Just the week before your returned to work it was Miracle's birthday. She wanted a hospital themed birthday party. The two of you tried to talk her into a different theme but she was adamant about it.

It was easy to decorate, you both just stole supplies from your departments. Gloves for balloons, blank prescription bottles for goodies, and face masks for the hell of it. Everyone seemed to have a fun time. Especially Miracle. She received an abundance of gifts from her friends.

Robby was the last to give his gift, "You can be whatever you want to be when you grow up, but just know there is always a place for you in The Pitt."

Miracle opens the box and inside is a stethoscope. "Thank you, Uncle Robby!" She immediately puts it on and presses it to his chest. "It's real! I can hear your heart beat."

"Do you like?"

"I love it!" She jumps into his lap for a hug.

When the party is over and all the guests are gone, Miracle goes to her room to play while you two clean up. "This is the first party in this house." Jack mentions

"Oh nice, a christening. Hopefully we can plan for more." You smile.

"Would you like to host more parties?" He asks

"I've never had a lot of friends to do it." You shrug, "I think it's nice to share big moments like birthdays with other people."

He nods as he continues to wash dishes.

"You want to host a party, and propose to her at said party?" At work, Robby tilts his head as Jack explains to him the plan.

"Everyone will know it's an engagement party, except her. She likes surprises. It'll be okay, right?"

"What if she says no in front of all those people?" Santos interjects.

"You think she'll say no?" Jack turns to her worriedly.

"There's always that chance, You can't be too sure." She shrugs.

"No way she says no. She loves you." Javadi counters.

"But she did have her doubts before." Jack's gaze goes distant. Was this a bad idea?

"Yes that was before. Before her abusive ex was sent to prison and she saw help to not negative emotions delegate her life. She's doing things now she's never done before living with a partner, hosting parties, going out with friends! She doesn't live in fear anymore." Robby holds his shoulders.

"But there's still a chance she could say no." Jack huffs.

"This is the most worried I've ever seen him." Ellis watches beside Mel as the attendings talk.

"I'm like this… all the time." Mel says.

"I don't even have a ring yet so nothing is set in stone. Miracle is starting kindergarten soon and she just started back to work. A lot is going on right now." He takes a breath and looks around seeing the swarm of residents surround the desk listening to his panic, "Don't you people have work to do?" The crowd quickly disperses, shuffling to find something to do.

Later in the night when it gets quiet, Jack goes to the ICU. You're sitting at one of the desks typing on a chart. You brighten when you see him, "Hey, what are you doing up here?"

"I just wanted to check on you." He smiles, "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine. You know, you could've just texted me,: You look at him, knowingly.

"It's nothing. I wanted to see you."

Some nurses giggle as they walk past the desk. "Hi Dr. Abbot." They chime.

"Thank you, I'm fine." You stand up and hold his shoulders, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you for sure for sure? C'mere." You take his hand and lead him to one of the supply closets. "What's going on? Tell me."

"It's no big deal."

"Liar, you won't look me in the eye." You hold his face.

He takes a breath, "Do you want to get married?"

"Like in general or to you specifically?" He wilts. "I'm kidding! Of course I want to marry you. Is that what you are worried about?"

"I was getting in my head about it. A lot has been going on. I don't even have a ring. Miracle is starting school at the end of the month—"

You put a finger to his lips, "We're not automatically jumping to a huge ceremony the day you propose. Relax." You rest your hand on his chest, "You can relax knowing, when you get a ring, I will say yes. I promise" You kiss him to seal the promise.

"You promise." He rests his forehead against yours.

"Mhm. Now, when you do it should I act like an automatic yes where I nod my head fast and jump around or should I hold the suspense so people think there's a split second chance I might say no so it makes it more exciting."

He rolls his eyes, "The less anxious option please."

You giggle as he presses his lips against yours. You squeal as he moves down your neck.

"New patient in 10 from— Hello Nurse!" Your friend, Nana, walks in through the other door.

The two of you separate, "What were you saying?"

"Huh? Oh new patient in 10 from surgery. He's all yours." She grabs some items from the shelf, "Hi, Dr. Abbot."

"Hi, Nana." He looks at his shoes.

Once she leaves, you turn back to him, "Feel better?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll text you my ring size and some reference photos so you can get looking." You give him another peck on the lips then push him out of the door.

A warm night in September, when you both have a day off together, you invite a few friends over for a nice dinner party. Jack lets you handle the details, he follows your lead. You invite Robby, Dana, Lena, and your friends in the ICU Nana and Therese. And of course your guest of honor, Miracle.

You pour drinks for everyone and laugh with them as Jack brings out the food. You go into the kitchen to help, "Are we having dessert?"

"It's a surprise." He smirks.

"Thank goodness I practiced my surprise face." You take more plates and kiss his cheeks.

After dinner, Miracle gets sleepy and crawls into your lap as the adults continue talking and laughing telling stories. You sway side to side as you listen. You look over at Jack. You take in every detail of his face as he smiles and laughs. You think to yourself, yes you could spend the rest of your life with him. You were each other's second chance. You both deserve this chance at happiness. Your love has shown to be boundless and right now you couldn't be happier.

"I'm not very good at this but we gathered you all here today because we all have been a big part of our lives. And that is all due to the biggest part of our lives, our little girl." Jack pinches her side causing her to squirm in your arms. "Now I can't imagine my life without her and her mom." His eyes move from her to you, "I love you more than anything. I hope I've proven that I'd do anything for you. You have my heart and I want us together until the very end. Will you marry me?" He pulls out a small velvet box and opens it setting it on the table. A dainty silver band with a diamond rests in the cushion of the box. Miracle gasps jumping out of your lap when she sees the ring and the room falls silent.

"Jack…" Your eyebrows knit together.

He gulps nervously as you pause. Everyone's eyes widen as they wait. You can't hold the suspense much longer, "I will. I would love to marry you." Everyone cheers and clinks their glasses together.

"You said you wouldn't do that." He takes the ring out of the box and places it on your ring finger.

"Sorry I had to see you squirm a little." You kiss him.

"My mommy and daddy are getting married." Miracle squeals.

"Just like the movies, Lovely. Are you happy?"

"Yes!" She holds Jack's neck for a hug and he kisses her cheek, "Now Daddy will really be my daddy."

After another round of congratulations, your friends bid you farewell and go home. You tuck Miracle into bed. "You know, Mommy will need a flower girl."

"I will do it!" She raises her hand.

"You will?! Oh thank goodness. I love you, My Little Miracle." You kiss her nose.

"I love you too, Mommy."

"Goodnight, Miracle," Jack kisses her forehead.

"Goodnight, love you."

"Love you too, Princess." He turns out the light and you scurry off to bed with him.

When you close your bedroom door, you jump into his arms and pepper his face in kisses., "You are not nice." He mutters between the kisses. You push him on to the bed.

"C'mon I couldn't make it that easy for you. When have I ever done that for you?" You shimmy out of your clothes, "Just one last time, I promise."

Jack removes his prosthesis and takes his shirt and pants. "You promised last time." He pulls you close by the waist.

"Ugh but you should have seen your face." You straddle his lap, "I could never say no to you and yet you still looked scared."

"There's always the chance."

"There's never the chance." You hold his face, "I couldn't get you out of my head when we met. Remember the very last time I went to ED? I said Miracle wanted to see her friend."

"Yeah?"

"I lied." You kiss his neck.

"You did?"

"Well, sort of. She did miss you but she would have been okay. The daycare didn't call me, I snuck out to talk to you."

"Mm, like mother like daughter." He chuckles and kisses your chest, "It was coincidence that the one time you take the elevator down you bump into me at the same time I try to sneak away."

"It was meant to be. No matter how hard I resisted, I was always going to yours." You both scoot deeper on the bed. "I love you, Jack. I was always going to say yes to you." You begin to kiss down his chest, "Always."

His breath hitches then he grabs your hand and pushes you over so you're on your back. "I love you too but tonight is your night." He kisses down your stomach.

The two of you have a quiet and restless night as the future Dr. and Mrs. Abbot.

˖⋆࿐໋₊ ☆

You press your hand over your stomach carefully, like you’ll somehow feel something different already.

Nothing.

Everything.

You feel everything.

Fear curls sharp beneath your ribs.

Not because of the baby.

Because of him.

Not because you think Mateo would leave.

That’s the problem.

You think he’d stay no matter what.

And you don’t know if that makes this easier or infinitely more terrifying.

You and Mateo have been together for almost two years.

Most people think Mateo is intimidating before they know him.

Not because he's scary. Because he's just a lot. Present.

At the hospital, patients love him because he’s calm in chaos. Nurses trust him because he never panics. Residents simultaneously fear and adore him because he remembers everything and notices everything.

Outside of work, though, Mateo is quieter.

Gentle in ways people don’t expect.

He kisses your forehead absentmindedly while making coffee. He remembers how you take your tea without asking. He leaves little notes around the apartment because he knows they make you smile.

Eat lunch today. Miss you already. Proud of you.

He loves with consistency instead of spectacle.

It’s worse, somehow.

Harder to protect yourself from.

You fell in love with him slowly and then all at once.

One day he was just the handsome nurse who flirted with you shamelessly in the ER waiting room.

The next he was home.

And now there’s a baby.

Your baby.

His baby.

Your stomach twists violently.

Beside you, Mateo stirs.

“Mama,” he mumbles sleepily, voice rough. “You okay?”

You freeze.

He calls you mama constantly. Not in a weird way. In a soft way. Affectionate. Thoughtless. Natural.

Usually it makes your chest warm.

Tonight it nearly makes you cry.

“Yeah,” you whisper quickly.

His eyes barely open. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m cold.”

Immediately he moves closer, half-asleep and automatic, wrapping himself around you until your back presses against his chest.

“There,” he mutters.

You bite your lip hard enough to hurt.

His hand settles over your stomach again.

And you stare into the darkness thinking, Oh God.

The next week is hell.

Not dramatic hell.

Quiet hell.

The kind where Mateo notices you’re distracted before you even speak.

“You’re somewhere else lately,” he says one evening while chopping vegetables for dinner.

You sit at the kitchen island pretending to answer emails.

“Just stressed.”

Mateo glances at you.

One glance.

That’s all it takes.

Because he knows you too well.

“You haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You threw up brushing your teeth this morning.”

Your heart stops.

He turns fully toward you now, knife forgotten.

“You okay?”

There’s no accusation in his voice.

Only concern.

Always concern.

You force a laugh that sounds horribly fake even to you. “I think I have a stomach bug or something.”

Mateo narrows his eyes slightly.

He knows you’re lying.

You can see it.

But he doesn’t push.

That’s the awful thing about Mateo. He never corners you. Never forces. He waits until you’re ready to hand him the truth yourself.

Sometimes that kindness destroys you.

He walks over slowly, stopping between your knees where you sit perched on the counter stool.

His hands settle on your thighs.

Warm.

Steady.

“You wanna talk about whatever’s happening in that head of yours?”

Your eyes sting instantly.

God.

You look away.

“No.”

Mateo goes quiet for a second.

Then softer, “Okay.”

No pressure.

No anger.

Just okay.

You nearly break right there.

You make it another four days before falling apart.

Four days of nausea.

Four days of panic.

Four days of staring at Mateo while he exists so beautifully and thinking how can one conversation change everything?

The breaking point comes on a Tuesday.

You’re sitting on the bathroom floor at six in the morning after throwing up again when Mateo finds you.

He’s halfway dressed for work, navy uniform shirt hanging open over a white tee.

The second he sees you, his face changes completely.

“Hey.”

You wipe your mouth quickly. “I’m fine.”

“Bullshit.”

He kneels immediately.

Big hands cupping your face.

Concern carved deep between his brows.

“You’ve been sick for two weeks.”

You can’t look at him.

Mateo goes still.

Completely still.

And you know the exact moment the thought enters his head.

You watch it happen behind his eyes.

The confusion.

The calculation.

Then stunned realization.

His mouth parts slightly.

Your heartbeat roars.

“Baby,” he says carefully, slowly. “Are you pregnant?”

You start crying instantly.

Not graceful tears.

Not pretty tears.

Full body, shaking sobs that wrench out of you before you can stop them.

Mateo’s expression transforms into immediate panic.

“Oh shit— hey— hey, no, no, come here—”

He pulls you into him without hesitation, kneeling on the cold bathroom tile while you cry against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” you gasp out.

“For what?”

“I didn’t know how to tell you—”

Mateo leans back fast enough to look at you properly.

“You are pregnant?”

You nod miserably.

His entire face goes blank.

Not angry.

Not upset.

Just stunned.

Like the world tilted sideways.

You start crying harder immediately.

“I knew it,” you whisper brokenly. “You don’t want—”

“What? No.”

Mateo grabs your face again.

“No, don’t do that. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“But you’re not saying anything—”

“Because I’m trying to process the fact that we made a whole human.”

Despite everything, a tiny hysterical laugh escapes you.

Mateo stares at you for another long second.

Then his eyes drop slowly.

To your stomach.

Your still-flat stomach beneath one of his old hoodies.

Something changes in his face.

Something devastatingly soft.

“Oh my God,” he whispers.

His hand moves carefully.

Tentative.

Like he’s afraid to touch you suddenly.

When his palm settles against your stomach, his entire body seems to still.

You start crying again immediately.

Mateo laughs softly through obvious emotion. “Baby, why are you crying like I told you the world ended?”

“I didn’t know if you’d be happy.”

His head snaps up so fast it almost startles you.

“Happy?”

You nod helplessly.

Mateo looks genuinely wrecked by that.

He exhales sharply and shifts closer until his forehead rests against yours.

“Listen to me,” he says quietly. “There is literally nothing on this planet scarier than having a kid.”

You let out a watery laugh.

“But it’s you,” he continues. “It’s our kid.”

His voice cracks slightly on the word our.

And suddenly he looks emotional too.

“I love you so much it actually makes me feel insane sometimes,” he admits softly. “You really think I wouldn’t be happy?”

You break completely after that.

Mateo catches you easily.

Always does.

He holds you on the bathroom floor while you cry into his neck and he kisses your temple over and over.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs. “Hey. We’re okay.”

“I’m scared.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know how to do this.”

“We’ll learn.”

“What if we’re terrible at it?”

Mateo pulls back just enough to look at you.

“You know what my biggest memory from childhood is?”

You shake your head.

“My mom dancing in the kitchen while cooking dinner.” A tiny smile pulls at his mouth. “Not money. Not school. Not any of that shit. Just… feeling loved all the time.”

Your chest aches.

Mateo brushes tears from beneath your eyes carefully.

“That’s all kids really need,” he says softly. “People who love them.”

Then he smiles.

Small at first.

Then bigger.

Real.

Disbelieving.

Beautiful.

“We’re having a baby,” he whispers.

The wonder in his voice ruins you.

You laugh through tears as he suddenly cups your cheeks and kisses you hard enough to steal your breath.

When he pulls back, he’s grinning now. Actually grinning.

“You’re carrying my kid,” he says, sounding awed.

“Mateo—”

“No, because that’s crazy.” He laughs breathlessly. “That’s actually insane.”

You can’t stop smiling now either.

He presses another kiss to your forehead.

Then your mouth.

Then your stomach through the hoodie.

You stare down at him, emotional all over again.

“Already obsessed?” you tease shakily.

Mateo looks up at you.

Completely serious.

“Already in love.”

And there it is.

The moment everything changes.

Not in a terrifying way.

Not in the world-ending way you feared.

Just… bigger.

Your life suddenly stretching wide enough to hold something new.

Mateo stands, pulling you up with him effortlessly before guiding you toward the sink.

“You need water,” he says automatically.

You laugh weakly. “You switched into medic mode.”

“You scared the shit outta me.”

“Sorry.”

He points at you while filling a glass. “Never apologize for carrying my child.”

You snort.

Mateo hands you the water before suddenly freezing again.

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

“We have to buy baby stuff.”

You blink.

Mateo looks genuinely panicked now.

“We don’t even have space.”

“We literally have a second bedroom.”

“Yeah, but it’s full of junk.”

“It’s your gym equipment.”

“That’s worse.”

You laugh so hard you nearly choke.

Mateo watches you carefully then.

Like he’s memorizing this version of you.

Pregnant.

Happy.

His.

He steps closer again, quieter this time.

“You really thought I’d be upset?”

The lingering hurt in his voice makes guilt twist inside you.

“I don’t know,” you admit honestly. “I just kept thinking maybe this would ruin things.”

Mateo’s expression softens immediately.

He reaches for you again because apparently he’s incapable of not touching you now.

One hand on your waist.

The other on your stomach.

“It’s you,” he says simply.

Like that explains everything.

Maybe it does.

“You could walk into this apartment tomorrow and tell me literally anything, and I’d still choose you.”

Tears burn behind your eyes again.

“You’re really emotional today,” he teases gently.

“You got me pregnant. This is your fault.”

Mateo laughs so suddenly and brightly it echoes through the bathroom.

God.

You love him.

You love him so much it hurts sometimes.

He kisses you again, softer this time.

Lingering.

Full of something warm and permanent.

When he pulls away, he rests his forehead against yours.

“We’re gonna be okay,” he says quietly.

And for the first time since seeing those two pink lines—

Except the tightness in his chest had gotten worse. And the cough drops weren’t doing a damn thing. Every time he tried to take a deep breath, it felt like an invisible band was squeezing his lungs. His voice had taken on a rougher edge and he’d start wheezing if he tried to say more than few words at a time.

“You look like shit,” said a familiar voice behind him.

Jack turned to find Robby standing there, coffee in hand, ready to start his shift. “Good morning to you, too. Some of us have been up all night.”

Robby hummed. “And some of us are clearly coming down with something. Seriously, Jack, you don’t look good. Are you okay?”

Jack waved a hand through the air in dismissal. “Fine. Just a little under the weather.”

“Is that why you’re breathing like you just ran a marathon?” Robby took a step closer. “You’re wheezing and I’m not the only one that noticed. I got three texts from night shift.”

“It’s just a cold.” Jack tried to take a deep breath to prove his point but it caught in his throat, triggering another coughing fit. This one was worse than the others and had him gripping the edge of the counter for support.

When the coughing subsided, Robby’s gaze was stern. “That doesn’t sound like a cold to me.”

“It’s nothing,” Jack insisted, though the pain in his chest suggested otherwise. “Probably just moved to my chest is all.”

Robby sat his coffee down and crossed his arms. “That is not nothing. I want labs and a chest x-ray.”

“Christ, Mike. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“I’m not asking, Jack. You’re a doctor. You know better than to ignore stuff like this.” His tone left no room for argument.

Jack recognized the look his friend was giving him. He wasn’t getting out of this. He sighed. “Fine. One x-ray. Then I’m going home to sleep.”

“Deal,” Robby said, already putting in the order for the portable chest x-ray into the system. He glanced at Dana who hadn’t even pretended she wasn’t listening.

“Eight’s open.”

“A room, man? Come on,” Jack complained but headed in that direction.

“Quit complaining,” Robby said as he trailed behind him, signaling the radiology tech with the machine to follow him. “Shirt off, Abbot.”

“Buy me dinner first,” Jack snarked even as he did as told. He laid down and the machine was positioned over the top of him.

“Take a deep breath and hold it,” Marcia the tech instructed.

The first time he attempted to follow instructions, he devolved into a coughing fit. “Sorry,” he apologized once he caught his breath.

“It’s fine. Just do the best you can.” The tech took three shots from different angles.

Robby slid on his glasses and stepped up to the machine while Jack put his t-shirt back on, forgoing the scrub top since his shift was over anyway.

“Let me guess. Nothing but a little inflammation. Can I go home now?”

“Leave us for a minute,” Robby said to Marcia, voice low.

Jack’s head snapped up, his gaze darting from his friend to the screen he was looking at and back again. “What is it?”

Robby turned the screen toward Jack so he could see for himself. Even from across the room, he could see the large white mass shadowing his right lung.

He swallowed hard. “That could be pneumonia. Or an abscess or something.”

“It could be,” Robby agreed but his tone suggested he didn’t believe it. “I’ve sent it up to pulmonary.” His phone rang before he could say anything else. He glanced at the screen. “That was fast.”

Jack shifted his weight as he listened to Robby’s one-sided conversation with pulmonary. When he hung up, he turned to look at Jack.

“Dr. Tanaka wants to see you immediately.” He paused and looked at Jack as if the name should mean something to him. It didn’t. After a moment, Robby took a breath. “He’s sent an order to CT. You’re to report there and then head to his office.”

“Right now?” Jack’s voice was little more than a whisper. The words having to be forced past the lump in his throat. This was all happening too fast. One moment he’d been dismissing his persistent cough and the next he was being scheduled for immediate appointments with pulmonary. “It’s probably nothing. Just a weird artefact in the imaging or something,” he said more to himself than Robby.

“I’m sure you’re right,” Robby agreed, but the worry in his eyes said something else entirely. “But you’re going to get checked out thoroughly just to be sure.”

Within half an hour, Jack was laying on the table in a gown as the CT hummed around him. The contrast dye made him feel warm and vaguely nauseous, but it was nothing compared to the cold fear settling in his stomach.

The tech entered the room. “All finished. By the time you get changed and to his office, Dr. Tanaka should have the images.”

Jack cleared his throat. “That’s fast.”

“You’re a VIP patient today, Dr. Abbot.”

There was nothing Jack wanted to be less. He didn’t want to be here. Didn’t want to be doing this. He wanted to go home, go to bed and pretend none of this ever happened.

He made his way to the pulmonary floor trying to prepare himself for whatever Dr. Tanaka might say. He’d delivered bad news to patients and their families plenty of times, but he hadn’t been on the receiving end since Mari died.

The waiting room was empty when he arrived, the early hour meaning most patients hadn’t arrived for the appointments yet. The receptionist smiled as he approached. “Dr. Abbot? Dr. Tanaka is ready for you. Third door on the right.”

Jack took a deep breath, or tried to, and headed down the hall. Whatever was waiting for him, he would face it like he did everything else. Head on. Even if, for the first time in years, he was truly afraid.

When he entered the room, Jack was surprised to find himself in an office instead of an exam room. Tanaka rose to greet him. “Dr. Abbot,” he held out a hand to shake Jack’s.

“Just Jack,” he said with a nod before taking one of the chairs in front of the desk.

“Very well. Jack, then.” Tanaka stayed standing and pressed a couple of buttons on his computer and the large screen behind him lit up with an image of what Jack assumed were his lungs. He pointed at the mass that seemed to branch out from the right lung. “Do you know what you’re looking at here?”

Jack studied the image noting the abnormal density, the way it seemed to branch through his lung tissue like the roots of a plant. The mass was larger than it had appeared in the x-ray, more defined.

Jack swallowed. “A tumor. Probably malignant given the irregularities and the rapid growth.” He’d seen the symptoms enough in his patients to recognize the pattern. The cough, the tight chest, the fatigue. Classic presentation for lung cancer.

Tanaka shook his head. “I had my suspicions from your x-ray but the CT confirms.” He used a finger to indicate several areas on the scan. “Do you see these fine lines extending from the main mass?”

Jack leaned forward. Now that the doctor pointed it out, he could see delicate lines spreading through his lung tissue. “Vascularization?” he guessed.

“Not exactly.” Tanaka took a seat at his desk. “What you’re seeing is consistent with the presentation of Hanahaki disease.”

Jack physically jerked back in his seat. That wasn’t… “That’s impossible. I want a second opinion.”

“You are certainly entitled to one, but I am the leading expert in Hanahaki in the state.” He wasn’t bragging, just stating a fact.

The look Robby had given him when he’d said the name suddenly made so much sense. “I’ve only ever loved my wife, and she’s dead. Has been for years.”

Jack had seen Hanahaki before, of course he had. The condition was rare and still not well understood. Unrequited love manifesting physically with the growth of flowers in the lungs. But it was something that happened to young romantics or the occasional middle-age yearner, not to someone like him. Not to an old, broken ER attending who’d buried his heart with his wife six years ago.

“I’m sorry, but the blood tests confirm.” He clicked on his screen and Jack’s results populated the screen.

Jack shook his head, unable to process what he was hearing. “Run more tests. There has to be a mistake.”

“Dr. Abbot, Jack, we can run additional tests, but given your symptoms and the findings, Hanahaki is our working diagnosis.” He paused, studying Jack’s face. “I suggest you do some soul searching. You’re in love whether you want to admit it to yourself or not.”

Jack opened his mouth to argue but another coughing fit seized him, doubling him over. His lungs burned as he struggled to draw breath. When it finally subsided, he was surprised to find Tanaka standing in front of him holding a tissue. Only when he took it did he understand why. Delicate pink petals filled his palm.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispered, staring at the evidence in his hand.

“That’s confirmation enough for me,” Dr. Tanaka said quietly. “The small petals are consistent with early stage Hanahaki. They’ll become larger and more numerous as the disease progresses, until you are expelling full blooms.”

Jack couldn’t tear his gaze away from the petals. Each one was perfect, like they’d been plucked from some unseen garden growing inside him. And he supposed in a way they had. “How long?” he managed to ask.

“Hard to say without knowing how fast it’s progressing. We’ll do another scan in a week and go from there.” Tanaka paused then added, “I assume you are aware of your options.”

Jack nodded once. “Surgery or…death.” He had to force the last word past his lips. He’d engaged in reckless behavior, volunteering for SWAT, standing on the edge of the roof while he thought about how easy it would be to just not have to deal with it all anymore. To not be alone every fucking day of his life. But now that the very real possibility of his death was looming in the shadows he suddenly found he didn’t want it.

“As you are aware, the surgery would remove any feelings for the person in question. You may forget them entirely though that is very rare. There is also always the possibility that the person you love will return your affections. Then no intervention would be needed,” Tanaka said, voice soft. “The matter would resolve on its own. It’s quite remarkable really.”

Jack looked down at the petals again. The idea that his body had somehow conjured flowers from a love he wasn’t even aware of seemed impossible. Yet the evidence was literally in his hand.

“You have a lot to think about,” Tanaka said, standing. “I’ll schedule another scan for next week and we can talk about options.”

“Thank you,” Jack said as he stood as well.

“You should take it easy until then. The coughing may worsen, particularly if you’re stressed or physically exerted. I’d recommend time off work.”

“I’ll think about it,” Jack said, but the thought of sitting alone at home with his thoughts was not one he wanted to contemplate at the moment.

Dr. Tanaka seemed to sense his turmoil. “This is a lot to process. Many patients find it helpful to talk to someone. A therapist or a family member. And I suggest a discussion with the person—”

“There is no person,” Jack cut him off sharply. “My wife has been dead for six years. There’s been no one since.”

The other man didn’t argue, but his expression made it clear he wasn’t convinced. “I’ll see you next week. Call if you have any questions or concerns before then.”

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.” Jack turned and hurried from the room, closing the door behind him. In the hall, he pressed his back against the wall. He took the deepest breath he had since entering the office. The tightness in his chest reminded him of the flowers blooming where they had no right to be.

Love.

The word echoed in his head. He’d buried that part of himself when Mari died. The idea that his body had somehow betrayed him, had grown flowers for someone else…It was too much. He couldn’t accept it. Wouldn’t.

He pushed off the wall and headed for the elevator. One foot in front of the other. That’s how he’d gotten through the worst days after Mari’s death and that’s how he would get through this.

Jack made it back to the ER on autopilot, his mind still reeling. Day shift was in full swing. Jack just stood for a minute, trying to orientate himself, feeling oddly disconnected from the familiar chaos.

“Jack!”

He turned to find Robby hurrying toward him. His face was creased with worry, eyes scanning Jack’s features as if searching for visible changes.

“Well? What did he say?”

Jack opened his mouth, then closed it again. How did he possibly explain he was coughing up petals for someone he was supposedly in love with? It was stupid. Ridiculous. And just the sort of thing that would happen to him. Of course it was.

“It’s not possible,” he finally forced out. “It’s not…Mike, I…” His voice cracked, another cough building in his chest.

“Okay, okay,” Robby said, his tone shifting from urgent to soothing. “Let’s sit down, huh? You look like you’re about ready to fall over.”

Before Jack could protest, Robby led him through the department toward the breakroom. He deposited him in a chair at one of the tables, then turned to fill a cup with water. “Here, drink,” he instructed as he sat it in front of Jack.

Jack obeyed mechanically, the cool liquid soothing his raw throat. The simple act centered him somewhat, anchoring him to the present moment.

Robby pulled out a chair and sat down. “Now, what did Tanaka say?”

Jack stared at the cup in his hands. “Hanahaki,” he said finally.

“Shit. I thought it might be when they said Tanaka wanted to see you.” Robby sighed and ran a hand over his mouth. “He’s the best, so there’s that at least.”

Jack shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense, man. I haven’t been in love with anyone since Mari died.”

An expression he couldn’t place flicked across Robby’s face before shifting to disbelief. “Are you serious right now?”

Jack frowned. “What’s with the tone? Why are you making it sound like I’m stupid?”

“Because you are,” Robby said without hesitation. When Jack just stared at him, Robby pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, then crossed his arms over his chest. “You really don’t know?”

“Know what?” Jack demanded, irritation briefly overriding his confusion.

Your name was the only thing that left Robby’s lips.

Jack blinked and repeated it like a question. Like your face hadn’t just appeared in his brain. Like he didn’t instantly think about your smile, hear your laugh.

“Yes!” Robby threw his hands up in exasperation. “The woman you’ve been staring at with a besotted expression for the past eight months? The one you look for anytime you enter the department? The one whose coffee order you have memorized?”

No, no. That couldn’t be right. “But she’s—”

“Brilliant,” Robby stated. “Funny. Kind. Beautiful. Should I continue to list off everything you said to me the last time we went out? You talked about her all night, man.”

“I mean…I respect her.” The words felt inadequate even as he said them. Images of you flashed through his mind. The way you laughed at your own jokes even if no one else did, how you always remembered small details about people, that furrow that appeared between your brows when you were concentrating.

“She’s dedicated,” he continued. “Compassionate. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, but she’s never mean about it. And she’s…” He trailed off, suddenly realizing he could continue talking about you for the rest of the day.

“She’s what?” Robby prompted, a knowing look on his face.

Jack shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t love her. I can’t.”

“Why not? Because you loved Mari? Loving someone else doesn’t erase what you had with her.”

“It’s not that simple,” Jack argued, though he couldn’t have explained why if someone pressed.

“It actually is,” Robby replied, not unkindly. “You loved your wife. She died and it broke you. For a long time, I wasn’t certain you’d ever put yourself back together. But you have. And against all odds you found someone who makes you feel something again. Instead of being grateful, instead of grasping it with both hands, you’re literally making yourself sick denying it.”

“It’s not…I haven’t—”

“You have,” Robby interrupted. “Everyone knows you’re in love with her except you and her, apparently.” He sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Just think about it, okay? Really think about it.”

As if on cue, another coughing fit seized Jack, this one stronger than the last. He doubled over, hand braced against the table as his chest contracted painfully. When it finally subsided, he found his palm filled with more petals, the edges tinged with blood.

“Holy shit.” Robby stared at the evidence in front of him.

Jack closed his hand around the petals, as if hiding them from view would make them cease to exist. “I need to get out of here. I need to go home.” He pushed himself to his feet. The room titled slightly, his vision blurring at the edges.

“You’re in no condition to drive,” Robby said standing as well, typing on his phone. “Let me have someone run you home.”

“I’m fine,” Jack insisted though the wheeze in his voice undermined his claim. “I just need some sleep. I need to rest.” He needed to get you out of his brain.

“You need to figure this out, Jack. Finding out you have Hanahaki would throw anyone for a loop, especially when you didn’t even realize you were in love. But this isn’t something you can ignore. It won’t just go away, it will only get worse.

Robby was right, Jack knew he was. He’d been ignoring what was happening for weeks, dismissing symptoms, making excuses. And now he was paying the price.

“I know. I’ll think about what you said. I promise.”

“Good. That’s a start. Now get your things together. Your ride should be here in a minute.”

Now, when Robby said ride, Jack assumed he meant an intern. An uber perhaps. What he did not expect to see when he stepped through the doors was you. You’d pulled your car to the side where it wouldn’t impede any ambulances and you leaned against it. It took him longer than he’d admit to realize you were waiting for him.

Jack spun on his heel to glare at his former best friend. “What the fuck did you do?” he hissed.

Robby gave him a look of feigned innocence. “Got you a ride.”

“You asked her?”

At that he grinned. “Actually, I sent a message to the group chat. She volunteered.”

“Oh.” He looked over to find you in the same position, your gaze moving between the two attendings. He lifted a hand in greeting and to let you know he’d be right there.

You nodded, waved at Robby and got behind the wheel.

“What do I do?” Jack asked, suddenly at a loss.

Robby rested a heavy hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do anything, brother. Just let her take you home. Think about how you really feel about her. That’s all.”

“Yeah, yeah, I can do that,” Jack agreed with a nod of his head. “I’ll see you later.”

“Not tonight you won’t,” Robby corrected. “You’re off until Friday at the earliest. Doctor’s orders.”

Jack didn’t bother to argue. Knew there would be no point. And honestly, he could use a few days to get his head straight. He held up a hand in goodbye as he made his way to your car, his mind churning. What if Robby was right? What if he’d fallen in love without realizing it, what then? You had never given any indication you felt the same. The idea of confessing feelings that might not be returned…

Another cough built in his chest as if his body was responding to the thought. He swallowed hard, forcing it down. One problem at a time. First, he needed to get home. Then he needed to figure out if Robby was right.

As if sensing Jack was lost his head, you didn’t attempt to make conversation after your initial greeting once he got in the car. When you arrived at his house, he finally turned to look at you. “Thanks for the ride. I would have been fine driving but Robby insisted.”

“I didn’t mind, Jack. However, I’m afraid you can’t be rid of me just yet.”

His brows shot up into his hairline. “Excuse me?”

“Bossman said, and I quote, ‘get his ass inside and into bed with a glass of water and trashcan nearby.’ So that’s what I’m going to do. Let’s go.” You climbed out of the car and waited for him to exit before locking the doors.

“I assure you that his is not necessary,” Jack argued. More than that, it could be catastrophic. Having you in his house, where he’d now be able to picture you clearly instead of relying solely on his imagination? That sounded like a horrible idea. Not that he’d ever pictured you in his house. Sitting across from him at the table, nestled into his side as you watched TV. That would be absurd.

You took his bag from his loose hold and ignored his protests as you carried it up to the door. Jack stared at you hopeless for another moment before sighing and following after you. “Keys are in the front pocket.”

You pulled them out and handed them over. He unlocked the door, leaving it open for you to follow after. He gestured at the hooks just inside the door. “You can hang the bag there.”

You did and kicked off your shoes, nudging them to line up against the wall. “Robby didn’t exactly say what was wrong with you.” You paused, but Jack didn’t offer any clarification. No, that would be a monumentally stupid thing to do. You cleared your throat. “Are you hungry? I could make you something.”

“No, sweetheart, I’m fine.” The endearment slipped out without thought. He suddenly wondered when the first time was he had called you that. And when had that become the norm instead of your name? Christ. He wiped a hand down his face. “I’m fucking exhausted. I just want to go to bed.”

You nodded. “Sure. Let me get you that water at least.”

Jack just nodded and headed down the hall toward his bedroom to fish out something to change into after his shower. You stepped into the doorway just as he finished taking off his leg. He froze and swallowed. “Sorry. Forgot you’d be coming back here.”

You smiled and Jack had to glance away. “It’s your home, Jack, and I’ve seen you without the leg before. It’s not like you were nude. Here.” You sat the glass on the nightstand. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. I’ve got it. Thank you.” You had seen him without the leg precisely once when it started rubbing wrong on a shift and you’d made him sit down and get an exam. You’d also bullied him into supervising from a wheelchair for the rest of the night when you saw his red, raw flesh by threatening to call Robby and tattle on him.

Your gaze ran over him, assessing. He could feel it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

His eyes found yours again but he said nothing.

“You just seem off.” Worry shone in your eyes and he forced himself to look away once more.

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

After a moment, you stepped toward the door. “Call me if you need anything, okay? Anything at all.” When he only nodded, you added, “Promise?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat when he heard the gravel in his voice. “Promise.”

“Okay. Bye, Jack.” And with that, you left without waiting for a response.

Tension immediately flowed from Jack’s entire body. Jesus, Robby couldn’t have found literally anyone else to bring him home? He pushed thoughts of you from his head as he finished stripping. Using his crutches, he moved into the shower, ready to rinse the night off so he could get some sleep.

Not thinking of you lasted approximately two and a half minutes after he turned the water on. He’d turned the temp up on the water hoping it would help clear his lungs. His chest ached with each breath, a constant reminder of the flowers blooming in his lungs.

Flowers.

For you.

It was ridiculous. Yes, he enjoyed working with you. You were competent, smart, quick to smile and to make others laugh. You had a way with patients that made even the most difficult cases manageable. And so what if he’d noticed the way your eyes crinkled at the corners when you smiled, or that you tapped your fingers when you were thinking?

But that didn’t mean he was in love with you. Love was what he’d had with Mari. All consuming, life-altering, the kind that left you devastated and broken when it was no longer yours. What he felt for you was…appreciation. Admiration, perhaps. Friendship. That was it. He loved you like a very dear friend.

Except friends didn’t keep mental lists of your favorite foods, or notice when you changed your shampoo, or come in on their nights off because you were working. Friends didn’t feel their mood lift the moment you walked into a room or find themselves replaying conversations long after they’d ended.

Jack groaned, rinsing the last of the shampoo out of his hair. This was insane. He was a grown man, not some teenager with a crush. He’d been married, for fuck’s sake. He knew what love felt like.

Or he had once. Before Mari died, leaving him hollowed out and certain he would never feel that way again. He’d adjusted to his solitude. To the bed being too big and the house too quiet.

But lately…

He sucked in a shaky breath as he finally admitted to himself that he’d been pursuing you without even realizing it. No wonder Robby had looked at him like he was an idiot. He was.

“I’m fond of her,” he said aloud, testing the words. “That’s all it is. A fondness.” It couldn’t be love, because if it was that meant—

His chest contracted sharply, another cough building. This one came on faster than the others, stealing his breath before he could prepare. He curled forward, one hand pressed to his sternum as his lungs spasmed. The coughing fit seemed to last forever, each breath harder than the last, until finally, blessedly, it subsided.

When he could breathe again, he opened his eyes to see dozens of petals swirling toward the drain. Proof, if he’d needed it that Tanaka was right. That Robby was right.

He was in love with you. For far longer than he cared to admit.

Tears mixed with the water running down his cheeks as his shoulders shook in a silent sob. He’d fallen in love with you and hadn’t even realized because it was so subtle, so quiet, compared to what he’d had with his wife. He’d lost out on so much time with you because he was too afraid to examine his feelings. To admit to himself what everyone else had known all along.

But what difference did it make really? Because even if he loved you, what then? You’d never given any indication you felt the same. No lingering looks or soft touches. Nothing to suggest you saw him as anything more than a colleague.

And why would you? He was damaged goods. A widower with a missing leg and more baggage than most people would want to deal with. You were vibrant, fully engaged with life in a way he had long forgotten. You deserved someone whole, someone who could love you without reservation or complication. Someone who didn’t still wake reaching for a wife that would never be there again.

Jack closed his eyes and took another shaky breath as he turned off the water. As he dried off and headed for bed, he considered his options. He’d meet with Tanaka and schedule the surgery. But he should talk to you first. He knew he should. But he was so fucking scared.

He reached for his phone, thumb hovering over your name in his contacts. You’d told him to call if he needed anything, but what if he only needed you? He could hear your voice, ask you to come back. He could tell you everything and hope maybe you felt the same.

He moved to the call button, then stopped. He needed to sleep first. Needed to be fully about himself before he decided how to approach this. It took hours of tossing and turning before he finally found rest, but even that was fitful.

He glanced at the clock when he woke to find it nearing seven. At least he’d managed a few hours. You were working, so his grand confession would have to wait. Maybe he could meet you after shift and take you to breakfast.

He was so lost in his head when he opened the bedroom door that he almost disregarded the rich aroma filling the air and the soft sounds from his kitchen. He frowned and moved into the other room, calling a soft “Hello?” as he went.

As he stepped into the doorway, you glanced at him over your shoulder and he sucked in a breath. You were here. In his home. Making dinner.

“You stayed?” he asked, voice rougher than intended.

You shrugged and turned back to the stove. “You didn’t look okay. I wanted to be close, crashed on the couch. I hope I didn’t overstep.”

He swallowed down the words that rose in his throat. No. Never. Stay the night. Stay forever. “Don’t you have to work?”

“Bossman gave me the night off. Told me to take care of you if I was that worried. I wasn’t going to argue with him. Thought I’d make you some soup.” You didn’t look at him, but he could hear the concern in your tone, the worry that he would be upset with you for taking care of him.

He just watched you move in his space like you belonged there.

Finally, you glanced at him again and gave him a small smile when you found him watching. “Where’s your bowls?”

“I’ll get them,” he said, suddenly desperate to do something.

It was a simple task but before he could even open the cabinet, he was seized by another violent coughing fit. He bent over the sink, bracing against the edge for support. His chest burned and his vision blurred at the edge. He vaguely registered you saying his name and a hand landing on his back, warm even through the fabric of his shirt.

When the fit finally subsided, he was horrified to see the petals that littered the sink.

You went completely still beside him. “Jack, are those…”

“It’s not…” he started then trailed off. There was no explanation he could give you beside the truth.

“Oh,” you said softly, your fingers curling in as you removed your touch from his back. You took a step away. “Who is it?” You sounded resigned, maybe even a little hurt.

The question hung between you. Jack remained braced against the sink, unable to look at you. “When my wife died, I thought I would never love anyone again. That it would be impossible. So, when it happened, I didn’t even realize it. Or I suppose it’s more like I ignored it.” He risked a glance at your reflection in the window above the sink. “I guess my body didn’t like that. It’s making me face it.”

“That wasn’t my question, Jack.” Your voice was smaller than he’d ever heard it.

He turned to face you then, his hip leaning against the counter to take his weight. “Don’t you know, sweetheart? According to Robby, it’s obvious to everyone in the department that I’m crazy about you.”

Jack watched your face for your reaction. Anything. But your expression remained carefully blank aside from a slight widening of your eyes.

“Me?” you finally said, the word barely audible.

“Yeah.” Jack pushed off from the counter, using his crutches to move over to one of the chairs and dropping into it. He kept his gaze on anything but you. “But I don’t expect anything. You don’t owe me anything. I have options. I’ll be fine. I see the doctor again next week and I can get the surgery scheduled.”

 “Jack Abbot, if you have that surgery, I will never forgive you.” Your sharp tone had his head immediately snapping over to follow you as you stepped toward him.

“What? Why?”

“Because it is completely unnecessary, you idiot. I have been in love with you for ages.”

Time seemed to stop. Jack stared at you, certain he’d misheard. “What?”

You came to a stop in front of him. “I’ve loved you for months, probably longer. I just didn’t think that you would ever…that you could ever…”

The rest of your sentence was lost as Jack pulled you forward into his arms, one hand coming up to cradle your face. His thumb traced your lips as your eyes searched his. He leaned in, giving you every chance to pull away.

You didn’t.

His lips found yours hesitantly at first, then with growing certainty as you responded. He laughed against your mouth as you turned and sat sideways in his lap. When he finally pulled back completely, the first thing he noticed was your wide smile and the joy in your eyes.

The second was, that for the first time in weeks—in six years, really—he could finally, simply, breathe.

When you come home, you're in a wheelchair still. Your arm and leg in a cast leaves you in the care of Jack. In the living room, Miracle holds a sign with Robby that says, "Welcome Home." Miracle tells you all about your week then leads you and Jack to show you her bedroom.

Jack helps you up the stairs and holds your waist so you don't bear weight on your cast. When you look into the room, you smile, "It's so pretty in here, Lovely."

"Daddy let me pick everything." She holds his leg.

"And in here is our room." He helps you across the hall and shows you his room. You look inside then turn him with a poignant look on your face.

His sheets were usually plain, a solid color with a dark gray comforter. In their place were floral patterned sheets similar to the ones from your own bed room and a matching comforter. A new night light sits on the end table shining its star patten on the walls.

"I know it's not the same but I wanted to make it similar enough." He explains.

"I can't believe it." You say.

"If you're not comfortable, we can change it."

"I love it." You kiss him, "You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted your first night here in recovery to be comfortable. Miracle picked the sheets."

"Thank you, My Love." You pinch her cheek.

In the evening, you four have dinner together. "I never got the chance to say, thank you, Robby, for taking care of me in the ER."

"It was my pleasure. I'd go the extra mile for you and Miracle. What happened to you is… indescribable. You didn't deserve that." Robby takes your hand and gives it a squeeze, "If you need anything, you can always ask, I'm more than happy to volunteer my staff to help with cleaning up your apartment."

"I appreciate it. The crime scene unit recommended some cleanup teams too." You sigh, "All my hard work, my home… gone just like that."

"It's okay." Jack rests his hand on yours.

"Have the police given you guys any updates?"

"He may still be in Pittsburgh. This neighborhood and the area around the hospital are being patrolled." Jack says.

"But we're safe here." You wipe Miracle's cheek to comfort her.

Soon after dinner, Robby leaves and you get Miracle ready for bed. You tuck her under the covers and kiss her forehead. "Have you been sleeping okay?"

She nods, "Daddy got me a night light." She points to a crown that glows on the wall.

"That's good. No nightmares? Or anything?"

"No. Daddy would stay with me until I fell asleep every night."

"Good. I love you, Little Miracle."

"I love you too, Mommy."

Jack comes in beside you and kisses Miracle on the forehead. "Goodnight, Princess."

"Goodnight, Daddy."

You get up and Jack helps you to the bedroom. "I got you some new clothes while you were recovering."

"Shopping for me too? You sure were busy."

"It's just some elastic gym shorts to get your leg through. Do you want to bathe tonight?"

"Are you going to help?"

"I can."

"Then of course, I would love to bathe tonight." He helps you to the shower and puts you in his shower chair. Together, you wrap your casts in plastic to prevent water from getting to them.

Jack turns the shower on checking the temperature and waits for it to get warm. "How are you doing?" He asks.

"Fine, I've got a boyfriend who has been nothing but kind and I don't know what to do with myself."

"Then I'll figure it out." He mutters as he brings the shower head to your body, letting the water trickle over your body.

"Oh my god." You point to the shower shelf, "Is that my body wash?"

"I got you all new bathroom stuff. He made a mess of it in your bathroom."

He grabs it and squirts some on a loofah. Gently, he lathers the soap on your body. As he moves from one side to the other, he notices your watery eyes.

"Does it hurt?" He looks at you concerned.

You shake your head and hold his face, "What did I do to deserve you?" You sniffle.

"You didn't have to anything." He kisses your hand gingerly. "You were just you and I love that."

The next couple of weeks, Jack takes care of you and Miracle. During the day he is at your beck and call. At night, he goes to work. He was reluctant to go but you insisted. You and Miracle would both be sleeping all night anyways and he could arm the alarm for just in case. On his days off, him, Robby, and some others help clean out your apartment.

Your arm comes out of its cast first. You were still unable to carry Miracle but you were happy to be unconfined.

One night, you lay beside Jack spooning him. "Hey are you awake?" He turns over, his eyes still closed, and holds your waist. You trace over his nose and he peeks one eye open.

"Something wrong?" He mumbles.

"What was it about me? That made you want to stay? To Love?"

He's fully awake now, opening both of his eyes. "Why are you asking so late?" He caresses your cheek.

"I'm afraid you'll regret meeting me. One day, he'll get you and it'll be all my fault." Your voice cracks, "You'll be going to work and he'll be waiting for you and he'll hurt you—"

"Hey, hey, don't think like that." He pulls you closer. "It's not your fault what he does. What was it about you? I saw your beautiful smile. You came flying down the stairs for Miracle and I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I wanted to make you smile that all the time. You know, I prayed after every time Miracle appeared in the ER that she would do it again. Just so I could see you again." He kisses you, "I fell in love with you, instantly. I wanted you to know me through and through and in return I'd take all of you."

"God, why are you better than me in every way?" You whine against his lips.

"I don't know. I think it has something to do with me being old and wise beyond my years." He deepens the kiss.

"Shut up." You giggle.

You start to feel better mentally when you go to therapy at PTMC. Jack takes you in the morning. Then Him and Miracle sit in a coffee shop near the hospital or get lunch while they wait.

One day, after dropping you off, Jack stops by a nearby gas station. He enters the store holding Miracle's hand. She picks out a piece of candy while he digs in his pocket for his wallet, "Hey, can I get 60 on…" The store bell chimes and the time seems to slow down. In comes him, you ex-boyfriend. He walks in unaware seemingly unaware of Jack and Miracle, heading down the first aisle by the door and straight to the back where the liquor was.

His ears are burning. He can hear his heartbeat in his chest. His face is growing hot as he stares in the man's general direction. He needed to do something.

"Which pump, sir?"

"Uh, 7." Jack feels Miracle's hand squeeze his. He looks down at the girl to see her staring back at him. For a second, he swears she nods at him. Confirming him. He needed to do something.

"Alright, you're good to go." The clerk says.

Miracle pulls on his hand, "I want some chocolate milk too."

"Uh, sure, Princess. It's right there. I need to get something too." He smiles awkwardly to the clerk then walks back where the man was.

As your ex-boyfriend grabs out his drink of choice, Jack slams the door. He already reeks of booze but he seems to sober up when he sees Jack. He looks towards the door then at Jack. He throws the glass bottle and runs for the door.

Jack tackles him to the floor. Your ex gets on hit on Jack and Jack retaliates. He straddles the man and smashes his fist into his face. He hits him a few more times before standing up. The clerk looks at him in shock, "What the hell, man?!"

"Do me a favor, call the cops." Jack pants.

"You nearly killed that guy." The clerk dials 911.

"He nearly killed her mom." He goes over to find Miracle sitting with her candy behind the shelf.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hi, Sweetheart."

While your ex is being arrested, Jack holds Miracle as he makes his statement to the police. His hand aches but he ignores it for now. "You were like a superhero, Daddy." Miracle whispers.

Jack kisses her cheek, "Don't do what Daddy did, that was not okay. Next time you see a bad guy you call the police."

After the gas station, Jack heads to PTMC so he can get his hand checked. He holds Miracle's hand as he enters through the ambulance bay. He sees your ex was also being treated in Behavior Room 1.

"Abbot, Jesus, what happened?" Dana approaches him, "I saw him at a gas station nearby. He was acting like nothing happened. He swung at me and I just…" He looks down at Miracle, "I had to protect them."

"I get it." She says, "Let's go to a curtain to examine your hand."

"My daddy was a hero." Miracle beams.

"Yes he was honey." Dana smiles at the girl. As they wait for the x-ray, you come down from your appointment.

"He's here?" You sit down beside him placing your crutches down on the floor.

"In Behavior 1." He mutters as he flexes his hand.

"You put him there." You at him seriously.

"I was just going to hold him until the cops came. Then he hit me and I got upset. I just saw flashes of what he did to Miracle, your house, you; It all flashed in my mind."

You pull him into a hug.

"You're not mad at me." He blinks in surprise.

"I'm glad you're okay." You hold his face, "We are not vindictive people and violence is not the answer but…" You lean in, "I wish I was there to have seen it."

You look out into the hall to see Miracle playing a patty cake game with Javadi. "Did she see?"

"No, she— I don't know— It's like she know something was going to happen and she hid away. She looked at me and nodded."

"Are you implying that she gave you permission to do it?"

"I don't know what I'm implying. Maybe my rage filled delirium made it up." He sighs.

"Good news, Rambo!" Robby enters the curtain, "No broken bones, just broken skin."

"How is he?" Abbot asks.

"Nice try, I can't tell you exactly." Robby wags his finger, "Dana?"

"Mhm."

"How is the patient in Behavior 1?"

"Broken nose, facial laceration, and an orbital contusion." She looks solely at Robby then looks to the two of you, "Oh sorry didn't see you were with a patient." And she walks away.

"He's going to be just fine. He'll spend a few hours here in case he has a concussion and develops symptoms later. Then one way ticket to the clink."

"Thanks, brother." Jack sighs in relief.

"All you. You're looking better already." Robby taps under your chin.

"It's not every day someone fights your abuser." You lean on Jack's arm. He kisses the top of your head.

"Alright lovebirds. Don't stick around too much longer." Robby stands up, "No more looking over your shoulder."

"Thank you." You get back on your crutches, "I'm ready to go home."

"Home." Jack walks with you then grabs Miracle.

"Yeah, home." You all walk through the ambulance bay. "What's wrong?"

"You just haven't called it that. All this time, you've only referred to it as my house."

"My therapist says I don't let myself enjoy what I have because I think I don't deserve it." You smile at him, "I know now that I deserve a place with you and can call it home. I'd like to move in with you officially."

"Great!" He jostles Miracle in his arm, "You hear that? We'll be living together forever."

"Forever and ever?" She smiles in surprised.

"Forever" He kisses her cheek, "You'll always have a home with me. The both of you."

˖⋆࿐໋₊ ☆

and now there was a puppy in your bathroom.

a very tiny puppy. a very dirty puppy. a very skinny puppy.

a puppy that had looked at you with huge brown eyes and immediately destroyed your ability to make rational decisions.

so now you’d spent the entire night cleaning him up, feeding him tiny portions of food left over in the fridge, googling what was safe for the pup to eat, and trying to convince yourself that jack wouldn’t be upset.

or at least not too upset.

the front door unlocked just after seven in the morning.

your stomach dropped. jack was home.

you were still sitting on the couch in yesterday’s clothes, running entirely on caffeine and poor decisions.

the second he walked inside, he frowned. “why are you awake?”

you immediately looked anywhere but at him. “couldn’t sleep.” you stuttered out quick.

jack narrowed his eyes. doctor eyes. the same eyes that caught every lie told in the emergency department. unfortunately for you, they worked at home too. “you look guilty.”

you scoffed. “i’m just tired.”

“you look guilty and tired.” he kicked off his shoes. “what happened?”

“nothing happened. what makes you think that?” you defenced back.

“something happened.”

you smiled weakly.

he sighed.

“how much trouble am i about to be in?”

“define trouble.”

jack groaned. “oh no.” he pointed at you. “what did you do?”

“i didn’t do anything.”

before he could respond—

woof!

both of you froze.

the tiny bark came from the bathroom. jack slowly turned his head. then looked back at you. then toward the bathroom again. then back at you.

“…what was that?”

you considered lying.

you lasted approximately one second. “…a dog.”

jack closed his eyes. “you found a dog.”

“well technically the dog found me.”

“that’s not how dogs work.”

another bark echoed through the apartment. followed by a tiny scratching sound against the bathroom door.

jack pinched the bridge of his nose.

you stood. “before you say anything—”

“that’s never a promising start.”

“—he was abandoned.”

jack immediately opened one eye.

you continued. “he was cold.”

the other eye opened. “and hungry.”

his expression softened despite himself.

you knew it would.

jack could pretend to be grumpy all he wanted, but he spent twelve hours a day saving people for a living. he had the softest heart of anyone you’d ever met.

you disappeared into the bathroom before he could argue further. a moment later, you emerged carrying the beagle puppy.

the puppy looked ridiculously small wrapped in a towel.

one floppy ear. oversized paws. sleepy brown eyes.

the second jack saw him, his face did something. not much. just enough.

that tiny shift that meant he was already losing the battle. “he’s cute,” he admitted.

victory. you grinned.

the puppy, however, had his own priorities. the second you crouched near the couch, the little beagle scrambled from your arms.

straight toward jack.

jack blinked. “oh.”

the puppy climbed directly into his lap. like he’d been doing it his entire life.

tiny tail wagging so hard his whole body wiggled. you watched in delight as jack looked down at the puppy.

the puppy looked up at jack. and that was it. gone. completely smitten. jack was finished.

the puppy pressed his nose against jack’s hand. jack immediately scratched behind one floppy ear. the puppy practically melted.

“oh my god,” you whispered.

jack didn’t even hear you. “hey, buddy.”

the puppy licked his thumb. jack smiled. an actual smile. the soft one. the one that made you fall in love with him. the one that meant you were absolutely bringing this animal home forever.

you pointed accusingly. “there it is.”

“what?”

“that face.”

jack glanced up. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

the puppy promptly curled up against his chest and fell asleep.

you laughed. jack looked back down at the tiny sleeping beagle. then sighed. a long, defeated sigh.

“…we should probably schedule a vet appointment.”

your grin widened. “jack.”

“don’t.”

“jack.”

he rolled his eyes. “fine.”

you practically launched yourself at him.

the puppy remained asleep through the entire thing.

Dana had taken Ian for those first few days as you were still healing from your C-section, which you were grateful for beyond words. She still brought Ian by every day for a few hours to spend some time with you, Jack, and his new baby sister, but everyone agreed that after everything that happened, you needed to take it easy as much as you could, and Dana and Benji were more than happy to take care of Ian for the first few weeks of his summer vacation. 

Which left just you, Jack, Wren, and of course, Butter as the only ones in the house. Jack had just gotten out of the shower and had crawled back into bed with you and Wren. Butter was wedged at your side, his face resting on your hip as he gazed intently down at Wren, who was sleeping peacefully between you both. Jack reached up and scratched Butter behind the ear as he smiled softly over at you. You laugh softly to yourself as you look down at your little girl. “You see that?” You whisper as you glance up at Jack.

“What?” Jack asks as he runs his hand over the top of her head. “That she is perfect?”

You laugh softly. “No, she has your scowl when she sleeps.” You said with a little laugh as you leaned back into the pillows and watched as Jack looked down at Wren as she slept. You watched as he too, started to realize that your daughter, in fact, already scowled like him. “She is nine days old and already judging everyone.” 

“She looks like me, that’s all. There is no way that a newborn can scowl.” Jack protested as he rested his hand on her little belly, looking up at you. “She is a sweet, innocent little girl. She has nothing in the world to scowl about yet.” 

You chuckled softly and shook your head, “Have you heard her scream when she wants fed? She apparently has something to scowl about then.” You point out as you raise an eyebrow. 

“Her stomach is the size of a walnut. She probably thinks she is starving. I would scream blood murder too.” He pointed out as Wren scrunched her face up in her sleep, looking like she was frowning at the mere suggestion that she was anything but a perfect angel. 

Shaking your head, you ran your hand through your hair as watch Jack valiantly try to defend your daughter. “You are not helping my observation that she is just a tiny you.” 

Jack smirked as he shook his head, positioning himself leaning against the headboard before he lifted Wren from her spot next to you. As soon as he picked her up, her little legs pulled towards her stomach as he head tilted back slightly. Jack instantly smiled and whispered. “You still think you are in mama’s belly all scrunched up?” His whole tone changed when he spoke to her. It was softer, like he was constantly in awe of the tiny little life he helped create. He nestled her against his chest as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Do all babies smell this good?” He asked softly as he glanced over at you, as you were lying with your hand resting on Butter’s back.

You chuckled softly. “Well, she did get a bath last night, and I changed her diaper when you were in the shower, but I think part of it is because we are supposed to want to keep them close to us because they are completely helpless when they are little.” You muse as you watch him run his hand down Wren’s back as she lets out a little yawn.

“Did Ian smell this good when he was a baby?” He asked.

“Yeah.” You start slowly. “He was bigger than her, though, twice as clingy. Never wanted to put down. He had colic and Josh just refused to help with him.” You murmured. You didn’t want to bring up Josh. He was the last person in the world you wanted to think about but it was hard to think about Ian as a newborn without thinking about how different he was to how Jack was. Josh barely held Ian, let alone changed a diaper or got up in the middle of the night when he woke up crying, as Jack did. 

Jack glanced over at you as he ran a finger across Wren’s knuckles absentmindedly as he listened to you speak. “How could he not want to spend every moment with his son?” Jack questioned softly. You knew it was because in his mind, there was no place else he would rather be than lying in bed with you and the dog with Wren sleeping comfortably against his chest. “All I want to do is hold her, love her, protect her.” 

“That’s because you are a good dad, and you have been for a while now even before she was born.” You point out softly as you scoot a little closer to him and rest your cheek on his shoulder. 

You both sit quietly watching Wren as she slept for a few moments. Noticing how her little hand curled around Jack’s finger as he let out a soft huff. “What was Ian like when he was this little?” Jack asked as he glanced over at you for a moment. 

A smile grew on your lips. “He was a mama’s boy, wanted to be held all the time. He loved to be swaddled. I used to babywear him, too. He didn’t like it at first, but I think that was because I had no idea how to use the wrap thing right. Once I watched like 6 YouTube videos and practiced with a stuffed animal, it was his favorite place to be. It let me be able to use my hands finally.” You recalled those first few months when you were consumed by exhaustion and the frustration of having to do everything by yourself while your son’s father sat in the next room. 

“He really didn’t help you?” Jack questioned, a little dumbfounded at the idea. 

You shook your head. “No. I came home from the hospital after giving birth, and he asked me to make dinner.” You confessed as you kissed his shoulder. “I made Hamburger Helper one-handed while I breastfed Ian 72 hours after giving birth.” 

Jack let out a disgusted scoff. He had barely let you do anything since you were discharged. He handled everything with the dog, brought you food upstairs, he even helped you get into the shower last night while Wren was asleep in your bedroom. “He’s is such a piece of shit,” Jack grumbled as he turned his head and pressed a quick kiss to the top of your head. “You and Ian deserved better.”

Without missing a beat, you whisper. “We have better.” 

Jack smirked over at you before Wren started to squirm against his chest. “Oh are we bothering you, little bird?” He questioned softly as he patted her bottom. “Do you need complete silence to rest? Joke's on you, when your brother comes home, you aren’t going to know a moment’s peace.” Wren scrunched her face as she nuzzled her face against his chest. “Well, sweetheart, you are just going to have to get used it.” 

You chuckle softly as you lean back against his pillow. “We should really tell Dana to bring him home. He has to be driving her and Benji up a wall.” 

“You need a couple more days, at least till you go get the stable out.” Jack said in a gentle but firm tone. “I have a few more weeks of paternity leave and I already put in to take another month of leave after that so we can get into the swing of things.” 

“You really are going to take two months off work?” You question softly. “Can we afford for both of us to be off work for so long?” 

“We will be fine,” Jack reassures quickly. “Trust me, we will be fine.” He shifts Wren slightly as he turns to look at you. “We have savings, my pension from the Army, and it’s paid leave. Baby, we are going to be comfortable for the next few months so we can actually enjoy Wren when she is this little and for you heal. Hell, if you didn’t want to go back to work. We would be fine.” 

The idea of not going back to work never crossed you mind. “You want me to stay home? Be a housewife?” You question softly as you let out a little yawn. 

“Baby, I didn’t say I want you to be some kept housewife, but you could be if you wanted to be.” He stated with a little smirk. “Or we could hire a nanny, and you can go back to work. It’s your choice.” 

“But what do you want?” You asked softly. 

“If it were up to me, and it’s not, I would like you to stay home with Wren till she is ready for preschool. The first few years are important. I am not exactly thrilled with the idea of hiring people to raise her, and while Dennis has been great with Ian he has to finish his residency and we can’t ask him to take on Ian and Wren.” You couldn’t argue with Jack’s logic, but you hadn’t really thought that this would have ever been an option. You were so used to working just to survive, and the idea that you were out of that life was still something you weren’t quite used to. “But at the end of the day, if you want to go back to work, we will figure it out.” 

“And if I don’t?” You question as your eyes met Jack’s. “What then?” 

“We will be fine. I own the house outright, my salary covers the bills and then some. Do you forget you married a doctor?” You let out a little laugh. “We don’t need to be millionaires. We would be comfortable.” 

“My student loans.” You mention softly. 

“Part of the bills.” Jack said simply. “We are not Bill Gates wealthy but we are far from hand-to-mouth. Take a couple of years. Enjoy being a mom if that’s what you want.” You smile softly as you rest your arm across his stomach and curl into him. “I just want you and our kids happy, don’t worry about the money. I’ll worry about the money. Worry about being Ian and Wren’s mom.” 

You smile as you look up at him, “What if we have another?” 

“Oh, we are not having another,” Jack said, firmly shaking his head. “I am not going through watching my wife and child almost die again. We have the picture-perfect family as is. Dog included.” He patted Wren’s bottom as he shook his head. “I am not about to tempt fate with another.” 

“But don’t you want a son?” You question softly.

“I have one.” Jack responded without a moment’s thought. “Once we get you back on your feet, we can move forward with me adopting Ian. He will be an Abbot like the rest of us. My name will live on if that’s what you are worried about.” 

You chuckle softly to yourself as you watch Wren begin to stir. “Maybe it was very fortuitous that I gave him the middle name of Jackson since he is Jack’s son…” You chuckle, and Jack just starts shaking his head unamused. “What, that was funny.” 

“No, it wasn’t.” Jack sighed just before Wren let out a little squeak as her fists pulled closer to her face and she let out a soft cry. “Oh, Wren. What’s the matter, little bird?” He shifted so he was looking down at her, softly rubbing her back in small circles. “You hungry? It’s usually that you are hungry.” 

“I did feed her two hours ago.” You point out softly. 

“That makes sense.” He mutters before he places another kiss on the top of Wren’s head as he slowly lifts her up and hands her to you. “Sadly, feeding is still firmly in Mama’s court,” Jack notes as he settles her in your arms and with you even asking him he reached down towards the end of the bed and grabbed the U shaped pillow you used to help support her while you were feeding her and helped you get it situated before he scooted to the edge of the bed and began putting on his prosthetic. “Butter, come here. I bet you gotta go out and you don’t need to be pestering Mama while she is feeding your baby sister.” Jack said to the dog. “Also you probably need to go out anyway.” 

You just smile over at him as you get Wren in place and start trying to get situated to feed her while she softly fusses in your arms. “It’s coming, I promise, Wren. Mama is just sore and not moving as fast as I used to.” You mutter just a moment before she finally latches and instantly quiets down. 

Jack stands up and claps his hands. “Come on, Butter.” He calls and Butter does a big stretch before he reluctantly jumps off the bed and heads towards the bedroom door. “I will grab us something to eat while I am downstairs, what do you want?” 

“Coffee.” You say with a laugh and Jack just starts shaking his head. 

“You know that will just keep her up, and you both need your rest.” Jack points out softly. “How about some toast, maybe some scrambled eggs, hell, I will even make you an omelet.” 

“With spinach and mushrooms?” You ask sheepishly before giving him a little smile. 

“Whatever the mother of my children wants, she will get.” He pauses at the door. “Do we even have mushrooms?” He holds his hands up, stopping himself. “I’ll just run to the store. It’s five minutes…. Wanna go for a ride Butter? Let’s go for a ride.” 

“Oh, Chocolate! Maybe some Ice Cream? Doritos.” 

“Text me a list,” Jack says with a laugh as he walks out of the room with Butters wagging his tail excitedly.

“What?” He mumbled with a yawn. “They might need me.” 

“I need you.” You whispered. “You’re warm. Don’t Move.” Which earned you a soft, amused chuckle from Jack as he kissed the top of your head.

“Isn’t that why we got the dog?” He laughed as he wrapped his arms around you, holding you tightly. “To keep you warm in bed when I had to go?” 

“You don’t have to go.” You mumble. “You have to stay right where you are.” You were now more awake than you really wanted to be and peered up at him. “What happened to not doing SWAT now that I am pregnant?” 

“I said I would consider stopping doing it once the baby was born.” He pointed out softly. “They need time to find a replacement.” He ran his hand down your back before leaning down and kissing you softly. “I got to go, baby.” 

You shook your head and refused to let go of him. “No, I am putting my foot down now about this. They can find someone else to get shot at first thing in the morning.” You yawn as you close your eyes again and let out a sleepy sigh. “You need to stay right where you are and keep the baby, and I warm.” 

“Using the baby against me, that’s low.” He chuckled. 

“Oh I can go lower if I have to,” you mumble as your hand starts to trail down his stomach, which only makes Jack start to laugh once more. 

“Oh, that is low.” He joked softly as he dipped his head down and kissed he slid his hand under the blankets and pulled your hand back up. “I will stay, unless they call me. If they call me, I have to go. Deal.” 

“No.” you grumble. “I will use my feminine wiles to make you stay.” You smirk as you start to scoot down a little bit, dipping your head under the blanket as Jack starts to laugh at first. 

“I can resist your feminine wiles.” He breaths as he feels you start to place soft kisses down his stomach. 

“Turn your phone off, Jack.” You mumble as you continue to go lower. You knew exactly how to make him stay, and you were not letting him leave. 

As you took him into your mouth, Jack let out a low groan. He knew he was going to lose this battle of wills. “Fine, fine…” He mutters through gritted teeth as he reaches over and turns his phone on silent. “The phone is off.” 

There was no point. 

Maybe it was a tad bit delusional to think that they wouldn’t come creeping back in when you were least expecting it but you told yourself you were allowed to be a little bit delusional. You had earned that right. 

So as the first week of February rolled around, you were deep in the delusion of having the picture-perfect little life. Where your mother was not looming in the background waiting to throw a fit about you going low contact with her after the disaster that was Christmas Eve. Where your ex-husband, Josh, was as far from your mind as could be. You were just going to have another great shift, working with the man you loved and your ragtag little work family that you had come to adore. 

It was a Friday night in the Pitt, usually the most interesting shift of the week. Dennis was heading out to Amy’s for the night to help her on the farm and offered to bring Ian with him to get him out of the city. You had become close enough with him that you trusted that your son was going to be safe. Plus, Ian needed to see life outside of Pittsburgh, where there were fields and farm animals. He liked helping with the cows. So you packed his overnight bag, told Dennis to call you so you could say goodnight to Ian, and made him promise that he would be back home with Ian the next afternoon. It was going to be nice to be able to sleep a little after your shift without having to balance taking care of Ian. 

The shift had an interesting enough start. Ellis had called in sick. She had picked up a virus and was running a fever. Which meant that you were going to have to do more than just hang out in triage, where you had been posted up most of your pregnancy so far. It was a nice change of pace. You were seeing patients and handing them off when they were a little too complicated for you. You were running around ordering tests and making sure that Jack and Shen were not getting too overwhelmed. 

You stopped Jack in the hall as he was making his way to go check on one of the med students, and gently touched his arm. “I got the abdominal CT ordered for Mrs.McKenna, the little girl in peds is waiting for X-Ray but I need you to page GI for Mr.Patrick with the suspected ulcer because I have done it twice and they just keep brushing me off. The just don’t listen to me.” You ramble off quickly, trying to keep track of the ever-growing list of things you need to get done. 

Jack gave you a little smirk and a nod as he rested his hand on hip. “Thank you, I don’t know what I would do without you tonight.” He whispered as he looked down at you. It was a little after midnight and you knew that things were about to pick up as the bars started to clear out of the night. “How are you managing so far? Have you had a chance to sit yet?” He asked as his eyes darted down to the now totally unmistakable baby bump. 

You let yourself laugh a little. “I’m fine, she is active as ever. My back is bothering a little, but I will be fine. I am on my way to go do some stitches now on that college girl who took a tumble coming out of the kegger, so I can sit down then.” You watched as Jack scoffed a little. You knew that now you were nearing the middle of your second trimester, that Jack was going to pester you more about taking it easy. Your pregnancy so far has been going fairly smoothly. You were staying active, eating well, and all your blood tests had been great. This pregnancy honestly was going even better than your pregnancy with Ian. You were worrying about nothing, but you had to remind yourself that this was his first child and he was probably going to worry. 

His hand drifted up and brushed against the side of your stomach as he leaned in. “Do me a favor and try to rest just a little bit more than when you are doing sutures, please.” He whispered. “And drink some water, eat something maybe?” 

You dip your hand into the pocket of your scrub pants and pull out a Snickers bar and wiggle it at him. “This count?” You smirk as you watch Jack scowl a little. “The nuts have protein.” 

“Didn’t you pack lunch? I watched you pack lunch before we left.” He scoffs softly. You give him a little nod before he takes the candy bar from your hand and sticks it in his pocket. “After you are done with the sorority girl, go eat something with some substance.” You give him a little pout watching him abscond with your snack. “She needs real food, not a Snickers.” 

“She wants the Snickers.” You grumble softly as you rest your hand on your stomach. Jack’s eyes just narrow as he shakes his head. “It’s what she wants…” 

“She can learn to live without candy. Your sugars were borderline at your last appointment. We aren’t going to tempt fate.” He said flatly, unfazed by your little pout. 

“Are you gonna eat her Snickers?” You asked pointedly as you cross your arms in front of your chest and pursed your lips. 

Jack just rolled his eyes. “It’s not ‘her Snickers’, it’s your Snickers. She isn’t even born yet.” He laughs softly as he shakes his head. “And maybe.” He added softly after and you just scowled at him. “What? Why would I waste it?” 

“Stealing your pregnant fiancé’s candy under the guise of health concerns? Real professional, Dr.Abbot?” You mutter, trying not to laugh. 

“We have patients,” Jack muttered before he leaned in and kissed your cheek quickly. “And I do it because I love you.” 

“Mhm, keep telling yourself that.” You laugh softly as you turn to head off towards your patient's room. 

++++++

As you finished up the stitches on the young college girl who had slipped on some ice coming home from a party, you were having some casual back and forth conversation with the young woman. “So, do you know what you are having? Is that weird to ask? I am sorry my older sister just had a baby…” She rambled on nervously. 

You smile softly as you glance up at her. “No, it’s fine.” You say gently as you continue your work. “We are having a little girl, I’m due right around the first week in June.” You explain and watch as the girl smiles. 

“Oh you are going to have a little gemini on your hands.” She teases playfully. “My sister, who just had the baby, is a Gemini. Too much charisma for her own good, she works in marketing.” You smile softly and nod. “Do you have a name picked out?”

“First name.” You mutter as you tie off the last stitch. “Wren. I am still not sure her dad likes it as much as he says he does.” You chuckle softly as you push away from the bed a little on the rolling stool. “He is picking the middle name, and apparently the middle name is down to Katherine or Elizabeth.” 

“For what it’s worth, I like Wren Elizabeth.” She said with a little shrug. “What’s her last name going to be? Because that is either going to make or break it.” 

“Abbot.” You chuckle as you watch your patient put the pieces together. 

“Like the handsome silver fox doctor that was in here before?” She said, leaning forward a little bit. 

You chuckle softly as you stand up. “Yeah, that’s my fiance.” You were very aware that Jack was good-looking and more than you cared to think about. He would get flirted with, particularly by drunk college students. 

The young woman leaned back against the gurney as she snapped her fingers, “Girl, you did well with that one. Wren Elizabeth Abbot sounds good. You should nudge him towards that. Also I just know your baby is going to be adorable. He has those freckles and those curls.” You just chuckle softly to yourself as you smile softly before standing up. 

“I think so, though part of me hopes she looks like me. My son looks just like his dad.” You add as you pull off your gloves and toss them in the trash can. “But, keep the wound clean and dry, you can shower normally, but be really gentle when you wash your leg and don’t shave till you get the stitches out.” You instruct. “So about a week, two weeks? Depends on how you heal. Follow up with your primary care doctor and they will take care of it so you don’t have to wait around the Emergency Room just to get them removed. Even an urgent care place should be able to do it.” 

“Thanks.” She said with a warm smile. 

“No problem. I will have one of the nurses bring in your discharge papers shortly.” You smile as you start walking towards the door. 

“Remember, Wren Elizabeth. It’s really pretty. Like some main character in a romance novel.” She calls out, and you smile and nod a little as you walk out of the room. 

You stop right outside of the room and rest your hand on your belly for a moment before you mumble. “Wren Elizabeth Abbot? You like that? I like it.” You mutter softly to yourself as you feel the little flutters of the baby moving. “I will take that as a yes, you like that name.” You chuckle as you go to find one of the nurses to get your patient’s discharge papers ready. 

++++++

As Jack asked you to, you went on to find a few minutes to heat up the leftovers you had brought from home. It was a simple dish. Nothing fancy at all. Some baked chicken, vegetables, and some wild rice. It was just as good the second time you were eating it as it was the day before when you had originally made it. 

You were scrolling absentmindedly on your phone when Shen popped into the break room. He greeted you with a half smile as he plopped a Snickers bar down in front of you. “I saw Abbot take the baby’s snack. I can’t have my favorite girls being deprived of chocolate. It’s already criminal he won’t even let you have decaf Dunkins.” He said as he plopped down in the chair next to you. 

With a bright smile playing on your lips you set your fork down and reach for the candy bar. “He says it’s too much sugar, but I miss the taste of coffee. I can survive without the caffeine, though my OB says I could have one cup a day.” You note as you start to pull open the wrapper and take a bite out of the candy bar as you let out a contented sigh, sinking back in the chair. “Oh my God, that is so good.” You mutter as you take another bite. 

Shen leaned back in the chair and smirked. “Just don’t tell him I got you another one.” He slapped his hand on his knee before he stood up. “Plus, you are going to need your strength, we got a double MVA coming in. One combative drunk driver, they suspect, is also doing some coke, and the college girl he had with him. They are about three minutes out. Abbot’s taking the driver, I got the passenger. We are gonna need you to bounce between both traumas because we are down Ellis.” 

“See, I knew the candy was a bribe.” You mutter as you finish shoving the rest of the Snickers into your mouth, as you close the tupperware that was still half filled with your leftovers, and stand up. 

“It wasn’t a bribe, it was payment for you to help me more than your husband.” Shen chuckled as he stood up. 

“I am not Mrs. Abbot yet.” You point out as you shove your food back in the fridge before turning around to see Shen holding the door for you. 

“In everything but name, Mrs. Abbot.” He said as he gestured into the ED. “Come on, Mama let’s go deal with this trauma.” 

++++++

Jack was standing by the ambulance entrance doors with his arms crossed in front of his chest as you and Shen settled on either side of him. Jack glances over at you and gives you a quick smile. “You ready for this? It’s been months since you have been in a trauma.” 

“Who’s fault is that?” You mutter playfully as you start to pull on a gown in preparation to receive the trauma. 

Shen chuckled softly on the other side of Jack and watched as Jack just gave a little scowl. “Well, so sue me for not wanting the mother of my child in the thick of the chaos while she is pregnant. I am not exactly pleased about it, but we are down Ellis and need the extra set of hands. This apparently is going to be messy.” 

“Shen told me. Double MVA, the driver is probably drunk and a little coked up. The passenger is a college student who got the worst of it. Sounds like a typical Friday night, Jack. Relax. I’ll be fine.” You reassure as you bump your shoulder against his. “I’m pregnant, not deathly ill.” 

“She’ll do great, Papa,” Shen added playfully. 

You three didn’t have a moment more to relax before the first of the patients came barreling in with the EMTs. “22-year-old female, MVA, stopped breathing on scene. We had to intubate in the field. Suspected TBI. The driver says her name is Marisole doesn’t know he last name. He also said she is a student at Duquesne from out of state.” The EMT relays as Shen starts to pull her into Trauma 1. 

A moment later, the second set of EMTs came rushing in flanked by police officers. “41-year-old, male, MVA, definitely been drinking because he reeks of whiskey. His name is Joshua Donavan. Pittsburgh’s finest will be keeping him company as he is most certainly under arrest.” The EMT relayed, and your heart instantly started to pound in your chest as you slowly turned to Jack.

It was Josh, your ex Josh. You were still in shock, trying to process the turn of events as Jack turned to you and pointed towards Trauma 1. “Stay with Shen.” He said sharply as he grabbed the gurney and started to move towards Trauma 2. 

As soon as Josh noticed who the doctor was, he let out a groan. “Not this mother fucker! He stole my wife and my fucking kid.” He yelled as he tried to sit up on the gurney but Jack just put a hand on his chest and shoved him back down. 

“Trust me, I am not happy about this either.” He grumbled.

As you finally moved to go into Trauma 1, Josh caught a glimpse of you. “You knocked her up? You fucking knocked my wife up?” Josh shouted in Jack’s face. 

“We have been divorced for two years, Josh!” You scream, losing the last bit of your composure as you stop in your tracks, turning towards him. Jack steps away from the gurney for a moment, takes a few steps towards you and turns you towards the trauma bay, where Shen was already evaluating the young girl who was with Josh. 

“He is your ex-husband. The man who nearly killed you. You can’t treat him, you need to stay with Shen.” He ordered gently. “Plus I don’t want you in arm’s length of that asshole. Okay.” 

“Are you saying that as my husband or my boss?” You ask softly as you look up at him. 

“Both.” Jack muttered before he shouted to Shen. “Keep her in here. I will handle the other patient with the residents.” 

“I thought you wanted her to float?” Shen questioned quickly as he looked up briefly from the patient. 

“The other patient is her ex.” Jack said as he turned away before ushering you into the trauma bay, before going to the next room to start working on Josh. 

You settle next to Shen who turns to you, “You okay?” 

“No.” You mutter softly as you start taking note of the young woman’s vitals. “But I am not going to let his dumbass choices kill this poor girl, so let’s get her stable enough to go up to surge. Have you paged Nurosuge?” 

“Already done, they are sending someone down. Her BP keeps dropping, ordered a type and cross. Looks like she is lost a lot of blood in the field.” 

“I’ll call the lab to make sure they rush that type and cross, we should order a unit of O-Neg while we wait, though, because I am not sure with those numbers she is gonna keep her BP up long enough for us to wait for that type and cross.” 

“Good idea. Order it and put in an order for a head CT, we’ll get her up there as soon as we get her BP holding steady for more than two minutes.” 

++++++

The next hour was a whirl of chaos. You and Shen did everything you possibly could to keep Marisole as stable as possible till neurosurgery could get her upstairs to the OR. As they wheeled her out of Trauma 1 to head op to the OR, Shen turned towards you and patted you gently on your shoulder. “You did good, all things considered.” 

“I still don’t know if she is gonna die on that table though. Her vitals were barely holding steady.” You mutter as you pull off your blood-stained gown and gloves and toss them in the trash. “That poor girl had her whole life ahead of her, and she probably met Josh in some bar. Saw this charming, handsome older guy who was paying her attention. Making her feel special.” Your voice was tight as you swallowed hard, your eyes darting across the room to see through the clear window as Jack was visibly arguing with Josh, as he was still trying to treat him. 

Shen reached over and gently rubbed your arm. “You did everything you could, and you are lucky that it wasn’t you and Ian in that car.” He said softly as you watched Jack intently. 

You caught a glimpse of his face finally and you could tell he was on the edge. While you couldn’t make out what Josh was going on about, you could tell that whatever he was saying on pushing Jack towards a point of no return. The way his jaw was set was tight like he was using every ounce of control he had to keep from saying or doing something that could get him fired or worse, arrested. You look up at Shen as you grip his arm lightly. “Go in there and swap out with Jack before he fucking smothers that asshole with a fucking pillow.” 

“He wouldn’t.” Shen laughs off but notices that your face remains deadly serious as you glance back over into the other trauma bay. He just nods before he mutters. “I really don’t want to deal with him either.” 

“Yeah but when he starts calling me a whore or whatever else he is yelling at Jack right now. You know that’s not the mother of your unborn child who is in the next room.” You mutter as you run you hand over your stomach as you try your best to ground yourself. “So please just go, I don’t care what excuse you have to give Jack to get him to agree to swap out with you but just do it. Please.” You looked up at him with the most pleading look and Shen grimaced as he let out a sigh. 

“Fine, but I swear if you don’t name me the baby’s godfather…” 

“Jack already said Robby is gonna be her godfather but you can be her… goduncle?” You quip back without missing a beat. 

“That is not a thing.” He says as he pulls on another gown and grabs a pair of gloves. 

“We can make it a thing.” You say as you pat his shoulder and walk out of the trauma bay to the nurses' desk because it was getting harder with each passing moment for you not to go in there yourself and start screaming right back at Josh. 

You sit down in the chair next to the nightshift charge nurse, Lena, who had been a friend of your aunts for years. “You okay, kiddo?” She asks softly as she stops her charting and turns to you. 

All you can do is shake your head. “No, but I think I am better than Jack right now.” You glance over and see Jack and Shen speaking by the trauma bay door. Jack quickly pulls off his gloves, rips the gown off, and tosses them in the trash before he walks out. 

You don’t even say anything else to Lena, you just stand up and make your way over to Jack as quickly as you could possibly manage to move. You stop a few feet away from him as he looks over at you. Everything in you wanted to run over to him and wrap your arms around him. He looked furious. “I’m going to the roof.” He calls out to Lena before turning around and walking towards the stairs. You follow behind him, not being asked but you didn’t like the idea of him being by himself in that moment. 

As soon as you both were in the stairwell, you couldn’t hold yourself together anymore and walk up behind him as he is taking the first step up to the roof and wrap your arms around his waist, stopping him in his tracks. “You okay?” You mutter against his back as he stands on the second step. 

“No.” He starts slowly. “That’s why I am going to the roof because I want to beat Josh within an inch of his life.” He said softly as he rested his hand over yours. 

“What did he say?” You asked softly. 

Jack pulls your hands away and turns around to look down at you. He reached out and cupped your cheek. “I am not going to repeat it. Just let me go up to the roof for a few minutes, collect my thoughts, and I will be back down in the ED before you know it.” He leaned down and gave you a quick, gentle kiss. 

“Jack.” You whisper, trying to get him to stop but he runs his thumb along your cheekbone before he shakes his head. 

“Let me do this, I will be right as rain when I come back. You have patients, and you are going to be of more use to them than you will be to me up on the roof.” He intrusts. 

You let out a long sigh as you tilt your head back. “You sure?” 

“Positive.” He whispers before he leans back down and kisses you again. “I love you, I love Ian, I love her…” He rests his hand on your stomach for a moment. 

“Wren… Wren Elizabeth…” You smirk for a moment as you gaze down at his hand. 

“I can live with that.” He whispers as he runs his thumb along your side, feeling the baby push against his hand. “Take care of Mama, little bird.” 

“Little Bird?” You question softly with a half-smile playing on your lips. 

“A wren is a little bird, her name is going to be Wren… so she is my little bird.” He states simply as you take a step back. 

“She isn’t even born and already has a nickname,” you muse.

You give Jack a half smile as you stand at the bottom of the stairs watching him walk up till you couldn’t see him anymore, before you turned around and went back into the ED, but you weren’t going to see patients. You were going to go have a word with Josh.

++++++

By the time you had gotten back into the ED, Josh had been moved to one of the rooms to free up the trauma bay while he was waiting to go upstairs for observation before being released into police custody. So he was tucked in a corner room out of the way and an officer was stationed outside his room. You smile at the officer as you walk towards the door. “I just need to do a quick cognitive check on him, won’t be but a minute.” You say softly. The officer just gave you a nod. He wasn’t one of the ones who came in with Josh. He looked pretty young. They must have sent someone green to come sit with him overnight. 

As you walk in and close the door behind you, your eyes fall on Josh who is stretched out on the gurney, in a hospital gown, looking a little beat up and helpless. It amused that for once he was the helpless one. “What the fuck did you say to Jack?” You ask in a low, sharp voice as you walk to his bedside. 

Josh rolled over and looked up at you, an amused grin on his face. “The truth,” he spat. “That he may have you now, but you will always come home to me. You always do, don’t you, baby girl?” 

“Don’t call me that.” You snap harshly as you fuss with the leads on her monitor to make it look like you were actually doing something. “I am not coming back, I am getting married to Jack. I am having his baby.” 

“For now.” Josh huffed softly as he leaned forward so his face was only a few inches away from yours, and he ran his hand up your arms. 

You snatched your arm away and took a step away from the gurney so you were just barely out of reach. “For always.” You spit back. The idea that you would ever leave Jack, who adored you. Was calm and steady. Was a good partner and father to Ian. Just to go back with Josh who was never any of those things, was something you could never fathom. “I love him, he loves me.” 

“You don’t love him. You can’t love him. You could only ever love me.” Josh was so smug as he spoke. You wanted to slap him right across his smug face, but you rested your hand on your stomach instead. “You are a lost, little puppy, baby girl. You are always gonna come back to what you know…” 

“No, I am not.” You say firmly as you take a step back towards him against your better judgment.

When you did, he snatched your wrist roughly, gripping it tightly. “He’s fucking old as dirt. He is gonna be dead before too long, and then what? Hm? You are gonna be alone with two kids and gonna need someone to come save you. Then you are gonna come running back home where you belong.” 

You tried to pull your arm away but his grip was too strong. “Let go of me.” You snap as you struggle against his grip. It was so tight you knew there were going to be bruises left around your wrist. “Josh. Let go of me.” Your voice was growing louder, but he refused to relent. 

“Look at you struggling. It’s so cute to watch you squirm.” As he yanked you forward just hard enough to make the rail of the gurney collide with your bump. You let out a scream before you realized it had come out of your mouth, and the young officer came rushing into the room. Only then did Josh let go of your wrist. 

Tears started to well up in the corners of your eyes as you clutched your stomach protectively. “Fuck you, I hope you rot in jail. You almost killed that girl. She might still die, and somehow I don’t think your daddy is going to be able to weasle your way out of this attempted murder, Joshua,” you snap as the tears start to roll down your cheeks as you race out of his room. 

You instantly regretted ever going in the room, more so when you saw Jack walking back into the ED just to see you standing in the middle of the hall with tears rolling down your cheeks, trying to pull yourself back together. He came rushing over to you almost instantly, because of course he would. “What happened?” He asked in a low voice as he ran his hand over your shoulder. 

“I just wanted to find out what he said.” You mutter, looking up at Jack, knowing he was going to be upset. 

“What did he do?” He snapped, not at you. It was more at the situation, and you knew that. “Baby, did he hurt you?” He asked with a little more urgency in his voice as he noticed the way you were clutching your belly.

You look away towards Josh’s room, where the officer was not sitting inside the room with the door cracked open, as you quietly begin to explain what happened. “It started off just words. Then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward. My stomach jammed into the rail.” 

“He did fucking what?” Jack snapped as his eyes darted towards the room. “Are you okay? Wren?” 

“My wrist is sore, she is still kicking away so I assume she is fine.” You say dismissively, and Jack instantly scoffs. 

“We aren’t going to assume anything.” He said as he rested his hand on your lower back and pointed towards an empty room. “Come on.” It wasn’t a suggestion, and you knew it. You walked into the empty room and sat on the edge of the bed as Jack stood in front of you. “Which wrist?” he asked softly. You held our your right hand for him, and he started checking it over. It was tender but you knew that it wasn’t broken or sprained. However, you also knew this was less for you and more for him to make sure you and the baby were fine. Maybe to also distract him from going back into Josh’s room and confronting him. “Move your fingers.” He said and you followed his instructions. He let out a soft grumble before he let go of your hand and turned to pull over the ultrasound machine. 

“Jack, do you really think this..” 

“Humor me.” He cut you off as he turned it on. “Lay back, just let me make sure she is okay.” You let out a sigh as you scoot back on the gurney and pull up your scrub top and scoot your pants down so he can do a quick scan. The gel was cold as he squirted on your belly. “Is she in her usual spot?” 

“Yup.” You respond simply. 

It only took a couple of moments for Jack to find the baby on the ultrasound, and she was squirming around, not making it easy for him either. However, she was fine. Like you had suspected, but you knew Jack had to see for himself. As he started to wipe the gel off your stomach, he leaned over you and whispered. “You aren’t going back in there, understood?” 

“You saying that as my boss or the father of my child?” 

“Oh, I am saying that as your husband.” He said firmly as he tossed the towel that he was cleaning your stomach off into the hamper. “We are gonna talk about this when we get home.” It sounded ominous enough that it made your stomach turn. 

“Jack.” you start softly. “I’m sorry, he just upset you and..” 

“We are gonna talk about it at home, we still have five hours left of our shift, and I need to somehow manage not to go jail tonight.” He turned around and helped you up off the gurney, letting you adjust your scrubs back into place. “I love you more than words but sometimes you drive me crazy.” 

“I love you, too,” you whisper as you tug at his scrub top, pulling him close enough for you to lean up and give him a slow kiss. He returned it as his hand rested on your lower back. As you pulled back, you rested your hand on his chest. “You mad at me?” 

“No, I am pissed at him.” He paused, looking down at you. “You, I am a little annoyed at, but I will get over it. Now we have to get back to our actual job.” 

+++++

The rest of your shift was rather uneventful. Thankfully.

Josh was still in the ED when Jack was doing handoffs with Robby, and you watched them have a tense conversation outside his room. Robby’s face told you everything. All the rage that Jack had been feeling all night was written plainly on Robby’s face as Jack relayed the night's events. You had a quiet conversation with Dana, letting her know what happened. Much to your surprise, she didn’t scold you for going to speak with Josh. She was just glad that you and the baby were okay. 

The ride home was quiet, Jack’s hand resting on your thigh the whole way home. You were grateful that when you walked in the house, Dennis and Ian weren’t there waiting for you. You stood by the door and watched as Jack tossed his keys into the little dish on the table near the door, pulled his jacket off, and hung it up on one of the hooks near the door before he started making his way upstairs to your bedroom. You didn’t move for a few moments after you had set your purse down and hung your own coat up beside his. You ran you hand over your stomach and let out a long sigh. You were dreading the conversation that was about to happen. 

After a few moments, you knew that you weren’t going to be able to put this off so you finally followed Jack upstairs. When you entered the bedroom, he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He had pulled off his scrub top and was sitting in the pain t-shirt he had been wearing under it with his head in his hands. You leaned against the door frame just staring at him for a moment before you whispered. “Jack..” 

“Listen, I know we don’t bring work home as a rule.” He starts slowly. “But Josh coming in, everything that happened. It reminded me that I have no legal say if something happens to you or Ian.” Jack confessed. “That is why I went up the roof. Yes, the bullshit that Josh was spewing pissed me off, but he kept saying that if anything ever happened to you, he would get his son back. Kept telling me that Ian was not my son.” His voice cracked a little as he said that ‘Ian was not my son,’ which made your heart hurt. “I can’t have that happen. I can’t let him get his hands back on my son.” 

“Nothing is going to happen to me, Jack.” You say softly as you step into the bedroom. “He was just trying to piss you off.” 

“Anything can happen at any time. We both know that.” He paused and finally looked up at you. “Women die in childbirth all the time. I am not saying that it’s going to happen. It would kill me if it did, but the idea of losing you and then having Ian ripped away broke something in me.” You cast your eyes down at the floor as you rested your hand against your stomach. 

“What do you think we should do so that it can’t happen?” You whisper as you take a few more steps into the bedroom and join Jack on the edge of the bed. You lean over and rest your cheek against his shoulder. “We talked a little about having you adopt Ian, but when we talked to the lawyer, she said we would have a better chance at a judge approving the petition if we were married.” 

Jack reached over and took your left hand and ran his thumb over your engagement ring. “Then we push the wedding up, hell, we go down to the courthouse with Robby and Dennis and get married tomorrow. I don’t care. I want my family. I want my family to be my family legally.” He said emphatically. 

As you sat at the kitchen table, your cousins were going on about your ring. Dawn held your hand, taking a closer look at the ring. “Are you kidding me? Maybe I should marry a doctor to get a ring like that.” She laughed as Chole just shook her head across from you.

“Are you happy though?” She asked, leaning forward. 

“Very.” You chuckle as you pull your hand back and adjust the ring. “We are having a baby, going to get married. It’s the dream.” You say simply as you crane your neck to see Ian trying to sneak a cookie. “Buddy, you gotta wait till after dinner.” You call as Ian slinks back but your Uncle Benji reaches over and grabs one of the cookies and hands it to Ian as he shoots you a smile. “I swear.” You grumble. 

Dawn reached over and grabbed your phone, “Does he have any hot doctor friends? Ya know, single hot doctor friends?” 

“No.” You say firmly as you take your phone back, locking the screen as you laugh softly. “I am not playing matchmaker in the ED, that’s your mom’s job anyway.” You chuckle as you shift in your chair as your phone buzzes, and you see a text message pop up on your screen. 

Jack - Your mom show up? 

You smirk as you lean back in the dining chair, unlock your phone, and start typing your response. 

You - not yet, but mom always likes to show up fashionably late. How’s work? Miss me? 

He starts typing back right away, which tells you enough on it’s own. If he is standing around texting you, either he is up on the roof because it started off rough or it was slow. 

Jack - Yes, I miss you. I always miss you. I am stuck with Shen up my ass. It hasn’t started getting crazy yet. Robby is still trying to lurk. 

You - Why is Robby lurking? If he can lurk, he could have pulled a double and let you come Christmas with my family.

Jack - He is pulling a double tomorrow so I can have Christmas with our family. 

You smile at that as you lean back in your chair, one hand resting on your stomach. ‘Our Family’ was still a new concept for you 

You - You know Ian would have understood if you had to work.

Jack - And risk having him look at me with those puppy dog eyes and say ‘okay, Dad’ when it was absolutely not okay like he did at Thanksgiving. Hell no. 

You - Jack Abbot, father of the year. 

Jack - Trying okay. Text me in a bit, we got a trauma coming in. Love you.

You - Okay, love you.

As you set your phone down, you hear a bit of commotion in the living room and the all too familiar sound of your mother’s voice. “There is my grandbaby!” she exclaimed, but you noticed right away she didn’t sound like herself. You smile at your cousins as you stand up and head into the living room. “My ungrateful daughter.” She greeted you as she was bent over, giving Ian a hug. 

“Hi, Mom.” You say softly as you stand with your arms crossed. As you looked at her, her cheeks were flushed, and her balance was off. The years of seeing your mother drunk, you knew instantly. She had been drinking. “Ian, baby, why don’t you go watch A Christmas Story with Uncle Benji?” You weren’t asking him, you were strongly suggesting it velid as a question because you didn’t want to upset your son. Ian nodded as he smiled up at your mother before she gave him a kiss on the cheek, letting him run off back to where Benji was sitting in his chair. Ian crawled onto the couch. Once he was out of earshot, you glared at your mother as you took a few steps closer. You could smell the booze on her. “You’re fucking drunk.” You sigh. The disappointment on your face and in your voice didn’t faze your mother in the least. 

“I had a couple of cocktails with some friends at Bingo. I’m fine.” She smiled like she always had when she was drunk and tried to hide it. You weren’t a teenager anymore, and you knew better. “You are no fun, you used to be fun.” 

You just shake your head as you sigh. “No, Mom, I don’t get to have fun because I am the responsible one. I have always been the responsible adult in our family.” You never got to be a wild teenager, you had married Josh as the best way to have a normal life where you weren’t having to parent your own mother. “I can’t do this.” You mutter as you turn around and start walking back towards the kitchen. 

Dana was cooking away at the stove with her daughters gossiping at the kitchen table. “Mom’s drunk.” You say bluntly as you pick up your phone and press in the passcode, instantly going to Jack’s text messages. 

You - Mom’s drunk. I am taking Ian and going home. 

You knew he wouldn’t get back to you quickly. He was likely mid-trauma at that moment, but you needed him to know. You were worried that you and your mother were going to fight again, as you had at Thanksgiving, when she found you and Jack were engaged, and you had told everyone that you were also having a baby. Needless to say, she did not take it at all. She screamed at you and Jack, accusing Jack of getting you pregnant on purpose so he could have a pretty young little wife. It was a disaster. 

Dana walked over and peered around you to look at your mother, who was swaying a little as she set the presents she brought under the tree. “She’s been worse,” Dana muttered softly as she rubbed your arm. “She has been drinking against since Thanksgiving. Every time I have gone over to her house, she has been totally out of it.” She sighed as she gave you a half smile. “I thought she would have just stuck to the weed for Ian tonight.” 

“I can’t stay with her like this, Dana.” You whisper, your voice tight. “I don’t want my son to see her like this.” 

“Ian is around Jack and Robby when they drink, watching football,” Dana said, trying to find a logical reason for you to stay, but she had to know this was different. 

“You know it’s not the same.” You whisper as you glance out into the living room to check to make sure your mom wasn’t near Ian again. “Jack and Robby have two beers, over like three hours. Mom has probably had half a pint of Bicardi already and probably has shooters in her purse.” You put your hands up as you shake your head. “I can’t do this again.” 

“What about Ian?” Dana asked softly as she looked intently at you. “He has presents to open. I made all those cookies for him.” She was really trying to argue her case but she was overlooking the reason why you couldn’t deal with this. It was Ian. 

You take in a sharp breath has your hand rests on your side. “Ian is why I can’t do this.” You whisper as you shake your head. “I grew up seeing her like that, he doesn’t need to. He is old enough that he is going to remember if Grandma is shitfaced at Christmas.” That made Dana let out a long sigh because she was finally seeing your point. “I will take the presets with us, he can open them tomorrow with the rest of them. I’ll take the cookies and whatever other food you want, but I gotta take him home, Dana.” 

She nodded as she cursed under her breath. “Yeah, I know.” She tossed the dishtowel in her hand on the counter out of frustration before she wrapped her arms around you. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. If had thought she would actually come drunk. I would have told her to stay home.” She reaches up and cups your cheeks as she gives you a sad smile before turning to her daughters. “Girls, can you please go get their presents together? Put them in some of those reusable bags from the Giant Eagle.” The girls both nod. They had seen this all play out before in years past, and neither of them questioned why you were leaving. Dawn rubbed your arm and gave you a sad smile as she walked past you. 

Just then, your phone started to buzz in your pocket. It wasn’t a text, it was a call. You reach in and pull it out and see it’s Jack. You answer it quickly as you turn away from Dana. “What do you mean she is drunk?” Jack questioned quickly, “I thought she stopped drinking years ago.”

“Hi to you to, baby.” You mutter softly as you lean against the kitchen counter. “Dana said she’s been drinking again, and she came in. She reeks of booze. I can’t do this.” 

You could hear Jack sigh on the other end. Robby must have been nearby in the ambulance bay because you could hear him asking Jack questions in the background. “Shut up for five minutes, would you?” He snaps at Robby. “Not you, baby.” He corrects quickly. “So you're gonna take Ian home? Is that the plan?” 

“Yeah, he doesn’t need to see any of this. I lived through years of my mom being a fucking wreck at holidays. I promised myself that shit would never touch my babies.” Your voice starts to shake a little as you fight the urge to cry. You silently cursed the fact that the pregnancy hormones were making it so much harder for you to push your emotions down. 

Hearing the wobble in your voice, you knew it would set Jack off. He already had a long list of issues with your mother, but making you cry was always at the top of that list. “I’ll see if Shen can handle shit here.” You could hear Robby say that he would cover for him if he wanted to leave. “You already are working tomorrow night, you are not working 48 hours straight. We aren’t fucking residents anymore. Shen can handle it.” He let out another sigh. “I will figure it out, baby, I will come home.” 

“Jack, you don’t have to.” You whisper as a few tears start to roll down your cheeks. 

“Nah, I do. I am not leaving the mother of my children to sit at home by herself and cry at home on Christmas Eve while I am at work. I would be worried about you all night.” His saying that made you cry harder because you still felt like you didn’t deserve this man. “Let me go, baby. I will figure this all out, and I will head home. Any luck we will get home right around the same time. Just breathe, I’m coming home to take care of my girl.” 

You slowly nod as you mutter, “Okay.” You sound emotionally exhausted already, and it’s not lost in the least on Jack. 

“You are doing the right thing, for Ian, for you, for our baby.” He reminds gently. “You would spend the whole night worried and stressed out when we don’t need that with the baby, and Ian doesn’t need to see his mom upset.” He pauses for a moment and Robby starts talking to him, but you can almost picture Jack waving him off. “I love you, go get our boy home, and I will be there as soon as I can get there.” 

“I’m sorry about all this, Jack.” you mutter, already feeling guilty that your mother’s mess is now causing him to leave work because he is worried about you. 

“It’s fine, baby, I promise. Don’t worry. I will call you when I am leaving.” He paused, and you let out a ragged breath, still trying to collect yourself. “I love you.”

“I love you so much.” You mutter before he hangs up, and you turn to Dana, who just gives you a soft smile as she reaches up and brushes away the few tears that have fallen. “I’m sorry.” 

“Stop apologizing. None of this is your fault.” In your mind, you knew that was true. You could never control your mother’s behavior, but part of you wonders if she would have gone down this path if you had never moved out of her house. She viewed that as a betrayal, that you abandoned her and picked ‘some man’ over her. Which wasn’t true. You were trying to give your son a better life, something your mother had failed to do for you time and time again. 

As your cousins packed the bags with the presents, you went to gather Ian. You walked over to him on the couch and leaned down. You kissed his cheek as you whispered. “Go get your coat, Dad is leaving work early, and we are going home.” You say softly as you smooth his hair and give him a warm smile. Ian isn’t a stupid kid. He is sharp and observant, even for someone his age. His eyes darted over to your mother for a moment before looking up at you.

“What about the presents?” He asked, obviously having his priorities straight in that moment. 

You let out a little laugh. “I bet we could talk Dad into letting you open one or two before bed tonight, but remember Santa is gonna bring the good stuff tonight so you gotta go to bed on time.” He nods, agreeing as he hops off of the couch and runs over to get his coat. 

“Leaving?” Your mother grumbles from the other end of the couch. “What, soldier boy, beckons and you come running? Like the good little girl you are.” She looked so smug as she spoke. “You think if you save him, it’s like saving your daddy. That’s why you are with him, isn’t it. You want your daddy back.”

Your jaw was set tight as you fidgeted with your engagement ring. “Shut up, mom,” you whisper as you lean forward. “You’re fucking drunk. I am leaving because I promised myself when I left Josh, I was not going to let him grow up in chaos as I did.” Your words are quiet but sharp as you take a step back, resting one hand on the small swell of your stomach on pure instinct. “If you keep doing what you are doing, Mom. You are never gonna meet this baby.” 

“Because he won’t let me?” she retorts sharply as she leans forward. 

“No,” you say as you shake your head. “Because I won’t let you.” 

“I have rights as their grandmother.” She snaps. 

You let an amused laugh as you watch Dana putting Ian’s jacket on for him, doing the best she can to distract him from the conversation going on a few feet away. “Where did you hear that? Tiktok? You saw a minute-long video about grandparents' rights, and you think you can make a case that I am an unfit parent. Your totally sober, gainfully employed Nurse Practitioner daughter isn’t capable of raising my children? Or that Jack, the well-respected Army Vet, Physician, and SWAT medic, is an unfit parent?” Your eyes were locked on hers, waiting for her to answer but she just scowled at you.

“You two are hardly home, working ridiculous hours. How do you expect to bring a baby into that?” She snaps, finally, and you just start shaking your head. “What are you going to do, give up the career you worked so hard to have? Hire a bunch of strangers to come take care of my grandchildren.” 

“They are my children.” You snap quickly. “Mine. You fucked me up plenty, you are not fucking my kids up.” You shout as you turn to walk away. Your mother gets up to follow, but your Uncle Benji quickly steps in to run interference. 

“Let her go.” He said sharply.

With the help of your cousins and Dana, you get the car packed up and Ian into his booster seat in the back. As you are getting in, Dana gives you another tight hug. “Send me pictures of him opening the gifts I gave him.” 

“I will.” You whisper before you hug each of your cousins. “You two are welcome to come by the house tomorrow. I am sure Jack won’t mind.” They both say they will think about it and message you in the morning. 

When you are in the car with Ian, getting ready to head back home, he looks at you in the rearview mirror. “Mommy, why does Grandma make you so upset?” 

“It’s complicated, munchkin.” You sigh as you throw the car into drive and pull out of Dana’s driveway. “Grown-up stuff, you don’t need to worry about it. You just have to figure out what movie we are gonna watch when Jack gets home.” 

“Christmas Vacation.” He decides quickly with a little laugh.

You smile back at him as you stop at a red light. “That’s a good one.” 

+++++++

Jack had called you not five minutes into your drive home to tell you that he was on his way back to the house. You let him know that Ian wanted to stop at McDonalds for chicken nuggets, but you would be home soon. You thought that he would be in the house waiting for you, but he wasn’t. As you pulled into the driveway, you noticed instantly that Jack was standing outside, leaning against his truck as he waited for you both to get home. Ian was practically clawing his way out of his booster seat the second he saw Jack. No sooner were the car parked and the engine off than Ian was doing his best to open the back door of the car. Thank goodness for child locks.

“Wait,” You say as you try to gather your purse and the bag of fast food. Thankfully, Jack was already walking around your car to open the door for Ian. 

As soon as he opened the door, Ian practically jumped into his arms. “You came home!” He exclaimed as Jack helped him out of the car. 

“There is stuff in the trunk,” you mentioned before Jack closes the back door and walks back to the trunk as you hit the button to pop it open before getting out of the car yourself. 

Jack is looking utterly bewildered as he sees the bags of presents in the trunk. “Did Dana think Ian was getting nothing from… Santa…” He caught himself as Ian stood next to him. “There is like 7 bags stuffed full.” 

“There is stuff for the baby, and I think she even got you something.” You laugh as you hand Ian the McDonalds bag and start reaching to grab some of the bags, but Jack pushes your hand away. “I can carry some presents.” 

“You can, yes,” Jack says flatly as he grabs a few of them in one hand. “However, I am not letting my pregnant fiancé carry shit. The stairs could be icy.” 

You wanted to laugh, but stopped yourself, only smiling as you grabbed on of the lighter bags. “You salted this morning, and before you left tonight. I doubt there is a speck of ice on those stairs, Jack.” He just gives you a side eye.

“Your Mama is something else.”  He grumbled softly to Ian. 

“Yeah, but she’s ours.” Ian giggled as he tried to pick up one of the bags, but it was too heavy, and he set it back on the driveway. “I don’t have enough muscles.” 

“You got time yet, little man,” Jack said he pulled the last of the bags out of the trunk and set it down. “Go help Mama get in the house. I’ll be right behind you.” 

Ian chases after you as you put your key in the front door and push the door open. Jack is a few feet behind you as your son runs in the house, greeted by the newest member of your family. A sweet Golden Retriever that you three had adopted a week earlier, that Ian insisted on naming Butter. “Ian, don’t let the dog get out.” Ian raced into the house to distract the dog with French fries from the bag he was carrying. “Buddy, come on.” You laugh as you watch his very effective tactic from the door as you wait for Jack to bring the first round of bags in. 

“Is he feeding Butter?” Jack asked as he put the bags inside the door, watching Ian holding a fry out and laughing. “That dog is gonna be such a fat dog,” Jack mumbles as he turns to go get the rest of the bags, leaving you at the door. 

“Ian, one fry. No more.” 

Once you get all the bags into the house and let the dog out into the back yard, you send Ian up to his room as you take a moment with Jack in the living room. Gone were your winter jackets, and you had pulled off the bulky sweater you were wearing, and the t-shirt you were wearing under it was snug enough across your stomach to show off the start of a baby bump. As you wrapped your arms around his chest, pressing your cheek against your shoulder, he whispered. “How are my girls?” 

You had found out early in the week after you got the results of the amnio back that you were having a little girl. Jack was overjoyed, even though you both agreed not to tell anyone quite yet. You wanted to have this little secret since everyone at work had figured out you were pregnant before either of you had a chance to start properly telling people. “Tired, upset..” You mumbled into his scrub top. “Hungry.” 

“Go get changed and I will make you a sandwich." He said as he kissed your shoulder and rested his hand on your side. 

“You don’t have to.” You say as you lean back and look up at him. “I know you want to get comfortable, take your leg off.” 

“Stop.” He says gently. “I have only had it on for a few hours. I can make you PB&J before I get changed.” He pauses and smirks a little. “Unless she has decided she hates them, like what happened with tacos.” 

“She still tolerates them.” You chuckle. 

Jack gave your bottom a little pat, “Then go get out of those jeans and back into your natural habitat of my sweats and t-shirt as God intended.” He teases before he kisses your cheek. 

It had been a long day, you only got a little sleep during the day while Ian was with your cousins and you could already feel the stress of the whole situation with your mother settle in your shoulders. “I might go take a shower, maybe that might help me relax a little.” 

Jack kissed your cheek before giving your butt a playful pat, “Then go do it. I’ll get the dog inside and get Ian settled watching a movie. We will be fine.” You give him a soft smile and a nod before you take a step back and start to make your way toward the bedroom.

You pause for a moment and turn back to Jack. “He wants to watch Christmas Vacation, by the way.” 

“A classic.” Jack laughs, “I was going to put on Die Hard, but he might still be a little young for that.”

You start laughing, “Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, Jack.” 

“It absolutely is a Christmas movie. It takes place at the Christmas party, there is Christmas music in it, It has Bruce Willis being a badass, and Alan Rickman with a German accent. All the things you need for the Christmas spirit.” Jack said emphatically. “He is gonna watch it sooner or later. Mark my words.”

“Can we wait till he is like 9 or 10?” You ask with a smirk playing on your lips. “I don’t need him running around elementary school screaming ‘Yippee-ki yay mother fucker’.” 

“I make no promises.” Jack laughs. “It tradition.”

“He is 5, Jack.” you say as you make a little face of ‘come on’. 

Jack looks down, right offended, though you knew it wasn’t serious. He was just playing with you. “That is 5 years of lack of Die Hard, I am going to have to make up for. It’s my responsibility as his dad to make sure the boy is cultured.” 

You just start shaking your head. “If I come out of the shower and you two are watching Die Hard,” 

“You’re gonna what? Be mad at prime male bonding time with my boy?” You knew in that moment that you were going to come out of the shower to find them watching the movie. You just shake your head, softly laughing to yourself as you make your way upstairs. 

The shower was honestly the most enjoyable part of your day. You spent longer than you probably should have standing under the hot water and trying to just let go of all the stress of the day. When you were finished and dressed in your favorite pair of stolen sweat pants from Jack’s side of the dresser and one of his old Army t-shirts you made your way back downstairs to living room. As you suspected, Jack had convinced Ian that Die Hard was the superior choice of Christmas movie to watch. Ian was curled up with Butter at one of the ends of the couch, and Jack sat still in his scrubs at the other end of the couch with his prosthetic leg off and set to the side of the couch, explaining to Ian why this was in fact the best Christmas movie ever made. 

“Listen, Christmas movies don’t need Santa to be good. They just need to embody the spirit of the season.” He explained as you stood back watching your son listen intently as he scratched behind the dog’s ear. 

“But, he is running around with no shoes on, and those guys are being mean.” Ian pointed out and his innocent understanding of the plot made you smirk. 

“But, he came to try and win back the love of his wife. To bring his family back together, and he is going to save all these people from the bad guys.” Jack continued as he leaned over. “I mean, the bad guys are kinda like the Grinch.”

“The Grinch didn’t have guns.” Ian giggles as he looks over at Jack with a goofy smile on his face. 

“Listen, if there were guns in Whoville, I think the Grinch would have had guns.” Ian seemed to agree with Jack’s logic as he gave a little nod of agreement. 

“But will the guy with the weird voice’s heart grow three sizes too big and be a good person?” Ian asks softly. 

“No… he gets shoved off a building,” Jack says. He reaches over and messes up Ian’s hair. “It’s more realistic because the bad people in the real world rarely suddenly become good.” Ian just looked confused at that statement. 

He let a little sigh and looked back at the tv his little brows furrowed as he mumbled. “I don’t think Mama would like that we are watching this.” 

Jack laughed and waved his hand. “It’s fine, leave Mama to me. I can convince her just about anything is a good idea.” 

“Like when we had waffles for dinner the other night?” Ian asked with a small giggle. 

“Exactly.” Jack laughed. 

You finally finished walking into the living room and settled against the arm of the couch where Jack was sitting and smiled down at him. “So, no Christmas Vacation?” You say softly as Jack slips his arm around your hips and nudges you to sit down on the couch. “No, no, I’m mad.” 

“No you’re not.” Jack joked softly as he beamed up at you. “It’s a rite of passage.” He defended. 

“He is 5.” You remind him gently. “The rite of passage could have waited till he could tie his shoes by himself.” 

“I can almost tie my shoes.” Ian defended himself as he looked at you over Butter. “I am not a baby, Mama.” 

You move to sit next to Jack on the couch, carefully shoving Butter over so you could have a little more room you lean over and rest your head on Jack’s shoulder as he drapes his arm around. “When he has nightmares because of all the violence tonight, you get to deal with it. I am going to roll over and go back to sleep.” 

“Fine, because Ian isn’t going to have a nightmare. He is a tough kid. He can handle it.” Jack shrugged if off. 

“He slept in our bed for three days after we watched Nightmare Before Christmas three weeks ago.” You point out as you look up at him. 

Jack just laughed and shook his head. “Listen, Tim Burton movies are creepy. This is a pure cinematic masterpiece.” You roll your eyes and settle into watching the movie with them. Ian didn’t last long till he had fallen asleep with his head resting on Butter. This was not how you expected Christmas Eve to go, but you were happy that your little family was all together. 

As the credits of the movie began to roll, you sat up as Jack reached over and started putting his prosthetic back on. “I’ll go put him in bed.” 

“You should just put him on our bed preemptively.” You laugh softly. 

“Oh, that was my plan.” Jack chuckled. “I knew what I was getting into.” 

“No, you didn’t,” you retort as you start to stand up to go get the presents that you had carefully wrapped days before and put them out under the tree. “You are eating the cookies he left out for Santa too.”

“Fine.” Jack said as he finished getting his prosthetic on and stood up. “But she is watching Die Hard with us next year. This is a family tradition.” 

“No.” You say, shaking your head. “You are not going to have our infant daughter watching this when she isn’t even gonna be able to walk yet.” You watch as Jack carefully lift Ian off Butter, and the dog does a little stretch now taking up most of the couch.

“She’s gonna be Daddy’s girl, of course, she's gonna watch it with us.” He whispers as he starts to walk past you on his way to take Ian upstairs. 

“Oh no, you are not getting to be both of the kids' favorite person.” You laugh, and Jack just shrugs. 

“We’ll see.” He mumbles as he heads upstairs. A few minutes later, he returns, still unchanged from his scrubs, and finds you just finishing setting up the presents. He is holding the plate that Ian had left cookies out for Santa on. “Next year, maybe make chocolate chip cookies because I don’t really like oatmeal raisin. Who makes oatmeal raisin cookies for Santa?” 

“I did my entire childhood.” You note as you look at him from the floor. “They were my dad’s favorite.” 

Jack gave a little nod, not arguing the point, “Okay, but this Dad’s favorite are chocolate chip, and if I am going to have to eat them every year, the kids believe in Santa… I would like to enjoy my forced late-night snack.” 

“Noted,” you chuckle as you hold your hands up, “Now help me off the floor.” 

“You are not that pregnant, yet.” He laughs as he sets the plate on the coffee table, but still comes over to help you. 

“It’s practice for when you are gonna have to help me up in a few months.” You laugh as he takes your hands and helps pull you off the floor. You slip your arms around him and smirk up at him as you stand leaning against him for a few moments. “See, was that so hard?”

“Now, no. When you're in the third trimester, ask me that question again.” He jokes as he leans forward and kisses your cheek before looking over at the pile of presents for Ian under the tree. “He’s spoiled.” 

“It’s his last Christmas as an only child,” you state softly before you let out a small laugh. “If I remember correctly, I’m not the one who left work an hour early on Black Friday to go stand in line at Target to get him the Switch 2 and that Pokémon game.” 

“It was the top thing in his letter to Santa.” Jack said a little defensively.”If Santa failed to deliver on that, he was going to be heartbroken.” 

“He also asked for a dirt bike, and I don’t see that under the tree.” You laugh as you rest your hand on his chest. 

Jack shrugs as he runs his hand over your hair. “That’s because the mini dirt bike is gonna be his present from the baby when she’s born.” You just playfully scowl as you shake your head. “I am not above bribes to have the kids get along.” 

“He still is talking about how he wants a little brother.” You point out softly. “He is going to be so disappointed when he finds out he is gonna have a little sister.” 

“Which is why he is getting the dirt bike, we have to make sure he loves his baby sister,” Jack says with a smile and a small laugh. “Parker sent me this whole blog post about it and I think it’s a solid plan.” 

You laugh a little at the idea that Parker is sending Jack blog posts about how to prepare older siblings for the arrival of a new baby. “What else did the blog post say.” 

“That we should have him be involved in picking stuff out for her, like her room. Maybe even her name.” 

“No.” You laugh. “He is not helping pick out her name. He named the dog Butter. Plus, I want to pick out her name. At least her first name, because Josh took over everything with Ian. I wanted to name his Declan, and he shot that down so quickly.” 

Jack let out a soft sigh, “Do I not get a little say? Because like hell I am naming my daughter something like Everly or Delany.” 

You scowl a little as you lean back. “Who is growing a whole human inside them?” Jack just let out a huff of a laugh. “Plus, I like Wren and Rowan.” 

“I don’t like Rowan.” He said softly. “Wren might grow on me, depends on the middle name.” 

“Well, here, how about this. I pick the first name, you get the middle name. That’s my Christmas present to you.” You act like it’s the greatest gift you could give him, and Jack just laughs softly as he takes your head in his hand and kisses you slowly. 

“What a wonderful gift, I get to have a say in my daughter’s name.” He jokes sarcastically. “She is gonna be named Wren, isn’t she?” 

“Yeah, get used to the name.” You laugh as you beam up at him. “Listen, I could have just said I was naming her Everly out of spite.” 

Normally, you did everything in your power to be off on Halloween, particularly since Ian was old enough to go trick or treating, but this year, you had been called in. They were going to be down a resident, and they needed all hands on Halloween night. To say you were disappointed was an understatement. While you had taken Ian to a Trunk or Treat thing that weekend on your day off with Jack, you wanted to take him Trick or Treating around the neighborhood, as this was the first year you wouldn’t have to take him Dana’s to get the proper trick or treating experience. 

Your heart broke when you called Dana and asked her if she and your Uncle could take Ian for the night, take him out Trick or Treating and make sure that he still had fun. Of course, her answer was yes, instantly. She told you to bring him into work with you, in full costume with an overnight bag packed. Which was great, you were so thankful she was willing to help you out because Whitaker had made plans thinking you were going to be off.

Your one hang-up was how Dana was going to react to Ian’s costume. The obvious choice of him wanting to be a superhero was not what your son chose this year. No. It could never have been that easy. He wanted to be a soldier, like Jack. So much so, he specifically said to you that he wanted to be Jack. Which thrilled Jack to no end, when he heard Ian say that he wanted to be him, he had a look that was half pride and half smugness. Totally insufferable. Did he try to talk Ian into a more conventional costume, no. Not even for one single moment. He indulged Ian. You spent the better part of two weeks looking online for the right camo pants, a little shirt that said Army on it, like the ones Jack still had tucked in the back of his dresser. Ian insisted everything had to be perfect. He even wanted his shaggy hair cut short, which was the biggest shock to you. 

So on Halloween night, you walked into the ED with Jack looking like the most smug father as Ian raced ahead. He was in his full little camo outfit, with Jack’s old hat from his Army days half falling off his head, hiding the fact he now had a buzz cut (much to your dismay) and around his neck were Jack’s dogtags. You couldn’t believe he actually was indulging Ian this much, but then again, you knew that Jack would give Ian the moon and stars if he had asked. “He is going to lose them.” You muttered as you watched Ian take off to the nurses station. 

“Nah.” Jack said simply as he leaned over and kissed your cheek. “Have some faith in our boy.” 

You turn to him with a look of total disbelief on your face. “He is five years old, Jack.” You say simply. “He came home from school the other day, missing a sock.” 

Jack just smirked, that crooked smirk that still made your heart flutter. “I didn’t give him the sock, I gave him my dog tags, and he won’t lose them.” He was so full of confidence that you shook your head and laughed softly. “Watch, he is gonna bring them back tomorrow morning.” 

Maybe it was the early pregnancy hormones that were making you feel a little more cynical, the morning sickness was finally hitting you in the last two weeks, making you feel miserable, but you did not have the same level of faith in your son. “Keep telling yourself that.” You whisper as you follow Ian who was racing directly towards Dana. 

“Auntie Dana!” He screeched as he nearly collided with her, his arms out, waiting for his mandatory hug from her. “Look.” He said, holding Jack’s dog tags up with the brightest smile on his face. He was so proud of his costume, it was honestly adorable, even if you were worried that he was going to lose something so important to Jack. 

“Oh look at you, baby.” She said with a bright smile as she leaned down to give Ian a hug, taking off the hat so she could give him a peck on the cheek. “You cut your hair?!” She said shocked as she started to process his costume and the deeper meaning behind it. “So you are a soldier?” She asked simply. 

Ian shook his head firmly. “No, I am my dad.” You were barely close enough to catch what he just said. Ian hadn’t ever called Jack ‘dad’ before, and hearing it made you stop dead in your tracks. You glanced over at Jack, who must have also caught it because he was standing just a step behind you, looking like he was both shocked and about to cry in the middle of the ED. 

“Your dad?” Dana questioned softly, looking past Ian to you and Jack both standing there a little stunned. She turned back to Ian and smiled brightly down at him, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “That’s great, he must be so proud of you.” She whispered before she put Jack’s hat back on Ian’s head. 

Jack walked up behind you, his hands resting on your hips as he leaned down and whispered in your ear, “Did he really just casually call me his dad?” You turned to look at him and smirked. “He did right?” Jack was utterly stunned as he looked over at you. 

“Yeah,” you whispered, turning to him and resting your hand on his chest. “Why does that surprise you so much?” You let out a soft huff of a half-chuckle. “If dad shaped, why not dad?” You sat flatly with a smirk. 

“I am not dad-shaped,” He said as he ran his hand down his stomach. “I am maybe hot uncle shaped.” He protested softly. 

“I mean you do all the dad things. Tuck him in, do the boy things mom never likes to do, you watch football together in matching jerseys, you make him French toast, which he will never eat when I make it.” You shake your head as you chuckle to yourself. “Ian adores you.” You state as a matter of fact. “That’s your son, intentional or not. Biological or not. That is your boy. He is even starting to scowl like you.” 

Jack crosses his arms in front of his chest as he tilts his head in thought before he just smirks and nods a little. “He is five he is just copying me.” He dismissed quickly. “It’s just mimicry, kids do it all the time.” 

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.” You lean in and pat his chest. “You have to get used to being dad soon anyway.” He smirks over at you as you take a step back and grin at him. “Ian, is just your first child.”

“He has a dad.” Jack said as he shifted, glancing over at you. “Not a good one, or present one.” 

“Listen, if Ian says you're his dad. You aren’t going to fight him on it. In his little mind. You are his dad. Deal with it. Now go do handoffs with Robby, so you can say goodbye to Ian before Dana leaves. He is gonna want to say goodnight to his dad.” You laugh as you finally walk towards where Dana was getting seated in a chair so she could finish up the last of her work for the day. Ian was swinging his feet back and forth as he chattered away to Dana. 

“Mommy says I can’t have too much candy tonight. But I get to have some. She wants me to save her the Reese's cups, because they are her favorite.” Ian rambled as he fiddled with Jack’s dog tags. “Dad didn’t say what candy he wants, I should ask him before we go. ‘Cus that would be nice right?” 

“Yeah, that would be really nice of you, baby.” Dana said as she ran her hand over his shoulders, handing him a blank piece of printer paper and a pen. “Why don’t you draw Mommy a picture while you wait?” She suggested softly. 

You walk towards them both with a bright smile on your face, setting your bag on the desk before you walk over to Ian and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Are you excited for tonight?” Ian nodded excitedly as he started to scribble on the paper barely paying you any attention. 

Dana on the other hand, leaned over and whispered, “So, Jack is ‘Dad’ now?” The look she gave you was one of smug pride mixed with a touch on concern. You simply shrug as you glance over to Ian, who is already so engrossed in his artistic endeavour. “Josh will lose his shit when he finds out.” 

You roll your eyes as you suck in a sharp breath. “He hasn’t seen Ian in almost a year. Jack and I are making a life. Starting a family. It was bound to happen eventually.” You whisper as Dana turns around, paperwork still in hand. She looked at you like she didn’t believe it was that simple, as she turned her back to Ian for a moment, her attention fully focused on you. 

“Speaking of family.” She began with a warmer smile, “I haven’t talked to you since your doctor's appointment the other day. Everything going well?” 

The appointment two days before went well. You had thought to call her, but you and Jack were so wrapped up in just looking at the tiny blob on the ultrasound image it slipped your mind. By the time you remembered Ian was around, you weren’t ready to tell Ian yet. You leaned in closer and whispered, “It went fine, if my dates are right and they should be. The baby is due early June and everything is good. My labs are all where they should be. It’s still so early there really isn’t much more to it than that.” 

She smiled brightly, “You tell your mother, yet?” 

“God no.” you say quickly with a huff. “We aren’t really telling many people till I hit twelve weeks.” 

“Has Jack told Robby?” She asked pointedly. You knew she knew that Jack had. It was more than likely that Robby had asked Dana about it at some point the week since Robby and Jack had gone out for drinks and Jack let it slip. 

You roll your eyes again as you glance across the ED and catch Robby and Jack walking out of a room in conversation. “I feel you already know that answer.” You mutter as you turn back to your bag and start pulling a few things out of it to start getting ready for your shift. 

“Don’t you think it’s a little odd that he told his friend and you haven’t said a word about it your mother?” She pressed. You knew Dana was right but you were not ready to have that conversation or any with your mother yet. You two had barely spoken since you moved out. A few texts were exchanged. You had sent her pictures of Jack fishing with Ian when you had gone camping, and one earlier that day of Ian in his costume before school. “She should know she is going to have another grandchild.” 

“She has been a grandmother to Ian.” You whisper, your voice tight. “You are more of Ian’s grandmother, and you know that.” 

Dana lets out a long sigh. “I know.” She admits as she glances towards Ian. “I am happy to help, Benji, and I love Ian, but your mom deserves a chance to know her grandchildren.” 

You let out a low dismissive chuckle. “Yeah, not if you ask Jack his opinion on the matter.” Jack didn’t hate your mother. He just thought that she had priorities all screwed up. She was trying to act like she was 30 years younger than she was and the fact that she was some level of high every single time they had interacted was not helping her case with him either. “He doesn’t really want her around the kids.” You point out softly. “I am kinda inclined to agree with him on this one.” 

A scowl replaced Dana’s previous warm expression. “Is that so?” She asked softly, glancing over at Jack and Robby walking into a patient room. “He gets a say?” 

“Of course he does,” you answer quicker than you were expecting. “He is raising Ian with me. He is the father of this baby. He gets his say in who he wants around them.” 

Dana lets out a low, slightly judgmental hum. “He should want his kids' grandmother around them.” 

“If she wasn’t a stoner that wasn’t paying attention and let Ian jump off the top bunk of the bunk bed she got him after eating three gummies and then called his abusive father because she didn’t use her last remaining brain cell.” You start with a frustrated sigh. “You would be right, but mom is mom, and Jack is protective of his family.” 

Your aunt shrugged. You knew that Dana knew all too well how unstable your mother could be but at the end of the day that was still her sister. Perhaps she had a blind spot when it came to just how reckless your mother could be. Perhaps she was just hopeful that having more access to her grandchild would spark some change. “She loves Ian, she loves you, she will love this baby.” 

“Love doesn’t solve everything, Dana.” you whisper softly. As you pick up your water bottle and take a sip from it. “If I am honest with you, I am still pissed she called Josh. It could have been way worse if Jack wasn’t there.” 

“It almost was way worse from what I heard because he was.” She pointed out softly. “Listen, I love that you and Jack are together. You two work so well together, but like you said. He is nothing if not a man who would protect his family and the woman he loves.” 

You shoot her a little scowl. “You should be thankful for that because if Josh ever tries to pull some shit, Jack is going to shut it down,” you say firmly before you take a step towards where Ian was sitting and you lean over his shoulder. You leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek. “What are you drawing, little man?” You whisper. 

Ian lift up his little drawing, stick figures, and a house. “You, Dad and me. Our family.” He says proudly. “We drew better ones at school today. We put them up in class.” 

“Dad?” you ask softly. 

“Jack.” He explains softly. “My friend said after he came to school that Jack was like my dad.” He utters softly as he goes back to scribbling what looks like a tree next to the house. “He is, and I love him, so he’s my dad. Right?” 

“Yeah, baby.” You whisper softly with a smile. “That’s right.” 

++++++

Across the ED Jack and Robby walked out of one of the patient's rooms. “You worried it’s gonna get swamped tonight?” Robby asked as they started to make their way back to the nurses' station, having finished their handoffs. 

“That is actually the one thing I am not worried about tonight, man,” Jack admitted. “I can handle drunks and traumas.” He craned his neck to see you leaning down next to Ian and smiled. “I am more worried about what I have planned for tonight.” Robby shot Jack a confused sideways glance. Jack let out a small sigh. “I’m gonna ask her to marry me.” 

“In the ED? At work?” Robby questioned softly, looking a little bewildered. “Listen, I am no expert in romance, brother but I don’t think that’s the most romantic way to ask the mother of your future child to marry you.” Robby had a point, but Jack had a plan. 

“Halloween is her favorite day of the year,” Jack explained softly. “I had planned to come into work late, we were gonna take Ian trick or treating, and I was gonna ask her when we got home before I came in. I had this whole corny ass speech planned, but then she got called in.” He paused and shifted so his back was facing the nurses' station. “So I am gonna take her up to the roof and ask her there, it will still be on Halloween.” 

“It’s at work.” Robby pointed out still not seeing Jack’s vision. “You are asking her the most important question you could ask a woman you love. At fucking work.” 

Jack just shook his head. “We met here,” he started slowly. “We fell in love. She told me she loved me for the first time right the fuck over there.” He pointed towards the spot where you had confessed your feelings to him. “We spend half of our lives here, together. It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.” 

“Take her out for a nice dinner, buy her some flowers, get down on knee.” Robby started. 

“That’s not her man.” Jack cut him off. “Plus I would have a hell of a time trying to get up from getting down on knee.” He gestured down to his prosthetic lower leg. “Ya just gotta trust the process.” 

“You better have gotten her one hell of a ring.” Robby said with a laugh. 

“Oh I did.” Jack said with a smirk. “I spent probably too much but it was before I knew she was pregnant. I had planned to ask her on that camping tip we took, but then Huckleberry came along. I couldn’t fucking do it with him in earshot.” 

“But you could raw dog in a tent 30 feet away from where he was sleeping?” 

“It was more like 60, and we were quiet.” Jack corrected before shaking his head. “If I don’t do it tonight, I just feel like I am not going to get another chance till after the baby comes and I would prefer my kid to be born with their parents married. Call me old-fashioned, but I want her to be Mrs.Abbot when that baby is put in her arms for the first time.” 

“I get it, but do you really think you are gonna be able to convince her to have the wedding when she is pregnant?”  

Jack shrugged again. “We both did the big wedding shit before.” He points out softly. “I just want something simple, small.” 

“A wedding, in my limited knowledge, is not about what you want.” Robby pointed out in a hushed but amused tone. “It’s about what she wants.” 

“She wants us to be a family,” Jack answered with a smile. “And if we get married, she has more of a footing if she wants to get that dipshit’s rights revoked so I can adopt Ian.” 

“God Damn, you really are just going with this whole ready-made family thing, aren’t you?” 

“You fucking jealous?” Jack asked with a smirk as he leaned forward. “You’re fucking jealous of me.” 

“Truthfully?” Robby started. “A little bit.” 

“A little bit.” Jack muses as he shakes his head. “Sorry that Dana thought her niece was a better match for me, I guess.” 

Robby tries to correct course quickly, “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

“You absolutely did.” Jack said firmly. “But ya know, you’re still my best friend even I think you secretly have the hots for my wife.” 

“She has not even said yes yet.” 

“Oh, she will. Now go home, Michael.” Jack said, shaking his head, turning around and making his way to the nurses' station. “I gotta go say goodnight to my kid.” He adds as Robby just gives him a brief glance and a nod as Jack walks off with purpose. 

+++++ 

Standing next to Ian, getting the last few things sorted before you started your shift, you watched as Jack made he way over to you both. Dana shot him a little smirk as he walked up behind the chair that Ian was sitting and leaned over to see what he was doing. “What ya drawing?” Jack asked softly as he pulled his old hat off the top of Ian’s head, which made Ian giggle as he reached up to grab it back.

“Our family.” Ian pointed out softly as Jack let him have the hat back. Watching Ian put it back on with a warm smile on his face. Ian then started to point out the things in his drawing. “There is Mommy, and me, and you. Our house, the tree in the backyard.” He sounded so proud as he showed Jack. 

You couldn’t help but notice Jack’s little proud look as he looked at the drawing. “It’s really good, buddy.” You were a little surprised that Jack didn’t bring up overhearing Ian call him ‘dad’ as soon as he walked over. You could tell, though, that something had shifted in him by the way he looked at Ian. There was this pride to the look that silently said ‘that’s my kid’ which made your heart swell.

There were new reasons every day that you were falling deeper and deeper in love with Jack, this was just the latest in the ever-growing list. 

“You are gonna have to get ready to go to Aunt Dana’s soon, baby.” you whisper as you clip your name badge onto your shirt.

“But I want to stay here with you and Dad.” Ian protested softly. “I will be good and stay of out the way.” He sounded so earnest and the look of ‘please’ that he gave Jack was one of the most wholesome things you had ever seen. 

Jack leaned down, so his face was close to Ian’s as he said. “I’m Dad, now?” 

This comment didn’t faze Ian in the least. He just nodded with he adorable little grin. “Am I in trouble?” He asked softly a little confused. 

Jack rested his hand on the top of Ian’s head, “No, I am just wondering why you are calling me, Dad. That’s all.” He said gently. 

Ian gave a little shrug and with all the innocence of a child who didn’t understand the complicated relationships of the grown-up world, Ian explained. “You do all the dad stuff, you and Mommy are together. My real dad never sees me so he isn’t even really my dad. You are.” You watched Jack’s face soften as Ian explained why suddenly he was dad to him. 

“I love you, buddy.” Jack whispered as he leaned down and kissed the top of Ian’s head. “I gotta so see patients, but you be good for your Aunt Dana, and I will see you in the morning, okay.” Jack whispered. 

“Okay.” Ian says softly. “I love you, Dad.” The look Jack gave you as he turned away from Ian made you smirk. 

Jack’s hand rested on your hip as he leaned in close. “How the hell am I supposed to work the rest of the night when he just said ‘I love you, Dad’ to me?” Jack whispered with a grin on his face. “I just want to take him home and go trick or treating with him but no I have to fucking work and save stupid people’s lives.” 

“Welcome to parenthood.” You laugh softly as you kiss Jack’s cheek before he walks off, pausing to look back as Dana gets Ian ready to leave. 

++++++

Early in the morning, when the chaos of Halloween night started to die down somewhat, you were sitting in triage between patients when Jack walked in with your coat tossed over his shoulder. As you turned to smile at him you could have sworn if you didn’t know better, he looked nervous. “Come on, I am going to steal you for five minutes.” He said as he held out his hand for you. 

“Jack, there are only eight patients left in the waiting room. Can this wait?” You ask softly a little confused. 

He shook his head as he walked over and pulled you up from the stool you were sitting on. “No.” He said simply. He pulled your jacket off his shoulder and handed it to you. “Put this on.” 

“Where are we going?” You laugh as you slip your jacket on. “Baby, what do you have planned?” 

“We are going to the roof,” Jack answered as he took your hand and started to walk you towards the door.

You had no idea why he would be taking you to the roof. That was his spot to go think and reflect after rough cases. He had taken you up there a couple time but never like this. “Why are we going to the roof, did you have a bad case?” You ask softly as you weave through the hallways of the ED, making your way to the stairs. 

“Maybe I just want a quickie on the roof?” He said, obviously joking but he said it in such a flat way you almost couldn’t tell if he was for a moment. “Just come on, please.” You just shake your head as you follow him up the stairs still not sure why he was doing any of this. 

When you got to the roof, it was more peaceful than you had remembered. You could see why Jack liked to come up there when he needed a moment to think. As soon as the door shut behind him, you turned to him with a grin on your face. “So a quickie, up on the roof?” You tease as you wrap your arms around him. 

“I have had sex in stranger places.” He smirked as he leaned down kissed your cheek. “But not tonight.” He explained. “I just wanted you to myself for a minute.” 

“Well you have it.” You quip back. 

He smiled warmly down at you as he ran his hand down your back. “How are you feeling?” He asked softly as he held you. “Morning sickness calming down any.” 

“It’s been manageable.” You whisper with a little shrug. “I really hope I don’t deal with it my whole pregnancy as I did with Ian, but if I do it will be worth it in the end.” Jack nodded along as you spoke gazing lovingly down at you. “Did you really bring me up here just to ask me how my morning sickness was?” 

“No.” He whispered as he leaned in and placed a quick peck on your cheek. “I wanted to talk to you for a minute.” 

“About Ian calling you Dad?” That’s genuinely what you had thought this all was about it. You knew that it had to have been on his mind all night, particularly when a trauma came in of a little boy who had been hit by a car while out trick or treating. You had seen the look on Jack’s face when he was speaking with the young boy’s parents, explaining that he was going to be okay but needed surgery. There was an empathy that hadn’t been there before. It was like he understood on some level the fear those parents were experiencing. 

Jack shrugged off your question at first, his thumb brushing up and down on your lower back through your thin autumn coat. “What if we made that more official?” Jack started. “Like made our family more official.” 

You were confused at first, “How can we be more official, Jack?” You questioned as you rested your hands on his chest. “We live together, you are helping me raise Ian, we are having a baby. I think that’s pretty official as far as our status as family goes.” 

“What if we got married?” Jack whispered, looking down at you. He had made jokes about the two of you getting married for months now. Or at least you had thought they were jokes. That was until Jack let go of you for a second and reached down into the pocket of his scrubs and pulled out a small black box.

Your eyes grew wide, even in the darkness that filled the night sky you could tell what he had in his hand. “Jack.” You whisper a little in shock. 

“Don’t make me get down on one knee.” He said as he opened the box. “I love you in a way I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to love someone again after I lost Sarah. I love Ian like he is my own kid. I don’t know what I would do without you anymore.” He admits softly. You eyes were locked on his, the lights from the street giving you just enough light to be able to see him despite the fact it was well after 1am. “Marry me.” It wasn’t a question. It was a quiet plea. “Be my wife.” 

Your eyes shift to ring in the box. It was beautiful. Of course, it was beautiful. “Jack, if this is about the baby.” 

“It’s not.” He said firmly. “I got the ring before there even was a baby.” He explained as he pulled the ring out of the box and took your left hand. “I got the ring before we went camping. I had planned to ask you then, but then Dennis wanted to come there was never a right moment.” He slid the ring onto your ring finger. “I have known since that night in the bar, when you laid your hand over mine, that I wanted you to be my wife.” You laugh softly as you realize how had Jack had fallen, that how quickly he was committed to you and Ian was not just him being intense. It was because he already knew what he wanted. “Just say, yes.” 

You peeked your head out of the kitchen and spotted Jack sitting on the couch, with Ian standing between his legs, holding a little toy football in his hands as he bounced up and down excitedly. They were wearing matching Steelers jerseys, and you couldn’t help but smile thinking about how attached Ian had grown to Jack in the last 3 months you had been living together. In your mind, Jack was the father that Ian had always deserved. 

This was also something that your Aunt had noticed as well. Dana walked up beside you, holding a bowl of chips in her hands. She smiled softly as she leaned in. “You would think from the way Ian is with him that Jack has been the only father he has known his whole life.” She observed. 

“Yeah, Ian loves him so much.” You muttered softly, turning to Dana. “He wants him to come to career day at school next week.”

“You think Jack is gonna do it?” She asked softly as she picked a chip out of the bowl and shoved it into her mouth. 

You nod slowly as you reach in and grab one for yourself. “Oh, he already said he would. He can’t say no to Ian. That kid could ask him for the moon, and Jack would figure out a way to give it to him.” 

“He’s a good dad,” Dana says softly as she hands you the bowl of chips. You know that she wants you to take the snacks out to the guys in the living room. “You guys talk about giving Ian a little brother or sister in the future?” 

You let out a long sigh and mumble half under your breath. “That may end up happening sooner rather than later, my period is a week late.” You glance over at her, give her a half-hearted, nervous smile, “The last time it was this late, I found out I was pregnant with Ian. Remember?” Before you started to walk away from Dana, who was left processing what you had just said. 

Jack was sitting at one of the ends of the couch with Ian, next to him was Whitaker, who, thanks to becoming Ian’s babysitter a few months ago, had become a strange new addition to the family unit. A little brother you never knew you wanted, or more importantly, needed. Then at the other end of the couch was Robby, the day shift attending and head of the ED, who happened to be Jack’s best friend. He had come back from his so called sabbatical after three weeks and suddenly he had to be included in Monday night football nights as Dana’s. You tolerated Robby, borderline liked most of the time, even if sometimes you wanted to smack him upside the head because of how much he had been stressing out both Jack and Dana lately. Then, in his customary spot in his beat-up old La-Z-Boy was your Uncle Benji, who had filled a fatherly role in your life since your own father had taken his life when you were 13. 

“Oh, thank god, I was starving,” Benji said as he said the moment you started walking into the room. He was not in fact starving, and you knew it, but you just smiled warmly as you set down the bowl of chips on the table. “When is the real food coming out?” 

“When it’s done,” you said with a little laugh before you leaned down and kissed Ian’s cheek. “You having fun watching the game?” You asked softly. 

Ian smiled up at you, “Yeah.” He beamed as his eyes went to the big bowl of chips. “Can I have some?” 

You nod as you sit on the arm of the couch, Jack’s arm slipping around your waist. “Not too many, Auntie Dana is making you some dino nuggies.” You say as you watch Ian hand his toy football to Whitaker and start climbing over people’s feet trying to get the bowl of chips trying to lift it up, silently claiming the whole thing as his own. Whitaker passed the toy football to Robby before he lifted Ian into his lap and picked up the bowl of chips, holding it Ian’s lap as you watch your son starts to shove chips in his mouth by the fistfull like he was starved child and hand’t eaten two doughnuts less than two hours before. “He is gonna eat that whole bowl, isn’t he?” You mutter to Jack. 

“Oh yeah.” He said with a laugh as he traced little circles on your hip with his thumb. “Him and Dennis are gonna have that thing empty in about 15 minutes.” He whispered as he leaned in closer. You run your hand along his shoulder before it rests against the back of his neck. “Can you grab me a beer?” 

“Only because I love you.” You smile down at him. 

Robby leans forward, having heard Jack asked, “Can you maybe grab me one too?” 

“Oh, if you are getting drinks, would it be too much to ask for a soda?” Whitaker asked as he shoved a couple of chips in his mouth. 

You sigh as you stand up and turn towards your uncle, “Do you want something, Uncle Benji?” resigning yourself to playing waitress for them. 

“I’m good, sweetheart,” Benji says with a smile as he stands up, pulls the bowl of chips from Whitaker’s hands, and sets it back on the table. 

“Can I have pop, Mommy?” Ian chimes in. 

“No, you have juice on the table.” You say, pointing to the bottle of juice that Ian had asked for when you had to stop to get gas on the way there. “When you finish that, maybe, but finish that first, and then we can talk.” You look around the room and let out a little sigh before muttering to yourself. “Two beers and a pop, coming right up.” 

The moment you step back into the kitchen, Dana stops what she is doing and turns to you. “What do you mean your period is a week late?” She said as she wiped her hands off on a dishtowel stepping away from the stove and closing the distance between you as you pull open the fridge. 

“Just what I said, it’s a week late. It’s usually like clockwork.” You mutter as you reach in, pulling out two beers and grabbing a Pepsi for Whitaker, and set them on the counter. 

Dana starts shaking her head, “I can’t believe I am about to ask this but are you Jack careful?” 

You snap around and give her a shocked look. “Mostly.” You stammer. “I have been on the pill for years since Ian was born. I forgot them at home when we went camping last month at the end of summer. Dennis went with us because he missed camping, and it was nice to have an extra set of hands for Ian.” You mumble as Dana silently presses you to continue. “He had Ian stay in his tent with him one night so I could drink for the first time in months and relax. You can fill in the blanks about the rest of the night.” 

“You need to take a pregnancy test, you can’t act like this isn’t a possibility and it’s better to know sooner rather than later. For all of us.” Dana whispered, leaning and grabbing the drinks. “Go to the Giant Eagle, get a couple more bags of chips and a pregnancy test.” 

You shift uncomfortably, crossing your arms in front of your chest as you lean against the fridge. “Right now?” You ask softly. 

“For my peace of mind,” she said as she started to walk back out into the living room. “Because I helped raise you and you love me and don’t want me to worry.” 

You stood in the kitchen alone for a moment as you tried to collect yourself. As much as you loved your Aunt, she had the unique skill of being the only person with the ability to make you feel like you were a 16-year-old girl who had made a dumb mistake again. You took a deep breath and grabbed your purse from the kitchen table, and slung it over your shoulder. “Fuck” you muttered softly, remembering that Jack had the car keys. 

Walking back out into the living room, you crossed paths with Dana, who just gave you a strong side eye as she passed you, heading back into the kitchen. You walked over to Jack and touched his arm. “Baby, I need the car keys. Dana needs me to run to the Giant Eagle and grab a couple of things.” 

He shifted as he reached into his pocket and fished out his car keys. “You need my card?” You shake your head as he hands you the car keys. You leaned down and kissed him quickly. 

“Love you,” you whispered.

“Love you, too.” He whispered back as you turned and started to make your way out to Jack’s car. 

+++++++

You were gone for thirty minutes at most, but by the time that you walked back into your Aunt’s home, Ian had already crashed from his post-doughnut sugar high and was curled up in Jack’s arms, completely knocked out. It was no surprise either that as Robby and your Uncle Benji started getting loud at a bad play, you watched Jack toss Ian’s toy football right at Robby’s head. “The ref can’t hear you, dumbass.” He snapped in a low tone. “If you wake Ian up, you can deal with the pissed-off kindergartener.” 

“You used to be fun, Jack.” Robby retorted back as he set the ball on the coffee table. 

“I am still fun.” Jack scowled. “I just also woke this kid up from his nap before by accident, and I know it’s not pleasant.” 

You shake your head as you walk into the living room with the grocery bag in your hand. “He is right, Ian is a holy terror if he gets startled awake.” You set the bag down of a minute and take a couple of steps closer to the couch as you fish Jack’s keys out of your purse. “How long has he been out?” You ask as you set his keys down on the side table. 

Jack shrugged, “Ten minutes, maybe?” He muttered. “He said he wanted to come sit with me, and the next thing I knew, he was out.” You smiled warmly because you knew that Ian did that because he felt safe with Jack. You couldn’t remember the last time that Ian had ever fallen asleep on Josh, even when he was a baby, he would just scream every time Josh held him. Jack was completely different. 

“He loves you.” You whispered as you ran your hand over Ian’s messy hair, as his head was resting on Jack’s shoulder. “I put your keys on the table.” 

“Just keep them in your purse.” He said softly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We go to the same house, in the same car. You don’t need to give me the keys back, babe.” What he was really saying was he wasn’t Josh, who would have instantly wanted his keys back if he had even let you drive his car in the first place. You give him a little smile as you reach over and pick his keys back up and drop them into your purse. “Plus, I have a 45-pound kid on me right now, I can’t exactly put them back in my pocket.” 

“Fair point.” You chuckle as you reach down and pick up the grocery bag. “He needs to be up in half an hour, though, because otherwise he isn’t gonna go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.” 

“I know,” Jack responded softly. “Trust me, I want him in bed by eight more than anyone.” He added with a smirk that told you exactly when he meant. You shake your head as you walk back into the kitchen, setting the bag on the kitchen table. 

“I spent 25 dollars on chips, for no good reason.” You muttered as you fished the carefully hidden pregnancy test box out of the bag. 

Dana glanced over her shoulder as she pulled a tray of sliders out of the oven and set them on the stovetop. “Oh, you spent that money for a good reason.” She corrected you. “I need to know if you and Jack are having a baby, or I am not going to be able to sleep.” 

“You are the one who set us up in the first place, Aunt Dana,” you said through gritted teeth. 

“I am well aware, and I have no regrets.” She said firmly. “He has been great for you and Ian, but I was not expecting him to get you pregnant six months after you two started seeing each other.” She pointed towards the bathroom forcefully. “Now go into that bathroom and pee on that fucking stick.” 

“Yes, mom.” You say mockingly as you tuck the pregnancy test into your hoodie’s front pocket and start walking backwards to the bathroom. 

“Oh, don’t put that evil on me,” Dana added. “I have two daughters, I don’t need a third.” 

“I always was your oldest child. You just didn’t give birth to me.” You quip back with a smirk. 

“Because I was 18 when you were born.” Dana reminded you, “I am not old enough to have a daughter in her late 30’s.” 

“Excuse me.” You say defensively. “Mid 30s.” 

“You are closer to 40 than 30.” 

“Ouch.” You muttered jokingly. “That actually was a painful reminder, I did not need right now.”

“Just go pee on the damn stick,” Dana said as she pointed towards the bathroom. 

You let out a little laugh as you finally turned around and walked into the bathroom. As you waited the five minutes for the test to give you results, you couldn’t help but see the irony that this was the same bathroom that you had taken the pregnancy test that had told you you were pregnant with Ian. It was almost the same situation, except it was the Fourth of July weekend, and the house was packed full of people. You sat on the edge of the bathtub just like you were now, your knee bouncing up and down in almost the same way. 

Were you scared to have another child? Not really, but it would be fast. Then again, you and Jack were not taking this relationship slow in any regard. Unlike with Josh, you weren’t terrified that Jack was going to be a horrible father. He had already proven himself to be a very good father figure to Ian. You had discussed the idea of having another child together more over the last few months, but both of you had agreed that it was probably going to be best to wait a little bit so Ian felt secure in this new situation. However, you knew that the universe had a funny way of having its own plans. 

You glanced down at your phone, and the five minutes had passed. You let out a nervous sigh as you stood up and took two short steps, and flipped over the pregnancy test. Clear as day, the little digital screen said “Pregnant.” You stare down at it for a few moments in total disbelief. Then, you started laughing. Not a joyful laugh, one of pure befuddlement. “You have to be fucking shitting me.” You said way louder than you intended as you tossed the test into the sink on pure instinct alone. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to have a child with Jack. It was more of this was happening at quite possibly one of the worst times it could have. Ian was just getting settled into his new life and so were you. You knew from experience that babies change relationships, sometimes not for the better. All you could think about was how much worse things got with Josh after you had Ian. How controlling he got, how you had no life outside of work, and being a new mother. 

You stood in shock for a few minutes, not even realizing how much time had really past till there was a knock on the bathroom door. You said nothing, but Dana opened the door regardless and slipped in. “You know they all heard you.” She muttered as she saw you staring blankly down into the sink at the discarded pregnancy test. “Let me take a guess..” 

“I am pregnant.” You whisper before she even has a chance to finish her sentence. There were no tears. There was really no emotion when you spoke. You were so numb in this moment much like you were the last time that you stood in this bathroom in almost the same situation.

Dana reached over and ran her hand down your back, “It’s going to be fine, sweetheart. Really.” She whispered. “Babies are a blessing.” This was the same thing she had said to you verbatim when you had found out you were pregnant with Ian. You knew she was trying to make you feel better, but hearing that again was like twisting a knife in your chest.

“Stop it.” You whisper as you close your eyes to keep yourself from crying in that moment. “This is going to change everything.” You mutter as you finally turn to look at Dana. “Things are good with Jack right now. This could make things suddenly become very bad.” 

“No.” Dana said firmly, as if she held all the answers to the universe. “Jack isn’t like that. I have known that man for over a decade now.” She started slowly. “If you were going to have a baby with anyone, I would want it to be Jack.” She was not helping this at all. You didn’t want to have this conversation. 

“As much as that means, Dana, and don’t take it the wrong way, I don’t want to talk about this right now.” You mutter as you pick the pregnancy test up out of the sink and shove it in your hoodie pocket. “I just want to get through the rest of this damn football game and go home.” You started to push past Dana to walk out of the bathroom but she stopped you by moving in front of you, blocking your way out. 

“Are you going to tell him?” She asked pointedly. 

You took a step back and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “Not in the middle of a football game, maybe not even tonight. I need to process this a little, okay.” You try to move forward again, but she still doesn’t move.

“You need to tell him sooner rather than later, because he has a right to know.” She touched your arm. “It’s the right…” 

“I know.” You snap. “Now just let me out of this damn bathroom, you got your answer, okay.” Your voice cracked as Dana finally stepped aside and let you walk out. You stand in the kitchen for half a second before you just start making your way towards the door. You had no idea where you were going to go, but you knew you couldn’t just sit there in that kitchen, in that house with Dana looking at you, wondering when you were going to talk to Jack. 

As you quickly made your way through the living room, Jack called out to you as you moved past. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Your voice cracks as you say it, revealing that you were anything but ‘fine’ as you walked straight out the door. You stand in the front yard where you spent so much time as a child, the cool air hitting you as the afternoon sun hit and all the fears you had been pushing down for the last few days since you had noticed your period was late started to hit you. Tears started rolling down your cheeks as your hands went over your mouth to muffle the sob that slipped out as you sank down on the front steps. 

Your pregnancy with Ian was anything but easy. You were terrified this one was going to be the same. Would Jack even want this baby? What did it mean for Ian? He had never asked about having a brother or sister. You had the feeling that he was rather content being the very center of your world, not willing to share it with a sibling. There were so many emotions flooding you all at once that there was no way for you to contain them all. 

Being so lost in your own thoughts and emotions, you didn’t hear the door open or even notice that someone had come outside after you till you felt an elbow nudge you in your side. It was Whitaker. “You know, you can’t just sound like someone killed your puppy, walk outside, and be  in tears without someone being worried.” He said in a low voice. “Namely, Jack, but I am a little worried too, to be honest.” 

“I’m fine,” you lie, tears rolling down your cheeks. 

“You are obviously not fine.” Whitaker presses in a gentle yet annoying little brother way. “I don’t have a sister, but I have sisters-in-law. I am not stupid.” He stated, looking at you. “When my oldest brother’s wife found out they were having their fourth kid, she broke down in the middle of my dad’s birthday party.” 

You turn and look at him sharply. “How did you know?” 

“I went into the bathroom because I had to take a piss.” He said bluntly. “Blew my nose because of allergies, and when I went to throw it away, I saw the pregnancy test box in the trash can. I put two and two together. Also, everyone heard you go ‘Are you fucking kidding me’.” 

“Don’t say anything to Jack, yet.” You whisper with a tone of desperation in your voice. “I am gonna tell him, just not here. Not now.” 

“I won’t, but I don’t think he is completely oblivious to what’s going on,” Whitaker admitted as your eyes met for a moment before you both stared out into the front yard. “He is just trapped under a sleeping Ian right now, because if he wasn’t, I am pretty sure he would be out here right now. Not me.” 

“You think he knows already?” you mumble. 

“I think he has an idea, because when we all heard you say that. Every single eye in that room that was awake was on him.” He explained. “He tried to get me to take Ian, but then when Ian started to wake up he stopped trying to move because Ian held onto him tighter.” Whitaker elbowed your side again gently. “The kid loves him, ya know.” 

“I know.” You whisper with a fleeting smile. “I think that’s what is making this so much harder. Ian is finally just this happy, normal little kid, and I am about to turn his whole world upside down again.” 

Whitaker shrugs. “He is a resilient little kid. I think he is gonna handle this better than you think.” You shake your head, dismissing the idea. “Listen, I watched my brothers and their wives have kids, and going from one to two is always the hardest, but not for the kid. It’s for the parents.” 

“How are we gonna manage two kids?” you mutter, turning to Dennis. 

“I’m good with babies.” He points out softly. “I have been going out to Amy’s farm to help on the farm and with her kid when I am not babysitting Ian for you. I can help you guys with the baby, too.” He offers like it’s no big deal at all. 

You shake your head, almost instantly dismissing the idea because you felt like it would be too much to ask of him. “I can’t ask you to do that.” 

“You aren’t,” Whitaker said flatly. “I am offering. You, Jack, and Ian are the closest thing I have to family here. I would starve half the time if you didn’t let me raid your fridge and pay me way more than you need to for sleeping on your couch while you and Jack work. I got you, I promise.” 

You were crying harder again, this time because you didn’t know how to process the kindness that Whitaker was showing you in that moment. You reach over and pull him into a tight hug. “You are so the annoying little brother I never asked for, you know that.” 

“Some would say it was the role I was born into.” He laughed as he hugged you back. 

The two of you sat on Dana’s steps for a little while longer, while you collected yourself, not saying another word to each other, but Whitaker wasn’t going to leave you to face this alone. A fact you were profoundly grateful for. 

++++++ 

That night after the game was over, everyone went their separate ways and you were back at the home you and Jack shared. Things felt heavier than ever. Something Jack noticed as you two started to get ready for bed. 

You were sitting on the edge of the bed, still in the clothes you had worn that day after Ian was safely tucked away in his bed for the night. It was a little after 9 o’clock, and Jack stood by the dresser looking over at you with a great deal of concern on his face. “So are you gonna tell me about what happened? Because something obviously happened.” 

The silence hung between you for a moment as you tried to find the words. “Something triggered a slew of bad memories.” You muttered as you reached down and started untieing your sneakers. “Just a lot of old emotions coming to the surface.” 

“Josh?” He asked softly as he joined you on the edge of the bed. 

You shrugged. “Yes and no.” You pause and look over at Jack. He was different than Josh, and you knew that, but the idea of telling him you were pregnant scared you. Josh didn’t handle the news well. He blew up. It was a fight. The logical part of you knew that wasn’t going to be the case with Jack. You didn’t fight like that. You had disagreements on occasion but they never truly explosive the way things were with Josh. “Do you remember when you told me you wanted kids of your own?” Jack nodded as he shifted so he was facing you a little bit more. “Do you want that?” 

“Yes, 100 percent.” Jack firmly. “I thought by this point in my life, I would have had a couple of kids running around. It’s why I love having you and Ian in my life.” He reached over and rested his hand on your thigh. “I love him like my own, you know that, right?” You nod slowly. “If we could get Josh’s rights revoked tomorrow, I would adopt him in a heartbeat.” 

“But what about one of your own?” You press as you rest your hand over his. “Like what if we had a baby?”

“Now?” Jack asked with a little amused chuckle. “Like you want to start trying for a baby?” He laughed. 

“Like what if I am already pregnant?” You whisper, and Jack’s laughter stops. 

“Are you?” he asks as he shifts. “Baby, are you pregnant?” The question lingers for a moment. The silence between you was deafening. 

You slip your hand into the pocket of your hoodie and run your fingers over the pregnancy test you had tucked in there hours before. Slowly, you start to pull if out of the pocket before you hand it to Jack. “Yeah. I am.” You whispered. 

Jack took the test and looked at it for a long while. Said nothing. The whole time, you could feel your chest tighten, terrified of what was going to happen next. He said one word, “When?” There was no anger, no outrage. Just confusion. 

“The camping trip that we took the first weekend in September is my guess.” You explained. “I forgot my birth control at the house, we were drinking and not as careful as we have been.” Jack nodded along as he recalled that particular night, setting the pregnancy test on the bed. “I know I should have been more careful..” 

He cuts you off mid-sentence. “Baby, it’s not all on you.” He says calmly as he takes your hands in his. “The question now is, what do you want to do?” 

“I don’t know.” You whisper, looking up at him with a helpless look on your face. “I do want this baby. Neither of us is getting younger.” You start, your medical training running through your mind. “The older I get, the more risks there are for the baby and me. If we want to have a kid together, the sooner we do it. The better the chances, there will be less complications.” 

“Medical stuff aside, what do you want?” He presses gently. “Because whatever you want to do, I will support you. If you don’t want to have a baby now, we don’t have to.” 

That option had never crossed your mind. “I want the baby, Jack.” you whisper, looking up at him. “I am just terrified how it’s going to change everything.” Your voice cracks as you look over at him. You could feel the tears coming before they started rolling down your cheeks. “My pregnancy with Ian was miserable, and Josh was so horrible the whole time, I just don’t want that again.” 

Jack instantly pulled you into a tight hug, “This is gonna be different, I promise you.” He reassures you gently as he rubbed you back. You rest your head on his shoulder as your arms slip around his chest. “I can’t promise you that it’s going to be an easy pregnancy, but I can promise you that you aren’t going to do everything all by yourself. It’s my kid, too.” He whispered as he kissed the side of your head. “Sure as shit, I am not letting you work all the way till you deliver, you are going on maternity leave before you are 37 weeks.” He holds you tightly as he continues. “You won’t have to go to appointments by yourself, if you get gestational diabetes again, I’ll give you the damn insulin shots if you want me to.” You lean back and look at him in disbelief through your tears. “Baby, whatever you need me to do. I am gonna do it, no questions asked. You are having my kid, it’s the least I can do.” He smiled down at you as he ran his hand down the back of your head. “You want princess treatment 24/7, you are gonna get it.” 

It all felt like a dream. Like, how could this be his reaction? It felt so foreign, so unreal, but you knew it was. “I don’t need princess treatment.” You dismiss softly. 

“I think you do.” He laughed softly. “You are having a baby. My baby. Our baby.” He said softly. “Our baby.” He repeated as he moved his hand to cup your cheek. “That alone gives you full princess privileges.” 

That made you laugh softly. “You really are happy about this?” You ask, still needing that extra bit of confirmation.

He smiled at you as he leaned forward and kissed you tenderly, his thumb brushing across your cheek, wiping away the tears that had fallen. “I am so fucking happy.” He said as he pulled you onto his lap. “I genuinely have never been more in love with you than I am in this very moment.” 

You let out a laugh of disbelief as you leaned back, resting your hands on his chest. “Stop it, you really don’t need to say that if it’s not true to make me feel better.” You insisted. Still, that doubt was creeping in every chance it had. 

Jack shook his head as his hands moved to your hips as he leaned back on the bed, looking up at you. “No, it’s true.” He uttered as he gazed lovingly up at you. “You are giving me the life I always dreamed of.” He ran his hands down your thighs before moving them back up to your waist and crossing them across your back, nudging you to lean down. As you did, he continued. “I am going to have a beautiful wife, two amazing kids, and we are getting the fucking dog.” He laughed as he pulled you into a kiss.

But you stopped, your lips hovering just about his. “We aren’t even engaged, Jack. I am not your wife.” 

You two settled in the family waiting room, it was nearly empty as it was just after one in the morning when Ian was taken back. Jack draped his arm over your shoulder as you let out a long, heavy sigh. “He is in good hands, it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two.” He reassured softly. “Park is the best Orthopedic Surgeon we have, Ian genuinely couldn’t be in better hands.”

Nodding, you let out a heavy sigh as you turned into Jack as he wrapped his other arm around, so he was hugging you tightly. “I just can’t believe my mother called, Josh.” You muttered softly into Jack’s shoulder. You couldn’t see his face but he was frowning, obviously silently agreeing with you on that particular matter. You leaned back a little so you could look at him as you continued. “Since everything with my dad, she just doesn’t think. Right after he died, she drank constantly. That’s when I went and lived with Dana for two years because she was such a fucking wreck.” You tilt your head back as you let out another sigh. “But you know, she cleaned up. Sort of. Then I moved back home, but she started hanging around with all these hippies, and soon the wine was replaced by the weed. The woman can’t stay sober for the life of her.” 

Jack reached up and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind your ear, “Do you think living with her is the best for Ian?” It was a pointed question, the answer to which was anything but easy. 

“No, but I don’t have other options.” You whispered. “I have so much debt, and Josh wrecked my credit when we were married. I don’t think I can even afford to live anywhere else.” That was the truth. You made decent enough money but with trying to pull your credit out of the hole that Josh created, there was hardly anything left over each paycheck. 

Silence hung between you and Jack for almost two minutes before she finally spoke. “Listen, I know we have not been seeing each other very long.” He started slowly. “But I have a house, it has three bedrooms. A nice yard. The schools are really good. My wife and I bought it when we thought we were gonna have a couple of kids and get a dog. It’s more than enough space for you and Ian to be comfortable.” 

“Jack..” You start, but he cuts you off. 

“I know, it’s probably rushing things.” Your eyes meet as his thumb traces small circles on your shoulder. “But the house is almost paid off, you wouldn’t have to worry about rent or bills. I wouldn’t have to worry about Josh showing up at your mom’s place and trying to snatch up Ian or coming for you.” His voice was heavy as he spoke. This was obviously something he had thought about before this moment. “We could even get Ian a dog, every little boy needs a dog.” 

“A Dog?” You ask, trying to not to laugh. “Jack, that was your house with your wife.” 

“She would be fine with this, I promise you that,” Jack said emphatically. “She wanted to fill that house with kids before she got sick. Having Ian grow up there, that would be exactly what she wanted.” 

“She would not have wanted another woman living in her house, sleeping in her bed, with her husband.” Jack, being a widower, didn’t bother you, but you did feel like there was an unspoken third person in your relationship at times. The nights you spent with him at his place always felt like you were intruding on someone else's life. As many times as Jack tried to make you feel like you weren’t, you still felt that way. Moving into her house you felt would have been the ultimate insult to her memory. 

Jack let out a frustrated grunt. “Sarah didn’t want me to spend the rest of my life alone. When she knew that the Cancer was terminal, she tried to get me to join dating apps, so she would know that I wouldn’t be alone forever. She would be happy I found you, found Ian. Baby, I promise you she would want you to move in.” 

You let what Jack had just said sink in for a few moments. Part of you wished you could have asked Sarah this, but if you could you knew you would be with Jack. You reached up and ran your fingers through his hair. “You want this? Us to move in.” 

“Yes.” Jack answered quickly. “I would feel better knowing you and Ian were safe. That Ian was around your mom when she was stoned out of her mind, letting him do God’s what.” 

“What about work? At least with my mom, I know someone is there with him.” You pointed out trying to think of any practical reason to find a fault in this plan. 

Jack shrugged, “We can hire a babysitter. There are plenty of med students or residents around that would be happy for a few extra bucks a couple of days a week to sleep on the couch while he is in bed.” He paused for a second, “Whitaker, he would be perfect. He is broke, living with Santos. I am sure if I tossed a couple of hundred dollars a week at him, he would hang with Ian, put him to bed, and make sure he didn’t break any bones.” 

He was making a compelling argument that even you couldn’t find fault in. “I couldn’t ask you to pay someone to watch my son.” 

“I am offering,” Jack said with a smirk. “Having someone like Whitaker would give both of us peace of mind and you know that. Even if he got sick, Whitaker is a resident. He would know what to do. You work three 12-hour shifts a week, it’s just three nights. The other four he would have us.” 

You lean back in the chair, contemplating all the options, and you hate to admit that Jack was actually being surprisingly rational about all this. “Fine.” you whisper. “We’ll move in, if Ian likes the idea.” 

“You know I will bribe him to agree.” Jack said with a laugh as he cracked a smile. “A dog, dirt bike, an XBox, that kid could ask for just about anything and I would say yes if it meant getting you to move in.” 

“No dirt bike, if you get him a dirt bike we are going to be in the ED every other week.” You say flatly. “Dog is up for debate.”  ‘

Jack shook his head. “The dog is not up for debate, baby.” he said as he leaned forward and gave you a quick peck. “The foot is down about the dog,” 

“Babe, your one foot is down about the dog?” You say as you slowly start to chuckle under your breath.

Jack starts to laugh as well. “Yes, my one foot is down about the dog, it’s is so bad I want the boy to have a dog?” He said through laughs as he reached over and took your face in his hands. “We are getting a dog.” He said as he kissed you. 

“Are you using my son as an excuse to get a dog, Jack?” you ask sheepishly. 

“Oh 100%.” Jack said with a smirk playing on his lips. “My boy is getting a dog.” 

“Your boy?” You say, making a little confused face as you purse your lips. “Were you in labor with him for 27 hours?” 

Jack pulled back and gave you a shocked look. “27 hours?” 

“Yeah.” You say with a little nod. “And after they turned once, manually, mind you to be head down, he decided he did not like that and put himself back in a transverse position, and I had to have an emergency c-section.” 

“He really has always been a pain in the ass?” Jack said in a warm, joking tone.

You nod as you laugh. “Since the moment of conception. Hyperemesis gravidarum, gestational diabetes, I was a hot mess my entire pregnancy. Still worked up till I was 37 weeks.” 

“Jesus.” Jack said as he ran his hand through his hair. “I’m just gonna put this out there. Don’t read into.” He started. “If you and I had a kid, you would be at home, feet up, relaxing if you were that sick during your pregnancy.” The way he said it, like this wasn’t going to even be up for debate, made you smile softly. 

“Do you think about us having kids, Jack?” Your tone shifted from lighthearted to more serious as you both relaxed back in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. 

Jack reached over and took your hand. “Not a lot, but it has crossed my mind briefly.” He admitted. “Not now obviously, but I am not getting younger.” He paused as his eyes went down to your hand, held in his. “I would like to have my own kid, Ian is great. I love that kid, but yeah at some point in the future, I would like my own. Maybe a girl, ya know. One boy, one girl.” 

You would admit that the thought of having more children, specifically with Jack, had not crossed your mind. You let your mind wander for a moment about that would even be like. Would it be so bad? The corner of your mouth turns up slightly as you almost crack a smile, thinking about how cute your child with Jack would potentially be. “Let’s put a pin in it, till the kid I do have is out of surgery, we tell him about moving and get settled.” Jack nodded quickly, but silently agreed. “But it’s not off the table.” 

“Really?” Jack muttered, looking over at you. 

“Yes, really.” You answer simply. 

Nearly an hour and half passes before Dr.Park comes out, he is an imposing figure. You had seen him only a handful of times in the ED but had never spoken to him once. He walked over and looked down at you and Jack. “The kid did well with surgery, we got the bone set, the wound closed up. Cast on.” He stated as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I will make a referral to a guy I know over at Children’s for follow-up. The break happened fairly close to his growth plate so it would be best to have someone more experienced with pediatric breaks be the one to follow him.” 

“Makes sense,” Jack said simply as he stood up and shook Park’s hand. “Thanks for coming in for him.” 

“Yeah, no problem,” Park replied back shaking Jack’s hand. He turned to you. “The anesthesiologist is extubating him now, a nurse will be out in a few minutes to take him back to PACU till we can get him up to a room on the Peds floor.” 

You nod along, breathing a sigh of relief, “How long do you think he will have to be admitted?” 

Park shifted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest once more. “Normally with an open break, I would want to keep for at least 48 hours to make sure infection doesn’t set in, but since it’s you and Abbot. If he does well today on the floor post op we can probably send him first thing tomorrow morning, send him home on some broad-spectrum antibiotics to make sure there is no infection setting in.” 

“Yeah, that works, man.” Jack said with a nod. “We’ll keep a close eye on him.” 

“I’ll come check on him when I round tomorrow,” Park said as he turned to leave. 

You stood up and walked over to Jack and wrapped your arms around him. “Thank God, he is okay,” you whispered, resting your head against his shoulder. It was like you could really breathe for the first time in almost two hours, knowing that Ian had made it through surgery alright. “I am so ready to see my baby.” 

“Soon, they just gotta let him wake up a little first,” Jack said as he kissed the top of your head. “You will have our boy back in your arms soon enough.” 

++++++

As soon as you laid eyes on Ian, you had to hold yourself back from crying. He was groggy, only half awake, but he was obviously pretty unhappy. He was fighting with the nurse who was trying to keep the nasal cannula on him. “No.” He groaned as he started trying to pull it off as you and Jack walked in. “I don’t want stuff up my nose.” 

“You need it though, buddy.” The nurse said gently as she tried to readjust it back into position. 

You made your way quickly to his side and took over getting him to keep his oxygen on. “Hey baby.” You whisper as you lean down and kiss his temple. “You need to keep this on. Just for a little bit.” You whisper as you watch Jack go over to the nurse out of the corner of your eye. 

“What’s his O2 without it.” Jack asked as he folded his hands behind his back. 

“89, they bolused him pretty good with some pain meds before he came out of anesthesia,” the older nurse said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

“Blow by not work to bring his numbers up?” She shook her head and Jack just nodded. “You think they gave him too much?” 

The nurse shook her head. “No, it was an appropriate dose for his weight and age. He just not used to it, which is a good thing. He should be able to get off the oxygen up on the floor.” She smiled kindly and reached over and gently touched Jack’s arm. “You are not the first doctor that sees their kid on oxygen post-op and gets worried. Trust me, we see this all the time in PACU, dad.” She smiled and went back to her computer just outside of the curtained area, giving you three a little privacy. 

Jack shot you a little smirk when she called him ‘dad’ and he didn’t correct her. You just smiled as you shook your head and smoothed down your son’s hair. “Does everyone just automatically assume I am his dad?” Jack asked in a whisper as he walked up behind you, his hand resting on your lower back as he looked down at Ian. 

“I think so.” You whisper with a little smirk. 

Ian blinked up at Jack and instantly reached his good arm up. “Jack.” He muttered, his voice still a little hoarse from the tube. “You’re here.” 

“Yeah, where do you think I would be, buddy?” He said softly, reaching around and resting his hand on Ian’s stomach. 

Ian gave him a sleepy, yet very cheeky smile before he whispered. “I wanna go home.” 

“You gotta stay for a little bit in the hospital, baby. Then we will go home. Promise.” You whisper, kissing the top of his head as you watch Jack walk over to the IV pole and look over what they were giving Ian. 

“They are gonna fluid overload him,” Jack muttered with a disapproving grunt. “Anesthesia always does this shit.” 

You couldn’t help but crack a smile watching Jack being unable to stop being a doctor even for five minutes. “Jack, stop trying to treat him like he is your patient.” You whisper as you watch Jack lean on the rail of the gurney. “Just ya know, breathe a little.” 

“I am breathing,” Jack said a little defensively. “I just don’t want some R2 fluid overloading the kid because they don’t know shit about pediatrics.”  

Shaking your head you chuckle to yourself. “Doctors really do make the worst patients.” You mutter more to yourself than to Jack as you gesture to the chair next to you. “Why don’t you come sit down and tell Ian about the dog you just put your foot down about?” 

The mention of a dog perked Ian up a fair bit. “We are getting a dog?!” He asked as he tried sitting up in the gurney but you gently eased him back down. “Grandma said we couldn’t have a dog.” 

“You can have a dog when you and mommy come live me,” Jack said simply as he sat down in the chair next to you, leaning forward and looking at Ian, who was still trying to understand what Jack had just said. “Would you like that? Come live at my house, get a dog, maybe we’ll get a swing set for the backyard?” 

Ian smirked as he tried to lean forward but you rested your hand on his chest, keeping him down. “Can I get a dirt bike? Just a little one.” 

“No.” You say sharply and quickly. 

Jack leaned forward and whispered, “We’ll talk about it.” 

“We will not talk about it.” You say in a hushed tone you voice a little tight as your eyes shift from Ian to Jack who was grinning sheepishly, matching Ian. “Oh, he really is your kid…” You tease. 

“Just wait till I take him paintballing in a couple of years.” He muttered as he smirked at Ian who’s eyes got wide. 

“You are gonna make him a menace.” You whisper, leaning over and bumping your shoulder against Jack’s. 

“Nah, he already is one.” Jack paused as he grinned over at him. “Just gonna show him how to embrace it.” 

++++++

Ian was discharged the next day, and as much as Jack wanted to take you both back to his place, you convinced him that you needed to go back to your mother’s house and talk to her. Pack. Prepare to move properly. Jack didn’t like the idea. He wanted you at home with him but he understood where you were coming from. 

It was about a week later, you had tried to have the conversation with your mother about moving half a dozen times but she would always deflect the topic, calling it a ridiculous and impulsive move because you were throwing a tantrum like you did as a child. All because you were mad at her and wanted to punish her. 

Jack was supposed to come pick you up on your shared day off so you could finally take Ian to the Zoo, as was promised the week before. But when he knocked on the front door you were in the kitchen in a heated argument with your mother, leaving Ian to be the one to open the door. 

When Jack saw Ian standing there, in his t-shirt and shorts, his hair messy and his bright blue cast on his arm, he smiled down at him. “Hey little man.” He greeted as he tosseled Ian’s hair, “Where is your mother?” He asked slowly as Ian stepped aside and let Jack in. 

Jack got his answer fairly quickly as he heard you shouting at your mother in the kitchen. “This isn’t just some impulsive decision, Mom.” You let out a frustrated grunt as you run your hands through your hair. “My relationship with Jack isn’t just some casual hookup.” 

“Are you sure about that, because your taste in men has been historically horrible.” Your mother snaps, shouting at you. 

In the living room, Jack looks down at Ian. “Go get your shoes on.” He asks, patting Ian on the back and nodding his head towards Ian’s bedroom. Ian runs off doing as he was asked as Jack takes a deep breath, steadying himself to go break up the fight you were currently in with your mother. 

“Jack is so far from Josh, and you know this!” You snap, taking a step towards your mother, pointing a finger at her accusingly. “He is a good man, Dad would have loved Jack.” 

“Leave your father out of this.” your mother shouts at you. “The man has been dead and buried for 20 years and does not get to have an opinion about your boyfriend.” 

On cue, Jack stood in the kitchen doorway, his arms crossed and crooked smirk playing on his lips. “Hello to you too, Liz.” He said softly. Both you and your mother both turning and looking at him. You smile at Jack but your mother just scowls at him. 

“Jack.” She grumbles as she turns to now unleash her disapproval on him. “You come to steal my only daughter and grandson away from me?” 

“I’m not stealing anyone,” Jack said with a laugh leaning against the doorframe. “I’m just offering a slightly more stable environment and a better school district for Ian. McKeesport has horrible schools, everyone knows it.” He said with a shrug. “I just want what’s best for Ian.” 

“What’s best for Ian is being with his family, not some guy that shows up and starts sleeping with my daughter.” She snapped as she rested a hand on her hip. 

You let out an offended gasp. “Ma!” You shout, utterly dumbfounded. “You have no right to speak about my sex life like I am a teenager. I am in my 30s for fuck’s sake!” You run your hands through your hair again as you take a few steps towards Jack. “I’m moving in with Jack, with Ian. Because it is what is best for him.” You state simply. “We can give Ian such a better life there, you have to admit that you are not the most stable of people. You called Josh because you didn’t even think to call the hospital's main line. You put Ian and me at risk because you didn’t use your God-given common sense. Even Aunt Dana agreed.” 

“Oh you leave my sister out of this. She has been trying to get you under her thumb since you father died. She and Benji were trying to snatch you up before your father’s funeral.” Your mother snapped as she let out a contemptuous sigh. 

“Maybe because you were already drinking two bottles of wine a day to ‘cope’ and there was no food in the fridge. MOTHER.” You shout, throwing your hands up. 

Jack took a step forward and held out his hand. “Enough, both of you.” He said calmly. “Listen, Liz. They are moving in with me, next weekend. I bribed half the guys I work with on the SWAT team to use their day off to come help me move them. Ian needs this, she needs this. It’s not like you won’t see them or know where they are.” 

Your mother closed her eyes as she shook her head. “When this blows up in your face, do not expect to be able to come running back here. Like you did after Josh.” Your mother’s words cut deep as you cast your eyes down to the floor. “When it happens, and it will. Go run to your Aunt Dana. See if she will come to your rescue like she did when you thought I was the worst mother.” 

Jack reached out and rested his hand on your arm as he whispered, “Come on, let’s go.” You follow him into the living room, where Ian stood with his backpack in hand, looking at you both with a sad and confused look on his face. Jack shifted quickly, a smile playing on his lips as he took a few quick steps over to Ian and lifted him up. “You ready for the Zoo, buddy?” He asked, trying to distract Ian from the fact that you looked like your heart just got stamped on. 

“Can we go get nuggies first?” Ian asked as he wrapped his arms around Jack’s neck. 

“Obviously,” Jack said lightly. “Going to the Zoo without getting nuggies first would be criminal.” He turned his head slightly to look at you. “Right, babe?” 

You force a smile as Ian looks over at you too. “Of course. Nuggies here we come, let me go grab my purse.” 

+++++

A week later, you were finally getting settled in at Jack’s house. Moving is always stressful, but Jack directed the whole thing with a military level of precision. You barely had to do anything besides keep Ian out of the way. It wasn’t that Jack was trying to control the situation. It was more than he wanted you to not worry about anything. Just keep focused on Ian. 

Once the boxes were unloaded at Jack’s house, and his SWAT buddies had gone home after you thanked each of them about twenty different times, it was now just the three of you trying to find the new rhythm that life was going to fall into. 

You were still trying to figure out where everything was gonna go as Jack settled on the couch with Ian, a pizza box on the coffee table in front of them with a small pile of paper plates resting on top. Jack looked over at Ian and smirked. “Your mom is running around like a chicken with her head cut off.” He muttered as he handed Ian a paper plate and napkin. 

“She does that,” Ian said with a nod as he rested the plate in his lap. 

“We should get her to come sit down and eat some pizza, don’t ya think?” He said as he flipped the pizza box open, pulled out a piece, and set it on Ian’s plate. “I’m gonna go get her.” 

“Good idea.” Ian said firmly like he had some manner of authority, despite the fact he could barely tie his own shoes. 

Standing up Jack glanced down at Ian before handing him the remote. “Stick to the kids shows. For my sake. When mom caught is watching that UFC fight last week I thought you mom was going to bite my head off.” Ian let out a little laugh as he took a bite of his pizza. 

“Yeah, I’ll just watch SpongeBob.” Ian conceded with a half-smirk. 

Jack just gave him a little nod before he walked off upstairs looking for you. You were sitting on the floor in Ian’s bedroom, pulling his toys out of a box, trying to get his room set up. The room was half put together. Ian’s bed was made, his stuffed animals carefully arranged on his bed the same way they had been at your mother’s house. All his clothes were tucked in the dresser or hanging up in the closet. You were just left trying to make sure his toys all found a home. Jack leaned against the doorway just watching you for a quiet moment, while you were still totally oblivious that he was there. It wasn’t until you turned to toss a handful of Hot Wheels cars into the plastic tote that was serving as a makeshift toy box that you caught a glimpse of Jack out of the corner of your eye. It made you jump and let out a little startled gasp. An old reflex from your years of living with Josh. “Jesus, Jack. Next time, I don’t know, say something if you are just gonna lurk there.” 

“What?” He asked sheepishly. “You used to love my lurking before we started dating.” 

“That was flirty lurking, very different.” You say as you toss the Hot Wheels into the bin with a sigh. “This is you want to watch me lurking.” 

“No, this is me trying to get you to come downstairs and eat dinner.” He said as he took a step into the bedroom. “His room looks fine. You can finish putting it together tomorrow. He is downstairs watching cartoons, not even thinking about his toys.” 

You look up as Jack walks over and holds his hand out to help you up. “I just want him to be settled here, feel like he belongs,” you mutter as you abandon the half unpacked box of toys and take Jack’s hand. 

“He feels like he belongs, trust me.” Jack reassured as he helped you up. “The kid has taken over my couch, my TV, I even gave him the remote. I never give anyone else the remote.” As you stood in front of Jack, he slipped an arm around your waist. “This is home now, and he knows it.” 

You let out a nervous sigh as you rest your arms on Jack’s shoulders, your hands resting against the back of his neck. “You sure?” 

“Positive,” Jack whispered as he leaned forward and gave you a quick kiss. “You could see for yourself if you just came downstairs.” 

“Fine.” You whisper knew you weren’t going to be able to fight against this, as much as you wanted everything to be perfect for Ian’s first night in his new home. 

“Good, I was worried I was gonna have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you downstairs.” He teased, making you both laugh softly as he reached down and gave your ass a playful smack. “Now let’s go, because the sooner he eats, gets a bath, and gets in bed. The sooner I can drag you into bed and get you to actually relax.” 

You bite your bottom lip trying to stifle a chuckle, “You are so bad, you know that.” 

“No, I think I am rather good. You never complained.” He smirked, watching you as you took a step away from him. “Though you are going to have to be a little quieter now that the kid is two doors down from us and not at your mother’s.” He added in a low tone. 

His comment made you stop in your tracks, “Jack.” You chide a little shocked that he would bring that up. 

“You love me and you know it.” he said, holding his hands up. 

“That may be true, but.” 

You couldn’t get another word out before Jack had moved right behind you, his hands gripping your hips. “But what?” He teased. “Hmm?” 

“We are already bickering like an old married couple,” you laugh softly. 

The first night you were on nights, when you were talking with Dana as she was getting ready to leave for the night and she pulled over this handsome, old attending, you knew right away what he plan was. “Abbot, this is my niece, your new nurse prac for nights.” She said warmly as she gestured to you. You could feel your cheeks begin to flush as you smiled nervously. “She is a sweetheart, sharp as a tack. You are very lucky to have her.” 

Jack gave you a warm smile and a little nod. “I’m sure we are, though no one can replace you Dana.” He chuckled as he leaned against the counter of the nurse’s station. He was older than you, maybe ten years or so. Very handsome, in shape, and worst of all you could already tell he was dangerously charming. 

“Oh I am not trying to replace my Aunt, but she did help train me when I was still a nurse.” You start softly, wringing your hands nervously. “I just got my nurse prac license last year, was working over at Children’s ED part-time, but I needed a full-time position so Dana helped me get back in at PTMC.” You explain. In the back of your mind, you knew you were rambling out of nerves but that didn’t seem to faze Jack who was listening intently. 

He smiled, “Good, it will be good to have someone with some good Peds experience. We don’t get a ton of Peds cases, but I will admit we were lacking a little in that department.” The smile he gave you as he spoke cut deep. It was such a disarming smile that you knew was going to get you into trouble. 

You let out a low nervous laugh. “Yeah, I can definitely help in that department. Though I left peds because seeing all those kids close to my son’s age going through some horrible things just wrecked me.” You ramble. 

Jack just smiled and leaned forward. “You have a kid? How old?” 

“He just turned five last month, Ian. He starts kindergarten next week.” You can feel the blush on your cheeks get brighter. 

“Yeah, that’s great. You and his dad must be so proud.” 

At the mention of ‘his dad’, you stiffen, and Dana leans forward, “We do not speak of that piece of shit. The only good thing he has ever done is Ian.” Dana rubs your arm and looks up at Jack. “It was a bad situation, and we are so blessed this girl right here got out in one piece.” 

Jack obviously didn’t need to hear more. He just nodded as he started to apologize. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” 

You laugh nervously, “How could you? We just met.” You reach down and pick up your cup of Iced Coffee. “Um, I should go get ready for my shift.” In that moment, all you wanted to do was disappear and not be acknowledged the rest of the night. 

Dana rubbed your arm one more time before she smiled over at you. “Have a good shift, kiddo. I will see you in the morning.” She whispered before you started to walk off. 

As you were walking away, you heard Jack ask sharply. “Why didn’t you warn me about the kid’s dad being a sore subject?” You tried to angle yourself behind a pillar to keep eavesdropping unnoticed. 

“I told you she had just gotten out of a bad situation. I thought you were smart enough to put two and two together.” Dana snapped softly. Jack shrugged and looked genuinely confused. “He beat her half to death a little over a year ago, got off on probation because his dad is a cop. It’s a messy situation, but if he ever shows up here, you do not let him get near her. Understood?” 

“Understood,” Jack said quickly as you watched him stand up and rest his hand on the counter. “I would have understood it before if you had just said something, Dana. I pulled strings for you to get her on the night shift as a favor to you. The least you could have done is warn me.” 

“Well, now you know,” Dana said as she brought her hand to the bridge of her nose. “She is smart, a hard worker, and just needs a fresh start without that asshole’s shadow following her everyplace she goes.” 

“I will do my best to give it to her,” Jack said firmly. “I kinda feel honored you trust me enough to have her work with me,” he added sheepishly. 

“I knew if she was on days, Robby would have made her cry the first day if he were in one of his moods, and I would have been forced to kill him.” Your Aunt said flatly. “I practically raised her. My sister was not always the most stable of women. She has gotten better but she is practically my kid. So treat her as such.” 

“Got it,” Jack said, throwing his hands up. “Princess treatment.” 

Dana took a step forward towards Jack and held her finger out. “Not princess treatment. Just treat her with respect, kindness, don’t make her fucking cry on her first day.” 

“Deal.” He said, quickly taking a step back. “Now I gotta go see patients, and you need to get home.” 

After what was a rocky start to your first night, things started to flow a little easier. You were given a warm welcome by the others on the night shift. Dr. Ellis made a point to team up with you and help you get acclimated to how things went. Something you were grateful for. When the action started to slow down around the predawn hours, you sat down at one of the work stations, working on your charting, when Jack walked over. You glanced up from your screen as he leaned on the counter. “Got a minute?” He asked softly. 

“Yeah, sure.” You said as you stopped typing and smiled up at him. 

“I just wanted to apologize for earlier, if I upset you or anything.” He started with a warm smile. “You are doing a great job, working well with the rest of the team. I’m really happy to have you here.” 

“We’re good, no worries, and thank you. It means a lot.” You smile as you look down at your hands, trying to hide the fact that you knew you were starting to blush again. 

“Awesome, good talk,” he said a little awkwardly as he gave you two thumbs up and started to back away. You watched him as he shook his head and muttered ‘What the fuck was that’ to himself as he walked away. 

++++++

Over the next month, you settled into the night shift. You actually grew to enjoy it.

Jack was a great attending, and you two had this awkward flirting back and forth on occasion, which you tried not to think much about, but couldn’t help to think too much about every time he smiled in your direction or leaned in to ask you to go check on a patient. On Thursdays, Shen would grab you an Iced Coffee from Dunkin's, and on Fridays, you would grab him one. You were iced coffee buddies, which amused you a lot. Ellis was easily your favorite on the night shift. You two worked together most often and were developing a solid friendship even outside of work. So much so she had managed to talk you into going out with her that weekend when you both had off on a Saturday night. When you mentioned it to Dana she told you to bring Ian into work, and she would be happy to babysit him for the weekend so you could go have a fun girls' night out.

So that Friday, extra coffee for Shen in hand as usual, your son followed beside you as you walked in. His little Bluey backpack all packed for his weekend with Auntie Dana on. You were too focused on making sure Ian didn’t run off to notice that Jack was walking up behind you. 

“Is that my new med student?” Jack teased as he settled beside you, his backpack slung over his shoulder. 

You glance to your side and smile. “No.” You laugh softly. “Say hello to Dr.Abbot, Ian.” 

Ian looked up at Jack and gave him a little smile, his missing front tooth making it all the more adorable. “Hi.” He said softly. “You work with my mommy?” 

“Hey little man,” Jack said with a warm smile as he nodded. “I do work with your mom, she is pretty cool.” Ian shrugged at Jack’s assertion that you were cool. “Promise she really is.” Jack then turned back to you. In a hushed tone, asked, “Is he okay? Sick?” 

“No, no.” You laugh nervously. “Dana is taking him for the weekend because Ellis wants to take me out to some bar tomorrow night, and my mom is out of town on this spiritual retreat or something. I don’t know, I think it’s just an excuse for her to go up to her friend's cabin in upstate New York and eat a ridiculous amount of pot gummies.” 

Jack stifles a laugh as he looks down for a moment. “The more I hear about your mom, the more I am convinced you are actually Dana’s kid.” he paused as he looked back up at you with a crooked grin that made your heart skip a beat. “Are you even sure they are biologically related?” 

“Oh they are, my mom is just the wildly irresponsible older sister who got pregnant with me at 19.” You chuckled softly. “Wait till I tell you about my mom’s latest get rich quick scheme.” 

He chuckled again as you neared the nurse's desk. “Oh, I gotta hear this.” 

“She thinks she is gonna be a social media influencer, at 63. Has somehow gotten like 12 thousand followers on TikTok. Our living room is filled with all these insane samples from the TikTok shop she keeps getting sent.” Jack tries to hold back as he laughs to himself. “Do you need a rotary slicer? Air purifier? An automatic litter box for the cat we don’t have?” 

“Jesus.” He muttered as he set his bag down under the desk. “Has she actually made any money, though?” 

“Like 20 bucks, thinks she is always just one video away from going viral.” As you and Jack smile at each other, Ian goes racing towards Dana, who is watching you both intently. 

“Oh, there is my favorite nephew.” She says warmly as she wraps her arms around him tightly, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “You two look like you are getting on well,” Dana said with a self-satisfied smirk, watching as you and Jack stood next to each other, both with a slightly confused look on your faces. 

“Why wouldn’t we?” You ask with a shrug. “Jack is great.” 

“The feeling is mutual,” Jack said, turning to you as he rested his hand on the counter for a moment. “I gotta go do handoffs with Robby.” He paused and leaned down for a moment to talk to Ian. “Good meeting you, little dude.” He said with a smile. “Have fun with your Aunt Dana this weekend.” 

“Thanks,” Ian said with a little smile before he turned back to Dana. “Do we get to have pizza and will Uncle Benji let me watch Captain America with me?” 

“Of course, baby. Whatever you want.” Dana said warmly. “So you and Abbot…” she started with a playful smirk. 

“Are friends.” You finish sounding way more defensive than you wanted to. 

“You two would make a cute couple, I am just saying,” Dana said as she looked down at Ian for a moment. Her gaze returned to you as she smiled an all to familiar smile that told you this was all part of her plan. “He is a good man, lost his wife a few years ago. Was in the Army like your dad was, a real solid guy.” You shift uncomfortably as you are about to deflect her statements. “He likes you.” 

“How do you know that?” You ask, a little shocked. 

Dana nodded to where Jack stood talking to Ellis and smiled. “I bet any money he is trying to find out which bar you and Ellis are going to tomorrow. I looked at his schedule. He’s off.” 

You let out a frustrated huff. “Stop it.” You whisper. “It was cute when you tried to set me up when I was in high school, but I am not in high school anymore.” You couldn’t deny you had a little thing developing for Jack. He was kind, attentive, and your flirty little back and forth came naturally. However, in your mind, it was nothing more than playful work banter. You wished it were more, but you had no expectations of anything developing between you and Jack. 

“I know potential when I see it, kiddo,” Dana said flatly. “You and Jack have it in spades.” She grabbed her purse and stood up, taking Ian’s hand. “Tell mommy to give the handsome doctor a chance.” 

“Don’t you dare use my son against me.” You grumbled as you walked around the desk and kissed your son on the cheek. “Be good for Aunt Dana and Uncle Benji, okay?” He nods as you stand back up. “And drop this stuff with Jack, it’s probably never going to happen, and you are reading too much into nothing.” 

You watched Dana walk off with your son, as you started to get ready for your shift, but your eyes fell on Jack, who was still talking with Ellis. Maybe Dana wasn’t reading too much into things? Maybe Jack did like you? 

Shaking your head, you push the thought from your mind and get ready for that night’s shift. 

+++++++

The next night. You met Ellis at the little dive bar near the hospital that you agreed on. You were dressed fairly casually. Your ‘good’ jeans that fit you like a glove and a cute top with the neckline that was just low enough to possibly get you a free drink or two. As you walked in, you spotted Ellis at the bar on her phone texting someone, a drink already in her hand. “Hey,” you greet as you walk towards her. 

“Girl, you look good.” She said with a warm smile as she set her phone on the bar and turned to give you a quick side hug. “So.” She started slowly. “Don’t be mad because I know in theory this was going to be a little girls’ night, but a few people from work might stop by.” 

You purse your lips as you cross your arms in front of your chest. Fuck, maybe Dana was right. You muse as you take a sharp breath in. “Who?” You ask slowly. 

“Shen said he might swing by but I doubt it, Santos and her little farmboy roommate mentioned they may come by after their shift.” She looks away as she reaches for her drink and mutters into it. “Abbot is probably coming.” 

“Jack!” You say sharply. “I swear, Parker…” Ellis was the one person at work who knew that your flirtation with Jack wasn’t fully just playful work banter. That you actually liked Jack. 

Ellis set her drink down on the bar and leaned in. “He asked me where we were going, and said you mentioned we were going out.” She started defending herself. “So I told him, sue me. I think you two would be great together. You both just need to get your heads out of your asses and see that all that ‘playful’ flirting you do isn’t playful. You both obviously like each other. Everyone sees it. The way you look at him with those little puppy dog eyes. The way he watches every single time you walk out of a room. It’s getting ridiculous.” 

You laugh nervously as you move to set your purse on the bar trying to look back over your interactions with Jack over the last few weeks. He was attentive with you, complementary. The playful, flirtatious banter happened naturally. “Oh shit.” You muttered as you realized slowly that maybe the feelings were mutual. “He really watches me when I walk out of a room?”

Ellis laughed softly to herself. “Oh his eyes are glued to your ass.” she said, highly amused that you hadn’t noticed it. “I thought he was going to have a stroke when you had to change into street clothes last week to go meet with Ian’s teacher.” She glances down at what you are wearing. “You were wearing those jeans. They do wonders for your figure, just saying. 10 out of 10 choice, no notes.” 

The color starts to drain from your face as you sit down on bar stool, “I need a drink,” you mutter as you hold your hand up waiting for the bartender. When he comes over you order a vodka and lemonade to give you some liquid courage as you process all the information you were just given. 

You and Ellis start to settle in at the bar, talking about anything else besides Jack Abbot as you sip on your drink. Soon, you are joined by Santos and Whitaker from the day shift, still in their scrubs after a long shift. They regale you with a story of the hectic trauma that came in around lunch that day. You were listening to the story intently, watching as Whitaker explained how things went from bad to worse. You didn’t notice that Jack had just walked in. He was wearing just a t-shirt and jeans, looking more casual than you had ever seen him. 

He slowly made his way over to the bar where the four of you were gathered, “You started without me?” He greeted you with a smile as he took a seat on the barstool next to you. You looked over and gave him a warm smile. “Hey.” He greeted softly as the bartender started to make their way over. 

“Hey.” You whisper softly as you take a drink of your mostly empty drink. “Fancy seeing you here.” You smile softly as you look down at your hands but as you do, you catch Jack’s eyes, lowering to the small amount of cleavage that was peaking out of your shirt. It was just a quick glance, but it made your cheeks flush a little. 

Before things got too awkward, the bartender walked over. “What can I get ya?” He asked Jack. 

“I’ll have a Rolling Rock,” he paused and noticed your mostly empty drink. “You want another? My treat.” He asked, leaning closer to you. You give him a little nod, thinking, ‘what the hell’. “And one of whatever she had.” 

“One Rolling Rock and Vodka and Lemonaid coming up.” He said before walking off to get your drinks. 

“Thanks, you really didn’t have to.” You say with a coy smile. 

Jack shrugs, “It’s no big deal.” He cracks the totally disarming, crooked smile of his and you feel your heart flutter a little. As the bartender brings your drinks over you shift slightly so your thigh brushes against his. It doesn’t go unnoticed. Jack’s eyes are on your hands resting on the bar. He moves his hand a little closer so his pinky brushes against yours for a moment as he takes the first drink of his beer. 

You two begin talking softly among yourselves, while Ellis is still engaged with Santos and Whitiker, talking shop. You and Jack are all but ignoring that they are even there. “I am really glad to have you working with us, you bring such good energy to the night shift.” 

“Do I?” You whisper with a little laugh as you chew on your straw from your drink. “Even when I tripped in that Trauma the other day, and you had to catch me before I landed face-first into that poor woman’s chest wound.” You could almost still feel Jack’s arm around your waist from when he caught you, pulling you back against him as he whispered ‘I got you’ in your ear. It had sent shivers down your spine in the moment. Even just the flash of the memory that played in your mind sent another down your spine again. 

“Eh, it wasn’t that big of a deal. The room was crowded. It was a hectic trauma.” He leaned a little closer, his hand brushing yours again. “I didn’t mind having to grab you to save you from getting some horrible nickname, like ‘Crash’.” He smiled at you. 

You nudged your hand closer to his as you turned a little closer to him. “Oh, really?” You muse softly. 

He shifts on the barstool a little awkwardly as he finally rests his hand over yours, fully turns to you. “I like you.” He admits as his thumb strokes the top of your hand. “I thought when Dana first told me about you, showed me your picture, that she was full of shit when she said that I would like you. She has been trying to play matchmaker with me for the last six months. Each time she missed the mark.” He admitted, and in the back of your mind, you realized exactly why Dana had suggested you come back to PTMC and work nights. It wasn’t for the best schedule for Ian. It was for Jack. “But the more I have gotten to know, I don’t think she missed the mark this time.” 

“Of course, Dana was trying to play matchmaker.” You mused, and both you and Jack laughed. “But I like too. I see the way you are with patients, how you handle these stressful situations we deal with every single day. It’s hard not to.” His fingers curled around yours as you spoke, his eyes locked on yours as you spoke. 

He leaned in and whispered, “Do you wanna go get dinner?” 

“Yeah.” you answer back, his eyes watching your lips intently as you speak. 

You and Jack were lost in the moment, not even paying attention to the three sets of eyes locked on you as you had this exchange. Ellis leaned over and whispered to Santos. “About fucking time.” With a smirk. 

It was fairly easy to slip out of the bar without much fuss. Ellis hugged you as she whispered, “Have fun, I would say be good, but I am begging you not to be, for your sake, because you deserve to be a little naughty. Also, I don’t want the details. There are parts of Jack Abbot I never want to know about.” She said with a laugh before you turned back to Jack, who held your purse up for you. 

You slipped it over your shoulder as you took his hand, interlacing your fingers with his as you rested your cheek against his bicep. “What do you want to eat?” He asked softly as he pushed the door open. 

“I would kill for a cheeseburger, some cheese fries, like a big chocolate milkshake.” You smiled up at him as he opened his car door for you. 

“That actually sounds really good.” He thinks for a moment. “I know this little dinner that’s about 15 minutes from here. The SWAT guys I work with go there all the time.” 

“Sounds great.” You say as he helps you into the passenger seat. 

Your dinner was just what you had envisioned, greasy perfection to sop up the alcohol you had at the bar. The little bit of a buzz you had was all but gone by the time you returned to Jack’s car. Jack was funny, sweet, as flirty as ever, and you couldn’t have asked for a better ‘first date’ experience with him. You really got a clear picture of why Dana was trying to set you two up. The conversation came easily, even when the subject was a little more personal. 

You leaned against the passenger door you looked up at him. You couldn’t believe that you and Jack Abbot had just technically gone out on your first date. His hand rested on your waist as he looked down at you. “I really want to kiss you.” He whispered. You didn’t give him a chance to continue asking you. Your hands gripped his t-shirt and pulled him down to you as you leaned up and pressed your lips to his. His other hand snaked around the back of your head, pulling you deeper into the kiss, and it felt electric. His body pressed you into the door before he pulled back slightly. “You want me to take you home?” 

“No,” you whisper thoughtlessly. “Take me back to your place.” 

+++++++

Over the next two months, your relationship with Jack only continued to grow. You tried to match your days off the best you could. When they did line up, you would often spend them together. At first, you were worried about involving Jack in Ian’s life, but Jack had a good point. If it were a casual thing, he didn’t have to have a relationship with your son, but if it was serious, it was something that was going to have to happen, and he made it very clear he didn’t want just a casual relationship. So you started bringing Ian around a little more, first it was a park, then the Children’s museum, and slowly Ian bonded with Jack. He was good with your son, made him laugh. Didn’t mind playing rough with him. It made your heart flutter each time that Ian asked, “Are we going to see Jack?” because this was starting to become something real. 

Work also flowed well. You and Jack started developing shorthand in traumas. He trusted your judgment calls when you pushed back against the residents. You two were becoming a solid team both at work and outside of work. 

It was a rainy, early summer night when that bond was put to the test. It was still early in your shift, a little after 9, when Jack walked over. His hand rested on your hip as he leaned as he stood behind you. “Peds trauma in bound, I am gonna need you on this one.” 

You take in a sharp breath as you nod, “Alright, what do we know?” 

“Five, male, fell or jumped off the top bunk. Open fracture to the arm. That was all the EMTs said over the radio.” He explained as he stepped to the side to look at you as you nodded. “I know it’s gonna be rough for you, same age as Ian, but you are the one with the most peds experience.” 

“Yeah, and my mom just got him bunk beds, which you know I am not happy about for this exact reason.” You mutter, taking a deep breath as you bring your hands to your face. “This is my personal nightmare as a mother.” 

“I know, babe.” He whispered as he reached out and pulled your hands away from your face. “But you are strong, you can handle it, and remember it’s not Ian. He is safe at home with your mom. Probably watching some superhero movie, like he always wants to watch. Not to mention, I gave him the big ‘don’t jump off the top bunk’ lecture three days ago.” You nod along, trying to focus on the fact that the likelihood that it was Ian was slim to none. “Go check on your patients and then meet me in Trauma 2.” 

“Okay.” You whisper as you take a step away and go do what Jack asked you. 

The air in the ED shifted when the EMT’s came rushing in. Ellis and Jack were the ones to meet them at the door. They both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw who was on the stretcher. “Oh shit,” Ellis muttered softly.

Ian. 

He was screaming, tears running down his cheeks, as your mom tried her best to calm him but was failing. On pure instinct, Jack rushed over, “Hey, little man.” He said softly as he helped the EMTs push the stretcher. “What happened?” Jack asked your mother sharply, his own anger over the situation slipping through. 

“I want mommy,” Ian screamed 

“I know buddy, we are gonna go get mommy in a minute, but I gotta talk to grandma first.” Jack whispered as he smoothed down Ian’s wild hair, trying to not only calm your son but also to calm himself as he waited for your mother to answer. 

It took her longer than it should have for her to finally answer, “I thought he was asleep, then I heard a crash, and he was screaming,” your mom muttered, still in shock on some level. 

Jack glared at her, “You stoned?” He asked sharply, but your mom remained silent, which told Jack everything he needed to know. He turned to Ian and leaned down, running his hand over his head. “You remember your mommy’s friend Parker, right? She came out with us to the park a couple weeks ago.” He asked softly and Ian nodded through the tears. “She is gonna get you some pain meds, and we are gonna get some pictures of your arm and head. I will be right back. I am gonna go get your mom.” 

As he turned away from Ian, your mom reached out and grabbed Jack’s arm, stopping him. “I fucked up, Jack.” She whispered. “She wasn’t answering her phone. I knew he was going to need a parent to sign consent, and I didn’t know what hospital they were taking him to.” She was rambling, but Jack put the pieces together fast. 

His jaw clenched as he leaned in. “You called fucking Josh?” He said lowly. “You called him?” 

“He is on his way,” she whispered. 

Jack was livid. He didn’t know all the details. You wanted to spare him those, but he did know enough to know the last thing that he wanted was to have a run-in with your ex-husband Josh, in the middle of the ED. He opened his mouth to snap at your mother, but stopped himself as he held up a finger as he took breath. “She is gonna be pissed at you. You know that, right?” He asked in a low, gruff tone. “I am pissed at you.” 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” she stammered, her eyes darting back to Ian as Ellis was getting an IV in him to give him some pain meds.

“You could have called the main line. She could have been paged. Next time, use the last brain cell you have.” He snapped as he threw his hands up and stormed out of the room to find you. 

You were already making your way towards Trauma 2, knowing they were going to need you for the peds case, when you saw Jack standing outside of the trauma bay with his head in his hands, obviously trying to collect himself. You started racing towards him when he noticed you and caught you around the waist, spinning you so your back was facing the trauma bay. “Babe, I am gonna need you to just stay calm as I tell you this..” 

“Jack, that makes me not want to be calm.” You state as panic starts to rise in your chest. “Jack…” 

“It’s Ian, Ian is the trauma case…” He said his voice was shaking a little, but enough for you to notice, as you start to try to pull away from him to run to your son. He stops you. “Baby, listen… listen to me. Ellis is in there, she is giving him pain meds, we are already fast tracking him to X-ray and CT.” He tried to explain as you continued to try to pull away from him. “There is more.” You were barely holding it together as he pulled you into a tight hug before he whispered. “Your mom called Josh.” As soon as he said that, you broke. Tears rolling down your cheeks as you buried your face into his shoulder. All the years of hell with Josh started flashing in your mind as the panic began to consume every cell of your body. He held you tightly as you sobbed into his scrub top. He didn’t try to tell you it was going to be okay because he couldn’t promise you it would. He did the one thing he could, hold you.

“I want my baby.” You whisper, trying to pull yourself back together and failing as you lift your head. 

Jack drops his arms from around you, but you don’t move. He reaches up and wipes the tears from your cheeks. “Ian is gonna be fine, probably will need surgery, follow-ups with ortho, but he is okay.” You nod slowly. “Are you going to be able to handle Josh?” You don’t move. Not a shake or nod of your head. Your eyes go blank thinking about seeing him again. “I will be right there, he tries anything. He’s done.” 

“Jack, I need to see my baby.” Your voice is calmer, but you are still obviously rattled. 

“Alright, come on.” He whispered as he took your hand and started to walk you into the trauma bay, where Ellis and Shen were doing their best to keep Ian calm, while your mother stood in the corner just trying to stay out of the way. You couldn’t even look at your mother. You were so angry with her at that moment. All your focus was on Ian. Ellis was sitting on a stool by Ian’s head, talking to him softly as you and Jack walked in. He didn’t let go of your hand till you were at the side of the bed, and then he just stood one step back. “Told you I was getting mom.” He smiled softly at Ian. 

Ellis shifted to look at you. “Full disclosure, to make him promise to stop screaming while the pain meds kicked in. I may have promised him to take him to Kennywood. We can work out the details later. He drives a hard bargain for a five year old. He should be a lawyer when he grows.” You almost cracked a smile at that. It made perfect sense. Ian had been begging you to take him to the amusement park since he saw a commercial a few weeks ago. You and Jack had talked about it, but hadn’t made plans yet. 

Taking a deep breath, you lean down and kiss the top of Ian’s head. “You being brave?” You asked softly, and he nodded. He is a little out of it because of the meds, but he doesn’t seem like he is in pain from his heart rate. “So what happened?” 

“I wanted to be like Superman.” He admitted in a low voice, knowing he was going to be in trouble. “I watched the Superman movie with Grandma before bed, and I thought that if I tied my blanket around my neck and jumped off my bed, I could fly.” Solid kindergarten logic, by all standards. 

Jack leaned in, hearing the explanation, “What did I tell you about jumping off the top bunk, buddy?” His tone was soft, he wasn’t angry. He was more mystified that Ian thought it would work. 

“To not to if I didn’t want to come visit you and mommy at work.” Ian smirked as he looked up at Jack who was shaking his head. “But, I wanted to see you and mommy. I also wanted to fly like Superman.” 

“We were gonna go to the Zoo tomorrow, now you are gonna have to stay the night here because I am pretty sure from the bone sticking out of your arm, you are gonna need surgery and a cast.” Jack leaned forward and rested his hand on Ian’s good arm. “Now we don’t get to go to the Zoo.” 

“But Parker is gonna take me to Kennywood,” Ian said as if he had just won the biggest victory of his life. 

“Fair point,” Jack said with a laugh. “But you are forgetting about the part where you scared your mother half to death.” 

Ian shrugged as he lifted his good arm and tucked it behind his head. “Mommy is fine.” 

“I was not fine when I found out you got hurt.” You quickly, but gently correcting him. “I was crying.” 

“I’ll live, and I get a cast. When Brayden had a cast, everyone at school thought he was so cool. Now I get to be cool.” Ian quips as he closes his eyes with his one arm tucked behind his head. 

Shen is standing on the other side of the bed, cleaning Ian’s wound where the bone is sticking out, and looks up at you. “Are we positive he is not Abbot’s kid?” He said with a little laugh, trying to lighten the mood. 

You and Jack both give almost identical looks of pure disbelief at the same time. “My wife was still alive, and I did not know her when she got pregnant with him,” Jack muttered.

Shen just shrugged, “Minor details.” 

You roll your eyes and start shaking your head as you turn into Jack, who just wrapped an arm around your shoulder so you could hide the fact that you were trying not to laugh. “Remember when that woman at the burger place thought he was ‘your spitting image’ the other night at dinner,” you whispered to Jack as you peeked up at him. He had a stupid grin on his face. 

“Fuck, maybe Shen is right. He is my kid.” Jack whispered back. 

The sweet moment was interrupted when Mateo peeked his head into the trauma bay. “So, not to alarm anyone, but there is this guy out in the waiting room claiming to be Ian’s dad. He is getting really loud, demanding to come back and see him.”  

You let out a ragged sigh as you take a step away from Jack and towards the door. “Bring him back, Mateo. I’ll deal with him, make sure security is around. Josh can be a bit unpredictable at times, depending on his mood.” 

Your mom finally steps forward. “I can deal with..” 

“No mom, you should go home. You have obviously done more than enough.” You snap coldly as you start to move towards the door, following Mateo out. 

Ellis looks up at Jack and gives him a sharp look. “We really are going to let her go deal with her ex-husband, who broke four of her ribs and gave her a concussion. Who is still on probation for it if I remember correctly? I thought they had a PFA?” 

“It expired last month. They wouldn’t renew it.” Jack muttered as he glanced at Ellis out of the corner of his eye. “He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try anything in the middle of the ED.” 

“Are you sure?” Ellis asked pointedly. Jack shook his head. “Then maybe follow her, make sure he doesn’t, and if he does, I don’t know, call one of those SWAT buddies of yours.” 

“That’s the plan,” Jack whispered as he started to move towards the door. “Stay with Ian, radiology should be ready for him soon.” 

“Of course, I am not leaving my little buddy,” Ellis said as her attention turned back to Ian, who had fallen asleep. 

As Jack walked out of the trauma bay, he had a sinking feeling that things had the potential to get really explosive, really fast. 

++++++

You stood near the nurses' desk, wringing your hands, anticipating that whatever was about to happen was going to be as far from pleasant as possible. You had flashes of the very last confrontation you had with your ex. It was during the divorce proceedings that you were awarded full custody of Ian, and he was only allowed supervised visits. He screamed at the judge like a raving madman. Blaming the female judge, she only sided with you because she was a woman.  If it were a male judge, he would have let him see his son. Or at least that was Josh’s logic as he screamed at the judge that day and was almost held in contempt. He didn’t even want to see Ian, he never went to the visitations and only continued to break Ian’s heart. 

As you stood with your eyes closed, trying to force yourself out of your own memories, you heard him before you saw him. Josh’s voice carried. It could fill even the biggest of spaces, particularly when he was angry, which is was. “Bro, just show me, my kid. Where is his mother? Doesn’t she work here?” his voice made your stomach turn, and a panic rose in your chest. You crossed your arms in front of your chest, instinctively trying to comfort yourself as you took a step away from the nurse's desk. You finally forced your eyes open and saw him stomping towards the trauma bay where Ian was. 

You move quickly, but smoothly, towards him. “Joshua,” you say, simply trying to keep your voice as calm as possible. “Ian is resting, we are waiting to take him for some X-rays, and then we will know more, but it’s very likely he is going to have to have surgery to set the bone properly.” Mateo stayed back, but was close enough to watch as Josh took a step towards you. You flinched for just a second before taking a deep breath. “He really is going to be fine.” 

“What the fuck happened?” Josh snapped as he leaned down, trying to get in your face. You take a step back, but he presses. “I knew you living with your bitch of a mother was a horrible idea. She never watched him closely enough. She didn’t give a shit about you, and she certainly doesn’t give a shit about my son.” 

“Our son.” You correct sharply. “The one you haven’t seen in eight months, haven’t even called to talk to in six.” Your voice shakes as you try to calm yourself. “And don’t you dare speak about my mother like. She isn’t perfect, but she does love Ian.” You take another deep breath as you hold your arms tighter around your chest. “He was just being a reckless little boy, he jumped off the top of the bunk beds in his room because he thought he could be Superman. Broke his arm.” 

“Because she wasn’t paying close enough attention to him. Because you insist on working fucking nights and leave him with her all night when she is doing god knows what.” You let out a ragged breath as he speaks, watching as he moves closer. “You shouldn’t be working nights and leaving him with people who can’t be trusted.” 

“Don’t talk to me about leaving him with people who can’t be trusted, you used to leave him with your bother who is a fucking junkie, shooting up god knows what when Ian was napping three feet from him.” You clench your jaw as you suck in a sharp breath. “What would you rather have me do? Not work? Not be able to pay my bills. I already live at home with my mother because of my student loans, the debt that you saddled me with when we were married, and, not to mention the complete lack of child support you pay. I am left with next to fucking nothing.”

“I am between jobs.” He tried to defend himself. 

“You have been between jobs for three fucking years, Josh.” As you let out another ragged breath, you turn your head and see Jack leaning against the wall, watching the whole thing play out from a distance. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, and there was a look in his eyes that you had never seen before. It was something beyond upset. His jaw was set tight, and he looked as if it was taking every single ounce of control he had to keep from running over and just knocking Josh’s front teeth in. He was waiting for a moment, the moment Josh went too far, and you were silently praying that it wasn’t going to happen. 

Josh shifted as he leaned forward, getting close to you as he whispered menacingly, “I want to see my son.” 

“No.” You respond sharply. “It’s just going to upset him more. He hasn’t seen you in months.” 

“Your mom called me because she couldn’t get through to you.” He snarled. “Because I am still legally his father.” 

“Trust me, I wish that was not the case.” You snap. “I am at work, my phone is on silent. She should have just called the main line, and they would have paged me, but we both know my mother is not the sharpest tool in the shed. So she called you, which is something she should have never done.” 

“I am here, I want to see him.” He said, inching closer to you. “Stop being a fucking bitch and let me see my son.” He snapped as he grabbed your arm roughly, squeezing it so tightly you knew he was going to leave a bruise, trying to intimidate you. 

That was the line. 

Jack didn’t run over. He didn’t shout. He walked with purpose over to where you two stood and simply stood behind you. “You can get your hand off her.” He said in a low, menacing tone. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Josh snapped, his fingers digging deeper into your arm as you tried to pull away. 

Jack reached over and pulled his hand off your arm and moved between you and Josh. “Who the fuck am I?” He asked with the look in his eyes, getting more menacing as he shook his head. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” His voice was low. He wasn’t shouting, but it was the tone that made your breath catch in your throat as you gripped the back of his shirt. 

“Jack,” you whispered. You just wanted this to be over, you wanted to run back into the room with Ian and stay far away from all this. 

“You fucking him?” Josh asked as he craned his neck to try to look you in the eyes, but you were now fully hiding behind Jack, as there were more eyes on the three of you. Mateo was on the phone, you suspect, calling security. Shen was standing in the doorway of the trauma bay, putting himself between any way Josh had of getting to Ian.

“Of course you are fucking him.” Josh laughed as he shook his head. “You know she has daddy issues for fucking days cuz her old man ate his gun when she was a kid,” Josh said with a grin on his face as he looked Jack in the eyes. Josh knew talking about your father would upset you, and it did. You let out a little whimper against Jack’s back as you hold onto him tighter, trying anything you could to steady yourself. “Her dad was in the fucking Army or some shit and came back all fucked up in the head. Couldn’t hack it, blew his fucking brain out. Her mom found him, hence why she is the shit show she is.” You wanted to scream, but all you did was silently sob against Jack’s back. 

“I fucking know, man.” Jack finally yelled. All eyes were now on the three of you watching this mess play out. Jack didn’t care, he was furious, he wanted to make this guy feel what he was making you feel. “I know because we’re together, and she told me in tears. I know because I was in the Army, like her dad. I know how dark shit can get.” He snapped. Josh had pushed too far. “I know all about you, man. I know you are fucking tool, an idiot who got lucky that she even gave you the goddamn time of day when she was in high school and you were a grown ass man preying on a traumatized teenage girl. You should have been in jail 20 years ago when you were 25 and fucking a 16-year-old.”

Josh stood silent. It was the first time that someone had ever said this to him because Jack was the first person outside of your family you had ever told about the worst parts of your Josh’s relationship to. You barely peeked out from behind Jack as he spoke and saw Josh’s shoulders slump, his jaw clench because someone was standing up for you, not because someone was standing up to him. 

 Jack leaned in, and in a lower, even more menacing tone, he continued. “Then you got your claws into her, convinced her to marry you when she was 19. She put herself through nursing school so she could support your lazy ass, who wanted to sit around all day on your Xbox, smoke weed, and drink beers. Then you got her pregnant the first time she tried to leave. Fucking clever shit. Have a baby, make her stay.” He paused for a second and looked Josh dead in the eyes. “The irony that was probably the best thing you ever did because Ian is a great kid, I love that kid like he is my own. But he is a great kid because of her, not you.” 

For half a breath, you almost relaxed as you felt Jack’s hand reach back and briefly touch your arm, reminding you he was right there. 

“When she finally tried to leave with the baby, you beat her black and blue, you choked and slammed her head into the fucking wall. I saw the police reports.” You didn’t know this but this also didn’t surprise you. Jack had friends on the force from working as the SWAT team’s medic. So it was likely he had one of his friends pull the file so he could find out everything you hadn’t told him. “But, you had your crooked as fuck cop dad cover for you. You should be sitting in jail, everyone knows that, but you got lucky once. Never again.” You stayed behind Jack, your hands still clutching his shirt as you buried your face in his back with your eyes squeezed shut, terrified that things were going to get even worse. But it didn’t, because Jack wasn’t going to let it. 

“Now, why don’t you get the fuck out of my ED and leave her and Ian the fuck alone. Or the next time you show your ugly face anywhere near either of them, I am gonna call my buddies down at the PD, and they will haul your ass off to jail because people well above your daddy’s pay grade own me favors.” There was menace in the way Jack spoke, a tone you had never heard before, and if it had been directed at you would have crumbled. However, it was enough to rattle Josh. The first time you had ever seen that man truly rattled.

“The fuck you think..” Josh started, dumbfounded. 

“OUT!” Jack shouted. Standing his ground. “Now..” He growled 

Josh slowly started to back away as he saw all the eyes on him in the ED and the two security guards approaching. “I’m going…” he muttered. His eyes were darting around the ED where everyone was standing frozen, watching him. All of them having just heard every single word Jack had just said.

“Let’s go.” The security guard said, gesturing back towards the waiting room. “Don’t make me ask you again.” With that, the two security guards started ushering Josh away. 

As soon as Josh was out of sight, Jack let out a long, heavy breath. His whole demeanor shifty. Jack turned around and wrapped his arms around, “Hey, hey..” He whispered as you were shaking in his arms. “I told you, he is never gonna fuck with you again.” He whispered as your hands grabbed at his back, trying to find something to anchor you because you felt like your legs were going to give out. “Come on, let’s go sit down,” he whispered, trying to usher you towards one of the desk chairs where he got you settled. 

Shen walked up behind Jack and whispered. “You are pretty fucking scary there, boss.” 

“He was lucky I was at work if he pulled that shit outside the ED. I would have beat the shit out of him.” Jack muttered before turning all this attention back to you. 

“I’m DoorDashing you some Dunkins before they close,” Shen said with a warm smile down at you, pulling his phone out and starting to walk away, leaving you with Jack. 

“You good?” Jack asked, caressing your cheek before he reached over and pushed up the sleeve of your scrub top to see the bruises starting to form from how roughly Josh had grabbed your upper arm. 

“No.” You whispered. 

“I’m gonna call Robby to come back in cover for me since he is off tomorrow, and he fucking owes me. I am gonna sign out, gonna sign you out. Our focus is gonna be Ian. Period, end of story. Okay?” He asked softly, and you nodded slowly. “You are gonna stay here, I’m gonna get Mateo to come sit with you, and I will be right back.” You nodded, not really even listening, but all you knew was that you were beyond thankful that Jack was there. 

Sure enough, Mateo came over and sat next to you. He didn’t say a word, only sat next to you, rubbing your arm, trying to help you calm as you were still shaking. Jack was gone, maybe five minutes before he came back over and knelt down in front of you. “Alright, Robby is coming back. Ellis is up with Ian getting his X-ray, and he will be right back, and we are gonna move him into peds, and that's where we’re gonna go.” He whispered as he reached up and rested his hand on the back of your neck. “Take a deep breath.” 

You take in a deep breath as you look at him, it starts to dawn on you. You were in love with Jack. He was the first person in years who made you feel safe. He cared about Ian more than Josh ever had. You reached out and gripped his arms. “Jack.” You whispered, and he nodded, looking you in your eyes. “I think… no, I know, I am in love with you.” You whispered, still half in a daze and wrapped in your own thoughts. 

You didn't have time to go home and change and get here in separate cars, not when there's been a massive pile up on the highway and everyone got called to work.

It was supposed to be yours and Jack's night off, you had a dinner reservation in the nicest restaurant in the city and it was so, so lovely.

That was until your phones started going off and you scrambled out of there in hurry and with groans. Don't get me wrong, you both love doing your job as doctors. But dates nights are sacred to you two since they don't happen as often as you would like.

"Yes! I fucking knew it." Santos says very loudly, already halfway through on the way for her winnings.

"Alright, alright, alright. The show is over, everybody get back to work." Finally, Dana yells loudly, making everyone avert their hungry gazes away from you.

"And you lovebirds, hurry up and get changed. ETA is 10 mins for the first patients."

You nod and hurry after Jack. It's not as easy to walk quickly in these high heels. Jack notices, of course he does, and waits up for you, hand extended your way.

You take it sheepishly and let him stabilise you so it's easier to walk. "You okay, angel? That was a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, but I'm okay. At least, now they know." You give him a little smile, squeezing his hand for the reassurance.

"Yes. At least, now I can kiss you whenever I want." He grins at you and you just look mortified. There's no way you'll survive heavy pda in front of your colleagues and you both know it.

"As long as it's moderate." You mumble out as you let Jack lead you towards the lockers.

"Don't worry, angel. I'll be on my best behaviour I promise." He seals that promise with a quick peck to your lips. But you are out of anyone's view so you relax into it. And you almost whine when he pulls away, almost. Gosh, you were so excited to have him all to yourself for the night.

"Okay, let's go, sweetheart. You heard Dana, no time to waste." He says when you try to steal another kiss from him.

"You kissed me first!" You laugh because he's clearly being ridiculous.

"I'd never." He fakes innocence, but the smirk on his face is far from that.

"Pff, we'll see where this gets you when we get home." You giggle but his eyes only darken.

"Doll, we both know I won't be the one begging then." He whispers the words into your ear and your stomach practically does somersaults at that.

"You're not playing fair." You pout at him as his hands help you unzip the dress.

"I'm only-" he stops in the middle of the sentences as you turn around and let the dress pool at your feet. The purple lingerie you have on clearly broke his brain. His eyes devour the sight in front of him.

You chuckle as you quickly change into your scrubs, and by the time Jack realises you are no longer half-naked, you are running away, leaving him there all stunned.

You lift your hand up, showing her the raw knuckles. "Had a little accident."

"Doesn't look like an accident." She raises her brow at you, and you chuckle. If only she knew the real cause of it, she'd probably scold you right away.

"Okay, off you go." She lets you enter the ever busy ER, practically throwing you in front of your colleagues.

"Y/N?"

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"Jesus. Is that your blood?"

Lena, Shen and Ellis huddle around you immediately, and you try not to wander around the room to look for a certain handsome doctor.

Lena ushers you into an empty room and orders you to sit down immediately. Once again, they are all staring at you.

"Gosh. I can't believe I'm asking this but did you punch someone?" Ellis asks, clearly amused the most. She's not worrying like a mother hen only because you seem to be okay. Well, besides the throbbing hand.

Your cheeks heat. "Yes."

They just stare at you, completely taken aback. Because they can't believe that you, their sunshine nurse, punched someone.

"What's going on here?" Jack finds y'all huddled together in the small room. He doesn't notice you at first, not when you are hidden by all of them.

But when he finally does, he strides towards you immediately, barking orders at the rest of them (softly of course), the man is too weak when it comes to his nightcrawlers.

"What the fuck happened?" Jack rolls a stool next to the bed, gently lifting your hurt hand up into his glowed once. God, he looks so worried at you and you cringe as he examines the red hand.

Even the lightest touch hurts, and you wince loudly before you finally confess. "Punched a guy."

"You did what?" Jack's head snaps up at you, attention gone from your injury. There's a clear concern for you written all over his face, it's even worse than it was before.

"Punched a guy." You repeat again, a little smugly this time. Because it felt good, so good, even if your hand is in ruins right now.

"Why?" Jack asks as he probs at various point in your hand, you wince and grimace every time.

You sigh before you answer. "I went out with my girlfriends as you know, and there was a creep. And when he didn't take a no for an answer, I took care of it. Thumb out of my fist just like you taught me."

Jack just stares, dumbfounded just like the others. It takes him a second to process your words but when he does, you almost melt.

"Good girl." Is all he says proudly before he's moving towards the computer. He has to occupy his mind with work or otherwise he's going to break a few HR rules by kissing you at work.

There's no scolding, no shaming for doing that, just understanding and that makes your heart feel funny things.

"I'll order an x-ray, it seems you might have broken a bone." He types it in before he turns his attention back to you. "Anything else that hurts, angel?"

"No just the hand. I did want to kick him as well but he got arrested before I could do it." You tell him, and he just shakes his head at you, suppressing the huge, proud grin. He should not be indulging you in this behaviour.

"Okay, well no more throwing fist for you, sweetheart. I'll go get you some ice for it."  And then Jack leaves with a soft squeeze of your knee, and you try not to fully lose it from the smallest touch.

You are like obsessed with your boyfriend, always craving more from him. More love, more kisses, more touch, more sweet words. But he's the same, obsessed with you beyond the reason.

Jack comes back a few minutes later with the ice pack clutched in his hand. He gently puts it over your hand, and it soothes the pain a little immediately.

"I'll be back with your x-ray results once that's done. And we'll see what happens after yeah?"

You hum in agreement, way too content in the fact that Jack's hand is tangled in your hair as he rubs slow circles into your jaw.

"Okay, angel. Try to get some rest." And then he gives you a quick kiss on the temple, HR rules be damned. Sleep finds you easily after that, and exhaustion from the pain, adrenaline and alcohol make it even easier.

-

When you wake up, Jack's there, his work bag slung over his shoulder and discharge papers in hand.

"Morning, sweetheart." He grins at your sleepy, smushed face. "No broken bones, just bad bruising. I got your discharge papers so we can go home."

You chance a look at your hand, only to find it wrapped up in bandage. Huh. You must have slept heavily when you didn't even feel somebody doing that.

"Home?"

"Yeah, baby. My shift ended so I can take you home and take a proper care of my girl." Jack helps you stand up from the bed even if it isn't necessary.

"I'd like that." You whisper sweetly, wrinkles appearing around your eyes as you smile.

"Of course you would." He teases you as he guides you out of the ER and towards his truck with his hand tightly clutching your un-hurt one.

"As much as I love taking care of you, angel. No more physical altercations please. God, you got me so worried." Jack says as he opens the door for you and helps you inside.

"I'm sorry. No more punching, I promise." You say sheepishly, you know he's just trying to protect you.

"Thank you." Jack says and then he gives you a peck on your mouth, and rounds the car. Both of you ready to go home and just cuddle in bed the whole day.

"Okay." He turns to you, with his full attention.

"We were together since high school. His family knew my family and we were inseparable. I thought we were going to be the perfect couple. High school sweethearts. Everyone thought that too. But… um.. he'd get mad a lot. The little things like talking to another guy, or not calling him or texting him. He was very controlling, picking me up from my high school job and making me go places with him. I thought it was fine because he wasn't hitting me. Then one day he did. Then he did it again. Hit me, kick me, slap me, push me, wrestle me like I was his size." You let out a shaky breath.

"Every incident had me running to my parents. They'd let me stay the night and the next morning they'd call him to come get me. They made me feel like it was my fault." Jack's nostrils flare. His brows furrowed as he listens, "The physical abuse stopped when I was pregnant with Miracle but that didn't stop him from throwing things, destroying my stuff, and yelling at me. I was at my limit and had to go to the hospital. I was only 6 months." A tear drops from your eye. "I was so scared, I thought I was going to die. I prayed for it… I prayed that if I live he'll kill me, so just kill me on the table. But then I saw Miracle. She was so little. If she got the chance then I would live for her. I stayed with my parents until Miracle was two. I worked on getting my associate's in Nursing. I knew that if I wanted to live and give Miracle a good life I had to leave everything behind. For those two years it was calm. I didn't want to raise any suspicion. I started looking for jobs out of state."

"You found PTMC."

"Mhm, it fell right in my lap. My teacher told me they were looking for nurses so I applied to all the departments. The daycare made it worth my while. With my teacher's good word I got the ICU position and I left like a thief in the night."

Jack reaches over and wipes the tears from your eyes, "Thank you for telling me."

You kiss him so gently, "You make me feel so safe. I feel like I'm really building a family here with you. Robby and Lena helping me too. I couldn't ask for anything better. I trust you. And I've been thinking, would you be okay being Miracle's second emergency contact?"

"Yes! Of course, of course. I'd love that." He kisses you eagerly, "I could be yours too."

"Yeah? You'd do that?"

"I'll be whatever you want me to be." He holds your face in his hands, "I love you." He deepens the next kiss, taking you to the couch cushions.

A week later, Jack is starting his rounds with Robby. As they walk, his personal phone rings and he sees it's the daycare center. He steps to the side to take the call as the residents continue. "Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Abbot. This is the PTMC daycare center. We are just checking in. Miracle nor her mother have arrived for drop off. She would usually call if they were out sick but she's not answering her phone. Is everything okay?"

"Uh, they might be running late? I don't know, last I checked she was on her way. You said she isn't answering her phone?"

"Correct, we tried her personal and the ICU says she hasn't clocked in yet."

"Okay. I'll try calling her, thank you." He hangs up and goes to your contact to call. Robby sees the distressed look on Jack's face.

"Everything okay?" He comes over concerned.

"Damn it, voicemail. Miracle wasn't dropped off at daycare and she hasn't clocked into work." Jack chews his bottom lip, "Lena, do we have any MVAs en route."

"None that I know of, why?"

Something I hope I'm not too worried about." He tries your phone again to no avail. As he thinks of what to do next, he hears an all too familiar cry, one he's only heard a few times in his life. He follows the sound to a security guard coming through triage. A child sits in his arms as he comes towards the nurses station.

"Miracle!" Jack rushes over when he sees the girl. She turns in the guard's arms, "Daddy!" She cries out. She practically jumps into his arms. He looks over her mortified as he sees blood spill from a cut on her forehead. Jack takes her to an open bed. Dirt covers her clothes and the palms of her hands.

"I found her wandering the parking structure. She was crying out for her mother, lost. I calmed her down by telling her I was bringing her here." The guard explains. Perlah connects some leads to Miracle for her sats then does a manual BP check.

"Any sign of her mom?" Jack asks.

"My buddy is checking the scene now but there wasn't anything I could see."

Miracle starts to cry again as Jack checks her wound, "I know, Princess, I know it hurts."

"Breath sounds are normal." Perlah says as she uses her stethoscope on Miracle's back. "And her BP is normal. Pulse/Ox is stable. It looks to be just the head lac."

"Miracle, take a deep breath, baby. You're okay now, I promise. Can you tell me what happened?"

Miracle sniffles, still making whimpering noises. Jack takes some saline soaked gauze and dabs the blood off her face. "He… He hit me."

Jack stops, "Who did?"

"Mommy was getting me out of the car." She sniffles, "A man came up and pushed her down. I went to help and he hit me too. It hurt a lot." Tears fall from her eyes again.

"Did you hit your head when you fell? Did you get sleepy?"

She shakes her head. "Mommy stood up and fought back. She told me to run away. Then I got lost." Her lip trembles.

"It's okay, that's all, Miracle. Thank you." Jack turns to the guard, "Are there cameras in the garage?"

"Yeah, we can pull 'em up from the office down here." They rush there. Perlah stays to continue cleaning Miracle's face and hands and check for any other scrapes.

"It had to be be between 6:30 and 7:30 that it happened." Jack states.

The guard sits at the desk and pulls up the garage cameras. "She drives an old tan Toyota. Usually comes in through the East entrance."

"It's going to take a few minutes to sift through this." The guard flips through the cameras as he scrubs through the video footage.

Jack's ears are burning and his heart is racing a mile a minute. Someone hurt Miracle. He hurt you, and possibly took you. You could be anywhere. His mind flips through all the possibilities. "Abbot, why don't you sit with Miracle. She's still shaken up." Robby gently rests his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I should go. Let me know when they find something." Jack speeds back to Miracle's bed side.

Perlah finishes taping her wound. "It wasn't a deep cut. She's going to be okay."

"Thank you, Perlah." Jack sits on the bed and pulls Miracle into his lap, "We're going to find your mommy. She's going to be okay." He rocks her in his arms. It was more for himself than for her.

Minutes later, Robby comes over to the room, "Jack, security found something on the CCTV. Let me take Miracle while you go and look."

Jack hands her over. His heart is still thumping against his rib cage as he approaches the security office. The guard has him look at a still image of a man towering over you. "This is the clearest image we could get of the guy's face. He forces her back into the car and drives off as the little girl runs away. We've already called the police. Do you recognize him?"

"Y-yeah. It's her ex-boyfriend and Miracle's dad." Jack clenches his jaw. He had crossed state lines to find you. He knew where you worked so he must know where you live too. "What exit do they leave?"

"East." The guard looks at him.

"He must have taken her to her apartment. I have to go." Jack rushes to his bag grabbing his keys.

"Abbot, you should wait for the police." Robby comes out of the room.

"No, we're wasting time. We both know it'll take too long to wait around. Please keep an eye on Miracle."

"Of course— Abbot, what if he's still with her."

"Then I'm going to give him a taste of his own medicine." Jack rushes out of the ambulance bay to his car.

The entire time he is driving, he's fearing the worst. He should have been with you. You had just told him about all the terrible things that man had done to you. He should have drove you to work. Did he tell you he loved you on the phone before you left for work? What was going to happen if you weren't— He shakes the thoughts from his mind.

He arrives to your apartment and sees the door ajar. He pushes it open wider and sees the absolute state of your home. He calls out to you as he enters. "Are you in there?! Call out!" He heart sinks, your beautiful home was destroyed. All the picture frames were knocked off your wall. Smashed on the floor covered in broken glass. Your couch cushions were slashed and the TV had been thrown across the room. Food was all over your kitchen. On the walls and floor. Along with shattered plates and glass. All the cupboards were open and empty. Jack calls out to you again.

He moves to the hall and glances into Miracle's room. It's completely decimated. Her mattress slashed and flipped and her wooden bed frame was splintered. Her toys are scattered on the floor and all her clothes were dumped out of the dresser, the drawers flipped upside down on top of everything.

He turns your room, "Call out, Baby! Where are you?!" He opens your door and finds it in the same condition as Miracle's. Mattress slashed, bed frame broken. Your clothes and scrubs were everywhere. There was this awful potent smell of urine in the room as well.

His eyes scan the room until they fall on your bloody feet behind the mattress. "Oh god!" He moves the mattress aside and finds you badly beaten. Your face is bloody. One eye already swollen and the other closed. There was blood all over your body. Beside your head was your nightlight, broken. "C'mon, Baby." He kneels down beside you and checks your pulse, "C'mon, wake up. Please be okay. Please, can you hear me? Say something please."

"Jack…" You say meekly.

"Good, good stay awake okay? I'm gonna get some help. Help is on the way." He pulls out his phone and dials 911.

"…Miracle…"

"She's okay. Miracle is okay. She found her way to the ER again. You'll see her soon, just hold on. Can you squeeze my hands? As hard as you can." He puts his hands in yours. Your left is strong but your right is much weaker.

"It hurts."

"Yeah, it might be broken. What else hurts, can you tell me?"

"My… leg… head… it's hard to breathe."

"I know, I know." He sniffles.

"9 1 1 what's you emergency?" A voice comes from his phone.

Jack explains to the operator the situation. He tells them about the assault and requests an ambulance. Your arm was broken and you most likely had more broken bones elsewhere. He wanted to hold you but he couldn't tell the severity of your injuries. You whimper as the longer you're awake the more you began to feel the pain.

Paramedics arrive shortly after the phone call. Jack is unable to get in with you and follows behind in his car. You arrive to The Pitt and are rushed to Trauma One. Everyone looks on in horror as the doctors get to work treating you. Jack comes in shortly behind you but is stopped by police. "Abbot, we need to ask you a couple questions since you were on scene."

"Can you ask later?" His eyes are trained on the trauma room.

"It's better to ask them now since it's fresh on your mind." The officer looks at him sympathetically. He's still watching as his residents, his friend, try to save you.

"Fine, let's just hurry and get this over with." He leads them to the stairwell for privacy.

After the interview, He returns to the hub. "How is she?" He asks Lena.

"A tib fracture, radial head fracture, possible skull fracture… Multiple contusions and lacerations. This is one of the worst cases I've ever seen… Abbot, he could have killed her." She holds his shoulder.

When the bed starts to move to the elevators, he enters the room. Everyone passes by with different levels of shell shock on their face. "Robby, how is she?"

"She's stable heading up to the OR now. She had a small skull fracture their going to check on and get ortho for her leg and arm." Robby pulls him into a hug, "She's a tough cookie. She held on pretty tight until she was on the morphine. She's gonna be okay."

"Good. Where's Miracle?"

"In Pedes. McKay offered to stay behind and look after her." They walk over to the room, "Did you get anything from the cops?"

"Not much. They're heading to her apartment now. Apparently, based on the footage of the garage from the past few weeks he had been stalking her. Watching her come and go from home and work." He sniffs and clenches his jaw, "They are stopping by my house to see if he's going to go there. Fucker stole her car too, if that wasn't a cherry on top of this shit pie."

Jack takes a breath to calm down before going inside the room. It was dark. Miracle lays in the bed as McKay pats and rubs her back. She smiles when she sees the two attendings, "Psych stopped by while you were gone. She calmed down a lot more when we moved to this room."

"She likes the animals on the walls." Jacks switches places with McKay sitting beside the bed.

"She's just so darling. She said she likes her back rubbed before bed. It makes her feel better when she doesn't feel good."

"That's right." He smiles at the sleeping girl, "Thank, Dr. McKay. You have a good night."

"You too. I hope everything turns out okay." She leaves.

When it's just the two older men alone, Abbot sniffles, "You should have seen the state of the place. He tore it to shreds. They can't go back there. It's all ruined. It's like he made sure every inch of the house was destroyed. Miracle doesn't even have a bed anymore."

"I can only imagine." Robby sighs, "I can cover for you tonight. I'll call Shen to take the day. You should wait upstairs."

"Thanks. If the cops come back, let me know." Jack slowly picks Miracle up and lets her rest on his shoulder as she continues to sleep.

"I will. Try to stay calm too. She wants to wake up to see you smiling not mortified." Robby says. Jack nods and takes Miracle to the surgery waiting room. The night seems to drone on. The silence starts to irritate him. With Miracle's weight he's not able to move too much. She almost works as a weighted blanket keeping him calm and warm.

Soon, a surgeon comes in, "Dr. Abbot, we are happy to let you know the surgery was a success. She suffered a small linear fracture and a concussion. Her leg is now in a cast as well as her arm. Her rib fractures pose no threat to her organs, so they'll just need icing and some NSAIDs we can prescribe. She has a long road to recovery."

"Thank you, we'll get through it together. Can we see her soon?"

"Yes, a nurse will come get you. They're currently finishing cleaning her up…She was… urinated on." The surgeon goes to leave then turns back, "I hope they get that sick son of a bitch."

"Me too." He sits back down.

Moments later, a nurse, leads him to the ICU wing. All your coworkers look at him sympathetically. Your room was private, the farthest down the hall. "We brought a cot for Miracle, so she can sleep beside her mom." She smiles.

"Thank you." Jack sets her down on the bed and tucks her in.

"She never spoke about him. What he did to her back in her old town. But she always said you were like her perfect match. She loves you. She let us all know that."

"I needed to hear that. Thank you." He smiles at her.

"Of course. If you need anything you let us know." She then leaves the room.

Jack moves to the other side of the bed where a hospital recliner sits. He sits beside be and takes your hand in his. His heart aches as images pop into his minds. That man hitting you, kidnapping you, tearing up your home and beating you to near death. He closes his eyes and let the tears fall until he grows weary and falls asleep.

You wake up an hour later, Jack is on one side of the bed and Miracle on the other both of them still sleeping. One of your coworkers, Therese, comes in, "Hello, sleeping beauty."

"Not so beauty," You croak.

"Always a beauty. It's not too bad. How are you feeling?"

"Morphine is wearing off. It's not too bad though."

"That's usual for after surgery."

"I know."

"Well, then should I let you finish the evaluation?" She laughs, "You seem better already."

"Then discharge me, I've got to finish my shift." You laugh with her.

"I think your lover boy would have something say about that. He's been here all night."

"I see that. Nobody tried to send him home?"

"We tried. He begged to stay. He can give you the details on that later." She sits on a stool next to the computer, "Now, what do you remember?"

"My ex, he ambushed me in the parking lot. He slapped Miracle. I grappled him and told her to run."

When he hears you speaking, Jack creeps his eyes open. He listens to you as you tell the story. "He threw me down and took my keys. Then he shoved me back into the car and drove me home."

"Was he saying anything?"

"F this and F that. Calling me whore and slut. Yelled about me running away, yelled at me for taking Miracle. Not talking to my family. Whoring myself out to Jack." You take a deep breath, "He'd smack me to see if I was still listening. Held a knife to me the whole way so I wouldn't dare try to jump out."

"Then?"

"He trashed my house. He destroyed everything just because I was happy without him." Your voice wobbles, "With every room he just got angrier. He went ballistic when he saw a photo of Jack and I. He cracked my head with my light projector, kicked me a few times. I could barely see but I felt it. The hot piss as he relieved himself on me…" A tear rolls down Jack's cheek as he listens. "Then when it got quiet, when I thought I was going to die, I heard him. Jack telling me to hold on."

"Your knight in black scrubs." She bounces her eyebrows.

You smile, "Yeah, him and Miracle saved my life. She had found herself back in the ER once again."

"Love like that is boundless. You are very lucky to have it. Especially when you need it the most."

You look over at Jack, noticing the tears roll down his cheeks, "I'm very lucky."

When Therese leaves, you speak, "Are you going to keep pretending?"

Jack sits ups with his eyes open, "Feeling better?"

"Yes. C'mere." You hold out your uninjured hand to his face and wipe his watery eyes.

"They're going to get him for this. I'm not going to let him get the chance again."

"Jack—"

"I want you to move in with me."

"What?"

"Move in with me. It's closer to the hospital than your apartment. I have enough rooms that you could even have a room to yourself. I don't want you living in fear anymore."

"Are you sure that's not what this is?" You ask.

"No. I've been thinking about this since the holidays. I bought my house thinking I would have a family in it. This is me doing that. I want to keep you and Miracle safe. I failed but this way I can do better. We would be in the same place, go to work together, come home together. Go to bed together. Wake up together. A place for us all together. You, me, and Miracle."

"I… I don't know what to say."

"Just think about it." He takes your hand and squeezes it, "When you get discharged you can think about it like a trial period. Until you're back on your feet and and we fix up your apartment. We can get you new stuff and it can go in your apartment or it can move in to our house."

"Our house… You can't even wait."

"Sorry. No pressure. Take all the time you need."

"Daddy…" Miracles rises from her sleep.

"Yes, Princess." He gets up and picks her up.

"Where are we?" She mumbles.

"We're in Mommy's hospital room. Look, she's right there."

Miracle smiles, "Hi, Mommy."

"Hi, Lovely." You smile, "I look a little scary but I'm okay."

"You're covered in boo-boos."

"I know. The doctors made me better."

"When can we go home?"

"Not for a bit. Mommy is still hurting and our house is very messy." You pout, "We are going to stay at Daddy's house until then."

"I like his house." She smiles.

"Good, me too." You smile. "I wish I could hold you. Could you give me a kiss to make me feel better."

Jack holds her over you and she kisses her cheek. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, My Little Miracle." You smile, "I think Nana is here, I bet she'd love to get you a treat from the nurse's room. Maybe ice cream?"

"Yes please!" Jack sets her down and watches her run to the nurse's station. The nurses all squeal in surprise as they all chime Miracle's name.

"Daddy, huh?" You grin.

"It didn't even register to me the first time she said it." He chuckles.

Your smile fades, "When did she say it first?"

"Earlier when she first came into the ED. She cried for me." He sits back down beside you. "I felt relief but then I saw the cut on her head and went to a panic. Then I got worried about you. I couldn't ruminate."

"Well, how does it feel?" You grab his hand.

"I love it. I love that she looks at me and sees her dad and when she saw him she had no idea who he was." He moves touches the side of your face.

"That makes me happy too." You kiss the palm of his hand. "I look at you and see what she sees. Someone kind and considerate. Someone who loves her so much and would never think to lay his hands on her. Someone that makes all her dreams come true."

"Let me make your dreams come true too." He kisses you on the lips.

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