Here's The New Chapter :)
Aaron came home from Soccer practice slamming the door open on his way in the house. Running to the kitchen, Christian followed suit.
"Daddy Daddy!" He screamed out as he ran into the kitchen, he saw his dad and Kate sitting at the counter.
"Whoa slow down Buddy" Jack said picking him up and sitting him on the counter
"He's got good news Son" Jack heard his father say as he walked in
"Thanks for bringing him Dad" Jack looked over at his father
Nodding he replied "See you later Aaron" He waved at the little boy "Nice seeing you again Kate" He finished in a toned voice before leaving.
Jack couldn't figure out if he was trying to be civil to Kate or just trying to get a rise out of him, either way he didn't care, remembering Aaron had news
"So what's this good news Sport?" He said smiling at his son's big smile on his face
"Look Daddy! Look!" He said happily holding up a piece of paper addressed to Jack
Reading it over he looked back at Aaron "Aaron that's awesome, MVP of the month" He told him with a smile
Aaron jumped up off the counter and flew into Jack's arms, wrapping his little ones around his daddy's neck.
"Are you proud of me Daddy?" He asked pulling away to look at his dad
"I'm always proud of you Aaron" He said "But yes I am very proud" He said holding him tighter and he felt Aaron press a soft kiss on his cheek
"Does that mean you'll come?" He asked his daddy
Jack smiled "I wouldn't miss it for the world Buddy" Setting him back on the table
Aaron looked over at Kate who had been watching the whole thing smiling "Will you come too Miss Austen?"
Kate looked over at Jack who raised his eyebrow and nodded "Of course I will Aaron" She told him, and he scouted over to the other side of the counter and gave Kate a warm hug, looking over the little boys shoulder at Jack to see him smiling at them, she wrapped her arms around the little guys frame.
It was the day of Aaron's award ceremony, it was later on tonight but right now Jack was working and Kate had said that she'd meet him there.
He finished his rounds and made sure everything was done in time for him to leave for Aaron's ceremony, it was at 7 o'clock and it was now 6, going into his office and grabbing his jacket to go home to change and then head to the school. On his way out the door he heard his name being called "Jack!"
Turning around he saw his father walking up to him with a man about his age dressed in a black suit
"Jack this is Joel, Joel this is my son and doctor here Jack" He introduced them
Jack shook his hand "It's nice to meet you"
"Joel is the head of the company that pays for the hospital funding" He told Jack and he tried to smile
Jack looked down at his watch "That's great, But I uhm have somewhere I need to be" He told the two men
"I was actually hoping to get a tour of the hospital, and your dad here tells me you're my man" He said to Jack
Jack looked at his father with an angry look "He did huh?"
"I did, so do you think you can manage this simple task Jack?" He asked his son harshly
Jack looked down at his watch again and swallowed hard, he didn't know why his father was doing this when he knew he had to get to Aaron.
"This is a very important man Jack" He added sternly
"Yeah, let's go Joel" He said taking in a large gulp
Meanwhile Kate kept looking at the clock as the time went on and on and still no Jack. She looked up to the front and saw Aaron looking at her in search of his dad, she waved at him and smiled and he raised his hand to wave back with a sad look on his face.
"Where the hell are you Jack" Kate mumbled under her breath
Time went on, and kids went up to get their own awards, and soon enough it was Aaron's turn, and then it ended and Jack still wasn't there.
Jack got out of the hospital around 9 and headed home, trying to think of a way to explain why he wasn't there for Aaron, he knew he was going to be furious and he had a right to be.
Pulling in drive way, and unlocking the door throwing his coat on the table by the door, he walked into the leaving room where he found Kate and Aaron sitting on the couch watching cartoons
Kate heard him come in and turned her head to look at him, she could see right away that he felt horrible and his eyes were sad, she gave him a sad smile and watched as Aaron realized he was home
Aaron looked back at him, and Jack gave him an apologetic look, the little boy turned off the television and walked passed his dad up the stairs without saying anything or making any kind of contact
"Aaron" Jack whispered
The little boy stopped on the third last step from the top of the staircase "You promised" He said quietly full of hurt
Jack could tell that he was hurting, and his voice was shaky "I know" He replied
"Where were you then?" He asked not needing to know the answer because he already knew
"I got…I got caught up at the hospital Buddy" He trailed off
The little boy nodded biting his bottom lip and eyes filling up with tears "It was more important than me" He said his words trembling
"Hey, I love you" Jack told him with tears forming in his own eyes now
"You love the hospital better than me, what did I do bad?" He stated not as a question but for how he was feeling
Jack gulp back a weep in his throat before replying "Nothing, Don't ever think that, you are the most important thing to me"
"Then why weren't you there!" He cried out "All the other Daddy's were there" He screamed at his dad letting all his emotions come out now
"I know, but I do care about you ,more than anything, you know that right?" He asked sadly
The little boy shook his head "Miss Austen cares about me but you don't" He said crying
Jack looked up at him frozen, he didn't know what to say, he knew what he wanted to say but the words just weren't coming out, so he just stood there looking at him and felt a single tear fall down his cheek
"You hate me, and I hate you!" Aaron screamed out loud, stomping the floor with tears flowing down his little cheeks onto his blue shirt
The little boy turned around to walk up the stairs "Aaron I'm sorry" Jack said softly his voice trembling
"I know" The little man replied without turning around, he walked up the rest of the stairs and slammed his bedroom door shut.
Jack turned around to walk to Kate, who silently watched the whole thing play out; he sat down next to her on couch, running his hand over his face trying to wipe away the tear stains
"You think he's ever going to forgive me?" Jack asked her with sad eyes
"I think this was important to him Jack, and he wanted to share that with you, the sad part is that he didn't enjoy it because he couldn't be proud of himself because he thought his daddy wasn't proud enough to come" She told him carefully trying to make him understand without hurting him
"I am proud of him Kate" He told her with his head down, not able to look at her
"I know you are, but he's just a kid and you can't just tell him you're proud, you need to show him, He needed you tonight and you weren't there" She said softly
"I know" He nodded
"So why weren't you there Jack" She asked
His face went tense immediately "My dad stuck me with this big shot from the company the hospital gets its funding from" He said to her running a hand over his head
"And that's why you missed it? To stay at the hospital?" She asked and he nodded
"Jesus Jack, I really don't understand you" She said harshly and got up off the couch to grab her jacket
"What?" He shot back at her
"I thought at least you would have been in surgery, you know a life or death situation" She stated and continued "But showing some guy around the hospital, anybody could have done that" She somewhat yelled at him, shooting her hands up in the air
"You don't get it, my father came to me and asked me to do it" He defended himself
Kate blow out a puff of air she'd been holding in "So you say no Jack! You tell him you have to be there for your son" She stated walking closer to him "God how old are you?, you still do everything your dad tells you to do?" She yelled "You should have made your own decision and you should have chosen that sweet little boy up stairs" She finished her rant
Jack was a bit taking back by her outburst, all the time he's known Kate she's been this down to earth girl, and now she was mad at him and that let him know that what he did was horrible, he's heart knew that but he's head wanted to fight, he's head wanted to win
"Well I'm sorry I'm not as perfect as you Kate, I'm sorry I'm not as good" He yelled back at her, shooting his arms out
"And I'm sorry that I'm not the greatest father okay? I didn't exactly ask to be one" He shot at her
Hearing his words her face got softer and she looked over at him and the pain in his face "What do you mean? What does that mean you didn't ask to be one?" She asked him moving closer
He turned towards the wall when he saw her walking over to him "Nothing, Can we just forget about it" turning around to see that she was practically pressed up against him now, she raised her hands to cup his face, looking directly in his eyes "Talk to me" She said
Running her hands down his side to grab his hand and pull him over to the couch, they sat there in silence for a while, their hands intertwined
"I have a sister" He said to her after a while "I had a sister" He corrected himself
Looking over at Kate knowing she was going to want him to explain "Her name was Claire" He said smiling as he spoke her name "She uhh she died a while back" He told her
Kate placed a hand on his shoulder "I'm so sorry Jack"
He nodded sadly "Me too"
"She had a condition called Placental Previa" He said looking at Kate, Kate had a sad but confused look on her face so he continued
"It's a condition that can cause you to Hemorrhage during child birth" He told her taking in a deep breath
Flashback
Claire was sitting in the room that was soon going to be her baby's nursery; she was putting things in a box and writing a letter to her unborn child just in case she didn't make it.
"Claire" She heard her brother yell from the bottom of the stairs "Claire, What are you doing?" He asked once he reached the top of the stairs
"I'm in the nursery Jack" She replied
"What are you doing in here?" He asked
She shrugged "I need to talk to you" She stated
Her brother became slightly afraid as he sat down next to her "What's going on?"
"Jack we need to talk about what is going to happen if I don't make it" She told him
His body tensed and he shook his head "No, Claire listen to me you are going to be fine, this baby is going to be fine okay?" He said sweetly rubbing her arm
She nodded "But if something happens to me" She started before he cut her off once again "Claire we're not talking about this" He told her firmly
"Jack please" She began to feel the tears swelling up in her blue eyes and pouring down her cheek
Wrapping his comforting arms around her, he whispered soothing words in her ear "It's okay, alright let's talk okay"
Pulling away moments later she grabbed his hand and held it tight "If something happens to me" She started and she could see that he wanted to stop her again but he bit his lip and closed his mouth letting her speak "If something happens to me, I want you to take care of my baby" She told him
He'd been shocked by her request, he didn't say anything for a period of time, and he finally spoke "Claire, I can't, I can't be a dad" He told her
"Yes you can, you make a wonderful father Jack, I know you would love and protect this baby" She said rubbing his hand she held firmly in her hand
"Claire, I don't think this is a good idea" He stated
"Please, I know what it feels like to be loved by you Jack, and I want, I need him to know that too" She said wiping away the tears falling down her cheek, and letting out a little laugh "I want him to know you, I want to love you and learn from you, I can't think of anyone better" She told him smiling that sweet little smile that got him every time when they were younger.
"Please Jack I can't do this without you" She pleaded and he wrapped his arms around her once again "Okay, I promise but Claire you're going to be able to raise him yourself" He said kissing her forehead
She nodded "Just in case" She whispered kissing his cheek softly before pulling back to see his eyes were watery too, she laughed wiping away the tears on her cheek.
"And Jack name him Aaron okay" She told him and he gave her a small smile "Okay"
"I love you" she said standing up from where they were sitting, Jack placed his hands deep in his pockets "I love you too Sis"
END FLASHBACK
"She died giving birth to Aaron, so I guess I was wrong, everything wasn't'….it wasn't okay" He said tears slowly coming down his cheek, Looking over at Kate who was crying also and tightened her grip on his hands
"So you kept your promise, you took the baby" She said to him with a sad smile
He gave her a weak smile in reply "Not at first, at first I couldn't look at him" He shook his head "I couldn't because he just reminded me that my sister was gone" He told her his voice cracking with emotion
"So what changed your mind?" She asked
"I guess I just realized that he was part of her, that little baby boy was the only thing I had left of her" He said taking a breath and shaking his head out of the thoughts
"You are a great dad Jack, and Aaron loves you so much, you did an amazing thing for your sister and Aaron is lucky to have such a amazing guy for his father, don't ever dough that" She told him honestly
He gave her a small smile and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her lips, cupping her face in his hands as hers wrapped around his neck, she felt a tear slide between his cheek and hers, and she couldn't tell which one of them the tear belonged too.
They walked upstairs hand and hand to Aaron's bedroom door, it was quiet and the only light was from the little lamp on his night stand, walking over to the boy's bed, they both just watched him sleep for a minute or two
"Funny thing is now I can't imagine my life without him in it, I love him so much" Jack said to Kate while looking at the sleeping boy
Jack bent down to place a kiss on his son's forehead before clicking the light off and heading to bed himself.
So What Do You Think? Tell Me ! :), Did You Guess It Was Claire?
