Comfort Food
an Alias story
by Meg
Part I: Colombian Coffee and Tea Jack came home from a mission to Colombia cold, sore, wet, and sick. He had let himself in the middle of the night and wanted to go straight to sleep. He didn't want to talk, didn't want to answer any questions, but Irina always wanting to seem the "concerned wife" had prodded him into telling her what had happened on his mission.
"No, Laura, I don't want to talk about it. I just want to sleep," he said, hanging his jacket in the closet.
"Please, Jack, let's talk. It'll make you feel better."
"Ahh- Chishoo! sniff No, The only thing that'll bake be feel better right now is sleep...sniff"
"My poor, sick Jack." Laura said, rubbing his back as he sat down on the bed and removed his shoes and socks.
He got up from the bed and went to the closet to get a clean, dry shirt out. Laura got up as well and followed him into the bathroom where he hung up his wet dress shirt over the shower to dry.
"Jack, I'm just worried about you is all." She said soothingly as she began to rub his, now bare, back again.
"Laura, I'm fine." He looked at her as he took her hands in his and kissed them; then he turned his head to the side and coughed.
"Jack, you're sick. You get dry and changed for bed and I'll make you a cup of tea. It'll help your congestion."
"Fine."
"Good. You get ready, honey." She reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "You're warm. Are you sure you're all right?"
"Laura, I'm fine, I can take care of myself. In fact, that's what I've been doing for the past few days on by mission...So you know I am quite capable of...of..." she could hear his breath hitch and knew that a sneeze was coming. "Ehh-Choo!" His eyelids remained shut, in concentration, "Ehh-Katchoo!"
While all this was going on, Laura quickly went over to the nightstand and retrieved a Kleenex. "Here, honey, blow." She held the Kleenex out for him. He gratefully took it from her; embarrassed at the state he was in. He turned away from her to clean up. "Jack? Jack...look at me." She said after a few moments of silence. She put her hand on his shoulder making him turn to face her. His face was pale except for the pinkness that was beginning to darken under his nose.
This was not how he wanted to be seen and he tried to turn around again but Laura held him by the shoulders, straightened him, and made him look her in the eye. "Jacky, it's okay. Don't worry about it. You don't have to be embarrassed in front of me...I'm your wife." At one time a statement like that would have rung funny in her ears, but now the words flowed easily and without thought.
He sniffled and nodded, "I guess you're right."
"I know I am." She looked him over, "Oh, honey, what happened? You're bleeding!"
"What, this? Nothing," he quickly tried to cover the bandaged gash on his side with his hand.
"It doesn't look like nothing. Here, let me see," she gently removed his hand.
"It's nothing, the medics took care of it," he winced as she touched and removed the bloody gauze.
"Well they didn't do a very good job. Let me change those bandages for you." She got up and went to the bathroom.
"It's just a minor flesh wound," he called.
"You were stabbed, weren't you?" She asked emerging from the bathroom with clean supplies in her hand.
"It's--"
"If you're going to say 'it's nothing' one more time, save your breath." She shook the bottle of antiseptic liquid and poured some on a cotton ball then proceeded to clean the cut. One of the requirements of the KGB was that their agents have basic medical training; Irina could identify a serious wound when she saw one. "Hold on, this is going to sting," she said as she heard Jack grunt in pain. "That cut is pretty deep. You're probably going to have a scar."
"Nothing I'm not used to. Just another for the collection."
Once she had cleaned and bandaged the wound again she collected up the supplies and returned them to the medicine cabinet. "You're brave, honey," she said as she watched Jack put on a clean shirt.
"Oh, gee, thanks. Lo- heh-Ehishhooo!" He sniffed, "Love you, too."
"I didn't say anything about loving you," She smirked.
"So you don't love me then?" He smirked back, trying to look offended.
"I didn't say that either."
"Oh, so you do love me."
"Hmm...We'll see," She laughed. "Now, are you going to rest or am I going to have to strap you to the bed?"
"Whoa, kinky..."
"You're dirty."
"Oh, yeah, right." He flopped down on the bed. "I'll take some tea now, please."
"You'll have to wait a while; I can't make it magically appear." She opened the bedroom door.
"You can't? Damn."
"You don't seem so sick anymore...maybe you don't need me to take care of you," She said closing the door again.
"No, no. I definitely want you." He coughed harshly for effect, "And some tea..." he added quickly under his breath.
"I thought so." She said leaving the room.
When the tea was done she brought to mugs of it back to the bedroom. Jack was under the blankets but propped up against a few pillows reading some paperwork.
"Don't tell me you're working."
"No, not anymore," he put the papers down on the nightstand and took the mug she held out to him.
"So, let's try this again." She sat down next to him and took a sip from her own mug. How was your trip?"
"You tell me," he brought the mug up to his face and breathed in the steam then sighed. "I spent nine hours in the humid, wet rainforest with Jim praying not to get ambushed by the drug lords we were staking out."
"I'm sorry, Jacky. How did you get hurt then?"
"Well, when we finally went in everything unfortunately went to hell and in all the commotion and chaos...Well, accidents happen."
"Ouch. Well, you're home, safe with me now." She sat her mug down on the table and snuggled next to him. "Oh, before I forget, I have a conference tomorrow--this afternoon so could you watch Sydney?" She asked, remembering what time it was.
"You know I have work," he yawned and closed his eyes while protectively wrapping an arm around Laura's shoulders.
"Honey, you just came home. You're tired, and sick. I don't want you working tomorrow. I'm going to call Arvin and tell him you're not coming in." She reached over to the phone sitting on the table next to her.
He opened his eyes and scrambled to catch her hand picking up the receiver, "No, don't. I'll take care of it and I'll watch Sydney. But I have to go in for a while in the morning for a debriefing, if that's all right with you?"
"Hmm...I guess so. I mean if you really have to." She placed the receiver back in the cradle and kissed him on the cheek.
"Yeah, I have to." He kissed her back then pushed the covers back as he got up and went to his suitcase lying on the floor. "I remembered, I got you something." He dug around until he came out with a small drawstring burlap sack. "Authentic Colombian coffee beans. You want some in the morning?"
"That sounds great. Now come to bed," she waved him over.
"Okay," he padded back to the bed and lay down.
"I missed you," she cooed as she turned off the lights.
"Missed you, too, he replied with a yawn as he fell asleep.
Part II: Peanut Butter & Jelly Jack awoke the next morning to the smell of coffee, or at least the little he could smell smelled like coffee, brewing in the kitchen downstairs. He slowly rolled over to look at the clock on the nightstand. Six-thirty. Damn. He had only gotten three hours of sleep as his head made him well aware. He groaned and set his feet on the ground in an attempt to will his body to wake up. He quickly took a shower and dressed then went downstairs and met his wife in the kitchen frying eggs. He came up behind her and whispered, "Why didn't you wake me earlier? I thought I was the one who was going to make coffee for you."
"You needed your sleep," she said as she flipped the eggs over with a spatula.
"I needed to get up. My debriefings in an hour and a half," he rubbed his nose at the tickling sensation starting to form.
"You," she faced him and grabbed him around the shoulders," need to have a good breakfast." She guided him towards the table and made sure he was seated before returning to her cooking. After a few minutes of silence, save for the sounds of the eggs sizzling in the pan, she looked over her shoulder to find Jack sniffling into a napkin. "How you feeling, honey?" She asked while setting a plate of food in front of him.
"Huh? Oh, I could be better, I guess."
"Are you sure you still want to go into work when you feel so bad?"
"I think I can handle a couple hours of debrief."
"Poor Jacky," she sat on his lap and ran her fingers through his hair neatly parting it to one side.
"Laura, please! Would you leave my hair alone?" He said moving his hair back into the position it was before. He noticed that she had made a habit of fixing his hair when she was close enough, playing with the curls around his ear or the wave above his forehead. And if he weren't around, she would play with her own hair, often pushing stray locks behind her left ear.
"I'm sorry. But you're just so cute;" she smiled and smoothed his wave back in place so she could kiss his forehead.
"Good God," he sighed and reached across to eat his food. "Could I have some of that coffee now, honey? Please?"
"Fine. If I must," She stood and went to fill his mug with coffee.
"Ehh-Choo! Ahh-Chishoo!"
"Bless you, bless you!" Laura laughed. "Feel better now, honey?"
Jack nodded and took a clean napkin from the holder on the table to blow his nose. "Much."
"Good. Now finish your food." Jack complied and quickly ate his breakfast, not saving time to savor the exotic coffee, before grabbing his things and heading out the door for work.
"Laur, I'm back," Jack said coming in the door and setting his briefcase on the floor.
"Hi, honey. Sorry, I've got to run." Laura quickly planted a kiss on his cheek as she passed him in the hall on her way out the door. "I'll be back in time to make dinner and take care of you."
Jack smiled," What should I do with Sydney?"
"Uh, I don't know. Take her to the park or something. She likes to ride the carousel. I'm sure you can find something to do." She picked up her purse and fished out her keys. "Bye, have fun." She blew him one final kiss and was gone.
He held out his hand and caught the kiss in the air. "Okay, bye." He blew out a sigh as he ventured deeper in the house to find his daughter. "Sydney," he called, "where are you?" As he came in the living room he spotted her sitting on the floor, a Scrabble game spread out before her. "What are you doing, sweetie?"
"Playin' a game," She answered as she looked through the wooden pieces trying to find the letter she wanted.
"You're playing Scrabble?"
"Yes."
"Don't you need other players?"
"No," she said matter-of-fact.
"How you doing?" He crouched down to see the words she had spelled. Looking down, he expected to see simple words like 'cat' and 'dog', but was amazed to see more complex words that weren't normally in a five-year-old's vocabulary. "Bovine. Heiress. Exclusive. Did Mommy help you with these?"
"Only that one." She pointed to 'Sputnik' in the center of the board.
"Hmm. Well, that's very good." He stood and went to sit on the couch. "So, it's just you and me today. What should we do?"
Sydney stopped mid-word and dropped the tiles she was holding. "Can we go to the park?"
"Sure."
"And feed the ducks?"
"Okay."
"Can we have a picnic there?"
"That sounds like a good idea, honey. Why don't you come in the kitchen and help me make sandwiches." Jack opened the breadbox and got out the bread while Sydney searched for the fillings to her sandwich. "What kind of sandwich do you want?"
"Peanut butter and jelly," she said trying to balance a jar of each in her small arms.
"Here." Jack reached down and took them from her then lifted her up and placed her on the counter. Sydney took the jars and unscrewed the lids as Jack picked up a knife lying on the counter. He stuck the knife in the peanut butter and began smearing it on the bread. After, he repeated the same with the jelly.
"You're doing it wrong, Daddy," Sydney complained.
"What? What am I doing wrong?"
"Mommy always puts the jelly on one piece of bread and the peanut butter on the other. Not both on the same piece."
"Oh, well, I'm not your mother. And there is no wrong way to make a sandwich. This way is just different; this is the way Daddy makes them."
"That one can be yours. I want to make my own, the right way."
"Fine." Jack dropped the knife he was using and got out a white plastic one for Sydney. She took the knife and proceeded to make the sandwich the way she liked. "You happy now?"
"Yes," she answered putting the two slices together then cut them diagonally from one corner to the other.
"Good, then put it in the basket here," he instructed holding out the basket for her. "Go get your coat; I'll be there in a minute." He added a couple apples and cups along with a large bottle of juice to the basket before heading to the hall to retrieve his own coat.
Sydney splashed in the puddles that had formed on the sidewalk from the rain that had fallen earlier in the week. "Sydney, you're going to get your shoes soaked," Jack called from behind.
"I don't care, Daddy."
"You'll care when you have to walk home in soggy shoes."
"Okay," Sydney said as she went from jumping in puddles to jumping over the cracks in the cement as they neared the pond in the park. "Daddy, where do the ducks go when it rains?"
"Ducks like the rain, sweetie. They like to play in it like you do. Their feathers are meant to get wet so they like to go for swims when it's raining."
"Oh, but where do the ducks live?"
"They live in the bushes, I suppose." He sat the picnic basket down and set out the blanket so they could sit and eat their lunch. "Sydney, don't play in the dirty pond water until you've eaten your food, okay?" She nodded and came over to sit beside him and eat lunch.
There they sat talking about ducks and rainbows and other curious things that Sydney wanted to know about. When she got to the crust of her bread, Sydney would tear it off and throw it in the water and watch the ducks swim up and eat it. Soon she learned that she could make the ducks dive if she threw the bread far enough away that it had a chance to get saturated and sink before the ducks could eat it.
When she had her fill of feeding the ducks she went off in search of the swings and slides while Jack went in search of a bench close by. "Daddy, Daddy! Watch me go high!" Sydney called when she reached a swing.
"All right, I'm watching." He pulled out a newspaper from his pocket and began reading the front page.
"Daddy, you're not watching!" Sydney yelled.
"Yes I am," he put the paper down for the time being and stood with his arms crossed watching her swing some fifteen feet away. Eventually she got tired of the swings and started in on the slides and monkey bars allowing Jack to go back to his reading.
"Weathers nice, isn't it?" Said a woman who had just seated herself next to him on the bench cradling a baby in her arms.
"Yes, nice and warm." Jack turned to face her before sniffling and tuning his face upward to be heated by the sun. He opened his eyes and frowned when dark clouds began moving in front of the sun.
"Much nicer than the weather we had just a couple of days ago," she said pulling a bottle from the diaper bag she had been carrying and started to feed her baby.
"Hmm..." Jack replied not having been in town for the last six days to make any comparison.
"Is that your little girl over there?" She pointed to Sydney.
"Yes, that's Sydney. I'm Jack, by the way." He extended his hand.
She put the bottle down and took his hand, "I'm Kelly and that's my girl, Candice, playing with your Sydney."
Jack nodded and looked over at the two girls playing together in the sandbox. "So, do you live around here?"
"Yeah, we live just on the backside of this street here, on Quicksilver. What about you?"
"Mmm...We live a couple blocks down on Willowmont."
"Oh, I know where that is. So, Jack, what brings you out here on a Wednesday afternoon? I've never seen you here before."
"My wife usually takes care of Sydney while I'm at work. She had a meeting today so I took some time off to help out."
"Aren't you a dear," she patted him on the shoulder. "My husband, Frank, is a contractor and seems to think of nothing but work sometimes."
"I know people like that," he said buttoning his jacket closer around his neck as a cool breeze began to blow. "Ehhh- Hehschoo!"
"Bless you," Kelly offered with a smile. "Hope you don't have allergies."
"Thanks. No, I've been traveling on planes a lot lately for work. I do so much of it you'd think I would have acquired some immunity but it seems to never fail that...that...I'm sorry," he lifted his arm up and sneezed into it,"Ehh-Kashchoo! Chushoo!" He moved down the bench away from her, not wanting to get her sick as well. It felt strange to Jack that he had opened up like that, to a complete stranger when he was reluctant to do the same with his wife. Probably because I don't live with her nagging, he thought.
"Oh, my. Bless you," she said trying to comfort her baby who had begun to cry.
"Excuse me," Jack groaned as he felt a sharp pang of pain shoot through his side. He reached into his jacket and underneath his shirt to feel the bandage. The bandage was damp; his hand red with wet blood when he looked at it.
"No need. I understand completely," she said, luckily looking down at her baby and not at him.
"I'm sorry, I need to get home," Jack said, quickly sticking his hand back in his jacket so she wouldn't see.
"I see. Well, it's been nice talking to you, Jack," this time she offered him her hand, which Jack took and shook with his free one. "Hope to see you around some time."
"Yeah, you too." He smiled at her and called for his daughter," Sydney! It's time to go!"
"Daddy, I don't wanna. I wanna see where the ducks go at night."
"Now!" He gave a wave to Kelly before taking Sydney's hand and leading her home, one hand still under his shirt applying pressure to the wound.
Part III: Cinnamon Toast "Sydney, Mommy's home!"
"Mommy!" Sydney shouted as she ran to the door and hugged her mother around her legs.
"Shhh...Honey, where's Daddy?"
"Takin' a nap," Sydney pointed to the stairs.
"Okay, have you been a good girl? What have you been doing?" Laura asked handing Sydney a brown paper bag with a loaf of bread in it.
"Yup, I'm a good girl. I've been playin'." Sydney said taking the bag, setting it down on the floor, and looking inside.
"Good. Sydney, could you put the bread away for me please?"
"Yes, Mommy." Sydney frowned, disappointed that there was nothing in the bag for her.
"Then would you go and watch some TV for me for a moment? Be good and quiet?"
"Yes, Mommy."
"That's my good girl." Laura reached down and kissed her daughter on top of her head.
"Jack, honey...are you awake?" Laura called as she approached their bedroom door. She quietly knocked then proceeded to open the door when there was no answer. She walked into the room finding the drapes drawn and a lump under the covers of the bed. "Jack? Are you all right?"
A loud, harsh cough was his reply. Laura was still carrying her purse and dropped it on the chest at the foot of the bed before going over to Jack and lying down next to him. As soon as she was close enough she began to rub his back, rub all the tension away, all the pain. She knew where all the knots were and heard him moan softly at her touch.
"I'm glad that you finally decided to take a rest, Jack." She said soothingly leaning in close to his ear.
"I missed you," he said opening his eyes.
"I missed you, too; but who's watching our daughter while you're up here? Hmm?"
"She's a big girl now, honey, she can take care of herself," he yawned.
"She's five, Jack. I know you're tired but she still needs us; she needs you, her father."
"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I've been feeling rotten and tired lately. I told her to stay in her room in color but I guess that didn't happen."
"It's all right. Nothing happened, she's okay. I just worry is all."
"How was your conference?" He asked sitting up.
"Horrible, as always." She sighed as she stood up and went to the dresser to get a change of clothes. Just then there was a crashing sound from downstairs followed by Sydney's cry. Both Jack and Laura jumped from the sound, Laura dropping the clothes in her hand and rushing downstairs, Jack following behind.
When Laura reached the kitchen she saw Sydney standing on a stool that was pushed up against the counter blowing on her hand. "What happened, sweetie?" Laura asked as she looked at Sydney's hand.
"I was making Daddy cin-min toast. And I got burned." She cried, small tears running down her cheeks.
"You were burned? Oh, no..." She took her daughters hands and kissed them better. "Honey, Daddy and I have told you not to use the toaster without us. It doesn't work right, even for us," she said and smiled at Jack who was standing in the doorway, remembering the "drunken toaster incident" which had happened a few months prior when they were drunk and Jack had started a small fire while trying to make toast. "Isn't that right?"
"Ri-eh-ight," Jack managed to get out. "Ehh-htchhhh!"
"I think you're right, though. I think Daddy does need cinnamon toast."
"Mmm...Yeah," Sydney sniffled and wiped the last stray tears from her eyes.
"Okay then. Why don't you help me pick up the plates that fell and then we'll make toast. How about that?"
"Yay!" Sydney cheered as she leapt into her mother's outstretched arms, which set her down on the floor. "Daddy has to go back to bed though, so it'll be a surprise."
"Go back to bed, honey. We'll be up there soon."
"Hey, sounds good to me," Jack admitted throwing his arms up in the air as he left the room.
When Laura and Sydney were done making Jack a special get-well snack of "cin-min" toast, orange Jell-O, and orange juice, they prepared the food on a tray and headed up stairs. The odd assortment of food had become a traditional snack to fix someone if they were sick. Jack had started the tradition when he and Laura had been dating back in college. She had caught a cold and he brought her over a "meal" of the only foods he knew how to make properly at the time. When Jack had subsequently caught her cold, Laura made him the same food, saying she was "only returning the favor"; both agreed that her cooking was much better than his.
Jack sat in bed, reading a newspaper while waiting. When he heard Sydney running up the stairs he thought about pretending to be asleep, but decided against it, remembering what happened last time he had tried to pull that trick on his daughter. Instead, he smiled and continued reading, lifting the paper higher to block his face from view.
He heard the footsteps stop at the door then Sydney whispering to her mother followed by the soft clicking of the door opening. The floorboards creaked as she walked but Jack didn't move and continued to hide behind the paper. Next, he felt Sydney scramble onto the bed and crawl over his feet so she was sitting in front of him. He smirked as her hand reached over the top of the paper and pulled it down, revealing his face.
"Surprise!" She squealed happily.
"Oh, my gosh, Sydney! How did you sneak up on me like that?"
"I'm quiet, Daddy. Like a mouse."
"Like a mouse, huh? Well, I don't know about that." He looked at Laura and waggled his eyebrows.
"Daddy, you need to eat your cin-min toast now." Sydney held up a piece for him. Jack complied and reached forward to take a bite of it while it was still in her hand. He took a big bite and smiled as he chewed. Sydney giggled and hugged her father around the middle, "You're funny, Daddy."
"Ouch, oh, not so hard, sweetie," Jack groaned.
"Sydney, you have to be careful when you hug Daddy."
"Why?"
"Because he got hurt around his middle so it hurts when you hug him so tight."
Sydney looked at her father. "I'm sorry, Daddy. Can I kiss it better?"
"No, sweetie, it's not that kind of boo-boo," Laura said. Sydney looked confused. She had never known an injury that her mother or father's kiss couldn't make better. "I've got an idea, honey. It's such a nice evening why don't we have a barbeque dinner out on the patio?" Sydney smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "Okay, then, why don't you go down stairs and get the butterfly nets out of the closet and meet me outside." Laura added as Sydney hopped off the bed and ran downstairs. "Jack, I'm going to go get dinner ready. You come down soon, all right?" Jack nodded as she left the room.
Twenty minutes later Jack still hadn't come outside. Thinking he might still be in the bedroom, she looked up stairs first. "Jack?" She called entering the room. He wasn't in bed; a light was on in the bathroom so she decided to check in there. Jack wasn't in the bathroom either; instead she found the bottle of antiseptic liquid and a small pile of bloodied bandages lying on the counter by the sink. She frowned and cleaned the mess up before continuing her search.
She eventually found him in his office, the door slightly ajar. "Jack- " she started coming in the door, stopping when she noticed he was on the phone.
"Hmm...Yeah, yeah...I understand." He looked up, saw her and tried to wave her out. "No...No...I--yes." He balanced the phone against his ear with his shoulder as he looked through a stack of papers. "Yeah, right here...hmmm...hang on." He paused and looked at her, covering the mouthpiece before taking in a breath, anticipating a sneeze. He rubbed his nose and frowned when the sneeze didn't come then continued his conversation. "Sorry. Like I was saying about those dates..." He fingered through the papers again, sniffling as he did so.
Laura came in and sat on the edge of the desk. Jack quickly looked at her again and tried to shoo her away with another wave of his hand. 'Get out, Laura,' he mouthed. She shook her head and looked at the paper work he had spread out on the desk. "Yeh--yes, I know...I'll get that done ASAP. By Fri-eh-Friday?" He started wiggling his nose as he continued looking through the papers, not having a free hand to rub it with. Laura noticed his frustration and reached over to scratch it for him. He nodded thanks, not wanting to sneeze while on the phone. Whomever he was talking to must have noticed the hitch in his voice as Jack let out a small laugh, "No, no, I'm fine. Yeah...Well, I guess it worked out okay... Yeah, how about that?" She noticed his nose twitching again, his eyes starting to close in preparation. Laura was ready though and quickly held a finger under his nose.
He smiled gratefully at her and tried to wrap up his phone call. "Hmm...Yes, yes, by Friday. Right...Good...I'll get right on that Ben...Yes, thanks." He swiftly put down the phone as Laura retracted her finger. "Ahh- Chishoo! ehh-Choo! Ahh-Chishoo!"
"My goodness. Bless you, bless you, bless you," Laura offered.
With one final harsh sneeze, that was strained so it sounded different than the others, he was done for the time being, "EhhhSheishhhh!" He smiled at her, finally rubbing his nose. "Thank you, honey."
"Glad I could help," she laughed.
"Laura," he began, his voice suddenly serious. "You know you're not allowed in here when I'm on the phone."
"What were you talking about that was so important?"
"It's not whom I was talking to necessarily but what I could have been talking about."
"All I know is that you were talking to Ben. Devlin, right? Besides," she pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear;" I was too busy helping you to hear anything important."
"It doesn't matter. Just-just be more careful next time, all right?"
"I will. I'm sorry." She watched as he started reading the paperwork in front of him. "You," she grabbed his hands, "said that you were coming out for dinner. You didn't and so I came looking for you."
"I know, I was on my way out back when the phone rang..." he leaned back in his chair and rubbed the back of his neck.
"You told me you weren't going to do any more work tonight."
"Just let me finish this paper then I'll come out, I prom-eh-prom..." he stopped and sniffed as another sneeze started to build then quickly backed away. "That's annoying."
She reached for him and danced her fingers across the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry you don't feel well, honey." Noticing his face still was registering a sneeze she took a lock of her hair and tickled the end of his nose.
"What--what are you doing? You're not helping, Laur-ahKuhshhh! " She smiled coyly at him,"Right. Bless you. Better?"
"Thanks, you always seem to know what to do."
"I know. Now," she tapped her index finger against the end of his nose as she said each word,"No...More...Work." She took the paper he had been reading and held it out away from his reach as she slid off the desk and stood, took Jack's hand and pulled him towards the door.
"All right, all right." Jack complied. "Put the paper back. That's confidential stuff, Laura." Laura did as she was told and put the paper back on the desk as she pushed him out the door.
Jack started to feel a little better once he was outside and seated at the patio table. He sighed contently as a warm summer breeze started blowing. He leaned back in his chair and watched Sydney run across the grass trying to catch fireflies in a net; finally relaxed for the first time since he had gotten home.
"So how was your day?" Laura asked coming to sit next to him at the table, a glass of red wine in each hand.
"Before or after I started sneezing my head off?" He picked his glass up and took a sip. "It was...tiring."
She watched as he ran a finger along the lip of the glass. "I'm sorry. You looked like you needed to get out, Sydney sure did. I thought the fresh air would do you both good. She'd been stuck in the house the past couple of days because of the rain."
"If anything I should be the one staying inside more." She sighed, "Thank you for taking her out though, even if you didn't like it."
"No, I didn't mean that." He took another sip of wine, "Mmm...What year is this? It's good."
"'75.Chambertin Clos de Beze."
He smiled and turned the glass around in his hand by the stem. "A good year." He and Laura had a started small collection of wines, the majority of which were from important years in their relationship. 1970, the year they met. 1974, the year they married. 1975, the year Sydney was born. "What's the occasion?"
"There isn't one. I'm just happy your home and thought you'd like a drink." She watched as he emptied the glass.
"Could I have some more?" He asked, holding up the glass.
"I'm not sure you should be drinking so much when you're sick, honey."
"I thought fluids were okay."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean alcohol," she laughed. "Now, I'll be happy to get you something else to drink like juice or water."
"Sure, why not." Laura stood and kissed him on the forehead before stepping back in the house to get more drinks.
When she returned a few minutes later, with drinks for both Jack and Sydney, she found Jack on the grass helping Sydney put the bugs she had collected into a jar. "Good job, sweetheart. Now we have to put air holes in the top so they can breathe," he said as he stood.
"Jack, you'd better get back over here and check on your dinner before it burns up."
"Yeah, coming." He walked back over to the patio carrying the jar in one arm and Sydney in the other.
"Mommy, look what we got!" Sydney held the jar up for her mother to inspect.
"That's nice, sweetie." She took Sydney from Jack's arms and put her down on the ground. "Go in the bathroom now and wash up. Dinners almost ready." The little girl nodded and ran into the house. Jack was standing at the grill, working on dinner when Laura came up behind him and stood on her tiptoes. "You're a good father, Jack. Do you know that?" She whispered in his ear.
"I just don't have enough energy to keep up with her now," he chuckled, putting the food on a plate and walking over to the table. "You know, I can handle running all over the world but I can't take watching my own five-year-old daughter for one afternoon."
She walked over to where he was standing and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I forgot you're hurt," she retraced upon hearing him take in a sharp breath.
"That's okay. You want me to cook those things, too?" He smiled, gesturing towards the jar of bugs Laura had put down on the table.
"I don't think our daughter would like us to eat her new friends, what do you think?"
"Mmm...I guess you're right."
"Daddy, Daddy, can I put the fireflies in my room tonight?" Sydney asked emerging from the house and taking her place at the table.
"You mean like a nightlight?" The girl nodded. "I guess so as long as you let them go in the morning. You don't want them dieing on you, do you?" Sydney shook her head. "Good. Now, eat your dinner." He said placing a hot dog in front of her on a plate.
"I don't want hot dogs! I want spaghetti!"
"Sydney, we're having hot dogs tonight. Tomorrow night I'll fix spaghetti. How about that?" Laura said as Sydney shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest pouting. "Stop being so suborn and eat your food."
"Daddy's not eating his food."
Laura looked over at Jack who was leaned back in his hair with his eyes closed. "Jack, why aren't you eating your dinner?"
"Hmm?" Jack sat up and opened his eyes. "I'm not hungry."
"Jack, you need to eat your food." She motioned towards Sydney. "All right. But not too much, I don't want any of it coming back out tonight," he said and took a big bite of the hot dog in front of him.
Laura rolled her eyes. "You need to eat and keep your strength up if you want to heal quickly."
"There you go. I'm eating;" he managed with his mouth full.
"See, Daddy's eating. Now you should too." Sydney sighed and picked up her own hot dog and took a bite. "Good girl."
"Laura, some of my paperwork is missing," Jack said loudly over the rushing water of the shower as he entered the bathroom. When Laura didn't reply he figured that she couldn't hear him and went to brushing his teeth. He squirted a bit of toothpaste onto the bristles and set the toothbrush in his mouth and glanced over at the silhouette of his wife's figure in the frosted glass door of the shower. His mouth went dry as he tried to swallow. He shook his head and looked back at his reflection in the mirror and smiled, happy at the thrill the sight of his wife still gave him.
The water stopped and Laura stood in the shower wringing out her long hair for a moment before opening the door to find Jack standing at the sink with a mouthful of foam as if he had contracted rabies. "Jack, you need to move. I'm glad you're here though, the steam is probably good for your congestion."
He turned and watched as she wrapped a towel around her waist then another around her hair. He spat out the toothpaste and quickly washed his mouth out with water and stepped aside so Laura could use the sink and mirror. "Did you check on Sydney, honey?" She asked drying her body with the towel.
"Yes, just like you asked. She's sound asleep." He took the towel from her and helped finish drying her off. He moved carefully down her body, not wanting to miss a single curve.
"Would you hand me that please, Jack?" She pointed to a piece of silky fabric hanging on the hook on the back of the door and giggled as he took his time on her waist area, slowly moving down over the strong muscles of her thighs.
"There you go, all dried off," he said handing her the towel and grabbing the lingerie off the hook. "Why do you want this thing? I've already seen everything so there's nothing to hide."
"Not necessarily everything." She took the lingerie from him and smiled, "I want to leave something to the imagination."
"I don't know if you do. I have a very active imagination when it comes to certain things." He came up behind her as she finished slipping the top over her head.
"Wouldn't be surprised," she said picking up her hairbrush.
"Whoa! My love, my darling,/ I hunger, hunger!,/ for your love," he crooned in her ear.
"Jacky, shhh, don't sing now. You're hoarse as it is. Don't ruin your voice anymore." She looked at his reflection in the mirror they were standing at as he grabbed her around the middle. "Honey, no! I'm going to get my hair tangled."
"For love. Lonely time./ And time goes by, so slowly." He took the brush from her, put it on the counter, and and took her hands.
"Sweetie, what are you doing?"
"And time can do so much,/ Are you still mine?" He nuzzled the nape of her neck, his breath warm against her skin. "Jack, stop." She took the end of her hair and tickled his nose again.
Jack quickly stopped singing and backed away cupping his hands over his nose. "Ehh-Choo! Ahh-Chishoo!" He rubbed his nose and turned Laura around to face him. "That's not nice, Laura. You shouldn't take advantage of me like that." He smiled. "You could have at least let me finish the verse." He sighed and let her go back to brushing her hair. "You know, I went to my office after putting Sydney to sleep and found some of my paperwork missing. Do you know where it could have gone?" Laura shook her head. "I could have sworn I put it away in my case, but it's not there."
This time it was Laura who dropped the brush and turned around to face Jack. "I thought I told you no more work." She grabbed the back of his neck and brought him in close for a kiss.
"What was that for?"
"You need to stop working. It'll turn up, you probably just misplaced it somewhere, don't worry."
"Laura, this is important. I just can't let it go as easily as you think." He rubbed the back of his neck once she let go. "Jeezus, I must be losing my mind."
"Hmm..." Laura said opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out the familiar bandages and antiseptic bottle. "Go lay on the bed, Jack. I'll be there in a minute to help you change those bandages."
Jack did what he was told; Laura emerged from the bathroom no more than a minute later to find him on his back looking at the ceiling. "How are you feeling?" He watched as she sauntered over to him, laid the things down on the nightstand and crawled over to him.
"I'm tired," he yawned and took off his shirt.
"Still? You were asleep for quite a while this afternoon."
"Honey, the one thing you should know about my sleeping habits is that I'm constantly jet lagged so my internal clock and sense of time is often messed up." He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as Laura gingerly removed the used bandages and cleaned the cut. "I've been thinking."
"Hmm...About what, honey?"
"About-ah...about the Project. It's been taking a lot out of me lately. I've been thinking about maybe handing it off to someone else."
"Oh, no, you don't mean that, sweetie. You're just tired and frustrated, which is understandable. You'll feel better once you're caught up on sleep and you're all healed. Hmm?" She ripped a piece of tape with her teeth and stuck it to the bandage to make it stay. "You need to remember to take better care of yourself. If you allow these bandages to become old an infection will set."
Jack saluted her. "Yes, ma'am."
"There, all clean. Feel a little bit better?" She leaned forward and gently kissed his side.
"Mmm...Yes, thanks. I think you missed a spot, though." He pointed to his cheek.
"No," she smirked and cupped his chin and leaned in close, as if going in for a kiss, before standing to return the things to the bathroom. "I think you're good."
"Ouch. Why do you have to tease me like that?" He called after her. "I need your love. I need your love. God speed your love to-oo me."
"You sound like a dying dog;" she grinned as she came out.
"Oh, another stab and the sick guy." He covered his heart with his hands. "That's low. Have you no compassion?" He coughed harshly into his fist a few times then lay down on his back again. "At least I finished the verse."
"Of course I have compassion. Why else would I be taking care of you?" She said coming down and lying next to him. "I mean, just look at you," she smiled.
"Ouch. Another hard blow to the weak underdog. What is to become of our hero?" He turned on his good side and caressed her cheek with his hand. "Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea,/ To the open arms of the sea./ Lonely rivers sigh, wait for me, wait for me,/ I'll be coming home, wait for me." She sighed at his touch and closed her eyes. "Did you miss me?"
"Terribly. Horribly. Yes, I missed you."
"Hmm...You feel good." He kissed her collarbone. "You taste good." He nuzzled her hair. "You probably smell good, too." He laughed and sniffled. "And you look...beautiful." He ran his hand up her thigh to where her legs met and fingered the lace at the bottom of the camisole, teasing her. "You are the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time."
"What about Jim?" She joked.
"Ugh, I don't want to think about work now. Not when I'm with you."
"That's what I want to hear." She smiled as she took his hand and moved it under her top. "You feel good, too, Jack."
"I try my best." He pushed the material upward revealing the soft flesh he had been yearning for. "God, I missed you. I missed you so much, Laura. My Laura." He whispered again and again while feverishly trailing kisses on her body.
"I know, shh...It's all right now." She ran her fingers through his sweaty hair and wondered if he was straining himself too much. "We don't have to do this if you're not up to it."
"No. No, I want to. I'm just so bloody sick and tired-literally." He let out a small chuckle. "But making you happy makes me happy." Her laugh was deep and throaty, the vibrations tickling his fingers. "I've waited a whole week to spend time with you like this." He put a hand to the small of her back and pulled her in closer. "My Laura." He sniffed hard, his nose starting to run and took his hand from her back to rub his nose. "Ehhh- Hetschoo!" He sat up; tying to catch his breath as Laura handed him a tissue. "Thanks. If only my nose would cooperate. "Ehhh- Hehtschoo!"
"Easy, cowboy. Not so fast, huh?" She said taking another tissue and helping him with his nose. "My poor sick Jack." She purred in his ear.
"Laura..." he turned away from her and coughed harshly. "I'm sorry...I can't do anything right tonight."
"You're getting too worked up. I don't think this is such a good idea when you don't feel well." She studied his face as he nodded and licked his dry lips. "Are you thirsty, honey? I'll be right back." She stood up and went into the bathroom and came out with a glass of water.
He gratefully took the glass from her and drank the cool refreshing liquid in three gulps. "You shouldn't let yourself get so hot and dehydrated." She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "We need to get you better, honey." Her kind love-filled words made him forget anything that had happened a few minutes prior. He was in the moment. He felt as if he should say something but didn't, he just continued to stare into her eyes of the woman he loved. "No more complaining, no more worrying, no more work. You need to rest. I'll help you take care of everything later. Everything will work out." She took his hands and kissed them. "I promise."
"Thank you." He managed, turning to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his eyes again.
She saw his brow furrow and knew what was coming but asked anyway: "What's wrong, honey?" He didn't answer, gently shaking his head, continuing to pinch his nose. "Are you stuck again? Want me to help?" She innocently twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.
"No!" His voice was shaky and his eyes squeezed shut. "Just...just wait a minute."
She stopped playing with her hair and went to chewing on her lower lip, watching his face as he struggled, desperately wanting to help him. She decided against it, however, not wanting to upset him. She reached out her hand, about to rest it on his shoulder when he turned away from her. Knowing he was going to sneeze any second, she got ready. "Bless you, bless you." As if just offering the words would help the sneeze come.
He looked over at her and gave her a weak smile. She smiled back before he had to turn away again. "Eh-Chuhhh!" He straightened up and sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.
"Only one that time?" She laughed. "I guess I spoke too soon. I take back one of my blessings then."
Jack held his hand up, eyes still closed. "Ahh-Chishoo!" "Oh, there it is." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll give it back to you now, bless you. Feel better?"
He shook his head no and groaned. "That hurt." He said softly and clutched his side.
"I'm so sorry, honey. I don't know of anything I can do for that right now." She watched as he coughed again, his tongue sliding out to wet his lips after. "Do you need another drink?" She caressed his cheek with her hand. "I'll go get some ice water this time. Nice and cold, all right? You get under the covers and wait for me." He sighed heavily and nodded as he started to pull back the blankets.
She quickly stood up and put on her bathrobe and headed downstairs. She entered the kitchen and went to the cupboards to retrieve a glass then to the freezer to get ice. She filled the glass ice then went to the sink to do the same with water. She was turning out the lights and stepping out into the hall when she noticed that the light in Jack's office was on, the door open a crack. She stood there a moment, frozen, contemplating what to do next. Finally, she walked over to the office door and stepped inside.
"Jack!" She exclaimed,dropping the glass she was holding, glass shattering on the floor. Papers, which were once neat and orderly, were thrown about the room. Jack was at a filing cabinet frantically going through a file of papers muttering to himself. "Honey, what do you think you're doing?" She asked, worried, coming over to him.
"Laura..." He stopped his search and turned toward her then looked down at the ground. "You broke your glass." He walked over to the mess and crouched down to pick up the pieces. "I'm sorry. Let me help you."
"No, honey, that's okay, really." She put her hand on his forearm to stop him. "Jacky, what are you doing down here?"
He grabbed her hand that she extended toward him and stood up. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep...I can't relax. Not without knowing what happened to those papers."
"Oh, honey. You shouldn't worry about those things now. I'll help you find them in the morning, all right?" She rubbed his back as she helped him out of the office and to the stairs. "Could you back up to bed and try again, for me?"
He smiled weakly at her. "For you."
"I'll be right up, I promise." She watched as he slowly walked up the first two steps before going back to the kitchen to fix him another glass of water. She reached into the cupboard again, this time taking out a plastic cup, filling it with ice and water. She was worried, having never seen Jack as upset, tired or frustrated as he was.
Suddenly, she remembered that her handler had given her some sleeping pills earlier that day when they had met. They were for emergencies, of course, in case she needed a to get him to sleep fast so she could sneak out. She pulled the bottle from her purse, reading the instructions debating whether she should use them or not. Her thoughts were broken by two loud sneezes that echoed through the house. "Oh, Jacky." She mumbled to herself as she opened the bottle, took out the right dosage and plopped the pills in the water to dissolve.
Once there was no trace of the pills in the water she stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallway, stopping when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked up to Jack, who was sitting half way up, in the middle of the stair case, his head in his hands. She walked up to meet him and touched him on the shoulder. "Jack, I have your water." He slowly raised his head and looked down at the cup in her hand. "It's all right. It's plastic this time."
He took the cup from her and took a sip. "I'm sorry. I--I was trying to make it, I really was, then I felt dizzy and I had to sit down. I'm sorry."
"Oh, honey. That's all right. I'm not angry." She sat down next to him and watched as he took another gulp of water and coughed. "I'm just worried about you is all." She pushed her hair back behind her ears then reached up and smoothed out Jack's wave. "I'm concerned about you and you're work. I'm curious about what on Earth could get you so riled up and worried. It might make you feel better to talk about it..."
Jack was reluctant at first and let out a heavy sigh, holding the cup up to the hall light as if trying to look through the thick plastic to the other side. "Arvin's put me in charge of organizing a new assignment in Morocco...
"Morocco! That sounds...interesting."
"...for next Tuesday."
She tried to hide interest and excitement with concern. "But you just got back. Tuesday...Today's Thursday. They don't even give you a week's rest before sending you out again."
"You know how it is Laura, don't sound so surprised." He yawned, the drugs already having an affect. "But if I play my cards right and things go smoothly, this assignment could mean big things for me. I'm already head of the project, be it because I developed it, but still. I should be up for a promotion soon and I don't want to screw up." He sniffed hard, too tired to wipe his nose. "So that's why...oh, God, hang on a sec...Echhh- hehschoo!"
"Bless you!"
"Chushoo!"
"Bless you!"
"Thank you." He wearily raised his hand and rubbed his nose.
"Not so loud, honey. You'll wake up Sydney." She laughed.
He winced at the pain in his side the sneeze had brought. He was not in the mood for jokes."Please, Laura." He cleared his throat then continued. "So that's why I need to find those papers. They're incredibly important."
"Do you really need them tonight though? You've made yourself sick with worry." She squeezed his hand. "And you still have that stab wound you need to keep clean. You need to look out for yourself. I can only do so much for you." He nodded as he yawned again and rubbed his eyes. "I think it's time for bed." She put the cup down, stood and helped pull him up. He stood and leaned on her as she helped him to the bedroom.
Once he was settled and tucked in she laid next to him on top of the covers, stroking his face gently, listening as his deep, congested breathing level out as he fell soundly into sleep. He looked comfortable and relaxed, save for the panic of pain and worry that set on him every once and a while as he battled his dreams. "Shhhh...It's all right, honey." She whispered to him soothingly, knowing he couldn't hear her. "I'll find your papers."
When the nightmares had passed and he was silent for a long enough period of time, Laura slipped out of bed and went downstairs once again. She retrieved Jack's paperwork from the place she had hid it earlier when she had gone into the house to get his drink at dinner and set to reading in the living room. She, too, had her own work to do.
The End!
JJ Abrams is the almighty and powerful Alias god.