"Achoo!"
Striker took a look at the thermometer.
"Well, kiddo, looks like ye'll be stuck at home for a few days."
Jake blew his nose on a napkin. "Stupid snow."
"Serves ya right for goin' out in the cold without proper clothin', boy." Jake's only response was another sneeze.
Striker texted Blitzo informing him that they wouldn't be able to go to work. After some negotiation, Blitzo finally agreed in exchange for adding one more hour to the Bombproof viewing sessions on Fridays.
Striker calculated that Blitzo would sneak into the house to spy on them in a few hours, so they might as well enjoy some peace and quiet meanwhile.
He chopped some soft vegetables to make a broth; afterward, he and Jake spent the first few hours watching Voxflix. Jake insisted on watching House of the Hellvern, though. The impling didn't quite understand much of the twists and turns, though. He just wanted to see the dragons.
"Ye know, ye asked me for a hellvern egg for yer fourth birthday."
"I did?"
"Yeah, but the closest thing I could get was a big chocolate egg." Striker chuckled. "Ye thought it was a real egg and tried to incubate it in a shoe box."
"No way!"
"Yeah, but ye left it by the window on a hot summer day and it melted." Jake buried his face in a cushion, embarrassed. Striker ruffled the impling's hair. "On the bright side, ye ate plenty of chocolate even though ye got a bit tummy achin'."
They kept watching Voxflix for a while until it got boring. Jake coughed and wrapped himself further into his blanket.
"Hey, dad... Do ye have any photos of grandma?" he asked. His father took a long sip of coffee.
"Not many, pup. Most of 'em were lost in the fire when yer grandma..." sigh. "...But there are other photos I'm yet to show ya, my boy."
Striker went upstairs and returned moments later with a box. As Jake took a peek, he noticed it was full of photos. On closer inspection, he realized they were photos of...
"I figured it's time to show ya these, Jake." The cowboy took one of the pictures, smiling forlornly. "Look, this one's from before we got married..."
The following hour was spent watching photographs of Striker and Jane, be it together or alone. Jake enjoyed hearing the stories behind the images, such as his parents' first anniversary spent in a camping trip or the time dad got hurt and mom had to take care of him.
"Looks like it hurt..."
"Yer momma wasn't happy with me after I nearly got killed that time, but at least we finished the job." Striker picked another photo. He smiled. "Ye're gonna love this one, my boy."
This time, it showed only Jane out on the porch, hand resting on her lower back.
"She looks tired," Jake commented.
"Take a closer look. Why do ye think that is?" Jake eyed the photograph more closely. Yeah, mom looked tired, but there was also a smile on her face.
As his eyes passed over her waist, he noticed it looked... bitter than in the previous ones.
"She's... pregnant?"
"That's right, pup. That's ye inside her tummy." Striker gestured at Jane's barely-noticeable baby bump.
Afterward, Jake found himself looking over photos of his pregnant mother. He had to admit it, it felt somewhat strange to see himself still inside her womb.
But at the same time, he got to see how much mom loved him.
The impling's eyes swelled up with tears as he saw her embroidering his baby blanket, working with dad on the nursery, or stroking her big tummy on the rocking chair.
"I wish she were here..."
"Me too, Jake." Striker pulled his son into a hug. "Me too."