A week later….
Jack and Elizabeth pulled into Charlotte and Tom's driveway and were met by Sonny and Cher and their two boys.
"You came back!" Brennan yelled, dancing with excitement as they got out of the car.
Elizabeth picked him up and held him. "I missed you, baby."
"I missed you too."
"Dad! Come see Dash! He is so cute and he got big!" Sawyer told him, pulling his hand.
"Ok, bud. Let's go see Dash."
All four of them went inside and were bombarded with three large puppies running clumsily over to them. Elizabeth chuckled at them slipping and sliding on the wood floors. "They are so cute."
"This one is Dash!" Brennan told them after being pushed over by the pup. "He likes me, I think." He laid down and giggled as the pup licked his face and hair.
"I think that's a safe bet."
"Baths tonight, that's for sure," Jack mentioned. "For us too?" he whispered in her ear, giving her goosebumps. That was a definite possibility.
"Well, if it isn't the newlyweds," Tom said, walking into the room. "How was the bungalow?"
"Amazing. Perfect," Elizabeth said, her cheeks turning red yet again. She felt like a young married woman, not an almost thirty year old married woman. That being said, the week had been completely blissful and romantic and she was grateful for the time with just Jack to concentrate on just them.
"That's good. That's the way it should be. And if you work at it, that feeling will continue forever." As if on cue, Charlotte walked in and slipped right under Tom's arm where she belonged. "Hi, hon," he said with a kiss to her temple.
"Did you have a nice time?" she wondered.
"Yes we did. Thank you for watching the boys."
"You're welcome. Can we maybe speak with you both before you go?"
"Sure." The boys were playing with the puppies so the adults went into the kitchen for a bit of privacy.
"What's going on, Ma?" Jack wondered as they sat at the table. "Did the boys misbehave?"
"Oh no, they were angels. I am worried about Brennan though."
"What about him?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.
"He had nightmares every night while you were gone."
"He did? He has never complained of nightmares before."
"I could be wrong but I think that it's just knowing his home life is changing but also that you were both gone for a while. He wouldn't talk about the dreams, but he was very clingy throughout the day and then came and slept in our room at night on the floor."
"I'm sorry that you had to deal with that, Charlotte."
"Don't apologize. I think that he is aware of what happened to his first Dad and his mind must be focused on that when he is asleep. My guess is that is what the dreams are about. Losing his family, maybe losing Jack."
"I will talk to him," Elizabeth said.
"We will talk to him," Jack said gently.
"Mom?" Brennan walked in and stood next to her. "Can we go? Dash is tired and wants to go see his new bed."
"Oh, is he?"
"Yeah." She could see the look in his eyes. He was exhausted, probably from not sleeping well for a week.
She picked him up, pulled him close and rocked him in her arms, feeling him relax almost immediately. "I love you, Bren."
"I'm glad you're home," he told her, closing his eyes, his head against her chest.
"Me too, baby."
Sawyer walked in, Dash on his heels. "Dad, can we go home?"
"Yes we can, bud."
Jack stood and offered to take the now almost sleeping Brennan, but she was ok with holding him until they got to the car. Sawyer put a leash on Dash and Jack grabbed the boys suitcases while Elizabeth carried Brennan.
Charlotte and Tom came outside to say goodbye.
Elizabeth put Brennan in his booster seat and went to hug her in-laws. "Thank you again."
"Will we see you Sunday for dinner?"
"As far as I know unless Jack has a different plan."
She hugged Tom, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you for walking me down the aisle, Tom. It meant a lot to me."
His eyes filled with tears and he nodded. "You're my daughter. It was my job."
"I'm proud to be your daughter. No wonder Jack is so wonderful." She kissed his cheek again and then moved on to hugging Charlotte.
As they drove home, the kids slept and Elizabeth held Jack's hand as she watched out the window.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Everything. Maybe its a lot for Brennan to take all at once."
"Maybe. We will talk to him, make sure he's ok." She squeezed his hand, staring at their fingers. "Elizabeth, what is it?"
"I just, I think I should talk to him alone."
"Why's that?" he prompted, gently.
"He's always been…." She didn't want to say the words. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her husband of one week.
"Always been…yours?"
"Jack, I love you so much. Please remember that."
"I know you do. I love you too and I love Brennan. Elizabeth, I am well aware that its difficult to allow someone else to parent your child."
"Is it difficult for you?"
"At first, but I'm so so grateful that you've loved Sawyer like he is yours. I realized I needed to let you do it for his sake."
"I guess there are always going to be adjustments in our lives."
"True. Merging two families may be hard at times but we always need to remember we are a team. I will be there to back you up, no matter what."
"I'll back you up too. And honestly, I'm not sure how to address this thing with Bren."
"Gently. He's scared and I completely understand why but we need to reassure him that we aren't intending to go anywhere."
When they arrived home though, things that needed to be done before bed took first priority. Elizabeth started laundry because all of them had dirty clothes. The rest, she would tackle tomorrow.
Jack made a bath for both boys. They wanted to bathe separately which made sense, so one used the bathroom by their room and the other used the guest room bath. As he was bouncing between bathrooms to ensure proper cleaning was done, Elizabeth unpacked her suitcases and put on some comfy silky pajamas appropriate for anyone to see her in.
She peeked in the fridge and made a list of groceries they would need to buy the next day. Thankfully they had eggs and cheese and frozen waffles that would work for breakfast.
"Mom! Will you read to us?" Sawyer asked, his hair wet and brushed back, his skin clean and smelling good.
"Of course, sweetie. Give me about two minutes and I'll come, ok?"
"Ok," he said with a grin as he ran off.
She turned off almost all the lights in the kitchen and put a mug of water in the microwave for tea. Then she headed down the hall but was stopped by Jack.
"Where are you headed, beautiful?"
"To read to the boys." He put his hands on her hips and kissed her briefly.
"Ok. I'm going to take Dash outside one more time."
"Where is he going to sleep?"
"In his cage, in the boys room."
"He won't keep them up?"
"No. He's used to a cage. Mom made sure to train them that way."
She nodded and started to walk away. "Jack, do you need to work tomorrow?"
"I just need to check in around nine. Otherwise, I'm all yours. What did you need?"
"I have two days off work and then I go back. Tomorrow I need…"
"Mom!"
"One moment, sweetie!" she told him. "I'll tuck them in, you take Dash out, and we will meet here in fifteen?"
"Alright."
Fifteen minutes later, she reheated her water for tea and they sat at the table with their phones out.
"Ok, as I was saying before, I need to unpack the rest of Brennan's and my boxes and I need to grocery shop and do laundry."
"Honey, I'll do laundry," he offered.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Is there anything you want from the store?"
"I'll send you the list that I made before we left." He sent her an attachment with a list of items, separated by aisle.
"Wow, hon. Organized!"
"Yeah. Its necessary when you're on your own with a business and a kid, as I'm sure you're aware."
"I guess. I'm not nearly as organized as you are with a shopping list. I can see the benefits though. Do you use coupons?"
"No, but feel free to do whatever you'd like. Saving money is always a good thing."
"Jack, another thing. On the days I need to be at the store and you need to work, should I take the kids? Or do you want them here?"
"Good question. I don't mind having them here because I work from home. If I need to head into the city for work, I'll drop them off with you."
"Ok."
"What do you think?"
"Its fine. It makes sense. They wouldn't want to hang out everyday at a book store when they can be with you and the puppy."
"I'm sure some days they'll want to be with you, Elizabeth, and you won't be working all day every day with Becky around, right?"
"Right."
He scooted his chair back and stood. "Why don't we go to bed?"
"I kind of want to make sure Brennan is ok before we do."
He took her hand and smiled as he led her down the hallway to the boys room. They peeked in the door and heard soft, even breathing, along with Dash's sigh from his cage.
Elizabeth walked in and stood up on her tiptoes to check on Brennan. He seemed to be just fine. She kissed his forehead and did the same for Sawyer. "Love you both," she whispered.
As they walked in to their bedroom she had decorated and closed the door, locking it, Elizabeth felt a bit of anxiety lift.
"Honey, are you ok tonight?" he wondered. "You seem serious."
"I'm fine. Just a bit tired I guess."
"We're home, in our house, in our bedroom that looks amazing, by the way. And it just happens to be time for bed."
She pulled the elastic thingy from her hair causing a cascade of the silky, dark curls that he loved to stroke as they drifted off to sleep. She said it felt good and relaxed her but in his mind it was a win-win. He got to touch her and keep her as close as possible and he looked forward to doing that for the rest of their lives.
She untied and slipped off her robe that uncovered a light pink tank that matched her light pink silky pants. "Jack? You gonna get ready for bed too or just sit there watching?"
"I'm good with watching." He held his arms out. "Come here." She walked forward into his reach, smiling as he gazed up at her. "I love bedtime."
She laughed and lifted his t-shirt above his head. "I kind of love it too," she mentioned, her fingers grazing his shoulders and strong, muscular arms. It was becoming her favorite part of the day.
….
Down the hall….
Brennan sat up, his bad dream vanishing as quickly as Jack had inside of it. He knew Jack was somewhere in this house with his mom but in his dream, he always disappeared.
Tonight, he was there in front of him, holding a water balloon and then the next second, poof. Gone!
Brennan climbed down the ladder from the top bunk and looked at Sawyer. He was asleep. Was he dreaming too?
"Sawyer," he whispered loudly, pushing his shoulder gently. "Sawyer!"
"Brennan."
"Sawyer, can I sleep with you? I'm scared."
Sawyer moved over and fell back to sleep. Brennan couldn't though. He didn't want Jack to disappear again and it seemed to happen every time he closed his eyes.
….
At breakfast, Elizabeth noticed how tired Brennan looked as he stared at his plate.
"Bren? Aren't you hungry, baby?"
"No. Can I go outside?"
"Actually, Sawyer, can you take Dash outside so we can talk to Brennan?"
"Ok." Sawyer had finished his food so he walked over to the door to the deck. "Come, Dash. Time to go outside."
Dash let out a bark and followed Sawyer, jumping to head outdoors again.
Elizabeth sat next to Jack and they both stared at Brennan. "Honey, did you sleep ok last night?"
He just shrugged, keeping his eyes down.
"Grandma said you'd been having trouble sleeping while we were gone," Jack mentioned.
"Yeah."
"What's bothering you, Bren?" Elizabeth tried again, her heart breaking at his sad expression and exhaustion in his eyes.
"You can tell us. Maybe we can help," Jack said quietly.
"I have bad dreams," he admitted.
"What are they about?"
"You. You always disappear. I don't want you to. I need you!"
Jack picked him up and held him on his lap. "You know, your mom told Sawyer one time that dreams aren't real. They seem that way and it can be scary but it's just something your brain is thinking about while you sleep." He kissed his temple and rubbed his back. "Have you been maybe thinking about your dad?"
Brennan shrugged.
"You can tell me."
"Yeah. I think about him but it's getting harder to remember him."
"Like he is slipping away from you?"
"I guess but my dream isn't about him. It's you. You always leave me. You're right there but then you're gone."
Jack held him tighter, assuring him he was there. "Its ok to miss your dad but he would want you to be happy."
Brennan turned his head and looked at Elizabeth. She nodded, a smile on her face. "He would."
Sawyer and Dash came back in the house and Jack got an idea.
"Ok, everyone. Two hours." They looked at him weird so he explained. "I need to check in with work, Mom needs to go grocery shopping and Brennan needs sleep. In two hours we are going to the park and we are going to have fun!"
"Even Dash?" Brennan asked.
"Yes, even Dash."