Chapter 23
When he knocked on the door and she'd opened it, the sight of her in that red dress took his breath away.
Jack wanted tonight to be special, he really wanted to show Chris a good time. He'd picked a nice restaurant, pulled a few strings to get them a good table.
They drove into the city and finally Jack pulled up outside a small restaurant and Jack hurried around to her side of the car to open it for her.
"Aren't you the perfect gentleman?"
Jack smiled "guess my mother raised me right"
Chris and Jack walked towards the small restaurant and Jack once again opened the door for her "this place looks nice" Chris commented.
"I've been coming to this place since I moved to Philly last year"
The waitress showed them to their table and handed them menus "So you're not from Philly originally?"
Jack shook his head "No, I was born and raised in Seattle, met my ex-wife in high school and we got married after we graduated. I applied for the FBI entrance exam pretty much straight away and my ex studied nursing. After 6 years of me being on the road with FBI I guess she couldn't take it anymore. When we split she got custody of the girls and I moved here"
"You have girls?"
Jack nodded as he reached into his back pocket, fishing a photo out of his wallet "yeah, twins. Abby and Lucy, they just turned three"
Chris looked at the photo that Jack showed her "they are beautiful"
"I hate being away from them and I try and see them as much as possible, when they're a little older they'll be able to spend school holidays with me"
Chris reached over and placed her hand on his arm
"I can't imagine how hard it would be to be away from your children"
Jack smiled and he placed a hand over hers "it's tough but I Skype with my ex a few times a week so I can see 'em"
"That's good"
Jack sighed "anyway, enough about me, tell me about you"
Chris shrugged "not much to tell really"
Jack chuckled "oh come on, I sure that's not true"
Chris really didn't want to go into detail about her past; it wasn't something that she was proud of. Alcohol, drugs and men, just like her mother. She'd destroyed her relationship with her sister, the one person that looked out for and care about her when they were kids. She knew that if Jack found out about her past that he'd get up and leave, he was a sweet guy, and he'd probably never hurt anyone. Chris barely registered the waitress was standing at their table to take their order until Jack got her attention. She place her order and returned her gaze to the table top.
"Chris are you alright?"
She nodded and sighed heavily "it's just…I wasn't….I mean…my life hasn't been the best, I've had a lot of problems. Mostly of my own creation"
"What do you mean?" Jack asked
"Lil and I grew up without a father and with our mother either drunk, hung-over or with a man she dragged home from the bar. When they weren't beating the crap out of her they were trying to get to us, Lilly did her best to protect me"
Jack frowned "I'm sorry"
"Don't be, I've made peace with my childhood….it's rest of my life that I'm ashamed of"
"You wanna elaborate?"
"You're gonna hate me"
"Why would I hate you?"
Chris sighed "I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict"
Chris waited for him to get up and walk out of the restaurant but he didn't budge "that's not a problem for me Chris"
"Really?"
Jack nodded "yeah, my brother….he in jail for possession of meth, I've tried to get him help but he doesn't want help from his cop brother. I admire you for staying clean and sober, you're strong"
She frowned, feeling tears welling behind her eyes "I wasn't always so strong, when I was 19 I moved out of my mum's house and went to live with Lil and her fiancé Patrick. One night while she was out late on patrol, he suggested we get a drink…..well 1 drink turned to 6 and before I knew it we wound up in bed together. Lilly walked in on us….it's the single biggest mistake of my life. She's only recently forgiven me"
Jack reached out and brushed a tear that escaped from the corner of Chris's eye "you got your life back on track Chris; all those problems are in the past. You came back here to make amends with your sister, took a risk that she'd even forgive you….your brave and strong Christina"
Chris wiped her face "I can't believe I am balling like a baby"
"Its fine, I appreciate you telling me, you didn't have to"
"I wanted to" Chris replied smiling warmly at him.
"How about we skip the movie" Jack said as they walked back to his car after dinner.
"Oh" Chris replied, and she tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
"No, it's not that" Jack insisted "I meant that I wanted to get to know you more and we can't do that at a movie"
"So what do you suggest?"
Jack smiled "my apartment is close by, we can get some coffee"
Chris grinned "are you asking me back to your apartment, on our first date"
Jack chuckled "I assure you I'll be the perfect gentleman" Jack replied and he opened the car door for her "unless of course you don't want me to be" he added softly as he shut the car door.
Chris shifted in her seat as he came around to the driver's side. Christina Rush was definitely no virgin, and she had slept with guys on a first date before but she'd been either stoned or high. Jack was the first date she'd been on sober since high school, and she wasn't sure she was ready to take the next step with him. Even though she wanted to she really wanted this to work and if that meant not sleeping with him on a first date, that's what she had to do.
Jack showed her up to the stairs to his fourth floor apartment and opened the door "Sorry about the mess, I am a bachelor after all"
Chris smiled "it's alright, it's a nice apartment"
Jack helped her out of her coat, hanging it on the back of the door "Well its rent controlled and it's near work, you want some coffee?"
Chris nodded and took a seat on the couch waiting for Jack to come back, her eyes travelling around the living room.
"How do you like you coffee?" Jack called from the kitchen
"Black with one sugar"
"Coming right up"
After a few minutes he returned to the living room, handed her a mug of steaming hot coffee and took a seat beside her.
He reached over and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and she blushed "you look really beautiful"
"Thanks"
"It's alright if you don't want to do anything tonight Chris, I am not gonna push you"
Chris sighed "don't get me wrong Jack, I am attracted to you….I just want to take things slow"
Jack smiled "does that mean that there will be a second and a third date?"
Chris nodded "I'd like that"
"Well then, something to look forward to"
Chris shrugged "I guess so"
Jack chuckled "you want me to drive you home?"
She shook her head "not just yet, I like being here alone with you"
Jack smiled "I like being here with you too"
It was a little after midnight when Jack pulled up outside Lilly and Scotty's house to drop off Chris off. He really wanted to kiss her goodnight but he also knew that Chris didn't want to rush into anything. She had told him about her past, about her problems with drugs and alcohol and the problems they both cause with men.
She had practically begged him to take things slow and as smitten as he was with her he was willing to wait as long as she wanted.
"I had a really nice time tonight Jack, thanks"
"You're welcome; I had a good time too. Looking forward to doing it again"
Chris smiled "me too" Jack got out of the car with Chris to walk her up the path to the front door "you know you didn't have to walk me to the door"
"I wanted to"
She fished her keys out of her bag, fiddling with them before turning to put them in the lock "well good…" she turned to face him and Jack had leaned in, pressing his lips against her, a hand coming to rest on the back of her head, he pulled away and Chris's eyes fluttered open "…night"
"Goodnight" he whispered and he turned on his heel and practically skipped down the path and back down to his car.
After a few moments, Christina let herself inside, leaning against the closed door and trying to calm her racing heart.
A/n: Wow, an entire chapter without a word from Scotty or Lilly, difficult for an L/S shipper but I managed.