Trouble Is A Friend - Tagged

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: Feel free to change anything you need or want to ||

Eyal found his day starting off badly, first of all his car decided it was against starting for the third time that week. The garage was supposed to have fixed the issue second time around and now he was close to shooting the infernal thing himself. A quick call to the garage and the assurance that this time would be the last time Eyal set off to make the trek to the train. Three blocks across to catch the Brown line all the way to Kimball, the stop for North-eastern Illinois University.

There was some protest happening there that his boss wanted covered which under normal circumstances he could have been there in half the time by car but today. No it was his unlucky day as he managed to just dive between the closing doors of the train before it set off from the station. He had his camera bag with him slung over one shoulder with everything he needed for the day and his usual forms of press ID just in case it was required for the university.

Moving a few seats into the train carriage he found a spare seat next to the window. The train was busy but not the standing like sardines in a can busy. Eyal relaxed into his seat watching the world go by at speed before stop after stop more and more people departed and boarded as he watched the faces intently. The people who were working, those on a day out and those who should be somewhere else and were making a quick escape of school or work. Each face had a story as he watched each station pass before that corner came up.

The corner of Van Burren and Wall street was where it happened. He had been staring out of the window watching the traffic before when he felt the sudden jolt. Everything seemed normal for the few moments after that until he saw the slight tilt in his line of sight. It seemed to happen so slowly in the beginning, his mind seemed to justify it as a corner so of course there would be a tilt until the tilt became more of a ‘my window is millimetres from the guard rail’ thought. The sudden eruption of screams and yelling seemed to be accompanied by the screech of metal on metal as the train left the track.

Carriages and all left the metal rails as it broke the guard rail like slicing through cheese and plummeted the ground. When Eyal woke he could hear the screams and cries for help, the creaking of the carriages that now lay still and motionless. The road that seemed so far away only second ago was now right beneath him as he pushed himself out of the twisted seat feeling the pain in his side and leg as he tried to move. He could see a jagged piece of metal stuck in his leg as he knew enough not to pull it though he could move his leg easily enough, it just hurt like hell.

The shattered glass seemed to have left him with cuts and scrapes as he noticed the gash in his side from the metal of the seat that now lay twisted against the window that had been there. This was far from the best day as he muttered under his breath as he tried to stand up as best he could among the train that now lay on its side. Eyal had already lost what he would call his ‘Chicago guise’ of blending in, no he was back to Mossad mode, the cold and calm exterior no matter what as his face fell into the fixed position that felt like slipping back into a comfort zone. No feeling just practicality and decision.

“Anyone need help?” He called out knowing he would get answers if people were conscious or alive. He was far from a paramedic but his training had taught him a few things to survive in an emergency. They were in Chicago so help was hardly going to be too far away, it was literally keeping anyone alive until the paramedics could get there and do the same as he leaned against the ceiling catching his breath as he fought to keep his breathing under control.

Red☠Frost

[Jessica "Jess" Ranen]

don't apologize

Jess as a matter of convenience took the train. It wasn’t much different from any other day, she was sitting in the corner reading a book. Again, not anything out of the ordinary. She took no real notice of the people coming and going from the train. Probably not one of her smarter moves, but she felt comfortable on the train. Though likely an easy target for crazies.

It took a bit for Jess to register that something was happening with the train. Jess went into a freefall somewhere near the screeching of the metal. Letting out a piercing shriek she put her hands down to break her fall as she landed after the side of the train did. Though train cars were jostled in and hit the back of the car she was in. Jessica was pinned down by one of the seats from the car behind her.

“I’m stuck!” Jess didn’t expect help to come right away, but if someone was close she wasn’t going to get out of here. Hearing a familiar voice call if anyone needed help, Jess tried to look around and see who it was. The voice was familiar. But she couldn’t put a face with the name. “Over here!” She finally called coughing as soon as the words left her mouth.

- Sorry took so long. I forgot to bookmark it-

♡ @eyal

♡

[googlefont="Pinyon Script"]

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: ... ||

Eyal had placed one foot in front of the other, the best he could as he climbed over seats strewn with luggage, coffee cups and the regular signs of a morning commute. He just had to take the train, not the bus the train but right now it felt like the bus might have been the safer option of the two. Eyal was listening for signs of life; it was hardly the worst disaster he had seen but all things considered for his time in the city. It was pretty bad as he heard a familiar voice should that they were stuck.

He recognised it instantly, the girl from the art gallery the one who had called him on being an Israeli? No he was imagining it he had to be though when he glanced around and heard her call out again coughing, no it was her. Eyal pushed his way towards her voice as he saw her and for a split second he felt a twinge of worry for her. It was strange given he felt he had turned off every feeling he could possibly have but there it was. Perhaps natural given the situation he thought as he caught his leg on a seat as he felt the metal jab further in as he cursed.

“Jessica?” He questioned upon seeing her there, her red hair standing out to him as he shuffled himself toward her taking a look at the seat that had pinned her down. “Hey, how are you feeling? Do you think you are hurt anywhere?” He asked her trying to work out how he could get the seat off her without hurting her. He knew to leave things in place but he had too many things in his head, the fuel, the electricity, another train on the tracks. Too many things could change too quickly to wait for help.

“I’ll get you out of here, do not worry.” He said as if not worrying was a natural thing to do as he appeared calm while he tried to look around her to see if he could see any obvious dangers.

Red☠Frost

[Jessica "Jess" Ranen]

don't apologize

Jessica was observant, perhaps too observant. “You’re hurt.” She pointed out, “I can help.” She offered. Though she couldn’t get herself out she could still reach to help him. Though he seemed more worried about her than himself. Jess could relate. Normally she would have chided at someone for using her full name. Only her parents used that when they were being stern with her. There was a lot going on, now was not the time to correct him.

“I’m just stuck.” She seemed to be holding her wrist that had broken her fall. While she was sure it wasn’t broken it hurt. She really needed to stop hurting her wrist. First, there had been the shooting, and now this. Though that time she had broken the wrist. This was different. She worried about things but she was more scared of small spaces. Jess couldn’t even get in an elevator. She closed her eyes, being claustrophobic was not helping.

“And if I am claustrophobic?” She gave him the ‘this is me trying not to worry’ smile, though it had a bit of a laugh in it. Anything to distract herself. Jess had to get out of where she was. Deep breaths Jess. she told herself. She looked up at him from the floor. Those eyes, those were an easy distraction.

♡ @eyal

♡

[googlefont="Pinyon Script"]

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: ... ||

Eyal shook his head at Jess the minute she pointed out he was hurt, no pain was just a state of mind he told himself. It was simply feel no pain and nothing would hurt, easier said than done but showing it was hardly going to happen. “No, pain is just a state of mind. I am fine, had worse.” He said knowing he had but then going into detail about that would likely break state secrets and also land him in more trouble than it was worth given her observational skills. Eyal was trying to be polite with the use of her full name though often the little things escaped him about the western world.

Correcting him was the only way to let him see what he would consider a mistake. “Yes you are stuck.” He said informing her of the obvious as he saw her hold her wrist, he reached down and turned over some of the debris until he found a newspaper which he grabbed. He folded it up so it would make a tube around her forearm and wrist as he moved it under her arm. Eyal pulled the knife that was part of his belt buckled out as he sliced out some of the lining of his jacket. “I’m just going to tie this around the paper and your wrist to make sure stays still until we can get you a medic.” Eyal explained as he attempted to do just that, balancing on his good leg more than the one with metal sticking out.

Eyal stared at Jess when she said she was claustrophobic, her laugh and the smile she held could have melted even the hardest of hearts as he struggled to look away from her. Now was not to time to go soft or to remotely think about anything other than getting her out of the train. What was wrong with him he wondered. “You are scared of Santa Claus?” Eyal asked before he realised he might have gotten the translation wrong, in his defence claus and Santa were close in his head but further thought on the matter lead to enclosed spaces and there was little more enclosed than a train that was on its side and not on a track.

“If you are a claustrophobic then there is still nothing to worry about. I’m going to try and lift this seat off you so just stick with me and you will be out of here in no time.” Eyal said trying to make her feel better as he moved into position to try and get as much leverage on the seat as he could. “Look at me Jessica, focus and tell me what is your favourite outdoor space? You climb trees, which is your favourite, tell me about it.” He asked hoping if she could think about the outdoors it might help her as he started to lift the seat as carefully as he could. The feeling of the metal in his leg jabbing with each slight movement as he winced. “Me I love the beach, the open sea, waves and sand.” He said through clenched teeth as he wondered if he had given her enough room to get out or not.

Red☠Frost

[Jessica "Jess" Ranen]

don't apologize

The man was starting to sound like her father in some regards, she rolled her eyes. She really hated that phrase. It didn’t change the fact that she was worried about him. She’d help, but after she got out of here. She shot him a look when he informed her of what she had just stated. Now was not the time, she was stressed out. Just some people.

When he started messing with her wrist, she could swear that it was broken again. Though she didn’t pull away at the pain of him messing with it. The way he worked and moved, maybe he had served. She bit her bottom lip. She’d never really chosen smart when it came to men. There had been her shipmate who had turned out to be part of a gang. One that had almost gotten her killed and then left her for dead. Then there had been the DEA agent who had just disappeared.

Jess just passed a look when he started in on Santa Claus, if he was trying to distract her then he was failing miserably. “Jess. I prefer Jess.” It was soft toned and not chastising but he was trying to distract. “Dad built me a treehouse outside our house when I was little. When I visit I still go up there and read. I can just climb into it from my window.” She loved that tree and the Navy had been so far from the trees. “I was in the Navy. Beaches don’t exactly stack up to my treehouse.”

She was working on pulling herself free. Once she was free she looked around for something to help stabilize his leg. Her scarf. Her expression changed as she stared at him. “No, is not a proper response.” She warned him lightly as she started wrapping her scarf around his leg to keep the metal piece from doing more damage and to stop the bleeding as much as she could. She barely used her one hand, She’d learned a thing or two from some of the medics on board the ship when the destroyer she had been on had taken a torpedo.

♡ @eyal

♡

[googlefont="Pinyon Script"]

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: ... ||

Eyal was unused to people being worried about him, his last ‘family’ of sorts thought he was only good enough to become dust in a market place when they ordered the strike. Eyal gave her a confused look when he saw her look for him stating the obvious. It was true she was stuck; he hardly understood what he should have said to her because he was only confirm what he knew to be true.

He saw her bite her lip but he knew better than to stop what he was doing as it would only prolong her pain. “I apologise. I do not want to hurt you.” He said as if trying to justify what he was doing. Eyal and women were like chalk and cheese, few understood him and fewer still could cope with his eccentricities. He never had done small talk well or company for that matter though he tried he mostly always failed though in his line of work it was easier to watch the world through a lens than take part in what he found difficult to understand.

“Then Miss Jess it is.” He said as he smiled while he listened to her talk about the tree house outside her house. “It is nice you can have that escape to yourself.” Eyal said as he shook his head about the beaches. “You have not been to the right places yet, it is nice to just sit in the sand and listen to the waves. They are peaceful and have the power to wash away the past twelve hours leaving nothing behind but a new beach.” He explained though he wished it could be used for life too, to wipe out certain parts that made no sense to him and start a fresh though in reality he had done that.

A name and new job though his past still existed as did the one thing he was good at. Eyal breathed a sigh of relief the minute Jess was free from under the seats. He was about to move when he saw her looking around, he thought she might have been scared though when her expression changed he knew he had miss read it. “No is a proper response.” He said as he watched her wrap her scar around his leg as he winced. One handed was amazing to watch as he guessed she had done this before. “Why are you helping me?” Eyal asked her not entirely sure why she would help a relative stranger.

“And where did you learn to do that?” He asked her pointing to her hand and then to his leg. It was hardly a skill you just picked up from life. His mind had wondered too much as he realised that likely interrogating her on how she knew what to do was the wrong idea. “Thank you for that. Are you alright?” He asked her as he glanced over her looking for any sign she was hurt more than she was letting on.

Red☠Frost

[Jessica "Jess" Ranen]

don't apologize

Men. Jess chalked it up to that simply for the fact it was something her dad would have said. Blatantly stating the obvious had to be a male trait. Sometimes she wasn't sure if their eyes were just hyper sensitive or they thought women in capable of actually using theirs. Either way men were complicated.

No shit Sherlock. Why would he be wanting to hurt her if he was trying to help her out? "Don't apologize for helping.” Jess closed her eyes to get through the rest of the pain. Though his smile was… alluring and she soon was lost in looking over his face. He puzzled her at times.

“I served in the Navy. Beaches get a different feeling when you are at seas for months.” Jess reasoned with him. If only to keep the conversation going. “Perhaps one day I will get a chance to see them in a different light.” There was hope here and he seemed optimistic about it.

When he said no was a proper response she shook her head. Jessica was clearly disagreeing. Then he asked her why she was helping. She gave him a look. “I could turn that same question right back on you, and if you tell me it's because I'm a woman I'm going to extract my revenge.” There was a clear jest in her tones.

“Dad was a Marine. He's shown me a few things.” Her dad was one of the most stubborn people she knew. If her dad saw this on TV he'd flip. “You're welcome.” She was trying to be polite. Though she had other things on her mind. As she finished up with his leg, she heard him asking if she was alright. “Physically, I’m alright.” Though psychologically, she was in hell.

♡ @eyal

♡

[googlefont="Pinyon Script"]

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: ... ||

Was it odd for an assassin not to want to hurt anyone, well as a general statement it would have been wrong as it was the very thing he did. Eyal could hurt anyone with efficiency and feel little to nothing, it was his job and what he knew best however hurting Jess was something he never wanted to do. Given the situation pain was relative but he hardly wanted to make it any worse for her in trying to help. Eyal watched her as he tried to make thing as quick and painless as possible for her. She truly was beautiful he thought as it seemed a foreign concept to even think of a person like that.

Pushing that thought from his mind he smiled at her. “I am apologising for hurting you in trying to help you.” He said though all in all there was still pain so helping or not. He was still causing her pain which was unintended even if it was required on some level. He was no doctor or medic but he could patch until one got there which was the main aim of the day. The last thing he wanted was anything worse to happen to her though a train derailment, he was unsure of what could be worse than that but he knew better than to test that theory.

The Navy explained a lot he thought nodding to her. “I thought being at sea that long land would look good?” He asked her as he grinned and had an idea. It was an odd time to ask but then again life was short so why not just be blunt and to the point. It was again something he was reasonable at given the American ways were often beyond his understanding. Jess seemed to be optimistic about seeing beaches in a different light so there was no harm in asking.

“If you’re not too busy in the next few weeks I can take you to the beach to show you if you want?” Eyal asked not sure if he was on the right track as he kept his eyes away from her face deliberately just in case he had gotten things entirely wrong. “We can take a BBQ, steaks, pawns and salad if you eat that or not.” He added as women were tough to figure out especially when it came to food he thought. He went quiet for a moment as he listened to her jest about turning his question back on him.

He chuckled as he nodded to her. “It is because you’re hurt and yes a woman too and if you were a man it would be the same.” Eyal said still chuckling though he knew if it was a man he maybe would never have apologised for the pain. Navy appeared to run in her family as she spoke about her father being a Marine. It explained a lot about how she knew what to do to help as things like this were far from covered at school. Perhaps they should have been though he was far past school age to learn that now.

Eyal was grateful when she finished up with his leg though the minute she said she was physically alright he realised there was a lot more to things. To Eyal this was just an inconvenient addition to his day that had been a series of inconveniences though all he could think was that it could always get worse. He had been trained to handle a bump in the road though this was a pretty big speed bump to hit but Jess, he knew it might be difference as his head was never a place he wanted anyone to be.

“Physically is good.” He said as he smiled for a moment at her, “Jess talk to me, what are you thinking?” He asked her as he glanced around. “We can get out of here; we’re not stuck so you’re safe. You understand that? Stick with me and I won’t let anything happen.” Eyal reached out his hand and patted her shoulder gently, it was what people did when others were upset as he tried to be a little more approachable than his usual static self.

Red☠Frost

[Jessica "Jess" Ranen]

don't apologize

Jess shook her head at him as she rolled free. “Trust me, you don’t have to apologize. I understand.” Jess wasn’t mad that he’d been trying to help her. “Sometimes pain is unavoidable.” She explained. “I just won’t be taking the train anytime soon.” If ever. Jess had been through a few times where she was certain there would not be a repeat of those events. She had been through worse though so she wasn’t sweating things too badly. She just didn’t like being crammed in anywhere. She started to calm down when she was out from under being trapped in.

“Okay.” Wait had she just decided to go somewhere with this random stranger? No he wasn’t a stranger, they were acquaintances. There was nothing wrong with spending time with acquaintances to get to know them better. “You don’t have to go through all that trouble. I’m not picky.” She deduced maybe he was after something a little more than just a friendship but she wasn’t adverse to the idea. Though to be fair, she’d hardly gone on a date in a while since the person she had feelings for never really would make up his mind about them.

“This isn’t your fault, Eyal don’t dwell on it.” Jess hated dwelling on the bad things because then her optimistic lifestyle would be so much harder to maintain. She finished up with his leg and looked towards him. “You really need a hospital. If this piece of metal comes out, you are going to lose a fair amount of blood.” She explained to him. “This is beyond what I can fix. I can stabilize it to minimize the blood loss; but I don’t have the skills needed to fix this.” She was being honest. Perhaps he was stubborn like her when it came to medics but he needed a hospital and Jess believed in behind honest and upfront.

“It’s not that it’s just…” She leaned into him trying to to comfort her. “I just know that dad and my brother’s are going to be difficult. They’re protective. I’ll be lucky if I can even walk the dog without one of them breathing down my neck. Not that I hate them or anything. I just… After the last incident, I was just finally able to not have them calling me every five seconds to check if I was alright.” She admitted. Jess knew it was because they cared but her dad and JJ especially could be very pushy. She didn’t go into the fact she knew her dad was going to be going through hell because of the loss of her half sister.

She looked around and she could see that others needed help, but no one they could actually reach right now. Hearing the cries for help was getting to her. Being helpless to help them was beyond what she could handle. Jessica was tired and weak feeling from the own blood loss from her broken wrist. She was in pain but she was hiding it. Though she was soon drifting in and out practically in Eyal’s lap. She was still conscious but it was easy to tell she was tired. "You... me... both hospital." She fumbled out.

♡ @eyal

♡

[googlefont="Pinyon Script"]

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: ... ||

Eyal smiled slightly when Jess mentioned not taking the train any time soon. It seemed like a good enough plan as he knew he preferred to drive and right now a train seemed to have been his worst choice of the day. “I am glad you understand that.” Eyal stated knowing that pain was a good and bad thing in equal amounts. “I prefer to drive but then a train can be a good thing. Just not today.” He added though with all that had gone on he was glad he was on the train because he could at least help Jess. If he was driving he would never have known unless he was taking her photo for the news.

To hear an okay Eyal grinned for a moment. “Seriously? I mean yes that is good.” He asked her though really did he want to push that question any. “Okay as in yes or okay as is... take a rain check?” He asked just to make sure that he had the right okay as American’s could be tricky that way. He knew there were varying okay’s and he hardly wanted to be that okay that left him standing waiting for something that would never happen. “It is no trouble but if you are not picky then steak it is.” He said smiling at her as he tried to not seem too relieved that his attempt at asking her out had gone reasonably well and not backfired.

“No, no I don’t expect you to fix it. Thank you for what you have done but I’m more worried about you right now.” Eyal stated, his leg was well his leg. It hurt yes and there was always that possibility that if the metal did come out he might not be around long enough to show her the beach. It was always a possibility; then again there was the version where the metal was stuck and he was around or an infinite number of disastrous probabilities to go for. It was however the train that Eyal had never considered going wrong. After all it was a straight track mostly, wheels that hooked on to track and this time it had gone wrong. He really did have rotten luck today.

Eyal could understand why her father and brother were protective over her, he would be if it was his family though he was already given he wanted her to be safe. It was a strange feeling; he was used to hurting people. Making them suffer and taking away those loves ones they held so dear where as right now, he just wanted to help Jess. “There was a last incident?” Eyal asked her wondering how much her luck had to do with this train incident. “But they care which is nice. A family that cares is good to have.” Eyal said not that his never did but he could say with certainty his chosen line of work was hardly in their top ten hopes.

Then again to the rest of the world Eyal was gone, he died in a blast at a market place. A ghost of the past. Eyal followed Jess’s gaze as she looked around. Other people needed help and their cries fell onto deaf ears given there was precious little he could right then. It was easy for him to focus on Jess, to drown everything else out despite the fact he wanted to do more. Eyal slipped his arms around Jess as he saw her drifting in and out. “No Jess, wake up you’ve got to stay awake with me okay.” Eyal said as he rubbed her good arm a little roughly in a hope of getting her to wake up more.

“We’ll get to the hospital but just talk to me about anything, anything at all.” He said as he could see she was tired but she had to keep her eyes open as he glanced at her wrist. Shock or blood loss he was unsure which but both lead to the same conclusion if left for too long. “Tell me about the navy, what did you do there?” He asked her deciding if she talked it might help.

Red☠Frost

[Jessica "Jess" Ranen]

don't apologize

Jess was trying to pay attention to what he said. She was hearing him but he was starting to sound like a static radio, as she couldn’t really seem to focus. “Beach yes.” She clearly stated what she was trying to say in as little words as possible. Mostly because she wasn’t focusing well and coherent thought had all but left her for the moment as she seethed at the pain in her arm. This was going from bad to worse and fast.

“I’m good. Just skippy.” She replied. Though she was looking everywhere but him and she had lost a good bit of blood already. Though she reached with her good arm for something to stop the bleeding. It had slowed but it hadn’t stopped. She’d cut her arm up pretty rough where she had broken it. She was so glad she wasn’t squeamish or she would have been running away like a child.

“Classified information.” She couldn’t tell him about the ship being torpedoed in the docks at the Navy base. Though she knew it had nothing to do with her luck, she was just always in the wrong place at the wrong time it seemed. She was slipping into a slow slumber. She could feel the rough shaking on her arm and it was enough to get her attention. “Tired.” She whispered as she tried to close her eyes.

Then there was something about talking to him. “That’s classified.” She mumbled. She’d been nothing more than a personal aid of sorts but when one dealt with the information that had crossed in front of her it was one of those things that it was just the easy way to explain things was classified. “Sleep that’s classified too.” She half heartedly tried to make a joke but she was fading fast. Jess could hear the sirens. It was going to be the beginning of a long day.

♡ @eyal

♡

[googlefont="Pinyon Script"]

[Deleted]

|| TAG: Jessica "Jess" Ranen || WORDS: 0 ||
|| NOTES: END ||

Her lack of words was worrying to him, sure for himself a lack of words was a normal version of events as he spoke yes but rarely more than what was required. Her arm seemed to be getting worse and sure he knew the basics but Jess needed a hospital and a lot more treatment than he could ever give her. He wanted to scream for the paramedics but the rest of his body refused to. Panic never got anyone anywhere he knew that much though he could feel the panic start to ebb away at whatever composure he had.

It was a strange feeling and one he hardly liked when it involved someone he actually did care about in a way. He never thought he was capable of even that but today yes he was. The more she spoke he knew it was getting worse as he wanted to focus on something though his mind was screaming that there had to be something he could do. When she mentioned classified information he just chuckled. It was the go to excuse for everything in life, classified and he had seen and been part of enough red tape to know that classified meant that it was far above his pay grade.

Likely the information he needed but nothing that was urgent right now. Watching her slipping into the slow slumber Eyal shook his head. “Stay awake Jessica. I must insist.” He stated shaking her as gently as he could with a little force behind it for a purpose. There was no option to sleep right now because he figured ifs he did, there was no waking up for her either. Eyal nodded to her speaking of classified again as all he wanted was for her to be out of there and in a hospital.

“No sleeping.” He said as he could hear the sirens approaching. It seemed to take forever for anyone to get to them though at the beginning of the day it was the start of a long day and a hospital trip to boot. Eyal made sure he stayed close to her until he was sure she was going to be alright as he left her his number. It was hardly the best of days but at least he had gotten to know her a little better and right in that moment he was aware that she was safe and out of harms way.

Red☠Frost