Title: Accelerating Pulse
Author: Shades of Hades
Date: August, 2007
A/N: So... this chapter took me forever... I'm sorry. I really struggled with the first two paragraphs, then I got on a roll and... well, I finished the chapter. Yay. (And yes, I do realize that this is in the present-tense and the last chapter was in the past. Just go with it.)

Chapter Two:

When he awoke, I was still by his bedside. I hadn't left since I drugged him here, half-dead and bloody. I had thought that I had lost him. His breath was shallow when I pressed my ear against his chest, and it seemed like no matter what I did, the blood just wouldn't stop flowing.
But now, he was awake, and I was wrapping my arms around him in relief.
“Jack, is that you?” His voice is cracked and wary.
His body feels too thin in my arms, fragile, something I never thought that he could feel like. He was always so strong, and now he is weak and has barely escaped death.
Arms snake around my body, clinging to me with a new found strength.
“You stayed here with me?”
I smile widely at him, trying to keep my tears at bay.
“I thought for sure you were a goner, Charlie. You had no idea how scared I was when I saw all that blood.”
He grins at me, teeth still stained with blood, despite my attempts to get him to drink while he was unconscious.
“YOU were scared?” He gives a soft laugh as he pulls me down towards him, and I let him, careful not to aggravate his wound, my elbows resting on either side of him, holding up my weight, but not pushing myself away from him.
“Charlie?” I ask him softly, my eyes staring at his lips, just inches apart from mine, “do you remember what happened back at the warehouse?”
“Where are we?” He asks me instead, changing the subject, and letting me up.
I sit up on the edge of the bed and stare down at him, trying hard to hide my disappointment at his question.
In the end I give in, just like I always do.
“We're at Tony's. He stitched you up himself. He'll be happy to know you're awake.” I push myself up, and I get up from the bed, moving towards the door, only to stop when I feel his hand tug at my wrist.
“What's wrong?” I ask him as I start to turn around, but I never get an answer because he's pulling me down on top of him and pressing a hard kiss to my lips.
“Charlie?” I ask him softly, enjoying the feel of his breath against my skin.
“I'm sorry for making you worry, Jack,” he says with a soft sparkle in his eyes as his lips touch mine again, spirit obviously renewed as I smile back at him.
My lips move against his despite myself and the awkward position I have found myself in, opening my mouth just enough to let him teasingly swept his tongue across my bottom lip. My head is reeling as I push my tongue against his, my taste buds tingling at the tint of metallic blood present, wondering why I was letting him do this to me.
Maybe it was because I feel guilty that he had almost died. Or maybe there is another reason completely, one I am unable to face at the moment as I lick at his mouth, desperately trying to taste more of him.
“Daddy? Are you still in here?” There is a soft voice at the door, as it creaks open, and I pull out of the kiss quickly.
“Yes, sweetie,” I answer back, trying my hardest not to look guilty, despite the fact that I know my lips glisten with evidence of his kiss, and my breath is coming in short gasps.
The brunet girl smiles widely past me at the bed, her eyes lighting up like they so often do when she's excited.
“Charlie! You're awake!” She says, as I push myself off the bed so that she can see him.
“Just woke up actually,” he tells her with one of his charming grins as the young woman wraps her arms around him.
I feel a certain awkwardness as I watch them, so easy going as Charlie pecks her on the cheek and she hugs him close.
I suppose I should be angry at him. A normal father would be if some man was touching his daughter. Especially with what I know of Charlie and the way he treats women, as well as the fact that the age gap between them is much less then that between Charlie and myself, I should be furious. Maybe my lack of anger is because Charlie... Well... I wasn't quite sure I was ready to accept what I might really think of Charlie.
Rather than the anger I know I should be feeling, as I watch their embrace, instead, jealousy washes over me. I scowl deeply at the uneasy feeling, willing for it to go away and terribly disappointed when it doesn't.
“We thought you'd never wake up,” she tells him, her voice thick with relief.
“If you're dad wasn't there, I might not have,” Charlie says to her as his eyes lock with mine.
I unconsciously lick my lips as I tear my gaze away from his, cheeks burning red, my sense of jealousy gone as my lips tingle with the memory of his lips against mine.
“I'm going to talk to Tony,” I tell them both, exiting the room before either of them can protest, then quickly close the door behind me.
I didn't actually want to find Tony. More than anything, now that I know Charlie is alright, I just want to be alone. I was so afraid that if I left his side, even for an instant, he would never wake up and that it would be my fault. I already feel like this was my fault despite the fact that Charlie had been the one that was so adamant about going on that business venture.
I let myself slide down the wall just outside the guest bedroom, the back of my head connecting with the wall in a satisfying 'thump', as my eyes fall close.
“Jack? You okay?”
I crack one eye open to look at the concerned man standing over me.
“I'm fine, Tony,” I lie smoothly, “and so is Charlie. In fact, he's awake.”
Tony glances up at the room, his handsome features still filled with concern, though whether it is for me or Charlie, I don't know.
“I'll go and take a look at him, but you need to take care of yourself, Jack. Go and get some rest in my room, you look like you could really use it.”
“Tell me about it,” I say with a snort of laughter and push myself to my feet, leaning hard into the wall. I'm not sure if I can really trust my legs to hold me up after all that has happened in such a short time. I was so tense with worry, that I had hardly noticed how tired I am, and now it is catching up with me quickly as my eyes droop and my limbs feel heavy with exhaustion.
“Daddy, are you alright?” Sophie asks me as she slides her arm around my waist.
I lean against her, forcing my legs to move forward towards Tony's room. “I'm just tired,” I tell her as she leads me towards the bed.
I fall into it in a heap and she gently takes off my shoes and pulls the blankets over me.
“It's alright, Daddy, Charlie's safe now,” She whispers in a soothing voice, her soft hands brushing back the hair that has stuck against my forehead, fingertips tracing a deep crease as she does.
My eyes close as I relax and I smile softly at her.
Trust my daughter to see right through me. She's always been able to read me like an open book.
“I know you're concerned about him, but if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be in any better shape than him,” Sophie lectures me, and I just lay there, gently drifting off to sleep to her soothing voice.

------

When I wake up, Tony is standing over me, his hand on my forehead, concern on his features.
“I was worried you might be running a fever,” he explains as he pulls back his hand.
“How's Charlie?” I ask him immediately as I push myself into an upright position so I can talk more easily.
He just smiles at me in response and stands up.
“I'll go get him and tell him you're awake. He's in pain, but he told me he refuses to just lay in bed all day. I just don't know what to do with that man,” Tony says with a sigh. “Honestly, I think he's the worst patient I've ever had.”
I give a light laugh before I respond, “Yep, that sounds like Charlie all right. Just can't keep him down, no matter how much ya try. It's all that youthful energy of his.”
Tony chuckles softly and says, “What I wouldn't give to have that again.”
“You and me both, my friend,” I tell him as I push back the covers on the bed.
He is gone from the room only moments, before Charlie is pushing the door open, charming grin across his face as he looks right at me.
“I'm glad ya didn't get yourself sick over worryin' about me,” he says as he lets the door shut quietly behind him and walks towards the bed. “Sophie told me you've been wide awake since ya brought me back, watchin' over me.”
The edge of the bed dips as he sits down next to me and slides his arm around my waist.
Unconsciously, I let myself lean into him, my head falling comfortably against his shoulder.
“Do you really think they could have killed me that easily, Jack?” he asks as his lips press gentle kisses against my forehead.
“Ya seemed pretty confident that you were a goner yourself, considerin' ya kissed me,” I said with a smile.
He just gives a short laugh.
“Yea, I did kinda fear that that might have been the end of me, there. I guess death gives people crazy ideas though,” he swoops down and kisses my lips before he continues, “I was still scared that even in death, that might have been an awfully stupid thing to do.”
I stare at him for a moment as his lips brush against mine again, trying to push them apart with a soft nudge of tongue.
Gone was the confident air that I have always seen around Charlie, and for the first time, I see him as a scared boy, afraid of death and rejection, just like everyone else.
Charlie had never been that way to me. I have always seen him as an unflappable person, whom, even in the craziest of situations, could grin at me with the confidence of a rock, and I could never once doubt his abilities. That's why I have aways followed him, despite myself and my common sense, because his absolute confidence has always lent me the courage I needed. I had never once thought, that maybe, it was just an act, because to me, Charlie was always everything I lacked. He was the perfect being.
But in reality, Charlie was human too.
That thought shocks me as I open my mouth to him, letting him know that even if I can't tell him what he wants to hear, his actions are far from foolish.
He seems to understand as he pushes me back on the bed with vigor, his kisses becoming much more heated as his fingers smoothly unbutton my shirt.
My eyes widen as he tries to push it off my shoulders, and I break our kiss with a scowl.
He just stares at me with hurt in his eyes.
“You're injured,” I tell him, letting my hand fall to his hip, just beside to his wound. “I could never forgive myself if I hurt you again, no matter what the situation.”
He doesn't respond for a moment, just looks at me with his green eyes sparkling and that charming grin spread neatly across his lips. “You were always the kind-hearted one,” he says has he wraps his arms around me and pushes me back to the soft sheets.
We just lay there for a long while, his face buried in the crook of my neck, his lips pressing soft kisses against my flesh, and my arms tight around him.
“Charlie?” I finally ask after long moments of silence.
“Hn?” He answers back, the sound vibrating through his whole body.
“I don't think this city is safe for us anymore,” I tell him simply.
His arms tighten around me before he answers, “I know, we're lucky we haven't already been bumped off. I bet half the hooligans in this city must be looking for us.”
“What do you think we should do?” My throat constricts around the words as I ask them, fear rising up in my belly.
“There's only one thing we can do,” he tells me quietly. “Leave.”