AN/ Hi, I'm really sorry for the delay...again... But here it is the last chapter of Truth and Denial. It's really strange that it's over...

I take it that you find the story even though I changed the cover/image for it...haha took me long enough to get that up...but better late than never...

I wanna thank you all so much for all your reviews and support.

This is the ending I had planned and I hope y'all gonna like it.

DICLAIMER: I do NOT own Kickin' it.

Chapter 31

Right Where I Belong

Jack's pov.

Numbness, I think that's the best way to describe my time at the hospital. Memories from my stay here were foggy as if they were parts of a dream I'd just woken up from. The days had passed quickly and in a blink of an eye they were gone, but still it felt as if I'd been here for an eternity.

I couldn't recall any happy moments at all, only miserable ones.

There'd been times when I'd woken up in the middle of the night, screaming in fear of the green eyes that haunted my dreams. Other times I'd felt so terribly lonely, I'd cried myself to sleep. The doctors had tried to help me, giving me stuff to keep me from drowning in my anguish. But by doing so they'd also blocked out all the other more positive emotions like happiness and enjoyment too. This had left me feeling like an empty shell, too tired to even talk with my friends and family that had been visiting me frequently.

In just a few moments my stay here would finally come to an end though and I would be able to go home. I hoped that the heavy weight on my chest would vanish and the horrible memories would start to fade as soon as I set my foot outside the hospital walls.

I felt a lot better physically, having been able to get the food and rest that I'd needed and my injuries had been taken care of. I almost didn't feel any pain at all, as long as I kept still, that is. Now it was time for me to take care of all the emotional pain and letting my heart heal at home with the people I love.

My thoughts went to a certain blond girl without whose courage, I wouldn't be sitting here today. I longed to be with her again. She had been at the hospital everyday to visit me, but I hadn't been me, therefore I felt like I hadn't really seen her.

I was worried that things would be different now though, that she wouldn't think of me the same way she did before. In the forest I had cried like a little baby, clinging to her for all I was worth, scared of everything else around me. I think I'd made it pretty clear to her that she was my lifeline by my behaviour and I could hardly deny my desire to be with her anymore. I kept worrying though, that our relationship wouldn't be like it used to. What if she thought that my actions had been pathetic and silly? What if she'd leave me? I don't think I'll ever get back to normal if she did.

Trying to get rid of the negative thoughts, I shook my head and went back to fiddling around with my hands nervously as I waited for my parents to arrive. Deep down I knew that they loved me and that they longed for me to be back home again, but a part of me still worried that they wouldn't come. What if they had forgotten that it was today they were supposed to pick me up?

No they couldn't possibly do that…could they?

I had refused to take any other medication than the antibiotics for my physical injuries today, not wanting the numbness to take over my brain. I wanted to be able to feel. Even if that meant pain, I couldn't afford to miss the opportunity to feel happiness and love. Two feelings I prayed to God that I would experience soon; because I honestly didn't know how much longer I would be able to survive without them.

I threw a glance at the clock on the wall. What was taking them so long? The lack of drugs in my system caused me to feel anxious about everything and I struggled to stay in the chair, fighting the urge to just run away. Occasionally I would hear footsteps approaching the spot where I was sitting and every time I tensed, hoping that it would be my family, still dreading that it would be a tall shaggy looking man with piercing green eyes. Oh yes, I still feared that Mark would come back, looking for me, even though I knew he was locked up in a mental care somewhere.

A shiver went down my spine at the thought of him and I quickly tried to focus on something else, before all the things that he did would start playing inside my head. It was hard to ignore everything that had happened though, especially with being stuck in my own body. A body that was a living evidence and a constant reminder of what he'd done to me.

Feeling as if I was being watched I looked up, meeting my parents eyes. The sight of them made me almost smile.

"Jack sweetheart…" Mom said coming towards me. I quickly stood up, not wanting to stay one minute longer than necessary at this place. She embraced me in a hug. I hugged back, taking in the feeling of her love to me, realizing just how much I'd missed her. She pulled away all too soon though, looking me in the eyes and cupping my face with her hands.

"You ready to go home?"

"Yeah…" I said, my voice coming out weaker than I'd expected. There was no question of how badly I wanted to go home though. To hurry things up I quickly grabbed my bag at the same time dad mumbled;

"Well, let's go then…" He's never been good to show emotions and I could sense that he was uncomfortable and wanted to leave quickly. I was actually glad he did. If he'd come up hugging me and made this moment any longer, I would've probably not been able to hold it together.

Just when I was about to start walking, I noticed a very familiar girl, smiling shyly at me. I hadn't expected her to come and I didn't know what to do. A sudden urge to just run up and throw myself in her arms, letting everything out filled me and I had to fight hard not to lose control. So hard that I didn't dare to move.

"Hi, Jack." Kim's sweet voice was wonderful to hear and I found myself staring at her. "Your parents let me come…" I didn't really listen to her. I just tried to comprehend that fact that she was standing there. There'd been a time when I thought that that would never be possible. A time when I thought she would be gone forever. I inhaled deeply, desperately trying to compose myself.

"You coming?" I heard my dad's voice. Kim jerked, slightly startled and hurried off towards my parents, who were heading for the exit. Relieved that he'd spoken and pulled me back from my thoughts I followed behind, never taking my eyes off the blond beauty.

The memories from my time in captivity started to run through my brain and continued to flow as we sat in the car on our way home. I tried to block them out by thinking of something else, but it was hard. Why couldn't I forget about it? Why couldn't I be happy? Everything that I wished for had come true. Kim was alive, I was free and Mark was locked up, unable to bother us anymore. The nightmare was over, but still it haunted me.

"You can just drop me off by the post office. I'll walk from there." Kim said. No, no, no… A sudden pressure in my chest appeared, making it hard to breathe. I had assumed that she was going to come with us. I needed to talk to her.

"Can't you stay?" I asked, praying that she could. She looked a little surprised at me. "Do you have anything else you have to do?"

"No" She shook her head. The heavy feeling in my chest started to subdue by her answer and I turned towards my parents, sitting in front of us.

"Mum, dad…? You guys wouldn't mind Kim coming with us, right?"

"Of course not, honey." Mum said, she looked at me through the rear-view mirror. "If it's ok with Kim."

I shot Kim a glance. She seemed to be thinking about it.

"Please…" I mouthed, hoping that she wouldn't leave. Her face softened into a smile.

"I would love to come with you."

I sighed, finally being able to breathe properly again as I let myself fall back against my seat. Thank God, she'll come with us...

It was really weird stepping into our house after everything. I'd hoped that the empty and hopeless feeling I'd grown so accustomed to in the past days would disappear as soon as I got home. Much to my disappointment though, it still lingered inside of me.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom…" I mumbled loud enough for mum and Kim to hear, before hurrying upstairs. It probably seemed kind of rude to just run off like that, especially since I didn't really needed to go that badly, at least not for that reason. I just felt that keeping myself busy by doing something would keep my mind from wandering back to that cabin… And by doing stuff that was part of the daily routines, the quicker my life would get back to normal…right? At least that's how I felt, at that moment.

Careful not to look into the mirror, I washed my hands, doing everything that I could to ignore the red scars around my wrists. The visit to the bathroom hadn't lasted as long as I'd wanted and I soon found myself once again with nothing to do. I could always go back down, but I was kind of worried that they would start to ask me uncomfortable questions about how I felt…

Looking around the hallway, my eyes fell upon a small bag of mint pastilles my dad had left carelessly laying around on the small table outside their bedroom.

"You want one?" A deep voice echoed, causing me to stop in my tracks. I shook my head, backing off. "Suit yourself…" Quickly averting my gaze, desperately trying to focus on something else I bolted to the one place I'd always felt safe; my own room.

Stopping right in front of it, I hesitantly opened the door, bracing myself as if I'd expected the room to be burnt down to the ground or something.

I let my eyes scan the place just to find out that everything looked just the same as I'd left it that Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago. It was as if nothing had changed…yet everything was different. I was different.

Noticing my guitar, standing next to my desk, I considered playing on it. Maybe it would help, even though I didn't really feel like doing it. In search for something else that I maybe could do instead, I locked eyes with a forlorn looking teen and I instantly regretted that I hadn't grabbed the guitar at once when I had entered the room. Then maybe I hadn't had to face the guy staring at me through the mirror.

It was too late to ignore him now though.

Slowly I approached my reflection. I had done everything within my power to avoid looking at myself ever since I got rescued, so I hadn't really seen what I looked like. The image shocked me a little. It wasn't the bruises or the cut in my lip or the one up in my hair line that caught my attention though. I had kind of expected them to look something like that anyway… no, it was the empty face with eyes holding nothing but pain and sadness and the slouched shoulders, creating a silhouette that was the exact opposite to the proud and confident boy I was used to seeing that was really disturbing.

The boy who was looking back at me had been hurt in so many ways. I'd been hurt in so many ways. The truth hit me hard. How could I let this happen?

I was a second degree black belt for crying out loud. I should've been able to defend myself. I should've been able to stop this from ever happening.

Pretty sure I'd seen the worst part, I pulled off the sweater I was wearing and threw it on a chair next to me. I might as well see the rest of the damages done to me. Besides I was a little curious.

My arms were mostly covered with bandages, which didn't leave me much to look at. Grabbing the hem of my T-shirt, I anxiously pulled it up. I scolded myself instantly. Now why did I have to do that?

Standing frozen as if seeing a ghost, I couldn't bring myself to pull my shirt back down. Instead I let my other hand travel along the scrapes and bruises covering me. I flinched at my own touch as I accidentally put a bit too much pressure on a pretty large bruise I had on my right side, just below my chest. It was from the kick Alan had given me right after Tess had caused me to fall off the chair and accidentally break a few plates by tickling me.

Letting my hand fall slightly it came across several scrapes covering my abs. You could tell that they must've been bleeding quite a bit when they were new. A sickening feeling filled me, remembering very vivid the fear and the pain when my skin had merciless been ripped opened, as I'd been dragged across the forest floor by the car.

Quickly I moved my hand to one of the smaller bruises on my chest. I had received it on my first night at the cabin when Kim just had…I took a deep breath. When I thought Kim was gone. Alan had lost his patience with me, when I'd tried to move away from him, not wanting him to put the handcuffs back on me. He had beaten me senseless until I felt so much pain and fear that I hadn't even dared to think about fighting back.

The horrid memories kept coming as every mark on my body had its own story to tell and of course they brought me nothing but more pain. Still, I was unable to move away from the mirror, too caught up with staring at myself. I didn't even notice Kim entering the room, even though I could've clearly spotted her reflection through the mirror.

"Jack?" Her sweet voice was what finally broke through the stream of terrible images and feelings running through me. The hand I'd been tracing my torso with fell to my side and I could almost instantly feel Kim's touch as she took it in both of hers. "Jack, are you ok?" I turned my head and looked at her, letting my shirt down. I thought about her question for a moment. Was I ok? Everything was as it should be. I was home and I had started to heal. I should be ok. So why didn't I feel like it? What was I supposed to do to feel normal again?

The hopelessness I felt inside made my eyes water, which caused me to feel really silly and I quickly looked down at the floor, giving Kim a small shrug as a truthful answer to her question. She stood silent for a moment, studying me as I pushed my emotions back and collected myself.

"Is there anything you need?" She wondered. I didn't answer her, although there were a lot of things that I needed. Most desperately I needed to heal and to forget. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She tried again. I looked up at her. Actually there were things that she could do. Holding me and kissing me would probably do the trick… To tell you the truth I had been secretly longing to cuddle up in her embrace once again, remembering how much safety and comfort it had provided me with. But I didn't dare to ask her to hold me. To just have her standing by my side and holding my hand like she currently was doing, also helped and I couldn't risk her leaving by asking for more, so I remained silent. Thankfully I didn't need to speak because Kim seemed to know exactly how I felt, almost as if she could see right through my soul and she opened her arms for me. I gladly entered, wrapping my own arms around her.

I hadn't been this close to her since back at the cabin and the absence of her hadn't exactly been good to me... Closing my eyes I let myself soak in the peace she brought to my heart, while pressing her closer to me.

It's strange… Back at the hospital I had locked up my feelings, trying to stay strong. They had offered me meetings with a psychologist to vent what had happened, but I had refused to talk to them. I didn't want to tell anybody. I didn't want them to know. The main reason; I felt ashamed. If I'd told them, shown them how broken I was, they would've labelled me weak. Both mentally and physically.

So every time someone had asked me how I felt I had answered with a simple 'fine', hoping that they wouldn't bother to dig any deeper. I wasn't ready to tell anyone.

But with Kim it was different. I felt as if I could tell her everything, not caring if I'd break down and cry in front of her. There was no need to hide anything. She'd already seen me at the lowest point of distress and she hadn't judged me. She hadn't left me.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to let go of everything and let her take care of me. I trusted her.

"If you wanna talk about it, I'm here." Kim spoke softly into my shoulder. I just nodded, before snuggling my face into her hair. We stood there for a while, holding on to each other. Kim's comment had caused the memories to come back. Strangely enough they didn't bring me as much pain as before, not when I was in the caring arms of my love, feeling all warm and safe. It was as if Kim worked as a shield, my own personal protection from the darkness my soul had been falling into.

Feeling brighter I finally pulled away, just so that I would be able to look at my angel. We didn't fully let go though, still resting our hands on each other, as if we were afraid that the other would disappear if we did. If someone would have seen us in that moment they would have thought we were lovers, judging by our position and the way we fondly looked into each others eyes. I knew that we would probably never be more than friends though and I treasured our friendship greatly, but I still wished that we could go beyond that.

I could tell Kim was worried about me, by the look in her eyes and that she wanted to know what was on my mind. I debated with myself whether I should take her offer and talk about everything that was keeping me down. Maybe it would do me good. I inhaled deeply.

"Kim, when I was…" I started as flashes of the basement and the cabin passed through my mind. "Back at the cabin Mark…" I trailed off again, looking away in search for something to focus on so that I could continue talking without breaking down. Kim rubbed my back, supporting me to go on. "Mark said that I would stay with him for the rest of my life and…" I swallowed, fixing my eyes on the lamp standing on my bedside table. The lump in my throat was growing and I desperately tried to stop it. "…he said he would never let me go home again." I said quietly and untangled myself from Kim's arms, feeling the need to move. Directing my gaze to the floor I started pacing back and forth, as if I could walk away from my emotions.

"Later he or Alan actually…" I corrected myself, not noticing the confused look on Kim's face. "…told me that he probably did everyone a favour when he took me away from you all. He said you were all better off without me and that nobody wanted for me to come back. That's why nobody came looking for me and…" It was getting harder to see the floor in front of my feet as tears had started to dim my vision. Kim was standing silently, listening to what I had to say. "…he told me that you were dead…" I said, looking up at her. Man, this was hard... "…He said he'd shown you mercy and killed you, so you would be set free from me…and I… I believed him." My voice cracked and it became impossible to hold back the tears any longer. I plumped down on my bed, covering my face with my hands while resting my elbows on my knees. Kim didn't say anything, as if she knew I needed a moment.

Taking deep breaths I merely managed to get my emotions back under control. I wiped the tears away, believing that I would be strong enough to continue. But when I opened my mouth to speak the urge to cry came back and I had to stop and start all over again. I tried once more to say what was on my mind, which only resulted with tears once again flooding my eyes. The lump in my throat that I'd fought so hard was so big it hurt and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it together much longer.

I didn't know why I was on the verge of crying like this. Feeling silly and a bit embarrassed actually, I wanted to give Kim an explanation to my pathetic behaviour and in a last brave attempt to get something out I whimpered;

"He hurt me so bad…" The words had barely left my mouth before I let go, hiding my face in my hands again I started crying. Everything was so hard for me to handle. I still can't believe I let it all happen.

Through my soft sobs filling the room, I could hear Kim approaching. She kneeled down on the floor in front of me and placed her hands on either side of my head. I refused to look up at her, not wanting to reveal my puffy eyes. She gently started to comb her fingers through my hair with an even and soothing rhythm.

"Jack…we all missed you terribly." She said softly. "And of course we wanted you to come back to us. We were all trying to find you…" She moved her hands so that one was on my shoulder blade and the other at the back of my head, before pushing me slightly forward. I could feel her shoulder against the back of my hands that were still covering my face and I quickly moved my hands to around her neat body, hiding my face in the crook of her neck. Again I was amazed over how much safer and calmer I felt as soon as I came this close to her.

"You could never be a burden to us. In fact we need you. I need you. Without you I'm miserable."

"Really?"

"Yes… I just wished we'd gotten to you sooner..." She whispered, stoking my back. My tears came to an end pretty quickly, but I didn't want to let go of her just yet and I felt myself slightly panic when Kim suddenly pulled away and sank down to the floor, her bottom touching her heals. Reminding myself that she wasn't going anywhere I fought the urge to cling to her. She took my hands that were resting on my lap, in hers. Giving them a gentle squeeze, she searched my eyes, looking up at me.

"Jack…" She started. Receiving all this attention from her caused a bunch of butterflies to flutter to life inside of me and I could feel a blush spreading across my cheeks. "If you ever…" She hesitated, looking away as if to decide what to say. I gave her hands an encouraging squeeze to show her that I was listening and that I wanted to know what she had to say. She turned her mesmerizing eyes back at me. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you." She said sincerely, looking into my eyes. Her heart-warming words touched me and my eyes began to water. The bravest, loveliest and most wonderful girl in the world would do that for me?

I could tell she was speaking the truth and the feeling it provided me with was the closest to happiness I'd come in weeks.

Carefully I untangled my hand from hers and brought it to her face, cupping her cheek. Finally bold enough to touch her like that. To my relief, she didn't pull back and I gently started to stroke her cheek with my thumb. She just sat there, looking up at me while I slid my hand down her cheek, tracing her jaw line tenderly with my fingers. Moving down her throat as if trying to memorize her features by feel, my hand eventually came to rest on her chest, the tip of my thumb lightly brushing her collarbone, while letting my gaze travel across her face, taking in every detail of it. Like how that cute little tip of her nose made the centre just below a pair of big and sparkling eyes, all filled with warmth. Or how her cheeks rise, making her eyes seem smaller every time she'd smile, and how perfectly shaped her lips were. Those lips that I wished I could taste... She was beyond beautiful.

A lock from her long hair tickled the back of my hand where it rested on her chest. I took it and let my fingers entwine with it. It's hard finding words to describe how I felt for her. She meant more than anything to me and to think that I almost lost her… How could I ever be so stupid to jeopardize her life like that?

"I'm so sorry." I said softly. She wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion.

"For what?"

"For bringing you into all of this." I said, still playing with her hair. "If it hadn't been for me, he wouldn't have tried to hurt you. He only got after you because he knew I lo…" I went silent. Realizing how close I'd been to reveal my feelings for her, I looked down, trying to hide the blush that painted my cheeks. Even though I wished I could, I wasn't ready to tell her. I could probably not take a rejection, at least not at the moment, being so emotionally fragile. As long as she hadn't told me if she felt the same or not I could always hope. And I much rather live on that hope than knowing that it could never be us. "… because he knew I care about you." I said, trying to cover up my 'almost-mistake'. Kim's mouth formed into a crooked smile, a somewhat amused expression on her face.

"You're apologizing for caring about me?" She raised her eyebrows. I couldn't really find a good answer to that and I just sat there with a dumbfounded expression on my face. Somehow she had managed to twist my words around and when she said it like that it sounded pretty stupid. "It's not your fault what happened, Jack."

"Yes it is. I accidentally mentioned your name and…"

"Jack" She cut me off and rose from the floor, just to take a seat next to me, the bed shifting underneath me as she did. Her hand cradled my face again, gently urging me to look at her, which I did, our closeness causing my tummy to do small flips. "I don't blame you. And I still don't think it's your fault, in fact I know it's not you fault." She reassured. "But if it makes you feel any better; I forgive you for any mistake." I nodded slightly, looking down. A huge rock had just been lifted from my heart. Kim put her arm around my shoulder and I leaned sideways into her warmth and care.

"But you should know that you letting Mark know about me wasn't the reason why I was in his house. He didn't trick me or anything. I got there all by myself. I wanted to solve the mystery of Tess's death…" She went quiet for a moment, shaking her head. "I was stupid, trying to find you myself… If I just had gone to the police in the first place I could have spared you so much suffering." Her voice wavered, sounding as if she was about to cry. Pressing her cheek against my forehead, she wrapt her arms around me and squeezed me tightly. My battered body ached but my heart rejoiced by her touch. "I can't believe I let this happen to you. If anything I should be the one to apologize". I shook my head.

"You saved me." I whispered, placing my hand on her waist in an attempt to hold on to her. She flinched as if my touch had hurt her. Instantly removing my hand I pulled away slightly to look at her. I was hit by the memory of that terrible evening in Mark's basement. Kim had been bleeding when she'd run off. It must have slipped my mind somewhere in all the mess and I scolded myself for not remembering.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concern filling my voice.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"No you're not." I shook my head, suddenly forgetting my own pain.

"I'm perfectly fine." She smiled. "Don't worry."

"No," I protested. "You were hurt in the basement."

"Jack, it's really nothing..." Her answer didn't calm me much, because I knew that she would've said that even if she wasn't okay, not wanting to worrying me. So I figured I had to somehow make sure.

"Would you mind…?" I nodded towards her waist. She sighed obviously annoyed with me not letting it go. But none the less she pulled her shirt up. Her left side was covered with a white patch taped to her skin. I reached out and touched it with my fingertips.

"The doctor said that I'll be fine. They removed all the ammunition and stitched me up…It hurts when I move a little, that's all." She said. "It's nothing compared to what you've gone through..." She let her shirt down again, looking down at her hands as I trailed off in thoughts.

She'd almost died because of me and I was angry with myself for ever allowing that to happen, but there was a question that had popped up in my head as we'd been sitting there that I wanted to know the answer to, so I pushed my feelings aside.

"Kim?" She looked up at me with her beautiful eyes and I had to remind myself of what I was going to ask her, doing everything that I could not to get lost in them. "When you were at Mark's place…he tried to…kill you." I said. She gave me a small nod and I wondered how deep that experience had marked her. I'd taken it really bad and I can only imagine what she must've gone through. "You barely managed to escape and…you must've known that he would try to kill you again if he ever got the chance." I made a short pause, waiting for a response from her.

"Yes I did know that." She stated simply with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Weren't you afraid?"
"Terrified" She said truthfully.

"Then why did you come back?" She gave me a smile and took my hand. I could faintly see her cheeks turning into a shade of red, which made her look even prettier, before she looked down at our entwined hands. I was a little confused as she seemed almost embarrassed. That's something that I'd never thought she would have to feel around me. But the fact that she did now only got me more curious.

"Isn't that obvious?" She gave me a quick glance, raising her eyebrows. I could tell that she hoped that I would catch on to what she meant, so that she wouldn't have to tell me. Problem was that I couldn't figure it out. I shook my head slightly, trying to think of a reason without any luck. I mean she had practically run into her potential death. Why would she do that? Unless she was suicidal, which I highly doubted...

I pretty quickly gave up trying to find an answer on my own and instead waited for her to tell me. After a moment of silence I realized that she probably wasn't going to say anything though. Was it really that hard for her to let me know? It hurt a bit actually. Didn't she trust me?

"Kim" I said. "You've just gone searching for the most dangerous man I know. The only man I'm seriously afraid of, risking your life for me. You're the bravest person I know and yet you're afraid to tell me why you did it." My words seemed to have gotten through to her and her eyes started moving back and fort as if she debated whether she should tell me or not. I patiently waited, never taking my eyes off of her. "You can tell me." I whispered encouraging, squeezing her hand.

I don't know why the answer hadn't crossed my mind, but I don't think I'd dared to even allow myself to dream about it. Maybe that's why what happened next surprised me so.

Kim took a deep breath and looked up at me. It hit me how close our faces were when she did, but I didn't move away, afraid that she might change her mind about telling me, which I knew she was about to by the look on her face. Besides, I really enjoyed being so close to her.

"I did it because of love." She said quietly and before I was able to comprehend what she'd just said let alone do anything, she leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on my cheek, causing my heart to beat twice as fast. "I love you, Jack."

Blushing fiercely, she quickly averted her gaze to the floor. I blinked, too stunned to do anything, still feeling her lips against my cheek. At first I thought that I was dreaming. I felt all fuzzy inside as I processed what had just happened. Kim, the queen of my heart had just said she loved me…and she'd kissed me.

All of a sudden she let go of my hand and I quickly snapped back to reality.

"I…I gotta go." She said nervously and stood up, looking anywhere but me. "I promised your mum I'd help her with…" She was just about to walk away when I reached out and caught her wrist, ignoring the pain that shot through my arm as I did.

"Kim wait." I tugged on her, causing her to sit back down again, her thigh pressed up against mine and our shoulders touching. I leaned a little closer to her so that my face was only inches away from hers. She was focusing on the floor, not daring to look at me. I wanted her to see me in the eyes though, so that she would know that I'd be speaking the truth when I tell her I love her too. Gently I caressed her cheek and turned her head towards me, still cupping her face.

When we locked eyes, I lost my ability to speak though and I soon found myself leaning in. Hesitating slightly I stopped myself for a split second only to notice that Kim was leaning in too. Feeling more confident again I finally let myself do what my heart had desired for so long. I tilted my head to the side and boldly closed the gap between us. As soon as my lips touched hers everything else seemed to disappear. I couldn't feel any pain any longer and all the bad memories stopped haunting me. Instead I was filled with a pleasant tingling feeling, reaching all the way down to my toes. Closing my eyes I slid my hand from her cheek to the back of her neck, pressing her closer. All I could think about was Kim and how wonderful it felt to kiss and to be kissed back by her.

We parted slowly and for the first time for what seemed to be an eternity I smiled. I smiled fully, with my heart and soul, feeling genuinely happy.

"I love you too." I said, only to be awestruck by the beauty of the happy Kim before my eyes. We looked at each other for a moment, slowly leaning in again until our foreheads met. My gaze fell to her mouth. The taste and feel of it still lingered on my lips and I found myself wanting more. My smile disappeared and my breathing started to get heavier. I noticed that Kim seemed to have the same thoughts as I, feeling her hand sliding up the side of my head and making its way to the back of it. The touch of her fingers gently brushing the skin on the back of my neck sent pleasant shivers down my spine and I couldn't take the suspense any longer. With a swift movement I sneaked my arms around her and dove in for another kiss. She answered by clutching my hair, pressing me as close to her as possible. Wanting even more I stuck my tongue out, licking her bottom lip. I'd barely got the chance to touch it with the tip of my tongue before she opened her mouth, giving me free access to it. The tast of her mouth made my head spin and for a moment I thought that I would never be able to stop. Moving my hands all over her back, I took in the feel of her body only to find it even more irresistible. My movements caused Kim to turn her whole body towards me and climb up in my lap. Our heads moved back and forth in sync as our tongues danced together. Her weight along with the wonderful feeling that I had inside of me, knowing that it was ok to let go caused me to fall backwards onto the bed. Kim was pulled along and landed on top of me, making me to involuntary let out a deep moan. Much to my disappointment and confusion she suddenly pulled away from me. Feeling a sting of hurt I looked up at her, slightly panting. What did I do wrong? Didn't she want me to kiss her?

"I'm so sorry, Jack." She said as she moved off of me and sat up on the bed next to me. A sickening feeling filled my stomach, worried that she regretted what we just did. Had I misread her? Maybe she hadn't meant that she loved me like that. What if she'd meant she loved me more like a brother or a friend? After all she'd only kissed me on the cheek. If that was the case then I'd really blew it.

"Jack?" I was pulled back from my thoughts, realizing that Kim was talking to me. "Are you ok?" Looking up at her, I suddenly felt very uncomfortably exposed; lying on the bed in front of her like that and I started to get up.

"Yeah…" I mumbled turning my eyes away, as I felt them welling up again. Just as I was about to stand I felt Kim's hand on my shoulder, keeping me from doing so.

"Jack, I'm sorry if I hurt you. I forgot for a moment…" I eyed her confused as she rambled on. Noticing that she kept throwing glances down at my torso I realized that she must've thought she'd hurt my bruised body when she landed on top of me. "I didn't mean to, I swear…"

Feeling relieved and slightly amused knowing that she hadn't rejected me, but was only afraid she'd hurt me, I turned and sat on my knees up in the bed, facing her.

"Kim…" I said to stop her from continuing. "I'm fine. You could never hurt me that way." She looked at me still not seeming convinced. I sighed. "The only way you could hurt me is if you leave me…and I hope that doesn't happen." I mumbled the last part. She gave me a smile.

"Don't worry; I have no intentions to leave you."

"Good"

"But are you sure you're alright?" I rolled my eyes at her. Why couldn't she just let it go? "You sounded as if it hurt…" I got up into a crawling position and slowly inched closer to her, causing her to lean back, supporting herself with her arms behind her.

"You know…" I started with a smug look on my face, getting even closer to her until I practically hovered above the beautiful girl, having one hand on either side of her on the bed, trapping her body between my arms. She leaned back even further, but I followed until she reached the limit of how far she could go before she'd fall. I stopped, looking her in the eyes, our chests only inches apart. "…not all moans are caused by pain…" I smirked, before removing my hands from the bed to around her waist. Not being able to support myself anymore I let myself fall down on her pretty heavy. Of course she hadn't the strength to hold us both up…

"Jack!" She exclaimed as she hit the mattress with me landing on top of her, almost knocking the air out of her. The surprised look on her face was priceless and I chuckled.

Her expression changed to a brighter one and she giggled, probably from hearing me laugh. It was a long time since I'd done that and it felt good. I really missed it and I could tell she'd missed it too.

"Now we're even…" I pointed out, still laughing. Looking down, I got caught in the bright eyes of hers and I went silent. Somehow the deep brown pools had some kind of power over me and it was impossible to look away or think of anything else. Kim reached up and caressed my cheek. Careful not to break the eye contact I turned my head slightly towards her hand, giving her palm a kiss. She smiled at me.

"You're beautiful…" I whispered at the same time it hit me, making her blush. It felt good to be able to say what was on my mind, not needing to hide my feelings for her anymore. Her hand moved to the back of my head, giving it a light push. The small gesture was more than enough for me to get what she meant. With my heart pounding I leaned down and kissed her soft lips. The kiss was short; still it transferred so much between us. It showed her how much I cared for her, how much I loved her and I could tell I meant just as much to her as she did to me. The feeling was amazing and it filled my whole body down to the last cell. It was so unlike all the pain and the fear I'd gone through, which only had made me want to disappear. My soul had shrunken a little with every bruise I'd received, desperately trying to hide itself from its awful surroundings. Now I could feel my soul and spirit starting to return. With every loving touch from her, they dared to expand just a little.

Sliding off of her, I lay down beside her. I still had my arm underneath her, holding her neat little waist. She turned to lie on her side, locking eyes with me. A strand of hair fell into her eye and I reached up, carefully removing it and tucking it in behind her ear.

Kim's hand gently traced over my bruised face, tickling my skin and making me shudder in delight. We just lay there in silence for a moment, looking at each other while fondly touching the each others faces. I was still trying to comprehend that all of this was actually happening and it wasn't just a dream.

Scooting closer to her I snuggled into her chest and closed my eyes, letting her warmth engulf me. Kim kept stroking my head, making me feel all safe and calm.

"It's good to have you back, Jack…" She whispered, before kissing my forehead.

"It's good to be back." I smiled and tightened my arms around her, pressing myself deeper into her cosy embrace. I knew that I was far from being back to normal and that I probably had a long way to go before I could put everything behind me. But I also knew that I would be able to make the journey with Kim by my side.

Finally I felt peace inside my heart and I knew that everything was going to be okay. I was home, not only with my family, but with Kim as well. If all this was what it took to get to where I was at that point; in the loving arms of my angel, then I wouldn't want it in any other way.

Listening to the sound of her heart beating, a smile curved my lips as I fell asleep with the satisfying feeling of knowing that I was right where I belonged…

The End

That was it. Hope that the ending wasn't too corny...

I can't believe This story is over. I want to thank all of you who have been reading and reviewing, favorite and followed this story. I would never have finished this if it hadn't been for you guys.

Don't forget to watch out for the sequel called Memories and Lies. The first chapter will be up soon.

I'm also working on another Kickin' it story. It's very different from this one, although there's a bit of drama and action in it... this story sill also be up pretty soon.

And all who reviews gets a small sneak peek of the sequel:)

Bye and Thank you so much for reading my story:)

/MJ