Fire On Fire | Once Upon a Time

XiV. Stories of an Orphan

"Thank you"

"Of course" Jaclyn whispered back, kissing the top of her head and in the corner of her eye she could see Rapunzel smile and knew she knew she was going to get an earful of teasing later but she didn't care because this right here felt right "So what happened before I arrived at Storybrooke and made your life infinitely better?"

Rolling her eyes at the cockiness behind the statement but did not deny it because how could she? Jaclyn has improved her life in so many ways, she didn't think she could list them all Jaclyn had shown her what it was to love herself and to lean on other people and not see it as a sign of weakness and like she had failed to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders 

She can still remember the day that she got back from Neverland and she was so close to crying and Jaclyn had been the one who had placed  her back together like she had been doing subtly ever since they met

"I want to cry" Erica whispered as an impish whimper escapes her lips and tears streamed down her face

"That's okay nobody can be strong forever even if we want to, you once asked me how many women I have loved and lost in my lifetime and the answer to that question was one. She was a feisty lass and that was unusual in our time, women were supposed to not do anything. I was the rare exception because I had the song of a pirate in my veins and I could only get away with it because a lot of people assumed I was a male, because of the way my name sits and because I got used to saying my name is Jack Sparrow. She was a lot like you, feisty and cute, she was a woman ahead of her time" 

"Before I answer that I have a question for you Elizabeth" Erica spoke, turning towards Elizabeth who simply raised an eyebrow "Jay once told me she loved and lost you but now I see that you're happy with a child and a husband of your own but maybe once upon a time you harboured feelings for Jaclyn? I want to know did you ever love her back or was it just one-sided?"

Nervousness spread across Elizabeth's features "Does she know?"

Jaclyn shook her head a little and a curl of dread settles in her stomach and it got even bigger the more that Jaclyn spoke: "She knows I died but she doesn't really know what happened"

"What don't I know?"

Elizabeth seemed to grow even more nervous and looked to Rapunzel and Eugene who seemed to get the message that  Elizabeth was pleading with them and left the room, a curious Cassandra following behind them "Okay first thing first to understand what I did you need to know how Jaclyn died, are you sure you want to know what happened. I don't want this to tarnish the relationship you have with Jaclyn"

"Are you alright with me knowing what happened?" 

Apprehension wrung throughout Jaclyn's body, making it taut and rigid but she slowly nodded her head, bits of hair falling over her face. Without saying a word Erica moved Henry off her lap and moved so she was practically straddling Jaclyn's thighs

"I don't want you to think any less of me" Jaclyn whispered, dipping her head 

With a gentle hand, she gripped Jaclyn's chin and tilted it upwards so that they were looking at each other as Jaclyn tried to hide her face "Nothing you've done is going to change how I feel about you. I love you and I always will, this will just help me understand you a little bit more because you are like a jigsaw and I have a few pieces but not enough to complete the picture and I really want to know the Jaclyn Sparrow behind the flirty comments and the riddling words. I want to understand all of you"

Erica was just as surprised that it had come out like that, she knew she wasn't good at expressing her feelings. For God's sake, it took her way too long to actually get together with Jaclyn because she was scared that letting her in would eventually damage Jaclyn somehow and a further two months to open her heart up to love and to be loved utterly and completely