VIII-Everything Changes (Jack)

[Roxanne Anderson]

The past few months had been a whirlwind, from getting engaged to bumping heads with Grace over the murder of Victor Vaughn. She had a balance of good and bad in her life right now. Work was tough, especially when you could feel the watchful, hawk like eyes of your boss burning against your skin everytime you entered a room. Did she blame Grace? not in the slightest, after all, it was somewhat of a betrayal when you looked at it. Grace was targeted, accused of Vaughns murder when in actual fact her husband, father and sister in law had all played a hand in the crime that you were being openly punished for. To say the last, Grace distrusting her was only a smidgen of an outcome..she could have fired her and got it over with. Roxanne had hopes that there was a place to come back to after it all blew over, Grace would hopefully trust and confide in her again but she knew it'd take time.

Roxanne put all her focus on her relationship with Jack, plans for the wedding and family matters when they popped up. When she left the office, work stayed where it was and most days she couldn't wait to go home. She wondered how things were for Michael, if Grace was giving her the cold shoulder at work and Roxanne could barely handle it..how was he coping with it at home? No doubt there relationship was in tatters and she felt awful for that, but Michael was a big boy he made his own decisions and could ultimately take care of himself.

Despite there being such animosity, Roxanne knew that the love Michael and Grace had for one another was far to strong to be broken by this or by anything...it was all just going to take a lot of time. Wounds needed to be healed and bridges needed to be built.

Roxanne hadn't slept much the night before, she'd spent most of it going over case files. So much for keeping work at the office and not bringing it home. Jack slept much soundly these days, easier then back when they'd first gotten together. Everything was far more settled and comfortable between them, there was no longer those awkward moments of not knowing what to say or ultimately saying the wrong thing. They just jelled together perfectly and everything was going better then ever.

She spent most of the morning sat at the kitchen table, glasses propped against her nose and her head buried in paper work. With abilities fading months ago, things were quiet but now with them back things soon got back to the norm and the case files were booming again. Roxanne didn't mind, though struggled at times because she'd had to regain control over her ability. Her's was tough, the fact her vocal chords could cause some serious damage..she had to be careful, even still months on she had to be careful.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she glanced toward the bedroom where Jack had not surfaced from yet. The blonde smiled. Everything was perfect, she couldn't have been happier with him.

[Jack Flint]

There seemed to be a totally different mind-set between what it was like to be in a relationship and then what happened to that relationship when you decided to take it to the next level. It was oddly peculiar to think that the guy who would have initially run from anything that resembled a form of commitment was now committing himself to one person for the rest of his life. For the most part he just seemed a lot happier and perhaps a bit more loose as opposed to being unnecessarily structured.

Right now, as far as he knew, there was not a man alive who was luckier than he was.

Sure, Jack was still the same old Jack in a sense of the word. No matter how much growth he would go through, he would always still be remembered as the guy who always managed to land himself into these awfully awkward situations which he could never seem to find a way of talking himself out of. Nothing could ever pave over the fact that he was the guy who not only got held hostage but also got shot in the ass whilst wearing an outfit which made him look like he crossbred a rock and roll magician with Bob Marley.

Most nights now he slept more soundly knowing that there was always going to be someone there for him, but he would have been lying if he had said that he was totally oblivious to the fact that Roxanne wasn’t having good times.

Jack sort of understood the better half of everything that had been going down. With specials having been stripped of their powers for a few months and then regaining them, most specials had to find a way to take back control; luckily though, Jack was pretty much powerless. All he ever really wanted to do was to try and be a helpful hand to those who needed it, even if he was the type of guy who would be scared off by his own shadow.

He lay there, staring at the ceiling for what seemed to be hours, thinking of the numerous possibilities of how he could reach out and try to help the woman that he held so very close to his heart. Whilst lying there might not have helped in the slightest, he had simply hoped for an idea to come out and strike him. No such luck would come though as he heard the same familiar sound rummage through the air, forcing Jack to turn his head and slam down on the alarm clock before sitting up.

Pulling a shirt over him, Jack made his way for the door and out into the dining area to see Roxanne sitting there. Without an ounce of hesitation, Jack made his way over, pulling up a chai across from her. ”Hey there…” he spoke with that same old goofy smile that people had come to know him for. ”How’d ya sleep?” he asked, already knowing the answer, but asking for the simple sake of being someone who cared enough to ask.

[Roxanne Anderson]

Seated at the table, Roxanne seemed lost in her own world right now. She had a lot to think about, but none of it distressing of any kind, unless you accounted for the fallout with her boss and sister in law, Grace. She had high hopes to mend their relationship, it'd take time but it was important to keep family close. Roxanne was a family girl, though she wasn't too keen on her birth father, eventually they'd have to see eye to eye..but for now, Roxanne would rather not speak to that man.

The room was quiet, a little too quiet for her liking. She hated being lost in her own thoughts sometimes, especially with a work load as it appeared to stress her far greater then without the quiet. She found herself chewing on her pen just staring at the page beneath her nose. Work was hard, mostly because a lot of cases were difficult, she felt awful for some of these people and the trouble their families had to go through. Roxanne hoped that when she had a family of her own, that they wouldn't have to experience half the stuff there clients had...it was a horrible thing to go through, families being torn apart by things they couldn't control or change.

She had hopes for a good future and so long as Jack was by her side, her future would be amazing. She was lucky to have him, the luckiest woman alive if you asked her because she had found someone who truly understood her and who she could be herself around.

Jack surfaced from the bedroom, her eyes quickly narrowing toward him as he appeared. Instantly, a grin grew across her lips. The blondes eyes lit up like a christmas tree as she gently peeled the glasses from her face. Jack took a seat, her eyes watching him as he did so. ”Hey there…” he spoke softly, that familiar smile upon his face which only illuminated her own.

”How’d ya sleep?” he asked. It was obvious he knew the answer because he'd have felt her tossing all night. Offering a gentle smile, the blonde outstretched her hand and placed it on top of his "..I've had better nights, to say the least.." She replied honestly, there was no point in candy coating it "..How about you?...When I popped my head around the door a while ago, you were sleepin' like a baby." Roxanne smirked a little.

The blonde gently arose from her seat and picked her cold mug of coffee from the table "..Coffee?" She asked him, as she slowly moved toward the kitchen counter over seeing the dining table.