[animaljane]

[animaljane]

Wyatt stared at him for a minute before speaking again. “Momma talks about you sometimes. She said you used to be my daddy before my daddy was.”

"Wyatt, angel, go on and go back to Sophie, she’s about to make a bigger castle than you." Jane said almost cutting the small...

[animaljane]

"As much as I try I can't stop." Jane said looking down at the book. "Wyatt is starting to scribble now too from watching me so much." She said with a tiny smile. She looked back over to him, suddenly wanting to be closer to him. She inched closer, her hand reaching out to lay on top of his.

"So what have you been up to since you left?" She asked.

[animaljane]

Early April Morning || Berane AU

[the-thatchtheory]

 Bernard kept his eyes on Sophie for a long time. Watching her push the sand around with the now growing Wyatt. She had a big smile on her face as she began to build up the sand into a mound. It was a good sight for the man, something he dreaded about leaving. Now he just couldn’t believe he was able to see it, at least once. “He was always a good kid, back as a baby never making too much trouble from what I remember.” Bernard said. He felt like a teenager, nervous as ever around some girl he liked. 

 Bernard let out a soft laugh as the boy spoke, noticing Jane’s reaction to the question. Sophie remembered Wyatt, she wasn’t young enough to forget the circus, of course not. Bernard swallowed hard again and nodded to Wyatt. “Ah, yeah, little mate. I know who you are. I’m Bernard.” He said softly. 

[animaljane]

Wyatt stared at him for a minute before speaking again. “Momma talks about you sometimes. She said you used to be my daddy before my daddy was.” 

"Wyatt, angel, go on and go back to Sophie, she’s about to make a bigger castle than you." Jane said almost cutting the small boy off. Wyatt turned and bolted back to the sandbox, immediately starting on making his sand castle bigger. "Sorry about that," Jane said softly, fiddling with her hands. "He’s.. a smart kid." She said. Jane couldn’t help the hollow feeling in her stomach when Wyatt had said something. 

[animaljane]

[animaljane]

"Growing like a weed." She said with a small laugh about the little boy. Despite all his earlier complications, Wyatt was healthy and strong and we’ll within all the ranges he should be. Smart too. Incredibly smart. And with Emrys still around as their doctor she knew he’d always...

[animaljane]

Jane nodded. "Still working out the details but next year he'll be in a preschool designed for kids like him." She said with a small smile. She looked away again as he spoke. Now words were failing her. She debated internally telling him all that had happened since he left. But that wouldn't be fair to him. How terrible things got, how Clayton had put her in the hospital. How she still had one of his T-shirts packed away in the back of her closet. How no matter how much she tried to convince herself to pawn it off, that her engagement ring sat in a drawer in her jewelry box.

Wyatt came jogging up to her then, pulling her from her thoughts. "Momma, isn't' dat the little girl in the piture." Wyatt asked her, trying to climb onto her lap. Jane felt her cheeks burn red at the question. "Yes... yes angel it is." Wyatt looked up to her, then over to Bernard. "She said she knowed who I was." He said again. Jane just nodded at him "Hi.. I'm Wyatt. What's your name?" He asked Bernard.

[animaljane]

[animaljane]

That little smile did her in, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him, still trying to grasp the reality of the situation. “Good.. that’s.. that’s really good. And she,” Jane trailed off for a moment to look over at the little girl. “Is such a grown girl. Beautiful as ever.”...

[animaljane]

"Growing like a weed." She said with a small laugh about the little boy. Despite all his earlier complications, Wyatt was healthy and strong and we'll within all the ranges he should be. Smart too. Incredibly smart. And with Emrys still around as their doctor she knew he'd always be okay. She glanced back over at the children, one a spitting image of her father, and the boy a spitting image of his. It was uncanny.

Her eyes wandered back to Bernard. "I only left a short while ago. When Wyatt started showing signs that he was gifted I wanted to get out and make sure he got the proper attention and schooling. He's... Incredibly advanced for his age." She rambled a bit, feeling her heart constrict again and he said he missed her. She was quiet for a moment, watching him. Even after the years she could still read him we'll enough to see his nerves. "I missed you too. More than you'll know."

[animaljane]

Early April Morning|| Berane AU

[the-thatchtheory]

Bernard could see it, in those eyes of her. Could she believe it? He couldn’t. How on Earth after all this time did they just end up here like it was nothing, no time had changed them. Then he realized how much the time did change them. He swallowed hard but kept his small and barely noticeable smirk. His eyes scanned her, he wanted to take a picture and hold it there because even though this was real it was unbelievable.

 He looked over to Sophie, and the sight made him sink. His daughter playing with Wyatt, the boy that was too small now growing to be a beautiful child. Bernard looked back at jane as she spoke. He let out a chuckle and nodded while he sat down, keeping a space between them that seemed a bit too far. “I’m good, Jane. Still me I guess, I mean, been a while… but I’m still good, Sophie too… she’s good.” He said growing more nervous now that he had to talk more. “And yah? How have yah been?”

[animaljane]

That little smile did her in, and she couldn't help but smile back at him, still trying to grasp the reality of the situation. "Good.. that's.. that's really good. And she," Jane trailed off for a moment to look over at the little girl. "Is such a grown girl. Beautiful as ever." She glanced back over to him, taking note of the gap between them and hating it.

"I'm... I'm okay." She said, looking down at her hands a moment. "Things went south for a while.. a long while, but I'm okay now. I've been okay, finally back to the old me. It helped that they finally put Clayton away, but I'm still me too." She said, looking up to his face. Her fingers itched to touch his check, touch anywhere to make sure this was all real, that this wasn't an illusion or dream. She had missed him, so much. Nights of wondering if he and Sophie were okay The heartbreak of the other 2 failed relationships after he had gone. Nothing was right after him. Nothing. And Jane learned how to cope on her own. 

[animaljane]

Early April Morning|| Berane AU

[the-thatchtheory]

 This was the perfect time. The sky was open, the snow melted away from the warm weather, and the Earth seemed to grace everyone with the colorful petals whether people noticed it or not. Bernard noticed though, his brown eyes looked at almost every flower that him and Sophie passed as they walked to the park. It was spring time and it was the best time of year for Bernard. 

 It wasn’t long before Sophie ran ahead of Bernard too the play sets that were visible, he didn’t worry as she ran. He just kept his pace and let her go. She was growing up too fast for him, he could remember only years before, him and his young child together, she was much smaller then she was now. Not only was her size changing but she was too and Bernard feared what ever father did, the days leading up to where she wouldn’t need him as much. He wanted to hold onto this time where she was always going to be just his. 

 It wasn’t long until his thoughts were completely ripped from him. He had gotten closer to the park and was able to see her. It had been two… three years? That didn’t matter, Bernard could never forget those soft features, never. His heart skipped and he was convinced he was only seeing things. Then she looked up, not to him but she saw Sophie. It was the same reaction; complete shock. He almost didn’t move until he saw the pencil drop, she was still drawing. He took the opprotunity and walked around the bench to pick the pencil up and held it out to her. Even closer her beauty hadn’t flawed. “Can’t draw on that sketch pad of yours without this, sweetheart.”

[animaljane]

Jane was so focused on the children in front of her that she never saw or heard him come up next to her. Only when he spoke did she nearly jump out of her skin, the sketch pad nearly slipping from her lap as she scrambled to hold onto it. And dammit there he was. Bernard. Looking no different than the day she last saw him. She knew she had to be gaping a bit, but she just couldn't help it. She struggled for words, nothing of intelligence coming to her at all. The nickname.. oh that precious pet name he so fondly called her so long ago made her heart flutter and constrict all at once.

Jane, still lost for words simple took the pencil from him slowly, nodding ever so slightly. She bit her lip as words finally formed in her head. "How... how are you?" Was all she was able to ask. 

[animaljane]

Early April Morning|| Berane AU

He was two now. Wyatt was two, and goodness she couldn’t believe how much time had flown. So much time, so many things. But Jane had grown. nearing twenty seven now, she was finally able to stand tall on her own two feet. She and Charlie finally had worked out a parenting regime, and Wyatt was just as good as he had always been since the day he was born. 

"Go on, little man, I’ll be right here. "She said to the small child. "M’kay momma. Take Winston?" He asked. Jane looked down at the aging Jack Russell next to her and nodded. Both the dog and boy took off runningin that goofy way children do towards a sandbox. Despite the time of day, the park was yet to be crowed. Especially for such a beautiful April day. Jane smiled at her son before walking to the bench closest to the sandbox and sitting down, pulling the sketch book from under her arm out and flipping to an empty page. She watched Wyatt fill a bucket up with sand, a look of determination on his face. Even his tongue stuck out a bit, something he must have picked up while with Charlie on his working days. Winston sat guard outside of the sandbox, his eyes never once leaving Wyatt.

Jane glanced down at her sketch pad and slowly began drawing lines here and there, looking up every minute or so. This went on for a good ten minutes before she noticed a young girl had joined Wyatt in the sandbox. A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes… maybe about nine. And it was then she realized that she knew that little girl. The pencil slipped out of her hand, falling to the ground and she watched, stunned as Sophie played with Wyatt, her heart racing at where her guardian could be.