Running Away ((Blair1216&&Lady_Squall_Lionheart))

Jason winced as he glanced over at her, fangs nibbling at his lip, though careful not to draw blood as he realized she was crying. “…I know vera. Its just….I left home for the reason of protecting the people I cared for.I didn’t expect to find someone else to care for.”he sighed in frustration, because it pissed him off to worry about hurting her, worried him to. Scared that no matter how attatched he was, how much he wanted to protect her, that she’d startle him one day and he’d lash out with all that deadly intent and kill her before he even realized what he’d down. Swallowing hard as he got out of the car behind her he was quiet as he walked around the store. Picking up a few clothes for himself he walked over to her, holding out a hand for her clothes.

“My treat today. Hand them over.”he said his voice going low and hard, in a way that said he wasn’t going to let her overrule him on this and pay for her own things.

Vera huffed when he walked over, grabbing the few pairs of maternity jeans she had picked up. She pouted and gave them to her, wondering exactly why he was insisting on buying them. Was it because she got emotional in the car? Sighing, she didn't bother fighting him. Not when he gave her that demanding tone of voice... That tone said it all - that what he said was final.

"Okay, okay," she murmured, smiling a little. "Thank you."

Once they finished at the department store and headed for the grocery store, she pulled out a list. "I should probably warn you that Mr. and Mrs. Wittington invited us over for dinner on Christmas Eve." She gave him a frown. "I didn't exactly... turn them down. I felt bad. They've just been so nice to me, and..." She sighed, because she knew his reaction would be similar to his reaction a few minutes ago. She was forcing him in to commitments that he didn't ask for. "I can make up an excuse if I have to. It's not that big of a deal."

Quickly changing the subject, she got out of the car and started to head for the entrance and grab a buggy. "We need eggs. Do you want spaghetti this week? If so, we need to get some sauce..."

And, like always, she rambled through her nervous feelings.

Jason followed after the other, looking around himself, lost in thought as he tucked his hands in his pockets. Frowning slightly at her words he thought about it before shrugging.”They’re nice. And you shouldn’t have to cook dinner for just the two of us. It’ll be fun.”He said lying through his teeth. While he really didn’t mind going, it was also going to be torture for a man who had grown to prefer his own company. Well.that wasn’t true. He’d learned everyone was safer if he kept his own company, but he still longed for other’s company. Tilting his head a little he shrugged.”We can go if you want.”he said simply before frowning again.

“Spaghetti and meatballs would be nice.”he answered simply thinking about it, wondering why she sounded so upset. Hating himself a little for causing it, because he knew he was at fault for her rambling, but he had no idea how to reassure her.

Vera pushed the buggy and frowned, looking up at him through the corner of her eyes. "Jason, we don't have to," she said, "You were right in the car... You ran away to get away from commitments, and now I'm shoving them down your throat for no reason. Just don't worry about it. Same goes for the doctor's appointment in the morning." She looked down at her list. "If you don't want to go, that's fine. It's my problem, not your's."

She moved down one of the aisles, picking up a bag of pasta and a jar of sauce.

It wasn't that she was trying to push him away, because in all honesty, she wanted him at the doctor's appointment much more than she was willing to admit. As as far as the Christmas dinner goes, she thought it would be nice for them to have a place to go. They were lonely in their little bubble that they had (the "runaway" bubble), and she just wanted to have a nice holiday. One where they didn't have to worry about anything for once. However, she was a smart girl. She knew he was not her boyfriend, and therefor, she couldn't make him do anything. He was a private person, and even though she had managed to get him to come out of his shell a bit, she was still just his room mate. Using his name for the baby was one thing. That was for protection... But the other things she was asking of him was not fair.

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" she asked, pushing the buggy along beside him.

Jason frowned watching her as she started shopping, pausing at the doors as he pretended to be deciding what chocolate sauce he wanted. Frowning as he thought, because while he felt relief at her words, of allowing him to skip out, he also knew that isolating himself, as much as he had, wasn’t good. Because if he totally lost touch with the world, the animal would win, and he’d forget that he was even a little bit human. Shuddering a little as he ran his hand through his hair, he picked up the Hershey syrup before following after her, deciding till he was home to deal with the question of the doctor’s appointment, because the fierce desire to go, to make sure she was safe, and that the doctor’s weren’t asking her to many questions, the man had a feeling it was going to be a argument.

“Steaks would be good. Mashed potatoes to.”He said starting a little as she talked to him, turning to look down at her with a slight smile.

Vera nodded at his answer, picked up the last of the groceries, then checked out. Once they were back home and everything was put away, she walked toward the back room and opened it up. Like he said, it was full of the older woman's stuff and was extremely dusty, making her sneeze a few times. However, it was actually a perfect room for a nursery. The bedroom was centrally located with the only window facing the fenced-in back yard, and the ceiling came to a cone-shaped point, giving the room a unique shape... Now all they had to do was get it clean and ready.

"We could take a lot of the collectibles to the antique shop," she said, thinking about her second job, "There is a little bit of money in this stuff, I'm sure. That way we don't have to just throw it away in the dumpster." She frowned at that, because like him, she couldn't bring herself to throw away a life time of valuables. "And some of the furniture can be used, like the dresser and rocking chair."

She turned toward him and placed her hands on her stomach, rubbing it gently. "Everything okay?"

Jason smiled a little, wrinkling his nose even as the dust made him sneeze equally hard as vera as he looked around the room. Blinking hard as the dust made his eyes water he looking around the room before starting a little, having not considered that. “We’ll have to see if they’ll bring out the truck, or let me burrow it to load up to get in there. It wont fit in the car, and definitely not on the motorcycle.”he said snickering a little before nodding as he brushed his fingers over the dresser’s edge, considering the lifetime spent with these items. “It would be good to use them. I am sure the woman would like someone to get good use out of them.”

Looking at her, his eyes dropped to her stomach, looking her over, making sure that she was okay before looking up at her face again, sighing softly.”I want to go to your doctor’s appointment. Not because you asked me to, I’ve grown found of the idea of kids…even if not my own.”he said tilting his head a little as he looked out the window.

Vera tilted her head to the side, raising her eyebrows slightly. The man never stopped surprising her, and well, confusing her. He was so private, quiet, and stern most of the time, as if he was guarding a secret too big to risk even telling her. However, he had a habit of doing sweet little things, like he was trying so very hard to be a good person.

"Oh, okay," she said, nodding, "That... That would be great." She gave him a smile, and it was relief was seen in her expression.

Turning back to the room, she started to go through boxes of pictures and knick knacks. It was so sad to see all of the stuff of a family who died along with her. It was obvious she was a widow, but she wondered why none of her kids or grandchildren got any of this stuff.

"I'm sure Mr. Wittington wouldn't mind us using his truck," she said, "But we shouldn't have to move out to much stuff... A lot could be used." She smiled. "Just needs cleaned up, you know? And I figured that I could go get a bucket of paint after we know what the baby is and paint the room, give it some new life."

“Good.”Jason said, relaxing a little as he realized that the woman wasn’t going to argue over his need to go with her. Offering a small smile he nodded as he joined her in going through things, a deep sadness settling into his chest. While he hadn’t known the woman before she died, it pained him to see a woman so abandoned by her family, that not any of the four kids or multiple grandkids in the pictures they found had claimed any of her things. Nodding absently at her words as he searched he looked up after a moment.

“I’ll work on cleaning them up. You shouldn’t do that.No hard work.”he nodded deciding on that before a absent hiss fell from his lips as he looked through pictures at the mention of paint.”And I’ll be doing the paint. That crap could be bad for you.”he said even though rationally he knew it was only harmful if she did something insane and ate it or something, he wasn’t about to let her do get anywhere near it.

Vera looked up at him, arching an eyebrow at his sudden insistent behavior. "Fine, okay," she laughed, "You can paint and clean, but I was also kind of wanting to paint all the furniture white to make it more nursery-like. Do you think you can do that too? I'll buy the pain."

Walking over to him, she slowly reached out (in an effort not to alarm his instincts) and put her hand on his arm. Her fingers gently caressed the skin of his forearm, feeling the unusual body temperature that she had gotten so used to, but never questioned. "I'm going to start dinner," she said, "I'll call you when it's ready."

An hour later, she started to walk down the hall toward the back bedroom. "Jason? The steaks and potatoes are ready," she called, "I made some brownies too." She smiled at that. Whoever thought that Vera Thrasher would be such a domestic girl one day? Just a few months ago, she was living in her mansion with maids to her disposal, only worrying about herself. Now she was in the kitchen, cooking brownies for another person just to see if she could make him smile.

Jason nodded quickly at her quick agreement, not about to give her a chance to decide to fight him on it.”I will. You can wipe it all down, then I’ll paint it on my next day off.”he said smiling a little as he settled down to work, shivering a little as she touched his arm, looking amused as he nodded his stomach growling.”Good.I’m starved.”he said smiling.

Jason stirred at the sound of her words, starting a little from where he’d been dozing leaning against the wall. “Coming!”He said over a yawn as he got to his feet with the eerie liquid movement of a serpent, smiling as he met her in the hallway.”Come on. You need to eat just as much.”He said smiling as he directed her back towards the kitchen.

Vera sighed and nodded. "I know, I know," she said, "I just wish that I wouldn't have to deal with throwing it up in the morning..." She moved into the kitchen and fixed them both a hefty plate, putting them on the table. Tonight, she decided to go all out since neither of them had work, making a salad to go with the meal. She even lit a candle and tried to make the table look nice... "You know, we should watch a movie tonight," she said, thinking about it as she started to cut into her steak, "I don't feel like seeing the news tonight. It's just starting to become unnerving to see my face pop up every time I turn on the television."

All of the sudden, the phone rang. Vera quickly stood up and answered it, talking for just a few moments before hanging up again.

"Sorry about that. My manager at the diner called and asked if I could work in the morning," she said, sitting back down. "Seems that, despite the fact that he doesn't like me at all, he still needs me when his more undependable waitresses quit mid-shift."

“yea, throwing up sucks, but at least you can enjoy it now.”He mused smiling a little as sat down at the table, before looking up at the idea of going to the movie, tilting his head slightly.”What movie do you want to watch?”He asked sounding amused, “Yea, I’m not even you, and its slightly unnerving to see all the time.”He said sighing, nearly jumping out of his skin at the sound of the phone, nearly getting to his feet, before stopping, relaxing as she answered it.

“are you sure?You’re always more sick in the morning.”he said sounding worried, and annoyed with the idea of how her manager treated her.

Vera took a bite of her mashed potatoes, chewing carefully before she answered him.

"I need the money," she admitted, shrugging, "Do you know how much money I'm probably going to have to pay in hospital bills? I don't exactly have health insurance under my fake name." She shuddered at the thought, taking another bite of her steak. She had to admit, she had become a hell of a cook since she started cooking every night for him. "Yea, but I think I'll be okay. It's the super early shift. I have to be there at three, and I should be done by nine, just in time to come back home and pick you up for the doctor's appointment. The I can come home and eat lunch before working up at the antique shop."

She gave him a smile and thought about it. "I'll watch any movie," she said, "But do you think I could convince you to go rent one? My back hurts after going through those damn boxes."

“Well…I hadn’t thought of that. Fuck…”Jason said wincing as he stared down at his plate, feeling stupid for not considering already that she didn’t have health insurance, that she was going to need more help. Already working out how to help her, he nodded a little. “Okay. And you’ll have to pick me up at the docks, Alex said I could just take a long lunch and come back after the appointment.”He said having called his boss while she was cooking before sighing softly. Worried about the hospital now, starting a little out of his thoughts when she spoke again.

“yea, Go rest. I’ll do dishes when I get back.”he said getting up and leaning down to kiss her forehead as he grabbed the motorcycle keys.”I’ll be right back.”he said leaving, returning in a few minutes with a few choices, grease, battleship, the first season of true blood…just a wide selection.”Vera?”He said softly as he stepped inside, talking soft just in case she was sleeeping

Vera nodded. "I can do that. The docks are on the way in to town, so that will work." She watched him for a moment, and when he leaned down to kiss her forehead, you would have thought she had been stunned. The funny thing was that her and Jason had never actually kissed. They had sex, and they lived together, but they always had a bit of a wall between them when it came to casual affection. She always just assumed he wanted nothing more from her in the physical department but sex... It was really nice, and even though it was just a kiss on the head, it had her blushing like a school girl. "Okay."

When he returned, Vera was curled up on the couch, her head resting on one of the throw pillows. She had in fact dozed off while he was gone, but she woke up when the door opened and shut. "That was fast," she said, looked up at him with a smile. She had changed into pajamas when he left, and she was curled up with one of the hand-sewn quilts that she found in the hall closet a few days ago. "What did you get?"

Jason smiled looking amused at the sight of her sleeping on the couch, shaking his head a little at the sight, knowing her back would probably be having fits later since she’d slept on what he deemed was a inadequately comfortable couch, but he couldn’t afford to replace it yet, so it worked for now. Standing in front of her he smiled a little.”Grease, battleship, the first season of true blood?What do you want?”he asked already moving to put the movie in the dvd player as soon as she decided, putting it in before moving back to the couch and laying down next to her, stretching out, resting his feet up on the coffee table as he relaxed.

"True Blood," Vera said with a smirk, finding it ironic considering the town in the show was not that far from where they lived. As he started to play the show, she went into the kitchen to grab the plate of brownies she made, putting it on the coffee table and having one for herself... She had to admit, they were pretty good for her first batch of brownies.

Vera yawned and sat back down, her legs curled up underneath her as she watched the movie. However, she barely made it half-way through the second episode before she was asleep again. In her sleep, she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, curled up against his side. Of course, she wasn't aware of it, but it showed how much she trusted him. That even though he insisted that he was dangerous (and that's why they never slept together, in order not to catch him off guard while he slept), she trusted that he wouldn't hurt her.

Jason nodded looking as amused as she did that the town wasn’t that far away. Sighing as he stretched out to watch the show he smiled as he nibbled on the brownies, glancing at the woman leaning against him. Looking thoughtful because it seemed she trusted him to not hurt her. Biting his lip he pressed a kiss to her head, thinking hard as he watched another episode thinking to hard to really enjoy it. swallowing hard as he shifted, picking her up and heading for his bedroom.

Settling her into the bed before he could think better of it, he swallowed, deciding to trust himself as she trusted him, crawling in bed with her, sighing as he fell asleep, not holding her, but trusting her trust in him as he drifted to sleep.

The next morning (well, it was 2 AM, so it wasn't as late in the morning as she would have liked), Vera new immediately that she was not in her bed. Shifting, she looked around Jason's room with confusion, the over at his sleeping form. She wasn't exactly sure how she got there, or why he was there with her, but something told her that he brought her there... And while he was not holding her in his arms, the fact that he even fell asleep next to her was a huge step, and she'd take it. Smiling, she shifted out of the bed to go down the hall and change into her clothes and apron for the diner, the moved back into his bedroom. She didn't try to touch him, learning from experience that it wasn't a good idea while he slept, but called for him. "Jason? I'm going to work. I'll pick you up later, okay?," she said, feeling weird about leaving him so early like this. She knew her body would hate her for working at the diner and the antique shop in the same day, but she simply could not turn down the money. Not with those daunting hospital bills coming her way...

Jason stirre d at the zound of her voice blinking sleepily."okay...be careful. Ill see you later."he muttered eaiting until he was sure thst she was gone before getting up and dressed. Having every intention of making sure she got to work fine. He didn't care if that made him a stalker or anything, he just needed to knoe she was fine. Smiling sligjtly as he past the diner on his way to work,pleased that she'd gotten there,nd satisfied enough that he could work in peace.

Later when she pulled up to the docks he smiled a little as he walked down the ships focking ramp heading for her."you ready to go?"he said looking her over making sure that she was okay.

Vera walked up to the docks, her hands shoved into the pockets of her black winter coat. Luckily, it was just big enough to cover her stomach, keeping her warm. "I'm ready," she said, nodding at him with a smile. She had to admit, she was pretty excited to see what the baby was. It meant she could think about what color the nursery would be, what names she wanted to choose from... It gave her things to think about that wasn't as daunting as hospital bills or her family finding her.

When they got to the doctor's office, Vera did as she was instructed, taking her clothes off and getting up on the table like always. The female doctor smiled when she walked in, looking pleasantly surprised to see Jason with Vera.

"Well, there's Daddy," she said, reaching over to shake Jason's hand with amusement, "It's nice to have you here, Jason. Penny tells me you work quite a bit."

As she talked, she started to get everything set up for the sonogram, flicking machines on and pushing Vera's hospital gown up to expose her growing stomach. With a gentle touch, she smeared some cold gel on to her skin, making Vera wince a little.

"He does," Vera said, smirking up at Jason, "But we are both excited."

The doctor smiled and began the sonogram, looking up at the screen. The sight of the baby on the screen was mesmerizing... Beautiful, in fact. It made everything feel so real, even if scary.

"Very healthy baby. Right on track," the doctor commented, "Do you still want to know the gender?"

Vera nodded enthusiastically. There was no way she could wait. She was not exactly a patient person.

Jason's eye twitched a little at her words,resisting the urge to correct the term daddy. It wasn't that he wasn't attatched to the kid,he just found it a odd way to greet someone you first met. Shaking her hand he smiled as he sat down next to vera on the chair provided in the room,holding her hand as he watched the doctor in fascination having never considered what went on during a doctors visit.

Smiling at her question he nodded."please tell her,o she'll stop obsessing over it."he muttered teasing his'wife' as he watched the sonogram,something tight amd worried relaxing in his chest at the news everything was okay

Vera squeezed Jason's hand out of excitement. It was nice having him there. It felt less lonely to have someone to share the news with.

The doctor laughed a bit and looked back up at the screen.

"Well, you two are looking at having a little baby girl in February," she said.

Vera looked up at the screen in awe. So she was having a little girl... Part of her was shocked. She truly thought that she'd have a boy, simply because that was what her gut was telling her. However, now that she thought about it, the idea of a girl seemed nice. It meant that she might be able to break the mold of how the girls in her family were raised to be (spoiled, prim, proper, entitled, sheltered beyond belief...). Instead, she could have the relationship with her daughter that she always longed to have with her uptight mother. Instead of being bonded to a hired nanny like Vera was during her childhood, Vera's daughter could have a mother that truly cared about her in ways that weren't just superficial.

"Your fluids are on the low side of normal, however," the doctor commented, "And you aren't far enough a long to take any chances."

Vera looked concerned. "What does that men?"

The doctor shook her head. "Try not to worry," she said, "What I'd suggest is that you take it easy. I know you work a lot, but I'd prefer if you didn't work more than absolutely necessary. We are going to up your appointments to every other week, just so that we can monitor your fluids and the growth of the baby. As long as you're extra careful, you should be absolutely fine."

Vera nodded and bit her lip, knowing that if she needed to worry, the doctor would say so. It just made her nervous to think that she was going to be in a position where she'd probably have to let go of one of her jobs, because she really, really needed the money.

Jason frowned as he looked at the doctor then at vera in concern, swallowing the hiss that threatened to escape. The man wanted to growl and demand that she lay down right away, to relax. Looking at vera, reaching out to squeeze her hand as he dipped his head to kiss her forehead. “Just quit the diner. You don’t like it, and I can pick up more hours on the docks. You need to relax, otherwise you’re going to make you both sick.”Jason muttered, willing to be a bully to make sure that she relaxed.