"I don't know where I am, but obviously can't or don't want to pick up. If I'm dead, cheers for the sympathy. If I'm not, leave a message if you want."


[Message can be left for muse or mun here]

LINK: It always seems to end up feeling like a curse.

LINK: More to it than meets the tourist eye.

LINK: I can go anywhere, but I still keep coming back here, and I just don't know why.

10.1.1. “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” - George Moore

Co-written with morethanleah

[Follows THIS]

Leah was back in New York. After Christmas, she'd been assigned a fashion show in France. At the time she'd been tempted to turn it down to stay in Adelaide and hide a little longer, but she didn't. She decided it was time to get back on the horse--although which horse exactly she'd fallen off of, Leah couldn't say. It helped to be in a city that didn't remind her of David, but even then she still felt like she was being visited by her ghost. She still felt like he'd been sleeping next to her at night. Maybe she really was crazy. Maybe she'd been imagining his scent and his weight in the bed because she'd wanted to see him so badly.

( At least she still had the Superman t-shirt, her one tangible link to him besides a few photographs and an apartment in New York... )

Griffin [theotherjumper] & Jazz Stanton [taste4freedom] referenced with permission


Word Count | 2,451

9.9. "You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some fuckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief."
| Good Will Hunting

Co-written with taste4freedom

When you get a text message that merely says ‘RYL LNDN HSPTL ER – FCKNG HGE WT – CME KP ME CMPNY’ from your best friend, your arse tends to drop out in panic. Which is exactly what happened when JC received the message when she was in the middle of taking a bath. Griffin was at the Royal London Hospital! She cursed and swore extensively as she rushed around trying to make herself some semblance of decent, not even bothering to dry her hair and dragging it up into a ponytail on top of her head. She pulled on some jeans and a shirt, grabbed her handbag and Jumped into an alley near the back of London’s largest hospital. Her feet made soft slapping sounds from the base of her red Converse shoes as she ran up the alley in the direction of the hospital entrance. Why the fuck was Griffin at the hospital?!

( It was dark; her early evening in New York translating to around ten pm in England. That just bode even worse in JC’s gut and she tucked some now drying strands of loose red hair behind her ears that had fallen free from the band as she made her way through the hospital foyer towards the ER... )

Griffin [theotherjumper], Leah Reynolds [morethanleah] & Jason Street [itwontstopme] referenced with permission


Word Count | 2,029

David never knew why his father had a porch swing at the house. It's not like either of them ever used it when David still lived at home. He didn't think he'd ever seen his father go near it and he had no memories of it in his bank of childhood experiences (not that it was a huge bank). Still, it was better than sitting on the cold steps.

His feet scuffed back and forth across the deck of the porch as he swung slowly in the swing. He was finding himself just feeling tired here, knowing it was only because he had nothing to boost himself with. It was just another town in another state in another country. He felt no connection here, even though it's where he'd spent the biggest portion of his life in one place. He had to leave soon. He just did. If he didn't, he was going to end up needing a dose of antidepressants and probably a smack in the head.

22.4. How well do you get along with your family?

David shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and bounced restlessly on the balls of his feet. The fallen autumn leaves crunched under his weight when he caught his dad shoot him a hesitant smile from his wheelchair a few paces away. It took a moment for David to awkwardly return the gesture, but it didn’t feel so wrong this time. It was getting easier on some level, but twenty years of tension couldn’t be resolved in simply a few well-meaning visits. It didn’t matter that he felt obligated because his father’s disability was his fault. The time had come to try to make amends. After all, his father was the only family he had. There was never going to be a chance with his mother again. She may as well be dead to him… he was to her, if she had her way.

( He knew that look, though. His father was waiting for him to evaporate into thin air; to Jump and escape the awkward situation... )

Leah Reynolds [morethanleah] referenced with permission


Word Count | 809

[Follows THIS]

The storms were mostly passed and David decided he was too impatient to wait any longer. He hadn't technically checked in to the hotel room (he'd checked it was vacant when the receptionist was in the back room), so he didn't need to bother checking out again. He grabbed up his bag and a few seconds later he was out of Toronto and in Leah's apartment in New York.

He grinned, finding her waiting in the living room for him. He swept her up and gave her a kiss. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I really have to pee! Give me a minute." He bounded down the hall, making a mental note to remember to use the bathroom before showing up on his... what was she? Girlfriend? Was she really? He paused in the hall as the thought hit him and then quickly hurried to do what he needed. Anyway, he needed to take care of things like using the bathroom before he showed up for a booty call that wasn't really a booty call. It wasn't exactly the most alluring of opening lines, was it?

He came back with a sheepish smile. "I missed you," he told her.

4.5.5. TEN things that make you laugh

1. Billy Connolly (He's even better live.)
2. People tripping over (I know, but I can't help it.)
3. Myself tripping over (See?)
4. Fart jokes (I'm male, sue me.)
5. Comedy movies
6. Cat macros
7. Bad Karaoke
8. Old couples wearing matching tracksuits
9. Having a drink in a pub with a Scotman (You will always laugh, it's unavoidable.)
10. David Hasselhoff trying to be a singer

2.6.3. A Hard Day’s Night

[Follows THIS]

When David gradually woke out of an exhausted, drained sleep, it was slowly as he tried to get his bearings. Eyes barely open and bleary from sleep, he took a few moments to determine where he was, but even that wasn’t a success. Sleeping in unfamiliar beds wasn’t uncommon for him, so he could literally have been anywhere. The only thing that clued him in to his location was the fact he was curled up behind a warm back and that warm back was connected to a warm hand reached behind it to be curled protectively around his bicep. It was Leah’s hand… he didn’t even need to see her face to know it was her, and a content comfort crawled through him at the realisation.

( He settled his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes again... )

- morethanleah referenced with permission


Word Count | 920

Track 01. I live a simple life // unfettered by complex sweets // you think this isn't me? // that's so sweet // I'm so sorry (REM – ‘The Apologist’)

[Co-written with morethanleah and follows THIS]

It had been three hours since David had been hanging out at the market stalls in Phuket, Thailand. He didn’t know what made him decide to go there, but that’s where he ended up when it was pouring down rain in Sydney again and all he wanted was some sun. That meant it had been three hours since he’d eaten a random chicken and rice dish from one of the vendors. He’d enjoyed it at the time but as he weaved his way through all the stalls, he just started to feel off. Unsteady, hot, maybe sick in the stomach, but he wasn’t going to give in that easily. He put it down to the heat and left as soon as he could to Jump back to his apartment in Sydney.

A long drink of water helped a little, so he decided it was just dehydration and told himself he wouldn’t be going back to Phuket any time soon. But the water didn’t seem to want to help for very long. He couldn’t deny it now; his stomach was upset and it wasn’t just because he’d overheated. His forehead, back and chest were also drenched in perspiration and he felt like he wanted to sleep for a week. A glance at the clock from where he’d curled up in a ball on the sofa told him it was midnight in New York where Leah was. Too late? He thought yes, but a moment later decided to go anyway. At the very least, she could distract him and take his mind off his stomach.

( He got up off the sofa unsteadily and wiped at the sweat on his forehead. He hoped he could at least Jump in coordination this time. He tucked his wallet and cell phone into his pocket and closed his eyes to brace himself through the Jump to Leah’s place... )


Words | 2,835

Track 05. You changed your name // Well that's okay, it's necessary // And what you leave behind you don't miss anyway. (U2 – ‘Gone’)


The clocked ticked loudly on the wall as David sat awkwardly in the worn armchair of his childhood home and picked at a loose thread on the arm where there use to be a button holding the upholstery together. There was no button there now because he knew his father had spent many years fiddling with it as he drank himself in oblivion and watched sports night after night, uncaring what was going on beyond his intoxicated bubble. David fought the urge to check his watch again. Each visit, he was trying so hard to make it more like they were father and son and less like they were complete strangers. It wasn’t an easy task. Maybe it was an impossible task?

( His father cleared his throat and shifted the half-empty coffee mug in his hands. “So… you’re taking care of yourself?” he asked, watching his son looking like he was about to do the evaporating thing at any moment... )

- morethanleah referenced with permission


Words | 686

2.4.2. TEN of your most life changing moments

1. My first Jump (I can't remember it - was enough to make my Mom bolt, though)
2. When my Mom bolted
3. Realising my Dad was a lazy drunk and a crap father
4. The crush on Millie
5. Falling through an iced over lake and Jumping to save myself
6. Realising I could enter a bank vault without a care in the world
7. The first time I Jumped overseas and realised what I had at my feet
8. Discovering the Paladins existence and nearly getting myself killed numerous times
9. Discovering my Mum was a Paladin and had been for many years
10. Meeting Leah


- morethanleah referenced with permission

[Follows THIS]

LINK: Leah had put the camera cases and her laptop under the bed. She assumed they were safe there. She hoped they were safe there. Now she just sat on the bed and waited to see where David would pop up.

David sat at the breakfast bar of his/Leah's Upper East Side apartment and teased his milky Cheerios with his spoon. He watched Leah as she stood near the kettle making coffee and then cleared his throat. "Are you pissed I didn't take you to China last night?" he asked.

Despite the teasing that he could take her to China for proper Chinese food last night after their first passionate encounter, he'd reneged at the last minute, Jumping her into the bathroom next door for a shower instead with insistance that he was really tired. She hadn't pushed him and he still spent the night but the first thing he thought about when he woke up that morning was that he'd disappointed her and now he felt guilty.

[Follows THIS]

LINK: Leah had tucked her laptop back into its case, and wondered into the bathroom to check she didn't look like she'd been lying around in bed for most of the day. She gave her teeth a quick once over with the toothbrush, and briefly considered putting some proper clothes on. She had a habit of sleeping in her knickers and t-shirt, and she wondered if he'd mind if she stayed like that. She walked back into the bedroom to start looking through the things she'd hung in the closet when she heard a noise, and felt a similar breeze ruffle her hair as when she'd been standing in the main room and David had appeared.

"I suppose it would have been a bit much to expect you to knock seeing as how you own the place," she said without turning around. She just prayed that she hadn't gone crazy, and that he was standing there.

It was the same old scene. Dollar after dollar, card after card, spin after spin, loss after loss. It was the same scene in any place like this... in any casino in the world. Star City in Sydney was no Vegas, of course, but it was one of the most prestigious casinos in Australia and the pristine Australian dollar was the same to anyone where, whether you were a tourist or a citizen, Sydney local, or from further afield. He had gotten to recognise the difference quickly. The rich, the wealthy, and the upper class were easy to spot against those trying to pretend they were just that but really only there to throw a few dollars of their holiday spending money in hopes they will strike it rich. He wasn't stupid enough to 'borrow' from them in a casino packing with security cameras, bouncers, and probably surveillance in the toilets. No, he preferred the much easier tactic of observation... look, listen, and note. Discover their hotel, the room number, aa local address, even names, then Jump to their suite or home and help himself to their additional cash. He knew that nine times out of then, they didn't even miss it.

He sat at the bar, beer in hand, watching the passing crowd. He'd not only now learnt to be an immaculate and highly exact Jumper since his run in with the Paladins, but also now a people watcher. A woman in a slinky red dress up the bar threw him a smile and a wink. He smiled back and held up his beer in a silent toast. Women were one thing he had no trouble attracting, for some reason. The whole concept was beyond him. He enjoyed women's company, of course, but he still didn't get the whole catch and chase of romance. And he probably never would. He was never in one place long enough to have a relationship. Things with Millie didn't work. A whirlwind (literally) trip to Rome, a fuck, and a near death experience was never going to be a good basis for a relationship. He took her home, wished her all the best, and continued on with the only life he knew how to live... only more careful now.

But he would be lying if he didn't say he got lonely. He had encounters and one night stands, but they never lasted more than a few days. He usually issued vague apologies of 'It was fun, but I need to move on for work'. He'd stopped the whole 'I'm in banking' thing and now went with the more apt 'I'm a travelling businessman'. The latter left little room for questioning and was more met with impressed smiles rather than raised eyebrows of 'What the fuck?'.

The lady in red seemed like yet another viable prospect, but did he want it? He finished off his beer and set the bottle on the bar with a small, inward sigh. No. Tonight he didn't want it. Tonight he wanted something else. He just didn't know what yet. He offered her another slight smile and left a tip on the bar for the staff, then weaved his way through the crowds. He made it to his Jump site in the quiet street near the casino and in a blink, arrived in the foyer of the Plaza Hotel in New York City.