(Author's Note: Thanks for being so patient with my guys. I know I haven't been good about updating lately, I'm working on that!

Standard disclaimers apply. I own nothing but my own imagination.)

Katherine didn't like sleeping alone. It reminded her too much of when she was a young girl, banished to her big, lonely bedroom at night, even when the nightmares blared in her mind or the shadows on the walls crept closer than usual. Her father had told her that she was a big girl, she was being silly, she needed to face her fears or she would never get over them. She remembered spending countless nights crying quietly to herself, hearing her mother's voice through the wall.

"Just let her come in here Joseph, she's only seven, and she's scared."

"Nothing to be scared of," her father would have replied curtly, and her mother wouldn't fight him. Katherine would curl up as tightly as she could, tugging her quilt over her head and trying not to think of the things that scared her.

It was with these memories fresh in her mind that Katherine began to regret the events of the past evening. She probably shouldn't have yelled. Yelling never fixes things. She cursed her short temper, but she was not the only one at fault here. With Rosie and Michael both getting sick at the same time, she really could have used some support from Jack. It's not easy taking care of two coughing, wheezing 8-month-olds, and when her husband seemed so reluctant to help, well who wouldn't get angry? She had every right to be angry.

Katherine knew why he was hesitant though. For some reason she failed to understand, Jack had always been skittish around the twins, as if he was afraid he would break them. Even the few times he had tried to handle them, he seemed so surprised when he didn't drop one of them or something. He was getting more confident every day, but he still had his hurdles, like apparently caring for them when they were ill.

Still, he could have at least tried to help her when he saw how much trouble she was having.

She'd gotten angry and called him out on it and Jack-understandably-got defensive very quickly. They'd both yelled, though Katherine admitted to herself that she was the one who was at fault for starting that. She stared at the ceiling, wishing she knew whether what she'd done and felt was wrong. She absolutely had a right to be upset, but she hadn't needed to start a fight. She hadn't meant to either, she was just trying to make him understand.

She thought of Jack, sleeping on the couch in the other room, and she knew she had to go try to set things right. She crept quietly to the living room, where Jack was lying on the couch with his back to her. For a moment she hesitated, not completely sure how this was going to go. She took a deep breath.

"Jack?" He sat up, and the minute he saw her standing there in the , he was apologizing.

"Ace, I'm sorry. I shoulda tried to help-" Katherine sat down next to him, cutting him off.

"It's okay, I overreacted. I shouldn't have yelled, I'm sorry-"

"They just scare me is all. I'm afraid I'll mess up with them-"

"I understand, and I'll help you. I'll teach you how to handle them-" They were both talking over each other, each one having apparently spent some time pondering this, until Jack silenced both sides by kissing Katherine abruptly.

"Will you really teach me how to, I dunno, not be so scared of my own kids?" He chuckled once they broke apart, looking both embarrassed and excited at the same time.

"Of course I will!" She clasped his hands in her own. "You just have to trust yourself."

"That's harder than it sounds Ace." Jack shrugged it off, but Katherine was not going to let this go. She needed him to recognize what a great father he could be, what a great father he will be. She moved slightly closer to him and whispered,

"I trust you. Why don't you trust you?" He stared at her long and hard before finally answering, his voice low and rough.

"Because I don't wanna mess up. I ain't aiming to make the same mistakes that my old man did." He paused, studying her. Then he took a deep breath. "You have so much faith in me Katherine. I don't wanna let you down."

"Jack, you could never-"

"That came out wrong. What I meant was I refuse to let you down. I'm gonna do whatever it takes, and I am going to raise these kids with you. I am gonna be ten times the father my old man was. I just need a little help getting started."

Katherine didn't think she'd ever loved him so much as she did just then. A crooked grin was etched onto his face and he was fidgeting with a loose string on the seat of the couch, no longer looking directly at her, so she took his face in her hands and forced his eyes back towards her.

"Hey," she reminded him, "That's why you have me. Now please come back to bed. It's late, and I don't know how much longer the twins will stay asleep." She stood up and started pulling him towards the bedroom.

"Alright, but only if you promise not to kick me out again," he teased.

"How many more times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Katherine retorted, laughing. Jack smirked and said,

"Just once," before pressing his lips to hers. Katherine tried to put everything she couldn't say into that kiss, and immediately she knew that she and Jack were going to be okay. They fought and they pushed each other to the limit, but when it came down to it, they loved each other too much to ever let anything come between them for too long. They were going to be okay.

(Thanks so much! Please leave a review, especially with ideas for this story. I have a few more chapters planned out, but I think we're coming to a close within the next three or four unless I get a really good idea from someone.

Much love,
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)