"She won' let you, chere. Not 'til she's satisfied dat you're more den one hundred percent all right. Trust me. I've been dere." He chuckled.
Jackie sighed deeply. She had been stuck in bed for four days and the only reason she had been allowed to get up was to go to the bathroom. She felt like her body was permanently stuck to the bed. The only good thing that came out of the whole experience was the fact that Emil had stayed by her side almost continuously. He even endured sleeping in that uncomfortable chair every night without so much as a complaint.
"I hate dis bed…" Jackie muttered. "I don' t'ink I'll ever want to sleep in a bed 'gain after dis week…"
Emil smiled sympathetically at her. "I'm sorry. I'd sneak you outta here, but she'd get really mad…"
Jackie giggled at the thought. "Emil, don' do anyt'ing to jeopardize de fact dat she's lettin' you stay in here wit' me. I t'ought for awhile she was gon' kick you out."
"Oh, I won'. An' she couldn' kick me out. I won' let her."
With a raise of her eyebrows, Jackie commented, "You wouldn' let her, huh? Somehow I don' t'ink you'd have a say in de matter if she got it into her head to get you to leave."
Emil blushed slightly. "Okay, okay. De woman can do whatever she wants. Even Jean-Luc does what she says."
"Dat's what I t'ought." Jackie chuckled.
Two days later, Tante Mattie told Jackie and Emil that Jackie would be able to get out of bed and go downstairs the next day. The couple was elated, and Emil actually left the room for awhile that night, but when he came back, he refused to tell Jackie what was going on.
"What were you doin'?" Jackie asked when he returned.
"You'll see." Emil replied vaguely with a sly and somewhat evil grin.
"Aw, come on! Tell me!"
"Nope. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Jackie sighed and decided to let it go. Emil could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and it was obvious he wasn't going to tell her.
The next day, around lunchtime, Tante Mattie gave Jackie the okay to get up and go downstairs.
"Thank Go-oodness!" Jackie exclaimed, throwing back the covers. She'd wanted to get out of her room for more than two minutes for days. Mattie smiled and followed Jackie downstairs, where Jackie got a very nice surprise.
The entire Thieves Guild were standing in the living room, surrounded by brightly colored balloons, tables of food and one table that contained…presents.
"What de…?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide in wonder.
"We wanted to show you how glad we are that you're okay and that you can join the real world again." Zoe explained, handing Jackie a glass of punch. "It was Emil's idea."
"Oh, so dis is what you wouldn' tell me 'bout last night!" Jackie said, grinning at Emil, who tried to look innocent and failed miserably.
Jackie went over to the table with the presents. "You guys didn' have to do all dis…" she said.
"We wanted to, petite. Can you blame us? We were worried 'bout you." Jean-Luc replied, hugging her from behind. "And oui, you can keep de gifts. Dey're for you anyways."
"T'anks." Jackie replied, looking at the colorfully wrapped gifts. She raised her eyebrows and laughed. She could tell which ones Mercy or Zoe had wrapped as opposed to the ones the guys had wrapped. It was funny…the guys couldn't wrap presents to save their lives. However, Jackie knew it was the thought that counted.
"Are you goin' to open dem?" Genard asked.
Jackie sat on the couch and flashed her friend a smile as the others gathered around her. "You know…I t'ink I will! Would you hand dem to me, please, do I don' have to keep getting up all de time?"
"Sure, no problem." Genard replied, handing her the first present, a big, bulky thing wrapped in shiny purple paper. The paper was held together by more tape than Jackie thought was possible to fit on a present of that size. It was from Theoren.
Jackie giggled at him. "Got a little tape-happy, did we?"
Theo blushed. "I'm not good at t'ings like dat…. Would you like a knife, you know, to get t'rough de tape?"
"I t'ink I can get it, but if I need a knife, I'll ask you, okay?"
Theo nodded as Jackie ripped into the tape. After much struggle, she managed to get through the tape and succeeded in opening the present. Upon seeing what it was, Jackie burst out laughing.
"My very own official Thieves Guild armor! Theo, are you tryin' to tell me somet'ing?"
"It's a safety precaution. Your mutant powers can' prevent t'ings like what happened de other day from happenin' 'gain. We don' want anyt'ing to happen to you. Hence de armor." Theoren explained.
Jackie nodded. "T'ank you. It means a lot to me dat you'd t'ink of givin' me somet'ing like dis."
The next present was from Jean-Luc. Jackie opened it and gasped. It was a beautiful dark lavender gown, the fanciest dress Jackie had ever laid eyes on. "Oh Papa…!" she breathed.
Jean-Luc smiled at his daughter, a soft, loving expression on his face. He put a hand on her shoulder and replied, "Well, you know, you can' keep borrowin' Zoe's clothes when you an' Emil go out. You should have somet'ing fancy of your own, I t'ought. Do you like it?"
Jackie's eyes had lit up like lights on a Christmas tree. "Papa, I love it! It's beautiful!" She said, hugging him. She opened Mercy's present next, and was delighted to find a pair of elegant high-heeled shoes that matched the dress perfectly, as well as a pair of gold hair clips.
Jackie was equally delighted with the gifts from Claude, Zoe and Genard. Zoe got her a beautiful poster of a timber wolf walking through the woods in the snow. Claude got her a beeper ("I'm assumin' dat's so you guys will always be able to find me…" Jackie laughed when she opened it) and Genard got her a computer game so she could get some use out of Jean-Luc's computer.
When the presents where opened and the food was consumed, Tante Mattie, who had gotten Jackie a necklace of diamonds and quartz gems, suggested that Jackie should maybe lay down for a little while.
"You look tired, chil'." She commented. Jackie couldn't argue with Mattie, because she was tired. And half-wondering why Emil didn't have a present for her when the whole thing was his idea in the first place.
Emil followed Jackie back upstairs, after Jackie had thanked everyone again. Before Jackie got into bed, Emil grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, wrapping her in his strong arms, kissing her deeply and passionately. Jackie kissed him back, melting into his embrace.
When the kiss finally ended, Emil sighed and looked into her eyes, his blue eyes filled with love. "I love you," he breathed. "I was so worried de other day…I was terrified I was gon' to lose you."
Jackie smiled up at him and kissed his lips lightly. "You're not gon' lose me, ever. I love you, an' I ain' 'bout to let anyt'ing jeopardize dat." She climbed into bed and moved over, patting the space beside her. "Stay wit' me?" she asked, with an innocent raise of her eyebrows. She had realized that he didn't have a present for her because *he* was the present. And she couldn't have asked for a better gift.
Emil smiled. "Sure," he replied, lying down beside her. She cuddled up close to him and fell asleep very quickly, while he watched over her, running his hand through her soft hair with a contented sigh. He was very happy and felt extremely blessed.
'T'ank you, God,' he thought, snuggling closer to Jackie and putting an arm protectively around her.
Jackie woke up early the next morning and was happy to find Emil lying peacefully beside her, a look of contentment on his face. Jackie smiled and reached up, lightly running a finger over his cheek.
Emil stirred at her touch and opened his eyes. They lit up when they saw her and he smiled. Jackie thought his eyes reminded her of blue sapphires.
"Good morning." Emil said softly.
"Hi." Jackie replied. "Do you realize we slept all t'rough dinner, all night, until now?"
Emil checked the alarm clock. "Oui, I guess we did. I didn' realize I was so tired…"
Jackie chuckled. "You slept in dat confounded chair for a week. I'm not surprised you were tired. I can' figure out how you actually managed to sleep in dat chair at all…"
"It was hard, but I wasn' really t'inkin' 'bout bein' uncomfortable, I was t'inkin' 'bout you."
"T'ank you for stayin' wit' me all week…you didn' have to, mais you did. Dat means a lot to me." Jackie said quietly, running her fingers through his hair.
"I wanted to stay, an' in a sense I did have to. I was worried 'bout you, an' dere was no way I was gon' leave you for anyt'ing."
Jackie's violet and black eyes filled with tears as Emil watched in astonishment. In a matter of seconds, those tears were running down her cheeks like waves flowing from the ocean to the shore. Jackie tried to look away, but Emil wouldn't let her, taking her chin in one hand, a concerned frown on his face.
"Jackie…chere…why are you cryin'?" Emil asked, using his free hand to gently wipe the flowing tears off her cheeks.
"I'm not sad," Jackie replied. "I…what did…how did I get dis lucky?"
"What do you mean?" Emil inquired, reaching over and handing her a Kleenex.
Jackie sighed. "All my life, for as long as I can remember, dere's never been anybody, not even de people in de circus, who really loved me. Den a few months ago, I ran into Tante at de park, she introduced me to Papa, and all of a sudden, I had a fam'ly, a group of people who would do anyt'ing for me. An' you…"
Emil crossed his eyes, which made Jackie giggle. "What 'bout me?"
"I love you. An' I've never loved anybody in my life." Jackie said. "It scares de hell outta me, but it's also de most incredible an' amazing t'ing I've ever felt in my life an' I don' want it to end. Emil…why do you love me? I mean, I'm a mutant an'…" Jackie's voice trailed off and she looked away.
"Shhhh…" Emil said softly, pulling her closer to him. "Your bein' a mutant has not'ing to do wit' de way I feel 'bout you. I love you b'cause of what's in here," he lightly tapped her on the head. "And I love you b'cause of what's in here," he continued, placing his hand over her heart. "I feel de same way you do, scared an' amazed at de same time, an' sometimes I don' know which feelin' is stronger. What I do know is dat I love you, more den anyt'ing else in dis whole world, an' not'ing, absolutely not'ing will ever change dat."
"'Gain, how did I get so lucky?" Jackie asked.
Emil gave her a lopsided grin and replied, "If you ever figure out de answer to dat question, could you tell me what it is? I been lookin' for it for weeks…"
"Hey Claude, can I talk to you for a second?" Jackie asked at the end of a Guild meeting three days later.
Claude raised an eyebrow. "Me? You wan' talk to me?" Jackie and Emil may have forgiven him and Theoren for the stupid things they said, but Jackie had never expressed any real desire to interact with either of them. Until now.
Jackie giggled. "Yeah. You. Is dat okay?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess. Hang on." Claude replied, turning to Theoren. "You don' have to wait if you don' want to. I got a feelin' dis could take awhile." Then he followed Jackie back into the living room of the mansion and sat down across from her.
"You confused?" Jackie asked to start the conversation.
"Kinda. I mean you don' usually wan' talk to me." Claude said with a lopsided grin.
Jackie sighed. "I know. An' I'm sorry 'bout dat. I don' t'ink I've ever given you or Theo much of a chance…I'd like to change dat."
Claude smiled. "Dat's okay by me, an' I know Theo won' mind either. So, what'd you want to talk to me 'bout?"
"It's somet'ing I couldn' ask Papa. He'd jus' t'ink I was crazy. Or maybe he wouldn', I don' know. It's not an easy t'ing to ask, it's not an easy t'ing to t'ink 'bout, either." Jackie said.
"Well, easy or hard, I'll do my best to answer." Claude replied.
"T'anks. Um, Claude? Remy never really fit in 'round here, did he?"
Claude sighed. "Huh. Well, as a t'ief, yeah, he did. He's still one of de best de Guild has ever seen."
"But…?" Jackie prodded.
"Some of de others…an' I guess I have to admit dat Theoren an' I were in dat group…didn' want him 'round. It wasn' b'cause he's a mutant, alt'ough some of de older members shunned him b'cause of dat. It was more b'cause he was an outsider, adopted. De Guild has always been based on a group of clans, even t'ough dere aren' many of us left, an' it was difficult for some of de others to accept someone who wasn' from one of de clans to b'gin wit'."
"You're de last one in your clan, aren' you? I 'member Papa said somet'ing 'bout dat once."
"Oui. De rest of my fam'ly died a long time 'go. Jackie, why are you askin' dis stuff? I mean you could have talked to Jean-Luc, he wouldn' have lied to you." Claude replied.
"If Remy was considered an outsider, what changed? Why has it been different for me, why aren' I treated de same way?" Jackie asked, facing her friend squarely.
Claude sighed again, a look of understanding crossing his face. "So dat's what dis is all 'bout. Jackie, none of de people who treated Remy like dat are alive anymore. De rest of us were always more open-minded, we still are. Henri wasn' de only one who was Remy's brother, we all were. We accepted him de way he was, even t'ough he wasn' really one of our own. De same way we accept you."
"If I wasn' Remy's kid sister, would you still accept me?"
"Of course! We accepted you b'fore we even knew you were his sister, 'member?" Claude said. "'Gain, why are you askin' dis? I'm jus' curious. An' why are you askin' me?"
"I asked you b'cause I wanted someone who wouldn' jus' give me an answer dey t'ought I wanted to hear. It was either you or Theo, but I picked you b'cause I wanted to talk to you. An' I'm askin', b'cause I overheard somet'ing Papa an' Theoren were talkin' 'bout last night, an' it scared me." Jackie explained.
"What was dat? An' if dey knew you were listenin', dey wouldn' be happy, trust me on dat." Claude told her with a grin.
"Oh, I know. Dey were arguin' 'bout Remy. Theo said all dis stuff 'bout him not b'longin', an' how Papa was wrong to have adopted him, an'…" Jackie faltered.
"An' you drew your own conclusions 'bout it. Jackie, when Theo gets mad, he says stuff he shouldn'. We all do. He wouldn' have said any of it if he'd known you were dere. Jean-Luc wasn' wrong 'bout Remy, an' he certainly wasn' wrong 'bout you. Both you an' Remy are a part of dis Guild, no matter what happens. I can promise you dat."
"T'anks Claude. Can you see why I couldn' talk to Papa or Theo 'bout it?"
"Uh, oui. Good move."
Later that night, Jackie found Jean-Luc making supper in the kitchen. She went up behind him and gave him a huge hug, yanking on his ponytail. He turned around and smiled at her, spatula in hand.
"What was dat for? De hug, I mean. I know it's hard to resist tuggin' on de tail." He joked.
"Dat was for…well, for everyt'ing. For takin' me in an' makin' me part of your fam'ly. An' for bein' you. B'cause only you can be you an' get away wit' it."
Jean-Luc smiled down at Jackie and returned the hug. "You're welcome. You know, I don' t'ink de Guild would be de same without you. I know Emil wouldn', at any rate…!"
Jackie's eyes lit up at the mention of Emil. Jean-Luc laughed. "You got it bad, petite. But dat's okay. You're entitled to it. What are you doin' tonight?"
"I didn' have anyt'ing planned…pourquoi?"
"Well, de others are comin' over, we're all goin' to play Pictionary. I was wonderin' if you would like to join us." Jean-Luc offered.
"Is Emil goin' to be here?" Jackie asked slyly.
"Oui. Everyone in de Guild is comin' over. You don' have to play if you don' want to." Jean-Luc told her.
"You know, I t'ink it would be fun. Sure, I'm in. It might be fun. Never played b'fore, t'ough. Maybe I shouldn' play 'gainst Genard…you know what happened de first time I played Monopoly…!"
Jean-Luc laughed. "We'll settle de teams when everyone gets here. But dat's a very good idea…he was really upset 'bout dat, wasn' he? Now, could you give me a hand wit' dis? I could use de help."
"Okay. But I'm still not de best cook in de world…"
"An' I am?"
"You're better den me. But I don' cook much…I do more cold stuff. Or microwave." Jackie giggled, handing him the tomato sauce.
"T'anks. Hey, Jackie?" Jean-Luc asked suddenly, a soft look coming over his face.
"Oui, Papa?"
"Je t'aime, ma fille."
"I love you too, Papa. Now, if you burn dat gumbo, can we order pizza?" Jackie laughed.
"It's a deal."