Fix Me, Fix You

When Jesse entered Coop and Linda's kitchen on Saturday morning, he was overwhelmed with the smell of bacon, sound of laughter, and feeling of family. Coop sat in his usual spot at the head of the table, reading the newspaper, while Linda pulled a pan of something hot from the oven. Jolie was pouring juice for Lucy and Lia, who sat across from each other in their usual spots.

The Quinn family had breakfast together on the weekends since it was the only time Coop and Jesse weren't out in the shop early and the girls weren't rushing off to school. But this was the first time Jesse was experiencing a full family breakfast.

Jolie was the first one to notice him when he walked in. She smiled at him sweetly as she always did, considering she couldn't help but smile any time she was near him. Especially when he donned adorably sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, Jesse!" Lia called. He loved how she always greeted him so happily.

Lucy whipped her head around to look at him, which he considered her way of greeting him.

"Morning, son," Coop said as he glanced over the top of his newspaper.

"Morning, everyone," Jesse replied with a smile.

"Oh, you're just in time!" Linda called as she placed a plate full of food onto the table. "Have a seat next to Lia, hon."

"Do you need help with anything?" He wondered, not feeling comfortable with letting them wait on him after all they've done for him already.

"We've got it, dear, just have a seat and relax," Linda assured him.

He did as she said, sitting next to Lia as Jolie poured orange juice into the glass in front of him.

"Thanks," he said to her.

She smiled again and continued pouring juice into everyone's glasses. Linda continued shuffling around in the kitchen, placing a plate full of eggs, a plate full of biscuits, and a plate full of bacon in the middle of the table for everyone to fix their own plates from.

Once everything was set up and laid out, Linda took her seat at the head of the table opposite from Coop, and Jolie sat next to Lucy, opposite of Jesse.

"Look, our table is complete now!" Lia exclaimed happily, looking at the full chairs. It was the chair next to hers that was usually empty. It was now occupied by Jesse.

"It is," Jolie agreed, smiling at her.

"Lia, honey, do you want to say grace for us?" Linda asked.

Lia nodded enthusiastically.

"Great, let's bow our heads," Linda instructed.

Jesse watched as everyone shut their eyes and bowed their heads, clasping their hands together. His family wasn't religious, they never went to church or said grace or even talked about God or religion, so the gesture caught him a little off guard. But he lowered his head and clutched his hands together, respecting their family tradition.

"Thank you, God, for this yummy breakfast made by my Grandma Lin," Lia started in her cutesy voice. "Thank you for our family and friends and our health."

Jolie smirked to herself, adoring how her niece was imitating the prayers that she heard the adults say before.

"Bless the food that we're about to eat," Lia continued. "And bless Grandma Lin, and bless Grandpa Coop, and bless Lucy, and bless Aunt Jo... And bless Jesse."

Jesse's eyes opened and he glanced over at Lia, who was continuing to recite her grace with her head down, her eyes shut, and her hands together. He could've cried - no, sobbed - at the little girl's genuine blessing. Even the young Quinn made him feel like part of the family. To Jesse, nothing's more sincere than the kindness of a child. He knew her words came straight from her heart.

No one had ever made him feel so loved and cared for before.

Jolie glanced up at Jesse slightly and noticed the affected look on his face. She could tell Lia's sweet, innocent blessing had made an impression on him. He looked so overcome with emotion.

As Lia's prayer came to an end, Jesse closed his eyes and bowed his head again, mostly trying to avoid tearing up.

"Amen," Lia said, ending her prayer.

Everyone lifted their heads and made the sign of the cross. Jesse followed suit, copying their habitual movements.

"That was beautiful, Lia," Jolie complimented.

"Thank you," the little girl replied.

Jesse remained speechless as everyone began eating. How had he lived his entire life without experiencing this kind of love and treatment? How did he almost pass up living this life?

~

A loud fit of laughter came from the living room as Jolie and Linda cleaned up and washed dishes after breakfast. With a dish in one hand and a towel in the other, Jolie glanced around the corner to spy on whatever was going on in the living room.

She saw Jesse sitting on the couch next to Lucy. Lia was standing up in front of them, giggling.

"That's an easy word!" Lia teased with her hands on her hips, having the sass of a teenager much too early for Jolie's liking.

"So spell it then!" Jesse encouraged.

Jolie watched slyly from the side of the room as she dried off the dish in her hand.

"Cat. C-A-T. Cat," Lia recited in true spelling bee fashion.

Jesse leaned forward quickly, reaching out and tickling Lia's ribs. "Nice job!"

She giggled wildly. "That one was easy. Give me a big word!"

"Alright," Jesse agreed as he sat back. He looked down at Lucy, almost as if he were looking to her for help. "I don't know any big words to give her."

Lucy stared back at him.

"Hmm," he murmured as he looked at Lucy then back at Lia. "How about...sister?"

"Okay," Lia agreed, placing her hands back on her hips. "Sister. S-I-S-T-E-R. Sister."

Jesse's eyes grew wide in an overly shocked manner.

"What?" Lia wondered with a chuckle.

"You're the smartest woman alive!" Jesse replied as he jumped up quickly, pulling Lia into his arms, tickling her again.

The little girl burst into a fit of laughter again. He let go of Lia, who was catching her breath from laughing so hard, and turned to Lucy.

"Your turn?" He asked as he slowly reached forward, scrunching his fingers repeatedly in an attempt to pretend to tickle her.

A small, hesitant smile spread across Lucy's lips.

"Yo, is that a smile?" Jesse wondered with a happy face. "Well now I gotta tickle you!" He scrunched his fingers gently along her sides, not wanting to make the emotionally unstable child feel too pressured to laugh or talk.

Lucy's smile grew wider, which caused Jolie's heart to grow bigger. Whether he was trying to or not, Jesse was winning her over. Big time.

"Well isn't that the most adorable thing you've ever seen?" Linda wondered.

Jolie looked over her shoulder to see her mother watching the events in the living room as well.

"She's smiling at him," Jolie pointed out, still surprised at the fact.

"I know. He's great with the girls," Linda commented before she went back to the sink to finish cleaning the dishes.

As Jolie joined her to finish drying the dishes, she knew her mother was right. It was such a beautiful thing to watch blossom. It was now the most important requirement for her future relationships. Sure, she knew she had to date guys who treated her well and respected her and loved her for who she was, yadda yadda, but the most important factor was how well he treated and respected and loved Lia and Lucy. They were number one now. And Jesse had already surpassed that requirement with flying colors.

"Lia, did you pick up the Legos you were playing with earlier?" Jolie wondered when she walked back into the living room.

Lia was still reciting her spelling bee words in front of Jesse and Lucy.

"Um, no ma'am," Lia replied, making a point to work on her manners.

"Well go on upstairs and pick them up before someone steps or trips on them," Jolie instructed.

The little girl frowned. "But Aunt Jooo."

"Lia," Jolie said sternly.

"But we're practicing my spelling words!"

"Hey," Jesse interjected softly as he leaned forward to the little girl. "Listen to what your Aunt Jo says, okay? We'll finish your spelling words when you get done."

Lia pouted but sighed. "Fine."

"Thank you," Jolie called after her as the little girl plodded upstairs. She turned to Jesse and said, "You're good."

He smirked at her sweetly as he settled back against the couch.

Jolie walked back into the kitchen and to the hallway where she retrieved a batch of clothes from the dryer. She tossed them into the laundry basket and walked back toward the living room but paused when she heard Jesse's soft voice.

"My favorite ninja turtle is Raphael. He wears the red mask. That's my favorite color."

Jolie peeked around the corner again to see Jesse leaning toward Lucy, talking to her with his arm draped across the back of the couch behind her while they watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the TV. It was Lucy's favorite show.

"This must be a new episode," Jesse said to Lucy, continuing to talk to her despite the fact that she wasn't responding. "I don't think I've seen this one before."

"What are you spying on now?" Linda wondered as she walked up behind Jolie.

"Shh," Jolie whispered as she nodded toward the two on the couch.

"I used to watch this show a lot when I was younger," he told Lucy. "It was my favorite show. I dressed up like Raphael for Halloween like four years in a row."

The little girl glanced up at him for a moment then back at the TV.

"What a sweet boy," Linda said quietly, adoring the way he treated her granddaughters.

Jolie nodded in agreement. She could tell her mother loved Jesse and appreciated him just as much as she did. She knew she would approve of the way her daughter felt about him, but she wondered if her father would.

~

The stars were shining brightly around the moon as Jolie sat on the steps of her parents' porch. Steam rose from the yellow mug that rested in her hand. The girls had fallen asleep in "their" room in Coop and Linda's house about an hour ago, which gave Jolie much-needed time alone.

The girls brought so much joy into her life - they always had - but she was still adjusting to parenthood. Sometimes it overwhelmed her, and by the end of the day, all she wanted was to be alone with her thoughts. But sometimes her thoughts were what overwhelmed her.

Would she be a good mom? Would she be a good mom and a good dad? Or would the girls be better off adopted by an actual family - by two real parents? What would her brother and sister-in-law want? In their will, they had specified next of kin to take over their roles as parents if anything happened to them, but would they have specifically picked Jolie?

In six months, if all goes as planned, Jolie will be able to officially adopt the girls. She wanted to, and she figured they were better off with their real family, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder.

A noise from the shop disrupted her thoughts and drew her attention. She looked over to find Jesse sawing a large piece of wood. His jeans hung loosely on his hips, and he wore a white t-shirt, damp from sweat, on his torso.

Something about seeing a man looking rough and doing manual labor made Jolie's heart race. The way his forehead glistened from sweat. The way his muscles tightened as he pushed the saw back and forth against the piece. The way he grunted at the force it took. It turned her on immensely.

A tingling sensation trickled downward from the pit of Jolie's stomach. Lower and lower and...

"The boy never stops."

Jolie whipped her head around quickly to see her dad walking out onto the porch behind her.

"I know," Jolie agreed.

"He's a hard worker, that's for sure," her father continued. "He's a good kid."

"He is," she agreed again.

Coop eyed his daughter as she stared at Jesse. He knew her well enough to know what that stare meant. But he wasn't sure if he opposed or approved of it. He knew that good and bad things are possible with any relationship, and that bad things just sometimes happen, but he wasn't sure if the risk was worth the reward in their case.