Title: Learning To Hunt
Chapter: Section 11
Fandom: The Tribe
Author: PinkTribeChick
Summary: Sometimes, love is just right under your nose . . .
Extended Summary: An alternate-universe Series 4 romance story, from the point of view of Pride, Jack, and an original female character.
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Jack-Original Female Fiction Character, Pride-Original Female Fiction Character, Jack-Ellie, and Bray-Amber, with a few mentions of other pairings.
Author's Notes: Massive thanks to Ariannya and Whit for their thoughts and proofreading on various sections over the years! Enjoy, and please review! Feedback is much appreciated!
Big thanks to my only review - Jemiul! You are awesome!
Disclaimer: All characters, situations, and song lyrics remain the property of their respective owners. Any original characters are sole property of me, PinkTribeChick. The lyrics used in this section are from "Lucky" by Bif Naked.
Learning To Hunt
Section 11
Liliana and Jack walked back toward her room, a slumbering Samuel in tow. She looked over at Jack, who was fidgeting with the drawstring on his pants uneasily as they walked. He seemed to be a very high-strung person normally, but he seemed more tense than usual.
"Something on your mind?" she whispered finally.
"Hmm?" Jack said, looking over at her. He had been lost in his own thoughts. His internal debate over telling her how he felt had started again, compounded by seeing Pride's reaction to him. Pride had not been happy to see him with Liliana, which made Jack even more afraid to tell her how he felt. He knew Pride was her best friend, and what he thought mattered to her. He could sway her opinion of Jack easily. Or he could just plain kick Jack's ass if he wanted to. "Did you say something?"
"I asked you if you had something on your mind. Anything in particular?" she responded. "You just seemed like something was bothering you." Jack opened the door to her room for her, and she walked inside, heading straight for the crib. She placed the toddler in it gently, covering him up with a blanket. Then she turned to face Jack again.
"Nothing's bothering me. I was just thinking about some stuff. Nothing important," he said squeakily.
"Then why are you so edgy?" she asked.
"I'm . . . I'm not . . . edgy," he stuttered, turning red.
"O-kay," she said, nodding. She smiled at him, pointing to the couch nearby. "Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to go fix some apple cider for us. It looks like it's going to be a long night, judging by the way you're acting." With that, she exited the room, leaving Jack alone.
Jack looked around the room. It was sparsely furnished, with a large bed and Samuel's crib against one wall with a rocking chair nearby, and a bureau near what appeared to be a closet, with a folded-up playpen leaning against it. There was a small bookshelf filled with books and a white blanket spread out in the center of the room, with Samuel's toys on it. He looked over at the old couch. It looked to be comfy, covered in a faded, flowery fabric, and there was a small table in front of it. He sat down, letting out a shaky breath. He started to hum to himself softly, trying to ease his frazzled nerves. Had he ever been this nervous with Ellie? He couldn't remember.
He heard whimpering coming from across the room, where the crib was. As it grew a little louder, Jack got up and walked over to it. He looked inside at Samuel. The child looked up at him with big, tear-filled eyes, his mouth in a pout like he was about to start screaming. Not again. Please, God, if you do actually exist, you'll make him fall asleep again. Please. I won't ask anything of you ever again if you do, Jack prayed silently. Samuel started to whine a little louder, and Jack panicked. He looked around the room. He saw a little teddy bear lying nearby and picked it up.
"Here's your teddy, little guy. You want your teddy?" Jack said quietly, tucking the stuffed animal under the blanket with Samuel. Samuel just cried more. Jack groaned loudly. "What do you want? I don't know anything about babies! What's wrong?!" Samuel started to turn red, screaming loudly. "Alright, alright! Please, stop crying, Samuel!"
Jack picked him up out of the crib, holding him the way Trudy had taught him to hold Brady, putting his head on his shoulder. He jiggled him a little bit, walking around the room. Samuel continued to scream. Jack thought quickly, trying to remember what Salene and Trudy always did to get Brady to sleep. They used to sing to her. Singing . . . maybe that would work. He started to sing the first thing that came to mind.
"It was a Monday when my lover told me . . . never pay the reaper with love only," Jack's voice was deep and scratchy, but Samuel started to quiet down a little, "What could I say to you except I love you . . . and I'd give my life for yours . . ." Samuel layed his head against Jack's shoulder, his breaths slowing. Jack started to sing a little louder, forgetting he wasn't the only one awake in the cabin. "I know we are . . . we are the lucky ones . . . I know we are . . . we are the lucky ones . . . I know we are . . . we are the lucky ones, dear . . ." Jack looked down at the tot to find that he had dozed back off. He smiled. He'd have to thank Trudy later for inadvertently teaching him how to take care of a baby.
Screaming or not, Jack actually liked Samuel. He liked kids period, but he really liked spending time with Liliana and Samuel. Samuel was part of who Liliana was, and standing there holding him, Jack felt like that was okay. He wanted to be with Liliana and Samuel.
"You have a nice voice," he heard Liliana say. He looked up to see her standing in the doorway with two steaming cups of cider. She was smiling at him, her eyes sparkling. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Oh . . . he woke up, and I didn't know what else to do," Jack explained quickly. He put Samuel back into the crib and pulled the blanket up over him. Liliana put the mugs down on the table and stepped slowly over to where Jack stood.
"You did just fine. He likes being sung to. I do it all the time. It makes him feel safe," she said. She put her arms around his waist and placed her head against his bare back. Her skin felt soft and warm against his, making him shiver.
"Liliana . . . ," he began, turning to face her. She buried her head in his shoulder as he held her.
"Hmm?"
"Listen . . . I've been trying to tell you something since this morning . . . I think . . ." Jack was interrupted by piercing screams as Samuel woke up again. Jack groaned quietly as Liliana pulled away from him and picked up the boy. She sat down in the rocking chair with Samuel, soothing his cries. Jack walked back over to the couch and sat down, grabbing one of the mugs of cider and taking a sip. Alright, either God has a really messed-up sense of humor or somebody's trying to tell me something here, Jack thought in disgruntlement. He leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes, and tried to tune out the wailing going on in the foreground. Liliana had been right. It was going to be one long night.
That's all for now, folks! Thanks again for reading, now please go and tell me what you thought of what you read! I love reviews – they keep me going! Toodles until later . . .