The journey back to the house felt quick even though they were much quieter this time but it was a comfortable silence. The first to break the silence was Abigail when they pulled up outside the house
"Daddy are you staying to bed time?"
Jubal glanced at Maggie and she smiled softly at him, as nervous as she was about facing Sam she was not going to deny Jubal getting the chance to put the kids to bed. He knew from Maggie's smile that she was telling him to stay
"Yeah baby girl I'm going to stay and tuck you in. So let's go inside"
They all got out of the car with Jubal lifting Abigal down from her booster seat, Tyler grabbed his bags and Abigail was running inside to show her mum her hair. Jubal used that chance to take Maggie's hand in his at the end of the path as he faced her
"You know that as much as I want you to stay I totally understand if you tell me that you want to take my suv back in to the city and I can get a way home"
Every part of Jubal wanted Maggie to stay, he wanted them to go home together to either her place or his, he wanted her to be there with him after he said good night to his kids. But he knew that today was a lot, he hadn't given her much time to think about joining him to Scarsdale and his kids had definitely been full on and now he was asking her to go in to his ex wives house, he totally understood if she wanted to run.
"Yeah?" Maggie raised her eyebrow looking at Jubal and she seen the panic in his eyes when that was her simple answer, she didn't leave too long of a gap before speaking "Jubal as sweet as that offer is and as much as I appreciate it and as much as I really don't want to face your ex wife, there is still nowhere else that I would actually rather be" She took both of Jubal's hands in her as she squeezed them gently "Today was certainly not what I expected it to be but your opening up a huge part of your life to me and I'm not wasting that opportunity. So let's go inside before your daughter starts shouting looking for you"
Maggie knew how much Jubal wanted her to stay she could see it in his eyes, he may be good at hiding things when at work, but when he was with her outside of work and especially today with the kids he had let his guard down and she could see how much it was all meaning to him. Doing this for him meant more than dealing with her own nerves, she wanted to show him that she was all in as much as that scared the hell out of her.
When Maggie went to step back to let go off his hands Jubal stopped her by gently pulling her closer to him and he leaned down kissing her softly, he was careful not to let it deepen because he knew it had to be a quick kiss. When he pulled back he kept one of Maggie's hand in his entangling their fingers
"Thank you for today, for everything Mags"
Maggie was right, Abigail did not disappoint as the young girl appeared at the door shouting to them "Daddy, Maggie hurry up"
"I wonder where she get's her impatience from" Maggie joked playfully as she walked along the path towards the house
"Hey I am very patient" Jubal lightly nudged Maggie's shoulder with his
"Hmm mmm that's why you are constantly tapping your finger on your belt or biting a pencil in the JOC" Maggie smirked as she seen the surprise on Jubal's face, she was proving to him more and more that she was paying a lot of attention to him
Jubal was pulled inside the house by Abigail before he got a chance to reply to Maggie but he was able to keep Maggie's hand in his as they stepped inside the house. Sam was standing with Tyler when they stepped in and Jubal smiled softly seeing her
"Hey Sam" He hugged Sam with one arm but he still hadn't let go of Maggie's hand, she could feel the way h was holding on so she wasn't going to let go until he was ready or wanted to "Sam I'd like you to meet Maggie…Maggie this is Sam"
Maggie stepped forward a little with her free hand out to shake Sam's which was taken instantly
"It's nice to meet you Sam"
Sam smiled looking at Maggie "It's nice to meet you too Maggie, I hear you are the one that was finally able to do Abigail's hair for her"
"Yeah I hope you don't mind, she told us she would love her hair like the princess she was colouring and I happened to do them for my sister"
"I don't mind at all, I'm just hoping her next hair phase is something much easier. Can I get you a glass of wine?"
Maggie shook her head gently "Thank you but I'm going to have to say no this time, pain killers don't mix well with wine" Maggie knew that Sam had seen the cut on her head and she also had a feeling that Sam knew the real reason she wasn't taking that drink was because of Jubal
Jubal was standing by watching Maggie and Sam, he had absolutely no idea how this was going to go but again it was important to him that it went well as he wanted Sam to be okay with Maggie being around the kids again in the future. He felt someone pulling on his hand and he looked to see Abigail
"Hey baby girl what's up?"
"Will you do bath and story tonight daddy, please?"
Jubal looked at Sam and she nodded to say that she was okay with it, he then looked at Maggie who squeezed his hand gently "Go, I'll be fine here"
"Don't worry Jubal I'll keep Maggie company"
He wasn't sure if leaving his ex wife and current girlfriend alone was a good idea but he didn't want to disappoint his daughter, but Abigail had heard that as a yes as she went over hugging Maggie's legs until Maggie hunkered down giving her a proper hug and Abigail smiled
"Thank you Maggie for the park and for my hair"
"You are very welcome Abigail, goodnight and I hope you have a great day at school tomorrow"
With that Jubal lifted Abigail up leaning her over his shoulder making her laugh as he carried her up the stairs that way. He looked back at Maggie smiling when he seen her standing watching them before he disappeared up the stairs. Sam was watching Maggie and Jubal, she couldn't help it as this was her first time seeing Jubal with someone else and now it was just the two of them as Tyler was showering in the other bathroom
"You know he's never brought anyone to meet the kids or me?"
Maggie had been watching Jubal until she couldn't see him anymore and she turned around to face Sam when she heard her speak
"He hasn't? But haven't you guys been divorced for a while?"
Sam lead Maggie in to the living room so that they could sit down and Maggie followed her thanking her for the glass of water that she gave her
"We have and he's dated, I'm aware of that. But he's never brought any of them to meet me, or the kids. In fact I don't think I even knew any of their names"
Maggie was surprised by Sam's words, she knew that Jubal was careful about who he introduced to the kids but she thought that he would have introduced other dates to Sam, she knew that Sam had introduced a couple of dates to him before Alan came along.
"I honestly thought you would have met some of them. I hope that you were okay with me being here today with the kids, I know Jubal dropped that on you last minute"
Sam was really appreciating how respectful Maggie was being of their family set up, other women may have been jealous of the ex wife or been rude to her because she had the kids but Maggie was being so respectful and she had told Maggie about her being the first because she wanted her to know that she clearly meant something to Jubal
"It was last minute, but he mentioned something about you guys having a couple of rough cases the last couple of weeks, and I'm guessing from the bruise and cut on your head that he really wasn't joking. I was just glad he was finally getting time to see them and I knew he wouldn't bring anyone around the kids that he didn't trust"
Maggie lifted her hand gently to the cut when she heard Sam mention it "Yeah it has definitely been a tough couple of weeks for us all and I know Jubal was really missing the kids, as much as he was loving the phone calls and pictures I knew that he needed and wanted to actually see them"
"And he's been okay? He's been coping with the stress of it?"
Maggie knew that Sam was talking about Jubal's Alochol addiction, she didn't want to give away too much because that was up to Jubal to tell her what he wanted to "He's been okay, been finding ways to cope that are thankfully working for him"
"Is that the real reason that you didn't take up my offer of wine?"
"Yes. Jubal has no issue with me drinking I just prefer not to and it really wouldn't mix well with the pain meds they have given me. And after the couple of weeks we have had at work I would rather be there for him than drown my stress in wine"
"So you would happily never drink in his company again?"
Maggie knew that Sam was trying to find out how serious she was about Jubal, especially when their kids were involved, and she totally understood it but she hadn't been expecting it to be happening so soon, as hard as Sam was trying to hide what she was doing Maggie could see it clearly
"If me never drinking again was what was best for Jubal then I'd happily give it up. I'm not here to mess Jubal or your kids about Sam. Us being together will have to be disclosed to our boss soon and Tyler already figured out that I wasn't just a friend, but we both thought about and talked about this before we started getting serious. We know what's at risk but we both think it's worth it"
Sam should have known that Maggie would have been able to quickly figure out what she was doing with the questioning but just because her and Jubal weren't married anymore didn't mean that she didn't care about him. He was the father of her kids she was always going to care about him
"Well you seem to have made a great impression with the kids, and for what it's worth, the way that Jubal looked at you when he looked back at you from the stairs, he never looked at me that way "
Maggie and Sam didn't realise how long they had been sitting talking until Maggie felt Jubal's hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her chair, neither of them were sure how much of their conversation he had heard
"Sam the kids are in bed waiting for you to go say goodnight" he squeezed Maggie's shoulder's gently "You ready to go home?"
Maggie leaned her head back smiling up at Jubal "I sure am" she stood up and came around to stand beside him, the minute that she was close to him Jubal wrapped his arm around her waist gently pulling her in closer to him.
Sam noticed the way that Jubal said home and that it clearly felt natural to them both but it wasn't something she was expecting to hear, she was putting the feeling she got down to shock, she stood up facing them both
"Maggie it was lovely to meet you and thank you again for Abigails hair. And Jubal the kids will do their check in tomorrow with you" she smiled as she patted Jubal's arm as she walked past them to go up and say goodnight to her kids.
Jubal lead Maggie out of the house and they both climbed in to the car, getting comfortable before Jubal started on their journey home. He was kind of quiet for the first minutes, Maggie leaned over resting her hand on his thigh
"Hey you doing okay over there?"
"I'm sorry about Sam.. She shouldn't have asked you about the drinking like that or mentioned the way that I look at you"
That made it clear to Maggie that he had caught the tail end of their conversation and it explained his silence, but she was thankful that he was willing to at least tell her what was bothering him, she squeezed his thigh gently
"Jubal, honey, you do not have to apologise for anything. Sam was looking out for you and the kids, I completely understand where she was coming from. I meant what I said though if me ever drinking around you got too much then I would happily give up drinking. As for mentioning the way you look at me, I think that was her way of trying to tell me that I meant something to you"
Jubal relaxed hearing Maggie talk, he had himself convinced that what Sam had said would have upset Maggie or made her regret coming with him today or worse made her want to run and end their relationship. He moved his free hand to rest on top of Maggie's and she turned her hand so that they could entangle their fingers resting them on Jubal's thigh
"If for some reason I couldn't handle you drinking I would tell you Mags, I wouldn't hide that from you. I did from Sam, I turned to drink instead of her, I hid everything from her including myself but I'm not doing that with you. And you mean more than just something to me Mags you are a huge part of my life, and I'm hoping today let you see how much you mean to me and how much I trust you"
"I know you talk to me and don't hide from me, it may take a little pushing to get you to talk but we get there and it's before any damage is done" Her thumb instinctively ran over the mark that was slowly disappearing from the band on his wrist "Introducing me to your kids, letting me not only see but be a part of that side of your life, I know that is a huge step for you Jubal. And I appreciate that you kept checking in with me today to make sure that I wasn't completely freaking out"
"It's hard at times, but I got reminded in the meeting that I have to be honest with those closest to me and who would be affected by my decisions and that's you Mags. And I kind of just dropped today on you out of nowhere, and my timing definitely could have been better after the two weeks we've just had at work, but after today I am convinced that my daughter loves you more than me" Jubal pouted playfully teasing Maggie lightly
"Today was definitely a surprise but I'm without doubt putting it down as a really good surprise. And hey what can I say us girls have to stick together" Maggie laughed softly
"You know when I was finished reading her story she asked me when I was going to take you back to see her again?"
"Really?.. She's an amazing kid, and don't worry she is still very much daddy's girl, you are that little girl's hero. And Tyler, he's a remarkable kid, he's so sensitive, in a good way, and the kid is extremely smart. He really reminds me a lot of the way that you are now"
"Abby is impossible not to love, she's just so full of love and energy. Tyler is definitely a sensitive kid, I worry that he will get hurt sometimes because of it. But I know that I am extremely lucky that everything I have screwed up in my life that I get to be a dad to those two kids"
Maggie had tilted her head to the side and was smiling watching Jubal talk about his kids, he talked about them at work at times, but now it was different, he wasn't trying to be careful with what he was saying, he was being completely open and vulnerable
"You are a great dad to them Jubal, I seen today how they look at you, they both love you so much and I really mean that.. Although next time we are struggling with a suspect in interrogation can we just let your kids loose on them because dam those kids can question"
Jubal laughed when he heard Maggie, it was the proper laugh that she loved so much and that she had heard a lot of today"Yeah.. I maybe down played how many questions they would ask you"
"You think?" Maggie laughed softly "But they were getting to ask so many questions about their dad and they reminded me so much of you when you are in the zone in the JOC. You just fly around the room asking so many questions that you just about give time for people to respond. When Tyler was asking about me being your girlfriend, the way he spoke before you could reply, and it was like he was having both sides of the conversations, that was just like listening to you"
Since Jubal had never introduced the kids to anyone from work he had never had the kids compared to that side of him and with how much attention Maggie pays, he was putting that down to be partly because of her job, but if he had of asked Maggie it was simply because of how much attention she pays to Jubal because she loved watching him, he was starting to see more and more of himself in the kids
"You know I was convinced the kids had just got everything from Sam, I struggled to see a lot of myself in them, but listening to you now, I'm going back over things and I'm like that was me. I'm now seeing a lot more of me in them"
"Abigail jumping in about only being one year older than the number of years we've worked together, I mean she was seriously concentrating on her picture but apparently she still heard our conversation with Tyler.. I mean that is you in the JOC, you hear everything even when we think you aren't listening to us" Maggie teased playfully about the last bit with him
"Oh you have no idea, kids hear things when they aren't even in the room it's crazy"
"You mean like you overheard my conversation with Sam?" Maggie raised her eyebrow playfully
"Erm.. Yeah.. okay.. Maybe I can see where Abby gets it from" Jubal couldn't help but laugh softly
