The MultiFandom MPREG Archive

"SARAH, door!" Coat slung over one shoulder, Jack trudged through the entrance as it swung open. It hadn't even been a hour since he had left. This was a new record even for him.

"Welcome back, Sheriff. I trust your first day back on the job is going well."

Jack glared up at the ceiling with an incredulous expression. "No, it is not. In fact, I'm not even the sheriff any more." After tossing his jacket on the couch, he stormed his way in to the kitchen. He snatched a clean glass off the counter and put it in the beverage slot on the fridge. "Beer, SARAH, make it fast."

"Whatever is the matter? You have not been fired, have you?" To the house's credit it sounded shocked and upset. "Henry would know better than to..."

"Who do you think suspended me?" When his drink was full, he pulled it to himself and sucked down the foamy head. He sighed with pleasure as it went down. "Do we got any chips or pretzels. I'm sure there's a ballgame on some where."

"We do indeed!" A shelf on the far side of the kitchen raised up from the counter. "We have a wide variety of comfort foods available. Zoey made sure that I had plenty after your sister left."

"Smart girl." Jack made his way over to the shelf. There was indeed a wide selection, almost enough to start a convenience store. "How much did all this cost me?"

"It is not the monetary price she was concerned with, but your emotional one." The house sounded solemn. "Would you care to talk about this?"

"No." Bag of pretzels and beer in hand, Jack wondered in to the living room. Once there, he plopped down on the couch and put his feet up. "If anyone calls but Zoey, I'm not in."

"Where should I say you are?"

It was too easy. Jack grinned up at the ceiling. "Tell them to ask their mother."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Flipping through the channels, Jack sat back on his couch. The beer in his glass was little more than suds on the bottom. It was his third in the last hour, sixth since he got home. "SARAH, is there anything on?"

"Perhaps it might help if you tell me what exactly you wish to watch." The house sounded a little peeved with him.

Jack glanced over at the trashed shelves. Blue fibers from his terrycloth robe still clung to the nail that had snagged it. He had trashed the rest of it in his bid to get free. It was very likely possible that he was drunk at the moment.

Raising up his glass, he peered through the curved sides at the suds. Okay, so it was more than just a possibility. Snorting, he dropped it to his side. "I want something with a lot of mindless violence."

"I will do my best to accommodate." The moment after SARAH spoke the screen flipped violently through images fast enough to cause seizures in anybody watching.

As it was, Jack's eyes were too glazed for him to make out much. Blinking to keep his eyes clear, he sighed. May be it was a good idea to just close them. Giving it a try he was unaware of the fact he was drifting off.

A chime sounded in the house.

Coming awake, Jack opened his mouth to shout. Instead of words, though, a loud belch came out. As it continued to pour from his lips he thumped his chest. He finished with a grimace and waved at the air in front of his face.

"There is someone at the door."

Thumping his chest to clear out another burp, Jack winced. "You don't say." He leaned forward to put his glass on the table. "Tell whoever it is to go away."

"I have done so twice." The chime sounded a second time. "Zane is most insistent that he speak with you. I am afraid that he does not believe me when I tell him you are not here."

"Of course." A wave of fatigue rushed over Jack at the mere thought of dealing with the other man. Suddenly too tired to face the world any longer, Jack dragged himself up off the couch. "I'm going to bed. Make sure Zoey does her homework and has something," he waved a hand around, "nutritious."

"Will do, Sheriff!"

Jack saluted the house as he reached the stairs. More staggering than walking, he climbed up them and headed for his bedroom. Behind him the door chime rang for a third time.

~~~~~~~~~~

Clanking dishes made Jack frown. Blinking awake, he groaned softly. As he lay there trying to put his mind back in order, the sound of food sizzling filtered through his mental haze. This made him instinctively sniff at the air. He moaned at what he smelled.

Slowly, the memory of that morning came back to him. By the time he was finished remembering his teeth were clenched in irritation. Obviously drinking hadn't mellowed him

Rolling his head to he side he saw the time. Six-thirty p.m. That was thirty minutes after Zoey's shift ended at Cafe Diem. He knew how much she disliked cooking, especially after work, but whatever it was made his mouth water.

Moaning to himself, he rolled completely on to his side. He used an unsteady arm to push himself up off the mattress. A wave of dizziness forced him to close his eyes and wait it out. At this rate, dessert would be served by the time he got down there.

Hopefully there would be leftovers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Trudging down the stairs, Jack didn't bother to even try softening his steps. Over the sound of his own footsteps he could hear talking. There were two people, one of them male. He grit his jaw. Obviously he was going to have to shoot someone.

Clutching the belt of his robe in one hand, he wandered in the direction of the kitchen. The male voice became distinctly familiar the closer he got. Jack kept his ear out for another voice, but it never came. It was just the man and Zoey.

Coming through the side entrance next to the fridge, Jack wouldn't say he snuck up on them. He just moved stealthily.

Standing in front of the stove top with a wooden spoon in his hand, Zane used it to point at someone just out of view. "It's not the end of the world, I swear."

"You don't know these people. They are going to ostracize me for the rest of my life." It was Zoe. From the way her voice was muffled it was obviously she wasn't facing him.

"Well, at least here you are in good company." The smile was clearly evident in Zane's voice.

Jack crept in closer. He tried not to make a sound as he slipped in further.

"I can smell you." Raising his nose, Zane sniffed at the air for emphasis. "Good evening, Jack."

"Zane." His cover blown, Jack felt a little miffed. He tugged at the front of his robe to adjust it better. "What are you doing in my house? Jo throw you out again?"

"Yes, actually." Zane suddenly made himself busy with the pot.

"Good going, dad!" Spinning on her stool, Zoe looked up at her father from her etablet. She scowled at her father.

"Me? What did I do?" The moment he said it, Jack held up his hand. "Do not even bring that up. I know for a fact that Jo..."

"It wasn't Jo's fault. She was just doing her job." This brought the conversation back to Zane. He kept his eyes on the pot for a moment more before looking up with a smirk. "I got fired." There was triumph in his voice.

Jack's jaw dropped. Catching himself, he shook his head. "You too?"

"Yep!" He beamed at them. At Jack's stare he shrugged, then went back to his pot.

"What happened?" Coming up to stand beside the other man, Jack leaned against the counter. "I mean, what did Allison say?"

Zoey snorted. Marking her place on the tablet, she glared at her father again. "It wasn't Dr. Blake. Your new girlfriend is a royal bi..."

"Zoey!" Feeling a headache coming on, Jack felt the need for a beer. He turned to the fridge, snatching a glass off the counter. He put it in the door dispenser. "SARAH, beer!" The glass was soon filled with golden liquid.

"Hunh!" Watching from the stove top, Zane frowned. "I tried that and I ended up with diet rootbeer."

Jack pulled out his glass. "I don't care." He quickly took a long drink from it. He finished with a sigh of appreciation. "Now, what does you getting fired have to do with you being in my house? Make it short and to the point."

"My apartment is owned by GD. With my dismissal, I'm the problem of the U.S. government once more." Zane stirred his pot once more then pulled the spoon out. After setting it aside, he picked up the potholders and grabbed his pot. He took it to the counter top and set it on a circle that rose up from the smooth surface. "I'll let you make the connections, I think that's something your brain can do."

This made the older man scowl. "You know, I can kill you with my house." He was two steps from grabbing the smart ass, one if he leaped. "As of nine o'clock this morning you stopped being my problem. You should be with Sheriff Lupo."

"Yeah, well, about that." The grin disappeared from Zane's face completely. "She's threatened to use her gun on me, in strange and kinky ways. It might be fun to try, though."

Jack's face registered the shock his system felt. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me this is about that. I thought you and she..."

Zane shrugged. "I might have moaned your name while we were..."

"Hey, there's a teenager here!" Throwing a thumb over his shoulder, Jack chugged at his beer. He finished with a shake of his head. Wiping his mouth, he glared at the younger man. "So you're my problem now. Great, just great."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the kitchen.

Ignoring it, Jack put the glass back in the dispenser. "SARAH, another beer." While it filled up, he took a moment to calm himself. This led to him smelling something that wasn't entirely unpleasant. Following that to the source he found it to be coming from the pot. "What is that?"

"Clam Chowder. SARAH suggested you might like it." As Zane turned, a set of bowls appeared from the cupboard beside him. He walked over and pulled them out with a grin.

Jack didn't like that grin. Narrowing his eyes, he sniffed the air for any hint of poisoning. He wouldn't put it past the man.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Putting his bowl in the dish washer, Jack had to admit that Zane had known what he was doing when he made dinner. At least, to himself. He would never tell the pain in the ass anything that might inflate his already giant ego. One Nathan Stark was enough in his lifetime.

Of course, doing this himself had been for a purpose. He turned away from the washer slowly to face the man leaning back against his island.

Zane had his hands spread out to either side of him on the counter in a gesture designed to look casual. His twitching lips kept switching between a grimace and a smirk. "Well?"

"I haven't decided." Jack thumped his chest to release a burp he felt bubbling up. So may be his last two or three beers hadn't been strictly necessary.

This caused Zane's amused look to fall. Pulling up off the counter he took a step away from it. "You haven't decided? It's been two hours since you found out. Even Fargo doesn't take this long."

He just glared at the genius. "Never compare me to Fargo, ever." A noise off to his left had Jack turning to glare at Zoey.

The snort she had released turned in to a full blown snicker. "Would you tell him he can stay already." Standing, she picked up her tablet. "Just keep it down tonight, you two, I have a important test in the morning."

A pain shot through Jack's head at the same time as his gut clenched. "Oh, real funny. For that, you're grounded!"

"I thought so!" Heading for the stairs, Zoey shook her head.

"For the record, nothing happened!" While he said it for Zoe's sake, he meant it for everyone within hearing range. To see if his message had been received, he turned back to the waiting man.

Zane's eyes were surprisingly on the floor. The tip of his ears were colored pink.

Jack froze. His mouth suddenly dry, he swallowed nervously. "Right?"

Glancing up, the scientist opened his mouth to say something. He closed it just as quickly and glanced away.

"Oh." Jack swallowed; the world tilted a little. "Oh, god." Turning, he staggered to the fridge. "I think I need another drink."