Take a Breath, Don't It Sound So Easy?

The day after Alex and Jasey got the air cleared, Jasey decides to lay down the rules. "Look," She begins, looking straight at Alex's face, "We aren't telling anyone, and we aren't making this more complicated than it needs to be. I don't want to screw this up, or make things awkward for everyone else. Sound okay?" Jasey raises her eyebrows, questioning.

The corner of Alex's mouth tilts into a sad half smile, and he nods unenthusiastically. It was early in the morning but to be honest, he and Jasey had hardly slept last night. Her bunk was right above his, and she had been writing with the light on all night, and Alex refused to close his curtain to make sure she fell asleep before letting his guard down. He was determined not to let anything happen to her, or let her slip away again. He had the shit scared out of him, and he hated the feeling.

So, there was about two hours of sleep. Small shadows had appeared under Jasey's eyes from the sleep deprivation. Alex spots bits of makeup contributing to the shadows, and wipes his thumbs under them in efforts to clean her up a bit. His hands linger on her cheeks as he guides her face to his and kisses her lips lightly. He kisses her nose before letting her go, "Of course, babe. I don't care what you say, I'm calling you babe." In answer, she grasps him around the waist tightly, resting her head on his chest. Smiling to himself, he embraces her, loving the feeling of her in his arms.

"Thank you, Alex." Jasey mumbles into his chest tiredly, feeling the lack of rest hit her, hard. She can't help but lean on him, and he catches her without missing a beat.

"Come on, go back to bed, lovely." Alex places his hand on the small of her back and leads her back to the bunk. She lets him take care of her for once. As if she were a child, he puts her in bed with ease and tucks the blankets around her.

And Jasey falls asleep with a small smile on her lips.

* * * * * * * *

A few hours later, Jasey awakes with a start, and sits up quickly. "Fuck!" She groans after she hits her head on the top of the bunk.

A few feet away, the guys are eating cereal and watching Home Alone (again), in the lounge. Alex hears a thump and rushes to Jasey's bunk. She can hear him coming, and tries to rub away anything in her eyes that he might have to push away again.

"Babe?"

"Uh, yeah?" Jasey replies with a grimace.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I just hit my head."

Alex makes a face at her, "You're hardly tall enough to just hit your head, babe." He chuckles to himself.

Rolling her eyes she replies, "I jumped up and hit my head. Nightmare." Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she recalls bits and pieces of it.

Jasey was looking at herself in the mirror, all done up, and in white. Her left hand feels heavier, and she looks down to see a brilliant engagement ring. She finally tries to figure out what is going on and she realizes: "I'm getting married!" Jasey says out loud in the dream, half in awe, half in fear. Her dress is out of focus, but her face is beautiful and clear. Somebody behind her lowers her veil for her, and hands her a bouquet of white roses.

As the wedding march begins, all eyes are on her in the back of the room. Panicked, she looks about her only to come to the conclusion that nobody expected this to happen, and not in a good way either. Every pair of eyes seem to judge and pry, and Jasey suddenly feels tears spring to her eyes. Blinking, she looks down at the pure white flowers, and lets a tear drop onto one. Bits of blood are splashed across the roses she had begun to cry in. She tries to look to the altar to her groom for encouragement, but she can't see him, really.

Suddenly fully aware of the bloodstained tears caking her cheeks and under her eyes, she can now see the back of a figure running out of the side of the church. Jasey looks back to her altar but it's empty. Her groom is gone.