The Challenge He'd Been Waiting For

Jack entered the dark bus and went straight for the bunk area. After his horrid date, the first face he wanted to see was Alex's. Even though he knew his boyfriend didn't approve of the situation, he knew he could still make him feel better. He brushed back the curtain, expecting to see an adorable sleeping form, but was met by a messy empty bunk.

He headed for the back area of the bus, but no one was there either. With a simple turn on his heel, Jack was back in by the bunks. He pulled back Matt's curtain and poked him, knowing that he had to keep track of where everyone was, but he didn't wake. The lanky boy pulled his manager's stuffed Mickey out from under his arms and started to hit him with it. Flyzik grabbed the toy he cherished and let out a long sigh.

"Looking for your lover?"

"Indeed."

"He and Kara went out to a local club. She was saying something about helping Alex get out of his bad mood, and that she needed to get away too. They said they'd be back by two am. Alright? I'm going back to sleep now."

"Do you know-"

"I said I'm going back to sleep," the manager said through clenched teeth as he pulled his curtain forwards again.

Jack rolled his eyes and walked over to his boyfriend's bunk. He removed all of his clothing but his boxers, and climbed onto the bed. He knew that even if they couldn't talk, the cuddling would make him feel better.

~x~

Alex was sitting contently on the bus' couch, leaning against Jack's side when his phone went off. He pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at the number in confusion. He showed his boyfriend the phone, to see if he knew the number and Jack made a face.

"You should answer it."

"Do you know who it is? I don't need anymore interviewers' calls right now, I'm not in the mood to be poked at."

"It's Mia's number, it's probably Alexis."

The father swallowed, he didn't really know how to talk to his daughter yet. But that wasn't really what he was fearing, in the back of his mind every single day, he was afraid to get a call that she was already in critical condition.

Alex flipped the phone open, "Hello?"

"Your daddy answered 'Lexis, say hi to him," he could hear Mia talking softly as the phone was being transferred to the young one's ears.

"Daddy?"

"Hi baby, is everything alright?"

Jack smiled at how his boyfriend's voice changed, a childish yet concerned tone over took his usual playfully serious one.

"I'm okay. When are you coming home?"

"As soon as I get done working."

"I miss you and Jack, Aunty Mia says we'll have a lot of fun when you get home."

"We will," he paused, looking at the anxious expression on his boyfriend's face, "do you want to talk to Jack?"

"Yes!"

Alex handed the phone over and got off the couch, running a hand over his face. He hated that he had expected the worst, when all little Alexis wanted was to talk to them. He grabbed a water bottle out of the small fridge and turned around to see Jack's grin as he talked to the little girl. He was happy that his boyfriend wasn't disapproving over the whole situation, which caused him to feel a bad about judging Jack over the whole Cassadee thing. He took the phone back as he sat down.

"I have to go," she said sadly.

"Awe, what are you going to do Alexis?"

"Sesame Street is on!" her little voice chimed, "Come home soon."

"Bye, honey."

"Bye, daddy."

Alex shut the phone and closed his fist over it as he pressed it against his forehead. He leaned against his boyfriend again and let out a shallow sigh. Jack ran his hand up and down the singer's arm in attempt to calm him down or show him that he was there for him.

"When we get home, we'll set the spare bedroom up for her. We'll spend every waking hour with her, okay?"

"I just hate that Maria took forever to tell me. I would have never known if Alexis wasn't sick, not that I'm grateful for the illness, but... I don't know."

"Everything will be fine, I promise."

"You don't know that Jack, how can you promise me that?"

"Because I'll do everything in my power to make things alright," he pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Alex, "I started doing some research about doctors, I was trying to get a hold of the Baltimore hospital this morning, but Matt was yelling at me to shut up."

"What is this a list of?"

"The best doctors within a two hour radius of Maryland, according to the Internet. I want to talk to the hospital's specialists though, you can't always trust everything online."

Alex pulled his boyfriend in and gave him a long kiss, "I love you so much."

"That's the reason why I'm doing this for you."

He smiled.

"I was thinking," Jack whispered as he ran his thumb over the other boy's cheek, "I should probably break this whole thing off with Cass. I know it probably isn't making your life any easier."

"You're doing it with the best intentions, and I'm not going to influence you. As long as you don't seriously fall for her, I'm okay with it."

"I'm not."

Alex arched a brow.

"I really can't stand her alone, when other people are around she's alright... But I wanted to pull my hair out when we were at the restaurant. I'm calling things off."

"What about the media?"

"I'll just say she wasn't what I was looking for, unless you're ready for us to come out."

"If it's okay with you, I want to wait. The magazines are already having a ball with Alexis, I don't need anymore right now."

Jack smiled, "It's fine by me."

The boys set their eyes back on the television, trying to enjoy the rest of the road trip to the next set date. They only had a few more weeks left until they were home, out of the eyes of fans and reporters. Where they could be together freely, and this time, Alexis would be with them.