Work Text:
Jack had a long day at the office. After the incident at Poppyland, he had been demoted to doing paperwork while Ginger took his position as agent Whiskey. He quietly opened the door to his house and crept inside, silently closing the door behind him. He made his way through the house and was almost to the stairs when he heard a voice.
“You’re home late. Again” His wife, (Y/n), was sitting at the table, a glass of water sitting between her hands. She stood up and walked towards him. “You’ve been doing this a lot Jack, staying late at the office. You’re missing a lot of important things here at home.”
He sighed, “I know, I’m sorry. Work has just been crazy lately. I’ve been having to do a lot more desk work than I used to and I’m still not used to it.” He took off his stetson and set it on the banister. “Well, let’s head off to bed, sweetheart. I am dead tired.” Jack took her hand and tried to lead her up the stairs, but she pulled her hand out of his grasp. He turned and looked back at her, a confused look on his face. “Something wrong, darling’?”
She slightly narrowed her eyes, “Don’t “darlin’” me.” She said, imitating his southern drawl. “Do you not know what today was?”
Jack looked back at her confused and answered, “Friday?”
“Just Friday, Jack?” She shot back.
He was utterly confused. What was so important about today? It wasn’t their anniversary, it certainly wasn’t Christmas, and it wasn’t any other important date he could think of. “(Y/n), I have no clue what today was. Honest.”
Her eyes filled with anger as she said, “November 3, 2007. That date doesn’t ring any bells?” As she seethed, the wheels in Jack’s started turning. “Because I distinctly remember being in a white room in the Albert Chandler hospital for a day and a half!”
Jack finally put together what he had been missing. “Oh my god, (Y/n), I am so sorry. I com-”
“Completely forgot?” She interrupted. “Obviously. And it’s not me you should be apologizing to, it’s Shiloh! When was the last time you were actually here for one of his birthdays? This is the fifth year in a row that he’s had to celebrate without you, Jack. He’’s ten now! That’s half of his life! Other parents are starting to come up to me and ask if we are still together because you are never here for anything! Birthdays, Christmas, school performances, his baseball games. When was the last time you actually spent quality time with him, Jack?”
He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know, (Y/n). If I didn’t have to work so often I could spend more time with him, but...”
She had been trying to keep a hold of her anger so she didn’t end up yelling and waking up Shiloh, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Jackson Thomas Daniels, I swear to god! I can’t believe you forgot your own son’s birthday!” He look at her, shocked. She had never used his full name since their wedding day when she was saying her vows. “All you seem to care about is work! Well I’m sick of it!” She walked right up to him and continued, “If you don’t care enough to be here for your family when we need you, your son when he needs you,” the pain in her eyes was starting to make Jack tear up, “when I need you. Then I will find someone else who can and will!” She finished, tears filling her eyes.
He reached out a hand to attempt to brush away the tears, but she grabbed his hand before he could. She took a deep breath and moved past him to the stairs. “I’m going to bed now. If you’re hungry, there are leftovers from dinner in the fridge.”
“Please (Y/n) let me-” He tried to say something but she just held up her hand.
“Goodnight, Jackson.” She turned around and retreated up the stairs. Jack stood there listening to her walk off until he eventually heard the door to their room close. He stood there for a few more moments shell shocked at what happened. As the realization of what just happened sunk in, he made his way over to the couch, shakily sat down, and buried his face in his hands. How had he managed to do this to his own family?
The next morning, he woke up on the couch, not bothering to have gone up to his room the night before. He thought it was best to give (Y/n) some space anyways. He made his way upstairs to go check on her and the kids. He opened up the door to Elizabeth and Lacey’s room, but their beds were empty. Confused, he decided to look to see if they were in Shiloh’s room. The three of them have been know to quietly play with each other in their rooms before breakfast on the weekends, but they were not in Shiloh’s room either, nor was Shiloh in his room. Panicking, he opened the door to his and (Y/n)’s room and his heart dropped from his chest to the floor. Their bed was empty too.
He raced downstairs, scrambling around for his wallet and keys to get to Statesmen headquarters to start tracking them down when he saw a piece of paper on the dining room table, covered in (Y/n)’s handwriting. He picked it up and started to read.
Jack,
I know that you work a busy job. I can respect that, but you are a father as much as you are a Statesmen. Shiloh and Elizabeth miss you and Lacey barely knows who you are. The world may need you but we need you to, Jack. I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this, so I’m giving you so time. I took the kids with me and we are going to wait for you to get yourself together so you can be a father to them again and a husband to me.
Love,
Your Family
His vision started to blur as his eyes filled with tears. They spilled from his eyes and splashed down onto the note in his hands. He put the note down, sat down at the table, and did something he never thought he do again after his high school sweetheart was killed. He cried.