Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He finds her crouched over the toilet at the bar puking her guts out. Which is weird, because she hasn’t had a single drink since she got there. And he would know, he’s been watching her because something has seemed off ever since she and Zeke returned to Seymour’s Bay for their short vacation while Zeke was on leave, wanting to see his dad and their friends before they had to return to Georgia.

Zeke’s dad had always been pretty poor, only bringing in enough money to keep a roof over their head and bills paid and food in their bellies. The tall boy had had dreams of going to culinary school and becoming a chef ever since the eighth grade, but that was hard to do when you had no money for it. Not wanting to do piddling jobs for the rest of his life to make ends meet and seeing no other possibilities for his future, Zeke had signed up for the Navy right after graduation. He’d been accepted, and two weeks later was sent off to boot camp. Ten weeks after that he’d graduated and was an official member of the US Navy.

At that point, Zeke and Tina had been dating since the beginning of their senior year of high school. The separation had been hard on them, but they’d been determined to make it work, writing letters and having phone calls when they were able. Zeke had been stationed in Norfolk after boot camp and Tina had made the six hour drive to see him whenever he was free. No one was surprised when he proposed a year later, and even fewer were surprised when they got married at the courthouse a few months after that. Shortly after, Zeke had been sent to Georgia to be stationed there and Tina had gone with him.

That had been three years ago, and though he’d tried his damnedest, Jimmy Jr. had found himself drifting apart from his best friends. He and Zeke still sent each other memes and tiktoks fairly often, and Tina would still call him every now and then, but other than that his contact with them was very limited. He tried not to be hurt by it – they were all adults with their own lives, after all. Plus he imagined that living on base probably kept them busy. But he had to admit that he’d missed them, so so much. And he’d been thrilled when they came back home to visit.

But Tina had been acting odd since they’d arrived. The girl was a natural klutz, with the tendency of falling over her own feet. Since she’d arrived, though, she’d been stepping very carefully any time she had to take a step down or off of anything. That on its own wouldn’t be so weird, except that she also hadn’t had a sip of coffee any time they got breakfast. That had really set off alarm bells because he knew that she required coffee to live.

And tonight, despite going to a bar with him and her husband and their friends, Tina hadn’t had a drop of alcohol. At first Jimmy thought that she was just the DD, except that role had been claimed by Henry Haber. He’d watched her accept shots from Tammy and Jocelyn, but she would either hide them or toss the alcohol behind the counter when she thought that no one was looking. Then she’d excused herself to go to the bathroom ten minutes ago and he’d gone after her, worried.

The bar had a couple of one person bathrooms and she’d left the door unlocked. So when he pushed the door open, he’d found her vomiting like she’d had too much to drink. Which she hadn’t.

She looks over at him with wide, red-rimmed eyes, opening her mouth to say something before turning green and hanging her head over the toilet to throw up again. She leans her head against the toilet seat, huffing. “Oh god.”

Now, Jimmy had never been good with people who were throwing up, despite living with two younger brothers and a father who was a raging alcoholic. He hated the sounds they made, the smell, the way their faces changed color and their eyes and noses ran. It’s utterly disgusting and he avoids them at all costs.

But this is Tina, his best friend since forever. And clearly, something is wrong. Very wrong.

Taking a deep breath and bracing himself, he steps into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him, locking it for good measure. Then he goes over and kneels behind her, his hands reaching out to stroke her hair and back. “Easy, T, easy. Get it all out.”

“I’m sorry,” she moans, shuddering before leaning back over the bowl and retching.

He almost barfs with her, but he forces himself to remain calm as he continues to soothe the girl. “You’re okay, everything’s okay.”

It takes another five minutes or so for her to be able to move, and even then she just leans back against him as she tries to find her breath. “God, god ,” she groans, weakly reaching for the toilet paper roll hanging close by.

His arms are longer so he’s able to reach it more easily, tearing off a good chunk and handing it to her.

She hums her thanks and takes it, folding it up and wiping her mouth before dropping it in the toilet. Then she pushes away from him and pulls herself to her feet, flushing and going over to the sink to wash her hands and wipe her mouth before splashing water onto her pale cheeks. It’s then, as he stands up, that he notices the bags under her eyes, the way her face has thinned out since the last picture she’d posted on social media a couple of weeks back. She looks exhausted, and she looks scared .

And that , more than anything, has him very, very worried.

“Tina?” he asks cautiously, leaning back against the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Her movements pause, and through the mirror he sees her swallow hard. “Nothing,” she says quickly, refusing to make eye contact as she turns around to face him. She fiddles with the bottom of her knee-length blue dress, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “Nothing’s wrong, why would anything be wrong, everything is fine, just fine!” She’s speaking way too quickly and her hands shake as one reaches up to push her glasses further up her nose.

“Uh huh.” His tone is disbelieving and he doesn’t take his eyes off her. “Because you’re totally fine while being in here throwing up like you’re shit-faced drunk when you haven’t had a drop of alcohol all night.”

“I’ve had–!”

“Tina, we haven’t lied to each other since I came out as gay to you during junior year.” He crosses his arms over his chest and gives her a hard look, his lips pressed firmly together. “So let’s not start now, shall we.”

It’s silent between them for a long moment and he thinks he might go insane from it, then she lets out a long sigh and looks up at him with the most pathetic expression he’s ever seen. It reminds him of a kicked puppy and every instinct is screaming at him to reach out and comfort her, but he has to stay strong right now. He needs her to tell him what’s going on so that he can help her. It’s his duty as her best friend.

Tina buries her face in her hands, letting out a choked sob. “I fucked up.”

That breaks him, and he pushes off the wall and goes over to hug her. “Hey, whatever’s going on, I’m sure it’s not that bad,” he assures her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. God, he’s missed this, missed her . He’d never been super touchy until she and Zeke came into his life, and without them there he’s been a little touch starved.

She lays her head on his shoulder trustingly and he swears his heart is about to burst from the affection he feels towards her. “It is that bad,” she moans, her arms going around his waist as she leans fully against him. “I fucked up and Zeke is going away and I’m going to be all alone down there and I don’t know what to do–!”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” With a little reluctance, he pushes her back enough that he can look her in the eye, his brow furrowing. “What do you mean, Zeke’s going away?”

“He’s being sent on a ship for a training exercise for seven months,” she grouses miserably. “So I’m going to be all alone in St. Marys with no one to help me.”

“To help you with what?” Okay, now he’s really confused. “Tina, what–”

Then suddenly it hits him. Oh god. It was so obvious, how had he not guessed before? Her being more careful, giving up coffee, refusing to drink any alcohol…

Jimmy Jr. takes a deep breath and puts his hand on her shoulders, pushing her back so that he could look at her fully. “Tina. Sweetheart. I’m going to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth.”

She looks back at him, apprehensive. “Yes?”

“Are you pregnant?”

Her eyes fill with tears and her expression crumbles as she nods, then buries her face in her hands once more as she cries. “I’m religious when it comes to taking my birth control, so I have no idea how this could have happened!”

He’s going to regret asking this, but it stands to question. “Do you guys use any other kinds of protection?”

Her face goes scarlett and he kind of wants to bash his head into a wall at this new knowledge. Yep, instant regret. But he pushes past it and asks, “How long have you known?”

“About a month.”

“How far along are you?”

“About two months.”

Sweet fucking christ. So Zeke was going to be gone through the rest of the pregnancy. Fantastic.

He barely manages to resist the urge to run his hands down his face, instead just inquiring, “Does he know?”

She bites her lip and shakes her head. “No.”

“Does anyone know??”

Her blue eyes peer sheepishly up at him from under long dark lashes. “You do.”

“Oh my god, Tina.” This time he actually does drag his hands down his face before glaring at her. “You have to tell him!”

“But then he’ll spend the whole training exercise worrying about me!” she frets, fiddling with her fingers. “And he’s going to be out in the middle of the ocean on a boat with very little chance of being able to get in contact with me! He’s done it before and their cell signal is awful, the internet always goes down, and it’s just not fair to him!”

“So your solution is for him to come home to a baby he doesn’t even know about?” Through the mirror he’s able to get a glimpse of the incredulous look he’s giving her and in any other circumstance it would be hilarious, but right now he needs to understand just how insane she was being. “Tina, he’s your husband. Be reasonable.”

“He’s a US Naval officer first,” she says bitterly, scowling at the floor.

Jimmy blinks at her, flabbergasted. “Are you… mad at him for this?”

“I don’t know!” she groans, turning and leaning back against the wall. “I know it’s dumb, but I keep thinking that if he wasn’t in the military then I wouldn’t be as freaked out because he would be able to be here for me, you know?” She sniffs and blinks rapidly to try to keep from crying again. “Like pregnancy is hard enough with all the changes your body goes through and how much you have to do to get ready to have a baby. But I’m going to be all alone down there. Like yeah, we live on base, but I’m not really close with any of the other wives. And I’m so far away from home…” She trails off, despair darkening her eyes.

“Could you not just move back home until he gets back?” he asks dumbly, then nearly slaps himself.

“Not if I want us to have a home for him to come back to,” she says with a rough sigh.

“Maybe your mom or your sister could–”

“ No , absolutely not.” She shakes her head vehemently. “I love my mother, but she would stress me out more than she would help. And can you imagine Louise being okay with watching me suffer while my husband is out at sea?”

He winces and has to agree. “Yeah, she would kick his ass as soon as he gets back.”

“Exactly. So no, I’m not going to ask either of them to come live with me. And besides,” her expression softens, “Dad would miss them too much. Only one family needs to be separated right now.”

She was right, of course. But the idea of her going through this alone made him want to curl up and cry. Tina was already so sensitive and she seemed so fragile right now. She needed someone to help her, to care for her while Zeke was away and make sure that she and the baby were okay.

There’s only one solution he can come up with.

“Okay.” He turns to her with a nod. “Then I’ll go with you.”

She blinks over at him, her eyes wide behind her glasses. “What?”

“I’ll go with you back to Georgia,” he shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“JJ, no,” she shakes her head, pushing off the wall and reaching a hand out to him. “I can’t let you–”

“Tina.” He takes her hand, holding it in both of his. “Look, both of my brothers have graduated and are going to college, they don't need me to be around all the time anymore. And my dad,” he snorts, “I honestly couldn’t care less what he does. Josh and I just broke up–”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry–”

He shrugs. “It’s fine. He got a scholarship to Julliard and we both agreed that we should work on ourselves while he’s gone.” His hands give hers a gentle squeeze. “But that point I’m trying to make is that I have no reason to stay here. There is literally nothing keeping me from packing up and moving.”

“This is such a big decision, though.” Her eyes search his, her brow furrowed with concern. “I can’t ask you to do this.”

“You’re not asking me to do anything. I’m doing this because I want to.” His lips part in a warm smile. “You’re my best friend, Tina. You’ve always been there for me when I needed you. So let me return the favor. Plus,” he feels his cheeks turn pink, “I’ve really missed you.”

Her eyes get misty and she pulls him in for a hug. “I’ve missed you, too, JJ. I’m sorry I’ve been so bad at keeping in contact over the last few years.”

“You guys have had a lot going on, I understood that.” He hugs her back, leaning his cheek against her hair. “I was never angry, just a little sad.”

They stay that way for a few minutes before parting, though Tina keeps ahold of one of his hands. She looks up at him, her eyes shiny but full of hope for the first time since she’s been back. “So we’re really doing this? We’re having a baby?”

He laughs and nods his head. “Yep. We’re having a baby! All three of us. And Tina,” his expression becomes stern, “you need to tell Zeke. He deserves to know that he’s going to be a dad. You know he’ll be thrilled.”

“I know,” she sighs. “I just wish the timing was better.”

“Well, no time like the present.” He leads her back over to the bathroom door, unlocking and opening it. “We need to get back out there. He’s going to think you’ve gone missing and call the military police to come find you.”

She just laughs and shakes her head, but follows him out without any kind of protest. They go back to their friends, who are all sufficiently wasted and haven’t seemed to notice their absence.

Except Zeke, who immediately comes over and wraps his arms around his wife. “Hey, darlin’,” the tall man slurs, leaning down to press a sloppy kiss to her cheek. “Where’ve ya been? I was missin’ ya.”

“Just catching up with JJ, baby,” she tells him, giving him a warm smile. “Are you having fun?”

“So much,” Zeke grins, nuzzling his cheek against hers.

Jimmy Jr. watches them with a fond shake of his head. They were absolutely ridiculous, but he wouldn’t have them any other way. Figuring he was sober enough, his last drink having been an hour or so ago, he steps over to the couple and claps them both on the shoulder. “How about I take you guys back to Dec’s house? I think we’ve all had enough fun for one night.”

“Okay,” Tina nods, then looks at her husband. “I’m really tired.”

“Yeah, baby, no prob,” Zeke nods eagerly, clearly ready to agree with anything she said.

They say goodbye to the rest of their friends and Jimmy leads them out to his car. They manage to get Zeke into the backseat, where he passes out almost immediately. Tina sits in the passenger’s seat and Jimmy starts the drive back to Zeke’s dad’s house, where they had been staying. Her family had offered to host them, but Tina hadn’t wanted to disturb them with any… marital activities .

Jimmy can’t help but shudder. God, he knew way too much about his best friends’ sex life.

They pull up to Declan Tisdale’s house and Tina calls her father-in-law to get him to come out and help with Zeke. Both she and Jimmy manage to wake the man up and get out of the car as Declan comes out. The older man practically drapes his son across his shoulders to get him inside, giving Tina a knowing look that makes her blush. Jimmy isn’t surprised – Zeke’s dad is an observant man and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Tina’s pregnant.

She turns to Jimmy with a nervous look. “We leave to go back to Georgia in two days. Are you sure about this?”

“Positive,” he nods with a grin. “I’ll be able to get all of my stuff packed and ready to go by then.” Then he pulls her into another hug. “Everything is going to be okay, Tina. I promise.”

Her arms are tight around him as she presses her face against his shoulder. “I love you,” she tells him, sounding teary again. “You’re seriously the best friend that I could ever ask for.”

“I’m just glad I can be there for you,” he said honestly. After everything he put her through when they were younger, this was the very least that he could do for her.

After a bit they part and Tina gives him a tired smile. “And I promise I’m going to tell him. I’ll do it in the morning when he’s sober.”

“Do you want me to be there?” he offers.

But she shakes her head. “No. I need to do this myself.” She takes a step towards the house. “I’ll text you to let you know how it goes.”

“Okay.” He nods at the door. “Get inside, get some sleep. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you.” Then she turns on her heel and heads towards the porch.

Jimmy waits until she’s inside to get back in his car and drive back to his shitty apartment that he’s been living in for the last few years. He’ll call Mr. Fischoeder in the morning to cancel his lease – good thing it was up next month. Then he would start getting all of his things packed to go to Georgia with Zeke and Tina.

This wasn’t how he thought his night would go, but honestly? He really can’t complain.

Chapter Text

It’s a twelve hour drive to St. Marys, Georgia, and while it’s not Jimmy Jr.’s favorite thing ever, he’s definitely done worse things. The move into Zeke and Tina’s house is easier than he ever thought it would be. They have him move into the basement, which is finished with a full bathroom down there. He sets it up like a studio apartment, with a bed and a couch and his flat-screen TV set up against one wall. Zeke even gifts him a mini fridge to go down there to keep drinks and some food in if he wants. It’s cozy and comfy down there, with his only complaint being that it’s a little chillier than he’s used to.

Still, he really couldn’t have ended up in a better situation, all things considered. He gets a job working full time at a movie theater not far from the base, where he’s able to arrange his schedule to work the night shift so that his mornings and early afternoons are open to take Tina to any appointments she has.

Zeke is, of course, absolutely thrilled to be a father, but is also devastated that he’s going to be gone for the rest of her pregnancy. Jimmy spends his first few nights at their home comforting his friend as Zeke sobs with guilt over not getting to be there for his wife. It’s heartbreaking and Jimmy promises that they’ll keep him updated when they can and that he’ll do everything he can to help Tina.

“‘m really glad yer gonna be here, J-Ju,” Zeke blubbers to him on one of those nights, clinging to Jimmy like a child to their mother. “I woulda never forgiven m’self if she was alone.”

“I love her,” Jimmy reassures his friend, hugging him tight. “I love both of you guys, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to help you.”

The day Zeke is shipped off, both of the Tisdales are a mess. They cling to each other until he has to get on the boat, sharing so many kisses that Jimmy is surprised their lips don’t fall off. Tina manages to hold herself together as Zeke boards the ship and waves them off, but as soon as they’re back in Jimmy’s car she bursts into tears and cries all the way back to her house. Jimmy barely manages to get her inside and into her bed to rest with how hard she sobs. Not sure what to do, he starts to leave but is stopped when she grabs his hand, staring up at him as tears pour from her blue eyes.

“Stay with me?” she begs.

“Of course,” he assures her, sitting down beside her on the bed and letting her crawl into his lap, pressing her face to his stomach as she continues to cry. He just strokes her hair until she finally passes out from exhaustion. He carefully pries her off of him and leaves the room, spending the rest of the day cleaning up around the house so that she has less to do when she gets up. For the hottest of seconds he contemplates trying to cook her something, but quickly decides against it. He’s an absolute disaster in the kitchen and knows that Zeke would kill him if he came home to his house burned down. Jimmy instead just orders food and waits around until it’s delivered, then sets up their dining room table and plates the food. By then Tina is up and they share the meal together before retiring to the living room to spend the rest of the day streaming some old comedy that neither of them really pays attention to.

As the sun sets outside, Tina holds his hand and rests her head on his shoulder, murmuring, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Me, too,” he says back, giving her hand a squeeze. He can’t imagine how she would have handled this if she was alone, and to be frank he doesn’t want to. His best friend deserves the world and he’ll be damned if he ever lets anything bad happen to her.

For the most part, life is easy and simple for them after that day. Jimmy’s days are full of mornings making sure Tina is comfortable and not stressing herself, and nights at the theater where the crowds piddles out after nine o’ clock. On his off days, he’s taking Tina to doctor’s appointments or out shopping for food and baby stuff. Her baby bump is quickly starting to form and Jimmy has to admit that he’s kind of fascinated by it.

“There's really a little Zeke in there,” he says in awe one evening as he watches her rub her hand on her tummy over and over. 

Tina smiles at him and nods, reaching over to grab his hand and put it on her bump. “Yes, there is.”

He smiles and leans over to press his ear to it, waiting to see if he can feel or hear anything. He can’t, of course, it’s way too fucking early, but he can’t help it. His best friend is really going to have a baby. It’s surreal.

He also quickly learns why Tina isn’t close to the other Navy wives. They’re fucking bitches, especially to her, and especially now that a man who isn’t her husband is living with her. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that Jimmy Jr. is so obviously gay – how many times can he openly ogle the asses of the service members before they get the message?? – they still make snide comments and quips when they see them out and about in public. Tina doesn’t always catch it, but he does, and it’s only to keep the peace that he doesn’t lash out at them. They’re just stupid jealous women with no lives outside of their husbands, he knows that, but still. He does throw a few comments back at them when Tina isn’t around and thoroughly enjoys the enraged looks he gets for it.

When Tina hits sixteen weeks, they have the appointment to find out the gender of the baby. Tina hadn’t been sure if she wanted to know at first, but her natural curiosity won out in the end. They’re led into the same room they’re always in when they go to the office and Jimmy turns around as Tina dresses in the gown they always force her to wear. He personally wouldn’t care if he saw her naked – not like it would do anything for him – but he knows how nervous Tina is and would never push her boundaries. When she’s done she settles on the raised examination table and reaches out her hand to him. Jimmy pulls a chair over to sit by her, taking her hand and threading their fingers together. “It’s gonna be okay,” he reassures her, as he does every time. “That baby is going to be fine.”

“I know,” she says quickly like she does every time, but he can see the worry lining her eyes.

The doctor comes in and greets them before asking Tina the usual questions of how has she been doing, has she felt any pain or tenderness recently, is she getting enough food and water and exercise and blah blah blah. Jimmy tunes it out, only there for emotional support.

Then the ultrasound machine is brought up and Tina pulls her gown up over her stomach as they rub the jelly on it. It makes her grimace and he knows she hates how it feels, but she’s willing to tolerate it for the baby’s sake. Then the machine is turned on and they put the device on her tummy as it projects onto the screen.

“Your baby is looking good, no signs of anything being wrong,” the doctor tells Tina, which makes her let out a breath of relief. Then she moves the device along to really make out the baby and it’s honestly fascinating to watch. When the baby is fully on the screen the doctor squints then looks at Tina with a huge grin. “Congratulations, Mrs. Tisdale. You’re having a boy.”

Tina bursts into happy tears, grabbing Jimmy’s hand and holding it to her face. “A boy,” she weeps, smiling from ear to ear. “JJ, we’re having a boy!”

“You’re amazing, Tina,” he tells her with a warm smile, giving her hand a squeeze.

The doctor prints out three pictures of the ultrasound on Tina’s request, and as they drive back home she tells him that she wants to try to send one to Zeke while he’s out on the boat. “I know it might take awhile to reach him, but I think he’d be really happy to have it,” she says, her eyes soft as they always are when she talks about her husband.

Jimmy just smiles back and agrees with her while making a mental note to try to text Zeke later on to let his friend know how the appointment went. The cell service on the ship can be pretty shitty but he does his best to keep Zeke updated on how everything is going. He hopes that the ship will settle somewhere that can get texts and calls through more easily, for all of their peace of minds.

They get home and Jimmy helps Tina into the house, having her sit on the couch while he grabs some lunch for them. Zeke was smart enough to think to freeze quite a few meals for them before he left, which Jimmy appreciates. It was better than ordering take-out all the time. Then he gets ready to go to work, wishing he’d just taken the day off but not wanting to seem like a lazy worker. Though he’d only been working there for a couple of months now, there were already talks of maybe making him a manager and he was eager for the promotion, hoping it would maybe lead to better hours and pay. He wouldn’t hold his breath, but he could dream.

As he’s getting ready to go, he hears Tina gasp loud from the couch and is by her side in an instant, his eyes wide. “What?? T, what is it??”

Instead of answering, she just gives him a wide grin and grabs his hand, placing it on her stomach. “Just wait.”

“What–”

Then he feels it. A little thump, right against his palm. His eyes go wide and he looks at her with awe. “Oh. My. God. Is that–??”

“Little Zach,” she nods, practically glowing.

“Zach?” Jimmy tilts his head at her.

“Zeke and I talked about names before he left,” she tells him, giggling when the baby kicks his hand again and makes his breath catch in his throat. “If the baby was a girl, we were going to call her Lacey Linda. For a boy, we decided on Zachary Robert.”

For her dad. It’s so sweet that he almost tears up, but he manages to keep it down and just gives her a warm smile. “That’s a really good name, T.”

She squeezes his hand and lets go, leaning back against the couch as she rubs her tummy. “Little Zach,” she muses to herself, her eyes warm as she gazes lovingly down at her bump.

It’s so cute he can’t stand it, and he discreetly takes a picture and sends it to Zeke before leaning down to peck her cheek. “I gotta head to work.”

“Have a good night,” she calls after him as he heads to the door and goes out to his car.

One of the other Navy wives is watering her flowers as he gets into his car, giving him a sneer. Jimmy just smiles and flips her off, reveling in the way she sputters and turns red as he drives off towards his job.

Later that night, when the theater is mostly empty and Jimmy has finished cleaning, his phone rings about an hour before he’s due to clock out. As soon as he sees it’s Zeke he answers, a huge grin splitting his lips. “Hey, man, what’s up??”

“Hey, J-Ju!” his best friend’s voice comes from the other end, sounding a little staticy but still able to make out. “How’re things goin’?”

“Going good!” Jimmy leans back against the snack counter, unable to stop smiling. “How about you? How’s life on the boat?”

“It fuckin’ sucks,” Zeke says honestly, and Jimmy can hear the exhaustion in his voice. “Wish I was back home with you guys.”

“Me, too, bud,” Jimmy tells him, feeling bad for the poor guy.

“I got yer texts. We’re havin’ a boy??”

“Yep! You’re gonna have a son, dude! Are you excited?”

“Hell yeah, I am! Can’t wait to have a lil me runnin’ around, causin’ trouble!”

“Hopefully he doesn’t take after his dad and shit in public for attention,” Jimmy teases, grinning when it makes Zeke cackle on the other side of the line.

“God, we can only hope, right?” Then his tone softens. “How’s my wife doin’? Is she okay?”

“She’s okay,” Jimmy assures him. “She’s stronger than anyone thinks she is.”

“Oh, I know. One o’ the many things I love ‘bout ‘er.”

“She misses you,” Jimmy tells him, wanting to be honest. “She can’t wait for you to come home. Me, too. It’s too quiet in that house without you.”

“As soon as the ship docks, I’m comin’ straight home,” Zeke promises. “I’m keepin’ my fingers crossed that they don’t keep us here the whole time and I can get home ‘fore the baby comes.”

“If not, I’ll be here to look after them,” Jimmy tells him.

“I can’t thank ya enough for doin’ this, J-Ju. It means the world to me. Yer the best friend ever.” There’s a ruckus on Zeke’s side and he groans. “I gotta go. Tell T I’ll try to call ‘er tomorrow.”

“I will. Be safe, Zeke.”

“I’ll try. Love ya, J-Ju.”

“You, too.” Then Jimmy hangs up and lets out a contented sigh, his lips turning up as he stares sightlessly out at the lobby. This wasn’t where he’d thought he’d be at this point in his life, but he can’t complain. The people he loves are safe and happy, and that’s what matters.

Chapter Text

The next few months go by so fast that it feels like whiplash.

Little Zach is growing at a healthy rate and everything with the pregnancy seems normal, which Jimmy is glad for. Tina was under enough stress without having to worry about her baby coming out with his insides on his outside or anything like that. It feels like her belly gets bigger every day though, and Jimmy can tell that Tina is getting more and more uncomfortable. Not that she would ever admit it, though, bless her.

Zeke is able to contact them a little more when the boat settles into a location and Tina is thrilled. Both she and Jimmy share updates about the pregnancy with him, with Tina telling her husband only the good while Jimmy is a little more honest with his best friend. Zeke wants to hear about it all, the ups and the downs, and while he’s still upset that he can't be there Jimmy knows that he feels better knowing everything. He continues to thank Jimmy after every call no matter how many times Jimmy tells him that he’s happy to do this. These are his best friends, after all. He’d do anything for them.

As the summer goes on, Jimmy can tell that Tina is getting more and more anxious for the baby to come. They’ve been working on turning the guest room into a nursery and Jimmy is thrilled with how adorable it’s turning out. They work on painting the walls to look like a beach, choosing various tans and yellows for the sand and a light sapphire blue for the ocean. Jimmy wants to add palm trees but Tina nixes that idea, saying it would throw off their whole color scheme. She’s right, of course, but Jimmy pouts about it. The trees would look so cool, okay??

Being pregnant in the summer isn’t fun for her, either. The poor thing is always hot and miserable. Jimmy goes out and buys rotating fans for every room that Tina is in, and he always makes sure that the AC is turned up as high as he can make it without freezing her out. Her belly makes it near impossible for her to sleep comfortably, and so many nights Jimmy gets home from work to find her passed out on the couch. He tries to get her to go to bed, but sometimes she just won’t budge.

“If I lay down, I might not get back up again,” she argues and some nights he just relents to letting her sleep on the couch. When he can, though, he makes sure to get her to bed.

He’s promoted to manager at the movie theater and is able to finagle for better hours during the week to be more open for Tina, especially with her due date coming up in the next month or so. He works almost non stop on the weekends, when people are flooding in to see the latest blockbuster hit. Those days at least go by fast and he gets home exhausted but glad that he can contribute to the household.

One day they’re on the couch just watching as little Zach moves around inside of Tina. She points at her tummy as a tiny bump appears then vanishes. “I think that’s his elbow,” she says, her blue eyes shining with love. “Or maybe his knee.”

“He’s sure moving a lot lately,” Jimmy comments, leaning closer to watch as the baby moves again.

“He’s running out of room,” Tina grins over at him.

He reaches over to set a hand on her belly, delighted when the baby kicks against him. Almost every time he’s around Tina now, Zach starts moving more. If he didn’t know any better, Jimmy would even say that the kid likes him. “He’ll be here before we know it,” he says, rubbing her tummy gently.

“Not too soon,” Tina adds quickly, giving him a look. “He’s still got a couple of months.”

“It’ll be here before you know it,” he tells her, moving his hand and leaning back into the couch.

“Yeah…” Her voice trails off as she absentmindedly rubs her baby bump.

Uh oh. That look never means anything good. “Tina.” He waits until she’s looking at him to keep going. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she says, too quickly. She seems to realize this, since she winces then lets out a little roan, flopping back against the cushions. “I just…I dunno.” She looks away, nibbling on her bottom lip.

“T, come on, talk to me.” He scoots closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Her head leans against his shoulder as she curls into him, still rubbing her belly. “I’m just nervous, I guess. About everything. Giving birth. Having a baby. Being a mom.” She swallows hard. “What if I suck at it?”

“At what? Being a mom?”

She nods.

He shakes his head. “Not possible. You’re gonna be the best mom ever, Tina. I just know it.”

“How?” Her eyes dart up to look at him and he sees the anxiety there, threatening to brim over and spill out.

“Because I know you.” He leans his head against hers, wrapping both arms around her. “You’re one of the best people I know. You’re kind and caring, and so freaking genuine. You just want everyone around you to be happy. You’ve always been that way.” A small smile lifts his lips. “It’s why I love you so much.”

She sniffles and hugs him back, clinging to him. “I love you, too, JJ. You know that, right?”

“I do.” He presses a quick kiss to the top of her head. “I’ve never doubted that, T. Promise.”

“I’m so sorry we left you all by yourself,” she babbles, tears welling in her sapphire hues.

“Don’t start that,” he scolds her gently, one hand reaching out to the coffee table to grab a tissue from a box there and handing it to her. “I already told you that I was never upset with you for it. You had to go where the Navy sent Zeke, you didn’t exactly have a choice.”

She takes the tissue and sits up to blow her nose. “I know. I still feel bad.” A sigh escapes her and she leans back into him, her eyes closing. “Ugh, pregnancy hormones are no joke.”

He pats her back with a grin. “Soon you won’t have to worry about that. Just two more months now.”

“Yeah,” she nods, opening her eyes and smiling down at her belly. “Two more months.”

Her hormones make her very weepy, especially as they get closer to her due date. Suddenly every little thing he does for her makes her cry. He brings home her favorite ice cream after one of his shifts and she bursts into tears at the sight of the bag. “You take such good care of me!” she wails, sobbing into her hands in the kitchen.

He would have laughed if it wasn’t so alarming. Tina had always been emotional, but this was a whole new level that he didn’t always know how to handle. Times like this he wished that Zeke was still here. He’s always been better at handling Tina’s sudden mood swings.

A month before Tina is due to give birth, Jimmy decides to surprise her with a trip to the beach. It’s been a minute since they’ve been and he knows that she’s starting to feel homesick, so he hopes this will help ease her longing just a little bit. It’s not the beach from back home, but it’s still a beach. He goes out and gets everything he thinks they’ll need; a nice picnic blanket, a cute basket to put food in, new beach towels, fold up lounge chairs, and even one of those huge umbrellas. While she’s napping that evening, he makes sandwiches and hides them in the fridge so that she won’t find them, giddy at the prospect of getting to spend the day with his best friend and make her happy.

The next morning he reveals his surprise and can’t help but feel relieved when it doesn’t make her cry. Instead, she hurries to change into the swimsuit they bought for her last month – obviously all of her old ones wouldn’t fit her anymore so she’d needed a new one, no matter what she tried to insist – and he changes into swim trunks and a t-shirt before going to put everything in the car. When she comes out down the hall dressed in her polka-dotted swimsuit, he can’t help but think that she looks absolutely adorable. She throws on a loose sundress over top and he makes her wear a big sun hat, then they get into the car and drive down to the beach.

When they arrive, he sets everything up as she lathers herself in sunscreen, then she makes sure he puts some on every inch of skin that’s exposed. He’d gotten really bad sun poisoning once when they were still in high school and ever since she’s made sure that he’s covered in the stuff in the summer. Then they eat their sandwiches and lounge in the chairs he bought, just taking in the nice day and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

“It’s almost like home,” she says, and he looks over to see the softest of smiles on her full lips.

“You think you’ll go back?” he asks her, making her look over at him. “When Zeke’s finished out his time?”

She hums and nods. “We’ve talked about it. He wants to go back and try to open up his own restaurant.”

“He’s not gonna try to take over for your dad?”

“Noooo,” she shakes her head, chuckling. “Louise is going to do that when he retires. Zeke knows it, Dad knows it, hell, Lou has said as much before. And no one’s about to try to take that away from her.”

It makes him laugh as well. “Yeah, you can’t stop Louise once she’s decided to do something.”

“Nope,” she smiles, leaning back in her chair. “We figure it’ll be easier for him to open his own place.”

“What about you?” he asks her. “What are you going to do?”

“I think I’d like to work in the library,” she says, almost shyly.

He reaches out to take her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I think you’d be a really good librarian, T.”

She smiles over at him. “I figure that in my downtime I can work on writing something original. I’ve been wanting to try for a while now.”

“What would you write?” he asks, intrigued now.

Her shoulders lift in a shrug. “I’m not sure yet. But I’m sure I’ll come up with something.” Then she lets go of his hand as she stands, stretching her arms above her head then letting them drop to her sides. “I think I’m going to go in the water.” She turns and holds out her hand to him. “Want to join me?”

Grinning, Jimmy stands up and takes her hand, letting her tug him over to the crashing waves.

They splash around in the water for a bit before getting out to reapply sunscreen, then Tina pulls out a book while Jimmy takes a nap under the umbrella. She shakes him awake an hour later to reapply again, then they talk about the baby and what they’ll do once he comes. The sun is lower in the sky when they decide to head back to the house, packing everything up and putting it back in the car. They sing along to the radio on the drive back, feeling lighter after their fun day together.

That night, after dinner, they’re sitting on the couch together watching some series that neither of them pays full attention to when Zeke video calls. Tina’s eyes are bright as she tells her husband all about their day and the man smiles back at her. Jimmy joins in to say hi to his friend and they all talk until Zeke has to go, then Jimmy heads downstairs for the night. He falls asleep with a smile on his face, just so glad that he was able to make her happy tonight.

Tina has a bad time the next day, though, feeling restless and unable to sit down without little Zach kicking her. “He’s just not happy today,” she tells Jimmy, her brow furrowed and her lips turned down.

He has to go to work that evening and is reluctant to leave her. There’s a ball of worry that’s tight in his stomach and will not go away. “I can call off,” he offers. “Stay here in case you need me.”

“You should go,” she argues, shaking her head. “I’d hate for you to miss work because of me.”

“I don’t like the idea of you not having anyone around right now,” he frets over her, which she objects to.

“I’ll be fine. Stop being such a worrywart.” Her expression would have been funny in any other context.

In the end he goes, but makes her promise to call him if anything happens or if she needs him for any reason. He arrives at the movie theater a little more irritable than usual, which the other employees pick up on and give him a wide berth. Normally he would have felt bad, but right now he just can’t bring himself to care. The worry will not leave him and it’s driving him insane.

His shift is almost over when his phone lights up with a call, her name appearing on the screen. He snatches it up and holds it to his ear. “T? Everything okay?”

“Jimmy Jr., I need you to come home right now!”

His heart drops into his ass at her frantic tone. She never uses his full name anymore. “Tina, what’s going on??”

“My water broke.”

Fuck. “Oh my god!” His feet start pacing back and forth in the lobby. “Oh my god, oh my god!”

“JJ, please, only one of us needs to be freaking out right now!”

“You aren’t due for another month!” Nothing had prepared him for this, he thought he had more time!

“I’m well aware of that, thank you! Now will you please come home?? I need to go to the hospital!”

“Yes yes, I’m on my way, you just hang tight, okay??” He hangs up then sprints over to the office where another manager is doing some paperwork. “Marta, I need to go right now! The baby is coming!”

He’s released without any fight and he runs to the parking lot, getting into his car and speeding down the road back to the house, his heart in his throat. When he gets there, he barely has time to park before he’s out and barreling through the door, finding Tina on the floor in the kitchen, her face pale and drawn.

Her eyes dart up to him, wide and distraught. “JJ–”

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here,” he breathes, bending down and dragging her to her feet. “Go to the car, I’ll grab the bag and then we’ll be on our way.”

Her grip on him is tight and there are tears in her eyes. “JJ, I’m scared.”

His heart breaks in his chest and he swallows hard to keep his own tears at bay. “I know, sweetheart, I know. But everything is going to be okay, I promise. We’ll get you to the hospital and then you’ll have your baby.” He guides her to the door, making sure she’s in the car before running to her room to grab the hospital bag she’d packed last month. Then he’s in the car and they’re speeding towards the hospital.

Tina reaches over and grabs his hand, her grip tight as her expression becomes drawn from pain. “I don’t understand, he wasn’t due for another month, why is this happening??”

“It’ll be okay,” Jimmy repeats, his knuckles white as his hand tightens on the wheel. He can’t freak out or panic right now, she needs him to be calm.

A sob leaves her mouth, shattering him further. “I’m so scared, JJ.”

“I know, T, I know.” He gives her a forced smile. “But you’ve got this, okay? You’re so strong and I’m going to be there every second.” He knows that labor can last a long time and he has no idea how long their night is going to be, and he’s not looking forward to seeing his best friend in pain for that long. It’s absolutely going to suck.

She doesn’t say anymore, just holds his hand and cries as they make their way to the hospital and get her inside.

Zachary Robert Tisdale arrives two hours and fifteen minutes after Tina’s water breaks, at just six pounds four ounces. Both Tina and Jimmy are shocked at how quickly he comes, considering this is Tina’s first child and they’ve heard so many horror stories about how bad labor was. Even the nurses are surprised about it, though of course none of them are complaining.

“Well that was easier than I thought it would be,” Tina comments as they wait for the nurse to come back with the baby, having taken him away to clean him up.

Jimmy nods, adjusting in his seat beside her hospital bed. “You just got lucky, I guess.” Then a shit eating-grin splits his lips before he can stop it. “Watch your next kid take forever to come.”

“Shut up!” she glares at him, which makes him cackle because he’s just so relieved and happy that it was over for her.

Then the nurse comes back in with Zach and both of them cry when they see the little boy for the first time. He’s perfect, just the cutest baby that Jimmy has ever seen. He’s got a shock of black hair on his head, and when he squints his eyes open they’re a shade of light blue that Jimmy knows will change later but right now is just the prettiest thing.

Tina holds her son to her chest, leaning down to press her lips to the top of his head as tears slip down her cheeks. “Hi, baby,” she chokes out. “I’m your mommy.”

“And I’m your Uncle Jimmy,” Jimmy smiles down at the boy, his arm wrapped around Tina’s shoulder.

They just stay like that for a long moment, unable to stop looking at the baby. He’s perfect, and Jimmy is so glad that he’s able to be here for this moment.

Chapter Text

Tina is at the hospital for three days after giving birth to little Zach. Though he’s only a month early, the doctors still want to keep an eye on him to make sure that nothing is wrong and he’s healthy. Jimmy understands that it’s just a precaution, but he really wishes they had put it more delicately so that Tina wouldn’t panic right after. He has to remind himself multiple times that it wouldn’t do anyone any good if he started a fight in the maternity ward.

He stays at her side during visiting hours, and when he’s home he’s getting everything ready for her and the baby. Though it’s still early, he’s already baby proofed everything and made sure to have enough diapers and bottles and formula to last them for months. Tina plans on breastfeeding and pumping as much as she can, but it never hurts to be prepared. He also gets the couch ready for him to sleep on, wanting to be upstairs just in case Zach needs anything and Tina isn’t able to get to him first.

The day she’s able to come home, Jimmy is there bright and early to get her signed out. Then he rolls her and the baby out to his car, unable to stop smiling at his best friend. She’s positively glowing with happiness and getting to see her like this makes his heart soar. He gets them home and they spend the whole day watching as Zach sleeps and eats and makes all kinds of newborn baby noises. Jimmy can’t stop touching his soft cheeks and tiny hands, marveling at just how perfect the little boy is.

Tina ends up sleeping a lot that first week, only getting up to eat and shower and feed little Zach. The last six months have taken a toll on her and it’s all catching up to her now. He doesn’t mind, more than happy to take the time off from work to help take care of his pseudo nephew. It reminds him of when he used to take care of his brothers when he was younger and he falls into a learned routine: wake up, check on the baby, check on Tina, get them all fed, take care of Zach until Tina got up, take care of both of them, then go to bed and do it all over again.

Zach is a really good baby, only crying if he’s hungry or cold. He sleeps most of the time right now – he’s literally a newborn, it’s to be expected – but Jimmy can tell that he’s going to be easy and he feels relief for Tina and Zeke.

Speaking of, Zeke is devastated that he missed the birth but is already so in love with his son. He video calls as often as he can, wanting to see the baby and try to get Zach used to his voice. Thankfully the baby seems delighted by his dad, smiling big any time he hears his voice or sees his face on screen. Jimmy knows that all of them can’t wait for Zeke to finally get home, and he’s eager to see his best friend be the best father ever.

Though…Jimmy admits quietly to himself that a part of him can’t help but feel kind of jealous of little Zach. It feels silly, especially since he’s literally a newborn baby, but knowing that the kid is going to have the best parents in the world and be totally loved for who he is makes him ache a little. Jimmy’s relationship with his parents has never been great . His mom left when he was young and he only saw her for holidays and a month during the summer, and he’s always had a tumultuous relationship with his dad, which only got worse when he came out in high school. He’d had to raise his brothers from a young age and to this day felt a little bitter about having that responsibility put on him as a kid. Things with his mom were a little better now, but he didn’t think there was much hope of mending his relationship with his dad.

So he’s happy for Zach, he really is, but it does kind of suck that the baby is going to have a much better childhood than he ever had. But at least he gets to be a part of it.

The second week Tina is much more active, able to stay awake for much longer. He’s thrilled, having missed his best friend. And it’s an absolute delight to watch her interact with her son, to see the way her eyes light up when she looks at the boy. Her love for little Zach is obvious, in how she holds him and looks at him and kisses his little head and hands. Her blue eyes have never looked as soft as they do when she’s interacting with her son, like the sky before a sunset.

“He looks like you,” Jimmy says one evening when they’re sitting on the couch. Zach is in the nursery and they have the baby monitor on the coffee table to catch any noise the baby might make.

Tina smiles and shakes her head, leaning back into the cushions. Her stomach has shrunk a considerable amount since giving birth and she’s starting to look like the Tina he was used to, though part of him can’t help but miss her baby bump. It had been so cute.

“I think he looks like Gene,” she says, her eyes closing as she relaxes into the couch. “I’m curious as to what color his eyes are going to end up being.”

“I hope he has your eyes,” Jimmy says, reaching over to take her hand. It’s second nature now to just touch her casually.

“I hope he has Zeke’s,” she hums, turning her hand over to thread their fingers together. Her face is so peaceful and the evening light through the windows makes her appear as if she’s glowing.

It’s in moments like this that he realizes just how beautiful she really is, and why he’d tried so hard to love her like she had loved him when they were younger. He knows that if he were attracted to women, he would have chosen her. He would have treasured her in the way she deserved and married her and made her the happiest woman in the world.

But he didn’t, and he never could. And figuring that out had nearly broken him, because how could he hurt her the way he had? How could he stand himself when he made the most perfect girl in the world cry over him?

Tina opens her eyes and looks over at him, and her brows pinch together with concern. “JJ? What’s wrong?” She sits up and reaches her other hand out to cup his cheek, brushing her thumb under his eye.

It’s then that he realizes he’s crying and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch that he did not deserve. God, he didn’t deserve her.

“Why? Why are you sorry?”

“For hurting you. For ever making you cry. God, Tina, I’m just a fucking bastard–”

“Stop.” Both of her hands are on his face then, and she forces his head up. “Jimmy Jr., look at me.”

He opens his eyes and does as she says, unable to deny her anything right now.

Her eyes are sad but her expression is determined. “Listen to me, JJ. Hear me.” Her thumbs gently wipe his tears as they fall. “I forgive you, okay? I forgave you the second you came out to me because I understood then. I understood why we had our ups and downs, and why we were always off and on. And I have never been angry with you since that day.”

“You should have been,” he sniffles, his hands going up to grip her wrists. “I was horrible to you, Tina–”

“So was I,” she counters, which takes him aback. “I was jealous and possessive and I expected you to know what I wanted even if I didn’t tell you. I went out of my way to make you jealous and try to push you to be with me when you clearly weren’t interested. I didn’t care about what you wanted, I only cared about making my fantasies and daydreams come true. There were so many times where I didn’t consider your feelings and that’s on me. Okay?” Her smile is melancholy as she looks at him. “If anything, I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

A weak, watery laugh leaves him as he shakes his head, lowering her hands to hold in his lap. “We were a fucking mess together, huh?”

She laughs as well and nods, scooting closer so that their knees are touching. “Yeah. We were never meant to be together, at least not romantically.” Then she leans over to rest her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. “But you’re the best friend that anyone could ever have and I feel so lucky to have you in my life.”

His arms go around her and he holds her close, his eyes closing as he leans down to bury his nose in her hair. The smell of her shampoo, fruity and light, is familiar and comforting to him now. “Yeah,” he chokes out. “Me, too. I’m really happy that we’re friends, T. You’re like the sister I never had.”

He feels her shudder and she presses herself harder against him. “And you’re like a brother to me. Like Gene.” Then a weak giggle escapes her. “Except not as gassy.”

And despite everything he laughs because it is funny and exactly what they need. They laugh until they’re gasping together, which devolves into more crying as they hold each other. Eventually they manage to reign their emotions in and they fall back into the couch, curled up together. She’s starting to drift off when he whispers, “I think you’re my soul mate, Tina.”

“I know you’re mine,” she responds, lifting her head to give him a sleepy smile. “Zeke is the love of my life, but you’re my soul mate, JJ.”

He smiles and presses his lips to her forehead.

The monitor picks up Zach’s cries and Tina starts to get up, but Jimmy shakes his head at her. “I got him.”

“You sure?” she asks, though she doesn’t try to get up again.

He nods, grabbing the blanket on the back of the couch and covering her with it before getting up. “You rest. I’ll take care of him.”

“Thanks,” she murmurs, her eyes fluttering shut as her body goes lax against the couch.

He strokes her hair for a few seconds before going to the nursery, opening the door and stepping in.

Little Zach is fussing in his crib, his bottom lip out in the most adorable pout Jimmy has ever seen in his life. He picks the baby up, holding him to his chest as he bounces him gently. “Shh, baby, shh,” he coos to the boy, grinning when Zach starts to calm down. “It’s alright, you’re alright.” Jimmy goes over to the rocking chair and sits down, rocking himself and the baby gently. “You’re okay. You’re loved.”

Zach starts to fall asleep and Jimmy finds himself admiring the little boy once more. He really is just such a pretty baby, with his dark hair like his mommy’s and his tiny hands and feet. He’s a little smaller due to being born a little early, but it just adds to his charm, or so Jimmy thinks. And he can’t wait to watch this boy grow up and see the person he becomes.

If he gets to, that is. There’s a vague fear in the back of his mind of Zeke and Tina kicking him out when Zeke gets home, but he pushes that away. He doesn’t want to think about it right now. He just wants to enjoy his time with Zach and Tina and bask in the opportunity to love and care for them.

Chapter Text

Jimmy is upstairs changing Zach in the nursery because Zeke surprised Tina with a video call in the middle of the day. Usually he doesn’t call until the evening, so it must be important. Maybe something had happened on the boat? God, he hopes not, he can’t even imagine how devastated Tina would be. Or maybe it was something good, like Zeke going up in rank when he got home. From what he knows, Zeke is set to come home in the next couple of weeks. Tina is really excited about it, and Jimmy is excited for her.

As for him…well, he tries not to dwell on it too much.

He’s just putting Zach back in his crib when Tina comes bursting through the door, a wide smile stretching her mouth. “JJ!”

“Hang on,” Jimmy says, putting Zach down in the crib with a peck to the baby’s smooth little forehead. Zach is already starting to fall asleep, the sweet little angel.

Tina tiptoes over and leans down to kiss her son’s head. “Love you, baby,” she whispers to him, then takes Jimmy’s hand and tugs him out of the nursery.

“Jeezus, T, slow down,” Jimmy jokes, her eagerness setting him a little on edge. So it was good news. Why didn’t he feel better then?

They make it to the living room and Tina lets go, turning around and bouncing on the balls of her feet as she grins at him. “Great news! Zeke’s coming home in two days!”

And that’s definitely not the sound of his heart shattering into a million little pieces, noooo. Jimmy swallows his panic down and forces himself to smile at her. “Wow, T, that’s awesome!”

“I know, right?” she squeals, giving little excited stomps and jumping around. “He’s going to be home soon! He’s gonna meet Zach and we’re gonna be a family and everything is going to be so amazing! I can’t wait!” She lets out a tiny scream then takes his hands, smiling up at him. “Aren’t you excited??”

“Of course I am,” he lies smoothly, squeezing her hands. “I’ve missed him, too, ya know.”

“Of course,” she giggles, letting go of his hands and looking around. “Gosh, I need to clean up! I don’t want my husband coming home to a mess.”

Jimmy looks around as his brows raise. The only mess he can see is a smattering of dust on the entertainment center, but he’s not about to tell her that. Not when she has that determined look on her face that always makes him laugh because it makes her little nose scrunch up so hard that he wonders if it hurts. Not when she’s got that gleam in her sapphire blues that always means she’s serious about what she’s about to do.

And his heart sinks as he thinks that he might not get to see that for a long time again because Zeks is coming back and surely that means that they’re going to want their house back. He had only been there to take care of Tina while Zeke was gone and now he’s coming back. He’d have to go back to Seymour’s Bay and live in that shitty apartment again after knowing what it’s like to live in a nice place, and he won’t get to see his best friends again until they have leave and who knows when that’s going to be.

And, worst of all…he would miss little Zach growing up. The baby that he’d been watching grow since he was still in Tina’s belly, the one who he’d felt kick for the first time and had so many ultrasound pictures of. The boy who had won his heart the second he’d learned of his existence.

It’s almost enough to make him cry, so thank god he has to go to work soon.

“Hey T, I gotta get ready to go,” he tells her, heading for the stairs to the basement.

“Okay,” she calls after him, already getting the broom and duster. “Will you be home late?”

“Probably.” He’ll stay late on purpose, he doesn’t care. He needs time away from her right now, not looking forward to her telling him that he needs to leave. Maybe he can get out of there before Zeke gets back…but then he wouldn’t get to see Zeke…

He goes into his room and closes the door behind him, quickly changing into his work uniform before making his way back upstairs and out the door. He calls a quick goodbye to Tina, who waves at him from where she’s vacuuming. As he gets into his car he tries to pretend like it didn’t hurt, like he didn’t already feel shoved aside and forgotten about.

Thankfully it’s busy as hell at the theater tonight, with another big hit newly out and people lining up to see it. Almost all the rooms are packed full and they have to work hard to keep up with all the orders for popcorn and soda. By the end of the night he’s exhausted but it feels good . And he totally hasn’t thought about the fact that he might get kicked out soon, nope, not once!

When he gets back to the house, he sees that Tina has fallen asleep on the couch again, the baby monitor thankfully silent on the coffee table. He shakes his head fondly at her, dropping his keys in the bowl by the door and going over to shake her awake. “Tina, hey, go to bed.”

An unflattering snort leaves her as her eyes flutter open, her glasses knocked askew as she hurriedly sits up. “Wh-wha? Huh?” She blinks up at him, squinting. “JJ? What are you doing here? I thought you were at work?”

“I was,” he says, holding out his hands to her. “But I’m home now, and you need to go to bed.”

She grumbles but takes his hands and he pulls her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her as he guides her down the hall to her bedroom. He barely manages to get her glasses off before she’s flopping down face first on her pillow, already fast asleep again. Poor dear must have tired herself out cleaning.

Jimmy throws a blanket over her form before leaning down to peck her cheek as she snores softly. He goes to the nursery to check on Zach, who’s still fast asleep. For not even being a month old yet, he's a really good sleeper. Jimmy snatches the monitor from the coffee table and takes it downstairs with him, closing the door then looking around the room with a sigh. He’s grateful that he hasn’t accumulated too much more since he moved here. Packing everything once had been a pain in the ass, he couldn’t imagine if he had even more to box up.

He’s really going to miss it here. It really was the nicest place he’s ever lived, even nicer than his dad’s apartment. He has no fondness for Georgia, but he’s made a nice life here with Tina and little Zach. He’s happy here.

And now it’s over. He should have known better than to get attached.

Wiping at his eyes that are suddenly wet, he digs out the boxes he’d used the first time around from under the bed and starts throwing in the first things he sees. There’s no rhyme or reason to it this time around, he just wants to get it over and done with so that he can go back and try to forget about ever being here. It would be easier that way.

He packs until he can’t keep his eyes open anymore, then collapses on his bed and passes out almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. His dreams are awful, full of car crashes and crying babies and his dad laughing in his face about him ever thinking that he could be happy and what a failure he is and how no one will ever want him and–

“JJ?”

He snorts awake and sits up, looking around frantically as he feels his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. “H-huh??”

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay.” Then there are arms wrapped around him as a soft voice speaks soothingly right in his ear. “Everything is okay.”

He closes his eyes and leans into her, unable to keep from going limp with relief. No matter what, Tina was always able to make him feel better. God, he’s so grateful that she’s kept him in her life for as long as she has, after everything he did to her.

He allows himself a few blissful moments in her arms before he pulls away, rubbing at his eyes and yawning. “What time is it?” He goes to grab his phone.

“A little after nine.”

“Jeezus.” He’s got a few texts from his brothers and one from his boss, but he’ll answer those later. Right now, he needs to deal with the way she’s looking around with an expression that he can’t read. It makes him nervous and he quickly looks away, running his fingers through his hair with one hand. “You, uh, okay?”

“Yep.”

“Zach?”

“Sleeping. He woke up earlier fussy because he was hungry but that was it.”

“Gotcha.” Damn it, he needs to take care of this. He can’t just leave things like this. He sighs and looks at her. “Tina–”

“What is all this?” She looks at him again and the pain in her blue eyes makes him want to jump in a hole and never come out. Even if this was what she wanted, he knew that he should have handled it with more grace. The poor thing doesn’t deserve this.

“I’m packing,” he says simply, his eyes dropping from hers and back down to his bed.

“What for?”

“To go home?”

Her hand covers his, her thumb rubbing across his knuckles. “Is everything okay with your brothers?”

He nods quickly, looking back up at her. “Yeah, they’re okay.”

“Okay.” She blinks and tilts her head at him, her brows pinching together. “Then why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you going back?”

Is she trying to be funny? If so, it’s not working. “Because your husband is coming back.” He looks away again, biting his lip. “You won’t need me anymore.”

Then her hands are on his face and she tilting his head up so that he’s looking her into her eyes, which are filled with so much indignation that in any other circumstance it would have been funny. “Jimmy Pesto Jr..”

He winces. “Uh oh, she’s full-naming me.”

She rolls her eyes at him. “Oh my god, JJ.”

“There we go.”

Her hands fall from his face and one slaps at his arm. “Knock it off. I’m trying to be serious right now.”

“Sorry,” he sighs, sitting up and pressing his lips together. “I’m listening.”

“Thank you.” She takes his hand in hers, threading their fingers together as her eyes search his. “JJ, I will always need you around. Okay? I meant what I said the other day. You’re my soulmate. You always have been and you always will be. Being separated from you was physically painful for me. You’ve always been a part of my life and I want it to stay that way.” She leaned towards him. “I don’t want you to go. Okay? I want you to stay here, with me and Zeke and Zach. And I know that Zeke wants the same thing. We love you and we would never kick you out.” Her hands squeezes his as she gives him a sad smile. “Unless you want to go, then I won’t fight you but I will be very, very sad.”

God damn it, it feels like he always ends up crying around her. Jimmy shakes his head, clinging to her hand as he fails to fight back the tears welling in his eyes. “I don’t want to. Want to go, I mean. These last six months have been some of the happiest of my life. You're my soulmate, too, Tina. I don’t want to be without you or Zeke or little Zach. I love you guys. You’re–” He has to stop, his voice catching in his throat. He clears it, needing to go on. “You’re my family.”

“That’s right.” There are big fat tears falling down her face but she’s giving him a beaming smile that lets him know that everything is okay. “We’re a family. All of us. And families stick together.” She lets go of his hand and holds out her arms to him.

Jimmy gathers her in his arms and holds her close, burying his nose in her hair as he breathes in the familiar scent of her fruity shampoo. She holds him tight back and they stay like that until they start to hear Zach fussing from the monitor.

Tina lets go and stands up, wiping at her face. “I’ll get him.” She nods at the boxes stacked against the wall. “Looks like you need to unpack again.”

It’s so stupid but he can’t help laughing as she makes her way back upstairs. God damn it, he did have to unpack again. But for once, he doesn’t hate it.

They don’t talk about his ridiculous assumption, instead continuing to get the house ready for Zeke’s return. They go grocery shopping, knowing that he’ll be eager to cook in his own kitchen again. Tina also buys balloons and flowers to welcome him back, along with a tiny sailor outfit to put on Zach for the first time Zeke gets to meet his son. It’s adorable and Zach looks like a little doll in it. They may or may not spend a whole hour just taking pictures of him in it and sending them to their friends and her family. Jimmy contemplates sending one to Zeke but decides against it. It’ll be a nice surprise for him.

The day that Zeke is due to come home, Tina is up bright and early. Jimmy knows this because he wakes up to the sound of her walking around upstairs, no doubt fretting and freaking out about everything that can go wrong. He sighs and gets up, throwing on a pair of shorts and a shirt before making his way upstairs.

Tina is pacing back and forth in the living room, little Zach having some tummy time on his favorite blanket on the floor. She looks up when Jimmy arrives, her blue eyes wide and anxious. “Are we sure we have everything??”

“Yes, T,” he reassures her, going over to take her hands in his to stop her from picking at her nail beds or biting her thumb. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

She groans and leans her head on his chest. “I just keep thinking of everything that could go wrong.”

“Your brain is a bitch,” he comments, stroking her hair.

It makes her snort out a laugh and she shakes her head. “Yeah, it is.”

“Everything is going to be fine,” he repeats, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. “Zeke is going to come home and meet Zach and we’re all going to be happy together. Okay? So can you please breathe and not pace a hole in the floor?”

“That would be expensive to fix,” she mumbles against his shirt. “And embarrassing to explain.”

This girl. He shakes his head and pats her head before gently pushing her back. “Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“Let’s start there.” He checks on Zach then pulls her into the kitchen to dig up something for breakfast.

After she’s eaten Tina seems to feel better, and Jimmy stays with Zach as she goes to shower and get changed. She’s picked out a pretty little yellow sundress with a sash and pockets. They dress little Zach up in his sailor outfit and coo over him before Jimmy goes downstairs to change into something more presentable, khaki shorts and yellow shirt with a blue vest over it. It had worked in middle school and it worked now, damn it.

Tina’s smile is worth it when he comes back upstairs to show off his outfit, her eyes soft and warm as she looks at him. “Lookin’ good, JJ.” She shoulders her purse and picks up Zach, kissing the baby’s cheeks before heading for the door. “Alright. Let's do this.”

Jimmy grabs the diaper bag and heads out to the car. After they get Zach buckled into his carseat, they get in and take off for the docks.

The ship is just docking as they pull up and Tina is out of the car in the blink of an eye, getting Zach out and holding the baby to her as she watches the sailors drop the anchor and tie the ship to the dock. Jimmy gets out and takes her hand, giving it a squeeze as they head to meet the other families gathered to welcome the Naval officers back.

The sailors start to walk down the plank and Zeke is impossible to miss, with his six foot five frame and dazzling smile as he spots them. Tina passes Zach to Jimmy before sprinting for her husband, who catches her in mid air when she leaps for him and twirls her around before bringing her in for a passionate kiss as they embrace each other. Jimmy gives them a few minutes before he makes his way over, being extra careful to not bump into anyone with the baby in his arms.

They’re pulling apart by the time he reaches them and Zeke’s eyes fill with tears when he sees his son. “Oh my god.” He holds out his arms. “Can I?”

Jimmy hands the boy off without protest and watches with adoration as Zeke looks down at the boy with so much love that it aches. Zeke’s hand is so big that it covers the back of Zach’s head and some of his back, and his hazel eyes are warm as he gazes down at the boy. “Hey, baby boy. I’m yer dad.”

Zach gives his dad a beaming smile and Zeke promptly bursts into sobs, which makes both Tina and Jimmy wrap their arms around him as he holds the baby to his chest and rocks him back and forth. Zeke presses kisses all over Zach’s face and head, which makes the baby giggle and makes all of them melt and coo over him. Jimmy can’t help but feel a surge of pride as he watches the baby he saw come into the world completely win over his father in a matter of mere minutes.

Zeke stays in the back of the car holding the baby as they make their way home, cooing and crooning to his son. Tina is beside herself with joy, unable to take her eyes off of her son and husband. The love they all share is so poignant and Jimmy feels lucky to be present to see it.

They get home and make their way inside, and after Zeke finishes complimenting Tina for the flowers and balloons he turns to Jimmy with a shit-eating grin. “J-Ju, do me a favor. Take the baby downstairs for a few hours.” Then he scoops Tina up in his arms, which makes her squeal that turns into giggles as Zeke carries her down the hall towards their bedroom.

Jimmy feels the color drain from his face. “Oh my god, seriously?? You just got home!”

“I got a lotta time to make up for!”

“Like fucking rabbits, I swear.” Jimmy shakes his head with a sigh, but does as asked and heads down to his room with the baby and the diaper bag. As he goes in, he sighs down at the baby. “At this rate, you’ll be a big brother sooner than later.” He knows way too much about his best friends’ sex lives, and he wonders if that will ever get less awkward.

But a bright smile from the baby in his arms makes him forget all about it. And hey, if they make another baby like Zach, then maybe it won’t be so bad.