Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

           The only sounds that carried through the house were the noises of the family cooking dinner. No one spoke as emotions swam thick around everyone, even with Jodie. She hasn’t known Shimasani long and was feeling increasingly more guilty for her death. She knew that without the ritual, everyone would’ve been dead but it still hung with her. She felt as though there was something she could’ve done. Her tempestuous thoughts must’ve been affecting her stirring the pot as Paul came to move it off the burner.

         “Shit, sorry Paul.” Jodie spoke , snapping back to reality. Paul smiled at her as he turned the burner off.

         “Don’t worry about it. We’re all a bit out of it today. Grab the plates and cups , everything else is ready.” Jodie nodded and went to hunt down the plateware. The colorful plates were easy to reach , and Jodie set out the four plates. Her heart ached when she had to put the last plate back up in the cupboard.

         The cups were going to prove to be harder. The family were rather tall , and so when Jodie found the cups- they were out of reach. Aiden whispered to Jodie that he could get them for her , and Jodie reached up to let him before-

         “Let me get that for you.”A voice spoke from behind her. Jay was reaching up to grab the cups when Jodie turned to face him , and came face to face with his chest. A warm,  red blush cane over her face and stayed as he handed the four of them to her. He smiled at her and Jodie was ready to believe she would melt right then and there. Jay chuckled softly “Why are you looking at me like that?” Jodie quickly spun around to put the cups on the table. She responded rather nervously “Nothing , I just-“” Don’t worry about it Jodie, I was just teasing you.” Jay took a seat at the table and Jodie followed suit ‘yeah, teasing.’ She thought to herself as Cory and Paul took their seats.

         The dinner went smoothly . The conversation was on the good times of the past , and Paul reminisced on his childhood when Shimasani still talked. Laughter and chatter filled the air. The conversation turned to Jodie , and she knew she’d have to be as open with them , as they had been with her. She trusted them.

         “So Jodie, it’s your turn to tell us where you’ve come from.” Cory poked his fork her way and Jodie pondered over what to say. Aiden whispered in her brain , telling her that he felt safe here , and that it wouldn’t hurt to tell them the truth. Jodie nodded , and after taking a bite of the meat they had cooked,  she started “You’ve probably noticed that I’m different. The things that happen around me. Like when Shimasani talked , how Paul survived his injury , and other small things.”

          The others hung onto her words as she spoke , and under the table - jay offered her a hand to hold. Jodie spilled pretty much everything, minus the dead police officers. She told them about the party , her sexual abuse at the bar , her parents leaving her , Ryan lying to her , her being homeless - everything. “You were just following your commanding officer.” Paul spoke, about the mission. “It’s his fault for lying to you , for him using you. People aren’t black and white , and while you’ve done bad things- you’ve told us that you’ve been trying to fix those wrongs.” He smiled in a fatherly way and a wave of emotions hit Jodie all at once. She got up from the table , tears overflowing from her eyes “I don’t deserve you. Thank you. “ She hurried out of the house to clear her head, and she didn’t want them seeing her cry.

Jodie sat on one of the stumps that was under the tree the group had had lunch under the other day and cried. She hadn’t had the chance to really spill her story, and definitely not to people who seemed to care about her. She was scared to death that they’d want her gone. Paul seemed like he was processing her tale when he spoke earlier , and Jodie didn’t want to be inside. She just knew that they’d kick her out, it always happened like this. The cia would find her , and she’d be back to nothing and no one. Aiden whispered in her ear , trying to calm her down - he wanted to believe that everything would be alright, but he wasn’t sure. He could always go inside and listen , but jodie needed him here - or so he thought.

The door to the house opened up behind her , and jodie was to into her tears to see who was coming out from it. It was quiet for a moment as footsteps drew near , and someone stopped right in front of her. Jay had gone out to check on her ,after talking to his brother and father. They were worried about her , and while her story was concerning - all of this being hunted and haunted business - she was really just a woman, someone who was tired and needed help. Jay crouched down in front of her ,taking her hands in his. “Jay. I’m sorry.” Jodie cried and he said nothing at first,  but took her into his arms, rubbing her back and letting her cry.

“ Jodie, we understand that you said you might not stay long, but if you ever need a place to go - we’re here for you. You can be you, without worry of military agents busting down your door , or being used and lied to. Your friend isn’t that different from the spirits that protect our house, so don’t think for a moment that we’d throw you out over that.We-” He paused ,thinking for a moment if he wanted to come out cleanly and say it - or wait. He decided that he wanted to say it and continued on,. “ I want you here.I care about you, and I want you to be happy. I’m not sure if it’s love but it’s close. You’re special, but not because of aiden - because you’re strong.”

Jodie pulled away from the hug to be just inches away from his face and she was no longer crying, she smiled with puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. Making the first move she gently pressed her lips to his , and he accepted , hands sliding onto her face , thumbs making small circles on her cheeks as they kissed. Aiden wandered off , giving them privacy. He watched the sunset by himself , thinking about how he liked Jay much better than Ryan. He wanted this to last between them. He just hated that they’d have to leave soon. 

Chapter Text

         “Three more days.” She tells Paul that morning. She wants to help them, to be with them, but she can’t keep running from her past. He understands that, and tells her something that she can keep with her. It’s not a prayer, but it’s something that she can repeat in her head to feel better. She’s helped make breakfast the past days she’s been here , and enjoys doing it. She makes eggs and coffee , and bacon or whatever meat they feel like. Aiden says he notices jay watching her cook. He’s always leaning in the doorway when she’s almost done. Jodie tells Aiden to not mess it up for her. He tells her he wouldn’t dare.

         They don’t ask about Aiden and her own powers, but Jodie wanted to show them anyway. It was no longer like what happened at the party. She felt safe and warm here. She first shows them how Aiden can unlock doors. She asks Paul to lock the front door , the uses Aiden to unlock and open it (without bashing it of course). It’s how she managed to see the entity , she tells them, and then apologizes once more for disobeying them that night. The next thing she does is demonstrate her own telekinetic abilities by cleaning up the dishes. She moves them into the sink , and then washes them with her mind. It’s a little concerning when her nose bleeds but she assures then that it’s because she uses Aiden more than her own powers. Lastly, her big gesture was taking Cory’s hands into her own. Her eyes rolled back into her head and it was terrifying for a bit, but she assured them that there was nothing to be afraid of. Jodie told Cory about the boy he was in love with. The one who made him join the baseball team. With curly brown hair and glittering emerald eyes. Cory was shocked that she could see all of that. He told her that he was gay , as if half expecting her to not be okay with it but Jodie reminded him that not only did she have two fathers that were together, but her old instructors from her cia days were married. He hugged her and left to go call someone.

         The next day She and Cory went to work on the bike. She’d messed with it a bit earlier , but Cory thought that with their powers combined , they could really get the bike going. They had to drive into town to get some parts, but they did it. Halfway through the day they started up the bike and when it ran smoothly , the pair cheered. Aiden helped a little with things they couldn’t reach with only four hands, and helped identify problems to Jodie who could relay them to Cory. They worked well together, like a well-oiled machine. During this he tells her more about his sexuality, and asking her questions about past experiences. She tells him the truth. Most men she’s fallen for had lied to her and hurt her in some way.

         “But my brother isn’t ike that” Jodie had dropped the wrench she was holding when he said that.

         “What are you trying to say?” Jodie questioned Cody , who’s turn it was now to be embarrassed and evasive. “Isn’t it obvious? You two belong together. You’re both always looking at each other , and you’ve even kissed.” Cory motions wildly as Jodie decides to just lay on the ground. “I mean. I do like him, a lot , but I’m worried that all I’ll ever do is cause him pain. The cia are still after me, and I have terrible nightmares.” She covered her face with her hands as Cory scoots closer to her. “I know from personal experience that jay isn’t anything like those guys you mentioned. He’s a lot more reserved than anyone else in the family, and he’s a bit abrasive at first, but he’s a really good guy.

         “Talking about me?”Paul’s voice came in as he walked into the barn to see their progress. Crouching down to get a better look he smiled.”I’m glad to see you fixing this old girl to her former glory. Used to be my old bike from when I was a reckless youth. She looks great. Now what were you guys talking about?” Jodie was standing up, dusting herself off as Cory wasted no time in blurting everything out. “I’m just telling Jodie that she should get with jay.” He says and Jodie feels a red blush creep onto her face. It’s one thing talking about boys with a friend, but if it’s to the guy in question father - that’s a different story. Paul nods justly , and speaks in a fatherly tone of voice. “I agree with what Cory said. He’s a good boy, he’s just a bit of a loner. He needs someone like you, and you need someone like him. Only time will really tell, as unlike my son” he elbows Cory “I don’t believe in rushing into things.” Jodie is still bright red and begins backing out of the barn “I think I hear Aiden calling me? I’ve gotta go. Thank you though, I’ll keep your words in mind.” And with that she was gone.

         Jodie spent the afternoon working with Ashkii. If she was leaving, then he’d have to be able to work with the guys. It wasn’t a them problem, it was an Ashkii training problem. He needed to learn , and it would take Aiden and Jodie to teach him. While this training session was going on , Jay was finishing up a shower. He’d heard her outside and was going to watch her with Ashkii. He told himself it was make sure she was training him correctly ( which she likely was) but in reality, Jay really just wanted to watch her. The relationship between her and ashkii was improving , and his relationship with jay was also improving as well. He often went to see ashkii in the early morning before jodie or anyone else was awake. Ashkii always trotted out to see him , and responded positively when he pet the horse.

         Jay continued to watch from a distance until he felt a small force press against his back , and move him to the edge of the stable area. Jay rested his arms on top of the fence as he continued watching until ashkii noticed him and trotted over for a pet. Jodie noticed him watching when the horse trotted over, and followed over.

        “Hey there.”She spoke, smiling as she pet Ashkii.

         “Hey.” Jay responded , not quite sure what words to say to initate the conversation. When the words came to him , they were rather mundane. “So I saw that you and Ashkii are doing a lot better now. He knows quite a lot more things.” Jodie nodded , looking from Jay to the horse. “Aiden and I are doing our best. I want him to be able to cooperate with you guys when I have to leave.” Jay sighed. He knew it was coming. No one ever really stayed that long to begin with in the dry and vast desert. “I just wish you didn’t have to” He mumbled, unaware that Jodie caught the words. “I wish I could stay, I love it here , but I have things I have to take care of. Things that would break if not dealt with. I don’t want to be on the run from the government forever.” She reached out to Jay’s shoulder and he locked eyes with her , his face turning red as hers was. “There’s someplace I want to show you - If you’re interested. It’s a bit away from here, but it’s a place my dad used to take my brother and I camping when we were kids. We could spend the night up there. Just the two of us. “ Jodie thought about it for a second, but she had already decided her answer. “ Of course.” She spoke , a brighter smile growing on her face. Once that warmed up Jay’s heart even more than it already was. “I’d love to.” She added and the tall man was sure he couldn’t be any happier than he was in that moment. “I’ll pack , and we can head out tonight.”

         The ride out to the spot was long , but Jodie and Jay had the benefit of watching the sun set over the Arizona skyline. Jodie found herself wrapping her arms around Jay as they rode on the same horse, and watching the sky that way. Jay was freaking out internally , but wasn’t unwelcome to the comforting feeling her ouch brought him. When they finally got to where Jay had set out for, the last of the sun’s light was already gone, and the moon’s brilliance brought an elegant soft blue hue to everything. The area in question was a small cliff , resembling the opening scene from the Lion king. It looked over a large expanse of land, and Jodie could made out a few animals skittering around in the night.

        Once Jay got off the horse, he helped Jodie off. Jodie went to start a fire, while Jay set up the sleeping bags he brought. Aiden proved a big help in starting the fire , and soon Jodie and Jay were both done with their jobs and sat down together. “It’s a beautiful area.” Jodie spoke as she surveyed the landscape. “It really is.”Jay responded, eyes trained on Jodie instead of on the scenery in front of them. When Jodie faced him, she noticed him staring and blushed. “What are you looking at?” She teased. “I’m not going to lie to you.You’re beautiful Jodie.” Jay spoke, subtly cooting closer to her. Jodie scooted closer to him “I think I’m falling for you Jay.” “Me too.”

         Jodie and Jay came together as if their bodies were always made for eachother, his fingers tangled into her short hair before moving down to around her waist, as jodie’s arms linked around his shoulders. They naturally fell together , with jodie on the bottom as Jay crawled on top of her. It didn’t take long before Jodie realized what was about to happen and seized up. Jay reacted quickly and got off of her .

         “Are you okay?” He asked first, trying to make sure she was alright as well as giving her free space. “I’m sorry.” She spoke, clearly shaken as she sat up. “I’m fine, I’ve just- I guess I’m still not over what happened at that bar.”With those words, Jay understood immediately and hated himself that he didn’t think of that sooner. “Shit- Jodie, I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to take it to somewhere you were uncomfortable with.” Jay spoke, ready to move himself away from her. “No! No.”Jodie repeated “You’re fine, wonderful even!”She reached out to Jay, trying to bridge the gap that seemed to be growing between them.”It’s me. I need to learn that not every guy I meet is out to hurt me.You’re one of the first who seems to actually care about me.”She sat on her knees, staring directly at him as she bared her feelings.

         Jay reached out to her, grabbing her hands. “Jodie, I swear on my life- I would never, ever hurt you.I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t the cool, mysterious guy I seem to be, but I’m just a scared boy. Everyone I’ve ever been into has left me in one way or another. I just,don’t want to waste the moments I get with you.” Jodie kissed him before rubbing his shoulders after she pulled away. “I don’t want to leave you, believe me. If you’ll have me, I’d love to be yours forever but I need to deal with things from my past. I can’t keep running from this forever. I won’t be like the others.” She kissed him again , this time lasting longer than the first. “I will return.”

Chapter Text

         Here it was finally. The day she had to leave , and face the problems that she had waiting for her. To see Nathan and Cole again, and face the crimes she had been chased for. Jay had, for once, slept in.He was usually the first one up and doing work ,but for some reason he wasn’t, he wanted to cling to Jodie for as long as possible, incase she never did come back. Maybe, he thought to himself, maybe this is just a dream and I’m going to wake up and none of it will have happened. When he finally did get up, it was as Jodie was rising as well. Her body turned to face his, and he opened his eyes as she buried herself in his chest. In a last-ditch effort, Jay wrapped his arms around her, and prayed for her to return safely to him.

         “We have to get up.”Jodie murmured into Jay’s chest, eyes fluttering open to look up at him.

         “Waking up can wait.I want to savor this time.” Jay responded back, with a smile as a response from Jodie. “I promised your father I’d made breakfast this morning. So unless you want to starve, I at least, must get up.Jay groaned in a fake dramatic way but let Jodie go, and the young woman could see a grin on her partner’s face. Jodie planted a kiss on his forehead before getting dressed. She told Paul that she’d make breakfast that morning, and let him sleep in for once. So in the cool moments of the Arizona Morning, the only one awake was Jodie it seemed.

         She worked quietly, without the help of aiden, cooking up a breakfast for the four of them. She made an old pancake recipe that Cole and Nathan had taught her during the time after the party.She’d gotten home traumatized, and promptly after enveloping her in a big my two gay dads hug, they let her pick the rest of the things to do that day. Nathan taught her how to cook special pancakes that he said would boost brain power, but she was pretty sure they were just normal fruit pancakes. She couldn’t count how much she missed her fathers, and how much she wanted all of this to be over. No more Cia, and no more being used and lied to.

         Everyone was up by the time she finished, and they all sat in happy silence as they ate Jodie’s special pancakes. They don’t talk about her leaving, and it feels like just another morning.When she’s done, Jay takes the dishes before she can reach for them, and jodie is a bit surprised but doesn’t object. She instead heads to where her things are, and begins packing her bag. She’d washed her only pair of cloths the day earlier, after she’d gotten back from camping with Jay. As she places her things into her bag, she notices a few things in there she hadn’t placed in there before. Looking back at an empty doorway, Jodie smiled at the thought of the family giving her a few things for her journey.

         When the time finally came for Jodie to head out, she felt like she didn’t want to leave. One nagging part of her told her to just stay here, let the cia declare her missing or something, leave the past in the past. The more rational part of herself made it’s point that “If you just stay here, they’ll find you, and who knows what they’ll do to jay, cory, and paul if they do. There’s nothing saying you’ll never return” It’d be a constant worry at the back of her head for quite some time, but Jodie would learn that it was a silly worry. The Arizona heat was beating down on everyone as jodie stepped outside.

         She gave Paul a hug first.” Thank you. Words cannot express how grateful I am to you for letting me into your home, and accepting me.” The gentleman hugged her back, squeezing her in a fatherly like embrace.

         “You don’t have to say anything. You’ve helped us more than we could ever hope for, and banished an evil that’s plagued our area for as long as anyone could remember. If anything I want to thank you for coming into our lives Jodie. You’ll always have a place here.” Jodie wiped away small tears that were leaking out of her eyes, she nodded and turned to Jay before Cory came running up with the motorcycle at his side.

         “You didn’t think we’d let you leave on foot, did you?” Cory exclaimed, a bright grin beaming on his face as he set the bike upright. It was the bike they had spent most of one of the mornings working on, and bonding over. Before Cory could say anything else, Jodie nearly tackled him with a hug. “I’m gonna miss you kid. Hopefully when I come back, we can work on this beauty again, and I get to hear all about that boy you go on about.” Cody laughed as he hugged her back. “I doubt he even likes men, but if we do get together you’ll be the first to know.” Paul coughed. “Okay, the first to know after my dad does.” Jodie laughed. “I’ll hold you to that.”

         Jay stood by himself , and when Jodie turned to him he opened his arms to her. Jodie wrapped her arms tightly around the taller man, taking a deep breath and breathing in his scent.”Ashkii is going to be very sad without you.” Jay spoke, defecting the fact that he was really going to miss her. Jodie intertwined her fingers with his, taking a small step back.”Well, I won’t be long. Once I my past has been faced, I’ll return to him, and he’ll never have to be alone again.” Jay was trying not to cry as Jodie leaned up to kiss him, lips ghosting his before he responed back with a deeper kiss in return. “ Goodbye Jodie.” He spoke, tears falling from his eyes as he took a step back. Jodie kept her hand still in his as she spoke in return. “Don’t say goodbye, Jay, If you do it’ll be like I never left.” She kissed his cheek one last time before hopping on the bike. Jodie gave them one last wave before speeding off down the highway.

         She was letting the tears flow out of her eyes as she drove onwards , when aiden began to speak to her for the first time that day.

         “I’m really going to miss them.”He spoke in what sounded to her like a somber tone. “Yeah Aiden , I will too but like I said, we’ll return to them.”

Chapter Text

         The last thing Jodie remembered before passing out was being carried out of the facility by Ryan.If she was waking up now, it must’ve meant she’d done it.She stopped the condenser and done what the CIA had asked of her.Soon she’d be free, free to fulfill her promise to Jay and return home to Arizona.If only she didn’t feel so sleepy right now.

         Jay had no clue what had gotten into Ashkii recently. The horse was restless, and neighed constantly the past few nights.Whenever Jay tried to calm him down the horse would refuse.If this kept up they’d have to call in a vet, or someone who knew horses better than they did.For now, Jay thought,he’d ask his father what he thought was wrong with Ashkii and headed inside. Paul was reading a book when Jay walked in, and looked up once his son started speaking.

         “ I still can’t figure out what’s wrong with Ashkii.”Jay sat down across from him at the table, his face was a mis of confusion and worry. “He doesn’t seem to be sick, but I can’t get him to calm down.” Paul nodded.

         “Do you want me to take a look at him before you call the vet from town?”He asked his son , sliding the bookmark into the page as Jay nodded. If his father could figure out what the problem was, then it’d save them money from paying a vet to come out and see them. It didn’t occur to the family that maybe Ashkii was freaking out because he missed Jodie. It had been about a month since she’d left and life was moving on.

         Paul followed Jay out to the paddock and waited as his son took the horse out from the stable. He watched Ashkii closely, how he moved rather nervously and erratically. Paul’s face scrunched up in confusion as he couldn’t quite find a place for what was going on.

         “Let’s go inside and call the vet.” He spoke and waited for Jay to put Ashkii back into the stable before the pair of them went back inside. Cory was sitting in a chair, reading a book when the other two entered into the central area. He looked up for a second to ask,

         “So what’s dad’s verdict?” “We’re going to call the vet, we haven’t had any major breakthroughs or anything.” Paul responded to his son as he went to grab the phone from the console table in the central area. Before Paul could even touch the phone, it began ringing. “Maybe that’s the vet?” Cory questioned. Jay rolled his eyes teasingly at his little brother, “Unless the vet is a psychic, I highly doubt it’s him.” Paul waved for his two boys to hush up as he turned the phone on speaker mode, just incase it was the vet - or if it was a buyer for his business. “ Hello this is Paul [last name], what’s your business?” Paul gave his usual phone greeting as Jay sat down at the kitchen table. The voice that filtered through the air on the other end was weak, but unmistakable.

         “Hey Paul. You have no clue how glad I am to have found your number.” The air in the room suddenly went cold. It was Jodie.

         Earlier, Jodie found herself waking up for real in a CIA  hospital. Nathan and Cole were in the room, with Nathan reading over some reports and Cole finishing up some work as well. Their fingers were loosely tangled together. Jodie groaned as she tried to sit up and Nathan was the first to react. He set his papers down on the side table,

        “Hey, hey, Jodie it’s alright. You’re safe. Don’t worry.” He spoke, now standing next to Jodie’s hospital bed. Jodie groaned once again, the rush of pain in her body flowing through her. Through gritted teeth she spoke in a weak voice.

         “Did I do it? Is the condenser shut down?” Before she had passed out, Jodie remembered putting the bombs on the pylons but everything after that was blacked out, and just thinking about it made her head hurt. “Is Ryan okay?” Jodie added on, also curious at the state of her fellow agent. Nathan smiled before responding, “You did it, you shut down the condenser and closed the rift. Once you get better enough, you’ll have to meet with the general for him to congratulate your team in person, but for now enjoy the moment. As for Ryan, he’s in a much better shape than you are. If you want I can see if he can come over here to see you.”

         Jodie wasn’t quite sure she wanted to see him. In the pit of her stomach she had this weird feeling he wasn’t over her and that inviting him into her space would only make the matter worse. She didn’t answer Nathan’s final question, instead Jodie looked at the clock on the wall and asked, eyes trained on it. “How long have I been out for?”Now it was a Cole’s turn to speak up, as his boyfriend had been working non-stop during that time and wouldn’t have a good answer for her.

         “You’ve been out for about a week, princess.Ryan told the doctors that you’d gotten bashed in the head. You weren’t doing too good when you came in. We nearly thought we’d lost you.” Cole scooted closer , reaching out to hold Jodie’s hand. He wasn’t anywhere close to being Jodie’s father , but him and Nathan were the only parental figures who’d ever actually cared for her. He wanted the day to come for him and his boyfriend to actually be Jodie’s real parents but it’d have to wait until she was granted pardon by the government. Jodie looked deep in thought before she spoke up again. “So if I’ve been out for a week , and the mission took a week, and I’ve been in DC for about a month before that then.. does the room have a telephone? “Nathan looked to Cole before looking back at Jodie. “You can use mine.” He handed his cellphone to her. His was one of the hi-tech smartphones, which was lucky for Jodie as she could look up who she wanted to call on her own. Cole nudged Nathan’s side “Babe, lets go grab some lunch and let Jodie call whoever she needs to.” Nathan nodded and the pair left the young woman alone.

         Back to the present, Paul was really glad he had already set the phone on the table, or else he would’ve dropped it. “Jodie, oh my, is that really you?” He questioned and Jodie laughed weakly, coughing a bit after it. “Are you okay? Where are you?” Concern was laced tightly into his words and both Jay and Cody were now listening in intensely. “I could certainly be better, I think once this painkiller works itself in, I’ll not have pain wracking my body. I’m in the hospital right now. I’m not doing too good.” She was unaware that she was on speaker phone and when she heard the sound of floorboards creaking as Jay stood up from the table , She questioned. “Am I on speaker?”.

         Cody was the one to speak, as jay had left the room , with no clue as to why. “Hey Jodie.” “Hey Cory. It’s good to hear your voice. Is Jay there?” Paul walked over to the window to watch his son crying outside. “Jay is out on a delivery for us right now. Sorry Jodie.” Jodie sounded a bit disappointed. “I’ve just wanted to hear your voices. Are you guys free to talk, or am I interrupting something?” “Nah, we’re both not busy. What do you want to talk about?”

         Jodie told them about the mission, about how the cia caught her after she went to meet her birth mother and nearly forced her to take on the mission. She told them about her injuries from the torture, and how she made them leave her friend alone and take her on instead. She never gave up who she worked for though, in the end. She stopped the machine and got out in a critical shape, nearly freezing to death before her fellow agents picked both her and her friend up. Jodie never gave any specifics, she could, later once everything has blown over and the cia was no longer after her, but not now.

         They told her how the ranch was doing, and how things seemed to be looking up. The business Paul ran was doing well for itself and he sold wool mostly. Jodie said she missed the churros. Cody had no real update on the guy he told Jodie about. He told her that he got a girlfriend so Cody knew he had no real chance with him. She told him never to give up.    

         Nathan paid for the three sandwiches with drinks from the hospital cafe. “Who do you think she’s on the call with?” He questioned, as they walked back to the elevator. “Probably Ryan. She seemed worried, but not enough to want to see him.” Cole responded as they turned a corner. After they got to the elevator, Nathan pressed the call button. “I’m all for the CIA’s help with the condenser and the infraworld, but I don’t blame Jodie for wanting nothing to do with Ryan.”

         The ride up to Jodie’s floor was silent but with the elevator music. The CIA hospital has many floors, as it was also used by other government agencies. Cole had seen people in fatigues walking with the nurses, and other uniform types. They hesitated in opening Jodie’s room door as she was laughing when they walked up. If she was having fun, they didn’t want to interrupt her. Nathan slowly opened the door , and set the drink and sandwich down on Jodie’s bedside table.

         “Hey,” She said, setting the phone on the nearby table after pressing the speaker button. “You two came in at the best moment. Paul and Cory, I want you to meet my pretty much fathers since forever, Nathan and Cole. “ voices came over the other side. One was younger, and the other was older. “Hello, I’m Cory .” The younger voice, Cory spoke. “I’m Paul.” The older one spoke after him. Nathan and Cole each introduced themselves as well. “How do you know Jodie?” They questioned.

         “We met around a month or so back, before I came back to dc. They’re close friends of mine.” She struggled finding the right words to explain who they were. “ My son is your, ahem, daughter’s boyfriend.” Paul spoke and even through the phone he could feel the fatherly glare of ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone.’ “It’s not me by the way.”Cory spoke up. “It’s my older son, Jay. He’s off doing some work for me at the moment but he’s a good kid.” Nathan nodded to Cole, both seemingly having the exact same idea.”We’d love to meet you in person, and it just so happens Jodie’ll have to be in dc for a while to recover. “ He offered, wanting to meet these people if Jodie was really dating the oldest son.

         There was a moment of silence at the other end before Paul spoke back to Nathan. “Cory and I have a lot of work to do, but I think Jodie would like to see my oldest son more than anything. He needs a break, so we’ll get him a ticke-”Cole interrupted “Don’t worry about paying for a ticket.We’ll pay for it.Our treat for caring about our daughter.” “Wow- I’m extremely grateful for this kindness. We’ll tell our son when he gets back in.” Paul really was shocked by the kindness from these people who he didn’t really know that well.Jodie’s fathers seemed like good men. A nurse came into the room as the conversation ended. Jodie’s bandages needed changing. Cole spoke up “We’ve got to go. Nathan or I will call you again when we’ve got the ticket.” And after they exchanged goodbyes, that was that.

         Jay had left the house when he heard the word “ hospital.” Obviously she was injured, and there was no way, and nothing for him to do about it. He knew he could’ve been in there to talk to her, but jay didn’t want her to hear him crying. He walked over to the paddock, where Ashkii and the other horses were out and about. Ashkii was still causing trouble when a of a sudden he just kind of- stopped. He calmed down, as if his behavior was tied to some cosmic force that was causing him to act up. Jay ran inside, not knowing if they were still on the call,

         “Dad, Ashkii’s calmed down finally, I don’t know what happened but he’s not distressed anymore.” Jay spoke as he ran in. Paul and Cory both looked at him, and Jay wasn’t sure what was about to happen. “ You should’ve been in here.”Paul spoke, shaking his head. Jay felt his heart drop, and a pit form in his stomach.” Wh-what do you mean? Is she okay? “He spoke as he fell into the living room chair across from Cory. “Why don’t you go to Dc and find out for yourself?”

Chapter Text

         Jodie loved airports. They were large, diverse, and full of people. It was easy to get lost, to get caught up in the hustle of the area where many different cultures and walks of life came together and diverged. The DC airport was no different, as besides housing regular people coming in and out, government agents and other important personnel were also passengers. This time though, Jodie wasn’t a passenger. She hobble-strode across to the arrivals area for where a flight from Arizona was coming in. Unlike some other areas of the airport, this area wasn’t that crowded. Her movement speed was cut down due to the brace the doctors had put her leg in. Aiden had done what he could do during the mission to make sure it wasn’t extremely broken, but the entity didn’t have superhero healing capabilities.

         “Aiden, can you see him?” Jodie whispered as she watched the crowd exiting where the  plane was supposed to be arriving from.

         It wasn’t hard to spot him when he did show up, as Jay was a rather tall man. When he got past the waiting area seats - he saw her.She looked like she stepped out of a dream. Her hair was longer, and while she looked kind of tired, she was smiling. He rushed over to her and dropped his bag to hug her.She wrapped her arms tightly around him ,breathing in the same scent that she had missed from so long ago. They pulled apart for long enough to lock lips for yet another short time span.

         “My father said I should see you in person, that you sounded like you needed someone close to you.” Jay spoke when they finally pryed themselves apart for longer than a moment. “It’s been a while, and I was worried about you when they told me you were in the hospital when you called them.” Jodie studied his face, and all of the same creases and marks shed also missed, as he spoke. “I’m glad you’re here. I was worried you were- I don’t know what I was thinking, but I’m glad you’re here now.” Jodie responded to him. Looking down at his feet, she noticed his bags. “Mind if I take one of your bags?” She asked, already leaning down to take one. Jay picked both of them up. “I get that I’m your guest, but you’re injured, Jodie, I’ll carry my bags.”He kissed her head and despite Jodie wanting to argue with him, she didn’t, and walked him to the parking lot.

         Cole had, that morning, let her take his car. “I’ll just ride with Nathan. Surely my handsome boyfriend won’t mind me tagging along, right?” Nathan was still half asleep when the conversation went down, but he mumbled a yes before taking his coffee back into the bedroom. Jodie had many memories with Cole’s car, and only one of them was bad. It was a small, boxy, black car with wood details on the inside; Jodie had called it an old man’s car many times in the past, with love of course, but now she was driving it, and would probably get teased later by cole.  

        “Have you lived in Dc your entire life?” Jay asked her as they left the airport parking lot. Jodie thought back to the time she lived with people who had pretended to be her parents. She gripped the steering wheel slightly, and jay could hear a bit of tenseness in her voice. “No, we technically don’t live in Dc. Cole and Nathan’s house is in Arlington, which is really close. But I lived in dc for a while before I pissed off the CIA. I have friends in dc , and our neighbor is another friend of mine. Well, friend is a loose term, he’s kind of an ex of mine, and he’s not really let go.” Jay smiled at her “I’m not just for looks and taking care of horses. If he tries something, I’ll stop him.” She smiled and said nothing as they continued on back to the house.

        Nathan and Cole’s house was a two story, colonial style house on the end of a calm , quiet street. It was on top of a small hill , with a garage poking out from the side of the hill. It was all white with black shutters on the windows, and a red brick staircase leading up to the house. It had an oak tree in the front yard, with flower beds courtesy of Jodie out front as well. Jodie pulled into the garage and got out, helping Jay with his bags.

         “This is a nice house.” He spoke, in awe as they circled around back to the front, and went in that way. “I’ve lived here most of my life after I was taken in by the DPA, I’ve done my best in helping out.It was a team effort to be honest.” She laced her fingers into Jay’s as they went inside.  The living room was open, and had a calm, modern feel to it, with family pictures lining one of the walls. Jay looked at them closely, running his fingers over photos of her with other people. Jodie was a cute kid, he thought , and a gorgeous woman, he thought as he looked at her. She motioned for him to follow her with her head “I’ll give you the grand tour after we get your stuff put in my room.”

         Jodie’s room was more bare than he expected. From her style and personality, he’d assumed that her bedroom was cluttered and full of color. The reality was, a single double bed in the center of the far right wall away from the door, a simple wooden dresser, and a few band posters. Jay sat his bag near the dresser and asked, “I’d thought your room would have a bit more things in it?”Jodie took a look around herself, as if she hadn’t lived in the room for most of her life. “I used to have a lot in it, when I was younger. After I joined the military, I guess I just kind of lost interest in things. “ Jay made a humm in affirmation. While he wasn’t really a cluttered kind of person either, he thought it was kind of sad how the military affected that aspect of her. “Let’s go take a tour of the house.” She held her hand out for him, and smiled when he took it.

         The house had four bedrooms. One was Jodie’s, the master bedroom was Nathan and Cole’s, and then the other two were home offices. Only her room, and the master bedroom had their own bathroom, while the office rooms shared a bathroom. The first floor had a seperate living room, dining room, and kitchen, along with an added room that was sort of like an office for Jodie. It only housed her guitar, and a few of her old toys. She showed him the backyard , which had a small swing set that she used to play on. “It’s nice seeing the place you grew up in.” jay smiled as he motioned around at the backyard. “I spent more time at the DPA lab than I did here, countless hours of me and aiden working out exactly what we could do. Sometimes I even spent the night there, but mostly it was late nights, and falling asleep in the car on the way home.” Jodie seemed lost in thought before snapping back into reality. “Are you hungry?We’re probably having dinner out tonight, but I can cook you something for lunch.” “Yeah. I’d always love to eat your cooking.”Jodie laughed and headed inside with Jay following her.

         Jodie had made sandwiches for them both, and poured some water for both of them as well. They sat on the couch, and were talking about what had been going on in their lives since she’d left Arizona when she heard a key in the front door. “That’s odd” Jodie spoke , looking over at the door in confusion, “Nathan and Cole don’t get off until at least 3, who could it be?” The door unlocked and when it opened, it was Ryan Clayton.

         “Hey Jodie.” He spoke with the smile of a man who was in love, he held up the hand mixer he’d borrowed a few days ago “I’ve got the mixer I borrowed. Sorry to barge in while you’re -” The air in the room was awkward when Ryan noticed that Jodie wasn’t alone. After getting his eye cut out during the mission, his peripheral vision was fucked, so it took Jodie looking to the side to notice the other man in the room. “Thank you for bringing it back ryan, you can just set it on the counter.”She spoke , waving her hand back towards the kitchen. “Who’s, uh, your friend here?” Ryan questioned.

        Jay stood up, extending his hand to the other man. “I’m her boyfriend actually, my name’s Jay.It’s nice to meet you.” Ryan stood with his mouth slightly open, looking between this new man, and Jodie, who was trying to avoid the awkward air by looking away. He didn’t like this, Jodie and him had been through more than hell together, and even shared more than one special night, who was this strange man coming in. It had to be a joke, he really couldn’t accept it. So he laughed, and he laughed hard. Jay looked confused, and withdrew his hand, while Jodie finally turned her attention back to the situation. “I’m sorry?” Jay asked, not sure of what to think of the situation at hand, he looked at Jodie, who shrugged. “I’m just- in shock. I mean, we’ve been through hell together Jodie. I’ve seen you weak and vulnerable, and I’ve saved you so many times. Am I not enough?” He’d set down the mixer in the kitchen and had returned back to the living room.

         Jodie spoke up. “Ryan, us having experienced trauma together does in no way give you the rights to my love. Whatever we were, was a mistake. I didn’t even realize how much of an age gap we had until I was much older, and on top of that- you lied to me! You made me kill an innocent man, and the trail of bodies on the way there, and you think that I owe you for that?”She motioned with her hands as she spoke, and Jay, who had sat down during the conversation rubbed gentle circles into her back as she seemed to get more upset. “ Jay isn’t you. He wasn’t in highschool when I was born, and he definitely didn’t lie to me. He’s the kindest, most respectful man I’ve ever met and I’m in love with him. Nothing will ever change that, not even with this dumb monopoly you think you have on my love.” Ryan shook his head. “ You were gone for what? two fucking months?  and suddenly you’re in love with a man you met in that time? You’re fucking delusional, maybe being homeless fucked up your brain, or maybe you took drugs in that time. Either way, you really aren’t thinking straight.”

         Jay wasn’t an aggressive or confrontational man, but he wasn’t going to let this man he just met talk that way about Jodie. Jay got up from the couch and stepped in front of her, blocking the way for ryan to reach Jodie. “For someone who thinks he deserves Jodie’s love, you really aren’t making a good case by insulting her. I really think you should leave, as you’re making her uncomfortable.” Ryan was appalled, offended even, he stepped closer to Jay, about ready to put his hands on him when he felt pressure around his throat. It was enough to startle him, but not enough to seriously hurt him. “Let him go Aiden.” Jodie spoke,  getting up from the couch and taking to Jay’s side. “ I think you should leave. I love jay, and not you. This conversation is over. Don’t come back while I’m here unless you’re willing to apologize. “ Aiden released his grip on Ryan’s throat, and the man left, upset.

         Jay turned to her immediately. “Are you okay?” He asked. Jodie wasn’t smiling but she grabbed his hand. “I will be. Since you’re here.Thank you for defending me.” Jay smiled at her. “I think you did an amazing job of defending yourself, and Aiden did a good job too.”

         For the rest of the day until 5pm, the couple took a nap on the couch together. Jodie had her head on a pillow at the end of the couch , and Jay was laid on top of her with his head on her stomach. The front door opened and in walked Nathan and Cole.

         “Hey Jodie, we’re home. We want to meet your boyfriend.” Nathan called out. Cole elbowed him, pointing to the scene on the couch. Both Jodie and Jay woke up around the same time to see the two men smiling as she stood in the entryway of the house. Jodie cocked her eyebrow for a second in confusion until she realized who it was, when she shot up. “Hey! I didn’t realize what time it was.” She spoke, as she stood up , with Jay following right behind her. “It’s nice to meet you, you must be Jodie’s fathers. I’m Jay, I think you’ve talked with my dad.” Jay spoke, holding his hand out to shake. Nathan shook Jay’s hand first, while Cole pulled him in for a hug.

         “It’s nice to finally meet you. We learned a bit about you after Jodie called your house when she was in the hospital. Did you get to dc alright?” Cole questioned. “Yeah I got in alright. You have a lovely house.”

           The rest of the night went along much smoother than Jay’s interaction with Ryan had been. Jodie’s dads had thoroughly embarrassed her, and he’d seen enough of her edgy teen phase for a lifetime.They went to a nice restaurant for dinner, and talked alot about each other’s lives and things they did. Nathan and Cole seemed to like him, and Jodie seemed really happy about that. It went well enough and they came back to the house for wine and a movie before him and Jodie went to bed. Well, went to bed after having some fun. They didn’t go past either’s boundaries and Jodie’s leg brace got in the way once or twice, but they still  had quite the romp.

       Jay woke up the next to being alone in bed , and after putting some clothes on, he went downstairs to find Cole cooking breakfast. “Hey there!” He spoke, smiling as Jay sat at the kitchen bar. “Did you sleep well?” Jay nodded and before he could ask where Jodie went , Cole answered for him. “Jodie’s helping me cook, she had to run to the store to pick up some eggs and sausage. Have you had her breakfast before? So good- I tell you.” “I’ve had it , she cooked for us the day she left to head back to you guys.” Jay spoke , rubbing his eyes to get rid of the sleepiness. Cole pointed his spatula at Jay “You’re lucky then. She’ll cook dinner for anyone, but breakfast is something she never makes for most people.” Jay nodded in response, and watched the man cook. Nathan came down before jodie got back in, he seemed to still be mostly asleep when he picked up his cup of coffee, kissed cole, and then disappeared back upstairs.

          Jodie came back with the eggs and sausage a few minutes after that. She helped cole cook the breakfast , and after a fully awake- fully dressed Nathan came back downstairs , the four of them ate. They didn’t talk as much as during last nights dinner, but Nathan mentioned that Jodie’s pardon was nearly done and that she’d have to come into the DPA tomorow to finalize the work. Then they talked about work for the rest of breakfast.

         As they were cleaning up, Jodie turned to Jay. “Do you want to come meet some of my friends today? I’ve been meaning to check up on them, so I was planning on riding the subway out to see them. You don’t have to come, but I think they’d like to meet you.” Jay thought it over for a moment before Jodie spoke up again, “They aren’t going to be like Ryan, I swear.Remembered when I told you how I was homeless before I met your family? The people we’d be meeting today are the people I met during that time. I really wanted to die back then, but they wouldn’t have it- they gave me what little they had themselves, and aiden and i helped save them in return. I haven’t seen them since l was put in the hospital by those muggers, but I know where they are- and I want to thank them properly. They have a home they share, and jobs now, but I still want them to know how much their help meant to me.”

         Jay smiled as he washed up the last of the dishes. He didn’t how if he could ever love someone more than he loved Jodie right now. He knew of her past bad deeds, but ever since she ditched the CIA she’d been making a priority to change that, and be better. “I’d love to meet them. I think I’d like to thank Stan personally for not leaving you out to die back then.” Jodie took the dishes he washed and dried them while Aiden put them away. “You can thank Aiden for that. If he hadn’t gotten Stan’s attention, then I’d be dead probably.”

          Jay had finished washing up the dishes and picked Jodie up, sitting her on the kitchen counter. She was a very small woman, so it was easy for him. When he set her on the counter, Jay kissed her passionately. Jodie was surprised, but kissed back, running her hands up his back , grabbing his shirt. “What’s gotten into you today?”she spoke against his lips and Jay took no hesitation in kissing her again. “I’ve just- I just love you so much.” Jodie was so happy. It was the first time anyone said those words to her, and she felt that they actually meant it. Jodie rubbed her thumbs on his cheeks, and her smile grew wider as he smiled at her. “ I love you too Jay. We’ve got time if you want to -”

          “What are you two kids doing?” Nathan spoke, as he and cole both descended the stairs. Jodie opened her mouth up to speak and before she could say anything, Nathan cut her off “I don’t need to know, but please don’t do it on the counter. We cook on that.”

         The metro was an interesting thing to Jay.He’d never been on one, but it seemed similar to subways that were in movies and books that he’d read through the years. Jodie helped him buy a pass for the weekend , and told him all about how to get around. She’d used it many times over the years, and considered herself knowledgeable on the basics of how it worked.He found himself staring out the windows at the passing scenery as Jodie checked her cellphone for the address. She told him that they didn’t know she was visiting, and that it was going to be a surprise. He was just happy to be along for the ride, and when asked if he had anything he wanted to see while in DC , he mentioned visiting a few different museums, which Jodie promised him they’d go see after her visit to the dpa the next day. He was looking forward to it.

        The apartment building where her friends lived was not the best, nor was it the worst. They walked up the steps to the apartment and jodie was looking around, as if she too was seeing this place for the first time. “No. I’ve never had the chance to thank them. They were gone by the time I woke from my coma.” She told him when he asked if this was her first time here. Jodie was looking from her phone to door numbers and once she found the one she was looking for, she stood in front of it for a moment. “I’m right here, take all the time you need.” Jay spoke , stepping to the side to let her have her space. “You’re coming in with me right?” Jodie asked, still not having knocked. “Of course, but you have to knock first.” Jay responded, giving Jodie a reassuring thumbs up.

         Jodie knocked on the door loudly, praying for someone to be there.A voice came from inside, and it grew louder as it got closer to the door.  

         “I’m coming!” It was a man’s voice, and Jodie knew it was stan’s voice. She stood there patiently as Stan unlocked the door, and opened it. “What do you-” His question caught in his throat when he realized who it was at the door. Jay watched from the side, and the emotion on the man’s face reminded him of when he saw Jodie at the airport. Jodie smiled. “Hey stan.”She spoke, seconds before getting nearly tackled in a hug from him. Stan was crying tears of happiness when he pulled away. “ Oh my god, look at you! I-It’s you! You look so much better now.” He spoke before he looked over at Jay. “Who’s this?” Jodie motioned for Jay to come over and she introduced him. “This is my boyfriend, Jay. Jay, I’ve told you about Stan.” Jay reached out his hand to shake Stan’s, who pulled him into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you! Come on in, It’s just me at the moment, but everyone else will be back soon. I want to hear what you’ve been up to.” Jay followed Jodie inside, and closed the door behind him.

Chapter Text

          The briefing was hard to watch. Jodie hated that the entities were going to be used for military purposes but in less than an hour , Jodie would be a free woman and no longer obligated to do anything for the CIA.Jodie got up out of the chair she was given and quietly left the meeting room, quinting at the sudden influx of light in the lobby. Ryan had left earlier from the meeting, and Jodie found him sitting by himself, probably waiting for her.

         “Hey.”She said, and sat down next to him.Jodie wasn’t about to forgive him for what he said about her outright, it would take a while and an apology for them to really be friends again.

         “You got tired of listening to that bullshit too?”Ryan asked her , motioning his head back to where the meeting room was. Jodie nodded and they sat together in silence for a while before Ryan spoke up again. “Listen, I, I’m sorry for what I said about you and your boyfriend.”This piqued Jodie’s interest, as Ryan never striked her as the type of guy who apologized. “I appreciate the words Ryan,but something tells me they aren’t genuine.”She spoke in an inquisitive tone as she raised an eyebrow at him.Ryan shook his head and sighed. “They aren’t, I can’t lie to you.Vince and Nick wanted me to try and make up with you.They said that if they wanted all of us to hang out in the future, that I’d have to apologize. I don’t think I did anything wrong.I mean my words were poorly chosen, but I still have this feeling that he’s not right for you.” “And you are?” Jodie questioned him and before Ryan could say anything else, Cole was walking towards them.

         “Nathan is ready for you Jodie.”Cole spoke after she turned around to look at him. Jodie nodded and got up to head to Nathan’s office as Cole spoke to Ryan this time. “Hey Clayton, I’ve got a bottle of whiskey I’ve been meaning to share with someone, why don’t you come on up with us?” Ryan shrugged in response. “I’ve got a call to make but why not? I’ll see you up there after it’s done.” Cole nodded with a smile on his face and followed Jodie into the elevator. “What?” Cole responded when he noticed Jodies stink eye when they started ascending. Jodie’s stop was earlier and she waved off to Cole when the doors opened.

         Nathan’s office was much nicer than what he’d started out with when they first met.It was large,luxurious and quite bare at the same time.She’d only been in there once earlier before her final mission as a CIA agent but it didn’t feel any less like man who it belonged to. Jodie opened the door to see Nathan waiting for her.His face lit up when he saw Jodie stride her way across his office. After giving her a hug, Nathan spoke to her.

         “Hey there.It’s that time.”He went behind his desk, and produced a manila folder to give to Jodie. Inside was a passport with her new identity, and a check for five hundred thousand dollars. Nathan looked like he was ready to cry as Jodie hugged him.”Thank you Nathan.This means so much to me.” she whispered, trying not to cry. Before Nathan could say anything back to her , the doors burst open and in walked the General.

         “I’m glad to have caught you both in here before Jodie left.”He spoke, a mightier than thou tone was in his voice as he strode over to Nathan’s desk area. Jodie wasn’t worried. She had the papers, and it was her right to deny any request that he had for her. She was no longer Jodie Holmes, she was Elizabeth North. Nathan on the other hand looked concerned, as if he wasn’t expecting the general to walk in. “I have a proposition for the both of you. The offer to make a great deal of money and to do the most with the infraworld.” He spoke with purpose, and the two of them felt as though something was wrong.

         His plan was absolutely insane. He wanted to try and open a portal to the infraworld and send Jodie into it to find soldiers for him.The way the general phrased the plan, it was as though he had planned on them both accepting it. That was far from what happened. Nathan didn’t want to put Jodie in that sort of position, not only because they hadn’t even sent cameras in there, but because a great deal of the entities that came out were malicious and Jodie could get hurt. Jodie agreed with Nathan, and also stated that she had been given her pardon and didn’t have to follow his orders anymore. The general seemed tense about it but acquiesced, and watched as Jodie left the office after giving Nathan a hug.

         Jodie felt eyes on her as she walked slowly to the elevator. She called up Jay on the house phone. “Hey baby.”She spoke, pausing for a moment to talk to him.

         “Hey there. Did you finish your meeting?” Jay asked from the other end. “Yeah. I’ll be on the metro and back before you can even-”Jodie never saw it coming. A hard thump hit her in the back of the head, and she blacked out, cellphone sliding out across the floor. The officer that knocked her out crushed the cellphone before dragging her away.

         When Jodie came to, her body was feeling super weak and drained, and her vision was blurry. A man stood in front of her, and when her vision straightened out, she saw that the man was none other than the general. “I’m sorry Jodie, but we just can’t let you walk away. You’re a valuable asset, and since we can’t control you, we’re going to pump you full of the same drugs we gave your mother and let you rot away in here. Both you and Nathan are going to be responsible for what’s about to happen. It’s been nice knowing you.” Jodie wanted to react but her body was really weak at this point. After the general left, Aiden tried to help her out but he too, was weak and couldn’t get the needle out of her arm. “Find help Aiden, don’t worry about me here.”

        Aiden didn’t say anything to her and went off to look for Nathan first. He could barely get into Nathan’s office, and when he did manage to look inside, he saw Nathan knocked out in the same way that Jodie had been. He needed to find someone else to help them. Aiden went up through the floor and found himself in Cole’s office area. The light was on in Cole’s office, and the man himself was in with Ryan. “Is it okay if I work on some emails ?” Cole asked Ryan after having poured him a drink. Ryan shrugged, and Cole went to work. Aiden was looking around for things to mess with,a way to get their attention, anything that would help. He messed up some papers, Ryan noticed and shrugged it off, He made the ringer go off on Cole’s phone, and Cole shrugged it off. Aiden grew more desperate and went to knocking the bottle of whiskey onto the ground. Ryan and Cole jumped, and as they did that, Aiden knocked books off of Cole’s bookshelf, causing the two men to jump again. “Do you happen to keep entities in the offices?” Ryan asked, looking around him tentatively and with caution. “No. No we don’t… Aiden?” Cole spoke and both men turned their heads at the sound of a dry-erase marker squeaking on the whiteboard cole had nearby.

         “Nathan and Jodie need help. Nathan in office. Jodie worse.” Aiden wrote on the board. He wasn’t good of a writer at all , and it took all of his strength to write those words on the board. But it got the message across, and both Ryan and Cole sprung into action. “Shit! Shit shit shit.”Ryan exclaimed as they ran to the elevator. The plan was to check Nathan first, and then get to Jodie. Cole practically slammed open Nathan’s door ,and ran over to his boyfriend just as the man himself was coming to. “Cole?” Nathan questioned when he saw Ryan and Cole in his office. “Hey baby, you’re okay. What happened?” “I’m not sure, but I have a feeling Jodie is in trouble.” Nathan tried standing, and while it hurt at first, the man was soon up on his feet.

        Just then alarms went off. They said that the containment field was off and that anyone in the building needed to evacuate. Aiden pulled on Cole’s coat at that moment and the three men made their way to the exit of Nathan’s office. “We’ve gotta go get Jodie!” Nathan spoke as they ran into the elevator. “No, not all of us. Ryan and I are going to get her, and you’re going to save yourself.” Before Nathan could protest Ryan and Cole were already on Jodie’s floor. When nathan tried to leave, Aiden pushed him back in, broke the button for their floor and sent him up to the surface.

         Getting to Jodie was easy, but she was fairly weak when they got to her. It took a moment to get her to a safe energy amount. “It’s the general!” Jodie exclaimed , making her way out to the exit.” We need to close the rift!” She shouted but Ryan pulled on her arm. “No we need to get out of here! We can’t risk dying!” Jodie wasn’t having it. “A lot of more people are going to die if we don’t close that rift.” Cole was concerned when he spoke, “If we go in there, we might not come back.” Jodie thought that, despite the life she had waiting for her at home, the lives of everyone else was more important than her own. “I’m going in. I know the consequences.” Jodie left for the entrance to the condenser. Cole thought for a moment too before following her in, and Ryan ended up following them as well.

         By the time they had reached the condenser entrance, something was wrong. Cole was holding his side and collapsed in the room. Jodie went to his side immediately, trying frantically to apply pressure to the wound, while aiden did his best as well. Ryan pulled on her shoulder, and Cole assured her that she needed to go on, with or without him, and Jodie went on reluctantly. It was hard for her, but they pressed on and ended up face to face with the rift.

         It all went by so fast. The last thing jodie remembered before shutting down the rift was the general trying to stop her with a gun pointed at her. He was insane, wanting to make the lost souls that were spilling out into his own army of the undead, soldiers that could never die and never live. His demise ultimately came when one of his old army buddies that died in combat appeared and caused the general to kill himself  with his own gun. After that Jodie shut down the rift and the condenser, with an explosion that launched her and ryan backwards, and knocked both of them out.

         Nathan had tried to get back to where Ryan and Cole were, but the button was broken. He needed to get home and tell Jodie’s boyfriend immedeately.It was a mad rush to get out of the parking lot as everyone was trying to leave at once. When Nathan finally managed to get on his way home, he grew more and more panicked. He had no clue what was going on back there, and what was happening to his boyfriend, Jodie and Ryan.

         When he finally got home, he didn’t bother parking nicely and turned off his car as quickly as possible, rushing to unlock the door. Once inside, Jay noticed that Nathan was in distress and became very worried.”What’s going on? What happened?” Nathan tried speaking but was out of breath from running inside. “Jodie. Cole. DPA. HURT.” Was all he could get out, and those words alone made Jay very scared. Jodie was hurt? He needed to see her as soon as possible. Jay followed Nathan out to the car, and Nathan nearly dropped his keys from the anxiety as they sped off towards the DPA.

         Halfway there, one of the soldiers from the dpa called to tell them that there was an explosion, and that they managed to pull Cole, Jodie and Ryan from the central wreckage. Them, along with many other DPA workers were headed to the same hospital Jodie was in only a week or so earlier. Nathan pressed his pedal to the floor and made his way to the hospital as fast as he could.

         The hospital was packed to the brim by the time they got in there an hour or so later due to all of the traffic from the confusion and chaos. Half was DPA members getting in for medical help, and the other half was family members trying to get to their loved ones. There was the unmistakable smell of death, and the tears of lost family members. Jay and Nathan weaved their way through to find Jodie and Cole, and with the help of Nathan’s position in the DPA, he was able to find them easily.

         The room had three beds, two were more heavily connected up than the others. It was quiet in the room when they entered, the only sounds were the soft beeping of the machines keeping the two sleeping bodies alive and helping heal the one awake body. Nathan and Jay entered quietly, closing the door softly behind them. The person who was awake moved slightly and coughed before speaking up. “Nathan? Baby is that you?” It was Cole. Nathan drew himself to the bed where his boyfriend laid hooked up to iv and other machines. Jay stood in the corner , not sure if he wanted to see Jodie’s body. He zoned back into the conversation as Cole spoke his name. “Yes?” Jay spoke, walking slowly to the man’s hospital bed. “I’m so sorry. We never expected this to happen, Jodie’s in the far bed. I don’t know what happened but the nurse told me she’s in a coma. She’s a hero though, she stopped the condenser, and saved us all.” Jay walked with slow steps over to Jodie’s bed. “But at what cost?” He asked as he took at seat near her side.

         Jay found himself crying himself to sleep. Why did Nathan get his love alive while there was a very real possibility that Jodie could die? Why did Jodie sacrifice herself in the first place? Did her life mean nothing to her? Was her friends and his own feelings just a second thought? Jay hoped it wasn’t the case, but the nasty feelings creeped into his brain anyway.

         He stayed for a few weeks, while Cole got better, there was no sign of anything in either Jodie or Ryan. The bad thoughts were affecting most of his brain, and he didn’t express them to Cole or Nathan at all during the time he was there. “I have to go home.”He said outright to Nathan one day as they got coffee from the hospital cafe. Nathan nearly spat out his coffee. “What do you mean?”He questioned, turning to face the man. “I just- I need to go home and help my father. Please, just, I need to get home.” Jay spoke, and while Nathan felt something was wrong, he didn’t want to press further and ruin his relationship with Jay. Nathan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before taking a sip of his coffee.

         “I’ll get you a flight home.”

Chapter Text

         Mornings as of lately had been an on or off situation. Some mornings she woke up feeling fine and content, but others like today Jodie woke up feeling like actual shit. Her head thumped with a pounding headache and it was the kind of headache that she could feel in her entire body. She wanted to go back to sleep, and hopefully wake up feeling better later but she needed to write as the burst of memory came back to her, and the wave needed to be carried out before it was gone again.

         This was how it had been for the past month or so more. After Jodie had woken up from her coma caused by the explosion, she realized that not only was Jay gone- but aiden had disappeared from her life as well. It deeply hurt her, and while Nathan and Cole wanted her to go to actual therapy, Jodie needed time alone.So she went off to the forests of Washington State and rented a cabin for some time, trying to make sense of everything. With aiden gone, her memories were flying all over the place like alphabet soup. When she did remember something, it was only a matter of time before the memories disappeared again. So Jodie bought a bunch of paper and began writing down everything as it came.

         Today she remembered her time in Arizona and began scribbling everything down to the letter until she got to Jay. His face was so vivid in her memory but every time she tried describing him, the words came out all wrong and a pit grew bigger in her throat. Jodie realized she needed to take a walk , and when she stood up from her chair, she noticed piles of the rejected pages where she tried writing Jay’s description and failed.

         He was really gone when she woke up, and neither Nathan nore Cole would tell her why he left. Ryan had tried to comfort her, but nothing worked. She cried and cried wondering why? Why wasn’t she good enough to stay with, or even call?

         Jodie left for her walk. The woods around her cabin were lush with wildlife and filled with noises that helped calm her down. She wandered up and down paths , over bridges and on top of logs. When Jodie got to a creek that could only be crossed via some rocks, she took to it without caution. She stepped up and on her way down to the other side, she miscalculated and slipped, scraping her knee and slightly bumping her head. It hurt. It really fucking hurt. She ended up lying in the dirt where she fell for a few moments before realizing that there was no Aiden to heal her. No friend to give her a hand up. Jodie was all alone. And it fucking hurt

         She limped slightly on her way back to the cabin and cleaned up the scrape on her own. It stung a bit as she washed it out , but no real bad damage was done. Her mind was still a wreck and the one thing Jodie wanted, she was out of- alcohol. The ranger station bar wasn’t the busiest. She knew the few people that were there usually and by this time, she’d been getting calls to there from Nathan and Cole. Today was one of those days , as after Jodie parked her motorcycle outside the bar and walked in, the first thing tbd bartender told her was,

         “Got another call for you.” Jodie nodded and headed to the telephone area , clinging tightly to the receiver as if it was her lifeline.

          “Hey Jodie. It’s Nathan again. Cole and I are worried about you.” Nathan always said the exact same thing, and Jodie always responded the same way in return.

         “Hey, I’m fine. I’ll be home before you know it.” And she always hung up before another response could be made. Jodie was no longer on the run so Nathan had no reason to call the cia after her. Ryan was no longer apart of them, and wouldn’t go on his own but she knew that Nathan was getting nervous.A man sitting at a nearby bar spoke to the bartender,

         “What’s up with her?” He asked, eyes trained on the woman as she talked on the phone.

         “She’s rented a cabin for a few weeks now, and comes in here a lot that someone calls her pretty much around the time she comes in. Her name is Jodie, and that’s about all I know about her. I think if you want to know more, you should ask her yourself.” The bartender answered the man before turning back to cleaning up. Jodie groaned when she finished her call and sat at one of the open bar spaces, and ordered a drink. The man turned to her, looking at her with an intrigued look before asking,

         “So.. you okay?” He questioned and Jodie shook her head as she accepted and paid for the drink from the bartender . Before the man could ask her another question, she left. Jodie could hear them speaking while she was on the phone and wasn’t in the mood to answer intrusive questions. She revved her motorcycle and headed back to the cabin, ready to sink into the bed and pass out for the night. The stairs ,porch and wooden floor ofthe cabin were creaky as she walked back in. Every step just echoed to her how alone she was.

         She didn’t go to sleep right away, but instead just laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling for the longest time before sleep overtook her and forced her eye closed.

         When Jodie woke up the next morning , the headache from the last day was gone, which was a welcome thing. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stood up. The first thing she noticed was the piles of papers on the floor and decided that now would be a better time than any to clean them up, before her next memory flood. Jodie glanced at the paper , it was a transcription of her final day at the ranch in arizona, how aiden wished she could’ve stayed and how she kissed jay goodbye.

         The feeling was overwhelming but the memory was no longer there, and Jodie’s knees buckled as tears poured from her eyes. She tossed the papers into the water after running down to the shore. Jodie slipped while trying to toss them even further and it only made the situation worse.

          In her crying , Jodie made up her mind and knew what she wanted now. Standing up from the rocks, she went into her bag in the cabin and dug out her cellphone. She was going to call Nathan and Cole for real, and tell them everything, and her plan. Jodie was going to Arizona . Even if he didn’t want to see her in the end, Jodie needed to see Jay. Or at least, to see Paul and Cory. If anything she’d return the motorcycle and then catch a flight back home.

Chapter Text

         The summer was hotter than ever, which kind of annoyed Jay. It didn’t help that his brother was still bugging him about something from months ago. Now, even though they lived in the same house, Jay was ignoring him wherever he brought it up. Cory was equally as upset that Jay was ignoring the problem ,which in turn upset Paul as both of his sons weren’t talking to each other. While paul wanted his eldest son to talk to him about it, he just wanted the silence to go away.

         Breakfast that morning was just another one of those silent stand-offs. Paul didn’t bother saying anything, but ate quietly.

         “We’ve been fine Jay.”The silence broke as both Paul and Jay looked to Cory, who was angrily poking at his food.

         “Not this again.”Jay grumbled, grabbing his plate to wash up, trying to avoid the conversation. Cory stood up as Jay headed toward the door, blocking him. “Please move.” Jay spoke in a flat, monotone voice. “No. Not until you address the issue.” Cory held his ground and glared at jay. “There is no issue. End of story.” Jay pushed past Cory, going into his bedroom to grab his hat. Cory followed him, gesticulating wildly as he grew more desperate. “You could have stayed with Jodie in the hospital! We’ve been doing fine, as you can see people are moving back to the area and there’s no shortage of help! You didn’t have to abandon her like that!” Jay was wound up enough as it was, and this just made him even more upset. He gripped his hat before raising his voice at his brother in an angry,shouting tone.

         “You don’t understand! You weren’t there!” “No jay, I understand perfectly! You’re a coward!” Jay didn’t say anything in response to his brother, the older brother just stormed out of the house in a huff, leaving his brother and father in the house , understandably upset. He just wanted to get out of there, and went as far away as possible. They didn’t understand the situation, not really. He was there and every possible situation was going to end up bad for him.It might have been his own anxiety, but he went over every possible worst case scenario and they all turned out bad. She’d die, she’d awake with amnesia, she’d forget him , she’d realize that her male friend was better for her, or she’d simply never wake up or never return back to him. He couldn’t take those chances and found himself closing off to the idea of her. Besides, if she did wake up- why didn’t she call?

         A rumbling sound came closer and closer to the house, it was the telltale sound of a motorcycle. With people moving back to the area, new businesses were being built nearby as well and one of them happened to be a bar. So Paul and Cory shrugged off the noise, going back to their work and small talk when the rumbling seemed to stop right outside their door. Still not paying it any mind, they did notice however, when a knock came on the door. Paul opened the door slowly, and saw something that felt like only a ghost or an angel.

         Jodie smiled at the two men. She looked different. Her hair was longer, and she looked happier, tired, but happy. Paul hugged her right away, surprising the woman. Cory got up from his chair as soon as he noticed who was at the door and joined in the hug as well.

         “I’ve missed you guys so much.” Jodie spoke, face warming up from the affection.

         “Jodie, oh my- it’s you! How’ve you been?” Paul asked as he and Cory pulled away from the hug. Jodie shrugged, “It’s a long story, I can explain over dinner if you’d like?” She offered, like old times, to cook. Cory interrupted his father, “We’d love to but there’s just one thing..”He seemed a bit hesitant to be honest. Jodie could see his words held a weird vibe, even without aiden present anymore. Paul looked at Cory and they both looked back at Jodie. “ It’s nothing, Jay’s just- he’ll be excited to see you again. Feel free to take up your old room, If you came from dc to Arizona, you must be tired, even with breaks.” Jodie headed towards the hallway where the bedrooms were, “Actually I came from Washington, state this time. Another long story.” Jodie headed back to her old room to unpack while the two men shrugged before going back to their own devices.

         Jay had decided that he’d cooled down, and wanted to go back home to apologize- and ask that Jodie was never brought up again.Sure, It would suck,  but it hurt to even think about her. He made sure all of the sheep were back in their pens, and hopped back on his horse, heading home. The nights were cooler than the days, which were good, and a nice breeze passed through Jay as he rode back home.

         Jodie was sitting in one of the living chairs ,talking to cory about Washington Dc vs Washington state when Jay walked in.He didn’t even notice at first, as cory was going on about why do they have the same name. Jay noticed then, as soon as Cory saw that he was in the room, and Jodie turned to look at him as well. His heart tensed, and he felt the same pit grow in himself that had been there when she was in a coma. Like a switch, he just - gave up. He was like how he’d been when she first shown up. Jay passed through, heading back into his own room. Jodie felt hurt for a moment, before realizing that she was incontrol of her own situation and needed answers from him. “Jay, wait.”She called out to him , standing up from her chair.

        Jay didn’t even look back at her as he spoke. “I’m done waiting, ms. Holmes. Please leave. “ Cory got up from his chair, distressed in the way his brother was speaking. “What the hell Jay? She came back, can you stop this?” “Sit down Cory. This is between me and Jodie, not you, not even dad.”Jay looked over his shoulder at jodie, and she could see the feelings gone from his face. It hurt, it really did. “ Why did you come back? Don’t answer that- instead tell me why you didn’t call, didn’t write , didn’t- anything. It’s been months.” Jodie couldn’t answer that. It was complicated, it really was and when she tried to open her mouth to speak , nothing came out. “Just like I thought.” Jodie tried again,” Jay, I-.” “Don’t say anything Jodie. I think it’d be best for the both of us if you just leave. It only makes you look bad if you drag this out. Go back to your dc high rises and complicated subway system. And to be honest, I’d rather have shimasani and the the demon here - than you.” That was it. Jodie crumbled, feeling tears pouring from her eyes, she ran to get her bag and slammed the door on the way out. In times like this, she really missed having Aiden around, but Paul and Cory didn’t deserve that.

         Jay was putting his things away in the judgemental silence of his brother and father. He meant every word he said. Despite his brother and father telling him he was going to regret it someday.Jodie sped off back to the town to stay in a hotel for the night before driving back to DC. She held herself together to pay for the room , and then melted down once she was alone. She cried for what felt like hours, with the in-room tv playing some random channel louder than her sobs. Jodie grabbed her cell phone and dialed Nathan and Cole. It would be late for them, but something told Jodie that they’d really needed to hear her voice, just as much as she needed to hear theirs.

         “Hello, Nathan Dawkins, is there an emergency?” A very sleepy Nathan mumbled into the phone. “Dad?” Jodie’s tears were enough of an emergency that Nathan needed to instantly wake up. Cole stirred, still holding onto his boyfriend’s side. “ Jodie, jodie what’s the problem? Hey, calm down sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Cole heard these words and followed suit in sitting up to listen. “Sweetheart I’m putting you on speaker, Cole’s with me. Just take a deep breath and tell us everything.” Jodie had explained everything that had happened the past month or so to Nathan and Cole. She apologized for not really talking to them on the phone, and even avoiding their calls all together sometimes. She then told them about what happened when she went to see Jay, and finished the conversation off with telling them that she’d be home sooner than she hoped.

         In the morning, after taking advantage of the Hotel’s breakfast bar, Jodie sat out near the pool and called the apartment where her old friends lived. Where stan, tuesday, walter, jimmy and zoey lived. Waler picked up, as most of the others had already left for work, and was happy to hear her voice. Jodie explained her situation, and asked if she could stay with them for a while, as she didn’t want to burden Nathan and Cole .Walter was happy to offer up the spare room that they had, but also suggested to her that she would never be a burden to the people who loved her. Jodie ended up feeling better after that call and watched the other swimmers with a tired smile, before grabbing her things to check out.

         “Goodbye Arizona.” Jodie mumbled as she sped off towards dc.

Chapter Text

         Jay rolled over in bed, the warm summer light filtering in the open windows. He was alone in bed, and he woke up feeling rather empty. Like something wasn’t right. He laid there for a few more moments before his bedroom door opened and a woman walked in. She had long , black hair and tanned skin from the sun. Her face didn’t matter, but she was smiling at him, and he smiled back as she came in.  

         “Hey baby.”The woman spoke, scooting herself onto the bed. “ It’s good to see you up.” Jay smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in close.

        “ I think we can go back to bed any time. I’ve earned this time off.” She chuckled and kissed him. When she pulled away, for a moment - she reminded him of someone. A different time perhaps, and words he said but didn’t mean. It bothered him deeply, and he found himself pulling away from the woman and getting up from the bed. “What’s wrong baby?” She questioned, as jay made his way to the doorway. “I just remembered something I promised my dad I’d do for him. “

          He said nothing more and made a b-line to the restroom where he threw up in the toilet and stared at himself for a second in the mirror. He wasn’t himself , at least that’s what it looked like to him. He’d not done anything differently besides let his hair grow , but everything about him felt wrong, felt like a bastardized version of a time when he was really happy. The last time he felt happy, really happy, was five years ago when he was in dc with her.  Jodie Holmes.

          Jodie made him feel like no one else had, and she’d saved them from an evil that had been plaguing the area for years, and it brought people back to the area. The more Jay thought about her, the more he realized that he’d made a huge mistake. He’d said things that he regretted out of some immature argument he had formed inside his own head.

          Jay’s girlfriend followed him into the bathroom and slinked her arms around his waist , burying her face into his hair. “You look fine. If you really have work to do, then come get dressed with me.” Jay tensed up a bit, understanding that if he wanted to do anything about Jodie, he’d have to let this girl down. “ I’m going to get dressed, but not with you.” He said in a soft,but tired and bored tone. Jay dropped the act he wasted years putting up . He wasn’t happy , and he was tired of acting like he was. “What are you talking about?” The woman questioned as she took a step away from him. “Please, just go home. This isn’t working out.” Jay responded, maintaining eye contact with her. She was understandably upset ,and stormed out of the house half-dressed as Cory walked in from outside.  

         “What’d you do to make her so pissed?” His brother questioned as Jay slid some jeans on , coming into the living area. “ Do you have work today?” Jay questioned back. “No, I think pops wants us to chill for right now. I mean we did just fill out that big order. Why?” Cory looked his brother up and down as the man slid into some boots and pulled a t-shirt over his torso. “ I want to take you out to eat.” Cory wasn’t convinced his brother wasn’t up to something, but he’d wait for a while, just to be sure.

         “I fucked up.” Jay admitted finally to his brother, after they had just finished ordering. “About the food? Do you need me to call the server back over?” Cory spoke, kind of confused about what Jay was trying to tell him. “No. About-” Jay whispered her name “Jodie.” He returned to his normal volume, “ You and dad were right. I regret those things I said five years ago.” Cory didn’t want to smile, as it would definitely upset his brother but Cory managed to smirk without Jay noticing. “ You know what this means right? “ “ What?” “I told you so.” Jay let out a sigh, throwing his hands into the air, “I guess you did.”

          The table was quiet for a moment or two before Cory spoke again. “What are you going to do? About her?” Jay sighed. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I don’t know. I guess try and find her. See her again. Get some closure. “ “And most of all?” Jay raised his eyebrow at his brother’s interruption, before understanding it. “And most of all, apologize to her.” Cory smiled, and they talked about small things as the food came.

         Even though it was summer, many people had to go to work - and no one knew that better than Walter, who watched his friends come and go from work while he took care of Zoey and the apartment. Though, one person hadn’t gone to work yet. Jodie’s bag and jacket were still on the hook in the hallway when he took in the newspaper, and were still there after he’d made himself , Jimmy and Zoey breakfast.  

         “Can one of you go wake up Jodie? “ Jimmy looked to Zoey who looked back at him, and grinned.

         “Makeshift alarm?” Jimmy said,to which Zoey responded,

         “Makeshift alarm!” The two ran off towards Jodie’s bedroom. Jimmy opened the door slowly and Zoey ran in making alarm noises with her mouth “WEE WOO” she repeated, jumping on top of Jodie, who made an oof noise as the nine year old fell on her.

         “I’m up, I’m up.” She spoke, sitting up as Zoey climbed off of her. “Makeshift alarm works yet again.” The young girl spoke as Jodie got out of bed fully. “I can always be thankful for that. Now both of you gotta shoo, I need to get dressed for work.”  

         Once Jodie was up and dressed, she grabbed one of Walter’s waffles , hugged Zoey and left with Jimmy, both of them heading to the metro. Jimmy was going to his classes for the rest of the day, and Jodie was headed to work. They rode the metro together for a few stops before Jodie got off to change tracks , and waved goodbye to Jimmy.

         Jodie wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by the CIA. Ryan , Vince and Nick had also left the organization after the condenser explosion, talking to her and ryan about their own experiences being lied to. Nick and Vince had tried to get married earlier in their careers, but when they tried - the general threatened them both.

        With the money the cia gave them when they left, Jodie, Nick ,Ryan and Vince bought a bar together and ran it with the help of other former soldiers, agents and scientists. It was called the Black Sun , and even though the name envoked bad memories in some, it caused hope in others. Jodie tended the bar and sometimes played her guitar when they held open mic nights. Ryan worked administration, and tended the bar when he wasn’t swamped with work. Nick was great at cooking, and so was Vince so they both worked as head chefs. It wasn’t perfect, but it was great for them, and the other people who worked there besides them.

         Jodie walked into the Black Sun , heading behind the counter and up to the break room. Ryan was standing at the wall, talking to someone on the phone as Jodie came in. She set her jacket, and bag up on a peg before tying her apron on. Ryan waved his hand for her to stop, and she waited until he was done with his call. “What’s wrong Ryan?” The man crossed over to her, a casual smile on his face.

         “Nothings wrong. We’ve got Henry training a new girl at the bar today, and I’m going to be down there so you can go home if you want to… but-“ Jodie raised her eyebrows at the way Ryan dragged out the word but. “But?” She questioned back as Ryan laid his hands on her shoulders, “But, you can play today if you want. Take breaks of course but a full shift of playing. Sound fun?” Ryan shook her gently, trying to convince her it was a good idea. Jodie shook her head in defeat to Ryan. “Alright, it does sound kind of fun. Do you mind if I play covers? I don’t have anything new written yet.” Ryan assured her that it wasn’t going to be a problem and rushed both of them down to the main area.

         Jay’s flight went pretty well, all things considered. The night before he left, the house phone was bombarded by calls from either his ex, or her friends. He really wasn’t sorry for breaking up with her, and was happy to admit it. The ride to dc made jay feel more alive than anything. He wasn’t planning on Jodie accepting him, but the sheer thought of closure made it all worth it. He knew that he couldn’t go to Nathan and Cole to ask about her, as she was practically their daughter, and the couple would turn him away for what he’d said. So, jay thought to himself, he’d go to the people they met from when she was homeless, and hope that they’d know where she was. Instead of taking the metro, jay took a cab to the appartment.

         Walter was watching a movie with Zoey when the doorbell rang. The old man got up from the couch and went to see who was there, with zoey following him also to see. Not many people visited, so it was always a surprise when the door opened. Walter opened the door to see a man before him; tall, dark tan skin with long, straight black hair. He had a familiar face that Walter wasn’t quite sure where it was from. “Hey. I’m a friend of Jodie’s and I’m- I’ve got something to give her. in person. Where, uh, does she work?” that voice. Walter recognized it as soon as he heard it. “I know who you are, Jay. Do you really think I’m going to give it to you, after what you said to Jodie?” Jay took a step back from the doorway. He knew what he said, but having outsiders remind him made the reminder sting more.

         Zoey bounded up to the door, smiling at the tall,new man. She was too young to remember when she met him, and didn’t really know who he was. “Why won’t you tell him that Jodie works at the black sun?” She questioned, looking up at both  Walter and Jay. The old man tensed up a bit, shooing Zoey off. “I’ll have to teach you who you can and can’t say things to soon. Go, continue the movie without me, I’ll be there in a second.” Zoey looked closer at Walter, but headed off anyway to continue the movie. Walter sighed, looking to Jay,who was still standing at the door. “Please don’t bother her, Jay.”Walter pleaded. “She’s so much better now.” With that, he closed the door on Jay and the young man hung in the hallway for a moment before heading back to find another cab.

         Jodie tuned her guitar again, scrolling through her mental library once more for a song to play. Some old indie song came to mind and the world  melted away as she began playing. She didn’t even notice that a ghost of her past walked right into the bar.

         A man named Harry took his order at the bar. He’d ordered a beer and went to go sit by himself to watch Jodie. Though he’d never heard her actually playing guitar, Jay knew her voice the moment he stepped in. It was the same feeling as the morning he broke up with his girlfriend, that hole in your body feeling. He’d accidentally locked eyes with Ryan Clayton when he walked in. Ryan knew it was him, and knew who the man came to see. There was no other reason for him to be here.

        He was still there when Jodie finished up her set, and in conjunction, her shift. Yet the woman still didn’t notice him, and he couldn’t blame her. He watched her go into a back room and then come out in a jacket and with a bag. She passed through the bar, Ryan flagged her down and that’s when Jay got tense. Ryan pointed jay out and the man got up to leave. He was already out the door when she called out to him. “Jay.” She spoke, and that voice brought back so many memories. “Jodie.” He spoke back, feeling nervous as he did so. The two of them stood in silence for a long time it felt like when jay finally spoke.

         “I’m sorry. For everything I said to you back then. I was just really upset and instead of handling it like an adult, I was being immature. Communication is a two way street and I realize now that it was more my fault then yours. I miss you more than I can handle. I Want to start over with you, but this time do everything the right way.” Jodie smiled softly, gently reaching out for Jay’s hands before intertwining her fingers with his.

          “The words you said hurt me. They really did, but I still loved you jay. I still love you now. I haven’t bothered looking at other people, because I keep seeing your face in theirs, or the things you do.” She spoke sincerely, gently rubbing circles on his knuckles. “When I said I loved you then, I meant it. I still do. I love you more than I can handle.”

          Jay was surprised when Jodie stood in her tiptoes to kiss him, and he leaned down to make it easier on her. “Do you wanna come back inside? We can order some food and catch up? My coworkers aka my friends are really good cooks.” Jodie questioned him, and be nodded back as a response, allowing Jodie to guide him back inside.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for Jodie and jay to regain their feelings for eachother. They stayed together in dc for the longest time until jay got a call that he needed jay back to do work. Jodie decided to go back with them, and the pair returned together back to Arizona.

         They didn’t want to waste any time, and the night that they got back to Arizona, Jay decided to propose to her. He didn’t have a ring or anything , but that night in bed, he asked her to marry him in the soft whispers of the night air. She said yes very loudly, almost waking the whole house up from the noise, but it quieted down and the world seemed a bit less lonely that night.

         Inviting people was going to be rather easy, both of them had very few friends and family, and weren’t really much for big crowds either. Paul had some family that he decided to invite, and jodie invited the crew, nathan and cole, ryan , nick and vance. The planned on it being small and just a fun time for the family , but Paul had gotten excited and told people when he went into town. Soon many people were saying they wanted to come, and bring things. They were told the story about what Jodie did, and wanted to thank her for bringing peace back to the area.  

    She didn’t have a dress , which tuesday thought was an appalling fact. She’d gone home to talk to her family personally about the news when it came up and tuesday practically dragged Jodie out of the house with the rest of the gang following them along with Nathan and Cole. They’d watched her try on dresses for what felt like hours until she stepped out in a floor length off-white dress that was covered in lace. It had a train that started from the calf , and went all the way behind her. It was strapless and jodie looked absolutely gorgeous in it. Tuesday gasped when she saw it , and their eyes all watered. Jodie herself was ready to cry, as never in a million years did she see herself getting married, but here she was in love with the most amazing man in the universe. They had their ups and downs , but came out stronger from this.

         Jodie was staying with her family in dc until the wedding, planning over the phone with Jay , paul and whoever they got in. Paul insisted that he had it under control. She’d helped them more than she’d ever needed to, but she still wanted to help out more. They were grateful, and wanted to do this in return for her. So she agreed to let things happen, but wanted to see updates.

         When the time came , Nathan bought the crew plane tickets and everyone headed to the ranch in Arizona. Ryan , Nick and Vince were coming the day after as they had to hand the bar off to capable replacements for the week. As bad as Jodie wanted to see Jay again, she delighted herself in the old wedding tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. She met paul to go over a few things, but stayed out of sight of Jay. During the few days the group stayed at the hotel before the wedding, Jodie took the crew out to see some sights in Arizona. Jodie went to meet Nick, Vince and Ryan at the airport. There was a woman with Ryan, long black hair and dark skin that accompanied her perfectly. When Ryan saw Jodie he waved and pointed at the girl

         “Look who I bought with me!” He beamed as the girl with him turned a bright red. The girl was their friend allison, who was one of their frequent singers at The Black Sun, it wasn’t a secret that Ryan was going out with her. They walked up to jodie, with Allison gripping onto Ryan’s arm.

         “Never get married again Jodie.” She spoke, shaking. Allison was known to be afraid of flying but when Ryan got the invitation for the wedding, Allison wanted to come with him. Allison had gotten her job singing at The Black Sun after Jodie saw her busking on the street as she had when she was 21. From then on they’d been close friends - so she wanted to sing at Jodie’s wedding despite her fear of flying.

        “No worries Ally, I don’t plan on divorcing Jay at all. I think I have some nausea medicine in my truck, if you aren’t doing well.” Allison waved her off. “ I’ll be fine. We lost Nick and Vince getting our luggage, but I think they’ll be here soon.” With those words the three adults turned their head to see the two aforementioned men full on sprinting across the airport. Nick got to them first with Vince right behind him.

        “Miller and Miller reporting for duty. We couldn’t find our suitcases, so I had to go ask while Nick wanted to wait for them.” Vince grinned , elbowing his husband in the side. Nick rolled his eyes .

        “I didn’t know ours were set aside okay? I thought I saw them.” Nick held his grumpy face before breaking into a grin. “ I don’t know how excited you are, but I’m pretty excited to see you  get married. Graduating the CIA is one thing, but finding a life partner is another thing entirely. Believe me, it took ages for Vince to admit his feelings for me.” It was Vince’s turn to be offended. The five of them piled into Jodie’s truck and drove off to the hotel where everyone from out of town was staying. That night was spent with the five of them around the fire, drinking beer and swimming in the hotel pool. It was fun, and it shook the nerves off of Jodie for the time being.

       The next morning was go time. At the ranch, Paul and Cory helped Jay get ready. Paul was already crying, overwhelmed with the emotions of seeing his oldest son getting married. Jay hugged his father back before Paul stepped back and held his son’s face in his hands.

       “Your mother and shimasani would be so proud of you Jay. I’m proud of you.” With the mention of his mother, Jay got emotional as well. The two hugged it out before finishing helping him get ready. His suit was his dad’s when he got married, old and passed down, it was important to the family and would go to Cory next, if he ever got married. Paul’s brothers came from out of state, along with their families to watch jay get married.

         Jodie meanwhile was getting into her dress. Ally and Tuesday were helping her get ready, doing her makeup and making sure she looked her best. Zoey helped too, and Jodie helped her friends get into their dresses as well. Cole and Nathan came in as the time grew near, Cole already crying from the happiness. Both men would walk her down the aisle as both were her fathers.

         They’d had a nice set up at the ranch, the Mojave made for a nice backdrop and the locals helped set it all up. Everyone sat by anticipating the start. The music began and jay came out first. He was followed by the groomsmen and bridesmaids. Cory was his best man , Tuesday was Jodie’s maid of honor. Nick , Vince and Ryan weren’t his friends from the start but they helped him as well that morning and stood alongside him as groomsmen. Ally and Zoey took place as bridesmaids as well, but Zoey’s was more symbolic. When the time came for the bride to

Come in, jay instinctively held his breath. He was ready for this to all be a dream, for him to wake up and Jodie be gone again. She stepped out, in between Cole and Nathan and the moment seemed to freeze in time for just them. She looked more than radiant , more than beautiful or gorgeous in ways words couldn’t describe. Jay caught himself crying tears of happiness when she came face to face with him. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and sealed with the kiss of a lifetime or two. Their own tears of joy added salt to the kiss, and the rest of the world seemed to fade into a blur around them.

         When they were finally alone before the party, the first thing Jay said to her was “I’m kind of glad you were gone these past few days because it made seeing you again now even better.” “I could say the same to you” was her reply before they kissed again.

         The party afterwards was casual. Jodie left her dress for one of Jay’s shirts, a pair of jeans , and her favorite pair of combat boots. Jay put away the suit for a different shirt of his, jeans and boots as well. They helped set up the party, before the guests came back from changing. Cory ran out to help them, a huge grin on his face.

          “I just wanted to congratulate you guys before we get swamped with people.” The younger brother spoke, hugging both Jodie and Jay tightly. “Thank you, Cory.” Jodie responded. “I think it was pretty much thanks to you that we got together in the first place.” “It was thanks to him I apologized to you.” Jay spoke. Cory left to help out Paul as they continued on with their work. The first guests to come were the neighbors who wanted to bring food as gifts for the party. Everything they made smelled wonderful.

           It didn’t take long for everyone else to arrive in casual clothes. Music played and people were dancing. Cole was still pretty emotional, and Nathan comforted his boyfriend before they left the couple to their own devices. Jay had been bonding with Jodie’s ex cia friends. Ally herself was originally from Arizona, but moved to dc for college before dropping out. Everything was nice and fun , people were laughing and dancing.

            “Jodie, Jay!” Nathan flagged them down, dragging the pair over to the edge of the fun where Cole stood talking to two people. A woman and a man, though they looked older, Jodie knew exactly who they were though she no longer called them they names she used to. “Mo- Susan.” Jodie spoke, looking at the woman, turning to the man she added “Philip.” It was far more detached than she was with other people, but considering their relationship, it was valid.

           Susan and Philip basically were Jodie’s parents until she turned eight. After Aiden groves to be too much, they dumped her to the dpa and left, forever. No visiting like they promised, nothing. So the fact that they were here now was weird. Susan reached out to Jodie, who took a step away from her reach. “What are you doing here?” She asked, voice with growing concern. “I invited them Jodie.” Spoke Nathan. “I just wanted them to see how well you’ve done without them.” Philip opened his mouth to speak but closed it sharply before any noise came out.

         “Jodie, sweetheart, we’re so sorry we left you. We want to be something again, a family.” Susan sobbed, and it wasn’t sure what emotion followed the sob. Jodie didn’t look happy at all. “I don’t know what “ she added extra emphasis on the following words “my father” taking off the emphasis. “Meant to do with inviting you here, but you have to be crazy to think I’ll become your child again. You can’t just abandon me and then expect to show up years later expecting everything to be fine. You’re fucking rediculous.” With that she stormed away and Jay followed shortly after.

         Jodie sat by herself on her and Jay’s bed. The man hung in the doorway, watching her carefully. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked her, moving to sit on the bed, next to her. “No.” Jodie spoke, leaning her head against his chest. “I just want to be next to you.”

Chapter Text

         Jodie and Jay mostly worked on the ranch back home in Arizona, and things were good. Cory finally got himself a boyfriend, who enjoyed coming over to the house for family dinners. It was common for dinners to be filled with laughter and life. Cory’s boyfriend was a nice guy who was scared of the horses at first, but once he met them, he got to be less scared. Jodie and jay eventually taught him how to ride and soon the man was excited to greet the horses whenever he visited.

        Jodie went home to dc twice a year, and jay usually went with her one of those times. She spent a week and then went back home. She’d stay at Nathan and Cole’s house and go visit stan’s crew and the black sun gang. Things were going well back in dc for everyone. Nathan and Cole had gotten married at the court for real and had a quiet party at home with their friends from the dpa. They were also planning on finally adopting Jodie as their daughter for real, taking parental rights from Susan and Philip . One of those such trips was coming up soon.

        Though she wasn’t huge yet, if you looked close enough, one could tell that Jodie was pregnant, around a month or two . The family in Arizona knew, hell, jay practically shouted it to the whole town when they found out , but the dc family had no clue yet. Jodie had called everyone to plan a dinner, just a fun get together for all of her friends. She was planning on telling them there. Since it was a special trip, jay and Jodie decided to make a road trip out of it. It was fun and it made for some cute photos when they stopped to rest.

         Jay was excited to say the least. They didn’t know the gender but had some names picked out anyway. If it was a girl they’d give her Shimasani’s first name and have Norah as a middle name. And if it was a boy it would be named Aiden John, after her father and brother. For some reason the baby seemed to move whenever they mentioned aiden, which excited and scared the woman. For the pictures they took, Jodie wore a slightly more form-fitting top to show off, but when they finally arrived in dc, the top she wore showed nothing at all. It was their plan to surprise them.

         Ally and Ryan lived together now, with ally going to school full time for music and had an album coming out. Nick and Vince were thinking of moving into a real house instead of an apartment, and adopting a dog or cat. Jimmy, Tuesday , Stan , Walter and Zoey were all doing great. Zoey turned thirteen the week before, and Tuesday’s boyfriend helped the group move into a house. Stan had a girl he was interested in, but she was too shy to come visit. Jimmy had graduated his college classes and Walter was happy to live in such a warm home.

         Jay pulled the truck into the driveway of the Freeman-Dawkins house, taking the chance to kiss his wife before they went to take their things inside. Cole greeted them .

         “Did you guys drive safely?” He asked, helping drag the suitcases upstairs.

         “There was some delays, but the drive was pretty smooth overall.” Jay responded with Jodie agreeing. “Jodie. We got the results back last week, but since you wanted to invite your friends over for dinner I thought we’d wait until then.” Cole pointed out the letter they saw on their dresser.

         “We already know it’s going to be yes. What’s stopping them from agreeing?You’ve both practically raised me more than Susan and Philip ever did.” Cole kissed Jodie on the head. “Feel free to open it on your own then.” He spoke and left the two to their own devices. Jodie was right, the letter was a notification that Jodie was now the legal daughter of Cole and Nathan Freeman-Dawkins. She showed the letter to jay as she cried happy tears.

         Nathan came back from work later that day. He said hey when he saw Jodie cooking with Jay in the kitchen. He gave Jodie a hug when he noticed the open letter on the counter.

       “So the results are in?” He asked running his eyes down the paper. “Jodie-“ he started again looking up at the woman. She was smiling. “Welcome home from work dad.” Nathan beamed and hugged her again. “This is so exciting!”

        The time for their friends to start to show up for dinner was almost there. Jodie wanted to change, and Jay decided to follow her into the shower. It’s not like they hadn’t showered together before, but something was different this time. It wasn’t just going to be the two of them anymore, the life growing inside her was going to become another person, with feelings and personality. Jay caressed her while they washed up ,  hands gently traversing her body with kisses pressing themselves all over. When she turned around to face him he did the same things still though when jay got to the small,but noticeable bump, he kissed it and smiled up at Jodie.

         “This seemed like something unattainable to me. I was never planning on having a family, because we never knew if we’d survive the night, and no one ever stayed by me long enough to get to know me as well as you have. That’s why it took me a while to know that I fucked up with you back then, it just felt to me like the cycle continuing.” Jodie caressed Jay’s cheeks, the water still running on top of them as she kissed her husband full of sweetness and love.

         “I’m glad you made up with me. I also thought this  was also never going to be my life. Most people used me and hurt me because of Aiden. Ryan’s apologized but I still remember his lies and when he left me to cry alone after I told him about my sexual assault. You never hurt me. At least not until you said those things to me, but we were both in the wrong, and apologized, and made up and we came out better in the process.” Jay stood up and turned the water off , helping Jodie get out after he got out of the shower. “We really did come out better. All three of us.”

          With that , Jodie grabbed towels for both of them. Patting her hair dry first before moving on to dry the rest of her body. She imagined what it would be like once they had their child. Hot summers in Arizona accompanied by playing out with sprinklers or a pool. Telling their baby spooky stories around the fire and teaching them how to care for animals. It brought an even bigger smile to her face as Jodie slipped on her undergarments, and seemed to please the child, as it moved slightly as she thought. Jodie went through her closet for dinner clothes, and was thankful a lot of her own clothes weren’t form fitting. If they wanted to surprise people, then having it stick out blatantly wouldn’t be the way to go about it. Jodie put on a sweater and some jeans, ready to walk around the house barefoot as she always did.

         Ryan and Ally showed up first with Nick and Vince. Even though they didn’t say to bring anything over, the couples brought beer over for the house. Something that would probably give away their secret if not handled properly.

         “Hey!” Jodie greeted as she opened the door to her friends. She hugged everyone as they came in.

         “We can’t wait to tell you how crazy things have gotten recently at the bar!” Nick spoke as she shut the door behind them . “I can bet it’s wild though.” Jodie responded as they took off their jackets , hanging them up. Jay came out from the kitchen and went, “hey guys!” To Ryan , Vince and Nick.

         “Hey man!” Vince spoke as jay hugged the three of them. “How’s life on the farm going?” Ally decides to help Jodie out with the cooking. Walter,Stan and Jimmy took one car while Tuesday’s boyfriend drove her and Zoey in another but they all came in together. Zoey’s boyfriend Mike wanted to make a good impression, and brought something they could eat for dessert.

       “I’m so glad to see you guys here!” Jodie beamed as she opened the door to the six of them. Zoey’s face lit up when she saw Jodie; the two were the best of pals and Jodie would always email the young girl whenever she had the chance back at home.

        “Jodie!” The thirteen year old exclaimed and went in to hug Jodie first. Jodie hugged back. “It’s always good to see you kid. You’re a real teen now aren’t you?” Tuesday and Mike followed her in. “You must be mike, it’s nice to finally meet you.” The man smiled back, shaking her hand in return.

         “You must be Jodie. I hear all about you from my two girls.” He spoke , and Jodie turned bright red at the statement. She hugged Walter, Stan and Jimmy as they came in behind them, welcoming everyone inside. They didn’t have enough chairs for everyone to sit at the kitchen table but having everyone around the house, having fun was enough. To keep suspicion away, Jay didn’t drink either that night, both claiming to be trying cutting it out or something as a New Years resolution. It was a good thing jay said it, as Jodie had never been a great lier and would have given it away right there. When the night got to its height , Jay made his way back over to his wife who was standing by herself in the kitchen. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead, Jodie looking up at him. “So, do you think we should tell them?” He asked and Jodie nodded, “I think it’s about as good of time as any.” She took a step forward and held out her hand to jay , who gladly slid his fingers into hers as they walked back to the party.

         “Hey guys!” Jay spoke, his voice louder than Jodie’s. Everyone turned to them. Nathan talking to Walter and Stan , Cole chatting with jimmy, Ryan and Vince. Nick having a heated debate with Zoey ,and Tuesday and Mike talking to Ally. They all turned to look at their two friends, who seemed to have something that they wanted to say. “I’m not as good at words as Jodie is so I’m going to let her tell you guys.” Jay handed the proverbial mic off to his wife who grew slightly more nervous with everyone looking at her.  

         Jodie took a deep breath and began. “So we’ve all known eachother a long time, and I’m a common factor in that. Nathan and Cole practically raised me since my adopted parents didn’t want to anymore, Ryan , Nick and Vance became my friends at the Cia when I was there, Stan, Tuesday , Walter and jimmy helped me out when all I wanted to do was die- and I helped them bring Zoey into the world. I met ally , who was in a similar situation as I had been and helped her get back on her feet and Jay.” She stopped and looked up at her husband, a blush growing on her face as she spoke. “Jay and his family took me in with no questions asked and I helped them bring down an unmentionable evil. He loved me better than any man ever had. We’ve had our downs but things have been looking up recently. One of those things just so happens to be life. As in, we’re having a baby!” With those words the same flood of emotion that had been present at their wedding had fallen over their friends. Jodie took off her sweater, a more form fitting t-shirt was underneath it, where you could see the bump clearly. “We don’t know what gender it is, but we’ve known for around two months now.” Jay spoke, hugging his wife close.

        Nathan and Cole were the first to do anything, with Cole hugging his daughter. “Oh princess!” He spoke. Rubbing her shoulders as he pulled away from the hug. “I’m so happy for both of you.” Nathan smiled as well , hugging both Jodie and Jay.

        “I’m going to be the hardass here and ask why you guys didn’t tell us as soon as you found out?” Nathan grinned as he was saying it, obviously meaning it as a joke. “We wanted to surprise you guys. We knew we were coming around soon so we thought we’d wait.” Jodie spoke, kissing her fathers on the cheek. “We didn’t mean any harm by it.”

       Ryan moved over to congratulate them next. It had been a long time since he was into Jodie, was now just happy for her.

       “Look at you Holmes.” Ryan hugged her tightly. “You’ve really grown up. I distinctly remember you telling me to go fuck myself when we first met. Now we’re best friends and you’re having a baby.” Zoey stood up.

       “Hey! Jodie is my best friend!” Ryan held his hands up in defeat. “I’ll gladly fight a thirteen year old for that, but go ahead.” Tuesday could tell that Ryan was joking.

     “If you fight my child you’ll never be getting that bread you wanted me to make for you. So no one is fighting anyone.” The room erupted in a fit of laughter. The night was lovely and questions about the baby were abundant.

      Jodie’s pregnancy went well overall. They’d managed to take a trip just her and Jay to see some roadside attractions and got strangers to take “family photos” of them while she was nearly ready to pop. They’d found out it was a boy, and decided to name him Aiden together. Jay had no objections, he was just glad to watch his son grow.

      They’d moved houses. Leaving both Arizona and Dc behind to move to Washington state, buying land to build their own house and farm. Just them, but together, with him. They were staying at a neighbors guest cottage for the time being, getting to know and befriend the locals. While both jay and Jodie missed their respective families, they wanted to have a place to call their own and the Pacific Northwest felt like a good place as any.

       Aiden came rather unexpectedly, during the middle of the night. There was no time to get to a hospital, it had to be done there and then. When Aiden came out, he was healthy and screaming. Jodie didn’t realize it until much later, but he had the same energy as her brother Aiden, only in a smaller, corporeal package. Jay and Jodie cried tears of joy at this small bundle of life they’d made together.

        Nathan and Cole managed to get plane tickets for Paul and Cory to get them to visit the baby. They took turns holding their grandchild, or in cory’s case, his nephew. They were planning on waiting till both Jodie and Aiden could travel to visit their other friends. The friends they’d made in Washington loved the little guy, and he grew up with many kids to play with.

         It happened suddenly one day, similar to a memory that Jodie had when she was younger. Aiden was a toddler, and the house was built. She’d placed a toy of his on the counter while she washed some of the vegetables they’d brought in from the garden to set out for the farmer’s market when out of the corner of her eye she saw it. The small toy car lifted itself off the table and landed in the toddler’s grasp. She gasped, and that’s when the pieces fell together.He’d never really left her, he was just waiting for the right moment to show himself.