The End Justifies

[NRTupper]

Dillan frowned, "Leave them?" He asked, heart sinking.


"You... you planned on leaving?" After everything... after all of it... was she still using him in those last days? Even after the wedding? Was all of that still part of the plan? Still part of her ruse?


Had she ever loved him?


But even as fear built as a firm lump in his stomach, he moved for her, wanting to comfort her. "Jordan..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

She felt dizzy, sick... everything within her told her the answer was no. That she wanted nothing more than to stay with him, to run away with him like they had planned, but it was jumbled and twisted.


She wavered, caught herself on him before she sank to the floor, shaking her head, "I don't know. I can't... I can't remember. It's like... like chunks of it are missing. But I know what I did to you. I can't... Dillan. I'm so sorry..." Tears poured now, leaving streaks down her skin as she looked up at him, "Everything that's happening... everything we're dealing with is my fault. I... I pushed us here. I made this happen..."

 

[NRTupper]

He pulled her close, even now too wrapped in her to let go. Even if she had been using him, he couldn't let go.


He reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.


"No," he said firmly, "my father pushed us here. This all rests on him."


He slid his arm under her legs and lifted her, carrying her to the bed and laying her down carefully before crawling in beside her. He pulled the blankets over them and tucked her into his side.


"No matter what, Jordan... no matter what... I'm yours... as long as you want me."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Laying on her side, she reached forward and gently, her fingertips brushed his face, "God, Dillan. I don't know what I did... to deserve you. The person I let myself become. The things I did, the things I made other people do. You should hate me."


She leaned in and her lips brushed his, weakly, her eyes falling closed, "I should have stayed away. Your mom was right. I never should have dragged you back into this. I am... so selfish. I'm so sorry, Dillan."

 

[NRTupper]

"I'm no saint, Jordan..." Dillan said quietly, "I have my own demons. Whoever you were... whoever you are... I want to believe you're who I think you are. I want to believe you're meant for me. I need to believe that..."


He sighed, "but I'm terrified... I really am. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and you're going to be gone. For good. I keep thinking... I'm choosing to trust you. I'm choosing you."

 

[Elle Joyner]

"I don't ever want to lose you, Dillan. I don't think I ever did. I just... I convinced myself I couldn't have both. My revenge and you. That those two things, they'd never reconcile. But when I saw your mother today, when I thought she might actually do it, she might actually turn herself in, I saw it for the first time. The end of all of this, and I realized clearing my dad's name, repaying them for the torment they put me through, it's not what matters anymore. My dad is gone, my past... it's gone, but you... you're all I want, Dillan. I'm just so scared that you're gonna realize some day, I don't deserve you."

 

[NRTupper]

Dillan held her close.


The trouble was... they couldn't just be happy together. His father would never allow that. He kissed her forehead, rubbed her arms.


"You are worth all the stars in the heavens," he said softly, "there are none who deserve you. Not even me."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Shaking her head, she curled into his side, closed her eyes, "We'll agree to disagree, hmm? I hope you know how much I love you, Dillan. I hope you understand that. Because what I did? What I even considered doing... I don't know if things were the other way around if I could be so forgiving."


Opening her eyes, she smiling, gently, sadly, "I don't care how long it takes, I'll spend the rest of my life, if I have to, making it up to you."

 

[NRTupper]

If he didn't still have the taste of bile in his mouth he might have done more than snuggle her. As it was he closed his eyes, holding her close... thoughts racing.


They were equally damaged, equally 'wrong'... but together they became something right.


She made him feel -- well, that was it. She made him feel. And even if she frightened him, even if he half convinced she would leave him the second his parents were taken care of, he was willing to take a chance on her. He would rather have his heart broken again, then walk away.


He was exhausted from the emotionally difficult day, so it wasn't long before he was resting. It was a light rest, tension, fear made it difficult to sleep with any real depth... but it was rest.

 

[Elle Joyner]

It had been a long, long day and the emotional upheaval of memories returning had her feeling reduced... exhausted. His arms came around her and she sunk into him, her eyes falling closed as she allowed the weight of stress and fear slowly slip away. Before long, her breath softened, her heart slowed and she fell asleep, tucked in the safety of his embrace.


Sometime in the night, she woke, and rolled onto her side and for a while she watched him, just watched him. It occurred to her how much she had hurt him, how profoundly lucky she was that he hadn't left her when he probably should have. In a lot of ways he had saved her life, saved her from herself, and she had to wonder if she really ever would be able to repay him. All she knew was, she wasn't going anywhere...


When she couldn't stay awake any longer, she curled against him, her head on his chest and she drifted off again.

 

[NRTupper]

He gently detangled from her in the earliest hours of the morning. Unable to rest he wandered into the shower and while the water washed away the day before it also washed away his desperation.


He couldn't kill his father.


He couldn't.


The thought had come in his most desperate moments... if they had to live always on the move, always looking over their shoulders they would but they wouldn't be like that man. He wouldn't be like that man.


He had to be better... for their child, for Jordan.


And this decision left him both relieved and saddened. He didn't want this life. He wanted to give Jordan a peaceful life, a life of happiness, joy and love. But the shadow of his father would always hover over them, threatening and darkening their path. If only his mother wasn't just as corrupt. She was their only chance of finishing this now... her... or Marcus.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Jordan woke with the singular thought in her mind, and as she lay there in the dark, listening to the shower in the next room over she felt her nerves pinching together, her mind roiling, twisting and rocking like a ship lost at sea. He was going to kill his father. He didn't want to, but he would. He would, because he had a desperate need to save her, to save her and their child, to protect.


He would do it, but it would destroy him.


And she couldn't let that happen. Silently, but swiftly, she moved from the bed to the door, grabbing the keys on her way. She'd trained herself for this, had prepared her mind to take on anything, and if this was the only way that they could end things... if this was the only thing she could do to prove to Dillan that she loved him, that she wasn't going anywhere, then she would do it. Nothing in the rule books said she couldn't protect him, instead.


She had the car started and backed out of the space before the door to their motel room had even closed, but as she pulled out of the lot she kept her eyes trained ahead of her, too frightened to check the mirrors, too certain she would see him and wouldn't be able to follow through with her plans.

 

[NRTupper]

It took him a few minutes to realize she was gone from the room. Still wet, hair dripping against his white t-shirt, he stepped out and saw the jeep gone. "Fuck!" He cursed, running to Killian's room and pounding on the door and if Killian was gone too he would killthe man.


But Killian answered on the third knock, eyes wide, hair ruffled, sleep still making his face bleary, "Dilly?" He murmured.


"She's gone. She took the jeep..."


Killian blinked, trying to process. His eyes widened, "Jordan, like, our JOrdan, she'd be going after Thomas. Before you could."


"BUt she's not our Jordan, she doesn't remember..." Dillan said, his stomach twisting in knots.


"Or...?"


"Pack your things. I'll get us a vehicle." Dillan snapped, "Move!"


It wasn't long before they were on the road in a used truck that Dillan had bought off the motel manager.

 

[Elle Joyner]

He would be mad. She knew it. Killian, too. But they would understand in time why it was something she had to do. It hurt her, the idea of taking a life, but not nearly as much as the idea of Dillan doing it for her. Thomas Blaithe had taken enough from his son. He wouldn't anything else... not ever again.


She drove fast as the speed limits would allow, and when she could, she pushed it further. By the time she'd arrived back in the Hamptons, the sun was coming up and she wasted little time. She made a pitstop at her house, found the gun she kept locked away and slipping it into her purse, jumped back in the car to make her way towards Thomas's office. He'd be working. Regardless of the drama going on in his life, he'd be working. It was roughly half an hour, but she'd made it in half the time. Funny, because she was in no real hurry, emotionally.


But it had to be done. It had to end.


Parking, she made her way to the elevator and took it to the top floor where Thomas Blaithe's personal office was located. Getting past security proved as simple as batting an eye and offering a tight lipped smirk, and as she approached his office she put her hand on the pistol in her purse, her fingers tensing around the grip. She pushed open the door, stepping inside.


He looked up from his desk and for a fraction of a second... only a second, shock registered, before the mask slammed down over his features, his fingers steepling on the desktop.


"...Thomas. I believe you and I have some things to discuss."

 

[NRTupper]

They had just reached the Hamptons when Killian let out a curse.


"What is it?" Dillan asked, glancing over to see Killian on his phone.


Killian looked up, "Breaking news. They've issued a warrant for Thomas Blaithe's arrest."


"What?"


"Seems your friend Marcus fessed up, but not only him... looks like Mrs. Blaithe came forward with information pinning the Cartwright bombing on her husband."


"What?" Dillan asked again, his insides twisting. She did it? "How... how can you know?"


"I got my ways, kid, but we need to get to Jordie, now. Before she does something really stupid."


Killian dialed her number. He'd been trying to call since they left the motel but she hadn't answered. "Dammit Jordie!"

 

[Elle Joyner]

"What is it, Ms. Cartwright, that you feel we need to talk about?"


Stepping across the office floor, she sank down into a chair across from the desk, shaking her head, "...You think you've won, don't you."


"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."


"You think you've broken everything down. That you've gotten away with everything. As long as you don't say anything incriminating, as long as you don't ruffle feathers, you're in the clear. But you have no idea, do you, the things you've done. The lives you've ruined. I used to think maybe you were just a good man who'd done something he regretted. That you'd made a mistake. Got in too far and couldn't get out. But you actually enjoy this, don't you. You thrive on it... The power you get from tormenting people. It's like a drug to you."


"Ms, Cartwright--"


"It's Mrs. Blaithe. I realize you think you've changed that, but you couldn't be more wrong. See, that's the thing, Thomas. You... you always assumed I was just using Dillan to get to you. But... but the fact of the matter, I love him. And I guess that's where you've gone most wrong. If you had just left well enough alone, if you had just let us be, maybe I would've moved on... maybe I wouldn't let it all go. But you had to push, and when you push someone too far, Thomas... well, sometimes you end up falling." Slipping the pistol from her purse, she watched his face, saw a flicker of surprise, but little else.


"You going to shoot me, Ms. Cartwright?"


"Yes, I am. Because unlike you, I care about Dillan, and if I don't, he will... That's what you've done, Thomas. You've turned him against you... and you've left me very little choice."

 

[NRTupper]

Dillan rushed into Blaithe Industries at full speed. Security tried to stop him, it was an easy matter to get around them. He'd never moved quite so quickly, not since the shooting. Killian followed him in, proving to be an effective distraction for the security guards once they recovered while Dillan slipped into the elevator. The doors closed shut on the scene of Killian running in a circle while screaming about 'nazis'.


If it worked, it worked.


It wasn't as easy to get by the security outside his father's office. It wasn't a surprise to know his father had set up security, that he was no longer a welcomed guest here, but it was a frustration.


"Jordan!" He screamed as two very bulky security guards grabbed him, "Jordan!"

 

[Elle Joyner]

Looking up, Jordan frowned. He'd been fast. Too fast. Rising from the chair, she kept the gun trained on Dillan's father, her hand shaking, as she met his steely glare. He didn't move, didn't bother to. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of using a self defense plea. If she was going to kill him, she was going to have to do it in cold blood.


Swallowing, Jordan slammed back the hammer, "...He was gonna do it. For us. For me and the baby. He... he was gonna do it. But that's the thing, Thomas. That's the part you never seemed to understand. I love him. I really do. Too much..."


How long she stood there, she couldn't really be sure. She could hear Dillan calling her name, but inside the office, silence had fallen, stony and thick. Her finger twitched over the trigger and she licked her lips, swallowing against the knot in her throat, "...Tell them to let him in."


Pressing a button beneath his desk, Thomas spoke, quietly, "Brian, Steve. It's alright. Let him in..."

 

[NRTupper]

When the guards let him loose, DIllan stumbled before flying head long into the office. He didn't question why they'd released him. The devices in their ear prevented him from hearing that it was his father who ordered them back.


"Jordan," he stopped short as the door banged shut behind him.


He took in the sight of her, gun in hand, and held out his hands, "Jordan... Marcus came forward," he spoke quickly, knowing there wasn't much time, "He told the police that my father hired him to shoot you. My mother... she's at the police station now, giving them everything she knows. Do you understand? This isn't necessary, not anymore. He's going to be in bars before the day is over... we'll wait here, we'll wait. We'll make sure he can't run, we'll make sure the police take him... but we don't have to do this, Jordan. Not anymore."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Without taking her eyes off of him, Jordan shook her head in disbelief. She would have done it, too. She would have told him the same thing, if it meant getting the gun out of his hand, but she couldn't believe it. So many years she had tried, desperately, to get Thomas Blaithe behind bars and she had failed, time and time again. Her speech to Nancy the day before couldn't have been that effective. Not after so long... not knowing what it would cost the woman.


"...It has to stop, Dillan. He has to be stopped. All the lives he ruined. The deaths he's responsible for. He has to pay. Or we'll never be able to move on, you and me. We'll never be whole."

 

[NRTupper]

Dillan moved closer, "Jordan. After everything... after all-all you've been through, you can't do this. You can't let him make you into this. Because if you do, he's won. You won't ever shake him. You won't ever be free of him. This will chase you, he will chase you the rest of your life."


He paused, "And our child? You want me to raise our child alone? Is that what you want Jordan? Because you won't walk free after this. You won't."


He stepped even closer, "Please. Jordan..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Her eyes flickered over to Dillan, tears burning behind them. Slowly, she shook her head, but her finger shifted off the trigger, ever so slightly, "...I just want it to be over. I just want... I want to be free of it. He took everything from me... He tried to take everything from us." Her arm lowered, her grip on the handle loosening.


"...I didn't want it to be you. I didn't want you to have to do it..."

 

[NRTupper]

"I already decided not to," Dillan closed the last space between them, his fingers sliding over the wrist holding the pistol but he made no effort to take it, "Because you were right... that's not who I am. And it's not who you are."


He leaned in, kissing her ever so lightly, "I didn't lie... Marcus did talk, and my mother... the police are coming now to arrest him. I swear it. It's over, Jordan... it's finally over."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Blinking, she looked to him, searched his gaze for any indication that he was making it up. But it was there, the relief in his eyes. Releasing the clip, she dropped the gun, then threw her arms around him and burrowed into his shoulder, a soft sob escaping, "Oh, God. It's over. It's... it's actually over?"


Thomas sank into his seat, rubbing his brow, "Et tu, Nancy." He murmured.

 

[NRTupper]

Dillan held her tight, burying his face in her neck. He trembled as he held on. He was angry with her, but he understood too and more than anything he was just relieved.


"We're idiots," he breathed in her ear, "but together, we're not so bad. Don't leave me, Jordan. Don't ever leave me."