| TAYLOR: "Jess. It's me...no one's gonna hurt you. It was only Zac..." I said again and then comprehension came over her face and she burst into tears. I hugged her close and looked over her shoulder to my brother. "Zac are you okay?" I asked as he brushed himself off. He looked at me, still stunned, and nodded his head, then turned his gaze to my sobbing wife. Zac and Watts both waited quietly while I calmed Jess down once again. Her breathing was almost normal again and she pulled slightly away from me. "I'm alright now.." she whispered and wiped her eyes. She slowly turned to Zac and her eyes filled up again. "Zac.." she choked, "I'm sorry..are you okay? I'm sorry..." "Jess, it's alright. I shouldn't have.." he looked at me, at a loss. He still had no idea. Tears streamed down Jessie's face and Wattley was close to tears. "I'd never hurt you on purpose, Zac..." Jess whispered. "Aww Jess..it's okay. I know that." he said and hugged her. She hugged him back and sobbed into his neck for a minute, then pulled away. "Are you sure you're okay? I don't even know what I did..." she choked as she looked up at him. I took Watts aside and told her why Jess reacted the way she did, quickly, and told her that Jess had almost done the same thing to me when I came up behind her. Wattley's eyes widened and then she was angry. "What is it with those morons? Jess wouldn't hurt a fly.." she walked quickly over to Zac and Jess. Jess was busy checking out Zac's arm while he protested, saying he was fine, that she really didn't hurt him. |
| "You just surprised me, I woulda had ya.." he grinned, trying to cheer her up. "Oh shut up and humor me, you geek. I feel awful.." she snapped, then grinned up at him. "Fine." he sighed and rolled his eyes. When she was satisfied that he really was alright, Watts opened the door of the truck and jumped in, motioning for Jess to hop in with her. Jess joined her and I leaned back against Jessie's car, which Zac had been driving while we were away. I ran my hand through my hair and looked back toward the house. "What the hell was that all about? I always mess with her like that." he asked me. I sighed and told him about Alex. "It's still fresh in her mind now, until Jake and I get rid of him. Just don't sneak up on her, man. God! She was talking about nightmares that lasted years, begging for self defense classes, karate and shit like that, when she was still in grade school, so she could protect herself. She had a fucking paper route to pay for them..." I sighed again. "Damn." was all Zac managed to say as he shook his head. "Yeah.." We both looked toward the truck and saw the girls hugging. They pulled apart and Jessie wiped her eyes again. I looked at my brother and ran my hand through my hair again. "I have to get her home, man. She's gotta be exhausted." We made our way to the truck together and Zac tapped on the window cautiously before he opened the door. "Ready babe?" he asked Watts, who sniffled once and nodded. "Call me tomorrow Jess." she said and hugged her again. "Kay." Jess replied and turned to Zac, as Watts got out of the truck on my side. "I'm really sorry Zac." she told him and grabbed his hand. "I'm okay, Jess. Don't worry about it." he smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "But we still have a rematch scheduled after the baby's born? Right?" he grinned mischeviously. "You geek! If you think you have somehing to prove.." she giggled. "Yeah..gotta prove I can take ya.." he puffed out his chest and pounded on it like an ape. Both girls groaned and rolled their eyes at the same time, making me chuckle. |
| TAYLOR: "Come on, Mighty Joe Young.." Watts giggled and tugged him by the hand. Jess and I both laughed as he trailed behind her, making gorilla noises and beating on his chest with his other fist. Zac was good for comic relief at least. "Ready to go home?" I asked her and took her hand. She nodded and scooted closer to me, laying her head on my shoulder. I kissed the top of her head and started the truck. Dave jumped in his car and went into our driveway ahead of us. He and another one of the security people took a quick look around the outside of the house, then gave us the all clear signal. I got out of the truck, then ran around to help Jess out. I put my arm around her waist as we walked to our front door, only letting go to unlock it and let us both into the house. I switched on the light as she kicked off her shoes and padded barefoot to the kitchen. I followed her in and leaned against the counter, watching her move shakily to open the fridge, pull out a bottled water and close it again. She tried to unscrew the cap, but her hands were shaking and she swore in frustration. I went to her and took it gently from her hand. "I'll get it.." I said and unscrewed the cap, handing it back to her. "You're shaking Jess. Maybe you need to eat something." She shook her head, leaned against the counter and took a long drink of water. She set the bottle on the counter and folded her arms across her chest, then looked into my eyes. "What's the matter, baby?" I asked and stood directly in front of her. I uncrossed her arms and pulled them around my waist, then let mine rest on her shoulders. She shook her head silently again and then rested her forehead in the center of my chest. I stroked her hair with both my hands, then tilted her head back, to look up at me. "I love you, Taylor." she stated softly as I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand. "I love you, Jess." I replied and kissed her sweet, soft lips. |
| TAYLOR: "And.." I grinned down at her, "My dad is making sure that I don't have to leave right away. It's only one extra day, but.." "TAY!" her eyes widened, "But your schedule..you won't have to.." I put my fingers to her lips and smiled down at her. "Any more than one day and we would have to reschedule everything. I'll still be home when we originally planned baby. And you can always fly to meet me when it gets to be too much. I WANT you to." I told her. "Tay.. " she paused and slipped her arms up around my neck, "I'm glad you don't have to run off right away. I'm gonna miss you like crazy. Especially after getting to be with you so much this week...I never thanked you. That trip was perfect, I wish we could go back tomorrow." she sighed. "I know baby. So do I." I agreed. "Thank you, Taylor." she said, her fingers twirling in the ends of my hair. "For what?" I smiled. "Being you. I love you." she kissed my neck and laid her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes. "I love you, too, Jessie. And I AM gonna miss you so much." I told her, stroking her hair back. "Ready for bed baby? You look exhausted..." I asked. "I'm not tired. But let's go up anyway, I just want you to hold me." "Gladly." I kissed the top of her head before I unwrapped myself from her. She recapped her water and set it in the fridge, then followed me out of the kitchen, switching off the light. She picked up her shoes as she made her way to the stairs, and I switched off that light as well. I followed her up the stairs in the darkness, able to see the outline of her perfect body in the moonlight that shone through the sheer drapes in our bedroom. She reached for the light switch, but I put out my hand to stop her. She turned to me and dropped her shoes on the floor, next to her dresser. I reached out and strung a lock of her hair through my fingers, then slowly removed her overshirt and traced the outline of her shoulders with my fingertips. I kissed her lips softly, then stepped around her and pulled the drapes open, letting more moonlight stream through the windows across our bed. I yanked the covers back and then pulled her by the hand, toward the bed. |