A month and a half later, after Andy and Jack had been trying to get pregnant with no luck, they decided to momentarily give the trying process a break. They figured that it would just happen for them when the time was right and right now might have just not been the right time for them and that was okay. Neither said a word about it as they drove back to the house at two in the morning from a houseboat party that Dean had hosted. "Looks like B-shift is busy tonight", Andy yawned as they pulled to the side to let the engine go down their street.
"I'm glad we're off for a day tomorrow. Maybe we can take a little drive to Lake Washington and have a picnic there?", Jack wondered as Andy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She broke away however when she saw the lights of nineteen's engine across their street and near their house. "Oh my God", Jack muttered as he noticed it too. The fire wasn't coming from their house but their neighbor Jenna's house. "Can't they just have a break?", he questioned as the flames from the house and the lights from the engines lit up the whole street. "Can't they just have one good thing happen to them?"
Andy stared at the house as the orange flames shot up from the roof and out through windows which they could hear breaking from the heat. "I don't see the kids or Jenna for that matter. Where are they?" Andy panicked as she and Jack parked the Jeep haphazardly in the driveway and ran towards Jenna's house at an almost superhuman speed. They ran faster than ever, screaming the kids' names as they went. "Ok good, all three of the kids are by the mailbox and neither of them look injured", Andy pointed out when she saw all three kids huddled under a mylar blanket. Their faces were illuminated by the light and they looked nothing short of confused and petrified. Finch was talking to Rowan when Andy and Jack walked over. "Rowan, what's going on buddy?", Andy questioned as calmly as possible while he looked up at her with tears in his eyes.
"I...I didn't get her. I went back for DJ but I just couldn't get her. She...she was in her room and the door was blocked. I couldn't get her", he stammered, still very much shocked by what had happened. Part of him couldn't even believe that the fire and everything was real and it just seemed like another nightmare. "Jenna left the stove on. She worked a double shift at the hospital and was tired, but still wanted to make us dinner. I should have paid attention and I should have told her just to order pizza but I didn't. It's all my fault, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry", he sobbed as Andy went over and pulled him into a hug while Amelia and DJ ran towards Jack.
Andy took a deep breath, "Rowan, honey, it's not your fault. Who didn't you get?", she pressed in a loving tone as she wiped away tears with her thumb. "You're not in trouble Rowan, who didn't you get? Is Jenna still in there?"
"Yes. I'm really sorry", Rowan cried as Andy and Jack looked at each other and then back at Rowan. "She's probably dead and it's all my fault", Rowan added, looking up at Jack and Andy.
Jack got down to his level, "Woah, woah, let's not jump to conclusions bud. I'm going to go find some answers. A few of my friends are over there so I can find out, that way I can tell you. I'll be right back, I promise. Okay?"
"Okay", Rowan sniffled as Andy hugged all three kids close to her while watching Jack go over to McAllister who was serving as incident command. "I hope they find her Andy", he stated as Andy wrapped her sweater around all of them to keep them warm. Rowan looked back towards the house and grabbed DJ's hand who in turn grabbed Amelia's hand.
Jack walked over to the truck and rolled his eyes when he saw McAllister directing the B-Shift. He knew how McAllister could be with things like this. As soon as Jack got towards the patio where McAllister was, McAllister shook his head and pointed to a black body bag on the floor. "You're supposed to be off duty Gibson. This is an active scene, stand down", McAllister warned.
"Stand down? No, I may be off duty but I have Jenna's kids over there, one of which is terrified that his adoptive mother is dead. I need a status report and I need it now", Jack insisted as he felt the very real flashbacks from 2002. He could almost hear Samantha and Marco calling for help and a younger version of himself screaming when he realized that there was quite literally nothing more he could do. McAllister stood there, shocked as he glanced at the kids by the mailbox. "Are you going to give it to me or am I going to have to get my captain involved? If my memory serves me correctly, you and her aren't exactly on the best of terms", Jack questioned, more impatient this time. He didn't have time for McAllister's games.
McAllister stood there stone faced while Jack listened to the kids crying from afar, "Are you threatening me? I asked you to stand down. You're off duty and your captain is too. This isn't your scene Gibson"
"Fine, I'll stand down. After I get my status report on Jenna Somersworth", he compromised, not looking too happy about it. However, with a raging inferno in the background, it didn't seem like the time or place to start an argument. Besides Andy would only have to deal with the fall out from it and he did not want a lecture from her. "Is she alive? At least give me that. Her kids are standing right over there and their father died not too long ago so I really need to know if I get to tell them that she's okay or if I have to tell them that she died", he pressed angrily before turning his head to see two men zipping up a black bag on the patio. "That's not her is it?"
McAllister sighed, "The oldest kid over there is a hero having both of his siblings out by the time we got here. He said that the entire front of the house backdrafted, otherwise he would have gone back in for his mother". Jack was heartbroken and didn't know what to make of what he was hearing just yet. Rowan had collected all of his siblings and got them to safety much like he had all those years ago. McAllister continued, "She tried to jump out the second story window up there but landed on the patio. I wish I had better news". McAllister and Jack stared at each other for a good second, unsure of what to say or do next. For a change, McAllister was actually sounding sympathetic instead of like a 'rules are rules' robot like he usually did.
"I wish you did too", Jack muttered trying to ignore the tidal wave of flashbacks that were flooding his mind. How eerily similar this situation was to his own as he looked at Rowan, DJ, and Amelia. "Please do me this favor and I'll be out of your hair. Put the body in the aid car and let Andy and I call social services. We are very close family friends of Jenna's. In fact, we're the closest thing Jenna had to family. Neither Jenna or her husband had any other family and their kids are adopted", Jack mentioned as McAllister nodded reluctantly and agreed to the plan. Jack ran his fingers through his hair. This wasn't happening tonight. Not to these kids after they had just lost Carl a few months ago.
Jack ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily as he walked back to the kids. Andy handed him Amelia while he got down on the boys' level. "Jenna needs to go to the hospital, so you guys are going to come with us", he explained, not wanting to get into the details yet of Jenna's death. It was two in the morning, Amelia was petrified, Rowan was angry, and DJ as always didn't know how to feel anything other than sad.
Andy gave him a knowing look before turning her attention back to the kids, her heart was breaking but she needed to be strong like Jack was for the kids. She squeezed his free hand, silently letting him know that she was there for him too.
"Is Jenna okay? Did they find her?", DJ asked as all three kids looked at Jack with eyes pleading for him to say something positive.
"They found her but she needs to go to the hospital, and no you guys cannot go with her", he explained as he stood up with Amelia sniffling in his arms.
"Where'd she go?", Amelia asked with eyes filled with tears.
Jack didn't answer her as Andy held both boys' hands. "We're going to wait across the street for a little while okay? Then in the morning we'll talk", he assured the kids as they walked across the street and into the house.
Andy went upstairs to get them settled into a guest room and into their spare pajamas they had there while Jack stayed downstairs to call the social worker and let her in. After getting all of the kids to sleep, Andy went downstairs to make a few cups of coffee and join him for the conversation that unbeknownst to them, would change their lives forever. She could see him putting a crazy amount of effort into making their house presentable. The empty wine bottle on the dining room table got tossed in the trash and the laundry basket by the stairs got thrown in the laundry room. Andy pressed the button on the coffee machine and began cleaning the kitchen counter as best and as quickly as she could. She paused and smiled when she watched Jack put the cups from their wedding china on the table.
He looked back at her and gave her the same look that she was giving him. "I know that you know what I'm thinking", he told her
"I always know what you're thinking. Since when does that surprise you?", Andy asked. "You're cleaning the house like your life depends on it because you're thinking about applying for an emergency foster license for all three of them", she read while he nodded in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing. I don't want these kids going back from being tossed around from home to home anymore. Jenna said that DJ and Amelia came in the middle of the night with their clothes in a garbage bag", Andy reminded him as she got the coffee and poured it into the cups. "She said that Rowan was happy when she adopted them because it meant he didn't have to worry about getting split up anymore. He was so depressed when they weren't with him"
Jack shook his head, thinking back to his own past with the broken system which was even more broken now than when he was a kid. "You know it. We can't let them go back", he explained as they heard the doorbell ring. He hoped that the sound wouldn't wake up the kids, more specifically Amelia who already had a tough time going to sleep. "Can you get that?", Jack asked as he put a plate of pastries on the dining room table. He wasn't quite sure what to serve someone who was going to decide if he and Andy could take in the kids or not.
"Sure", Andy smiled as she went to get the door. "Hello, come on in", she greeted the social worker as she stepped into the house.
"I'm Erica Kwan. I'm the kids' social worker. You guys must be Jack and Andrea Herrera Gibson?", she asked as she outstretched her hand for Andy to shake.
Andy shook Erica's hand and led her into the dining room, semi-shocked that she knew who they were already. She exchanged a look with Jack who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Uhh, thanks. You can call me Andy. Wait a second, you know our names?"Andy asked, a tad caught off guard.
Erica smiled and nodded, "Yes. Mrs. Somersworth talked to me at length about you and Jack. Did she tell you guys anything about the plan she made for the kids after Mr. Somersworth passed?"
"What plan?", Jack wondered as he thought back to the conversations with Jenna after Carl died. She had been running back and forth from both jobs and had mentioned something a few weeks prior about telling them something important but never got around to it. "What did she say?", he asked, slightly concerned.
Erica sighed as she pulled a piece of paper out of her folder and handed it to Jack and Andy. "It's her will. She gave me a copy of her will after Mr. Somersworth died. She said that you guys knew about it", Erica informed them as Jack and Andy looked at eachother, puzzled. "She wrote here that she wants you two to be the next of kin for her kids if anything should happen to her. Mrs. Somersworth was very well prepared", Erica told them as Jack read through the papers, taking in every last word.
"Yeah, I see that", he answered as their names stared back at him. Part of him wondered what Jenna was thinking when she declared that it was a good idea for two childless firefighters to take on the role of parents to three kids under the age of twelve. For a split second, he also wondered what he and Andy were thinking when they thought of applying for an emergency license to foster all three of the kids. Then he remembered that something about it just felt right.
"Jenna worked two jobs to make ends meet. She didn't have time to tell us about a will", he explained. "I'm sure she would have if she had a minute, but if we're being real here, she never even had a minute to herself. Her time was either spent at work or with her kids"
Erica sighed as she grabbed her folder and stood up, "If this is too much for you guys I can take the kids back with…..", she started only for Jack to cut her off after receiving a nod from Andy. He watched her mouth, "Let's do this", and that was all he needed to hear to reassure him that they were doing the right thing. They were doing this whether they were ready or not. Erica was looking a little impatient and it kind of annoyed him how ready to move on with this case she was, but it wasn't anything unfamiliar to him.
"It's a surprise, not too much", he huffed as Erica sat back down. "Where do we sign?"
Erica looked at him perplexed, almost as if she didn't hear what he said. She hadn't come across many couples that were as ready to adopt on a whim as them. "You can come by the courthouse on Tuesday. Are you sure about this? Three kids is a lot to take on", she reminded him. "Especially for a young couple who have never had kids"
Jack brushed her off and snapped, "These aren't just any three kids. These are three kids that Jenna trusted us with. Our friend Jenna. If Jenna had enough faith in us to raise her kids I don't know how I could ignore that. As someone who came from that incredibly broken system, I am not sending three kids under the age of twelve back into it". Andy saw that he was all fired up about the kids and grabbed his hand and squeezed it for support.
"And neither will I", Andy agreed as a smile crept to Erica's lips.
"Very well then. Let's talk about what happens next in the process then and get the ball rolling on the adoption shall we?", Erica asked as Andy and Jack readily agreed. After about thirty minutes of paperwork and talking to Erica about the next steps in the process of adopting all three Somersworth kids, Erica went home and Andy and Jack went upstairs to bed. What was supposed to be a relaxing night, had now turned into a tiring morning and it was only 4am.
They popped their heads into the guest room where all three kids were snuggled next to each other. Rowan was in the middle with a protective arm around both DJ and Amelia. Jack put his arms around Andy's waist and leaned in to kiss her. "What did we just do?", he wondered as the last two hours came to register in his mind.
"I'm pretty sure we just became parents of three", Andy chuckled, "Oh my God, we're parents"
Jack shook his head as they started down the hallway to their room. "Do we have any idea how to raise three growing kids? A preteen, a first grader, and a preschooler?"
"Absolutely not. But we'll figure it out like we always do. My dad did it by himself after my mom left and I turned out alright", Andy chuckled. "Now imagine what we can do between the two of us"
Jack smiled as they both climbed into bed, "I love it when you're right. What are we going to do about work? I think we should take a few personal days to get Jenna's arrangements worked out and be with the kids to help them grieve. It's going to be hard on them. Carl and now Jenna, I can't even believe it"
"Lets FaceTime Maya and ask her for a few days off", Andy suggested as Jack agreed and called Maya. Andy's face lit up as Maya's unimpressed expression filled the screen. "Hey Maya!", Andy grinned
Maya rolled her eyes and squinted at the light from her phone. "It's four in the morning. You guys better have a good reason for calling", she muttered as Jack and Andy tried to think of the perfect way to tell her that she was going to be a pseudo aunt. "I'm waiting. You know, you guys interrupted my dream about Carina", she complained as Carina slept.
"That's more than I needed to know", Jack muttered. "Now, can Andy and I have a few personal days?", he asked as Maya shook her head. "Why not?"
Maya scoffed at him, "Because you guys don't need another sex vacation"
"What if it's not a sex vacation Maya?", Andy asked, trying to clue her in. Maya raised an eyebrow at her, silently urging her to continue on with her explanation. "Jenna's house caught fire tonight and she um, Jenna died. She left a will we didn't know about and put us down as the next of kin for her kids and Tuesday we're signing adoption papers", she stated swiftly and matter of factly, not giving Maya time to interject. "It's fast I know, but there wasn't much of a choice. We love those kids more than anything and they need us"
Maya shook her head, "Wait, back up for a minute. Let me get this straight, Jenna died? And you two just became parents? Just like that?"
"We're just as shocked as you, believe me", Jack explained. "So do you think we could have a few days off? We have Jenna's arrangements, a whole slew of meetings with lawyers and the bank, and their adoption hearing so we could really use the time to just be with them this week"
Maya smiled and yawned, "Take a week and a half. And if you need any help call me. Fun Aunt Maya is going to have a nice ring to it you know"
"Who said anything about you being Fun Aunt Maya?", Andy questioned as Maya laughed.
Jack rolled his eyes and smirked at Maya, "Who said anything about you being fun to begin with? You see, I see you more along the lines of Strict Olympian, Queen of the Clipboard Maya". Andy elbowed him in the ribs and he pretended to be hurt, rubbing the spot where she elbowed him. "Ow, okay, I'll stop"
"Nice one Gibson. But yeah, we can talk about it when I'm more awake. Text me if you need anything. Good luck you guys", Maya yawned as she hung up. Andy and Jack smiled at each other, thankful that the experience of telling Maya was easier than they thought it would be. They climbed into bed, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before the kids woke up with questions about what happened that night and more importantly what happened to Jenna. Neither Andy or Jack knew what to tell them, but they knew one thing was for sure and that was that they were going to give their kids the best life imaginable.
Andy laid her head on Jack's chest and smiled as she traced the collar of his shirt, "You know I love you right?"
"Oh Yeah? You do?", he asked as he reached up and touched her hand. "I can't even begin to thank you for agreeing to this even though it's going to turn our lives upside down"
"I know", she whispered as she snuggled closer to him while he put his arm around her. "I can't believe that I'm going to be a mom and you, you're going to be a dad. Do we even have any idea what we're doing?"
Jack leaned over and kissed her, "Nope. But we're doing the right thing. We're doing what Pruitt would have done"
"We're doing what my dad would have done", Andy repeated as she kissed him back. "In fact, doing this makes me love you even more"
"Forever and Always", he smiled as he kissed her and shut off the bedside light. "Goodnight Andy"
The next morning proved to be difficult with almost everyone sleeping in late. Andy was the only one up early to run to the store so she could buy a few outfits for the kids, at least enough to tide them over for the day since everything else had been lost in the fire. The kids were still sound asleep when she got back and stayed like that until around one in the afternoon when Jack passed by their room and heard DJ and Rowan talking. When they woke up, the kids were confused as to why they weren't in their own home and looked out the window only to see the burnt-out ruins of where their home had once been. Remembering what happened the night before, Rowan cried and DJ with him. Jack's heart broke as he heard the sound of the kids crying in the room while he and Andy paced outside the door, figuring out what to say. Finally, Andy took a deep breath and knocked on the door while opening it.
"Hey guys. Can we come in?", Andy greeted with a forced smile on her face, trying to hide the sadness in her voice for a minute. "Calm and collected. If you're not calm, they won't be calm", she told herself as she went over to sit down on the edge of the bed. "I think we need to talk about what happened last night", she expressed as a sleepy Amelia crawled into her lap.
DJ hopped down from the bed and pointed out the window to Jenna's house which was now nothing more than a burnt out shell with the windows boarded up. "Where's our house?", he wondered as Jack closed the curtains. "Was there a fire?", DJ asked as he sat back down on the bed beside Rowan who up until now had been eerily silent.
"I thought I dreamt that, but now I remember. I helped Lia and DJ out first. Then you said Jenna was going to the hospital. Is Jenna okay?" Rowan asked, a look of confusion filling his face. The whole experience almost seemed surreal to him. He had been so tired after the fire that he barely remembered how they got to Andy's and when they went to bed. "Can we visit Jenna?", Rowan asked as Andy covered her mouth while her eyes filled with tears. Rowan felt like he was going to be sick. Something was obviously very wrong and it seemed to him that the adults were beating around the bush. "What's going on? The last time you made that face, Carl died", he asked warily, pointing a finger at Jack.
Andy outstretched her arms for both Rowan and DJ as they went to sit on either side of her. "Come here boys", she started before taking a shaky breath. "During the fire, there was a lot of smoke. Jenna fell trying to get out and….", Andy started only for DJ to cut her off.
"Is she going to be okay?" DJ asked, "Are your friends fixing her?"
Andy choked back tears as she held the boys' hands as well as Amelia's, knowing full well that Amelia wasn't going to grasp the situation. For a two, almost three year old, the concept of death was going to go over her little head. Andy locked eyes with Rowan and DJ and sighed deeply, "Sometimes when we fall from a really high place, we don't fall the right way and our bodies get hurt. Sometimes our bodies can't get better", Andy explained as DJ gave her a puzzled expression.
Rowan, being eleven, knew a thing or two about death and wised up almost immediately. His whole body tensed as he shook his head, not wanting to believe what he knew was true. "No. No. No. This isn't happening. Jenna's not dead. You said she was going to the hospital and that she'd be fine!", Rowan yelled with tears in his eyes.
"Rowan buddy", Jack started, fighting back tears of his own. "Just listen to Andy. Please"
"I'm so sorry. Everyone did everything they could, but Jenna died last night. Jenna died and she's with Carl now. I'm so sorry", Andy explained as she was met with the boys and Amelia hugging her. After a few minutes of tears, Rowan dried his eyes and looked at Jack.
"Where are we going now? Are we going to the system again?" he asked. Andy could see the fear in his eyes and her heart broke for him. That shouldn't have to be his first thought. "Please don't send us back", he pleaded as he glanced over at Jack. Jack closed his eyes and exhaled. He knew the face Rowan was making, one of fear and uncertainty. He wore that face at Rowan's age and it was one of the factors that made him choose to apply for an emergency license before finding out about the will.
Jack shook his head and smiled bittersweetly as he knelt down to Rowan, DJ, and Amelia's level, "No one's going back into the system I promise. You guys are actually coming to live with Andy and I", Jack answered. "That is if you want to"
"For how long?" DJ asked, not familiar with the concept of adoption.
"How about forever?", Andy asked as DJ smiled. Amelia sniffled quietly while Andy ran her fingers through her hair. "Jenna wanted us to adopt you so she could make sure that you would never be taken out of our home. Are you guys okay with that?"
DJ snuggled close to her, "I guess so. Will I forget Jenna?"
Jack shook his head and smiled, "No buddy, of course not. We can do whatever you want to remember Jenna and Carl. Okay?"
"Is Jenna coming back?" Amelia asked, too young to understand the concept of death. When Carl died, Amelia was blissfully unaware that anything was wrong, but now a little older, she had questions like her siblings did. She was still too young yet to fully grasp what was going on.
Rowan sighed as he leaned over and hugged Amelia. "No Lia. She's never coming back", he explained as Amelia burst into tears.
"Why? I'm good", she promised as Andy and Jack looked at eachother, their hearts breaking in two. How were they going to explain this to her in a way that wouldn't scare her?
Andy opened her mouth to say something but Rowan stopped her. "I got this", he told them before turning to Amelia who had jumped off the bed and onto the floor where she sat, yelling "I want Jenna", at the top of her lungs. "Amelia. Amelia stop. If you're going to cry, I can't tell you where Jenna is", he told her calmly. "Lia, it has nothing to do with being good. Jenna is gone and she can't come back no matter how much we want her to. She's in heaven with Carl", he explained as she stopped for a minute and dried her eyes. She climbed back up into Andy's lap without a word while Andy stared dumbfoundedly at what just happened.
"Amelia honey, I know this must be so confusing and unfair and I get why you're upset. We're going to all get through this together okay? We're a family now", Andy explained as she rocked back and forth with Amelia.
Andy held all three kids in silence for a minute before Rowan broke it. " Andy, when Carl died, Jenna had us build a rock garden for him. Can we move the rock garden here and put Jenna's picture in there?" he wondered as Andy dried his tears and smiled at him.
"I think that's a great idea buddy. In fact we can do that today if you want. We can all do it", Andy answered tearfully as Rowan quietly thanked her.
Andy and Jack looked at eachother. The silver lining in all of this was the bright new beginning for not only Jack and Andy but the kids as well. They had a beautiful opportunity here to give three kids the life they deserved.