It's been six years since you were rejected by your mate, and his chosen mate banished you from Starcourt pack. Six years without contact with your siblings or friends. The only real comfort you've had in that time is your wolf, that you guiltily locked up inside of you due to being trapped in the human world.
Moving on with your life has been incredibly hard to do, but you've managed to pick up the pieces and get yourself a job and a life. So when your worlds collide and you find your brother and your former Alpha in a business meeting with your boss, it's hard to know how to react.
Watching them treat you like you're invisible breaks your heart, but the heartbreak soon turns to anger as they arrive at your door to ask you to come home. As they give you the opportunity to return home, you find yourself asking if you wish to remain a mutt or be part of a pack once more.
Summary: Your daughter fakes a stomachache to surprise her parents at work on Take Your Kid to Work Day, never realizing the panic it would cause.
Word count: 4.2k+
Warnings: fluff, tiny angst
A/N:
this was co-written with my friend Nora! We actually wrote some other stuff together too, but this is the first fic where she wrote the most of it. She also wants to write fanfics but is a little hesitant. Can’t wait for you to open your own blog and share your talent with tumblr Nora, this one’s you!!!💓
English is not my first language, so I apologize if I made any (grammar) mistakes. Feedback, requests, talks, vents, recommendations or just simple questions are always welcome.
Happy reading xxx
I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site.
When your daughter Lucy heard about Take Your Kid to Work Day, she came home convinced it was going to be the greatest day of her entire six-year-old life.
Her class had spent nearly a week talking about it. Every morning another child had a new story, another exciting detail to add. Emma was going to help frost cupcakes at her mother's bakery. Noah couldn't stop talking about riding in his dad's garbage truck, proudly announcing to anyone who would listen that he was going to press the "real buttons." Olivia was getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium where her mom worked. Even little Ben, whose father worked at a bank, marched around the classroom with a paper tie taped around his neck, declaring he would be "approving loans all day." By Thursday afternoon Lucy had listened to enough stories that she'd begun planning her own. She was absolutely certain she would wear one of those little white doctor coats she'd seen in toy stores. She'd carry a clipboard. Maybe even a stethoscope. Everyone would finally get to see how cool her parents' jobs were.
So when you and Jack walked through the front door that evening after a twelve-hour shift, you barely had time to take your shoes off before Lucy came barreling across the living room like an excited puppy.
"Mama!"
She wrapped herself around your legs so tightly you had to catch yourself against the wall to stay upright.
"Daddy!"
Jack wasn't spared either. She launched herself at him next, nearly knocking the backpack from his shoulder.
"Whoa, easy, bug," he laughed, catching her under the arms before she could accidentally headbutt him. "Someone's excited. Where's your grandma?"
"In the kitchen. I have something important to say."
You and Jack exchanged an amused look over the top of her head. Important announcements from Lucy ranged anywhere from losing a tooth to discovering worms in the garden.
"Oh?" Jack asked, setting his bag down.
Lucy nodded so enthusiastically that her ponytail bounced. "It's Take Your Kid to Work Day next Friday."
Her grin stretched so wide it nearly split her face.
"And I get to come with you."
The silence that followed was tiny.
Barely a second.
But it was enough.
Jack's smile faltered first. You watched it happen almost imperceptibly, the corners of his mouth relaxing as his eyes drifted toward yours. The excitement on Lucy's face hadn't dimmed yet. She was already imagining hallways and stethoscopes and showing all her friends pictures afterward.
You felt your heart sink before either of you had even opened your mouths.
Lucy noticed immediately.
Her smile wavered.
"...What's wrong?"
You crouched until you were eye level with her, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear while you searched desperately for words that wouldn't break her heart.
"Oh, sweetheart..."
Jack carefully lowered himself beside you, adjusting his balance before slipping an arm around Lucy's shoulders.
"Our jobs are a little different from everyone else's."
She frowned in confusion.
"But I can still come, right?"
Jack let out the smallest sigh.
"The emergency department isn't really a place for kids."
Her forehead wrinkled.
"Why?"
You looked at Jack for half a second before answering.
"Because the people who come to see us aren't coming for fun." You spoke gently, carefully choosing every word. "They're usually having one of the worst days of their lives. They're very, very sick..."
"Or hurt," Jack added quietly.
"They can look scary sometimes," you continued. "There can be blood. People cry. Sometimes they're frightened, sometimes they're angry, and sometimes they need every doctor and nurse in the room paying attention to them."
Jack nodded. "Our job is making sure they get help as quickly as possible. We can't always stop to explain what's happening, and there are things no six-year-old should have to see."
Lucy listened with surprising seriousness, though it was obvious she still didn't understand.
"But..." she said softly, "I'll be quiet."
Your chest tightened.
"I know you would."
"I could sit in the corner and color."
Jack smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You probably could."
"I wouldn't touch anything."
"We know, sweetheart."
"I wouldn't even talk."
Jack smiled sadly. "You'd probably be the quietest kid in the whole hospital."
For the briefest moment, hope flickered across Lucy's face before reality settled back in. She looked between the two of you, swallowing hard.
"So..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "...I can't?"
The words were so small they made your chest ache. You reached for her little hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"No, sweetie. I'm sorry."
Her eyes filled almost instantly.
"But everyone else gets to go to their parents' work."
Jack closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. Every parent hated hearing those words because sometimes there simply wasn't a fair answer. He rubbed his thumb absentmindedly over the back of her tiny hand.
"I know."
"I wanna see where you guys work."
"I know."
"I wanna wear one of those little doctor coats."
Despite the ache in your chest, a smile tugged at your lips. "You would look absolutely adorable."
"I could help."
Jack let out a quiet snort, his expression turning dramatically serious.
"Oh, that's exactly the part I'm worried about."
Lucy blinked. "...Really?"
"Oh, absolutely," he said with a solemn nod. "I think you'd spend the whole day walking around the department telling everyone what to do."
"I would not."
"You absolutely would."
She crossed her arms.
"No."
"No?"
She puffed out her chest, planting both hands on her hips as she deepened her voice into what she apparently believed sounded very authoritative.
"'Okay everybody, one at a time! No pushing! You have to wait your turn!'"
Jack laughed so suddenly and genuinely that it echoed through the house.
"There it is."
You couldn't help laughing too.
"Our little charge nurse."
Lucy dissolved into giggles, pleased she'd made both of you laugh.
The moment was warm.
Light.
Comfortable.
Until it wasn't.
Her smile slowly faded as she remembered why she'd started the conversation in the first place.
"...But I still don't get to come."
Jack's laughter disappeared just as quickly. He opened his arms without saying a word, and Lucy climbed into his lap as naturally as breathing. She tucked her face into the crook of his neck, wrapping her little arms around him with a sigh that sounded much older than six years old.
"No," he admitted quietly, kissing the top of her head. "Not to work."
The room fell silent.
You watched Jack gently rub circles over Lucy's back while she sat curled against him, neither of them speaking. The disappointment in the room was almost tangible. You knew Jack was feeling it just as sharply as you were. Both of you spent your careers taking care of other people's children, yet this was one of those moments where your own daughter simply had to accept that your jobs came with doors she couldn't walk through.
Finally, you leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
"How about this?"
She peeked up hopefully.
"When we're both off next weekend, we'll take you to the hospital."
Jack immediately caught on.
"We'll show you the cafeteria."
"My locker."
"The ambulance bay."
"If there aren't any helicopters flying, maybe we can see the helipad from outside."
"The empty waiting room."
"My office."
Lucy sniffled, considering the offer with all the seriousness of someone negotiating an international treaty.
"...Can I push a wheelchair?"
Jack looked over at you.
You shrugged.
"If nobody's using it, sure."
She thought for another long moment before giving a tiny nod.
"...Okay."
It wasn't the answer she'd wanted.
It wasn't even close.
But she accepted it with the quiet resilience children somehow managed to find after their hearts had been disappointed. Before long she was asking what was for dinner and whether Grandma was still making pancakes the next morning, and by bedtime she seemed perfectly content again.
You smiled to yourself as you tucked her in that night, smoothing the blankets over her little shoulders.
Children had an incredible ability to move on.
Or so you thought.
Lucy had absolutely no intention of moving on.
She smiled when you tucked her into bed that night. She happily ate pancakes with Grandma the next morning. She colored pictures at the kitchen table, watched cartoons, and talked excitedly about the hospital tour you had promised for the following weekend. If anyone had asked, she seemed to have accepted your answer completely.
She hadn't.
To a six-year-old, "next weekend" felt impossibly far away. Everyone else would get to visit their parents' jobs on Friday. Everyone else would come back to school Monday with stories to tell. Emma would talk about frosting cupcakes. Noah would probably tell everyone he got to honk the garbage truck horn. Olivia would have pictures of fish. And Lucy... Lucy would have to say she stayed home because her mommy and daddy worked somewhere she wasn't allowed to go.
That simply didn't seem fair.
By Wednesday she had the beginning of a plan.
By Thursday she had improved it.
By Friday morning, she was convinced it was foolproof.
Your mother had barely finished pouring herself a cup of coffee when she heard small footsteps padding down the hallway. Lucy appeared in the kitchen doorway still wearing her pajamas, her favorite stuffed rabbit dangling from one hand while the other pressed dramatically against her stomach.
"Grandma..."
Your mother looked up immediately.
"Morning, sweetheart."
Lucy took two slow steps into the kitchen, making sure not to walk too quickly. Sick people probably didn't move very fast.
"I don't feel good."
The smile disappeared from your mother's face at once.
"Oh, sweetheart."
She set her mug down without taking a sip and crouched in front of her granddaughter, brushing a hand over Lucy's messy bed hair.
"What's wrong?"
"My tummy hurts."
"Oh no."
Lucy gave a pitiful little nod.
"It hurts a lot."
Your mother frowned with concern.
"Can you show me where?"
Lucy froze.
That...
She hadn't prepared for.
She looked down at herself, suddenly realizing stomachs had different parts. She'd heard you and Jack ask patients that question before. Daddy always wanted to know exactly where it hurt.
Panic fluttered in her chest for half a second.
"...Everywhere."
Your mother's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.
"Everywhere?"
Another solemn nod.
"Mhm."
She gently rested both hands on Lucy's shoulders.
"Did you throw up?"
"No."
"Do you feel like you have to?"
Lucy pretended to think about it before giving a hesitant little shrug.
"...Maybe."
"Do you have a fever?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm..."
Your mother pressed the back of her hand against Lucy's forehead before checking again with her palm, the way mothers and grandmothers always seemed to do. Her skin felt perfectly cool.
No fever.
That was reassuring. Still, children didn't always spike a temperature right away. Maybe she'd eaten something that hadn't agreed with her. Maybe a little stomach bug was just beginning.
Lucy watched every expression that crossed her grandmother's face. She could tell she wasn't entirely convinced.
She needed to make it more believable.
So she let out the tiniest little whimper she could manage. Not loud enough to sound dramatic, just enough to make it seem like the pain had returned.
Your mother's face softened immediately.
"Oh, you poor thing."
Lucy leaned instinctively into the comforting touch, a small stab of guilt twisting in her chest before she quickly pushed it aside. She wasn't trying to be naughty. She just wanted to see Mama and Daddy at work like everyone else got to.
After a long pause, she lowered her voice to an almost frightened whisper.
"I think..." She looked up through her lashes with the biggest, saddest eyes she could manage. "...I need the hospital."
Your mother smiled gently as she tucked a strand of hair behind Lucy's ear.
"Oh, honey. I don't think we're there just yet."
Lucy's heart sank.
"...But my tummy really, really hurts."
"I know it does."
"We should go."
Your mother hesitated. Normally she would've waited an hour or two, called you first, given Lucy some water, and seen whether she felt any better after breakfast before rushing to the emergency department.
But abdominal pain in children was one of those things she'd learned never to dismiss completely after watching both you and Jack work in emergency medicine for years. You had both told stories about children who seemed perfectly fine until they suddenly weren't. Appendicitis. Intussusception. Things she'd never heard of before you became a doctor and Jack became a nurse.
She didn't want to overreact.
She also didn't want to ignore something important.
Her eyes lingered on Lucy's face. The little girl looked uncomfortable enough to be believable, even if she wasn't crying. Some children tolerated pain differently.
Your mother sighed softly as she stood.
"Alright."
Lucy's eyes widened before she could stop herself.
Really?
It worked?
Excitement rushed through her so suddenly she almost smiled.
Almost.
She bit the inside of her cheek just in time, quickly lowering her head and pressing a hand dramatically back against her stomach.
"I'll get dressed," your mother said. "Then we'll have one of Mommy's friends take a quick look at you, okay?"
Lucy nodded with all the seriousness she could muster.
"...Okay."
As your mother disappeared upstairs to change, Lucy remained standing in the middle of the kitchen, hugging her stuffed rabbit tightly against her chest.
Her plan had worked.
In just a little while, she'd finally get to see where her mom and dad spent all day.
She had no idea that before the morning was over, two people who had faced mass casualty incidents, violent trauma, and countless life-or-death emergencies would see her name on the emergency department tracking board and experience a kind of fear neither of them had ever learned to prepare for.
The emergency department had been in controlled chaos since seven that morning.
Every room was occupied. Hallway beds had filled before breakfast. Monitors chimed from every direction, phones rang almost constantly, stretchers rolled past one another with practiced precision, and conversations overlapped until they became little more than background noise. Jack had barely stopped moving since clocking in. He had just finished helping stabilize an elderly patient in respiratory distress and was updating the tracking board when a new name appeared among the incoming pediatric triage patients.
His own last name.
At first his brain didn't process it.
He frowned automatically, assuming it was another family with the same surname. It wasn't uncommon.
Then his eyes shifted to the details beneath it.
Accompanied by: Lucy.
The world seemed to narrow into a single point.
His stomach dropped so violently it almost hurt.
No.
No, no, no.
His mind filled the blanks long before reason had a chance to intervene.
Car accident on the way to school.
She'd fallen from the playground.
An allergic reaction.
A seizure.
Appendicitis.
A ruptured appendix.
Internal bleeding.
She'd stopped breathing.
His chest tightened so sharply that, for one terrifying second, it felt impossible to draw in air.
He was already moving before he'd consciously made the decision.
"Jack?"
Dana looked up from her workstation as he hurried past.
"You okay?"
He didn't answer.
Couldn't.
His prosthetic clicked faster against the floor as he rounded the nurses' station, weaving through stretchers and staff with an urgency that made several people instinctively step aside. Every extra second felt unbearable. His heartbeat pounded so loudly in his ears that he barely registered the voices around him.
Across the department, you were finishing charting after discharging a patient when your own eyes drifted toward the tracking board.
Your last name.
Pediatric triage.
Lucy.
Everything inside you went cold.
"No..."
The word escaped before you realized you'd spoken aloud.
Your pen slipped from your fingers onto the counter.
You didn't bother picking it up.
Someone behind you asked a question you never heard. You abandoned your chart mid-sentence and hurried out of the trauma bay, every rational thought dissolving beneath one singular, suffocating fear.
Not my baby.
Please not my baby.
You'd both spent years watching parents run into emergency departments wearing that exact expression.
The look that silently begged someone to tell them their child was okay.
Now you understood it from the inside.
Jack reached pediatric triage first.
He rounded the corner so quickly he nearly lost his footing, instinctively compensating before his prosthetic could catch awkwardly beneath him.
Then he stopped.
Lucy sat on one of the triage beds beside your mother, happily swinging her legs back and forth as she hugged her stuffed rabbit. She looked perfectly content, completely fascinated by everything happening around her.
The moment she saw him, her entire face lit up.
"Hi, Daddy!"
Jack didn't answer immediately.
He couldn't.
His breathing still hadn't caught up with him. His pulse hammered painfully against his ribs as his eyes swept over her with clinical precision born from years in emergency medicine.
Skin color okay.
Breathing normal.
Alert.
Talking.
No blood.
No bruising.
No obvious deformities.
No signs of respiratory distress.
No altered mental status.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Relief crashed into him so suddenly his knees threatened to buckle.
He had to grip the back of a nearby chair to steady himself.
"Jack?"
Your mother stood immediately, guilt already written across her face.
"I am so, so sorry. I should’ve called."
You arrived only seconds later, breathing almost as hard as Jack.
"Lucy!"
Your daughter beamed.
"Hi, Mama!"
You dropped to your knees in front of her without hesitation, your hands automatically moving through the familiar sequence every parent in emergency medicine knew by instinct. Forehead. Neck. Arms. Wrists. Face.
"What happened?"
Your mother looked apologetic.
"She was perfectly fine this morning. She'd been playing, and then all of a sudden she started holding her stomach and said she was in terrible pain. I didn't know if I should wait or..."
"You absolutely did the right thing," you assured her automatically, even as your attention remained fixed entirely on Lucy.
"Honey?"
Lucy nodded solemnly.
"It hurt."
"Where does it hurt, bug?" Jack asked.
She pointed vaguely toward the center of her stomach.
"...Here."
"How bad?"
She held up eight fingers.
"On a scale of ten..."
"...Eight."
"When did it start?"
"This morning."
"Did you throw up?"
"No."
"Feel sick?"
She hesitated.
"...Maybe."
Jack exchanged the briefest glance with you.
Neither of you relaxed.
Because children lied about vegetables.
They didn't usually lie about pain.
And even when they weren't lying, they were notoriously bad at describing it. Jack had treated smiling children with ruptured appendixes, kids who laughed while walking on fractured ankles, toddlers quietly coloring despite severe dehydration. Looking well meant almost nothing in pediatrics.
You rested a reassuring hand against Lucy's abdomen.
"I'm just going to press a little, okay?"
She nodded.
You gently palpated one quadrant.
"Does this hurt?"
"No."
You moved to another.
"How about here?"
"No."
Lower right.
"No."
Lower left.
"No."
Jack watched every tiny flicker of her expression. Or rather, the complete lack of one. She wasn't tensing beneath your touch. She wasn't guarding her stomach or curling inward instinctively. If anything, she seemed far more interested in everything happening around her than in the examination itself.
Her eyes wandered constantly around the department, following nurses rushing past, patients being wheeled down the hallway, monitors chiming, stretchers rolling by, the ambulance doors sliding open every few minutes. She wasn't frightened by any of it. She looked fascinated.
You noticed it too.
Before either of you could ask another question, Lucy turned back toward Jack, wearing the brightest smile she'd had all morning.
"So..." She tilted her head innocently. "...Can I see where Daddy works now?"
Silence settled over the four of you.
Jack closed his eyes.
Very.
Very slowly.
Your mother frowned, looking between the three of you.
"...Lucy?"
Your daughter's grin only widened.
"It worked."
Jack opened one eye.
"...What worked?"
"My tummy."
Neither you nor Jack said a word.
"It wasn't really hurting." She paused, as though she'd only just realized you weren't reacting the way she'd expected. "I just wanted to come."
For several long seconds, nobody moved.
Jack slowly lowered himself onto the chair beside her, more because his legs suddenly felt weak than because he'd intended to sit.
Because his prosthetic leg suddenly felt unsteady beneath him.
He rubbed both hands over his face, forcing out a long, shaky breath before looking back at his daughter.
"You..." His voice was rougher than he intended. "...You faked it?"
Lucy nodded proudly, completely oblivious to the emotional hurricane she'd just unleashed.
"That was the only way Grandma would bring me."
Your mother's mouth fell open.
"Oh my goodness..."
Lucy looked between the two of you with complete sincerity.
"I wanted to see where you work."
Jack let out another slow breath that sounded dangerously close to becoming a laugh. Not because anything about this was funny, but because relief had nowhere else to go.
"You scared ten years off my life."
Her smile faltered.
"...I did?"
Jack swallowed, the image of her name on the tracking board still burned into his mind.
"When I saw your name pop up..." His voice caught unexpectedly, forcing him to pause. He looked away for a moment before gathering himself enough to continue. "I thought something terrible had happened."
You nodded quietly beside him.
"I thought my little girl was hurt."
Lucy's face crumpled almost instantly. The excitement disappeared, replaced by confusion and guilt.
"I..." Her shoulders curled inward. "...I didn't know."
Of course she hadn't.
She was six years old. In her mind, she'd come up with the smartest plan imaginable. Pretend to have a stomachache. Go to the hospital. Surprise Mommy and Daddy. She'd never stopped to think about what it would feel like for two emergency clinicians to suddenly see their own child's name appear on the tracking board.
She looked down at her sneakers, twisting one toe against the floor.
"I'm sorry."
Jack watched her quietly for a long moment. Every ounce of frustration he'd felt dissolved beneath the sight of her trying so hard not to cry. Without another word, he opened his arms.
Lucy climbed into them immediately.
He wrapped her tightly against his chest, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek against her hair.
"I'm not mad."
She looked up uncertainly.
"...You're not?"
He shook his head.
"I'm relieved."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"So unbelievably relieved."
He held her for another moment before leaning back just enough to meet her eyes.
"But you cannot ever pretend to be sick like this again."
She nodded immediately.
"Okay."
"I need a real promise."
"I promise."
You moved closer until your shoulder rested against Jack's, wrapping an arm around both of them. Almost instinctively, Lucy reached for your hand with her free one.
"I'm sorry, Mama."
You squeezed her little fingers.
"I know."
"I just wanted everyone at school to know my mommy and daddy have cool jobs."
Your heart ached.
"We know, sweetheart."
"They all got to go."
You met Jack's eyes for a brief second. Sometimes the hardest part of parenting wasn't saying no. It was understanding exactly why your child wanted something so badly and still knowing the answer couldn't change.
Jack kissed the top of Lucy's head.
Jack was quiet for a moment before a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"Since you're already here..." He glanced at you, silently asking the question before either of you spoke.
You smiled back.
"I think our patient has been thoroughly examined."
Jack nodded solemnly.
"I agree."
He looked back at Lucy.
"So I'm officially discharging you."
Her eyes widened.
"You are?"
"Mhm." He reached over and gently tapped the tip of her nose. "No tummy ache. Cleared to go home with Grandma."
She giggled.
"But..." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Before you go home, I think we can spare five minutes."
Lucy's mouth fell open.
"Really?"
"We can show you the nurses' station." He pointed toward the center of the department. "My locker. Maybe the ambulance bay if there isn't anything coming in."
"And the cafeteria," you added with a smile.
Jack nodded.
"But that's it."
"No treatment rooms."
"No sick patients," you said gently.
"And you stay with one of us the entire time."
Lucy threw her arms around his neck so quickly he almost laughed.
"I promise!"
"I know you do." He hugged her back before pulling away just enough to look at her seriously. "But that doesn't change one thing."
"What?"
"If you ever feel left out again, you tell Mommy or me."
She nodded.
"You don't have to scare us to spend time with us."
The smile slipped from her face.
"...Okay."
"I mean it, bug."
"I know."
She leaned forward to hug him again, then reached for you too, nearly pulling the three of you together on the waiting room chair.
Jack caught your eye over the top of Lucy's head.
"I think she inherited our problem-solving skills."
You laughed.
"No."
"Our stubbornness."
Lucy looked up immediately.
"I heard that."
"Oh, we know," Jack said with a grin. "Trust me, we know exactly who you got it from."
"I did not fake being stubborn."
"You absolutely did."
That earned another burst of laughter, loud enough that even your mother laughed through the tears she'd been quietly wiping away.
As Lucy happily slid off Jack's lap, already asking a hundred questions about ambulances and whether nurses really kept candy in the break room, the knot in his chest finally began to loosen. The fear hadn't disappeared entirely. He wasn't sure it ever would. Seeing her name on that tracking board had unlocked a terror he hoped never to feel again.
But as he watched her bounce happily between you, clutching one of your hands and one of his as though the last twenty minutes had never happened, he found himself smiling despite everything.
He would take fake stomachaches, dramatic plans, and six-year-old schemes over seeing his daughter in one of those treatment rooms for real every single day.
A/N: This idea had been circling my brain for some time now so I’ve just been working on it in the background, might be a little self indulgent hehe. Also not me lowkey doxxing myself and my sister in this fic but good luck figuring out who lives where !! (Just kidding please don’t doxx me) Thank you to @vigilantexreader for editing this beast! 19.2k!!
Summary: While Adrian is away on a mission a letter from his dad arrives, inviting him, his wife, and their five year old daughter to come visit for the first time for Fourth of July.
Masterlist
___
“Thank you!” She said, waving to the bus driver, holding Claire’s hand as the little girl bounced up and down, smiling widely at all her friends as the bus pulled away. “How was school today, baby?” She asked, her six year old looked up at her, her grin missing a few teeth and green eyes that sparkled just like her dad’s as she squeezed her mom’s hand.
“It was great! We worked today on letters some more and at recess I found not one but two rollie pollies!” Claire announced and she laughed, she was truly her father’s daughter.
“I’m not going to find any bugs in your bag, am I Claire Bear?” She asked, using Adrian’s nickname for their daughter which made the little girl smile as she pulled her towards the mailbox, clearly remembering the drill. Mail, snack, homework, and then if Adrian was free they’d give him a call.
Claire and Adrian were the spitting image of each other, so much so that when she had Claire she could’ve sworn she was about to spit out some incorrect animal facts instead of crying. Adrian adored her from the start, she wasn’t sure she would ever see Adrian love anything more than he loved and cared for her, but he took to being a dad like a fish to water. He was obsessed with her, knew what she needed before she could even blink and was always there for her. Despite all his worries and fears, Adrian was an amazing father.
It was hard on all three of them when Adrian was away on missions, but she would never ask Adrian to sacrifice being Vigilante for them, not when he was always so well aware of how his absence was around that house.
“No! I know the rules! Plus daddy said if I follow the rules that we could get a lizard!” Claire said, jumping up and down as she opened the mailbox, pulling out the mail and handing it to her mom as she did every day. Once she had the mail in her hands, Claire took off towards the front door and she smiled following behind her.
“Yeah, we’ll see about the lizard, daddy might’ve said it’s okay but daddy didn’t talk to mommy about that,” she grumbled as she closed the door, Claire already running for the kitchen as she flipped through the mail.
“Uncle Chris has an eagle though!” She complained.
“What does Uncle Chris having an eagle have anything to do with you getting a lizard?” She asked, sighing at the familiar beat of Adrian’s arguments, never really seeing the connections between two clear points.
“Well, daddy says I’m cooler than Uncle Chris so I need a cooler pet!” She said it like it was the most obvious thing on the planet. She chuckled at her daughter's logic that very much matched her fathers.
“Alright, well we’ll see.” She said, handing Claire a pack of muffins before she started going through the mail.
She wasn’t surprised to see the usual junk mail and bills, but one letter that was clearly handwritten caught her eye.
It was addressed to Adrian with a return address, but no name and forwarded from his mom’s house. It had been years since they had gotten anything forwarded from there let alone something looking as intentional as a handwritten letter. She’s not even sure the last time they got a letter like that period.
She spared Claire a look as she watched her hum as she ate her snack, doing a little dance as she enjoyed her sweet treat. Even though it was a little early she stepped out of the room and dialed Adrian’s number.
“Hey, baby! You’re early, is everything okay? Did Claire get off the bus okay?” Adrian answered immediately and she smiled at his instant worry for them. She sat on the edge of the couch, perching where she could still see Claire, but be far away enough that the young girl wouldn’t notice.
“Yeah, we’re both okay. Strange question for you though, are you expecting a letter?” She asked, looking at the letter in her hands.
“I never know what’s coming in our mailbox, you know that,” he answered and she chuckled.
“Okay good point, but there’s a letter here for you and it looks to be handwritten,” she said.
“A letter to me? Like handwritten?” He asked, sounding surprised on the phone.
“Yeah, it’s forwarded from your mom’s. There’s a return address but no name,” she said, turning the envelope over again, but there was really no clue to who it could be from.
“Who the fuck is sending me a letter?” He asked and she laughed.
“No offense baby but that’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she said and Adrian huffed out a laugh. “Can I open it or do you want to wait till you get back?”
“It’s funny you think I can wait that long and that I won’t be thinking of the envelope the entire time till I get back if you don’t open it right now,” he said dead serious and she laughed.
“Alright, alright,” she said, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she teared open the letter and pulled out a single handwritten page. “huh,” she said as she looked at the name, her stomach instantly turning.
“What? What is it?”
“It’s a letter from your dad,” she said, skimming the page, “he’s inviting us to his house for the fourth of July.”
“Who?” He asked, voice was tight and she could tell that he was starting to pace, her heart cracked a little picturing the sight of him panicking alone in a shitty room, far away from her.
“Your dad,” she repeated as gently as possible but even over the phone she could tell how even the concept of the letter was affecting him.
“Can you read it all to me?” He asked, sounding suddenly small over the phone and she closed her eyes, wishing either of them had had the patience to wait to do this till Adrian was home where she could comfort him.
“‘Dear Adrian, I hope you’re doing well. I heard from your mom that you got married and you’ve had your first child! I want to wish you congratulations, that’s such a huge milestone and you should be really proud. I know it’s been a while, but I wanted to invite you and your family to come down to visit me in San Francisco for the fourth of July. We clearly have so much to catch up on! I’ve attached my number so we can figure out timing and plans! I hope to hear from you soon. Your dad, Charles Chase.’” She read in a soft voice, her eyes on Claire once she was done reading, the small girl had finished her snack and had already moved onto pulling out her homework. She listened to Adrian breathing on the other end, waiting for him to say anything. “Baby, you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” he said softly.
“You don’t have to decide what we do right now, we can talk about it-”
“We don’t need to talk about we’re not going,” he said immediately and she could feel the tension over the phone.
“Adrian-”
“No, why the fuck would we go? Why the fuck would we subject Claire to that? I haven’t heard from him in almost 15 years and you want us to do what? Go to his house and act like nothing has happened? No, we’re not going,” Adrian said and she frowned as he clicked the phone, hanging up on her. She sighed, fidgeting with the phone and the letter as she thought of Adrian, either alone in his room or immediately putting on his Vigilante suit to stop some low level criminals, anything to just feel like this wasn’t happening to him.
God, she should’ve waited the moment she realized what the letter was and who it was from. Getting Adrian to talk about his upbringing at all was like pulling teeth, most of what she had learned was from his mom and even then she wasn’t sure what was really true. It was clear to her that his mom seemed to remember everything with rose colored glasses, especially considering how Gut behaved the one time she had met him.
Her phone started buzzing in her hand and she was met with her favorite picture of Adrian with Claire when she was a toddler. She immediately answered.
“Adrian-”
“I love you,” he interrupted. “I’m sorry for hanging up on you, but I’m upset and I hate this,” he breathed out and she smiled.
“I love you too, baby. I’m sorry for upsetting you.” She said as she stood up and walked back to the kitchen, Clarie immediately honed in on the fact that she was holding the phone. Claire dropped her color pencil and started jumping up and down reaching for her phone.
“It’s not your fault he wrote a letter,” he said, “I just fuck, that’s a lot to unpack.”
“Do you want to feel better about it?” She asked, brushing Claire’s dark curls back, ones that matched her father’s, as she looked down at her.
“I really don’t think there’s anything you can say-” he started and she smiled as she put the phone on speaker, crouching down to Claire’s level.
“Daddy!” Claire yelled into the phone and Adrian’s voice stopped dead in its tracks.
“Hi, Claire Polar Bear! Are you being good for your mom?” Adrian asked, his voice immediately changed, no hint of him being upset remained.
“I am not a polar bear!” Claire immediately said, giving a hard almost fake sounding laugh just like Adrian’s.
“I wouldn’t know, last time I saw you I could’ve sworn you were a polar bear!”
“Daddy!”
“I’m sorry, princess. How was school today?” He asked and she helped Claire back into her chair, placing her phone on the counter so Claire could keep talking while she started moving around.
“It was good, mommy said I could get a lizard,” she whispered into the phone, leaning over the counter.
“Claire Anne Chase, you do not lie especially to your father,” she immediately said and Claire shyly looked away from her mom.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and she gave her a small smile.
“Yeah, baby you know better. Plus, I hate to break it to you, but daddy knows mommy like the back of his hand so he knew that was a lie,” he admitted and she immediately wanted to comment on the fact that she knew Adrian and she knew even though he was putting on a brave face in this moment he was still struggling internally.
And she had no idea how to make it okay.
“Daddy, when are you coming home?” Claire said, snapping her out of her own spiral as Adrian chuckled.
“I’ll get home tomorrow while you’re at school, okay? I will be home and ready to play when you’re back from school,” he said and Claire frowned, bouncing slightly.
“Will you pick me up from the bus stop?” Claire asked and she chuckled.
“What, you don’t want mommy to pick you up anymore?” She joked and Claire smiled slightly.
“No! I want both mommy AND daddy to pick me up!” Claire said like to was the most obvious thing on the planet.
“Of course, baby. We’ll both be there tomorrow.” Adrian said softly on the phone and she smiled. Moving to get to work on dinner while Claire and Adrian both chattered away, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the letter.
She knew Adrian was not going to address it, in fact the moment he found the letter in the house he was going to get rid of it in some way. He was going to refuse to talk to her about whether it was the right thing or not. It had taken years to truly get Adrian to unpack how rough his childhood was. Between his mom losing it, Gut tormenting him, and his dad just leaving; Adrian’s happy memories were few and far between. He always played it off like it didn’t bother him but she noticed the way little comments would get to him and how he was eager to distance his new family away from his old family, keeping them in a protective bubble.
She was sure that had a lot to do with why Adrian cared so much about Claire’s childhood from day one. Taking lots of pictures, being there for every moment, and as the years went on being at her beck and call. Convincing Adrian to start taking in field missions again after essentially being on two years of training and desk duty just out of fear of being too far away from them took months of talking and begging him to see that both of you would be okay. That he didn’t have to kill himself worrying about them all the time - that he can have his life as Vigilante and them too.
Even then, it took time to get him back into the routine.
However the moment she heard Adrian’s key turn in their front door a few hours before Claire should be home she could feel the tension. She was slow to move towards the front of the house, meeting a very disheveled Adrian at the front door as he dropped his heavy duffle bag.
“Oh baby,” she murmured as she walked towards him, taking him in her arms as he grabbed her tightly. He shoved his head in the crook of her neck, breathing her in with a shaky breath. “That bad?” She asked as he nodded against her.
She stayed silent and steady as he held onto her for dear life and she couldn’t tell if his reaction was because of the mission or because his thoughts were still scrambled from the letter from his dad.
“Are you hurt?” She asked as gently as possible and he sighed, finally prying himself just far away enough from her that she could see his eyes.
“I’m not hurt,” he said, voice scratchy and she kissed his cheek, content in the knowledge that at this point Adrian knew to always tell her if he got hurt. No more bleeding out alone in his car while he napped, hoping his body would mend.
“We’ve got about two hours before Claire gets home, you want to take a shower and I’ll make you something to eat?” She said, holding his face between her hands as he gave her a lazy smile.
“Shower with me?” He asked and she gave him a light glare before nodding.
“Go put your bag away and I’ll get the shower ready,” she said, giving his cheek a pat before heading towards the bathroom. She immediately turned the shower to probably way too hot and undressed.
“My favorite view,” he teased in a sleepy voice as he dragged himself into the bathroom, she smiled looking over her shoulder at him as she moved over to help him take off his clothes. Her fingers traced over old scars and a few new bruises that would probably be gone by time they were out of the shower.
“I thought you weren’t hurt?” She demanded, hand ghosting over the bruise as Adrian tensed, not from pain but from being caught.
“It’s old?” He tried and she looked at him and he immediately crumbled. “It’ll be healed before Claire gets home, it’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me, Ade. Anytime you’re hurt is a big deal, even if it’s a paper cut, okay? I want-” she doesn’t get to finish because Adrian’s hand came to her chin and lifted her gaze up to his eyes. He had the smallest smile on his face before he leaned in for a soft and gentle kiss.
“I love you,” he murmured against her mouth as she clicked her tongue.
“Don’t think that gets you off the hook, mister,” she said, pulling away to check the temperature of the shower, Adrian holding her other hand as she gave him a small tug as she stepped into the warm water.
When they picked this house Adrian had made sure that almost every room had the space to allow them to do typically separate tasks together. They had dual sinks to brush their teeth together, their kitchen was big enough that they could easily cook together (her cooking, Adrian sitting on the counter claiming to help), and that their shower could easily fit them both under the large spray of water. Even in her office, Adrian had his own chair, one that recently got a smaller matching one for Claire.
She moved slowly as she started washing his hair, careful to untangle any knots. Adrian hummed as she scrubbed, but other than that he wasn’t his normal chatterbox self. Normally by now she would’ve heard all about the mission, all the animals he’d saw, and-
“I missed you so much,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her, tighter than normal and forcing her to stop her washing. A deep frown on her features as she wrapped her arms around him, careful to not get any conditioner on her as she kissed his neck.
“I missed you too, baby,” she whispered. “Let me finish and then we can rest before Claire gets home.”
“Can we order dinner tonight?” He asked, pulling back just enough so she could continue to work but his hands stayed put on his waist, rubbing circles with his thumbs. She finished washing his hair and pulled apart just enough to get to work on cleaning his body. She knew he could do this himself and normally he’d put up a fight on the fact she was taking care of him and he wasn’t doing anything, but he was so off he just went through the motions as she worked.
“What are you in the mood for?” She asked, as she scrubbed him down.
“Anything you and Claire want,” he said immediately and she smiled.
“You know exactly what she’s going to ask for, so are you sure you want to do that?” She teased gently and Adrian let out a small chuckle.
“Her obsession with Italian food should be studied.”
“Makes sense, when we first got together we were eating Fennel Fields like every other night,” she said as she moved to turn off the water. “Plus before I came around you pretty much only liked butter noodles,” she teased.
“Okay, that’s not true. Just because that was my favorite doesn’t mean it was all I liked,” he said frowning and she smiled as she pulled on her robe and grabbed his to help him put on. “Plus now I much prefer chicken alfredo and mozzarella sticks.”
“Yeah your palate has really matured,” she muttered with a smile. “Do you want me to put curl cream in your hair and diffuse it?” She asked and Adrian shook his head no.
“Let’s go nap,” he said and she led them back to the bed, where Adrian immediately collapsed face down. She laughed and joined him, curling into his side with one hand and leg thrown over him and her face pressed against his shoulder. Almost like his own personal weighted blanket. She felt Adrian sigh underneath her as she played with his damp hair.
“Was the mission that rough?” she asked gently and Adrian took a minute, the air around them wasn’t necessarily tense but she wouldn’t call it comfortable either. She continued playing with his hair, her concern rising the longer it took her normally blabbermouth husband to talk.
“No, it was fine,” he finally answered.
“Are you okay?” she tried, playfully tugging his hair so he would turn his head just enough to make him look at her. He’s got a look on his face that she has a hard time reading, like he wasn’t fully sure if he wanted to talk. “Adrian,” she pressed.
“Did you get rid of the letter?”
“No,” she said gently. “I put it up, but you don’t have to look at it if you don’t want to.”
“Can you go grab it?” he asked and she nodded and slowly moved out of the room. Pulling the letter out of the junk drawer, knowing Adrian rarely actually looks in that drawer rather he just throws random stuff in it for her to find later. As she walked back in the room, the letter held in both her hands Adrian had sat up, still in his robe.
“Here,” she said, handing it to him. To offer him some privacy she moved around their room as slowly as possible getting dressed in some comfy clothes, keeping her back towards him. When she finally turned around to look at him he’s still holding the unopened letter in his hands.
“Did you tell Claire about the letter?” He asked softly, catching her eyes as she walked back over towards him. She climbed back on the bed, moving behind him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him.
“No, baby, just you,” she said as he nodded. Those words seemed to snap him out of it as he pulled away getting out of bed, shoving the letter in his nightstand as he started getting ready to get Claire off the bus. “Ade, we’ve got a couple hours so you can relax, you don’t have to get ready just because I did.”
“I think I’m going to go on a run,” he mumbled as he pulled on his underwear and moved for his work out clothes and she was quick to get up and stop him from getting any further.
“Hey,” she said gently, her hands cupping his face. “I’ve missed you, please don’t come home and just shut down on me.”
“I’m not trying to,” he murmured, leaning towards her, almost a subconscious movement.
“We don’t have to talk about the letter now, let’s just get you rested and ready for the tornado that is our daughter, okay?” she asked and Adrian cracked a smile at the mention of Claire.
“Okay,” he relented. The next few hours went by slowly as she finished helping Adrian get ready to at least pretend to be normal. Together they unpack his bag, she moves to start his laundry as she he makes his way to their basement to put his gear away.
Her mind kept drifting back to the letter, shoved in his nightstand. She would tell it was weighing on him and Adrian never did great with addressing things that bother him. He’d much prefer to cut whatever was bothering him out and ignore it. It had been a slow progress to get Adrian to address issues head on instead of hiding them and he had made great progress once he finally had a listening ear, but when it came to his family and childhood he would just shut down.
She had dragged some information out of Chris early on, mainly about Gut and just how awful he was towards Adrian when they were both in high school and the first time she saw a picture of younger Adrian she had to fight back tears thinking about the hell his own brother put him through and the fact he had no one to defend him.
She had her arms wrapped around his middle, chin resting on his shoulder as they both stood at the end of the driveway waiting for Claire’s school bus. Adrian's arms holding hers against him, she loosened her grip the moment she spotted the yellow bus heading towards their house.
“Daddy!” Claire shouted from the moment the bus stopped. She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh as she listened to Claire practically scream as she ran off the bus. Adrian was already on one knee as Claire threw herself at him, he lifted her up and spun her around, his laugh loud and carefree.
“I missed you baby girl!” He said as she waved to the bus driver as they pulled away. One of her hands came to rest on Adrian’s shoulder as she kissed Claire's cheek.
“We have so much to do!” Claire immediately said squirming out of Adrian’s grip, Adrian put her down and the little girl grabbed his hand and started pulling him up the driveway. “I checked out a new reptile book for us and we still have to finish our clay animals! Mommy said they’ll be dry now that you’re back!”
She smiled as she followed the two up the driveway while Claire blabbered about everything Adrian had missed while he was away. She gave them their space and let Adrian enjoy some decompressing time with Claire. She handled dinner, not even bothering to interrupt them as she knew their orders like the back of her hand.
“You do dishes, I’m going to get her ready for bed,” she said softly, kissing Adrian’s cheek as he hummed in agreement.
“Don’t start a book without me!” He called after her and she laughed, shaking her head but at least happy that Adrian was seeming to be coming around somewhat normally.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Chase!” She said back as she ushered Claire into her room and started going through her nighttime routine, pajamas, brushing her teeth, and resetting her room. One that Claire was moving slower than normal through, especially considering she knew Adrian would be coming to read to her and according to Claire ‘Daddy does the story voices way better than Mommy.’
“Daddy is being weird,” Claire whispered, her little hang tugging at her shirt to bring her closer. She gave her daughter a small smile as she cupped her little cheeks.
“He’s had a weird day,” she said softly. Claire frowned, worry etched on her little features, an expression she had seen a thousand times from Adrian. Sometimes her heart ached with how much Claire was such a mini Adrian, imagining him when he was small and alone.
“But he’ll be okay?” She asked and she felt her heart clench. She was glad Adrian wasn’t in earshot of this conversation because it would shatter his heart to hear how worried Claire was for him.
“Yeah, baby, he’ll be okay,” she said, pulling her daughter in for a much needed hug. “He has us.”
“I vote for the Grumpy Lady Bug tonight! What do you think, Claire Brown Bear?” Adrian said, clapping his hands as he walked into the room, a smile plastered on his face.
She let Adrian handle putting Claire down as she wrapped up the household chores and shutting the house down for the night. Normally, Adrian would come out and at the very least sit on the counter and yap while she worked, but tonight all she heard was him wrap up with Claire and head to their bedroom.
When she finally joined him, he was sitting up in bed in his pajamas but his nightstand light was still on and his eyes were on the ceiling. She moved around the room, getting herself ready for bed before climbing into his arms in the bed. He was quick to wrap her up and press a kiss to her forehead.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she said gently, sighing and pushing herself closer to him. Adrian squeezed her.
“Me too,” he murmured. She let the silence take over the room as she listened closely to Adrian’s heart beat.
“Did you read the letter?” she finally asked after Adrian made no movement to turn off his light.
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh.
“And what are you thinking?” she asked, looking up at him as he pulled off his glasses and sat them on his nightstand, his hand coming back to play with her hair. Her gaze returned to the wall in an attempt to give him some space.
“Same thing I said on the phone,” he muttered and she frowned.
“We could go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium," she whispered against his chest as he tensed underneath her. “We could go see Alcatraz, I’m pretty sure San Francisco has a killer science museum too.”
Adrian hummed, but didn’t say anything. She moved her head so her chin was resting on his chest, her eyes locked on his face as he looked at the ceiling. She could feel his heart racing underneath her.
“It’s one week, one chance, Ade.” She insisted.
“He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Okay, maybe that’s true, but don’t you think Claire deserves it?” She pressed and she could see Adrian’s argument weaken on his face.
“He’s just some guy! She has no idea that she even has a grandfather!” He complained and despite herself she laughed.
“You think that she just thinks you came out of nowhere with no parents?” She said with a chuckle. “Baby, I know she’s five but she is starting to understand the world around her and she knows we both have parents. I know she’s not asking questions now, but trust me one day she will.”
“She can ask questions, that’s different from meeting him,” he retorted, sitting up and the moment she sat up too he scooted away from her, a pained look on his expression.
“Adrian, I’m not trying to upset you. I’m just making sure you fully understand what you’re saying.”
“I do understand! It’s him that doesn’t understand; he left! He doesn’t just get to come back into my life now because he wants to!”
“Okay,” she said gently, watching as his chest was rising and falling fast, clearly on the verge of a breakdown. She moved closer to him, as if he was a spooked animal. Her hand came to rest on his cheek, moving his face to look at her. His green eyes were wild and filled with unshed tears. “Baby, it’s okay. I understand. I just want you to understand what you’re saying no to, okay?”
“I do understand and I just can’t-”
“Is Daddy okay?” Both their heads whipped around to see Claire standing in the doorway, her teal baby blanket clutched tightly in one hand as her eyes were on Adrian. Her eyes filled with tears to match Adrian’s.
“Oh baby,” she said gently and the little girl quickly ran over to them, pulling herself onto the bed and wrapping her arms around him. Adrian closed his eyes and held her tight as the young girl started sobbing.
“We don’t have to go to ‘Francisco! Don’t cry, daddy!” she said and Adrian tensed and looked at her.
“You told her?” he accused, eyes wide on her.
“No!”
“I heard you guys talking, but we don’t have to go on a trip! I love Evergreen, we don’t ever have to leave!”
“It’s a little more complicated than that, baby,” she said gently scooting closer to them both, hand resting on Claire’s back as she let out a cry.
“I don’t understand!” Claire cried, pulling at Adrian’s shirt. She gave Adrian an apologetic look.
Before pulling back Adrian, wiped away his own tears so Claire wouldn’t see. Something she hadn’t seen Adrian do in a long time, always feeling comfortable with her and Claire. He had even remarked on multiple occasions on how important it was for Claire to see people cry and be vulnerable.
“Daddy’s dad wants to meet you and mommy, but me and my dad don’t get along like you and me do. I haven’t seen him in a very long time,” Adrian said gently, eyes locked on Claire. “Mommy thinks we should give him a chance, but I’m not sure because it's been a really long time. What do you think?” He asked Claire who genuinely seemed to ponder the question.
“And he’s in ‘Francisco?"
“San Francisco, baby. It’s a city in California,” she added gently and Claire looked at her. Her little eyes searched her face for an answer she didn’t have.
“If we go, will you be sad? I don’t want to go if you’ll be sad,” Claire said and her heart clenched, for such a young girl to have such high empathy and worry for her father, it was both sweet and devastating. Adrian shrugged, his hands fidgeting slightly.
“Maybe a little, but over anything I want to make sure you’re happy and if you want to meet him then we can do that,” Adrian said and she gave him a soft smile, knowing just how much he was sacrificing.
“Are there cool animals in San Francisco?” Claire asked and Adrian let out an unexpected laugh.
“Yeah, baby. Mommy was just telling me there’s an aquarium we could go to,” he said gently, his eyes went to hers and he nodded at her.
“I think we can try San Francisco and if we hate it we never have to go back,” Claire said with a shrug and Adrian smiled at her.
“Alright, then mommy and daddy will figure out the details, but let’s get you back to bed!” Adrian said, grabbing Claire and making her laugh as he spun her around. He was quick to move her so he was holding her upside down as her laugh filled their home.
“Oh yes, get her riled up before putting her to bed, that’s smart,” she said dryly but couldn’t help the smile on her face as she caught Adrian’s green eyes. He gave her a small smile and a nod, a moment just for them to realize that even if he wasn’t sure he’d go through it if it was something his family wanted for him.
The next few months passed slowly, she could tell it was always on the back of his mind as she handled all the communication with his dad and booking their flights. His dad was ecstatic to hear from her, even more excited when she sent over a family photo of them to help with airport pick up, immediately commenting on how much Claire looked like Adrian when he was her age. She tried to talk to Adrian about what his dad was saying and the plan but every time he would get a sick look on his face and get fidgety, so she decided not to push it. Even Claire seemed to be aware of how weird Adrian was being and kept her excitement about the trip to a minimum.
But even that fact seemed to be weighing heavy on Adrian, the idea that his family felt like they had to walk around eggshells around him was causing a growing ache in his bones.
“Is this a good idea?” he murmured the night before they were supposed to leave, head resting on her chest while her hand played with his hair, as she used her other hand to check in for their flights.
“The flights are non refundable, Ade.” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “It’s one week and I’ve already got us tickets for stuff for just the three of us to do. I’m sure your dad will understand you need space.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll tell him? Adrian, I know this is stressful and it might not feel like it but at the end of the day you’re still an adult and at any point the three of us could go take a walk or go to dinner. Hell, you could even go by yourself if you needed some time.”
After that Adrian didn’t say anything more about it, opting instead to press sweet kisses to her neck before she put her phone down, laughing as he pulled himself on top of her smile plastered on his face.
“I love you, you know that right?” He murmured against her ear as he pressed a kiss to the side of her face.
“I don’t think you’d ever let me forget you,” she said, hands running through his curls. “My lover boy,” she purred. Adrian smiled before pressing a firm but open mouth kiss on her lips.
“Is the door locked?” he asked, looking at her with a slight twinkle in his eyes and she laughed.
“Bold of you to assume this is going the way you want it to go, but yes our room door is locked,” she teased, having zero intention of telling Adrian no. She let out a sharp laugh as he blew a raspberry on her neck. “You better get to work, because Claire is still going to wake up at six even without school.”
“I’ll wake up with her,” he murmured, licking up her neck before going to pull off her sleep shirt.
“Yeah and that’ll last five minutes before you both end up missing me so much that you feel like you have to wake me up,” she said, a small gasp escaping her as Adrian got to work.
“Come on, you know last time it was at least twenty minutes,” he teased and she giggled. “Besides, it’ll be our last chance till we get back.”
“Then you better make it last, Chase.”
Adrian’s good mood lasted through the morning, but once it was time to head to the airport and Chris had come and got the three of them to drop them off he was back to being shut down. Chris couldn’t even get much out of him, outside of a small promise that Chris would score some more appliances for the two before he got back from California Adrian’s expression was unchanging. Despite her concern she let Adrian just…feel what he needed to feel and simply just held his hand, giving him a comforting squeeze as they navigated their way through their first out of state vacation as a family.
The airport was surprisingly a breeze and Claire did a great job making sure she either had her hand or Adrian’s. Her plane backpack filled with a few of her favorite books and some art supplies, however she spent most of the time looking around the airport and all the different people. Only crinkling her nose when she had to take her shoes off for security, matching Adrian’s expression.
Once they were on the plane Adrian had taken the aisle seat, Claire in the middle, and her in the window seat.
“Ade, we gotta talk about something before we get there,” she said looking over Claire, who had her headphones in watching Bluey, to Adrian in the aisle seat. He looked over, looking exhausted, despite the fact that it was only eight in the evening.
“What?”
“How are we going to introduce him to Claire?” She asked softly and Adrian tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“Like he’s your dad she knows that, but is she going to call him by his name, Poppop, gramps, something else?” She asked and Adrian furrowed his brow.
“We’re mommy and daddy, why would he be anything other than grandpa? She calls my mom grandma,” he said, shuffling in his seat and she nodded.
“Okay, that works, I just…wanted you to be prepared.”
“I don’t think I could be prepared even if I wanted to,” Adrian muttered, clicking on the seat TV and groaning when he realized they only had 45 minutes left of the flight. “Is it too late to go home?”
“Ade…”
“I know! I know!” He grumbled and she reached over Claire and awkwardly grabbed his hand. He immediately squeezed it back. “I’m glad you guys are at least with me for this.”
“Adrian, of course. We both love you, I love you. I’m always happy to be there for you,” she said, emphasizing her words hoping that Adrian really heard her and understood what she was saying. He smiled before leaning back in his seat.
The rest of the flight passed in silence, Claire falling asleep during the last twenty minutes and Adrian opted for carrying Claire off the plane instead of waking up, only pouting slightly when she grabbed their bags since his arms were full. It became clear his ulterior motives of carrying her once they finally bumped into his dad.
If his arms were full, his dad couldn’t hug him.
She wanted to roll her eyes at the action, but she knew him being here was enough of a struggle.
“Mr. Chase! It’s so nice to meet you in person!” she said, offering the man the hug that he was clearly expecting to get from Adrian. He was shorter than she was expecting considering how tall Adrian and Gut were, his eyes were also a sharp blue, nothing like the dark green of Adrians. In fact the only thing that looked remotely similar between the two men were the gray curls on top of his head.
“Call me Charles! It’s so nice to meet you too and oh my goodness is this Claire!” he asked, pulling back and looking at Adrian who shifted uncomfortably, but at least moved so he could see her sleeping face, her carseat clenched tightly in his freehand. “Adrian, she looks just like you were at that age!”
“It’s past her bedtime, so we probably should go back to the house and get her down,” Adrian said looking at her and she nodded.
“It was her first time traveling and I think all the new people really wore her out,” she said, smiling at the older man who nodded, clearly fighting the defeat on his face from Adrian’s lack of a reaction towards him.
“Of course, of course. Here let me take one of those bags! The car is just in the garage, probably a five minute walk!” he said and she nodded letting him take her bag as she readjusted Claire’s backpack on her back and pulled Adrian’s suitcase as they followed his dad. She was closer to him than Adrian who seemed perfectly content staying a few paces behind them.
“We haven’t gotten to use these since our honeymoon,” she said, making conversation with Charles since Adrian wasn’t going to step up.
“Oh! Well, I’m excited you guys decided to come out then. Where did you guys honeymoon?” He asked and she couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled out.
“We went to Indianapolis actually,” she said, turning to look at Adrian briefly, remembering the two weeks they spent in the midwest. All their friends had teased them about their location choice, but she would go anywhere with Adrian and when he had brought up the random city with his research she couldn’t say no. “They have this really famous steakhouse that had been on our list for a while and they’ve got some really cool museums, a zoo, and a lot of bookstores.”
“We actually stayed at a hotel that used to be a Coca Cola bottling plant!” Adrian said, piping in for the first time with a smile. “It was also right next to a Duckpin bowling place with like thirty different pinball machines!”
“Wow, I mean that sounds like…fun,” he said, not sounding convinced and out of the corner of her eye she saw Adrian deflate slightly.
“It really was,” she said confidently. “I wouldn’t have picked anywhere else. How many people get to say they pet a shark on their honeymoon?”
The rest of the walk to the car was quiet, but at least not as awkward as she thought it would be. Adrian was quick to get Claire’s carseat situated and the girl in her seat, closing the door slowly but firmly so as to not wake her.
“It’s about an hour car ride,” Charles said as she got into the front seat, already knowing Adrian would want to be in the back with Claire. “Do you guys have any music preference or we can just chat on the ride?”
“We probably shouldn’t talk so Claire can sleep,” Adrian said immediately, his hand snaking between the passenger door and her shoulder to rest on her arm. She patted his hand and gave Charles a look, trying to convey an apology for Adrian, but the man just sighed and didn’t even bother looking over at her before he started driving.
Adrian kept his hand on her, even if it was an awkward angle. She could tell he needed to be grounded, but there was not much she could do in the car. The hour passed slow and steady, she kept her phone out just in case Adrian wanted to send her a text. He didn’t but at least once they got to the house Adrian let her carry Claire as he carried their luggage.
“I’ve got you guys set up in the guest room and if you’d like the couch pulls out so Claire could sleep there that way you guys can have some privacy!” Charles offered as he opened the door to a beautiful decorated room, filled with an almost retro vibe and a huge window that overlooked not only the neighborhood but she could see the ocean in the distance since they were high up on a hill. She couldn’t help the smile on her face, she loved Evergreen, but San Francisco was starting to steal her heart.
“No, she’ll stay in here with us,” Adrian said immediately, putting their luggage on the bed as Claire rubbed her face on her shoulder, still passed out from the long day. She watched Adrain as he kept his back towards his dad as he started unpacking, clearly done with the conversation.
“We’ll talk about it, but for tonight we’ll keep her in here just so she doesn’t wake up and get scared,” she said gently and Chalres nodded.
“Let me go get some extra blankets then so you can make a pallet for her,” he said before leaving the room and Adrian physically sagged. She walked over and leaned against him, exhausted from the travel, Adrian placed one hand on her back and the other starting running through Claire’s hair.
“You okay?” she asked gently and Adrian pressed a kiss to her head.
“Always better with you by my side,” he murmured right before his dad came back with a huge stack of blankets. Adrian was quick to grab them and start making a little bed for Claire.
“She’s normally an early riser but we brought snacks for her and stuff to do so the whole house doesn’t have to wake up on her schedule,” she said, giving Charles a small smile.
“No worries at all, I figured you guys would want to sleep in a little, but I can make breakfast around nine?” he asked and she nodded. “The bathroom is just across the hall and there’s nightlights to light the way.”
“That sounds great, thank you so much,” she said and he nodded and left the three alone. Adrian immediately got up and locked the door and took Claire from her to tuck her in. She sighed and stretched her arms, the five year old getting too big for her to carry around so much. The last time she made the comment to Adrian he had looked at her, horrified, and told her she would never get too big.
She started unpacking, throwing Adrian his pajamas as she put hers on and left the room to get ready in the bathroom. She wasn’t sure if Adrian was going to calm down or if this was going to be the entire week, but she had no idea how his nervous system was going to handle an entire week in fight or flight. Especially considering he had no outlet to just go out as Vigilante.
“Adrian, unlock the door,” she said, knocking gently and he immediately unlocked the door, as he quickly looked behind her and the side clearly looking for his dad. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Is this going to be all week?” she asked, pressing a kiss to his cheek before making her way to the bed. Claire’s soft snores filled the room.
“Maybe,” he said, following her into the bed and immediately wrapping her up in his arms.
“Well, maybe to help with that tomorrow after breakfast we go to the aquarium?” she said and Adrian kissed the back of her head. “It’s about a two hour drive, but I already told your dad it would probably be one of the first things we’ll want to go to do.”
“Please, Claire is going to go nuts!” He yell whispered directly in her ear. She cringed but let out a small giggle before leaning back against him even more.
“Yeah, Claire is going to go nuts,” she teased, setting her alarm for the morning, knowing they won’t even need it because Claire will most definitely wake them up. “How are you feeling so far?”
“Like we’re in a strangers home and I don’t even know all the exit points yet,” he murmured after a beat.
“Adrian…” she said and he sighed.
“I know,” he grumbled. “I’m trying.”
“I know you are and I’m so proud of you,” she said, gripping his arms and he sighed. “Get some rest baby, because Claire is definitely going to be awake in five hours.”
“Maybe six if we’re lucky,” Adrian said, leaning back to turn off the light in the room and she sighed, letting the exhaustion of the day finally catch up with her. Adrian’s arms stayed firm around her. Which she appreciated considering how cold the house felt. It didn’t take long for sleep to claim her, Adrian not far behind her.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get lucky and she woke up at five in the morning to Claire peeling her eyelids back. She groaned and turned towards Adrian, he let out a low chuckle as she pressed herself hard in his chest.
“Good morning, Claire Bear,” he murmured, hands rubbing her back. “Can you let me and your mom get a little more sleep?”
“Lost cause,” she said into his chest.
“But I’m not tired anymore!” Claire said at a volume way too loud for how early it was. She groaned and Adrian pulled himself out of bed. She whined at the loss of his warmth.
“Can you play quietly for a few minutes while I get dressed and we’ll go take a walk?” he asked and Claire must’ve agreed because she felt the girl retreat to her pallet, snagging her backpack on the way. Adrian pressed a firm kiss to her forehead. “Before you doze off, can you text me the address?”
“Just look outside,” she murmured. “Or use my location, I’m not going anywhere.” He let out a small chuckle as she threw the blanket over herself to try to block out Claire and Adrian’s version of being quiet. Not a single quiet bone in either of their bodies.
She’s not sure how long she was asleep before she made her way down the creaky stairs, but after checking Adrian’s location and seeing that he and Claire still seemed to be on their walk she got ready and made her way downstairs towards the sounds and the smells of the kitchen.
She’s immediately greeted by what one would say is way too much food for four people. There were homemade waffles with all the fixings, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, some fresh fruit, chocolate milk, and what appeared to be fresh squeezed orange juice.
Charles really had a spread going, one that she couldn’t wait to dig into.
“Oh wow,” she said and Charles' eyes flew to hers as he gave an awkward chuckle.
“Sorry, I didn’t know what you guys would like and we can go to breakfast if-”
“No, no! This is perfect, Adrian’s favorite breakfast is waffles with peanut butter so he’ll be excited,” she said quickly smiling at the older man as the front door swung open.
“Mommy!” screamed Claire as she came barely into the room and straight into her legs. She winced but smiled as she ran a hand through the young girl's hair. “We found three ant hills!”
“Hey baby,” Adrian said softly, kissing her cheek before taking in the spread for himself.
“Three! That’s so many, I bet you worked up an appetite! Look what Grandpa made us for this morning!”
“Oh, is that who you are?” Claire asked, head tilting as she looked at Charles. Internally she cringed, in all her worry for Adrian she forgot to prep Claire on the trip past that they were visiting Adrian’s dad in San Francisco.
“I…um yes,” he said, cringing slightly. “I’m your grandpa.”
“Nice to meet you,” Claire said after a pause, moving so she was closer to Charles, holding out her little hand for him to shake. He laughed but took her hand and gave it a hardy shake which made Claire giggle.
“It’s very nice to meet you too, Claire.” Adrian looked over at her, his lips pulling slightly up more. After a beat, he cleared his throat. “Well, let’s not let this food get cold!”
“God, you don’t have to tell me twice, this smells amazing!” She said, sitting down as Adrian helped Claire into one the seat next to her, the small round table leaving Adrian with no choice but to sit next to his dad. She stood up with a plate and began adding food to Claire’s plate before Adrian waved her off, brows furrowed as he grabbed the plate from her.
“I’ll serve her, you get your food,” he murmured immediately and she smiled at him, putting her hands on her hips as she watched him from behind dipping Claire’s plate.
“I even got chocolate milk, Adrian! You used to drink so much growing up,” Charles said with a smile as he handed Adrian the glass jug of milk.
“I don’t drink chocolate milk, I'm not a child,” Adrian grumbled as he accepted the jug to pour Claire a glass. “I’ll have orange juice like an adult.”
“Adrian, you regularly drink Sunny D, so hush,” She teased as she planted a kiss on his cheek before finally deciding Adrian didn’t need her help for Claire’s plate and she grabbed hers and started loading up her own. If he was at all annoyed at her selling him out his expression doesn’t show it, instead he looks at her like he always does when she kisses him; like she’s hung the stars and the moon in the sky.
“We can pick up some Sunny D at the store if you’d like,” Charles said immediately.
“Orange juice is fine,” Adrian grumbled.
“I like chocolate milk way more than Sunny D,” Claire chimed in and she laughed.
“Yeah but that’s because you don’t have a refined palate like your dad!” Adrian teased, blowing a raspberry at her as he sat her plate in front of her, immediately digging in.
“So, Adrian. What are you doing for work these days?”
“I have a business with some friends,” Adrian said as he focused on dipping his own plate.
“A business?” He said, blinking as he sat his own fork down, clearly not expecting that answer. She watched Adrian closely as she kept eating, his eyes were fixed on his plate as he slowly started to dig in. To be fair, the last update he must’ve gotten from Adrian’s mom was that he was a busboy. Both her and Adrian had tried to explain Checkmate to his mom a thousand times but she still thought it was just another restaurant.
“Yeah,” Adrian said.
“Doing what?”
“Working.”
“It’s a covert operations agency,” she chimed in, knowing Adrian was going to keep dodging it. “They’ve been at it for about six years now, very successful.”
“Daddy goes on missions once a month!” Claire chimed in happily. “But we still talk, don’t worry.” She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of Claire making sure that Charles knew their routine.
“Missions? So you’re like a spy?”
“An agent,” he said tensely. “Where’s your husband? I thought you got remarried or did that go south too," Adrian said, turning the subject against his dad and she can tell immediately in his tone that he’s doing this on purpose. She kicked him under the table but he didn’t react at all to her.
“Oh,” he said, clearing his throat. “We thought it was best if William wasn’t here while you guys visited. We didn’t want to overwhelm you guys so he’s actually visiting his family in North Carolina right now.” She watched the way Adrian flinched at the words and she knew immediately what he was thinking. He was being treated like a fragile child like he couldn’t handle anything, but by how he was reacting at simple questions it’s exactly how he was being.
“That’s very considerate of you,” she said. “Maybe next time we can meet him.” Adrian’s eyes lock on hers, his brows furrowed and for a second he looks legitimately angry at her before he looked almost ashamed that he’d even start to look mad at her.
“He’d love to meet you guys!” Charles said, clearly just happy that things seemed somewhat positive at least from her. “So, I know we talked on the phone about the plans for the trip, but were you guys still thinking about the aquarium for today?” Charles asked.
“Yes!” Claire immediately said and both her and Adrian laughed.
“Maybe let’s plan for tomorrow, spend today watching a movie and just hanging out. We could go tomorrow if the two hour drive isn’t too much to ask,” she said.
“Not at all, it’s been a while since I’ve been myself. I was more concerned that you guys might be too tired. Are you sure you guys will feel rested enough to go tomorrow? We can always push it off! The only thing with a real date is the fireworks in a few days.”
“These two? Too tired? I would love to see the day,” she teased and Adrian cracked a smile as he and Claire made eye contact with the same knowing grin on their faces.
The rest of the breakfast mainly her and Charles chatting with Claire chiming in through mouthfuls of food occasionally. She offered to help wash the dishes when everyone was done but Charles waved them off telling them to go get ready for the day. Adrian was quick to leave the table, picking Claire up, and taking her with him. She followed quickly behind and the moment Claire had wiggled free to look around the room they had stayed in she cornered Adrian.
“Hey, listen to me,” she said putting a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her. “You can’t be a dick.”
“Me? A dick?” He looked at her like he couldn’t believe what she was saying, green eyes wide in disbelief.
“Adrian, he’s trying and you don’t have to be overtly nice, but we’re in the man’s home and you’re setting a bad example for Claire.”
“A bad example? I’m the bad example? He-”
“Adrian, listen to me,” she said, taking his head between her hands forcing him to look at her. “I love you, I love you so much my bones ache and I want nothing more than to be by your side always and I understand that this is hard and it’s probably bringing up a lot of difficult memories from your childhood, but we are actively making memories for Claire. All I ask is if you want to have a more direct conversation with him we have it not in front of Claire, okay?”
His expression fell at her words and he looked clearly ashamed at his action.
“Do you think…do you think she’s upset with me?” he asked, in a small voice and she smiled gently at him before pulling him close enough to kiss the tip of his nose.
“She has no idea what was happening at breakfast other than the fact that you seemed upset,” she said gently. “But that doesn’t mean if the behavior continues she won’t pick up on it.”
Adrian sighed as she rubbed the apples of his cheeks.
“It’s hard,” he murmured.
“I know,” she said back. “Believe it or not, I think you’re doing good,” she said and a ghost of a smile crossed his face.
“Really?”
“Yes, this is hard. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is feeling impossible and daunting for you, but you’re doing so good.”
“I love you,” he said, pulling her in for a tight hug, one that she was happy to return. Her cheek pressed firmly to his shoulder while her eyes went to Claire, who was watching them closely. She gave the small girl a wink and she giggled before running over and throwing herself into hugging her parents legs.
“Can we watch a movie and color today?” Claire asked and she laughed, pulling back from Adrian to crouch down to Claire’s level. “Maybe go bug hunting?”
“That sounds good to me, baby. What do you think daddy?” She asked looking up at Adrian and he smiled with a small nod.
The rest of the day was calm and quiet, Charles always in the background of activities and asking them questions. Adrian never seemed fully comfortable and relaxed but compared to the morning he had calmed down a lot.
She was pleased with the fact that Adrian never seemed to get upset the rest of the day and had even given his dad a strained, but small smile.
It seemed both her and Charles would take the win.
The following morning, Claire was up early and ready to go to the aquarium, waking them up by squeezing herself into the bed between her and Adrian. Where she kept loudly sighing over and over again until they admitted defeat and got up.
“Can we go now?” Claire asked, the moment their eyes opened, making both her and Adrian laugh. One track mind with that girl the moment animals were involved. Claire managed to keep them on schedule yelling “chop chop!” whenever they slowed down too much getting ready.
When loading back up the car, Adrian had given her hand a squeeze as he sat in the back of the car with Claire. She took the front seat again with his dad, but at least this time the energy didn’t feel as tense in the car.
“Do you think they have sea otters?” Claire asked Adrian and she smiled from the front seat as Charles kept driving. She knew this was about to be the next hour of the drive.
“They sure do,” Adrian said and she could hear the smile in his voice.
“Okay what about jellyfish?” she asked him.
“Yes ma’am!”
“Black rays?”
“Pretty sure they do!"
“Isopees?”
“Isopods, and yes!”
“What about puffins?”
“They have tufted puffins!”
“The parrots of the sea!” Claire said proudly and Adrain laughed, clapping his hands making her smile from the front seat.
“Good job, baby!”
“What are you the most excited to see, daddy?” she asked gently.
“I’m the most excited for the life on the bay exhibit, you get to see the animals in their natural environment like-”
“Like harbor seals!” Claire said with a loud laugh.
“Yes! What are you the most excited for?” He asked her.
“Hmmm, probably the octopus!” she announced.
“Do you remember how many suckers they have on each leg when they’re born?” Adrian asked, Claire took a moment to ponder.
“14?”
“Good job!”
“Wow, you guys sure know your sea creatures!” Charles said with a chuckle.
“It’s like this all day,” she teased. “Sometimes they quiz each other. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of animal books and those ‘who would win’ books we have.”
“Hey! Those books are good,” Adrian complained and she laughed.
“Yes, the first time you read them.”
“Have you read them, grandpa?” Claire asked and she watched Charles tense slightly.
“Oh, I umm I haven’t,” he said gently, glancing at the review mirror.
“Hmm, that’s okay. Daddy did you pack any?”
“I did, I brought hammerhead shark versus bull shark and whale versus giant squid,” he listed.
“Okay, see we can read some together!” Claire suggested and she watched Charles grin.
“I’d like that!”
The rest of the ride to the aquarium was filled with soft music and Claire and Adrian babbling back and forth about all the different animals they were expecting to see. She smiled as she leaned her head back, eyes closed, just listening to them talk gently with each other. Being around Charles had started to make her wonder if young Adrian was like this too; just never ending facts and wanting to talk to people all day long. She wondered if anyone actually talked to him or at the very least listened to him.
Based on Adrian’s very few stories, she figured the odds were low.
Once they finally got to the aquarium, they were all quick to get out of the car to stretch. Both Claire and Adrian were quick to get out and take in the outside of the building.
“Hey,” she said, pulling Adrian close into her as he kissed her cheek. “Remember the rule, gift shop at the end and be strong. One educational and one fun thing.”
“We’re on vacation, maybe two fun things?” Adrian tried and she smiled as he winked at her. “Plus must fun toys have some educational bearing!”
“This is one of many stops and gifts ships, trust that her backpack will be full by the end,” she said, giving him a light pat on the cheek as he leaned in to kiss her, accepting the small peck as an agreement to the rules.
Claire and Adrian ended up leading the four through the aquarium, both of them chattering through every exhibit. Sharing fun facts back and forth and Adrian picking her up to get a better look at various things.
It’s honestly the most relaxed she’s seen Adrian ever since the letter arrived from his dad and she knew it was mainly because he was able to focus on Claire, but she’d take it. She couldn’t help a laugh bubble up the moment Claire and Adrian found a tunnel to crawl through that puts you right underneath a waterfall. She couldn’t help but snap a picture of the two of them, identically large grins looking like they are in animal nerd heaven.
“Do you guys have any pets at home?” Charles asked as the two watched Adrian and Claire count the amount of starfish in one tank.
“God no. Even though Adrian’s schedule has gotten better I will not be the one who ends up taking care of a five year old and whatever pet those two wind up bringing home,” she said with a laugh and Charles nodded.
“Growing up Adrian always brought home every stray animal he could find. Even animals that aren’t stray, one time he tried to bring home a chipmunk.”
“Oh my god, yeah I could see that,” she said, covering her mouth as she laughed, watching the two of them. “Did…was he happy as a kid?” she asked softly, almost shyly like she didn’t want to know the true answer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him flinch.
“It’s not that answer you’re looking for, but I don’t know,” he murmured and she closed her eyes and sighed.
“He’s a good man,” she said, her body feeling tense as she watched Adrian beam at Claire as she must’ve said a correct fact about some animal as he gave her a high five. “A really good dad and an amazing husband.”
“I can see,” he said, voice sounding small. Her brain is still circling around the idea of young Adrian all on his own navigating everything, clearly needing help and just not wanting to be on his own but having no choice. No one to turn to. She always understood when she first met Adrian that something was going on in his life, there was a misconnection or some kind of fundamental lack in his life. The way he clung to Chris when they first met like he was the only person who could really know Adrian. It hadn’t taken her long to break through his shell once he realized she wasn’t kicking him around or had any plans to be mean to him. Adrian still looked at her like he did in those early days, just with pure love and joy wanting nothing more to make her happy even if it came at his own expense.
It took time and work to get him to start doing stuff for himself. It took even more unpacking to realize that he was scared if he didn’t do what she wanted she would leave.
And he was willing to sacrifice everything that made him happy for her to stay.
“He did it on his own and he deserved better,” she said before wiping away a few tears before standing up to join Adrian and Claire. Adrian tilted his head as he looked at her, an unspoken question on his face as she shook her head but pulled him in for a quick kiss. “Lunch?” she asked gently.
“Yeah, let’s get lunch,” Adrian said in a low voice, eyes still on her with worry. “You okay?”
“I’m okay, baby. I think I'm just hungry,” she said.
“Then let’s get you some food!” Adrian said happy to solve any problem she brought to him. She couldn’t help the extra twinge in her heart from his eagerness to make sure she was happy.
The rest of the visit Charles kept his distance, respecting that she had gotten upset with him, and even though she knew she should talk to him and include him she had a hard time separating her attention from Claire and Adrian. In all her worry about Adrian and how he was handling things she neglected her own feelings. Adrian was her person, her guy, her soulmate. Of course it was going to hurt for her too.
Adrian definitely picked up on her weird mood shift and the rest of the trip holding her hand and frequently checking on her. And each time she gave him a small smile and gentle reassurances that yes she was okay. However she was happy once they finally reached the last exhibit of the day and made their way slowly but surely to the gift shop.
The gift shop came with an added challenge.
As expected from an amazing aquarium the gift shop was loaded, leaving Claire running from aisle to aisle with all three grown ups trying to play catch up and help her decide.
“Claire, how about a stuffed animal and a book?” she tried.
“But did you see the pencil case?” Claire immediately said back, eyes wide at all the options. She spared a glance at Adrian.
“Claire, honey we got five minutes and then we gotta pick and if you can’t pick daddy will pick for you, okay?” Adrian said, his tone barely stern but for Adrian to Claire, she’d take it. Claire pouted but picked up a sea otter plushie (one she felt she could’ve picked out the moment they walked in and saved them twenty minutes) and the pencil case that was covered in different marine animals.
The moment they strapped Claire into her seat she passed out in the car, causing both Adrian and her to share sleepy smiles as they looked at each other. Sharing an almost knowing smile as she kissed his cheek.
“Do you want the front seat this time?” She murmured and she watched him as thought about it before nodding. He opened her door and helped her into the backseat with Claire as Adrian took the front with his dad.
The day had finally caught up with her and it didn’t take much for her to fall asleep, the gentle hum of the car and foggy view encouraging her to close her eyes. She was somewhat aware of the fact that Adrian was speaking to his dad in a low voice.
She woke up at least three hours later in the bed at Adrian’s dad’s house. Claire passed out beside her tucked in on the side Adrian had been sleeping in. She stretched and checked the time. Claire would probably wake up hungry soon, but in the meantime she gently made her way downstairs, finding Adrian sitting on the floor alone on his switch. She smiled as she slid down the wall next to him, placing her head on his shoulder as she watched him play his game. He spared a single second of attention to place a kiss on her forehead.
“Did you carry me upstairs?” she murmured.
“Duh,” he said softly. “My dad’s ancient, you think he carried you?”
“Alright, meanie,” she huffed out. “How was the drive back?”
“Fine,” he said and she sighed.
“Are you going to make me pry everything out of you?” Adrian sighed and paused his games. He leaned his head back and it thumped against the wall.
“It was fine, we just did small talk and then listened to music.”
“What kind of small talk?”
“Like how we met, me proposing, stuff about Claire, our relationship with my mom, if we want more kids,” he listed off and she slapped his arm playfully.
“That’s not small talk!”
“I don’t know. He just asked questions and I answered them!” he said and she pulled back, hand on his shoulder as she moved to look at him. A smile on her lips.
“I’m proud of you,” she said and Adrian rolled his eyes but there was a small smile playing on his lips.
“Well I can talk about you and Claire all day, that’s fine; it’s my favorite subject.”
“Trust me I know, I’ve seen the photo albums on your phone. Albums plural,” she insisted and he let out a sharp laugh, one that was infectious.
“I love you two, you’re my world.”
“You’re mine too,” she said, leaning to place a gentle kiss on his lips. One that Adrian eagerly accepted and pulled her closer to him. “What did you say to if we wanted more kids?”
“That I’m working on getting you to say yes,” giving her a small peck as she laughed.
“Absolutely ridiculous,” she teased, rolling her eyes.
A gentle throat clear, took both of her and Adrian’s eyes off of each other and to his dad who was smiling down at them. He was leaning against the wall, looking at them like he had caught a couple of teenagers, but both of them were too old and too in love to even care about being caught.
“If you two wanted, I could watch Claire tomorrow night so you guys could have a date night or even tonight if you’d like,” Charles offered the two and she immediately smiled, accidentally ignoring Adrian’s tension.
“No, that’s okay,” Adrian said immediately and she snapped to look at him, brow furrowed as he pretended to be more interested in the carpet.
“Adrian, we haven’t gone on a real date in years. Your dad can handle Claire for an evening,” she said.
“We can go on a date whenever we want, John could watch her!”
“John Economos? You think John is equipped to watch Claire? John can barely watch Eagley!”
“Okay, then Chris!”
“Sorry, are you purposefully picking the worst people to watch our daughter?” She joked and Adrian tensed.
“My friends are not the worst people to watch our daughter,” he said, sounding frustrated. She sighed.
“Adrian, I didn’t mean it like that, but come on. They feed an eagle lunch meat, I don’t necessarily expect them to be able to take care of Claire with no issues,” Adrian’s eyes snapped to her face. “We’ll talk about it, maybe tomorrow for an early dinner so that way we can put her to bed.”
She said and Charles smiled, clearly happy with the possibility of them saying yes.
“I hate when we do early dinner, then we have to get a sweet treat,” Adrian whined.
“Yeah, but we can get dinner and then come back and take Claire to dessert. Win win!” She said and she watched Adrian roll his head in a circle, grimacing as he thought about it.
“Okay,” he said and his eyes snapped to his dads. “We’ll only be gone for a little while, like three hours tops.”
“Four,” she said, kicking him slightly. Eyes wide and bottom lip pouted out. “We can get dinner and take a nice walk.”
“Four hours,” Adrian conceded and she smiled at him. “But let’s take Claire to the park first tomorrow, I don’t want her to get all bummed we’re hanging out without her.”
“It’s not hanging out without her Ade, but alright we can do that.” She said and she looked up at Charles. “Want to come with us to the park tomorrow?”
“That sounds great,” he said. “I guess I’ll leave you to it.”
She giggled as Charles awkwardly left the room, only for Adrian to immediately tackle her, still careful that she didn’t hit the carpet too hard. He was quick to land his lips on hers, holding his body above hers. She chuckled slightly as they continued making out, Adrian smiling against her lips.
“You’re not getting lucky on a living room floor,” she teased and Adrian laughed, the sound music to her ears and caused her own lips to twitch even further up.
“I don’t need to get lucky, I already am,” he murmured as he kissed her underneath her chin and she laughed. He lifted himself further up so he could look at her, green eyes wide behind his glasses that were starting to slip off his nose. Adrian had used that line on her at least a hundred times, but every time there was a force to his tone that told her that he truly fully believed that. That he was the lucky one and not her.
“Do you remember our first dinner at your moms house?” she murmured, pushing his curls behind his ear only for them to spring right back to where they were before. He chuckled as he rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, when she spoiled that I was going to propose to you in the first ten minutes of meeting her,” he said and she laughed.
“I already knew, you weren’t exactly subtle.”
“That wasn’t the point,” Adrian whined and she laughed, leaning up to give him a peck on the lips.
“You just hate that she technically beat you to it, but Ade I wouldn’t change a single aspect of our life together. None of it,” she said gently and he smiled.
“I wouldn’t either, every moment led me to you and I still can’t believe I have you,” he said, pausing for a moment. “Come on, let’s get some food and take it upstairs for Claire.”
She nodded as Adrian slowly got up, holding out both his hands to help her up. Once she was up she paused before wrapping her arms around her husband. He was quick to sweep her up.
The rest of the evening passed in quiet, small noises throughout the house but everyone was so dead from the aquarium. Claire barely ate anything for dinner, but she was glad she ate something and was willing to take a bath, before passing out for the rest of the evening.
“The park and then dinner tomorrow?” she said softly as she laid down in the bed. Adrian was still puttering around the room, picking different things up just to sit them back down.
“Yeah, sounds good to me,” he murmured before finally making his way to the bed. “Do you think Claire’s having a good time?”
“Yeah, baby. I do.”
Adrian left it at that, not poking anymore as he sighed, pulling her closer into him. She couldn’t force herself to stay awake any longer, despite her nap earlier in the day she was still exhausted and wanted to take advantage of the quiet as much as she could, knowing that Claire was still going to wake up super early and ready to go. So she gave in, letting Adrian’s soft breath in her ear lull her to sleep.
The following day Charles had made breakfast again and she had helped him pack a small picnic for them all for the park. It had been his idea, figuring keeping Claire outside and running around will make things easier for her and Adrian to sneak out for their date night.
“You guys are really cute together,” he said while she was packing a few different types of chips for everyone and making sure Charles had the kind of mustard Adrian liked for his sandwich.
“Me and Ade?” she asked, brows furrowing as she turned towards the man. He was smiling at her, hands pausing over the desserts he was packing, some sweets from a local bakery he had raved about the day before.
“Yeah, I mean. You don’t see too many married couples still so in love like you guys are. Makes me happy that he found you,” he said and she felt her lips twitch as she leaned against the counter.
“Yeah, we're both lucky to have each other,” she murmured, looking down as she smiled. “What’s it like meeting us?” she asked, head tilting.
“It’s…nice. Gut’s come to visit a few times, but it’s normally when he’s just down on his luck. I can’t even put into words how nice it is to see Adrian and not only knowing he’s doing well, but also to see it with my own eyes.”
“I can’t imagine what it’s all been like,” she said gently and he shrugged.
“I made a lot of bad choices and a lot of good choices. It’s led me here and I wish I could change some things but I can’t. I have to live with my choices.”
“Well, even if Adrian won’t say it I am glad you reached out. He never would’ve done that on his own,” she said and Charles nodded.
“I’m glad you answered,” he said and silence fell between the two of them as they returned to packing up for the picnic. After a few minutes Adrian and Claire came barrelling into the kitchen, Claire giggling as Adrian chased her.
“Ready?” He asked, pecking her forehead.
“I am,” she said, patting the cooler and Adrian smiled as he grabbed it. “Hey, I can get it.”
“Nah, I got it. Dad, are you ready?” he asked.
“Of course! What about you Claire?”
“For the park?” she asked, looking up.
“Yes, baby,” she said and Claire smiled.
“I was born ready!” she declared and they all laughed. Adrian picked Claire up and set her on his shoulders while she giggled. Little hands pulling sharply at his hair, but as always Adrian didn’t complain.
The four of them walked slowly towards the park, Claire not lasting long on Adrian’s shoulders before she wanted to walk on her own. Claire bouncing back and forth between whose hand she was holding. She yapped the whole way, asking questions about the park, and how it’ll compare to the one back in Evergreen that they frequent. She felt lucky it wasn’t a long walk, since she was unsure how to keep answering Claire’s questions that she didn’t have the answer to.
Once they got to the park, Adrian reminded Claire of the rules of staying where the adults could see her and being kind to the other kids. The moment Adrian said the last rule Claire gave them all a salute before she bounded off laughing towards the playground. She stood between the two men as she watched Claire run around the park, smiling as she clearly had no trouble making new friends. She turned to Adrian who had his eyes on the parking lot, watching everyone who walked up. She smiled as she noticed Charles doing the same thing but with everyone sitting on the bench.
She elbowed Adrian gently and his eyes snapped towards her as she tilted her head towards his dad who was doing the same thing he was doing. The expression on his face was hard to read, it wasn’t as guarded as he had been the whole week, but there was still something unsure in it.
“What are you doing?” Adrian asked him, leaning forward as his dad's eyes snapped to him. The older man chuckled.
“Oh, old habits die hard, I guess,” he said, gesturing to all the people at the park. “Your mom would give me a hard time whenever we took you boys to the park because I’d watch the people more than I’d watch you guys, but you can never be too careful.”
She watched Adrian’s face carefully, there’s something there that she can’t help but smile at.
“Sounds like someone I know,” she said, knocking into her husband since he didn’t seem like he was going to say anything to his dad.
“I’m going to go play with Claire,” he muttered as he walked away from the two, she frowned but didn’t say anything as he walked off.
“Here let’s go sit, he’s got this,” she said, gesturing towards an open bench that still gave them a decent enough line of sight to everything happening around the playground.
“He’s…really good at this,” Charles said, gesturing towards Adrian and Claire as they played, the two focused intently on skipping from raised lilly pad to lilly pad as they made their way towards the top of the jungle gym. She couldn’t fight the smile that came across her features.
“At balancing?” She asked, brows furrowed as she turned to the older man who let out a chuckle.
“No, I mean, at being a dad,” he said softly and she hummed, her eyes locked on the back of Adrian’s head no more than twenty feet away from them.
“Can I tell you a secret?” She said low enough Adrian wouldn’t overhear them as his dad nodded. “He took to it so well that I thought something was wrong with me. Like don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter with my entire heart. I would do anything to make sure she’s safe, but every moment still felt…suffocating. Especially right after we had her, I mean there’s so much you can just fuck up, but not to Adrian. He just looks at her and knows what she needs. He’s known since she was born. He’s known what she needs just from the smallest babble, a quiver of the lips, just anything. He’s freakishly in tune with her.”
“It’s impressive…I mean I wasn’t…you have to understand there was a lot going on in general. Especially internally and me and Adrian just had nothing in common,” she nodded.
“Adrian just doesn’t know how to half ass anything in his personal life,” she said with a shrug. “He still struggles some days. He gets frustrated when things don’t make sense in his mind, but he’s gotten better at trying and growing. It’s all you can ask for most days,” she said gently and his dad nodded.
“I’m proud of him,” he said. “But I’m not sure if he wants to hear that from me.”
“Tell him anyway, I’ll talk to him about it.”
“Daddy, do you need a hug or some deep breaths?” She heard Claire’s voice from across the playground and she immediately locked in on the two. Adrian was standing near the middle of the jungle gym, his eyes were locked on them, but the expression on his face made it so she wasn’t fully sure he was actually seeing them. Claire’s hand tugging at his shirt, begging for his attention, she starts to get up to check in on them, but her movement seemed to snap him out of zone out as he turned back to Claire. He moved to start chasing her as the young girl screamed and continued climbing up the jungle gym.
“Is he okay?” Charles asked and she looked over at him.
“Yeah, he’s okay.”
The rest of the time passed in a comfortable silence with her and Charles watching Adrian and Claire play. Occasionally letting out a chuckle as the two did something funny or a small comment when a thought popped up in either of their heads, but for the most part it was just a calm afternoon and once Claire was hungry the four of them found a shaded spot to sit and eat. Adrian sat close enough to her that she leaned on him and then once they were done eating she laid in his lap while Charles pushed Claire on the swings. His hands were playing with her hair.
“What were you guys talking about earlier?” he asked, voice low.
“You,” she answered honestly, adjusting so she was on her back and looking up at Adrian. She watched him purse his lips, his eyes staying locked on Claire. “I was talking about how great of a dad you are, how you took to Claire quicker than I did.”
“Baby, postpartum depression is really serious. We’ve talked about it, you don’t have to feel bad, it’s okay. We got you the help you needed and everything was okay.”
“No,” she said laughing slightly despite herself. “I just mean like when we first came home from the hospital you were immediately in tune with her. Waking up slightly before she needed anything and you were just…so happy to help, never seeming too tired. Even now, you’re quick to know what she wants or you know exactly what to say to get her to stop pouting before dinner.”
“Oh,” he said gently.
“Yeah, you’re a good dad, baby.”
“I love you,” he said gently, finally looking down at her with nothing but love in his eyes and she smiled.
“I love you more,” she said and he laughed, shaking his head.
“Absolutely impossible, my heart-”
“My heart beats for you too, you know,” she whispered. Throwing the words Adrian frequently said to her back at him.
The rest of the time at the park passed without any big incident, Adrian stayed calm and enjoyed just sitting with her watching Claire. After another hour the four of them packed up and headed back to the house where her and Adrian got ready for their date.
She opted for a simple summer dress she had packed and Adrian was in khakis and one of his better fitting polos. Charles had offered them to borrow his car, but Adrian insisted on leaving it in case they needed it to go to the hospital. Adrian also ran through every emergency number for his dad to call if something happened. His phone, her phone, and their friends back home. When she pointed out she wasn’t sure what they could do being so far, Adrian just gave her a pained look that made her nod and let him keep going.
Once she actually got Adrian to leave the house, the dinner was really nice. They had walked hand and hand for about 25 minutes before arriving at one of the few restaurants open early enough for them to have dinner. She smiled as they made easy conversation and finally got seated, Adrian pulled out her chair for her.
“Ugh, I’m so excited,” she said as she looked over the menu, everything looking so good.
“We’ve been to dinner since we’ve had Claire. Multiple times, you’re acting like I never take you out,” Adrian said, complaining, but there was still a smile playing on his lips.
“Yeah, but we’re on vacation! We’re in a new city and it’s just us. It’s nice,” she said and he nodded, looking at her with a smile on his lips as he leaned forward just a tad.
“It is nice,” he repeated. They both placed their orders and she watched Adrian fidget slightly with his glass of water.
“Ade, can I guess a question you’re going to hate?” she asked and he nodded, eyes flickering away from hers. “What was it like when he left?” her voice was soft but it didn’t stop the look of being struck that crossed his face.
“Why?”
“I just…I know this week’s been hard for you and I know how reluctant you were for us to even come in the first place. I just…want the missing puzzle piece,” she finished, voice soft as she grabbed his hand from across the table, he immediately intertwined their fingers together and gripped her tightly.
“When my dad left, things just…got worse overall. It’s not like he nor my mom really stopped Gut growing up. With my healing factor…I was just the boy who cried wolf so it didn’t really change too much when he left, but it clearly affected Gut because he just got…worse, meaner. He pushed limits and just seemed to make it his life mission to make my life hell,” Adrian said before taking a sip of water. “And I hated them all so much growing up. I always thought ‘why me,’ like what did I do that made me so…hateable so hurtable. It just became easier to shut myself off from all of them, pretending their relationship to me didn’t matter because no matter what it was going to hurt, but at least this way I got to pick how it hurt.”
“Oh, Ade.”
“And I don’t regret it. Without Gut torturing me, I might not have become Vigilante and if I hadn't become Vigilante I wouldn’t have met Chris or you and who knows what my life would be. Probably awful, still bussing tables and living in my moms basement with no plans or a life. I think for a long time I was angry at him for leaving me in that house like he just didn’t care. And I get it, I get he’s sorry and I get why he wanted to meet you and Claire, but I think there’s still this part of me that sees that’s what he wants and wants to deny it because it’s mine. It’s something I built and found and have loved and cherished. Not him, he shouldn’t get it just because I’m his son.”
“That’s not what’s happening. It’s not just getting this because you’re his son. You built this and you are making a very mature decision to share this. You’re being the bigger person in allowing him to see this and to show him what you built despite everything that happened growing up.”
“Yeah, well I hate it,” he mumbled, leaning back in his chair, eyes on the ceiling and she laughed.
“I couldn’t tell,” she teased.
“Hey!”
“Ade, it’s fine! You’re allowed to not like this too! You can be angry or as upset as you want with him. They’re your feelings. I’m not trying to make you feel one way or the other.”
“I know, I just…I’m ready to be home. I miss our bed, I miss work.”
“Do you think you’ll want to come visit again?” She asked, head tilting as he seemed to ponder it.
“Not fully for it, but not fully against it.”
“Once your mom hears we came out she’s going to beg us to come over again you know that right?”
“Jesus fuck, don’t remind me. It’s going to be impossible, the moment we land we’ll be lucky if she’s not outside our door already with cookies,” he complained and she laughed.
“Well, it’s not like Gut is going to be bringing around any grandbabies anytime soon,” she said as the waiter sat down their appetizer. Adrian grabbed his fork and snickered.
“At least not a legitimate one,” he joked and she snorted.
“Hey, you can’t judgemental like that. We had a close call before we got married,” she warned and Adrian smiled.
“Yeah, but that’s different, we always knew we’d get married. Gut’s going to be lucky if a girl gives him the time of day for longer than to just put his dick in her.”
“I’ll give you that one,” she said after a pause and Adrian smiled at her, digging in. “Our next trip as a family, maybe we see if Chris and the others want to go somewhere,” she suggested casually as Adrian smiled.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I bet they’d be down for a resort somewhere and Claire would have a blast with all her aunts and uncles.”
“Oh my god, we can take a cruise!” Adrian said, slapping the table and she grimaced and shook her head.
“Tempting since Claire would be confined to a ship, but I fear if we took Chris onto international waters we might just be asking for trouble,” she said and Adrian pouted. “We’ll figure something out. Let’s survive these last few days and then we’ll start making plans."
“Barely a few days, tomorrow night fireworks and then we leave in the afternoon the following day,” Adrian said looking excited.
“Still, let’s wait to plan our next trip till we get back,” she said and Adrian smiled and nodded. The rest of the evening passed with just the two of them talking back and forth, the conversation staying much lighter after Adrian’s confession. She knew, just from knowing her husband, that just because he’s admitting to some of what was bothering him about the trip didn’t mean it was all solved. Adrian had a habit of holding onto things, she was just glad that he had voiced something, clearly up a fraction of what he must be feeling every time they walked back into his dad’s house.
Throughout dinner she debated circling back and telling Adrian about the conversation she had with him at the aquarium, how upset she got on his behalf, but by the time dessert comes out she decided it was best to just leave it, knowing Adrian would eventually ask her once they were home.
When they got back to the house, they walked into complete silence and she felt the way Adrian squeezed her hand nervously. She continued to lead them into the house, only to find Claire passed out on the couch and his dad sitting in an armchair continuing to watch Bluey as if Claire was still paying attention.
“She fell asleep maybe twenty minutes ago. I didn’t know if you wanted me to keep her awake to take her for dessert or what,” he said gently and she smiled.
“We had dessert at the restaurant, we’ll just put her to bed and get her something special tomorrow so she’ll forgive us,” she said and Adrian smiled as he picked her up. The young girl’s head rolling on his shoulder as her eye lashes fluttered slightly. He walked past her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before carrying Claire to the room.
“Did you guys have a nice date?” Charles asked, getting up and stretching from his chair.
“It was really nice, thank you for watching her.”
“Of course, it’ll be weird to go back to a quiet house. Don’t get me wrong, me and William love the quiet but it’s been really nice having you guys here,” he said softly and she smiled.
“Your home is beautiful but I fear if Claire is here any longer she will destroy it. You should see her room back home, we’re going to have to repaint it and recarpet it whenever we decide to move,” she said as Adrian came back downstairs. His arms wrapped around her middle as he laid his head on her shoulder.
“Well, that’s easy we’re not moving,”
“Okay, Ade. We’re not doing this conversation again,” she said, patting his arms and rolling her eyes. “This is a common fight-”
“Debate,” Adrian corrected gently.
“That I think we should move and Adrian thinks we should just remodel the house, but we need a bigger space as Claire grows and-”
“Which we can get by remodeling, we have an acre in our backyard and we can expand,” Adrian complained. She looked over at Charles and shrugged. He sat back down and put a hand on his chin.
“Why don’t you want to remodel?” he asked her, she pulled out of Adrian’s grip as she moved to sit on the couch. Adrian followed her.
“Well, it’s a lot of work and money-”
“Which we have plenty of,” Adrian reminded her. “Checkmate is doing great, we can spend a little to make the house more comfortable without risking too much. It’s not like Claire’s going to college tomorrow, there's time to make these changes while still being comfortable.”
“And time to be out of the house or in a house with a bunch of construction,” she finished and Charles turned to Adrian.
“Why don’t you want to move?”
“It’s our house, I want us to live there forever. We moved in six months before we had Claire. It’s the only home she’s had, I think we should keep it that way.”
“Well, Adrian, forever isn’t realistic,” his dad said gently so as to not upset Adrian. She could feel him tense beside her but he didn’t say anything. “But also, moving just because a few things are wrong doesn’t mean you should,” he said to her and she sagged a little, looking over at Adrian.
“I do like our house,” she said, this time focusing more on Adrian who smiled. “I just worry that construction is going to take too long and be too much.”
“Well, you two don’t have to decide today or hell even tomorrow,” Charles said and Adrian nodded.
“That’s what I say, we’ve got the time,” Adrian said and she fought the urge to say something about how there were two of them now, knowing that might set Adrian off. “Thanks for talking to us about it, but we should get to bed,” he said standing up and the moment Adrian’s eyes were off his dad she saw tears well slightly in his eyes before he wiped them away so Adrian wouldn’t see. She couldn’t help the smile at the realization that without a fight Adrian at least heard his dad out on one of their arguments, which felt like a much bigger win than if she were to convince him to finally start looking at new houses.
The three adults said goodnight and slowly made their ways to their respective rooms. She smiled, pulled Adrian in for a kiss the moment their door was closed.
“We can remodel the house,” she said gently against her lips, feeling him smile. “But not right when we get back, give it a few months and then we’ll start figuring it out, okay?”
“Okay,” he said gently, smile almost blinding.
“And if we’re remodeling I want a clawfoot tub!” She said and he laughed, she threw a hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t wake Claire up.
“Deal,” he murmured against her hand. She smiled and kissed him one more time before the two finally made their way to bed. Relaxing together before sleep claimed them both.
Most of the morning and afternoon was spent getting ready for the evening. The firework show they had picked was at a different park, one they had to drive to, but they were having a farmers market and food trucks there so at least they didn’t have to worry about dinner. Plus Claire wasn’t too happy when she woke up and realized she was cheated out of a dessert. Consider it was their last full day she was completely surprised by Adrian’s unusual chipperness.
They had gotten their blanket spread out for the firework show, Claire sitting between her and Chalres with Adrian on her other side.
“Oh wait! Claire, I brought you these!” Charles said happily pulling out of his tote bag some industrial noise blocking headphones, one that reminded her of what one might find at a construction site. She smiled as Claire happily accepted them, her expression being more of ease the moment the sound cushions were over her little ears. It was almost a comical sight with how big they were, but she knew Claire was thankful for them, her attention back on the night sky waiting for the fireworks to start.
The next part seemed to go in slow motion for her. One second she’s smiling looking at her happy daughter, the next she’s turning her head to make a comment to Adrian about it, but when she turned fully he’s not next to her right anymore. Instead he’s running away.
“Watch her, Claire stay with grandpa,” she didn't wait for either of them to answer her as she chased off in the direction Adrian went. She was lucky that for the most part he didn’t seem to move very fast, not as fast as she knew he could go. She followed him all the way to the parking lot and she was glad he didn’t have the key because she wouldn’t be surprised if Adrian drove off if he did.
He had done that once before, back before they first started dating, while Task Force X was still getting their grounding after saving the world from butterflies. She had figured out pretty early on that Adrian liked her, but she was still unsure of him and what she wanted. Chris had gotten into Adrian’s head about her and her expectations and he had become a mess every time they were around each other, clearly unsure if he should be himself or who Chris said he should be to earn her love. He had said one dumb thing after another, spiraling until he finally squeaked out a goodbye and physically ran away from her.
At least this time she was able to catch up to him.
“Adrian, you can’t just run off. The last thing we need is Claire getting…” she stopped dead in her tracks when she took him in, hand over his mouth as tears raced down his face. He was crouched on the ground, leaning against his dad’s car. “Ade?”
“Just give me a minute,” he gasped out, shoeing her away with his hand as she shook her head and fell to her knees in front of him.
“What’s happening, are you hurt?” she asked, checking him over. Hands flying over him as she tried to make sense of what was happening to him.
“I’m okay,” he said, pushing her hands gently off of him.
“What’s going on?” she asked again and she watched Adrian force himself to look up, bottom lip wobbling as he seemed to debate telling her the truth or not.
“Claire, she just looks just like me,” he said, eyes squeezed shut. “And it’s hard to see him being so…fatherly to her. I mean, fuck baby she looks just like me, she has my personality, your genes didn’t even try!” She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out as a few tears escaped her eyes at Adrian’s clear pain.
“Yeah, she’s your spitting image,” she said and he let out a shaky sob.
“Why wasn’t I good enough for him?” At those words she practically threw herself at her husband, wrapping him in her arms as a harsh cry left his lips.
“Baby, no no no,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to his temple as his arms circled around her tightly. “That’s not what’s happening. He’s not suddenly being nice because he likes Claire more than you, he’s being nice to Claire because he feels bad about how he treated you as a kid. He’s trying so hard to make you see that he's changed and he cares and he’s doing that by showing you the way he thinks you’ll be the most comfortable with. He knows you don’t want to have a direct conversation, but baby he’s trying to make you see he loves and cares about you and he is sorry.”
“But why wasn’t I enough?” He begged her, begging for an answer she simply didn’t have and she felt her own tears starting to fall.
“I don’t know, baby, but it wasn’t fair to you at all and I’m sorry. But you deserve good things and you deserved a good dad who was there for you,” she whispered, holding his face between her hands, wiping his tears as quickly as they were falling.
“It’s hard,” he murmured, calming down.
“I know,” she said gently. “And it’s not fair either, but you’re doing such a good job. This time tomorrow we’ll be home and if you don’t want to talk to him ever again we can do that.”
“But what about Claire she’s having a blast with him!”
“Ade, we’ll figure it out and yeah she’s five but she’ll understand if that’s what you pick,” she said and he sighed, his body sagging against the car. “Come on, let’s buy Claire some cotton candy, okay?” She said and Adrian laughed, it was watery but at least he was starting to sound back to normal.
“So she’ll be up all night?”
“Yeah, we’ll make your dad watch her so we can get some rest before the flight tomorrow,” she joked back as she stood up and held out a hand for Adrian. He was quick to accept it and pull himself up but before she could start leading him back he quickly brought her in for a kiss. She smiled as one of her hands went to cup his cheek.
“I love you,” she said and he smiled.
“I love you too.”
The two made their way towards the cotton candy stalls, Adrian clutching her hand tightly.
“Stupid California, $12 for a bag of cotton candy,” Adrian mumbled as he pulled out his wallet, wiping his nose on the back of his hand as the stall clerk took his cash and looked at him with concern. She felt lucky that at least the clerk didn’t say anything.
Once they made it back, Charles gave her a questioning look and she simply shook her head as Adrian handed Claire the cotton candy, making her squeal in joy.
The rest of the night passes with silence from the group, even Claire, who’s attention is on the sky and slapping her dad’s hand away from stealing her cotton candy. They didn’t get back to the house till almost 1 in the morning, Claire passed out as Adrian carried her around the park and back into bed. Before passing out, she and Adrian made quick work of setting out Claire’s outfit for the flight back and packing up the majority of their stuff.
“Ready to leave tomorrow?” she asked gently, eyes almost blurry with sleep as she finally pulled herself into the bed. Adrian followed behind her.
“More than ready,” he murmured as they both fell asleep.
Both unfortunately and fortunately Claire slept in longer than they were anticipating. Normally the young girl was up early no matter what time she went to bed, but the joy of the fireworks and sugar crash kept her sleeping till almost eleven in the morning. Which meant they were rushing to get to the airport and say their goodbyes. If Charles was disappointed with the lack of a last morning he was careful to not show it on his face which she appreciated, knowing Adrian probably wouldn’t react well to any comment from his dad about them ruining their last day.
“Thank you for inviting us,” she said, hugging Charles once they made it to the airport. Adrian standing behind her.
“Of course, don’t be a stranger. You guys are welcome back any time,” he said and she pulled away, looking up at Adrian as he sighed, but awkwardly gave his dad a hug.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Adrian mumbled.
“Seriously, Adrian. I’m really proud of you,” his dad said, giving him one more squeeze of the shoulder and Adrian nodded.
“Bye Grandpa!” Claire announced, interrupting the moment between the two men, but she can tell on Adrian’s expression that he’s thankful for it.
“Bye Claire, it was very nice to meet you!” he said and she giggled.
“Of course it was, I’m cool!” she said hands on her hips making both her parents laugh.
“Claire, what do you say?” she pressed her daughter.
“It was nice to meet you too,” she grumbled and Charles laughed, giving Claire one last hug before the three of them started making their way through the airport and on their way home to Evergreen.
The whole flight and ride home Adrian was quiet, this time she gave Claire the window seat so she could watch and play with the window shade as she rested her head on Adrian’s shoulder. Occasionally she could feel him turning and pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she squeezed her leg. The moment they got back into their home, Claire was quick to run to her room to check in on all of her toys.
“I’m sorry for pushing you into this,” she murmured as she pulled him into a hug, the moment they were alone in their bedroom. She felt him sigh against her as he swayed them slightly. The hug felt familiar and comforting, as she let herself melt in his arms.
“No, I…I think this was good. I’m glad he got to meet Claire and you got to meet him,” he sighed. “I’m not going to forgive him at least not fully, but I think sometimes I worry that because he was my example of a dad that maybe I would be a shitty father and-”
“Adrian you’re the best dad!” She said immediately pulling back and looking at his face with a pained expression on her face, but Adrian let out a small laugh.
“No, I mean,” he looked down suddenly looking bashful. “I know I am a good dad and I think it was good for me to see him because now I’m positive I’m way better at this than he ever was. It’s so easy to love Claire and it hurts that…that I wasn’t for him, but that’s his loss.”
“It is his loss, Ade,” she repeated and he smiled.
“Yeah, it is,” he murmured.
“Daddy! Are we going to play with my new art kit from Grandpa! You promised when we got home we’d use them!” Claire said, busting into their room.
“Besides, I have the best family in the world right in front of me,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss just long enough for Claire to start making fake gagging sounds.
But god, she wouldn’t change any part of her family for the world.
“It was great! We worked today on letters some more and at recess I found not one but two rollie pollies!” Claire announced and she laughed, she was truly her father’s daughter.
This is one of my favorite parts I can just see a tiny excited girly Adrian face 😂
PAIRINGS ⋮ Jack Abbot x Daughter!Reader, Michael Robinavitch x Niece!Reader
SUMMARY ⋮ Jack Abbot didn't feel fear — He wasn't terrified when he was hands deep in a patient's chest, willing their heart to start beating with his hands and sheer willpower. He wasn't terrified when he put on the SWAT uniform and walked into the line of fire just for the sake of it. When his daughter — the one good thing he has left — is involved in a car crash, however? That's a different story.
apertcre speaking!༉‧₊˚✧ just noticed i got the same title as @fangirl-dot-com !! actually not intentional but a good opportunity to tell you guys to read her stories. <3
Jack Abbot was a man of routine, calm precision and sharp witt — That's why he liked the night shift (yes, his therapist said it was because he liked the dark but he liked to argue). He would arrive a little early, parking his truck in the spot that everyone knew to be his, go to the locker room to drop off his bag and then get a cup of coffee before finding Robby for shift change and debrief.
Today is different however — Today, Robby seeks him out before he can even get into the locker room. There is blood on his gloves and arms and while he wears the calm expression only years and years as a doctor can teach you, Jack can still see the lines of panic and despair cracking through the carefully put-up wall. "Robby?" Jack frowns.
"Hey, man, you, uh—" Robby stammers, rocking back and forth on his heels. He cut himself off with an akward clear of his throat, pushing his glasses back on his nose with one finger "Have you checked your phone today?" he settles on after a brief moment of silence, eyes cast down to bloodied ends of his shoes.
Jack wordlessly shakes his head, lips formed into a tight line, eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Not really. Kiddo went straight to a friend's house after school and so I took the time to finally build that make up desk I'm gonna surprise her with." he explains, cocking his head to the side with a smile so font that it was solely reserved for his daughter. Normally, Jack kept his personal life as far away from the hospital as possible — especially his pride and joy, his daughter, that he vowed to protect and love with his entire being when she was still so tiny, she fit perfectly in the palms of his hands — but Robby was as much family as the cat, his daughter had once found wandering their street and took in without a second thought.
Robby humms, swallowing against the thick lump forming in his throat — He knew what desk Jack was talking about; had spend an hour and two panicked calls to Dana at a furniture store with Jack picking it out after Tiny Abbot had briefly mentioned that she was saving up for a new table.
Jack always prided himself with the fact that he'd raised his daughter to be independent — She rarely asked for anything. If she did it was mostly for school and even then he had to remind her time and time again that he was her dad and it was his job to provide for her. She worked three shifts a week at a cafe just down the street from where they lived, had gotten her lisence as soon as possible and had even bought her car on her own (although Jack had put double the amount in her bank account as soon as he'd found out and refused to take it back.)
Still, Jack was a doctor. He fixed peole, he took care of people and his daughter was no exception to that. So when she ran out of her (ridiculously expensive) skin-care, there was a new bottle sitting on the vanity the next day and when she got her period (especially during an endometriosis flare-up) she would find a hot water bottle, her favorite chocolate and pain medication waiting for her on her bedside within minutes and when she wanted a new table to get ready at he would buy the best one and set it up for her without losing a word over it.
"Jack, before I say anything else, I promise she is okay." Robby says calmly, his eyes wide with thinly veiled worry. Jack's jaw tenses in a split second, body rigid with a sudden paralysing fear "There was a crash—"
It's at that moment that Jack's world comes to a screeching halt before tilting on its' axis "Robby, she's all I have left." he says unnecessarily like if he could will her to be okay with the sheer force of his hope.
"I know." Robby nods — and he does. He knows, because everyone knows that after the death of his wife all Jack breathed and live for was his daughter. "She's okay. I swear. I took over her entire care. She has a broken leg, a minor concussion and lots of cuts and bruises but with lots of rest and care, she'll make a quick recovery." he explains. Jack is a doctor, but right now he is a dad first and so Robby explains it to him like he was just the parent of another patient.
Jack's jaw ticks and there is a faint tremor in his hand but Robby doesn't comment on it — He knows that after losing his wife, Jack was panicked if she as much as breathed wrong "She is awake." Robby continues "Dana's got her bundled up in the blanket you keep here for your naps and Langdon gave her his phone to rewatch New Girl. She is okay. We just couldn't reach you and I didn't want you to freak out when you see her name on the board."
Jack nods; an ever-growing motion "Okay, okay, okay... The leg. Is it a clean break? Did you do a head CT? Did any of her cuts get stitches?" he rambled, eyes narrowed and hands clasped together — the face of a doctor.
Robby shook his head, putting a firm hand on Jack's shoulder "Be her dad. Not her doctor."
Jack nodded wordlessly; the lines of being a dad and being a doctor blurred in front of his eyes — He treated car crash victims every single day. A broken leg and a concussion were trivial in comparison to the injuries he was used to treating but this was his daughter. His lifeline, his achilles' heel, his heart and soul and the idea of seeing her in a hospital bed had bile rising in his throat "Where is she?"
"Still in South 6, but Dana is trying to pull some strings to get in a room upstairs. You know how she got that woman wrapped around her finger." he explained, eyes crinkling at the corners as he gave Jack a tentative chuckle.
Jack huffed out a breathy laugh at that. Of course he knew — He knew because every morning when he came back from work he saw the growing stack of tupperware that he just kept adding onto everytime Dana held out a box with baked goods or a homecooked meal so the kiddo doesn't starve when he showed up for his shift. He knew because that one time she had a dance at school and he had tried (and miserably failed) to curl her hair, it had only taken a three-words message — Need help ASAP — for Dana to show up at their house with a bag of beauty products, some jewellery and a bottle of wine for which Jack had tried to tell her off but Dana had merely told him to pull the stick out of his ass. He knew because that one time he had a single mother come into the ER about to give birth, he had told her it takes a village and he had thought of Dana and Robby.
"She bled a lot." Robby continued "There was a gash on her face and you know how it is with head injuries... they just bleed an unnecessary amount." he huffed, starring down at his bloody gloves before pulling them off with a shake of his head. "She got all stitched up and Dana helped her get cleaned up."
Jack hummed, muscular arms crossed in front of a broad chest and head tilted upwards by an inch — He looked stern, disciplined and all like the doctor he was but Robby could see the way his eyes blinked furiously against the tears now brimming just beneath his waterline and the way his hand gripped his own bicep with a little too much force "Gonna put my bag away and then check up on her."
Robby nodded, putting one hand on Jack's shoulder, feeling the tense knots under his fingers "I'm taking over your shift tonight." he says simply. Jack openes his mouth to protest but Robby just shakes his head "This as much for you as it is for her. She still needs her dad every now and then, no matter how big and independent she gets."
Jack nodded jerkily — He rolled his shoulders one last time and then he was off; long, purposeful strides towards South 6, barely aware of the throbbing of his prosthesis or Robby following him a step behind. The curtains were pulled shut and for a moment Jack wondered if he hated or loved that he got a moment longer to collect himself; a moment longer to take a deep breath in and calm the trembling in his fingers.
She was propped up in the bed when he finally found the courage to step in — buried under the unfamiliar terror that had taken over all of his senses. Her left leg was in a cast and elevated, the army blanket he kept in his locker for the times he once again spend too much time at the hospital wrapped around her and the sweat jacket Robby always wore loosely hanging from her thin shoulders. Jack's entire body sagged at the sight of her.
Her eyes were half-lidded, focused on the phone in her hand but she looked up when he entered, "Dad..." she breathed shakily and for a moment she wasn't the sixteen years old that prepared breakfast for him after every shift and ducked away from even a pat on the back, but the tiny six years old that crawled into his bed every night, curling up on his chest because that was the place where she felt safest. There was a moment where just blinked at him blearily before a sudden wave of terror washed over her face, sitting up so fast Jack could only hope she didn't tear any of her stitches "Oh my god— dad! I'm so sorry! I was driving carefully and all, the man just ran the red light, the car is fucked but I'll pay for it, I swe—"
Jack didn't know if he wanted to laugh or sob. His daughter — his baby; the light of his life — could have gotten killed today; taken away from his side just like wife had been taken away from him and all she cared about was the car "Kiddo." he breathed "I couldn't give less of a fuck about the car right now. Are you okay?" he stressed, stumbling forward to cradle her thin face in between calloused hands.
"I'm okay, I'm okay. she nodded immediately "Robby took care of me, you don't need to worry."
Jack did laugh at that — a broken, wet chuckle "I always worry. I'm your dad, that's my job. I'm sorry if I didn't do a good job and if I made you feel as though you had to be independent because if there is one thing that will always be true it's that I will always be here to take care of you."
Don't worry my ass, he grumbled under his breath as he pulled up a chair with one hand while the other one fussed with the blanket wrapped around her "Are you warm enough? I can get you another blanket or I'll ask Dana to make you a hot water bottle, I'm sure we have one lying around. I can also get you more painkillers if it get's too bad, just tell me—"
"Dad." her voice cut through his rambling. His fingers stilled where they were uselessly pulling up the blanket again. "I'm okay." she smiled softly, one trembling hand lifting before she closed it into a fist, kissing the fist tenderly and then rubbing it against her sternum — Something her mom used to do when she was too sick to be visited and the only time they could see her was through a visiting window looking into her hospital room.
That means she loves you, Jack had explained to an actually tiny Tiny Abbot back then and three year old Tiny — bless her heart! — had mimicked her mommy's actions.
Jack swallowed harshly around the stubborn knot that had formed in his throat. He wanted to say so much; wanted to tell her how if she died he would go to the next bridge and jump, how he loved her so greatly and so fiercely he would've pried her out of her car with his bare hands and given her every organ she needed if that meant she was safe.
"I love you." he settled on instead, but Tiny smiled and Jack just knew she knew.
Through fire and flame, Maekar Targaryen had done all he could not to love you; but through relentless stubbornness and devotion to his children, Maekar found himself burning for you—the embers of a flame that never diminished; because seeing you with his children made him want to give you your own.
Through fire and flame, Prince Maekar Targaryen had done everything within his power not to love you. He had buried the feeling beneath duty, beneath war, beneath the unyielding discipline that made lesser men fear him.
He had convinced himself that affection was a weakness a prince could not afford, that his heart belonged only to House Targaryen, to the realm, and to the children who looked to him as their father.
Yet love is a cruel thing to deny.It settled in the quiet spaces between your words, in the way your hand instinctively reached for his after long days, in the fierce devotion with which you loved his children as though they had sprung from your own blood.
Every act of kindness was another spark against dry tinder, every smile another ember refusing to die. Maekar was a man forged by fire, but you were the flame that consumed him.
Not with wild passion alone, but with relentless patience, unwavering loyalty, and a stubbornness that rivaled his own.
You never demanded his heart.
You simply remained, through his silences, his temper, his endless burdens, until one day he looked upon you and realized the battle had long since been lost.
Through relentless stubbornness and quiet devotion, Maekar found himself burning for you—the embers of a love that neither time nor sorrow could extinguish.
And though dragons were said to be creatures of fire, he came to understand that the fiercest blaze was not one that destroyed.
It was the one that endured, which was the current reason why he found himself balls deep in the warm walls of your clenching cunt, hands threaded through your hair as he pulled you against his chest, teeth nipping and tongue slipping into your parted lips as he fucked you without abandon, “Fucking take it, woman.”
Your own arms held unto his, moaning, shaking, trembling beneath the brutal onslaught of his cock hammering into you from behind, sweat clinging unto skin.
“Maekar,” you had mewled into the air.
Maekar didn't answer with words; he answered with a guttural growl that vibrated through your spine. His grip on your arms tightened, his knuckles white as he anchored you firmly, pulling your hips back to meet every devastating thrust.
The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed through the room, a wet, rhythmic percussion that drowned out everything but the sound of your own desperate gasps.He was relentless.
Each plunge of his thick cock was a brutal invasion, bottoming out deep inside your pussy with a force that made your vision blur.
You felt the friction building, a searing heat that threatened to consume you as he hammered into you, driving himself home over and over again. “Woman, you make me fucking insane,” he breathed against your neck, your breasts swung wildly with the impact, your nipples peaking and rubbing against the sheets as you trembled under the sheer weight of his dominance.
“Look at you,” Maekar rasped, his voice a low, dangerous rumble against your ear. He leaned forward, his chest slick with sweat pressing firmly against your back, his breath hot and smelling of desire.
“Shaking for me. Taking every inch like a good little slut, it's your fucking fault, with your insufferable fucking kindness and not once understanding what you're fucking doing to me.”
The words only fueled the fire. You arched your back, pushing your ass further back against him, begging for more of the onslaught.
You could feel the walls of your pussy clenching tight around him, milking his shaft with every shuddering breath. The tension coiled tighter and tighter in your gut, a pressure building that felt like a storm about to break.
He shifted his grip, one hand sliding from your arm to wrap firmly around your throat—not enough to choke, but enough to make you feel completely possessed.
He accelerated the pace, his thrusts becoming shorter, faster, and more violent. The brutal friction sent sparks through your nerves, pushing you closer and closer to the edge.
“Please... Maekar, please!” you sobbed, your voice breaking as your climax began to ripple through you.
He let out a sharp, jagged breath, his own composure finally snapping. With one final, deep surge, he buried himself to the hilt, his cock pulsing violently inside you as he erupted.
You felt the hot, thick jets of his cum flooding your depths, filling you to overflowing and a the same moment, your own orgasm crashed over you in waves, your pussy clamping down on him in rhythmic, desperate spasms that drew every last drop from him.
You collapsed forward, your muscles turning to jelly, while he remained buried deep inside you, his heavy chest heaving against your back, both of you drenched in sweat and shaking from the intensity of the release.
“Gods,” you had murmured into the sheets, legs trembling, “what brought that on?”
He grunted, baring his teeth as his cock hardened once more, “I want to give you your own children to fucking fuss over, fuck, watching you with mine has made me come undone.”
You let out a shaky, breathless laugh, your face still pressed into the damp sheets, but the sound was cut short as you felt him stir behind you.
The sensation of his cock thickening and hardening again, stretching your walls while he was still buried deep, sent a fresh jolt of electricity straight to your core.
The sheer hunger in his voice—the raw, possessive need to plant his seed inside you—made your pussy twitch and clench instinctively around him.
Maekar didn't wait for a response. He gripped your hips with bruising force, his fingers digging into your skin as he hauled your ass back against him. He withdrew almost entirely, the wet, sliding sound of his shaft leaving your heat echoing in the quiet room, only to slam back in with a sudden, violent force that knocked the wind out of you.
“I'm going to fill you so full of my cum you'll be leaking it for days,” he growled, his voice thick with a primal, breeding lust.
He began to fuck you with a renewed, frantic energy, his thrusts deep and punishing. He wasn't just seeking pleasure now; he was claiming you. Every time he bottomed out, his pelvic bone slammed against your backside with a heavy thud, driving his cock upward against your cervix.
The thought of him wanting to impregnate you, of his seed taking root inside your womb, turned your insides to liquid.You reached back, your fingers clawing at his thighs, pulling him even closer. “Do it,” you whimpered, your voice a desperate wreck, “fill me... Maekar, put it all inside me.”
Hearing your submission snapped the last thread of his restraint as he flipped you over with a sudden, powerful movement, pinning your wrists above your head and looming over you.
His eyes were dark, blown out with lust, as he stared down at your flushed face and heaving chest. He lifted your legs, draping them over his shoulders to open you up completely, exposing your dripping, swollen pussy to his gaze.
“Look at it,” he rasped, staring at where his thick cock disappeared into your soaking wet folds. “Open and ready for me. You're going to take every drop.”
He began to hammer into you again, the angle allowing him to go even deeper. You could feel him hitting the very back of you, stretching you to your limit.
The friction was intense, a searing heat that built rapidly as he drove himself home over and over. Your head tossed from side to side on the pillow, your moans turning into loud, uncontrolled screams of pleasure as he relentlessly pounded into your depths.
He leaned down, biting hard into the curve of your neck, marking you as his own while his lower body worked like a piston.
The pace became frantic, a blur of skin, sweat, and raw friction. You felt the pressure building again, a tight coil of tension in your belly that demanded release.
“I'm... I'm close!” you wailed, your hips bucking wildly beneath him.
“Good,” he groaned, his breath hot against your skin. “Take it all. Take every fucking bit of it,” and with a final, guttural roar, Maekar surged forward, burying himself to the hilt and pinning you firmly against the mattress.
His body stiffened, his muscles locking as he erupted inside you. You felt the hot, pulsing torrents of his cum hitting your cervix, filling your pussy to the brim, the sheer volume of his release making you feel stretched and full.
As he poured himself into you, your own orgasm ripped through you, your walls clamping down on his shaft in violent, milking spasms that sucked him deeper.
You shook beneath him, your vision white, completely consumed by the feeling of him filling you with the promise of his children.
Andrew ‘Pope’ Cody x Pregnant!Reader: Pope has a nightmare, but when youre not nearby, he panics that it might be real…
Surprise surprise, another Dad Pope fic from me! Mentions of: blood, nightmares, anxiety, hints of PTSD, impostor syndrome, angst with a happy ending, Pope being an overprotective husband/farher to his unborn baby
Pope was never a sound sleeper, and after you had told him you were pregnant, sleep almost entirely evaded him, even if he wanted to give in to it.
You had subtly mused and admired Pope’s guard dog-like nature; watching over you and silently keeping an eye on you and the unborn baby like his life depended on it.
But you grew concerned as this pattern of behavior didn’t wane, and in fact concerned you for Pope’s welfare.
It started off small, mostly Pope waiting for you to fall asleep before him. He couldn’t stand the thought of himself falling asleep before you incase you needed him. In case something bad happened.
Gradually, this began to snowball into Pope remaining practically awake all throughout the night, sitting upright beside you in bed, watching you from the moment your eyes closed over to when you began to fuss yourself awake at the first sign of morning when the baby would start kicking.
Pope’s vacant sleeping pattern didn’t go unnoticed by you; you’d linger on how dark his under-eyes were, his slip in organizing things (one morning you walked in on him throwing out a bowl of cereal that he accidentally poured orange juice into).
Baby, please, just sleep for a fee hours, I’ll be fine
Andy, you’re going to make yourself sick if you don’t sleep right
Your eyes look so tired baby, why don’t you rest for half an hour?
You had gently cautioned Pope to take better care of himself. That you were okay, and the baby was healthy and growing at a normal rate. But this did very little to change Pope. He was set in his ways, and would continue his sparse sleeping habit even after your lengthy reassurances.
———
You were now several months along, with a very visible bump. Pope had surrendered some (if not all) his oversized gym shirts to you as a means of bed clothes. This suited him as it meant he could draw back the worn thin fabric whilst you slept so he could observe your rounded out belly, his baby nesting safe and sound inside of you.
Tonight however, Pope felt his exhaustion weighing on him physically and mentally. It had suddenly all caught up with him, the months of getting by on two or three and maybe no hours of sleep. Pope felt it during the afternoon, his eyelids heavy as he sat listening to his brothers, half tuned in and half resting.
But after a little guilt tripping and several kisses and pleas, Pope let you drag him to bed for an early night, where you both stripped off down to your underwear - for yourself you picked one of Pope’s ragged old shirts with a skate brand on it- and curled up into bed.
Sure enough, Pope tried to maintain his habit of watching you fall asleep first, but the moment he saw you close your eyes…his own slowly blinked shut, sleep rolling over him with ease.
———
“Andy?”
“Andy! Andy wake up! Please!”
“Andrew please! Help me!”
Pope shot up from bed at the sound of your frantic cries for help, the shrill crying of a baby accompanying you. But when he looked to find you on your side of the bed, there was nothing, just a mess of blood, stained into the sheets.
Pope tried to shout.
Tried to call your name.
But nothing came out, just a strange yawning sound as he attempted to scream his lungs hoarse.
“Andy please! Don’t leave us please help!”
“Andy! Help!”
“ANDY!-“
———
Pope practically gasped and clawed for air as he scrambled upright in bed, the now sweat drenched sheets constricting his body as he tried to twist upright.
“Off me get the fuck off me” Pope hissed through his teeth as he gripped and pulled at the fabric, the sound of the sheet seams ripping slightly under his agitated and frantic tugging.
Check her, check both of them.
There might be blood.
Don’t be useless.
Don’t be useless.
Don’t be useless.
Pope turned and reached for you, but to his horror you weren’t there. His blood ran cold as he started to panic that his dream potentially wasn’t just a dream, and that you had indeed been crying out for him, all the while he had been sleeping.
Where are you. Where are you both.
Fuck. Please, where are you.
Idiot, you useless idiot she needs you.
“Baby!” Pope called out, then he called your name with a little more intent as he clumsily got out of bed, marching down the corridor in the dark, panting like an aggitated animal to seek you out, wherever you were.
“Andy?” You replied, confused and concerned as you called back from where Pope could sus out the you were in the kitchen.
Pope stormed into the living room, immediately spotting you standing in the kitchen, a look of concern etched across your face as you looked at Pope’s visibly rattled and upset demeanor.
“Andrew? Baby what’s wrong?” You said, setting down your glass of water and stepping closer to Pope as he briskly approached, his bare feet slapping against the floor as he made his way over.
Without stopping, Pope pulled you into his arms and hugged you tight, mindful of your bump. You felt how clammy he was, sweat clinging to his auburn curls, his fingers digging into you as he held you close.
“Andy? Andy, whats the matter?” You frantically asked whilst pushing a little at Pope, turning yourself to lean back and take his head into your hands and look him over.
You saw Pope’s eyes searching you over, then scrolling down to your stomach and legs, unbeknownst to you, he was checking for signs of blood. Incase his dream -or rather nightmare- had been a reality. Thankfully, there was no sign of any blood or injury.
“Where were you?” Pope asked, his voice strained and slightly whiney as he tried to keep himself together. “I had a nightmare…’bout you and the baby…an I woke up…you weren’t there, and thought…thought something…to you…n’the baby…”
Your heart cracked wide open as Pope’s brows knitted together whilst he squeezed his eyes shut, as if to will the lingering visions of his nightmare away. You saw his hands reaching up and wrapping around your wrists whilst you continued to cradle either side of his face.
“Oh baby” You hummed and rubbed your thumbs across his cheeks. “Oh Andy, Im sorry…I just needed to get a drink and stretch my legs. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I heard you screaming my name, and I couldn’t shout back…and you were gone…there was…blood-“
Flashes of his nightmare pushed itself into the forefront of Pope’s mind.
The bloody sheets.
Your voice, scared and in distress.
His muted voice, unable to respond to your plea for help. For him.
Quickly, you pulled Pope back into a tight embrace. Hushing him, assuring him that both you and the baby were fine, and that it was all a nasty dream whilst peppering kisses across his panicked face.
“It’s okay, I’m okay…I’m right here baby…we’re all safe…s’okay Andrew…it’s all okay”
Eventually, after some tea pushed onto Pope on your part, the pair of you returned to bed, where Pope insisted he replace the sheets with the ones from the spare room, seeing how sweaty he had made them alongside the sizable tear in the seams he had created.
Once he was satisfied with the pristine nest he had made for your side of the bed, Pope looked at you, expectantly. You smiled and crept into bed, and looked at Pope as he stood at the foot of the bed.
“C’mere” you whispered, reaching out for Pope.
He moved immediately, coming around to his side of the bed, and nestled under the covers with you. He assumed his position, Pope’s position, the position he adopted when he needed you and your loving stability. Though the space was a little cramped now that there was a second occupant taking up residence.
“M’not hurting you?” Pope asked as he rested his cheek against the side of your stomach, his large hand reaching up to cup the underside of your bump as he curled up into your body.
“Not in the slightest” You smiled down at Pope, how he pressed into your body, his face resting against you where only several inches of soft anatomy separated him from the baby.
It went quiet for several moments, you closed over your eyes and were half asleep, and perhaps sleep could have claimed Pope, had it not been for his horrible inner voice of anxiety and cruelty seeping in as he went to touch your stomach again.
Don’t touch.
Don’t ever touch. You’re hands are too strong, made for hurting.
You’ll hurt them!
Pope blinked tightly and rapidly as he attempted to regulate his breathing after sharply inhaling. He angled his head up to look at your sleeping face, how your brow suddenly wrinkled and your limbs began to retract from the cool air on your warm, sleepy skin.
No please don’t wake up
I didn’t want to wake you up
But it was too late.
“Mmmbaby?” You tired voice made Pope start. “Whatswrong?” Your said, slurred and exhausted as your eyes peeled open, the sound of Pope’s sharp intake of breath having taken you out of your sleepy state.
He’s still afraid. He’s not settled. You thought as you vaguely made out Pope’s stiff form beside you.
That…and something (or rather someone) else had roused you…
Kick kick…kick…kick kick kick
“S’nothing” Pope hummed as he leaned down to kiss your forehead “Sorry for waking you.”
“You actually didn’t wake me” You sighed and shuffled a little.
Pope frowned and felt you reach for him in the dark, searching for his wrist. He gave you it, and let you place his palm and fingers flat on your belly.
Nothing…nothing…nothing…kick
“Oh” Pope let out a tiny huff of concern.
“S’been kicking around for about an hour I think.” You sighed, but there was no irritation in your voice, tired amusement at the baby’s activity. “It nearly stopped…until just now.” You chuckled helplessly.
Pope tucked his lower lip under his teeth as he contemplated the small kicks under his hand. That there was life inside of you, a little person he had helped to create. The result of yours and Pope’s love for one another.
Kick…kick kick…kick
“Hey…hey ease up” Pope gently said as he moved to lower himself, and lay along the length of you again with his face eye level with your stomach.
Pope lay flush against you, his thumb swiping slowly back and forth across your stomach, absorbing the tiny kicks and protests the baby was giving out.
“Started when we heard you in the kitchen.” You quietly muttered, already falling back asleep in the comfy pillow and blanket nest Pope had made for you. “Think he heard his Daddy upset”
Pope swallowed, his throat tight and eyes suddenly feeling sore with the prospect of tears.
“M’here…m’right here kiddo.” Pope hummed against your skin, hoping some part of the baby could pick up on it.
Kick…kick…tap…press…press…nothing
You were already relaxed and asleep, though a hand remained atop of Pope’s curls, resting from combing through his hair as he remained alongside you.
“M’sorry…don’t kick at her…” Pope quietly pleaded into your body, pressing a little kiss to the side of your belly.
Nothing…nothing…press…press
Pope couldn’t be sure of it, but he wagered it would have been the baby’s heel pushing back at where his low voice vibrated against the barrier of your body to it.
And then, Pope uttered the words he had dreamt of uttering. Whilst he peppered little kisses to your belly, whilst you sleep safe and sound, Pope whispered.
“M’here…m’right here…Daddy’s here…”
That was the first night in months where Pope slept for over eight hours.
Pairing: Andrew Pope Cody x mom!reader x toddler!daughter
Warnings: dissociation, mental health struggles, fluff, comfort.
Summary: Andrew dissociates and his girls has s rescue mission to kiss the monsters away.
Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction and written solely for entertainment purposes.
The sound of your daughter playing is loud, yet the silence inside Andrew' s head is deafening.
He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands rest heavy on his knees, fingers perfectly still. His eyes are wide, unblinking, fixed entirely on the curtains. He’s sinking, trapped in a gray fog where past regrets and future dread blur together into absolute nothingness.
Outside the open bedroom door, small sneakers squeak against the hallway tile.
Your five year old daughter stops in her tracks. She carries a stuffed dog by its ear, her eyes peeking into the bedroom. She watches her dad for a long moment.
He doesn't move.
He doesn't even seem to breathe.
She’s seen this look before.
She turns on her heel and runs back to the kitchen, where you’re leaning against the counter. She tugs sharply on the hem of your shirt, her brow furrowed.
"Mama," she whispers urgently, pointing a finger back down the hall. "Dada is doing it again."
Your heart aches slightly, but you don't let it show. You know exactly what she means.
You set down your mug, offering her a reassuring smile. "Is he? Well, let's go, sweet girl."
You scoop her up into your arms, settling her against your hip. She wraps her arms around your neck, burying her face for a second before looking toward the bedroom.
When you enter the bedroom, Andrew hasn't moved an inch. He looks entirely detached from his own body, a ghost sitting in a room he built.
You position her on Andrew's right, and you sit down quietly on the other side. The bed shifts, but he doesn't react.
"Hey," you say softly. "Look who found you."
Andrew doesn't turn, but a microscopic twitch in his jaw tells you he’s trying to fight his way back through the fog.
"Okay, careful, on three, babygirl," you whisper, leaning close to Andrew's side. She mimics you perfectly, leaning her small frame against his right side, her face inches from his cheek.
"One... two... three."
Simultaneously, you press a kiss to his left cheek while your daughter plants a loud and sloppy kiss on his right.
The physical contact snaps through him.
Andrew blinks rapidly, the dull film clearing from his eyes as a sharp breath hitches in his chest. His gaze lands on his babygirl's hopeful smile, and then at you.
The tension in his shoulders visibly melts away.
"There you are," you murmur, reaching up to gently cup the back of his neck, your thumb smoothing over his hairline.
Andrew swallows hard, his hand coming up to cover yours, pressing your palm firmly against his skin as if to convince himself you're actually there. He reaches out with his other arm, wrapping it securely around his daughter's waist and pulling her tightly into his chest. He buries his face in her curls, breathing her in, baby shampoo and sunshine, before looking back at you, his eyes clear and entirely present.
"I'm here," he rasps, feeling grounded.
Andrew shifts the toddler so she’s sitting right on his lap, her back pressed against his chest. His arms wrap around her.
She looks up at him. "You were gone, Dada."
"I was," Andrew murmurs, his voice softening. He gently tucks a stray curl behind her ear, his thumb brushing over her cheek. "But you brought me back."
She beams, entirely proud of her mission. She reaches up, her small hands grabbing both sides of his face, squishing his cheeks together. "Mama said we have to kiss the monsters away."
A smile breaks across Andrew’s face, crinkling the corners of his eyes. "Did she?" he asks, glancing up at you with softness.
"Mmhmm!" She nods solemnly, releasing his face to pat his nose. "Are they gone?"
Andrew catches her tiny hand in his, pressing a gentle kiss right into her palm. "Every single one. Thank you, bug."
She giggles, the sound bright and musical, and immediately squirms until she can bury her face in his neck, hugging him tightly.
Andrew closes his eyes, resting his chin on top of her head, just holding her close as you lean in to rest your forehead against his shoulder.
Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x pregnant!reader
Warnings: pregnancy, fluff, comfort
Summary: Being thirty four weeks pregnant and working a shift isn’t exactly the taking it easy your doctor ordered. Between heavy charts and a snack delivery, Jack makes it clear that he’s the most overprotective father-to-be.
✨ Based on this request ✨
ED was at its usual chaotic energy. You were tucked behind the nurse's station with a warm cup of tea and trying to ignore the dull ache in your lower back.
You were thirty four weeks along and the "taking it easy" memo from your OB-GYN had apparently been replaced with a high volume shift.
"I can take the chart for Bed 4, Jack," you said, reaching for the tablet as Dr. Abbot, your precious husband, rounded the corner.
He didn't hand it over. Instead, he held it just out of your reach, his eyes sweeping over you with a precision that usually preceded a lecture. "Bed 4 is a suspected spinal precaution. Which means a log roll. Which means lifting."
"I can assist," you countered, putting on your best I'm fine face. "I’m pregnant, love, not made of glass."
Jack stepped into your space, his hand dropping to the small of your back, his thumb tracing a soothing circle over the scrubs. His expression softened but his resolve didn't waver. "You’re thirty four weeks. Yesterday was a long shift. Today, you’re staying behind the desk."
"Jack—"
"No," he said, his voice dropping to a protective tone that made you huff. "I need you, and the little one, to stay out of risk until labor. Take it easy. ED will survive if you just handle the coordination for a few hours."
You opened your mouth to argue but a sharp kick to your ribs from the inside made you winced. Jack’s eyes widened, his hand immediately moving to the front of your bump.
"See?" he murmured, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Even she agree with me. Sit. Drink your tea. If I see you trying to move a patient, I'm calling Lena to personally escort you to the breakroom."
"You wouldn't dare," you gasped.
"Try me," he winked, leaning in to press a quick kiss to your forehead before turning back toward the trauma bays. "I’ll bring you a snack in twenty minutes. Don't move!"
You watched him go. You leaned back into your chair with a sigh, resting your hands over the spot where he’d just been touching.
"Your father is a menace," you whispered to your stomach. "He’s very bossy and currently treating me like a high risk intake. But I suppose we can give him a pass this time, right babygirl? Just for the extra snacks."
As if on cue, yoyr baby gave a solid thump against your palm, a clear vote in favor of the snack plan.
True to his word, Jack reappeared twenty minutes later. He wasn't empty-handed; he had a plastic container of sliced green apples with honey and a cold bottle of juice.
"Delivery for my girls," he announced, setting everything down in front of you.
"You actually found the good apples," you noted, reaching for one. As soon as the first bit of sugar hit your system, the baby went into overdrive, performing a series of enthusiastic somersaults.
"Whoa," you gasped. "Okay, someone is very excited about the apple with honey thing."
Jack’s eyebrows shot up. He walked around the side of the desk and kneeled. You reached out, taking his hand and guiding it to the right side of your bump where the movement was most frantic.
The moment Jack’s palm made contact, a sharp kick connected right with his thumb. Jack’s entire face transformed. He let out a soft laugh, leaning his forehead against the side of your stomach.
"Hi, babygirl" Jack murmured, his voice vibrating against your bump. "You like the sweet snacks, huh? Just like your mom. Keep growing big and strong, but maybe stop using her body as a punching bag for a few hours, okay? Give mama a break."
He looked up at you, his eyes bright with a mixture of emotions. "She's really active today."
"She’s definitely a fan of your catering," you teased, running your fingers through his hair.
Jack pressed a firm kiss to the center of your bump. He stayed there for a long moment, grounded and unbothered, making it very clear to the entire ED that his most important patient needed his attention.
summary — your daughter is scared of needles, but needs a routine vaccination. jack, your husband and the stepfather of your daughter, steps in to comfort her through the process. (based on this request) (3k)
featured — dr. jack abbot / fem!pediatrician!reader
content — no spoilers for s1 or 2, straight fluff, medical descriptions of vaccines and immunity, my little pony references (because i don't know what kids watch these days), jack being a good step father, tw. needles/shots
(cross-posted on ao3) (the pitt masterlist)
It feels a tad strange coming into work on a day off, but when one works at a hospital, work life can sometimes become melded with personal.
You know that better than anyone. You had, for a moment, become a running joke for how many times you arrived back at work after scheduled leave. It’s a bit like a toxic relationship at this point. You hate being at work, but you also can’t fully remove yourself from the environment that keeps you coming back time and time again.
The joke also caught its biggest flame when you started dating—and even more so when you married—emergency medicine doctor Jack Abbot. Then, you had even more reasons to stop by on your days off. Unexpected dropped off lunches and appearances to pick him up for dates at the end of his shifts garnered lots of laughter from your other pediatric doctors, and some of the emergency floor. (Dr. Shen and Dr. Ellis started their own betting pool, for a minute, based on when you would show up throughout the week).
For once, though, the reason you’re coming into the hospital isn’t about you, and it isn’t even about Jack. It’s about your daughter.
At eight years old, she has lots of opinions. It had started that morning when she woke up and decided she did not want to brush her teeth (which you of course had to convince her to do), she’d been upset to find that Jack was working and could not ride bikes with her (as they liked to do on Saturday mornings he had off work), and then suddenly decided that she absolutely would not be getting her Flu vaccine you had already scheduled her for at your local pharmacy today.
It isn’t often you give in to your daughter's outlandish whims, but you also know that aversions to needles is something that can become worse the older a person gets. You dealt with parents fainting over their child getting a small shot in the arm enough to know that you did not want your daughter to one day fear needles that much. So that’s why you made her a deal.
Get your vaccine from mom at work and maybe you can see Jack.
She’d been all for it, of course. From the day you’d introduced her and Jack seven years ago, she and him had been attached at the hip. It’s why you know that bribing her with the thought of his attention is a sure fire way to get her on board.
“Can we go see Jack now?” she asks the minute you step on the chaotic emergency floor. Even though she didn’t see her biological father often, and had known Jack since she was a baby, she still liked calling him Jack. You and Jack never correct her because you know that kids can have a hard time relinquishing titles like that.
“Have to get your shot first,” you tell her, weaving through doctors and nurses striding by in a frenzied hurry. You’re mostly trying to get off this floor before she sees something traumatizing.
You pass a young woman screaming at the top of her lungs in the psych hold area and you cringe, angling your daughter’s curious gaze away.
Entering through this floor had not been your first idea. Pedes was a few floors up, and not nearly as chaotic as the emergency floor. It also tended to not have nearly as much blood or gore. It had just about the same level of loudness, though—especially when babies are concerned.
“Is that my favorite pedes doctor coming in on her day off again?”
You flinch and turn your head just as you and your daughter have just about made it to the elevators. Since Jack’s been working more day shifts recently (to get better aligned with you and your daughter’s schedules, bless him), a whole new cast of characters has been taking up residence in his stories.
This one you recognize immediately, though.
“Dana,” you say with a short laugh, reaching out to give her a quick sidearm hug, the other still holding your daughter’s hand captive in your own.
She returns it softly, grinning at you with that warm, toothy smile.
“Hey hon.” She releases you after a quick pat on the back, eyes glittering. She looks down at your daughter and bends on her knees. “And here’s the one we’ve all heard so much about from Jack.”
You adjust your hand to rest between your daughter’s shoulder blades, gently nudging her forward. She’s dressed in a bedazzled rainbow dash t-shirt (the best My Little Pony, in her opinion) and a tulle skirt, and several butterfly clips in her hair. She’s been picking out her own outfits recently, but luckily they were still pretty cute.
She looks back at you nervously, but offers Dana a smile when she turns her head back. She gives the older woman a small wave.
“We didn’t want to have to spend the day at work,” you say to her, “but someone is a little hesitant to get her flu shot, so I thought I’d just bring her in and do it here.”
Dana shoots you a knowing look. “Well, let me know if I can help you guys at all.”—she turns to your daughter then, a smile on her painted lips—“Maybe if it all goes well, you can come see me for some stickers afterward?”
Your daughter grins, looking back at you. “Can we go do it now?”
You laugh at her sudden enthusiasm, turning to Dana. “You should come join us on the pediatric floor.”
“No thank you,” she says, shaking her head, “if I had to hear babies crying all day I’d lose my mind. Those days are over for me.”
“You have the touch!” you tell her over your shoulder as you weave into the elevator with your daughter in tow.
“I have bribes.” Dana’s laugh follows you as the doors begin to slide shut. “Not the same thing.”
You continue to smile even as the doors slide shut and the familiar weightless feeling takes hold as the elevator moves. Your daughter slides her hand from yours and you quickly check your phone for any notifications. The last text you received was at 7am this morning—Jack sneaking out but not without telling you he loves you over text and that he’d made breakfast.
You bite your lip as you relive the butterflies that erupted in your stomach from the simple phrase.
That is what is so rare, so special about Jack. He loves you unconditionally. Your last boyfriend, your daughter’s father, had practically skipped town when he found out you were pregnant. As far as you were concerned, he was just a sperm donor.
Luckily, you had met Jack about six months into your pregnancy. Somehow in that brief period when you spoke infrequently in between night shift consultations, you being single had come up in conversation and he made his move.
Two years later, he was the one doing puzzles with your daughter and drawing with crayons at the kitchen table. Later, he was the one teaching her how to ride a bicycle and tie her shoes. When you and Jack got married four years ago, your daughter had beamed ear-to-ear during the entire reception—and had run up to give her new step-dad a huge hug that resulted in many resounding “awws” in the audience.
Your daughter knew no other male parental figure except Jack, not really. Your ex visited on holidays, often with some kind of lazy $20 Target gift card and a Hallmark card. There’s some kind of the mysticism that comes when you’re a kid that’s visited by an absent parent once in a blue moon that keeps them haunting the back of your mind like an apparition, always.
She doesn’t know him like you do, and she only sees him twice a year, so she doesn’t have a fully-realized image of what he is or what kind of person he could be. She gives him graces that she wouldn’t afford anyone else in her life that are constants because of that mysticism and childhood naïveté. You don’t blame her—can’t. You do blame your ex, but there’s really not anything you can do about that either—except demand child support and remind him with texts of her birthday coming up every year.
You reach over to squeeze her shoulder affectionately and she looks up at you, giving a small smile.
“It will be over in no time, I promise.” You let go of her shoulder just as the elevator dings and the doors slide open to the, thankfully, much quieter pediatrics floor.
In the distance, you hear a baby crying that is quickly soothed by their mother’s voice. You glance down at your daughter as she steps into the floor behind you and your heart pangs.
Her eyes are wide, taking in every person that walks by with scrutiny, and she tries to hide the slight tremble to her hands.
You bend your knee, putting on your trained pediatrics smile. Her eyes dart to yours, a plea on her lips. “It will be over so quickly. I promise. And then we will see Mrs. Dana and she will give us stickers and we can go see Jack and give him a hug.”
She doesn’t seem entirely comfortable, still, but she nods and follows you as you lead her to the circle of desks near the center of the room. It’s a very similar setup to the emergency floor, except the rooms are less windowed for privacy and the walls are painted in a soothing nature scene for the kids to enjoy.
You find one of the pediatrics nurses, a friend of yours, and you ask him for some assistance. You set your daughter down in one of the stools at the front.
“Okay, this is mom’s friend Henry, and he’s going to help us with your flu shot. Is that okay?”
Your daughter looks over at the mid-twenty year old man standing across from her, hands clenched into little fists in her lap. She nods, then starts pulling at one of the strings in her rainbow skirt.
You look over at Henry, who begins prepping the shot. Your daughter stares at you with a tremulous chin, eyes beading with tears.
As Henry begins to wipe her upper arm with a sterile pad, she flinches and turns away, hiding her upper body from sight.
“I want Jack,” she says softly, “can Jack do it? I promise I will if he comes.”
You sigh and turn to Henry, who shrugs. You look down at your phone and raise a brow when it vibrates in your hand, as if beckoned.
Jack<3: how did little one’s shot go today? i’m on lunch
“Stay here with Henry for a minute, okay, honey? I'm going to go make a phone call.” Your daughter nods, but gives Henry a skeptical side eye as he continues to stand in front of her.
You back far enough away that your daughter can’t hear and press on Jack’s contact info to call him.
It only has to ring once before you hear his voice on the other side.
“You okay? Need me to head out?”
Your stomach flutters at the concern in his voice, even though you think it might be a little sadistic to feel that. Maybe it’s just that every day, in little moments, you’re reminded how much you and your daughter mean to him.
“If I were to tell you I’m in pediatrics right now, with little Miss-Afraid-of-Needles near-hyperventilating at just the thought of getting her flu shot, what would you do?”
“I thought you guys had an appointment for that?” You can hear shuffling on the other end and the sound of someone asking him a question, which he replies in a muffled voice you can’t make out.
“Well, I made a mistake,” you tell him, “I let her decide where we go to get the shot. I also promised she would see you after and that Dana would give her stickers. And she’s still upset about it all.”
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger, you know that?”
You snort a laugh through your nose. “Like you’re any better? Don’t think I didn’t see the smiley face you made her out of chocolate chips on her pancakes this morning.”
“It’s our Saturday tradition, honey. You know that.”
“I know, I know,” you laugh again, “just don’t try to lecture me about being too soft on her when I can literally hear you running to catch the elevator right now.”
He chuckles, then quietens.
“—I think the elevator’s about to arrive. I’ll see you in a minute?”
You nod, then you realize he can’t see you. “I love you. Thank you for making the time.”
You can hear the smile in his voice as he replies. “For you? Always.”
The call cuts just as you hear the elevator doors ding on the other side of the call. You turn around to look at your daughter, only to find her putting stickers all over poor Nurse Henry’s arm. You grin at her enthusiasm, striding over.
“You getting Nurse Henry looking pretty over here?”
Your daughter clams up as if she’s expecting you to be angry at her sudden 180 in emotion. You know kids, though, and you know that her fear was real and that just because she’s been distracted doesn’t mean she was faking it before. You squat down to her level, gently stroking her hair.
“Jack’s coming up now to give you your shot.”
Your daughter beams, but after a moment shrivels in on herself, her lip trembling.
You give her a kiss on the cheek. You pull back, forcing her to look at your eyes with a hand on her chin. “It will be okay. I promise.”
As if on cue, the elevator doors open and Jack comes striding in. He looks around for just a few seconds before his eyes land on where you stand across the room. He beams and quickly strides over.
Henry steps back as Jack takes his spot.
“Hey, bug,” he says to her. He pokes her arm and she lets out a soft laugh, turning away. “I hear you’re a little scared of your shot?”
She wrinkles her nose. “It hurts. And I can’t sleep on my arm at night when I get them.”
“Well,” Jack says, snapping on a pair of gloves from nearby, “sometimes life is about doing things that might make us hurt for a day or two so we don’t get really hurt later.”
“But I’ve never had the flu before,” she says, furrowing her brows.
“Do you remember what I told you about our bodies? That we have fighters inside of us that are usually really good at keeping viruses like the flu from making us sick?” She nods, so he continues. “Well, this shot”—he picks up the needle to show her—“has a code in it that those little fighters can learn, so that when you do get the flu, you might not get sick at all, because now they know what they’re fighting.”
Your daughter nods very seriously. “So my fighters are like Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash learning more about Nightmare Moon so they can stop her from taking over the world next time she shows up?”
You notice from the corner of your eye Henry biting his lip to smother his laughter. Meanwhile, you’re actually pretty impressed by her comparison to her favorite show. You also think in the same train of thought that maybe she needed less screen time.
“Yep, exactly,” Jack agrees enthusiastically. “And this shot is like the Elements of Harmony coming to change Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna.”
Now you’re the one holding back your laughter. You look over at Jack, impressed by his knowledge. He shoots you a sly wink as if to say ‘I know more than I’m letting on.’
Your daughter squares her shoulders and nods. “Okay,” she says, “do it. I’m ready.”
Jack smiles and grabs the sterile swab to rewipe her upper arm. She flinches at the cold liquid and you walk over to stand in front of her.
“Just look at me,” you tell her softly, “it will be over before you know it.”
She follows your direction obediently as Jack lines up the shot with her arm. As the needle enters, your daughter winces and tenses, but keeps her eyes on you all the while. Jack pushes the liquid in then removes the needle. He puts on a colorful bandaid to the wound.
“All done,” you say with a grin, “you did so good.”
She bashfully drops her eyes. “It barely even hurt.”
Jack stands, removing the gloves with a small, affectionate smile pulling at his lips.
She stands up from her stool. You think she’s going to move toward you when she surprises you by turning to hug Jack around his waist. Jack tilts his head toward her, surprised.
“Thanks, dad,” she says into his back. “You’re the best.”
She continues to bury her head into his scrubs, and Jack pats her head as he meets your shocked gaze. You think your mouth must be hanging open, but you can’t help it.
She pulls away and looks up at him. She frowns. “Why are you crying, dad?”
Jack wraps her in a gentle side hug, wiping away the small tears that had leaked out. “Nothing, bug. Just happy.”
Your daughter lets out a soft laugh, shaking her head. She begins to move away from the two of you quickly. “Okay, well stop crying and come pick out stickers with me.”
You snort at her drill-sergeant order and look over at Jack, who continues to grin and shake his head. You reach over to loop an arm around his waist, planting a kiss to his cheek.
“You earned it,” you whisper, “only a dad knows that many My Little Pony references.”
Jack lets out a laugh, leaning forward to capture your mouth in a full kiss.
The moment is broken when your daughter lets out a loud groan from across the room. “Come onnnn, gosh you guys are so gross!”
You laugh and pull away. You sweep your hand toward your daughter with a sarcastic grin. “C'mon, Jack. Fatherhood awaits.”
Summary: Jack manages a scary midnight crash, holding his six years old daughter close through her tears until the danger passes.
Jack phone’s alert alarm shattered the quiet of the house at 1 AM.
He flipped his phone over. The screen glowed harshly displaying a bright red circle and a downward pointing arrow.
50 mg/dL
Jack threw the covers off in an instant. He didn't need to check the app twice to know how fast a six year old’s blood sugar could plummet when it was crashing in the middle of the night.
He grabbed a juice box from the bottom shelf of the fridge, tearing the plastic wrap off the straw as he hurried down the hallway to the bedroom at the end of the hall.
Under a pile of cartoon blankets, a tiny mess of brown curly hair was sleeping.
"Hey, sweet girl," Jack murmured. He knelt by the side of the bed and set the juice on the nightstand, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Wake up for Daddy, please?"
She let out a tiny groan, pulling the blanket higher. When he gently pulled it back, he could feel the faint dampness on her forehead. She was clammy, her skin pale, and her little breaths were coming a bit too fast.
"Come on, sweetheart, open your eyes for me," Jack coaxed, slipping his arm under her back to help her sit up.
She felt like a ragdoll, her head rolling heavily against his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, glazed with heavy sleep and low-sugar fog. "Daddy..." she mumbled. "'leepy."
"I know you are, baby. I know " Jack said. He grabbed the juice box, guiding the straw to her lips. "I need you to take some big sips of this, okay? Just a few big sips, and then you can go right back to sleep."
She shook her head weakly, whining and trying to turn her face into his chest to hide from the straw. "No. 'leepy."
"I know, I know, but you have to," Jack insisted gently but firmly. He kept his arm wrapped securely around her waist, holding her upright against him while his other hand held the juice. "Just a little bit, sweetheart. For Daddy. Right now."
He nudged the straw against her lips again. Feeling the urgency in his voice, she finally relented, taking a few small sips.
But the fog of hypoglycemia combined with the sheer exhaustion of being woken up at one in the morning was too much for a six year old to handle.
As she swallowed the third sip, a huge tear spilled over her lashes, followed by a quiet sob.
"Don't want to," she cried softly, her little shoulders shaking as she buried her face into his neck, her hands clutching at his t-shirt.
The sound of her crying always tore him. Hearing his own daughter sob because her body was failing her in the middle of the night broke through every piece of armor he had.
He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest, rocking her back and forth in the quiet room. He pressed a warm kiss into her hair, his hand smoothing down her back.
"I've got you," he whispered. "I know it's hard, baby. I know you're tired but you're being so brave. I need you to be strong for just one more minute, okay? Just finish the juice so your tummy feels better."
He pulled back just enough to look at her, wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. He offered the straw again.
Sniffling and hiccuping, she looked at him with watery eyes. She nodded miserably, wrapped her small hands over his big ones around the juice box, and sucked down the rest of it until the straw rattled against the bottom.
"Good girl," Jack breathed, a wave of relief washing over him. "That's it. All done."
Instead of laying her back down against the pillows, Jack couldn't bring himself to let go just yet. Hearing her cry had left his own chest feeling thight.
He shifted his weight on the edge of the mattress and gently pulled her completely into his chest.
She didn't protest, too exhausted to do anything but collapse against him. She tucked her head right beneath his chin, her small face burying into the crook of his neck, while her little arms wrapped weakly around his torso. Jack bundled the cartoon blanket tightly around her small frame, sealing out the chill of the night, and held her close against his chest.
"I've got you," he murmured again against her hair. "Daddy’s got you."
He could feel the slight tremor in her small body from the low sugar, but as the juice began to hit her system, her breathing gradually started to slow down, losing its frantic edge.
Every few minutes, Jack glanced down at his phone screen resting on the nightstand. The app glowed in the dark, showing the red line finally starting to curve upward.
72 mg/dL.
He let out a long breath he felt like he’d been holding since the alarm first woke him.
She was fast asleep now, the tears entirely forgotten. Jack closed his eyes, resting his cheek against the top of her head. He knew he’d be exhausted when his day shift started in a few hours, but right now, there was nowhere else in the world he was going to be.
Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x mom!reader x daughter
Warnings: +18 angst, hurt, comfort, crying, early signs of autism, emotional breakdowns, posdiagnosis anxiety, fluff ending.
Summary: When signals of the unknown gives way to a life changing diagnosis for your three years old daughter, you, a terrified mother, crumble under the weight of the future. And Jack is right there in the dark with you, determined to prove that a diagnosis doesn't change who your perfect little girl is.
Based on this request 🎀 A/N I've done some research on the topic, but please tell me if I've written anything wrong!
Inspo ✧˖°.｡⋆
You sat on the living room rug, surrounded by a colorful scattering of wooden blocks.
A few feet away sat your three years old daughter, Maya.
She was meticulously lining the blocks up by color: red, then green, then yellow. Over and over again with an intense focus.
Jack walked into the room, two mugs of tea in hand. He set one near you and sank onto the couch, his eyes immediately drawing to Maya.
He watched her for a long moment, a crease forming between his brows. He had a... feeling, when he saw how her daughter was playing with the blocks.
"Hey, sweetheart," Jack murmured gently, leaning forward. "Do you want some of Daddy's tea?"
Maya didn't look up. Her fingers just adjusted a green block so its edges perfectly aligned with the red one before it.
"New game with the blocks?" he asked you.
You looked up at Jack, offering a tired smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. "She’s been doing that for an hour. That green one seems to make her nervous. I tried to join her earlier, but if I move one, she gets... inconsolable."
"Maya?" Jack gently called her name again. "Do you need help with the green block, babygirl?"
Nothing.
It was as if a wall separated her from the rest of the room.
"Maybe she’s just focused," you said, though the words felt like you were trying to convince yourself. "Kids get hyper focused sometimes, right? She’s just independent."
"Yeah," Jack said softly, but the medical part of him was quietly cataloging everything. "Maybe."
You swallowed hard when a moment of yesterdays afternoon flashed your mind. "She screamed yesterday. When we greeted our neighbor at the front door, his dog started barking at a bird. She covered her ears screaming and ran inside. I thought she was just startled. But I found her on the kitchen floor covering her ears, even though I couldn't hear the dog from here anymore."
A heavy silence settled between you. As a doctor, Jack was used to having answers, to diagnosing and fixing. But when it came to his own daughter, that instinct felt distant, and he only witnessed paternal anxiety.
Suddenly, the microwave in the kitchen began to beep, signaling that whatever was being heated was ready. It wasn't loud, but the deep chime echoed in the silence of the night.
Maya froze. Her posture went rigid, and her hands flew to her ears, pressing down hard. A whine pitched from her throat, her eyes fixed on the floor, completely overwhelmed by a sound she heard every single day.
"Oh, baby, it's okay, it's just the microwave," you whispered, moving instantly to her side. You went to scoop her into a hug, but the moment your arms wrapped around her, she stiffened even more, crying out and pushing against your chest, desperately trying to wriggle free.
Your heart sank.
It hurted that your comfort was seemingly making it worse.
"Hold on," Jack said and moved to the kitchen to turn the sound off.
When the sound faded, Maya let her hands drop from her ears, her breathing catching in little hiccups. She reached back out for her blocks, her fingers trembling slightly as she re-aligned a red one, one that Jack had accidentally kicked when he went into the kitchen.
Then, she reached out for you, instantly croudling to your lap while hiccupping.
"I've got you, sweet girl." You stood up with your little girl in your arms and sank on the couch. Jack came back and sit beside you. He wrapped an arm around you and pulled you and Maya against his side.
"I don't know how to help her when she gets like that," you confessed in a whisper. "I feel like I'm doing everything wrong. Why does she push us away?"
Jack kissed the top of your head, his grip tightening protectively around the two of you. He kept his eyes on Maya, his mind spinning with questions he didn't know how to answer yet. He knew medicine, he knew emergencies, but this was unchartered territory.
"You're not doing anything wrong," Jack promised. "We're going to figure this out. I don't know exactly what's going on in her little head right now. But we're going to find out. I'll call her pediatrician first thing in the morning, and we'll get some guidance."
He looked at you. "Whatever it is, we're a team. You, me, and Maya."
You nodded, taking comfort in his certainty, looking down at Maya, who was now entirely calm sleeping against your chest.
--------
The pediatrician’s office was quiet. You and Jack sat side by side, while Maya sat on the linoleum floor between your feet. She had found a plastic toy car in the waiting room and, instead of rolling it across the floor, she had turned it upside down and was using her thumb to spin the front left wheel over and over, completely mesmerized by the rotation.
Dr. Evans sighed gently, closing the thick folder in her hands. She looked up, her expression a mix of profound empathy and clinical clarity.
"Based on the developmental milestones we’ve reviewed, the sensory sensitivities you've described, and the observational assessments we just ran," Dr. Evans said calmly. "Maya is showing clear signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder."
The word hung in the air. Autism.
It was a word you'd both been thinking about for the past few weeks; somehow, deep down, you suspected the signs. Although the uncertainty had kept them up at night. Hearing it from a professional was like the world was suddenly collapsing around you.
You instinctively reached out, your fingers wrapping tightly around Jack’s hand. His grip was already there, waiting, holding onto you.
Jack sat entirely still. The clinical definitions in his head felt entirely useless against the wave of fear rising in his chest.
"Autism," Jack repeated. His brain was trying to force the word to make sense in the context of his three year old daughter. "So... the way she plays, the sensitivity to sounds... that's all part of it?"
"Yes, Jack," Dr. Evans replied gently with a nod. "Her brain simply processes sensory information and communication differently than a neurotypical child. She has her ways of comfort in a world that probably feels incredibly overwhelming and loud to her."
You looked down at Maya. She was still spinning the tiny plastic wheel, her face completely peaceful. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes, blurring her small form. "Did... did I do something during the pregnancy? Or did we miss something early on? I should have noticed sooner..."
Dr. Evans smiled warmly, trying to comfort you. "No, darling. This is genetic, neurological. It is nobody’s fault. And you didn't miss it, she’s only three. Catching this now means we are right on time for early intervention, which makes a world of difference."
You swallowed the lump in your throat, nodding weakly, letting Jack wipe a stray tear from your cheek with his thumb. Looking at the doctor, you asked, "What does this mean for her? Is she going to be okay? Will she have trouble... talk to us, or tell us what she need? How she's feeling? What about school? Socializing?"
"Every autistic child is entirely unique," Dr. Evans explained, leaning forward. "We can't predict her exact trajectory, but Maya is incredibly bright. She just communicates on a different frequency. Our goal now isn't to fix her or change who she is, but to give her the tools to navigate our world, and to give you the tools to understand her."
She handed Jack a packet of information: brochures for speech therapy, occupational therapy for sensory processing, and local support networks.
Jack took the papers. This was going to be a lifelong journey of learning, adapting, and patience. It felt terrifying, but as he looked down at the paperwork, a strange sense of grounding replaced the initial shock.
They finally had a name for it. They had a map.
"Maybe we could start with the occupational therapy," Jack suggested. "We’ll figure out how to make our home a space where she feels safe, not overwhelmed."
"Exactly," Dr. Evans said. "You're already doing a wonderful job. The fact that you noticed and sought answers is everything."
The appointment wrapped up, and Jack stood, lifting Maya into his arms. Normally, she might have squirmed away, but she allowed it this time, burying her face into the crook of his neck while still clutching the plastic toy car. Jack held her tightly, one arm supporting her weight, the other wrapping firmly around your waist as you walked out to the car.
After the appointment, you all went to have dinner together at your favorite place, trying to clear your minds of the new life that awaited you. But then, the drive back home was suffocating.
Maya sat in her car seat in the back, staring blankly out the window as the streetlights flickered across her face.
You didn't look at Jack. You couldn't.
You just stared straight ahead, your knuckles white as you gripped your purse in your lap. Every time Jack reached across the center console to touch your knee or find your hand, you subtly shifted away, wrapping your arms tightly around yourself.
You felt like if someone touched you right now, you would brake into a million pieces, and you were desperately trying to hold it together until you were behind closed doors.
Jack kept glancing at you, the muscle in his jaw twitching.
He knew that silence. Seeing it on your face, the absolute numbness, and the hollow look in your eyes, made his chest ache.
When you finally got home, it was late, so the routine was mechanical. You carried Maya, guided her through her bath, and helped her into her pajamas.
Putting her to bed took twice as long as usual. Tonight, the texture of her favorite blanket seemed to upset her. She whined, a high pitched sound that sliced right through your nerves, pulling at her collar and refusing to lie down.
Panic, cold and sharp, flooded your veins. Is it too tight? Is the fabric too rough? Am I making it worse? Your hands shook as you tried to soothe her, your voice trembling as you whispered, "Shh, baby, it's okay, Mommy's here," but the more you tried to adjust her, the more she stiffened.
Eventually, exhaustion won. Maya’s breathing leveled out while she was on your arms, finally sleep, her tiny fingers loosely curled around your shirt.
You put her on her scrib and stood over for a long time, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The diagnosis echoed in your mind like a death knell to the future you had envisioned. Every milestone you had taken for granted felt like it had been violently ripped away, replaced by a terrifying labyrinth of therapies, specialized plans, and a world that wouldn't understand her.
Will she have a good first day of school? Will she make good friends? Will she be able to whisper secrets to you? Will she say I love you, Mommy and actually know the meaning of that?
And the worst part: you were terrified of yourself.
You closed her bedroom door and went to your room. Jack was standing at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall, waiting for you.
"Is she down?" he asked, his voice low and raspy.
"Yeah," You walked past him into your bedroom.
The moment the door closed behind you, you totally broke.
A choked sob tore from your throat. You pressed your hands over your mouth to muffle the sound, your knees buckling beneath you. Before you could hit the floor, Jack was there. His strong arms caught you, pulling you violently against his chest as you collapsed into him.
"Hey, hey, I'm here," Jack murmured, his voice cracking as he hugged you. He plopped down on the bed with you, rocking you against him. "What's wrong, love? I need you to talk to me."
You gripped the fabric of his shirt, burying your face into his neck, your body shaking violently with tears. "E-Everything feels wrong, Jack." you sobbed, the raw terror finally bleeding out of you. "I don't know what to do, were do we start? Are we making the right decisions for her? I'm so scared, I just want to keep her safe from anything that hurts her."
"It's okay," he whispered calmly, though his eyes were glossy and a tear slid down his cheek into your hair. "We'll do what feels right. We have places to go, a doctor who will answer all our questions. And we'll take our time, step by step, we'll find what's best for her, okay?"
"No, you don't understand!" You pushed back slightly, your hands trembling against his chest, forcing him to look at the sheer panic in your tear-streaked face. "You're a doctor. You know what to do. You fix people, daily. I'm just... I'm her mother, Jack, and I feel I've been doing everything wrong. Every time I try to hold her, she screams. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I trigger a meltdown and I can't stop it? What if I ruin her?"
The raw vulnerability in your voice made Jack reach up, his hands framing your face, forcing you to meet his eyes.
"Look at me," Jack commanded softly. "You think I'm not terrified? You think because I'm a doctor I have the answers to this? I don't. When Dr. Evans said those words, I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second. I'm scared too. But we are not going to ruin her. You love her. I love her. That's the only prerequisite that matters. If we make a mistake, we learn from it. If a therapy doesn't work, we try another one. But do not ever think you are alone in this fear. I am right here with you."
You let out a broken breath as you looked into his eyes.
He was terrified too.
"What if she never understand we love her? What If she never says she loves us? I want her to be okay, to feel we are here for her." you whispered, the darkest, most agonizing thought in your mind finally escaping into the open.
Jack swallowed hard, tightening his grip on your waist, pulling you back into the safety of his chest.
"We will learn to read her." Jack whispered into your hair. "Because she does love us, sweetheart. She went straight into your arms after crying the other day. We'll learn from those little gestures. We are never, ever going to give up on her. Or on each other."
Jack kept his arms wrapped tightly around you. He didn't try to dismiss your fears. He knew the road ahead was going to be steep, and he knew there would be days where the frustration felt insurmountable. But as he looked toward the door, thinking of the little girl sleeping soundly just down the hall, a protective warmth settled over his chest.
Gently, he nudged your chin up with his fingers.
"Doll," he murmured, catching your attention.
You blinked through your blurred vision, leaning into his hand.
"She is our amazing girl," Jack said, his thumb wiping away the last trace of a tear from your cheek. "She is exactly who she was meant to be. Our girl. And if she can't say the words, then we will learn to read her. We are going to learn her language, sweetheart. I promise you."
You nodded, pressing your face back into the crook of his neck, finally letting your body go heavy against his.
There were still a thousand unanswered questions, and tomorrow would bring a whole new reality to navigate. But your amazing girl was safe, sleeping calmly on her bed. And, while listening to the calm beat of Jack’s heart beneath your cheek, you finally allowed yourself to breathe.
------------- Bonus scene
Jack slipped into his six years old daughter's room quietly. He watched her form tangled in her sheets. She was already half awake, staring intently at the dust motes dancing in the morning light, her fingers trying to catch the sun rays.
"Good morning, sleepy girl," Jack murmured, keeping his voice low. He waited, giving her a moment to register his presence.
Maya blinked, her gaze shifting to Jack’s face.
"Daddy," she said, her voice raspy with sleep.
"Ready for breakfast?" Jack smiled, offering his hand. Maya took it, letting him lift her out of bed.
Jack knew that morning rutines were their best friend now. He always placed her favorite plate and fork on the table in the exact positions she preferred. Today, he brought over a stepstool so she could stand next to him at the counter.
"We’re making pancakes today," Jack announced, measuring out the flour. "Do you want to pour the milk?"
"Yes, please." Maya nodded solemnly. She took the measuring cup of milk with both hands, her tongue poking out slightly in intense concentration.
Jack kept a steadying hand near, but he let her do it herself. She poured it into the bowl, watching the white liquid splash into the flour with rapt fascination.
"Good job, baby," Jack praised softly.
But when he was goint to take the cup, Maya tapped it against the side of the bowl three times, making sure there wasn't a single drop on it. Tap, tap, tap. Then she paused and did it again. Tap, tap, tap.
"There, done, daddy."
Jack just smiled, recognizing it as her rhythm. "Nice beat, kiddo," he said, taking the cup; then the spoon to finish the batter.
Minutes later, the kitchen was filled with the sweet aroma of pancakes. Jack cut her pancake into squares and sat down next to her at the table.
Maya ate with her usual pace, entirely focused on each bite. As she chewed, she suddenly stopped, her shoulders relaxing. She looked up at Jack.
"I like breakfast with dad," she said clearly. The cadence of her voice was a little flat, a little rehearsed, like it was an inside thought, but the words were entirely her own.
Jack froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. A wave of overwhelming emotion hit him so hard it brought a sudden sting to his eyes. He reached over, gently squeezing her small hand. "I like breakfast with you too, Maya. More than anything."
From the doorway, a soft sound caught Jack's attention.
You were standing there, leaning against the frame, wrapped in a oversized cardigan. Your hair was a bit messy from sleep and the expression on your face was pure awe. You had caught every single word.
Jack met your gaze with a smile across his face. You heard her? his eyes seemed to say.
You nodded and walked up behind him, resting your hands on his shoulders, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek before looking at your daughter.
"Room for one more at the table, sweet girl?" you asked softly.
Maya looked up at the sound of your voice. She didn't say yes or good morning. Instead, she picked up a piece of pancake with her fork and held it out toward you in a straight line, offering it to you.
You smiled, leaning down to take the bite before sitting next to her.
Maya looked at you, her big eyes blinking as she processed your presence. For a moment, she just stared, her hands resting on the table.
Then, completely unprompted, she slid off her own chair.
Maya approached you, turned around, and leaned her back against you, waiting for you to lift her onto your lap. When you did, she snuggled against your chest, her back pressing against you as she got comfortable.
You waited a second before you gently wrapped your arms around her waist, holding her close but leaving her enough room so she wouldn't feel trapped.
She didn't stiffen. She didn't push you away. She just sat with you, anchoring herself in your warmth.
Across the table, Jack watched the two of you in silence.
Maya reached down, carefully picking up her fork. With concentration, she stabbed a piece of pancake, with no syrup, exactly how she liked it, and lifted it up, holding it out toward your mouth.
"Eat, Mama," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the fork.
You leaned down and gently took the bite from her fork, chewing it as you rested your chin on the top of her soft hair, inhaling her sweet, sleepy scent.
"Thank you, baby," you whispered. "It’s delicious."
Maya nodded once, satisfied with your reaction, and immediately went back to looking at the rest of her plate, entirely content in the safety of your lap.
You looked up, meeting Jack’s gaze across the table. He reached you, his hand finding yours and squeezing it tightly.
Lately, there were no words needed between the two of you. The fear of the unknown hadn't entirely vanished after years, but sitting there in the quiet morning, with your daughter tucked safely against you, you knew Jack was right.
You were learning her language, step by step, and the journey was beautiful.
Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x girlfriend!reader
Warnings: fluff, emotional, mentions of medical cases, pregnancy.
Summary: A small gift box changes Jack's entire world forever.
Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction and written solely for entertainment purposes.
It was just after 7 AM on a Sunday. You carefully balanced a wooden breakfast tray on your forearm. On it sat two plates of eggs and bacon, a stack of pancakes, and two mugs of black coffee.
Right on cue, the front door clicked open. A moment later, Jack appeared in the bedroom doorway.
"Tell me I'm not hallucinating," he murmured. "Did I die on the way home and go to heaven?"
"Not quite, handsome," you teased, setting the tray carefully on the nightstand. "Just a girlfriend who knows exactly what a twelve hour shift feels like. Come here."
He walked over, wrapping his arms tightly around your waist and left a soft kiss in your neck.
"You're my lifesaver," he whispered against your skin.
Jack sat down on the edge of the mattress. You watched as he leaned forward to unfasten the straps of his prosthetic leg. It was a routine as natural to the two of you as breathing. He slipped the socket off, setting the prosthetic carefully against the nightstand. He rubbed the residual limb with a sigh, the tension visibly leaving his lower back, before swinging his leg up and propping himself up against the pillows.
You slid into bed right beside him, pulling the duvet over both of your laps and settling the breakfast tray between you.
Jack immediately reached for the coffee, taking a long gulp. "God. I needed this so bad."
"Rough night?" you asked, cutting into a pancake.
He leaned his head back against the headboard. "The usual Saturday night madness. Two vehicle accidents, a couple of bar fights, and a teenager who thought fireworks in June were a brilliant idea. But..." He trailed off, his eyes turning a little distant as he stared at his coffee mug. "...there was one case right at the end of the shift that’s still sticking with me."
"Yeah? What happened?"
Jack took a slow breath. "A guy came in. Severe chest pains, classic myocardial infarction. We had to rush him straight to the cath lab. His kid was with him, must’ve been no older than seven or eight. Just sitting in the waiting room, crying, holding a handmade card he’d drawn."
Jack looked over at you. "The kid kept asking if his dad was gonna make it, because he couldn't give him his draw if he didn't wake up. It hit me right in the chest when I realized the date." He offered a poignant smile. "It’s Sunday. It’s Father’s Day."
You reached across the tray, slipping your hand into his. His fingers immediately intertwined with yours, squeezing tightly. "Did the dad make it?" you asked softly.
"Yeah," Jack nodded with relief. "We got the blockage in time. Stable, recovering in the ICU. Before I clocked out, I walked past the room and saw the kid sitting on the edge of the bed, helping his dad hold the draw. Just... totally protective of his old man."
The bedroom fell into a quiet silence. Jack stared down at your joined hands, his thumb tracing circles over your knuckles.
"Seeing them like that," Jack said, his voice dropping quieter now. "It made me think. I spent so many years just focusing on surviving, on the ER, on just making it through the day. I never really let myself look past the next shift."
He lifted his eyes to meet yours, intense and full of an emotion that made your heart skip a beat.
"But looking at that kid today… and then coming home to you, seeing you waiting for me like this… it made me want it, again. For some time, I've been thinking about it, really wanting it, you know?" He swallowed hard. "A family. With you. I want to be that guy one day. The one getting the messy handmade draws."
A sudden rush of warmth blooming in your chest.
"You're going to be an incredible father, Jack," you whispered looking into his eyes. "You’re already the most protective and caring man I know."
A radiant smile broke across Jack’s face, reaching all the way to his eyes and crinkling the corners.
"Yeah?" he murmured playing with your fingers.
"Yeah," you laughed softly, but a sudden wave of nerves and excitement fluttered in your stomach. You hesitated for a second, testing the waters. "How exactly do you see yourself as a father? You think you can handle diaper duty after a twelve hour trauma shift?"
Jack chuckled, leaning his head back against the pillows as he genuinely thought about it. "Honestly? I think I’d be the overprotective dad who checks their breathing every five minutes. And I’ll just use my trauma precision to handle the swaddling. And I'll probably be the guy teaching them how to throw a baseball while completely ruining my prosthetic." He smiled warmly, looking at you. "And with you by my side? I think I'd be a pretty damn good one."
You bit your lip, a wide smile breaking across your face that you couldn't suppress.
"Well," you said, your voice suddenly a little breathless, "I certainly hope you'll be a good father."
Before he could register the sudden shift in your tone, you abruptly moved the breakfast tray off your laps.
"Okay, why the rush? Where's the fire?" Jack blinked, startled, as you hurriedly carried the tray across the room and set it down on the small table by the window.
"Just clearing the blast zone," you teased, your hands shaking slightly with adrenaline. You walked over to your dresser, pulled a small wrapped gift box from the top drawer, and walked back to the bed.
Jack watched you, thoroughly confused now, his eyebrows furrowing as you slid back under the covers and handed him the box. "What’s this? Did you buy me a gift? Something on sale for Father's Day?"
"Shut up and open it," you chuckled, sitting next to him.
Jack gave you a suspicious look as he pulled the ribbon.
He lifted the lid, removing a layer of white tissue paper.
His tired look vanished from his face instantly.
Resting at the bottom of the box was a tiny small pair of knit newborn shoes. And resting right beside them was a white plastic stick with two distinct and undeniable pink lines.
The bedroom went completely silent.
Jack froze as his brain tried to process what he was looking at. He stared at the positive pregnancy test with his chest rising and falling in quick breaths.
"Are you..." Jack’s voice cracked completely, his throat tight. He looked up at you, his eyes suddenly glassy and swimming with tears. "Is this... are we...?"
"Happy first Father's Day, Jack," you choked out, tears of your own finally spilling over.
Jack carefully placed the box on the nightstand next to his bed, his hands trembling so badly he didn't want to risk dropping it.
The moment his hands were free, he lunged forward, catching your face. "I love you, i love you, i love you." he said placing kisses all over your face. "God, I'm so happy, I'm gonna be a dad," he muffled against your skin, his voice thick with emotion. "We're going to be a family."
"Yes, handsome, you're going to get a lot of messy handmade draws."
Jack hooked his arms under your thighs and waist. In one effortless motion, he lifted you directly onto his lap. You gasped in surprise, your hands instinctively flying to his shoulders to steady yourself as you straddled his good leg, your knees framing his waist.
Jack didn’t hesitate. He cupped the back of your neck with one hand, his fingers tangling in your hair, while his other hand anchored firmly around your lower back, pulling your hips flush against his.
Then, he leaned up and kissed you.
It was a passionate, deep, and utterly breathless kiss. His lips parted yours with possessive tenderness, tasting the salt of your shared tears as he poured everything he was feeling into the kiss.
It was a promise, a thank you, and a declaration of absolute devotion all wrapped into one.
You wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, leaning into him completely, melting against his chest. You could feel the emotional tremble in his lips.
When he pulled back, he didn't let you go, he kept his forehead pressed firmly against yours. His hand moved down to rest flat against your stomach, his fingers spreading wide over the fabric of your shirt, already protectively.
"You have no idea of the happiness I'm feeling right now," Jack whispered, his voice was so intense with emotions tjhat it made your heart ache. "You have absolutely no idea how much I love you."
