There was a rock.
Flying at my head.
And a smiling, happy, completely certain Jack that magic would save me and that I would react with magic.
The rock hit me square in the side of my forehead, knocking me to the ground without much effort.
I let out a string of curses, cupping my forehead. It was already tender and swelling and… was that blood? Yeah, it was. It was bleeding. "Really, Jack?!" I shouted. "Throwing a rock at me was a good idea?!"
"I…" I heard footsteps grow nearer as he knelt beside me. "I thought you'd stop it." He muttered.
"Based on what evidence?!" I shouted.
"You… You knew I was stopping you." He said. "I felt you do something when I did. You weren't even hurt when I started using my powers, they didn't hurt you. Your arm," he motioned to it, and as we both looked the glowing was gone. "I… You react… I…" He stopped, looking at the hand on my head. "I hurt you. I actually hurt you."
The look on his face was one of pure shame and fear.
And as admittedly angry that I was over the fact that he'd just lobbed a freakin' rock at my skull, I didn't want to see that look on his face. I didn't want to see him feeling like this.
"Hey," I offered him a sideways smile, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright."
"No it's not. I hurt you." He said. "I hurt people still. I keep hurting people."
"Everyone hurts people sometimes." I said. "If what Mary says is true then Ketch has hurt a lot of people. Mary's probably wanting to hurt him back." I could see Jack flash a little bit of a smile. "I'm sure Bobby's hurt some people, intentionally and unintentionally. Ke-" I couldn't say his name for a second. It caught in my throat, and I could see Kevin's face in my mind. "Kevin hurt people." I muttered. Jack's face fell. "And I hurt Kevin. And I know I hurt you and Mary and Bobby every day," Jack interrupted before I could continue.
"You don't hurt me." He said quickly. I offered him a smile.
"It's OK if I do." I said. "It's OK to admit that, and I know why. It's not a physical pain, it's more of an emotional one." I pursed my lips. "It's because I can't remember things, or because I usually can't be around you when you use your powers. That's taxing on you guys. I know that."
"It's not your fault."
"And it's not yours either." I said.
"I'm pretty certain throwing a rock at you purposefully was my fault." Jack stated plainly. I shrugged. He had a point.
"Fair enough. But," I moved my hand. Jack looked up at the wound I had been covering. "It doesn't hurt anymore, and it'll be perfectly healed soon enough." I offered Jack a smile, poking at the spot a little. "See? Not even bleeding."
Jack kept staring at the wound, his eyes wide with amazement.
He didn't blink, didn't even look back at me, just kept staring at it.
"What?" I asked, touching it again. I looked at my hand and saw… Nothing. I could've sworn I felt it bleeding, but there was nothing. No blood. No red. No stains. No anything. "It…" I took a moment to find my words. "My head isn't bleeding, is it?" I asked. Jack shook his head. "That's because there's nothing there, isn't it?" A nod. "No wound?" Nod. "No markings." Nod. "Not even any swelling?" Nod. "Like I," I couldn't finish the sentence, but Jack could.
"You healed it with magic." Jack said slowly. I watched a smile grow across his face. I had nothing I could look in to see, but the look on Jack's face was clarification enough. "You healed it with magic!" He said again, this time much more excitedly! "You react! Your emotions! I forgot you taught me it was emotions!" He grasped my hands with excitement, pulling me up and into a hug. "You can do magic! You can do it!"
"I…" I couldn't see it. I had no idea of knowing whether or not he was right or, more importantly, what in the HELL he was talking about with emotions. "Jack. Jack!" He stopped his energetic repetitions, looking me in the eyes.
"You made me remember something that made me feel." Jack said. "You taught me how to light a candle on fire. It wasn't just intent, I had to add a purpose and a feeling to it. Intent just controlled, well," he shrugged. "The intent. But you made me think of something that made me feel warm, something I could associate with the fire. You told me about it. You described your own memory to me. You don't know how it feels to use the magic, but you know how other emotions you can associate with it feel."
"You're not making a lot of sense." I pointed out.
"When you were talking with me, what emotions and ideas were you feeling?" Jack pressed. "What things were you thinking?"
"I…" I shrugged. "I was thinking that I was annoyed, at first. Then I felt bad. You looked so sad and unhappy. I wanted to make you feel better. I know you try hard, so I wanted to fix it, you know?" I shrugged. "Do what I could to make you smile."
"Your intent was to make me feel better." Jack explained. "And the emotion behind that is fixing and healing and making things better." He gestured to my head. "So… You did."
I looked at the ground, and saw the rock Jack had gotten me with. In the back of my mind, I could see myself throwing a rock before. I'd done it countless times while walking on patrols to test the areas around me. I wanted to throw the rock.
I knew how to throw the rock.
The emotions and thoughts behind it were few safety, as well as somewhat to keep myself from being too bored.
Being able to do it now would make Jack happy. It would make Bobby and Mary extremely happy too.
And, in all honesty, it would make me a little happy too. I could be a little more useful. I could get something back in my life that I'd lost.
Just throw a rock, and I can get something back.
I put my hand out above it, thinking on those ideas. I've thrown a rock before. I could see it. I've seen myself picking up the rock and doing it. It felt like a natural extension – a stretch of my own person. Doing that sometimes – in reaction to boredom and the need to fix it – it made me feel kinda happy, even.
Like moving the rock would make me feel. Like... Like it had before in the past.
The rock flew up to my hand quickly, and I caught it in my grasp.