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The very first time Jacob had seen such a horrific scar that matched the one on his chest was when Lara had exited the Lift, stumbling into Serafima's cave with blood gushing from a wound above her left hip. Instantly, his instincts kicked in to help her, to seal the wound with a prayer and hope she would be none the wiser when she woke up. However, before he could rush to her aid, Serafima and Nadia were already both at her sides, carrying her into an adjacent room and tugging the pelts she wore off her body. He followed with haste, bile rising in his throat at the thought of losing the woman who saved him from Trinity's clutches and continued to do so for his people every day.
He watched from the doorway as they stripped Lara of her jacket, her Henley shirt, and finally the gray tank top she wore underneath all those layers. She remained unresponsive the entire time until Nadia accidentally brushed her hand against her side, which forced a strangled gasp from Lara's lips and a hand to shoot out and grab the young Remnant by the forearm, bloody fingers clutching the cloth. Serafima whispered something under her breath and Nadia rose, returning with a basin full of water and a clean rag a second later.
By this time, Ivan had gotten up and stood beside Jacob, watching both him and the women at work in worry. Serafima shot him a look, and he grabbed Jacob by the bicep, pulling him away from the scene, but the Remnant leader remained rooted to the spot, unable to take his eyes off Lara's chest. Beginning at the top of her breasts and ending just above her navel was a jagged line of scar tissue. His own scar, which rested directly over his heart, seemed to throb at the sight, and he struggled to breathe.
Finally, he relented and took an unsteady step back, then another, and another, until finally he sat down by the fire and tried to ignore the gasps of pain coming from the other room.
"She's been with us for a few weeks," Ivan finally said, voice thick with his Russian accent. "But never before have I seen a soul as stubborn and strong as hers." He smiled and patted Jacob's shoulder. "She'll push through this."
Jacob numbly nodded, eyes fixated on the fore, but mind elsewhere as he tried to collect his thoughts and unsuspected feelings towards the injured woman.
It was far too early for any other Remnants to be awake, but that didn’t stop Lara from biting her bottom lip in anticipation of someone catching her skulking outside Nicholas’s smithy. After a night of what was supposed to be uninterrupted sleep and an early morning excursion to the blacksmith’s house, she didn’t have any excuse prepared should someone appear and ask why she was up before the sun broke over the horizon.
“Well, it wasn’t easy.” Nicholas’s gravelly voice made her jump, but she quickly composed herself. He held the rope necklace with wolf and bear fangs, the points now filed down, in his hand. “But I managed to sand down the fangs without breaking or cracking any.”
Lara let out the breath she was holding in and closed her eyes, bringing a hand up to rub the back of her neck. “Thank you.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “What do I owe you?”
Nicholas looked at her blankly for a second before a smile broke out across his face. “Jacob asked the same thing to me when he came to me, requesting I carve chunks of Magnesite and Chromite ore into beads for a betrothal necklace.”
Lara felt her face heat up. “I--”
The blacksmith shoved the necklace into her free hand. “I’ll tell you what I told him: I’m happy you have found another to spend the rest of your life with.” He took a step back. “Consider this my wedding gift for you and Jacob.” He chuckled hoarsely. “However, if you were to have any extra firewood on hand, my forge could always use some.”
Lara smiled and opened her clenched hand, looking at Jacob’s necklace in appreciation. The fangs no longer glistened with his blood, and she thumbed the dull tips. “You have yourself a deal.”
"Have you ever thought about having children?" Jacob asked, absentmindedly stroking Lara's bare back with his thumb.
She snorted and pulled her body away from his, sitting up in the cot and stretching her arms above her head. "What brought that on?"
He shrugged. "Curiosity, perhaps?"
"Haven't you heard the phrase, 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"
"I might have, at some point or another," he mused, reaching across the covers to tenderly grasp her elbow. "However, you still haven't answered my question."
After a moment of silence, Lara sighed. "No, I haven't thought about bringing a child into this world. Not with it the way it is." She turned her head to look at him. "It wouldn't be fair if her mother wasn't always there."
Jacob smiled tenderly. "Oh, so you imagine you would have a girl?"
Lara returned his smile and laid back down, resting her head against his chest and brushing her fingertips across the large scar directly over his heart. "Did you imagine you would have a girl when Alya was pregnant?"
"No, I didn't," Jacob admitted. "My first thought was about how much of a fool I was to give into my temptations."
"But you're not a fool now?"
He knew what she was alluding to, and chuckled. "I believe what we have is different, Lara. You of all people should know that."
"I admit it's not everyday someone considered to be a god falls for a simple archeologist."
"You're more than a simple archeologist," Jacob growled.
"Someone is defensive," Lara teased, cupping his cheek.
"After the past few weeks we've had, I think I'm allowed to be." He rolled over on top of her, pinning her to the cot with his weight. "Have you thought of any names for your imaginary daughter?"
A playful smack on his shoulder was her first response. A kiss was her next.
When Jacob estimated Lara had not returned in twenty minutes he rose from the bed and exited the room. His feet thumped softly against the floor, despite the thick rugs. He yawned and stretched as he walked into the foyer, scratching an itch on his side.
"-- you have no idea how much I have done to keep this family's name respected amongst society!"
"You haven't done shit!"
Lara.
Immediately, Jacob walked down the steps of the grand staircase and took a right, noticing the door to the library was slightly ajar.
"If my sister hadn't--"
"If Mother hadn't what? Married my father? Birthed me? What?"
Opening the door, he quietly slipped inside, but it was to no avail - both occupants of the room turned their heads to look at him.
Lara's uncle was a thin, wiry man with short brown hair and dirt-brown eyes. He stood taller than her, but shorter than Jacob, though this could have been from the slouch in his shoulders and upper back. One hand held a piece of paper while the other had been pointing accusingly at Lara.
With teeth bared, he snarled at Jacob. "You're no better than your father, Lara! I thought my sister would have the right mind to at least teach you modesty and decency before her passing, but this is unacceptable." He turned back to Lara. "Bedding a stranger?!"
Lara stepped forward, leaving the smallest of gaps between her and her uncle's face. "First, you have no right - NO RIGHT - to spit on my father's name like that." She motioned towards Jacob. "Second, Jacob is not just some 'stranger', but you wouldn’t understand. Third, it is none of your business who I decide to sleep with or not." She narrowed her eyes. "Get out of my house."
He opened his mouth to argue, but Jacob cut him off. "I believe you should do what she says. You wouldn't want to see her angry."
With a huff, Lara's uncle slammed the paper down on the desk and briskly walked away, purposefully shoving shoulders with Jacob as he left the library. Moments later, the front door was opened and slammed shut.
"What a nice man," Jacob muttered cynically, sauntering over to Lara and wrapping his arms around her waist. She tucked her head under his chin and sighed deeply.
"He's an ass, but he's family, so I have to tolerate him."