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A/N: Sorry this took so long……..I don't want to be one of those stingy people saying "5 more reviews or I won't update" and I never will tell you that, but in all honesty, I do write more when I get a lot of reviews—they make me very happy so in return I make you happy by updating quickly. So please review, it doesn't take too much time out of your day!
After we had finished eating, Jack—quite reluctantly—did the dishes while I gave the girls their baths. Frankly, I think Jack got off easy. Amelia had just discovered the joy of splashing around and more often than not I emerged from bathroom fully clothed and soaking wet. Once they clean and dressed they went downstairs for t.v. time with Jack, who gallantly offered to watch them while took I bath of my own.
I had just sunk into the millions of bubbles when I heard the phone ring. 'Probably Bobby,' I thought. Sure enough I few minutes later Jack was knocking on the bathroom door, asking me to please hurry up.
"Bobby's suicidal!" he yelled on his way down the stairs, and I briefly wondered if I would have to explain the concept of suicide to the girls. I hoped not.
After washing my hair and shaving (quite briskly too, I hardly ever shaved in the fall/winter) I pulled on my robe and my eyes bulged as I opened the door. The hallway was freezing.
"Jack, can't you turn up the heat?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" he asked suggestively. Woah. Way to throw me off guard.
"I'm serious, Jack, it's the North Pole up here!"
He chuckled and took the stairs two at a time. "You're the one who lives here, shouldn't you know how to work the heater?"
I scowled at him, which only made him smile.
"Fine, let me freeze to death."
He rolled his eyes, "You're hardly dead."
"Shame on you. Mocking a dying woman."
"Yeah, well, chivalry is dead."
"We're not talking about chivalry, we're talking about proper social conduct. And furthermore, it's not dead; it's taking a very long nap."
Jack chuckled at that. "Taking a long nap. That's what Bobby said when my dog died."
"You don't strike me as a dog person."
"I'm not anymore, thanks to Bobby."
I started to laugh, "Poor Bobby, we always blame him for everything."
"Everything?" he asked thoughtfully, "Like that day on the ice?"
I turned red. I couldn't believe he mentioned that. "No, that was his fault," I said as evenly as I could.
"Oh." He seemed……….indifferent. "That's not what he said."
My eyes grew wide. "WHAT? He's lying, I swear, I wouldn't do that on purpose. I mean, if I liked you I wouldn't have—"
"If you liked me?" He took a step closer. Then another. "I get the impression that you already like me."
My jaw dropped. "Of all the arrogant things to say! I can't believe—" But I never got the chance to finish. He brought his face down to mine and kissed me. My knees buckled and Jack gently slipped his arms around my waist, holding me up. I couldn't believe all the emotions running through me; I was overjoyed yet terrified, I never wanted him to let go, and I wanted to run away. But then we pulled apart and I saw something in his eyes that I had never seen before………I didn't quite know what it was, but it made me stay, and it made me smile.
"Am I still arrogant?" he asked with a playful smirk.
I pursed my lips, "Yeah. But I kind of like that."
He laughed and kissed me again.
"Who are we going to tell first?" Jack and I were standing in the kitchen, cooking pasta to take over to Evelyn's. And yes, I decided to keep calling it that. Daniela was currently drawing in her room and Amelia was down for her nap.
Jack leaned against the counter and shrugged, "I guess Bobby—he's the one I'm closet to. Or we could all tell them together."
I shifted my weight from my right foot to the left, "I don't know if I'm comfortable doing that. It seems so……….."
"Showy?"
"I guess. Do you want to tell Bobby, or should we both do it?"
He looked at me incredulously. "We both are! Do you think he'd take me seriously if I told him? All I'd get out of him is a snappy one-liner and a new nickname."+
I laughed at that and hugged him around his middle, "Okay, we'll both tell him. And if he calls you names he has to think of one for me too."
I was only joking, and Jack knew it, but he put his arms around me and held me closer. I smiled as I buried my head into his chest; I could get used to this. He leaned down to kiss me when the phone rang.
I groaned and put it on speakerphone, "I hate you."
"You hate me, Mary? I'm stuck here with fuckin' La Vida Loca and you hate ME? She's drivin' me crazy—she's collecting food for the needy and giving away all our old clothes! Hey Sofi," he started yelling at her in the background, "Next time you give away your clothes, why don't you just stay in them?"
I sighed, "Bobby, just because you can't get into any woman's pants doesn't mean you can—"
"WHAT? You don't think I can get some? Wait 'till the snow clears up, sweetheart, they'll be running at me like there's no tomorrow!"
"Running at you, or away from you?" Jack cut in.
"Shuddap Tinkerbell," Bobby snapped, "…like you could do better than I could," he added as an afterthought.
"Already did," mumbled Jack into my hair. I grinned like an idiot.
"Listen Bobby," he reasoned, "dinner should be done by the time the snow clears, so just sit tight. And ask Jerry and Camille if they want to talk to the girls."
Bobby made a sound of annoyance, but handed the phone to Jerry. A few minutes later Daniela and Amelia had both come downstairs and were eagerly engaged in a conversation with their parents.
"I only got two peas stuck in my nose last night, mommy!" cried Amelia.
"That's………great, sweetheart."
"Aw, don't be damn liar," scowled Daniela, "it was three peas."
"Damn liar?" yelled Jerry, "What the hell are you teaching my kids Jack?"
I stole that line from LOST (I couldn't help it, it fit so well!)
A/N: I was just wondering if any of you would adopt? I think I would…….I don't know if I'd do it "Evelyn Mercer Style" and pick up a bunch of degenerates (I'm afraid I may do more damage than help), but I would definitely adopt kids, most likely from a foreign country. Thoughts, anyone? Please remember to review. Just press the little button and make me happy!