Kicking his shoes off, Jack made his way into the kitchen. Looking at the clock on the wall he saw it had just gone half past ten, he had been on patrol since eight that morning and was very tired.
Jack had been part of the Devon and Cornwall Police Force for around ten years, five of which he served on the firearms department until he got injured in a hostage situation. Fortunately he had not been forced into a very early retirement but had been transferred to regular patrol duty in Plymouth, a town of his choice. Now he was out of the danger zone he was ready to try to settle down with a woman intent on starting a family.
Opening a cupboard, Jack pulled out a packet of spaghetti and headed over to the oven where he already had a large saucepan out. So what if it was coming up for eleven in the evening, he was hungry! After putting the spaghetti into the saucepan he got out a packet of mince and a frying pan. Spaghetti bolognaise had been his favourite meal since before he could remember, he was half Italian and his family would often have this and other pasta dishes prepared by his mother, Vanessa.
Soon enough the savoury odour of the bolognaise sauce was drifting throughout the downstairs area, he had made enough for two people purposely - in case he got home late the next day. Jack walked over to the fridge, placed the spare plate of food inside and grabbed a cold beer. Opening the beer he took a large gulp and settled down to eat his dinner.
Once he had finished he placed his plate in the sink, knowing that unless his sister was coming round it wouldn't be cleaned for several days. He put his plate there none the less, stacking higher the tower of plates previously used. After putting his beer bottle by the bin he made his way upstairs and walked into the bathroom, he knew it was pushing on half eleven and that he had to be up the next morning but that still didn't excuse him from a bath.
As he poured in the bubbles Jack's thoughts wondered to his sister. They had always been close, he and Lucy and as they grew older it only resulted in them becoming even closer. They had both chosen the same career path however Lucy had been based up in Truro whereas Jack had chosen Plymouth, a place where he had always felt at home. Lucy had been married for five years, she had no children. Due to their parents terrible death, James, Lucy's husband, thought it only to be right that he asked Jack's permission to marry her. Having known James for a considerable amount of time Jack agreed straight away, knowing that Lucy would be safe with him.
As he turned the tap off and started to slide down into the welcoming warm water his mobile started to ring.
"Sod it. They can leave a message." He said out loud, wondering who could be calling him at this time. A few seconds later the ringing stopped, Jack relaxed letting himself disappear under the mountains of bubbles, into the water. As he re-emerged for breath he once again heard the ringing of his phone. "Some people just don't know when to quit!" He stood up, got out of the bath and walked into his bedroom, not bothering with a towel.
Without looking at the caller ID Jack answered. He was immediately greeted by the loud sobs of who he thought was his sister.
"Lucy?" He asked, wishing he had answered the previous call. "Lucy is this you? Please answer I can only hear you crying."
"J-Jack." It was Lucy.
"What's the matter Lucy? What's wrong?" He asked, getting increasingly worried himself.
"J-Jack..." She sobbed into the phone.
"Lucy, just stay there, I'm guessing you're at home?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Ok, just wait there, I'll be there as soon as I can."
He hung up and got dressed. Due to the rush he didn't bother putting on his shoes and rushed out to his car, running back to lock the door. Starting the car, he sped off down the road.
Half an hour later he arrived at his sister's house, he couldn't believe the amount of traffic he had met on the way over. He rushed into the house without knocking and closed the door behind him, running into the sitting room he saw Lucy on the sofa sobbing into her hands. He immediately sat down by her and put his arms around her, gently pulling her towards him. At first she flinched, then, realising who it was she buried her head in his chest.
"Hey, it's ok Lucy, I'm here." He said, kissing the top of her head. He felt her arms around his body, squeezing him, he didn't care that it was hurting, as long as she was fine.
"I-I'm sorry Jack, I shouldn't have called you." She raised her head and he saw the red eyes and tear stained cheeks. Kissing her gently on the cheek he smiled gently.
"It's fine, I was worried about you, what's wrong? Is it James?" As if it were a trigger word Jack watched as her eyes swelled with tears once again. He was worried, he had never seen her as upset as she was now.
Eventually she had calmed down, they had sat with her head on his chest for about fifteen minutes the only sounds being the sobs of Lucy. Being careful not to say her husbands name, Jack once again inquired what was wrong.
"Eve, you need to tell me, has he hurt you?" She shook her head and removed her head from his now soaking wet shirt.
"No...It's not that." She said. "W-We had an argument. I think he is cheating on me and so I confronted him."
"Oh dear," Jack said, his arms still around her. "And I guess he was?"
"I don't know, he just shouted at me for about five minutes before collecting some of his things and leaving." She resumed her place on his chest and continued to sob lightly.
"Ok, well, do you want to come back to my house?" He asked. She shook her head.
"No, it's far too late, it's nearly quarter to one." She said glancing up at the clock. "Could you stay here?" Jack smiled and nodded.
"Of course, I'm going to need a quilt and pillow though, I'll take the couch."
"I-I was wondering if you could sleep in the same bed as me? I just want to be able to feel someone there that loves me."
"If you're sure Lucy, I can easily just sleep down here?" She shook her head and made her way upstairs to her bedroom, Jack followed, locking the front door and turning the lights out as he went. Taking off his shirt he followed her into bed. He allowed her to place her head on his chest and hold his hand as she tried to get to sleep. He had told himself he would not sleep until she did, it wasn't until an hour later when Jack noticed that she was still awake that he thought this may be a bit harder to do that he thought.
When he next opened his eyes the early morning sun was shining through the window. He blinked. He wasn't entirely sure where he was. As he got up the memories of last nights events came back to him, he looked at the bed and saw that Lucy was already up. Quickly he grabbed his shirt and went downstairs. As he entered the kitchen he saw her sitting at the table holding a mug of coffee, he smiled at her and walked over.
"Good morning." She said as she poured out a mug of coffee for him and set the coffee pot back on the table. Taking a sip Jack smiled.
"You certainly seem to be happier this morning."
"Thank you Jack, for staying over last night, I don't know what I would have done without you." Again Jack smiled. Reaching over, she planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Ever since mum and dad...you know...Anyway, you've always been there for me. I'm your older sister, I'm meant to be there for you." Jack shook his head.
"No, I'm your brother, that's what I'm here for - to look after you. I would have hated myself if you hadn't called me and you were on your own." He looked up at the clock, quarter past seven. "Damn, I forgot, I have work today!" Jack sighed and turned back to Lucy. "If you like I can come around after my shift today?" Lucy nodded.
"Yes please, that would be nice. I have to type up a report for my officer so I'll be occupied." Jack smiled and nodded.
