Oh, you guys are gonna hate me…

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"You didn't tell him about the fight?" Tucker asked, a little too loud for Sam's comfort. She looked around at the fairly deserted street they usually took when walking to school.

"They're still together," Sam hissed. "They haven't separated or anything, and from what I could hear, she was just upset that his dad didn't tell her Danny was leaving."

"But—" Tucker started, but Sam held up a hand.

"Unless something really bad happens, we won't tell him anything. He needs to concentrate on finding Jazz. After that…" she faded off and shrugged. "I just hope he can patch the situation up by coming home in one piece…and hopefully with his missing sister in tow."

Tucker nodded slowly. "I guess that would help a lot…" he admitted. "Alright. We won't say anything unless something really bad happens."

Sam smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

xoxoxox

"Jack," the older man froze at the sound of his wife's voice. How could a simple name—his name--send streams of indescribable pain coursing through his body? Why was she even talking to him? She had to realize how much she'd hurt him when she'd confronted him about letting their son go on his little trip? So he hadn't asked her, so what? It hadn't been so important before…well, before Danny disappeared really. That's when all of this started.

"I can't trust you with anything anymore Jack!" Her voice still literally screamed in his mind. That one still stung like she'd only just said it. How had he proved himself untrustworthy? He'd made Danny promise to call them every night, just like when Maddie had let Jazz go…

Then the previous night's dream came rushing back to him. The one that scared him more than any other he'd ever had. In it, he'd been some sort of monster, chasing Danny and Maddie…and carrying a limp, lifeless Jazz unceremoniously in his arms.

"It's all your fault! You chased her away!" A different voice, a deeper one that sounded so familiar mixed in with his wife's accusations. "You're not worthy of them…Monster." That voice had not let him alone since these nightmares started. Why did his dreams haunt him worse than any ghost could in his waking hours? What kind of a monster had he turned into? Was his family really better off without him?

"Jack?" Her words brought him painfully back to reality again. He nodded in acknowledgement, and she spoke. "Look, I know that whenever you're upset, you become introverted. And you've seemed so…angry lately." She paused a second, "I…I know I haven't exactly been helping with that…but we need to talk about this."

He couldn't help what came out of his mouth next. "So you trust me enough to talk to me now?" Instantly the room's atmosphere stiffened.

"Jack, we need to put our differences aside and be strong for Danny. You obviously have no more hope for me, but he just got out of a situation that he refuses to tell us about, and I doubt this bickering is helping him trust us." Again, her words stung deeply.

"I have no hope for you?" he turned to look at her, trying to control his anger and hurt.

She glared coldly back. "That's certainly the impression I've been getting. I want you to know, that any hopelessness you feel towards you, only comes from you. You're so unsure of yourself…you've chanced so much. You're not the man I married. Where is he?"

He turned his back on her. "The same place my former wife went." Her gasp froze him more solid than any ice storm or cold temperature ever could have. He turned around to face her again. "That didn't come out right…" But the look on her face stopped him short once again. If he thought he'd felt pain before, he hadn't known what pain was. The look on her face, the look that screamed how much he'd hurt her, hurt him far more than anything she could have ever said to him. If his brain would have been working at that point, he would have begun to wonder how anyone could survive a similar situation.

"If you're not willing to fix this," she said with a calmness that defied her pain and tear-filled eyes. "Then I'll be at a hotel downtown. At the very least, we need time to think about this…I…" She faded off, obviously trying to maintain control. After several seconds, she turned around and started to walk upstairs. "Have a good life, Jack." He heard her whisper before the door to the main floor closed, and the basement started spinning. He remembered falling to his knees before everything faded to a blur…

xoxoxox

Maddie walked in a depressed daze down the street, half looking for a Taxi, half wishing to just be alone. Frankly, she wanted to find some hole and just hide in it. Well...at least until Danny came home. Maybe she could take Danny on a trip somewhere, just the two of them...and hide all of this.

Yeah, and Hades' realm could freeze over too. Danny was more intelligent than that. Still...maybe all they needed was time...

She shook her head. Her own words haunted her as much as his did. She had just realized that it was her own insecurity that made her lash out at him...and he seemed to be feeling about the pain. But then, what did he have to worry about? He's the one that came up with all the ideas. He was the motivation that drove her to live every day, gave her life a purpose. Yeah, she helped him on a lot of things, and yes he was a bumbler most of the time...but that was half his charm.

Well...it used to be half his charm. Now he just seemed to be an empty shell...was she the one that had driven him to that?

"Oh Jack," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheek. Then the screech of tires stopping next to her caused her eyes to focus on the long, black limousine that had pulled over.

The window rolled down, and the face of the last man she expected to see peered anxiously out at her.

"Maddie?" Vlad Masters said softly, "What's wrong?"