Post by Jo Jordan ★ on Sept 15, 2009 23:17:48 GMT -5
(Joint post between Curse and Jo and Lexi used with permission)
The afternoon sun was just beginning to fade into evening when a black Hummer made its way up the drive towards the Jordan residence. Behind the wheel sat a tense Lexi Blair and in the passenger seat sat a man recently returned from the dead. Casting him a look from her side of the vehicle, Lexi shook her head and then frowned. He looked like hell and she wasn't at all sure that just showing up was the right thing for him to do. When she'd first received the call from his commander asking her to arrive at the airport, she had figured she would be picking up some things that they wanted returned to his widow. Her first look at the man himself had almost been her undoing. She couldn't imagine how it would be on his wife. The young blond had even gone so far as to dose him with holy water before hugging the hell out of him. Curse had taken it all in stride before quietly asking her to take him home. Nodding immediately, they had said goodbye to Derek and the rest of the team responsible for bringing Curse home and started out for the house. It was only on the way that the warrior had told her that he hadn't yet called Jo to let her know he was still alive. Arguing vehemently, Lexi had finally been forced to give in to his wishes against her better judgment.
Now, passing the rest of the distance to the house, the young woman finally pulled the Hummer to a halt in the drive and glanced over at Curse.
"Stay here while I go get Jo......... "Jumping from the vehicle, Lexi traversed the path to the door and rang the bell. Waiting impatiently for JO to answer, she wondered what the hell she was going to say to her friend.
Jo was upstairs trying to rest while her mother had gone off to the store and then stop off at the bar to check in on things. Jo hadn't been up to much lately. Finally she had stopped crying in front of her mother. She knew her mother was worried about her. So now she just cried when she was alone.
Hearing the door bell rang she sighed. It wasn't like she was getting any sleep anyway. But who would be showing up now? Struggling to her feet a bit she got up from the bed and made her way carefully down the stairs. The sun was barely above the horizon so there were shadows creeping over everything. She ran a tired hand through her hair and idly thought that it must look like crap. But she didn't really care.
Finally as she made her way to the front door she could just make out the familiar black Hummer. Lexi or Max was here? She found it strange that they hadn't called first. Going to the door she opened it to find Lexi there with an odd look on her face that Jo couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"Hi Lexi... What's going on? The baby OK and everything? I wasn't expecting you."
Seeing Jo's appearance, Lexi felt an even bigger twinge at the shock she was about to deliver. However, before she could say a word, the passenger side of the Hummer opened and Curse appeared first with crutches and then with his whole body. Grimacing, the blond sighed and looked at her friend.
"Surprise?"
Sitting inside the Hummer, Curse struggled to bring his own emotions under control so that he could greet his wife with some sort of composure. Unfortunately, at her appearance at the door, he found he couldn't wait any longer. Throwing the door open, he shoved the crutches out and followed them with ill grace. It was only when he almost fell on his face and the pain about doubled him over that he slowed down and looked towards his wife. He honestly had no idea what to say to her but stood there swaying as he awaited her reaction
Jo was about to step aside and invite Lexi into the house when she saw the door on the Hummer open. At first she didn't think anything of it. Probably just Max or Ben getting out of the car. So she looked back at Lexi.... But, something made her look back at the person getting out of the vehicle. Then she heard Lexi's voice in a kind of strangled tone say "Surprise?".
Her eyes shifted back to the person getting out of the car. Crutches and various other injuries apparent , his face was battered and bruised but it was unmistakable who it was.
"OH MY GOD!"Jo gasped out and had to lean against the wall for support. She started to hyperventilate and looked back and forth between Curse and Lexi. Not sure what to do, she felt paralyzed.
Swallowing hard she stood there staring. She wasn't sure what she was seeing was real. But the tears started to come anyway. Taking a deep breath she pushed herself away from the wall. On not so steady feet she moved toward him. Rivers streaming down her face. When she finally got to him she wanted to fall into his arms but knew that wasn't wise. It looked like he needed her help to walk more than she needed his.
She closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead and said a silent thank you to someone. She didn't know if there was a God or not, but whatever powers that be that were out there she thanked them. Trying to wipe away tears she stared at him for what seemed like a long time.
"It's really you? Why didn't someone call me? ... Oh.. nevermind... It doesn't matter. You're really home?"She moved close to him.... carefully leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.
"Let me help you get inside. Because I think I'm not going to be able to stand much longer and I don't think you can catch me right now."
The moment Jo started across the lawn, Curse could see the effect his "death" had had on her. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't been taking very good care of herself. When he felt better, he made a mental note to give her hell for it and then she was in his arms
Pulling her tight against him, he breathed in her scent and then nodded.
"Its really me, Darlin...... I'll tell you the story... later... Right now, I just want to hold you and know you aren't a fantasy dream."Aware that he was probably leaning on her more than he should, Curse tried to put his weight back on the crutches but really didn't want to let his wife go. Sighing, he glanced at where Lexi stood awkwardly and gave her a lopsided grin.
"Well.. actually, I think Lexi is the first person you should thank... She got a hell of a shock when she saw me at the airport. For a moment there, I thought she was going to blast me for a demon."Using his crutch on one side and his wife on the other, Curse moved slowly towards the house.
Jo nodded as her husband spoke. Just hearing his voice brought the tears back. The voice was a bit raspy but the familiar "Darlin'" had her emotions back on overload and choking back sobs, unable to speak again. As they hobbled their way toward the house she glanced over at Lexi as Curse mentioned her. Smiling at her friend.
It seemed to take them a long time to get through the front door. But they made it. Jo helped Curse and took him to sit on the couch. Sitting down beside him she looked him over. Touching his face gently. Knowing that he had to have gone through hell. There was so much she wanted to say, wanted to ask but the words wouldn't come out right now. She put her head against his and whispered softly to him.
"I love you, I love you, I love you."She repeated the phrase over and over. Then she let herself lean against him and just wanted to feel his arms around her again.
Once inside the house, Curse allowed his wife to sit him down and then held her close. He could hear the words she was saying and he couldn't seem to stop the same return. Pain racked his body but he didn't let go of her now that he had her in his arms
From the corner of his eye, the hunter saw Lexi carry in his bag and then head into the next room to give them privacy. He smiled as he realized that she was probably waiting around to make sure neither one of them needed anything but feeling highly uncomfortable while doing so.
After a few minutes had passed, Curse pulled back and placed his hand on his wife's tummy.
"Everything ok with the babies? Everything Ok with you??"He asked worriedly when he took in how round she'd gotten.