TEARS IN HEAVEN
Chapter Eight
"Daddy!" was the first thing Jack
heard when the door opened. He looked down to see a child run towards him and
latch onto his left leg. Trying his hardest to contain his emotions, he bent
over and pick the kid up and hugged him tightly, hardly able to believe this
was Josh. Last time he had seen him, he had been a baby. Now he was a little
person, with his own personality. "I love you, daddy." Josh declared,
burying his head in Jacks neck.
Jack felt his heart crack. "I love you,
too, Josh."
With those words spoken, the room came alive.
Everyone gathered together it seemed, and embraced the newly reunited Dawson
family at once. Almost all of them, anyway. Breaking away from the throngs of
people, Jack looked around for the two children he fathered but not yet met.
Rose caught his gaze. "I'll go get them."
Jack nodded and smiled as his friends
embraced him again. After a few minutes, Rose reappeared with a child balanced
on each hip. Both had his features, his blonde hair and blue eyes, but had
their mothers curls. With Josh still in his arms, Jack slowly approached them,
glancing up at Rose, who smiled and nodded. Gently, she placed them on the
floor and he knelt down in front of them.
"Hi there."
Colin hid his face in his mothers leg, but
Janelle looked at him with big curious eyes. She removed her thumb from her
mouth and smiled brightly. Jack returned the smile. "Are you my
Daddy?" she asked.
"Of course he is, you dummy head!"
Josh exclaimed.
Rose gave him a look. "Don't call your
sister names, Josh."
Josh looked from her to Jack.
"Sorry."
"Are you?" Janelle demanded, having
ignored her brother.
Jack smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm your
Daddy."
That made her smile grow larger and she threw
her arms around his neck. "Love you, Daddy."
Jack looked surprised at her instant
acceptation of him, but hugged her back. "Love you, too."
When she pulled away, she stuck her thumb
back in her mouth and trotted off to see her grandmother. Jack was about to say
something when suddenly Colin tapped him on the shoulder.
"Are you sure you're our Daddy?"
Chuckling, he nodded. "Yes, I'm
sure."
Colin smiled. "You come make Mommy not
sad no more? Make her not cry?"
Jack shot a look at Rose, who was biting her
lower lip nervously. She gave him a small smile and shrugged. Turning his
attention back to his son, he smiled. "Yes, I come to make Mom happy. I
won't let her cry anymore."
Colin hugged him. "Yay! I don't like
when she cry."
"Neither do I. We'll just have to make
sure she smiles all the time, won't we?"
The toddler nodded happily.
*****
"Well, we're going to leave you two
alone. I'm sure you want to get rid of us." Ruth announced. "I'll
come by tomorrow morning and have the kids spend the night at my house. You
deserve time by yourselves."
Jack smiled and embraced his mother-in-law.
"Thanks, Ruth. That means a lot to us."
"Think nothing of it. I'm just glad
you're home."
"Me, too."
Everyone gather around and said their
good-byes and once they were gone, Rose collapsed on the couch. Jack sat down
next to her. "So...my lovely wife, do those kids of ours take naps?"
Rose broke into a sly grin. "Yes, they
do. And I know what you're thinking, but you'll have to wait."
Jack pretended to pout. "Wait? I don't
wanna."
Kissing him, Rose continued to smile. "I
know its difficult. But I want tonight to be special. Our first time together
in two years shouldn't be rushed in an hours time. You know that's not going to
be nearly enough time."
Jack kissed her, chuckling. "Touché, my
dear. All right, tonight then. You might want to nap with the kids. Its going
to be a rather long night."
Rose met his eyes, her emeralds sparkling
with desire. "I hope so."
*****
For the first time in a long time, dinner
went smoothly. All of the kids were on their best behavior and Rose and Jack
were in heaven, having been brought back together. Jack got the kids into their
pajamas and read them their bedtime stories, by demand of all three of them,
while Rose cleaned up the kitchen. Once she was done, she joined Jack in the
twins room.
"They're still in cribs?" Jack
questioned.
Rose shrugged. "For now. I figured it
was better to wait until they were a bit older."
Jack nodded and kissed each child on the
head. "Night, Colin. Night, Janelle. I love you."
The twins echoed him and then Rose said her
goodnights. Together, they went into Josh's room and did the same. After he was
snuggled in and asleep, Jack pulled Rose to him and nuzzled her neck. "Are
you ready for bed, Rosie?"
"Mmm...come on," Rose murmured,
pulling him into their room.