Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback. I apologize- this is a very short chapter but I'll be back very soon with chapter five, which will be much longer! Hope you enjoy! Keep R&R-ing!!!
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Jack followed Pacey's Jeep to his and Joey's home. Throughout the drive, he thought about nothing other than his daughter who was in that house, playing with her best friend without a care in the world, and believing that she had nothing to worry about. How was he going to tell this little girl the truth? How could he shatter her perfect world? He and Doug had been raising Amy for seven years now- Jack could hardly believe it- and in all that time, they had managed to keep their little girl healthy and happy. But now … now everything would change.
As soon as she opened the door, Joey pulled Pacey and Jack into a loving embrace. She backed away and looked at them both, a hand on each of the two men's shoulders. "I just- I can't believe this. This is unreal."
Pacey reached out a hand and stroked his wife's hair tenderly. "It's gonna be alright, Jo. It is."
She lead them into the living room where two little girls immediately jumped up from their game of Candy Land, both squealing, "Daddy!"
Kelly ran into Pacey's arms. When his own daughter ran up to him, all Jack could do was hold Amy close.
"Where's Doug?" she asked right away.
Jack smiled gently at hearing Amy speak Doug's name. Most of the time, she called both of them "Daddy" but in situations where she needed to be specific or decipher between the two of them, she used their first names. "We're going to talk about that in a bit. OK, Angel?"
Amy nodded, looking at him with fearful eyes.
The three grown-ups sat in the kitchen for an hour, speaking in hushed tones as they discussed the situation and made plans. Through it all, Jack still could not believe this was happening. This morning his life was all he had ever wanted and now he was discussing things like hospital visitations to the man he loved and where his Last Will and Testament was, just in case.
After the conversation, Jack called work to let them know he was taking some time off. At 8:21 that evening, he stepped back into the living room and faced his daughter once more.
"Amy, hon?"
She looked up at him.
"We gotta get going."
"But what about Doug?"
"I'll explain it to you when we get home. Let's just get going, OK Amy?"
She nodded reluctantly and got up from her game. Within five minutes, they were out the door.
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When they got in, Jack asked Amy to get ready for bed. He made her a mug of hot cocoa and brought it up to her bedroom. He sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her as she took a tentative sip. Jack took in his daughter's sweet little figure, sitting cross-legged on her bed in her Powderpuff Girls pajamas. Her flat nose, her round face, her hazel eyes … her blonde ringlets, just like her mother's … Christ, Jack! Enough sad thoughts for one day!
"Amy?" He spoke in what he believed to be a calm, reassuring tone.
"Yeah?"
Jack felt a pang as he recalled the conversation about that very word that they had had that morning. "I need to talk to you about where Doug is."
Amy put her mug down on her night table and looked at her father. "You look so serious, Daddy."
Jack smiled gently. "Well, what I'm about to tell you is- it's very serious, Angel. Doug isn't here because he's in the hospital, baby."
Amy's eyes grew wide. "Why?"
Jack sighed and took his daughter's small hand into his own. "Daddy got hurt while he was working. Some bad men- robbers- went into the grocery store and they were trying to steal money from it. Someone called the police and Doug was the first one to get there. He was trying to arrest the robbers but-" Jack's throat constricted suddenly and it took every bit of his will-power to force himself to get a grip. He needed to be strong for his daughter. "The men had guns, Amy. Two of them sh- shot Daddy. One of the bullets hit him in the leg and one in the chest. Doctors have been working on him all day and he's doing really well, now, angel. I just need you to know- to understand- that those bullets hurt him really badly and even though he's doing better now, he might still get worse."
Amy stared at him, tears cascading down her cheeks. Jack pulled her close and held his daughter as she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Bu-but no!" she wailed. "It's not fair! W-why did they hurt daddy? It's not fair! I hate those- those evil robbers!"
"I know, baby, I know," he whispered into her ringlets. Jack sat there rocking and holding his daughter for a long time, hating the people that did this to his man and to his daughter's other parent. He hated them more than Amy could ever conceive.
When Amy had finally cried herself to sleep, Jack laid her down gently and tiptoed out of the room. He went downstairs and poured himself a scotch. He sat on the back deck of their home, looking out on the calm beach, trying to clear his mind.
At some point, he gave up and retreated to his bedroom. Only, for as long as he had lived here, it was not only his bedroom, it was the bedroom that he and Doug had shared. He changed into flannel pants and a t-shirt and crawled under the covers. He lay on his right side, then his left, then on his stomach, then his back. Tossing and turning, Jack realized that he was never going to get comfortable. Not as long as he was alone in this bed made for two. It was the bed where he and Doug had made love so many times, where he and Doug held each other every night. He finally accepted defeat and waited for the gray morning to arrive. He wished the emptiness would disappear.