Got really inspired by this headcanon and wrote this silly little one-shot scene into my post-canon universe below the cut.
"Gallagher Girl?" He whispered. "Are you awake?"
He knew she was. He counted her breaths subconsciously as her head lay tucked against his collar bone. After twenty years, he knew this woman better than he knew himself. He knew every inch of her body and mind, every curve, every scar. He knew this moment was safe.
"Hmm?" She mumbled against his chest, without moving.
"I think I'm ready," he said. The words had been bouncing around Zach's head for weeks. Every time he held his six-month-old son in his arms. Every time he watched his three-year-old daughter solving a New York Times crossword puzzle without knowing any of the words. But when they finally passed through his lips they came out no louder than a whisper.
"Is it the kids?" Cammie asked, her breath warm against his chest.
Zach nodded. "I don't want. . ." His voice trailed off. He hated the way thoughts of his mother still affected him. As if she had any right to still be alive in his head after all these years. He ran his hand along Cammie's back, pulling her closer to him. He summoned the courage to speak.
"I want to be here," he said softly. "I want to watch them grow up. I don't want them to ever wonder if I'm coming home."
Cammie nodded. "I understand," she said softly. "I love that for you. I'm not there yet," she admitted. "But I love that for you."
Zach nodded. He wasn't asking her to give up her job. Not now. Not ever. Cammie's work was an innate part of who she was. When she was ready to leave the field, that decision would have to be hers, and hers alone.
"What do you want to do next?" She asked. Her voice was gentle, without judgment. Her tone said she'd be fine if Zach wanted to be a stay-at-home Dad. But Zach had something else in mind.
"You grew up at Gallagher, right?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
Cammie nodded. "My mom took over at the same time I started seventh grade." She knew that he knew this, but she was patient with him nonetheless.
"Did you like living there?" He asked.
Cammie nodded. "It was my home for a long time. Sometimes it was lonely over the breaks," she admitted. "But I never once wished we lived somewhere else."
Zach nodded. "This would be a little different," he said carefully. "But how would you feel about moving to Maine?"
Cammie was silent for a long moment, considering. Zach didn't know what to make of it. Was she surprised that he wanted to go back to Blackthorne? Teenage Zach had sworn he would never set foot in that place again. But he wasn't teenage Zach anymore. What had once seemed like a prison now stretched before him like an open road. Blackthorne had been slowly changing over the last twenty-five years. Perhaps he could be the one to finish the job.
"Is that really what you want?" Cammie asked.
Zach nodded. "I think so," he said. "I know it sounds crazy, after everything," he admitted. "But I think this is what I'm supposed to do. I think we could bring Blackthorne into a new era."
"You're not afraid it's going to be an enormous trigger for both of us?" Cammie asked. And Zach could hear the fear in her voice. Cammie's nightmares had dramatically improved since they'd moved to Chicago nearly a decade ago. And now he was asking her to live within the walls of one of the most traumatic moments of her life.
"The tombs are gone," Zach said softly, running his hand over her shoulder. Cammie involuntarily shivered at his words. He kissed the top of her head. "And the rest is different now," he assured her. "Not Gallagher different," he said, "But less of a prison and more of a military school. It's not luxurious," he admitted. "But it's different."
"It's going to be odd for Chloe," Cammie said softly. "Growing up with 150 big brothers."
"She'll be the safest little girl in the world," Zach smiled. "They'll be wrapped around her little fingers in no time."
"And you're sure there's a place for you?" Cammie asked.
Zach nodded. "The headmaster reached out after. . ." his voice broke off. Joe Solomon had been dead for almost four months, but it was still hard for him to speak of his adoptive father without breaking down. It was still impossible to think that the most vigilant and invincible man he'd ever known had been blindsided with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. He cleared his throat. "He said it was an open invitation."
Cammie nodded. This would be Joe's legacy. The unspoken truth of it floated between them. Zach was Joe's legacy.
"Okay," Cammie said, snuggling closer to Zach and kissing his cheek. "We'll start packing in the morning."