The Magpie's Death

The Magpie's Death (2)

After his third read-through, Jack leaned back on his stool and stared blankly past the screen. He had wanted answers, but this was still vague and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. It must have been obvious to Finn, who placed a hand on his thigh.

"It's difficult to take in, I know, but this is a good sign. My part in this ended with my phone call to you, which means Mags escaped the Horizon to release the video."

Jack turned toward his friend, the smile on their face a bit faded and their shining eyes a bit dimmer. Finn said nothing about the last part, the reports of his death, and he knew they weren't certain either. Sure, he had escaped to send out the recording, but what condition was he in? He had already been shot twice, once directly through the leg. How many injuries had he sustained while trying to get away? He had no one to rely on and couldn't seek out medical attention. Where could he go to hide and heal? How well could he cover his tracks and run from the organization he had tried to destroy?

"Goodness..." Finn's light voice cut through his thoughts and their arms reached out to hug him. "Mags was right. You are a teary one."

Without realizing, Jack had begun to cry. It wasn't heavy sobs or sad whimpers, just drops constantly flowing down his cheeks. Maybe he had cried too much in the past weeks to cry for real. He had nothing left.

After a few minutes, he composed himself, wiping his face with a sleeve. He let out a soft laugh and pushed his friend away.

"I'm okay now, I think."

"You're not," Finn said with a sad smile, but they backed off anyway. "But you're tougher than you think. You'll get there."

They pulled the envelope over and opened it, removing a few papers.

"Enough of that. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

Jack nodded, even though he didn't know what "business" meant, and Finn's smile grew a little more cheerful.

"You may have noticed that Sam and Ellie Miller have been wiped from your system. The father and daughter, as far as any record will show, never existed. Instead-" They placed a birth certificate on the wooden counter in front of him. "-Ellie is now Ellie River Glass, daughter of Charlotte Marie Winters and Jackson Henry Glass, born July 7, 2016. You were unaware of her existence, but graciously took her in and changed her name after her mother passed away."

There was a pause to let him process. He stared, not sure how to respond.

"But... I've lived here my entire life. Everyone in town knows Sam and Ellie and they know I don't have a child. They also know I wouldn't be in the kind of relationship that makes one..."

"It doesn't matter." Finn waved the problem away. "Every record and legal document says Sam doesn't exist and you made a baby. I'm very thorough. And the timing of her mother's death matches up with her arrival in this house. Scandalous, perhaps, but ironclad as far as any court is concerned."

Jack nodded, but it was obvious he still needed explanation, so Finn continued. "This will allow you to assume the rights of a father. You'll be able to enroll her in school, take her to the hospital, claim her as a dependent on your taxes... All the thousands of little things that happen when you have a child. It gives her a family and a home. A permanent one that can't be taken away."

Their words cut into him and he winced. There wasn't a single part of him that didn't want to be Ellie's father, but it felt like he was being forced to compromise. Like accepting one meant losing the other.

"You say that like he'll never come back."

"I can't guarantee he will." Finn's hand was back on his thigh and gave him a small squeeze. "But I believe he will. And when he does, he'll no longer be Nate or Maggie or Sam. He'll be a stranger to all of us. In the meantime, we need to take care of our own lives and build something that new person can come home to. Right?"

That made sense and Jack nodded again, feeling the tiniest bit of relief. "Yeah. Sorry. Keep going."

"Okay."

With a chuckle, Finn handed him a list of names and numbers. Extraordinarily large numbers. His friend laughed again as his eyes grew wide.

"Charlotte had an excellent life insurance plan, as well as a nice warehouse loft in the South Bronx and some other smaller assets. With no living relatives, her entire estate went to her daughter, under your control to be used for childcare needs. Any remaining unspent funds are to be released and transferred to Ellie on her eighteenth birthday."

"Finn..."

It was difficult to say more and Jack swallowed, looking at the total written at the bottom of the page. He had never seen so many commas and zeroes outside of television and movies.

"This is a ridiculous amount of money. Where did it really come from?"

"Honey, when you're good at your job, people pay you well. And Maggie was the best. It's laundered and untraceable, and all accounts are legit, but Mags didn't think you would want to accept dirty money. So he left it to Ellie instead."

Jack shuffled the papers in his hands. Birth certificate and hospital records, bank accounts and estate papers. An entire existence created and backdated by one person. It was amazing and terrifying.

Finn gave him a warm smile, letting him sit quietly for a while. It was mid-afternoon and the house was empty, guests out enjoying the summer sun or whatever had brought them to Mirror Falls. Jack focused on the sound of his own breathing to calm him. Sam, the Magpie, gave him and Ellie an entire life, along with the money to live it. He should be grateful, but it felt hollow. He couldn't help wishing he could trade it back for a dangerous existence of running and hiding. It was selfish and he didn't understand what that meant, but at least then they would all be together.

As if they could read his mind, Finn moved their hand to his shoulder and gave it a comforting pat. "I was torn over this too. But this really is the best way."

Jack forced those thoughts down and took a breath, finished wallowing in his grief. It had a high cost, but he'd been given a gift. It would not go to waste.

"Finn-Finn?" The curious little voice cut through the quiet and footsteps shuffled into the kitchen. "Finn-Finn."

"There she is!" Finn slid off the stool and rushed over to scoop Ellie up, giving her a hard kiss on the cheek. She huffed in frustration, little palms pushing their pretty face away. "Aww... I missed you, my precious little mouse. Did you miss me?"

She nodded and Finn giggled, carrying her back over to the island and sitting her on the counter. Pointing to the stack of documents, she stared wide-eyed at Jack. "Paper?"

"These say we're gonna be a family," he explained with a genuinely happy smile.

He had always wanted children. After his parents died and he resigned himself to a life in this small town, he never thought it would happen. Now, he was a father. Regardless of the way she'd come to him, he couldn't deny this girl was like a wonderful miracle.

"Do you wanna be my family?"

Ellie's head bobbed and she pointed to the stack again, her blue eyes sparkling now. "Happy?"

Jack shifted her down the smooth surface to sit in front of him, wrapping his arms around her little waist. A strong, stubborn, amazing miracle.

"I'm very happy."

Leaning forward, Ellie searched his eyes, then placed two comforting palms on his cheeks. "Jack sad. Dada."

"You're right," he admitted through a light chuckle. Strong, stubborn, and smart. "I'm sad he's not here. But we have each other and I know you'll take care of me."

She nodded, her big eyes confident and swirling with determination.

"Take care," she promised. "All okay."