
“I’m glad you’re the one that found me down here, Jack.” Her voice is muffled by his sweater but he can still hear her anyway. It’s her turn now to embrace him with her own tight hug and her head resting on his shoulder. She swivels around so that his hands are at the small of her back. They stay like that front to back, two bodies fitting together perfectly, for a few moments longer before Elizabeth releases Jack’s wrists. And the manipulation to do good by saving the Little Sisters instead of harvesting them for their ADAM, as Atlas had pointed out after he’d pulled her out of the submarine bay. Maybe that was why she loathed what she was keeping from him. Elizabeth wasn’t sure, however, if her feelings toward Jake were similar in how she’d felt about Booker or if they were something more. In the short time they’d spent together a bond had formed between the pair. She absolutely hated having to keep everything she knew, from Atlas’s true identity to all the lies he’d been feeding the younger man and to who Jack really was. The ever-lingering guilt in her stomach that had stayed with her since she and Jack had met in the Welcome Center was beginning to make its way up to her throat. We’re lucky we’ve got him helping us out.” That remark makes Elizabeth grimace and she’s glad that he can’t see her face right now. “Good thing Atlas was down there with you. A silly truth but she knows the extent of Jack’s strength and that he could probably take on fifty Splicers, maybe even a hundred, at once with that wrench of his. I wish I’d been there with you.” She lets herself admit, because it’s the truth. Her hands curl around his wrists, thumbs rubbing over his knuckles. His confession fills her with a pleasant warmth and it makes Elizabeth’s cheeks flush a bit. “I don’t…I don’t think I could go through what Atlas must be going through right now if I ever lost you, Elizabeth.”

She remains silent and he continues speaking. “If you’d been down there alone when the Splicers came…” He trails off and his grip around her tightens in a way that Elizabeth perceives as protective. “I was worried for you back there.” Jack’s voice is quiet, only a whisper against the top of her head.

His face presses into her hair (gross, grimy hair that’s been tangled with blood and Lord knows what else) and she feels him shudder and sigh against her in relief.

For a moment she’s taken by surprise but quickly she leans back against him, reveling in the comfort and warmth his large frame and build provides. She doesn’t hear or realize that Jack is done with keeping them well-hidden until she feels his arms wrap around her waist from behind. A couple jars of fresh water are tucked away in a corner along with a bottle of whiskey that is about one-thirds full.Įlizabeth moves their refreshments over to the small card table that the food rests on and neatly arranging everything before starting to consider just how they’re going to eat the canned fruit and potted meat without forks or spoons. The food consists of a few cans each of sardines, canned fruit, and potted meat. When they finally reach it, Jack replaces the planks and crates hiding the entrance while Elizabeth begins to poke around to see if there was anything else hidden away. Big Daddies and Splicers must be avoided after all and they’re running low on med kits. It takes them a bit of time to find the safe house. The other end of the radio had gone silent after that and Jack left it clipped to his belt in favor of holding his pistol in one hand and Elizabeth’s in the other. Canned food and a (suspiciously dirty and stained) mattress would await them there.

After the ambush by Ryan’s Splicers in the Smuggler’s Hideout and their brief separation, respite is dearly needed before they continue through the rest of Arcadia.ĭespite his grief (whether real or fake Elizabeth cannot tell) Atlas had directed them to one of the safe houses his men had established throughout Rapture. It’s only in Arcadia that they find a rare moment where they can rest, relax, and recuperate.
