Jack lay under the soft quilt still pondering Sarah's words on Chase. He tried to imagine the scene, if he did indeed speak to him about what was on his mind; but then his thoughts quickly drifted back to Sarah - thoughts which he knew weren't wise to obtain. Trying to ignore the image of her smiling face and soft touch he replayed their last conversation through his mind. As he did so a thought suddenly hit him, who the hell was Casey?

In that moment he realised he didn't know much about Sarah, even though she knew a lot about him, more than some of his friends even. The fact that she was on first name terms with James Heller was the most personal thing he knew about her. He wondered if Casey was a friend of hers, maybe a family member, possibly even her daughter. The latter was a wide shot, surely he would know if she had a daughter, how could he not? It seemed strange, that this woman who he had spent large amounts of time with over the last couple of months, could have a child, or any kind of life outside of her work with him that he didn't know about.

When Kim built up the courage to go check on her father, and possibly talk to him, she found Jack fast asleep with a faint smile on his lips that made her smile too.

Jack woke an hour or so later, his stomach grumbled, ordering him to go eat something. Sitting up on the bed Jack pulled his foot towards himself and gently prodded at the bandaging, hissing in pain and then laughing at his own stupidity as he tried to get up. Stood on one foot he reached for the crutch; as Sarah's words soaked back into his mind he reached out for the second one too, deciding that two would be better for his foot and easier on him.

Hearing voices from the house way Jack hobbled to the door and stood by it listening. Angela's high pitched "daddy!" gave away the fact that Chase was home. Swallowing hard, Jack turned and sat back down on the bed, not knowing what to do.

Shaking his head he knew he had to face the man. He didn't want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home. Standing up again he pulled some loose fitting trousers out of the dresser and carefully pulled them on over his shorts and ran a hand through his ruffled hair.

Grabbing the crutches again Jack was slightly startled when the door swung open and Kim came bustling in.

"You're up!" She said, and for a moment Jack wondered if she was feigning her happiness to put him at ease.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I lied down after the session but I didn't expect to fall asleep like I did."

"Well," Kim said as she moved over to the dresser and closed each of the drawers properly, "its because you've been working so hard."

"Yeah," her father replied, shyly looking down at the floor.

"Dad," Kim said, taking a breath as she braced herself, "are you okay?"

Jack looked up at her confused, "you know I am," he said. Chase and Angela could be heard in the background, Jack tried to ignore the noise but he couldn't shut it out.

"Its just, I've been worried, and so has Chase."

Jack looked at her puzzled, "but why? I'm getting better?"

"Dad, I don't wanna pry, but suddenly, you've just withdrawn. You hide away in here and I feel like we've done something wrong. Chase is worried but he wont ask you, he doesn't want to impose."

Jack shook his head, "I hadn't noticed," he lied.

Kim put her hands on her hips, "don't lie dad I know something's wrong, I even spoke to Sarah and she said something was up." She couldn't help but notice Jack flinch when Sarah's name was mentioned.

"And what did Sarah say?" He asked, his voice hoarse and deadly serious.

"Nothing," Kim said, confused by his sudden tone, "she just said I should talk with you… but this isn't exactly "talking," is it?"

Jack looked down at the floor, his cheeks turning red as he saw the anger and hurt in his daughters face. God, she had been outright with her queries about him and he was still sending her round in circles.

"I'm sorry Kim, I am."

"Don't apologise when-"

"Kim…" he interrupted, still looking down at the floor, "I have been distant, and its not an accident." He said honestly.

Kim looked hurt. "Why? Has somebody said something? Is it Chase, Angela?"

"I just need to… adjust to a few things," he said, again not being entirely truthful. "But I'll be fine." He finished, indicating that the conversation was over.

Not reassured by his words Kim left the room feeling worse than when she entered.

Left alone Jack shook his head angry with his dealing of the situation. Feeling restless he made a decision, he couldn't allow his daughter or Chase to tip-toe around him, he needed to try and fix tings, even if it was only for his own sake of mind.

Pulling a belt on over the black bottoms Jack pulled a shirt on and slowly buttoned it up. Finding the brace he gently pulled it on over his foot before tightening it knowing it would hurt at first but save him pain later should his foot come into contact with any kind of object. Once fully dressed he made his way into the bathroom to splash water on his face and hair, making himself look presentable.

Using both crutches he made his way through the house until he found Chase in the main room, who looked surprised but pleased to see Jack.

"You okay Jack, why don't you take a seat," he said, hoping to make him feel comfortable.

"I was wondering," Jack said quietly, "if you wanted to go for a drink… if you have the time or something…"

Chase smiled genuinely as he nodded his head and then rushed out of the room to get his wallet. Seated in the corner of the room helping Angela colour her picture Kim tried and failed to hide the smile spreading across her face. She hoped that things would be different between them once they returned.

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Sorry for the lack of updates Uni has been mad!