Hold Me, Like You Held On To Life

Chapter Three:

Hold me

Like you held on to life

When all fears came alive and entombed me

Love me

Like you love the sun

Scorching the blood in my vampire heart

~*~*~*~*~

Jackie was told she could take her time in moving out of the White House, but she didn't care; she wanted out as soon as possible, her set date being right after Thanksgiving on December 6th. 'Thanksgiving,' she scoffed to herself as she finished packing her final box and allowed the butler to take it and put it with her other belongings. 'What is there to be thankful for, honestly? Well there's your family you still have...but the heart of your family has been ripped out and thrown to the wolves...how is one supposed to survive without a heart?'

She had heard about Oswald being arrested then shot dead by Jack Ruby but that idea of a crazed, lone gunman being responsible for her husband's death offered no comfort to Jackie. 'Why couldn't he have died for some great cause like...civil rights or something?'

Another part of her believed that possibly he had. She was almost sure that it was all a conspiracy. 'There had to have been more than one shooter and Oswald was just a scapegoat...but in order for that to be true...other people...people whom I trusted...would need to be involved as well. Oh Jack...you must've been just like Caesar...surrounded by your enemies.'

With a sigh, she pushed back her tears and took one last look around her room. Today was the day. She turned on her heel and went down to say goodbye to the staff and other members of the White House and she never looked back.

~*~*~*~*~

Jackie had stayed at the Harriman residence til the summer of 1964 when she moved to New York for more privacy; the people in Georgetown just wouldn't leave her alone. Her new home was a large apartment across from Central Park at 1040 Fifth Avenue. It was close to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and only a few blocks away from Stephan and Jean Kennedy Smith's place and the Carlyle Hotel.

She knew this neighborhood like the back of her hand which made her feel a little more comfortable and since the Carlyle Hotel was within walking distance of her apartment, her secret service agent, Clint Hill, had a living quarters close enough to her for protection, but only for a few more months til her new secret service agent would take over for Hill.

"You may go home now, Mr. Hill," Jackie said to him as she reached her apartment room door after dropping Caroline and John Jr. off at Jean Kennedy's for a play date.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else, Mrs. Kennedy?" Clint asked as he held the door open for the black clad, former First Lady after she unlocked it.

She looked around for a moment before sighing, "No, no. You have a nice night now, Mr. Hill. Get yourself a good night's rest."