Work Text:
A Girl for Han
1889
By Denise Craig
Jennifer met Heyes at the door. Her glare stopped him cold. She had talked to Susan and had a few things to say to the man in front of her.
“Heyes, can I please talk to you for a minute?”
“Uhh, sure Jen.” He tried for non-chalance.
Jennifer went to the couch and patted the seat next to her.
Heyes sat down obediently.
They just sat looking at each other. Jen’s gaze softened. She saw Heyes duck his head. When he looked back up she saw the sorrow his eyes held. She held him then. He didn’t respond but she didn’t need him too.
“Hannibal,” she said looking into his eyes, “Someone very wise once told me, “”If we allow ourselves to open up to people, there is always the chance of getting hurt, but what if we get more happiness than pain?””
Jennifer sat back and held his hands in her own. “You have found something wrong with every girl you have gone out with.”
“Well, there was. Look, I am glad that you and Kid are so happy.” Heyes got up and started to pace the floor. “ I just haven’t found the right woman for me yet. I can’t just pick out a girl and say… I think I’ll marry that one.”
“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it. When and if you marry, I want you to be head-over-heels in love. What I am saying is that when you start to get close to someone, suddenly she is all wrong. You, Hannibal Heyes, are afraid.”
“I have never been afraid of anything in my life, and certainly not a woman!”
“Han, Dear.” She stood and faced him. “You are afraid of love, for its own sake. In your heart you believe that if you love, they die.”
Heyes had been studying the pattern in the carpet, but now his head snapped up. How could she possibly know that?
Jennifer looked him in the eyes, “I was the same way. I was afraid to love Jed. I just knew, if I did, he would die.”
“But that’s just silly.”
“And a very real and paralyzing fear. But he showed me that I had to trust, to take a chance, or I was never going to find love again. Think of all I would have missed if I’d stayed afraid.”
“I love you and Kid. That’s enough,” Heyes said gruffly.
“Enough during the day maybe. But what about at night, alone in your bed or when you wake trembling to the demons that haunt you? Don't you long for someone to hold, someone to whisper your dreams to? That is what Jed and I want for you…the shelter of a loving heart. A heart that will love you as only a wife can.”
“I can‘t just make myself fall in love.”
“That‘s not what this is about. It’s about trust. You have to trust another human being enough to let them in. You have so much to offer a woman. You are smart, witty, charming, extremely handsome, and you are one of the kindest men I know next to Jed.“
Heyes looked disbelievingly at her.
“It’s all true. You have loved only one person for so long you don’t trust anyone with the real you. The you we know and love. I am just asking you to give it a try. Not everyone has a hidden agenda, Han. Start little.”
Heyes was silent.
“Han, have I ever hurt you?”
“No,” he said. He didn’t even need to think about that.
“And you have shown me the real you?”
“I don’t know that I actually had any choice in the matter”. He smiled, “You’ve always seen everything I tried to hide. I don’t know how you do it, but I’ve learned to just let it be.”
“All right, so now you know what trust can feel like. Just take it out and exercise it the next time you start to back off. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.”
Heyes sighed, “I’ll try…no promises though.”
“That’s good enough. Han? You know you can come to me with anything, day or night. I will always be here for you.”
“Yeah…I know.” He kissed her forehead and went to his room. What she had said made a lot of sense, and she had been right. He would try, he told himself. He would try.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.