Okay, so there was interest… Good. Good to know.
Heeeere we go!
Riley padded into their kitchen to find Jack and her son making breakfast.
Jack had Jacob sitting on his right arm, basically the only thing that arm was useful for. Her son had an arm wrapped around the back of Jack's neck.
"Awww, aren't the two of you the best?" she asked kissing her son's forehead and hugging Jack's shoulder.
Jack smiled, "Already put on some coffee, it's ready but you'll have to pour it yourself…"
"You should babysit more often…" Riley mused as she poured a cup of black coffee. "Nice to wake up to coffee and pancakes. Especially your pancakes…"
Jack looked over his shoulder with a puzzled expression.
"Come on… You know I loved it when you made us breakfast when I was little…" Riley winked as she tested the temperature of her coffee.
A smile crossed Jack's face as he flipped another pancake with the spatula in his left hand.
"Jacob, I think it's time for you to go wake up daddy…" Riley said as she held her hands out for her kid to cling on to. "We can't have him sleeping past this wonderful breakfast grandpa is making…"
Jacob did as he was told, and sprinted towards Mac and Riley's bedroom as soon as his feet hit the floor.
"Thanks…" Jack whispered with a slight wince.
"He's starting to get heavy…" Riley chuckled, "How's the arm?"
"Good, started to get a little tired in the shoulder…"
"And is that Jack Dalton language, or regular human talk?"
"It's not so bad…"
"I'll take that as Jack Dalton language…" Riley said as she stepped closer and started rubbing Jack's right shoulder, making the older man flinch. "Think we've got some painkillers from when Mac sprained his knee back in August…"
"I don't need them…"
"Oh, I know you can function without them…" Riley nodded as she kept rubbing at Jack's shoulder, "I also know that your shoulder will hurt a whole lot less if you just take them… And if you're about to keep up with that little rascal who is waking up his father then you should take the damn pills…"
Jack furrowed his brows and looked down at his shoulder. "He sure can be a handful…"
Riley nodded, "Guess he takes after Mac…"
"Or you…" Jack gently jabbed his right elbow towards her. He still used his right arm as much as the paralyzed forearm would allow him.
"Plus, mom will be pissed if she catches on to you over-using your shoulder…"
"Don't tell me you're gonna tell 'er?" Jack asked nervously.
"I'm not gonna tell her if you just take the pills…"
Jack let out a steady sigh of defeat, "Okay… You win…"
"Good boy…" Riley teased as she stood on her toes and ruffled Jack's silver hair.
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"Pancakes?" Mac grinned as Jacob practically dragged him into the kitchen.
"You bet your ass it's pancakes!" Jack grinned back as he finished the 4th stack.
"Language!" Jacob yipped, causing the three grownups to laugh.
"That's right, teach gramps something he should know…" Mac chuckled lifting Jacob up on his shoulders. "I don't think it'll stick, but it's worth a shot…"
"So… Bear, what do you think we should do today?" Jack asked looking up at Jacob.
"Draw!"
Riley snorted as she apparently imagined Jack drawing, he was about as skilled with his left hand by now as he had ever been with his right. But drawing just wasn't in his ballpark.
"Okay, we'll start drawing when mom and dad leave for work…" Jack agreed as he shot Riley a look. "What else do you want to do?"
"Football! I wanna play football!" the kid beamed.
"Jake… Don't you think I should do that with you instead? Maybe when I get home?" Mac offered, using the shortened version of his son's name (It was very likely it would evolve into Jack in a few years, but Jake would have to do for now…)
"No, grandpa!" The kid demanded, crossing his arms over Mac's head.
"Yeah, grandpa!" Jack agreed, practically beaming.
"Won't that be difficult with…" Mac nodded towards Jack's arm.
"Nah…" Jack shrugged, "Jake and I have played football lots of times, haven't we?"
The dark blond head bobbed up and down, "Grandpa taught me to toss a ball the right way!"
"Well, you do have that advantage. Both of you are left handed…" Mac chuckled, "Or, well… You know…"
Jack nodded, looking down at his right hand. "Well, at least I can still throw a football further than you…"
"Really?" Mac's eyebrows shot up, "Care to prove that later?"
"Oh, don't mind if I do… You're going to get buried, son…"
"I don't think so, old man…" Mac chuckled.
"Grandpa's not old…" Jacob fussed.
"Listen to your kid, Mac… He knows what's up!" Jack smirked and playfully shoved Mac's shoulder.
"Hey, behave boys…" Riley shot in, "And we need to start eating if we don't want to be late for work…"
"Gotta love LA rush hour traffic…" Jack rolled his eyes and took a hold of one of the plates with pancakes. The others followed his cue, and Riley took the plate for Jacob…
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"You think they'll be okay?" Riley asked as she fastened her buckle in the car. Her worried, dark eyes locked on Mac's blue ones.
"Of course…" he smiled, "Jack is one of the few who is up for the task…"
"Yeah, but…"
"Ri… You have to remember that Jack is still the same guy who trekked 19 miles with a slug lodged in his thighbone… He's still the same guy who has been shot at by a whole bunch of different terrorists and quite a few snipers… I think he can handle a four-year-old…"
"A four-year-old with your genes, Mac… Jake is a Duracell bunny on a good day…"
"Relax honey… They'll be fine, Jake looks up to Jack…"
Riley nodded, but her expression stayed a tad worried.
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Meanwhile, inside the house, Jacob was busy finding his pencils and coloring books.
Jack was waiting on the couch, his right arm draped over the back of the couch. His shoulder was starting to ease up on him. He hated to admit it, but Riley did have a point with the painkillers. He looked over and studied the leather wrist cuff he still wore. It didn't have much use anymore, except that it covered a few of his scars. And if he wasn't mistaken, it made his arm look less fragile and useless. But that could be all in his head.
"Grandpa…" Jacob said as he placed the coloring and drawing stuff on the table, "Can we do story time too?"
"Sure…" Jack smiled and took hold of one of the drawing books with blank pages, "What do you want to hear about?"
The kid shrugged, grabbing the other drawing book with blank pages.
"Tell about when you were a kid?" Jacob asked, dark brown eyes connecting with Jack's.
"Okay…" Jack nodded as he grabbed a pencil. "Let me see…"
The boy arranged himself on the couch, with his legs crossed and the table drawn close so he could reach it.
"Have I told you about when my brother and I got our first big boy bikes?"
Jacob shook his head, excited to hear more about his grandfather's younger days.
Jack smiled and started drawing a bike, "Okay, then we'll start with that story…"
Thank y'all so much for all the great comments/reviews! Means a lot to my writer heart!