A/N: Enjoy! Thanks to everyone still reading!
After lunch, Audrey went to her office and remained focused on her work. Jack walked by Audrey's door on his way out and noticed that the light was still on. He wondered why she would still be here. Sure, she had missed work for so long that she probably had a lot to catch up on but Jack figured she would want to get home to Paul. He knocked and walked in.
"Hey," she said, looking up from her desk. "Did you need something?"
"No," Jack said. "Just thought you should know that there's a new rule about working past six."
Audrey laughed, "Are you joking?"
Jack shook his head. "Your dad told me a few weeks ago that I'm not allowed to stay late anymore."
Audrey looked confused for a moment. "Whatever. He didn't tell me. Besides I have too much to catch up on."
"Do you need any help?" Jack offered.
"I'm okay. Thanks though."
"Are you sure?" Jack asked. "I don't mind. I'm sure you want to get home."
Audrey considered it for a minute. If she didn't take Jack's help she would be there all night and would most likely fall asleep at her desk before finishing. Part of her wanted to be in Jack's company but the other part of her felt uncomfortable around him. But, she was really tired and could use the help.
"Actually that would be really helpful," Audrey caved. "But, only if you want to stay. You don't have to."
Jack took a seat across from her and they started to work. Audrey's cell phone rang a few times while they worked and Jack watched as Audrey would forward the calls to voicemail. The next time it happened, Jack was able to make out the caller ID. It was Paul.
"You can take that if you need to," Jack told her. "I can step out if you'd like."
"It's fine," Audrey muttered, again ignoring the call. This time she turned it completely off. Jack sensed that he shouldn't ask her about it. He wondered if they had had a fight or if Paul was just mad that she wasn't home yet. Either way it wasn't his business.
It was late when they finally got through the work Audrey wanted to finish. Jack grabbed Audrey's coat off of the coat rack in her office like he was used to doing. Usually he would help her into it but he realized his mistake.
"Sorry. Habit," he said, handing her the coat so she could put it on herself.
"It's okay," she replied, nervously. She went to put it on but realized that it would require her to move her shoulder in an unfavorable direction. Jack watched as she seemingly changed her mind about putting on the coat and carried it instead. They walked out of the building and to the parking garage.
"Thanks for your help tonight," Audrey said, knowing that it was time to part ways since they were parked on different sides.
"Anytime," Jack told her.
"Goodnight," she said, turning and walking towards her car. Jack reached out and gently pulled her arm back wanting to tell her that he would walk her to her car since it was late and he wanted her to be safe. But, as he grabbed her arm, Audrey screamed out in pain and pulled her arm away from him.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked, suddenly worried about her shoulder which she was clutching.
"What the hell was that for?" Audrey asked, angrily. She was holding back tears from both pain and nervousness that Jack would realize what happened to her shoulder.
"Audrey, I barely touched you. What happened to your shoulder?"
"Nothing," Audrey said. Jack looked at her skeptically. "I just hurt it the other day. And, you just made it worse so thanks a lot."
Audrey turned away and went towards her car and Jack followed behind her.
"Audrey, that shouldn't have hurt. I barely pulled on your arm," Jack said, chasing after her. "I think you should go to a doctor."
Audrey spun around to face him. "And I think you shouldn't be touching me at all! Just stay away from me!"
Audrey got into her car and slammed the door closed. She drove home angrily. The last thing she wanted was for Jack to know that Paul had done this to her. She already felt pathetic about Jack leaving her and now she felt even more pathetic that she had let Paul hurt her.
When Audrey got home she listened to the messages on her phone from Paul. The first messages were extremely apologetic and he begged her to go back to Massachusetts. Then, she could tell that he was getting more and more frustrated about the fact that she wasn't answering. In the last message, Paul said that he realized he was wrong about D.C. and that he would be flying home on Friday night to fix things between them. Audrey sat in fear while listening. She didn't want him to come back. She didn't want him near her. She was thankful that he gave her a warning at least. She would make sure she was prepared for him.
The next day, Audrey showed up to work at the same time as Jack. Audrey noticed that Jack was nervous as they stepped into the elevator since he was rubbing his fingertips together.
"I'm sorry about last night," both Jack and Audrey said simultaneously.
"No, I should be sorry," Jack insisted. "You were right that I had no right to touch you."
"No, Jack, I was overreacting," Audrey said. "I was in pain and I took it out on you. Let's just forget about it. Okay?"
"Okay," Jack agreed, not being totally satisfied since he still wanted to know what happened to her.
They got to work and remained uninterrupted until lunch time. They split up to get their lunches and came back together to work while they ate. Audrey decided to steer away from work for a moment. She needed to know if he'd be home tonight.
"Are you going to the bar tonight?" Audrey asked Jack.
"No. I can't," Jack said, looking away since he didn't want to tell her that he had a date tonight.
"Why not?"
"I just don't feel like it tonight," Jack lied.
"Liar," Audrey said, calling him out. Audrey took a better look at him and realized that he had obviously taken extra time getting ready. He was obviously going on a date right after work. She felt her heart sink at the thought of him on a date with someone else.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked, noticing the change in her expression.
"Yeah, just forget I asked," Audrey said. On the one hand she was sad that he had a date. On the other hand, she wanted Jack to be out of his apartment tonight.
When Audrey realized that Paul would be coming to D.C., she decided that she would need to protect herself in case Paul became aggressive again. She remembered that Jack had a gun in his apartment that he hadn't used in a while. She decided that there would be no way to ask Jack if she could borrow it without him asking why she needed it so she decided she would have to steal it. He wouldn't even notice it was gone since he never needed it here.
After work, Audrey made sure that Jack was heading to his date instead of back to his apartment. Audrey parked outside his apartment and fumbled around in her purse for the key that she knew she still had. She ran from her car to his door quickly since it was pouring rain. She was soaking wet by the time she got inside and tried to dry off a little so she wouldn't leave behind puddles that would tell Jack someone had been in there. As she walked from the door to the bedroom, she realized she was dripping water and would have to clean it up before leaving.
In the bedroom, Audrey searched by Jack's night stand and under the mattress. She finally found it secured to the underside of the bed frame. She grabbed the gun and the ammo and shoved it into her purse. Then she heard the front door rattle.
After work, Jack drove to the restaurant that he and Cassandra had decided on meeting at. When he got there he saw her waiting on a bench outside the restaurant. As he got out of the car, he realized he didn't have his wallet. He figured out that he hadn't had it on him all day and that it must be at his apartment which was only a short drive away.
"Hey," Cassandra said, as he approached her. "You look great!"
"You do too," Jack said, nervously. "I'm sorry but I actually realized that I forgot my wallet at home today. It's only a five minute drive, if you'd like to come with me."
Cassandra agreed, excited just to spend any time with Jack. They drove to his apartment and huddled under an umbrella as they moved from Jack's car to the apartment. Jack unlocked the door and immediately noticed that the floor was wet. Someone had been here or was still there. Jack took hold of the umbrella to use as a weapon.
"Wait here," he whispered to Cassandra. Jack followed the puddles to the bedroom and flipped on the light, to reveal Audrey standing in the room soaking wet.
"Audrey?" Jack exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Hearing that it wasn't someone dangerous, Cassandra followed Jack into the bedroom to see what was going on.
"I was-I just-" Audrey stammered. She felt sick seeing Cassandra behind him. Their date had been quick and he was taking her home. Audrey cleared her throat, trying to come up with a decent answer for why she was there.
"I thought you might have last week's reports here but I knew you had plans so I just didn't want to disrupt you," Audrey lied. She could tell that Jack didn't believe her. "But, you don't so I'm leaving. Sorry."
Audrey tried to walk past Jack and Cassandra, clutching her purse tightly. Jack noticed and stepped in Audrey's way, gently forcing her to show him what was in her purse.
"Sit," Jack said, angrily when he saw his gun lying in her purse. He turned to Cassandra and told her that he wouldn't be able to go on their date tonight.
"Should we reschedule?" she asked, as Jack walked her to the door and gave her money for a taxi to take her back to her car.
"I don't think so," Jack replied. "I'm sorry. I-"
"Love Audrey?" Cassandra asked.
"Why would you say that?"
"Because in the time I've known you, you always look most uncomfortable whenever someone brings her up. And she has a key to your apartment meaning that something is obviously going on between you two. I just don't get why you agreed to this date in the first place."
"It's complicated," Jack said. "I really do like you. But, I-"
"Love Audrey," Cassandra finished for him. Jack nodded. Jack helped her get a taxi and went back inside to deal with Audrey. He found Audrey sitting on the foot of his bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried into her knees. He could hear her crying.
"I'm sorry," she said, softly as she heard him come in. Jack had been ready to be cold with her. She had broken into his apartment and tried to steal his gun. But, as soon as he saw how upset she was he decided to back down. He sat down next to her on the bed.
"It's okay," Jack said, wanting to pull her into his arms but remembering that she didn't want him to touch her.
"No, it's not. I ruined your date."
"I don't care about the date. I care about you," Jack said. "Why were you trying to steal my gun?"
"Because you're the only person I know who has one," Audrey answered, trying to evade the question.
"You know what I mean," Jack said. They sat in silence for a minute as Jack waited for her to explain. But, she didn't. Jack reached over and Audrey didn't stop him as he gently pushed the top of her shirt over so he could see her shoulder. He saw a dark bruise.
"Audrey, did Paul do this to your shoulder?" Jack asked calmly, despite the intense rage building up inside him. Audrey nodded her head, refusing to look at Jack. Jack pulled her gently into his arms as she cried. She explained to him what happened and told him that she was worried about Paul coming sometime late that night or early in the morning.
"It's okay," he promised her. "You can stay here tonight. He's not coming anywhere near you."
"Are you sure?" Audrey asked.
"Of course," Jack said.
"I don't know if I should," Audrey said, pulling away from Jack's embrace.
"Why?"
"Because I'm just going to fall more in love with you," Audrey answered, avoiding Jack's eyes. "And, you don't even want me which is tearing me apart. Staying here will just make it harder."
"Audrey," Jack said, touching her chin and raising her head to look into her eyes. "I love you."
"But-" Audrey started, feeling confused.
"I thought I was doing what was best for you," Jack tried to explain.
"By breaking up with me and making me think it didn't even bother you?" Audrey asked, now getting slightly annoyed.
"I thought Paul could make you happier than I could," Jack told her. "All I want is for you to be happy."
"Did you think to ask me what I wanted? You decided on your own what you thought would make me happy."
"Well, not exactly alone," Jack muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Audrey asked. Audrey took Jack's hands into hers. She could tell that he was debating telling her something. "Jack, please tell me."
Jack sighed. "When I came to visit you, I stopped by Paul's room at the hospital to thank him again for saving me. He told me that he was never going to walk again. Audrey, I owed him. He needed you."
"He played you," Audrey scoffed. "Paul is completely fine now. And, he knew back then that he would be able to walk again. But, still, how could you think that using me as a form of payment was okay?"
"I didn't think of it like that, Audrey," Jack insisted. "It's not like I was forcing you to be with him after I left. If you didn't want to be with him, you didn't have to. That was your choice."
Audrey sighed. He was right. "You greatly overestimate how strong I can be. When you left, I was just terrified of being alone. Paul knew exactly what he was doing. He knew how to make me feel like I needed him."
"He tricked both of us," Jack admitted. "I'm so sorry."
"Me too," Audrey said.
Jack pulled Audrey into a kiss. They both felt instantly relaxed as their lips touched. They were finally where they were supposed to be. Jack tried to be careful of her arm as they laid down. They kissed passionately and Jack's hands roamed Audrey's body. Audrey used her good arm to start unbuttoning his shirt. Audrey put her hand on his chest and pushed him away just enough to break their kiss.
"Do you always go on a date with one girl and bring a different one to bed?" Audrey teased.
Jack smiled, knowing that although she was seemingly teasing him, she was actually concerned about the fact he had a date earlier. "We actually never made it on the date because I forgot my wallet. And, then I told her I wasn't interested."
"And why is that?" Audrey probed.
"Because I love you, Audrey," Jack said.
"I love you, too," Audrey replied, pulling Jack back into a kiss. They took their time undressing each other, partially because Audrey's arm was slowing them down and partially because they were savoring the moment. Jack used his tongue to explore every inch of her body and Audrey kissed her way along Jack's body until they couldn't wait any longer. They moved their bodies together effortlessly until they collapsed into each other's arms.
A/N: So I feel like I could end the story here since they are back together or keep going with some J/A fluff. If anyone has opinions on that let me know.