It was 5:13 when he pulled up outside. It was 5:21 when he found the courage to get out of the car and walk to the front door. It was 5:24 when he knocked.
"What are you doing here?" Jac demanded as she yanked open the door.
"Oh, so I haven't become invisible. I was getting worried for a while there," he answered sarcastically and there is no humour in his voice. "You don't get to pretend I don't exist, Jac."
"Oh really? I don't get to? And since when have you had any jurisdiction of what I do and do not do?" Jac questioned with wide eyes. "Get inside, the neighbours'll talk."
Fletch wordlessly stepped over the threshold, watched as she locked the door, and followed her through to the kitchen. She stood, leaning against the marble-topped island and glares expectantly at him.
"Whether you want to pretend that Wednesday happened or not, you don't get to cut me out of your life. I don't care what alienated type of entitlement you think you've got, presuming that you can just pretend I don't exist anymore, it's not that easy and I will not make it any easier for you."
"Fletcher, when you became my friend or whatever you are, someone that wanted to listen to my woes and help me out with my daughter and be a shoulder to cry. When you became that, you knew the deal. I told you in that prison of a hospital bed, you are the only one I had yet to scare away and it took me a while, well done for sticking it out as long as you did, it's a testament to your character, but your time is up now."
Jac adopted that patronising nasal tone she usually uses when she is trying to prove someone wrong and she knows she doesn't have the answers. Fletch was not shaken by it, he had heard it a thousand times and he knew it was a defence mechanism.
"You aren't going to scare me away, Jac. I've told you a dozen times, you aren't as scary as you think," Fletch reminded her and it sounded almost like a promise.
He closed the gap between them, just slightly, barely noticeable.
"I think you should leave. I don't want to hurt you, and whether you believe it or not, I am trying to be as kind as possible. Sometimes people just aren't made to be in each other's lives," Jac conceded and the emotion in her voice was hard to hide.
"Jac, you are one of less than fifteen people on this planet that I actually care about and I can ensure you that those people do not get to leave my life without a fight. I am going to let you run away from me just because you're scared I might actually realise you aren't the Ice Queen!" Fletch's admission took Jac aback, she braced herself against the counter and furrowed her brow. He'd accused her of being scared, that was a risky business.
She stared at him with a fire in her eyes that slightly made him want to run from her, but more overwhelmingly made him want to hold her until she realised she didn't have to cast everybody out of her life.
In her head, Jac counted quickly. She had five; Emma, Joseph, Jonny, Jasmine, Fletch. The only people in the world who she gave a damn about. She shoved that to the back of her mind and focused on what was happening right now.
"I'm not scared, Fletcher. Why on Earth would I be scared of what you think you might find out? For some reason, you think that underneath all this-" she gestured loosely at herself "-there's some soft, lovely human being. Well there isn't, Fletch, and you'll only be disappointed when you realise that."
This time, Fletch made no mistake as he stepped into her space and held her head between her palms. Her eyes went wide and she leaned back further into the counter to try and create some space between them.
"Stop lying. You know just as well as I do that there is a heart in there, and I will not let you waste your life away trying to keep up this ridiculous façade when you deserve so much better!" Jac's body relaxed slightly and she looked up to meet his gaze. "You are incredible, and you can't scare people into avoiding you. The people who really want to be in your life will never stop trying, they will always come back, no matter how far you push them away."
Jac's eyes were watery as she recognised the undeniable honesty in his face. Sometimes she wished she couldn't read him so easily. Right now, she wished she could persuade herself that he was lying but she couldn't kid herself.
All he wants to do is kiss her, but he can't take that risk, can't scare her off like that. He has made his move, now he must wait.
Her hand moved up and covered his. A whisper of a smile greeted her lips and she tentatively closed the gap between them, pressed her lips to his.
Fletch took a moment to react. He brushed his fingers against her hairline and kissed back, running his tongue against her lower lip.
It felt desperate, like they had been waiting this moment for so long and it had finally arrived. When they parted, Jac did not run as she had last time, she met his gaze with a sense of certainty and smiled.
"This doesn't mean I'm going to start being nice to your nurses," Jac whispered with a smirk.
She dropped her hand down to her side and leant into his left hand where it held her cheek, thumb stroking her cheekbone. A long, comfortable silence sat between them, broken only when Fletch took a step back, realising how long they had both been standing there.
"I should get back to the kids, get started on dinner, but we'll talk. Tomorrow?" he suggested warmly.
Fletch was sad to leave her, after finally getting her to open up to him if only very slightly. He knew it was for the best though, he couldn't rush this, couldn't rush her, not if he wanted things to work out properly.
At the door, he kissed her on the cheek and headed back to his car with a smile. Things were finally working out, and even Jac had to accept that today could've gone a lot worse.
