I'll Come Running

Chapter 51

A couple days had passed and Jessie and Rafe were finally making it back to OBX. Both of them were in an argument about who was more excited to see Charlotte. Both of them thought they won.

The last couple of days were spent laughing, hiking, lounging, shopping, eating, and every fun thing in between. After Rafe and Jessie's heart to heart the first morning they were there, it was decided then on what they would and would not do. Even though a small part of Jessie wanted to continue to get a little wild just for fun, she listened to Rafe and tried to take their trip as an opportunity to really heal instead of continuing to put a bandaid over a bullet hole. Rafe was glad she decided to do so, for his daughter, but also because he of course was terrified that he was going to slip back into his old ways. If he was completely honest, he felt terrible for giving in that night, and was fighting his own demons in his head about that. But he had to convince himself just like he did Jessie... they're moving forward, together.

"Who do you think she's gonna run up to first?" Jessie asked with a stupid grin on her face as she lay piled up in the passenger seat of Rafe's truck. They were only a few minutes out and if Jessie's nonstop yapping about coming home wasn't enough to show her excitement, that question sure was. Rafe just laughed and kept looking at the road, trying not to show the clear annoyance he had with her questions. He knew she was excited, and he was too... but damn.

"I don't know babe." Rafe answered plainly through a half smile. Jessie disregarded his dismissiveness and looked out the window with a smile.

"I can't wait to see her." Jessie replied, still looking at the country road and the trees passing by in a blur. Jessie then realized that Rafe was going pretty fast, maybe he really was just as anxious to get home as she was.

"I know." Rafe joked as he looked over at Jessie for a fleeting moment. Jessie then could tell that she probably needed to shut up. Although she stopped talking, Rafe couldn't help but notice her uncontrollable fidgeting from excitement. He loved when she got giddy, it was few and far between for the girl that centered her life around being calm cool and collected.

Rafe put a little more pressure on the gas as he set his strong hand over Jessie's twitching leg. He hoped it would calm her down, and of course it did. The truth is, Rafe was just as ready to be home as Jessie was. However, his anxiousness stemmed less from excitement and more of needing to know that his daughter was okay. He wondered if she cried herself to sleep while they were gone because her mommy and daddy weren't there. He wondered if JJ let her get hurt. He wondered if JJ kissed her booboos like her parents always did when she scrapped her knee or bumped her head. He wondered if she had eaten well. He wondered if the Pogues kept her entertained. He just had to know she was happy and healthy more than anything.

The couple finally pulled into the driveway of the Chateau. Before Rafe could throw the truck in park Jessie was already unbuckled. They must have heard Rafe's truck pull in the driveway because he wasn't even half way there yet and he could see the porch door swing open and clash against the side of the house with fury as he watched his toddler come barreling out. God, how did she look older already? He hadn't been a dad for long, yet he felt like every day he wasn't with her was a day she had grown up so much and he had missed it. Every time he blinked it seemed like he'd open his eyes and she'd be even less little.

Rafe finally put the truck in park and Jessie flew out of the passenger side and ran across the yard to her daughter. Rafe was honestly surprised she even waited until he stopped. Nonetheless, he laughed at his excited wife as he stepped out of the truck himself to hear one of his favorite voices.

"MOMMYYYYYYYY!" Charley screamed from the top of her lungs with excitement. He heard both of his girls laugh as Jessie reached down to accept the impending hug, which quickly turned into a football tackle. Jessie withstood the blow as she stood up and spun her daughter around.