A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 8 (Consoling the Boyfriend)

Jade caught Jason in the park where he was sitting on a bench that overlooked the lake. Lately she'd been able to get him to slowly open up, which was a surprise considering she expected herself to be the one he disliked the most. She attributed that to the fact that he respected the fact that her family was military.

It may not be the case, but still she was grateful for any connection made as he wasn't speaking much at all to the others. "Jason, hi." Jason glanced sideways, his broad shoulders rising and the muscles in his arms tensing. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same." Jade nodded slowly and took a seat beside him. She gazed out at the lake, unable to smile at the sight of the rippling waters reflecting the sun. It was a scene that normally enticed her, but the joy she once had was difficult to find. "Trina and I used to come out here all the time. We'd spar, we'd sit and talk."

He lowered his gaze, studying the grass as it swayed in the breeze. "I was going to bring her out here during one of her favorite times to come out, when the moonlight's hitting the waters just right." Jade cracked a smile and leaned back.

"Tell me about it."

Jason looked over, his eyes lighting up. He moved his left elbow over the top of the back and extended his right hand forward, swaying it through the air over the lake. "Late night, the moon glosses over the lake, making the whole thing look as though it's lit up with this magical bluish-green aura." Jade looked to the lake and closed her eyes, visualizing the wondrous scene before her.

Though she'd never been out to the lake really late at night, it wasn't impossible to picture the breathtaking sight. "You can imagine the ducks and the swans in the lake during that moment, playing in the waters." She nodded, seeing two ducks before her in her mind's eye, bathing in the glowing waters. "Then looking into the sky, the stars are like tiny crystals on a blanket, dazzling the night sky. It's beautiful, just as beautiful as she…"

"You're a romantic." She chuckled and to Jason, smiling wider. "I bet that makes her happy." Jason's fingers curled in and he lowered his hand with a sigh. "You wanted to make her happy, that's good."

"I wanted to marry her." Jade's heart stopped for a minute and her lips separated. She closed her mouth, then opened again. Unable to find the words, she must have looked like an animal chewing on grass. "I had it all planned." He pushed his hand through his hair, his breathing rattled and he let out a heavy sigh. "Bring her out here, I even ordered a local musician to set up and play the piano…I was going to set the scene, then I was going to ask her to marry me."

His eyes glazed over and he let out a painful laugh, scratching along the side of his nose and eye with his thumb. "Trina's always had simple tastes, though. She wouldn't need a fancy proposal, but to me she's always deserved the best."

"Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with making a girl feel fancy." Perhaps this was the connection she truly needed to get him to open up; to get him talking about the one person he loved more than anything. Sure he was afraid to lose her, but at least talking about her kept him from going insane. "So Cat really introduced the two of you, huh?"

"Funny story about all that."

"Do tell." She raised her hands and grinned, eager to listen to the story. "How did you and Trina come together?" Jason ran his hand over his neck, breathing in deep.

"Well, Cat dragged me off in her way. Kind of turned me off from the start, and I may have let her know a little too bluntly." He shrugged and dropped his hand. "I've always been blunt." Jade nodded, understanding the feeling. "I didn't get to meet up with my friends that night, which was probably good…they weren't exactly from the side of the tracks my family would approve of."

"No?"

"No." He frowned and lowered his head. "That's another thing. For as much as Trina says I saved her, she saved me." Jade brought her eyebrows in and Jason raised his head slowly. "Back then I was addicted to pain killers after tearing a muscle brawling out in the streets. My friends were 'street fighters'."

"Ah. Reminds me of the time we all took Tori to that underground club…Needless to say, none of us had a good time."

"There are a few of those places around."

"This one had gorilla. Trina was not the least bit happy with us."

Jason winced and turned his head away. "Yeah, I think I know the place you're referring to." His chest expanded and he shook his head. "But anyway, I had no desire to spend the rest of the night with Cat, she just wasn't my type and I'd just gotten out of a pretty bad relationship at the time."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. So, Cat and I started talking about interests, trying to see if we had anything at all in common." He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, chuckling twice while rubbing his palms together. "It seems the minute I mentioned martial arts, she got excited. Said she knew someone that needed a friend, and someone that was into martial arts." He shrugged. "I was curious."

Jade's grin grew and she raised her eyebrows. "Intrigue usually starts everything off, doesn't it? Intrigue and curiosity." Jason laughed. He leaned back slowly and watched a duck walk by in front of them. "So Cat brought up Trina. Wanted you to befriend her?"

"Yeah. We went to the Vega house to wait, but then all of you guys showed up and Trina never did." She remembered that part, as they all wanted to meet up at Tori's and talk about the night. "Cat texted Tori at some point, asking about Trina. Guess where she was."

"Where?"

Jason's eyes rolled towards the lake and he leaned forward, hovering over his knees. "Here." Jade held her breath and turned to the lake. "I remember the night like it was yesterday." He grunted and turned his eyes skyward. "Full moon, every star glimmering in the sky, and the entire lake bore that beautiful moonlit glow." Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt the blood rushing to her face as she envisioned the scene.

"When we got here, Trina was practicing her kickboxing." He leaned upright and brushed away a tear rolling down his face. "She looked so beautiful, so fluid. When she saw us, she picked up her towel to pat off the sweat…she looked like an angel with the moon glowing around her. I was attracted in an instant. Like a moth to flame."

Jade swooned, taken in by the romantic description.

"Sounds beautiful. Like something out of the romances I read." Jason raised an eyebrow and she cleared her throat. "Yes, I read romance. What of it?" He shook his head and shrugged.

"Neither of us were into relationships right then, but we became fast friends. Eventually it blossomed, starting with coming out here to spar to kissing under the stars and, well…"

"Yeah." Jade shifted, somewhat uncomfortably and hugged herself. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. "It sounds like this place is pretty significant for you, I feel almost like I'm intruding on sacred ground." Jason laughed, it was rich and enticing to Jade's ears. After all, it was the first she'd truly heard him laugh or express any kind of joy since the abduction.

"Well don't tell her that, she might get a big head and start telling you to stay off her sacred spot."

She laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." She was curious what Trina would think of her interaction with him; if the girl would even appreciate her efforts to keep him level. "I can't know exactly what you must be going through, but if I know myself or how I'd react if someone took Beck away…I'd want to hunt them down."

Jason frowned and looked off to the side. "It's not easy. Harder seeing their faces on video and knowing the identities." He balled up his hands and narrowed his eyes. "What I want to do I know is wrong and not only would trouble me, but Trina would be positively horrified if I did act out."

"What are you thinking about?"

"How much I'd like to take every one of those bastards, beat and torture the shit out of them until they led me to her."

"Yeah." Jade remained stoic. His statement didn't surprise her because such ideas weren't far out of the realm of what people in their situation thought about wanting to do. "That seems fairly normal. At least you know it's not right, and that's the difference."

"Coming from you, I'd almost question the hypocrisy of that statement." He furrowed his brow and Jade looked away, rolling her head to the side. Her heart sank as she thought of all the nasty and hateful things she'd said or that she'd done in the past. "All the things Tori and Trina said about you, the things their parents said. I mean hell, you even uploaded that video of Trina flailing in the air on stage…"

"Yeah." She rubbed her arm and bit down on her lip. Tears filled her eyes and Jason apologized if he offended her. Shaking her head, she raised a finger to wipe away a stray tear. "No, lately I've been seeing a counselor, someone my dad works with. I've been trying to get on good terms with Dad, so I'm seeking therapy at his request…it's really helping." She took a deep breath and released it, letting her breathing shake and tremble. "I still have moments where I want to do or say something really off, really out there, but I know better now."

"So why all the behavior issues in the past, then? If you don't mind me asking, of course…hell, Trina would say you'd be the last person in this little group that I'd talk to, and she wouldn't be far off."

"Right." Jade looked into his eyes with a subtle smile and raised her shoulders up. "I mean ever since my mom passed, I guess I acted out. I tried to be that tough one, and I thought tough meant being mean or viciously cruel."

"I see."

"I met Beck in one of our classes during Junior High and we hit it off, but even he started getting irritated by my behavior; and you've seen him, how patient he is." Jason curled a finger over his lip, humming affirmatively. Jade's heart skipped a beat and she smiled, thinking of him. "God I admire that man for being able to put up with me."

"Not surprising."

"Yeah I was jealous when Tori showed up, and I pushed her away so much. So when Beck said we needed to give her a chance and be nice to her, well I wasn't happy; but I came around, maybe a little too late." Jade crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she remembered the security footage. "I saw Trina consoling Tori on that video, with Tori saying they all wanted her to give us up."

"Mr. and Mrs. Vega want it more than Trina does, but Trina has been teetering on that edge. She's told me that it wouldn't take you guys doing much else for her to tell Tori 'no more', but she doesn't want to force Tori to get rid of you…but believe me when I say Tori would listen to whatever she said."

Jade raised her eyes up, stunned but not overly shocked by his words. "So if Trina told Tori she didn't want us around?"

"Tori would shut you guys out, as much as she wouldn't want to. Those girls trust no one else as much as they trust each other. It would seem like that might apply even more now. How can they trust anyone when the whole world seems to hurt those girls?" He stood up, breathing out and crossing his arms. Jade bowed her head as his shadow fell over her.

"I am sorry, you know." He hummed and her eyelids opened partially. She thought about what Ian said about Tori and her heart broke mores as she thought about all she'd said and done. "Everything I did to those girls, everything I ever said. I'm sorry. I regret it, and I wish I'd been able to tell them that before. I'm sure you know a good deal of it all, and I know they should be the ones to hear that rather than Trina's boyfriend…but you're the best person I have to tell that to right now."

Jason smiled gently, seeming to approve. "You should tell them. I'm sure they'd love to hear how you felt." He lowered his arms and cleared his throat. "I'm going to the gym, give me a call if anything else happens with the case."

"I know the waiting is horrible."

"Not knowing, not having the answers…it's hard enough, but I'm a man of action; it's even harder for me."

Remembering what he said before about being addicted to painkillers, Jade wanted to be sure he'd be alright. "Jason, I don't know how you feel about me or any of us right now, trust is hard…" He turned partially and she rose from the bench. "But if you need anything, let us know. Okay? Talk to me, I'll be here." He furrowed his brow and closed his eye. "You had an issues with prescription meds before, right? I'd hate to see you go back there."

"That's why I'm trying to keep focused on things. Working out, practicing, studying…whatever it is…"

"Good."

As he walked off, Jade turned to look out at the park. She spotted a man throwing a Frisbee with a dog, he had curly golden hair and thin wire-framed glasses. Her heart flickered as she recognized the man; she'd not seen him in some time.

"Sinjin?" She approached and stopped beside a large oak tree, smiling as she watched the pup chase the red Frisbee disc across the field. Sinjin looked troubled and looked to be using this event to focus on something, which she found odd.

So Jade leaned against the tree and decided to continue watching, not wanting to get too close but also not wanting to be so obvious that she startled him.

Sinjin knelt down and hugged his dog's neck, burying his face into the animal's golden fur. Jade's forehead tensed and she raised her head as her eyes fell upon his wrist.

She pursed her lips and dipped her eyebrows down in the corner while leaning forward to try and see what he was wearing. Images of the security camera flashed in herd head and she pushed her body away from the tree, holding her breath as her heart filled with a sick feeling of doubt and horror.

"That…had better not be what it looks like." She wanted to charge him, push him down and demand information. If it was the bracelet worn by the gang that kidnapped the Vegas, then she knew the course of action would be stupid and reckless. If it was, then she couldn't be sure how much he could be trusted. "I need to follow him, see if that is what it seems like."

First things first, she needed to give Beck a call and let him know what was going on. She thought about giving Jason a ring, but he'd be even more impulsive and potentially reckless than she'd be.

Well there's that chapter, not much to see other than trying to get on Jason's good side and learning a bit more about him and how he came to be with Trina. Now we see Sinjin has entered the picture, let's see what happens.