Jonny called on a Tuesday afternoon, asking if he could come over and see Emma for a couple of hours because he had a surprise for her. The surprise was that Lydia was pregnant, and he wanted to do it during the week so that Emma had time to accept it if she was upset.
"She's not at home right now Jonny, so you can't. Fletch is dropping her off at 6 so you can come by then if you like," Jac suggested, rolling her eyes as she poured boiling water over a teabag.
"What do you mean she's at Fletch's? She's your daughter, not his, Jac!" Jonny snapped at her. "I'll go and pick her up and she can stay here tonight if you don't have time to look after her yourself."
"Excuse me?" Jac demanded, slamming the kettle back into its base. "She's there because her friends are there, because I thought it might be nice for her to spend some time with Theo and Bella since she never gets to see them outside of creche. Don't you dare question my parenting, Jonny, not when you're only ever there if it suits you."
Jac managed to burn herself on the handle of her mug, moving to run it under the cold tap and she failed to pay attention to Jonny's ranting. All he was talking about was how much he'd been there for Emma after Jac had been shot, and how much he'd done to help.
"What do you want, Jonny? A medal? She's your daughter. It's your job to parent her, and you don't get to question how I let her spend her week when it's quite literally none of your business as long as she arrives to you on a Friday afternoon with a smile on her face and food in her belly."
"Uh, this conversation is over. I'll be by at 6 to speak to her," Jonny finished, hanging up the call and leaving the dial tone ringing in Jac's ear.
She slammed her phone down on the kitchen counter face down, grumbling to herself about how inconsiderate he was being. It was only another forty-five minutes until Fletch dropped Emma off and she would have to see Jonny face to face. If he tried to start a confrontation, she was determined not to lose control.
After taking a deep breath, she reached for her phone and sent Fletch a quick text:
Any chance of bringing Emma a bit early? Long story, I'll explain when you get here x
Within a couple of minutes, she received a reply:
Sure, Bella and Max got picked up twenty minutes ago. Leaving in 5 x
Why couldn't Jonny be even marginally more like him? Why couldn't he actually help Jac rather than hinder her for the first time in a short eternity? Thank Christ that at least one man in her life was worth his salt.
She sips at her tea and waits patiently, hoping she can persuade Fletch to stay until Jonny has been and had his 'chat' with Emma.
At 5:24, Fletch lets himself in using the spare key that he permitted months back simply to make life easier. He heads straight through to the kitchen to find Jac with her head in her hands and stress pressed in the crease of her brow.
"Everything okay?" Fletch asked curiously, kissing her cheek casually before jumping up onto the island and taking a seat.
"Jonny rang and decided to have a go. Apparently I'm letting Emma spend too much time with you and the kids and I'm being a bad mother. I told him where to stick it but he's coming over at six to tell Emma about the baby and I don't really want to face him alone or I know I'll say something harsh."
"He said what?" Fletch asked, recoiling slightly in shock at the accusation. "Jonny's always been such a good guy, why the hell would he be rude about something like that?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, reminding him of exactly who he was speaking to.
"He spent a large portion of Emma's life trying to get her away from me. Nothing would please him more than to watch me prove myself an unfit mother and to whisk my daughter away into his perfect new life that he's building," Jac snapped, and though she didn't want to believe the worst of Jonny after everything he had done for her, she couldn't help but worry.
Fletch stayed quiet, knowing that there were no words that she needed to hear. His only role in this was his presence, and that was enough to keep Jac from ripping her own hair out.
They behaved normally from then, talking about how things were with the kids, and how Mikey's parents' evening had gone as Emma played with her Polly Pocket and babbling on about her day with Theo. Before they knew it, the doorbell rang and Jac rose to go and let Jonny in.
"She's in the front room," Jac offered, waving him in and shutting the door behind him. "I'll be in the kitchen."
He was there for no more than fifteen minutes, and he left without saying another word to Jac, instead choosing to let himself out.
Emma seemed unfazed by the idea of a new baby. She was so used to spending her time with the Fletcher kids that it was practically second nature to her now. Having an extra kid around the house at Jonny's was going to make things more normal if anything.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Fletch offered as he headed for the front door, leaving Jac and Emma to an evening in alone.
Whether Jonny believed it or not, Jac was still very adamant in not allowing Fletch to become a parent to Emma in any capacity. That was a line she was unwilling to cross, because it was a two-way street and she was no mother of five.
