Daddy and the Nanny

"Thank you so much for fixing my hair, Cass, you're a life saver." Alex told his friend who smiled.

"No problem, Lex. Terrible kids then." Cassadee smiled as she applied the hair dye in the missing spots.

"Oh yeah. They probably want me to quit or something. I'm just so glad their aunt May took them out." Alex sighed tiredly, making Cassadee laugh as she finished with his hair.

"So what else have they done to you besides dying your hair?"

"Filled a water balloon with chocolate syrup. They're evil brats." Alex glared at the mirror, remembering the brown stuff all over his hair.

"They can't be that bad." Cassadee said simply which caused Alex to laugh.

Sunday arrived and with it a whole new wave of pranks which almost ended with Alex crying in frustration. Luckily for the now pink haired boy, Zack arrived to save the day.

"Thank God you're here! I can't take it, Zack!" Alex yelled, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

"What's going on here?" Zack asked worriedly as he stepped inside the house, letting Alex latch onto his arm.

"Do you see this?!" Alex yelled angrily as he took his beanie off and pointed at his hair.

"Whoa."

"Yeah, those children replaced my shampoo with pink hair dye and keep squirting me with water and soda and they're rude. Worse than me and that's saying something because I can be pretty damn rude." Alex rambled on as he tended to do when he was upset.

"Oh Alex!" Taylor yelled and ran in with her water gun filled with maple syrup now. "Gotcha!" She yelled without seeing Zack and started shooting.

"Taylor!" Zack yelled angrily as he too was shot with syrup.

"Oops. Ty! Abort mission!" Taylor yelled as she retreated.

"You guys are in so much trouble!" Zack yelled as he ran off in the direction Tay had ran off in.

"Alex, Jack's on the phone and wants to talk to you." Grace said as she walked towards the sticky male.

"Thank you, Grace." Alex said in a shaky voice as he grabbed the phone. "Hello."

"Afternoon Alex, how's everything around there?" Jack asked.

"They're kids you know and kids usually behave badly, but this is so not what I signed up for, Jake." Alex spoke angrily.

"Uh it's Jack and what do you mean? You're not quitting on me, right?"

"I really really want to, but I'm not going to because I'm not going to let a bunch of children win this war."

"Alex, what the hell is going on?" Jack asked nervously and just then Ty ran in screaming and shooting marshmallows at Alex.

"Tyler!" Alex yelled as the tiny marshmallows stuck to his already sticky body.

"You will never win Alexander the loser!" Tyler yelled once more before disappearing.

Alex hung up and ran after Tyler, slipping and sliding on the floor as he avoided the random puddle of water. Eventually Alex did slip on a random toy car that was laying on the ground and fell flat on his back, his head hitting the ground harshly. He groaned in pain as dark spots filled his vision momentarily.

"Oh my! Alex, sweetheart, are you okay? Zack!" Grace shouted as she knelt down by Alex who seemed to be dazed by the impact. "Honey, can you hear me?"

"Grace, what happened?" Zack asked as he ran in and knelt down beside Grace who was holding Alex's tattooed hand.

"He slipped on that car and hit his head." Grace explained.

"Lex, are you okay?" Zack asked as he tapped Alex's left cheek.

"Not really." Alex mumbled, moving his free hand to his head.

"Want me to call an ambulance?" Grace offered.

"No no! I'll be fine." Alex replied quickly, sitting up carefully with Zack's help.

"Alex, don't lie to us. Are you sure you're okay?" Zack questioned his friend as he helped him to his feet, keeping a tight grip on his arm.

"I'm fine, Zack, just a headache.

"I'm home!" Jack yelled as he stepped inside, stopping in his tracks when he saw Grace and Zack crowding around Alex while the kids were nowhere in sight. "What's going on?"

"Well aren't you home early." Alex grumbled moodily as he let Zack take him towards the stairs.

"Alex slipped on a toy and hit his head." Zack answered Jack's forgotten question.

"Is he okay?" Jack frowned worriedly as he saw the way Alex swayed a bit.

"He is fine. He just needs to take a shower, get some rest and stop talking in third person because Alex is most definitely going crazy." Alex said, earning a laugh from Zack which settled Jack's nerves.

"Alright. Just take the rest of the day off. I'll have the kids not bother you."

"Thanks, Alex appreciates it." Alex whispered.

"Ty, we are so dead this time." Taylor whispered as her and her brother peeked around the corner, spying on the scene.

"I know, I think we went too far." Tyler whispered back as he bit his bottom lip.

"But he still has to go." Taylor spoke stubbornly.

"Well duh, Tay. We don't want or need a nanny, we need our daddy."

Both kids left the room quickly no longer wanting to hear what their father and other adults were saying.

After a nice long shower, Alex was in his room and under the covers trying to get some sleep but he could clearly hear the kids running around in the hallway while Jack tried talking to them and telling them to be quiet. Eventually Dylan walked in, took off his shoes and climbed onto the bed and got under the covers with Alex.

"You okay Ali?" The toddler asked as he felt the older boy's arms go around him.

"No, my head hurts, but you can make it go away." Alex smiled down at the child who looked at him with wide eyes.

"Really? How?!"

"I want kisses." Alex said as he pointed at his cheek.

Dylan smiled and kissed Alex's cheek a few times, giggling as he did so. Alex chuckled and settled back with Dylan still wrapped in his arms as the tiny boy settled into his chest.

Jack was looking for Dylan, after scolding his kids, and as he walked down the hall, he noticed Alex's bedroom door wide open and peeked inside, smiling when he saw both Alex and Dylan sound asleep. Jack sighed longingly and closed the door quietly just as Grace stopped to stand in front of him.

"You like him, don't you?" Grace asked with a smile, the wrinkles by her eyes crinkling as she did so.

"Of course I like him. He's done a good job at this being a nanny thing even though I knew he didn't like kids and was lying to me." Jack answered, trying to evade the real question.

"You know that's not what I meant. You like him as in you have a crush on him."

"It's hard not to, Grace," Jack spoke as him and Grace walked down the hall. "He's cute, strong despite everything the kids have done and he cares a lot about them even if they can't or don't want to see it. After Jenna died, I never thought I'd have a crush on anyone else. Especially not a guy, but Alex is an exception."

"If I were you, I'd go for it. I know Alex likes you too, maybe he just doesn't want to admit it to himself because he thinks it's wrong to have a crush on his boss." Grace spoke wisely.

"Its just that the kids don't like him and-"

"Stop. The kids aren't going to date him Jack, you are. And don't be afraid to love someone else, Jenna would want you to." And with that being said, Grace walked away with a smile on her face.

The next morning Alex was up and ready early in the morning. Dylan was still in his bed sleeping and Alex smiled before making his way out of the room and down the hall to Tay and Ty's room.

"Nice shirt." Tyler commented as he walked past Alex.

"Thanks, kid." Alex mumbled as he looked down at his Green Day shirt.

Breakfast was a calm subject with neither of the two troublemakers making a rude remark towards Alex. Jack was impressed by how his children were behaving this morning, but then again he noticed how tired the kids looked.

"Kids, bus is here." Alex called from the doorway and they walked over to him slowly.

"We're sorry about yesterday." Taylor spoke, looking up at him.

"It's fine kids, no damage done now go before you're late." Alex told them with a soft smile.

"Doesn't mean we're going to stop pranking you all together or liking you." Tyler warned as he pulled his gloves on and followed his sister out the door.

"Didn't think so." Alex mumbled as he closed the door.

"Ali." Dylan whined tiredly as he trudged down the stairs, opening his arms as he stopped on the fourth step.

"Morning bud." Alex smiled as he lifted the boy into his arms, setting him on his hip as he walked towards the kitchen where Jack and Grace had been talking.

"Morning daddy!" Dylan greeted his father. "Hi Grace."

"Morning kiddo." Jack smiled and took the toddler from Alex's hold.

"Hello Dylan." Grace smiled and walked out of the room, dragging Alex with her. "Let's talk, Alex."

"About what?" Alex questioned as they walked up the stairs.

"About Jack."

"What about Jack?" Alex asked confused as they entered Taylor's messy room.

"I've seen the way you sometimes look at him. I can tell you're falling hard for him." Grace spoke as she moved over to make the messy bed.

"I know and I don't want to." Alex spoke sincerely as he picked up the toys and put them back in place.

"Why not? Jack's a great guy, but if it's because of the kids-"

"It's not because of them, I mean I don't mind at all if I ever married a guy that already has kids. It's just my current partner he won't- he's-"

"Abusive? Verbally or physically?"

"Both. I don't want him or the kids to get hurt. Jason's obsessed with me and it took me almost a whole year to realize it. We were in high school when I met him and from the start he'd always try to be my partner in class, sit with me at lunch and even offered to take me home.

"We started dating near the end of my sophomore year in college and before I could even start my junior year he had me drop out and I obeyed him because by then I was terrified of him. Basically me being here is thanks to Zack who wanted to get me away from Jason, but I'm still scared." Alex spoke as he looked at Grace who smiled gently at him, something his own mother ever did to him.

"Don't be afraid Alex, I know Jack and I know him so well that he's going to do anything to make sure that you're safe."

"I'm just scared in general, Grace. Scared of falling in love."

"Well don't be honey. Love is a beautiful thing and I'm sure that once you find it, you'll know it."

Alex smiled at Grace who walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. Alex's eyes widened a bit in surprise but he still hugged back and relaxed into her touch.

"Thanks."

Later that night, Alex couldn't sleep and was down in the kitchen making some tea when Jack walked in.

"Can't sleep either?" Jack asked the younger boy who shook his head. "Something on your mind?"

"A lot of things really." Alex chuckled lightly as he cradled the cup in his hands.

"Mind if I join you?" Jack asked as he gestured to the barstool next to Alex's.

"Go ahead." Alex shrugged, though his heart skipped a beat at the thought of having the man he liked so close to him.

Jack made himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Alex, both sitting in silence for a bit. The clock on the kitchen wall ticked every second, irking Alex further.

"You've been working here for a whole week and I don't really know much about you." Jack spoke up exactly five minutes later.

"Well what do you want to know?" Alex asked.

"Tell me about your family. Do your parents live here? Are you an only child or what?"

"Yeah my parents live here. We moved to America when I was pretty young so I don't really remember much of my old home in the U.K." Alex said, making Jack's eyes widen slightly. "And I have a younger brother who's nine, but we don't get along with each other."

They talked for around an hour, getting past the awkward small talk and getting into a more comfortable conversation that lead to laughs and jokes. Jack was really glad he could make Alex smile and hear the beautiful boy laugh.

"Wow, it's late." Alex laughed as he looked at the clock that read 1:04am.

"Yeah it is. Time sure does fly when you're spending it with someone special." Jack spoke, removing Alex's pink fringe away from his face gently. "Mind if I walk you to your room?"

"No." Alex smiled as him and Jack stood up, putting their cups in the sink before heading for the stairs.

Jack held Alex's hand as they continued their conversation in a whisper as they walked past the children's rooms. Alex leaned against his closed bedroom door and smiled up at Jack who smiled back.

"Thanks for keeping me company and for the conversations." Alex spoke a bit timidly as Jack traced his facial features with his curious eyes.

"Anytime, Lex. Have a good sleep and I'll see you later in the morning." Jack said as he leaned down and kissed Alex's cheek before disappearing down the dimly lit hallway.

Alex stood there for a few more minutes until his brain managed to start functioning properly and he moved inside his room, sighing happily as he closed the door behind him.