"So, Lisa?", an elderly woman in a violet dress started when the couple arrived at the big table that was loaded with plates of fresh fruits and bread that lay under a layer of papers and magazines. The business gathering seemed to have an important meeting going on but was now totally distracted by the cowboy's tall and iconic appearance. Men like him weren't to be seen in Europe very often so he certainly did cause the stir he wanted to avoid first.
"Yes, we are really curious now.", a blond mid-aged woman spoke up from the left corner of the table, speaking to Lisa but never taking her eyes off the old cowboy. Yet, all Lisa did was to take a seat and give him the chance to introduce himself since she knew they would treat him like a puppy that she carried around like an accessory. He was a grown man.

"Jack Bartlett, nice to meet you.", he introduced himself and took off his hat as he sat down next to her as the table went quiet for another time. An uncomfortable quietness surrounded them now as the gathering was trying to understand who was sitting there.
"Jack...Jack...Jack, wait. That Jack Bartlett?", the woman in the violet dress broke the silence with a dubious tone in her voice.
"Yes.", Lisa confirmed and proudly looked at him while her hand found its way into his that lay in his lap. Jack didn't miss the sceptical and surprised look on the woman's face and he didn't like it.
An awkward silence hung above the table.

"Well, isn't that a surprise.", a young man with styled black hair that shimmered almost slimy in a layer of hair gel called out and everyone winced for a split of a second by the interruption.
Jack couldn't quite classify if he meant his sudden appearance or his appearance at all. Apparently Lisa had told them about him but not about the many differences that lay between them. His age for instance.
But despite his worries, the blond mid-aged woman at the left end of the table rose her glass of wine.
"Bienvenue à Paris, Monsieur Bartlett.", she nodded at him and the rest of the table joined in to toast him.

"Bienvenue.", Lisa whispered beside him with a meaningful smile and slightly squeezed his hand. Jack forced himself to return the hospitality yet still sensed the dishonesty and scepticism that was radiating from the people's posture and facial expressions. Something Lisa was either missing or ignoring.