Long Journey Home

Tommy was studying in the living room as he heard the key move in the lock and was off the couch in a flash. He’d come home to find a half-empty glass of soda in the kitchen and no trace of Jess. At first he tried to be reasonable; she was not a prisoner, although they’d agreed it would be better if she didn’t go out on her own. Up to a point, he even sympathizedh hih his unexpected ‘guest’; if he were in Jason’s shoes, he’d go bonkers at being cooped up so long, as well. However, when it got dark and Jess didn’t return sta started to worry. Some instinct told him that this had gone way beyond the need of getting out, but he couldn’t even imagine where to begin a search. Forgetting what Jason had told him about his fighting abilities, he was almost frantic for Jess; she was fast, yes, but there were situations where speed alone would not help her. Now that she’d returned, his worry was quickly replaced by anger. With a few long steps, he strode into the narrow hallway.
 
"Just what the hell did you think .... oh my God!" He was brought up short by the sight of Jess, clothes torn and dirty, an ugly bruise on her face, knuckles scraped and bleeding, as she limped through the door.
 
"Jess!"
 
He pulled her into his arms, careful not to hurt her further.
 
"What happened?" Absently, he shoved the door shut.
 
"I got mugged. They tried to, anyway."
 
"Mugged? They? God, Jess, what happened?" Carefully, he steered her into the living room, pushing his books and papers out of the way so she could sit. He winced in sympathy as she let herself down with a grimace of pain.
 
Jason looked up at him tiredly.
 
"I went running in the park; I didn’t mean to stay so long, but it felt so good to be outside......anyway, I took the turn over Bay Bridge..." Tommy interrupted him.
 
"Jess, how could you? That area..." He put a grubby hand on Tommy’s arm and squeezed gently.
 
"I know. It was stupid, and I won’t do it again. As I was saying, right after I’d crossed the bridge, I noticed I was being followed. Then, these other two guys came round a corner, and when I told them I didn’t have any money to give them, they went for something else, I guess."
 
Tommy’s blood ran cold. How could she sit here, cool as a cucumber, and tell him that three hoodlums tried to ... to rape her? Jason saw the colour draining from his face. Hurriedly, he tried to reassure him.
 
"Tommy, I’m fine. Nothing happened!"
 
He exploded.
 
"Fine? Look at you! You say nothing’s happened, and you look like you’ve survived a major disaster! How can you..."
 
Jason saw the fear and anger in Tommy’s eyes, and knew he’d feel the same if their situation had been reversed. Tired, exhausted, aching in places he didn’t even knew he had, he didn’t think, he just reacted. He reached up, caught Tommy round the neck and pulled his head down. The kiss was a little fierce, a little angry, and very loving. It lasted far too long, and was over far too soon. Their lips clung, telling the other things that both had agreed in the beginning to leave unsaid. It was over almost as soon as it had begun. Jason’s hand fell back, and Tommy reared back up. Both breathed just a bit harder. Jason let his head fall on the backrest of the recliner, and closed his eyes. He was too sore to think about what had just happened.
 
Tommy’s head was swimming. The past few days had been so hard -- living with Jess and not being able to touch, reminding himself constantly that the person sharing his home was not really the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but an eighteen-year-old former Power Ranger -- a male Ranger, at that -- who was stranded here through a fluke event in the body of his Jess. If only they weren’t so alike! Jason’s personality was a lot like Jess; more assertive, more aggressive in some ways, but they still shared the same values, the slightly wicked sense of humour, the warmth and honesty that had drawn him to Jess almost right away. Sometimes he just forgot that Jess wasn’t really there, and reached out for a quick kiss, a brief touch. It had seemed to him that there were moments when Jason had the same problem, and he’d wondered at the kind of relationship he shared with that other Tommy. However, both of them had always managed to catch themselves in time. Not so tonight. Tommy ached with the need to hold that sweet body close, to bury himself within her and forget the outside world, but he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them -- and not to Jess, either. If only he didn’t miss her so much!
 
Recalling himself to the present with difficulty, he took a closer look at the scrapes and bruises marring Jess/Jason’s skin. Now that was something he could do something about!
 
"Let me get some peroxide and the band-aids," he suggested, trying hard to keep his voice from cracking. He still shuddered at the thought that Jess could have been hurt.
 
Jason blearily opened one eye. Moaning slightly at the thought of getting up (and unwittingly sending a jolt of arousal straight into Tommy’s groin at the sound -- it was so much like when he made love to Jess!), he muttered a protest. Tommy, however, overruled him. He was gently hauled to his feet and propelled in the general direction of the bedroom.
 
"Go get into your sleepwear and come back here; I’ll see to your injuries, feed you some soup, and then you can go to sleep. Don’t argue!" He added the last with a tiny grin as he saw that Jess was about to protest. "Shoo!"
 
That surprised a small snort of laughter out of Jason. "Shoo? Did you just tell me to ‘shoo’?"
 
"Yeah. You have a problem with that?"
 
Jason’s mouth twitched with suppressed mirth.
 
"You bet I do. Just wait till I’m not so tired anymore; I’ll get you for this, Oliver!"
 
Tommy grinned more broadly. "You and what army? Now scoot!"
 
His dark eyes promising dire consequences, Jason scooted. Once in the bedroom, he struggled out of his clothes. They were a total loss. Picking up the large t-shirt he slept in, he eyed it consideringly, then shuffled into the bathroom and climbed into the shower. Wincing, he let the hot water sluice the sweat and grime away. When he returned to the living room, Tommy had a bowl of soup ready and sat on the couch, first-aid kit next to him. Gently, he looked after the small wounds, to his everlasting relief finding them worse-looking than they actually were.
 
Jason gratefully accepted Tommy’s ministrations. He’d had worse injuries while playing football for AGH, but it felt good to be so close to his best friend; for the moment, the barriers between them were down.
 
Tommy carefully dabbed peroxide on the biggest scrape which had been hidden by the torn sweats. He desperately wanted to run his hands along the silky thigh, but dared not; they were so close right now, he didn’t want to spoil the moment. Finished, he sat back.
 
"All done. Now eat, and then go to bed."
 
"Yes, mom," Jason said in a small voice.
 
Tommy looked up, startled. Seeing the mischievous gleam in Jess’s eyes, he almost pulled her close. Instead, he swatted her gently. "Don’t sass me. Eat!"
 
Both shared a grin. Grumbling under his breath, Jason obeyed, then wandered off. Sighing, he snuggled under the covers, closing his eyes. Sleep was long in coming, though. Now that the adrenaline had completely worn off and he came to rest, he ached all over. He seemed unable to find a comfortable position, but could not toss and turn, he was so sore. After a couple of hours, he gave up. He was developping a headache; besides, he’d forgotten to take his Pill. That was another thing -- that first night, Tommy had handed him the small package, telling him that Jess practised birth control. Logical, yes, but damned embarrassing nonetheless. Jason knew very little about these things; none of the girls he’d been with had been on the Pill, but he didn’t want to disrupt Jess’s and Tommy’s life more than his unwitting appearance had already done, so he resigned himself to swallowing one tiny yellow tablet every night before he went to sleep. Padding into the kitchen, he rummaged around for the Tylenol, poured a s ofs of water and took both at the same time.
 
On his way back to bed, he glanced in on Tommy, who was sitting at his desk, with his desk lamp the only light in the room. He held a small dark object in his hand, together with the large 8x10 of Jess -- the one inscripted with "I’ll love you forever". Jason had often looked at the smiling face so like his own, wondering how the young woman fared in his reality.
 
Tommy looked so forlorn, Jason couldn’t just awa away. On silent feet, he moved up behind Tommy. Coming closer, he saw that he held a jeweller’s box. A sinking feeling spread through his stomach. What had his appearance cost those two?
 
Tommy didn’t acknowledge his presence right away; he continued to look at the portrait. After a while, just as Jason was about to turn away again, he spoke into the darkness.
 
"I wanted to ask her to marry me."
 
Jason hardly dared to breathe. Swallowing past his dry throat, he whispered, "D-did you change your mind?"
 
"No. It’s just ..." Tommy paused. His voice turned a bit hoarse with pain.
 
"I ... I wanted to ask her on the 24th." That was a little over a week away, Jason knew.
 
"It’s the anniversary of the day we first made love."
 
"Tommy....." Jason felt his throat constrict. His first ‘stop’ had lasted for a month; if there was a pattern, Jess might not be back by then.
 
Both were silent. Finally, at a loss for what to say, he asked the first thing that came to mind.
 
"May I see it?"
 
After a few moments, Tommy handed the small box over. Inside was a narrow gold band with a modest diamond, flanked by two smaller stones -- an emerald and a ruby. *Red, white, green and gold.* Jason looked at the ring for a long time. Handing the box back, he managed a whisper.
 
"It’s beautiful."
 
"You think so?"
 
" Yes. I’m sure she’ll love it -- whenever she gets it."
 
There was nothing else either could say. Silently, Jason padded back to bed, fighting his and Jess’s tears.