Jack and Isla

FOUR

Jack couldn't sleep. It was nearly 1am and even though it felt like he had spent nearly half the year sleeping his cab, this was the first time he could not get comfortable. It felt empty, alone and cold in there. All the events of the last few days kept playing over in his head.

From getting out and helping her out the cab as an excuse to try and get a better look at who he had picked up, the person whose scent was still lingering in his cabin now. Watching from his cab when Isla came out looking like she was going to cry when she was told about the buses and being potentially stuck. He already knew there would be none running, but did not want to seem pushy when offering a lift again. The unexpected feeling of wanting to go over and comfort her when she seemed upset, but fear of freaking her out.

The gut feeling of dread when he saw the two thugs get out of the car and follow her. He immediately felt sick at the thought of what they were thinking. He knew he hadn't needed to think about what he was doing when he grabbed his gun from under his seat and marched in. All he could think about was getting to her and getting her and the boys out of there. A primal need to protect her surging to his mind, without a care of the consequences.

He had the same sick feeling, when he held her hand and realised that it was not from a fall, but it had been crushed and that someone has potentially done that to her, but for some reason she was hiding it. And then Brad telling her that she is safe now when he tucked her in.

And Frank was right, she was beautiful and he had noticed. But what was this he was feeling? He had been in the company of good looking women before. He always made sure he never wasted his time when he was on leave and he had spent a healthy amount of time with women, but he had never had this feeling and he hadn't even slept with her. This feeling was coming from somewhere deeper inside him. Something that made him do irrational things and made him feel protective.

He turned over once more, telling himself it's probably nothing as he would probably never see her again once he had dropped her off in Two Rivers. Yes he might live there, but there was no guarantee that she would not move on by the time he got back. He also didn't let on that he lived there as he thought that might have scared her off also.

-x-

It felt like another hour had passed and he still could not sleep. He looked up at the clear sky, all the stars shining as bright as ever. So clear, yet so far, with the emptiness that came with the distance. It was no good. He grabbed his blanket and coat and trudged across the snow to the house. He snuck up the porch and let himself in, closing the door softly behind him.

He could still see the glow coming from the fire in the front room. He took off his boots and stealthily stuck his head around the door. The boys were fast asleep top to toe on the sofa, both snoring their heads off. As he looked at the back of the chair that Isla was in he felt settled and calm again, the cold emptiness ebbing away. He went to turn back out when she shifted in her chair and her blanket fell to the floor.

Jack made his way quietly round to the front of her chair. The gleam from the fire made her look glowing. He delicately moved some strands of hair out of her face. There was a perfect redness in her cheeks and her lips full lips a delicate shade of pink in the flickering light. He went to put the blanket back in place when he noticed her neckline on her top had been twisted, revealing a small section of her lower neck and shoulder. Her shoulder and collarbone were bruised as well, more black that what her hand was.

The part that horrified him the most was the clarity of what made that mark. He has seen plenty of injuries in his time in the Army to know what it looked like when a male sized boot had kicked, or stamped you. He knew how much force you had to be kicked with to leave a bruise that bad, that it left the imprint of the boot sole. Anger flared up inside him, he lowered his head and looked away in anger. He wanted to put his arms around her, hold her and make her tell him who did this, so he could find them. He breathed deep to calm himself down not wanting to wake anyone and risk explaining his unrequired anger, or simply looking like a freak for even standing there looking at them..