Daybreak was just beginning, the faint hints of daylight beginning to seep through the windows as he rolled onto his side and slowly opened and closed his eyes, finally opening them for good and finding a pair of eyes that looked just like his staring back at him. He smiled, raised his head enough to count the bodies lying in the bed with him and dropped his head back onto the pillow.
"Thunderstorm?" He asked softly to the eyes looking back at him.
"I can't believe you slept through it dad. Kendall was really freaking out." The young girl told him.
"You weren't?" He teased.
"No, I would've stayed in my bed, I just didn't want Jordan and Kendall to wake you up so I came with them." She huffed.
"I appreciate that Carly, but you know you're only 12 so it's okay if you still need your dad once in awhile." He told her and kissed the tip of her nose.
"I'm not a little girl anymore dad." She argued.
"Yes you are, you just don't think you are." He replied and gently brushed her bangs back.
"You're not going back on your promise are you?" She asked, sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Your sisters are going to miss you at the daycare and I'd really feel better if you were there too." He said.
"Daddy you promised, please don't make me go there, it's for babies." Carly pleaded with him.
"Okay, I said you could ride the bus to school and home and you can as long as you show me you can handle it." He agreed.
"I'm going to go get ready and then I'll help the girls. You're the best dad!" Carly said excitedly, kissing him on the cheek and moving off the bed.
Jack Shephard watched his oldest daughter happily bounce of the bedroom before moving out of the bed himself. He pulled the blankets over his other two daughters, eight year old Jordan and five year old Kendall and disappeared into the bathroom, closing and the locking the door behind him.
He stood in the shower allowing the steady stream to wake him and considered it was the first day of school for all three of his daughters for the first time and the first time that he wouldn't be holding Carly's hand and walking her to her classroom on the first day. She'd been campaigning all summer long to be allowed to begin her first day as a 6th grader by herself and he'd finally agreed to let her try it for a couple of weeks with the understanding that he could and would take the privilege away if she broke even one of the rules put in place.
He exited the bathroom with a towel around his waist, noticed that his bed was now completely void of children and stepped into his closet to dress. By the time he entered the kitchen in his dress slacks, shirt and tie, Carly had a cup of coffee waiting for him and had the two younger girls eating cereal.
"Morning girls." He said.
"I feel sick daddy." Jordan said.
"She's just nervous dad." Carly said.
"Am not! Shut up Carly!" Jordan yelled.
"Take it easy girls. Carly, I appreciate the coffee and you getting the girls their breakfast, but let me be the doctor. Okay?" Jack spoke kindly to his oldest daughter, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and winking at her.
"Yeah, you're right dad. I have to go if I'm going to catch my bus." Carly said excitedly and moved past Jack eagerly to grab her back pack.
"Hey, not so fast, you're not too big to tell me goodbye." Jack objected.
Carly threw the backpack over her shoulder, hugged her father and let him kiss her on the cheek, laughing when her father didn't seem to want to let go.
"Daddy, you have to let me go or I'm going to miss my bus." Carly told him.
"Okay, but what are you supposed to do as soon as you get to school?" He asked.
"Send you a text message letting you know I made it." She sighed.
"And when you get home?" He asked.
"The same thing. I won't forget dad." She groaned and rolled her eyes at him.
"Yeah, keep rolling those eyes kiddo, but the first time you forget to text me will be the last. Now get going and have a good day." Jack said and kissed her on the forehead.
"Bye! I hope you feel better Jordy, the first day of 3rd grade is too awesome to miss out on." Carly said and left.
Jack looked over at his other two daughters. Jordan was still pouting and playing with her food and Kendall was finished eating, but had managed to dribble milk down her chin and down the front of her shirt. He chuckled lightly, approached the child and lifted her out of the chair, kissing her on the cheek and then pulling her back so he could talk to her.
"You need to put on a clean shirt. Do you need me to help you?" He asked.
"I'm sick too daddy." Kendall told him.
Jack felt the child's forehead for fever and reached down and did the same with Jordan even though he knew neither child was sick.
"Wow, too sick for the first day of school. That's too bad because I cleared my calendar this afternoon so I could pick both of you up from school and we could all do something fun before dinner." He said.
"No daycare today?" Jordan asked.
"No daycare. I'm taking you to school and picking you up, well I was, but since you're both sick I guess I'll have to get someone to come stay with you and make sure you stay in bed all day." He told them.
"Maybe a glass of chocolate milk would make me better." Jordan suggested.
Jack poured the child a glass of chocolate milk and set it in front of her, rubbing a gentle hand over the back of her head, hating how difficult first days of anything always were for his middle child.
"You drink your milk while I help your sister find a clean shirt." He spoke softly.
Jack walked the two little girls into the school, one holding onto each of his hands. They walked Kendall to her kindergarten classroom first. She was a happy, bubbly little girl who never met a stranger and today was no different. She saw the classroom with the pretty teacher and all the kids the same size as her, kissed her father goodbye and ran off happily. Jack quickly introduced himself and Kendall to the young teacher and began the walk of doom with Jordan .
Jordan was quiet, shy and emotional. She was his little meltdown queen and there were days when he had no patience or tolerance for her drama, but on days like today, when the anxiety was real she could tug at his heart and make him want to scoop her up and protect her from everything that scared her. They entered the classroom, the child's grip on his hand so tight he was sure a full blown meltdown was just moments away.
Jack didn't need to introduce himself to this teacher. She'd been Carly's third grade teacher and most of the faculty in the private school were aware of Jack and his three daughters and their situation.
"Hi Jordan , I'm so happy to have you in my classroom this year." The teacher said as Jordan moved behind her father's legs.
"Sorry, she's a little nervous. We just dropped Kendall off. You got a new Kindergarten teacher." Jack made small talk as he tried to get his daughter to come back around and say hello.
"Yes, we did and Carly is getting one of our new hires too, have you met her yet?" The teacher asked.
"No Carly insisted on riding the bus this year so I'm going to let her try it. There are two other children in the neighborhood she'll walk with and it's a straight shot so we'll see how it goes. I think she's too young, but you know how she is, very stubborn and independent." Jack explained.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. Jordan would you like to find a desk and sit down?" The teacher asked.
Jack felt the child's hand gripping his leg through his pants and knew the dam was about to burst.
"I changed my mind daddy, I'm sick, I'm really sick." She began to cry.
Jack wanted to pick her up and carry her away, but he knew that giving in meant that he'd just have to go through the same thing again tomorrow so he walked her toward a desk and sat her down. She sprang back up immediately, wrapping her arms around him and crying and begging for him to take her home.
"Jordy that's enough baby. You're going to make yourself sick. Sit down at your desk." Jack said firmly, yet not sternly as he sat her back down and squatted down beside her.
"No daddy! I can't! I want to go h-h-h-oome." She cried, getting choked up and her breath hitching.
"I'll stay with her dad until she feels better." Carly's voice offered from behind.
"You don't have to do that Carly. It's your first day in the middle school. We'll be okay." Jack said.
"I know, but she's scared and she is my baby sister. Do you want me to stay with you Jordy?" Carly asked.
"Can she?" Jordan asked as she worked hard to get her tears under control.
Jack looked up at the teacher and she nodded at him and handed him a handful of Kleenex. Jack wiped the tears from the little girl's face, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. He stood and looked down at his daughter and then leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"You're pretty awesome kiddo and I owe you big time." He said.
"You better go dad, you're going to be late and you promised we'd do something after school." Carly reminded him.
Jack nodded at the child and headed toward the door to the classroom. He was just about out the door when Jordan 's teacher called out to him.
"Jack, could you stop by Carly's classroom and give her teacher this note. It's explaining where she is and that she'll be in class as soon as possible. I'd talk with her myself, but it's the first day of school and too hectic for me to leave my classroom." The teacher said.
"Yeah, sure, um, it's the middle building just outside the east exit doors right?" Jack asked and took the note from her.
"That's right. Carly's is the first classroom just inside the main entrance. Look for Ms. Austen." She told him and smiled.
Jack politely smiled back and left the room in search of Carly's new teacher. He looked down at his watch. He had a consultation scheduled that should've started 10 minutes ago. He exited the building and pulled his cell phone out. He entered the building, found the classroom and approached the woman sitting behind the desk, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out the note all while carrying on a rather intense conversation with person on his cell phone.
"Look Angie, I'm sorry okay. Just tell Mr. Lawson I'm tied up at the hospital and will be there shortly and then rearrange the rest of my day." Jack sighed heavily into the phone.
He handed the note to the woman, his attention still on the conversation he was having.
"I can't do this right now Angie, please just do what I ask and we'll sort it all out when I get there." Jack spoke sternly into the phone and then clicked it off without a proper goodbye.
The woman was holding the note and looking at him, confused and unsure. He smiled a nervous smile and held his hand out.
"I'm sorry, that was rude. I'm Jack Shephard and my daughter Carly is going to be in your class this year." Jack said and shook her hand gently.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Shephard, I'm Kate Austen. Is Carly not with you?" Kate asked looking around him.
"No, I mean yes, I mean she's in the school, she's just not right here. I'm sorry, I'm not making any sense. It's probably explained in the note, but I have a younger daughter who is starting in Mrs. Barrett's class today and she's really upset and Carly is going to stay with her until she settles down." Jack explained.
"Why is she upset? First day jitters?" Kate asked.
"Yes, Jordan doesn't handle new situations well. Um, listen, it was nice meeting you and hopefully we'll have a chance to talk at length, but I was supposed to be some place at 8:00 and it's now 8:15 so if this is all okay with you, I really need to go." Jack explained in an apologetic tone.
"Of course it's fine." Kate said and smiled at him.
Kate noticed the girl sitting alone on the steps the moment she walked out of the building. She approached her slowly and then called out to her hoping not to startle her.
"Carly is everything okay?" Kate asked.
"I think my dad forgot he was supposed to pick me and my sisters up." Carly sighed.
"Where are your sisters?" Kate asked.
"I don't know." Carly said sadly and quickly wiped away the tear that slipped down her cheek.
"It's okay honey, come on let's go find Mrs. Barrett and see if maybe your dad talked to her." Kate said and offered the girl her hand.
"Jordy was so scared today and if daddy forgot us she'll be so freaked out we'll never get her back to school." Carly said.
"I met your dad this morning Carly. He seems like he's a busy man, but not one that would forget his children." Kate offered.
"I guess." Carly said sadly and shrugged her shoulders.
Kate walked with the girl to Mrs. Barrett's classroom, managing to get there just as she was locking the door to her classroom.
"Carly is everything okay? Why are you still here?" Mrs. Barrett asked.
"My dad was supposed to pick us up." Carly said.
"Oh honey your dad's office called earlier and asked us to make sure you girls rode the daycare bus after school, did you not get the message Ms. Austen?" Mrs. Barrett asked.
"No, I didn't. I'm sorry Carly." Kate apologized.
"I'm not on the daycare bus list this year. He probably forgot to mention that when he called." Carly said.
"He probably did honey. I'm sorry, but you know your dad didn't mean to forget and he's going to feel awful about this." Mrs. Barrett said.
"I know." Carly agreed.
"Come on, let's go to the office and see if we can reach him." Kate said.
"We can't reach him. I already sent him four text messages so he's probably in surgery or he would've answered me by now." Carly said.
"Well, I would be more than happy to give you a ride home or to the daycare where your sisters are." Kate offered.
"I guess where my sisters are." Carly sighed.
Kate and Carly rode in silence to the day care, the child obviously very disappointed and not in the mood for idle chatter. Kate heard the girl's cell phone go off and looked over at her.
"Hi daddy."
"I'm okay, Ms. Austen is driving me to the daycare."
"I know you said I could go home, but I wanted to see if Jordy was okay. She had a rough day."
"I love you too."
Carly clicked her phone shut and looked over at Kate.
"He said to tell you thank you and that he will do so in person in the morning." Carly said.
"Well you tell your dad that's not necessary. It was my pleasure." Kate said and smiled at her.
"You can just drop me at the door." Carly sighed and pointed at the front doors to the daycare.
"No honey, I think I should walk you inside and make sure they know you're here." Kate said.
"Whatever." Carly grumbled.
Kate parked her car and walked the disappointed child into the daycare. She spoke with the woman in charge, explained what happened and watched as Carly was greeted by her two younger sisters, amazed at how quickly the young girl's persona changed as she explained to her younger siblings that their daddy didn't mean to disappoint them. It was almost as if she'd gone from a disappointed to 12 year old to a responsible adult in the blink of an eye.
"They're really close." Kate commented.
"Oh yes, they're lovely children." The woman said.
Kate walked out of the daycare and sat in her car for a moment. She didn't know what, but there was something sad about those three little girls, something just below the surface and she wondered if the busy man she'd met that morning disappointed them often.
"Mind your own business Kate." She mumbled and backed out of her parking space.