*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 12

Restless Emotions

Jack looked up, "What?!"

"Cory's captured him!"

"Is he gonna kill him?"

Johnny looked stressed, "I don't think he will yet, but we've got to move!!"

Jack tried to move his arm, but no matter how carefully he did, he felt pain. Ania gently held his arm up to help him move around, "Johnny, I'll call Crystal and ask her to take you back again. Ania, Kim, and I will take the train."

"Wait! I'm coming too!" They all looked over to see Lisa Syang enter the room, "I'll help in any way I can. Even if I am only there to tell Melodie what's going on."

Melodie sighed, "Thank you, Lisa. I don't know where I'd be without you. What with the kids sick and all..."

"Melodie, I'd be banished from this island if it hadn't been for you. I owe you my life. This is the least I can do." Lisa smiled at her.

The doctor came up close to Jack, whispering in his ear, "Say Jack, when this is over, could you bring Crystal by? I want to see what it is that makes you able to talk to her."

Jack smiled, "You and Bill both!" He realized what he'd said, "What the--who's Bill?" The doctor looked at him questioningly, but left it alone. Jack shrugged it off and contacted Crystal, "Crystal, could you take Johnny back to that spot?"

"Why?"

"Something's come up, and you're the fastest way back. Please? I promise to find you lots of sugar later if you do."

"Sugar?!" There was an excited chirp outside the office, then Crystal's head as she pranced back and forth, waiting impatiently for Johnny to come out. Johnny nodded and left them.

Jack winced as more pain lanced through his arm, "Well, we'd better get moving. C'mon, let's go."

Kim nervously stared out the window of the train, "I hope Johnny knows what he's doing..." The last time he'd done something like this, they'd banished him from the island. Since he would have to reveal himself to stop this second time, she was sure the punishment would be much worse.

"Kim, he'll be alright."

She glanced over at Lisa, who had become a close friend in the few short days they'd been together. Kim shivered, "But he's not even supposed to be here. What if they kill him for returning?"

"They won't. We won't let them." Lisa put a hand on Kim's shoulder, "Calm down. Go get some rest." Lisa reached over to Maik, who was crawling across Ania's lap, and gave him to Kim, "Both of you should get some sleep. I'll come wake you if something happens, okay?"

"Okay..." Kim took Maik from Lisa and went to the bed cars, "I hope she's right. Johnny isn't as fit as he used to be. He might not have the energy to keep going..."

Ania watched Kim leave, "Jack, should we do something?"

Jack put his unhurt arm on her lap, "No, Lisa's right. Let Kim get some sleep. We should probably get some too."

"Jack?" She stopped him from rising any further, "Be careful."

"I'll be careful, Ania." He smiled, "If I'm not, my arm will remind me in a heartbeat. C'mon." He started walking to the bed cars as well.

Ania followed him, wincing every time his arm looked like it was going to hit something. He managed to avoid each obstacle, heading down to the cars that had the big beds. He needed the room for his arm. They each took a seperate bed, closing the curtains and trying to get some rest. Ania did her best, but she could not sleep, "Jack?"

"What is it, Ania?"

"I can't sleep. I can't calm myself down enough."

"Well...umm..."

"Can I get in bed with you? I sleep better when I have something to cuddle." She smiled to herself, "I never did get over not having a stuffed toy to sleep with. Back at Lisa's hotel, I slept with the extra pillow tucked in my arm."

"Why not use that again?"

"My bed doesn't have an extra pillow. I can't take one from another bed; they'll get angry at me!"

"Er....okay...I guess you can if you really need to..." Ania could tell by the sound of his voice how nervous he sounded. When she came over to his bed, he was trying to hide a blushing face beneath his pillow. Jack scooted over to the side of the bed and let her in, "Here..."

She smiled and hopped in with him. He scooted over more, still blushing, "Jack?"

"Yeah?" His voice shook.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

She fell asleep right away.

Jack struggled not to look at her. She was way too close as it was! He could feel himself heat up, just thinking about her being this close made him sweat! Suddenly, all the heat that had been building inside him centered between his legs. Something stiffened. Jack jerked in surprise when he noticed his clothes had vanished, "Augh! Where'd they go?!!!!!" He desperately wanted his clothes back. He wasn't sure he could control himself otherwise. Just like that, they appeared, back on him. He sighed and tried to scoot further away, but he'd run out of bed, and Ania's arms were wrapped around him. She was smiling in her sleep, happy and content. Jack forced his gaze away again, "Damn it, why did I say yes?! She's so close to me...My clothes!" His clothes had decided to vanish again. No matter how hard he wished it or wanted it, they didn't come back this time. He gulped and turned away from Ania. It just made him think about her more, "This isn't working! Ania can't be this close!!!!!!!!!" He started to pull himself out of her embrace. He'd move to the bed she'd left, and go to sleep there.

Ania, stirred as he got out, hugging him tighter and sighing as she went back to sleep. Jack tried to pry her loose, but her grip was too strong for his one hand. He gulped and turned to her, "Ania? Ania, wake up."

She stirred a little and yawned, "What is it Jack?"

"Ania, I can't do this. With you here, I can't sleep. I'm really sorry, but could you go back to your bed?"

"Hmm? Jack, your clothes!!!!!!!" She gasped and flew out of the bed.

"I'm sorry. I litterally can't control myself around you. My clothes vanished after you fell asleep!"

She snorted, "Like I'm going to believe that!"

"But it's true! It goes along with the talking to animals and hearing your thoughts! You have to believe me!" He pointed to his cast, "How the hell am I supposed to take my shirt off by myself ?!! I'm being completely honest here! Please, you got to believe me!"

"Then why did you let your clothes stay off?!"

"I tried to make them come back, but with you right by me, it wouldn't work! Please Ania, I swear I am not making this up..." His voice trailed off. She was looking at him in such an odd way...

"I don't know what to think about you any more."

"You don't know?! I haven't known since this whole thing started at Don's house!! Ania, really; I never meant to do that to you..."

"Do what?"

"You were so scared...I hate myself when I scare others. I feel like some kind of monster...Ania, I'm so sorry."

"Are you really? At first you wouldn't let me come near you, then you agree to let me use you as my stiffed toy, and now you're on the verge of trying to rape me! What am I supposed to believe here?!!"

"Ania, I wish I could tell you. I have no idea myself. If there's any way to make it up to you, name it and I'll do it. Please Ania, don't get mad at me...I've been trying so hard not to do that since we first met, but you kept making it so hard. I--I--we should never have met."

"Don't you dare say that. I've never seen someone like you before, so full of differences that you tend to contradict yourself. You saved my life, became my friend, and then nearly rape me. I know I should be angry at you--damn it, I should be furious! But I'm not...you're so gentle, so afraid of yourself, that there's no possible way you could have, but the look I saw in your eyes...you confuse me, Jack."

"I confuse myself too. I can't help this! I wish I knew why I was so much of a freak!" Jack laid his head in his hands, holding back the tears as well as he could. His voice broke up as he kept talking, "I never want to hurt others, but--but it--it always seems to happen around me. This time it happened to me. I--I can't stand it anymore!!!!!!" His tears threatened to overwhelm him. He felt Ania's hand on his back, "Oh damn no." The unclean thoughts came back ten-fold. He could do it, right there, everything would be easy, "Stop it!" He thought to himself. He would kill himself before he raped someone. It seemed highly important to keep that promise, "I will not take her. I'd never live with myself again! I can't! I can't, I won't!!!!!!!"

"Jack?" Ania called his name, forcing those unwanted thoughts to come back.

"Ania, please. Stop before I really do rape you! I--Ania, what are you doing?!!!"

Ania had sat down by him on the bed. She took his hand in hers, "I know I can trust you now." "Ania--Ania, stop!!!!" She gently pushed him down. He could feel her so close to him, "Ania...wait..." She slowly laid down by him. He could see what she was doing, "Ania, you can't--"

Ania put a hand on his mouth to make him stop talking, "Yes you can. I'll allow it."

Jack shook with the effort of holding himself back, "Damn it, why did she say that?!!! I can't--no!!!!!" His gaze was glued to her as his hand started to slide up her shirt. She didn't flinch in the least. Encouraged by her lack of fear, he carefully started pulling the shirt off. His broken arm reminded him to be careful with a sharp pain, but it went away as he concentrated on Ania. Soon she had nothing on, looking more and more desirable as he watched her. ania slipped under the covers with him, deliberately rubbing her hips against his as she 'found' a comfortable position. He couldn't hold himself any longer...