Jackaby Stories

Call Me Abigail (pt. 3)

A/N Just wanted to say thank you again for reading and I promise to try to make them longer, I know they've been really short!!

"Please," I said quietly. "Let me help you." My employer drew in a breath.

"When I, that is, we, were facing the bone dragon, after Nellie... after it died, you passed out temporarily. Not long, about five minutes or so. The body of the dragon exploded, and in an attempt to keep you out of the blast radius, a few shards might have caught my arm," he let out in a rush. I stepped on the wooden plank that served as a bridge and onto the small island.

"That's all," he concluded.

"That's all? You- I could have died if it weren't for you." I was astounded.

"Well... you probably wouldn't have-" He cut off the rest of his sentence as I threw my arms around his neck. Jackaby stood stock still for a moment, but hugged me back hesitantly with his uninjured arm. He stepped back, but forgetting the size of the rise out of the pond that we currently stood on, stepped into the water. Shocked, he tumbled backwards, landing face up in the water. I stifled a laugh as he sighed wearily, standing slowly, sopping wet.

"Well, good thing I didn't have my coat, now, isn't it?" I couldn't control my laughter any longer and he smiled halfheartedly, brushing a stray clump of algae from his unruly mop of dark hair. Jackaby looked down at his soaked clothes dejectedly, before making for the stairs. I stepped back out of his way, one foot missing the wooden plank. My arms windmilled wildly and I feared I would end up like Jackaby, but he caught my arm in time to save me from impending fate of water. He helped me up and I felt my face growing red. As ever, he was oblivious to that fact. I muttered a thank you and stepped off the plank.

After Jackaby had left, I sat down in a rather lonely corner of slightly overgrown shrubbery, knees tucked up to my chest. This was all my fault... Jackaby had gotten hurt because of me, it was all my fault. If only I was stronger, if I hadn't blacked out, everything would have been fine. He would have been fine. My brain argued against itself, one side saying it was unavoidable and the other yelling, "Guilty!" I wanted to scream.

Footsteps echoed up the stairwell. Not Jenny, then. My unusual employer stuck his head around the corner, hair still wet but with dry clothes.

"Ms. Rook?"

I stayed silent, shrinking into the wall and willing myself to blend in with the cattails. Rather obviously to no avail. Him being Jackaby, he probably traced my aura back to me, and soon my weak cover of plants were pushed away. Jackaby's left arm was bound in crisp white bandages, and I couldn't help myself anymore. Hot tears leaked from the corners of my eyes and I buried my head in my knees.

"Are- are you okay? No, no of course not. Idiot, Jackaby," he said, almost to himself. "Ms. Rook?"

"I'm s- sorry, sir. It's my fault, I'm so sorry," I blurted senselessly. Jackaby looked thoroughly confused.

"Your fault? Ms. Rook, what on Earth are you talking about?" I wanted to get mad at him.

"If I h-hadn't blacked out, y-you wouldn't be hurt... I'm so sorry!" I cursed myself silently. Jackaby said nothing. He sat down behind the barrier of plants, beside me.

"It really isn't. Things happen, you move forward. Life goes on, regardless of how many scars you collect along the way. Two or three won't make a difference to me. One of the first things I said to you was that appearances don't matter," he said quietly, smiling. "I don't care what happens to me, Ms. Rook. My job is to protect others, and I'll do it gladly. Don't blame yourself for the inevitable."

"Th-thank you, sir." I gave a small smile.

"Just Jackaby will do, Ms. Rook."

"Then call me Abigail." Jackaby nodded and stood up. He offered out a hand and I took it, letting myself be pulled to my feet.

"How about we go find a mystery then, Abigail?" he said smoothly.

"I think I'd like that, Jackaby." He didn't let go of my hand.

The End!

A/N So that's it! First story finished. Sorry again for the length my brain isn't working well. Most of this is based off of flash scribbles of random ideas I get at school... hope you enjoyed!

Until tomorrow (hopefully), fellow Jackaby Fans!