I need you

Hope

"Alright, alright!" he muttered to himself as he pulled himself up, half asleep, out of his beloved armchair and made his way to the front door. Who on earth could be there at this time of night? He opened it with a wrench and opened his mouth to speak. When he saw her standing there, he bit back on the grumpy retort he had been about to deliver. "Jac! What on earth..."

"I needed to see you," Jac replied quietly. They stood for a few seconds, looking at each other before his senses kicked in. "Come in, come in" he said, stepping to one side and allowing her through the doorway. He gestured towards the sitting room. "Excuse the mess, he added as he followed her, but I don't get that many visitors. Sit down", he added, removing a jacket and set of files from the sofa.

Jac sat down slowly, just balanced on the edge of the sofa.

"So, what did you need to see me about?" he asked genially as he resumed his seat in the armchair. "It must be something important, to drag you out all this way," he added more quietly as he sure the look of uncertainty cross her face.

"I'm sorry," said Jac, beginning to stand. The pain in her side hampered her progress, but she took a deep breathe and continued. "It was stupid of me. I'll just go."

He got out of his armchair and came over to her. "You're not going anywhere," he said quietly, putting his arms around her and wrapping her into a huge hug. "Not until you tell me why I have just found you on my doorstep." He broke the hug and stepped back to look at her.

Jac looked up and gave him a small smile. "I don't know where to begin Elliott," she said.

Elliott Hope helped her slowly back onto the sofa, arranging cushions behind her before sitting next to her. "How about at the beginning?" he suggested.

Jac fixed him with a sad look for a few moments before lowering her eyes to the floor. "I've made such a mess of things," she began. "I don't know how, but I've let him get close." She closed her eyes. "Too close," she whispered.

Elliott thought for a moment about who she could be talking about. "Fletch?" he asked finally.

"Fletch." Jac replied sadly, then, suddenly shot him a questioning look. "How do you even..." she paused. "Petrenko!" she added. "So, she's been gossiping about me." Jac's eyes began to flare. "Been your little spy, has she?" Jac struggled to stand up. "I should have known," she added with venom.

"Sit down Jac," Elliott said sharply. Jac shot him a puzzled look, but did as she was told. "Sometimes you say the most ridiculous things. No," he continued, silencing Jac as she opened her mouth to speak, "No-one has been gossiping or spying on you. But Frieda is worried about you. Worried enough to tell me. She probably understands the way you think better than anyone," he added. "So, she told me about you. About the shooting, the surgery, the pain. Yes, and about the medication too," he said. "She wants to help you, because she wants to learn from the best, but she's not stupid. Helping you is one thing, but she's not going to let you kill yourself Jac. And she's smart enough to see that there is one person there who you will listen to, who obviously cares about you, and who you care about too. That's how I know about Fletch."

Jac said nothing for a few moments. She stared at the walls of Elliott's sitting room, here eyes flicking across the photographs of his family. They rested on a picture of him and his wife, taken in Switzerland on the day she died. Then she turned to look at Elliott again. "I can't let him be the frog," she said sadly.

"But if you kiss the frog, doesn't he turn into a prince?" Elliott smiled.

"That's not what I meant" replied Jac. Elliott looked puzzled. "It was somethings Valentine said," she added.