A/N: Soooo...sorry it's been almost a year since I've updated. I had my last semester of college EVER in the fall, then I felt that it was really hard to write about the tropics when there's several feet of snow outside, so I had to take a little break. The weather's finally warmer and I was thinking about this recently. So, here you go.
Enjoy!
Jack and Nim watched as Colleen speedily made her way past them. Nim looked back at Jack in confusion.
"Is she okay?" She asked.
Jack sighed heavily before pulling his new, clean shirt over his head. "She'll be fine. Just give her some space for a little while." He replied, turning to the sink and placing his hands on either side as he glared at his reflection.
Nim glanced at her father for a moment before mumbling her acknowledgment and walking out of the bathroom.
Jack turned his head to watch his daughter walk away, then turned back to glare at the mirror again. What the hell was I thinking, trying to kiss her? He thought to himself. I've only known her a day for god's sake.
Angrily, he turned on the cold water tap and let it run for a few seconds before cupping his hands and splashing the water on his face. He scrubbed his face, then glared at his reflection once more as the water slowly dripped back into the sink.
"Don't be so forward, damnit!" He harshly muttered to himself.
Grabbing the hand towel next to the sink, he dabbed his face dry then chucked the towel down and stormed out of the bathroom. He marched over to his workspace and sat down heavily in his chair. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath then released it slowly, letting out all of the tension and anger at himself, on the exhale. When he opened his eyes, he began focusing on his work.
He glanced over his workspace, finding his notepad and pencil. He caught sight of Colleen's list of necessary items and picked it up.
"Wonder if she still wants to stay now." He mumbled to the paper.
He looked over some of the items and a small smile graced his face: 'sundresses—in any light colors but pink, button down shirts—again in light colors but pink, tank tops,' and Jack's personal favorite item if only for her added comment: 'flip-flops—SIZE 10!'. He also noticed that she wrote down some...feminine hygiene products. He felt slightly embarrassed to be reading it, but he was a man of science (and had a wife for a time), so he knew how bodies worked.
Jack set the list back down next to the computer, then turned back to his research.
After a few minutes, Nim came into the room and sat on the couch to continue reading her book.
"Nim, before you get too comfortable with your book there, would you do me a favor?" Jack asked, writing down a note in his book.
"Go look for Colleen?" Nim asked with a bit of trepidation in her voice.
Jack froze. "Not what I was thinking. Let her come back when she's ready." He paused. "No, could you go to the mud room and get the specimen jars out of the backpack?"
Nim looked dejected, but nodded as she got up to retrieve the jars.
"It's going to be getting dark soon. She better be back before then." Nim mumbled to herself as she walked through the house.
(())(())(())(())(())
Colleen hadn't moved from her spot on the beach since she planted herself there. Selkie moved around every once in a while, but didn't leave the scientist's side for long.
She was currently burying and unburying her feet in the sand as she thought over the exchange in the bathroom. Everything was fine...until she looked into his eyes. His eyes were such a unique shade of green...
She physically shook her head. "Stop it!" She scolded herself.
Selkie looked up at and barked at her.
"Sorry, Selk." Colleen apologized. "But what the hell am I going to do now? Do I stay here, like I said I would, and help with his research...even though there'd be enough tension, you could cut it with a knife, but could possibly be solved over time? Or do I leave and forget about everything...forget you, Fred, forget Nim, forget...him? What about my crew? My boat?" She asked the sea lion these rhetorical questions. Questions she needed to figure out before she went back to the house and interacted with the only other two human beings on the island.
She growled as she flopped back onto the sand. "Why does life have to suck?"
Colleen sat up and played in the sand absentmindedly as she processed everything scientifically and emotionally.
When the shadows of the trees behind her started to lengthen, she came to a decision and stood up.
"Come on, Selkie. Let's head back." She called the animal over. "I'm sure you're getting as hungry as I am."
Selkie trumpeted at her, then lead the way back to the house. Colleen followed, still thinking on her decision.
When they reached the clearing at the front of the house, Colleen saw Jack attempting to start a fire and Nim sitting on a log nearby. She took a breath, then walked over to sit next to Nim.
Nim turned to the woman and smiled wide. "We were wondering when you'd come back. We were going to send a search party out soon." She joked.
Colleen gave her a tentative smile. "I just needed some time to think. That's all. Selkie kept me company." She replied. "I was in good hands...well, flippers."
Nim laughed, then leaned against Colleen's arm lightly.
Colleen looked down at the girl, surprised. She wasn't expecting the girl to take to her so soon, if at all. Pushing the thought aside, she looked up at Jack to see that he was watching the two of them. His eyes shifted from Nim to her, a small half smile appeared on his face; he had a fire going by then. Colleen sucked in a short, sharp breath, then looked back down at Nim.
"I need to go wash my hands before dinner." She said.
Nim leaned away, then looked back up at her. Colleen gave her a small smile. She stood up from the log and walked into the house and into the bathroom...where most of her frustrations began.
Quickly washing her hands, she made her way out to the kitchen hoping Jack was there gathering food for dinner. To her luck, he was and she paused in the doorway.
"Jack." She called to him softly to get his attention. He froze in what he was doing, but turned his head to her. "Could we talk later? Preferably after Nim goes to bed?" She asked.
"Of course." He replied, turning back to what he was doing.
Nodding, Colleen left the kitchen and returned outside to Nim's side.
Dinner that night was...awkward, at best. Stilted conversation and the scraping of silverware were their companions. Nim tried to carry on conversations that lasted more than two sentences, but she knew something was off, that something had happened between Jack and Colleen to make them act so differently.
Nim and Colleen cleaned up the dishes that night, while Jack kept an eye on the fire. After the girls had finished washing the dishes, Colleen dried them. Nim went over to the pantry and opened the door to shuffle around inside. When she pulled her head back out, she was holding a bag of marshmallows, a pack of graham crackers, and a bar of chocolate.
"S'mores?" She asked Colleen, a large smile on her face.
Colleen smiled. "Sure. I haven't had one of those in a long time." She answered.
"Great! I'm gonna make sure Jack keeps the fire going, then find some sticks to put the marshmallows on." Nim said, excitedly.
Colleen nodded with a small chuckle, then went back to drying the plates and silverware. When she was finished, she walked out to the fire pit to see Jack and Nim already roasting marshmallows.
"If you hold it there any longer, it's going to catch fire." Jack said as he watched Nim attempt to burn her marshmallow.
"No it..." Nim started, but stopped when it did catch flame.
Jack laughed and lowered his own marshmallow to the fire. "I told you. You have to keep moving it." He said as Nim removed her flaming marshmallow and blew it out.
Colleen watched from the porch as Nim shrugged and put the burnt marshmallow in between the chocolate and graham crackers and ate it anyway. She then shifted her gaze to Jack, who was still smiling. She internally sighed a very girly sigh as she watched him. That smile...and that laugh...
She mentally shook herself, then caught Jack's eye as he turned his head. "Are you going to join us, or just stand there?" He asked her.
Colleen smiled slightly, then came down the stairs and walked over to the fire. She took a stick from Nim, who's mouth was full of sticky, burnt marshmallow, then sat down. Jack offered her a marshmallow. She accepted it with a smile and a "thank you". Colleen sat down on her own log in between Jack and Nim and stuck the marshmallow on the stick, then shoved it into the flames.
"Don't you know how to roast marshmallows?" Jack asked her with a smirk.
"I do...I just like mine a little burnt." She replied as she pulled the marshmallow out of the flames a bit so it didn't burn straight away. The middle had to be melty before she burned the outside.
"Well, then next time you can have my burnt ones." Nim said, speaking around another mouthful of marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker.
Both Jack and Colleen laughed, then Colleen looked over at Jack's marshmallow.
"You're going to lose your own if you don't take it out of the flames soon." She said, nodding to the barely hanging on glob of sugar.
Jack stopped laughing and looked at the end of the stick. She was right, so he quickly pulled it out of the flames, but it fell off right at the edge of the ring of fire.
"Shit." He said as Colleen sniggered.
"Jack!" Nim exclaimed, shocked at her father's language.
Colleen laughed harder as jack apologized to the girl.
The way things are moving, it was like nothing had happened earlier. Colleen thought...then her laughter slowly subsided. She watched as both Jack and Nim put another marshmallow on their sticks and put them back into the fire. She stuck her marshmallow further into the flames to get it to burn, then, once it caught, she pulled it out and watched the flames devour the sugar. When it was completely blackened, she blew the flames out. Nim handed her some chocolate and graham crackers and she smushed the marshmallow in between, setting her stick on the log next to her.
Jack's next marshmallow was toasted to perfection, but Nim still managed to light hers on fire. With a grunt, she almost dumped it into the flames, but Colleen told her to take it out and blow out the flame, so she did.
Colleen moved to sit next to Nim on her log and took the marshmallow off the end. She popped it in her mouth, then put another marshmallow on Nim's stick. Both she and Nim held onto the stick as they lowered it to the top of the fire, where it wouldn't catch fire so quickly.
"The trick is to keep it away from the larger flames." Colleen explained as she turned the stick. "And to always keep it rotating. That way the fire isn't subjected to one spot and heats faster than the other side. Then it won't burst into flames on you." She said with a smirk.
Nim nodded, putting all of her concentration into toasting the marshmallow and Colleen let go of the stick so she could do it all herself.
Colleen took a chance and glanced up and across the fire to Jack. He was staring back at her with a small, gentle smile on his lips. She ducked her head to attempt to hide her blush and smile, hoping the lack of light would cover it up.
After a few more s'mores, and a few more dropped into the fire from lack of attention, the fire was dying down and Nim was starting to yawn.
"I think I'm going to go read a chapter before I fall asleep." Nim said, standing up. She threw her stick into the fire pit, then went over to Jack and gave him a kiss on his cheek. They said good night to each other.
"Good night, Colleen." Nim said, turning to the scientist.
"Good night, Nim." Colleen replied softly and watched as the girl almost stumbled up the stairs to the house.
"She won't make it through a chapter." Jack chuckled as he shook his head gently and tossed his own stick into the pit.
"Seems that way." Colleen agreed with a smirk.
"I'll take care of the leftover s'more supply, then we can…talk." He said reluctantly.
Right. Shit. Colleen thought as she disposed of her stick and stood up. "Right. Okay." She said slowly. "Well, let me know when you're ready." She then turned and headed into the house.
Wanting to avoid talking just a little longer, Colleen ascended the stairs to the second floor of the house to look at Nim's room. She found the girl's room easily. She wasn't expecting Nim to be asleep yet, but there she was. Eyes closed and breathing evenly with her Alex Rover book on her chest.
Smiling softly, Colleen tiptoed into the room and took the book away from Nim's chest. She put a bookmark in between the pages and closed it, then put it on the nightstand. Nim turned onto her side in her sleep, making her covers slide off. Colleen gently pulled the covers back up to Nim's shoulders, then stood up straight. She smiled down at the sleeping girl, then hear a creak from behind her, at the door. Turning her head, she saw Jack pause in the doorway. Turning back to Nim, she reached over and shut off the light next to the bed, then quietly made her way to the door.
"Where can we talk?" She whispered to the man in front of her with a sigh.
Jack didn't say anything, but nodded his head towards the hall. He started to walk, so Colleen followed behind. Where they were going, she didn't know.
They walked around a corner and across a small bridge to a platform in the neighboring tree. Colleen looked to her left and was able to clearly see the moon reflecting off of the ocean. She looked back at Jack, who was standing on the opposite side of the platform, hands on his hips. She took an extremely deep breath, releasing it slowly.
"Jack, I'm just gonna dive right into it here...about earlier..." She started, then paused. "I don't know what the hell happened or what could have happened, but I want you to know that it would have been my fault as much as yours." She paused again, then cringed at her chosen words. "That didn't come out right. But do you at least partially understand what I'm getting at here? I didn't mean to run out either, but I just needed some time to think." She stopped to take a breath and saw Jack take a step closer.
"I understand. Really, I do." He paused then. "And I'm sorry for my behavior. I'm not sure what it was."
"You don't have to apologize." Colleen interrupted. "Trust me. I can clearly tell that there's some sort of attraction between us, but I don't know..." She stopped, not sure how to go on and wanting to shut her mouth at that point.
"I think you're rambling." Jack said with a small half smirk.
"Probably." She agreed. "I do that sometimes."
Jack nodded and they were silent for several moments, both thinking and listening to the sounds of the ocean and rain forest.
Jack then cleared his throat quietly. "I just have one question for you." He said taking steps to get closer to her.
"Yes?" She asked, looking into his eyes.
"Are you going to stay here for a while or return home?" He asked very tentatively, not really wanting to hear her answer.
"That's what I was thinking on most of the day. I went through all the pros and cons and I've decided that...I think...I'll stay, if only to—"
She didn't get to finish her sentence. Jack and taken one step closer to her so he could take her face in his hands, then lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss. Colleen gasped as her eyes widened and locked with Jack's equally surprised eyes. After a moment, Jack pulled his head back and released her face.
"I'm so sorry." He said quickly.
"I...umm...it's..." Colleen couldn't form a complete thought until she shook herself. "It's quite alright...I guess that lessened some tension." She grinned.
Jack stared at her for a moment, shocked and horrified, before he slowly grinned also. "I certainly hope so." He finally replied.
He took a step closer to her, but before Jack had a chance to lean down to kiss her again, Colleen reached up and placed a hand on the back of his neck to gently pull him closer to kiss him softly. Jack lightly placed a hand on her waist and the other behind her shoulders as she brought her other hand to his arm. They both closed their eyes as the kiss went on for several more moments. Colleen was the one to break away as she released Jack's neck and lowered her hand to his shoulder.
"Now that we got that out of our systems, I think we should do something else before we do something we'll both regret."
"Agreed." Jack said. "We could send your list of supplies to the captain?" He suggested.
Colleen nodded. "Yeah, I think that would be a good thing to do."
They dropped their arms from around each other, then Jack lead them back across the bridge and back through the house to the computer. He booted it up and within the span of a few minutes, he had an e-mail to the captain typed up and ready to send. Colleen looked over it once more, then gave him the okay to send it. Once it was sent, Jack shut the computer down again to save power.
"Alright. Well, now that everything is settled, I think I should change the bandage on your side, then head to bed." Colleen said, cracking her back and neck.
Jack nodded, then got up from his chair and followed Colleen to the bathroom. Once there, Jack lifted his shirt so Colleen could get to the wound and she took off the dirty bandage, put more antiseptic over it gently, then covered it with a clean bandage and more tape...all while trying not to ogle his bare torso.
"There. That should be good 'till morning at least." She said as she washed her hands.
"Thank you." Jack replied, lowering his shirt.
"No problem." Colleen said with a grin.
They left the bathroom and Colleen headed to the couch. She sat down and adjusted the pillows. Jack watched her for a moment.
"I can sleep on the couch tonight if you'd like to have a bed." Jack suggested.
Colleen froze before looking up to him with a small smile. "I'm fine here."
"You're still recovering. I don't mind the couch." He argued.
"Ah, but you're injured, too. More so than I am, so you keep your bed." She grinned standing up and moving towards him. "I'm fine on the couch. Really. I've slept in worse places and on much less comfortable things."
"If you're sure..."
She rolled her eyes. "I know you're trying to be a gentleman, but yes, I'm sure." She stood on her toes to lightly kiss his lips.
"Alright, but when I'm healed, you get my bed for a few nights."
"Fine." Colleen sighed, agreeing with him so she could end this nonsensical argument and get to sleep.
"Okay...good night, Colleen." He finally said.
"Good night, Jack." She replied with a smile.
She watched him as he turned towards the stairs and went up them to his room. When he was out of sight, Colleen took a deep sigh, then went over to turn off the one light in the room, then went to the couch (via the light from the fish tank) and made herself comfortable as she laid down to sleep. She pulled the light blanket up to her chin and grinned into the darkness before she drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
A/N: UGH! This was totally not where I wanted this to get, but my fingers and brain didn't want to cooperate, so this is what came out. (I hadn't planed for them to kiss yet...) I don't like how anything happened after they had s'mores! It's seems extremely weird to me...but I'm my toughest critic right?
Well, lemme know what YOU thought...please. Seriously, I really need some helpful feedback on this one!