When Valentines day doesn't go to plan.
This Valentines day had to be perfect.
It was their first since getting back together - since April had been willing to give him another chance and agree that they had a shot at being a family again, and so he wanted to go all out. She deserved it (heck, she deserved the world, and he would give her that if it was possible to). Sure, he knew that he couldn't make up for all the years that they hadn't been together, or the times when he hadn't been able to support her, and he knew that she didn't expect him to...but he still felt as though he had something to prove. All he wanted was to make her happy and for her to know just how grateful he was to be doing life with her again.
When his phone rings unexpectedly, Jackson assumes upon looking at the caller ID that Gerald (the owner of the restaurant he's privately booked) is just calling to double check that they're still on for tonight. His stomach drops when he answers and he realises that's not the case.
"Hey, Jackson. I don't think I'm going to be able to cook for you tonight. My mother-in-law had a fall so we need to drive down to Springfield to see her in the hospital. I'm really sorry. If I had someone else who could open the restaurant for me and take over, I'd ask them but...well, with it being Valentines day, I don't think anyone would be open to doing it."
Trying to hide his disappointment, Jackson puts on his best telephone voice before answering. "It's alright, Gerald. I understand. Family comes first. Best wishes to you and your wife. I hope her mom makes a speedy recovery."
"Thanks. I hope you and April still manage to have a lovely evening. Hopefully I can cook for you some other time."
"I'd appreciate that, but don't worry about us."
He sighs deeply only after the call has ended, not wanting to offend his friend. Of course he understood - if something happened to either one of April's parents, he'd be putting the family on the private jet immediately, but that didn't mean he wasn't disappointed. Now, he had to scramble to find a booking elsewhere at the last minute, which wasn't going to be easy to manage when he also had to deal with running the foundation. If anyone could do it, though, it would be him, and he makes sure to set some time aside to call every restaurant he can possibly think of that's open tonight. Tonightwouldbe perfect still - he'd make sure of it.
Tonight wouldnotbe perfect.
It's a couple of hours before they're supposed to leave when their sitter calls April. He can already feel his stomach dropping, trying to figure out what she's saying.
"That was Chloe. She can no longer babysit tonight." April says after ending the call, shrugging it off.
"What? No!" Jackson whines, clearly more upset about his than she is.
"It's fine. She says she threw up, and doesn't want to risk it. I told her that's probably a good idea."
"Are you sure she's really sick?"
April gives him a perplexed look, "I mean, she sounded pretty sick to me."
"How are we supposed to find another babysitter in time?" He feels agitated. He'd worked so hard to find another place to eat at on such short notice, and now, the universe had thrown another spanner in the works to make sure that this evening was a complete disaster.
"We'll just order in, I guess. It's not a big deal." He can tell by her voice that it really isn't a big deal to her (especially as she's not even had time to get ready yet), and he can't help but feel bad about that. Maybe she hadn't been expecting much of him, or the time apart had made her feel indifferent towards Valentine's Day (which seemed unlikely, given how much Aprillovedan excuse to celebrate something - especially love), but he already can't help but feel like he's let her down somehow.
"Chloe not coming?" Their daughter asks curiously, making her presence known. She was supposed to be going to bed soon, so maybe he and April could at least still get some quality time together. (Not that he'd say no to extra time with their daughter, either)
"No, sweetheart, she's not feeling too great."
"So you're not leaving?"
"I guess not."
"Yay! Can we watch a movie? Pleaseeee?"
"Sure, I guess you can stay up and watch a movie. You sure you're going to be able to stay awake though?"
"Uh huh! See? I'm not sleepy!"
She jumps around in an attempt to show just how much energy she has, and April can't help but laugh, knowing full well that Harriet will still struggle.
She ends up choosing to watch Tangled, as she's a little obsessed with the horse (she definitely has farm girl in her DNA), whilst Jackson orders them some food from the local Chinese takeaway. It doesn't take long for it to arrive, and they make themselves comfortable on the couch (usually, April was against eating in the living room, but, well, they were eating out of boxes anyway, and it felt like a special occasion). Harriet snuggles in between them, sharing bites of her father's dumplings and her mother's chicken and rice in between giggling and gasping at the television screen.
At some point towards the end of the movie, when the empty boxes of food have been neatly placed on the coffee table and they've lost track of time, April glances at Harriet's tiny body, only to see that she's curled into Jackson, resting her head on his arm. It doesn't look like the most comfortable position for either of them, but it still warms her heart.
"Hey, she's fallen asleep." She whispers, as Jackson looks down at her and smiles softly. April had been right in thinking that she wouldn't stay awake, and even though it was making his arm ache a little, he couldn't even be mad.
"I'll carry her up to bed." He responds just as quietly, carefully picking her up and lifting himself from the sofa at the same time. The movement rouses her slightly, as she rubs her eye and mumbles tiredly, "Happy love day, mama."
"Happy love day, bug." Blowing her a kiss, she watches briefly as Jackson heads towards the stairs, returning relatively quickly, given how tired Harriet already was.
He lets out a heavy sigh when he plops himself back down on the sofa, and she can't help but notice that he seems rather tense now. (That furrowing of his brow always gives him away)
"This isn't how I'd planned to spend Valentine's day. I wanted to take you out on a real date, to a nice restaurant, and do things right-"
April places a hand on his knee reassuringly, taking light circles with her thumb, "Hey, it's okay. I still had fun - even if Hattie did hog the TV."
"Still...you deserved a special day." He makes eye contact with her, clearly upset that the day didn't go to plan. They'd done movie nights and Chinese takeaways a hundred times before. It didn't exactly scream that he was so happy to be together again.
"It was still special. You know why? Because I got to spend it with my two favourite people in the world, and that's all I could ask for." She smiles at him - her dimple popping, and he finds himself feeling a little less like he'd messed up and even more grateful to be hers. He can't help but be reminded of a time when he'd told her the same thing - that she was his best friend; his favourite person, whilst they felt their other favourite person kicking in the parking lot, and the memory almost makes his eyes water at the edges.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Well, the night isn't over yet."
April looks at him questioningly, "What else do you have planned?"
He pulls out a couple of foil packets from the coffee table drawer, holding one out to her, "I may have been hiding the fortune cookies."
"Oh, yay! You remembered!" Her giddiness is contagious, and he can't help but chuckle as her rips and breaks open his, casually munching on the cookie part before reading his fortune out.
"Your heart will be filled with joy." He says, chuckling lightly. Considering he's not always the most outwardly joyful person, it's kind of funny to think about. Joy is definitely more of a word he'd use to describe April.
"A new love is on the horizon." She can't help but chuckle too, finding it amusing.
Jackson frowns in response, "It does not say that."
"It does. See?" She states, flipping the small piece of paper around so he can examine it with his own eyes. "Hmm, I wonder who it'll be."
He lets out an unimpressed huff at her teasing, rolling his eyes. "Damn fortune cookie."
Placing the pieces of paper on table, she elbows him gently, still feeling happy.
"Hey, I meant what I said, you know. Tonight was perfect. I don't need grand romantic gestures. I just need you. That's more than enough for me."
"I know but...Iwantto do those grand romantic gestures. You deserve it. You deserve everything."
"That's sweet, but I have everything that I could ever want or need already. Please don't feel like you need to prove anything."
"You're amazing." He says, almost in awe of her. She really is one of the best people that he knows.
"I know, but it's nice to hear it sometimes."
He leans in and kisses her deeply, slowly covering her body with his until she's lying down on the sofa, his lips moving to meet that sweet spot on her neck.
"How about I show you, too?"
"Mhm, please do." She responds, letting out a breathy moan.
Before she knows it, he's picking her up as she squeals and carrying her towards the bedroom, ready to end the night in a bed, in love - exactly where they were meant to be.