KID

A EUReKA FANFICTION

PAIRING: Jack Carter x Nathan Stark

AUTHOR: Djap

RATING: NC17

GENRE: Humor, Romance

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money by using them. Pity.

LANGUAGE: English

DEDICATION: To the author who wrote 'In the corners of my mind', as that story (which really rocks btw) inspired me to write a story about a seven year old Nathan in Jack's custody. In that other story Nathan regressed at one point after an accident to a homophobe teenager with an even worse father, so I felt compelled to write something about an even younger version of our beloved scientist. I hope you all won't mind me borrowing that idea of Nathan as a boy for this.

TAKE A GLASS OF WINE, LIE BACK AND ENJOY

YOURS DJAP

…

Kid

a Djap story

…

"You can't be serious, right? RIGHT?"

Annoyed wasn't even a start to describe how Jack Carter felt right now. This had been a really weird day even for Eureka standards and there was no improvement in sight yet.

Allison stood her ground though, her hands jammed into her sides and a grim look on her pretty face.

"He'd do exactly the same for you."

Jack snorted: "He wouldn't, Allison, and you know that."

"He saved your life on more occasions you can count!"

"The same times I was in life threatening situations because one of his or other reckless scientist's experiments had gone haywire."

"Not everything what happens in this town is Nathan's fault."

"Maybe not, but he usually has a star role in the disasters though."

"Well this is not his fault and he needs your help."

"Come on, Allison, why can't you take him?"

Jack instantly wanted to take back his words as Allison's features darkened even more, this time mixed up with hurt.

"You've seen how he reacted; I can't take him with me."

Jack might not like it, but she was right. He had seen how Nathan had reacted to her trying to get through to him and it hadn't been pretty. He'd clearly seen the pain in her face as her husband, who everyone believed to be dead after the time-loop-incident, returned not only in this state but also without any memory of her.

… Flashback

This whole mess had started with Henry's discovery and the possibility of Nathan not being dead after all. They had never found a body and even Jack understood the concept of energy never getting lost. So after three weeks of hard work, Henry had finished calibrating the time-loop-device and brought the man back.

Of course it wasn't that easy though: In Eureka it just never was, so they hadn't known all parameters to get it right at the first try and ended up with… well, let's call it a 'smaller version' of the original. They'd gotten the timing wrong and instead of the man as he'd been at what should be his second wedding day with Allison, they'd brought back a small boy about seven years old.

Little Nathan had stood in the middle of the tube, blinking stupidly, naked and instantly started crying. It was such a heartbreaking sound that no one could stand it and they instantly released him from his impromptu cell. The boy was pretty scared but as Allison had reached out to comfort him he'd stumbled backwards.

He kept crying for his mother and he didn't seem to recognize any of them at all. That was until his eyes fell on Carter. He instantly ran to him and hugged the sheriff on his waist, mumbling something about "Uncle Jack." Needless to say they'd all been shocked beyond words by that.

Jack had finally gotten a grip on himself and cautiously stroked the kid's head while he asked: "Nathan?"

"Yes?" the boy had snuffled into his uniform.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course: you're Uncle Jack."

"Do you know the names of the others too?"

"No. But they look scary." The small boy admitted into his shirt.

"Do you know where you are?"

"No. Uncle Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where my mommy is?"

Jack looked helplessly at Henry and Allison, who also looked pretty scared. Both shook their heads, so there was no help to expect there.

"She can't be here right now, Nathan."

"Why?"

"You are a little sick, and she would also get sick, if she was here with you. So you need to stay a little longer with us, will that be okay?"

The boy snuffled some more but finally nodded "I guess. So was that the reason why I was in that tube? Because I'm sick and you need to make me healthy again?"

"Yes. I'm sorry it scared you."

"I just don't like small places." The boy admitted, finally releasing his strong hold on Jack's waist.

"I'll keep it in mind."

The boy looked at him in disbelief: "Aren't you going to scold me for freaking out?"

All three of them looked puzzled at the boy until Jack finally knelt down to talk to Nathan eye to eye: "Why should I? You were scared so of course you started crying. That's nothing bad. When I was your age I was just the same."

"Really?"

"Sure." Jack admitted smiling instantly liking the cute boy, even it was the younger version of his nemesis. Perhaps it was just his appearance, his tousled black bangs, the piercing green eyes, the skinny all-in-all look.

"My father scolds me every time I freak. He says boys don't cry."

Again shocked looks fell upon the boy from all sides at that statement, before Jack reassured the boy: "I don't think that's right, but if you feel better I promise not to tell him, alright?"

"Really? Thanks!" and the boy dove in again to hug Jack tight.

Jack hugged him back shortly just before he felt the boy shiver. "You must be pretty cold standing here around naked. Will it be okay for you, if Henry gives you a blanket?"

"Is that the name of the man over there?"

Jack nodded. "Yes. Do you remember him now?"

Nathan shrugged "Not really. I just knew who you meant when you said his name, Uncle Jack."

"Okay. The woman over there is Allison."

"Okay." The boy said and to the surprise of everybody he walked over to the other two, looking scared but brave and reached up to shake their hands.

"I'm pleased to meet you." Then he blushed, turned and run back to Jack, instantly clinging to him now that he'd done what he'd felt compelled to do. Jack had the sinking feeling Nathan's father stood behind this behavior too. Although he'd never heard of the man before, Jack already didn't like him very much.

Henry finally brought them a blanket to put around Nathan's shoulders.

Jack caught Allison's gaze over the boys head and nodded his assent.

"Nathan?"

"Yes, Uncle Jack?"

"You remember that you're a little bit sick, right?"

"Yes."

"Will you be okay if Allison checks you through? She's a doctor, you know, and she is really nice. I think she likes you very much."

"Really?"

"Yes."

The boy pondered this and obviously didn't like the idea but he steeled himself again and nodded: "Okay, fine. She can do it."

Initially Jack had wanted to talk alone to Henry while Allison watched over the boy but the still scared boy's look of misery tore too much at his heart.

"Will you feel better if I stay with you until she's finished?"

"You would do that?" there went the puppy dog eyes again and Jack was positive that if Nathan were a dog he'd probably wag his tail by now.

"Of course. Let's get this done." Jack held out his hand, which the boy gripped firmly and with a big contented grin on his face.

… End of Flashback

The examination went pretty smoothly which brought them back to the current situation. Little Nathan was still inside the infirmary, where Henry watched over him.

"So why can't Henry take him. He seems to like him just fine."

"Don't be silly, Jack. He is only waiting patiently in there with Henry because you asked him to."

"Fine." Jack sighed and took a deep breath "I'll take him with me until Henry is able to fix this. What did he tell you?"

"He doesn't know yet what exactly went wrong, but he actually is sure that he'll be able to fix this."

"How long?"

Allison shrugged. "He couldn't say, yet. But I think it'll be a couple of days…" She expected Jack to freak at that, but he stayed calm as he obviously had accepted his fate. She felt uncomfortable at asking the next question, but she really needed to ask: "Do you have any idea why he recognizes you but nobody else?"

The look on Jack's face told her, that there was more to this than the sheriff let on, but she knew he'd tell her if he thought it might be helpful for the situation. She was pretty sure he wasn't telling her everything, but she had faith in him. Instead he shrugged: "Perhaps because I was with him in the room when he vanished? Because I was the last one he spoke to?"

Allison nodded as that was actually a good idea. She'd later talk to Henry about it.

"Do you know anything about his parents?" Jack finally asked, lost in his own thoughts.

"He lost his mother when he was thirteen. The few things he'd ever told me about his father didn't sound very pleasing. I never met him as Nathan fell apart with him when he was seventeen and left for University."

"Thank god for that." Allison looked puzzled so Jack felt compelled to explain: "The few things I deducted from his behavior don't sound like a fun dad at all."

"So you will be alright with taking him?"

"I don't have a choice in this, now do I?" Jack asked back and both knew there wasn't.

"You will tell me right away, when you think of anything why Nathan recognized only you?"

That strange look on Jack's face came and went again and for a moment Allison believed to realize what must be the cause of it. She pushed the thought away though, because she actually didn't want to learn this and was sorry, that she hadn't been able to refrain from asking. She needed to think about this and whether it could be really possible what she saw in Jack's eyes.

…

"This is where you live, Uncle Jack?"

Despite his foul mood Jack couldn't stop but grin at the astonished face of the little boy. They were still standing outside of the bunker and the boy hadn't seen or heard anything of S.A.R.A.H. yet, but he was already so excited about the idea of staying with him for a while, that it was difficult to keep sulking.

Of course Jack was very glad that Henry's idea had worked out as much as it did, even if Nathan wasn't yet his usual snarky self. But he really didn't like the idea of Nathan having near all this time, even if he was just a little boy who didn't know anything about their past.

Jack's feelings had been on a rollercoaster for nearly a year now and he didn't know how to handle Nathan's return yet. It had all started with a fight at GD late at night and had ended the same night with both of them panting and spent laying in a heap on Nathan's office-floor. Their first coupling had been a matter of minutes, with harsh words, probing hands and a fight for dominance.

As soon as Jack had gotten his breath back and actually realized what happened he fled the office and managed to avoid meeting the other man for nearly two weeks. They both tried to pretend it never happened, but it didn't work out. They'd crossed a boundary they couldn't fix anymore and after a while both came to turns with it.

On the second night they slowed the sex down to actually being able to enjoy it on other things than pure adrenaline. Fire and Water in their business relationship, they seemed to click pretty good in bed though. They didn't need words to communicate, which both men could appreciate on many levels as both their ex-wives needed verbal communication in bed.

It didn't have enough time to grow into an actual relationship though. Just as both men actually started to develop feelings this whole mess with the genetically enhanced chickens happened and with it Nathan's mishap with Allison which resulted in her being pregnant.

When Nathan visited Jack that evening to tell him the news Jack knew right away he'd lose the man. Nathan wasn't one to weasel out of his responsibilities, even if he strictly couldn't have been held responsible for that particular situation. Both men knew Allison would need help with the baby and that Nathan couldn't leave a child, he'd wanted to have for years.

They never actually talked about their beak up, as they never had talked about the start of their relationship or about what they liked in bed. They both knew it happened though, and both had been miserable for a while.

Then Kevin started to change and Jack was glad Nathan had already decided to stay with Allison. He could see how deeply the man still felt for her and for Kevin, so it was really no hardship at all to help Nathan rescue his family.

As Jack learned about the second marriage it still hurt him badly although he tried to show his misery to nobody. Not even Zoe knew about this relationship although she had pestered him with questions about his in her eyes sometimes very odd behavior around the man. He had tried to be no spoilsport and tried to support both of his friends with that step into another marriage.

He still couldn't refrain from testing Allison, if she was really in love with Nathan or if she was just doing this for the benefit of the unborn child. His heart broke finally, as he saw the truth in her eyes while she told him, that she loved Nathan.

Just as he started to accept it, Nathan had gotten himself killed in the process of saving the whole town. Jack had grieved the man for weeks after, not sure how to deal with his loss. And now the man was back, and it all would start anew. Could he really watch him return to his family after all he'd been through in the last months?

His heart had closed after his divorce and although he'd liked to flirt with Allison he always knew they would never be together. They were too different and he surely wasn't in love with her just because he was attracted to her. But Nathan had somehow undermined his barriers through his open hostility and the constant challenge he provided. Jack might have been fallen for the man even before they started their relationship, he just hadn't been aware of it before.

"How do you open the door?" Jack was pulled away from his musings by little Nathan's voice who stood in front of the bunker, desperately looking for a way inside. Jack had to grin again despite his foul mood. He hadn't thought someone like Nathan could have been such a cute boy. Children had always been his weak spot, at least until they reached puberty. They just were annoying after that at least in his opinion. Jack was pretty sure Zoe would have been annoying in her puberty even without the mess of the divorce and him leaving them, although he had to admit, that she was doing fine now.

"S.A.R.A.H. door." Nathan's eyes grew wide, when the door opened on itself.

"Cool!" he decided, bouncing on the spot with excitement.

"It will get even better." Jack promised grinning. They went inside and addressed the smart house again: "S.A.R.A.H. This is Nathan. Nathan? This is S.A.R.A.H."

"Good evening Nathan. I'm pleased to meet you."

Nathan stared at Jack wide eyed: "Is this an AI?"

Jack was pretty sure that a boy that age who believed it was still 1970, which had been confirmed on the ride to the bunker, shouldn't know about things like AI's. On the other hand this was Nathan Stark. The man might have been an egomaniacal bastard with an ego as big as the States, but he did have countless PhD's and was one of the youngest men ever to get a Nobel.

"Yes, she runs the house."

"Cool." Nathan offered again, looking around. While he started to explore the rooms Jack made some phone calls. He told Jo that he was on special sitting duty for a while. Jo just took Nathan Stark's return as a boy in stride and Jack had the feeling that she knew already about it through Zane. And if Zane knew, pretty much everyone else knew too, which probably was a good sign, as there wouldn't be too much rumors why he suddenly had a small boy to attend to.

After that he called Allison and Henry to get updated, but they didn't have any news to tell him. When he finished Nathan came back into the room, looking uncomfortable. Jack reacted on instinct again, picked the small boy up and hugged him, instantly seeing that the boy needed some comforting.

"What's the problem?"

"I miss my mom. She'd love to explore this house with me. Do you think she'll come here with me when I'm healthy again?"

"I don't think that will be a problem, Nathan. Of course she can come with you. Is she a scientist?"

Jack tried for light conversation but regretted his question when he saw the boy's features darkening again: "My father doesn't want her to work. She is always home." Jack tightened his hold on the boy who tried to look indifferent to it: "At least that way she's always home to teach me about things. She has been a Physicist and when I'm big enough, I'll be one too." Suddenly Nathan's head snapped up: "You won't tell that to my father, right?" He suddenly sounded panicky and it was clear that he couldn't stand the hug right now, so Jack put him obediently down again: "Of course not. I won't tell your father anything you tell me, unless you say so."

"Promise?" The boy pleaded.

"Scout's honor." That seemed to do the trick.

"My father wants me to become a lawyer, just like him."

"And you don't want that."

The boy shook his head. "It sounds boring." He admitted "Science is much more interesting."

Even Jack, who wasn't that fond of science himself could understand that. He was glad Nathan would really stick to this decision he obviously took so early in his life. He had the impression the bright scientist might have been a total failure as a lawyer even though he was doing well at politics and at being head of GD.

Their discussion was interrupted by a huge rumble of Nathan's belly and Jack grinned:

"It seems you're hungry. Are you up to some food?"

"Yes."

"Anything special you want?"

"I may decide?"

"Of course."

"I don't want to be a bother." Little Nathan looked very unsure.

"You won't be, Nathan. If you don't want to decide, I will, but S.A.R.A.H. can do you pretty much everything."

"The AI is cooking?" Awkwardness forgotten Nathan jumped right back to excitement.

"Yes."

"So, what about a… tuna sandwich?"

"Ask her."

"Uhm, S.A.R.A.H.?" The boy looked to the ceiling, perhaps waiting for it to fall down on him.

"Yes, Nathan?"

"Could you please make me a tuna sandwich?"

"Of course, Nathan. It will be ready in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Jack watched the exchange in amusement over Nathan's politeness and S.A.R.A.H.'s obvious glee about having to deal with such a polite visitor.

"Will you eat with me?" Jack nodded. "Make that two sandwiches, S.A.R.A.H."

"Of course, Jack."

"What do you want to do after lunch?" Jack addressed Nathan.

"Don't I have to do my homework?"

"Not as long as you are here."

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you want to play some games?"

"Play?" the boy echoed blinking, obviously not comprehending a word Jack said.

"Yes, cards or board games or something."

Judging by the look he received from Nathan that particular concept wasn't a usual occurrence in his daily live.

"What do you do if you're not doing your homework?"

"I read." Nathan shrugged. "Do you have some science books or magazines around?"

"I think so. Ask S.A.R.A.H. for what you want and she'll show you on the screen." He pointed to the wall, watching in amusement as Nathan's eyes grew big again as the screen came to live.

"Cool." To Jack's amazement the small boy didn't need more than 10 minutes to learn how to navigate his way through the system. Within no time he loaded some books and magazines on a pad. He thanked S.A.R.A.H. again politely for her help and made himself comfortable on the sofa,already totally engrossed in his new reading material until Jack arrived there with the sandwiches.

They dug in on the food hungrily and without talking. They practically made a mess of themselves and of the couch, but S.A.R.A.H liked to fuss over them, so there was no real problem. At least until they remembered, that Nathan had only one set of clothes, which they had hastily borrowed from Kevin's old stock.

"We could go shopping, if you want to." Jack finally offered.

Nathan's eyes started twinkling happy and Jack groaned as the boy asked: "You would go shopping with me, Uncle Jack?"

"Yes," Jack answered timidly as the boy caught him in another hug. "I figured you might like that."

The boy looked caught and Jack had the sinking feeling he'd said again the wrong thing.

"You do like shopping for clothes, right?"

Nathan nodded, still that look of deer-in-a-headlight-look plastered on his face.

"But you don't want me to know about that." Jack mused.

Now little Nathan looked torn "I do, but…"

"Let me guess: another thing your father shouldn't know about?"

"He hates shopping. He says that's a thing only girls do." Suddenly it made so much more sense why the adult Nathan Stark would be such a fashion victim. Although Jack had to admit Nathan always looked great in what he wore and he really had a good taste in clothing.

"I know a lot of men who like shopping."

"Do you like it?"

Jack was sure it wasn't a good idea to lie in small things to such a smart kid, so he decided for the truth: "No, not really. But I do like helping other people decide, what they should buy. And I'd be honored to assist you."

Nathan looked skeptical: "You don't have to, if you don't want to."

"I want to, Nathan. Don't worry so much about everything. If you do something I don't like, I'll tell you. Alright?"

"Okay."

"Just let me get my keys and we'll be off."

…

They returned back from the shopping mall exhausted but content about three hours later. Nathan really loved shopping and Jack had followed the small boy through the mall to help him get the clothes he wanted. It was amazing how independent Nathan already was at such a young age.

They'd bought him two trousers, three shirts, tennis shoes and a pullover, a couple briefs and socks together with a pajama. Nathan had insisted to carry the bags himself and nearly toppled over under the weight but he was grinning and instantly started stripping, when they reached the bunker to dress with new clothes.

"Cool?" He asked the sheriff with puppy dog eyes as he showed off the new clothes "Very much so. Happy?"

"Yes."

"Are you tired yet?" It was already pretty late and probably long behind the boy's usual bedtime.

Nathan quickly shook his head, only poorly disguising that he was lying to him. Jack was intrigued, as the boy hadn't done that yet and he wondered what would make him do. But as the boy wouldn't have to go to school and as he really was no pain to have around he decided to let it go and entertain him some more at least for this evening.

"Would you like to watch some sports with me?"

"Yes." Another bold lie and now Jack was really intrigued. He decided to make a test and offered Nathan a place on the couch, while he ordered S.A.R.A.H. to open up the sports channel.

"What do you want to watch?"

Nathan seemed panicky again, but tried to cover it up. "Oh, I don't know. I'll watch whatever you want to watch."

"No, you're the guest, you may choose. S.A.R.A.H. just zap through the program and stop whenever Nathan asks you to."

Baseball, Soccer, Football, basketball, golf, karate… many things go by, but Nathan doesn't show any reaction. The boy was actually sweating and looked near another panic attack while Jack had no idea what caused the strange behavior. He got finally a first reaction from the boy, when they zapped into Wrestling. His eyes grew wide, swallowed round a lump in his throat and quickly looked away trying to cover his reaction, although doing so very poorly. Jack instantly picked it up, because he'd been watching the boy closely for any reaction anyway, so the sheriff frowned and cautiously asked:

"Do you want to watch some Wrestling?"

"You'd allow me to?" Utter disbelief again from the boy.

Jack shrugged. "Why shouldn't I?"

Little Nathan rolled his eyes the exact way the adult version used to as he stated something he thought was totally obvious. "Because only girls watch Wrestling?"

"That something your father says?"

"Yes."

"I know more boys who watch Wrestling than girls." Jack pointed out reasonably with a small sigh. He'd really like to have a word or two with Nathan's father one day. How could such an obviously stupid man father such a smart son?

"Really?"

"Yes. So do you want to watch it?"

"You won't mind?" Nathan blinked in surprise.

"Actually I like watching Wrestling, so there's no problem there."

"Cool." Nathan asked S.A.R.A.H. to return to the channel and was instantly engrossed in the show as soon as it came on. The small boy actually showed the same compassion with watching that while reading a science book.

Jack left the couch to grab a beer and get them some more sandwiches as he was getting hungry again. When he returned to the couch Nathan hadn't moved an inch from his position, still totally engrossed in the show, but with a broad grin now adorning his face.

"This is so cool." Nathan finally offered like telling the biggest secrets of all. "I mean do you see those muscles? Look at them! They're so strong. I really want to look like that when I'm older."

Jack could see that too. Nathan never missed a session in the gym, even if another experiment threatened to destroy Eureka – or the whole world for that matter. He was very conscious of his body and appearance and it was cute to find the same compassion again in this younger version. Although Jack had to admit the older version's compassion for muscles showed also in his appreciation for Jack's physical appearance. The sheriff did have some muscles of his own and Nathan had worshipped them more than once. Hell, Nathan probably even chose Allison because of her muscles, as she also likes to go to the gym and he'd seen her fighting before, thank you very much. That had been one scary day alright.

"Why were you so scared when I offered you to choose the program?" Jack decided to use the distraction to get the truth from the boy. Little Nathan blushed a little but sighed, his shoulders deflating.

"Dad always makes me watch ballgames and I find them incredibly boring. I really like boxing and swimming and stuff, but…"

"But what?"

"But I wasn't allowed to watch those anymore."

"Why?"

"Because I was stupid."

That was such a ridiculous thing to say that Jack could do nothing else but stare in shock: "Why would you say that?"

"I should have known it would make dad angry. And when I tell you, you'll probably be also angry, so neither will I tell you now."

"Nathan, what are you talking about?"

The boy chewed on his lower lip, the screen now totally forgotten, shoulders slumped.

"I told you, I was being stupid."

"Just tell me, Nathan! Please. I promise you not to get angry."

Nathan looked angry for a second at his pleading, then with a deep, sad sigh Nathan gave in, accepting his fate:

"I said that I'd marry my best friend, because he's so cool. Dad had a real fit."

Jack could imagine that much but decided not yet to comment on it. Instead he asked:

"Why is he so cool?"

"He was my neighbor and four years older than me. He's a great swimmer and I loved watching him in competitions. He is very bright too and he always watched out for me when the older boys tried to beat me up."

Jack leaned in comfortably and slowly stroked the boys back, calming him down.

"Sounds like a great friend to me."

Nathan shrugged: "He was my best and my only friend. But when I was stupid enough to tell my father about my plans to marry him, he grounded me for four weeks and didn't allow me anymore to go to school. We even moved after that month and I never talked to him again even once."

The small boy looked very sad and Jack stroked through his hair offering as much comfort as he could.

"Do you miss him?" That was a pretty stupid question, but he needed the boy to talk a little bit more, as it seemed to help him grieve his loss.

"Yeah. But at least I know now, that you can't marry another boy. My father made a point of telling me that every day ever since. 'You can't have a family if you marry another boy, son. You need a girl for that.'" Nathan obviously mimicked his dad and tried to sound convincing but in Jack's eyes he failed miserably. For the first time Nathan's choice of Allison made suddenly sense to Jack, even if the scientist probably didn't choose to do so consciously. And for the first time, looking at the sad little boy in his arms he could forgive Nathan for it. He'd always thought Nathan just didn't love him enough, but perhaps the demons of his childhood had taken the choice away from him without leaving any chance.

"Do you really believe that?" Jack finally whispered, searching the boy's mind.

"I didn't dare to ask anyone else, not even mom…"

Jack had the sinking feeling Nathan never really got to ask anyone else about this. Sure, he probably learned, that you actually could date another man, if you set your mind to it and Nathan obviously had had male lover's before he started dating Jack. But the subconscious should never be underestimated.

"Then let me tell you this and promise me, you'll never ever forget that: It's nothing bad to fall in love regardless of gender, color of the skin, age or religion. If the other person returns your feelings, then you have every right to be with that person despite what other people might think."

"Really?" Nathan snuffled a little, not yet believing the words, he desperately needed to hear.

"Yes, really. And if you love someone, there are always ways to build a family too."

Little Nathan finally started crying uncontrollably, but Jack wasn't concerned as it were tears of relief. They both just sat there hugging for a while and he let Nathan cry as much as he wanted.

After a while the sobs finally stopped and Nathan's breath started evening out. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep which was no surprise after the exhausting day he'd had.

Jack slowly freed himself from Nathan's grip and tucked the boy in on the sofa with the pillows and sheets S.A.R.A.H. provided. He stroked once again through Nathan's curls and bent down to kiss him on his forehead, wishing him a good night. After that he made his way to his own bed, equally exhausted after such a long day.

…

He'd just fallen asleep when the screams invaded his mind and he was up before S.A.R.A.H actually could tell him what was going on. He was downstairs within a few seconds, finding Nathan once again crying for his mommy. Jack had never been so thankful for Zoe visiting her mother than just at that moment. He tried to hush the boy and to calm him down, but the boy was panicking again. They both needed about ten minutes before Nathan finally calmed down again, his sobs sounding raw and painful due to all the crying of the last hours.

"What happened, Nathan? Please, I need you to tell me what's wrong."

"I'm so sorry, Uncle Jack. I won't do it again."

"Stop apologizing. I told you that you can cry as much as you need to."

"It was just so dark around here and I didn't know where I was… and… and there was this dream…"

Jack cursed under his breath "Crap." Now he felt bad that he hadn't thought about it earlier. When he was little he'd always needed some light too and the bunker had been way too dark even for him as a grown-up, when he first started to sleep there.

"I'm sorry Nathan, I should have thought about that. We'll let the lights on for the rest of the night, okay?"

The look Nathan gave him told Jack more than any words can have. "I don't think that's a good idea, Nathan." The boy snuffled and watched him intently and Carter rolled his eyes in defeat: "Okay, alright. But just this once, okay?"

He held out his hand and both made their way back upstairs into his bedroom, where Nathan instantly crawled under the covers.

Jack sighed, shook his head and took the other side. Even little Nathan preferred to sleep on the right side of the bed, which usually was his side. They'd fought about it more than once until Jack had finally given in. He didn't intend to fight the boy though, because they both should at least get a little sleep for the rest of the night.

"S.A.R.A.H.?"

"Yes sheriff?"

"Lights dimmed to 10 percent."

"Yes."

Jack tried to find a good sleep position and turned to watch the boy on the other side of the bed.

"You okay now?"

Nathan nodded, also trying to find a good sleeping position by curling on his side facing Jack.

"What did you dream about?"

Jack didn't know whether it was a good idea to talk about nightmares just before sleep, but to him talking had always helped. He didn't know for Nathan though.

The boy looked pained again and Jack regretted his question. So when Nathan murmured, that he didn't want to talk about it, he gave in easily.

"Uncle Jack?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not really sick, am I?"

Jack went white. He'd dreaded this conversation but somehow he had known a bright boy like Nathan would look through the farce pretty quickly. He'd still had hoped he would get around it, but…

"No, you're not." Jack admitted, curious what the boy would make of it.

"My mom won't come here to take me with her, right?"

Jack honestly didn't know how to answer that, because he knew, he couldn't make this right. After a while he got no answer from Jack the boy asked another question:

"What year is it?"

Jack groaned inwardly but at least this he could answer: "2009."

"So why am I a child? Shouldn't I be a grown-up by now? Was I in some sort of cryogenic chamber or something?"

To Jack's surprise the boy didn't sound creeped out just excited about the scientific problem.

"No, you grew up normally, but a few weeks ago an experiment went wrong and you…" Could he really tell the boy they'd all thought he was dead? "vanished."

"You thought I died." Nathan pointed out, getting the same look the older version had, whenever he was faced with solving a new scientific puzzle. Jack nodded, waiting for another outburst.

"So what brought me back?"

"Your energy wasn't lost and Henry found a way to reverse the… change of energy." Jack kind of stumbled over the explanation feeling more inaccurate than ever to explain scientific problems to Nathan.

"So why didn't I come back at my real age?"

"We… don't know yet, but Henry's working on it."

Nathan mulled that over in his head while Jack waited anxious for his reaction to all of this information. To his surprise Nathan finally returned to his second question:

"Uncle Jack, where is my mom?"

Jack took a deep breath and steeled himself before he finally admitted "She died some years ago."

To his surprise Nathan didn't start to cry. He just cringed a little at the words, but his mind was obviously still too occupied with science for him to grieve yet.

"What will happen, when you don't know how to fix me?"

"Don't worry about that, Nathan, Henry's…"

He got interrupted by a very stern looking little boy: "Uncle Jack, please just answer the question."

As Jack answered he realized he was stating a truth, he hadn't yet acknowledged to himself, but it was the truth nonetheless: "You'll stay with me, if you want to."

"Won't I be a bother? Shouldn't you, I don't know, give me to an orphanage or something?"

"Look, Nathan. You like it here, right? You've lived in this town nearly half of your life, even if you don't remember it anymore. You belong here and you'll be happy here at one of the best schools of the world."

"But…"

"No buts, Nathan. If you want to, you can stay here. It would be my pleasure. I promise."

"Thank you, Uncle Jack." The boy hugged him tight for a while and neither one spoke for some minutes. Finally Nathan pulled back again and suddenly started to grin: "So, I've really become a scientist?"

"You even were the best scientist of the whole town, Nathan. You even got yourself a Nobel Prize as evidence…"

"Really?" The boy sprang up with a girly screech and excitedly jumped up and down on the mattress. "I've got a Nobel! I've got a Nobel!" His sudden change in behavior made Jack snicker, and infected by the boys happiness he actually followed him suit, also jumping on the bed in what he hadn't done since he was about ten years old. He had to admit though he had forgotten how great that could make you feel.

When they finally calmed down again they settled back under the covers still grinning broadly before Nathan finally sobered up: "Uncle Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go visit mom's grave?"

"Of course, Nathan. I promise. Tomorrow right after we'd talked to Henry, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you. Good night, Uncle Jack."

"G'night Nathan."

…

They never made it to the grave, as Henry was brilliant as ever. He'd solved the age problem right the next day in the course of the first few experiments. So little Nathan shucked his clothes and went back into the tube after another reassuring hug from Jack. Twenty minutes later the real Nathan Stark was standing in the tube, equally naked as the day he was born and looking right at Jack, until his vision was blocked by Allison.

While the woman cried and hugged her beloved husband to her chest Jack left the room unseen, not able to stand the sight.

…

"Jack?"

"Yes S.A.R.A.H?"

"Dr. Stark is at the door."

"Tell him to come back another time! I'm not in the mood."

"He threatens to rewire my circuits. I'm afraid he is able to do that." The AI sounded panicky so Jack gave in with a sigh: "Fine, let him in!"

The door to the bunker swooshed open, revealing the other man.

"We need to talk." Nathan started without preamble finding his way to the living room, where Jack had decided to camp out for the evening.

"There's nothing to talk about, Nathan." Jack finally sat upright on the couch and turned to face his visitor. He looked him over, disbelieve in his eyes that he was really back for good this time.

"Please Jack, if you really want me to go, I'll walk away from you and never look back, never mention it again. But won't you give me at least one chance to make this right between us?"

Jack sighed feeling incredibly tired. He really wasn't up to this discussion, but he feared he would probably never be. So this was as good a time as any: "Okay, so talk, Nathan!"

"Thank you." Nathan took the place on the other side of the table and focused on his hands while he searched for the right words. Finally he buried his hands in his hair and cursed lightly, before he admitted under his breath: "Crap. I don't even know where to start."

Jack rolled his eyes, a sarcastic undertone in his words: "Why don't you start by explaining, why you aren't back at your house right now, celebrating your return with your future wife, as you clearly should be. Allison can't have been happy with you leaving tonight."

"She wasn't happy with me before I left the house. It might have to do with me postponing the marriage and breaking up with her."

"You what?" Jack clearly must have misheard the other man.

"I broke up with her, Jack. And I'll never go back to her because I can't stand being with her anymore. Too much happened and I can't go back to how it was before the time-accident."

"That's stupid, Nathan. You love her!" Jack accused angrily.

"I do." Nathan admitted before he added "but I don't think that's enough. I'm not in love with her anymore and I probably never have been. She's my best friend and I don't want her to get hurt, but I'm bound to hurt her, when I marry her again."

"Nathan, you're just confused, give it some time…" Jack tried but his words trailed off as Nathan suddenly locked gazes with him. He'd never seen that hateful look on Nathan's face before and Jack was taken aback at the intensity of it. But when he heard Nathan's next words, it suddenly made sense:

"That's exactly what my father used to say, whenever I did something he didn't like. Do you really want to sound like him?"

Jack finally lowered his eyes in misery, shielding his eyes with his hands, finally muttering very sad and lost: "Of course not, Nathan. But you did make some pretty confusing experiences and I know you're not the kind of guy to take decisions easily. I just…"

"What, Jack? Tell me!"

"I can't lose you again. This time I'll break." Jack pleaded, not knowing if he wanted the other man to leave or stay. Everything seemed now like a pretty bad idea.

"You won't lose me again, Jack. I promise."

"How can you be so sure? Will you really being able to stand for this, for us in front of everybody else? To be with me in front of Allison?"

"I didn't say it will be easy, Jack. I just said that I finally made up my mind and stopped being stupid. And most of all I stopped being a coward."

"Nathan, tell me what changed? Why did you change your mind?" If he really would give the man another chance he needed to hear it all and Nathan seemed to know about that too, as he hurried to explain:

"But don't you see it, Jack? I remember yesterday and I remember everything!"

"So?"

"You were there for me, Jack. When I needed you most. No one else was."

Jack rolled his eyes annoyed: "Of course I was. I would have done that for everybody."

"But not everybody had hurt you so much by leaving you before. You had every right to be angry at me and refuse to help." Nathan pointed out and Jack fell silent, not looking him in the eyes. So Nathan continued: "Did you really think I was oblivious to your pain? Of course I knew you were hurting. I just wasn't strong enough to do something about it, to make it right again."

"Nathan, I only took care of you because you didn't recognize anyone else. What kind of man would I have been if I had let you suffer just because I hurt? And you can't blame Allison for that: she would have taken care of you in no time. You just didn't let her."

"She wouldn't have promised me to take care of me when I stayed just a little boy. She wouldn't have been able to stand it, Jack. But you would have. You would have swallowed the pain and looked out for me. You even promised and you always keep your promises." Nathan pointed out reasonably.

The scientist finally stood from his chair and made his way over to Jack easily pushing his legs open and kneeling between them. He grabbed Jack's head in his hands and forced the man to look at him:

"I know I should have told you this months ago, but I'll finally right my mistake: I love you Jack Carter, and I promise you, never to leave you again. And I'm sorry for all the pain I caused by leaving…"

Nathan had wanted to say more, but he got interrupted by a heated and passionate kiss. Jack's mouth explored him with something bordering on aggression and Nathan tried to make himself as pliable as he could. Jack had every right to be angry and to lash out at him.

After a few seconds the kiss gentled though, Jack practically cherishing every light touch of tongue, every stroke and small nibble. When he felt wetness on his face Nathan gently broke the kiss, concern in his voice as he watched Jack fall apart in front of him: He'd never seen Jack cry before and he reacted on instinct when he hugged him tight, just like Jack had done for him countless times only 24 hours before.

"I missed… you … so much, Nathan." Jack admitted in between sobs holding on for dear life. "How could you… leave me?... How could… you… die? Why didn't you… see… how much… I needed you?"

"Shh, I'm so sorry Jack." Nathan had to swallow around a lump in his own throat but tried to be strong for Jack who needed him now. "I need you too. Told you, I was stupid. Everything will be alright. I promise."

They stayed like that for what seemed a small eternity with Jack finally getting all his anger and sadness out and Nathan soothing his pain by his sheer presence, holding and stroking him. Finally Jack quieted down, but despite his weariness sleep wasn't on his mind yet. Instead he pulled back slightly, drying his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, making himself look like a small boy.

"You better?" Nathan inquired finally and Jack nodded before adding sounding embarrassed: "Sorry for that."

Nathan chided him softly rolling his eyes: "A wise man told me once that there's nothing wrong with men showing their feelings by crying."

Jack actually chuckled at that relaxed before he made movements to stand up.

"Hey, where are you going?" Nathan asked concerned, but Jack reassured him.

"Relax, I'll be right back. I'll just wash my face. And change my shirt."

"Neat freak!" Nathan teased him and Jack rolled his eyes: "Look who's talking." Before leaving for the bathroom. Nathan effectively used the time to run an errand to Jack's bedroom, making it back to the sofa unnoticed right before Jack returned. He was buttoning a new shirt as Nathan halted his fingers.

"Are we okay?" Nathan finally asked concerned, looking for Jack's gaze.

The sheriff nodded after having searched his face. "Yes, we are."

"Can we make love then? I… missed you too." Nathan admitted, not sure if he was pushing Jack too far.

"Of course." To Nathan's relief Jack smiled at him, holding out his hand to lead him to the bedroom.

"No. I want to do it here." Nathan pointed to the couch.

"But…" Jack contradicted.

"I know Zoe isn't here. And… I want it to be kind of symbolic."

"Symbolic how?"

"The first time I knew I was in love with you, we were having a quiet evening here at your house, you watching a game and me reading some reports from GD. We were just comfortable with each other and I hadn't felt that comfortable with anyone for years. And yesterday, I fell for you right again here, when I needed you most. Even if it was just a small schoolboy crush…"

"And we just reconciled here again. I do see your point." Jack admitted and grabbed for Nathan's arm, pulling him over to the couch. "And you already brought the supplies too." The sheriff pointed out making Nathan blush a little.

"I hoped you'd say yes." He admitted shrugging.

"How do you want to do this then? You seem to have planned everything out already…"

"Sit down, just like before!"

Curious Jack followed the instruction, while Nathan resumed his former position on the floor between his spread legs. He grabbed for one of the sofa cushions and put it under his knees to be a little more comfortable.

Then without further ado he opened the button of Jack's pants and pulled down the zipper. He reached in and slowly freed the already half hard erection of his lover with gentle hands, careful not to hurt him in the difficult process. Satisfied with that he reached up and opened the few buttons, which held the shirt closed and revealed Jack's strong chest again, swallowing hard at the enticing view.

As a second thought he stood up and quickly discarded his own pants and underwear after shucking his shoes and pulling his socks off. He opened his own shirt and shrugged out of it finally standing there naked in front of Jack. He felt his lover's heated gaze travelling over his muscles and had to smile at his lover's twitching dick.

"You know Nathan, I'm really glad you had this fascination for wrestling…" Jack finally admitted with a leer and Nathan chuckled.

"Glad to hear."

"Aren't I'm going to lose more clothes?"

"No."

"This the schoolboy crush speaking?"

Nathan smiled at the teasing: "Come on, I've been taught to trust sheriffs. Of course I'd find your uniform sexy…"

"Okay then." And Jack made a beckoning gesture Nathan couldn't resist. He had planned to put on a little show for Jack, but suddenly he couldn't go through with it as he wanted to feel his lover. He leaned in to kiss Jack feverishly, mapping out the corners of his mouth, his palate, his tongue.

Everything felt so intoxicating and he had trouble to finally pull back. But he managed though, kissing a slow trail down over Jack's chin to his throat. His lips stayed there for a while, his hands gently exploring the waste skin of Jack's torso, playfully tweaking and caressing the hardened nipples on occasion. Jack moaned but mostly tried to stay still through Nathan's ministrations, just softly stroked over the man's back and curls, whenever he could reach him easily.

With a sigh Nathan finally parted from the soft skin of jack's very sensitive neck to continue his journey down over his flat stomach, around the bellybutton to the first coarse hairs which led to his lover's waiting erection. He took his time to worship the now fully erect organ, licking softly around the crown before finally sucking it into his mouth, mindful of his teeth.

Jack's hips bucked slightly, but Nathan had expected so much and pressed Jack back into the couch, his hands securing the man at that place. His lover had warned him right from the start that he couldn't keep still while getting blowjobs, which had caused his ex-wife to stop giving them entirely after a very awful mishap which ended with her poised over the toilet.

Nathan on the other hand had no problems to control his gagging reflex, which Jack could really appreciate and judging by the sheriff's needy moans his lover was waiting for that particular treat. Nathan didn't disappoint him and relaxed his throat, slowly letting his mouth sink down to swallow everything Jack had to offer. His nose buried in the pubic hair he waited a short moment, content with the way he could make Jack lose control, before lifting his head again to breath. He repeated the movement a few times, until Jack's grip on his head told him to stop, as he was getting too close.

With a sigh and regret that it would be over so soon Nathan finally parted from the erection with a few well placed licks and nibs before he felt his mouth getting plundered again from Jack. It felt as if he was desperate for any taste of himself in Nathan's mouth and only released him after a thorough inspection which left them both breathless all over again.

Nathan grabbed wordlessly for the condom package and ripped it open. He rolled the condom quickly over Jack's erection and lost no time to cover it with a great deal of lube. After that he covered his own fingers setting his right foot on the sofa to spread his legs. Jack's eyes were half lidded and nearly black with passion as he watched his lover's every movement while preparing himself with efficient strokes.

Nathan stopped the preparation way too early as he grew impatient but he ignored Jack's protests and straddled the other man's hips.

"The burning will remind me to whom exactly I belong from now on."

Nathan had expected some more arguing, but Jack grew silent again and just helped him to find a good position poised over his waiting erection. Jack's right hand held his cock in place, while his left steadied Nathan at his hips, when the scientist finally lowered himself on Jack's lap. He felt full and it hurt but it was so wonderful to do this again after such a long time he couldn't quite hold back the tears of pleasure springing to his eyes.

Jack worried his lower lip in concentration, while Nathan gripped his shoulders hard for leverage. Soon they established a slow and maddening rhythm, which had always come natural to them. Groans and pants and whispers of affection filled the room with the sound of thrusting and the obscene slapping of skin against skin.

Both men broke a light sweat when they finally sped their movements up, Jack's nails digging in Nathan's back while he nibbled and licked the sensitive skin on his lover's shoulder blade, making sure to leave a lovebite.

Along the way Jack released Nathan's hip to fist his leaking erection in time with their thrusts. From that on Nathan didn't need long to reach completion and grunted it out while slamming down hard one last time on Jack's hip, milking the cock inside equally dry as the severe movement caused Jack to orgasm.

They held on to each other and stayed like that for a long while until their muscles started to cramp and they really needed to stretch out their legs. They didn't like the parting though and needed a lot more kissing and caressing until they finally reached the bathroom together, contentedly soaking under the hot spray to clean themselves from the mess they'd made.

Afterwards they tumbled still half wet from the shower into Jack's bed, where they curled up into each other and prepared to sleep the sleep of the happily sated.

Right before Jack reached the dreamland though, he could hear his lover's voice ask him a last question:

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Will you visit my mother's grave with me tomorrow?"

"Of course, Nathan. It will be my pleasure."

This time, they actually made it.

…

Endless End

Finished 20th June 2010