*A/N* What do you ship, Thea and Jack or Thea and Zack?
"Fae." Thea sighed, touching her daughters hair. It was late and Thea still couldn't get to sleep, in fact she hadn't slept in weeks. To put it poetically, she was drowning in her own thoughts to the extent her mind couldn't rest. "You know you look so much like Zack." She murmured, leaning against the crib. It hurt her to admit that, as much as Thea tried hiding it Fae was still Zack's child.
"Really? I think she looks more like you." Jack's voice interrupts, giving her a fright.
"Jack don't scare me like that." She hissed, looking up at Jack who was leaning against the door frame with a loped sided smile.
"It's you're fault for being up so late." He replied, striding towards her. Jack's hair was messy and he wasn't wearing a shirt, he had only woken up for a late night snack only to get side tracked.
"Jack go back to bed." Thea complained, staring up at his tall frame, her brown eyes red and puffy still rimmed with tears.
"Thee, how long are you going to keep doing this? You need sleep." Jack cooed, this wasn't the first time he had found her crying at night.
"I can't." She croaked out, avoiding his gaze.
"C'mon Fae will be fine." Jack reassured, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"It's...It's not Fae I'm worried about. Jack I can't sleep, I can't sleep." She sobbed, before Jack wrapped his arms around her.
"Why can't you sleep?" He asked, resting his chin on the top her head and watching Fae.
"I...I see him, Zack, he won't stop being in my dreams. He's always there, Jack he won't go away." She rambled, causing Jack to hug her tighter.
"Thea why are you scared of Zack?" Jack questioned.
"He's always there to take Fae away from me." She croaked out.
"Zack wouldn't do that, Thea he wouldn't hurt you like that. He has a funny way of showing it but their will always be apart of him that loves you." He continued.
"What if I don't him to love me...?" Thea trailed off, looking up into Jack's dark brown eyes. "Jack, I just want to forget Zack."
"I can help you with that." He replied, wiping a tear away from underneath her eye.
"How..." She whispered but it got cut off by Jack's lips pressed against hers. At first Thea didn't kiss back but then she found herself forgetting Zack in the taste of Jack's lips. Then she found herself unraveling in his arms and forgetting all her worries.
Pulling away, Jack smiled before saying. "Do you think you can sleep now? Or do you need some company?"
***
Groaning, Thea nestled herself in Jack's chest, trying to block out the sound of Fae crying. "Hey sleepyhead, Fae's crying." Jack yawned, pulling the blankets away from her.
"Before sunrise, she's your daughter." Thea mumbled, pulling the blankets back over her body.
"You did not just quote lion king at me." Jack complained before adding. "Plus the sun is up."
"I see no sun."
"Okay, I'll go do it." Jack grumbled, getting up and leaving Thea cold and lacking his body heat. Mumbling a reply, Thea pulled the covers back over her head before going back to sleep.
"Fuck." Jack swore out loud as he walked into Julie standing in the hallway, holding Fae.
"Having fun in there?" She asked, causing Jack to let out a huge groan.
"We didn't wake you up last night?" He questioned, before reaching his arms out for Fae.
Handing Fae over, Julie screwed up her face. "Ew, Jack I didn't mean it that way. I just heard Thea complaining before, thanks for scarring me though."
"Sorry."
"Anyway, I feed Fae with one of the bottles in the fridge." Julie piped in.
"Yeah I can tell, I mean look at this belly." Jack continued, holding Fae in one hand while pointing to her stomach with the other.
"Well, I'm making a drink do you want one?"
"Yeah, and don't bother asking Thea she's out cold." Jack added, before carrying Fae out into the lounge. Sitting her down with the teddy bear Alex had given her, Jack grabbed his phone careful not for her to see it. Opening his twitter to see everything spammed with the picture of him and Fae with a fan. Almost all the comments were asking who's baby it was or if Jack was the father. Their was one comment that caught his attention 'She looks cute' by a certain Zack Merrick.
"Shit" Jack mumbled under his breath, guilt rising in his stomach. He hadn't thought about Zack when he took that photo, Zack who had never meet or seen his daughter. Closing his eyes for a moment, he felt tiny hands on his jeans as Fae clumsily tried crawling onto his lap. "You just want my phone don't you" Jack sighed, before adding. "You can have it, maybe then you can talk to Zack."Jack felt torn, he wanted Zack and Thea to be happy but he wanted to be happy himself. Jack liked Thea, and he wasn't sure if the attraction was due to him filling up the sadness with whatever he found. Then their was Fae, this little girl that Jack had become more than attached too.
"Jack." Julies voice cut him out of his daze, as she held out a coffee mug.
"Can you sit it on the coffee table, if Fae knocks that out of my hands she'll burn herself." He put in, still lost in thought.
It was weird how fast Jack had matured since Fae entered his life. He felt responsible for his best friend's child. The same best friend that had punched him in the face in a drunken fight. It was possible his maturity came from Thea threatening to kick in the nuts all the time.
Holding the squirming Fae in his arms, Jack bounced his knee, watching her smile. Fae may have taken a lot of Zack's features but that was Thea's smile, the smile that was slightly lope sided. "Little miss Fae, what shall we do today?" Jack asked, picking her up so her weight stop crushing his groin. Smiling at him, Fae reached one of her tiny hands out and squished his nose. "Ow" Jack complained, trying to get her hand away.
Hearing knocking a the door, Jack sighed wondering if he would have to get the door with Fae still attached. "I'll get it." Julie called out, being a life saver.
Opening the door, Julie tried relaxing herself. She hated talking to strangers, they always made her make a fool of herself. "Hi." She greeted, before almost shutting the door in the persons face. Sticking his foot in the doorway, he stared down at Julie, linings forming on his brow.
"Who are you?" He asked, shoving his hands into the depths of his pockets and slouching.
"I could same the same for you. You made Thea cry at the mall the other day." She hissed, trying to close the door on him.
"Fuck, I didn't.... I didn't mean too, I was just angry." He apologized, running a hand through his brown hair.
"Who are you, anyway?" Julie asked, wondering who on earth could break Thea down like this man did.
"Zack." Jack interrupted from behind, still holding Fae in his arms. "Julie, can you take Fae?"
"Please don't." Zack begged.
"I think, I'll go wake up Thea." Julie piped in, eager to get away from the burning tension between the two.
"Zack, why are you here?" Jack asked, holding Fae tighter.
"I...I don't know." He admitted, his eyes red and puffy. "Look'm sorry, I'll just go."
"Don't go." Jack interrupted. "Fuck, dude just come inside." He continued, opening the door.
"Jack, don't. It will hurt Thea more." Zack told him.
"Just get inside Zack. Everyone's going to hurt, so it doesn't matter if you stab them with a butter knife or a fork."
"Jack, I don' think things work that way..." He admitted, staring at his best friend. Zack didn't know why he came here, him and Aria had been doing fine but when he saw that picture of Fae, it broke him.
"Do you want to hold Fae? Well then get your ass inside Merrick." Jack commanded.
"Okay" He mumbled, following Jack down the hallway. When Thea who was coming from Jack's room smacked into him.
"Shit." Thea swore loudly, she was only in a t-shirt and was going back to her room to get changed.
"Uh, Hi." Zack stuttered, blushing. He hadn't even registered that Thea was walking out of Jack's room, flustered.
"Zack." She greeted coldly. Julie had already told her that he was here, she just hadn't expected Jack to let him in.
"Jack can I have Fae?" She asked, turning her attention on Jack who was awkwardly standing in the hall, his face bright red. "You too look like you've never seen a girl wearing no pants." She added, her voice still cold.
Handing Fae over, Jack knew it would be dumb to argue especially with Thea in this state. She seemed so cold, like someone stripped all the emotions she had. "We'll be in the lounge." He added, quickly pulling Zack away in the fear Thea would punch a hole in something.
"Hey Fae." Thea smiled as the had disappeared, she knew she would have to bring Fae back out but she didn't want to. "Let's go get you and I changed." She continued, walking back into her own room.
When both of them were out of pajamas, Thea held Fae kissing her forehead. She was trying not to cry but she felt afraid, for both her and Fae. "Zack would never hurt you so why are you so afraid." Thea told herself. That's when Fae started crying, wrapping her arms around her daughter Thea rocked her. "It's alright, you don't need to cry too." She cooed, carrying Fae out of the room.
Walking into the lounge, Thea ignored Zack and sat beside Jack. She wasn't trying to give him the cold shoulder, she just didn't have the words to say to him. "Can I hold her?" Zack asks, causing Thea just to stare at him. She didn't want to give him Fae, it was her baby and she didn't want Zack to hurt her. "Thea, I'm not going to hurt her." Zack continued, fidgeting under her stare.
"Yeah." She mumbled, standing up and giving her to Zack.
"Hey." Zack whispered, staring down at her hazel eyes and chubby smile. Holding her tiny hand in his, Zack blinked to make sure this wasn't a dream. "Fae, that name fits you." He continued, biting back tears, Zack didn't want to cry but this was all too real. Looking back up at Thea and Jack, his eyes rimmed with tears Zack spoke up. "It's unfair she looks like me, I wish she didn't. She doesn't deserve to be anything like me."
"Nobody chooses their parents." Thea added, playing with the side of her shirt. Noticing her fidgeting, Jack placed his hand on top of hers.
"Look, Thee...Thea, I shouldn't have come by." He chokes out, as Fae reaches up and grips his face.
"Zack." She sighed before continuing. "She is biologically your daughter."
"Yeah but am I really her father? I fucked up, I slept with your best friend then shut the door on you, not even asking where you'd been." Zack trailed off.
Sharing a glance at Jack when she admitted to sleeping with Aria. Thea spoke up. "I'm not going to stop you from coming over here and seeing her but that doesn't mean everything's fixed. "
"Yeah, I don't think it will ever get fixed." Zack replied before smiling at Fae who was staring at him wide eyes a smile painted across her face. "Fae has the most beautiful smile." He continued.
"That she does." Jack agreed, except he wasn't looking at Fae.