Disclaimer: I do not and never will own the Alex Rider series.
Another chapter for you to read. I thought I'd slide the story back towards London. I do believe, unless I change my mind drastically, that the next chapter will be an Alex chapter. And in case you're wondering, don't worry, the contents of the letter will be unearthed. Bit by bit. In my first attempt at any real kind of suspense. And I have a lovely chunk of questions for you at the end of the chapter for you. YAY!!
The title of this chapter is from the song 'Violet Hill' by Coldplay.
It was the sort of building you could walk past without noticing: three storeys high, painted white with tall windows peering down at the sidewalk. The name of the place was written in Calligraphic Handwriting on a brass plaque beside the door.
Gold & Sampson Relationship Therapy.
An angry face stared out the window, glaring at the passers by. Jamie Byrne aka Wolf was not a happy man at the moment. His blissful, contented existence had been shaken to the core when he discovered his fiance was pregnant. The relationship therapist, who was costing Wolf a fortune, watched the man carefully.
The therapist had introduced himself as Dr. Hughes. He was a short, shrewd man who had beady, observant eyes that watched through his spectacles. He picked up on every movement the couple made and was constantly noting things down on his clipboard.
"Jack, why don't you tell me how you two met?" Dr. Hughes asked pleasantly.
"Well, we were a small party with mutual friends-"
Lie. We were actually out clubbing with 'mutual friends' and Eagle had introduced us in his drunken, peculiar way.
"I was standing on one side of the room. It was New Years Eve so we were all waiting for the countdown to start. Anyway, I looked up from my drink and noticed that this really good looking guy was watching me".
Lie. Not that I'd ever tell her the truth. I was actually watching the leggy blond behind her. Damn that blond. She's had a date with her. Eagle had got it into his very drunk head that I fancied his girlfriend's American mate.
"I blushed and I looked back down at my drink. When I looked up again, he was gone. Then, about ten minutes before the countdown started, I heard this husky voice behind me say 'Can I buy you a mojito?'"
Another lie. Eagle had introduced us and then, very embarrassed and drunk, I offered her a pint. I can tell you now, she didn't refuse. She drank the whole thing in like, two gulps. Then the countdown started and we snogged. She came back to mine that night and had been hungover enough to agree to a date the next morning.
"So, we found a quiet comfortable corner and started talking. We both had a lot in common-"
Lie. All we had in common was that we were both totally out of it.
"The countdown started and I looked down at my drink again. Then, I felt someone lifting my chin. Our eyes met and his were just smouldering with passion. Our lips touched and I just knew we were meant to be".
Biggest load of bull I'd ever heard. We'd snogged in one of the stalls of the gents bathroom. My eyes weren't smouldering with anything. I was drunk for Christ's sake!
Wolf raised an eyebrow at Jack.
"Were you actually so drunk you don't remember anything about that night?" he inquired.
"Alright James, your turn to speak. Now James, why don't you tell us few of the things Jack does that annoy you?" Dr Hughes suggested politely.
Wolf took a deep breath. He was about to launch into a tirade of little habits he found irritating when he suddenly struck something deep down inside himself. Sure, Jack could be annoying. But it was good annoying. The kind of annoying that wasn't annoying.
Does make any sense at all?
"There's nothing. I actually like everything she does".
The air sparked with electricity. Silence stretched between them. Jack was staring at the wall but she had the good grace to blush.
You better blush. I just put myself out there for you.
"Okay. Jack, what about things that James does that annoy you?" Dr. Hughes continued.
"He bites his nails, he leaves the windows open every night, he falls asleep anywhere at anytime after sitting down for a minute or two, he leaves dirty clothes on the floor of our bedroom, he snores, he wears his socks in bed. He plays really rubbish music really loudly. He never opens the window while he showers and the whole room gets all steamy. He leaves the milk out on the counter anytime he uses it. He-"
"I leave the milk out in case you want to use it!" Wolf protested.
"James, no interrupting. Jack didn't interrupt you when you were talking" Dr. Hughes said sternly.
"What!? I used eight words! Eight! Not much chance for an interruption the-"
"He interrupts me all the time! He moans about how much I spend on clothes. He calls me every two hours to see what I'm doing! That's almost obsessive compulsive, wouldn't you say so Doctor Hughes? He leaves toast crumbs in the butter. He never scrapes off his plate after he's done eating. He won't let me buy scented soap. He insists on using the industrial, carbonic crap soap. He buys the most hideous t-shirts ever. He told my mother to shut the hell up. He-"
"I told your mam to shut the hell up because she was criticizing your cooking!" Wolf said, glowering at his fiance and appealing silently to Doctor Hughes to shut her up.
"James, you heard the Doctor! I didn't interrupt you when you were talking! You see Doctor? I have to put up with that all day every day" Jack chimed in a sing song voice.
"None of that crap ever bothered you before. It's because of that little monstrosity inside you. And it's just going to get worse. Besides, how the hell are you pregnant anyway!? You told me you were on the Jack" Wolf snapped.
Jack's mouth hung open in astonishment for a minute.
"What the hell are you talking about!?" she hissed at him.
Wolf's scowl deepened. Jack had never understood rhyming slang. That annoyed him. Damnit. Why the hell had he decided to be sweet and nice for once!? Whenever he was sweet and nice he got hurt in his relationship.
"Pill, Jack. Jack and Jill. Slang for pill" Wolf replied, getting to his feet and shrugging on his coat.
"Where the hell are you going!?" Jack yelled at his retreating form. Wolf paused for a second in the doorway and pulled his collar up. He took a deep breath and glanced back over his shoulder at his fiance.
"I don't know. But I'm starting to think you want to take a different road" he said before exiting the room, slamming the door behind him.
Jack stared after him and Doctor Hughes's beady eyes glanced from the door to Jack and then back again. He opened his mouth then closed it again. He had no idea what he should say. The woman was clearly upset. Her jaw was flapping open and the closed like a fish. Doctor Hughes had to beat back the urge to laugh. The woman looked from him to the door at least several times before getting to her feet.
"I'm very sorry Doctor Hughes. I'll call you when I get home and tell you if we need to arrange another appointment. But I've got to-"
"Go after him. I understand" Doctor Hughes finished her sentence for her.
Jack got to her feet and pulled on her coat before dashing out of the office. She raced out the front doors of the building and looked around. She had no idea where Wolf had gone or if he was ever going to come back.
Calm down. It's pouring rain. Go home and wait for him.
She made her way to the nearest bus stop and stood under the shelter, miserable. Where was he? She tried ringing him twice but he was ignoring her calls. Her bus arrived and as she paid the fee she sent him a text. 'I luv u. Remembr that'.
Jack lay on the sofa with a mug of tea. She was doing her head in worrying. Alex was staying at Tom's for the weekend. But Wolf still hadn't turned up. There'd been a thunder storm all day and hail was beating against the window of the flat. Lightning was ripping across the sky. He was out there in that, somewhere.
The door opened and Jack sat up with a start. She stared over at the doorway and actually felt her heart flutter. He was soaked. His hair was plastered to his head and was dripping into his eyes. His clothes clung to him. He looked like he'd gone swimming fully dressed. He was clutching a plastic bag to his chest and was regarding her with big brown eyes.
Then, he crossed the room in two paces. He picked her up, ignoring her squealed protests, and lay down with her on his chest.
"Wolf, you're soaking! You're dripping all over me!" she said indignantly.
Wolf grinned, it had to be said, wolfishly. He was twirling a segment of her hair around a soaking finger. He kissed her cheek lightly and then ran his free hand through his hair.
"Where were you?" Jack asked, rolling around so she was facing him. She rubbed his cheek absent mindedly and he closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again. His gaze searched her face carefully before he spoke.
"I went to an abortion clinic. And I got clued in. You've been up the duff for nine weeks. Your baby is, like, one and a quarter inches long and it weighs eight grams. And it has all its organs. So that got me thinking. That little thing has lungs. And a liver. And kidneys. And a tiny, tiny heart. It probably has hair too. And the doctor told me it can't feel pain. But I went on this website and it can. It can hear what's going on. Hell, it can probably hear me right now" Wolf said, toying with her hair.
"And? What about it?" Jack asked. She didn't even want to hope about Wolf might say. She might just end up let down by expecting anything.
"So then I went to Unplanned Pregnancy. And I got the info on that. And I know you're going to be grumpy and moany and whingey and your going to get weird cravings. And you're going to be a sarky cow for nine months. But then I went to the park. And I saw this guy pushing his little daughter on the swings. And I started thinking about after nine months. How a little person is going to come out of you. And at first I thought 'that's disgusting! A little human is going to squeeze out of her!'. But after I got used to the idea it didn't seem as disgusting" Wolf said.
Very gently, Jack felt his hand rub her stomach. She already had a small baby bump but she wasn't showing much. He was rubbing it and she could tell he was thinking about what was in there. The thing that had him running scared from information point to information point all across the city.
"Really? Disgusting, is it? And where do you stand on the subject now?" Jack asked. She bit back a grin. He might not want you to keep it her brain chimed loudly. Shut up you idiot! I love him! her heart replied. Talk about being a psycho.
Wolf sat up and picked up the plastic bag that he'd discarded. He pulled out a tiny garment and held it up for her appreciation. It was a light blue, baby sized sleeper suit with a little cartoon wolf on the back. Jack felt her heart twang loudly. It was adorable. She touched it gently, in an almost reverent gesture and she heard Wolf chuckle.
"I love you too. And I think that if you're willing to squeeze the thing out, I should be able to give you a hand with it" Wolf said awkwardly. He felt stupid and clumsy. Like an elephant trying to do brain surgery. Jack stiffened in his hands and he scowled. He'd said the wrong bloody thing!
"I don't want you to give me a hand. I'm not asking you for money or help. I want you to love our baby like I already do. But I don't want you to love our baby because I told you to. I want you to really love our baby. Do you?" Jack asked, her voice flat and emotionless.
Wolf ran his hand through his hair again and considered what she was asking him. How could he love something he'd never seen? He was still struggling to get used to the idea. He tried to dip into his feelings and guess what they were. There was a lot of fear and worry. A smattering of anxiety. And a little drop of happiness. But what the hell was love supposed to feel like anyway?
Love, he resoned, was wanting to look after someone when they were sick. Wolf didn't really like looking after people. Especially not kid's. Sick Alex was only just about tolerable because he just slept sickness off. But other kids were different.
Love was being ready to read a bedtime story every single night. He could do that. He would most likely enjoy doing that. Kids books were always funny for a grown up to read.
Love, he realised, was that little drop of happiness inside him. And the drop would grow, he knew that. As soon as he saw the kid, he knew he was going to be mesmirized. It was kind of cool to think about. A little mix of him and Jack that would grow into a bigger mix of him, Jack and itself.
"I do. Without a shadow of a doubt. And I'll be here for you all the way. I promise you" Wolf said, wrapping his arms tighter around Jack. He liked the feeling of having her close. And inside her was their kid. It was going to be rocky. They were going to be fighting and making up twice a day for nine months. They were going to argue and scream at each other a million times. He'd probably regret agreeing once or twice. But at the end it would all be worth it.
Jack made a noise somewhere between a sigh of relief and a groan.
"What's wrong?" Wolf asked, trying to deny the stab of worry in his chest.
"Just the idea of a mini you running around the flat. We'll have to get someplace else. A house maybe" Jack mused aloud. Wolf smirked and then a thought crossed his mind.
"And we've got to tell Alex" he added.
"I already did. He was the one who said I should take the test after he caught me getting sick on Tuesday morning" Jack replied. Wolf gaped. Alex had known and hadn't mentioned a word to him!? It was devious, that much was sure.
"I'm worried about Al. We should buy one of the houses down in Hereford. It'd be close to the base for me. Not too much traffic and plenty of space for a small kid to play. Far enough from London that Alex is out of MI6's immediate area" Wolf suggested.
Jack clucked her tongue. It wasn't a bad idea.
"Snake's neighbour is selling up privately. We could put in a bid for it. We could get the money from our savings account" Wolf suggested gently. Jack inhaled sharply. They both knew what moving would do to their savings.
"That's the money we're going to spend on the wedding. And the honeymoon. We'll have to start from scratch if we move" Jack reminded him. Wolf frowned. He had been working his ass of the past eighteen months, trying to get together enough money to tread water and put some aside for the wedding. He wanted Jack to have the very best, the whole shebang. An expensive wedding dress, a fancy reception, a string quartet, a beautiful venue. The whole nine yards.
"I know. But I think it'd be the right thing to do. It'd be the best thing for all of us" Wolf said gruffly. Jack knew he wouldn't suggest spending their savings unless it was something really important. And it was important. Very important.
"Alright. Call Snake tomorrow and ask him about setting up a meeting with his neighbour. In the meantime, I have a strange craving for Waffledoodles" Jack said.
Wolf shot up and looked around worriedly.
"What the hell are Waffledoodles? You're already having cravings?" he asked urgently. Jack grinned sleepily up at him. He was so cute when he got all worried and alarmed like that.
"I made Waffledoodles up. No cravings. I was just testing you" she replied calmly.
"Very funny" Wolf said flopping back down and stroking her hair gently. Wolf let out a small rumble of laughter. Jack smiled. She loved that laugh. It sounded so nice and safe. It was like a shield.
"You passed by the way. Now lets get some shut eye" Jack said, clapping her hands. The soft lamp light flickered off and Wolf laughed. Usually that clap on monstrosity annoyed the hell out of him. Now it was finally useful for something.
Jack lay there, now very wet from Wolf's cuddle. It was incredible really. He was the only man she had ever met who would be able to tell a kid straight out that Santa wasn't real without blinking. But he was so soft and huggable. She knew he was different usually. But he let his guard down around her. And Alex. Wolf absolutely adored Alex in his own strange way.
Wolf was pushing some buttons on his phone. He held the screen in front of Jack's face for her to read. The light blinded her temporarily but she blinked and her eyes adjusted before she read what he'd typed.
'I luv u 2. Always remembr that'.
Okay, firstly I'll give you an update on my life. Strange or what? Thank you all for your very kind reviews and especially for all your good messages which I told my sis about. Don't worry about her, she's just had a bit of a scare. Our GP has referred her to hospital and our mam wouldn't tell her why. Then, while our mother dearest was very drunk she told her the doctor wants her to get a cancer test. Understandably, she is very, very, very upset. But fingers crossed, she'll be fine.
Anyway, in relation to that, if you happen to be reading any of her stories then please have a teeny bit of patience. They will be updated by me. I'm still deciphering her rather illegible handwriting and typing them up in her documents folder. And if you aren't reading her stories you should because they are just top class.
Time for a few questions. You thought I'd dropped the habit after the last chapter...didn't you? MWAH!! You were wrong!!
1- Do you want mini Wolf to be a boy ot a girl??
2- Do you think Wolf and Jack are a believable couple??
3- Do you read my sis's stories?? (Okay, not strictly to do with the story but I had to do it!!)
4- Have you ever read the Gruffalo?? (Random but essential)
5- Do you think Jamie is a good OC??
6- Do you have any suggestions on how I could improve the story?? (Brutal honesty required)