oh my god, i got so much support for the last chapter! damn, i'm shocked. thank you all so much for the lovely reviews. you guys make my day.

this chapter ... i'm a bit unsure of it. i don't know if i didn't do justice to jj's character. i was going for more angst in this chapter. what do you guys think?

-m

Chapter Four:

It was pouring by the time they made it back home.

As they got out of the boat and started walking to the Chateau, JJ never let go of Kiara, holding onto her like a lifeline. The minute they got inside, John B. ushered his two friends to his room and sat them down on his bed while Pope decided to go back out and get medical supplies.

"You guys hungry?" he asked, eyeing JJ's wounds. It was hard to believe that Rafe Cameron had actually done all that to his best friend.

Kiara shook her head, pressing a towel against JJ's side. The bullet graze was still bleeding, albeit sluggishly, yet she was still desperate to make it stop. "Thirsty," she replied tiredly. Food was the last thing on her mind; the more she thought about it, the less she wanted it. At one point, she pressed a little too hard on her companion's wound, and he flinched. Guilt immediately took over. A weak smile graced her lips when JJ squeezed her hand, silently telling her that he was okay.

"I'll get you some water then."

"Some beer sounds a lot better," JJ said jokingly once John B. left, and Kiara slapped him playfully in return.

"Shut up," she said quietly, then fell silent.

"What's wrong?"

The blond locked gazes with her, searching her eyes for something. He looked incredibly sad, despite his attempts to joke. Kiara couldn't help but study him and the awful wounds Rafe had inflicted upon him. It made her heart beat faster and faster, almost threatening to jump out of her chest. "I just … I hate that you're so hurt because of me," she explained, cursing the sudden onslaught of tears. "You didn't deserve any of it."

"If it means keeping you safe, Kie, I'll do it a thousand times over," JJ said softly, an involuntary tremor traveling up his spine at the thought of Kiara getting shot. His hand shook as he reached up and cupped her cheek, his touch as gentle as ever.

"I don't want you to do that, JJ," Kiara said. She nodded in thanks when John B. came back with two glasses of water and set it on the bedside table.

"One of you can take the room for the night," he offered. Though the way JJ was touching Kiara didn't go unnoticed, he decided not to mention it.

"Thanks, brother."

"Yeah, thank you." After John B. left, Kiara turned back to JJ, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression written across his features. He looked absolutely exhausted, yet so beautiful at the same time. "I … I don't want you to get hurt because of me," she continued, placing her hand on top of the one resting on her face.

JJ didn't reply. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her … Only to pull away and hang his head a second later, his eyes closing. "Fuck, Kie, I-I'm sorry, I don't know why…"

"No. No, it's okay," Kiara quickly assured him, which prompted him to smile weakly.

In truth, though she hadn't expected that kiss, she hadn't minded it. Actually, she wanted him to do it again. Brief as it was, it was incredible. It was almost as if their lips were meant for each other. However, she wanted to make sure that before they committed to anything, they were well rested and on the mend from such a traumatic experience. "Let's just get some sleep first, okay? Pope will probably be back in an hour because of the storm, so let's use this time to rest. We'll figure everything out when we wake up."

"Yeah," JJ agreed. "Sleep sounds good."

His small smile was still there, and Kiara couldn't help but find it absolutely breathtaking. It was one of those smiles that only appeared when JJ was embarrassed, usually when someone praised him for doing something right. It wasn't like his crazy smile, the I-have-an-insane-idea-that-might-get-us-all-killed smile. It was the smile that reminded Kiara that he was still just a boy. A boy that had gone through way too much in his young life. It was her favorite smile, one that made her happy and sad all at the same time.

"Can I stay with you?" Kiara found herself asking. She realized that she really didn't want to be alone. Memories of their captivity were still fresh in her mind, and she was worried that if she left JJ's, she would drown in them. There was no doubt that JJ probably felt the same way.

"Of course, Kie," the blond replied, and let the girl get them both situated under the covers. His arm instinctively wrapped around her small form, pulling her close. A gasp escaped him when his ribs exploded in pain. "I'm good," he quickly said before Kiara had a chance to say anything, pressing his lips to her temple in assurance. "Just sleep."

Kiara didn't need to be told twice.

OBX

Just like she predicted, Pope came back about an hour later with the medical supplies.

Shock took over when he saw Kiara wrapped up in JJ's arms, the two of them sleeping soundly. Pope quickly pushed it away and walked over to JJ's side of the bed so he could rouse him up. "Hey, dude, I wanna patch you up," he said quietly once his friend was awake.

Without saying a word so as not to wake Kiara, JJ nodded and slowly got up, visibly tense and in pain. He and Pope went into the living room, sitting down on the pullout, where everything they needed was already laid out.

"You probably need stitches, but I couldn't find any suture kits. I'm not even sure how to do it correctly, so I'd rather not risk it." Pope first took some rubbing alcohol and gauze out, looking at JJ with apology in his eyes. "I'm gonna disinfect first. It's gonna hurt."

"Just do it," JJ replied, and gripped the edge of the couch as hard as he could. "Where's John B?" he asked through gritted teeth. It took a lot of effort not to groan; he didn't want to risk waking Kiara.

"He's with Sarah, telling her what happened," Pope explained. "Maybe she'll help us get Rafe in trouble for what he did to you."

"It won't work. There's no point." Even though JJ was usually the optimistic one - which was strange considering how much shit he'd been dealt in life - he knew that Rafe would never get reprimanded for what he did, no matter how much he deserved it. It pissed him off, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. It was just the way of life. While the Pogues suffered, the Kooks prospered.

"Well, we'll see."

After finishing cleaning JJ's wounds, Pope went to bandage everything up. He started with the bullet graze, placing multiple gauze pads over the nasty cut and then securing it with paper tape. Then he used thick bandages to wrap JJ's ribs to set them in place. Thanks to a YouTube video that he'd watched, he had a vague idea on what to do. Lastly, he addressed the lacerations all over JJ's body. Most of them were already scabbed over, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"How'd you get these?" he asked as he taped them up with band-aids.

"Knife."

Pope couldn't help but flinch at JJ's simple answer, already picturing what had gone on on Rafe's boat. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

JJ sounded tired, and not at all like the energetic, crazy young man Pope was so used to. "Well, I'm done," he said with a grin, awkwardly patting his friend on the shoulder. "You should get some more rest."

"Thanks." With gratitude written all across his face, JJ stood up and made his way back to the room. The minute he closed the door, Kiara, who he thought had been sleeping, opened her eyes and sat up, watching him.

"Hey," she said, and reached out for his hand so she could pull him back into bed. Instead of laying down though, JJ sat down beside her. "You okay?"

"'Course," the blond said, and ran his fingers through her hair. "Who do you think I am?"

Kiara scoffed. "Just go back to sleep," she said.

Once again, JJ gathered Kiara in a tight embrace the minute he laid down, resting his forehead in the crook of her shoulder and letting out a deep breath. "Thanks for being here," he whispered, so much vulnerability evident in his tone.

Turning her head to look at him, Kiara smiled. "I'm the one that should be thanking you, you dumbass," she replied softly.

In that moment, all she wanted was to kiss him again.

TBC