Jack managed to get Kate to eat a bowl of soup and then he gave her the choice of resting on the couch or in his bed. She chose the couch, but only if he would lay down with her. He pulled a blanket and a pillow out of a nearby closet, lay with his back to the back of the couch and allowed her to snuggle in beside him, her back pressed against chest and stomach. He wrapped the blanket and his arm around her and they both slept for awhile.
He was wide awake and rested at this point, but she was still dragging and he didn't have to work very hard to convince her to stay put. She stayed on the couch watching television while he made some phone calls and then cooked the oatmeal she wanted with a fresh banana on the side. He found the request to be a somewhat odd, but was willing to prepare anything she would eat, certain a great deal of her fatigue was coming from a lack of nutrition and dehydration. She ate the food he prepared, drank a bottle of water and decided she wanted to be alone for awhile and went upstairs.
He'd gone to check on her around 6 PM and she was sleeping again so he decided to take advantage of the quiet time and take care of some personal matters. He sat in his office until he heard the doorbell around 8 PM. Jenna was supposed to bring Conner home after dinner and Jack was amazed at how quickly the last two hours had gone by. He made his way to the foyer and opened the front door. Conner was standing beside Jenna holding her hand. He had his pajamas on and didn't look very happy. Jack reached out and picked him up and the boy immediately wrapped his arms around his neck and began crying.
"Hey, what's wrong buddy?" Jack asked.
"I didn't mean to be bad daddy. It was a game." Conner cried.
Jack looked at Jenna for an answer, but she simply folded her arms across her chest and tugged on Conner's shoulder.
"Stop your crying Conner and show your dad what you did." Jenna ordered in a stern voice.
Conner lifted his head and looked at Jack with big, sad, tear-filled eyes that weren't the eyes of a little boy who was crying because he thought he was going to be in trouble, but because he was crushed. Jack noticed that he had splotches all over the back of his head and a couple on the sides, like someone had given him a really bad haircut.
"What happened to your hair Conner?" Jack asked biting back the laugh he was sure would be inappropriate.
"Rachel cut it daddy." Conner cried.
"Hey, it's okay. We can fix it." Jack chuckled trying to soothe his son who was entirely too upset over a bad haircut.
"Now tell your dad what you did to Rachel." Jenna demanded.
"I cut Rachel's hair daddy, but she asked me to. She said we were playing beauty shop." Conner explained, his voice hitching as he tried to calm down.
"I'm sorry Jenna, is it bad?" Jack asked fighting back the grin that was trying to force its way onto his face.
"I should've guessed you'd find this funny Jack. It's no wonder he overreacts when he actually receives some much deserved discipline." Jenna snapped.
Jack was no longer amused and he looked at his son, understanding that he wasn't crying over his bad haircut, but whatever had been done to him as punishment.
"Did you get punished Conner?" Jack asked in a calm tone.
Conner's bottom lip was quivering and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as he nodded yes to his father. Jack could feel the rage building at the realization that either Jenna or Mike had hit his son, something Jack had never done, but knew that Jenna's children were frequent recipients of the rod.
"Show daddy." Jack whispered softly into his son's ear.
Conner moved his hand over the area where the back of his leg joined his butt. Jack pulled the child's pajama pants down far enough to see the welt on his son's leg and shot Jenna a look that told her she had finally crossed the line.
"It's okay baby, I know you thought it was just a game and I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, but I promise it will never happen again." Jack spoke softly to his son, hugging him tightly and kissing the side of his face.
"It really hurt daddy and I'm not bad, I promise." Conner cried.
"I know you aren't bad. I love you so much. You know that right?" Jack told him hugging him and trying to reassure him while shooting daggers at Jenna.
"I know. I made a picture for Kate daddy. Can I give it to her?" Conner asked.
Jack set the boy down and kneeled down in front of him.
"Kate is upstairs in my bedroom. You can take your picture to her, but if she's asleep don't wake her up. I'm going to talk to Aunt Jenna so you stay up there until I come to get you." Jack said and watched the boy disappear up the stairs with his backpack before turning on Jenna.
"You hit my son with a belt?" Jack asked his tone suggesting he was ready to hit her with a belt.
"It was the strap we use to discipline Sam and Rachel. He wouldn't stand still and that's why he ended up with a couple of welts. It'll fade by morning." Jenna explained.
"There's more than one? Jesus Christ are you out of your fucking mind?!" Jack yelled.
"Why do you insist on talking that way to me Jack? You know it offends me." Jenna said.
"Yeah, well people beating my son offends the hell out of me. We've had this discussion before and I thought I made it perfectly clear that you were to never strike him." Jack told her.
"Rachel's hair is ruined Jack. I'll have to cut it off above her shoulders and you know how the church frowns on that." Jenna explained.
"The church." Jack huffed in a sarcastic tone.
"Yes Jack, the church, the one you refuse to let your son be a part of, the one you drove my sister away from." Jenna accused.
"I had nothing to do with Em's decision to stop going to church." Jack argued.
"Jack she loved the church and she believed in all of its teachings and she believed that you understood. She boasted to me about how you respected her beliefs and didn't pressure her to have sex before your wedding night. She had to have been devastated that you refused to become a part of the church with her." Jenna told him making Jack laugh lightly.
"You're kidding right?" Jack asked and chuckled again.
"What's so amusing now Jack?" Jenna asked.
"Nothing, you just didn't know your sister very well." Jack said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jenna asked.
"Never mind. I'm not going to discuss Emily or her beliefs with you because it's pretty obvious that the hopes and dreams she shared with me aren't the same as what she shared with you, but I will not tolerate you hitting my son and trust me neither would she." Jack told her.
"Like I said, if he would've stood still the strap wouldn't have left welts." Jenna said.
"You expect a five year old to stand still while someone is beating his ass with a leather strap?" Jack asked the anger in his eyes scaring her enough to back away.
"My children stand still because they know that every time you move you get another lash added on." Jenna told him.
"How many times did you hit my son Jenna?" Jack asked as he moved closer, angry and close to trapping her between him and the wall.
"We start out with the number of swings of the strap equaling how old you are. If you move you get more. Mike made me stop when it became clear Conner wasn't going to stand still." Jenna explained.
Jack turned her around and pinned her against the wall, his chest in her back, his mouth next to her ear, angry and ready to snap her in half.
"Tell ya what Jenna, how about you stand right here and let me hit you with my belt five times, you think you could stand still while I do that?" Jack threatened.
"Go ahead Jack. It's your fault Conner is acting up, bringing some strange woman into your house, letting her sleep in your bed, having your bedroom door locked because you are exercising. So if beating me up helps you feel better about the fact that you're carrying on with some woman in front of your son go ahead." Jenna told him.
Jack let go of her and she turned to face him.
"So that's what this is about? I'm letting Conner wake up and find a woman in daddy's bed so I must be getting ready to give him that mommy he's always asking for? That pisses you off doesn't it? In your mind I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life married to Emily. You're mad at me so you're taking it out on Conner." Jack pushed.
"So you don't deny that you're having sex with this woman while Conner is sleeping right down the hall?" Jenna asked as if it were behavior she could never hope to comprehend, much less condone.
"Jenna what goes on in my house and especially in my bedroom is none of your business. I don't judge how you choose to live your life and it would've been nice to get the same in return. You crossed a line today and I can't allow you be alone with Conner anymore." Jack said.
"Jack, please don't say that. I'm sorry." Jenna begged.
"Sorry Jenna, in my world people don't get a second chance to beat a child, especially my child." Jack said coldly.
"I didn't beat him." Jenna objected.
"You did beat him Jenna. You didn't just lose your temper, snatch him up and swat him a few times. Hell, I could've understood how that happens. You methodically planned out a punishment that included a leather strap. How long did you make him think about it before you actually did it? He must've felt so confused and afraid and if you were a man I would beat the shit out of you. Do you get that I literally want to kill you right this minute?" Jack growled his face so close to her she could feel his breath.
"I think you are over-reacting to the child getting a long overdue spanking Jack. I'm sorry that the strap slipped and marked him, but I did not beat him. I love Conner and you can't keep me from seeing him." Jenna protested.
"Oh yes I can. From now on, if you want to see him you will come over here and see him." Jack told her.
Meanwhile, upstairs Conner has taken his backpack to his bedroom and pulled out the picture he drew for Kate. He walks slowly to his father's bedroom and peeks in the door. Kate spots him immediately and smiles.
"Hey Conner." Kate calls out softly.
"Hi Kate, my dad said not to wake you up. Did I wake you up?" Conner asked.
"No sweetie, I was already awake. You want to come in and keep me company?" Kate asked and smiled as the child happily ran to the bed and climbed up as best he could with one hand, the other clutching the piece of paper tightly.
Kate watched him struggle and then finally make it up onto the bed. He walked toward her on his knees and finally relaxed right beside her, knees bent and legs folded underneath him.
"I made a picture for you." Conner said and handed the picture to Kate.
Kate sat up and leaned her back against the headboard so she could get a good look at the picture. It was an angel hugging a little boy and both the little boy and the angel had big smiles on their faces.
"Is this TJ in heaven?" Kate asked.
"Yes and that's my mommy. Daddy says she's not, but I think she's been kind of sad up there all by herself." Conner told her.
"I don't think your dad would tell you she's not sad if he thought she was." Kate offered.
"He always says he's not sad, but he is. I think he misses my mom a lot. He just says he's not sad so I won't be sad. I think if my dad is so sad, my mom must be even sadder because she's all by herself." Conner
"So you think TJ is keeping her company now?" Kate asked the innocence of the child's beliefs too sweet and charming to be upsetting to her.
"Uh huh and that's good because daddy says she was a great mom so now TJ won't be scared or sad. Do you think that's true Kate? I don't want TJ to be sad or scared." Conner said.
"I think for the first time ever TJ isn't sad or scared or hurting." Kate said.
"Are you still sad?" Conner asked.
"I'm still sad, but you cheered me up some and if I could have a big hug I think I'd feel a lot better." Kate told him.
Conner scooted closer to her and let her wrap him up in a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed back, the feeling of his small arms around her neck making her want to squeeze him and hold him until he begged for mercy. She finally let him go and kissed him on the cheek.
"You're very pretty Kate." Conner said.
"Well thank you Conner." Kate said taking notice of the boy's wild, chopped up hair.
"Are you going to live with us now?" Conner asked
"No sweetie, I'm just staying for a few days, until I feel better." Kate explained.
"Don't you like my dad?" Conner asked.
"I like your dad very much and I like you very much too, but I have my own house." Kate told him.
"I like you very much too and my dad isn't sad when he's with you." Conner told her.
Kate studied the child for a moment. In the short time she'd known Jack and his son they had been dealing with grief and sadness, yet this little boy could tell that his father was happy.
"How'd you get so smart kid?" Kate asked and smiled at him?
"Grandpa says I'm smart like my dad." Conner boasted proudly obviously pleased to be compared to his father.
"I think your grandpa is right. Now, I have to ask and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what happened to your hair, did you cut it yourself?" Kate asked.
Conner's bottom lip began quivering again and he began crying. Kate pulled him close to her and encouraged him to tell her what was wrong. He told her about his upsetting ordeal while Kate held him safely next to her. She was almost as enraged as Jack currently was, the idea of striking this sweet, adorable child over and over making her want to go downstairs and strike his aunt over and over. They both finally lay back down on the pillows and Kate listened to Conner talk about his day at school and about how the first picture he drew was destroyed and about all the things he and his dad like to do together. Kate was content to let the child carry on, deciding that listening to the problems of a five year old made her feel useful again and took her mind off her grief.
Jack had finished battling with Jenna and asked her to leave and not contact him for awhile. He understood how important their religious beliefs were to them, but he couldn't allow those beliefs to trickle down into how he wanted his son raised, especially the whole "spare the rod, spoil the child" belief. That they had whipped his son and made him feel scared, alone and picked on was something he was pretty sure he couldn't just shrug off.
Jenna didn't like it and a part of her believed Jack would need her and would give in and she'd have Conner again, but the part of her who knew how stubborn Jack was worried. Their family would be moving in a few months and leaving knowing she'd never see Conner again wasn't something she was ready to accept.
Jack took the stairs two at a time in search of his son. He wanted to see for himself what Jenna and her strap had done to him physically. He went to Conner's bedroom and didn't find him so he guessed he must've taken his picture to Kate and was busy talking her ear off. He entered his bedroom and stopped for a moment. Kate was gently brushing a few wild hairs away from Conner's face and Conner was snuggled up next to her, head resting on her bosom sleeping soundly. He walked over and sat on the bed beside Kate.
"Looks like you've made a friend for life." Jack said and smiled at her.
"He's so sweet Jack." Kate said.
"Well, his mom was pretty sweet so I'll give her all the credit. She was definitely nothing like that fucked up family of hers." Jack said.
"Conner told me about it." Kate said.
Jack reached for Conner's pajama pants.
"What are you doing? You're going to wake him up." Kate protested.
"I need to see what they did to him. Don't worry, once he's out, he's out. He could sleep through an earthquake I think." Jack said and proceeded to pull the boy's pajama bottoms down.
Conner was positioned primarily on his stomach so the back of his legs and little underwear covered bottom were easy to see. Kate could see the rage in Jack's eyes when he saw the marks on Conner's legs. He pulled his underwear back and was relieved to see that there weren't any more marks. He pulled Conner's pajama pants back up and sat quietly, stewing.
"Did you see the picture he drew?" Kate asked pointing to the crayon drawing on the nightstand, trying to break the tension in the room.
Jack picked it up and looked at it. He noticed how in this drawing Emily was smiling and happy and sighed.
"Conner has been obsessed with his motherless situation for about a year now. He wants a mom like most kids want the latest new toy, but he worries that this mom would be jealous. This is the first picture I've seen where his mom isn't looking sad and lonely. My son never ceases to amaze me. He's wise beyond his years about some things." Jack said.
"He's definitely a sensitive child." Kate agreed.
"Yeah, but he's still just five and when you're five you think your dad can just go to the mommy store and pick one out." Jack said and reached to pick his son up.
"Let him stay Jack. I don't mind." Kate said.
"Kate, I don't think…" Jack said, unable to find the right words.
"It's okay Jack, I understand you don't want him to get hurt and I'll be sensitive to that, but he's had a bad day, we've all had a bad day so would it be so awful to stick together tonight?" Kate suggested.
"It might be Kate. Jenna is right. I shouldn't be subjecting Conner to this relationship. You and I have connected or at least in my mind we have, but who's to say that whatever connection we've made is going to be strong enough to survive what lies ahead. It's wrong to let him get attached to you when all he wants in the whole world is a mother and you've just suffered a loss so devastating that the last thing you need is someone else's child needing you in that way." Jack said and picked the child up, carrying him out of the room before Kate had a chance to respond.
When Jack came back to the bedroom, Kate was up gathering her things.
"What are you doing?" Jack asked.
"You're right Jack, it's unfair to subject Conner or you or myself to this." Kate said.
"Kate, I didn't mean I wanted you to leave." Jack argued.
"I know Jack, but I need to." Kate said.
"So you're mad." Jack said.
"I'm not mad Jack, I'm not anything. One minute you're demanding I stay because you're worried and the next minute you're worried about me being around your kid. I think I'm beginning to understand why you're alone." Kate said.
"I'm alone because I haven't met anyone worth fighting for until now. Would you believe I could know you're worth fighting for after just a week?" Jack asked softly.
"Yes Jack, because after just a week I want to fight for you and if I weren't so emotionally exhausted I probably would. I buried my son today and maybe it's selfish, but right now I don't feel like fighting for you or anyone else so if you're going to get all weird about me showing your son affection I'm not going to argue with you about it." Kate said.
"Do you think Conner was acting out today? Do you think he cut Rachel's hair on purpose and deserved to be punished? Is he reacting to us or was it really just a game that he didn't understand was wrong?" Jack asked.
"I used to spend a lot of time working with children and hair cutting incidents were quite common. Think about it. They go to the barber shop or beauty shop and see it being done. The urge to try it themselves has got to be irresistible to them and it's not like anyone has ever suggested that cutting hair is a bad thing to do. So yes, I believe he really thought they were playing a game and no child deserves to have a belt or strap taken to them and no I don't believe he's reacting adversely to you and me because he seems very concerned about whether or not I like you." Kate told him.
"You're a teacher?" Jack asked.
"I'm certified to teach, but I prefer counseling, working with troubled children, supporting child advocacy groups. I gave it up when TJ got sick." Kate said.
"Yet one more reason to remain in awe of you." Jack said and smiled.
"Yet, you seem so apprehensive about us all of the sudden. How'd that happen Jack?" Kate asked.
"You know in all the years Conner and I have been on our own I never let any of the women I dated spend much time with him and they were never allowed to spend the night. It felt like it wasn't something I should be exposing him to, but it never felt that way with you. I know it's only been a week Kate, but it just feels right and allowing him to see me showing you affection seems like the most natural thing in the world and it never occurred to me that I was being irresponsible until Jenna pointed it out." Jack explained.
"A woman that hits children with a leather strap is going to lecture someone on being an irresponsible parent?" Kate scoffed making him laugh lightly.
"I'm sorry Kate, you don't need to deal with this, not today. I really don't want you to leave, but I wouldn't blame you if you did." Jack said.
She approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up into his tortured orbs.
"Don't be sorry. It's kind of therapeutic to have someone else's problems to think about. It makes me feel like maybe you and Conner need me as much as I need the two of you." Kate told him.
Jack leaned in and kissed her softly.
"I think we need you more." Jack admitted.
"Conner told me I was pretty." Kate said with a smile.
"He's obviously inherited his father's taste in women." Jack teased.
"He's okay Jack. What happened to him today upset him, but don't beat yourself up and convince yourself he's scarred for life." Kate offered.
"Is that expert advice?" Jack asked with a grin.
"Yes and it's free." Kate replied with a smile, kissing him lightly and gliding her hand lightly over the side of his face.
"So would letting him stay home from school tomorrow, getting his butchered hair fixed and hanging out with his dad and his dad's girlfriend be over-indulgent?" Jack asked and kissed her back, allowing the kiss to linger just long enough to leave her wanting more.
"So I've been elevated to girlfriend status? Personally, I like it when you're over-indulgent." She said and tried to kiss him again, but he pulled back, teasing her.
"So is there anything in particular you prefer me to be overly generous about?" He continued to tease her, holding her close and slowly backing her toward the bed.
She put her mouth to his ear and whispered, making him groan and smile at the same time. He laid her on the bed following on top of her, his dark smoldering eyes gazing into hers.
"You really want to indulge in that huh?" He asked.
"Oh yeah, more than I want to indulge in chocolate once a month, much more fun a lot fewer calories." Kate giggled his hands moving inside her shirt tickling her.
He stopped tickling her and looked into her eyes again, his heart bursting and ready to indulge in anything she wanted, as long as it made her happy.
"I love you Kate." He said in a low, husky tone and immediately closed his mouth over hers, trapping her in a deep passionate kiss, not allowing her the chance to respond or to not respond.