Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When the sun had first struck the children's eyes, it must have hurt them terribly.

The lights of Rapture were nothing like the sun's stare, and the city lights paled in comparison. Its colours had been static and their vibrancy manufactured. The sun's radiance brought with it heat, and a light that none of the neons beneath the water's surface could replicate.

So surely, it must have hurt.

Facing the sun's brilliance for the first time must have felt entirely overwhelming to the young girls that found the surface. But each and every one of those children still turned their faces skyward, eyes shut, and soaked in the warmth of a sky they'd never before seen.

Before the girls had felt the sun on their faces for the first time, two adults had stood under its glare in anticipation of the children's arrival. Having come up first to ensure the world above was still more welcoming than the one they knew below.

Now, they waited.

The man was young, younger than anyone could possibly know just by looking at him.

Yet, a long life's worth of worry lay etched into Jack's face as they waited on the girls.

A thousand fears and uncertainties crossed his mind. Ranging from paranoid concern that the surfacing was just taking too long, to what would after for them once the girls rejoined with the two of them.

Could he truly provide for them out here?

He barely knew himself, let alone the rest of the world. The flimsy memories he thought he knew had fallen apart and now he did not know what last name he was to print on any piece of paper requesting his identity.

Exactly who had the right to the second part of his name and would any of them actually fit him now? Was he Wynyard or Ryan? Was he either of those names, or had his true father been another man entirely?

One who, like Jack himself, had no last name of his own to even share if he were.

Blood thick or water thin, it hardly mattered when it all ran easily in Rapture. Was it the blood he shared with Ryan? Or the water between himself and the lies that bore more significance?

Jack couldn't have told anyone in confidence. Maybe it didn't even matter and he shouldn't have cared one way or the other when it was all poison to him now.

But the question continued to eat at him every second he was left starved of solid answers. He already knew he'd be hungry forever, there were no more answers forthcoming for him.

It was over after all.

How was he to help these girls remember their lives and families when he couldn't even figure out his own?

Jack's strength had become something of legend in the underwater grave, but without a wrench in hand or flames licking around fist, he felt like little more than a lost child.

His fears must have been louder than the ocean's low and distant rumbling, because the woman that stood with him in wait stepped closer. Refusing to leave him alone waiting at the water's edge. Her presence remained a steady constant, while he felt ready to fall away with the slightest breeze.

Her hand lingered gingerly at his back, eyes patient and expectant. Waiting with the knowledge that he would not fail to make her proud. Jack was sure that must have been a matronly look in her eyes, granted he had little personal experience to draw from.

Tanenbaum might have been the closest thing to a mother that Jack and the girls could really think of. Even though each of them had been taken from their real mothers.

Distantly, he knew he'd had a birth mother that he'd never truly met. A woman just as wrapped up in Rapture's impossible current as he'd been, someone overcome by the city where he'd struggled free.

He did have a mother, no matter who called him a 'motherless freak'.

Yet, the overwhelming urge to call Tenebaum 'Ma' sprung to his lips regardless. Wanting nothing more than to seek guidance from her, as he didn't know where to even begin.

Part of him wondered what Jasmine Jolene would have been like had she ever had the chance to raise him. The thought left him more lost than before and still looking to Tenebaum to fill in the gaps.

With the gentle sternness he'd come to expect from her, Tenebaum provided only as much guidance as she believed necessary and that was typically the most minimal amount. Little more than a balancing hand on a toddler's bike once the training wheels were removed. She could not ride the bike for him, only preventing a nasty fall.

Perhaps, on occasion, allowing one or two of those falls for the sake of experience.

"Do not falter." she instructed him calmly. "You know better than anyone what it is those girls need."

Jack began to protest, his voice hushed with disuse, "I'm not the one that looked after them. That was you…" but as usual Tenebaum had none of it, silencing him with little more than a chiding look.

"You feel what they need." she corrected him soothingly. "You are a child of Rapture. As abused and used as any one of those girls. Your life has been no longer than theirs, your world just as small and ADAM just as much a part of you as they. You saved them from that place, not I."

Then, with a certainty that only Tenebaum could wield, she concluded, "You know what it is that they need."

And for a moment, Jack thought that maybe he did.

So when the bathyspheres surfaced and the sun greeted his sisters, Jack offered him his hand once again.

Brigid Tenebaum was a woman of many talents and very few reservations.

When there was a job at hand or a conundrum that needed puzzling out, she did not hesitate to step into the thick of it. She was also not a woman that wavered without a great deal of force to give her reason for pause.

As such, Tenebaum had taken up the task of providing for the small gaggle of children.

However, while the little ones, the boy included, were treated attentively and with great care from her, Brigid remained far less generous with the rest of the world.

With Jack tending to the girls that they were simply unable to part with, Tenebaum had her hands deep in negotiations with men that were quite familiar to her. If not in name or face - then in quality.

Men that wore their wealth on their body and their pride on their tongues. Ready to talk sweet or spit at her, all depending on which best suited their needs. Either behaviour was treated much the same, with contempt.

Tenebaum had known too many men like this from the depths, and their counterparts above the waves couldn't speak honeyed words to make her forget the horrors that their greedy fingertips caused.

Of course they wanted Rapture.

She'd expected no less.

Naturally, the talk of wealth and discovery had intrigued them and expectedly the promise of waiting horrors within the sunken city were not enough to sway them from that desire.

They would return to Rapture if they could and thus Tenebaum gave them nothing to locate it with and focused only on what she might be able to provide them with to keep them sated and away from that wretched, dead city.

She told lies at the same pace that they did. Sat in a private, carefully hidden away office they shared lies to one another in order to get what they wanted.

There were questions about ADAM and the potential of it. They'd been unable to keep that knowledge from them to Tenebaum's great frustration. So she told them how it rotted the body and mind. Displayed before them images of splicers at their greatest point of decay and pointedly did not tell them of the wonders that ADAM could achieve. She warned them of the scarcity of the substance and how it had run out in Rapture, crippling their precious economy in an instant. Then, of course, she elaborated on the horror that followed its failure.

What she did not tell them of was the Little Sisters. Instead the girls they'd brought home were nothing more than orphaned girls from a failed city.

Instead of riches, she told them about the incredible cost of reaching Rapture. In words they understood, with numbers that made them baulk and clutch their fattened wallets close.

To tide them over she offered them what scraps of technology they'd brought to the surface. Offered them the tiniest sliver of what Rapture could offer and they lapped it up with haste. Best to keep them sated with the gifts they brought and afraid of the financial sinkhole that would be searching for Rapture.

The cost of human life was barely scratched upon in their calculations and Tenebaum found herself exhausted with the surface just as she'd been with Rapture.

She did not tell them about the glowing bottles of impossible substance that were currently stashed beneath the floorboards of their dwelling.

As they marvelled over what they could do and the money that could be made with the scraps, Tenebaum in turn asked for the mundane. The things she knew they'd piss away without thought because it was simply so beneath them.

What she asked for was a house.

A house that was far from the bustling towns and cityscapes. Out on the open farm lands. Out in the place where Jack believed he had been raised and would want to return to in a new, more genuine light.

He had told her in no uncertain terms that, no matter how real it may or may not have been, he wanted to live in a place that felt like home to him. So a farm it had been.

She asked for basic living conditions to be met, for privacy and safety.

These wishes could be met with ease but of course there remained another group of people that needed appeasing. Those more concerned with safety and control than the wealth - though they too did not turn their nose up at a bit of extra cash in their pockets.

Tenebaum found this second group both more agreeable and infinitely more difficult.

Now the vultures were sated with her lies and measly little offerings, and had left her be, the beutcrates had sent the watchdog in their stead.

The suits had chosen to send their will to her in the form of a young man that sat prim and proper before her. He'd arrived only a matter of hours after she'd finished dispatching of the vultures and now joined her in the exact same office where lies and deals were traded with the businessman that came before him.

He'd taken his seat with a grim expression fixed on his face, contemplating Tenebaum with a similar kind of disdain that she in turn regarded him with. His suit did not fit as neatly as the well tailored men before him and while an attempt had been made, his red hair simply would not stay slicked back, curling at the edges of his face where it had jumped free again. The bureaucrat's dog's efforts to keep a clean, sharp image was harshly undercut by the gap in riches between himself and the businessman.

Young as he was, his face was lined with a lifetime of glowering and disapproving stares, he frowned at Tenebaum with that lined face now.

"Five girls." he began calmly, not bothering with pleasantries nor names, this suited her just fine. "You intend to keep five of them?"

Tenebaum was prepared for this discussion and gave a curt nod.

"Those girls are the ones in most need of our care. We know best how to mind them."

Besides the five children left at the farm house all the other rescued little sisters had been successfully adopted out.

A process that had greatly distressed Jack despite Tenebaum reminding him that they couldn't very well keep every single girl that had been saved with him. He only admitted to this fact when told in no uncertain terms that he would be hindering their chances at a good and normal life if they attempted to keep them all and couldn't provide for them.

There were too many mouths to feed and stories to make up to explain to them why they were all together. Better they be taken to families that could devote time to them, to shower them in love and keep them well fed without struggling to care for dozens of others.

Better they live a life far away from the ocean side where they could forget the place called Rapture and grow up into perfectly normal young women with families that weren't burdened with the horrors below the waves.

No matter how correct the decision may have been, Jack had still cried over the girls when they left. Holding each one of them tight one last time before allowing them into the care of others that could give them lives they deserved.

It was likely those girls would forget Jack in time, but he held each one of them tight at the day of adopting regardless. Telling them each something personal and private to just that child.

Tenebaum hoped they might remember at least his parting words to them. A childhood keepsake from the man that saved them. And if not the words themselves it seemed Jack hoped that the feeling of that tight, true embrace would follow them through like a memory of warm embrace to keep them comforted if ever they felt alone or adrift in the world.

Jack was sentimental like that, but perhaps it stemmed from somewhere inside of him. A memory of a final embrace he'd been given before the memories had faded.

Tenebaum did not offer the same parting embrace, it was not in her nature. But to each girl she had uttered one word of advice or another.

She knew each of them well enough to know what they might need to hear one day. And with those parting words, she then handed over the task of mothering to someone else. Someone more qualified than herself.

And then there had been five left.

Those remaining little girls had rapidly become Jack's whole world. Even if the decision for them to remain at the farmhouse was suggested to be reversed - well Tenebaum was not sure that anyone could have torn them from the boy's side now.

He had fought through hell itself to save them, she had no doubt that he'd do it all over again to protect them here as well.

Which was why she regarded the irritable young man across from her now with a healthy level of distrust. He remained as curt as she was when asking the obvious.

"Why those five specifically?"

She had lied to the suits and she would lie to this one too - but perhaps less so.

"The experience of Rapture has left them...changed. Forever changed. They will grow like any other young girl, however, it is likely that they will possess minor...abnormalities. Their memories are the strongest, their bodies more resistive to their purging of ADAM than the rest. They will need the care of the boy to guide them."

"Right, right, the man…" The suit mumbled, flicking through files for the name he needed. Those files had been absurdly plastered with 'TOP SECRET' in not so secretive bold red text.

"Jack?" he settled on a page and that frown creased further when reading the list of alternative endings to that name, no doubt trying to figure out which was supposedly meant to be there.

Brigid answered before he could try. "Yes. Just Jack will do."

"Sure. Jack. He was born down there too?"

"Yes. He was born in my own laboratory."

This unsettled the watchdog, who squirmed. Tenebaum noted how his fingers brushed across the cross worn around his throat for just a moment, seeking resolve to face the atrocities of Rapture she supposed.

He would not have fared well beneath the waves.

Tenebaum knew this man's job was to ensure that everything happening around her and the girls was kept neatly packaged and appropriately quiet. If the vultures goal was profit then the beutcrates role was to make sure the evidence was neatly tucked away.

Out of sight and mind.

Or, better yet, within their sights and tightly controlled.

If the girls were unable to shake the last remnants of their Little Sister affliction then they could very well be taken away. To be locked up tight or used for other forms of gain. It was exactly what Rapture had done to them in the first place, Tenebaum doubted the surface held much more concern for their innocence and freedom than Ryan's world had.

But for now they were the unsightly blights rather than the profitable victims. Distasteful as that may have been, it at least meant they were of no interest to those that would exploit them.

"Miss Tenebaum, we expect those girls to be watched closely, the boy too. If there are to be any… irregularities from this drug that might disrupt daily life around the city…"

The word of caution that barely concealed a threat was quickly cut off by Tenebaum.

"They will be well cared for. You have placed us far enough from the rest of the world to see to that."

"Yes, I'm sure." The man dismissed her remarks out of hand and closed his little file full of secrets. "Regardless, I'll be checking up on you from time to time on behalf of the administration. I'll be acting as your contact going forward, any requests or issues that arise can come through me."

With himself situated as the mouthpiece of the shadowy figures above, acting as both an ally and known spy, the young man finally gave a name. Tenebaum did not question if it was a genuine name or not.

"Mathias Anderson," he introduced himself calmly, "I hope that we have a productive working relationship. One where we see each other as sparingly as possible."

There was the slightest upward twitch of Tenebaum's lips as she slid her cigarette from her lips and took the red haired boy's hand in a tight, motionless shake. Little more than a squeeze to seal their deal.

"Herr Anderson, I do hope not to see you again for a very long time."

Though she had the feeling the watchdog would rarely be far from the farmhouse.

When Tenebaum returned to the farmhouse the lights were still glowing through the windows with the sun long since set.

The trip home was a slow one as she carefully navigated driving once again. It had been many years since she placed herself behind a wheel and the skill returned at a sluggish pace.

Riding a bike, it was not.

Stepping out of the car as it rattled and spat pitifully, in desperate need of a service, Brigid took a moment to steel herself. Taking a deep breath, she relished how crisp and clean it felt in her lungs, unlike the recycled air they'd been breathing for so long. Then slowly she released the breath, resigning herself to this new life.

There was no laboritoy here. There were no testing chambers or sterile rooms. Just wooden steps that creaked as she stepped onto the porch and a big house with rooms that needed filling.

Here she was not the doctor that ruined all too many lives but instead just a woman that had somehow been charged with looking after a bunch of misfit children.

She did not consider herself their mother by any means, if anyone were to be gifted that title it was the young man that she opened the door to find asleep in the living room. Sat on the lounge with five small girls curled up against him, the television playing softly ahead of them, having long since lost its audience.

Gently, Tenebaum smiled as she crept into the house. The door was merciful enough not to wail as it slid shut behind her.

This was to be her new life, then.

Those six children who she had once wronged so deeply. This was to be her family, a concept that had seemed so far away and foreign to her not all that long ago.

She was no longer the girl in the camps that gave away pieces of her soul just to keep herself breathing. Now she resembled more so her own mother who had tried so very hard to shield her in those dreadful days and been torn from her in youth.

The woman that had been her mother had not crossed Brigid's mind for many years, the memory of her an unpleasant sting in her mind. But it struck a more pleasant cord with her now.

Her own parents had tried so very hard to protect her, it was not their fault that she'd hardened into a monster without them. They'd fought for her and Brigid did not fault them nor did she find failure in their actions.

After all, here she was.

Alive and standing guard over her own family. So their efforts could not have fallen entirely in vain.

If someone came to tear her away from these little ones, she knew very well that she'd fight just as desperately as her own parents had done for her. Brigid, however, was in possession of more strength and knowledge than they had been and she was willing to use it against anyone that stepped too near.

The thoughts were grim, but the house remained warm and the night soft. Perhaps she could follow its lead and relax as well.

Stepping quietly into the living room she reached to touch Jack's shoulder. Trying to avoid waking the girls.

"Come, little one," she urged gently. "Time to get to bed."

Heaven knows Jack deserved to rest in a real bed after they'd fought so hard to leave the dreadful place he'd been born.

Groggily, Jack began to rouse, only to jolt up quickly in alarm. Looking around hastily, one hand reaching for a weapon that wasn't there.

Tenebaum caught his hand calmly, bringing his attention to her steady gaze. Coaxing him back into the present, where he was safe with his girls.

Gradually Jack began to calm back down, eyes sweeping over the room, counting heads and making sure all five of his sisters were there. Once each girl was accounted for, he let out a heavy sigh and went limp against the lounge. Exhausted still.

"Help me get them to bed." Tenebaum prompted and while she did say 'help me' she meant for Jack to be the one carrying them. There were stairs involved and she wasn't going to lift any of the girls up them.

Except for maybe their youngest.

At seven years of age little Lottie was still not too heavy for her but that would not last for long.

So, Tenenbaum figured she may as well indulge in the last few months she would be able to pick the young girl up.

Nodding dazedly, Jack eased to his feet, with one of his sisters already curled up against his chest, he easily plucked her up.

Their eldest, Mary, stirred only slightly in her slumber but Jack held her steady and began the slow slug upstairs. The girls were still figuring out their rooms, sharing while they were still small enough to do so, but soon they'd desire space of their own.

Tenebaum was not sure how she would deal once they struck the age of rebelliousness. She was not positive that Jack would gracefully handle the day they started thinking about things as adult as romance. That likely scared him more than the uncertainty of what growing up after being a little sister would be like.

None of them knew what the girls bodies would do with traces of ADAM still within them once they hit puberty and neither she nor Jack were terribly keen to find out.

Time was both a friend and an enemy to them. They now had the time to breathe that Rapture had not afforded them, but it brought with it so many unknowns.

There was much to fear and fret over. But for tonight, as Brigid carefully gathered up Charlotte into her arms, they could focus on the here and now.

Everything else would follow as time marched ever onwards.

Chapter Text

Leaks were, strictly speaking, not that big of a deal.

But when the first water drop dribbled its way down from the ceiling and splashed on the floor right between Jack's feet, his heart all but fell out from under him and it felt like an incredibly big deal.

Staring at the little spot of water caused Jack more distress than it rightfully should have. His breathing shallow and halting as impossible visions of ceilings collapsing and spilling gallons of inescapable water crossed his mind. The image of the whole house falling under the weight of the ocean was momentarily overwhelming

For a terrifying moment, Jack dazedly believed he couldn't breathe. Because he was surely drowning.

Then there was a small tug at his sleeve and suddenly his lungs were full of air, not the phantom taste of salty sea water.

Blinking away the mirage, Jack looked down and found Leta staring steadily up at him.

As he registered where he was again, he could hear the other girls squealing in equal parts delight and distress as they made a game of spotting all the different leaks.

"Jack," Leta told him matter-of-factly. "The roof is leaking."

Well, she wasn't wrong.

But it was a little embarrassing that she seemed to think he was too lost in his own head to realise that. Then again, maybe he had been.

With a steadying breath Jack offered Leta a shaky smile.

"Well, it's an old house." he told her gently, almost as a means to defend the old farm house. "It just needs a bit of love and care."

Leta glanced to the roof above them with its various leaks and discoloured patches. It probably didn't look very appealing to the girls, they couldn't understand how much of a welcome relief it was for Jack to think of a place that was real as home.

Then, after coming to a sort of conclusion, Leta nodded once sternly and reached into her pocket. Fishing out a single, tiny, crumpled bandaid and held it up to Jack.

"Then the roof can have this." she told him with a hard stare. She then conspiratorially admitted. "I've been holding onto it for Sally. Just in case."

Jack was sure his heart had swelled a couple of sizes and ignored the thought in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Tenenbaum that told him that was scientifically impossible. Smiling with such affection it almost hurt his cheeks, Jack scooped Leta up and gave her a tight hug.

"That's sweet of you, Leta. Don't you worry. We'll fix this place up."

"So, you don't need the band aid?" Leta asked with a little frown.

"You had better hold onto it for Sally." Jack told her with a cheeky smile and added just as conspiratorially as she had. "Just in case."

The leaks here were not like the leaks of Rapture, they weren't going to drown under them. Jack just needed a bit of help to remember that and he knew that the house would be a good home once he'd had the chance to put some time into mending it.

But for that night they spent their time laying out pots and pans to help catch the water and at least half of the pots already had cracks and holes in them.

There wasn't much sleep to be had that night but the girls made a game of it all and didn't seem terribly worried about the late bedtime.

All in all the leaks were, in fact, not that big of a deal.

…

…

The topic of school was a turbulent one.

Tenenbaum was firm in her expectations of the girls education, and attending a real school was not up for debate.

She had sat Jack down first to talk him through it. The trouble with the girls' situation was simple enough, they had been denied education most of their lives and had a good section of their childhood snatched up by the role of a gatherer. They were going to need to spend time catching up with other kids their age and Tenebaum expected that there would be more than a few problems in that process.

In no uncertain terms Tenenbaum had warned him grimly to expect bullying and perhaps some poor treatment from educators not willing to be patient with them. She was extremely selective of who she would allow to teach their girls and had found the public school only just adequate for them. Provided they were given time at home to learn as well.

Jack made a small, off-hand remark about feeling a certain level of pity for any teacher that had to live up to Tenenbaum's expectations. She did not smile and Jack had then felt even worse for those teachers, but a little more comforted in knowing Tenebaum wouldn't let any of their girls fall through the cracks.

He was in no position to teach them anything academically. He couldn't tell them anything about advanced mathematics or literature, but he could support them emotionally and make sure that they found the best way to help them learn and feel supported. Jack was more than ready to take that up as a full time role and so felt it was alright to let them into a public school system under Tenenbaum's watchful eye as well.

The girls themselves seemed torn on what to feel when auntie Tenebaum announced their enrolment into the local public school.

A combination of excitement and distress. As much as Sally eagerly made declarations about her inevitable fate as the shining star of the school and Mary's carefully optimistic comments on how nice it would be to see a new place - Masha and Leta were less than thrilled.

Casting nervous glances between one another as they clutched each other's hands tightly. As if afraid they'd be torn apart. Jack was hasty to reassure them - in between checking nervously with Tenenbaum that he wouldn't be lying when he promised they wouldn't be kept apart.

However, even as he made those promises it was with the caveat that Charlotte would have to stay home. She just wasn't big enough to join the other girls on their first day.

That alone had been cause for quite the scene.

Lottie demanded to know why she wasn't allowed to go when she was just as grown up as the rest of them. Only a year younger than Sally who, she insisted, was not nearly as smart as she was.

A remark that almost started a brawl between the two girls. Which Jack inevitably had to break up before trying in vain to both chide and comfort Charlotte.

Promising her that she could go to school as well soon, she just had to wait a little while longer. It was not a debate that showed any signs of being ended quickly. Tenebaum's firm, cutting tone had been about the only thing that stopped Lottie from going into a complete meltdown.

However, Lottie's displeasure remained a constant through the weekend. An ever present cloud she made sure to emphasise if she thought that her protests were not being taken seriously.

They got through with only one physical fight breaking out between her and Sally. Which Jack counted as a victory.

When the actual day in question arrived, a warm and sunny Monday, the tension between the sisters had turned into curiosity and excitement. Jack, on the other hand, only became more anxious the closer they got to letting them into the care of others for the daytime.

According to Tenebaum, first day nerves were perfectly common in first time parents. Although the way she informed him of this seemed just a tad disparaging to Jack.

In the future, the girls would be able to catch a bus to school, but Jack was unwilling to let them be taken there by bus on their first day.

He insisted they all go as a family and was met with little resistance. Tenebaum wanted to speak with the teachers of course and he would have plenty of time to fret over each child. To check their bags and uniforms to ensure every little thing was perfect.

He tried not to think about how similar this was to saying goodbye to the other girls they'd rescued and had allowed to be adopted. Firmly reminding himself that his girls would be home that afternoon and it wasn't a goodbye.

Despite Masha and Leta's initial reservations, there was no denying that Jack was far more nervous about their first day than the children were.

Mary eventually fixed him with one of those levelling looks she must have picked up from Tenenbaum at some point. If it was not a product of her family from behind those days as a Little Sister.

"Jack. You've checked our bags three times. They're fine. We're fine." After chiding him for his smothering, Mary offered a little smile and gave Jack a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you anyway."

Jack wasn't sure how an eleven year old could just cut him down like that. Forget the splicers, Mary was the one he ought to worry about.

Still, he did feel a lot better as he watched Mary take Leta's hand to help comfort the most nervous of her sisters and grabbed Sally by the back of her shirt before their youngest in attendance had the chance to rush off on her own. Leading all three of her sisters into the school calmly after the teacher.

Yes, Mary would look after them and keep an eye on things. It was a great relief to Jack.

Lottie, however, still didn't seem happy about being left behind as the other girls were led away.

She watched them go, only Sally glancing back at her with a brief expression of hesitation. She nearly followed after her big sister when seeing that wayward glance. But Jack's hands were on her shoulders, making sure she didn't go rushing after them.

Her distress quickly turned to anger once again. Her little face screwing up tight as the pros of throwing a fit crossed her mind, no doubt seeming perfectly reasonable to Lottie.

The would-be tantrum was derailed as Jack plucked her up and placed Lottie onto his shoulders. A perch she'd always enjoyed before. Waring with her desire to enjoy the higher up position and continue down the path of tantrum throwing, Lottie huffed and crossed her little arms tight.

"Come on, Lottie." Jack spoke up, trying to encourage her not to start wailing, knowing she could bring down a house with those fits. "Let's go and get something to eat."

Gluttonous a bab as she was, Lottie's little eyes gleamed as she peered over Jack's shoulders and down into his face.

Scowling as she made some demands. "Ice-cream."

"Ice-cream." Jack agreed with a breath of relief.

He was distressed enough about being separated from the girls for the first time in weeks. Lottie crying would just be too much for him to handle today.

"Jack?" Lottie asked as they meandered through town in search of ice-cream. "What do they do in school anyway?"

This was a question that Jack thought he knew the answer to but couldn't speak with any degree of certainty from personal experience. His education had been rather... unconventional, at least from what little of it he could remember. And he was sure that he would fail any test put in front of him by an actual teacher. But he knew in vague terms what it was they did.

"Well," Jack began, drawing on what he hoped school would be for his girls rather than what it actually might have been. "They teach you math and English. They tell you about history, things that happened hundreds of years ago-"

"How do they know that?" Lottie interrupted angrily. "Hundreds of years ago? They weren't even there. No way."

Jack got the terrible feeling that Lottie was likely to fight with her teachers. They'd have to work on that before letting her loose on them.

"Sure. It's all written down in text books. You can learn all sorts of things."

This seemed to bother Lottie who slumped with her arms crossed over Jack's head.

"Textbooks…" she mumbled distantly. "Can we get textbooks?"

Surprised, Jack glanced up towards the sky, unable to see Lottie from where she was perched on his shoulders.

"Of course we can. I'm sure Tenebaum will let you look at hers."

And Tenebaum had already accumulated many. Needing to defend them valiantly from the various leaks they had only just gotten a handle on. Jack knew he ought to try reading some himself. To try and fill his gaps in knowledge so if the girls asked he could confidently answer their questions.

Still, Lottie did not seem comforted. Quiet for a few seconds as Jack trudged into town with the girl balanced carefully on his shoulders.

"...will you...help me with the words?" she asked finally, voice hushed as though she did not want anyone else to overhear an embarrassing secret.

After all, Little Sisters had not been taught much in the way of reading and writing, it was only to be expected that Lottie might struggle a bit with it. They've supposedly been taught some fundamentals, but only in service to better harvesting. Mostly pattern recognition so they 'knew' what signs meant and which way to go rather than any deeper understanding.

Jack beamed and nodded, more than happy to help Lottie through all those textbooks. Even if he didn't understand a lick of some of the stuff.

"Hey, we'll learn together." he encouraged, thinking that Tenebaum would be pleased with this too.

For a short time Lottie was quiet and then declared confidently. "I'll know everything that ever happened!"

Jack laughed quietly. Not bothering to correct Lottie's assertion and instead just continued into town. He didn't know why Lottie wanted to know everything but he wasn't going to put her off of the idea of learning.

"You can go to school with them one day too." he assured her. "Just as soon as Brigid says you can."

Then after a while he was sure that Charlotte would loathe going to school and they'd have to drag her from bed in the morning just to get her to go.

To be honest, Jack wouldn't have minded if all the girls stayed at this age forever. It felt nice to play the part of a big brother and look after them away from the place they'd been born.

Somewhere safe and together.

But all children grew up and one day they'd definitely want to leave the rickety old farmhouse and grow tired of his protective attitude. Despite knowing that, Jack made no resolve to change course.

After all, that was the way it was supposed to be. His job was to help them grow until they could stand on their own.

That wasn't such a bad thing to dedicate his life to. Once upon a time his life's purpose had been decided for him and Jack had long since outgrown what his makers would have wanted from him. Now he could choose how to spend his life.

He'd spend it with this little family of his. Getting ice cream, reading books and fixing leaks together.

Chapter Text

With most of the girls at school each day, Jack found that house repairs were both a lot easier and a lot less entertaining.

Occasionally Lottie would get restless or finish the book he had stuffed into her hands to keep her busy so he could at least get a few more tiles on the roof to fend off the few remaining leaks. If another book wouldn't serve as a satisfying sacrifice to the demanding child, then Jack would have to set down his tools for a while longer to play with her, just to keep Charlotte from wandering off on her own.

Fortunately, she was usually pacified with a new book, provided it wasn't something she felt she had read before and had a couple of pictures in there. But never a pure picture book, as Lottie had deemed these as 'baby books' and had been thoroughly offended when Jack offered one to her. He had thought they were nice enough…

Once the first week of school was concluded the girls were a mixed bag of excitement and uncertainty. School apparently brought with it lots of good.

New people to talk to and new things to play with, but they'd already begun to tire of the concept of homework. Mary was the only one that consistently did her work at the end of the day. Leaving enough time to make sure Leta and Masha understood their work and scold Sally for crumpling hers up.

Sally seemed to think the teacher couldn't get angry with her if the homework was ruined, but she failed to think of an appropriate cover story or realise that Tenebaum would not abide by such nonsense.

That lesson she learnt after spending a night sticky taping her homework back together under Brigid's watchful eye.

Regardless, the weekends were a welcome relief for Jack. Simply happy to have the girls back home for two whole days, Jack's mood was always sunnier when the house was full.

However, some of their efforts to 'help' with the reconstruction of the house resulted in more holes for Jack to patch. Only Mary seemed to understand that not everything was solved with glue and tape.

Fortunately, most of the girls quickly lost interest in the building efforts when they were mundane or didn't involve the use of 'cool' looking tools. They were content to spend their weekends running around the large backyard they had, playing games Jack barely understood and keeping themselves entertained for hours.

Only occasionally did one of them seek Jack out rather than their other sisters. Most often that was Mary and one Sunday morning she came looking for him just as he was getting back to patching up the roof. Determined to do away with all those leaks.

"Can I come up there?" Mary asked Jack as he set the ladder back against the side of the house, wanting to clean out the gutters.

Startled, Jack paused with one foot on the bottom rung, looking down at Mary who watched him expectantly with her new book tucked under her arm.

"On the roof?" Jack asked uncertainty, not exactly wanting her up somewhere she could fall from.

"Yeah. I want to read there."

"It's probably not the best place to read…I'm going to be making a lot of noise up there." Jack warned, not expecting Mary to want to listen to him hammering away at the roof for the next few hours.

But Mary simply shrugged and stepped up to the ladder, book tucked under her arm. Apparently not dissuaded and Jack caved maybe just a little too quickly. Tenebaum was a bit better at refusing the girls' things.

"Alright, but be careful. Don't sit near the edge."

Were Mary any other child Jack doubted he could make such a rule and expect it to be followed to the letter. Sure enough as she climbed up onto the roof Mary set herself in the very middle and opened up her book. Jack let out a soft breath of relief as she became absorbed in the words, knowing she was unlikely to move from that spot until he prompted her to. She simply had no concept of time once she started to read.

Occasionally Jack would read stories to the other girls at night, but Mary was quite insistent that she only read to herself. Something about it being a private experience for her. Tenebaum seemed to approve and provided the girls with a collection of stories while Jack set about making a small bookshelf for Mary to call her own.

Satisfied that Mary would be safe at her chosen perch and cause no other problems, Jack let himself get lost in his chores and the constant thrum of his construction work didn't seem to bother Mary at all.

Before long he fell into an easy pattern. A simple rhythmic motion of work that kept his mind blessedly quiet and his hands equally busy. Working was the most natural thing in the world to Jack and at times he wondered if Tenebaum had picked this farmhouse because it needed some dire repairs and would keep him busy.

If so, he couldn't begrudge her no matter how many leaks and squeaky floorboards there were. The hammer in his hand distracted from the itching underneath. The distant bang of the nail being struck drew attention away from the constant, faint droning sound that filled his head at night. The sound only punctuated by the occasional advertisement slogan or jovial cry of 'welcome to the circus of values!' and the promise of relief at the tip of a needle.

The distractions were desperately needed and Jack focused on the sensation of losing himself in the mechanical back and forth of mending broken things.

Even if behind it the itch and ache of empty veins and far away siren song of a life desperately left behind would be waiting for him once the work was done and night set in again.

"Hey, Jack?"

Mary's voice broke through the haze and Jack stuttered to a halt, a cog briefly grinding from its task and unable to find its rhythm again.

Glancing up Jack found the sun had moved positions in the sky, having passed from the low morning night the harsh glare of midday and he became abruptly concerned that they'd be beet red and sore from sunburn if they remained on the roof any longer.

But Mary's attention was not on the summer sky overheard, instead looking out across the farm's generous front lawn and driveway.

"Someone is here." Mary announced while watching a car too sleek to belong to any of the neighbouring farming families roll up that driveway.

Jack recognised it as one of those, what had Tenebaum called them?

Right, the bureaucrats.

With their shiny boots, shiny cars and equally shiny smiles.

Her description of them had hit a little too close to home and Jack had initially shied away from any situation that might have him deal with them rather than her. Tenebaum had a knack for dealing with the things he couldn't, but he hadn't been able to avoid the more delicate relationships they'd had to cultivate to live peacefully.

Fortunately, the shiny bureaucrats no more liked coming out to their 'run down little dust bowl' than they liked having the expensive shoes on the property.

So they sent a person that Tenebaum called a watchdog, and he was not particularly shiny to Jack.

Mathias's car was not his own. Which, while unusual to Jack to think someone was just given a car because of their job, did help to sooth him when they initially met. The shiny car wasn't his and while his shoes were most definitely cleaner than any of Jack's work boots, they didn't reflect anything when looked at.

As for his smile, well actually Jack didn't know if it was shiny or not because Mathias had not once smiled at him before.

The closest he'd gotten was a thin, neutral press of his lips when they first shook hands. Jack had thought he'd done something wrong and caused the shorter man to hate him already, but he learned quickly that a 'neutral look of distaste' was about as amicable as Mathias got.

He learned in rapid order after that Mathias's displeasure was sharp as a knife and freely given. The sight of his car now sent a jolt of alarm through Jack.

He hadn't known the man was visiting them today and racked his brains to see if he could recall Tenebaum telling him anything about it. He thought maybe he remembered something, but it was obscured behind the nightmares of the night before and itchy veins.

Biting down language that would not be appropriate in front of Mary or feel familiar in his own mouth, Jack hastily tried to pack up his tools. Feeling a familiar swell of anxiety. He didn't interact with too many adults outside of Tenebaum and Mathias was not what he'd consider an easy customer when it came to civility.

Already he could imagine a long list of grievances he probably had with them now and Jack wasn't prepared to face him. Much less get caught on the roof by the man.

He had simply been doing home repairs, but his mind worked itself into loops thinking that Mathias would somehow perceive it to be rude. Maybe it was, Jack had forgotten he was coming today after all.

"Alright, sunshine? I have to go inside now. We have a guest." Jack quickly told his eldest though when he glanced up from the ladder Mary was already back in her book.

No doubt she'd come down soon after him but Jack didn't want to rush it. To give her the wrong idea that something was wrong, even if maybe he did feel a bit panicked himself. So he set to climbing down as quick as he could. Foot touching the ground no sooner than he heard that pretty black car pull to a halt in front of the barn.

Heart still hammering, Jack mustered up his friendliest smile and tried desperately to look like he wasn't as nervous as he was when turning to greet Mathias.

Unfortunately, Mathias had no such inclinations towards pleasantries and the first words out of the man's mouth beat Jack to the punch. They were just as cutting as Jack had feared.

"...why is one of your daughters on the roof?" Mathias asked dryly as he shut his car door with just a bit too much force, and Jack abruptly felt that he was a bad father-

Was he a father?

Mathias had called Mary his daughter.

Jack couldn't say that exact thought had really settled in for him before. Always thinking of himself as more of a big brother but… well he looked after the girls and taught them things. Would he be the closest they ever came to having a father?

Would they ever think of him as a father too?

Unaware of the new can of worms he'd broken the seal on, Mathias let out an irritable sigh and called up to Mary in Jack's stead. Promptly ignoring him in a way that felt quite deliberate to Jack.

"Miss? Miss. Come down from there. It's not safe."

Mary blinked down at the stranger before looking around her seated position on the roof as if to find what was not safe about it. But despite her clear disagreement, Mary wasn't confrontational with adults and began to gather herself up to get back down.

Increasingly Jack wilted under Mathias's harsh stare. Feeling woefully inadequate as a father figure now that the man had deemed him as such. He'd only just found out he was even meant to be a father figure and he was failing in spectacular time.

Jack tried very hard not to consider that failing might have been both genetic and learned.

"She… she's very sensible." Jack tried to reason but went quiet the moment Mathias's sharp eyes narrowed in on him like a spear. Silencing his meek defences in an instant.

Mathias was someone he still hadn't quite adjusted to. The few visits from the man seemed to put Tenebaum on edge and while Jack trusted her to be a good judge of character. Her distaste for his presence seemed directed at the organisation he represented rather than Mathias himself and that left Jack at a loss for how to feel about him.

He didn't exactly trust himself to judge the character of those he met.

The only thing he truly trusted was Mathias's seemingly endless level of frustration and judgement of him.

No matter what he did it seemed that once Mathias took notice of it, he would respond negatively. A new addition to the barn? Mathias's mouth turned to a thin line at the sight. A fresh pie that Jack left on the windowsill and guarded from the girls who were so very excited for it they wouldn't wait for it to cool? A derisive hum from the suited man.

Jack felt overly scrutinised by Mathias and no matter what move he made it only seemed to lessen him in the man's eyes.

That, at the very least, Jack trusted his judgement on.

It was kindness from others that left him at a loss. Praise or reassurances sounded like white noise to Jack at best, hidden traps at worst. Mathias was never kind and always perturbed by him - if nothing else Jack could rely on that.

Not that the reliability removed the sting of Mathias's constant disapproval of his efforts.

Regardless, Jack opened his mouth in the hope of coming up with the right words to ease the tension between Mathias's brows or erase the downward turn of his lips. Just as well he didn't get the chance to say anything because he'd have undoubtedly made it worse rather than better.

Before he had the chance to further frustrate Mathias, the man took notice of Mary's rather rocky descent from the ladder.

She was going too quickly and missed a rung on the way down, causing the whole ladder to shake as she over-corrected and lost her balance.

Mathias, to his credit, immediately rushed to catch Mary as the ladder wobbled and she came off of it.

"Hey! Be carefu- oof!"

Unfortunately, he was a very slight man and having the weight of the young girl abruptly drop into his arms took them both quickly to the ground.

Mathias took the worst of the impact, being careful to protect Mary's head with his arm and ensure she didn't hit the hard ground.

Jack felt like a lemon for not having been close enough to catch Mary and letting Mathias be the one to catch her, knowing he'd easily be able to carry her weight and the other man's combined. But as sheepish and guilty as he felt… he did perhaps warm a little to the unfriendly fellow after seeing how he moved to help Mary without hesitation.

Distantly, he was sure he'd met men like that before, but he couldn't follow that thread of thought when he was so very focused on the look Mathias levelled at him. That withering stare caused Jack to shrink back into his sweater, feeling two sizes smaller.

Without a word Mathias set Mary back on her feet, wincing when he moved which in turn caused Jack to wince. He spent a few seconds dusting her off and fussing over the state of clothes. Checking her for any visible injuries. Once satisfied that he'd been the only one to end up any worse for wear, Mathias got back to his feet and repeated the process of dusting off for himself and righting his clothes.

Mary seemed quite bemused with the whole thing but not at all rattled by the fall.

That actually worried Jack a little. Mary seemed so unruffled by...everything really. That couldn't be normal right? A thought for later that night when all the unpleasant thoughts came creeping in.

Then the scrutiny usually reserved for Jack from Mathias turned onto the fallen book.

"What is this?" Mathias asked as he scooped it up, thumbing through the pages too quickly to actually be reading anything substantial. Just catching words that caused his brows to furrow further.

"This is hardly appropriate for you, young lady." he announced stiffly and Jack tensed in anticipation of his disapproving stare turning back onto him but he seemed to actually be addressing Mary and expecting explanation.

"It's what Tanenbaum gave me." Mary replied, defensive in her tone but seemingly unwilling to say anything outright disrespectful towards an adult. Much less the one that had just cushioned her fall.

Mathias's expression twisted in distaste that bordered on a sneer. Not curbing his honest feelings even in front of a child. The duelling thoughts of 'shameless' and 'honest' crossed Jack's mind.

"Yes, she would, leave you with books like these." he muttered more to himself than Mary.

Briefly the man paused, chewing absentmindedly on his thumbnail. The label of 'shameless' fell away when Mathias seemed to catch this little tick and look decidedly embarrassed by it, pointedly dropping his hand from his mouth.

Jack's label for him as 'honest' remained unswayed however and Mathias turned back to Mary, having reached some sort of conclusion.

Handing the book back over, though it clearly pained him to do so, Mathias announced, "I will see about allocating some funds to get you girls something more age appropriate."

No doubt Mary only vaguely understood what that even meant but she was not given the chance to ask before Mathias was finally fixing Jack with another look.

"As for you, I don't want to have to explain why a sizable chunk of your savings ended up going to hospital bills. Be more responsible in the future for heaven's sake."

"Yes sir." Jack replied on reflex, cringing immediately after the little squeak left him.

Clearly Mathias was surprised as well, brow lifting in curious surprise though he quickly put his expression back in order. Clearing his throat like he was made uncomfortable by Jack's quick obedience.

"Now, if you are not hurt-" The way he stressed the word 'you' made it quite clear he considered the bruises he'd gotten already to be excessive given his reason for visiting. "-young lady, run along. You'll be dreadfully bored by all grown up talk if you stick around."

Mary's expression twisted in a similar way to Mathias's disapproving looks, faintly insulted by the insinuation she was not grown enough to join the talks, but she didn't argue. Opting instead to take her book and set off in search of somewhere else to read.

Just as well, Jack was a grown up and even he found the talks between Mathias and Tenebaum to be boring where they were not just plain confusing.

"We'll be adding child safety to the discussion list today as well." Mathias remarked once Mary was out of earshot.

Jack tried just once more to plead their case but, as usual, Mathias didn't let him get too many words in.

"Save it. I'm sure you thought it was a perfectly fine thing to do, being as carefree as you are, but no one plans to have an accident. So we take measures to avoid them regardless, which means no more children on any roofs."

Despite himself Jack felt a little incensed by the comment on his person being 'carefree'. He felt almost any other description would fit better. Something like 'stressed' or 'traumatised' might fit the bill a bit better. Still he didn't want to seethe and sulk as Mathias seemed so well practised in.

Instead, Jack took a deep breath and tried to find his balance with the man again. He would have to find a way to communicate with him without cowering eventually. If not for the sake of the girls then for his own.

"Right I… yeah. Okay."

Maybe it was something to do with his defeated, meek reply but Mathias's tone did seem to shift to something just a tad less confrontational. Sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose and went on.

"If you need help with tiling the roof you can seek it in town. This place is absolutely crawling with handy men and women that I'm sure could lend you a hand with all this."

Jack unintentionally squirmed. Kind people made him a bit… uneasy.

He knew that they had neighbours with the skills to help him fix up the farm. Good hearted neighbours at that.

They'd brought them housewarming gifts and well wishes, despite the considerable distance between homes. Along with offers to help with the repairs of the place, they'd all been so surprised a family had moved in at all. Partly because they were such an odd mix of a family and the house was in such a state of disrepair. They had all seemed slightly concerned behind their warm greetings.

Jack believed wholeheartedly that they were bright and good people.

It was that certainty that led him to never reach back out to them and withdraw from social interactions with outsiders entirely.

He just couldn't trust his own convictions, and for as unpleasant as Mathias was, at least Jack could trust in his prickly attitude. His smile might have been shiny but Jack had never seen it and felt so much safer that way.

Despite Mathias's phrasing making it sound that he thought 'handy people' were just hiding out in the woodworks like insects, he wasn't wrong to make the suggestion. Jack needed help, he just… didn't really believe he could trust anyone to help him out of kindness.

"I… yes, you're right." he admitted, if only to keep Mathias happy though he had no intentions of doing anything with the advice. "I'll be more careful from now on, promise."

Mathias regarded him sceptically for a moment but eventually gave a single firm nod of confirmation. "Good. I expect nothing else. I won't be fetching any of you from the hospital on my days off."

Jack laughed softly because he genuinely believed that Mathias would come to catch them anyway and he'd likely hate every second of it.

Yeah, Mathias wasn't particularly shiny and that suited Jack just fine.