***Beach house***
They stayed up for hours after that, hashing things out. They talked about things, but didn't really get anywhere. They were both avoiding talking about big decisions, because they still had to be in protective custody together.
She wanted so bad for him to just grab her and kiss her like he used to. But she wasn't going to tell him that… she needed him to want to grab her and kiss her.
She finally fell asleep around 4, and slept till 11. She woke up and found that he had ordered her favorite breakfast and had it delivered.
He had kept it warm in the oven till she got up.
She had breakfast on the balcony, and drank some coffee out there after she was finished.
She was going stir crazy, and she could tell he was too.
She was in the kitchen, doing dishes when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"What if we asked the cops if we could go to the ranch today?"
"That's 5 hours from here."
"I know that. But you could ride the horses and I could ride the ATV. Or we could ride the ATV together, or ride horses together".
"I just think it's not the right time. We are probably going to have to testify when the trial starts, and we don't need to be 5 hours away from here when that happens".
She turned to face him.
"But I appreciate the thought".
She worked on her article for a few hours that afternoon, and he watched basketball on TV. He was going out of his mind with boredom, but he was managing.
He couldn't help but think that in the old days if he and Jennifer had been forced to stay in a house together, they wouldn't have left the bedroom. Now, he could barely speak to her, although they were making progress.
She got up and started doing stuff in the house, and was in the bathroom cleaning. He heard this very loud shriek, followed by "Jonathan!"
He got up and raced toward the bathroom. She popped out into the hallway.
"Are you alright?"
"Spider….in there…..I can't….."
He grabbed a magazine and rolled it up and smashed it and then disposed of it.
He was trying not to laugh, but she could see it on his face.
"You, the woman who spent 3 weeks in Kenya, living in the bush, is afraid of a spider?"
She nodded. He cracked up.
"It's not funny! I hate them, I always have".
He was trying to control his laughter, but it wasn't working.
She was getting mad.
"Jonathan!"
He pulled her into a hug. "It's ok, all the arachnids are gone".
"Thanks for getting it".
"Anytime".
She went back to cleaning and he went back to the sofa. A few hours later, they started talking about dinner.
He turned the TV off, and turned on some music. Back when they were first married, they used to cook dinner together and listen to music all the time.
He was getting something out of the fridge, and checked the date on it. He went over to the calendar, to see what the date was, and how far the expiration date was. The calendar that he liked was one that Jennifer hung as soon as they took ownership of the beach house.
He looked at the date and then realized what tomorrow was. It was going to be a really special day, and he had to figure out a plan on how to handle it.
He stepped outside and asked the cop who was watching the house if he could allow him to run an emergency errand. He agreed.
Jonathan went back inside and told Jennifer he had to run to the store.
"Do you need anything?"
"No, I think I'm ok".
"Ok, I won't be long. And Officer Treadway is right outside if you need him".
"Ok, thanks".
"I can pick up La Scala for dinner, if you'd like".
"That sounds wonderful".
"The usual?"
She nodded.
"Got it".
Jonathan and the officer left. Jennifer cleaned up a little and sat on the balcony with a cocktail.
About an hour and a half later, he was back.
"Food…"
"Want to eat on the balcony?"
"Sure".
He made himself a cocktail, and then made her a fresh one.
He brought it to her. They clinked glasses.
"Cheers".
"Cheers".
"The pasta is really fresh tonight."
"All of this is good".
After they were finished eating, she cleaned up the kitchen and did the dishes. He had gone upstairs to the guest room and was on a mission.
After he figured out the mission, he came back downstairs.
She was laying on the couch.
"Want to watch a movie?"
"Sure".
She sat up and moved over so he could sit with her, and they started searching for a movie.
"How about Gone with the Wind?"
"How about Arachnophobia?"
"Jonathan!" She grabbed a pillow and smacked him with it.
"I was just kidding. Honest".
He moved and put one leg going along the couch, and invited her to lay against him.
She hesitated, but then agreed. He covered them with a blanket. They finally selected Barefoot in the Park. Jennifer was asleep within about 30 minutes. His leg was going numb, and he was terribly uncomfortable, but she was so angelic as she was sleeping that he just let it go, and decided to lay there like that until she woke up on her own.
He shoved a pillow behind his back, and reached up and turned out the light. They slept like that all night.
***The next morning***
She finally woke up around 4:30 a.m. She was surprised to find him just laying there, like he hadn't tried to move her.
She sat up, and gingerly got off the couch. She recovered him with the blanket and took his shoes off. She leaned down and lightly kissed him, and then headed to bed.
It was stormy out, so she was able to sleep till around 9.
She woke up to him bringing her breakfast in bed.
"Jonathan, you didn't have to do this".
"I wanted to".
"Well, thank you". He had made all of her favorites, whole wheat toast, 3 min boiled egg, sliced fruit and fresh squeezed juice.
He had even put a fresh flower on the tray.
He sat on the bed next to her while she ate, and he started asking her about her article.
"Are you close to being finished?"
"Yes, I think so".
"Any ideas what your next article will be on?"
"I have been thinking about that, actually. I think I want to do something on philanthropists and maybe spotlight some causes that people aren't aware of. But that's as far as I've gotten".
"That sounds interesting".
"I thought so. We shall see, though, as soon as I start the research".
After she was finished, he took the tray downstairs and cleaned up the dishes.
She took a shower and got dressed and came downstairs.
She was so into her article, she didn't notice that he taken down the calendar. She finally finished the article around 1, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he had made them lunch. Once again, it was her favorite go-to lunch- grilled chicken salad with honey Dijon dressing.
"Thanks. This looks great".
She and Jonathan ate at the table, since it was raining outside. As soon as they were done, he cleared the table and she went to the fridge to start figuring out dinner.
"Do you want oven baked steak, or soup and grilled cheese?"
"Neither. Dinner has already been arranged".
"Jonathan, you didn't have to do that. I can cook some things, you know".
"I know. And I love it when you do. But tonight, I am cooking. You have your article, and I don't have anything, so just humor me, ok?"
She nodded.
She went to the couch and started her next article, and turned on the old movie channel.
He got a phone call from Lt. Grey.
They talked about 20 minutes and then hung up.
"Jennifer, that was Lt. Grey. They are going to have us testify day after tomorrow. Police escort to and from the courthouse, and police protection the entire time we are there. He said the prosecutor wants to put us on the stand last and then send it to the jury, and then as soon as there is a verdict, we can be released from protective custody".
"I am so ready".
"I'm not".
She looked at him incredulously.
"You mean you like being stuck here like a prisoner?"
"It definitely has its advantages".
"Like what?"
"Spending time with you".
"You mean you are enjoying this?"
"Well yeah, aren't you?"
"Now that we are getting along, yes. But in the beginning, I was a little irritated at the thought of you and me being locked in here and fighting the whole time".
"Darling, when two people love each other like you and I do, anything is possible". He kissed the side of her face and went upstairs.
She curled up on the couch and took a nap. He woke her up around 6, and she was amazed.
He had candles lit, the table was set, he had ordered her favorite sushi, and he had made her a fresh martini. He had music playing, and while she couldn't place what was different, she could tell the furniture had been rearranged somehow.
He was lightly shaking her to wake her up.
"Darling, it's dinner time. If you don't wake up now, you will miss it".
"I'm awake. Let me help".
"It's all done".
Before she could protest, he took her hand and led her to the table.
They clinked glasses and said "Cheers, and then began eating. After they were finished, he pulled out a gift bag and handed it to her.
"What's all this?"
"Well, open it".
She found the card inside and read it. It was full of sweet things and he had written "I still remember".
She kept digging and pulled out a can of bug spray, especially for spiders, with a red bow on it.
She started laughing. "I needed this".
"keep going".
She pulled more paper out, and found a box at the bottom.
She grabbed it and opened it. It was a Pandora bracelet, the kind that you put charms on. There were a few charms in there already. One was in the shape of the state of Maryland, and another was in the shape of the state of California. There was a charm with an H on it, and one of Big Ben from London. There were a few other ones that were just fun, like a pink one because he knew she loved pink, and a typewriter one, because she was a journalist, and a dog one for Freeway.
"It's beautiful. But, it's not my birthday, or our anniversary, so what is the occasion?"
"Well, on this day, 12 years ago, I was in London to make a business deal, and this broad was hounding me every 10 minutes to give her an interview so I went to the bar at the Ritz to escape her, and without realizing it, I wound up taking her to dinner and spent the next 24 hours running from gunmen and trying to prove she had murdered her boss, before finally realizing that I was in love with her and asking her to marry me".
"You forgot the part about having her arrested in a foreign country, and leaving her there to rot".
"That too".
She chuckled.
"There was one part of that 24 hours that I enjoyed immensely."
"What was that?"
He stood up, took her hand and led her over to the center of the den.
They started to dance.
"Ahh, yes. I enjoyed this part too".
They shared a dance or two.
She looked up at him.
"There was a time when you and I danced every single day. And as recently as last week, I thought we would never dance again".
"Darling, I take full responsibility for all of this crap that we are in. I pushed you away because I was mad at myself for not protecting you. I was telling myself that if I didn't protect you, then you didn't need me, and I realize now that wasn't the case. You said in the note on the piano that it was up to me what happens in our marriage, but since this was my fault, I will leave it up to you. If you want a divorce, I won't fight it, but I am telling you right now, you are the only woman for me."
"Jonathan, I don't want a divorce. I just wanted you to want to be with me. You moved out of our bedroom."
"Because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable".
"I wasn't uncomfortable, I was hurt".
"Because of me".
"Well, yes, because of you. But we could have worked it out".
"I suppose we should have talked about it".
"You mean, at the counselor's appointment that you walked out of?"
"I should have stayed for that, I'm sorry."
"Why did you move out of our room?"
"Well, I couldn't give you what you needed, and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Don't you see I was more comfortable with you than without you?"
"Yes, I get that now".
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"I just have one question, and whatever you answer, I will accept it 100%".
"What?"
"Is it too late for us to fix it?"
"I don't think so, if we really give it a try".
"Good". He leaned down and kissed her tenderly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. It was the first time she had felt wanted in months.
They ended up on the couch making out for a few hours and snuggling.
She was laying on his chest, and he was lightly scratching her back.
"You know, I really missed you".
"I missed you too, I just didn't know how to say it".
"Am I really that hard to talk to?"
She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest.
"Darling, this wasn't about you doing anything wrong. It was me, my pride that did this. Not you".
She nodded.
He put his arm around her and tried to comfort her.
"So is that it, we are just back to normal?"
"Do you want to be?"
"Yes, but darling, we are constantly doing something dangerous or dealing with someone dangerous, or being chased by someone dangerous. And this isn't the first time that I was taken hostage and you had to fight for me. All those other times, you didn't react like this. Why is this time different?"
"It just is. You have to trust me, I can't tell you what happened, but it really is different".
"I know it's different. I just want to know why".
"Remember when he and I were on the plane and we were struggling?"
"Yes".
"Just before the gun went off, he said something to me that caught me off guard. I stopped struggling and he got the upper hand and shot me".
"What did he say?"
"He said that he was going to come back for you one day, and I would lose you to him. I knew he was just trying to make me mad, but it unnerved me, and instead of fighting him harder, I gave up. I got shot, and I almost lost you as a result".
"But you know what?"
"What?"
"I'm here with you, not with him. You could leave and be gone forever and I wouldn't be with him. You are the one I love, and I told myself when you moved to the guestroom that I was going to love you anyways, regardless of whether or not you loved me back".
"I never stopped loving you, darling. I stopped loving myself."
"I understand that".
She snuggled with him a little bit, and then he sat her up.
"Forgive me babe?"
She nodded.
She kissed him.
He picked her up and carried her upstairs. It was the first time they had been together in months, and it was magical.