Thefirstdayofschool.
"Can you brush my hair?" Evelyn stopped, looking back at her youngest son. He was a picture of innocence. His hair slightly ruffled, eyes wide and wanting and hands clutching protectively at his backpack. His first backpack. Jack always seemed eager to tell. One of the first things he had told Evelyn was about school. The way he spoke about it was in the same way someone would speak of some kind of lover lost. As if he had been the only person to ever experience it. He had spent a whole car ride talking about how happy he was to go to school. How his teacher's never liked him at his old school because he was always late. How happy he was to go to a new school. How the teachers always treated him weird. How the only backpack he had, had been taken away from him. How his dad had told him that "nothing was free" and that she didn't want him taking from strangers. He could talk about school forever and she would just let him talk.

She would soon learn that Jack refused to talk about many things from his past. If you wanted to know you would have to find his case. That didn't even really tell the whole truth though. Just the things the doctor's could tell. The things the social workers could see. Reality and what Jack saw as had always been two completely different things.

Evelyn folded her arms, turning away from her oldest son to tend to her youngest. She bent down, cupping his face in her hands. "So handsome," she remarked, messing his hair up more, "you're growing up too fast for my taste," he didn't notice how Evelyn's eyes were watering up. How Bobby turned around slightly so he didn't have to face the kid.

He had stolen all of their hearts.

So adorable. So easily hurt.

"He's only seven," Bobby kept his voice tight. He kept his teeth gritted so it wouldn't betray his true feelings.

Evelyn ignored him. "Of course I'll brush your hair sweety. Sit down," she instructed. She kept her eyes away from Bobby's. She could see him moving. Trying to make her look at him. Trying to make her talk to him.

"How do you want it?"

"Messy," he looked up at her, on the couch, already excited.

"Um...it is messy sweety,"

He looked up at her before jolting up. "You make my lunch?"

"Yep. It's on the table,"

He ran in to grab it.

"Ma..."

"Not now Bobby," she shot him a stern look before following Jack into the kitchen.

"What's this?" he looked quizzically at the lunch box, setting the back pack down to examine it. He ran his fingers over the surface of the new object.

"A lunch box. See that way you can keep up with all of your lunch," she rested her hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. If his eyes could widen anymore, they did. Something was wrong. Just that fast. Just like that. It was the way Jack operated. His "doctor" had told them that he just had to get his feelings under control. Figure out right and wrong for himself.

"What if someone takes it?" he mumbled, his bottom lip slightly pouted.

"No one's going to take it honey,"

"What if he takes it?"

Jack talked about him a.k.a.: he frequently. He never used his name. Sometimes he would call him dad but that had fallen out of favor with Jack.

"You don't have to worry about him anymore Jack. I already told you this," Bobby leaned against the door frame and Evelyn checked her wrist watch.

"Oh we have to go!" she grabbed Jack's small hand and his back pack.

"Bye Bobby!" he yelled behind him as Evelyn pulled him out the door to make sure they caught the bus at the counter.

"Have fun," he mumbled, watching Evelyn as she watched Jack running to the bus.

She turned around, her bottom lip stuck in between her teeth.

"Can you not tell him that you're moving out today? I want his first day of school here to be special," she turned back, waving to the yellow bus.

"It's already special ma. Did you see the way his eyes lit up when he saw his lunch box?"

"Why are you doing this? He's come to expect you Bobby. He's come to expect things. They have to stay the same way. That's like me taking away his dinner and expecting him to keep on getting better,"

"He needs food to live–"

"Why are you moving out?"

"Ma..."

"Why? When he's gotten so used to–"

"Because I can't let him down,"

Bobby just remembered that they were still outside. That she was still angry at him. That they had just watched a seven year old Jack going off to his new school. New life. New conflicts. No more of "hey I gotta run some errands, you wanna come?" or "Ok you can stay up a little longer,"

"He's not like Angel or even Jer. He needs someone like you. Not me. He doesn't need a man to come in and tell him the rights and wrongs and how to grow up. He needs a soft hand to come in and tell him that it's all going to be alright,"

"Why can't you be that soft hand?"

"Because I'm not. You've seen. How many times have I made him cry by just..yelling? Not even at him. Just yelling. How many times?"

"It's fine. He's just coming around,"

"I can't do this ma. I want kids of my own some day. I want to settle down some day,"

"Jack is your son just as much as he is mine," she was soft again. Gentle. And no matter how many times he had watched her work this same magic on Angel and Jerry and even Jack, he couldn't help but to not believe her.

"I don't know how t o help him," he added, with Evelyn walking back inside of the house.

"Well..that's hard to believe because you already have so much,"

She smiled and he ran the thought around in his mind. He liked the way it sounded. Even if Jack had a different perspective, he liked that one. Maybe he could help Jack more than he had thought.

AN: I plan on this being a part of a series of pre-movie vignettes. Hopefully it was enjoyed. Thanks for reading and please review.