Chapter 2

Jake moaned as he began to come to. He blinked several times till his vision formed and when he looked up everything came rushing back to him. "Jen! Jen! Jen!" he yelled. He squirmed around but his arms were tied tightly behind him and so were his legs. Across from him Jennifer sat with her head hung low, unconscious. Her hair was disheveled, but blood, lots of blood trickled down to her lap. "Jen! Jen! Talk to me! Damn," he cursed himself, unable to run to her and help.

A small moan escaped her lips. "Jake?"

"Jen! Gods, are you alright? What have they done to you?" There were so many questions flooding through his mind and so many answers that escaped him.

"I'm okay," she mumbled. I'm alive, she really meant, and that was enough. "We're going to be fine, Jake."

"Fine?!" He spat back angrily. Fury crept up at him. If only he could get his hands on the people that did this. "Look-ugh, if you could see yourself!"

"I feel it!" she snapped back. Jake quieted down. "I feel it. It hurts and I am scared, but we'll be alright." You'll be alright, she wanted to promise him. She would never let anything happen to him.

"Jenny," he began, but didn't know what to say. Emotion was overcoming him.

Jennifer tried to sit up straight. She wanted to see him and was thankful that her hair was out of place and probably hid most of her face. Her face would probably frighten him. It wasn't as bad as it seemed. A gash on the upper part of her forehead was where all the blood kept coming from, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed, though it sure did sting. "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" she abruptly began. Her voice was coarse, but she seemed hopeful.

Ten years!? He didn't even see himself alive for another day and she was asking where he saw himself in ten years? But he was remorseful. While he was knocked out the things she must have faced, alone. Who knew how much time they had left? He'd humor her, even if it was a while longer and even if he didn't really know what to say.

"Hmm… 27…I'm not sure, maybe still doing mercenary work, you know, saving up?"

"Saving up for what?" Was that disappointment in her voice?

"Um, I don't know just so I can have money."

"Hmph."

"What?"

"I don't know, seems kinda empty…your dream."

"Well, to be honest I never thought about it." When his mother had gotten sick he just wanted to make money to pay for her hospital bills. After that he just wanted to make enough to pay bills and basically just earn a living.

"I wanted a family." Jake's thoughts broke. He stared at her. He never imagined the future let alone her married and with a family. He felt apologetic. It was understandable of her to want something like that. "A normal one. I'd have a normal job and so would my husband. We'd be normal and we'd have 10 normal children. I'd love them and spend time with them all."

"10 children?!" He whistled, "that's hardly normal!" he laughed and she joined in too, but her laugh was cut short by the pain in her side, a broken rib.

"Shut it, it's my dream."

"It is," he wandered off. She'd be happy. He'd love to see that, her happy and settled. "Though I'm a bit insulted. You never mention me. What happened to friends forever?" he teased.

She smiled, "Jake… Don't you see? Jake, I somehow saw us in the future…you know, together, together."

"Jen," he was speechless. He always saw himself revolving around her, sticking close by her but never really touching…like the sky and earth. To be together, forever, it felt nice, like belonging. Though he always had her, she had always seemed part distant and part of him alone. That's why he got into mercenary work. Somehow he had idolized her and was grateful for their friendship, but never thought of anything else. Then and there he realized he loved her. Loved her, more than friends, a special type of love that made him yearn to hold her right then and there and cursed the cuffs that separated them.

"10 kids, huh? That'll be a lot of work, but sure will be fun to make them," he teased.

Even despite it all Jake kept his humor. She smiled widely. She was happy. In that moment that Jake accepted her love she felt like her dream could be more of a possibility.

But all that ruptured in seconds… hope fell away like night over day and minutes later all faith in that distant wonderful tomorrow burned away.

A door creaked open and then close. Jen let out a small whimper of fear; it was the same men that had previously interrogated her. They had come back to get the whereabouts of her father's work and this time they were determined to drag it out of her lips.