Work Text:
These days are rare. Both Jack and Robby have the day off and none of the kids need to be rushed around to any sports or activities, so they are definitely going to take advantage of this family time. Jack is making everyone’s favorite, lasagna, and they will finally all eat a meal together, which has become rarer as the kids have gotten older.
Robby is sitting at the counter watching Jack effortlessly move around the kitchen, throwing flour down on the counter to make his homemade pasta. Jack catches Robby just watching and says with a slight smirk “Hey, how about instead of ogling me, you make your self useful and cut these vegetables for the salad?” Robby, sighs and starts to get up to grab a bowl, a cutting board and a knife. “Not my fault you look so handsome making dinner”. “I always look handsome” Jack says laughing. To that Robby rolls his eyes.
—————
“Dinner” Robby yells
The twins come running in and scream with excitement when they see the lasagna and salad on the table.
“Alright, alright, inside voices please. I know your dad’s lasagna is good, but it’s not THAT good.” Robby jokes
“Jerk!” Jack says with a glare at Robby. “Did you both wash your hands? You don’t want to end up in the Pitt with a virus because you ate with nasty germy hands.”
“Ugh, dad please. We are 11 now, you have been drilling hand washing into our heads since we were born.” Emery whines
Robby giggles
“Well, sorry for wanting you guys to be healthy?” Jack says with an eye roll
“Beau. Ellie. Let’s go, get down here, it’s dinner” Robby yells up the stairs.
“Abba, do you want me to go get them?” Scottie asks
“That would be great, thanks!”
5 minutes later, Scottie comes running back down the stairs with Beau and Ellie.
“How nice of you to grace us with your presence” Jack says as Beau sits down next to him and Ellie goes to her seat across the table.
“Sorry, I was in the middle of a game. I can’t just pause when I’m about to throw a 70 yard touchdown pass and solidify myself as the number one draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft.”
“Beau, it’s on Xbox. It would have been fine. Also, have you finished writing that English paper on Macbeth or studying for your math test that’s on Monday” Jack replies with a straight face
“That’s an after dinner problem”
Jack gives him a look that says “it better get done”
“Hey, can we just enjoy dinner please.” Robby says as he puts a piece of lasagna on his plate and passes the pan to Emery.
—————
Dinner is going well, lots of laughter and jokes are being made. They are talking about what the kids learned at school, what homework they have, and the upcoming week’s schedule. There’s a calendar on the fridge, but they have found that’s it’s better to let everyone formally know when Robby and Jack are on shift and what activities each kid has on what days. They know they can’t trust that everyone will look at the calendar.
Conversation has started to die down and Jack looks up to the TV that is behind Ellie’s head. “Hey, El, just curious, but why are you wearing a turtleneck when it’s 90 degrees outside?”
“No reason. I haven’t done my laundry yet, so no clean shirts.”
“Mhmm” Jack knows she lying, she has the same tell as Robby, but he doesn’t want to push.
“Family movie night after homework and studying is done? Robby asks”
“Ugh, no. I’m too old for that” Ellie says as her phones dings multiple times
“Uhmm, no you are not. Sorry that we aren’t as cool as your friends. Also, what’s the rule about phones at the table?” Jack says
“Dad, please stop!” Her phone dings again and Beau grabs it
“Oooo, who’s Rhett and why’s he texting you: “you’re free tonight, right?”
“BEAU GIVE ME BACK MY PHONE!!!” Ellie yells as she lunges to grab it. Her shirt rides up a little exposing a thin strip of skin. There is no mistaking the line of bruises that run from her belly button to her hip.
“Ellizabeth Paige Abbot” Jack says so serious that everyone’s heads turn in order to look at him. “What is on your stomach?”
“Dad, stop. You’re being annoying. I don’t need to tell you.”
“No, you are 14 years old, you will answer the questions I ask. Let me see your neck?!? I’m going to go out on a limb and say you wore that turtleneck because you didn’t want your abba and I to see that you have hickeys on your neck too.”
“DAD LEAVE ME ALONE!! I HATE YOU!!!” Ellie says as she goes to quickly leave the dinner table and run off to her room.
“This discussion is not over!” Jack yells back as she pounds up the stairs.
“What’s a hickey?” Scottie asks
“Michael, you better go talk to our daughter before I go up there and say or do something I regret”
“Alright, I’ll go deal with that.” He says pointing over his shoulder. “If you deal with that” he says indicating Scottie’s question.
Jack just nods
——————
Robby knocks on Ellie’s door and waits for her to respond
“Go away! I don’t want to talk.”
Robby cracks the door open and says “Unfortunately pumpkin, not talking isn’t an option. I think you want to talk to me right now, because with how heated your dad is, I don’t think you would get a word in.”
“Fine.” Ellie says with a sigh
Robby takes a seat on her bed and angles his body to look at her. “Alright, first off, was your dad right? Do you have hickeys on your neck and that’s why you’re wearing a turtleneck?”
“Yeah, but why do you guys care what I do? I’m 14, I’m old enough to have a boyfriend or hang out with boys without you knowing.”
“First, we will always want to know. Teenage boys are weird and we are just trying to protect you. When did this happen? Yesterday, when you went out with your friends and your dad asked if any boys would be there and you said no?”
“Yes, but I knew he would freakout and say I couldn’t go, if I said boys would be there”
“Probably, but we would have talked it out and laid out some grounds rules for you. Your dad shouldn’t have yelled at you over dinner, but I think it just took him by surprise. You’re our little girl. We just want to protect you with everything we have. The world is a scary place and as your parents our job is to keep you as safe as possible. I’ll talk to your dad and make sure he is calmer. I can assure you though that he will also want to talk with you. Now that we know you are dating, the 3 of us need to sit down and talk about some stuff. I think you need to apologize for saying you hate him though, that wasn’t very nice.”
“I will apologize, but do we really all need to talk.”
“Yes, 100% we do.”
“Fine.”
“Come finish dinner when you are ready.”
“Can you just bring it up here for me.”
“Nope, you have to talk to him again at some point” Robby stood up and gave her a hug and left.
——————
While that was happening upstairs, Jack was really regretting running his mouth because he was at a loss for words on how to describe what a hickey was to an 11 year old. He decided to go for the most kid friendly version he can and hope there are no follow-up questions.
“Scottie, sometimes when people like each other a lot they kiss. Well, sometimes those kisses leave a bruise like a sticker. The bruise will go away in a few days.”
“Ewwww kissing” Emery whines
“Do you leave hickeys on abba?” Scottie asks
Beau starts dying laughing. “Well dad, you have fun with this, I’m going to go back to my room”
“Thanks dude, you’re a lot of help! Work on your paper.” Jack says rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah” Beau says waving over his shoulder
Jack looks back at the twins and sees Scottie waiting for an answer. Robby and him always try to be as honest as possible, so he decides to go with the truth. “Yeah, peanut, sometimes I leave hickeys on abba.”
The twins start giggling and screaming “EWWWWW”
“Alright you two, since you seem to be done with dinner. How about you go play until it’s time to watch the movie?”
The twins launch out of their seats and sprint into the playroom.
Jack just leans his head back against the chair and looks at the ceiling. He decides that the next time the twins start asking questions, Robby has to answer them.
_________
Once Robby is back at the table, he gives Jack a thumbs up and continues to eat his dinner.
“Where are the kids? Also, how did the talk with Scottie go?”
“Emery and Scottie are off playing some board game together. Beau is back up in his room, where he is suppose to be doing school work, but is definitely back to playing video games. It’s your turn next to answer any questions the twins have because I may or may not have just told our children that I leave hickeys on you when we kiss.”
Robby just laughs as Jack stares at the ceiling.
“You out did yourself today, this lasagna is the best one yet!”
“Thanks, I tried a different recipe for the sauce.”
“Well, whatever you changed, keep doing that because this is delicious” Robby said as he leans in to give Jack a quick and sweet kiss.
Ellie came back down the stairs wearing a t-shirt now that both Robby and Jack knew about her neck and quietly retook her seat at the table, picking at her salad as Robby and Jack watched her and continued with their conversation.
“Mikey, do you need any of your scrubs washed before your shift tomorrow. I was going to throw a load in and thought I would check.”
“Yeah, that would be great, thanks! Maybe check to see if Emery’s uniform is clean for his game tomorrow.”
“Alright, sounds good! Can you handle cleaning up here?”
Robby nodded and Jack went to walk out of the dining room. Before he could get fully out of the room, Ellie quietly said “Dad wait!” With that Jack turned to look at her
“I don’t hate you! I shouldn’t have said that. Can you sit back down for a minute and the three of us can talk?”
“Sure, pumpkin”
Robby and Ellie were both finished with their food so Robby got up to put the dirty dishes into the sink and the leftovers in the fridge before finding his way back to the table where he was not exactly looking forward to having the dating discussion with Ellie and Jack. He could only imagine what the two of them were going to say to each other, both stubborn in their own ways.
“El honey, do you want to start?” Robby asked, he felt it was better for her to start this off since he wasn’t convinced once Jack started talking (more like lecturing) he would ever stop.
“Yeah. Sorry for not telling you both that there would be boys at the hangout last night. I thought you wouldn’t let me go if you knew”
“Hell yeah, we wouldn’t of” Jack said
“Jack, let her talk” Robby said placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Sorry” Jack said with a nod and deep breath
“I really like Rhett and want to date him. Can we talk about that?”
“Of course, your dad and I always want you guys to feel like you can talk to us about anything. There are going to be some rules though. Okay”
“Yeah, whatever you both want.”
“Alright, Rule 1: you are going to share your location with both your dad and I”
“Rule 2: you will not lie about who you are with again.” Jack chimed in
“Rule 3: you are not spending the night at his house.”
“And he sure as hell is not sleeping here or I'll kill him” Jack interjected
“Alright dad. I got it.”
"Rule 4: Curfew is midnight. You need to be back in this house by midnight sharp, not walking in at 12:01."
“Do you think these rules are fair?” Jack asks
“Yes” Ellie replies
“Now time for the stuff we all probably don’t want to talk about” Robby said
Ellie cringed because she knew exactly where this was going
“If you decide to do anything more than kiss him, you need to be safe and use protection. No matter how nice they seem, guys aren’t always truthful about where they have been. Do we need to talk about the different kinds of protection?”
“NOOOOOOO, that’s okay. If I feel like we are going there, I promise to come talk to you both.” Ellie says almost immediately.
“Alright, fine we will leave that discussion for another day, but you have to come talk to us if that starts to happen because you need to go on some form of protection.”
Jack grimaces because that is not a thought he wants to be having when looking at his kid.
“Jack, you have been awfully quiet, is there anything you want to add?”
“Yeah, uhmmm you are allowed to say no Ellie. If you don’t want to kiss him, say no. If you are uncomfortable, say no and leave. Your abba and I will be there ASAP if you need to get out of a situation. Please remember that No, means No. You shouldn’t be pressured into anything. Please be safe! I love you and don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know dad. Soooo, is it not a good time to ask if I can go out with Rhett tonight?”
Jack and Robby laugh
“Sweetie, let’s give your dad some time to wrap his head around you dating. Also, it’s family movie night and you will be participating.” Robby says
“Fine” Ellie says in resignation.
“First thing though is you need to find a way to cover those marks up on your neck. You are not going out in public looking like you had a date with a vacuum.” Jack said
“Dad” Ellie whined
“I’ll ask your Aunt Dana to take you to Sephora or somewhere tomorrow so you can get some make-up, because your dad and I sure as hell don’t know what you need. Plus, I am sure you don’t want to be seen with us.” Robby says as Ellie just nods.
Robby took his phone out of his pocket to text Dana.
Robby: Hey! I know you don’t work tomorrow. Would you be willing to do Jack and I a huge favor.
Dana: Yeah Captain, what do you need?
Robby: Can you take Ellie to Sephora or somewhere to get make-up?
Dana: Uhmm yeah, I will never turn down one-on-one time with any of your sweet kiddos. Can I ask why though?
Robby: Ellie went out with her friends last night and came home with a bunch of souvenirs on her neck and stomach, curtesy of some boy. We saw them during family dinner. Jack has to take Emery to his game tomorrow. Plus, I’m concerned that if he gets reminded about this situation, he will be rolled into the Pitt having a heart attack, and we both know how he is when he is sick. Also, selfishly I’m not ready to be a widower, too young and all.
Dana: Oh god! How did Abbot take that one?
Robby: About as well as expected. He flipped his shit.
Dana: Figures. Let Ellie know I will be there at 1 to pick her up.
Robby: Thank you! You’re the best! We owe you one.
Dana: No problem! Hope you have a good shift, see you on Sunday!
Robby: I’ll try to have a good shift, won’t be the same without you
Dana: Aww, how sweet <3
“Aunt Dana will be here at 1 to pick you up tomorrow” Robby tells Ellie
“Sounds good”
“Alright, El go finish your work before we watch a movie”
“Sounds good dad” Ellie gives both Robby and Jack a hug
Jack goes to do the laundry and Robby cleans up and does the dishes.
________
Once all the kids were in their rooms after the movie, Jack and Robbie headed to go relax in their room, to watch some tv and unwind from the events of the day.
“She’s our little girl and it looks like a vampire sucked on her neck.”
“Jack, stop” Robby said with exasperation in his voice. “You can’t tell me that 14 year old Jack Abbot wasn’t going around leaving his mark on the girls he charmed into liking him.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about. If this kid is anything like I was, I’m worried about our baby girl. I broke a lot of hearts in my day.”
“I’m sure it will be fine Jack. She’s a smart kid”
“I hope so, I’m not ready to be a grandpa yet, you may be an old man, but I’m still young”
“Haha whatever.” Robby said giving him a look
Jack just sighs
“I’m more worried for him. She has so many people that love her, that I know if he ever hurts her, there will be hell to pay”
“Damn right there will be and I’ll be at the front of the line to teach him a lesson” Jack says
“Alright, babe! It’s late and I have shift in the morning and you have Emery’s game.”
Jack snuggled into Robby and gave him a kiss
“Good night, Mikey”
“Good night, Jack”
As Jack falls deep into sleep, he just hopes that he won’t have any nightmares of his little girl getting her heart broken.