"Correct me if I'm wrong, but if this is so very much like we did in Narnia, then why is it that here you're parading around in the nude
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Bart gave a soft tap on the door-frame, letting her know he was there. She'd run past where he'd been working in one of the spare rooms, and he thought something was wrong by the look.
Bart crossed the room to sit on the edge of her bed, putting an arm around her shoulders automatically. "What happened? I haven't seen you this upset in a while."
Bart held her, one hand rubbing her back, and it never occurred to him how this might look. She was family, team, and you didn't leave them hurting if you could do anything about it. "Never," he told her, without hesitation.
"I'll tell you again what I told you back then. You did good, reacting to subdue a potential threat. If things had been real, you would have been on top of things. That's what really matters," Bart said. "A dislocated shoulder, which is what that particular pin will cause if someone really fights, isn't a bad injury as things go, it's treatable. And it's hard to fight through that pain and lack of limb.
"Reacting as you're trained isn't something to be ashamed of. It's scary, when your body does something without you making a conscious decision, but you did the right thing. Now what brought that up?"
Bart wanted to say that it was obviously something or she wouldn't be a sobbing wreck, but he knew better. "Since coming here, I've never seen any of that. I've seen you scared, and I know you shut down for a while after Halloween, but you're stronger, and more confident, and a better person. You help people," he told her, loyally.
"There's nothing wrong with who you're becoming. Nothing."
It was very quiet. It was rare that the tree house was ever quiet so instead of announcing himself like normal, Xander had crept up the ladder, not wanting to disturb anyone if they were sleeping. Once at the door, he poked his head in. "Hello? Anyone home?"
Then he paused, eyes wide as he saw Jill and Bart. "What's going on?"
It was the look on Xander's face that made him realize just how they were sitting, and his ears reddened. "I'm not really sure," he said, although he didn't pull back.
He was just holding her, comforting her. "What about the others? Caspian, Susan, and Lucy, for example? There's others from home..."
"It's not that I don't have them-" Even though she didn't, not really. She didn't fall in with them, and as Eustace'd pointed out, it wasn't like she was with the rest, on the Dawn Treader.
And then she realised that she'd heard Xander's voice, and turned, her face bright red and wet with tears. "Xander?" She held out her hand to him, half-expecting him to leave, like Scrubb had.
The thought that had crossed Bart's mind had crossed Xander's but once he saw how upset Jill was, it was instantly gone. Bart was only doing what Xander would have done for any of his girls after all.
"Jill." He came forward and took her hand, moving to sit on her other side and lightly kissing her forhead. "What happened?" He asked softly, putting his arm around her waist.
Jill bit back another sob as she turned, slipping her arms around Xander's neck, shifting from Bart to Xander without thinking. Both of them were safe, but Xander... Xander was hers, and wasn't going to do what Eustace would. Wasn't going to tell her she was crazy, that she'd tried to murder him, that she was insane-
"Xander," she spoke against his neck, trying to figure out what else she could say.
Bart pulled back as she turned to Xander, carefully getting to his feet. He wasn't going far, nodding towards the room he'd been working in, but this was the kind of thing that privacy was best for. Being a sobbing wreck was one thing, but it was better to be with someone comfortable, and boyfriend trumped any claim he might have.
"Hey," he said, gently.
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How would he react when he found out she was living with two men? "D'you think I'm crazy?"
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"What brought this on?"
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"Nothing," she snuffled, an obvious lie. "I- I just- I wonder- do you still think- When I hurt you-" She was beside herself, with whatever it was.
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"Reacting as you're trained isn't something to be ashamed of. It's scary, when your body does something without you making a conscious decision, but you did the right thing. Now what brought that up?"
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She'd forgotten that Xander was going to stop by, and she just clung to Bart, her face still buried in his neck as she cried. "It's horrid."
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"There's nothing wrong with who you're becoming. Nothing."
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She didn't hear Xander come in, unable to hear anything but her own crying and the sound of her pulse echoing in her ears.
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Then he paused, eyes wide as he saw Jill and Bart. "What's going on?"
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He was just holding her, comforting her. "What about the others? Caspian, Susan, and Lucy, for example? There's others from home..."
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And then she realised that she'd heard Xander's voice, and turned, her face bright red and wet with tears. "Xander?" She held out her hand to him, half-expecting him to leave, like Scrubb had.
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"Jill." He came forward and took her hand, moving to sit on her other side and lightly kissing her forhead. "What happened?" He asked softly, putting his arm around her waist.
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"Xander," she spoke against his neck, trying to figure out what else she could say.
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