Disclaimer: don�t own characters but still playing Jack hadn�t been here since he was a kid, and even then the visits were rare and short lived. His Aunt, on his Mother�s side, owned the house. Somehow along the line his cousin inherited the place and being the asshole that he is left it to get into disrepair. Still it was hardly much of a battle to get the keys from him and permission to do what he pleased whilst staying there. The drive up wasn�t much fun, the roads were different to how he remembered and the weather that had started to dissipate in the city was now looming overhead. The new bike handled differently and slid a little, more than once he wished he�d taken Lennie up on the offer of borrowing his car. Yet somehow he made it here alive, at two in the morning. As per usual the electricity didn�t appear to be on but it was too dark and Jack was far too tired to attempt fixing it so he made do with a candle and dug a few blankets out of the storage cupboard and collapsed into bed. * * Over the past few days he�d found it occupied not only his time but also his mind to make himself useful by undertaking manual labour and doing the odd jobs around the cottage that have obviously been neglected for so long. It had surprisingly turned out to be quite therapeutic. Physically beat every night he would crash out in front of the fire on the worn couch and enjoy the silence of the old house. He had even gotten used to the sounds made by the creaky old shelter and the rattle of the windows. There was a leak from the window in the bedroom and the for the first couple of nights Jack had woken up to find his clothes and the chair he�d placed them on soaking wet. Still at least it had proven a welcome diversion to fix the seal on it, and now of course he didn�t use the bedroom at all preferring the firelight to help ease him to sleep. * * * Nora said she would drive herself, Serena�s offer had been kind but nevertheless it was time alone she needed. Not just time with Jack but time to get her own feelings straight before she had to deal with his. The long drive out of the city in poor weather seemed the perfect opportunity to do just that. * It was Serena of course who�d rung her, two weeks after Christmas; she was just getting back into the flow of work when the call came. Could she meet her for lunch to discuss a case? The case, not surprisingly, turned out to be a missing McCoy. Nora knew where he was, it was on Christmas Eve with one too many Brandy�s under her belt that she made a frantic call to his brother asking for a phone number, an address � anything to pinpoint where he was. What a mistake that was, revealing her feelings for the narcissistic Jack didn�t serve any purpose but to make her feel even smaller in his world than she already did. His brother, not surprisingly, had never even heard they were dating, he knew her only as Jack�s former boss. She hung up ashamed and angry and resolved to let McCoy wallow away in self-pity. So it was with a heavy heart that she agreed to meet Serena, her genuine affection for the girl surpassing her own desire to forget Jack. She ordered only coffee and sat back prepared to listen but unwilling to help. �Surely you must realise it isn�t the same without him.� Serena bit her lip. �He� still the best, he shouldn�t throw it away.� �I agree but really it isn�t anything to do with me, no more Serena, I�m not his boss. I don�t think I�m even his friend, we have no ties.� �I don�t mean to be presumptuous but I�d say you do, how can you just walk away?� �You have no idea what went on between the two of us. I can�t keep going back to that, being with him somehow means� it�s private Serena.� She finished her coffee and picked up her purse. �I didn�t mean to pry. I�m sorry I went too far.� �It�s not that, look I�ll pay.� �But I invited you out � I�ll pay.� She placed her hand over the older woman�s; it was surprisingly smooth and warm despite the cold winter weather. �Nora don�t you think if none of this had ever happened, would you still be with him?� �I honestly don�t know, you hope but�But if he really wanted to be with me he wouldn�t have pushed me away. He made his choice Serena, sometimes you just have to deal with that and think about your own well-being for a change.� She squeezed her fingers. �Let�s go for a walk, I need some air.� * The park was virtually deserted and the silence was comforting. Choosing a bench beneath a tree Serena sat and waited for Nora to join her. �Beautiful day, despite the cold.� She said as she made her way to sit down. �Nora, I need to ask you a favour.� �Go ahead.� �Well I have a few days leave to use up and I thought I might use the time to go visit Jack, I was wondering if you have an address. Arthur has no idea and I didn�t know who else to ask, apart from his daughter you�re pretty much the closest person to him.� �I doubt that.� Nora shook her head and stared down at her watch, she really should be getting back to work and she suspected that Serena should be too. �You must just let him be� I think it�s for the best.� �I�m not as na�ve as you think, it�s been two years since I was hauled up for that disciplinary Nora and I�ve learnt plenty since then.� �I�m not saying you haven�t � I didn�t mean to be condescending.� They both gazed out at the view, watching a few children chase each other across the park, making the most of the remaining snow. �The world doesn�t just stop because Jack decides he can�t cope with it.� �I think he knows that.� �Does he?� Nora�s reply was harsh and she turned her head to regard the younger girl. �He can be a selfish son of a bitch at times Serena, believe me I�ve known him for a long time.� Her eyes bore into Nora�s, defensive and ready to fight her corner. �And I�ve worked with him every day for the past three years, I know his moods too! I don�t think ethically we can just let him disappear, surely he deserves more than that.� Her gaze softened. �I want to help him, he�s supported me on so many occasions, its time I returned the favour. One of us should go.� * * * With his back pressed against the wall and his eyes heavy Jack longed for sleep. Each second passed slowly, tumbling through his mind, yet still as tired as he felt he wouldn�t rest anymore tonight. He�d been here a good few weeks now and his plan was to stay as long as he felt necessary. Until he felt better. But that wasn�t coming, was he in fact �ill� or simply being over dramatic? Was it time alone he needed or to be back in the city amongst the thrust and jolt of life? Suffocating in the suburbs or buzzing with the overload of work and commitments, he wasn�t sure which was the better option. But he missed her, he knew that. And he felt bad about how things had ended. The clock only showed 5.15, no time for getting out of bed but it was cold and damp in the bedroom anyway. He planned to work on the fireplace in that room and try to get it in working order again, that would warm it up and dry out the long forgotten carpets. If the weather was fine he�d drive to the village for supplies, coffee was getting low and he couldn�t do without that! One thing about being out here he hadn�t been tempted to drink, not a bottle of Scotch in sight. As the ice had started to melt at least he could be assured of hot water when he woke in the morning, he�d quickly gotten bored with having to boil water for a decent wash. As old and dank as the cottage was he had developed quite an affection for it, the view from the lounge down over the valleys was incredible and each morning he took the time to have breakfast sitting there watching the world wake. * * * In a fit of frustration Nora threw the crumpled map into the backseat. Her car wasn�t built for icy roads and her mind wasn�t built to read maps! Not this morning at least. She�d spent the majority of the previous night trying to find a road that was clearly marked on the map yet not it seems on the signposts she read. After giving up she�d pulled off the road and spent a few unsuccessful hours trying to sleep in the car, by the time the sun had started to rise she had already begun on her journey again and found a tiny roadside diner where she could have breakfast. Over coffee and muffins she found where she was on the map and planned a new route. By lunchtime that too had been abandoned and she decided to rely on the signs on the road, most of which seemed to have took severe battering during the recent weather conditions. How the hell she�d let Serena talk her into this was beyond her, if she dwelt on the fact too long she knew she would turn back and forget all about it. But she did promise her that she would at least come out and talk to Jack, whether it did any good or not was a different matter � she could but try. She put her glasses back on, paid the young man who had filled the gas and set off again, damn Jack McCoy to hell. * * It was gone 3 in the afternoon when she pulled up at the cottage where the local farmer had assured her Jack was staying, �saw him this morning� he proclaimed confidently. Yet when she knocked on the door, and trampled her way around to the French windows at the back of the building she�d found no sign of him. It had started to snow again; she pulled the hood on her coat up and got back into the car. Closing her eyes she decided she would wait an hour at the most, if there was no sign of him she was turning round and going home. * * * His plans for the day had gone astray; a short trip to get supplies had turned into a full day in town. He�d picked up a few books, fresh fruit and vegetables, had lunch in the tiny coffee shop and had two bottles of homemade wine pressed upon him by Mrs. Brown who ran the bakery. If he wasn�t careful soon he�d be a fully-fledged member of the small community. He drove home as the sun was setting and thought over the fact another day had passed, and still he wasn�t any closer to getting that damned fire working. He recognised the car as soon as he pulled up the drive, there was no sign of it�s occupant though and no lights on in the house. He pulled his bike up beside the gate and quietly made his way towards the house, clutching his buys under his arm. As he unlocked the door he turned round and made out Nora�s sleeping figure in the car, head slumped against the windowpane. She didn�t look entirely comfortable which meant she must have been exhausted to sleep like that. And to add to that it was the middle of the week, she�d dropped work in the middle of the week to come here. One thing was for sure, he wasn�t gonna dig his way out of this one easily. Home Review Stories |
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| T h e S u r f a c e part seven |
| by Ms. E |