The waves rock the boat back and forth, Wallace bobbing in sync with the grey company boat, thankfully more spacious this time  due to the need for transporting injured personnel.

 Today’s stop was not a routine one but it had been easy to get the clearance from Lauren, the incumbent CEO of Leighton. She wanted Jack off the island as soon as possible, making it very clear to Wallace and anyone within earshot of her office about how she didn’t want the company losing it all to a lawsuit.

   Sitting opposite Wallace was Michael, a man whose past remained a mystery to everyone in the company. When asked about his life, Michael would switch from being a former Blackwater employee to an ANZAC man tried of the quiet life and signed for Leighton. The only thing everyone could agree on was his nationality, Australian by way of his accent.

. In his early forties and standing over six and a half feet tall and built like the Terminator, he was armed to the teeth. Apart from having a Glock holstered above his heart, he kept two browning knives sheathed around his shins. That and his penchant for wearing combat fatigues made Wallace uneasy whenever he was around. Which was often since Lauren had him follow Wallace on his visits to Jessica.

Both men were joined by one of the company medics, a man named Jeff. He was a  blonde caucasian man in his late twenties carrying  .Judging from his uneasiness, squirming in his seat and watching the island as if it were to be their burial grounds, he knew he’d gotten a greenhorn. Completing the group was the coxswain, a portly middle aged West Indian man.

 “ Jeff, you’re really jumpy. First time visiting my daughter?” He asked him in his normal voice, a little rough but still friendly; Jeff actually jumping a little when Wallace opened his mouth.

 “Jessica is your daughter?” Jeff sputtered, his emerald eyes widening in shock.

 “ Oh don’t be surprised, she wasn’t born large. You’re about five foot ten, am I right?”  

 “ Yeah, that’s right,” Jeff answered as the island came up on the horizon.

“ Fun fact,” Wallace started on his favourite piece of trivia, Michael groaned slightly and fished his earphones out of a pocket before plugging his ears with them.

“ If Jessica were scaled down to more normal proportions, she’d be roughly your height,”

“ T-that’s not really comforting,” Jeff answered, eyes dilating at the mere thought of Jessica.

“ You’ll get used to her, she’s just like you and me. Even Michael here nearly crapped himself when he saw here, pulled his gun out on her,” Wallace laughed heartily but no one else shared his sense of humour.

“ Lies mate, I only drew my gun because she surprised me. Came out of nowhere!” Michael protested, his thick Australian accent exaggerating the emotion in his voice.

 “ Right…” Wallace said slyly.

“ Time to disembark, we’ve arrived,” The coxswain announced flatly over the intercom.

 Wallace peaked out of the porthole, Jessica was on the beach and if he knew her, she had been watching  the little grey  boat from the moment she spied it on the horizon.

   Upon disembarking, they did not have to wait long as Jessica bounded up to the fringes of the docks, careful to make sure the little dock was not damaged by her presence.

 Wallace looked straight into her eyes while the rest showed some basic courtesy by doing so but minus the eye contact, Jeff in particular looking away once they acknowledged her.

 “ I guess you must be new here. How do I know? People seeing me for the first time tend to be scared shitless, a typical symptom of macrophobia which is  the fear of giants. The only cure I’m afraid will be a course of interaction with giants,” Jessica chuckled.

“ N-name’s Jeff and you must be Jessica?” Jeff stumbled through his words, clutching his medic kit harder as stress levels rocketed.

 “The one and only. Unless you know another Godzilla sized girl.”

 Bending at her knees, she offered her customary ride to her house. Her lips shifted into a smile as she noted his reluctance to climb on.

Always the same, she thought to herself.

They always need that guarantee I won’t hurt them.

“ Come on, I won’t drop you, if that is what you’re thinking. It isn’t it? It’s a very common newbie fear,” She said to them, Wallace shaking his head in fear.

 ‘ Get on, you need to treat someone, got no time for pansies,” Michael grunted and shoved the pair on to Jessica’s palm, Jessica curling her fingers enough to cushion their little fall.

 “ Thanks,” Jessica said to the armed man who gave a thumbs up to the giantess who reciprocated with a nod of her head.

*************

 “ Hey, lazy bum,” Jessica teased as she poked at the still sleeping Jack, her tone less of a growl but far from chipper, she was still mad at Jack after all. She had let the guy sleep in, he didn’t actually need to be up until Wallace and friends arrived.

‘“Wake up, you need to get that arm checked,” Jessica said to the motionless form before her.

 Jack stirred from his sleep as a pillar of flesh and  bone jabbed at his sides, pulling him out from his dormancy. He rubbed his eyes free of the goop that lined them and stared emptily at Jessica’s moon sized face, her nerves grated as she waited impatiently for Jack to climb aboard.

 “ Hello Jack, we’ll be checking that arm of yours,” Jeff said warmly once Jack was lowered.

 Jack glanced at all of them but he stared at Michael the longest, in particular his weapons.

“ It’s gonna cost ya if you wanna keep starin at me Richie Rich,” Michael chuckled.

 “ Let me just get the introductions out of the way. Jack, my name’s Wallace and father to the lovely girl you see before you. Rambo over there goes by the name of Michael and the man who’ll be patching you up is Jeff,” Wallace gestured with his hand to each person he revealed.

Lovely? More like vile, loathsome, rude, Jack mentally  rattled off a series of words that he believed fit Jessica better.

Jack jerked his head away from Michael and towards Jeff. His blue eyes, clouded by a fitful sleep focused on him, Jeff at least didn’t look like he’d shoot Jack for staring at him the wrong way.

 “ Of course. You’ll be happy to know it hasn’t gotten gangrene or anything, don’t exactly know what diseases those island dogs are carrying,” Jack rubbed his eye with his non-injured arm holding out his right arm for the medics to examine.

 “ We’ll do some standard checks on it. Its too late to clean the area but we’ll draw  some blood, make sure you don’t start foaming at the mouth any time soon and after that, we’ll let Leighton decide,” Jeff announced as he  rolled up Jack’s sleeves, easily revealing the wound, now covered by a bright red scab.

 From above, Jessica watched them like a hawk, her eyes focusing a little uneasily on the bite marks on Jack’s arm, several red holes caked with blood, Jack hadn’t washed all of it off and it left a very unpleasant reminder of the previous night’s fiasco.

 “ I don’t think you guys need me for the moment so I’ll have that chat with my father,” Jessica suggested, Wallace supporting with a nod of approval. She’d finally get a reason not to be in the room while they administered medical care to Jack.

 “ That’ll be lovely, we can talk about last night,” Wallace enthused as Jessica plucked him from the group and made her way to the living room. For greater privacy, she closed the door behind her and set her father down on the dining table.

  Jessica ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling in an exasperating manner.

 “ That bad huh?” Wallace asked, referring to last night.

 “ Oh Papa I think I know what its like to be a parent,” Jessica grumbled, balling up her  fists.

 “ Jack is a man child and its so...so...frustrating to tell him something, to be so sweet to him and then have him kick over the board like a petulant brat because...because it just is!” Jessica smashed her fist into the table.

 While the table shook, Wallace remained emotionless while his daughter vented. Everyone in the situation would probably have shat their pants.

 “ Dear God, was I ever like this to you?” Jessica buried her face in her hands, peeking through the gaps at Wallace.

 Wallace chuckled, his face lighting up as he remembered a time when Jessica was still small enough to give piggyback rides.

 “ No, you weren’t and you aren’t. Goodness know how we’d react if you threw a tantrum right now,” Wallace assured her.

 “ Probably give me a timeout, ground me, take away my tablet,” Jessica joked, both father and daughter cracked up over this.

 “ Oh you know I would,” Wallace affirmed. Jessica had kept her fist on the table, Wallace leaned against it and this prompted Jessica to gently uncurl her fingers to support his back.

“ Careful, we wouldn’t want another accident,” Jessica tried to laugh but the incident was too fresh for that.

 “ So, Jack seems handsome doesn’t he?” Wallace’s eye glinted with mischief, Jessica shaking her head and chuckling to herself.

 “ Papa I don’t think you should quit your job to become a matchmaker.”

 “ Oh come on, I was only joking about you and Michael but you should consider Jack. Young strapping man who washed up on a deserted island. You know the rest...it’s practically a fairy tale!” Wallace embellished his words while waiting for Jessica to retort.

“ Oh please….” Jessica lamented, “ Until he learns to act like a responsible adult, nothing will ever happen between us. I like a mature man who at least gives you the impression he can look after his woman.”

 “ And,” Jessica put it as bluntly as she could, “ Jack is none of that right now.”

*******

 “ So Jacky, how does it feel?” Michael grinned as Jeff wrapped some bandages around his arm, the occasional jolt of discomfort as the white sterile wraps were tightened.

 “ Careful, not too tight…” Jack advised Jeff.

“Nothing a man like myself won’t survive. It should recover within the month,” Jack added, a little intimidated by Michael, hence the need to act macho.

“ Oh no no my man,” Michael guffawed, slapping his thighs.

 “ I meant your little tiff with Jessica, heard she went full blast. I’m surprised to see you still here, in one piece.”

Jack shrugged his shoulders, as if such a thing were natural, a dime-a-dozen event.

“ I’ve never been a religious person but this felt almost biblical,”  Jack raised his arms up, elbows bent inwards at a sixty degree angle.

 “ Don’t move or the bandages won’t be tight enough,” Jeff pulled down Jack’s right sleeve, the left was fine as it is.

 “ Sorry,” Jack whispered to Jeff.

“ Bet you were praying to God after that though,” Michael replied and he laughed at Jack’s squeamish expression.

 “ That bad huh?” Michael asked.

 “ Should I even apologise?” Jack mused out loud.

 “ When a girl like that,” Michael pointed jerked his thumb at the two hundred and fifty feet door or rather, what lay behind it, “ directs her wrath at you, an apology is the bare minimum.”

 Jack knew it, he was just looking for a reason not to. Perhaps there was a loophole, one where Jessica had to apologise to him but Michael disagreed. Maybe Jeff would provide a counterpoint.

 “ What about you….medic? Should I use the s-word on Jessica?”

“ It’s not really my business, I’ve never even seen her until today,” Jeff was quick to avoid involving himself in such matters, for now he just wanted to finish what he came here for and get off the island.

 “ Seems you’re right about the apology but you don’t know she makes you feel.”

“ Tell me then,” Michael prodded.

 “ I can’t describe it fully but I urge you to try it sometime, get a giant woman to yell you at the top of her voice, it really puts your life into perspective. You feel...small,” Jack conceded, Michael wasn’t forcing him into this.

 Michael strode up to Jack and patted the latter’s shoulder gently, his gloved hand pressed against the fabric of Jack non-descript top.

 “ There, there, she’s doesn’t mean it. I’ve known Jessica for the last five years and she’s never hurt anyone. Except for that incident when she was 13,” Michael was nonchalant about the whole thing but this aroused Jack’s interest. She had mentioned an incident before but at the time he’d never thought to press her on it but this would be a more favorable scenario.

“ What incident?” Jack hoped it wasn’t classified or some shit like that, that would certainly kill his chances of learning more.

 “ Hmm…” Michael rubbed his chin, his five o’clock shadow bristling against his palm.

 “ I guess I can tell you but don’t reveal it to anyone. Not that you will, who would believe you got saved by a giant? If you did divulge this, people would think you’’ve gone  loco,” Michael made the crazy sign, spinning his finger by his head.

“ Cross my heart and hope to die, I’ll never tell anyone about this place,” Jack stated flatly.

 “ Great,” Michael cupped his hands together jubilantly, “ It’s nothing much really. Happened when she could still fit inside a normal house. She got into a fight at school with another girl. Jessica got off without a scratch but the other girl….” Michael puffed his cheeks and exhaled, blowing out a steady stream of air.

 “...She had to drink her meals through a straw. Not really certain what happened to her after that, only that her injuries weren’t crippling ,” Michael could almost empathise  with the victim, he once had to have his jaw wired shut after a stray IED shattered it.

 “ Jessica was eight feet at the time, probably had at least 3 feet on her victim, that’s awful. This never got out? Sounds like a big story to me,” Jack asked, feeling skeptical about the story.

“ We’ve got enough clout about us to suppress a scandalous story like that. Remember that when you’re out with your friends,” Michael tapped his finger against Jack’s forehead.

 “ You’re done,” Jeff said as he and Jessilyn packed up.

 Jack lowered his arm, eager to do so for it had begun to ache from being still for so long.

“ Does the girl have a name?” Jack queried.

Michael snorted, chuckling heartily.

“ That she does. If you ever feel like doing a little digging, google Jamie-” The door opened and in came Jessica, traipsing towards the trio with Wallace in hand.

“-Oliver has an excellent selection of Italian recipes if you ever feel like cooking your own meals,” Michael changed story without skipping a beat. Jack was mightily impressed by this, he’d then elaborated over his favourite risotto by the time Jessica stood over them.

 “ Oh Michael, sharing your love of Italian cuisine again?” Jessica grinned down at the group, Wallace rejoining them once he stepped off Jessica’s hand.

 “ You know I love my pasta , no matter the noodle used. Now we best be making a move, Jack’s all patched up now,” Michael knew what would happen next, it always happened when they tried to leave.

 “ Aw…” Jessica pouting, trying her best at doing puppy dog eyes. Michael and Wallace would both admit to the sight of her frown and wide eyed look of misery would probably get Jessica what she wanted but professional integrity dictated otherwise.

 “ Sorry little girl, Michael’s right. I’ll check with the company to see if we can arrange a visit within the week,” Wallace tried not to look at Jessica but it wasn’t out of shame or anything, he was actually smiling.

 Also, he was trying his best not to laugh, Jessica always used this trick on him  and it never failed to amuse him. No, he was afraid he’d actually say yes to staying and never leave.

 “ I’ll call you after dinner. Same time?”

Wallace looked up and nodded, “ Same time.”

“ I’ll go but I’d like a moment with Jessica, just the two of us.” From the corner of his eye, Michael gave Jack the thumbs up. It didn’t make Jack feel better but he didn’t want to have Jessica of all people bearing a grudge against him.

 “ I think you-” Michael grabbed Wallace by the shoulder and pulled him towards the exit, clicking his tongue in displeasure.

“ Now now Wally, lets have the two pups say what they need to. We don’t need to intrude on their moment. Same goes for you Jeff, vamos.”

 Jeff needed no prompting, he was already a hundred feet ahead of the group.

 “ So,” Jack begun, grunting and swinging his arms, his hips following. Those words,his tongue defying his brain’s orders were hard to verbalise but he needed to get it out.

 “ Are you just going to thrust your hips back and forth? Is that a British mating ritual?” Jessica grew more puzzled.

 “ No...I’m...I’m...sorry,” he blurted out. It was done. All she had to do was accept it and move on.

 “ Sorry? For what?” Jessica shot back, scratching her chin.

 “ Sorry for running away and making an arse of myself. Sorry for making you worry about me , I was totally bang out of order.”

It was a lot more than he planned to concede but he had done it, cat out of the bag.

“ Okay….I accept,” Jessica still couldn’t quite believe it but if he was going to show humility and actually show remorse, she was going to take it.

 “ Thank you for being so magnanimous. Thanks for...everything. I’ve got a plane to catch so I’ll be going. Goodbye Jessica.”

“ Not quite, you still need me to open the door,” Jessica’s voice a little perkier after his apology.

 She did more than open the door and despite Jeff insisting he could walk, Jessica carried the group to the docks where she waited until all of them had boarded, saying her goodbyes.

Then when the boat left and chugged back to the mainland, she watched on, her eyes clouding as somehow, she found herself already beginning to miss Jack. It was illogical and she found herself asking why she would even want him back but that was she felt.