We Can't Run From Fate

It had been a few days since Mr and Mrs Taylor's’ surprise visit and Jack had almost forgotten about it. To him it was just a bit of family drama, something they didn’t need to think about again. But it seemed for Alex that wasn’t quite the case. Jack knew that honestly it had scared Alex, they’d found him and tried to push back into his life again. When he’d needed help over the past four years they’d been nowhere to be seen and he wanted nothing to do with the people, even if Grace was the only link left to their daughter. Meg was gone and Grace was not her. Jack just wanted to do something to make it all go away, Alex had had enough of his plate recently he needed a break.

“What can I do Eliza?” Jack asked, he was leaning over the bar watching her as she took stock.
The question had been bugging him for ages. He knew he needed to do something but the whole couplely romance was still knew to him. He’d thought about asking Rian for advice about there was only so many times Jack could stand to see him proved right.
“About what?” she asked, without looking up from her numbers.
“To give Alex a break from... Well everything.”
“Bring him here, get him pissed and then maybe I can actually meet this guy,” she said.
“He doesn’t really drink…”
“What do you guys talk about?” she asked.
“How much of an ass you are,” Jack teased.
“Okay, okay. Why not take him on holiday? have a nice weekend together,” she suggested.
“I can’t, he can’t afford it and he hates it when I spend a lot of money on him.”
“I need to meet this kid, maybe I can beat some sense into him.”
“El, that’s not helping,” Jack sighed.
“Sorry, then why don’t you have a weekend at home? Give the girl to her grandparents for a couple of days and just relax the two of you.”
“That could work…”
“Have some wine, stay up late, do all that shit.”
“Thanks Eliza, you’re the best,” Jack said, hoping over the bar to give her a hug.
“Glad I could help, now how about you do some actual work?” she asked.

He put the plan into action that weekend. He spoke to Alex’s parents and asked if they’d have Grace for a couple of days, they loved their granddaughter and would do anything for her. Jack could see where Alex got his selflessness from.

Jack brought a bottle of wine before walking back to Alex’s apartment. He wanted to surprise him with a drink, order some food and just to have a nice relaxing evening without having to worry about anything. He was humming to himself as he reached the door, happy to be going back to Alex after a long and slightly mad day at work.
“Honey I’m home!” Jack called as walked in.
“I brought us some wine I thought we could….” Jack stopped mid sentence as he entered the living room and found Alex sobbing on the couch.
“Alex, what’s wrong?”
Jack sat on the couch beside him, wrapping his arms around Alex’s shaking body and letting him cry into his shoulder.
“Baby, what’s happened?” Jack tried to ask again.
Alex’s breath hitched again as he placed a crumpled piece of paper in Jack’s hand. With one arm still tightly wrapped around Alex, Jack read the tear stained letter.

‘Mr Gaskarth.

You are hereby summoned to court on the 12th October on the account of visitation rights over your daughter Grace Amelia Gaskarth. This request has been issued by the maternal grandparents Mr and Mrs Taylor.

Regards,
Maryland Circuit court.’

“Fuck...”
“Th… They want to take her away from me,” Alex sobbed.
“No, no, no one is taking her away. They want to see her, that’s all,” Jack said, pushing Alex’s messy hair away from his face.
“They’re not?” Alex asked, his voice shaking.
“No, they just want the right to see her,” Jack said.
“They can do that?” Alex asked.
“They can try.”
Alex didn’t reply and just cuddled into Jack’s chest, letting the younger hold him and press kisses to his neck.
“I don’t want to go to court, I can’t do this.”
Alex cried again and Jack held him tighter and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
“It’s going to be okay, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Jack cooed
“I’m not worried about me… I just… Don’t want them near my little girl,” Alex said, his breath hitching between words.
“I know baby, we won’t let them. I promise.”
“Can you really promise that?” Alex asked.
Jack looked down at Alex, all tear stained cheeks and red eyes. He’d do anything to see him smile and make things okay, because Alex deserved that.
“I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you or Grace. We’re a family after all.”
Alex cried again but for a whole different reason. When the letter had arrived it felt like someone had ripped a hole in his chest, that someone was trying to take his little girl from his life. Then Jack had arrived and made it okay, just like he always did. Somehow Jack had this magic power to make things better and Alex laid there in Jack’s arms it did feel okay. Because he wasn’t alone anymore, he didn’t have to fight this battle of his own. Alex finally thought he’d figured out how soulmates worked. They brought you to the people you need most, even if you don’t realise it at the time.

Once Alex had calmed down, Jack found himself getting really angry. Not with Alex of course, when you get a letter from the court about your child, you would assume the worst. No but with the fucking Taylors, how could they do this? To try and push their way into Alex and Grace’s life like that. They weren’t there when a boy lost someone he loved and was left all alone with a child, they weren’t Grace was a baby and Alex could barely afford to feed himself, they weren’t the family Grace needed and they had no right to be involved now.
Jack wasn’t going to let them win, he refused to let anything bad happen to the people he loved and he did love them. Because as long with falling in love with Alex, he’d fallen in love with Grace too. Not in the same way of course but he did love her, she was almost like his little girl and he wanted to protect her. They both deserved the world and Jack was going to his damned hardest to give it to them.