Jessie looked at Jimmy, wondering why she was crying like an idiot. He was going to be alright. His wounds were closed, his breathing normal so why, oh why, was she acting like a human hosepipe? She shut her eyes and sniffed.
"Don't cry, sunshine. It's not like a few punches will kill me."
Jessie's eyes darted open. Jimmy was leaning on his elbows, smiling at her. She let out a yelp and wrapped his arms around him. He cringed and rolled away from her.
"Sorry," she said, pulling back and wiping her eyes.
"I think I broke a rib or two," he said, his voice strained.
Jessie let out a manic laugh. He was worried about a rib or two? "I should've asked Kyle how long it takes bones to mend."
"Yeah, like Kyle would know." Jimmy rubbed his sides, hardly staying vertical. "How's Kay?"
Jessie gawked at him. She hadn't even had the sense to ask when Kyle was there. "I don't know. I was too worried about you to ask. Kyle seemed fine, so I think she'll be okay." She couldn't keep her eyes off him. It felt like he'd disappear if she looked away.
He tilted his head, taking her in from head to foot and she lowered her eyes, her cheeks becoming hot. Why was she so nervous? They've spent so much time together lately, yet she'd never felt so aware they were alone.
"I'm...getting a bit dizzy." Jimmy's elbows bent and he swayed.
Jessie scurried to him and put her hands on his back to steady him. He sat up properly and wrapped his arms around her.
"Gotcha!"
She laughed. "You could've asked and I would've come closer. You don't have to- Are you okay?"
Jimmy blinked and leaned back on his hands. He shook his head. "I'll be fine." He looked at her questioningly. "I don't know what's supposed to happen while you're knocked out, but I could hear you crying. It's the most awful thing I've ever lived through."
"How could I not cry? I thought you were going to die." Jessie took in a deep breath. It was time to come clean. She had been given the chance to tell him how she really felt about him. "Jimmy, I have to tell you something. I don't want to go through this again. I-"
Jimmy straightened up and put his hand over her mouth. "You listen to me. Nothing in this world is worth your tears." He put both hands on her cheeks and pulled her towards him, so that their faces were inches apart. "Not me, not anyone or anything else."
Jessie wanted to answer, to assure him that he was worth all that and more, but the words were stuck in her throat. She couldn't look away from his eyes. She wanted him to never pull away, to look at her like that forever. She wanted him to love her so much, she literally ached.
"No," he whispered, kissing the stray tear that had escaped her eyes. He trailed its path down her cheek, but suddenly groaned and pulled back.
"Are you okay?" Jessie whispered, pulling back too.
"Not really. I feel dizzy."
"Then sleep. You might feel better when you wake up." Jessie pulled a cover over him and kissed his forehead.
He smiled at her, his eyes half closed. "Be here when I wake up."
"Sure." She watched him drifting off to sleep, then got up, stretched and walked out. She had to know how Kay was doing.
As soon as she stepped outside, she jumped. Sam stood a few inches away from her.
"Is Jimmy okay?" He stepped back, letting Jessie breathe properly.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's sleeping. How's Kay?"
"Jerry said she's fine," Tom answered, coming over, holding Angie's hand, followed by Harry.
Jessie stared at Tom and Angie for a few seconds then put her hand over her mouth to hide her smirk. It was about darn time!
"I'll go tell Jerry that Jimmy's fine." Sam said, turning on his heels. "He didn't want to sleep until he had news. It's about time he did. We all should. We've had enough for one day."
Jessie couldn't agree more. She'd had enough excitement to last her a lifetime. Okay, maybe not a lifetime, but a couple of months.
*
Kay's eyes shot open. The dark green of a tent canvas came into view. Had they actually escaped? She pated her chest, but it only hurt slightly, as if she had a bruise. Shouldn't bullet wounds hurt more? Shuffling reached her and she looked to her right. Jerry meddled with his rucksack.
"We escaped?" Okay, obvious question, but she still couldn't believe it.
Jerry whipped around, his eyes wide and... happy. He charged at her and dropped to his knees next to her sleeping bag and swept her in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank God!"
"What happened?" Kay asked, hugging him back. There, that was actually a more pertinent question.
"We came just in time and managed to get out of there. Snitch Gravel left."
"Thank God!" She put her hand on her chest and frowned. "Wasn't I shot?"
"Well, yes, but... I think I'll let Kyle tell you what happened." Jerry smiled mysteriously and Kay fought the impulse to press on.
"I'm glad you two are finally getting along. You are, aren't you?"
"Yes. And I'm glad too. We have a lot of catching up to do."
"Where is Kyle? Is he okay?"
Jerry shuffled his feet, looking guilty. "He was here, but I asked him to get me some water. I'm sorry about that. He's fine. The cut is healing abnormally fast, just like every wound Kyle ever gets."
Kay opened her mouth to ask about everyone else, but stopped once Kyle entered the tent and threw a bottle of water to Jerry. He didn't pay attention and it hit him in the chest. Kay stared at him. He had a sturdy bandage around his thigh and a bruise on his face, but other than that, he seemed fine. He wasn't even limping anymore.
"Sorry, Jerry, but you should pay-" Kyle stopped once his eyes fell on her. A huge smile lit his face. God, she loved his smile.
"I'll leave you two alone," Jerry mumbled and hurried out, clutching his bottle of water.
The second Jerry disappeared out the door, Kyle knelt next to her, took her face in his hands and kissed her. Her pulse went haywire and she ached to pull him closer, feel him next to her, like she always did, but this time, there was something else there - a desire to show him how much he meant to her, to make amends for her stupidity. And this wasn't fair.
"Whoa, tiger." She put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. "I thought you said I had to work for it."
Kyle stared at her, his eyes a little unfocused. "Are you kidding? You took a freakin' bullet for me." He twirled a lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. "You've more than made up for everything. I don't want to waste another second fighting. I love you." He searched his pocket and pulled out the heart-shaped amulet. The red stone was cracked and a chunk of it was missing. "I know it's not as pretty as it used to be."
Kay put her hand on her chest. "That saved my life." She lifted her hair and let him put it back on. As soon as the stone fell on her chest, she felt safer. She glanced at Kyle. The look in his eyes was so tender, it made her heart race all over again. "What happened? How did we get away?"
"The others showed up, including Sam, Tom and Billy."
"Really? They're alive?" She let out a cry of joy and flung her arms around his neck. Her muscles protested at the sudden movement, but she didn't care.
"Yup. And fortunately, we all managed to scrape by with our lives. Snitch Gravel really left."
She pulled back and frowned. "Why?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Sam said he said he had somewhere else to be. I know it makes no sense, but Snitch Gravel is a smart guy. He probably planned his revenge really well and knows what he's doing. I think that he has an ace up his sleeve."
Kay pursed her lips. Yes, Snitch Gravel was devious, brilliant and very good at reading people. "I can't believe he's gone."
"I know what you mean. I feel like we're here on vacation now."
"When are we entering the temple?"
"Sam said we'll rest for a couple of days first."
Yup, she could do with a couple of days' rest. "You know, when I pushed you off me, I was sure I was going to die." She raised her eyes. "And you know what the last thing that went through my mind was?"
Kyle shook his head slowly. She half expected him to tell her to stop thinking about it, that they were fine now, and was glad when he didn't. She had to get this off her chest.
"I thought that I didn't tell you how I really felt, that I'm sorry I didn't know how to love you, that I never told you you're everything to me. It might sound pathetic..." She lowered her eyes.
Kyle put one finger under her chin and raised her face. "It might sound pathetic to others, but not to me. We're all in." He took her hand. "Don't let go."
"Till we die." She smiled, the happiness threatening to smother her. "Don't ever leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere." He just looked at her for a few moments. "Can I kiss you properly now or are you going to push me away again? Coz you have this weird habit of breaking it off when you think I should be the one to-"
Kay grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
*
Jessie walked along the bank of the river, rubbing her arms. After days of heat, she'd forgotten what chilly felt like. Or maybe she was just catching a cold. The thought almost made her laugh. A few days ago, that would have been the last of her worries. Snitch Gravel's departure had left her confusingly light, not to mention Sam, Tom and Billy coming back from the dead.
She bit her lip. The past two days had been the happiest, yet the most miserable in her life. She had real friends for once, Harry had managed to escape unharmed, but... But Jimmy and Alice were back together.
Well, not that they'd ever broken up. But she hadn't managed to spend any time with Jimmy without Alice being there as well. Before she'd left the group, they'd wondered off to 'kiss and make out', as Alice had put it. And that hurt! She'd been so close to confessing her feelings and boy, was she glad she didn't get to. It was awkward enough as it was.
Jessie gritted her teeth, urging her mind to move in another direction. They'd be entering the temple tomorrow and the quest would finally be over. Which left her with her runaway bag and nowhere to run to.
After talking to Jimmy about it, she'd felt strong, confident she could really turn her back on her former life and start over. But, in her current state of mind, she didn't feel strong enough to run anywhere. Safe but unhappy. Yeah, and in the whole wide world and without Jimmy she'd be free and unhappy.
"Jessie?"
She jumped and turned to face Jimmy. He stood a few feet away, his back against a tree, biting his lip, a worry crease between his eyebrows.
"Hey, what's up?" She kept her tone light, though she wondered what had happened. He'd been perfectly happy when he wondered off with Alice.
"I know you're mad at me." He pushed himself off the tree and strode towards her. "And you should be. I'm really sorry."
Jessie stared at him. "What for?"
"The whole walking off with Alice thing."
"Oh." She gazed at the ground, focusing on a caterpillar making its way up a boulder. He was more perceptive than she'd thought. "I'm not mad at you. I completely understand your need to be alone with your girlfriend. That's what people who love each other do."
"Yeah, about that. No." Jimmy's voice was strangely flat.
Jessie raised her gaze. "No what?"
Jimmy kicked at the dead leaves on the ground, frowning. Then he raised his head, a look of supreme exasperation on his face. "No, I don't love Alice. There, I said it. And I know this whole relationship thing is my fault. I never said no to her, even if she annoyed the hell out of me. I kept hoping that it would work, that I can still..." He leaned against a nearby tree and banged his fist against the trunk.
Commit. Kyle had been right. Jimmy was trapped in his relationship with Alice just to prove a point to himself. Jessie felt like hugging him, but she had to be very careful. He was seconds away from breaking her heart.
"Do you want it to work?" she whispered.
"I don't know." Jimmy sighed and dropped on a rock, sinking his face in his hands. "I want something to work, but not this." He raised his eyes to her and even in the dark she could tell they weren't black. "I'm about to really mess up."
"Um, why?" Jessie moved closer to him and leaned against a nearby tree.
"It's just that..." He stood abruptly and started pacing in front of her.
She waited patiently for him to speak again, but he kept on walking, his turns becoming sharper with each new lap. Her heart beat faster with each turn, fighting between the need to stop him and hold him and the knowledge that this could be nothing, that she should protect herself while she still could. It was just so hard to see him this tortured. And for what? Alice?
There's something more to it. Something darker. But as she opened her mouth to ask, she couldn't. As long as she refused to share her past with him, it was unfair to ask about things he obviously didn't want to say.
"This!" Jimmy finally said stopping in front of her and leaning his hands against the tree, trapping her between his arms. For a moment he just looked at her, but then he leaned in so close that their chests almost touched. "I shouldn't be doing this."
Jessie trembled, fighting the impulse to bridge the gap between them. "Yes, you shouldn't. Alice would..." Would what? There was nothing Alice could do to extinguish the flames between them. Nothing anyone could do.
"I broke up with Alice," he whispered.
She almost groaned out loud. He was making this so hard. Alice or no Alice, she should be the one to pull away, explain and get the hell out of there. But she couldn't. She didn't have the strength or the patience to fix everything and return to this moment. It was pathetic, but she was so starved for love, everything went.
Jimmy leaned in even closer, his nose touching her cheek. "I don't cheat. I never cheat."
"Cheat? What do you-"
"I'm not sure Alice got the message."
"Huh?" Jessie straightened, trying to put a little space between them so she could think properly, but he moved his hands from the tree and wrapped his arms around her.
Her breath caught in her throat. Why was he torturing her like this? The only thing she wanted now was to hug him back, kiss him, love him until she exploded. Or run away. Focus on the conversation.
"What did you say to her?" Maybe he couldn't bring himself to end it properly, or had been too subtle. Alice wasn't one to get the hint.
"I told her it's not working, that it would be best to stay friends, that I don't love her... can't love her." He let go of her and Jessie leaned her back against the tree again, trying to ignore the sudden chill.
"That seems pretty clear to me."
"Isn't it? But she just said I hit my head too hard during the fight and don't know what I'm saying."
"But you do know."
Jimmy huffed. "Of course I do. And nothing will change my mind about this. I was so desperate to make it work that I overlooked the obvious fact that Alice and I are totally and completely incompatible."
A wave of heat traveled through Jessie, snuffing out the cold. "That's good enough for me."
Jimmy smiled and once again trapped her between his arms. His lips touched the corner of her mouth and she fought a shudder. Was this really happening? Was it just her wild imagination or was he returning her feelings? A huge wave of happiness washed over her, leaving her even more cold and confused.
It was good enough for her because he was free. She, on the other hand, wasn't. And even if there was no way in hell she was going back to Esteban, she wasn't officially free from him either.
"Jimmy, I'm still..."
He sighed, but didn't pull away. "Engaged, I know. I've been giving this a lot of thought, two whole days actually. You've been pushed into the whole engagement, so it's not like I'm breaking up a happy home." He looked at her hopefully, searching for confirmation.
"It's anything but happy." But did that make this right?
"Are you going to leave him?"
"Yes."
"And I had nothing to do with your decision."
Jessie hesitated for a second. "No," she finally said. She'd been planning to get away before she met Jimmy. He just strengthened her resolve.
He moved his hands around her waist and right turned into the understatement of the century. If he could feel the heat, the magnetic attraction between them, too, then they were amazing together.
"I know I should stop. I don't know where you stand, what I'm doing, if I'm scaring you, if I'm too pushy..." He muttered the last part into her cheek.
He wasn't pushy enough. Her entire body shook like a leaf and she had to put every effort into not taking his face in her hands and kiss him.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I can't fight it anymore." He looked her straight in the eyes, serious and confident. "I know I should wait until everything is sorted out, but this..." He took her hand and pressed it against his chest, above his heart. "This thing beats again because of you."
Jessie threw her arms around his neck and before she could kiss him, he met her halfway. His lips pressed against hers, firm yet tender. One arm slipped around her waist, his fingers curled in her hair and he kissed her with so much passion, her knees weakened.
Why, oh why hadn't they done this before? A huge bubble of tension, of frustration burst, making her feel lighter and happier than she ever remembered feeling. Her entire body burned with the need to melt into him. He pushed her against the tree trunk, the arm around her waist removed. Instead, his hand rand down her thigh, hooked her knee and raised her leg. Her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer, until he was completely pressed against her.
He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you. I love you so much." And he kissed her again. And she wasn't sure it was because he'd said the words she'd longed to hear for so long, or because he put even more passion into the kiss, but it kept getting better and better. The heat of his hands, of his body warmed her up and she realized she'd been cold her entire life.
Tears ran down Jessie's face, but they were tears of happiness, and she owed it to him to make him just as happy. She pulled back, though it killed her.
Jimmy looked at her, his eyes a little unfocused, his hair tousled, a small smile at the corner of his mouth. He looked so hot, she almost gave up on talking and jumped him again. She somehow found the strength to put her hand on his chest and stop him from leaning toward her.
"Give me a sec." She took in a deep breath, and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Jimmy pulled back, but the confident look on his face was enough to make her breath hitch. "Wait, what's with the smirk?"
"It's not a smirk. I'm just trying very hard not to start laughing like an idiot."
She frowned. "Why?"
"Because I'm happy, because you didn't slap me, because you actually kissed me back, because it was amazing-"
"Because I love you."
"Because you-" His eyes widened. "You love me?"
"Jesus, hotstuff, it's not like I've been extremely subtle about it." She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisted her off her feet and spun her in place.
When he put her down, he kissed her again, and she couldn't be happier that there were no words left to say that would make them break apart.
🌴🌴🌴
You're welcome. I didn't kill anyone off. Tom apologized to Angie, everyone is all lovey dovey happy and... holly hell, Jimmy and Jessie finally hooked up! Hurrah! Right? Let me see a show of hands. Who here is happy about that?
Also... what will that potion actually do to Jimmy? Is Kyle right and will the healing be the most of it? Or will something else happen?
Stay tuned to find out. Oh, and then there's the ruby I guess. Time to get that. Put your trusty fedoras on. It's show time!
Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote and comment!
Dedicated to woodlandic. She'll know why ;)