Jackie was paralysed until the panic finally sinked in.
"Tommy, wake up!" Jackie yelled, shaking him as hard as she could. "Wake up!"
"Ow! Stop! I'm awake!" He yelled
"What the hell happened last night?! Why are you in my room?! Why are you in my bed?!"
"Ugh my head! Stop shouting!" Tommy groaned as he rubbed his temples.
"Tommy. Answer my fucking question!"
"We were wasted. Why are you so angry?"
"Did we..." She looked down at him and raised her eyebrows, insinuations what she feared.
"No, I tried but you smacked me." He reached up and touched his cheek. "Hard, I might add. You were wasted that you kept telling me you had a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend. Also, since when do you have a boyfriend." He laughed.
Jackie let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God! Now, get out before someone sees you. They will be at our doors soon to wake us up."
Tommy stood up and was wearing just his boxer briefs.
"Why are you in your boxers?" Jackie asked.
"I was wearing skinny jeans! I can't sleep in those!"
Jackie found his pants on the floor and threw them at him as he made his way to the door.
"What are you doing, Tommy!?"
"Leaving like you asked!?"
"You are not stumbling out of my hotel room at 6:30am in the morning and not wearing any pants!"
When Tommy finally squeezed back into his jeans, Jackie pushed him out the door, grabbed her phone and sat on her bed. She was scared to check her phone, hoping she didn't drunkenly call or text Catherine.
After getting up enough courage, she slid her phone on and checked her messages and call history. None to Catherine. What a relief. Even though she didn't do anything, Jackie couldn't shake the guild. She knew she should call Catherine, since they hadn't talked since yesterday afternoon, but didn't know what to say. She decided to take a bath instead to help clear her head and help her get over her hangover.
As she was getting out, she heard Rachel banging on the door.
"Be ready to go in 45 minutes."
Jackie's phone went off. Her heart was beating fast and thought was Catherine. It wasn't. It was a text from Matt.
M: Saw pics from last night on TMZ. Glad you took my advice about Tommy. Looks like you two had a great time. Way to sell it ;)
Jackie's body went numb. She nervously went on TMZ's website and saw the pictures of the red carpet and after party. It showed a picture of her and Tommy dancing on each other, then leaving in the same limo holding hands. She didn't think Catherine would see them, considering she didn't even own a smartphone; but knew she better say something before she found out. After getting dressed and packed, she paced the room until she got up the nerve to call her.
The phone kept ringing. She must have saw, Jackie thought. Before she had time to freak out even more, Catherine answered. She wasn't sure what to say when she picked up.
"Jackie? Are you there?"
"Yeah, sorry. H-how are you?" Jackie replied, stuttering her words.
"I'm okay. How was the premiere?"
"Really good, but I'm paying for it today."
"Party too hard?"
That's an understatement, Jackie thought. "Yes. Catherine..."
"Yeah?"
Jackie was terrified to tell her about last night.
Instead, she chicken out and just said, "I miss you so much."
"I miss you too Porcupine. You're halfway done though. When do you leave for Montreal?"
"We're leaving for the airport in a few minutes. I can't wait to have some down time there. All we have is press and radio, not premiers or parties."
"Good, no offence Porcupine but you've sounded pretty terrible lately. You could use some rest." Catherine teased.
"All I can say is thank God for the glam squad"
"You don't even need make up to look gorgeous."
Catherine being so sweet to her was killing her inside. Just then Rachel knocked on the door.
"Jackie, are you ready?"
"One sec!" She called out. This was the first phone call she didn't mind being interrupted. "Hey Catherine, I'm really sorry but-"
"You got to go. I know the routine now." Catherine joked.
They said goodbye and Jackie made her way down to the lobby. She spotted Tommy and pulled him aside before they got into the car.
"Tommy. Not a word about last night, you hear me?"
"Yeah, okay but I promise nothing happened."
"I don't care. Not a word to anyone." Jackie said sternly.
Tommy was so caught up in his instant fame that Jackie feared he would do anything to get attention.
"I got it Jacks. Relax."
****
Jackie spent the next two days in Montreal doing press, a little sight seeing, but most of all- staying sober and out of trouble. Sunday night finally came around and they didn't get back to the hotel until close to midnight. Jackie had to be at the airport in a few hours, so she tried to get some sleep but kept worrying about Catherine. She was going to tell her about her night with Tommy and hoped she wouldn't be too upset. She didn't want the few days they had together to be ruined.
Jackie landed in Indianapolis at 6am and was on Catherine's door step at 7:30am. She looked up at the house, not believing she was really back here. Then knocked excitedly on the door until Catherine finally opened it, Ethan came running up to her at her feet.
"Ethan!" Jackie screamed and knelt down, baby talking to him and petting him as he licked her face.
"Jeez, you don't see me for a week and you make over the dog more than me?" Catherine teased.
Jackie stood up and smiled.
"Come here," she said and pulled Catherine into her and kissed her. The two made out like a couple of high schoolers before finally pulling away. "Better?"
"Much." Catherine smiled. "Follow me."
Catherine took Jackie's hand and flashed her a mischievous smile. The one that always hinted she had something up on her sleeve. When they entered the kitchen, there was an entire spread of breakfast food lining on the table.
"Oh. My. God. You are the greatest person on earth."
Jackie was not a good cook at all. It was rare for her to eat a home cooked meal. When she wasn't eating catered food or fancy dinners, she was living off Chinese food and pizza at home.
Catherine sat her down and kissed her on the cheek.
"I figured it has been a while since you had a home cooked meal."
"You have not idea." Jackie said, stuffing her face.
Catherine always took care of her. It was one of the many things that made her fell in love with her. After they were done eating, Jackie grabbed her suitcase before headed upstairs.
She dove on the bed head first, sprawling out.
"God, I missed this place."
Catherine laid down next to her, "The bed missed you too."
Jackie turned her head over to look at Catherine. She was so beautiful. Jackie wondered every day how she got so lucky.
"You know, this house always felt more like a home to me than my parents' house."
Catherine's eyebrows scrunched together as she smiled sweetly and kissed Jackie's hand. It never felt like Jackie was a guest when she was here. It always felt like she belonged here.
"Well, it sure has felt empty without you."
Jackie smiled back and Catherine couldn't help but notice how fatigued her eyes looked.
She tucked her hair behind her ear before saying, "You look exhausted."
"Gee, thanks." Jackie laughed. "I think I look pretty good for only getting 2-4 hours of sleep a night for the last four night."
"Why don't you take a nap?"
"I don't want to waste the little time we have."
A nap sounded marvellous but she didn't want to waste one second with Catherine.
"We're together, aren't we? You're exhausted and you need to rest. It's still really early anyways."
"Will you stay with me? Also, please don't let me sleep all day."
"Of course I will and I won't keep you in bed all day. I need you well rested, Jackie." Catherine gave Jackie another one of her mischievous smiles.
Jackie got up and moved towards Catherine, snuggling into her.
"This is exactly what I have been looking forward to all week."
She meant every word of it too. After the fiasco with Tommy, all she wanted was to be back in Catherine's arms and know that everything was alright.
Having Jackie back in her bed, cuddled up next to her, made Catherine's heart almost burst with happiness. She couldn't believe that less than two weeks ago Jackie wasn't even in her life anymore. Now here she was and everything was perfect.
It wasn't long after Jackie fell asleep that Catherine did as well. She had woken very early to make breakfast and didn't mind the idea of taking a nap.
A couple of hours later, Catherine woke up finding Jackie still sound asleep with her arms wrapped around her. She was shocked, considering Jackie usually liked her space to curl up into a ball when she slept. Catherine examined her closely on how adorable she looked when she slept.
Her little Porcupine.
She noticed the dark circles under her eyes. The poor girl was exhausted. Not wanting to wake her up, Catherine laid in her arms soaking up the moment a little longer, thinking about their relationship. It was crazy how fast things had changed between them. The ending of their relationship was almost as fast as it had began. They never really communicated in either event. They hardly spoke before they slept together and then before they knew it, Jackie was spending almost every night at Catherine's and they were falling in love. The end was something she tried to not think about, but could never get it out of her head. She was shocked that Jackie even wanted her bed. When she finally decided to get up, she gently removed Jackie's arms and slipped out of bed. Jackie hardly even stirred.
Once downstairs, Catherine checked her phone and saw a voicemail. Trying not to get her hopes up, she took a deep breath before listening. It was UC Berkeley saying they saw her speech at Stanford and received her application. They wanted to set up an interview. Catherine couldn't stop smiling as this day couldn't get any better. She immediately called them back and set up an interview for the following week.
"Thank you so much for this opportunity and I will see you next week."
After hanging up, she grabbed her laptop to look at flights. She knew Jackie would want her to stop in LA, so she decided to wait for her to make any final arrangements. Although Berkeley was in California, it was rather far from LA. It wasn't her first choice but it was one of the top ten Psychology Departments in the country, so she couldn't help but be excited. She tip toed upstairs to check on Jackie, who was still dead to the world, and then decided to start dinner. She planned a big feast for Jackie's first night. All of her favourite foods and figured by the time she was done, Jackie would be awake.
****
Jackie woke up disheveled and looked around. She smiled as soon as she remembered that she was at Catherine's. Looking at the clock, she suddenly felt panicked that she had slept the day away. It was after 5pm and she smelt something delicious in the air. Catherine must be cooking dinner, she thought. Jackie walked over to her suitcase and retrieved a box from her carry on. A gift she had gotten Catherine in Canada. She entered the kitchen and saw Catherine learning over the stove and snuck up behind her. She wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
Catherine jumped, "Oh my god, you scared the shit out of me!"
Jackie laughed as Catherine turned around in her arms, wrapping her own around Jackie's neck. Jackie leaned in and kissed her. Then began kissing down her neck.
It was sending chills down Catherine's body. She pushed Jackie over to the island and picked her up, setting her down on it. They both paused. Looking at each other in the eyes and then smiled. The attraction between them had always been so natural and exciting. As things started to heat up between them, a pot on the stove started boiling over.
"Catherine, your dinner!"
"To be continued." Catherine said and then kissed Jackie on the forehead.
"Hey, I have a bone to pick with you." Jackie said sternly as she was popping a grape into her mouth.
"Yeah? What's that?" Catherine asked as she stirred the pot of pasta.
"I told you to not let me sleep all day."
"But how do you feel?"
"Great, actually."
"Then there you have it. I feel great too. Guess what happened while you were sleeping?"
"You saved a man from a train and pretended to be his fiancé?"
Catherine looked back at Jackie looking confused.
"Sandra Bullock? Movie humour, never mind. Go on."
"I have an interview next week." Catherine smiled out of the corner of her mouth.
"What?! Where?!" Jackie jumped down from the island.
"UC Berkeley."
"Holy crap! That's awesome, Catherine!" Jackie wrapped her arms around her. "When is your interview?"
"Next Tuesday. I need to schedule flights but wanted to check with you first. Maybe I can visit before or after?"
"You better! Let me check my calendar." Jackie grabbed her phone out of her pocket and skimmed through her calendar. "I will be in New York this weekend, then will be in town the rest of the week."
"Great! Can you check flights while I finish up dinner? You're better at that than me."
"And you are better at cooking than me." Jackie laughed.
"That is true." Catherine teased.
Jackie was ecstatic booking Catherine's flights. She couldn't believe that she may end up in California with her. As she was wrapping up, Catherine began moving the food to the table. Jackie slowly closed the laptop as she noticed what all Catherine had prepared. She looked up at Catherine who flashed her a wink.
"Like it?"
"All of my favourites? Are you trying to make me fat?" Jackie joked, getting up from her chair and moving towards Catherine.
"Yes, especially since you embarrassed me during our jog. Rematch next time I visit." Catherine said, wrapping her arms around Jackie's neck.
"You're on." Jackie replied as she held her close. All of a sudden the guilt began to creep back in, "You're so good to me. I don't deserve it."
"Why would you say that? You've been working until the point of exhaustion. You deserve to relax and be spoiled for a couple of days."
"Because you had to deal with me hardly talking to you and didn't once complain."
Among other things, like Jackie getting drunk and completely dismissing Catherine's feelings. All for the sake of her selfish gains of being adored by the media.
"Don't beat yourself up. I knew you were busy. Come on, let's eat before the food gets cold."
****
After dinner, they poured some wine and went to sit in the living room.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Jackie ran back into the kitchen and came back with the box. "You distracted me earlier." She smiled. "For you, Miss Stark."
Jackie presented her with the gift.
Catherine looked at her and the corner of her mouth curving up suspiciously. "What's this?"
"Just a couple of things. Open the bigger one first."
Catherine slowly unwrapped it. It was an iPhone.
"Now you don't have an excuse for not sending me pictures." Jackie grinned.
"Jackie, this is too much. I can't accept this."
"Are you kidding me? You just cooked me two giant meals and this is more for me anyway." She winked. "Okay, now open the next one."
Catherine carefully opened the tiny box and couldn't believe her eyes. It was a diamond necklace.
"Jackie, it's gorgeous. I can't-"
"Stop it." Jackie stood up and fastened the necklace behind Catherine's neck. "Now you have something to remind you of me when we are apart."
Catherine grabbed hold of it and looked down, completely mesmerised by it. She had never received something so beautiful or meaningful before.
"I love you."
"I know, I am pretty great." Jackie joked.
Catherine went to put the boxes down on the coffee table but felt more weight still in it. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a big bone with a bow on it.
"That's for my man Ethan." Jackie took it from her and  got on the floor with him. "Here you go buddy!"
Catherine watched Jackie and Ethan playing on the floor in awe. Not only did she buy her two of the most thoughtful gifts, but she even brought a bone home for her dog. Catherine couldn't bear the thought of living without her again.
"Come back here, Jackie."
Jackie came back next to her and Catherine put her arms around her, holding her close for a long time. All of a sudden she started to get choked up. Embarrassed, she tried to play it off but Jackie felt her trembling. She slowly pulled her away.
"Catherine, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just really happy. This day has just been so perfect. With you, the job and now this."
"Then why are you crying?" Jackie asked as she wiped her tears away.
"It's been a really hard year and I guess I'm just overwhelmed. This is embarrassing."
"Don't be embarrassed. I love seeing tough Stark's soft side. I'm not done yet though."
"You're not?"
"Nope. Stay here. I have something else upstairs."
It felt good making Catherine so happy and Jackie had much more up her sleeve. It was Catherine's time to be spoiled.
Jackie disappeared upstairs and came back down 15 minutes later with a giant smile on her face.
"Okay, come on." She took Catherine's hand and led her upstairs. When they reached the bedroom door, she had Catherine go in first.
"Go on."
Catherine slowly opened the door and walked inside. Her entire bedroom was lit up with candles. Her mouth dropped as she looked around. It was one of those moments that didn't seem real. It was too good to be true. Jackie silently came in behind her and shut the door. Catherine felt her arms wrap around her waist.
"Do you like it?"
She held on to her arms tight.
"I'm speechless."
"I have more, but you can't make fun of me okay?"
"Of course I won't."
"Promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"This is the cheesiest thing I've ever done in my entire life." Jackie laughed and then turned on a playlist from her phone. "I have a lot of free time on planes, so I made a playlist that reminded me of you."
Catherine stuck her bottom lip out and made a sad face.
"Jackie, that's not embarrassing. It's adorable."
Jackie laughed, "Okay one last thing."
She took Catherine's hand and led her to the bathroom where there were more candles and a bubble bath drawn. On the edge of the tub were two white fluffy robes and a bottle of wine.
"Seriously? Is there anything you didn't do?"
"I know, it's too much isn't it?" Jackie said, felt embarrassed.
"No, not at all. It's perfect." Catherine pulled her in and kissed her. "I love it."
Jackie smiled and began removing Catherine's clothes. She kissed her shoulder and then made her way down her body, stopping to kiss each part before removing her pants. Catherine's body was on fire as she tried to control herself. They both slipped into the tub and Jackie grabbed the bottle of wine.
"Wine and bathtubs? This could get dangerous." Catherine teased.
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
"Never." She smirked.
"You better watch you back Stark. First embarrassing thing you do, it's over."
"Do you remember the last time you were in this tub?" Catherine asked, as she began to indulge in the reminiscence.
"You passive aggressively mending my face, and telling me to not jerk off to myself on your couch?"
Catherine damped her teeth together and smiled awkwardly, "Okay but do you remember the first time you were in this tub?" She laughed.
"Yes. I asked you if I was different from the others and you blew me off."
"You caught on to that?"
"Of course I did. I was looking for reassurance in our relationship and you made me wonder even more."
"Well the answer is yes now."
"Better late than ever." Jackie laughed.
Catherine became quiet, thinking about the conversation they had that day.
"Hey Jackie?"
"Yes?"
"When did you fall in love with me?" Catherine asked, sheepishly.
"When you picked me up from my uncle's house on Thanksgiving." Jackie didn't even need a moment to think about it.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was so upset and you were the only person I wanted to call. Then they way you took care of me. I fell hard for you that day. Other than Mark, not one has ever cared for me that way."
Catherine realised that Jackie hadn't even mentioned her mother once since they reunited.
"How are things with your mum?"
"Let's not kill the mood with that topic. What about you?"
"When did I know?"
Jackie nodded.
"My birthday. I told you but you were sleeping." Catherine smiled, remembering that day perfectly. Much like she would remember this one.
"Wow. I wish I would've known."
"You didn't think I did?"
"No. After our fight, I was completely crushed. Why do you think I left so suddenly that last day here? If I would've stayed any longer, I knew I would've been hurt all over again."
Catherine felt terrible. She had always assumed Jackie had known, but now her taking the audition and abruptly leaving that night all made sense.
"I'm so sorry."
"The past is in the past. Let's just enjoy the present." Jackie said as she put down her wine and moved to the other side of the tub towards Catherine.
She put her arms on either side of the tub and slid in between Catherine's legs. She started kissing her, but when she moved to her neck she could feel Catherine trying to take control. Jackie pushed her back down.
"Stop. Let someone else take care of you for once."
The acoustics in the bathroom made Catherine's moans louder than usual. Good thing her neighbours were a decent distance away. By the time they were finished, the water had started to become cold. Jackie got out of the bath and put on a robe before holding the other open for Catherine. She grabbed the wine and put it on the night stand. When she turned around, Catherine placed her arms over Jackie's shoulders and kissed her.
"Now your turn." She said as she started untying Jackie's robe.
"Not so fast." Jackie said as she started retying it. "Tonight is all about you."
They were up until the middle of the night since Jackie's nap obviously paid off. In between rounds, they just laid in bed surrounded by candles and listening to Jackie's playlist on repeat. Jackie finally let Catherine have her way once she made sure she was completely satisfied, but of course once Catherine finished, Jackie fell asleep. Catherine laid in bed with Jackie sleeping next to her. No one had taken care of her the way Jackie had tonight.
Her walls were completely crumbled and for the fist time in her life. She was scared of how vulnerable it made her.
She knew Jackie would never hurt her.
A/n: I love the ending towards the chapter. I drafted many times to let everyone see more of Catherine's soft sideð¥¹
Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸