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Jack recognized the address as soon as the call came in. He bolted out of his desk chair and buckled his gun belt on. Jo was already out of her chair and checking her weapon, giving him an expectant look.
“Explosion at Nathan’s lab,” Jack explained in as few words as possible.
“I’ll drive,” Jo insisted. “My car is faster.”
Since Jack’s hands were shaking just a little bit, he didn’t argue. “Yeah, okay.”
Jo put the lights and siren on, and Jack gripped the passenger door as Jo raced through town. “What did they say, Carter?” Jo asked as she took a sharp corner.
Jack shook his head. “There was an explosion and a fire. They don’t know if anyone was inside, but Nathan went in this morning. He’d planned on staying all day.”
Jo nodded and didn’t try to offer platitudes, for which Jack was grateful. Explosions in Eureka were never good, and there were usually injuries. Losing Nathan—losing what they had—the idea had Jack’s heart in his throat.
Nathan was supposed to be in his lab, and if he had been—
Jack remained silent the rest of the short drive to the lab on the outskirts of town, jumping out of the car as soon as Jo screeched to a halt. Relief slammed into him as Jack took in the scene. The fire suppression crew was already wrapping up the hoses, and Nathan was seated in the back of the ambulance on scene, talking to the paramedic.
Jack crossed the short distance between them at a jog, reaching out for Nathan instinctively. He quickly took in the soot-stained t-shirt, and the smudge of dirt along Nathan’s right cheek, as well as the reddened area along Nathan’s jaw, disappearing under his beard.
He’d have a hell of a bruise tomorrow, Jack thought, recognizing that kind of mark from experience.
“Hey,” Jack said after he’d finished his mental inventory, gripping Nathan’s hand the whole time.
Nathan dredged up a smile. “Hey. I’m okay.”
Jack looked to the paramedic for confirmation, and she nodded. “Some really nasty contusions from getting thrown into a wall, and ringing in his ears that should subside within the next day, but no broken bones, and no sign of internal injuries.”
“Does he need to go to the infirmary?” Jack asked.
“No, I don’t need to go,” Nathan interjected. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t get a vote,” Jack snapped, his relief coming out as irritation.
The paramedic hid a smile. “If you’re concerned, we can take him in for observation, but I don’t think it’s necessary. He’s going to be sore, but he’ll live.”
“Are you sure he doesn’t need X-rays?” Jack pressed.
She nodded. “I’m sure, although I can drive him in if necessary.”
“Jack, no. I just want to go home.” The weariness in Nathan’s voice broke through Jack’s worry, and Jack nodded reluctantly.
“I’ll take him home, then,” he said. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Sheriff Carter,” she replied cheerfully. “Just be sure to call the infirmary if he needs stronger pain medications.”
Jack led Nathan back to Jo’s car. “We’ll wait for Jo to finish interviewing the fire chief. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know what happened,” Nathan replied, leaning back against the Subaru. “I got lucky. I was heading out to see if you wanted to grab lunch, and the lab just exploded behind me. Fuck.”
Jack knew what Nathan was thinking. “How much work did you lose?”
“Not too much,” he admitted. “I’ve been backing up to an off-site server just in case, but I made some real breakthroughs this morning. I don’t remember if I saved them or not.”
“Even if you didn’t,” Jack said. “Just be grateful you’re in one piece. When the call came through...” He trailed off, not wanting to think about the hole that would open up in his life if Nathan were gone.
“Hey.” Nathan wrapped a hand around the back of Jack’s neck. “I’m okay. I’m sore, but I’ve been hurt worse in the past. We’re fine.”
“You say that today,” Jack managed to say around the lump in his throat. “Just wait until tomorrow.”
Nathan groaned. “Tomorrow is going to suck.”
“Probably, but it’s better than the alternative.” Jack straightened as he saw Jo approaching. “Any news?”
“It was probably an accident, but they’re going to look into it,” she replied.
Jack nodded, not expecting any different. “Would you give us a ride back to the station? I’ll drive Nathan home from there.”
“Sure,” Jo agreed easily. “Glad to see you’re okay, Nate.”
Nathan shrugged, then immediately winced. “So am I.”
Jo’s driving was a little more sedate on the way back to the station, and made mostly in silence. Jack kept an eye on Nathan, who shifted restlessly.
When they arrived at the station, Jack had to open the door for Nathan since the sheriff’s department vehicles didn’t have doors that could be opened from inside the backseat. Nathan muttered his thanks as he climbed out, moving slowly and stiffly.
“You sure you don’t want to go into the infirmary?” Jack inquired.
“I still have pain killers leftover from my shoulder and arm,” Nathan replied. “And no. I just want to go home.”
Jack shared a look with Jo, who waved them off. “I’ll call you if I need you, Carter.”
“Thanks, Jo,” Jack replied. “I’ll call you later to get an update, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jo smiled. “Let me know if you need the day off. I think we can arrange to switch.”
Jack smiled. Jo’s matchmaking, even at this late date, never failed to amuse him. “I’ll let you know.”
Nathan climbed into the Jeep slowly. “Fuck.”
“Tomorrow is going to be worse,” Jack warned.
“Thanks for the pep talk,” Nathan grumbled.
“Just being honest,” Jack replied as he slid behind the wheel. “They say that’s the cornerstone of a relationship, right?”
Nathan groaned and leaned his forehead against the window. “Shut up.”
Jack let that slide for the moment. “Anything I can do?”
“No, there’s nothing you can do.” Nathan sounded so disgruntled that Jack let it go.
“You want me to call Fargo and have him check on what got saved?”
Nathan shot him a look. “Honestly, Jack, I hurt so much right now, I don’t give a fuck.”
Jack nodded and kept driving. He knew that he’d have to wait Nathan out.
“Sorry,” Nathan muttered after a few minutes. “It was a bad day.”
“Take a hot shower,” Jack advised. “I’ll dig up the pain killers.”
Nathan nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
Jack followed Nathan inside, hiding a smile as SARAH said, “Dr. Stark, you seem to be moving more slowly. Is there anything I can do?”
“If you could find a large tub and fill it with hot water, that might be nice,” Nathan replied.
Sarah actually managed to sound regretful as she said, “I’m sorry, Dr. Stark. I am not equipped with a bathtub.”
“It’s fine, SARAH,” Nathan sighed. “A hot shower will suffice.”
“I’ll make sure we have sufficient hot water, Dr. Stark,” SARAH assured him.
Jack went about his business, locking up his gun belt and finding the ointment he used on his own bruises. “SARAH, would you put together lunch for us? And we’ll be home for dinner, too, although we’ll probably eat later in the evening.”
“It would be my pleasure, Sheriff Carter.”
“Thanks,” Jack said, directing his response at the ceiling.
“Is Dr. Stark all right?” SARAH asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Jack assured her. “He just got a little banged up.”
Jack waited for Nathan to emerge from the bedroom, and when Nathan came out wearing only a towel, Jack handed him a couple of pills and a glass of water. “Take these, and then I’ve got arnica gel that should help with the bruising.”
“I might think that you’ve done this before,” Nathan replied, throwing back the pills and stretching out on their bed, arms and legs splayed.
“You might be right,” Jack admitted.
Nathan closed his eyes. “God, Jack. It’s been a long time since I’ve been that scared.”
The confession caused a shudder to go through Jack. Nathan was a lot steadier on his feet these days, his confidence bordering on arrogance in a way that reminded Jack of the old Nathan, the one who’d barely given him the time of day.
“You’re safe now,” Jack replied. “You’re okay.”
Nathan huffed out a laugh. “I might be okay in a few days, but right now I hurt.”
“Let’s see what we can do about that,” Jack breathed.
The gel was slick under his fingers as Jack traced the bruises scattered across Nathan’s chest, smoothing it over still-damp skin with careful movements. Time seemed to slow, and Jack felt Nathan relax under his ministrations.
“Roll over,” Jack urged. “Let me see your back.”
“It’s not as bad,” Nathan murmured softly. “I’m okay.”
Jack hushed him, feeling a renewed urgency, wanting to touch every inch of Nathan’s body, ensuring himself that Nathan was okay, that he was still there.
They’d had so little time together—months, but Jack wanted years.
“You’ve got a few bruises here,” Jack observed.
“Debris,” Nathan said, his words muffled by the mattress. “Nothing too bad.”
“No, not too bad.” Jack removed the towel gingerly, making certain he didn’t jostle Nathan too much. “Almost done.”
Nathan just grunted.
Jack finished cataloguing the bruises and cuts, mostly small nicks and scrapes, and he shook out the blanket draped over the foot of the bed. “I think SARAH is making lunch,” Jack offered softly.
Nathan murmured something Jack couldn’t make out, only half-awake, and Jack smiled, smoothing Nathan’s hair. “Okay. Sleep, Nate. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
Jack tucked Nathan in and crept out of the room, turning back once to look at Nathan’s still figure. He’d gotten a glimpse of what his life would be like without Nathan today, and Jack hadn’t liked it.
SARAH had lunch ready, and Jack ate. Now that the adrenalin had worn off, he was starving. Jack got some paperwork done while he ate and put ESPN on in the background. When he called Jo a few hours later, Nathan was still asleep, but Jack wasn’t too surprised; painkillers tended to knock Nathan out.
“How is he?” Jo asked.
“Sleeping,” Jack replied. “Which is probably the best thing for him right now. Did you find anything?”
“No sign of arson,” Jo assured him. “It looks like there was an electrical fire with the additional complication of some old cans of paint nearby. Did Nate get the lab cleared out before he started using it?”
Jack tried to remember if he had, but he also knew that Nathan had a tendency to get caught up in the work. It was all too easy to picture Nathan setting aside anything he didn’t need to deal with later, only to forget about it.
“Probably not,” he admitted. “When we clean things up this time, I’ll make sure it’s clean. I’m sure he’d have dealt with it eventually, but most of his research is theoretical right now. He’s not actually in the construction stage yet.”
“Better get on that, Carter,” Jo advised. “You wouldn’t want another situation like this one.”
“No kidding,” Jack said fervently. “Thanks, Jo.”
“Anytime,” Jo replied.
Jack hung up and smiled at Nathan, who was making his slow way down the stairs. “Feeling better?”
“Stiff and sore, but whatever you used on my bruises helped,” Nathan replied, sitting down on the couch gingerly. “Thanks.”
Jack shrugged. “You know I’d do pretty much anything for you.”
Nathan flushed. “Jack—”
“Just promise me that you won’t keep cans of flammable materials lying around,” Jack said, putting his hand against Nathan’s cheek. “Okay?”
Nathan winced. “Is that what happened?”
“That’s what Jo said. I don’t like the thought of losing you.” Jack pulled away. “Are you hungry?”
Nathan nodded slowly, apparently sensing Jack’s need to change the subject. “Yeah, I could eat.”
Jack smiled. “I’ll get you something.”
Nathan might be black and blue, but he was still there, and Jack was grateful for it.