Chapter Text
What happened when their lips parted, because they needed to catch their breath, to look into each other's eyes and be sure that it was all real, was a series of rapid and urgent events that left them not a moment to think.
Smike had caught up with them at the docks, running out of breath, bearing bad news from the hospital: Sneed had been seriously injured and Prof was dead. During the frantic run to the hospital, they'd encountered Aputi and Flashbang, who had just buried Fagin. Jack explained to them along the way what he'd done, and the two immediately disappeared to try to dig up the old scoundrel before it was too late.
The thought of joining them never crossed Jack's mind: he'd already said his goodbye to Fagin, and more importantly, his presence was vital to Sneed right now.
Hetty had already arranged for him to be placed in the operating room, and Boxer was clearly in pain beside him.
"What happened?" Belle asked the inspector, as Jack shrugged off his uniform jacket and quickly washed his hands.
Boxer told her everything, a grimace of pain transfiguring his face as Belle tried to examine his leg.
Jack tried to hide his annoyance: he hadn't had time to talk to Belle yet, and even though it was clear she'd chosen him, the images of her taking his hand at Devil's Elbow were still etched in his mind.
At that moment, however, he couldn't think about it.
Sneed was unconscious, and his abdomen was full of stab wounds.
"Rainsford," he called, his eyes opening slightly.
"I need to sedate you so I can operate," he said softly, squeezing his hand. Sneed nodded weakly.
Their relationship had improved significantly lately, and he could consider him the closest thing to a friend he'd had in that hospital.
"Hang in there, everything will be fine," he reassured him.
Belle immediately approached with the ether, while Jack instructed Tim and Hetty on how to stabilize Boxer's leg. He secretly hoped that his prophecy from a few weeks earlier wouldn't come true.
"A badly-set bone will cut right through the tibial vein if it to ever break again. Bleeds out quick".
Belle seemed fond of him, and deep down, he felt a certain admiration for the inspector too. He wasn't a bad guy and had always treated him with respect and kindness.
He hadn't noticed any signs of bruising or other signs that might suggest he was bleeding, but right now, he had to focus all his attention on Sneed and he needed Belle with him to operate.
The wounds looked very serious, and it was very likely that Prof had damaged some internal organ.
Belle quickly disinfected the surgical site, while Jack cut the skin to widen the edges of the wounds. He was losing a lot of blood.
"He punctured the spleen, damn it," Jack cursed.
"We have to partially remove it," Belle replied promptly.
"I've never done this before," he looked for her gaze.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Belle reassured him, stroking his wrist and smiling at him.
"Earlier in 1590, Franciscus Rosetti reported the first successful partial splenectomy for trauma. The patient lived for six years after that. Sneed will live longer, I'm sure. You can do it, Jack, I know you can".
That was what he needed to hear.
He smiled at her, and they worked side by side for over thirty minutes, stitching up all of poor Sneed's wounds.
Even though there was a friend, for the second time, on the operating table between them, they both missed working so close, in silence, yet in perfect harmony and quiete communication.
"He'll need blood, he's lost too much," Jack said, examining his still-sleeping colleague's pale complexion and weak pulse.
"I'll go get Bundle's gravitator," Belle disappeared, while Jack cleaned Sneed's stitches.
"Jack, you're exhausted. I can give him blood." Belle stroked his arm and kissed him on the cheek. Belle knew he hadn't eaten or slept in two days, and she was certain the amount of water he'd drunk wasn't enough either.
Jack let himself go for just a moment, taking his mind off his patient and, enjoying the warmth and the love of that moment, he rested his forehead against hers and placed a hand on her back.
"Absolutely not. It's been too short since your surgery." He gave her a light but firm kiss on the lips to silence the retort he knew was coming.
When Sneed woke up in a hospital bed, he found Jack sitting in a chair beside him, pale, drinking water, and Belle looking at him worried.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice thick.
"You had a partial splenectomy and a blood transfusion, courtesy of Dr. Dawkins," Belle replied, checking his vital signs.
His heartbeat was stronger and more regular than before, and his complexion was less pale.
The same couldn't be said for that stubborn idiot who had nearly fainted, and with whom she was madly in love.
"Thank you," he said, "truly, it is the second time you've saved my life," he smiled at Jack.
"You have my blood now, you might be less of a toff," he replied, smiling back.
"Oh my God. Do you want a room?" Belle's gaze flickered from one to the other, but a spontaneous, relieved smile spread across her face.
Sneed chuckled.
Jack spread his arms and smiled at her, a clear invitation to join him. She sat on his lap, ignoring Sneed's presence, and hugged him.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, placing two fingers on his neck to check his heartbeat, as she gently caressed his hair with her free hand.
"Better now," he whispered, resting his head on her shoulder. He felt weak, but her closeness made him feel better.
Sneed didn't say a word, simply smiling at that tender scene. He wanted to reply that they were the ones who needed a room, but he didn't have the strength, and after all, he was glad to see them so happy because they both deserved it.
After making sure Sneed was stable and had taken an adequate amount of morphine, and that the nurses were clear on their patient check-in schedules, Belle accompanied Jack to his old room.
"I asked one of the nurses to get you some food and clean up this room. You need to rest and get your strength back," she told him in a sweet but uncompromising tone.
He was indeed tired and hungry; he couldn't deny it.
The last forty-eight hours had been crazy.
"You need to rest, too." He dragged her onto the narrow bed, while Belle giggled at being caught off guard.
She gently caressed his dark circles with her thumb and kissed him.
"Now, you have to eat." She tried to break free of his embrace, torn because she wanted to stay on that bed and enjoy his caresses and kisses.
"Later," he replied, regaining possession of her lips.
"Jack," Belle gasped.
"Please, you must feed and hydrate yourself, you did a transfusion," she admonished, trying to sound convincing.
"Medice, cura te ipsum," she said, standing and offering him her hand, inviting him to do the same.
"What?" he asked.
"Doctor, take care of yourself," she translated, smiling at him.
"Mmm," he muttered.
"You know I don't speak Latin, like Boxer or your other toff suitors," he replied in a testy tone.
Belle rolled her eyes, but was grateful that he had gotten out of bed and started eating. She sat down across from him and began eating too. She was tired and hungry, but there was so much she had to tell Jack.
"You know the governor isn't my real father?" she began, almost making Jack choke.
She told him everything in detail, not sparing him the pain she'd felt when she'd discovered he was about to leave her forever.
"Why did you do it? Why didn't you talk to me sooner?" she asked.
"I was hurt. You told me the night we spent together was a mistake. You left me when you found out Fanny was involved with Fagin, and then I saw you with Boxer at Devil's Elbow, you took his hand and smiled at him. I always thought I wasn't good enough for you and you deserved better than me, and when I saw you with him, I knew I had to let you go."
At those words, Belle became furious, stood up, and cupped his face in her hands.
"Listen to me, Jack Dawkins: for me, there's no one better than you. No one. It's you or no one else. There are no other options for me, only you. I love you," she clarified, emphasizing the last word and looking him straight in the eye.
He caressed her face, her words striking him deeply.
"I'm sorry for not listening to you, for treating you badly, and for hurting you. I was foolishly trying to protect you, to push you away to save your life, because my closeness was the most dangerous thing for you, and I was angry with myself for not being able to stay away, because you're like a magnet to me. But by doing so, I risked losing you forever, and I apologize. I won't forgive myself easily, but can you forgive me?"
"I've already forgiven you, Belle, and I will always forgive you for everything because I just can't be mad at you. I love you too much. The moment I saw the ship, I knew I could not leave you. I'm not used to losing, I'm not one to give up, and I would have done anything to have you back because I may not be perfect, I may not be rich, I may not be well educated, I don't know Latin, but I know you, I know you damn well, and I love you. And I know no one will ever love you as much as I do, so I couldn't leave you with Boxer, no matter how perfect he is and how your family likes him," he said, feigning annoyance.
Belle rolled her eyes theatrically and grinned.
That was the most beautiful declaration of love he could have made to her.
She leaned closer to his face, still holding it tightly in her hands, and kissed him.
"Promise me that from now on we'll communicate more and better".
He caressed her face, as if it were the most precious and delicate thing in the world.
“I promise,” Jack said, smiling, and kissed her to seal the promise.
“Just for the record, last night was the best mistake of my life,” she told him with a sly smile, and he kissed her again, leading her to the narrow bed.