When Beth found out that James was making another trip back into the city to visit Lillian, she had insisted on taking the two of them out to dinner. She then used her extensive knowledge of the city to find a restaurant that she thought would be perfect for the three of them. From her first meeting with James, and with the knowledge Lillian had shared, she knew she'd have to find some place cozy and quiet.
Lillian smiled at her friend as she led them down the sidewalk towards the restaurant. When they arrived, she and James busied themselves with looking at the artwork on the walls of the waiting area while Beth spoke to the maitre d'. She came to them a few minutes later with a smile. "Okay, we're ready!"
A waiter escorted them to a table in the back corner. It was cozy and quiet and they could see the rest of the restaurant from there. As they arrived at the table, Beth was grinning. "Is this okay? We can ask for another table if you see something you prefer. And if it's too bright or the music is too loud, they're happy to adjust it. This is the most sensory-friendly restaurant in the city. They've set it up so that each table has its own lighting and sound controls."
Lillian smiled again at her friend. "I think it's perfect, Beth. Thank you for being so considerate. James, what do you think?"
James held the chair out for Lillian, then Beth, and then sat in his own. "It's—nice."
Lillian looked at Beth and nodded. Beth knew from her conversation with Lillian, if he said it, he meant it.
"Awesome," Beth said with a grin.
Thirty minutes later, they were deep into conversation and Beth was telling another story about her and Lillian's history and friendship. Suddenly, Lillian noticed a frown appear on James' face, just before she heard a chilling voice.
"Well, if it isn't my dearest wife, Lilly," the man said with a sneer. "Lilly baby, I was wondering how long it would take me to find you."
Lillian's face went from shock to horror to disgust in a matter of seconds. She stood up from her seat, tall and confident, hoping to hide her shaking hands. "Victor, if you know what's good for you, you'll walk out of this restaurant right now."
"Oh, has my little Picasso found her voice?" He sneered again, then frowned. "Didn't I ever teach you about being rude, baby?"
"Well, you certainly didn't teach by example. You were rude enough for the both of us. Leave me alone, Victor. I'm not your 'wife' or your 'baby' anymore. You cannot be within fifty feet of me."
"Well, you see, baby, I got out on good behavior and that restraining order expired two weeks ago." Victor looked down at Beth, still ignoring the man who sat between the two ladies. "I see you still haven't found better friends."
James could see Lillian's hands shaking. He looked at Beth and saw a look of pure horror and fear on her face. It only took a quick assessment to decide what had to happen. He took a deep breath and stood up, gaining Victor's attention as he did so, particularly because he towered over the other man by several inches. "Sir, I suggest you do what the lady has so kindly asked and leave her alone."
"Who do you think you are?" Victor taunted.
Beth gained a bit of courage as she spoke out in James' defense, "He is Lillian's boyfriend. And he's twice the man you are."
Victor's eyebrow raised. "Oh, is that so? Perhaps Lillian's boyfriend and I need to go outside and have a little chat."
Lillian spoke again, "He will do no such—"
"Yes," James said over top of her.
"James, no. You don't have to do that. Really you—"
"Yes. Let's go outside and have a talk," James said firmly, staring down the man in front of him.
Lillian turned towards James, she had never seen this sort of behavior from him. She stood between him and Victor, and spoke quietly. "James, talking is the last thing Victor wants to do with you. He's not worth it. Please, I don't want you to get hurt."
James looked into Lillian's eyes and she saw something unfamiliar. "I understand everything, Lillian. I'll be back in just a moment. Everything will be fine. I promise."
James walked around the table and stood in front of Victor, whose eyes had grown wide. He hadn't expected James to actually take him up on his offer, and now, unless he wanted to look like a coward, he had to follow through. James nodded and held his hand out towards the door. Victor straightened the lapels of his coat and walked ahead of James, both of them heading out the front door and around the side of the restaurant. There was only one other man James had ever felt this sort of anger towards. His own father.
Lillian almost collapsed into her chair, shuddering, tears flowing. Beth sat in James' seat and put her arm around her friend. "Beth, Victor could kill him. What if he does kill him? Oh my god, Beth, I can't lose him."
They sat at the table, Beth comforting Lillian for what seemed like an eternity before Beth gasped and squeezed Lillian's arm. "Oh no, Lill-"
Lillian looked up just in time to see the second of two cop cars, lights on, pull up in front of the restaurant. Lillian inhaled sharply, hand covering her mouth. Then, she quickly jumped up and ran towards the exit, Beth hot on her heels.
They ran out to see the policemen running down the side alley right by the restaurant and ran after them. "James! James!" Lillian yelled. One of the officers turned and saw her, holding his arms out to stop her.
"Whoa, ma'am. You need to stop right there."
"But James, where is James?" She looked around frantically and stopped cold when she saw Victor face down on the ground, blood pooling around his head. "Oh my God. Is he—is he dead?"
The policeman frowned. "No ma'am. Is this man 'James'?"
Lillian almost growled. "No sir. That is Victor Palenci. James was trying to protect me from him."
The policeman's eyes grew wide. "Victor Palenci?"
"Yes. Apparently he was let out on 'good behavior,'" Lillian spat out the words in disgust.
"No, ma'am," the officer insisted. "Victor Palenci escaped two days ago from the prison. There's been a manhunt on for him."
"And you didn't think to inform his ex-wife!?" Beth shouted, motioning towards Lillian.
The officers eyes went wide. "You are Victor Palenci's ex-wife?"
"Yes, sir. And James McMillan is my boyfriend. And it may be difficult for him to communicate with you, he is autistic and in high stress situations he—"
"He's right here, ma'am." The officer stepped back, revealing James sitting down on the ground, knees up to his chest, hands holding his head, rocking his body ever so slightly back and forth. One of the other officers was trying to talk to him, with no luck.
"James!" Lillian ran forward and slid down in front of him, next to the officer.
James finally looked up, shaky hands coming down from his face, revealing a bloody gash on the side of his temple.
"Oh my god! Are you alright?"
"I'm okay, Lillian. I swear, I warned him. I tried to reason with him and tell him to leave you alone. I told him that as long as he didn't touch me, I wouldn't touch him. But he went for me with his gun."
"He had a gun!" Lillian gasped out.
"He hit me on the head with the butt of it. I disarmed him and threw it under the dumpster over there before I—before I made it clear you weren't to be bothered." One of the police officers that stood nearby immediately went towards the dumpster.
The female officer who knelt beside James shook her head, but smiled. "I'm glad your lady friend showed up when she did, Mr McMillan. You almost ended up in cuffs in the back of the squad car." Just then, two paramedics ran up, one to James' side and the other knelt over Victor, who was just starting to come back to consciousness. He was put onto a stretcher and promptly handcuffed to it. James tensed as the man was rolled by, groggily mumbling. All they clearly heard was the officer next to him saying, "Congratulations, Palenci, you've earned yourself a one-way ticket to maximum security prison with no chance of escape or parole, I'm sure."
Lillian took James' hands, not caring that one of them was blood-soaked from covering his injury, while the paramedic cleaned and bandaged the wound. The officer took his statement while Lillian sat with him for comfort.
"Mr. McMillan, you're quite the hero tonight," the police officer said as she finished up with James.
James looked over at Lillian, who had tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't want to be a hero. I just want to protect Lillian."
The officer smiled at the two, then glanced up at Beth who was watching. "Ladies, I'll need to take your statements as well. Lillian, why don't you stay here with James a moment and I'll start with your friend?"
Lillian nodded. The paramedic was finishing up as well. "Mr. McMillan, I'd like for you to come down to the hospital for further examination. We need to be sure you didn't suffer a concussion."
"No. No hospitals." James shook his head, then flinched.
Lillian sighed. She wanted to push James to get checked out, but she could tell by the look on his face, this was not the issue to push. "Sir, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him. I have a friend who is a nurse at Mt. Sinai. I'll see if she can come over and check him out later."
The paramedic hesitated, but couldn't force him to go, so he nodded. "Please do, Mrs. Palen—"
"It's Ms. Dillinger. I changed my name promptly after the divorce."
"Of course. Mr. McMillan, are you ready to stand? Take your time and tell me if you feel dizzy." James nodded and slowly stood up. Lillian staying close by his side. The paramedic nodded, happy with the progress so far. "Alright, I'll need you to sign some paperwork acknowledging that you are refusing transport to the hospital. I'll be right back."
As the paramedic walked away, Lillian turned to James, who looked down at her with mixed emotions in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Lillian. I just wanted him to know he couldn't bully you anymore."
Lillian bridged the short distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest. "Why are you apologizing, James?"
"I thought—I thought you were upset that I hurt him."
"I could not care less about him, James. I was scared, worried, that you were hurt. I thought he had—" She inched away from him enough to look up into his eyes. "Why didn't he try to shoot you, James? Why did he attack you with it?"
"He did try. The gun didn't work."
Lillian broke down all over again, weeping into his chest. James slowly wrapped his arms around her.
**—**—**
An hour and a half later, they had finished with the police and were walking back into Lillian's apartment. Lillian walked with James over to the sofa and made sure he was comfortable with several pillows before stepping back. "I have some phone calls to make. Beth, don't let him move a muscle."
James started to sit up. "Lillian, I'm fine."
"No! Don't play this off, James. You're to lie there and rest and once I get Lucy to come over and give you a good looking over, then we will discuss it. I let you get out of going to the hospital, but don't think for a moment that I'm not going to take just as good care of you as you did of me the first day we met. Don't. Move."
James looked down timidly. He could face a convict with a gun, but the wrath of Lillian scared him much more than the anger of Victor Palenci. He nodded and leaned back against the pillows.
Lillian dialed a number as she began making an ice pack in the kitchenette. After a few moments, she began speaking. "Hi, Lucy, it's Lillian...Yeah, I'm sorry to call like this, but I need a big favor..."
James listened to her begin the conversation, then turned to Beth, who was watching him closely. "I'm not going to try and escape or something."
Beth scoffed. "I am not going to be the one to disobey Lillian Dillinger right now."
James frowned as he watched Lillian pacing in the kitchenette as she spoke on the phone. He quietly spoke to Beth, "She says she's not angry with me. But it sure seems that way."
Lillian brought the ice pack to him and then walked away as she continued to speak to Lucy, giving a few details about what had happened.
"She's not angry with you. She's angry at the situation. We told you a little about Victor, but there's a lot you haven't heard. Lillian—she saw so much when she was married to Victor. It was a bad situation and she saw a lot of people get hurt. I mean really hurt." Beth looked down a moment, reliving her own experience. "Including me."
James started to sit up again, alarmed at what she had said. "Victor hurt you?"
Beth eyed Lillian then glared at James. "Sit. Back. If she sees you moving around, she's gonna hurt you worse than Victor ever could."
James obediently sat back against the pillows. "What happened?"
"I was dating one of Victor's buddies. It's how we met, when we were both dating those scumbags. One day, after they had been married a couple years, I was over at their place hanging out with Lillian. Victor came in angry about something, then when Lillian didn't make his coffee right, he hit her—right in front of me! That was it - I had had enough of seeing her with black eyes and bruises—I jumped up and starting hitting Victor as hard as I could. It didn't do any good, and he hit back. Hard. I'm lucky to be alive. Lillian risked her own life by going against Victor's wishes and taking me to the hospital. She's seen Victor hurt too many people she cared about. She was scared to death she was going to lose you tonight, James. I promise she's not angry at you for beating up Victor. No, I'm pretty sure she's really happy about that, deep down. But it's just brought up so many memories." Beth finished explaining just as Lillian hung up the phone with Lucy and came over with a glass of water for James.
"She'll be here at 10pm." She glanced at her watch. "That's two hours. She said to keep resting and stay hydrated. Although she's always preaching about staying hydrated, so I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with the injury." She was already dialing another number. "Now, I have to call your sister."
"Oh, no, Lillian! Please don't call Jackie!"
Lillian glared at him, eyebrow raised, until a voice answered the call. "Hey Jackie, it's Lillian. Yeah, James is here. He's okay, but something has happened that you need to know about."
James sighed as he watched her pace back and forth, recounting the story to Jackie. After a moment, she realized he was sitting up and, without missing a beat of the phone conversation, gave him a glare that made him settle down.
Beth, who had been watching him watch Lillian, spoke again, "You really love her, don't you, James?"
James looked down, sighed, and closed his eyes. His head hurt from the injury and from thinking about all that had happened and all the information he had learned in the past few hours. He puffed out a breath and slowly spoke. "When she's with me, I feel—like the world is right. When she isn't with me, it hurts. I want to protect her and know that she is safe. I want her to be happy. My sister says it's love. You say it's love."
"And what do you say?"
"I'd say—" Lillian came over from the kitchen and James closed his mouth before saying another word.
Lillian glanced between the two of them. "Your sister and I agree that you should stay here for a few days before you travel back."
James considered his options for a moment. "I'll need to call my boss on Monday morning and let him know that I won't be able to get online to work."
Lillian gave a strong nod, then reconsidered. "Are you going to be okay with not being home on Monday? I mean, I know you've changed your routine to accommodate coming to visit me every other weekend, but you're usually back home by Monday."
James eyed her cautiously. "Would you let me leave tomorrow?"
"No."
"Then, why even ask?" he responded, his tone edging on slight annoyance.
She cringed and lowered her eyes guiltily. She was being so hard on him when really she was so thankful he was alive. She sighed and came over to the sofa, lowering down to her knees in front of where he leaned against the pillow. She took his hand in hers and held their joined hands up, resting her head against them. "I'm sorry, James. I just want to know that you are okay. And I'm still so scared from earlier, and—I don't mean to take all my anxiety out on you."
James lifted his other hand, cupping her cheek in his palm. It was one of the most affectionate gestures he had ever initiated with her, but it felt right. She looked up at him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes again as he spoke, "I'm sorry I caused you to get so scared. I may have gotten physically injured, but you're dealing with reopened wounds from years of physical and emotional abuse. You and Beth both got shaken up tonight. Are you okay?"
Lillian smiled weakly and lowered their hands back down to by his side on the sofa. Oh, her James. "You were very brave, and heroic. And I'm thankful. And while I wouldn't want to have seen him hit you, I wish I could have seen you take him down." She ended with a grin and he gave her a small smile in return.
A thought suddenly struck him. "I have an idea for something of a compromise in regard to me taking it easy."
Lillian was intrigued. "Oh?"
"Think you can get a substitute for your class for a few days later this week?"
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"
"If I stay until Wednesday morning, then I think you should come back with me. Bring Beth to the mountains and stay for a long weekend. You both deserve some rest and relaxation after tonight."
Beth's eyes went wide. "You want me to come too?"
James nodded. "You're her best friend. She needs you. And she can show you around town while I'm working."
"If you're allowed to work at all this week," Lillian corrected.
He sighed. "Will you come or not?"
**—**—**
When Lucy came by at ten, Beth answered the door. She had insisted on staying to be sure they were both alright. When the nurse walked in, she saw Lillian sitting on the sofa with a pillow in her lap and a man, whom she could guess was the James she had heard all about, lying with his head on the pillow. Lillian was absent-mindedly brushing her hand through James' hair as she watched a newscast about her ex-husband being found and put back in prison. James was content watching her, not the TV.
Just as she had promised, Lucy checked James over thoroughly, happy to see that the bleeding had stopped and the gash wasn't too deep. She checked his vision, his speech, hearing, had him walk in a straight line, sit down, then stand up quickly.
"I think he's going to be fine, Lill. No immediate signs of a concussion. Just keep an eye on him the next few days." She turned to James. "I recommend you take it very easy the next few days. If you have a headache, you can take a pain reliever. The headaches will last for a few days probably. Use ice occasionally, but not constantly. If anything makes your head hurt, reading, watching TV, work, then take a break from it until doing it doesn't bother you anymore. If you are still having headaches after three days, then you need to go to your doctor and have them check you out further. If you start to feel dizzy or nauseous, go to the doctor right away. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." James nodded from where he stood by the couch. "Thank you for taking your personal time to come see me after your regular work day." He glanced at Lillian, then back to the nurse. "Lillian has very good friends."
"Well, Lillian has been a good friend to us. It's the least any of us can do for her. And may I say, I think you've been very good for Lillian. Just take it easy on the Superman act, okay, James? I think she would prefer a live and healthy Clark Kent over a dead Superman."
"I'm not sure that analogy works quite the way you meant it, but yes, ma'am. Now that Victor is going back to prison, I'll hang up my cape."
Lillian saw Lucy and Beth to the door and when she turned after closing the door she saw that James was still standing by the couch watching her with a thoughtful look on his face.
"What is it?" she asked as she approached. She could see the gears turning in his head. He was really thinking through something. She stepped up in front of him, resting her hands on his arms. In the moments she waited for him to speak, she raised her hand and gently stroked it along where a deep purple bruise was starting to form along his temple.
"I love you," he blurted out finally. It shocked her enough to gasp as she quickly moved her hand away from his face, but before she could respond, he continued. "Beth said tonight that I love you. My sister said it that first week after vacation. I've spent five weeks thinking about what you've done to me since you came into my life. This is it. This is what it is. It's love. I love you. I hate change. But I'd change anything for you. I'd risk everything for you. To be sure you were safe. To be sure he couldn't hurt you. I love you, Lillian."
She blinked several times and finally remembered to take another breath. "I—I love you too, James. I think I've known it all along. It's what scared me so much about leaving Seaside—because I knew I was falling for you. You and your nervous social awkwardness, your big kind heart, your ability to make me feel like maybe I could let myself really be loved. I knew for sure tonight when you walked out that door with Victor and I suddenly thought I might never see you again. It broke my heart and I realized—I love you and I don't want to lose you."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, he leaned into her, and there, in the quiet, they kissed. She had considered doing this the first time he called himself her boyfriend, up on the mountain overhang as they watched the sunset. Then again when he surprised her at the gallery. But now it was right. For both of them.
**—**—**
James called the office first thing Monday morning while Lillian was in the bathroom getting ready for school. When she came back out, he had just pushed a bagel down into the toaster.
"How do you live like this?" he asked as he glanced around the tiny kitchenette with its small fridge, toaster oven, hot plate, and microwave.
"It's no chef's kitchen like yours, that's for sure. There's no way I could afford the rent that goes along with a full kitchen in the City," she said with a sigh.
"Well, it's a good thing I don't come here for the kitchen," he said as he pulled the cream cheese out of the fridge. Just then the bagel popped out of the toaster and he placed it onto a plate, handing it to her.
She grinned as she took the bagel and spread cream cheese over it. "Very true. I know it's really the couch you come back for."
He frowned. "It's certainly not the couch I come back for—"
"Kidding, just kidding. How are you feeling?"
"I've got a headache this morning, but I took something for it, so I'll be fine. Otherwise, I'm not feeling any of the other symptoms that Lucy mentioned."
She stroked his cheek just below where the bruise had grown. "Well, a headache is certainly expected, you've got quite the bruise, too. My hero—Superman, was it?"
"That's what Lucy said, although her analogy didn't really work. If Superman was dead, Clark Kent would have been dead too—they are the same person. Though I do understand what she was trying to say."
"Yes, that I want you alive as you are, not trying to be a superhero." She grinned. "But the superhero thing was a nice touch. You really did save me last night and I'm glad this," she motioned her hand over his wound as she spoke, careful not to touch the sensitive spot, "is all you came out with."
"And you. I've got you," he added with a small smile.
"And we both get the satisfaction of knowing that Victor is in prison for a very very long time. This time, I expect, there'll be no chance of escape."
James nodded, then glanced at his watch. "You need to leave to get to work on time."
She sighed. "Yes, I suppose I must. I'm not used to having someone that makes it so hard to want to leave in the morning."
"Should I be annoying so that you want to leave?"
She smirked. "No, thank you. I'll be home by four. Take it easy. Seriously."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, hands raised in surrender.
She picked up her bags and was headed for the door when he grabbed her hand and spun her around. "Bye," he said, before leaning down a bit awkwardly and giving her a quick kiss.
She grinned and whispered, "Now that I could really get used to. Bye."
**—**—**
Wednesday after Lillian was done with school, she, Beth, and James made their way to the train station. Lillian had called in a favor and gotten a sub and Beth had found replacements to work her shifts at the restaurant. As happy as James was to be spending all this time with Lillian, he was happy to be getting back home to his regular routine, and to his bed, and kitchen. He frowned as he thought about the conditions Lillian lived in and considered solutions to the problem. They were all long-term and would take some time and planning to work out, but he indeed had plans.
Beth enjoyed her long weekend with Lillian in the mountains immensely. James had rested during his extended stay in the city and felt well enough to work Thursday and Friday, so Lillian took Beth out to explore. On Thursday, they went up to the overhang where James had first "asked her out," as it were and hiked around the forest area near his home. On Friday, they went into town and walked Main Street, checking out some of the shops. Friday night, James made his traditional dinner meal for Jackie and his two additional guests. Beth and Jackie hit it off quickly and Beth and Lillian both enjoyed hearing stories of James and Jackie's childhood adventures. Jackie managed to avoid stories that dealt with her and James' father, keeping things light and fun.
On Saturday, Beth tagged along and met James' mother and went to the farmers' market. She and Lillian parted ways with James after lunch at the diner and explored the river park just down the street. They reconnected in time to go back to the house to relax and read the rest of the afternoon until dinner time. The next morning, they were up for breakfast and it was time for James to drive them back to the train station.