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Jack was busy trying to keep himself together. Edd and Molly had been gone for a week and a half, and he had invested in a private investigator to help speed up the process of finding them. But life forced itself on. Jack had to go to work, he forced himself to do his paperwork and talk to his engineers and to Charles and Chris.
And Felix.
He forced himself to talk to Felix, who had ‘guilty’ arrows pointing all around him.
But he spoke to him, only because he had to. To work.
Jack was quietly sitting in a conference room, fiddling with his gray tie. Rosie tied it for him, this morning. He was pretty sure that she liked to have things to do like that.. even just little things. He wasn’t really listening to Charles as the fellow spoke. His head was in the clouds and his heart was off, somewhere far away, with his children.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when the receptionist knocked and opened the door.
“Mr. Walten? There’s uhm-“
She looked over her shoulder. He spotted a lilac shirt outside the door and quietly nodded, sitting back and scooting his chair.
“Excuse me, gentleman,” he spoke with his ever-soft and even tone. “Just give me one moment — I’ll be back.”
Charles blinked and glanced between Chris and Felix.
“.. take your time, Jack. This can wait.”
Jack offered a tight smile and stepped out of the room, slipping out and closing the door behind him. It put him face to face with Detective Anton, and his trusty bloodhound, Benny. Though neither of them looked particularly happy, today.
Still, the detective offered a soft smile.
“Mr. Walten.“
“Detective Anton.”
It left a moment of silence between both men. Jack’s eyes fell for a moment. He didn’t really need for it to be said out loud .. he knew, really, that Edd and Molly were gone.
“I wanted to be the first to tell you, Mr. Walten, that we found two bodies earlier this week. They were positively identified by dental records as Edd and Molly. I uhm-..”
Richard Anton cleared his throat.
“I’m… very… very sorry for your loss, Jack. Very sorry. I’ll do everything that I can to get justice for you. But most importantly for Edd and for Molly.”
Jack knew it. But at the same time, the whole world stopped and a cold wave crashed across his body. He opened his mouth and closed it. No words would form .. at least, no good words. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt Benny bump his nose up against his leg. He felt Richard tighten his hold on the leash to pull Benny back a little.
A stinging was starting to grow behind his eyes, the heat of tears on his face as they leaked out, a heavy, loud ringing in his ears. It hurt. It hurt. His heart, in his chest, felt like it was being wrong out. He cleared his throat desperately.
His children.
His children.
His babies.
Gone. Forever.
He breathed out slowly, shakily. His throat felt swollen.
“I-..”
Richard held up a hand, very gently letting it rest on Jack’s shoulder.
“I know. I know-..”
He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a handkerchief.
“I know.”
Jack shakily took it, breathing out through his nose as he reached up to wipe at his face. He needed-.. he needed air. He needed to walk.
His children.
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
“Tha-..”
His voice cracked and he quietly held up a hand to pat Richard’s shoulder before slipping past him, numbly, down the long hallway, down the stairs, past the desk, outside.
Rosie-.. what would he tell Rosie? How would he tell her. Gosh, it made his stomach hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut.
.. he wasn’t going back to work. He.. didn’t really know if he could drive himself home. His legs felt like jelly beneath him, and he slowly sunk down onto the sidewalk.
He felt Benny’s breath against his head, against his hair, and the dog dropped his head into Jack’s lap.
“I have uh.. I have two nieces,” came Richard’s soft voice. “Nancy and Elizabeth. They-.. well.. they mean the world to me. I love them very dearly. And I can’t imagine losing them, let alone if they were my own flesh and blood. I will do everything I can for you.”
Jack couldn’t look at him. He couldn’t. He stared down at the dog, and he watched salty tears plop down onto his snout. His body felt fuzzy, like that staticky feeling when your foot fell asleep. But all over. In every limb. In his head. Behind his eyes.
“Let me give you a ride home, Jack. I don’t think you should do any driving on your own right now.”
He was right.
Jack knew he shouldn’t drive anywhere.. not on his own. He slowly reached up with that handkerchief and wiped his face off again, using the wall behind him to help him stand up.
Gone.
His babies were gone.
The ride home passed in a blur. Quite literally. He couldn’t really see, and let his head rest against the window of the detective’s car.
“Do.. you know.. how-..”
His voice came out as a quiet warble.
“.. they said that Edd died on impact.. he hit his head. He didn’t feel a thing. But.. I don’t know about Molly yet. The report hasn’t come back on her. I’ll.. let you know when they fax it to me.”
The car stopped.
Jack didn’t even want to look out at his house.. he didn’t want to look out and see Rosie appear in the door. Or worse, Sophie. She’d be home from school, by now.
And it was his daughter. His darling daughter. He closed his eyes again before shakily folding them handkerchief up and handing it back to Richard.
“Thank you,” was all he could manage to say. Richard just responded with a quiet smile.
Jack thought he’d never get up to the door, quietly fiddling with his tie.
“Dad-..?”
Sophie confusedly looked up at him.
Oh, Sophie. She looked so much like her mother. Her brown hair was so unkept, today. Jack looked down at her before he stooped down with his teary eyes and reached out his arms, wrapping his little girl in a hug.
His little girl.
His baby.
He felt her quietly do her best to hug him back, confusedly.
He held her.
He held her.
“I love you, Sophie, my girl,” he quietly said. “Never forget that. Never forget that I love you. I love you so, so much.”
“I love you, too, Dad,” she confusedly replied, keeping her arms wrapped around him until she heard her mother’s footsteps.
“Jack? What are y-.. you’re home early..”
He felt her hand rest down upon his head, and she sunk down a little to sit in the doorframe where he had dragged down Sophie.
“What happened, Jack?”
What happened?
What was he supposed to say?
He sobbed, quietly, and he held on to Sophie, one hand pressed against the back of her head as he slowly looked up toward his wife. He shook his head.
She seemed to understand, as she watched the detective’s car slowly back out and drive away.
“They’re gone.. aren’t they?…”
“They’re gone,” he softly replied. “They’re gone.”