Chapter Thirty Two
Time Jump – Qualifying
Patrick POV:
"We're only going to be gone for a few days, but I don't want him to get off his schedule." I said as Sammi started dragging me out of the house.
"Patrick, your father and I have raised three kids, you being one of them. You don't need to tell us what to do." My mom said and I sighed.
"I know, its just, I've never left him before." I said and my mom smiled.
"You're only going to be gone a couple days. You'll be fine." My mom said and I nodded.
"I'll call you when we get there." I said and my mom walked over to me with PJ in her arms.
"I appreciate that." My mom said and I looked at PJ and he smiled.
"I love you." I said and he smiled.
"I wuv you too daddy." He said and my heart melted. I gave him a kiss and than Sammi stepped in front of me.
"Be good for Nanna and pop-pop." Sammi said and he nodded. "Good, I love you."
"I wuv you too mommy." PJ said and he leaned forward and gave her a kiss. I grabbed Sammi's hand and I took her back and made my way out to the car. When we got in I didn't start the car right away though.
"I didn't think leaving was going to be this hard." I said and Sammi smiled.
"You spend every day with him, of course it was going to be hard." She said and I smiled.
"I'm going to miss him." I said and she leaned over and gave me a kiss.
"I'm going to miss him too, but we'll talk to him when we get to Ireland and we'll be home soon." She said and I nodded and started the car. Leaving PJ was one of the hardest things I've ever done, I knew my parents were going to be the best babysitters in the world, but that didn't make it any harder to leave my little boy behind.
Time Jump – Three Days Later
Clary POV:
Patrick and Sammi were coming home today and I was a nervous wreck. He didn't tell us how she did and I was nervous for her. I wanted her to get to the Olympics, and I knew she had been working so incredibly hard to get there especially after having PJ. I was cleaning the kitchen while Tucker and Jacqueline were playing with PJ and Karina and Jace were out doing who knows what when I heard the front door open. I ran over to it to see Patrick and Sammi standing there.
"Well, how'd you do?" I asked and at first she didn't say anything but than she smiled.
"I made it!" she said and I ran over to her and gave her the biggest hug.
"I am so incredibly proud of you Samantha! Oh my god, this is great, what do you want for dinner? It's your choice." I said and she laughed.
"I've been craving pizza." She said and I smiled.
"Pizza it is. PJ is in the living room with Tucker and Jacqueline and your father and Karina are out and about somewhere." I said and they nodded and made their way through the house. When I walked back into the kitchen Sammi had PJ in her arms giving her the biggest hug and Patrick was standing next to her waiting for his turn with PJ.
I ordered the pizza and continued to clean the kitchen until it got here. 10 minutes later the front door opened and in walked Jace and Karina. She had the biggest smile on her face. She ran over to Patrick and PJ and gave him a hug while Jace made his way over to me and he gave me a kiss.
"Where did you two go?" I asked and he smiled.
"Just wanted to take her out for a daddy daughter day." He said and I looked at him with confusion. "She asked me a couple days ago if I loved her any less because she wasn't a skater or a boarder."
"My poor baby." I said and he smiled.
"I wanted her to know that I love her just as much as Pat and Jack, and I thought that if we had a little time together today would help her see that I don't care if she wants to skate or board, she's my little girl and I'll always love her." He said and I smiled and wrapped my arms around his torso.
"You're an amazing father." I said and he leaned down and kissed me. "Want to help me clean the kitchen?" I asked and he laughed.
"Nothing would make me happier." He said and I laughed and we continued to clean as we listened to our kids laughing in the background.
Jacqueline POV:
Tucker and I were sitting in the living room watching Pat and Sammi play with PJ and I couldn't get the smile off my face. Seeing my brother be such a great father these past couple years was amazing. He was truly a different man after PJ was born and I was proud of him for taking the role of a father so seriously. Him and Sammi were raising PJ amazingly and I knew he would grow up to be just like Pat, and I couldn't wait to watch him grow.
When the doorbell rang signaling that the pizza was here I looked behind me and my father was behind my mom as they both cleaned the counter top. He was whispering something in her ear and she was laughing like a teenager, and as much as I wanted to gag at them, it was amazing how in love they still were after all these years. I got off the couch to answer the door and when I opened it I saw the last person I thought I'd ever seen.
"Ian?" I said and he smiled at me. I had no idea what to do and I was frozen in place.
"Hi Jack." He said and I started shaking my head.
"What are you doing here?" I asked and he shrugged.
"After college I decided to do a little traveling, and found myself in England. I took a random job near here and when I saw this address pop up it was my chance to come see you." He said and I took a deep breath. I motioned for him to come in so that he was out of the cold. "How have you been?"
"Great. Patrick is a great father, and my nephew is the cutest little thing in the world." I said with a smiled and he laughed.
"Wow. I mean, I remember you telling me he got his girlfriend pregnant, but I could never really picture it." Ian said and I laughed.
"Me either, but man when PJ was born Patrick completely changed, but he had too. Sammi still wanted to be an Olympian and had to dedicate a lot of time to training which left Patrick to raise PJ." I said and he nodded.
"How are your parents?" He asked after a minute.
"They're good. Honestly, the only thing that's changed around here is PJ." I said and he smiled.
"That's good to hear. Look, I want to apologize for breaking up with you. It was a stupid thing for me to do, and I regretted it after a couple months." He said and I opened my mouth to stop him but he continued. "I missed talking to you, and having you to rely on and I just missed knowing you were mine."
"Ian." I said but he wasn't finished.
"I miss you Jack, and I've been hoping that I had the chance to come here ever since I started working at that pizza place because it was the only way that would give me an excuse to come here."
"Ian, stop." I said and he looked at me. I grabbed the pizza and placed it on the table in the hallway.
"You said nothing but PJ has changed around here." He said and I opened my mouth to say something when someone cut me off.
"Babe, what's taking you so long?" I heard and when I turned around Tucker was coming through the doorway. He looked up and him and Ian's eyes locked and I could tell Tucker wasn't happy. "Ian."
"Tucker." Ian said and I took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry Ian, but I wasn't going to wait around for three years while you figured out what you wanted. You broke up with me." I said and he nodded.
"I know, but I was hopeful. I mean, we had a really good time when we were together." He said and I looked back at Tucker hoping that he wasn't going to lunge at Ian.
"We did, but that's in the past now. Tucker and I have been together for almost 4 years, and I'm happy." I said and Ian nodded with a smile on his face.
"I understand. It was good seeing you again Jack." He said and I pulled out the money put he shook his head.
"Pizza is on me. It's the least I could do." He said and I nodded. He walked out of my house and I took a deep breath. I turned around and Tucker was still standing there. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his torso.
"You okay?" I asked and he looked down at me.
"Why is he even in this country?" He asked.
"He told me he wanted to travel after college, and he found himself here. He took a job at a pizza shop and has been dying for our address to pop up so he could come here." I said and he nodded.
"He's still into you. I could see it." Tucker said and I laughed.
"Yes, and I'm into you." I said and he looked down and his eyes softened. "I love you Tucker, and there isn't anyone else I'd rather be with."
"I love you too." He said and he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. When we broke apart I smiled. I grabbed the pizza and he took my hand and we made our way into the kitchen.
"Everything okay?" My mom asked and I smiled.
"Of course. Just an unexpected guest." I said and she looked confused.
"Who delivered our pizza?" She asked and I laughed.
"Yea, it was strange, but we have pizza now and I'm starving." I said and my mom laughed and reached for the pizza. She set it out on the counter and everyone dug in. We sat at the table and I kept sneaking glances at Tucker. Seeing Ian again was weird, but it just reminded me how happy and in love I was with Tucker, and that things played out the way they were supposed too.