Post-Homeplot

[bennet_beauty]

Ever since Carwood had returned from the strange sleep that had once afflicted her, Jane had been most concerned with him. It had not been long, but she still felt as though something must have happened. Sonya had even asked her and she was not sure what to think. And so, she set about dinner that evening with the clear goal in mind of wishing to

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[niceofyoutoask]

He'd been finishing up a few things at the Boarding House, so he shut the door behind him with an eye to the kitchen and a mind to the fact that he was near to being late. It was somewhat of a surprise to see the table only set for two, but he didn't dwell on it before slipping a hand around her waist and leaning in to press a kiss to her temple. "Evening, dear."

[bennet_beauty]

Jane leaned into his touch, pleased to have him with her and to be able to indulge in such affections, even if her worry lingered. "Good evening," she said fondly. "I've already had Lydia eat her dinner. I thought perhaps you and I could eat and discuss more adult topics of conversation?"

[niceofyoutoask]

"Of course," He assured her immediately, even as his forehead creased with worry. "Is everything alright?" His eyes moved to the baby, then back up to her face, wondering what sort of 'adult topic' it could be. He gestured to their seats, his hand slipping into hers.

[bennet_beauty]

"Everything is fine, Carwood," Jane hurried to assure him, reaching out to clasp his hand and squeeze it lightly. "It is just that ever since you were asleep, I have been wanting to know what happened. And I believe it is time for us to discuss it."

[niceofyoutoask]

He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand, wondering how to answer. He'd hadn't wanted to bring it up, hadn't wanted to worry her, not when it had been such a rough few days. He'd always been a man who played things close to the chest, and it didn't seem right to worry her when it appeared no more than a dream from this side.

And yet here he was worrying her, despite his best efforts. Besides, he'd never been trying to keep it from her, just... ignoring it.

"Yeah," He said, looking at her. "Alright. You remember when we woke up in Huntington last year?"

[bennet_beauty]

"Of course," Jane concurred with a nod of her head, trying not to frown too deeply as she did not count those times as the best in her time on the island. After all, she had felt as though being with Carwood was hopeless, then.

[niceofyoutoask]

"I woke up in Sonya's world," He explained, and wondered how the hell to explain it all. "At the start of a war, it..." He'd gotten pretty good at talking about his own war, putting it into terms he and others could understand, a way that didn't bring things back too strongly or misrepresent what really happened. He shook his head. "There was all sorts of demons and magic that I'd never seen before."

[bennet_beauty]

Jane furrowed her brow as she paid close attention to his words, truly concerned about everything he had seen. "Demons?" she asked worriedly, laying a hand upon his, hoping to know he was not harmed. "Are you well? Were you hurt?"

[niceofyoutoask]

He shook his head. "I was pretty banged up - we all were. We were there for about a week, and couldn't catch a break. Some of Sonya's friends didn't make it." It was a bit of a stretch calling Cage a friend of Sonya's, but it seemed only fair to be generous as to a dead man's esteem among his comrades. "But I was fine. More worried about getting back to you and the kids than anything else." He gave her a small smile and shifted his hand to hold hers.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane pursed her lips and brightened at once, a strange dichotomy caused by his words about what happened physically in combination by the way he spoke of their children. She faltered, mildly, a fond look in her eyes. "We would miss you so endlessly if you had gone, but it only seemed as though you were sleeping. Liddy made sure to tend to your bedside."

[niceofyoutoask]

He chuckled softly. "Sweet girl," He said, affectionately, even if he felt guilty that he should worry and draw the attentions of more than one of his loved ones for three days. "Takes after his mama."

And that brought up the worst part of all. He looked down at their hands, then glanced back up to meet her eyes. "You were there," He said simply, remembering just how shaken to the core he'd been. "Not really you - a magician in your shape - but it looked like you. I thought it was you."

[bennet_beauty]

"Me?" Jane reacted with sudden shock. "But how could that be! I was here the whole time, I do not think I ever fell asleep but once while you were." She was stricken to think that there was someone there with her appearance. "What-what did I do?"

[niceofyoutoask]

"One of our group was wounded," he explained, thumb running over the back of her hand, and you - I mean, the false version - tried to convince us to leave him." He shook his head.

"It wasn't really you," he assured her, even if he'd been fooled.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane sat back in her chair. She was thinking this over and trying to picture it in her mind, a wary look upon her face. It all seemed too strange to truly understand. "Was I...was I horrible?" she asked softly.

[niceofyoutoask]

"You were lovely," he said, and his own voice sounded painful to his own ears. "I thought you'd shown up just like Sonya, Hanzo and I had."

[bennet_beauty]

She hated the sound of such pain in Carwood's voice, especially with this, a hurt that she could not fix well-knowing how to make it better. She bit upon her lip as she regarded him, a wary look upon her face. "But I was not there," she said, something she already suspected he knew. "I was still here. With Lydia."