Kidnapped

Everyone stared at Brielle and Jack with their jaws on the floor after they finished their story. Including Hugo, who didn't know the extent of what was going on and was blindly following Jack. Byron looked like he wanted to vomit, and Theron had his face in his hands.

Brielle and Jack exchanged an uncomfortable glance, but they didn't know what else to say. They had already left out some of the nastier details, like Jack's drinking binge. Theron finally let his hand drop, looking at them with exhaustion.

"So Merton is dead," he said.

"Yeah," Jack mumbled. "I mean... it doesn't mean someone else won't come in his place, but at least theres a transition period to get these gangs under control."

"So are you or are you not married?" Hugo asked. "Or are you just a couple?"

Jack and Brielle turned bright red. They had mentioned faking marriage, but never said anything about falling for each other in real life. Brielle looked down at her feet, and Jack had a hard time meeting Byron's gaze as he glared daggers into him. Theron just seemed surprised, but thankfully not as angry as Byron.

"A couple?" Byron questioned. "What's he talking about?"

"Uh-"

"Did you mess around with my sister?!"

"No!" Jack said quickly. "I mean, not the way you think! We got along and one thing led to another and-"

"I'll fucking reopen your wounds!"

"It's not like that!" Brielle blurted, jumping to her feet. "He was nothing but respectful to me, and looked out for me the entire time. I love him."

Everyone went silent and Brielle turned bright red at the admission, which apparently had come out without her wanting it to.

"Is that so?" Theron asked, forcing back an amused grin.

Byron looked like he wanted to explode.

"You don't know the moves I've seen him pull on our travels," he warned Brielle.

"I didn't do anything shady," Jack insisted. "I- I love her too."

Brielle whipped around to look at him with her eyes a bit damp. Overwhelmed, but seemingly relieved and happy.

"Are you serious?" Byron said in exasperation.

"Byron, leave them be," Theron scolded. "These two have clearly been through something, and Jack knows better than to do something awful to Brielle. And Brielle can certainly hold her own. You should know this."

Byron was still huffing, but seemed to ease up just a little bit. He looked back at Jack, and Jack shrunk back a little bit. Brielle sat down by him and took his hand, staying firm against her brother. Finally, Byron sighed.

"I need to process this," he said. "You two are exhausting."

He turned on his heel and left the room, and Theron just shook his head. He offered Jack a smile to ease his nerves a little bit, then held a hand out to give him a firm handshake.

"I appreciate what you risked to bring my daughter home," Theron said. "Don't worry about Byron. I'll go calm him down. You two can sit down and talk to him later, but first I think you need to talk to each other. A... lot of words were tossed around just now."

"Thank you," Jack said, voice cracking.

Theron clapped Hugo on the back, who still looked confused and embarrassed for bringing up the argument.

"Why don't you come take a walk with me, Horton?" Theron said. "Seems like you're a good man to have around in a pinch."

"Uh, it's Hugo," he said. "And thanks. I try to be."

Jack waited until they were gone before turning his attention back to Brielle. He was feeling a little lightheaded and his hands were cold when he took hers, but he knew he couldn't leave her hanging.

"Did you really mean it?" Brielle asked.

"I wouldn't lie about something like that," Jack said. "I do love you. I'm just sorry I said it there, instead of somewhere more romantic."

"I love you, too," she squeaked.

"Your dad is right, we've been through something," Jack chuckled. "Just puts things into perspective, I guess. Even when everything was up in the air and I wasn't sure I was going to survive the night, the one thing I always thought of was how I liked being married to you. Even if it was pretend. I like to believe this is how my parents felt about each other. They didn't get to live out their dreams, but I feel glad they had found each other in their lifetimes. Anyways, you asked me a while back if I would consider marriage. I said I'd settle for the right girl."

"Am I the right girl?" Brielle asked softly.

"I wouldn't want to put you on the spot," Jack said quickly. "We can take it slow. If you even want to take it anywhere. If you want to weigh your options, I can appreciate that. I just know I liked being married to you. Loved it. I'd want to do it for real."

Brielle was quiet, and Jack grimaced.

"I said something stupid, didn't I?" he asked.

She shook her head and smiled, then took his face in her hands and pulled him into a deep, lingering kiss. She rested her forehead against his and laughed softly.

"You say a lot of stupid things," she said. "This wasn't one of them. I want to marry you, too."

She laughed again when he pulled her in and kissed her fiercely, until he felt a tug at his stitches and winced. She pulled away and huffed softly.

"Don't overexert yourself," she scolded.

"But I think we just got engaged," he grinned.

"We have to convince my brother first."

That proved to be easier said than done. Theron and Georgina were excited with the announcement that they wanted to be married, but it took an entire week to convince Byron. Even Nadine was insisting that Jack and Brielle were the real deal. It wasn't until Byron accidentally walked in on Jack tucking a flower behind Brielle's ear while she giggled at something he said that Byron finally seemed to see the affection with his own eyes.

Once they had Byron's blessing, they agreed to keep things under wraps until Byron and Nadine's wedding spotlight passed. They finally left for their honeymoon, and while they were gone, Theron enlisted Hugo and Jack's help in rounding up Merton's men and cleaning up the streets as much as they good in a short period of time. It would take lots of work to completely shut down the operation, but the common people already felt safer.

Jack kept true to his promise to pay Hugo back for everything, but Theron was the one who offered him proper employment in tightening up the laws to protect the people. Finally, things were starting to feel like they were working out.

After four months, Jack's wound was fully healed but he still had a sore feeling if he stayed standing too long. He was in the library, holding his side as he raised an arm to put a book away, then felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He turned to find Brielle grinning up at him.

"Guess what?" she asked.

"What?"

"Guess."

Jack sighed and leaned against the bookshelf. "I hate guessing games. What, did you eat the wrong mushroom and it made you all smiley?"

"No," she said, rolling her eyes. "Nadine is pregnant."

"Oh," Jack said with a raised brow. "Well, I'll have to congratulate them."

"Do you know what that means?"

"It means she's having a baby."

"No, Jack," Brielle scowled. "You're so annoying sometimes. I'm talking about what it means for us."

"We're going to be forced to babysit at every turn."

"It means, by tradition, they've moved past the newlywed phase," Brielle told him. "And that means the chapel is open for business again."

"Oh," Jack said. "You mean our business."

"Do you still want to marry me?" Brielle asked.

Jack cracked a smile, pulling her in to kiss her. "I was starting to get a little impatient, really."

"I guess it's time to start planning, then."