Daddy and the Nanny

It was the weekend after Alex had finally finished his classes when Jack decided he wanted to camp out in the backyard. Of course the kids were excited, Alex not so much. He didn’t really like being outside after dark, something about the amount of trees surrounding Jack’s property always creeped him out.

“Do you even have tents?” Alex asked as he followed Jack into the garage they barely ever used because it was filled with unneeded junk and Jack was too lazy to throw things out.

“Yes we do, Lex,” Jack chuckled as he reached a shelf and pulled down three tents.

“Sleeping bags?”

“Babe, we have everything we need for this. Stop worrying, besides, we’ll only be a few feet away from our house.”

“Why does this feel like that episode of Spongebob where him and Patrick camp out in front of their house?” Alex mumbled, letting Jack wrap his arms around his waist and pull him close.

“At least we won’t be getting attacked by a sea-bear,” Jack joked, pecking Alex’s lips.

The garage door opened and Dylan ran out, attaching himself to the couple’s legs and whimpering. Jack and Alex shared a worried look before Jack leaned down to pick up his child who immediately clung to his father.

“What’s wrong, bunny?” Alex asked worriedly as he played with Dylan’s hair.

“Ty said there are monsters outside and they’ll eat me once it’s dark,” Dylan mumbled as he looked at them with wide eyes.

“Kid, there are no monsters outside. Tyler’s just being mean to you, but I can promise you that there are no monsters, okay?” Jack assured the child who nodded but clung to his father anyways.

“Come on, let’s change into our pjs so we can set up the tents,” Alex cooed as he took Dylan from Jack and carried him inside.

Jack watched for a few seconds before turning back around to get his things out. Back in the house, all the kids were changed into their pajamas and Alex was warning Tyler about scaring his younger siblings. Shane simply snickered from his spot on the barstool in the kitchen as his older brother gave Dylan a juice box.

“Are you ready kids?!” Jack shouted as he ran into the kitchen, making everyone jump in the process.

“Aye aye, captain!” The kids shouted back and Alex rolled his eyes, clearly not amused by the amount of Spongebob references during the short amount of time.

“I can’t hear you!”

“Aye aye captain!”

“Ooh!-”

“That’s enough!” Alex shouted, making them all pout. “Let’s just head outside before it starts getting dark.”

“To the backyard!” Jack declared and all the kids ran outside, but Jack stayed back with Alex and pecked his lips. “Why are you so cranky today?”

“Am not cranky,” the younger male pouted, leaning forward until his head was resting on Jack’s shoulder.

“You sure?” Jack teased, squeezing Alex’s hips gently.

“Maybe a little.”

Jack chuckled and rocked them around for a bit until Alex pulled away and smiled at his fiance. Jack ushered Alex outside while he went upstairs to change.

Outside the kids were running around in the yard and running up the slide of their play structure. Alex wanted to say something about them getting hurt, but decided to save his energy when Dylan tripped over his own two feet and fell off the slide, bursting into tears right away. With a tired sigh, Alex made his way over to the child and crouched down to his level.

“What happened, bunny?” Alex cooed gently as he took a look at the child’s arms and legs.

“I-I slipped!" Dylan sobbed, making grabby hands at Alex who picked up the child with a grunt.

"I hope you realize that I'm not going to be picking you up forever," Alex mumbled as he went to go sit on a chair.

Jack came out a few minutes later and got to work on setting up the tents with the kids help. They had three tents set up. One for the couple, one for Taylor and Dylan and the other for Shane and Tyler.

"Maybe next year we can go on an actual camping trip," Jack spoke once they were all sat around the fire pit to keep them warm as the night began to cool.

"Please daddy!" Taylor begged excitedly, her Frozen blanket wrapped around her shoulders tightly.

"We’ll see.”

The night fell upon the family and Jack and Alex helped the kids make s'mores. Both Alex and Dylan were looking around nervously every now and then when they heard a strange noise from somewhere. The fairy lights hanging around the yard weren’t enough to get rid of all of the dark creepy corners.

"Alright Dylan, no more s’mores for you,” Jack spoke sternly as he put the stuff out of the child’s reach.

“But daddy!” Dylan whined.

Alex chuckled and began to strum his guitar lightly as he watched the flames dance around. The kids fell silent, watching Alex and his acoustic. He began to hum lightly before him and Jack harmonized on a song together. Tyler watched curiously as Alex’s fingers grazed the chords lovingly, a simple tune flowing through the wind. He wanted to learn, wanted to feel that freedom that Alex seemed to get everytime he played. The pure look of relaxation was enough to make Tyler crave to learn how to play.

"How many more kids do you want?" Alex asked later that night after they settled in their tents.

"As many as we can have, babe. I've always wanted a big family, but I could settle for two or three more," Jack replied, grabbing Alex's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"You're crazy. Is that why you bought such a big house then?"

"Yeah, also a few years ago May and one of our cousins lived with us for awhile."

Silence settled over the couple, the sounds of the night taking over.

"Hey, Lex?" Jack called out softly, afraid his lover was already asleep.

"Hmm?" Came Alex's sleepy response.

"I want to go visit Jenna's grave tomorrow and I want you to go with me. I want to let go of my past."

"Sure, just tell me when."

~ ~ ~

"Alright kids, be good to Zack and Jessica, we'll be back later," Jack warned the four kids who were getting ready to watch a movie in the living room.

"No worries dad, now go," Tyler told the engaged couple who rolled their eyes before leaving.

"I don't trust them," Jack mumbled.

Alex shook his head with a fond smile as he got in the car. The drive was filled with jokes and laughter until Jack pulled up at the cemetery and they both fell silent. A slight tension was built in the car and Alex looked over at his future husband who was staring straight ahead as he parked the car.

“Ready?” Alex asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Jack smiled and they both got out of the car, heading inside the empty cemetery and walking past rows of tombstones hand in hand.

“Do you visit often?” Alex asked as they stopped in front of a tombstone with semi dried flowers.

“Not as often as I used to. The last I was here was before your started working with us.”

“It’s been over a year, Jack,” Alex gasped, looking down at the ground.

“I know and I feel bad, but I wanted us to be sorted out first before I came back.”

Alex nodded in understanding and stood as he watched Jack kneel down next to Jenna’s grave and run a hand over the cold stone with her name and date. The younger boy smiled softly as he heard Jack talking to Jenna, well in a way.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I’m so tired!” Tyler whined, practically falling on top of Shane who was actually reading a book on floor beside Tyler’s bed.

“Stop being so dramatic and take a nap, kid,” Shane mumbled, not bothering to look up from his book.

“But I don’t want to.”

Shane groaned and placed a bookmark in his book before closing it and glaring at his younger friend who was continued to pace his bedroom floor. Tyler stopped moving when he felt an intense glare on him and he slowly turned around to face Shane who sighed before opening his arms and he blushed before taking a seat next to his best friend.

“Do you want me to knock you out so you can sleep?” Shane grumbled as he hugged Tyler.

“Don’t be mean, Shane.”

Shane chuckled and shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling while both boys sat in silence. Tyler was resting comfortably against his best friend’s side, his eyes already drooping with how tired he was.

“Kids, your dads are home!” Zack yelled from downstairs and immediately Dylan ran past the room shouting excitedly.

“Dylan, daddy said no running down the stairs!” came Taylor’s demanding voice as she too ran off after her baby brother who paid her no mind.

“We should go downstairs,” Shane mumbled as he nudged his friend to get up.

Tyler got up grumbling and latched onto his friend as they left the room and walked downstairs. Jack had Dylan in his arms and Alex was thanking Zack and Jessica, offering them to stay for dinner but the couple declined saying they had plans. They left shortly after and Alex smiled at the two boys, Shane struggling to keep Tyler upright.

“Kid, cooperate with me,” Shane groaned, practically dragging a lifeless Ty over to the others.

“Like I said, you’re rude,” Tyler pouted and moved over to hug Alex who ruffled his child’s hair affectionately.