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Jay knocked on Zach's door while Zoey was still in his arms. The colorful wooden letters of the name Zachary were barely visible as the door was provided with stickers and signs:
"Enter at your own risk" and "No access for know-it-alls, for spies or cops and for my dear and curious parents. Call waiting may cause a mortal danger"
The word parents was crossed out with a black pen and corrected with Jay.
"What do you want? I don't have your fucking money." he said annoyed when Jay came in.
"Language, Zach." Jay said in a peaceful tone and put back the $ 50 that Zach gave him from his own money box, "Turn off the music, please. We should talk. "
"No." Zach muttered angrily and devoted his attention back to his Nintendo DS. Then Jay turned off the music system.
"Hey! Leave me alone!" Zach complained.
Jay sat down with Zoey on his lap, "As I said, we should talk.."
"About what?" Zach asked annoyed and crossed his arms.
"About these constant quarrels. Your sister suffers from it. It can't continue like this." Jay took a deep breath, "I'm sorry that I thought you stole the money. Zoey told me everything. I love how much you protect your little sister, but you should have told me the truth. I'm not angry with you both. I know how hard it is to grow up without a mother. Please let us be a family again."
"You don't know anything." Zach muttered.
"Okay. I was an adult when my mom died, but I know how hard it is to lose a loved one from one day to the next." Jay said softly, "We don't help each other if we make life unnecessarily difficult."
"It was quite convenient for you that mom died." Zach muttered.
"Why would you say that, Zachary? I loved your mom. I miss her every single day. I think about her every single day. Do you really believe Bunny more than your own father?" Jay asked, slightly disappointed with himself.
"Is that true that you guys didn't want to pay my ransom at the time?"
Hearing that, Zoey raised her head from Jay's chest and looked at her daddy.
"We didn't have the money. We did everything we could within the deadline to raise the money. You should be grateful to your grandfather for putting pressure on CPD. We never would have forgiven each other if something had happened to you."
"You never told me why I was kidnapped."
"Because there was nothing to tell."
"I am old enough for the truth. Was I kidnapped because someone wanted to take revenge on you?" Zach asked.
"No, you weren't."
"Why then?"
"What do you mean, why Bunny was so well informed? At the time, she had gotten into debt to a guy and she kidnapped you along with this guy."
"Because she had to pay off her debts with the money you paid for my release." Zach stated.
Jay nodded slightly, "I have never seen your mom so angry and disappointed. Do you know what she did? The next day, she slapped Bunny."
"What happened to Bunny?"
"She was behind bars for several years."
"Better not mess with mom." Zach smirked lightly, "So everything she said wasn't true? You loved mom and you weren't ashamed of her?"
"I love her with all my heart as I love you both. Bunny is lying as soon as she opens her mouth." Jay said and Zach nodded.
Zoey was sitting on the kitchen counter and watched her dad as he searched for the number of a pizza service.
"Why don't we bake one ourselves?" she asked.
"W-what?" Jay asked, deep in thought.
"Pizza. We can do it ourselves."
"Uh. Do we have the ingredients?"
"Aunt Natalie and Uncle Will have shopped."
"How? When?" Jay asked in confusion, opening the cupboards, which were surprisingly filled with food.
"They took care of us. You weren't there and the neighbor wasn't in mood." Zoey explained.
"Um. Okay. Well, let's bake pizza then!"
"YEAH!" Zoey screamed with enthusiasm.
Father and daughter diligently prepared 3 pieces of dough.
"If you eat the dough you will have less pizza." Jay explained.
"But the dough is delicious and I haven't eaten for a long time." Zoey said.
Worried, Jay looked at his daughter. He did not take his child's loss of appetite, constant headache or abdominal pain seriously. He should have acted much sooner.
"What's next?" Zoey asked, kneading the dough in a round shape.
"Now comes the sauce." Jay said, warmed a pot on the stove. When it was ready, they distributed the sauces on the three round pizza dough pieces.
"Look daddy, now it has eyes." She said, putting down 2 pieces of salami. Jay grinned at the sight of his happy daughter.
"He needs a mouth." Zoey said and took a yellow pepper strip.
"Do not forget the nose." Zach grinned and sat down at the table with them.
"ZACH!" Zoey rejoiced and fell around his neck
"Do you still have any dough for me?" Zach asked.
"Sure." Jay replied.
"Great." Zach said, and immediately turned to face the pizza, "Did you actually fall into the sauce?" Zach asked his sister.
"No," she giggled.
"Are you sure? You look like a pizza." Zach laughed. Her face and T-shirt were spattered with sauce, but also covered with cheese and pepper pieces. Jay put the pizzas in the oven. He didn't care for the mess they had created in the kitchen. For the first time in a long time they were sitting at a table without arguing or yelling. Instead, they talked like a normal family.
"Zoey. How about you go and clean yourself up. I think your hair is covered with corn." Jay said.
"Okay." Zoey said and ran to the bathroom.
"But you have to hurry. Otherwise, I'll eat your pizza." Zach called after her.
"I think it's great that you're here." Jay said, leaning against the counter.
"I'm doing it for Zoey." he muttered, dodging his father's eyes again.
"Is there any chance that we will get along again?" Jay asked softly and Zach shrugged.
"Okay. Ask me. What do you want to know?" Jay asked.
"I don't have any questions."
"But you're still mad at me. You accuse me, but don't ask for the reasons."
"Why are you still a cop, even though the job took everything from you?" Zach asked.
"What am I supposed to do otherwise? Sit behind some desk and do paperwork? I like being a cop, even if this job is very risky. We protect the city, save people…" he paused for a moment "I like to help others and like to stand up for justice." Jay told him softly.
"Did you ever think that you might be dead one day too?"
"Yes. Pretty often." Jay sighed.
"Then why are you still a cop? Should we really become orphans?"
"I know. I will try to get home every day. To you and Zoey. But I can't imagine what else to do." Jay said and took a breath, "It was a mistake to focus on work. I'm sorry, Zach. Please let's start over again."
"Do you think an apology is enough? That it proves that you really mean it. Proves that you are there for us?"
"I promise you." Jay said.