Summary: The fear of losing her is bigger than his pride.
As soon as the light dissipates, Jax stands up and rushes into the alley. He spots Samantha sitting on the dirty floor and wincing in pain. She has small bruises on her arms and face, but she can’t stop looking at her feet. Around her, ashes of the vampire who tried to attack her.
“Sam!” He bends down, encircling his arms around her.
She doesn’t respond. She simply hugs him back, tears streaming down her face as she inhales the scent of his cologne.
He pulls away to look at her, brushing her tears away with his thumbs as he cups her face in his hands. “I can’t believe I let you go through this. I should’ve come sooner.”
“I’m okay,” she smiles weakly.
“Are you sure?” He frowns.
She tries to stand up but winces one more time. “No… I think I broke my ankle.”
“If it really is broken, we have to go to an emergency room.”
“But what are we going to say? I can’t tell anyone I killed a vampire with a UV light grenade.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he says as he effortlessly takes her in his arms and returns to the streets towards the nearest hospital.
…
“All set,” the nurse says as she finishes cleaning the last of Samantha’s bruises. “That was one hell of a fall, huh?”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Samantha replies. “I’m lucky to be alive.”
“I believe you,” the woman agrees, discarding the used medical supplies in the trash can.
Just then, Jax knocks on the threshold. “Hey, can I come in?”
“Sure, Mr. Watanabe,” the nurse smiles as Jax saunters over to Samantha and kisses her forehead.
“Is she okay?” He asks the nurse.
“With a shower, taking the medications and a few days off work, your wife will be fine. In six weeks, she can return to remove the casquet.”
“That sounds doable. We’ll talk to her boss about it.”
“Do we have to, sweetie?” Samantha forces a smile but glares at Jax.
“Yes, we do, darling,” he says, trying to sound as calm as possible.
The nurse turns to Samantha. “I’ll get your discharge papers, the prescription from Dr. Harris and you’ll be good to go. I’ll be right back.”
As the nurse leaves, Samantha cocks an eyebrow. “So… Mr. Watanabe, when did you get me a fake ID?”
“Do we have to talk about this now?”
“No, we can wait until we get to our fake house upstate and have dinner with our imaginary children,” she crosses her arms.
Jax rubs the back of his neck then starts to speak. “We got you fake IDs last month in case of emergencies like you getting hurt or to flee the country.”
“There’s more than one fake ID for me? And who’s we?”
“Yes, you have three different IDs. Adrian, Kamilah, Lily and I have fake IDs too.”
“Why am I fake married to you?”
“You fake married to all of us.” He corrects. “It’s just easier for spouses to share personal documents, make hospital visits, wills, etc.”
“Wills?” She asks surprised.
Before she could ask anything else, the doctor walks in with a wheelchair. “Alright, Mrs. Watanabe. Here’s your prescription. Take it easy for a couple of days and you’ll be fine in no time.”
“Thank you, Dr. Harris,” Jax shakes the woman’s hand.
“No problem. Send my best to Kamilah.”
Samantha’s eyes go wide.
“I will,” Jax nods and offers Samantha help to get up and sit on the chair while the doctor leaves.
“The doctor is a friend of Kamilah’s?” Samantha whispers as he pushes her chair into the hallway.
“Yeah… That’s one way to put it.”
Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her face. “Oh…”
…
After a warm bath, Samantha puts on a clean and comfortable nightshirt and sits on her bed. She looks at it, remembering what she did a few hours ago and the reason why she left home that night then chews on a nail.
Jax shows up on the door holding an anti-inflammatory pill and a glass of water and walks over to her.
“Thanks,” she takes the pill and drinks the water.
“No problem,” he replies as he picks up the glass.
When he’s about to leave, Samantha holds his hand. “Jax?”
“Yeah?” He turns to look at her.
“Can we talk?”
He nods, putting the glass on the end table and takes a seat at the end of the bed.
“I don’t know if you heard the messages I sent you earlier…” her bottom lip quivers, but she takes a deep breath and continues. “I’ve been trying to stay away from you because you needed time, but it’s too painful. It hurts to be away from you and it hurts even more to be near you and not hug you, not kiss you. I’m tired of just going through motions and pretending I’m fine. I miss you. I never meant to hurt but I know I did and I’m sorry.”
Silence looms over the room as Samantha gazes at Jax expectantly, but he simply looks down at his hands.
“Please, say something.” Her voice comes out, but it’s barely audible. He’s so close to her and all she wants is to hug him again. Yet, she’s afraid he’ll reject her.
To her surprise, he pulls her into a warm embrace, nuzzling her shoulder and her hair. She melts into his arms, her fists clenching on his shirt as she sobs quietly. He strokes one hand on her back, soothing her.
“I miss you too,” he says as he kisses the top of her head.
“Really?” She tilts her head up to look at him, her brown eyes still glossy.
“Yeah…” He sighs as if finally relaxing after a long time. “I can’t blame you for having feelings for two people. It happens,” he shrugs. “I’m not saying I’m okay with this polyamourous thing. Hell, I’ve never wanted any kind of romantic relationships before…” he smiles ruefully. “It took me some time to process what happened and I get it. I’m sorry I lashed out at you instead of trying to understand what you were feeling back then.”
“It’s okay,” she says, burying her face in his chest. “Jax?”
“Mmm?”
“I love you.”
He pulls away to gaze into her eyes. “What?”
“I love you.”
“What about Adrian?”
“He’s great and all, but I don’t feel for him what I feel for you.”
He stares at her, brows furrowed in confusion, completely lost for words.
“You don’t have to say anything. I just want you to know that. And if you still want me, I’ll–”
Before she could say more, Jax presses his lips against hers. Samantha closes her eyes and melts into him, her fingers digging into his hair the kiss deepens, but as they fall on the mattress, she winces in pain.
“Sorry,” he pulls away and sits up. “Did I hurt you?”
“I’m okay. But I guess the painkillers haven’t kicked in yet.”
They chuckled.
“We can continue when you’re fully recovered from these injuries. You need to get some sleep,” Jax smiles softly as he catches her stifling a yawn.
“Stay with me?”
“Always,” he replies then takes off his boots and lies down, cradling her in his arms.
Sighing contently, she places a hand on his chest and closes her eyes. “Goodnight, Jax.”
He brushes a strand of hair away from her face, kisses her forehead and whispers. “Goodnight, my love.”
