Spencer's POV
"Spence?" I look up to JJ whose face is glowing under the light of the TV screen. "Should we put him in bed?" She asks and I push my arms beneath his body.
"Careful." she states as I lift him up and pull him close to my chest. JJ opens the door of his bedroom and pulls back his duvet so that I can put him in his bed.
She pulls the covers over his body and kisses his head softly before wrapping her arms around me and looking down at the sleeping boy.
"Maybe we could have our own one day?" She looks up surprised at what I just said and she's definitely not the only one.
I've never really thought about having children, I suppose I've always wanted my own little family... I just didn't know I'd admit it. I had such a hard time growing up and I just want to make sure my child would have the best life possible.
JJ's hand rubs my chest and she looks into my eyes. "We will." she finally answers, kisses my cheek and joins Morgan and Emily back in the living room.
I look down at Henry's small frame and watch him peacefully sleep. His blonde hair covers his pillow and surrounds his face while his tiny hands rest by his head. I pull the duvet right over his shoulders and tuck him in before repeating Jennifer's actions... kissing his forehead and leaving the bedroom.
All of us sit around the coffee table watching a movie, JJ wrapped in my arms and Emily wrapped in Morgans arms. The night passes extremely fast and before I know it Emily and Morgan are leaving.
JJ and I climb into bed and I allow my whole body to just slump on the bed.
"Spence, don't do that. You might break it."
"I'd be more worried about what else could break it." I smirk and she rolls her eyes.
"We have company... not tonight." she climbs in bed next to me, fully clothed in her pyjamas.
"Nasty." I state and she laughs lightly before rolling over to face me.
"You were really good with him today Spence, thank you." She smiles and I reach over to caress her cheek.
"It's ok." I pull her close to me and close my eyes, slowly drifting into a phase of sleep.
***
The next day JJ suggests we take Henry into town and I spend the last of the money I borrowed of Damien on a few toys for Henry to keep at our place.
I have very little money left after spending most of it on the blondes, so JJ payed for dinner at McDonald's.
We take a seat by the wall and I order our food. A happy meal for the little boy and JJ has a chicken burger... starving, I go for the Big Mac and sit with JJ and Henry.
Henry sits and colours some of the pictures provided in a tray by the counter while we wait for our food to come.
I watch as the boy turns over the page so that it's blank and begins to draw three people.
When I look up, JJ is looking at me and smiling contently. "What?" I ask and she laughs. "Stop staring at me."
"I'm not staring, I just looked."
"Bullshit." I state and Henry's head shoots up. My eyes move to him and then I laugh at his facial expression. He's frowning with a scrunched up nose and his hands are balled into little fists.
"You said a bad word again!" he whines and points his finger in my face.
"What's this Henry?" I ask, changing the subject and pulling a green crayon from behind his ear. His face reverts back to his usual smile and he looks up at JJ laughing.
He takes the crayon from my hand and colours in the grass beneath the feet of the three people he's finished drawing.
"You're staring again." I say to JJ and push the hair from behind her ear into her face.
Henry laughs at her and then cheers when the food is placed on our table, along with a bunch of napkins and a handful of sauces I requested. JJ thanks the woman working here, but I don't even make eye contact.
We finish our food and I put our rubbish in the bin while JJ wipes Henry's tomato sauce covered face.
We leave McDonald's and go for a little walk around the mall. We spot a clothes shop for children and JJ looks at me with puppy dog eyes. "Fine, but this is the last thing." I frown and she grabs my hand while kissing me on the cheek.
"Love you Spence... hey buddy, wanna go and look in there?" She let's go of my hand and crouches to Henry's height, pointing at the shop.
He nods, his long hair flopping all over his shoulders with each movement. She takes his hand in hers again and he drags her into the shop, his small legs moving fast in an attempt to run.
When I finally catch up with them inside the shop, both of them are looking at the woolly jumpers. I watch them for a little bit, not wanting to deter any of them from choosing one. I just want to go home, my legs are fucking killing me.
After about 10 minutes Henry chooses a woolly blue one and pushes it into JJ's arms. I pay for it and we make our way home.
***
JJ's POV:
When we arrive home Henry wants to wear his new jumper and play with his new toys almost straight away.
I take my shoes and coat off ready to put away but Spencer takes both mine and Henry's. He heads to the broom cupboard where we keep the shoes and coats and hangs everything up.
I head to the bedroom and quickly change into my pyjamas, it may only be four o clock, but we're not planning on going anywhere else today.
I help Henry change into his while Spence sits on the sofa, saying he's not changing until we go to bed. Henry asks to copy him, but I say no and put him in his fluffy pyjama pants and a long sleeve top.
By 5pm Henry is wearing his brand new jumper too and he's crawling all over the living room floor with his toy cars and planes.
I lean into Spencer's side and he wraps his arms around my shoulders. He switches doctor who on and about five minutes into it, Henry's neck is crookedly bent so that he can see the TV on the wall. A few minutes later he's sat on the other sofa, completely engrossed in one of Spencer's favourite TV programmes.
"Let's get pizza for dinner?" I suggest and Henry agrees straight away. Spencer sighs, but when I look at him he's smiling.
"Alright, alright... I'll order, but you're paying." he smiles further and I take his offer. Neither of us like to order the take out, but if he's offering I'll happily pay.
He stands and pulls his mobile from his pocket, frowns slightly and walks to the kitchen to order. Henry's eyes are glued to the TV screen again, so I climb onto the floor to clean up is toys.
Spencer's POV:
"Damien you've got to stop texting me that shit." I whisper shout down the phone, hoping JJ doesn't hear me.
"You've still not payed me Reid... either pay the money or do another job."
"I'll do another fucking job ok, you know I can't pay you just yet."
"Ok, Toby will text you in few days and you're gonna be like his fucking dog. The moment he calls your name you're at his feet. Clear?"
"Fuck you Damien."
He hangs up and I type in the pizza delivery number. A few minutes later I join JJ and Henry in the living room again.
"What took you so long?" JJ questions when I take a seat back on the sofa.
"There was a queue, took a little bit for them to get to me." I lie and she nods her head. I wrap my arm around her again, thankful Damien still hasn't got to her. If I don't do these jobs for him, or pay the money instead... he'll do something bad.
***
JJ's POV:
"Can I have pop tarts?" Henry's hair flops over his small face as he looks up at me with a persuasive smile. "I'm sure pop tarts aren't the best thing to eat before bed." I arc my brow and Spencer buts in. "Sure they are." He also smiles and Henry laughs, finally pushing the blonde locks from his forehead. They both stick out their bottom lips and I give in, putting the snacks in the toaster. "Yay." Henry cheers and Spencer high fives him as he smiles widely.
When the toaster finishes, I place the pop tarts on a plate and hand them to the boys with a glass of milk. A knock sounds at the door and before I leave the kitchen. I remind Spencer to help Henry brush his teeth ready for bed, he nods but I'm not fully convinced he's listening. "Spence?"
"I will, I will." He looks at me momentarily before moving his eyes back to Henry.
The door makes another noise and I open it quickly. "Tracy? I thought you wasn't picking Henry up until-" I stop speaking when I notice her eyes are rimmed with red. "Jayje, it's your father." Tears roll down her cheeks and her eyes focus on the running boy behind me.
"Mummy!" Henry hugs his mothers legs and she rubs his back while still looking at me. "He's in the hospital, it's pretty bad." I feel Spencer's presence behind me as the voices become muffled. "Wh- what's happened?" I ask and the tears flow faster. "He's uh- he's got cancer and he's well, he's just had a bad night... They're keeping him in for a few days but-" she stops and I feel a firm hand on my shoulder. "I can take you, I can take you now." She offers and I accept.
Spencer disappears for a moment while I take in the news, still not reacting properly. He returns with our coats and helps me to put mine on before crouching to tie Henry's shoe laces. Everyone but Spencer is in their pyjamas, including me and we head outside to Tracy's car.
The drive is tense and quiet and Tracy's eyes meet mine constantly through the wind mirror as Henry nestles into Spencer's side.
We reach the hospital and head to the ward my father is on. That's when it hits me, that's when I realise how bad it actually is and the tears flow soon after.
The old man is strapped to all kinds of machines, his eyes holding heavy bags and his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat. There's a thin tube, clear in colour running into his nostrils and round his ears. His face is pale and my mother is sat beside his bed holding his hand.
"Dad." His eyes open when he hears my voice and a small smile covers his blue lips. "My little girl." He tries to sit up and I rush to his side so that he doesn't have to. "What's going on?" His eyes glaze as he moves the between mine, reading my emotions and squeezing my hand with his free hand. He looks at Henry stood by the door all bundled up in his coat and then to Spencer.
"Could you?" His smile fades and Spencer looks down then back up before obliging. "Hey, Henry." I watch his blue eyes look up to my boyfriends face and listen to the words coming from him mouth. He lifts up his arms and Spencer awkwardly picks him up before carrying him through the door. My tears flow faster as my mind becomes filled with many emotions.
Spencer's POV:
"Hey, Henry." The small boy looks up at me, a little worry covering his features. "How about we grab a hot chocolate?" I smile, trying to fool him into thinking nothing is wrong. He lifts his arms in the air while nodding his head and I wiggle mine awkwardly before placing my hands beneath his shoulders. I lift him up and his head becomes level with mine as we remove ourselves from the room filled with crying people.
"Do you want marshmallows?" I ask the boy staring at me, he nods his head and sticks his face in the crook of my neck.
I seat Henry on one of the chairs in the hospital cafe and buy us both a hot chocolate, his topped with whipped cream and marshmallows. While the woman at the counter processes our order I watch the small boy swing his legs beneath the metal and rest his elbows on the matching table. He must be so confused about what's going on, wondering why his mother, his grandparents and JJ are crying.
JJ... She must be broken, I didn't leave much behind for anyone else to crush, but I'm pretty sure this whole event would have finished her off.
The hot chocolates finish and I Join Henry at the table with them both. "Are you ok?" I ask awkwardly, I don't know how to interact with someone so young and... vulnerable. He looks at me with a frown and licks some of the whipped cream from the top of the cup. "What's cancer?" The balls in his skull look deeply at mine, he may be young but he knows what's going on isn't good.
His eyes are so much like JJ's the blue is deep and twinkles of green separates it into fragments. His hair is super blonde like hers and his smile is almost a copy. "Uncle Spencer." My heart jolts and he frowns again. I begin to wonder he's developing that trait from me and smile at the thought before sighing. How the hell am I supposed to answer that question? How the hell am I supposed to tell a five year old his granddad is dying? He just called me uncle Spencer for fuck sake, how can I ruin that moment by breaking his heart the way I do JJ's all of the time.
A man I assume is Tracy's boyfriend informs us that we can come back and Henry finishes the last of his hot chocolate before walking just ahead of me. The man smiles at him and Henry drops back grabbing my hand and sticking close by me. Tracy's boyfriend looks at me and shrugs while opening the door that leads to the ward.
I look down at the small boy holding my hand tightly. Why would he act so strangely around a man that sees him regularly? That's the first time I have encountered him and after Henry's reaction I've already decided I don't like him.
The door too Jensen's hospital room opens and JJ appears with a tear stained face. She falls into my arms and Henry lets go of my hand quickly, stepping back and allowing his auntie to break down. I hug her as tight as I can, stroking her hair and holding her close.
We take a seat on the cushioned chairs outside the room and she continues to cry into my shoulder. "I should have told you something was wrong." I say softly, knowing if I had told her what I heard through that bedroom floor at Christmas, things wouldn't be hitting her so hard.
"You're telling me you knew?" She removes her self from me and meets my eyes with her angry ones.
"JJ-"
"You knew and you didn't fucking tell me?" She stands and pushes her long hair from her face. I look at Henry, surprised he didn't mention the bad word but his watery eyes show me that's not what he cares about.
I follow, almost reaching her waist and try to pull her back into my arms, I want to comfort her. I need to comfort her.
Her fists collide with my chest in groups and pushes me away as hard as she can. "I hate you." She leaves the ward in a mess and I look back to her family. Tracy is stood holding a crying Henry covering his ears, Tom is stood beside her and her mother bows her head. I don't know what to do, they're not my family.
I'm sorry for all the fast changes in POV, I'm running out of inspiration!! my chapter yesterday had two reads in two hours and I'm starting to think you guys are getting bored of this? I'm going to try and end it soon, I don't want to just drop it cause I really enjoy writing it, but I don't have a clue whether you enjoy reading it and even how many people enjoy reading it? Anywayyyyy i hope you do enjoy this chapter! I'll post again in a few days maybe.