Daddy and the Nanny

Alex didn't understand why his mom hadn't called him to tell Alex that Shane was missing, but he found out his parents were out of the state and Shane had been walking to his grandparents home after school when he was taken so Alex called his grandma to tell her that Shane was with him even though it was a complete lie and Alex felt like dying from the fear.

It was midnight and Zack had left earlier, trying to get some rest but none of them could actually sleep. Alex had gotten up sometime in the early hours and headed into Ty's room. He sat down on the bed and placed his head in his hands, sighing tiredly. A bit of sunshine peeked in through the window and Alex really wished he could turn it off. The kids were his sunshine and without them he felt like it should be cloudy.

"Can't sleep either?" Jack asked from the doorway and Alex jumped a bit. "Sorry."

"It's fine and no I haven't slept all night." Alex answered, feeling Jack sit down next to him before he lifted his head up. "I just want this nightmare to be over."

"I know. I want my kids back home safe and sound. Running around and being crazy yelling throughout the house." Jack said, looking around Tyler's room.

"Right now I really regret taking this job. This wouldn't have happened if-"

"Stop, Lex. Don't blame yourself for this. I'm glad you took this job. The kids love you so much and I love having you here." Jack spoke softly as he looked at Alex who blushed a bit and managed to give the older man a weak smile.

"I just feel so horrible." Alex whimpered, resting his head on Jack's shoulder.

"Hey shh, it's going to be fine." Jack cooed as he rubbed Alex's back softly. “The police is aware of the situation and they’re looking for them.”

Nine in the morning arrived and both Jack and Alex were in the living room waiting for the call to come. Alex's leg was shaking and he really felt like he was having a panic attack. Jack on the other hand kept glaring at Alex's phone which was resting on the coffee table. Suddenly it started to ring and Alex quickly answered it.

"Morning." Jason greeted in a cheery voice.

"Jason please." Alex begged desperately.

"Alright, I see you aren't in the mood for a conversation. Let's get down to business. I have three children with me and they all have something in common. Alex." Jason smirked.

"What do you want?" Jack asked angrily, holding Alex's hand tightly.

"You know damn well what I want. I want Alex and I want some money. I know both of you are loaded with cash."

"How much." Jack questioned in a cold manner.

"One million. You have until midnight tonight. We'll do the exchange at that one park near the elementary school. Be there early, one minute over twelve and the deal is off."

"Alright. We have a deal."

"Oh and one more thing. The police shows up and you can say goodbye to your kids." And with that Jason hung up.

Alex looked over at Jack who seemed to be lost in his own thought. Alex squeezed Jack's hand to get his attention and sure enough, Jack turned to look at the younger male who had gone a couple of shades paler.

"He wants me." Alex whispered in fear.

"Alex, he won't hurt you. I won't let him take you away. We'll get the police-"

"But Jack he said we shouldn't!"

"Look, I have a plan, but for that I need the police. You trust me right?" Alex nodded as Jack wiped away his tears and Jack gave him a smile. "Good. Let's call the cops."

Alex and Jack sat in Jack's car hours later parked at the park waiting for the clock to hit midnight. A few policemen were hiding in the park waiting for the exchange to happen so they could take action and move in to capture Jason.

The clock struck midnight and both Jack and Alex got out of the car, both holding hands as they waited for Jason’s text message to give them the go. Alex's phone buzzed with a text message and he looked down at it.

"He's here and waiting for us at the playground." Alex told Jack who nodded, grabbed the briefcase with the money and crossed the snow covered grass with Alex still holding his hand tightly.

"Everything will be fine." Jack assured Alex as they neared the play structure where Jason was standing by a swirly slide.

"Glad you guys could make it and with my money I see." Jason smiled.

"Where are they?" Alex asked Jason angrily, a sudden wave of courage going through his body.

"In the slide, but first my money and you my dear."

Alex grabbed the briefcase and walked over to Jason as Jack worked on getting the kids out safely.

Jason smiled at Alex and grabbed the money, opening the case and growling.

"This is fake!" Jason yelled as he threw it across the park. "We'll see how you like living without your precious children." Jason taunted as he headed for where the kids were.

"No! Get the hell away from them!" Alex yelled as he stood between Jason and the children who were hiding behind Jack as he noticed the policemen getting closer.

"You get the hell away from me." Jason growled, punching Alex to the ground.

"Jason, put your hands in the air where we can see them!" One of the police shouted as Jack quickly helped Alex get up and away from Jason who was radiating with anger.

"You're fucking cowards." Jason sneered as the police cuffed him.

Alex simply glared at Jason as he felt his bottom lip throb from the pain. Shane wrapped his arms around his brother and hid his face into Alex's chest. Alex hugged his brother tightly and sighed in relief as he kissed the top of his brother's messy hair. Alex pulled away from the hug and wiped away Shane's tears with his thumbs before hugging the other two children as well.

"We should go home. The kids need to rest." Jack spoke, his arms wrapped around both his kids.

Alex nodded and Shane clung to his brother as they headed towards Jack's car. Alex ended up sitting in the back with the kids since Shane wouldn't let go of his brother. Once at home Jack called his mom while Alex took all three kids upstairs.

“Let’s get you kids ready for bed.” Alex spoke a bit quietly as they walked down the hall.

“I’m gonna go take a shower first.” Ty spoke up with a shaky voice and left without an answer.

“Let’s get you in bed, sweetie. Shay, go wait in my bedroom bud.” Alex told his brother who nodded and left.

Alex took Taylor to her room and undid her bed while she changed in the bathroom. Alex sighed tiredly and smiled at the little girl who climbed into her bed and under her covers.

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked her quietly as he tucked her in and sat down next to her.

“‘M still scared.” Tay whispered as she avoided her nanny’s gaze.

“Well don’t be honey, you’re finally home and no one’s going to get you again.” Alex spoke soothingly as he stroked her hair.

“You promise?” She whimpered, looking up at him with glossy eyes.

“We promise, Taylor.” Jack spoke up from the doorway where he’d heard their conversation. “He’s gone now.” Jack assured her as he sat down on her other side and kissed her forehead.

“Okay.” She smiled softly at them, grabbing her stuffed rabbit and hugging it close.

“Night, princess.” Alex whispered as he too kissed her forehead and walked out of the room with Jack behind him.

"Does it hurt?" Jack asked worriedly as he moved closer until they were inches apart from each other.

"Not much." Alex replied as he placed his index finger on his lip. "This is nothing compared to what he used to do."

“Stop blaming yourself, yeah? It’s not your fault that this happened. Now go with your brother, I’ll go check on Tyler.” Jack told the nanny who smiled at him before leaving.

Alex walked into his room and heard the shower running so he sat down on his bed and waited for his brother to come out. Shortly after Shane walked out fully dressed in pjs and he took a seat on Alex's lap, resting his head on Alex's shoulder.

"Tired?" Alex mumbled as he held his brother tightly, but not tight enough to hurt him.

"Yeah. I didn't sleep last night." Shane responded with a yawn, letting his eyes close for a few seconds before he'd open them back up.

“I can’t believe he hit you so much, Shay.” Alex whispered as he looked down at Shane’s bruise covered arms and face, wondering if there were more bruises under his clothes.

“I don’t want to talk about it now.” Shane whispered sadly.

“Alright, kid. Let's get you in bed." Alex told his younger brother who clung to him as he went to go stand up.

"Will you hold me?" Shane asked his older brother timidly.

"Sure kiddo." Alex smiled and watched as his brother crawled on the bed and got under the covers. "I'll be back."

When Alex returned to his room, Shane was fast asleep and he couldn't help but smile. He got under the covers ready for a nice deserved sleep now that all three of his kids were back.

Meanwhile Jack walked towards Ty’s room, frowning when he saw the light on. Peeking inside, Jack found Ty sitting on his bed playing on his tablet.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Jack asked his son as he stepped into the room and sat down next to him.

"I can't sleep." Ty mumbled, looking back and forth between all of the apps with distaste.

"And why not? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Not really. Well I mean- I don't know." Ty sighed as he turned off his iPad and set it aside.

"Come on sport, talk to me." Jack encouraged his son.

"I feel bad because Shane got hit by Jason. It was my fault because I always talked back to Jason and Shane always defended me and took the hits for Tay and I."

"Well, have you at least said thank you? He was very brave you know."

"I know and no I haven't. It's just, what if he's mad at me?" Tyler asked his dad who smiled at him.

"Hey, I'm sure he's not mad at you. Talk to him in the morning and make sure you tell him."

Ty nodded and smiled at his dad.

"I'm just so glad you kids are home right now." Jack spoke softly, pulling Tyler into his arms and holding him tightly.

"I'm glad to be home again, that was the longest day of my life." Tyler replied as he relaxed into his father's embrace. "Can you stay until I fall asleep?"

"Of course kiddo."

Things were a bit different for the next few days. The kids were jumpy and didn't want to do much, nor go to school. Shane seemed to be the most affected by the situation since he had constant nightmares about Jason and wouldn't let people touch him since he flinched every time someone tried to. Alex was worried about his younger brother and he'd told his parents who had agreed on getting help, but Shane refused to.

"Shay, please. Talking to someone about this will help you out so much. Trust me. I got help and I don't get those nightmares anymore." Alex begged his younger brother one afternoon at Alex's parents house.

"I'm fine, Lex." Shane told his brother, his eyes darting over to Tyler who stood by the doorway staring at his friend sadly. "I don't need help."

Alex sighed tiredly and ran a hand through his hair. Tyler stepped forward and tugged on his nanny's jacket. Alex looked down at the boy and nodded before leaving. Shane had watched the exchange with curious eyes and watched his younger friend close the door before sitting down next to him on the floor.

"Hi." Ty spoke a bit quietly, feeling a bit awkward even though Shane and him had grown as close as brothers.

"Hey." Shane responded, looking down at the ground. "Are you going to try and get me to go as well? If you are it's not going to work, Ty."

"I-I'm not. I just never got to say thank you." Tyler stuttered.

Shane looked at his friend with confusion, but then his lips formed the shape of an o as he realized what Ty was referring to. Shane shrugged as he looked away from Tyler's green eyes.

"I'm sorry." Tyler whispered quickly.

"For what? You haven't done anything bad."

"For letting Jason hit you all the time. You didn't have to take every single hit for my sister and I."

"As the oldest, I felt like I had to protect you guys from him. I thought of it as protecting my younger siblings from the monster. I've always wanted to be a big brother and protect my younger brother or sister from something like Alex does, but since I don't have younger siblings, I at least got to know what it's like." Shane spoke, feeling his cheeks burn a bit in embarrassment at his rambling.

"And I've always wanted an older brother to protect me from monsters." Ty spoke shyly as he hid his face by looking down.

Shane smiled and tackled the younger boy into a hug. Ty gasped in shock but then laughed as he felt Shane's fingers tickling his sides. Shane joined Ty in laughing as he kept his assault going for a few more minutes before laughing too hard to be able to continue. The laughter died down as they laid on their backs staring at the ceiling covered in glow in the dark stars.

"Brothers forever?" Shane asked hopefully as he looked at Ty who smiled brightly.

"Brothers forever." Tyler agreed.

"Ty, we gotta go bud." Alex spoke awhile later as he peeked into the room.

"Okay." Ty smiled as him and Shane sat up. "I gotta go. I'll see you around, Shay."

"Alright kid." Shane smiled as they both stood up. "I'll see you around."

Tyler nodded and hugged Shane again.

"Thank you, again." Tyler whispered, placing a soft kiss to Shane's right cheek before leaving.

Shane smiled softly as he watched his friend leave.