Nathaniel froze. This couldn't be happening. He had fallen asleep in Bartimaeus's arms, and was having a nightmare. He was just having a bad dream.
Kitty's scream snapped him out of it, and he pulled away from Barty, running over to fling his arms around Kitty's waist and hold her back. He managed to block out Kitty's screaming of Jakob's name, but he couldn't quite draw his eyes away from the body.
It was sick. Jakob was curled up on his side, not moving, a puddle of blood slowly collecting around him. Even Ed seemed to be in shock. The police men were frozen for a good five seconds, before their training kicked in. The one with the glasses towed the first guy outside to their car to call an ambulance. The Southern man dropped to his knees and turned Jakob over, shakily placing two fingers on his neck.
"I don't feel a pulse," he said numbly. Kitty let out a sob and clawed at Nathaniel's arms, screaming that he was wrong. "There's nothing I can do until the ambulance gets here," he said, as if informing himself that he was helpless in this situation. He stood up and helped Nathaniel drag Kitty back towards Bartimaeus, who would be ready to restrain her if necessary.
Nathaniel felt tears prick at his eyes. He hadn't known Jake very well, but he still thought of him as a friend. He felt horrible for Kitty. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to Bartimaeus. Speaking of which…
The police man slipped out the door once Barty got a good grip on Kitty's other arm. Nathaniel stared blankly at Bartimaeus's face. He was looking at Jakob's body, grinning stupidly, obviously trying to suppress it. Nathaniel knew the two hadn't gotten along very well, but how could Bartimaeus be so heartless? Jakob was dead. He knew the ambulance wouldn't be able to help him.
He blinked and rubbed at his eyes, whispering reassurances in Kitty's ear that he didn't even believe himself. He was too tired to be truly upset about Bartimaeus's grinning, but he began to wonder if it was just djinn nature. Maybe all djinn were just made to like death and destruction? Nathaniel mentally slapped himself. He shouldn't be thinking about his boyfriend like that.
However, their relationship was a bit of a fluke in the first place. They shouldn't be together. It wasn't natural. Sure, humans and djinn could work together and live in harmony. That doesn't mean it's a good thing for them to do so.
He looked down at Kitty, who had her face buried into his chest, sobbing quietly. Nathaniel suddenly felt jealous of her, and very guilty. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't be here in the first place. If he and Barty had just done what they were destined to do, he would be dead, Barty would be happily floating around in the Other Place, Kitty would have gone on with her life, and Jakob would be alive. Nathaniel felt sorrow claw its way up his chest and into his throat, nearly cutting off his air.
It was too late now. They had to tough this one out together. Nathaniel just prayed this didn't tear them apart, and that they would still be friends, at the very least. Even if Bartimaeus was born to be a ruthless killer, he would always love him, because he knew Barty could hold in his desire for blood. That is, if he had any. After all, Nathaniel vaguely remembered how Bartimaeus had held him so gently as if afraid he would break…
Eventually, Kitty calmed down and opted to sniffle into his shoulder. Nathaniel watched Bartimaeus's face. It never lost its giddy look, only changing from a happy grin to a small knowing smirk, never looking at him or Kitty. Nathaniel felt sick again. Jakob was dead, and he was worrying about his relationship with Bartimaeus. Right.
Ed frowned and pocketed the stone, picking his way around them and marching towards the bedroom, where he would most likely break through the window and run off. Mrs. Flamel had other plans. She raised the poker and whacked Ed over the head, a metallic clang echoing around the room. Even Kitty flinched at that. The poker was now bent in a dangerous L-shape, and Ed swayed on the spot before collapsing.
Nathaniel winced and looked back at Barty. He vaguely heard the Flamels drag Ed off and lock him in the closet, plucking the stone out of his pocket first.
Bartimaeus stepped forward, watching the three police men carefully through the window. He ducked down and kneeled beside Jakob's body. Nathaniel's hopes soared. Was there a spell Bartimaeus could do to save him? Was that why he looked happy? Nathaniel frowned as Barty waved a hand over Jakob, and an illusion turned him invisible.
"Bartimaeus, what are you—?" he began, but Barty cut him off with a 'Shh.'
Bartimaeus shifted form, turning into a Jakob look-alike, complete with the bullet hole in his chest. He flopped down on the floor, in the same position Jakob had been. Nathaniel frowned, and he felt Kitty pause her sobbing to stare at Barty confusedly, tears continuing to run down her face. Nathaniel admired her strength in these kinds of situations.
Not a half a minute later, an ambulance pulled up outside and took Bartimaeus away on a stretcher. Nathaniel and Kitty shuffled out of their way, staying silent. Whatever Bartimaeus had planned better work, or else he would get a beat down from both of them. Nathaniel sighed.
"Let's go back to the hotel, Kitty," he said wearily. She choked on a sob and nodded quietly, the tears continuing to flow. A rough hand landed on Nathaniel's shoulder gently, and he jumped.
"I'll drive you back to the hotel, if you want," Flamel offered, looking quite pained. He apparently didn't like medics running around his house and a big puddle of blood on his floor. Nathaniel nodded numbly, thinking he was slowly going deaf from the wail of the sirens.
An hour later, Flamel had dropped them off at their hotel. Nathaniel thanked him many times, dragging a half-conscious Kitty up to their room. Nathaniel collapsed on his bed wearily, but Kitty wandered around the place, presumably in shock. She rummaged around a bit as Nathaniel stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore her. He was in shock, too. His brain couldn't catch up with any of this.
He felt Kitty crawl into the bed beside him and curl into his side, one of Jakob's T-shirts clutched to her chest protectively. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her, and they both soon fell unconscious, too exhausted to stay awake any longer. Besides, if they were asleep, they couldn't concentrate on the pure pain resonating from the core of their bones.
Nathaniel jerked awake at a knock on the door, wet and groggy. He momentarily forgot what had happened last night, wondering briefly why his shoulder was damp where Kitty had been crying in her sleep. It all came rushing back, and he stumbled to his feet and over to the door. He took a deep breath and smoothed down his hair, trying to make himself look semi-normal, struggling to hide his grief. His reflection in the hall mirror didn't agree with him.
There was another loud knock at the door, and he grumbled and made his way over. He noticed it was seven o'clock in the morning, and wondered why anyone would want him this early. He unlocked the door and opened it, ready to tell whoever it was that they needed to go buzz off.
He blinked stupidly and slammed it shut, turning to stare open-mouthed back at Kitty. There were a few indignant protests from the other side of the door, and he opened it again.
"Are you real?" Nathaniel asked hesitantly. The two figures nodded. He took a deep breath, and launched himself at the first one, sobbing incoherently.
Jakob giggled. "Gee, love you too, Natty-boy," he said affectionately.
"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Barty asked, pouting. Nathaniel immediately flung his arms around Bartimaeus, laughing in relief. Bartimaeus kissed his neck, smirking. Nathaniel pulled back and slapped him across the face as hard as he could.
"Ouch," Barty said in surprise. Nathaniel grabbed both males by the hand and dragged them over to Kitty's side, making sure that Jakob kicked the door shut.
"Kitty, wake up!" Nathaniel squeaked, unable to talk correctly in his excitement. Kitty jerked awake and glanced around blearily, her eyes still full of tears. Half a second later, Jakob was tackled to the floor with kisses. Nathaniel cleared his throat nervously.
"Um, we're right here," he announced, glaring at them. Barty chuckled and picked him up, dragging him over to the couch where he pinned Nathaniel down and began kissing him. "Bartimaeus stop!" he squeaked nervously, trying to wiggle away.
"Give me one good reason," Barty mumbled, grabbing Natty's earlobe between his teeth gently.
"If you haven't forgotten," Nathaniel huffed, his face bright red, "you have a few things to explain! As in, how Jakob is alive right now and what the Hell you were thinking back there!"
Bartimaeus sighed. "Can't we wait just an hour? Please?" He pouted cutely and dragged his tongue across Nathaniel's cheek. The poor boy was momentarily blinded by the fact that Bartimaeus just licked his face. Barty began kissing down his neck, and Nathaniel spluttered, shoving him up.
"Did you just lick me?!" he asked, hysterical. Barty pouted.
"Maybe…" he said slowly, perching himself on Nathaniel's lap. "It depends on how much faster it'll get you naked."
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed. "No…" he said slowly, thinking logically again. "No. Two can play that game. No physical contact until you tell me what's going on!" he snapped, wiggling his way out from under Barty, standing off to the side stubbornly. Bart's jaw dropped.
"You wouldn't…" he said slowly.
"I would." Nathaniel nodded.
Bartimaeus paled. The horror.
"Fine, but I'm only explaining it once, so you better get Kitty in here." They both glanced back at Kitty and Jakob… on the floor… eating off each other's face… Nathaniel shuddered.
"How about we get a bucket of cold water and chuck it on them?" he offered, unwilling to go over there and touch either of them.
"Sounds good." Bartimaeus nodded and ran into the bathroom, quickly returning with a pail of cold water and a wicked grin on his face.
"I really don't see why you had to throw water on us," Jakob said testily, a soaked Kitty perched in his lap. They were both dripping all over the couch, much to Nathaniel's annoyance. Nathaniel was sitting beside Bartimaeus on the other two cushions.
"Trust me, it was necessary," Nathaniel said, frowning. He noticed that Jakob looked as if he was never shot in the first place, except for the blood stain on the front of his shirt. Natty was nearly bouncing up and down anxiously, waiting for Bartimaeus to begin Story Time. Barty scowled.
"Alright, people. Shut up. The faster I tell this story, the faster we can get back to doing… um… whatever we were doing before. Now, children, this is how it all went down…"
And so he told the entire story, from the beginning, about how he had heard the weird humming noise (making sure to include his thoughts on Kitty attacking Jakob like that and his approval about Jake's new resemblance to Barty), and then how he realized that the humming was a noise the Stone made when being used. Everyone stared blankly at Jakob for a moment, making him blush and hide behind Kitty's hair.
Jakob confirmed that he had, indeed, become immortal. He had gotten a weird feeling of foreboding that somehow Kitty was going to be in trouble. That feeling tripled when Kitty insisted on egging Ed on herself. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Skipping the most heartbreaking part of the story, they explained how Bartimaeus turned Jakob invisible and pretended to be dead. Jakob couldn't whisper to Nathaniel or Kitty what was really happening, for Jakob was afraid that Bartimaeus's illusion would stop working if he got too far away from him.
It appears that early that morning, Jakob's 'body' mysteriously disappeared from the hospital just when they were about to ship it to the morgue. On the way back to the hotel, they stopped by the Flamels' house and explained everything, in case they were worrying and…
"…Speaking of which, they let me keep this." Jakob dug down into one of his pockets, pulling out a small red stone. "After all, we still have two people to immortalize, and Piper told us to bring it back to London, right?"
Nathaniel nodded quietly. "So… you're immortal now?"
"Yep."
"What about Kitty?"
"What about me?" Kitty asked suspiciously.
"Well, didn't Bartimaeus say he didn't want to let you become immortal for… various reasons?" Nathaniel said, glancing slyly at Barty, who winced.
"Okay, okay. I guess I'll let you be with your boyfriend for eternity, since you kind of helped us get the Stone…" he said reluctantly, and Kitty giggled.
"Don't worry, Barty. I was going to use the Stone whether you approved or not." Bart scowled at her.
"Alright, Story Time is over! Can we get back to… ah… doing whatever we were doing?" Barty asked innocently, grinning at Nathaniel. Natty-boy paled and flung an arm out to grab Kitty and make her stay, but she and Jakob were already dragging themselves back to Kitty's bed.
"Um… can't we go somewhere else? A little more… private?" Nathaniel asked nervously, not liking the way Bartimaeus was grinning as if he knew something Nathaniel didn't.
"Now you're just stalling," Barty said cheerfully, and promptly tackled Nathaniel to the couch again, determined to get him naked in any and all senses of the word.
Poor Nathaniel. I feel for him. I really do. D': Lots of angst here. Oh well.
-slaps Bart4Nat- No more ruining the ending, even if it's horrible! D: Now, you get an internet-cookie for reviewing, my beloved reader. -hoards reviews-
PSST. Hey, you. Yeah, you with the face. REVIEW, DAMMIT. Dx For the cookies!