Long Time Running (26 page)

Furrowing his brow, he looked from his aunt to his mother.
"Mom?"

With a slightly shaking hand, she smoothed his hair. "Jack, Aunt Sarah has a home - this one. She's going to live here and we're going to move in with your Dad."

"No!" he stated unequivocally.

"No?" Eric asked, surprised at the reaction.

"I live with Aunt Sarah" he told them. "I
always have."

"Jack, I know this is going to be a change but it's going to be great. We're all going to be together under one roof."

"Not all of us!" he protested. "Not all of us
if Aunt Sarah doesn't move with us." Turning towards his aunt, he looked at her plaintively. "Don't you want to live with me any more Aunt Sarah?"

"I love you Jack and I always will but you belong with your Mom and Dad."

"NO!" he cried, wrenching himself away from his mother. "I live with you!" he told her. "You said we would always be together. You PROMISED!"

"Jack" Sarah started, trying to reason with him.

"NO! YOU PROMISED!" he cried throwing himself on the floor. "You promised we would always be together!! Don't make me leave Aunt Sarah - please! I promise I'll clean up my room more - but don't make me
leave you!!"

Nathalie blinked several tears away as she truly understood that for her son, for the boy she had loved from the moment she knew about him, her sister was more of a mother to him than she had been.

Nathalie took a calming breath as she moved to comfort her son. Her sister knelt in front of Jack before she had the chance.

"Jack, do you remember the book I used to read you when you would go to sleep?" Sarah asked softly.

"You mean when I was 4? I was a baby!" he protested.

Sarah smiled as she brushed his bangs off his forehead. "Yes, but you're a big boy now, right?"

He nodded solemnly in agreement before she continued. "Remember the best part of the book?"

He continued to nod as they recited together, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby
you'll be."

Nathalie clasped her fingers with Eric's as she watched the scene unfold before her, unsure of what would come next.

"Jack," Sarah said as she took her nephew's face in
her hands. "I will always love you, no matter where you live. You will always have a place here. You can spend the night whenever your mom and dad says it's ok."

"You're...You're not mad at me?" he asked as his
lip quivered.

"Never." She replied firmly. "You have always wanted your mom and dad, bud. Now you have them but you'll always have me, too."

He looked warily to his parents who seemed to be holding
their breath. "I can come see Aunt Sarah whenever I want?"

"Absolutely" Nathalie replied immediately as Eric nodded in agreement. "It's always been the three of us." Eric said as he looked gratefully at Sarah. "Now it's the four of us," he smiled
as he wrapped his arm around Nathalie's waist.

Jack looked at his aunt as she smiled encouragingly. "Your Dad's right. It's the four us, three of you just live down the
street."

He looked pensively at the three adults for a beat. "I guess...I guess we can try it." Pulling on the cuff of his pants and staring at the ground, he asked, "When would we move?"

"Would next week be okay with you?" Nathalie asked him. She knew that part of helping Jack through this transition was giving him some kind of control over it.

"Can we do it before the Yankees game on Sunday?"
he asked seriously.

Eric smiled at his son. "Of course we can."

"Can Drew come and watch the game with us?"

"If he isn't working, I'm sure he'd love to hang out
with us," Eric replied.

Sarah got to her feet and straightened her cardigan. "I need to get to the office for a while." Bending down, she kissed Jack on his forehead. "I'll see you later Jack, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded before heading to his room.

As the door closed behind Sarah Nathalie sighed heavily. "That was hard" she remarked quietly.

"Yeah it was," Eric agreed, wrapping his arms
around her. "But it's done and now we can keep moving forward together. We're going to be a family Nat. I've...I've dreamed about this for a long time, even when I didn't think it was possible."

Her eyes welled with tears as she smiled at him. "You know, despite the distance between us - the oceans, the continents - we were having the same dream. Being reunited with you and Jack is everything I always wanted but was afraid to ask for."

Pressing his lips to her cheek, he smiled. "I love you."

#

Annoyed at the insistent knocking waking him from his nap, Andrew pulled a t-shirt over his head and shuffled to the door. He exhaled
quietly as he looked through the peep hole. Opening the door, he looked at her warily.

"Sarah?"

She uncharacteristically brushed passed him into his apartment. "I need you," she rasped.

Seeing how pale and drawn she was he felt a stab at his heart. "Sarah, what's wrong?" he asked closing the door.

"I...I know I wasn't very nice to you the last time we
spoke but I...Drew I need you tonight. Please."

Reaching out, he brushed away the small tears that trickled down her cheek. "I can't," he told her apologetically. "I can't keep being your boy on the side. It's too hard Sarah - you keep giving me just
little bits of yourself and it's not enough - not for me."

She shook her head. "Just for tonight," she asked.

Ignoring her request he took her hand and led her to the
couch. "What happened?" he asked gently. "What's got you so upset?"

"I knew this was coming" she rambled, still holding on to his hand. "I did but it doesn't make it any easier. I'm the
one who walked the floor with him when he would cry through the night, I'm the one he threw up on when had the flu. I saw his first steps, I took him to his first day of school. I soothed him when he had nightmares and who made him birthday cakes and took him to see Santa. She might be his mom but I...I raised
him."

Andrew sighed softly. "They're moving out" he remarked.

She nodded, oblivious to the tears streaking her cheeks. "And that's how it should be. He needs to be with his mom and dad I
just...god, it hurts so much. I know I said I was only keeping him until she changed her mind but I just had no idea that it was going to be so hard. And now I'm all alone again."

He soothingly rubbed her shoulder. "Sarah, you are not
alone. Nathalie loves you, Jack loves you and they are both in your life, you're not alone."

Her green eyes shimmered as she looked at him. "I feel like I've lost everything Drew" she whispered. "And I just...for one
night I just want to feel like I'm not alone. Please."

"Sarah"

"Do you want me to beg?" she asked desperately.
"Because I will. I will get on my knees and beg."

"I don't want you to beg" he replied in a strangled voice.

He knew he should walk away, that he should send her home but there was something about her vulnerability that made it impossible for him
to do anything other than take her in his arms. He hugged her tightly, rubbing his hands along her back as he left a tiny trail of soft kisses along her cheek and neck.

"Don't beg Sarah," he whispered. "I have
you."

Lifting her head, she went in search of his mouth and fused her lips to his. There was no resistance from him as he returned her kiss with equal passion and need. As her hands threaded through the fine hairs at the
nape of his neck, she felt his slide around her hips as he pulled her to his lap before getting to his feet. She hooked her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bedroom.

"I have you. You aren't alone." he whispered,
kicking the bedroom door shut.

Picking up the remote control tarantula and placing it in the toy box, Eric sighed happily before flopping on the couch. It had been three weeks since Nathalie and Jack had come to live with him and while they
were working out some bumps along the way the three of them were thriving being together. He loved watching Nathalie rediscover her maternal instincts and while Jack had been vocal about his worries in leaving Sarah, his bond with his mother was proving stronger every day. He also loved coming home to both of
them. There was no greater feeling for him than to come home from a long shift at the hospital and have the chance to tuck his son into bed and gather his girlfriend in his arms.

He and Nathalie would talk long into the night most nights,
some times about the past and some times about the future. It was as though having finally been reunited after all these years there was just too much to say and sleep got in the way. He did still wake up and reach for her, just to
make sure she was still there and almost as though she knew what he needed, she would inevitably mold herself to him or brush her lips against his shoulder or chest; the cracks in his heart were slowly healing.

Hearing the key in the door, he looked up and smiled as Nathalie slipped inside. "Hey," he called to her.

Nathalie returned his smile as she closed the door behind her and joined him on the couch. "Hey yourself," she replied softly.

"Jack all set for his sleepover?" he asked as he nipped at her lips.

She nodded. "They're going to get in their pajamas and watch movies. She's made caramel popcorn for them."

"How is it going with Sarah?" he asked, tucking her growing hair behind her ear.

Nathalie exhaled slowly. "It's going as well as it can, I think" she said as she linked her fingers through his. "I just need
to be as patient and loving with her as she's been with me."

Wrapping his arms around her, he softly kissed her. "Have I told you today that I love you?"

Smiling, she gave a small shake of her head. "No you haven't. In fact you've been very negligent in that department. I'm feeling very hard done by," she teased.

"That's terrible of me" he replied with mock
indignation, kissing her again. "Allow me to rectify that." Cupping her face with both hands he smiled lovingly at her. "I love you," he told her before closing his mouth over hers, his tongue diving inside the velvety warmth of her mouth.

Nathalie moaned as she deepened the kiss, her fingers curling through his hair. As they broke apart she grinned. "I love you too." Turning in his arms, she leaned back against him and brought his arms around her. "I spoke to Mylea today."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "I have a house there that needs to be sold and emptied."

He dropped a kiss on her shoulder. "Does that make you
sad?"

"A little" she admitted quietly. "I have everything I have ever dreamed of here with you and Jack and Sarah but my life was there for a while and I miss it."

She was quiet for several moments. "I'd...I'd like to
take you and Jack to Mbamba. I'd like to show you both where I lived and meet my friends. Do you think-" Pausing, she turned in his arms to face him. "Do you think you would be interested in coming?"

He brushed her bangs from her face and smiled. "Yes," he replied quietly. "I would really, really like that."

In the last few weeks they had worked together at filling in so much of what she missed with Jack. Eric had dug out every single photo he
had and walked her through it. Neither had been quite prepared for how emotional a journey it was for both of them. Nathalie was coming to terms with what she had missed and Eric was appreciating how much more complete an
experience it was to share it with her.

Her nightmares were becoming less frequent and he was getting better at articulating what he needed. They were finding a way, together, to put the past behind them. It wasn't always easy - there were still
plenty of hurt feelings and ghosts to maneuver around - but what mattered most to both of them was that they were doing it together.

For so long, each of them had stopped believing in a future.
Unknowingly they both, though miles apart, were concentrating only on what was right in front of them leaving daydreams and fantasies of what could be to other people. But now, with each other, visions of a future were possible and that had given them both renewed energy and hope. They had found each other -
they had both come home.

She nipped at his lips. "In case you were wondering, I am ridiculously happy."

"Me too," he replied, beaming.

#

Eric grinned as he watched Jack tackle his ice cream cone with abandon. Having just finished playing catch in the park, it had been Jack's suggestion that they stop for ice cream and Eric had been only too happy
to oblige.

"You're loving that, aren't you?" he asked.

Looking up with a small rim of chocolate along his lips Jack nodded happily. "Chocolate is my favorite," he stated.

"Mine too," Eric agreed, taking a lick of his own ice cream. "So, we've had a lot of changes lately," he began carefully. "I was wondering what you think about it all?"

Jack shrugged. "It's okay," he replied.

"Just okay?" he prodded.

His son smiled shyly. "Better than okay. I was kinda scared that I wouldn't see Aunt Sarah very much but I see her tons. And....I'm
really happy that you're my Dad."

His eyes welled and he sucked in a breath. "I'm really happy that I'm your Dad too Jack. I love you very much." Taking a quick drink of water, he asked his next question. "How about your Mom? How are
you feeling about that?"

The smile on his face was unmistakable. "I love her," he declared proudly. "And I'm really glad she came back."

"I know she's really happy to be with you Jack. You do
know she loves you, right?"

"Yeah," he replied as he took another lick of ice cream. Pausing, he stared at his ice cream and Eric could see the question on his lips.