Daddy and the Nanny

Of course, things wouldn't turn out okay from the get go, but one could only hope. The morning started out fairly okay. Alex had woken up at seven in the morning and got ready for the day before waking up Taylor and Tyler to get them ready for school. The kids hadn't complained and had actually been nice to Alex, but of course, by the time breakfast arrived, they were back to being rude and annoying.

"Kids, hurry up. The bus is almost here." Alex called as he packed their lunches.

"Morning everyone!" Jack called as he walked in with a tired Dylan resting on his hip. "Kids, I'm taking you to school."

"Morning daddy!" The other two children greeted while Alex simply mumbled a 'morning' as he gave the children their lunch who snatched them out of his hand and ran to get their coats on.

"Ali!" Dylan cried as he stretched his arms over to the man who smiled at the child.

"Morning Dyl." Alex said as he grabbed the child from Jack's grip.

"Ali, you have boo boos." Dylan frowned as he touched the fist sized bruise near Alex's left eye.

"Oh, yeah." Alex laughed nervously though Jack eyed him worriedly.

"That's one nasty bruise. Did you just get it?" Jack asked as he moved Alex's head to the side and removed the fringe to look at the purple and blue reminder of Alex's boyfriend.

"Like three days ago, it doesn't hurt though and I'm okay." Alex lied, remembering the bruises he saw littered across his chest this morning. Some fading and some still as bright as the day he got them.

"Did you get into a fight with someone?"

"Yeah I did. They were making me angry and I punched them, but they fought back." Alex half lied. Yeah Jason did make him mad that day, but he would never hit Jason yet Jason did hit Alex.

"Oh." Jack said, obviously not entirely convinced.

"Daddy, we gotta go." Taylor said impatiently as she glared at Alex.

"Oh right. Alex, I'll be home late, so you're in charge. Grace will help you out if you need any help. Dylan doesn't do much, but if you want to go out, go ahead. You don't have to ask me when these two aren't here." Jack explained.

"Thanks, but is it fine if I take Dylan? I gotta get some things that I left at home."

"Please daddy!" Dylan begged, sticking his bottom lip out and putting his hands together.

"Of course it's fine, but be good to Alex, alright sport?" Jack warned Dylan who nodded and kissed his cheek.

Jack and the other two kids left, leaving the house in silence.

"Want breakfast, kiddo?" Alex asked Dylan as he walked back into the kitchen.

An hour later Alex was strapping Dylan in the backseat of his car. Alex got in and drove off towards his apartment. Dylan was happily chattering away in the backseat while Alex laughed and answered the little boy. Eventually Alex reached his apartment and parked his car in his usual spot before getting Dylan and making their way inside.

"Do you live alone?" Dylan asked as Alex unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Yeah." Alex answered, closing and locking the door. "Wanna take off your coat?"

Dylan nodded and Alex helped him remove his coat. Alex turned on the TV for Dylan while he went into his bedroom to collect another bag of clothes and his guitar. The doorbell rang and Alex sighed as he ran over to open the door.

"What do you want, Jason?" Alex asked angrily as they stepped out into the hall so Dylan wouldn't hear them fighting.

"Where have you been? You fucking left without saying anything. I got home from work three days ago and all of your things were gone and your good for nothing friends won't tell me where you are." Jason growled and Alex rolled his eyes.

"In case me leaving wasn't obvious enough, we are done." Alex spoke, opening the door and stepping inside, quickly locking the door behind him.

"You okay, Ali?" Dylan asked curiously.

"Yeah kiddo. Stay here, I'm going to make a call real quick." Alex told Dylan as he pulled out his phone and dialed Zack's number.

"Hey Lex, what's up?" Zack asked.

"You busy right now?" Alex asked nervously as he paced his bedroom.

"No I just finished the only class I have today. What's up? Are you and the kids okay?"

"I'm at my apartment with Dylan and Jason came. I'm scared he's still out there and will follow me back to Jack's place."

"Did he do anything to you?" Zack questioned his friend as he ran to his car and got in.

"No, he just asked me why I left and where I've been. Could you like, come over?"

"Yeah don't worry, I'm heading over right now. I'll be there in a few minutes." Zack assured the worried blonde.

"Thanks." Alex sighed in relief and hung up, combing his fingers through his messy hair.

"Ali, come watch TV with me." Dylan begged his nanny who nodded and followed the small boy into the living room, both sitting on the couch. "Where your mommy and daddy?"

"They live in a different house with my little brother. He's a bit older than you." Alex told the boy who cuddled into his side.

"Really?"

Alex nodded and soon Zack arrived, unlocking the door with the spare key Alex had given him the moment he moved in.

"Hey, everything okay? I saw him in the parking lot." Zack commented as he sat on Dylan's other side.

"He's still here?" Alex sighed and looked out the window.

"He'll leave soon, it's staring to snow pretty bad. I doubt he'll want to stay out there in case a storm comes."

Alex nodded in defeat and they continued watching TV until Zack went out to check if Jason was gone.

"Alright kids, coast is clear. Dylan, go get your coat bud, we're leaving." Zack told the toddler who nodded and walked off in search off his coat. "Alex, you need to be careful with Jason when you go out. I think you should tell Jack about him."

"I don't want to drag him into my problems Zack. Besides, I'm pretty sure I can handle this. I'm an adult now, right?" Alex told Zack, though he was terrified and wished he was anything but an adult.

"I'm ready!" Dylan yelled as he walked into the living room with his jacket on and pulling his gloves onto his little hands.

"Good job, buddy!" Alex smiled and grabbed his things, leading the other two out of the apartment.

"Will you be fine? I gotta go do some errands." Zack asked his friend, watching as Alex helped Dylan into the car and set his things in the trunk.

"Yeah. I'll drive carefully and call you if anything happens, mommy." Alex smirked at Zack who glared at him.

"Just be careful."

Alex nodded and got into his car after shaking off the snow on his shoes. Dylan fell asleep halfway home and five minutes later Alex pulled up to the house. He got Dylan out and walked up to the porch and rang the doorbell. The door opened seconds later and Grace smiled at Alex, stepping aside to let him in.

"Hello Alex, did you get what you need?" Grace questioned as she watched the man move towards the stairs.

"Yeah, thanks Grace. I'm going to go put Dylan in his room." Alex told the old lady politely and she nodded.

Alex made his way up the stairs and down a hallway before reaching the familiar door with 'Dylan' spelled across it with big bold letters. Walking inside, Alex sighed at the mess but set the sleeping child in his bed and removed his coat, shoes and gloves.

Making his way back downstairs, Alex stepped outside to collect his bag and guitar. The cold air swept through Alex's hair and he shivered as he locked his car and walked back inside the house. Walking up the stairs, Alex walked to his room and set his guitar case in a corner and started to unpack the rest of his things.

"Maybe I should tell Jack." Alex mumbled to himself as he sat down on the bed with a sigh. "No. This is my problem, I should now how to fix this."

"Talking to yourself?" Jack asked from the doorway with an amused and curious expression.

"Damn it! Didn't I tell you to stop doing that?" Alex questioned slightly out of breath after having jumped out of his skin at the sudden intrusion.

"Yeah I know." Jack chuckled, walking inside the room and sitting on the bed.

Alex stood in front of Jack staring at him curiously, arms crossed across his chest as his boss sat there with a stupid grin on his face.

"Need something? Why are you home so early anyways?" Alex asked rudely to which Jack simply rolled his eyes.

"Decided to come home early. I was wondering why the house was so quiet, Grace told me Dylan was taking a nap and that you were in your room. I can never get Dylan to take a nap, you must really do magic or something."

"Sure, why not. I need to tell you something." Alex sighed as he began pacing.

"What about? You're not quitting so soon, are you?" Jack asked worriedly as he stared at the younger male who stopped pacing for a second before shaking his head and kept going.

"It's about- never mind. Actually- fuck. No no no." Alex kept pacing and rambling while Jack sighed and stared at the blonde in amusement.

"Do I have to kiss you to get you to shut up?" Jack questioned.

"W-What?" Alex stuttered out, stopping in his tracks and spinning around to look at Jack with wide eyes and his heart skipping a beat.

"Are you going to tell me or not? Maybe I should ask Zack to see if he knows." Jack said more to himself as he stood up and headed towards the door.

"No! I mean, I'm just not completely sure if I should tell you or not. Zack suggested that I should so you can help me, but it's personal and I'm not even comfortable with telling my own friends." Alex sighed, walking towards the window and rubbing his bare arms up and down as he stared out at the snow covered yard.

"Look, you don't have to tell me right now. Take your time and gather your thoughts, just know that I'll be here if you need to talk to me. And whatever problem you're having, just know that you have my full support." Jack spoke softly as he walked towards the boy and placed his hands on Alex's arms and squeezed them gently.

"Thanks." Alex whispered, turning his head to the side a bit to look at Jack who seemed to be hypnotized by him.

"H-How's the bruise?" Jack stuttered out as he stepped away from Alex who sighed quietly in disappointment.

"Ugly as this morning." Alex joked uneasily and Jack chuckled awkwardly.

"Ali? Hi daddy!" Dylan greeted as he walked into the room.

"Hi buddy." Jack smiled and picked up the child, kissing his cheeks. "Have a nice nap?"

Dylan nodded and Jack walked out of the room, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts.

~~~

Nighttime arrived and all three kids were asleep in their rooms while Alex was in his room talking to Zack on the phone.

"Did you tell him?" His friend asked.

"No, I chickened out. I was going to tell him, I really was! Then I thought about it better and I couldn't. The same way I couldn't tell my parents the real reason why I wanted my apartment back." Alex cried as he laid back on his bed, not realizing that someone was listening to his conversation.

"So what now? You're going to wait until he beats you up again? Or are you going to stop being so stupid and ask for help."

"Stop it. I get it okay? I know I'm stupid. I know people don't really care about me and I know people think that I deserve to be beaten up by Jason for dating him in the first place when I knew he was like that. I don't need to be reminded every day that I'm not good enough and how scared I am of admitting the truth." Alex choked out, feeling his tears roll down his cheeks and Zack sighed. "Just leave me alone for a bit, Zack. I need to think about my problem without you telling me what I'm supposed to do. I'm pretty capable of finding my own solutions."

Alex hung up angrily and wiped away his tears as he sat up and a small knock sounded on his door. Alex frowned a bit before opening it and looked down to find Dylan looking up at him with a small smile.

"What are you doing here kiddo?" Alex asked Dylan after clearing his throat.

"Can't sleep, can I stay here? Daddy's room is too far and the hallway is dark." Dylan spoke.

"Sure kiddo, go right in and get ready. I need to go use the bathroom real quick."

Dylan climbed onto the bed while Alex walked towards the bathroom to splash water on his face. Dylan heard Alex's phone ring and answered it when he saw Zack's picture.

"Hello?" Dylan answered after answering it.

"Dylan? Where's Alex?" Zack asked, shaking his head and instead focusing on what his original plan was.

"In bathroom. You made him cry. I don't like seeing Ali upset, he's too pretty to cry." Dylan said into the phone, frowning down at the comforter.

"I know buddy, don't tell Ali, but I'll go talk to him tomorrow, okay? Sleep good kiddo."

"Night." Dylan hung up and placed the phone on the nightstand just as Alex walked in with a smile.

"Alright, bedtime." Alex called as he got under the covers and tickled Dylan who giggled and laid down on the bed, snuggling close to the older boy.

"Night Ali." Dylan yawned.

"Night buddy."

Alex smiled down at the little boy with a longing expression and eventually settled into a dreamless sleep.