I'd Do Anything For You
The waves rocking the boat wake her like they do most mornings. Kie slowly opens her eyes, she doesn't want to wake up from the dream she'd just been in. Her surroundings come into focus. Her head cushioned on JJ's chest, her arm around his waist. She can hear his steady heartbeat and feel his deep breaths and she can't keep the smile from her lips. It's been eighteen months since they found El Dorado and they've been the best months of all their lives. She doesn't have nightmares about him drowning anymore, he doesn't have to worry about his dad popping up unexpectedly, and they have everything they could want or need on this boat. Life is good.
Kie continues to lie in bed, she doesn't need to be anywhere anytime soon and she wants to wake up with JJ, that doesn't mean she's patient though.
Just as she's about to take matters into her own hands, he stirs. His hand comes up to trace along her arm sprawled over him. "Hmm, mornin', Kie," his eyes are still closed, but his hand keeps rhythmically moving.
She loves how comfortable he looks in the morning, his body finally knowing it's in a safe space. She moves closer to him, half on top of him really, "Morning," she replies with her lips just barely touching his own. Before he can wrap his arms around her, she sits up, reaches for two of the mints they keep on the bedside table, and throws one in her mouth before slipping one between JJ's own lips.
He's smirking. "Looks like I'm about to have a great morning."
"Shut up," she says as she whips her sleep shirt off. JJ's eyes follow as it lands across the small room on the dresser. The quick exhale JJ lets out only spurs her to fit herself more firmly into his lap. His hands finally find her waist and their mouths collide.
Kie loves when they take their time, but there's something about a passionate, hard, fast fuck that takes her breath away. Every. Damn. Time. And there have been a lot of times in the last year and a half.
They collapse when finished. JJ lies on her back for a couple seconds before rolling them onto their sides. His arms snake around her and he buries his face into her neck.
"Mornin'," he says again, lips tickling the baby hair at her nape. Kie can't help but let out a little laugh.
"Good morning," she turns to face him. His eyes are closed, but she knows he's not falling back to sleep. "I'm gonna pick up that corn chowder we like for dinner, make sure you're back by six or there might not be any left," Kie teases him.
"Rude," he ribs back. "I only have the one charter today; I'll probably be back before you."
"Well, in that case, have salads ready for us. We can eat and then go to the park for the movie tonight."
"Ya know, I spoke too soon, I actually have so many charters today I won't be home 'til six on the dot," he starts laying kisses across her collarbone.
"Good try, but I'm not buying it. If you want dessert you'll have salads ready." They both know she's not talking about baked goods.
"Cruel, cruel, woman," JJ's still kissing her skin. "But, a growing boy needs dessert. I'll have salads ready."
Kiara laughs in full now. "I think you're done growing Jage."
The look in his eyes should alert her, but before she knows it, he's got her pinned underneath him, their bodies pressed right up against each other.
"Oh, Kie, I'll never stop growing," he almost growls before devouring her for a second time that morning.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
Kie actually is running late now, but she's not complaining, she wishes every morning could be like the one she just had. Saving the ocean waits for no one, however, and she's ready to get to work and do her part.
It takes almost no time at all to get to Hatteras Island. There was an oceanic center there already, but with her share of the gold money, Kiara started an ecology and preservation center. They do their best to keep the water and beaches clean, as well as educating citizens on how to be more eco-friendly, and she just hired a new marine veterinarian to help injured sea animals. After her and JJ's surf trip, this center is the best thing she's ever done.
There are only ten employees so far, but Kie likes it that way – they all know and trust each other. She likes that when she walks in the door, Deb will smile and say 'hello' and ask how her night was before handing over any messages. Today is no different.
Kie just needs to go over paperwork and payroll this afternoon – hence, the sleep in that morning – so she sits down in her office to get going.
A couple of hours go by before anything out of the ordinary happens. Kie's looking over the August events calendar when Deb knocks on her office door.
"Kiara," she never calls her Kie, "your mother is her to see you and she says it's urgent." Deb knows about the strained relationship Kie has with her parents and she looks hesitant to be telling Kie that her mom is in the building. Kie knows, however, that her mom coming to her in person and using the work 'urgent' is atypical.
She smiles softly at Deb, "It's okay, show her in." She moves some files off of the extra chair seconds before Anna Carrera is striding into the small room.
Once upon a time she would have hugged her only daughter hello, but they haven't built back up to that point yet. Kie didn't speak to her parents for months after getting back from South America. All six of them stayed with the Heywards before their money came through and they could all get their own places. Then, one day about six months ago, Kie ran into her mom at the farmer's market. She still doesn't know if it's because enough time had passed or that she'd just matured enough, but she actually let her mom speak to her and speak she did.
Anna Carrera likes to keep up appearances, but she'd started to cry right there in front of fortyish locals, and blubbered 'I'm sorry' over and over until Kie had walked with her to the parking lot to get a little privacy. The older woman said she'd regretted how everything played out with Kitty Hawk and that she'd do anything, anything to fix their relationship. For some reason, that time Kie believed her.
They started small, a few texts a week, then a scheduled phone call once a week, they'd finally started doing lunch every once in a while, but that's as far as they've gotten. They haven't gone to each other's houses. Anna has never been to the center before. Kie hasn't talked to her father in a year and half, she doesn't even know if he knows her mom talks to her. It still hurts that he can't accept her chosen life, but she's accepted that's just how it is. She's content with the small amount of company she allows her mother. Which is why her heart starts racing when she sees Anna in her work office – did something happen to her dad? A grandparent? Why would she come here and not just call?
"Mom, what are you doing here?" She tries, really tries, to sound calm.
"Kiara, I'm sorry for bursting in like this. I know you like your privacy, but this is too important." Anna sees the look of alarm on her daughter's face and quickly adds, "Everyone is okay, sweetie, it's not that kind of urgent. Let's sit down." Anna sits in the extra chair like it's her own throne. Kie takes a seat more slowly.
"If no one is hurt, then what's wrong?"
Anna looks Kie in the eyes. "Remember the ceremony the other day?"
"Of course." They'd been recognized for the El Dorado find only two days ago. Kie still isn't sure how Anna got Mike to show up – nothing like showing a united front to keep people from talking she supposes.
"Well, later that day, I went out to dinner with Cynthia and Gretchen and while we were waiting for our table I overheard a couple people – wait staff – saying something about Luke being back in town." Kie cringes, she can't help it.
"I didn't want to believe the gossip, so I didn't say anything to you, but not thirty minutes ago, I saw him myself by the marina. I knew I had to come tell you right away. That's why I'm here. I figured you'd want to tell JJ yourself before he hears it from anyone else."
Kiara doesn't say anything for a long time. Her thoughts are a swirl of fear and confusion and dread. She does not want to tell JJ his dad is on the island. He's been in such a good place and she worries how this will affect him. Even more than that, she doesn't want JJ anywhere near Luke, but she knows the older man will find a way to get to his son.
"Kiara, are you alright?" Kie realizes she's been quiet too long so she shakes her head to organize her thoughts and clears her throat.
"I'm fine, mom, it's just a lot to take in. JJ's been doing so good and this is going to destroy that." She almost doesn't mean to let that detail slip, but she knows her mom will keep it to herself.
"Is there anything I can do?" Her mother asks if she needs anything all the time and Kie always says no, but this time all she can do is say 'I don't know.'
Kia allows herself one more minute of silence to figure out what to do and then she starts packing up her laptop and files. "Mom, I need to go home," they both know she means the boat. "I need to get to J as soon as possible." That's when she knows what her mother can do for her. Kie wants everything to be as routine as possible for JJ and she knows keeping their dinner plans will help.
"Can you pick up some of the corn chowder Michelle sells at the market? And some bread and bring it to us? I'd stop, but I want to make sure I'm at the dock when he comes in." She looks at her mother and it's been a long time since Anna saw her daughter so distraught.
"Of course, baby. I'll be right behind you."
Kie nods. She's finished packing up and moves towards the door, letting Anna go out first. Kie turns off the light and locks up. The women walk towards Deb who isn't doing a very good job of looking uninterested in the mother and daughter exchange.
"Deb, I've got to take off, a, uh, small emergency has come up. Hold my calls and let people know I won't be answering emails the rest of the day. If anything big happens tell Gina, she'll be able to take care of things. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow, but if not I'll let you know."
Deb looks worried. "Is everything alright Kiara?"
Kie doesn't respond for a moment before a look of determination crosses her face. "If I can help it, everything will be fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Kie and Anna leave the center at the same time, but Kiara soon can't see her mother's car in the rearview mirror, she's going just a bit above the speed limit.
Her heart slows down when she reaches the dock and sees that JJ isn't back yet. It gives her more time to come up with how to tell him.
Twenty minutes go buy and she can see the boat at the horizon, not even a minute later Anna is walking towards her with a large shopping bag in hand.
"He's not back yet?" She hands the food to her daughter.
"That's him, there," Kie points.
The green paint is easily seen, the giant lightning bolts just barely visible. No one but they know what they mean and she smiles at the memory. For her birthday, before all of the gold craziness started, JJ gave her a pair of lightning bolt earrings. She knows he stole them, but she loves them anyway. 'Why lightning?' she'd asked. The grin he gave her lives rent free in her mind. 'Because you surprise me the most, I never know what you're going to do next.' She'd wanted to kiss him them, a fact that shocked her slightly, but would never have broken the rules. She'd just smiled, touched his hand, said thank you, and after, every time a storm came through they'd joke about the bolts. Anna speaks again and Kie is jolted back to the present.
"The P4L right? That's the boat's name?" Anna asks. Kie looks at her mother's face again and notices no trace of anger at the name, only a touch of sadness at the life her daughter chosen.
"Yup, HMS Pogue was already taken." She smiles with the memory of JJ dubbing the name on the charter boat. He'd been so proud of his piss poor paint job that no one was able to tell him it looked awful. Kiara had made sure the rest of the boat looked clean and respectable, but the yellow P4L on the stern stayed.
"Do you want me to stay?" Kiara is surprised that her mother asks this, she's even more surprised that she seriously considers the offer.
"No, that's ok. It will freak him out if you're here. Thanks for getting the food. I'll text you later to let you know what's going on, he might want to go out of town for a few days."
"Ok, honey, be careful." Anna kisses her daughter on the cheek before turning around and walking back to her car.
Kie touches her cheek, still feeling her mother's kiss. Today's been an interesting day and it's only half over. She doesn't know what will happen with her mom, but she does feel today could be a turning point in their relationship. With one sliver of hope in her chest, she turns back to the water and waits for JJ to dock.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
JJ see's Kie on the dock and is pleasantly surprised. Life has been so good lately that the only thought in his mind is that she took the rest of the day off to spend more time with him. Suddenly, all he wants in the world is to get the guests off his boat and get his girl – dinner included – on board. He keeps a clear head though and pushes the boat no faster to get to the dock.
JJ knows he's good at bullshitting with people, but for the most part, he truly enjoys talking with his guests. He sends them on their way, one of the older gentleman promises he'll be booking another trip next week for he and his son-in-laws, and finally bounces over to where Kie is waiting.
He doesn't stop his momentum as he grabs her face with his hands and kisses her deeply – maybe too passionately for a public dock, but neither of them cares. Kie responds the only way she can, by clutching JJ's sides, his t-shirt bunching in her hands.
When JJ finally pulls away he smiles and reaches down for the food bag. He grabs Kie's hand with his empty one. "This is a nice surprise, but you can't get mad at me for not having salads made yet, I've been hard at work."
Kie waits for them to be in their little kitchen before she responds. "We can make salads together, but there's something I have to tell you first and it's not good news." She figures its best not to sugar coat anything, especially when it comes to Luke.
JJ stares at Kie, she looks physically fine, but his heart starts beating faster with fearful anticipation. "What's going on?"
"Luke is back in town." Kie pulls no punches and the breath leaves JJ's chest as if she'd actually hit him.
A vacant look enters his eyes and JJ stays silent so long Kie is afraid to make any sort of movement or sound. She wants so badly to grab his hand, but before she can decide to do anything he's moving. He's out on the deck so quickly she's almost dizzy, but she follows him out anyway.
JJ is frantically preparing the boat for departure. Lines are unmoored, the anchor is coming up, and the ignition is being turned over.
"JJ, what are you doing?"
"We have to get out of here Kie. We'll go down the coast or up the coast - that may be the smarter thing to do. I'm not going to let him find us and ruin everything."
She reaches him and grabs his hands. "Stop, JJ, stop for a second and listen to me." He halfheartedly tries to free his hands, but finally stills.
"We need to leave Kie, please let me leave." His voice is small and cracks slightly and it breaks her heart.
"Why do you think we have to leave?"
"Things are different, Kie. I have money now, or assets or whatever. I have you. You know as well as I do that he'll try to take everything." His voice is still ragged.
"I won't let that happen and if you don't believe that, believe in the lawyers we have, he won't get a single thing unless you give it to him." She can tell she's only partly comforted him so she continues, never letting go of him.
"We'll leave the dock and spend the night on the water and we'll figure everything out tomorrow, okay?" she leads him towards their bed.
"You lay here, I'll get you some dinner and then I'll get us out to sea." She reaches for his phone and turns on a compilation of old Vine videos. "Stay here and try to quiet your heart rate." She kisses his forehead, murmurs I love you and goes to get him some dinner.
Kie makes excellent time getting the boat out on the water. She checks on JJ every few minutes, he'd eaten his soup and now has his eyes closed listening to some 60's rock playlist.
After 45 minutes Kie deems they're far enough out to sea and she anchors the charter boat for the night. She leaves the mast light on so others don't run into them, and walks into the small kitchen to eat a bowl of soup. When she gets to the bedroom JJ is asleep.
Kie changes into one of his t-shirts and starts unlacing his boots. The motion makes him stir and soon he's helping her get his boots off. JJ removes his shorts as Kie shuts off the light and gets into bed beside him. She covers them with their blankets and snuggles into JJ's side.
She whispers in his ear, "We're going to be fine; I won't let him take what we have. Believe me"
JJ takes a big breath, lays a hand on her cheek, looks his girlfriend in the eye, "I believe you," and he truly does.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
Kie wakes up to the waves rocking the boat just like she does every morning, but today, JJ isn't in bed beside her. Panic seizes her body for a moment before she hears him in the kitchen.
The morning air is chilly so Kie throws some sweatpants on before going to see what JJ's up to. Him making waffles is not what she expected to catch him doing. She sidles up next to him and he places a kiss on her temple.
"Mornin' Kie."
"Good morning, how are you feeling today?" Kie asks him somewhat hesitantly.
He sighs. "I'm still worried about Luke finding us, but I also realize that you were right. He can't take anything from us unless I give it to him and I definitely won't be giving him anything." His voice is firm as he removes a waffle from the iron and pours batter in for another one.
Kiara turns her face into him bicep, presses her lips to his skin. "Let's go to the chateau, nothing like strength in numbers, right?"
"Do you think we should get them all involved in this?"
"JJ, that's a dumb question. Of course we should, they'd want to know and they'd want to help. You know that. P4L, right?"
He exhales a small laugh. "You're right, you're right. Let's eat and then we'll go. You better text Sarah now though; I don't want a repeat of what happened the last time we went over there."
Kie laughs now. "Yeah, I've seen John B's ass enough for a lifetime." She goes to find her phone to let their friends know they're coming over. While she's got her phone out she texts Debbie to let her know she won't be in today, making a mental note to have JJ cancel any charters he may have booked. When she gets back to the little kitchen JJ has two plates of waffles on the table, syrup for her and chocolate sauce for him sitting by each place setting. James Brown is lilting from the radio bolted to the counter.
Before Kie sits down she goes to JJ's side, takes his face in her hands and kisses him slowly. She lets the heat build between them but pulls away when his hands start playing with the hem of her shirt.
"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining." He smirks as she walks away and takes her seat.
"Because you weren't in bed this morning for me to kiss awake," she starts cutting up her waffles, the slightest pink tinge in her cheeks.
JJ's pouring the chocolate sauce over his plate. "Well, that might be the best way to make sure I am in bed in the mornings. That was hot, Kie."
Never one to shy away from his teasing, Kie raises her eyes to meet his, "Well, you see, today we have to sit here and eat these waffles before doing anything else. If you'd been in bed earlier, we'd still be there now. How's that for incentive?" JJ coughs and she stuffs a forkful of waffle in her mouth to stop her smile.
He doesn't say anything back, instead he starts eating quite a bit faster than he normally would.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
An hour later, they're pulling up to the chateau's dock. The first thing John B and Sarah did with their gold money was build a chateau 2.0 on the same land as the first one – okay, the second thing; they had to buy the land from the landowner first. The new house has two floors and a wraparound screened in porch. The Cat's Ass is there too, as well as an outdoor shower and a new garage. JJ and Kie might be fine living on a boat, but Sarah put her foot down and said they needed a 'real' home, a place all six of them could stay at anytime.
JJ ties the boat up and they see John B and Sarah walking towards them. "Are you sure this is the safest option, Kie? I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."
She grabs his hand as they start walking up toward the house. "We're all here for you Jage and we protect our own. Nothing is going to happen to any of us, okay, we'll keep each other safe."
JJ doesn't get a chance to respond because John B, his signature grin on his face, has gotten close enough to sling an arm around the blonde's neck.
"I've got beers in the fridge, Mario Kart set to go, and burgers ready for the grill. Let's have a worry free, chill out, friends' day." John B pulls JJ into the house.
Sarah turns to Kie, "Pope and Cleo will be here too; he just had a couple deliveries to do for his dad first." The girls start walking up the steps. "How's JJ doing with everything?"
They sit down on one of the couches on the porch. "He's better today, maybe better than I thought he'd be. He was frantic last night though; I haven't seen him like that in a long time. I'm just happy I told him the news and that he didn't see Luke first, that would have been a fucking disaster." Kiara leans back and closes her eyes for a moment.
"I'll be right back," Sarah says before heading inside. She's back on the couch in less than a minute, now with two drinks in hand. She hands Kie one of the cans.
"Here's to daddy issues, which are, honestly, too rampant in our small group of friends." Sarah toasts only half jokingly. The girls clink their cans together.
"Seriously, how is Pope the only one of us that gets's along great with his dad? With both of his parents?" Kie thinks their group must be some kind of anomaly, one of six gets along with his parents, one doesn't, one's an orphan, and three with parents that don't give a shit – talk about a great group to do a study on.
"He's just lucky, I guess. How are things with your mom, has she gotten back into your good graces yet?"
"Not yet, but she is the one that warned me Luke was in town, that counts for something, I think." Kie almost doesn't finish the sentence before Sarah is interrupting.
"What?! Kie, tell me everything." The former kook scooches closer to Kie, an eager look overtaking her features, so Kie recaps her meeting with her mother from the day before.
"Wow, I can't see her doing that a few months ago; she must really want you back in her life," Sarah says almost wishfully. Kie knows Sarah misses her dad – even if he was one of the worst people Kie's ever met – and it makes her angry that her own, not a murderer, father won't even try to connect with his only kid.
"C'mon, let's go in. I think JJ deserves for us to pretend to lose at Mario Kart." Kie stands and helps Sarah to do the same.
"You're the only one that can beat the boys, I won't have to try very hard to lose," Sarah laughs as they head inside the new house.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
Pope and Cleo show up an hour into their gaming session and get razzed incessantly for not bringing any food or drinks.
"We all have money now, why isn't your pantry stocked?" Pope asks exasperatedly.
"Booooo," is all the answer he gets.
The six-some spend another hour on the couch playing different games before JJ's stomach growls so loudly they all pause and then break out in giggles.
"I'll go pick up pizza, that will be fast enough," Kie untangles herself from the sofa and goes to get the keys. JJ meets her at the door, pulling on his boots.
"I'll go with you."
"You don't have to, I won't be gone long."
"I know, but I don't want you to leave my sight and," he leans down to whisper in her ear, "if I go with you, I can eat in the car on the way back." He smacks a kiss to Kie's cheek and flings himself through the front door.
Because they live on the boat, they only keep their truck at the marina. Their other vehicles are usually at the Chateau. The couple makes their way toward Kie's Subaru – JJ's bike not being very appropriate for transporting food – and set off towards town, sixties rock playing from the stereo.
She makes JJ call Luigi's – the irony is not lost on her – and order three pizzas and breadsticks while she drives, hoping they won't have to wait too long for the food when they get there.
They stop at a gas station where JJ jumps out and buys a couple more 6-packs – the clerks never ask for their fake IDs anymore, money really does make people perceive you differently.
"Got your favorite, babe," JJ laughs when he gets back in the car, showing Kie the case of PBR. It's definitely the boys' favorite and something Kie likes, but her taste has come a long way since they started drinking it at fourteen. She knows he's got a case of her favorite too.
"Oh, yeah, definitely my favorite," she jokes along with him, happy to see him smiling and laughing. "Let's go get the food, yeah?"
"That may be the best sentence to ever leave your mouth." His stomach growls again as if on cue.
Kie starts driving. "Really, the best sentence? Because I can think of a few more I think you'd like better."
"Hmmm," he taps a finger against his mouth. He does this 'deep in thought' bit a lot and it makes Kie smile every time. "I suppose I can think of a couple other ones I like better." He leans over the gearshift to whisper in her ear again. "JJ, I need you. Why are you still wearing clothes? JJ, faster. JJ, I love you."
She's blushing and she knows he loves it. "Those are pretty good ones," Kie agrees breathlessly as she pulls into Luigi's parking lot. "Now, be a good boy and go get the pizza." She needs a minute to cool down.
JJ smirks, "Yes, ma'am."
"JJ?" she calls as he's getting out of the car. He turns to look at her. "I love you. You'll have to wait until tonight to hear the other things."
He all but struts into the pizza parlor, coming back out quickly with four boxes balanced in his arms. They haven't even gotten back on the road before he has half a breadstick in his mouth.
Neither of them notices an old model F-150 following them out of the parking lot and back to the chateau.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
JJ has eaten two breadsticks and a slice of pizza by the time they're pulling in the Chateau's driveway. Kie looks up at the beloved house and looks over at JJ.
"Do you remember when we first got back from South America and we were staying at that condo Sarah's dad gave her?"
"Yeah, besides Pope's house, that was the only place we had to go." JJ's face is puzzled; they haven't lived in the condo for over a year.
"I know, I'm just thinking of how far we've all come since then, since we first found the gold in the well." She grabs JJ's hand. "I'm happy, Jage. We all have good things happening, we all have love and safety and jobs we like. I know things could be better with most of our families, but we are each other's family and I'm proud of us for the lives we've made."
JJ wants to say something light and funny, maybe about Vin Diesel, but he restrains himself. "I'm happy too, Kie, I always have been with you, with everyone." He lifts their hands and softly kisses her knuckles. "Now, let's go feed the family, you know they're wondering where," he cuts off when they hear a car thundering down the drive. JJ turns to see who it is and immediately stiffens. "Shit, stay in the car, Kie." He's out of the vehicle before she can even form a thought.
The battered blue truck screeches to a stop, the tires flinging gravel and Luke Maybank gets out. He doesn't even shut the vehicle off.
"Shit," Kie parrots before she gets out of her seat, her seatbelt delaying her.
JJ and his dad are ten feet apart. "You need to get out of here right now!" JJ yells.
Luke stumbles forward, "Is that any way to speak to your old man? How long has it been, son? You look good; money's been treating you well."
"Luke, you need to leave now, you're trespassing, and John B's probably called the cops already." He's half bluffing and Luke calls him on it.
"Now, come on, I just wanted to see how you were doin'." Luke keeps walking toward his son.
"We both know that's not the reason you showed up here. I'm not giving you anything and neither is anyone else here. Go now, before the cops show up." JJ has his arms crossed, his expression hardened, and eyes colder than Kie's ever seen them.
Luke's unruffled composure falters at JJ's words and Kie feels herself tense. "You ain't gonna help me out? The man that gave you a home, food, street smarts." Luke's voice is getting louder.
"You gave me jack shit, dad, and no, I'm not helping you out. You're on your own from now on." Kie can hear the emotion in his voice, but she knows Luke is blinded to the hurt in it.
"Jack shit, huh?" The older man repeats quietly. Kie sees the change in his demeanor but she can do nothing to warn JJ before his dad is on top of him.
Being liquored up has always make Luke stronger than he should be and he's not pulling his punches now. Luke is using both hands to land blows to JJ's face and torso. JJ's trying to get Luke off of him, but the man has his son's hands pinned to the ground.
Kie's body unfreezes when she hears JJ groan. "Luke, stop it, stop it!" She's shouting as loudly as she can, hoping someone in the house hears her. She knows she shouldn't, that JJ will be furious with her, but she surges forward and jumps on Luke's back.
She's scratching and hitting every surface she can, trying to give JJ an out. It takes Luke a few seconds to stop hitting his son and start reaching for Kie.
"Get off me, girl, this don't concern you," Luke elbows her in the eye which loosens her hold enough for her to fall to the ground, stars dance in her vision for a moment. The distraction is enough for JJ to get to his feet though, and he punches his father across the face harder than he's ever hit him before. Luke collapses on his knees.
"Lay another hand on her and I'll kill you, now get out of here." Kie is back up and JJ goes to move towards her.
"J!" She shouts as she sees Luke lurch forward to grab JJ's legs and bring him to the ground again. The two men continue to beat each other, but JJ has his hands free this time and is holding his own.
Kie looks up and sees Sarah and Cleo on the porch, watching with horrified looks. She doesn't know why John B and Pope haven't come out to help. Sarah reaches into her pocket and starts dialing what Kie is sure is 911. Fuck, she thinks. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to get anything to hit Luke with because he could take it and use it on JJ. She doesn't want the police involved either, but that might be the best thing for everyone.
Kie watches JJ and Luke trading blows, each trying to get the advantage. Somehow they're both standing again. Kie keeps racking her brain for some way to stop this carnage and that's when Luke hits JJ in the temple. She sees the consciousness leave him before he collapses to the grass. Luke doesn't stop his momentum and follows his son to the ground, the hits continuing even with JJ not fighting back anymore.
Kie can no longer just stand there. She sprints to JJ's bike and reaches into the right hand saddlebag. She hates it, and JJ knows she hates it, but he keeps a small revolver in it at all times. 'For emergencies,' he always says, she loathes that she's about to use this gun for such an emergency, but without Pope and JB she doesn't see another option.
Sarah and Cleo are both yelling now and have started to make their way down the porch steps. Kie grabs the gun, it's cold and heavy in her hands, she doesn't even know if there are any bullets loaded, but she turns back to the fight anyway. Cleo sees the weapon in Kie's hand and stops Sarah on the bottom step. She tries to meet Kie's eyes, but Kie is too focused on what she's about to do.
Ten feet from Luke, Kie raises the gun toward the man's chest, her voice so close to quavering when she screams, "LUKE, get off him now or I'll shoot!"
She knows Luke doesn't look up because of the word 'shoot' he looks up because her voice is so loud it startled him. When Luke sees the gun, he has the audacity to crack a bloodstained smile.
"You're going to shoot me? That gun isn't even cocked you arrogant piece of," he's cut off by JJ's hands closing around his throat. Neither of them had noticed he's regained consciousness.
"Kie, don't, put the gun away," JJ basically growls. Luke is grappling with him trying to get JJ's hands off his throat.
She doesn't listen. "Luke, stop!" She shouts again. Both JJ and Luke glance at her. She cocks the gun and makes sure it's pointed directly at Luke. "Try me," she says with all the contempt she can muster.
Luke must sense the change in her demeanor because he's not smirking anymore. "You won't pull that trigger," he slaps JJ in the face. "You're too righteous," he all but spits the words out. He goes back to fighting with his son. JJ still has Luke in a choke hold, but his strength is waning.
Kie fires a warning shot into the sky.
Everyone freezes for a second or two and then Luke's face goes from angry to furious to menacing. "You think you can shoot me, girl?!" He stands up and faces her, grass and dirt staining his jeans. JJ kicks Luke's legs out from under him, but the older man has adrenaline coursing through his veins and he gets up quickly, grabbing JJ by his shirt front and pulling him up too.
Kie cocks the gun again, pointing it back at Luke. Her insides are having a panic attack and subsequent breakdown, but she makes sure her arm is steady. She'll do anything to protect JJ. Anything.
"I don't think you'll shoot me," he hits JJ again, blood flies through the air.
Kie meets JJ's eyes. The man she loves looks so defeated. He knows there's only one way to end this; he gives her the slightest of nods. It takes less than a second for JJ to drop, deadweight to the ground. The force rips him from his dad's grip and he crawls as best he can to Kie's side.
It takes Luke a moment to register what has happened and then he's stalking toward the pair.
"Stop, Luke. Stop!" Kie and JJ back up until they hit the side of her car. "Luke, stop!"
Sarah starts yelling for him to stop as well; she knows Kie will pull the trigger. She and Cleo can hear sirens coming from the main road.
Luke continues to stalk toward them, yelling at JJ the entire time. How he ruined his life, how no wonder his mom left, how he owes him the El Dorado money.
Kie finally sees Pope running toward them; he must have been down on the dock. It looks like he has a spear gun in his hands. He's too late.
Luke gets two feet from the outstretched gun when she pulls the trigger. JJ is slumped against her car, basically on the ground. His surge of adrenaline is long gone.
Luke falls, Sarah screams, Pope starts running faster, JJ closes his eyes, and Kie stands frozen until her body finally gives in to the tremors she's been holding back.
Time stands still and then two police cars and an ambulance are racing to a stop in the driveway. Gravel sprays just like it did when Luke pulled in. Cleo goes back into the house. Her citizenship status is too new for her to be around for a shooting.
"Kie, put the gun on the ground!" Pope yells at her, she obeys and then turns to look at JJ.
"J, are you okay, open your eyes! You're going to be fine, just look at me!" She's got his face in her hands. Pope reaches JJ's other side.
"JJ, stay awake man, you can't go to sleep right now." Pope pats JJ's cheek.
Paramedics are trying to help Luke. One of the officers puts JJ's gun in a bag and another is making her way towards the three huddled young adults. Kie is seeing everything as if from outside of her body, like she's watching a movie. A horror movie to be more precise.
"Miss, we need to take you in for questioning and he needs to go to the hospital." The officer's voice is soft. She must be new, Kie's never seen her before, she has a friendly face, but that means nothing. Kie stares her down.
"I'm not leaving him, so you can come with us to the hospital or you're gonna have to wait," Kie's tone leaves no room for compromise.
Before the officer can respond an EMT comes up to them. "Can one of you take him to the hospital? We've got the older man on his way already." No one had noticed the ambulance leave – even with the sirens blaring.
The officer looks back at Kie. "Can you help me get him in my car? I'll bring you both to the hospital."
Kie only nods and then Pope and the two women are gently lifting JJ up and helping him into the back of a police car.
Sarah runs up to Kie before she can get in too. "Kie, what's going on? What do you want me to do?"
"Miss, you and the other gentleman will need to go with Officer Simpson to the station. He'll need statements from both of you." The female officer says before Kie can say a word.
Sarah's eyes never leave Kie's. "Kie, what do you need?"
"Get Pope and go to the station, I'm going with JJ. Call our lawyers before you say anything though." They share a look. "And, where the hell is John B?"
"He had an emergency at the shop. I'll tell him to meet us at the station. You better get going." Sarah gives Kie a quick hug and turns away get Pope and make sure Cleo stays in the hidden in the house.
Kie gets in the cruiser, cradling JJ's head in her lap, and they speed to the hospital.
KJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ
JJ hears beeping and he smells industrial cleaner and he immediately feels unease. It takes him a moment to flutter open his eyes. Before he can see anything clearly he hears her voice and his body relaxes.
"JJ, hey, you're okay," Kie whispers soothingly.
His eyes finally open and focus and Kie is the first thing he sees. "What happened?" It's taking his brain too long to form memories and he feels discombobulated.
Kie reaches over to brush his hair out of his eyes and JJ calms even more with her touch. Kie trails her hand down his arm and grips his hand in her own.
"Do you remember anything? You've only been out for an hour."
"We were getting lunch, pizza, and," he wracks his brain but comes up with nothing, "I don't remember anything else."
Kie takes a deep breath. "Well, we got back to the chateau and your dad followed us. He attacked you and he kept," Kie is cut off because JJ lurches forward to turn the left side of her face toward him.
"Did he give you this bruise?" His voice is so harsh Kie wants to flinch, but she never would, not with him. Her hand covers his on her cheek. "JJ, I'm not the one sitting in a hospital bed. I'm ok; I'm really ok, just a couple bruises. Lay back down."
"So he did give you the bruise and more than one. I'll kill him when I'm out of here." He actually tries to get out of the bed, but Kie restrains him.
"JJ, listen to me!" She softly pushes him back into the pillows. "He might already be dead." She whispers.
JJ looks into Kie's eyes and sees tears forming. She never cries. He lowers his voice to a whisper as well. "What happened?"
Kie wants to look away from his gaze but she forces the words out. She needs to see his reaction. "I shot him."
JJ is quiet for a moment. She watches confusion and then incredulity cross his face. "You shot him?"
"He kept beating you and I told him to stop. I told him to stop so many times, J, and he wouldn't. You got away from him and were next to me and Luke kept advancing and I shot. I'm so sorry." The tears are silently running down her cheeks.
JJ is floored for a second by her apology. His father hit her and she's sorry for shooting him? Not in this lifetime.
He leans forward again and his thumbs wipe her tears away. He makes sure she's looking him in the eye again. "Kie, you have nothing, nothing to apologize about. You told him to stop and he didn't. I would have shot him for hurting you anyway."
"But, what if he's dead? What happens then? I feel badly I might have ended someone's life."
JJ has thought of his father being dead more times than he can count, but he's unsure how to feel right now with nothing known for certain. "If he's dead, we'll deal with it. Nothing is going to happen to you, Kie, you shot in self defense." Memories are slowly coming back to him; he remembers her pleading for Luke to stop. "Weren't the others there? They saw what happened, right?" He can recall Sarah yelling and knows she's on Kie's side.
"They saw what happened," Kie confirms, sniffling. "Cleo texted me that Sarah and Pope gave their statements to the cops. I'm surprised they all aren't here yet, honestly."
He wipes the tears from her face again, they haven't stopped yet. "I can't even imagine what would have happened if you hadn't shot him. There are things in the world that I wouldn't be able to live through and him hurting you is one of them. If he's still alive, I'm going to make sure he never so much as sees you again. You are the most important thing in my life and I won't let anything happen to you."
Kie's breath catches and her lips quirk up, typical JJ saying romantic things in the worst possible setting. "Wow, if I knew it would take me shooting someone for you to make such a pretty speech I might have done it sooner."
His lips quirk up too, "You need to work on your joke timing, have I taught you nothing?" He teases, but too quickly his face falls and grows serious.
"You still have bruises that he gave you, I hope he is dead."
Kie moves to lie on the bed next to him. Her hand comes up around his neck, thumb stroking his jaw.
"You don't mean that and I'm completely fine." She kisses his forehead and then his nose, the side of his mouth. Their eyes meet again. "And, don't you know by now that I'd do anything for you?"
JJ lets out a deep breath. "I've heard that's a foolish thing to say, but I'd do anything for you too."
"I know you would, its part of the reason I love you so much." JJ pitches forward the small distance between them and kisses his girl. They're able to forget everything from the last few hours, at least for a little while. They'll face the future at a later time.
*Hope you liked this. I love Outer Banks, can't wait for season four! This is posted on Ao3 and .
*Here's the fic I started writing before season 3 came out. It would have had some of the same plot points, but I decided to start over after season 3 so the new fic could follow the story line.*
"I mean, why did you even want to come back here?" She asks as they step off JJ's bike. She looks up at the old, distressed yellow house with nothing but contempt, but follows the blonde forward anyway.
She sees him shrug. "I just want to grab some more of my stuff. Figure I can make my room at the Chateau a little more me." He opens the door – it's been unlocked this whole time – and they head inside. The interior is just as cluttered and disorganized as always.
"When did it officially become your room?" She's smirking and JJ turns around to mirror her expression.
"Since John B and I bonded over being orphans. Besides, I've slept there more than here in the last year anyway."
"Neither of you are actually orphans, you know that right?" She teases.
"Ooh, Kie, that hurts," he teases back. "Don't you know abandonment hurts just as bad?" She knows he's joking but she can also see the slight downturn in his expression and knows there's some truth in what he said.
"Let's just get your stuff and go, Orphan Annie, we have plans later and you know how John B and Sarah can get when we're late." They walk into JJ's old bedroom. There's not much to it: a bed, a dresser, a small closet with the doors askew. The walls are adorned with posters, most of them of scantily clad women which makes Kiara roll her eyes, but there are a few old band posters she wouldn't mind grabbing.
"Can I take a few of these off the wall?" She points at a mod Jefferson Airplane poster when he looks up from the closet floor.
"If you can, I for sure super glued some of those up there so they wouldn't get torn down." He goes back to putting some clothes in a backpack he's had since grade school. They each busy themselves with their tasks and soon enough Kie has three, mostly intact posters in her hands and JJ has a backpack full of clothes and a box full of mementos. They head back outside.
"I hope you can carry all this, Kie, and you better not drop anything on the ride back." He's kidding again but Kiara does give his bike a dubious look before reaching to put the backpack on her own back.
They're both looking at the bike when the attack happens, both of them so caught off-guard that they both end up on the ground.
"You son of a bitch!" Luke is on top of JJ throwing punches in between each word. "You think you can come back here and steal from me again?!"
JJ is trying his best to fight back, but the surprise of seeing his father again has hindered his capabilities.
"Stop, STOP!" Kiara lunges at Luke's back, trying to get enough leverage to pull him off of JJ. The older man just throws himself onto his back, which means he throws Kiara onto her back with him on top of her. Her breath leaves her in an instant and she's left on the ground gasping.
Hearing her gasps of pain spurs JJ into action. He finally gets back to his feet and meets his father in three short steps.