Chapter 41 Overprotective Neanderthals

The silence in the kitchen after Branson, Noah, and Mick left was the loneliest sound I had ever heard. I wrapped my arms tightly around my torso, trying to stave off the fine tremors that were shaking me from the inside out.

Pierce stepped forward immediately and wrapped his arms tightly around me, sharing the warmth of his body to quell the shivers. I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against Pierce's solid chest, soaking up the comfort he was offering.

I heard Archer and Percy whispering to each other but I didn't try to listen in to what they were saying. I needed a minute to decompress. I needed another minute or ten to recharge. Pierce was helping me do both.

Pierce was the first to pull back. He looked down at me then cocked his head to the right, indicating without words that Archer and Percy were still here. They had not left.

It was as if a bolt of lightening struck me. I turned towards them and literally pounced on Archer in my frantic haste. I grabbed at his hand and held it between my own in a tight grip. I didn't plan to let go either. He wasn't going to get the chance to walk out of here. Out on me.

"I think you two need to talk," Percy commented and Pierce nodded in agreement.

"Go... go," Percy ordered, shooing us out of the room back towards the living room. "We'll just stay in here and finish up with... with... well... whatever," he finished with a flourish of his hands and turned back towards Pierce and the kitchen, his face tight with concern.

My hand still holding tightly to Archer I pulled him towards the sofa and sat, pulling him down beside me, his hand still firmly grasped in my own.

"I... I want to talk. I want you to listen. Will y...you listen?" I murmured.

Archer's stern face eased. He lay his free hand over our clasped ones, and smiled. "Of course, I will, Jackson. I'm not going anywhere."

A deep sigh of relief escaped my lungs. His words eased the tight hold I had had on myself since Branson, Mick, and Noah walked out the door. It made what I had to say easier. From my heart the words flowed.

"I love you guys. I love that you're protective. I... I love that you always have my back. I love it and have encouraged it since the m...moment we met years ago and you rescued me. It's how we all started and I have been a...as guilty basking in it as you all have been in enacting it."

I smiled ruefully at Archer and he smiled back at me knowingly. He couldn't disagree either way with what I said. It was who we all were and how we had all been.

"None of you were ever wrong. It's not really a wrong or r...right thing. I don't ever want any of you to change. I j...just need for you to recognize the changes in me."

"We have noticed," Archer said with a smile.

I smiled back.

"I know you have noticed but y...you haven't really adapted to them or thought about what they m...mean," I pointed out carefully.

Archer's eyes widened as my words sunk in. It was clear by his reaction that he hadn't.

"You all were who you were at a time I...I needed it. From that moment on we fell into a way of life. I was Jackson and y...you were my protectors. So ingrained did it become that none of us thought to question it nor was there anything wrong with it. And it's not l...like there is even anything 'wrong' with it per se, it's just that I have changed and I don't..." I hesitated over my choice of words not wanting to hurt Archer or seem ungrateful for all he and the guys had done for me over the years.

"Require four overprotective Neanderthals to fight all of your battles?" Archer finished for me.

I huffed out a laugh as he had intended but I looked up at him with a serious expression. It was important he understood what I was about to say.

"I will always need you guys. Always! B...but, instead of being the ones to actually fight my battles can you just have my back as I...I fight the battles myself?"

"Pierce won't be fighting them for you?" Archer asked with his head cocked in question, a curious expression on his face.

"Of course," I answered simply. "He'll be standing right b...beside me as I will with him."

Long moments passed as Archer stared at me, a bemused look of awe on his face. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said, surprising me. "Percy has tried to tell me to back off, give you room to grow, to stop stunting your personal growth, but I never listened. I love Percy but he didn't know you like I did. He didn't know all of us like we did. Damned if he hadn't been right all along though, huh?"

I wrinkled my nose at Archer and smiled. I couldn't deny what he said. Percy had been right all along. Even when I hadn't been aware of it myself.

"Despite loving you, we've been unintentionally hurting you, haven't we?"

I shook my head in denial.

"I wouldn't say that Archer. Not at all," I disagreed.

"We've hurt you tonight," he countered back. "Replaying that all in my mind now I wonder how I hadn't seen it to begin with. We didn't let you say a word. We knew best. We ran roughshod just like Pierce pointed out. In our own way we've been just as bad as he were accusing Pierce. And he was the only one fighting to give you your voice."

I nodded at Archer, relieved that he was finally understanding.

"Not very abusive of him," I pointed out playfully.

Archer grinned back and rolled his eyes.

"Not very abusive," he concurred and squeezed my hand tightly

In the next second, I found myself engulfed in a tight bear hug, the likes that only Archer could give. It was a familiarly comforting feeling, one I never wanted to lose.

"Is it safe to come in now?" Percy called out to us.

Archer shook with laughter at the innocent enough question.

"As if you haven't been listening to the entire conversation and don't know already," he replied dryly, making me giggle.

Percy waltzed in, completely uncaring of the implied accusation.

"It's how I know I was right all along and you've been wrong," he retorted, looking pleased with himself as he plopped down beside Archer.

Archer grimaced. "Nice babe. Kick a man when he's down," he snorted.

Percy snorted right back.

"Nice babe," he sniped right back. "Listen to your man to begin with, and you won't ever have to worry about being down or getting kicked."

Archer rolled his eyes and I giggled. Pierce, slowly joining us chuckled as well.

"I really like your husband," Pierce idly commented to Archer, a definite twinkle in his eyes.

"Please don't feed his ego," Archer grumbled and everyone laughed, the stress and tension slowly seeping from the room.

I released Archer's hand and got up to sit on the other couch, making it clear without words that Pierce should come and join me. With a pleased smile on his face he took a step towards me when suddenly the front door swung open.

A stiff faced Noah, Branson and Mick walked back into the house. Though they looked grim, I felt great relief at just seeing them. They were here. That was all that mattered.

"Ahh!" Pierce said, stopping his forward movement towards me and instead backed up a few steps and swept his arm out towards the three that had just entered. "Perfect timing. Sit!" he ordered pointing to the available spaces on the sofas.

The three men balked at first. It looked like Branson was going to snap back, but after a second pause, Mick nudged him, and without further ado they obediently found spots to sit. Mick and Noah chose the sofa on either side of me. Branson gripped a happy Cissero by the collar and plopped down on the floor, pulling the happy canine down beside him.

Silence reigned, but not for long. Pierce began to speak.

"I'm not one to explain myself, but for Jackson I will take a stab at it so the least you can all do is damn well listen!" he started, making me smile on the inside.

I would never let him know but I loved it when he got all commandingly bossy. It was very sexy.

I suddenly gave myself a mental shake. I needed to pay more attention to what he said, not how he looked when he said it.

"Just so you know I didn't just learn of Jackson's existence the night we met. I've known of Jackson for a little over three years now."

My jaw dropped at Pierce's admission. That had my full attention!

"Hell," he continued. "I have been attracted to him long before I ever knew what he looked like. My dad told me about Jackson when he started prepping me to take over the company. He showed me all of the work Jackson had done quietly behind the scenes. It was amazing to me. And," he paused, searching for words, "it... was sexy as hell."

Pierce shrugged at the admission as if to say, it was what it was.

"But at that time, I had a lot to do, a lot to learn before I could take over the company. For the next two years, that was all I could focus on. But he was always in the back of my mind. I kept my eye on Jackson. On his work, I guess I should say," he corrected when Branson and Mick frowned.

"I watched him grow more and more in his quiet little position. Last year, when things finally started settling down, I finally gave in and pulled his personnel file and read the little that was there. I saw his picture, too. None of you are blind," he said looking around at each of them before his eyes landed on me.

"You all see what I see," he said, his arm sweeping out at me in an all-encompassing gesture. "He's beautiful."

I blushed. I felt like I was hanging on to his every word with barely a breath to sustain me.

"Since then I had been trying to think of a way to arrange some sort of meeting with him. I was tired of watching from behind the scenes. I wanted to introduce myself. I wanted to get to know him better."

"When I saw you guys that night at the club, dancing together, your hands seemed to be all over him and he looked happy. I... didn't like it," he stopped and laughed, the sound grating and without humor.

"Understatement," he mocked. "Seeing all of you triggered old memories. And obliterated my chances for a future I hoped I might get to build with Jackson. Or so I thought. It burned me up in a way I won't explain but have explained to Jackson. I'm not making an excuse but telling you where my head was that night. I... overreacted."

"You think?"

"Shitty thing!"

"Like an ass!"

Pierce chose to ignore the three simultaneous retorts and instead continued.

"Well if it helps, it wasn't any better in my head at the time either. It wasn't my finest moment but you already know what I did. What I said. I'm not saying it's a great excuse I'm just explaining my mindset at the time."

"I knew I messed up and even came to see him Saturday morning to apologize but it didn't quite work out that way. He looked exhausted and was still dressed in the same clothes as the night before. It looked like the dream that had kept me going for three years was turning into my worst nightmare and so I acted like a nightmare myself."

"I'm not saying I can't be an ass, honestly you guys are pissing me off right now and I would like to make a few comments to you about that but you see the restraint I'm using?"

"As for Jackson, he and I are way past that now. I will only ever protect him if and when he needs it."

"How can we trust that?" Noah asked, but he didn't sound belligerent this time, just sincerely curious.

"How can you trust Percy?" Pierce asked right back.

"That's different," Mick spoke up.

"How?" Pierce questioned.

"Well... Jackson is Jackson," Branson said, his face at a loss as to how to explain it any clearer.

"And that's the problem," Pierce said, his tone earnest, his face serious. "He's a grown man you know. He can take care of himself and has. He stands up to me and calls me out on my mess when I start to act like the bulldozer, he likens me to. You all love him and I get that and how you have protected him from the moment you met him. I get and respect that as well. I am in fact very thankful for it but it's time to let him grow up. He is very bright you should trust him more."

Pierce started to chuckle and he looked at me his eyes twinkling.

"If anything, I'm the one that needs protecting, he kind of has me wrapped around his finger. Give us a day and you'll see for yourself."

Jackson huffed and pouted, embarrassed at Pierce's teasing, but secretly pleased by his attention.

"I thought my father's success was all due to his business acumen," Pierce continued. "Imagine my shock to learn I was wrong. Jackson played a huge part in its growth."

"Without ever meeting him I was smitten. When I did, I was ensnared. He was cute, unassuming, a touch on the nerd side, and the way his mind worked fascinated me. It was sexy as hell the way he understood numbers. I found myself watching him the few times he came into the office though I was curious as to why he hardly ever smiled. He was one-part sweet, one-part brilliant, and one-part oblivious. He continuously made me curious."

"Bet you like that, though," Noah commented.

Pierce cocked his head to the side as if giving it some thought. "I definitely like the sweet part, his intelligence is damn attractive, but his oblivious nature, though endearing, just makes me worry."

Everyone looked at him with varying faces of surprise.

"You treat Jackson like a child," Pierce reiterated, to get them back on track.

"We treat him like Jackson, you probably just don't understand what the means," Branson corrected.

"You're probably right," Pierce conceded after giving it a moment of thought. "I never had a group of friends like you. I've never experienced the kind unswerving loyalty that you all share with each other. Maybe you can give me break along with a real chance to show you who I am and what I'm about."

"They will," Percy piped up without hesitation, making me smile.

Pierce smiled faintly, too but his eyes remained serious.

"Just to c...clear the air," I suddenly spoke up, rising to my feet to walk overt to Pierce and grasp his hand, holding it tightly in mine in silent support. "What happened earlier was a m...misunderstanding. I was embarrassed after talking with you t...two and when I joined Pierce, he n...noticed. I wanted to avoid talking a...about it so I tried to walk away but he was worried about me and grabbed my wrist to keep me from walking away. I... I twisted. It pinched my skin. It wasn't anything l...like you thought. Pierce isn't anything like you think."

"Good lord!" Percy exclaimed to the room at large and rolled his eyes. "I've said it before and I will say it again. You boys are the kings of overreacting. Please, please, please let's work on that!"

After a slight hesitation, stilted chuckles filled the room. Despite the awkwardness it was a start. I smiled up at Pierce feeling relieved. For the first time I knew for sure everything would work out just fine.