Jack walked through the door of his house and what he sees makes him stop in his tracks and his blood runs cold.

A canine with a thick black coat and well defined mahogany markings barked savagely at him, slobber flying out of his mouth.

Jack's back instantly became glued to the door, to scared to move let alone blink.

He never feared dogs unless they gave him a reason to. In Detroit, most dogs he seen were Rottweilers and Pitbulls, but he never went near them unless they were trained.

But this Rottweiler didn't know him and Jack didn't know it, and he most likely wasn't trained nor was he a puppy. This was a full grown beast.

"Selena!" Jack yelled, anger taking over the fear in his voice. His body jolted when the dog barked again.

Selena came down the stairs in a grey jumpsuit and a loose plaid shirt hanging off her shoulders with a smile on her face as if nothing was wrong. "Hey baby." She then glanced at the dog and spat a command. "Down Grizzly!"

Grizzly? Wow.

Grizzly obeyed and rested on the floor, letting out a small whimper as his switched was flipped off.

Selena pecked Jack's jawline then smiled up at him. But Jack wasn't happy. He gritted his teeth. "You got a dog after I told you not too?"

Selena rolled her eyes. "The kids wanted one, so we went to the pound and got one. We were gonna get a puppy, but they wanted this one."

Jack grabbed Selena by her arm and walked down the hallway, avoiding the dog, then through the kitchen and into the living room.

"I don't give a damn if you wanted a puppy or not. I said no, why in the hell did you go against what I said?"

"Because I wanted a dog and so did the kids and majority rules so that's what we did."

"There isn't no damn majority rules in my house, Selena. Damn, why don't you ever listen?" He dragged his hand across his face, taking a quick pause before speaking again. "Get rid of the dog."

Selena scoffed. "I'm not getting rid of the dog, Jack. And I don't know why you're acting like you don't like dogs."

"That dog almost killed me when I walked in. Did you even stop to think about the kids and if they're safe with it?"

"Yeah, I did and the dog loves them."

Jack let out a tired sign and collapsed on the couch, putting a hand over his eyes. "Whatever, Selena."

Just then, Jack feels the couch heavily dip with loud panting next to him. He slowly removes his hand from his eyes to look at Grizzly then at Selena who mockingly grinned down at him with crossed arms.

"First off..."Jack began. "No dogs on the couch."

Selena snapped her fingers at the dog. "Grizzly, down." At the simple sound and command of her voice, the dog jumped to the floor.

"I don't want him on the bed and I don't want him in the kitchen."

Selena furrowed her brows. "You have to go through the kitchen to get to the living room."

"Well he can't lay in the kitchen."

"Fine." She shrugged, leaving the living room to the kitchen.

"Where are the kids?" Jack asked, taking a seat at the counter as Selena pulled things out to make a sandwich.

"Neighbors."

"Oh." Jack ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about the way he wanted to word what he was about to say before he failed and blurted it out. "I want another baby."

Selena's head snapped up from the sandwich she was preparing and looked up at him as if he just asked her what's two plus two. "Really?"

Jack smiled hard and wide. "Really."

Selena erupted in laughter making Jack's face go flat and unamused.

"I don't want another kid. I love our kids, but I can't do it again and I don't want to. And I'm not taking care of another by myself."

Just as Jack sucked his teeth, the doorbell began to ring nonstop. It jangled the both of their nerves immediately, the both of them letting out an annoyed groan.

Jack stepped down from the stool and made his way into the front of the house, answering the door. A woman, who lives across the street from them, continued pressing the doorbell until Jack cleared his throat and grabbed her attention.

"Oh, ." She straightened her back then smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt. "Um, I came to talk to you about an issue I have that is coming from your household."

Jack leaned in the doorway. "Yes ma'am, I'm listening."

He stared down at the middle aged woman with auburn thin hair and dark eyes that were insulted by deep dark circles living under them. He only met her once or twice the whole seven years he's been living there, but he was always gone, so he didn't know that many people around the neighborhood.

"Well I noticed that there has been a van or delivery truck coming by a lot to this house and it makes me feel uncomfortable, especially when I have five kids who are outside a lot. I just want to know if it's going to be a regular thing?"

Jack blankly looked down at her, not knowing of a van or truck. He pushed himself off the doorframe. "Just give me a second."

He turned around then walked down the corridor, stopping where the hallway meets the kitchen. "Sel, there's a lady at the door talking about some vans or trucks coming over here a lot. Do you know anything about this?"

Selena nodded. "I've been ordering a few things offline for me and the kids. Who is it?"

Jack shrugged. "I think her name is Stacey. She's the one with all the kids."

Jack and Selena didn't really talk to a lot of their neighbors. They kept to themselves as much as they could. The kids played with the kids of one neighbor, but that was it. Jack and Selena noticed that this was one of the neighborhoods that had a lot of drama going on, so they wanted to keep their kids away from that.

Jack followed Selena to the front door where Stacey impatiently bounced her leg with her arms folded over her chest.

Selena shot her a polite smile. "Hi, what's the problem here?" She asked.

Stacey inhaled harshly through her nose, but managed a courteous tone. "Well see, I have a problem with delivery vans coming in and out of my neighborhood. And I'd like to know what exactly are they delivering?"

Selena's blinked her eyes a few times as she cocked her head back. She glanced up at Jack who was looking at floor with a small smirk on his face, shaking his head.

She let out a small laugh as she fixed her eyes back on Stacey. "I don't think that really concerns you, ma'am. What I buy offline is my personal business. I don't mean to be rude to you or anything, but it's not your concern."

Stacey's chin jutted and now her polite tone was now gone. "I don't want my kids playing outside when mysterious vehicles come around here. Maybe you should start buying things at the store instead of ordering from offline."

"Ma'am, I'm trying really hard to be civil with you, but you're making it impossible. Like I said before, it's my own business and I'm not cutting back on my shopping just cause of your paranoia. If it's such a problem then keep your children out of the street. It's very much free to mind your business and watch your children while they're outside if it's that big of a deal."

Stacey's jaw dropped as she held a hand over her heart. "Excuse me, but I don't pay bills in my house just for someone across the street to tell me what I should do with my children."

"And I don't pay extra to have my things shipped just for someone from across the street to tell me where I can and can't have my things delivered. And I'm not telling you what you should do, I'm simply suggesting."

"You young people have no respect for your elders these days. It's disgraceful."

"I did have respect for you until you took advantage of that because you're an elder. I respected you until you gave me a reason not to. And you are not that old, so you can't use that as an excuse...I have kids as well but I'm not over at your house bothering you, now am I? No, I'm not. So please, see your way off my property. Thank you and have the day you deserve."

The last thing Selena saw was Stacey's jaw dropping again before she shut the door, tired of the back and forth with her.

Jack grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her close. "You are so sexy when you're mad." He kissed her lips before pressing her against the wall, his fingers pulling down one of the straps of her jumpsuit.

They kissed for a long moment until the the door swung open and the kids walked in panting and wiping the sweat off their foreheads.

Selena pushed Jack off of her just as Dylan turned around to see them. "Dad, were you kissing mom?" He faked shuddered. "That's gross. Girls have cooties."

Jack laughed. "Even your mom?"

Dylan glanced at his mother who was playfully scowling at him then furiously shook his head before waving his hand towards him, telling Jack to come down to his level.

Jack crouched down and leaned in close.

Dylan cupped a hand on the side of his mouth then whispered, "Even mom, but don't tell her I told you or she'll take away ice cream."

Jack dropped his head and chuckled before looking over his shoulder up at Selena who shook her head with a smile.

He looked back at Dylan and nodded decisively. "I won't tell her. I'll keep it between you and me." Jack then grabbed Naomi who was standing off to the side and stood up with her. "Hey babygirl."

Naomi pecked his cheek. "Hey daddy. Mommy put me in ballet today. It was so fun!"

Jack smiled. "Was it?"

She nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"Well, whenever you have a recital, I'll be there to see you dance."

Selena put a hand on Dylan's back and led all of them into the kitchen. "Are you two hungry for lunch?"

The both of them cheered in unison. Jack took his seat once again on the stool and grabbed his sandwich, sliding it over to Naomi. "Here Nye, you can have mine."

Naomi raised her eyebrows. "You don't want it daddy?"

Jack shook his head. "Your mom will make me another one. You can have this."

Dylan slammed the palm of his hand onto the counter and groaned, slumping over as he placed his forehead on the counter.

Selena curiously eyed him as she put a slice of turkey on the bread. "What's wrong with you, Dyl?"

"I wanted dad's sandwich. I'm so hungry." He whined.

Jack let out a sign. "Dylan, you're a man right?"

Dylan sat up and nodded up at Jack, absolutely sure of himself.

"Then know it's a man's job to protect women all the time and make sure they're good before anyone. Always feed women and kids first. Always make sure they're safe and okay. It's our jobs as men to provide and give to women. Okay? They are one of the reasons while we're all here. They're the most precious in this world and we have to protect them at all cost. Understand?"

Dylan nodded. "I understand."

Selena put Dylan's sandwich on a napkin and slid it over to him. He then looked at it and slid it over to Naomi. "Here, you can have my sandwich. I'll wait until you're done eating to eat."

Jack laughed along with Selena. "Woah, Nye already has a sandwich. You can eat yours. It's okay." Jack said.

"Mom, didn't have one yet." Dylan then offered it to Selena. "Momma, you want my sandwich?"

Selena chuckled, preparing the next sandwich. "No baby. You go ahead and eat. Thanks for asking though. It's very manly of you." She winked at Dylan making him laugh softly.

Selena handed Jack his sandwich just as the house phone began ringing. She walked over to their phone that sat on a counter by the wall.

She took it off the hook and held it between her ear and shoulder as she began putting everything back in the fridge. "Hello?"

Jack watched as Selena froze and her eyes went wide. She uttered a few words, but he couldn't really make them out. Then she spoke clearly, "He isn't here right now and I'm not sure if he would want to speak to you."

Then there was a long pause then she said, "Don't call anymore, if he wants to talk then he'll call you."

Selena then hung up the phone and noticed that the kids were done eating. "Kids, go play. I need to talk to your father." She took their napkins, throwing them away as Jack helped Naomi and Dylan down from the stools.

As the kids ran out the room, Jack raised his brows at Selena. "What's wrong?"

Selena took in a deep breath before speaking. "It was your dad. He said your mom died and he wants to talk to you. Your biological mom, I mean."

Jack's jaw clenched and other than that, he showed no emotion, not that any flooded through his body anyways.

"Do you want to talk to him?"

Jack shook his head. "No...No, I don't. He's not my father and I could give a damn about her." He shrugged loosely as if it didn't matter.

Jack stepped off the stool and kissed Selena's cheek. "I'm gonna take a drive, I'll be back soon." He took the keys off the hanger then slammed the door behind him as he left the house.