Matthew stood before her, offering to take on some of the weight currently pressing down upon her. It was two times in the past two days, now, that someone had taken away some of her fears and worried and tacked them onto herself. They had done it without permission, with equal parts understanding and strength, and never making her feel incapable of saving her friend. In short, both James Potter and Matthew Lestrange had offered her something she had rarely ever felt the power of, something she did not have the power to deny from them: friendship.
He told her she may have to do the unthinkable, and she closed her eyes against the words. Jack would completely compromise herself in this campaign as a spy, but this would be her one failing. She knew she would be unable to harm Nemo. Even if she used an unforgivable curse against him, one had to mean it for them to work. And she would not be able to mean it.
She didn't understand how she would be able to be so close and yet force herself not to act. She would be the only one with power to save him, and yet completely incapable of doing so. But his argument was the argument that had kept her alive for so long. Matt and Nemo were good people, but they were pretty thick if they thought that, between the three of them, she was the most innocent of self destructive thoughts. How many times Jack had walked into a battle, hoping not to walk out. How many times Jack had lied awake in bet, fingering the small vials capable of giving the relief to her eternal exhaustion. How many times had Jack lingered in a place of danger, waiting, hoping, that some accident may relieve the world of her presence. But Jack had never allowed action, because she told herself: you are needed. It was Vito, then Chase, then Ariel, then Nemo. Too many people who needed her there. They held her feet to the ground. And Matt reminded her of this again. With a miserable little internal squirm, Jack thought If I keep myself safe, who keeps Nemo safe? And then Matt gave her his word: he would save Nemo.
A small breath trailed from her lips and she closed her eyes. A moment later, another wave of deja vu hit her. James had gripped her this way too. This must clinch it- if she considered one a friend, she must consider the other a friend. Her eyes slid open and met his eyes. She allowed a small flicker of a smile. "It's not even an issue that I won that last fight?"
((I'm referring to the fight we haven't RPed yet. The intense fist fight duel thing. I imagine Jack will leave there saying something along the lines of "BTW, I won this."))