Tell Me 'Bout That Day In Dallas

Chapter Five:

Jack and Jackie handed their empty dinner plates to Lady Bird as she and Lyndon stood up and took the remaining dinner dishes into the conjoining kitchen.

"Jack?" Jackie asked quietly, being the private person she was, so the Johnsons wouldn't hear her.

"Yeah, Kid?" Jack returned, turning to look at her, leaning his elbow on the table as he rested his chin in his hand.

"I wanna thank-you," Jackie said, leaning toward him so he could hear her whispered words. "For, you know, changing and everything."

"I should've done it a long time ago," Jack whispered back as he reached forward and brushed her bangs, which flopped into her eyes when she leaned forward, back to the side. "It shouldn't have taken a life threatening situation like the Cuban Crisis to make me realize that I needed to change. I regret everything I did to you...but you do know that you were the only one I truly loved. None of them meant anything or came close to you."

"I know, Jack," Jackie replied, her voice tight as she lowered her head with the feeling of tears pushing behind her eyes. "I would ask, why would you do it if you loved me, but we've already crossed that bridge."

"You'll never have to ask yourself or me that, again," Jack told her softly as he placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head back up. "Never."

Her eyes were misty with heartfelt tears as she smiled at him and placed a soft kiss to his lips. Jack would have turned it to something more, but the sound of the Johnsons returning made the two pull away instead.

"You guys want to watch something?" Lyndon asked with a smile as he made his way into the living room while his wife wiped off the table with a wet cloth.

"What did you have in mind?" Jack asked as he stood up with a stretch before taking Jackie's hand and leading her into the living room.

"Whatever you want," Lyndon replied, turning on the T.V.

"Is Vertigo on?" Jackie asked as she and Jack sat on the couch, Lady Bird moving to sit in her knitting chair nearby.

"Alfred Hitchcock's?" Lyndon asked with a grin. "A fan of the darker films I see."

"We both love Vertigo," Jack replied. "But yes it's nice and dark."

"It might be on...it's almost 9:00 now," Lyndon began as he flipped the three channels.  "Aha!  Bingo," Lyndon smiled upon finding it on ABC.

"Remember the first time we watched this?" Jack asked Jackie as he laid on his back, to ease his lumbar pain, Jackie cuddling into him as she laid on his chest.

"Yeah," she answered. "It was when it first came out in '58. You just discovered that I like thrillers."

"We were always finding out new things about each other," Jack chuckled, as he began playing with her hair while his other hand rested on her lower back.

"We still are," Jackie smiled down at him.

He smiled back at her, both of them so happy with the new turn their marriage was taking. It was finally becoming the ideal marriage they both wanted.

~*~*~*~*~

"Is sleep all she does?" Lyndon whispered in disbelief, looking at where Jackie was sound asleep on her husband's chest, Jack dozing off under her.

"Oh hush," Lady Bird scolded him with a small smile as she put away her knitting and Lyndon turned off the T.V. "They've had a long week."

"I know.  I'm just surprised that she's still tired being that she slept till noon today and it's only a little past 11:00 now," Lyndon replied, setting down the remote.  "She's used to staying up later than that."

Lady Bird shrugged before standing and saying softly, "Let's just let them sleep; they're supposed to be resting anyway."

Lyndon nodded before turning off the lamp and leaving the room with Lady Bird.

~*~*~*~*~

Jackie squinted her eyes shut tighter as a light began to shine behind her eyelids. Her action not helping, she blinked open her eyes and looked toward the source of light, a full moon.  Her mouth dropped at how huge and vibrant a yellow it was.

Pushing gently off Jack's chest, she walked over to the window and looked up at the magnificent sky.

Jackie didn't know how long she was gazing out the window, lost in thought, but soon Jack noticed she was no longer with him and he rolled into a sitting position, wiping out his eyes.

Spotting her silhouette by the window, Jack got up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder and looked out with her.

"I just cannot get over how beautiful it is out here," Jackie breathed to Jack as she leaned into him.

"You want to go for a walk?" Jack asked as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"It's probably wet yet from the storm," Jackie answered, twisting around in his embrace to face him, her arms wrapping around his neck. "We'll go tomorrow night."

"I'm holding you up to that," Jack chuckled before leaning down and kissing her.

Jackie smiled against his lips before taking his hand and pulling away saying, "Come-on, let's go to bed."

"And sleep?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think we've had enough sleep; don't you?" Jackie smirked before leading him toward the stairs, Jack grinning the entire way to their room.