A/N: hey guys! guess whos back! sorry ive been MIA for the past 2 years, oops! i seem to forget about writing and every now and then have bursts of inspiration. as i said in the last chapter, this is now in third person, hope everyones okay with that! if you've been here from the start (5 years is crazy) im so sorry about my inability to update but thank you so much for following along, hopefully this longer chapter was worth the wait! as always, i love to read any reviews and suggestions you guys have, thank you all for reading xx
The next morning Elizabeth woke to the smell of bacon filling the house and her head still pounding. She reached to the other side of the bed, the previous night's events rushing back. She felt nothing but ruffled blankets. For a moment, panic overtook her. Had it really just been a dream? She had had many similar since Jack had passed but none felt as real as this one. Any doubts quickly vanished from Elizabeth's mind as she looked toward the open bedroom door and saw Jack approach holding a tray with a plate of burnt toast, eggs, and bacon, along with freshly picked flowers from her garden and a small glass of orange juice. Her heart began to race at the sight of him. Although he had lost majority of his muscle, and body fat for that matter, and the hair on both his head and face looked untamed, his blue eyes remained as piercing as ever.
"Elizabeth?" she heard him whisper softly, as if to not startle her again, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes, ah … sorry," she responded, snapping out of the trance he somehow put her in. "I just, I just cannot believe you're here. You're home."
"I'm home," he repeated, grinning as he began to walk towards the bed.
Jack's cooking had somehow managed to worsen over the time he had been away, so not much was actually eaten by the pair. Instead, they lay in bed watching as the sun reclaimed its place in the sky and the flowers outside that were pulled by the light summer breeze. Jack had begun to doze off again, Elizabeth lying securely in his arms drawing faint patterns along his bicep. Although he had lost a significant amount of muscle mass, and now struggled to fill his old t-shirts that Elizabeth had kept, she felt as safe and protected as ever with him. A small smile graced her lips as she imagined what their future, the future that was stolen from them some years ago, could now look like. She was finally where she was supposed to be.
Her daydreaming was quickly cut short by the babbling sound of little Jack coming from his room. 'Oh my Goodness' Elizabeth muttered, careful not to wake Jack from his slumber as she shifted in his arms and left the bed. A wave of guilt washed over her as she realised, amongst the chaos of Jack's return, she had forgotten about her own child. The child who shared his DNA with the man in her bed and he had no idea.
Having to tell your husband, who everyone thought was dead for two years, that in the time he was gone she had given birth and begun raising his namesake was hardly a common experience, and definitely not something Elizabeth had ever imagined would happen. In the short trek from her bedroom to little Jack's, her mind ran with ideas of how to tell Jack he had a child. There seemed to be no way she could deliever the news that wouldn't give him a heart attack or even result in him leaving her again. Not that he had left her the first time, but it sure felt like that right now, especially as she was yet to find out where he'd been for the past few years. She knew in her gut Jack would never leave her, and the news of a baby would shock him, yes, but ultimately he would be thrilled. Elizabeth just couldn't escape the voice in her head telling her not to say anything to him, not until she had a plan.
'Morning little guy!' She forced a smile and scooped him up from his crib, bouncing a few times which made him giggle.
'Mama! Morn,' His vocabulary was still extremely limited as he had just begun talking, but Elizabeth couldn't be prouder of the few words he managed to say to her.
Walking down the stairs to the kitchen to find something for little Jack's breakfast, a knock on the door redirected Elizabeth's path.
'Rosemary, good morning!' Elizabeth smiled as she opened the door. 'Can I help you? You were here last night, you know what happened,' struggling to mask the confusion she had for her friend showing up instead of leaving the day for the family to reunite.
'Oh yes, well, no, actually. I'm here to help you!' She exclaimed, smiling brighter than ever. Elizabeth let out a light chuckle as Rosemary reached for little Jack, stealing him from his mother's arms.
'Oh okay, thank you?' she responded, still not catching on to Rosemary's antics as she pushed past her into the kitchen. 'And what would your help entail?'
'Well, Jack's back, and judging by the fact the you and little Jack are down here and he is up there, I'm assuming you haven't told him about what you've been up to since he left' Rosemary motioned with her free hand to little Jack who's head was still exploring the surroundings of the kitchen with his eyes. 'So, unless you have a plan, which we both know you don't, I'm here to offer some advice.' Most people would have been offended by the delivery of Rosemary's last line, but Elizabeth knew her well enough by now to know it was coming from a sincere place. Plus, she wasn't wrong. Elizabeth had made absolutely no progress on how she was going to break the life-altering news to Jack.
'Rosemary? What are you doing h-' Jack stopped just as quickly as he'd started. 'Is that a baby? Oh my Gosh, Rosie, I had no idea! Congratulations!' His eyes shot to little Jack, still in her arms.
'Oh n-'
'Yep! I know right! Exciting!' Elizabeth cut Rosemary off immediately. Jack's eyes were still fixated on little Jack's, not noticing the conversation Elizabeth and Rosemary were having with their eyes.
'Elizabeth, I need to talk to you outside.' Rosemary decided she needed to stop this lie before it got too out of hand, and she ended up having to take little Jack in. 'Um, laundry issues. You know how it is,' It was a terrible excuse, but to her credit Jack was still completely consumed by the child in front of him and shrugged it off.
'I can take him if you want,' Jack started skeptically. He couldn't think of any babies he even knew, let alone had held, but there was something about this one, some connection Jack felt to him.
'Perfect! Thank you, Jack!' Rosemary smiled as she placed little Jack into Jack's arms. She caught Elizabeth's arm and practically dragged her out the back door toward the clothesline.
'Do you want to tell me what that was?' Rosemary questioned, more accusation in her tone than she intended.
'I panicked! What would you have done?' Elizabeth retorted. If looks could kill Elizabeth would be dead, as Rosemary's eyes shot daggers in her direction. 'Sorry, I'm not mad at you. I just… I just have no idea what to do. What do I do Rosemary?' Her eyes glassed over, her voice breaking as she essentially begged for her best friend's guidance. If there was ever a time she needed Rosemary's advice it was now.
'Elizabeth,' She started. It pained her to see her friend in such a state. This was supposed to be a happy time. Only tears of joy and relief were supposed to be shed. 'Why are you so scared to tell him? Don't you think he deserves to know, that he would be thrilled to hear he has a son?'
'What if he leaves?' Elizabeth whispered, so quiet Rosemary had to lean in toward her to hear. 'I don't think I can survive that now, not after everything that's happened,' Tears freely fell from her eyes, feeling there was no point in keeping it in now.
'Oh, honey. I cannot say for certain how Jack will react to this news. But what I know for sure is how much he loves you, and trust me when I say he would never, ever leave you, not if he has any say in it. Plus, you've seen the way he's looking at little Jack already, he loves that kid, and he doesn't even know him. Jack was meant to be a father; he is going to be thrilled.' Rosemary somehow always, well most of the time, knew exactly what to say. Any doubt that Elizabeth had over Jack's reaction vanished at her words, knowing each one was true.
'Thank you,' Elizabeth muttered pulling Rosemary into an appreciative hug.
'What are best friend's for?' Rosemary smiled as Elizabeth rolled her eyes. 'Now, let's get you back inside before you're the one running away.'
Opening the back door once again, Elizabeth stopped, watching Jack dancing around the living room in circles signing quietly, while little Jack giggled and bobbed away. 'Sorry to interrupt your little playdate, boys!' Elizabeth stated, announcing their presence.
'I love this little guy. We should have them over all the time!' Elizabeth stifled a laugh at the irony of that statement.
'Alright! Well, I best be off now! You guys have fun!' Rosemary brushed past Elizabeth toward the front door on the other side of the room.
'Oh okay, bye Rosie. Here's your little guy,' Jack began toward the front door to hand little Jack back to her.
'Oh no, that's okay. You can keep him,' she laughed and turned to wink at Elizabeth, mouthing 'you got this' for some extra encouragement. Jack turned to her, confused, and Elizabeth just shrugged as the door flung shut. It was now or never.
'What was that about?'
'Jack there's something you should know,' They started at the same time. Jack looked questioningly at Elizabeth, thinking he had connected the dots but not wanting to jump to conclusions.
'Jack's my baby. Our baby,' She blurted out, confirming his assumptions. Jack felt his jaw drop open, unable to move.
A/N: well there you have it! chapter 3 complete! i hope you had as much fun reading as i did writing. manifest that it will only take me one year to update this again, we seem to be counting down! reminded to review if you feel inclinded 3
