During breakfast the next morning, they let Jake and Abbie know that Jack was going back to Washington DC that afternoon. Neither was sure what the children's reactions would be.

"We said before that we live in different places," Sam explained. "We have different jobs than your parents did. I know it's probably a little scary, but we don't want you to be worried. Both Jack and I are still going to be in your lives.

Jake was silent, stonily staring at the table, but Abbie looked confused and concerned. "Dada go 'way?" she asked.

"Yeah, princess," Jack told her. They'd decided not to try to correct her when she called them her parents. It was too complicated for a twenty-one-month-old. They were pretty sure that Jake didn't like it, but he hadn't tried to correct his sister, either.

Jake got up and started to leave, but Sam caught his arm. "Jake, talk to us. Tell us what you're thinking."

"Can I go play in my room?" he asked without looking at her.

She sighed. Were they ever going to get anywhere with him? "Okay. We've got a couple hours before we have to leave." He disappeared down the hall.

Sam and Jack exchanged a look. "That could have been worse, I guess," he commented.

"Not much."

Jack volunteered to run out to the store and pick up some more food and other necessities for the house. Sam knew that trying to go shopping alone with the kids would be an interesting experience, so he was trying to help her put it off as long as possible. She cleaned up the kitchen while Abbie played with a Fisher Price busy-board toy in a corner of the living room.

Sam turned around to get the leftover pancakes and put them in the fridge and frowned when she realized that the serving plate was empty. Looking around, she saw that Jacob was walking out of the kitchen and back down the hall. "Hey, Jake?" He half-turned around, trying to hide what was in his hands – a napkin filled with food. "What are you doing, buddy?"

"Nothing," he told her, and tried to keep walking, but Sam stopped him. Inside his napkin were three pancakes and two pieces of bacon.

"We need to keep food in the kitchen so we don't get bugs in your room," she told him. "Are you still hungry? I can get you a plate."

Jake shook his head, and was reluctant to give up his bounty. "I need it," he quietly admitted.

Sam frowned. "Need it for what?"

"Later. Just in case."

In that moment, Jake seemed like more than just a child. He needed love and security, but he also needed his pride. Sam wasn't about to try to strip that away. She grabbed one of the Tupperware containers and offered it to him.

"Here. You put everything in here and put it in the fridge so you know exactly where it is later. Nobody else will touch it, okay?" Jake seemed skeptical, but agreed. Sam noticed that he glanced over at his sister before storing the container in the refrigerator. She also remembered the leftover spaghetti from the night before – apparently this was a habit for the little boy. "Did you have to save food before?" she quietly asked him.

"Sometimes… there wasn't much to eat. Janet said it was 'cause there were too many people and not enough supplies. I would find anything I could and keep it for later. Abbie cries if she's hungry."

Her heart broke a little. "You were trying to take care of her?" He nodded. "You're a very good big brother, Jake. Abbie is very lucky to have you… but you don't have to worry about that now, okay? It's my job to take care of you and your sister. It's your job to just be a kid."

He stared at her for a long moment, almost as if he was scared to believe her. "What if something happens?" he softly asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Considering what he had just admitted, Sam knew that he could handle her being straight with him. "I can't promise that nothing's going to happen. I wish that I could. But you are safe right now and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you stay that way…Do you trust me?" Jake slowly nodded.

When Jack got back, Sam was in the living room with Abbie, watching the toddler play. She quickly filled him in on what had happened with Jake.

"Wow," was all he could say when she was finished.

"I know…he's six years old and he's got more parenting experience than I do. That shouldn't happen, Jack."

"No, it shouldn't."

"He went back to his room after that, but it feels like I got let in a little bit. I don't think Janet knew about that; I hope that means he really is starting to feel safe again."

"Yeah. That's good."

Abbie stood up and handed him one of her wooden blocks. "Red," she told him, pointing to the letter that was painted on the side.

"Yep. Can you find blue?" The toddler thoughtfully stared at her pile, then picked up the right block and gave it to him. "Kid's a genius already."

She smiled. "Where's green, Abbie?" she asked. After a moment of consideration, the little girl found the correct block. "Good girl."

They both watched her play for a few minutes before Jack spoke up. "You know, we haven't really talked about where we go from here."

Sam swallowed hard. "No, we haven't." She had a feeling she knew what was coming next – he didn't want any part of the new life she was working on building. He'd already said that he'd do what she needed for Jake and Abbie as far as money or anything like that, but she was certain that he wasn't going to be taking any kind of parental role with them. And he definitely wouldn't want to continue a relationship with her.

"I was thinking…you're going to have your hands full here for the short term, figuring out how to make things work." She nodded, rendered mute with dread. "But maybe in a couple weeks, I could come out for the weekend?"

That got her attention. "What?"

"If our schedules aren't too crazy," he added.

"Y-yeah. That'd be fine."

Jack smiled. "Great. And any time you want to call…"

"Right."

It was more than Sam had been expecting, but she still felt disappointed. She just couldn't help it. Jack wasn't ending things, but he wasn't really giving her anything definitive, either. There were no ideas for the future, no hopes of where this could end up going. Was there any chance of him changing his mind and wanting to be included? Was this just going to turn out to be a waste of time in the end?

But she couldn't make herself say anything. It was still more than what she'd been expecting. "I guess it's almost time to get going, isn't it?" she asked.

Jack looked at his watch. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm going to go get Jake. Can you get Abbie in the car?"

"Sure.

Jake was reading again, curled up on his bed. "Hey, buddy. We need to head for the airport," Sam told him.

"I don't want to go," he replied without looking up.

"Well, we're all going together. Don't you want to say goodbye to Jack?"

"No."

"Jake, can you put the book down, please?" He sighed, but obeyed. "Thank you. Can you please put your shoes on and come on out to the car."

"I don't want to," he repeated.

"I understand that, but… I need you to play with your sister while we're driving, okay? Keep her occupied. Can you please do that for me?" Jake sighed, but got up and started putting on his sneakers. "Thank you."

Once they got to Colorado Springs Airport, Sam stopped her car in the departures zone and everyone got out so that they could say goodbye.

"Be a good girl, okay?" Jack told Abbie, whom Sam was holding. "Try not to throw food and no climbing out of your crib in the middle of the night." She just giggled. He then turned to Jake, who was staring at the curb as he stood beside Sam. "Hey, pal. You be good, too, huh? I promise, if you give things here a chance, you'll find that they're not so bad. Different, but still not so bad." Jake didn't look up or say a word, and Jack couldn't help but wonder what the little boy was holding back. Was he scared? Angry? Sad? Happy to finally be getting rid of him?

Once it was obvious that Jake wasn't going to say goodbye, Jack turned to Sam. "Take care of yourself," she told him before giving him a quick kiss.

"You, too," he replied. "Especially now."

She nodded. "I will."

He started walking toward the door, but looked back to give them a wave. Abbie was using Sam's shoulder for a pillow, but she waved back at him. Jake didn't acknowledge him in any way, but had moved to lean against Sam's leg. She had a hand on his shoulder, and he hadn't shrugged her off.

They were becoming a little family, he realized, and he wasn't part of it. As Jack kept walking, he was surprised to find that it bothered him.

This is the best thing for them, he reminded himself. He had already made his bed and now he had to lie in it.

TBC...

A/N: Thanks for all of the feedback that I've gotten so far! You guys always make my day.