Topic: A Sleepless Night

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:17 EST
When Izzy came to, it was to almost complete darkness. Her head ached, her mouth was dry, and there was a sharp pain in her neck where she had been injected with something. She groaned softly, raising her head to look around. She was still in the library, it seemed, not a sound from the rest of the house. But there were no lights on, and what little light there was came from the moon outside, shining through the cracks left in poorly closed curtains. Her right arm was bent awkwardly above her head, but when she tried to move it, something metallic bit into her wrist, attesting to some weight attached to her. She pulled harder, biting her lips against the pain in her wrist as she tried to free herself.

Her struggle to free herself was answered by a familiar albeit sleepy groan right beside her, as Jax started to come out of his own drug-induced sleep, slumped against a chair, one arm hanging over the chair, the same metal weight attached to his wrist, connecting them both.

Pinned somewhat in her own position, Izzy blinked, trying to clear the fug from her head as she braced her feet against the end of the couch and pulled harder on her captive hand, trying to twist about to see just what she was attached to. "Ryan?" she whispered in the darkness. "Ryan!" One hearty tug later, and the leather on the couch proved to be no contest for gravity. She landed on the floor with a loud thump, her right arm still in the air, and her cheek on someone's shoe.

It was the pain in his wrist that eventually woke him, his muddled mind unable to make sense of what was going on and his speech so slurred he sounded like he was drunk. He pried his eyes open to darkness, but for some vague and blurry moonlight streaming in through a window, and someone calling his name. "The hell ..." he murmured, tugging at the feel of metal around his wrist and realizing he wasn't so much attached to a what as to a whom.

"Ouch!" Finally managing to get her left hand underneath herself, Izzy scrambled up onto her knees. In the gloom, she realized that she was kneeling at Jax's feet, and worse ....they were handcuffed together. She shook her right hand experimentally, watching as his left wiggled with the movement. "Typical."

Typical of what, he might have wondered if he wasn't feeling so groggy. He was at least cognizant enough to realize it was Izzy's wrist he was attached to. "Did you get the number of that train?" he asked, groggily, referring to the figurative train that had just hit him.

Groaning once again, Izzy rubbed at the sore place on her neck as she tried to sort out just what, exactly, had happened. They'd been escorted into the library, and Sisman had said something about a friend, and ...."God, what did they do to me?" she asked, wincing as her fingers brushed the sore spot on her neck. "Ryan' Are you okay?"

"Drugged you," he replied, shifting in the chair, not to get comfortable, but to get his bearings. It was coming back to him slowly, though he felt a little like he was just coming out of a week-long drinking binge. "You okay?" he echoed her question at nearly the same time.

"My neck hurts," she admitted, but apart from that, she seemed fine. Nothing was missing, her clothing was all where it should be ....A faint sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized that not only was the sapphire ring still on her finger, but the bloodstone ring had been left in place, too. "Not entirely sure if I trust myself to stand up just yet, though."

"Then don't," he said, trying to stop his own head from spinning. He realized after a moment that they were still in the library, but thankfully, they were alone. No bugs in here; no cameras either, or so he hoped. Even if there were, it was dark. They'd been left alone until ....until what? Until Alistair came to collect them. He had no doubt there'd be a few thugs outside the door, but that was the least of their problems. Right now, the main problem was the fact that they were attached at the wrist. "We gotta get outta here," he said, stating the obvious.

"Not without that bloody scarab," she muttered, settling back on her heels. It would have been comfortable, if her arm hadn't been hanging in mid-air awkwardly. "Oh, this is going to get annoying ..."

He moved his arm so that she could move hers, too. Thankfully, Alonzo and his men hadn't seen fit to handcuff them to anything but each other. That was Alonzo's second mistake. The first was messing with them to begin with. "I don't give a fuck about the bloody scarab," he told her between clenched teeth as he peered at the cuffs in the moonlight. "Please tell me you have a hairpin or ..." He trailed off, his gaze traveling to the desk that stood in the middle of the room - the one Alonzo had been sitting behind. If he could find a paperclip, he might be able to pick the lock.

"Earrings?" she suggested, shrugging. "I don't have any pins on me. And thank you, by the way." With his help, she made it onto her feet, only now realizing that her boots had been taken off her. That was odd, unless ....She snorted with laughter suddenly. "I think they must have had to redose us - I'm a fighter when I come 'round usually."

He looked at her sharply, even in the dark. She wasn't really laughing, was she" Did she think this was some kind of joke" "Be quiet, would you? Or do you want them to dose us again?" he whispered with a worried glance at the door, green eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Look, they obviously think we're still sleeping, or there would be a guard in here with us," she whispered back to him, curling her fingers through his to give him a tug up onto his feet. "We need to get that scarab. All we have to do is get a hand on it, and we'll be home and dry."

"Right, and just how do you intend to do that?" he asked, swaying a little for a moment before his head righted itself. "Come here. I have an idea," he whispered, tugging her by the hand to lead the way toward the desk. There had to be something in there he could use to pick the lock on the cuffs - and maybe even pick the lock on the desk.

"Family secret," she whispered to him, almost silent on her socks as they crept across the room to the desk. "The black ring isn't just for show. And before you say it, no, I am not going to use it to run off and leave you here, so don't even think about it."

Okay, he was game. Home wasn't anywhere on Earth, but on Rhy'Din. He knew that because Rhy'Din was his home, too, and while he knew all about magic and portals, he wasn't quite sure how a black ring was going to them steal the scarab and get them there. "Okay, I'm game. What's the ring do?" he asked, before glancing over at the door. "Block the door, will you? I'm gonna turn on the light," he whispered, still convinced Alonzo left a guard on duty outside the door.

"How do I do that, exactly?" she asked, raising her right hand. Still attached as they were, his left hand rose with it. "It's a portal ring. I press it in the right place, and we're on Maple Grove before anyone realizes it."

He already had the light on and was starting to quietly rifle through the desk in search of a paperclip or anything he could use to pick the lock on the cuffs, when he jerked his head up to look at her. Of course, being handcuffed to someone did impeded his search a little, but one free hand was all he needed really. "So press it!" he said, with a hiss of breath. Why were they fooling around if she already had an escape route?

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:18 EST
"Not before we get the scarab," she hissed back at him pointedly. She eyed him, one brow raised. "Just how stupid do you think I am?" she asked softly. "I know how valuable it is, and I know you were arrested a few months ago in Egypt. Scarab or death, isn't it?"

"They're not gonna find me in Rhy'Din, Izzy!" he argued further, neither denying or confirming her accusation. "I told you. I don't care about the scarab. What I care about is you."

"No, they won't find you in Rhy'Din, but you'll never be able to come back to Earth again, and that's going to make being married to me a little pointless, isn't it?" she hissed back at him. "There's no point in being an Egyptologist on Rhy'Din, I have to be on Earth. And I'm not going to risk your life, just to save my own skin. So ....do your thing, and I'll try not to get in the way."

"And I'm not going to risk your life, just to get the scarab," he argued further, glaring at her in the dim light from the desk lamp. "Look, it's my fault I got you involved in all this. At least, let me get you out of here in one piece," he said, hoping to appeal to her logical side. He'd figure something out about the scarab later. The important thing now was getting them both out of there.

"We will never have a better opportunity to get hold of it, and you know it," she whispered pointedly. "Look, we both know I'm far more stubborn than you are, so let's just pretend we've had this argument and I've won, shall we" We don't have time for this. Alistair's goons could show up at any time."

He shuffled through drawers one-handed, looking for a paperclip or a pin or something he'd be able to use to pick open the lock in the handcuffs, but that wasn't their only problem. "All the more reason we should leave while we can," he argued. "A-ha!" he exclaimed, a little louder than he probably should have, as he stumbled on a pile of paperclips in a drawer, among some other possibly useful items. All those episodes of MacGyver hadn't been a total waste of time, after all.

"Shh!" Despite herself, Izzy was shocked to discover that she was enjoying this, somewhat. Not the danger side of things, that was terrifying. But sneaking around, attached at the wrist, watching Jax do what he did best ....that was fun, in a way. "Thank goodness you're right-handed."

"Thank goodness he didn't think about that when he cuffed us," Jax agreed. "I'm gonna need your help 'cause I have to bend this thing into the right shape," he told her, which was going to take two hands, and one of them was attached to hers.

She raised her right hand obligingly, stepping closer to give him freedom of movement with both his own. "I may have to get you to teach me some of these underhand skills of yours," she murmured, watching in the light of the lamp. "They do suddenly seem very useful skills to have."

"I tried to tell you that years ago," he told her as he bent and straightened the paperclip out and focused his attention on inserting the clip into the lock at just the right angle and adding the right amount of tension to release the cuff. It wasn't the kind of thing that a novice could accomplish easily or quickly, but he was no novice.

"Yes, well, years ago, I was still mildly in shock about you being able to fire any weapon that came to hand," she pointed out in vague amusement. Relief flooded her as the cuffs came loose, drawing her hand back into her own custody to gently rub the mark about her wrist that would take a day or two to heal.

"They're all the same, more or less," he said, grinning as the cuffs came loose. He caught them in his hand to dangle them at her. "How much do you wanna bet the door's locked, too?" he asked, lowering his voice. He didn't waste any time rubbing his own wrist or worrying about the wealth of bumps and bruises Alonzo's thugs had inflicted on him before unceremoniously dumping him in the chair. He'd worry about licking his wounds - and maybe hers, too - later. Instead, he was rifling through the desk again, with two hands this time, looking for anything else that might be useful and shoving things into his pants pockets. His jacket was gone, as was his gun, holster, and wallet, but they were easily replaced.

No doubt their belongings from the room had been disappeared, too, which was going to annoy Izzy when she realized it. Nothing that couldn't be replaced, but she'd liked that evening gown. "I would never bet against you, no one in the world has that much money," she told him quietly, still smiling. The smile wouldn't last, but for now, they had overcome the first hurdle, and were one step closer to getting out of here.

"I want you to promise me something," he said, stuffing a few random items into his pockets - a letter opener, a business card, a few more paperclips, and various other items that might prove useful.

"Tell me what it is it, and I'll tell you if I agree," she countered warily. He really was almost too much of a gentleman when it came to her, and she knew that if it came right down to it, he would make getting her out safely his priority. "I'm not leaving you, if that's what you're thinking."

"This is serious, Izzy. These guys don't fool around," he said, taking her by the shoulders and turning her to face him, the look on his face matching his serious tone of voice. He didn't really have to tell her that. She knew Alistair almost as well as he did, and she knew he'd relish taking his revenge out on them slowly and painfully. "Once we open that door, there's no telling what will happen."

She let him warn her, let the seriousness of the situation take hold once again. But she wasn't going to let him send her to safety without coming along himself. She raised her hands, curling her palms to his cheeks to hold his gaze. "You listen to me," she told him, her voice soft and serious. "I love you. Where you go, I go. No more getting separated by idiots who are only in it for the profit. So no, I am not going to leave you behind. If it comes down to getting the scarab, or saving you, I will save you every single time. So don't ask me not to."

He couldn't help but feel amazed to see the sincerity in her eyes, in her voice, in the way she insisted he was more important to her than a priceless ancient Egyptian artifact that might drive some men to murder. He wasn't foolish enough to think it would be always be perfect; they were too different for that, but who wanted perfect anyway' Perfect was boring. All he wanted was Her. She was a far more precious treasure than any of the things Alonzo had up for auction, and he was determined to get her safely out of here, if it killed him. "Just promise me this ....If things go south, save yourself. Don't worry about me. Just get the hell out of here."

"I already said I wasn't going to promise that," she told him softly. "We both get out, or neither of us does. You wouldn't leave me, so why think I'd leave you?" She rose onto her stockinged toes to kiss him softly. "Let's get moving."

He scowled at her even as she kissed him, but there was no sense in arguing, especially since he'd probably lose. He eyed the ring on her finger, wondering how it worked. If it came down to it, he'd take matters into his own hands if he could, but that meant staying close. Hopefully, she'd have the sense to get them both out of there if things looked like they were going bad. The scarab wasn't worth dying over. He wasn't even sure why they were bothering going after the thing, except that he'd been blackmailed into stealing the damned thing. Er, procuring it. "Stay close, okay' And if anything goes wrong, poof!"

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:19 EST
"I'm on you like glue," she promised him, turning out the lamp as they headed toward the door. She had a feeling picking locks relied more on touch than sight, given the way he'd unpicked the cuffs while chatting to her.

Unlocking the cuffs was child's play for him. Unlocking the door would probably be likewise, but sneaking into the gallery and stealing the scarab' That was going to be next to impossible. Still, they did have an ace up their sleeve, and that was the bloodstone ring on her finger. If it really did work the way she said it did, all they had to do was get the scarab and disappear into mid air. He still didn't like it, but she wasn't giving him much choice. He pressed an ear to the door when they reached it, listening for any sound on the other side.

It didn't help that Izzy really was surplus to requirements for the actual scarab-stealing. All she was really going to be doing was sneaking along behind Jax and trying not to get in the way or be caught. He was the expert, and for all her stubbornness, she knew not to interfere when he was working.

He wasn't sure what time it was, but it was still dark outside, and there was no sound in the hallway. If he had to guess, he'd guess Alonzo was hoping to keep them locked in the library overnight, while Alistair made his way there to collect them. That gave them at least until morning, but if Alonzo was smart, he'd have his thugs checking on them every now and then to make sure they didn't go anywhere. If the handcuffs were anything to go by, the door was even easier to open. There was an audible click as the lock gave way, and Jax very slowly pulled the door open a crack to peek out into the hallway.

Thanks to the wide windows that spanned that main hallway, there was light enough to see by. No sound of footsteps, but a suggestion of shadow around a corner pointed to the fact that there was a light on outside the ballroom. If there was a light, then there would be a guard, but if they were lucky, he would be alone, bored, and half-asleep.

Jax closed the door again, just long enough to tell her what he found when he peeked his head out and for the two of them to form a plan. He whispered what he had in mind, hoping she'd go along with it, unless she had a better idea. They'd have to go about this as stealthily as possible, and that meant they'd have to not only be quick but quiet.

Izzy paled a little when she realized she had a slightly bigger part in this plan than she had initially thought she might. Still, it was the only way; she didn't have any other ideas. Pausing to take off her socks so she would have some kind of grip on the marble floor, she took in a deep breath, squeezing his hand as she nodded. "Let's go."

"I'll be right behind you," he whispered, pausing a moment to grab something heavy off the desk - a paperweight by the looks of it - and with a nod of his head, they embarked on what he hoped would be the last leg of their little adventure.

Seeing Jax arm himself did not do anything for her confidence, but Izzy could at least recognize that in some situations whatever came to hand worked best. Slipping out into the hallway ahead of him, she looked both ways warily, turning to creep toward the corner to peer around it. There was, indeed, only one guard, and he did not look particularly awake in the light of the standing lamp beside him. Drawing back, she signaled silently to Jax that there was only one heavy to deal with.

Jax shifted his grip on the paperweight. At least, he hadn't chosen to use the letter opener. Despite the fact that Alonzo's thugs wouldn't have thought twice about his or Izzy's well-being, he didn't want to kill the guy. He wasn't a murderer, though he wasn't afraid to use lethal force when it was absolutely necessary. This wasn't one of those times though. He was pretty sure they could subdue the guy and leave him with nothing more than a mild concussion. He nodded back to Izzy and waved her on, indicating he was ready as he crept slowly after her.

She wasn't ready. She didn't think she was ever going to be ready. But she didn't have a choice. Swallowing, she peered around the corner once again, waiting until the guard looked away, and made a creditable attempt to run from where she was into the darker shadow beside a suit of plate armor. The guard, of course, saw her. Izzy turned tail and ran for it, listening to the sound of his leather soles on the marble floor as she scrambled around the corner with a panicked look on her face.

Moments later, her pursuer rounded the corner, too, glaring at her as she backed up against the library door. "Should've stayed asleep," he growled quietly. "Where's your friend?"

"Right behind you," Jax replied, as he appeared from the shadows right behind the guard and brought the paperweight down on the back of the man's head before he had a chance to defend himself. He caught the man's slumping body, in one arm, the paperweight in the other, nodding to Izzy to get the door.

The paperweight made a sickening crack against the back of the man's head. Izzy winced in sympathy as he fell, pushing open the door behind her before reaching to help Jax manhandle the dead weight of the fellow into the library and use the handcuffs to make his wake up extremely uncomfortable. Not many people would be able to wriggle out of having their right wrist and ankle handcuffed together around the heavy weight of an antique desk, after all.

Jax would have gagged the man, but he figured it a waste of time. By the time he woke up and realized what had happened, they'd be long gone - or so he hoped. Why they'd only left one guard on duty outside the ballroom, Jax didn't know. He thought Alonzo was feeling a little over-confident, but it was a mistake the man wouldn't make twice. "Let's go!" he told Izzy once the man was secure, grabbing hold of her hand and starting back toward the door.

Hand in hand with Jax, Izzy moved back to the door, the two of them only pausing to lock it behind them, just to make life even more embarrassing for the man they had just taken out. She was stretched tightly, her nerves already at breaking point. What if there was a change of guard due" What if there were more guards inside the ballroom' So many what ifs, but they had come this far. Gripping Jax's hand tightly, she fought to calm her breathing as they returned to the corner to check the main hallway once again. "Anyone else there?" she breathed into his ear, hoping like hell the answer was no.

He almost felt sorry for the guy ....almost. He didn't envy him having to face Alonzo's fury once he found them gone. But they still had to get the scarab. "Not that I can see," he whispered back, as he peered around the corner. The door to the ballroom was right there, just across the hall. They were so close, but there was no way of knowing if anyone was waiting for them behind that door. "You sure you want to go through with this?" he asked, still of the opinion that taking their leave while they still had the chance was the wiser, not to mention safer, option.

But while he was taking the short view, she was looking further. She didn't want him to be confined to their homeworld, purely because a government wanted him dead for not coming through on a deal. She nodded, biting her lip. "Whatever you do, do not let go of my hand," she told him vehemently. "Even if there is someone in there, we should be able to surprise them into hesitating if we move quickly enough."

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:19 EST
"What are you suggesting" That we just grab it and make a run for it?" he asked, though it seemed the best option, especially considering their mode of escape.

"Yes," she said quite simply, her voice almost lost in the hush of the house. "Run in and grab it, and I'll use the ring. We'll be gone in seconds, and at this point, it really doesn't matter how much noise we make. Does it?"

"Well, I'd like to get my hands on the damned thing before the bullets start flying," he said, that cocky grin back in place on his face. He was being sarcastic, but they had no way of knowing, once again, what would happen once they walked through that door. "Here goes nothing," he told her, touching a quick kiss to her lips, a firm grip on her hand as he started toward the ballroom door, with the assumption that it, too, would be locked.

She couldn't help smiling a little as he kissed her, reassured by that cocky grin of his. If he was grinning, then he felt good about their chances. That helped her badly concealed terror at the thought of being caught. The marble was cold beneath her bare feet as they moved toward the ballroom door, her eyes nervously looking toward the staircase that swept upward from this hallway as she shifted the bloodstone ring to her forefinger for ease of access.

It wasn't so much about stealth anymore as it was about speed, but when he reached the ballroom door, he was surprised to find it unlocked, which could prove either good or bad. Good because it would be easier to get inside, bad because it might mean there was someone already on the other side of the door. He carefully pried open the door to take a peek, not wanting to linger in the hallway too long.

It was dark in the ballroom, once again the only light visible from the poorly closed curtains over the windows. Fortunately, they both knew exactly where the scarab was. Unfortunately, the light let in by the crack of the door alerted a guard left inside the ballroom. There was a scraping sound as he rose to his feet, pushing his chair back out of his way.

Jax heard a sound like chair legs scraping across the floor and froze in place. As he had feared, they weren't alone, but he hadn't heard any voices, so it might only be one guard. Could they really be that lucky' It was taking all his self control not to break into laughter at Alonzo's over-confidence. Somebody's head was going to roll tomorrow; he just had to make sure it wasn't theirs. Gripping Izzy's hand tighter, he decided not to wait for the guard to find them, but started toward the scarab, taking the most direct route through the artifacts on display to wear it was waiting for them.

Shaking, Izzy bolted through the door after Jax, trusting him to know the route as well as she did. "Hey ....hey!" a voice boomed in the wide space, followed by the unmistakable sound of a safety catch flicking off. She couldn't help it; she squealed in fright, running faster to keep up as the first bullet all but parted her hair.

"Shit!" Jax exclaimed, practically dragging Izzy behind him as they made a mad dash for the scarab. Now that they were this close, he wasn't leaving without it. He wished Alonzo's goons hadn't confiscated his gun, but they didn't have time for a firefight, and he couldn't risk Izzy getting hurt. It wouldn't be long before all hell broke loose, and there were guards crawling all over the place. There was no time to waste. "You have the ring ready?" he called, ducking his head as another shot rang out. Well, at least, the guy didn't seem to have a semi-automatic. Either that, or he was taking his time to take careful aim.

"I got it!" she squealed, utterly unashamed of being terrified as she rushed between the priceless artifacts on either side of them. She had a feeling it was only those items that were keeping them safe from a spray of bullets - Sisman wouldn't want to risk indiscriminate damage in here. "Grab it, let's get out of here!"

While she was grabbing the scarab, he was grabbing something else, just for fun - something that had caught his eye earlier, something pretty he thought might look nice on Izzy. Some might call it stealing, but considering Alonzo's reputation, Jax knew none of the items up for auction had been obtained legally, anyway. He shoved one item into his pants pocket before reaching for the other, shouting to Izzy over the gunfire. "I've got it. Go!"

"What are you doing"" she demanded, pressing the scarab into his hand to free her thumb for the ring, still ducking bullets. There was no time for an answer, though - she pressed the stone, willing herself home with a firm grip on Jax ....and landed in the safe room at Maple Grove with a loud cry of pain. As the bullet that had come with them slammed harmlessly into the wall, alarms sounding all around them, Izzy pivoted on her heels, knocked around by the force of the projectile passing right through her calf.

"A little bonus for our trouble," Jax replied, closing his fingers around the scarab, just as shots rang out again. He ducked his head, mostly out of instinct. There wasn't much point in trying to hide. He could only hope Izzy hit the panic button - or whatever it was - before either of them got shot. He grabbed hold of her around the waist in an attempt to pull her out of the way of flying bullets, when all of a sudden the room took a strangely familiar lurch, and they found themselves somewhere else - somewhere unfamiliar to him.

"Shit!" he exclaimed again as a bullet slammed into the wall, alarms loud enough to wake the dead sounding around them. Thankfully, he already had a grip on her waist or she might have been knocked into a wall. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, flooded with relief that they weren't being shot at anymore, but too disoriented to realize she'd been shot.

It was only when her leg gave out under her that Izzy realized she'd been shot. She whimpered - inwardly cursing for such a pathetic sound - and grabbed at Jax as her weight crumpled toward the floor, her foot already slick with blood as fiery pain surged through her leg as though making the point that she really wasn't as all right as she thought she was. There was already the sound of movement from upstairs - voices shouting at other voices to stay put - but right now, all Izzy cared about was the fact that there was a large wound in her leg that was bleeding far too much.

It was a good thing Jax had a firm grip around her waist, the scarab safely in his other hand. He lowered her gently to the floor as she crumpled, a tell-tale tear in her blood-soaked jeans. "Aw, Christ, Izzy," he muttered as he crouched down beside her, handing her the scarab so that he could take a better look at her leg. He pulled the letter opener out of his back pocket, not to dig the bullet out but to help him tear her jeans open so he could get a better look. Before he was able to get very far, there was a bark either in warning or greeting, followed by the sound of footsteps coming their way. "Friends, I hope?" he asked, a little worriedly. At least, it wasn't a lethal wound, but it worried him all the same.

Clenching her teeth as she slumped against the wall, Izzy didn't even dare look down at her injury. "Family," she managed to warn him, but even without the warning, it would have been blatantly obvious just who was bursting in through the door.

Disheveled and clearly only just woken up, Dom gave himself all of two seconds to absorb what was going on in the room and snarled, pure fury on his face as he advanced on Jax, reaching to heave the other man up onto his feet by his collar. "What have you done to her now, you piece of crap?"

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:20 EST
Jax muttered his favorite word once again as he was dragged to his feet. He didn't really need an introduction to know this was Izzy's older brother, but he would have preferred meeting the man under better circumstances. "You must be Dom!" Jax exclaimed, forcing a smile to his face, even as the man held him upright by the scruff of his shirt. As far as size was concerned they were a pretty good match, and Jax was no slouch when it came to a fist fight, but he didn't think punching the guy would make a very good first impression. He reached out to shake the man's hand, but forgot he was still holding the letter opener in his hand. "Oh, sorry!"

Dom's eyes narrowed, and a moment later, he was bearing Jax heavily into the wall. As estranged as Isabelle had been from her siblings for years, Jax was very lucky that Ash wasn't there, too. He wouldn't stand much of a chance against both angry siblings.

"Dom ..." Izzy's hand brushed her brother's leg as he strode past her. "Don't ..."

"Whoa, easy there, big fella," Jax said, pressing a hand against Dom's chest. Thankfully, not the hand carrying the letter opener, which he could have easily brandished as a weapon. He could see the glaring rage in the other man's eyes, and he knew he had some explaining to do. "I didn't do anything. It was Alonzo!"

Another man appeared in the doorway, a collie momentarily at his side before the dog went padded over to lick Izzy's face. "What the hell's going on here" Isabelle?" Jon said, looking from one to the other.

"Who's Alonzo?" Dom demanded, ignoring his little sister bleeding on the floor in favor of handing out some long overdue punishment to the man who had broken her heart years ago - something he technically wasn't supposed to know, but had been told in confidence by their mother when it had happened.

On the floor, Izzy winced, moaning in pain as Cosmo licked her cheek. "Hi, Jon."

Jon didn't waste any time, before crouching down beside Isabelle to take a look at her leg. "What happened?" he asked, though it was clearly obvious she'd been shot. "Vicki!" he called, turning his head so his voice traveled up the stairs to where he knew Vicki and Elle were hovering, waiting to find out what was going on. "Call a healer!" he called back. "This is gonna hurt a little," he warned her gently, as he tugged off his shirt so he could put pressure on the wound.

"Hey, aren't you that Fifty Shades guy?" Jax asked, realizing suddenly why the other man's face looked so familiar. "Bullet went clean through," he added, before turning back to Dom. "You wanna let go so I can explain?" he asked, trying to sound as polite as possible, though his patience was quickly nearing an end.

"On it!" came a female voice from upstairs, and a muted following with other voices, one of which had to be Humphrey, Izzy knew. She cried out as Jon applied pressure to her wound, trying not to flinch away. He was only trying to help, after all.

Beside them, Dom's scowl deepened as Jax talked. "You wanna explain so I don't slam you through this wall?" he countered, lowering his voice to add, "I know who you are, bastard. You have a hell of a lot more to prove than you think."

Jax frowned as he glanced at Isabelle, more worried for her than himself. He knew the man deserved an explanation. After all, as far as Dom and his whole family was concerned, Jax was the scumbag who'd left her in the lurch on their wedding day. "It was Alistair," he said, dropping another name he wasn't sure her big brother knew. "I know what you think, but it wasn't my fault. Izzy and me ....we sort of pissed him off, and Alistair didn't take too kindly to it. I couldn't be at the wedding because he was too busy poking holes in me at the time." His gaze softened on Izzy as he spoke, looking both wounded and guilty at the same time. "This time it was Alonzo. Show him the scarab, Izz."

Jon glanced briefly at the thing in Isabelle's lap, but he kept his mouth shut, focusing his attention on the wound and leaving the interrogation to Dom.

"Holes?"

Izzy's obvious distress at hearing just how badly things had gone on the day of their appalling wedding was enough to tell Dom that there was a lot here, and he wouldn't be doing anyone any favors by rearranging Jax's face, no matter how much he wanted to. He roughly released the man, turning to kneel next to his sister. "How did she get shot?" he demanded, his voice still tense, but a good deal less volatile. He glanced down at the scarab his sister was holding. "Wait, is that ....that's ..."

Jax might have relaxed once Dom had let go of him, but he knew it would take a lot more than a quickly rendered explanation to get into the man's good graces. "Yeah, it is," he replied, remaining where he was, though he wanted to go to Izzy and take care of her himself. He was grateful they had at least called a healer. It was going to take more than putting pressure on that wound to get it to heal.

"We should get her upstairs," Jon said quietly, reminding both men that Isabelle's health was more important than anything else at the moment.

"It really hurts."

Isabelle's quiet complaint brought out the over-protective in her big brother. It was such a childlike demonstration of pain, and he remembered the clumsy little girl she had been, all scraped knees and bruises. Nothing at all like the elegant woman she had grown into.

"You'll be fine, Bells," Dom promised her, reluctantly moving out of the way with a glare for Jax. "You, carry her upstairs."

Jon tied off his shirt around Isabelle's leg so that it would help stanch the bleeding until the healer arrived, before standing back so that Jax could carry her upstairs. His hands were covered in blood, but he figured Vicki would know it didn't belong to him. He looked at Dom, a concerned look on his face, for both of his cousins.

Jax took a step forward and handing Jon the letter opener, not even flinching at the sight of blood on the other man's hands before going to Izzy's side. "Easy, Izz. I've got you," he told her softly, as he very gently eased his arms under her legs and scooped her up into his arms. "It's gonna be okay, kiddo," he assured her, with obvious affection, though the smile on his face was strained with worry.

She bit down on the desire to cry as Jax lifted her into his arms, wrapping her own about his neck as she pressed her face into his shoulder. The trust there was obvious, the need to be close, and it gave Dom pause as he watched. Whatever was going on here, it clearly wasn't as clear cut as he had initially assumed. "Up the stairs, second door on the right," he said reluctantly, giving Jax directions to the second family room.

Jax did as he was told, carrying his burden as carefully and gently as he could up the stairs, while Jon and Dom remained behind, if only for a moment.

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:21 EST
"Easy, Dom," Jon quietly warned his cousin when the pair had disappeared up the stairs. "Give them a chance to explain," he said, knowing Dom's initial reaction was to beat the tar out of the guy. Jon had felt the same way about some of Lena's boyfriends in the past, but had mostly managed to contain his displeasure for her sake.

"It had better be a good explanation," Dom muttered, but he took the advice on board. He didn't particularly want to tell Jon just why he was this angry - it was Isabelle's business, and he wasn't supposed to know about it, anyway. "How the hell does a professor going to a garden party get shot, anyway?"

"Maybe she's not telling you everything," Jon suggested, alluding to the fact that just maybe Isabelle hadn't given her brother all the facts so as to not worry him. There were a few clues right in front of them, if Dom would set aside his anger and think rationally. "Just take a bit of advice and don't jump to conclusions, okay?" he said, before making his way to the bathroom to wash up so that Vicki wouldn't freak out when she saw him.

"She doesn't tell me anything," Dom pointed out, but he nodded, sighing harshly. "All right. I promise not to break the man's spine in your house." He clapped Jon's shoulder as his cousin went to wash up, and headed up the stairs himself in time to see Vicki ushering Rebecca, the healer on call to their family, into the second family room.

Jon didn't bother to point out that he wouldn't tell Dom anything either if he was going to freak out every time something went wrong. He'd been the over-protective brother himself a time or two. He went off to wash up, while Dom made his way upstairs. Meanwhile, Jax had settled Izzy on the couch while he hovered nearby, stroking her hand and muttering apologies.

"All right, where's the invalid?" Rebecca asked, her good nature sorely tried by the fact that it was past midnight.

Vicki rolled her eyes, patting the woman's shoulder. "This is Rebecca," she introduced the healer to the pair on the couch. "She's a healer, Isabelle."

Tearing her eyes from Jax, Izzy looked up with a pained grimace, nodding. "My leg," she said, gesturing to the bloodied limb. "Shot."

Rebecca snorted with laughter, rolling her eyes. "Grangers do seem to like getting in the way of fists and bullets, don't they?" she commented, looking at Jax. "Excuse me, I need to get to your wife."

If Jon were there, he might get a bit testy. They'd all been woken in the middle of the night, but the healer was the only one of them who was going to be paid well. Jax took an immediate dislike to the woman, thinking she seemed a little too amused by the wound in Izzy's leg. "Is she gonna be okay?" he asked, obviously worried. He already knew the answer to that question, but now that most of the danger was over, the adrenaline rush was fading, and he was starting to feel the strain of their evening taking its toll. "I'll be right here, Izz," he assured her, patting her hand and leaning close to brush a kiss to her brow, a strained smile on his face.

Isabelle nodded painfully, squeezing his hand. "I'll be all right," she promised him. They were out of danger, that was the important thing. Rebecca waited until Jax was out of her way, and knelt down beside the couch, undoing the shirt that was tied about Izzy's leg.

A little way away, Vicki hugged her arms about herself, chewing on her hair sleepily. Her bump was unmistakable in her pajamas. Under those watchful eyes, Rebecca worked her magic, reaching deep to heal the wound from the inside out. Izzy only flinched once, as the muscle knitted itself back together, but within moments, the only sign of the wound was the tear in her jeans and the blood on her skin.

Once all the excitement had died down, Elle had gone to find Dom, knowing he'd be upset and rightfully so. Jax stepped away to stand beside Vicki, only just noticing her there. "I'm Jax," he introduced himself, his attention riveted on Izzy and the healer. "I'm Izzy's fiance," he added, a little surprised to hear himself say it. Fiance. He kind of liked the way that sounded, even more this time than the last.

"Vicki," the redhead introduced herself, barely even blinking at the unexpected news that Isabelle was engaged. "Jon's wife." She nodded toward the couch, where the healer was still at work. "Do I need to know what happened, or is it all under control?"

"So long as Dom doesn't freak out again, I think it's under control," he replied, never taking his eyes from Izzy and the healer. He had the scarab in his hand again, glancing briefly at it before looking back to the couch. "I wonder if this thing is cursed."

"Dom's very protective of his sisters," Vicki mused quietly. "Even more given how long it's been since they were talking to each other. He just wants to look after them." She flashed Jax a wry smile, not even touching the comment on curses. "If he can handle the youngest marrying a pirate, I'm pretty sure he can handle you."

"A pirate?" Jax echoed, glancing briefly at Vicki, almost as if he'd just realized he wasn't alone. He wasn't overly surprised really. It was Rhy'Din, after all, wondering whether he was an improvement over a pirate. If only he knew that Dom himself had married a thief. "I don't blame him for hating me really. I'd feel the same way if I was in his shoes," he remarked, looking back at Izzy and swaying just a little on his feet. It had been a long night, after all, and he'd suffered his own share of abuse.

Noting the way he swayed, Vicki gave him a nudge toward a chair, catching Rebecca's eye. "Dom doesn't hate you," she predicted. "He just doesn't like you much, that's all." It wasn't much consolation, but it was a start. Finished with Isabelle, Rebecca rose to her feet, moving to take a look at Jax, too.

He didn't seem to notice the nudge at first, his reaction a little belated, before he realized she was nudging him toward a chair. He frowned as he reluctantly dropped into the chair, the scarab held clutched tightly in his hand, frowning as he remembered he'd shoved something else in his pocket before pulling out a long strand of what appeared to be a beaded necklace of some sort. "Almost forgot I had this," he muttered to himself before looking up to find the healer standing over him expectantly. "Is she okay?" he asked, weary dark circles around his eyes. He swore he was going to sleep for a week, once this was all over.

"She'll be fine after a good sleep," Rebecca promised him. "You look as though you have been through the wars yourself." She crouched next to the chair, laying her hand on his arm to reach through him in search of injuries to heal.

"I've been worse," he replied vaguely, letting her do her thing. He had his pride, of course, and was almost convinced he deserved the beating Dom would like to give him, but he was still grateful for the healer's touch. He found himself growing tired, eyelids heavy as the healer did her thing, the scarab dropping out of his hand to land in his lap, along with the beads, muttering almost drunkenly to no one in particular, "I'm sorry."

Isabelle Jackson

Date: 2016-06-25 18:21 EST
Pushing herself to sit up, Izzy smiled at the sight of Jax drifting so close to sleep. She caught Vicki's eye with a grateful glance. "May we stay here tonight?" she asked softly. "Mum will freak out if we wake her up so late."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Of course you can stay," she nodded. "There are rooms made up, and we can handle Jax into one for you to sleep it off."

With this settled, it was only a matter of minutes to convince Dom to help, and once that was done, Jax and Izzy were carried up to one of the many guest rooms to sleep off their ordeal. Dom, in particular, was very reluctant to leave them - to leave his sister with that man - but not even he could stand guard over them all night. Still, he was very somber as he settled back into bed with Elle, reaching out to hold her as his mind whirled.

Once the excitement was over and everyone was settled back in bed - including Isabelle and her boyfriend - it was up to Beauty to soothe the savage Beast. "Come on, Dom. Isabelle is a grown woman. She knows what she's doing," Elle whispered as they nestled close in their bed. There was more than one way to put a smile on his face, and she was quite skilled in that area, but she thought he might need to talk about what had happened.

"She got shot, Elle," he said, and despite his efforts to calm down, the anger was still there. He sighed, not wanting to be angry, raising a hand to rub over his forehead. "He's broken her once before. I've seen the pictures, I knew him as soon as I saw him. And now, somehow, they're back together" I don't understand."

"Do you think she understood when you chose to marry a thief" The very woman who'd tried to rob you?" she pointed out patiently, a caress of fingers against his brow to ease the worry from his face. "I know you're pissed, but she's going to be fine. At least, give her a chance to explain before you explode, will you?" she asked, concerned but also just a little amused by her husband's reaction to the situation, understanding his need to protect.

"He left her at the altar, Belle." Dom tried to explain why the break up had been so devastating for his sister, though he knew that Elle might not know Isabelle well enough to understand. "I mean, she didn't invite any of us, but Mum was there. He didn't call, or send a note, or anything. He just left her there to be humiliated, to have to put on a brave face, and then he hounded her for months afterward trying to get her to take him back." He sighed once again, wrapping his arms snugly about his own wife. "I don't want to see her make another awful mistake, that's all."

"Sweetheart, she's a big girl. You have to let her make her own decisions and her own mistakes," she told him, resting her head against his shoulder and moving his hand to rest upon the small swell at her middle that was their firstborn child - a son, though she hadn't told him that yet. "Sometimes things aren't always as they seem," she reminded him. That had been true of her own story, and she'd been fortunate enough to have been given the benefit of the doubt. She thought he owed Isabelle as much, though it was the boyfriend's honor that was in question here.

He knew she was talking sense, and despite not actually wanting to be talked down from his fury at what had happened to his sister, he felt himself calming down, rubbing his palm tenderly over the little bump at her waist. A faint smile touched his lips as he looked down at her. "I'm an unreasonable lump of custard, I know," he managed a soft chuckle. "I just don't like the guy, that's all."

"You don't even know him," she reminded him with a chuckle. "Tell you what ....Reserve judgment until after your sister has explained. Then, if you still want to hate him, I won't say a word." She rolled to her side to touch a kiss to his lips, soft and languid. She wasn't trying to seduce him exactly, just calm him down. "Now, that's enough about that for one night. We've only got a few hours left before Daisy bounces in here to wake us."

He didn't even get a chance to form the "but" on his lips before hers were doing something far more enjoyable. Dom growled his familiarly affectionate growl, stroking his hand down her side. "You, Belle, are a very persuasive woman."

"I have my charms," she replied, touching another kiss to his lips. "Now, get some sleep while you have the chance. You can interrogate Isabelle's boyfriend in the morning," she told him, settling back down beside him and snuggling close.

"Promises, promises," he murmured, but she was right. There was nothing that could be done here and now, and in the end, it was Isabelle's mistake to make. Still, he reflected as they settled down together to sleep ....that didn't mean he couldn't put the fear of God into Ryan Jackson at the very first opportunity. That would be fun.