Sorry it's been awhile I know. It's been crazy. Lots and lots of fluff in this chapter. Are they finally on the road to happily ever after or is this just the calm before the storm? Hmmm... Thanks for all your kind words!
It was the Friday before Conner's birthday party and the day of his actual birthday. Jack had spent the last couple of days trying to help Kate find the gift she wanted to give Conner. He wasn't too sure about it, but knew that his son would be thrilled and wasn't going to rain on Kate's parade. She was very specific about the color and size of the gift so they'd been all over the city trying to find exactly what she wanted and had finally found it with only three places left to look.
He helped her put the surprise together for Conner, planning on giving it to him as soon as he woke up, which Jack guessed would be brutally early, the child's excitement over finally being six years old making it difficult for him to go to sleep the night before. They would have a few presents and then go out for breakfast. Jack and Kate planned on taking Conner to school with birthday cupcakes for the class and then they would spend the day shopping for the party. The enthusiasm that Kate was planning Conner's day with was contagious and Jack found himself almost as excited as they were.
Jack set an alarm for 5 AM so he and Kate could wake up and shower before waking Conner. By 6:30 AM they were ready to face the day and headed toward Conner's bedroom with a large box. Jack stopped her just outside Conner's door and looked at her, his eyes showing a look of complete awe and appreciation. He leaned in and kissed her.
"What was that for?" She asked.
"For being you. He's about to have the best birthday of his young life and it really means a lot to me that you care so much about him." Jack said.
"I love him Jack. If I didn't, I wouldn't be so excited about being called mommy again." She told him.
He kissed her once more and the entered the bedroom. Jack could tell Conner was pretending to be asleep and grinned.
"Well I guess since he's asleep we'll have to save this present for the party tomorrow." Jack told Kate.
Conner's eyes popped open and he sprang up onto his knees.
"I'm awake daddy!" Conner squealed making both Jack and Kate laugh.
They sat on either side of the bed and Jack set the box down in front of Conner. Conner eagerly reached for the lid and Jack stopped him, pulling the card off the top of the box and handing it to him.
"Read the card first son." Jack instructed.
Conner sighed and ripped the envelope open. He pulled the card out and studied it, his ability to read words beyond what it should be for his age, but not something he breezed through either. He looked at the words printed carefully inside in ink and read them slowly and out loud.
"This is your first birthday as my son so I want it to be sp..sp….what's this word dad." Conner asked.
"Special." Jack answered.
"special. I hope you love this as much as I love you. Love, Mommy" Conner finished and then went quiet reading the words again, comprehension not his strong suit yet. He studied the card for close to a minute and then looked up, grinning from ear to ear.
"I can really call you mommy?" Conner asked.
"Do you want to?" Kate asked.
"Yes!" Conner said excitedly, clapping his hands together making Jack smile.
"Okay, but you have to finish opening your present first." Kate told him, looking over to Jack and smiling, giddy with anticipation.
Conner lifted the lid off the box and looked inside, his face lit up and he reached inside.
"It's my puppy! Just like my pictures! Daddy look! He's the one I always wanted!" Conner squealed with excitement as he pulled the puppy out of the box and hugged it.
Jack laughed lightly at how excited Conner was and decided that a dog probably wouldn't be so bad, the child's genuine happiness over it worth any trouble a puppy might get into.
"Kate knew exactly what you wanted, except it's not a he, it's a she." Jack told him.
"It's not Kate daddy. It's mom now." Conner corrected him.
"Sorry, I forgot. So are you going to thank your mom or what?" Jack asked.
Conner handed the puppy to Jack and leapt into Kate's arms, wrapping his arms around her neck and hugging her tightly.
"Thank you for my puppy and for being my mom. This is the best birthday I ever had." Conner told her.
Kate held him tightly, her eyes watering as she fought back the tears. He was the sweetest, most loving child she'd ever encountered and she could feel all the love he had for her wrapped up in the hug he was giving her.
"Hey, you better get your puppy back before she pees on your dad." Kate told him.
Jack gave her a "don't even suggest anything that disgusting" look and both Conner and Kate giggled.
"Let's go downstairs and make her eat something." Conner suggested and climbed out of his bed, not waiting for an answer from them.
Jack and Kate followed Conner down the stairs and into the kitchen and watched him stop in his tracks. The bicycle he'd been begging for was parked in the kitchen, complete with a helmet hanging from the handle bars.
"My bike! I got it!" Conner screamed and handed the puppy to Kate, his young mind in excitement overload.
Conner climbed onto the bike and sat on it. He looked down at the training wheels and frowned.
"What's wrong? It's the one you wanted isn't it?" Jack asked.
"It's for babies." Conner said so disappointed he was almost in tears.
Jack looked at Kate and they looked back at him and the bike and then Kate finally understood what the problem was.
"The training wheels Jack. He doesn't like them." Kate said.
Jack didn't even try to reason with the child, he walked out to the garage, grabbed a wrench and came back into the house.
"Run upstairs and get dressed bud and when you get back this bike will no longer be for babies." Jack told him.
"Come on Conner, I'll help you pick some clothes out and don't forget you've got a puppy to name." Kate told him, holding the puppy in one arm and taking Conner's hand with the other.
Conner stopped and looked at Jack who was squatted down beside the bike. He walked over to him, hugged him and stepped back.
"I love my bike daddy. I just don't like the baby wheels. Will you help me name my puppy?" Conner asked.
"It's okay. I screwed up. I knew you were too big for the baby wheels, I guess I'm having trouble getting used to you being such a little man. I'll teach you how to ride it when you get home from school today." Jack said.
"You're the best dad ever!" Conner said and hugged him again.
"Having a great kid like you makes being a dad the best job in the world. Go get dressed and maybe Ka……um, your mom would like to help you name your puppy." Jack suggested.
Conner took hold of Kate's hand again and they left the kitchen chattering about what to name the puppy. Jack watched them walk away and realized he couldn't stop smiling and what a good feeling that was. He made quick work of removing the training wheels and by the time Conner and Kate returned, the bike was perfect according to Conner. He sat in the corner playing with his puppy while Jack and Kate prepared to leave for breakfast. Jack glanced over at Conner and then grabbed Kate from behind, turning her around and pulling her into his chest and stomach. He kissed her and smiled at her.
"So, did you come up with a name for the newest member of our family?" Jack asked.
"Yup, we're going to call her Frisco." Kate said.
"Yeah, how'd you come up with that?" Jack asked.
"It was easy. It's where we met." Kate answered.
"Did you tell Conner the reason behind the name?" Jack asked.
"Yes, I did and he said that was a cool name and that he was glad his daddy met me." Kate answered.
"His daddy is glad he met you too." Jack said and kissed her sweetly.
"Daddy where is Frisco going to stay while we're gone?" Conner asked.
"We'll put her in the bathroom by the laundry room with some newspapers." Jack said as he pulled away from and Kate, grabbed some newspapers and had Conner follow him into the laundry room.
With the dog taken care of and everyone dressed they left to enjoy breakfast together before taking Conner to school. They dropped Conner and his cupcakes off at school and headed into the city to shop for party games and decorations. Jack had never done anything like this and his sensible side told him they were over doing it, but after watching the two people in his life that meant everything to him that morning and how excited both of them were he decided that splurging on this particular birthday party would be okay.
They picked Conner up from school and offered to take him to lunch, but he wanted to get home to his puppy and new bike. While Kate prepared lunch for them, Jack took Conner outside and began teaching him how to ride a bike. He fell a few times and scraped his knee and elbow pretty bad once, but refused to let his dad take him inside and clean the wounds until he could ride his bike. Jack recognized his own stubborn streak in his son and laughed. After a few more tries and quite a bit of wobbling Conner finally managed to get his body balanced and coordinated and took off down the sidewalk, screaming excitedly that he was doing it. Jack sat on the lawn and watched him ride. He was allowed to go two houses before he had to turn around and come back. After a few trips back and forth Jack stood up and grabbed the bike when Conner got close enough.
"Okay buddy, that's enough for now. You need to go inside and eat and rest for awhile." Jack told.
"No daddy, it's my birthday! Please, I want to ride some more." Conner begged.
"Come inside and eat and let me clean up those scrapes and you can skip your rest time today. We'll walk to down to the playground and you can ride on the trails there." Jack told him.
They managed to get Conner to eat half of a sandwich before he dragged both of them down to the playground to watch him ride. Kate and Jack lay on a blanket in the grass watching Conner ride over the bicycle trails in the park.
"It's amazing he picked that up so fast. Let me guess, you were both smart and athletic as a child." Kate teased.
"I don't know how athletic I was, but I played sports. It really pissed my father off so I did my best to excel at as many of them as I could. I lettered in 3 sports in high school." Jack admitted.
"Your dad wanted a doctor not an athlete huh?" Kate asked.
"Oh no, not just any doctor, the best, better than him. Of course he made sure to remind me daily that I didn't have what it takes to be as good as him. I'm not sure what his reasoning was behind that. I guess it was supposed to give me the incentive to try harder, but I think all it really did was drive a really big wedge between us, made me resent him and all his plans for me." Jack said.
"That's sad Jack." Kate said.
"No it's not, it's pathetic. He really has been trying hard lately to be a father to me. It's kind of strange, keeps me on my toes and makes me wonder what he's really got up his sleeve." Jack told her.
"Maybe he really just wants to be a part of your life Jack." Kate suggested.
"Maybe, and that would be great, but it'll take a lot of effort on his part to convince me there is no ulterior motive. He did say my mom has a surprise for Conner. Dare I dream of the idea of my child having normal grandparents?" Jack asked, a twinge of sadness in his voice.
"You can't stop dreaming Jack." Kate said.
"Yeah, what do you dream about?" He asked.
"My dreams came true in San Francisco so I'll have to come up with a new one eventually." Kate told him and kissed him.
"Really? I bought you a present while we were out today. Maybe now you don't want it." Jack teased.
"What is it?" Kate asked.
"It's nothing really, just a little something I saw and decided you had to have." Jack said and handed her a small square box that he'd even taken the time to have gift wrapped.
"When did you manage to do this where I wouldn't see?" Kate asked.
"If I tell you all my secrets, shopping for you at Christmas will be impossible." Jack said and laughed lightly.
Kate opened the box and lifted the lid. When she saw what was inside she felt herself becoming weepy. She pulled out the hot pink, glow in the dark yo-yo and smiled.
"This is so great Jack, I can't believe you remembered." Kate said and wiped away the few tears that escaped.
He hugged her and kissed her gently.
"It wasn't supposed to make you cry." He chuckled.
"It's hormones." Kate said.
"Oh good, so does this mean you'll be getting naked later and yo-yoing for me?" Jack teased.
"It glows in the dark, I can get naked and yo-yo in the dark for you." Kate laughed.
"No, this is my dream and in my dreams it is never dark when you are naked." He told her and rolled her onto her back kissing her with a wet, passionate, loving mouth.
They continued to kiss, both being drawn in deeper than either had anticipated, while trying to keep an eye on Conner. Jack saw the accident about to happen and pulled his mouth away from hers about the time Conner slammed into the bench, slipping off the seat and landing hard on the bar.
"What happened?" Kate asked.
"Bicycle bar right between the legs." Jack said on his way to his feet.
Kate watched him run over to Conner who was lying on the ground, knees bent and holding himself. She decided it was the type of injury his dad was better equipped to deal with and waited on the blanket while Jack tended to him. When Jack got to Conner he was rolling on the ground, not crying, but about to.
"Conner roll onto your back and take some deep breaths." Jack instructed as he knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That really hurt daddy." Conner gasped.
"I know it did. Is it starting to feel better now?" He asked.
"Yeah, but I don't think I want to ride anymore today." Conner said forcing Jack to bite back a grin, knowing that straddling anything, especially a bicycle seat was the last thing a guy whose nuts are currently in his throat wants to do.
"That's fine. Come on, let's go home." Jack said and helped him stand up.
Kate watched them slowly walk over to her and began folding the blanket. She put the blanket, the water and her yo-yo in the backpack they'd brought with them and when they got to her she kneeled down in front of Conner.
"You looked really great on that bike. Maybe I'll get one too and we can ride together after school sometimes." Kate offered.
"That would be fun. I'm tired daddy, will you carry me?" Conner asked.
"Carry you? You're six now, are you sure you aren't too big to let me carry you?" Jack teased.
"Please daddy. I'm not too big." Conner pleaded with the hint of whine that indicated the child needed to rest or would be too grumpy to enjoy his evening with his grandparents.
Jack picked him up and Conner wrapped his arms and legs around him, laying his head on his shoulder. Kate put the backpack on her back and pushed the bike. Conner was asleep before they got out of the park.
"He's so adorable when he's snuggled up on you like that." Kate said.
"He really is getting too big for this. It's sad, but it's true." Jack said.
"Pretty soon, you'll have another tiny person to tote around on your shoulder." Kate said.
"I can't wait. I missed most of Conner's tiny person days. Of course I'll probably have the six year old on one shoulder and the baby on the other until he gets used to the idea of sharing me. He's never had to." Jack said.
"You know when you say things like that Jack I just want to do all kinds of naughty things to you because you are easily at your sexiest when you're being a doting daddy." Kate told him.
"Take a mental picture for later then." Jack chuckled.
"You're so bad Jack. I bet the people you work with would be shocked to find out just how adventurous you are in the bedroom." Kate teased.
"I'm not bad, I'm crazy in love with you and want to enjoy you in as many ways as I can. I'll be bad though if you promise to spank me." Jack teased back.
They made the trek home and Jack lay Conner on the couch, deciding he'd let him sleep for about an hour and then get him ready to go with his grandparents. Christian and Margo showed up promptly at 6 PM to pick him up. Conner sat on the couch, rested and freshly bathed, playing a video game.
"Are you ready to go Conner?" Christian asked.
"Daddy, who is going to sleep with Frisco if I'm not here?" Conner asked.
"Son, you aren't sleeping with Frisco when you are home, let's make that clear right now." Jack answered.
"Who is Frisco?" Margo asked.
"It's my new puppy. Do you want to see it grandma?" Conner asked.
"You finally got your dad to buy you that puppy?" Margo asked.
"Nope, my mom bought it for me. Come see it!" Conner said excitedly.
Margo looked at Jack with questioning eyes, wondering if he'd gotten married and not bothered to invite his mother.
"Go with the boy dear, he's going crazy. I'll get his things while you're looking at the puppy." Christian said.
Margo took the boy's hand and let him lead her to the laundry room to see the puppy. She passed Kate who was in the kitchen preparing snacks for the party the next day and quickly looked at her ring finger for any sign of a wedding band. Christian took Conner's backpack from Jack and Jack could see the question in his eyes.
"No, we didn't get married yet. We just decided it would okay to let him call her mom." Jack said.
"I see." Christian said.
"What?" Jack asked aggravated by his father's tone.
"Nothing Jack, I'm just wondering why you've made all these moves to become a family and seem to be resisting the one simple thing that will seal the deal." Christian said.
"I told you, we don't want to bother with it right now." Jack said his tone entirely too defensive.
"Are you sure Jack? Kate's put together quite a party for tomorrow. She doesn't seem like someone that would shy away from planning a wedding." Christian said.
"Dad, can we not talk about this tonight?" Jack asked.
"Fair enough, what time are you picking him up tomorrow?" Christian asked.
"The party is at 2 PM. I'll be there around noon if that's okay." Jack said.
"That's fine. I take it he knows he's having a party." Christian said.
"Yes, he thinks he's having some friends over for cake and ice cream. He has no idea what Kate has put together for him though. It's too much in my opinion, but it seemed to be important to her to do this." Jack said.
"When you were three your mother threw a party for you fit for royalty, complete with a carousel and when you were five we took you and a bunch of your friends to Disneyland for the day. You turned out okay." Christian said.
"Let's go grandpa!" Conner chimed from the dining room before Jack had a chance to respond to his father.
"Hey, aren't you going to tell me goodbye?" Jack asked.
Conner walked over to his dad who picked him up, kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tightly.
"Bye daddy. Don't forget to kiss Frisco goodnight." Conner told him, making him smile.
"You have fun and be good for grandma. Don't wreck her flowers or anything." Jack told him.
"I won't. Grandma made me my own place to grow flowers. That's more fun than wrecking them." Conner told him.
Jack looked at his mother and she smiled at him. He could remember doing the same thing with her when he was a boy and how his father had scoffed at the idea of his son playing with flowers.
"That's great. I'll have to come see your flowers tomorrow when I pick you up." Jack said and set the boy down.
Jack walked his parents and Conner out to their car and re-entered the house to help Kate with the decorating. Three hours later the entire house was covered with streamers, confetti, balloons, goody bags, signs, games and prizes. The giant inflatable that the kids would be jumping in all afternoon had been delivered and set up in the backyard and they were putting the finishing touches on the duck pond and the dunk tank. Jack grabbed Kate by the hand and led her inside the inflatable. They jumped around for a few minutes and then fell into the comfort of it dead center.
"Conner is going to love this." Jack said.
"I hope so. All little kids should have at least one really great birthday carnival. I think the 6th birthday is the perfect age to enjoy it." Kate said.
"I can't believe you're going to sacrifice me to that dunk tank. Hopefully those little kids can't throw very well." Jack laughed.
"There's a clown coming to make balloon animals for them. Maybe you can bribe him or her to take a few shifts for you." Kate said.
"What do you suppose a clown's price is?" Jack asked.
"I'll take a few shifts if you want." Kate offered.
"No way." Jack objected.
"Why not?" Kate asked.
"Because you're pregnant and don't need to be dropping into a tank of water over and over. Plus I don't want any dads that might be around gawking at your wet t-shirt." He said with a hint of jealousy.
"Mmmm….I love it when you act all jealous, it makes me want you bad." Kate said.
"Ever made love in a moonwalk Kate?" Jack asked as he kissed her and slipped his hand underneath her shirt.
"Jack, what about the neighbors?" Kate protested and pushed his hand away.
"Let them get their own moonwalk." Jack said and deepened the kiss.
It didn't take him long to have all of her clothes tossed out onto the lawn along with his own. The night air was cool, but he kept her wrapped up tightly to keep her warm, kissing her and caressing every inch of her. The smell and taste of her overwhelmed his senses and drove his hunger for her over the edge, eliminating any foreplay, him pushing inside of her as soon as the clothes were out of the way. The bouncy surface below them would spring her back into him every time he thrust into her, pushing him deeper and making him find it hard to stay focused.
"Oh fuck Kate, I'm sorry." He groaned unable to control his release.
His body jerked as his hot seed filled her. She rubbed her hands over his back until he was finished, wishing he didn't look so ashamed when he finally looked up at her.
"It's okay Jack, you can't always control everything you know." She told him and giggled.
"Ah don't laugh at me. It's liable to cause serious damage." He said as he moved off of her.
"I doubt that. I bet I could get up and jump around and you'd be hard again within 10 minutes." She dared.
"Kate I don't think I've come and been ready to go again that fast since I was 13." He chuckled.
"You were having sex when you were 13?" Kate asked in a shocked tone.
"Yep, I was very closely acquainted with Rosie and her five friends." Jack answered as he held his right hand up and wiggled his fingers.
"That's kind of hot Jack. Will you masturbate for me sometime?" Kate asked.
"Kate, you're being weird." He laughed.
"Oh right, like you wouldn't want to watch me do that." Kate laughed.
"That's different." He objected and then laughed at how stupid that sounded.
He pulled her over to him until she was sitting on his stomach. He slowly moved his hands up her stomach and gently over her breasts. She leaned forward and kissed him as his hands moved over her back, butt and thighs. She felt him slip a finger inside of her and gasped lightly, moving her pelvis over his stomach, trying to get the right friction going.
He gently flipped her over onto her back and scooted down between her legs. He reinserted his finger and lowered his mouth, slowly moving his tongue through her slit and then sucking on the tiny bundle of nerves that was swollen and sensitive to the touch. He applied gentle pressure with the tip of his tongue and continued to move his finger in and out. She began to moan and rotate her hips slightly.
"Right there Jack, don't stop, I'm almost there." She panted and then clamped her thighs around his head, squealing and bucking beneath him.
When she finished he sat up on his knees in front of her, erect and ready to go again. She sat up and took him into her hands, holding him and gently moving her hands over him, feeling him grow harder as she did so.
"See, I knew it wouldn't take long." Kate said, a mischievous grin on her face that was so naughty and cute he thought he might come in her hand.
"Turn around." He said, his eyes clouded with desire, his voice close to cracking.
She turned around, sitting up on her hands and knees and looking back over her shoulder at him. He maintained eye contact with her while he slowly pushed himself into her, deeper and deeper, as deep as she could stand.
"You're so deep Jack." She moaned pushing herself back into him and driving him deeper, feeling his balls make contact with her skin.
"Jesus Kate." He whispered in a breathy tone and began moving in and out of her.
The bouncy surface beneath them was making it hard for him to stay inside of her, her body wanting to bounce away from him. He was afraid he'd get carried away, slip all the way out and plunge back into the wrong opening so he stopped and encouraged her to sit up. She slowly sat up and leaned into him, her back resting against his chest, her lower half sitting down onto him. She moaned as his hand slipped between her legs, rubbing her while he thrust himself inside of her.
"Jack." She panted.
"You want it harder and faster?" He asked.
"Yes." She moaned.
"Then say it and don't stop saying it until I make you come." He said through gritted teeth.
Kate began panting "fuck me hard" over and over and squealed as she felt him grow harder inside of her, the naughty request spewing from her mouth making him crazy. She reached behind her and clasped her hands behind his neck. He held onto her with one arm, while his hand gently massaged her clit. He drove himself into her in rhythm with her demand, over and over and over until both of them finally stiffened and came hard, groaning and moaning and panting, their sweaty bodies stuck together. He stayed inside her and laid them on their sides, both of them breathing hard.
"Get a room!" The neighbor yelled from the other side of the privacy fence making both of them let go of a light, breathy laugh.
"How about we go upstairs and soak in a nice hot bath and then get some rest. We're having a birthday carnival tomorrow and will need all of our energy." Jack said.