A/N: I'm having fun writing this little fic, even though almost no one is reading it :P. Jack and Lucy are adorable to me.

Jack wasn't the kind of guy to get overly preoccupied with something. He fully ignored the grating sensation in his ears when his dad started talking about the family business, and the claustrophobic feeling enveloping when he thought about the path his life was certain to take. Things were easily pushed to the back of his mind, where they belonged. Lucy was just another one of those things.

Hell, he'd only just met her, it shouldn't be that hard to wave away the image her her smiling face, to ignore the dissatisfaction he felt when his mother started talking about Peter and Lucy's impending wedding, completely forgetting the fact that the prospective groom was in a coma. It shouldn't have been hard at all, and yet he found himself thinking of her at the most inappropriate times.

It was just normal brotherly concern, he told himself, that led his thoughts to her so often. Really, being out of her naturally warm presence allowed him to look at things more clearly, and while not entirely suspicious of her any longer, he still couldn't shake a curiosity that drove him to ask about her, marveling at the odd sensation of her name on his lips.

She just wasn't Peter's type. Not that Peter's type was anything to aspire to, not that Lucy needed to change anything about herself, but Jack seriously doubted that his brother, noted philanderer, would do right by Lucy in the long run. And that made Jack angry, and that anger made him feel guilty. Peter wasn't even conscious, he couldn't defend himself against Jack's silently cast aspersions. Jack told himself to keep his distance, let the chips fall where they would after Peter inevitably woke up. Lucy could figure these things out for herself. It was just that she was so completely alone, from what he'd been told, and he felt like she should have someone looking out for her. But she was an adult, she didn't need him to protect her.

Just stay away from her. That was the mantra running through his head as he lowered his foot down on the accelerator, craning his neck as he looked down the street, trying to pick out the building that matched the address in his pocket. He didn't think about what his actions said, how he'd gone out of his way to find out where she lived. He was concerned though, if she was truly in love with his brother, she might not be taking this whole situation as well as she seemed. He lied to himself, pretending concern was what drew him out here.

He pulled into an open space, slipping the little piece of paper at his pocket to check the address one more time. It definitely wasn't what he'd been expecting. It wasn't exactly a bad neighborhood, but Peter's taste tended to run expensive, and it was hard to imagine a nice girl from this side of town just running into his brother at some swanky downtown club. Slowly, the suspicion began to creep back into him, although he was yet to compose a credible motive for her possible deception.

He was frozen to the spot, a sudden wave of clarity crashed over him followed by burning embarrassment. Concern for Peter was really the last damn thing on his mind. What the hell was he doing? He didn't even know if Lucy actually lived here, and he was searching for her like some deranged lunatic intent on… intent on what? He had no idea what his purpose was. All he really knew, but wouldn't allow himself to contemplate, was that he wanted to see her again, to hear her nervous little laugh when talking about herself.

He told himself to put the truck back in gear and go home, but his feet hit the pavement before he could even finish the thought. He cleared his throat, unaccustomed to the strange tightness there. He didn't have to see her, he could do some discreet reconnaissance, leave quietly if everything seemed alright.

He looked around for someone to interrogate about his new prospective family member, his eyes lighting on a cartoonish man, grumbling about wingnuts and flailing around with a hammer. He looked like he was from around here, fluffed up hair reminiscent of the last Hawaii 5-0 movie, the look completed by the impossibly thin gold chain fluttering in the breeze against his not so white undershirt. The man looked like he was an extra in Goodfellas or something, his mirrored sunglasses perched on his nose, reflecting the very overcast sky.

He folded the paper nervously in his hands, creasing it one extra time before approaching the man. "Excuse me. Do you live here?"

"Live here?" He snorted derisively, reaching up to remove his totally unnecessary aviators, gesturing with them dramatically. "I own this place."

Jack stifled the urge to laugh at the ridiculous man. He would bet his left foot that Mr. Hawaii 5-0 didn't even own the hoopty he was intent on pouring oil into."Oh, right.. uh, well then you would know the woman who lives in 201."

"Know her? I'm dating her." The cheeseball adjusted the waste of his pants, tucking his thumbs underneath the belt in an amusing display of machismo. At least it would have been amusing, if Jack hadn't suddenly been accosted by the same inexplicable breathlessness he'd been suffering from for the past two days, this time accompanied by a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Lucy Moderatz?" He pointed at the man, the volume of his voice surprising him somewhat. "You're dating Lucy?" His voice was tinged with disbelief, a hint of disgusting riding along the syllables. "Average height, dark hair, Lucy?"

Jack didn't realize it, but his mouth was hanging open. The object of his derision looked at him, extremely offended. "Yeah. Lucy Moderatz, is dating me, Joe Fusco." He set the oil down on the ground, walking up to Jack and crossing his arms. "You got a problem with that?"

Many times in Jack's life he'd been in this position. Two roosters eyeing each other, sizing up the competition. How could Lucy be with someone like this? This overblown caricature of a man? He stood there silently, for a few minutes, before realizing that Lucy wasn't his to compete over, in any sense at all really. He felt deflated, running his hand through his hair.

Shaking his head he backed away from the angry little man, hands up in surrender. "No problem, man." He turned away before Joe could formulate a reply. This little visit had opened up an entirely unexpected can of worms, one that he couldn't deal with right now. It would have been easier if he could just look at this situation dispassionately, but he'd grown surprisingly fond of what Lucy represented.

She was warm, open hearted, and from what his family had told him, she was brave, jumping down on the train tracks to save his brother. Hell, if he could have just believed that she was with Peter, she would have been eligible for sainthood, having turned his shallow but charming brother into a faithful monogamist. He'd been cultivating this perfect image of her in his head, and was severely disappointed to learn that Lucy wasn't the person he'd thought.

There was also a little bit of guilt mixed in with his disappointment, because he was secretly pleased that she couldn't possibly love Peter. That he had a chance, against this other bozo, this Joe Fusco. Damn it, Peter didn't deserve that either. He thumped the steering with his palm, shoving his wayward thoughts to the back of his mind.

He should be more concerned about his own family than some random woman they'd just met. He pulled out into the street, heading for Peter's apartment. He would put Lucy out of his mind, go to Peter's and collect a few things. Maybe having some objects from his own place would help bring his brother back to the world of the living. Lucy was just a distraction right now. He was going to focus his energy on getting Peter back. No more wasting energy on something irrelevant.

He sighed. Jack wasn't very good at lying to himself.