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Second Chances	By : demonsangel Category: M through R > Red Eye Views: 3289 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Red Eye, any characters from it nor any of the ideas behind it. I also do not own Kaori Yuki who is referenced later on. I am making no money what so ever with this story, it is purely for fun.

Chapter List
- 6
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- 8
            Yawning widely as she stretched, Rae slowly opened her eyes. A look of confusion passed across her face when she realized she wasn’t in her own bed. After a brief moment of panic, her sleep-filled mind finally began to work and she remembered that she had awoken from another one of her nightmares and had gone to Jackson’s room.

            The sheets still held his scent, and she soon caught herself snuggling deeper into them, enjoying the smells that were distinctly male. She had done this many times with Mitch over the years when she was sad or had a particularly vivid nightmare. There was something she found very comforting about the ways certain guys smelled and it made her feel safe; apparently, Jackson was one of them.

            Jackson was in the kitchen making lunch for Jade and himself—Jade had been dropped off by his mother a few hours earlier. Apparently, it wasn’t uncommon for Rae to be asleep when she did so, because she didn’t seem bothered by it and just left after a few minutes of polite conversation.

The woman, Jessica as it was, had been small, only about 5’ 2". Her brown hair was cut in a short in a bob and her black eyes held a mischievous look that led Jackson to believe she was probably a bit of a jokester at times. The thing that stood out most about her was her huge stomach—she was clearly VERY pregnant; he had to wonder if she was carrying multiples. She was friendly and very outgoing.

            Her three year old son, on the other hand seemed the exact opposite. Jade was quiet and very reserved, preferring to just sit and watch Jackson. Jade was currently at the table waiting for Jackson to finish their sandwiches’. The fact that he just kept staring was starting to unnerve Jackson. Weren’t kids his age supposed to be running around refusing to shut up? He decided it was best to just ignore it.

            Every few minutes, Jackson would glance towards the hall. He was starting to get worried; Rae had been asleep near 13 hours now. He knew she hadn’t been sleeping much lately, but that was a bit much. He hoped she wasn’t sick. He really didn’t want to have to deal with a three year old, a dog that didn’t seem to like him much and a sick Raea. She was irritable enough as it was in the mornings.

            “Aunty Rae’s fine,” Jade said from his seat at the table. The small boy was currently petting Cujo, who sat beside him patiently. “She always sleeps for a long time.” Jackson looked over at him, clearly caught off guard. He had been starting to think the boy couldn’t speak, and he just stared at the child for a few minutes before what he said finally sunk in.

            “What makes you say that?” Jackson asked casually. Jade was only three. Surely he couldn’t have noticed, no matter how bright Rae said he was.

“You’re worried about Aunty 'cause she’s still asleep.” Jade replied. “You keep looking at the hall.”

Okay, maybe he could.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He lied. The blank look he received in return showed that the toddler knew otherwise.

            Jackson was about to say something when he heard the bedroom door open. He looked over just in time to see Rae come around the corner rubbing one eye sleepily. She was wearing a pair of Mitch’s boxers and the spaghetti strap camisole she sometimes wore at night. Her hair was down, but when she passed him he could still see the five-inch scar across her right shoulder.

            Rae pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with a soft grunt, folding her legs Indian style beneath her and her arms on the table before her resting her cheek on them, eyes closed once more. Definitely not a morning person, Jackson thought to himself. Or an “I just woke up” person, for that matter, since it’s nearly two.

“Jackson, why are you in the kitchen...” Rae mumbled groggily, not bothering to look at him.

Jackson rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I’m going to re-injure myself making a sandwich,” he replied. “Some of us were hungry. Or do you expect us to wait for you to wake your lazy ass up and feed us?”

Her only response was a snort followed by a mumbled “Urusai ne...” Jackson just laughed as he sat down, placing Jade’s cream cheese and jelly sandwich in front of him. Rae was so easy to irritate when she just woke up.

            Rae had yet to move since she sat down, and Jackson thought that maybe she had fallen asleep again until Jade pushed his plate over beside her and got down—only to crawl into her lap, at which point she finally sat up. Opening her eyes, she reached for the glass of juice Jackson had set in front of her, taking a sip.

Jade held up one of the four triangles that made up his sandwich, a few bites already missing. “Want to try my sandwich, Aunty?” he asked. She smiled faintly and took hold of his hand gently, taking a bite.

            “Did you thank Jackson for making lunch?” she inquired. Jade looked up at her and shook his head. Turning back to Jackson he bowed his head faintly.

“Thank you, Jack-san.” Jackson twitched but decided it was best not to get after a child and just muttered “welcome,” looking at Rae. She caught the look and looked at Jade.

“Jade, sweetie,” she paused, waiting till he looked up at her. “Mr. Rippner doesn’t like it when people call him Jack, ok?”

Jade nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He looked at Jackson. “Your last name is funny.”

Rae just laughed. She loved how innocent he was. Jackson also laughed and nodded. “I suppose it is.”

A bit later, Rae had shifted Jade to his own seat before getting up and heading to the bathroom connected to her room to take a quick shower. She was currently leaning against the counter, munching on an apple, watching as Jackson patiently answered Jade’s questions.

The child had finally gotten comfortable around him and was now inquiring about things such as, how old he was, what he did and where his family was. Rae was amazed how patient Jackson was being, as these were all fairly personal questions. After a while, Rae’s mind started to drift to the days chores, blocking out the boys conversation—

—suddenly, a cherry connected with the side of Rae’s head, interrupting her thoughts. Blinking in surprise, Rae looked down at the cherry then over at the boys who were looking at her innocently, pointing at each other.

Picking up the cherry, Rae studied the two of them before lightly tossing it at the top of Jade’s head, watching in satisfaction as it bounced off. “Cherries are for eating, not throwing,” she said with a faint smile.

Jade’s small brows furrowed together. “How’d you know I threw it?” he asked, a cute pout forming on his face as he crossed his arms.

Rae’s smile just grew further as she remembered watching Jackson try to throw a shoe at Cujo when he stole his bacon. “Jackson has terrible aim,” she laughed. “Now, what did you want?”

Jade’s pout was quickly forgotten as he remembered his question. “Are we still going to the store today?”

She nodded. “Just as soon as you finish eating and use the bathroom.”

Jade quickly ate a few more cherries and shouted, “Done!” before climbing down and racing off to the bathroom. Rae stretched and resumed eating her apple as she stood and grabbed her small back pack from beside the door.

“You’re coming, too Jackson. Go get dressed,” she said around bites.

Jackson scowled and looked up at her. “Why me?” he asked moodily. The last thing he wanted to do was get stuck on one of those horrid women’s shopping trips. Rae just rolled her eyes.

“Because I feel like being asked stupid questions today,” she replied sarcastically. “Now go get dressed or I’m dragging you out in your PJs,” she threatened.

Apparently, it was still too soon for her to be in a good mood. Rolling his eyes, Jackson got up and went to change, side stepping as Jade raced back into the room, nearly colliding with Jackson’s legs in his excitement.

A few minutes later, the three of them were in Rae’s car and flying down one the roads into town. Rae seemed to relax once more as she drove. Apparently, she took this road often because she always slowed down before coming to an area with a police car pulled to the side watching for speeders.

Soon, they arrived at their destination. The sign near the entrance to the parking lot read “Waldon Grove Outlet Mall.”

Jade walked obediently beside Rae, holding onto her hand as they made their way through the parking lot.

“Speed much?” Jackson commented casually, his hands in his pocket as he continued to stare straight ahead.

Rae just smirked. “Scared?” she asked, opening the door to a huge clothing store.

He snorted as he walked in after her. “You wish.”

Looking around, Jackson sighed. Clothes. Great, he thought. This was going to be a long day. He groused to himself, his expression already set into a scowl. Rae passed him and grabbed a cart, pulling it behind her as she went to the children’s section, helping Jade pick out suitable clothing as he would be starting preschool soon.

Jackson had ended up following behind them with the cart, leaning on his arms which rested on the handle as he pushed. While they waited for Jade to pick out a pair of shoes he liked, he glanced over at Rae. “Why are we doing this instead of his mother?” he asked.

Rae’s eyes never left Jade. “She works during the day. Afterwards, she’s really tired and needs to rest due to her pregnancy.”

That made sense to Jackson; she was a small woman so it had to be hard carrying that extra weight—but he hadn’t even heard any mention about her husband. It was clear she was married due to the wedding ring on her finger.

“And his father?” he watched as Rae stiffened slightly.

“It’s complicated,” she responded tersely. Her mouth was set in a fierce scowl though it quickly became a large smile when Jade came running back with a pair of Velcro Spiderman shoes.

“Aunty, I want these ones!” Jade shouted excitedly.

Rae just chuckled. “You have to try them on first, honey.”

She bent down and helped the boy into the shoes. As it turned out, they were to big. Fortunately, after a bit of searching, Jackson spotted a pair on the very top shelf that was the right size. Jade had been so delighted, he quickly latched onto Jackson’s leg in a hug. Jackson looked at him, clearly surprised and gave Jade an awkward pat on the head.

“All right, squirt,” Rae said, lifting Jade into the seat at the front of the shopping cart. “That’s everything you need, but we still have some shopping to do. We have to buy clothes for uncle. I know it’s going to be boring but if you sit in the cart like a good boy until we’re done, I’ll get you that Spiderman toy you wanted, okay?”

Jade’s eyes widened with delight. “The one that squirts water instead of spider webs?”

Rae smiled. “If that’s the one you want, kiddo.”

Jade nodded quickly. “Can I hold my shoes?” Rae chuckled and looked at Jackson, who handed Jade the box as they headed for the male section of the store.

Once over in the men’s department, Jackson couldn’t help but mutter as he glanced around. “You’d think since your friend keeps clothes at your place as well as his own he’d have enough.” Rae looked over at him.

Her mind quickly processed his meaning and she shook her head. “Not Mitch, you.”

At his blank look she continued. “Uncle is an honorific title for an older male as well as an actual relative. Mitch doesn’t need any new clothes—you do; you can’t keep wearing someone else’s things forever. After all, they’re too big for you.” Rae finished, tugging on one of his pant legs with a smile, emphasizing her point. He just stared at her like she was an idiot.

“And how am I supposed to pay for that? In case you haven’t realized, all my assets, everything single fucking thing I owned was taken from me after my arrest.” He glared at Raea, becoming angry at her for reminding him that he had nothing.

“I told you we’d have to get you new clothes. I never said you’d have to pay.” She was smiling happily, pleased that she could do this for him. No one liked having to wear someone else’s clothes, especially if they were too big: Jackson was no exception. She had noticed him tugging at his pant legs irritably or scowling whenever he had to stop and roll the sleeves back up.

As Jackson watched her, it suddenly dawned on him what she was not only implying, but offering. One or two articles of clothing were expensive as it was, and here she was offering to buy him a lot more than that. He stared at her in disbelief but she just giggled and grabbed his hand, tugging him into a maze of clothing, making sure to keep Jade in sight at all times.

“Don’t just stand there, come on! Unless you want me to pick things out for you.” Rae grinned teasingly. He just stared at her for a few more seconds before letting go of her hand and going to the first rack. As he looked through it, his mind raced.

            There had to be some mistake—this girl who looked no more than 19 was really Wolf? He'd learned she was actually 23, but despite her relatively young age, she had rescued him from his tormentors and put up with his tempers. She cooked their meals, gave him a room, and took care of his injuries—and now she was offering to pay for his clothes! Surely, this girl couldn't be the feared leader of the northern wolf gang.

It didn’t make sense… every now and then Jackson glanced back at her. She was standing beside the cart playing “I Spy” with Jade, pausing the game every few minutes, long enough to come over and take the clothes Jackson had grabbed and hang them over the side of the cart so that he could keep looking.

After he had grabbed a number of shirts and pants the three of them headed over to the fitting room. While he tried things on, Jackson continued to ponder things, only stopping in his thought process long enough to tell Rae what fit and didn’t so she could either hang them back up, grab a different size or hand him the next item to try.

It took a while, but Jackson finally finished trying everything on. The cart was full of clothes. Jade was no longer sitting in the shopping cart, but in Rae’s arms; he had fallen asleep some time ago. One arm was hooked around her neck, the other hanging loosely at his side while his head rested against the crook of her neck.

“Ready?” She asked quietly, so as not to wake the child. Jackson nodded and started to grab the cart but Rae shook her head and carefully passed Jade over to him.

“Wait, I can’t take him. What if he wakes up?” Jackson protested as the boy was placed in his arms.

“As long as you don’t shout or put him down, he won’t wake up. Beside’s my arms are tired. Jade gets heavy after a while,” she reassured him.

“Besides,” she smirked, “You look really cute with a kid.”

The look on her face made it hard for him to tell if she was teasing or serious so he just sighed. “Fine. Doesn’t look like I have much of a choice,” he said.

Rae grabbed the cart and they made their way to the front of the store, stopping at the shoe section briefly so Jackson could get some tennis shoes. Jackson couldn’t see why he needed them since his other shoes were perfectly fine, but Rae insisted he did. Rae looked at the various women’s shoes and picked up one of the stilettos. Jackson shuddered, remembering his last encounter with those horrid shoes and hoped she wasn’t going to buy them. Rae just examined the shoe curiously.

“I don’t see why people wear these. They really don’t look like they’d be very comfortable. What do you think?” she asked, looking over at him and holding one of the shoes up.

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t think so. Then again, I’ve never tried them.”

Rae laughed, imagining Jackson walking around in high heels. Slipping off her sneakers, she carefully put on a pair of the heels and walked around. Though she had good balance and didn’t fall over, Jackson could see her ankles wobbling a bit.

“Oh wow. These things would kill your posture. Not to mention your toes,” she said, looking down at them.

“You look like you’re going to break your ankle,” Jackson commented.

“I feel like it,” she replied, quickly slipping them off. “Hey! Maybe that’s what they were really made for. Business was bad so a doctor decided to make a shoe that would send more patients their way by breaking their ankles.” Rae grinned as Jackson looked at her. A few seconds later they were both laughing, with Jade still sleeping peacefully.

After a few more minutes of looking around the store, they headed for the cash registers. Once there, Rae began placing the items on the counter. The teen aged girl behind the counter began to scan items quickly but her focus was completely on Jackson. As she tried to engage him in conversation, Rae felt her stomach clench slightly with a tinge of jealousy, especially when the girl received a polite smile from Jackson. The teen, whose name tag indicated her name was Carsyn, was now openly flirting with Jackson, despite his best attempts to ignore it.

Once everything had been scanned, Rae handed Carsyn her credit card. Carsyn took it, her face clearly showing the surprise she felt at being handed a card from Rae and not Jackson, since most of the clothes were for him. Rae just smirked faintly and took full advantage of the situation, stepping over to Jackson and wrapping her arm around his waist, leaning into him.

“As you can see from my husband’s clothes, he recently lost a lot of weight. We recently visited the doctor who told us that if Jackson didn’t lose the weight, he ran the risk of having another heart attack.” She looked sad at this for a moment before smiling again. “So I made him a deal: If he were to lose the weight, I’d buy him a new wardrobe, and he did. I’m so proud of him.” She leaned her head against his chest smiling contentedly at the girl.

Jackson quickly caught on to her act and put his free arm around her shoulders. “Anything for you, dear,” he smiled, kissing the top of her head.

Rae tensed slightly but relaxed quickly, her eyes never leaving Carsyn’s face as she glared at Rae in annoyance. “Your husband, huh? I didn’t notice any wedding rings.”

Rae’s smile never faltered. “We don’t need a ring to prove how much we mean to each other. Simply knowing that we’re married, have a wonderful child and will be spending the rest of our lives together is more than enough for me,” she said. Rae leaned up to kiss Jackson on the cheek—but he turned his head, catching her lips with his. Rae fought to keep her blush down as she took Jade, who had just woken up.

Carsyn’s eyes widened in surprise at the display, too shocked to notice Jackson wink at Rae as she shoved their purchases into bags. As she handed them to Jackson, she caught sight of Jade and stopped to look at him, not having really taken the time when she was flirting. With his black hair and surprisingly blue eyes, he certainly did look like their child.

Carsyn scowled in irritation and quickly tore off the receipt, thrusting it out at Rae along with her card. “Have a nice day,” she muttered.

Rae took it and smirked openly. “Oh I will,” she murmured, grabbing the rest of the bags and walking off.

Once outside, Jackson chuckled, his arm still around Rae. “Well that was interesting.” Rae just snorted. “Little twit had it coming to her. I can’t stand girls that act like some bitch in heat.”

After unlocking the doors to her car, she tossed Jackson the keys and put Jade in his car seat in back. Closing the door, she turned to look at Jackson.

“Why did you kiss me?” she asked, watching him warily.

“Just playing the part,” he shrugged before stepping closer. “Why, did you like it?” He smirked.

Rae’s face instantly changed to a deep shade of red as she quickly turned away muttering, “Arrogant jerk.”

Jackson just laughed. She was so fun to tease. “Get in the damn car,” she grumbled.

When they were all inside, she drove off, making one more stop at the toy store before returning home. Once home, she quickly grabbed the clothes they had purchased and disappeared downstairs, leaving Jackson alone with Jade as they watched cartoons. She came back a bit later and dumped a large basket of clothes on Jackson's head, grinning playfully. Payback for the kiss.

“Go get changed,” she said.

He glared at her from under the pile, a pair of boxers hanging off his head. “Why?” he asked.

She just grinned wider. “We have work tonight.”

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Wow, that was a long one. My poor editors. I really kept them busy with this one lol. Hope you enjoyed it. Reviews loved! Chapter 7 written 7/30/10 EDIT: Hey all, just wanted to apologize for a little mix up. Rae is 23. Not 24. I'm managing to get ahead of myself. Sorry about that. It has been corrected. Urusai ne - Shut up
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Second Chances