"You're still on the couch?" Jason asked as he walked into the living room and Tommy slowly sat up confused at why Jason was here at the ass crack of dawn. Most of their friends had keys to their house due to the dangers that could come after them at any time, but it was extremely rare that anyone used it. "Tommy- it's been two weeks."
"And? When we were that age, I only ever slept in the same bed with her when she was hurt or sick and even that was rare. Sex was a sneak it in and then we both go home before curfew thing. She needs the space and I'm okay with it. We've had three kids since we've gotten back together- it's not the first time that she's needed space like this," Tommy defended and Jason let out a long sigh. He knew why Tommy was doing this, but he also knew how much it hurt him to continue this way. "Why are you here?"
"Because you have new dojo equipment being delivered today and asked me to make sure that you were there to get all of it put in the gym correctly. Plus Adam is on a scheduled vacation- so he couldn't step in to handle it," Jason said as Tommy sat up and started stretching out his body. He'd never admit it to Kim, but not being in their bed was starting to take its toll on him. Their kids, for the most part, hadn't picked up on him sleeping on the couch, but that had taken a gigantic amount of effort to get up before them and tidy up the living room each morning. He knew that if Ollie saw it, he would be extremely concerned about what was happening and he already knew that their oldest child was concerned about how this would shake out. "You look like shit."
"Thanks," Tommy said as he shook his head and then cleaned up his makeshift bed.
"You haven't told the kids?" Jason asked and Tommy just shook his head. "Tommy…"
"What would you do to keep your kids' hearts safe if something like this happened to Trini? They've been through a lot, Jase- so yeah, I'm not telling them," Tommy shot back as he leaned down to touch his toes and stretch out from being scrunched on the too small couch. He knew that Jason had a point, but he also knew that his kids were struggling with all of the changes and the last thing they needed was to think that things were any rockier for their parents.
"Daddy?" Opal whispered as she rubbed her eyes and he saw that she had dragged her blanket down the hallway with her, her hair sticking out in different directions. "Bad dream."
"Oh Opie, what was the dream about?" Tommy asked as she sniffled as she hooked her arms around one of his legs and he walked the two of them into the kitchen so that he could start a cup of coffee. She started babbling and he listened as best he could, but was barely awake. His mom had gone back home this week and he was truly alone with his family for the first time in two months. "Hey Opie- can you hang out with Uncle Jason for a bit?"
"No," Opal said as she rubbed her snotty face against his leg and he just nodded before he reached down to pick her up. "Want Mama."
"I don't know if Mama is up yet," Tommy whispered as he looked in the direction of their room, hoping that she would just appear. The door, however, remained closed and he steeled himself to go wake her up. He needed help this morning and his children desperately wanted connection with their mom. She had found it easier to show up for them than to show up for him and for that he was grateful, but even that took prompting. "We'll go wake her up as soon as the coffee is done."
"Want Mama," Opal insisted and he realized what she was saying. Sean had realized how much Kim had changed after a couple of days, but it had taken longer with Opal. He had hoped that Opal would never realize what had changed.
"I want her back too," Tommy said as she cupped his face and gave him a sloppy kiss before snuggling into him. She sucked her thumb as she gathered a fistful of his shirt in her other hand and then faded off in his arms. "Jase- can I get a hand with breakfast? There's some waffles in the freezer and I was just going to scramble eggs up for them to go with that."
"Yeah man," Jason said and Tommy locked eyes with him for a moment. Tommy saw understanding pass through him and Jason forced a smile. They were going to put up the best front for the kids, especially the younger ones, but Jason was not done talking with him about how things were going.
"I'll be back in fifteen- I just need to get changed, get the kids up, and get Sean and Opal dressed," Tommy said as he moved towards his bedroom and paused as he let out a sigh. The TBI specialists had stressed how important her rest was and he had seen what night after night of good sleep was doing for her. Today though, she was going to get a dose of what their house was really like in the morning. "Okay Opie, I'm going to put you in bed with Mama. Stay there for me, okay?"
He was greeted with silence as he confirmed that Opal had fallen back to sleep. He quietly opened the door to the bedroom and saw Kim snuggled against his pillow, her face pressed against it. He gently laid Opal down next to her and she curled into Kim's chest. He looked at them for a moment and felt sadness wash over him. There were some moments that were normal, but they were so few and far between.
He grabbed a pair of jeans and a henley before heading to take a quick shower. He wished he could take longer than a few minutes, as this was the only peace he got most days. He was perpetually keeping everything up in the air and he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. He was also sure that part of why he'd invited Jason up was because he desperately needed some time with a friend, even if he didn't remember asking Jason to come.
He heard giggles coming from the bedroom as he toweled off and he smiled. His girls. As much as Kim had wanted a little girl, he had wanted the experience more. He had just never felt right pushing for another baby after Sean's birth. That had been, by far, the roughest and left them both sure that they were done. He finished getting ready and walked out of the bathroom.
He was met with Opal and Kim in the middle of a tickle war, where Opal was squealing with delight as Kim held her in the air. She lowered her belly to her mouth and blew a raspberry as Opal let out a belly laugh. He quietly tossed on a pair of socks and shoes while they continued their play. He heard them quiet and glanced over his shoulder to see Kim staring at him as she held the bedspread high on her body. He hadn't even realized that she must have ditched his shirt somewhere in the night. He glanced around the room and saw it tossed in the corner and he rescued it before giving it to her.
"Jason's making breakfast and I've got to get the other kids up," Tommy said as she took the shirt from him and hastily shoved it back on. "Do you need anything?"
"Jason's here?" Kim asked and he nodded as she jumped out of bed and hurried out of their bedroom. Opal gave him a dejected look as her mother disappeared and he scooped her up. He then moved to wake the boys and was surprised when he came out into the living room and saw all three of the boys were already eating breakfast. He gave Jason a confused look and he just nodded at Ollie as he went back to talking with Kim. He had forgotten how close Jason had been to Kim during this time in her life, but the bit of jealousy that flared in him surprised him. He turned away from them and took Opal to get dressed. He missed the look on Jason's face as he realized what his friend was going through. This would break Tommy if something didn't change soon.
"Can you give him a break?" Jason whispered as Kim gave him a confused look and he let out a sigh. Tommy would not bring this up to her, but he could see what this was doing to him. She was out here connecting with him, but she was just sharing space with Tommy. He didn't know why she was refusing to connect with Tommy, he just knew something needed to change. "He's sleeping on the fucking couch."
"Fuck yes rule," Kim whispered and Jason gave her a confused look. "If it's not that, then I don't have to."
"You still love him, right?" Jason muttered as he placed a plate in front of her and she nodded. He could see that it was one of the few things that she was sure of. "Then give him a chance. I'll stay and watch the kids tonight or Trini can come up some other day if today is bad, but he needs you and you're shutting him out. This will cause problems if you don't figure out how to give him a chance."
"I…I don't know how to let him in…he's so different," Kim whispered as she wiped her eyes and Jason looked up at the ceiling. He felt horrible for making her feel bad, the only reason she had progressed this far was because of everything Tommy had done. Billy had told them as much on his last update to the group, but Jason knew that Tommy was wearing thin and none of them could pull him back if he broke and the situation was still too tenuous for them to be able to afford Tommy breaking. "What if he…what if he doesn't like me like this?"
"Has he done anything that would support that?" Jason asked and she shook her head. He pulled her into his side and tried to think of what else he could say or do to get her to let her husband back in. "I know you're adjusting and I know you're going to appointments and that is taking a lot out of you, but just…"
"Stop making her feel guilty, Jase," Tommy said as he walked back in with Opal dressed in a princess outfit and Jason gave him a look. Damn him for his timing. "I was not arguing this morning and the fancy fun dress will not hurt anyone."
"What are you doing today?" Kim asked as Tommy gave her a smile as he cut up Opal's food.
"I'm dropping Opal off at daycare and then I've got to head to the dojo, there's a shipment of new equipment coming in and it's a bit of an all hands on deck thing. Do you want to come?" Tommy offered and she looked over at Jason who had crossed his arms and was wearing a look that said she clearly should go along. When she looked back up at Tommy she saw him glaring at Jason. He was protecting her, even though she could tell how badly he wanted her there with them. "That would be a no. That's okay, if you change your mind- the address is on the fridge and you can come meet us."
"Thank you," Kim whispered as she gave him a quick hug and then turned to go back to their bedroom. Tommy watched her walk away and his eyes lingered on her retreating form. When he looked back at Jason he just shook his head. He didn't need him to know that he was teetering on a dangerous edge.