Fic: Makeshift Thanksgiving
Title: Makeshift Thanksgiving
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Angsty bits, Fluff, Romance
Word Count: 1,908
Characters/Pairings: Jackie, Rose (Jackie/Rose)
"I'm sorry, Jackie," Rose says as they step inside their hotel room. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's okay," Jackie replies, stepping quickly over to her after he closes the door. "It's okay."
"It's not," she mutters, sighing heavily as he pulls her into his arms. She clings to him a moment, tightly gripping his shirt, and then sighs again as she rests her forehead against his chest.
"It's not okay," she says again as she pulls back and moves to drop onto the edge of the bed. "I can't believe they treated you like that, I'm so sorry."
Jackie settles beside her, sliding his arm around her waist and leaning over to kiss her cheek.
"It's not your fault, Rosie," he whispers, and she finally smiles, tipping her head against his shoulder.
"I feel like I should've known something like that would happen," she murmurs. "Dad loved my ex-husband, pretty much only because he had money, and said he couldn't understand why I would leave someone like that. Never mind that he was an asshole, never mind that he treated me badly, he had money, and that was all that mattered. So I should've known that he'd see you, a mechanic, an ex-con, and think you weren't good enough, even though you treat me better than Stephen ever did, even though I'm happier with you than I ever was with him."
Jackie turns his head to kiss the top of hers, and she presses closer to him, wrapping both of her arms around his.
"I didn't think -" he begins, and then hesitates. "I guess I thought you and your dad got along better."
Rose sighs again. "We've never been super close, but after my mom died, it got worse."
"Worse how?"
"He didn't abuse me or anything, if that's what you're thinking. He just... wasn't there for me after my mom died. He let me believe it was my fault that she died."
Jackie frowns. "How could it have been your fault?"
Rose sighs, and shifts back on the bed so she can lie down. Jackie moves too, settling cross legged next to her, and she takes his hand, rubbing her thumb over his.
"The car accident that killed her... I was with her. I was 15, and we had gone out together one night, just like, a mother/daughter thing, to dinner and to a movie. We used to do that kind of stuff all the time; we had such a great relationship."
A faint smile curves her lips, and Jackie squeezes her hand.
"But anyway, we were on our way home, and I still don't fully know what happened, all I remember is headlights coming at us, and then everything went dark. They - they told me that she died instantly, and I think they thought I was gonna die too, I had a collapsed lung, in addition to a broken leg and crapload of other injuries, but I lived, obviously. Spent a couple weeks in the hospital. And when I came home, my dad would barely talk to me. He never outright said that he blamed me, but that's what it felt like, you know? He never said it wasn't my fault, and I already felt like it was, because I lived and she died and it didn't seem fair, so for years, I just carried that guilt. But I also worked my ass off in high school, I made straight A's, and I earned enough in scholarships so that I could move to LA to go to college. And once I was there, I finally got some help about my issues regarding my mom's death, and I was finally able to move past it, finally able to realize it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing I could've done. I also got over my fear of driving, and got my driver's license at the ripe old age of 21."
Jackie laughs softly, and she grins.
"I still miss her sometimes," she murmurs. "I feel like if she'd been around, she would've stopped me from marrying Stephen, because she would've seen through his bullshit way sooner than I did. And she wouldn't care that you were in prison, or that you're a mechanic. I think she would've loved you."
Jackie smiles, and then nods with a quiet sigh. "Yeah, I miss my mom sometimes too. I mean, I know I was only three when she died, but I still remember her, and I wonder sometimes how different things might have been if she hadn't died. How my life might have gone if she'd been around while I was growing up, you know?"
Rose nods too, and shifts her hand to weave their fingers together, holding their hands aloft.
"But I can't help thinking about it like Hannah would," she murmurs. "I mean, we've both kind of had shitty life experiences - you more than me, obviously - but in the end, I just feel like... it all led to here, to you and me in this hotel room. If I didn't love you like I do, I might not view it the same way, but I do, so all I can think about is that... I have you. And it makes all the bad stuff worth it, to be here with you."
Jackie's lips curve in a broad smile. "Yeah."
Rose sits up to kiss him, her hand curving around the side of his neck, and then she scoots off the bed.
"C'mon," she says as she reaches for her coat. "Let's go have a real dinner. And maybe get ice cream after."
"Ice cream in November?" Jackie replies, laughing as he puts his jacket on.
"You underestimate my ability to eat ice cream regardless of the season."
Jackie laughs again, and Rose grins, reaching for his hand as they walk from the room.
Jackie wakes up first the next morning, and smiles when he sees Rose. It's not the first time they've shared a bed, but he still loves that feeling of waking up to her.
Even though things went pretty horribly yesterday afternoon, dinner followed by ice cream and lounging in bed watching movies pretty well made up for it, and he went to sleep in a good mood.
It still surprises him how easy his and Rose's relationship has been. They've been together a little over five months, and even though they still haven't taken that next step to sex, she's continued to be patient. Now, he thinks he's ready. He just needed to feel secure, to get used to being in a relationship, and to be comfortable with himself and with Rose. He doesn't quite know how Rose's dad and brother found out that he'd been in prison, but watching Rose defend him and their relationship so fiercely had made him certain of where he stood with her, and had given his mind a significant nudge in the right direction.
Not that he wants their first time to be in a hotel room, but maybe when they get home, he'll let her know he's ready. Hell, his birthday is next Friday, and he remembers her raised eyebrows when she thought he was going to give her sex on her birthday. Maybe he'll wait until his birthday, and then they can make up for hers.
The thought makes him smile again, and he shifts to get out of bed, trading his pajama bottoms for jeans and sitting on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on. There's a coffee shop across the street from the hotel, and he figures he has time to run over there and grab some coffee, and maybe something for breakfast, and bring it back before Rose wakes up.
She's looking at the door with bleary eyes when he returns, and he smiles when he sees her.
"Hey. I got breakfast."
"Mmm, coffee," she mumbles, holding out her hand. "Gimme."
Grinning, Jackie settles on the bed and passes her one of the cups in his hand. She takes a few sips, and then smiles.
"Perfect, thank you, sweetie. And good morning."
Jackie gives a soft laugh as he leans down to kiss her. "Morning. I got you a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel."
"Mmm, that sounds perfect too," she says, pushing to sit up and accepting the sandwich he passes to her. He kicks off his shoes and stretches out beside her with his coffee and bagel sandwich, and they eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"So," he asks, popping his last bite into his mouth. "What kind of places are there to eat Thanksgiving dinner around here?"
Rose laughs. "There's a buffet place that actually serves really good food, and they've always got a Thanksgiving buffet, if you want to try that."
"Sounds good to me."
"What did you do for Thanksgiving last year?"
"Well, I almost didn't do anything, since Hannah and Eli went up to see his parents, but then Jacob and Jessica invited me over to their place, and we had a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner just the three of us."
Rose smiles at that. "I haven't had a real Thanksgiving dinner since my mom died. Well, that's not quite true... I had some with Stephen, but looking back on them now, it's kind of like they don't count."
"Next year, we'll just have to have our own." Jackie freezes as soon as the words leave his mouth, because it seems presumptuous to think that he and Rose could still be together in a year, but when he looks over at her, she has that look on her face that he can never quite describe. It always fills him with warmth and contentment, though, and he relaxes, a small smile curving his lips.
Yeah, he thinks. A year? No sweat.
"We'll cook it in your kitchen," she says, grinning as she scoots closer to him.
"Give it a real workout," he replies, looping his arm around her shoulders.
"Mmhmm," she hums, her head dropping against his shoulders as she rests her hand on his thigh. "So, today we can kind of take it easy. Maybe I'll show you around Bakersfield before we go to dinner. But tomorrow, I was thinking I could take you to LA."
"Yeah!" Jackie says quickly, unable to contain his excitement. He swallows, feeling his face grow warm. "I mean, um, yeah, that'd be nice."
Rose giggles as she pats his leg. "You're allowed to be excited, Jackie. I mean, you've never left the east coast before."
Jackie snorts. "Up until I went to prison, I'd never left the state of Maryland."
Rose giggles again. "Get your tourist on, hon. I'm not gonna judge you."
"Even if I embarrass you?"
"Trust me, Jackie," she says, shifting to face him and reaching around him to set her coffee cup on his bedside table. "Once you've seen some of the people in LA, you'll realize that you are one of the sane ones. But even if you do get a little overexcited, you still won't embarrass me." She rests her hand on his chest and smiles. "I'm just gonna think you're cute. Because I love you."
"I love you too," Jackie replies, smiling back as he kisses her. "Now get dressed, I want you to show me the sights."
Rose grins and kisses him once more, and then climbs over him to stand, grabbing her coffee and heading into the bathroom.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Angsty bits, Fluff, Romance
Word Count: 1,908
Characters/Pairings: Jackie, Rose (Jackie/Rose)
"I'm sorry, Jackie," Rose says as they step inside their hotel room. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's okay," Jackie replies, stepping quickly over to her after he closes the door. "It's okay."
"It's not," she mutters, sighing heavily as he pulls her into his arms. She clings to him a moment, tightly gripping his shirt, and then sighs again as she rests her forehead against his chest.
"It's not okay," she says again as she pulls back and moves to drop onto the edge of the bed. "I can't believe they treated you like that, I'm so sorry."
Jackie settles beside her, sliding his arm around her waist and leaning over to kiss her cheek.
"It's not your fault, Rosie," he whispers, and she finally smiles, tipping her head against his shoulder.
"I feel like I should've known something like that would happen," she murmurs. "Dad loved my ex-husband, pretty much only because he had money, and said he couldn't understand why I would leave someone like that. Never mind that he was an asshole, never mind that he treated me badly, he had money, and that was all that mattered. So I should've known that he'd see you, a mechanic, an ex-con, and think you weren't good enough, even though you treat me better than Stephen ever did, even though I'm happier with you than I ever was with him."
Jackie turns his head to kiss the top of hers, and she presses closer to him, wrapping both of her arms around his.
"I didn't think -" he begins, and then hesitates. "I guess I thought you and your dad got along better."
Rose sighs again. "We've never been super close, but after my mom died, it got worse."
"Worse how?"
"He didn't abuse me or anything, if that's what you're thinking. He just... wasn't there for me after my mom died. He let me believe it was my fault that she died."
Jackie frowns. "How could it have been your fault?"
Rose sighs, and shifts back on the bed so she can lie down. Jackie moves too, settling cross legged next to her, and she takes his hand, rubbing her thumb over his.
"The car accident that killed her... I was with her. I was 15, and we had gone out together one night, just like, a mother/daughter thing, to dinner and to a movie. We used to do that kind of stuff all the time; we had such a great relationship."
A faint smile curves her lips, and Jackie squeezes her hand.
"But anyway, we were on our way home, and I still don't fully know what happened, all I remember is headlights coming at us, and then everything went dark. They - they told me that she died instantly, and I think they thought I was gonna die too, I had a collapsed lung, in addition to a broken leg and crapload of other injuries, but I lived, obviously. Spent a couple weeks in the hospital. And when I came home, my dad would barely talk to me. He never outright said that he blamed me, but that's what it felt like, you know? He never said it wasn't my fault, and I already felt like it was, because I lived and she died and it didn't seem fair, so for years, I just carried that guilt. But I also worked my ass off in high school, I made straight A's, and I earned enough in scholarships so that I could move to LA to go to college. And once I was there, I finally got some help about my issues regarding my mom's death, and I was finally able to move past it, finally able to realize it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing I could've done. I also got over my fear of driving, and got my driver's license at the ripe old age of 21."
Jackie laughs softly, and she grins.
"I still miss her sometimes," she murmurs. "I feel like if she'd been around, she would've stopped me from marrying Stephen, because she would've seen through his bullshit way sooner than I did. And she wouldn't care that you were in prison, or that you're a mechanic. I think she would've loved you."
Jackie smiles, and then nods with a quiet sigh. "Yeah, I miss my mom sometimes too. I mean, I know I was only three when she died, but I still remember her, and I wonder sometimes how different things might have been if she hadn't died. How my life might have gone if she'd been around while I was growing up, you know?"
Rose nods too, and shifts her hand to weave their fingers together, holding their hands aloft.
"But I can't help thinking about it like Hannah would," she murmurs. "I mean, we've both kind of had shitty life experiences - you more than me, obviously - but in the end, I just feel like... it all led to here, to you and me in this hotel room. If I didn't love you like I do, I might not view it the same way, but I do, so all I can think about is that... I have you. And it makes all the bad stuff worth it, to be here with you."
Jackie's lips curve in a broad smile. "Yeah."
Rose sits up to kiss him, her hand curving around the side of his neck, and then she scoots off the bed.
"C'mon," she says as she reaches for her coat. "Let's go have a real dinner. And maybe get ice cream after."
"Ice cream in November?" Jackie replies, laughing as he puts his jacket on.
"You underestimate my ability to eat ice cream regardless of the season."
Jackie laughs again, and Rose grins, reaching for his hand as they walk from the room.
Jackie wakes up first the next morning, and smiles when he sees Rose. It's not the first time they've shared a bed, but he still loves that feeling of waking up to her.
Even though things went pretty horribly yesterday afternoon, dinner followed by ice cream and lounging in bed watching movies pretty well made up for it, and he went to sleep in a good mood.
It still surprises him how easy his and Rose's relationship has been. They've been together a little over five months, and even though they still haven't taken that next step to sex, she's continued to be patient. Now, he thinks he's ready. He just needed to feel secure, to get used to being in a relationship, and to be comfortable with himself and with Rose. He doesn't quite know how Rose's dad and brother found out that he'd been in prison, but watching Rose defend him and their relationship so fiercely had made him certain of where he stood with her, and had given his mind a significant nudge in the right direction.
Not that he wants their first time to be in a hotel room, but maybe when they get home, he'll let her know he's ready. Hell, his birthday is next Friday, and he remembers her raised eyebrows when she thought he was going to give her sex on her birthday. Maybe he'll wait until his birthday, and then they can make up for hers.
The thought makes him smile again, and he shifts to get out of bed, trading his pajama bottoms for jeans and sitting on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on. There's a coffee shop across the street from the hotel, and he figures he has time to run over there and grab some coffee, and maybe something for breakfast, and bring it back before Rose wakes up.
She's looking at the door with bleary eyes when he returns, and he smiles when he sees her.
"Hey. I got breakfast."
"Mmm, coffee," she mumbles, holding out her hand. "Gimme."
Grinning, Jackie settles on the bed and passes her one of the cups in his hand. She takes a few sips, and then smiles.
"Perfect, thank you, sweetie. And good morning."
Jackie gives a soft laugh as he leans down to kiss her. "Morning. I got you a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel."
"Mmm, that sounds perfect too," she says, pushing to sit up and accepting the sandwich he passes to her. He kicks off his shoes and stretches out beside her with his coffee and bagel sandwich, and they eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"So," he asks, popping his last bite into his mouth. "What kind of places are there to eat Thanksgiving dinner around here?"
Rose laughs. "There's a buffet place that actually serves really good food, and they've always got a Thanksgiving buffet, if you want to try that."
"Sounds good to me."
"What did you do for Thanksgiving last year?"
"Well, I almost didn't do anything, since Hannah and Eli went up to see his parents, but then Jacob and Jessica invited me over to their place, and we had a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner just the three of us."
Rose smiles at that. "I haven't had a real Thanksgiving dinner since my mom died. Well, that's not quite true... I had some with Stephen, but looking back on them now, it's kind of like they don't count."
"Next year, we'll just have to have our own." Jackie freezes as soon as the words leave his mouth, because it seems presumptuous to think that he and Rose could still be together in a year, but when he looks over at her, she has that look on her face that he can never quite describe. It always fills him with warmth and contentment, though, and he relaxes, a small smile curving his lips.
Yeah, he thinks. A year? No sweat.
"We'll cook it in your kitchen," she says, grinning as she scoots closer to him.
"Give it a real workout," he replies, looping his arm around her shoulders.
"Mmhmm," she hums, her head dropping against his shoulders as she rests her hand on his thigh. "So, today we can kind of take it easy. Maybe I'll show you around Bakersfield before we go to dinner. But tomorrow, I was thinking I could take you to LA."
"Yeah!" Jackie says quickly, unable to contain his excitement. He swallows, feeling his face grow warm. "I mean, um, yeah, that'd be nice."
Rose giggles as she pats his leg. "You're allowed to be excited, Jackie. I mean, you've never left the east coast before."
Jackie snorts. "Up until I went to prison, I'd never left the state of Maryland."
Rose giggles again. "Get your tourist on, hon. I'm not gonna judge you."
"Even if I embarrass you?"
"Trust me, Jackie," she says, shifting to face him and reaching around him to set her coffee cup on his bedside table. "Once you've seen some of the people in LA, you'll realize that you are one of the sane ones. But even if you do get a little overexcited, you still won't embarrass me." She rests her hand on his chest and smiles. "I'm just gonna think you're cute. Because I love you."
"I love you too," Jackie replies, smiling back as he kisses her. "Now get dressed, I want you to show me the sights."
Rose grins and kisses him once more, and then climbs over him to stand, grabbing her coffee and heading into the bathroom.