Harriet is afraid of storms, so Jackson calls April to calm her down. Set during s17.
Its almost ironic that Harriet is afraid of storms.
She was born into this world during one, on what felt like the scariest day of her parents lives, and now they're one of the few things that scares her.
As much as they've tried to prepare themselves over the years by making sure she's sound asleep before the worst of the storm can hit them, there are times when its simply not possible - this being one of them. Jackson can't help but feel his heart break when he hears his daughter crying out shortly after putting her to bed, and he quickly rushes to her side, doing his best to soothe her.
"Make it stop," She sobs, jumping when she hears a loud crack of thunder, "Make it stop, daddy!"
"Shh, shh, Its okay. I'm here," He assures, crouching down next to her single bed, "It'll pass soon. I can read you a book? Would that help?"
She sniffs a little, shaking her head gently as he reaches over to wipe her cheek, "I want mommy."
He feels his heart break again at that, because there's no possible way for April to be here right now - not unless she wants to potentially risk her life by trying to drive to his apartment under extreme weather conditions. (and knowing April, she totally would, if it meant that their daughter felt safe)
"I don't think mommy will be able to make it over here, sweetheart. I can try to call her?" He states, causing Harriet to eventually nod.
Crossing his fingers, he pulls his cell phone from out of his back pocket and scrolls to her number on FaceTime, praying that the storm hasn't messed up the phone line signals just yet. When it goes through, and he's greeted by the face of his ex-wife on her couch, he almost breaths a sigh of relief, "Hey, sorry for calling. Harriet wanted to talk to you."
"No, no. Don't be sorry. Put her on," April assures, and Jackson hands the phone to their little girl, who seems to perk up a bit at the sight of her mother's face (even if it is on a small screen, and not in person like she'd hoped).
"Mommy! I'm scared."
"Oh, bug, I know, but it's okay. It'll pass soon, I promise. You just have to be brave, okay?" The redhead says softly, "You want to sing? How about we sing to drown it out and help you get back to sleep, huh?"
She agrees, and the soft, melodic sounds of April singing some Taylor Swift song he's vaguely sure he's heard at some point fill the room, and Harriet eventually joins in quietly. It seems to do the trick in helping her calm down and giving her something else to focus on.
"Won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart, and no one will desert you, just try to never grow up..."
Sensing their daughter growing tired towards the end of the song, he gently takes the phone from her grasp and tucks her back in, kissing her on the forehead. April notices, and blows her a sweet kiss from the phone, which Harriet sleepily blows right back.
After saying goodnight, Jackson exits the room and closes the door behind him, careful not to wake her. He holds the phone back up so that April can see him, and talks whilst making his way to the kitchen area, "Thanks again for doing that. Here's hoping she stays asleep now. I just hate seeing her like this...I was almost expecting her to start freaking out about werewolves again."
"You don't have to thank me. I just wish I could be there in person. I feel so...guilty when she needs me and I'm not there."
There's a beat of silence for a moment, and both them feel a twinge of grief for their living situations. As much as they've done a good job at co-parenting, he still can't help but feel guilty and mourn the life they could've had - with all of them under the same room, never having to split time between separate families. Harriet deserved that, but he had to remind himself that this was what he'd chosen at one point, and there was nothing he could do to change that. April was happy, as far as he knew, so that was that.
"I know, I get it, but I think she understands," He states, "I'm just glad you can sing. If she'd been stuck with my pipes, she'd be crying even more."
April couldn't help but laugh at that. She knew all too well how tone deaf he was, but it was cute that he'd at least try back when they'd still been together, and even before that when they'd frequent Joe's and drunkenly attempt karaoke - much to some of the locals dismay.
"Yeah, Prince is probably rolling in his grave every time he hears you butcher Purple Rain," She teases, causing him to roll his eyes as he grabs a beer from the fridge and takes a seat on the sofa.
"Okay, yeah, I'll give you that." There's a pause for a moment, and as he thinks back to those old times, and he can't help but miss how easy it was for them to spend time together and really talk. Now, their lives are so separate - focused on dropping their daughter off at one another's places and asking for updates on what she's been doing. Sometimes, it's hard to not even just miss her as a best friend, let alone as his ex-wife, "How are you doing? You okay?"
"I'm as good as can be...considering..." He senses her clear her throat as if to say something, but it seems she decides against it, "Iiii should probably let you go."
"Oh. Yeah. Okay." Jackson tries to hide the frown lines on his face, wishing he could talk to her more, but he doesn't want to push her if she's busy, "Call you if she wakes up again?"
"Of course. Bye, Jackson."
Before he has much time to say anything else, she's already hung up the call, and he can't help but sigh heavily. As the storm rages on outside, he turns the television on on a low volume, trying to find something to quieten his mind and distract him from the fact that he's alone.