Long Run

1

It was the morning after everything went down.  After my escape from the hospital, after Jason had taken me in his helicopter, after we had arrived at a different "house".  I had slept in a separate room, overwhelmed by not only the escape but Jason admitting he loved me.  

I got out of bed and cautiously turned the door handle, opening the door.  Part of me still thought there was a chance of it being locked since I had spent the past 2 months locked in a room.  I walked out and was unsure where to go other than down the stairs.  I followed the sound of voices, hoping it would lead me to Jason.  Sure enough, I found him sitting at a table in a dining room eating breakfast along with two other men.

Jason almost immediately looked up at me and smiled, standing up and walking over to me.  "Sleeping Beauty finally woke up," he joked, placing his hands on my arms and kissing my forehead.  "Sleep okay?"

I slowly nodded.  "Yeah...great, actually," I responded.  I hadn't slept that well in a while, even though part of me still felt uneasy.

"Good," Jason grinned a bit.  "You want breakfast?  There's no chef here but I'm working on it, and there's still oatmeal, bread, fruit, and I can send someone to buy something else if you'd prefer," he offered.

I shook my head.  "I'll just have oatmeal," I told him.

"Dan, make Katie some oatmeal," Jason ordered.

I chuckled at him.   "I can make myself oatmeal," I pointed out.

Jason just shrugged.  "I know, but you don't have to.  In fact, feel free to ask for anything!  I've already told everyone that you are equal in power to me, so they'll do anything you ask," he explained.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised.  "That's...not necessary..." I trailed off.

"Yes it is.  I'm not your captor anymore, Katie.  I'm your...you're my...well, we're equal.  We're both heads of the household now, so you should be treated as such," he said.  I thought about how he stumbled over what we were, and it made me realize that we never solidified that and I was unsure myself.  I also didn't want to bring it up though.

"Do you want anything on your oatmeal, Miss?" The guy apparently named Dan asked me.

"Just berries is fine," I answered as Jason led me to the table.

He glanced down at me as we sat down. "Oh, we'll need to get you some other clothes too," he commented, reminding me I was still dressed as if I was in the hospital.

"How though?  It's not like either of us can just go out in public," I questioned, then realizing what I had just said.  I can't go out in public...I'm stuck here.  I'm always stuck.

"We can't, but that's why I have people who work for me.  You can look online and pick some stuff out, and I'll send one of my guys to go out and buy them.  No ordering online though, we obviously can't give out our address," Jason warned.

I sighed and then noticed my oatmeal placed in front of me.  I mumbled a thanks, but my mind was just thinking of all the things I could no longer do.  

I spent the day exploring the house as Jason worked.  There were a lot of rooms just like the last house, but it was smaller.  I stayed away form the basement, knowing that's where "business" was dealt with, and just slowly made my way back up the stairs.  There was one room left, and I knew it was Jason's.  I just stared at the doorknob though, wondering if I should, or was even allowed, to open it.

"You know nothing's off limits anymore, right?" I turned around to see Jason walking over.  "This is your home now!"

I looked back to the door.  "I know...but I also know this is your room."

"I'm hoping one day it will be our room," he added, standing beside me now.  He reached out and opened the door, revealing a very simplistic room.  A king sized bed against the wall, a dresser across on the opposite wall.  There were nightstands on both sides of the bed, only one had things on it though.

I walked in, just looking around.  "Big room...not a lot of things," I commented.

"I'm not really in to decorating," Jason joked, following me.  "But you can do whatever you want with the room," he said, then looked down at me.  "When you're ready, of course," he added. I grinned, then looked down.  Jason noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, my eyes moving around the room again.  "Nothing, it's just...different.  Everything is different," I answered.

"I know, it will take some time to adjust but...I'll do anything to help the process.  To help you feel at home," he assured, placing his hand on my arm.

I chuckled, looking at him and thinking about not only his words but his tone.  "Even you're different," I told him.

Jason grinned.  "Because of you, you make me want to be better," he said, standing only inches in front of my now.  "And I think that proves that different...is good this time."  He then leaned down and softly kissed me.