Author's Note: No, I didn't forget about this story. LOL I actually have about three other chapters fully written but life got in the way more than I expected. Plus, the lack of reviews has been discouraging to say the least. I'm not looking for sympathy or laying any guilt or stoking my own ego, I'm just trying to explain a little bit about how I feel. I might post one or two more after this, but if it doesn't pick up then I might consider putting this story on HIATUS. So if you are reading the story, please just drop a quick line (It was good; It sucked, blah blah blah) and let me know if you are still interested. Thanks guys! :)

That being over and done with, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
~JP

Family Imperfect
by Jaclyn Parker

"A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever."
~Unknown


Upon opening his eyes, Jack immediately noticed how dark the room had gotten since the time that he and Carly had fallen asleep after making love. With a glance at the clock, he noticed it was set to go off in less than two minutes and rubbed a weary hand over his face. He immediately winced as his hand came in contact with the bruise on his cheek and the cut on his forehead that he had sustained from the explosion earlier. Reaching over to turn off the alarm clock, he let out a slight gasp as muscles in his body that he hadn't used in years protested any movement whatsoever.

"Sonofa…" Jack muttered, thinking that the expression "hit by a Mac truck" was putting it lightly.

In the dim moonlight shining in through their bedroom window, Jack looked down to see Carly was still fast asleep in his arms. He smiled to see that the expression on her face was more peaceful and relaxed than he had seen it in weeks. Kissing her gently he extracted himself from the bed, pausing only momentarily as she mumbled something in her sleep before wiggling deeper under the covers.

Yanking on the previously discarded sweatpants and T-shirt, along with a pair of boxer briefs, he slipped out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. He wandered around for a few moments, turning on various lights in the house that had been neglected earlier such as the kitchen including the front porch light.

He had just finished making himself a fresh pot of coffee when the sound of car doors slamming shut and loud voices outside reached his ears. Sure enough the front door opened only moments later and the kids voices echoed in the living room, calling for him and Carly.

"Hey, guys, keep it down, okay? Your mom is still taking a nap." Jack said, coming out of the kitchen. He barely had time to place his hot coffee on the fireplace mantle before he found himself being launched at by his oldest daughter.

"Daddy, you're okay!" Sage cried, holding on to him for dear life and burying her face in his shirt.

"Of, course he is, Sage. We told you that." Molly spoke up from the front door.

She was putting the kids' backpacks on the floor with the help of Mattie, who had been in charge of the diaper bag. Lee had been in charge of carrying a sleepy looking Emmy in her carrier and when their eyes met, he sent Jack a guy nod that spoke of relief himself.

"I know, but…" Sage trailed off looking up into Jack's face. Her eyes took in the cuts and bruise on his face before sighing and squeezing him again.

Jack ignored the twinges of pain he felt as he bent over slightly and kissed the top of Sage's head.

"I'm fine, Baby. Mom is too." Jack said, softly.

"Good, cause you scared the hell out of us." Parker spoke up and Jack lifted his eyes to meet the faces of his two sons.

"I'm sorry. We should have called you right when we got to the station to let you know we were okay." Jack apologized.

He reached out and drew Parker and then J.J. into an individual one armed hug. While Jack knew they were too old to throw themselves at him like Sage had, when he felt the tension leave their bodies in that small hug he knew that it hadn't meant they were any less worried.

"It's fine, Dad." J.J. said, giving him his patented easy going smile. "We've just decided to implant you and Mom with those GPS chips that they have for pets."

"Only if we're allowed to do the same to you guys." Carly's voice came from the direction of the stairs and Jack felt Sage detach herself from him and hurl herself towards her mother.

"Mmmm, easy, Sweetie." Carly said, wincing as a flash of pain shot up her arm even as she continued to hold Sage close and kiss her hair.

"What's wrong?" Sage asked worriedly, pulling away and running her eyes over Carly's pajama clad body as if she had X-ray vision. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, honey, no. I just have a small cut on my arm but it's kind of sore right now. Otherwise, I'm fine." Carly assured her and accepted hugs from J.J. and Parker when they came over to her too.

"Seriously, didn't I tell you, not so long ago, never to scare me again?" Molly piped up, placing her hands on her hips.

Sage finally let go of Carly, who sent a small smile at her cousin as she walked over to hug her.

"Sorry, Cuz, won't happen again."

Molly hugged her hard and blew a strand of hair from her face when she pulled back, refusing to let the tears that shone in her eyes fall.

"Good." Lee chimed in, from where he had placed Emmy's carrier on the living room coffee table and gave Carly a gentle hug himself. "Cause when my wife is pissed…um…angry, then I usually end up paying for it, even when it's not my bloody fault."

"Welcome to the club." Jack said, smiling at Lee, and settling on the couch with his coffee again and Sage already folded into his side.

"Hey, it happens to married people too! What a relief." Parker said cheekily.

"Watch it, Yank." Mattie said, tucking a light pink blanket around the now sleeping baby in the carrier before standing up to glare at her boyfriend.

Parker raised his hands up in supplication before grinning and winking at her, reluctantly causing Mattie to roll her eyes and smile.

"Hey, Mom, can we watch a movie before bed? All of us?" Sage asked suddenly, her deep hazel eyes questioning.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Jack answered instead and Sage smiled at him before looking again at Carly.

"Mom? Is it okay?" She asked again.

"Hey, I just said it was okay. Doesn't my answer mean anything?" Jack said, frowning at his daughter.

"No."

The simple two-lettered word came from Parker, J.J., Sage, Molly, Lee, Mattie, and Carly practically simultaneously.

"Wow, okay then." Jack huffed, but a smile was being fought from emerging. "It's a good thing Emmy's asleep or else I'm pretty sure I would have been voted off the island."

"Huh?" Sage said, her brow furrowing in puzzlement.

"It's from the show Survivor." Jack said and Sage just shook her head.

"On CBS."

Again Sage just shook her head, the blank look still on her face.

"Sage, honey, there are other channels on the television than TeenNick, MTV, and the Disney Channel and…oh, forget it, I'm depressing myself." Jack muttered, admitting defeat due to the fact that his pre-teen daughter was staring at him like he had three heads.

Everyone laughed and Carly turned to Molly and Lee.

"You're welcome to stay if you want." She said, looked down at her pink and blue plaid flannel pajamas and then back at them. "Um, if you overlook the informal attire."

"No, that's okay. Spend some time with your kids. I'll call you tomorrow." Molly said, leaning over to kiss her goodbye and waving at the rest of the family.

"Take care, guys. We'll see you soon." Lee echoed as he also waved, motioning to Mattie.

The teenager nodded and quickly kissed Parker's cheek before heading over to put her coat on again. "I'll see you in 'prison' tomorrow."

At her uncle's stern look, Mattie rolled her eyes and gave an over exaggerated smile in Parker's direction.

"I mean, I'll see you tomorrow in that lovely brick building where we are receiving an excellent and proper education that will serve us on our continuous path of life." Mattie said, loftily.

She giggled loudly when Lee just groaned and grabbed her in headlock, playfully pushing her out of the door that he had held open. Molly followed her husband and their adopted daughter out into the night, tossing a final amused goodbye over her shoulder as she closed the door behind them.

"Wow, no wonder you guys are dating. She's as nuts as you." J.J. said teasingly to Parker.

"Hey, whoa, hey!" Carly said, stopping the fight she saw brewing at the instant Parker's hands curled into fists. "How about we pick that movie before it gets too late and I change my mind."

"Really?" Sage asked, excitedly.

"Yeah, why not? You guys did all your homework for tomorrow, right?" Carly asked and at their nods, she shrugged. "Okay then."

"Can we have popcorn?" Sage asked.

"Yes, a small bowl." Carly said, nodding.

"And soda?" Parker jumped in.

"One can, each." Jack replied this time to the query.

"And those left over pieces of Mississippi Mud Pie that Emma made?" J.J. finished, receiving a look from his brother and sister. "What? Come on, if they're being this agreeable than I'm going for the mother lode here."

Jack and Carly laughed and just simply nodded again. Apparently afraid that if they lingered their parents would change their minds, all three rushed towards the kitchen, leaving a slight breeze in their wake.

"Think we're being too soft?" Carly asked, bending over to unstrap Emmy and lift the sleeping baby onto her shoulder. As the familiar weight of her child settled against her, Carly's eyes closed briefly. She inhaled the soft, sweet smell that was Emma Rose Snyder and pressed her cheek to the baby's downy hair.

"Probably." Jack said, rising from the couch to walk over to her. He bent over and pressed his lips to their youngest daughter's head in a kiss. "But I think we need this family movie night just as much as they do."

Carly simply nodded and shifted Emmy higher up on her shoulder. She was about to say something when the sound of squabbling and something ceramic hitting the floor came from the kitchen.

"I'll go deal with that." Jack sighed, but laughter tinged his voice. "Why don't you put Emmy to bed?"

Carly rolled her eyes and quickly kissed him on the lips before heading to do just that. By the time she came back downstairs, the kids had somehow changed into their pajamas and the movie's opening credits were on the screen.

"Seriously guys, the new Star Trek…again?" Carly asked and was quickly shushed.

The silencing was led by Parker who was about as deep down in the armchair as he could be without becoming a piece of the furniture himself. Stepping over J.J., who was sprawled out on the floor in front of the couch, Carly settled onto the sofa on the other side of Jack, who once again had Sage curled into his side.

However, by the time the end of the movie rolled around, Sage had managed to crawl over her father and mother to spread out out on the one end of the couch with her head in Carly's lap, fast asleep. In fact, as into the movie as the boys had been in the beginning the look in their eyes read pure exhaustion as Jack stood, stretched, and turned the TV off.

Bending down he lifted Sage into his arms, waving off Carly's murmurings of how she was getting too old to be carried to bed. As the girl wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and snuggled close to him, he didn't feel any difference between her and when he carried Emmy in his arms or in his heart.

Carly kissed her daughter's cheek and then ushered the boys upstairs behind Jack and Sage, pausing only to turn the lights out behind her. She was startled to see both boys waiting for her in the upstairs hallway but her heart swelled at the soft and sleepy "I love you"s that they gave her, accompanied with a hug before they disappeared into their respective rooms. She was about to go into the master bedroom when she heard a noise that required her to make one more stop.

When Jack quietly left Sage's room from tucking her into bed, something deep inside told him that he wouldn't find his wife in their bedroom. Sure enough, upon opening the door to the nursery, he saw her holding a fussy Emmy up on her shoulder in the middle of the room.

Carly's eyes were closed as the rocked the whimpering baby and she was humming softly, a familiar tune that made him smile. She didn't startle or open her eyes when his voice sounded in her ear a moment later.

"I can't believe you remember that song. I don't think I've played it fully since the day we got married in Montana." Jack said and she felt his arms wrap around her and Emmy from behind.

"I remember, Jack." Carly answered softly and allowed Jack to support her weight as she leaned back into his embrace. "I remember everything about that day. I remember every time you ever sang to me…or held me…or loved me. Every memory of my life with you is ingrained in my soul."

"There are some things that I wish you didn't remember." Jack said just as softly, thinking of all the times that he had hurt her, no matter how unintentional.

"No, Jack." Carly said, fiercely even though she kept her voice low. She turned in his embrace, hugging Emmy to her and still rocking slightly as the baby fought falling back to sleep. "Those memories belong to me. They are mine, all of them; the good, the bad…and the beautiful."

Jack smiled down at her, the last of her words tugging one of his own memories of that Montana wedding day and the vows he spoke to her.

"The very," He bent down and kissed Emmy's head before moving up to Carly's lips and bestowing a gentle one there as well, "very, beautiful."

Jack wrapped his arms around them again and drew Carly into his chest so that Emmy was between them. He began to sway and hum, after a moment singing the words aloud quietly.

"Through the wrong, through the right, through the soul sacrifice, we have loved through the rise and the fall. And it's worth it all."

As Jack sang and they danced, Carly's eyes drifted closed again so she felt, rather than saw his one hand begin to rub tiny circles on Emmy's back like he always did when it was his turn to put her to bed. Almost immediately a soft contented sigh came from the baby and puffed out onto Carly's neck, tickling the skin below her ear. Even though they both knew that Emmy was asleep a few moments later, they continued to move in time to Jack's humming. Eventually, even that stopped until it became them swaying to just the sound of their daughter's gentle breathing.

The horror of the day hadn't been completely forgotten but, with their baby girl between them and their older children sleeping peacefully down the hall, Jack and Carly were content with making that moment into another beautiful memory.