In-between 2 -o- Brothers and Births
March 26, 2005
Sam opened the door and walked into the house of her best friend and smiled. There were baby books all over the coffee table and on the entertainment center. There were three bags full of what she assumed were baby things, all pink of course. Janet was at the end of her ninth month, and just about ready to pop. Daniel looked up at her as she walked in and smiled. He was under a halfway erected crib, parts lying all over the floor and what must be the instructions tapped to the wall next to where he was working.
"How's it coming?' Sam asked sitting down on the edge of the couch. Daniel scooted out from underneath it and sat up.
"Well it's harder then I thought it would be' Daniel said smiling at her as he wiped the dust out of his eyes. "I keep ending up with spare parts" he said shaking his head. "And Janet tells me that's not suppose to happen"
"Not usually no" Sam said smirking at him. "So is your lovely wife here somewhere?" She asked looking around the room.
"She's in our room" He said smirking. "The doctors put her on bed rest till the baby comes"
"Oh I bet she just loves that" Sam said smiling big at him.
"Yeah, well you know what they say about doctors being the worst patients?" He asked looking up the stairs to where Janet was. "It's true" He said nodding his head. Sam laughed and looked at the crib.
"Well I'll leave you to it' she said heading for the stairs.
"Oh hey" Daniel said walking over to her. "Could you take her this" He said handing her the baby book she had given them at the baby shower. "She wanted to write something down"
"Sure" Sam said nodding her head and taking the book. "Good luck with the crib" She said smirking at him.
"Thanks" He said walking back to the crib as she headed up the stairs. Sam knocked on the door and then opened it a little.
"Sam" Janet said smiling at her. "Thank God" She said sitting up a little. "I was getting so bored" She said setting down the TV remote. "Daniel brought this up here for me, so I could watch TV while I'm stuck in this bed"
"So how are you feeling?" She asked plopping down on the other side of the bed. Janet sighed and put her hands on her enormous belly.
"I'm good" She said smiling. "Cathy can't seem to hold still though" She said smiling.
"So you finally settled on a name huh?" Sam asked picking up the magazine on the table next to her.
"Yeah" Janet said nodding her head. "Daniel finally won me over with Catharine, he said he wanted to name her after the women who brought me into his life" Sam rolled her eyes and smiled.
"And you fell for that?" She asked smirking at her.
"What can I say, I'm a softy" Janet said smiling at her. "Do you want to hear her full name?"
"Sure" Sam said sitting up and smiling at her.
"Catharine Carter Jackson" She said smiling when Sam looked shocked.
"After me?" She asked looking down at Janet's belly. "That's so...so...sweet" she said smiling at her friend.
"I'm glad you think so" Janet said blinking a little.
"You tired?" Sam asked lying back again.
"Are you kidding me?" Janet said laughing. "When am I not tired nowadays?" Sam nodded her head and Janet looked down at Sam's left hand. It had been almost eight months since Jack asked her but it still felt new to see the ring on her finger. Sam closed her eyes and Janet wondered if something was wrong.
"Where are Jack and Kiara today?" She asked lying back as well resting her head on the pile of pillows.
"They're ...out" Sam said after a second.
"Out where?" Janet asked looking at Sam strangely.
"Jack took her to see...Charlie" She said after another second.
"Oh" Janet said nodding her head, she reached across the bed and took Sam's hand. "He'll be fine"
"I know" Sam said nodding her head. "I just worry"
"Don't we all" Janet said smiling a little at her.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Jack looked over at a very quite Kiara. She was holding a bundle of flowers she had picked from the back yard against her chest. She looked like she was thinking about something very hard; Jack had an idea what it might be but decided to wait for her to say something. Kiara was very smart for a seven year old and seemed to sense that the subject of Charlie was very hard on her father because she hardly ever asked about him. But two nights ago he had heard Sam and Kiara talking about Charlie.
-Two Nights Ago-
"Sam can I ask you a question?" Kiara asked as she climbed into bed. Sam smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Fire away kid" She said as Kiara got under the covers.
"It's about dad" She said like she wasn't sure if she should ask.
"It's ok" Sam said ruffling her hair "I'll tell you if I think I should, otherwise I'll tell you to ask him"
"Ok, that sounds fair" She said nodding her head and looking down at her hands. She was quite for a few seconds as she thought about her question. "Ok" She said nodding her head.
"I know that my brother, Charlie, he died before I was born" She said sounding like she was thinking about each word before she said them. "And I know it makes Daddy very sad, but I don't know why" She said looking down at her hands again then up at Sam. "And sometimes when daddy looks at me, I think...I think I make him sad, because I look like Charlie" She said looking into Sam's eyes.
"Oh Kiara" Sam said pulling her up onto her lap. "You don't make him sad" She said running her hand over her back. "It just makes him sad that you never got to meet Charlie, he was such a good kid, and your daddy loved him so much/
"Like he loves me?" Kiara asked looking up at her.
"Yeah" Sam said nodding her head. "Your daddy loves you very much"
"But why does he get sad sometimes?" Kiara asked looking down at her hands again.
"He's just sad that Charlie's not here to be with us" Sam said looking down at her. "Like how sometimes you're sad because you can't be with your mom"
"Oh" Kiara said nodding her head. "I miss her a lot, poor daddy, I wish I could have known him, I bet he was lots of fun" Kiara said looking up at Sam. Sam was glad; she thought Kiara might understand now.
"You ready for bed now?" Sam asked smiling down at her. Kiara nodded her head and scooted off Sam's lap.
"Thank you Sam" Kiara said smiling up at her. As Sam stood up Kiara laid her head on her pillow. "Sam?" She called before Sam walked through the door. Sam turned around and smiled at her. "Do you think I'll meet Charlie when I go to heaven?"
"Yeah, but that wont be for a very, very long time" Sam said turning out the light so that the little Mickey Mouse nightlight came on. "Good night"
"Good night" Kiara said thinking all this new information over in her head. Sam opened the door and walked out and into Jack. Jack had a slight frown on his face a Sam could see a small tear had run down his face.
"Hey" She said pulling him into a hug. Jack pulled away after a few seconds and smiled at her.
"I'm going to take her to see Charlie" he said taking a deep breath. Sam nodded her head and took his hand.
"Ok" She said nodding her head. "I'm sure she'd like that" Sam said leading them to their room. "She could take some of the lilies she planted with me" Sam said smiling at Jack who nodded his head.
"We'll go on Saturday" He said nodding his head.
-Now-
So that was how they ended up on their way to the cemetery Jack hadn't stepped foot in since the funeral. Jack was just as nervous if not more so then Kiara. Kiara looked from the window to the flowers and back out the window. Jack knew what she was thinking and wondered if she'd get the nerve to ask, he also wondered if he'd have the nerve to answer.
"Daddy?" Kiara finally said after about ten minutes of watching the scenery fly by. Jack looked over at her for a second; she had small tears in her eyes. It amazed him just how much she loved the brother she had never known.
"Yes Kiara?" He asked feeling her shift in the set next to her. It took about a minute before she said anything again.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked looking down at the flowers. "About Charlie?"
"Yes, of course you can" Jack said nodding his head as they pulled into the cemetery. Jack parked the car, because if this was the question he thought it would be he didn't think he should be driving. Kiara undid her seatbelt and turned to face him.
"How..." She trailed off a little and Jack knew he had been right about the question. "How did Charlie die?" She asked looking up at him through her eyelashes. Jack took a deep breath and undid his seatbelt as well. Kiara had only started wondering about this a few months ago when a friend of hers at school told her she had lost a brother to something called cancer and it started Kiara wondering how Charlie had died. Jack opened the car door and stepped out and Kiara watched as he walked around to her side and opened the door.
"Let's go for a walk" He said helping her down with the flowers. Kiara nodded her head and remembered yesterday when Jack had told her they were going to go see Charlie.
"But daddy" She had said. "How can we see him?" She asked.
"We're going to go to his grave" he had then gone on to explain what a grave was and why he was in it. Kiara now looked up at Jack as he took her hand. He hadn't answered her question yet and she wondered if he would. They walked for a few minutes, when they got to a small hill he stopped them at the bottom and sat down and patted the ground next to him. Kiara sat down and Jack took a deep breath.
"Kiara you remember the lock box in my closet?" He asked looking down at her. She nodded her head.
"It has your gun in it" She said wondering what this had to do with anything. Jack nodded his head at her and she continued. "And it's very dangers and I'm not aloud to touch it" She said remembering the talk they had every few months. Jack had decided early on to teach Kiara about the gun, how dangerous it was and that she should never touch it. When she was older he was going to teach her how to use it, so she'd never get curious and do something stupid.
"That's right" Jack said nodding his head. "I never had talks with Charlie about my gun like I do with you." He said sighing at his stupidity. "And one day he decided to go look at it. He...He took it out and...He..." Jack took a deep breath and Kiara took his hand. "He accidentally shot himself" Jack said closing his eyes to hold back tears. Kiara nodded her head even though Jack's eyes were closed.
"I'm sorry" Kiara said climbing up into his lap.
"Me too" he said with a small hitch in his voice. "He would have loved you" Jack said smiling a little at her. "I wish you could have met him"
"Me too" Kiara said leaning her head on his shoulder. "But I bet he does know me" Kiara said looking up at him. "He watches us from heaven, right?"
"That's right" Jack said nodding his head. "He does" Jack lifted her up and walked up the hill with her he stopped a few feet from the beautiful grave stone at the top. There was a small Angel looking up to heaven with a peaceful look on its face. The grave stone read-
Charlie Dale O'Neill
1986-1996
Our beloved son, taken too soon
Forever with the lord
Kiara looked up at Jack then back to the grave. He put her down on the ground and nodded at her. She walked over to the grave and put the flowers by the stone like Sam told her to. She looked back and Jack but he had his eyes closed. She looked back at the stone then up to the sky.
"Hi Charlie" She said barely above a whisper. "I'm you little sister Kiara" She said wondering what to say. Sam had told her before they let when Jack was getting showered that you didn't have to say anything but some people like to talk to the ones they've lost. "I know I've never met you but I miss you lots. I wonder what you would have been like, daddy says that I'm a little like you. I wish I had gotten to know you, we could have had so much fun together" She looked down at her hands, she couldn't see Jack but she had a feeling he was crying. "I look a lot like you. We have the same eyes. I love you." She said looking up when Jack walked up next to her.
"Hey sport" Jack said looking at the gravestone. "I know I don't come see you enough, I'm sorry" He said looking down at Kiara when she took his hand. It was odd to find so much courage in her eyes. "I hope you're doing ok up there, not getting into to much trouble. I miss you" He said a little more quite. He reached down and picked up Kiara. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled down at the gravestone.
"We'll come see you again Charlie" Kiara said looking to Jack. "Right?"
"When ever you want to" Jack said smiling a little back at her. He looked back down at the grave "Good bye Son" He said walking away with Kiara.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Sam!" Janet called from her spot on the bed. Sam had gone down stairs to get her something to eat. "Sam! Daniel!" She called as the pain eased. A few seconds later they both came running in.
"What's wrong?" They both asked at the same time. Janet smiled a little before her face turned into a grimace.
"Oohh! Oohh!" She said as a contraction hit. "The baby...I think...the baby's coming!" She said putting her hands on her stomach and crunching into a ball.
"Ok" Sam said calmly. "Daniel you have a bag?"
"Yeah" he said nodding his head as Janet relaxed.
"Get the bag and get the car started I'll bring Janet down" Sam said walking over to Janet to help her out of bed.
"Right" Daniel said going over to the closet and looking in. "It's gone" he said looking a little panicked. "Janet it's gone, we don't have a bag"
"We took it to the living room" Janet said smiling as Sam helped her out of bed.
"Right" Daniel said heading out the door. Sam smiled at Janet as they walked towards the door.
"We have to call Cassie" Janet said as they walked down the stairs. She smiled when she saw the finished crib. "Well at lest that's done" She said looking at Sam.
"Yeah" Sam said nodding her head. They got into the car and Daniel smiled back at them.
"How we doing?" He asked smiling at them.
"I'm..." Janet trailed off as another contraction hit. "Oohh!" She said breathing hard. "Go!" She said looking up at Daniel. Daniel turned around and backed the car out of the driveway. Janet looked around the car as the contraction passed.
"Daniel, where's the bag?" She asked looking at him in the rearview mirror.
"Damnit!"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Jack and Kiara walked into the waiting room about two hours later to find Sam pacing back and forth. She looked up at them and smiled. She ran over and hugged Jack. Kiara hugged her leg.
"Did we miss it?" Kiara asked looking up at her. "Is she born yet?"
"No not yet" Sam said smiling at her. She looked back at Jack and smiled. "I'm glad you got my message"
"Yeah we are too" Jack said nodding his head. Sam smiled at him and then remembered where they had been. She looked back at Kiara who was now sitting on the chair talking to a woman with a pink teddy bear. "How did it go?" She asked looking back at Jack.
"Good" he said smiling at her. "She talked to him, then I did" He said putting his hands in his pocket and looking over at Kiara. "She'd have loved him"
"Yeah, she would" Sam said she opened her mouth to say something as Daniel came running into the room with a huge smile on his face.
"It's a girl!" He said looking around at them. "Can you believe that? I'm a father!" He said looking over at Jack.
"Way to go Danny boy!" He said walking over and hugging Daniel. They pulled apart and Daniel took a deep breath.
"Ok I have to get back" He said looking to the doors he had just come through. "The doctor says she can have visitors in about half an hour"
"Ok" Jack said nodding his head and smiling.
"I'm a father" Daniel said in wonder.
"I know" Jack said smiling back at him. Daniel nodded his head then turned and walked back through the door. Sam smiled at Jack and Kiara ran over jumping up and down.
"A girl!" She said smiling at them. "A girl!" She said again still jumping.
"Kiara honey we knew it was a girl" Sam said smiling at her.
"I know" Kiara said as she stopped jumping. Then she went quite and looking at Jack. She took his hand and started to drag him towards the hallway. "We have to go get flowers and a teddy bear and balloons!" She said pulling on him.
"We'll be right back" Jack said smiling at Sam.
"I'll wait here" Sam said smiling at them. Sam sat down and the woman with the pink teddy bear smiled at her.
"Your first niece?" She asked smiling at her.
"Uh? Oh no Janets not really my..." She trailed off and smiled at the women. "Yeah" She said nodding her head. "My first niece"
"You daughter sure is excited"
"Yeah she is" Sam said nodding her head. "She's not my daughter though" She said smiling at the women. "I mean at lest not by blood, he mother died about three years ago"
"Well blood isn't all that important anyway" The women said smiling at her. "I'm Becca" She holding out her hand. "My daughter is having her first daughter" She said smiling.
"I'm Sam" She said taking the women's hand. "Janets my best friend, this is their first child"
"How fun" She said looking down at her hand. "So do you have any children?"
"Not yet' Sam said smiling at her.
"Ah, well give it time" She said looking up as a young man walked into the room looking a little dazed. "It's a girl" He said walking over to Becca. "We're going to name her Charlotte" He said smiling at Becca. "Come see your granddaughter" Becca smiled at Sam and stood up.
"Congratulations" She said smiling at Sam.
"You too" Sam said smiling as she walked away.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Sam walked into the room housing her best friend and smiled when she saw the scene before her. Daniel was up on the bed with Janet and they had Cathy in-between them. Janet looked up and smiled at her as Sam walked over. Daniel stood and smiled at her looking happier then shed ever seen him, except maybe on his wedding day.
"Isn't she beautiful?" He asked looking down at her.
"She is" Sam said nodding her head. "May I?" She asked Janet nodded her head and handed Cathy over to Sam's waiting arms. Sam looked down at the little girl and smiled. "She's got your eyes Daniel"
"Yeah and my nose" He said shaking his head. "Poor thing"
"There is nothing wrong with your nose" Janet said smiling at him. Just then the doors opened again and Jack came walking in with a horde of balloons and flowers, behind him Kiara walked in with the biggest teddy bear they could find, it came up to about Kiaras hips. Jack stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Sam standing there causing Kiara to run into the back of his legs. Sam smiled at him and Kiara rolled her eyes and walked around him.
"Can I see her?" She asked handing the bear to Daniel and running over not even hearing his 'thank you.'
"Here she is" Sam said kneeling down to show Kiara.
"Wow" Kiara said looking up to Janet. "She's so small" She said running her hand thought Cathy's already full head of hair.
"Yeah, sure didn't feel like it" Janet said making Sam laugh.
"What's her name?" Kiara asked looking at Daniel.
"Catharine Carter Jackson" Daniel said proudly with a huge smile on his face. Jack looked up at him with a huge smile on his face too and walked over to Sam. He looked down at the baby and she took his finger.
"Hey there CC" He said smiling. He looked up and Daniel who was shaking his head.
"No" he said shaking his head. "We are not calling her that"
"CC" Kiara said nodding her head. "It's cute"
"No" Daniel said still shaking his head. They all turned there heads when the door opened and Cassie came running in out of breath.
"Where is she?" She asked looking at all of them. "Where's my baby sister?" She asked spotting her with Sam. She walked over and kissed her mother and smiled and Daniel then she looked at Sam. "May I?"
"Of course" Sam said handing her over. "Hey there kiddo" Cassie said smiling at her. "So we decide on a name yet?" She asked looking over at Janet.
"CC" Jack said before Daniel could say anything.
"What does that stand for?" She asked looking back at Daniel.
"Nothing" Daniel said shaking his head "It doesn't stand for anything because we are not calling her that" Cassie gave him a weird look then looked to her mother.
"Catharine Carter Jackson" Janet said smiling at her.
"Oh" Cassie said nodding her head. Then she looked down at the baby and smiled. "I think CC suits her very nicely"
"No" Daniel groaned as Sam and Janet laughed.
A/N- So what do you think of the second In-Between? Is it any good? I hope you liked it, let me know what you think. Next up, Jacob comes for a visit after Jack and Sam's wedding.