Courage

Chapter 30

AN: I like to call this "How Many Times Can Jack and Katherine Interrupt Each Other in One Chapter?"

"No."

"But -"

"No."

"Kath -"

"Jack Kelly!"

Jack was currently leaning on one of the walls of the Lodging House (more heavily than he would ever admit) and giving Katherine his most pleading looks as she stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm -"

"I swear, if you say 'I'm Fine' one more time, I'm going to punch you."

"Yeah? Last time you said that, it turned out pretty great for me."

Katherine glared at him. "You are not selling today. You heard the doctor, you have a concussion -"

"I've had those before."

"Two bruised ribs, one broken one -"

"Those'll fix themselves."

"Strained vocal cords, and more open wounds and bruises than I can count."

"I think that about covers it."

Katherine gave him a pointed look. "You are not fine."

Jack paused for a minute, internally mulling something over in his head before sighing. "I don't like being weak, Ace."

"You are not - "

"I am! Physically. Everything hurts Kath, and I need something to keep myself from thinking about everything or I'll go crazy."

"Going to work is just going to make everything hurt worse, Jack."

"I can't just... God, I hate this." He was muttering to himself, mostly, but it make Katherine all the more concerned.

"Jack..."

"I see him everywhere. Every shadow, footstep, and closed door, he's behind it. I need to get away from him, I need to get out."

Katherine softened and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, making him more compelled to look her in the eyes.

"He isn't here Jack. He's rotting in prison for what he did."

"Yeah. He ain't here but he still is. In my head." Jack grimaced at his own wording. "I sound crazy."

She shook her head. "You don't. It's going to take some time for him to leave, and not just for you. For Crutchie, Davey, and Les too. But even if he never goes away, you know something?"

"Hmm?"

"I'll be here too. I'll be here, and more real than any image of him your mind can come up with."

A grin slowly formed on Jack's face. "For sure?"

"For sure." She nodded. "But I can only do that if you stay here until you no longer have more bruised skin than not."

"I dunno if I'll be able to keep out of trouble for that long, Ace, but I'll try."

"Oh trust me, I'll make sure you manage."

"See, I was thinking I was gonna get in more trouble with you around." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and she scoffed.

"Oh, really?"

He shrugged. "My defenses are down. Don't have as much self control, add that to my head injury, and we make get into some pretty troublesome situations.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You are impossible."

Instead of responding to that, he leaned forward in kissed her, moving in as close as he could - she was one of the things he'd missed the most while he was locked up, after all. Normally, Katherine would have pulled away, they'd never been this close to each other for this long before, especially not in a potentially public place. But the boys weren't here. And she missed Jack. So, she simply grinned into the kissed and secured her arms tighter around his neck.