A/N: The autumn trailer was full of exciting Jasia possibilities wasn't it? New chapter up!
Depositing her in an empty booth, Jac retrieved a pint of water from the bar. The music was still quite loud so Jac regrettably had to sit beside the girl rather than across from her to be able to make her hear her speak.
"I need you to drink all of this before we leave. I will not be impressed if you vomit in my car."
Zosia stared at her, as if her drunk mind was trying desperately to focus on the image before her.
"You're wearing makeup!" Her eyelids were dusted with quite a thick layer of charcoal eye shadow, it made the deep jade pools of her eyes sparkle.
Zosia reached out to lightly graze her cheeks with her fingertips, Jac's gut reaction was to flinch.
"Looks pretty Jac." She cursed the blush that rose to her cheeks.
"Water Zosia. Now."
The girl downed the pint, her eyes never breaking contact with Jac's. Why was she like this.
"You said we could dance."
Zosia said quietly, her hand landing as if by accident on Jac's thigh. She squeezed lightly before running it upwards. Jac was glad the booth was private enough to obscure them from view, she plucked Zosia's fingers free from their grip and deposited them back in her own lap.
"No, I don't think I did? I said I'd take you home and that's what I'm doing. Come on."
She scanned the room and planned the best route to escape without alerting the gossipy staff to their current predicament. Noting Zosia was still a little unsteady, Jac naturally slipped an arm around her waist and guided her quickly away from prying eyes. Her weight was heavy against her side and the strong scent of her perfume hit her nostrils like a flowery musky cannon.
"What's your address?"
Once safely in the car, Jac fiddled with the keys.
"Zosia! Address?"
She turned too see why she hadn't responded and found her head slumped against the window, her breaths coming as short little puffs from her nose.
"Fucking hell Zosia."
Jac cursed, she didn't have the numbers of either of Zosia's housemates, unsurprisingly. She was not in the habit of befriending junior doctors and seeing Zosia in this state really acted to reaffirm the age gap between them.
With a grumble she resolved she'd have to take her home with her. This was unprecedented, she rarely socialised at home and if she did it was just for no strings sex because, well everyone has needs. Even on those occasions she preferred to liaise at her prospective bed fellows houses, that way she could slip away at will and not have to deal with breakfast small talk. Again Zosia March was proving to be the exception and it was terrifying.
She managed to rouse her long enough to get her inside, setting her up on the couch with a washing up bowl beside her should she vomit again. Letting her have her bed was simply not an option, neither was the possibility of sharing. She would not have a drunk girl vomit on her Egyptian cotton, nor did she want to be accused of taking advantage of Zosia in this state. It just wasn't worth the risk.
Zosia's head slumped against the cool sofa cushion and with her dark hair loose and splayed around her face Jac couldn't help thinking she looked rather pretty, she wasn't used to seeing the thick dark tresses free from their severe bun.
Jac perched on the edge of the couch and gently stroked the soft hair back from the girl's face. Her actions were almost involuntary, she wanted to be mad that she'd had to cut her own night short to take care of her drunk junior doctor but she was inside her house now, she'd unknowingly penetrated Jac's first line of defence, she wasn't powerless but she certainly felt exposed, vulnerable. Not that Zosia was in any fit state to realise this.
"Do you need anything else? There's a glass of water on the table and a bathroom just down the hall."
She spoke softly, watching as Zosia's eyelids fluttered over her pale blue eyes.
"Stay with me." She croaked, drowsy and clingy.
"I can't Zosia. Get some sleep."
"Please? Just for a little while."
Zosia fought the sleep and sought out Jac's hand, lacing their fingers together. Jac sighed and let her hand be held, watching the sleep weigh heavy on Zosia's dark lashes. In a few moments Zosia's breathing slowed and Jac slipped away, untangling her fingers and leaving the table lamp dimly lit. Undressing and climbing into her own bed Jac finally exhaled deeply through her nose. Zosia bloody March.
Disorientation hit first. Zosia woke with her face pressed in between a cushion and the arm of an unfamiliar sofa. She rolled over and groaned, pushing herself up onto her elbows and blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. Her mouth began to register a vile taste and she gladly gulped from the glass of water mysteriously beside her.
Realisation hit next. Pushing the blanket off she was surprised to see her fully clothed body, whatever happened last night, she certainly didn't get lucky. Sitting upright now Zosia surveyed the sparsely decorated unfamiliar room. An impressive 6ft bookcase lined one of the walls and the other two that didn't have a window were plain and without personal decoration. Directly parallel to her was a modern fireplace with a bare mantel to match the bare walls. No photographs, no ornaments, no hint to her whereabouts. Who the hell lives like this? Oh! Oh fuck.
Next came humiliation. Zosia leapt to her feet and her pounding head instantly protested at the sudden movement, probably hoping instead that she'd spend the day nursing it. She straightened out the sofa and peered under coffee tables and sideboards in search of her shoes. She was almost glad she couldn't recall most of last night, nor how she came to be at Jac Naylor's house because she figured the truth would be mortifying.
Finally came regret. Retrieving one boot and jamming her foot into it, Zosia concluded that whatever state she was in was probably enough to push Jac away for good. It was telling enough that the girl had woken on the sofa and not in the bed of her host. She had no idea what time it was, nor exactly where Jac Naylor lived but she knew she had to go.
Stealthily enough she crept out of the house and onto the street, not looking back for fear she'd woken Jac. Zosia patted down her pockets for her phone and dialled for one of her housemates.
"Hi it's me. I need you to come pick me up."
"Zosia? Where the hell are you?"
"I'm not entirely sure?"
"What do you mean? How can I pick you up if you don't know where you are?"
Zosia scanned the street for any recognisable buildings, she couldn't very well say 'Jac Naylor's house' there would be too many questions. Her mind desperately tried to think of an answer, she knew her father would know or at least have access to Jac's address but she couldn't stomach the lecture she'd receive if he had to pick her up from the casual spectators point of view, looked very much like a walk of shame. Her phone buzzed against her ear.
"Wait a minute I have another call."
"Were you going to leave without saying thank you for dragging your drunk arse home?" Jac's liquid velvet voice filled her ears, Zosia's cheeks instantly flushed pink.
"Jac?"
"I'm putting some coffee on." Everything Jac said was both a statement and an unspoken invitation, sometimes even veiled threats or insults were Jac's way of communicating a command. She was impossibly intimidating. And Zosia was impossibly besotted.
Zosia heard the line go dead and her heart raced. She flicked back to the other call.
"Listen, don't worry about it. I'll be home later."
"Zosia?"
"Yeah, bye!"
She was seated at the kitchen island dressed in a slinky black robe knotted loosely at her waist. The robe stopped mid-thigh and bare porcelain legs were politely crossed at the knee. Her usually impeccably presented hair was mussed slightly from sleep and tossed over one shoulder. In the fresh light of the morning, Jac didn't look like the same woman who could strike fear into men twice her age, she looked natural, calm, beautiful.
She poured coffee from the cafetière into the mug she already had out for Zosia on the side and gestured to the box of painkillers. The mug and the decision to make enough coffee for two was presumptive, Jac knew Zosia would come back if she called even though she didn't have to explicitly ask. The power she wielded over Zosia was immense, even autonomous decisions she thought she was making herself were all in fact, Jac.
She felt a psychological need to retain that power, in this unprecedented world where she felt her defences were being slowly chipped away at by this unremarkable girl, she needed to know that she still had the upper hand. Jac thought of the lyric from the Alanis Morissette song, "I'm like Estella, I reel it in and then spit it out." And the Dickens character that obviously inspired it as something she could personally relate to and had to remind herself of that when she did uncharacteristic things like let girls sleep on her couch and stay for coffee. This could only continue as long as it was on her terms.
"Thank you Jac." Zosia spoke quietly. "For the coffee and for dragging my drunk arse home."
She expected Jac to laugh but she didn't. Now she felt awkward.
"I was worried you were going to say something. I had to step in or risk you blurting everything out in front of the whole hospital."
Jac sipped at her coffee, taking in fully Zosia's dishevelled morning-after look, in particular the dark rings of smudged eyeliner around her eyes that made her look like a fourteen year old going through a goth phase.
Zosia visibly cringed, she raked a hand through her unruly hair and wracked her alcohol affected memory for visions of her indiscretions from the previous night.
"I'm so sorry."
"Yes well. I don't like being put in that position Zosia so please don't make a habit of it."
She drained her cup and made a move to take Zosia's empty mug too but instead the girl grabbed her hand.
"Are we okay?" Jac looked at her hand clasped tightly in Zosia's and remembered the sight of her as she held her hand last night, on the edge of sleep, full lips pursed, hair crowning her face like a gorgeous angel.
"I don't know what you mean." She sharply pulled her hand away and continued to clear away the coffee with her back to Zosia, plunging the room into a palpable silence.
"Well I'm going to shower." She said eventually, taking long strides out of the room. Zosia said nothing still, wondering if this was her cue to leave. She was no clearer to knowing her exact location and really didn't want to have to phone Guy.
Jac stopped one stride short of the door and looked back at Zosia over her left shoulder. "You are coming?" She said with a tone indignation. Dazed, bemused, Zosia rose to her feet and followed Jac's path. Utterly besotted.
A/N: I'm still not entirely convinced i'm going to give these guys a happy ending.. review and let me know what you think!