Chpt.5
~*~*~*~Several Years Ago~*~*~*~
"Bullwhip Bob. Long time no see." Ruari smirked as she opened the door to let in her old friend. However, Jason couldn't smile at her. He grimaced, his hand over his stomach as some blood dripped through.
Ruari's eyes widened as she quickly ushered her friend into the home and brought him to the couch. With calloused hands, Ruari was gentle as she placed him onto the couch.
She moved his hand away from the wound and saw a large laceration across his stomach causing the bleeding.
"How do you want me to proceed because I am not in any way a doctor." Ruari said in an extremely calm and steady voice. However her eyes were wide with fear.
"Heh." Jason tried cracking a smile. "You look so scared. N-no worries. Just follow m-my instructions and you'll be fine."
Ruari's hands were trembling, but she quickly followed Jason's instruction and had the wound cauterized. It was a long process, but it did the trick.
"Good things you're not squeamish around blood." Jason chuckled in a low voice, still in a lot of pain.
"Yeah. Good thing." Ruari whispered, pale as a ghost as she washed her hands. Red rushed down the drain off of the Ruari's fingertips, making her stomach flip. Jason raised an eyebrow.
"You're squeamish around blood, aren't you?"
"Just a bit." Ruari sighed, a bit guilty. Someone like her really shouldn't be squeamish around blood. With her background, seeing blood should have been something natural. "But if you're bleeding out on me, I don't really have any other options." She grinned, kissing Jason on the cheek.
"You're a good friend."
"You'd do the same for me." Ruari smirked, but it was true. Despite how lighthearted and nonchalant they acted with each other, their friendship was something neither of them could afford to lose. No matter what happened, they could depend on each other no matter what. "Mind telling me how you almost got gutted or is it a sore topic?" Ruari questioned.
"You know. The typical fighting evil people thing." Jason shrugged, happy that the small talk could get his mind off of the pain.
"Ha, I should have figured." Ruari smirked, rolling her eyes. She sat on the couch with Jason and placed his hand on her lap and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm happy you came to me. It's nice seeing you again."
"Ditto. How's the whole 'running from place to place' thing working for you?" Jason questioned, but pressed his head against Ruari hand, enjoying the petting.
"Pretty good. Haven't got caught yet, so that's cool." Ruari grinned but her face softened into a more concerned look. "You should rest. I'm not an expert on the whole being a doctor thing, but I think you sleeping would be a great idea."
"As long as you promise not to be gone when I wake up." Jason smirked and Ruari chuckled.
"Despite how tempting it is to leave, I promise I won't." Ruari kissed the man on the cheek and was about to get up and grab a blanket when Jason grabbed her and pulled her into his chest.
"Jay, I was gonna get a blanket."
"Why have a blanket when I have you as my personal warm teddy bear." Jason grinned playfully.
"Alright, but if you need a blanket, just tell me." Ruari informed as she snuggled closer to Jason, careful of his injury.
"Thanks Doctor Whelan." Jason grinned, kissing the young woman, then drifting off to sleep. It didn't take long for Ruari to fall asleep next to her friend as well.
However, several hours passed and Ruari felt Jason squirming next to her. She woke up completely and noticed Jason grimacing as he twitched. He then started groaning in what sounded like pain and Ruari realized that he was having a nightmare.
"Jason, wake up." Ruari stated, lightly touching Jason's face. Swiftly, Jason's arm flung up and he punched Ruari in the gut, but in doing so, he woke up.
"Huh? Ruari?" Jason's eyes widened in realization. "God, Ruari, I'm so sorry…"
"It's alright. You were having a bad dream." Ruari informed slowly, gently running her fingers through Jason's hair.
Jason's eyes widened as his nightmare hit him with full force as he remembered what happened. He shook slightly shaking his head.
"I should go." Jason whispered, starting to stand, however Ruari grabbed him and pulled him back down.
"You're still hurt. I can't let you up and leave while in your condition." Ruari stated firmly, but Jason shook his head.
"Ruari, please let me leave." His voice broke at the end of the sentence and Ruari realized why he was so bent on leaving.
"Hey, Jay." She whispered gently. "I've cried plenty of times in front of you and it was comforting knowing you'd be there for me. It's my turn now to be here for you."
Jason looked at her with tears in his eyes as he shook and hugged Ruari tightly, crying into her shoulder.
Not saying a word, Ruari ran her fingers through Jason's hair, hoping to sooth him. she figured that Jason wouldn't want to talk about whatever plagued his dreams because if it was enough to make him cry, it was bad. Jason wasn't the emotional sort.
As time went on, Ruari felt Jason's sobs decrease and it was replaced by steady breathing. Jason had fallen asleep against Ruari's body, and she couldn't help but smile due to how much he trusted her.
Was she expecting for Jason to come with an injury and crash on her couch? Not at all, but she certainly wasn't put out by it. If anything, having Jason around was a small blessing, reminding her that no matter where she was, she could still find a friend.
~*~*~*~Present~*~*~*~
Blinking her eyes slowly, Ruari woke up surrounded by comfortable warmth that was Jason. It had been some time since the two of them slept together, even platonically.
She couldn't help but smile a bit. Waking up to the smell and sight of Jason brought about pleasant memories of erotic mornings full of sex but also comfort.
However, the moment she thought more of it and the more awake she became, the crashing realization of how Sam was gone from her life came upon her.
Sam, the one she was planning to start a family with. The one who she promised to be with until she herself passed. Ruari never expected her time with Sam to be so quick. If anything, she thought that she would be the one to die first.
"It should have been me." Ruari whispered, which caused Jason to open his eyes.
"What you say?" he yawned.
"It should have been me. Not her." Ruari repeated quietly and Jason knew what she was talking about.
"Don't say stuff like that. I know that at times like these, you want to blame yourself, but you can't." Jason turned Ruari to face him, still lying on the bed. "It's not your fault. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She would want you to get better and always carry what the two of you had in your heart, alright?" Jason inquired, and Ruari slowly nodded.
"Say it, Ruari." Jason stated.
"Say what?"
"Tell me that it wasn't your fault." Jason stated and Ruari looked at him in shock. What more, she looked at him with mistrust.
"I… I can't-"
"You can, Ruari. You can. Please say it. I promise you that it'll make you feel better." Jason stated. Did he really know that it would make her feel better? No, but he hoped that it would.
"It… it wasn't my f-fault."
"I don't think I heard that." Jason stated and she said louder.
"It wasn't my fault."
That was enough for Jason. He wasn't going to push Ruari to keep repeating the phrase, especially when her eyes glazed over like she was about to cry again.
Then there was a knock on the door.
"May I enter?" the voice on the other side of the door belonged to Alfred.
"You're good, Alf." Jason stated, loud enough for Alfred to hear through the door, and the older men stepped into the room.
"Good morning. Breakfast is prepared downstairs and Ms. Ruari and the rest of the family can further discuss things where we left off from yesterday." He informed.
"Thank you, Alfred." Ruari informed, flashing a smile at the butler as if she wasn't on the verge of tears only seconds earlier.
Alfred smiled back at her, then made his way out of the room. Taking a deep breath, Ruari stood to her feet and Jason was quickly next to her.
"Hey, if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to answer them, alright? Bruce especially can pry a lot." Jason stated and Ruari chuckled.
"Thanks Jay, but I trust you and your family. If Bruce thinks he can help, then I'll trust him. You… you and your family are the only people I'm willing to trust right now." Ruari's voice tapered off near the end of her sentence.
Jason wrapped his arms around Ruari, engulfing her in a strong hug.
"I got you, Ruari. Just like you got me." Jason whispered and Ruari didn't say anything. She just leaned into Jason's hug, letting him look after her, fully trusting him.
