Prompt: "Stay With Me!"

Title: In The Arms Of A Stranger [Pt. 3]

Fandom: Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise films)

Warnings: Mentions of violence, broken bones, blood, fainting, shock.

Word Count: 2,774

Author's Note: Here are some songs I used as inspiration for this part! Have a listen while you read! :)

Make It With You -- Bread

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Shame On The Moon -- Bob Seger

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Synopsis: The once lone drifter finally formed an attachment - one that he might very well lose as quick as he'd found her.

----

In The Arms Of A Stranger [Pt. 3]

Snow crunches beneath your boots, the warmly illuminated sidewalk in front of you sending a ripple of momentary comfort through your shivering frame.

You'd never thought, in all your years, that you'd ever end up leaving Pennsylvania and let alone end up in Indiana, of all places.

It had taken some time, but gradually, you're making your way away from the life you were rescued from back in Pittsburg.

The life you can't help but feel ashamed of, looming thoughts of how many terrible things you may have initiated through your technological expertise alone, occasionally filtering through your headspace.

Though, as of late, you haven't quite had time to ponder much over.

You and your newfound Partner, of sorts, have been on the move more consistently than ever.

Between avoiding the hands of the organization you'd left behind and the new, unwanted attention you and your Partner seem to gain wherever you go, life's been busy.

But for now, as of this particular week, things have quieted down.

"Why does it always seem that no matter where we go, it's always cold and miserable?" You muse aloud with a chuckle, glancing up at the man you're keeping pace with, his own huff of laughter following.

"'Tis the season," He jokes, earning an eye-roll from you as you re-adjust the plastic bag of the few groceries you'd both taken a stroll to pick up at the local Supermarket, hanging from your arm. "What? Want to try and get to Florida? California?"

"I wouldn't mind that, actually."

Jack Reacher just grins with a shake of his head, his breath billowing and rising with yours into the cold winter evening air.

The pair of you continue on in comfortable silence, other than the rumble of the odd passing vehicle and the constant crunch of snow beneath your feet.

Though... Something feels off.

And though you're one hundred percent comfortable with the man you're easily keeping pace with, something you'd quickly learnt as time had gone on, the quietness and your surroundings...

They just don't feel right.

Reacher seems to sense your unease as he slows his strides, yours instantly falling to match his new pace.

"We're just a block away," You murmur softly, a tone of urgency falling into your voice, your gaze darting around the harshly shadowed alleys between the buildings you pass, the odd whiff of cigarettes and the faint tinge of alcohol filtering from the apartments above the storefronts at your side.

The wintry breeze now carries the beginnings of flurries, a shift in weather that the pair of you had been hoping you'd be able to beat.

Ever since that fateful night back in Pittsburg, the darkness and snow combined have a rather negative feeling attached to it, one that you've thought you'd managed to tackle down to a manageable level, but your rising pulse begs to differ.

Or is it the sense of eyes watching you, burning into the back of your skull?

"We're being followed," Jack mutters lowly, grumbling as he instinctively steps towards you, pulling your figure into his side, causing you to stumble momentarily.

Though he makes quick work of steadying you, your paces resuming their strides.

"How many?"

"I counted five, maybe six."

A sinking feeling hangs in your stomach as you shiver against the freezing elements, the nagging of anxiety rising in the back of your mind.

"We could always cut through to the left..." You suggest softly, though your voice trails off as a new figure emerges from the very direction you'd gestured to, clad in a rather ridiculous looking trench coat and evidently white leather gloves.

The man at your side instantly comes to a halt, stepping forward with a hand extended out behind him, wordlessly passing you a stern glance not to follow as he stares down the newcomer icily, stance becoming defensive.

Something you've seen more often every time these skirmishes have been happening.

But tonight, Jack Reacher seems almost... worried... about what might very well be soon to occur.

"I honestly didn't believe it when I'd heard the news," The man with the leather gloves chuckles, casually stepping closer to where you stand, his gaze flicking from your Partner to you, a rather quizzical expression twisting onto his features. "Jack Reacher is back around. What a surprise."

"I'm just passing through, that's all. I'll be out of your hair first thing tomorrow."

The newcomer seems taken aback, a knowingly sinister teasing smirk tugging at the edges of his lips as he once more takes a step towards your shivering figure, your gaze locking with his.

And within his gaze holds such a putrid glimmer of malice, it earns a startled gasp from you as you shift backwards on instinct, Jack's broader figure stepping directly in between you both.

"Oh, but surely she's tired, being dragged about by the likes of you, all over creation. Why don't you stay a while longer? Rest up. Maybe get out a bit to some local bars..."

His offer, on the outside, seems genuine.

Though his tone...

It sends shivers of unease dancing down your spine.

"You're too kind," Reacher declines, his own tone quickly gaining a warning edge. "But really, we'll be out of here and long gone early tomorrow morning. First light, likely."

Once more, the trench coated man just huffs, beginning to circle both you and your Partner now, your back making contact with Jack's.

And as your bodies collide, a glance is sent your way, one that you can decipher almost instantly.

Run.

"But what if I wasn't asking? What if I need you here," His icy tone drawls as he nears you, stopping for a moment, his eyes shamelessly wandering you over. "What if I need her here?"

"You stay the hell away from her."

For the third time this evening, Jack steps in front of you, tapping you three times on the shoulder as he passes you by.

Signaling for you to get as far away from here as you can.

Right now.

"Oh, Reacher! Always so defensive! Especially around women, isn't that right? Don't you remember-"

But before your newfound aggressor can finish his sentence, the sickening sound of a fist colliding with a face meets your ears, followed by a cry of agony and rage.

So, you take the chance.

And you run.

Your legs are slow to respond, your brain so wound up at the suddenness of it all that it takes you a moment to begin to move, your feet desperately trying to get a grip against the snow and ice beneath them, the bag of groceries instinctively being left behind, clattering to the ground.

You're fighting for air as you leave Reacher and the white gloved man in your wake, your heart practically pounding out of your chest.

"You won't get very far, my dear!" His sickeningly teasing tone echoes after you, mentally knowing that your Partner told you to run for a reason.

But one thing that he didn't take into account was lurkers.

In the shadows.

Before you can even react in any sort of way, someone tackles you from the side, sending your body crashing against the snowy pavement, the impact of the unexpected blow completely knocking the wind out of you.

All you can do is lie there as a fist meets your face, your own cry of agony being pulled from your lips as the sound of bone breaking against bone sounds in your skull, your vision clouding and quickly darkening.

"I told you to stay the hell away from her! She has nothing to do with any of this! If you want to get even, get even with me! Not her!"

"Too late, Major! You're the one who dragged her into this, after all!"

A pair of hands roughly flip your limp figure onto your side, your evidently broken nose and who knows what else, aching loudly in protest, another verbal cry falling from your bloody, chapped lips.

And through your fading vision and muddled senses, you can barely make out the figure of the man you've gotten to know over the past while, clearly bloodied and growing tired as he takes blow after blow, only landing a few of his own in return.

Jack...

One last punch sends him reeling and staggering into a nearby snowbank, energy and consciousness spent as he makes no move to get back to his feet, a strangled shout from you barely resonating with your fading senses, drifting away from you far too quickly for your liking.

What have we gotten ourselves into this time?

****

A steady throbbing pounds against the back of his skull as he comes to, blinking a few times, a sudden shiver running through him as he lies there, back against the cold, hard snow.

His thoughts are foggy for a moment as his eyes pry themselves open, the warmly illuminated snow filled sky above him making him wince.

Though accompanying the throbbing is another noise - a memory; a lingering thought.

Screams, cries, rather, of utter agony, confusion and fear...

And one of his name, laced with mere disbelief and horror...

Y/N.

Her name shoves itself through the once lone drifter's foggy thoughts, an urgency filling his entire figure that he doesn't quite notice until he's somehow back on his own two feet, headspace no longer swimming and muddled.

Instead, it's crystal clear.

And so is the image in front of him.

Her snow-covered, fragile figure is lying not too far from where he'd stumbled from, no sign of anyone else around, the snow falling from the heavens having long covered their aggressor's footprints.

She's face down, unmoving... seemingly lifeless.

"No, no, no..." He mutters lowly, scrambling to her side, pulling her frozen figure into his grasp, cradling her head in his hands, a certain feeling of desperation and helplessness igniting within him. "Come around any moment now..."

Instinct from all his past years is quick to kick in, a hand sliding up the cuff of her jacket, a thumb pressing against her wrist.

Pulse is there... weak, but there...

The man that practically swore an unspoken oath to no one but himself sighs heavily, unshed tears welling in his gaze as he silently tucks a stray piece of her hair back behind her ear, pulling her limp form closer into him.

"Come back... Y/N."

Please.

****

"Come back... Y/N."

The voice echoes around your head for what seems like forever, the tone of it laced with only one emotion.

Fear.

Jack Reacher? Afraid? Of what? What could he possibly be afraid of? From everything I've seen, the man's practically immovable!

Though it dawns on you, in your drifting, floating state of unconsciousness.

Me. I'm the source warranting that fear.

And then, almost as if you'd been forced underwater for far too long, you break through the surface with such a gasp of shock, the sound and your senses all rushing back to you in tiny pieces quickly becoming overwhelming.

Though through your blurry vision, you watch your Partner's eyes widen in relief, though they shift into concern once more, your eyes yet again becoming heavy.

"No, no, no!" His voice pulls you back to reality once more, though your eyes refuse to open as your hearing gradually begins to ebb away. "You've got to stay with me, Sweetheart!"

You can feel his hand grabbing yours, squeezing tightly as you slip under the waves again, unable to fight against it anymore.

****

This time, when you come to, the cold is gone.

No snow against your cheeks, no wind whipping against your face.

No strong arms holding you close, either...

Inwardly, a panic swells within you as you manage to crack your eyes open, blinking back the grit and wincing at the sudden presence of light.

As you cast your slowly clearing gaze around your surroundings, however, your panic subsides, a shaky exhale being pulled from your lips as realization settles in.

"Jack?" You hear your hoarse voice call aloud in the small space, the presence of steam on the window across the window a tell-tale sign of what your Partner's been up to while you'd been out.

"I'll be there in a minute," His rather distant voice returns, muffled by the door to this motel room's quaint bathroom, the light filtering through in the gap beneath.

A soft, "okay" simply falls from your lips as you sigh heavily, your head resting back against the surprisingly plush pillows, mind wandering, unanswered questions lingering there.

Those guys who'd jumped us: easily a past gang Reacher must've had a run-in with before...

But the guy in the trench coat addressed him as 'Major...'

Was Jack?...

Footsteps pull you from your thoughts, your head raising to the source of the noise.

The man you've gotten to know over the past while is wandering towards you, his shirt, evidently damp, in his hands as he drapes it over a hangar, leaving it on the clothing rack in the closet before joining you at your side, the Queen sized mattress dipping slightly at the added weight.

"You'll be okay," Jack assures softly, offering a slight reassuring smile, his hands finding their way to your cheeks, fingers brushing over the bridge of your nose. "A few minor cuts and scrapes, you'll be bruised for a while... and this is just gonna be a quick fix..."

Rough yet gentle fingers push against the broken bone on your face, earning an alarmed cry of agony and surprise from you,  your head swimming at the suddenness of his movements and the presence of pain yet again.

Though you can feel it snap back into place, a satisfying click radiating throughout your skull as a hand that had been on your nose shifts to wipe away the stray tears that slip freely down your bruised and scraped cheeks.

"Geez, Jack!" You choke out between sobs, a bubble of fatigued laughter rising in your throat. "Warn me next time you do something like that, will ya?"

The man now sitting in front of you just chuckles, gently prying the death-grip you'd had around his bicep off, setting your hand back at your side.

"Then I would've heard about it even more. Hell, for all I know, you would've tried to fight me," He teases, earning a playful smack from you.

"You're right. Thank you for not warning me."

A wordless nod is the only response you receive as Reacher makes his way to his feet, double checking the locks on the door before making his way back over to the bed, flicking off the light at his bedside, bathing the room in darkness as he slips beneath the covers at your side.

A light, comfortable silence fills the space between the pair of you as you find yourself instinctively shifting towards his larger figure, seeking some warmth after all this evening has encompassed.

And he welcomes you with surprisingly open arms, almost reaching for you and pulling you in with a needy haste, it earns an inward laugh from you.

"You never told me you were a Major."

Your small voice breaks the silence, a confused huff sounding from the man holding you.

"The man in the trench coat tonight. He called you Major."

At this, Jack sighs heavily as your questioning gaze flicks up to his in the dim darkness, only illuminated by the street light peeking through the blinds.

"Ex-Major," He corrects, a rather distant look adorning his features before he continues, passing you a quizzical grin. "I could've sworn I told you that before we made it to the border of Indiana... right before we hopped in the back of that pickup."

"Maybe," You hum sleepily, snuggling closer into his chest, a yawn escaping your aching figure. "Love you, Jack."

And as those two words linger, your mind not registering what just fell from your lips and their meaning, you could swear you hear him chuckle, though before you can do much more, you find yourself floating comfortably on the hands of sleep.

Though to Jack Reacher, the once lone drifter who'd swore he'd never let anything like this happen...

He simply lies there, holding her close, her breathing rhythmic and soft...

And for the first time in a long time, something new comes over him, something he thought he'd long left behind, his voice barely a whisper in the darkness of whatever motel room they'd manage to have found when first arriving in this small town.

"I love you too."

And from this point forward, as long as I'm able, no one will ever hurt you again.