A Spring Reprieve

by Jace Jamison

 

 

**** Part One ****

The flames were spreading quickly; he had to hurry. Nearly overwhelmed by the combination of smoke and gasfumes, he stumbled twice as he pulled Claire free from the back seat. After settling her a safe distanceaway from the burning vehicle, he turned to make his way back to free the remaining three occupants of the car. He hadn't made it three feet when the gas tank ignited and the force of the blast hurled him back at least three times that distance.

Temporarily knocked unconscious, he awoke to a pitch-black world. "Claire?" he called out. A weak "over here" came from somewhere to his left. Crawling on his hands and knees, he moved towards the sound of her voice. She met him halfway, her vision blurry but nonetheless there.

"What happened??" she cried out, seeking solace in his embrace.

"I'm not sure. A buck. Came out of nowhere. Dad swerved to miss it ." he answered her, trying to piece it all together, how the car they were traveling in had found itself wrapped around a large oak tree.


"Where are they?" she asked.

He didn't answer her right away; the vision in his head of his parents and brother encompassed in the flames stealing his ability to speak.

"Doug? Mom? Dad?" Claire screamed, desperate to hear a reply from one of those she called out to.

He pulled his sister-in-law close, tucking her head beneath his chin. "They're gone . I couldn't get to them in time ." he whispered.

Jace sat straight up in his bed, Claire's screams of denial still echoing through his head as he tried to separate the dream from reality. Throwing back the covers, he strode to the balcony doors that opened out onto the terrace from his bedroom. Tossing the doors wide open, he let the cool morning breeze dry the remaining sweat from his body.

Taking several deeps breaths, he tried with little success to calm the rapid beating of his heart. This morning marked the fourth day in a row that he had awaken in the grips of a nightmare, stemming from memories suppressed years ago. Returning inside, he strode from his bedroom and made his way to the kitchen.

Setting the coffee to brew, he went to take a shower while waiting for it to finish. Bracing his hands against the shower wall, Jace submerged his head under the spray. Rivulets of water streamed down his face; combining with the tears he could no longer hold back. His father's voice echoed in his head, reminding him that a real man didn't cry.

A harsh laugh escaped him. 'Yea well, I guess you'll just have to chalk it up as another example of how I let you down.'

When Jace emerged from the bathroom a short time later, he was met with the shrill beeping of his pager. Quickly dressing, he grabbed a travel mug to take his morning coffee with him, turned off the coffee pot and headed into Section.

Medlab was in utter pandemonium when he arrived. Last night's mission in Kolingrad had been a complete and utter disaster, its' profiler recently transferred in from a substation. Unfamiliar with the team members, he had grossly miscalculated operative placement. Point had been taken out almost immediately, leaving the others to scramble for cover.

Their only saving grace was that Michael had been monitoring in Comm. Using his expertise and vast field knowledge to evaluate their positions, he had been able to extract most of the team. Achieving end game had been a lost cause.

Jace quickly took stock of who was most critical, immediately taking them into surgery. For the time being, his attention to the injured eradicated any remnants of the nightmare that had awakened him.

After spending the next 12+ hours in surgery, Jace sank down wearily on the couch in his office. He wanted to go home, but with so many critical patients, he would need to remain close by in case something happened. Closing his eyes, sleep quickly embraced him.

**** Part Two ****

Seemingly seconds later, he awoke to the feel of soft lips upon his own. Forcing his eyes to open, it took him a moment to focus on and then recognize Nahla.

"Hey sleepyhead," she whispered.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly midnight."

That meant he had been asleep for nearly three hours. 'Three blissful hours of dreamless sleep,' Jace thought to himself. Sitting up, he ran his fingers through his hair, then reached up to take Nahla's hand and pull her down to sit on his lap.

"What are you doing here this late?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and squeezing lightly.

"Flash mission. I got called in last minute since Walter is on loan to Section 3 until tomorrow morning. I was just about to return home when I heard about Kolingrad and thought I'd stop by."

"I'm glad you did," he whispered, kissing her softly.

"Are you ok?" she asked, a worried expression on her face.

"Of course," he replied after a slight pause.

Nahla frowned, "You're starting to sound like Michael."

Jace supposed he should tell her about the nightmares, but it brought back a part of his past that he didn't care to visit at this time of night when his guard was down. He inwardly felt guilty that he should even need to raise his guard against Nahla, she being the first he would voluntarily open up to. However, this pain was deep, held back by a protective dam he'd spent years fortifying. If that dam burst, there was no telling the consequences, and Jace wasn't willing to
risk hurting Nahla for anything.


"Really, I'm alright. I just haven't been sleeping well lately." He explained, using his thumb to smooth out the crease worry had furrowed across her forehead. Hopefully the excuse would give him the time he needed to deal with the nightmares on his own.

"Well then, I have some good news. Word has it Aries has managed to talk Operations into letting CLHQ operatives take two weeks downtime. A schedule of who can go when should be up before the week is out."

"Have you already planned something?" He asked, secretly hoping that she hadn't.

Time alone with her had been something of a rarity since Madeline's last stunt. Nahla had repeatedly tried to reassure him that she wasn't suffering from any long-term effects of the Gelman reversal, and he had been forced to take her at her word. If he had been able to arrange it, he would have rather spent the time with her personally to make sure she was all
right.

Nahla shook her head, "No. I wanted to wait and see if you and I were scheduled for downtime together, then maybe plan something just for the two of us."

"Sounds good to me," Jace smiled and said. "I've missed you. I don't get to spend nearly enough time with you as I'd like."

Obviously she was pleased with his answer, for he was rewarded with a long slow kiss that might have quickly heated into something more had it not been interrupted by a knock at the door. Jace felt Nahla try to stand, but tightened his grip intent on making her stay put.


"Jace, let me up."

"Why? What does it matter that someone sees us?" He asked.

"You know it makes me uncomfortable, this isn't the first time we've had this discussion."

She didn't have to remind him of a fact that Jace was all too aware of. Although she had made significant progress in facing her relationship fears, this was one topic she just wasn't budging on. So what if someone saw them being affectionate with each other, he just didn't understand what the big deal was.

Rather than make a fuss and keep whoever had knocked waiting, he reluctantly released her. "Come in." he called out.

"Hey folks," Jason drawled as he popped his head in the door. "Sorry to interrupt your little romantic rendezvous, but the boss man needs Nahla up top pronto!"

"You couldn't use the intercom?" Jace asked.

"Kinda hard to do when you have it turned off," Jason smirked and winked. "Bet you two were just having a grand 'ol time down here..."

"Shut up, Jason. I'll ask for your opinion when I want it" Nahla snapped. "What's so important that I'm needed at this hour??"

"Chill out darlin', was only havin' a little fun." Jason drawled, completely unaffected by her comment. "Piggyback to the Kolingrad flash mission. B Team is out in 20 minutes and needs equipment."

"Fine, I'm on my way." She replied, making her way out the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Jace called out before she made it very far. It was their ritual
never to leave each other without a goodbye kiss, and he knew he was baiting her with Jason there.

Her cheeks tinged pink, she returned to his side, almost reluctantly. Damned if he'd let Jason's
presence hinder him from getting what he wanted (and what she wanted too if she'd ever let herself admit it), he swept her into a kiss meant to make her toes curl.

Mission accomplished, he released her and gave her a little push when she didn't immediately make a move to leave. "I'll call you tomorrow." He said. "Love you."

"Love you." Nahla replied, then exited.

"Hot little number you got there, Jacey-boy." Jason commented with a hoot of laughter. "Had I not just witnessed that little scene, I never would've thought she had it in her."

Jace cuffed the Comm Op hard enough to make his brain rattle. "Watch it Jas, that's my woman you're talking about."

"Don't let her hear you say that, she'll take your head off in a minute. Those CLHQ ladies tend to be an independent lot."

"Don't I know it," Jace muttered more to himself than to Jason, leaving him to make a round of his patients.

**** Part Three ****

Two weeks later, Nahla and Jace were out of Section and on their way to a two-week vacation in the Colorado mountains. Although the nights were still cold, the days would be warm enough to allow for time outdoors.

Jace had been looking forward to the time alone with Nahla, away from they prying eyes of Section. The nightmares had ceased over a week ago, which relieved him to no end.

Having arrived at the cabin after sunset, they spent the evening unpacking and getting settled in. After enjoying a light supper, they snuggled up in front of a fire with a bottle of wine.

"What should we toast to?" Nahla asked, raising her glass.

"To two weeks of no Section, as of right now it doesn't exist. It's just you, me and the Colorado hillside." He replied, clinking his glass lightly against hers.

"And to love," Nahla added before taking a sip.

"Most assuredly," Jace whispered, taking a sip from his own glass and then leaning in to seal the toast with a kiss.

Hours after the fire had been banked for the night, the silence of the cabin was broken by a harsh cry from the upstairs bedroom. Again Jace found himself sitting up in bed, bathed in a cold sweat, Claire's anguished cries echoing in his head.

"Jace?" Nahla murmured sleepily from her place beside him, having been awoken by his cry. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he replied, slipping out of bed. "Go back to sleep."

"Where are you going?"

"Just to get a drink of water from the kitchen, nothing to be alarmed about." His answer seemed to pacify her for her breathing deepened within a minute or so, telling him she had drifted back to sleep.

Padding barefoot to the kitchen, Jace chose instead to brew a pot a coffee, unwilling to go back to sleep regardless of the fact that it was 4 in the morning. Although this was a vacation, he had brought some paperwork with him to work on if the time allowed. Now seemed the perfect opportunity to do so.

Nahla awoke; faintly surprised to find the spot next to her empty, the cold sheets telling her that Jace had been gone quite a while. Grabbing his robe from where it lay on the end of the bed, she tied the belt and proceeded downstairs.

Jace was asleep sitting up in the oversized chair, a patient's file and his reading glasses sitting his in lap. Softly making her way to his side, she removed the articles from his lap and placed them on the kitchen table. It was there she noticed the nearly empty pot of coffee.

Having awoken when she moved the file, Jace moved into the kitchen as she was preparing another pot of coffee. She nearly dropped the decanter when he wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped a soft kiss on her exposed nape.

"Good grief you startled me!" She exclaimed, raising her face for a morning kiss. Jace willingly obliged.

"Whoa! Talk about coffee mouth, how much have you had??" she asked.

"You're one to talk, miss morning breath," he teased lightly.

Her eyes narrowed, but glittered with humor. "A gentleman would never mention that a lady has morning breath."

"Next time I see one, I'll pass on the advice." He replied, leaning in for another kiss.

"What about .."

"I don't mind if you don't," he said just before kissing her.

"Point taken." Nahla said with a smile when he released her a moment later to rummage in the fridge for something to eat.

Several days later, Jace began to notice that Nahla was developing dark circles under her eyes. True they had been spending the days hiking around the countryside, but they hadn't been staying up too especially late at night. She should have been getting enough rest.

He let it go for another two days, but finally decided to say something when she joined him downstairs one morning looking as if she'd been hit by a truck, several times. Instead of going to the kitchen first for coffee, as had been her habit every morning thus far, she instead flopped on the couch.

"Good morning," he said.

Nahla merely grunted from where she had buried her head underneath one of the decorative cushions on the couch.

Jace stood and walked into the kitchen to prepare her a cup of coffee. The grunt really didn't surprise him; with the exception of that first morning, it seemed to take at least one cup to get her moving, up to three to get her talking.

He returned to the den and bent to place the mug on the coffee table. Before he even straightened up, a hand snuck past his leg, aimed for the coffee mug. Jace stopped the hand long enough to kiss its back before letting it continue its course.

Taking the time while she awoke to shower, he was standing in front of the sink shaving when Nahla joined him in the bathroom. He was more than a little worried to see that the coffee didn't seem to be doing the job in waking her up this morning.

He watched her shuffled past him, stopping long enough to brush a kiss on his bare shoulder before moving past to sit on the edge of the tub. Using a towel to wipe off the excess lather, he turned around to prop his hip against the vanity.

"Nahla, are you sleeping alright?" he asked.

She shook her head as she took a sip of coffee. "No."

"Is something bothering you?"

Nahla released a deep sigh, a sure sign something definitely wasn't right. "Jace, who's Claire?"

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