Monica struggled to find words, her eyes searching his face. Finally, she spoke. "Jason—how? Why? After all this time?"
"Well, going back to my days as an agent, I have some pretty strong connections. Using some of Dad's helped, too, and between them all, we pulled enough strings for a review of your case. They agreed that while the charges stand, a highly restricted parole was a possibility. Your prison record was looked at, and, seeing no negative comments, they agreed to allow parole on the anniversary of your 8th year," Jason replied.
He gripped the bars on the door. Monica saw that there was an internal struggle over the next question. Jason sighed. "As to the why…Monica, I really do care about you. And Duncan. I think you need to repair your relationship with your brother, and the only way to do that is to get you out of here."
Monica felt something crumble inside her heart. While she was glad to hear that she cared about her and her relationship with Duncan, she'd hoped for another reason to bring him here after all of this time. "Thanks, Jason. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done—what you're doing for Duncan and me. I miss him," she admitted. Still, she couldn't keep tears from forming in her eyes.
Jason reached through the door again to grab her hand. "Oh, Monica…" he trailed off, "Monica, I wasn't going to say this." He pulled his hand back and jammed both of his hands into his hair. He paced back and forth in front of the cell, then turned abruptly back to the door. "I started the whole process by going to talk to Duncan," he paused, "because I needed to find someone that missed you as much as I did," he said quietly. "You see, I had my own selfish purpose for getting you paroled. I wanted to see you free again, to see if there was any way…any way that you and I could explore what might have been." He ran his hands down his face.
Monica sat down. Though it was what she wanted to hear, it still shocked her to her core. He wanted her. She wanted him. But she was so unworthy of anyone's love, much less Jason's. Especially God's. She'd turned her problems over to Him years ago, but still felt lacking. She didn't deserve mercy, didn't deserve a second chance. It was all too good to be true, in her opinion. "Jason, I-I don't know what to say. I have to admit, I've thought about you a lot. Regretted hurting you, betraying you. Worried about what you might be doing out there," she let out a strangled laugh, "you always did put the world ahead of yourself—something I've always both admired and feared. I did what I did for Duncan out of guilt and desperation, and love, too, I hope. But you've always put yourself in danger, simply because it is right." She stood back up and ran her fingers over the door. "You're the bravest man I know," she said quietly.