Be With Someone...

Kris rummaged through her hall closet to find the items specified. Pulling out four blankets, two flashlights, and a box full of candles and matches, he placed them all back in the living room.

“Here,” Janine extended a piece of fabric in her hand. “Sidney left these here once and I never gave them back. Bathroom’s the second door on the left.”

Kris changed into the sweat pants and pulled his hoodie back on over his t-shirt before going in search of Janine.

“Janine? Where’d you go?”

“Kitchen,” she called. “I’m trying to light the stove top with a match.”

“Let me do it,” he said putting his hands over hers.

She looked at him for a minute before stepping back.

“All yours.”

Fiddling with the matches for a minute, he managed to light the pilot.

“What do you need it for?” he asked.

“Hot chocolate,” she said as though it was a silly question. “My laptop is in the living room. Pick a dvd from the shelves and put it in.”

Walking into the other room, Kris gaped at her movie collection.

“Got enough dvds in here, Janine?” he laughed.

“I have a love for classic films,” she laughed back. “Just pick one.”

“Oh come on,” Janine said walking into the room with two mugs. “You have to have heard of Funny Face and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, right?”

Kris shook his head.

Janine scrunched her nose. “Ew. Alright, well what about Scarface or Pulp Fiction?”

“I’ve seen Pulp Fiction so many times, I could recite it,” Kris laughed at her nose. “But I’ve only seen Scar Face twice.”

“Scar Face it is, then,” Janine nodded. “Here, I put marshmallows in it.”

“Star Wars?” he laughed. “Really?” His mug had a picture of the original Star Wars cast while hers was green and said ‘May the Force be with you’.

“Star Wars is a classic,” she said. “In my opinion.”

****

“You know,” Janine said. “Tony kinda reminds me of Marc. I mean, just with all the ‘fucks’ he says.”

Kris roared with laughter. “That is hilarious. Wait until I tell him that.”

“Vero’s gonna hate me,” Janine chuckled.

“Not hate you,” Kris shook his head. “Deeply dislike probably, but not hate.”

“So who introduced you to Scar Face?” Janine asked.

“It was my best friend’s favorite movie,” Kris explained. “We roomed together for a while and he made me watch it one day.”

“Luc Bourdon?” Janine asked carefully.

Kris nodded slowly. “He was like a brother to me. Losing him… losing him was like losing a twin, you know?”

“I know exactly what you mean,” she said looking down at her mug.

Realization dawned on Kris. Janine had lost her brother.

“Janine,” he said putting a hand on her knee. “I’m so sorry. I forgot completely.”

She sniffled. “It’s okay. I’m used to having to hide it.”

“Why?” he asked. “I mean, he was your brother. You should be able to show whatever emotions you want.”

“Rory was so beat up,” Janine said quietly. “She still blames herself for what happened. There was a time when she was so angry and screwed up that she wouldn’t talk to anyone. She and Ryan had been so, so close and I think she felt like it was all her fault. I didn’t want her to feel any worse about my feelings than she already was.”

“But it’s not good to keep things bottled up.”

“I know. And sometimes… sometimes I kind of breakdown a little. His birthday’s next month and we both would have been 23,” she sighed.

“You were twins?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah,” she nodded with a sad smile. “Funny, huh? One’s gone and the other one’s so broken up.”

“Well you’re certainly not alone,” he said earnestly meeting her eyes. “You’ve got your family, and Rory and Sid, and the team now. The team is your family too.”

“Thanks, Kris,” she said squeezing his hand. “That means a lot.”

****

Much later in the night, Kris awoke to find Janine sleeping soundly on the couch next to him, her head tipped back over the side and her body curled up into a ball. It couldn’t have been comfortable.

Gently tilting her body the other way, he positioned her so that she was actually on the couch. In her sleep, she moved again, by herself this time. Her head now rested on Kris’s chest. Not wanting to wake her, Kris covered them with a blanket and fell back asleep.

****

That morning, Kris awoke to sunlight streaming through the windows and a note on the table.



Looking out the front window, Kris could see Janine talking with one of the workers. She hadn’t bothered with a coat, simply slipping on a pair of boots. Smiling at her messy ponytail, he made his way into the kitchen in search of breakfast.

The door opened and slammed shut minutes later and the sound of Janine stomping her boots could be heard.

“It is freezing out there,” she said walking into the kitchen blowing on her hands to warm them up. “Aw, you made coffee yourself.”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he smirked. “I can cook.”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “I doubt that. Cereal and toast don’t count.”

“I can so cook,” Kris insisted.

“We’ll have to see about that some time,” Janine shook her head. “But on the bright side, the streets are cleared and salted so you can get out of here whenever you want.”

“What about your power?” he asked.

“Within the next two or three hours,” she said taking a seat. “Or so they say.”

He shrugged sitting down across from her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright,” she sighed. “But thank you for last night. It was nice to be able to talk about it. And I’m sure having me sleeping on your chest wasn’t comfortable, but it was very chivalrous. And comfy.”

Kris blushed. “Anytime.”