Chapter Text
This is the last chapter! Finally finished! Thanks to all of you that have stuck with this one, that turned into a monstrosity without my permission!
(also, some spoilers for Season 4 – but AU)
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Alison was surprised when she answered her phone about ten am the next morning to hear Nathan on the other end of it. He sounded like his old self; confident, all business, knowing what he wanted and expecting her to comply. "Good morning, Alison." he greeted her firmly. "I need to speak to you, now. Please meet me in the infirmary."
She was surprised for a moment but realised this was Nathan she was talking too. "Good morning," she replied drily. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. And I've got a meeting."
"Cancel it," Nathan answered, and she knew she should have expected that. "I need to speak with you." With that he hung up, and she was left looking at her little phone with a frown. Sighing she then used it to call Tess and re-arrange their meeting and found herself doing as she had been told, and going to see him.
He was dressed when she got there, in a long sleeved t-shirt and sweat pants, and she had not seen him as casual for a long time. He was lying on his bed, legs stretched out in front of him, bare feet crossed at the ankles, leaning back against a couple of pillows and the raised bed head. He looked up at her when she arrived and put down the iPad he had been studying to look at her with the same intensity that he had been giving the information on the pad. "Alison," he greeted her as she stepped in, shutting the door behind her. "You're looking well. How are you? And how is my daughter?"
"I'm fine, thanks," she answered him, actually pleased that he had started on a gentle stance that she could deal with. "Your daughter, Jenna, is fine too."
He nodded. "I want to see her," he told her, his normal firm tone belaying any protest she might come up with. "And I want access too."
She nodded and moved over to sit down in a chair beside him. "I thought as much," she answered him. "Jenna deserves the time with her father."
He nodded and watched her for some more moments before he spoke again. "I had thought you'd argue with me over that," he admitted.
She shook her head. "Not over that," she assured him. "I just need to know where you're going to be living before we can put something formal in place."
Nathan nodded and thought for a moment before he replied. After what Henry and Jack had told him he wasn't really surprised that she hadn't told him to come home with her, but he was disappointed. But he had never been one to avoid confrontation, far from it, and he wasn't going to start now. "What about everything else?" he asked her bluntly. "Why haven't you been to see me? The last time I saw you we were just about to get married. What happened with that?"
She stared at him for a few moments before she pulled together a response. "You died," she told him darkly, voice showing her anger and hurt. "You left."
He shook his head and looked away from her for a few moments to compose a reply. "Why is it that the person in this town with the lowest IQ was actually the only person who figured out what was going on with me?" he asked her and showed her the iPad he had been looking at. Henry had synced it with all the information on Project Nathan he had collated, including Jack and SARAH's files before he got involved. "I didn't die, Alison. Did you not listen to Jack when he told you?"
She looked away for a moment almost guiltily, because she hadn't. She had only listened to him when he told her that Nathan had gone, nothing else, just the crushing pain of loss, anger and fear. She had blamed Jack for it; she knew he hadn't forgotten in one of her darkest moments her demanding he explain why he hadn't stepped in rather than Nathan. She had just stopped herself from saying: because no one would miss you this much, Carter; but she was sure he would have heard her underlying words anyway. She couldn't say that to Nathan, he had seemed to be a little different from before, a bit more considerate to Jack especially.
"I did listen to him, Nathan," she told him in answer to his question. "You had gone, and Kevin and I were alone again."
He knew her better than that though, and he shook his head. "What did you do to him, Ally?" he asked her darkly. "Don't forget, I know, I've been the brunt of your tongue when you're hurt before. Henry told me something had gone on, but I need to hear it from you."
"Why?" she demanded from him snappish and defensive. "You've always listened to Henry more anyway. Why do you need to hear it from me?"
He sighed. "Because he told me you were actively trying to stop them from continuing," he answered her, keeping his temper by strength of will. "I need to know why from you."
She watched him for a moment before she turned away from him. "Kevin knew you were gone, Nathan." she told him, not the complete truth but that had factored into her decision. "I didn't want him to be even more confused if … when they succeeded." She stopped and he waited silently for her to continue, for a more informative answer. It took a minute of two but eventually she continued. "And I wanted to move on with my life," she admitted finally, her voice quiet. "You'd been such a large part of my life for over a decade, I wanted to … " She paused and shook her head. "'Go on without you' is not true," she tried to think it though aloud. "I didn't want to spend months hoping they could get you back, and then find out they couldn't," she managed. "And when the flash forwards happened, all I could see was you and Jack kissing." she added finally and turned back to face him. "He lied to me when he told me you two weren't sleeping together, didn't he?" she demanded, angry again. "I suppose because he didn't want to hurt me."
Nathan breathed out heavily before he spoke. "Probably," he agreed. "I didn't treat him very well, Ally," he admitted. "I don't think either of us did, did we?"
It took a few moments but Alison shook her head, agreeing with him "No," she told him darkly. "We didn't." Thoughts ran through her mind, of what to do now, what she wanted now, what she thought he wanted now, not being able to read him as well as she used to.
He was looking down at the pad in his hands, it's screen blank, not even looking at it. He had a difficult choice to make; Jack or Alison, he couldn't have both, he had tried that before and Jack had gotten hurt. Whatever he did now was going to hurt one of them, he knew it, but he really didn't know which way to turn. Alison wasn't helping him, Jack had, and he felt himself drawn to the other man.
Nathan looked up and quickly checked what his companion was doing. She was looking down at her feet, frowning thoughtfully, and he used her distraction to activate the pad and fire up the email app. The pad was fully loaded, it had Jack's email and mobile addresses in it and he quickly sent off a message to him. "I need to talk to you, can you make it to GD? N."
He wasn't expecting a reply quickly, but he did have a bad habit of underestimating the man. The reply came almost immediately: "On my way. Are you okay? J."
He smiled gently and tapped another reply. "I'm okay. A is here, I just need to speak to you."
The reply was a bit longer in coming, which was telling to the Scientist, but he was relieved because of it. "Okay" was the simple text, and Nathan looked up with another smile.
Which faded when he noticed Alison watching him. "Whom are you messaging?" she asked him curiously, taking a step forward. She was going to take another step but stopped when he told her. "Jack, he's on his way here."
"Why?" she asked him bleakly.
"Because this involves him too, Alison," Nathan explained he thought unnecessarily. "He saved my life, I owe it to him to listen to what he has to say."
Alison found herself frowning again. "He's been here almost constantly for 48 hours. Have you been asleep for all of that time? Your chart doesn't say anything about prolonged effects." She was concerned suddenly – yes she was up to date with his medical records but wouldn't put it past him to hide something from her.
His smile of amusement reminded her of previous times when he was hers. "No, Ally," he reassured her. "We've been talking about other things." He wasn't going to tell her what. "And we've both slept some too, me more than him I think. But feel free to check," he added and indicated to the small computer on the foot of his bed. It was his chart, and she took him up on it, something to do while they waited. It also meant that she didn't have to look at him or talk to him as she concentrated on the records on the little computer.
There is nothing there that she hadn't known about, and she found herself reading it twice, actually hoping that Jack would be there soon.
He obliged, about ten minutes later, and his entrance was met with smiles of relief from Alison and actual pleasure at seeing him from Nathan.
Jack smiled back, quickly checking him over, and was relieved when he couldn't see any more. "Are you alright, Nathan?" he asked him, and walked over to him. "You called?"
Nathan nodded. "I'm fine, Jack," he assured him. "I've got a clean bill of health, my doctor assures me I can go home, probably tomorrow." He looked over at Alison. "But I'm sure my old house has been given away by now?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Tess Fontana," she answered. "But the other one was yours anyway. That's still waiting for you."
Nathan nodded and turned back to the Sheriff. "I don't know if I can make a decision about everything else now." he explained to them. "I don't think…"
Jack quickly stepped forward and laid a hand on his arm, shaking his head. "Nathan," he reproved fondly. "Stop. You've got your life back, why don't you simply live it? You've got a new daughter to get to know, you got Kevin waiting for you too. You've got a whole lot of science to discover, I know for a fact Henry has a load of projects he's been waiting for you to help him on. And don't forget everyone else," he added with a hand wave to encapsulate all of Eureka. "Fargo is desperate to see you, I think he's missed being yelled at. Vince is going to fall over with joy when he sees you back, you did enjoy his more exotic concoctions after all," he added with a grin, making Alison nod her agreement too.
"You did," she agreed. "I remember some of the more odd mixtures the pair of you came up with."
Jack grinned at her, something he hadn't been able to do for a while. "What was it? Tofu, avocado and kumquat soup?"
Nathan remembered that one and nodded wryly. "That one was a bit foul," he admitted. "But most of the meals he made for me were lovely."
Alison was surprised at how easily Jack had changed the way the conversation had been going. She knew he was right, Nathan couldn't be forced into making a decision right away, if ever, and she had no right to make him. But could she ready, willing and able to fight for her ex husband? A lot of people would expect her to pull him to an alter straight away, but he hadn't mentioned it, and neither had she. Watching them interact now she knew the pair of them cared a lot about each other; Jack laid his hand on Nathan's arm, the Scientist, despite not liking being touched at the best of times, hadn't pushed him off. He was looking at the Sheriff with a fond expression on his face that made her smile.
"He's right, Nathan," she told him "However much it might pain me to say it," she added with a wry smile at both of them to lessen the apparent harshness of her words. "You have a second chance at life, you shouldn't waste it by worrying about us." She smiled at Jack's surprised expression. "I'm not giving up, Sheriff." she told him, amused. "And I know you won't, whatever I ask." she added quickly before both of them could protest – and by the dark look Nathan gave her she knew he was about to. "Where are you going to live?" she asked him.
Which was definitely not an offer, and they all knew it. Nathan shrugged and looked up at Jack. "Can I stay with you for a few days?" he asked him. "Just until I can get things sorted out. I guess I need to start again with everything."
"That's fine," the Sheriff found himself saying, when his brain was saying: not such a good idea. "SARAH would love to mother you, as well as me." He grinned at Nathan's rolled eyes. "Don't worry about your stuff, either," he told him as well. "It's all in storage, including your Beemer. And I think Alison did something with your accounts too?" he queried, and looked over at her.
Alison nodded. "I just had them frozen," she explained when Nathan looked at her. "I didn't want to deal with it all," she explained at his frown. "We just need to call your lawyer and defrost them."
And with that it was sorted. Nathan's doctor was happy to give him a clean bill of health and release him, especially when she found out he was planning to stay with Jack for a while.
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Walking out with the Sheriff felt like old times, although Nathan was dressed in some jeans and a sweater Jack had found him from somewhere. He stayed close to the other man as they walked out of the elevator and across GD's main lobby, he wasn't used to everyone turning and staring at him, including the security guards.
Jack noticed too and made sure he put himself in between Nathan and any scientist that looked too predatory or got too close. "They'll get over it in a few weeks, Nathan," he said quietly to the Scientist as he hustled him out of the main entrance towards his jeep parked right out front. At Nathan's raised eyebrow he had the grace to look embarrassed. "What?" he asked as he unlocked it and pulled open his door. "It was an emergency."
Nathan smiled as he climbed in the passenger seat, shaking his head ruefully. "I missed you, Jack," he told him as he strapped himself in. "Really."
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It was easy, probably too easy, for Nathan to slip back into his life and start afresh. Jack had been right, SARAH was happy to mother him, and she and the Sheriff were pleased to let him and his things into their home. Soon enough Jack's ordered minimalism had been encroached with Nathan's things, out of storage most of it and scattered around the house. He had moved into the third bedroom that had last seen Lexi's occupation. It had taken about a week to get everything re-instated, the DOD seemed to be easier to convince than anything else –Jack suggested that they wanted his brain, as opposed to the banks and his accountant who wanted the interest his money was earning them. But soon enough he was back to as he had been, apart from actually wanting to go home now, which he hadn't before.
Before he had worked so hard because he had preferred GD to the silence and loneliness of his house, even when he had been rekindling his relationship with Alison.
Jack and SARAH treated him as if he had always been part of their odd little family situation, and he supposed as he helped Jack potter around the kitchen one evening after work, he had been ever since the pair of them had arrived here virtually together. He quickly chopped the vegetables Jack requested and handed them over for his host to shove in the quietly sizzling pan with chicken, onions, garlic and chilli. "It's very good of you to let Jack try and cook, SARAH," he said dryly, fondly amused as he watched the Sheriff, now not in his uniform, stir their meal.
"I let him play every so often, Doctor Stark," she replied fondly. "He has not burnt the bunker down yet."
Nathan chuckled, a deep, throaty sound that always went straight to Jack's groin. "The evening isn't over yet, SARAH," the Scientist cautioned, and laughed again when Jack gave him a baleful look. "You don't scare me, Sheriff," Nathan told him fondly and patted his arm as he stepped past him to get to the fridge. "At all."
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It took about a week for the Scientist to be comfortable (ish) out in public, and a bit longer for him to be able to go about his business without back up. The first time he, Henry and Jack had gone to Café Diem they had created a crowd; it had been rumour to most of the townspeople that he had returned, only a few had actually seen him in the flesh, and as soon as word had gotten out that he was out and about they had appeared en masse. Vincent had done a roaring trade, Henry and Jack had tucked the Scientist away in a corner of a booth and the trio had carried on their lunch and conversation as if there wasn't a circus going on around them.
Nathan had managed to get out of the bunker on his own a week later – Jack, Henry, Alison and even Fargo had been travelling with him to and from GD up until he had put his foot down. He had gone to the dry cleaners to pick up his suits, Callie, as usual, had done an excellent job, and had gotten in and out with only the minimum amount of fuss. Jack seemed to be right – as soon as the initial shock had worn off the townspeople, scientist or not, had gotten used to him being around again and turned to the next discovery.
It was easy for him to settle back into his life, his new life. Alison was willing to give him access to Jenna and Kevin, and he found himself bonding, or rebonding in Kevin's case, with them both.
More often than not, if he had the kids or not, he seemed to gravitate towards the Sheriff. Jack didn't demand anything from him, all he asked was Nathan let him know where he was going to spend the night or if he was in trouble somewhere and needed some assistance, but that was it. Alison, on the other hand, demanded itineraries of where he was going to be daily, hourly if he had the kids (which he supposed was only natural), and also demanded he join her for dinner or lunch at least twice a week. The second time it dissolved into an argument he got up and walked out of the café, letting his feet taken him somewhere else – not really surprised when he ended up sharing Jack's lunch with him in the Sheriff's office, bending his ear back about his ex wife. Jack commiserated with him, reassured him when he fretted about being the father to a toddler, listened to him when he needed to talk, left him alone when he needed solitude, and after about a month the Scientist realised as he drove home that the Bunker was home now, and he had no intention, or inclination to move out.
"Of course I don't want you to move out," Jack retorted when Nathan asked him over beers when the overly tired Sheriff stumbled in later that evening. "I love having you here, Nathan. SARAH loves having you here. Do you want to move out?" he asked with a frown.
Nathan shook his head and smiled at him. "No, I don't." he reassured him. "Just let me know if it gets too much for you. With me, Kevin or Jenna. Okay?"
Jack nodded and clinked the necks of their bottles together as a salute. "Will do," he answered him. "Will do."
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Jack realised when Nathan asked him about moving out just how much he liked the Scientist living with him. His presence was calming on evenings when it was just them, making Jack actually want to come home of an evening. When he had the kids Jack loved it – the place felt full again, Kevin and Jenna's things messing up his anal neatness, Jenna's laughter filling the empty spaces, Kevin's calm quiet acting as a counterpart to it. He loved watching Nathan be a father to them both, the expression of delight on his face when either of them did something that surprised him, made his face light up and he would grin at the Sheriff as he pointed it out. Jack helped him out as much as Nathan would let him, watching Kevin when Nathan was bathing/feeding or putting Jenna to bed, reading to Kevin, handing things he needed, helping him out if he asked, in his own way. Soon they had examples of Kevin's artwork all over the bunker, one wall of Zoe's old room turned over as his gallery. He helped with Jenna too, she seemed to be a happy baby, slept through most of the night, and between them the two men got into a pattern with looking after both children and each other. Jack was beginning to feel like he was part of a family again, a partner with someone he loved, someone he could relax with when the kids were asleep, unload any frustrations with after a hard day, take care of. Nathan gave him a reason to make sure he stayed healthy, and uninjured, something he had been ignoring before, he admitted to himself in the dark in the middle of the night.
Jack didn't want it to end, and he knew, if he didn't make his move, it would.
But he didn't want to push Nathan away by being too full on. Alison, despite agreeing with him to let their Scientist live again, had tried it about two months after April 29th, and it had backfired on her. Nathan had rushed home to change after dropping the children back off to her, had sent Jack a text to let him know she had invited him to stay to dinner, but he was back home with an hour, pacing the living room agitatedly explaining to his friend. Alison had been waiting in a low-cut dress, table set with candles, one of his favourite meals just finishing off in the oven, soft music on, and she had handed him a glass of his favourite wine while she had quickly put the kids to bed – Jenna already asleep, Kevin virtually there. He had been a bit wary then, even more so when she returned with a coquettish smile. "Now then," she said and played with a strand of her hair. "Shall we eat?"
It had gone downhill from there.
Nathan explained that he had tried to help her in the kitchen "as you and I do" he commented to Jack. "But she didn't want that, told me she didn't need it. Then," he added and threw up his hands in exasperation. "Then told me that she didn't expect me to do anything like this because she knew I wasn't 'domesticated'."
Jack could hear the speech marks he used for the last word in the sarcasm of his housemate's tone, and he smothered his laugh in his beer.
"I'm not a … a cow!" Nathan added which made Jack lose his control and he snorted a laugh.
"No, Nathan, definitely not a cow," he commented, amused when the other guy glared at him. "Then what happened?" he asked quickly, wanting to wind him up and let him loose, if only for the spectacle.
Nathan sighed but glared at him again, knowing what he was doing and why. "Then we ate," he continued, needing to let it out anyway. "And she spent most of it playing footsie with me, fluttering her eyelashes, and eating everything as if it was… I don't know!" he protested, turning on his heel and making another circuit of the living room. "As if it was supposed to be turning me on."
"Was it?" Jack asked him before he thought about it. He realised quickly he maybe shouldn't have, but then told himself he hadn't lied or hidden his attraction to the other man, so why couldn't he ask?
Nathan looked down at his feet and shook his head. "No, it didn't," he answered, shaking his head. "It made me uncomfortable," he admitted. "I just … I don't …" he stuttered and Jack hated to see the normally collected man so … uncertain.
"SARAH, scotch," he asked, and grabbed the glass of amber liquid, walking over to Nathan and handed it over. If his fingers lingered on Nathan's neither mentioned it. "It's okay," he assured him when Nathan took the glass with a nod and sipped some of it. "You're allowed to feel, Nathan," he commented. "If you didn't want to be there, you did the right thing."
Nathan studied him over the rim of his glass. "You're allowed to feel too, Jack," he reminded him. "Are you pleased I left?"
Jack paused for only a moment. "I'd be lying if I told you no, I wasn't pleased," he answered him truthfully. "My feelings for you haven't changed. I really like you and your kids here. I don't want you to go," he admitted. "Either to your own house, or to anyone else's."
Nathan smiled at him and sipped some more scotch – it was the good stuff, his favourite, and it must have cost the Sheriff to get a supply in for him. "That must have been difficult for you to say." he commented, steeping closer to the man. "Talking about feelings."
Jack nodded and drank some more beer. "You know me," he retorted, amused.
Nathan laughed and nodded, grinning at him and drank some more scotch. "I'm trying."
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So Jack tried to keep any outright flirting to a minimum, but it was difficult. He found himself falling into old habits, snarking with Nathan as they had done, arguments that were actually flirting, touching him gently to emphasize a point or to get his attention. If he was called to GD Jack always tried to seek Nathan out, if he wasn't in the midst of trouble of course, and it seemed the Scientist didn't seem to mind. In fact the one and only time Jack was called to an 'incident' (read as – world is about to explode) and didn't seek him out, Nathan found out about it and went to find him. The Scientist was pleased he did, Jack was in the infirmary getting a nasty cut on his arm sealed up and Nathan walked over to him with a frown. "What happened?" he demanded and laid a hand on the Sheriff's uninjured shoulder. "Will he be all right?" he asked the Doc treating him. "Why didn't you call me?" he added quickly, looking down at Jack.
The man in question leant back against him and sighed. "Some idiot scientist blew up her lab," he explained briefly and winced as the Doctor palpitated the ragged sides of his wound. "This is some shrapnel. It's not too bad, really," he tried to reassure him. "And you said you had that important meeting."
Nathan shook his head and let go of his shoulder only to embrace Jack's shoulders and hug him tight. "It wasn't that important." he grumbled, and watched as Doctor Sangupta expertly cleaned the wound on the inside of his right arm.
Nathan watched the treatment and didn't let him go, relishing in Jack leaning against him. He admitted to himself that he had mellowed a lot since he had returned, a lot of things that had annoyed him before now didn't and it was probably thanks to his virtually stress-free home life. It helped that he was still making up for time he had missed for work, catching up with everything, working with Henry mainly, Fargo and Zane too, and none of the stupid politics and budget requirements he'd had to deal with. He was pleased to leave those to Alison and concentrate on the science, adding things he had experienced while exploring the universe into it.
Before he would have been here if Jack was hurt, but not like this, not have the man lean against him while he was treated and hug the stuffing out of him when he tensed up and hissed in pain. And what had he missed by keeping himself so tightly controlled before he thought to himself as he gently nuzzled Jack's temple with his bearded chin.
Jack noticed the difference almost immediately – Nathan seemed to be more touchy-feely since he had hurt his arm, he took the Sheriff home after he had been sown up, arm supported in a sling and it was great. Nathan fussed over him, made sure he was within arms reach, laying hands on him when he could, and Jack didn't know whether he was doing it to reassure Jack or himself. He enjoyed it, the only touch Jack had had recently was an occasional slap from Henry or a check up from a medical professional so he wasn't going to stop him, and besides, it was Nathan, and he was grateful for anything he got from the taller man.
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Nathan knew, as Alison shoved Jenna's carrier at him that he needed to make his feelings plain to both Jack and Alison. He had been living at the Bunker for four months now, he was … happy there, much more than content, and he knew he had made his decision the first time he had gone home, to Jack, after another argument with Alison and let his friend soothe him with baseball, beer, pizza and garlic bread. He was more than a friend, more than a fuck buddy, and the only thing that would make their relationship better would be Nathan moving out of Lexi's old room into Jack's bed. He wasn't attracted to Alison any more, yes she was a beautiful woman, yes he loved her, but he wasn't in love with her and he didn't want her any more, the all – consuming passion he used to feel was no longer there.
For Jack though? For Jack it was different: he loved their easy camaraderie, the easy way Jack had of touching him, how he relaxed the moment he walked in to the Bunker, the way Jack snarked at him with a grin on his face that met his eyes. All wrapped up in his cute clumsiness, his almost amazing leaps of intuition that saved the day, and his pretty, pretty body. It was time, beyond time, he was home, and he was happy with Jack, but the one thing that would make him happier? Would be if Jenna would stop crying. She had been crying when Alison had thrust her carrier into his arms, and she hadn't stopped yet.
So he got her out of the carrier and cuddled her close, checking the way Jack had shown him that she didn't need a fresh diaper, and Alison had told him she had eaten about an hour ago. He walked with her, tucked under his chin, pressed against his chest while she sobbed real tears and clenched her hands into his shirt.
He walked round his office, talking to her, humming to her, using his free hand to rub her stomach, even trying her teddy bear, a gift from Jo, to calm her down. Nothing worked, and he was getting more upset and worried himself; so he made his way down to the infirmary, getting a few exasperated looks on the way.
She stopped crying, for a few minutes, when his doctor used his own hand held MRI scanner (patented now) and she smiled at him fondly when she assured him Jenna was fine. "Maybe you should take her home?" she suggested as Nathan gathered his daughter up again.
"Good idea, Carole," he agreed, and looked down at his daughter as she started to weep again. "Is it me?" he asked Jenna and pressed a kiss to her nose.
"No, Nathan," the doctor assured him as Jenna stopped for a moment anyway. "She's teething, crabby, and not having a good day, nothing else. You get like this every so often, apart from the teething, but all you do is yell at Fargo."
He gave her a wry smile and nodded. "True," he agreed. "Very true. Thanks for this," he added and settled Jenna against him again. "Come on, Jenna Love," he said to her and walked away with a friendly wave at Carole as he did so. She smiled and watched them go, wincing when she heard the baby start to cry again – at least her lungs were in good working order.
Jack got a call at about six PM and he checked his communicator. It was SARAH, and he frowned as he answered it. "SARAH, is everything okay?" he asked.
"I think you need to come home, Jack," the AI suggested. "Nathan is having problems with Jenna, and Doctor Blake is here and not helping matters." Her voice was hard, showing Jack she was not happy herself, and he stood quickly and nodded.
"I'll be right there," he told her, and quickly flicked the office phone to his mobile (he was on call) and quickly left the office. His Jeep was outside, and in a few minutes he was speeding back towards the Bunker, lights flashing, dodging past anyone silly enough to get in his way.
Nathan's car was parked in it's normal spot, almost as if he had measured it with a tape and a protractor, and Alison's SUV as if she had abandoned it by the door. He parked next to Nathan's, got out and jogged down into his house.
The noise hit him first: Jenna crying, Alison shouting, SARAH trying to calm her, and he quickly looked around the shambles of his living room. Nathan was standing in the kitchen, trying to ignore his ex wife while he hugged Jenna and tried to soothe her.
He looked awful, drawn, dark circles under his eyes, and Jack quickly made his way over to him. "Alison, shut up!" he snapped sharply at her as he strode past. "You're upsetting Jenna. What's going on?"
His tone and sudden arrival surprised the Director enough that she did stop, but only to turn on him with a livid glare. "You just had to do it, didn't you?" she hissed at him, but not quiet enough to keep it to themselves. "You had to be the hero and bring him back from the dead."
Jack frowned at her and glanced over at Nathan. He was staring at them both, but then turned back to his daughter. "We've gone through this Alison," he told her bluntly. "And you're too blind to see why we had to do it." He sighed and glanced over at Nathan again. "If you don't like it, well … that's your problem," he stated, and walked over to Nathan and ignored her. "Are you all right?" he asked him and gently laid a hand on his nearest arm.
Nathan shook his head. "I don't…" he replied, his normally strong demeanour gone for the moment. "Jenna wasn't, Alison… I don't…"
"It's okay," Jack replied and surprised him by pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Let me try with Jenna, you need to talk to Alison. Can you do that?"
Nathan reluctantly handed over his miserable daughter and watched the Sheriff with her for a moment. "I need to tell her I'm not choosing her, don't I?" he asked with a sigh and a shake of his head.
Jack nodded and untangled an arm to squeeze Nathan's in support. "I'm right here," he assured him. "I'm gonna take Jenna upstairs for a bath. If you need us, call. You know I'll come running."
Nathan nodded. "Kevin's already upstairs," he told him, which would explain the bags of things that were dumped on the couch. He stood back and watched while Jack took Jenna and himself up the stairs and out of view before he turned to face his ex wife.
Alison also watched Jack go and then glared at Nathan as he approached her. "What do you want, Nathan?" she asked him bluntly. "You need to make a decision, this is helping no one."
"I made a decision a few weeks ago, Alison," he replied, his tone grim, more like the Nathan of old. "And your actions of late, especially today, have reinforced it."
It took a few moments but Alison got it and she glanced back at the stairs, the way Jack had gone. "You're choosing him," she replied darkly and paused momentarily. "I should have known, that's why you got your lawyer involved with custody arrangements, isn't it?"
Nathan shook his head. "No," he told her truthfully. "That was to protect all four of us, from instability if we had another major argument."
"Like this one," she added with a sigh, and relaxed. "I'm not surprised, I've been acting…" She stopped and frowned at Nathan's slight smile.
"Like a banshee?" he commented dryly. "What was this one about?" he asked. "I wasn't listening, I have to admit."
Alison was going to start again, annoyed that he hadn't been listening, but stopped before she began. She had shouted at him over something stupid, upset her own daughter enough that Jack had had to take her away after Nathan had had to shield her from herself. "It wasn't worth it," she admitted. "Especially now."
"I'm sorry, Alison, for what it's worth," he assured her after watching her for a pregnant pause. "Really. I didn't want to hurt you, ever."
"I know," she agreed, and she did know he didn't go into this to hurt her, and neither, probably, did Jack. "Does he want you?" she asked him. "Are you sure?"
Nathan nodded and smiled to himself. He knew Jack did, it was the little things the Sheriff did for him as well as the big ones that did reassure him. "I'm sure," he answered and smiled at her. "Are you going to be all right?" he asked.
She nodded. "I will be, eventually," she answered him and then grabbed her for purse. "It's Friday, please bring Jenna and Kevin back on Sunday night," she asked him, and then left the bunker without a backward look.
Nathan sighed in a mixture of relief and regret, and then walked up the stairs to find his family.
Jack was in Zoe/Kevin's room, talking to the young man who had pushed a pile of drawings in his direction, while he expertly dried off a finally quiet Jenna. He looked up when the door opened and smiled at Nathan. "Are you all right?" he asked him, and tracked him as he walked in and sat down on the side of the bed.
"I'm okay," he agreed and nodded. ""We need to talk, but I'm okay."
Jack checked the clock on the wall and noted the time. "Okay," he answered. "Why don't I get these two in bed and we can talk in my room?" he suggested, and smiled again when the Scientist nodded. He reached out and ruffled Kevin's hair, the stood and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Go to bed, Kev," he told him, and turned to Jenna when he nodded. He kissed her too, studying her fondly – she was virtually asleep - and laid a hand on Jack's shoulder before he left them to it.
Jack watched him go and chuckled as he quickly dressed Jenna in a onesie and stood. Her cot wasn't very far away, Kevin didn't mind that she shared with him and by the time the Sheriff laid her down Kevin himself had gathered his things together and put them on the nightstand, and, since Nathan had already got him into his nightclothes before Alison had arrived, he climbed into bed and laid down. "Good night, Archimedes," Jack told him fondly as he tucked him in, and then left the room, turning the lights off as he did so.
It took only a few steps to get to his room and sure enough Nathan was there, looking at the photos Jack kept in there and looking tense. He turned when he heard the door open and put the frame down with a sheepish expression on his face. "I'm sorry," he apologised. "For that with Alison in your house, for leaving you with the kids."
Jack shook his head. "No need," he replied. "Just tell me what going on. I'm presuming you're not taking the kids home to Alison tonight?" he asked hopefully.
Nathan shook his head. "I've told her I don't want her," he let him know, and walked over to him. "She didn't like it, but there's no point in living a lie. That doesn't help anyone."
Jack nodded and watched him walk closer and couldn't help it, the guy was hot, tall, handsome, all hard planes and muscles, and he looked like a predator. Jack's libido sprung into life and he took a step towards him as well. "I'm hoping that means I've not been kicked to the curb."
Nathan shook his head and took the last two steps and found himself pressed against Jack's body. He slipped an arm around Jack's trim waist and used the other one to cup his face. "I hope you're not pissed with me for how long its taken for me to come to my senses?" the Scientist asked quietly as Jack embraced him, splaying his hands out across the small of Nathan's back.
Jack grinned at him and moved one hand up Nathan's strong back, over the nape of his neck and into his hair. "Just don't make me do it again," he murmured, and used his hand to encourage Nathan down to kiss.
The Scientist didn't need the encouragement, but the kiss was chaste at first, Nathan trying not to force himself on Jack, despite his need to do that. The Sheriff didn't like that; he pulled him closer, opened his mouth and pressed his tongue against Nathan's soft lips, demanding entrance. Nathan was pleased to comply and in between deep, exploratory kisses he manoeuvred the pair of them to the bed.
Jack laughed as he found himself shoved onto the surface, and he reached up for him as Nathan climbed on and straddled him. "I love you, Jack," the Scientist told him as he leant over him. "I promise not to fuck you over again. Will you have me?"
"Oh, I don't know," the Sheriff mused theatrically. "What's in it for me?"
Nathan chuckled and bent low over him to gently bite the spot just under Jack's ear, a spot that always got him hot and squirming. He laughed again when Jack gasped, and pulled away to look him in the eye. "Does that work?" he asked, amused.
Jack nodded and shoved his hands under Nathan's sweater. "Off, get this off," he demanded, and they quickly got back to old habits. It was easy; they stripped quickly and explored each other, reminding each other of where their hotspots were, of how they reacted to touches, what elicited the best reactions.
Nathan knew where Jack kept lube and condoms, and he put that knowledge, and those items, to good use.
Jack had missed this; the weight of Nathan on him, his thick cock buried deep inside him, his mouth and teeth producing an impressive hickey on his throat to match the others. He was addicted to this, he couldn't get enough, and he whispered the same into Nathan's ear as he wrapped his legs around him and urged him deeper. Nathan was happy to oblige, very happy.
Later, when they were snuggled together, Nathan lifted his head from Jack's shoulder and smiled down at him. "So, do you want me to go back to the spare room?" he asked him impishly.
Jack laughed quietly and used the arm he had around his waist to hug him. "No, Nathan," he assured him. "Don't do that."
So the Scientist didn't go back. Ever.
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Epilogue
Archimedes was bronze, not stone! What the hell did that mean, Jack thought to himself as he drove through the town in a panic. What the hell? Zoe? Nathan? Kevin and Jenna?
He abandoned the Jeep out front of his bunker and ran into his home. "SARAH?" he asked as the door opened for him.
"Yes, Sheriff?" the AI replied, and he relaxed minutely, she was still there at least.
"Is Zoe still at Harvard?" he asked her, and then turned when he heard a well-loved voice.
"Where else would she be, Jack?" his lover, partner answered from the couch.
Jack grinned at Nathan, sprawled on the couch in his favourite sweater and jeans. He sat up and studied him for a moment before he spoke again. "I thought you weren't going to dress up for Founders Day?"
Jack leapt over to him and onto the couch, straddling his hips as he threw his arms around him. "Nathan!" he crowed and kissed him, hard. "Are you okay?" he asked when they broke off.
The Scientist was surprised at his actions but not displeased and he held his hips with his large hands while he studied Jack's face. "I'm fine," he assured him. "Just waiting here for you." He canted his head to one side as it he was studying an experiment. "Are you all right, really, Jack? What's going on?"
Jack leant forward and kissed him again. "I've had a really busy morning," he started to explain, but the door opened again, letting someone in.
"Dad? Jack?" Kevin called as he jogged into the living room. Then he spotted them and covered his eyes. "Eww! PDA! Take it somewhere private!"
"Kevin!" Nathan said sharply at him, but he did, reluctantly, push Jack off him. "I thought you were going to play Xbox with Dre?"
"I am, but Mom is acting weird," the young man replied and headed to the kitchen. He was oblivious to Jack gaping at him in shock at his words and easy manner. The Kevin he knew was a high functioning autistic young man that he was incredibly fond of, not this teenager full of life and … attitude, but not in a bad way. Jack watched as Nathan got up but patted his shoulder before he walked out of range, and went over to the kitchen with him. The way they interacted as they made breakfast with each other showed Jack how close they were, and he smiled as he watched Kevin steal some bacon as Nathan dished it up. Things had changed, but Jack hoped as he stood to join them, not too much.
END!