Chapter Sixteen (Mister and Misses)

Four days. Three unbearable sleepless nights. An overnight express shipment via FedEx that he'd had delivered to the office, making sure that Serge had been there early enough to sign for it. Packed amid foam and those little plastic air-filled pouches were seven vials marked as insulin. One weeks' supply if he was careful, if he meted it out precisely – the muscle memory was still there, even after all this time. It didn't matter much right now that he'd be throwing away more than a year of sobriety. What mattered was the pain, the razorblades in his knees every time he took a step. Whatever progress had been made, whatever damage had been looming back in July was back with a vengeance and he knew he needed to schedule time with that specialist again. If he was still limping at the end of the week, Missy would know something was up.

He didn't want that to happen because there was gold involved now.

The vial rolled in Jackson's palm, warmed by his skin as he stared at it, chewing on the lump of scar tissue where his teeth had almost gone right through his bottom lip. He couldn't remember how that had even happened, but it was still fresh enough that worrying it a little gave him the familiar salty-metallic taste of blood.

Two belts. He hadn't been like that since he'd had the SCW Global and the MWA World at the same time – two promotions. Two belts in a company that was really beginning to feel so much like home that he was waiting for the night it all went to shit and they brandished their pitchforks and torches to drive the monster from their midst.

"Just a little more time," he muttered, his voice close to breaking and then there was a soft knock on the door, Serge's voice coming from the other side, slightly muffled.

"Jax, you still cleaning up in there?"

He dragged in a deep breath, meeting his eyes in the mirror of the women's locker room, "yeah." He glanced at his watch – shit. Missy would be showing up any time now. "Just finishing up," he called out, dropping the vial back to join the others for now. With shaking hands, he did up the zipper on the baggie and returned to the handicapped stall on the end, placing it inside the toilet tank, confident that nobody would find his secret stash there.

Maybe later. After everyone's gone for the day. Don't know how the first dose will hit. Don't want anyone to see if it's a bad trip. Take her out someplace nice for lunch. Have seafood. Blame it on that if you have to because that's easiest. Food reactions are plausible.

His hands shook as he went to the sink, cranking on the hot faucet before washing his hands, as if the taint of what he'd already committed to doing was going to come off that easily.


Missy was tickled when she went to pick up the mail that morning. There was a stack of gym business things of course to take care of, some more paperwork from Carnage for Jax to go over and a bundle of fan letters that she rubber banded and put in her bag but the thick manila envelope with the international stamps on it was the thing that had her excited. Her down payment for a purebred German Shepherd puppy from Günbil breeders had been accepted and it wasn't cheap but looking at those gorgeous dogs she knew it was worth every penny. There were some more arrangements to make for importing the cutest boy puppy she'd ever seen to get him from Germany to the US, but if she got it turned around she should get the puppy in time for Christmas. She stopped to get a couple of lattes from Starbucks but that didn't take long, and she practically bounced into the office hoping to find Jax. He wasn't there yet, but she got the mail sorted into the bins and set his coffee on the desk so he'd see that first when he came in.

She sat in his chair and took a sip of her coffee before she opened the envelope. Inside were the puppy's official papers, she'd need to get them an 'official' show ring name even if they never took him to shows, the papers that proved his health was excellent, and the thick seven pages of his lineage pedigree which was neat even if it didn't make total sense to Missy. She smiled at seeing the owner's papers which were neatly done – she could fill in the puppy's name herself and frame it and she knew a good spot on the office wall for that to go. Humming she got a pen and started filling in the blanks on the form that would be sent back today when it dawned on her that they'd put the owner's names as Mr. & Mrs. B Jackson. Her pen stilled in her fingers and her eyes got wide, in her surprise she didn't even realize that her cheeks had gone bright red and she had the most adorably flustered look on her face.

He'd need to sign this before it went back, and hopefully he'd have a good idea what he wanted to name the puppy 'officially' even if they ended up calling him something else...Missy fanned herself with the papers, was it hot in here all of a sudden? Missy startled as she heard someone moving up the stairs, a look very much like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar on her face as she stared at the door to the office. Oh...oh man. What was he going to think?

The doorknob turned so slowly that watching it was agonizing before it swung open and Jackson stepped into view. "Hey, Miss-" he stopped short at the look on her face, frowning. "What's wrong? Is my dick hanging out?"

Missy laughed, she couldn't help herself and shook her head while waving the hand that held the papers at him like it would ward off an attack of the stupids or something. She couldn't quite meet his gaze though, and she nudged his coffee cup in his direction - though thankfully not off the edge of the desk. "No, no... if that was the case I'd say lock the door behind you. Got you... well there's coffee."

He looked over the clutter on the desktop, shrugging. "Well, maybe after we get some of this filed... falling behind." His eyes locked on the papers in her hand as he picked up the coffee, taking a sip. "More shit I need to put my John Hancock on?"

"Yes, it's from the puppy breeders. We need a name, though it's just for his official registration. He's so perfect, they sent pictures too." For a moment her excitement outweighed the potential for a minor disaster and she set the stack down to fish the photos out of the envelope, sorting them to find the one she liked best. "See? If we get this out quick, he could be here by Christmas." Missy paused, biting her lip. "There's just one thing though. A little paperwork...uhm. Well, there's a little mess up, but I bet they could fix it."

"Mess up?" He walked around the desk, resting his hand on the arm of the chair as he leaned over her shoulder. "Fuck... print's too small. Got any idea where my glasses are in this mess?" The question was pretty much rhetorical, "just tell me what they got wrong."

A tiny smile came and went, since she did from time to time put his glasses on for a selfie, for fun. But the lip bite returned, and she looked up and back at him before she turned back to the papers, fingertips resting right next to it. Damn, it wasn't even easy to focus for her because he was right there and she couldn't help how she reacted to him. Missy took a breath, trying to keep any hint of how flustered she'd felt reading it the first time out of her tone. "Well even though I thought I was careful with my German over the phone, and explained... whoever typed up the papers have the owners down as Mr. and Mrs. B Jackson..." she paused, and just out of a random stab of curiosity she flipped over the envelope and then huffed a breath. "Jesus Christ it's wrong on the envelope too, I just didn't notice because I was so happy."

One dark brow rose as he looked from the papers to her face and back again. "Miss," his voice came out stern, "think maybe this was something you shoulda told me about beforehand. I mean..." she opened her mouth to protest but he held up a finger to forestall that, shaking his head. "Probably shoulda told me you speak German."

Missy actually blushed, winced and shrugged. "Apparently not as good as I did when I was six." She brought her right hand up, actually nibbling on the edge of her nail for a second before she realized she was doing it and stopped. "Air Force Brat and all. I picked up pretty good because I was little but hadn't used it in ages." Her volume dropped. "Maybe I should have practiced a bit first."

He squinted at the envelope, trying to make out the tiny typewritten address, "they spelled Jackson wrong? Looks fine to me."

Missy blinked, her expression going through several changes before she growled a little under her breath and gave serious thought about winging the pile of fan mail at him before she turned in the chair and whapped him lightly with the envelope in question. "No that part is perfect but..." She blinked again and her eyes went wide. Licking her lips it took her a moment to say anything, and what came out likely wasn't what she'd planned. "....tease."

He burst out laughing, backing away as though he expected her to go full-on fishwife and start battering him with the mail. "Maybe they're trying to tell us something, babe... you know how tricky those Germans can be."

Missy couldn't help but laugh at his laughing, she loved seeing him just so...joyful. Her expression softened, and she wouldn't have hidden the warmth in her eyes if she could have. "Hey Boss..." Her voice held a soft lilt at the end of that, almost like she was asking a question before she added to that, her tone surprising her even as she said it. "True, they can be tricky but they do seem to figure out stuff faster than most." And then she actually giggled. "The dogs at least, they're smarter than some kids I know."

"Pup's gonna be worth more than I am..." he muttered in mock annoyance, reaching for the papers. "So, I take it this is the surprise you've been hinting about the last week or so?"

Missy nodded. "This is the big surprise, yes." A slightly naughty glint appeared in her dark eyes. "I also seem to have gotten several pairs of silk stockings in a possible variety of colors, I wonder how that might have happened." A wink, then she took in a breath, exhaling it slowly. "I always wanted a dog like that." A pause, then she looked up at him and hoped her words would convey what she meant. "Used to see them on base, they were always so sharp, looking smarter than the guys handling them, you know? They just seemed so... proud, like they had a spirit that wouldn't break. Kinda reminds me of... well, you know."

"Yeah." He nodded, "I know what you mean. Spirit that wouldn't break... sounds like someone I know."

Missy felt that kick, her pulse racing a little but surely that was just because he was close, and he was... well he was Jackson. "Have you thought about a name?" A slight look away, the hint of a grin on her lips. "Surprise and all, but...what should we call him?"

Jackson spread the photos out, studying them for a few moments before looking up at her. "Something... symbolic?"

She smiled as she looked at him going over those pictures, there was just something about him when he was being serious that she found incredibly attractive, though honestly she knew she found a lot of the things he did attractive. Missy tipped her head a little, thinking. "Like Spirit maybe? Or... something else..." She sort of trailed off, for a moment feeling almost awkward about it though that was hardly his fault.

"Something else?" His eyes were solely on her now, the full intensity of that gaze boring right into her. "Like...?"

Missy felt drawn in by his gaze, captured by those blue eyes and for a moment there was nothing else in her world. Then of course the realization he'd actually asked her something. "Like Albrecht... or well, no that's stupid no one would name a dog October. So maybe."

"I was thinking Engel," Jax replied, "though not sure how many people name a male dog Angel."

Missy's breath caught, but she nodded. "I like that. I don't care if no one else ever would. It's perfect."

"Then we've got a winner."

She smiled, she couldn't help the little bounce in her seat before she just stood up and closed those few steps he'd put between them. "I think we do. He looks like a champion, I think." Her smile softened. "And I know what one of those looks like."

"Guess we'd better fill out that paperwork. Get him registered and all that, hmm, Mrs. Jackson?" He let that question hang, waiting to see how flustered it made her.

"Yes let's do that and..." Dammit she wished she could help it, but there was no way. That hot rush of color to her cheeks, the way her eyes went wide, and her breath sped up. It had been sort of giddy in a way to read it, but hearing him say it? Even so, Missy stood straight, trying to put a little sass in her voice. "Let's do that, Mr. Jackson."

"Kinda like the ring of that... not gonna lie."

Missy bit her lip but nodded again before she answered. Can't be harder than saying I love you, right? "I know, it just sounds..." She took a breath. "It sounds really right."